Posted 06/22/09 at 04:15:42 PM by Paul Lilly

Apple has begun offering a $30 iTunes Store credit for iPhone 3G S buyers who ran into trouble activating their new a device, a result of overloaded servers despite early indications that it would be smooth sailing. Here's the email that was sent out:

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.

We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.

On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely, Apple Online Store Team

At first, the launch seemed to being smoothly, partially a result of Apple releasing the OS 3.0 update early. But as the day went on, some customers trying to activate their new phone received a message saying it may take up to 48 hours to complete. Some, like Kevin Mobley, a software performance expert at The Ian Thomas Group, warns that Apple's brand image might suffer from this and other similar problems.

"Going forward, as Apple presumably gets deals with other carriers and grows the iPhone user base, they'll have to determine if iTunes is really the best solution for activation," Mobley said.

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Posted 06/12/09 at 04:45:28 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

After being out of the office last week, the gang is back to talk about this week's biggest tech headlines. Will and Norm recap their adventure at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, Gordon gets riled up over Apple's WWDC announcements, and we collectively anticipate upcoming Facebook's vanity URL service. facebook.com/willsmith, unfortunately, has already been claimed. We also try a bold experiment: using Bing as our default search engine for a week. How long before someone gives up and goes back to Google? And as always, we answer a few listener questions and bring you Gordon's rant of the week. All this plus more in this edition of the No BS podcast!

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

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Posted 06/09/09 at 10:30:00 AM by Florence Ion

Unless you spent this morning snoozing underneath a rock or immersed in your new Palm Pre, you are aware that Apple announced the impending release of a new mobile phone, the iPhone 3G S. The additional letter stands for Speed; the new iPhone boasts a longer battery life, environmentally friendly construction, voice commands, and a 3 megapixel camera with programmable macros, as well as the ability to record video. No doubt plenty of Apple fans have since been drooling uncontrollably over the announcement of yet another reason to empty their wallets on yet another Apple product – but not us, mind you, no siree. Here are five reasons why you won’t find us running to the Apple store on June 19th to upgrade our phones.

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