iPhone 5, Fall Launch?

According to iMore, the next iPhone will be released this fall. Although there have been rumors of a larger (4 Inch) screen, sources seem to indicate that Apple will stick with the current size, 3.5 inches.  This is not to say that they are not considering a larger one, and we all know that rumors about Apple's pre-released products can be all over the board.


You can read the full article here:


iMore iPhone 5 


In summary, they claim the new iPhone will have:

• Similar if not same sized screen (currently 3.5-inch but not set in stone)
• 4G LTE radio
• New “micro dock” connector
• Fall/October 2012 release

Scrivener

A customer writes to me:

Dear Macmama,

I am an author, and have been using Microsoft Word to write my memoirs. I thought it would be easier than just using a typewriter, but I still have scraps of paper all over my desk, as well as photos I want to add. I thought writing on the computer would simplify this task, but I find myself having a hard time being organized.  Is there a better way? Daniel F., Oakland

Dear Daniel,

While Microsoft Word is a powerful word processor, and has features that most of us never use, it can be frustrating to writers who need a solution to not only document a narrative, but also organize timelines, photos, clippings, text snippets and research. And the outlining features are a bit clumsy. For outlines and project organization, I use Omni Outliner Pro, which I’ll talk about another time. 

But for writers who need to gather ideas as well as make outlines, I prefer a different solution. Enter Scrivener, a writing application that according the makers at Literature &Latte (I love that!) allows you to, “Outline. Edit. Storyboard. Write.” 

I have been reviewing Scrivener for about a week now, and I have to say I love it, and wish that I had the great American novel waiting to burst from my fingers. While the learning curve is a bit steep, the benefits are many. In this one application, you can gather and organize your research, make an outline, organize characters, photos, websites, text clippings and media files. One of the small features that I love is the “composition mode”. Like the old days, when you type, the “paper” moves, not the cursor. So you are always looking at the middle of the screen when you type. You can turn this feature off if you are more comfortable with the current word processing cursor behavior. Another feature, which is also available in Word 2011, is full screen mode, so you can remove the distractions that live on our desktops. One of the UC Berkeley professors that first told me about Scrivener loves the fact that he can still write on virtual index cards.

Scrivener comes with extensive tutorials, both interactive and video, and the user forums on the web are helpful and thorough. The developer is also very responsive when you have questions or issues, and according to user reviews, usually answers emails within a few hours. This application has been designed beautifully and thoroughly. As I said, it takes some work and study to learn, but the payoff of mastering an extensive authoring tool is worth it.

Scrivener is $45 to buy, free to try and can be found here:

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

iPaid

Yes, today on launch day, I bought an iPad. 
I did not pre-order.
I did not stand in line before 8am (in the pouring rain).
I didn't rush into the Apple store as soon as I woke up.

I worked all day, and on the way home decided to stop at the Apple store on 4th Street in Berkeley, CA, where I live, just to see what this 3rd iPad in 2 years looks like. As I entered the store around 4PM, I asked the greeter (did they learn that from Walmart?) if they were sold out of iPads. "That depends on which one you want", he answered. How about the 32 GB WiFi model in white, I asked?
"Yes, we have those in stock". 
I love those words. Although I was not planning on buying one today, when I saw what an improvement the display is over that of the 1st generation (which I own), I thought  I kind of might like to maybe have that, like now.


So my new pal Wayne brought one over to me, and a nice tall employee fetched me a pink cover from high up on the wall, and home I trotted to set up my new iPad. In about 20 minutes, it was all done, all of my apps, movies, photos, etc. were transferred from a back up of my older iPad. Seamless and trouble free. I did have to re-add a password for one of my email accounts.


Do I love it? Not sure, but it is awfully pretty. My last model was a 32 GB WIFI+3G. I only used the 3G once, while we were moving across country, and had no ISP for a few weeks. But I have an iPhone, and did not want to shell out the extra $129 for 3G. More later!

Quicken for Mac 2007 now compatible with Lion, $14.99

Intuit has finally released a Lion compatible Quicken 2007 for Mac. According to Intuit:


Quicken Mac 2005 – 2007 data files will automatically convert into the Lion compatible version. If you're currently running Quicken Essentials for Mac on OS X 10.7 Lion, and have previously converted from Quicken 2005, 2006 or 2007 for Mac, you'll be able to migrate your Quicken Essentials transaction data to Quicken Mac 2007 OS X Lion compatible.


