Really Starting to Hate AT&T
By Josh | June 11, 2009
After reading all of the news this week about the new iPhone coming out soon, I'm really starting to hate AT&T. I've been with AT&T ever since I got my first cellphone over 5 years ago. I haven't really had any trouble with service, but there are a few things lately that have really started to tick me off.
First of all, why do loyal customers who have a contract already have to pay a lot more to upgrade their phone. I'm not sure if other cellphone companies do this too, but I know AT&T loves to add on an extra fee if you decide to upgrade early. I probably wouldn't upgrade to the new iPhone anyways, but if I wanted to, I'd have to pay hundreds of dollars extra… that's how a loyal customer gets treated over new customers?
Secondly, AT&T has had months to prepare for the new iPhone OS release, but they don't have MMS ready for the iPhone. Seriously??? Even cheap non-smart phones have MMS… and when the iPhone decides to have it, AT&T isn't ready. If some other cellphone company legally supported the iPhone without having to unlock it, I'd switch in a heartbeat.
Also, and I'm not sure if this is AT&T's fault or the iPhone's, but lately I've been having some serious trouble getting messages on time. It took me 3 days to get a voicemail this past weekend. It also took me a couple of hours to get a text message one time a couple of weeks ago.
However, on a more positive note, I decided to take the risk and download the iPhone OS 3.0 from torrent. It installed great, and is running very smoothly. The search feature has to be my favorite, followed by horizontal SMS and email. Copy and Paste is great, but I never really felt like I needed it… although I know a lot of other people who feel differently. Now, I just can't wait for Beejive to update for Push Notifications.
Topics: Technology, iPhone | Comments
Well..It’s Here: The New iPhone
By Shane | June 9, 2009
The new iPhone was just released: iPhone 3G S. The biggest thing is Voice Control. Use it to make calls, or even control your music. To me it is revolutionary, it will change the way we listen to music on a daily basis and make phone calls. But…I can’t afford that right now. But the good news is, the old iPhones will go down in price with the release of this new version. I haven’t had the time to do much research, but I hope this article from the Washington Post helps.
Here is the article by Mike Musgrove from the Washington Post:
“The latest iPhone, available next week, is faster than its predecessors, has an improved camera, can record videos and appears to be just what many Mac fans have been waiting for this year.
The iPhone 3G-S (courtesy of apple.com)
Apple unveiled the latest version of its popular iPhone, called 3G S, at a trade show for Mac users yesterday in San Francisco. The company, known for using the conference to launch new, often game-changing devices, touted its next-generation iPhone as its fastest-running smartphone yet. The “S” stands for “speed,” after all.
Speaking from the stage at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple vice president of worldwide marketing Philip W. Schiller showed how the new iPhone’s camera lets users decide what the lens should focus on with the touch of a finger. With a set of voice controls, users can upload an iPhone video to YouTube with a spoken command.
The new device, priced at $199 and $299, will be available at the end of next week, the company said. The more expensive version comes with 32 gigabytes of storage space, a new capacity for the device. The less expensive iPhone has 16 gigabytes.
And the price of last week’s cutting-edge model, the iPhone 3G? It’s been reduced from $199 to $99.
Tech pundit Tim Bajarin, with Silicon Valley think tank Creative Strategies, said the cheaper, older iPhone should allow Apple to speed up the adoption of the smartphone. As for the new models, iPhone “is evolving into being a PC in your pocket, not just a smartphone,” he said.
Chief executive Steve Jobs, who has long been a dominant presence on the stage at this event, was a no-show. A survivor of pancreatic cancer, Jobs has been on medical leave since January and is scheduled to return later this month. Late last week, news sites were abuzz with a report asserting that the event could mark Jobs’s return to the company.
Apple had already previewed the third major version of the iPhone’s operating system in March. The device’s software offers 300 new features, the company said. That includes some long-overlooked basic features that iPhone owners have been waiting for since the device went on sale, such as “cut and paste,” which allows users to copy text from one application to another.
Apple also introduced “Find My iPhone,” a feature designed to help owners who have misplaced their device. Lose the phone under the sofa, and users will be able to send the iPhone a message ordering it to make a sound. If the device has been stolen, it will be possible to send a command to erase its memory, so that sensitive information is not compromised.
