Verizon has gotten the iPhone.  Learn about some of the predicted pro’s & con’s in a previous post.

If you are an existing Verizon Wireless customer and just couldn’t wait for your new iPhone, you could pre-order one today.  However, you had to be quick.  They were in such demand, Verizon sold out of the pre-order allotment within a few hours.

Is this a foreboding of things to come?  Will the sudden increase in demand and related data traffic cause Verizon’s system to become overwhelmed like AT&T’s?  Verizon claims that they are well prepared and able to handle this increase.  Although there is an unlimited data plan, they are even going to limit the top 5% of data users data rate for the current month and throttle it for the following month.  As a result, it is likely that if you are a heavy data user, you will probably max out around the same 2 GB as offered by AT&T for new customers.

However, if you are determined to get Verizon’s iPhone as soon as possible, do not fear.  Existing Verizon customers can get a phone on February 9th and others will be able to get their’s on February 10th.

To order from Apple and get more details on the differences and similarities between AT&T’s and Verizon’s versions, you can go to the Apple Site.

Cheers,
Richard

Verizon Gets the iPhone!!

Beginning February 10, the phone that changed everything will be available on both AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the United States. Qualified Verizon Wireless customers will also have the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online on February 3, ahead of general availability.

There is not much that can be said about this announcement that has not already been said, so I will just summarize the pro’s and con’s and different topics.

• The first and most obvious question is: “Will there be a mass exodus of AT&T customers who switch to Verizon?”
• Everyone knows about the service problems with AT&T and the superior quality of Verizon’s cell phone service.  The question is, now that Verizon has the iPhone, will it’s system get overloaded also, and start to exhibit the same problems as AT&T?  Verizon claims that this will NOT be a problem.  Their system is already handling huge amounts of data from all the Droid based smartphones that it currently has.
• Will your iPhone be able to work on either network?  — No, at this time, the iPhone can only work on one network or the other.  Verizon and AT&T use different cell service technologies.  This might change when both systems upgrade to the next generation of technology in the future.
• Will Verizon’s iPhone have different features than AT&T’s? — For the most part, no.
  • The two phones will have the same features.  Any differences will be very minor and insignificant.
  • One big difference is that AT&T’s 3G data service allows you to send text messages, surf the web, check email, and do other internet related tasks while making phone calls.  Verizon’s 3G data service does not allow this.
  • If this changes in the future, we will let you know.
• Is this going to be a Droid killer?  Or has the Android operating system gotten a strong enough foothold that it is here to stay? — Only time will tell.  I think that Android phones have enough of a following on their own now, that they are here to stay.  There are certainly many benefits to the droid over the iPhone, most notably, its ability to handle Flash video and video calling over 3G.
• Have you been waiting for Verizon to start selling the iPhone?
• Will you make the switch?

Cheers,
Richard

What are your guesses?

Here is a hint.  this is the logo for that announcement:

What could they possibly be planning? Well, let’s analyze this:

• They are calling this “Back to the MAC”
• They have had a lot of focus on mobile devices lately, their Mac OS has not been updated in a while.
• The MAC OS X series has been Jaguar, Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard. I see a pattern.  The hidden picture here looks suspiciously like a Lion.

The rumor mill is that Apple is getting ready to announce their next big upgrade to the MAC OS X, code named “Lion”.

Stay tuned.  10 am PT on Oct 20th they will be holding their conference.

In the meantime, what are your predictions for this OS, and what ancillary announcements do you think they will make?

Until then, happy computing,
Richard

I occasionally get to travel, not as much as I would like, but I always enjoy it.  However, whenever I travel internationally, I am afraid that my smartphone (iPhone) bill will be the most expensive part.  I have heard horror stories of people returning home to discover cell phone bills of over $2000 when they barely used their phone!!

So what can you do to prevent this, short of leaving your phone at home or off during the entire trip?

It is rather simple:

First, call your cell provider and find out what the charges are for the country or countries that you are going to.  Also, ask them what international plans they have.  At a minimum, this will give you a guideline of what to expect.  They might even be able to give you specific instructions for how to configure your phone for international travel.  Take good notes, so you can change back any settings when you return.

The tricky part of determining your costs with a smartphone are all the little things that go on behind the scenes.  So you want to turn off as much as possible. An example of data services that happen behind the scenes is the automatic periodic checking for new emails. Other services might include over the air automatic syncing of calendar and contacts, a “Find-Me” feature in case your phone is lost, and any other push or location services.  The obvious data services include features such as Text Messaging (SMS & MMS), manual Sending and Receiving email, and surfing the web.

