Finally, you can pre-order iPhone 4 from the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/iphone).

If you are on the iPhone 4 email list, you may be disappointed. Apple has not sent the email announcing the good news. But, preorders & early reservations have started, and your iPhone 4 will be delivered by mail to you on June 24 – or you can choose to pickup your new iPhone at a local Apple Retail Store. (I want mine ASAP so I’ll pick it up from the store – because I’m a huge nerd.)

Even better news – I just pre-ordered 2 new iPhones before writing this blog! Everything is working as expected at the Apple Store (but it’s a little slow).

UPDATE: Finally got my confirmation email. (see image below) As expected, I was able to keep my unlimited data plan – yay! Also, the Apple Store where I’m picking up the iPhone will be open at 7am on June 24th. That was a surprise.

Now, I’m going back to bed.

UPDATE: You can pre-order from the Apple Store and ATT.com

1:16am Central time and ATT.com has started taking pre-orders for iPhone 4.

As you can see, the new iPhone 4 page on the AT&T website has the new Data Plus & Data Pro plans.

Let the madness begin!

iPhone 4 pre-orders are just around the corner. It’s just after midnight Central Time & the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com) is showing it’s wonderfully exciting (and frustrating) yellow sticky note with the message:

“We’ll be back soon”

Hopefully, the site will return quickly.

FYI: ATT.com, BestBuy.com, Walmart.com & RadioShack.com – all rumored to be accepting reservations today – are up and running, but don’t have any info on pre-ordering iPhone 4.

UPDATE: iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Available at ATT.com NOW. (Yes, right now!)

iPhone 4 Pre-orders will start on June 15th, according to Apple.com:

“iPhone 4 arrives on June 24, and you can pre-order or reserve yours on June 15.”

If you’re a huge Apple Fanboy/Fangirl like me, you’re wondering when on June 15th. Yes, I need to know the HOUR the pre-orders start. Can I stay up late on the 14th and reserve my new iPhone at midnight? Is that midnight Pacific Time? Maybe we’ll all have to wait until 9am the morning of the 15th. It’s anybody’s guess.

Camping Out… Online

I’ll be one of the thousands of people waiting & staying up late to to pre-order and guarantee they’ll get the iPhone 4 on June 24th – and hopefully skip the long lines of people who didn’t make a reservation / order in advance (suckers!)

The good news is Apple will send you an email when the iPhone 4 pre-orders open. All you need to do is goto the “Notify Me” iPhone 4 page on Apple.com and enter your email address.

Pre-Order From Apple or AT&T?

AT&T.com doesn’t have any information on iPhone 4. All it says is “coming soon”. And that doesn’t help at all. My guess is that AT&T will let you pre-order, but right now we don’t know for sure.

UPDATE: AT&T.com will take pre-orders on June 15th here: www.att.com/iphone Your new iPhone 4 will be delivered to your home or business by mail on June 24th. View the iPhone 4 Pre-Order Press Release at AT&T.com

What about the warranty?

Apple’s warranty, named “Apple Care”, is $69 and “For up to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone, you get technical support and hardware repair coverage — both parts and labor — for your iPhone, battery, and included accessories.” Plus, I trust the Apple Care warranty because it saved my iMac & my iPhone.

Honestly, I don’t know if AT&T will offer an extended warranty for iPhone 4. There are rumors of a $12-13/month plan to cover damage and or stolen iPhones, but it’s not listed on ATT.com. And it’s too expensive. IF (big if) you lose your iPhone, you can buy another for less than the total cost of a $12/month plan.

Will you pre-order & buy your iPhone 4 from AT&T or Apple?

In January 2008 Steve Jobs said this about the Amazon Kindle:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

- Quote from NYT, “The Passion of Steve Jobs” January 15, 2008

iBooks Launch in 2010

In early 2010, Apple launched it’s “Kindle Killer” online book store, iBooks. As you can see from the image above, 250,000 iBooks were downloaded in the first 24 hours of the store launch – that’s just the iPad. Soon, every iPhone and iPod Touch will also be able to download & read books directly from Apple.

Steve Jobs seems to have changed his mind about the Kindle… and Americans.

I Read Books, Steve.

I’ve been reading books on my iPhone ever since the Kindle app was released. (Yes, I purchased books from Amazon and read them in the Kindle app on my iPhone.)

Reading books on the iPhone is perfect for me because:

• It’s digital so I’m not responsible for killing any trees
• I can carry hundreds of books in a tiny space – especially when traveling
• I can read anytime, anywhere because I never forget to bring a book

The truth is: the combination of Kindle app + iPhone has made me want to read more. Now, I’m reading more books than I ever have (high school included!) Before the iPhone, I didn’t read many books. In fact, it was less than the 1 per year Steve mentioned.

Better Late Than Never?

Obviously, Steve was dead wrong about the Kindle and digital books. Or maybe he was just blowing smoke – we’ll never know. Either way, the good news for us fanboys & girls is that Apple is getting in the game. iBooks is one of the new iPhone features I’m looking forward to in OS 4.0. And yes, iBooks will kill my Kindle app (and I’m OK with that).

