“A magical and revolutionary product starting at an unbelievable price.” This is how Apple has chosen to market it’s latest invention, the iPad (www.apple.com/ipad). Will it live up to the hype? Nobody can say for certain… but we sure can speculate!

It’s been a buzz for a while, and everyone has been waiting patiently. Unfortunately however, everyone outside the United States has had to wait a little while longer before getting their hands on the device.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in January, he noted that the first wave of devices (WiFi-only) would be available late March. This was eventually pushed back to early April and then set in stone for April 3rd, 2010. The catch was that the WiFi + 3G version of the iPad would be available sometime after the WiFi-only device, estimating about 30 days. At this point, we still had no idea when the device (either version) would become available to the rest of the world, and no intelligence to suggest that a Canadian launch was imminent.

A press release by Apple on March 5th, indicated that the iPad would be available outside the United States near the end of April. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK are the countries that made the cut for the “outside of the U.S.” list.

Until today, there has been no other confirmation, or specificity to when exactly the device would be ready. It’s come to my attention, however, that Apple retail store employees here in Canada have been instructed that the weekend of April 24th, 2010 will be a “blackout period”. This means that nobody is allowed to book the time off. I don’t think anyone could look at these two pieces of fact and decide on coincidence. This has also been rumoured/confirmed by iPadinCanada.

Will the iPad Succeed?

Steve Jobs showcasing the iPad in San Francisco on January 27th

Carrier rates and quality will play a heavy part. Thus far, the only confirmed carrier to host the iPad’s 3G wireless services in the United States, is AT&T. They offer two plans (that are both contract free) which you can sign up for directly on the device – you never need to phone anyone or spend more than 5 minutes to sign up or cancel. You can pay $15 a month for 250MB of bandwidth transfer per month, or $30 for unlimited data… an incredible offer. It’s a little upsetting for dense metropolitan areas however, that so far AT&T will be the only confirmed carrier, because there have been numerous reports of New York and San Francisco experiencing poor performance with their service due to congestion. In response to this, AT&T has been working tirelessly to improve network performance, and I imagine that since it’s been a known issue for so long, the worst is probably behind them.

On our side of the fence, wireless customers have been abused as 3G smartphone consumers. Rogers felt it could take advantage of it’s exclusivity of the iPhone and overcharge customers for small amounts of data. The prices and plans that were announced by Rogers when the iPhone was coming to Canada were outrageous. Extortion would be nothing short of appropriate to describe the communication giant’s initial approach to their newly acquired Apple product line. Shamelessly, they tried passing off their pricing scheme based on supply and demand and competitive rates and whatever other garbage industry terms they could throw to try to dupe the customer.

It didn’t take long for Rogers to respond to the online uproar of infuriated would-be customers and current loyal consumers; they quickly re-evaluated their plans and made available larger amounts of data (up to 3 times more) for a much cheaper price. At the time of launch, you could get 6GB of data month for an extra $30 a month to your plan, if you extended your term by another 3 years of course. While Canada still lags hard behind the United States and most of Europe in pricing, exclusivity no longer lies with Rogers – Bell & Telus are now running a joint network which supports the iPhone and other high speed GSM/HSPA devices. Those of us who do not miss being Rogers customers (amen), need not worry about our future with wireless technology.

iPad on display after the special event, shown in landscape orientation.

This Saturday [at launch], the iPad will have access to almost all existing iPhone/iPod applications, but will also offer 1000 iPad-specific applications to choose from. Due to it’s larger size and longer battery life (amongst other hardware improvements over the iPhone/iPod), it will have the capacity to run newer, more elaborate applications. Access to the iBookstore (60,000 books currently available, half of which will be free at launch) is an added incentive to purchase the new device, one that can’t be overlooked. Continuing development for the iPad will be an integral part of it’s success; Apple will need developers to feel the next gold rush, so to speak, to fuel a real boom of iPad applications that make the device really worth buying, because as it stands now, no matter how magical, it’s still a luxury device that I view as an unnecessary purchase if you own a decent laptop.

What Else Do I Need To Know?
It’s been a huge topic of discussion: Will the iPad replace the laptop? Is it competing with netbook computers? What ‘category’ do we place it in? Who has this device been designed for?

Numerous questions beg for numerous answers: The iPad, while new and innovative in design, doesn’t have the full function of a laptop or desktop computer. You can’t run Adobe CS4, play real video games, manage or edit your iTunes library, video chat (although it’s rumored to be in a revised edition of the device) and there’s no upgrading from the meek storage. You wouldn’t find someone sitting for a couple hours typing on the virtual keyboard – it’s good for a couple quick emails and small document edits, but if you’re doing real work, you’ll either want something that sits on your lap, or easily on a desk with a full functioning software set. The applications you can install are also obviously limited, but that’s a idea – you’re not supposed to be able to install Firefox or Bit Torrent software – it’s a different niche. For all these reasons and more, the iPad will not be replacing your computer.

Who will get the greatest value out of the iPad? Commuters, travelers, loungers, and those with some extra pocket money who want to be part of the newest-toys club. Commuters who spend anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes (or more) on public transit every day are wasting a lot of time if just sit there waiting to get to work/school/destination. Assuming a normal work schedule, 60 minutes of commute time a day turns into more than 250 hours spent on the bus. Even after subtracting a little for sick and vacation days, that’s a lot of time that goes to waste. At the very least, you could at least waste the time entertaining yourself (playing games, watching movies or TV shows), or you could choose to read a book, surf the internet to learn or inform yourself, or be productive through the many outlets that the iPad provides. Do you know that the average university course is about 80 hours in length? Think to yourself, if you’re not putting that commuting time to good use, you’re burning 3 classes worth of learning a year… that’s a lot.

People who travel will be quite impressed to say the least, that preliminary hands-on testing of the iPad reveals greater than 10 hour battery life while watching movies; this is incredible. A gorgeous display that will let you watch a movie, work, read and play for the duration of a trans-Atlantic flight… and then some. Think of how long your iPod or iPhone lasts while watching movies and how much less of an experience it is on those small-screened devices. In addition, battery life is more than double some of the top portable DVD players and other entertainment device – the iPad is easily an industry leader as far as that’s concerned.

For those who enjoy sitting in Starbucks reading the paper, or having a beer on a Patio just to enjoy the sun and some light reading, this device may be for you too; add 3G connectivity or a WiFi hot-spot for even greater results. You’re able to hold the iPad in your hands so comfortably (from watching Steve Jobs’ keynote) that being out with the iPad can still feel casual and calming. Even when you’re in the living room watching TV, and you need a resource for checking… anything! The family room iPad is a handy well rounded device for those households which are technology driven, and love having gadgets strewing about for… again… anything!

The iPad surfs the web, checks your email, stores your contacts and calendar events, showcases your pictures, lets you watch movies and T.V. shows, browse YouTube, has a built in iPod, lets you purchase media, applications, books; it has Google Maps built in, lets you write notes, or use iWork to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations… does anyone else think it isn’t worth the money? The value is there, it’s definitely there. Have you seen how hospitals take advantage of iPhone technology? Just wait and see what new and innovative uses are developed for the iPad…

At this point, it’s difficult not to admire and respect the potential for good that Apple has released to the world with this new invention. Will the iPad succeed you ask? Without a doubt in my mind.

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard is/was Apple’s most recent release of their Mac OS X operating system (10.6) that was available to the public as of August 28th, 2009. For those of you who are less familiar with Apple and Macintosh computers, think of Snow Leopard in congruence with Microsoft’s latest release of Windows, 7.

A new operating system’s (OS) release usually commands a lot of attention; it’s a new and exciting time to marvel at the cool new features, fancy aesthetic renovations, and hopefully added functionality.

Normally, with a new OS comes the need for faster, stronger and better hardware. The new operating system takes up more room, needs more memory, and a faster processor or it doesn’t run properly. This is sometimes a cause for concern. “You’re telling me I need to pay a couple hundred dollars for this new version of Windows that is going to make me want to buy a new computer because my two year old machine all of a sudden doesn’t match up?”

A new OS is supposed to be an upgrade right? Normally an upgrade doesn’t turn into a burden, it’s supposed to make things easier. For some of us, upgrading ram or clearing hard-drive space is an arduous and costly task. If only someone out there would try to break the trend…

Apple did.

To name a few:

• Snow Leopard was the first-ever operating system that actually cleared up hard-drive space after you installed it – users reported anywhere from 5GB to 15GB of additional free space on their drives after installing.
• A lot of the essential applications and processes that run have been recoded from 32bit to 64bit. What this means is that applications make better use of the hardware (mainly memory) in your computer to function MUCH faster. This means that the computer you bought 2 years ago, runs faster after you install Snow Leopard, than it did when it was brand new out of the box. No need for new hardware, just a $29 upgrade gets you a face lifted computer.
• Safari 4 (Apple’s internet browser), officially released with Snow Leopard, sets a new industry standard in performance; six months later, it’s still leading in load times and benchmark performances vs. other popular browsers. Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Internet Explorer all pale in comparison.
• With Snow Leopard, users could experience faster start-up, shutdown, and wake from sleep times than ever before no more wasting pesky seconds, we’ve got stuff to do!

If you want to learn more about Snow Leopard, visit Apple’s current Mac OS X page on their website. note: this link will be valid until the day Apple releases (presumably) the next version of Mac OS X.

For those of you who have not yet upgraded and are trying to decide if it’s worth it – take it from me, it is. For those of you who are actively opposing the upgrade because “10.5.8 works just fine for me”, you’re not getting the full value out of your computer. For $29, you could turn your computer into a faster, more efficient device, and keep up with an industry that demands you be up to date to function with the newest and best this world has to offer.

One objection that may have held you back from upgrading immediately, would be third party support: printers, cameras, old software that might not operate properly… right away. Now, 6 months later (even 2 weeks after I upgraded) you can rest assured that anyone who’s anyone, has caught up.

note: Apple released the latest version of Snow Leopard, 10.6.3, yesterday which was accompanied by many improvements and bug fixes. Read more here.

Some might say, that it’s less than efficient to spread your efforts so thin; I’ve come to realize this myself, however, I still pursue many different endeavours simply because I still maintain a genuine interest and have yet to make a final decision as to what it is I want to do with the future.

If you look at the following picture, you’ll see a visual representation of almost everything I’ve been a part of in a professional (or pseudo professional) capacity within the past 12 months, and for a select few, a little longer than that.

Marc Cizravi's involvement in the past 12 months...

• University of Western Ontario (Undergraduate student)
  I’m currently between my 2nd and 3rd year of my undergraduate degree (Major in Biology) at Western (www.uwo.ca), located in London, Ontario. I decided to take the 09/10 academic school year off so I could work to save money, and pursue a couple personal projects (this website being one of them). Ideally, I’d like to attend medical school (or so was the dream a couple years ago) but it’s become painfully apparent that to get accepted to medical school, you need to have a laser-like focus on your academics. Outside distractions such as work, volunteer, social activities, and life in general need to be properly balanced to achieve such results.
• Student Emergency Response Team (Emergency Medical Responder, EMR)
  SERT is a volunteer group of approximately 50 undergraduate and graduate students who are trained in advanced first-response emergency medicine. SERT runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the school year, and 8 hours a day through the summer term. Anytime a 9-1-1 call is made on campus, it gets routed to Western’s campus police dispatch, and they’ll send a page to the three EMR’s on call at that time. Successfully joining SERT (when I did) meant you had to be trained in at least First-Aid by a recognized organization, pass a vigorous application process, and then undergo more than 50 hours of training before officially being on-call. In the picture you can see: my uniform that was mandatory when on-call, campus badge with identification, emergency medical responder patch from the Canadian Red Cross, and numerous cards representing all my certifications. Emergency First-Aid and CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator), Emergency First Responder, Emergency Medical Responder, and after having done all that I also completed a course so I would be able to teach Emergency First-Aid and CPR/AED use. Learn more about SERT at www.uwo.sert.ca.

• Apple Retail (Mac Specialist)
  In October 2009, I got a job working at the Apple store in Fairview mall as a ‘Mac Specialist’. This title is essentially that of a glorified salesman, however, additional responsibilities such as technical support would randomly fall into my lap (and having that prior experience) I wasn’t opposed to the change of pace.

  My goal when I started working at Apple was just to absorb as much as I could in a short period of time. I’ve been an I.T. consultant for quite some time, and having some time behind the scenes at Apple would just add to my repertoire. I knew it wasn’t going to be a long-term engagement, as such, I took advantage of my discount while I was there and bid my farewells when my new job was lined up and ready to go. In the image above you can see my lanyards, two t-shirts, business card, and other purchase consultation cards.

• 2006 Mazda3 GS (New car post-accident)
  In December of 2006 I was involved in a collision that was ruled not my fault. A women had failed to yield to a stop sign and forced me to collide with her, damaging my car beyond reperation. The damage to my then 1997 Ford Escort LX (valued by my insurance company at $2,000) was over $5,000. As such, I was cut a check for my vehicle and had to say my goodbyes. A little over a month later, I purchased a used 2006 Mazda3 GS, pictured here. In the image above, you’ll see the key to my old Escort, and my new 3.

• My Own Blog (www.marccizravi.com & www.marccizravi.net)
  A little under a year ago I decided I want to invest a little time to establish a presence on the internet. I started investigating the best way to go about putting a blog together, re-learned some HTML and CSS, and (with the help of Wordpress) put together this website that you’re currently browsing. The goal was to have something online so that a) I would have a forum to talk about whatever I wanted to, and b) a small website that generates a some traffic that I could dedicate to marketing my book, when I finish writing it. Above you’ll see the main page printed out (just one page).

• Marc I.T. Pro (www.marcitpro.com)
  I’ve actually been a “computer guy” aka I.T. consultant for numerous years. In a couple months I will have spent more than 10 years fixing computers for myself, family, friends, and clients. I thought it would be good to take my “side income” to the next level. I decided to put a website together for my own consulting firm. I took the experience I had received from putting this blog together, and applied it to www.marcitpro.com. Again, pictured above is a printed out page from the website which lists all my references.

• Bartender for Liberty (Splash Patio @ Harbourfront Centre, Flow, Ciao in Yorkville, Toronto)
  In the summer of 2009 I landed my first bartending job (after having worked the previous summer as a server) at the Splash Patio (Liberty Group Entertainment). I quickly took to it and after a week or two I found myself making good money (weather permitting) preparing drinks for a 70+ table restaurant, in addition to tending to walk up customers. I questioned why I didn’t try harder to get behind the bar sooner, as it was clear that bartending was a much more lucrative position than serving… so much so. After receiving this promotion, I made the transition to bar work at a couple other nice places, gaining further experience with a more exotic menu. Bartending is something that I’ll always be able to “fall back” on – easily the highest income potential for the least challenging work. Pictured is one of my Liberty Group t-shirts, celebrating the 20 year anniversary of the company in 2007.

• Catherine
  Last but definitely not least (quite the opposite) centered you see a picture of myself with my beautiful girlfriend Catherine. It’s been more than 2 years since we first started seeing each other, and I can honestly say that nothing else in my life has yet to bring me the satisfaction of a fullfilling relationship with this incredible girl. I love you with all my heart Catherine :]
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/marc-cizravi-12-months/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tintguys/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tintguys/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:18:36 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1928 I was at work last week and thinking to myself – I haven’t really spent money on anything I’ve *wanted* in the past little while. A new toy or a gadget or something to just treat myself with. I’ve been working a lot and covering a lot of expenses here and there and thought to myself: [...]]]> I was at work last week and thinking to myself – I haven’t really spent money on anything I’ve *wanted* in the past little while. A new toy or a gadget or something to just treat myself with. I’ve been working a lot and covering a lot of expenses here and there and thought to myself: “If I wanted to spend money on something right now… what would it be?”

  Well, the answer that quickly came to me was tinting the windows on my new car. I’ve always been of the opinion that cars are black holes for your wallet. Gas, insurance, maintenance, parking, tolls, cleaning, and of course accidents. Above all else, I thought that ‘customizing’ a car could get really expensive really quickly. At the same time, I thought it was stupid that people who had cars worth $4000 were spending that amount or greater in customizing the vehicle. It didn’t make sense to me. However, when I thought of tinting my windows, I didn’t just think of the aesthetic value, I thought of what it would accomplish.

  I’m a night person, except when I want to be in the sun. If I’m on the beach, playing sports outdoors, working at my outdoor patio bar, or on vacation, I absolutely love the sun and the light. However, if I’m in my room trying to work on the computer, or trying to sleep, or on the road trying to drive, I would prefer less light – I feel like it’s easier on the eyes when the sun isn’t glaring down on you when you’re trying to be functional. Rationalizing to myself for a second I thought: “hey, well I can tint my windows on my car, and not only will it look really good, but it’ll be easier for me to drive.”

  

  In the morning when I’m on my way to work, I’m on the road for half an hour and the sun is shining hard, and sometimes when there’s snowfall the reflection of the rays increases that shine ten fold – it’s unpleasant. I wear sunglasses almost exclusively when I drive because of this. I quickly load google, and search ‘car tinting toronto’ and as a first response I get a small establishment known as the Tint Guys.

  I phoned them and they told me that most vehicles get a full tint for $149.95. + taxes This includes front & back driver & passenger, and the rear window.

  I made an appointment for Sunday morning (their hours of operations vary), showed up, and was out of there within 2 hours, car all tinted and ready for the road.

  Couple things you should know if you’ve never a vehicle before:

  • There are three levels of ‘darkness’ for the tinting. 35%, 15%, and 5%. The darkest film is 5%, and it gets lighter as that number climbs.
  • In Ontario, legal limits for the rear window, and back passenger and driver side windows is 5%. Legal limit for the front passenger and driver side windows is 35%.
  • In Ontario, we enjoy the highest legal limits for vehicular tinting. We’re allowed to go darker than anywhere in the United States, and many other provinces in Canada.
  • After having your windows tinted, it’s recommended (required if you don’t want to risk the good job that is done) to not roll your windows down for 5 days (120 hours).
  • After having the tint applied, you can no longer clean the inside of your windows (anywhere tint has been applied) with any product that contains ammonia. This means no windex, if you want to clean the tinted windows, you can just use water and paper towel. You can use soapy water if you want, but I’ve had good results with plain water.
  • You should be careful; having 5% tint applied to your car is considerably dark; the visibility in your rear view will be comparable to having your rear-view mirror “flicked up” at all times, and even darker at night.
  
  

  A couple people asked me, not knowing very much about the benefits of tinting your vehicle, why I would want to spend money on it? Let’s explore the benefits listed on the Tint Guys site, then a couple additional ones that convinced me before even having read their list.

  • Reduce Heat & Glare – Stop the sun from intruding into your vehicle and enjoy a more comfortable, safer drive.
  • In the event of an accident, Tint can help hold shattered glass in place and reduce injuries from flying glass.
  • The tinted film rejects a full 99% of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays, and repels up to 55% of the total solar energy.

  In addition to the aesthetic appeal, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that less-than-considerate drivers who blast their high beams now have zero effect on me.

  Tint Guys provide a lifetime warranty of their tint jobs, they guarantee no bubbles. Head on over to www.tintguys.ca to learn more.

  If you have any questions you care to ask before getting in touch with Tint Guys, in regard to the experience or what else you can expect, get in touch with me and I’d be happy to answer a couple questions.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tintguys/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/10-must-have-iphone-applications/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/10-must-have-iphone-applications/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:08:04 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1762 Facebook – FREE This one goes without saying. You’re probably using facebook, and if you have an iPhone you may as well have the Facebook app so you can respond to messages or view them quickly in a pleasant interface. While viewing www.facebook.com is pretty seamless through their ‘mobile’ version, or even the full site through Safari, [...]]]> Facebook – FREE
  This one goes without saying. You’re probably using facebook, and if you have an iPhone you may as well have the Facebook app so you can respond to messages or view them quickly in a pleasant interface. While viewing www.facebook.com is pretty seamless through their ‘mobile’ version, or even the full site through Safari, the Facebook app sometimes makes it faster and easier to do what you want to do!

  Shazam – FREE; Shazam Encore/RED – $4.99
  Shazam is an application that will listen to music that is playing (for about 15 seconds), creating a ‘tag’, and then scour it’s database, and give you an artist, album, and title (if it can find one. So, you’re in a bar, club, or in your car listening to the radio, a song comes on that you wish you knew the title to. Instead of trying to remember lyrics, asking friends, or searching the internet later, just pull your iPhone out, click Shazam, click Tag, and let it do the work for you.

  I have a 95% success rate with this, and very rarely is Shazam unable to tag the music that’s playing. This app used to be ‘unlimited’, but recently the free version became a limit of 5 tags per month. Those who ‘purchased’ the app when it was unlimited, still have the benefit of that feature even with updates, but new users have to pay $4.99 for the ‘Encore’ version. They also have a RED version, in case you would like to donate money to help fight AIDS; a worthy cause.

  Things – $9.99
  I very rarely buy paid apps, it’s a slippery slope. However, Things for iPhone and Things for Mac make it really easy for me to manage my upcoming tasks. This is an application that I’m far from qualified to fully describe, as I use it in a very rudimentary fashion, but I do however find great value (at least $10 worth) being able to organize my to do list, add/remove/check items completed, reminder and other such tasks that were left out of the Calendar app.

  Air Mouse – $1.99
  This is a really cool app that lets you use your iPhone (or iPod) as a trackpad (like on a laptop). Two different functionality modes which allow to use it traditionally, or take advantage of the device’s accelerometer. You must be on the same WiFi zone as the computers, and need to install the software (free) for your computer, PC or Mac, and have it running for this to function. I have it setup at home with 3 different computers, and can control them all from the comfort of my bed, with my phone. Can also be used in boardroom presentations or other such scenarios.

  Flashlight – FREE
  Simple application which will turn your entire screen into either a solid or flashing or patterned colours. Handy when you’re in a dark spot and need a flashlight. Turn your iPhone or iPod’s brightness all the way up, launch flashlight, and find your way through a dark room or alley easily!

  Urbanspoon – FREE
  You’ve no doubt seen this one advertised on T.V. With urbanspoon, you can just shake to find a new place to eat tonight. You can set region, (or have it find you automatically), price range, style/culture of food, or have it shuffle all three categories. You can lock it to low priced Greek food, and find all the cheap Greek places in your area – really handy for couples who are looking to eat someplace new every night! Information returned includes phone number, address, reviews and an easy link to bring up the maps application so you can direct yourselves there.

  Bump – FREE
  This one is super cool. All you need is a friend with an iPhone, with Bump also installed. You both launch the application, bump your fists while holding your phones, and it will exchange your contact information (as much as you’d like to share). Ideal for people who have iPhones who want to quickly bump their phones to exchange contact information. Share phone numbers, pictures, addresses, emails, web addresses and anything else you can fit on your profile. Really unique application that makes the iPhone worth having.

  WhatsApp – $0.99
  The equivalent of “BlackBerry Messenger” – free texting through data anywhere in the world. It’s a good App WITH push notification, but it’s only here because Blackberry users are always crying about how amazing BBM is and how they don’t have to send any text messages. I’ll tell you something, it’s 2010, if you have a blackberry or an iPhone, 99% change you’re paying for more text messages a month than you could possibly use. For those of you who enjoy “knowing when they’ve read my message”, you’re insecure, and you need to get a grip.

