Trey Connell

It appears version 7.7 of iTunes is available today although it wouldn’t find it when I told iTunes to “Check for updates”.  I had to go here and download it.  The iPhone Application Store is also available in the new iTunes, but it isn’t apparent when you look at the home page of the Apple Store.  You can search for iPhone and eventually find the applications.

I downloaded two applications and then synchronized my iPhone, but they didn’t install. Looks as though I’ll have to wait for an update to my iPhone before the applications will copy over and work. I assume that will happen tomorrow. Of course, knowing me, I’m sure i’ll be at my local AT&T store picking up the new iPhone anyway.

Seven days until the new iPhone 3G is available, and I’m still on the fence about upgrading. At this point I’ve read a variety of stories and seen lots of information regarding pricing plans and fees, but I’m still afraid I’m going to walk in to my local AT&T store and find out my family plan is going to cost me a lot more per month or that I’m somehow not eligible for an upgrade due to my contract.

I also simply can’t decide if the new phone is really worth spending more money. 3G is great for sure, but do I really need it? Usually I’m somewhere with wi-fi when I travel. If I don’t have a high speed connection, it’s usually OK since it’s not like I need my email to fly in or for a web site to load twice as fast. The heavy use of my iPhone’s email or browser usually revolves around waiting on someone to show up, sitting in a movie before it starts, sitting on an airplane waiting for the dreaded “Please turn off all electronics…” announcement, or some other simliar non-critical situation.

I don’t need Exchange server integration – we run Communigate. The GPS functionality is cool, but I work from home. The farthest trip I ever take is to my local supermarket, dry cleaner, or restaurant. If I do happen to take a trip in the car, I simply print out the directions before I leave.

I’m most excited about all the new applications that are going to be available, but I can get that on my current iPhone. Now, the killer will be if they are not that good due to the lack of a 3G connection, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case for the vast majority of them.

Of course – I’m so in love with my current iPhone that how could I possibly resist the temptation to upgrade? I guess we’ll see next Friday.

The new iPhone will be available on July 11. It comes complete with 3G network access, Maps with GPS, integration with Microsoft Exchange server for business users, and access to the new App store. We don’t run an Exchange server, nor do I really care about “push email” (having the thing buzz once every 15 minutes is quite often enough for me thank you).

I am very excited about having the 3G network again though. My old phone was a Motorazr that worked on 3G. I LOVED it. They say it’s 2.4 times faster than EDGE, but I’d swear it’s even faster than that. Now if I can just get the new iPhone to tether to my MacBook Pro so I can use it as a modem…

Having the new App store is going to be great as well. The one thing I haven’t liked about my iPhone (OK, there are a few things – no copy and paste!) is that all the “applications” had to run in mobile safari. It’s about time we’re able to download and install applications right on the iPhone. Apple has some preliminary information about the applications here.

Even with all the new additions, the one fact that will make me actually buy one is the price – $199. Of course, it appears that I’ll have to reup on my 2-year contract with AT&T in order to get that price. Otherwise, I’m going to assume the phone costs more in the range of $400 like its predeccessor.

I guess we’ll see if it all works out later this week. With my luck, all the AT&T stores near me will be sold out. I’m definitely not going out of my way or standing in line to get a new iPhone so I’ll just wait till things settle down if I can’t find one easily.

I’ve been looking for a really good RSS reader for Leopard lately.  I’m just not crazy about the built-in RSS support in Mail.  I wanted something simple but that allowed me to group posts by category or topic.  Sometimes I just want to read over technology posts and ignore what’s going on in the world according to Fox News.

I installed NewsFire – a free RSS reader for OS X – and so far it’s working really well.  It’s simple and allows a bit of customization such as display colors and font size.  NewsFire also lets you group the feeds and posts by topic so you can organize content how you want to read it.  Unless I run across something better, I think I’ll be using NewsFire for some time.

What a great idea!  I love getting rid of cords on my desk, and I’d rather the iPhone not sync everytime I happened to put it in the cradle.  My iPhone has all the super cool wireless features such as the EDGE network and built-in wi-fi right?  It’s only natural that I sync it wirelessly with my MacBook Pro.

There’s only one problem…..YOU CAN’T!  It blows my mind that the best device to come out in years can’t do what I would consider to be a basic thing – communicate wirelessly with my laptop.

And don’t get me started on not being able to tether it….

You may have seen this post where I talk about the yuckiness that was my old keyboard and my thoughts on buying a new apple wireless keyboard. I went ahead and decided to buy one as I just couldn’t stand looking at the old one any longer. I searched eBay for a few days and finally found what looked like a good deal. Someone had purchased the keyboard but didn’t realize it wouldn’t work with his mac. It was a race to the finish, but I won the auction and only had to pay $60 (including shipping) for a brand new apple wireless keyboard.  I love eBay…

The keyboard arrived a few days later. I sat it in front of my computer and turned it on. Then I went to my bluetooth settings and told my MacBook Pro to add a new keyboard device. It found the keyboard and then prompted me to enter a sequence of numbers on the keyboard and press return. I then received a success message, and I was done. It’s just that easy.

