Apple introduced an extensively updated iPod line today including:
Two fun finds today...the first is Found, a website devoted to found objects. According to their About section:
We collect found stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, doodles-- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. Anything goes.We certainly didn't invent the idea of found stuff being cool. Every time we visit our friends in other towns, someone's always got some kind of unbelievable discovered note or photo on their fridge. We decided to make a bunch of projects so that everyone can check out all the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking things people have picked up and passed our way.
Hello again, Apple fans. Apple, Inc. announced some updates to hardware and software yesterday, and for a more complete overview than what I could provide, I thought I'd list here the opinions of the gang over at Small Dog Electronics, who put together some great Mac newsletters. I've used some of their content before, and I really like their writing style, so take it away, Small Dog!
[Copyright 2007 Small Dog Electronics, Inc., Waitsfield,
Vermont USA - All Rights Reserved]
New iMacs!
By Ed@Smalldog.com
Today Apple announced greatly updated iMacs. They featuring brand-new
Extreme 2 Duo Intel processors (more on those below), a boldly
refreshed pro design featuring 20" or 24" glass displays encased in
aluminum, an all-new keyboard and iLife 08 (more on that below, too!)
Standard configurations are:
20" iMac with a 2.0 GHz processor, 250 GB hard drive and ATI Radeon
HD 2400XT video card - $1199
20" iMac with a 2.4Ghz processor, 320 GB hard drive and ATI Radeon HD
2600 Pro - $1499
24" iMac with a 2.4Ghz display and 320GB hard drive and ATI Radeon HD
2600 Pro video card - $1799
All models come standard with 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless
capability, an 8x Superdrive, 1 GB of RAM, and the new Apple
Keyboard. They can be customized with up to 4 GB of RAM, and up to a
1 TB hard drive.
The new iMacs feature three USB 2.0 ports, a firewire 400 port, a
firewire 800 port, a gigabit ethernet port, mini-DVI port, an audio
in and audio out port. All models also continue to feature a built-in
iSight camera and microphone. You can run a second display up to 23"
from the mini-DVI port.
The new glass displays are glossy, and the resolution appears to be
the same as current 20" and 24" iMacs - 1680x1050 and 1920x1200
respectively.
Updated Mac minis!
By Jimmy, Jimmy@Smalldog.com
Previous to this announcement today there was a lot of speculation
around the death of the Mac mini. Many though Apple was going to
phase it out of their product line but today instead of doing that
Apple refreshed it.
The new Mac minis include Core 2 Duo chips which are up to 33% faster
then previous chips, allows 4GBs of RAM, has 4 USB ports, has digital
in/out audio and has a Gigabit ethernet port. The new minis also come
with iLife ‘08.
According to the Apple tech specs page (http://www.apple.com/macmini/
specs.html) on the Mac mini it does not come with 802.11n wireless
networking which seems a bit odd to me. Overall it’s a nice upgrade
and I would love to replace my Xserve with one of these.
iLife '08!
By Ed, Ed@Smalldog.com
Apple also announced a new version of iLife, now called iLife 08. As
an iLife 06 fan, I have to say this new version looks incredible.
Here is a brief rundown of the new features in each iLife application.
iMovie 08 - iMovie is being released as an all-new application, and
has a new interface and icon to show it. The app is now centered
around an iPhoto-like library, where you can catalog all your video.
This is something I've always wanted - it should be very convenient
to keep all the video on your Mac in one central location, ready to
be watched, scanned, and even edited.
iMovie now claims to accept video from "any source," and the video
can be mixed & matched in single projects. It also features a newly
expanded "Share" menu, with updated options for outputting video to
iPod, iPhone, Apple TV - and direct exporting to YouTube. The YouTube
feature is going to be huge. Steve Jobs is telling people to skip the
DVD, and exchange high-res video files computer to computer, or
computer to TV. iMovie also integrates with the new .Mac iWeb Gallery
- which I'll discuss below.
There are actually dozens of added features, upgrades, and
enhancements throughout iMovie 08. It really is a whole new
application. We'll explore iMovie in depth in the future; you can
read about some of the new features here:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
iPhoto 08 also received some updating love. A new feature called
Events allows you to easily group and organize huge iPhoto libraries.
New photo editing features include noise reduction, white balance
adjustment, selective improvement, guided cropping and more. You can
choose to automatically show or hide photos based on your star rating
(you do rate all of your photos with stars, right?) There are new
books and calendars available (including much larger calendars than
the previous options.) Photos can now be exported to a new .Mac Web
Gallery, which promises a better way to post and organize photos
online. You can contribute to the gallery "from anywhere" you have
internet access. Read more here about the new version of iPhoto here:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto
Garageband is updated with a slew of new features. The biggest all-
new feature is the Magic Garageband. This is a "virtual onstage band"
that you can jam and record with. There are new interactive
instruments that can be edited in real time. There is a new multitake
feature. Garageband can now record high-fidelity 24-bit/44.1kHz
audio. There is a built-in Mastering Engineer to make your songs
sound like a commercial CD. There is a new visual EQ to allow you to
graphically adjust frequencies for each track by clicking and
dragging EQ bands. Parameter Automation sets the parameters of
instruments and effects to change at multiple points within a song.
