best iPad keeper ever

Want? No. Must have.

The Trapper Keeper iPad case. Including Bluetooth keyboard.

From If.

It's a Trap!

I do hope they make these.

about the new iPhone software

It is more accurate to say that iOS7 has been released and is being pushed out to users today. iOS is the operating system for iPhone and iPads. I have been fielding e-mails from multiple friends back home and general non-tech types who love their iDevices and have asked me about the update. I said I was going to hold off for a couple of weeks before I updated my phone. Here's why:

(1) There's always some bugs. I'm going to let those play out, get fixed, then update.
(2) Frankly, I don't like the new design and hate some of the new icons.
(3) So many of the new features just kill the battery life, and mine already sucks as my phone spends most of the day in my pocket vainly searching for a Verizon signal because Verizon can't seem to make it to my office and I am only about 30 feet from the wall of windows.  (Tips on keeping iOS7 from sucking so much battery life here.)

However, now that I have run a sync and updated my apps, several apps won't work until I upgrade to iOS7, so I may be adapting sooner than I thought.

For the layperson, there is a LOT to digest and a lot of changes to wrap your head around. The best round-ups of changes I have found are over at the Cult of Mac. And even for an enthusiast like me, I found the information dense and the new features less-than-easy to assimilate. So look these over, twice if need be. Particularly troublesome to me is that so many things you might really want to turn off are buried deep in the Settings where you would never think to look.

Basically (actually the basics I mean), here is what you need to know:

• Getting To Know The iOS 7 Interface
• Camera and Photos
• Control Center, Notification Center, Notes, Reminders & Music
• AirDrop, Safari & App Store
and
• Tips and Tricks for iOS7

Nice to look at:
A Visual Walkthrough Of iOS 7 with animated GIFs

what's in a name?

In this case: a whole bunch of clever.

The current Mac operating system is called Lion, well, the newest update was called Mountain Lion, but basically, Macs are running Lion.

Developers have released a free app for users to take more aggressive control and management of when their computers go into sleep mode.

The name for this app to control when Lion sleeps?

Wimoweh.

Love it.

iAm

Learning a bunch of stuff. Seeing some things.



It's no longer the total 'gasm it once was, but still informative and a great show.

Although you know what I was not thinking, even once, all day?



"Boy, this MacWorld could use more drum circles."

continued dulling of the shine on the Apple

I'm an Apple Fanboy but nothing annoys me more than when Apple products just DON'T work. Two weeks of troubleshooting my mom's AirportExpress and AppleTV (and now sending her to the Genius Bar for replacements), and now I can't send her guides to help her because Apple limits mail attachments to 20MB. 20MB?! I could send larger files via 14.4. WTF?

So, I used Gmail. No limit issue there!

Oh wait....the recipient is on Apple too, so continued screwiness. I'll just drop the files on the iDisk and she can get it there. Until next week when Apple kills that too. Time for Dropbox.

And I keep forgetting I need a new web host fast. Apple is killing that too.

Apple updates

The Jamez and I just both upgraded to nifty new Apple toys.  The got the New iPad, and I upgraded to the new Apple TV.  I've set up a MacMini as a sweet little video server and I've been space shifting my collection of movies and TV box sets.  Unfortunately the new iTunes 10.6 update really screwed up Home Sharing with the AppleTV.  In only two weeks but what seemed like ages, Apple has released a 10.6.1 update which fixes a lot of these issues.  Although Apple is still sorting numbers after letters unlike the rest of the world, and is now ignoring special characters like spaces or asterisks which are commonly used to push files, folders and set lists to the top.  Grr.

Still, if you are an iTunes user, go grab the update.

I can't wait for the new AppleTV

But it looks like I'll have to. After the long-awaited announcement, I went home to use my Apple gift card to pre-order an AppleTV online with free shipping and guaranteed March 16 arrival to my doorstep. Except that even though the new AppleTV was just announced late morning, by the end of the day the shipping out time went from immediate to "1-2 weeks."

I'll wait and get mine at the store. If it's anything like the iPhone 4S launch, that will be quicker than pre-ordering (when people had to wait more than a month if they ordered online, but could walk into a store and just pick one up).

Regardless, the new AppleTV looks great. And although I'll miss the local drive ease of the original, my first gen is starting to crap out.

