Friday report
last night we spent some time in los feliz. i have to say that although it was pretty trendy i had a good time. we ate at a restaurant called fred 62 and then went on to the LAist one year anniversary party at the vermont bar. a good time was had by all. or, at least, me and most everyone. i went with add and jrod. add has little trouble talking to other people and i can walk away from him to mingle and he will be fine.
jrod, on the other hand, is a little more socially handicapped. he’s a great guy and i like him. he just seems to have trouble in social situations. its easy for me. i can walk up to pretty much anyone and strike up a conversation. and, as this was a party for LAist, a website i write for, it was even easier for me to talk to people. not so much for jrod.
although, i don’t know exactly what i expect. do i think he will be the life of the party and go around charming all the ladies? maybe i expect too much of him. i just want him to be happy. he is single and has a new job that he regrets taking. he was making good money in the freelance world but had an opportunity to move to a full-time gig with room for advancement so he took it. now, he regrets it as the new job hasn’t yielded the results he was hoping for. that’s life i guess. perhaps it will work out in the end.
anyway, i met some nice people like the go fug yourself girls (they were cool and didn’t make fun of my outfit), Mark from Buzznet, Tracy of Little Lady Red and had some good conversation and stayed completely sober the entire night.
i’m sure there are pictures floating around the internets from the event but i didn’t take even one. if i find any, i will post them or link to them. i know people had cameras as i got flashed in the face a few times. as to what happened to the pictures, its anyone’s guess. well, on to the weekend.
Last Call (and some news)
i’m at my “office” (aka Starbucks) and people watching a little. The summer is always interesting here in the warmer climes. much more skin is shown and many times that’s a good thing. in fact, there are some pretty good examples of that here right now.
sadly, sometimes it isn’t. you know what I mean. now, i’m not small or thin by any means. In fact, i’m pretty big. however, at least I have the sense not to wear a shirt where my entire stomach is exposed so it can hang way over my belt. although, mine doesn’t do that. anyway, you’ve seen that person before, i know you have. people just should look in the mirror a little more before leaving the house. i’m not against them, i feel bad for them.
anyway, i am at least taking steps to remedy my situation. first, and this will definitely come as a surprise to many, i have stopped drinking alcohol completely. yes, that’s right. no more booze. i’l give you a minute. . . .ok, you may wonder why? its not because i think i have a problem or that i think alcohol is bad or that i’ve found God or anything. nothing so dramatic. it is just time to stop.
all the rest of you can keep drinking as much as you want. i am not going to judge anyone. what i’m doing is only for me. just to see if i can. it’s really more of an exercise to help me get healthier. i don’t like the feeling i get after a night of going out for a few. the next day (sometimes the next two days) are just not as fun when you have a hangover and feel like crap.
this started after my last trip to vegas for add’s birthday party. that was early june. so it has been a couple months already. i won’t say i have not had a drink at all in the last few months. i have had one or two. stopping completely is harder than it sounds. however, my intake is way, way, way down and is going to stay that way. its just time for a change, that’s all.
also, i have started back to the gym and am eating less and exercising more. just like you are supposed to. i want to try it this way and see if things improve. i don’t want to resort to an all liquid diet like my friends tm and jh are trying. a doctor supervised ucla experiment. i guess its come to that for them. not for me. not yet anyway.
in other news of the world:
apple comes out with a 2-button mouse! hell does not, in fact, freeze over.
the space shuttle will get some in-space repairs.
and, NASA shows a few designs for the next-gen shuttle (nyt reg required). change for the better is good. let’s hope they are on the right track.
a noted Windows expert calls for a boycott of the next version of Internet Explorer (IE7).
and this guy has a lot of time on his hands but he might have a point. i have heard of this. at least it hasn’t happened to me yet. i hope netflix isn’t like that but you never know.
Interesting Sites ‘O the Day (and a little news)
From across the www direct to you. Some interesting sites that might be worth a visit. Especially if you are looking to kill a few minutes (or a few hours). Enjoy.
The Playstation 3 info page of things known so far.
