I was in Manhattan, NYC yesterday because my wife had to work. She’s Assistant Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities at The New School and Saturday the university had Parent Sessions prior to the beginning of the school year. Code of conduct, etc. blah blah.... I’m really here to talk about the 3G reception problems NYC has been having recently.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my 3G reception (voice and data) has been fine after my full restore with the 2.02 firmware and no backup, at least in New Jersey. Even with a smidgen of a single bar, I’ve been able to transfer data over 3G faster than Edge and Voice has been crystal clear. The same holds true for Voice in NYC. I actually had at least four bars outside with 3G and Voice was crystal clear. Inside, only a single dot, but voice communications were fine. Data is where everything fell apart though. I could not transfer anything in any internet capable App (Safari, Mail, Google Maps, Twitterific, etc.). Data transmission wasn’t just slow, it was non-existant! Switching to Edge restored data functionality at a somewhat good clip. WiFi of course was the way to go for wherever I had a connection.

In further research on the Apple Forums and on other forums online, I found that this was a shared experience across NYC for the past week. Many have said that they had fine data transmission until about August 18 or maybe a little earlier. At that point it was spotty, non-existant, or only seemed fine late in the evening. Much has been said about 3G dense areas and corresponding saturation of 3G data causing outtages in many cities. I experienced this first hand yesterday in NYC. A few blamed this on the iPhone and Apple, but my experience (and that of many other people) show that 3G data is fine outside the confines of population centers. Some forum entries have AT&T customer service responses showing this to be a problem on their network specific to these population centers and that they are building out the Hardware in the areas affected. Let’s hope they get the situation fixed soon. Whatever the case, this is DEFINITELY not just an iPhone 3G software problem. AT&T must get their 3G network up to snuff in one of the largest markets in the world before the iPhone gets further bad (and undeserved) press.

UPDATE: Follow the link for more proof that the iPhone 3G data problems are Network related and not Hardware related at AppleInsider.
Read More...

Tags: 3G, data, reception, voice, iphone, apple, firmware, Update, new york, nyc, new jersey, manhattan, newschool

My wife and I picked up the iPhone 3G (she went black and I went white). There was a long line to get it at 8AM at the mall on a Saturday, a full month after the launch, with about 60 people ahead of us. However, like many people out there, we’ve encountered some problems.

My reception has been fine, but my wife’s iPhone had weak 3G reception in NY where she works. We’ve also encountered various issues with App updates via iTunes after upgrading to 7.7.1. Clearing out the iTunes App Section and re-downloaded the apps we had helped with that issue. We were both on 2.01 firmware, so when 2.02 came out, we eagerly updated. That firmware upgrade actually helped with the 3G reception issues for my wife in the City, but we started encountering issues with Syncing Apps purchased on the iPhone back to iTunes and downloading updates to our apps from the iPhone AppStore. I encountered errors that said that downloads/updates have failed and that they would be available the next time I synced my phone with iTunes. Checking for Purchases from iTunes allowed us to download the updates and sync them back to the iPhone, but not being able to update via the iPhone and not being able to transfer Apps purchased on the iPhone back into iTunes (the transfers look like they start, but then they fail without an error) was becoming a major pain.

After searching the web and various forums for days, I found the solution. The problem seemed to be that we restored from a backup made on our old iPhones to the new iPhone 3Gs we upgraded to. The Solution? I had to fully restore my iPhone to Factory level without utilizing a backup and build off a fresh version of the 2.02 (latest) Firmware. The process was painfully long: first restoring the iPhone to scratch, then building it up slowly with my Apps, Settings, Photos, Music/Videos, Podcasts, Movies, TV Shows, MobileMe Settings, Ringtone settings, Settings for each App that took forever to move over, re-downloading my eReader books, etc... and on...and on...


But when I was done, and all my Apps were back in their proper places... TADA!!! My phone was fixed!!!

I was now able to:

• Sync iPhone AppStore purchases back to iTunes
• Download updates from the iPhone AppStore successfully
• have GPS come up MUCH quicker than before (satellite acquisition was much faster)
• have no 3G issues (so far)
• have no lag for Contacts screen loading from MobileMe
• have no lag for onscreen keyboard anymore

I thought I would have to wait for another Firmware or iTunes update, but now everything is pretty much perfect. The process was tedious but well worth it!

Read More...

