Well it looks like I was in DFU mode after all. I did manage to get my iPhone 4S back up and running. And it did restore iOS 7 with all of the apps. There's nothing scarier than your iPhone going out right about the time the local Apple store or AT&T store has just closed on a Saturday evening.
I already read one of your posts in this forum about DFU mode on another thread, and was in the process of doing the restore when you responded to my question. What about those people who use the iPhone and never back up to iTunes? They're the ones that would really be dead in the water. I had thoughts in my head of running off to the store and getting the new iPhone, only to realize I would have to buy a 5 and I couldn't get the 5C or the 5S off the shelf. If my for 4S had been truly bricked, those would've been my options, a case of really bad timing in Apple's release cycle. Would've been terrible to have to buy a 5, when the 5 is just about to be scrapped!
And then I realized that I no longer have a landline phone which means I need something like Magic Jack or some VOIP system on my PC to make calls when my mobile phone is out. I was about to try to call a local AT&T store, only to realize that I didn't have a phone. I could've hooked up Skype on my iPad and that would've been my only resort.
Again thanks for the help!
