NEW YORK 2011 SAGA 3:

"BIG APPLE" APPLE TRIP
New York City

I went to New York City on October 20-22, 2011, mainly to orient my two friends to Apple computer products. Meanwhile, I had a wonderful time sightseeing, dining out and getting a good visit in with Bill and David.

I also got to visit with the architect Giuliano Fiorenzola, my teacher/mentor for my 1982 Italian tour. It was wonderful!

We had lunch at BIRRERIA, the beer garden-type restaurant on top of a 14-story building with an open roof! This is partially owned by Sam Calagione, the owner of Dogfish Craft Brewery here in Milton, DE.

click to see: SAM CALAGIONE

I wore a Dogfish Head hoodie and the people at the restaurant got a big kick out of the fact that I was from Milton and knew Sam. In fact the manager, Mallory, waited on us and said to be sure to say "hello" to Sam for her. It was a delight sitting in an open air space, having a wonderful Tuscan sausage meal with DFH's "Punkin Ale" and overlooking the Flat Iron Building. The whole complex of restaurants and shops is called "Eataly."

David and Bill at Birrera.

I gave Bill a painting by Ray Petersen, a local Milton painter and friend, that he had seen in a book two years ago. He loved the image, so I purchased it for him to liven up his apartment. He was thrilled beyond belief. It's going to be wonderful hanging in his living room.

I just love being in NYC: the hustle and bustle, noise, tall buildings, etc.

I saw the new Freedom Tower building up close. It's three-fourths up. Will be the tallest building in the U.S.

Freedom Tower has the crane on top.

As I said, the main thrust of the trip was to help David get set up on his MacBook and iPhone. And to get Bill an iPhone.

First task was David's equipment.

He still had only "Leopard" as his operating system on his Mac. We went to two stores to finally find the last "Snow Leopard" disc available in NYC! (Otherwise, it would have to be mailed, which would arrive after my visit.) So, we were able to install "Snow Leopard." We updated it, then installed and updated "Lion," the current operating system. This all took about four hours. Then we started on David's iPhone—another two hours to install its latest operating system, "iOS 5." All-in-all we used up the better part of the first day.

On the second and last day, the mission was to get Bill an iPhone. He was unsure about it but we finally went to the AT&T store and purchased the iPhone 4, 8GB for $100 with a new 2-year contract. Over the next four hours we installed the new operating system "iOS 5," backed up the iPhone onto his newly installed iTunes on his PC, and did some instructing on its operation. He was very tentative at first but soon became very interested.

After I got back to Milton, we talked an hour on "FaceTime," a program that puts a picture of the caller on an iPhone or Mac, learning how to contact each other. This way, David and Bill can talk and see each other while David is on his two-week trip to the Middle-East—all on wireless at no cost!

All-in-all a very successful trip to the Big Apple.

APPLE SAGA 8:

iPhone 4S

I just received the new iPhone day before yesterday.

WOW!

The most striking upgrade is the 8MP camera. What beautiful pictures and 1080p video! They blow you away. As good as any point and shoot camera, plus you have a lot of adjustments available. And you can modify the shots after taking them: crop and enhance. Also, the camera's instant on!

Another WOW upgrade is you simply talk to the phone and it does what you want it to do via "SIRI"—answers requests such as searches on the internet, takes dictation  to answer your email, sets up appointments on your calendar, answers encyclopedia questions, does calculations, tells you the weather-anywhere-anytime, etc, etc, etc!

It's twice as fast via the new dual-processor A5 chip and renders 7 times faster than the iPhone 4—will be great for gaming.

It's identical on the outside, but the insides are all different.

I got a white, 32GB one this time!

APPLE SAGA 7:

STEVEN PAUL "STEVE" JOBS
February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011.

I have so much to say; so little space.

I have followed Steve Jobs since the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984!

During the Redskins Super Bowl, an ad ran for that singular time that became the most heralded ad in history—the famous "Macintosh 1984." I saw it and was struck by the honesty, cleverness, directness and clarity. It is considered the greatest ad in advertising history and won a Cannes special award.

click to see: MACINTOSH 1984 AD.

When I got my 128K Mac in February, 1984, I sat down at my dining room table, turned it on and it wrote " h e l l o . " on the screen. I was hooked!

He is to me one of the geniuses of our time—a true visionary and an icon.

Macintoshes (I've had 7), iPods (3), iTunes (1,278), iPhones (5), iPads (2), Apps (128)—need I say more? I've taught (am teaching) 17 people how to use Apple products (Ed, Ray, Steve, Marilyn, Ted, Mary Ann, Deo, Steve, Lee, Ron, Liz, Robert, David, Bill, Hoyte, Sonie and Lisa). I've seen Pixar films (6) and I've been to Apple retail stores (4), including the famous Flagship Store in New York City.

He meant to delight and he always has.

Apple's culture: "simplicity, discoverability, elegance, differentiation, attention to detail, ecosystem control, tight integration and secrecy"

He and his inventions are why I became a techie and a lover of Apple products.

He was a thinker, designer, innovator, polymath, motivator and marketeer.

I sorely miss him already!

"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."
      – Steve Jobs

Excerpt from Mr. Job's celebrated 2005 Stanford University commencement address

—"the Gettysburg Address of Commencement Speeches."

click to see: STANFORD UNIVERSITY SPEECH.

Rest In Peace

Even Time Magazine for the first time in 30 years, stopped the presses!

Outside NYC store.

P.S. "Sixty Minutes" did a full hour tribute to Mr. Jobs on October 23, 2011. It was very interesting and touching, especially how the iPad is helping autistic people communicate miraculously.

click to see: 60 Minutes on Steve Jobs

TIDBYTES SAGA:

NEW MACINTOSH

I got a new iMac. WOW! It is superb.

