iPhone wifi - after 2.2 Firmware upgrade

I found that I couldn't connect to wifi after doing the 2.2 firmware update. I didn't have time to mess with it and honestly didn't pay much attention to it for a few days. But when I couldn't update my apps (had 8 that needed updates) over 3G, I figured it was time to do some Googling. I found an article that said "this probably won't work but..." and referred to resetting network settings, resetting the phone itself, etc. I figured before tackling anything more serious, I'd try resetting the network settings. Amazingly enough, it worked. I had to put my WEP key back in and I'll have to do the same next time I go to work and connect to their wifi (slight bummer), but no major deal.

iPhone case

My iPhone seems to be allergic to this case. I liked the case a lot except the fact that it didn't have a hole for the camera. I was thinking of drilling one though. Too bad I found out it was causing problems. If it wasn't that, I don't know what it could be. I guess it interferes with the accelerometer (motion sensor). I took the case off and it didn't freeze for 24 hours. Then I went to take a picture of the case and email it to someone and it froze again. It really seems to be allergic to the case. It wasn't in the case when I was sending the pic - just near it. Weird.



It's "Griffin Elan Leather Snap-In iPhone Case with Belt Clip" and I bought it on eBay

The Latest in Technology by David Pogue

This is one of the best articles I've seen in quite some time. Go to the site and read the comments as well.

Source: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/tech-tips-for-the-basic-computer-user/?em

Pogue's Posts - The Latest in Technology by David Pogue

Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User

Last week, I wrote an entry on my blog that began like this:

“One of these days, I’m going to write a book called, ‘The Basics.’ It’s going to be a compendium of the essential tech bits that you just assume everyone knows–but you’re wrong.

“(I’ll never forget watching a book editor at a publishing house painstakingly drag across a word in a word processor to select it. After 10 minutes of this, I couldn’t stand it. ‘Why don’t you just double-click the word?’ She had no clue you could do that!)”

Many readers chimed in with other “basics” that they assumed every computer user knew–but soon discovered that what’s common knowledge isn’t the same as universal knowledge.

I’m sure the basics could fill a book, but here are a few to get you started. All of these are things that certain friends, family or coworkers, over the years, did *not* know. Clip, save and pass along to…well, you know who they are.

* You can double-click a word to highlight it in any document, e-mail or Web page.

* When you get an e-mail message from eBay or your bank, claiming that you have an account problem or a question from a buyer, it’s probably a “phishing scam” intended to trick you into typing your password. Don’t click the link in the message. If in doubt, go into your browser and type “www.ebay.com” (or whatever) manually.

* Nobody, but nobody, is going to give you half of $80 million to help them liberate the funds of a deceased millionaire…from Nigeria or anywhere else.

* You can hide all windows, revealing only what’s on the computer desktop, with one keystroke: hit the Windows key and “D” simultaneously in Windows, or press F11 on Macs (on recent Mac laptops, Command+F3; Command is the key with the cloverleaf logo). That’s great when you want examine or delete something you’ve just downloaded to the desktop, for example. Press the keystroke again to return to what you were doing.

* You can enlarge the text on any Web page. In Windows, press Ctrl and the plus or minus keys (for bigger or smaller fonts); on the Mac, it’s the Command key and plus or minus.

* You can also enlarge the entire Web page or document by pressing the Control key as you turn the wheel on top of your mouse. On the Mac, this enlarges the entire screen image.

* The number of megapixels does not determine a camera’s picture quality; that’s a marketing myth. The sensor size is far more important. (Use Google to find it. For example, search for “sensor size Nikon D90.”)

* On most cellphones, press the Send key to open up a list of recent calls. Instead of manually dialing, you can return a call by highlighting one of these calls and pressing Send again.

* When someone sends you some shocking e-mail and suggests that you pass it on, don’t. At least not until you’ve first confirmed its truth at snopes.com, the Internet’s authority on e-mailed myths. This includes get-rich schemes, Microsoft/AOL cash giveaways, and–especially lately–nutty scare-tactic messages about our Presidential candidates.

* You can tap the Space bar to scroll down on a Web page one screenful. Add the Shift key to scroll back up.

