Charles Schwab Brokerage Accounts - Is Schwab Safe?

In recent days, I have been following both the Senate and House Bailout Bill hearings. During this time, I wondered, "how safe is online broker Charles Schwab & Co.?" Today, I received an email from Benjamin L. Bingeman, Executive Vice President Investor Services with a subject line: Schwab's stability and ways we can help.

The most important items in his letter:

• Schwab brokerage asssets are held separately from the company's asssets and are covered by SIPC or Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
  
• Schwab Bank deposits are FDIC-insured.

So who is SIPC ? How much does it cover and if Schwab brokerage accounts are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation? Can I then surmise that it is likely my brokerage accounts are safe with Charles Schwab & Co. I looked through SPIC's member database and noticed that all of the brokerage firms in the recent news were in their database.

Here is some info on SIPC from Wikipedia.

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) is a federally mandated non-profit corporation in the United States that protects securities investors from harm if a broker/dealer defaults. Investors are not insured for any potential loss while invested in the market.

SIPC was created by the 1970 Securities Investor Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78aaa et seq, but it is not a government agency; rather, it is a membership corporation funded by its members.

SIPC serves two primary roles in the event that a broker-dealer fails. First, SIPC acts to organize the distribution of customer cash and securities to investors. Second, to the extent a customer's cash and/or securities are unavailable, SIPC provides insurance coverage up to $500,000 of the customer's net equity balance including up to $100,000 in cash.

House Bailout Bill

Here is a link to the House Bailout Bill text.

http://www.theopenhouseproject.com/2008/09/28/house-bailout-bill/

Bank of America Online Banking Site Down - B of A Site Down

I just confirmed with Bank of America Online Banking Customer Support that access to their online banking site is down. It's been down on Monday, September 22, 2008 since about 2 p.m. Eastern Time and they do not expect it to be back up until 5:00 p.m. or sooner.

I am not surprised that they don't mention of it on their website. The Bank of America website log-in error message received in my browser was:

Connection Interrupted
The Connection to the server was reset while the page was loading
The network link was interrupted while negotiating a connection. Please try again.

Upgrading my MacBook to OS X 10.5.5

I upgraded my MacBook today to OS X 10.5.5

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2405

Here's a list of the fixes.

General

• Includes recent Apple security updates.
• Addresses stability issues with video playback, processor core idling, and remote disc sharing for MacBook Air.
• Addresses an issue in which some Macs could unexpectedly power on at the same time each day.
• Resolves a stability issue in TextEdit that could be found when accessing the color palette.
• Improves Spotlight indexing performance.
• Fixes an issue in which contacts might not sync properly with PalmOS-based devices.
• Improves iPhone sync reliability with iCal and Address Book.
• Includes improvements to Active Directory (see this article for more information).
• Improves Speech Dictionary.
• Fixes Kerberos authentication issues for Mac OS X 10.5 clients that connect to certain Samba servers, such as Mac OS X Server version 10.4.
• Includes extensive graphics enhancements.

Address Book

• Addresses stability issues that may occur when creating a Smart Group.
• Resolves a printing issue with address cards containing information that spans more than one page.

Disk Utility and Directory Utility

• Improves reliability when rebuilding a software mirror RAID volume in Disk Utility.
• Improves reliability of server status displayed in Directory Utility.

iCal

• Updates iCal to more accurately handle repeating events.
• Improves performance when choosing meeting attendees.
• Resolves an issue in which the "Refresh All" option may be dimmed ("grayed out") in the contextual menu for certain calendars.
• Fixes issues with read-only calendars.
• Addresses an issue that prevents an invitee from moving an event to a different calendar.
• Resolves an issue with syncing published calendars.

Mail

• Addresses performance issues related to displaying IMAP messages.
• Resolves an issue with SMTP settings for AIM, Compuserve, Hanmail, Yahoo!, and Time Warner Road Runner email accounts.
• Addresses stability issues that may occur when dragging a file to the Mail icon in the Dock.
• Addresses an issue with the "Organized by Thread" view in which the date does not appear when the thread is collapsed.
• Resolves an issue in which RSS feeds could temporarily disappear from the sidebar.
• Improves Mail robustness when sending messages.
• Improves reliability when saving drafts that have attachments.

