Checkpoint Thirteen

It's Shit like this Apple.... My Recent Customer Service Experience with Apple

2011-05-24T09:27:00.000-04:00

I bought my first Apple product in 2007 (original iPhone). I fell in love with it and a few months after that I bought my first iMac. Since then, I've owned every single iPhone (all four models), an Apple TV, an Airport Express (wifi router), and most recently I bought, a brand new MacBook Pro 15" laptop and the iPad 2.

Saturday, around 6:00PM, just as me and my friends were sitting outside joking about the rapture, I dropped my iPhone 4 to the ground, and the screen cracked. Serves me right I guess (karma?). My phone screen was raptured.

The crack was on the bottom right of the phone. I felt like shit.

Just for shits and giggle, I made an appointment at the Apple Store to see if anything could be done. I figured it was worth a try since I live close to the Orlando store.

I walked in for my appointment yesterday afternoon and within 15 minutes (I am seriously not exaggerating here) I was walking out with a brand new iPhone in hand.

The Apple rep quickly looked up my account, noticed I had my iPhone 4 since day one, and also noticed that I had never before had any issues or problems with my Apple products. He brought over the new iPhone, switched my SIM card, and sent me on my way.

My phone was just shy of a year old. I got it on June 23rd last year. Just like that he gave me a brand new one out of the box. No questions asked.

I was certainly not expecting that. I expected him to tell me there would be a $100.00 charge or something like that. I was completely surprised.

As most of you know, I was already a loyal Apple customer.... I am now a customer for life.

Thank you Apple.

Crashplan - My New Online Backup Solution

2011-02-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

As I reported recently, Mozy is updating its pricing structure. Since I have currently 170GB backed up (with much more still to be backed up), for me this would mean a monthly price increase from $4.95 to almost $20.00. So I researched other solutions.

The first obvious one is Carbonite. But I also found out about another one called Crashplan, which I like a lot.

Crashplan offers the same basic pricing - around $5.00 per month for unlimited online storage - as Carbonite. And according to Lifehacker (and other sites I've read), it is as good or better than Mozy or Carbonite. So if you are looking for a simple solution to replace Mozy, there you go.

But there is a another reason as to why I picked Crashplan over Carbonite.....

Crashplan offers the ability to back up to any remote computer.

This means that I can make my work computer my back up location. Or I can make my friend Scott's computer my back up location. Or I can back up to BOTH locations if I want. Basically I can back up to anyone I like (as long as they give me access), and I am only limited by how much storage space the remote computer has (which can be an external drive).

What is even better is that the initial back up would be a breeze. Currently, when backing up to an online service, the initial back up takes forever. In my case, backing up over 150GB over the internet would take weeks. But, with Crashplan I can go about it a little differently.

Crashplan allows me to make my initial back up locally. So I can plug in an external drive to my computer and create my initial back up directly to the drive (which would run much, much faster). Then I could grab the drive and take it to whatever remote location I am using as my back up option, plug it in, and continue my daily back ups via the internet.

Then if I ever need to do a major restore, I can go get my drive and restore it locally where it would run much faster than restoring via the internet.

And what's best is that using the "remote computer" option is totally free! There is no charge for backing up to a remote computer. You are only limited by how much space you have available on the remote computer.

The only caveat to using the "remote computer" option is that of course, the remote computer needs to be on for Crashplan to do the back ups. However, if th remote computer is not on when Crashplan tries to back up, it will simply pick up the next time the computer is on.

Now, we (current Mozy users) have until March 1st before we have to worry about the Mozy price increase, so I am going to get Crashplan immediately and start playing around with the remote location back up feature. I will try it out and test it as well as I can, and in a few weeks I will give you my report.

Stay tuned....

Why I won't be voting anymore....

2010-10-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

Why? Because, why bother? Seriously.

Politicians don't give a shit about doing what is best for us or the country. No matter is they are Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, they only care about two things... money and getting re-elected.

So I give up. I am not wasting my time standing in line for an hour voting for someone who is just going vote the way the lobbyists want him to.

How Could You?

2010-08-30T14:40:00.000-04:00

I found this essay on the internet and I had to repost it. I was originally written by a guy named Jim Willis in 2001. Please pass this on.....

How Could You?

When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" - but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs," you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love."

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch - because your touch was now so infrequent - and I would have defended them with my life if need be.

I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.

Now you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog or cat, even one with "papers." You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you - that you had changed your mind - that this was all a bad dream...or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself - a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

New iPhone Data Plans

2010-08-28T18:42:00.000-04:00

After my last post I found out a few of my friends had not heard about the new iPhone Data Plans, so here it is: on June AT&T announced new data plans for iPhone and iPad users.

There are now two separate plans available:

a) 200MB Data Plan for $15.00 per month
b) 2GB Data Plan for $25.00 per month

AT&T is giving current iPhone owners the option to keep their unlimited plans if they so choose. Basically, anyone with an iPhone before the plan went into effect gets grandfathered in. And even when they renew their contract they can keep the $30/unlimited plan. But, if they choose, they can switch to one of the new plans and save some money. In fact, curent subscribers can update their data plan at any time without affecting their contract. This is actually important to know. More on this later.

