Why can't they give us our tv EVERYWHERE, easily?

I fired up my XBOX 360, since there is STILL no support on XBOX ONE for the following:
- HBO GO
- Showtime Anytime
- Dozens of others

I was able to run & authenticate HBO GO easily, but Showtime Anytime wasn't so easy.

First, since I tried authenticating on the iPad, the site assumed (incorrectly) that I would much prefer the "Showtime Anytime" App.  I would not.  My TV screen is considerably larger than that of my iPad.

So I switched over to the MacBook Air. Safari kept saying "The Primary Account holder for this account must register for Showtime Anytime first."  So I switched to Firefox.  Same thing.  Turned to the Windows desktop.  Same thing.

I've been a Showtime subscriber for nearly two decades.  Why can't "they" just give good service?

Bought an iPad. Still have no idea what I "need" it for.

This past weekend I bought an iPad (1st gen, wi-fi only) second-hand.  Apparently the woman I bought it from had purchased it about 2 weeks before the iPad 2 was released.  Once she saw the iPad 2, she got buyers remorse and decided she wanted the new one instead.  So I picked up an immaculate iPad for $300 cash.  I really don't care about the fact that the iPad 2 is faster/better/lighter/has a camera.  I just had a case of peperoncini en culo to buy a new gadget, and this iPad hit the spot. ;)

The iPad did not come with this wallpaper... ;)

It's a very cool device, but I still have no real use for it.  Since I am never without my iPhone 4, the iPad sort of feels like a larger, yet lesser device.  That said, it's slowly taking over for my Mac when it comes to casual browsing while watching TV.  So that's something. :)

I then went to the Apple Store and bought a Griffin Airstrap case. 

 

The case is solid, but a little too solid around the sleep/wake and volume buttons.  I'm considering a little surgery a-la dremel to remove the plastic in that area.  Even until then, it provides very good protection for that aluminum back, and has a handy strap to slide your hand into.

Casio Exilim EX-H20G Review

At the 2011 CES, I saw the Casio EX-H20G camera, and really liked it. I've already got a few digital point-and-shoot cameras (three), and really don't need a new one. That being said, this one offered something that the others don't - GPS.  It also is a 14-megapixel shooter that does 720p video. :)

It offers 10x optical zoom, whereas many other digital cameras will do 2x or 3x optical zoom and then "cheat" by using digital zoom for anything over that.  It also has a 24mm wide-angle lens, so you can fit more into a shot without backing up - think group shots at restaurants.

I've been spoiled by the geotagging that automatically occurs when I take pictures with my iPhone.  I like knowing precisely where a photo was taken, not having to put that information in when I upload the files to Flickr, or trying to remember that information later.

About 2 weeks ago, I got one as a birthday gift.  Of course, I started playing with it almost immediately after the battery was fully charged - which was just a few short hours.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it.  It supports very high-capacity SDHC & SDXC cards, and I received a 32GB SDHC card with the gift.  That means tons upon tons of pictures, and many hours of high-def video with just one card - great when traveling.  I had read some reviews on Amazon that complained about the battery door popping open or feeling weak.  I have no such complaints.  It's actually better than two of my other cameras.  Their battery doors are single tension - slide it on and it locks, but if you bump the door in just the right way, it will pop open accidentally.  The battery door on the EX-H20G actually has a second sliding lock that keeps the battery/card access door locked in place.  I suppose if I dropped the camera it might break, but under normal use it feels very solid.

In addition to the automatic geotagging, the camera offers a number of other cool features.  First on my list is "Premium Auto".  This takes longer between shots to process the picture, but produces quite good pictures for virtually any setting.  Day or night, moving or still, macro or far, inanimate objects or even multiple face detection - "Premium Auto" will intelligently manage the settings for you.  I'm lazy, so I like stuff like that.  I don't know enough about ISOs, f-stops, white balance, etc to worry about those settings.  This camera deals with it for me.

Although Windows Live Photo Gallery will automatically stitch together panoramas, it can also be convenient to be able to do it in-camera.  The EX-H20G has a panorama mode that is surprisingly good.  Once you've set it to panorama mode, all you have to do is hold the shutter down and rotate your body.  You'll hear a satisfying rapid-fire clicking sound until you release the button.  After just a few seconds of processing, you'll have a very nice panorama shot.  Witness this shot of a friend's backyard, taken about on my first day with the EX-H20G:

More than 180° from left-to-right.  Click to see full size.

About the panorama shots - the resolution of panoramas created with the EX-H20G are not as high-quality as those made with Windows Live Photo Gallery, but they're pre-cropped and each panel is color-balanced to the others, so there's no weird color variations in the same panorama.

