Just over a month ago, the iPhone 4 was officially announced.  Since its release, there have been complaints about the functionality of the new antenna design.  After telling people they were simply holding it wrong, and that it was partially a software issue, Apple held a press conference today to make an official statement on the issue, starting with this:

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I remember months ago reading about the new Star Wars line that Adidas was coming out with. They had shoes, shirts, hoodies, and a few other things that I can’t remember, but from what I saw, I liked it.

On June 4th they released the, what I think is the first, commercial for the line. It makes perfect sense seeing that the World Cup 2010 is just a few days away. Since I wasn’t paying attention, I caught the video today, and I really liked it. I loved seeing Daft Punk, and the bit with David Beckham and Greedo was hilarious. It puts a new twist on the whole ‘Han shot first‘ bit. There were loads of other celebs in there as well, so have fun playing ‘Where’s Waldo’.

So check it out below, and let us know what you thought!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zd_khk6zXo&feature=player_embedded#!

- Me

Past iPhones have been unable to access T-Mobile’s 3G network due to a difference in frequencies between AT&T and T-Mobile, AT&T using the 1900MHz frequency, and T-Mobile using the 1700/2100MHz frequencies.  Since AT&T uses the 1900MHz frequency for 3G, this is what iPhone’s have been manufactured with the ability to support, meaning that an unlocked iPhone operating on T-Mobile’s network only had access to EDGE speeds.  The new iPhone 4, however, may be able to bravely go where no iPhone has gone before: T-Mobile 3G.

How is this possible if the frequencies are different, you ask?  While looking through the technical specifications of the iPhone 4, I found that it supports Quad-Band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA ranges (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz).  Previously, that “2100 MHz” was not included in the list of supported frequencies.  Now, with its inclusion, my limited technical knowledge assumes that the iPhone 4 is capable of unlocking and jumping to T-Mobile while retaining full speed functionality.

If I am incorrect, please comment and let me know, citing some sort of documentation or factoid proving me wrong.  Thanks in advance.

-[insert T-MOBILE FAN NERDGASM here]

WWDC has just ended, and the announcements have been truly exciting.  Everyone knew the new iPhone would be announced and displayed today, and because of the recent leaks, most people knew what to expect.  That didn’t make it any less enjoyable.  Before we get into the iPhone announcement, however, let’s go over some of the lead-in announcements that deserve to be spotlighted.

First off, Netflix is coming to the iPhone!

Not only is Netflix coming to the iPhone, but it comes with the ability to continue streaming from one device to another.  For example, if you’re watching The Matrix: Reloaded (I’m not one to judge) on your iPad, and your battery dies, you can resume streaming on your iPhone from where you left off!

There were no specific mentions of whether the streaming applied to other Netflix streaming devices, such as the Xbox 360.

Another fantastic (for some) announcement was from Zynga, creators of Farmville (and other Facebook games).  They are releasing a game called “Farming,” which syncs to your Farmville game and allows you to farm on the go.

“Withering crop push notifications” are included.

Activision came on and demoed their new Guitar Hero for the iPhone.  It sports a new user interface to make playing on the small device more entertaining and accurate with the introduction of a new strumming and tapping mechanism.

And now we get to the real reason any of us care about today’s event: the iPhone.  If you’ve followed the leaked images and specifications, you know what’s coming:

According to Steve, the new iPhone is 9.3mm thick, which brings it in at 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS, and according to him, makes it the “thinnest smartphone on the planet.”   Additionally, it sports a glass back, a front facing camera, an improved back camera with LED flash, and more!

Many people have cited the strange breaks around the border of the phone as proof that it could not be the final design, as it seemed unfinished.  However, it turns out that the band wrapping around the phone is intentional, as it serves as part of the antenna system, something Steve claims “has never been done before.”

