Prompter Bob

Here's a real simple tip to keep your iPhone (or your iPod touch) happy and running in tip- top shape. Reboot your iPhone (by turning it on or off) at least once or twice a week. I depend on my trusty iPhone for so much, so I try to remember to do it once a day. It's especially important to do if you frequently download and try a lot of new apps or if you run memory intensive apps, such as games, video, or navigation. Even just emailing and surfing all day long can scramble your iPhone's brain. Remember, your iPhone is a mini computer running a complex operating system. A quick reboot can often fix most glitches and it will restart fresh and ready to do all you demand from it.

Sent via iPhone 3GS

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Apple's Steve Jobs introduced the new iPad tablet device today with his usual Barnum showmanship. It looks really slick and cool - like a giant iPhone - and plays music, video, surfs the web, and you can read books and magazines on its large, snazzy color screen. Students will love it because it soon might be used to replace heavy text books with electronic versions. As Apple saved the music industry with the iPod, they can do the same for the publishing world with the iPad. Many people who actually got to play with one today said that you really won't understand it until you hold it in your hands. It's all about the user experience.

At this time, I can't really justify getting one.  In my home and at work, I'm only steps away from a computer and I always have my iPhone on my side. However, at a starting point of $499 a lot of people will want one because it can probably do most of the work of a home computer. The iPad has the added advantage of being as smart and functional as a computer, but the user is totally isolated from the operating system. It's pretty much self-maintaining. It's an appliance like a toaster. You don't have to know how iPad works - you just use it. That's how all future computers need to work.

Did Apple re-invent the wheel? Only time will tell, but it's never wise bet against Apple. People who mocked the iPhone when it was first introduced are now eating their words. Like the iPhone, the iPad will be defined by the Apps which will be written for it. We can only imagine what cool stuff lies ahead. The sky's the limit. So, does the iPod live up to all the the hype? I'll let you know when I try it out. Will I buy one soon? Probably not, but you never know. Is Amazon's Kindle dead? I think it's on life support.

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BEFORE: What a mess! I can't find where anything is connected to and I don't like the way all my surge strips are wired.

AFTER: I still have a lot of wires, but considering I have 7 external hard drives, a firewire hub, 2 USB hubs, 3 printers, an external screen, speakers, keyboard, 2 routers and a wireless mouse all wired up to my Macbook, I'm happy with the new orgainzation.  I can easily find any connection without cursing about someone's mother.

Do you have a Rat's Nest?

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Is your TIVO so packed its hard drive is ready to explode? Do you have stacks of unwatched Netflix DVD's? Piles of unread books or magazines? Loads of dusty CD's you've never listened to? If so, you are suffering from Entertainment Debt - a modern day malady defined as having too much media to consume in too little time. And let's not forget media costs a lot of money - and that's another kind of debt to worry about.

My own quick inventory tallied 42 movies and dozens of TV episodes waiting on my DVR. I have a pile of unwatched DVD's, including the first season of In Treatment, seasons 1 and 2 of Mad Men and the mini-series Band of Brothers. Add to this a bunch of weekly technology podcasts on my Apple TV and over 300 Netflix "watch instantly" movies queued on my Roku box. Plus, the fall TV season is just weeks away and I'll be pushing my DirecTV HD DVR to the limits with new episodes of Heroes, Fringe, House, Sons of Anarchy, Stargate Universe, Flash Forward, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, 30 Rock, Lost, 24... Yikes!

How big is your Entertainment Debt? Let's hear from you.

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Went to the movies last night for the first time in ages. Finally saw STAR TREK. Although the film was fantastic, the movie theater experience wasn't. Driving to crowded multiplexes at malls or shopping centers to watch a movie is a real pain in the ass - and it's expensive. Fortunately, there are alternatives. For the past few months, I've been really enjoying watching movies on HDTV and Blu Ray DVD. IMHO, the resolution and clarity far surpasses even the best theater projection, even digital. The other day, I watched LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and JAWS in HD (on DirecTV) and the films looked amazing. To rob a line from Yogi Berra, it was like watching them all over again for the first time. The quality of Blu Ray is so good it can even make a mediocre film like PAUL BLART: MALL COP more enjoyable to watch (maybe because I didn't plunk down $11 to see it). And think about this - a one month subscription to NETFLIX or HBO costs less than the price of one movie ticket. Buying an HDTV and a Blu Ray player is a smart investment, which will save you money and maybe your sanity.  From now on, I think I'll only go to the movies to see an event film, like James Cameron's upcoming sci-fi spectacular AVATAR, which will be shown in IMAX 3D this Christmas.  Until then, I'm happy being a HDTV couch potato.

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Now that I have a fully functional phone, here are a few quick impressions of the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3GS looks exactly like my old iPhone 3G - and that's not a bad thing because all the chargers and accessories I own will still work. The "S" for speed claim is legit. All functions feel zippier than my old 3G. Apple's new oleophobic (yes, that's a real word meaning "oil fearing") screen coating is one of the 3GS model's most under-praised new features. I'm seeing hardly any greasy fingerprints.  While I don't recommend you eat KFC while using your phone, whatever schmutz gets on the screen is easily wiped off.  I've also decided to go naked and not put on a screen protector because I like the smooth feel of the new screen. It just feels different (better) to me.

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I had an appointment at the Apple Store Genius Bar this morning at Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus. My "genius" immediately was able to get the phone to connect to the store's unsecure WiFi, but the signal was very weak and went on and off. After a full reset and restore it wasn't any better, so they swapped out my phone for a new one. Now everything works as it should (fingers crossed.) Was it a hardware or software problem? Who knows? At this point,  I'm just happy it's working. I suspect Apple will be releasing a software update or a statement very soon to address this problem.

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