Too funny not to post … in case you didn’t see this when I posted it to my facebook page:

Click the image to view a hilarious viral clip from Apple where a muppet-like creature named Limer with an iPhone 4.0 taped to his hand calls customer service. He’s seeking help with the new video conference feature (a front and a rear facing camera on the new iPhones, don’tcha know) and was very happy with is experience.

Today’s Wall Street Journal held a promising article – one that outlined how the new design of the iPhone 4 will help eliminate one of the previous verions major issues: dropped calls. According to the Journal, “the most dramatic design changes in the latest iteration of Apple’s smartphone, the iPhone 4, is a stainless-steel antenna that wraps around its sides.” That anteanna is doing more than just taking care of your calls, it also handles the iPhone’s Wi-Fi and GPS.

Another reason for the decrease in dropped calls? The new iPhone also puts out more radio-frequency radiation, and I’m not to sure how I feel about that although it apparently meets the FCC guidelines. I also have been very frustrated with repeated dropped calls, sometimes when I’m sitting still! I’d love to believe this has been remedied.

The Journal also reported that “Apple said it took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of its new iPhone 4 on its first day of availability” – insane!! So many, in fact, that it took down Apple’s site for a little bit and orders could not be completed. I read rumors on twitter and facebook that Apple Store employees had begun taking orders with paper and a pen! My word! I haven’t pre-ordered, but I am eligible and will be upgrading to the 4 (I’ve got one of the first 3G models) in the next few months. I’m not interested in being a part of this frenzy, I’ll wait until the next set becomes available.

I ran across a really cool iPhone app (and web site) today while cruising www.mechanicalturk.com for some fun projects. It’s a search engine for mommy bloggers – you can put in a topic (I searched for potty training since I’m currently trying to potty train my son … which is a challenge when you don’t have the same equipment!) and it will return results for what mommy bloggers are currently talking about these topics. How very cool, because it can get overwhelming to try and navigate the blog world without an engine of some sort. And as a mommy blogger myself, I’m hoping that I turn up in those results occasionally.

The app is at http://saysher.com/ and is very intuitive to use. It uses RSS feeds from mom blogs, so you’re seeing the most current conversations. If you have a mommy blog, you can add yourself to their search and be included in the results. They only list blogs from women, go girl power!

Want that new iPhone now, but aren’t sure if you’re eligible for an upgrade at the reduced prices? ($199 and $299 vs. $599 and $699) Engadget had a great post today with info on how to get that answer from your phone. Just “Dial *639# on your current phone. You’ll be returned a text message from AT&T detailing your situation.”

For more info, check out Engadget’s post at: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/08/how-to-check-your-iphone-4-upgrade-eligibility/

I know I’m coming late to the game to Google Calendar – everyone’s been using it for a LONG time. I never needed it because I just used the calendar on my iPhone. Then, my husband joined me in my iPhone-ness and we got one for him. Our first mission? To solve one of our biggest problems – knowing where everyone in the family is supposed to be and getting them there. I work days, my husband works odd hours as a personal trainer, and we have a 3 year old son and a 5 year old daughter. My daughter is starting Kindergarten in August. Very soon, the 3 year old will have his preschool schedule (Mickey mouse day, Green day, Fresh Fruit Day, etc!), the Kindergartner will have her schedule (pick up early today, ballet class today, school trip today, OY!) and I have my crazy work schedule (I work at Disney.com and shuffle between offices, have meetings at odd hours, etc.). I know this is a problem many families have. It’s going to be a good trick to organize the schedule of each of us, and our kids, and be able to share this information right? Wrong.

If you don’t have a Google email account, go sign up for one now. (Where the heck have you BEEN?) Then, from the Google home page, top nav, click on MORE and go down to calendar. It’s in this amazing service, among many that Google offers for FREE, that you can begin to organize your family’s schedule. Set up a calendar for yourself. This is where you’ll put your schedule, your appointments, your lunch dates and doctor’s appointments. Now set up another calendar, this one is for your family. This calendar is where all the info for the kids go. If your kids have incredibly complex lives, you can set up a calendar for each kid but for me, for now, I just need one. The family calendar is where all the info on preschool special days go, where kindergarten field trip info goes, where family events go, and I also put in things like movie night, etc. The next step is to get your significant other to also head to Google, setup their account, and build their calendar. Once you are both in the Google system, and have calendars, you can share them with each other. My husband has a calender with his schedule, so now I know when he is training a client and when he’s on his way home. He also has a calendar to keep track of his own physical training schedule.

