Murdoch App Fails

Rupert Murdoch closes down his mobile app newspaper, Daily.  Like most people I couldn't for the life of me figure out how the people who run Fox News could think they could actually infiltrate the Apple world.  Though I will admit, it lasted longer than I thought it would.  I even almost downloaded it once.

iOS 6, My Story

I was happy as a lark to update my iPhone 4S on Wednesday.  So happy that I pretty much didn't do anything else that afternoon except the update.  By that evening I was ready to throw my phone in the trash.

The update itself was easy enough.  It was a couple hours after the update that I noticed everything falling apart.  The wi-fi went out.  Every time I tried to connect it kept giving me the apple.com hmmmm page cannot be found error.  Luckily I wasn't the only one.

After about three hours it seemed to be working again.  But then I noticed that every time my phone would sleep the wi-fi signal would shut off and 3G would kick in.  So annoying.  After some searching I discovered that's how it's supposed to work.  But I don't want it to switch to 3G, ever.  Too bad it seems.  That's how Apple wants it to work. 

Then of course there's Maps.  Total disappointment.  The turn by turn is nice, which is a huge plus because the map is so terrible I would never be able to see where to go.  I've also noticed huge battery usage since the update.  I can usually go a full day without needing a charge.  Yesterday I had to charge twice and then again first thing this morning.  Not sure if it's something to do with the new OS or if it's the 3G kicking in all the time.  Technically I think not having it on wi-fi all the time is supposed to preserve battery life.  Not the case right now it seems.

For my iPad 2, I haven't had the wi-fi trouble, thankfully.  I did notice that YouTube is gone.  Honestly it makes no sense to get rid of YouTube like that.  I realize Apple and Google can't play nice but getting rid of the app is as petty as it gets.  Not a good move by Apple.

I do, however, like the restrictions as they are much more tangible for me.  I also like the new privacy section under Settings.  Much easier to use and understand.  For the phone itself, I do like the new in-coming call answer functions.  You can now ignore a call by sending it straight to voicemail.  Or send a quick text to your caller telling them your too busy to talk at the moment.  Plus you can turn on do-not-disturb and only get the calls you want.  Nice features no doubt.  But I had all those features and more on my Droid2 two years ago.  Why in the world has it taken Apple so long to add a couple really good and very useful bells and whistles to what is supposed to be the best cell phone ever made? 

I can remember people complaining that we all live in Bill Gates' world.  That's so 90s.  It's Apple's world now and it's just as crappy.

I'll Sign On To This Letter

Great penmanship came from here.

Google Keeps Shooting Itself in the Foot

Lately it seems Google is on a roll to see how irrelevant it can become.  I admit, I'm a Google guy.  I use Chrome.  I use Blogger, which has gotten better.  I use Android.  Google is my default search engine.  I even have a Google+ page, even though I haven't logged in for months.  I like Google.  So why does it seem Google can't leave well enough alone?

Google's search engine has been the best in the world for quite some time.  Why do they think they also have to be the best social networking platform too?  Stick to what you're good at.  In this case, that's providing awesome search results at lightening speeds.  Google really needs to get its bearings straight.

Government and Law Enforcement Twist Google's Thumb for data, Google Complies

The U.S. government, courts and local and state police authorities requested Google remove 757 items from its servers within the last year.  The Biannual Transparency Report submitted by Google on Thursday is quite the fun read in 21st century censorship.  Everything from videos of police brutality, to information supposedly pertaining to national security were among the requests.  The report also states one request from American authorities was to remove a video it believed to be critical of the government.

Separately, the report declares American law enforcement requested data from Google on 11,057 different users or accounts.  Google said it complied with 4,700 of those requests. Almost all of this data sharing was done without a warrant.

Another post-9/11 privacy invasion?  Not exactly.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was written 15 years prior to Saddam Hussein al Qaeda flying airplanes into our buildings.  In addition to preceding modern terrorism, the law also preceded the average daily internet use by the billions of people who use it every day.  In 1986, only a few hundred people used email.  No one had ever heard of a browser.  And Mark Zuckerberg was only 2 years old.  And...and Al Gore was still tinkering with those intertubes. Thus, a very outdated law, written even before the digital age went public, is governing a practical piece of our lives that grows larger every year.  A much needed update is overdue. To do that, though, would require a government that is as deadlocked and do-nothing as any representative body has ever been to actually do their jobs.  Not to mention, there's only about 4-5 members of the government I would even trust to write such a law in the first place.  We might be screwed either way...

