When I was growing up, I watched many of my peers obtain music through Napster.  Napster seemed to be a great thing for the masses of high school kids who couldn’t afford to pay for their music (or they just want something for free).  However it did cut holes in the bottom line for the recording industry.  12 years later, finally it seems that alliances of companies now actually have the teeth to end or at least curb digital piracy.  How?  By working with your internet service provider (ISP).  You already are bound to the terms of service of your internet service provider which either already gives them or will give them should they modify there terms of use the power to monitor your activities.   Working with the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other trade groups, the major ISPs can actually take action against you.  It is said to have a “graduated response” that will first educate you about legalities before finally taking you to court.  The escalation process I have been told may look something like this:

Level One:  These kind of copyright infringement letters are just written warnings sent to you via email to let you know that you might have someone that is downloading copyrighted material using your IP. They are just generic letters sent by an automation email sender by your ISP.

Level Two: These copyright infringement letters are very similar to the Level One letters except that they usually contain warnings to get you to cease further infringement, and warn you that your ISP may shut off your internet service if you continue to violate copyright laws.

Level Three: These letters are never sent via email. If you get an email letter that is claiming to be level three from an ISP then I would consider it to be a level one or two letter. At this stage your ISP may shut off your internet service at some point. I would recommend that you contact your ISP claim that the files in question were deleted, and that it will never happen again.

Level Four: At this point the letter is threatening to cut off your internet service off due to a breach of the TOS (Terms of Service) agreement with your ISP, or is explaining that your service has already been suspended due to the same. In many cases the letters will be sent by an Anti-P2P organization requesting a settlement of some sort regarding the copyright violations.

Level Five: At this level the copyright infringement letter is sent via a mail service, peace officer, or court appointed official. Usually the letter is in the form of a subpoena to either invite you to court and/or let you know that the litigation process has started. At this point its time to hire a lawyer, and fight it out.

This could potentially stop people as hefty criminal charges could be brought to bear.  For those hell bent on continuing with torrents and other forms of digital piracy, they could always lease and use a seedbox located in a country which does not allow monitoring of traffic.  What boggles my mind is that in order to do something like this, they will actually pay money to maintain their illegal activities.  For most, their is nothing to hide or fear as they are on the proper side of the law.  But beware, evildoers, big brother is watching!

Your Turn:  Where do we draw the line on protecting businesses while privacy is lost?  What should be done to people who abuse the freedom of privacy?

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I recently ran into an interesting problem.  Running an iOS game caused it to just crash back into the home screen.  What was the problem?  It turned out that I was running too many applications at once.  Beginning with iOS 4 with multitasking, apps don’t automatically close.  You can force an app to close according to Apple’s website by:

Follow these steps to force an app to close:

1. From the Home screen, click the Home button twice.
2. Tap and hold on the app.
3. When it starts to jiggle, tap the to close it.

Repeat this process until you have closed out of all other apps.  (You also have the choice of restarting your iDevice).  Now go ahead and try opening up that that troublesome app.  Chances are it will now be happy to run and not crash on you.  YAY!

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According to Trefis, Verizon is following after the heels of AT&T.  After AT&T upped its activation fee from $18 to $36 for phone upgrades recently, Verizon now is following suite with a $30 fee for all phone upgrades beginning April 22.  Carriers are doing this for relief on phone subsidies.  With this coming into effect soon, and if you were thinking about upgrading your phone, now may potentially be the best time to upgrade to save a few bucks.

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After the research I did about 4G pricing, I bought an aftermarket Clear USB Modem today.  I had previously tried clear when signal strength was considered weak in my area a couple of years ago back when Micro Center was still selling it.  This time, the signal still appeared weak unless I sat underneath a skylight or was near a window.  When I tried to activate the device however, that’s when some trouble began.  The Clear self activation page refused to take the MAC address of my Clear device.  Using ipconfig –all, the Clear rep. knew what to do to get a MAC address…however he decided to use the MAC address not of my WiMax device, but that of my WiFi card!  He said that the MAC address validated.

tjchan:  Which mac should I try again?
Martin:  00-21-00-8C-FF-A3
tjchan:  But that’s my wifi card and not the clear device.
Martin:  That is how it is working out for me.
tjchan:  Because if I just type something random and stupid for a mac address it seems to take it.
Martin:  It shouldn’t
tjchan:  Try it… DEADBEEFCAFE
Martin:  Lol I will try
tjchan:  It says that is actually validated.
tjchan:  Which doesn’t make any sense.
Martin:  Wow, your right.

