Category: Tech

J2 News: Save on Support!

NEW SAVINGS

J2 the Whole Year Through – Annual Memberships!

Many of you have expressed an interest in a regular, monthly checkup. You want to make sure backups are happening and everything is healthy, and you want to hear about the latest ways I’ve found to make the digital life easier. So here’s the plan:

30 Minute Plan:Each month, you get a half-hour of phone consultation with me, and a 40% discount on the next hour of J2 service, whether it’s in person, by remote, or over the phone.

60 Minute Plan:Each month, you get an hour of phone consultation with me, and a 40% discount on the next hour of J2 service, whether it’s in person, by remote, or over the phone.

Each of these subscriptions will net you a 40% savings on our initial service each month! And you can upgrade from 30 to 60 anytime.

 
Homes and Non-Profs
Businesses
30 Minute Plan
$360/year
$450/year
60 Minute Plan
$680/year
$870/year

I am really excited about this program, and about keeping in touch with you every month.

Call me today to sign up!

NEW BUSINESS

Bet you know someone who could use some Chicken Soup for their Macs! Tell a friend you know about us, and get an instant $20 for each household or non-profit you refer, and $30 for each business. Make sure our new client mentions your name!

To keep my business growing and evolving to suit your needs, I’d love to get your feedback. You know, how we doin’? You can help me a lot by writing a review either at our Yelp page or our Google Maps profile.

(Psst! Hey, business owners: Make sure your Google listing is accurate! Do a Google search for your business, then click on the link to the map, which should take you to the profile page. At the top of that, click “Business Owner” and follow the instructions to verify your ownership. Once done, you’ll be able to post pictures, hours, and other information.)

NEW FACES

Many of you have met my new cohort, the excellent Mr. Drew Moynihan. Drew has extensive background in tons of computing environments, but more importantly, he has infinite patience and a deep-seated need to see things done right — the qualities I most want for our clients. I’m grateful for the insight and experience Drew brings to my team.

As always, J2 is my business, and your satisfaction is my goal, and my responsibility. Please call or text me directly at 210.367.3420 for any consultation, and the best line for scheduling is still 210.787.2709 or schedule@j2mac.com.

Thanks so much for reading, y’all. I’ll look forward to hearing from you soon!

Your man on the Mac,

Jonathan

Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog

Steps for migrating to new iPhone

Important: Do not interrupt any syncing when migrating to a new phone! Be very careful not to unplug, or take a phone call, or nuthin’.

  1. On old phone, turn Airplane Mode on, so no new text messages come in.
  2. Plug old phone into your Mac.
  3. In iTunes, right-click on old phone, and choose Backup.
  4. Let the backup finish.
  5. Unplug old phone, and plug in new one.
  1. incidentally, good idea to charge new phone all the way before use.
  • Let iTunes walk you through activation.
  • It may then suggest unplugging and replugging. Do its bidding.
    1. Ignore any stuff about MobileMe.
  • The next screen should ask you to sync. Allow it to restore from the last backup of Eleanor’s iPhone (or whatever the old phone was called; the backup date should be today, right about the time when you manually backed up the old phone).
  • This first sync will go fairly quickly, as it’s only restoring the settings of all the applications, as well as text messages, contacts, calendars, and some other stuff.
  • When the first sync is done, the phone will reboot.
  • When the phone reappears in iTunes, it will start syncing. This sync is the one that will take some time; do not interrupt. It is now going to copy over all your applications, photos, music, podcasts, movies, shows, ringtones, etc.
  • When that sync is finished, don’t unplug the phone, but you can unlock it and look through the home screens and the apps, texts, voicemails, emails, photos, and iPod content. Make sure everything is in place.
    1. If everything is not in place, you need to go through the various tabs in your iPhone’s settings in iTunes, and make sure that all the conduits are set to sync correctly, the right apps are chosen and placed on the right screens, etc.
    2. Because I’m just a little OCD about this stuff, I like to hit “Sync” one final time.
  • That’s it! Once the final sync is done, and everything looks good, you can unplug your new iPhone. Enjoy!

    •  

    Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog

    Troubleshooting an Internet connection

    If your internet connection fails on your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Network > click Assist Me… button. The red “Failed” markers will tell you a lot. If something is failed, that’s the thing that needs to be fixed.

    A network connection works in a series, a chain of:

    Computer > Router > Modem > Internet.

    So if one bit is bad, there’s the break in your chain. But here’s a little more translation of the signs:

    1. If your computer says it doesn’t have an address, then it’s your router.
    2. If your router says it doesn’t have an address, then it’s your modem.
    3. If your modem says it doesn’t have an address, then it’s your Internet.

    You are responsible for the computer and router, and your Internet service provider is responsible for the modem and Internet (unless your ISP is pinche AT&T, who makes you buy a modem).

    To eliminate the possibility it’s not your computer you can, if you have a laptop, you can take it to a public wi-fi spot and see if it will surf. Another test would be to try to use your home wi-fi on your phone, iPad, or even Apple TV.

    If you have narrowed it down to either your modem or internet, then next try restarting your modem. It’s easy: Simply unplug its power cable, wait for the lights to go out, then wait 15 seconds, and plug power back in. Then wait about a minute (or until the light on your Apple Airport router goes green), and try to surf.

    If restarting your modem doesn’t fix the internet, the next thing to do is call your internet service provider. Phone numbers in San Antonio are:

    • Time-Warner: 210-244-0500
    • Grande Communications: 210-320-4600
    • AT&T (if you haven’t switched to a better provider): 877-722-3755

    Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog

    On and from the new iPhone

    Yes, it’s everything they claimed. Yes, I’m really impressed. Yes, the screen and camera … cameras! … are fantastic.
    Yes, the phone is somewhat faster, though not blazingly so. Yes, I really really like iOS 4, and was pleased by the upgrade process on my 3GS. Yes, I’m real glad I could grandfather my $30 “unlimited” [sic] AT&T data plan. Yes, I think AT&T is missing the boat of the future with Mifis and other portable wireless hotspots. Yes, I think everyone should order the iPhone 4 right now.

    Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog

    Simplify Media (also) shutting down

    Service Termination

    Apple has bought and killed Lala, and now Google has bought and killed my other favorite music-streaming and -sharing service, Simplify Media. I wrote about Simplify and Lala a couple of years ago, and while it was kind of clunky, I love Simplify greatly for letting me play my entire music collection on my iPhone, over 3G even.

    Ah, well. I miss these for now, but I remain hopeful, buoyed by rumors and the nerd news, that the two behemoths are going to introduce their own amazing, fantastic, mind-blowing — and affordable — services to let me listen to all of my music, anywhere, anytime.

    Fall is the rumor. Now would be better.

    Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog

    How do I work everywhere?

    APC wrote:

    I do some word processing on a laptop at home, and then need to do work on some of the same documents on my computer at work. So far, this has led to a jumble of back-and-forth emails and disorganized files. What’s the solution?

    My favorite word of the year: Dropbox! Go to Dropbox.com, download the software on both computers. Create an account from one of the computers, and then sign into that same account on the other computer. Anything you put in the folder called Dropbox that’s now in your home folder on your Mac (or in My Documents on a PC), will appear in your Dropbox on alllllll your other computers — and iPhones, and iPads, or Android phones, and pretty much anything that can see m.dropbox.com. 

    For what it’s worth, there are other services like Dropbox out there, including but not limited to SugarSync and Box.net, but through sheer simplicity and elegance, Dropbox has so far garnered most of the love. The iPad app is off. The. Hook.

    Thanks for inspiring a blog post!

    Posted via email from J2 Tech Blog