New site: Changing it up!

I'm moving this blog over to Wordpress under my j2mac.com domain. Time
for something a little (lot) more modern, and I'm very pleased about
it. I think I'm going to keep the Mac Whisperer title, even though
Carlos hates it.

Hopefully Sunday will see the end of my redesign. Thanks for visiting!

Logos in emails

When I see that someone has a graphic in their email signature, I try
to encourage them to ditch it. It always implies that each of their
email messages has an attachment, and sometimes I search for or sort
by messages with attachments.

It's not what email is best at, and nobody in the world will think
your organization less professional if you don't have your logo in
your signature. And there are ways of formatting your signature so it
will look good.

Finally ported to Google Apps

My j2mac.com email, calendar, and docs are now all managed by Google Apps. I'm pretty impressed. Setup is easy. They even gave specific instructions for GoDaddy's domain manager. And things like syncing calendar (with Calgoo) and address book (with Apple's iPhone-Google sync) make business so much easier. I've also signed a couple of other folks up on it, too. 

So if anyone has been using my j2worldofmac-at-gmail address, please delete it and stick with info-at-j2mac.com. It's official!

vCards from the iPhone

vCard Mailer: Worth every bit of $1.99.

Disable backups to speed iPhone/iPod touch syncing

Anyone who has iPhone 2.0 software is faced with the gi-normously long backups that iTunes performs almost every time the phone is plugged in. I'm grateful for the idea, of course; I spend a lot of time customizing my phone, and I would like all my settings, and logins, and game levels, and data backed up. Problem is, Apple's implementation is terrible. Here's the Ars Technica article about the issue, but in a nutshell: 

~ The backups can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours.

~ The backups are not "incremental," i.e. they backup all the data on the phone.

~ If someone calls you, the backup is interrupted. 

~ Whenever the backup is cancelled or interrupted — when, y'know, have to use the phone — that backup data set is corrupted.

So here's a solution. I recommend reading the whole post.

From MacOSXHints.com:

I have several (more than 30) applications installed in my iPhone 2.0 (some of them are over 10MB). I've been a bit disappointed with the oh-so-slow syncs in iTunes due to the required backup process. Searching a bit, I found that I could disable the backups by setting a hidden iTunes preference. Quit iTunes, open Terminal, and enter this command:

defaults write com.apple.itunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool YES

From the comments:

Also check out the free Backup Disabler, which is probably just a GUI for this hint.

UPDATE: iPhone firmware 2.0.1 dramatically sped up my backups! Yaaaaaaaay! We'll see if it fixes the other stuff. In brief testing, the phone feels less crashy.

The new iPhone SHUFFLE!

This might be ancient, but after watching my phone stuck at the Apple logo all day, I appreciated the levity.

iPhone Shuffle (Really Funny Parody) | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Confirmed: Only install apps via iTunes

The guys on MacBreak Weekly back up what I've experienced: Installing
apps via App Store on the iPhone just spells trouble. Do it only
through iTunes.

Keep your surfing secure

This is a tiny but important tip: When you go to Gmail or Yahoo! Mail or any other personal web-based service, you can make your connection less hackable by changing the "http://" to "https://". The "s" stands for "secure," and it means that traffic — the 0s and 1s — between your browser and the online service will be encrypted.

Take it away, Wikipedia! Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer - Wikipedia ...

"Using an https: URL indicates that HTTP is to be used, but with a different default TCP port (443) and an additional encryption/authentication layer between the HTTP and TCP. This system was designed by Netscape Communications Corporation to provide authenticationand encrypted communication and is widely used on theWorld Wide Web for security-sensitive communication such as payment transactions and corporate logons."

Getting in this habit is especially important for laptop and mobile users. It's easy to store the https:// in your bookmark. When you use a secure link, you'll see a little lock icon in one corner of your browser window.

I BLOODY HATE SYNCING

Jerked with Google Apps & Calendar today for an hour. Several
roadblocks, making it basically unusable as a collaborative tool. And
today, Google Calendar just got CalDAV. And it shows up in iCal!
And ... it doesn't sync from iCal to the iPhone, over MobileMe or
otherwise.

Sonuvafrackin'bloodylichenlickin'skeetersuckin'sackin'frassin'mulletmuncher
!

I don't want 3rd-party, $$$-eating shareware conduits. I don't want
miscegenatin' web services. I just want to have one calendar that me
and a partner can edit and share.