Microsoft Windows Vista (i really love that name. no, really. at least no animal names. kinda tired of that too) info page with screenshots.
Some speculation on the innards of the Video iPod, to be released real soon (i am holding my breath. i hope it doesn’t take too long).
Some good tips that every webmaster (like me!) needs to know to enhance his or her use of Google Adsense.
This looks promising. Record everything on TV and play what you want. When you want. No more season passes or setting the timer on the VCR (although, if you really have a VCR, its time to move into the 21st century and get a Tivo at least. I mean really people, tape is so nineties).
And, it seems some debris fell off during the latest shuttle launch. It looked so perfect too. So, NASA has grounded the fleet again. Well, the comet thing was cool anyway. Can we get something else besides foam? It doesn’t work guys. You’re really, really, really smart. Think of something else. Please.
And last but certainly not least, some very cool tips on how to speed up Mac OSX. Many of these I already use. I guess I could have posted them too. Oh well, easier just to link to this guy. Less work for me.
Interesting Sites 'O the Day (and a little news)
From across the www direct to you. Some interesting sites that might be worth a visit. Especially if you are looking to kill a few minutes (or a few hours). Enjoy.
The Playstation 3 info page of things known so far.
Microsoft Windows Vista (i really love that name. no, really. at least no animal names. kinda tired of that too) info page with screenshots.
Some speculation on the innards of the Video iPod, to be released real soon (i am holding my breath. i hope it doesn’t take too long).
Some good tips that every webmaster (like me!) needs to know to enhance his or her use of Google Adsense.
This looks promising. Record everything on TV and play what you want. When you want. No more season passes or setting the timer on the VCR (although, if you really have a VCR, its time to move into the 21st century and get a Tivo at least. I mean really people, tape is so nineties).
And, it seems some debris fell off during the latest shuttle launch. It looked so perfect too. So, NASA has grounded the fleet again. Well, the comet thing was cool anyway. Can we get something else besides foam? It doesn’t work guys. You’re really, really, really smart. Think of something else. Please.
And last but certainly not least, some very cool tips on how to speed up Mac OSX. Many of these I already use. I guess I could have posted them too. Oh well, easier just to link to this guy. Less work for me.
Yahoo gets into the widget business and other stuff
Yahoo! for some reason decided that widgets were another great way of competing with Google. So, they purchased Konfabulator and today, debuted their own Yahoo! widgets site. They say Mac support will continue and may even get better as they want to be more “cross platform”. That’s nice. Will that make up for the less than stellar version of Yahoo! messenger now on the Mac? I hope so.
Also, quite a bit of fanfare for the new XBox 360 in Tokyo recently. Having seen it at the recent E3 event here in LA, I can say that it looks great and could help push Microsoft ahead in the console wars. Of course, there is a big difference between a demo and actual released product so anything is possible. It could still suck.
Lastly, Microsoft also wants to bring you the world. Or is that dominate the world? I get those mixed up sometimes. Anyway, they now have the Microsoft Virtual Earth site. Which is, of course, in direct competition with Google Maps. Which is better? Too early to say. However, I did have some issues using Virtual Earth with Safari 2.0 in Tiger so . . . . I guess it’s still Google Maps for me for now, which works perfectly fine in Safari.
Fad diet
In order to help us figure out what is real and what we should and should not care about, CNet has posted its Top 10 Web Fads. Like it or not. Agree or not. It sure makes you think. Or not.
Whatever you think or feel you own it. Even if its influenced by the mass media or the cute girl who served you your Starbucks this morning. No matter what, that feeling is yours.
Enjoy it. No, I feel like going to bed. So, I am. Perhaps I will dream about Ellen Feiss.
Life with the Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR (so far)
I realize that when I write something here and say I am going to do something, I should probably do it. So, in that spirit, following are my much considered observations on the Canon 20D digital SLR. As a former Nikon user who previously had a Nikon D100 and used it frequently, the Canon has taken some getting used to. It’s not bad, just different.
