Over the weekend, I attempted to install iPhone 3.0 beta 5 on my first generation EDGE iPhone. The install didn’t work, and my iPhone was stuck with the Pink Screen of Death (PSOD). The phone refused to update to the new OS, either through iTunes or Xcode. Numerous reinstalls, power/home button dances and prayers did not fix the problem and of course there was no way to go back to OS 2.2.1. Finally, I found the solution:

Download iPhone 3.0 beta 4. You will have to Google for the location, but should be able to find it. This beta expired May 29th, but that’s okay.

Restore your iPhone to beta 4 through iTunes 8.2. Option+click on “Restore” to selected the beta 4 ipsw file. Once it’s done, iTunes will complain that your software has expired. Ignore this and option+click on “Check for Updates.” Now select the beta 5 ipsw and it will install. I think the key to this solution is that iTunes is not doing a restore of beta 5, it is simply updating your phone from one beta version to the other. Good luck!

This week Microsoft announced the Zune HD, a new sexy-looking Zune media player that will feature a touch interface, HD radio, and HD video (though not really). The features won’t make you forget about your iPod Touch, but a lot of people are excited about the refresh. Most probably thought Microsoft had given up on the whole Zune idea. Now that it looks like Microsoft has big plans for the Zune, why do people care?

The most obvious reason: because it’s not an iPod. It’s not that people don’t love their iPods, it’s just that we have an affinity for the underdog. It’s the same reason we love Macs and the New Orleans Saints. Some people just prefer things that aren’t mainstream, either because they like to be trend-setters, or simply because they hate the masses. The iPod has become the de facto standard.

Second, the Zune HD appeals to the Microsoft fanboys. Yes, such a sub-group exists. When Macs were getting their butts kicked, the Apple-lovers could unite in a single cause of increasing mac-awareness. In the last few years, it’s been Microsoft on the defensive with Vista, the Zune, Microsoft’s various failed web initiatives, and reaction to the “Get a Mac” campaign. This has given Microsoft supporters a reason to fight, and with PR nightmares like Vista, an inspiration to get the word out. The Zune HD is a good looking piece of hardware, and Microsoft doesn’t usually do “good-looking.” There’s reason to drool, at least until we get our hands on it.

Lastly, the Zune HD announcement offers the glimmer of a coherent device strategy from Microsoft, one that could bring some iTunes-simplicity to the Microsoft world. With a combined Zune/Xbox/Windows marketplace and media experience, Microsoft could make up a lot of ground fast. Throw in device syncing and things get interesting.

The Zune won’t catch the iPod/iPhone anytime soon, but a combined Microsoft ecosystem that builds on the successful Xbox platform and leverages a little bit of the natural reinvestment that will accompany Windows 7 could eventually give Apple some competition. That is a big “could.” The reality is that Microsoft “could” just as easily lose interest in the Zune again.

“Repair your permissions.” It’s the Mac OS X cure-all for fixing almost anything, taking the mantle from the days of rebuilding your desktop. Along with restarting your computer, fixing permissions seems to eliminate 90% of the little problems that can occur everyday on an OS X computer. Recently, we began to have problems with several computers while printing to our Xerox Splash RIPs. We quickly realized that reinstalling the print drivers fixed the issue. Then one day while reinstalling print drivers for the second time on the same machine I started thinking: the OS obviously can’t see some of the files necessary to print. Why is that? The answer hit me like a ton of bricks: incorrect file permissions. If a file’s permissions are wrong, other parts of the OS can not access that file. I repaired the permissions and the printing program went away. Yes, this “quick-fix” really is the first step in troubleshooting any OS X issue.

To follow my daily moves and hear all sorts of moderately interesting commentary, follow me on Twitter. Not sure what Twitter is? Check it out at www.twitter.com. You can also check out my comedy podcast, Southern Discomfort. New episodes arrive every Tuesday.

