2008-07-11 09:50 AM I was to meet a client at the Oxmoor Mall (Louisville, KY) at 10 AM and wait in line together to get the new iPhone 3G. I arrived at the Mall with a Starbucks coffee I had already picked up. My client was already in line and had been waiting for more than an hour. He was in about the middle of the line and since I couldn’t wait there I was about to head towards the end of the line when I received a phone call; it was my brother Toby. Toby said he was at the end of the line (which I couldn’t see because it wrapped around the corner). I said I would be there within a minute. After saying “I’ll CYA later” to my client, I headed towards the end of the line. As I reached the end of the line Toby stepped back behind the two people he was in front of.

The Apple Store had a couple employees walk by asking if we had any questions and passing out water. The guy in front of me and Toby sat down on the fountain and I jokingly said, “Ohhh come on, we just got here, you can’t be tired already”. The people in front of us (10 people up) were sitting down in the chairs at the Starbucks cafe which was dangerously close to the line. And then they proceeded to scoot those chairs along as the line moved.

2008-07-11 10:45 AM A woman approached us asking if we worked at the Mall. It was an odd question since we were standing in line. After saying no she proceeded to explain that she had just purchased something from Sharper Image (who’s going out of business) and they didn’t have anyone to carry it to her car. She offered pay two of us $15 each to help her. I said, “Sorry, no, but I’m sure you can find help from someone who isn’t standing in line”. The guy in front of me said, “I didn’t know what to say to her.” I said, “She obviously used the least amount of effort to find someone to help her since we were standing outside Sharper Image. She can find someone else.”

2008-07-11 10:32 AM

You can see in this photo a Starbucks chair in the line and further up my client in a green shirt and khakis pants.

2008-07-11 11:15 AM Mall security came along and told everyone they had to put their chairs back. Even the guy with a cast. However, they did get him a wheel chair. I finally finished my coffee and Toby had just got back from getting himself one. Occasionally chatting with the people in front of us and the kid in a wheelchair behind us.

2008-07-11 11:53 AM

In 1.5 hours we had only moved to where the chair is from the previous picture.

2008-07-11 12:03 PM In line for the iPhone 3G, they are telling people they have plenty but the wait could be 5 hours because AT&T servers are down. Sad face

After hearing the AT&T server went down I expected more people to get out of line, but they didn’t. Apple employees still walking around answering questions and passing out water.

2008-07-11 12:05 PM I'm in the Oxmoor Mall in Louisville, KY. iPhone 3G, I can wait. Line is still moving. And I have 2.0 on my current iPhone. SuperMonkeyBall

2008-07-11 12:12 PM I've already been in line for 2 hours. My feet hurt a little, which is sad since I used to run the Mini Marathon (13 miles) in under 2 hours

2008-07-11 12:17 PM Twitterrific on the iPhone works very well, while I wait in line for the iPhone 3G. Easy to read and post. I like it a lot. Happy face

2008-07-11 12:20 PM My brother Toby who was in line with me for the first 2 hours has returned to work. No iPhone 3G for him. I have Twitter to keep me warm

My brother left and I was still standing without sit down or a restroom break. Now I’m getting hungry.

2008-07-11 01:12 PM 3 hours now waiting in line for the iPhone 3G. Gary did you block me? You listed me in that tweet. Thinking about sitting down

Other than my feet hurting I was still standing without a sit down or restroom break.

2008-07-11 02:04 PM 4 hours and waiting for the iPhone 3G. I'm 50 feet from the Apple Store entrance. I'm going to be quite hungry after I get it.

I’ve already sat down on the floor letting my feet relax. A lady who was sitting up against a wall was asked not to.

2008-07-11 03:02 PM 5 hours now waiting for the iPhone 3G. 20 feet from the Apple Store entrance. Could be done by 4 or dinner time which ever comes first.

2008-07-11 03:05 PM


2008-07-11 03:24 PM My client who waited more than 6.5 hours just left, they could not activate his new iPhone 3G. He has a ticket to come back. Ouch

His problem was he was on a business account and the transfer did not go through as expected.

2008-07-11 03:27 PM I'm standing in the Apple Store foyer, next to the security guard. They can only let so many people in at one time. Need food.

I laughed out loud when I realized there was a line inside the store.

2008-07-11 03:30 PM

I was just let into the store.

2008-07-11 03:48 PM Almost 6 hours of waiting for the iPhone 3G so far and my current iPhone battery is almost dead. I'm close to the middle of the store.

As I passed the AppleTV display I tuned it to one of my Flickr Sets.

2008-07-11 04:08 PM Finished the purchase of my iPhone, now off to set it up with another Apple employee. As I was switching employees my client had returned to the store to see if they could get him setup now. I told him I would check up on him before I left. After getting setup I went back to check on my client, he was not happy, he wasn’t going to get his iphone 3G today. Not only did he also wait in line 6 hours to get it but he’s 72. As we turned to leave the store I passed my brother Toby who had left 4 hours ago, he was buying two iPhones. He talked his way into the store because I was the guy he was standing with in line and the Apple employees remembered him.

2008-07-11 04:35 PM I just walked out of the Apple Store with my new White iPhone 3G. Time for something to eat.

After 6 hours of standing without a restroom break or food, all of the sudden a restroom break was the only thing I could think about. Follow that up with a soda and some pretzels and I was ready to head home. Several time while carrying my new iphone in a bag I could feel it vibrate, missed calls. Toby said that after I bought my iPhone and left the store Apple bought snacks for people still in line.

As I was walking towards my car I passed the same guy who was in front of me in line all day. He said he was having a problem getting his phone activated and I said “Let me guess, business line” he said yes.

After getting home I rewarded my youngest daughter with my old iPhone, she was so excited it actually surprised me.

There has been this recurring problem with syncing my iPhone to iPhoto. I plug my iPhone into the USB port, iTunes comes to life and syncs my music, calendars and so on. But I took pictures with my iPhone, that's suppose to make iPhoto come to life and let me import them. For many months iPhoto would not recognize my iPhone, I reset my iPhone, deleted preferences, restarted, nothing would make it work. So last night I spent a couple hours researching the problem. I read dozens of entire threads on people with similar problems.

In the middle of one of the threads someone posted "TRY A DIFFERENT USB PORT". I wanted to blast them for wasting my time and posting such a simple fix to the problem. But then I remembered one of my clients was having trouble with their USB modem adapter and the solution was to use the USB port closest to the front of the MacBook. I paused for moment, looked to see which USB port I was using, it was the one furthest from the front of my MacBook. It couldn't possibly be that simple, I unplugged the USB cable and moved it to the USB port closest to the front of the MacBook. Hello iPhoto, it popped up and was ready to import my photos. I couldn't believe it, not because it worked but because I has inadvertently used the rear USB every time without even thinking about it.

That leads to a hardware question. What's wrong with the rear USB port on the MacBook?

Tags: iPhone, iPhoto, Syncing

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.

Tags: iPhone

There will be several ways to watch iTunes Movie Rentals assuming the rumors are true.

First and foremost the movies will be rented from the iTunes Store. So you can watch it on your computer.

But how do you watch it on your TV? A couple of ways, first would be the Apple TV. It connects to your TV and you can tell it to download all new content on your computer.
The second way would be if you have and new iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano or iPod classic. You would sync your movie rentals to one of these devices and with the use of a special $50 Apple Composite AV Cable or Apple Component AV Cable you can connect all of these devices your your television. You can even buy a special Universal Dock if you want to control the playback with the Apple Remote.

I have an iPhone, the Composite AV Cable and the Universal Dock for watching content from my iPhone on my TV. I looks quite good with the videos I've tried.

My predictions for the January 15th 2008 MacWorld Expo Keynote presentation by Steve Jobs:
1. New less expensive Apple TV, I'm guessing around $150. This hasn't been in the rumors at all it just makes sense to me.
2. New hi-end Apple TV with 1080p output and 5.1 audio, DVD (Blu-Ray upgradable). Possible combining of the Mac mini and Apple TV.
3. Movie Rentals.
4. New MacBook Pros. Redesigned.
5. New MacBook Pro to replace the un-replaced 12" PowerBook.
6. New Apple Universal Remote.
7. New MacBook that has built-in 3G network from AT&T, that way it's connected from everywhere.
8. New Apple displays with HDMI. Easily connect to Apple TV
9. New iTunes 8 after the show.
10. iPhone update with new features never been announced.

We'll probably hear about Starbucks, Microsoft Office 2K8 with Roz Ho, AT&T Pres about 3G and the show will end with musical talent (possibly a black male).

Tags: Apple, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Movies

In a recent MacWorld article about the release of Quicken Online they have clearly stated it runs in Flash. Then they go on to say that it will run on an iPhone.

But iPhones can't run Flash, I know. Also revealing about the article is that Quicken Online will be released exactly one week before Steve Jobs will give the MacWorld Expo Keynote.

My assumption is that Steve and Co. will announce Flash for the iPhone. Perfectly logical, I know.

Tags: Apple, iPhone

My previous article is about the iPhone connecting to my TV. This would give me the ability to watch TV shows and Movies from the iTunes store on my television.

But why not take it one step further? Apple has already given iTunes similar functionality to that of Sony's LocationFree. With an Apple TV you can connect to different iTunes enabled computers to stream audio and video. And you can stream audio from iTunes to different Airport Express (Airtunes) routers. That indicates that data flow can be both directions. Apple TV pulls data from your iTunes enabled computers and iTunes pushes data to the Airport Express.

Apple, give me the ability to browse iTunes media on my local network with my iPhone and the iPod touch.

Let's say that I have an iPhone (and I do) or iPod touch and I want to view something on an iTunes enabled computer. I wake my iPhone or iPod touch and click the SHARED button (Apple already uses the SHARED directory in iTunes when it detects other iTunes on the same network). After pressing the SHARED button I would be presented with a list of all iTunes enabled computers. Upon selecting one I would be presented with the options to choose between the different types of media: Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts and so on.

I think this is similar in functionality to the way a PSP can view media from LocationFree or a PS3.

This would give me the ability to watch or listen to anything on any of my iTunes enabled computers on my local network. This would work the same way if I was at a friend's house and he was sharing from iTunes.

Or what about the new deal with Starbucks. Imagine going into Starbucks and being able to listen in full to the same music that's being played instead of 30 second clips of the previously played songs.

I doubt I'm suggesting something that those Apple Ninjas haven't already thought of but I want to go ahead and say I want it. Apple likes to claim they think of stuff we want before we even know we want it. Most of the time they really do give me something I hadn't thought of or knew I needed but when I have it I can't do without it.

This time I want something before Apple told me I wanted it.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Apple TV

When I first saw that Apple had included the iPhone in the new AV Cable compatibility list I was very excited. Thinking of the possibilities of using it to hook up to my TV or others to view movies and such was very promising.

Possibly today Apple removed the iPhone from the list. Why? Maybe the iPhone was only included because the AV Cable came with a USB power adapter. Or they accidentally revealed something that had not yet been announced.

I hope the AV Cables do work with the iPhone when they are finally released. This would allow me to watch TV Shows, Movies and upcoming iTunes Movie rentals on my TV with the iPhone.

Tags: Apple, iPhone

Apple announced this morning that after only 74 days they have sold one million iPhones. It took Apple nearly two years to sell its first million iPods.

Tags: Apple, iPhone