Wednesday, November 24, 2010

iPad Screen Rotation Lock Changes with iPad OS 4 Update

With the IPad OS 4 Update, here are instructions to lock your iPad Screen Rotation. After this update, The Screen Lock Button is now the Mute button

1. Press [home] [home]

2. When the iPad Multitasking Bar appears at the very bottom of the screen, swipe with your finger left to right until you see the new Screen Lock Setting.

3. Press the Rotation Lock Icon (a Circular Arrow with a Padlock) in the bottom left corner of the screen. See below...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

People Celebrity News Tracker iPhone App Removed from Apple App Store? Does it still work?

In the spirit of the Holidays I decided to research a current Family IT crisis. Apparently according to My W, My Mother-in-Law and My Sister-in-Law - People Magazine has removed their blockbuster People.com Celebrity News Tracker iPhone App from the Apple App Store. In the past several weeks the App has stopped sending updates to these customers that paid $1.99 for this Advertising Supported Paid App. This App was lauched in May 2009 and appears to be possibly replaced by their new model requiring a yearly print subscription or individual issue downloads for $3.99. Unfortunately, the Apple iTunes App Store does not provide its customers with an redirected link explaining this except a blank web page and my thorough search of the People.com website or other Internet "News" sources did not uncover any notification to its loyal and fanatical customers. A search of the Apple App Comments archived found a number of very angry and frustrated users of this App that thought their App was corrupted on their phone because it would't post the updates.

One of the above upset users of the People Celebrity News Tracker comnented, "You would expect this from other companies but not People!" In addition, two emails were also sent to People but no response was received.

That said, right after I posted this blog I received a family update that the People.com Celebrity News App, Version 1.5 is now working again. I asked how she knew and heard who won last night's Dancing with the Stars Competition - so I can now close this Ticket...at least for now.

BTW, I ended up restoring Version 1.5 of the People.com Celebrity News iPhone App to enable one of the iPhones to work. I would recommend not upgrading to Version 1.6.

Monday, November 15, 2010

John Tyner Blog - San Diego TSA Incident

Here's the blog and YouTube videos of Software Engineer John Tyner, the San Diego man that refused TSA's new full body scan.

http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/





Monday, October 25, 2010

Pittsburgh vs Miami - NFL Referee Gene Steratore stole game?

With all the technology involved with the NFL Instant Replay System, when NFL Referee Gene Steratore made the call at yesterday's Dolphin vs Steeler game yesterday, I could'nt believe how Mr Steratore said they couldn't tell which team recovered the ball in the end zone. Even as his call was being announced, the Miami Dolphin Fan Vision Screen and thousands of Fan Vision Portable Devices given to Dolphin Season Ticket Holders was clearly showing the Dolphins had recovered the football. Why would Referee Gene Steratore not trust the technology - yikes it ends up he resides in Washington, Pennsylvania (Source: NFL Referee News). The Miami Herald is also reporting that he is a Pittsburgh native.

Friday, September 24, 2010

AT&T Wireless A-List - Reduce Your AnyTime Minutes On Your Bill

If you have an AT&T phone or iPhone with an AT&T Individual plan 900+ minutes ($59.99 and over) per month or Current FamilyTalk plans 1400+ minutes ($89.99 and over) per month, you will qualify for the AT&T A-List feature.

Here is how you access this feature:

1. Go to https://www.att.com/olam/dashboardAction.olamexecute

2. Login with your Wireless Phone number and password.

3. Click Account Overview.

4. In the right column, under Quick Links, click Manage My A-List.

5. Follow the screen prompts to Add the Numbers to your list.

6. In my case, under My Account, I clicked on Usage and Current Activity for my phone(s). I sorted the phone listing by Minutes, added Contacts for the Non-AT&T mobile numbers/landlines that I thought would be used the most in the future.

7. To monitor the usage, I also downloaded the AT&T iPhone App.

This was not a highly advertised new AT&T feature, but is now available for selected plans. In other words, if you get an AT&T iPhone bill that drained your rollover minutes, this will be the feature recommended by AT&T.



Click for More info on AT&T A-List Wireless Phone Savings

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Dade and Broward County Voter Guide Links - August 24 Primary Election

Here are some voting guides for the upcoming Florida Primary Election on August 24, 2010. In the past, I have relied on the Newspapers for their recommendations, but this year, I found the Daily Business Review Guide much more informative for selecting the judges on my ballot. They appear to provide a more in-depth analysis of each race by using some of data from polls and the ratings of judges by the local attorneys.

Judicial Election Voter Guide Links - For Miami-Dade and Broward County

Dade County Daily Business Review Voter Guide - For August 24, 2010 Election
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/Judicial_Elections_2010/Miami-Dade/Races.html

Broward County Daily Business Review Voter Guide - For August 24, 2010 Election
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/Judicial_Elections_2010/Broward/Races.html

Primary Election Voter Guide Links - For Miami-Dade and Broward

Sun Sentinel Voter Guide
http://elections.sun-sentinel.com/

Miami Herald Voter Guide
http://www.miamiherald.com/voters-guide/index.html

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

D-Wade's Flip Video Camera

Here is the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade using his Flip video camera to record a YouTube.com video thanking his fans for supporting him during the grueling NBA 2010 Free Agency process.