You can now organize the structure of a song by using predefined
sections (intro, verse, chorus, and bridge), print software
instrument tracks as music notation with automatically formatted
staffs and complete measures, and display the name of chords in real
time as you play on a USB keyboard. Also - you can now export tracks
as MP3s. Read more here:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
I'm glad to see that iWeb has been updated. First, you can finally
easily switch iWeb themes. This was not possible in the previous
version of iWeb. There are eight new themes to go along with this
feature.
There are new animated web album pages. You can put 500 photos online
per album. iWeb makes it easy to integrate Google Maps and Google
Adsense on your web pages. A new feature called Web Widgets makes it
easy to embed a snippet of live content from another website on your
iWeb page. Web Widgets would include YouTube videos, stock tickers,
weather reports, and more.
Finally, Apple has made it easier to use a personal domain name with
your iWeb pages. Read more about iWeb here:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/
iDVD received the least love in this upgrade. The main feature is
new, pro-quality DVD encoding. Apple says "the new professional-
quality option in iDVD uses advanced encoding technology to maintain
the highest possible quality for DVDs that are near or at the disc’s
capacity."
There are 10 brand-new themes, and the all of the older themes are
also compatible. The interactive "drop" editor has been updated. Menu
navigation, real-time preview, and theme switching are all faster.
Indeed, iDVD touts better performance throughout rather than a glut
of new features. Read more about iDVD here:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/idvd/
iLife '08 requires a PowerPC G4 (733MHz or faster for iDVD), PowerPC
G5, or Intel Core processor, 12MB (1GB recommended) of RAM, and Mac
OS X v10.4.9 or later.
Numbers and Pages and (Key)notes, galore!
by Kali, Kali@smalldog.com
I have been waiting for an update to iWork for what seems like
forever. So, I was happy to see Apple finally announce an update
today that includes revamped versions of Pages and Keynote, and a new
application called Numbers.
Pages is a word processor that has style; more specifically, it has
nicely designed templates that make it sort of a word processor-slash-
desktop publishing program. (I like to think of it as an InDesign
“lite” or something like that.) In Pages ‘08, more templates have
been added, and Apple has declared you will be able to “switch easily
between word processing and page layout modes.” Sounds great to
someone who loves to multitask.
Keynote is designed for presentations, and is fantastic for the same
reason—it’s really easy to use, and the templates actually look nice!
There are several new features to Keynote ‘08, such as new effects
and transitions between slides. It also looks as though slide
manipulation has gotten a little slicker, too: you’ll be able to
remove a background with one click. And, if you need a little help,
new video and animation support will add punch to an otherwise
lackluster presentation!
Now on to the newbie: Numbers ‘08 adds spreadsheet functionality to
the iWork suite, which it had previously lacked. Those of you who use
(or have used) Appleworks know that it was a feature not brought over
into Pages. In reality, I don’t use spreadsheets too often in my
every day life, but it seems to me that Apple needed to remedy this.
Numbers is touted as “spreadsheets the Mac way,” which has to mean
both its ease-of-use, and an impressive, clean interface! (I don’t
think Apple will disappoint.) Some of the features include:
customizable templates, tables, charts, an interactive print view,
and “effortless” compatibility with Microsoft Excel.
iWork ‘08 will be available for $79.99… we’ll add more info as soon
as we can get our hands on it!
Sure, there are many fine sites out there that showcase contemporary photography, such as Flickr. But what about all those cool vintage photos that we have laying around, maybe in old photo albums, or ones acquired in garage sales? Well, now they have their day in the sun.
Shorpy, billed as "The 100-year-old photo blog", showcases all sorts of cool vintage photos. You can create an account and add your own, if you like. The site states that they are particularly interested in photos "from the dawn of photography to the 1940s". Check it out!
Shorpy
On the official Google Blog today, I saw a post that discusses the many services Google offers to clients who have varying accessibility issues -- whether sight or mobility-based. This list shows a little more than a dozen of their various services (hyperlinked to the service itself), then also includes a link at the end to join the accessible Google user group and make your voice heard on various topics.
I love to find companies that go the extra mile on accessibility issues, whether they are located online, or in brick-and-mortar buildings. This is also another reason I love Apple, Inc., as they have always had a team devoted to these very issues as well.
Overview of Our Accessible Services
[via the Official Google Blog]
OK, let's switch gears a bit. Here's a fun site. Garage sales have been around forever -- well, at least as long as people have had garages, I guess. With the explosion of antique collecting and the promise of finding that potential treasure in your neighbor's basement, plus the recent popularity of shows such as "Antiques Roadshow", the garage sale is as popular as ever.
Well, Bruce Littlefield has taken it upon himself to travel to garage sales from coast to coast, and as many as he can find. Then he reports on his finds on a blog, and the wonderful website that surrounds it. You'll find a spot to list your own garage sale, find others, do's and don'ts, and much more. The site is beautifully put together and a pleasure to navigate.
Here's a fun example from his blog:
EVERYTHING I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE, I LEARNED AT A GARAGE SALE
•Everybody’s looking for something.
•Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s gold.
•One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. And vise versa.
•When you give, you get.
•Life can be perfect, even in its imperfections.
•There’s nothing worse than the one that got away.
