So you want to break up with your cable company…

There’s nothing worse than staying in a bad relationship way past it’s natural expiration date, yet that’s what always winds up happening. We worry we can’t find anything better. We focus too much on the few good times, not enough on the multitudes of bad ones. We deceive ourselves into thinking things will get better.

That’s why I’m here.

I’m here to tell you can do better.

I’m here to tell you that things don’t have to be this way.

I’m here to tell you how to break up with your cable company.

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iPhone 4: the antenna isn’t an issue for me, but this is…

Yesterday I started making my first video using iMovie for iPhone 4.  I was giddy.  I couldn’t believe I was making a project on my cell phone with the same non-linear ease I used to only expect from a top-of-the-line desktop machine (I’ve been using Final Cut Pro since the day it came out over a decade ago).   There were some limitations, of course, but nothing I couldn’t work around.   I made a video for my girlfriend, timing pictures and video of her nephews and niece to one of her new favorite songs. I showed it to her on the phone’s high quality screen.  She loved it.  She wanted to share it with her sister 3000 miles away.   And that’s when I had a problem.  A big problem.  Every time I tried to export the video, the app crashed.

A simple Google search turned up this support document on Apple’s website.

Apparently iMovie currently has a problem with still images:  use more than a dozen or so in a project and you could start to have issues exporting.  I had close to 40 photos in my project.   Playing around with the suggested settings didn’t help.  Apple’s final suggestion:  Use less photos.

In other words:  When all else fails, start over again with lesser ambitions.

That’s not an attitude I’m using to hearing from Apple.

Anyways, I’m not going to do that. I’ll continue to show off the video on the phone while I wait for a bug fix (it’s clearly a bug — the App has no problem processing all those photos on the fly during editing or playback — just when compiling for export).  When that will come, no clue.  Apple seems a little busy at the moment.  But at least while I wait I can listen to some podcasts

Why I returned my HTC Evo 4G

The Super Phone

First up, I didn’t do it because of the iPhone 4.  Doubt me if you will (and I know you will), but it’s true.

I also didn’t return it because of the screen.  Sure it might not have the highest resolution available, but it’s still pretty darn impressive.  In fact, the screen size was the one thing I might’ve kept the phone for, despite my other gripes.

I didn’t do it because of Android.  Well, not explicitly because of Android.  I don’t mind Android.  I love the widgets, I love the way I could customize the home screen.   I really liked many of things Andoid does that aren’t even options on the iPhone.  I even liked HTC’s custom “Sense” interface.

I didn’t do it because of the battery.  Sure, the battery life of the brand new Evo was only marginally better than my two year old iPhone 3G, but it was a lifespan I could deal with, and if it got worse, buying a new battery would be easy and painless.

And I didn’t do it because of the lack of 4G.  Guess what?  Despite the fact that Los Angeles isn’t yet an officially supported 4G city, I found plenty of places around town with 4G service, including my own neighborhood.  That was actually one of the biggest, more pleasant surprises about the phone.

No, I did it because of one word:  Podcasts.

Yes, you read that right.  Podcasts.

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