Digital TV Signal Strength Improves- NBC Miami

It appears to me that NBC in Miami has significantly increased their digital TV signal strength in the past 24 hours. I can now receive TV reception from a room that faces West or at Biscayne Bay. Before today, I was not able to get any NBC digital TV signal (stations 6-1, 6-2, 6-3). It's coming in nearly crystal clear on an analog TV with a digital TV converter box and only a standard VHF antenna. I returned the special digital TV UHF antenna a few months ago because it didn't help much. I also tested it earlier this week and I didn't notice any change. I am also receiving DTV 4-1 (CBS) and DTV 29-1 (Fox) DTV 29-2 without any significant transmission issues.

I guess the "beta" program is now over for Digital TV. I might eventually look at buying a HD Digital TV antenna for the living room. I'm not a big fan of my Satellite TV provider, but I'll certainly wait because in my opinion, their beta program really started this morning.

For other info on my experiences installing a converter box.

http://www.martinogawa.com/2008/10/digital-tv-converter-box-installed.html

Upgrading to the New Apple iPhone 3G S Online

I usually upgrade my iPhones at the Apple Store but for the new iPhone 3G S this year I decided to upgrade online at the AT&T site. I wanted to avoid the chaos of the Apple Store on Friday, June 19th.

1. At http://wireless.att.com I logged in to my AT&T wireless account. I have a family plan and I imagine like most famlies, each family member's current iPhone has Upgrade Plan. In my case, some of the phones are eligible for the new pricing since their two year contract has lapsed and of course my iPhone 3G falls under the iPhone 3G S Early Upgrade path. On the AT&T Manage Account interface, there are tabs for each family member or phone. Under Phone/Device, I clicked on Check Upgrade Options.

2. Upgrade Phone - A screen with each of the family member phones appears with a checkbox to upgrade their phone. You can upgrade multiple phones at this time. In my case, the screen also showed the following.

• No Commitment Pricing - You can take advantage of our no commitment pricing. Additional discounts may be available on 05/24/2010. (This message appeared on my iPhone 3G which I have to pay the Early Upgrade fee. I imagine it means that I don't have to extend my contract at this time and next June 2010 when a new iPhone comes out, I can extend it at that time.)
• Discount - We can offfer you an additional disount of up to $50.00 off regular 2-year commitment and a waived upgrade fee on most devices. (This message appeared under the main family member's account only but is not available on iPhones).
• iPhone Upgrade Fee $18 - As a valued AT&T customer, we can offer you an iPhone upgrade with a new 2-year commitment and an $18 upgrade fee.

3. Phones & Devices - The next screen lists the six different iPhone 3G / 3G S options. The main selection here is the color choice, the default is black and you need to click on the square white box to change the color, then click on the link (not a great user inteface).

4. Accessories -- The next screen gives you the option to purchase a long list of iPhone 3G / 3G S accssories. The iPhone 3G S and new iPhone 3G is the same size as my old iPhone 3G so I did not need a new case, but I ordered some other cases because the iPhone Edge is a different size than the iPhone 3G / 3G S. I also did not buy Apple Care because the phone is covered for a one year period.

5. Rate Plans - The iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S has a more expensive data plan so when upgrading some the phones from the iPhone Edge, I needed to select new data/text messsaging plans. Here are some other rate issues that came up which I needed to research.

What are Nights & Weekends?
Question:What are Nights & Weekends?Answer:Nights and Weekends are generally defined as "Nights" from 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., Monday through Thursday, and "Weekends" as 9 p.m. Friday night until 5:59 a.m. Monday morning, in the time zone from which the call was placed. Extended Nights and Weekends feature can be added at an additional charge on qualified plans.
Some calling plans may have a different definition of "Nights and Weekends" as detailed in your contract or Customer Service Summary.

6. Shopping Cart - You need to provide AT&T with a credit card to check out. It will not be added to your monthly invoice.

7. Ship Date - Our iPhones should arrive on Friday, June 19th via Federal Express.

8. Other Notes; If you want your iPhones or a family member's iPhone shipped to a different address, you must call 1-866-499-8008 to order over the phone.

