Trying to sign up for ATT "naked DSL" or "dry loop" service (getting DSL without having paying for a landline) is a very hard thing to do. I've learned the process personally to be one of the most frustrating in my life.
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Kermit the frog and friends could return in the first new Muppet Show TV series for 11 years. Next to Looney Toons this was my childhood "MUST WATCH" show.
[poster on DIGG said,"In 27 years" but there was a Muppet Show series in the 90's as well - although it deviated far from the original and none of Jim Henson's politically incorrect humor.]
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A diary on DailyKos reprinting the text of a diary that prompted the AP to out a blogger to his employer for no good reason except to harass him, in an attempt to silence criticism from bloggers everywhere.
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I think my Bidzirk vs Smith case might be of some value.
iPhone developers still bound by an Apple gag order are paying each other $1 to share coding tips. That way, if challenged by Apple's legal department, they can argue that they are subcontractors and therefore free to discuss the software.
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After lab results demonstrated that the iPhone 3G's antenna actually functions normally, critics complained that the tests didn't represent their own experiences. So the tests were performed again on two phones that had been experiencing severe problems for some users; the verdict was the same: no hardware problems found.
read more | digg story
Saw this "mistake" advertisement on the front page of eBay at 7PM EST tonight:
At least I think it's a mistake ... I don't think Tobey Maguire has even agreed to do a 4th installment. I'm pretty sure there isn't even a script or casting yet.
[UPDATE] Apparently it is a charity auction for a "Spiderman 4 Experience"
I take great exception to this (even if for a charity) - I am not allowed to sell anything that cannot be delivered / completed within 30 days according to the eBay rules regarding "presale auctions".
eBay permits Pre-sale listings only on a limited basis. The seller must guarantee that the item will be available for shipping within 30 days from the date of purchase (i.e., the day the listing ends or the date the item is purchased from a store front listing). The seller must also clearly indicate within the listing the fact that the item is a pre-sale item with a delivery date that indicates the item will be shipped by the 30th day from the end date of the listing. Additionally, this text must be no less than the default font size of the eBay Sell-Your-Item form. Currently, the default font size is HTML font size 3.
eBay, at its discretion, for special promotional events, may approve an actual manufacturer of an item (like the game publisher in the examples above) to sell an item outside of the 30-day pre-sale guideline as long as the actual manufacturer is supplying the actual item for sale. These exceptions will be made for certain promotions and must be approved prior to listing items for sale on eBay that fit the exception above.
I saw this on DIGG as a comment and thought it was a pretty cool response:
¡sɹǝʍod ןɐʇuǝɯ ǝsn oʇ pǝǝu ʇsnɾ noʎ 'ʎןןɐǝɹ op oʇ pɹɐɥ ʇɐɥʇ ʇou s,ʇı
If you're wondering how it's done ... you just use a "p" for an upside-down "d" and so on (an "n" is also a "u") mixed with symbol keys and commas to make contractions.
It's kind of the same as the junior high school joke as "sqooq" upside-down.
This is an interesting view of what people are typing into Google and getting to my website for an answer:
SEARCHES FOR AUGUST 2008:
iphone 11
pro se defendant motion to dismiss 10
pro se to assist you 8
pro se motions right to travel 7
iPhone 3G 6
recording someone without their knowledge 6
daniel g schmidt III 6
pro se defendants fight and win 5
unlock broadvoice linksys SPA2102-r 3
driver 3
jack campbell 3
pro se motions fight back 3
jack miller 3
recording face to face conversations 3
bidzirk 3
married 3
macmice 2
pro se victory 2
pro se right to travel, privileges 2
face to face conversations 2
iphone 2g 2
emac air filter cleaning 2
Personal details of more than 1 million customers of Royal Bank of Scotland, American Express, and NatWest are found on a computer sold on auction site eBay.
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Scenario:
1. Bank hired a 3rd party company to handle archiving.
2. The archiving company had an employee who apparently copied data onto a personal machine.
3. The individual sold the machine on eBay without cleaning the drive.
In the end, the bank is responsible, but the 3rd party company should be held accountable for permitting a user to copy the data. Still the archiving company is clearly to blame and I would assume that any costs of "repairing" this issue will be collected from the archiving company. The former employee of the archiving company is obviously the one who is most to blame and should be prosecuted for a criminal offense.
But ...
This brings up an interesting issue for eBay as well.
Should they allow computers with "full hard drives" to be sold on their site? Should they allow used hard drives to be sold? Or should they distribute a free tool to Mac and PC users that erases the drive, I could see this as a fairly easy thing to do - it would require an enclosure or a target disk mode. It would also be able to tell eBay if the drive was capable of being sold (ie integrity test).