Apple Makes Old New Again

Not that I'm a total Apple convert-- yet.  I'm on the fence though.  I have a Droid 2 cell phone, an iPad 2 and a Dell desktop.  At work I use a Dell desktop and a Dell laptop.  Can't remember the last time I touched my laptop, though.  But my one Apple device (iPad 2) is my favorite.  Also, when my Verizon contract is up in April 2012 my next phone will undoubtedly be an iPhone.  That's why I, for the first time, was actually excited and paid attention to today's Apple announcement.  As it turns out, my next cell phone will be an iPhone 4S.

I want to elaborate a little bit more, however.  I like my Droid 2.  I have no problems with it.  But iTunes has taken me over.  It's a huge hassle to put music from iTunes onto my Droid.  That won't be the case when I get my iPhone 4S.  In fact, the iCloud is one of the most awesome features I've ever seen.  With the iCloud, I won't have to sync to iTunes via a computer anymore.  Every song, book or app I download will wirelessly sync to all my Apple devices.  That alone is worth it.

So it's not that I think Apple makes better products.  Motorola and Google can compete with no problems.  For me, Apple makes products more useful and much less hassle free.  I don't have any particular attraction to iOSX versus Windows or Android.  I just like the fact that an Apple operating system is creatively productive in comparison.

These Are Our Small Government Conservatives

Last week the Republican-controlled House panel on the judiciary approved a wide ranging internet service provider bill. The legislation demands service providers store their customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses for up to a year. The new law is supposed to help law enforcement track down sex crimes more efficiently and has been labeled by the bill's sponsors as a legislative fix to keeping children safe from exploitation via the 21st century.

That means, your internet provider will be collecting a treasure trove of data about your online activity which can also result in information about your non-online activity all without a warrant.   People who don't commit crimes will be treated just like those who do.  Now remember, this comes from the small government, moral values party.  And don't forget either, the Republicans who oppose this bill get to be labeled outside their party as Very Serious, Patriotic, Freedom-loving libertarians whereas Democrats get no such treatment.  Their just liberals no matter what.

More Google Woes

So now apparently I have like 42 Google accounts. Why can't Google just let me sign in with one username and password and access everything? There are Google services I pay for and those like Gmail I use for free. So maybe have one username/password for each type. I'd be fine with that. For some reason Google wants me to log into each service with a new username/password. It's getting ridiculous.  Google used to be so clean and neat.  What happened????

Google Accounts

Google has some crazy things going on today with their accounts. I tried to update my organization account (The Fold Blog) and personal accounts (chris@thefoldblog.com) into the same account as instructed by Google. Weird things then ensued.

I hope I have it worked out.  We shall see.

Quickies

• A study conducted by Brown University tabs the cost of Bush's endless war program at nearly $4 trillion. Not one single penny has been raised by the treasury to help pay for it either. Just the opposite has happened actually. Bush cut taxes and then President Obama helped extend those tax cuts. Meanwhile the Obama administration has expanded our wars into Libya and Yemen.  Let's not forget about the recession...

• Joe Lieberman and Tom Coburn introduced legislation yesterday that would raise the qualifying Medicare age and reportedly save about $600 billion over ten years. Couple it with tax increases and it might work.

• Fox News is now suggesting Jon Stewart is racist.  Next up they'll be suggesting he had secret brain surgery too.

• Just how much do you depend on government programs? Way more than you realize.  Which is to repeat one of my famous treatise.  People do not care about the size of government at all.  It's about the efficiency of government.

• Google's new social network looks promising.  But how can I get an invite?

Quickies

I might be able to get a couple more posts up tonight but it's looking increasingly unlikely. The move, however, has went as best as can be expected when you move from a home you have lived in for 7 years and have 15 month old twins running around.

Until I can get back in the groove, a quickie will have to to do...

