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World Backup Day 2013

world-backup-day-2013At Start On Technology we see first hand how important having a backup can be everyday. Celebrate World Backup Day 2013 by committing to backing up your important data. All too often we are contacted by businesses and individuals who didn’t take the time to backup their data. Now they are faced with the choice of spending hundreds or thousands in data recovery, or they must make peace with their long lost data.

Our clients always have a backup and many utilize both onsite and offsite storage. Redundancy is our policy as it limits the chances of data loss to a more favorable chance versus gambling with your data with odds against you. Theft, fire, floods, lightening, and data corruption are betting against you every second of the day. Our Partners, Backblaze® and Crashplan Pro™, offer unlimited backups for roughly $60/computer/year. Both are offering specials specifically for World Backup Day 2013. At Start On Technology we offer free backup monitoring for CrashPlan™ accounts and provide a link for Blackblaze® which is the easiest offsite backup solution to get started.

backup-solutionsAnother option our clients use to locally backup their data is Time Machine® a built in option for Macs. Apple® has made it extremely easy to connect any external drive to your Mac® and begin backing up. Some drives may not be properly formatted for backup and require an erase to fix that issue before backups begin. Notebook users may elect for a Time Capsule® instead for wireless backups at home or the office.

Whatever the situation, it’s still important, and at Start On Technology we can help. Contact us today to start your contingency planning and backups. We welcome you to checkout the promotions at Backblaze and CrashPlan. In you want to learn more on your own about backing up checkout worldbackupday.com. A happy backup is a completed backup! Those celebrating Easter or Passover, enjoy your holiday 🙂

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Apple, Mac, Time Capsule, Time Machine are trademarks of Apple, Inc. Backblaze is a trademark of Backblaze, Inc. CrashPlan and CrashPlan Pro are registered trademarks of Code 42 Software, Inc.
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Hipmunk

hipmunk app

Hipmunk is that new option in travel apps that takes a unique approach to help “take the agony” out of booking travel. With plenty of travel options out there, it’s sometimes difficult to find the best price at the right times, but Hipmunk helps by organizing booking options visually on a timeline even against your calendar. You can also choose to sort by price, depart, and length instead of the default agony view. Just start by installing Hipmunk from the app store, entering your departure and destination airport, selecting your dates, and number of tickets. Once the search completes you can review your options. A simple tap will give more details and the button to select your first leg.

hipmunk

Once you have travel selected you can book online, email a booking link, or use a code to finish later. Need a hotel to go with your travel dates?Just simple click the button to find a hotel or perform a dedicated search later. Hipmunk has taken their airfare magic and applied it to hotel searches too. Empowering the user to find the best deal with the best TripAdvisor rating based on the locations you want by simply thumbing around the map. If you have a few hotels in mind, you can even store them in slots as you search around. Turn on heatmaps to get an idea of what food, sights, shopping, nightlife, and more are around the neighborhood. If you have a favorite chain then feel free to filter by them too.

Once you have your hotel picked you can once again, book online, email a link, or finish later. With airfare and hotel under your belt you’re a master at booking travel now, and soon the whole office will be asking you for help. Once again Hipmunk saves the day by taking their solution to the next level for business. Import everyone’s calendars and add their email addresses to send them their best options for final approval. Once they mark approved you get an email back to complete the booking. Don’t believe it can be that easy? Check out their free 60-day trial before committing to the $9.99/month cost.

 

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Daylite 4 Review

daylite 4 review

When Marketcircle announced, Daylite 4 a thorough redesign of Daylite, its popular Mac and iOS CRM solution software, it promised to address a number of issues users encountered in previous incarnations. That is not to say Daylite 3 was a faulty tool; in fact, it was a powerful one that I would personally recommend to clients. What Marketcircle has achieved is a more user-friendly interface that promises to enlarge its circle of users by requiring less training to use properly. Here is our Daylite 4 Review.

daylite 4 review

The learning curves for previous versions of Daylite have always been high, which turned off some potential users and prevented others from being able to use the software to its fullest extent. Daylite 4 has successfully made things easier. Its new interface is more synonymous with the Mac brand, known for being streamlined, clean, and attractive. Right when you log on, you’ll be able to see notes, memos, and information regarding upcoming appointments or deadlines. By scrolling over these homescreen icons, you’ll be awarded more detailed information, eliminating the need to open multiple tabs just to make a few changes.

daylite 4 review

Another of the enhanced features Daylite 4 offers is an updated version of its calendar system. Now, users can import and control their personal and family calendars within the system. This makes it easier to schedule appointments without double booking due to a wedding or birthday, or some other event unrelated to your business. Calendars are also now able to link with more information and, as I can’t stress enough, in a more user-friendly fashion.

daylite 4 review

Speaking of linking, longtime Daylite users will know the advantages this system has always offered. Daylite 4 takes the idea a step further, allowing for a more intuitive use of the linking system and including additional types of information that can be linked to one another. These include accounts, appointments, notes, contact information, etc.

daylite 4 review

Daylite 4 has just as many enhancements under the hood as it does in its interface. Included CalDAV and CardDAV servers allow Daylite accounts to link to portable and handheld devices like the iPhone. That means you can have our loveable Siri book or update appointments straight into Daylite. This is just another example of how useful linking a piece of software to the iCloud can be.

