Friday, November 24, 2017

Our iPhone Experience...

As you know we come from a Microsoft environment, and have been a Microsoft Brat since the Inception of Windows...

If it wasn't for Microsoft's inability to manage both a desktop and a portable, we would've been using a Microsoft phone code name (Surface)...

We are going on record to say that we never had a problem with our Nokia Windows phone technically...

We did crack the screen, but it still worked, and it was only because it was no longer supported is why we had to come up with an alternative solution...

It was at that time a friend of ours presented us with an opportunity to try out the iPhone with no money down, which is the only way we would have done it :-D

Looking back now we would have had to go with the only 2 viable solutions available, Apple or Google, and we would have never went with a Replicant, so we would have certainly chose Apple...

...and we did then and we did again today...let us explain...

Recently our iPhone crapped out, we were stable with the 11.1.1 update for 3 days, then on the 4th, the phone shut off...

We were able to get iTunes to recognize it, saying it was in recovery mode and had to be reset before we could use it and we got the Apple to appear, but stopped with a 4014 error...

We took it to Apple and they wanted to open it up to see if it was the logic board, but it wasn't worth doing because the phone we had was a 5s and knew that any money spent on this phone would only be good money after bad...

We knew that we had to upgrade and we were going to as soon as iOS 12 came out, which we believe will end the support for the 5s, which would have given us the time needed for X to be on shelves everywhere...

Unfortunately we weren't given that opportunity and found ourselves between a rock and a hard spot...

If we knew our phone was going to just up and die on us for no apparent reason other than a bad iOS 11 updating process we endured, we would have pre-ordered and would have been using the X right now, but we didn't think our phone would just die w/out warning...

We weren't the only 5s owner that their phone died on, come to find out, a lot of people we have been talking to have said their phones, 5s in particular, have also died and coincidentally after they recently updated to 11.1.1...

We know that Apple has fallen behind Android, but you wouldn't think Apple would be putting out an iOS phone killuh, do you...

Anyway, back to our story...

We told you that why buy an 8 when you had the opportunity of being on the threshold of an Anniversary edition, not only that, but the long awaited removal of the Home Button...

We wanted to be a part of that experience considering we've been preaching it for years that Apple needed to get rid of that archaic technology, considering it is a TOUCHSCREEN...

However for us, there were two things that stood in our way of being a part of that Pioneering revolution, one was time and the other was choice...

None of the locations we went to, Mac Store and any other store for that matter would have the X on their shelves, but rumor was Apple had them, but you would have to wait in line (time)...

The second option we had was choice, but that would have went against our principles,
and that wasn't going to happen...

See, we could have bought a 50 dollar Android Phone and just ordered a phone online and waited while using an Android, but there is no way in HELL we would ever buy an Android phone, even if you gave it to us...

sidenote: To be honest with you when we saw Firefox on the screen a little puke burp came up in our throat and that did it for us...

Karma was all around us on this one and we had to be careful what choice we made and that was when we walked into our final destination...

We went to our carriers retail outlet and when we walked in we saw the representative we saw over 3 years ago still working there, and we promised that person that when we were ready to buy a new phone, we would but it from them, and we did...

Now they didn't remember us, but we remembered them and our promise to that Rep and told them about that promise...

They didn't have the color we wanted, but time was not on our side, so we went with the color they had and after some research we realized the 8 Plus was spec for spec comparative to the X...

The only difference is of course the burger button that the 8 has, no facial recognition and a bit better screen, but it wasn't enough to even notice...

In all respect we have the X because truth be known, we would have never used the Facial Recognition, and we don't use the thumb print either ;-)...

If you have time to wait, we would suggest going with the Anniversary edition phone when it hits retail outlets in December/January...

Although, the 8 Plus is 200 dollars less then the X, which gives you some extra money for accessories, like Bluetooth ear pieces and or a case to go over your phone...

If you get the right case the color of the phone won't matter, because you can't see it...