BTW, welcome to South Beach Chris Bosh!

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

KingJames Twitter Account - LeBron James

LeBron James Twitter Account(@KingJames)

Wow, LeBron James posts first Twitter message with 90K followers.

LeBron James Twitter Account?

Is this @KingJames, LeBron's New Twitter Account?

The current buzz on Twitter is that the number of followers on the Twitter account http://twitter.com/KingJames has grown to nearly 30K in several hours. This Twitter profile links to LeBron James' new website http://www.lebronjames.com Associated Press is reporting that Chris Paul's Twitter contained the post:

"**Couldn't convince him to tell me which team he's goin to but convinced hi to join twitter lol...my brother from another mother @KINGJAMES"

LeBron James Twitter Account, LeBron James New Twitter, LeBron James Twitter










With LeBron James' pending decision in the NBA 2010 Free Agency, there are other unverified rumors that LeBron's selection will be posted on his new website: www.lebronjames.com. This website was linked on this unverified Twitter page.

LeBron James New website, lebron new website, lebron website, lebron james website

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hulu Plus $9.95 per month on the IPhone - iPad

Huh, Hulu launched their $9.95 per month service this month for watching their TV and Movies on your iPhone or IPad. Currently, you can view their content for free on your computer. It looks like Hulu is looking more like Netfix these days!

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

A Bad Miami Driver - Almost Killed Me Today

This morning it's not about new technology like the iPhone 4 but this
driver in the red car that drove through the orange poles into the
Express Lane heading South on the I-95 in Miami and appeared 40 yards
or less in front of my car. It happened so quickly all I could do is
hit the brakes, glance in my rear view mirror to see how close the car
in the left lane was to my bumper as my car locked into a 55 mph to 0
stop. For a brief moment I thought, prepare yourself because we're
raming straight into the side of this red car. Then as my right foot
pressed on my brake pedal as hard as possible, my Infiniti G37 brakes
came to a near stop just inches from this car and the astute driver in
the of the vehicle in the left lane behind me unbelievebly swearved
left to miss my 2 seat coupe by inches. Wow, the family member riding
in my passenger seat and I were alive and spared a trip to the
Hospital or even worse the Cemmetary. Well, after an incident like
that my emotions got the better of me as the red car driver with
tinted windows and the damaged right bumper passed me, I rolled down
my window to give him the bird. Then I pulled out my iPhone 3GS and
took a picture of car and license plate. Then I realized that after 60
or less seconds, this morning I am just happy to be alive. Any stress
I had was now gone after this life threatening moment. Any previous
important decision like upgrading to the iPhone 4 was now meaningless.

Finally when starting this mornings blog entry I whipped out my iPhone
3GS take a look at the photo below I took. As I used the reverse pinch
to zoom in on the license plate of this bad Miami Driver's license
plate, i realized that because of the quality of the camera on the 3GS
I got nothing - you can't see any of the letters or numbers. Huh, a
better camera on the iPhone 4, maybe that is a nice feature?

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Skype 3G now supported for iPhone and iPad

Now I know why they didn't add a phone to the iPad. Skype has just
added 3G support for both the iPhone and iPad.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Dwyane Wade 46 points vs Boston NBA 2010 Playoffs Game 4 - He has another Gear!

I wanted to test copying embedded videos into Blogger so here is my test. What better content than some highlights from the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade's 46 points against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Playoffs as well as NBA Coach Erik Spoelstra's comments after the game on Dwyane's performance!



Coach Erik Spoelstra on Dwyane Wade's 46 points against the Boston Celtics, Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.

"Obviously Dwyane Wade was sensational."

"Dwyane...led the way by revealing... you see the inside of his character what he is made."

"We don't take Dwayne for granted, that greatness...we don't..."

"He has another gear and another depth to go into in his soul to be able to dig it out and really carry a team on his back with his will."

Thursday, April 01, 2010

AT&T Landline Dispute Resolved

This morning I tried the AT&T landline and it finally works! Last night when I tried it, even after the status was changed to Order Completed, there was still no dial tone. However, now that the status had changed, I was now able to call AT&T Repairs 24/7 phone number. They were able to tell it wasn't working and said that we would be billed for any inside changes, but before 8AM this morning, the phone line was active.

This seems like a very complex process when you can activate a new cell phone within minutes. That said, I did want to thank Molly at @twitter/ATTCustomerCare, AT&T's Social Media Customer Care Guru. Molly you rock! And of course AT&T Executive Services (Thanks Eric!) Using Twitter for Customer Service, I had much better luck at finding an escalation path at AT&T then when calling the AT&T Customer Service Department!

This matter is now resolved!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Dispute with AT&T Work Management Scheduling in Aventura, FL

An AT&T Installer arrived on Thursday, March 25, 2010 to install a land line. He left without the phone being activated. Through my attempts to escalate this issue, someone at the AT&T Work Management Department in Aventura, Florida must have made this issue personal because the phone is still not active. The new install date is Thursday, April 1, 2010. I guess when it comes to an AT&T landline, the old copper wire technology, these AT&T phone guys will install it when they want to.