Marketcircle has come up with an excellent package in this latest software version. If you’re running a business on your own or have up to about 50 employees, Daylite 4 will keep you organized and on track. Though this is a more user-friendly version, there is still a learning curve, so don’t expect to get it all down right away. If you have any questions on how to operate Daylite 4 – from installation to advanced usage – feel free to contact us at Start On Technology. We’re happy to help.

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Mailchimp

monkeychimp

monkeychimp

So often I’ve had clients get flagged by their internet service provider or email provider for spamming because they regularly send bulk emails. Meticulously spending time trying to find where the white space, extra commas, or random characters are hiding in the list of hundreds of email addresses. Wasting hours of design work and not realizing they are sharing their contact list with everyone getting the email. As a business owner it’s important to utilize your time properly, and time wasted is money wasted.

With great tools like MailChimp you can easily manage your lists for subscriptions, design your sign-up pages, design your email campaign, then send out your email, and finally track your results. All of this is available from their website mailchimp.com or from their mobile apps. Empowering you to easily campaign with style. We will be reviewing their recently updated iPhone app for tracking on the go.

You can create your account, login, or even scan your API. Once in you will first be presented with chatter that outlines new subscribers, imports recently completed, or any other milestones. You can also subscribe new users you meet to your lists while networking. After your campaign is sent out you can monitor it from the app. A recent enhancement with the last update has been with reporting on the iPhone. At a glance you can see your open emails and clicks. Digging deeper lets you get into details about location, who actually read it, and any unsubscribed or complaining members.

It’s free to start and monthly plans start at $10 a month. They also offer plenty of flexible and scalable options for their service as you grow or need to cut back. With a free tools it’s really a no brainer to join up today. Stop wasting time and let your company to offer professional email campaigns that keep your customers coming back for more with a cost that makes sense to you.

[button link=”http://itunes.apple.com/app/mailchimp/id366794783?mt=8″ style=”download” color=”aqua” text=”dark” window=”yes”]App Store[/button]


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iOS 6 Review

What’s new with iOS 6?

It’s easy to get turn-by-turn navigational assistance from Siri, but a rash of wrong map directions and missing features can make you wonder why you  suddenly feel the need for more than just your iPhone. Don’t let it get to you, though. Just sit back, relax, and ask Siri about your favorite sports team and where to watch the game; complain about it using iOS 6’s built-in Facebook updates; or tweet about it to release some frustration. What might really come in handy is a passbook ticket to Castries, Saint Lucia, where you can capture some awesome panoramic shots for your shared photo streams. There, calls from the office can be ignored with the Do Not Disturb phone feature or a custom photo message reply of a medley of palm trees. In fact, there are plenty of new and updated toys – from the Facetime to Find My Friends features – on the iPhone5. And no, you don’t have to be in St. Lucia to use them, though I recommend giving it a try. Talk about the accessibility features, Chinese features, and new store updates.

Siri

Still listed as Beta. I’m glad it’s getting some updates. Siri can now tell you about sports, update your Facebook or Twitter, launch an app, reserve  a table at the latest trendy restaurant, and help you end your evening with tickets to a movie.

Maps

There is a lot of controversy over this new feature. All prior iOS devices had Google’s mapping software built in, but this new version is from Apple, TomTom, and more. Accuracy and an ability to actually get you somewhere are expectations of any map, but so far the experience has fallen short of Apple’s design perfectionism. No official response has been made to the user outcry, but they have posted a featured section in the app store linking to other map apps.

Passbook

Consolidation, simplicity, and minimalism are responses to lack of Near Field Communication (NFC) here. All your membership cards, coupons, event tickets, and boarding passes can be stored in one app. Some have complained about errors when attempting to load the app store link, but right out of the gate this new app has been very popular, which hypothetically could be causing app store woes.