  Traffic Rush – FREE
  A game where traffic is traveling in four directions and you’ve got to be the one to govern it’s speed and make sure to avoid all collisions. A good time waster in case you’re on the bus or in the doctors office and need to kill a couple minutes.

  The Imbecile Test – FREE
  This one is actually indescribable, you need to play it to understand. A series of random questions (and sometimes not) designed to trip you up and make you feel the fool. Learning curve of about 30 seconds, and that’s probably how long it takes you to lose your patience and decide you need a 3 week break before playing some more. Still, a real popular application that deserves your attempt.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/10-must-have-iphone-applications/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/my-car-and-my-iphone-3gs-cbhsol2-itrip-griffin-mount/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/my-car-and-my-iphone-3gs-cbhsol2-itrip-griffin-mount/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:39:57 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1487 I’ve always been a real gadget-guy. Technology opens doors and creates possibilities, facilitates what would otherwise be impossible, or illegal. I thought I’d share not only my hands-free setup, but other gadgets I’m using in the car that are making driving easier, and more of a pleasure.

  My iPhone 3GS playing music through iTrip

  First, I needed [...]]]> I’ve always been a real gadget-guy. Technology opens doors and creates possibilities, facilitates what would otherwise be impossible, or illegal. I thought I’d share not only my hands-free setup, but other gadgets I’m using in the car that are making driving easier, and more of a pleasure.
  

  My iPhone 3GS playing music through iTrip

  First, I needed a mount for my iPhone 3GS – recently the province of Ontario joined the hands-free while driving movement, so it was necessary for me to purchase something to hold my phone up, stationary, if I wanted to control the music or GPS functions. Naturally, my local Apple Store had something for me, and I picked up Griffin’s “WindowSeat WindShield Mount” for $29.95. I decided to install it directly on my windshield. Image Below.

  Second, I wanted to play the music from my iPhone 3GS through my car’s stereo; I did this with my old car by connecting it directly, through the means of a cassette tape adapter. Unfortunately, my new car didn’t have a tape player, but only a CD, so I had to go the route of the FM Transmitter.

  note: FM Transmitters are devices that block out external radio stations, and broadcast a frequency that you choose, which your car picks up. So when you have your music players FM transmitter set to 92.5, and your car tuned to the same station, your car transmits music from your music player, rather than the native radio station that’s broadcasting.

  Previously to purchasing the iTrip, I hated the FM transmitters, all of them. I had tried 2 or 3 of them in the past and they all worked horribly. Constant static interference, poor reception plagued proper use, so I always ended up returning them, and just keeping the tape adapter. Audio quality on the tape was also superior… it was an easy decision.

  

  A view of CBHSOL2 solar powered speakerphone, and Griffin Windshield mount from outside the car.

  When I got the iTrip, I was pleasantly surprised with the improvements over previous models; it was smaller, with a nicer design, and because I was mounting my phone directly over my cars dashboard, it turns out that the reception from the iTrip to my car’s radio was much greater. This specific device I have has a couple buttons to control music (I don’t use them, I control my music through the iPhone directly), control frequency, and load ‘favorite’ stations. Other added benefits to this device is that it’s small and doesn’t get in the way; some may complain that it’s a little flimsy, but hey, you can’t have it all – it works great for me.

  Third, I had to purchase a bluetooth hands-free solution for telephone calls. I got Scosche’s CBHSOL2 device. A hands-free, bluetooth, solar-powered, speakerphone device designed to simplify in-car use. I have another article which speaks solely to this device in a little more detail. One push button to answer and hangup on calls, turns off automatically when I leave my vehicle (with my phone), and charges automatically with the sunlight (even if there’s no direct sun) so I rarely have to charge it. It also comes with a car charger (just in case) which I’ve only had to use twice in 4 months. The device speaks the names or numbers (if they aren’t a saved contact) that are calling me, and can hold up to 1000 contacts.

  
  
  

  Interior view of the car - iPhone 3GS, iTrip and CBHSOL2 in the top left corner.

  I strongly recommend all of the products that I’m using above, as a tech geek and as regular consumer who’s extremely happy with his purchases. Any further questions can be directed to me, I’m happy to help.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/my-car-and-my-iphone-3gs-cbhsol2-itrip-griffin-mount/feed/ 6 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tech-i-use-volume-4-scosche-solar-powered-bluetooth-speakerphone/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tech-i-use-volume-4-scosche-solar-powered-bluetooth-speakerphone/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:52:28 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1485

  Front & Back picture of Scosche's Solchat, Bluetooth Speakerphone.

  Recently the province of Ontario passed an in-car ‘hands-free’ law, dictating that anyone who would like to use their cellphones while driving, need to do so with limited hands on interaction. Simply put, you can’t hold the phone to your ear anymore, hold it in your hand [...]]]>
  

  Front & Back picture of Scosche's Solchat, Bluetooth Speakerphone.

  Recently the province of Ontario passed an in-car ‘hands-free’ law, dictating that anyone who would like to use their cellphones while driving, need to do so with limited hands on interaction. Simply put, you can’t hold the phone to your ear anymore, hold it in your hand while it’s on speakerphone, or hold it while you’re dialing.

  When this new law came into effect, I was working at the Apple Store, and I first tried out a bluetooth headset, but didn’t like it for numerous reasons:

  • Small, easy to lose (which would need to be replaced), liable to fall off my ear while I’m driving.
  • Difficult/inconvenient to charge; likely to bring it back and forth from your car and home… which would raise the risk of losing it.
  • Uncomfortable, and inefficient – always having trouble understanding or being understood during conversation.

  After trying and return one of the headsets, I picked up one of Scosche’s bluetooth speakerphone units. Much to my surprise, it was actually solar powered too – something that turns out is incredibly helpful.

  I’m sure there’s more than one kind of solar powered bluetooth speakerphone unit, but I’m going to focus on the one that I have. The model I have specifically, is called the Scosche solCHAT II, CBHSOL2.

  • Hands-free bluetooth speakerphone.
  • Integrated solar panel re-charges the internal lithium-ion battery.
  • Includes two mounts: one visor, and one suction cup for the windshield.
  • Address book import, name announce when receiving phone calls (Up to 1000 contacts).
  • DSP echo cancellation ensures a crystal clear conversation even in noisy vehicles.
  • One-touch voice dialing (majority of phones).
  • Comes with usb cable and car charger… just in case!
  
  
  

  The CBHSOL2 mounted on my car's visor.

  
  

  I have to firmly recommend this device if you’re looking for a bluetooth solution for your car. This device charges with the sun (even with the cloudiest of conditions). You hold the button when you get in the car to turn it on, click it once to answer or to hang up, and if you want, you can just leave it on when you leave the car. As long as the phone and the unit are in range, it’ll stay on perpetually. If you leave your car, after 5 minutes the unit will just turn itself off.

  The two mounts are in place, and I slide the device back and forth between them. I put it on the windshield whenever there’s any light, or I’m parked in the light, and when it’s dark out or cold out, I slide it into my visor so it’s closer to me, and so that the cold doesn’t take as much of a toll on the battery.

  
  
  

  CBHSOL2 mounted on the top left corner of my windshield. Picture taken from the outside driver side of my vehicle.

  For $109 you can buy the device from Scosche’s website, or from your local Apple Store

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/tech-i-use-volume-4-scosche-solar-powered-bluetooth-speakerphone/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/car-accident-in-toronto/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/car-accident-in-toronto/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:18:15 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1491 I was not so recently involved in a car accident near the downtown Toronto area, and thought I might share the experience.

  The damage the other vehicle received from our collision. Stop sign means you yield...

  I was coming off the Don Valley Parkway at Bloor street (1997 Ford Escort LX), and rounding Castle Frank when a [...]]]> I was not so recently involved in a car accident near the downtown Toronto area, and thought I might share the experience.
  

  The damage the other vehicle received from our collision. Stop sign means you yield...

  I was coming off the Don Valley Parkway at Bloor street (1997 Ford Escort LX), and rounding Castle Frank when a woman driving on an intersecting road (2006 Acura TSX) pops up in front of me, not giving me enough time to stop, causing a collision (T-Bone).

  The woman who was driving the other vehicle, had started creeping through the first two lanes, because traffic had bottled up and allowed her room. However, instead of being careful and creeping into the third lane, or spotting incoming traffic, she tried zooming through, or assumed there were no vehicles coming, and made her attempt at a quick pass… fail.

  On impact, her car kept traveling in the same direction, and while mine had come to a complete stop upon collision in my direction, I was dragged along a little bit in because the two cars were lodged together. The majority (if not all) of the damage that my car sustained was to the front grill. As soon as I turned the car off, and put a foot on the ground, I knew my car was done. A massive amount of engine coolant was all over the street, without even seconds to spare. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like the front foot or two of my car was completely destroyed.

  

  Google maps view of the area where the collision occured. Bloor & Castlefrank Road.

  Her vehicle sustained damage to the front-passenger side; body and maybe some mechanical damage to her front passenger door, and some semi-serious body damage to the front, bumper, and hood of her vehicle. Immediately, we started arguing with each other. I told her she “ran” the stop sign, to which she replied “You didn’t see me! You didn’t see me! Why didn’t you stop?”. I explained to her that I had the right of way, and that it wasn’t my responsibility to stop for her. We went back and forth for another 20 minutes before the police showed up, and gave her a ticket for failing to yield. We both got towed on our merry way.

  A week or so after, my insurance company got in touch with me letting me know that my car was being deemed a total loss. The damage to the vehicle ($5,540) outweighed the market value of my vehicle in good condition ($1400-$1800) and as such I was being written a check, and not having to deal with getting another car on my own.

  I re-think what happened that day, and appreciate the fact that had I been a couple seconds faster, or had she been a couple seconds slower, she would have hit me directly on the driver-side door, and quite possibly injured me badly. The lesson here? Pay attention when you’re driving, it’s one thing to lose control of your car or slide around in the snow; it’s another to be stupid, careless, and selfish when you’re on the road.
  

  
  
  

  A view of both cars post-collision.

  
  
  For those who are curious, the other driver of the vehicle was a female, in her late 50s, who was just driving home from her mechanic, 5 minutes away.
  
  
  
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/car-accident-in-toronto/feed/ 3 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/how-to-get-hired-apple-retail/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/how-to-get-hired-apple-retail/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:01:34 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1139 It’s not secret that a popular company like Apple has hundreds of people applying daily for work. If you’re one of those people, and happen to have that extra drive to be one of the few selected to join the team, this guide will serve you greatly. I was hired in September of 2009 as a [...]]]> It’s not secret that a popular company like Apple has hundreds of people applying daily for work. If you’re one of those people, and happen to have that extra drive to be one of the few selected to join the team, this guide will serve you greatly. I was hired in September of 2009 as a ‘Specialist’ (essentially a glorified salesman) in one of their retail stores, and want to share the experience that it was, to go from nothing to hired.

  First thing you need to do is create an Apple ID. You can go to myinfo.apple.com to do so. Once you’ve entered all relevant information (the more complete your profile, the better) you can login and search the job listings that are currently posted. Login with your Apple ID to cooljobs.apple.com. From here, you’ll be able to search through corporate, as well as retail positions that have been put up. Since I haven’t gone through the corporate process, I won’t touch on that, and will just stick to retail.

  

  Apple Retail

  Once you’ve clicked the “Search Retail Jobs”, you’ll get a return of a long list, with all the job titles prefixed by a country code; CAN for Canada, US for the United States, GER for Germany, etc. Choose each position you think you’d be suited for, one by one, and go through the process. You’ll choose a state/province where you’d like to apply, and either apply for current or future openings. Once this is all done, you’ll be formally submitted as a candidate, and if by some miracle you get chosen out of the bunch, good for you, you lucked out.

  Once you’ve finished all the applications, I would encourage you to drop into the store, and meet some of the managers; it’s usually very occupied in the Apple Store, so it’s a good idea to go early in the morning (I would call 11am the deadline to go in). Let them know that you’ve applied formally online, and are very interested in a job with Apple. Tell them why you want to work for Apple, why you’d be good at the positions you’ve applied for, and why they might want you on the team. You want to make sure you’re being cordial at all times, and not coming off too strongly. Let them know that you’re aware that they’re hiring (if they are) and if they’re not, let them know that you’ll be checking back, and that you’re serious about applying. Ask if there’s anything you can do (every store is different, every manager is different) that will sweeten your chances at an interview.

  note: If you’re applying for numerous positions, you will want to know that once you’re hired, you have to wait until your three month probationary period is over before applying for what I can only assume would be a promotion. I was hired as a Specialist, and was eager to apply to the Genius position (the position I wanted initially, but wasn’t available at the time… or so I was told). Since I wanted to work immediately, and thought it would be a good idea to get my foot in the door, I took the job as a Specialist, before finding out it wasn’t ever going to happen; more on that later.

  The Interview

  There are a couple parts to the interview; typically it won’t be the store manager who does the interviewing, but he/she will join you later to talk to you a little bit; usually the assistant managers will be sitting down with you. During the interview they’ll ask the standard questions, which you should be prepared for. I’ll accompany my answers to these questions (as best as I can remember, paraphrased a little, of course).

  Why do you want to work for Apple?

  I’ve never pictured myself working retail, but I knew that if I ever did, I’d want to work for Apple. Things are done differently, and standards (products, customer service, work environment) are set much higher than any other company I know of. The end goal is just to make peoples lives better; I’m also just really pationate about Apple as a consumer, I have many of your products at home and genuinely enjoy them, and would love to share that excitement with others. I want people to see Apple as I see it. Apple’s products have enriched my life and I’d want to be part of a place that gets to showcase those products, and send people home with them.

  What would make you a good (for me, Specialist)?

  Like I said, I have many of your products at home. iPod, iPhone, Macbook, Airport Extreme – all products I’m extremely familiar with. I feel that I have a good base of knowledge that can only be furthered by working at Apple, that would in turn allow me to share that with customers, and show them why Apple really is better than the competition. One common misconception about Apple is that they’re overpriced or more expensive for no reason. I want to show people the true value of the equipment or service, and show them how much more they get out of purchasing an Apple, opposed to anyone else. I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I think that I’m a real people person too; I like talking to people, and I find that people get really engaged when I’m passionate about something. As a Specialist, I could go on for hours about all the different Apple products and services, and communicate that pseudo ‘love’ I have for Apple, and share it with customers effectively.

  What would make you an asset to Apple?

  Everything I’ve already said I think makes me an excellent candidate for this position; but as an employee generally, I’m punctual, energetic, have a good work ethic, and tremendous attention to detail. I’m always conscious about my customers needs and the needs of my co-workers, so I’m quick to pickup on queues that would be important in a setting such as a retail store. I’m a great independant, and a good leader, which I think makes me a good team player at the same time. I’m great with taking direction, and very receptive to feedback from peers.

  What previous experience do you have that you’ll be able to apply to your job, should you be accepted?

  Essentially every job I’ve had I’ve interacted with customers, in one way or another. The clients I service from my own firm, customers when I’m serving or bartending, teachers and parents at the schools where I’ve done I.T. support, and even kids at summer camps where I’ve been a science & technology specialist. Everywhere I’ve worked, performance has been the equivalent to how happy I keep my clientele, I have known no other way to ‘perform’. That’s to say that even when someone is sometimes (and not that I’d ever say it, but we both know it happens) being unreasonable, you have to adapt and maintain a professional attitude, and do whatever it takes to keep that person happy. Even if someone were to treat me poorly, I wouldn’t break or dip below that standard of excellence I’ve set for myself. I treat others the only way I would expect to be treated myself.

  After this interview was done, I was left with a written test (one that exists for every position in the store) that asked me numerous remedial questions regarding computers. What’s a CPU? What’s the difference between ram and a hard-drive? Which of the following is not part of the iLife suite? Many static, simple questions that hardly test anything past basic understanding of components. It was maybe 15 simple questions along those lines, which you were given maybe 30 minutes to complete (probably took no more than 20 minutes). When I was done the test, I was greeted by the store manager, who went on a little schpeel about how much she loved Apple and how special they thought they were. This is where you’re listening a lot more than talking. You’re hearing about what a big deal Apple is and why it’s different and all this other stuff. At this point, you should be agreeing unconditionally and finding appropriate times to relate to what’s being said. It’s also at this point that you’re asked what you expect as compensation. You can throw a number out, but the reality is that a part-time Mac Specialist is going to be making anywhere from $12 to $15 an hour. You’re evaluated on your previous experience, your formal education, the impression you make on your manager, and made an offer based on how little he or she thinks you’ll accept. You leave the interview being told that you will be contacted further to see whether you’ll proceed or not.

  When I received my initial offer, it was via a phone call a couple days after my interview. I accepted the compensation I was being offered right away (hourly wage of something between $13.40 and $13.60 an hour *wink* *wink*) not knowing what the norm was, or what caliber of people I was going to be working with. I also needed something quickly, and wasn’t in any position to be negotiating. I quickly realised that I was being underpaid for my capacity, and for the service that I provided in the store. I needed little to no training, and after a couple weeks, I was more informed on what I call the ‘importants’ than my colleagues who had been in the store for more than a year. I was already capable to do certain tasks that would require certain expertise, that few if not any other specialists had. I digress.

  

  Apple Employees

  After receiving the phone call with my offer and wage, I was also contacted by email to see when would be a good time to do the ‘core training’. The base knowledge all Apple employees are expected to have; history of the company, the major dates, and the revolution that Apple products led, so on and so forth. During the training, you receive little to no product training what-so-ever. I found that many of the people I was training with, weren’t familiar with anything Apple. One girl at Core claims she had never even stepped foot in an Apple store prior to being hired; this was a little shocking. They had been hired because of the kind of person they were. This isn’t to say that mistakes were made, there were a couple in the group who were so dense, and showed everyone it was clear they didn’t belong. It’s at this point that I realized it had nothing to do with where you had been, with what you could do; it was more of the person you are and the potential that you hold. Your attitude, your demeanor, your composure, all traits that are heavily favoured when applying for a non-technical position at Apple. They want individuals who are passionate, driven, and born to interact and make people happy. They want friendly, personable, and professional; traits I believe you’re more or less born with; the rest can be trained, but your instinct and personality is pretty programmed, difficult to change.

  notes:

  1) Genius’ (technicians), Family Room Specialists (iPod/iPhone repairs), Creatives (trainers) are the three positions where your previous technical experience may come in handy, otherwise, it’s not of much use. Apple believes they can teach the blank slate anything, as long as they’ve got the right attitude and correct personality.

  2) You should know that I was hired individually. I revisited the store a couple times and made myself known as a person as opposed to one of the masses applying online. Sometimes, seminars are held which do hiring/interviewing in bulk; I’m not familiar at this point in time so I won’t speculate until I have more facts.

  I’ll update the post if I think of more, but as usual you may contact me if you have any additional questions.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/how-to-get-hired-apple-retail/feed/ 9 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/change-default-fonts-in-ms-office-word/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/change-default-fonts-in-ms-office-word/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:51:42 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1765 I recently had a friend message me asking how to change the default font, and I had to explain it to her quickly. Wouldn’t it be nice if all I had to do was link her to a post on my website showing her detailed descriptions and images, which would in turn save me time, and [...]]]> I recently had a friend message me asking how to change the default font, and I had to explain it to her quickly. Wouldn’t it be nice if all I had to do was link her to a post on my website showing her detailed descriptions and images, which would in turn save me time, and make the process easier and clearer for her?

  This *should* work for all versions of Microsoft Word from 2002 onward.

  
  
  

  The format menu on Microsoft Word 2008

  On the menu bar, you can choose the menu ‘Format’, and then choose ‘Font’.

  From here, you’ll have a dialog window open with all the font related options. Color, style, size and such. You make all the changes you want, and then choose the default button in the bottom left corner of the screen, and you’ll get a pop up saying “Do you want to change the default font to (Default) Verdana 16pt etc …. This change will affect all new documents…” Choose yes, restart Microsoft Word, and you’ll notice that all new blank documents will have the font properties you previously specified.
  

  

  The font dialog window, with 'default' choice in the bottom left, and the pop up you'll receive on the bottom centre of the image.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/change-default-fonts-in-ms-office-word/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/list-of-lululemon-quotes-manifesto/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/list-of-lululemon-quotes-manifesto/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:55:11 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1746

  The lululemon manifesto spread apart one of their retail bags

  An interestingly covered water bottle caught my eye the other day, and I couldn’t help but be hypnotized by some of the quotes that were written on it. I knew I had seen them before… even the arrangement was familiar, and I quickly realized that the [...]]]>
  

  The lululemon manifesto spread apart one of their retail bags

  An interestingly covered water bottle caught my eye the other day, and I couldn’t help but be hypnotized by some of the quotes that were written on it. I knew I had seen them before… even the arrangement was familiar, and I quickly realized that the quotes were the same that cover every environmentally-friendly lululemon bag that you may opt to purchase right before leaving one of their retail stores. It turns out lululemon refers to this list of quotes as their “manifesto”.

  I took the time to write them out… even though there are a couple fishy ones I don’t agree with.

  • Drink fresh water and as much as you can. Water Flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp.
  • love
  • A daily hit of athletic-incudec endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, and offsets stress.
  • Do one thing a day that scares you.
  • listen listen listen and then ask strategic questions.
  • Write down your short and long-term GOALS four times a year. Two personal, two business and two health goals for the next 2, 5 and 10 years. Goal setting triggers your subconscious computer.
  • Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.
  • Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.
  • Dance, sing, floss and travel.
  • Wake up and realize you are surrounded by amazing friends.
  • Don’t trust that an old age pension will be sufficient.
  • The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you 2 steps behind.
  • Visualize your eventual demise. It can have an amazing effect on how you live for the moment.
  • do it now, do it now, do it now!
  • Choose a positive thought. The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time.
  • That which matters the least, should never give way to that which matters the most.
  • Stress is related to 99% of all illness.
  • Jealousy works the opposite way you want it to.
  • Take various vitamins. You never know what small mineral can eliminate the bottleneck to everlasting health.
  • Friends are more important than money.
  • Breathe Deeply, and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life.
  • Live near the ocean and inhale the pure salt air that slows over the water. Vancouver will do that nicely.
  • Children are the orgasm of life. Just like you did not know what an orgasm was before you had one, nature does not let you know how great children are until you actually have them.
  • Observe a plant before and after watering and relate these benefits to your body and brain.
  • Practice yoga so you can remain active in physical sports as you age.
  • Successful people replace the words ‘wish’, ’should’ and ‘try’ with ‘I will’. Ineffective people don’t.
  • lululemon athletica creates components for people to live longer, healthier and more fun lives. If we can produce products to keep people active and stress-free, we believe the world will become a much better place.
  • Sweat once a day to regenerate your skin.
  • Do not use cleaning chemicals on your kitchen counters or floors. Someone will inevitably make a sandwich on your counter.
  • Creativity is maximized when you’re living in the moment.
  • Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life.
  • Communication is COMPLICATED. We are all raised in a different family with slightly different definitions of every word. An agreement is an agreement only if each party knows the conditions for satisfaction and a time is set for satisfaction to occur.
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/list-of-lululemon-quotes-manifesto/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/show-hidden-search-system-files/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/show-hidden-search-system-files/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:00:32 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1678 Recently I was looking to delete some files off my Mac, that were albeit being difficult to find. It was a little challenging, so I thought I’d put together the solution for you all to take advantage of.

