A number of years ago the MacWorld conference (Mac festival) thrived on both coasts.  In the winter, the conference went on at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.  In the summer, MacWorld occurred at New York’s Javits Convention Center.  The MacWorld people decided to move the summer program back to Boston (where it had originated).  Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.), the mainstay of the conference said it would not support the relocation to Boston.  The convention moved to Boston and Apple did not attend.  It shrank significantly and ultimately disappeared.

For the next several years the Mac world met in San Francisco every winter.  Apple attended.  So did a large array of vendors of products that ran on or worked with Apple’s hardware and a few who just showed up for the party and the exposure.

Last year Apple said it had no further need for MacWorld and would not attend in the future.  The Mac people bravely went on and met in San Francisco earlier this month.  I went to the convention (as I have done for years).  It was sad.  Yes many Mac users attended.  Yes they saw a reasonable collection of Mac software and accessories.  No, Apple did not attend.  And MacWorld this year did not compare favorably to the previous MacWorld conferences.  It reminded me of the first year back in Boston without Apple.  Still it was MacWorld, but it was less than it had been.

It appears that MacWorld has entered the Twilight Zone and that it may hang on for another year or two, but that the prognosis does not favor long life for the conference.  It appears to have run its course.  I, for one, will miss it when it goes.

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The folks at Uniea asked me to let you know that they have a year-end special sale on their cases at their web store.  The information you need is as follows:

The code is “newyear” and it is good for 20% off on any purchase in the online Uniea store at http://www.unieastore.com. The offer is valid From 1/1 to 1/3 only and is valid worldwide.

Uniea send me some sample cases to look at a while back;  I thought they were pretty decent.  In fact I have been using one of their samples on my iPhone 3Gs for the last month or so and I like it quite a bit.  If you have a chance, you might want to wander over to their website and take a look.

Tags: Apple, cases, Hardware, iPhone, Uniea

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Well, I bought a copy of Windows 7 Professional. I installed it (eventually) over a functional Vista installation on my Lenovo laptop. Before installing it, I ran all the tests that Microsoft set up about compatibility. The computer passed with flying colors. I started the installation…… A problem, the computer needed more space; I deleted some information from my hard drive to allow more space. Eventually, the installation succeeded and I had Windows 7 on the computer.

Initially, I reacted favorably to Windows 7. It appeared to run better than Vista and, in fact appeared to take less space on the hard drive than Vista. The computer seemed to run a bit faster on Windows 7. I was beginning to think that Microsoft actually did it this time, then it happened…… I put a CD into my DVD drive, so that I could reinstall some of the information I had deleted to allow Windows 7 to install itself on my computer. Nothing happened. I checked to see if the Windows system recognized the drive properly and discovered it did not. I dropped the drive fro the system and rebooted. This time, I saw the notice from Windows that it did not like the driver for the disk drive and blocked it. It told me that I needed an updated driver. I contacted Lenovo and they knew nothing about it. I checked the manufacturer’s web site and Microsoft’s website. I even did a full Internet search. No new driver existed.

So, I have a Lenovo laptop with Windows 7 and no DVD drive. I had hoped that Microsoft had finally done it right, but it seems that it is the same old stuff. Interestingly, when I installed Vista over XP, I had no such issues, although I know of others that did and I have had such issues with Microsoft in the past.

As it does appear that Windows 7 has the potential to be better than both XP and Vista, I will likely install it on other computers one day. Maybe the day after new drivers become available to enable me to use my DVD drive again. In the mean time, as it is clear that the compatibility tests do not do their job properly, I would delay installing Windows 7 on an existing computer for a while. It is apparently not a safe thing to do. If I were in the market for a new computer running Windows, however, I would likely not object to receiving it with Windows 7.

Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

Tags: installation, Lenovo, Microsoft, Windows, Windows 7

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A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience with the Mophie Juice Pack Air;  perhaps more accurately, I wrote about my experience with Mophie’s support and warranty service.  Since that post Mophie has somewhat redeemed itself as to its support and warranty service.  The jury remains out about the device, however.