As funny as it sounds, Clear’s lack of webpage MAC validation isn’t really a big deal as there are many Clear devices out there and they simply care about the bottom-line….he who has the adapter and is willing to pay for service gets service.  So their check only makes sure that the MAC address is a possible one rather than an actual one of their own devices.  After signing up with sales, a quick call to a technician in the Philippines got me up and running within 10 minutes.  Both people I spoke with were kind and courteous.  I’m excited to give Clear a test drive.  Online Trading Academy here in Dallas uses Clear as a backup internet service so that alone speaks well for this service.  Only more testing will tell whether Clear is a good choice for me  – and whether or not I’ll be using it past my 15 day trial.

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Yes!  It’s that time again folks to stock up on iTunes credit.  Now, you can get gift cards for a whopping 20% off at Best Buy!  I love these offers as I’m able to buy my apps at a discount.  Why pay retail anyway? 

So how would you maximize your savings?

• Buy using your custom link through from eBates or FatWallet for 1-3.6% additional savings. 
• Be a part of Best Buy’s rewards program called Reward Zone.  You’ll earn points for purchases.
• Lastly, use a rewards type credit card.

That’s it!  Now you’re getting your apps and not breaking the bank.

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Exciting news!  Beginning last Sunday, AT&T lets iPhones that are no longer part of a contract to be unlocked (this means that you can use another carrier that uses a SIM card).  This is a welcome change.

According to MacRumors:

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer’s account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

So what do you need to do to get your phone unlocked?  The worst way according to ZDNet is by phone.  It’s better to go either in-store or to chat online.  All AT&T needs to get the handset unlocked is the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of the iPhone.  You can find that by going to Settings > General > About and then scrolling down until you get to the 15 digit number.

I’m sure we’ll be seeing fresh life to many older iPhones.  Cheers!

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With the release of FileMaker 12 a new version of the mobile app for iPhone and iPad was also released.  FileMaker Go 12 is a free app unlike FileMaker Go 11 which was sold separately for $40.  What’s the catch?  The new FileMaker Go can only interface with databases created with the new FileMaker 12 and will not work with previous versions.  By adding the mobile portion as standard fare, it gives existing users of FileMaker a very strong case to upgrade to the latest version as well as attracts new users to the premium database creator.  A user can upgrade to the new version for a mere $179.00 as long as they own version 9 or later.  Upgrade eligibility for version 9 is only for a limited time until September 27, 2012.

According to the press release:

Some of the new features of FileMaker Go 12 include:

•     Multitasking support — Pick up right where you left off
when you return to FileMaker Go from other apps.
•     Improved media integration — Add media files and
play them back directly from FileMaker Go.
•     Export data in multiple formats — Export your data
from FileMaker Go in formats such as Excel, CSV, TAB, or
HTML files.
•     Enhanced container fields — Instantly stream movies
and music from your device without any data storage limit
concerns.

What beta users are saying about FileMaker Pro 12 and FileMaker Go 12 for iPad and iPhone

“FileMaker Pro 12 is a great update,” says Dean T. Bingham, president, db Digital Design.  “I have converted all of my previous information to FileMaker Pro 12 and everything works flawlessly. I have used the slick new Starter Solutions to extend the functionality of my databases – and the ease of building forms from scratch, with the compatibility of desktop, iPad and iPhone formats, is a huge boon.”

According to IT and facility manager James Pierson, Rampart Hydro Services, “The use of FileMaker Go 12 enables us to get timely and consistent data from the field eliminating the hodgepodge of spreadsheets, hard-copy forms, and the odd flap torn off an old cardboard box. I love the idea of FileMaker Go specific script steps, making it easier to take advantage of the growing capabilities of iOS.”

“Thanks to FileMaker Pro 12 and its ease of extension to iOS devices, creating a full-on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for small business will take a lot less time and effort than I ever imagined,” says George Page, president, Sea Breeze Farm.

For more details, check out the datasheet for the latest FileMaker Go 12 which is available here.   The new FileMaker Go 12 is available in the Apple App Store.

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4G is cropping up everywhere.  Even NetZero started offering mobile broadband via 4G a couple of weeks ago.  Without going into service quality, how do the different providers fare in terms of bottom line pricing?  Get ready for a bird’s eye view on pricing with the most popular 4G providers.  We’ll be looking at both the cost of equipment (no contract) as well as service.  Read past the jump to find out everything you ever wanted to know about 4G pricing…

Let’s look at no contract equipment prices first.  All equipment must be new and currently sold by the provider.