Tags: iphone, 3G, bugs, issues, problems, solved, solutions, restore, transfer, apps, itunes, firmware, apple, att

UPDATED with new Apps and notes:

So I’ve updated my first gen iPhone using the “not-quite-officially-released” iPhone Firmware 2.0 and have downloaded my first batch of apps. Here’s my list so far:

• Apple Remote - iTunes and AppleTV Remote
• AIM - AOL Instant Messenger
• NetNewsWire - My preferred syncing RSS Reading system
• Tipulator - Easy to use Tip Calculator (with Rounding and Splitting functions)
• Urbanspoon - Random Restaurant finder based on location (Magic 8 Ball style shaking)
• Twitterific - My preferred Twitter app
• midomi - Music Recognition App (whistle, hum, sing, or type music and it will tell you name, artist, iTunes link, YouTube link, and other info)
• Bloomberg - Basically a mini free Bloomberg Terminal on the iPhone (We at CNBC haven’t made an iPhone app, YET)
• Mobile News - Associated Press News App
• WeatherBug - Weather Alerts, Radar, Camera’s based on 3 set locations.
• SmugShot - Take Location Tagged photos and upload to SmugMug
• Facebook - Facebook on the go (don’t really know what this has over Mobile Facebook)
• eReader - Buy and read eReader and FictionWise books

Games:

• SuperMonkeyBall - Game - just what the title says
• Enigmo - Game - Nice little liquid based puzzler
• Aurora Feint - Role Playing meets Puzzle Gaming (FREE!!!)
• MotionX Poker - Accelerator enhanced 3D Dice & Poker game
• Tap Tap Revenge - Think Guitar Hero with a little Dance Dance Rev thrown in.
• AquaForest - Physics based accelerator casual game/toy.
• PhoneSaber - Lightsaber sounds and accelerator motion detection... nuff said.

My first thoughts on these and the iPhone 2.0 firmware:

• I needed to do a little tweaking/setup to get the MobileMe syncing over-the-air on my iPhone. Not hard, but not automatic either.
• I did the update from my Macbook Air since I wasn’t home. Usually I sync my phone with my MacPro. Even though I did a pre-update sync, it didn’t ask me to backup my data so I (temporarily) lost all my photos, wallpapers, ringtones, music, and videos. When I get home and resync it with my desktop, all should be well, but for now I have a pretty “bare” iPhone. Update - Syncing with the MacPro went without a hitch...everything’s back!
• New Contact Icon from home screen. I don’t have to dig into the Phone App to get to my contacts anymore.
• Twitterific supports photos, location tagging, and some other nice features, but as far as I can tell you can’t set it to view only people you follow (unlike the Mac version). Update - after reloading my apps from iTunes on my MacPro I can view just who I follow now. Weird it didn’t work like that before (I was getting both followed and Public timelines all at once before).
• Can’t tell if Bloomberg has Real-Time-Quotes. Will have to wait until market opens tomorrow to test that out.
• NetNewsWire looks “ok” but seems slower to update than the iPhone Web version. The web version seems to also have a few features that the App doesn’t. Hope they update this soon.
• I “thought/heard” that the Associated Press MobileNews App would allow citizen reporters to send in photos and reports from “on-the-scene.” I can’t find that feature anywhere in the actual app, it’s just an offline reader/aggregator. So either I imagined it (most likely case) or this is a “future feature.” Update- There IS a way to have “citizen reporting” in MobileNews. When you read a story, you can comment and send in Photos from the field associated with the story. With the photo you give your info so that they can attribute the photo to you if they use it for future updates to their stories. This is a KILLER FEATURE!!!
• Aurora Feint is the BEST free game so far on the Appstore.
• MotionX Poker has great reviews, haven’t really played much yet but it seems really polished.

• Lots of functionality and cool stuff out there already... I wonder what the App store will look like in a month, or 6 months???

Read More...

Tags: iphone, ipod, apple

Now that the announcement is over and you can read all about what the new iPhone3G has at tons of sites (like Gizmodo, Engadget, MacRumors or ArsTechnica), the specs of what it DOESN’T have is what sticks in my mind.

• No second forward facing camera
• No native Video Conferencing over iChat or 3G phone-to-phone
• No A2DP Stereo Bluetooth Support (at least not yet)
• No Copy and Paste (at least not yet)
• No MMS (at least not yet)
• No iChat (at least not yet)
• No tethering to Laptops or other devices (use like a broadband modem)
• No upgrade pricing/deals from AT&T (at least not yet) for us iPhone early adopters

We’ll see how this pans out, especially the last bulleted item, when it becomes available on July 11.

