Ken Ray from Mac OS Ken , Adam Christianson from the Maccast and I have one of our Three Amigos talks about the next 18 months of Apple. Check out Ken’s Mac OS Ken’s Day 6 subscription show. This has already been played there and it gives us all a great example of the quality content Ken has on that site.
In this show I interview Cali Lewis from Geekbeat.tv and I cover file and folder permissions with all of you
Today’s Featured Application
I have been using MacKeeper and it is a fantastic solution for your Mac. Check them out at MacKeeper and try it for free.
Show Notes
Tools Cali Mentioned
by: George Starcher, Associate Editor
I picked up a zomm after Victor told me it was not as large as I thought it would be. Now Victor has a few years on me. So I do not have an issue misplacing my iPhone. It is like my Binky after all, I take it everywhere and it stays within reach. With that ashamedly admitted to the world, I DO happen to misplace my keys in my house from time to time. So I got to thinking what if I got the zomm, and turned off my bluetooth on my iPhone tricking the zomm into thinking my iPhone went out of range. Boom baby, there are my keys.
So what are my thoughts? Well I like it well enough to keep it. Victor has covered the good points already. So let me cover the two issues I have had.
1. Where do you keep your keys vs where you walk in the house with your iphone? I carry my iPhone around often. Particularly, I use it for an alarm clock so it ends up by my bed. My keys however, try and live on the kitchen counter, well until they don’t and I can’t find them. So that is just far enough combined with my house construction that it caused an issue last night. I took it to bed, it was fine for an hour. Just until I was drifting off. Then it decided the iPhone was suddenly out of range despite not having moved an inch on my nightstand. Instant alarm blaring across the house. So I either have to retrain myself where I keep my keys, take them to my night stand at bed time or turn the zomm off when at home. The last sorta defeats part of the benefit to me.
2. Something got fixed in the iOS v4.0.2 firmware. Sure they say it was pdf flaw only. But before that update when I held down the home button for Voice Command it would come out of the iPhone not my built in handsfree bluetooth in my car. Now it comes out in my car properly and hears me through that microphone perfectly. I was in heaven again now I could make calls without waiting for the next stop light to dial. BUT with the zomm the iPhone wants to use the zomm for handsfree even when it has a connection to both the zomm and my car. So I have to retrain myself to press the zomm button to temporarily turn it off then back on before and after getting in my car. Not a huge deal but an annoyance when my car keys are always in my pocket. My car has keyless entry.
So other than that I like the zomm just fine. You can even reprogram the emergency number from being 911 to that of say a family member instead. You do this from the Activate Zomm application used to setup the device. Just pick Custom when telling it what your emergency service is and enter the number manually.
Ultimately for me I think this becomes an insurance policy of sorts when I travel. It will help me not drop my phone in a cab, leave it in the hotel etc. And remember, iPad has bluetooth too. You could use your zomm with your iPad instead and reduce the chance you will leave it laying around somewhere when you travel.
As I was cruising Twitter yesterday my friend Cali Lewis (@calilewis) tweeted that John Pozadzides (@johnpoz) was “showing off the Zomm at dinner.” Ok, what the heck is a Zomm? I was intrigued and went the their web site www.zomm.comto look at this gadget I’d never heard of. You see it seems that since I turned about 45 my memory is not one of my strongest attributes. I often forget my iPhone in the house, or I panic because I think I have lost it but left it in the house. As I read about what the Zomm could do for $79.99 US., I thought maybe this is the answer to this problem.
As if we needed more proof that we live in the future we now have the Zomm. It a part Blue-tooth speakerphone, “wireless leash,” and panic button. I saw on their site that it was available at Best Buy so I went over this morning and bought one. I usually request a review unit, but given my propensity to loose things, I could not wait.
At first I thought it would be too big and the last thing I wanted was another huge dongle in my pocket. I was happily surprised that the Zomm is about the size of an old silver dollar and weighs barely a quarter of an ounce. So that for me is not a problem. I had to charge the unit for about two hours before using it, but after a very user friendly activation process (via an OS X app) the device worked just as advertised.
So here is how the Zomm works as a wireless leash. After pairing with your cell phone, it sounds an alarm, first vibrating, then flashing, and finally beeping loudly,whenever it loses the Blue-tooth link (usually at around 30 feet). I took a walk outside and about the time I got to the middle of the street sure enough I knew I did not have my iPhone 4.
So for an older guy like me the Zomm is going to keep me from forgetting my phone at home, work, or anywhere I might leave it lying around. That for me is worth the price of this device along. Now I just have to remember not to lose my keys. The Zomm also vibrates, flashes, and beeps whenever a call comes in. That’s a real advantage as sometimes I don’t feel my iPhone 4 when its on vibrate only mode.
The Zomm can also be used as a speakerphone , but here the device is no better than the speaker phone that is already on my iPhone. However it is nice being able to answer a call just by pushing a button, instead of having to find my phone in my pocket Also, to transfer the call to my handset I just push it again and it transfers the call.
The last features of the Zomm has to do with personal-safety. They are a panic alarm and an automated call for help. The latter dials 911 and even plays an emergency message if you don’t say anything.
The only issue I see with these features, is remembering how to access them. The Zomm has just one control ; the big “Z-button”. You really only have to keep the button held down to activate the “panic alarm,” however this is also the same button you push to pair the phone, turn it off etc. So I found it difficult to figure out how long I would have to push it for before the panic alarm sounded. Also I would like to be able to turn off the audible panic alarm so if I was being rob, I could reach for the button and it would just silently make the phone call to emergency services. .
Overall I think Zomm is a great buy for me. I took advantage of an extended warranty service that I was offered during activation for $19.99. This is a two year “no questions asked” replacement offer that will let you send back a Zomm even if you broke it or stepped on it, two times within two year. Not only am I forgetful, but I’m also clumsy.
So I think this is a great device for anyone like me who tends to forget , but also for elderly people who may fall and have a need to call 911 via their cell phone without having to pay for a service month to month. I think my Mom has one of these coming to her for Christmas.
Today I cover some of the great features found in Mac OS X System Preference. This is part 1 of a multi-part series.
Tonight’s show is brought to you by:
Help Victor and the show by purchasing items at the Typical Mac User Amazon Store
Show Notes
The folks who make X-Band for iPad sent me a free trial unit to test out on my iPad. The idea behind X-Band is simple. Take some elastic material and build a nifty holder for your iPad. All you do is slide your hand into the flexible neoprene glove.
There is no doubt that this product does exactly what it claims to do. You can use the iPad during presentations and be sure that it is secure and ready for you to view. I think this would work great, pecially during presentations. The build quality is good but in my opinion could use some polishing. It does not live up to the design style and material choice for a product that is a clean as the iPad. My only other complain is the price. In my opinion it is just slightly over priced at $19.99 U.S. I would rather see this product come in at $12.99.
I expressed these concerns with the folks that run X-Band and they were gracious and more than willing to hear my feedback. As a matter of fact they said they would do a discount for the readers of this blog as a way to compensate a bit for my price complaint. Just Enter TMUP at checkout and you’ll get 10% off the purchase price. This deal will expire August 31st.
So overall this product gets a 3 out of 5 stars, simply because in my opinion it could use nicer materials and design, and the price could be a bit. Check out X-Band and decide for yourself.
Visit and support our show sponsor