Reasons to Upgrade to the iPhone 3G S - iPhone 3GS

• Battery Life - The new iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G should have an improved battery life. Apple claims that the battery life should improve when using wi-fi.
  
• 7.2Mbps HSDPA - The iPhone 3G S contains a chip that supports faster 3G download speeds.
• Camera - The iPhone 3G S comes with a 3 megapixels camera including a new Autofocus feature and support video. The iPhone 3G has a 2 megapixel camera.
  
• Speed - The new iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G should be much faster than the old iPhone 3G or the original iPhone Edge. Apple claims that it should load Web pages and launch Apps twice as fast.
  
• Disk Space - The iPhone 3G S will be available in 32 GB, 16GB.
• Voice Control - The iPhone 3G S will have a voice control feature for auto dialing.
  
• Other Features - The iPhone 3G S has several other features that might be useful to some users. This includes a Digital Compass and Stereo Bluetooth.
• iPhone 3G S Dimensions - According to the specification sheet, the iPhone 3G S is the same size as the current iPhone 3G. Unlike the upgrade for the iPhone Edge, you shouldn't need to buy a new case.

Here is the pricing for the iPhone 3G S for new and existing customers. Current customers can go to http://www.wireless.att.com for their upgrade pricing from AT&T.

• New Customers - $299 for the 32 GB iPhone 3G S; $199 for the 16 GB iPhone 3G S; $149 for the iPhone 3G 16 GB; $99 for the iPhone 3G 8 GB; $129 for the iPhone 3G 16 GB (Refurb) and $79 for the iPhone 3G 8 GB (Refurb).
  
• iPhone Edge Customers - If the two year agreement has expired, iPhone Edge customers will be able to receive the discounted pricing (above) as if a new customer.
  
• iPhone 3G Early Upgrade - Customers Less than 2 years remaining on contract - $499 32 GB iPhone 3G S; $399 for the 16 GB iPhone 3G S; $349 for the iPhone 3G 16 GB; $299 for the 8 GB iPhone 3G; $329 for the iPhone 3G 16 GB (Refurb); $279 for the iPhone 3G 8 GB (Refurb).
  

Unfortunately, AT&T and Apple's pricing appears to punish the loyal Apple customer who buys each new Apple product when it comes out. That said, you can sell your old iPhone 3G or gift it to a family member to lower the cost of the Early Upgrade fee.

Backing up your iPhone or iTouch

With the release of iTune 8.2 and the pending release of the new iPhone 3.0 software or firmware, iPhone and iTouch users should ensure their iPhones are backed up. In addition, if you are considering upgrading to the new iPhone Pro, you should ensure your camera roll photos are backed up so you don't inadvertenly lose any info in case there is a problem with backup file. Here's Apple's KB article on backing up your iPhone and itouch.

Apple iPhone / iTouch Backup KB Article
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

FILE LOCATIONS

On a Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

On Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

On Windows Vista: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

Don't Buy an iPhone until after June 8, 2009

On Monday, June 8, 2009 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, Apple will announce its new lineup of Apple iPhones. There is speculation that Apple will announce:

• An iPhone 3G Pro for $299 that includes a 3.2MP camera with video recording
• A new 3G wireless chip that supports downloads speeds up to 7.2 Mbps
• A $99 iPhone
• A Digital Compass or a magnoetometer

If you are waiting to upgrade your current iPhone or are going to buy a new one, I would wait until after June 8th. You'll probably end up waiting until the end of June or early July to get the new iPhone Pro!

Apple Developer's Conference - June 8th
http://developer.apple.com/WWDC/

List of Facebook Phishing URLs - bestspace.be the latest!

This morning I received a Facebook Message from one of my "trusted friends" with a message to "look at bestspace.be". When I tried to post a message on my friend's wall with the website address bestspace.be, FB blocked or filted the URL bestspace.be from being posted. What I don't understand is why FB can't block the SMTP messages from being sent.

Oh well, here's my current list of FB Phishing website addresses:
- areps.at
- bests.at
- bruga.at
- bestspace.be
- fcoder.at
- kirgo.at
- nutpic.at
- sweeter.be


XXX sent you a message.

