As you probably know

Apple released the iPhone 1.1.4 update. Yay!

Concerns were this morning that you could not update a jailbroken iPhone with this because your iphone would melt and then self-destruct into shiny little bits (okay, that’s a wee bit of an exaggeration).

However, The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports:

Our own Erica Sadun has confirmed that Zibri’s jailbreak does work with the 1.1.4 update, released today. We’re told that Nate True has tried it out with the new update installed, and that it does work.

So big news for jailbreakers — update away, because the jailbreak wasn’t one of the “bugs” fixed. Although if this update is, as we suspect, laying the groundwork for the SDK release, we may not have to worry about applications not working on the phone too much longer.

Update: While some users have upgraded with no problems, Zibri is asking that users not upgrade until the tool can be thoroughly checked with the new firmware. “People who donated will receive the next version a day before everyone else. Expect a new version in 2 days (3 days for non-donors),” he says….MORE….

Before you do ANYTHING, of course, I HIGHLY recommend you check out The Howard Forums take on it - 10+ pages of discussion and growing!

Here’s two more resources on the iPhone 1.1.4 update:

• iPhone 1.1.4 fixes Bluetooth, SMS ordering bugs
• ALERT: iPhone 1.1.4 can still be jailbroken; cannot be unofficially activated

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - want iPhone goodies?

APPLE iPHONE 4gb firmware 2.0.2 can be UNLOCKED AT&T

iPhone 8GB Jailbroken and Unlocked - 2G Firmware 2.0.2

UNLOCKED 8GB iPHONE 2.0.2 FIRMWARE ANYSIM NO RESERVE***

Apple iphone 8 gb 1 yr old, new firmware, unlockable

APPLE iPHONE 8GB PHONE 2.0.2 FIRMWARE AS-IS #3

iPhone 2G 3G Unlock & Jailbreak Firmware 2.0 - 2.0.2

iPhone 8GB Firmware 2.0 Unlocked Extras!

iPhone 8GB Firmware 2.0.1 Jailbroken Unlocked + Extras!

The iPhone has

revolutionized how people interact with their mobile phones.

What if that technology could be transferred to notebooks?

I just found:

…Apple is betting that the iPhone’s breakthrough in the way we interact with mobile phones will transfer over to notebooks.

The new MacBook Pros and MacBooks introduced Tuesday aren’t all that much different from the ones that were on sale yesterday. Sure, they’ve got Intel’s new Penryn chips, and more potent configurations, but for the most part, it’s the same laptop. That is, with one notable exception.

Apple brought the gesture-recognition technology first introduced on the MacBook Air over to the new MacBook Pro systems, which will likely ship in much larger volumes than the MacBook Air and introduce many more of Apple’s customers to the idea of trackpad gesture recognition. The technology allows you to zoom in and out of pictures, for example, by using the same pinch-and-expand gesture used on the iPhone….MORE….

Intriguing (unless small toddlers find it unguarded). What do you think? And if you’re looking for ways to soup up your iTouch, consider:

• iTouch Tips and Tricks
• More iTouch Tips and Tricks

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - want some iTouch goodies?

BLACK+BLUE SPORT ARMBAND ARM CASE for iPOD TOUCH iTOUCH

APPLE IPOD Touch 8GB NEWEST MP3 Video WiFi 8 gb iTouch

NEW Black Leather Case skin For Apple iPod Touch iTouch

LEATHER CASE COVER for iPOD TOUCH iTOUCH 8GB 16GB 32GB

NEW SPECK CAMO ARMOR SKIN CASE FOR iPOD TOUCH iTOUCH

Case skin For Apple iPod Touch iTouch new cover w Black

12 ITEMS ACCESSORY BUNDLE KITS FOR IPOD TOUCH ITOUCH

BLACK SKIN LEATHER CASE NEW ITOUCH for iPod APPLE TOUCH

APPLE Ipod iTouch 8 gb + upgrade, access & tuffwrap

American Express gold cards

are no longer the ultimate. Did you know that? So if you truly want to impress your clientèle with your spending ability, discard that boring old piece of plastic and instead, apply for a Centurion card.

It’s not that (cough) difficult, you understand:

Before you can apply to obtain a Centurion card, you first need an American Express credit card. It does not matter which card you have (blue, blue cash, blue sky, gold, platinum…), you just need a decent limit.

Once you have a credit card, you need to spend a minimum of $250,000 within 1 year, which sounds hard, but if you have a business it is not too difficult because you put all your expenses on a credit card. Basically, if you spend a lot on entertainment or marketing, just charge it to your Amex card. If you have employees to pay each month, pay a payroll company through your credit card, which would in return pay your employees through checks.