Now for the display, which he is calling the “Retina Display.”  The Retina Display provides a resolution of 326 pixels per inch.  The human retina, according to Steve’s slide, can only see up to 300 pixels per inch.  This creates a screen image that is better than we could ever hope to truly see.

The iPhone display comes in at 3.5″, 960×640 pixels, 326 pixels per inch, an 800:1 contrast ratio, and increased viewing angle and color via IPS, which Steve claims is “Quite a bit better than OLED.”

Next, we see the guts of the iPhone, powered by the A4 processor!

Because of the increased battery size and reduced power consumption of the A4 processor, battery life estimates have been extended.  The new iPhone will provide 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 300 hours of standby.

Basic specs reveal that the iPhone 4 will have up to 32GB of storage, quad-band HSDPA, dual mic noise supression, 802.11n WiFi, and more.

A new hardware element being introduced is a 3-axis gyroscope which is tied into the accelerometer and compass for six axis, which he claims is “perfect for gaming.”

Next up is the improved back camera.  The MP has been increased from 3 to 5, but it is joined now with a backside illuminated sensor to improve low light photography.  The camera upgrades include a 5x digital zoom, tap to focus, and the LED flash.

A long-awaited announcement is the ability to record HD video, at 720p at 30fps!  The LED flash can stay on for recording, and “one click sharing” is included as well!  ”You can record, edit, and then with a few taps, email it right on the phone.”

For video editing, iMovie for the iPhone has been announced, providing a great deal of editing options and flexibility.

Next up is iPhone OS 4, “The most advanced mobile operating system in the world.”  Don’t get too comfortable with “iPhone OS 4,” though, because it’s being renamed to “iOS 4.”  With iOS 4 we are treated to a brief summary of the new software features, such as multitasking, unified inbox, and folders.

Next, some more detail about enterprise functionality.

For search options, this has been predicted, but still comes as a shock: Microsoft’s Bing will be included as a search provider, alongside Yahoo! and Google.

iBooks has been brought to the iPhone now, with wireless downloading of books to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.  A single purchase can be automatically downloaded to all three devices at once.  iBooks automatically syncs your place in any book, including all bookmarks and all notes.

Joining iTunes and the App Store is the iBookstore for purchase and downloading of iBooks.

iAds makes its debut with a demo page and details.  If I were a developer, this is something I’d be very happy and excited about.

With his trademark “One more thing…” tease, Steve presents us with video calling using the front-facing camera!

The feature is called “FaceTime.”  It will only work between two iPhone 4′s, and it will only work over WiFi due to carrier limitations.  No setup is required, it comes native and ready to go in both portrait and landscape modes.  The video being sent can also be flipped to the rear camera, so they can see what you see!

One of the video advertisements being run shows two individuals speaking over iPhone 4 Facetime using sign language, which is really a fantastic thing.

Summarizing FaceTime:

And now, pricing!  There will be four flavors released: Black 16GB, White 16GB, Black 32GB, and White 32GB.  The 16GB runs for $199 and the 32GB runs for $299 (both prices are with contracts, I assume).  Also, AT&T has agreed to allow all customers with upgrade eligibility coming up some time in 2010 to be immediately eligible for the upgrade pricing for iPhone 4!

When does all of this become available to you, the consumer?  Preorders start June 15th for availability June 24th.  It’s so close I can taste it!  It tastes good.

iOS4 will be a free upgrade for all devices, INCLUDING the iPod Touch!  Previously, iPod Touch owners had to pay for the upgrade, but this has been dropped.  The iOS4 update will be available June 21st, for iPhone 3G (only certain features will be supported), iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch (excluding first generation).

I need two of the Black 32GB iPhone 4′s.  I am willing to go out of my comfort zone for a pair of these devices.

Please.

-[insert I'LL DO ANYTHING (ANYTHING) FOR THIS NEW IPHONE! here]

Having had a Facebook account for a few years now, and in the recent year started to use it more, I’m really starting to get sick of it. I originally joined Facebook to make contact with friends I went to school with, and wanted something more mature than shitty Myspace. Myspace was filled with all of those stupid glittery .gif comments, so much spam, and nasty dudes trying to get their dicks wet. No thank you.

