A deep dive into digital marketing

AT&T + iPhone = Free Wifi

Posted by Chris under Apple, Broadband, Mobile, Technology, Travel, iPhone

That’s right, recently announced by AT&T and shared across twitter and the web, free AT&T Wifi for iPhone users at AT&T WiFi hotspots. So beyond just Starbuck, including any of the public AT&T Wifi hotspots, you’ll get free Wifi on your iPhone, can you tell I’m excited.

As AT&T says

AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and FREE Wi-Fi is even hotter. Which is why FREE AT&T Wi-Fi access is now available for Apple iPhone at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks*. Users can relax and access music, email and web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their nearest location. For information visit www.att.com/attwifi.

Enjoy the experience of mobile Internet on Apple iPhone. Your iPhone now has free AT&T Wi-Fi access at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks*. Visit www.att.com/attwifi for more information or find a Starbucks location near you. That’s all you need to get going – so go ahead, see what your iPhone can do!

And it’s pretty darn easy to activate, instuctions via AT&T are below.

iPhone users, get started with Wi-Fi

• Activate Wi-Fi from the settings icon on your iPhone
• Select “attwifi” from the list of available networks
• Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap ‘continue’
• You will receive a text message from AT&T with a secure link to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. You will not be charged for the text message.
• The SMS link will only be valid for 24 hours at the location it was requested. Another request must be submitted when using another hotspot location.
• Open the text message and tap on the link for 24-hour access to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot

I’m shocked (by my iphone power adaptor)

Posted by Chris under Apple, Technology, iPhone, online retail

Apple has just issues a safety recall for the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter. According to the site they have “determined that under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock.  We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported.”

The ultracompact USB power adapters were supplied with every iPhone 3G sold in the following countries, and may also have been purchased separately as an accessory:

Meanwhile they say only use the USB charger on your computer.

However help is on the way.

The Exchange Process

Replacement adapters will be available starting Friday, October 10, 2008.

There are two ways to exchange your current ultracompact Apple USB power adapter for a new, redesigned adapter.

• Order a replacement adapter via the web. These replacement adapters will ship within three weeks of your order, starting on Friday, October 10.
• Exchange your adapter at an Apple Retail Store starting on October 10.

ctrl-alt-delete on parallels

Posted by Chris under Apple, Parallels

Just launched parallels and got the screen wanting me to enter ctrl-alt-delete, how’s that I’m on a mac. Well a quick Google shows that to type Control-Alt-Delete on a Macbook Pro to login to Windows within Parallels, just hold down the Control and Option keys, then hold down the fn key, and press the Delete key.

And wahla I’m in! A further note that fn-Delete sends a forward delete (removes characters to the right of the cursor), as opposed to the delete key, which actually sends a backward delete (removes characters to the left of the cursor).

Thanks MacOSX Hints!

Dog Pile - yes another post on the new Twitter update

Posted by Chris under Browsers, Community, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter

Yesterday Twitter made an update to their web interface. Can I say thanks Ajax!

Biggies are moved the tabs to the right, updates refreshed via Ajax (yep much faster loading) and a slightly tweaked UI.

The UI has been cleaned up a bit and made the star and reply swoosh beside every update into hover state items.

Find out more, check out your own twitter page or read their blog here.

I like it but I’ll still be using the web app’s for the most part as I wrote about here.

Twitter - via applicaitions

Posted by Chris under Adobe, Air, Technology, Twitter, Uncategorized

In the beginning there was a web browser and Twitter.com But very very quickly as Twitter picked up steam and users there were many other tools for Twitter. These include applications to post to twitter, to read your tweets or even search across twitter.

And my no means is this list fully comprehensive, it’s growing by the week but it’ll give you a start whether you’re an old hand at twitter or a newbie. I personally don’t use twitter.com (the website interface) that much, preferring instead to use a couple of app’s, depending on what platform I’m on. That said I do use the site to follow others, grab individual tweets (e.g.for blog posts) or to update my photo or design.

Applications:
More then comprehensive lists can be found here, here, and here

But to make it easy here are the Applications that I really like. First for computer platform. Now keep in mind I’m on Mac and while I also live in Parallels I’m predominantly working on the Mac, so this is Mac centric (so there).

Twhirl – This was my first go to when I moved away from just using the browser. Built on Adobe Air and now in version 0.8.4, Twhirl is cross platform running on Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX. Twhirl also connects to multiple Twitter, identi.ca, Friendfeed and seesmic accounts, so it’s a bit of all you can eat, which is great.