UPDATE: Prices for upgrading to the new 3G iPhone? $199 for 8GB and $299 for 16GB with reset 2Yr contract. Yes, that’s the SAME price as it is for new iPhone buyers. I was hoping it would be the same as some European providors who are offering free/cheap upgrades, but I guess AT&T isn’t going that route. *sigh*
Info comes from CrunchGear. Read More...

Tags: iphone, apple, osx, mac, att

So my Macbook Air is back and it's as good as new! In fact, it's with a new LogicBoard (and corresponding new Serial Number) and a reinstalled OSX, they might as well have given a full swap. Not that I'm complaining mind you; Apple service at the Garden State Plaza store was superb as always. My only complaint was that I wasn't contacted when the Air was ready for pickup. I found out through the Apple website Repair Tracking and by the Voicemail system they have. One day turnaround is pretty damn good though. Well, actually 3 days if you include: 1st for the initial appointment, 2nd to drop the Air off once they had the part, and the 3rd for pickup. Some other computer makers take weeks to do warranty repairs, especially ones as dramatic as a full LogicBoard replacement.

Once I got the Air back, I tested it out a bit in the parking deck of the mall to make sure it wasn't kernel panicking anymore. It was definitely solid! After I got home, I immediately started the relatively long process of restoring from the Airdisk's Time Machine Backup. This time I used the latest backup (the one taken during the panics) in hopes that it was actually a good backup. Worst case scenario I could have restored again from the next oldest backup afterwards. But that's something I didn't have to do. The last backup is working perfectly and I've had no panics or crashes since! One thing I did have to restore from a separate stored copy was my VMWare Virtual Machine XP File. I just used the one from my Mac Pro as the source. Read More...

Tags: apple, mac, macbook air, kernel panic, genius bar

Everything was going swimmingly with the new Macbook Air until this past weekend when things took a turn for the worst. I started getting Kernel Panics randomly. Empty the trash... Panic. Run Disk Utility's Repair Permissions.... Panic. Startup a WinXP VMWare session... Panic. Reboot... immediate Panic. Definitely something wrong.


At first I thought maybe my SSD drive got corrupted, so I tried a full wipe and Restore from Time Machine... Panic. Booting from Remote Disc OS Install was an exercise in frustration when previously it worked very well and quite often. I finally got one boot and Restore from Time Machine working (picked an earlier Time Machine slice to be sure there wasn't any corrupted files) and it still Kernel Panic'd like crazy. Now the Air didn't want to stay solid for more than a few minutes. Just trying to right click (actually dual-finger click) and it started to Panic.

So I finally broke down and travelled to the Apple Store yesterday after work. Unfortunately it was half an hour before closing and they couldn't take a look, so I made an appointment for this morning. I arrived early before the Mall was even fully open, knocked on the glass Apple Store doors, and talked to the Genius at the G-Bar. After a little diagnosis, he concurred it was a hardware issue and from the Panic logs, it seemed to point to bad memory. Unfortunately the memory for Macbook Airs is soldered to the Mother/Logic Board so after checking with his supervisor, authorized a Warranty Repair. The new Logic Board is on order but don't know yet if it is going to be back-ordered or if there will be any available tomorrow. I get to keep my non-functioning Air until the part comes in; small consolation. At least it is a free Warranty Repair, but it would have been better if it was a straight swap.

Another Consolation, I have a new bag for my currently non-functioning Macbook Air: The Waterfield HardCase. It's a magnificent bag, exhibiting both sleeve-like and messenger bag-like features in its sleek lines. I'll have a full review at some point after the whole Kernel Panic situation is fixed. Read More...

Tags: apple, mac, macbook air, kernel panic, waterfield, SFBags, hardcase, Sleeve, bag, messenger bag

Well I finally got a Macbook Air. It arrived yesterday and I've pretty much set it all up. I also have my Mac Pro back online. It was down for a few days due to a dead ATI X1900 XT card. I was able to replace it with the ATI 2600 XT that comes standard with the newer Mac Pros. Slower in games than my older card, but at least there aren't rainbow lines showing up all over the screen as it slowly dies. More details for both soon... for now sleep ZZZZZZZZZ

UPDATED - More info after the break...
Read More...