•Even “free” comes with a price.
•A bargain is something you didn’t know you needed at a price you couldn’t resist.
•Greed isn’t pretty.
•Know when to cut bait.
•Nothing is yours forever.
David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, took a look at the iPhone in his "Circuits" column yesterday, and today he's back with a really good article that reads as a F.A.Q. for all of us eager users that can't wait to get their mitts on one, and have questions about what our hundreds-of-dollars flying out of our wallets are going to get us.
On the bright side, he mentions that some folks will ultimately say "neat, but, it's missing (fill in the blank)". He notes:
Apple has indicated that it intends to add features through free software updates, so the real, secret answer to some of the “no” answers is actually, “Coming soon.”
Original article at engadget.com, here. Apple has come out with some rules on purchasing an iPhone, due to launch tomorrow, at Apple Stores and AT&T stores.
Highlights --
The first day of summer is upon us, and you know what that means -- we're just days away from the release of Apple's iPhone! (Wait, what? That's not what it means? Oh. Well, anyway...)
I think it's safe to say that no techie gadget (certainly no cell phone) has ever seen so much anticipation, so much pressure, to be the end-all and be-all of everything cool in this world than the iPhone does at this moment. Yes, it will be released, and there will be those folks that will buy one on the first day, the first minute, the first second that it's available. Heck, there's probably people camped out at Apple Stores right now. So what is it about this gadget? Apple says it's the best iPod they've ever made, that, oh, by the way, happens to also be an internet appliance and, oh yeah, the best phone ever. I'd love to say that I will personally test all these features myself and report here, but it's just a wee too steep for my budget at the moment. But hey, we should be able to play with one at the Apple Store once they become available (at least I hope so.)
However, until it launches, I say enjoy the hype. I know of no other company that inspires such brand loyalty and can whip the fan base into a lather than Apple, Inc can. After its release, there will almost undoubtedly be some bell or whistle that doesn't work exactly as advertised, or was left off completely. But until then, we have the image of a perfect product, and Apple can do no wrong.
Here's some links to sites blogging about the iPhone, courtesy of the gettrio.com newsletter I receive:
iPhoneFreak
theiPhoneBlog
TalkiPhone
You gotta love free stuff, right? Well, it's not Free Friday yet, but this one is too good to sit on. Bryce is an application you use to create 3-D landscapes and more. From the product download page description:
Create breathtaking realistic 3D landscapes and animations with DAZ 3D Bryce 5.5. The easy user interface simplifies the design process for a novice or the seasoned professional. Start out building or importing a landscape as impressive as the Grand Canyon. Populate it with buildings, people or any other object you create or from the extensive DAZ 3D library. The Light Lab provides you robust control over your sunsets, moonlight nights or high-noon ambiance. Tree Lab allows you to plant your landscape like the gardens of Versailles. You'll have to register your copy of Bryce 5.5 on the publishers web-site to gain access to your free Bryce serial number.
On Monday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave the keynote address at this year's Apple World Wide Developers Conference. This meeting is targeted at the companies and programmers who develop software for the Macintosh platform. Steve's presentation focused on key features of the MacOS X 10.5 Leopard that will be released in October.
Watch a Quicktime stream of Steve Job's presentation (approx. 90 minutes long)
MacOS X 10.5 Leopard Highlights
The new release of MacOS X will feature an extensively refined desktop and Finder, bringing many of the features of the iTunes interface to the Mac desktop. It also features easier to use file sharing, the new Time Machine backup utility, Spaces - a screen virtualization tool, and Quick Look that allows you to preview entire documents without opening them in an application.
Safari 3.0 Beta for Mac and Windows
Apple also released a beta version of the Safari web browser for not only the Mac platform, but for Windows XP and Vista as well. However, I'd caution you that this beta version has already been found to be fairly buggy, so be cautious.
More MacOS X 10.5 Links
Apple 10.5 Leopard website with video previews
MacWorld Preview article
Information Week review
[Thanks, Verne!]
For those of you that weren't around for the live event blogging, the video of Steve Jobs' keynote presentation at the WWDC '07 has been posted by Apple.
Steve Jobs WWDC '07 Keynote
Hello, fellow Mac fans. For those who don't know, today is the kick-off of the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC). And you can't kick-off an Apple conference without a keynote by His Steveness, Steve Jobs. I still miss the days where Apple released satellite feed links so you could watch along in real-time, but I guess those days are over as Apple keeps the lid tight on news, even as it happens.
Oh well. In the meantime, you can watch Engadget.com provide live updates on their webpage, and we'll all gather 'round the virtual watercoolers after, to discuss topics like the iPhone and the upcoming Leopard release.
Engadget.com WWDC live updates
Apple on Tuesday introduced a refresh to its line of MacBook Pro laptop computers, raising CPU speeds, memory capacity and improving graphics performance across the line. The new systems can accommodate up to 4GB of RAM and feature CPU speeds of up to 2.4GHz.
Steve Jobs was interviewed by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal yesterday at the D: All Things Digital Executive Conference. Amongst the topics were the upcoming iPhone release (Steve coyly confirming that it would ship in June, even if it was the last day in June), iPod/iTunes, and AppleTV.
