iPhone 4 Antenna problems, world of analog in a digital space

I last wrote a blog post on June 17, 2010, and I have tons of ideas to discuss, but sometimes it is easier to get back into writing by starting on an esoteric subject.

iPhone 4 antenna problems. 

Here is a post on Apple hiring 3 antenna engineers.

Three Apple job postings for iPhone / iPad antenna engineers to "Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices." All three were posted on June 23rd, the same day that we started seeing widespread reporting of the left-handed reception issues. Coincidence?

and media is starting to cover Apple's discussion of known iPhone Antenna problems.

Leaked Docs Show Apple Knows About iPhone 4’s Flaws [REPORT]

According to documents leaked to Boy Genius Report today, AppleCare representatives are being given a strong company line to deliver to unhappy iPhone 4 owners who complain about reception issues.

Employees are told to say that the device’s reception performance “is the best we have ever shipped” and that itscritical antenna flaws are “a fact of life in the wireless world.” They are told not to perform service on iPhones with these problems and instead to give customers a PR-driven recitative instead.

In a nutshell, Apple knows the phone has problems but will insist that users are simply “holding it wrong.”

How can this happen?

Simple.  Being an engineer at Apple working on analog technologies is not sexy.

When I worked at Apple (1985 - 1992), part of time I worked with a team where analog was a big part of the job - Macintosh II and Mac Portable - Power supplies and CRT Monitors.  Some of these people had worked on the Apple II, original Mac and Lisa, and analog technologies were known as a must have skill to support the processing of bits.  Thinking about signal waveforms, shielding, testing, trade-offs, and FCC Part 15 class B and A certification was part of every product development.

In a world of digital, few think of analog engineers.  It is part of the communication problems between IT and the data center.  Data Center people have analog experts.  IT people can't see digital to analog issues.

But, there are a bunch of Apple people now learning about analog and antenna issues.

Can Apple make analog sexy?  No, but they've helped increase the visibility that analog engineers are a critical part of a digital system.

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Taking a Blogging Break until July 1, some top traffic posts

One time a friend asked me how often I write a blog entry?  2 - 3 times a day.  Wow you are a pervasive blogger.  Well sometimes I find I write 5 posts a day. 

My new goal for the next 11 days, 0 (zero) blog entries.  I am going on vacation, and will disconnect to recharge.

Here are some of my top blog entries that some of you may have missed. 

Thanks for continuing to visit www.greenm3.com.

-Dave Ohara

 

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Apple Recruits eBay Data Center Executive Olivier Sanche , Can Apple Change Data Centers the way they changed cell phone and media players?

I have been lucky to meet eBay’s Sr. Director, Data Center Services & Strategy, Olivier Sanche  at a variety of data center events and discuss many different green data center ideas. Last week, Olivier joined me as a panel member at Data Center Dynamics Seattle to discuss Carbon Reporting: Risk or Opportunity.  Olivier took a position different than many that carbon reduction is a must, and should not be compromised. 

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Renewable Energy Conversation with Sierra Club’s Carl Zichella

At Data Center Dynamics SF, I had a chance to meet Carl Zichella, Director of Western Renewable Program , CA, NV, HI.  Carl has been going to DCD for years, and here are a few of his comments in a video from past conferences.

Given Carl’s expertise I asked what resources he would point to research renewable energy. NREL was his first suggestion.

/2009/10/simplicity-and-the-data-center-a-path-to-a-happier-data-center.html

Simplicity and the Data Center, a path to a Happier Data Center?

One area I use to gauge how good a data center designer is whether they talk about simplicity in the data center.  I can think of people at Google and Microsoft who regularly use simplicity as a design goal.  And, there are many others.  Why simplicity is important is articulated well in this post by Matthieu Ricard who discusses simplicity as applied to an approach to life, and for many companies data centers are their life.  If data centers suffer, then the company suffers.

