Back a long, long time ago, I had my first encounters with instant messaging, in the form of AOL’s Instant Messenger. An outgrowth of the way things worked with those original bulletin board systems, it sure was convenient, being able to have an online text-based conversation with someone without having to actually talk to them, […]

As you read in yesterday’s column, I’ve been unable to activate iTunes Match on an iPhone 4, running iOS 5.0.1. Each time I try to switch it on under the Music settings, I’m warned that “This Device Is Already Associated With an Apple ID.” I’m warned that I can only change Apple IDs once every […]

I have anticipated the arrival of iTunes Match with somewhat mixed feelings. I’ve only purchased a modest number of tracks from iTunes over the years, and many of the gems in my aging CD collection date back to the earliest days of the classic rock era. I can already rip my songs and have them […]

With over one week’s experience with iCloud under my belt, so to speak, I am somewhat underwhelmed with the way it works. I mean, it’s good to see Apple trying over and over again to find the road to success in building some sort of online service portfolio, but previous efforts have been hit and […]