That's not the level of service that AT&T's customers expect and rightfully deserve!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

What Camera Do I Use? - An car in the bay on NE 35th ST in Miami.

In the early morning on NE 35th ST in Miami, Florida, a car went in to Biscayne Bay. I grabbed for the first digital camera I could find. The first thing I noticed was that it was very difficult taking photos in low light. Even with the night light setting with my Sony, the pictures were still blurry. It was also very difficult to find the night setting on some of the cameras because this isn't a feature I use that often. As you can see, as soon as the Sun came out, the pictures are much better.




car in Biscayne Bay, Miami, FL











xx


















Friday, March 26, 2010

ATTCustomerCare on Twitter.com

Interesting, I just heard from Molly at http://twitter.com/ATTCustomerCare She is the lead in AT&T Customer Care team focusing on Social Media.

AT&T Award Winning Customer Service?

I am a very loyal AT&T Customer but after this experience, I feel I need to start looking at alternate vendors. The Customer Service was horrible.

This week I tried to get a simple land line installed for a family member and had to experience AT&T's proclaimed Award Winning Customer Service. After placing the order, the Rep told me that the phone line would be activated on Monday of this week. On Friday of this week, the phone line is still not activated.

This morning, I spoke to 5 different representatives from their Awarding Winning Customer Service Department:

Answer 1: The appointment was logged as a missed appointment, the customer needs to reschedule (The AT&T guy was at the location twice yesterday and left without activating the service).
Answer 2: Due Today - the service is due to be activated today.
Answer 3: The service should have been activated yesterday.
Answer 4: I will contact the work management department and find out why it was coded as a missed appointment.

I asked to speak to a supervisor several times and received several different outcomes:

1) I was placed on hold for 20 minutes and no one came on.
2) I was transferred to the repair service, who told me the status but said I would have to call Customer Service on a Pending Order.
3) I had to give me my phone number and a supervisor would call me back.
4) I was transferred back into the Customer Service phone queue.
5) I successfully reached a Supervisor who was able to reschedule the appointment.

Finally, as a loyal AT&T customer Why not get it all from one company? The answer is that unlike companies like American Express, AT&T does not give you any extra service for being a loyal customer. They treat all customers with the same way regardless of their level of loyalty...Maybe that's the new definition of AWARD WINNING CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Notes: Reps I spoke to: James, Judy, Mrs. Freeman - refused to transfer call to a Supervisor.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

2010 Oscar Movies On Netflix, OnDemand, on DVD, on Comcast


With the number of On Demand movies from cable services, airplane flights, hotels, Netflix, Blockbuster and the Amazon Video on Demand Service, there are so many ways to view the 2010 Oscar Winner Movies. Here's my list as of March 2010 of where to watch the 2010 Oscar Winner Movies including those movies on Netflix. Also, I think Netflix is a great deal for $8.99 per month + tax (1 DVD at a time). Here are the reasons:
  • You can currently rent 5 2010 Oscar Winners on DVDs including the 2010 Best Picture, The Hurt Locker
  • 20 Oscar Nominees including Precious, Up in the Air, The Cove, Inglorious Bastards and Up.
  • You can even watch 3 Oscar Nominees instantly on your PC or on your TV if you have a Roku box or other Netflix device. These movies include Food Inc, Paris and Il Divo.
See the below list of the Oscar movies you can watch on Netflix as well as other services including Comcast, Dish and Amazon Video. I have also included the estimated DVD release date which gives you a general idea of when you can expect to see these movies on the various On Demand services.

Where to Watch The Oscar Winners and Nominees

Netflix DVD Rental Service (includes Watch Instantly Service)
  • The Hurt Locker* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Ajami (n/a - July 2010)
  • A Serious Man (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Avatar* (Netflix DVD: n/a - April 2010)
  • The Blindside* (DVD: n/a 3/23/10)
  • Brightstar Netflix (DVD: Now Available)
  • Burma VJ (n/a June 2010)
  • China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (n/a)
  • Coco Before Chanel (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Coraline (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • The Cove* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Crazyheart* (n/a - April 2010)
  • District 9 (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • The Door (n/a)
  • El Secreto de Sus Ojos* (n/a)
  • Fantastic Mr. Fox (n/a - 3/23/10)
  • Food Inc. (Netflix Watch Instantly, DVD: Now Available)
  • French Roast (n/a)
  • Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (n/a)
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Il Divo (Netflix Watch Instantly, Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • The Imagination of Doctor Parnassus (n/a - 4/27/10)
  • Instead of Abracadabra (n/a)
  • In The Loop (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Invictus (n/a - June 2010)
  • Ingloroius Bastards* (Netflix DVD Now Available)
  • The Lady and the Reaper (La Darma y la Muerte) (n/a)
  • The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (n/a)
  • The Last Station (n/a - June 2010)
  • The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (n/a)
  • Logorama* (n/a)
  • The Lovely Bones (n/a/ - 4/20/10)
  • A Matter of Loaf and Death* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • The Messenger (n/a 5/18/10)
  • The Milk of Sorry (n/a)
  • Miracle Fish (n/a)
  • The Most Dangerous Man in America (n/a Sep 2010)
  • Music by Prudence* (n/a)
  • The New Tenants* (n/a)
  • Nine (n/a DVD: May 2010)
  • Paris 36 (Netflix Watch Instantly, Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Precious* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • The Princess and the Frog (n/a - 3/16/2010)
  • Rabbit a la Berlin (n/a)
  • The Secret of the Kells (n/a - Aug 2010)
  • A Serious Man (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Sherlock Holmes (n/a - 3/30/2010)
  • A Single Man (n/a - May 2010)
  • Startrek* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Transformers: Revenge of the fallen (Now Available)
  • Up* (Netflix DVD: Now Available)
  • Up in the Air (Netflix - DVD Now Available)
  • Un Prophete (n/a July 2010)
  • Which Way Home (n/a - May 2010)
  • The White Ribbon (n/a Jule 2010)
  • The Young Victorian* (DVD: n/a - 4/22/2010)
*Oscar Winner