Tags: apple, mac, macbook air, macpro, macintel

Work's been really busy lately so haven't been able to do much outside of CNBC. I have a large stack of Photos that I still have to edit in Aperture 2 and upload to my Photo site. I've also been busy crunching numbers for the Photo Biz in preparation for this year's taxes.

I haven't gotten the Macbook Air (yet) even though it would make an ideal (ok, almost ideal except for HD space) traveling notebook for me. These days I rely on my iPhone for my email and web access on the run so it's not so bad running around without a laptop. There are times though that I could develop in XCode, design some web stuff, or even work on some Photoshop/Aperture stuff on the road. The iPhone just doesn't cut it in those cases. When I do get the Macbook Air, it will be the 1.8Ghz/64GB SSD model. I've even bookmarked a few sites that tell you how to save even more space on the Air by re-installing the OS minus some unnecessary stuff (like iDVD, iMovie, Garageband, some Language Support, etc.). I figure I could mostly get by with Aperture/iPhoto, iWork, XCode with iPhone SDK, Webkit Nightlies, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Flex, RapidWeaver and few utilities.

The reason I haven't picked one up yet is that we're saving up for a House and I need to really clear up my credit/debt ratio. My wife's credit rating is much higher than mine, but I'm starting to catch up. Just a few more months of following my own Personal Finance Tips and we should be well on our way to our next House-Search chapter: looking for a Mortgage. We really want to get Pre-Approval (not just Pre-Qualified) for a good amount so that we can look REAL attractive to Sellers/Realtors. Of course now that the Realty Market is tanking and with the local cap for Jumbo Loans being higher due to the newly passed Stimulus Law, we should be able to find a nice house within our budget.

Still, when our finances are set for our Home Purchasing needs.... I'll be getting that Macbook Air!

I've posted some YouTube Videos of Ricky and Lucy. Check them out after the break. Read More...

Tags: money, apple, mortgage, realestate, saving, finance, credit, debt, reduction, ricky, lucy, youtube

Why do you do this to me Steve.... my wallet hurts already from two iPhones and more Macs in my home than on my floor at Work.
More after the break... Read More...

Tags: apple, laptop, notebook, mac, macbook, macbookpro, macbook air, macintel, steve, jobs

Well, we're back from our vacation on Aruba. It was very relaxing and I would definitely like to go back.



While there I was able to test out the international roaming and wifi features of our new iPhones. After a few international calls to AT&T on the first day in Aruba, I was able to clear up some Roaming Activation issues. Call quality was still good over international calls and they were about a dollar cheaper per minute vs. the hotel phone. Wifi was pretty ubiquitous in Aruba with various pay and free hotspots available. The only Wifi snag was thick walls in our hotel room that didn't allow the hotel's open area wifi signal in. The rooms did have built-in ethernet ports, but that hardly did me any good with the iPhone. The only other problem we had was the odd necessity of resetting both our Voicemail systems when we got back to the USA (probably had something to do to the changeover to unlimited SMS Text msging plans while we were in Aruba). SMS Texting worked flawlessly even on the beach under a palapa (thatched umbrellas with small wood tables). I was even able to txt family members while under the caribbean moon lounging on the sand with my wife. She was checking mail on her iPhone at the time. Yes, we're nerds.

I have over 1,800+ images I have to weed through and edit from our trip. I'll hopefully be able to upload them to my photo site by the end of the week.
Read More...

Tags: iphone, apple, att, beach, vacation, aruba, cingular

After a day of shopping for our Aruba trip and seeing the iPhone lines at the Apple Store in the mall (oddly enough we didn't see a line at all at the AT&T store in the mall even though there were two security guards waiting there for one), we headed over to the local AT&T store for a few hours of line-sitting. I took a few shots to commemorate the frenzy. Contacts at other lines text-messaged me throughout and told me that it sold out at the locations they were at. Some jumped to multiple locations to find available iPhones. It amazed me that so many locations had short supplies (some under 40 units) while ours seemed fully stocked and ready to meet demand. In fact our location's manager announced that the only limitation was the closing time of 10pm, but that there would be plenty more available of both SKU's (8GB and 4GB) tomorrow morning. Luckily we were in first 40 in line and had about 80 behind us. Unlike some AT&T stores that let in 5 at a time, our store took groups of 20. So now Gene and I are proud owners of two 8GB iPhones. Adding to our luck was the fact that it didn't rain during our time in line.



