Have you heard that the new iPhone 4 has antenna issues? I feel like I heard that somewhere. Oh yes, someone told me about that yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. Jesus.

You know, not sooo long ago, all phones had big antennas like this. And most of these antennas were just communicating with a receiver in your living room next to the TV Guide. It wasn’t, like, talking to something traveling in space.  That would’ve required an even bigger antenna.

And yet, antennas got smaller. Weird. Even more ironic than rain on your wedding day. And good advice you just didn’t take.  I don’t understand it. I just know that one day there was this thing I could absentmindedly chew on at the end of my phone in my house, and then one day I could suck on it outside of the house. And then one day there was no more antenna on the phone at all. 

I didn’t really miss the antenna. But I also wasn’t like “Yes! Awesome! Finally a phone without any antenna!”  So would it be so darn awful if they just brought ‘em back?

Looks like this picture is just a joke, but perhaps somewhere out there, there is something that could actually fix the iPhone 4 in this way. I don’t actually think it’d be such an eye sore. But iDunno.

Via Mr. Grossman: There. Fixed. (iPhone 5 Preview)

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I don’t have an iPhone. I’m sure I’ll get one at some point, but I want to get a vintage one.  I am convinced that old iPhones are going to one day have all the appeal of vintage Cadillac, so I figure I should start collecting early. iPhone ‘07 in the house! Using one will be a nod to nostalgia not unlike using a laptop case printed with a picture of a typewriter.  When your current one to starts looking old and clunky, it can come live in the retirement home better known as my purse.  

Unfortunately, the wait has been a long one. Each generation of iPhone has looked a lot like the previous one. In fact, it’s been hard to even picture how this sleek device could be made to look any more iPhone-y. Haven’t we already whittled it down little more than pure essence?  Nope. Yesterday, my husband and the rest of the Gizmodo team world did me a solid: they introduced the world to the new iPhone4. 3GS? Obsolete! 

This Is Apple’s Next iPhone - Iphone 4 - Gizmodo

Stained glass window, made with Kodachrome slides. Pretty sweet.

(From via Flickr from Rosa at Gizmodo)

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CRTs? Obsolete. Will a monitor of any sort soon be obsolete as well? And will this require that I learn how to stand again?

The evolution of the computer (via Gizmodo)

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For the past few weeks I’ve been writing about the year 2000 for Gizmodo.

In my research (basically just met thinking reeeeally hard), I came up with this cartoon.

You see, my father, Robert Grossman, is an illustrator. He did the Airplane poster. (I used to use this line to entice nerdy men into my spider’s web. But now, ladies, I bequeath it to you: He can be your dad too. Maybe he is! JK!).

Over the last 15 or 20 years, pops has done a lot of work for The New York Observer. Most of these pieces were conceived with the paper’s former editor, the legendary (and weird, genius, sweet, handsome, contrary, infuriating, and enigmatic) Peter Kaplan; although lately I hear the paper’s going with the Huffington Post model of compensating contributors if you catch my drift. (Full disclosure: I worked at the dear NYO for three years under the aforementioned Mr. Chipps’ reign. NY media nepotism? Yes. Problem with that? Want to taste my knuckles?)

In 1999 my dad did this piece for the cover of the Observatory, which used to be the Observer’s art section. Maybe it still is—haven’t read it in a while. If I recall correctly, this piece came from a discussion he and I had had about how nineteen had been an important number in our lives and how sad it was that it was abdicating. I was nineteen that year, and it happens to be my lucky number—he and I both realized that we’d kind of miss writing out those two taken-for-granted numbers on checks and such (this is back when we used checks). Laugh if you want, but I have strong associations between numbers and letters and I’m not alone—it’s actually called Synesthesia. Go forth and Google.

I love this anthropomorphized nineteen and the scary little twenty babies. Hope you do too. Happy New Year!

(Thanks to John Figler for the scan)

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For the rest of this month I’m guest blogging at Gizmodo all about the great things that happened in The Year 2000. Come on by and say “hi!” So far, I’ve discussed dog-robot porn films, mouse pads from the future, and what the Budweiser “Wasssup” commercial tells us about antiquated forms of male communication.

You can use this link to keep up with me over there.

Apparently, people are already feeling nostalgic for the click wheel on their “old” iPods. Oy. Fortunately, this app is coming to the rescue.

iClassic App Lets You Revist the Good Old Days of Click Wheel iPods

(via Gizmodo)

Via Gizmodo:

“From 1979: A source “close to the matter” claims this document outlines a future Audio format that would utilize a tapeless design, and *snort* use lasers as some sort of record needle. Sounds like Bullshit to me.

First of all, a laser is going to burn up whatever it touches, so, like, do you listen to it once and then throw it away? That sounds like a great idea if you’re one of those guys who made us buy 8 tracks and now want us to repurchase all our favorite songs on cassettes again. I’m not even going to get started on the potential fire hazard here. And last time I checked (the movies) lasers shoot out, they don’t shoot back in, so its not like a laser is a good replacement for a record needle. Sure, it wouldn’t wear out these magic laser records like vinyl and physical needles do, but that’s because said disc would be make believe. And if even real, be on fire.

Sheesh. Nice try, rumor fakers. Never going to fool an expert gadget blogger. —Brian Lam”

1979 Rumor: Leaked Docs of “Compact Disc” Audio Format Using LASERS - CD - Gizmodo

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A certain someone over at Gizmodo has already discovered—and documented—the wonders of the Google oracle, but Scranton’s Times-Tribune’s metro editor Jeff Sonderman has learned that Google doesn’t have a rosy outlook when it comes to newspapers…aka fish wrap.

(via @markclayson via Techcrunch)

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“Luke, I am your dual stereo slide projector.”

1950s Stereo 3D Projector - Gizmodo

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