Subject: Hi

"Look at bestspace.be"

To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/

___
This message was intended for xxx@xxx.com.com. Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook? Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?
Facebook's offices are located at 1601 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Kirgo.AT - Facebook Phishing Scam - Don't Log-In

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XM Radio - Removes Online XM Radio feature from its Subscriber Package

Huh, I just noticed that XM Radio removed their online service from its basic subscriber package. For this loyal XM Radio customer who has been paying for their service in his car for almost a decade, they want another $2.99 per month for it. I didn't listen to the service that often but once in a while if I wanted a break from my iTunes, I would listen to it. Also, all of their channels were not part of the free service such as ACC football. I hope for the $2.99 per month, you get all the channels and it just isn't the old limited set of channels and the purported "higher digital quality audio". This techie doesn't really believe that line! It's not a large amount of money, but what ever happened to the concept of "grandfathering" your early adopters, i.e. taking care of your loyal customers. It use to be that once you provided a customer with a service, you didn't take it away. Out of principle, I will not be paying the $2.99. Also, I understand many Sirius customers were promised a lifetime membership, but after the merger, they had to pay additional fees to get the XM channels. If this doesn't sound like a "Monopoly" or unfair pricing, then what is?

Here the letter I received from them. If XM didn't have a monopoly, I would be switching to Sirius.

---------------------

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for contacting XM.

We have received your email and we are sorry to hear that you are no longer able to get XM Radio Online. Since March 11, 2009, the online listening platform was upgraded to a higher Digital Quality Audio and is no longer included free as part of a base subscription. XM Radio Online is now $2.99 per month with a radio subscription.


To add XM Radio Online to your subscription, please go to http://www.xmradio.com/getxmro/index.xmc and follow the instructions provided. If you are having difficulties, please contact our Listener Care Center directly at the telephone number provided below. Our representatives will be more than happy to assist you.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to send an additional email or you may contact a Listener Care Representative directly at 1-800-XM RADIO (800-967-2346). Our Listener Care Center's hours of operation are as follows:

Monday - Saturday 8AM - 11PM ET

Sunday 8AM - 8PM ET

Thank you,

Glen
------------------

Taking my iPhone to Europe or Abroad - iPhone International Plan

In the past, when we have traveled abroad, I've disabled iPhone features by enabling a SIMM Pin and used the Wi-Fi on my phone only. What I discovered is that Apple has since changed their iPhone Software and Wi-Fi now works on Airplane Mode so disabling the SIMM Pin is no longer necessary. For this trip, I will be signing up for an International Roaming Package so that I can use the iPhone's 3G service for directions, checking mail and receiving text messages. Here are the details:

1. AT&T International Plan Customer Service 1-800-335-4685 - The day before I leave, I'm called them to subscribe the following services:

• AT&T World Traveler- $5.99 per month (calls in Spain, Switzerland and Italy are $.99 cents per minute)
• AT&T Data Global Add-On for the iPhone - $59.99 for 50MB of usage, $0.005/KB overage or $5.00 per MB for overage. You have approximately 1.67 MB per day data usage which is important as it relates to your normal AT&T billing cycle, your vacation dates and how AT&T does the pro-ration. When you sign-up, the beginning and ending date of your AT&T contact and how it falls within your travel period. To be safe, you might have to have the AT&T Rep back date your contract 30-days or less because of how they calculate the pro-ration.)
• Here's an Example: AT&T takes your total MB per month and divides by the number of days until the next billing period. If you travel started 1-day before your new billing period, then you would have 1.67 MB and $5.00 per MB for any overage. So if you used 3.67 MB the first day of your trip, you would be charged $59.99 / 30 days or $2.00 per day + $10.24 (2MB overage @ $5.12 per MB ) = $12.24. The second billing period you will be billed at $59.99 under the same formula. (Yes, it sounds complicated but worst case if you you pay$119.98 for two months for 50 MB iPhone data usage. (more later on data usage) In my case, the Rep back dated my contract 30 days so I had 7 days to use 50 MB which was more than enough.

2. Forwarding -- Before I leave the United States, I will use the iPhone to forward my calls to my Google Voice number. When people call this number, for any voice messages, text transcripts will be sent to my phone using Google's new cool service. I am lucky to have one of these beta accounts.