Overall I'm very happy with this camera, and plan to either sell or give away at least two of my other three point-and-shoot cameras.  I'd recommend it highly to anyone who wants a nice, flexible and easy to use point-and-shoot. 

EDIT: looks like Engadget agrees with me. :)

Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware

Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware

Pandigital Novel - Quick Review

Just picked up a Pandigital Novel last night, partly to use as a cheap ($170) e-reader.  Honestly, it was a cheap iPad alternative that I knew other people (smarter than me) had figured out how to install Android applications on.  The stock "reader" app (which still works after the hack) can buy books from Barnes & Noble, just like the Nook.  After hacking, I was also able to install Kindle for Android, which effectively makes this a "multi-platform" e-reader.  Again, for this price it's hard to resist.

Here's what it looks like "stock".  Not bad.

The real fun began when I followed a series of (relatively simple) steps I found online, and hacked it to run "regular" Android, complete with access to the "Android Market".  I can even justify this as a business expense, since it's the first Android device I've spent more than 2 minutes using, and knowing my way around Android will help when a client asks me to help them setup an Android phone.

The screen is RESISTIVE, which means it requires pressure, such as the tip of your finger or a stylus.  This is not a deal breaker, especially on a cheap device like this.  It's actually pretty sensitive and responsive - I wish my GPS had a screen this responsive.

The iPad (and iPhone) uses a CAPACITIVE screen, which requires that a conductive "pointer" (such as your bare finger) be used.  While a capacitive screen "feels" better, this screen feels good for what it is.

It has 1GB of on-board storage, but will accept SD/SDHC cards up to 32GB. 

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with it.  If you don't already have an iPad, and don't want to spend $500, go to Bed Bath & Beyond right away and buy one of these.

OtterBox "Defender" case for iPhone 4 - Review

Just got my OtterBox Defender case for the iPhone 4.

The Good:
- The clear screen guard is 100x better than the prior one. No "oil slick", and it appears to have a slightly matte finish inside, which just seems to improve visibility.
- The inner shell snaps together as before, except now the actual latches that make it work are integrated into how the holster works. And because of this, the holster is more secure.
- The opening for the dock connector isn't as small as before, so chargers seem to fit more easily. The prior model for the 3G/3GS had an oval opening that required modification of my car charger in order to fit.

The Not-So-Good:
- The silione outer layer isn't as "meaty" as the prior version. I know some people may consider this a benefit, but I personally like the thicker outer layer.
- The holster's release for the phone is now side-mounted. So if you're wearing the holster vertically, you've got to rotate the phone to unclip it.

Overall - this is a very well-designed, high-quality rugged case for the iPhone 4. The previous complaint about the fragility of Ballistic's offering make the OtterBox the clear winner for me.

Samsung Omnia II "Review"

A client of mine just got the Samsung Omnia II. It's clearly being marketed as an "iPhone competitor.". In reality It's not at all competitive. The touchscreen appeared to be resistive, which means you have to physically push down on it. It had a sort of "skinned interface", but underneath it runs Windows Mobile, which was a decent competitor to the old Palm OS on PDAs several years ago, but it doesn't hold up very well today. Bottom line, it's a very dumb "smartphone".

Something I noticed while waiting at the Apple Store

I arrived at the apple store at approximately 8pm.  (Dropped the phone at 7:20 or so.)

I was standing at the Genius Bar from 8:05 until 8:40 or so.

During that time, at least TEN iPads were sold.  Hmm...

Nite-Ize cases

I needed a case to hold my iPhone 4 when working. Since OtterBox still doesn't have anything, I originally bought a handful of generic "sideways" holster pouches from a few mall kiosks. Some worked okay, but none of them felt quite right.

I've been using the Clip Pock-Its XL for a while now, and it works well. The clip is designed to stay on your belt no matter what. I figured I'd look and see if they made something that would work for the iPhone 4. I'm glad I did.

I picked up the Nite Ize Universal Clip Case Sideways Medium and it's working pretty well so far. I'm still awaiting an Otterbox case, but until that time, this is a worthy substitute.

Just got my iPhone 4 - first impressions

I just got my iPhone 4, along with two "bumper" cases. They're not really cases, but that was all that was available...

First impressions:

• The speakerphone is MUCH louder (and therefore better)
• The screen ("retina display") is absolutely phenomenal, but... it looks funny through my polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses. This WILL grind on me, and unfortunately I'll probably end up buying some new sunglasses.
• It's MUCH faster to do everything.
• The camera is quite improved, although I think the digital "zoom" is worthless.
• FaceTime is great.  I only know one person who has an iPhone 4, so the value of this feature is minimal for now.
• It feels solid, but so did prior generations.