I once acquired some Apple laptops from Clemson University. None of the drives had been wiped and none of the information was password protected. The laptops contained current and past years basketball recruiting information and lots of notes regarding players. I wiped the drives completely, removed the hard drives, and used them personally before selling them a few years later.
A new comment on "Do you have a Mac? No! Then Never Mind! What's up with this (916) 399-7992 number claiming to be Apple?":
Just called me, said "This is AJ from Apple". Asked me "How are things going?" Then asked me something about some sort of X Serve. When asked what he was talking about said something about believing me to be with a Jacob School of Engineering and an invoice they'd gotten.
Very unprofessional. Very suspicious. Didn't say anything regarding an actual sales call.
Immediate impression is that this is a some kind of information gathering hunting expedition.
As reported by WIRED:
Just three weeks after its official Mac-clone product launch, Open Tech said its company was up for sale.
Open Tech [VP] Elijah Samaroo on Saturday night sent an e-mail to Wired.com that said, "Open Tech is For sale. This includes all trade secrets and brand equity. Thank you for tour time." (Note the typo.) OpenTech's web store, where originally you could order a Mac clone, has been replaced with a sales ad for the entire company -- for $50,000, which you can even shell out through PayPal.
As a follow up to Friday's post:
The hit total for the entire weekend was 1100.
I managed to get my story on DIGG & Macsurfer.
I also promoted it locally. Still, the hit total indicates to me that I can't seem to get the attention of Apple about this issue.
I realize that few outside of Greenville South Carolina care about this issue.
How does one without real estate clout, without a lot of money, and without an important (or so it seems to them) issue - contact someone high up in a company? A complaint would get a response - as there are lots of outlets to address and resolve complaints quickly.
Contacting Steve Jobs is comparable to contacting the President of The United States - expecting a response that's from an issue that won't be talked about across the Internet and dissected on the news the next day is only a dream.
One other aspect of why I want to be personally contacted about this issue is that I have a good idea of who might apply for jobs @ the Apple Store if it were to locate here - there are certain applicants that Apple should know their reputation, know their history, and their attitude; rather just rely on a resume. Their are a number of people who work on and sell Macs that I would recommend and a number of them I wouldn't.
I realize this article and comments such as this don't make me popular and may even be seen as hostile. The thing is ... I'm really tired of there not being a great Apple presence in such a large area such as Greenville South Carolina.
* There's obviously more interest in a Greenville Store than a Charleston Store as this TUAW post indicates.
This blog turns 5 years old today ...
One article stands out amongst all the others as my most popular. It still remains as one of the top DIGGs on DIGG.COM. It remains as my top traffic draw for this website and my top one day and three day traffic draws (47,800 & 131,000 respectively).
That article:
The 5 Things Steve Jobs Has Misled Us About In The Last 30 Years
That title was somewhat misleading on purpose to illustrate an inflammatory title can make a story popular. It was a writing experiment I did to see if I could write an article that I technically didn't agree with my subject matter and make it convincing. I wrote it more to warn the Mac community of how dangerous it is to deify Jobs. Soon after that story, health concerns started to arise and Apple's stock was dramatically affected.
In this article, I wrote:
Steve Jobs is getting an awful lot of praise and recognition as of late for being a multi faceted, immensely talented CEO ... and no doubt; he is. Most of all; he is visionary. I don't dispute the deistic award bestowed upon him; "Possibly the greatest CEO in the history of the corporate world" by Businessweek magazine.
Steve Jobs is also a role model and an inspiration to me and to my daily activity. My work ethic (which some close to me would say is impressively complex and detailed) is based not on making money, but inspiring my customers (or anyone whom I meet) creatively. Apple Computers give my customers the power to create and the promise to dream big and make those dreams come true. The money follows.
Eechie wah wah ... it's happening all over again. I would have never let any of this happen in one of the stores I did Apple Rep work for 9 years ago. This is the typical Apple department in Best Buy retail stores: broken displays, boxes out of order or looking to be picked over, items on display that aren't in stock, items on display right next to clearance items, dirty peripherals, unupdated computers (10.5.2 is not only old, but a security risk) ... it makes me sick that MY Greenville South Carolina Best Buy can't do better for the 1000's of monthly dollars in sales I am forced to send their way because they are the only game in town. Apple retail, where are you?
Dear Lord,
I know you don't work this way, but could you just call me @ 864905APPL. Please bring an Apple Store to Greenville South Carolina. I would like to be the manager or an Apple genius. Please look after all those less fortunate Mac owners in Greenville South Carolina. Amen
Funny cartoon: Steve Jobs eMails Jerry Seinfeld
Funny how I just made a reference to Steve Jobs as being God and this cartoon mentions the word "soul".