Now you don’t need to both have iPhones for this to work – Google Calendar connects up to many different types of phones and devices. I can tell you that if you have an iPhone it’s easier. You download the free Google app from the app store, and the first time you access the calendar from it, it asks if you want to put an icon on your device so you can go directly to the calendar as if it were an app (it runs in the browser). So now you are one finger press away from knowing where everyone is and everyone is going. You can add events from your computer web browser or from your iPhone.

Not only does this make life easier, and makes fewer arguments (ie: How could you forget to come to preschool graduation? I reminded you three times!) it’s super techie cool, and I as the SiliconValleyGirl, just love that.

These will never hit the paper, but beloved Dilbert author Scott Adams posted a few comics on the leaked iPhone storyline. Gotta love it! View his the comics full size and his post HERE.

Gizmodo reports today that they came across a prototype of the next version of the iPhone in a bar – okay, you may think, this is most likely not real. However, they go through the phone inside and out and it’s all official Apple parts (hard to replicate, I’d say).

Check it out for yourself – it’s very interesting! Read all about it and see tons more photos here: http://m.gizmodo.com/site?sid=gizmodoip&pid=JuicerHub&targetUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fgizmodo.com%2F5520164%2F%3Fop%3Dpost%26refId%3D5520164

I have trouble sleeping. More specifically, I have trouble falling asleep; I cannot shut off my brain and stop thinking about the items on my to do list that I didn’t get done today, or what is on the slate for the next one. Sometimes it takes me hours to fall asleep. With the help of my trusty iPhone, I was able to find several different options to help me fall asleep and thus far, I’ve been happy with all of them.
First app I found in my wander through the app store was aSleep. This app is like an old-school noise machine. It’s got a smattering of everything you need audio-wise, and quite a few that are just plain odd. I like the nature sounds, as I often try and visualize myself on a warm beach. It’s quite a bit easier to put yourself in that mindframe if you’ve got the right sound effects. You set a timer, and it’ll turn itself off. (The goal being, of course, that you’re asleep and can’t turn it off yourself.) My faves: Beach, Forest, Night Camp, Rain, and Waterfall. The ones that make me really wonder about what the developer was on while creating these: Volcano Erupting (who could sleep through that?), Scuba Breathing, Voices (I work in cubeland, I hear voices all day long … I don’t want them in my bedroom!) and Organ. In any case, this app is less than a buck and worth it for the great nature sounds. It t also has a super-cute icon of a fluffy sheep.

So now I’ve got my background noise, lets get some actual instructions on how to shut off the ole noggin. For this, I downloaded Relax. This app features Andrew Johnson, a relaxation coach and a Clinical Hypnotherapist. This app has audio recordings of relaxation instruction. The first night I listened to the Short Induction, and I can’t tell you how it ended because I wasn’t awake to hear it. Even if you don’t fall asleep, he’s got a very soothing voice and talks you through relaxing your body one muscle group at a time, and it’s definitely worth the NOTHING it costs.

And for those nights where I need something more than sound effects or hypnotism, there’s always trying to do something relaxing like Yoga. The last app I downloaded in my sleep excursions (something I did while I had insomnia one night) is Pocket Yoga.
I have downloaded videos befoe to play through itues of people doing yoga instruction. This is cooler because it’s not an actual person, it’s a cartoon representation of it doing the poses. It’s a lot less intimidating than watching a perky, blond, girl whp looks like she just fell off of the truck from Rebeka of Sunnybrook’s farm. I like this app but will have to revisit this topic in a few months when I’ve done these workouts for a while.

Sigh. I just don’t know how I feel about this. I love my iPhone. But how useful, really, is a device that says it can surf the web but can’t access anything built in Flash? How ego-centric to iTunes do we really need to be, before we stop being something useful? And for what you gotta pay for this device, it’s glued together and absolutely not upgradeable. It’s like buying a really fancy calculator. You may get some OS updates, and lots and lots if iApps but this is it – this is all this will ever do.

I can tell you this. I’m not buying one. And it’s not because I never buy a version one of ANYTHING, and it’s not because I spend all my money on daycare. It’s because I just can’t continue to support this.

Still love my iPhone. Just not rocking the iPad.