Although Mophie’s support department never returned any of my telephone messages, several days after I wrote the last Mophie-related post, I received a call tag for the dead device.  I packaged the device up and gave it to the carrier.  Not quite a week later, I received an email telling me that Mophie had determined that my Juice Pack Air was defective and that they would ship me a replacement.  A week later I received the replacement white Mophie Juice Pack Air.  It appeared to be a brand new (as opposed to remanufactured) device.  Accoerdingly, while I do wish they had returned my phone call, I have no other substantial criticism of Mophie’s support or warranty service.

My testing of the Juice Pack Air has commenced anew as I have recently upgraded my iPhone to the Aple’s new iPhone 3Gs, operating on the new OS Version 3.

More on the testing later, as I remain concerned about the issue of signal blockage and have discovered that the new device will not talk to iTunes with my new phone and OS 3.0.

Tags: 3Gs, Apple, iPhone, Juice Pack Air, Mophie, service, signal, support, warranty

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We have seen in recent months a significant increase in the number of software vendors that have shifted from the model of “sell the software in a box” to the model of “sell a subscription”.  The sale of software by subscription, or software as a service offers benefits for both vendor and customer and poses potentially significant problems for the customer.

From the vendor’s perspective, having a subscription-based structure assures the vendor of a steady and consistent income stream.  Instead of a single purchase price of $100 or $200 or even $1000, the vendor gets a monthly payment from each customer of $20 or $50 or more per unit (usually referred to as a “seat”.  While that means less money immediately, it probably means quite a bit more over time than the vendor would have received from direct sales of the software and an occasional significant upgrade.

Use of the SAAS model also relieves the vendor of pressure to generate a significant enough upgrade to justify charging for it, so as to induce customers to pay more to the vendor.  The SAAS subscription model locks the customer into making a payment or losing the right to use the software and, in many cases, that impairs the ability to access data stored in the program or on the vendor’s server or both.

The SAAS model does allow the vendor to make changes in the software relatively quickly and to distribute them somewhat inexpensively.  It also allows for better customer service at a lower cost as the subscription structure will likely mean that virtually everyone has the same version of the software, making it easier to train technical support people to efficiently deal with problems arising out of the use of the software.

Things to watch out for include the fact that if the software stores the data in a proprietary structure, you may lose access to the data if you lose access to the software, either because the company goes under or because you default in payment and they cancel your subscription.

While some of the SASS vendors appear to be responsible and offer good quality and highly useful products, consider the risks before you buy into the model.  Look into what happens if you decide to terminate the subscription for some reason and what happens if the vendor goes under.  You might also look into the question of confidentiality, if you plan to store your confidential data on the vendor’s server.

Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

Tags: SAAS, Software, software as a service, subscription software

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The number of iPhone/iPod Touch Apps available for your use and enjoyment has increased at an amazing rate. Apple says that the App Store has more than 15,000 Apps now and that number continues to grow.

Apple’s ads suggest that you can find an App for just about every need.

The range of Apps covers the gamut from entertainment to business and from games to word processing. If you have not visited the App Store you should. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you will, undoubtedly find something to add to your device. If you do not yet have an iPhone or iPod touch, a visit to the App Store may just convince you to buy one.

To get to the App Store, get on line and go to Apple’s iTunes Store. The best we to get there is to go through the free iTunes software (free Mac and Windows versions). If you don’t have iTunes, you can download it from the Apple web site (www.apple.com

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). When you open iTunes, you will see a list of available selections on the left side of the screen. One of them will say “iTunes Store”. Click on that and you get taken to the iTunes Store. tired melatonin viagra as a aphrod

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Once in the iTunes Store, you will find a list of departments near the top of the screen. One of them will say “App Store”. Select that choice to enter the wonderful world of Apps.

The 007 World Is Not Enough full On the left side of the screen, you will find a heading that says “Categories” and lists 20 categories of Apps ranging from “Books” to “Weather”. The list of categories includes such things as “Business”, “Games”, “Navigation”, “News”, Social Networking and Travel.

