Category: technology

8Feb

iPhone microphone broken and Apple is doing

8 Feb 2011 pbenavent

Lately I’ve noticed people doesn’t listen to me when I was talking from my iPhone… I thought it was an operator issue since it doesn’t happen all the time.

But the truth is the problem was increasing more and more, and all around… so it wasn’t a coverage problem. I checked if there were any firmware update, no news.

So it was a real problem. I use to repeat myself I’m not the first one on having this problem (I’m convinced this a good motto by the way for many purposes). Then, I browse a little and it was clear that sometimes iPhone’s microphone dies.

I’ve tried all the things people (and even Apple) recommends to do:

  • reset to default
  • restore a previous backup
  • reset without restore a back
  • trie a voice note in order to check isolated how the microphone works
  • take out any cover protection you’re using (I didn’t)

… and unfortunately, everything stills remains the same… so, what I’m supposed to do? There were two options, phone the telephone company or phone Apple. I take the second one, obviously.

What I get:

  • kind and excellent phone attention, they know what there talking about, they offer me different options
  • I choose via my Apple Care plan, an almost immediate substitution, an UPS comes, takes my broken iPhone and give a brand new iPhone, no need to stay without cellular phone
  • They send me constant email keep me up to date about what’s happening, and they give also a number to track the whole operation, right now, UPS has received the iPhone I’m supposed to receive in a few days.

What is worst of it? You need to pay around 70€ for an Apple Care plan, plus, they keep a big amount of bucks during a couple of days from your credit card ’till they now you’ve send an iPhone and not a piece of … metal, when they know you’ve send a real iPhone they give you your money back.

Conclusion: is disgusting that a so expensive cellular fails in a so simple component, the microphone. On the other hand, why does not manage in the same way, their processes and customer attention, the rest of the companys?… I’ll keep you up to date.

Updated: 24h later UPS has come, nice Apple delivery with a brand new iPhone. As they told me, inside the box I’ve found to little bloxes: a black one, with the iPhone and a white one, empty for me to send they back my failed microphone iPhone. Everything was ready, with an UPS envelope properly tagged… easy, fast… done. Now I just my money deposit back and definitively issue finished.

28Dec

Mates going mobile

28 Dec 2010 pbenavent

Lately I’m involved with mobile technology and some of my work mates have notice that themselves are getting a little bit old-fashioned in this area.

World is changing; everyday and fast. So I encourage them to acquire a mobile phone to try those new trends (they can afford it) and it’s being quite exciting to see how new approaches are shown to me by they.

New eyes and very practical points of view is the feedback I’m getting from my colleagues. By the way thank you all if you’re reading this.

26Dec

Writter2ePub also for LibreOffice

26 Dec 2010 pbenavent

Couple of months ago I decided to substitute my OpenOffice for LibreOffice, it was my humble contribution to enforce LibreOffice since it seems to me a more free and open alternative, specially after Oracle’s movements.

By reading some blog (I don’t remember which one) I’ve found an interesting extension for OpenOffice (yes, I’ve wrotte OpenOffice). This extension converts to ePub any text document you writte down in your OpenOffice.

I’ve read the instructions about this Writer2ePub and I’ve followed it step by step but on my LibreOffice installation. Everything runs smoothly. It’s almost a “next-next-finish” installation.

So if you wan to convert easily your texts to ePub without additional software give a try to Writter2ePub, I’m going to do it. For sure you may use Calibre, but this, is added software to your computer.

28Nov

When technology becomes useful

28 Nov 2010 pbenavent

Abstract: Here I tell you how I’ve found an impossible to find image for an album cover and how I get the name of a painting

I’m fan of some classical music (I have to emphasize some). Today I’ve put into my iTunes collection an album I’m very fond of it; Trois Leçons de Ténebrès, Author François Couperain and performed by Emma Kirkby, Judith Nelson and Christopher Hogwood.

Unfortunately iTunes didn’t found the proper image for the cover… so I tried an image search for the album title and I didn’t get anything, neither searching in the recording company.

The record companies use to illustrate their albums with contemporany pictures to the music author, so I look for again keeping this in my mind. Maybe, some other company or record, with the same piece has been illustrated with similar or even the same artist.

And so it was. I found one different recording from the same piece illustrated with exactly the same picture. There were only one difference, in my recording the company cut the image, on the album cover appears just a part of it but I recognized it immediately.

A reward was gived to me; De La Tour. After a couple of refined tries I asume the picture on my album belongs to George de la Tour. I’ve heard that name before but I’ve to admit I never before have a look on his work.

It’s an amazing artist. I love the album cover and I realize De la Tour is a tenebrist artist, a style I like a lot (you may have a look to my fellow countryman Josep Ribera).

There were one more thing to be done. I want to know the name paint name’s. This time I drove myself to Tineye, an image search engine that looks for similar images according the one you upload or the one you type the URL into.

I search the image I previously found and I get a set of results, the first one points to a name St. Joseph the Carpenter. Here you may a look to a poster based on a picure detail and you may enjoy the whole pint by visiting the Common Media link to St. Joseph the Carpenter.

Many times curiosity plus technology, with Tinieye in this case, brings a nice hidden surprise, such De La Tour.