Ian Hoar – Passion for Technology – Geeking Out - Technology, Web, Toys, Games, Design, Entertainment, Gadgets, & Geeking Out

How to transfer your itunes library to another computer

I spent a good chunk of time this weekend figuring out how to transfer files from an iTouch to a new laptop. The original library was on an old computer and I wanted an easy way to transfer the files from the iTouch to the new laptop. Considering how easy most Apple products are to use it’s surprising that there is nothing easy about transferring your files from an iPod to another computer. Yes there is the quick transfer purchases option, but unless you bought every song from the iTunes store it’s a pretty useless feature. Many of us have invested a lot of time ripping our old CD collections or heaven forbid may have bought our mp3 music elsewhere. Why is it so hard to transfer YOUR music? The apple method requires burning CDs, DVDs or transferring the entire hard drive over. Maybe the record labels play into this, who knows, but it’s damn inconvenient. The locks on transferring files are obviously artificial since an iPod is a simple USB storage device.

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Apple recalls iPhone power adapters

iPhone 3G power adapterIf you bought an iPhone 3G in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico or Several Latin American countries you may need to ship it back to Apple and get a replacement.

From Apple:

Apple has 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.

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Spore Origins for the iPhone/iTouch, a beautiful game

SporeIt’s nice to see the list of big name games growing for the iPhone/iTouch, not that the independent games aren’t sometimes just as good. Game industry leaders like John Carmack have already said that the device is a very powerful hand held device for gaming.

Today I caved and bought Spore for my iPhone. I almost didn’t want to, given the outrage over the PC version of Spore and it’s draconian DRM protection, it’s just unacceptable and that’s no way to treat your paying customers. Again the legitimate users lose and the pirates get a DRM free version. Anyway, back to Spore for the iPhone.

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Create a custom iPhone icon for your website

ianhoar.com iPhone WebClipIf you own an iPhone you may have noticed that you can bookmark websites and add them to your home screen. These are called Webclip Icons and they are either a snapshot of the website or an actual website icon similar to a favicon that shows up in a desktop browsers address field. If you want to add an iPhone icon to your site it’s very easy to do.

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The wait is over, decision made, a shiney new iPhone

iPhoneSo my long debate over what phone to get is finally over. Yesterday morning I picked up an iPhone at the Fido store. I had already played with the first iPhone and the second iPhone along with the iPod Touch so I knew what it was all about. Even though I had played with them, I was still blown away at the ease of use and so far I’m extremely pleased with my iPhone.

My first iPhone street car ride home was spent catching up on my Google Reader feeds. People have asked me why I need to be connected all the time, so I tell them it’s really not much different than reading a newspaper in the morning only my preferred method is digital and the content I want to read for the most part won’t show up in the morning newspaper. Couple that with the fact that I hate how a newspaper feels, lets face it, they have a horrible user interface.

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Canadian iPhones in short supply

iPhoneToday I finally took the plunge and decided to buy an iPhone. I figured that I had waited out the rush, done my research and decided on a plan, all that was left was to pick a colour and go pick it up. I’m one of those people that take forever to make a decision on purchases and having so many choices makes it even harder. The HTC reviews didn’t impress me, Android is too far away, and the Blackberry Bold, well it sounds like a pretty cool phone but the iPhone won me over. Since being connected to the web is my number one goal with a smart phone I figured the iPhone was probably my best bet. The decision was a big one for me, but once I started heading to the Fido store I was on a mission.

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iPhone or Eee PC?

iPhoneNow that the coveted iPhone has been released in Canada and the hype is dying down I find myself still unable to decide if I want one. Maybe decide is the wrong word, I absolutely know I want one, but I’m not sure if I want to break the bank doing so while locking into a long term agreement of 3 years with a big company I dislike. The big question is how practical the device is for me compared to other devices.

The other option I have been weighing in on is the Eee PC from Asus or one of the other emerging mini laptop or netbook solutions. This laptop is a little bit larger than a paperback and incredibly light. Although I would have no wireless 3G web experience I would have a super practical commuter computer and long term it would be a heck of a lot cheaper.

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Rogers to offer 6 gig plan for $30 dollars until August 31st

iPhoneSo maybe all the protesting over at Ruined iPhone and other places on the web have paid off. The whole iPhone outrage even hit mainstream news media. Basically Rogers and Fido (which are the same company) will allow you to take a phone plan and add a $30 6 GB plan to it. This is a temporary “deal” you can buy into with a 3 year contract before Aug 31st. It is a much better deal, but a lot of people are asking why it’s only temporary?

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Rogers totally underwhelms with iPhone plans

iPhoneToday Rogers announced no unlimited data plan and a ridiculous 3 year lock in for Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone. Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn’t one of them on Engadget has all the details. The official Rogers iPhone voice data packages are online too.

This is pretty disappointing, you have this really cool phone, but if you actually use it much you will pay through the teeth. No YouTube for you! I hope some day Rogers has some real competition, and I hope everyone remembers their monopoly and horrible prices. The rumours appear to be wrong, nothing is going to change up here in the north.

Now the question is do I give in and get one anyway? I’m not sure yet, but I’m leaning towards no.

Rogers website finally shows iPhone

The Rogers website has the iPhone up now. I guess they figured out that the mysterious teaser wasn’t fooling anyone. No word on packages yet, but we can probably assume that they will be expensive with a really long contract. More details on costs can be found over at iPhone in Canada.ca.

Rogers iPhone Splash