Ricky Says

The new iPhone 3GS has arrived, and I've had a chance to put it through it's paces over the last couple of days. I definitely recommend it - especially if you can get the upgrade pricing - and be sure to check with an Apple store for in-stock availability, because AT&T stores are currently backed up at least a week.

It looks the same on the outside except for the "16 GB" or "32 GB" on the back side, but it's noticeably faster then the old 3G. The 3 megapixel auto-focusing camera takes much crisper pictures, and it's great to finally be able to record videos.

The first thing I did when I upgraded was to copy everything from the old iPhone 3G to the new 3GS. Overall the process went fairly well, and I'll rate it a B+ in spite of a few gotchas along the way.

Here are the steps I took to backup my old 3G and restore the new 3GS from the backup, essentially copying over all my photos, music files, contacts, email accounts, and apps I had purchased.

1. Backup the old iPhone 3G

Connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB data cable and open iTunes. Wait for it to recognize your iPhone, and then right-click on your iPhone in the left side bar. Select "Backup" from the short-cut menu to start the backup.

The first backup took about 20 minutes on my iPhone, which was loaded with about 4 GB of data. I say first, because I ended up having to do it again because the first run didn't backup my purchased apps nor my music files.

Instead, I received an error message indicating that not everything was transferred, and that my computer wasn't authorized to play the items (even though I had already authorized my computer).

Turns out you have to tell iTunes to transfer purchased apps from your iPhone to your computer, and Apple didn't put the menu option in a prominent location.

2. Transfer Purchased Apps

If you own an iPhone 3G as I have for several months, then you're probably used to a daily battery charging routine. I usually charge my iPhone every morning and sometimes again during the day.

I also travel a lot and like to listen to music while flying, so I often get off the plane with a dead iPhone battery and can't check email or find where I'm at using Google Maps/GPS.

That all has changed after receiving a treasured Father's Day gift from my son, that's tripled the amount of time I can use my iPhone in between charges.

Sure, Apple provides several tips for conserving power and extending iPhone battery life, but they all follow a similar approach that basically involves NOT using important features like Wi-Fi, 3G wireless network speed, GPS location services, etc.

Basically all the features that drew me to the iPhone in the first place, and convinced me to trade in my Blackberry for one, are the ones Apple recommends I stop using in order to extend battery life. No thanks - I'm not about to turn them all off just to add a few minutes to an already short battery life. I would have stuck with my Blackberry if that was the end of the story. Fortunately it wasn't.

The gift I received from my son was a Tekkeon MP1800 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack that gives me 2 1/2 iPhone charges, so I can stay powered up even when I don't have an outlet nearby.

Question: I emailed myself a video I took from my blackberry curve. When i try to play the video on my computer it says it can't find the file extension. What is the deal?

Answer: The deal is that you either need a program installed on your computer that can play the video file, or a program that will convert it to a common video format like Quicktime or Windows Media.

I'll cover both approaches, and will introduce you to some free and low-cost programs that'll handle the video viewing and converting. I'll also show you how to convert Quicktime or Windows Media videos into a format that can be viewed on a Blackberry, iPhone, or virtually any mobile device that supports video.

Video Players

Most computers come with some form of a video player, such as Windows Media Player that plays video files with a .wmv extension. You can also get the Quicktime video player for free from Apple that plays .mp4 video files.

However, videos that are recorded from a mobile device will usually have a different file extension, such as .3GP for movies recorded on Motorola RAZR phones. These videos won't play in Quicktime or Windows Media.

You'll need a video player designed to read the video format that your specific mobile device uses, or better yet - one that can play a wide range of video formats so that you'll still be in luck if you switch phones in the future.

Rather then look for a universal video file player, look for a video file converter. Not only will you get the ability to view all kinds of video files, but you'll be able to convert them to be viewable on other devices or other computer systems like a Macintosh. Two for the price of one.

Video Converters

I'm hooked on Twitter.

It's grown into much more than even it's original charter ever dreamed, which was (quoted directly from their sign-in page):

"Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

Twitter has evolved into a place where people post (tweet) not only what they're doing, but what they think about any topic under the sun, resources they've found interesting, photos they've snapped from their mobile device, and even a marketplace where business connections are planted, cultivated, and harvested on a minute-by-minute basis.

