Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1543

October 8, 2011

Deals: Get Disk Drill Pro – Recover and Undelete Lost Data at 66% Off

Exciting news – we have a new offer on Cult of Mac Deals. This one is near and dear to my heart as this app has saved my butt multiple times in crisis situations.

Disk Drill is one of those apps that you think (and honestly hope) you'll never need. It's the app that you go to when you delete something then empty your trash bin only later to suddenly realize…"$*(@_!…I need that file back"!

Yeah, I think we've all been there.

Disk Drill Pro is a life-saver in situations like this and when it comes to recovering lost data on your Mac in almost any situation. It has patented technology to deep-scan your hard drive and find files you thought were gone forever.

Machines are prone to break and you can either wait until that day, (and eventually it will) and you can cough up the $90 to fix it… or you can get hooked up now and pay just 1/3 of that and begin protecting your data against accidental data loss now for just $30 – that's 66% Off.

It was designed by Mac users for Mac users from the ground up. It's made to be simple and intuitive to every user: no matter if you are a data recovery guru or a new Mac user.

Moral of the story: Make a small investment now… save a bundle later.

Buying Disk Drill Pro is an investment in protecting your photos, your music, your presentations, your financial data.

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 08, 2011 05:00

iPhone 4S Ship Times Hit One To Two Weeks Barely 24 Hours After Going On Sale

[image error]

This might be a record folks since iPhone 4S ship times have hit the one to two-week waiting period in less than 24 hours after going on sale October 7th. As you can see from the picture above all models from all three carriers have sold out for pre-order launch day delivery.

If you want an iPhone 4S of any type at this point your only option, if you want one on launch day October 14th, is to stand in line at your local Apple Store or other iPhone retailer. However, if history repeats itself we all know that the best place to find stock will be at the local Apple Stores.

It looks like Apple has yet another iPhone hit on their hands and I'm anxious to see what happens next year when LTE service becomes more widely available.

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 08, 2011 00:53

October 7, 2011

Before eMail, Steve Jobs Mailed Computer Chips To Apple Fans

[image error]

In recent years, Steve Jobs became famous for emailing terse responses to queries sent by Apple customers to his public email address: sjobs@apple.com.

It's not a new habit, it seems. Back in the early days of Apple, Jobs used to mail letters with computer chips attached to them. Letters of Note posted the one above. How many of these are out there?

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 21:52

It's Not Just You: Huge Identity Theft Ring Also Obsessed with Apple

[image error]

Police busted over 100 people who stole credit card information, mainly so they could get their hands on Apple's insanely great products.

"This is primarily an Apple case," NYPD deputy inspector Gregory Antonsen told the International Business Times.

"Apple is a big ticket item and a very easy sell," he added. While the credit crooks also bought items at stores like Louis Vuitton, thieves spent the most time and money buying Apple.

The ID theft ring stretched from Europe to the Middle East and China; police think victims number in the thousands. The Queens, New York branch of the operation included bank tellers and restaurant employees. Dubbed "Operation Swiper" by authorities, the group had been in operation since 2010 and is thought to have stolen $13 million.

The folks who worked in retail and banking were skimming credit card numbers which ended up with "criminal shoppers" who headed to high-end stores like Apple, Macy's and Bloomingdale's. The booty was then sold overseas.

Back in February, police busted a smaller Apple-swiping ring of 27 people who stole $1 million in Apple goods.

Via International Business Times

Follow @nmar

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 18:13

Steve Jobs Iconic Turtlenecks Sell Out

[image error]

If you want one of those iconic black mock turtlenecks made popular by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, you may have to wait a couple months.

Following Jobs' death October 5, St. Croix Collections, maker of the

The St. Croix mockneck.

Retailing at $175, the company has decided to donate $20 of every turtleneck sold to the American Cancer Society in honor of Jobs and his battle with pancreatic cancer. Sales doubled overnight following his death and many retail stores have run out of them.

Because the made-in-U.S. machine washable togs are made-to-order, St. Croix stores won't be able to get any more for another season – hence the waiting time of about two months.

Bernhard Brenner the founder of St. Croix parent company Knitcraft Corp, told the Business Journal that Jobs usually bought several dozen of the cotton/microfiber blend black turtlenecks a year and occasionally called to tell Brenner how much he liked them.

"Obviously we're going to miss Steven Jobs as a customer," Brennan said. "But the country will miss him period."

Via Twin Cities Business Journal

Follow @nmar

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 17:29

The Griffin AirStrap for iPad 2 is a Great Case, But That's All [Review]

[image error]

The Griffin AirStrap ($30) is another iPad 2 case that's designed to help you maintain a secure grip on your precious tablet while you're using it. It features a molded frame with contoured grips on each side, which are structured to protect the edges of your device.

On the back, there's a neoprene safety strap under which you slip your hand to ensure you have a good grip on your iPad while you're using. As you'd expect, the AirStrap also provides access to your device's dock connector, speaker, headphone jack, volume rocker and mute switch, microphone, and the sleep/wake button.

The Good:

As a case alone, the AirStrap is pretty darn neat. It's not too bulky, yet it's designed in such a way that it has plenty of protection for each corner, and for the back of your device. The moulded frame is incredibly robust, and there's no chance the material is going to damage or tear.

The lip of the case that surrounds your iPad's display is minimal, and it doesn't intrude the front of your device too much. That may sound like a minor point to you, but this is a pet hate for me: if that lip around the edge of the device protrudes too far onto the front of the device, or if it's too fat, it gets to me.

As you'd expect from a Griffin product, the AirStrap is incredibly well built. I've given that neoprene strap a good tugging over the past few weeks, and I had no concerns that it would tear.