* When you’re filling in the boxes on a Web page (like City, State, Zip), you can press the Tab key to jump from box to box, rather than clicking. Add the Shift key to jump through the boxes backwards.

* You can adjust the size and position of any window on your computer. Drag the top strip to move it; drag the lower-right corner (Mac) or any edge (Windows) to resize it.

* Forcing the camera’s flash to go off prevents silhouetted, too-dark faces when you’re outdoors.

* When you’re searching for something on the Web using, say, Google, put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. For example, if you put quotes around “electric curtains,” Google won’t waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word “electric” and another set containing the word “curtains.”

* You can use Google to do math for you. Just type the equation, like 23*7+15/3=, and hit Enter.

* Oh, yeah: on the computer, * means “times” and / means “divided by.”

* If you can’t find some obvious command, like Delete in a photo program, try clicking using the right-side mouse button. (On the Mac, you can Control-click instead.)

* Google is also a units-of-measurement and currency converter. Type “teaspoons in 1.3 gallons,” for example, or “euros in 17 dollars.” Click Search to see the answer.

* You can open the Start menu by tapping the key with the Windows logo on it.

* You can switch from one open program to the next by pressing Alt+Tab (Windows) or Command-Tab (Mac).

* You generally can’t send someone more than a couple of full-size digital photos as an e-mail attachment; those files are too big, and they’ll bounce back to you. (Instead, use iPhoto or Picasa–photo-organizing programs that can automatically scale down photos in the process of e-mailing them.)

* Whatever technology you buy today will be obsolete soon, but you can avoid heartache by learning the cycles. New iPods come out every September. New digital cameras come out in February and October.

* Just putting something into the Trash or the Recycle Bin doesn’t actually delete it. You then have to *empty* the Trash or Recycle Bin. (Once a year, I hear about somebody whose hard drive is full, despite having practically no files. It’s because over the years, they’ve put 79 gigabytes’ worth of stuff in the Recycle Bin and never emptied it.)

* You don’t have to type “http://www” into your Web browser. Just type the remainder: “nytimes.com” or “dilbert.com,” for example. (In the Safari browser, you can even leave off the “.com” part.)

* On the iPhone, hit the Space bar twice at the end of a sentence. You get a period, a space, and a capitalized letter at the beginning of the next word.

* Come up with an automated backup system for your computer. There’s no misery quite like the sick feeling of having lost chunks of your life because you didn’t have a safety copy.

What are your favorite basics-that-you-thought-everyone-knew? Let us know in the comments for this column at nytimes.com/pogue!

Jumping through the hoops of AT&T

We've been with AT&T Wireless for a few years now, and I've always said they've been great. About a month ago, I became eligible for a cellphone upgrade. I looked and looked and narrowed it down to three phones (two really). Knowing the iPhone has a restocking fee if I decide to return it, I chose to get a Blackberry Curve. I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I even told the salesman that I wasn't sure and he assured me that I had 30 days to return it if I didn't like it. Let's back up for a minute though...

We have a "Premier" account because my husband gets a military discount. I was told with Premier, I have to get my upgrades through Premier via their 800 number. I've since learned that's NOT TRUE. Then I was told by someone else that I could take my Blackberry back to an AT&T store and get my iPhone. Again, NOT TRUE. Had I wanted any other phone, I could've returned it at the AT&T store. Now, to get to this tidbit of knowledge, I've talked to no less than 6 people over the phone (getting different answers from each), including a supervisor and gone to 2 different AT&T stores (stores I was routed to by the morons on the phone). So with Blackberry in hand, I went to get an iPhone. Well, now the folks at Premier won't let me return it to the store (after being told I could by at least 2 of their poorly trained employees). I can't get my iPhone until I use THEIR label to return it to THEIR department which takes probably about a MONTH.