How to link to a specific Tweet:

With all those tweets floating around the Twitterverse, there's bound to be one you'd like to link directly to. Maybe you want to send it to a friend or coworker, or bookmark it for future reference.

You can link to any tweet on http://www.twitter.com just by clicking the date-time below each tweet (go ahead and click the image below to try it).

That'll take you to a page showing just that tweet, which you can bookmark in your browser or share with your favorite online community.

If the tweet is a reply to another tweet, you can also view the original tweet (which sometimes is necessary to figure out the context behind what might otherwise seem like an odd comment).

Videos are one of the most powerful ways to communicate with viewers, and many times the best way to explain something on your computer is to show it in action.

You can make your videos incredibly effective by adding zoom, pan, and tilt features that focus viewer's attention to specific parts of the video.

I've even taken a single powerpoint slide covering the technical architecture of a complex software application, and used zoom and tilt techniques to keep viewers engaged and attentive for the duration of a 5 minute video of that single slide.

Here's how you can add zoom, pan, and tilt to your videos:

You'll need a copy of Camtasia Studio 6.0 or later, and they have a 30-day trial you can download that's fully-featured.

Open Camtasia and click the option to Record the Screen in the Welcome screen. Open your favorite software program and walk through a feature you'd like to demonstrate.

Save the video and then advance to the section in the video where you'd like to add a zoom or tilt effect. I find that any section that I'm verbally describing for more than 5 to 10 seconds makes a good candidate for a zoom and tilt effect.

Click "Zoom-n-Pan" from the Edit menu and shrink the green viewing rectangle to a smaller area of the preview screen. This will create a zoom and pan effect and you can preview it before saving your changes.

Question: My auto-play stopped working. When I plug in my iphone to my computer now, it only opens itunes, not the auto-play anymore.

How do i fix that please?

Answer: Autoplay is configured in your Windows Control Panel, which you can access by clicking the Start button, and clicking "Control Panel" on the right side of the applications menu.

In Vista, you'll see an Autoplay icon, which will open the settings for how your computer should handle things like mobile devices connecting to your computer, or CDs getting inserted into your CD drive.

In the Autoplay settings screen, scroll all the way down to the bottom where you'll see options for how to handle iPhones.

Choose the option to "Ask me every time", save your changes, and then try plugging your iPhone in again.

This time you should get the autoplay screen, asking you if you want to import pictures, etc.

Remember several years ago when CRM applications starting popping up left and right?

They let companies keep track of their customer interactions much more effectively - ever wonder how your dentist always seems to remember exactly what you told him on your last visit, or how those birthday cards automatically show up from your insurance agents each year?

That's all driven by customer relationship management software - a market category that's recognized across all industries.

This year there's a new market category that was just announced last week by Jive Software. It's called Social Business Software (SBS), and it's going to have even more profound of an impact on the world than CRM.

You're probably already using social networking software like Facebook and LinkedIn to re-connect with old friends and stay in touch with your current friends, but those sites aren't designed for business purposes.

What if you could take those social collaboration features and convert them into tangible business value for your company? You'd be a hero, wouldn't you?

That's what SBS does.

A few days ago my wife complained to me that her Facebook page looked different and she didn't like it at all. She asked me if I could figure out how to get the old one back.

I assumed she had probably accidentally clicked something to agree to let Facebook use her as a guinea pig, but I couldn't figure out how to get her old Facebook back. Mine was still the old one too.

Well, that all changed this morning, when I logged into Facebook like millions of other users and discovered that I've been switched over to the new Facebook too.

I'm not sure if I like it yet or not. All I see so far are rounded corners on user avatars, and have read lots of complaints about bugs and scripting errors. There are even Facebook groups that are being created by users who think the new look just plain sucks.

Oh, and the question has changed to "What's on your mind?", and "What are your thoughts?" (I've seen both today, so I think they're testing each one to see what users feel about it).

Is that what this has turned into? What we're thinking about?

