"You know it's coming"? Dude, haven't you heard that AT&T has a five-year exclusive agreement with Apple? So I have two options: 1) take your advice and patiently wait until 2012 for a T-Mobile version of the iPhone, or 2) get really excited about a hack opening up the iPhone to other carriers. Yeah, I'll take option 2.

That being said, I am going to wait this one out until the next firmware update. I don't want to drop $50 for a hack that only works for 2 weeks.

God bless you early adopters...

Hey Steve!

You should get that unit replaced. I left Palm after owning the travesty that is the Treo 700w from Verizon. I came back to them with the Treo 750, and I'm absolutely loving it. It definitely chimes/vibrates when I get an SMS; I love the threaded text messaging tool.

Sad that you got a bad unit. :-( Hopefully it's a 1:1000000000000000 thing (where you're the 1...not me!!! :-p )

Good luck, man!

Nathan

Nabil, you wrote, "Man, they don't even know if the iPhone will be a success, and they are already working on version 2.0

The iPhone will fail for 2 reasons:

1) The people who can afford it (Business men/women) don't want it (no outlook)
2) The people who want it (college students and medium wage families) can't afford it."

First off, every good company is already working on the next big thing. Otherwise they're going to fall behind and let other companies innovate. You could say the same thing about Microsoft, who is already working on the next version of Windows. You could say, "WOW. OMGZ!!!! THEY JUST RELEASED WINDOWS VISTA. PWNED." But you know what? They have to;

Second, for the love of God, let Apple release the product before you say it's going to fail. Apple clearly states that they will support syncing with PCs. It may not be with Outlook; it'll most definitely be with iTunes. We simply don't know how they're going to sync it with PCs. If they don't sync with Outlook, so what? If it makes phone calls, manages my contacts, is an iPod, can get me online, manages photos, and 100 other different things with complete ease and without crashing...I will start using iTunes to manage my contacts on my PC if that's what I have to do. But you know what? We don't even know if that's going to be the case because they haven't even ANNOUNCED it yet. Only David Pogue has mentioned in the NY Times that it doesn't sync with Outlook. This can be changed by June.

Also, the iPhone is adequately priced. I'm about to buy a goddamn Treo 750, which has got a lot of the same functionality of the iPhone but not the great user interface and lacks the iPod video capability, and that's going to cost me $399 with a 2-year contract. For $100 more, I can get an iPhone. Let me tell you from a guy who is in both categories 1 and 2: That $100 is well worth the upgrade. You're getting an iPod ($199) and a BlackBerry/Treo 700wx ($299) at the same price.

As for it completely failing...I can't wait until summer when they prove you wrong. That's what they said about Apple when they got into the music business. "WHAT?!? A COMPUTER COMPANY DOING MUSIC?" That's what they said about Microsoft getting into the gaming business. "WHAT?!? A SOFTWARE COMPANY GETTING INTO CONSOLES?" Thank God people like you were right and both of them failed miserably from those ventures.

Wait for a company to release a product before you criticize it...and wait for a company to fail before you actually start saying, "Aha! You failed!"

Positive, my friend. Stay positive. Apple getting into the cell phone business will only help the industry and spark new innovation from its new competitors. That's all I'm hoping for...the positive. :-)

Dude, the phone hasn't even come out yet. "It's an unproven device that doesn't even make good calls"? There are only three of them in existence; have you used one? At least wait for it to be released onto the market before you start bashing it.

Oh, I forgot to add my take on this:

SO WHAT?!?

Big deal. Mac OS X on a Dell. That isn't a Mac. Mac OS X on a Gateway. Still not a Mac. Mac OS X on a computer you scrapped together. Nope, not a Mac.

IT IS NOT A MAC IF IT IS NOT AN APPLE COMPUTER.

I don't think most people understand this concept. Apple's entire philosophy is giving the user the FULL and COMPLETE experience. Apple knows what you're going to get from the second you open the MacBook box to the second you click on Safari. They know what you'll see when you own an iPod and download songs from iTunes. It's an EXPERIENCE.

The reason why Apple is so successful with the iPod is because they CONTROLLED the experience of the user. They know what you're going to get. Meanwhile, other companies made their own hardware while Microsoft, Napster, etc. made their own software and had their own Music Stores.

Why is a Mac such a great experience? Because I've got a sexy, and yes, slightly overpriced, machine tied with a great operating system. But you know what? This very MacBook I'm typing on right this second, Apple designed the OS to fully utilize THIS hardware. Apple only makes five laptops; it's fairly easy to do. Meanwhile, Microsoft has drivers for millions of different kinds of machines.

I'm sorry, but what if they installed the iPhone Mac OS onto a Treo? It's not the same.