Downers:

• No rugged cases are available yet, and the nearby Apple and AT&T stores are sold out of most iPhone cases in general.  I've been using an Otterbox Defender case, which has a holster clip.  Until they (or another company) come out with something, I'm stuck with the bumper, and then putting it in a generic (sideways) holster pouch.
• Internet Tethering will require that I give up my "unlimited" data plan...  I'm not going to do it yet, since I haven't had much use for that anyway.

AT&T borked the iPhone 4 pre-orders

As you may be aware, AT&T's servers were not ready for the massive demand for the iPhone 4.

Like a good fanboy, I was all ready to pre-order an iPhone 4 on the morning of June 15th.  I started on Apple's Online Store, and noticed that it kept hanging when it would try to verify my eligibility for the upgrade.  So after about 50 attempts (and re-entering my info that many times), I figured it was worth trying to do it on AT&T's site.  After about 20 attempts, it appeared to go through.  Or so I thought.

Because I was doing so much at once, right after the order went through, my browser crashed.  This prevented me from printing the order confirmation.  So I had no order number, no confirmation of any kind.  I only remembered seeing "Thank you for your order."

Because I didn't trust the way it happened, I decided to try the Apple Online Store again.  After about 4 attempts, that worked as well.  Unfortunately, by that point it was saying that pre-orders would be delivered by July 2 as opposed to June 24. :(  Of course, if both orders go through, that means I'll have spent around $700 after taxes as opposed to $350. :(

I got an email confirmation from Apple almost immediately, but nothing from AT&T.  I therefore resigned myself to having to wait another 2 weeks.  I also assumed that the AT&T order just didn't go through.  Later in the day I got an email from AT&T saying there was a problem with the credit card, and that the order would be canceled if they didn't get new/correct credit card info.  I called the number in the email and waited 35 minutes on hold before the system told me basically "sorry, we're too busy, call back later".  I tried several times after that, for a grand total of about an hour-and-a-half on hold.  This morning I actually got through - to a human being!

There's nothing wrong with the card - it's a debit card and the balance is more than sufficient for this purchase.  However, for some reason their system kept rejecting it.  So I gave the rep my business debit card, which worked.  She told me that from what she could see on the system, it looked like my order would in fact arrive on June 24.  I thanked her and hung up.

So now I just wait and see.  Will I receive an iPhone 4 from AT&T on June 24?  Will Apple send me one on July 2?  Will I end up with two?  Time will tell.

PowerSupport - PRODUCT REVIEWS

PowerSupport USA (http://www.powersupportusa.com) makes two very interesting products for MacBooks.

First is the TrackPad Film for MacBook, which solves a common problem.  I've had my MacBook for over two years, and over that time, the trackpad surface has become unevenly glossy.  This makes using it inconsistent and even a little frustrating.  This simple solution is essentially a little sticker that you lay over the track pad, and like magic, it feels like new again.  Other than a little difficulty getting it lined up and bubble-free, I couldn't be happier.

The second item is the Anti-Glare Film for MacBook.  It is a matte-finish overlay for the MacBook screen.  Again, apart from the typical difficulties in lining it up and getting all bubbles out, it's a real winner.  No glossy screen anymore for me!

Between these two simple upgrades, plus previous upgrades to Snow Leopard, increased RAM and the (recently upgraded) Hard Disk, my MacBook is even better today than it was when it was new!

The one (minor) negative is that the instructions were entirely in Japanese.  Thankfully I've used similar products before and was able to "wing it".  I assume that others are able to do the same, but I never underestimate the ability of people to do something wrong...

Even better for me is that rather than ordering it and having to wait, they have a retail store within a mile of my home:

 

Google Maps' shot of the PowerSupport Retail Store in Burbank, CA

They also sell various iPod & iPhone cases and accessories, as well as miscellaneous items from Japan.  If you're nearby, you should really check it out.

http://www.powersupportusa.com/product/show/track-pad-film-for-macbook-13-black

http://www.powersupportusa.com/product/show/antiglare-film-for-macbook-white-or-black-13

Nuance Dragon Dictation for the iPhone

Nuance, makers of "Dragon Naturally Speaking", produce an app for the iPhone called "Nuance Dragon Dictation".  It lets you speak to your iPhone, and it converts what you say to text that can be copy & pasted into emails, text messages, etc.

