Apple craves good news, so I’m sure they aren’t too happy to read about the random connection problems around the world with the iPhone 3G. Although estimates about the number of users affected are usually in the low single digits, with millions of units out there, little things can mean an awful lot.

The problem apparently involves poor connection quality and sudden disconnects, and appears to happen most often when the phone is switching from a poor 3G connection to a stronger EDGE connection. This network protocol handoff ought to be fairly seamless, but it doesn’t seem to be happening that way in the real world, or at least so they say.

The source of this possible defect might be a number of things, from the software to the 3G chipset, manufactured by  Infineon Technologies AG of Germany. If it’s software, it can be repaired by a downloadable update. However, malfunctioning chips might be cause for a major product recall. However, the very same parts are supposedly used in other 3G phones, and there haven’t been so many complaints about those products, or maybe few are paying attention because you expect wireless phones to misbehave.

But the iPhone is of a different breed. It comes from Apple Inc., and it’s supposed to just work, in the same fashion as an iPod or a Macintosh. But things aren’t that simple in the cluttered cellular world.

You see, when it comes to other products, Apple is responsible for the entire widget, from software to hardware, and has full control over how things run. With a wireless phone, the gadget has to interact with loads of independent carriers. Even though they may all use similar systems and hardware for their networks, there are loads of unpredictable factors entering into the picture. First is, of course, the quality of network reception in any particular area. Tall buildings, thick walls and other common obstructions might combine to impair performance, particularly in the 3G frequency bands, where the transmission range isn’t quite as efficient, because they user higher frequencies.

There’s also the matter of the amount of traffic a given cell tower has to handle, and the sort of demands made on the system. With a standard wireless handset, it’s mostly phone calls. A smartphone is sending and receiving email as well, but the iPhone is particularly attuned to seamless Web surfing. That’s why Web surveys show a surprising percentage of people using the iPhone’s Safari browser.

To be sure, a browser puts different demands on a network, and this may present a fly in the ointment that carriers may not have fully anticipated. But that’s not the entire story.

Earlier this week, Apple released an iPhone 2.0.2 update with the standard pithy expression about “Bug Fixes.” The iPhone and general Mac troubleshooting sites said that app crashes and keyboard responsiveness have improved. But Steve Jobs is also quoted as saying that the real fix for crashing symptoms wouldn’t be released until September.

After regular prodding by the media, an Apple spokesperson admitted that the 2.0.2 firmware is designed to address 3G connection issues. Indeed, the major change, other than version number, is a higher revision for the iPhone 3G’s modem. Does that help?

Depends on whom you ask. Some people say it doesn’t fix their particular connectivity issues. Others say it does, and around and around it goes.

Now it may well be that Apple rushed out an interim fix to get the public off its back, and buy them some time to provide a more thoroughly tested and workable update later on, perhaps in time for the rumored iPhone 2.1 release expected in September.

In the end, I can only talk about my own personal encounters and my experiences with the original iPhone and the 3G version.

On the positive side of the ledger, the new version of the iPhone can handle calls more efficiently in the few regions where I had trouble before. I don’t see any greater number of dropped calls, but when I’m in a so-called “dead area” where AT&T’s signal level is in the “moderate” (barely acceptable) range, it’ll happen from time to time. In fact, I lost a call just the other day from none other than Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, who is scheduled to appear on The Tech Night Owl LIVE this week. Yes, he forgave me.

Since the 2.0.2 update was installed, I do see an occasional improvement in reception, with a display of an additional one or two bars. I haven’t had a chance to take the phone on too many trips, however, so I can’t say if the few signal glitches I’ve encountered have been repaired or not.

I will tell you, however, that I ran a bandwidth test at a local Chinese restaurant, where my son, Grayson, and I were having lunch. The download speed was nearly 1.2 megabits, which is extremely respectable for 3G at any location. Uploads settled in around 100 kilobits. In another test in front of a bank located several miles away, I got downloads at 431 kilobits, and uploads of 130 kilobits. Besides, signal strength can vary from one moment to the next even in the same place, depending on network traffic levels.

As to app crashes, I tried the usual offenders, such as AIM, and haven’t encountered any, at least so far.

For now, I’m going to avoid the rush-to-judgement temptation. You see, I remain quite satisfied with my decision to buy an iPhone 3G. Based on Apple’s recent performance, I’m fully confident that they’ll address any serious bugs as soon as they can. After all, I’ve already received that promised 60-day MobileMe membership extension.

When I read a commentary from John Martellaro of The Mac Observer this week, suggesting that Apple might want to use some of its huge cash reserves to construct a highly-automated manufacturing facility as a hedge against poor working conditions and uncertainties in Asia, I was struck by a single paragraph that contained a quote from Steve Jobs dating back to February of 1996.