  As usual, I’ll explain Apple’s Mac OS X platform first. The two functions (searching system files and showing hidden [...]]]> Recently I was looking to delete some files off my Mac, that were albeit being difficult to find. It was a little challenging, so I thought I’d put together the solution for you all to take advantage of.

  As usual, I’ll explain Apple’s Mac OS X platform first. The two functions (searching system files and showing hidden ones) are independent.

  

  Terminal Application within the Utilities folder (Mac OS X)

  

  You can see the effect the two commands I describe has had it's effect, as files from my hard drive have been revealed.

  To reveal hidden files in the finder you’ll first need to open an application called Terminal. You can find it under Applications\Utilities. Once it’s launched, you’ll presumably need all three of the following commands.
  1. defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
  2. defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
  3. Killall Finder

  Once you have terminal open, you can copy paste (command + c, command + v) any of the commands above into the prompt. The command #1 (ending in TRUE) will write to a preference file on your computer, telling it to reveal ALL files, including hidden ones. Once you’ve typed that and hit enter, you’ll notice nothing will have actually changed. You’ll have to run the command #3, (Killall Finder) which will re-launch the Finder, and doing so with the new preference in place. You’ll see the immediate result, as some hidden desktop files become visible right away. You’ll be able to tell which files are otherwise hidden files because they’ll be a little translucent.

  I should warn you that altering hidden/system files can lead to disastrous results, so be sure to proceed only with instructions from a professional, or if you absolutely know what you’re doing.

  At any point, if you need to reverse the changes you’ve made, you can type command #2 (ending in FALSE), then #3 again to re-launch finder, and you’ll see all those hidden files disappear.

  

  A Finder search in which system files are not included.

  To search system files, you can first use spotlight (command + Spacebar), then click the ‘Show All’ function that offers itself immediately before any of your results. Once you do this, you’ll have a new Finder window open showing all the results of your search. You can also just open a new Finder window, and use your spotlight dialog in the top right to start a search, hit enter, and view the results.

  Adding system files to your search comes next. Whenever you open a Finder window with search results, you’ll receive an option near the top right of the window which will act as a filter, or give you additional options for your searches. By default, you should see (Kind) is (Any) – you can change that to (System Files) (are included)

  

  The same search, except with System Files INCLUDED

  Windows XP

  It’s out of character, but it’s actually a lot easier to reveal hidden files on the Windows platform (I swear, that’s all that’s easier when you’re using a PC). Open up a fresh window, and at the top on the menu bar you’ll see File, Edit and then eventually Tools. From the Tools menu, choose Folder Options.

  

  Windows XP Folder Options

  

  Windows Show Hidden Files & Folders

  This next dialog that pops up will have 4 tabs; choose View, then you should see a bunch of items on a list. Near the bottom of that list (without scrolling) choose “Show Hidden Files and Folders” and then choose Apply on the bottom right corner, and all hidden files will be revealed in the finder. Just like on your Mac, you’ll see those files to be slightly translucent.

  You’ll be happy to know that this process is identical on Windows Vista, and Windows 7, but from me to you – if you’re using either operating system, I’m sure you’ve been handed more problems than solutions, with a bloated operating system that eats at your computers resources, and demands more and more from your hardware.

  Search System Files & Hidden Folders

  1. Open a search dialog. You can do this by hitting F3 while having any Windows Explorer window open, or click Start > Search.
  2. On the bottom left corner of the window you’ll see ‘Change Preferences’. (underlined in image)
  3. Choose ‘Change files and folders search behaviour’. (image)
  4. Choose ‘Advanced – includes options to manually…’ (image)
  5. Finally, back to the ‘Main Menu’ of the search dialog. Check mark the ‘Search hidden files and folders’, and anything you search will now include your elusive files. (image)

  Until next time… if you need more help, you know who to go to!

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/show-hidden-search-system-files/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/truth-about-applecare/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/truth-about-applecare/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:31:22 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1023

  AppleCare Protection Plan

  I’m going to apologize in advance for the lack of visual stimulus, I don’t have any repair invoices to scan, or any helpful aids to break from all the words. I unfortunately have to fit all my experience on the matter in one post, which is unfortunately going to come close to 2000 [...]]]>
  

  AppleCare Protection Plan

  I’m going to apologize in advance for the lack of visual stimulus, I don’t have any repair invoices to scan, or any helpful aids to break from all the words. I unfortunately have to fit all my experience on the matter in one post, which is unfortunately going to come close to 2000 words.

  If you’re reading this, I will hope that you’re fairly familiar with Apple as a company, and AppleCare as a service. Having spent a couple hundred hours in an Apple store, I can tell you that I’ve had lengthy discussions on the matter, and I’d like to clear the air. I hope that my words can now come as an impartial as I have been both an employee and customer of Apple in the past. I can also let you know that I currently hold no shares of Apple’s stock (AAPL), so there is no hidden agenda… I promise!

  The Facts

  AppleCare is more commonly known Apple’s extended warranty, or “extended coverage plan” for their hardware. In case you’re curious, the reason they call it an “extended coverage plan”, and not an extended warranty, is for liability purposes. Let’s say you buy a Mac today, and with that Mac you purchase AppleCare, and Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow and decides to close up shop, they don’t hold any legal liability – it’s not an extended warranty, it’s a service plan as long as Apple is in business; sneaky eh? To be honest, Apple is such a powerhouse that you’ll never have to worry about it, but it’s still interesting to know.

  iPods, iPhones, Computers can all be covered by AppleCare. This service extends the 1 year limited manufacturer warranty of the hardware, and 3 month complimentary phone support that you receive when you purchase an Apple product. For iPods and iPhones, AppleCare gives you 2 years total of hardware coverage, and 2 years total of phone support. For all Macs, you get 3 years total of hardware coverage, and 3 years total of phone support. It should also be known that for iPods and iPhones, the phone support is a single incident, you get charged if you have to call about two different issues.

  The prices vary, with AppleCare for iPods and iPhones pricing from $49 to 79$ (different devices and models), and AppleCare for computers pricing between $179 and $399.

  note: AppleCare for computers comes with an education discount if you qualify, making the range $119 to $279.

  They also have AppleCare that provides training and software support. Meaning you can get AppleCare Professional Video Support which will essentially give you access to your own trainer over the phone, whenever you’re having an issue – however, not something that’s typically for the every day user like you and me, so we won’t talk about it today.

  You can buy AppleCare at point of sale, or up to a year after your purchase. Once your limited warranty expires, you can’t get AppleCare anymore for your device. Exceptions have been made; but they have to be made by headquarters; you have to call 1-800-MY-APPLE and plead your case. If you’ve spent a lot of money with Apple, if you’ve just missed the 1 year mark by a week, you can tell them that you’re a loyal customer who doesn’t even have anything wrong with your device, and just want to be pro-active and be protected. I’ve done it, and I’ve had it done for friends – it’s totally possible.

  If your computer is stolen, or broken beyond AppleCare’s scope (water damage, physical/accidental damage) you can get the remaining amount refunded, which is a perk. Call AppleCare in your region to do so.

  Does my computer need it?

  You should know that labour alone on any repair that your Apple computer will need, costs more than AppleCare itself – a simple hard-drive replacement breaks the $500.00 mark. There’s no sense buying a computer for $1500.00 and then needing to put another $500 (and that’s one of the cheaper repairs) to keep it running. If your computer needs a new logic board, it breaks the $1000.00 mark – would you repair your computer? No, you’d probably buy a new one – prematurely.

  Now… I’ve made it clear that it’s necessary for your computer, but the initial cost of your computer should also be considered. If you buy a MacBook for $1,049.00, you might think that spending $299.00 (a third of the price) to cover the computer for an extra 2 years might not make much sense. You might be right (I did the same thing, I have a MacBook, and because I didn’t have the money at the time, I didn’t buy AppleCare right away. I also let the 1 year pass without purchasing it. If you’d rather gamble and have the computer potentially break down, and put that money towards a new machine, you can do that. It’s risk taking, however, remember that. My MacBook is going to be 2 years old in May, but the hard-drive gives me trouble sometimes. I’m able to manage it because I have the know-how, but someone else might be more troubled.

  On the other hand, if you buy a 15″ MacBook Pro and spend more than $2000.00, it makes sense to buy AppleCare. You spend $399.00 (or $279.00 if you qualify for the education discount) and you triple your computers lifetime. You get more value out of your money if you spend the little extra on AppleCare. Divide the cost of your computer by the amount of days it’s guaranteed, and you can see how your money is working for you. Would you rather spend $2399.00 for a guarantee of 1068 days, or $2000.00 for 356 days?

  Does my iPod or iPhone need it?

  note: Keep in mind that AppleCare for iPods and iPhones only lasts a total of 2 years – and that no iPod or iPhone has gone a year without being updated/re-invented.

  • The iPod Shuffle costs $69 (2GB), $89 (4GB) and $109 (4GB Special Edition), Shuffle AppleCare costs $49, it’s not worth it – under any circumstance – you’re throwing money away.
  • The iPod Nano costs $169 (8GB) and $199 (16GB), and Nano AppleCare also costs $49. This also covers battery replacement, which can be handy. If you plan on keeping your Nano for 2 years and want it to function after 2 years, it’s a good idea to have it. If you’re ready to buy a new iPod after a year IF this one breaks, then put the 49$ towards that. Remember, it’s not necessarily going to die after a year – I’ve known iPods to last for five or six, it’s a gamble and it’s about how you treat the device. Still, if you ask me, not worth it.
  • The iPod Classic costs $279 (160GB) and AppleCare costs $69 – this one I think is a little worth it. If you’re using your ipod every day, chances are your battery is going to die within 2 years. The AppleCare covers the replacement (which would otherwise be more than $100) and in the meantime any other failures are also taken care of. Worth it if you ask me.
  • The iPod Touch costs $219 (8GB), $329 (16GB) and $429 (32GB), and again AppleCare costs $69. This one is a tossup – if you’re buying one of the lower end models, I’d say no, if you spend $429 + taxes, you may want to consider it. Just ask yourself: A year from now, will the $69 be better spent towards a new iPod, or extending it’s guaranteed lifetime?
  • The iPhone… $599, $699, $799, at least without a contract. If you purchase it at it’s subsidized price with a 3 year contract, and your phone breaks after a year and a half, you have 18 more months of an expensive monthly contract, without a phone to take advantage of it. Now you have to spend money on another phone before you’re eligible for an upgrade – that’s costly, much more than $79. For gods sake, if you have an iPhone, go purchase AppleCare… now.

  Customer Objections

  Customers would always come into the store and throw an array of objections my way when they didn’t want to pay for AppleCare, I’ve got an answer for them all. The only time I agree with someone who doesn’t want to buy AppleCare, is when they have a cheap computer (MacBook), and have enough money to ‘gamble’ if the computer fails and needs to be replaced.

  “Apple is a superior brand, nothing should go wrong.”

  First of all, whether it’s Apple or Dell – it’s still electronics. Spontaneous failure isn’t common, but it’s not unheard of either. The stuff is designed in California, but it’s assembled in China. You think that Mercedes or BMW never have issues? Stuff happens, you can’t blame defects or problems in the future on Apple; it’s life, shit happens. It’s less likely to happen when you buy Apple, but that’s why it’s so expensive to repair them, and that’s why it’s a good idea to have AppleCare when it does.

  “Something is either going to wrong right away, or never at all”

  This is a common misconception – it’s true that some machines will go a lifetime without any problems, BUT, don’t be fooled; people would come into the store with a year and a half old machine or two year old machines – failing hard drives, logic boards, dead pixels on the LCD, usb or ethernet ports not functioning. Lots of AppleCare, and lots of not. The people who didn’t have it would be leaving upset, and the people who had it would be receiving our congratulations because they avoided a land-mine. It can happen after 2 weeks, after 2 months, and after 2 years. It’s improbable… but again, not impossible.

  My brother’s uncle’s mother’s husband’s son’s brother runs a computer store. He can handle my repairs.

  You do NOT want someone other than an Apple Store or an Apple authorized service centre handling your repairs. Replacing a hard-drive, or upgrading ram is easy, and simple but anything else requires the insider training that can only come from California. Having an amateur handle your equipment can only lead to further damage.

  All other objections about price, worth, value have all been previously explained, so I won’t repeat myself.

  When Should I Buy AppleCare?

  Since you get 1 year hardware coverage with all your products, there’s no point rushing to this purchase. The only thing you miss out on, is the 9 months of phone support between the beginning of month 4, and the end of month 12. In all honestly, AppleCare phone support is amazing, but it’s very rare that you need to use it if you have an Apple Store nearby, or if you have an internet connection with which you can just Google an answer.

  The benefits of buying AppleCare at point of sale are as follows:

  • Auto enrollment: If you buy AppleCare when you buy your device, it gets automatically added. No need to call in and ‘register’ it or have it activated. It’s done for you, saves you the extra work.
  • Additional Coverage: If you buy a Mac and decide to also purchase an Airport Extreme Router, or an Apple Cinema Display, they also are covered by your computer’s coverage – an added bonus. If you buy AppleCare after the fact, it only covers your singular machine.
  • Save Time: You don’t have to worry about coming back to the store and purchasing AppleCare on it’s own. Some people resent the feeling of having to spend money on something without actually physically getting anything. You walk in and out having spent X amount of dollars, but don’t go home with anything… apart from ‘peace of mind’… pfffft, scam I tell ya!
  • Extra Phone Support: If this is something you value, then all the more reason to jump in.

  That’s all for now… contact me if you have anymore questions!

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/truth-about-applecare/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/full-list-iphone-3gs-voice-commands/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/full-list-iphone-3gs-voice-commands/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:28:54 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1389

  iPhone 3GS' Voice Control Screen

  When I first got my iPhone 3GS, it was a little bit of a mystery to me, all the voice commands that were available. I knew “call”, and “play music”. Some other random ones would swipe across the screen, but still, I didn’t have a complete list, and I wanted one; [...]]]>
  

  iPhone 3GS' Voice Control Screen

  When I first got my iPhone 3GS, it was a little bit of a mystery to me, all the voice commands that were available. I knew “call”, and “play music”. Some other random ones would swipe across the screen, but still, I didn’t have a complete list, and I wanted one; It took me a little more effort than I wanted it to, so I thought I’d post it here for future use, so it could be easily found.

  To activate the voice control screen, simply hold your home button for 3 seconds or tap the middle button on your headphones. Whether it’s on the standby screen ‘locked’, or in use in any app that you’re currently running, it’ll pop up (like you see on the right). Once you hear a tone, the phone is ready to accept commands; be sure to wait for it, or it’ll only listen to a part of what you’ve said, and may misinterpret your command.

  Telephone Commands
  “Call Marc Cizravi” will look up the name ‘Marc Cizravi’ and dial the number you have listed on that contact profile. The phone will prompt you back by speaking “Calling Marc Cizravi”. Remember that pronunciation is a little robotic. I know how to pronounce my name, but the iPhone mangles it when repeats it back to me – if you sometimes have trouble calling someone with a strange name, try listening to the pronunciation that the phone uses, and mimic that. If you happen to have multiple numbers for ‘Marc Cizravi’, it will tell you that. “Marc Cizravi – Home? Mobile? School?” to which you’ll respond (after the tone) “Home” – and it will repeat back to you “Calling Marc Cizravi, mobile“.

  “Dial 416 111 1111” will dial that phone number, make sure you’re speaking loudly and clearly, and not too quickly, and remember to wait for the tone before starting your command!

  Music Commands
  Follow the same instructions, waiting for the tone, and use any of the following commands that relate to your music:

  • “Play Music” or “Play” – start playing your music, from the last song played, or beginning of your library if you have synced your phone recently.
  • “Play Songs By Blink 182” or “Play Artist Coldplay” will start playing music by Blink 182 or Coldplay.
  • “Play Album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket” will start playing songs from the Album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, by Blink 182.
  • “Play Playlist My Top Rated” will start playing music from your ‘My Top Rated’ playlist.
  • “Play More Songs Like This“, “Play More Like This” and “Genius” will activate the Genius playlist function from the song that’s currently playing.
  • “Next“, “Previous“, “Pause“, “Shuffle, “Next Song“, “Previous Song“, “Pause Music” “Shuffle Music, are also all functioning commands. What’s funny (and don’t ask me how I found out) but “Boobs” is also a command, but only when music is playing… try it!
  • “Who Sings This Song?“, “What Song Is This?“, “What’s Playing?” will have your iPhone speak the artist’s name and song’s title of what’s currently playing back to you.

  If your iPhone ever gets part-way to a command you’re trying to execute, and for some reason it’s made a mistake, you can always say “no“, “wrong“, “never-mind“, “not that one“, “nope“, “cancel” will stop the voice control all together. Even if you were just to activate it by accident, you could just say “no” and it would just revert to the activities before it was accidentally activated.

  Enjoy a little demo from me below, and if you want you can also have a look at the iPhone voice-control demonstration video on Apple’s website.

  
  
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/full-list-iphone-3gs-voice-commands/feed/ 2 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/old-white-macbook-cracked-case/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/old-white-macbook-cracked-case/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:00:06 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1501

  Old White MacBook Cracked Case (bottom)

  If you purchased a MacBook between the time it was released in 2006, and the latest refresh in November of 2009, you’ve most likely experienced the cracking case. It’s an unfortunate defect that leaves the interior of the computer vulnerable. Liquid, dust and dirt, and even moisture is more likely [...]]]>
  

  Old White MacBook Cracked Case (bottom)

  If you purchased a MacBook between the time it was released in 2006, and the latest refresh in November of 2009, you’ve most likely experienced the cracking case. It’s an unfortunate defect that leaves the interior of the computer vulnerable. Liquid, dust and dirt, and even moisture is more likely to sneak it’s way in if you’re not careful. This is something that is uncharacteristic of Apple, but it can’t be anticipated because it’s a result of many months of usage.

  The cracking case can occur on the top or the bottom of the interior casing. It’s caused by closing the top of the computer too quickly; repeated attempts will start cracking the case slowly, on top or bottom… or both.

  When this started happening, numerous complaints were made about lesser quality and poor craftsmanship to be held responsible, and maybe that was the case. However, after copious amounts of people started coming in to get the repair made (for free if they were still under their limited warranty, or had purchase the AppleCare protection plan), they issued a statement telling all MacBook customers, that they were eligible for the replacement, regardless of their warranty or AppleCare status.

  

  Old White MacBook Top Case Cracking

  This was wildly accepted, as you could imagine, and was a quick and timely repair, should you be close to an Apple retail store. The repair involved replacing the entire top case (this means new keyboard, new casing, new power button) which is essentially a facelift for your Mac. When I got my machine back from the store, it looked like it was brand new, a nice surprise and something that I greatly appreciated.

  If you currently have a cracking case on your white MacBook, head to the nearest Apple retail store (after making an appointment), or your nearest Apple authorized service centre, to get this manufacturer defect taken care of. Make sure that the service provider you lookup, supports service; some of them are iPod only, Mac only, etc… make sure you choose the right one, and be sure to call before you drop in for a visit!

  

  Old White MacBook

  In case you’re having trouble identifying your machine, look on the bottom right – if you have a black circle like the image displayed above, and your case is cracking, you’re in luck – you’re eligible.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/old-white-macbook-cracked-case/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/upgrading-3g-to-3gs/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/upgrading-3g-to-3gs/#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:34:13 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1298

  Apple's 3GS iPhone

  I recently purchased a new 16GB iPhone 3GS, to replace the old 8GB iPhone 3G that I had been using since it’s release in July of 2008. I had long been coveting the upgrade, and was a little reluctant because I expect a new iPhone to be launched this June 2010, only 5 [...]]]>
  

  Apple's 3GS iPhone

  I recently purchased a new 16GB iPhone 3GS, to replace the old 8GB iPhone 3G that I had been using since it’s release in July of 2008. I had long been coveting the upgrade, and was a little reluctant because I expect a new iPhone to be launched this June 2010, only 5 months away. I can’t say for certain, but I know that for the past three summers, 2007, 2008, and 2009, there has been a new iPhone released to the public; we can only assume that in the fast-changing environment of the ’smartphone’, Apple isn’t going to ease up on the race to majority marketshare.

  Let’s have a closer look at all the differences between the 3GS and the 3G:

  one: Speed.

  The most considerable difference between the two devices is the “S”, which stands for speed. There is a substancial difference between the two devices in network transfer. I unfortunately don’t have a screenshot of the speed test I ran with my old Rogers 3G iPhone, but if you have a look at my Bell 3GS iPhone speed test, shown on the right, you’ll see that I’m getting close to 7Mbps, whereas with my Rogers phone I remember getting speeds closer to 3.2Mbps. This isn’t to say that Bell’s network is faster (I can’t speak to whether that’s true or not), because two different devices are being used. I imagine you would get the same speeds with a 3GS phone on the Rogers network. Regardless, the jump between devices is more than doubled in bandwidth; this makes a big difference for me, someone who uses his laptop on the road a lot and needs internet access on demand, through the iPhone’s tethering feature.

  The second ’speed’ upgrade is within the device itself. The processor (I know) and other components (I’m assuming) have been upgraded within to make the phone a faster computer. Starting up is faster, launching applications is quicker, games don’t lag as much. You don’t get any choppyness when you’re multi tasking on the phone (browsing maps, while tethering, and listening to music, while a youtube video is uploading). It’s a much better user experience, and makes for a happier customer. It might not seem like much, but if you compound all the tasks you perform on your phone in a day, and address a proportion of time saved by using the 3GS over the 3G, you’d probably be impressed.

  two: 3.2 Megapixel Camera. Picture & Video Recording.

  

  Snapshot of my 3GS phone recording my computer (low-light)

  The upgrade to the camera is always nice, pictures taken with adequate lighting come out really well. For a phone camera, it’s pleasently surprising at how nice the pictures come out. In addition to the increase, the camera also comes with a new auto focus feature, that’s activated simply by tapping a certain area on the screen. You can focus on any viewing area on the screen before taking a picture, and achieve greater results.

  You’re also now able to now record video; super handy. History is being made every day and it needs to be captured. Spur of the moment or not, it’s useful to have a video recorder if you’ve gotten in a car accident and want to capture the scene; you see a crime happening or abuse occuring and need to record the evidence; someone is giving you a 5 minute tutorial that you wish you’d be able to re-watch later, for further review. Even if you’re just hanging out with your friends and you want to be random and film for a couple minutes – it’s all possible thanks to your cell phone. Think about that for a second. Pretty cool.

  three: Voice Control.

  It’s a little funny, because I know people who have 5 year old phones that are capable of voice-dialing; however, it’s probably not as sophisticated. When they released the 3GS iPhone, they also released the 3.0 software which came with many other perks (that applied to both phones), however voice dialing is one of those features that only the 3GS is capable of. You hold down the ‘home button’ for 3 seconds, a blue screen pops up awaiting your commands. You can say “Call Catherine mobile”, “Call Catherine home”, “Play music”, “Play more songs like this” and so on and so forth. You’re even able to speak “Dial 416 499 9999″, in case there’s a number not in your list, or someone in your car has a new number for you. A significant, and necessary upgrade for our soon to be hands-free while driving continent.

  four: Directional GPS Maps & Compass.