The main problem that most individuals or companies run into with the $250,000 yearly spend is that they spend at least that amount but their credit limit with American Express is not $20,833.33 a month ($250,000 divided by 12 months). In this case what you do is write American Express a check at the beginning of month to cover all your credit card expenditures for the month. For example, if your credit card limit is $10,000 a month and you figure that you will spend $25,000 this month, write American Express a check for $15,000 ($25,000 - $10,000 = $15,000) before the month begins.

After you have spent $250,000 in a year, call up American Express and request a Centurion card. Most people claim that it is invite only, but the reality is they are not too hard to get if you spend $250,000 a year…..MORE….

Believe it or not, there are several resources online dedicated to this source of wealth-spending, including:

• American Express Centurion: Once you go black, you never go back
• Amex Black Blog
• Reviews of Amex Black Centurion Card
• American Express To Make New Centurion Card Out Of Titanium

It gives luxury a whole new name.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - and if a Centurion Black card is a bit out of reach, consider instead:

Kyosho Enzo Ferrari Rosso Scuderia 1:43 scale

HOTWHEELS LIMITED EDITION ENZO FERRARI HO SCALE CHEAP!!

HOT WHEELS 1:87 Scale ENZO FERRARI

Revell 1 24 scale 2002 V12 Ferrari Enzo model kit#7309

REMOTE CONTROL FERRARI ENZO 1 10 SCALE RC NEW

1:7 Scale Ferrari Enzo Licensed Full Function RC Car

Mini-z Kyosho Auto Scale Enzo Ferrari Test Car

1:12 Scale Tamiya Ferrari Enzo - Black & Black Wheels

HOT WHEELS 1:87TH SCALE FERRARI ENZO, NEW COLOR! L@@K

Coffee lovers
Please click here to continue your search.

of the US, don’t panic! Yes, it’s true - all Starbucks will be closed tonight from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. I think one of the best articles about this hails from Australia:

NEW YORK: Americans had to cope without blended frappuccino and blueberry coffee cake for a few hours yesterday as Starbucks shut its 7100 company-owned stores for a nationwide barista training session.

The chairman, Howard Schultz, ordered the unprecedented three-hour afternoon closure in an effort to improve the service and revive the chain’s flagging fortunes.

It prompted frenzied action by competitors hoping to snatch Starbucks customers. Dunkin’ Donuts made the day a cut-price coffee day with prices slashed to 99c a cup so that “no coffee lover [was] denied a delicious espresso-based beverage”.

During the session, Starbucks baristas were given a “hands-on espresso training experience”. Mr Schultz promised his staff an “opportunity to connect and deepen their passion for coffee with the ultimate goal of transforming the customer experience”……MORE….

Excellent marketing move by Dunkin Donuts! To wit:

…Coincidentally, Dunkin’ Donuts has planned a special promotion offering 99-cent small lattes, cappuccinos and espresso drinks that overlaps with the event….

“We never want any customers to ever be denied access to their specialty drinks,” said Frances Allen, Dunkin’ Donuts’ brand marketing officer. “It’s definitely a fortuitous time for us.”

Dunkin’ Donuts representatives insist that the promotion — which is between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. — is really a celebration of last week’s announcement that the company had taken first place in the coffee category of Brand Keys’ Annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. This was the second year in a row that Dunkin’ Donuts took the top spot in the New York consulting firm’s survey.

“It’s a way of saying, ‘thank you,’ and giving back and recognizing the value of our customers and giving them something back,” Allen said. “We think we will have a lot of participation. We may even introduce some new people to Dunkin’ Donuts’.”…MORE….

Need to find a local Dunkin Donuts? Click here!

Want instead to discover new independent coffee shops? Click here!

And don’t forget about Delocator, the search engine to locate independent cafes, bookstores and theaters.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - looking for a nifty coffee machine?

Please click here to continue your search.

Morning,

Check this out. Amazon.com now offers you a free 1 GB iPod Shuffle when you buy a 32 GB iPod Touch.

At first glance, you’d say, golly gee - gimme gimme gimme! Just read below:

Please click here to continue your search.

And then you realize that the price last week was dropped to around $50-$70 for the 1 GB shuffles. And that the 32 GB iPod is close to $500. I’d reckon that’s not too much of a strain for Amazon.com to offer.

So! Spend close to $500 and get a $50 thingee for free.

What’s your take?

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - look how they’re selling on eBay:

NEW BLACK Leather Folio Case for 8GB 16GB 32 iPod Touch

NEW GREEN Leather Folio Case for 8GB 16GB 32 iPod Touch

Audio Video AV TV Music Cable for Ipod Touch 16 32 GB

NEW GREEN Leather Folio Case for 8GB 16GB 32 iPod Touch

Apple iPod Touch 32 GB Brand New

Brand New Apple iPod Touch 32 GB Flash Drive MB376LL A

HOW TO GET A FREE APPLE iPOD TOUCH 32 GB

Whenever you think

of luxury automobiles, I’m certain…you immediately zero in on a Dodge Super Caravan that holds your children’s karate gear and marching band instruments and lethal sais and football helmets and …. NO NO, wait, sorry, wrong blog here. No indeed, you go ONLY for the Beemer or the Benz or the Ferrari, right?

