Giant iPhone Wi-Fi Problems

On a recent trip to Bluewater, I went to the Apple Store and found their iPhone displays to be prominent and well set up. There were about 15-20 iPhones on display and there was a steady stream of interested customers. At 9pm on a Monday night, altogether not to shabby.

Milling around the mall a bit further proved the stark contrast between Apple's and other retailers general strategies. The Apple Store (as most will know) is an uncluttered, clean shopping experience. Some issues with rude staff aside, I always have a good experience going there. This can not be said of Carphone Warehouse or even the O2 stores. Ubiquitous as they may be, they seem to fail because their lack of conviction is obvious. I don't know anyone who would buy an iPhone at one of those stores if there's an Apple Store nearby.

This picture proves it. This error message was displayed on their screen for over an hour (I checked back after taking the picture). The video was not playing and while its no "Blue Screen of Death", the non-playing video, the error message and the gaudy Christmas decorations made the contrast between Carphone Warehouse and the Apple Store very clear.

I say good on Apple for negotiating with a company that has over 1500 outlets, but they have some ways to go before they will sell as many phones as are sold through the Apple Store. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Apple's 12 UK stores likely sold more than all of O2's stores put together. Anecdotal evidence certainly seems to back up my assumption.

–Felix Kunze.

Three New Apple Ads - very funny

Three new Apple Ads have appeared on the Apple website, all digging fun at Vista, which is hard not to do. They are called Podium, Boxer and PR Lady. Boxer is especially funny, though all three are not up to the previous ads polish and genius.

iPhone Launch Regent Street - The cold, the media & Phil Schiller

We arrived at Oxford Circus at about 5:25pm. My brother had already been in the queue since about 4:15pm so we were about 200 places down the line. I had a rather disheartening walk past all the hard-core 'queuers' to a somewhat sobering wait about 200th in line on Hanover Street.

Despite that, there were still plenty of things happening. TV crews seemed keen to document what we do best in Britain - queue. We were interviewed more than once while waiting and managed to get an interview with CNN while activating one of our iPhones. With offers of free stuff from Starbucks (Coffee and Mince Pies - already!), On Networks, The Cloud (24 hour free Trial), T3, ZDNet.com, Griffin (rain coats), O2 (water).

Once they threw open the doors (and you could hear that all the way down Hanover Street), the line moved very fast and within 5 minutes we were in. We had to line up again inside but at least we weren't freezing to death anymore. We snaked our way past all the media and checked out some of the iPhone cases (loads in stock at the ridiculous prices that they charge in the store). After purchase we elatedly went over to one of the desks (which were strangely devoid of people) and set up shop there. My brother had brought his Macbook Pro and started activating our phones. After about 1/2 hour, all three phones were activated and in use. While I was happily unpacking my phone in readiness for activation, a CNN camera crew came and started to film us activating our phones. Not surprising as we seemed to be the only people actually doing so in the store. They then moved on to filming my brother while he activated his iPhone, they pretty much filmed the entire process including his first phone call. They seemed happy with the result.

We then noticed that Phil Schiller (Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing) was hanging around doing interviews. We took some pics of that and then went up to him to ask him to pose for photos with us. He obliged and proceeded to have a chat. He was particularly interested in how our activation process went and how we liked O2 as a carrier. He also asked us about our experience with the iPhone so far and went so far as trying to show my brother some of the features! Very cool guy. Very genuine. We spoke with him for almost five minutes. We thanked him for bringing out another great product and then left the apple store to go home and play around some more with this great gadget.

On the way home, I was approached three times while using the iPhone. People asking 'is that the new iPhone?' is sure to be a constant part of my life for the next few months.
Having used the iPhone now for a couple of hours, I will say that I am more impressed with it than I thought I would be. I enjoy all the features and find the entire device extremely simple to use. You just have to think how something should work and that's how it works. The buzz in the store was tangible and Apple did another great job at PR on this launch. I am happy to have been there.