Engadget.com has excellent coverage of the event, with a transcript, on their webpage. I also have here a link to the edited interview. Excellent reading and viewing.
Engadget: Steve Jobs Live from D 2007
Link to Steve Jobs interview
Hopefully, you've had a chance to visit an Apple Store, the real brick-and-mortar stores that sell and show-off Apple technology to its brilliant best. Once in the store, you might notice something called the "Genius Bar" towards the back. What is that, exactly? Do they serve really cool drinks with techie names back there?
Well, actually, the Genius Bar is where you can get expert Apple advice on software or hardware questions or problems. The folks trained to be such experts are called, naturally enough, Apple Geniuses. How did they reach that exalted position? Lots of hard work at the mother ship, my friend.
Read all about it in this behind-the-scenes exclusive interview with two Geniuses (Geniusesses, Genii?) in Mac|Life Magazine, here. And to answer a possible question: No, even considering myself an Apple power user for many years, I don't think I'd make it out of boot camp here. Yeah, they're that good.
Exclusive: A Day in the Life of an Apple Genius
[courtesy of Mac|Life.com]
As noted on macworld.com, Blizzard Entertainment today released news of its latest game in the pipeline. And it is the sequel to one of their best-selling games of all time, StarCraft. Enter StarCraft II. Besides the fact that I came to know Blizzard through playing StarCraft before the WarCraft series (and now the World of WarCraft MMORPG), I'm stoked that they are developing the Mac version and the Windows version at the same time. This epic game set in outer space pits three playable races against each other for domination of their corner of the universe. Many sleepless nights will soon ensue.
MacWorld article
StarCraft II Official Page on Blizzard.com
I like this one a lot...I've run across some websites that tell you, via text descriptions, how to do certain tasks, like tie a necktie, solder a wire, cook an omelet -- and they are fine for what they are. But, if you're a visual learner like me, you tend to do better when you can see someone showing you how to do something.
SuTree is that site. From the home page, it describes itself as:
SuTree is a knowledge community. We nurture the ultimate tree of knowledge: the world's largest index & library of free video lessons, video tutorials, video lectures & video how to guides. Our content is handpicked by our users and then examined by our team/community.
Microsoft announced yesterday that the plug-in/converter to allow Office Mac 2004 to read the new Office/Windows 2007 file formats has been delayed yet again. The company indicated that a full set of converters will not be available under after the release of Office/Mac 2008 later this year.
Announcement on C|Net news.com here.
Hello. Mac power user I may be, but one thing I haven't got a handle on is Photoshop. In my job at the Help Desk, I just don't have a use for it on a daily basis. I take some training in it, play with it, then come back to my job and, because I don't have a personal copy, the skills just fly out the window. I will be purchasing Photoshop Elements, I've decided, but that will have to wait for a paycheck or two. In the meantime, one part of this new Blogger template I'm using is driving me nuts. Yep, that obviously un-Mac-like laptop up in the top right of the blog. As this was how it came out of the box, I figured it wouldn't be such a big deal. But it bugs me now. A lot.
So, what to do? Well, I thought about it, and I happen to know (virtually, that is) some folks that might be able to help -- that's you! Certainly someone out there is a Photoshop guru that can scrape out that Windows-running tin can up there and replace it instead with a similarly-oriented shot of a MacBook Pro instead. Up for the challenge? Here's what my xml template tells me is the URL of the pic. Can someone out there help me out and pick it apart, eliminate that laptop, and drop in a nice image of the MacBook Pro instead, while keeping all the rest the same (colors, border, etc.)? Please e-mail your results to my blog address, on the sidebar at the left. If there are (hopefully) multiple results, I'll either pick my favorite, or rotate them every month or so. I don't have anything to offer as payment, but the thanks of a grateful blogger.
Is anyone willing to take up the challenge? Let me know...and thanks in advance!
~Kachup
Before all the computer and console games of today, there was a humble beginning, where a videogame called "Pong" ruled. Someone had to come up with the original idea, of course. Someone had to take a look at a relatively new technology (television), now in homes all over the country, and wonder if it would be possible to bring games into those houses, over the TV.
The year was 1967. Ralph Baer was ready to make history.
Read more about the rise of the videogame on 1up.com, here.
Video Games Turn 40
Full article on Macworld.com, here:
Apple on Tuesday updated its consumer MacBook computers adding faster processors, 1GB RAM and larger hard drives in all models.
The new MacBooks come in three models — a white 2.0GHz and 2.16GHz, and a black 2.16 GHz model. All of the MacBooks include a built-in iSight video camera and the latest generation of 802.11n wireless networking. The notebooks also come with iLife ‘06 and Mac OS X 10.4.9 Tiger.
Article text found on silicon.com, here.
Google has warned web users of the increasing threat posed by malware that can be dropped onto a computer as a web surfer visits a particular site.
The search giant carried out in-depth research on 4.5 million websites and found one in 10 web pages could successfully launch a 'drive-by-download' - such as a Trojan - onto a user's computer.
Full Google "Ghost in the Browser" report (PDF file) available here.
