12 Days of Christmas iTunes Giveaway

Apple’s iTunes Store is offering twelve days of giveaways from the 26th December to the 6th January.

12 Days of Christmas iTunes Giveaway

From December 26th to January 6th you and your friends can download a free song or music video, app, TV episode or film from some of the biggest star performers on iTunes. Each free download will be valid for 24 hours only.

Find out more.

Adding the printer…

I had been putting off adding my Canon MP600R to my new iMac, as the process on my 10.5 iMac was not simple.

Well things have improved with 10.6 as it was very simple and much easier than with previous versions of OS X.

The key though was to have some patience as it can take a bit of time for the printer to appear in the printer list.

Once though it “appears” then it is quite easy to add the printer like any other USB, network or Bonjour printer.

Once added though, run Software Update to get the most up to date drivers from Apple.

Next job to be able to scan from the printer.

Editing photographs

I am really enjoying my new 27″ iMac, in particular the large screen is fantastic for editing photographs.

I have been lucky (and I suspect many others have as well) not to experience any flickering with my 27″ screen, it appears that some have had issues.

I know some don’t like glossy screens but I have not found it to be a problem. The widescreen format allows me to view the whole image and all the relevant tools alongside making it a superb photo editing experience.

Doctors warned about risk of ‘Facebook flirts’

Doctors are being warned not to respond to flirtatious approaches on social networking sites.

The Medical Defence Union, a legal body for doctors, said communicating via sites such as Facebook may be a breach of ethical responsibilities.

It issued the warning after a number of cases in which patients propositioned doctors after searching for their details on the internet.

Read more

Teachers and lecturers may want to think about how they use Facebook in light of this; and it would be advised that they check their visibility and security settings in Facebook.

This is not about not using Facebook, I know many teachers who do, but to consider the implications of sharing information beyond your Facebook friends, and what information is available publicly.

It’s a “problem”

So some people are having issues with the Sony Ericsson Satio, so much so that two mobile phone retailers in the UK have withdrawn the phone from their stores.

Mobile phone retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U have temporarily withdrawn the Sony Ericsson Satio smartphone from their stores.

Both companies said the move followed complaints from customers about software problems.

TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone

Oh I don’t know sometimes you wonder if companies realise that you might actually want to buy something… you know pay out money for goods!

Having got an iPhone 3GS and purchased the TomTom Application from the iTunes Store I was looking at ways in which I could mount the iPhone in the car.

The obvious choice appeared to be the TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone.

tomtomcarkit

The TomTom app on your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G puts award-winning technology at your fingertips, like IQ Routes which gives you the smartest, most efficient route any time of day. That’s just the beginning. Combine it with the TomTom Car Kit to experience enhanced GPS performance for the ultimate in-car navigation.

  • TomTom Car Kit features
  • Secure docking
  • Enhanced GPS performance
  • Clear voice instructions
  • Easy charging
  • Hands-free calling
  • Your music on the move

Now I know that I could buy a £15 generic phone holder from Tesco, however the extra features did seem to make the £99 seem like quite good value for money. Enhanced GPS performance is always welcome, I remember having lots of problems with GPS reception with an Acer PDA running Co-Pilot. Hands-free calling would be useful and the FM transmitter was something I had been considering buying for sometime. As it says

The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models…

This meant that I could use my main iPod in the car when I wasn’t using the iPhone, and listen to podcasts and music through the radio.

Seemed like a good idea, so where could I buy it from.

I initially checked the Apple Store and was disappointed to see that though it was going to be released on the 5th November, it was going to take 4-6 weeks for shipping, which in Apple speak means seven or eight weeks! So I checked Amazon and was pleased to see that they could ship within 24 hours of release.

Yay!

I placed my order on the 26th October

I waited.

Amazon sent me an e-mail on the 6th November, which said that they now couldn’t deliver on time and also couldn’t give me a revised shipping date.

On the 9th November I got another e-mail from Amazon, cancelling my order…

Hmmm.

Well that didn’t work out did it.

So with a little reluctance I went back to the Apple Store and though it was still saying 4-6 weeks shipping, I placed my order with them on the 13th November. The confirmation e-mail gave me a delivery date of the 28th December! Just over six weeks.

You can imagine my surprise (and a little delight) when on the 20th November, just one week later, I got an e-mail from Apple saying that my order had shipped.

So not 4-6 weeks, under two!

Once I have it, I will let you know how I get on.