There are scattered reports of problems activating via iTunes, but both Gene and I were able to transfer our old numbers into a Family Plan fairly quickly. We even activated via 2 macs so that our individual iTunes libraries would sync correctly. All-in-All it was a good experience moving to AT&T's service and activating the iPhone for us. The two things missing that I wish it had: GPS linked to the Google Maps app and iChat/AIM functionality. The first could possibly be added as an accessory later, but could prove bulky. The second could easily be added via a Software Update. Many bemoan the fact that this is a 2.5G phone on the EDGE network rather than the much speedier HSPDA 3G network. I've been surfing on my HTC based WinMobile smartphone over EDGE for a long time and can attest to its slowness at times, but the iPhone is definitely smoother and more tolerable on EDGE than any other EDGE phone I've tried. The seemless WiFi switchover also makes this less of an issue for me as long as there is a nearby hotspot (and there are many around the metro-NY/NJ area).

We still have to set them up to connect to both our car's built-in Bluetooth Handsfree and respective audio connections, but hopefully those will go smoothly as well.




Read More...

Tags: iphone, apple, att, itunes, cingular

Sorry, I've been lax about the site lately. Work has been monopolizing most of my time lately. I should be able to return to regular blogging over the next few weeks.
Some of the things I'll have to update the the site with:

• I did end up getting a Mac Pro and had a few (mis)adventures with it. Expect a full review with the gory and glorious details soon. Here are a few specs to tide you over: Mac Pro 3Ghz Quad, 4GB FBDIMM memory, ATI 1900XT graphics card, 30" Cinema Display, 3x 500GB HD in a 1.4Terabyte Stripped RAID-0 set, external Mercury Elite RAID Aluminum 1Terabyte HD for Maintenance Boot and Backups, and lots of other goodies. My Powerbook is now in my Wife's hands. And Ricky retains the Mini (used for the RickyCam).
• 
  
• I've been editing my long overdue photos from my South East Asia trip in the newly updated Aperture 1.5. I'm about 80% done. I'll have an update for my SmugMug galleries and some technical notes on my latest Aperture experiences soon as well.
• 
  
  
• I upgraded my primary camera body to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (400D). I'll probably have a technical review of this camera body and it's differences with my old Rebel XT (350D) and how it works with my L lenses sometime in late December. One caveat, Aperture/OSX still doesn't support the 400D/XTi version of RAW. It's the same CR2 file wrapper as the 350D but new contents. I'm hoping for an OS update to support this and the rest of the newly released cameras (Nikon D80, Sigma SD14, Sony Alpha 100) RAW formats sometime before the end of the year (crossing fingers). Two of the best reasons to get the XTi/400D instead of "upgrading" to the 30D or 5D include: The new Anti-Dust features (image sensor filter shakes dust off on startup and shutdown...and manually if you want) and all my current accessories including the Battery Grip and the batteries themselves from the old XT/350D will work with the new camera. The 10.1 MPixel upgrade is only slightly noticable from the old 8MP but is still more than the 30D.

Read More...

Tags: macpro, mac, apple, xeon, woodcrest, raid, aperture, asia, 400d, rebelxt, xti, canon

My... wallet... itchy....

       My... credit.... card... hurts....

Financial Solvency or Mac Pro.... oh well, there goes that idea...sigh.

• 
  
• All models built to order with 3 levels of QUAD processing (dual dual-core cpus) up to 3Ghz
• All based on Intel WoodCrest based Xeon 5100 series 64bit CPUs
• Fully Buffered memory up to 16GB
• 4 Harddrives with tool-less install (each 3Gbps SATA)
• Dual optical drive capable (SuperDrives available only right now, but I bet Blue-Ray would be a nice thing to add yourself)
• Multiple GPU options including capability to fit 4 video cards including one double-width card without losing slots
• Priced less than comparably configured Dell systems (are there any dual dual-core Xeon's in Dell's repertoires?)

My Aperture sucking, Final Cut hanging PowerBook dreams it had this amount of power. Unfortunately they did not announce updated MacBook Pros as well with new Merom chips at today's World Wide Developer's Conference Keynote. That would have made a purchasing decision easier since I value my mobile computing capability....double sigh. Still, if I can configure correctly and use the proper discounts (Edu or Corp)....hmmmm....we'll see.


Read More...

