Most of the information that you’ll find online says that it doesn’t happen with every phone. We’re wondering if it has something to do with the way your body is grounded? We don’t know the answer to the reception problems, but we do know that we can’t replicate the issue with any of the iPhones here in Cherry Creek.

Now for the yellowing of the screens.

There have been countless reports of people watching their yellow spots disappear with use. That means, we thought it was an LCD problem, but it’s more likely that it’s an adhesive issue with the screen assembly. Someone familiar with the adhesive (he pitched it to Apple) has been talking in the AppleInsider Forums explaining that the adhesive needs ample drying time before it looks clear. That makes perfect sense to us: the adhesive isn’t completely dry yet, people start using the phones and the yellow spots disappear. Perfect. If you’re one of the unlucky people who are seeing those yellow spots, leave your screen on full brightness and use the phone for a while… let us know if you see the spots disappear. We’re betting that you will.

Here’s the quote:

Apple is using a bonding agent called Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 to bond the layers of glass. Apparently, Apple (or more likely Foxconn) is shipping these products so quickly that the evaporation process is not complete. However, after one or two days of use, especially with the screen on, will complete the evaporation process and the yellow “blotches” will disappear. How do I know? I was involved in pitching Z-6011 to Apple.

***Update***

Apple has officially responded to the reception “issue.” I completely agree with them. Just don’t hold it in that one specific way that causes problems… it’s not like you hold it that way normally. We already told you that we couldn’t replicated it on any of the phones at the Apple Store, what more do you want? Seriously though, here’s the quote:

Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

The problem comes with the iPhones that were delivered prematurely today by the delivery companies: they aren’t doing that well. Screen issues, reception issues, and scratches — oh, my! In all seriousness, we’re hoping that no one expected the phone to be unbreakable… the video below shows it isn’t. The manufacturing defects are the main cause for concern at this point. There are a lot of phones with bad displays (the infamous yellow tint is back).

Reception seems to be a hit or miss problem: holding the phone in your hand seems to create a loss of reception. Wireless experts have questioned the use of the iPhone 4′s bezel as the antenna since it was announced. Improper grounding — i.e. holding it in your hand — can definitely interfere with the wireless signal of the device. That seems to be happening to a lot of users who have already received their iPhones.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t get the iPhone 4; it looks pretty amazing. Carefully vet your decision, it may come back to break you… or your iPhone. Fixing the iPhone 4 will not be cheap. Definitely not the cheap glass replacements we’ve come to expect from the iPhone 3G and 3GS. You can pretty easily expect to pay $200 or more, just to replace the screen assembly. The assembly includes the glass, LCD and digitizer because they’re all glued together in the new iPhone. The labor to replace the parts will also be substantial… so don’t break it. Go get one of Apple’s bumpers, or a full case. Now.

We’ve been working with Apple engineering over the weekend and have come to determine this: even though Address Book doesn’t properly show your GCS preference as a saved option, it’s still syncing your contacts via iSync in the background. To verify that, change a contact, press the sync button in your menu bar and verify the changes. Your mileage may vary — it’s still not working perfectly for us. We’ll leave the original article in tact and continue to update you once the problem has actually been fixed. Hopefully we don’t have to wait until 10.6.5.

***Update 2***

We’ve been able to verify proper syncing between Google Contacts and Address Book 10.6.4 — but your mileage may vary. We ended up having to do a little extra work: deleting the SyncServices folder found in User/Library/Application Support/ ended up fixing some of our current problems. Even though the preference doesn’t show up in address book, it’s still working in the background. Obviously, this isn’t the ideal solution, but we’ll take what we can get for the time being.

***Original Post***

With the Snow Leopard update (10.6.4) that Apple pushed out earlier this week, they released a problem that not many people have yet to realize: Google Contact Sync (GCS) is broken. I actually stumbled upon this information when working with a client earlier this week and set time aside to find a solution. Once updated to 10.6.4, you can still go into the Address Book preferences panel and enable GCS but it won’t actually save that preference. If you quit Address Book, open it again and travel to the preferences, you’ll notice that your GCS settings have been removed.

