Problems and delays

If you enjoy reading my blog, I want you to know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. My laptop has simply been sent out for repair and is scheduled to be returned to me today.

Since my home studio is set up for recording and not writing, I do most of my work on the Compaq laptop. Due to a recent defect with the WLAN chipset that was acknowledged by HP, it was sent out for repair on 7/17/09. I should have this back in my possession today, writing my blog articles and my column piece shortly. I apologize for not making my readers aware of this sooner.

I would also like to let the listeners of my netcasts, particular my newest show – Mac After Dark – to know that we are experiencing a problem with the plug-in that we use to syndicate our shows through the iTunes store. Unfortunately, this is also affecting how the link functions on the pages for Mac After Dark and Your Online Life. Past shows are still available, but it seems there is a glitch between PodPress 8.8.1 and WordPress 2.8.2.

Until this can be resolved, it does not make sense to publish a show that more than likely contain dated information by the time it reaches the masses. Therefore, we have decided to put all shows on temporary hiatus so we can correct this problem before it gets out of hand. I apologize to the listeners that have been with us for some time, as well as listeners that have recently joined us with our new podcast – Mac After Dark.

We will let you know when this issue has been corrected and we can start producing responsible tech journalism again.

Tech Column in the Community News

I received confirmation late yesterday that the West Indianapolis and West Side Community News will be running my tech news articles in their paper under a yet-to-be-named dedicated column.

This is exciting news and I hope you will pick up a copy of this informative paper if you are on the west side of Indianapolis.  New editions are available every Wednesday morning throughout West, Suburban West, Southwest & Northwest Indianapolis. 

The paper has a circulation of 25,000 and it’s reach includes the areas of Avon, Ben Davis, Speedway, Clermont & Plainfield with Business Bulk Drops in adjoining Center, Decatur & Pike Townships and the Eli Lilly Complex and Controlled Delivery to areas of Hendricks & Putnam Counties.

Product Review: iPhone 3.0 Software Upgrade

When I heard about all that new features and enhancements Apple was going to make to their iPhone platform, I jumped for joy over the possibilities. Innovations such as push notifications and Spotlight search can make even smart use of all the technology they’ve crammed into this small form factor.

So I wanted with baited breath to download the update until the release date of June 17th. I waited patiently for the upload to be available first thing in the morning. “Nope, sorry,” said iTunes. I’d have to wait until later to download the software. And later it was. And later. And later…

A sum total of 2 hours later and only after a barrage of EULAs, iTunes User Agreements and signing into the iTunes Store, I finally managed to complete the download sucessfully. First, let me say that due to Apple’s archaic Agreement system in the Store, I wound up getting all the way though it the first time and having to start over. Not normally a painful process on the face of it. However, when you combine it with the fact that The folks in Cupertino must have been hosting the file on something with an equivalent speed of and Apple II, it made for an extremely painful use experience.

After the download was complete, upon installation onto my iPod Touch, it managed to force my iMac to kernel panic and in turn brick my iPod. Needless to say I was cursing the powers that be in Cupertino by that time. After a quick (20 minute) backup restore, I finally had it.

I had the opportunity to test the automatic wi-fi log in at a local Starbucks this morning. I launched my mail app and a screen popped up asking for my network ID and password.  Within a matter of seconds I could connect to the network.  It’s nice not to have to launch a new browser window each time to connect to the network, the bain of my existance if all I want to do is check email or send a tweet (things that don’t require an active browser session to be running).  The landscape keyboard is nice if I want to gamer-type instead of chicken-peck my way through a sentence.

Speaking of keyboard functionality, let’s stop the presses here with a simple phrase: Cut. Copy. Paste.  With those three words my life has become a whole lot simpler.  Yeah, I know that other smartphones may have had this functionality in the past, but this article isn’t about those phones.  With a simple tap-and-hold, a triple menu pops up displaying the three functions.  With a few strokes on my screen, I can now move text snippets or whole paragraphs between applications from Safari to Notes to Mail and back again.  The functionality doesn’t stop there; it’s easily compatible with any application you can type in.  Speaking of the Notes application, Notes Sync has now come and is a long-awaited feature for me.  The notes you have in OS X Mail now sync directly to your iPod or iPhone with this function and makes a real challenge for me to keep using Evernote.  For me it would be an exercise in futility (other than the Windows side of things) since I don’t have a camera on the iPod like the iPhone does.  Spotlight searching is a godsend on this device as well.  You can now search your whole iPod for emails, music, contacts, iCal appointments and anything in between.

There are some features that iPod Touch owners won’t receive.  Features like MMS and Internet Tethering are noticably missing from the iPod’s list of applications, due their requirement of a cell phone network.  As of this writing, I am not sure about the Voice Memos application, since I do not have an 2nd generation iPod Touch.  I would hope this feature works for iTunes control and for voice memo usage, but I haven’t heard any reports as of yet.  I’ll do some additional testing and post an update soon with this issue.

That’s pretty much my take on the new fuctionality in iPhone 3.0.  As always, I appreciate your comments and questions via commenting on this post or via email at john@techyuppie.com.

May God Bless You, Gary Papa

I know this may seem a little off-topic to those of you who ready my blog on a regular basis, but I feel the need to post this in honor of one the most professional sports journalists in Philadelphia history.

I may not write about sports, but as one journalist to another, may God bless you, Gary and your family.  Philadelphia will miss you greatly.

Say Hello to Twitter, Fortune 50

I love how big businesses, especially in the Fortune 50 set, are starting to “get the hint” when it comes to social media.

For too long, large corporations have shunned new media in favor of more traditional methods (television, print, and radio). The larger the company, the more they cannot afford to miss the opportunities that social media offers such as:

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