Episode 139 – The iPhone 5 Arrives – 9/13/2012

17 thoughts on “Episode 139 – The iPhone 5 Arrives – 9/13/2012”

1. It could just be
   Brad’s shirt but it looks like he is gaining a lot of weight.

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2. BTW as a Customer Service Rep for a major wireless phone company that Will (hates) remain nameless, I can say that ALL the carriers have their “F*#k Y0u” corporate evil things. But some companies are really working hard to make sure that the customer service is more friendly to make up for it. All companies have their coverage issues too, depending on location. But yeah AT&T and T-Mobile have the issue of network overload in high congestion areas. But as has been said, that’s a rather uncommon issue.

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3. I think there was some confusion over battery surface area and performance. From what I have read what matters is the surface area between the particles inside the battery not necessarily the surface area of the cell package See http://pac.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2008/pdf/8011×2283.pdf

   On the other hand if the battery package had more surface area it would dissipate heat better and improve performance better that way.

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4. Love me some Brad.

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5. I usually skip the iPhone episodes of the podcast, but since Brad’s on it I guess I’ll have to watch.

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6. I usually skip the iPhone episodes of the podcast, but since Brad’s on it I guess I’ll have to watch.

   Yeah, I was going to skip this week’s, but I’m interested in what Brad has to say.

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7. Norm mentions using an iPod touch and a ‘really good dumb-phone’ instead of an iPhone.

   This appeals to me, can anyone recommend a really good dumb-phone?

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8. ATM security plastic majiggers are new for the US? Most of the banks here in Canada have had those for a few years now. Same design. Bulbous translucent green thing with a picture of a lock on it.

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9. It’d be nice if you guys told us who the hell Brad is. I know you know but I have no idea. Just sayin’.

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10. Although I know who Brad is (#teambrad!), I’d agree the amount of GiantBomb-referentialism on the site without explanation is a little odd. I imagine someone not familiar with GiantBomb would be confused why their Questions intro is someone repeatedly suggesting “Emails” as the title of the segment before arriving at the proper title, or why Will’s videos Q&A videos are titled “No Jars Allowed.” GiantBomb is a fantastic website, and they are the way I was introduced to Will, Norm, and Tested, but you’re your own thing, guys!

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11. As a lawyer, I wanted to chime in on the frequent discussions about the lack of recourse for Kickstarter backers in the event that a project they fund is not fulfilled, as I think it’s being overstated.

    In terms of recourse against the person or business who started the particular Kickstarter project: So long as the Kickstarter project you back makes an unambiguous statement that in exchange for your pledge you will receive something (a tshirt, a movie, a game, whatever), you would have a number of claims you could bring against the project runner: breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, etc. Basically, if someone says “If you give me X, I will give you Y,” and you fulfill your end and they don’t fulfill theirs, you’re entitled under the law to damages, whether it’s getting your money back, or getting the item you were promised, or some other form of compensation. It’s certainly true that getting what you’re entitled to might require more time and expense than you’d like–suing people or filing complaints with the BBB or whatever else you might try isn’t easy–but that’s pretty much true in any case where you give money to a person, store, or business, and end up feeling like they didn’t give you what you wanted.

    In terms of recourse against Kickstarter itself in response to a failed project: Although it is certainly worth noting that Kickstarter’s stated position is that they won’t help backers in this process, it should also be noted that, just because Kickstarter says that in their terms of use or in other spots on their website, doesn’t mean they can’t be liable for an unfulfilled Kickstarter project. Anyone can say “if anything goes wrong, it’s not my problem and you can’t sue me,” but that doesn’t mean that statement is legally binding or legally accurate. For example, you’ll see theme parks or ski resorts post signs all over the place saying stuff like “If you die here, you can’t sue us for anything, including our negligent or intentional acts.” Those statements mostly just exist to intimidate uninformed people into signing shitty settlements, because in reality, those statements are generally unenforceable. If you negligently or intentionally harm someone, in most cases, you’re liable, regardless of what signs you put up. Otherwise, I could just plaster signs on my car saying “by driving near me, you hereby agree that I am not liable for any damages or injuries caused by my car” and then just slam into any other car on the road I feel like and get away with it. This is not to say that Kickstarter’s statements are meaningless–if their notice that they provide no guarantees about the successful completion of these projects is sufficiently clear and if they’re not aiding in any kind of fraud or preventing a project from being fulfilled in some way, I would bet that a court would find those terms enforceable. But if anyone out there ends up getting screwed over on a large Kickstarter donation, know that you have options, regardless of what Kickstarter says. You might not get all your money back, and you might not get the item you wanted, but I bet you’d stand a chance to get a good settlement, and at a minimum, you should be entitled to recover the portion of your donation that Kickstarter took from the project runner.

    TL/DR: It’s probably right that you won’t have much recourse against Kickstarter in the event of a failed project, but that limitation is far from absolute. And the project runner will absolutely be liable for fulfilling whatever terms they promised to you when you funded their Kickstarter.

    (bullshit CYA disclaimer: this is not legal advice, I am not your lawyer, don’t rely on this without consulting your own lawyer)

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12. I’m already on the wagon that uses an iPod touch but I’m also using a very nice Android phone in the Galaxy Nexus.

    I’d love to upgrade my iPod Touch to the 5th gen model. I’ll probably end up waiting for the 6th gen model though.

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13. In the fake outtakes section, the Tested crew talks about a service called “Eribean Bee” or something of the sort. Could someone please let me know how that is spelled? I’ve tried countless phonetic spelling attempts in Google, and got nothing.

    Thanks!

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14. PIKE PLACE MARKET there is NO S /Seattlerage

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15. A nice DAC that’ll do the job taking digital off your TV & to your reciever. http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347786051&sr=1-1&keywords=Fiio+D03K

    Supports up to 24/192 and can be powered from USB, and is relatively cheap. I am using one to take audio off a PC into a headphone amp, sound quality is pretty good for the price.

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16. It’d be nice if you guys told us who the hell Brad is. I know you know but I have no idea. Just sayin’.

    Brad is an editor for GiantBomb.com

    Giant Bomb and Tested were founded within Whiskey Media, so the editors for both sites worked in the same office and each were consulted for their advice on tech or video games. In March of this year, Whiskey Media was split when GB and ComicVine (another Whiskey property) were sold to CBSi while Tested and Screened were sold to Berman Braun.

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17. Plasma burn-in definitely is a thing still if I assume Brad is like me where you can go on a video game bender (whether it is work-related of not).

    I own a Panasonic ST50 plasma TV, and I played Rock Band Blitz for maybe 6 hours straight and have a little bit of burn-in of the scores + stars UI in the corner. I think maybe it’s going away very slowly, but remnants have been there for about a week and a bit now, but thankfully is only noticeable when the TV is showing a bright and fully solid color scene.

    I’m not running the anti-image retention scrolling bar scrubber for hours on end (although on day I tried for an hour), but as it stands, it’s still there. Yes, I keep the pixel-orbiting feature on permanently. I’m hoping it goes away with careful general TV-watching and some scrolling bar scrubbing here and there, but we’ll see.

    Regardless of such, plasma-burn in is definitely a thing (but thankfully to a lesser extent compared to older models). While I love my plasma TV and the amazing picture quality it outputs, my own neurosis plus the odd need for a video game bender make for an experience not fitting for a plasma experience. I almost wish I paid the premium for an LED TV instead, just so it was more fitting to my lifestyle.

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