(Tip courtesy of SheWhoShallNotBeNamed. OK, we'll call her Nancy) ;)
"Verizon's Fast Action Hero
R/GA's bringing a new kind of heat with
Action Hero, an initiative for Verizon touting the power of the provider's
broadband network. After picking one of three basic action plots (killer bugs,
mad scientist or robots on the loose) you get the opportunity to upload a photo
of your own face, pinpoint the dimensions, and have it made into 3D. After the
upload you direct the action, off the completed project goes—to a group of
servers, where it runs through the modeling program Maya and, in under 24 hours,
returns to you as a completed film. While in the past similar technologies have
been used in video games, this appears to be the first time a dedicated,
customizable 3D effort has appeared on the web in a promotional campaign, and
Verizon doesn't seem reticent to flaunt it—the site took over MySpace for a day
in its launch phase. http://actionhero.verizon.com/ "
Thanks again, Nancy. And yes, you too can be featured on this very blog! Send your finds to the email address on the sidebar to the left.
Article excerpt courtesy of ipodnn.com. Read the full article here.
Microsoft issues final Vista iPod Update
Microsoft has finally released an update for Windows Vista that fixes the lingering compatibility issues with Apple's iPod. Available first in late March, the final version of the free update is for users worldwide and works with the latest version of Apple iTunes to correct an issue that caused some iPods to become corrupted when ejecting them using Windows Explorer or the "Safely Remove Hardware" function in the System Tray, the company said.
I just want to take a moment and say "hello" to all the new contacts I've made through e-mail the last day or so, since I began offering the Joost invites; the response has been overwhelming! I'd love to think that all of you read this blog religiously, and were just waiting for word from me when they would become available, but I'm not quite that naive. I know many of you may have just typed "Joost" into your favorite search engine, and wound up here. That's fine too -- I hope you'll at least hang around for a few minutes, and browse a few pages while you're here. There's plenty to interest a Mac fan, but the websites I comment on here are, of course, usually platform-agnostic.
Secondly, I wanted to say that I really encourage you to drop me a line at the e-mail address on the sidebar to the right. I didn't really think an e-mail account for the blog would be necessary, as I figured that I would respond to any questions or comments in the Comment section for each post. However, I got to thinking about it, and there are times when you may not necessarily want to post your question out there for all to see, and so I created the Gmail account to handle both the requests for Joost invites, but also to open up the floor to you to get in touch with me. What I'd particularly like to see are your suggestions for content on the page, especially any cool web pages you've been browsing lately. It would be great if it had a Mac theme to it, but any website is game -- fun, quirky, and interesting content tops anyone's list. I will reply to your e-mail asking for your permission to blog your find if it looks good, and then credit you in the post. Just in the last few days, I've received e-mails from the far corners of the globe, to right in my backyard -- Canada, Australia, New York, and Ohio, to name a few -- and I'm always looking forward to meeting new friends.
Finally, I never want to be one of those bloggers who need to be away from their blogs for a while, and get on to post "sorry I haven't blogged in a while; this happened, then this, then blah, blah, blah..." I'll say this once, and be done with it. I'd blog all day long if I could, but my job as a Help Desk Analyst is cyclical in nature, as I work for a state university here in Ohio. As a result, as the school year goes along, there will be times when I am swamped and simply don't have the time to post much at all, then there are other times when you'll see multiple posts from me on the same day. That's just the nature of the job. Believe me, my motto could be "I'd rather be posting" Those of you that have followed this blog for any length of time know that. I just wanted it on the record. I'm always around somewhere, just waiting to get some time to post.
Enjoy the site, and I look forward to meeting more of you via e-mail. Send me your thoughts, constructive criticism, web finds, and anything else that's on your mind (and yes, I'm already petting Sulley per one request).
~Kachup
We all have that favorite snack. You know, maybe the one that's not all that healthy for you (ha, as if), but yet it's still a guilty pleasure? Chips, chocolate, peanuts, donuts? Salty, crunchy, sweet? Well, everyone has their own vice when it comes to the munchies. Now someone is blogging about it.
Taquitos.net to the rescue. From their FAQ:
Q: What is Taquitos.net?
A: Taquitos.net is the most comprehensive snack food site on the Interweb, featuring independent reviews of more than 3000 snacks. In addition to snack reviews, Taquitos.net has information on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate milk, snack mascots and more.
Q: What kinds of snacks does Taquitos.net consider for review?
A: Primarily, we consider the six major food groups: Potato Chips, Popcorn, Pretzels, Cheese Puffs, Tortilla Chips and Corn Chips. We'll generally try any other kind of salty snack as well. We'll often consider any snack that comes in a bag that roughly resembles a bag of chips. Any item that has the word "snack" somewhere in its name will usually receive consideration. We normally won't consider snacks that require refrigeration to store or need to be cooked before being eaten. Beyond those criteria, we decide on a case-by-case basis whether each item merits a review.
Hello. You may have seen the small banner near the bottom-left of this blog mentioning a service called Joost. I have been a beta tester for it almost since its inception, and it's coming along pretty well.
What is Joost, you say? Well, in a nutshell, it's a website where you can view TV programs in much the same way that you might flip channels on your TV at home. There is content by some of the big cable companies, like MTV, National Geographic, and Cartoon Network, amongst others. What it isn't is live TV -- you aren't going to be able to view live network shows. But the limited content they have right now is fun, and more is being added all the time.