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In addition to looking within the categories, the App Store provides a list of new and noteworthy Apps, the most popular Apps, and staff favorites. Urban Cowboy ipod It also identifies the most popular free Apps and the most popular paid Apps.

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Some of the paid Apps have “Lite” or limited versions enabling you to try them out to see if you like them before purchasing. Most of them have no such opportunity and you have to buy on faith and hope for the best. If you see an App you think you might like, clicking on the name of the App takes you to a description page telling you what the App does. It will also provide access to user reviews of the App, which may make your choice easier. what if i drink with seroquel

Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

Tags: App, App Store, Apple, iPhone, iPod Touch, iTunes, iTunes Store

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For those of you that have not yet heard this, your data can no longer travel securely across the United States’ national borders in your physical possession.  The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in April 2008 that a computer was like luggage and border guards can search it to determine its content and the propriety of allowing it to cross the national borders.   United States v. Arnold

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.  The Arnold Court’s ruling held that the Fourth Amendment does not require even a showing of reasonable cause to justify such a search under the border crossing exception to the Fourth Amendment protections.

The Arnold court held that ”… reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border“.  That language, appearing at the end of the opinion has particular importance as it makes it clear that the opinion does not limit itself to laptop computers.  It includes all forms of ”personal electronic storage devices“.  Accordingly, external hard disks, DVD and CD ROM disks,  flash drives, media cards, digital cameras, cell phones and PDA’s (without limitation) would all come under this exception.  Accordingly, you may find it uncomfortable to travel carrying private or confidential information with you in any of those forms or formats.

So, what do you do?  Fortunately, you can still travel and use your data on the trip, you just cannot safely carry it with you when crossing any US international border.  How do you do this?  Simple, first thing, you back up your data and leave a copy safely stored in a secure location.  Second, encrypt your data using a competent encryption program.  Be sure to set a strong password to access the encrypted data.  A ”strong“ password contains at least six characters and uses both numbers and letters. An example of a strong password:  ’j104m234a756”.  After you encrypt the data, upload it to an on line storage location, erase the data from your computer, pack it up and off you go.  You can access your data anywhere in the world that you have Internet access.  Enjoy your trip!

When you want to access the data, download it, unencrypt it and use it.  Before you travel again, re-encrypt it, upload it to your on line storage and erase it from your computer.

Copyright 2008, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

Tags: 9th Circuit, border crossing exception, confidential data, Data, encryption, Fourth Amendment, reasonable caused, security, strong passwords, US v. Arnold

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Nanotechnology, the use and manipulation of particles on the nano-scale, represents an exploding field of science and a corresponding challenge to the FDA’s regulatory framework. The major obstacle to effective regulation is the currently unknown variables that contribute to the toxicology of nano-particles. Until further safety research sheds light on this problem, the FDA cannot approve products.

Nanotechnology, the use and manipulation of particles on the nano-scale, represents an exploding field of science and a corresponding challenge to the FDA’s regulatory framework. The major obstacle to effective regulation is the currently unknown variables that contribute to the toxicology of nano-particles. Until further safety research sheds light on this problem, the FDA cannot approve products.1996 the power of sex mp3 download online hyzaar

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Tags: Nano, Technolgy

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I spent the day taking a class in presentation and visual explanation in San Francisco. Although the class provides no CLE credit, I found it very useful. I strongly recommend it to anyone doing trial work, teaching or making any type of presentations. The instructor, Edward Tufte, has written four books on the subject (you get all of them as part of the fee for the course).

The books are worth having and contain much useful information and many examples. Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach psp

By way of background, Tufte is a Professor Emeritus at Yale (he taught statistical evidence and information design courses). He also taught at Princeton (Professor of Public Affairs). His class is a one-day road show. The Age of Stupid trailer You can get his schedule from his website (www.tufte.com).

Tufte is an engaging speaker who presented information in a professional manner, much as one would expect to receive it in a college-level course.

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For those interested in such things, Tufte did the presentation with Macs.

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Copyright 2008, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

Tags: Edward Tufte, Macs, presentation technology, trial technology, Tufte

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