I like the good ole' "What are you doing?" much better. It feels a lot less touchy-feely. And to me it's a better subject to learn what my friends have been up to, which keeps me connected. I learn their thoughts along the way, while they describe what they're doing, and that feels like a better starting point to me then jumping right into how we're feeling about things.

Many people just want things back to the way it was, which was awesome. Facebook membership has been growing extremely fast lately, and it's a great way to connect with old friends and stay connected with existing friends.

What do you think?

Do you want the old Facebook back, or do you like the new look and feel? What do you like about it?

It's great to know that the articles I publish on this site are actually helping people, and thanks to those of you who have taken time to drop me a quick thank you note from time to time.

I try to also spend a little time each day answering questions on Yahoo! Answers, and often refer back to articles I've posted on rickysays.com for more detailed information or reference material.

Members on the Yahoo! Answer site are encouraged to rate other member's answers, and it's always fun to receive the "Best Answer" rating (and is worth 10 points towards your user status level on the site).

Yahoo sends me an email with a link to the question and answer:

Here's a list of the Yahoo! Answers that have been rated best answers over the last few months. Hope you find some of them useful as well!

How to recover deleted file from memory stick?

how to recover deleted itune songs?

Sould I install spyware doctor on my pc?

how do i connect my bluetooth cell phone with my blue tooth computer?

How do I transfer songs from one iTunes library to another?

Aim video chat problems?

Should I get an Ipod touch or an LG shine?

Question: I was wondering how I would transfer music from my computer onto the memory stick and then transfer them onto my digital picture frame. Also, is it possible to have music on my picture frame when I show my pictures?

Answer: Digital picture frames are awesome. I have one at work, my wife has one at home, and we gave my parents one for Christmas this year.

Transferring pictures from your computer to a picture frame is a matter of copying the pics to a memory card or usb flash drive, and then plugging the memory card into your picture frame.

Here's a step-by-step guide for loading pictures onto a digital picture frame:

Step 1: Find the pictures on your hard drive

If you're using Windows Vista, then your pictures will most likely be located in the Pictures folder under your User folder (C:\Users\YourName\Pictures).

Expand the Pictures folder and find the photos that you'd like to view on the picture frame. If possible, copy them all to a single folder location, as that will make the next step much easier.

Step 2: Copy the pictures to an SD Micro memory card, or to a USB Flash Drive

Find the SD Micro memory card slot on the side of your laptop, or in the front of your desktop, and insert the card. Memory cards are dirt cheap these days, and you can get a 2GB card for under $10 on Amazon

Question: I saw your article on how to copy music to an ipod, but is it possible to point the ipod to an external portable drive, so that it finds music files there instead of from the main hard drive?

Answer: Since iPods get their music by syncing with iTunes, you'll need to either 1) tell iTunes to store music files on your portable external hard drive instead of your regular drive, or 2) import music files from your external drive into iTunes.

Option 1: Tell iTunes where to store music files

Open iTunes and select Edit -- Preferences. Then click the Advanced tab where you'll find the iTunes Music folder location.

Click the Change button and choose a folder on your external hard drive (you might want to create one first if you want files to be stored in a particular folder on the new drive).

If you want all of your music files to be moved over from your main drive to the external drive, then make sure the Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library option is checked.

Option 2: Import music into iTunes from an external hard drive

If you already have music on a portable hard drive, and just want to get them into iTunes so you can sync up and get those songs on your ipod, then you can just drag and drop those music files onto iTunes.

You can also use the File -- Add Folder to Library menu in iTunes, choose a music folder on your portable drive, and iTunes will add those to your library.

If you uncheck the Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library option, which is on this same tab shown above, then iTunes will leave the files on your external drive.

Question: I've resisted buying an ipod so far because I am an audiophile and I hate the idea of compressed music, which I equate to poor sound quality! Can you transfer whole CDs directly into an ipod from a CD player without compression? If you could, it would still mean you could store around 220 full CDs onto a 160 gb ipod and get absolute sound quality.

Answer: You're going to love the sound that comes from an ipod, for a number of reasons.

First, to answer your question - yes, you can transfer whole CDs to your ipod without compression. Using iTunes, select Edit -- Preferences and then click the Import Settings button to configure CD import settings.