1) Turn off data roaming. This disables data services over the cellular carrier when you in an area not covered by your provider.  You will still be able to use WiFi wherever it is available.

2) Turn off 3G or 4G services.  This is an extra precaution, that will prevent your phone from using the high speed data portion of cell service.  Again, you can still access most features of your phone using the regular phone portion of your cell service for phone calls and WiFi for data.

3) If you understand your international plan and what your charges will be, or your still really want to use your phone, turn off any features you can, that you do not need.  For example, make sure you only check for new email manually, not automatically.  Turn off push notification. Don’t text and especially do not send many pictures and videos via text.  Use email over WiFi when possible. Turn off syncing, and any “Find-Me” or “Find-My-Phone” type features.

Another option that I have heard other people use, but have not done yet is simply get a disposable phone at your new location or by a local SIM card that you can plug into your own phone.

Happy travels,
Richard Lazovick

I got very lucky!  I found a used one for sale by a friend of mine, so that helped make the decision easier for me.

However, I wanted to do a clean install on it, so it was completely configured with my own data, files, configurations preferences, and not have any hidden remnants of her’s.

Now, if you are not familiar with the MacBook Air, it does not have it’s own DVD/CD drive.  You need to use one remotely, that is on another computer.

I wanted to do a fresh install of Mac OSX Leopard, then do an upgrade to the latest version, which is Snow Leopard.  Although the procedure an tools are very easy to use, for various reasons I ran into one problem after another doing the install. I am relatively knowledgeable with computers and great at debugging problems, but there comes a point where it is sometimes just easier to get “professional” help.

Sometimes, the have done what you are looking for many times, they have immediate access to other knowledgeable people, and most importantly, they have all the tools and equipment right there.  Besides, I sometimes just enjoy going into the store to talk to the employees to get the latest updates, a different perspective, and new insights.

Such was the case this time. Let me explain the entire experience:

1. I tried doing the installs at home, but ran into one small problem after another.
2. I went to www.Apple.com and made an appointment for the Genius Bar.
3. At the appropriate time, I went to the store.
4. I was immediately greeted by an Apple Rep at the door, who asked if he could help me.
5. He “checked” me in for my appointment, and told me to wait in the back of the store, next to the Genius Bar.
6. I went to the back of the store and my son immediately found an iPad to play with the entire time I was being helped.
7. Almost right on time, they were ready to help me.
8. I explained my problem and told what I needed, I also thought of any possible question I could.
9. He pulled out a portable disk drive with all the necessary software already on it.  Connected it to the USB port on my computer, and installed the latest versions of OS X (Snow Leopard) and iLife.
10. They took an hour to install, during which time I went and did my own thing elsewhere, came back and picked up my computer and went home to complete my software migration and configuration process.

Overall, I give the whole process of using Apple’s Genius Bar an “A grade”.  It was an easy, pleasant experience that went smoothly.

Cheers,
Richard Lazovick

It looks like they are calling them the iOS4 and iPhone 4.

I talked about this in a previous post:

New iPhone OS4 & 4G

You can also get more information from the Apple site itself at:

iOS4 Software Update and iPhone 4, iPhone 4 Notify Me

The new iPhone4 can be pre-ordered starting June 15th and will be available starting June 24th. The date for the new iOS4 is still unknown.

Cheers,
Richard

Hopefully this will be a good thing, but in reality, only time will tell.  For most of us, this should end up saving us some money.

First, the data changes to the data plan rate structure:

Currently – At least with the iPhone, you are required to get an unlimited data

New Options -
a) Data Plus – 200 MB of data for $15/month. Additional 200MB for another $15.
b) DataPro – 2GB of data for $25/month. Additional 1 GB of data for $10.

AT&T claims that the Data Plus plan is more than sufficient for 65% of the iPhone/SmartPhone users, and the DataPro plan is good for 98% of the iPhone/SmartPhone users.  In theory, that means that 65% of the users will save $15/month and the remaining 33% will save $5/month.  What can possibly be wrong with that?