I’ve verified this a few different ways. The first was a brand new Snow Leopard installation. I downloaded the 10.6.4 update right away, installed it and tried to set up GCS… it wouldn’t save the preference. After that, I made sure GCS was working on 10.6.3, installed the latest update from Apple and verified that it was broken. Ultimately, I’ve figured out that no matter what way you start, GCS will break with the 10.6.4 update.

At this point, I’m going through all of the different Address-Book-related files to see if I can force it to work again. The ever-popular plist options are already out of the question… it was the very first thing I tried. Tossing com.google.GoogleContactSync.plist didn’t even do anything. Surprised? Yeah, me too.

For those of you who are dealing with this problem, we’ll get a solution in due time… but it looks more like a core OS failure than something that will be easily remedied by the end-user. Third-party sync options are looking like a good choice if you need to be running 10.6.4. Otherwise, you can always archive and install your OS using your original system discs or a Snow Leopard retail disc… just make sure you download the 10.6.3 combo update from Apple instead of using Software Update. Another option: grab the 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disc that is still for sale in retail stores. Re-install the OS (don’t erase your hard drive) and you’ll be back up and running in an hour or less.

More updates to come!

While we fix every possible problem your iPhone could have, our top repairs are the glass replacements for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G[S]. In every generation — 1st, 2nd, and 3rd — Apple used tempered glass that was scratch-resistant but far from unbreakable. In the 3G[S], they introduced an oleophobic coating that helped prevent fingerprints and smudges… but it was just as breakable as the previous generations. iPhone 4 is more durable and unbreakable than any device Apple has ever introduced.

Starting with the stainless steel bezel of iPhone 4: it’s impressive from every standpoint. One part acts as your antenna for your GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi… the other acts as your antenna for your cellular signal. Any future reception issues will not be Apple’s fault; they made it very clear that iPhone 4 will have the best reception of any smartphone on the market. So, we can finally blame AT&T or other international carriers without any doubt.

Apple created a new, solid and very durable metal for the new iPhone. Apple explained it well in the iPhone 4 introduction video, “We developed an entirely new grade of stainless steel that, after machining, is incredibly strong but also remarkably precise.” Apple previously used a chrome bezel for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G[S]: it was the primary cause for broken glass in those generations. There was never enough ‘give’ or ‘flexibility’ within the bezel during a drop and, more often than not, the metal pushed into the glass and forced you to come knocking on our doors. In addition to the rubber gaskets found along the glass edges, Apple introduced three flex points around the bezel in iPhone 4. They define the different antennas in the phone and offer us a little more give if we ever drop the device.

Taking it a step further, Apple introduced a new manufacturing process for the Glass of iPhone 4… it’s nearly unbreakable. Referencing the introduction video, Apple states that it’s “comparable in strength to sapphire crystal and about 30 times harder than plastic.” We did a little bit a research and found that the sapphire crystal reference is absolutely amazing… we won’t bore you with specifics but if you’re interested in how durable it really is, take a look at this Wikipedia article. With the added give of the stainless steel bezel and the ridiculously durable glass, we may never need to repair the iPhone 4. Of course, that’s heavily dependent on how well we take care of our devices.

As an iPhone repair center, we do everything we can to keep our prices as low as possible… but with these technological advancements, we cannot imagine that glass/LCD repair will remain inexpensive. Apple reverted to 1st generation manufacturing practices with the screen assembly on iPhone 4: it’s all one piece.

Apple laminates the LCD, digitizer and glass together making them impossible to separate. Repair centers like us will be unable to save you the extra cost by replacing just the glass… we will have to replace the whole screen assembly. Apple currently charges $199 for screen assembly replacements while we can replace the glass for $99 (some repairs centers can offer this even cheaper due to bulk glass purchasing). Due to the new manufacturing process, the iPhone 4 screen assemblies will take a considerable amount of time to replace and the parts will be much more expensive. We’ll give you an update on pricing options once we’ve heard more from our suppliers. We don’t know what Apple’s accidental damage charges will be, but we’re not expecting it to be very cheap.

Overall, we feel as though Apple has taken tremendous steps in durability after receiving copious amounts of feedback from the last three generations of the iPhone. Is it unbreakable? No, but it’s pretty darn close.

When you start considering laptops, it becomes very easy to forget about your backup. Plugging in an external drive isn’t very accessible if you’re dragging your laptop everywhere you go. It becomes a little less of a hassle with a portable firewire drive. Backups are quick and they’re tiny enough to fit in your bag… but you still have to plug something whenever you want to back up. So how do we fix that?

A great way start is with NAS (Network Area Storage). NAS allows you to connect to your storage space over the network. Depending on your setup, you can drag and drop important files to your NAS or use a Time-Machine-compatible device that will allow you to run full backups over the network. With NAS, you could come home each day and backup your computer without ever thinking about it. Time Machine will recognize that your backup drive is available once you connect to your home network and start backing up that day’s activity. It’s really a set it and forget it option. Pretty cool.

Apple offers a NAS solution that most people have deemed unworthy of data protection: Time Capsule. It offers all of the network and backup features we outlined above, but what happens when it fails? You lose your backup. There’s no way to access the hard drive in the Time Capsule without voiding your warranty. Apple is happy to swap it for a refurbished device, but you’re not getting your data back. What happens if it fails at the same time as your internal hard drive? You lose all of your information. You could take it to a professional data service like Data Tech Labs: they’d try to recover the information but at that point you’ve lost a $300+ device and a bunch of money on data recovery. So, that doesn’t really keep everything safe… there has to be something better, right?

There is. This is not a cheap solution and wouldn’t necessarily be the best solution for at-home use but it is very practical for your business… or even a tech-oriented family. If you have a lot of computers in your business or on the same home network, this would be an ideal backup solution for you. You can have all of the network and ease-of-use features as we listed above… but with a little more data integrity.

In April, Data Robotics introduced a NAS called the Drobo FS. Let’s cover some of the features that will make this more stable than any other option currently available to the average consumer.

Drive Redundancy — We won’t get into everything that is RAID in this post, we’ll just tell you that this device allows you to choose what type of protection you want. You don’t have to mirror drives at all… you could give yourself up to 10TB of network space if you’re not concerned about redundancy. If you want extra protection, you could install four 2TB hard drives for a nearly infallible system with 4TB of network space.

Self-Healing Technology — The redundancy this product features would allow two separate drive failures without any loss of data. If you find yourself with one, even two failed hard drives… don’t sweat it. You can just toss in another hard drive and it’ll start rebuilding your RAID without any stress from you.

Time Machine Support — Just yesterday, May 20th, Data Robotics announced full Time Machine support for the Drobo FS. This means that you can use it just like any other drive via Time Machine… but over the network like the Time Capsule.

Drobo Apps — This one is more for the media enthusiast. Drobo has applications that will help you stream media from computer to computer and even setup an iTunes media network share.

We realize that this backup solution isn’t for everyone… it’s just the best solution we’ve seen in a long time. The enclosure itself starts at $699. If you want to order it with hard drives pre-installed, that could run the total up to $1,499. That may seem like a lot for data integrity, but let us remind you that data recovery can run you upwards of $1,000 per drive. We’re not trying to scare you (maybe a little), we just want everyone to take data backup seriously. In fact, we’ll make less money if you follow our advice. So, what does that tell you?

That’s about it. We know that’s a lot to take in. We want you to know that we’re here for you. If you decide to grab a Drobo FS, we’d be happy to come out and help you set it up. This article was part of our How-To series. We’ll keep updating it with helpful information all the time. Soon, we’ll have a step by step guide for a regular time machine backup with a normal external hard drive. Should we have done that one first? Maybe… it just not as interesting.

Here’s a video from Data Robotics about the Drobo FS. If you’re at all considering the device, you should watch the video and be amazed.

Project Gutenburg has made 30,000 books available to iBookstore users for free! That means that I could literally read for the rest of my life without spending any more money on books. However, these books are generally old and all public domain, so… I’ll probably still buy new books. In fact, I’m more of a paperback guy myself, but there’s nothing like bringing 20 books with you and being able to start and stop wherever you want without having to worry about marking the page. Project Gutenburg converts older books into digital format and their efforts allow for people to read them on nearly any digital reading platform. The one thing that isn’t always included or may not be public domain is the book cover artwork. After downloading some the classic books that I wanted to read, I noticed that my iBooks library wasn’t very pretty: nothing but the default images from Apple.

