A Moxie Mo Show special blog post:

So I happened to go into my new iOS4 settings (on my new iPhone 4, but would work on iPhone 3 series as long as you’ve upgraded to iOS 4.0) and noticed there’s a new thing called Group Messaging. Had no idea what it is, so I turned it on. What I’ve read is that Group Messaging basically threads your SMS/MMSs and shows a double-head icon so you know that you sent out a SMS or MMS to multiple people. That’s no biggie, right? Here’s the settings to turn Group Messaging on for SMS/MMS:

I got a MMS (photo) from my friend, Alex, of his dog… and I openend it up and saw the picture of his dog. I didn’t think anything of it until I could see at the top of his MMS message every other number that he sent the photo to. It wasn’t just to me, but to four other numbers. I saw their numbers as well. I thought this was weird so I started googling about this… I’m not sure if most iOS4 iPhone users even know about this new change? So I did some research and a test…. sure enough, this is either a bug or it’s meant to be a new feature – no more group MMS/SMS without everyone seeing who you’re sending it to… AND they can all speak to each other within the same “Group SMS/MMS”! UPDATE – It’s no bug, a group MMS, when turned on, can be a “instant chat room” for everyone you send your SMS/MMS to!

So here’s what I found in a Mac forum from an iPhone iOS4.0 user: “Group Messaging seems slightly confusing to me… Given the written material released from Apple, the impression you get from it is that when you send a group text out, any replies sent back from any member of that group message is all grouped together in one thread. Having said that, it seems to function different than advertised…now when I send group messages out they are sent as an MMS not an SMS, even if it only contains text. Furthermore, and even worse, everyone that I messaged is able to see the full list of people I sent the message to. I dunno if this is how the function is intended to perform but it was certainly not explained that way.”

So I knew what I had seen from my friend Alex was something different. So I asked Alex to test it out with me and two of my best friends (Kasie and Kristine). As you can see, they at first couldnt’ see who I was sending the photos to until I told them to go into their iPhone settings – Messages – and turn ON Group Messages (see photo above).

BAM – every one of us could see each other’s numbers and THEN Alex could text Kristine within my original MMS and she could reply back! It was like a “Chat IM” but in MMS format.

I can see where it would be fun – you send a group text or photo to a group of friends, everyone then gets to respond to that message and talk to others besides the original text/MMS sender. But I also think this could be DANGEROUS if you’re sending something to your friends and your boss – do you really want your boss to see your friends information or vice versa?

Update: In order for Group MMS to work, you need it to be turned on. It can be a very useful and cool MMS/SMS chat tool between friends… but if you do NOT want everyone seeing who you’re texting or sending a pic/video of, turn off Group Messaging in your iOS4 iPhone settings. Want more info? Subscribe to the Moxie Mo Show – one of the hottest, moxiest tech podcasts around!

For the MILLIONS of us who were waiting impatiently for the iPhone 4, today was supposed to be a day of glee – getting our pre-orders in for the iPhone 4 so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for hours on launch day which is Thursday, June 24.

Boy, was today a pure nightmare. AT&T’s servers failed from early in the morning (midnight, 4:00am, 7:00am, 10:00am, 12:00pm and so on and so forth). AT&T had to literally close some of their retail stores because people were lining up outside since we couldn’t pre-order our iPhone 4 via Apple (which they couldn’t pre-sale their own product due to AT&T’s authentication servers going down). So what happened?

According to several reports, the demand was way too much for AT&T and Apple’s servers. Many ask, why in the world would AT&T and Apple not be prepared? Great question that we may never know – but to play Devil’s advocate, the iPhone 4 pre-sale sold out by 3:30pm CST. This has NEVER happened in regards to an Apple product, to our knowledge. So clearly, the demand was much bigger than anticipated AND this is the first time an iPhone was launched multi-country which obviously didn’t help either.

I finally was able to order my iPhone 4 at 10:30am today, yet my coworkers couldn’t order there iPhone 4s until later in the day. It was a complete touch and go, both for Apple and AT&T, all day and a lot of people are TICKED off. Can’t blame them.