Speaking to Fortune magazine, Jobs said: “If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it’s worth — and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.”

Understand this all happened months before Apple actually bought NeXT and brought Steve Jobs back to the company he co-founded, so maybe there was a touch of sour grapes or Monday morning quarterback posturing in that remark.

Indeed, it’s clear to me that Apple is becoming far more aggressive in its efforts to expand the Mac market, which has to come at the expense of Microsoft. Of course, this is one of those odd business relationships where two companies may compete in some areas, and cooperate in others. It’s all done for the worthy goal of making as much money as possible.

But what comes back to haunt us is whether there was something in the back of Jobs’ fertile imagination that encouraged him to make this statement about where to take the Macintosh. I mean, it’s not as if there have been huge advancements in Apple’s personal computer technology subsequent to the release of Mac OS X. All of the enhancements have been incremental, designed to better exploit the tools they were already using.

As far as Macs themselves are concerned, there really haven’t been huge changes in the form factor or the basic feature sets either. Apple is largely leveraging the latest chip designs from Intel, and, of course, AMD/ATI and NVIDIA, its graphic processor suppliers.

Even when there has an exclusive design from Intel tailored to an Apple product, such as the MacBook Air, Apple’s real competitive advantage is at best a few months. After that, the rest of the PC makers get their own chance to use the very same parts.

Certainly all this has combined to deliver lots of big profits to Apple. Mac sales are growing at several times the rate of personal computers in general, and the market share figures have exceeded 10% in some segments of the U.S. market. In fact, in the price categories in which Apple competes, Macs get a majority share of retail PC purchases. Way to go!

So is this really an attempt to milk the market until it plateaus? Indeed, are we, as some tech pundits have suggested, in the twilight of the PC era, where something new and different will inevitably take over in the near future?

Certainly, the overall movement is towards the mobile platform. Around two thirds of Apple’s computer sales are note-books now, and more than half of PCs in general. Certainly having the computing power of a desktop in a compact case is very convenient, because, except for a few niche markets, you don’t have to place a huge, lumbering beast of a tower below your desk. Today’s Mac note-books can be comfortably carted from place to place as needed — and that even applies to the 17-inch MacBook Pro. You can hook them up to larger, stationery displays and external input devices if you choose, so you definitely have the perfect all-in-one device.

At the same time, Apple’s new Wi-Fi mobile platform is taking portability into a new direction. Today’s iPhone 3G has far more memory, storage space and sheer processing power than Macs built not so many years ago. While the technology still has its teething pains, it won’t be too many years before you’ll be able to use a handheld computer to perform pretty much all of the tasks formerly reserved to larger devices.

Does this mean you are forever tethered to a touch screen to make such gadgets work? Not necessarily. There’s nothing in the basic technology that — with the appropriate software updates — would prevent you from hooking up wireless input devices, such as a standard mouse and keyboard.

What about external storage and a large flat panel display? Maybe a special docking system in the near-term would handle those chores. It won’t take a lot of time to develop cost-effective hardware that will allow you to get excellent graphics performance without a physical cable connection.

These developments, plus the expansion of standard note-books with low-power chips containing four or more processing cores, will send the traditional desktop PC off to a well-deserved retirement.

Until then, Apple will continue to milk the market for all its worth, no doubt. So it may well be, in what was probably just an off-handed remark, Steve Jobs was totally prophetic.

In recent months, you have to wonder whether Apple is losing its golden touch. I mean there are rampant reports of dropped call issues with the iPhone 3G, the rollout of .Mac’s successor, MobileMe, was particularly troublesome, and, add to all this, the press has only recent stopped talking about the health of Steve Jobs.

The iPhone connection issues are especially dicey, because all wireless calls have to go through a sophisticated system to work at all, and lots of factors can impact call quality even if everything is theoretically in perfect working order. However, there is a published report, purportedly containing an email signed by Steve Jobs himself, that quotes him as saying, “We are working on some bugs which affect around 2% of the iPhones shipped, and hope to have a software update soon.”

Soon came real fast, as the 2.0.2 update, with additional “Bug Fixes,” arrived in iTunes Monday afternoon. Some say it fixes the connectivity issue; some say it doesn’t. If the former proves to be the case, I expect we’ll have to look for other things to complain about, but the Mac troubleshooting sites always seem to have plenty of ammo to deliver their payloads.