Two other handy features are the ability to post images to TwitPic, although I tend to do this more on my phone then from my computer, but I do use the built in ability to shorten long URLs (using snurl, twurl or is.gd)
Oh and Twhirl is free

Twitteriffic – I think this is a bit Tomato/Tomato (hear the long “a”) between Twhirl and Twitteriffic but I have friends who swear by it. It also supports multiple Twitter accounts and all of the other things that I mentioned about Twhirl . I think personally it just comes down to which UI you like best.

I should note that I used the paid iPhone version of Twitterifficand love it
Twitteriffic is free with ads or $14.95 for the ad free version.

TweetDeck – My newest Twitter App and the one I’m using the most is TweetDeck which is also built on Adobe Air. I feel like this app is for the graduated, perhaps I dare say sophisticated user of Twitter.

The key thing about TweetDeck is that it “enables users to split their main feed (All Tweets) into topic or group specific columns allowing a broader overview of tweets.” Meaning I have multiple columns (think feeds) based on the kind of tweets, starting with an All Tweets, @ replies and then d (direct) replies.

Next up is a column of key people I follow who’s tweets appear in there, making it easy to see what @russu, @armano, @simplybrad or the various Mad Men characters are up to.

So for now TweetDeck is getting the lions share of my Twittering (at least on the computer).

Hope this helps your tweet stream!

Gates, better than Seinfeld?

Posted by Chris under Advertising, Microsoft, Technology

Just a quick note and then you’ll have to click through to Venture Beat, for their take, on the latest and uncut or long form version of the second spot.

More thoughts on it later but hmm, to quote the old Wendy’s stuff, where’s the beef.

But hey, for the (third) richest man on the planet he can sure carry his acting weight along with Seinfeld. And you can’t buy that with microsoft stock!

or stick around and watch it here.

help I’ve lost my window

Posted by Chris under Adobe, Technology, Twitter

Recently my Twitter client Twhirl, has developed the annoying habit of not being multi-monitor friendly. By this I mean if I have Twhirl running as I switch screen resolution/size and monitor configuration it can go from not appearing at all.

As in the application is running but the app window is no where to be found. What’s a person to do.

Well over at simplehelp.net they explain how easy this is to fix.

The crux of it is:

Right-click (ctrl-click for single mouse-button folks) - or click and hold down the button for a few seconds, the twhirl icon in your Dock. When the menu appears, select Resize windows.

For more detail check out simplehelp.net and thanks guys, my Twhirl is back!

His Master’s Voice

Posted by Chris under CNMS08, Google, Mobile, Technology, trends

Remember the days of calling 411 and hearing, “hello Operator” and before calling 411 cost from $1.25 and upwards? What about what I used to do in the early 90’s, calling the Chicago Public Library’s reference desk to answer questions that are now a click away on Google? Sure, I could have gone over there and done the research, but the librarians on the other end of the line were too happy to do it for me.

Well, there are a couple of newish tools and websites that  allow you to have much of the same functionality all at your voice or if needed, fingertips, all of which are free. Why are these important to look at? Well, just as I described a few weeks back how the iPhone is more computer then phone, services like these make any phone more computer-like.

There are three services that I’ve been using for a while, all of which allow you to use your voice for tasks. First is 1-800-GOOG-411, Google’s answer to 411. A simple call and I get not only the number I’m looking for, but I also get connected or can get a text message with the number and address. GOOG-411 has been a around for a bit, so chances are you have used it already; if not, however, give it a go.

I find that while I’m driving is when ideas, to-do’s or follow-up’s come to mind, but I can’t very well stop or keep driving safely and write them down. So that’s where Jott comes in. Just out of beta, Jott is still free for the ad-supported version and low cost for the pro version. What is Jott? Well, think voice-to-text but with actions associated with it.

After an initial set-up through the Jott website, and a confirmation text with your phone, you’re ready to go. A simple call to (866) JOTT-123 / (866) 568-8123 and you can record to-do lists, send emails or texts, add an appointment in outlook, post to twitter or your blog, and even get Amazon prices/results back. This list keeps growing each day.

And while Jott works with any phone, there are applications for the iPhone and Blackberry. With Jott’s iphone application, a tap to the screen and you can record a message and use a second tap to stop. These Jotts are transcribed to text notes and become available on-line or on the phone itself as part of the notes.

Next up is ChaCha, which for the back-to-school crowd is like a cheat sheet on your phone. By either texting CHACHA (242242), calling 1.800.2CHA.CHA or twitter @chacha any question you have, you’ll get an answer back from one of their guides. Yes, a human at the other end. Now some questions like weather or stock are automated when you text message, but I find that I use ChaCha when I’m in a hands-free situation for anything I might have looked up on Google.