3. Text Messages -- Incoming text message are covered by my domestic plan. Outgoing text messages are $.50 each.

More info is at the link below.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp?wtSlotClick=1-0017YW-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction

4. Canceling - When I get back to the States, I will cancel the plan without any penalty.


5. iPhone Usage Reset Statistics - Before my plane took off from the United States, I Reset the iPhone Usage Statistics Settings --> General --> Usage --> Reset Statistics (This allowed me to track my Cellular Network Data Sent and Received).

6. International Usage -- On my first day of travel, we landed in Madrid, Spain and drove North to Salamanca. The first thing I noticed was that I was not able to connect to Google Maps until I re-booted my iPhone several times (i.e. everytime you change Cellular providers such as Vodafone, Orange). Google Maps worked, but I'm not convinced it was as accurate as in the United States in the smaller town of Salamanca.

7. Photos and Google Maps - I normally blog on vacation and like to upload photos from my iPhone. As you would expect, each blog photo uploaded used a good amount of my daily 1.67 MB data usage. In addition, Google Maps also uses up your data.

8. Email - Spain didn't have good free wi-fi service like some other countries so I was judicious about checking my email, especially with the amount of spam I get in some of my accounts.

9. Coverage - For celluar service and 3G on the train from Madrid to Barcelona was also better than I expected.

10. Wi-fi - A side note that wi-fi was $20 to $26 per day in Spain and Switzerland. When I had Internet cable access in Barcelona, I actually used wi-fi sharing for the first time. My daughter was able to use my Internet connection and I also used it to connect my iPhone.

11. AT&T Text Message - Reset Statistics - On the day my billing period ended, I received a very informative text message from AT&T reminding me to reset my statistics and of the $5.12 per MB overage charge.

12. Text Messages - When using this service abroad, my incoming messages were generally unrelaible. There appeared to be a long latency from the time someone in Spain sent me a text message to the time I received it. In general, this was not expected.

12. Returned Home - I returned home and canceled my International plans today. I had to wait a few days to avoid the data plan overages.

Best links to Swine Flu Information (H1N1 virus)

Here are the best links I could find on the Swine Flu virus. When an incident like this occurs, as a consumer interested in up-to-date, relevant and comprehensive information on this topic, I found myself searching: 1) Google Web Search; 2) Google News; 3) Twitter.com #swineflu ; 4) Wikipedia ; 5) YouTube.com

1) Google Health News
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&topic=m

2) World Health Organization Press Briefings
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/swineflupressbriefings/en/index.html

3) CDC site
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

4) Google Maps

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=32.639375,-110.390625&spn=15.738151,25.488281&z=5


5) You Tube Video on Swine Flu Virus
Dr. Joe Bresee, CDC Influenza Division.


6) Twitter.com CDC Emergency Site
http://www.twitter.com/CDCemergency

7) Wikipedia - Swine Flu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu

8) U.S. State Department Travel Alerts
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4488.html

9) N95 Masks and Respirators Info on CDC Site
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/masks.htm?s_cid=tw_epr_76

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ppe/masksrespirators.html

10) Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN on Twitter.com
http://www.twitter.com/sanjayguptaCNN

Are you using TweetDeck yet as your Twitter Client?

Okay, I finally started using the TweetDeck Twitter client which is more or less the Outlook or Entourage for the Twitter client of choice for managing your Twitter tweets. If you haven't used TweetDeck yet, it's an Adobe Air application that resides on your Mac or Windows Desktop. It allows you to read, respond to, add to favorites and more easily post Twitter updates than using Twitter.com

Go to http://www.tweetdeck.com to download Twitter.

BTW, if you are new to Twitter, see my other blog at http://www.ogawadesign.com

Lastly, my Twittter client of choice on my iPhone is TwitterFon.

USTREAM.TV - Snoopdogg is live!

Snoopdogg is live on www.ustream.tv

New Dictionary.com iPhone App

The new free 10MB Dictionary.com iPhone App is a must have for all
iPhone and iTouch users. It's fast since it doesn't require Wi-Fi, 3G
or Edge network acceds. It includes a thesaurus and a user interface
that allows you to easily look up the correct spelling of a word. It
is a main screen page 1 iPhone or iTouch App. If you have a child,
nephew or niece that doesn't like using the dictionary, then there's
now a reason to buy them an iTouch ir iPhone! If they already have
one, then make sure it's on their home screen and they use it!