MobileMe

• Improves overall sync reliability.
• Improves Back to My Mac reliability.

Time Machine

• Improves Time Machine reliability with Time Capsule.
• Addresses performance issues that may affect initial and in-progress backups.
• Fixes an issue in which an incorrect alert message could appear stating that a backup volume does not have enough free space.
• Time Machine can now back up iPhone backups that are on your Mac, as well as other items in (~/Library/Application Support).

Upgrading My iPhone to 2.1

I upgraded my iPhone to 2.1 last weekend on my MacBook. For whatever reason, I have not been able to upgrade my iPhone firmware or iPhone software on my Dell laptop. I have tried all the work-arounds but it always freezes. My work-around is to synch my iPhone to my Dell laptop, upgrade it on my MacBook and then re-synch on my Dell laptop.

This works for me!

Upgrading My iPod Touch 2.0.2 to iPod Touch 2.1 - it worked!

I just hate being the iPhone IT guy in my household. Every time Apple releases an update (which is a good thing), I need to ensure every computer's iTunes is updated and I need to spend the time waiting as the new iPhone firmware is installed on the device.

Today, despite warnings from the iPhone Atlas website to not upgrade my iTouch to version 2.1, I went ahead and rolled the dice and...IT WORKED!

I wanted to add that I use a Dell Windows XP laptop as my main computer since I am a Microsoft Outlook user. For whatever reason, I've never been able to install the iPhone or iTouch firmware updates on my Dell and I have instead used my MacBook to install them. After I install the new firmware on my iPhone or iTouch, re-synch on my Dell Windows XP laptop. I've gone through and tried just about everything including deleting old iPhone restore files but it's never worked, it always hangs.

Here are the steps I used to upgrade to the new iTouch 2.1 firmware and iTunes 8.0.

1. Using my Dell windows laptop, I downloaded iTunes 8.0 installed and synched my iTouch. When I received the message to download the new iTouch 2.1 firmware, I did not select or declined those options. I unplugged my iTouch from my Dell Windows laptop and plugged in my iTouch device to my MacBook.
   
2. Using my MacBook I downloaded and install iTunes 8.0. When I received the message to download and install the new iTouch 2.1 update. I clicked Download only, because I like to do it in two steps in case something goes wrong.
3. Using my MacBook, after the iTouch 2.1 software has downloaded, click the iTunes Summary tab and click Update. When prompted with any warning that my iPod Touch was synched to another device, I clicked No and continued with the installation. I did respond yes to the prompt to transfer songs from my device to the MacBook iTunes. The udpate went fast and I did not encounter any issues. When this process finished, I unplugged my iPod Touch and plugged it in to my Dell Windows laptop.
   
4. Using my Dell Windows laptop, I synched my iTouch.

I'm now using the new iTouch 2.1 Software. On Friday I'll update my household of iPhones.

New Scrabble Two Letter Words: QI, ZA, FE, KI, OI

I owe an apology to Hasbro, the makers of the new iPhone Scrabble game. Both my W and I accused Hasbro of allowing the new iPhone Scrabble game computer player to play the two letter words, FE, KI, OI, QI and ZA. It ends up that according to the National Scrabble Association Dictionary Committee site, these words have been added to the Fourth Edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary. I will be ordering mine on Amazon today. It looks like I'll also need a new electronic dictionary since there is no upgrade path for my old one.

OSPD4 New 2s and 3s

Here is a list of the new two- and three-letter words in the fourth edition of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.

