Apple Tech Support Since 1995
Product Reviews
Apple Time Capsule
Mar 17th
I have a long and varied relationship with routers. I have always sold the model I have for the model I want. This includes my first router which wasn’t wireless. I’ve gone through all the brands and price ranges. I have sold my current Apple Airport Extreme Gigabit to make way for my new Apple Time Capsule 1TB. Apple’s Time Capsule is in fact an Airport Extreme with a built-in hard drive. The purpose of this device is for backups.
I had originally bought my Airport Extreme with the idea that I would be able to connect a HD to it and use Time Machine to backup. Unfortunately that feature didn’t make it into Time Machine or an Airport Extreme update, leaving myself and few others slightly disappointed. I’m not going to claim to know why it didn’t make it into the feature set. No big deal, I’ve sold the Airport Extreme and have what I want, wireless backups. Time Capsule is that solution.
I’ve had it for several days now and it appears to work effortlessly. I could have connected my computer directly to the Time Capsule so my first backup would have run very fast but I wanted to see how well it would do wirelessly. My MacBook doesn’t have 802.11N so I was backing up over 802.11G. I have approximately 160GB of data to backup. My wife has a MacBook with 802.11N and she had 80GB of data to backup. If you option-click the Airport icon in your Menu Bar you will see your Transmit Rate. Mine was 54 while Karen’s was 130. Karen’s computer took 8 hours to do it’s initial backup of 80GB. My computer took 36 hours to do it’s initial backup of 160GB.
The hardest part was not taking my computer anywhere for a whole day while it backed up. Now that the backups are done, incremental backups happen without me even noticing. Karen’s Transmit Rate would have been 300 if I didn’t have 802.11B/G items connected to the Time Capsule. Even at a reduced rate of 130, her MacBook was backing up more than twice as fast as mine.
The Apple Time Capsule works exactly the same way the Apple Airport Extreme with a hard drive connected does, except you can’t use Time Machine with the Airport Extreme to backup. That so far is the one feature that makes it better. And that one feature works very well.
My recommendation is to go with the Time Capsule for your wireless Time Machine backups. I went with the Time Capsule 1TB model but there is also the Time Capsule 500GB model if you don’t need the extra space.
UPDATE 03-19-2008: It appears as though several updates released today by Apple brings the aforementioned backup feature to Airport Extreme. That means you can use an Airport Extreme with a connected USB hard drive to backup your computer with Time Machine. Thanks for the updates Apple.
iPhone Crystal Film results.
Feb 3rd
I own a black “incase” iPhone case which leaves the screen exposed. This is a concern since I wear it on my side. That led me to get the “POWER SUPPORT” crystal film static cling protection. It covers the screen against scratches.
The other day I was at a restaurant and as I moved to the right out of someone’s way I hit the screen of my iPhone against the very sharp edge of a chair. I immediately knew I caused damage because of how hard I hit the chair. I looked down to confirm the damage and I was correct.
Below are two images to show the damage caused. I hit the chair so hard it bounced and hit the screen twice.
Later on that evening I lifted up the corner of the “POWER SUPPORT” crystal film static cling to see what kind of damage the actual glass received. To my surprise the glass was completely undamaged. The static cling took all of the damage. So I went out and bought another set of the “POWER SUPPORT” crystal film static cling and replaced the damaged one on my iPhone.
I can easily recommend purchasing the “POWER SUPPORT” static cling (crystal or anti-glare) for your iPhone, especially if the screen is exposed.
Visit www.powersupportusa.com or pick them up from your local Apple Store like I did.
Xbox 360 Chatpad
Sep 24th
The Xbox 360 Chatpad comes in the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit with a headset. The headset is better than the previous headsets because the controller is inline. As an owner of the wireless headset and 3 of the previous headsets, the new headset is inconsequential.
Let’s start with the Chatpad Positives:
To go from having to use the virtual keyboard to an actual keyboard is fantastic. When pressing keys you get audible feedback from the TV. All of the keys that would need are there, including a few you may never use. It fix snugly onto your controller and feels very solid. It has a headset jack on the front to plug your new headset into. The keys light up for dark room use.
Now the Chatpad Negatives:
The Chatpad is designed with the white controller in mind. Therefore when attaching it to the new Black, Blue, Pink or Halo controller it looks very poorly thought out. For example, with such a small keyboard footprint they should have designed the casing with the grey color most of the controllers have and made the keyboard white or shiny (like the Guide button) with black letters. This would have increased the contrast significantly. I find I have to focus on the keyboard more than normal because of the current contract. It’s difficult to read and I have 20/15 vision.
Chatpad Wrapup:
It’s great to have a keyboard. I’m looking forward to the next version that might be a neutral color with a high contrast keyboard.
Additional Thoughts:
I believe the Chatpad was designed for an upcoming Xbox 360 Web Browser. They are marketing it as a Messenger solution but I can’t find people who use Messenger.
iPhone, a week without my computer.
Jul 14th
You’ve seen the Helio commercials “Don’t call it a phone.” Helio would have you believe their devices aren’t phones but much more.
On the other hand you have the iPhone. A device that markets itself as a phone and has the word “phone” in it’s name but in reality is very much a handheld Mac.
My MacBook’s hard drive died (7/3/2007) two days after getting my iPhone. Fortunately, I had synced my calendars, contacts, bookmarks, some pictures, music and movies to my iPhone. Because of the timing with the holiday and weekend, I went a full week without my computer waiting for a new hard drive from Apple. Some people would have panicked, but I saw it as an opportunity to put the iPhone through it’s paces. So that’s what I did.
Can you live for a week without your computer and only an iPhone? Yes. But, expect some catching up when you get your computer back up and running. For instance, invoicing, something you can’t do with your iPhone. As a tech support person I took my wife’s computer with me (just in case) on two different jobs and only needed it once and was done within one minute.
Activation:
I got my iPhone 2 days after they were released and I did have activation problems. After 3 or 4 phone calls and 9 hours my iPhone was working as expected. I recently activated a client’s iPhone in 4 minutes with no problems. It looks to me as though AT&T has worked through the problems they were having.
Safari:
You’ve heard Steve Jobs say that the iPhone isn’t the watered down web but a full web browser. I can confirm that it’s certainly not the watered down web, but it’s not the complete web either. Flash playback is missing. That’s probably the biggest omission that most people will notice when surfing. It’s possible that Flash playback just wasn’t ready by the release date of the iPhone and will be added later. Downloading audio and video files directly into the iPod or available memory is something I’m looking forward to in a possible future update.
Hardware:
iPhone 1.0 hardware seems very impressive. It’s like Apple built the best piece of hardware they could, knowing they would be building on it through software updates for some time. Software can greatly improve the device; anything missing will be added later. Problems with be corrected through updates. The iPhone that was released on July 29th won’t be the same iPhone we’re using 6 months or a year from now. After a few updates it will receive fixes and new features. I love devices that can be updated with new features. I wrote an article about gaming consoles and how they change through software updates. A year and a half after I bought my Xbox 360 they added H.264 and MPEG-4 video playback which allows me to stream videos from my Mac to my Xbox 360. That’s awesome.
It’s nice to no longer have a need to carry multiple devices around. Before I had my phone, iPod and computer. Now in many cases I can get away with just having my iPhone. And the camera is nice to have since I never had a camera with me before.
Applications:
The built-in applications are the only ones you’re going to be able to use for a while. Apple will add more later and may even let 3rd parties in the future. There are those web based apps you may have heard about but if you’re in Airplane mode (no internet connection) you won’t be able to use them. This doesn’t bother me because I know Apple wants the iPhone to be as stable as possible.
Syncing:
Using iTunes to get all your data makes perfect sense. I haven’t had any problems. It’s very easy to add what you want.
Keyboard:
I love it. I don’t even realize how often it corrects my typing. Only one application allows for horizontal use; expect an update to add horizontal keyboard use to other apps. I took all of the notes for this article on my iPhone while I was without my computer.
Apple, please include the same spell correcting the iPhone has into Leopard. I like the corrected spelling hovering below the word I’m typing and the space bar activation. This is brilliant. It will help me on my desktop and laptop Macs as well.
Wireless Networks:
Unlike a lot of the tech articles you may have read online where the reviewer blasts the EDGE network for being slow, Edge network is acceptable when Wi-Fi is not available. Especially to those of us users who went from the cheapest mobile phone with no data plan at all directly to the iPhone.