A few interesting points to note:
- Apple had up to 300 store employees on the floor for the Launch.
- at 5:55pm a store employee came down the queue telling all those in line that the iPhone could be bought in cash tonight only (see video link below). This seems to be a reversal of their previous policy.
- Phil Schiller seemed particularly interested/almost concerned, with the activation process.
- The store staff did NOT want us to activate our phones on one of their machines, but did allow us to set up our own laptop to activate it.
- The iPhone box is slightly larger than the US one to accommodate the larger power adaptor.
- Ships with Software version 1.1.2

Links:
YouTube videos from Regent Street iPhone Launch
Flickr Set of Regent Street iPhone Launch

–Felix Kunze.

iPhone Launch UK - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Having just got back from the UK iPhone Launch, here is the lowdown of my experience. In addition to the coverage we will bring you later from Regent Street, London, I headed on down to a local O2 Store. It was my endeavor to bring you some alternative coverage to the normal Apple type launch, so a local angle should give you an insight into how many people across the country view the iPhone.

Things got off to a bad start, with the Kent store due to open at 6:02pm (GMT), it was only 20 minutes to go and still not a sole to be seen. I had a quick chat to the store manager (through a closed door) and was told that they could not answer any questions (fair enough). Then, with about ten minutes to go, there were around six people milling around the front of the store, which extended to around eight by the opening time.

The Good… Once in the store I was greeted with great enthusiasm. The specialist that had travelled down for the launch was keen to talk to me, saying that it was a "fantastic device". I was allowed to take some photos and also advised I could talk to customers (after they had left the store). So I headed back out onto the cold street and tried to catch the first purchaser. He was in a rush and too busy to stop, so I hung around for the second person.
He was very happy about his purchase and had been waiting for the iPhone launch to replace his dodgy phone. When I asked if he would have bought an iPhone had his existing mobile been OK, he said "no, it was only because I need a new phone anyway". A PC user at work, but with a Mac at home and a MacBook Pro on the way, I think this represents the typical buyer. Apart from those who love their iPods and don't mind spending a bit more, this is a very serious purchase. Credit to the O2 Store for handling things in a very cheerful manner.

The bad... This award goes to a shop just around the corner. I popped into Carphone Warehouse who had also opened for the launch. I milled around listening to the specialist, who didn't even know the iPhone had a camera, and had to ask someone else how much memory the iPhone had. He also told customers that the iPhone would work only on O2 and if it was unlock it would be rendered useless as soon as it was plugged in. I suppose he had to say that, so I will forgive this comment. Poor show though, the lack of knowledge was not excusable.

The Ugly... Well, the same shop gets this award too. When I finally got the managers attention and handed my card over, it was greeted with a sneer. I asked if I could take a few photos and was told that I couldn't. Then when the lady in charge actually looked at my card, she mumbled something about not even being bothered that I was there. This is a shame, as my visit could have resulted in some good publicity and some nice photos.

All in all a mixed bag. For the ultimate buying experience, head on down to your local Apple Store. Rest assured though, wherever you buy, the iPhone is a superb piece of kit. Probably the best purchase you will make this year.

iPhone & iPod touch Accessories Coming to Geekanoids

We have been gradually introducing new items to the Geekanoids Shop, where you can already by the GeekPouch for all of the new iPods and the iPhone. Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing some great value clear crystal cases for the iPod touch and the iPhone, along with some screen protectors to keep those greasy smudges and scratches away. This is our way of raising some funds to help pay for the hosting and associated costs of the Geekanoids website, so your support is really appreciated.

iPhone Launch Day for the UK

The big day has arrived, with the official launch of the iPhone in the UK. At 6pm tonight (or 6:02pm at O2 stores) you will be able to buy your iPhone for £269, rush home and get it working, and enjoy this superb device. Geekanoids will bring you two reports, one from the Apple Store in Regent Street, London and one from a local O2 store. We are looking forward to bringing you some insight into the excitement, along with some great photos.

MacBook and MacBook Pro Revisions

A little late on this news, but when we checked yesterday, the UK Apple Store had not yet been updated. Well, now it has, with the newly revised MacBook and MacBook Pro. No prices changes, no new designs, just speedbumps to all models and the ability to add up to 4GB RAM (previously 3GB) to the MacBook. The MacBook also gets Intel X3100 graphics (better than the older GMA950). I was hoping for more, but this will satisfy most.

Important Intego Security Virus Alert

A malicious Trojan Horse has been found on several pornography web sites, claiming to install a video codec necessary to view free pornographic videos on Macs. A great deal of spam has been posted to many Mac forums, in an attempt to lead users to these sites. When the users arrive on one of the web sites, they see still photos from reputed porn videos, and if they click on the stills, thinking they can view the videos, they arrive on a web page that says the following:

• Quicktime Player is unable to play movie file.
• Please click here to download new version of codec.

