Does The iPhone 5S Exist?

Did I imagine Apple's big announcement?

I seem to recall a day about a month ago when Apple announced the highly anticipated and newest edition of their popular iPhone series, the iPhone 5S.

My memory isn't always the best so I can't say for sure that it really took place but I seem to remember some very specific details of the event. The new iPhone was to have fingerprint security, a new operating system, faster processor, upgraded camera and I think it can also be used to make a phone call.

Oddly enough, I can also remember visiting my local Bell Mobility store and adding my name to the waiting list the day before the new phone was to be released for sale. I didn't even care what colour phone I got as long as it was the 16GB version.

That was three weeks ago and to this day I'm still waiting for a phone call to tell me my phone has arrived and I can finally upgrade from my current iPhone 4 which is quickly becoming obsolete thanks to all of the most recent app updates. Apple also seems hell bent on forcing me to upgrade my iPhone 4 to the latest iOS 7 which apparently doesn't really play well with these older phones. I'm glad I didn't upgrade it or I'd likely have no phone at all while Apple or Bell force me to play the waiting game.

So, who's to blame for this?

Did Apple underestimate the demand for the new phone and release it to the public prior to being able to meet that demand? Did they do this on purpose knowing their product is so good that consumers will gladly wait to eventually get their hands on it? Did Steve Jobs demise result in a company being left with no real leader capable of getting the job done properly?

Maybe Bell Mobility is to blame. Perhaps they failed to realize that so many of their customers would be ready to make the move to the newest trinket produced by Apple and their order country wide was woefully mismanaged. Or maybe I'm not bitching enough in person to the staff at my local Bell store and those that are complaining are actually getting the iPhone's that were meant for me.

Whatever the reason, I'm getting quite frustrated and I know for a fact that both Apple and Bell Mobility really couldn't give a rats ass about my frustration. They're both huge, successful companies and I'm just one meaningless individual who they know will gladly hand over my money to them once it finally becomes available. Maybe they're just holding off on sending it to me until just before Christmas and will give it to me as a present for free. Ya right, like that will happen. I'm sure I won't even see any kind of discount for being forced to wait this long.

UPDATE: Finally gave up waiting for Bell to give me a call and bought my new phone at Best Buy Oct. 25th. So far I love it. It's a huge jump from my old iPhone 4. I got the Gold one in case you were wondering.

Friends By Text Message

As someone in my early 40’s I consider myself quite tech savvy and fairly up to date on the latest gadgets and gizmo's that propel this modern society. Having grown up in the 70’s and 80’s I’ve seen a lot of changes and advancements in technology over the years. I can’t help but wonder though if these innovations have hurt us in some way

Walking around town I’ve noticed more and more people, mostly 45 and under in age, becoming less social or friendly with their fellow man. Everything seems so impersonal. Frequently I’ll see people passing each other without so much as a friendly nod. The basis for this lack of cordial behaviour is most likely linked to technology.

These people are spending more time walking and texting or wearing earphones for their iPods and listening to music. Others have Bluetooth earpieces plugged into their heads and they’re talking on their mobile phones.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have any friends or anything important to say but I rarely use my mobile phone anymore and I never text. I think texting is ridiculous. If you want to have a conversation then just call that person or better yet, go meet them some place and talk face to face. If your only option is to text, then chances are you shouldn’t be doing it any way.

Do kids still call each other at home on the phone and go out and play sports? Road hockey games or football and basketball games used to be quite common in my neighbourhood growing up. I had a group of friends and we’d get together all of the time to play outside. I rarely see that anymore.

OK, I’ll admit there was a short period in the mid-80s when I went through a Dungeons and Dragons phase. We spent countless hours in a buddy’s basement casting spells and defeating trolls with our hit points and maces. But once my grades slipped, mom and dad put a stop to that.

Perhaps it’s just me but the whole world seems to be more antisocial. As an example, I have almost 500 friends on Facebook. Some of those are close friends from over the years, others are school friends and acquaintances, past co-workers and a myriad of other family and other folks I know to varying degrees. Of those 500 friends, I might run into or see a handful of them on a regular basis and another 20 I will run into throughout the year.

I’m not saying Internet sites like Facebook are bad. In fact, I think it’s great because without it I might never have made contact with some people I lost track of that I really wanted to touch base with again. I had some great friends in college that I never saw after graduation but thanks to social networking I was able to talk with them again some 20 years later.

These sites serve a purpose but I think they can also discourage real face to face communication thanks to the ease of being able to sit at a computer and chat rather than interact in person.

I’m just as guilty at times as everyone else who falls into this anti-social, Internet fuelled, technology loaded culture. I’d be lost without my computer, Internet, email, iPod Touch and mobile phone. I’ve become dependant on it and admit I get the shakes if I’m away from it all for too long. My computer is like the Mother Ship calling me home at times.

I suppose everything has its place and purpose but as good as new technology can be I question sometimes if we’re all turning into a horde of robots losing the capacity to interact with the other robots.

Times and Technology Change

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