How I beat on OS X

It occurred to me today how much I beat on OS X at least it sure seems like beating to me. I rarely think about what is open, what the computer might be doing between key strokes, whether another program is opening, closing, saving or whatever. I just do what I need to do and the Mac really never complains.

I work on the TiBook a lot still which is kind of weird because the Dual G5 with the 23-inch Cinama is sitting right here but I mostly use that computer for Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and various Audio apps and not as a communication platform.
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Direct from Shanghai to Me, My iPod Video!

Apple shipped FedEx from China on Oct 17, I got the 60 Gig, black beauty in Wisconsin on Oct 18th. Wow, ain’t modern transportation cool!

Here it is next to my 40 Gig iPod Photo. The larger screen is clearly noticeable and it seems brighter and sharper in person. you can also see the smaller click wheel. I think the smaller size actually works better for me.

I think the video capability is pretty neat and I have some plans for a few iPod formatted video podcasts that show slope soaring tips or new slopes but the main thing I got it for is the now high quality audio recording capability. I was always surprised that the past iPods were hobbled in this department. I assume this was a concession to the music industry but with a ton of other devices out there capable of high quality recordings it just did not make sense any more. Now we just need a compatible microphone! The manual that comes with the new pod says the microphone will connect through the dock connector. Sounds good. I want one!

I am also looking forward to the larger drive since the 40 Gig Photo has about 1.2 Gigs left. It was almost time to start pruning!

This picture shows how much thinner the new iPod is compared to the old Photo. It is more comfortable in the pocket and just feels “right” in the hand.

I’ll give more impressions after I use it a bit. Now, how about that microphone!

Loving my Kensington Stereo Dock for the iPod

I’ve been using this thing almost every day for a month and I am stoked. It is a really super product. I’ve been listening to podcasts, my music library and audio books and everything works and sounds great.

I am using it with my 40gig iPod Photo. I have it at my office/shop hooked up to my older Denon amp driving a pair of AR TSW-610s. No problem filling the 1200 sq/ft shop.

I use the remote from time to time. It is about 20 feet from where I normally work to the Kensington Stereo Dock and it works well. I like how it lights up to let me know I’ve hit a button, that and the iPod lights too. I can skip forward or back and adjust volume. Nice.

I also like that the base is solid, has a light and a back rest for my iPod.

The dock also keeps the iPod charged. This is much better than my old setup which was just a line out of the headphone jack to the input of the Denon.

The unit also works with the Mini. Very cool!

Kensington Stereo Dock for iPod

Tiger upgrade killed my Kung Tunes! (maybe)

So far that is the only thing I’ve noticed that is not working correctly. I get an error in the Kung Tunes app that says:

“Upload failed with error code: The command exited with a non-zero status.”

whatever that means. I assume it is related to the “curl” function that used to upload the changed files to my blog server. Could have been a security update plugging a hole too. I just noticed it when I installed Tiger on the machine I use for iTunes.

I do have a work around but it is not ideal. I have Interarchy running an FTP disk for my blog site and have it set to Mirror Both Ways and just have Kung Tunes publishing to a local directory for the site then when Interarchy notices it has a changed file it goes ahead and uploads the new track files. Seems to work for now.

If you know how to get Kung Tunes back in action, I’d like to hear about it.

[composed and posted with ecto]

New Computer For My Mom

It has been several years since my mom used a computer at work and she has been making noises about wanting one for home for the last few months, if not more. At first I was going to piece something together from the several old Macs around the Smith household but the units not currently being used are barely OS X compatible and I would not put mom on OS 9. So, I hunted for used units for a while but Apple must have seen the need because they introduced the Mac Mini. Just what mom needs!

It took a bit of time to gather up the peripheral items but I got it all together and went over to her house yesterday to set it up. Actually, I set it up at my house the day before and spent about 8 hours playing with it! The Mini seems very capable and even with only 256mb of RAM it seems fine for what she will use it for. I banged on it for a while trying to see where the weakness may be but really didn’t find any even with several apps open.

I burned several discs in iTunes and the speed was fine. I added a bunch of pix and tried several of the editing features in iPhoto 5 which I found really nice. I usually use Photoshop and iView but I was pleasantly surprised at the capability of iPhoto.

The first couple of things mom wants to do are email and web browsing so I got her going on that. So far, so good. She seems really excited to have the Mini. Hope it gives her good service and lots of fun. Digital camera is next!

OK, Now I will Give Ecto a Try

So far I really like the looks of this tool called Ecto. It is more what I expected to find when I went looking for this type of tool.

How about a link to my buddy’s web site, SkyKing RC Products. He has reintroduced several classic RC slope sailplanes and has a bunch of neat accessories as well.

Greg says So Far, So Good.

Using the Digital Out on the Powermac G5

I’ve been running M-Audio Studiophile SP-5B near-field monitors for a while on a couple of different Macs. My B&W G3 was playing iTunes for several months through them and, periodically I used them with the TiBook as well. In both instances I was using the Xitel HiFi-Link Pro via USB and thought the performance was pretty good. The set up I used here was RCA out of the HiFi Link to a 1/4″ adapter to plug in to the M-Audios. There were a few issues but no real bugs plus noticibly better sound than using the headphone out jack.

With the recent purchase of a G5, and the availabity of the digital out port, along with a bug that would not let me route Garageband through the HiFi Link, I decieded to get a real DAC (digital/analog converter) to take the optical sound output and convert it for the best input on my SP-5Bs, XLR, baby! I picked up a M Audio Super DAC 2496 from Amazon and got it hooked up.

Shazam! There is a noticible difference in the quality even with iTunes but real CDs and DVDs are just killer! Two thumbs up!

I also use Detour to help route sound to different outputs. This worked great with the USB set up. I could pass system and non essential program sounds through the built-in output and route the good stuff through the SP-5Bs. On the new setup the digital out is counted as built-in audio so I can’t run system sounds through the little built-in speaker in the G5. The sounds come through the SP-5Bs. I can still route the system sounds to USB though so If I get a little USB speaker setup that may be the ticket.
Whatever, going with this digital out setup is too cool!

Mac OS Update 10.3.8 is Out

Apple released OS X 10.3.8 on Wednesday. As usual there are a few reports of update problems. I usually wait a couple of days to install a new update to see if the install issues are isolated or the result of an improper installation or a real problem. They usually ferret themselvs out in a few days if they are real problems. That said, I’ve never had a problem updating using “Software Update”. I do repair the disk and permissions before an installl and then permissions again after the update. (Disk Utility).

If you want to directly download the file do it here: OS X10.3.8 Update (27.7MB).

Macworld UK – Duke Uni iPod trial “Going well”

Very cool! More schools and businesses should leverage the creative minds of their students/employees like this to maximize the usefulness of new technologies.

Macworld UK – Duke Uni iPod trial “Going well”