I save all my appointment data in my calendar. It seems to work the best for me. I can update what I just did after each appointment and at the end of the week, pull up my calendar and send invoices based on the appointments. Lately, however, after the switch to Apple, I have had to do a bit of double entry as my invoicing is now on a separate system from my calendar.

The Answer? Google Calendar. That way, all my appointment info is on a web-based calendar which can be accessed from anywhere. I bought a $6 app for my iPhone that holds cached copies of the calendar and syncs it all day long. Now I can look at my calendar on my phone, my laptop and any internet connected desktop. I have also linked my calendar to my website. Google gives you the code to embed the calendar. Now, my clients can see when I am busy and schedule accordingly.

I have been using this system for a couple of weeks and it is working fine. Go take a look at my calendar before scheduling your next appointment.

If you read the tea leaves and ANY tech blog or website, it seems that Apple will probably announce and release some version of a tablet this year. My question is; Why?

While a 10″ iPhone/MacBook SOUNDS cool, who would use it other than gadget freaks? We’re talking about a device that could run iPhone Apps, surf the web, have a touch sensitive screen and could be a replacement for the Kindle or your portable DVD player.
Ok, it sounds like I’m talking myself into it.

First, they already have the MacBook Air; basically a very powerful netbook. If the Air isn’t ultra-portable, I don’t know what is. And yet, you still need to carry it in a bag. The beauty of the iPhone is that it fits in your pocket. The iSlate or whatever they decide to call it will need a bag of some sort, be it your purse or man bag. Even with the newest Pine Trail processor from Intel, the device won’t be much of a business tool, will it?

One of the biggest markets for tablet based PC’s is the medical profession where EMR and EHR systems integrate with tablets to allow medical providers to markup charts and bubble sheets as they work with a patient. All of the Practice Management, EMR and EHR programs I am familiar with require Windows to run. Unless this new tablet from Apple allows you to run Boot Camp, it won’t get much penetration into that market, and even if it did allow you to run Windows on a partition, the software providers probably wouldn’t support it. Add to that the fact that you would lose the functionality that you presumably bought the gadget for and it seems a pointless exercise.

The form factor itself is not without precedent. Remember the Microsoft Origami? There was so much talk at the time about it changing the mobile computing world and it failed miserably.

It looks to me like it will be a device for gadget hounds and folks with too much money. I’m probably wrong. At least all the die hard Apple geeks will buy it and that will probably make it successful enough to keep around for a few years.

Your Thoughts?

So for the last couple of days, my phone has been acting up. This has happened once before. Basically, the phone part of the phone stops functioning. I can’t receive or make calls, voice mail is screwed up and I don’t get texts.
Today, performed a restore of the phone and it didn’t do a darn thing.
SO . . . . I made an appointment at the Apple Store Genius Bar. I took the phone in, told them what I had tried and they did some diagnostics. The diagnostics turned up bubkus. They replace the phone anyway.
Thank goodness for Apple Care.
Now, my phone is happy again and so am I. It really affects my bottom line as a business owner when the cel phone quits working.

Has anyone else needed to get a replacement iPhone?

As previously posted, Microsoft doesn’t allow direct upgrades from XP to Windows 7. Dell also cannot sell you a PC with XP without also selling you Windows 7. Many version incompatibilities exist between different versions of Microsoft software. It seems that whenever MS decides to “innovate”, they leave someone or something out.

Google, on the other hand, makes their money from advertising. This frees them up to create all manner of products and services that actually deliver usability. It also frees them up to use the “group think” mentality of open source to increase the stability and usefulness of their products.

I just read a piece about the new Google Chrome OS and it will no doubt, be a work in progress. That said, it has a limited scope; phones, netbooks and other ultra-mobile devices. In the post, they openly state that they will need help from developers to make it work.

Contrast that to the Microsoft issues listed above and the secrecy and closed system that Apple has. I am seriously thinking about the new Nexus One phone from Google. If I can get that phone with Verizon service, I just may get out from under the iPhone and AT&T.