The Internet is buzzing today over three stories: Hurricane Gustav’s course through Louisiana, the RNC and Gov. Palin’s pregnant 17-year-old, and news of Google’s new open-source browser, called Chrome. The new Web app, a beta of which could be released for Windows as early as tomorrow, will be based on WebKit and will run each web-address as it’s own protected process. The move marks a move to challenge Microsoft and their still-dominant IE browser head-on. Chrome would also act as the centerpiece of a Google pseudo-OS. With Chrome and Google Gears, the Google would control the entire web experience of corporate users using Google Apps in lieu of Exchange or other solutions. Stay Tuned!

Sometimes I get tired of listening to the same music I’ve copied onto my work computer. I need a little variety while sitting in front of a computer for hours straight. Seeqpod is a web-based music player that can find music on the web and then play it like an iPod. Search for a song or artist, then add whichever songs you like to its flash-based music player. And if you’ve registered, you can save playlists for later.

Pandora does Seeqpod one better. With this innovative music service, you create personalized “radio stations” based on the music you like. To begin, enter a song or artist you like. Then, Pandora cross references music types from the music genome project to find more songs of the same variety. If you don’t like a song, you can give it a thumbs down. If you love a song, give it a thumbs up. The more you vote, the more Pandora figures out your likes and dislikes. You can also create multiple radio stations for those days when your music tastes take you in a different direction.

I’m now 6 weeks into the Mac Media Center experiment and I’m still in love. I watched the entire first season of The Wire over the Memorial Day weekend (yes my girlfriend was annoyed) but that’s just business as usual. I’ve also downloaded several movies from P2P sites and watched those as well. Anything Quicktime can view, your Mac Media Center can view via Front Row with a few caveats. First, to view WMV files, you’ll need to download the Flip2Mac plug-in for Quicktime. Again, preview it in QT first to see if it works. To watch AVI files, you’ll want to download Perian. Second, iTunes won’t recognize these files as it only supports Apple-blessed formats such as mp4 and m4v. However, Front Row has a built-in work-around : anything placed in Mac OS X’s “Movies” folder is accessible from Front Row. So, throw your AVI files in there, change the names to something sensible (because the only way they show up in Front Row is by file-name) and you’re ready to rock.

In addition to using Front Row as the engine of your Mac Media Center, remember that because you have a full-fledged computer hooked up to your TV, you can also take advantage of media websites like Hulu.com. Battlestar Galactica looks just dandy in full-screen mode on my 32″ LCD flat screen and the best news is, it’s free. One last note: you have a second, unlikely option if you want to turn your Mac into a Media Center: Xbox Media Center for Mac. I haven’t checked it out myself, but I’ve heard good things. XMCM may not be as smooth around the edges, but it’s full-featured, open-source, and treats AVI, DIVX, MP4 and MOV files all as equal citizens.

It’s been two weeks since I first copied all my iTunes content to a Mac Mini, hooked it up to my TV and started pretending I own an AppleTV. My review so far: awesome. Even my skeptical girlfriend can easily change the input on the TV and use the little apple remote to watch anything Front Row displays as available, including music. After inserting a DVD into the Mini it automatically begins playing too, which is nice. My biggest gripe is that with Front Row and the Mini, I have to retreat to iTunes anytime I want to buy more content, unlike with an AppleTV. Check out my new Mac Media Center page to read more of my ideas to improve the Mac Media Center.

Today I embark on a new venture, setting up a Mac media server using an old Mac Mini. My plan is to copy all of my iTunes media to the device, plug it into my network and TV, and use Front Row to transform it into an AppleTV-style set-top box. I’ll be able to control it using the Mac Mini’s remote but because it’s on the network, I’ll also be able to control the “server” from my laptop via ARD. No extra keyboard or mouse required. I’ve loaded Handbrake for ripping my DVDs and I plan to set-up a shared Applescript folder to easily add content I’ve bought on my laptop to the Media Server’s copy of iTunes. Stay tuned for more details.

Macworld has an excellent series this week on Mac alternatives to Microsoft Office. So far they’ve pitted Numbers vs. Excel and Pages vs. Word. Both articles also list other alternatives for crunching numbers or styling text. Two good reads. I’ve recently begun using Numbers and it is a dream. I simply use TextEdit (or Word) for word processing, but have heard good things about Scrivener by Literature & Latte. It’s worth a download, especially if you are writing longer pieces.