My initial impression of Facebook was positive. It was clean, I didn’t have to worry about decorating my profile so I could look cool, and it was less buggy. As time went on, Facebook started to become the same as other social networking sites. Random friend requests, shitty privacy policies, spam, and people having to change their passwords because their accounts were compromised. On the privacy issue, I’ve always had mine set to “friends only.” All of my information is “friends only” and so are my pictures. I value my privacy, and it is so stupid that Facebook makes it such an ordeal to ensure that I have the kind of privacy I want. I don’t want my pictures or information sold to third parties, nor do I want creepy people I don’t know looking at pictures of my daughter. It shouldn’t have to be this constant thing, and at times I have thought about cancelling my Facebook account.

The one thing that is really pushing me towards that decision is this: Apps. I am so sick and fucking tired of logging on only for my friend feed to be filled with status updates from apps. Sick. Of. It. To make matters worse, I then have to sift through and see all these posts of YouTube videos, what groups/pages people are ‘Liking’ and quiz results. I’m almost 28. Does it look like I give a rats ass about what Disney Princess you are? FUCK NO! I enjoy having fun on the internet as much as the next individual, and I will admit that I have played some of the games in the past, used some of the other apps, and have even done some of the quizzes when I’ve been incredibly bored… but here is what makes me different than the 100+ people on my page: I don’t publish it to my profile.  (Note: All images of FB posts are taken from my actual feed, but I removed the names to protect the privacy of my friends.)

It would be incredibly hypocritical of me to flood my friends feeds with my stupid shit, and then rant and rave about what they do. I make a conscious effort to make sure that the only things on my status are things I want up there. I don’t have a tab on my profile for boxes or other crap, I have only posted a YouTube video maybe once (and it was because I genuinely wanted to share it with people rather than say “HEY! Look at what I’m watching!!!11eleven!!”), and I don’t go and join all of these groups named shit like “Ever have a one night stand and then get some burly crotch itch?”

I went through my feed, and while I only counted how many application statuses I saw, it doesn’t include the 20+ YouTube video posts, the numerous “like” shit, and other annoying crap. So, here is what I counted so far:

Within the past 12 hours

Castle Age – 3 posts

Country Life – 1 post

Fish World – 11 (10 posts were straight in a row)

FishVille – 2 posts

Vampire Wars – 3 posts in a row

Zombie Farm – 1 post

Total posts in a 12 hour timespan: 21

I went further back and counted this:

From 5 to 8 PM

Castle Age – 1 post

Family Feud – 2 posts in a row

Fish World – 15 posts in a row

Happy Pets – 1 post

My City Life – 1 post

Save Shelter Dogs & Puppies – 2 posts in a row

Vampire Wars – 2 posts in a row

Zombie Farm – 3 posts in a row

Total posts in a 3 hour timespan: 27

So, in 15 hours, my friend feed was bombarded with 48 goddamn app spam posts. Ridiculous! I’ve had to delete a massive amount of people before due to privacy and not being able to trust them, so it’s really sad where I’m having to consider removing people (some who are yeeeaaarrrss older than myself) because of stupid childish crap. Maybe I’m just getting old, or maybe it’s because I joined Facebook to stay in contact with people I cared to associate with, not to constantly read shit about how you cleaned your fictional fish tank, but regardless it has to stop. Facebook should make it to where people can select which apps they want to see in their friend feed, because at this point the only option I have is to hide certain people and that includes every single little thing they post – I’ve already had to do that to two people already because I don’t care about their drama.