(Image from Cult of Mac)

He told me to call him Mr. "Jobs"

I want to make a new t-shirt:

Can you show me on the doll where the iPod Touch'd you?

How quickly would I get sued?

geriatric pads

I'm getting an iPad for my parents in May.  Ostensibly, so I can share photos and videos with them easily, and video chat with my Dad as he can't get around much anymore, much less use a computer.  I'm hoping they actually use it a lot.  "New" and "change" aren't big buzzwords with them these days. 

shiny Apple

It's worth noting how awesome the Apple Store has been to victims of the tsunami and quake in Japan.

iPad 2 out today

And I totally WANT. Friends and relatives have been asking for my take, and I tell them I'll get getting one ASAP, but still haven't decided 3G or not 3G, and if 3G, which carrier.

The Cult of Mac has broken down their analysis of what the casual user should really buy and it's a great, simple reduction: Get the 16GB WiFi only model in black.

But I am a movie and reference hog and will likely get the 64GB model. I want as much with me as possible all the time. I would love to be able to use Google maps and such while on the road or traveling the country or abroad and whatnot, but I really don't think the $130 prince hike plus the $30-$50 service fee is justifiable for theoretical use which would be limited any way. The best solution for those instances is just to pay the $30 to turn my iPhone into a 3G WiFi hotspot for a month, or the reasonable fee for airport WiFi access in airports without free wireless.

But yeah. WANT. Now. Supplies are severely limited though, and online order delivery times this morning went from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks within a couple of hours.

Update: Even after restocking on Tuesday 3/15 all outlets are reporting sold-out status. ONline orders now expected to filled in 5-6 weeks.

iWant

The iPad 2 has been announced.  They'll be available next Friday.  OMG.  WANT.

MacWorld this week

I love MacWorld for all of the Apple-intensive geeky and gadgety goodness, and for bringing often-missed friend Bryan Rusciano back to town for at least a week.  MacWorld opens today, and the Expo opens tomorrow.  I'll be there all day taking in whatever classes and workshops I can, and scouring the Expo floor for affordable toys and useful apps.  I'm waiting for the next version before I buy and iPad, so all the the iPad-centric stuff this year will just have to whet my appetite. And I hear this is all about iPad.

Also useful for non-MacWorld tourists and locals, the Cult of Mac has put together a list of Best Apps to Get the Most Out of MacWorld, including the local must-have and much-beloved app Routsey. 

Verizon iPhone

Yes it's here.  Or almost.  I haven't weighed in on it yet as it has gotten plenty of press all over everywhere else.  I won't switch until my contract runs out for the following reasons:  (1) Let's see how the tech shakes out, (2) you can't call and use data at the same time, which actually I don't think I've ever done so no big deal really, (3) let's see how the coverage shakes out, and (4) hopefully those that do jump ship will relieve the pressure on AT&T's network.

Not that the super crappy AT&T service will magically provide coverage to my home or neighborhood just because some folks have switched.

Although it seems I may be able to save five or ten bucks a month on text messaging plans.  I hope the Verizon competition will result in more benefits for AT&T customers and soon.

Of note to my friends who have been holding off on buying an iPhone until they could use the Verizon network:
• The "New Every Two" upgrade promotion has quietly been canceled.
• If you upgraded or signed up for a new phone between November 26th, 2010 and January 10th, 2011, you’re eligible to get $200 back on a VISA gift card, as long as you buy the iPhone 4 at full retail price and return your existing phone.

no more rumors? iPhone really going to Verizon?

The Cult of Mac is reporting:

Plans have emerged today from people briefed by Apple that the company is to begin mass producing a new iPhone by the end of 2010 that will allow Verizon Wireless to sell its popular smartphone early next year.

The new iPhone will be no different externally to the iPhone 4 in shops today, however, internally it will feature an alternative wireless technology called CDMA used by Verizon. According to the same people, the key chip will be provided by Qualcomm, and the device is expected to be released in the first quarter of next year.

I'll believe it when I see it. And while I am now locked into AT&T for another two years, maybe the new wave will relieve some of the iPhone strain on the weak AT&T network. I hate to think I might, but I probably will, drop another $400 in two years for an iPhone 5.

Apple iPhone 4 antenna issue?