Any new iPhone/iPad subscribers will not have the option to get the unlimited plan. They will have to select one of the two new plans.

What does this all mean? Well for me it means I now can save $15.00 per month on my iPhone plan. That's $180.00/year savings.

When the plans were announced I checked out my data usage history (you can do this on the AT&T website). Turns out on average I was using less than 200MB per month. With only a month here or there where I went over. I also found out that AT&T would let you switch plans back and forth as often as you want, with no penalties or contract additions. So I updated to the 200MB plan.

Now here's the important part.....

AT&T let's you switch plans at will. So if one month I use more than 200MB of data, I can simply update to the 2GB plan, just for that month. As long as I update before my billing cycle ends.

So say in August I check and see that I have used 560MB. I can simply go to the AT&T website, update my plan to the 2GB one and for that month I will just pay $25 for my data plan. Then say on September I check and I only use 160MB, then I can just switch my plan back and only pay $15 for that month.

The key is knowing when your billing cycle ends (mine is on the 25th of every month) and updating your plan before that day. So I always make sure to check my data consumption on the 24th of the month and adjust as necessary.

Checking your data usage is as easy as calling a number from your phone. Just call *3282# and you will get a text message back telling you what your current data usage is. Go ahead, try it. It even tells you when your billing date is. Pretty easy and convenient.

So as long as you remember to check your data usage before your billing cycle ends, you are good to go and can potentially save a lot of money on your cell phone plan.

So that's the deal with the new plans.

iPhone Data Consumption

2010-08-28T10:44:00.000-04:00

With AT&T's new data plans, I've been curious about what counts towards the data cap and what doesn't.

Turns out that sending pictures via MMS (text message) does NOT use part of your data cap. Picture messages just count as regular text messages. So basically you can send as many pictures as you want back and forth and it will not count against your data.

However, sending other multimedia files, like video or audio, will count towards your data plan.

Either way, sending any media (pictures, video, audio) via text still uses less data than sending it via email.

So in conclusion, use text messages as much as possible to keep your data consumption down.

Score another for Apple

2010-08-20T08:48:00.000-04:00

Source: http://www.marco.org/980434663

A smartphone retrospective

This is what high-end smartphones looked like in 2007:

Smartphones were an established consumer-electronics market with devices that people thought were pretty cool, but often frustrating and with serious shortcomings and design flaws.

Then this happened:

Other manufacturers had neglected touchscreens for years, but Apple figured out how to do a touchscreen well, and did.

Fans of the former types of smartphones and much of the tech press declared this smartphone useless or not capable enough because of its lack of a keyboard, its non-removable battery, its lack of expansion slots or ports, and other hardware features in which Apple chose differently from what most other manufacturers were doing.

That ended up not mattering. Now, most high-end smartphones look like this:

In early 2010, subcompact, inexpensive computers (a.k.a. “netbooks”) looked like this:

Netbooks were an established consumer-electronics market with devices that people thought were pretty cool, but often frustrating and with serious shortcomings and design flaws.

Then this happened:

Other manufacturers had neglected tablets for years, but Apple figured out how to do a tablet well, and did.

Fans of netbooks and much of the tech press declared this subcompact, inexpensive computer useless or not capable enough because of its lack of a keyboard, its non-removable battery, its lack of expansion slots or ports, and other hardware features in which Apple chose differently from what most other manufacturers were doing.

That ended up not mattering. And now, other manufacturers are scrambling to build tablet products as quickly as possible.

How do you think the subcompact, inexpensive computer category will look in three years?

Look Again

2010-08-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

This is a commercial that came out a couple years ago.

Take a look.

Now I understand what they are trying to say. But it really makes no sense to me. Here’s why….

This dude comes up to an intersection and looks left, then looks right, then goes forward and a motorcycle hits him.

The commercial is saying that the guy should really come to the intersection, look left, look right, and THEN look left again, just in case a motorcycle approcahed him while he was looking right.

Ok, I get that.

But by their logic, shouldn’t the dude look right a second time? And if he were to look right a second time, should he then look left again (now a third time), and so on?

The way I see it, by the logic being used in this commercial, the only safe way to approach an intersection is to have a passenger who can look right while you look left, both at the same time.

BroncoGators? Really?

2010-08-11T11:28:00.004-04:00

I have been a Bronco’s fan as long as I remember. I was right there with them through the bad years and the painful Super Bowl losses. And I was proud to be there during the good years and the kick ass Super Bowl wins. But no matter what, I am, and will always be, a Bronco’s fan.

And that’s the way it is for most true football fans. From the moment you start watching and understanding football, you start following a team. You become a fan of that team. And most cases, you are a fan of that team for life. No matter where you go, they are ‘your’ team. That’s what true football fans do.