My OCD doesn’t allow that.

In order to add book covers to your iBooks, just follow the bulleted steps listed below. It’s actually very similar to the album art article we wrote a few months back. Anyways, the steps:

• Find the book cover image you’d like to use via Google image search or another search engine.
• Right-click and copy that image to the clipboard.
• Find the corresponding book in iTunes, right-click it and choose “Get Info”.
• A new window will pop up. In there click over to the “Artwork” tab.
• Click the empty space and paste the image.
• You should see your image in the window. Click “Okay” and you’re done!

It’s really that easy. Unfortunately for my OCD, books come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and aspect ratios so there’s absolutely no way to make it look perfect like my Music and Movie collection. Don’t forget, you can follow these same steps if you don’t like the default cover art that comes with your iBook. Some of us grew up looking at different cover art than others… so just find the one that suits you best and you’ll be set.

Please let us know if you have an questions or comments about this article. Otherwise, you can follow @rmmrdenver on Twitter. All of our articles come through as Tweets, so feel free to reply to our posts with questions or comments on Twitter.

The transition to Square may be a bit slow — they’ve been bombarded with applications and they’re trying to sort through them all — so we may still have to run things through PayPal for a little while longer. At this point, we’re limited to $100 per transaction because of the sheer numbers they’re trying to process. Eventually that limit will increase and we’ll allow you to pay with a credit card whenever, wherever and however you want.

If you want even more information about Square, you can head over to our sister site CocoaTouchApps.com and read our detailed post. It answers many of the questions that Square’s site does not.

At Rocky Mountain Mac Repair we believe in helping our community any way we can. There’s a need for international aid, but we still see problems here in Denver… so we’re going to help. We don’t want to know what religion you believe in, if you’re agnostic or even if you consider yourself “spiritual” — we do want to know that you care about the community around you. We do our best to remain environmentally friendly and recycle all of our broken parts with a local company. We also do our best to give back to those in need. Here’s how:

Outreach Saturdays

We will be holding special events throughout the year to support local programs that make a difference in the Denver area. We’ll get our hands dirty to raise money, awareness and support for them. We’re going to be starting with DenUM. We’re still working out the details of our upcoming events, but you can expect a Saturday of free troubleshooting, support and quick fixes… in return for our time and services, we ask that you make a donation to DenUM. If you haven’t heard of DenUM, you’re not alone: that’s why we chose to start with them. If you’re involved with an organization, ministry, or other community outreach program, we’d love to learn about your program and figure out how we can help. Please get in touch with us by emailing here: outreach@rmmr-denver.com.

Please take the time to read about all of our partners on our Organizations page.

RMMR Gives Back

We’re also starting “RMMR Gives Back” (Yes, we borrowed the name from American Idol). Every month, we’ll give a free repair to the person who needs it most. We understand that things break when you least expect it and sometimes we don’t have the money to pay for it… tell us your story and we may be able to help you out. Obviously, we can’t do all of our work for free (we really wish we could), but as we grow, we hope to cover more repairs for those who need it. Our only requirement is that you allow us to share your story with our customers. We don’t think we’re cool and we’re not doing this to boast, we’re doing this to set an example of how a small business can make a different in the community. If you make a donation to RMMR Gives Back, we’ll be able to help more people each month: head over to the outreach page and click the donation button. You’ll receive an invoice for your donation… and it is most certainly tax-deductible.

The deadline for submissions is the last day of each month. At that time, we’ll read through your stories and contact you if we can help. If we do not get in touch with you, resubmit your story for the next month. Please note that, at this time, we cannot help everyone who submits a story… do not feel discouraged… we still care about you: that’s why we ask that you resubmit for the next month. Depending on the success of our business and the donations from our customers, we’ll help everyone we can. If you or someone you know needs a little help, send us an email with your story to outreach@rmmr-denver.com.

We’ll keep you updated on our Outreach progress through our blog (the page you’re reading right now. Please subscribe via RSS or follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.