They are false.

The Apple iPhone has been for sale just one week, some users are complaining of poor signal strenth and limited reception. Apples response to that is simply that the iPhone needs to be held a certain way. Apparently there are two antenas built into the band that wraps around the iPhone.

Apple spokesperson Nat Harrison added: “Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone.”

The case you end up purchasing for your iPhone can actually help reception. Apple puts out the iPhone 4 Bumper cases with a retail of approximately $45 USD. Now this is a noticable cost, but perhaps your reception is worth it?

Hayward’s testimony was panned by the House of Representative panel, and press alike. Hayward not unexpectedly sought to delay certain answers until conclusive results had been determined,.

With anything up to 60,000 barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf everyday, the anger from politicians was to be expected. BP for their part is obviously a company in crisis and is making every possible effort to contain, limit and ultimately cut the wellhead spill completely.

The key issue appears to be , can BP make significant advances in containment over the coming weeks with the distinct hope that the two relief wells will be completed during August?

Given the public outcry and impact on the local communities, it is hardly surprising that tempers are so high. With the proposed, 20 billion escrow fund, BP are offering a significant potential reparation to the communities of the Southern States.

What now seems to be the issue is whether or not a level of calmness can envelope the whole situation.

More anger, more ire, more press overreaction and more financial market instability would not help BP get the job done any faster. The weekend’s press reaction to Tony Hayward, back in the UK, taking some leisure time to go sailing is extreme over reaction.

BP management due to all the pressures that prevail has been living this nightmare for every hour of the day for the last 2 months.

It has to be recognized that given the finite amount of oil to be discovered on the planet and our never-stopping desire for energy, means that off-shore drilling will have to continue. In saying that certainly the industry would have to change its working practices and be affected by increased regulations so that a spill of this magnitude is not repeated.

This disaster like this was always potentially going to happen. In our desperate search for energy, drilling at these depths and in other extreme locations was always going to difficult.

The The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has launched a new pilot program and is making public wait times at 22 Canada – USA boarders.

The CBSA has chosen Twitter as their information delivery tool in order to keep costs down for Canadians. twitter is free to use.

Next time you are heading south, check Twitter for your border wait times, it may just save you an hour or so.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said it’s the company’s way of giving more choices, since “Microsoft has done a great job on this.”

Now if you are wondering what else is in store, TechCrunch reports that Apple is asking developers to submit their iOS-4-compliant apps to the App Store for review before June 21, the slated release date for the new OS.

One of the newest features? stay tuned for multi tasking. The new iOS 4.0 will be capable of it, but the apps themselves will not, so stay tuned for apps that can multy task as well.

This new iPhone will go on sale on June 24 at US$ 299 for the 32GB model and US$ 199 for the 16 GB model. However prices could vary due to different contracts.

This new device, incorporating the “biggest leap” as highlighted by Apple’s boss Steve Jobs, has a stainless steel case, two cameras, improved display and is 24% thinner than the most recent version.

“These phones are getting more and more intelligent about the world around them” said Mr Jobs.

Additional features to the phone include a gyroscope which, when coupled with the existing accelerometer and compass, gives it six-axis motion sensing and allows control of games and apps by waving the handset.

Researchers suggest that Apple’s iPhone now has 15% of the smartphone market placing it behind Symbian and Blackberry.

Not enough to just say sales are up, retail sales resume. Overall the spring season is down, however May itself has shown an increase. This is good for now, lets hope it holds.

What are some of the ways retailers can improve sales?

Giving their employees more retail sales training is one. Retail sales by definition means over the counter, direct to consumer. If you are going to sell direct to a consumer you best be polite, courteous and darn well know what you are talking about.

If retailers were to do a whole bunch more retail merchandising training and have the manager give out certificates for in-house training we all might be a little more inclined to shop outside the home, hey, just for the experience of it all.

What is hurting the retail sales figures is the introduction of online sales, well ok, online sales started 10 years back, but it is growing yearly in popularity, taking away from brick and motor sales.

Dispensing machine, vending machines and now the newest term: automated retail stores or product dispensing centers are catching on in popularity. They take up little real estate, they operate 24/7 and most just require a little power to them.

Are retail merchandising jobs on their way out the door? Probably not, at least for the big corporations like Radio Shack which has recently been valued at over $3 billion.

There is still money around and it is being spent.