Other new applications include a GPS program that will give users turn-by-turn driving directions, another function that owners or potential owners of iPhone have been requesting. With another application from online car rental agency Zipcar, customers could unlock rental car doors by pushing an iPhone button.
The company unveiled new versions of its MacBook Pro laptops, which will feature longer-lasting batteries. According to Schiller, the number of Mac users has tripled in the last two years to 75 million.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060801919.html?hpid=sec-tech
Check out the new iPhone at your AT&T dealer or at the Apple Store.
Tweetie vs. Nambu
By Josh | April 22, 2009
Sorry for another Twitter post, but I’ve been spending a lot of my time lately on there. This post is going to take a look at some of the pros and cons of both Tweetie and Nambu, which are both great Twitter apps for Mac.
This is the newest app for me to try out. I was really excited to hear about Tweetie coming out for the Mac since I love it on the iPhone. If you haven’t tried it out yet, there is a free version (with ads) that you can download. Tweetie adds some nice effects for switching between different views, and it feels like a really solid app. I really like how it will add a dot beside the replies or DMs to let you know you have new messages. Also, if you search for a certain term you can open that search in a different window to always see new search results.
There are a couple things however that I know are already getting complaints. First of all, there is no grouping or filtering of any sort. It doesn’t seem like the creators have any intention of adding it in soon either. Another thing that bothers me is that you can’t drag your replies or DMs out to another window. This would sort of be like TweetDeck with its multiple columns, but instead it would be separate windows. Tweetie only works with Twitter too, which might be a negative for some people.
Nambu is another Mac only Twitter app, and so far my favorite one. It has multiple views to give you an option of choosing between combined, sidebar, or multi column view. Right now I’m using the sidebar view, and I love that it gives you a count of unread messages beside your replies and DMs. Grouping and filtering are also much like TweetDeck, which is great for when you have a select few people that you really want to stay up to date with.
One thing that annoys me is that when I’m trying to group people I search for them and the correct results don’t come up. For some reason, when searching for their username it won’t work. I normally have to type in their real name in order for the correct results to come back. Sometimes however I don’t know the person’s real name, so I have to go to Twitter.com and search for the person, which is an extra step that shouldn’t be needed.
Right now only Twitter is working on Nambu, but Friendfeed, identi.ca, and Ping.fm are planned to work soon too. I know I’ll be using the Friendfeed option when it’s available.
Topics: Internet, Mac, Software, Technology | Comments
Twitter Updates for 2009-04-20
By Josh | April 20, 2009
- Five Best Screen Capture Tools http://bit.ly/1iOTb #feedly #
- More Cool iPhone OS 3.0 Features – Data Detectors in Notes http://bit.ly/UJD4n #feedly #
- Trying out Tweetie for the Mac. Yay! #
- I wish you could open more than just searches in a separate window with Tweetie for Mac. It would also be nice to have grouping/filtering. #
- Facebook Fixer Enhances Facebook’s Design http://bit.ly/ooQLG #feedly #
- Hybrid Hummer Promises 100 Miles per Gallon http://bit.ly/sFqdP #feedly #
- Scientists Break Brain/Twitter Barrier http://bit.ly/auys9 #feedly #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-18
By Josh | April 18, 2009
- IWork Trojan Horse May Be Turning Macs Into Zombies http://is.gd/t574 #postrank #technology (via @pr_technology) #
- Oprah gets pwned by Shaq on Twitter http://tinyurl.com/c8cmxn #feedly #
- First Look: Tweetie for Mac http://tinyurl.com/d5lfad #feedly #
- Go Play Scarygirl http://tinyurl.com/cr5ukn #feedly #