Tags: mac, macpro, apple, xeon, woodcrest, aperture, finalcut

My PowerBook's right fan has been making loud noises, skipping on occasion, and choking on dust bunnies half the time it's on. I run Seti@Home, so the fans run quite often. Since I already had experience opening up my PowerBook thanks to iFixit's helpful guides to replace my hard-drive (details in previous blog entry in March), I decided to do something about the loud fan before my notebook died for good.



I ordered both left and right fans (you can never be too sure) from iFixit. Today they arrived, so after backing up my hard-drive (while we ate dinner), setting up a workspace (Ricky free due to the puppy fence we have setup in the computer/Ricky room), and making sure all my tools were in easy reach, I began my deepest surgery yet into my PowerBook. You can see the gory details from the example iFixit pics above and can read the process from iFixit's guide here. As you can see, I had to actually remove practically everything inside the PowerBook including the logicboard. There are about 17 different ribbon/thin cables to disconnect and tons of screws. Luckily, just like the last PowerBook surgery, I used iFixit's excellent screw organization system with some tape to prevent any mixups. One of the things I had to do when putting it all back together was scrape old heat transfer material from the CPU and heatsink...and also from the ATI graphics array/heatsink. After cleaning with isopropyl Alcohol and letting it dry, I re-applied new thermal paste from a little Heatsink tub I had from my Overclocking PC days. It's actually the best Heatsink material available according to old [H]ardOCP tests, so I figured it's probably much better than what Apple used in the manufacturing process.



Once everything was back together, I booted up and tested everything I could. Everything from the keyboard/trackpad, to all the ports and the Airport/Bluetooth worked perfectly. Not only that, but everything seemed to be running smoother/quicker. Even bootup was much quicker. The CPU Temp was actually running about 5 degrees cooler even with Seti@Home on; and, I could not hear the fans (though I knew they were running). So far it looks like it was a successful transplant and should tide me over until it's next replacement (probably not until next Winter with a 2nd rev MacBook Pro).

And just so it doesn't look like I'm TOTALLY out of sync with what's going on out there in Apple land... yes I know about BootCamp. It is pretty cool (though those who used the previous hack to do pretty much the same thing have to do a full reinstall). I still think that true Virtualization using the kernel optimized Qemu would be a better solution to run necessary windows apps on top of OSX. Then again, it is a good idea for when you want to play the occasional PC only game.

UPDATE:
I guess I spoke to soon... Parallels Workstation was announced today. It's a new piece of software that provides full Virtualization support under OSX. This means you can run at "near native" speeds multiple OS's like Linux and Windows XP on top of OSX on a MacIntel and be significantly faster than Emulators like Qemu and MS Virtual PC (which is still PPC only). Though this would make a great way to test out Windows Browsers while developing on top of OSX... and use Corporate mandated PC software, it is probably not an ideal environment for running the more demanding PC games. When I eventually get a MacIntel (probably not until next winter) I would mostly stay in OSX, run Parallels Workstation for the occasional Windows/Linux test or NBC Remote Access, then use BootCamp to play any Windows only heavy games. Of course, it would be better if those games were available for OSX (like Star Wars Empire at War, but at least there will be a way (or multiple ways) to play them on the same box now.




Read More...

Tags: fan, apple, powerbook, macbook, repair, mac, ifixit, bootcamp

I submitted my RickyCam widget to Apple yesterday, and it's been accepted!
Here's a link. I wonder how many Chihuhua fans will find it through the Apple Widget archive.

In other Ricky news, he has some new roomates for the next week. My brother's going away on business and asked my wife and I to take care of his hamsters Winnie and Mandy. Ricky has taken a quick liking to them, but perhaps not in a "good way." The way he looks at them when I hold him up to the aquarium is similar to how we look at the Lobster Aquarium at the local Red Lobster, "I'll have that one... or maybe that one." He even licks his chops while pawing the glass. It's to the point that Ricky likes taking "peeks" at them while eating his own food. My wife even calls them "Snack 1" and "Snack 2" when talking to Ricky. No to worry though, the Aquarium (or should I call it a terrarium) is situated out of reach above our file cabinet. Well within view for little Ricky, but out of reach.

Read More...

Tags: ricky, rickycam, chihuahua, pet, dog, webcam, widget, apple, dashboard, hamster

I received my new 160GB 2.5" perpendicular HardDrive and an mobile firewire/usb case yesterday via FedEx. Once I had my PowerBook cleaned up with Cocktail and Diskwarrior, I initialized the new HD through the external case/firewire and ran CarbonCopyCloner for the rest of the day.