Some people have also asked me why I switched from Nikon to Canon. My reasons are simple. I looked at the new Nikon cameras like the D70 and the new Canon cameras like the 20D and decided that I liked the 20D and its features. And, after a few test shots with the 20D, it felt right. So, that was it.
Plus, I originally had been a Canon user, owning the very cool EOS A2, before I ever got a Nikon so it was really more like I was going back than switching to something new. And, I had used one or two of the Canon “L” lenses that a friend owned and had really liked the way they work. Now, of course, I am in love with Canon “L” glass and that causes problems of its own because those suckers are expensive.
People always want to get into the Canon v. Nikon debate much like the Macintosh v. Windows debate. It is usually a hotly contested issue where people take opposing sides and defend those sides with near religious zeal. I look at technology as a tool. A tool that allows me to accomplish things and sometimes even to create things.
The big question for me is always what tool can i use to do something and almost as important, what tool will help me do what i want to do and not get in the way. I use a Macintosh because it helps me and doesn’t hinder me (not usually anyway). Windows simply takes more time to get working correctly and requires more diligent maintenance. The Mac just works. Turn it on and go.
The same holds try for my choice in cameras. The Canon 20D was easy to use right out of the box and with minimal effort, allowed me to take some decent photos. Turn it on and go.
Anyway, let’s get on with it:
First, here are some specs on the camera:
8.2 Megapixel: 3,520 x 2,344 pixel images. Also 2,544 x 1,696 pixel and 1,752 x 1,168 pixel settings. Choice of Regular JPG or Fine JPG. RAW mode and also RAW + JPG mode which lets you choose which kind of JPG you get along with your RAW file.
1.6x lens cropping factor. You have to buy a 10 - 22 mm Canon lens for ultra wide shots; any 17 mm or 18mm lens will only give an angle of view similar to a 28mm lens on 35mm film.
5 Frames Per Second Shooting Rate. Good for the sports shooter. Or, for me who likes to bang out several frames in a row to up the odds of a “keeper”.
9 Point AI Autofocus which is very good but still, not perfect. Compared to the D100 or the D70, it is much better but compared to the Canon “Pro” DSLR’s, and their 45 Point Autofocus, the 20D leaves something to be desired. Most of the shots I have taken are in focus and focused on the area i intended. Some are not. It could also be attributed to operator error so at the moment, until I take more photos, I will say the focus speed and accuracy is good.
ISO 100 - 1,600 in full stops. ISO 3,200 also if you enable it in a menu. This is pretty cool and provides a decent image. I don’t intend to get into a situation where I need this setting but you never know.
Mirror lockup. This is excellent for use with long telephotos on tripods for exposures between 1 and 1/30 second. Not found on the D100 or the D70.
The controls are in different place on the camera than they were (are) on the Nikon. Which, of course, makes sense as they are from different companies. I’m not sure why this didn’t stop me when I first examined the camera in a store but I guess I was not paying that close of attention to all of the differences between the Canon and the Nikon.
Nikon cameras, for the most part, all have similar controls in similar places. So, if you can use one, you can pretty much use them all. Canon does the same across its product line as well but as I am a switcher, I didn’t have the benefit of familiarity.
In the store where i first took some test shots with the 20D I was able to use it with little or no problem. It’s very simple to operate and takes pictures quite easily. Really, you could just leave it set on P or on one of the other “Auto” modes and happily snap away, assured that the camera will take very good pictures without much intervention from you, the user. With its 8.2 megapixel sensor and Canon’s Digic II system, the camera is very smart and can do a good job all on its own.
But really, this camera isn’t the one that you get if you are just a casual shooter looking for a point and shoot camera. This is a pro caliber camera that in the hands of even a somewhat experienced shooter can produce stunning results. I am not that shooter yet, but I am working on it. The more I use this camera, the more I like it. I still sometimes miss the D100. Not because I think the 20D lacks something but mostly because I was used to the D100 and I felt like I knew it pretty well.
Of course, after a time I will feel the same way about the 20D I am sure. The more you use something the better you get with it. I already have the photographic fundamentals as I have been shooting pictures for a long time. I just need a better understanding of my camera and its capabilities and quirks. Then I can start to take pictures that I can be proud of again. Until then, my percentage of “keepers” will stay pretty low.