Well, it’s time to give Audi’s luxury advertising a good look-see - their current ad blends the modern high-earner achiever with today’s wet-behind-the-ears college grad. To wit:

Don’t you hate it when The Man tries to keep you down? And The Man is like, you must go to one of these prestigious schools, you must be a lawyer/ doctor/ I-banker, you must drive a Benz/ Beamer/ Lexus. And you’re like, “You’re not in charge of my life! I’m my own person! I’m breaking free of this soulless cycle of consumption! By buying a marginally different brand of luxury car!” Take that, The System! Click to watch Audi’s stirring, inspirational Oscar ad in full. It will set you free. To burn Audis when the Revolution comes….MORE….

Do check out the ad - it’s done superbly well.

ThankYouVeryMuch

Owlbert

ps - want Audi goodies?

UNCUT SHORT KEY BLADE FOR 06 07 08 AUDI SWITCHBLADE KEY

AUDI License Plate (Car Tag) Mirror Acrylic "NEW"

AUDI D-NAVI A6 ALLROAD NAVIGATION CD DISC COMPLETE SET

XENON H13 HEADLIGHT BULBS HID 06 07 AUDI A3

91 92 93 94 AUDI 100 BILSTEIN SHOCKS SUSPENSION SET

AUDI A4 S4 RS4 05 06 07 fog light FOGLIGHT DRIVER LH

18 ADR WHEELS RIMS TIRES 5×112 PASSAT AUDI A4 A6 VW

19 STERN WHEELS RIMS TIRES 5×112 PASSAT AUDI A4 A6 VW

19 ADR WHEELS RIMS TIRES 5×112 PASSAT AUDI A4 A6 VW

Picture the following

- you happily flung away $400 or so for a brand new shiny iPhone (wheeee!).

What on earth will you do if it gets stolen? Hmmmmm?

Why, you want to prepare for that by…..the iPhone Lojack! To wit:

…Way back, one of our readers begged for an iPhone LoJack solution. He wanted his iPhone to “call home” regularly in case of loss or, let’s be more realistic, theft. Over the past week, I finally had a chance to give this request some time, and I put together findme. It’s a command-line program that returns the location of the cell phone tower nearest to your iPhone. When run, it tells you the tower id, plus its latitude and longitude courtesy of Google Maps.

Still, how to get the location report to a place you can get it… but nobody else can… and without receiving a zillion SMSes? For this part of the puzzle, enter Twitter. Twitter dev Britt Selvitelle helped walk me through the setup for a private account that allows your iPhone to phone home but keeps the location data relatively secure.

To do this, create a new Twitter account just for your iPhone (it will need its own unique email address, separate from your main account, so have one handy). Open the Settings panel, and look for the “Protect My Updates” checkbox. It’s towards the bottom of the page, just above the Save button. Check this and click Save. With protected updates, only the Twitter users you approve will see the updates for this iPhone-only account (just you? you + spouse? spouse, kids, and “special friends?” Up to you).

After creating your phone’s Twitter account, you’re ready to set up your iPhone to tweet in on a regular basis. Here’s how.….MORE…..

What a brilliant idea! And it uses shell script! My life is complete!

But if you don’t worship and adore shell scripting and unix yourself, here are some resources to help you learn:

• Beginners iPhone Mod Guide
• iPhone Unix Help
• Help Unix

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - nifty iphone goodies you crave?

Unlocked 16GB 2G iPhone 2.0.2 GSM MOBILE PHONE

4GB Apple iPhone. EXTRAS! 2.0 w App Store! GSM unlocked

Apple Iphone 2G 8GB 8 GB 2.01 UNLOCKED & JAILBROKEN

iPHONE 8GB Apple Used 1 week! + UNLOCKED?

2G apple iphone in great condition able to be unlocked

Brand New 16GB iPhone 3G UNLOCKED + UNIVERSAL SIM

Apple iPhone 1st Gen 8GB JAILBROKEN UNLOCKED Ver2.0.2

This sounds rather,

ahem, fashion-trend-setting:

…As the need for sustainable forms of energy becomes more urgent, tech companies are working harder to devise creative ways to incorporate efficient methods of consumption into their gadgets. One recent concept is the solar-powered backpack, which powers your portable electronics and also lets you lug them around.

The key to the success of the product is that it serves a function, while advertising the wearer’s love for the environment. The solar panels on the backpack are prominently displayed, though at least somewhat subtle.

