Autistic Disdain

And that's always been my position with Fox. The level of intentional idiocy, misdirection, or misunderstanding spouted as wisdom at this network has always astounded me.

But OC, you cry, if you don't know anything about politics or business, how can you say they're wrong? To which I'd reply, a.) I hadn't told you I don't know much about business, where did you hear that? And 2.) I never said I know they're wrong. I said I know they're liars. There's a difference. A liar can tell you the truth in such a way that you walk away misinformed. An honest person can be wrong, and you'll still come out of that conversation wiser. Of course, I can only ever really tell that folks at Fox are liars by inclinations. Instinct. They use suggestive cues to lead you down a pre-defined mental path. I don't know, concerning the subject matter, how they're wrong, except that they act like a sleazy car salesman, or the player I knew in high school who sweet-talked girls into having sex with him, then left them when they were at their most emotionally vulnerable, several hundred miles from home, with no family, about to be homeless.

*ahem*

......But then, every once in a while, I get a gem like this where Fox decided to venture into my territory. Technology. Cell phones, computers, the internet. And almost without fail, any time they mention tech, there's something seriously wrong with their reporting. Today's venture? iPhone vs. Android. As an unashamed fan of Android (though I can be fair when the iPhone deserves credit), I was outright dismayed that Fox was covering this "battle" I'd been following since before the G1 came out.

To start with, the claim that "Disappointingly, the new iPhone (due June 24) doesn't use faster 4G service". Listen, I now own an Evo, and I can tell you, yeah, it's great having the option. But if you were actually expecting 4G service on an iPhone this year, you are out of the loop. AT&T's LTE network is not prepared for a 4G phone until at least 2011 (same as Verizon). Sprint is currently the only one with a 4G (abeit, WiMax) network ready, and will be at least until the end of the year.

Then there's this: "Even Jobs faced service problems during his presentation on Monday."

It would take nothing more than having seen the keynote or reading any article about it to know that the iPhone demos were not being done over AT&T's network, but rather a WiFi signal. You're heavily implying that AT&T was the cause of the data disruption (given that this sentence comes right after you describe AT&T's network as "beleaguered"). Now, I love a good AT&T jab as much as the next non-AT&T user, but come on. Where it's due, please.

But then, the worst of it all.....you mentioned the Garmin phone. The Garmin phone as one of the hot new Android handsets. And why? "It combines the best of a standalone navigation device with the best of a smart phone."

*sigh*

You are officially unqualified to comment on smartphone issues. You cannot possible pit the Garminfone against the iPhone 4 and expect to not get laughed off your blog. Especially when you're touting it's navigation powers, when any Android handset comes with built-in turn-by-turn navigation for free. Admittedly, the Garminfone has offline-maps in its favor, but it's not worth going back to Android 1.6. You know what Android 1.6 is, don't you? No? Oh that's right, you just started paying attention to Android last month.

And the cherry on top?

When dealing with Fox, I generally find there's a couple different categories information falls into. Sprinkling of Truth, Misdirecting Half-Truths, and Damn Lies. This is a Damn Lie. Verizon has specifically stated they will not have a 4G phone at least until 2011. As I stated earlier, neither Verizon nor AT&T has the LTE network ready for a 4G phone. And when they do, we gadget nerds will know about it long before you do. Unless you define "the next few months" as "next year", you are simply flat out wrong.

So please. Stop trying to report the gadget news. You really suck at it. And I'm getting tired of having to correct you every time I talk to my friends who end up reading your drivel.