A defiant Steve Jobs on Friday rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4’s design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases to address reception complaints that have hurt Apple Inc’s image and shares.
At a rare, 90-minute press conference, the Apple chief executive asserted that reception issues were a problem shared by the entire smartphone industry, naming specifically rivals Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.
Jobs maintained there were no problems with the iPhone 4’s wraparound antenna design and accused the media of trying to “tear down” a company that had grown so successful.
After the June 24 launch of the iPhone 4, some users reported drastically reduced signal strength when they held the touch-screen phone a certain way, in what has come to be known as the “iPhone 4 death grip.” read more…
Kevin Youkilis gave the Red Sox life with a game-tying double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He finished off the Rangers with a sacrifice fly to medium-depth center in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Sox a riveting 3-2 victory in a Saturday night thriller at Fenway Park.
The game seemed all but lost the way Cliff Lee completely mowed through the Red Sox over the first eight innings.
Boston had just one baserunner between the second and eighth, a double off the bat of Mike Cameron in the eighth.
But in the ninth, Marco Scutaro hit a leadoff single to center. Darnell McDonald sacrificed Scutaro to second with a bunt. David Ortiz moved Scutaro to third with a bullet into short right field that went right into the overshift for a 4-3 out. Youkilis gave the Red Sox the clutch hit they needed, a game-tying double to left on a 1-1 pitch. read more…
Pretty sure the headline makes it clear enough, but I’m gonna go ahead and slap a big ol’ SPOILER ALERT on this one anyway, because some people are too busy to actually read headlines. But yes, for those who haven’t seen Inception yet: First off, do so, because it’s a blast and definitely a “worth seeing in the theaters” pic with all the collapsing cities-type effects and such. Secondly, avert your eye, because I wanna talk about that last scene.
My first reaction when the movie ended and that damn top was still spinning was a chuckle (most every one else in my theater seemed to prefer a groan). What a pain in the ass, I thought lovingly of director Chris Nolan, for teasing us. I mean, OF COURSE Leo’s character got home. He woke up on the plane with the rest of the gang, went through customs, got to the house, and the kids finally turned around – something that did not, seemingly COULD not happen in his dreams. Ever. So what if the top kept spinning. It was just Nolan having a little fun with us. It even started to wobble there at the end, right? It was just a matter of time, a technicality. It probably fell the moment the screen went black. read more…
Since their arrival Friday afternoon, the Obamas have been biking, hiking and boating their way around Mount Desert Island, the third-largest island on the Eastern Seaboard and home to the 47,000-acre Acadia National Park.
The first stop Friday was a 90-minute bike ride on the lushly wooded trails around Witch Hole Pond at the northern end of the island. Then came a family hike on Cadillac Mountain, at 1,530 feet the highest peak on the East Coast.
The Obamas rounded out their first day with a National Park Service boat ride on Frenchman Bay and a waterfront dinner at Stewman’s Lobster Pound. Even dinner was outdoors: The first family, who arrived at the restaurant via boat, sat at a table on a pier overlooking the bay. The president and the first lady dined on lobster, while their daughters shared a shrimp basket, according to restaurant manager Jeff Buffington. read more…
Bruce Fuller’s opinion piece exemplifies some of the muddled thinking out there about public K-12 education. There is no question Fuller is a highly credentialed man. He has a doctorate from Stanford, is a noted author and a senior faculty member at UC Berkeley, has been on the faculty at Harvard and has worked with such organizations as the State Department, the World Bank and the California governor’s office.
It’s too bad none of this vast experience includes actually being a public school teacher, or being responsible for the very types of students about whom he’s writing. Fuller has obviously spent his long career in the rarified atmospheres of education research and politics, which bear about as much resemblance to public school teaching as sports shows do to playing the game. He speaks in the politically correct and necessarily vague code of the insulated observer, not the engaged participant, and so one must doubt the usefulness of his opinions on public education in general and English instruction in particular. His article is rife with clues to such doubt. read more…
U.S. Treasuries prices rose on Friday as data showing falling inflation and tumbling consumer sentiment enhanced the allure of safe-haven government bonds.
Reports showed the annual rate of inflation fell in June, coinciding with the third straight monthly decline in consumer prices, while consumer sentiment tumbled, adding to evidence the economy is fizzling.
Though bond market gains were limited due to the magnitude of recent rallies, the data appeared to support the move toward ever-lower yields on increasing risk of a deflationary spiral of lower prices, wages and economic activity.
Still, the reports followed a downgraded growth and inflation view by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, which also showed a few policy makers were concerned about the risk of deflation.
“Today’s U.S. reports provided an unpleasant close to a dismal week of data,” said Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics in Boulder, Colorado, adding “the mix leaves an unwelcome lull in activity in the second quarter that has apparently extended into the first month of the third quarter.”
Bad news for the economy is good news for bonds, and the benchmark 10-year note US10YT=RR traded 17/32 higher in price to yield 2.93 percent from 3.00 percent late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR overcame a slow start to eventually rally a point in price. It was last up 23/32 with its yield dipping to 3.95 percent from 3.99 percent. read more…