My 10-yr old niece asked me if I had anything "new" on my iPhone, and I thought she'd get a kick out of speaking to the iPhone and seeing her words appear on the screen.

I told her to say whatever she wanted to, so she said "I like chicken strips".

Unfortunately, this is what "Dragon" heard:

 

You can't make sh*t like this up. ;)

Fun with X-Rays, Part 2

I had to do some more troubleshooting at the veterinary clinic today, and that meant I needed another x-ray image…

Yep, that’s my iPhone. ;)

Fun with X-Rays

I was at on a client appointment this morning at a veterinary clinic.  Their radiology system puts x-ray images on a server, and the workstations are supposed to be able to access the images.  For whatever reason, they were not.  So, I wanted to test the system and see if the workstations could see a "new" image.  Obviously, putting one of the animals under the radiation unnecessarily was out of the question, and no one (including me) wanted to expose themselves unnecessarily.  So, I came up with an idea - take an x-ray of my notebook !

And here it is - pretty cool. :)

I bought a new convertible notebook

I've been testing Windows 7 for a few months, but I installed it on an old machine, and that version is set to expire soon. I know I've got to get a lot more comfortable with Windows 7, and I don't want to mess with my primary work machine, which is Vista x64. I've also been eager to buy a convertible notebook. It's not that I really need another one - I already have several, but I guess call it a case of "gadget lust." So, to kill two birds with one stone, I went out and bought a new HP TouchSmart tx2-1375dx. It's got Windows 7 Professional x64, 4GB RAM, a 320GB Hard Disk, and a 2.2GHZ AMD Turion X2 with virtualization support. So far, I love it. Gadget porn to follow:

 

By the way, I posted this using Windows Live Writer.  Kinda cool.  It seems great for posting with greater control over the layout and content.

Three tech things today

1. Sorry, Linux... We won't be friends after all.
After extensive "playing around" with the new netbook, I've decided that Ubuntu (both 8.04 and 9.04) are not for me. Too many things didn't quite work, and too many things needed command line work (sudo judo) to function. It may be good for some, but not me.

2. Hello Hackintosh.
So once I decided that I didn't want Linux on the netbook, the question remained - what to install?
Rather than putting XP on the netbook, I decided to follow the 20 or so steps clearly documented on the web to install OSX 10.5.7 on the netbook. And yes, I stuck a small Apple sticker on it. I've gotten it working quite well, and faster than I'd ever imagined. I even got bluetooth working properly (took a little extra work), which leads me to...

3. BLUETOOTH INTERNET TETHERING

Now this is pretty damn cool. Basically, on either the "real" mac or the "hackintosh", I have gotten the iPhone 3GS's new "Internet Tethering" to work. This will allow me to "borrow" the phone's 3G connection via bluetooth and use it on either computer. And no, that's not a stock shot - that's my phone's home screen.

UPDATE - Apparently it also works on Windows machines connected via USB.

Just got my new iPhone 3GS!

It came in a day earlier than I expected. I had been tracking it via FedEx, and apparently it was shipped direct from China.

Just started syncing it.

Holy crap I'm excited.

Just got my netbook

I saw Dell advertising a netbook for $250, and bought it.

It just arrived. My intent is to bring it with me to appointments, so that I can use it to test clients' networks. Tyically I'd been lugging around a ThinkPad T60, but figured carrying the 8.9" Dell Vostro A90 would be a lot easier.

It's got 1GB RAM, and a 16GB SSD. I'll probably be upgrading both soon. It also has a built-in webcam and bluetooth.

It'll take some getting used to for a few reasons:
- It's got Ubuntu Linux 8.04 preinstalled, and I've never used ANY Linux distro before.
- It's VERY tiny. I thought I'd only have issues with the tiny keys, but the little screen is going to need adjusting to also...

I just spent about 20 minutes playing with it, before grabbing the MacBook to post this. Switching from the 8.9" screen to the MacBook's 13.3" screen suddenly made the "little" mac feel GIGANTIC. ;)

That being said, I'm really excited about it, and the size/price just can't be beat.

WHOO HOO!!! iPhone 3GS!!!

I wanted to buy the new iPhone 3GS, but initially AT&T wanted me to either pay $700 now, or wait until November to pay $300. Obviously, this cooled my enthusiasm.

A lot of people were bothered by AT&T's upgrade pricing. There were around 2,000 people who joined a complaint group on Twitter, and many news outlets covered the public outcry.

Long story short, AT&T caved.

I was able to order the iPhone 3GS online, and pay only $300. Even better, I won't have to go to the store and wait in any lines. It'll be delivered to my door within a week.