Apple to iPhone 4 Owners: Learn to Hold your iPhones in a Different Way.

Apparently, after hearing about the iPhone 4 antenna problem, here’s what Steve Jobs told a poor soul who emailed him detailing the problem: “It’s not a big issue.” He also told another one: “Just avoid holding it in that way.”

Not a big issue? Give me a break.

Later, after acknowledging the case, the company told Engadget:

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

It’s now official folks, if you get an iPhone 4, you’ll have to get used to holding it in a different way, even though Apple can’t even do it right themselves:


Sad Keanu Meme Goes Charitable with kea.nu

If you’ve heard the phrase “sad Keanu,” it’s probably been in the past month, and you’ve also probably also seen a photograph of the actor looking very melancholy as he eats a sandwich all by himself. And now since this is just the sort of image that the photoshop crowd craves, Keanu’s sad a lot now. He’s sad about being eaten by a dinosaur. He’s sad in a cantina. And of course he’s sad that there’s no Flash on the iPhone.

Such is the life of a meme, this one having gotten its start on Reddit in early June. One tumblr site, sadkeanu.com, has already gotten DMCAed by the paparazzi agency that first published the picture (a great example of the little guy not having the resources to assert a fair use defense).

However, one clever journalist has devised a way to use the meme for a good cause – generating money for the charity Stand Up to Cancer. It’s particularly fitting since Keanu himself is actively involved in promoting cancer research. The website is kea.nu, and it’s a URL shortener – so for example, if you want to link here to geeksaresexy, you can just go to kea.nu/gas. Someone visiting your link will get an ad first, but hey, 100% of the proceeds from that ad are going to help find a cure for cancer. Plus if you’re worried about your traffic, the URL is redirected after a couple of weeks. And don’t worry, no intellectual property issues here, since the sad Keanu on the site is a drawing (pictured here) created by a Reddit user.

So go forth and cheer up Keanu with shortened URLs! Here’s one for you, to start: kea.nu/1xf

New iPhone 4 Antenna Design Not So Handy

If you’re having reception problems with your new iPhone 4, the answer could be in the palm of your hand — literally.

It’s now looking suspiciously like the design of the new model means the antenna is compromised when the phone is held in the hand. That’s because rather than being a small block unit, the antenna is actually made of the metal frame surrounding the phone.

Widespread reports suggest that there is a clear pattern of calls being dropped, or signal strength degrading when the phone is in the hand, as opposed to being laid flat. It’s also apparent that the specific problem is the bottom left hand corner of the device (which raises the question of whether left-handed people and right-handed people are suffering equally).

The problem appears not to be that the line of “sight” is blocked, but rather than the antenna is actually being touched. It appears this means that some of the energy of the antenna is converted into heat on the skin, thus weakening the signal.

Given that it seems inconceivable that such an issue wouldn’t be picked up in the manufacturing and testing process, there appear to be a couple of possible explanations. One is that the actual effect is exaggerated by a bug in the way the phone displays signal strength. Another is that the effect is minimal and only makes a serious difference in areas which already have weak reception.

Why I’m Not Standing With the iPhone Crowd

Today, I am not standing in line anywhere for an iPhone. It’s expected to be close to 100F here in North Carolina, and even though I’m sans child, I have no inclination to do such a thing, nor do I harbor feelings of jealousy against the people who have ordered and can afford these new iPhones. I don’t have one, haven’t had one, even though I’ve been an Apple user for the better part of my lifetime.

Which is not to say that the iPhone 4G isn’t an amazing gadget (contrary to what some might say for a good headline) and, again, will likely change the face of technology. Just that it isn’t for me.

I’ve always been a Mac loyalist. I wrote my first full length novel on a strawberry iMac, and have been slowly working to convert my family and friends to the Mac platform for years. I’ve endured crappy WoW performance from the beginning, because I love my Mac. I’ve named every single one of my computers, and couldn’t get half my work done if Scrivener didn’t exist.

But I can’t help but feel as if Apple has changed since I started out with my first little computer. I mean, in college, my computer wasn’t compatible with anything. Any term paper I wrote had to be emailed, then opened in the computer lab, then formatted correctly for printing. I can’t tell you how many hours of my life I wasted trying to convert footnotes from AppleWorks to MS Word.

I’m not saying I’m a purist, exactly. But the market for iPhones is not the average lifelong Mac user, I don’t think. It’s not a matter of sour grapes, but it’s a matter of observation. The iPhone has become a status symbol, a mark of techworthiness (or not… there are plenty of iPhone users I’ve encountered who have no idea how to use the device). Yes, there are all kinds of reasons for owning an iPod, but the mania surrounding the whole new release just baffles me and, honestly, feels a bit surreal from my perspective. The iPhone was Apple’s ticket to the cool club, sure. But at what cost?

Each of my Macs has run for years. The MacBook I currently have is over three years old. For me, it’s about computers that last, not about phones and gadgets that expire and become obsolete of their own devising. Sure, the iPhone is a magnificent product—my husband owns one, so I know my way around it if I have to.

I guess what gets under my skin is that Apple, which once branded itself on being unique, has lost touch with that. Sure, they’re a business. They’re rolling in the dough. They’re far more successful than they were ten years ago when I was banging out term papers in my iBook (the computer, not the iPad application). And I’m glad for them, absolutely. They’ve changed and, judging by the headlines across the Web today, they are at last dominating the tech scene. Any company wants to be that successful, and they are certainly the envy of the industry.

It just seems a shame that some of us way early adopters are left out of the shuffle. You know, the writers, musicians and artists who had the first iTunes, and got the company to the point where it could make something as magnificent as the iPhone. Who scraped together every last penny to buy a more expensive computer when we could have gone with a Dell.

Coupled with their AT&T contracts in the US, their less than stellar network issues, and high prices, even though my contract on my crappy phone is running out soon, I’ve really got no interest in a 4G, sadly. I guess I’m just not in the cool club anymore.

I bet the lines for the Droid phones are a hell of a lot shorter, too.

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The Eclipse of Mars [Optical Illusion]

After posting about the crazy diamonds optical illusion yesterday, GaS reader Aaron pointed me to a few more interesting illusions, including one called “The Eclipse of Mars”, which I thought was really cool. Check it out:

Stare at the white dot in the centre of the red circle. The longer – the better (two minutes and you’ll get a much stronger effect). Always try to keep focused on the white dot. It’ll be worth it.

Soon after starting, you’ll start to see a thin rim of light around the edge. Don’t stop staring though yet! Wait another minute – keeping your head perfectly still.

Once you’ve done this, very slowly – move your head backwards – making sure to keep your eyes focused on the dot at all times. The circle’s rim will glow brilliantly with true Cyan! Keep on moving your head slowly backwards, and witness the Eclipse of Mars!.

[Via]