Holiday Mood-Setters Number 1

Here it is, ladies and gents. Chewbacca singing.

http://christmaschebacca.ytmnd.com/

Merry Christmas.

(New link up every day until Christmas!)

Operation: Chokehold

I have an iPhone. Which unfortunately means that I'm stuck with AT&T until the end of my contract, at which point I'll be seriously considering a number of Android phones, most likely. AT&T has a horrible tendency to just ignore the fact that smartphones, especially in the vein of the iPhone, the Palm Pre, and the Droid (i.e., smartphones that use a LOT of data), are the new wave of the future.

AT&T even demonizes iPhone users, because they "hog all the bandwidth" and don't let poor other users use the network. They have hinted multiple times at capping data usage, charging iPhone users even more than the required $30 a month data plan, and "giving incentives" for heavy data users to cut back on their usage

AT&T is being ridiculous, ignorant, lazy, and arrogant.

The iPhone debuted on July 27, 2007. Apple had announced the magical game-changer the beginning of that year, and had even worked with Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) for many months developing the phone. When released, it defined smartphones. It was the smartphone.

What you should take away from that brief history is the fact that AT&T knew it was coming.

They knew what huge requirements would be placed on their network, first the EDGE and now the 3G.

They knew that iPhone users would always be online, surfing the tiny web, downloading songs and apps, getting push updates for their mail and calenders, everything. They knew iPhone users were going to push their network.

And they promptly sat on their hands.

Two and half years later, the third-gen iPhone is out, the app store has tens of thousands of apps, and AT&T is still surprised at how much data iPhone users...um...use. They threaten, demean, and overall refuse to do anything about improving their network.

And with the advent of Android, Google's mobile OS, smartphones will EXPLODE the market. AT&T will be caught off guard (yet again) if they don't buckle down and improve their network.

So, Fake Steve Jobs has instituted a digital flash mob. His suggestion?

Operation: Chokehold.

Have as many iPhone users as possible use data-intensive apps on Friday, December 18, at 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central.

I'm so there. So iPhone users, turn off Wi-Fi, download some songs, and watch a buttload of YouTube videos.

I have a few recommendations to get you started. Suck it, AT&T.

iPod Nana

I should go work in Apple's design department.

Why Rivalry Can End Badly

Let me disclaimer this by saying I am not a sports fan in any way. I've also lived in both Lawrence and Columbia, the homes of both schools.

Every sports franchise has a rival. I'm sure that the Cleveland Curling Cactuses really really hate the Pittsburgh Curling Camels as much as KU and MU hate each other.

But at what point does it become silly and offensive? Quite quickly.

KU and MU just had their traditional "Border Showdown" on November 28 (which KU lost), and with it came a disturbing amount of facebook messages from my former classmates and alumni, declaring their "hatred" for "those stupid Mizzou fans." People threw things, talked trash, swore at, and ridiculed the other side, simply for being a part of the other school. Accusations of low intelligence, inbreeding, snootiness, and every other kind of inequities were traded with astonishingly low regard for decency.

All because of a football game.

Seriously. You need to knock it off.

I get it. I'm not a sports fan, but I know about rivals. A team that, for whatever reason, represents a weird sort of enemy. Most of the time it's a fun change of pace for the season, adding a time where you can have a little more school spirit and root a little harder for your team.

But really? Calling people from Missouri stupid and inbred hicks? Calling Kansans snooty farmers or whatever? At what point, dear sports fans, does it become okay to just categorically slander an entire state because you want your team to win? It makes absolutely no sense.

Sure, you can shake your head all you want (I have a few heads in mind that I know will be doing this), but it's childish and silly, really.

I've confronted a good friend about this before, and he assured me many times it was just for fun. Right after he said this, however, he went on to say, each time I brought this up, that Missouri was just a stupid state, and it didn't matter anyway. A few times I lost my cool and told him to knock it off, but he went back to ridiculing Missouri in the same breath. This attitude, which I've noticed more and more, makes me think that people are actually convincing themselves that people from the other state are dumber than them.

It's a weird sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. By convincing yourself the other side is way worse than you, you become a nasty, hasty-acting fan, which the other side (having convinced itself you are stupid), notices and points to as proof of their beliefs. They become nasty, giving you the proof you need.

And round and round it goes.

What, oh sports fans, does this gain you? Do you feel better about yourself in the same way a schoolyard bully who happens to have three more hairs on his arm than the smaller boy he's beating up?

Rivalry is not always bad. Heck, the athletic departments of both school love it. Their revenue goes through the roof, both in ticket sales and merchandise (it took me three seconds to find that picture above).

But when rivalry ends with you believing that the other side is inherently stupid, it's not okay.

It's childish, it's not "all in good fun," and leads to deeper problems. Knock it off.