Here is a list of my current main camera kit:
Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR Canon 580 EX Speedlight (powerful yet compact flash) Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Zoom Lens (this lens rocks!) Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens (best bang for the buck in Canon’s lineup) Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM Lens (i like it and image stabilization is nice)
And, for fun, I also carry:
Canon Powershot SD300 Digital Elf Camera (i love this little camera and it takes some pretty damn good pictures. plus, its tiny and fits in your pocket)
Plus various other items and misc. stuff. All encased in my favorite camera bag:
The Lowepro Omni Pro with optional Hard Shell Case (i use a Pelican 1520) for travel.
Or, my new favorite camera bag, the Lowepro CompuRover AW which is a backpack that holds camera, lenses and laptop. It’s a cool bag.
More on my use of the camera and more observations as I continue to use it over the next few weeks and months.
Monday (what, again?)
Yes, its that time again. The beginning of the week. Oh joy. Actually, today was a “pretty good day”(tm) and I got a lot of work done. I even managed to sell my old 12“ Powerbook to a very nice person who paid in cash. So, that was good. I hope she likes it. I think she will.
On the computer subject the saga continues with my G5 tower. Being the do-it-yourself kind of person I am, I pretty much tried everything i could think of to try to get it from doing the random freeze and kernel panic thing. Sadly, I had no luck. Also, the guys at Melrose Mac in Burbank were pretty much no help either. Although, they did manage to replace my power supply so it doesn’t make the annoying noise it was making, so that is a point in their favor.
Sadly, they dropped the ball on the rest of it and so will not become the preferred repair place for me and people that i work with. As the problem was so random and seemingly had no root cause that I could determine, I felt the only place to take it was to an Apple Store. Fortunately, in LA we have several. I, of course, went to my friends at the Glendale Galleria for help. Not only do I like Jenn and the rest of the gang at the Glendale Apple Store, but I am also a preferred consultant for them as well and they send business my way. So, of course, I like that too.
I took the G5 to them last Tuesday, July 5th. One of the Genius bar guys, Tim, took quite a bit of time with it and examined it very completely. Even though it took some time, i appreciated his effort. Fortunately, the machine exhibited the same behavior for him as it did for me and he checked it in for ”extended diagnostics“. Now, almost a week later, I got nothing. He did tell me it would be 7 to 10 days before I would know something so I am not upset or anything. Like many customers, I want to have my machine back with me and working like it used to.
Like doctors, I’m sure that computer consultants don’t make very good patients so I will try not to call Tim every day with more suggestions on how we might get my G5 back on its feet. I think he probably has it under control. So, I will give him the time he indicated, then I will see what’s what. I think Tim and the rest of the Glendale Apple Store crew will come through for me as they always have. Of course, being how I am, I am already pricing a replacement should this drag on too much longer (like another few weeks waiting for parts or something like that).
It may seem strange to be thinking about buying another computer from a company who already has one of yours in for repair. I don’t find it strange at all. I like Apple and the Mac. I will always be a Mac user and will always buy Apple products as long as they are around. I don’t necessarily want to buy another G5 right now, what with the Intel Macs coming. But, the G5 is a proven and tested product so getting another one isn’t so odd. I don’t want to be the first one to get an Intel based Mac anyway. Not the first but maybe the second or third. I might try to hold off a little to see how they work. Besides, i think we’ll see Intel Powerbooks before Intel Towers anyway so a new tower is still, in my opinion, at least 6 months off.
Whatever happens with my G5, I know Apple will make it right eventually. It will get fixed or they will give me a new one. As t has already had a video card problem and a power supply problem, it might be getting close to the replacement point. Or, I will just buy another one and when the current one is fixed, sell it. Whatever happens, I will stick with Apple. Besides, where will I plug in my three iPods if I don’t have a Mac? In my Windows box? Come one, be serious. Although, Half-Life 2 does kick ass. Can’t play that on a Mac, no matter how fast it is. I guess I need to keep my Windows machine too. Oh well.