  When the iPhone first came out, it had this wicked “Locate Me” function in the maps application. You push it and whereever you are (in the world, with cellular data reception or WiFi) it would find you. When you’re on a 3G or Edge (2G) network, it’s able to pinpoint you, however when you’re using a WiFi connection it’s more of an estimate, based on the internet connections location. Anyway, when the 3GS was released they added GPS coordinates (for your information) as well as directional support. If you were in a foreign city and needed to orrient yourself, you’d just tap the “Locate Me” ‘button’ on the phone twice, and it would find you, then assess your direction. This is something that also allowed developers to create turn-by-turn GPS software, so that you wouldn’t need to purchase an additional Tom-Tom Car Kit, for example. Money saved, yet again. Thanks Apple.

  five: The Not-So-Small Stuff

  A lot of other not-so-small changes came into play as well. VoiceOver will read what’s on the screen for your accessibility needs, white-on-black display, mono audio, screen zooming, “speak auto-text” (which has the phone speak any auto corrections that are made whilst typing), improved battery life (hoorah), arsenic-free glass, mercury-free LCD, battery percentage display, built in nike app for runners and last but not least, greater third party application support since it’s faster, with a better camera, along with voice control and a compass.
  

  

  iPhone Maps Application being used with the compass function.

  
  Final Thoughts

  When the 3G iPhone came out in June of 2008, it was available in 8GB and 16GB; priced at $199 and $299 respectively. When the 3GS came out a year later, it was available in 16GB and 32GB, the same prices held. The 3G dropped to $99 for the 8GB, and the 16GB model was discontinued. Today, if you are a current 3G user, I would personally tell you to hold out until June and see what your options are. If you don’t yet own an iPhone, and you can’t wait another day, I’ll tell you the 3G is a complete waste of money. For the extra $100 you get so much more function, and so much more performance. It wouldn’t make sense to purchase the 3G, unless you’re a total idiot. The difference in price is equal to a month to a month and a half’s bill. Why wouldn’t you double your productivity, performance and function, let alone capacity for such a small amount, it’s beyond me.

  For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the new iPhone, you may not need to wait much longer. It’s been rumoured that the 4.0 iPhone software is coming out on January 27th (credit www.macrumors.com, which should be accompanied by the new iPhone itself, this June.

  Link on Apple’s website comparing the differences between the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

  update: the announcement on the 27th was just for the iPad, which is running modified iPhone/iPod software, but no confirmations have been made for the new iPhone, stay tuned.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/upgrading-3g-to-3gs/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/remove-wd-smartware/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/remove-wd-smartware/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:45:23 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1400

  This is the western digital smartware logo you may see on your computer when connecting your external drive.

  If you’ve purchased a Western Digital Passport or MyBook drive in the past little while (I’ve recently bought 3), you’ve no doubt run into the Western Digital Smartware. This is a virtual drive that is setup with the [...]]]>
  

  This is the western digital smartware logo you may see on your computer when connecting your external drive.

  If you’ve purchased a Western Digital Passport or MyBook drive in the past little while (I’ve recently bought 3), you’ve no doubt run into the Western Digital Smartware. This is a virtual drive that is setup with the hard-drive that mounts every time you plug it in. It would seem that at first it’s permanent, and the only way to get it to disappear is to install the software that comes with the drive. However, there is a fix that Western Digital provides on their website. Don’t ask me why a simple ‘delete’ function or ‘eject permanently’ isn’t more readily available.

  You can view the instructions from Western Digital on this link, or on this page below! Note that these instructions may change in the future; If newer editions of the drive come out, then I’ll be making an update to the page. This should work for the next year at least:

  Mac instructions will come first, and Windows users look further down the page.

  IMPORTANT

  The following precautions must be performed before installing the firmware update:

  • All AntiVirus software MUST be disabled.
  • All Anti-Spyware software MUST be disabled.
  • ANY and ALL programs that would require drive access during the update MUST be disabled.
  • Failure to perform these precautions may cause data corruption/loss and/or drive failure.

  Mac STEP 1:Firmware Update: Release 1.032 (11/19/09)

  

  Western Digital's portable 'Passport drive'

  Mac OS® X, Tiger®, Leopard®, Snow Leopard™
  This update is recommended for Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.5.8 and any version of Mac OS X 10.6.
  1. Disconnect all other external drives from the computer except for the My Book or My Passport hard drive you want to update.
  2. Ensure that the My Book or My Passport drive is connected to a USB port on your computer.
  3. Download Firmware Updater for Mac. (mirror here)
  4. Unzip the Firmware Updater and double click WD Essential and Elite Firmware Updater for Mac.
  5. Verify the attached drive’s serial number located on the back of the drive.
  6. Select the drive displayed.
  7. Click Update Firmware.
  8. Drag both My Book Drive and WD SmartWare Virtual CD icons to Trash bin.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Click Accept the End User’s License Agreement (EULA).
  11. Click Yes.
  12. Once the updater is finished, click Exit.
  13. Turn off the drive – For My Passport, disconnect the USB cable. For My Book disconnect both USB and power cables.
  14. Wait 10 seconds. Reconnect the USB/power cables.

  Mac STEP 2:Download and run the VCD Manager

  1. Download VCD Manager VirtualCDManager_v1003.zip for Mac to your desktop. (mirror here)
  2. Unzip the utility and double click to open.
  3. Click Continue to disable the VCD.
  4. Click Accept the End User’s License Agreement (EULA).
  5. Click Drive to configure and select your drive.
  6. Verify desired Virtual CD setting.
  7. Once the utility has found your drive, click Configure Drive.
  8. Once the Virtual CD setting is finished, click Exit.
  9. Power cycle the drive – For My Passport, disconnect the USB cable. For My Book disconnect both USB and power cables.
  10. Wait 10 seconds. Reconnect the USB/power cables.
  11. Verify that the VCD no longer appears.

   

  PC STEP 1:Firmware Update: Release 1.032 (11/16/09)

  

  Western Digital's External 'MyBook Drive'

  Before running the Virtual CD Manager, you must first update the firmware on your hard drive.
  1. Disconnect all other external drives from the computer except for the My Book or My Passport hard drive you want to update.
  2. Download the Firmware Updater for Windows. (mirror here)
  3. Unzip the file and double click to open the Firmware Updater.
  4. Click Continue to update the firmware.
  5. Verify the attached drive’s serial number located on the back of the drive.
  6. Click Update Firmware.
  7. Click Accept the End User’s License Agreement (EULA). The updater will scan the drive; this may take a few minutes.
  8. Once the updater is finished, click Exit.
  9. Turn off the drive – For My Passport, disconnect the USB cable. For My Book disconnect both USB and power cables.
  10. Wait 10 seconds. Reconnect the USB/power cables.

  PC STEP 2:Download and run the VCD Manager

  1. Download VCD Manager WDSmartWareVirtualCDManagerforWindows-v1.0.7.4.zip for Windows to your desktop. (mirror here)
  2. Unzip the utility (Extract the file using an extraction utility.)
  3. Double click WDSmartWareVirtualCDManagerforWindows-v1.0.7.4.exe.
  4. Click Continue to disable the VCD.
  5. Once the utility has found your drive, click Configure Drive and then click Exit.
  6. Turn off the drive – For My Passport, disconnect the USB cable. For My Book disconnect both USB and power cables.
  7. Wait 10 seconds. Reconnect the USB/power cables that have been disconnected in the previous step.
  8. Verify that the VCD no longer appears.

  And there you have it, good riddance!

  credit to Western Digital for the instructions:
  http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdsmartwareutilities
  http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdsmartwareutilitiesmac

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/remove-wd-smartware/feed/ 38 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/what-makes-apple-so-much-better/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/what-makes-apple-so-much-better/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:55:25 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1307 During my brief time at Apple, it was this question that I probably answered more than any other. Sometimes they’d be referring to the iMac (the all-in-one desktop unit), the Macbook, Macbook Pro, or Macbook Air (the laptop selection), or perhaps the iPhone/iPod (portable phone and music players); nevertheless, some answers applied to all three, and [...]]]> During my brief time at Apple, it was this question that I probably answered more than any other. Sometimes they’d be referring to the iMac (the all-in-one desktop unit), the Macbook, Macbook Pro, or Macbook Air (the laptop selection), or perhaps the iPhone/iPod (portable phone and music players); nevertheless, some answers applied to all three, and some were a little more specific. Let me explore some of the answers I threw out, to customers who were looking at any of the products I’ve listed above.

  one: The Store.

  

  Apple Store on 5th Avenue, NYC

  Regardless of what Apple product you purchase in the store, this place becomes a resource for you. Even if you buy your Apple gear at Futureshop or BestBuy, as soon as you’re an owner this place becomes a place for you. Everyone who works here is super friendly, and wants nothing more than to please you. When we see someone walk in with a laptop or desktop computer, (working or not) we pay double attention because we want those folks to know that the relationship doesn’t end with a purchase, it only begins.

  If you’re ever have issues, questions, or just want to brainstorm something Apple you were thinking about this morning, we’re all here for you. Half of our Specialists are knowledgeable enough to fix random issues you’re having, so you can walk off the street without an appointment and pull one of us for 5 minutes. I’ll be honest with you when I say that I spent more than half my time at Apple, answering technical questions or applying quick fixes for people who were in a rush or without an appointment. We’re all here to help, and we’re happy to do it. If you ever are having legitimate repair-worthy issues (rare) that are beyond us, the Genius Bar takes appointments… right here in the store. Repairs are all done here, and your computer never leaves these doors unless it’s in your hands. All of our Genius’ (technicians) have had hands on training in Cupertino, where it all began.

  note: It’s worth mentioning that we also have world-class phone support which you can access from the comfort of your home. More importantly, our phone support is located in NORTH AMERICA. You’re not calling India, Pakistan, or any other random outsourced region.

  I’ve since realized that the benefits of the store really deserves it’s own article, so I’ll be putting one together. For now, I’ll be focussing on the question at hand.

  two: Hardware AND Software.

  

  Genius Bar in The Apple Store

  If you buy a Toshiba computer with Windows Vista from BestBuy, and start having issues 2 years down the line… who do you go to? Do you call Microsoft? Toshiba? BestBuy?

  We do our absolute best to provide the most Apple software relevant to your needs so that you don’t have to look elsewhere. That way, when you have a problem, we’re not going to be giving you the run around.

  “Well… you should talk to Microsoft about that one, I’m just a Toshiba guy, and all your hardware seems to be working fine. This is definitely a software problem.”

  “Sorry, it’s been more than 45 days since your purchase [From BestBuy], you’re going to need to call Toshiba regarding your computer not starting up. I can’t help you.”

  Apple has been and for the next little while (at least), will continue to be the only major computer organization developing all the software, and assembling/supporting all the hardware without third party support.

  three: Mag-safe Laptop Adapter.

  

  Apple magsafe adapter connecting to a Macbook Pro 2006

  This is one of those brilliant ideas that Apple came up with (and subsequently patented) that makes their products superior. All Apple laptops since 2006 have shipped with this technology, and if you take a second to think about it, hundreds of thousands of computers have probably avoided a disasterous demise because of this simple yet elegant product.

  The Magsafe benefits me in two ways. Before I was used to having it, I was always super conscious about my laptop and made sure I didn’t knock it over or do something stupid to damage it; this includes being weary of the power adapter. Obviously, at some point you will become careless and cause the accident you’ve been dreading. When I first tripped over the cable, I laughed. My computer obviously remained unharmed, and since then I actually stopped caring about it. Not only does it protect my computer, but it allows me to stop thinking about it; I don’t have to be careful. I appreciate that, greatly.

  For arguments sake, and in the interest of not exagerating, we’ll say that the Magsafe adapter has saved me from having to replace my current Macbook…prematurely.

  four: The Operating System (Mac OS X).

  One thing that Microsoft does that really bothers me, is release numerous different versions of their operating systems. Windows XP had Home, XP Professional, XP Media Center Edition. There was an XP Tablet version as well, but I’m not going to comment on that; I don’t know if Apple will release a modified Mac OS X Snow Leopard with their tablet, tentatively being announced on Tuesday January 27th, when they announce the device. Windows Vista had Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate. Windows 7 has Starter, 7 Home Premium, 7 Professional, 7 Ultimate, and 7 64bit.

  

  Microsoft's idea of the joy that accompanies a new operating system: a chart. They sure don't make it difficult for Apple to be #1, do they?

  Excuse my language, but are you fucking serious? Not only do I have to go through the rigamarole of finding a computer that will suit my needs, but I have to sift through the 17 different versions of the operating systems you make to see which one will work best for me? Let’s put aside the fact that most computers you buy in a store come with a specific version, and no room for upgrade or exchange; I’m going to get home and in 6 months realize I need to do something, but it’ll be missing from my revised edition of the garbage operating system that comes with my computer.

  You will never run into that issue with an Apple computer. They make one version of each operating system, and then release updates adding/fixing anything that needs to be done. Everything comes with your computer; you don’t need to worry about getting “Snow Leopard Lite” or “Snow Leopard Home Premium Upside Down Question Mark” or whatever other stupid variation Microsoft could possibly come up with.

  What else is great? When a new Apple operating system comes out, it’s EASY to upgrade. You stick the DVD in, click upgrade and watch your computer do the work. What happens when a new Microsoft operating system comes out? Everybody scrambles and panics… as they should.

  In the interest of your attention span, I’ll leave it at that. Expect further volumes of this same article; I will have given you 50 reasons to choose Apple over anyone else by the time I’m done writing on the matter.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/what-makes-apple-so-much-better/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/customer-service-canada-computers/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/customer-service-canada-computers/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:59:55 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1197 post temporarily removed until I consult a lawyer, RoFL at me, stay tuned

  update January 25th 11:33am: I’ve got two people currently looking into this, an estimated week before this post gets a modified version restored, my voice will be [...]]]> post temporarily removed until I consult a lawyer, RoFL at me, stay tuned

  update January 25th 11:33am: I’ve got two people currently looking into this, an estimated week before this post gets a modified version restored, my voice will be heard :]

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/customer-service-canada-computers/feed/ 5 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/working-at-apple/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/working-at-apple/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:00:58 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1127

  Apple Computers - Retail

  Fun fact: Only 3% of people who apply to Apple actually get an interview. This was one of the first messages received during training (also known as ‘core’) before starting to work at Apple Retail Fairview Mall, here in Toronto. I was told that you’re more likely to get into Stanford University [...]]]>
  

  Apple Computers - Retail

  Fun fact: Only 3% of people who apply to Apple actually get an interview. This was one of the first messages received during training (also known as ‘core’) before starting to work at Apple Retail Fairview Mall, here in Toronto. I was told that you’re more likely to get into Stanford University than to work for Apple; but more on that later.

  You may or may not have (let’s be real, I don’t have that many readers – yet) noticed that a couple posts went missing in the past 3 months. That’s because there’s a strict policy (one of many) against that while you’re working for Apple. Essentially you aren’t allowed to talk about Apple, blog about Apple, or make any public affiliation to Apple while speaking publically; you’re representing the company – 24/7. I had to take down any pictures, or posts, that had anything relating to Apple; or anything relating to one of Apple’s distant cousins. Those posts have since been restored, and now you can look forward to many more since I don’t have my fingers bound by some silly contract.

  Long story short, after a brief tenure, I decided to leave to pursue other endeavours; however, I have taken with me a lot of not-so-insider knowledge that I’ll be sharing over the next couple weeks. Nothing that’s really a secret, but things that would help you better understand services, tools, and other Apple related matters. If you have any Apple related inquiries that you would like me to share, feel free to contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

  Extra: In surfing the net for content similar to what I imagine I may publish in the near future, I found “7 Confessions Of An Apple Macintosh Specialist“. An interesting read which I thought I would share with you. It’s located over at consumerist.com. Enjoy.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/working-at-apple/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/anti-virus-scam/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/anti-virus-scam/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:30:48 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1039 You may want to reference this previous article that I wrote about computer virus’, before reading on; it would be beneficial to have a little background info before reading on.
  Computer virus’ aren’t even a threat anymore; it’s a thing of the past. Your Mac doesn’t need AV software, nor has it ever, and your PC’s operating [...]]]> You may want to reference this previous article that I wrote about computer virus’, before reading on; it would be beneficial to have a little background info before reading on.
  1. Computer virus’ aren’t even a threat anymore; it’s a thing of the past. Your Mac doesn’t need AV software, nor has it ever, and your PC’s operating system (if it’s up to date) can protect itself. Unless you go looking, and finding, and executing a virus, you’re safe.
  2. You can’t buy anti-virus software; you have to make on-going payments. It’s typically subscription based and you have to make payments once a year so that it’ll keep updating itself. On top of updating your operating system a couple times a month, you have to either remember to, or deal with updating your “anti-virus definitions” so that it can keep up. Can I ask why? Why are you updating two independant pieces of software to perform the same task? Does that not seem incredibly stupid?
  3. If you’ve ever used AV software before you know that it has to be running at all times to perform. It’s “silently” running in the background, eating away at your processes; scanning and checking everything single little thing that you do. Believe me when I tell you that it isn’t a small piece of your computers strength; it’s very significant, and I can tell right away when I’m sitting at a computer with Norton “Protection Center” (as I hold my laughter back), or AVG, or some other garbage installed. It’s ridiculously slow.
     note: something tells me the two people in that image on Norton’s website are reading a big sign that reads “smile, if you’re a sucker”.

  You’re paying for software that provides you with a feature your now-handicapped computer already comes with. It’s like paying someone $1000 a year to coat your cars tires in cement, so that you don’t get a flat. Just stop driving over pot holes you idiot.

  Worst part of all, you’re misguided as to why your computer is slow and now you think you need to upgrade. You’re paying money so that you can cripple yourself into thinking you need to pay more money. Congratulations anti-virus user, you’ve been officially scammed, Darwin would be proud.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/anti-virus-scam/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/virus-what-how-where-who/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/virus-what-how-where-who/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:00:29 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1040 Even your computer can get sick sometimes

  There are many misconceptions out there regarding computer virus’. I’d like to clear some things up, and set the record straight for those of you who are less than fully informed.

  What?

  A virus is a piece of software that attaches itself to your computers operating system, and runs [...]]]>

  Even your computer can get sick sometimes

  There are many misconceptions out there regarding computer virus’. I’d like to clear some things up, and set the record straight for those of you who are less than fully informed.

  What?

  A virus is a piece of software that attaches itself to your computers operating system, and runs (usually) silently in the background. The nature of the virus can be:

  • Annoy & Scam: Your computer will receive random internet pop ups; some will be for services or products being sold (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not), and the end goal is to produce profit. A small percentage of people will follow these pop ups, and either generate revenue by clicking the ad, or paying for a service/product that’s being offered. It’s often that you’re paying for something that doesn’t even exist; you run your credit card for a small (or sometimes large) amount, and receive nothing. gotcha!
    
  • Disable: Your computer’s operating system loses certain basic functions; copy & paste, opening My Computer, running your task manager. Essentially making it difficult to fully use your computer. These sorts of virus’ don’t pose any other risk apart from you either needing to fix it yourself, call someone to do it, or pay someone to do it. Inconvenient… really inconvenient. These kinds of virus’ can also disable your operating system entirely, preventing you from even using your computer at all.
  • Destroy: I’ve only ever read and heard of this kind of virus, and never really experienced it nor seen it in action. Essentially this virus will manipulate your computers hardware (your fan in this case) to stop functioning, causing your computer to overheat and most likely damage itself. This is where you can find yourself spending excessive amounts of money to fix your computer because… some skinny nerd is sitting in his parents basement hating his life because he can’t make any friends. This kind of virus isn’t really a problem anymore because computers are now made with temperature guages that have safety shut-offs when a certain level is reached. Your motherboard will just start beeping and just turn itself off if it thinks any components are overheating.
  • Attack: Some virus’ attach themselves and sit idle on a computer until they’re called upon. When the controller wants to summon the virus, he usually calls hundreds if not thousands if not tens of thousands of computers which are infected, to start sending packets (small pieces of random irrelevant non-information) to a target. This sort of attack is called a Denial-of-Service (DoS). There are many different types of DoS attacks, but the jist you need to understand is that the end goal is usually to render a target inoperable. With a large amount of computers sending many packets continuously, a server (for example www.cnn.com) would become inoperable, and nobody would be able to load the website to read the news.

  How?

  It’s become virtually impossible to get a virus unless you execute one. Back in the day (let’s say around 2000 or 2001) it was really easy to get a virus. If you weren’t behind a firewall, or a router, you could load up Internet Explorer and right away, you’d be infected, without doing anything. Since then, software developers have smartened up and updates are being released weekly to prevent this sort of damage to occur… easily. Microsoft and Apple are always releasing updates that address vulnerability or susecptibility of their operating systems. Like I said, nothing bad can happen unless you execute a virus (or allow it to execute itself). That’s to say that you download a file, and double-click (execute it), or load a website which runs an allowed script to install something on your computer. This typically happens to novice users who are innocent and ignorant, and don’t know proper internet safety usage, and find themselves in trouble as a result. The frequent user knows not to visit sites that are not trusted, or to run strange application files, or to allow scripts to execute from shady web pages. This “web sense” if you will, comes only with time and experience; you need to make a few mistakes before you can be well informed.

  Where?

  Peer2Peer programs, untrustworthy websites, Internet delinquants. If you’re using LimeWire (a Peer to Peer, p2p application) sometimes you’ll download a file you think is a music file, but it’s actually an application in disguise, waiting to be executed. You run it, it installs itself, and sometimes it’s uncleanable; damage is done and you pretty much need to format your computer (reinstall the operating system).’Untrustworthy’ websites consist typically of sites that host illegally shared content, or some mature adult content. They perform an assault of pop-ups and run scripts that allow a virus to install itself.Internet delinquants consist of nerdy kids who sit behind their monitor and get off at inflicting… inconvenience. They get an internet address through whatever means and target specific people just to mess with them, just for fun.

  What You Need to Know.

  Getting a virus isn’t as easy as it used to be. Times were, you would start your unprotected computer and attacks would just flow in and you’d be screwed. Since then there have been developments. Firewalls, routers (which also act as/provide a firewall), and developer awareness makes it near impossible to ‘contract’ a virus these days, unless you go looking for one. If you’re using a Mac and you get a virus, you’d be the first person I’ve known (10 years in the industry) to have gotten one. If you’re using Windows, don’t worry; Microsoft has learned from their mistakes. Operating system updates for XP, Vista, and 7 are being released on an almost weekly (sometimes more often) basis. Virus makers aren’t ahead at all, and as such the “computer virus scare” gets much more attention than it should. It’s true that it used to be a big problem, but take it from me, it’s not anymore.

  note: If by some miracle you get a virus or you think you have one, go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com, and use the housecall tool to clean your computer. This will fix 99% of the virus’ out there, for the rest that it won’t, you’ll need to re-format your computer.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/virus-what-how-where-who/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/applecare-check/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/applecare-check/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:56:06 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1014 AppleCare Protection Plan - Extended Coverage for your Apple Products

  note: If you don’t want a funny story, then check your AppleCare Status: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do. Otherwise, read on.

