Well, the time is upon us...Happy Halloween! My blog is orange-ish for the day, and the photo is of me in costume where I work.
To get you in the spirit (groan), here's a site I came across that lists, in the poster's opinion at least, the Top 13 Halloween spots online. Enjoy, and try to go slowly when it comes to those sugar comas...
Top 13 Halloween Sites, Searches and Destinations (via SearchEngineJournal.com)
I don't want to date myself here, but it was a Really Big Deal (tm) when, as a kid, I got for a Christmas present one year the Atari 2600 game console that I had been bugging my parents for. I would argue that everything you're playing on a game console today owes its start to the 2600. And if you bought one, there was one game that was a must-buy. That game was Adventure. The search for the chalice took you through castles, mazes, and encounters with deadly dragons and a psychotic bat.
Well, now you can find out for yourself what it was all about, as Adventure has been re-created online. Just click on the console buttons (just like on the actual system!) to launch your game, and remember to use the arrow keys to move around.
:sigh: ...when they talk about "back in the day", this was what it means for me.
Adventure
Halloween is fast approaching here in the U.S., so there's still time for some trick-or-treat fun to be posted. Love to celebrate Halloween by carving a pumpkin, but don't want to leave your beloved computer out of all the fun? Combine the two, and create a pumpkin PC!
Being that this is an Apple-centric (and happily biased) blog, I present to you the Pumputer 1.0. But, since I am also OS-agnostic at work (I support both Windows and Macs at my Help Desk), I present to you the Dell pumpkin computer. Happy Halloween!
Pumputer 1.0
Dell pumpkin computer
Yes, it was 5 years ago today that the original Apple iPod burst onto the scene, and helped the turn-around of Apple Computer into the media darling that it is today. It's amazing, looking back at the original model, to see how far the design of the case and click-wheel have come. C|net has a good story on the anniversary, plus I'm sure you'll be inundated with more news as the week progresses. Party on, iPod!
Apple iPod Turns 5: The Little Gadget That Could via C|net
Apple Computer iPod Website
Songbird is an upcoming media player that owes much of its overall look to iTunes. However, whereas Songbird will play mp3s from your music library, it also goes beyond that functionality in what the site describes as a mashup between a "desktop Web player, a digital jukebox, and Web browser". Using built-in web pages listing mp3s, you can cruise to the webpage, see the music files as links, and then drag those files directly over into the library. Using the web browser aspect, you can add other bookmarks to music-hosting sites. You can also find and play videos. And oh yes, it's cross-platform capable -- Macs, Windows and Linux can all join in the fun.
Sound cool? It looks to be. To see a better description of how it all works, head on over to view a video demo, and grab yourself the latest Developer Preview, 0.2.
Songbird
Songbird Screencast
Think about working in the the two arguably biggest applications in the Microsoft Office Suite: Word and Excel. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to worry about what computer you used to create the document or spreadsheet, whether Windows, Mac, or other? What if you didn't have to worry about where you stored that document -- what if you could store it online?
Well, that time has come. Google has offered for a while a service called Google Spreadsheets, and now they have just added Google Docs. Docs was originally a product from a company called Writely, which was acquired by Google, and now these two applications have been released together at docs.google.com. To take full advantage, you'll need to have signed up for a free Google account -- you've done that already, right?
Once there, you'll see what genius is really behind these two apps, although I admit that I use Docs more than Spreadsheets right now. Everything is stored online. You don't have to worry what OS you are running -- Mac, Windows, Linux -- as long as you can get to a web browser and on the internet, you can get to your stuff. All the familiar tools are there, plus more...you can now collaborate with others, giving them access via email address to your docs online so that they can make additions and revisions if needed. You can even upload Word and Excel docs you already have somewhere on your hard drive, and start keeping them on Google Docs & Spreadsheets. And finally, in what may be the coolest part, you can Publish your doc or spreadsheet online or on your blog. If you go the online route, your doc is assigned its own URL on google.com that you can share with friends, family, and colleagues. Or, you can post it directly to your blog.
I'm just scratching the surface here. So go check it out for yourself, and see what you can accomplish in these apps when you break the bond tying them to your operating system.