Many of the complaints are lodged against Apple for supposedly shipping poorly-tested software updates. Whether it’s an operating system maintenance release or something less extensive, someone, somewhere, will find reason to complain about a failed installation or anomalous behavior in the wake of the update. However that rarely happens to me, but maybe I’m challenging the fates just saying that publicly. We’ll see.

However, I have to tell you that I generally work for days and weeks on end without shutting down or even restarting my Macs. That is, unless it’s required by a software update. My 17-inch MacBook Pro, one of this year’s models, had its last restart after the last security updaste was installed recently. Since then, it exists in Sleep mode when I’m not using it, and I work on it two or three hours each day to catch up on evening tasks in the bedroom, at least when my iPhone 3G isn’t working in its stead.

My son has a black MacBook. also of recent vintage, and he is the sort of person who will complain vociferously if something goes amiss. Again, he hasn’t had need for restarts except for the requisite updates. He also doesn’t install much software these days. It’s iChat for instant messaging, Microsoft Office 2004 for writing, and he accesses his email from the server’s Web-based interface. Then there’s iTunes and the occasional DVD playback, and that covers his needs these days.

My Mac Pro, however, gets a pretty thorough workout. I use several audio-related programs to capture interviews and perform post-production chores. They can be a mite flaky, and hence there’s a rare bout of application quitting. Despite the questionable reputation for stability, both Firefox and Safari generally perform quite well for me. Apple Mail is mostly all right, but sometimes it’ll just go into an endless loop downloading mail and I’ll need to force quit and start it up again.

Before you put all the blame on Apple, however, I should mention that Microsoft’s apps tend to be eternally temperamental. I have tried to work with Entourage 2008 as a possible replacement for Mail. I prefer its text editing features, particularly the ability to auto-correct common typos. For a few hours, I might find myself growing comfortable with its interface, until it decides to stall while sending or retrieving a message. But even then, it does get the job done, although saying it “just works” might be a stretch.

Beyond the basics, I do invoke Adobe Dreamweaver for revising some of my Web sites, when I’m not simply using the text editor in Transmit, an excellent shareware FTP client, to handle many of these chores. This site’s content, by the way, is powered by WordPress, so I use its Web interface for writing most of the actual content. The few exceptions include last-minute edits to published articles, which I can also do with the special WordPress application recently released for the iPhone.

Yes, I also use Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress and a smattering of Photoshop, although I am not a graphic artist. My skills at content creation emerged from a background as a commercial typographer, so I have a somewhat obsessive-compulsive set of symmetry about text layout. Other than that, I’m out of my element.

In any case, as you can see from the foregoing, I tend to concentrate mostly and software that actually does something, rather than provide a catchy visual effect. I don’t engage much in testing system enhancements these days, but I’m devoted tor Jon Gotow’s excellent Default Folder X, which makes the Open/Save dialogs fully functional. Too bad Apple isn’t paying attention.

In addition to doing my own work on a Mac, I still find myself listed as a volunteer and sometimes paid Mac helper in the local user group newsletter. As a result, I get occasional calls from people who have problems with their Macs. Sometimes I even make house calls, and when I leave the client’s home or office, the fixes generally stick. So perhaps I’m much like the mythical “Maytag repairman” who waits for business but doesn’t get so many.

The growing popularity of the Mac platform also demonstrates, to me at any rate, that millions of Windows are fed up with the malware and performance irritants they encounter daily and they’re seeking for a better way to get their work done. For the most part, Macs answer that need.

Yes, I’d like to see Apple improve its quality control, and the ongoing issues with the iPhone 3G, although they don’t seem to affect me, are troubling. But, in the end, Apple usually does right by its customers, and that’s more than you have a right to expect in this highly imperfect world.

When Adobe released a new version of Premiere for the Mac platform after an absence of several years, it arrived with support strictly for Intel-based Macs. The same held true for two new applications, Encore and Soundbooth, and Adobe’s excuse had it that removing support for older Macs would allow for much speedier development and testing. That meant we’d buy able to buy their new apps much sooner, which surely would help Adobe’s bottom line.

All right, so maybe that made sense at the time, since a large number of content creators were no doubt moving to the speediest Macs on the planet with which to create their audio and visual masterpieces. However, you can see the handwriting was definitely on the wall, although I, for one, didn’t expect to see a wholesale removal of Power PC support for at least another few years.

How wrong I was!

In June, Apple announced 10.5’s successor, Snow Leopard, intended to be largely a bug fix and performance enhancement release, without a lot of snappy features to entice you to upgrade. Although the official word on which Macs would be supported has yet to come from Apple, some developers were quick to violate their confidentiality agreements and report that the preview edition they got at the WWDC were slated for Intel only. While it’s possible that might change, the prospects don’t appear very promising.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.