Google Nexus One

Ok, so I am the last person to find out about this, but there is no direct upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. Dell and other PC companies are selling Windows 7 with the XP downgrade installed; that is, selling you both Windows 7 and XP pro with XP loaded on the box. What they don’t tell you is that you cannot simply put the Windows 7 disc in and run the upgrade while all your programs are hunky dory. Nope, you have to perform a clean install and wipe your hard drive and migrate your backed up DATA and re-install all of your programs.
ARRRRHGGGGHHHH!!!

Honestly. Doesn’t it seem like these operating systems are so Klugy and built right on top of each other that they should easily upgrade from one release to the next? I could understand not being able to upgrade from 32bit to 64bit, but you can’t upgrade from XP Pro to Windows 7 Pro. Nope. Can’t do it.

Aren’t computers supposed to make our lives easier?

Wow. I have been watching the demo of the new product, Google Wave. Google Wave is a collaboration tool designed to allow users to have a more “real life” experience of a conversation. If that sounds confusing, I make no apologies. It’s hard to describe.
Google wave has its own web page that allows you to aggregate these conversations, but also gives users the ability to publish these conversations or waves, to social media sites, blogs, and web pages.
Changes to the wave happen in real time if you desire. As you type or add photos, those changes happen immediately on the collaborators client, blog or web page.

Go watch the video. It’s pretty amazing. The applications for this are going to change the web. Again.

Since it is only $29 to upgrade, you might be saying, Why Not?

My friend Lynn is having problems with her printer. I am going to go look at it tomorrow, but in the mean time, I say, keep your shirt on.

No matter the the operating system, always wait for the first update from the manufacturer before buying. While a new version of Quick Time, 64 bit support and better performance all sound great, do you really want to pay to be a beta tester? Me neither.

Wait for the first OS X 10.6 update before upgrading.

Lately my reseller discount has been disappearing.
That’s one.
They have switched account reps on me 4 times in the last 30 days.
That’s two.
If I want a quote on a PC and it’s after hours, I literally have to pretend to be someone other than myself.
Three Strikes And You’re Out. Read the second to last line again.

I needed a quote on a strange tablet PC and it was after business hours. I called Dell and they asked for my account number. When I gave it to him, he said he would have to transfer me to my “channel group.” My “Channel Group” leaves at 6pm MDT. It was around 7pm. I told him that it would not help me to talk to someone’s voicemail as I needed to get pricing information this very night. He said he could not even open his terminal with the business account number that I gave him because it “has to go to the channel group.” I asked if I should then call the 800 number and pretend NOT to be me so I could get service. He said he could not advise me on a course of action at this time.

WHAT THE #$$#^%$#!!!!

My wife and I use our cell phones constantly. Between calls, email and text messages, we use them all day long. We have been wondering lately why we pay $40 per month for our land line.
I called Comcast today to inquire about their Triple Play. It would cost me about $8 more to get a ton more channels and ditch Qwest. What would it cost to just ditch Qwest, use the cell phones and get better cable TV service? I’d save about $6 per month.

Here is the other cost – 911 services.

Apparently if you call 911 from your cell phone, the call goes to one of the main switchboards, like Mississippi. The operator there has to find out from you where you are calling from and get your cell number in case you get cut off. Then the call is re-routed to the 911 center closest to you.
On a land line at your home, whether it is VOIP or digital, they know your address when you call and the call goes to your local call center.

This is a pretty compelling argument for keeping the land line, don’t you think?

I am considering becoming a “Carbon Neutral” business. Renewable Choice is a company in Boulder that works with businesses and families to become carbon neutral. Check their site for more information on the topic and what you can do.

From a strictly business perspective, I feel like the amount of new business I could attract by becoming carbon neutral would (over time) outweigh the costs involved.

Personally, I am one of those “environmental wackos” that thinks that we can control the amount of issues we have in this world by our own, albeit small, actions. In our home we recycle everything we can, we have a worm bin for composting and one of the 50 gallon drum variety. Our entertainment system is on a power strip that only gets turned on when in use and off immediately afterward. We turn on the A/C about 3-5 times per year only. We have two cars that get 30mpg and a gas guzzler that is parked unless we’re hauling something, or on a camping trip. We raise as much of our own food in our yard as we can. So we try to make a difference in our own home.

As Ghandi said. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
I’m trying.