Last night after having a little Battlestar Galactica mini Season Finale gathering, I swapped the new drive into my PowerBook. It wasn't exactly a difficult process, but it wasn't for a novice either (and definitely not for the faint of heart). The detailed instructions on iFixit.com were a GREAT help, as were their "Screw guide" PDFs which when printed, provides a nice way to organize the different sized mini screws I had to remove from the PowerBook. Good thing I opened it up because there were dustbunnies and embedded crud everwhere. Some of the screws were loose too from long term temperature creep.



The operation was a success and now I'm blogging from my newly re-invigorated PowerBook! The fit and finish weren't marred (which is important with the Alu PB) and it even seems "tighter" and more "solid" now since I was able to make sure all the screws and fasteners were factory tight again. The new HD is much quicker feeling then my old dying one, and it's dead silent (old one became loud, whiny, and clanky).

This should definitely hold me over until the next revs of the MacBook Pros come out, hopefully with a proper DL-DVD drive (or even BlueRay), a faster larger perpendicular HD, and most importantly, the Merom based duocores.

Read More...

Tags: crash, apple, powerbook, macbook, repair, ifixit, merom

I finally discovered the primary problem with my PowerBook's HardDrive. During the times it made the loud screeching start/stop noises (usually when I was moving the laptop), I also had to hard reboot a few times from a crash. This results in a corrupt Spotlight index sometimes. A corrupt Spotlight index will keep trying to reindex in a never-ending cycle that results in the pauses I've been seeing with the "eternal spinning beachball." Others in various forums also experienced Spotlight index corruption from the 10.4.4 OSX update and carried it over to the fixed 10.4.5 (which fixed most people's spotlight corruption problems). It's from those forums that I found the answer to my short term problems.

To fix the corrupt Spotlight Index, I used a utility called Spotless which let me delete and rebuild the Spotlight Index and reenabling any messed up settings for Spotlight. After that and a reboot, all was (mostly) well again...

I'll still have to upgrade my HardDrive soon, and I'm glad I made the backups I did (I'll have to backup again of course). The fact that my HardDrive had been screeching days before still weighs heavily on my head and I know that it's just a matter of time before it spins its last "Death Spiral." I've decided that the most cost effective option would be to just order a 160GB perpendicular drive 2.5" HD that I can install myself. I'll just use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my current drive to the new one on a firewire connection. Hopefully that will solve my short term system problems. I'd definitely prefer to upgrade to the later MacBook Pros (next revision, probably based on the Intel Merom 64bit mobile chips) than the current one so this HD swap is the best solution for now.

Read More...

Tags: spotlight, apple, spotless, corrupt, harddrive, powerbook, carbon copy cloner

Murphy sure likes to lay down the law at the most inopportune times...

For the past few days, my Powerbook has been acting "funny." Strange pauses during normal use/activity, longer HardDrive read/write times... and as of two days ago I started getting loud stop/start sounds from the HardDrive. These aren't the usual "clickity click whine" startup sounds, but actual "SCREECH, buzzzzz, click click whine" sounds. My wife and dog were startled when they heard the sounds from across the apartment. Needless to say that this does NOT bode well for the old portable workhorse. It's had its fair share of bumps, dents, and bruises, but it has always trudged through with aplomb. Now it sounds like my laptop HardDrive is on its last legs. I did the prudent thing and made multiple backups using Apple's Backup utility, made copies of my work files (which I keep on an external portable drive anyway, but I wanted to be safe), and made multiple backup Vaults in Apple Aperture to save my precious photos.

At this point my Powerbook is again running "ok" but with the occasional slowness/hiccup. I know the problem isn't fully gone and am weighing my options. I know what you're thinking, "prime time to get the new MacBook Pro eh?"... but my current budget (saving for a trip to Asia this May) says, "I don't think so." Besides, most of my pro Apps still do not have released Universal versions (most important being Final Cut Studio and Aperture). Luckily my work was in the process of ordering me a Quad G5 PowerMac workstation and Cinema Display already, so if that arrives soon I won't be in a lurch at the office (I've been using my laptop as my primary workstation for the past two years... Video Editing, Photoshop work, Motion and Flash). And with my files backed up, my personal files, photos, emails, contacts, calendars , etc. will all be safe. But it still would suck royally if I had to do without my PowerBook for an extended period of time.