Many Mac customers, frustrated that Quicken would no longer work on Lion moved to other financial software solutions (I moved to iBank). It is not clear whether Intuit is planning to offer an updated, more full featured version of Quicken for the future. According to macrumors.com:


Quicken 2007 was a popular personal financial management application for Mac, but instead of building upon the popular application Intuit elected to rebuild the application as a stripped-down Quicken Essentials for Mac. The new version was widely panned by reviewers for its considerable loss of functionality compared to Quicken 2007. 


Here is a link to Intuit's Quicken for Mac OSX Lion  page.

Leaking Apple Pie...iPad 3!

Rumor has it that an announcement will be made on March 7 about the iPad 3, and that it will run on Verizon and AT&T's 4G network. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up. Apple Inc. appears to be planning to announce the latest version of its tablet computer in the first week of March, according to another person briefed on the matter.  Whether other carriers will also sell the device couldn't be learned.

iPad 3?

Rumors have been flying that there will be an iPad 3 soon. So if you are thinking of buying an iPad, maybe wait a few weeks. According to John PaczKowski of AllThingsD, which has an accurate record predicting Apple's product releases, there will be a media event in the first week of March announcing the latest model. The iPad 2 was announced last year on March 2. If things run as usual, it should be available to the first round of buyers about a week after launch. According to the sources, it will have a "much faster chip", improved graphics capabilities, and a high-resolution display. 


Grrr. Just when I was learning how to control my digi-bling habit.

1Password woes

1Password is my favorite password keeper/generator, but one of my clients experienced a bug. He regularly uses Safari's private browsing feature, as well as megaproxy.com to log into various sites. He noticed that he was having trouble with the Safari extension for 1password, getting the message: DATA NOT AVAILABLE. We contacted agilebits (the makers of 1Password) and found this out:

The "Data Not Available" error normally happens when the data from 1Password has not been synced to the Safari extension yet. To allow this to happen, please follow these steps:

1. Quit Safari
2. Open the 1Password app, unlock it, then wait 10-20 seconds
3. Reopen Safari and, if need be, unlock the extension

You should be good to go.

Safari's Private Browsing feature can also cause these errors because of a bug that we are working with Apple to resolve. To fix the problem, please disable Private Browsing and reinstall the extension with these instructions:

1. Uninstall the 1Password Safari extension: Go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions, select the 1Password extension, and press the Uninstall button on the right
2. Turn off Private Browsing: Go to the Safari app menu and uncheck Private Browsing
3. Quit Safari:
• On Snow Leopard: choose Safari > Quit or press Command-Q
• On Lion: Hold the Option key and choose Safari > Quit and Close All Windows or press Command-Option-Q
4. Update 1Password: in the 1Password app, go to 1Password > Check for Updates and if a new version is found, please update
5. Reinstall the 1Password extension: go to 1Password > Preferences > Browsers and click the "Install Safari Extension" button. This should automatically launch Safari and you can now go back about your business.

Another client complained that 1Password seems to "forget" her logins. According the agilebits support, this sometimes happens when a site is changed enough for password to have trouble with the autofill function. To fix this:

Website Login Issues

If you have found that one of your Logins that used to work just fine has recently stopped working, here are some things to look out for and a simple way to fix the problem.

How to re-save your Login

If you have a saved Login that is not working, it may need to be re-saved. Often this is because 1Password stores a lot of information about the login form, but if a website owner redesigns the site or changes the form enough, it may mess with 1Password’s ability to fill the form.

To fix the problem, you can re-save your Login with the following steps:

1. First, log out of the site
2. Open 1Password and find the relevant Login
3. Copy the Login’s password to your clipboard, then delete it (don’t worry, 1Password has a trash in case you need to reference or recover this Login)
4. As if you were logging in for the first time, open the site in your browser: type your username, paste your password from the clipboard, and press Return or click the site’s login button
5. 1Password should prompt you to create a new Login. Please do
6. Log out of the site and try to log back in with your fresh new Login.

Even with these issues, I think 1Passoword is a fantastic application that can help you manage an create the many passwords we use to navigate our relationship with the digital universe.

