The iPhone 4 "Death Grip" Explained

Update 7/16/2010: Apple isn't recalling the iPhone 4. Instead they are offering a free case, which is actually a surprise to me. I knew they wouldn't recall the iPhone 4, but Steve Jobs did try to make the claim that all phones have the death grip problem; they do not, this is a problem specific to the iPhone 4.

What is the iPhone 4 "death grip"? When you hold the new iPhone a certain way, your cellular signal is greatly reduced. The old iPhones were great devices, but they had trouble with the phone part. The result was AT&T was being blamed for what was an Apple design flaw. Granted, AT&T doesn't exactly have a great network. But bashing AT&T was already popular before the iPhone, so this just fed the stereotype. The new iPhone planned to fix that issue by placing the antenna on the outside of the phone. In fact, there are two antennas on the exterior of the phone: One for the cellular network and the other for the GPS. The result is the iPhone works as well as every other phone, a big improvement over previous iPhones.

But the death grip is caused by holding the phone in such a way that your finger makes contact between the two antennas thus causing a short between the two. The fix is simple. Consumer Reports recommends duct tape all around the iPhone 4. You can also buy a case for the phone for $30 to $40. Many people think that such a case should be given for free, but have fun making Apple do that.

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Posted by Wade Burchette at 4:50 AM - Categories: General | Hints and Tips

Microsoft Is Ending Support For Intel's Itanium CPU

Microsoft has decided to phase out support for the Intel Itanium CPU on July 9, 2013. To understand why this is important, we need to take a trip back in time. In fact, way back in time.

As many people know, Intel invented the first single-chip CPU in 1971. It was called the Intel 4004. Believe it or not, the number was not chosing at random. Later on Intel made the 8086 CPU, which IBM picked for their personal computers. The 8086 was hastily built and inferior to the other CPU's at the time. It was chosen by IBM because IBM had built other computers using Intel CPU's and was thus comfotable with them. IBM had been working on their own CPU and operating system, but it would be a while before it could go into to production and IBM was getting desperate due to Apple. The result of that decision enabled IBM clones to appear rather quickly. This meant that the inferior 8086 was now very important.

Why was the 8086 inferior? It wasn't very efficient. The Intel 8086 was a CISC microprocessor. CISC stands for complex instruction set computer. The idea behind CISC CPU's is for the CPU to do complex actions in a single step. The contrast to this method is a RISC micropressor, reduced instruction set computer. RISC CPU's require the program to tell the CPU to do every step of a complex action. Designing a CISC CPU is much harder and thus more difficult to make efficient. Intel knew this, but the 8086 was a success. They couldn't just abandon it.

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0 comments - Posted by Wade Burchette at 11:25 AM - Categories: Hints and Tips

10 Tips When Buying Computers

1) Beware of the mandatory extra services: The website, the Consumerist, is full of horror stories about Best Buy mandating optional extras. For example, Best Buy at one time "optimized" much of their computer inventory. Of course, as the Consumerist pointed out, the optimization is a scam. Because of the Consumerist, some Best Buy's discontinued the practice. What Best Buy was doing (or still is doing in some stores) is perform their Geek Squad optimization service, a service that really a big waste of money. The store would naturally sell out of the un-optimized computers, so the employee would say "Sorry, we ran out of those, but we do have an optimized one for a small fee more ..." Always make it clear, you will not pay for any extras at all. No exceptions. If the store will not sell you a product for the advertised price, but will sell you one with some extra service, make a big fuss and threaten to call the Attorney General for false advertising. Which it is, a classic bait-and-switch. The only fee you should be paying is sales tax. Remember all high-dollar items for a retail store are low markup. The store will make more money on the extra service they try to convince you need when you don't need it than on the computer itself.

2) Also beware of the hidden cost of cables: Some computer bundles include a printer. Great. Except the printer does not include a cable to connect to your computer. Not a coincidence. All cables are high profit items for the store. This applies more to HDTV's, as noted in the related blog entry for electronics. But USB cables are also high profit, just less than HDMI cables. When purchasing a printer, the store employees will probably just pick one out for you. Save your money. If you are replacing a printer and it uses USB, you don't need another cable. If you do need one, get one from Amazon.com for a lot less. USB is a digital cable, the cheap one works just as well as the expensive ones. With digital, it is impossible to get a better signal from a higher price cable.

3) Always say no to extended warantees: Listen to Consumer Reports. If you subscribe to Consumer Reports, they always warn about getting an extended warantees. And they are right. The chances you'll ever use that extended warantee is minimal and the cost to fix is probably less. Stores push extended warantees because it is very high profit. Usually, it is nothing but profit for the store. Salespeople will push extended warantees because they are told to by the management and because they may have a financial incentive to do so. Some stores pay employees an on-the-spot bonus for every extended warantee sold. Save you money, avoid the extended warantee.

4) You probably won't save money buying on-line: The only money you might can save would be sales tax. When buying a computer, it would be a good idea to look at the computer in the store, especially laptops. Narrow your choices down to a few computers and go home. Search the internet and the company's website for reviews on that computer, and then make a choice. If you buy the computer from the website, you can avoid the pressure tactics of the salespeople. Just pick it up and go.