New Two-Letter Words and Their Inflections
FE, FES
n a Hebrew letter
KI, KIS
n the vital force in Chinese thought
OI
interj oy
QI, QIS
n the vital force that in Chinese thought is inherent in all things
ZA, ZAS
n a pizza

Other Entries Containing New Three-Letter Words
AG, AGS
n agriculture
AHI, AHIS
n a marine food fish
AH, AHS, AHED, AHING
v aah
APO, APOS
n a type of protein
APP, APPS
n a computer program for a major task
BES, BESES
n beth
CIG, CIGS
n a cigarette
CRU, CRUS
n a grade or class of wine
DAN, DANS
n a level or skill in martial arts
DEF, DEFFER, DEFFEST
n excellent
DIF, DIFS
n diff
DUH
interj used to indicate that something just stated is too obvious
ED, EDS
n education
EEK
interj used to express sudden fright
FAB, FABS
n sudden created or constructed
FAB, FABBER, FABBEST
adj fabulous
GO, GOS
n a Japanese board game
IGG, IGGS, IGGED, IGGING
v to ignore
KYE, KYES
n a private Korean-American banking club
MEG, MEGS
n a megabyte
MIC, MICS
n a microphone
MYC, MYCS
n a gene that transforms a normal cell into a cancerous cell
NEG, NEGS
n a photographic negative
OBA, OBAS
n a hereditary chief in Benin and Nigeria
ODA, ODAS
n a room in a harem
ONO, ONOS
n a large mackerel
PST
interj psst
RAI, RAIS
n a style of popular Algerian music
SOM, SOMS
n a monetary unit of Kyrgyzstan
SUK, SUKS
n souk
URP, URPS, URPED, URPING
v to vomit
UTE, UTES
n a utility vehicle
VID, VIDS
n a video
VUM
interj used to express surprise
YAG, YAGS
n a synthetic garnet
ZEP, ZEPS
n a long sandwich
ZUZ
n an ancient Hebrew silver coin
ZZZ
interj used to suggest the sound of snoring

Reference
National Scrabble Association Site

iTunes Store Credit Unavilable Error Message

Using iTunes, I was trying to download a free video and a free iPhone application and received the error message, Store Credit Unavailable - this appears to be a widespread problem with the iTunes Store. I hope Apple fixes this problem soon!

iPhone Photos

Today I attended an event at the American Airlines Arena to Honor Dwyane Wade for helping the Redeem Team capture the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Before I rushed out of the house, I thought about taking my Canon Digital Camera with its telephoto lens, but usually I get stopped at Pro Sporting events -- they won't let you take a camera in with a removable lens or one with a telephoto lens over a certain size. There have been times during the "heated dicussion" with the arena staff that I have just walked off with my camera in hand ignoring them.

So today, I left the camera at home and took these shots with my iPhone. Not too bad, but not to great either. I need to find a smaller digital camera in 2009. I went to borrow my W's but it was in her purse where it should be.

3G Speeds in Some Cities Much Faster - Winston, Salem, NC vs. Miami, FL

I'm getting a AT&T 3G upload speed of 5,932 in Winston-Salem, NC compared to only 3,038 in Miami, FL. I also notice I get 4 bars on my AT&T Communications Manager in some cities such as Jacksonville, FL and Winston, Salem, NC.

iPhone 2.0.2 firmware Upgrade

I have a Dell Windows laptop that I have never been able to upgrade my iPhone or iTouchwith. I can backup and synchronize without incident, but it always freezes with the Dell. To upgrade, I use my MacBook. Today I will install the new iPhone 2.0.2 upgrade.

Amazon 2.0 - Web 2.0 - Books 2.0

My nephew, a high school junior sent me an email the other day asking me if I could help him buy a book on the Internet he needs for school. With all the technological advancements on the Internet, I thought this would be a very simple task. It was not. Normally, you would think I would be able to find any book you need on the big three:

• Amazon.com
• BarnesAndNoble.com
• Borders.com

Unfortunately, this book was out of stock at all of these sites and I was furthermore shocked to find that some third parties had this book retailing online for anywhere from $28.98 to $158.99 including shipping. In addition, I discovered the following:

• Amazon.com -- It was was almost impossible to find the ISBN number or the publication date on this site. Even with the used books, the publication date was not listed -- why would any student want to buy a book with an old publication date, especially to study for a 2009 Advanced Placement Test.
  