Wi-Fi works great. It’s always going to be faster than EDGE, so use Wi-Fi when it’s available.
Address Book:
It’s easy to find what you need, but it can be slow if you have 600 addresses in your Address Book like I do. A little work needs to be done for some quick searching, but it’s the first time I’ve ever had my entire Address Book with me.
Calendars:
Calendars do not sync without a computer. So even if you have a dotmac account the iPhone won’t update your calendar through the internet like your Mac does. This is probably to keep feature parity with Windows users. While I appreciate having YouTube on my iPhone I’ve used the calendar far more.
Calendar combines all checked calendars into one. I’ve confirmed that it actually stores them separately. Maybe a future update will allow viewing calendars separately on the iPhone.
Camera:
Camera works well. You need to hold it steady and the subject must be well lit. Video recording – I believe the hardware can support it so it’s just a matter of a software update.
Email:
It works the same as your computer’s email. I have no complaints. It’s easy to use and works well. No more traveling from one job to another wondering what email I might have missed while my MacBook was in it’s case without an internet connection.
Touch Screen:
Finger wiping becomes a requirement. I will wipe the tip of my index finger on my sleeve or pants before using my iPhone. This removes that tiny bit of finger oil that would have otherwise ended up on my iPhone screen. So I don’t have to clean my screen as often. The screen itself is brilliant, even if I had to clean the screen 10 times a day, I would still prefer it. I currently only clean the screen twice a day. Use the cloth that came with the iPhone or a microfiber cloth and your breath to get the best clean without any potential for scratching.
Calculator:
Just that and nothing more.
SMS:
Never used it. With email I have no need for it.
Phone:
It works well, and the headphones add to it’s clarity. I have no complaints about the phone. It’s very cool to be listening to music or a podcast and have them pause and fade to the background while you answer the call, then un-pause and fade back in when the call is over.
Time Shift:
From useless time to productive or entertaining time.There’s nothing like being stuck at Sam’s Club and grabbing a soda, sitting down in the food court, surfing the web and answering emails, while they rotate your tires. Now the most boring places (doctors offices, tire store and any place that you’re required to wait) can be like your office by simply getting out your iPhone and doing some work or having some fun.
There are things on the iPhone that I didn’t address, simply because they are there, they work well and as expected.
Since this is the first iPod with a speaker I was able to sit on my deck with my wife and enjoy the cool breeze while playing a little 80′s music that we could both hear.
Final Thoughts: I believe the iPhone is a Trojan Horse for Apple. It puts a Mac in the hands of people who simply thought they were buying a cool phone. Should you get an iPhone? I certainly recommend it. If you’re in need of both a new iPod and mobile phone it becomes more reasonable. For me it was a must, I was at the point of needing something that would allow me to take notes and create calendar events while talking on the phone. The iPhone has literally made me a better tech support person. Now I just need to get my wife one.
That’s a bright screen. MacBook Pros and Cons. UPDATED
Oct 1st
Since you can find hundreds of reviews of the MacBook online mine will just focus of my own experiences.
Some of the problems with “Revision A” or the very first model released are noticed in this review.
As with most “Revision A” hardware, consumers find the bugs and “Revision B and so on” benefit from our finds.
Let’s get the MacBook Cons out of the way:
1. Staining. Yes I got one of the first models with the staining problem. But it didn’t happen at first, as a matter of fact it took it a couple months. I remember being asked by many people what I though of the MacBook and I would mention the staining as being one of the most talked about problems. At the time mine wasn’t stained.
Then almost overnight the stains showed up. My stains are more orange than yellow and they look more like something that received sun bleaching in reverse.
Here is a pic of my stained MacBook.
2. Hard Drive Clicking. I notice this mostly when I’m surfing quietly in my family room. It’s been reported on Apple Discussion Boards and here a few different times. It’s very annoying, like a ticking clock only in 15 second intervals. It happens when my MacBook is perfectly still so it’s not the SMS (Sudden Motion Sensor), unless of course there is a flaw with the SMS.
3. Case Separation. Before Apple released the MacBook firmware update my computer would get seriously hot. And I believe that heat began to cause the plastics to expand and separate. It’s only on the side the processor is on. The edge of the LCD has begun to shift outward leaving a space. Notice the gap between the plastic above the ports and the palm rest plastic. My MacBook spends most of it’s time on my lap so I always use it on the cutting board shown in the photos to assure air flow for the bottom of the machine. And yes my MacBook still gets very hot and warms the cutting board pretty good too.
Here is a pic of the case separation.
4. MacBook Bleeding. This was a random occurrence of something that happened after turning the MacBook on. I pressed the Power button and after the chime the screen bleed colors. Normally I would have restarted and never seen the problem again. So I restarted and it happened again, that’s when I decided to get it on video. The video of the screen bleed was the third time it happened. After that I shut the machine down, removed the battery, waited a minute, reinstalled the battery and restarted the machine. The machine started normally and I haven’t the screen again.
The pic I used above to show the staining on my MacBook was taken during the screen bleed.
AppleCare
I called AppleCare on 9/15/06 and talked with a very nice girl who took down all of my information. She said that the staining was definitely covered but I would have to send it in. She said the separation may be corrected when the stained plastics are replaced. But she said the HD clicking was not recognized and probably normal. As far as the video bleed she had me zap the PRAM even thought I told her it had not occurred again. I know they have to follow certain steps so I went along.
She informed me that all MacBooks for several months have used the new non-stainable plastics.
I’m not in a position to be without my machine so that was out of the question. Sending it in being my only option it will just have to wait. Since I purchased it on 5/19/06 I have plenty of time to send it in. My serial is 4H6201WMU9E and AppleCare gave me this Case #68173038.
I’m going to try and buy two new MacBook Pros, one for me and one for my wife (with glossy screens because they rock). Our business is starting to require a little more power than we currently have. If I’m able to get these new machines I will be able to send in the MacBook for repair.
I without question still completely recommend the MacBook.
Let’s get to the MacBook Pros:
1. Screen. Today is the first day I’ve been outside with my MacBook and I was surprised that I can see the screen without squinting. I normally sit in the garage while Allyson plays and rides her bike. My old PowerBook (the last 15″ PB made) wasn’t bright enough for me to see without squinting especially when it’s sunny. Right now it’s sunny, I’m not squinting, I’m in my garage and I an having no problems seeing my screen. The Glossy screen is a new requirement of mine. The resolution is a huge improvement over the previous iBook screens. After using a MacBook you will see the difference.
2. iSight. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to use it but when I need it, it has been invaluable. I had the old iSight but it was a pain to use even though it worked very well.
3. Keyboard. The feel of the new keyboard is awesome. I like the separation of the buttons. I’m going to miss this keyboard when I upgrade to a MacBook Pro.
4. Trackpad. It’s wider and that’s a huge plus making it easier to use. Two finger scrolling, it makes you hate having to use other peoples machine. Two finger right click is genius.
5. MagSafe. As advertised this thing keeps you from damaging your computer. Mine has been pulled loose a dozen times saving my machine from possible damage.
6. Magnetic Closure. Unlike the original clamshell iBook this computer doesn’t use springs or pressure to close it uses magnets. As much as you might think it doesn’t matter it’s a very nice feature. The machine will never accidentally open.
7. Superdrive. If you buy a computer that can not burn DVDs you are wasting your money.
That’s it, the good and the bad as I’ve seen it with my MacBook.
UPDATE:
On Thursday November 2nd I sent my MacBook into Apple for repair. It was returned to me on Monday November 6th and the bezel around the screen, the top case (palm rest) and my hard drive were replaced. My MacBook now looks brand new and I no longer have to worry about the clicking hard drive. Thanks Apple.
My new MacBook, and I called it.
May 23rd
My previous prediction that the iBook would be re-dubbed the MacBook was right on.
This thing is awesome, I continue to read peoples initial thoughts on it but I think overall people are forgetting one major aspect.
I’ve read several times about someone deciding to keep or stick with their PowerBook over the new MacBook. To me this just doesn’t make sense unless they have to use Adobe applications. We are in out first year of the Intel processor, the OS will continue to take better advantage of it as the PowerPC falls back. Imagine how the new OS is going to be able to use these Dual Cores. The new MacBook uses SATA drives which will become standard. These new MacBooks (including the Pros) have a built in iSight. I had an iSight and sold it, it was a great camera but a pain to use, and it was one of the easiest to use.
I’m actually going to be selling my PowerBook 1.67GHz DL to fund this MacBook. It’s funny to see people compare this MacBook to other notebooks and talk down about its graphics because they are integrated. The graphics on this thing are far superior to the graphics of a many PowerBook last year. Meaning, people would have paid big bucks for these capabilities last year, but this year when compared to the MacBook Pro they are rated so so.
The keyboard is a keyboard, no problems. The screen have the same width of 19″ displays I setup a few years ago, pretty awesome. The magnetic latch, you can’t see it but it works.
I’m going to like this MacBook a lot. I was never a big fan of the iBook because of it’s limitations but those things don’t exist here in MacBook world.
Misconception of a self-propelled mower.
Apr 12th
I always thought self-propelled mowers were for people with banked yards and people who had trouble pushing a mower.
With that mindset I have been avoiding self-propelled altogether. My yard is flat and small, why do I need a SPM?
Last week I needed to cut the grass for the first time this year and with that I needed a new mower.
Knowing I wanted a push mower with a Honda engine I set out to find my new mower. Several stores later I realized that the regular push mower is fading away.
I decided to get a Honda mower instead of a mower with a Honda engine, only self-propelled were available.
What did I learn from using my first SPM? Well for starters I realized half way through my yard the muscles in my back weren’t tightened.
Normally with a push mower you lean or hunch forward to push the mower through the grass. With the self-propelled mower I was able to walk upright behind the mower.
I wasn’t expecting that and I have to say it was a much better experience and I recommend self-propelled to anyone with back pain.
What else, the propelled wheels on my new mower are on the back. Being on the back I never lost traction, regardless of how often I raised the front end, I imagine a front propelled would constantly lose traction due to lifting the front end repeatedly.
The mower is very well balanced, the front end doesn’t feel heavy making it easy to turn and maneuver.
PSP, Accessories
Mar 31st
PSP, Accessories reviewed (Mac software, headphones, USB cable, cases).
How are going to know if someone doesn’t tell you.
PSP Memory Stick management software.
I’ve tried them all and the only one that works and works well is PSPWare, you can try the others but you’ll come back to PSPWare. I’m talking music from iTunes, photos from iPhoto, movie conversion, game data backups and restores, this software is awesome.
http://www.nullriver.com/
Earbuds don’t like me. iPod or PSP
I got these headphones at Wal-Mart for $9 and I’m impressed, they sound good and are comfortable. They never feel like their going to fall off.
Panasonic Headphones
USB 2.0 cable that fits in the case.
If you already have the proper USB cable you may not want to buy another one but if you’re like me you want something that fits in the case easily, well here it is.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-708
Almost identical to each another but one of these nylon cases is better than the other.
Pelican branded case above.
http://www.pelicanacc.com/psp/psp_spec_sheet/116.htm
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-10/qid=1112281019/ref=sr_1_10/602-4629871-0227831?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0007Z7XVM
Pelican PSP case rebranded for Gamestop above.
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801934
ALS Game Stuff brand above.
ALS Case Quick review, the ALS case is roughly the same size as the Pelican case but the compartments feel smaller and cramped.
The ALS does not have a hardened layer between the middle section and the back section where the PSP goes, so when you cram (because that’s the only way to get them in) your power cable and or USB cable into the middle section it somewhat protrudes into the rear area. This did not make me feel like my PSP was protected.
The front compartment was too small and held only a few items. I did really like the carry strap and clip on this case.
Pelican Case Quick Review, the two case at the top (Pelican and Gamestop) are the same case.
The Pelican feels plenty roomy without being bulky, there is a hardened layer between the middle section and the back section where the PSP goes. The middle compartment is large enough to hold several games, earbuds, compact USB cable and your cleaning cloth. The front section is for the power supply, it’s tight but check out what I did to make it fit better below.
I Recommend the Pelican Case, it protected the PSP better, is a better design and had more room.
Make that Power Supply take up less room in your case.
If you have a PowerBook adapter (the in-wall piece) that you’re not using, then it can be just what you need
to make the power supply take up less room in your new PSP case. The four pictures below are self explanatory.