  During my time at Apple, I would often run into customers who would come into the store with malfunctioning equipment (either because they’ve caused a problem, or hardware was defective). [...]]]>

  AppleCare Protection Plan - Extended Coverage for your Apple Products

  note: If you don’t want a funny story, then check your AppleCare Status: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do. Otherwise, read on.

  During my time at Apple, I would often run into customers who would come into the store with malfunctioning equipment (either because they’ve caused a problem, or hardware was defective). Ultimately, to get any sort of results, they would need an appointment at the Genius Bar. This would in turn have a Genius (aka technician) look at the product, make an assessment, and then present the solution. For someone who hasn’t voided their warranty with physical or water damage, it’s usually good news.

  When someone would come in, I would ask what the problem was, to determine whether it was software or hardware related. Then, I would lookup their serial number on Apple’s website to see if the product was still covered under either limited warranty, or AppleCare. What’s funny here is, the fastest way I found to do so, was to google “check applecare serial number” to which I would always find a result to some random guy’s blog: www.macitguy.com. I’d be directly linked to Check your Applecare status by Serial Number, which would in turn give me the direct link to check, well, AppleCare status by serial number.

  After a while, I stopped searching Google, and using the ever so helpful macitguy, I just started typing https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do, it was just easier (believe it or not).

  Quicktips:
  -Be really nice to the Genius’, they hold your fate in the palm of their hands. If for some reason you’re not happy or aren’t being treated the way you want, ask for a manager. If you’re not happy with the result of your appointment, ask for a manager. Even if you’re out of warranty, even if you’ve damaged the computer a little bit, there’s always a chance. Be professional, curteous, and show them you’re a loyal Apple customer, and you might get pleasantly surprised.
  -Always arrive to your appointment with your data/personal information backed up. The Genius may need to wipe/restore your device; you would lose all your data without a backup. Or you would need to make a second trip after being told to go home and back your stuff up.
  -Innocence, ignorance, and a gentle attitude. The three keys to success at the Genius Bar.

  Fun fact:
  The reason they call AppleCare “an extended coverage” for your product, as opposed to an extended warranty, is to avoid liability in the event that Apple goes under. If Apple declares bankcruptcy tomorrow and closes their doors, and you have 2 years left on your AppleCare coverage, and something goes wrong, you’re on your own :]

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/applecare-check/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/rookies-guide-bittorrent/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/rookies-guide-bittorrent/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:01:21 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1117 note: Since this post has been put up, mininova has been shut down. www.thepiratebay.org, and www.torrentreactor.net are good alternatives.

  I’m always hearing friends, family, randoms, saying they wish they knew how to download movies or television shows off the internet (for free). While there are some pretty good sites for streaming – and many television networks actually [...]]]> note: Since this post has been put up, mininova has been shut down. www.thepiratebay.org, and www.torrentreactor.net are good alternatives.

  I’m always hearing friends, family, randoms, saying they wish they knew how to download movies or television shows off the internet (for free). While there are some pretty good sites for streaming – and many television networks actually upload new episodes to their website after airing the night of, or soon after – it’s not the same as having a large library of all your favorite shows and movies available at your finger tips. The added disadvantage to all of these streaming sites (legal and illegal alike) is that they usually sacrifice quality; that, and the added loading period makes this quite the arduous process. As such, the following guide should set you in the right direction to start downloading to your hearts content.

  Try to follow these steps as best you can; at the end of this article you will find video tutorials which will guide you through this process, from beginning to end.

  Step 1: Downloading your Bit-Torrent client.

  To download torrents, you’ll need a client (you) program that is used in conjunction with these files to download your content. www.utorrent.com (UTorrent) is the most popular Windows XP/Vista (PC) application, but if you’re a Mac OS X user, you’ll want to download www.transmissionbt.com (Transmission). For utorrent, click download and run the installation file, once everything is finished, you’ll find the shortcut on your desktop. For Transmission, download the *.dmg file, once it’s open, copy Transmission to your applications folder, and run it from that location.

  
  Step 2: Downloading *.torrent files

  

  mininova - The ultimate Bittorent source!

  When you ‘bit-torrent’, all you’re doing is downloading & uploading from a network of users who have interests similar to your own. The way you tell your client program (uTorrent or Transmission) what it is you want to download, is by finding the proper ‘index’ or torrent file. So, if you want to join that network and start downloading, you’ll need the torrent file linking you to the network of that specific file(s). The best way of doing this, is going to ‘torrent websites’ which have search-able libraries ready for you to browse.

  

  www.eztv.it

  Two of the best full-content, public websites are www.mininova.org and www.thepiratebay.org. I don’t personally use the pirate bay, but it comes with strong acclaim, and if I can’t find what I’m looking for (rare) I’ll take a look there as well.

  I personally download more T.V. shows than anything else, and to keep track of what’s new, I use www.eztv.it. EZTV is handy because they always list what new shows are airing on that specific day, and usually are quick to upload their torrents. They’re what you call a 0-day site (uploads are made a few hours after the episode airs), so if you miss an episode of House or Lost, you can log-on to EZTV a couple hours later, and find the torrent to download it.

  A quick side-note: different torrent sites have different specialities. Some focus only on television shows, some just movies, and some do movies, software, books, and the whole lot. Some require registration, some require invitations, and some are just public to anyone and everyone. If you keep to Mininova and EZTV, then just ignore this note; once you become more of torrent guru, you can start exploring elsewhere, not that you’ll need to.

  Step 3: Finding the best torrent.

  Sometimes search returns won’t always bring you what request. Sometimes they’ll even bring you returns that you won’t want. Variations in files such as type, quality, size and language will become an issue if you’re not careful. You won’t want to download something with poor quality, or quality that exceeds your needs, or file types that are problematic.

  • File type: Make sure you’re downloading files that are *.avi; don’t download *.mp4 or *.mov files – they’re usually pre-iPod formatted files with smaller resolutions which will look bad on a full-screened computer.
  • File quality: You’ll find that some files will have jibberish in the file name. Things like 720p, HDTV XviD-LOL, AC3 5 1 are descriptions that are usually placed in the file name, referring to video or audio quality. 720p implies a higher resolution, XviD a codec being used to compress file size while maintaining quality, and AC3 5 1 referring to 5.1 surround sound capabilities.
  • File size: There is an easy guideline for new television shows that are being uploaded daily: You should have about 175MB for a show that airs in a 30 minute time-slot, and 350MB for a show that airs in a 1 hour time-slot. For movies, it varies since some movies run for an hour and a half, and some run close to two or two and a half. Sometimes you won’t have much of a selection, and you’ll have to download a 700MB movie hoping it’s good quality – if it’s a shorter movie then chances are good, but if you’re downloading something like The Dark Knight – a movie that runs for more than 150 minutes, you’ll be sure to exceed 1GB for a good quality download.
  • Language: Be careful not to download hastily, you might find that your file names are including suffix’ such as ITA, GER, RUS referring to the dubbing of audio – there’s no option to change language once your download has been made.

  The last, but arguably most important criteria to consider when searching through torrents, is the amount of seeds (uploaders) and leechers (downloaders) to consider. The more seeds the more people you have uploading the file(s) for you to download. More means faster speed. The more users, the more ‘healthy’ the torrent is; you’re more likely to finish the transfer quickly thanks to higher speeds.

  

  Adding to uTorrent

  
  Download this torrent!‘ – on EZTV, just make a direct choice on the front page and it will start your download). The torrent files are tiny, (usually within 100kb) so they should download quickly, once that’s done, you execute (double click) the file and if you’ve installed and run your client properly once before, you should notice that your torrent client opens up automatically and runs the pop-up I’ve displayed, prompting you to add your new torrent to the queue.
  

  Adding to Transmission

  Once added, you’ll notice that after a couple minutes your download speed will start to climb; usually it’ll be slow to begin with, but as you connect to more and more peers (seeds and leechers), it will steadily increase.

  One of the greatest limiting factors on your download speed, will actually be how much you’re currently uploading. It’ll seem a little contradictory to the process to be stingy, but you want to limit your upload speed while you’re downloading to get the best performance out of your internet. The simplest way to think about it, is to imagine your download and upload bandwidth as a large pipe, and if your upload is reaching it’s potential, there’s no room left for your download speed to do the same (upload takes priority in this scenario). To avoid limiting your download speed while you’re torrenting, you will want to limit your global upload speed. If you set your client to a global limit (usually to 20kb/s), no matter how many torrents you’re running simultaneously, your overall maximum upload will not surpass 20kb/s; your client will determine which torrent gets how much upload, and you won’t have to worry about it. It’s good practice to upload at least 20kb/s, I’ve noticed that when I’m more generous with my upload, my download will be rewarded by the tracker (the server that governs the connections between all seeds and leechers). To get a good idea of how much you can afford to upload without limiting your download, visit www.speakeasy.net/speedtest, choose a location close to yours, and observe the results.

  

  Setting your limits in Transmission

  To be safe, set your upload limit at least 10-20kb/s below your maximum if you’re only torrenting; if you’re using your computer and surfing the internet and doing other tasks at the same time, you’ll notice considerable lack of speed. Set your torrent download maximum 100kb/s below your potential, and upload 30-40kb/s below your potential, and you should be able to surf with minimal disturbance.

  

  Setting your limits in uTorrent

  I feel an imperative to encourage you to keep your torrents running after they have completed downloading. Once you reach 100%, you will become a seed, and peers that connect to you will only be those who have yet to complete the download themselves. Keeping your torrent running after completion, sustains this process and allows it to thrive – makes the content available to more people; after all, you would not have this content to share had someone not made it available to you in the first place. It’s good practice to seed until you’ve reached a 1.00 ratio (uploading and downloading equal). However, you should be aware of your monthly bandwidth allocation before you start mass-uploading or mass-downloading.

  A couple years after the internet became a big deal, internet providers quickly realized that people were abusing file sharing, and they started limiting how much you can download and upload in a month (your bandwidth limit). For a novice user, this limit is hard to surpass; but for an avid torrent user – a whole different story. Make a good balance of give and take, make sure that you’re not surpassing your limits, but don’t be stingy and close your torrents as soon as they’re complete, a selfish world can’t sustain itself – remember the 1:1 ratio!

  Step 5: Enjoying your content!

  The last little part is just running your media. Sometimes there are special codecs, or you’re forced to download strange file formats for obscure movies that were encoded years ago. The most popular application to run various kinds of audio/video files, is called VLC media player. It’s supported on all Windows and OS X platforms, and is available on their website, www.videolan.org, in the downloads section.

  

  Associating *.avi files with VLC in OS X

  Once you’ve downloaded and installed the application (on Windows, just run the installer, and click next until you’re finished. On OS X, open the *.dmg file, and copy ALL of the contents into a folder named VLC in the applications folder), you’ll need to make sure that files are being associated properly. This means that when you’re double clicking a newly downloaded *.avi file, VLC launches automatically instead of whatever native software that would run these files. Lucky for you Windows users, VLC will automatically change the association, your job is done, feel free to enjoy whatever it is that you’ve downloaded; for OS X users, you’ll have to follow one last step:

  Find the downloaded file, and open the file’s properties. You can do this by either right clicking, and choosing ‘Get Info’, or holding the Apple Key and then pushing I. Once this is done, under ‘Open with’ click the drop down, choose ‘Other…’ and find the VLC application, choose, then make sure before you close the dialog, hit “Change All” so you won’t have to do this for each individual file.

  In addition to this guide, I’ve posted video tutorials which show me (from start to finish) setting up and downloading using the clients described above. If you’re on OS X click here, if you’re using Windows click here.

  Hopefully this guide has been more than just useful for you; if you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact me.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/rookies-guide-bittorrent/feed/ 3 http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/5-useful-sites/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/5-useful-sites/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:33:34 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1010 I use the internet a lot – every day. Anytime I need to look something up, or I need an answer; It’s no secret that it’s a tremendously useful resource, but I’m certain there are people out there who don’t use it to it’s full potential. It’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be half the guru [...]]]> I use the internet a lot – every day. Anytime I need to look something up, or I need an answer; It’s no secret that it’s a tremendously useful resource, but I’m certain there are people out there who don’t use it to it’s full potential. It’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be half the guru I am today without access to the internet. Let’s talk about a few sites that have made my development possible.

  6 Craigslist.org

  

  craigslist classifieds

  If you’ve ever needed to sell something quickly, or buy something for cheap, you probably would have succeeded (or done so much faster) had you had Craigslist at your disposal. Craigslist is a free classifieds website where you can go to find, or to post, anything from sales of random household objects, to full job listings.

  To use Craigslist efficiently, you have to be an educated consumer with enough patience to not let the scammers and fakes get to you. Unfortunately, since craigslist is free, online, and has little to no moderation, there are many people who post or try to buy with the intention of defrauding someone. The site does have a section on how to avoid/spot the scammers, which is worth a read if you’re a newbie. Not to worry though, a little common sense goes far; you’re likely to be able to weed them out yourself. I’ve personally gone through dozens of craigslist transactions, worry-free, with the occasional haggler who gets on my nerves, but can happily report that it’s been something that has helped me, tremendously.

  note: for Canadians, Kijiji.ca can also be consulted, it’s a little more annoying with ads and an optional pay system, but should be recognized as a notable resource.

  5 Linkedin.com

  

  Relationships Matter - Linkedin

  Linkedin is social networking website for professionals – essentially a Facebook for all the working men and women of the world. A user’s profile essentially becomes his or her pseudo resumé.  On Linkedin, you’re able to view someone’s current and past work experience, recommendations from peers and colleagues, and connect to interact in any capacity (hopefully professional).

  You should know by now that people you’re acquainted with are one of your greatest resources. One day you may need to find a lawyer to help you out of a tight spot, or a contractor to commission some work that you’ve never had to do before. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find someone that you know, or someone who comes highly recommend by your peers? Possibly read a couple recommendations and reviews at the same time?

  What if job hunting starts to take it’s toll? Maybe you wanted help from someone close to you; Linkedin will show you if there are people who are in powerful positions with certain employers, who are in your immediate network. They themselves may even have positions for work, short term or otherwise, available to you.

  If you happen to be an employer, Linkedin can also help you check up on someone before making a big hire. It’s obviously no substitute for a background check or a personal reference, but it’s a good piece of the puzzle.

  4 Facebook.com

  

  Facebook

  Facebook comes out a head of Linkedin a little bit, just because of it’s sheer popularity. It’s a simple yet complete social networking website, for you to make connections with friends and family. You put up some information and a couple pictures if you want, and  you’re ready to go.

  The reason I believe Facebook is handy is because you’re able to find anyone in your life, quickly, no matter who or where they are. It’s safe to say that anyone and everyone you’ve had any prolonged exposure to is going to be on your Facebook list. It’s easy to look someone up, find an email or a phone number, or just send them a message in Facebook to get in touch with them. Whether it’s a friend from university or high-school that you happen to know has a specialty in computers, or a friend from elementary school that you’d like to reconnect with. It’s easy to find people from your past, and make connections for your future.

  I currently have something in the 800s of Facebook “friends” on my list, and anytime I need someone or something, the first thing I do is think about whether I have them on Facebook or not. Sometimes I’ll need to address a large group of people or organize an event, and I’ll use Facebook to set it up, and send out invitations. Rather than hunting down everyone’s email address, I use Facebook and it saves me a lot of time. I’m currently part way through writing a book, and I’ve surveyed dozens of people on my list to help me with content, or to help me find a resource that will allow me to further logistics for publishing.

  3 YouTube.com

  

  Broadcast Yourself.

  YouTube is a popular video website which allows users, networks, and even major corporations to upload movies visible to the public, absolutely free. Your little brother can upload a video from his hockey practice, and BBC can post an interview with one of your favorite celebrities so you’re able to re-watch. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a random or quirky video, or you just need to kill a little time; sifting through YouTube videos allows you to do just that. YouTube can also be accessed on your blog by simply embedding videos on your site, or on your cellphone (if your manufacturer supports it).

  YouTube is handy because sometimes reading and learning on the internet can get stale. Sometimes you want to listen to someone’s voice or you want to see someone demonstrate. I’ve watched videos that have taught me how to upgrade memory on my laptop, exchange a hard-drive, and even repair my iPhone. There are also videos that teach you how to drive a manual transmission, how to dance, demonstrate proper form for weight-lifting and body building, and so much more. It’s likely that if you’re looking for a tutorial for something – someone has made a YouTube video to show you exactly, step by step, what you need to do.

  2 Wikipedia.org

  

  Wikipedia

  Remember that old dusty encyclopedia collection your parents have sitting somewhere in the basement? Imagine if within those 26 books,  you could fit more than 3.5 million articles. Wikipedia answers that call. Anything under the sun you need to read about, exists on Wikipedia.

  Traumatic insemination, the Humanzee, and Larry Walters are three articles that jump out at me (100% random) that I’ve learned of today, which are all informative and interesting in their own way. You can search for anything (and I mean 99.9% of anything you can think of), and it’s likely to have a Wikipedia page.

  The bittersweet reality of Wikipediahowever, is that it is a user-edited publically accessed database; so it is within the realm of possibility that you’re to read information that isn’t 100% accurate; but it does serve as a good start. Using Wikipedia can be a good resource to begin work and/or research, only to confirm further through outside sources. It’s my go-to lookup tool!

  1 Google.com

  It’s no surprise that Google is at the top (or bottom, har har) of this list. It requires no introduction or explanation; without a doubt one of the greatest organizations of our generation, which is to be written into the history books. It would do Google no justice if I were to list a couple of their services, so if you do want to know more (than I’m sure you already do) just head over to Google’s About page and read up for yourself.

  

  Google

  Bookmark all six of these sites, and make one of them your homepage; you’re sure to thank me someday.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2010/5-useful-sites/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/att-strikes-back/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/att-strikes-back/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:11:21 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1025 Needless to say, it didn’t take them very long; Luke Wilson jumps into a short 30 second skit showing USA why they might want to consider sticking, or signing up with AT&T.

  Needless to say, it didn’t take them very long; Luke Wilson jumps into a short 30 second skit showing USA why they might want to consider sticking, or signing up with AT&T.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/att-strikes-back/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/verizon-vs-att/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/verizon-vs-att/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:43:09 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=1017 It’s always entertaining to see two big rival corporations going at it, publicly. Recently, Verizon wireless released an ad that was allegedly misleading, and damaging to the image of the company. In a move that you don’t see very often, AT&T addressed the ad and shot down the credibility of their rival with facts, [...]]]> It’s always entertaining to see two big rival corporations going at it, publicly. Recently, Verizon wireless released an ad that was allegedly misleading, and damaging to the image of the company. In a move that you don’t see very often, AT&T addressed the ad and shot down the credibility of their rival with facts, instead of the “smoke and mirrors” Verizon had to offer.

  
  

  Essentially what’s being displayed on the map is the lack of 3G coverage by AT&T. This doesn’t mean that they don’t get data coverage; the EDGE network is available to 97% of the population (according to AT&T). What sucks though, is that someone who want to buy an iPhone, who lives in an area that isn’t ‘blue’, is pretty much out of luck. At the moment, AT&T has the exclusive to the iPhone and Verizon doesn’t carry it, so even if they have super awesome 3G coverage, it’s meaningless without (in my opinion) the device that paved the way for the technology to be fully utilized.

  The following was posting on AT&T’s website in response to the ad you just watched:

  To Our Customers:

  As the U.S. market leader in wireless data service, we typically don’t respond to competitors’ advertising. However, some recent ads from Verizon are so blatantly false and misleading, that we want to set the record straight about AT&T’s wireless data coverage.

  The key facts are:

  AT&T’s wireless data coverage reaches 303 million people – or 97% of the U.S. population, where they live and work. Our data coverage consists of 3 different types of technology:
  3G. 233 million people or 75% of the population are covered by AT&T’s 3G network, the nation’s fastest.
  EDGE. 301 million people or more than 96% of the population are covered by EDGE.
  With both 3G and EDGE coverage, customers can access the Internet, send e-mail, surf the Web, stream music, download videos, send photos, text, talk and more. The only difference – with some data applications, 3G is faster than EDGE
  GPRS. Covers 303 million people, allowing you to talk, text, e-mail and access basic websites optimized for wireless.
  AT&T is the #1 network for smartphones, with twice the number of smartphone customers than Verizon, our closest competitor. Some of the reasons include:

  Most popular smartphones. Unlike Verizon, AT&T offers the most popular smartphones in the industry.

  More wireless apps. Unlike Verizon, AT&T customers have access to more than 100,000 applications, more than with any other wireless company.

  Talk and E-mail at the same time. Unlike Verizon, AT&T’s 3G network lets wireless customers simultaneously talk and surf the web or do e-mail.

  Fastest 3G in the nation. Unlike Verizon, AT&T has the nation’s fastest 3G network.

  Thank you for allowing us to set the record straight. We appreciate your business and will continue to work hard to deliver the best wireless data experience in the industry.

  Your AT&T Team

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/verizon-vs-att/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/mobileme/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/mobileme/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:21:47 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=891 MobileMe is a nifty little feature that’s taken advantage of predominantly by (but not limited to) iPhone 3G & 3GS users. It offers a nifty little way of keeping everything in your life synced up, while adding some cool innovative (and oh so Apple worthy unique) features.

  We’ll get to those, but first let’s take a look [...]]]> MobileMe is a nifty little feature that’s taken advantage of predominantly by (but not limited to) iPhone 3G & 3GS users. It offers a nifty little way of keeping everything in your life synced up, while adding some cool innovative (and oh so Apple worthy unique) features.

  We’ll get to those, but first let’s take a look at how it works:

  MobileMe uses ‘push’ technology, which means that it forces new data to your phone when it becomes available. This means that e-mail, contacts, calendar events, and more are all being sent to your phone in real time. No need to worry about connecting your phone with cables, or waiting for annoying sync times to process to add a simple phone number, or calendar event.

  On top of this, you’re also granted an email account (a.name.of.your.choice@me.com), and 20GB of personal hard-drive space for your ‘cloud’. This cloud is what keeps all your information up to date and current. It means that no matter what happens to your personal computer or iPhone/iPod, your data is being stored somewhere ready to be downloaded should you lose/damage/get robbed/accidentally delete it. Oh, and I did say ‘personal computer’, it’s PC and Mac compatible.

  This space isn’t just for all I’ve stated before though, you’re also able to store any types of files that you wish (that are also allowed, no storing unlicensed media or software!). With MobileMe, you get what’s called an iDisk, that is space for you to keep other files backed up. Pictures, music, movies and anything else you want to backup can be stored here, and ready and remotely accessible from any location. Think of it as your own personal USB stick on the internet, viewable by you, and anyone you choose.

  Now… I want to get to what I call one of the best ten year old ideas, that has finally been implemented. Phones have been using GPS and data services for a long while now, but I’m sure many of you (myself included in this group) have misplaced your phone somewhere in your house, had it on silent or vibrate, and not been able to find it for hours. Better yet, how many of you have had a hectic day, gotten home and realized it’s quite possible you left your phone behind at one of twenty different places you were today, and have no feasible way of backtracking within any reasonable time to find your phone? Well, watch onward and be amazed at what Apple is bringing you.

  (Also enjoy a small demo of other features I’ve spoken prior, plus a couple more).

