Apple Tech Support Since 1995
Rob Jones "TheMacJedi"
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Homepage: http://TheMacJedi.com
Posts by Rob Jones "TheMacJedi"
TheMacJedi Relocates to California
Aug 24th
After 15 years of Mac Tech Support in Southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky and 5 years of running my own company I’ve decided to give Los Angeles, California a shot. The economy of 2009 killed my business so instead of trying to build up new clientele I decided to try in a whole new area and one that I’ve never been to.
I’m not trying to rebuild my business here in LA, I’m looking for a job with an Ad agency or group of creative professionals that need or want someone with my skills.
We arrived here in Santa Monica last Friday (August 20th 2010) and have yet to secure long term stays or jobs. But we’re working on it everyday. If you’ve been watching our YouTube channel, Keeping Up With The Joneses, you know we (me, Karen, Allyson, Dixie) sold everything minus a few things that a friend is keeping for us and drove here with only the things that fit in our Corolla.
What is the iPad?
Apr 19th
For a couple weeks now I’ve heard dozens of descriptions of what the iPad is from a toy to a laptop replacement. I’m going to try and describe what the iPad is in a way that more people can relate with. The iPad is an automobile on the Internet Superhighway, so is your iPhone or smartphone and you Mac or PC. There are literally hundreds of different vehicles on the highway, which one is right for you and which serves its purpose for the majority of your needs.
Every vehicle doesn’t serve every purpose, for instance a pickup truck may be able to haul a lot but don’t expect supercar speeds. A luxury sedan may be the best way to travel but don’t expect to be able to haul a motorhome with it. Most people’s computers usually fall into the family sedan or minivan category, you know, a computer that can handle most of everyone’s needs but doesn’t really excel at any one thing nor can it handle extreme situations.
And make no mistake, no one vehicle can be used for every scenario nor can one computer. So with all of that in mind what kind of vehicle is the iPad?
The iPad is a Tesla Roadster! It’s fast, it’s light weight, It has a long battery life and it excels in these categories. Most families don’t own extreme vehicles like supercars for speed or tour buses for long distance travels. How would a family use the iPad? The same way they would use a Tesla Roadster, limited occupants, when you don’t want or need the truck or van to haul many things around and when making short to medium trips but you want to get there and back fast with the least amount of hassle.
Xbox 360, New Form Factor Coming.
Apr 6th
The Xbox division of Microsoft has released an update to the Xbox 360 for USB storage. Many people are praising MS for giving them what they’ve been asking for. Not to be negative towards the Xbox team, but it’s extremely unlikely that they would give us what we have been asking for.
Where’s the Blu-ray player add-on to replace the defunct HD-DVD player? We’ve asked for it. They reminded us that we don’t need it because of the Zune Marketplace (previously Xbox Live Marketplace). How come we can’t play iTunes Plus music? It’s DRM free. There’s no reason except they don’t want us to.
We’ve asked for many things we didn’t get. So why would they give us this USB storage solution? Simple. They are using us as beta testers for the USB storage technology. Technology that will be included in a new Xbox 360 model that won’t include Xbox Memory Card slots but will instead use USB storage. Which explains why it’s limited to 16GB. They don’t want you to use it to replace the hard drive.
Now the question remains: when will Microsoft announce a new form factor Xbox 360? My guess is within a few months of its release. They don’t want to slow sales of the existing model before they’re ready to release the new one.
ngmoco and the freemium model
Mar 11th
I just read this article about ngmoco’s freemium model and I sincerely disagree with their stance. They clearly point out the advantages of playing for free but what they are overlooking is what we want and why we think they’re tricking us. I will attempt to explain why we think we’re being tricked. When we buy a game, we know we can play it from beginning to end. However, if we’re given a game for free we know that somewhere down the road the company will want money for their time and effort, which they rightly deserve. This freemium model doesn’t tell us what we’re paying for the game, I don’t want to buy items within the game like food of guns. I want to pay a flat fee. What’s the ceiling on a freemium game? Could I pay $100 for a freemium game if I continue to buy add-ons? That’s why we think it’s a trick. We want to know what it costs to play the game from beginning to end, not daily.
I would like to offer a possible solution to the freemium model that many of us don’t like. Rebrand the freemium model into something that includes the first level with 10 stages. Not a timed demo or limited first level, but give me the first full level with all the perks for free. And if I love the game I will pay $0.99 for Level 2 (10 stages), and I will pay $0.99 for level 3 (10 stages). No one wants to buy health or guns or mushrooms. We want a full experience; not to be given the opportunity to spend $50 on these games. The freemium model kept me from spending $10 on TouchPets (which is what I expected it to cost) when it came out because the freemium model cripples the game. Sure you can get to the end, but expect it to take longer. That’s not fun.
One thing my freemium model allows you to do is build the first two levels of more games; give away the first level; one month later release level 2 for $0.99. If you have 30 games on the market you know which ones to continue to develop for because those are the ones that are selling levels. So instead of developing 5 or 10 games with all their levels and charging for items, develop more games with a higher diversity and make more game play available as that game pays for itself.