Best Picture
  • Winner: The Hurt Locker
  • Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - Now Available)
  • Comcast on Demand
Other Best Picture Nominees:
  • Avatar (April 2010)
  • Up (DVD Now Available)
  • A Serious Man (DVD Now Available)
  • Ingloroius Bastards (DVD Now Available)
  • An Education (3/30/10)
  • District 9 (Now Available)
  • The Blind Side (3/23/10)
  • Up in the Air (DVD Now Available)
Actor in a Leading Role
  • Winner: Jeff Bridges
  • Crazy Heart
  • Where to watch:
  • DVD Release Date: April 2010
  • Netflix (DVD - not yet available)
  • Comcast on Demand (not availabe)
Other Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
  • George Clooney, Up in the Air (DVD Now Available)
  • Colin Firth, A Single Man (DVD ETA: May 2010)
  • Morgan Freeman, Invictus (DVD ETA: June 2010)
  • Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker (DVD Now Availalble)

Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Winner: Christoph Waltz
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)
  • Comcast on Demand
Other Nominees:
  • Matt Damon, Invictus (DVD: June 2010)
  • Woody Harrelson, The Messenger (DVD: May 18, 2010)
  • Christopher Plummer, The Last Station (DVD: June 2010)
  • Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones (DVD: April 20, 2010)
Actress in a Leading Role
  • Winner: Sandra Bullock
  • Movie Title: The Blind Side
  • Where to Watch:
  • DVD ETA: 3/23/10
  • Netflix (DVD - Not available)
  • Comcast on Demand (Not available)
Other Nominees:
  • Helen Mirren, The Last Station (DVD: June 2010)
  • Carey Mulligan, An Education (DVD: 3/30/10)
  • Gabourey Sidibe, Precious (DVD Now Available)
  • Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia (DVD Now Available)
Actress in a Supporting Role
  • Winner: Mo'Nique
  • Movie Title: Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
  • Where to watch Precious:
  • Netflix (DVD - Now Shipping)
  • Comcast on Demand (now available)
  • Dish Network ($4.99 3/10)
  • Amazon Video on Demand ($4.99 HD, $3.99 SD)
Other Nominees:
  • Mo"Nique, Precious (DVD: Now Available)
  • Penelope Cruz, Nine (DVD: May 2010)
  • Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air (Now Available)
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart (DVD: April 2010)
  • Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air (DVD: Now Available)

Animated Feature Film
  • Winner: Up
  • Pete Docter
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)
  • Comcast on Demand (now available)

Art Direction
  • Winner: Avatar
  • Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (Not Available)
  • Comcast on Demand (Not Available)

Cinematography
  • Winner: Avatar
  • Mauro Fiore
  • Netflix (Not Available)
  • Comcast on Demand (Not Available)
Costume Design
  • Winner: The Young Victoria
  • Sandy Powell
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (Not Available)
  • Comcast on Demand (Not Available)
Directing
  • Winner: The Hurt Locker
  • Kathryn Bigelow
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)
  • Comcast on Demand (Available)
Other Nominees:
  • James Cameron, Avatar (DVD: April 2010)
  • Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Bastards (DVD: Now Available)
  • Lee Daniels, Precious (DVD: Now Available)
  • Jason Reitman, Up in the Air (DVD: Now Available)

Documentary Feature
  • Winner: The Cove
  • Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)
  • Comcast on Demand (Available)

Documentary Short
  • Winner: Music by Prudence
  • Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
  • Where to Watch: (selected movie theaters in selected cities only)

Film Editing
  • Winner: The Hurt Locker
  • Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
  • Where to Watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)

Foreign Language Film
  • Winner: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
  • Argentina
  • Directed by Juan José Campanella
  • Where to Watch
  • In selected Theaters.

Makeup
  • Star Trek
  • Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
  • Where to watch:
  • Netflix (DVD - now shipping)
  • Amazon ($4.99 HD)
  • Comcast on Demand (Now Available)

Reference:
Videoeta.com

Monday, March 08, 2010

Gogo iPhone Internet Speed

I flew back to Fort Lauderdale from LAX on Virgin America today. Using
Gogo Internet, the download speed was 902 kbps and 264 kbps upload.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Use Gogo Inflight on two devices

How to Use GoGo Inflight on your laptop and iPhone

After signing up for the GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi 30 day plan, I wanted to
know if I could use two devices for my account. So instead of throwing
a dart and testing it, I used their Live Chat service. Here is what I
was told:

1) You can't use two accounts simultaneously.