Take a look at the Windows Mobile OS. You get a completely different experience if you use the Treo 700w, the Treo 700wx, the Sprint PPC-6700, the Cingular 8525, etc. IT IS NOT THE SAME EXPERIENCE. I HATED the Windows Mobile OS on my Treo 700w, until I got to play with one on a 700wx and a PPC-6700. It's because different companies are playing with the same OS. It's not the same end-user experience.

I don't care if someone manages to make Mac OS X easily installable on a non-Apple PC. It's still not a Mac. It will never be a Mac.

@ Geoff

You said, "Do I get to view that license before opening the box, etc? No? So, it's not printed on the outside of the box or something then eh? Hm, interesting..."

No, you do not get to view that license. But if you disagree with it, you have the right to return it to your retailer within 14 days under federal law. (So yes, you can return open boxed software, just ask the manager of your store---they'll know)


You said, "Regardless, do you suppose that clause is worth the paper it's written on? If Apple puts a clause in there that says I have to kill someone, and I don't, am I in breach of contract?"

That's just silly. First off, you're taking a contract that says "Please don't steal my software" and comparing it to "Go kill someone". That's a great comparison there, man. ;-) Second, no contract can break the law. For example, if it's illegal to call someone on the Do-Not-Call List, your employer cannot make you sign a contract telling you to call someone on that list. If it's illegal to drive 80MPH in a 15MPH zone, someone can't make a contract that requires you to drive 80MPH. Any contract that breaks the law is automatically null and void in a court of law.

Now, onto Brian. :-) You said, "What if they buy the system at retail? It's a good thing that you realize you aren't a lawyer, since there's more to the legal aspect of it than to realize.

The idea of something being "reasonably enforceable", as you've put it, is not a legal concept that is recognized by the courts where I live. Either something is legal and, therefore, enforceable, or it's not. "reasonableness" doesn't enter into it. Period. Either a clause contravenes a law or legal precedent, or it doesn't."

You're absolutely right. "Reasonably enforceable" is not a concept that is recognized nationwide.

As to your question about purchasing at retail, it is required by law that every retailer accept returns on contracted software (which is a lot of them). If you do not agree with the EULA in the Mac OS X box, then simply eject it, put it back in the box, and return it. If the return person doesn't know about that, ask to speak with a manager.

It's kind of like....let's take the Apple Store, for example. The Apple Store has a shitty 14-day return policy. But what if you use your American Express card? American Express cardholders' agreements say that if a product is not up to par, you can return it in 30 days. How does that work?

The Apple Store, like all other retailers, had to sign an agreement with AMEX to bring their cardholders to them. American Express REQUIRES that a 30-day return policy be valid for its members. So Apple has to accept 30-day returns for AMEX cardholders in order to get AMEX customers to shop at its stores. It's a contract that they signed. They don't tell you that on the back of the receipt, but if you speak with a manager, they'll know.

The same goes with most software. Retailers know that customers have to sign that EULA, and returning it because you don't agree with the EULA is an extremely valid reason. Most $10/hr (I used to be one) cashiers don't know this, so expect some resistance until you meet with the manager on duty.

As a former Apple Retail employee, I've had the lion's share of "irksome" Mac moments.

My all-time favorite is, "Excuse me, sir, what company makes the Mac version of Microsoft Office?"

That had my fellow employees and me chuckling for the rest of our tenure.

My personal "irksome" moment is the shoddy synchronization software for the Mac and Palm OS or Windows Mobile 5 phone. I've used Missing Sync for both, and while they're great attemps, they fail to get the same experience for Mac OS X as the experience one would get for Windows XP.

With Windows Mobile 5 syncs, I would get incorrect email addresses, birthdays, names (swapped first and last names), and calendar entries. The information would either be deleted or altered (imagine having changed appointment dates). I had four of the Treo 700w, two of the Motorola Q, and one of the Sprint PPC-6700. All of them have Windows Mobile, and all of them were horrific in syncing data to any of my three Macs via the Missing Sync software.

The biggest hurdle is trying to install Windows Mobile applications, since they're all in the .exe format. You have to have a PC lying around (or get Boot Camp/Parallels and buy Windows XP...but why should I have to spend $200-$300 on another operating system just to sync data with a $200-$600 phone?)

With Palm OS, things are GREAT, but not perfect. The only problem I've had with Palm OS syncs are birthday entries being altered. (I called up my buddy yesterday to tell him Happy Birthday...his birthday was February 7, not September 7. Thank you, Missing Sync)

I currently have the Palm OS-based Treo 700p, which works great for me. While it's nice to know that there's a company like Mark/Space working on providing synchronization software for the Mac while the manufacturers such as Palm and Motorola could care less, as well as a place where Apple doesn't put any effort into, it's still annoying to know that Windows users aren't facing as much trouble as I am with syncing data.

Plus Windows users get to take full advantage of all the neat new Windows Mobile 5 phones.