Better News
This could be good. We need some good stuff to read about. Could this be the first big break in the fight against HIV and AIDS? Stay tuned.
London Bombs
Of course you have heard about the bombs in London today. For good coverage, check out my friends at Londonist and also quite a few links at BoingBoing and at Flickr there are several ongoing photo groups with pictures from the blasts etc.
As for me, my only response to this latest terrorist attack is to be even more determined to go on living my life and doing all the shit that I normally do. No fucking coward living in a hole in the desert who doesn’t have the balls to put on a uniform and face us like a man in a real war deserves any more of my attention than for me to say “fuck you”.
Anyone who straps explosives to his body and blows up a bus or train full of innocent working people isn’t worth a moment of pity or consideration. That person is a complete fucking moron deluded into thinking that he is somehow doing God’s work.
I’ve got news for you dickhead and for all you other terrorists out there, there isn’t a hole you can hide in forever. Sooner or later, we’re gonna be there. Then, you will know what real power feels like. Enjoy what few moments you have left fuckers because they are numbered.
Sorry if I am using more colorful language than usual but this kind of thing makes me angry and I feel like I need to express it. Anyway, I’m lucky that anyone I know or care about wasn’t hurt today. To those of you who have people you know and care about that were affected by these events, my thoughts are with you.
Ok, I’m done.
Gates says no to implants
Microsoft honcho Bill Gates, although he believes in and loves technology, doesn’t want it to be a part of him. When people start implanting technology in their bodies (RFID chips and other BORG-like devices) he won’t be along for the ride. I guess there is embracing technology and there is becoming part of technology. I can’t say I disagree with him. And that’s probably a first for me. I can’t recall a time when something he said made much sense to me. I’m also impressed with the fact that I didn’t go for any of the obvious jokes that a post with a title like this could have had.
I guess I’m growing.
Happy 4th, eh?
What, again? It seemed like only yesterday that we were celebrating the 4th of July. Well, here it is again. Have a safe and sane 4th. Don’t drink too much or blow your finger off with fireworks. That is, if fireworks are even legal in you area. I miss fireworks. They were fun and had a slight element of danger which made them even more fun.
Also, happy Canada Day to our northern brothers and sisters. I have to say that as I have relatives who are Canadian. Plus, why not extend a laurel and hardy handshake across the border and say “hello” and “have a good time”. Would it kill you to be nice once?
Zombie Dogs
Now that could be a good name for a band. But really, its your tax dollars hard at work as our government’s big brains have created zombie dogs, reanimating the canines after several hours of clinical death in attempts to develop suspended animation for humans. Be sure to check it out.
Oh, apparently everything you know and love about the internet and file sharing is about to change for the worse. At least according to the EFF after the Supremes found against Grokster in Grokster v. MGM. Who knows what the fallout will actually be from this decision. It may very well be very bad for innovation and may change the internet landscape forever. I don’t know.
Or, maybe people will actually have to start paying for the stuff they download from the internet? What a crazy idea, I know. It’s so crazy, it just might work. I guess we will just have to wait and see. No matter what happens, it shouldn’t be boring.
No broadcast flag and the intel macintosh
just an update. the broadcast flag was not attached to an appropriations bill. over at the eff they are pretty happy about the rise of citizen activism that helped the cause. the eff’s new activism coordinator, Danny O’Brien, sees this as a victory for sift citizen action. well, i guess it could be that.
i prefer to think that the people in congress are not so dumb as to put through just any legislation that the entertainment industry or other giant lobby may want. especially legislation as lame as the broadcast flag. maybe i have too much confidence in our government? i don’t know. they can’t all be morons. can they?
and, those crazy kids at think secret have some details and photos of the intel based macintosh that is being shipped to developers. check it out. it looks like a macintosh with an intel motherboard and cpu inside. cool.