2) You can log-off one device by going to: http://airborne.gogoinflight.com
such as your laptop/Macbook.

3) After a sucesful log-off, you can log-in with the other device such
as an iPhone or Smart Phone.

In my case I added the URL http://airborne.gogoinflight.com to my
iPhone home screen.

After I power-off my MacBook Pro, its nice to be connected. This
includes on trips to the front or back of the plane --you get the
benefit!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Why I dislike the Class Action Lawsuit Against Yelp.com

I recently read that there are new Class Action Lawsuits against the company Yelp.com filed by several law firms in the name of a handful of businesses claiming that advertising sales representatives at Yelp.com offered to investigate and or take down any negative reviews if the company purchased an online yellow page ad. Yelp.com is one of my very favorite sites and I'm really disappointed to hear of any class action law suits against this company. Here are my issues with this situation:

  • Sales Puffery -- I wonder if this claim was merely sales puffery by an over eager sales person stating that if the customer signed up for an ad, then the sales rep would do everything possible to personally investigate the authenticity of any negative reviews? The sales rep probably had not authority to take down any reviews.
  • Litigants -- Did any litigants actually pay for an ad and have the negative reviews removed or did they merely speak to a sales representative?
  • Bad Service -- In the cases in which any potential litigants wanted a negative review removed, were the businesses possibly guilty of providing questionable service? And if the reviews were legitimate, why didn't the business try and personally contact the Yelper through Yelp's free service and offer the Yelper an apology, and an invitation to try their businesses or service again and change their review.
  • Negative Reviews -- In my 4 years of writing reviews, I've never had one of my reviews taken down without my knowledge. If I wrote a negative review about the company that I felt very strongly about and a Yelp representative asked me to remove it and I saw a plethora of other negative reviews about that same business, I would probably stop writing reviews on Yelp.
  • Organizations like the Better Business Bureau - In my eyes, Yelp provides a service like the Better Business Bureau except that the information is public. With the information public, I think it's much more valuable to the consumer.
  • Class Action Law Suits -- I really hate to see the lawyers get involved in class action law suits like stock securities.
  • Yelp, Google, Other Review Sites -- Other than Yelp, there are so many sites on the Internet in which a disgruntled customer could post information about their experience with a business. It really must be the growth of the Yelp community that really makes this a news story but it's really sad to see Yelp singled out in a situation like this.
Also, I would be shocked if there are a large number of businesses out there that actually did buy advertising on Yelp in exchange for getting negative reviews removed. It could have happened but certainly not widespread enough as is implied in the media. I really hope the media doesn't provide too much free promotion for this story!

Finally, here is a link to one of the Class Action Lawsuit litigants:

Yelp Class Action
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cats-and-dogs-animal-hospital-long-beach

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Facebook iPhone Application working again!

AS of Saturday February 20, 2010 11:48 a.m. PT, my iPhone Facebook App is working again. It now allows me to login. I wonder if the Facebook login server prevented me from logging in due to a maximum number of unsuccessful iPhone login attempts? Or was their API just down due to the reported server issues? It would be nice to know the answer to these questions the next time FB iPhone App crashes.

Facebook Site and Iphone Issues - Sat Feb 20

The first official acknowledgment from Facebook in Palo Alto was posted to their Twitter page just after 10 a.m. Pacific Time (http://www.twitter.com/facebook). According to their message, some people are having trouble accessing Facebook and site features because of an isolated server issue.










The company did not acknowledge that for iPhone Facebook Application users -- it's all users since the Facebook API appears to be completely down.

When issues like this occurs, I think companies should be open and honest with their users. With the Facebook iPhone Application, the service no longer remembers your password so users most likely will re-enter it. When they receive the error message below, they will probably think they forget their password or will re-enter it multiple times which can't possibly be good for the Facebook "isolate server". I noticed on Twitter that some users deleted and re-installed their Facebook iPhone App which I admit that I thought about until I went to my Mac and logged on successfully to Facebook. What is probably the most frustrating that when Facebook is experiencing a serious incident like this, they should at the very least have a single Technical Support page on their website that users can go to for updates ... go back to the basics of software or application technical support. What would be even better is a Technical Support number that users could call before wasting their time and energy on this....

Facebook iPhone App Cant Login

It appears that the IPhone Facebook App is currently down and will not
allow users to login according to tweets from many Twitter users.

Some iPhone Facebook users are reporting the App freezing at the login
screen beliw while others are receiving the error message:

Login Failed, Unable to connect to Facebook. Please try again later.

I was able to login to my FB account on my Mac although I did receive
several Opps Something went wrong. We're working on getting it fixed
as soon as we can dialog boxes.

I wish Facebook had a technical support blog to keep their users
informed.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

iPhone 3.1.3 Software Update

I finally installed this update today. On one of my PCs, the iPhone update always seems to fail and I need to attempt the restore multiple times. When this occurs, I always ending having to re-synchronize my apps, music and photos. For whatever reason, the restore process loses those items but does not lose my phone call, voice mail and text message history as well as my calendar. Unfortunately, it takes several hours to restore these items as well as manually backup my restore files from the following PC directory:

c:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

  • Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
  • Resovles issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances.
  • fixes bug that may cause an app tocarash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard.
http://support.apple.com/manuals/iphone

Monday, February 08, 2010

Spam or Phishing Email - Check the Spelling

I received this spam or phishing email today. Check the spelling and grammar if you are unsure if a message is Email SPAM or not! You should not open this email attachment and should delete it.

