There were a bunch of cool things announced in San Francisco today for the new iPhone:

-awesome SDK stuff including PUSH service for things like IM, gaming, the APP Store

-GPS

-Enterprise Support

-MobileME

Surely I do not need to get into any information about the acutal 3G iPhone that was released today. There are a ton of Blog posts about that. So we need to analyze a couple of things that took away from the excitement of the WWDC 2008. It pretty much boils down to one thing. iPhone software 2.0.

Lets take a look at what the new “features of this will be”

- Contact Search - this should have been implemented from day one

- iWork and Microsoft Office Doc support- This is a plus

- Bulk Delete mail, and save attachments- finally, overall good

- Scientific Calculator- Who cares

- Parental controls - If you are a parent in need of Parental controls, your kid probably does not deserve an iPhone.

-NEW LANGUAGES!!- OH MY GOSH, WHO GIVES A CRAP!

Free for iPhone users/ $9.99 for Touch users

I think the only we were really looking for was AppStore and GPS, but what about the others!? Here is what we expected and didn’t see with Firmware 2.0 and 3G iPhone:

-iChat (will probably show up later)

-VIDEO SUPPORT

-improved camera/front mounted camera/flash

-landscape text

-improved storage

-MMS

-COPY/PASTE

The list goes on and on. If I saw at least MMS, I would be a bit happier but at the moment I am a bit steamed. The new iPhone is gorgeous, which i hope to get in white, but new features will not have me going the extra mile to get it.

-Jake

Like most of you, I will have to say today was one I was anticipating more than ever. Unfortunately only half of what I expected was shown to me at Apples WWDC 2008. Now I am not saying it is all that bad, but it is agreed that we all expected tons more. Although the first half of the presentation was boring (dev/app announcements) it soon picked up and put the question in everyones mind, “will I get the new 3G iPhone?”

For most people its not a question. especially with the brand new price tag of $199 for the 8gb. But what about for te other 50% of users running off of unlocked iPhones!? Obviously this is not Apples problem, but come on. I have already read that 3G iPhones will ONLY be activated IN-STORE. WTF? This might take away from the 1st gen access ability not allowing T-Mobile users to even think about getting one. A lot of you will be saying “Well if you want it so bad, get AT&T.” The problem I have with that is, I have had AT&T and it sucks. Not to mention overpriced.

Overall I WILL get a 3G iPhone if it is a possibility. If not I suppose i will have to stick with my 1st gen baby. Hopefully I am over analyzing and the open source community will come through. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.

-Jake

Click for live coverage with Gizmodo 06/09/08

10am PST / 1pm EST

A good day for all.

-Jake

On my daily fix of twitter addiction, Cali lewis, of GeekBrief.tv, sent out her invite to the new social sensation, Plurk. Obviously trying to stay up on the latest and greatest, I flew to the site, signed up, and was Plurking in no time. Although there is not a Twitter friend import option yet, everyone is sending out their personal friend link to get people to their page.

Plurk is pretty much Twitter on steroids. But not that ugly, vantiy obsessed, addicted to steroids type. Just enough to make it that much better. Ok It’s like Twitter on Kreotine. There are just a few more subtle aspects about this site that make it more interesting, and ake you feel more involved. Unlike twitter, you have a few things you like to keep track of:

Friends- I like Twitter because you follow who you want and people who want to follow you do the same. Plurk allows for the same thing but also adds the “friend” option to add their avatars to your friends list.

Karma- This is an actual number that rates your activity on Plurk on a DAILY basis. Activity means how much you plurk, how many friends you invite, replies…etc. The more Karma points you have give you access to small perks to add to your page and such.

Say more- Twitter asks that age old question, “what are you doing?”  With each Plurk you update you can choose from a ton of statements to send to everyone. For instance each Plurk starts with your name, i.e. Jake___,  and with that you choose from: loves, likes, shares, gives, hates, wants, wishes, has, will, asks, was, feels, thinks, says, is, or you can freestyle and write your own.

Embedded photo, or video- by placing in a Youtube, Flickr, Picassa, Photobucket, imageshack, or tinyURL link.

Now this is not to say I have given up on Twitter. After all Plurk, you can tell, is still in its baby stages, and has a bit of growing to do. From dead time, to the eyesore of a timeline that they have.  From what I see right now, this is my second most frequented social site next to Twitter. Thumbs up.

Click this icon and friend me up on Plurk!

-Jake

I think there is a litte bit of “designer” in all of us. It would just be cool to say, “oh yeah, I’m a graphic/video designer.” Thanks to the majesty of Twitter, I was able to run across a great user recommended website that will enable you to say just that, kind of. Behold, Animoto.com. This is an amazing web-based application that will allow you to build a customized video, which is automatically generated, using yourown photos and music. Here is how it works:

- Upload a plethora of your favorite images (here you can choose which are you favorite and the order in which you would like for them to appear.