I'm so sick of this, I can't see straight. (SSX Blur snowboarding on
the Wii might have something to do with that.)

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!

Bra Power: Can Bouncing Breasts Charge an iPod?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/bra-power-breast-charge-ipod.php

This one's for real!

New product announcement

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The iTit will cost between $499 to $699,  depending on cup and speaker size. This has been hailed as a major social breakthrough, as women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

iPhone 3G display: So warm it's cool, because it's not as cool, because...

This from digital-imaging-guru friend Scott, on how the new phone's screen is better for viewing images: iPhone 3G screen commentary

The funniest thing I've heard today

Quark 8. Hahahahahahaha! [cough]

Original iPhone successfully transformed into iPod touch

I didn't have to jailbreak it, or wipe it, or anything. I just popped out the SIM card (using the ultra-modern, paper clip-emulating Jonathan Ive-designed "extraction tool" supplied with my iPhone 3G), and I've got an iPod touch to give my daughter (and a home remote, and perhaps necessary as a spare lest my 3G suffer a mishap).

Freakin' awesome!

iPhone Friday: Epic clusterf**k + happy ending

This from the NY Times:

Software Problems Bug Apple's Launch of New iPhone - NYTimes.com

This from "Sluggo":

AT&T sucks... so does Apple for forcing them on us, very un-Apple-like behavior if you ask me.

Yeah, they do suck. I'm nonplussed at how badly today has gone. I mean, I'm comfortable and happy sitting at a restaurant with wifi, but that's blissful ignorance, 'cos I can't receive any phone calls and don't know who might be trying to get ahold of me. The grilled salmon at Luca is helping, too.

I don't guess Apple had much choice but AT&T. Anyone who pays attention to the mobile communications market, and I mean worldwide, knows that a manufacturer has to choose a partner provider, or they can't get a deal anywhere. It's like the guy with the greased hair at the high school dance trying to put his hand on every sophomore girl's ass, and pretty quick he's got no one to dance with.

It's also important to remember that, according to reports, Apple did offer the iPhone deal to Verizon, who said that Apple drove too hard a bargain. I know, you're shocked. So, I'm gonna posit that Verizon is the second best provider in the States to AT&T. Better coverage, slightly more fascistic, about the same level of customer service. Sprint sucks rhino, and T-Mobile rates high in customer support, and terrible in connectivity.

So maybe if you can't get Verizon, you go with AT&T. It's possible, too, that the Verizon deal was itself a myth: AT&T is the only GSM provider worth its weight, and GSM is quickly becoming the world standard. Apple doesn't want to make two iPhone models, one for GSM and one for CDMA, a whole different chipset.

Whether you're a consumer or a manufacturer, whichever provider you marry, bring a jar of Vaseline to the nuptial consummation.

Perhaps Apple couldn't have avoided this fiasco. What carrier on earth is used to thousands of devotées showing up, some a week early, to buy a bloody mobile phone on day of launch? We hoped Apple would have been able put up the infrastructure to handle the traffic. It was iTunes that was reporting the failure, but who knows whose servers were at fault?

Ah well. 6 hours after I got started, I have an new, activated iPhone 3G. 

I was without a connection for maybe 2 hours. 

My voicemail has been deleted, but I did take screenshots just in case. 

My original iPhone remains a wireless iPod, which is awesome. 

I've got GPS, good fast internet, and a bunch of cool apps. 

There are also more cool apps that cost more than I feel like paying. 

I don't have copy & paste. 

I don't need MMS. 

I haven't tried the 3rd-party video recorder. 

I'm still with godawful AT&T, but I have an unlimited-minutes plan at a reasonable price (not more than I was paying before).

Today was a good day.

It's twoo! It's twoo!

Originally posted last Thursday night, but it didn't go through:

I just put iPhone software 2.0 on my gen 1 phone. I got a bunch of free apps on, and Cro-Mag Rally. So far so good. The Mail app is  
improved nut I don't see much else yet. And I have to reset sync history I think before contacts & calendar are going to work right. But in the meantime... Whoop!

J2 News: Clarification on Friday's iPhone-a-rama

Please come to Luca anytime between 11am and 4pm, and stay as long as
you want. I'll be discussing and presenting and helping the whole time.

Lunch and beverages of all sorts from Luca's fantastic menu will be
available for purchase.

Don't forget to RSVP! I need to give a head count as soon as I can.