After the page loads, a disk image (.dmg) file automatically downloads to the user’s Mac. If the user has checked Open “Safe” Files After Downloading in Safari’s General preferences (or similar settings in other browsers), the disk image will mount, and the installer package it contains will launch Installer. If not, and the user wishes to install this codec, they double-click the disk image to mount it, then double-click the package file, named install.pkg.
If the user then proceeds with installation, the Trojan horse installs; installation requires an administrator’s password, which grants the Trojan horse full root privileges. No video codec is installed, and if the user returns to the web site, they will simply come to the same page and receive a new download.
This Trojan horse, a form of DNSChanger, uses a sophisticated method, via the scutil command, to change the Mac’s DNS server (the server that is used to look up the correspondences between domain names and IP addresses for web sites and other Internet services). When this new, malicious, DNS server is active, it hijacks some web requests, leading users to phishing web sites (for sites such as Ebay, PayPal and some banks), or simply to web pages displaying ads for other pornographic web sites. In the first case, users may think they are on legitimate sites and enter a user name and password, a credit card, or an account number, which will then be hijacked. In the latter case, it seems that this is being done solely to generate ad revenue.
Under Mac OS X 10.4, there is no way to see the changed DNS server in the operating system’s GUI. Under Mac OS X 10.5, this can be seen in the Advanced Network preferences; the added DNS servers are dimmed, and cannot be removed manually. (Intego is currently testing previous versions of Mac OS X; it is likely that they can be infected as well, since all versions of Mac OS X have the scutil command.) The Trojan horse also installs a root crontab which checks every minute to ensure that its DNS server is still active. Since changing a network location could change the DNS server, this cron job ensures that, in such a case, the malicious DNS server remains the active server.
This Trojan horse also provides different versions of itself, perhaps according to the country in which the user is located to provide country-specific spoofing. Repeated downloads of the disk image show that there are several different versions.

Means of protection: The best way to protect against this exploit is to run Intego VirusBarrier X4 with its virus definitions dated October 31, 2007. Intego VirusBarrier X4 eradicates the malicious code and prevents the Trojan horse from being installed. Intego recommends that users never download and install software from untrusted sources or questionable web sites.

Leopard Launch... so Leopard GeekPouch

It seems a bit obvious, but what with the Mac OS X Leopard launch and the slew of articles talking about it, we had to produce a GeekPouch in the same flavour. Head on over to the Geekanoids Shop and you can buy a fur effect pouch with Leopard design print for your iPhone, iPod touch, classic, 3rd gen Nano or 5th gen iPod. Same prices as before, starting at £5.99 for UK orders and £10.99 for international.
I should also mention that our tan pouch for the iPod touch is almost completely gone, we are down to the last few.

MacLive Expo London 2007 - Show Report

Having recovered from a manic day (mainly travelling) at this years MacLive Expo, I am now in the right frame of mind to give you my feelings about the exhibition. Before I kick off with all the good bits (and there are plenty) I want to get my anger and disappointment out of the way. As I was stomping the show floor, the main complaint from both exhibitors and members of the public was Apple’s absence from the event. Companies paying top prices to take stand and show their wares felt let down that Apple had chosen NOT to show the same commitment to the UK public. Visitors, who had paid their £15 to get into the Expo, were equally annoyed. Many had not even known that Apple would not be there. They were expecting to see the whole line-up of Macs, iPods and more importantly wanted some hands-on time with the new Mac OS X Leopard. OK, enough moaning, with or without the big A, the show went on.

As with all Mac Expo’s, I am always amazed at the enthusiasm that buzzes around the hall. The main central area is taken up by the bigger companies, with the likes of Quark, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Intego, to name just a few. VMWare had a largish stand, showing their superb software that enables the Mac to run Windows. Avanquest was also at the Expo, with their competing Parallels software, that does the same. It’ll be interesting when I review these two products to see which one performs better of the two. In this central area Simms International Accessories were selling their latest range of computer bags and pouches from Crumpler and BuiltNY. They certainly get my vote for the most fun and endearing company at this years show. The likes of Accountz (with their accounting software) and Elgato (freeview and recording on your Mac) also proved popular with visitors. Whilst on the subject of accounting, MYOB won ‘Best of Show’, which is amazing when you think of how accounting is perceived. I had a chat to them, and was amazed at how passionate they were to make their software so sexy and easy to use.