- Upload your favorite song (note: they encourage ONLY original music, so unless you want to get sued don’t use any Top 40’s crap

- Generate the movie! (The process takes about 5 minutes or so for the 30 second version, and you will be notified via email when it is complete)

From there you can go to your videos and do what you will with them. There is a YouTube upload option, which will send the video straight to yor account, embedd from their site, and even *download and sync to iPod options (Paid version only)

To make a 30 second movie of whatever your heart desires is absolutely free

The All Access pass allows you to make unlimited length videos for $30… completely worth it. Visit them at Animoto, and check out the video I made to get an idea.

-Jake

I have to admit, I was definitely a late bloomer when it came to mass, social network usage. I don’t need to explain why that was a mistake on my part. One thing i feel I do need to share is all of the native and web applications I missed out on my iPhone.. until now, of course.

Twitter- everyone told me that one i started i would become addicted… They were dumb.. and I am addicted, and if you do not know what Twitter is…. Well if you have to ask, you don’t wanna know. As far as Twit is concerned, the iPhone has been the BEST mobile solution for being on Twitter 100% of the Day.

-Obviously there is the mobile site (direct mobile Safari to http://twitter.com), and this works fine but there are much more efficient, ways to tweet.

-The best web app, to use twitter on the iPhone, is Hahlo (direct mobile Safari to http://hahlo.com). The great interface, iPhone web application works GREAT. The only thing is, I would say it works about 80% of the time, but there is absolutely no install needed for this.

-One of the two native applications I will mention (which you can download via Installer App) is Twinkle. Twinkle was the first Twitter application i downloaded for my iPhone, and it is awesome. within 1 tweet you will be able to geotag your location, send a picture, and update. It has a great interface with avatars and all, alowing you to do everything you can on the Twitter site. In my eyes the only flaw with this application is it is not all that reliable. Although very intuitive with great UI, 50% percent of the time that i open it, i get that message “we are having some technical difficulties”. I always want to blame it on Twitter, but when i check, Twitter is not down and it is just the poor API app. Great idea, and it is worth a try.

-The last application which I will stand by and say is the absolute best is Mobile Twitter. I actually stumbled upon in it in the list of Installer Apps and decided to try it out. I’m so glad i did. Its fast, has photo support, using camera or photos in your photo album, and lets you do EVERYTHING you need to Twitter-wise, straight on your iPhone. Works amazing with EDGE or Wi-Fi. Not to mention, it has a great UI.

For all other social network sites i would just use the direct site web applications. I have tested them all and they do the job, so for any of the following just go to the URL on mobile Safari (these will also make awesome home screen icons for you if you bookmark):

-Twitter

-Pownce

-SocialThing!

-BrightKite

-Myspace and Facebook (bleh)

-Jake

Everyday, there are a bunch of Apple stories that hit the web, bu  tI only like to cover what I feel is the most intriguing. I think i have tried all of the 3rd party applications known to man, and what it comes down to when choosing the ones that will stay on your springboard, is “which one will provide the most swift and efficient satisfaction?” Today the 2nd beta for IntelliScreen was released for the iPhone. IntelliScreen, pretty much takes out the only good thing about Windows Mobile, and gives you a “Today Screen” which displays:

-SMS

-Email

-iCal

-News Feeds

-Weather

-Sports

You choose the ones you want to show up (I only use, SMS, Mail, and Weather) but its a great way to summarize all of your “need to know” info in an instant. Whats great about this application is that you can also LAUNCH from the mini feed menu! so lets say you see and SMS or email you dont really need to rush to, you can view it on IntelliScreen and just shrug it off. But if you see an email or SMS come in that you want to get to immediately, just “swipe” and click “launch ***” (see photo). This will also auto-refresh your email.

Hopefully in final release we can see some additions like:

-RSS

-opacity settings

-iTunes controller

Installation instructions and video after the jump

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During my latest Twitter post I noticed the one and only Cali Lewis requesting an invitation to a beta site called Evernote. To tell you the truth I have never heard of this so decided to check it out. I had to wait about a day for an invitation, but since then my internet life has become more organized and interesting than ever.

Evernote is a superbly innovative site, which combined with a desktop client (for Mac or Windows), and mobile support, makes it a great way to keep all of your internet happenings readily available for use anytime. Here is how it works:

-Sign up at Evernote.com

-Install the desktop client for your Mac or PC (not necessary but very useful)

-Drag the web clipper to your bookmark toolbar for easy clipping

-Rock it.

I wont go into explaining much, but in a nutshell, Evernote will allow you to highlight, any section of any website for future reference, with all links in tact. You can view them offline (with the desktop client). You can upload photos (via email using a special Evernote email) that will save in your notes online, which again, you ca view online or with your desktop client. Evernote also has an amazing integration with the a search bar on the desktop client, which can detect words in pictures you so happen to be searching for. Just take my word for it, check out the video (Below) and get registered with Evernote.

-Jake

The day is nearing when the new iPhone will be announced! Most likely June 9th during the Apples WWDC. Although what do we have to look forward to? There had been a lot of talk and speculation ever since the SDK was released so, Lets explore that shall we?