We truly liked our Microsoft phone over our 5s, because it never just shut off on us for no reason, and it never died, and just for fun we pulled it out of the box and turned it on and it still works...

The iPhone has been a lot more fun to use then the Microsoft phone, but that's because Microsoft is a very structured company that takes business very seriously, whereas Apple is not...

We blame you Microsoft for putting us through this hell, but like we've told you before, we're a tech and you gotta love the process and we do, because now we have learned a new product and if it wasn't for Microsoft we might not have...

The same could be said about Android, but we have already been there and done that with Android it was called Microsoft 1.0...

We don't need to go down memory lane of the trials and tribulations that are taking place with Android the GUI...

Maybe when they finally grow up in about 5-10 years, we might look at them, but until then, we'll just keep holding out for Microsoft's Surface phone while using iOS...and that's a fact!

Sunday, November 19, 2017

The iPhone 300 dollar Rebate...

Just an FYI: Make sure you read the small print on this rebate...

If you haven't paid off your old phone, you're going to have to as well as paying off your new phone...

The 300 dollars is a Gift Card for AT&T that cannot be used to pay off any existing debt on old devices...

You could trade someone else up from their old phone to your old phone, but would be an upgrade for them...

They would take over the payments and they could transfer their # to the your old phone as well...

Transfer all your data over to your new phone then wipe the transfer phone so all your personal data is removed...

The 11.1.1 update is stable, you won't have to reinstall your phone if you upgrade to 11.1.1 so it's a win win, you get a new phone and they will get a better phone...

The iPhone X is a heavy phone and it's big, so get ready for that...

For those of you that waited for the X, kudos to you...

Sunday, November 12, 2017

5hVnz Stock Watch...

Microchip Technology Inc...

91.56 ▲ +0.75 +0.83%

After Hours : 91.56 0.00 0.00%
November 10, 2017 5:20 PM EST. Delayed 15 minutes; NASDAQ. Currency In USD

The AT21CS11 memory device offers an extended voltage range to accommodate lithium-ion battery applications...
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/latest-single-wire-serial-eeprom-040000737.html

Microchip Technology Inc. reported a whopping 431 percent increase in profits on record sales during its latest quarter...
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2017/11/06/microchip-reaches-1-billion-in-sales-for-first.html

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Here's an Idea...

The Suit Jacket needs to be redesigned...

We noticed a problem with the Suit Jacket when we saw Stephen Colbert suits...

Here is a guy that has enough money to buy any suit he wants, of course he wasn't able to because they wanted to relate to the millennial so they tried putting him in a fitted suit which looks like SHIT!!!

He of course felt the same about it and started customizing the suit a bit to get away from the skinny look...

Since we're on the subject, the skinny suit leaves the legs so short it's what most people call out, what, you waiting for a flood...

They ride so high they almost look like Capris, absolutely horrible, but that's not why we're here...

The Suit Jacket's button is in the wrong place and the lapels need to be extended to hide the end of the tie...

If you look at the jacket at the buckle it fans out and shows the end of the tie, the tucked in shirt and looks like crap...

Plus with the button as high as it is it looks like they are getting choked out and wearing a little jacket, it just doesn't look right at all and we can't believe that look has lasted this long...

No one ever uses the second button and if they do it looks even weirder, so no one buttons that button, but that's where the lapels need to come down to...

That's why the double breast suit looks so much better than the standard business suit jacket, because it's a finished look, the business suit looks...wrong...

Think about it, because it's just an idea...

Sunday, November 5, 2017

The 11.1 udpate from Apple...

Well we have updated our phone to the latest iOS which is 11.1 and we have updated our iTunes to 12.7.1.14, we updated iTunes first, did a backup then updated our iOS....

We have already noticed a significant battery loss on our device which concerns us about the upgrading process for iOS...

It looks as though we may have to reset our phone and install as new then restore from iTunes, but we're holding out just in case...

The update is 2.46gb and takes about 10 minutes to download and install...