• One of the top 2012 Republican presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee, wrongly claims President Obama grew up in Kenya and then tries to correct it, only after progressive blogs hounded him, by saying he grew up in Hawaii but that he still has anti-American attributes, and that we should buy his latest book if we want to know more.  Sigh.

• Props to President Obama for signaling support for the Wyden-Brown plan that would allow states to opt out of Affordable Care Act much sooner.  Though his support might cause the plan not to pass the house, it puts Republicans in a terrible position of having to actually come up with a plan on their own.

• The Fox News reporter who claimed he was punched by a union thug in Wisconsin?  Uhhh yeah, video shows it never happened.  

• The iPad 2 is out!

• And finally, Glenn Beck knows absolutely nothing about American history.  He lies and lies and then lies again while Fox News spreads his lies to millions of people.

Google's Chrome Has Some Competition

About 4 years ago I switched to the Firefox browser. It was much cleaner and way friendlier than Internet Explorer. I've been a faithful Firefox user ever since. Then about two months ago I thought I would give Google's Chrome a try, mainly because I was having some issues with Firefox freezing all the time. So I thought I would try something new.

At first Chrome was foreign to me. I couldn't find anything and I really missed my little shortcut icons on the tool bar. And for some reason Google's toolbar doesn't work with Google's browser. But I kept using it just to give it a chance. For about three days I hated it. Then, without realizing, I discovered I really liked Chrome.

It was much faster, much smoother and it seemed to know what I was thinking while I was typing. I began using it more and more. And now I'm hooked. I love it. I really don't see myself giving it up.

And then today I discovered Firefox had a beta version for its 4.0 release. It is sweeeeeet! Very fast. Very easy to maneuver and it's just similar enough to the previous version of Firefox I used for years that I fell right back in the groove within minutes. I'm typing this post right now on Firefox and I really think this is the best competitor to Chrome there is. I'm not fully ready to recommit back to Firefox just yet. But I am going to keep working with 4.0 and who knows what might happen. Until then I'm torn between two browsers at the moment. I'll have to keep ya updated.

Second Court This Week Applies Constitution to 21st Century

Yesterday another federal court of appeals shot down the government's attempt to obtain digital communication without a warrant. This time the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the government cannot obtain cell-site information that mobile-phone carriers retain on their customers without a court ordered warrant thus solidifying the 4th Amendment does pertain to the 21st century.

This marks the second time this week a federal court has ruled against the government's attempt to acquire digital information on citizens without a warrant. The court has held both times the 4th Amendment must be allowed to progress with technology or wither and die.

Like I said yesterday, this is probably an issue self-proclaimed conservatives will agree the Constitution does apply to 21st century America even though the words digital, computer, cell phone, antenna, etc. never appear anywhere in the Constitution.  This proves Republicans only want to adopt a strict, Founder's intent on issues they don't agree with like health care and social programs.  Their argument the Constitution is being applied too broadly is a lazy attempt to muck up the issue.  In reality, they just don't agree with the issue-- or the party enacting the issue.

iOS 4.2 for iPad is Ready and Heaven Sent

I've said before that I am a Microsoft guy. But Back in May I purchased the iPad wireless + 3G and changed my tech life forever.

The iPad truly has changed everything.  I take it to work, travel with it on long and short trips, use it extensively for meetings and presentations and even used it for this year's midterm elections.  It's portableness is crucial for its usefulness.  I can't go back.  [Note: it has not replaced my laptop.  It was never meant to replace my laptop.  But it has cut down on how much I use it.  For quick emails, calendar, and transporting data, the iPad is superior in every way.  If I'm going to actually type up a document or do a blog post like this one, I'll still use either my laptop or desktop.  There is no replacing either of those.]

There were some unfavorable limitations to the iPad when I first purchased it and I wrote about those which you can read here.  Last night I was able to get my hands on the iOS 4.2 update prior to it being released by Apple and it corrects nearly all my complaints, superbly.  Here's how you can get your update too!!

[Note:  You can wait about a week and I'm sure Apple will make it available via iTunes.  Or if you are like me and can't wait, here is what I did.]  This process is for Windows users only.