/2010/04/social-security-administration-picks-the-wrong-data-center-site-missed-cost-of-power-and-telecommunications-access.html

Social Security Administration picks the wrong data center site, mistakes in power costs, telecommunications access, and cost of construction

This would be funny, if it wasn’t a potential $500 million data center built by the US Gov’t by the Social Security Administration. The Office of Inspector General caught the error.

In particular, when developing the mandatory selection criteria, it does not appear that consideration was given to the serious fiscal impact that exclusions would have in the electrical power cost arena over the life cycle of the data center. Finally, in evaluating the telecommunications criteria concepts, SeBS found only limited information.

/2010/03/sustainable-farming-method-applied-to-sustainable-data-centers-dan-barbers-entertaining-how-i-fell-in-love-with-a-fish-it.html

Sustainable Farming Method applied to Sustainable Data Centers, Dan Barber's entertaining how I fell in love with a fish, it's about relationships

This is a video that has 5 stars. It is entertaining, funny and educational.

Here is Huffington post article about the video.

Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love With a Fish

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.

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Bill Gates has the data for connection between energy and climate, sees opportunities for Gates Foundation and his own money - Terrapower

Bill Gates recently presented at the TED conference.

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/2009/10/googles-secret-to-efficient-data-center-design-ability-to-predict-performance.html

Google’s Secret to efficient Data Center design – ability to predict performance

DataCenterKnowledge has a post on Google’s (Public, NASDAQ:GOOG) future envisioning 10 million servers.

Google Envisions 10 Million Servers
October 20th, 2009 : Rich Miller

Google never says how many servers are running in its data centers. But a recent presentation by a Google engineer shows that the company is preparing to manage as many as 10 million servers in the future.

Google’s Jeff Dean was one of the keynote speakers at an ACM workshop on large-scale computing systems, and discussed some of the technical details of the company’s mighty infrastructure, which is spread across dozens of data centers around the world.

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Driving Data Center Change, one event at a time

Today Steve Manos is hosting the latest "Lee Technologies on Tap" event in Chicago.  I've seen the list of attendees, and I would go if I hadn't made vacation plans 6 months ago.

A typical data center event will be organized around a theme and revenue model.  The revenue comes from a combination of sponsorship and paid attendees.  But, something is wrong when attendees pay to hear from those who have the most amount of sponsorship money.  To maximize revenue, the event organizers will get guest speakers to draw in the attendees and the sponsors as how important the event is.  Which is all part of the game/method in running events.  Sometimes event organizers can even get additional revenue by selling the speaking slots on the side.  Now for those of you who get guest speaking spots that are not vendors you may be thinking I don't have to pay, but you are most of the time the filler that pads around the vendor speaking positions.  The event people sprinkle a few around and it looks like an industry event.

What is wrong with this?  After 2 or three events you find you aren't learning much.  The main reason you go to the events is to network with other in the industry.

What happens if you change the event model and make networking the purpose of an event? So people want to attend to network not just meeting people, but discussing issues that are important in data centers.  No presentations is the rule.  Being able to go to an event on a regular basis with peers in your local area to drink a few beers creates a self-organizing dynamic.  Those users who are discussing important issues have a following.  Those users who blow a lot of air and are self absorbed sound just as shallow as the salesman.  If you are one of the lucky few vendors who get to attend you need to be careful not to drop into a sell mode, probing details about data center equipment that are clearly ways you are looking to sell your product. (what is a common practice at typical data center events.)  If you share your ideas and listen to others you can stay.

The popularity of Steve Manos's method is growing and it doesn't hurt that Mike Manos will be there as well.

Ironically, I think people, vendors and attendees, would pay to go to the event now that it has critical mass.  Maybe the event should be run as the "Data Center Club."  Focusing on the business networking is driving discussions and information exchange people want. 

This challenges the typical rule of Data Centers like "Fight Club".

Wal-Mart, Data Centers and The Fight Club Rule

June 3rd, 2006 : Rich Miller

“The first rule of Fight Club is – you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is – you DO NOT talk about Fight Club.”