5) If you want a computer customized, buy direct from the manufacturer: Stores only stock products that are likely to sell. But if you want one just the way you want it, buy direct. It won't be cheaper and you'll have to wait, but it is the best way to get what you want.

6) Custom built computers are a lot better, but will cost more: Techs-on-Call will sometimes build a computer for our customers. But we try to avoid it because people usually want to pay less. If any computer repair place builds a computer, expect to $100 to $200 more than you would in the store. The reason is that repair shops do not move enough inventory to get big discounts needed. When a company sells equipment, the more you buy, the less you pay for each item. Plus, computer repair places do not have an assembly line to make computers rapidly. Be that as it may, your computer will be far better than the store computer. So consider your options.

7) You can never have too much memory: The more memory your computer has, the better. For the vast majority of people, memory will result in more speed. This is because the operating system can put all it needs to do in memory and keep it there. When a computer is low on memory, it has to make more by putting some data on the hard drive until needed. So don't skimp on the memory.

8) The processor and its speed is meaningless for most people: Very few tasks require a lot of processing power. If you need more power, you'll know which one to buy from the start. So for the most part, ignore the CPU. You do want to have a dual-core, triple-core, quad-core or greater. Other than that, don't worry too much about it.

9) But there are some CPU's to avoid: Avoid the lower-end CPU's. They can be too weak for the new versions of Windows. When comparing computers, look at the wattage of the CPU. Older CPU's use more energy, which means higher electricity costs to run the computer and higher AC costs to cool in the summer. If you are not sure, search the CPU model number on the internet.

10) Try to avoid the cheap computers: Your computer should last years. A cheaper computer will use cheaper parts which means it may not last as long. Do yourself a favor and don't buy the cheapest computer you can find.

0 comments - Posted by Wade Burchette at 8:30 PM - Categories: Hints and Tips

12 Tips When Buying Electronics

To help you make the best possible decision when buying a HDTV, Blu-Ray player, stereo, or any other high dollar electronics, here are 12 tips to help you to get the most for your purchase.

Updated on July 6, 2010.

1) Stores make very little money off the high-dollar items: The profit margin for the expensive products is not a lot. This is why the store pushes the high-profit extras. Sometimes, a store will actually use deception to sell you a high-profit extra. This has become more common ever since Circuit City went out of business. The good news is you do not have to buy any of it.

2) Extended warantees are a waste of money: Extended warantees are rarely used, which means it is pure profit to the store. And because it is pure profit, the stores make it sound like it is a good deal; it is not. Some stores give an instant commission to every person who sales an extended warantee. So the salesperson has a profit motivation too for pushing an extended warantee. If your device breaks down, the cost to fix is only slightly more than the extended warantee. Save your money, avoid the warantee.

3) Store cables are a waste of money too: When it comes to digital cables, the cheap cables work just as well as the expensive cables. Digital cables are all-or-nothing; they either work or don't. It is impossible for an expensive digital cable to deliver a superior performance. To trick you into thinking the expensive cable is worth the extra money, the package will contain many exotic sounding techniques, such as gold-plated and gas-injected. Of course, since gold doesn't bond with copper, gold-plated cables must have a nickel layer between the gold and copper. Thus any benefit of gold is immediately nullified. The cheap cables just have nickel and copper. When it comes to expensive cables, the profit on it can be as much as 85% of the price of the cable. In fact, chances are good that an expensive cable will make the store over twice as much money as the expensive item you purchased. The good news thanks to the internet, you can get cables that work just as good for a much lower price. A $100+ HDMI cable can be bought online for around $5 shipped to your door. So save your money and buy a cheap cable from Amazon.com instead.

4) The only extra feature worth paying for is HDTV mounting: It is safer to pay the store to mount your HDTV to the wall because if the item is damaged while mounting it, you are not liable. Everything else the store tries to up-sell you, such as calibrating your 3D Blu-Ray player and HDTV, is a waste of money.

5) It is better to buy HDTV's in the store: Although you may save money if you purchase your HDTV online, it is better to buy it in the store. That way, you can see how it looks. Plus, if you need to return the HDTV due to damage, it is a lot easier to do so.  Consider purchasing the item on the company's website and pick it up in the store or have it delivered.

6) However, for almost everything else it is better to buy on the interent: If an item isn't heavy, buying on-line can save you money. Usually such items you don't need to see anyway. You can get more by buying on-line. And because of the interstate commerce clause in the US Constitution, it is illegal to charge sales tax for purchases in which the company has no presence in the state. (But several states are trying to do so anyway.)

7) Do not buy any expensive item before you read the reviews: A good idea is to go to the store and look at all the devices you wish you to buy. Ask questions to the salesperson, but make it clear you aren't buying that day. Try to play with it some. After you have an idea of some items you may wish to buy, go back home and look online at the reviews. It is helpful to search the interent using the model number. For example, you can Google "Sony ABC-123456 review". Consumer Reports is also a good place to search.