FROM: ICS Monitoring Team
SUBJECT: Your internet access is going to get suspended
ATTACHMENT: report.zip

SPAM MESSAGE

Your internet access is going to get suspended

The Internet Service Provider Consorcium was made to protect the rights of software authors, artists.
We conduct regular wiretapping on our networks, to monitor criminal acts.

We are aware of your illegal activities on the internet wich were originating from

You can check the report of your activities in the past 6 month that we have attached. We strongly advise you to stop your activities regarding the illegal downloading of copyrighted material of your internet access will be suspended.

Sincerely
ICS Monitoring Team

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Apple iPad - Who wouldn't want one of these?

Apple iPad - Apple's new tablet

Okay, who wouldn't want one of these for reading your magazines, watching movies and playing games?

Friday, January 22, 2010

iPhone Battery Usage Pct - How to enable the percentage

Here are the steps to enable the iPhone Battery Percentage in the
upper right corner of the screen.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Haiti Text 4636 - +447624802524 - Report Earthquake Incident

Here are some resources for reporting a Haiti Earthquake incident for individuals in Haiti. The Ushahidi website is a first class website for this type of information gathering and reporting. The site was done in partnership with the U.S. State Department.

http://haiti.ushahidi.com

Haiti Earthquake Report Incident - Send Text Message
4636 (Digicel Customers)

Haiti Earthquake Report Incident - Sent International Text Message
+447624802524


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New Yelp 4.0 iPhone App Rocks! Many new features!

Key New Features
  • Yelp 4.0 Profiles -- You can now view member profiles and their photos.
  • Yelp 4.0 Check-In -- A new Check-In feature allows you to notify your friends or other members of the Yelp community the restaurant, bar or store you are at. You can also elect to receive Push Notifications (default setting is on) where your friends are at.
  • Yelp 4.0 New Main Menu -- There is a new Yelp 4.0 menu menu with the menu items: Nearby, About Me, Bookmarks, Feed, Check In, Friends, Talk, Recents and Settings.
  • Yelp 4.0 About Me - You can now edit your profile and view your Yelp statistics including: Elite status, number of friends, quick tips, bookmarks, check-ins, friends, quick tips, local photos, reviews, compliments.
  • Yelp 4.0 Find Friends - There is a Find Friends feature that will search through your iPhone contacts.
What's still missing? The Yelp 4.0 App still allows you to Draft a Review only. This is most likely an anti-spam or security issue. That said, you can always log-in through the iPhone Safari browser and submit your review.

New Yelp 4.0 App Screen Shots

Yelp 4.0 Main Menu















Yelp 4.0 Check-In Screen














Yelp 4.0 Check-In Settings















Yelp 4.0 Find Friends

Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti Hotel Montana - Facebook Group - Here is the link.

If you are searching for the Haiti Hotel Montana Facebook Group for information for friends and family of guests that were staying at the hotel, here is the link.

Haiti Montana Hotel Facebook Group - Hotel Montana in Haiti
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haiti-Earthquake-Hotel-Montana/245595172631

Note: The above Facebook group is a perfect of example of the benefits of use of social media and user generated content. This site provides the friends and family of guests that were staying at the Hotel Montana with minute-by-minute updates from members of the group.

The true test of the platform is the respect the Internet Community shows for the friends and family of the guests that were staying at the Hotel Montana during the Haiti Earthquake. Let's hope that everyone uses good netiquette in joining and posting to this group as family members and friends use this site for minute-by-minute news on the Hotel Montana situation in Haiti.

Best List of Twitter Users in Hati - Earthquake 2010

Twitter Users in Haiti - Live Tweets from Port-Au-Prince

If you are looking for more in-depth coverage of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake, check out this Twitter List of Twitter users tweeting from Haiti (Hati 2010 Earthquake).

Live-From-Haiti Twitter List
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti

Haiti Users on the List
Carel Pedre - A popular radio & TV Host in Hati. http://twitter.com/carelpedre
Yael Talleyrand - Blogger in Haiti http://impurple.wordpress.com/
Frederic Dupoux - Blogger and Photographer in Hati http://www.zaboka.net/
Troy Livesay - Missionary and Blogger in Hati. http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/
InternetHati - The Multilink Haiti Twitter account. Here is a link to their Facebook Page.
Firesideint - Fireside International, a non-profit organization http://www.firesideinternational.org/HOME.html

Journalists in Hati
Jacqueline Charles - Caribbean Correspondent for the Miami Herald
Rodrigo - Journalist and VP of BNO News
AndersonCooper - CNN Broadcast Journalist
Ann Curry - NBC Broadcast Journalist

Thursday, January 14, 2010

200 Photos from Haiti from Carel Pedre - Hati Radio, TV Host

Carel Pedre is one Haiti's one of Hati's more popular radio & TV Hosts. See 200 photos he uploaded on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/carelp/ from his Apple iPhone 3GS. I believe you will need to be a member of Flickr to view all of his pictures.