Looking forward to seeing y'all!

As always, check my blog at http://themacwhisperer.blogspot.com/ for
updates and news.

J2 News: Invitation on iPhone Friday

"Woooooooooh!"

If you didn't catch footage of an Apple Store on June 29, 2007, that was the sound of a greet-&-cheer line of Apple employees whenever a customer left the store with a new iPhone. It was a geeky good time. One so rarely gets applauded for being a gearhead.

This Friday will see the release of the next generation of iPhones, featuring faster internet (a.k.a. 3G), GPS navigation, and hopefully better reception and longer battery life. All iPhones, new and old, will also get the iPhone App Store, with hundreds of ultra-mega-cool applications that will be available and downloadable straight to your iPhone or iPod touch.

The stores at La Cantera and North Star Mall will open at 8am. History and logic say that you won't need to stand in line. There should be plenty of stock. But plan on it taking a while, as you will have to activate your new iPhone at the store. (AT&T stores will have stock also, but they're not nearly as much fun, and the staff rarely as knowledgeable.)

I think it's gonna be a fun day. Lots to discover. Lots to play with -- have you seen these awesome games coming out? Or this one?

I've been getting calls to help folks get up to speed on their new iPhones, transfer data, update software, activate Mobile Me (which we hope comes out by Friday), and download apps, soooo....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's my idea:

Everyone is invited down to the marvelous Luca Ristorante [map] on Friday, starting at 11, and we'll have ourselves an iPhone-syncin', 3G-surfin', GPS-navigatin', me.com-navel-starin', new-fashion' hoedown! 

$15 gets you into the session, and until 4pm, you can ask me about anything related to iPhone or Mobile Me. And if you want to discuss something else, I bet we'll be able to accommodate.

Please RSVP to this email address. Bring a laptop if you can -- there will be wifi -- or be prepared to look over someone's shoulder. 

And pass it on; the more the merrier!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tips:

Apple has posted a guide to replacing an original iPhone with an iPhone 3G, and I do encourage everyone to scope it. Most important: 1) Sync your existing iPhone before plugging in your new one! 2) Run Software Update to grab the latest iTunes.

Read the "What to bring" section of this page.

If you're running Leopard, I would recommend updating it to the latest 10.5.4.

If you don't have a hard drive backup of your computer, now is a good time to snag one at the Apple Store.

I'm also hoping this news -- "AT&T says original iPhones can be deactivated and used as WiFi iPods" -- is true about what we can do with our old iPhones.

Q: Should I buy a new iPhone?

A: Does the Pope rock an iPod?

Jonathan

J2 Consulting ~ Chicken soup for the Mac ~ 210.367.3420

"The National Weather Service advises you to stay away from Windows."

LogMeIn available for Mac... um... last year

Oh, man, this is top notch: LogMeIn, probably the leading package that let's you control your computers from afar, finally came out with a Mac controller for their Free package, and ... I guess I'm the last to know about it.

Doh!

Previously we have been able to control PCs with LogMeIn, because it has been browser-based, and the same company has had Hamachi, a free VPN thing that I always meant to play with, but didn't like that I had to use a 3rd-party app to do it. But now LMI has a plug-in to install on the Mac. Very very sweet.

So, I was talking with a new client who lives a little ways out of San Antonio, and we were discussing the methods I use to provide support, and he said, "Well, you could always connect to me with LogMeIn." 

Hernh-wha?!

Sho' 'nuff: About 20 minutes later, I had an account at LogMeIn and was able to access my own computer from afar. I had set up a VPN for this already, but LogMeIn is way easier. I can't believe they released it to beta a year ago, and went 1.0 in December, but anyway I'm glad to have it now!

Now, they don't have their Pro version available for Mac, so you can't grab files or print remotely like you can with a VPN, so that latter option might still be preferable for many folks, perhaps with Hamachi and perhaps with the iVPN solution I mentioned previously. But just being able to get to your screen is huge.

Incidentally, security goes like this: You have a password to log in to your LogMeIn account, and then to control your computer you need to enter the name and password for your user account. 

And what do we learn from this? Pleeeeeeease make sure you have good, strong passwords on all of your accounts, both online and on your computer, and please don't use the same password for every frackin' thing you do!

Log me up, Scotty.

More options for web galleries

MacBreak Weekly mentioned Photrade and SmugMug in their picks. They both cost, but they both look and feel really good.