I'm surprised you didn't have any problems with the .Mac syncing service before this.

I must say that .Mac syncing has become a lot better ever since the upgrade to Tiger, but it still has its quirks (why does it continue to give me conflicts when they both continue to have the same information? I know this may seem trivial to you, but with over 400 contacts and 600 calendar entries, it can be tiresome---and that blasted "Use .Mac/Computer to resolve all conflicts DOES NOT WORK"

But that's just annoying. Annoying I can handle. What I can't handle is what you described in your post (thank you for the warning, by the way).

I've had that happened to me twice recently, once when I was using my Palm Treo 650 and the other when I had a Sony Ericcson phone.

The Missing Sync, the third-party solution for syncing with a Palm OS device, replaced all my Address Book contacts with the contacts on my brand new phone (brand new = nothing on it). So all my contacts were wiped out, and there was no way to reverse it from within the program (I had to pull out all those vCards from Backup).

The second time was with my Sony Ericcson phone, which swapped the first names and last names on all my contacts. I kid you not. James Brown became Brown James. Phone numbers were switched around in the mobile, home, work sections...all mailing addresses were wiped out. I had to pull out the vCards again.

The cleanest sync I have ever seen are two things: 1) Tiger .Mac sync with Address Book, and 2)The Treo 700w with Microsoft Outlook.
Those two items sync PERFECTLY. It's like a dream come true...

Watch out, guys. The lesson is to always back up your data, no matter what you use.

#14: Pay full price.

I have to disagree with you on the issue of ports. I find it disturbing for Apple to have removed the S-Video and FW800 ports and the PC Card slot. I also find it disturbing that Apple downgraded the SuperDrive DLs to SuperDrives and cut their write speed from 8x to 4x.

I find the removal of S-Video to be disturbing. S-Video is important to me because I like to plug in my laptop to TVs and show video clips or short films I'm working on. It's also important to me because I do a lot of presenations in Keynote and PowerPoint. While I understand that I can simply get a DVI to S-Video cord from Apple for $19.99, I feel like I've been ripped off because they've removed it from the newer model. If they never had it on the older PowerBooks and they continued to not have it on the newer MacBooks, then I'd be less dissapointed. But removing such an important port from a newer model? That's cause for concern.

I find the removal of FireWire 800 to be disturbing. I strongly, strongly disagree with you on this. You claim you don't believe FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 have a noticeable speed difference; FireWire 800 transmits data at 786.432 Mbit/s vs. FireWire 400's 400 Mbit/s. I'm going to assume that you haven't transmitted much data or processed enough to see the difference.

I love hearing people say things like, "I've never really used that FireWire 800 port, so no one else has" and "There are about two products that utilize FireWire 800". These people have obviously never used their Macs for video. The new Sony HD cameras require FireWire 800 for HD video transfer---as I'm sure all future cameras will for HD video transfer, since we're talking about such a large amount of data. Quite a few external hard disks use FireWire 800---and that is significantly faster than its FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 counterparts.

I find the removal of the PC Card slot to be disturbing. I, like many others, use the PC Card slot for wireless internet from a wireless telephone company. I use Verizon; some use Sprint, even Cingular. None of these companies have a card that utilizes the new ExpressCard slot in the MacBooks. Not one. I would have to give up this great feature of being able to connect to the internet from anywhere I get service to get a MacBook.

I find the downgrading of the SuperDrive to be disturbing. I've read people on other forums defending Apple on this. I used to work for Apple, so I'm used to defending them from all sorts of people; I'm having trouble defending this decision. Forget all about Dual-Layer right now since a signifacant majority of people will never use it. Let's just talk about 4x vs. 8x. What the **** made them want to cut the write speed of the DVD burner in half? If we want to save battery life, we can customize the burn speed: we can change it to 4x if we want to, but we have that option in the PowerBooks. I usually keep it at 8x when I'm plugged in; 4x when I'm not. I won't have that option if I upgraded to 8x. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I don't understand why they got rid of the dual-layer. I'm sick of people saying "Well, if I never used it, no one else has. That's why they got rid of it." There are people, like myself, who actually used these features. This is what bothers me: if they simply never had a dual-layer SuperDrive or a 8x SuperDrive and they continued to not have a dual-layer or 8x SuperDrive, I would've been okay. But for them to have it in the previous edition of PowerBooks then DOWNGRADE it in this new edition of MacBook is extremely confusing.

All in all, the MacBook Pro is not worth it. They seem to have removed many important features, the PC Card slot and FW800 being the most important, in favor of 4-5x faster processor speed.

I would much rather have a slower PowerBook with wireless internet anywhere I go, easy connectivity to a TV, High Definition video camera, FireWire 800-speed external hard disk, a faster DVD burner with the option of burning a dual-layer disc than a faster MacBook with none of these features.