For those of you who haven’t heard, Microsoft plans on releasing the next version of Windows, Windows 7, on October 22 of 2009.

This is going to be very exciting. Simply Googling the phrase “Windows 7″ will return countless rave reviews, and as a tester, I can back up every last one of them. Windows 7 runs faster than Windows XP on my 2004 Dell Dimension testing machine. It’s quick, pretty, and easy to use. It’s clean, and smooth. If you haven’t had a chance to try it, you may want to scuffle on over to Microsoft.com soon and give it a shot before the Release Candidate is no longer publicly available.

As for me, I will be purchasing it the day it is released. I have never been this excited about a Windows release before. Actually, I don’t think I’ve been this excited about ANY software release. For serious!

One of the primary reasons I am so excited about Windows 7 is that it is Microsoft’s chance to slap Apple in the face just as equally as Apple did to them with the Apple Switch commercials of 2006-2009. Windows Vista was not a bad operating system. I promise. I have been using it since a few weeks after it was released, and I have never experienced a single one of the problems that everyone says it has. Granted, I bought a computer that met the damned hardware requirements. Apparently those mean nothing to some people, and running a brand new OS on a 6yr old computer should be no problem at all.

I mean, look at it this way: You can’t drive a Ferarri on a dirt road. Well, I guess you can, but it’s not going to be fun. Unless it’s someone else’s Ferrari, of course. Then it’ll be a blast! Am I losing the point here?

Seriously. When you upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP, you needed more RAM (and a faster processor helped significantly as well). When you upgraded from OS9 to OSX Tiger, you needed a whole new friggin computer! Snow Leopard will not work on any computer built before 2006 (Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous.). How is this any different from needing a computer with a 1Ghz processor and 2GB of RAM for an upgrade to Vista? it’s not.

Windows 7, however, has the same hardware requirements as Vista did. That’s what it says on the box anyway. For those of us that have tried it, we know better. It runs just fine on a computer that’s not half as good as the “required” hardware. This is where Microsoft will win. While Apple is dropping older hardware, Microsoft is actually picking it up. A computer that wouldn’t run Vista will, in many cases, run Windows 7 just fine.

Kudos, Microsoft. You’ve done us well. Please please please please keep this philosophy. I’d like to see what you ahve in store for future versions of Internet Explorer and Windows Mobile 7. I’m really getting tired of my iPhone.

Looks like the Wordpress 2.8 uprade went smoothly. All of my plugins worked with no problems, and my theme didn’t need any modifications!

I’ve been putting it off for months, because I didn’t want to deal with the possible issues of upgrading to 2.8 from 2.0 (there were several versions in the middle that I missed). Looks like I could have done it a long time ago and been fine.

Anyway, let me know if you encounter any issues or oddities with the site. Thanks!

I am at my wits end. After having the refurbished iPhone for 3 days, there is again dust under the screen. Let me clarify that I take excellent care of my electronics. I keep my phone in a case, never drop it, and it doesn’t spend much time in my pocket (it usually sits on my desk, night stand or coffee table).

This is unacceptable.

That’s right, guys. This is my 6th one. No, it’s not new. It’s another refurb.

How did this happen? This time, it was actually not a functionality defect, but rather just dust under the screen. Granted, it was excessive dust, that severely affected my user experience. For a 2-month old phone, it was definitely unacceptable. And considering that I’ve not seen an iPhone with dust under the screen before, I considered it a manufacturing defect.

So, the Apple Store again refused to replace my NEW phone with another new phone. I got a refurbished phone as replacement. I still maintain my opinion that that policy is complete and utter bullshit, and sends a very bad message to the customer.

I’m hoping for Apple’s sake that this one doesn’t sprout some weird issue in the coming weeks, because that will be the straw that breaks this camel’s back.

I will, at that point, take on the daunting task of switching BACK to T-Mobile, BACK to Windows Mobile 6, and getting my money back from Apple. Of course, this would involve returning the iPhone as well (and good riddance as far as I’m concerned). However, it will also involve Apple paying for my T-Mobile cutoff fees, my AT&T deposit, my AT&T cutoff fees, and if necessary, my new T-Mobile deposit (since the only reason I switched to AT&T was to get the iPhone, leaving T-Mobile and their better coverage, fewer dropped calls, lower prices and better customer service). I may just throw in the amount of money I have spent in the App Store as well, since all of those apps are decidedly useless without an iPhone. And, if I’m feeling adventurous, I may also ask for the money back for the 3 cases I’ve had to purchase for my iPhone, since Apple makes the ONLY mobile phone on the market that requires a case/skin, yet Apple doesn’t make a case/skin for it (Blackberry, for the record, gives you a free case with every phone. And it’s not required, either.).

If Apple is resistant in this case, I will have to move on to more offensive measures, starting with the local newspaper, and moving my way up.

Apple, You had better cross your fingers that this refurbished iPhone 3G doesn’t have any issues. Else I will make your fruity rainbow-flavored apple-with-a-bite-missing (coincidence?) ass pay for this debacle with as much of a stink as one person is able to manufacture with empirical evidence and total dissatisfaction.

yeah… my 4th iPhone is defective as well. Backlight issues.

This would have all been avoided the first time I had issues if Apple had replaced my defective phone with a new one instead of a refurbished one.

Way to go, Apple. You’ve successfully scared me away from buying a ~$3,000 laptop from you!

Alright…

I’ve just gotten my 3rd replacement iPhone. That makes this my 4th iPhone 3G since September…

I am left with no choice but to recommend that you steer clear of this ever-so-coveted device, and for the sake of whatever god you worship, don’t switch to AT&T for it.

Alright, so I’m at the Apple Store again. They are going to replace my phone. Again.

Check back to this post for updates…

I give up. I’m never buying an Apple product again.  I’m sorry friends, those of you that work at Apple.  I tried to give Apple another chance, I really did.

Anyone in the market for an iPhone 3G with an intermittent speaker?

Well, here’s that update I promised you…

I’m at the Apple Store right now, restoring my data from a backup to the new iPhone.  Actually, it’s a refurbished iPhone.

Much to my surprise, I was not hassled by the “Genius” at all.  He was a little brief with me, not the best people skills… but he replaced my phone, no questions asked.

Lets hope this iPhone doesn’t have any issues!

Alright, this is absurd… I got my iPhone 3G two weeks ago.  Out of the box, it had a dead pixel.  As I suspected he would, the guy at the AT&T store told me that I’d have to talk to Apple about it.  Given my previous experience with Apple support and customer service (http://www.spoontwisted.com/apple-support-apple-care-apple-retail/), I decided to just deal with the dead pixel.  After all, who wants a refurbished iPhone for the price of a new one?  Not I.

Yesterday, I noticed a relatively short battery life on my phone.  Charged it up (second time in a day), and waited.  6 hours later, it was dead again.  Mind you, this is with 1 phone call and 4-5 text messages.

Even now as I sit here at my desk at work, my phone has been off the charger for less than an hour, and the battery indicator is already creeping down.  That’s not a good sign, folks…

So now, I know what I must do.  I will now have to go to the Apple Store and talk to a “Genius” about my issue.  He/she will most likely insult me for using Windows, and try to blame the problem on me.  I may have to make more than one visit to the Apple Store, or worse, call AppleCare’s 800 number (-shudder-).

I’ll keep you updated on the bulls**t I will likely face with the “support” that Apple renders…