FaceTime and Phone

Now you can use FaceTime over your cellular data plan – 3G for the  3GS, 4 and 4S models; and LTE with the iPhone 5. Service providers have had mixed results with AT&T, which blocks it unless you have a shared data plan. Verizon is also happy to charge you with any overages and not fight the FCC. This app is great for getting in touch with someone who is down a phone and has an iPad around. With a retina display you can clearly see who is calling in on your video chat and choose to ignore it or not. You can reply with a text, send a caller straight to voicemail, or set a reminder instead of taking the call.

Safari, Sharing, and Accessibility

Take your browsing to the cloud; start on one device and move to the next. You can, for instance, move entire web pages to your reading list for offline viewing, instead. However you decide to approach a site,  when you are ready you can easily go full screen to focus on your task or zoom in on specifics; or retain a normal size to share what you find on Twitter or Facebook. For those with attention management problems or anyone assisting students with disabilities, you will find new features to reinforce focus by disabling the home button until a teacher overrides it. Finally, iOS 6 offers updates to VoiceOver and AssistiveTouch.

Find My iPhone, My Friends, and share a Photostream

Looking for someone or something? A new lost mode for your iPad or iPhone can send a message while you continue to track it in lockdown mode, which requires a password. After it’s back in your hands – and you’re $50 poorer after gifting a good Samaritan – go ahead and find your friends’ set alerts when they finally leave work to head over. That way you can prepare your  Shared Photostream of panoramas and send them to your Apple TV for a party, where you’re likely to take some new ones that can be added instantly.

Siri, Safari, iPhone, FaceTime, Passbook, Apple TV, iPad, and iOS are trademarks of Apple, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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iPhone 5 Review

iPhone 5 - Rear

Rumors about the iPhone 5 had been building since before the 4S model made its way to consumers. After much anticipation, it was officially released from the Apple vault during their media event on September 12th, 2012.  Apple’s competition has stepped up its game since the original iPhone stormed the market, offering innovation that challenges the iOS way of life. So, the iPhone 5 already has a lot to live up to and hurdles to overcome. Many critics feel the iPhone has gone soft with in its latest iteration. This isn’t necessarily the case, but as we all know the consumers will make the ultimate decision as to the phone’s post-Steve Jobs future.

What is new?

iPhone 5 is thinner, faster, and stronger than the previous model. It rolls out with the much-anticipated iOS 6 software and comes with a new 4″ retina display to enjoy all its new features on. Stretching out the screen allows for a 5th row of icons, allowing for app-hoarding on fewer pages. All the computing power comes from the new Apple A6 antenna chips, which allow iPhone to run various bands around the world. Most importantly, the LTE networks and 2.4/5Ghz N wireless allow for faster downloading. Finally, the iPhone’s camera receives new lenses and more compact technology. In my humble opinion, it’s nothing worth trampling over a few people in a mad dash to the apple store, but I’m certain the lines will still be long on the 21st.

What’s missing?

To compare, let’s look at two major innovations others have included in smart phones: Near Field Communications (NFC) and screen size. NFC has been a hot topic for features like “pay by tap” or the ability to share information across devices. Using NFC for purchases is a new concept to many and not widely seen, though many competitors have the functionality built in. Even those that have the functionality available have not been able to ditch their wallets. Passbook seems to be a close feature, and there are plenty of apps that allow users to share pictures, files, and more. However,  the feature is not built in for NFC functionality at all.

The second biggest question is about the screen size and, once again, the competition has them beat with larger screens. The longer 4″ screen on the iPhone 5 is an improvement, but many feel it is not enough. Form dictates functionality and the variables are hard to measure. Has Apple made the right decision for us or are they limiting the options? Android phones come in many shapes and flavors to accommodate all user types, but this is a hard point to get anyone to agree on.

Final Results

With the launch over, the iPhone 5 appears to be an overall success, but I found most were only upgrading if they were eligible for an upgrade, unlike previous models where the consumer shelled out the extra cash just to have it. Is this a sign of the times or a lack of excitement? The media portrays an Apple that has lost its edge (not just the new stylistic rounded edges). Damage reports from the folks over at iFixit reveal the iPhone 5 scratches easier than its predecessors. In drop tests it fared better when pinned against the Samsung Galaxy S3, according to Andriod Authority. If you want to keep any device pristine than buy a case and don’t hand it over to a three year old without a waterproof high impact case.

My final verdict is that the iPhone 5 does have some exciting new features, and those eligible for an upgrade or looking for an unlockable iPhone can justify the cost. Keep in mind iOS 6 is available to prior models so check out the features on our iOS 6 review for current iPhone holders.

