If the answer to the question of above is yes, then continue reading.  As most of you know I am a long time AT&T customer (since my first iPhone) and I travel a fair amount for business (USA and Canada). What I am tried of is having to pay roaming charges when I am out of the USA, so what to do? Well I found UnlockStreak.com online for a small fee they will unlock any iPhone on the AT&T network (and only the AT&T network). This does not get you out of your contract but it does allow you to when needed use a non-AT&T micro-sim from a different carrier to avoid heafty roaming charges on the AT&T network. 

I am a very happy AT&T wireless customer! I don't mind paying my nearly $190.00 per month bill, which I share between 2 iPhones and 1 iPad.  The UnlockStreak process is simple:

Originally developed for use with the Dell Streak, UnlockStreak Activations for iTunes is a separate version of the software that works on Apple’s devices. To use it, users simply visit the website and select their device, then place an order for the unlock ($49 for an iPhone 5, all other iPhones $29; UnlockStreak provided an unlock at no charge for purposes of this review). Once UnlockStreak confirms that the IMEI can be unlocked, they begin the process and then send an email with the unlocking instructions once they’ve processed your IMEI (the hardest part of all was waiting for that email; it took one day to process my unlock). The actual unlock is done on the user’s own computer. For iPhones, it’s all done through iTunes, making it a familiar process for most users. It takes only a few minutes from start to finish: backing up and restoring your iPhone is more or less all it takes. In all, it took me about three or four clicks to make it happen:

One important note: although UnlockStreak performs a permanent unlock, the service only works if the device is tied to AT&T. 

For the vast majority of people using AT&T, an unlock will probably never matter. But if you’re someone who does need an unlock—and for whatever reason doesn’t want to make the jump to Verizon—then UnlockStreak is a bargain, and one that doesn’t require you to navigate the shadier portions of ebay, where many iPhone unlock offers come across as something less than legitimate. If you’re planning a trip abroad, or just need to use your iPhone on a different carrier here at home, UnlockStreak is worth a look.

iOS apps

Ok most people folks know I am a Mac user ( we have 1 G5 iMAC, 2 Macbook's 3 MacBook Pro's). That said I have the need to have access to windows (for testing web sites I create in Rapidweaver, and some genealogy applications). So what is the best way to run windows on a MAC? well I have tried them all so here is my take:

1. Bootcamp, allows a use to setup a seprate disk partition on you MAC (intel based only). This work well execpt you must reboot you MAC to get to windows to run.

2. Parallels application (uses the virtual machine method) is a good product (I have been using Parallels since release 5) it allows you to launch windows with in OS X.  The current release is version 8 it supports Windows up to Win 7 (Win 8 is being tested now). The product support is good. Cost of the product is about 80.00 wwith release upgrades for 50.00 (49.99). Why are upgrades needed ? As Mac OS X is upgraded so also must Parallels. Other costs? Yep you must purchase a fully licensed copy of windows to install as a virtual machine. Parallels has better preformance in OS X. It works best on Mac's with lots of ram and disk space.

3. Fusion (VMWare product)  application ( uses the virtual machine method) is a good product as well ( I have been a beta tester for a couple of releases) it also allows you to launch windows applications within OS X. The current release supports Win 7 with Windows 8 in testing. The technical support at times is lacking since VMWare first released Fusion.  in the latest release that supports Lion & Mountian Lion has been very buggy at best. That said it is now stable.  Cost of the producy is about 80.00 with release upgrades for 50.00 (49.99), why are upgrades needed? As Mac OS X is upgraded (new releases) so also must Fusion.  Other costs? Yes you must also purchase a fully licensed copy of the windows operating system to install as a machine. Fusion performance on MAC OS X is good (at best lots of crashes have been reported).  The more ram and hard disk space you have on your mac the better.

4. Virtual Box (Sun Micro/Oracle) is an open source application (zero cost) that also uses the virtual machine method. Virtual box runs well on MAC OS X an allows for windows application to be launched from within Mac OS X. it supposrts  Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, OS/2, and OpenBSD. VIrtual Box also requires a licensed copy of the guest operating system to be installed. Support is better than Fusion  and requires about the same amount of ram and hard disk space as Parallels and Fusion.

5. Crossover  applicaiton is unique it actually installs it's own version of windows that has been optimized for MAC OS X (it also is only supports Win 95, Win XP, Vista, Server 2000, Server 2003). It uses what Code Weavers calls the bottle method (from the Wine origins). Applications are install via one of two methods via Cross tie application from with in Crossover (Codeweavers have lots of applications ported to run already) or via the standard exe file or cd rom method of installation. Pre configured applications (bottles) install all of the required windows apps and services as part of the installation process. Costs flexible from 39.99 with 1 month of support (no telephone support email only) to 59.99 12 months of email support with one free phone support incident.  Performance is great! and on October 31st you can get it for free! how buy going to flock.codeweavers.com from 00:00 to 23:59 CDT (-5GMT). 

I have tested each one of these applications on several different Mac's in many different configurations. Good luck and I hope this helps out. 

Update:

Crossover has been updated to 12.1 and runs much better on 2009 and later Intel Mac's (including MacBook Air products). So if you have to run windows apps give CrossOver a try.

Mac apps

Ok here are a couple of apps I have been playing with for a couple of days:

they are both types of pedometers, the first one is MapMyWalk (free but ad driven) the app  is a pay for service to get any what it claims is advanced feature (like using the app to access your music to listen to while walking via the app, call Go MVP! pricing is 5.99 per month). Overall the app is pretty slick it uses GPS abilities of your iOS device, the down side is battery usages suffers. it does have an ad free version that starts at $5.99 per month, $17.99 for 3 months or $ 12 months for 29.99. They also offer things like Runner, Go MVP bluetooth heart rate monitor plus a 1 year free subscription or a Cyclists, go MVP GPS bike computer with a 1 year free subscription. 

The second one is Moves. Moves uses a different approach it counts the number of steps your are taking every time you move. It use the motion detection in iOS devices not GPS.  The app is much more battery friendly (less draw on the battery), this is a iPhone app.  Since I always have my iPhone on my person it work great for me. it does log your amount of walking so you can keep track of what you are doing daily.  Moves currently is a free app in the iTunes app store.

Give either one a try let me know what you think. 

iOS apps

Ok I have not posted in a while but I have some more time.  Okay I have a few iOS apps to talk about:

Flixster is a nice app for streaming content (UltraViolet) to your iOS or MAC device. It does have some draw backs, it can't support Apple TV devices directly, the flixster service can be painfully slow since it must be streamed over wifi (unless you have a large cell data plan, and the app warns you as well). the app does support AirPlay but not in full screen mode (this is how you can send your ultraviolet content to Apple TV or a big screen TV).  Video will not stream automatically without turning on mirroring to the device (and yes Apple hides this in option iOS). The support from Flixster is less than good. 

VUDU Player is another media streaming app  for iOS and MAC (ultraviolet content) I like the user interface much better than Flixster. It also can't interface with Apple TV since UltraViolet and apple can't seem to work out terms. It also supports AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring (same issues as Flixster).  the support from VUDU is much better overall.  If you are purchasing DVD's/BluRay with digital copies most are moving to UltraViolet instead of iTunes so you will have issues with your iOS devices. Since I travel a ton I like to have a couple of video's loaded for long plane flights. FYI GoGo (wifi in the sky most us air carriers) does not support video streaming while in flight.. 

oh yes both apps will allow you to download your content to your iOS device ahead of time. Most movies start at about 1.2 gig and go up from there.  Flixster does not support HD format either. 

iOS appsMac apps

Today day is the chance you have to exercise your rights as an American citizen so go out and vote!!