You can follow Carel Pedre on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/carelpedre

Here is a list of other Twitter Users that are tweetering from Hati.

Haiti Twitter User List
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti?s=tp

NBC and Today Show Journalist Ann Curry
http://twitter.com/anncurry

Hati Find Famiy Members - Earthquake - Resources

With so much Internet traffic regarding the Hati Earthquake, I thought I would post the main links or resources for finding information about friends or family members in Hati.

International Red Cross Family News Network Database - Hati Earthquake 2010 - English

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/haiti/people

International Red Cross Family News Network Database - Hati Earthquake 2010 - French

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/WFL_HTI.NSF/DocIndex/locate_fre?opendocument

Miami-Dade Haitian-American community

Edison Little River Neighborhood Center
150 NW 79th St
Miami, FL

U.S. Embassy Resources

People in the U.S. or Canada with information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Haiti
The Haiti Task Force at 888-407-4747
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.

U.S. Citizens in Hati
Embassy via e-mail at ACSPaP@state.gov to request assistance.

Americans in Haiti can call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.

CNN Find Family Members

http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=381628

Ushahidi Urging Haitians and Humanitarian Workers to Text Information to 4636 Free of Charge

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Citizen-reporting platform Ushahidi has gained international renown this week for its innovative contribution to information-gathering in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti. Now, Ushahidi, in partnership with U.S. Department of State and others, has introduced an SMS shortcode for subscribers on the DigiCell network in Haiti to send text messages free of charge. The shortcode makes it even faster and easier for eyewitnesses to report developments on the ground.

DigiCell subscribers in Haiti can text 4636 with location and description of emergencies and missing persons. Ushahidi's Haiti platform is live at: http://haiti.ushahidi.com.

Please note that the SMS shortcode is dependent on local telecom infrastructure -- if the infrastructure fails, the local SMS service will not work. However, there are several ways that incidents may be reported:

By sending a local text message to 4636 or internationally at +447624802524


By sending e-mail to Haiti@ushahidi.com


On Twitter with hash tag #haiti or #haitiquake


Online at http://haiti.ushahidi.com/reports/submit




Hati Twitter Users Tweeting Live from Hati

With reports on the news that cell phones still do not work in Port Au Prince, Hati and there is no power, I was curious how some users were able to access the Internet to send email or Twitter from Hati. I came across this Twitter list of individuals that are tweeting live from Hati. It includes the Twitter user and blogger Troy Livesay that has power and Internet usage from a generator. The Twitter list was complied by Georgia Popplewell of Global Voices Online.

Hati Twitter Users List - tweeting live from Hati
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti

Troy Livesay
http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/

Georgia Popplewellhttp://twitter.com/georgiap

Reference
http://ghostsofhoratioalger.com/2010/01/haiti-and-communications/

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Netflix Roku Box - 2010 Review

Roku HD Digital Video Player - 2010 Review
For the holidays, I bought a Netflix Roku box for a a family member and me. I subscribed to Netflix for the $8.99 minimum (1 DVD by mail) and now I can watch any of the 17,000 Watch Instantly titles on my Samsung Flat Screen TV with the Roku box plugged into the free HDMI port on my TV using my wi-fi network. It's only a portion of their 100K DVDs but there are plenty of videos in their library that I haven't seen and if I don't like the video, I can move to the next one.

Here are some general notes on my experience:
  • Roku Box - I ordered the $99 Roku HD box with free shipping. Even if you don't have a HD TV, I would order the HD box since you will probably end up upgrading to a HD TV eventually. The HD box supports non-HD TVs.
  • Premium Cables Add On $19.99 - I ordered three premium cables 1) 6' HDMI, 2) 6' Optical Audio and 3) 6' Component Video since you can never have enough cables although my W may argue that point. I ended up using the HDMI cable.
  • Video/Audio Quality - The Roku box plugs directly into my Samsung TV. Since the HDMI cable passes both video and sound, the Roku video quality in HD is unbelievable and the sound is piped out using my Bose Sound System. The sound quality is also outstanding.
  • Internet Connectivity - You can plug the Roku HD box into your either your home wireless network or plug it directly into an open Ethernet port on your router.
  • Setup and Configuration - To activate your Roku box, you will need to link your box to your network and enter your Netflix account. This will require that you enter codes on your computer screen that are generated when you setup your Roku box. The entire process took less than 10 minutes.
  • Roku Remote Control Movie Selection - One of the biggest benefits of using the included Roku Remote Control is that you can easily select titles from your Netflix Watch Instantly Queue that you setup using your computer. It also gives you a summary of the movie if you use the [Down Arrow] and you can scroll through the movies in your queue much like the hotel pay per view video interfaces, the only difference is that you are paying a flat rate of $8.99 to watch any Watch Instantly Movie.
  • Roku Remote Control Movies Fast Forward - When watching a movie, if you want to Fast Forward through some of the scenes, you can can. There is a little lag or buffering time, but I find it's well worth the wait. Especially if you are deciding if you want to continue watching a moview.
  • Roku Remote Control - You can us the Remote Control to delete movies from your queue. This is a great feature.
  • Watching on Other Devices - Even though you buy a Roku, with your Netflix subscription, you can also watch movies on your laptop or your computer. This is a great added benefit.
  • Adding Netflix Movies - You can only do this through your computer. But you can do it from any computer such as your laptop.
  • Other Roku Channel or Services - Using your Roku box, you can also access the Amazon.com Channel and order Pay Per View movies for $4.99 or more. These are basically the same movies you will find on your cable or satellite vendor offering.
  • Facebook Roku Channel - You can also link your Facebook account to view your friends pictures. This may or may not be a great feature depending on what you think of Facebook and if you want to let any of your family members including or W or GF/BF flip through your FB photos.
I'm currently enjoying my Roku Box and Netflix...more later.