Check out the Joost promo video.
Per Joost themselves:
Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.
You get great internet features too, such as search, chat and instant messaging, built right into the program - so you find shows quickly and talk to your friends while you watch. And with no schedules to worry about, you can watch whatever you want, whenever you like - as often as you want. Joost is completely free, and works with most modern PCs and Intel Mac-based computers with a broadband connection. Get Joost today!
Last but not least, we invite you to enjoy the variety of new shows we're introducing each week. This week will bring you a host of over 40 new channels in the US including Adult Swim, five new channels from National Geographic, new channels like Spike TV from Viacom, great comedy from Heavy, and classic series from Hasbro such as The Transformers. And that's just the beginning.
A picture-editing website for the rest of us. While I love my Mac, and iPhoto for doing just about anything to my photos after I bring them in from my digital camera, sometimes I'm away from the Mac, and want to manipulate a photo somehow. Picnik (currently in beta) allows you to do some nice editing -- cropping, re-sizing, rotating -- and for now, you can also apply some filtering. I understand that some filters may be available to premium subscribers later, but for now that part is free; the basic editing features will remain free. Finally, once you get the picture the way you like, you can save it back to your computer. Neato! Create a free account, and they'll update you as the site progresses.
Picnik
Are you putting your life on hold until you lose weight? On May 6, 2007, in celebration of International No Diet Day, people in cities and towns around the globe will join a one-day moratorium on weight-loss dieting sponsored by an international coalition of health professionals, activists and community groups.
Originated in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, the director of a British activist group called Diet breakers, International No Diet Day was established to challenge the cultural attitudes and values that contribute to chronic dieting, weight preoccupation, eating disorders, and size discrimination. Participants will wear light blue ribbons symbolizing the day's goals. These include:
INDD is celebrated worldwide. In past years, events have been held in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Norway, South Africa and Russia. These events have included scale smashing and recycling, a diet relics museum, picnics and eat-ins, street theater, protests at weight-loss surgery and diet centers, official government proclamations naming May 6 No Diet Day in cities and states, educational forums, petitions and demonstrations in support of size rights legislation, exhibits of size-positive art and photography, size-friendly fashion shows and diet-free dances.
For more information, contact:
Look around you...your family, friends, people y0u work with. Don't you get the feeling sometimes that surely some of them might have a mental disorder that was just never diagnosed? Well, psychiatrists come across all sorts of mental disorders in their daily routine. This website contends that it has the ten most interesting. Makes for an interesting read, at least.
10 Most Interesting, Strangest Mental Disorders
[via sciencenewsden.com]
Tired of seeing everyone with an iPod these days? Think they're just a little too ubiquitous, a little too trendy? I bet this guy has a different story...via Flickr.
iPod Saves Soldier's Life
Here's a little Friday fun in honor of the upcoming weekend. I got tipped to this via the TUAW. It's a plug-in to use with iTunes called DockArt, and it does something pretty cool when you install it. It simply displays the album cover art (if you have it) of the iTunes track currently playing in your dock. Pretty sweet, huh? Oh, and it's free. Gotta have, now.
System requirements listed for the plugin are: iTunes 4.1 or higher, and QuickTime 6.4 or higher. Apparently, the latest version available does work with the latest release of iTunes, 7.1
DockArt
If you've recently made the switch to an Apple Mac after using Windows exclusively, or even if you've just added a Mac to the fold, you may feel like you'll never learn your way around the system. Everything seems so foreign, and you think to yourself "Wow, I didn't think the learning curve was gonna be this steep!" Relax. Take a breath. Although doing things the "Mac way" takes a little time to learn, you'll be a pro in no time. You actually know more than you think from your Win ways, it just has a slightly different spin on a Mac.
A nice article detailing equivalents between Macs and PCs when it comes to keyboard commands, terminology, and other ways to help you familiarize yourself with not just a machine, but a new friend can be found at Apple Matters. As a matter of fact, it's written so well that I am forwarding a copy to myself to be used in training the student workers at our university help desk. Enjoy that Mac!
A Switcher's Guide to Windows and Mac Differences and Equivalents
Apple released an update to iTunes for all users yesterday, bringing folks up to iTunes 7.1. New features were promised in this release such as full-screen Cover Flow (album art) and support for AppleTV. There is a good article on the update on the iLounge site (for everything iPod).
Instant Expert: Secrets & Features of iTunes 7.1
I work at the Help Desk for a university in Ohio, and the student workers at our desk sometimes ask me to look over resumes they are constructing, some for the first time. They are interested in jobs in IT, but are unsure how to construct a useful techie resume. I came across this blog post today from someone in the industry, who looks at tons of these types of resumes all the time. He uses the name Rands, but it's not his real name. As he explains in his 'About' section:
My personal weblog. No, Rands is not my real name. I use my real name as a full time engineering manager of teams that designs phenomenal software. Yeah, that's me in the logo. I hadn't shaved in some time. My hair is longer now.I've been writing here since April of 2002. I tend to write about four significant pieces a month, but changes depending on shipping schedules. Content varies from thoughts of being an engineering manager in Silicon Valley to writing to Vegas.
