Happy to say that I’m finally back in the U.S. of A., since spending the last four weeks traveling through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand via Hong Kong. Now, I’m broke and scrambling to find an apartment, but the post-graduation trip was wonderfully refreshing and incredibly eye-opening. I’m aware that too many superlatives won’t be justified without stories and pictures, so hopefully I can pull together some posts in the next couple weeks about what I saw, heard, felt, and experienced.
Anyway, after a quality hamburger and some nice, long rest, I’m slowly catching up with the news, posts, and emails I’ve missed since I was gone. Apparently, BP has made little to no progress in capping the worst oil spill in history; Apple has released the iPhone 4 with a couple hiccups; Toy Story 3 was released and Pixar did it again; and everything else is pretty much the same.
As for myself, I’m finding it surprising that I’m now unaccustomed to little things that used to feel so natural (like my laptop keyboard, cell phone data plan, and electric toothbrush), and otherwise unwilling to take on the piles of papers, tasks, and other complexities that I somehow completely forgot I was obligated to (like bills: who pays those, really?). So, give me a bit to get back on track with design and tech news; after all, I’ve only just updated my phone to iPhone OS iOS 4.
On Tuesday, I start at Siegel+Gale in Manhattan, and I’m unbelievably excited to begin this next phase of things. If anything, traveling to Asia for a month—and experiencing the sparseness and simplicity of lifestyles abroad—was less of a break, and more of a lesson. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated the privileges, fortunes, and responsibilities of being American as much as I did upon my return. Fitting, then, that today is Independence Day!
Lots of change in the next month; I can’t wait. Here goes Part 2.
![This graphic from AnandTech demonstrates just how much truer Apple’s iPhone signal strength calculation is with the latest iOS update [4.1 on bottom]; and as a result, how much more accurate the consumer-facing representation of reception will be (the “bars”). Despite this improvement, customer reaction should be very interesting—as AnandTech alludes to in the final section of their report. I’m reminded of Malcolm Gladwell’s account of 7 Up drinkers in Blink, who were convinced that the soda’s flavor had changed when 7 Up added more yellow to the packaging (unfortunately, the reaction from iPhone users will probably be worse, because of the apparent decline in phone quality according to the new “packaging” of the signal display). I really can’t imagine this situation shaking out in any sort of positive light for Apple, but Jobs has made miracles before. Looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow…](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5mwx7b47v1qzc7nto1_500.jpg)