There has been an issue with the update with the letter I which we didn't encounter, but know about a fix Apple is recommending...

If you type I you might get a Capital A instead, kind of weird, but the workaround is this:

Go to Settings/General/Keyboard/Text Replacement, once there put a Capital I on the left and a smaller case i on the right, supposedly this fixes this issue...

A little recap for you...

In our last post we mentioned that we lost our music from iTunes and on our Phone, we have since solved the mystery to why this happened...

When we reinstalled our computer we backed up our phone first, then we reinstalled and once we were done we backed up our phone again on the new OS, however, we relocated our music...

We moved our music to a second drive and when we did this, iTunes lost the path to the music and didn't backup our music on the phone, which is strange to us...

Music is Data, Apple, believe it or not, but music is considered Data, and as such, we thought was being backed up...

Apparently not, if you lose your music on your computer, you'll lose your music on your device as well, that's not good Apple...

sidenote: What is the definition of Irony, a Music Program that has the ability to backup that doesn't backup the music, now that's ironic :-D

Thankfully we are the King of Backups so we were covered in the case of a shotty backup program...

We relied on one backup once, but once burned, twice shy, but in our book, thrice shy...

Backup, Backup then Backup up again...

We'll let you know what we find out about this latest battery issue we're experiencing...

**UPDATE**

A new problem has been discovered with the 11.1 update and Emoji's...

We noticed that Apple has added some new Emoji's to our list and none of them work, they just come up as a ? that's a question mark...

You gotta love Apple's sense of humor, we do :-D...

Not all phones are experiencing this Emoji issue...

Battery issue is happening on multiple phones...

**UPDATE**

Okay, iTunes and this 11.xx update is a Glitchy little B-AHHCH, so we have figured out the best way to reset your phone...

BACKUP YOUR PHONE FIRST, connect it to iTunes, click the Phone icon in iTunes, go to summary, then on the right in the Backups Box choose backup now...

Once you have backed up your phone, UNPLUG IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER/DEVICE...

Reset your phone from the phone, DO NOT, connect it to your computer or device and use iTunes, just reset it on its own...

Choose Erase All Content and Settings and follow the prompts...

When the phone reboots you'll choose your language, and blah blah, but importantly, make sure you choose "Setup New Phone" connect to your internet, set your password blah blah...

Wait until all the Apps load on your phone first before you go to the next step...

Okay, everything is loaded, looking good, now NOW, plug in your phone to your device/computer and start up iTunes if it doesn't pop up automatically...

Once iTunes recognizes your phone you'll be presented with two questions, one is Setup as New and the other is restore from Backup, choose Restore From Backup...

What is the difference between “restore backup” and “restore iPhone” in iTunes?
Answer:
Restore Backup: restores the contents of an iPhone backup performed sometime in the past. It restores content and stored data such as app settings, home-screen layouts, etc. Saved account login information is restored if the backup was encrypted.
Restore iPhone: wipes the iPhone of all data & apps and reinstalls iOS, leaving the iPhone reset to factory settings. The iPhone is left with just the latest iOS and the Apple default apps.

The phone will reboot and will give you a progress indicator of its status as it restores your data and won't take too long...

You're done, that simple, however, our music didn't come back again...

The path to our music was remembered in iTunes, but for some reason iTunes will not backup your music...

We really don't remember having this problem when we saved our music on the local drive and a few iTunes versions ago, but now it just won't restore the music...

It'll be in your iTunes profile so just drag it into your device, you're done...

For some reason, we had a problem with using iTunes to reset the phone, it really screwed up, we had vertical lines on our phone, we thought it was ruined, we did it three times and it finally finished, but it was ugly and we were not confident with the load so we reinstalled it with the process above and it was perfect, with the exception of the music, everything went well. Our Battery is working well and all of our emojis are working properly...

There is something wrong with just updating to the new OS and the only way things would work properly, is doing what we did above...and that's a fact!

sidenote: Make sure you go to the App Store to see if you have any updates for your apps...