From here we see the pricing differences between the value providers and the major telecoms.  What about pricing for service?

*NetZero offers a FREE plan.  However it will last only for one year and cannot be renewed.  To make matters more interesting, if you ever upgrade your service, you cannot revert back to the free plan.  Looking over the NetZero agreement, there are some really nasty provisions in its section 2.0 regarding mandatory surveys.  This for me is a deal killer.

I took the liberty to talk with customer service reps for both NetZero and Clear.  What I learned was of prime importance. Clear actually owns its own 4G data network in which it supplies service to both Sprint as well as NetZero.  Looking at the information gathered, why should we even deal with a middle man whether it be Sprint or NetZero as they both offer 4G service through Clear.  According to 9to5Mac Sprint actually owns 54% of clear but it seems that Sprint’s 4G offerings are rather pricey in comparison.

My conclusion after research is that Clear from a pricing standpoint offers the best value.  I haven’t had the opportunity outside of my former employer Micro Center to see service quality (for Clear).  At the Dallas Micro Center location, I did notice a range of speed between 3Mbps – 6Mbps 2 years ago.  With that being said, if you are using a 4G service, where are you using it at?  How’s the service?

”4G” Post Photo Taken from GizmoLord.com

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PhatPad, a popular note-taking and collaboration program for the iPad, recently got updated.  Adding Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish languages to supported language mix, PhatWare also has added optimizations to take full advantage of the high-resolution Retina Display.

PhatPad’s key features include:

· Smooth-flowing digital ink technology, which lets iPad users scribble notes as if they are writing on real paper;

· The ability to combine drawing, handwritten text, images, and digital text on the same document page to create media-rich content;

· A powerful multilingual handwriting recognition engine, which automatically converts handwritten notes into text;

· Voice notes – record, play, and use in presentation mode;

· An advanced Presentation mode, which supports a VGA monitor and allows recording and playing presentations by synchronizing document pages and voice;

· PhatPad Document sharing using Dropbox synchronization, Google Docs and Evernote upload, direct access via WiFi or iTunes, and email;

· Printing to a printer on wireless network via AirPrint.

The beauty of PhatPad as a note-taking, collaboration and brainstorming tool, is that it allows users to draw pictures, jot notes, or put a mixture of pictures, drawings, handwritten and typed text on a virtual scratch pad. The included handwriting recognition engine allows PhatPad users to convert previously recorded handwritten notes into digital text, and edit text using either the handwriting input panel or the keyboard.

PhatPad 2.1 is available in the iTunes App Store at a reduced price of only $4.99. The price includes handwriting recognition in a language of the user’s choice. Support for additional languages can be purchased in-app for just $2.99 per language. The US English Medical dictionary is also available for PhatPad for $4.99. For more information about PhatPad, visit PhatWare’s web site at http://www.phatware.com/phatpad.

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The Nexus S 4G will be the first Sprint device to get Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest and greatest new version of Android.  So what will Nexus S 4G users be in for?

According to the press release, Android 4.0 adds numerous enhancements and new features, including:

· A refined, evolved user interface that is simple, beautiful and useful

· Android Beam™: quickly share web pages, apps, contacts and YouTube™ videos with your friends by simply tapping two Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled phones together

· Redesigned camera, which introduces panorama mode, effects like silly faces and background replacement and a powerful photo editor

· Data Usage helps you avoid data overage charges by allowing you to instantly see your data usage for any period of time or any app – and get notified before reaching your limit; you can even restrict background data for individual apps

· Web browser now lets you sync Google Chrome™ bookmarks, request full desktop versions of sites, see your open tabs in a new layout and even store web pages for offline reading

· People: browse friends, family and coworkers, see their photos in high-resolution and check their latest status updates from Google+ and other social networks

· Improved keyboard with incredibly accurate typing, an inline spell checker and improved copy and paste support

· New Calendar app that lets you add events quickly, sync with Google Calendar™ or Microsoft Exchange and even pinch to adjust your calendar display

· Redesigned Gmail™ app that now lets you swipe between conversations to catch up quickly, and search for emails even without a data connection

· Google+ integration that lets you hangout and video chat with up to 10 friends using your front-facing camera

If you have any questions about this update, help can be found on Sprint’s forums.

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