This is a rant. I was in Manhattan this day and decided to halt by the Apple store on 5th Avenue, the Cube, as it is called, to pick up a 3G case. It was about 2:30pm, just after lunch. A easy plan: walk down the stairs, find the cases, buy one, leave. The place was […]

This is a rant. I was in Manhattan this day and decided to halt by the Apple store on 5th Avenue, the Cube, as it is called, to pick up a 3G case. It was about 2:30pm, just after lunch. A easy plan: walk down the stairs, find the cases, buy one, leave. The place was mobbed. Every Italian tourist, each alterna-nerd, each financial Bluetooth headset guy, was milling about in the deep pit they call a store. I fought my way over to the iPhone cases, picked one, and prepared to check out. I looked over at the line for the registers and it was a mess.

Now I understand success begets chaos - just look at post-Rumsfield Iraq - but this was horrible. I also comprehend that going into the Apple store near Central Park for something as pedestrian as an iPhone case is like trying to pick up some condoms at a porn convention - there are other forces at work there than the standard mercantile instinct. However, Apple is now less a constellation of devices than it is a destination, both physical and metaphysical.

Now maybe I’m reading too much into this experience. I ended up not buying the case and walking out, confused and bewildered. I know this situation is hard to reproduce at other Apple stores and I know I’m not used to crowds but has the Apple halo effect totally overtaken the quality of the shopping experience? Is the Apple store a destination or a showcase? At this point does it draw in customers or turn them away? Am I just coming at this like a jilted fanboy, angry that my favorite band has sold out?

Whatever the reasoning behind my malaise I can honestly say I don’t like the Apple store experience. I usually know what I want so I have the ability to usually pick it up online. The stores themselves are crowded, the Genius Bar is usually mobbed, and the selection is part boutique and part ill-stocked Ideal Purchase. Ultimately, I’ll purchase my case online and maybe frequent the SoHo store. At least I know it will be mostly empty because the people who shop in SoHo are impossibly thin and don’t take up much floor space.

Does anyone “like” the Apple store? Do you enjoy the experience? Do you take into account it superior or worse than the traditional electronics experience?

Via [crunchgear]

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Here’s an update to the story about the FCC versus Comcast that we posted on Wednesday. The FCC has officially ruled this day and it turns out that Comcast will not be fined for throttling peer-to-peer network traffic, but it will have to cease discriminating against certain world wide web traffic until the company comes up with […]

Here’s an update to the story about the FCC versus Comcast that we posted on Wednesday. The FCC has officially ruled this day and it turns out that Comcast won’t be fined for throttling peer-to-peer network traffic, but it will have to cease discriminating against certain world wide web traffic until the company comes up with a compliance plan “to fully disclose its practices” to customers.

Bloomberg reports that the five-member FCC panel voted 3-2 against Comcast. Critics of Comcast’s traffic-regulating activities are calling the ruling a “bellwether case”. It’s important to note that although Comcast has been ordered to cease throttling traffic, it appears that the reasoning behind the ruling has more to do with the fact that the throttling wasn’t being disclosed to customers, not that the throttling was actually taken place. So it appears that bandwidth management can and will continue, it’ll just have to be more transparent.

Via [crunchgear]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

Oddly enough, we’ve seen mouth-mounted cameras before, but those have typically been used more for sport and less for serious matters. Chinavasion, of all companies, has just introduced its very own wireless dental camera, which puts a 1.3-megapixel camera on the end of a toothbrush-like apparatus in order to snap shots and transmit them wirelessly to a nearby display. Trying to find a respectable way to talk your kid out of dental school? $103.13 should provide all the necessary grossness to sway their decision.

[Via CNET]

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HOW TO GET NES ROMS ON A IPOD TOUCH & IPHONE Links: NES ROMS http://rapidshare.com/files/132070969/iphone_roms.rar.htm How to SHH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfXtDqWuWuI Jailbreak 2.0:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1LxAERv1IA&feature=user 1.Download the file and extrct it 2.Open WinSCP 3.Go to mobile 4.Go to media 5.Create a folder named “ROMs” 6.Go in ROMs that creat another f…

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Apple’s Security Update 2008-005 repairs that DNS glitch that has been freaking people out for the past few weeks. As such, it’s advised that you stop whatever you’re doing and apply the patch right now. Some had accused Apple of dragging its feet in applying the patch, but now that it’s here, expert plenty of […]

Apple’s Security Update 2008-005 repairs that DNS glitch that has been freaking people out for the past few weeks. As such, it’s advised that you stop whatever you’re doing and apply the patch right now.

Some had accused Apple of dragging its feet in applying the patch, but now that it’s here, expert plenty of “what took Apple so long?” stories.

Bottom line, the hole has been shut. Apply the patch, or feel the Internet’s wrath. Maybe.

Or use OpenDNS. That’s fine way to avoid the DNS glitch, too.

via Apple Insider

Via [crunchgear]

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Last month, Blizzard, the makers of World of Warcraft, won their case over MDY and Michael Donnelly, creator of grindbot software Glider. Now, Blizzard wants to make sure the code never sees the light of day. Blizzard won the case by arguing that since Glider was loaded into RAM, it could be considered a copyright violation. […]

Last month, Blizzard, the makers of World of Warcraft, won their case over MDY and Michael Donnelly, creator of grindbot software Glider. Now, Blizzard wants to make sure the code never sees the light of day.

Blizzard won the case by arguing that since Glider was loaded into RAM, it could be considered a copyright violation. Blizzard also won in its summary judgment motion on grounds that Glider interfered with Blizzard’s relationship with its customers.

Since Blizzards request to close down MDY’s Glider wasn’t included in the summary judgment, Blizzard has since filed a motion asking for a permanent injunction. While they were at it, they included wording that would prohibit the open sourcing of the code.

With copyright and open source issues at stake, anticipate for this case to keep getting attention as it progresses. If the two sides don’t settle first, the case would go before a jury in September. However, a jury trial appears unlikely since Blizzard already won the key judgments.

Via [crunchgear]

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