Apple's Reputation Carries it Through

I was reading an article on how some people are having problems activating their iPhones and one quote stood out to me. It said "Johnson said he was happy with the iPhone and credited Apple for acknowledging the problem. But he expressed concerned about the type of service he would get from AT&T in the future". This is a good example of how Apple has built its reputation on trust that it would putout quality products and have good service. So much so that people are willing to give them credit for just acknowledging a problem while they put blame on Apple's partners instead.

For the record, Nomad and I had no problems at all activating our iPhones.

So when is a crime not a crime?

Sigh.

President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis ''Scooter'' Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak investigation Monday, delivering a political thunderbolt in the highly charged criminal case. Bush said the sentence was just too harsh.

Bush's move came just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. That meant Libby was likely to have to report soon, and it put new pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.

''I respect the jury's verdict,'' Bush said in a statement. ''But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.''

Honestly, I still support the War, I still support Afghanistan, I opposed the immigration bill but respected GWB's stand. But this - while predictable and the right of the president - I find completely reprehensible.

OK, now all of the Libby supporters can tell me how this is morally right, despite all of our condemnations of Bill Clinton for doing the same thing.

iPhone Sales Reach Half a Million

CNN is reporting that Apple/AT&T have sold 500,000 iPhones since 6pm Friday. While nearly all of the AT&T wireless stores are out of iPhones, many Apple Stores still have them in stock. Nomad and I found this out on Sunday and are now both proud owners of the 8GB iPhone. Thankfully, I was out of contract with my existing service provider, so I can cancel my existing service any time I want.

Yes, I am weak... But iPhone happy!

Despite my protestations to the contrary, after the news that it was possible to get an iPhone without a contract, I drove up to my local Apple Store and purchased an iPhone. So far, the thing has been great and works as advertised. There have been a few minor gotchas: (1) not every app changes orientation when you twist the iPhone, (2) my RF adapter for my car is apparently not iPhone-compatible despite using the iPod connector, and (3) it is still AT&T. But that being said, there have been lots of nice surprises too: (1) the web browser is so much better than the Sidekick or any PalmOS browser I have used, (2) the animations are so much better than expected, and (3) it reads PDF documents cleanly from the Web and e-mail.

Here are some pictures comparing the Sidekick III and the Apple iPhone, viewing Mod-Blog.

First gas price shot from my iphone

First gas price shot from my iphone
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Gas Prices holding steady

Gas Prices holding steady
Originally uploaded by crchair

You *DON'T* need a contract to buy an iPhone!

Both Apple and AT+T are advertising 2 year contracts for the iPhone. What some customers with poor credit are discovering, however, is that you can get a contract-free iPhone if you ask the right way! Suddenly, the iPhone becomes a possibility for me. Hmm...

Because to those with BAD CREDIT, WORSE CREDIT, OR NO CREDIT AT ALL!!! AT+T was offering buyers a slightly more expensive month-by-month payment plan with no strings on cancellation. To activate the iPhone, AT+T provided these customers with a special code to enter during iTunes setup, bypassing the standard subscription selection.

Very, very interesting. I was burned badly enough by Cingular in the past that I will not tether myself to them with a 2 year contract. But if I could go month-by-month, I might be willing to take the risk since I doubt there would be a problem reselling an iPhone on eBay.