I just feel like I shouldn’t have to make decisions like ‘do I hide this person entirely, or do I let them stay and get annoyed by their shit?’ or ‘do I delete the person from my profile, and have to deal with drama?’ My 10 year class reunion is coming up this Fall, and the last thing I want to have to deal with is somebody coming up to me asking “Hey! Why did you remove me from Facebook?” because I can assure you, it would happen. If I were still in high school, OK, I could see this app behavior to be normal. If I were like 8-10 years younger, OK, still same age group, still immature. However, on the 29th of this month, I will be 2 years away from 30, so shouldn’t my peers have matured as well? I guess not.

If any of my friends read this, in which I sincerely doubt they will, but just in case, I’m not trying to be mean, I’m not trying to call you out, I’m just simply saying that if you want to play games, I don’t want to have to fucking read it because I don’t care. If you want to do a quiz, I don’t give a shit about the result, and do you really want every single person to know how bitter some of you can be with the groups you ‘like?’

The odds of me deleting my Facebook are slim to none because at the end of the day, there are some friends on there, friends I’ve had since I was 6, that I want to keep in contact with. Sometimes phone or email doesn’t always work because they live in different time zones, have families, work, and are busy. Facebook allows me to stay connected with them without having to be a bother, so I like that. I’m just at my wits end because as each day goes by, it’s just keeps getting worse. So, Internetz, please…. stop the insanity!

- Me

For the past couple of days, Twitter has been…unreliable. Sure we’ve had problems with Twitter in the past, and feel like the Fail Whale is a part of the family, but it’s getting to be a bit too much.

Last night the dreaded Fail Whale started making multiple appearances on peoples screens, when trying to tweet error messages were popping up claiming server and internal errors, and right now my Twitter stream went over a half hour without any updates coming through. Some of you might be thinking that my concern over 30 minutes of no activity is a little silly, but when I follow hundreds of people and everything has suddenly gone silent…. one begins to wonder if they are all alone out there on the internet.

Some are blaming the sudden increase in problems on the fact that Twitter recently said they changed their algorithm in which Trending Topics are chosen, due to the fact that Justin Bieber (just putting his name on our site makes me want to rinse my eyes out with bleach) was constantly up there, angering those who aren’t pedophiles and vapid teeny-boppers. Apparently Twitter angered the jail-bait natives, and they have been doing everything they can to get his name back up there, like changing his name to Bustin Jieber. Regardless, it needs to stop.

The stupid children doing this need to just suck it up because the adults are the majority in this. Twitter wasn’t created so that we had to deal with looking at the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and all of that other shit that has no talent. Twitter had other intentions, and it needs to have awesome things like Star Wars, Tool, The Tudors, Big Bang Theory, and others up there. It was a little late of Twitter to finally do something about Justin Bieber, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction, and hopefully they get their shit together because I’m tired of my Twitter going down *grumble grumble*.

- Me

I use Google Voice.  I think it’s fantastic.  I especially love how it will do a voice to text translation of voicemails and send an email transcript.  I do not love it for its accuracy.  On the contrary, I love it for its complete inaccuracy and butchery of the English language.  Allow me to demonstrate:

I have a few voicemail transcripts that are so sufficiently garbled that they can’t help but protect the identity of the caller, as well as the content of the message.

Well, Christopher Hi, this is mom.  Don’t worry about it.  Pinebelt question and I have some fish if you want.  Fisherman make you some fish, but I didn’t include and just stop by and get some check in with me if you can for the rest of us and Hey Kit, with invite if you get to.  So I’ll make your fish and if you want creation away but purchasing tickets.  If you don’t want fish said, Go ahead and get that you can and bring it to me so if you have any questions give me a call right now.  I’m on my lunch for the next, probably, 2025.  I was just trying to pick up stuff on the floor.  Yes, this is of.  Anyway, I’ll talk to you later.  Love you bye.

Yeah.  Fisherman make you some fish.