*Personal note: This one’s for you, Fiona*

Yes, you can sync 2 Mac computers and an iPhone to a single user MobileMe account? Yes, it’s possible and extremely simple – just follow this tutorial!

The trick is pulling all of the information (contacts, mail accounts, Safari bookmarks, etc.) from the MobileMe cloud and overwriting the data on your 2nd Mac. In fact, it’s the exact same syncing process for any Mac that’s never been synced to MobileMe – Which I already wrote a tutorial about. However, I’ll give you all the details here too.

To limit confusion, I’ll be talking about the 3 machines synced with my MobileMe account:

1. iMac
2. iPhone
3. Hackintosh (a 9” Dell netbook running OSX 10.5.7)

I’ve already setup MobileMe on my iMac and iPhone and it’s been working great for over a year. For this example, I’m adding the Hackintosh (device #3) to my MobileMe account. The Hackintosh has never been synced to any MobileMe account… Here goes…

Start with the Mac you’re adding to MobileMe (the Mac that has NOT been synced with Mobile Me yet). In my case, it’s the Hackintosh. Now follow along:

System Preferences

1. In the Dock, click on System Preferences

2. then click the MobileMe icon

MobileMe SignIn

Enter your MobileMe member name and password & click Sign In

Mobile Me Account Information

You should see your MobileMe account information (date of renewal, free space, account type, etc). Click on Sync tab at the top

Advanced Settings

Click Advanced in the bottom right corner

New Mac

Click the new Mac you’d like to sync (the Hackintosh in my example)

Mobile Me Data

Click Reset Sync Data (don’t worry, it doesn’t sync yet)

Push MobileMe Data

Click the Left arrow (under the computer icon). Now the orange arrow should be moving from MobileMe to the computer. THIS IS CRITICAL because you want the data from MobileMe to be sent to your Mac. Make double sure it’s correct! (if the orange arrow is moving towards the MobileMe icon, you could risk losing your data on MobileMe – and that doesn’t sound like fun.

Replace Mac Data

If you’re sure the orange arrow is moving from right to left (MobileMe to the mac), then click Replace

Are You Sure?

You should see this warning “Are you sure you want to replace data on this computer with data from MobileMe?” Click OK if you’re sure.

Sync, Sync Baby

The sync should start immediately. You’ll see the animated dashes next to the data that MobileMe is downloading to your computer.

Finished Sync

When the sync has finished, open Address Book. Everyone who’s saved in your MobileMe account should now be saved on your Mac.

Mail Passwords

Now open up Mail. You’ll have to enter your email passwords.

Almost Done!

You’ve just synced a 2nd Mac to MobileMe! … Sorta…

Have a Heart Attack

Go back to Mac #1 (the iMac for me) and open Mail. You may notice all of your email accounts have disappeared! I had a heart attack too. No worries – the accounts are still there, but they’ve been set to “inactive”. Why? I don’t know. But here’s how to make them active again.

More Preferences

(Mac #1 – iMac) Go to Mail, then Preferences.

Enable Mail Accounts

(Mac #1 – iMac)

1. Click “Accounts” at the top.

2. Click on your email account on the left.

3. Click the check box next to “Enable this account”.

Save!

(Mac #1 – iMac) Close the preferences window. Click “save”.

Party Like it’s 1999

Do a backflip, pat yourself on the back, smoke a cigar or celebrate in your own way because you’ve just synced 2 Macs & an iPhone to your MobileMe account. Nice job.

You might be able to sync more than 2 computers. I don’t know if Apple allows more than 2 computers – if you can get 3 to sync, please let me know!

Where to Buy the iPhone 4?

You have a few choices:

1. Apple.com
2. Retail Apple Stores
3. Retail AT&T Stores
4. Best Buy
5. Walmart

When the iPhone launched, you could only buy it at an Apple Store. Now you can trade up at big box stores Walmart and Best Buy, retail AT&T and Apple stores, and online at Apple.com. (Ok, you can’t actually “trade up” at these locations. You’ll have to pick where to buy it then find another place where you can sell your old iPhone.)

Apparently, Apple does not sell refurbished iPhones at Apple.com. Bummer because I was hoping to save a few bucks on the new purchase. I got a heck of a bargain when I purchased my refurbished iMac.

Why Buy a Brand New iPhone?

I purchased my 1st Generation iPhone a few weeks after it was released. It’s only 4GB, runs on the Edge network (slower than 3G), plus the apps lack punch.

I’m thinking about to buying the new 2010 iPhone (4G? Verison?).

Sure, my current iPhone still works, but I’d like to get the new, faster version with video, picture text messages, etc. I’ll keep my old phone in a safe place where I can easily activate it as an emergency backup.

I’m Buying The New iPhone 4. You Can’t Stop Me

It’s official, I’m gonna buy the new iPhone 4. There are several ways I can rationalize the purchase:

• I blog about Apple products and readers want to know about the newest iPhones
• My current AT&T contract is up
• The new iPhone will be available on Version! (I hope)

You’re right, those aren’t great reasons. What are you, my mother?

Like mom would say, “make sure you buy the warranty.” I did and it saved me a few hundred bucks.