The terrifying reality regarding your resume is that for all the many hours you put into fine-tuning, you've got 30 seconds to make an impression on me. Maybe less.
It's unfair, it's imprecise, and there's a good chance that I make horrible mistakes, but there's a lot more of you than me, and while hiring phenomenal teams is the most important thing I do, I'm balancing that task with the fact that I need to build product and manage the endless stream of people walking into my office.
It made its debut on the Academy Awards broadcast last night, and now Apple has it posted on their website; the initial teaser ad for the new Apple iPhone, due out in June. Teaser, in that it doesn't discuss specific features; heck, you don't even see the phone or the name of it until the very end of the spot. But, that's just like Apple, and that phone is beautiful...
No, you don't think so?
Hello?!?!!
iPhone Ad Spot
Problem: You want to display the current date along with the current time in your Mac OS X menu bar. However, the OS doesn't allow you to do this.
Solution: With a little work in OS 10.4 or later, you can use the International Formats area to get the job done. Feeling adventurous? MacInstruct shows you how to get the job done, step by step. Wonderful job; I'll be using this right away. Take a cruise to the home page and check out their other tutorials. The interface is easy on the eyes, too.
MacInstruct: How To Display The Date In The Menu Bar
When it comes to troubleshooting hardware and software problems, you usually would like to keep the main hard drive of your system free, so that you can run diagnostic programs on it. Hard to do when you need to boot from that main hard drive. Having a version of the operating system on a flash drive would be ideal. The folks over in Windows XP-land have had this option available to them for a while, but no well-presented solution had been available for us on the OS X-continent. Until now.
Brad Bergeron explains in this blog post how you can create a bootable version of OS X on your own flash drive. Besides the fact that you can troubleshoot with it, you can also pop it in someone else's Mac, choose the flash drive for startup, and work within your own environment on apps and docs. Brad says you'll need at least a 1 GB flash drive to make it happen, but with the prices of flash drives coming down every day, I'd say 2 GB or better would get you more elbow room. Flash drives run faster, cooler, and might just help you out in a pinch someday. I'm going to create one myself as soon as possible.
HOWTO: Install and Boot OS X on a Flash Drive
I came across this blog on the way to something else entirely today. You know how that goes? Of course you do. In essence, that's what this whole blog is about, fun snippets of info I find on the web. But it's even more fun when I find it unintentionally, then I can't tear my eyes away from it until I read a the majority of this new page I'm on.
So it was when I found Clive Thompson's blog. From his intro, he writes on:[...] science, technology, and culture. This blog collects weird research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
He also writes occasional articles for the New York Times and Wired, amongst others. His writing style is fresh and breezy, and he explains complex science concepts in easy-to-understand language. He recently posted on a medical study of sword-swallowing injuries, and one on a study about how just thinking about losing weight might help the body actually lose weight. Not all of these are original by him -- he finds interesting and unique articles from all around the web. But wow, if it isn't a compelling read. Go check it out yourself.
collision detection: a blog of clive thompson
Regular readers of this blog know what an e-mail junkie I am. And when it comes to personal e-mail, nothing beats the ease and convenience of Google's Gmail. Once you were in the beta program (being invited by another beta user), you knew you were cool when you were awarded your "invites" to share with others, and bring them into the Gmail fold.
Well, I'll have to redefine that particular term for cool. Why? You can now sign up for your own account without an invite! That's right! If you haven't had the pleasure yet of getting your very own Gmail account (hello scads of room; goodbye to trashing email to make room for new), then hie thyself over to Gmail.com this instant! Yes, I know you have other e-mail accounts...I do, too. One for work, one on Yahoo!, one somewhere else...but trust me, you'll love the look and feel of Gmail, from its labels to the Google Talk feature.
There, I'm done now. Move along. Nuthin' to see here...Enjoy!
Google Mail (Gmail)
[Edited to correct my error: I originally posted that Gmail was out of beta. Nope. The new part is just the ability to signup for an account without an invite from someone else first. Thanks for the heads-up, Sebira! See first comment below.]
You can't keep a good Baby Boomer down, especially when the writing is crisp and funny. And so it was that Rhea commented on my I Remember JFK post here. She has a wonderful blog herself titled The Boomer Chronicles. I stopped by, took a look, and was educated and entertained at the same time. Always a good combination. I highly recommend that you take a look yourself!
The Boomer Chronicles
Every now and then you're putting together a flier or other advertisement, and want to crank the creativity up a bit by using a font different than the same-old, same-old. I keep looking out for free font sites, and there are a few out there. Here's a good recent find. 9800 free true-type fonts. You can type in a line of text to see how it appears, and then click to download the font to your system. Once downloaded, us Mac folks will need to drop the .ttf file into your hard drive > Library > Fonts folder. You Windows folks should know what to do with yours ;)
9800 Free Fonts
Every now and then, a Mac fan comes up with a list of essential, "must-have" applications that all true Macolytes should have on their systems. I'm sure the same goes for the Windows crew as well, but you'd have to check their blogs to be sure. In any case, a good app-list came up on a blog, and a lot of folks commented on the list, but then the list stayed stagnant, and some of the app pages disappeared. That's where Peter Baer Galvin stepped in, on his Peter Baer Galvin's Blog:
Mac Specialist posted a great list of essential Mac OS X Applications here, and it caused lots of discussion on the topic. Unfortunately they never revised the list based on this input and now it takes quite a lot of effort to navigate through the list and all the comments. I thought I’d take a run at creating a new “consensus” list starting from theirs and adding all of the other input.
