For Beta Or Worse

Now your laptop can charge itself!

2011-01-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of the folks at b3ta.com.

Another iPhone 4 Problem: "Can You Hear Me Now?"--WHAT?

2010-07-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

If microphone is covered, user's voice cannot be heard. How will Apple respond?

After Steve Jobs announced today that Apple would provide iPhone 4 owners with "rubber baby buggy bumpers" to alleviate signal attenuation problems with the device, reports from users say that there is another issue with the phone's design.

It turns out that if you hold the phone a certain way, covering the microphone with one of your fingers, the person you're calling can't hear you.

Consumer Reports confirmed this after doing testing of its own. Spokesperson Myron Dullard said that he put his finger over the microphone while trying to make a phone call, and found that the recipient could not hear him. He told us this during a phone call he had to make several times before we could understand what he was saying.

One protesting user, a Beav Stallmer from Redmond WA, who was behind the rash of complaints about the new iPhone's antenna, is leading the group protesting Apple's bad design, bad attitude, and lack of concern for users. "I am so disappointed in this new iPhone, it's really bad," he told reporters. "If only I had bought one of those Kin phones, that would have been so much better. It's a shame they discontinued that. Damn, I really want one. I wonder if this will encourage Microsoft to bring that phone back..." Stallmer was interrupted from his rant when he got a call on his HP Windows Mobile phone that he wasn't able to answer because he kept disconnecting himself.

Apple has not yet responded to these new complaints about the iPhone 4's badly designed microphone that will not let your voice be heard if you cover it up. A report that Apple was telling users experiencing this problem to cut off their fingers to prevent accidentally blocking the microphone was dismissed by Steve Jobs as "a crock".

Netbook or Waffle Iron?

2010-05-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Play the hot new game everyone is playing! Netbook or Waffle Iron!

Can your netbook make waffles? Can your waffle iron fetch your email? Why not? When will companies realize that we need machines that can do both? It's a netbook, it's a waffle iron! YOU decide!

(This showcases one of the major deficiencies of the iPad: its inability to be a waffle iron. Still, I hear it makes a great griddle for pancakes and scrambled eggs.)

Be careful! Do not attempt to type on your keyboard immediately after making waffles. Keys will be hot!

Coming soon: the George Foreman Tablet Grill!

Celebrity Reference Card - Elvis Presley vs. Michael Jackson

2009-07-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

The first in a series of Celebrity Reference Cards, helping us distinguish between people we might otherwise confuse with each other for whatever reason.

Today: Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Two famous musical stars with lavish lives that led to garish deaths. Can you remember who was who? Here's some help.

Gates, Ballmer To Get Liver Transplants, Too

2009-06-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

It was announced today that Bill Gates would be receiving a liver transplant within the next two weeks. The reason was not disclosed.

The announcement came from Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's current CEO, who said that he too will be getting a new liver. All of this comes on the heels of the recent disclosure that Steve Jobs just had a liver transplant.

"People have accused us of simply following in Apple's footsteps and copying everything they do years later," said Ballmer. "That is simply untrue. Organ replacement for top level Microsoft executives has been planned for some time now. Bill has been working on getting his liver transplant as part of his philanthropic humanitarian efforts. And I've been drinking heavily since Vista was released, as preparation for mine."

Ballmer said Jobs' recent transplant "was just an attempt to undercut Microsoft's long-planned internal organ replacement program and make us look foolish." The Microsoft CEO said he's planning on having many other internal organs replaced over the next few months, to demonstrate "that Microsoft isn't just some derivative copycat company that steals all its ideas from Apple." No word on which of Ballmer's other organs are candidates for replacement.

New iPhone Provides Support for Making "Telephone Calls"

2009-06-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

In the recent WWDC announcements about the new iPhone 3G S, Apple failed to mention an important new capability being introduced. In addition to texting, emailing, and running custom apps, the new iPhone has the ability to make "telephone calls".

"This capability is revolutionary," said Grace Perspirada of WeAreThePhoneWatchers. "iPhone users accustomed to tweeting, texting, and emailing can now also talk directly to another human being using this 'telephone' functionality."

According to Perspirada, the new iPhone will enable you to "dial" a "phone number" that will allow you to speak directly to other people who have iPhones, other lesser mobile phones, and something called a "land line phone", which is apparently similar to an iPhone except you don't carry it with you (and you can't text, tweet, or email on it). These "land line phones" are not moved around like "mobile" phones, they sit in a stationary place, and are sometimes even tethered to the wall via a "cord". Surveys show that millions of people have these devices in their homes, including your grandparents. "It is perhaps a sign of our difficult economic times that people own these simpler single-purpose devices that do this one thing, without regard for the communication advances we have all grown accustomed to."

Perspirada noted that it will probably take some time for iPhone users to become aware of this feature and start using it. There has been a lot of buzz on Facebook and Twitter about it, with a large number of people asking each other questions about how the whole thing works.

@iphoneguru001 so wait u mean i hav 2 remember a 10 digit number 2 talk 2 sum1? y wudnt i just txt or tweet? sounds stooopiddddd.....and who wants 2 talk 2 ppl n e way?

Although the feature will be available in most of the world as soon as the new iPhone is available, AT&T announced that there will be some delays in providing this feature to iPhone users in the U.S. as it will not be able to handle this "telephone" traffic until they complete more upgrades to their network.