Apple, iPhone, and iOS are trademarks of Apple, Inc. Galaxy S is a trademark of Samsung.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Waze

Waze

Waze

The commotion over Apple’s shift from Google Maps to a homegrown application – what’s been referred to as the “Great Apple Maps Debacle of 2012” – is sending many consumers scrambling for an alternative. In fact, there’s a special section in the app store for finding mapping applications. Options abound, but we managed to dig up a free one that’s fun to use and super accurate about real-time traffic data; It’s called Waze.

Waze users create social profiles that update road statues continuously during a drive. The app then takes this information and consolidates it to warn users about  traffic-clogging accidents, speed traps, and other pitfalls so that they safely remain en route and on time. Just by running the app, Waze gathers traffic data and adjusts other users’ estimated times of arrival. Users can also personally alert others of problems they encounter by sharing events – from bumper-to-bumper traffic to accidents – pictorially. Drivers use voice command options to avoid the same mishaps that come from texting and driving. If issues with directions or missing streets come up, you can report them or pave a new way, too, and the team at Waze will update it along with the community. The more on board with Waze users are, the better the experience will be for everyone, so keep your car chargers ready and stay connected throughout your drives. You will help Waze create an organic and truly community-generated mapping system.

waze

Here is a map from my iPad showing live traffic feedback from downtown Miami. You can spot the other drivers by their wazer icons, report issues, and navigate. Check out the guided tour from waze.com, leave your comments, download it on the App Store, and look for version 3.5 soon.

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Surviving the Genius Bar

Genius Bar by Randy Le’Moine Photography, on Flickr

Scenario 1

You got the new iPad to stay current while on the go. It’s your second day of using it heavily, so you take a break from the hours spent customizing it for your upcoming trip to London, and your three-year-old daughter grabs it from the coffee table. You walk back from the kitchen and nearly drop your fresh mug of coffee at the sight of the shattered high resolution screen. Luckily, you smartly purchased AppleCare+ for accidents like these, but unsure of how you to get it replaced before your trip. Your first thought is driving to the Apple Store, but you only have a few. How can you get it fixed in time?

Scenario 2

Your friend gave you his white iMac as a way to convince you to switch from your PC since he got a Retina Macbook Pro. You’re skeptical, but willing to give it a try. It’s day three of playing around and you are really getting the hang of it. Then, suddenly, your fear of Mac machines is justified as itlets out piercing shriek. Reacting quickly, you decide topull the plug in fear of severely damaging your friend’s computer. The noise stops, but now what?

Scenario 3

You have had your Macbook Air for three months now and are finishing an iMovie project due on Monday. It’s bad enough you are stuck working on a Saturday morning, but now iMovie won’t stop crashing. Your first thought is to take it back to Best Buy for help. What should you do next?

In all three scenarios your Apple product needs some serious help, but it’s not always clear how to resolve your issue. Most people react by returning to the place of purchase for help, which can be a waste of time, or calling AppleCare support. You can easily see why AppleCare has such high praise while on the phone with them, but unfortunately not everything can be fixed over the phone. So, they direct you to an Apple Store or offer to ship you a box to send it back in. You may have purchased your product at another reseller to avoid the Apple Store crowds, but now your hand is forced so you grab your keys and start to head to your local Apple Store’s Genius Bar. Did you remember to make an appointment?

Tips

  • Always make an appointment to ensure the employees can see you and make your experience as simple and quick as possible. These stores can be overwhelming at times, so getting yourself on a list regardless of what times are available is a huge win. Appointments can be made online, from the Apple Store app, or over the phone.
  • Always make sure you have a current backup. If you are not sure how to backup or how current yours might be bring an external hard drive along for the ride.
  • Plan on spending time at the store; bring a book or your iOS device to kill time. Some issues take longer to address than others, so be open-minded. If you have to reinstall something and it’s taking too long ask to be shown how to install it yourself at home. Trust me, the store employees know you’re frustrated and want in and out as badly as everyone else.
  • Always check in when arriving to the store so they know you are there and waiting. They can always point you in the direction or help find you a place to sit and wait.

Tricks

  • Be kind, calm, and prepared. Keep in mind this is a free service that Apple doesn’t have to provide, but chooses to as a perk for you, the customer.
  • If things are not going well or you feel the employee doesn’t understand your needs then ask for a manager. Sometimes you may have come in for service, but really needed a business team member or creative trainer’s expertise instead.
  • If you hit a dead end with the store entirely and can feel the blank look from your assigned Genius than ask for a case number. Building a case history will ensure that your basis for frustration is well documented. You can always go home and call AppleCare to plead your case if it’s in their system.
  • Be flexible! Come early and be prepared to wait off the lunchtime rush of people coming in for service.

 Apple, Genius Bar, iMovie, MacBook Pro, Retina, iPad, AppleCare, iOS are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.