Here’s what we know:

(1) Many iPhone users were upset that Apple nor AT&T sold the white iPhone 4, but reports are claiming Best Buy was selling them.

(2) According to BGR, “We’ve been able to confirm with multiple sources that all of the AT&T pre-order iPhones have been spoken for. Anyone who placed an order after 1:30pm Pacific can expect to get their iPhone 4 between June 25th and July 5th.”

(3) AT&T finally made a press announcement later this afternoon: “Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history. As of Tuesday afternoon, customers who preorder iPhone 4 moving forward will receive their device on June 25 or later, depending on when the order is placed. We’ll email customers with confirmation once their order is placed, and again when it ships. In addition, we will have devices available on a first-come, first-serve basis in our stores beginning on June 24.”

(4) How many times did we see this at Apple? I saw it around 12 times, starting at 5:00am and FINALLY going to AT&T (as instructed by the blogs) to get my iPhone 4 around 10:30am. I am lucky, I think. We’ll see if I actually get it.

(5) Got to give it to Gizmodo (who may have a vendetta against Apple since Apple snubbed them for stealing their prototype, but Gizmodo had and has several updates of what went on during today’s complete AT&T and Apple disaster. Truly, VERY disappointing: Click Here to read Gizmodo’s time line of what went wrong.

(6) So if you’re someone who was lucky enough to get an iPhone pre-ordered before 1:30PST/3:30CST/4:30EST, then we SHOULD be getting our iPhones mailed to us via FedEx the next day. Important Note: You should not only have received a confirmation on your screen but also an EMAIL confirmation with the status order number and instructions on what to do when you get the iPhone to activate it. If you do NOT have this yet, give it 24 hours.

So, there you have it. Is Apple excited that every iPhone has sold out for pre-orders? Sure. But is it worth to have thousands of people pissed off because AT&T couldn’t handle the pressure, yet again?

Would love your thoughts below. Bottom line, you can always get one on June 24th in the Apple store. More details to follow.

As we discussed in Moxie Mo Show #149, we’re a part of several hot podcasts who are participating in the Summer of Podcasts Giveaway starting today through out the end of summer. Why? Simply to give back to YOU for watching our shows.

Podcastmadness.com is hosting the Summer of Podcasts II Giveaway which allows viewers of the Moxie Mo Show, as well as other viewers of podcasts, to listen to a special code in our episodes. Once you know the special code, simply go to the website and on the right side of the website is a form: enter in your name, the code and which podcast you listen to (obviously pick the Moxie Mo Show!) and you will be entered into a random drawing to win some very MOXIE and fun gadgets, gifts and gift cards. Winners will be announced every few weeks and there will be a new code each month.

Want to know the code so you can enter to win? The code starts TODAY, June 15, 2010 so watch Moxie Mo Show #149 and start entering your name NOW!

As many of you know, I’m a pure weather geek – have been since I was 5 years old and when I saw my first tornado in 6th grade at Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma… I was hooked. Sadly, as of tonight, 5 people have lost their lives but considering this was one of the worst outbreaks in decades, we’re lucky. Yes, the death toll will probably climb, 40,000 Oklahomans are without power as over TWENTY-TWO tornadoes touched down from Oklahoma City all the way east and southeast to Arkansas and Texas. It was scary, awe-inspiring, sad and at the same time unstoppable to watch. Bravo to the men and women at NWS (National Weather Service) and The Weather Channel for doing a great job keeping all of us up to date on what was going on.

Here’s a 3 minute video montage of videos I collected on my TV as well as online (again, these are not mine; they were publicly shown on TWC and local news stations) just to give you a glimpse. More to come, I’m sure.

Why is this a blog post on the Moxie Mo Show? Because, if you read my Twitter or Facebook page, you’ll know that science, which is a part of technology, had this day predicted many days earlier. This goes to show that they’ve made huge steps in the right direction in predicting tornadoes which is hopefully why the death count is lower than it should have been.

Check out episode 144 for more “storm chaser technology” that all of you can use to watch livestreaming storms anywhere in the US – this is absolutely moxie!

Update: Today, Apple release iPhone 4.0 OS for the 3GS and 3G and the soon-to-come iPhone 4. If you want more details than below, here’s a great link to the major changes of iPhone 4.0 OS.

Today Apple announced the much anticipated iPhone 4.0 OS, coming out to an iPhone 3G/3GS or iPod Touch near you late this summer. The iPad will get the iPhone 4.0OS update later this fall, which kinda sucks.

But there’s a lot of good news – here are the top changes (there are 100 in total) to the new iPhone software:

UPDATE (MORE PICS FROM A FRIEND OF MINE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE!)

(1) Multitasking – FINALLY! We will have the ability to run several apps at once – example: play your favorite music on Pandora, then open Tweetie and twitter away, then go to Facebook and update your status all while allowing these apps to run in the background in a very cool way. There are 7 major new technologies that will allow the iPhone 3GS and iPad to multitask in ways no other phone has before (source: TechCrunch)

-Background audio: i.e. Pandora can play in the background and popup controls can control it.
-Background VoIP: Skype calls will continue if you need to switch apps; a “return to call” button will show, and you can also receive Skype calls on a locked phone.
-Background location: turn-by-turn directions can continue when you leave the app. Music can run at the same time and will quiet down when directions need to be said. Very slick. Uses cell-tower-enhanced AGPS. A notification will show in the status bar if an app is transmitting your location. You can also turn off location app-by-app.
-Push notifications: the same push notifications you know and love.
-Local notifications: in-phone notifications for, say, pop-up alarms and such. Local app stuff.
-Fast app switching: this is the service by which apps can store their state when you switch to and from them.

(2) The iPhone will no longer have clutter thanks to Folders, the ability to put many similar apps into one stackable folder, which is very cool. This feature is very similar to the stackable folders we see on Snow Leopard or OS X.

(3) There will also be ONE, unified mailbox – it will use all of your email accounts and put them into one mailbox allowing you to not have to go back and forth from your Yahoo email to your MobileMe email to your Gmail.

(4, 5, 6) The last 3 big changes deal with iBooks (the iPad has great iBooks and now the iPhone will have them, too!), a completely live, socially active Games Center (allows you to play games online with friends and challenge them to duels plus much more) and last but not least, iAds. This is a way for developers to make money by placing really innovative and cool ads into apps. Steve Jobs explained iAds by showing us the following:

-Apple will sell and host the ads; the revenue will be split 60/40, with devs getting the 60. Anybody can make them, just like apps.
-Ads are done in HTML5 (a little dig in there for Adobe)
-Fully interactive; the Toy Story ad Steve showed looks like a native app, includes a game, graphical interface and everything. They can call out for showing times, current prices, and so on. It’s essentially a commercial break app.
-Access to APIs: somewhat scarily, ads will have access to location, accelerometer, and a lot of other stuff.

Please note: this new iPhone OS will come out this summer to the iPod Touch and the iPhone 3GS. An update will work for the iPhone and lower gen iPod Touches, but will NOT have multitasking.

A good fan of the Moxie Mo Show (Lionel Archuleta) has the new iPhone 4.0 OS and showed me some amazing screen shots, never seen before. This shows you how your camera will zoom while taking pictures and video:

For more information, stay tuned to the Moxie Mo Show.

Moxie Mo Show Breaking News:

Apple finally announced today that the iPad Wi-Fi version will finally be available to buy and pick up on Saturday, April 3rd at an Apple store or AT&T store. The Wi-Fi/3G models will be available sometime in late April. That said, a  week from today, March 12th, you can pre-order at www.apple.com for either the WiFi or WiFi/3G models as well.

“Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store,” states Apple.

As we’ve covered in several Moxie Mo Show episodes, the iPad will be a revolutionary device that will fit the niche market between an iPhone and a full laptop.

The question remains if the iPad will be as revolutionary as the iPhone in 2007, as many experts believe it lacks too much for it to be such a huge “phenonemon.”

If you’re still on the fence, check out Moxie Mo Show #125: “Apple’s iPad: Things You May Not Know!” and decide from there. So leave us a comment – are you going to order or wait it out?

Thanks to a few Twitter friends tonight, I got to see an awesome video of what the future holds – HTML5. We’ve talked about it on episodes 124 and 125 about why you do not have to worry that the Apple iPad isn’t going to have Flash. HTML5 is the way of the future and thanks to @jilion, you can see exactly what I am talking about. Take a look at this amazing video – no buffering, no plugins and yes, you can finally watch videos on your iPhone and iPad. Huge leap from Flash and this is why I am SO excited about HTML5:

Click here to watch HTML5 in a beautiful fashion and even watch it on your iPhone – it’s truly the new way to watch video and the iPad will be even better!

So Apple finally did it. They announced their tablet, the iPad, that we’ve been covering for weeks, if not a month or two. It’s everything I was hoping it to be, although there are some things I am VERY disappointed about. Am I am Mac fan? Absolutely. Am I happy with this new device? Yes! Am I disappointed there’s no webcam, camera or multitasking? Absolutely! Some of you aren’t as impressed, and that’s absolutely “a-OK.”

For one, why is their a need for the iPad? According to Steve Jobs, it’s the middle “missing piece” for the iPhone and the Mac. It’s a portable Mac, more powerful than the iPhone and is also something that will kill the Kindle and yet, it’s so much more. You can’t carry a 1/2″ thick, 10″ screen “Macbook” around you that is also as gorgeous as the iPhone is with your photos, videos, movies, TV, documents, email, calendar and now BOOKS! Thus, the need for an iPad.

For over an hour, I followed Engadget’s wonderful step by step coverage of the live event as well as Cali Lewis’ livestream.

Here’s how to sum up the iPad so you know if this is truly what you want (as I know I’m getting one!):

(1) It has everything the iPhone has but more: a bigger, new state-of-the-art backlit LED screen that measures 10″ diagonally, giving you much more screen real estate, WAY more memory, a much faster processor, bigger storage, and like the iPhone will seamlessly incorporate your apps, videos, YouTube HD videos, photos, notes and calendar into a new iTunes that’s literally built into the device. 3rd party apps have already been made for the iPad as well:

The iPad will sync with your iTunes, which the big news on this is iTunes now has a Book Store – which will absolutely compete with Amazon’s pricey and “boring” Kindle. Books will now be sold on iTunes within the iPad and the experience of reading books, newspapers and magazines is truly magical: you have to see it to understand it, but it’s totally worth it and will change the way we read online media.

Everything is meant to work together: your phone (iPhone), your iPad, your Macbook/Mac and even your Apple TV: everything will work on the iPad and works seamlessly.

So why is more than just an iPhone or a Macbook?

The iPad has Safari, Mail, iCalendar, Photos (which looks amazing on this device), Videos, YouTube in HD, it’s also an iPod (much better than your iPod Touch), it has apps, games, 3rd Party apps and even iWorks (which could only be run on a Macbook/Mac)! It comes with Maps (much higher-resolution, GPS, phenomenal interactive new Maps application), Notes, Contacts, and works on the iPhone OS. It’s only a 1/2 inch thick and has an amazingly beautiful design with better, more advanced multi-touch capabilities:

It has 10 hours of battery life plus has built in Wi-Fi for easy access to the internet. The biggest surprise of today’s event was Apple proved all the pundits wrong. It doesn’t cost $1,000 like everyone said it would. The wi-fi iPad will cost you $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), $699 (64GB). That said, they’re also selling a 3G/WiFi version as well, so mobility is the key to this – yes, they stayed with AT&T but I’m okay with that – why? Because you can buy AND cancel 3G at ANY TIME (aka NO CONTRACT) and unlimited data plans are only $29.99. I was very impressed with that. You can also purchase the iPad with 3G UNLOCKED (so if you’re a Sprint user, you can use it!)

The best way to see this is the Apple iPad video that will be on TV soon. It will ship in 3 to 6 months so order now. For more information (see specs here), wait until our episode comes out tonight showing all the stuff that’s not covered here!

Engadget and Apple are releasing new photos of this beautiful multimedia device – that IS more powerful and better than an iPhone and is much more portable and easier to handle and carry than a Macbook. It is the perfect “middle” piece for Apple with 3 major flaws: no webcam, no multitasking and no SMS app.

We’ve extended the Driver Finder giveaway due to several people commenting, as requested, but on other venues of the show – YouTube, Mevio, etc. So we are going randomly pick 3 people who comment on episode 123 – click here – and the winners will be announced on our big episode 124 on Sunday.

So, my PC moxies, you still have plenty of time to try to win one of the best utility software for PC users out there. Want more info on Driver Finder and why your PC is begging you for it? Click here.

Thanks to a friend and a fan of the Moxie Mo Show, Lionel Archuleta, created a FREE iPhone or iPod app for the Moxie Mo Show – click here to open iTunes and download it immediately. You’ll see every Moxie Mo Show app, our blog, my twitter accounts and more. This is one of a kind and our hearts go to Lionel, a Moxie Mo Show fan, for pulling this together. It’s a great app and I would love your feedback:

Dear Moxie Mo Show Fans -

It’s almost time for Black Friday and Christmas/Holiday shopping and if you’re not taking advantage of our several Moxie Mo Show sponsors, then WHAT are you thinking? All you have to do is always go to our Sponsors page (top of page) to save you a ton of money with some really moxie sponsors!

Zazzle is a perfect retail company to buy gifts for loved ones. You can create your own gifts for your friends and family, Zazzle makes them and then you’ve given the perfect Holiday gift! Cards, T-shirts, Mugs, Stamps, Stationary, Hats, whatever you want, Zazzle has! Use MOXIMOSHOW10 and MOXIMOSHOW12 to save money at checkout. 

We all know the importance of protecting our online identity during this holiday season. One of our newest sponsors, LifeLock is #1 in identity theft protection and when you use MOXIE10 at checkout, you get 1 month free service PLUS 10% off! 

Need a rental car for your Holiday Vacation? Use our promo discounts for either Dollar or Thrifty! Save 10% off your entire car rental reservation by using MOX10 by clicking on either Dollar or for Thrifty!

Need to get your house fixed, a babysitter, someone to hang your Christmas lights or even find a doctor? Then use Moxie Mo Show’s  promo code MOXIE (25% off promo code for Angie’s List)! It’s that easy my awesome fans!

Tons of you who watch the Moxie Mo Show are looking to build your own websites – you need a domain name and hosting company that’s cheap, well, guess what? We have FOUR promo codes from GoDaddy.com! Also, don’t have the know-how or time to make a website or blog but really want one? Then use promo code MOXIE to save 12% off the entire membership for SquareSpace to design the most professional website you’ve ever seen.

Happy Holidays my favorite moxies -
Moxie Mo

Well Apple did it again, as usual, and came out with their brand new iMac, Macbook, Mac Mini and even a very superior and exceptional mouse – one that beats Mighty Mouse for sure!

We will cover this on an upcoming episode, but I wanted you to get the “basics” now:

iMacs – Beautifully designed, look the same as the one I purchased in June but have more power. According to Apple, “[it has a] brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure… starts at $1,199…. is the the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance. Every new iMac ships with a wireless keyboard and the all new wireless Magic Mouse, the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch technology.”

Macbook – Back to the classic white unibody (which is new) style and a lot more power and space than previous Macbooks… but at the same great price – $999. If you’re looking for your first Mac, this is the one you should buy, in my opinion. Trust me – it’s worth it.

Now, my most favorite announcement – the new mouse. Why would anyone be excited about a mouse? And why would anyone spend $70.00 on one? Apple writes, ” Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Pioneered on iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface.”