iPhone4 Hatred

There is a lot of iPhone 4 hatred out there. Apple has recently come under a lot of fire for antenna performance, lack of so called 4G (actually 3.9G LTE). Let's examine the first criticism objectively in this post and I'll address the others in upcoming posts. First a comedic interlude. 

So what is really going on with these antenna issues? Consumer Reports rated the new iPhone 4 as the top smart phone it has ever tested, only to not recommend it due to the antenna issues. I keep saying issues because it can be broken down into two parts. First, the way iOS4 reported signal strength gave people a false sense that signal was stronger then it really was. Anandtec has a great illustration of the difference between what iOS reported in 4.0 to 4.0.1. 
As you can see the middle range was very compressed. The new way will tell people just how crappy we all know the 3G GSM network is that AT&T provides. For those of you Android fans, I suggest you check the link out and see what Droid reports. iOS4 now reports the least compressed bar range out of any smartphone.

The second issue is hand placement. This generated a lot of play in the press and is a real problem for some users. If you place your hand on a certain spot, you can drop your phone performance considerably. Anandtec discusses it in the above article and Apple has posted about their testing. Compared to other phones, Apple made a different design decision -- they opted for good performance in low signal situations. Considering the fact that they are on AT&T's network this is probably a wise choice. A case and better hand placement can reduce the impact of that giant attenuator known as the human body. I usually use my bluetooth anyway (I'm one of those that only seem to call while driving or walking through the city) so I've not been as impacted as others.

Other phone manufactures have responded with weasel words, but have not challenged any of the findings published on Apples website. Apple has offered free cases to iPhone purchasers, Details on how to order a free Bumper or case will be available soon on apple.com.

Objectivist Roundup

Trey Givens has the honor of hosting 154th Objectivist Roundup go check it out!

Delegation

Those of you who follow me on twitter or facebook know that in the last 6 months I've was put in a more managerial position and in the last few weeks was promoted. My work is a little weird with the positions disconnected from your level so it is confusing. The point is that I'm getting paid more and more is expected of me now. The team I lead is suffering from success. We were so good at doing are job that now we can't stop doing it! Not even to teach new people to our team how to do the job. Basically everyone is swamped. Sound familiar?

One of the hard things that I've had to start doing is sticking my neck out to prioritize things. This is pretty scary since I could end up telling someone not to do something that I find out later was A #1 PRIORITY OMG! Fortunately everything is priority 1 my manager is flexible with prioritization. I'm trying to plot out a course of where we will be in 6 months and figure out team goals for individual development, team development and tool development. If only I could find the time!

The problem is I'm used to being a DOER. When someone comes to me with a problem or task I immediately think -- is this something I am capable of doing? Often that is about as far as I think before I start getting caught up in the planing and doing of the task at hand. I'm trying to catch myself now before I commit to anything and think about a few other questions:

1. Is this something important to our team goals? Is it something that the customer needs but is better done by someone else?
2. How important is this? What are the deadlines and how hard are they?
3. Can it be broken into pieces? Who else on my team is capable of taking on part or all of those pieces?

This leads me to the last thing I've noticed -- I need to delegate more. There is too much to do and not enough time for me to do it all! Besides I have this awesome group of people who can do my bidding! If I can learn to set priorities and pass the right things off to the right people things will improve and people will feel that while there is still more to be done then time to do, they can know that what they have done was important and is taking the team in the right direction.

Mohammed

The Objective Standard is hosting a "Drawings in Defense of Life" drive to participate in  “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” which is May 20. Here is my submission.

OLists

I've been a member of OEvolve, OShooting and OProducers and have enjoyed the steady stream of useful information. Diana has selected terrific moderators to keep the lists on topic. I hope to join OActivists and Obloggers soon as well! Please take a look and see if you'd be interested in any of the topics. You don't have to be an Objectivist to lurk on many of the lists.

Wm

Hi, I’m  Diana Hsieh.  I’m an Objectivist and a recent Ph.D in philosophy.

I oversee an independent network of e-mail lists for friendly discussion and information-sharing among advocates of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism.  They are the “OLists” : http://www.OList.com

The common goal of the OLists is to serve the real-life values and interests common to subscribers — such as activism, blogging, parenting, health, productivity, firearms, gardening, and academia.  These lists have been active, informative, and useful to their hundreds of subscribers; they’ve helped connect Objectivists with values in common.  In case you’ve not heard of them, I invite you to see whether they might foster your values too.

Please note that these lists are not free-for-all discussion lists.  Each list has a clear purpose, as well as definite membership criteria.  Also, some lists are limited to Objectivists, while others welcome non-Objectivist lurkers.  Please check the list’s purpose and membership criteria before you request a subscription.