UPDATE:

You can pre-order iPhone 4 on June 15th!

1. Portability

The iPad is an extremely portable device. It’s 9.56 inches by 7.47 inches and only weighs 1.6 pounds (about half the weight of the MacBook Air). Small, light and completely functional without any other peripherals. No mouse needed and if the 10 hours of battery life is accurate, you won’t need a power cord when working on a flight or at the coffee shop.

2. Apps

Apps will make the iPad a must-have device. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the apps on the iPad will give everyone a reason to buy. The new iPad apps will be more powerful, interactive than anything we’ve seen on iPhone or iPod Touch.

My guess is the iPad will become a mini-computer and it will do almost anything a full-size Mac can do. Microsoft Office with full functionality in Excel, Word & PowerPoint? Yes, it’s coming. Plus, you’ll have the entire iWork Suite. And there will be higher quality image editing apps (hopefully, PhotoShop) to create, edit and save images. The iPad should be perfect for bloggers who don’t need the power or won’t pay for a MacBook.

3. Easy to Use

Apple is famous for making its products easy to use. And the iPad is another perfect example. “But it doesn’t do what my iMac or MacBook can do.” You’re exactly right. The iPad is much, much easier to use because it’s been stripped down to the essentials. That’s why people like my parents will love it – Just apps without any of the hassle of a “full” operating system.

4. Revolutionary

The iPad is a revolutionary device. Sure, it’s all touch, all the time. It might help and/or save the newspaper & magazine industry. That’s all fine and good, it’s just the beginning.

The iPad has the power to create an extraordinary shift in how we access the internet. How? The $14.95/month 3G deal with AT&T. The iPad will bring mobile internet to the masses. No WiFi needed. No searching for the nearest coffee shop. The internet is always on, always connected.This kind of deal could seriously hurt cable and DSL internet providers.

Cell phones killed land-line telephone service. The iPad (& future computers) running on 3G internet will kill cable and DSL service. This is the future.

5. Coolness

The iPad is shiny, sleek and sexy. Translation: The iPad is “Cool”. It’s cool looking you’ll be infinitely cooler if you own one! (Just like every Apple product, right? Except the hockey puck mouse. That thing sucked.)

I can hear the Microsoft fanboys throwing a fit. “Where the hell is the second mouse button! I hate mac users!” They love to attack the coolness and/or design of Apple products (even when Microsoft admits Apple’s design is superior – then copies it.)

6. It IS a Big iPod Touch

The iPad IS a large version of the iPod Touch and that’s a huge benefit. Anyone who uses an iPhone or iPod Touch immediately knows how to turn it on, get to the web, how to download apps, sync calendars, contacts, etc. There is little or no learning curve for the iPad. Plus, the iPad has a bigger screen, more powerful apps and 3G internet. Awesome.

7. Always Online

3G internet for $14.95/month. Cheap and fast. What more can you ask for?

8. Speed

Gizmodo.com was beaming about the 3G speed on the iPad. They said:

“Apple didn’t really sell this point, but it’s the single biggest benefit of the iPad: speed. It feels at least a generation faster than the iPhone 3GS. Lags and waits are gone, and the OS and apps respond just as quickly as you’d hope. Rotating between portrait and landscape modes, especially, is where this new horsepower manifests in the OS.”

Speed is why I love my iPhone. If I need to look up directions or find a restaurant quickly, it’s faster to turn on my iPhone than power up the iMac (or any other full-size computer.) Now, I can power up the iPad (or leave it in sleep mode for 1 month) and find what I need extremely fast.

9. iPad Pocket Pants

Don’t waste your money on a fancy case for the iPad. Instead, get a sweet pair of jeans with a pocket designed for your iPad.

Two months ago, I accidentally dropped a locked font file on to my desktop. Dragging it to the trash didn’t work so I searched for a way to delete it. Finally, I’ve found the solution to deleting those pesky locked files.

If you’re seeing the message “The operation could not be completed because the item ‘(item name)’ is locked.” message, then you’re having the same problem.

Unlock the File, Then Delete

The trick is to unlock the file first, then you can drag it to the trash and delete it for good! So the question is;

How do you unlock the file?

Try this first: Select the file you are trying to move, then choose Get Info from the File menu. If the Locked box is checked, deselect it, then try moving the file again.

If that doesn’t work – don’t worry. It didn’t unlock my font file either. You’ll have to use Terminal to unlock the file (it’s easy):

1. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
2. Type this, followed by a space: sudo chflags -R nouchg
3. Drag the folder you would like to unlock into the Terminal window.
4. Press Return.
5. Enter your password and press Return.
6. Quit Terminal

The file should be unlocked – Drag it to the trash and delete it!

If you’re still having trouble unlocking the file, try this page on support.apple.com

What’s included in the new version of iTunes? Not much.

Here are the details straight from the upgrade:

iTunes 9.0.2 adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility.

Pretty light on features for 92.8 MB.  If your an Apple TV person, then this might be worth while.

For everybody else, we get a dark background. Well, that’s if you can figure out where this new option is located. I spent a few minutes looking through all the menus in iTunes and couldn’t find it.

If you know how to change this mysterious dark background, please let me know!