• BarnesAndNoble.com - this site contained the ISBN number 97815676556602 and the Publication date. This site also allowed you to find the book at their stores, unfortunately, they were sold out.
  
• Google Shopping -- http://www.google.com/products?q=9781567656602&hl=en&show=dd - This site listed the range of prices from $23.00 to $208.00 not including shipping but did not include the publication date of the book. It did list the publisher AMSCO School Publications Incorporated (2004) which I subsequently used to find the publisher website. It listed the range of prices form $23. 00 to $208.00.
  
• CheapBooks.com -- This site was suggested by my daughter, but was not useful.
  

I ended up buying this book direct from the Publisher at the site below for $17.00 plus shipping.

http://amsco.extendsales.com/AMSCOPUB/control/productdetails?&item_id=9781567656602

In the end, with all the advancements made on the Internet such as Web 2.0, the best deal I could find for buying a book on the Internet was direct from the Publisher's website. It required finding the ISBN number, finding publisher's name and ordering it over the phone. It sounds like even with Web 2.0, Book Shopping 2.0 or Amazon 2.0, we're still not quite there yet.

Apple iPhone and iPod Touch Backup Times

The backup process on the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch appear to take a very long period of time, sometimes several hours or more. I assume transferring all of the data over USB 2.0 just takes a very long time. I also think if you store a large amount of email messages on your phone that it significantly increases the backup time. When I am in a hurry and can't wait for the backup process, I usually click to cancel the backup so that the synchronization process is triggered. When I get a chance, I will be looking for some other work-arounds here.

Will the iPhone 2.0.1 fix the White Apple Logo Screen of Death

I will install the Apple iPhone 2.0.1 update and hope it finally resolves the White Apple Logo Screen of Death issues.

With the iPhone 2.0, I was usually able to resolve this by holding [Home] for 10 or more seconds and patiently waiting for my iPhone main menu to reappear.

Here are the previous steps I've used to address the White Apple Logo Screen of Death.

- The the iPhone crashes or freezes and tries to reboot displaying the black screen with the apple logo (iPhone Black Screen of Death)

- A black start screen with the white Apple logo appears then immediately quits.

Here are the steps that I've been using to address these issues.

1. RESET APPLICATION

Press and hold the [Home] button for at least ten seconds, until the application you are using quits.

2. TURN IPHONE OFF

Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the white Apple logo appears.

3. RESET IPHONE

Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button until the Apple log appears.

4. REDOCK THE IPHONE

Reattach the phone to iTunes.

5. DELETE IPHONE APPLICATION AND RESYNC

Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

Resync your iPhone.

6. DELETE THE APPLICATION FROM ITUNES AND RESYNC

Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

Delete the application from iTunes. (note: if your application is deleted from both iTunes and your iPhone you can still re-download it without paying for it twice.)

Resync your iPhone.

7. Apple iCare or the Apple Store
I noticed that some people have called Apple iCare or setup an appointment at the Apple Store to resolve this. I have not yet used any of those options.

The Web 2.0 Bubble Video

From the SocialMediaBarCamp meeting

Cuil.com - A new Search Engine - First look

Here are my initial thoughts about cuil.com (pronounced "cool"), the search engine by several former Google employees.

• Today it timed out several times, although I'm sure they will eventually fix that (i.e. the Twitter message, too much traffic.)
• The images in the search results are not very relevant, i..e. when I search or cuil myself, the first result is correctly my linkedin.com profile page but I get some Asian characters rather than a photo. That's a little bit annoying...
  
• I don't think it's as relevant as Google, not that Google is always that relevant.
• I will say that it bothers me not to see any ads....or maybe the fact that I can't protect my beachhead and insert my ads.
  

In any regard, it's nice to see some healthy competition which will hopefully result in lower keyword advertising prices.

AT&T 3G Speed - How fast is it?

With the launch of the Apple iPhone 3G, I was concerned about my AT&T about the speed of my AT&T LaptopConnect service. I am currently using the Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881 card. Listed below are the 3G network connect speeds I am getting. this is after the launch of the iPhone 3G.

