iPad 3rd Generation

The new iPad 3rd Gen has been announced and I have mine on order, I skipped the iPad 2 knowing that Apple would do something like this with the high res display and quad core A5X chip.

In addition to the new iPad, Apple has released iOS 5.1 and some OS X updates as well; the good news is that with iOS 5.1 we can now edit delete photos in photo stream.

Head over to Apples to site for all the details

iPhone 3Gs white screen of death

I dropped my iPhone on my desk and it seemed to be fine, when I plugged in head phones I noticed the screen was all white, the phone was still working so I figured it was something software related, did a reboot and the phone was working only until it when to sleep and then white screen, doing some google searches reveled that its a LCD issue with 3Gs iPhones.

The fix is to replace the LCD display, if this is something you are not comfortable with then you would need to take it get fixed or sell it on ebay and get a new phone.

I replaced the LCD myself, $18 off Amazon for a working replacement, replaced LCD and all is working again. Instructions for replacing the LCD are on youtube.

I would rate this repair a 3 out 5 for difficulty, 1 being easy and 5 being very difficult.

iPhone 3G and 3GS AT&T GoPhone (no contract account)

I have tested this with a iPhone 3G and 3GS, it should work with an iPhone 4 but I do not have theAT&T version to test, this will not work with a Verizon iPhone.

Very simple and affordable way to use your iPhone off contract. you do not need to jail break your iPhone or unlock it.

here is what you need and the steps

iPhone 3G or 3GS (Maybe iPhone 4, not 4s)

AT&T GoPhone SIM card (I got mine from Amazon for $3)

Active the SIM card by going online or customer service, they will ask you for the SIM card ID and the EMI number, I had an older AT&T phone so I gave them that or you can just tell them you do not have one yet. Do not give them the iPhone EMI number.

Place SIM card in iPhone and it will search the network and you should be ready to go, you will need to fund your GoPhone account from your credit card and then you will be able to go online and by services.

In most cases the data plan will work but you will need to create a custom APN setting for it, just go to http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/ on your iPhone (make sure you are connected to the internet through WiFi) and select the Cingular APN for iPhone. once you have done that turn off WiFi and test the data.

Thats it, no jail breaking or unlocking, My GoPhone account is setup with 10cents per minute and 10MB of data, I don't use this as my primary phone much and just wanted an iPhone for some data.

Post a reply of your experience

OSX software update 10.7.2 and iOS 5

Some are reporting problems but I have had no issues with 10.7.2 on my MBP or my wife's MB, on Hackintosh 10.7.2 works great but you will need an updated Chameleon boot patched to work with iCloud and FaceTime.

Having no issues with iOS on our iPhone 4 and iPad, iCould works but really needs some improvement, I am not sure I am liking the photo stream yet as you cannot delete just one photo from it.

Windows 8 Developer Preview

Downloaded and installed on my backup machine. install process is very simple and typical of Windows but after that, things are very different. You configure your computer much like a Mac and once that is done you are no using Microsofts Metro interface, this interface is designed for touch devices and the look and feel is not that good, clunky and messy. This is a developer preview so I am sure the release version will  be much different (it better be). I was able to learn the new OS with in 20 minutes and navigating around you can find all the familiar tools and things that you have in Windows 7. I installed apps that I use and a click on the desktop in metro brings me to a familiar windows desktop. boot time is ver fast compared to Windows 7 and all my hardware was found and working.

Note:
I installed this on my older laptop and it did work but the graphics experience was slow and lagged, better use a new PC if you want to check this out.

I recommend you install this onto a different hard disk and keep your main OS intact as this OS may not be stable enough for long time use.

If you want to see it without installing it (recommended), go to youtube and watch some videos on it.

Apple Lion OS X Released

Apple has released Lion OS X, I installed it on my MacBookPro and my wife's MacBook, we are both enjoying the new features of this OS on our laptops. The new features seem to target the laptop users and make the experience more productive and easy to use. I didn't notice and speed increase in this OS and if anything maybe a little slower but with SSD drives in our laptops everything is snappy and fast, for $29 this is a no brainer upgrade and Apple allows you to install it on as many Apple PC's as you want.

Install OSX Lion on my PC, The latest boot loader injects just about everything needed to make this run on a PC as long as you have a good DSDT.aml. The only issues I have ran into so far is sleep not working well enough to use it and FaceTime not connecting to server. neither  are show stoppers for me and so far the experience has been positive.

Here is my simple installation of Lion on my PC, because I have a MBP I don't need to play with boot loaders and installation apps. I bought Lion from the app store and created a bootable DVD by mounting the DMG from the package and burning it.

• load hard drive in a USB external case plug it into the already booted and running MBP
• from the DVD run the install package, install Lion on the USB hard disk, a bout 30 minute process
• when complete, hold the power down for 5 seconds and reboot the MBP with the USB HD unplugged
• Plug USB drive back into the MBP after rebooted 
• run myHack installer and install chameleon boot loader without sleep enabler
• use Chameleon Wizard to update chameleon to r1078, this is important or Lion with not boot
• install your DSDT.aml in /Exrta and load your needed .kext's in /Extra/Extension
• take USB HD out of case and install it in the PC and boot

do some tweaking, mostly sound and ethernet and you are good to go. this is a simple install method and I have done the research on my hardware to make this work, you will need to do the same and should not be attempted until you have done so. 

Need help with this, PM me.

Apple Bluetooth working on PC - OS X

one of the issues with building a hackintosh is sleep, using a PC type bluetooth adapter will work but it will not wake from sleep. One solution is to use USB wired keyboard or mouse but I like having the full Apple OS X experience so I use the Bluetooth keyboard and magic/trackpad mouse.

To get an Apple Bluetooth module you have to buy one taken out of a Mac laptop, these can be found on ebay for $6 to $12, do not use a module from a G4 or Mac pro, these will not work and the Mac Pro module does not have pin outs for USB. The Apple module is also 3.3v and PC USB has 5v so a converter is needed, this is also on ebay as well.

Once these two items are wired up you are good to go, plugs into the USB port and now my hackintosh wakes after sleep on bluetooth keyboard or mouse.

5v to 3.3v converter to Apple Bluetooth module