Here are my recomendations base upon testing and usage: Updated! 

iFamily is a great genealogy app for the MAC, it is easy to use and support importing of data via gedcom files up to version  5.5. iFamily for Leopard is a genealogy application for people who think differently. Whereas other genealogy software tends to emphasize the family unit, this software's focus is on each individual person. This distinction is subtle and is a feature of iFamily for Leopard. In iFamily for Leopard you can see at a glance whether an individual has more than 2 parents, more than 1 spouse or the number of siblings they had. Parent-child relationships may be natural (the default), step, adopted or foster relationships. Available for purchase since October 2006, iFamily has had more than 60 versions released, leading to a richly featured product that is stable and user friendly, utilized by a healthy community of users.

Pros: great support forum, customer focused.  Cons: no iOS application. 

Reunion is another really great app for the MAC, it is simple to use and has a Mac World Editor's Choice Award: Reunion is a genealogy software program — a "family tree program" — for the Macintosh. Reunion is also available as a companion product on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. The current version of Reunion for Macintosh received the highest rating for genealogy software in MacWorld, MacAddict, and Mac Home Journal magazines. Reunion also received a MacWorld Editor's Choice award. The latest release 10 (2012)  the upgrade price 49.95 (unless you are in PA then it is more)..

I bought this app because it was suppose to the be the best genaelogy app for the MAC (2009) , at the time it was now not so much.

Pros: Great user interface (UI) good documentation Cons: iPad app cost 15.00 and you proably shell out 100.00 for the mac app that you must have in order to use the iOS apps. 

Mac Family Tree is a very visual applcation for the MAC.  I have been using this app since release 3  (now at release 6), the developers have made great strides in the user interface! The reports and charts are first class! Your family tree:

Easily enter and then visualize your family history. Be it creating reports, diagrams or browsing your data in the innovative 3D view called Virtual Tree - MacFamilyTree offers a solution for every task. Get an overview of where you hail from and maybe enthuse your relatives about exploring your family's past at your upcoming family reunion.

                         Pros: Great UI, activily being improved, very visual, resonable price for product and updates, iOS app 15.00, iOS app can import and export gedcom files.  Cons: Issues with the current release importing and exporting gedcom files even from older releases, iOS app freezes up when using large family files (31 to 43 Mb) **note this has been fixed with the last application update for iOS **,   must have desk top version of software to sync data on the same WiFi network.  Syncing of data takes forever on large files or just plain crashes both sides. Tech support is germany, slow responses at times.   Web site is confusing since they have multiple products.                             

iOS appsMac apps

after 8 years of using LittleOak Hosting we have parted ways. Their support and outages over the last year has been far to much for me to continue using there services. Say hello to Javabean Hosting (run by Greg B a great asset to the RapidWeaver Community). The service is great!  I only have one more site to move over then LittleOak is in the rear window.. So long LittleOak! PS: Javabean Hosting is much less per year in costs... 

whats going on

There is a new application for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad for doing indexing for the Family Search, you can get this at Apple App Store for Free! Now you can do indexing work on the go instead being tied to your desktop. There is a Android and Window Phone Apps coming as well. 

Family Search

Ok we love our new LG french door refridgerator. It now thaws the freezer section on a whim. Called LG for service since it under warranty, it takes a week for a repair person plus you have to call a third party for repair services what the heck is that about?  We got service finally from 2 companies one guy shows up and asks me a question sat down and texted to his wife, and ordered a fan. The other company actually roll the referiderator out and looked at it and wants to replace one of the computer controlled sensors.. more to follow

repair issues

My day starts with having to pull out a seat belt buckle out of the Expedition that has exploded (broken somehow). Off to Ford of Kirkland parts department 95.00 later the part is on order. Check the air in Nikki's tires all of extermely low. Filled them all back to 37 lbs. cleaned the custom wheels for her as well. Get the mail and got mail for my neighbors, delivered it to them. Jason and Lindsey are downstairs work on her homework together... Read more

whats going on

First we need to acknowledge the passing of David Lee Tomlinson in December 2011.... Read more

deaths

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