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcKZsduvns

  The cost is $99 USD / $109 CAD annually for the service; Apple graciously also offers a 60 day full-service trial for you to check out for yourself. No obligation, can cancel anytime, but when signing up a credit card is required, and a day past your trial you’re charged for the year, so make sure you know a week in advance whether you’re going to commit to the service or not.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/mobileme/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v3/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v3/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:48:37 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=886 Ten years ago you didn’t really have much of a choice; laptops weren’t that prevalent; so if you told someone you had a computer, they probably assumed you had a home PC or Mac; one that was on a desk somewhere in your house that didn’t have the great luxury of portability. Those were the old [...]]]> Ten years ago you didn’t really have much of a choice; laptops weren’t that prevalent; so if you told someone you had a computer, they probably assumed you had a home PC or Mac; one that was on a desk somewhere in your house that didn’t have the great luxury of portability. Those were the old days though; we don’t have to deal with that anymore.

  For the past little while they’ve been on the move; executives, young professionals, students – all need to use a computer, and require it to be portable most of the time. The fact that a computer is portable means that engineers have to make some concessions when they’re designing units; obviously this means draw backs. Typically: a smaller display, congested and less than full keyboard, no external mouse, smaller hard-drive, and an audio system that is nothing to brag of.

  Sometimes, it’s best to be working at a desk, sitting up right, instead of slouching and lounging on the couch. A more professional and/or formal setting helps you work a little more efficiently; at least that’s what I’ve found. I can’t use Adobe Photoshop or Premiere (image & video editing) as efficiently as I could without a mouse and full keyboard, let alone the desktop space.

  My solution is what you see before you:

  

  My Macbook setup with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse

  A wireless mouse and full keyboard ($39.99) attached via USB (operating through the wireless transponder). A 21.5″ Samsung LCD display ($149.99 a year ago, bought it on sale) allowing me to take advantage of dual display – attached via DVI to my MacBook’s Mini-DVI to DVI adapter ($25.00), and a 1TB external/portable hard-drive ($109.99, again on sale) to store all my television shows and movies.

  Everything you see above, I find to be nothing short of a necessity for a good workspace. Personally, I find that I do my best work when I’m at a desk and using a full setup. My Macbook is great on the road, but when I’m home and want to get into ‘work mode’, the desk with a complete setup is where I need to be. On top of that, without that portable drive, I wouldn’t be able to store the hundreds of hours of entertainment that I have so readily available.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v3/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v2/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v2/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:30:52 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=884 All routers are not created equal. Sometimes you bring one home and for one reason or another; you have to restart it a couple times a week. It isn’t configured properly, it isn’t compatible with an older machine, it’s a hassle to manage, and doesn’t make life any easier. There are obviously plenty of routers out [...]]]> All routers are not created equal. Sometimes you bring one home and for one reason or another; you have to restart it a couple times a week. It isn’t configured properly, it isn’t compatible with an older machine, it’s a hassle to manage, and doesn’t make life any easier. There are obviously plenty of routers out there that work great, that are problem free, and maybe it’s the Apple fanboy in me that wants to push this product, but believe me, it’s worth it.
  

  Front & Back View of the Airport Extreme Base Station

  I’ll be honest there are only a few features (that I use) that make it my router of choice.

  With a USB slot, you’re able to connect a printer turn your wired printer, wireless. You can also choose to connect an external/portable drive and turn it into an extra hard-drive for everyone on your WiFi network. If you feel like having one or the other (or several of each), you can go out and also buy a USB switch, and turn one port into four or more. Share a printer, and a couple hard-drives on your network. Did I mention that you can also share your drive over the Internet? It isn’t just for local networks, you can choose to broadcast your drives over the internet, so they aren’t just local.

  One extra perk that Mac users get, is the ability to use ‘Back to My Mac’ if you’re a MobileMe subscriber; allowing you to remote back into your Mac connected to the router at home, from wherever you are; it’s pretty sweet.

  Other features you might find useful include the advantageous latest Wireless-N protocol, parental controls, guest wifi networking, true dual band, and an incredibly aesthetically pleasing look and feel.
  

  

  Can't argue with beauty.

  The Airport Extreme Base Station is available for purchase in any of Apple’s retail locations or online at their Web Store.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v2/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/customer-service-koodo/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/customer-service-koodo/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:44:14 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=894 Say no to bigbillification - says Koodo

  Recently my girlfriend had run into a little trouble with her cellphone service provider; having moved recently (with a less than functional phone), she had to get a new phone and a new plan. Long story short, she racked up a $600 phone bill due to a small error [...]]]>

  Say no to bigbillification - says Koodo

  Recently my girlfriend had run into a little trouble with her cellphone service provider; having moved recently (with a less than functional phone), she had to get a new phone and a new plan. Long story short, she racked up a $600 phone bill due to a small error in setting her plan up. She wasn’t the only one to blame, but had been stuck with the final due, and after speaking with three different customer service representatives, each being increasingly ‘ranked’ with the company, I came to nothing short of a resolution.

  Furious with the last person I spoke with on the phone (also known as ‘Warren’, floor manager’), I asked to speak to someone he was accountable to; not only because I wasn’t getting what I wanted, but because I was being treated poorly. He sent me to Koodo’s website informing me that “If you want to complain about me, you can email us through our website.” That I did, Warren:

  some names, numbers and locations have been changed to protect privacy

  The following was e-mailed to customerservice@koodomobile.com.

  This is a serious & urgent matter that I expect to be addressed by the office of the president of customer service for Koodo mobile.

  This matter is in regard to the customer service call that was made by me on behalf of account holder ‘Regina Lasko’ for Stephanie Birkitt (her daughter) who manages the account. Phone number is currently 123.456.7899. I’m speaking on both of their behalves in this matter, they’re being CC’ed and are aware of the situation, and are as infuriated as I am.

  Stephanie (who the phone belong’s to) moved to Frenchville, Quebec at the end of August. Upon arrival, she purchased a new phone because her old one had stopped charging. She went to a Koodo Mobile location in a local mall and also decided adjusted her plan to better suit her needs. The major change made was the adding of the ‘My-5′ plan. When asked how to program the numbers, she was instructed to go home and do it online as it would save her money (since self-serving online saves money). After the activation of her new phone, she was unable to access her old phone’s address book. It’s important to note here that her old phone was de-activated WITHOUT warning. Stephanie went home and added her boyfriends number as one of her ‘5′ (or so she thought) but accidentally entered a 416 area code instead of a 647 (both Toronto area codes). So for the following month every time she called her boyfriend (which she thought was on her plan) she was being charged minutes in overage, and long distance. As soon as she got her bill she realized what a horrible mistake she had made. Stephanie had racked up more than $540.00 worth of overages, and was quite overwhelmed when she discovered what she had done.

  I called Koodo trying to resolve this misunderstanding, I explained that it was clearly a mistake, that at no point had Stephanie tried calling “416.123.4567″, but was only calling the intended “647.123.4567″. She wasn’t trying to scam the system, wasn’t trying to take advantage of anyone, she was just using what she thought was part of her agreement. I tried being diplomatic, explaining that she had never called Koodo in her year of being a customer for some sort of credit, but got little to no help.

  The first gentlemen I spoke with was useless, he said it was Koodo’s stance to not provide any credit for this error, which was entirely her fault. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and he told me the same thing, but said he was willing (upon receiving his superior’s approval) to provide a “$100.00 goodwill credit for the trouble”. I still, was unsatisfied. It’s unreasonable to not see the tragedy of the situation and be empathetic and grant some clemency here and credit the entire amount which this one minuscule error has caused. I asked to speak with the supervisor’s superior, and he put me on the phone with a man who referred himself as a the “Floor Manager”. His name he would only give as ‘Warren’, his “XID” he gave as 121523.

  I made the following points to try to convince him to make a one time exception in this case:

  • It was a simple mistake, that would not be repeated; she didn’t access the number she put in because it wasn’t her intention to put 416, it should have been 647.
  • Her old phone (with the correct number) was inaccessible at the time of entry because her old phone had been deactivated, by one of your agents. Your agent did not warn her that her old phone would no longer be accessible in any way shape or form, after de-activation.
  • She wasn’t using her phone to get something she didn’t think she already had active on her plan. There was no malicious intent.
  • There has never been an issue with her bill in the past, she’s had overages and has paid them willingly, even though the plan she was on wasn’t suited to her needs.
  • Offering a $100 ‘goodwill credit’ is just a weasely way of trying to trick her into paying the rest of it. Koodo would still be receiving an extra $440 for something Stephanie didn’t know was costing her anything. Offering ANY CREDIT AT ALL, is admitting that you agree with our position and arguments, but still want to try and sneak some extra money to pad your bottom line. While I understand it’s a business, your customer’s loyalty should come first. Without all these people who are putting their faith into your new company, there wouldn’t be any money coming in to pay YOUR bills.
  • She’s been a good loyal customer for almost a year; this was her first cell phone and she chose Koodo because she wanted to deal with a smaller company who wasn’t going to treat her as just another number, just another payout; she wanted to be a valued customer, and wanted her hard-earned money to be appreciated. She’s a student full-time and works an erroneous amount of hours to support herself; she’s the first person who would be granted some sort of leniency in this sort of situation.
  • Stephanie’s cellphone usage is fix cost; she would be paying a extra $540.00, but it hadn’t cost you any extra money for her the entire month she was using the phone; crediting her bill for this amount wouldn’t cost you any loss; you just wouldn’t receive any surprise ‘gain’ at the hand of an innocent consumer.
  • Koodo is getting a nice $540.00 bonus from a simple mistake, one that I firmly believe if was made with a small company of a small personal clientele, they would rush to fix the error. A good business man values his clients, and sees them as people, with individual needs. A corporation is nothing without business ethic, and charging Stephanie for this amount would be nothing short of criminal; I’ve personally been handed a $1500 rogers bill before for cellphone data usage, one that came in error, and they rushed quickly to fix it for me, because I’ve been a customer for 5 years. The Vice-President of Rogers customer service handled that specific incident personally. When I call, they listen; they’re receptive to my individual needs. If this amount isn’t credited you’ll be losing a customer as soon as she’s out of her contract. I, would personally advise her to refuse payment immediately. If you credited this amount, she would be overjoyed and would feel compelled to remain a Koodo customer much longer than her agreement dictates. Instead of losing her business tomorrow, you’d be pleasing a potentially long-term customer. Knowing her personally I’d tell you, you’d get another 4 years of service (finishing university), 48 months * her current plan, exceeds $2000.00. It only makes sense for you to keep customers happy, to have them in the long run. You can either lose $540.00 today (an amount you would make back in a year, easily, which you would otherwise not since she would abandon her service with you), or make more than $2000.00 over the next couple of years, which makes more sense?

  Setting my arguments aside, I wanted to make special mention that the ‘Floor Manager’ Warren was LESS than helpful. He repeated his database of responses from a script like a robot, used phrases like “I appreciate and understand your frustration but offered no more than a $100 credit, which he called goodwill” as if we were needy and desperate. If you appreciated or understood someone’s frustration, then you’d be quick to help, he was not. He spoke down, wasn’t respectful, and would not dignify questions I was posing with legitimate responses. I wanted to speak with one of his superiors or a supervisor, and he instructed me to contact this e-mail address on your website. He said “It’s Stephanie’s fault for not putting in the right number, she made the error” “I could understand if it was one digit off, like a 9 instead of an 8, but she clearly put the wrong area code, that’s her fault.” This man was even trying to mock the situation telling us that if she had made less of a mistake, it wouldn’t be a problem, but because she put 416 instead of 647 (which I maintain, is an understandable mistake – both being Toronto area codes) she was stuck to pay the bill herself.

  I would be satisfied with nothing less than a phone call from someone with some certain authority. Head of customer service of Koodo should be made aware of this, and contact me immediately. I want to speak with someone who is going to reprimand this employee, and assure me that his behaviour was an error in judgement.

  You may reach me at 416-123-4567, a message may be left for Marc if I’m not available.

  Kind regards,

  Marc Cizravi

  Within minutes I received a reply telling me that this matter was being taken seriously and was being addressed by one of the managers. The next day, I received a call from a man who will remain nameless, from Koodo who discussed the matter with me for 15 minutes. At the end of our talk, he asked me what I thought was fair, I told him (entire credit), and within two days Stephanie only had to pay her intended $50.00 monthly fee.

  

  KoodoMobile

  At this point I’d like to make special mention and commend the manager who was cooperative. This shows that through the proper channels you find that there are good people working for large organizations like this, who are looking out for the little people, and keeping your best interests at heart, while they protect their own.

  The lesson to take away here is that you can’t take no for an answer. The customer is always right, and she/he should always be appreciated.

  Make sure you formulate several rational arguments, and present them clearly. Be firm of your position; as soon as you show weakness or admit fault, you lose.

  You need to be passionate about what you’re trying to defend, but you must also remain calm; if you become emotional they’ll stop listening, and will chalk your behaviour up to irrational moodiness, and won’t take you seriously.

  Maintain a professional attitude, and you’ll be treated as a professional.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/customer-service-koodo/feed/ 7 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/lonelyisland/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/lonelyisland/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:52:33 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=947 I don’t know if you’ve heard of Lonely Island, but here are two videos that they’ve made for popular late night television show Saturday Nigh Live. You really need to ask yourself how in gods name does anyone become so freaking hilarious:

  I don’t know if you’ve heard of Lonely Island, but here are two videos that they’ve made for popular late night television show Saturday Nigh Live. You really need to ask yourself how in gods name does anyone become so freaking hilarious:

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/lonelyisland/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v1/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v1/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:10 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=858 If you’re a TV and or Movie buff and you’ve never heard of Apple TV, you’re missing out. Apple has had (for a couple years now) been selling a unit called ‘Apple TV’ that allows you to view your computer media on your high and/or standard definition television. Movies, television shows, high quality movie trailers (streamed [...]]]> If you’re a TV and or Movie buff and you’ve never heard of Apple TV, you’re missing out. Apple has had (for a couple years now) been selling a unit called ‘Apple TV’ that allows you to view your computer media on your high and/or standard definition television. Movies, television shows, high quality movie trailers (streamed directly from apple.com), podcasts, photos and more; all viewable at the touch of a button. You’re even able to purchase or rent movies & television shows directly through your TV using the iTunes store; it’s really cool.

  Your Apple TV unit connects to your television either by HDMI, DVI or High/Standard definition composite cables, and to your home network (wirelessly, or directly via ethernet). For Mac OS X users, you’ll be happy to know that the interface much resembles (if not replicates) the Front Row application experience. For Microsoft Windows users, don’t you worry; Apple does a great job of making this little piece of technology as easy to use as your microwave.

  
  

  The unit comes in two sizes, 40GB & 160GB, which allows for local storage, accessible regardless of your computers status. You manage the media on like you would any other device connected to iTunes (iPod, iPhone) and select what you want to synchronize. If for some reason, you have more media than Apple TV allows you to store (which I do), you’re forced to stream the rest of it live, through iTunes (meaning your computer must be connected at the time of viewing).

  The remote that comes along with it is one you may also recognize if you’re a Mac user; the same remote that came stock with the old Macbook and Macbook Pros comes along with your Apple TV for easy to use enjoyment of all your home content. No struggling with hundreds of complicated functions – It’s easy, and it’s fun.

  Now to finish it off with a little honesty – I download all my movies and television shows using Bit-Torrent, convert them, and store them in iTunes for easy browsing. At this moment, I have more than 94 seasons, from 15 different tv shows, and close to 200 movies available (for those of you who are curious, that’s more than 1000 hours of video) to view at the touch of a button; no waiting, no loading, and best of all – free of charge. If you’ve got a passion for TV or Movies, this is definitely something you should be spending money on.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/technology-v1/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/5-rules-better-driver/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/5-rules-better-driver/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:34:42 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=830 Even the calmest of drivers can get annoyed. I’ve been known to be a not-so-patient driver, and I’ve maybe vocalized my frustrations on the road once or twice, but there are some things that people do that just boggle my mind. Some habits are just irrational, and some are probably the result of drivers being less [...]]]> Even the calmest of drivers can get annoyed. I’ve been known to be a not-so-patient driver, and I’ve maybe vocalized my frustrations on the road once or twice, but there are some things that people do that just boggle my mind. Some habits are just irrational, and some are probably the result of drivers being less than confident on the road, or inconsiderate; never the less, following these 5 ‘rules’ will make you a better drive, and help improve the flow of traffic in your city.
  

  1. Respect the passing lane.

  The furthest left lane anywhere on the road (residential, downtown, or the highway) is always the passing lane. If you’re driving the speed limit you shouldn’t be driving in the passing lane; you driving 60km/h in a 60 zone, taking up the passing lane, is a nuisance. You’re obviously supposed to be following the law, but we’re all human and it’s up to us whether we want to drive faster, and risk the consequences. No cops are writing tickets for driving 10km over the limit, or 20km over the limit on the highway anyway. If for some reason you are speeding in the passing lane, and someone is still tailing you, that means that they’re willing to drive faster than you are, and you’re holding them up, change lanes, merge right and let them pass you, then get back to the left lane if you wish.

  The one argument I hear is “Oh well you shouldn’t be speeding anyway, it’s dangerous.” That may be true, but you’re not a police officer, if you have a problem with people speeding, go talk to your mayor and have him make speeding a $1000 fine, maybe people wouldn’t risk it. All you do by trying to slow people down by being a turtle in the passing lane, is anger people, and enable road rage that some people are quite prone to. If you need to make a left turn up ahead, wait until you absolutely have to be in the left lane to make your turn, don’t be proactive and block traffic for 3 blocks.
  

  2. Merging on the highway.

  It becomes apparent that some people don’t know you’re supposed to drive the speed limit of whichever highway you’re about to merge onto. If you don’t, you’re either: A) Being unsafe because merging 80km/h when everyone else is driving 100km/h can cause an accident. B) Being rude to the drivers behind you who are trying to follow the rules and can’t because you’re being a monkey. C) Risking your own safety since you may not be able to merge at all, and run out of onramp since everyone is zooming past you while you think about what a terrible driver you are.
  

  3. Right on red.

  In most cities, states and provinces (pretty much all of them except for Montreal island) you’re allowed to make a right turn on a red light. This means that if there are numerous lanes on the street which you’ve chosen to use, you should avoid clogging up the right lane if you aren’t planning on turning. This also means, that you should be aware that if you’re not making every effort to turn (as soon as possible) you’re creating traffic. I would be a millionaire if I received a dollar for every time I got stuck behind some hesitant idiot not being able to put his foot on the gas and take a quick right, helping everyone out behind him. Yes, you read that properly, a millionaire; and I’ve only been on the road for 5 years. Do the math, or better yet, just make a quick right instead of slowing us all down; you’re killing me, slowly.

  4. Only enter, if you can exit.

  This is a great one. Have you ever seen some idiot drive during rush-hour traffic, try and make it to be the last one to cross an intersection before a red light, just so he can be at the end of the next line? What happens? He gets stuck halfway in the intersection because there’s no room on the other side. What exactly are you rushing to? The red light? The huge lineup of cars on the other side of the intersection? Well, good job, not only have you screwed yourself further because the pedestrian traffic is now crossing, but perpendicular traffic can’t cross anymore; you’re congesting the city you drive in even further, and inconveniencing everyone in the near vicinity. In case I need to remind you once more, you’re a big idiot, good day.

  5. Enter the intersection if you’re making a left turn.

  If you’re in the left turn lane, and the light turns green, that means that you enter the intersection and wait until it’s clear to make a left turn. In a minor intersection, one vehicle enters, and in a major intersection, two. This means you don’t wait until the yellow light to get in the intersection. You wait until the yellow to make your left, and anyone behind you is forced to wait another cycle. More time wasted, more cars on the road, more congestion.
  In case you’re one of the clueless ones out there (don’t worry, I can keep a secret) a major intersection has an island in the middle of the road, facing you, when you’re trying to make a left turn, and a minor one doesn’t.

  follow these simple guidelines, it makes for a happier, more efficient road.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/5-rules-better-driver/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/twitteleh/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/twitteleh/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:26:32 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=823 Came across this and thought it was freaking hilarious.

  Twitter for your Jewish Mother! Written by: Reg Tigerman Directed and Edited by : Matt Johnson Starring: Reg Tigerman Emily Tigerman Dov Kogen Matt Johnson [...]]]> Came across this and thought it was freaking hilarious.

  Twitter for your Jewish Mother! Written by: Reg Tigerman Directed and Edited by : Matt Johnson Starring: Reg Tigerman Emily Tigerman Dov Kogen Matt Johnson Barry Mottier

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/twitteleh/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/bit-torrent-osx/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/bit-torrent-osx/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 06:22:15 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=743 The following videos are part one & two of setting up and using the bit-torrent client Tranmission. These video guides should be viewed after having read through the written tutorial that I’ve put together here. It’s a supplement, not a replacement, so make sure you’ve taken a look before viewing the following:
  1 of 2 – Learn [...]]]> The following videos are part one & two of setting up and using the bit-torrent client Tranmission. These video guides should be viewed after having read through the written tutorial that I’ve put together here. It’s a supplement, not a replacement, so make sure you’ve taken a look before viewing the following:

  1 of 2 – Learn To Bit-Torrent Tutorial – OS X

  
  
  

  2 of 2 – Learn To Bit-Torrent Tutorial – OS X

  
  As usual, if there is something you feel has gone overlooked, or there are gaps in your understanding, feel free to contact me and ask any follow up questions, I encourage it.
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/bit-torrent-osx/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/racism-and-quotas/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/racism-and-quotas/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 00:52:21 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=617 Recently, my friends and I got into a heated debate regarding the presence of racism in our world, but more specifically our proximal society. We were talking about affirmative action in the 1980s and how it opened the doors to the pseudo equality that we enjoy today.

  As we progressed, we started talking about social quotas and [...]]]> Recently, my friends and I got into a heated debate regarding the presence of racism in our world, but more specifically our proximal society. We were talking about affirmative action in the 1980s and how it opened the doors to the pseudo equality that we enjoy today.

  As we progressed, we started talking about social quotas and I was a little surprised to find out that they still exist. The specific example brought to my attention was of certain medical-schools requiring 5% percent of their admissions to be of African-American descent, and 10% required to be East Asian (the races and figures I’ve chosen are arbitrary, just for arguments sake).

  Now let me address why I think this is quite possibly one of the stupidest systems that’s in place, and how this is actually promoting, and sustaining racism in our current time.

  Let’s say that there are 100 ‘white’ people and 100 ‘black’ people applying to a specific school and there’s room for 50 students; this school decides that it’s a good idea to have at least 40% of their applicants be black, just because they want to be fair and allow everyone a chance at acceptance. While they think they’re “evening the playing field”, all they’re doing is sending a message saying: “Without this quota, you probably wouldn’t have a shot.” Now, assuming that of these 200 applicants, all of them are more than qualified, but because you want to feed from the top rather than the bottom of the class for obvious reasons, you’re going to choose the best of these 200 applicants.

  Let’s say that this particular year (again, this is JUST for arguments sake, I’m trying to illustrate a point) the 40 best students of the 200, were white, and the next 10 were black; in a perfect world we would assume that these 50 guys & girls would receive an acceptance. Now, because of the required 40% acceptance rate for ‘black’ students, you need to have at least 20 of these students be black. Because of the “affirmative” action that this school is supporting, there are 10 ‘white’ students who have earned the spot, and merit the acceptance, who are getting screwed out of it because of their descent or skin colour. All you’re doing is supporting the racism that you’re trying to eradicate. There are 10 ‘black’ students who are getting into this school, despite not being as qualified as the 31st-40th ‘white’ students who have applied. Does that seem right?

