Archive for category Apple
Apple Repairs & New Macbook Air
Today I had to put my less than 1 year old Macbook Pro into the shop for warranty repairs to the graphics card. I’d been having a yellow screen issue for a while and finally it was starting to not play videos at all. Like usual they’ll have it for 5+ days. That leaves me without a computer for a full work week. I travel almost every week and having information at my fingertips is the entire basis of my business. Being without a computer is something I simply can’t do. For the first time today I was told about the new Apple Business Joint Venture loaner program. It would have been nice if I’d gotten an email or something on this as we’ve spent thousands with Apple through the years and have been business members the entire time. But they’re busy people so I guess it’s understandable. The problem with the program is no one from business is available on the weekends and I can’t retro-activate it to get the loaner for this repair. So I had to buy a new computer. My wife has been wanting to trade out her 2+ year old iMac for a Macbook Air and utilize the system I do hooking it up to a 22″ monitor and using a bluetooth keyboard/mouse while in the office. I opted for the 11″ $1,199 model as the $999 model only had 2 gb of ram making it just barely qualifying to run the new Lion ios.
Thoughts: It’s barely bigger than an iPad! I can’t wait to travel with this little guy. It easily slides beneath my monitor and works perfectly as a desktop replacement when hooked up. Right now I’m watching the Saints game typing away on the perfectly sized keyboard. It’s almost too light as I feel it sliding backwards a bit in my lap. All I can think so far is why didn’t I get one of these earlier. Before picking up an iPad I HIGHLY recommend considering the Air. For a little more money you can get something much more functional.
“Let It Be”
Today Apple made the long awaited announcement that the Beatles will in fact be joining the itunes catalog. This is such an interesting story because of the legal battle through the years these two icons have been engaged in over the most simple company name imaginable. For those who may not know the history be sure to read up on the wiki version of events. The most fascinating part to me is that in 1981 Apple Computers settled with Apple Records (owned by the Beatles) under the understanding that Apple Computers would stay out of the music business and Apple Records would stay out of the computer business. No one could dream that thirty years later Apple Computers main business is music. Perhaps that’s why the announcement today seems so historical. How things have changed.
So what’s the future of music? Will the future be profitable? If anyone can find a way to make it profitable it’s Steve Jobs. My opinion is that streaming music is where we go from here. Personally I can’t live without Pandora and I can’t remember the last time I downloaded or purchased an album other than from an independent artist at a coffee shop. Social networking seems to be on Apple’s list with the not so successful launch of Ping. But what is the next “cassette” or “ipod” out there?
You Need An Ipad
Posted by dlakstins in Apple, Technology on June 8, 2010
As I’m tapping this post out on my brand new iPad I can’t help but want to sign my name ala Captain Kirk. My initial impression was why do I need an oversized iPhone but that transformed quickly into being impressed by this unique piece of technology. Let’s start with the few downers:
1) No camera? Is this 1995? This was the one major down side and has kept me from giving up my net book for Skype.
2) Unfortunantly the wifi connection can be a little tricky. Mine cycles almost every hour and in areas where my iphone has full signal it only has half.
3) Price Dont kid yourself anything less than 32 gigs is pointless. I loaded a fraction of my video data and it was nearly full. Couple this with apps, music, podcasts and you’re done.
Now onto the too many to number pros:
1) HD qua,ity is brilliant reading a boom anywhere else just won’t do.
2) Barnes & Noble and Amazon Kindle are available as apps
3) Karate Kid game need I say more?
4) Email and web browsing have never been easier
5) Go to meeting app lets you easily complete webinars on the go
So what’s your favorite thing about the iPad? Please share!
Upgrading to Snow Leopard Review
My upgrade to Snow Leopard went like a dream on my MacBook Pro. Downside I can no longer scan from my HP Officejet 6310 but I’m sure they’ll have new driers soon. I’m not really noticing anything different other than aesthetics so far.
My wife however just about had a nervous breakdown. She’s had an old iMac (with the round base. Yeah that old) for a while and I’ve been asking her to get a new computer. So she finally agreed and picked up the 24″ new iMac. Wow that is a ridiculously large screen. So she starts it up, throws in Snow Leopard for what is basically a clean install.
She hooks up the old computer via firewire (not easy because the new Mac only takes firewire 8 so you have to get a 4 to 8 connector at the Apple store. Best Buy does not carry it! We learned the hard way.) Everything looks good. She tries to print and can find the network but not the printers. She calls Mac. They say drag the printer over and hook up via USB then it will work wirelessly. This does not work. We try new drivers. This does not work. We uninstall Snow Leopard and go back to Leopard. Everything works fine. We drag the files over from our time machine (which takes a firewire 8 to 8 connection. another $39 at the Apple store). We reinstall Snow Leopard. The printers do not work again. We call Apple again. They cannot help. We un-install Leopard and leave it alone.
So basically using the new iMac to print with Leopard is better than not printing with Snow Leopard. I’m thinking its something about the immediate upgrade but its pretty puzzling. Moral of the story? Apple should have Snow Leopard already installed when you buy a new computer.
IPhone 3GS Review
This morning we braved the non-line at the AT&T store to pick up the new 3GS. So far the phone seems to have all the most important features and I’ll take a moment to list my favorites:
1) VIDEO – As a former Treo user I’ve been disappointed for years that we didn’t have this feature on the iphone. It works great and with 1 click upload to youtube its extremely simple to use.
2) COMPASS – For next time we’re lost hiking in the Alps this app comes standard.
3) SEARCH – This feature was also part of the 3.0 upgrade available for all iphones. Simply scroll to the left and a search screen appears. Basically similar to the Mac spotlight feature it comes up with the best results based on everything on your phone, even emails and contacts.
4) CALL LOG – A new update to the call log that I saw immediately was that under the names it tells where the call originated. For instance “City, State”
5) VALUE - At $199 for the 16 gig its a steal. If you haven’t purchased a new phone in the last 18 months sign up now. If you (like me) purchased the original 3G last year it gets a little more tricky. Check out this FAQ from CompuWorld to get the low down on your AT&T options.
Upgrading to Leopard
Upgrade. The very word echoes sentiments of new amazing features solving my every concern. So last week we took the plunge upgrading to Leopard for Mac. Albeit pushed over the edge slightly by the fact that our upgrade to QuickBooks ’09 wouldn’t work with Tiger.
Installation went well although taking over 30 minutes. And it was a bargain at $169 for both the new OS coupled with iLife & iWork ’09.
There was a problematic glitch after the OS loaded. I launched Mail but the app only partially responded. It wouldn’t open the Mail window and none of my messages appeared. I checked the settings and accounts in preferences and everything was ok. What to do next?
After googling the problem, I found this link the most helpful in correcting the issue and getting the upgrade back on track:
Apple Mail Upgrade Leopard Crash
After I removed then replaced the files everything worked fine. Although I’ve yet to experience the full bells and wistles of the new OS, it does seem a bit easier to navigate.
Hopefully this will help if you’re having the same issue!
Shazam!
Of the thousands (or millions) of phone apps there are only a handful that truly stand out. One such application is Shazam.
When turned on, Shazam will identify any song just by “hearing” it. Say you’re in a restaurant and a song comes on that you really like. Enable Shazam and presto it will load the song title & author.
This is a giant step toward the future. All I want next is my flying car 
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