And a few more tips with login issues:

Various things that can cause trouble for 1Password

Some technology used on the web can make it difficult for 1Password to fill in forms. These issues are rare, but they still appear from time to time so we figured we’d try to summarize a couple of them here.

JavaScript Interference

If after creating a new Login the site still does not work, it is possible that the web site is using some JavaScript “tricks” when the login is submitted. Sometimes this code can interfere with the AutoSubmit feature and cause it to fail.

To see if this is the cause, try disabling AutoSubmit (deselect the AutoSubmit checkbox on the 1Password toolbar menu) and logging in again using 1Password. If AutoSubmit was indeed the cause, you can re-enable AutoSubmit and disable it just for this item by editing it in the main 1Password application and changing its AutoSubmit setting to Never.

Adobe Flash

1Password is unable to save and restore Logins for sites that use Adobe Flash. As far as we know, no browser password manager anywhere supports Flash-based sites because Flash is a proprietary solution. At this time, Adobe does not offer interface tools for developers to plug into Flash in the way that 1Password and other form fillers require.

After working with a Flash consultant and reviewing the latest APIs provided by Adobe we found it is still not possible unless websites modify their code to allow it.

Most websites realize the problems with using Flash and provide a standard HTML login page as well. If you cannot find one, the only workaround is to save the username and password in 1Password, then open the 1Password extension when you visit the site, click the right arrow, and copy and paste your password.

Zappos and 6PM customer accounts hacked.

I got an email today from 6PM.com and Zappos (yes, I know I have shoe issue,I'm working on it!) to reset my password, because their database which contains my, as well as millions of others customer information was hacked. Is it legit? Seems like it, I also read it on the New York Observer site as well as Huffington Post.


What to do? Go the the Zappos and/or 6PM.com website, and you will see a CHANGE PASSWORD link. Sign in with your old one and they will email a link to the password change page to the email address on your account.

Here is the email I received from 6PM:

First, the bad news:

We are writing to let you know that there may have been illegal and unauthorized access to some of your customer account information on 6pm.com, including one or more of the following: your name, e-mail address, billing and shipping addresses, phone number, the last four digits of your credit card number (the standard information you find on receipts), and/or your cryptographically scrambled password (but not your actual password).

THE BETTER NEWS:

The database that stores your critical credit card and other payment data was NOT affected or accessed.

SECURITY PRECAUTIONS:

For your protection and to prevent unauthorized access, we have expired and reset your password so you can create a new password. Please follow the instructions below to create a new password.

We also recommend that you change your password on any other web site where you use the same or a similar password. As always, please remember that 6pm.com will never ask you for personal or account information in an e-mail. Please exercise caution if you receive any emails or phone calls that ask for personal information or direct you to a web site where you are asked to provide personal information.

PLEASE CREATE A NEW PASSWORD:

We have expired and reset your password so you can create a new password. Please create a new password by visiting 6pm.com and clicking on the "Create a New Password" link in the upper right corner of the web site and follow the steps from there.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any additional questions about this process, please email us at passwordchange@6pm.com.

WTF Daddy?

This was an email I got from a customer who manages and creates websites. He had a real frisky time with GoDaddy, a domain and web host device, but resolved it after some real bronc riding. He tried to transfer a domain and pay for one year, and they (oops!) accidentally signed him up for two years and then initially refused to correct their own mistake.

As you can see, BUYER BEWARE!!

My client's email to me, posted with his permission.

A friend of mine passed away. Since I managed her website and the domain name was set to expire in February, 2012 with Godaddy, I called Godaddy to move her account into mine and renew it for one year at my expense. I stated specifically that I needed to:

1) Move the account into mine

2) Renew the domain for one year

2) Consolidate it with my other domain names, which means that they would all then be set to renew March 2013

The representative at Godaddy asked for my credit card number, and confirmed that it was valid and matched the one on file, then said the charge would be ca. $24. I asked why it was double the normal yearly fee of $12.17. The representative informed me that he had entered a period of two years. I immediately said, no, I only wanted one year.