First off, we can obviously check off 3G support because that has already been confirmed. Surprisingly enough not only is the public ready for it, but so is T-Mobile!! Kind of strange how they just so happen to roll out 3G when we are among word of the hi-speed iPhone. Coincidence? Probably, but after speaking with a T-Mobile rep (fixing up some internet issues) it seems the iPhone is an everyday set-up for them. T-Mobile knows a lot of their service is supporting the AT&T exclusive device so why not take it up a notch with 3G. To also clear up any speculation about T-Mobile’s 3G, it was stated by blogs that it will be voice support only, when in fact T-Mobile’s press release leaves open the possibility of voice and data service.

Everything from here on out people can only guess and use their sources to their capacity. Kevin Rose had made a prediction a while back saying there will be 3G, ichat, video support, and front mounted video for video chat. With the recent unveiling of Video Recorder, 3rd part app that gives your iphone video capability, it makes the possibility seem more likely. The reason i think it may NOT happen is because I feel there i not going to be a major change in hardware. It’s just like a Blackberry. They do not add all of those extras, and in doing so sales hardly suffer. Plus with confirmation of the new $199 price tag, i doubt you will get a whole bunch more than the 1st generation iPhone.

This leads to the re-design of the iPhone. There was a whole bunch of rumors that the Phone would turn out to be an all BLACK design, which was supported with photos. This turned out to e some 3rd party Japanese housing you can buy online. Then Gizmodo gives us a story, from iLounge, which details specs for the “new” iPhone from peripheral manufacturers. These new specs show a new sensor arrangement, which could bring us back to the possibility of a front mounted camera, and a whole new color scheme (White, Red, or Black). This is probably the most influential source of material i have received thus far.

The fact of the matter is, there is not any one person that knows more that 3G for sure. For all we know we may be seeing a completely revamped, better working iPhone that will make the first gen obsolete, or the “new and improved” iPhone will pretty much be the same, saving all of us early adopters the time of putting them on eBay to upgrade.

Photos via Gizmodo and Engadget.

-Jake

7/11/08 UPDATE: see http://applechannel.net/2008/07/08/n95-8gb/

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to decide on what my phone of choice will be. Right now i own the one and only iPhone 8GB version, which I LOVE. After seeing native apps like GPS, and services like QIK, to name a couple, I cant help but feel somewhat inferior to N95 owners. After much consideration, time, and inquiries, there is only one way I can go with the decision….

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From day one i had not been a huge fan of big social networking sites. I could not get into Live Journal, I don’t really care for MySpace, and did not understand the use of Twitter. Now after tons of trial and error, to see what really keeps you in touch and what doesn’t I am now very much within the social networking..network. But with careful consideration, I feel there are only a few worthy of getting the job done.

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Im still torn and doing a ton of research to decide if I should stick with my iPhone or switch over to the awesome Nokia N95… story soon

-Jake

First and foremost, the reason I am giving these needed suggestions on protection is i have got plenty of emails asking what’s good, what sucks, and what’s unnecessary. Ok here we go. After investing in something beautiful like a Macbook Pro, you will want to treat it like its your kid…a very expensive kid. Those of you owners know what I’m talking about. After spending lots of time and money i think a have come up with the perfect bundle that will take care of your laptop and make it look good at the same time. All of these products can be purchased from their websites, or get a deal on eBay. I will also go over what the best kind of carrying case is. Click story for the list…

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As a long time Starbucks employee,   I can now safetly say, “It’s bout F@##ing time!” A while ago there was some rumors, going around about AT&T taking over Starbucks Wi-Fi, which would not only kick T-Mobile to the curb (which is what they get for the bull crap price of $19.99 for hotspot service), but offer FREE wireless to frequenting starbucks customers. Even as an employee I still could’nt get a WiFi “hook-up.” Today a San Antonio Starbucks cafe was shown to have the AT&T service pop up when connecting to Wi-Fi and their favorite store. This is good…very very good. I hope this roll-out happens FAST! The way i understand it is: People with a Starbucks Card (gift or Duetto) will get 2 hours of free WiFi every day for as long as they have the card(s). I guess to show that you are at least a customer. This is a good deal. Finally Starbucks gets smart. Oh yeah if you still pay for T-Mobile HotSpots you can still access them at Starbucks. ::High Five::

-Jake

Alright ladies and gentlemen, the moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived: The return of our beloved Demonoid. A couple of hour ago everybodys favorite torrent site was re-established. Everything seems to be as good as before and I am testing it out now, so head to Demonoid which is now open to the public with nothing added other than a disclaimer on the front page that says:

“Welcome back!

Since a few months ago, Deimos, the site administrator, lacks the necessary time to take care of the website, because of personal matters he’s been needing to attend to. For this reason, he has decided to leave the site staff.

Before leaving, he assigned a new site administrator from among his friends to take care of the site. The old moderator team will continue helping with the site, unchanged. We will try to keep running everything just as it always has been.

The trackers and website seem to be working properly, and should any issues arise, they will be taken care of as soon as possible. The site might be going on and offline over the next days as we work out any problems.

Welcome back, and enjoy your stay!

- Umlauf
Demonoid Site admin”

Is anybody else as excited as I am?

via Demonoid

-Jake