Ted's hard drive on his iMac went kapooey. He decided to get a new iMac instead of fix the old one. I helped him pick it out. I got so excited about the specs of the new Macintosh that I ordered one for myself!

It's Screen is 22 1/2", 2 inches larger than my old one. This allows for a perfect 1920 X 1080 pixel, 6 by 9 ratio, HD Screen. It has the new Intel Quad-Core Processor, the i5. Boy, is it fast! Additionally, we each added to the Ram Memory to make them speedy 12GB Systems. It has a 500GB Hard Drive and Radeon's accelerated HD Graphics Card.

It sports a Trackpad instead of a Mouse, allowing many hand gestures. I'm learning quickly the various movements. Together with the small Keyboard, it offers a small footprint, but with a large Screen.

With Lion, the new operating system, OS X10, installed, it's a whizz, and a most enjoyable experience.

I sold my old, fairly new iMac to Lee and Steve, who have gotten my last three Macs! They were so pleased.

APPLE SAGA 6:

iPHONE

The launch of the iPhone took the industry by storm. Up to then no phone had been so beautiful, so comprehensive and so dramatically useful. 

Steve Jobs is quoted as saying, "We like results that make our hearts sing." And the iPhone does just that.

The iPhone brought us the invention of the "app". Now, there are over 700,000 apps available, phenomenally surpassing everyone in the industry. "THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT," is a common phrase. People love their iPhones. 

It's become an international sensation.

The fourth iteration of the phone is called the iPhone 4—a leap in technology, sophistication and delight.

I've enjoyed teaching the iPhone thoroughly to five people and casually to many more. 

Me enjoying teaching the iPhone!

Its usefulness and lore are traveling.

APPLE SAGA 5:

iPad 2 PHOTO BOOTH Tomfoolery

The new iPad has an application called Photo Booth. It's more fun! It has nine panes of different photographic FX one can use for stunning variation. It's a real crowd pleaser.

Steve G.

Don Voth at his most professorial!

Drew N.

Bed Monster

APPLE SAGA 4:

iPad 2

I got it! It's great. So pretty! I immediately downloaded my information onto it. And then played with it.

It's faster, clearer and sleeker than the original iPad.

I took it to our Friday Night Dining Group's outing. Everyone was impressed.

Ron sent this to me captioned, "Happy Don."

BOY, AM I!

Best thing since sliced bread.

Apple's done it again.

Two people confessed that they wanted one, too. Steve also talked in detail about his interest in it, inquiring about 3G vs. wireless, etc.

APPLE SAGA 3:

iPad 2


It just was announced by Steve Jobs. I love my iPad. Wasn't going to get the new one, BUT have gotten excited about it. I found a site that will buy my iPad for half the money I paid! Therefore, it's a done deal!!!

Can't decide whether to get the Wi-Fi only one or the one with Wi-Fi and 3G. The iPhone's going to be able to act as a Hotspot. This would allow the Wi-Fi only iPad to be connected to the phone's 3G if there's no Wi-Fi available. Either way there's an extra charge for the access.


It comes out March 11. And as always, I get my Apple products on the first day! 


What would you think about white with a red cover?

APPLE SAGA 2:

MACINTOSH


I know I said I was going to talk about the iPhone, however I want you to know about the specialness of the Macintosh first.

We all owe homage to the Mac for two special aspects. All computers today would be difficult, unmanageable machines if it were not for two ingenious inventions.

Apple was started by two guys in a garage, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.

Jobs, a brilliant entrepreneur and marketer and Wozniak, a brilliant computer innovator, together began a company that was to change the computer world. The "Apple I" and "Apple II" evolved.

But in 1979, something brilliant was stirring under a skull and cross bones flag. A renegade band of Apple guys began working on an ingenious machine that was to change the living habits of the entire world. And in 1984, the "Macintosh" was born.

The little animated box had many innovations. But two things stand out, the GUI or "gooey" and the handheld input device or mouse. Both leading up to "wysiwyg" or "wissywig". Let me explain.

GUI stands for graphical user interface. Instead of words describing a circle for instance, an actual circle is drawn on the screen. And what is on the screen is what is actually printed out on paper! This seems curiously logical. But in the 80s, it was a revelation—no, a revolution.

And the mouse as an input device, first used on the Mac, has become a natural extension of our own arm.

Together these two innovations allow "wysiwyg"—what you see is what you get. Now the industry standard.

HOMAGE DESERVED INDEED!

APPLE SAGA:

MACINTOSHES

Ever since I got the first 128K Macintosh, I've been in love with Apple products. They are beautifully designed, intuitive and "they just work". 

I shall always remember when my first Macintosh arrived in March of 1984. I had seen the famous Macintosh ad during the Super Bowl and was fascinated. 

click to see: 1984 Macintosh Super Bowl Ad

I eagerly set it up on the dining room table, plugged it in, turned it on and magically the word "h e l l o." wrote itself across the black and white screen. I was hooked. 

The original sits on the shelf above my current 21" iMac desktop.

I've had seven Macintoshes since. Each one an increase in speed, efficiency, design and delightfulness. I want to emphasize this last aspect. Steve Jobs is quoted as saying, "We want our products to delight". And they certainly do. They stand apart from all others in the computer world.

I've become an aficionado and a teacher. I currently have ten people I'm involved with, teaching four intensively. Plus, helping another three casually. I'm a MacAddict, MacTeacher and a MacProselytizer. I've been directly responsible for four conversions over to the Macintosh and I don't know how many indirectly.

I've also had/have four iPods, an iPad and three iPhones. I'm currently intensely enjoying the iPhone 4—utilizing 147 apps!

Next, iPhone!