Updating iPhone Applcations - Steps to Install iPhone Updates

After downloading my first iPhone App or Application, I wondered if the third party developer upgraded their application:

1. Would I get the free upgrade?
2. How would I be notified of the upgrade?

I finally figured it out the answers to these questions and it prompted some other issues too.

3. First of all, the App Store icon will have a number in the upper right corner notifying you if an application update is available. If you tap it, you will be given a list of the updates available to your iPhone, similar to Mac Software Update or Windows Update.

I, tried to update some of the applications from wireless home network while sitting on the couch watching television. What I discovered is that most of the applications that were previously crashing or were not operational were on the list, i.e. Version 1.0.1, 1.1, 1.2 etc. I also discovered the following:

4. The best way to upgrade is to do so from your PC. Open iTunes, under Library click Applications. On the rigth bottom of the screen, click "Check for Updates". The upgrading worked best for me if I upgraded while connected to iTunes and with my phone connected to my PC rather than using the iPhone connected to your home wireless network. After you upgrade and synch, your updated applications will be installed.

Note: If you are upgrading using your home wireless network or Edge (not advisable, it takes forever) the application updating goes through several steps: a) You tap Update and/or Install on your iPhone or iPod Touch Upgrade Application Screen and you wait a few seconds or more then the application icon would be displayed on the screen with; b) A "Loading" message a progress bar displayed under the application icon; c) An "Installing" with the progress bar displayed under the icon; d) If the application upgrade was successful the Application title name would appear under the icon.

During this upgrade installation/loading time, I wondered if I could use the other features on the iPhone without causing an installation issue? I ran some test including dialing my phone and I was able to receive a call while the application was installing.

There is an Update All screen. When I clicked on this for six applications needing updates, it took about 25 minutes (similar to Windows Update and much longer than most Mac Software Updates). This is probably the best option but I'm still not sure what happens if an error occurs with one of the software updates.

7. Lastly, some of the applications took a very long time to install both when using a PC and without, so make sure you have set aside more than just a few minutes to do this.

Here is a new KB article on the Apple Support Site listing this process.

iPhone Applications Crashing - Steps to Resolve

I've encountered several incidents of iPhone 2.0 Applications crashing when they are launched.

- The the iPhone crashes or freezes and tries to reboot displaying the black screen with the apple logo (iPhone Black Screen of Death)

- A black start screen with the Apple logo appears then immediately quits.

Here are the steps that I've been using to address these issues.

1. RESET APPLICATION

Press and hold the [Home] button for at least six seconds, until the application you are using quits.

2. TURN IPHONE OFF

Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button unti the Apple logo appears.

3. RESET IPHONE

Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button until the Apple log appears.

4. REDOCK THE IPHONE

Reattach the phone to iTunes.

5. DELETE IPHONE APPLICATION AND RESYNC

Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

Resync your iPhone.

6. DELETE THE APPLICATION FROM ITUNES AND RESYNC

Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

Delete the application from iTunes. (note: if your application is deleted from both iTunes and your iPhone you can still re-download it without paying for it twice.)

Resync your iPhone.

iPhone Applications Freezing - iPhone Black Screen of Death

I've seen another variation of iPhone Applications issues. Here it is:

1. When iPhone applications are launched, they will show a black start screen with the Apple logo then immediately quit.

Here are two possible work-arounds:

A) Delete iPhone Application and Resync

1. Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

2. Resync your iPhone.

B) Delete iPhone and iTunes Application and Resync

1. Delete the application from the iPhone by pressing and holding any icon until they start jiggling. Then click X in the top left of the application to delete it.

2. Delete the application from iTunes. (note: if your application is deleted from both iTunes and your iPhone you can still re-download it without paying for it twice.)

3. Resync your iPhone.

There is speculation that this issue is related to Digital Rights Managment embedded in the iPhone Applications. If you have multiple PCs with multiple versions of iTunes or multiple devices (iPhones, iTouches).