BDK’s Random Thoughts
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Sep 23

Yeppers, it’s here!  My MacBook Pro came in a couple of days early, actually.  It was “scheduled” to arrive yesterday (Monday) but showed up Friday afternoon instead.

A few thoughts…  First off, I really like it.  The build quality is great and it runs OS X lickety-split!  But there are a couple of things that I’m not thrilled with.  For example, the keyboard is a bit odd.  The RETURN key is a little smaller than I’m used to so I continuously hit the ‘ key.  Also, the keys seem to have just a tiny bit more travel than my previous Windows-based notebooks (from various manufacturers).  That will cause a few missing characters until I get used to hit the keys harder.

The other items are things that I knew about - only 2 USB ports, a display that doesn’t open very far, and the lack of a hard drive LED (yes, I know, that’s a “Mac thing” - but it would still be nice!).

That said, I’m falling in love quickly.  The sleep mode is awesome because, well, it works.  I’ve never had a Windows-based PC that actually does what I think it should when I close the lid.  This thing sleeps right away and pops back on the moment I open it up.  VERY USEFUL!

A couple other things I love:  the illuminated keyboard is much more useful than I expected, the battery life is fantastic, and the LED-backed display is the brightest and most vivid I’ve ever seen on a laptop computer.

But perhaps the best thing about it is the main reason I bought it….  It runs OS X!  It’s fun to use.  I think I’m just bored with Windows, to be honest.

Date September 23rd, 2008 Filed in Mac No Comments »
Sep 16

I can’t wait to start playing around with REAL virtualization.  I’ve talked before about using my Mac Mini and Parallels to run Windows XP.  It runs great, but that’s on a 1.83GHz machine with 2GB memory.  The MacBook Pro that I just ordered has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and I’m going to have 4GB memory.  With the roomy hard drive (90GB more than my current Vista laptop), I’m planning on running Windows XP AND Vista.  I’ll probably throw Ubuntu on just to keep busy!

With all of the horsepower in today’s PCs, is it any wonder that virtualization is finally becoming mainstream?  Many of us have an old PC with Windows XP lying around with a product key on the side of the case.  Why not use that product key to run some finicky software?  Even better, set up a virtual machine to use as a sandbox to ensure that beta software doesn’t destroy your machine.

Most of us don’t use even a fraction of the power that’s available in our PCs.  And servers tend to be even worse!  A recent study shows that CPU utilization is around 6% on the typical small business server.  Six percent!  That means that you have 94% of your hardware sitting around waiting to be used.  (Not really, as CPU utilization is only one component in your machine’s performance, but you get the point.)

Servers can easily be virtualized to increase hardware utilization, decrease energy costs, decrease server closet temperatures, and decrease hardware costs.  WAIT A SECOND!!!  I SELL HARDWARE!!!  Nevermind.  Virtualization is a waste!

Seriously, depending upon the network environment and usage of the servers, you can put many software-based virtual servers on one physical box.  Having three or four servers running at a time is certainly not out of the question.  Pop in some new hardware and you could double that.

And that brings me to another great reason for my recent Mac obsession….  I can easily run Windows and Linux on my Apple machine but I can’t do the reverse.  Oh, sure, there are ways to get OS X to run on traditional PC hardware.  Unfortunately, it’s not easy or time efficient to do so.  If you want to spend a lot of time and energy, you could build a fast computer for cheap that will work fine.  But when you get a Mac, you get the ability to dual boot Windows and OS X out of the box.  Throw 80 bucks at a software company and you’ll add the flexibility of running virtual machines.  That’s a great deal in my book.  Or should I say “in my MacBook”?   =)

I predict that the uptick in the sales of Mac hardware will continue for the foreseeable future.  The machines are generally well-built with high quality components.  The lines aren’t refreshed as often as I’d like, so when the computers reach end-of-life, they aren’t necessarily a great deal.  But the perception that Mac is so high-priced is largely incorrect.  And with the advent of good, cheap, useable virtualization, the lines are blurred and the barriers are destroyed.

It will be a very long time before Windows isn’t the leading OS.  That has to do with tradition more than anything.  OS X is better in almost every measurable way and, since it’s based on a Unix core, is very scaleable.  But it may not hurt to take a look at the Mac and learn a little AppleScript….   =)

Date September 16th, 2008 Filed in Computers, Kevin's thoughts, Mac No Comments »
Sep 16

Yes, I know that there are a few rumors out there about a supposed upcoming refresh of the MacBook line.  But I just couldn’t pass up the deals that ended yesterday and decided to go ahead and order my MacBook Pro.