It was too late. The rep at Godaddy told us me I would have to either:

1) Cancel the domain name and start over, causing the website to be disabled for several days, or

2) Accept the two year registration, in spite of the mistake made by Godaddy

It was difficult to convince Godaddy that I should not be penalized for an unauthorized credit card charge from their side, as this is, in fact what it was.

Following hours of phone calls and rejections I threatened to call the Better Business Bureau, and only then was issued a refund for the extraneous year. To Godaddy's credit, I received the refund for one year, while the registration of the domain name will remain intact for two years. In fact, I didn't want the domain name to run for longer than year, but considered it an acceptable solution. Godaddy's reasoning as to why they couldn't change the length of the domain name term was that they are not the owners of the .com and .net domains, but rather only the registrar of it and an independent company owns these, and therefore Godaddy cannot change registrations once they are completed. I didn't research why this was so or whether it was actually correct.

Moral of story:

1) Charges made by phone must be reviewed before being finalized

2) Charges made without authorization must be refunded in full with no penalty

3) It IS possible to refund charges without a lapse in service if the billing department uses its resources to the full

4) Although the technical support at Godaddy is usually first rate, their billing department is behind the times in terms of customer service.

THE GREAT ASSASSIN GROUP OF EXHIBITION

Today I got an email from a hired assassin, who told me he( or she) was paid $15,000 to kill me, but if I contacted him, I could pay a FIRST installment of $5,000 and I would get a tape that would identify the person who hired him. Now I checked out the name on the email address (bayinde99@att.net) , Ayinde Bukola, a Nigerian that I found on Facebook as well as a few eDate sites. Seems like a nice kid, likes music, looking for a serious relationship, maybe marriage. It's very likely that his name has been used and his email hacked.

This kind of "Pay us or we'll kill you" spam has been around for at least about 5 years, most of them originating from Russia. So what do you do if you get this? If they don't address you by name, or know any personal stuff about you, just delete it. If the email contains any info, like your name, address, phone, etc, you should report it to the Police, and the 

Internet Crime Complaint Center:

http://www.ic3.gov/

Here is a snopes article about these types of "hit man" scams:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/hitman.asp

Or you could call:

Here is the email, complete with the logo and pictures of weapons included:

Am very sorry for you my friend, is a pity that this is how your life is going to end as  soon as you don't comply. As you can see there is no need of introducing myself to you because I don't have any business with you, my duty as I am mailing you now is just to KILL/ASSASSINATE you and I have to do it as I have already been paid for that. Someone you call a friend wants you Dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this,  the person also came to us and told me that he want you dead and he provided us with your name ,picture and other necessary information's we needed about you. So I sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation on you, and they have done that but I told them not to kill you that I will like to contact you and see if your life is  Important to you or not since their findings shows that you are innocent. I called my client back and ask him of you email address which I didn't tell him what I wanted to do with it and he gave it to me and I am using it to contact you now. As I am writing to you now my men are monitoring you and they are telling me everything about you. Now do you want to LIVE OR DIE? As someone has paid us the sum of $15,000usd to kill you and we  are willing to tell you that you have to pay us the sum of $5,000usd for the first payment so we can legit your attention so we can forward the tape to you we  shall send it through DHl or FedEx for you to view the video and discussion between both of us okay. Get back to me now if you are ready to pay some fees to spare your life, If you are not ready for my help, then I will carry on with my job straight-up. WARNING: DO NOT THINK OF CONTACTING THE POLICE OR EVEN TELL ANYONE BECAUSE I WILL KNOW. REMEMBER, SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOU VERY WELL  WANT YOU DEAD! I WILL EXTEND IT TO YOUR FAMILY, IN CASE I NOTICE  SOMETHING FUNNY. DO NOT COME OUT ONCE IT IS 6:16PM UNTIL I MAKE OUT TIME TO SEE YOU AND GIVE YOU THE TAPE OF MY DISCUSSION WITH THE PERSON WHO WANT YOU DEAD AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLIED WITH MY DEMANDS, THEN YOU CAN USE IT TO TAKE ANY LEGAL ACTION.. GOOD LUCK AS I AWAIT YOUR REPLY ATTENTION: IF YOU THINK YOU ARE SMARTER THAN US, YOU CAN GIVE US A TRY DON'T REPLY US BACK AND SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL BE DEAD. THE GREAT ASSASSIN GROUP OF EXHIBITION...............