TETHERING

The new feature that is being offered on the iPhone is Tethering.  The phone has always had this feature, but AT&T is only now allowing it to be used.  Simply put, tethering is the ability to share the phone’s network connection with another device, such as a laptop computer or iPad.

c) Tethering – Additional $20/month for DataPro customers. (That’s right, you need to sign up for the DataPro data plan to be able to use tethering)

NOTES:
1) All new SmartPhone/iPhone contracts will require you sign up for either the DataPlus or DataPro plans.  The unlimited Data Plan is no longer available for new contracts.  This is the current understanding.  The actual details are not announced yet.
2) You can easily check your data usage by logging into your account on www.wireless.att.com
3) Keep in mind, that once you tether your phone to a laptop or iPad, your data usage is likely to take a quantum jump up.  So be careful to keep track of your usage when you first make the switch and enable tethering.

I hope this helps clarify and keep you up to date.

Cheers,
Richard

These specials range from buy one, get one, free deals to free coffee and free meals.

I do not have a complete list, but here are a few of them.  Your best bet is to go to your favorite haunts and check them out.

Free Coffee – Free brewed coffee all day at Starbucks if you bring your mug.
Free Cupcakes – From 6 pm – 8pm today, you get two free bite-sized cupcakes at participating Cinnabon mall locations.
Free Ice Cream – From 3 pm – 7 pm today, you get once free slice of ice cream pizza (pizza made to look like a slice of pizza.) at participating MaggieMoo’s.
Free Massage – Today through Sunday, you can get a free massage participating Hydromassage mall locations.  Call ahead to book an appointment and visit www.hydromassage.com/taxday.
Free Meal – Today through Sunday you can get one free meal for each one you buy at Boston Market.  Use this coupon.
Free Meal - From 4 pm – 10 pm, all month long, you can get one free kids (12 and under) dinner for each adult meal purchased at IHOP.
15% off – get 15% off food (not alcohol) at P.F. Chang’s.
$10.40 Dinner and Drink specials – At McCormick & Schmick’s you can get a $10.40 dinner and drink special in the bar. You can also get a gift certificate worth $10.40 for a later visit.  If you are a tax professional working until midnight, you can get their freebie Friday dessert plus a $10.40 certificate.  Get it?  $10.40 — tax-day (form 1040)!!

Please let us know if you know of any other great deals for Tax Day.

Cheers,
Richard

One such feature came in handy yesterday, so I wanted to share it with you.

The Feature is an Undo.

So how do you do it?  Turns out, this is very simple.

When you look at the iPhone/iPod Touch, you will notice that only has 4 buttons:

1) The Sleep/Wake button on the top
2) The Home button on the bottom
3) Volume control on the side
4) Ring/Silent on the side

You also already know that you have extra features, such as Select, Cut, Copy, & Paste by touching the screen.

But no where do you see an Undo feature and there are no other buttons.  So, how does it work?

The answer is very simple:

Shake The iPhone/iPod !!

That’s it.

In applications where it is supported, which is most text applications, if you want to undo the last process, simply shake your iPhone/iPod Touch.  For instance, I had written a long email, then accidentally erased it by Pasting text replacing what I had typed. I started to panic, then remembered this nifty little trick.  I shook the iPhone and – a little pop-up menu appeared asking if I wanted to undo the last action. I clicked Undo and – viola – my typed text reappeared! I was ecstatic.  Okay, a slight exaggeration, but needless to say, I was very happy.

If you delete more than one portion, shake your iPhone/iPod again and you will get the options: Undo & Redo.

Watch this video to learn more.

If you are having trouble viewing this video, try downloading and installing Quicktime (for free), or you can view the video online by clicking here. (see Note)

Good luck,
Richard

Now really?  Do you believe it? Engineers and regulators are so confounded by Toyota’s acceleration problem, that they are now investigating whether the problems could possibly be caused by cosmic rays.

If you are like me, your first reaction is that Toyota is just looking for an excuse. I mean, this sounds more Sci-Fi than reality.

Turns out, that it is scientists and engineers that have come up with the theory that cosmic rays are causing Toyota’s problems.  Toyota is denying the possibility.

Scientists claim that cosmic rays cause random and totally unpredictable problems in electronic circuitry of all types.  Airplanes are very susceptible to them, that is why they now have triple redundant systems.

Toyota’s cars are more susceptible to them than any other manufacturer’s cars because they have much more electronics in them than any other manufacturer’s cars.

On the flip side, Toyota maintains that it’s electronics so safe and reliable, that there is no possibility that cosmic rays could be effecting them.

I know this is a complete non-sequiter post and completely off topic, but I just found it very interesting and felt compelled to share it.  Let  me know your thoughts.

Cheers,
Richard