I ended up with the 15″ MBP (actually it’s a 15.4″ widescreen, but Apple, in all of its hipness, drops the apparently insignificant HALF INCH in its marketing).  I ordered the larger hard drive after going through some sites telling how to upgrade that yourself - by cracking the case!  No convenient upgrade hatch for Apple fans!

The glossy screen was a free upgrade - some people prefer the matte finish of the standard display - and I enjoy that on my Vista laptop, so I got that, too.  I resisted the urge to add memory with the order.  I really want 4GB, but in order to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB, Apple wants $180.  $180!!!  A quick search on the Internets helped me pick up the ENTIRE 4GB kit for less than HALF of that.  Anyone want to buy two 1GB sticks of PC2-5300?   =)

I also picked up a GREAT deal on Adobe software.  The entire Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium Edition was $299.  Yes, that’s HALF the price of Photoshop alone!  It includes Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Acrobat Pro, and a few other toys.  Normally this little box would run about $1600.

Oh, and now for the best part….  My lovely wife works at a local elementary school and was eligible for the educational promo.  That was $200 off the MacBook Pro and a FREE iPod touch!  No, it isn’t the model that was released last week - that would be TOO cool of Apple.  But it’s still a $209 product for free.  And I was able to snag the free printer, too.  All-in-all, those discounts saved over $500.  Add in the better price on memory and it practically pays for itself!

I’ve been using Windows-based PCs since Windows 3.1 was released.  And I’ll still continue to use them everyday.  But I’m bored.  I really enjoy using my Mac Mini and am confident that will translate into a happy experience with my new MBP.  I’m not a traitor….  I’m just curious.   =)

Date September 16th, 2008 Filed in Kevin's thoughts No Comments »
Sep 16

I have read countless articles and posts about the new firmware for the iPhone.  There are a bunch of bug fixes, a few new features - like better podcast control! - and a change here and there.  But there’s one thing I haven’t seen anybody mention.  When you update an app that you’ve downloaded via the Apple App Store, the icon will REPLACE the icon in the exact location that the old version held.

People - including me - have complained since the App Store opened about the annoying fact that when you upgrade a program, the original icon is deleted but the new icon is placed in the next available location.  You constantly were re-arranging your icons to move those apps to “normal” place you had them.

I’m very surprised that I haven’t seen this mentioned as it was such a sore spot for many people in the past.  Apparently the continuing lack of system-wide copy and paste functionality overshadowed the minor advancements Apple has made with issues such as this.

Date September 16th, 2008 Filed in App Store, iPhone No Comments »
Aug 22

I noticed last night when I did my semi-daily app updates that the Update All button was no longer a choice in the App Store. I’m guessing that the small change was made as part of the 2.0.2 firmware, but I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere.

The Update mechanism has drawn fire in the past from those that exerience various issues. I personally have had the phone big way down or have trouble completing an update of multiple apps.

I’ve also had problems viewing ANYTHING in the App Store while installing or updating other apps. That problem seems to be better after the firmware update.

On a side note, what do you think Apple’s motive us for not listing what’s in a firmware update? Seems pretty ridiculous to me to not tell about new features or specific bug fixes. I know that they do the same thing with other software including OS X updates, but it doesn’t make sense there either.

Date August 22nd, 2008 Filed in App Store, iPhone No Comments »
Aug 19

Just a quick post to share a VERY humorous item I ran across.  I just used the Mail portion of the MobileMe web apps and typed a message.  It performs a spell check automatically before sending and I was extremely amused when it didn’t recognize “iPhone”.

That’s right - Apple’s BRAND NEW service and collection of web apps, MobileMe, doesn’t even recognize the name of APPLE’s hottest product!

Too funny!

Date August 19th, 2008 Filed in Kevin's thoughts, iPhone No Comments »
Jul 31

As soon as 1Password hit the App Store, I downloaded it to my iPhone with great hope. For those of you who don’t know, 1Password is a password-keeper for the Mac with a great reputation. I had never used it.

After downloading the free app and playing with a few settings, I decided that I should also download the desktop version. I figures that I would at least give me an easier way to input the data.