Netflix Roku Box 2010 Review, Roku Digital Video Player, Roku HD Box Review

Netflix Roku Box Review - A great service!

Roku Digital Video Player - 2010 Review
For the holidays, I bought a Netflix Roku box for a a family member and me. I subscribed to Netflix for the $8.99 minimum (1 DVD by mail) and now I can watch any of the 17,000 Watch Instantly titles on my Samsung Flat Screen TV with the Roku box plugged into the free HDMI port on my TV using my wi-fi network. It's only a portion of their 100K DVDs but there are plenty of videos in their library that I haven't seen and if I don't like the video, I can move to the next one.

Here are some general notes on my experience:
  • Roku Box - I ordered the $99 Roku HD box with free shipping. Even if you don't have a HD TV, I would order the HD box since you will probably end up upgrading to a HD TV eventually. The HD box supports non-HD TVs.
  • Premium Cables Add On $19.99 - I ordered three premium cables 1) 6' HDMI, 2) 6' Optical Audio and 3) 6' Component Video since you can never have enough cables although my W may argue that point. I ended up using the HDMI cable.
  • Video/Audio Quality - The Roku box plugs directly into my Samsung TV. Since the HDMI cable passes both video and sound, the Roku video quality in HD is unbelievable and the sound is piped out using my Bose Sound System. The sound quality is also outstanding.
  • Internet Connectivity - You can plug the Roku HD box into your either your home wireless network or plug it directly into an open Ethernet port on your router.
  • Setup and Configuration - To activate your Roku box, you will need to link your box to your network and enter your Netflix account. This will require that you enter codes on your computer screen that are generated when you setup your Roku box. The entire process took less than 10 minutes.
  • Roku Remote Control Movie Selection - One of the biggest benefits of using the included Roku Remote Control is that you can easily select titles from your Netflix Watch Instantly Queue that you setup using your computer. It also gives you a summary of the movie if you use the [Down Arrow] and you can scroll through the movies in your queue much like the hotel pay per view video interfaces, the only difference is that you are paying a flat rate of $8.99 to watch any Watch Instantly Movie.
  • Roku Remote Control Movies Fast Forward - When watching a movie, if you want to Fast Forward through some of the scenes, you can can. There is a little lag or buffering time, but I find it's well worth the wait. Especially if you are deciding if you want to continue watching a moview.
  • Roku Remote Control - You can us the Remote Control to delete movies from your queue. This is a great feature.
  • Watching on Other Devices - Even though you buy a Roku, with your Netflix subscription, you can also watch movies on your laptop or your computer. This is a great added benefit.
  • Adding Netflix Movies - You can only do this through your computer. But you can do it from any computer such as your laptop.
  • Other Roku Channel or Services - Using your Roku box, you can also access the Amazon.com Channel and order Pay Per View movies for $4.99 or more. These are basically the same movies you will find on your cable or satellite vendor offering.
  • Facebook Roku Channel - You can also link your Facebook account to view your friends pictures. This may or may not be a great feature depending on what you think of Facebook and if you want to let any of your family members including or W or GF/BF flip through your FB photos.
I'm currently enjoying my Roku Box and Netflix...more later.


Monday, January 04, 2010

How to Flush DNS - Windows, Mac, iPhone

I seem to always forget what the commands are to flush the DNS on your Mac and iPhone.
I have Bell South or AT&T and occasionally I have a DNS issue such as a new or revised domain that I am unable to access. This occurs when a website is moved or there are other technical issues. If there is a website on the pubic Internet that you are not able to access, you should try Flushing your DNS. Here are instructions to do so.

If this does not work, you might also try changing your DNS from AT&T DNS to the the free http://www.opendns.com/
. Use the free IP Addresses on that page. Don't forget to change it back later since the free version of OpenDNS.com might not be reliable enough for you to use all the time.


Microsoft Windows - How to Flush DNS

C:\>ipconfig /flushdns


You can also use the command ipconfig /displaydns to view the DNS resolver cache.


Mac Leopard - How to Flush DNS

Step 1 – Open the Terminal.app

Either by start typing Terminal on the Spotlight, or by going into Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.

Step 2 – Flush the DNS cache

On Leopard you can issue a simple Terminal command to flush the DNS cache, and have your host file changes to take immediate effect: view source print?

1.$ dscacheutil -flushcache


iPhone - How to Flush DNS

Step 1 - Turn iPhone off and turn it on again. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on top of iPhone for a few seconds until a red slider appears, and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.

Step 2 - Reload your iPhone Safari page.