Another option I have is to get the HardDrive replaced/upgraded at MacResQ. They have a good program with 24hour turnaround shipping time. Prices are still fairly high, but at least they are cheaper than a new MacBook Pro. Besides, I really really wanted to get the next revision of the MacBooks which I assume would be coming in 6-8 months. If I do go with this option, I'll wait until the Quad arrives and is setup. I may even wait until after my Asia trip if my PowerBook lasts.... but maybe I shouldn't take the chance. Given the money, I would probably prefer the MacBookPro option, but budgets have a tendency to rear their ugly heads.

Now the reason for the title of this post is that my PowerBook wasn't the only gadget I had that screamed for "Mommy." My new Qtek 9100 phone had a fit yesterday when its battery gave out and I tried to charge it using one of those portable alkaline battery chargers for miniUSB Peripherals. These things are sold as accessories to the HTC Wizard based phones (like my Qtek) at most online phone shops, so I thought it would be cool to have. I don't know if it was the batteries I used (Energizer Max), or the fact that the phone needs specific power requirements to actually charge (5.5v, 1Amp... some chargers for miniUSB are 2amp and aren't suited). It looked like it was starting to charge, but ended up fully discharged instead... and I mean DEEP discharged. As in "won't even startup when plugged to a computer." I wasn't near my AC charger and feared that my new phone was dead, so I went to a T-mobile store to pick up an MDA spare battery and charger (T-Mobile HTC MDA is the same hardware as my phone). They unfortunately didn't have the battery, but they had one travel charger left. After getting back to the "in-laws house" (we were doing laundry), I attached the charger, and suddenly the phone came back to life.... SORT OF.

I wasn't able to go into Phone mode, or even see my programs. It kept giving memory full errors. Checking memory from the system settings said that I had plenty to work with... uh oh. I was freaking out at that point thinking that my phone had gone the way of the dodo. I let it charge for awhile and then did a Hard Reset (brings back factory defaults, and essentially wipes the slate clean by reformatting the storage memory).



Luckily I had purchased SPB Backup earlier last week and was able to restore my software up to that point along with all my settings and contact/calendar info. I re-installed the software I've been playing with the past 2 weeks (after the last backup), and then came up with the same Memory error and dead pda/phone again. A-HA!!! It turns out my RegistryTweaking software was to blame (I recently updated it with a "fixed" version... apparently not). So again I Hard Reset, this time using a deeper Hard Reset sequence that actually formatted the Qtek (it actually brought up a character display saying Formatting FAT... DOS geeks among us would be smiling at this point). After bringing it up to date with the last backup, and installing my programs/games from the last two weeks minus the Registry Tweak program (but including an updated SPB Backup) I made sure everything was working and performed a new full Backup just in case. At that point it was 1 in the morning and I needed sleep. I didn't reinstall my Overclocking utility and the associated programs to make sure it runs whenever the phone comes out of sleep and haven't decided if I should risk using that again. This experience scared me a bit so I think I may play it safe with the system tweaking utilities for my phone for awhile.

Read More...

Tags: crash, apple, powerbook, macbook, macresq, windowsmobile, hardreset

Everywhere on the blogosphere these days is Origami this and Origami that... The latest buzz is that Intel and Samsung have something cooking for Microsoft's Origami announcement on March 9th. The consensus is that Origami is most likely a Windows XP Ultraportable Tablet standard with emphasis on wireless everything (accessories, communication/networking, etc.).

I'm actually much more interested in what Apple could do in this space. Apple's Newton was ahead of it's time and obviously underpowered by today's standards. With all these patents cropping up on Digg and Engadget related to multi-point touchscreen interfaces and combo screen/imaging/sensor devices, Apple HAS to have something up it's sleeve. They're even hiring new people to work on the Finder (finally!).


found on AppleCollection...

What would really be cool is if Apple released a product that combined a Video iPod, PDA/ultraportable Comp with a streamlined version of OSX. Throw in BlueTooth, WiFi (Airport Extreme..sorry), and a multi-point touch screen interface and we've got ourselves a winner! Throw in a Quad-band GSM phone with 3G networking and we're talking "Game-Over" for the competition.

Read More...

Tags: origami, apple, vpod, ipod, videoipod, tablet, touchscreen