And ChaCha is also the ultimate bar/party bet decider, as we found out one night at a ping pong night over at CrowdSPRING. Questions like “how long is the conveyor belt at at Wal-Mart distribution center” or “what’s the largest public building” were handled with ease by the ChaCha guides. -note I mention CrowdSPRING because as a reader of this blog and TalentZoo, they are worth checking out, and most recently presented at DEMO and CNMS08, but I’ll cover them in a future post.

From my usage, these three apps are harbingers of another form of change in how we access and use data. For example, with GOOG-411, why would I pay for a call to 411 or if GOOG-411 isn’t finding my info, why not try ChaCha? And if I can’t or shouldn’t (walking, driving) use my phone’s keyboard, why not let my voice do the work with Jott or ChaCha?

I think these three tools are just the start; there are others as well but it’s the tip of the iceberg in how we now and will access data and information. Call it part convergence or part device specialty–either way, jump in and try them out, because there will be more to come.

Pandora going bye bye - say it isn’t so

Posted by Chris under Broadband, Community, Technology

In what may be the end to Pandora, the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to raise royalty fees that will cover the administrative costs of SoundExchange, may well be the end for Pandora

More info on the fees can be found here, thanks to ars technica, but this would seem to spell the end for not only Pandora but other great intenet broadcasters like Radio Paradise.

So stay tuned (pun inteded) but in the coming months as the new fees come due we may hear a lot less music out there.

Roaming with your iphone, better have lots of cash!

Posted by Chris under Apple, Mobile, Technology, Travel, iPhone

So I’m getting ready for a trip to Canada, which according to AT&T, may be our northern neighbor but your phone and data plan is US only. Which means get ready for some extra $$, especially around data usage.

Now I’m well used to paying high costs when traveling internationally for mobile phone calls. Of course paying for an international plan can lower the rate slightly or going full native and getting local pay as you go sim/phone can be one way to go. Or at the other end use Skype or tools like that for free skype to skype calls.

But it’s the data that will really get you. After all in my article on TalentZoo.com I wrote about how the iPhone was more computer then phone and I still stand by that.

So first a BIG thanks to AT&T for calling attention to the issue and for Felix Salmon over at Portfolio.com for pointing out even more.

International data roaming can get expensive quickly. In two weeks I’ve pushed almost 100MB to/from my iphone, which if I was international would be about a $2000 bill (based on pay-per-use international data rates of $.0195/KB). Or breaking it down a bit more uploading one photo to Flickr would be about $20-30. OUCH!

What can you do to minimize your international data charges? Here’s where AT&T is very helpful.

1) Turn Data Roaming “OFF”: Be sure to download and install the latest version of iPhone software (version 2.0) from iTunes. By default, this setting for international data roaming will be in the “OFF” position.

To turn data roaming “ON/OFF” tap on: Settings>General>Network>Data Roaming

2) Utilize Wi-Fi instead of GPRS/EDGE/3G: Wi-Fi is available in many international airports, hotels and restaurants to browse the web or check email.

Turn Off Your Phone’s “Auto-Check” Function for Email: Data usage from email can accrue quickly. Check email manually using Wi-Fi instead of having email downloaded automatically to your iPhone. This way you can control the flow of data coming to your iPhone.

To turn off the Auto-Check functionality tap on: Settings>Fetch New Data and select manually

3) Consider Purchasing an International Data Package: Purchasing an international data package can significantly reduce the cost of using data abroad. AT&T now offers two discount international data packages.

$24.99 per month - 20 MB Data Global Plan (20 MB of usage in over 65 countries*. Overage is $.005/KB)

$59.99 per month - 50 MB Data Global Plan (50 MB of usage in over 65 countries*. Overage is $.005/KB)

*for a list of countries visit att.com/dataconnectglobal for current information

Reading Felix’s article he points out the issues of the Data Global Plan, one being that you have to keep it for multiple billing cycle. Otherwise if you cancel it upon your return and the charges haven’t come in yet you be charged the non-plan rate. -note my call to AT&T did confirm this as well but they also said there is no termination charge for the plan you can keep it as long/short as you like. They also did, to their credit, point out the same point that Felix made.

So what am I going to do? Well the plan is to get the 20MB plan so at least if I really need to use things like Google Maps (as in help I’ve wondered off and am lost) I won’t feel like my $ are flying away. But this is for “emergency” use only I’ll plan to use WiFi as much as I can.

I’ll let you know when I return how that all worked out. Oh and one last note I’ll be resetting the Usage Tracker to Zero when the plane touches down (in the general settings menu & select reset statistics.) This way I’ll rally know how much data usage I use. Unfortunately it doesn’t differentiate between WiFi and 3G/Edge.

Lastly, no comment on how crazy this feels having to plan my data usage, so much for the ubiqutous internet, I guess that’s just for the well heeled vertu crowd.