FoxNews is reporting:
ArsTechnica reports:
eBay is making some changes that will further shift its focus from online auctions to fixed price resellers. The company announced Wednesday that it plans to drop the cost of listing an item under "Buy It Now" by 70 percent, extend allowable listing periods for these items, and lift a number of other restrictions in order to attract even more sellers. Although auctions are about to disappear, the move is an example of eBay's shifting priorities, and not everyone is happy about it.
Sellers will now only be charged a flat $0.35 fee for listing fixed-price "auctions," and can list multiple quantities of the same item for that single fee (previously, multiple quantities of a single item meant racking up the listing fees). Sellers can also now list items for a full 30 days, significantly longer than the standard 7-days.
eBay today imposed a new maximum shipping charge on all listed items. I like this change ... others are expressing concern.
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A lawsuit has been filed against Apple over what the plaintiff is referring to as the "Defective iPhone 3G," which she hopes will become a class-action complaint.
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This is a really cool picture of ants lined up like they were at a diner - eating Apple Jelly that spilled onto a table outside my inlaw's house.
This is a picture of a weed believe it or not. It is from the side of my house. It looks almost alien. Anyone know what its called?
I like this picture of an apple on the cover of this book that is apparently being made into a movie. That's not the reason I took the picture though. It's a shame how Wal-Mart ruined this book with the price sticker.
Reader Bill left new comment on "Will I Be Able To Print From The iPhone?":
I created an e-mail rule that executes a applescript script that prints anything that arrives via e-mail that has the word print in the subject.
So, I put the word 'print' in the subject of an incoming email and forward it to myself. If the subject contains print
The rule moves the message to a print folder, executes a script that does a unix cmd to print it and then removes it.
.. It prints on my iMac which has a printer attached and the mail program running.
I just tried it and I notice I now leave the message in the print folder.
It works pretty good!
It's back-to-school time again. So if you're about to send your kid off to college with a new computer, here are some reasons to make that computer a Mac.
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A fire broke out on the Apple campus in Cupertino California. Firefighters early Wednesday morning contained a three-alarm fire that started Tuesday night at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department.No one was hurt and some Apple websites are errantly reporting that irreplaceable damage has occured and or that the fire was in the R&D department.
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Technology giants like Microsoft and Nokia have also had a penchant for concocting concept products that never see the light of day in the market. Why hasn’t Apple, the most innovative and visionary company in computing, produced a single concept product or vision in over a decade? Because, to paraphrase Jobs, 'real artists ship'.
read more | digg story
(To go on sale at all 965 locations Sept 7).This may coincide with new Best Buy AT&T stores - much like Circuit City stores have Verizon "departments".It will be interesting see if this also coincides with a retal/no contract version of the iPhone.
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How to Make a Pop Tab Wristband - wikiHow
I wear a copper penny bracelet and I thought this was a cool craft project for a rainy day.
On Friday August 8th 2008 (08-08-08) I married my perfect match ... the most loving and supportive woman I have ever known with absolutely zero "little things I don't like".
What do I mean by that? You know how there's always something ... some little thing that bothers you about a person ... a loud obnoxious voice, a pushed up nose, a mole in the wrong place, they're on [the wrong dose of] medication, they smoke, they drink, they party too much, they are obsessed with shopping ... this ain't something that's just gonna change. My wife is a beautiful Christian woman with high standards and high class. UH - MAZING!
She is wonderful. She is beautiful. She is caring. She is sharing. She is supportive. She inspires me. She admires me. Did I mention she is wonderful?
My friends love her. I could never have made it through my last year without her, even though I have had incredible support from my friends. Her family is so loving and sharing ... I am happy to have gotten to know them over the last year and I'm warmed by every memory I have of her children, parents and brother.
The past year has been very hard on me. I've been sued for millions, but came out on top. I've had to sell my assets to make ends meet because of the total devastation of my business, bank account, and time ... defending a frivolous and malicious lawsuit - and still she supported me. She's been supportive as I try to build this website, build back my eBay business, and try to establish new Apple consulting and service relationships.
The last thing she wrote to me the day before getting married:
My love for you has grown stronger, bigger, sweeter, tougher, spicier, juicier! This is the last e-mail you will receive from me as [MY MAIDEN NAME]. I have practiced writing my new name a couple of times and I think I'll be pretty good at it. My heart thumps like crazy in my body when I think about spending the rest of my life with you! I look forward to seeing you all the time, when I come home each day, or when you come visit me at work, or like last evening when I got home before you did - I couldn't wait for you to get there! I love you so much babe, and I will see you when I get home.