Good Morning.  This is Jonathan frame all calling.  I have been paying well.  Anyway, I’m just calling to let you know.  Instead 17.  Thank you.  8.  They’re gonna be going to do today, so how.  You know, maybe we can meet on those, I can give you the keys with the house and the contract, so if so you know if you wanna move everything Ireland you know it has been some of his you know you have the key.  Anyway, I’m in town and they just give me a buzz.  Alright.  Thank you and I will talk to you.

Her name isn’t Jonathan, by any stretch.

Yeah, Hello yeah i was just gonna ask you.  I forgot to ask you if you guys are they got you a call at the or.  I’ve got to call at one of them.  First reading the shoes at the runs just individual and doesn’t take one of them committee.  If it if you guys don’t have her call it.  I was just use the one, this is of it and you should give me a call.  Let me know please.  Bye.

I stopped reading shoes ages ago.

If you could just give me a call.  I have to step in fact, at this it is not working.  Give me a call please.  His with you.

His most certainly is not with me.

I’m calling from Xbox Customer Support.  In regards to the she, Your have and with the problem.  Vermont tonight dates you’re not there when you can please give us a call back number, 1.  For my xbox with your Reference Number want 120-4283 Staffing for further assistance.  Thank you.  Talk to you soon.  X box and have a good day.

I’ve never been to Vermont.

I’m xbox Support.  And apart.  And I guess you had a couple of them on getting less you’re not available.  Any to please give us a call back at 1 800 For my xbox with your reference number one on your own twine 842-8313 For further assistance.  Thank you purchasing X box and have a good day.

Wow, the sentient essence of Xbox Support itself called me.  I’m honored.

I love Google Voice.

Yesterday, my mom bought a portable hard drive to store all of her documents, photos, videos, etc.  She wanted to be able to take all of her files with her wherever she went.  She ended up getting the Seagate FreeAgent Go 500GB external portable USB hard drive for $119.99, a great deal for 500gb of portable storage.

The great thing about the small portable USB hard drives is that they don’t require an additional power source; they power themselves from the laptop.  This means you can access your portable hard drive wherever you are, even if there’s no outlet nearby.

It’s a great little hard drive, about 1/3rd the size of a small paperback book.  If you need to have portable access to a large quantity of files, this is the kind of thing you need.

-Because I said so

Many of you know that Chris and I both have iPhones. Both of ours are jailbroken, but mine is unlocked since I use it on T-Mobile.

Looking through Icy a week or two ago, I saw some ringtones of commercial jingles. I saw that the two packs contained the jingles to Fanta, Mentos, Hershey’s, K9 Advantix, Geico, Old Spice, and Snickers  so I downloaded both packs. Chris had to wake up early the following morning so I wanted to pick something so annoying, you couldn’t imagine being able to fall asleep.

Guess what I picked?

- She Who Has The Last Word

(PS – I’d like to add that the alarm goes off twice in the morning, once at 6:00 and again at 6:15, so we get a double dose of freshness 6 days a week!)

Last night while I was in bed with Chris, I saw people talking on Twitter about Google owning Microsoft. (Just for future reference, if you ever see me use the word “owning”, I mean to own at like a video game, not own as in purchase or obtain.)

I clicked on the links to see what all the fuss is about, and boy did Google take a big fat dump on Microsoft. They announced that they are coming out with their own OS (operating system) and it should be coming out on netbooks in the second half of 2010. We are already in July, so that gives us a minimum of 12 months before this Google Chrome OS should be launched.

Google Chrome OS will be an “open source, lightweight operating system“ and that later on this year, they will open-source it’s code. Google says they’re “already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.”

People are heavily betting that the open source code is released right around the same time, if not the same day, that Windows 7 is released.

For more on the Google article, please check it out here on their official blog. More details are given, and I found it to be a fascinating read.

My question to you, readers, is this: How do you feel about the new Google OS? Are you willing to give it a shot, or are your hearts already set on Windows 7? If so, why? If not, then what features would you like to see Google Chrome OS have?

- She Who Has The Last Word