Without further ado, the OList e-mail lists are…

OActivists: http://www.OList.com/oactivists

OActivists is an e-mail list for Objectivists committed to fostering positive cultural and political change.  Its purpose is to encourage and assist effective advocacy of Objectivist ideas in non-Objectivist forums by facilitating communication between Objectivist activists.  Membership is limited to Objectivist activists.  It is managed by Tammy Perkins.

OBloggers: http://www.OList.com/obloggers

OBloggers is an e-mail list for Objectivist bloggers.  Its purpose is to facilitate communication about matters of mutual interest, such as upcoming events, blogworthy links, posts of interest, blog promotion, and best blogging practices.  Membership is limited to Objectivist bloggers.  It is managed by Kate Gerber of CareerMama (http://www.careermama.com).

OGrownups: http://www.OList.com/ogrownups

OGrownups is an informal e-mail list for for Objectivists and others interested in raising and educating children well. Its basic purpose is to facilitate discussion amongst Objectivists about child development, discipline techniques, education methods, parenting resources, and more.  Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome.  It is managed by Jenn Casey of Rational Jenn (http://rationaljenn.blogspot.com).

OEvolve: http://www.OList.com/oevolve

OEvolve is an informal e-mail list for Objectivists and others interested in the proper application of evolutionary principles to diet, fitness, and health.  Its basic purpose is to facilitate discussion and information-sharing amongst Objectivists about the practical sciences of cooking, nutrition, fitness, health, and more.  Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome.  It is managed by Monica Hughes of Ancestral Generation (http://ancestralgeneration.com).

OProducers: http://www.OList.com/oproducers

OProducers is an e-mail list for Objectivists and others committed to improving their habits of productivity in their careers, projects, and other pursuits.  Its purpose is to facilitate discussion and information-sharing amongst Objectivists about practical methods for better management of time, projects, money, people, and other resources.  Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome.  It is managed by Tod of Optimal Living (http://blog.bytod.com).

OShooters: http://www.OList.com/oshooters

OShooters is an e-mail list for Objectivists and others enthused about firearms and committed to gun rights.  Its basic purpose is to facilitate discussion and information-sharing amongst Objectivists about firearm models, shooting techniques, gun ranges, gun laws, and the like.  Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome.  It is managed by Santiago Valenzuela.

OGardeners: http://www.OList.com/ogardeners

OGardeners is an informal e-mail list for Objectivists and others interested in gardening and landscaping.  Its purpose is to facilitate discussion and information-sharing amongst Objectivists about the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and trees.   Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome.  It is managed by Kelly Elmore of Reepicheep’s Coracle (http://reepicheepscoracle.blogspot.com).

OAcademics: http://www.OList.com/oacademics

OAcademics is an e-mail list for Objectivist academics to discuss teaching, research, coursework, dissertations, job prospects, publication, and all other aspects of life in (or after) academia.  Membership is limited to Objectivist academics.  It is managed by Diana Hsieh of NoodleFood (http://blog.dianahsieh.com).

If you have any questions or comments about the OLists, please feel free to e-mail me at diana@dianahsieh.com.
– DMH

Diana Hsieh (Ph.D, Philosophy, CU Boulder)
E-mail: diana@dianahsieh.com
NoodleFood: http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog
NoodleCast: http://www.dianahsieh.com/cast
ModernPaleo: http://www.ModernPaleo.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DianaHsieh

Comcast Update

A big Thank You! to someone over at Comcast Corporate. They managed to restore one of my cable cards! The Tivo is now operating at half capacity until Sunday when a new cable card can be delivered by the repair guy. I only hope they bring a cable card...

Comcast Help

I am always frightened when I have to call Comcast to update my cable service. Every time I call to change my lineup the following events happen:

1. The account is coded wrong and I end up getting bumped out of my promotion, and my next bill is much higher then it should be. To counter this I always call 2 days later and confirm the price I should get.

2. One (or both) of my Tivo cable cards get 'zapped'. For unknown reasons Comcast looses all the details of my cable cards causing me to have to call them on the phone. This call helps fix the problem 2 of the 5 times this has happened.

3. The support call listed in 2 causes the other cable card information to disappear from Comcast's system. Now I have a Tivo that can only see local stations. The poor support folks can't get their computers to take the magic numbers in order to give me service. I schedule a tech, they come out, swap cards about 5 times until the one person in the NOC who knows what they are doing gets my card information into the system. 3 of the 4 times I've had this happen it has involved multiple techs because the cards 'don't work'.

If you are that one person in the NOC who knows what they are doing, here is my information that you need to make this happen:

Tivo Series 3 (2 single stream cards required)


Account number 09518405122023

Motorola MediaCipher M-CARD
Card1 S/N MA0817CABVX5
CableCard ID 000-008-174-088-8
Host ID: 035-011-305-285-5
Data: 361-764-662-86

Card2 S/N MA0817CAAOZ4 (note that last is a letter O afaik)
CableCard ID 000-008-174-074-8
Host ID: 035-011-305-284-8
Data: 251-674-807-37