- Feedly Mini Learns How to Search http://tinyurl.com/d7wt4o #feedly #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-17
By Josh | April 17, 2009
- Pirate Bay crew found guilty http://tinyurl.com/c9sf85 #feedly #
- YouTube goes Hulu, adds TV, movies http://tinyurl.com/dzcff4 #feedly #
- Drag Tabs from Google Chrome to Firefox http://tinyurl.com/cw42jg #feedly #
- RT @TechCrunch: The @Oprah fail whale – http://twitpic.com/3gexl #
- RT @TechCrunch: Hulu For The iPhone? Yes, Please. But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Just Yet. http://tcrn.ch/Iy by @parislemon #
- ConvoTrack: Get the Buzz on Web Content http://tinyurl.com/c58ovt #feedly #
- Tweetie for Mac coming soon, teaser video out now http://tinyurl.com/d6mmyd #feedly #
- Just watched the vid for the sneak peek of Tweetie for Mac. It’s going to be released Monday. Can’t wait. #
- @DivaOfLove Thanks! #followfriday in reply to DivaOfLove #
- @justinwb Yeah, Nambu is great. I’m very curious about Tweetie being released next week though. in reply to justinwb #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-16
By Josh | April 16, 2009
- Google Widens Search Lead, Prepares to Make Search Even Faster http://tinyurl.com/cot2pp #feedly #
- ‘Flight Control’ Updates, New Maps Coming http://tinyurl.com/c3s48u #feedly #
- QuickApp: Smule’s Leaf Trombone for iPhone http://tinyurl.com/d8rqlm #feedly #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-15
By Josh | April 15, 2009
- Apple seeds third iPhone 3.0 beta to developers http://bit.ly/BRyDC #postrank #mac (via @pr_mac) #
- Woot woot! Almost 1000 followers. Thanks peeps. #
- iPhone found ready for enterprise, better than BlackBerry http://tinyurl.com/d8ho7x #feedly #
- Close N’ Forget Covers Your Firefox Browsing Tracks http://tinyurl.com/cuh8sm #feedly #
- Mobile Music: Band Geeks Play iPhones, Not Instruments http://tinyurl.com/c8726z #feedly #
- Patch Windows 7 tcpip.sys for faster torrent downloads http://tinyurl.com/cxrrqp #feedly #
- The Future of Firefox: No Tabs, Built-In Ubiquity http://tinyurl.com/crs42c #feedly #
- Woot! 1000 followers. #
- @casteleiro Thanks! in reply to casteleiro #
- Find the Right People to Follow on Twitter http://tinyurl.com/dlvpfc #feedly #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-14
By Josh | April 14, 2009
- Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition http://tinyurl.com/cv8lb6 #feedly #
- Blipster brings Blip.fm to your Desktop! http://tinyurl.com/cf9qx7 #feedly #
- Book Bites – Cliff Notes For The iPhone Generation http://tinyurl.com/coumbz #feedly #
- The PostRank Newsroom: Twitter For High-Value Information http://tinyurl.com/cpeqv9 #feedly #
- Twazzup: A Better Twitter Search Engine http://tinyurl.com/cece3e #feedly #
- Turn-Based Strategy Game ‘UniWar’ a Bargain at $0.99 http://tinyurl.com/clloh6 #feedly #
- Review: Inquisitor for iPhone http://tinyurl.com/dzzx6e #feedly #
- Man Builds Chair That Tweets His Farts, Single-Handedly Justifies Twitter’s Existence http://tinyurl.com/dmvnvd #feedly #
- LaCie IamaKey Is a Sturdy Thumb Drive for Your Keychain http://tinyurl.com/cyechd #feedly #
- @Staerke1214 Whoa… I just noticed that you still use Twitter. I think Erik must have stopped. #
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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-13
By Josh | April 13, 2009
- Now I’m playing iVampires. Here’s my friendcode http://twitpic.com/38mrc #
- The App Store’s All-Time Top 20 Paid & Top 20 Free Apps http://tinyurl.com/dch3tr #feedly #
- Blog Exclusively From Your Desktop http://tinyurl.com/cpsuu8 #feedly #
- Maintain Your Mac With This All in One Utility Tool http://tinyurl.com/c7gghl #feedly #
- Man… I just figured out that your Yahoo email can be pushed to your iPhone for free. This is great since my mail2web account is expiring. #
- Trying to install some KDE apps on Windows http://bit.ly/ttaNM #
- Let Live Search Do Your Algebra http://tinyurl.com/dky35r #feedly #
- Trying out the newest version of VirtualBox with 3D acceleration enabled in a virtual Ubuntu installation. #
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