The Bad:

The neoprene strap isn't very comfortable at all. It's incredibly tight, and although it does stretch a little over time, it'll continue to be uncomfortable if your hands are any bigger than a toddler's. It's bearable for short periods of time, but using the strap extensively is out of the question. After a while your finger tips begin to go cold because they're just not getting enough blood.

Because the strap remains in one position, it's difficult to use your iPad in landscape mode. While its okay to use in portrait if you get the angle of your hand just right, landscape makes the case even more uncomfortable to use. I previously reviewed the HandStand case for iPad 2, and although this was big and bulky, the rotating strap on the rear allowed you to easily turn the device between to any orientation.

My final niggle is that the AirStrap doesn't provide any protection to your device's display, and it doesn't accommodate your Smart Cover. This one isn't necessarily a big issue, because a lot of cases don't provide protection to the front of the device, and we choose to buy them that way. Also, if the AirStrap did accommodate the Smart Cover, it would have to leave one edge of your device exposed, which would likely be the edge that it falls on when you drop it.

Verdict:

I like the Griffin AirStrap… as a simple case. If you simply want to protect the back of your device with a sturdy, protective, and well-made case, the AirStrap is ideal. But if you want a case for the sole purpose of using a hand strap, the AirStrap will just frustrate you.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

[image error]

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 17:23

Steve Jobs Watched iPhone 4S Launch Live From Home

[image error]

UPDATE: Jobs wasn't in bed watching the live feed, but sitting on a sofa enjoying apple juice with rice pudding. Our source reports: "He was sitting in his favorite single soft leather sofa chair and having apple juices with rice pudding, as his favorite."

We don't have many details, but we have it from a good source that Steve Jobs watched the launch of the iPhone 4S from his death bed home in Palo Alto.

A special private video stream was set up for him to watch the event from home.

According to our source: "At the end of the show, he smiled as if to say 'All things are in good hands' but did not utter a word."

The source declined to go into further detail. The source is well-connected and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Jobs died the following day.

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 14:43

Steve Jobs Watched iPhone 4S Launch From Death Bed

[image error]

We don't have many details, but we have it from a good source that Steve Jobs watched the launch of the iPhone 4S from his death bed.

A special private video stream was set up for him to watch the event from home.

According to our source: "At the end of the show, he smiled as if to say 'All things are in good hands' but did not utter a word."

The source declined to go into further detail. The source is well-connected and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Jobs died the following day.

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 14:43

In The Aftermath Of Today's Ordering Frenzy Apple Order Status Goes Down

[image error]In the aftermath of todays iPhone 4S ordering frenzy Apple's order status system has gone down. If you've ordered an iPhone 4S today rest assured that your order has been placed if you receive the order acknowledgement email from the Apple Store online.

There isn't any need to check your order status after receiving that email until next week. Here are a few tips on how you can track your order later.

Currently when I tried to use http://www.apple.com/orderstatus I received the "We'll be back soon" message from the online Apple Store after going through a few steps to confirm my iPhone 4S order. I didn't receive the same message when accessing the store itself this afternoon.

You can use the above web link next week to check the status of your order as it gets closer to Friday's delivery. That is if you were lucky enough to get your order in to have one delivered by then.

If you already have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch you could use an app to track your order. My favorite app for doing that is called Delivery Status touch which is $4.99 in the iTunes App Store. It will track your online Apple Store orders using the web order number from your acknowledgement email and your Apple ID.

However, now even it cannot track the order due to the outage on Apple's website. Once you receive the carrier shipping information you can track it using that as well. Finally, as your package makes it to you and gets scanned you can see its route on a map on your favorite iDevice.

It looks like sales figures for the iPhone 4S are off to a good start and that is a good thing. In fact its is better than a good thing as far as I'm concerned after the loss of Steve Jobs. I think that every time an iPhone 4S is sold it is an iPhone 4 Steve. I'll always remember him when I hold it or for that matter when I hold any of my other Apple products.

View more on Leander Kahney's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2011 13:49

AT&T and Apple Want Your iPhone 4S Status Bar to Say "4G" [Report]

[image error]

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S to the world on Tuesday, the smartphone's ability to take advantage of HSPA+ data speeds raised some eyebrows. Were the carriers going to brand the 4S as a "4G' device?

It appears that Apple and AT&T are both working to replace the 3G indicator in the iPhone 4S status bar with the term "4G." Will the iPhone 4S actually have reliable 4G speeds? Probably not.

[image error]

This is my next got the scoop:

"AT&T and T-Mobile have led the charge over the past year to brand their upgraded HSPA+ networks as "4G," even though such networks historically don't fall into the "4G" definition — and considering that AT&T is in the process of rolling out LTE concurrently, it can be a confusing message for customers to hear. That said, there's no sign of AT&T's network branding effort slowing down, but here's a bit of a shocker: the carrier is apparently "working with Apple" to change the indicator in the iPhone 4S (which tops out at 14.4Mbps, up from the iPhone 4′s 7.2Mbps) to show "4G" in the status bar as well."

The fact that the iPhone 4S can top out at 14.4Mbps doesn't mean that users will see such high speeds frequently on AT&T. The iPhone 4S uses HSPA+ technology, not LTE. Classically, HSPA+ hasn't been considered a "4G" standard. But the fact that it's faster than regular 3G means that carriers feel the need to brand smartphones with the 4G label. (Anything for sales.)

AT&T's LTE network is rolling out slowly in some of the bigger US cities. It won't be until at least 2012 before LTE saturation reaches a noticeable level throughout the country.

Gizmodo has confirmed that AT&T and Apple are working to make the iPhone 4S say "4G" in the status bar, even though you won't really have what's technically considered "4G" speeds.

Hooray.