M is for Monday
today is monday. not my favorite day of the week by any means. however, a necessary evil so i will just have to let it go. besides, if there were no monday than i would have to be less than enthusiastic about tuesday so what can you do. anyway, to the point, as it were. couple things happening in the world at large and in my world as well.
first, those sneaky mpaa dudes are still trying to ram the broadcast flag down our throats with a last ditch effort to attach it to a senate appropriations bill due for a vote this week. if you live in one of the states that has a representative on the house appropriations committee, give your congress person a call, email or fax and tell them you oppose the broadcast flag. or, live with the government in your computer and other electronic devices forever.
as a public service, here is the list of congress people who make up the house appropriations committee, courtesy of the folks over at boing boing. or, go to the eff site for helpful links to get to the right person.
in other news, kodak is going to stop making black and white photo paper. i know, i know, two or three people are really bummed out right now. i haven’t been in a darkroom in about three years but when i was, it smelled bad and i had a headache for about a day afterward. as i can do all the same stuff, and much more, on my mac at home, where it actually smells pretty good, there really isn’t any reason to go back to a darkroom. still, its a little sad. end of an era and all that.
and last week, Mastercard announced that up to 40,000,000 credit card numbers may have been compromised by one of their processing companies. today, the New York Times (registration, along with first born child, required) is reporting that the company in question, CardSystems Solutions, should not have been handling that data to begin with. John M. Perry, CEO of the processor in question, claims the data was merely being kept for “research purposes”.
priceless.
The number of compromised Master Card accounts has been revised downward to about 68,000, with another 132,000 possibly compromised accounts belonging to Visa, American Express, and other companies.
well, i feel better now. how about you?
and, no word on my sick g5 yet from the guys at melrose mac in burbank on olive ave. (and on melrose as well, one would assume). i hope they know what they are doing. i’ll let you know what the diagnosis is and what the cure is when i know. that way, others can benefit from my suffering.
The world is yours
those busy people at Google now offer you the world. with google maps you can map our whole planet. you can’t click and zoom into every country just yet but you can see some cool satellite images. it’s just a matter of time, though, until you can get a detailed street map of the whole planet. that’s pretty amazing.
The Batsuit, not for kids.
here’s how the batsuit in the new Batman movie works. cool. i hope the movie is good too. i won’t hold my breath.
in other news of my world, I have not taken my ailing G5 mac into the shop to see what the heck is wrong with it so no report there. i’m going tomorrow to a place called melrose mac in burbank. i’ll let you know if the suck. nor have i done any more work on my canon 20d article or much of anything for any of the other sites or publications i am supposed to be writing for. i have just been too busy to do much of anything but work. I think parents should prepare their kids a little better for how life really is. what do i mean?
well, i think parents should tell their children that life is sometimes hard and that they will most likely end up doing a job they don’t love for inadequate wages and slaving away for most of their natural lives. i’m not taking about me, i have it pretty good in that i do what i want most of the time and work when i want for whom i want. that’s one of the advantages of being on your own. of course, if you don’t have any work, you can become screwed pretty fast. so the freelance, self-employed, owning your own business route isn’t for everyone.
my main problem is that i have a hard time working for other people. i’m not a very good employee and not a good follower. i guess you could say that i’m a leader. i like to be the boss. i probably could be far more successful today if that wasn’t the case. i could have spent the last ten or so years working for a company, climbing the corporate ladder. unfortunately, i just can’t do it. i tried. really i did. it’s just not for me.
right or wrong, i need to be on my own. be my own boss. take chances and follow my own path no matter what happens. i think that this kind of life can be a happy one. and i am happy almost all of the time. yes, it carries with it a large degree of uncertainty and sometimes can be very stressful.
but at the end of the day, you only have to rely on yourself to make things happen. you are your own boss and when you succeed, even in small ways, it’s a great feeing because you did it. on your own, your way. not much else can compare to that feeling. notice, i said not much else. there are a few things . . .
of course, when you don’t succeed, you can always blame someone else. not that i would ever do that. so, its a win win all around. but seriously folks, it is good to be your own boss and it has many rewards. i suggest everyone try it once. don’t be put off by fear. fear is the number one killer of innovation and success.
fear isn’t real. it can’t really hurt you. it’s just a feeling about something that might happen. it might not happen too. you could get lucky. it happens all the time. don’t let fear be a buzzkill. get out there and do something, even if it scare the crap out of you. well, this turned out much more “tony robbins” than i thought it would. ok, so, stay in school and don’t do drugs. that’s enough.