So leave it to the Gator fans to solidify the definition of the phrase “bandwagon jumpers”.

Ever since Gaybow was drafted by the Broncos there have been numbers of Gator fans suddenly becoming Bronco fans. At first I figured there might be one or two here or there, but I forgot I was dealing with Gator fans here. I should have known better. There are now thousands of these “BroncoGators”. That’s the name they have given themselves. Seriously, they call themselves BroncoGators. They even have a Facebook page, with over 38K followers.

Yes, just because of one person, just because of one player, all of the sudden their favorite NFL team is the Broncos.

So this puts me in a though situation.

I used to be proud when the Broncos played, and more so when they won. I would post on Facebook about their games and results etc. I would wear my Broncos hat proudly during football season. I would email and text my friends when the Broncos played their team.

But you know that as soon as football season starts, these BroncoGators are going to be talking about the Broncos as if they owned the team. So do I continue to show my support for the Broncos at the risk of looking like just another bandwagon jumping Gator fan?

As much as I love my Broncos, I would love to see them get slaughtered in every single game Tebow plays in. I mean that. I would love it if they not only lost every game he played, but lost it bad. I don’t feel that way because of Tebow, I feel that way because of his fans. But, do I honestly think that will happen? No. Tebow is a great player and I am sure he’ll become an NFL superstar. And that’s great for him.

So basically I have the worst of both worlds now. Not only do I have to put up with the usual Gator annoyances during College Football games (which is expected), but now I’m gonna have to put up with it during NFL games as well.

Maybe, in a few years, Tebow will get traded and all the Gator fans will bandwagon jump to whatever teams he goes to…. one can only hope.

Taking Personal Photos

2010-08-11T11:28:00.001-04:00

I am a picture whore. I take a lot of photos. All my friends and family know this very well. Anywhere we go, anything we do, they can almost always count on me to be there taking tons of photos. Currently I have over 18,000 personal photos on my library. Yes, 18,000.

So taking as many photos as I do, I’ve never understood the fascination people have of taking photos of landmarks or popular places, with nobody in the picture.

For example, I could go to my friend’s Facebook albums and see dozens and dozens of photos with nobody in them. Photos of Niagara Falls, The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, White House, etc, etc, etc, etc.

All those places are awesome, but why take a picture with nobody in the picture? Why just take a picture of the White House? And then, why post that picture for me to see?

If I wanted to see a picture of the White House, I can go online and see thousands of much better, higher quality, better resolution photos by simply looking at Google.

What I want to see are pictures of you, my friend or family member, in front of the White House. You on top of the Empire State Building. You in front of the Eiffel Tower. You climbing the Great Pyramids. You in front of Mt. Rushmore. That’s what I want to see.

You in front of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign is a great picture. The sign by itself is a boring picture.

Antennagate

2010-08-11T11:27:00.003-04:00

I’m so tired of hearing about the iPhone 4’s antenna issue.

On Friday, Apple said they will give FULL REFUNDS (including AT&T contracts) to anyone who is not happy with their phone. Let me repeat that….FULL REFUNDS, no questions asked.

Before I continue let me clarify, I am not here to claim the issue isn’t there. It is. I have personally tried it on my phone and it does indeed exist. But, it is rather insignificant. All it take is a slight move of your hand, a slightly different placement of the phone, and the issue is non-existant. So yeah, the phone is not perfect. It does have a flaw. But it’s a minor flaw which is easily avoidable.

That said…..

Apple has sold over 3 million iPhone 4’s so far. Three million! In less than three weeks. So if this antenna issue is really as big a deal as we are hearing, you would expect a lot of people will be returning their phone right? A lot of people will be canceling their contracts with AT&T right? If the antenna issue is really a big deal, iPhone 4 sales should dwindle down right? Right??

No.

My bet is that we will not see any of that happening. People will not be returning the phone. People will not be canceling their contracts.

Why?

Because fact remains, the iPhone 4 is a bad ass phone. Even with the antenna issue, the phone still stands out ahead of every single phone out there. And people love it (again, 3 million). Which is why I am pretty sure we will not see this mass return which should be expected if the phone is as bad as the media is making it out to be.

iOS4 vs Android

2010-08-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

After giving my wife (Alli) an iPhone, and playing around with a couple Android phones, I’ve realized something that never hit me before…

Alli picked up the iPhone, having never really used one before, and immediately started using it like a pro. Everything is so simple and easy on the iPhone that even someone as non-techie as Alli can pick one up and start using it within a matter of seconds.

When I played around with my friends two Android phones, I was lost. Even as someone that is very, very tech savvy, after two hours of playing with an EVO, getting around was not simple. Definitely not intuitive at all. Even doing simple things, like creating bookmarks, was a whole process. If I (a techie, nerd, geek) had that much problem getting around, imagine how someone like Alli would have felt.

So I’ve realized that while Android does have a lot of great features, only a very, VERY small handful of people benefit from them, or even understand them. The rest have absolutely no idea how to use any of them, and probably never will.