DWade YouTube video - Viral marketing?

This video is being circulating around the Web with proclaimed drunk billionaire in a $20K suit challenging Dwyane Wade to a basketball game in the American Arilines Arena Garage. Is this what viral marketing has come to?

Is Your Comcast Service Down? - Get on Twitter.com for Support!

This morning, I signed in to my Twitter client, TweetDeck and was checking this mornings tweets. I noticed several members of the Miami Technology community commenting that their Comcast Internet Service was down in the 305 or Miami, Florida area. One asked for a suggestions of local coffee shops with reliable wi-fi access. When I replied (@twitterusername) to this guy on my Twitter Friend list, the next thing I knew I received a public reply from a member of the Comcast Tech Support Department asking if I needed assistance. When I performed a Twitter Search on #comcast, I noticed Comcast Customer Service checking modems and connecting with customers via Twitter. This is a great use of Twitter, and you don't need to stay on hold for 15 or 20 minutes waiting for an available service rep.

If your Comcast service is down, I recommend you login to Twitter and search on #comcast for Comcast contact information or simply tweet with #comcast in your message.

Wow, this is a great use of Twitter.com. I hope AT&T DSL or AT&T FastAccess Customer Service is listening!

iPhone Skype App 3G not Supported

I'm sure I wasn't the only one that was hoping for this feature. I pay
AT&T each month for that 3G laptop card and am one of their most loyal
customers. I think I should be eligible for this feature.

Skype App for the iPhone in iTunes Store

I just downloaded and installed the new iPhone Skype App. It works
great!

AT&T DSL in Miami 33137 is now up and runnning!

My AT&T DSL is now up and running. They sent out the telecom service guy with his classic belt of telephone test equipment. He made some noise filtering changes at the panel, gave me a new 2Wire replacement modem and I'm now live again!

AT&T DSL Service Outage 03-27-09 (Miami, FL)

Yesterday morning, my AT&T DSL line went down. When it occurred, the lights the 2Wire modem were blinking and were not able to establish an Internet Connection. Here are the steps I used to try and resolve the problem.

• AT&T Tech Support - I called 1-888-321-2375 to inquire if there was a service outage. I was informed there was none that they were aware of.
  
• AT&T Tech Support - The tech reset the port for me and diagnosed an intermittent DSL connection issue on 2Wired modem. She put in a Service Request to request an AT&T rep come out the following day between 8 am and 12pm or 1 pm and 5 pm. I choose 8 am.
  
• Re-test with Backup Modem - I found an old Westell modem in my closet and plugged it in to my DSL data line and was still unable to get an Internet connection.
  
• AT&T Tech Support Manager - I asked to speak with a manager to get the service call that afternoon or evening but was unsuccessful. I explained that I was a very loyal AT&T customer and subscribe to several of their services. After making this call, I did get a follow-up voice mail confirminmg my appointment for 8 am next day and letting me know to call 1-888-272-4047 if I needed to reschedule the appointment.
  
• AT&T Onsite Tech - The tech arrived the following day at 8:30 am, about 24 hours from the initial service outage. He tested the line with his modem and was not able to get an Internet connection. He diagnosed the root cause of the problem being at the box on the street which is commonly caused by storms or bad weather. He put in another service request or ticket to request service at the AT&T box on the street. The tech gave me the ticket number. He tried to schedule the service for the afternoon but was unsucessful. The service was scheduled for the following day.
  
• AT&T Tech Support - I called AT&T Tech Support at 1-888-321-2375 to speak with a manager. I was able to convince her to escalate the ticket for this afternoon, between 1pm and 5pm.

More later...

Watch NCAA Games in HQ for Free on CBSSports.com

On the CBSSport.com site, I've been watching the 2009 NCAA March Madness on Demand service that is streaming live video for every game for free. This year they have a new High Quality (HQ) player that uses Microsoft Silverlight that will be downloaded and installed before you are able to view the NCAA games in HQ. The quality is the very good.

Here's the direct link to the CBSSports.com site with the Player.

http://mmod.ncaa.com/?source=mktg_09MMOD_AAsports