Solar power was a popular theme in the International room at this year’s CES–and concepts of subtlety fluctuate a good deal from culture to culture. Take, for example, these gadget-charging devices from Chinese company Blueline. Its products don’t seem to have much (if any) representation in the States, and until some fashion-plate celebrity deems it cool to risk his or her reputation and neck muscles with the baseball cap at left, it will likely stay like that for now…..MORE…

Wearable fashions, of course, are nothing new - you can see over at Dexigner:

….Last year, GapKids started selling something called the Hoodio: a $68 machine-washable hooded fleece jacket with an FM-radio control panel sewn onto one sleeve and removable speakers tucked inside the hood.

Clothiers have been trying for years to find a sexy combination of gear and garments but have failed to find mainstream success.

Three years ago, Levi Strauss & Co. ran a big advertising campaign for its Dockers Mobile Pant, khakis lined with bulge-resistant pockets for hiding portable electronics. Today, the Mobile Pant has disappeared from Dockers’ lineup…..

Wearable fashions - it needs star power, it does.

Want a blog about this concept? Check out Talk2MyShirt - fascinating information.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - even if not popular, you can still get them here!

ES100 Solar Backpack - Black - L@@K!

5 GAL SOLAR HEAT CAMPING SHOWER 100F HOT WATER BACKPACK

SOLAR WIRED TRAVEL CASE backpack iphone ipod phone NEW

AA Backpack Solar Battery Charger by Montbell

Innovative Gemline® Reactor Solar Computer Backpack

5 GAL SOLAR HEAT CAMPING SHOWER 100F HOT WATER BACKPACK

NEW Av Lab Solar Backpack Charger with FREE AV Lab S…

Talk about a creative
Please click here to continue your search.

use of space! We all have our heaps of books stored in our shelves (and under the bed, and inside the toaster, and …. you get the idea) but what if the books threaten to consume the inhabitants? Why, you thank them for their presence and use them wisely, of course.

Check out The Amazing StairCase! To wit:

… London-based Levitate Architects came up with this ingenious solution to a book storage problem and created a loft-like bedroom nestled under the roof of the top-floor apartment. Here’s what Levitate’s Tim Sloan had to say about the project:

The flat occupies part of the shared top floor of an existing Victorian mansion block. Our proposal extended the flat into the unused loft space above, creating a new bedroom level and increasing the floor area of the flat by approximately one third. We created a ’secret’ staircase, hidden from the main reception room, to access a new loft bedroom lit by roof lights. Limited by space, we melded the idea of a staircase with our client’s desire for a library to form a ‘library staircase’ in which English oak stair treads and shelves are both completely lined with books….MORE….

Nice idea! Kudos to the design.

And if you’d like some staircase discussion resources, check out:

• Home Design Forum
• Brownstoner | Forum: Stairs
• Floors, Stairs and Lofts

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

ps - looking for cool staircase related thingees?

Please click here to continue your search.

You know, I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. It’s astonishing how one incident can spark off a whole train of happenings that lead to, well, big huge mind expansions.

Take a month ago. I was banned from a particular diet and fitness forum because my blog was deemed too commercial. To wit:

Due to forum policies regarding external links, advertising, and self promotion, and the fact that we honestly can’t tell where your membership ends and business begins in your posts, we have decided that your account is no longer within the boundaries of our membership and it will be closed. All of your previous posts, including the links, will be removed.

And so, all of my 200+ posts were removed (and I had spent quite a long time answering people’s questions as well). All of my hard work - poof. Gosh that was maddening! I loved the close from the moderator too:

I’m sorry it had to be this way. Given the nature of your business, I’m sure you’ll understand.

Of course, it’s their right, it’s their forum. They want people to provide content to bring more visitors to the forum…but don’t want those contributors to benefit their own businesses themselves. It was maddening to me, mind you, but in the final analysis….their right.

But instead of giving into that anger, I chose instead to redirect my efforts, and thus began a 2 week odyssey that had me pulling 18 hour days, teaching myself php programming and imbibing 5 cups of coffee every, oh, 38 minutes. Okay, that’s an exaggeration but truly, it made the term ‘all-nighters’ seem like a lovely skip through the park.

After lots of MacGyverisms, I released the diet/fitness community Big Huge Minds. Remembering what frosted my petunias in the past, I made sure to offer win-wins to members including:

Letting snippets of their blog postings be included for free

Encouraging them to include links to helpful sites

Offering free diet/fitness blogging tips

And what’s the end result, I hear you ask? It’s growing great and I’ve been receiving some extremely positive feedback as well!

In hindsight, it would have been so easy to just sit back and complain…but it has proven far more valuable to take control instead.

The resources I used to teach myself include:

• Vbulletin Community
• VbAdvanced Community
• VbSEO

Prior to this, I was just a community member - now I’m a community guider. Let this be an example if you run into such issues - you don’t have go get mad, you just have to take control of your future. It could be one of the most beneficial things you do.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert