Apple, Mac, & iPhone News...
December 15th, 2009
Happy Tuesday, all...
Now, we have to say that we've been as ticked at AT&T as the next iPhone fan, but when we hopped online today to start researching the happenings for this column we were literally floored. Like, we had to sit down for a second. News outlets all over the internet are reporting the existance of a guerilla movement of AT&T based iPhone users so sick of the network and the "customer service" they've been getting that they're going to protest.
Operation Chokehold
Set to go down at noon Pacific time on the 18th (that's this Friday, y'all), the attack is malicious, but not illegal--it'll just be a lot of folks using their unlimited data plans in the most expansive way possible for a solid hour. Of course, the aim is to render the network completely useless, and there are strings of comments debating which apps to use, how to refine the attack, and how to make sure the protest remains just shy of a Denial of Service Attack which could end up in some nasty prosecutions.
We must state, for the record, that jailbreaking and transferring carriers seems a smidge more sane compared to this option, but our reporting on this does not mean we're going to be involved in either action in any way, shape or form.
Even so, we hear that streaming video is the best way to go and for the sake of all that is good make sure your WiFi is turned off.
Tiered Payment Plans
The latest in a string of indignities, and rightly what we predicted would break the proverbial camel's back, is the tiered payment plans being tossed about by AT&T. Data caps, increased rates, overage charges, all of it goes against the unlimited data plans that smartphone users were promised and in fact forced into when they signed their life away to Apple and AT&T both.
We see that there's a problem--we hear about the dropped calls and long loading web pages every day--but there's something so wrong about indian giving on an initial promise even when deep down we know there are precious few other ways to fix this problem.
Hey, another thing: voice and data run concurrently but separately on wireless networks, and one of the major concerns we've read on the message boards is that if AT&T iPhone users do stream massive amounts of data emergency and 911 calls may not get through...to the best of our understanding and research emergency calls will be rerouted to any available carrier's network. If you know otherwise please email and we'll post the correction.
Will you be participating or boycotting? Tell us on Twitter.
Till tomorrow, Newsies...