The default import encoder setting is AAC, and you have options for importing at 128kbps or 256kbps (stereo bit rate), or can choose a custom import quality level up to 320kbps.

If you prefer using an MP3 encoder, then you can select that option as well - with custom bit rate options up to 320 kbps.

You probably already know this, but for others reading this article: keep in mind that a larger bit rate settings (the kbps number) means higher quality music files but also larger files. The larger the files, the better they'll sound - in theory anyway - and the less you can store on your ipod.

Most ears won't notice the difference between 128kbps and 256kbps however, especially considering you'll most likely be listening to the music with headphones in an area where other background noises can be heard.

If you've done any traveling, or just needed directions to a nearby restaurant, I'm guessing your iPhone has already saved the day a few times over with it's built-in GPS navigation system.

You can hone in on your current location by tapping the GPS locator button on the lower left of your Google Maps screen.

And you can search for nearby locations, and the iPhone will give you step by step instructions for getting there from your current location.

I've used the iPhone's GPS in several major cities across the US, in Zurich, Switzerland, and in a couple weeks I'll have the chance to try it out in Frankfurt, Germany on my next business trip. It's kept me from getting completely lost on more than a dozen occasions.

That's all fine and dandy, but just how accurate is the GPS for tracking your current location?

I did a little test today by walking around the block at my office in downtown Portland. The trip around the block is exactly 0.2 miles, and I took screenshots of the iPhone every few seconds while the GPS tracked my position.

Then I put the screenshots together into a video using Camtasia (which I highly recommend), and uploaded the video to YouTube.

As you can see in the video, the GPS tracking system did a pretty good job of tracking my movements around the block.

With the iPhone's built-in iPod music player, you'd think it would be easy to select a music file and set it as your default ringtone, or as a custom ringtone for one of your contacts. But as you've probably already discovered, it doesn't work that way.

Sure, you can right-click on a music file that you've purchased from iTunes and select "Create Ringtone", but you'll be charged another 99 cents for the conversion. Not cool, imho.

Fortunately, iTunes has everything you need to create your own custom ringtones from music you already own, and without paying any money. Here's how to do it using iTunes 8.0.2 (will also work with earlier versions, but the screens and menu names might be slightly different):

Step 1: Configure iTunes to convert music to AAC format.

AAC is the standard ringtone music file format, and you tell iTunes to use this format by configuring it's Import Settings (the same settings you use when importing music from a CD).

Open iTunes and select the "Edit" >> "Preferences" menu.

Click the "Import Settings" button and choose "AAC Format".

Step 2: Trim the song length.

Music files that are converted to ringtone format will not be recognized by your iPhone if they're longer than 35 seconds.

Select the song in iTunes that you want to convert to a ringtone, and select "Get Info" from the pop-up menu. Select the "Options" tab and change the Stop Time to 0:35.

This step must be completed before attempting the next step, or the file length will be too long.

Step 3: Convert the song to AAC format.

Right-click on the song in iTunes, and select "Create AAC Version".

iTunes will create a copy of this song in AAC format, but it will be trimmed to 35 seconds.

I often have friends, coworkers, and even business clients ask me how I make money online with my blog, and here are a few tips I've learned over the last couple of years.

I've actually learned more from my failures than anything else, but if you follow these tips you can avoid the mistakes I made early on, and can turn your blog into a money making machine.

Get Traffic

This is easier said then done, but is one of the most important aspects of monetizing your blog. Your chances of making money from your site increase as the number of visitors consistently increases (assuming you follow the other tips listed below).

Long term, steady, growing traffic comes from your articles finding their way higher up the search engine results, which happens when:

1. Your articles contain useful content that gets them listed high up on the search engines results.

2. Your articles are linked to from other sites that are high up on the search engine's results.

Bottom line, if your site isn't getting much traffic, then it won't make you much money either. Some blogs just weren't cut out for making money, and if your blog isn't getting a lot of traffic then don't bother trying to monetize it.

Get Bookmarked

The majority of my site traffic comes from Google search results, and from social networking sites that link to my articles (Digg, Delicious, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Diigo, etc, etc)

Knowing that most of your long term traffic will come from search engine results and social bookmarking sites, why not jumpstart the process by submitting your own articles to these sites?