1. Search Google for iTunes 10.1 Beta 2, Windows x86 – 70.9MB

2. Then Search for iOS 4.2 GM (IPAD) – 549MB, version 8C134 is what you need.

3. Install the new version of iTunes. (back iPad up first if you want) you'll have to reboot.

4. Plug your iPad into your PC.

5. Run the new version of iTunes.

6. Click on your iPad while in iTunes, choose to update iPad while also holding down the shift key.

7. Select the iPad update file you just downloaded, IPSW 4.2, and let it install.

Takes about 10 minutes and you'll be ready to go.

Multitasking, folders, PRINTING, Airplay, much better keyboard, and so much more.  Here's a great write up about all the updates.  Definitely worth it for anyone using an iPad or thinking about making the purchase.

It's Called Mommy and Daddy's Money

Image via Wikipedia

Mark Zuckerberg

All the rage right now is The Social Network. Include me in it as well cause I will surely watch it. Maybe not at the movies but I will rent it on DirecTv when it's released. Not to take away from Mark Zuckerberg's genius, or from his rival Adam Goldberg who also created a college network interface. Both are owed and given their due diligence when it comes to brainyism.  What I don't get about the whole 'create a really hip social networking device and change the world' sensation that is currently sweeping this nation is the lack of attention given to parental wealth.

Sure Zuckerberg created Facebook and I don't buy the notion that he stole it for one minute.  Goldberg also created a similar device but eventually lost out to Zuckerberg's strategy.  In addition to being a genius coder, Zuckerberg is an even better businessman.  And even better than being smart with computers and with money is being smarter with other people's money, namely that of your parents.  I don't know too many people who can afford to take some time off from college, move to California and mess with code all day long without capital of their own.  It just doesn't happen all that often in Middle America.

That's not to say that Zuckerberg couldn't have invented Facebook without coming from a rich family.  He could have.  It's only to say that someone else given the means he had easily could have too.  I think Zuckerberg knows this, hence his gracious gift to a New Jersey school district for a pocket change amount of $100 million. 

My iPad Is Awesome

With a little less than two weeks of using my iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, I have decided it was a good investment. A little on the expensive side for my tastes but I have a feeling that it's going to drop prices on other items like laptops, desktops and eReaders. I think it's great for the market and I'm sure next summer the iPad 2 will be even better.

In all seriousness, the mobility is terrific.  It's great for quick internet searches/references, email, and the iBooks is superb.  I'm currently reading "Over the Cliff" where I jumped through 3 chapters the first day of purchase.  I was able to sync my Microsoft Outlook with ease; complete with contacts and calendar.  My gmail was just as easy.  I can have my day's schedule along with notes, all my email, access to files on my home desktop, work desktop or my laptop and my iPod all on something the size of a piece of paper.  If I have five minutes to read, I can.  If I'm getting restless and need a song real quick, I can jam.  If I'm in a meeting and need to bring up a file, I have total access.

Dislikes

The keyboard is still a pain but getting better.  I'm not sure there is any way it can be improved.  I haven't tried the wireless keyboard accessory yet, however.  Smudges on the display appear quickly and vastly.  Seems like I'm always wiping it off.  AT&T is ticking me off.  They still haven't given me the unlimited 3G yet.  This could be a sticky issue for Apple.  It's also one that will greatly affect if I purchase anything else from Apple again.  I WANT MY UNLIMITED PLAN!!  The accessories are outrageously priced.  A case was $40.  Adapters for this and that are anywhere from $40-$90.  A stupid digital camera connector is $30.  It's outrageous I'm telling ya.  Also, some of the apps aren't all that great.  I thought, wrongly I suppose, most apps were free.  They aren't.

Overwhelmingly I do like it.  I think it's great and this week while traveling I hope to really get a lot use out of it.

*Update:

My iPad just got awesomer!  Got my unlimited 3G data plan!!  Here's the kicker...you can never cancel it.  If you do, the next time you sign up you will no longer be eligible for the unlimited plan.  That sucks in a number of different ways.  Honestly the number one selling point to me was the 3G access that had no long-term contract.  Not being able to cancel because you'll never get the same contract that you originally purchased your iPad for, is no different than long-term contracts.  I digress...