Follow the money (or not)
it’s odd to me. one of my jobs is in the technology field doing consulting and such. so, i feel that i have a pretty good idea how things like computers work. at least, i know enough to make them work when they are bad. at least until things get really, really complicated.
Imagine my surprise then when not one, but both, of my primary computers, my g5 tower and my powerbook, decided to take a dump in the same week. i know, i was as amazed as you are. these are apple computers after all. known for their quality and reliability. or so i thought up to this week.
i think something is going wrong with apple computer. no, not that they basically abandoned all of their “64 bit computing is the bomb” hype they have been spinning for the last few years to make us not feel the pinch of the speed gap with pentium chips. no, i’m talking about a simple thing like quality control.
in the good old days, around the time right before the first iMacs and the return of iSteve, apple computers could be counted on to be well-built and last a long time. but, for the last few years, i have seen the number of problems with various apple products increase quite a bit. my own machines have also been affected.
i had one of the first white iBooks and it had to have the motherboard and video assembly replaced. then, i had a bad video card in my G5 tower and it had to be replaced. now, the G5 has a bad power supply and also has some odd freezing issues (when it will turn on at all) and it needs to be fixed again.
and, my powerbook is also starting to show signs of a bad video cable with wavy lines appearing on the screen when the screen is at certain angles. and its not just me. i haven’t done the math but a rough guess would put the number of hardware problems at about 20% at least for my mac-based clients. everything from bad power supplies, melted capacitors, bad motherboards (or mid-planes as the call them sometimes), dead hard drives and a host of other issues that never cropped up with this kind of frequency a few years ago.
i know, as things get more complicated they tend to have a greater chance of something going wrong. and, as apple sells more computers, the number of people reporting problems is also going to rise. i worry about all of this because i see a pattern. the once great company seems to be heading down the road where it must sacrifice one of the things that made it great in order to appease the bottom line.
apple has never been the company for everyone. they are a niche player either by accident or by design. and of course, market factors are also a consideration. i just hope that in the pursuit of dollars and expanding market share that they don’t loose sight of what made the company “insanely great”. they need to remember to “think different”. (i just wanted to see how many slogans i could get in one paragraph).
money is great. we all love money because we can buy shiny things and pay the rent. but in the end, all we really have is who we are and what we do. people and companies alike are defined by it. apple needs to remember where it came from and who it is before it does something really stupid like switch to intel processors or something.
actually, that might turn out to be a good idea. if ibm can’t deliver then they needed to get the boot. i kind of wish that apple had turned to amd instead of intel. you know, one underdog to another. i guess it would be no big thing to make another switch to amd if intel can’t do what iSteve needs it to do.
i can see the future and its a shiny silver box powered by quad pentium 5 processors running osx 11. maybe that’s when the machines will realize that we humans were the problem all along and deal with us accordingly. it could happen. or maybe i saw that in a movie once. either way, it looks to be an interesting next few years in the tech world.
in other news, while in Vegas over the weekend we ran into that kid from “home alone” and the dark haired girl from “that seventies show” at the Mandalay Bay while playing blackjack. you would think that after all those movies and several years on a hit tv show they would have been at a higher limit table. i guess they like their money too. as in, they like it where it is. in their pockets. we could all learn a lesson from that.
This time the rumors are true
Yes, its true. Apple is switching to Intel. I can feel hell freezing over right now. However, I think its a smart move if Intel can provide better, faster, stronger chips than IBM can. Apple needs faster chips and needs them in large quantities and for less money. I think Intel can deliver on this.
Who really cares what is under the hood? It’s still the same great OS and the same great hardware. In other words, its still a Macintosh. Let’s hope this leads to less expensive Macs. That would be cool.