Some companies take the Fight Club approach with their data centers. You DO NOT talk about the data centers. One of these companies is Wal-Mart, which has piqued the curiosity of the media with its closed-mouth response to curiosity about the company’s 125,000 square foot data center in Joplin, Mo. The Joplin Globe describes it as a “building that Wal-Mart considers so secret that it won’t even let the county assessor inside without a nondisclosure agreement.” Wal-Mart gladly supplied them with more ammunition. “This is not something that we discuss publicly,” Wal-Mart senior information officer Carrie Thum told the paper. “We have no comment. And that’s off the record.”

Fight club was viral.

More fight clubs form across the country, and they become the anti-materialist and anti-corporate organization called "Project Mayhem"

Lee Technologies on Tap is having its first Atlanta event hosted by Eric Gallant today as well.

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Competing for Top Data Center Talent - energy efficient vs. Green/Sustainable

Green Data Center is a topic that gets discounted by many.  But, talking to a good friend who is passionate about green data centers, he made the point how often being environmentally responsible comes up in his hiring.

If you are hiring someone who is in their 20s.  (Note: I am turning 50, so I am twice as old as the people you are hiring)  If all things are equal between companies are they going to pick your company because you are passionate about energy efficiency or passionate about the environment?

Here is an Google post were efficiency is discussed.

Google is looking for highly motivated individuals to provide leadership and oversight of our state-of-the-art datacenter facilities. Our datacenters are industry-leading examples of innovative capital- and energy-efficient designs in action.

Mike Manos posts on his Uptime Symposium presentation on CO2K.

This year my talk was about the coming energy regulation and its impact on data centers, and more specifically what data center managers and mission critical facilities professionals could and should be doing to get their companies ready for what I call CO2K.   I know I will get a lot of pushback on the CO2K title, but I think my analogy makes sense.  First companies are generally not aware of the impact that their data centers and energy consumption have, Second most companies are dramatically unprepared and do not have the appropriate tools in place to collect the information, which will of course lead to the third item, lots of reactionary spending to get this technology and software in place.  While Y2K was generally a flop and a lot of noise, if legislation is passed (and lets be clear about the very direct statements the Obama administration has made on this topic) this work will lead to a significant change in reporting and management responsibilities for our industry.

Think we are ready for this legislation?

If you are young and idealistic, realizing the past ignorance of environmental impact is making the world worse, who would you pick?  Working for Google or Mike Manos?

It is hard to find passionate intelligent data center staff who want to do the right thing.  But, it is much easier if you make a Green Data Center part of your recruiting.

Some have stumbled on the green data center recruiting benefits, and they feel good.

Do you?

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Right Time To Push Climate Change, Obama calls for action

For those of you who thought Climate Change was a dead issue in the US, the BP spill has created an opportunity to push for climate change.  NYTimes reports on president Obama's latest call to action.

Obama Tells Congress to 'Seize the Moment' on Climate Legislation

Published: June 16, 2010

President Obama challenged the country last night to unify behind a "national mission" to reduce its reliance on oil and coal, using his first Oval Office address to pressure Congress into acting quickly on clean energy legislation.

Can you imagine being a oil industry lobbyists, trying to tell Congress why climate change is bad for the economy?

Obama promised to make the oil giant place billions into a holding account that would be used to compensate people who've lost wages, before pivoting into a sweeping promotion of a renewable power economy that would prevent future disasters like the spill while creating jobs.

"Time and again, the path forward has been blocked -- not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor," Obama said. "The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight."

"We cannot consign our children to this future," he added. "The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation and seize control of our own destiny."

The push is on for climate change.

"I think it's the right push at the right time," said David Hunter, director of U.S. policy with the International Emissions Trading Association and a former climate aide to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote on climate legislation. "It gives an opportunity to get legislation done this summer. It's a narrow window, but it is there."

Are you ready to report your data center carbon emissions?

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