I’ve been using the new apple wireless keyboard for about 5 days now, and I’m really pleased so far. The keys are responsive, the footprint is TINY compared to a full size keyboard and takes up less room on my desk. Some people might not like the small size.  If you’re accustomed to using a full-size keyboard for 100% of your work then you might fat-finger a few keys from time to time.  If, like me, you use a laptop keyboard during 50% of your day, then you won’t find any issues at all.  The apple wireless keyboard powers down when I haven’t used it for a long time in order to conserve battery power.  It also has a couple of handy keys at the top that give me instant access to my widgets and all my application windows.

So far so good.  I think this keyboard is going to to well for me for a long time to come.  And since they’re no casing around it, I can simply wipe it off when something gets on it.  It’s the small things in life folks – literally and figuratively.

My Old Apple Keyboard

My New Apple Wireless Keyboard 

I’m considering spending $80 on a new apple wireless keyboard. I’ve had the same old school, clear case keyboard for about 5 years now. Let me put it this way – it’s seen better, and cleaner days.

I’ve thought about taking my keyboard apart and cleaning it, but I can’t seem to find a tool small enough to take out the screws on the back. The chances of me making it “like new” again are probably pretty slim anyway. There’s coffee and soda stains all throughout the front, and it looks like a small bird has built a nest from the hairs on my head when I turn it over. I couldn’t bear to take a close up picture and expose you to that kind of horror so I snapped one from a few feet away.

I really like the form factor of the new wireless keyboards although I do find it a bit strange they’re only available in a mini version. The fully keyboard is not wireless. But with limited desk space and the fact that I use a laptop 90% of the day, small keyboards don’t really bother me. I am a little curious about the keys and the responsiveness while typing. Everyone knows good keypress feedback usually helps you type quickly and correctly. The extremely short keys on the Apple wireless keyboard give me the impression they would barely move. Does anyone know if that’s a problem? Any other problems you’ve experienced?

Photo from AppleInsider.com

Since upgrading to OS 10.5 Leopard on my MacBook Pro, I’ve had massive problems with Microsoft Office 2004. Random shutdowns, freezes, slowdowns, and other quirky behavior happen daily. Excel even decides it just doesn’t want me to be able to type in any cells in the active sheet. Talk about getting old and grumpy…

I looked around the web and noticed this was a common occurrence for folks who upgraded. Apparently Leopard just does not like the long outdated Office 2004 software. Sounds like the perfect time to try and make the switch to Apple’s iLife 08 suite that includes Pages (word), Numbers (excel), and Keynote (powerpoint). But my boss pointed out that Office 2008 would hit the shelves on January 15, and it should be much better. Well, that’s great except for the fact that the full version is $399.95 and the upgrade is $239.95. iWork 08 is $79.00.

I had already purchased iLife 08, and it came with a trial version of iWork 08. So I installed it and started using it during my regular work day. For one week I opened all word and excel documents in Pages and Numbers. I exported to word and excel formats before sending to others – internal staff and customers. So far I’ve not received one complaint or run into one issue. Sure the import will ask you to review a few small things such as border replacements from time to time, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I can also see where Numbers doesn’t have as many features as Excel, but that doesn’t affect me either. I don’t use Excel for monumental spreadsheets containing massive calculations and operations. I use it for invoicing and information organization. I haven’t had a reason to use Keynote yet although I’m told it dwarfs Powerpoint. I’m sure I’ll have to make a presentation at some point so I’m glad I have it.

The best thing is the iWork applications are fast and seamless. I feel like it’s what I should be using on my mac because they simply fit in. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but if you need great word processor and spreadsheet applications that keep it simple and help you work efficiently then go get it.

My boss pointed me to MacHeist this morning. They are offering 10 great mac applications for $49. They include 1password, CoverSutra, Cha-Ching, iStopMotion, Awaken, AppZapper, TaskPaper, CSSEdit, Snapz Pro X, and Pixelmator.

I’ve been looking for a new accounting package to replace my outdated Quicken software, and it looks like Cha-Ching may be the ticket. I also didn’t want to pay for Photoshop CS3 so I’ve been playing around with the trial of Pixelmator. It’s outstanding! It does everything I want, bases your editing on layers, and is very simply to use. The other applications are new to me, but they look great. I purchased the bundle earlier this morning, and now I’m waiting for the number of bundles sold to reach 5,000 so CSSEdit, Snapz Pro X, and Pixelmator will unlock their fully licensed versions. And even more – 25% of your purchase goes to one or more charities of your choosing.

Go buy it now!

I finally got around to playing with the new ringtone creation feature in iTunes for my iPhone. If you purchase a song for 99 cents from the Apple music store, then you can pay another 99 cents to create a ringtone from it. I soon realized that the vast majority of songs I purchased through iTunes would royally suck when heard from a phone – iPhone or otherwise. So to start, I picked the best song from my iTunes library that I could find. Sadly, this was “Long Train Running” by the Doobie Brothers. (Great song, but it doesn’t scream “Quick, make a ringtone out of me!”)

The process was very simple, and it allowed me to choose an arbitrary length as well as song segment for the new ringtone. I like being able to select what I really want the ringtone to be instead of what someone else created. You can choose whether to add a fade to the beginning or the end of the ringtone as well as the delay before it loops.

Now here’s the real issue: should Apple be charging you an additional 99 cents to create a ringtone from a song you already purchased? At the risk of sounding cheap, I must admit I get a bit of a queasy feeling. I compare it to buying a quarter pounder at McDonalds but then having to go back to the counter when you realize the pickles weren’t included. And they cost 99 cents extra. But I really love pickles. On the other hand, I did go download another song just so I could make a ringtone for my iPhone that I actually wanted to have on there.

Apple released its new operating system, Leopard, last Friday evening. I ordered my copy directly from the Apple Store online. I was a bit nervous about jumping into the deep end of the upgrade pool so quickly. Anyone who purchases software – especially operating systems – knows that the first release is always tricky. Bugs and upgrade complications usually crop up, and heaven forbid you actually lose important data. After backing up all my information and applications extensively, I decided to take the plunge.

The upgrade took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. That’s longer than I expected, but it did go very smoothly with zero hiccups or unexpected turns. NOTE: I performed an actual upgrade. I didn’t have it wipe my MacBook Pro and perform a clean install. Most of the time, a clean install is the safer way to go so that’s another reason I’m thankful the upgrade went well.

The final reboot took a few minutes and eventually brought me to my desktop. I immediately noticed the new look and feel with the doc and the menu bar. The application windows have taken on a more streamlined look and actually look a bit more “professional” to me. I started launching all the major applications I use – Mail, iChat, iCal, iTunes, Fugu, TextMate, Office, Photoshop, Quicken, Firefox, Terminal, etc – and all started up without issue.

I’m still exploring all the 300+ new features included in Leopard, but a few are standing out as major add-ons that are not only cool but make me more efficient.

1. Quick Look – I love being able to quickly see if a file is the one I need without having to open a potentially large application such as Adobe Photoshop or MS Word.
2. Time Machine – I haven’t looked into this one as deeply because I use Mozy for my backup solution. It’s good, and it’s free.
3. Spaces – Most of us have 4 or 5 major applications we use and keep running pretty much all day. Spread them out and switch between them easily.
4. Cover Flow – The hit that showed up on my iPhone now comes to the Finder. It’s about time.
5. To-Do Items in Mail – I abandoned the task list in iCal in favor of using an online, iPhone-friendly application like Ta-Da List. Given the ease in which you can create tasks directly from text in an e-mail, I might be switching back. Now if my iPhone just had a built in task list. Crazy talk I know!
6. Boot Camp – As much as I hate it, I have to have a working windows machine lying around. I build web sites for pete’s sake. And even though I haven’t installed XP or Vista yet, I’m looking forward to taking my clunker PC and putting it to sleep permanently – Office Space style.
7. Sharing – You mean I can now log into my wife’s powerbook remotely instead of trying to talk her through some silly problem over the phone? Excellent!
8. Group Calendaring – Nuff said.
9. RSS in Mail – NetNewsWireLite has now gone bye-bye.
10. Tabs in Terminal – I live inside a terminal window for a large portion of the day (yes, I love VI). There’s nothing more frustrating than chasing 8 different open terminals around.

And the thing I love most about Leopard? It’s faster. The bells and whistles are great, but at the end of the day I always thought Tiger was a bit sluggish. And that was even after upgrading from a Powerbook G4 to a MacBook Pro. I’m very pleased at how zippy and responsive Leopard feels, and I think that’s by far the greatest benefit of upgrading.

The next step is to upgrade my wife’s 12 inch G4 Powerbook. Hopefully I can go 2 for 2.

Apple announce a price drop on the iPhone the same day they unveiled their new line of iPods. Luckily the AT&T store where I purchased my iPhone had a 14 day return policy. A buddy of mine sent me an instant message and let me know about the drop. I immediately packed up iPhone and drove to the store. They didn’t give me any problems and refunded two hundred dollars to my credit card on the spot. I owe that buddy a steak dinner for sure.

Many of the Apple faithful criticized Steve Jobs for the move and for the letter posted to the apple web site shortly thereafter. I’m not really sure I understand that unless those folks simply didn’t read the letter or other press very carefully. Saul Hansell wrote:

We are so used to cryptic and seemingly disingenuous communication out of Apple that we miss it when Mr. Jobs says crassly what most businessmen try to hide: Apple lowered the price of the iPhone because it wants to make lots more money by selling boatloads of them this Christmas.

I agree wholeheartedly with Saul. The decision to lower the price was a simple one and rooted in the potential to make more money by selling more units. If dropping the price by $200 nets a 300% increase in new customers during the holidays, then why wouldn’t you do it?

I also think that people should be used to this by now. You cannot keep up with technology. Everything will always get smaller, faster, cheaper and have more bells and whistles. You should understand that early adoption typically equals paying more and getting less than you will in 6 months to a year. Maybe the time between the iPhone introduction and the price drop was shorter than we normally see, but I don’t think that’s cause for people to be angry. After all, you weren’t angry at Apple for charging you $600 for a phone when you first purchased it.