Yeah, holding it with a left hand, you know so you can type with the right one, is a total death grip. Meh.

shiny

I ventured back to the Apple Store last night. Short version: denied, denied, phone call, phone call, approved. Or perhaps: "Denied, denied, deal with asswipes, approved."


I met with two more Apple Specialists (bringing the total to seven), ran through my spiel with each of them, and handed my various Apple Specialists' business cards with notes written on the backs. AT&T clerk had assured me my status was now "eligible." I crossed my fingers. They ran everything up (and kindly did not as me to wait in line again), and then...denied.



"Customer not eligible for upgrade at this time."
This time I was not angry as I just wasn't surprised any more. My enthusiastic and optimistic new Apple specialist Mitchell Aji offered to call their AT&T hotline to see if they could do anything. I had been through this three times before to no avail, but sure, why not? He spoke with someone who gave him a new number. Who sent him to someone else. And finally, Mitchell spoke to someone at AT&T who knew how to fix this! I was very happy, but also wondered what would have happened if we managed to find this person last Friday in the first place, and why other reps did not share this know-how.

Apple Mitchell rang me up again, and the AT&T database confirmed my eligibility! I was able to pay (well charge really, that new transmission and other repairs has wiped me out) for the iPhone 4; they were able to activate it; and I was able to go home and transfer all my files.

A few words that everyone has said before about the iPhone 4: Oh Dear God this display is insanely beautiful. I thought the resolution upgrade would be marginal and not a big deal. But no, it's crisper and clearer than my eyesight. Wow. And the camera is much, much better (I'm upgrading from a 3G, not the 3GS).



Happy new home screen!
I am looking forward to new augmented reality apps when those get around to being reliable. And it would be nice if Skype would either (A) go back to allowing Fring to initiate Face Time/video chats with Skype users, or (B) enable video chatting on their own app. As it is now, Skype won't let others do what that haven't been able to yet, which is kind of dickish. I also need to figure out who else has one so I can play with the Face Time feature. (Although some tech blogs are speculating that AT&T is responsible for the WiFi only restriction, as those with overseas carriers, jailbroken phones and Fring users are able to video chat over 3G just fine, consuming only a about 3 MB a minute for motion-intensive chats.)

So far, everything with the iPhone 4 is working great, and is a substantial improvement over the 3G, although it has only been about 12 hours and I miss my hard shell case a bit. With both sides made of glass, I am sure I'm going to drop it sometime soon.

Final words: Thanks to AT&T employee Jim Snowden who read the blog and reached out to help— and has been nothing but a professional representative of AT&T and someone the company should applaud for dedication to his company as well as their clients, and to all of the dedicated Apple Specialists at the Apple Store San Francisco who spent many hours trying to make my iPhone purchase experience a pleasant and successful one in spite of all of the conflicts: they are Lee Duren, Katrice Shaner, Natasha, Tomas Wischerath, Alice M. and Mitchell Aji (and the man behind the curtain, Art). You guys are great.

But AT&T, you have got a LOT to learn about customer service. And actual service as well.

Apple/iPhone/AT&T FAIL

So I headed down to the Apple store in downtown SF this afternoon to get an iPhone 4. I've been on the wait list for months with AT&T and RadioShack, who will buy back my old phone on the spot, but I'm still months away from fulfillment. I was talking to the Apple store on another matter and was told they had the iPhone 4s in stock right now, so I left for the Apple store and planned to meet Skot Land for happy hour. Multiple Muni fails delayed me by an hour, and Skot was kind enough to wait in line for me.

When it was out turn, the Apple dude rang me up in about five minutes, but the discount to Mobile Me didn't register, so he canceled the transaction, and tried to ring me up again. But according to AT&T I just got a new phone (the transaction he just canceled) and so am not eligible for another phone for another two years.

Then came lots and lots of calls to AT&T. AT&T/Apple partners. AT&T Corporate. AT&T local stores. An hour passed. AT&T refused to be helpful and reset my eligibility. The Apple/AT&T liaison spoke to me, and said that there is an entire customer service department at AT&T set up to do nothing but reset eligibility in cases like this, which are common (why they can't just fix their checkout system is beyond me). However, this "customer service" department can't reset eligibility for at least 72 hours. OMFG are you kidding me? AT&T actual can't affect their own records for three days?

Then the Apple/AT&T rep told me they just usually work the the AT&T store down the street, because from the store level computers, they can reset eligibility instantly. WTF? My Apple guy kept trying to call the local store but they would not answer their phone. Other stores refused to assist and only referred him and me to the national call center, who can't make changes for three days. Again, AT&T service FAIL.

Ultimately, the Apple guy decided to just take my ID, new phone, secret info and everything down the street himself and get it done. They do this all the time, no problem. (It seems this eligibility snafu during the purchase process is common.) He said we could just chill around the store or meet him back at the count in 10-15 minutes. Skot had already been kind enough to wait through my Muni nightmare, and wait in line, and wait though all of this crap, just so we could go for 2-4-1s, so I offered to get him a drink in the neighborhood while we waited. Apple dude had my number and would call or text when all was good.

Skot and I went down the block to a dive-ish place advertising cocktails, in theory to avoid hotel bar price points. We stopped into Jack's Grill, which was packed with tourists and claims to be "The Home of the Maltese Falcon."


.
My phone had no service, less than a block from the Apple Store. Again, more frustration at AT&T. We came back to the Apple Store around 8:00.

Apple dude doesn't seem to be back yet, no one can tell me anything other than that AT&T is an uncooperative partner, my phone is dead, and I am approaching rage levels. So Skot and I sidled up to an iMac to blog this, and express my frustration. It's been two hours. The process from front of line to exiting the store could have been five minutes without the frustration from AT&T.


Grr.

Update: Dude is back. The manager at the local AT&T store refused to help him. First he service-blocked to keep another employee from helping him. Then flat out lied saying they can't do that or access my account from there. They do this all the freaking time. I spoke to a half-dozen Apple employees who have dealt with this same issue at that same store repeatedly without incident. The AT&T employee even started to show the manager how to fix it and was shut down. Then the manager said I had to be there in person, even though there was an Apple guy, done this before, in uniform, with my ID and papers and everything, and the AT&T online account notes indicated all of this, with my permission and the manager continued to refuse service. The Apple guy tried to call and text me to come over in person, but by then AT&T had deactivated my existing phone because the system thought I was using the new one they wouldn't let me purchase! Again, AT&T FAIL!

Is having an iPhone really worth suffering through AT&T? No, clearly it's not. Sure, our experience in SF is that their actual phone service sucks beyond all competent measures, but to add the insult to injury of aggressively offensive customer service? If so much of my life weren't so fully integrated with the Apple platform, I'd be out in a heartbeat.

Just yesterday some frustrated iPhone users were saying that we use the iPhone less as a cell phone and more as a portable computer so that AT&T's miserable service was just an annoyance rather than prohibitive. Now I'm rethinking that assessment.

Especially when I heard that one of the reasons the Manager refused to assist was that it was quarter to closing time and he wanted to leave. He actually said as much. So that when I met up with Apple guy at 8:03, it was too late to do anything about it.

So now my levels of frustration are off the scale-incredibly frustrating trip downtown, hours wasted in the store, missing our happy hour appointment, spending $20 for two vodkas while waiting to fix a $30 error, and having a simple electronic switch turned into a bureaucratic nightmare by a behemoth tech company that seems to, from the CEO to the personal level, make it their stance to screw their own customers at every turn because they can.

Finally (finishing this at home now): I have to go down to AT&T in person, myself tomorrow and argue that they reset my iPhone eligibility. Then go back to the Apple store, where they said they could not hold a phone for me but there "should be enough," and pay through the nose for the new iPhone 4 and go through this process again. I was hoping for an iTunes card, and asked for a magic trackpad, for all of this hassle. They threw in a year of AppleCare for the phone, which I wasn't going to buy anyway. Meh. (And the trackpad even costs less.)

The worst part of all this though is that it ruined a perfectly good Friday night. I got my wrist and jankle worked on and was feeling good, was excited about a new toy, and looked forward to some cheap TGIF drinks with friends, instead I spent three times as much as I would have, missed the Friday after-work fun altogether, and multiple muni rides. Now my association with the product is nothing but bile.

But at least I got to have fun Skot times and he was great company throughout even though I could not set aside my rage enough to ever relax.

Maybe the shiny new features, once it's all installed and crap, will snap be back to a good mood.

Update 2: Went down to AT&T store today (painful way to spend a sunny Saturday), waited in line, and was finally assisted by a manager who was nothing but smiles and controlled demeanor while dealing with frustrated customers (he has been trained very well, and never once cracked under the unpleasant pressure—I say this to his credit.). However, it really doesn't matter how pleasant the manager was when all he could tell me was that he was incapable of actually fixing my problem, a problem not caused by the customer mind you, but by their own systems. It basically felt like someone was saying, "fuck off and die, we don't have to care because you don't have any choice," but saying it with a smile and a pat on the back. With all of the teabaggers and militia and gang crazy people out there, and the United States' inability to deal with meaningful gun regulation, I am genuinely surprised there is not more bloodshed at AT&T storefronts. And I worry for the few friends I have who are employed by AT&T. Is their corporate plan to inspire so much ire as to create a violent response? Is that some sort of corporate/Republican regulation conspiracy? What the hell is with these people?

I was assured that while they could send a request to reset my eligibility, there was nothing they could do to actually remedy the situation for three business days. Apple has to use an AT&T database to authorize iPhone purchases. But AT&T only updates that database over three business days, and Apple doesn't have any access or authority to override any of the shit it spews out, regardless of circumstance. Some partners.

So now, the AT&T computers at the AT&T store say I am back to being eligible for an upgrade. The AT&T servers required to be accessed by Apple do not. I went back to the Apple store as instructed. My new Apple Dude, Tomas was exceptionally understanding, kind, articulate and competent, and he really spent the better part of an hour trying to do whatever he could to remedy my situation and let me just freaking pay for and leave with an iPhone 4.

AT&T servers repeatedly refused to allow the transaction to continue, claiming I was ineligible. I witnessed this myself on their screens.

Tomas then spent another 15 minutes on the phone with their hotline to AT&T.

Best they can do: I have to come back THURSDAY—yes, a feaking week after I waited in line and tried to buy one the first time, just so AT&T can have time to update my status and allow me to spend my hard-earned dollars on the damn new phone.

If AT&T presumes to be a competent global tech company, they should be able to update their own databases in less than 72 hours three business days.

Oops, I said "competent." Actually, I typed it. If I said over a phone call it would have been dropped by now. Ever since they scuttled Cingular's towers there has been no coverage in my neighborhood. Every time I call or write customer service, I am assured "they're working on it." Empirical evidence does not support that assertion, rather the contrary.

Based on their customer service assertions, I have been conditioned to perceive every communication from AT&T to be not something honest-but-erroneous, but an intentional lie.

Rumors of potential availability of the iPhone on other carriers are just that: rumors. And often easily dispelled. I wonder how many will jump ship, and happily pay for the termination privilege, just to deal with a carrier, any carrier, other than AT&T. And honestly, if fat Luke Wilson shows up talking about AT&T wireless coverage in San Francisco one more time, the nearest San Franciscan will be serving up a bitch slap right quick.

iPhone 4 pre-oders start today

so naturally, Apple's and AT&T's servers have crashed. There are actually lines in front of stores to pre-order and wait in line again next week. This bodes well for the popularity of the product, and the potential market-wide adoption of Apple's open Face Time video calling standards, but does nothing to push Apple/AT&T to improve the actual service or pricing plans. It looks like we'll all buy the iPhone even though the data/voice services are expensive AND unreliable.

I hate myself a little for so wanting one, and will be pre-ordering mine as soon as the coast is clear.

Actually, word is that Radio Shack may be the best place to get one next week: no anticipated lines AND they'll pay for your trade-in. Nice.

(image from Gizmodo)

more bad Apples

Apple was ridiculously prudish with approving apps for the iPhone, if you recall going so far as to ban the dictionary, because it had words like cock (rooster) and ass (donkey) in it.

Now Apple is banning books and graphic novels from the iPad if they don't "approve" of them. Unsurprisingly, as with most censorship, it is not being enforced on an egalitarian level. Graphic violence and sex scenes from some comics are okay, but graphic novels of Ulysses and The Importance of Being Ernest are denied or blacklined—even after the user certifies they are over 18. Seriously.

Every day Apple makes it easier to spit out the Kool Ade.

I'm waiting for the Amazon Kindle ads: "The Kindle: The digital book reader that doesn't tell you what you're allowed to read."