Where do I stand now? The tracking number on the label informs me that the package was delivered 2 days ago to the "returns processing center" (that part took a week and a half). When calling the Premier people, all they can say is that it hasn't been checked into my account yet and may take another couple weeks. I'm just glad I can still use my old phone in the meantime. Not to mention that everytime I call, I have to go through this whole story and some of them still think that I could've taken it back to a store. One really stupid lady today after all this "oh that's why I can't find it, the iPhone goes to..." Hey dumbass, I sent you a Blackberry. I want an iPhone which you can't send me. For some other RETARDED rule, I HAVE to get that in a store. WHAT?!?

What have I learned? That this company that is supposedly "up-to-date on technology" is completely backwards. Each department seems to have their own rules. Don't order anything over the phone or internet and think you can return it to a store (not if you want to replace it with an iPhone anyway). I should have gone to the store in the first place the old fashioned way (don't forget, I was told that I couldn't). The gal at the store tried to help (the 2nd store - dude at the first store was stupid too) - talked to the supervisor at Premier - didn't get anywhere though.

So at the end of the day. I like that AT&T has rollover and the people I call the most are on AT&T so it's free, and I get a signal when other people's drop out, so I'm not going anywhere. I guess they realize this so they think they can treat customers like crap and get away with it. They're sure doing a great job of it.

Internet Addict

You Are 75% Addicted to the Internet

In your opinion, life without the internet is hardly worth living. Could be, but you probably need a bit more fresh air and sunshine to think clearly.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Follow me...

My blog: http://www.geminidreamz.com/wordpress

Myspace: http://myspace.com/lunargeek

My website: http://www.geminidreamz.com

Project Playlist

I just love Project Playlist. I have my playlist embedded in my Myspace, Facebook, and now on my iGoogle and here...

Rules for Cats

I. DOORS
Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get a door opened, stand on hind legs and scratch the frame. You may also reach under the door and pull clothing towards you; silks get the quickest reaction. Once door
is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about
several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, when it's raining or snowing, or during the height of the
mosquito season. Swinging doors must be avoided at all costs.
II. CHAIRS AND RUGS
If you have to urp, get to an overstuffed chair quickly. If you cannot manage this in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there are no Oriental rugs, shag is a good substitute. When urping on shag, be sure you project; it is a must that it stretch for as long as a human's bare foot.
III. BATHROOMS
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. (See Rule I) It is not necessary to do anything - just sit and stare.
IV. HELPING
If one of your humans is engaged in some semi-closed activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping";
humans are known to refer to it as hampering". The following are the rules for "helping": a) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted. b) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself. c) For knitting projects or paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work or at least the most important part. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or knitting needles. The worker may try to distract you; ignore it. Remember, the aim is to hamper work. Embroidery and needlepoint projects make great hammocks in spite of what the humans may tell you. d) For people paying bills (monthly activity) or working on income taxes or Christmas cards (annual activity), keep in mind the aim - to help! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time. e) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. They love to jump.
V. WALKING
As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human. Especially effective places to strike are: 1) On stairs,
when they have something in their arms; 2) In the dark; and 3) When they first get up in the morning. This exercise helps with improving their coordination skills.
VI. BEDTIME
Always sleep on the human at night. If there are two (or more) of you, book end the human putting off the greatest heat. They will try and squirm but your sheer numbers and inert bodies will effectively keep them pinned.
VII. COMPUTERS
1: Only show interest in computers that are turned ON, the operator will need your help. 2: Monitors are bad for human eyes. It might ruin your owner's sight and cause them to buy less cat food. Always get in between the monitor and the person operating the computer. For best results, stands as close to the monitor as possible. If you are removed, go and sulk in a corner for a minute, then repeat. Look as innocent as possible. 3: Keyboards are great to lie down on. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Marching over the keyboard several times is fun too. Practice aiming at alt-F4, N, and ctrl-alt-del. 4: Always chase the mouse. Your owner can't blame you for this, since it's your feline instinct to chase mice. 5: Floppy disk make great scratching posts. Nothing beats floppies when it's time to sharpen your nails.

Ethnic Food

Ya know what's kinda funny? I'm Irish - almost completely, at least to my knowledge... but to me, there's almost nothing more disgusting than Irish food. There's not many meals that would gross me out more than corned beef and cabbage. Eww.

Camera

I gots me a new camera! So far, I am really liking it.

Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom