On news from AT&T that only 146,000 iPhones were activated during the opening sales push on the new device, Apple stock took a $8.81 hit today.

Ouch.

Then again, there’s better news in the linked article. Seems like there’s better evidence to support my prior assertion that seems to confirm that a 3G iPhone is almost here. From the article, it sounds like November.

Sweet. If the stock is currently in the crapper at $134 bucks a share, what’s it going to do when it’s in all out rampaging bull mode?

I’m just over a week into my Mac ownership, and because of that, I haven’t really had much occasion to step back and use the household PC much recently. However, I’ve been converting my recently acquired Harry Potter audiobook into mp3 format through the subscription service we use, Rhapsody, so I’ve been toying with it (and also importing it into iTunes on the Mac.

Wowzers, is the MacBook fast. The time it takes to accomplish essentially the same task is seriously slower on the PC. Of course the PC is a couple of years old at this point, but I never felt that I was experiencing any real meaningful slowdowns of my performance. That is, until I hooked into this little speed demon that I’m using right now.

Also, the score on shut downs and reboots in the last week is MacBook 1, PC 12. This thing is amazingly stable and smooth. I do see why Mac users say that the system and the OS are stable, simple, and elegant. Seems like everything I try to do on the PC requires some massive ordeal of a shut down and restart to implement.

I solved the Mail bug. It had nothing to do with hardware problems, and everything to do with the fact that, several weeks ago, I renamed my “bloy[at]nd.edu” account to “brendanloy[at]alumni.usc.edu” (an address which, in actuality, forwards mail — for the moment — to bloy[at]nd.edu). Details after the jump.

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Well, the news from today’s trip to the Apple Store is a mixed bag. I got to work with my favorite Mac Genius, the Skeet Ulrich lookalike Mike (he’s the guy at left in the photo), and he was patient, friendly and helpful as always. Unfortunately, actual solutions to my PowerBook’s problems remain elusive, and nobody’s offering me a new computer yet. Details after the jump.

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Back at the Apple Store, that is. Photo taken with an iPhone while waiting for the Genius Bar.

Alas, all continues to be not entirely well in PowerBook-land. Yes, last month’s catastrophic system failure mysteriously fixed itself, and yes, some of the problems I initially complained about in early June have been solved… but some are back, and there are some new ones as well. In particular, ever since I got the computer back, it’s been experiencing a rather annoying glitch whereby Mail isn’t saving my outgoing messages properly. Not to mention continuing core-app crashes, UI glitches, and erratic sleep behavior.

I’ve been planning for a while now to take my computer back to the Apple Store, but today I finally wrote up my latest manifesto listing and explaining the problems — and demanding a real solution this time — so I’ll be taking it, and the letter, in tomorrow morning. Here’s the money quote:

Although the problems appear software-related, I believe they are caused by some physical defect of the computer, not the operating system or software, and I do NOT believe they can be solved by simply erasing the hard drive, reinstalling the OS, and/or otherwise tinkering with software settings. I say this for a couple of reasons. First and most obviously, the problems picked up right where they left off after the hard drive was erased and the OS reinstalled last month. Given how stable Mac OS X normally is, it seems highly unlikely that a freshly installed copy of the OS would develop such severe problems so quickly. Nor did I install any unusual applications that would be likely to “poison” the OS in some way. Secondly, during the times when my computer was in repair, I used a bootable clone of my hard drive to run my system on another computer (my wife’s old iBook), and although it was slow (it’s a G3 with 500 MHz), none of these problems occurred when I was using the same OS, and the same set of programs, on a different physical machine. So I think something is wrong with the machine itself, and unless we can pinpoint what’s wrong and fix it, I think the time has come—this being the fourth repair in 12 months, and the third in less than six weeks—to consider replacing the unit. …

I don’t meant to be picky or rude, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a professional computer of the PowerBook’s caliber, with a world-class operating system like OS X, to perform without these sorts of frequent, Windows-like glitches. I bought the AppleCare warranty so that I could depend on the functionality of this computer for at least three years, and yet here I am, halfway through the life of the warranty, bringing it in for the fourth time—and several of the very same problems remain unresolved from the first of those four repairs, back when the computer was barely six months old. (And in several cases, the problems actually started when it was only two or three months old, in March or April 2006.)

The full text of my letter, detailing all the problems, is here. A couple of them may seem like small potatoes, but remember the big picture: this computer hasn’t been working right — I mean really, entirely right — since, well, ever, or at least since around March 2006. (I bought it in January 2006.) And I’m sick of having it be gone for a week-and-a-half, only to come back half-fixed, if that. So I don’t think I’m being unreasonable here. I didn’t pay $2,500 for a top-of-the-line PowerBook that’s as buggy as a crap-ass Dell or Gateway, and I didn’t pay $350 for a warranty so they could not fix the bugs and glitches. If they can’t actually get my damn computer working properly, then I want a new one.

Anyway, suggestions are welcome.

P.S. If anyone reading this blog has any pull with Apple, and wants me to send them the referenced video clips and additional files, as well as the original version of the letter (with my address and phone number not redacted), just shoot me an e-mail at brendanloy [at] alumni.usc.edu. :)

I finally broke down and did it.

I bought into the hype, the slick advertising, and the amazing fervor that is the Apple Macintosh community.

Today, I went to the Knoxville Apple Store and picked up my brand new Apple MacBook Pro, 17″, 2.4GHz variety. I decided to go with the old style anti-glare finish on the screen, in lieu of the glossy (which is really pretty), and picked up a pile of software apps to run on this bad boy once I get a second to actually play around.

Right now, I’m feeling a bit lost with the controls, but I think it’ll be pretty smooth sailing for the most part. I don’t feel lost because anything is difficult to understand or hard to use, it’s just a new interface to which I’m not yet accustomed.

So, for you long time Mac users, what’s a good estimate of time for how long it will take me to feel completely at ease with the computer and all its differences from the Windows world?

Any killer apps that I simply can’t live without? I really like everything so far, and I suspect as soon as I get my AirPort Extreme hooked up and going, all will be awesomely wireless and fast.

The computer itself seems really speedy and slick. I like the size (considering it’s a 17 inch) and the weight isn’t at all as much as I had anticipated.

The guys at the Apple Store were excellent to work with, very helpful, and since I had well more equipment than I could reasonably navigate through the mall on my own accord, they grabbed a flat dolly and hauled everything to my truck for me.

Anyway, here I am, Mac. Impress me like you’re supposed to.

Hey, maybe I should start a wicked rumor…

Ok. I think I will.

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who’s been an employee of AT&T (and all its predecessor mobile-phone incarnations) for a long time, and he knows LOTS of people.

We had spoken just before the iPhone release a couple of weeks ago, and talked about the technology of the AT&T towers with EDGE (2.5G) and full-on 3G.

Today, we spoke of the iPhone again. This time, the 3G capability was discussed, in terms that made me actually think I should continue to wait to purchase the iPhone. From confidential sources, deep within the belly of the AT&T beast, it seems that a pre-Christmas, December 2007 release of the 3G enabled iPhone is an almost guarantee.

Don’t know if price point will change, or if they will have any added features beyond 3G, but this detail is a pretty big deal. I don’t think it’s going to be something that will be upgradeable for users of iPhone 1.0.

Anyway, take it for what it’s worth, but for me, I think I may be waiting a few more months before taking the iPhone plunge.

Heh. (Hat tip: Sully.)

That’s how many Apple sold on the device’s opening weekend. Wow.

In other news, the replacement for my broken AirPort Express is ready for pickup at the Knoxville Apple Store. Hurrah!

Why, just why in the world would anyone pay over retail price for an iPhone? Seriously. I decided to check out the eBay listings for the iPhone, and there are tons of them listed for sale, in lots from one to eight phones.

I also decided to check the Apple website, to check on availability of iPhones at the various Apple Stores across the nation. There were only a handful of stores nationwide that didn’t have them. All together, I counted 24 stores nationwide that were currently sold out. Of that number 18 were in California. The rest were in Las Vegas, Miami, Atlantic City, and Austin, Plano, and Southlake, Texas. Of those stores that were sold out, there were available phones in separate LA, Miami, and Austin stores.

So why, I ask you, would anyone in their right mind pay between $800.00-$5,000.00 each, when they could get them for $499/$599? Some folks clearly don’t get this whole supply/demand thing. Guess they thought it was another Playstation 3 or something.

Weird.

UPDATE Apparently the Knoxville Apple Store (or someone claiming to be the Knoxville Apple Store) is putting all of the “scalpers-to-be” in their place on Knoxville Craigslist.

Heh.

UPDATE by David K.
Then there is this nut-job who is hoping someone will opt for his $30,000-$50,000 auction for an iPhone including personally delivering it to your door within 16 hours of the auction ending. Um. Yeah. Anyone think that paying 50x the cost of it is worth getting one within 16 hours when there are still Apple Stores with them in stock and people selling it for overnight service to you for under $1000 if you really want to have it? Yeah me neither.

It seems the iPhone is pottymouth-friendly.

Also: Heh.

Here are my photos of the iPhone’s debut at the Knoxville Apple Store in West Town Mall.

My thoughts on the wee gadget? Overall, I agree with Dane: “It’s really rather addictively fun to play with. The touch screen thing is fantastic, beyond any other touch sensitive device I’ve ever used. Flicking around stuff is fun, and really fast and feels very natural.”

That opinion seemed to be shared by most everyone at the store; the atmosphere was really electric at the table where people were playing with the iPhones. One person after another expressed a mixture of delight, glee, stunned amazement, etc. at how awesome the little gizmo is. I must have heard some variation on the sentiment, “I really wish I could afford one of these,” a half-dozen times. (Clearly, I wasn’t the only person who showed up just to play with the iPhones even though I had no intention of buying one.)

Alas, the biggest sticking point for me all along — well, aside from the price, the fact that I’m under contract with Sprint (though I guess it’s possible to sell your contact), and the inability to use it as a modem — remains a sticking point: as good as the touch-sensitive keyboard is, and as quickly as you get better at using it after even a few minutes, I still don’t think it would ever become possible to type as fast as I can on a regular cell-phone keypad in T9w mode. Moreover, without tactile feedback, it almost certainly wouldn’t ever become possible to type without looking, which I do all the time on my current phone. If you’re accustomed to sending short text messages and writing brief e-mails from your phone while not doing anything else that you need to look at, this is not a big problem. If you’re accustomed to composing and publishing a dozen 256-character blog posts on your phone during the course of a football game you’re attending, it’s a somewhat more serious concern. :)

That said, the phone is so cool that it might very well, at some point, be worth the small sacrifice of dealing with the limitations imposed by the non-tactile virtual keyboard.

However, I don’t think I’ll ever get an iPhone unless and until it can be used as a modem. The slowness of typing with the virtual keyboard — this short post took a good 10 minutes to type (though I’m sure I’d get somewhat faster with time) — only reinforces the importance of being able to still use my laptop for blogging, e-mail, etc., while I’m on the go and it’s convenient to do so. No way does the iPhone’s own web access, while excellent for a phone, totally replace that. In other words, at least for a power user, the iPhone does not “remove the need to carry around your whole computer” in all circumstances. In some circumstances, yes, but not all. Phone-as-modem must be added at some point, or the iPhone will not be a viable option for me. And I’m not alone. A very quick search found tons of bloggers complaining about the same issue. See, for example, this post: “Because the iPhone currently can’t be used as a USB modem, it is useless for me. Sure, the video and audio features are cool. Sure, the user interface makes me drool with envy. But all that can’t hold a candle to letting me work when I’m out in the boonies. Staying connected means more than just accessing the Internet from my phone. I need a phone that can get my laptop online as well.” This is not a trivial issue, and no rationalization regarding the “target audience” can mask the fact that a non-negligible segment of potential users will be unable to seriously consider buying an iPhone until this feature is added. Its absence is, simply put, a total deal-breaker for many people. Are you listening, Apple?

I had a few other pet peeves as I played with the phone, which I’ll talk about after the jump. (Don’t get me wrong — I really like the thing, and most of these gripes are admittedly nitpicky. But you already know the good stuff, as it’s been widely publicized, so I’m trying to add something new to the discussion by mentioning these pet peeves.)

First, though, here’s a rather lengthy video of me playing with an iPhone. To be honest, I’m not sure if it will be of much interest, but for those who want to get a feel for what it’s like… well, I’d suggest you just go to an Apple Store and see for yourself :), but if you don’t want to do that, you can watch my video. Around 9 minutes and 15 seconds in, you can see me log into the WordPress interface (I excluded the part where I enter my password, obviously) and type up a post, so any potential WP-using iPhone bloggers can get a sense of what it would be like to blog via iPhone. Enjoy!

source file

NOTE: My typing speed in this video is a bit slower than my typing speed when using the iPhone normally. I was slowed down by the unnatural angle at which I had to stand and hold the thing in order to keep it on camera.

Speaking of video clips, in the post below, you can view my footage of the Apple Store opening the doors at 6:00 PM.

Anyway, like I said, after the jump, my pet peeves. :)

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The clock has just struck 6:00 PM in San Francisco, where Gizmodo is livecasting the iPhone’s debut:

UPDATE: Meanwhile, here’s my video of the Apple Store at West Town Mall in Knoxville opening its doors just over three hours ago:

The pregnant wife calls. :) Liveblog over, but stay tuned for more photos and observations later.