Both versions seem to offer a wealth of input options and before long, I had learned to use the Import from Firefix feature. Simply amazing. It took my entire Keychain and parsed it into useable data in 1Password.

I synced wirelessly with my iPhone in no time at all and was thrilled. Cool stuff, indeed. So cool, in fact, I decided that it was worth an hour or so of my time to input everything from my wallet.

It was after doing so that I found the iPhone app apparently does not have a Wallet section. Odd, I thought, but I guessed that was just to keepthe app free for now.

I noticed, too, that I had a couple of dulicates. No big deal, I’ll just delete them. Problem: the duplicates didn’t show on the desktop app and I couldn’t figure out how to remove unwanted entries from the iPhone app directly.

It was at this point that I realized that there was extra button on the bottom - Wallet. Cool! Weird that it just showed up, but cool that all of my info was there!

Still trying to remove those duplicates, I deleted all the info for one of the entries to see if it would be removed. It wasn’t; instead, there was a blank entry listed. Well, while I was in the app, I decided to remove the Master Password protection (an extra, stronger password for extra sensative items like debit card numbers) from a few website logins.

The iPhone app crashed. Hard. After relaunching, I put in my four digit code only to see all if the pretty icons on my (Customized, finally) Springboard.

It crashes every time I put in the code now. No passwords, no logins, no wallet, no 1Password.

A trip to the support forum showed that the developed, Agile Web Solutions, knows about the problem and has even FIXED it… but that fix is stuck in the whole Apple approval red tape.

I, and countless others, have to wait until Apple approves the update for an app that it already has approved! Until then, 1Password’s rating slides because people review it as worthless when it crashes.

The App Store needs a few tweaks and one if them is definitely the update process. As ridiculous as the whole approval thing is, I can at least understand the motivation behind it. Apple doesn’t want junk in there crashing iPhones and dirtying their image. But why does an UPDATE to a previously approved product have to take a week or two to be approved???

The only exception that I know of so far was the game Aurora Feint. It was pulled from the store altogether after it was discovered to be sending all of your contacts unencrypted over the web! A fix was released immediated and it was reinstated. Why was it fast-tracked? How was it approved in the first place?

And why can’t ALL updates be that quick?!?

I’m bummed. 1Password is exactly what I was looking for but it appears as though the update feature in the App Store is going to cause me to do without for a while. Back to saving everything in Notes, I guess!

Date July 31st, 2008 Filed in iPhone No Comments »
Jul 30

While I’m not one of the reported 1% of MobileMe users affected by a massive email outage/loss, I’m still having problems.

The service took the better part of a day to get setup correctly.  After getting my contacts perfect on my iPhone, I synced them to Address Book on the Mac only to find out that the format was slightly different on the two devices.  I spent a fair amount of time editing contants for companies, for example, to “file” correctly.

Then, thinking that everything was going to align perfectly again, I synced with MobileMe…only to find that the format was just a bit different again.  Arrggg!  My APPLE Mac, my APPLE iPhone, and my APPLE MobileMe service all have different formats for contact information?!?  Come on, now!  Seriously.

The fun didn’t stop there.  I got all of the APPLE products looking nice and then (bravely) decided to bring Microsoft’s tools into the mix.  You guessed it!

This is why it took so long to get my contacts groomed.  All 504 of them (down from 628 after removing duplicates, etc.).  I played that game a few times until everything was perfect.  I won’t even tell you how much of a hassle syncing the calendars was!

But, for all of that pain in the butt configuration, MobileMe has turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.  My email, contacts, and calendars (all four of them) are all perfectly synced and available where ever I’m at - on my Windows Vista laptop, my Mac Mini, my iPhone, and even on the web.  Nirvana does exist!

Don’t get me wrong, I still have some problems, but I’ve learned to live with them.  For example, if I read several messages on my iPhone and delete them, they may pop back up a minute or two later.  A simple tap of the Refresh button trashes them again - and for good this time.  I shouldn’t have to do that, but it seems a small price to pay to be able to use all of the great Mac apps like Mail.app and iCal and still have the ability to use my laptop to read filed emails.

Let’s hope Apple continues to work on MobileMe to make it more consistent and reliable.  Otherwise, “Exchange for the rest of us” is going to look more like Microsoft Bob….

Date July 30th, 2008 Filed in Computers, Kevin's thoughts, Mac, Windows No Comments »

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