As reported by Slashdot:
"Apple employees are putting together a class action lawsuit for not receiving overtime pay. A Lawsuit filed Monday in California seeks class action status alleging that Apple denied technical staffers required overtime pay and meal compensation in violation of state law. Filed in the US District Court for Southern California, the complaint claims that many Apple employees are routinely subjected to working conditions resembling indentured servitude, or 'modern day slaves,' for lack of better words."
Yesterday developer Armin Heinrich posted an iPhone app to the App Store called I Am Rich. The program displays a red gem, has no function but to display your wealth to others through ownership, and costs $1000. I Am Rich isn't the most clever piece of art, but it's not bad either. For some, the iPhone is already an obvious display of wealth. The interesting thing about this application is that it is the first of its kind. I don't know of any other platform that has claimed such an application.
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Right or wrong, people often judge you by the way you pronounce things. Say a word incorrectly and POW -- they've pegged you as a provincial, poorly educated moron. I’d like to go a step farther here and talk about words that may be used correctly but are pronounced wrong.
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This is a good article even though it has poor grammar ... such as starting a sentence off with the word "And".
In the past two years I have let the word "irregardless" go from my vocabulary. I consciously say the correct term; "Regardless".
An interesting perspective:
It happened to Microsoft & Yahoo. Could it happen to Apple? The limitations of antipiracy software were dramatically illustrated last week when Yahoo Music announced the company would stop issuing authorization keys for the software that prevents its songs from being copied.
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Following Psystar's retention of California law firm Carr & Farrell, attorney Colby Springer has hinted that the case may end up making some antitrust claims against Apple.
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One of the Apple Store's little known secrets: roving sales clerks who use mobile devices to ring up orders anywhere in the store, not just at the cash register. But which devices? Motorola MC75 handhelds running Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.
read more | digg story
The terminals used at the checkout are run on Macs with Filemaker & MacPOS though.
Eechie wah wah ... it's happening all over again. I would have never let any of this happen in one of the stores I did Apple Rep work for 9 years ago. This is the typical Apple department in Best Buy retail stores: broken displays, boxes out of order or looking to be picked over, items on display that aren't in stock, items on display right next to clearance items, dirty peripherals, unupdated computers (10.5.2 is not only old, but a security risk) ... it makes me sick that MY Greenville South Carolina Best Buy can't do better for the 1000's of monthly dollars in sales I am forced to send their way because they are the only game in town. Apple retail, where are you?
One common question that I'm asked on my Recording Phone Calls Laws Reference is what to use to record. This device is available at Radio Shack for under $30. If your cellphone has audio and Mic out support (like the iPhone and most music phones do) then you can also use it with your cellphone.
If you don't have an iPhone you probably haven't followed or cared about an app called NetShare that appeared on the iTunes App Store last week. Why should you care if you don't have an iPhone? Well ... it seems this is the first time that a cellphone manufacturer (Apple in this case) is directly challenging the terms of service of a cellular service provider (AT&T).
AT&T's terms of service for tethering on cellphones with unlimited data plans is:
Furthermore, unlimited plans (except for DataConnect and BlackBerry tethered) cannot be used for any applications that tether the device (through use of, including without limitation, connection kits, other phone/PDA-to-computer accessories, Bluetooth or any other wireless technology) to laptops, PCs, or other equipment for any purpose.
Nullriver NetShare
This story is downright bizarre. Nullriver — the company that spearheaded the Installer.app jailbreak installer project — created an App Store app called NetShare, which enables an iPhone to share its EDGE or 3G Internet connection with a Mac or PC via Wi-Fi. That seems like a crazy app to build, given that there’d seemingly be no chance that Apple would accept it. But Apple did accept it, and it appeared on the App Store yesterday, selling for $10, and it apparently works as advertised.
Soon thereafter, though, NetShare disappeared from the store. Assuming that Apple does not wish to allow phone network tethering, it seems crazy that this app got through in the first place. The name alone — let alone the product description, or the fact that it came from the creators of Installer.app — makes it very clear what it does.
UPDATE: As of this moment, NetShare is back in the App Store. I just bought a license a moment ago, as did Andy Baio.
We’ve finally gotten in contact with Apple. Looks like the lack of communication was due to automated e-mail systems being employed on both ends, which resulted in e-mails being lost in transit. We’re working with Apple to get NetShare back up on the AppStore.
While searching for "The Made For Mac" logo in Google yesterday I came across a number of interesting pictures that I thought were worth sharing.
