by Stefan Etienne
on 06. Aug, 2010
in Breaking, HP, Lame, News, Strange
What’s one of the worst possible days to start a weekend as a CEO of one of the world’s most recongized PC manufacturers? Being Mark Hurd, and resign as CEO OF HP, that’s what. Amid sexual harassment charges and investigation, Mark was replaced by CFO Cathie Lesjak on an interim basis.
Mark’s statement:
“As the investigation progressed, I realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career.”
While the world of HP moves on, current CEO of HP Cathie Lesjak, had this interesting choice of words to say: although Mark Hurd was a “strong leader, at the end of the day, he didn’t drive our initiatives — it was the organization that supported Mark in driving those initiatives.”
Ouch. That’s a harsh exit.
Source: HP
by Stefan Etienne
on 02. Aug, 2010
in Android, Handsets, Hardware, Motorola, Strange, Verizon
According to Verizon Wireless spokesperson Brenda Raney (a friendly agent of mine), while speaking to Engadget, the original Motorola DROID “doesn’t have [the] hardware to support the mobile hotspot.” Now let’s rewind:
All Droid owners starting this week (even right now), will be getting the OTA for Android 2.2, and while one of the core features is in fact, mobile hotspot, the Droid won’t support it. Or in Verizon’s eyes, can’t.
Oh well. Now, if you’ll excuse us, please drop us a tip on our tips line if you have the update.zip file that can bring FroYo to the Droid masses (that also means us).
by Stefan Etienne
on 15. Jul, 2010
in Did You Know?, Internet, Strange
No really. This is a gadget blog dedicated to spewing out gadget knowledge and buying advice (as well as the newz) all over the interwebs, created by me (which honestly, is very fun). Albeit this request is slightly CrunchGear-like, I’m interested in a finding a can of Pepsi Strong Shot (or a case), but not from eBay.
Thank you. Your daily LaptopMemo programming will resume shortly.
by Stefan Etienne
on 15. Jul, 2010
in Awesome, Did You Know?, News, Science, Strange
Since the old saying (or the “who came first” conundrum) “Did the chicken come first, or the egg?” has puzzled minds for centuries, according to British scientists from Sheffield and Warwick, a certain protein — ovocleidin-17 — was found on the development shell of an egg, which to start with, is found only in a chickens’ ovaries. According to the smarty pants, OC-17 converting calcium carbonate into calcite crystals (thus forming an egg) wouldn’t be possible without a chicken running around first.
So here’s the question: where the heck did that first chicken come from? Sorry, I had to ask.
Via: Daily Tech, Metro.co.uk
by Stefan Etienne
on 02. Jul, 2010
in AT&T, Apple, Did You Know?, Featured, Handsets, Strange
So, in the latest part on Apple’s take of the iPhone 4′s ability to not get calls and use data due to the faulty antenna issue when it gets into contact with human flesh, they’re claiming that the issue is simply an incorrect signal reading, which would be a possible explanation to the “dramatic drop in [signal] bars”. So far, they’re promising that software update will be the answer, and they fix it. As they say in Futurama, “Fixitfixitfixitfixitfixit”!
Apple’s letter to iPhone4 users about this issue is after the break.
Via: Apple
(more…)
by Stefan Etienne
on 30. Jun, 2010
in Apple, Did You Know?, Handsets, Hardware, Strange
So, what goes with the quirky title of this story? At this point, that’sall I can think of. In internal docs Apple is telling its AppleCare employees to smooth over the antenna and reception problems with customers, as well as not providing them bumper cases for free, in ALL CAPS (see here).
In the meantime Apple is looking for eight experienced antenna dudes who would work on the iPhone and iPad, as well as manufacturing experience and in total being in the industry for more than 10 years. Probably Apple wants to make sure the iPhone 5 (or 4G) will be held anyway you want, so it is more revolutionary.
Go figures then. ;)
Via: TC
by Stefan Etienne
on 23. Jun, 2010
in AT&T, Apple, Breaking, Handsets, Strange
Well, in a recent presser on top of the Droid X event, Apple has the following to say about the white iPhone 4 magical delay:
CUPERTINO, Calif., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — White models of Apple’s new iPhone® 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected
It’s probably due to one of the following things. Either the new iPhone 4 in full white casing is harder to produce than expected, or they can’t find enough unicorn fur to build them. I’m going for the latter. Possibly.
by Stefan Etienne
on 16. Jun, 2010
in AT&T, Apple, Handsets, Strange
The iPhone 4 pre-order saga continues. Confidential information has been stolen, wrong billing addresses and wrong shipping addresses, AT&T’s pre-ordering system going down, along with Apple’s. It’s been chaos. Such to a point where the ordering systems mix up your info, so you could pay for an iPhone 4, and it arrives at LaptopMemo HQ’s doorstep! It’s that simple! Whether or not the 600,000 iPhones pre-ordered will arrive at the correct addresses, we don’t know, but we do know that they were purchased.
Press release:
CUPERTINO, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple’s new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.
by Stefan Etienne
on 09. Jun, 2010
in Android, HTC, Handsets, Sprint, Strange
Remember when Sprint said that the EVO 4G’s opening day sales toppled that of the Palm Pre and Samsung Instinct by 3 times over on their first 3 days on the market?
That never really happened. And Sprint says it ““inadvertently overstated” the amount of units sold. What they do say is that sales were in line with the numbers made by the Palm Pre and Samsung Instinct. That’s a different thing, people. The original press release is still at Sprint’s site, albeit slightly updated to avoid “inadvertently overstating” the EVO’s sales:
This release was distributed on June 7, 2010. It was updated on June 8, 2010. June 4, 2010 sales of HTC EVO 4G marked the largest quantity of a single phone sold in one day ever for Sprint – the record was previously held by both Samsung Instinct and Palm Pr. Launch day sales of HTC EVO 4G were six times greater than launch day sales of Samsung Instinct and nearly twice the launch day sales for Palm Pre. We continue to see sales of EVO 4G outpace sales of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre.
We originally reported that the total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day was three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined. We inadvertently erred in the comparison. The total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day was in line with the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined.
by Stefan Etienne
on 22. May, 2010
in Android, Handsets, LG, Strange, Verizon
The Verizon LG Ally is nothing special, but it’s a so-so okay Android 2.1 slider with a 3.2-inch multitouch screen, but for a very special price of $99. Availability was labeled as May 20th by Verizon and LG, but guess what? It’s been delayed. By a week, as seen in the LG Ally Forums:
Dear Valued Customer,
This notification is to inform you that Verizon Wireless has received your pre-order of the LG Ally. We have extended the pre-order period for the LG Ally until May 26th.
Since you have pre-ordered, you will be the first to receive the phone upon initial availability on or after May 27th.
We appreciate your business, and we will send you another confirmation email as soon as your LG Ally ships.
Sincerely,
Verizon Wireless
Like I said, the LG Ally isn’t a major Android phone, but it’s been delayed, which is still annoying. Darn you Iron Man 2!
