Appleology has spans 246 articles and 289 comments, bringing the comment ratio above 1 comment for each article. Appleology’s had 113,801 visitors since last year, with a consistent growing number of unique and returning visitors. And according to Akismet, I’ve also gotten over 5,000 spam since Appleology’s return in June.

Appleology has really been a great learning experience for myself. I’ve learned more about Apple, iPods, and Mac OS X. I’ve learned more about websites, HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I’ve learned new writing skills and techniques. I’ve learned how to communicate and network with other blogs/websites. And most importantly, I’ve learned how to help people with their Macs, communicate with others, and teach readers new tips and tricks.

I don’t want to go on and on about this, but I do want to thank all of you who have supported Appleology and myself over the past year. Thanks to Scott Dawson of Macsupport, Andy Merrett of the Blue Fish Network, and Laurence Anderson of amacgenius.com. And most of all, special thanks to all of my readers and contributors to Appleology who have supported me over the past year.

Here’s to another year of quality Mac-centric News, Rumors, and Tips for every Mac user!

BitPim saved my LG VX8300 and me from Verizon’s crippled OBEX. BitPim doesn’t exactly have an iApp interface, but it does have potential. Setting up my phone on BitPim wasn’t necessarily “simple”, but it was possible. Here are the steps I took to pair the phone and my Mac with BitPim via Bluetooth:

1. Check to see if your phone is compatible with BitPim.
2. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences.
3. Turn on Bluetooh.
4. Click “Set up new device…” in the Devices tab.
5. Walk through the Bluetooth Setup Assistant and pair the phone with your Bluetooth-capable Mac.
6. Download the latest version of BitPim.
7. Open BitPim and access the BitPim settings.
8. Select “Phone Wizard” and select your cell phone carrier, manufacturer, and cell phone model.
9. Click next and choose either “auto” or one similar to “/dev/cu._________-BTDIAG-1″.
10. Click “Detect Phone” to test the connection. Passed means BitPim found and communicated to your phone. If BitPim does not detect the phone, click back and choose another Bluetooth port. *Make sure your phone has Bluetooth powered on.
11. OK it.
12. Be amazed.

Uploading ringtones was really easy with BitPim, because all of the editing capabilities needed to make the MP3 file compatible with your phone is all in BitPim. When uploading MP3 files as ringtones, I suggest using only a 30 second clip of the song with a 7-9 db volume. Uploading wallpapers and pictures are also easy, with editing capabilities within BitPim to upload your wallpaper at the correct resolution for your phone.

BitPim also lets you download your pictures from your camera phone with ease. After downloading to BitPim, you can export your pictures to the Finder or iPhoto. But make sure when you upload your files to be careful not to select “Replace All” or all of the files could be erased either on your phone or BitPim.

BitPim also includes functionality with other important features, such as calendars, digital phonebooks (vCard), memos, SMS, to-dos, call history, etc. Some phones do not work with some of these features, visit the BitPim website to check if your phone is compatible.

What do you have to do to get the gift certificate, well you have to do something for me. What exactly? Be creative, and the most creative thing I see from somebody will have the redeem link emailed to them by me. You can make me something, make a photoshop image, cartoonize me, make me a video – bake me a cake (I’ll give you my address), anything you may think I’ll think is really creative and worth sending you the $20 iTMS Gift Certificate.

So get creating/making/baking/doing and there’s no real deadline for this, but the sooner you get creative the sooner you have the chance to beat out somebody else!

How To Enter:
Do what you’re going to do, then either post a link/picture/etc in the comments of this entry or send me an email (larry@amacgenius.com) with details, photos, and whatever else. It’s that simple!

Via amacgenius.com

It started about three weeks ago when I was researching “MacBook Pro aluminum wear” in forums, Google, etc. My MacBook Pro had a young bad case of aluminum wear and pitting. So, I finally decided to take my MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar to get them to check it out. The Genius said that my problem was common for Powerbook/MacBook Pro users, but it shouldn’t be happening to me this early. I had to wait for a week to get my new aluminum case in, but the morning before I noticed a new, more serious problem. The bottom of the LCD screen had an obvious line of dead pixels that created a ripple effect on the LCD screen when the laptop was in movement. For the second time, I went to the Genius Bar and told my story and showed him the rippling LCD screen. The Genius wasted no more time, he just asked a few more questions and sent off the MacBook Pro to “the Depot”. This was either a common issue with LCD screens or he was really busy when I showed him the problem.

So, I waited what seemed like forever to get my MacBook Pro back from the Depot, but after a few days I got a call from the Apple store that I could pick it up. I immediately drove over to the Apple store to find that my MacBook Pro had a brand new LCD screen, but the aluminum case was still not replaced. I explained myself one more time, and the Apple store manager told me she could give it to me the next day with the new aluminum case. That night I got a call from the same person saying that she got the job done and it was ready for pickup. I picked up the MacBook Pro along with a complimentary $25 iTunes gift card from the store manager for all of the confusion with my MacBook Pro.