Greg In The Desert

Monday was the big day when Apple had the their annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) and made some hardware and software announcements. Though there were a number of new and expected things I was most interested in the new iPhone.

The new iPhone 3GS doesn’t look different from the old iPhone 3G except there’s an “S” added to it’s name to denote speed. This is not really all new phone but an improvement to the current phone model:

• Faster processor
• More memory
• 3 Megapixel camera with autofocus
• Video Recording
• Includes a compass

The two features that prompted me to buy the iPhone 3Gs is the 32GB of memory (over the 16GB in my iPhone 2G) and the addition of the compass.

There has been some controversy for existing owners of the iPhone 3G and their inability to get the subsidized price of $300 off the list price ($499 for 8GB, $599 for 16GB, or $699 for 32GB. I actually blame Apple for this, they should have announced the normal price for the iPhone 3GS then noted that carries may offer subsides prices. AT&T is doing nothing different with the iPhone in terms of free upgrades to phones that they would do with any other phone. I do agree that the new iPhone models are expensive without the subsidies.

I can’t complain about AT&T too much. I get the subsided price for the iPhone 3GS but I did pay $599 for my iPhone 2G so AT&T never subsided me in the first place. AT&T recently placed a new tower near my house so I am no longer in a cell signal black hole. I get a full 5 bars at my house all the time. Clearly they are working on improving their coverage.

The other complaints about AT&T is their inability to provide multi-media messaging service (MMS) and using the iPhone as a modem (tethering) when the new iPhone launches. It’s pretty amazing that AT&T can’t get their act together in time and clearly aren’t ready to handle dealing with the type of users that use the iPhone.

I pre-ordered my phone through Apple’s well done iPhone ordering site. I’m thrilled that Apple promises delivery of the new iPhone on Friday June 19th, the day of launch. I don’t have to stand at in any lines and I’m guaranteed a device.

Hardware aside, the big improvements will be with the software. iPhone OS 3.0 is to be released on the same day the new hardware launches and has more improvements that any new hardware. It works on older iPhones and will be free. The Golden Masters have already leaked onto the internet and the reviews have been good so far.

Ed Grothus, proprietor of the os Alamos Sales Company most commonly known as The Black Hole has died today.

Ed Grothus worked at Los Alamos National Labs building nuclear bombs, quitting that job and becoming a anit-nucelar activist and then founding the The Black Hole. The Black Hole is a store which has military surplus and salvage equipment from the Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico. The Black Hole web site says they are a recycler of nuclear waste. The Black Hole is famous for providing movie props and materials for artists.

Ed was the subject of three documentaries: Atomic Ed & The Black Hole, Los Alamos und die Erben Der Bombe and Laboratory Conditions. He also received various awards.

There is a video on YouTube entitled The Black Hole in which Ed tells his story.

Well, I’m close to being in a black hole. I checked out AT&T’s coverage map for my house (which I blurred to protect my privacy) and you can see that just around my house, the signal strength is “moderate”. Which to me means almost none since moderate is the highest level just above No Coverage. I can’t even get my K750i to roam on Cingular/AT&T’s network.

Even T-Mobile’s coverage map shows less than optimal coverage at my house.

Boo Who. No iPhone for me till this is better. At least I have Transformers to look forward to.

Jerry Seeger is shooting a movie in New Mexico. He has been posting about it and has some interesting reading about his various scouting trips around the state. He’s also a fellow Mac user!

The Black Hole is located in Los Alamos, New Mexico, birthplace of the atomic bomb and still big in the devastating explosion business. And that’s how many of the folks see it up there – as a business. That pisses off Ed. He has been working long and hard protesting the activities at the Los Alamos Lab and the cavalier attitude that many of the employees take there. He has also been profiting off the Lab at the same time. Ed is a junk dealer, but oh, the junk.