In this video, well take a quick look at how the iphones voice control reacts to different accents. Well also test the digital compass, Find My iphone feature, and the smudge-proof screen.
Posts Tagged ‘Tests’
Macworld Video: iPhone 3G S stress tests
Sunday, February 21st, 2010iPhone 3G Torture Tests
Friday, February 12th, 2010
In our second annual iphone Stress Tests, Senior Editor Tim Moynihan applied a serious beating to the Apple iphone 3G using keys, breakfast cereal, water, dish soap, and city sidewalks.
Stress Tests Re-Do!
Saturday, February 6th, 2010Sometimes it’s called “cooking the books”. Other times it’s just prudent decision making. The Federal Reserve significantly scaled back the size of the capital hole facing some of the nation’s biggest banks shortly before concluding its stress tests, following two weeks of intense bargaining. The Fed used a different measurement of bank-capital levels than analysts and investors had been expecting, resulting in much smaller capital deficits.
When the Fed informed banks of its preliminary stress-test findings, executives at corporations including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. were upset with what they viewed as the Fed’s exaggerated capital holes. A senior executive at one bank fumed that the Fed’s initial estimate was “mind-numbingly” large. Bank of America was “shocked” when it saw its initial figure, which was more than $50 billion, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
So, what’s really going on here?
At least half of the banks pushed back, according to people with direct knowledge of the process. Some argued the Fed was underestimating the banks’ ability to cover anticipated losses with revenue growth and aggressive cost-cutting. Others urged regulators to give them more credit for pending transactions that would thicken their capital cushions. I guess it all depends upon who you are talking to; however, we’re in unchartered territory and probably no one really knows what will be needed.
The Fed ultimately accepted some of the banks’ pleas, but rejected others. Shortly before the test results were unveiled Thursday, the capital shortfalls at some banks shrank, in some cases dramatically. Ah, the games people play. 
Bank of America’s final gap was $33.9 billion, down from an earlier estimate of more than $50 billion, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. A Bank of America spokesman wouldn’t comment on how much the previous gap was reduced, though he said it resulted from an adjustment for first-quarter results and errors made by regulators in their analysis. “It wasn’t lobbying,” he said.
Wells Fargo’s capital hole shrank to $13.7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Before adjusting for first-quarter results and other factors, the figure was $17.3 billion, according to a federal document.
Regardless of what number what bank gets, everyone is STRESSED in these financially destructive times.
Stressing Over Bank Stress Tests
Monday, February 1st, 2010The anguish and peril of bank stress tests. What once seemed like such a good idea, like maybe the bailouts, has turned into a public relations nightmare. When and how can the stress test results, which have already been delayed by weeks, be released so as to not cause more alarm and concern. Is that even possible given the reality of the financial markets today?
The U.S. Treasury and financial regulators are clashing with each other over how to disclose results from the stress tests of 19 U.S. banks, with some officials concerned at potential damage to weaker institutions. The ones that are more healthy than others want to give the bailout money back. For some reason banks took money thinking there would be no strings attached.
Are you serious? 
With a May 4 deadline approaching, there is no set plan for how much information to release, how to categorize the results or who should make the announcements, people familiar with the matter said. While the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators want few details about the assessments to be publicized, the Treasury is pushing for broader disclosure. Timothy Geithner sure doesn’t want to do it.
No one really wants to be the messenger!
The disarray highlights what threatens to be a lose-lose situation for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: If all the banks pass, the tests’ credibility will be questioned, and if some banks get failing grades and are forced to accept more government capital and oversight, they may be punished by investors and customers. May be punished? Bailouts seemed like such a great idea once upon a time. And the stress tests seemed logical three months ago. But who would have thought that there might have been some downsides to all this bailout money?
“There are plenty of ways to go wrong here,” said Wayne Abernathy, executive vice president of the American Bankers Association in Washington. “It might have sounded good at the time, but now looking back, it has far more risk than benefit.”
The banks haven’t been consulted on how the information will be released and have raised the issue with the Treasury, three industry officials said. Why would anyone think that the Fed needs to or even wants to consult with the banks. It’s all about control which is why the more healthy banks now want to give back the money. The government has come up with three basic principles before “allowing” banks to pay back the money!
There’s even strings attached to paying back the money!
First to “make sure the system is stable”. Second, not create “incentives for more de-leveraging which would deepen the recession”. Third, to make sure the system had enough capital to “provide credit to support the recovery”. In other words, once the government has their fingers in your business, they are in control and they will decide what you can and cannot do.
May 4th cometh!