Over the next month or so, Geekanoids will be announcing some awards for our product reviews. Ahead of time though, we will also be looking at the company behind the product and acknowledging good service. Our ‘Most Friendly’ company award cannot wait that long and this goes to Konica Minolta. Their range of printers speak for themselves, but the fact that they take the time to speak to end users on a level playing field, taking that one extra step to make sure they have happy punters, really is noticeable.

On the outer perimeter of the Expo hall there were many smaller vendors. A chance to meet not only the salesman, but often the programmers behind the software or hardware on offer. A quick shout out to our sponsors Realmac Software and Eazy Draw, who were busy answering questions from visitors. Kensington were also on the wings showing their range of Mac compatible keyboards and mice. We were also lucky enough to pick up a couple of iPhone cases from Contour Design, who are also expecting their iPod touch case to land in about ten days.

All in all this years MacLive Expo was on a much smaller scale, mainly due to Apple not being there. Adobe also chose not to exhibit, so two of last years biggest stands meant everything was condensed. This was a big shame and casts a shadow of doubt in my mind, whether we will see a show next year, unless Apple commit to attending. I hope the show does continue, as it is the only real chance for UK users to feel part of the Mac community. The opportunity to talk with people from the companies whose products we use every day is very valuable, so I really hope to see details of MacLive Expo 2008 announced sooner rather than later.

Leopard - First Few Hours

I stood in line today for Leopard and was amongst the first in the Western Hemisphere to get my hands on this predator. Quite aside from the fun I had actually spending my hard-earned cash on this upgrade, installation was a breeze and the feeling overall is very positive.

Initial Impression
To label this a minor release would be preposterous. It is a major release in every way and well worth checking out the list of 300 new features of Leopard on the Apple website. The main thing with all the new gizmos I've been using on Leopard is that yet again Apple has come up with something where everything 'just works'. Exactly the way it should and without further fuss. I've not had ANY issues after using 10.5 for about 3 hours, editing video etc, everything has been a breeze. If there are major bugs, I haven't come across any.

Notable points

• The system runs faster. This is apparently a speedup specifically with Core 2 Duo systems (like mine)
• Spaces works as advertised. It could be a little bit confusing for someone who's not familiar with the mac and it's also not turned on by default. After using it for a couple of hours now, it really is a great productivity tool. It is one of those things you just end up using naturally which proves its usefulness.
• FrontRow has finally adopted the Apple TV Interface which is nice. It doesn't have YouTube though which I feel should have been included as it's a useful option. With the lack of fancy integrations from the desktop, Apple has given Frontrow its pride of place in the home entertainment arena. It feels more like a mode of the computer rather than an app that is depending on there being enough RAM to play a song. You can now also specify the sources like you can on the Apple TV.
• The new improved Dock is an evolution of the familiar tool we've come to know and love. It now features reflective 3D effects which work well. 'Stacks' is a neat feature which is fast and enables clutter free access to your files.
• Spotlight has been improved and seems faster. It launches apps by just selecting the item and tapping the space bar. That's nice because you end up not having to use the mouse to open applications.
• The main thing I like in the new Finder is Coverflow. It works fantastically and until you use it in the Finder, it's hard to describe how useful it is. I would have said that finder had its limitations when compared to Windows Explorer. But with Leopard in Coverflow, it really makes it easier to go through your files and find what you are looking for. Coupled with Quicklook, you end up being able to go through your files and find what you like without launching a bunch of applications. The smart folder and networking capabilities work fantastically and if smartly set up, negate any need to rumble through your computer for hours, trying to find "that one file".
• Time Machine: I don't have an external hard drive (yet) so wasn't able to test this one.
• The only issue I found is that Quicklook should include previews of folder contents. Its such an obvious omission that it will surely be included in a future software update.

I would highly recommend this upgrade to any Mac User. If you are looking for a renewed computing experience, get your hands on Leopard and see for yourself. I have already been using the new features a lot. They prove themselves in the way they work so well and how effortless their implementation seems to be. Productivity is obviously one of Apple's key focuses and their ability to tie entertainment and productivity into one easy to use package deserves praise at the least. Kudos to Apple for another great product and for pushing computing forward. –Felix Kunze.

Leopard Launch - Bluewater

It is pretty much common knowledge that Mac OS X Leopard was launched at 6pm today. Mine was delivered whilst at the London MacLive Expo (report coming soon). Felix managed to nab a copy at the Apple Store Bluewater, UK. Above is a quick snap of how busy it was, the complete set of photos can be found here. Expect to see a Leopard install overview on Geekanoids over the weekend.