8) The really good equipment is found in specialty stores: If you have the money, do not buy from the big box stores, like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Speciality stores will have products that are really good, with a price to reflect it. Specialty stores also generally have a better price for what you get, even though their prices are going to be higher. Be that as it may, do not spend what you cannot afford. There will always be something better coming out, so be satisfied with you can get.

9) Ask your friends about what they have: It never hurts to be well-informed. So ask around. Ask anybody who can give an objective opinion about what you are wanting to buy.

10) Don't shop alone: Take a friend with you and tell you friend to help you avoid being ripped off. Your friend should helping you avoid being sold the overpriced add-ons stores want to sell you. If you have a friend who is knows a lot about electronics, that helps even more. Buying on impulse is an easy way to make a bad decision. So take a friend.

11) Some monitors and laptop computers use LED backlights: The advantage of using LED backlights on a monitor is that LED uses less electricity and is easier on the eyes. For laptop computers, that means a longer battery life. Monitors that use LED's are worth the extra money.

12) Some laptop computers have solid-state hard drives: These are hard drives that have no moving parts and are really like a bigger, faster USB drive. When used in a laptop, battery is greatly improved. The newer ones are also much faster than traditional hard drives. This means your Windows or other operating system will boot much faster and big complex programs, such as games, load much faster. However, these hard drives are not cheap and do not have capacities anywhere near traditional hard drives. You can purchase a 2000 GB hard drive for less than 64 GB sold state hard drive.

0 comments - Posted by Wade Burchette at 3:24 PM - Categories: Hints and Tips

More Information About 3D HDTV

This is from the Consumerist, it seems Best Buy is charging to synchronize 3D glasses for your brand new HDTV. Sounds important, right? Wrong. The 3D glasses used in 3D HDTV are ready to go the out of the box. The only fee you should ever pay for your new HDTV, be it 3D or not 3D, is the fee to mount it on the wall. That includes extended warantees.

Another useless fee for your new 3D HDTV is a new HDMI cable. To display a 3D picture, the HDTV and the player both must conform to the HDMI 1.4 specification. The HDMI 1.4 specification uses the exact same cable requirements. What is happening is stores are selling cables labeled as HDMI 1.4, which is prohibited by the HDMI working group, at a much higher price. Here is a dirty little secret consumer electronic stores do not want you to know: All cables are very high markup. You can get a $5 HDMI cable from Amazon.com that works just as good as $100 cable from Best Buy. And yes, the $5 HDMI cable you bought 2 years ago will work in the new 3D HDTV's. Another secret you won't be told in the stores: With digital cables, it is all or nothing. You cannot get a better quality picture from a higher priced cable. It is impossible. And here is yet another secret of the cables: Gold does not bond to copper. The cheap cables have nickel at the end of the connectors. The expensive cables have gold at the ends. But since gold cannot bond to copper, there must be nickel below the gold. So the expensive cables go gold-nickel-copper; the cheap cables go nickel-copper. What benefit are you gaining by adding an extra layer of metal? None.

For a fact, the big money items in the stores are low markup. The store will likely make more money on selling you that expensive cable than on the new HDTV itself. That is why the stores push extended warantees and expensive cables aggressively. Just say no. You can get a cable much cheaper on the internet and it works just as good; no better and no worse because it is impossible to be better or worse. If I were to buy a new HDTV, I would look in the store to get an idea of quality and price, write down a few models to compare, then check with internet reviews and Consumer Reports, and finally order it online without buying any extras whatsoever. I would apply the same rules to computers, printers, Blu-Ray players, and any other big item electronics.

0 comments - Posted by Wade Burchette at 8:38 AM - Categories: Annoyances | Hints and Tips

How Viruses Become So Common

One of the most common jobs I perform is cleaning up viruses from computers. Quite often, people just don't know how they get it. Do you? The goal of the cybercriminal community is to get their malicious software on your computer. They do this for a variety of reasons. The most common virus I see is the fake antivirus programs. The goal of this is to make as much as they can as fast as they can. And they are quite successful at it too. Greed is a prime motivation of blackhats. The other motivation is just to be mean. If you make these people angry, they stage internet attacks on your computers. But to stage such attacks, they need a massive army of computers at their disposal, which is called a botnet. In all instances, the cybercriminals want to stay hidden as long as they can.

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Posted by Wade Burchette at 11:00 AM - Categories: Hints and Tips

Brief Overview of Cell Phone Standards

You can't help but notice the commercials. "We have more 3G!" "Our 3G is better!" "We have 4G!" What does it all mean? Why should you care? What benefit is ther to you?

We'll start by asking why you should care. Unless you need the internet on your phone or on the road, you shouldn't care at all. For the majority of cell phone users out there, 3G is useless. 3G means, more or less, a faster internet speed through the cell phone towers. This will be discussed in more detail below. If you use the phone only to send and receive calls, text messaging, or email, then 3G has no benefit.

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Posted by Wade Burchette at 5:15 PM - Categories: Hints and Tips