My daughter was very excited about TouchPets, until it came out and she was required to buy dog food. Before I could even tell her that she’s not to make in-app purchases she said she didn’t want to play the game because it made her wait. Now ngmoco could argue that I could have bought her some food, but where does it end? In the article they even mention the Black Market. Really, you’re going to convince me that your model works because another game has a Black Market? We don’t like an open-ended payment scale for these games. We want a flat fee for unlimited play, even if we’re only buying it one level at a time. But each level will be unlimited to me.
I hear plenty of whiners complain about the price of $2 games and those people must be ignored. I’ve paid $10 for many iPhone games and more than $30 for a couple utilities. If people wait a week for a game price to drop it’s because they’ve been trained that’s what will happen. And as much as this country is a democracy we don’t want to be told we’re paying to support the people who weren’t willing to pay for the game.
I suppose they already know this and are just trying the pay-for-food-and-health model to see if it makes them more money than the other models. However, it has made many of us leery of their games because we don’t know what they cost. And don’t tell me that they’re free.
Tomorrow’s Keynote Predictions
Jan 26th
1. Apple’s new tablet computer will be on stage the entire time under a black cloth until revealed.
Nailed It (this good feeling doesn’t last long)
2. Demo of iPhone 4.0
Wrong (enter gong sound here)
3. New iPhone hardware, possibly iPhone 3GS2 or iPhone 3GSx.
Wrong
4. New iLife 2010, no demo.
Wrong
5. Apple’s new tablet computer name will be iBook.
Wrong
6. AT&T will be on stage announcing tethering and claiming new performance improvements.
Wrong
7. Apple will announce deals to have college text books on their tablet computer.
Wrong
8. New iPhone specs, 5MP camera, higher res OLED display, forward facing camera, faster processor and a new home screen.
Wrong
9. Apple will announce deals to have full color comic books, and when you turn the tablet horizontally you will be able to view your comics full spread because some comics are drawn that way.
Wrong
10. Music guest will be someone made famous by American Idol.
Wrong
After the keynote I’ll update this article to see which ones I got right.
Update, I did very poorly as did anyone else who thought Apple would mention the iPhone.
Apple’s tablet could be the new iBook.
Jan 26th
The same way Apple used the word “phone” in it’s 2007 handheld computer “iPhone” they want you think of their new tablet computer as a book “iBook” regardless of what else it’s capable of. This puts Apple squarely in competition with all other ebooks and netbooks. Apple has proven that they don’t mind using the same name on completely different products such as iMovie.
Apple can easy use the iBook name again since they stopped selling iBooks in May 2006 when the MacBook replaced it and all AppleCare (3 year) warrantees for iBooks ended in 2009.
Tomorrow we will see if Apple actually has a tablet like product to even release and even though everything looks like they will I’ve seen this exact same scenario end in disappointment for many speculators.
Update: After watching the Keynote I now understand why Apple chose iPad for the tablets name. I assumed the ebooks would be part of the iTunes Store (which they may on your computer), however, on the iPad it will be it’s own app. The iPhone and iPod has The iTunes Store, App Store and the iPad has the iBook Store.
Apple Support, Sales & Service
Dec 24th
Macs, iPhones, iPods, PDAs & Accessories. Wi-Fi, Networks & Security
Strengths All My Clients Count On
Honesty. I have no interest in selling you anything you don’t need.
Flexibility. If I’m not with a client when you need me you’ll have my undivided attention.
Patience. I’m willing to discuss your needs until I fully understand your workflow.
Problem Solving. If I don’t have an immediate answer I’m dedicated to educating myself.
Product Research
Don’t know where to start or what’s available? My goal is to provide you with all the answers to your needs.
iPhone and Mobile Devices
Whether you have an iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, PDA or other mobile device, I can set it up to sync with your computer.
Upgrading to a new Mac or Upgrading to a new Mac OS?
I can safely transfer all of your files from your old Mac to you new Mac. I can upgrade your computer to the newest operating system from any previous version and provide training on any new features.
Solving problems for Creative Professionals
From TrueType and PostScript typefaces, I have the expertise to help you get the most out of your hardware and software upgrades. Including your inkjet and laser printers and all of the creative applications that run them.
Office and Home Networking
Wireless Networking. Do you need a network with a shared internet connection but don’t want the expense of having cabling installed, I can install and setup a wireless router that will provide coverage for your entire office or home.
Wired Networking. I can provide answers if your existing wired network needs to be more efficient or have better routing.
Apple Magic Mouse
Oct 20th
Today Apple introduced the new Magic Mouse. Apple continues its attack on the button, todays product is no different. The Magic Mouse replaces physical buttons with a touch based surface. I wrote an article 30 months ago talking about this exact product.
I already know I’m going to like the new Magic Mouse because I too won’t miss cleaning the scroll ball out of the Mighty Mouse.
I’m not the only one to predict a touch based mouse I’m just surprised it took Apple 2.5 years from my own article to release one.