What? You're thinking about not buying an Apple iPhone when it comes out in June? How could you! Don't you know it's so much more than a phone?
So you hear about them all the time on the 'net -- viral videos. What are they, exactly?
Well, according to Wikipedia:
The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature and may range from televised comedy sketches such as Saturday Night Live's Lazy Sunday to unintentionally released amateur video clips like Star Wars kid.
"...we'll go dancing in the dark, walking through the park, and reminiscing." ~Reminiscing, Little River Band
Major life events compel us to mark them in a way that you can easily describe what you were doing at that point. Remember the Challenger disaster? Hurricane Katrina? The Stock Market crash? ...and so on. One of the most indelible moments in time if you happen to be a Baby Boomer was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I remember hearing adults talk about this time when I was growing up, and they always said they remembered where they were, what they were doing, even the topic of the conversation when they heard the awful news.
Well, the premise of being of age to remember JFK's death is the idea behind the I Remember JFK website, albeit with more pleasurable memories. Here you can go back to your childhood and read about such recently-discussed topics as: 45 inserts, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and baseball cards. Each article posted has room for comments, and even if you aren't quite of the age to remember JFK (I missed it by a mere couple of years), you'll find plenty of essays on items you do remember from days gone by.
I Remember JFK: A Baby Boomer's Pleasant Reminiscing Spot
Hello, video game fans. Having grown up in the 70's myself, I've been around gaming consoles since the early, pre-Atari 2600 days. I remember getting one from Sears that had ping-pong and hockey on it, and my siblings and I were in heaven...then came the Atari 2600, and it blew our socks off.
But I digress. If you're into perusing the history of video game consoles, and perhaps reminiscing over an old console system you or a friend used to own, then look no further than the Ultimate Console Database, collecting information from every system the author could get his hands on. He's still working on some sections, so your input is vital if you owned some of these old systems. But it is amazing what is here. I remember my nephew having a 3-D, short-lived version of the GameBoy called 'VirtualBoy' -- it's here. And one I thought I'd never find, called "MicroVision" by Milton Bradley, right there in the 'Portables' section. Groovy! Check it out...
Ultimate Console Database
Yes, it was an exciting time on January 9th at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, as Steve Jobs rolled out two new technologies that Apple has been working on during his keynote speech. Interestingly enough, this didn't include any new computer hardware or software releases (no new laptops, desktops, or any news on the next version of the OS software, code-named Leopard). Instead, Steve started with news about how well the iPod is doing around the world, and that 85 songs a *second* are being sold on iTunes. He also mentioned that TV shows are selling well, and that Paramount Studios have now come on board, joining the Walt Disney Company in selling full-length movies over iTunes.
He then moved into speaking about a technology that he briefly introduced this past fall called iTV (now officially launched as AppleTV). This is something that owners of big-screen TVs will enjoy. It's a square, smallish box that sits near your TV, and has all sorts of audio and video out, so you can connect it to your home theater sounds system and your big-screen HD TV. It has a 40GB hard drive in it, and its primary function is to take content from your Mac (music, movies, photos), and wirelessly broadcast it through AppleTV and onto your TV. It comes with a simple remote that allows you to, for example, get on your laptop/desktop, go to iTunes, browse and buy a movie online, then beam it to AppleTV, where you can then relax on the sofa while the movie plays on your big-screen TV. Same goes for listening to music through your stereo speakers, and showing cool photo presentations. Not bad, though this is something I would definitely wait for until you can afford a big-screen HDTV to justify the cost.
Then Steve moved on to the big announcement of the day. He slyly introduced it by saying "today, Apple is pleased to announce three new technologies that we think will change the world, and the industry. One is a new widescreen iPod with touch controls; one is a new mobile phone, and one is a breakthrough Internet communications device with email, web browsing, maps, and searching." Then he went on to drop the bomb. It was all in the same device. Today, Apple introduced the iPhone.
To describe it here would take multiple paragraphs, so please make sure to check it out online. But basically, it's a mobile phone (the carrier is Cingular) that is all one big screen that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. There are no physical, plastic buttons on the phone, but instead, it uses a touch technology and menus displayed on-screen. It also is an iPod, ready to play songs from your iTunes connection, because it uses a dock to connect itself to iTunes just like your iPod does now. It can do email, and it can browse the web. It has built-in wireless available, that kicks in automatically whenever you're near a WiFi connection. You can browse web pages, check forecasts, view satellite maps, do Google searches, and more. All with a minimum of fuss to get to anything. It even has a built-in 2 megapixel camera on the back. They will begin shipping the phone this June, though both the Apple Store and Cingular stores. There will be two configurations at the start -- a 4GB and an 8GB version. I wouldn't be surprised to see larger hard drives on future versions. Prices will be $499 and $599, respectively, with a 2-year contract through Cingular. Check it out online...it's truly a breakthrough device.
AppleTV:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/
iPhone:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Keynote Address movie stream:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/keynote/