  To look at it a different way… what if a school has a quota that stipulates: 20% of acceptance must be given to east-Asian students, but of all the applicants, east-Asians only account for 5% of the group. Now you have students who might surely be at the bottom of the barrel getting in, just because the school has to uphold a certain image, and maintain their position that they are a multicultural, diverse institution which supports all and provides no favouritism; yeah, nice try.

  I’m not going to pretend that certain races are availed benefits in certain places in the world. It’s an unwritten rule that people tend to stick to their own… to an extent. It’s unfortunate that in the past certain races have had to face injustices, and had to endure hardships, but the reality is: if you want to live in a perfect world, you have to let go of all the bad that you’ve had to endure, and set an example. The old saying goes “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

  The advice I have to anyone who’s treated differently or treated poorly because they’re of a different race, or because they’re different in any way, is just to ignore it. Feel bad for the person who’s still racist in 2009. People are allowed to have reservations, but if they’re under the impression that superiority comes from skin colour, they’re lost; they’re idiots, and they’re really weak. I don’t think you need any further explanation; just live your life and do so believing that everyone deserves an equal shot, and that merit should be earned, not handed out.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/racism-and-quotas/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/scam-alert-fast-google-cash/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/scam-alert-fast-google-cash/#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 22:17:50 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=612

  Tony's Money Blog... A Total Scam!

  You’ve no doubt seen one of these websites advertised on Facebook or other popular forum, and a few of you may have been close to being pulled in as I have; hopefully you realized before it was too late. Popular “I make $5,000/month” websites have been popping up lately trying [...]]]>
  

  Tony's Money Blog... A Total Scam!

  
  You’ve no doubt seen one of these websites advertised on Facebook or other popular forum, and a few of you may have been close to being pulled in as I have; hopefully you realized before it was too late. Popular “I make $5,000/month” websites have been popping up lately trying to spark some hope in the desperate by offering them some salvation.

  These websites usually start out with a picture of a nice family sitting in the park, with the bread-winner telling a tale of what troubles he had at one point, until he enrolled in a shockingly efficient money making program called the Google Cash Kit.

  They’ll even try to sell you the product with some encouraging comments at the end of the page, from other enthused users.

  

  This poor guy either doesn't know that his picture is being used... either way, nice try Eric!

  They’re all fake, all fabricated, and even the link that says “Get Your Free Kit Now” directs you to a page which asks you to make a small $1.99 payment for shipping, or more, to send you the amazing change your life completely kit, which by now hopefully you’ve deduced, does not exist.

  The added danger that some have fallen victim to, is that once you’ve made one payment with a credit card, they’ll come back at you and make multiple withdrawals at random intervals, at random amounts until you go to your bank and get something done. Even if they’ve only gotten your $1.99, go to your bank, cancel your credit card or get a new one, get something changed so that they can’t strike again.

  The reason these scams work even a little is because they’re trying to mask themselves as Google’s Adsense opportunity. Content-targeted ads are put on your personal website (after you sign up on Google for free), and if they’re receiving legitimate inquiries, you’re compensated with any amount between $0.01 and $1.50 per click (don’t quote me, this is what I’ve read elsewhere). You can see these ads displayed at the top, side, and bottom of this page; these are legitimate ads that Google places after having “crawled” (examined) my site, to match content on all the pages. Do not confuse one with the other, Google will never charge you money for advertising, they’ll be the ones paying you after you sign up for free, and earn their customers some revenue. If you’re interested in more details, see www.google.com/adsense

  I’ve taken the liberty of starting a list of all these scam websites and have listed them below for your convenience: expect further additions as I continue to run into them; don’t be fooled!

  1. www.craiggetcash.com
  2. www.tonysmoneyblog.com/mystory.html
  3. www.ericgetsgreen.com
  4. www.makemoneyfastblog.com
  5. www.marylifeblog.com
  6. www.homeincomemag.com
  7. www.timetogetyours.com
  8. www.seattlechroniclenews.com
  9. www.thehowtobeamillionaire.com
  10. www.moneymadeonautopilot.com
  11. www.enjoysuccessfromhome.com
  12. www.onlinewealthleaders.com
  13. www.marketingwithmasters.com
  14. www.financialincomeonline.com
  15. www.Millionaire-Wealth-Pro.com
  16. www.marketingvikings.com
  17. www.ivybot.com
  18. www.money-making-review.info
  19. www.usatimesonline.com
  20. www.opportunity.com
  
  
  

  Maybe if there was more fire on the page we'd all fall for it...

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/scam-alert-fast-google-cash/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/avoid-at-all-cost-online-dating-internet-personals-e-relationships/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/avoid-at-all-cost-online-dating-internet-personals-e-relationships/#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 21:37:25 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=640 Internet dating has been on the rise as of late; I’m sure you’ve seen an e-Harmony commercial or two advertising couples who were matched online, and got married and have a happy life together. It’s the sort of thing that wasn’t around ten years ago because the internet wasn’t as accessible as it is today. Lavalife, [...]]]> Internet dating has been on the rise as of late; I’m sure you’ve seen an e-Harmony commercial or two advertising couples who were matched online, and got married and have a happy life together. It’s the sort of thing that wasn’t around ten years ago because the internet wasn’t as accessible as it is today. Lavalife, Plentyoffish, Match.com are all popular sites, and only a few of the options people have to start with.

  It’s a new way of meeting people, it’s a little exciting for the users I’m sure, and it’s extremely efficient because you can spend an hour going through matches, listings, personals and easily clear through hundreds of potential partners.

  There’s plenty of good going on, and I’m sure that there are some couples that have met through the internet who experience successful, long lasting relationships, but I want to focus on all the reasons you should be avoiding trying to find a date online.

  Nobody wakes up one day and enters the dating world by signing onto the internet. As strange as it sounds, you learn much of the joys of interacting with the opposite sex in elementary school, sometimes (if you’re lucky) even in kindergarten; that’s when the wonderful journey begins. You progress to middle school and eventually puberty hits (happens younger and younger these days) and you start to really pay attention. For the most part, you really start to care about what the pretty girl or the cute boy in your class thinks.

  A lot of us blossom early and become the attractive sexual beings that we’d like to be in high school; some of us wait until college, and unfortunately for many we go through three or four years of an undergraduate degree and don’t learn the pleasure of an intimate relationship.

  It’s a universal truth (and don’t try to argue with me on this) that normalpeople always resort to the internet as a desperate and final measure (If they ever get that desperate). If I took a survey of 100,000 people and asked of ten different locations, where would you most like to meet your future mate, I’m confident to say the internet would come dead last. People need to recognize that this is in-fact true. It’s a Hail-Mary, last ditch, ‘I’ve tried everything else’ attempt.

  I’m positive that there are some good seeds out there, and if you’re to find each other then great, but more than 99% of the people who are using the internet as a dating circuit, are damaged goods.

  They’re compromised in one way or another, and because they can’t function socially and meet someone through the usual means, they advertise themselves like a used car. They’re unhappy with the way they look, the way they walk, the way they talk; whatever it is, there’s something that they’re hiding, otherwise they wouldn’t be online. They’ve emotionally compromised, socially inadequate, fundamentally flawed but would rather look outward than resolve their issues.

  If you try to tell me that you don’t have time to meet people, then realize that you don’t have time for a relationship either. Look inward, balance your life, take care of all the loose ends, address your issues, and go out into the world and learn to forge relationships as the majority of the planet does. If you find yourself without the adequate tools to accomplish your goals on your own, then seek the wisdom of someone who knows what they’re doing. Everyone in the world has at least one friend, and if that friend can’t help you out, I’m sure that his friend probably can.

  I could write an endless amount of words on the many more reasons to avoid the internet personals, but take it from me, they’re a pathetic, weak bunch (99%) that you don’t want to be a part of.

  
  
  
  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/avoid-at-all-cost-online-dating-internet-personals-e-relationships/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/icantinternet/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/icantinternet/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 19:34:11 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=660

  iCan't Internet - All About The Internet

  It’s a funny story of how I came to know of this website; I was browsing through different Wordpress themes to figure out which would suit my layout the best, and I was looking at the “top websites using this theme” and low and behold, it was www.icantinternet.org that [...]]]>
  

  iCan't Internet - All About The Internet

  It’s a funny story of how I came to know of this website; I was browsing through different Wordpress themes to figure out which would suit my layout the best, and I was looking at the “top websites using this theme” and low and behold, it was www.icantinternet.org that was using the most popular theme out there, Pixeled.

  After viewing it I immediately thought to myself “No, this one doesn’t appeal to me at all…” but as I was taking a look around, and found that the content was actually extremely useful. As I had just started putting a website together, and was looking to sponge up any useful information I could get my hands on, I found that iCan’tInternet had a ton of information on search engine optimization, setting up and using Google’s popular Adsense, as well as a great way to go about internet marketing and advertising for a cause you’re passionate about.

  I visit this site a couple times a week to see if there’s anything new & useful going up, and at the same time to browse through old material. Lots of iPhone discussions which pleases me, and always something new to learn about advertising which I’ll soon be vesting some time into – this keeps me happy. This nifty resource is definitely worth a bookmark, and if you ever get into web development (which I urge you to), definitely search through some of their archives for tips & tricks you’re sure to find helpful.

  www.icantinternet.org

  
  After viewing it I immediately thought to myself “No, this one doesn’t appeal to me at all…” but as I was taking a look around, and found that the content was actually extremely useful. As I had just started putting a website together, and was looking to sponge up any useful information I could get my hands on, I found that iCan’tInternet had a ton of information on search engine optimization, setting up and using Google’s popular Adsense, as well as a great way to go about internet marketing and advertising for a cause you’re passionate about.

  I visit this site a couple times a week to see if there’s anything new & useful going up, and at the same time to browse through old material. Lots of iPhone discussions which pleases me, and always something new to learn about advertising which I’ll soon be vesting some time into – this keeps me happy. This nifty resource is definitely worth a bookmark, and if you ever get into web development (which I urge you to), definitely search through some of their archives for tips & tricks you’re sure to find helpful.

  www.icantinternet.org

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/icantinternet/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/redflagdeals/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/redflagdeals/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 06:13:19 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=651 This one is for the local greater Toronto area; a killer bargain & deal-finder all rolled up into one. RedFlagDeals.com has a great community of users who are well informed, as well as helpful.

  RedFlagDeals.com - Bargain Hunting Galore!

  You can find excellent deals on new computer gear, hints on upcoming automotive promotions, even coupon codes for [...]]]> This one is for the local greater Toronto area; a killer bargain & deal-finder all rolled up into one. RedFlagDeals.com has a great community of users who are well informed, as well as helpful.
  

  RedFlagDeals.com - Bargain Hunting Galore!

  You can find excellent deals on new computer gear, hints on upcoming automotive promotions, even coupon codes for travel destinations which will get you discounted rates accompanied by luxurious upgrades.

  Forums give you the opportunity to find trades, make your own sales, and even check-out the freebies section for items that people feel would do others some good. You’re even able to advertise an upcoming garage sale as well as browse some that may be happening in your area.

  I could go on and on about all the cool stuff you’ll find, but I’ll allow you to explore for yourself. Take a look, spend 15 minutes and you’ll see for yourself that it’s a great resource, one you’ll surely bookmark, and may find yourself cruising through when you’re bored and looking for boxing-day deals on an ordinary afternoon.

  www.redflagdeals.com

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/redflagdeals/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/failing-auto-industry/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/failing-auto-industry/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 23:14:42 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=402 It seems that everyone is so quick to talk about how the recession is affecting them; “oh the economy is so bad right now, I can’t find a job, things are difficult” and such, are words of the people who are living through hard times. While I am of the firm opinion that you’re in control [...]]]> It seems that everyone is so quick to talk about how the recession is affecting them; “oh the economy is so bad right now, I can’t find a job, things are difficult” and such, are words of the people who are living through hard times. While I am of the firm opinion that you’re in control of your own fate, and that people of such a mentality above are whiners that should be doing nothing less than putting more effort and creating their own opportunities, I’m going to shed some light on the recent attention the Canadian Auto Workers union has earned on the daily news.
  

  Consumers beware: General Motors, Chrysler and Ford might not be worth your business.

  
  In case you’re not aware, “the big three” – also known as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have all been failing as of late as companies because, well, nobody is buying their cars. At the same time, because most of their employees are unionized, they’re forced to pay ridiculous salaries to people who are essentially… just putting large puzzle pieces together.

  Now because of the recent trend, these companies have started making numerous job cuts, sold assets, close production plants, and are even seeking the Canadian and American governments for ‘bail outs’ in the form of a large loans (billions of dollars), should the companies need to access some cash flow. Some of the concessions that these companies are trying to make, is the wage and compensations that the members of the auto unions are awarded; of course… they don’t feel like they should be losing work, or money… after all, they’ve just been doing their jobs, why should they be punished?

  They’re all up in arms because they’re getting fired and losing money and they’re taking to the streets causing an uproar because their world has been turned upside down. Someone is at fault, someone must suffer; but surely it shouldn’t be them…right?

  Wrong, you have nobody to blame but yourselves – in any given industry there is always a chance of failure; job security and assurances are what drives complacency and creates comfort in the workplace. People who work the same tedious job for years (who stagnate in their efficiency five years into it), are the cause for all the current ‘hardship’. Unions are working hard to provide benefits and certain protections to the little people, but at the same time, they’re fighting to increase salaries for these simplistic jobs; not so suddenly you have below average high-school graduates making money that, frankly, is undeserved.

  It’s not all their fault; you can’t blame the monkey for being greedy and wanting more and more bananas. His job is tiring, it’s tedious, it’s downright boring; but they do it because they get paid really well; you can’t blame them for wanting the money; you can, however, when they cause an uproar because they’re being “abused”.

  General Motors, Ford and Chrysler aren’t collectively failing (entirely) because they’re overpaying their plant workers; for a while now their vehicles have had sub-par appeal, poorer performance, lesser technology, and haven’t even come close to competing in the fuel efficiency. The executives and higher-ups have done a terrible job competing with Mazda, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Mitsubishi. You look at one of the vehicles from these companies I’ve listed (with one or two exceptions maybe) and you see a vehicle that you’d like to drive. You look at a vehicle from the assembly line of Saturn, Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Ford, Mercury, or Dodge, and you see an eye-sore that you would immediately regret spending money on. Most of the previous brands produce overall lesser vehicles, that consumers don’t want to waste their money on. I don’t know if I’m the only one ‘in the know’, but it seems to me that when your company stops selling units, and you’re still paying your pawns like kings, you’re going to start circling the drain pretty quickly.

  I’ll be honest, the people who are running these companies don’t bother me as much; the only reason that there’s as much coverage on the situation as there is, is because it’s affecting so many little people – and because they can’t help but cry out for aid.

  By now I’m sure I’ve sufficiently illustrated my distaste for the weak; I can’t understand how someone with little to no merit is allowed to make a scene because he and half a million of his buddies are all of a sudden at risk of losing their not-so-deserving lifestyle. You’re working in an assembly plant; you perform the most medial of tasks which requires far from a substantial amount of know-how, and because you happen to have a powerhouse of a union you’re constantly getting your salary bumped and benefits lavished. To the Canadian Auto Workers – I ask you: Do you think that if you weren’t so protected by policy and protocol that we couldn’t find adequate replacements in hard-working 21 year old men and women? Do you think it’s adequate that your average pay greatly exceeds that of a fire-fighter or a nurse? Are you not expendable? What is it that you do that makes you such an asset, and deserving of the compensation that you’re rushing to defend?

  Plenty of people do their jobs for twenty years and don’t take it for granted that their salary increases are going to come just because time is passing; they work hard and distinguish themselves as individuals and employees and rise in the ranks to become the bosses, instead of generously paid workmen.

  You shouldn’t be afraid of losing your job, but when your comfort leads you to greed, there’s a real problem. You should always be driven to do better; you should be pursuing a better form of yourself and looking to perform above your expectations, and only then should you see the reward. Foreign companies that operate in North America, for example Toyota, don’t operate with unions and it’s clear that the company has extra money to throw into their research & development and consequently remain a strong entity in the industry, one who’s market-share’s ascent sees no end in near sight.

  Amidst all my negative thoughts, I do however believe that there are victims who are suffering. Retired workers who are elderly, who are at risk of losing their pension, and who are stressed out at the thought of having to return to work to support themselves and their families have a right to be a little upset. You work a lifetime towards a goal, reach & achieve, all to have it taken away; for those with little to no strength left, it’s a shame.

  While I’m more than aware of the repercussions of closing a big part of the auto-sector and how our governments, economy, and massive populations would be affected – I find it nothing less than imperative that either these companies fail so they can give rise to future successes, or that the Canadian Auto Workers realize that they’re nothing more than glorified puzzle piece pushers that need to take a step back for the good of us all, and assume the modest role and salary of the blue collar employee.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/failing-auto-industry/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/ticketcombat/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/ticketcombat/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 02:11:33 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=589 Don't be helpless, let www.ticketcombat.com help you out of a jam.

  We’ve all been young and dumb at one point in our lives; some of us, have the misfortune of also having been unlucky. I wish that after having been issued my first speeding ticket, one of my friends directed me to www.ticketcombat.com, an excellent Canadian [...]]]>

  Don't be helpless, let www.ticketcombat.com help you out of a jam.

  We’ve all been young and dumb at one point in our lives; some of us, have the misfortune of also having been unlucky. I wish that after having been issued my first speeding ticket, one of my friends directed me to www.ticketcombat.com, an excellent Canadian resource for fighting pesky offences. I remember finding this site (by chance) and being so impressed with how thorough and informative it was, even to someone like myself who has been through the court systems forwards and backwards close to a dozen times for these kinds of things.

  This website carefully outlines steps that are easy to follow (by anyone) so that you can use the court system to your advantage. Tips, tricks, and loopholes that you’ll become familiar with will help you beat your ticket, keep your driving record clean, and save your hard earned cash.

  Fight the Ticket

  The back of your ticket lists only one of the many offices where you can take your ticket in. Don’t be fooled by that. There are many places to take your ticket in to request a trial. It’s far more convenient than you think. More information on locations can be found in Step 2: Request a Trial.

  Of course the most convenient option is Option 1: Hand over your money, err, that is Plea of Guilty. It’s structured that way to discourage people from fighting their ticket. And it works. Only 3% of the people who get a ticket fight it.[1] Tickets are huge revenue generators for any municipality. The City of Toronto earns over $102 million a year in parking tickets alone.[2]

  Save your money, you earned it. Let us help you keep it.

  taken from http://www.ticketcombat.com/step1/fight.php

  I don’t think that anyone should take a ticket without a fight. The speed traps and parking attendants are just out there to make money for the city. They’re not looking out for your best interest, they’re not trying to make the city a safer or better place to live; they’re trying to make a profit. I personally wouldn’t hand my money over to them for nothing, would you?

  www.ticketcombat.com

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/ticketcombat/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-2/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-2/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 23:47:16 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=523 View Pt. 1 of this article here Unsatisfactory Service

  For some reason, a lot of people I know don’t like to stand up for themselves. Maybe it’s apathy or they lack the strength to do so, but you have to realize that when you pay for a service and it’s not to your complete satisfaction, you’re entitled [...]]]> View Pt. 1 of this article here

  • Unsatisfactory Service

  For some reason, a lot of people I know don’t like to stand up for themselves. Maybe it’s apathy or they lack the strength to do so, but you have to realize that when you pay for a service and it’s not to your complete satisfaction, you’re entitled to some answers, and some credit.

  

  Customer service should be accommodating your every need... and doing so with a smile!

  If you pay $100 for business internet and suffer an outage, you’re entitled to some answers. Your business relies on the internet to function, and if you’re experiencing downtime, you’re not only being robbed of you $100, but you’re in turn losing business or making your customers unhappy, that’s going to cost you money. Call your provider and tell them you’re costing me hundreds of dollars for unscheduled downtime – I’m a professional and I expect the same from you, if you can’t make due on your commitment then I’ll take my business elsewhere. They’ll be quick to credit you for half a month or a month’s service.

  If your cellphone isn’t working 24/7, if your car breaks down 10 minutes after your mechanic has cleared it for the road, if you’re out for dinner and your food arrives cold, make a complaint, make your voice heard. You’re not being a whiner or a bitch for speaking up; you’re simply not allowing other peoples incompetence slip through the cracks. The way you should look at it is: you’re getting something for yourself, and at the same time you’re providing negative feedback that is clearly necessary if they’re delivering service that is unsatisfactory. You’re forcing them to improve, bettering them as an organization, and ultimately aiding their success in the future. They should be thanking you for not keeping quiet.

  …But after you’re done being the most honourable consumer you know, make sure that you’re getting yours – you’re not working hard for your money so you can throw it away to less than satisfactory merchants, if they’re not pleasing you, they don’t deserve your money. Make your reasonable demands, and hold firm; the customer is always right.

  

  Geek Squad is a service provided by Best Buy... fair prices... far from it!

  • Geek Squad or Nerds On Site

  This seems foreign to me since I’ve been a nerd in training since I was thirteen years old…but when house-call services like Geek Squad and Nerds On Site started popping up I thought to myself: “Oh… well I guess that’s a good idea; not everybody knows someone who’s good with computers.”

  That was more than 5 years ago. What impresses me is there are still people today who don’t have someone to go to when they have a problem with their computer. What startles me even more is how much these services charge for simple tasks like setting up a wireless router, backing files up, or even just doing data transfer from one computer to another. Speaking as an experienced I.T. consultant, I’ll tell you myself that the prices are far from reasonable. I have several clients that call me frequently for jobs similar to what is offered by these companies, and take it from me, if I was charging an hourly rate comparable to Geek Squad, I’d be driving a nice convertible.

  

  Nerds On Site

  There is no good reason for you to be flushing your money down the toilet to have these under-qualified, overpaid monkeys plugging in cables for you and making you think that what you’re doing is worth the money.

  An easy way to avoid having to do this is to either search the internet (that has an answer for every problem – I promise you), or search through your Rolodex and find a family member, friend, friends child who knows a thing or two about computers (I guarantee you have at least one). Even if you’re not a great acquaintance and you feel it would be asking too much of some distant friends, you’re always able to pay them a small fee for their troubles – nobody is going to turn down $20 an hour to help you out of a tight spot.

  Sometimes you’re in a situation where you have absolutely no choice, but don’t think that you’re without options; exhaust the smart choices before resorting to the desperate ones.

  • Credit Card Interest/Fees/Insurance

  It’s a slippery slope kids; your credit card gives you the illusion that you’ve got more to spend than you actually have. The banks are trusting you with ‘credit’ and letting you spend assuming you’ll have the money coming to you. Unfortunately, you’re running a high risk of spending a lot of money on charges you’re not aware of you might not expect. I won’t go into details, but if you currently have a credit card, call them and ask them to explain to you the following possible charges:
  

  

  Typically 19.5% interest rates, and annual fees, is it really worth it?

  • Interest Charge
  • Interest Purchase
  • Over-limit Fee
  • Credit Insurance

  On top of these fees, make sure you’re not paying the annual charge for a special card that let’s you accumulate air miles or other extravagant benefits; you have to be spending a lot of money to gain anything significant, all the while paying upwards of $120 every year. If money is a concern, you should cut the luxury and use a free credit card (if you really need to use one) and afford yourself the special card when you have money to burn.

  • ATM Fees:

  

  Where do you draw the line? I'm guessing if you had to pay $9.00 you wouldn't be using this machine.

  
  I know you were expecting this on the list so let’s just get it out of the way. It’s stupid to have to pay to access your own money; granted there are costs for banks and ATM companies and such, so it’s justified – but from your point of view, you should just be organized and saving yourself the trouble (and money).

  ATM fees are on the rise due to inflation this and higher costs of whatever other maintenance. Years ago the charge was a quarter, or a half dollar, and now you’re be lucky to find anything cheaper than $1.50 just to take out $20 – and for that reason alone, people are taking out more money and wasting it on whatever other impulse purchases… since you know, people generally have no self control. How high does the charge have to climb before you change your habits and organize yourself enough not to flush your money down the toilet?

  A year of ATM usage can easily reach $50-$100; that’s a lot to spend on…well…nothing at all.

  • Music

  

  iTunes offers singular song downloads for $0.99

  It’s hard to come out publicly against the music industry and condone the illegal acquisition of music, but if you’re not swimming in loonies (had to be said) then you should be avoiding spending money on music, especially since it’s so easily accessible. I’ll throw out www.limewire.com and www.acquisitionx.com as great resources for avoiding that pesky $0.99 fee on the iTunes store. If you want to download full albums, check out my rookie’s guide to Bit-torrent and enjoy giving your bank account a breather.

  Some people will feel bad that “we’re stealing from the artists” and “they’re losing money because people download their stuff for free”, and well… while there’s much truth to it, you have to understand that they’re making millions regardless. We’re making the difference between them being able to afford four or five Lamborghinis. Merchandise, concerts, endorsements, celebrity appearances, are just one of the many other forms of income that these guys exploit so they can afford themselves that the cushy limitless lifestyle that regular folk like you and me won’t have a chance at anytime soon.

  It doesn’t seem like small purchases of $0.99 per song or $15 for a whole album would make a big difference, but it adds up – especially when you consider that you could be getting everything you pay for, free, it’s hard to let go of your hard earned cash for something like that… so don’t waste it!

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-2/feed/ 2 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-1/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-1/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 22:00:09 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=92 We all do it, spend money senselessly – however, we would all benefit greatly if we could control ourselves a little better. You always think back regarding purchases after the fact, and while we are all blessed with 20/20 hindsight, it would be pretty handy it we could sense in advance that spending weekly amounts of [...]]]> We all do it, spend money senselessly – however, we would all benefit greatly if we could control ourselves a little better. You always think back regarding purchases after the fact, and while we are all blessed with 20/20 hindsight, it would be pretty handy it we could sense in advance that spending weekly amounts of hard-earned money on meaningless, trivial purchases. There are even expenses that we are forced to spend money on, which are easily avoidable, if you know what you’re doing.
  

  A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned.

  

  I bet you didn't know software could get this expensive...and this isn't even close to the top of the list

  • Software

  I hate to advocate piracy, but I see some of the prices on certain pieces of software and it really gets me thinking. Markup on computer video games runs close to 40%, Microsoft charges $649 for their Office 2007 package, while Adobe makes a slight bound ahead at an even $700 for a singular copy of Photoshop. Microsoft even puts out multiple versions of their latest failing operating system, Vista, at varying prices, skimping out on arguably bare essentials in lower versions to push consumers into paying a pricey $320 just so your computer will have an interface to function.

  There are all excellent counter arguments to ‘pirating’ software, which I would address, except I’m trying to keep this short and sweet, so I’ll leave you with a few points:

  • An operating system should come free with a computer; Apple’s current OS X has only one version, which is updated frequently for your benefit, free, with your purchase of a new Mac. When you buy a PC you get the worst or second worst version of Vista, which runs terribly – and when you have an issue, you have to bang your head against the wall talking to tech-support which occupies a timezone twelve hours ahead of your own. Yeah, in case you didn’t know, Microsoft sends their phone support to India to save money; outsource to a poor country so you can pinch every penny – you think they have your best interest at heart?
  • Microsof Office and Photoshop for upwards of $700? Are they serious? Let’s do some math: there are 340 million people in Canada and the US, let’s say just 0.5% of the population (I’m being generous for their sake) use Office or Photoshop, they’re making 1.2 billion dollars (new versions of Office come out every three or four years, and Photoshop follows a little closely with new versions less than every two). So… assuming each company has (again… I don’t know for a fact, so I’ll throw a number out, again – generous) 50 developers on each project, working annually on a salary of $200,000 over 4 years, they’re left with more than a billion dollars to manufacture and distribute their product – nice try you greedy Adobe executives – I’ll be sure to invest my time and not my money into worthy alternatives, such as www.openoffice.org, or just head on over to www.mininova.org and Bit-torrent my way to financial freedom; don’t worry, you can explain to your kids that stealing software from large corporations is actually a victimless crime…wink.

  Most of us regular folk just can’t afford to spend hundreds, and possibly thousands of dollars on software, especially with cheap or free alternatives so conveniently located, it just doesn’t make sense.

  

  TD posted a first quarter net income of $712 million in 2009

  • Banking Fees:

  You know that there’s free banking available? I’m not just talking about small or ‘lesser’ banks that specialize in free banking, or advertise free banking. One step above clerk at the bank, let’s call them associates – you know, the people you open your account with, they are well within their power to grant you free banking, and just waive all your fees. I have Branch and Assistant Branch managers at two different major banks, and they both acknowledge (anonymously) that their associates are free to give their friends, family, and even disgruntled customers free banking to appease them.

  Your monthly service charge, your surcharge for not maintaining a certain balance, your transaction fees for using your debit card more than forty times in a month – all arbitrary fees that climb every couple of years when the bank sees fit just so they can afford themselves a little extra income, and pad their bottom line. Remember, banks make hundreds of millions in net profit every quarter – some of the bigger banks in North America even net a couple billion per quarter, ridiculous isn’t it?

  

  Bank of America posted a $4.2 billion 2009 Q1 net income...impressive?

  I don’t know if you understand, but that’s profit, extra money that they can use for whatever they see fit – a fraction of it will go to advertising, spamming television, the internet, and the newspaper attracting you to them so you can make them more money. Where will the rest go? It’ll pay for ridiculous salaries, over-padded bonuses, floor seats for all the concerts in town, and catered boxes for all their home games. They’re making billions in profit every year, living the lifestyle, and in the mean time, you’re paying them anywhere from $100-$300 a year..? Why? So They can use your money to leverage more loans in a desperate market, and charge you for it at the same time?

  Granted they aren’t going to agree to waive fees for everybody, but chances are you’ve been a customer long enough, and you can bring it to the attention of someone who matters, and tell them that if having your money to play around with isn’t important to them, that you’ll just take your business elsewhere.

  • Service Activation Fee

  This one is funny because big companies are so quick to relinquish the charge; and they do so because they know how arbitrary it is.

  Here in the southern Ontario region, large media and telecommunications corporations such as Rogers, Bell, and Telus, all charge “one-time activation” fees for their services. Whether you’re getting started with a new internet connection, high-speed internet, or cell phone, they’ll charge you a one-time fee which I’ve seen climb as high as $55.

  

  It's no mystery, they're quick to waive it for your business.

  “Yeah, we’d love to have you as a customer, but before you join the exclusive club, pay us money so that we can offer you the privilege of paying us money every month, for the next couple of years.” Kudos to the executive who thought it up, and nice attempt trying to justify it, because whether they send you a do-it-yourself kit to set it up yourself, or have to send a technician out to setup your cable or internet, the fee is the same, they’re trying to squeeze money out of you, but who can blame them, right?

  Next time you’re signing any of these services up, no matter where you are, tell them that you recently saw a promotion that waived the activation fee. If they tell you the promotion is over, then tell them something along the lines of: “Well, I was planning on being a customer for a while, and I mean… I’d be paying $30 or $40 a month for at least a year… I could just as easily spend my money with Bell if you’re not interested; they’re actually not charging for an activation fee right now, but I prefer your (Rogers) superior service… but if I’m not going to be appreciated as a paying customer, I’ll take my business to them.”

  Even if you’re not signing a contract; you’re a student with eight months in an apartment before you go home for the summer, I’ve still done this the past two years I’ve been away from home, and I do it for all my friends and family when they’re setting something up.

  If you’re still not getting the co-operation you desire, or the operator is just telling you that it isn’t possible, ask to speak to his or her supervisor – it’s never impossible, they can always do it, you just have to be persistent, and show them that you want it.

  • A New Car

  This ‘waste’ will probably of the biggest magnitude compared to anything else you’re likely to encounter in your lifetime.

  

  20% of a five digit purchase is quite the hit...whether you're driving a Saturn or a Beemer.

  A car’s depreciation is pretty steep; in-fact, as soon as you drive a car off the lot after your recent acquisition – it will usually lose close to 20% of it’s value…on the spot. For the cheapest car you can find new, that’s $2,000, instantly. For something reasonable like a new Civic or a Corrolla, that’s close to $6,000; wouldn’t you like to save that kind of money… and only have to sacrifice that new car smell? Lucy Lazarony from www.bankrate.com writes an interesting article further explaining the intricacies of depreciation, have a look.

  The ‘new car’ waste doesn’t stop with the depreciation – used cars are cheaper on insurance (because they’re typically older), so you’re not paying higher premiums for… well… nothing really. If you want to buy a new car, you invariably have to deal with a dealership: licensing costs, freight, P.D.I. and taxes; extra cost that someone else would be paying for if you were buying their car. That and… well… dealerships usually don’t budge much.

  If you deal privately, you’re likely to be able to haggle with the merchant, whether it be an small-time independent dealer, or just any random person looking to unload their vehicle; and if that does happen to be the case, dealing directly with someone, usually saves you the tax too.

  • Speeding & Parking Tickets

  

  Pricing Scheme for Speeding Fines in Ontario - www.torontotraffictickets.com

  Parking and Speeding tickets are always an inconvenience; I think the only people in this world who aren’t bothered by tickets are those who have more money than they know what to do with.

  Chances are if you live in a big city, your government is making millions a year in profit…from absolutely nothing. Expensive tickets (less than 10% of which ever get challenged in court) are being written daily, just so that the government can profit.

  Rather then getting into a lengthy rant about how slimy and malevolent the speed and parking enforcement officers are, I’ll make it clear that you speeding or leaving your car parked illegally is never worth the risk.

  It’s an understanding between motorists and police officers which allows us to drive 10 over in a city zone, or 20 over on the highway; being ticketed for such a mild offense is rarely worth the officers time or the courts time should you decide to fight the ticket, so they don’t do it.

  Should you decide to speed any faster, realize that you’re liable to get caught eventually, and you’ll spend at least $100-$200 should you decide to pay the ticket, and suffer a 30% increase on your insurance for each minor conviction (lasting 3 years), on top of the loss of your perfect driving discount you’re sure to receive.

  Fighting the ticket is a good idea, but realize that you’ll have to go far out of your way to process the paper work, and take a day off the day of your hearing, and waste countless hours in between trying to make all the arrangements; even at that, you’re not guaranteed to beat the ticket. Sometimes the cop shows up, sometimes they reduce the charges marginally, still affecting your insurance, and sometimes you run into a judge who doesn’t see fit to give you any leniency.

  Parking tickets are less of a sting, but all the more annoying. You’re potentially gaining a couple bucks for parking without paying, and looking to pay at least $30 if you’re caught. If parking costs $6 and you can dodge the ticket 4 of the 5 times, by all means go for it, otherwise, you’re just not playing the odds. Believe me when I say that parking attendants are the vultures of our society, and literally lurk in the shadows and the distance waiting for you to leave your car unattended, so they can flex that little power they hold over you; they’re watching and you’ll get caught, and it’ll be your money down the drain.

  Continue to Pt. 2.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/10-money-wasters-1/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/tip-your-servers/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/tip-your-servers/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:30:36 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=160 This subject is usually not up for discussion – because the majority of people who do decide to dine out, usually are set in their ways (for whatever reason) as to how much of an amount they tip. Whether it be a set monetary amount, or a percentage based on the final bill, people generally already [...]]]> This subject is usually not up for discussion – because the majority of people who do decide to dine out, usually are set in their ways (for whatever reason) as to how much of an amount they tip. Whether it be a set monetary amount, or a percentage based on the final bill, people generally already know how much they are going to tip, pending the quality of service.
  

  Don't forget to tip your servers!

  Now, take it from me, people should be tipping more than they are. Unfortunately for us servers and bartenders out there, people have a skewed vision of how the service industry functions. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than you know, so allow me to enlighten you.

  First of all, understand that every server and bartender has to ‘tip out’ at the end of a shift. This rule is set-up to maintain a level of balance between other employees in the restaurant, who aren’t on the front line having the chance at receiving tips. For example, the hosts, hostess’, bar-backs, kitchen staff, dish washers are in no position to score any tips. To clarify, sometimes bar-tenders are strictly service-only bar-tenders (they make all the drinks for servers who are taking orders from tables – they see no customers directly – so they require a tip out to make anything supplementary to their own wage). Bar-backs are staff who during busy hours, keep the bar stocked with liquor, beer, ice, and whatever else may be needed.

  Now, tip out is usually based on a percentage of a servers sales (I’ve yet to run into a place that does it differently, but who knows, it could be out there). An outdoor patio where I worked last summer ran things with percentage: 1.5% would go to our bar-tender, 1% to each bar-back, and 1% to our singular host/hostess at the time. During an eight hour shift, if a server were to sell $1000 worth of food and drinks, 4.5% (forty-five dollars) would come out of our pockets. This means that if this particular server had made (for arguments sake) let’s say 15% tips based on his sales, he would have $150.00 before tip out, and $105 after tip out. This is of course assuming that every customer on that given day is generous enough to tip an adequate 15%. You wouldn’t believe it, or maybe you would, but more than a year and a half of being a server has shown me that even when you provide a great dining experience, people are quick to stiff you.

  Think about this for a second… what do you think were to happen if a server went an entire day without being tipped? Unlikely, but… what if he only received an average of 5% tips for the day, not particularly because of his performance, but just because of an unlucky streak? He would essentially be taking money out of his own pocket to tip-out (in the event of no or little tips), doesn’t seem fair does it? Usually establishments have some rules that say if you didn’t sell enough, or didn’t make any tips you don’t have to tip out, and usually your fellow staff members are quick to understand that it’s been a bad day, and wouldn’t punish you further.

  “But Marc, why do servers deserve the tip? Why should servers get 15%? They’re not doing anything I couldn’t do myself.”

  Well, let’s take a closer look at some of the challenges a server faces, daily:

  1. Most places when you’re working, you’re busy – constantly. You don’t have time to eat, and if you do, you can’t eat properly – you’re usually stuck eating fast-food or something that lacks any nutritional content what-so-ever. There’s no time for a break because you can’t simply pass all your tables off during a busy period. Each server usually has a personal code in the computers that manage orders and such, to keep track of his/her tables, and there’s always something pending to come out, and more orders that need to be made – to ask a server to double his workload is just out of the question, it can’t be done. How comfortable do you think it is being on your feet for eight hours? How often do you think a busy place keeps their servers working for more than such a time period? Last summer I worked numerous 12+ hour shifts, too many to count on fingers and toes – it takes a physical toll – believe me.

  2 – Without tips, do you know that a server is usually making at least 10% less than minimum wage? Up until March 31st, 2009, minimum wage for a server/bar-tender was $7.60/hour. If you were to work forty hours a week, you would make $1216.00 in a month, before taxes. $14592.00 in a year, before taxes. The slight adjustment that has come in (that doesn’t just boost minimum wage for liquor servers, but for everyone, still leaves servers out in the cold). As of April 1st, 2009, liquor servers now make $8.25/hour; $1320.00/month and $15840.00/year, still isn’t much, is it?

  

  Minimum wage for a server won't pay the bills alone - they're working hard for you... support them!

  3 – People who serve, part-time or full-time usually have their entire lives revolve around their jobs. Since working for a restaurant usually means that you’re working when the restaurant profits (usually weeknights, weekends), servers sacrifice their social lives (among other things) and stay up late into the night, usually three or four nights of the week. It’s difficult to work more than one job, in an effort to balance expenses since hours of operation are so taxing. Not only are you potentially finishing at 2:00AM, closing by 3:00AM and getting out of there, but sometimes you’re starting the next days work at noon, doing this a couple days in a row can really take a serious toll.

  4 – To be a good server, you’re required to be quick on your feet (both literally and figuratively), highly adaptive, and able to please people. People are typically difficult, making all sorts of random requests. You’re not only taking orders, you’re creating a pleasant atmosphere for people to enjoy their night out. People are out with groups from work, family, on dates, and so much more; you may go so far as to call your waiter an entertainer; it’s not much of a stretch. This person is doing much more than just serving you food, they’re creating an experience… as long as they aren’t too busy!

  Now, remember that the figures I used above (for example, $1000.00 in sales) is extremely generous. I recently finished working at a popular restaurant in London, Ontario, and found that it was difficult to sell a great amount in a typical 5:00PM or 6:00PM shift until around 1:00AM. As a result, my tips also suffered. This particular restaurant was actually ranked in the top ten for beer sales in this small city – it was upsetting for me to find out that it wasn’t as easy to make money due to the nature of the demographic that would frequent the restaurant.

  I implore you not only as a server myself, but a fellow functioning member of society – find it within yourself to be generous the next time it comes to tipping your server, he or she goes through a great deal to please you (even if it isn’t evident), and will be quick to accommodate you in any way you may request if it’s within him/her to do so. Is it that big a deal to leave an extra $6.00 on a $30.00 bill? You can spend $100.00 on food and drinks for you and your date, but you can’t find it within yourself to give your humble server who’s been at your beck and call for the past hour and a half a $15.00 or $20.00 tip?

  I’ll be honest, if you can spend that kind of money on an outing, but decide to turn into Scrooge McDuck when it comes time to pay the tab… well… If I were like you I’d share my personal opinion, but in the hopes promoting the “you catch more bees with honey” technique, I’ll leave you with your thoughts, and allow you to make the right call.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/tip-your-servers/feed/ 0 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/sandcastles-in-the-sand/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/sandcastles-in-the-sand/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:11:56 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=54 CBS’ hit comedy How I Met Your Mother produces another winner in “Robin Sparkles – Sandcastles In The Sand”, the Canadian pop-star’s follow up to ‘Let’s Go To The Mall‘. If you aren’t following this show yet, it airs Monday nights at 8:30pm eastern time on CBS, and you should definitely be tuning in.

  This video [...]]]> CBS’ hit comedy How I Met Your Mother produces another winner in “Robin Sparkles – Sandcastles In The Sand”, the Canadian pop-star’s follow up to ‘Let’s Go To The Mall‘. If you aren’t following this show yet, it airs Monday nights at 8:30pm eastern time on CBS, and you should definitely be tuning in.

  This video actually depicts the past of one of the characters, Robin Scherbatsky (played by Cobie Smulders), who used to be a Canadian pop-star in her youth.

  This episode (Season 3, Episode 16) “Sandcastles In The Sand” originally aired on April 21st, 2008 -
  details can be found on IMDB and Wikipedia.

  ]]> http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/sandcastles-in-the-sand/feed/ 1 http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/toronto-dodgeball-association/ http://www.marccizravi.com/2009/toronto-dodgeball-association/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:15:29 +0000 Marc Cizravi http://www.marccizravi.com/?p=106 Toronto Dodgeball Association

  The Toronto Dodgeball Association is the host of the Toronto Dodgeball League and several dodge-ball tournaments throughout the year. Usually running 4 to 5 divisions simultaneously (competition ranging from recreational to seasoned veteran, all male as well as co-ed), this league is perfect for those of you who wish to get active, and [...]]]>

  Toronto Dodgeball Association

  The Toronto Dodgeball Association is the host of the Toronto Dodgeball League and several dodge-ball tournaments throughout the year. Usually running 4 to 5 divisions simultaneously (competition ranging from recreational to seasoned veteran, all male as well as co-ed), this league is perfect for those of you who wish to get active, and play a sport that is no longer just limited to the elementary school grounds!

  After an hour of dodge-ball, you’ll have exercised to your hearts content, and enjoyed at least a dozen exciting games with friends, inevitably leaving you wanting more. I play in this league twice a week, and find myself never wanting to leave after the final whistle.

  I had the chance to have one of the Co-Founders of the league and organization, Lorne Kurtz, answer a couple questions in an effort to better paint you a picture of what makes this league a solid choice for some of your spare time.

  What sets your league apart from the others that run here in the Greater Toronto Area?

  • We hire two refs per game to officiate regular season, playoff and tournament games.
  • We have organized on-site administration at each game who also update the website with weekly standings and up to date scheduling.
  • We use six balls (four of which are 7 inches – attackers, two that are 8.25 inches – blockers).
  • Our unique 1 on 1 situation where we allow bounces off the ground count to hit the opposing player; this ensures that the 1 on 1 games don’t last too long so the majority of the team can get back into playing the games
  • We host a Sunday afternoon Non co-ed division where most league are strictly all co-ed.
  • During your time-slot, you play against 2 different opponents for 35 minutes each, where other leagues set you up against the same opponent for 1 60 minute time-slot which can get boring.

  Dodgeball Preview

  
  How much of a variety exists in the players who participate in your league?
  • There is complete diversity amongst the players in our league. The majority of our divisions rank within the intermediate – experienced skill levels; however we want everyone to feel comfortable in the division they play in so we host a Monday Recreational league where we try our best to regulate which teams are allowed to enter based on their skill level and experience within Toronto Dodgeball. Also, we host a Sunday afternoon Non Co-ed division to which the games are a little faster paced and higher skilled due to the majority of teams being all experienced male players.

  What percentage of players from current seasons have previously participated in your league?

  • We have a high level of return from season to season (on average over 50%) but that shows that the other 50% are new active and skilled players who are ready to dodge, dive, duck, dip and dodge at the opportunity to play the sport within all of us offered divisions.

  How much growth has your league experienced over the past year?

  • The league has had tremendous growth over the past year. The Winter of 2008 (January), was the season time Toronto Dodgeball expanded to a weekday league. It consisted of 6 teams while our Sunday division had 12 teams (8 non co-ed and 4 co-ed). Now in the 2009 Spring season, we have 12 Sunday teams, and 18 weekday teams spread amongst our Monday, Tuesday and Thursday divisions. In 2008 we had 62 teams registered in the league (over 3 season). Currently within the 2 season we have hosted (Winter and Spring) thus far in 2009, 54 teams have played dodgeball with us. On top of our seasons, we also are planning on hosting more tournaments in 2009 which increase the team participation as we have certain teams who can only commit to playing sports every so often and they love coming out to our hosted tournaments.

  If you happen to think it might even be remotely enjoyable, definitely contact Lorne or Dave on their site and get involved; I assure you, it’s a great time – I guarantee it.
  
  

  www.torontododgeball.com

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