Google Docs & Spreadsheets
From an exciting post over on the Official Google Blog, music to any Mac fan's ears:
There are a lot of people who love Macs at Google, and we're really excited to contribute to the Mac OS X platform. I know how frustrating it is to not get a regular dose of Mac news or find the Mac application you want. So check out the new Google Mac Blog to get all the news, tips, and insider stories about Macs at Google. Another site you might want to visit is www.google.com/mac. Created by Ryan Brown, an engineer on the Mac team, this site showcases all of the Google applications for the Mac.
So, are you playing the latest version of the Monopoly Game at McDonald's? If so, you know you need to collect game pieces from pull-off tickets from the food items. There are plenty of instant-win pull-offs, but to win money (prizes go from $50 - $5 Mil), you need to complete various groups on the Monopoly board -- similar property color groups, all railroads, etc. As you might imagine, there's a method to the madness of distribution of playing pieces. You will always seem to find all but one that you need in any particular series. Which means, if you knew ahead of time what the rare pieces were, and then got one, you'd be on your way to a cash prize! Well, Amazing-Bargains.com has done the work for you. Head on over and check out the site to see if you're on your way to Easy Street (or is that Boardwalk?). Here's a hint: If you have the Short Line Railroad, you're gonna love what you see here. If you do win, don't forget who told you about the site...
McDonald's Monopoly 2006 Rare Piece List @ Amazing-Bargains.com
I've linked to great articles in the Small Dog Electronics newsletters that I receive, so rather than explain who they are again, I'll just let you know that today's snippet deals with customers who bring in supposedly "dead" iPods, only to have Small Dog techs discover that what they really needed was a good, long, charging. I'll let Matt from Small Dog take it from here:
In processing iPod returns, many times the problem is simply a fully
depleted battery. Customers report that the iPod does not respond
when plugged into a wall charger or the computer, but instead
displays a battery icon with one bar that does not flash. In most
cases, leaving the iPod to charge for 30-60 minutes will revive it.
If this doesn't help, though, Apple outlines five steps to take (the
five Rs):
1. Reset your iPod.
2. Retry with a different USB port.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Reinstall iPod and iTunes software.
5. Restore you iPod.
While we're talking about batteries, it never hurts to emphasize
calibration. After using your battery for a while, it's possible
you'll notice reduced capacity. Calibration restores the battery to
its full functionality. For iBooks, PowerBook G4, and iPod, plug the
machine in and wait for it to fully charge. On laptops, wait for the
ring on the power adapter to turn green; on iPods, wait until the
screen indicates "Charged." Now, disconnect the battery and run your
computer or iPod until it goes to sleep. Finally, plug it back in
and fully charge again.
The procedure is slightly different for the very last generation
PowerBook G4 (with the dual-layer SuperDrive and high-res screen),
MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Pro (17-inch). First, fully charge
the machine. Once fully charged, allow the battery to "rest" for at
least two hours, then disconnect the power and run it until the
machine goes to sleep. Turn the computer off, or let it sleep, for
at least five hours, then fully recharge.
Along these lines, iPod batteries tend not to last as long as laptop
batteries. If your iPod is more than a year old, Apple will not
cover replacement of the battery...but Small Dog can help. You can
order replacement batteries for every kind of iPod for self-
installation (we'll send you instructions and an envelope to send us
the old battery for proper disposal) or mail your iPod to us for
professional installation.
Apple's battery calibration page: http://docs.info.apple.com/
article.html?artnum=86284
The Five Rs: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/
Everyone loves to see their name in lights...and a popular sport using the Google web search engine is to put in your own name as a search term, and see what hits you get back. It's called 'ego-googling'. Well, here's the best of both worlds...your very own personalized Google homepage! Create one for yourself or a friend, take a screen capture, and surprise them.
Custom Google
During the month of October, this blog will join others in going pink to show support for breast cancer awareness. Via the pinkforoctober site:
Web sites will Go Pink during the month of October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research.
It's October 2nd..holy smokes, that means there's only 4 weeks left before Halloween! You want to be something different this year...something cool...something scary. Where to start? Well, you could start window-shopping at your local spook shop or Spencer's. Or you can turn to the web (would that be a Halloween web? Never mind -- lame). At Costumzee, you can input your theme or character, and they will bring to you matches found in their database. Easy! Hmm, the Burger King! I wouldn't have thought of that one...
Costume ideas and community - Costumzee
