What Jobs said: 'To our customers who are affected by the issue, we are deeply sorry, and we are going to give you a free case or a full refund.'
Granted, Jobs only said that in response to his question, and not as part of his initial presentation. And Manjoo's critique of the dropped call statistic sounds dead on to me. But Manjoo specifically said what he would like out of the conference (even before this article), Jobs gave it to him, and he still is acting like Jobs personally punched him in the face.
Some see the tests where the other cell phones are shown to have a problem if you wrap your entire hand around it and point out that it's nothing like the little spot you just have to touch to make an iPhone die if you're less than 20-something dB above the minimum signal.
Others see the apology you quoted and don't understand the media witch hunt, where the press even supports those who traffic in stolen phones.
(I realize that I'm oversimplifying both of those stories a bit, but they're not my main point.)
Seems like there's no middle ground any more. If you post something in support of them, you'll be derided by someone as a fanboy. If you post something against them, you'll be derided as a hater. Whichever one you pick, you'll likely stay there, because both sides feel free to act like jerks toward the other. And why would you want to switch and side with those jerks who were mean to you?
I try to remain neutral, but it's hard. I see some people giving them a free pass, and I dislike it. But other people do give them flack when it's unfair. I don't want to do either. I want to be fair.
In short, maybe what we really need here is more civility?
I believe that there are a number of strong, charitable, level-headed criticisms you can make about Apple. I don't have a problem with those, and appreciate it when people make them. But that's not what we're getting here. What we're getting is a bunch of snippy and sneering quips from people who don't bother to examine the range of possible reasons why Apple did X, instead always assuming that they did X just to be manipulative jerks. It's just crazy.
I like Hacker News a lot, but this has really been souring the experience.
Edit: And look at how I get anonymously downvoted. These guys can't even argue in their defense. They just maliciously downvote.
I don't understand what the big problem is. So, my iPhone 4 has a small hardware flaw. I found this out weeks ago. It hasn't made a difference to my life and I am certainly not going to return it.
Does it drop calls? Yes. Does it drop less calls than my 3G? Yes. Does it have better reception in general than my 3G? Yes. Am I happy with 02, my network? No - but they have always been pretty bad where I live. (But also bare in mind the walls to my house here in Scotland are made of damp sandstone and are 3ft thick.)
I think that my iPhone 4 is not just the best phone I've ever owned its the single greatest consumer electronics device that I have ever owned. If it was recalled you'd have to prise it out of my cold dead hands (or replace it with an iPhone 5).
Nobody I know that owns an iPhone 4 cares about this issue - they all think it's funny. The only people that seem to care are either people I know who own android devices (who gloat) and tech journalists who seem to be very, very angry for some weird reason.
Now that there is something that consumers could, theoretically, get mad about, they're going to attack Apple full-bore, no matter how irrational it is on an objective scale.
Keeps us from getting too big for our boots ;)
The iPhone is the best tech device I own. It helps me run my life by managing my diary, email and contacts with a easy to use interface that my old blackberry could never aspire to.
It rocks and I don't care if I loose one call in every 50...it's a small price to pay.
You can only spin the public for so long, before the public starts to feel sick.
Corporations don't need to be loved - they need to be kept in check.
This is an important sentence.
Kind of like, "I didn't read your column, but I read the HN comments so I'll critique it anyway".
The article wasn't about him or his song, though, and I don't think he is employed by, or represents Apple. Apparently they thought it was amusing too.
I only linked to it because there is deep wisdom in the chorus that could have saved Farhad Manjoo a lot of typing.
If I don't want to talk to someone. I simply say "The cell signal isn't great here. I may drop you."
I then slide my fingers over the magic drop call button. The call degrades and gone....
The screen is great and all but the best feature is that I can magically get a bad signal whenever I want if I hold it just right.
I have a 3GS, an Ipad, an XPS gaming laptop, and tons of others tech stuff and if they all went away one day, my life would still be a rich one.
