Apple may not feel like you’re ready to take advantage of Google Voice, but luckily Jobs and his legion can’t lock you out of every potential way to access the service. (Yet.) Here are three paths to GV you can use today, no permission needed from the Applelord.
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AppleCare Is An Extended Warranty Worth Buying
By 8.11.09
I asked Apple this morning to replace my broken laptop now that they’ve reintroduced the anti-glare option on their 15″ MacBook Pros. Apple agreed, and soon a new laptop will leave China destined for my apartment. This isn’t the first laptop Apple sent me this month. It’s the second. Here’s why…
Is The FCC's iPhone Investigation Really About Number Portability?
By 8.6.09
There’s been a lot of talk online the past week about extending the principal of network neutrality to wireless networks, which may be partly why the FCC has asked Apple, Google, and AT&T to answer some questions about the rejected Google Voice iPhone app. Todd Barr at Bandwidth.com thinks that the reason may actually have to do with the concept of number portability.
By 8.5.09
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Apple censored a dictionary app, forcing the developers to remove listings to “cock,” “ass,” and other words that make fifth graders giggle, before it allowed it to go up on the App Store. Ninjawords is now available (with those entries excised) but has a 17+ rating. [Engadget]
Apple Bans Bushel Of Spam Apps
By 8.4.09
Apple has shaken the App Store tree until several hundred questionable, over-priced apps that drew customer complaints have fallen off the branches.
iPod Shuffle And Your Sweat Don't Mix
By 8.3.09
Reader Michael writes to let us know that the latest iPod shuffle, an mp3 player whose small size makes it an attractive exercise companion, tends to break when used as an exercise companion.
FCC Asks Apple, AT&T To Explain Why They Rejected Google Voice App
By 8.1.09
Apple (and AT&T) may have finally pushed too far with this week’s rejection of the Google Voice App from the iPhone App Store, for no reason other than it “duplicated functionality” already offered—for a price—by AT&T. According to mocoNews, the FCC has asked Apple and AT&T to provide answers about how apps are approved, why they’re denied, and particularly how much say AT&T has over things iPhone-related.
Apple Blames Jailbreaking For Recent AT&T Visual Voicemail Outages
By 7.31.09
Apple’s not through with their blitz against jailbreaking, with this newly updated support doc that says, among other things, that the recent Visual Voicemail outages from AT&T were caused by—and happened to—hacked iPhones.
Apple Sells Old Laptop, Wants Customer To Pay To Fix Problem
By 7.30.09
Will thought he was buying the newest MacBook Pro model—that’s what it said on the box and on the receipt. After he’d set it up, he discovered it was a previous model, so he took it back to the glass box Apple Store on Fifth Ave in NYC to get the version he paid for. Now Apple wants him to pay $100 to transfer his data over to the new laptop. But hey, he shouldn’t complain, because they’re “waiving” the restocking fee!
Who Killed The Google Voice iPhone Application?
By 7.28.09
You can download a mobile Google Voice application for Blackberry or Android, but not for the iPhone. Apple rejected Google’s official application, and has been removing other apps using Google Voice functionality from the App Store. Now, why would they do such a thing? You know the answer. AT&T told them to.
Microsoft "Laptop Hunters" Ads Changed To Omit Apple Prices
By 7.24.09
Microsoft has changed their latest “Laptop Hunters” ad after a complaint from Apple that the Mac prices cited in the ads are misleading and MacBook Pro have been lowered since the ads were produced. The cheapest model with a 15″ screen only costs $1700 now, not $2000.
Laser Engraving Gone Wrong? Just Fill It In With A Sharpie
By 7.22.09
If you spent about $150 to have the case of your laptop computer laser-engraved with a cool design and something went wrong, would you expect to be told to fill in the problem areas yourself with a permanent marker? That happened to Haje. He’s sympathetic to the technical issues involved, but not happy with the end result.
Apple Tried To End Microsoft's Laptop Hunters Television Commercials
By 7.22.09
Microsoft’s series of “Laptop Hunters” ads are cute, realistic, and appeal to consumers at a time when our disposable income is limited. Apple doesn’t seem to think they’re so cute, though—the company’s lawyers apparently tried to have the ads stopped.
What Do You Want In A Consumerist iPhone App?
By 7.21.09
We’re working on an iPhone app for The Consumerist, along with finally getting a mobile version, mobile.consumerist.com, for the site. Our first iPhone app will be extremely basic. This 1.0 will have iPhone-optimized version of the latest posts, and you’ll have a few drill-down categories to choose from (top stories, features, personal finance…. something else? You tell us). That’s about it. You will not be able to make comments. 1.5 will have comments. 2.0 will be a from the ground up rewrite with all the bells and whistles. So, questions: What categories should be in the 1.0? What dream features do you want to see in the 2.0? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Verizon Limits Handset Exclusivity To 6 Months
By 7.17.09
Verizon announced it will limit handset exclusivity deals to 6 months, a bow to pleas by small wireless carriers, and in advance of possible Department of Justice action on its inquiries on the one-carrier deals for the iPhone, Pre and LG Voyager. In its announcement, Verizon noted 24 rural carriers had asked it to limit these anti-competitive deals. Yes, apparently there are that many small carriers still left.
Emailfinder.com Sells Wrong Info, Now Woman Has To Show Up In Small Claims Court
By 7.14.09
Some guy in London fell for an online iPhone scam in January, so he paid $150 to emailfinder.com to track down the identity behind the Hotmail account of the person who scammed him. Now he’s suing Kim, who is completely unrelated to this story (or was, at least), for $4,368 to cover the $1200 he lost on the iPhone scam plus travel expenses for him to show up in small claims court here in the U.S.
Warning, iDrive Lite Spams All Your Gmail Contacts Without Your Permission
By 7.9.09
Don’t install the iPhone app iDrive Lite if you value the privacy of your contact list. Avi Muchnick, one of the developers behind the free, consumer-friendly online graphics suite Aviary, used iDrive to backup his Gmail contact list when switching to a new phone. The next day, he awoke to discover that iDrive’s parent company, Pro Softnet Corp, had spammed every single entry in his contact list without his permission.
