Entries Tagged 'Technology' ↓

Aww, yeah.

2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB RAM (after I install the RAM I got from OWC)
160GB HDD

It’s a refurb, so I saved a good deal of cash, as well.  Should be here in a week or so.  The mini’s being converted to a web/file server, I think.

After a hiatus of about a year and a half (thanks to some issues with our recording equipment), the Grace Central podcast is back up and running. The timing coincides well with the debut of the new site and the start of a new sermon series in Colossians.

Links for ya . . .

RSS feed
Subscribe w/ iTunes
iTunes Store link

Check it out.

After work, I took myself down to my local Apple Store to purchase a copy of the newest version of OS X. The doors were closed from 4-6pm in preparation. I got there around 4:50, and snagged a pretty good spot in line. I was in and out of the store by 6:05. Felt kinda bad for the scores of people still outside in line as I was walking to my car with my copy of Leopard in hand.

So, here, I’ll be liveblogging my backup and install process and any hiccups or surprises along the way. Stick around if you’re interested!

—-

7:01P - Backing up files, folders, and settings to external 750GB hard drive. Downloading most recent versions of third-party apps.

7:29P - Break! Dinner time.

8:16P - Back to work after lasagna, salad, and breadsticks. Backing up iPhoto and iTunes libraries.

8:28P - Still finding and downloading third-party app updates. Time to put Zoë to bed.

9:47P - Put Zoë to bed and hung out w/ wifey. Now downloading most recent VMWare Fusion beta.

10:11P - Backups and downloads complete. About to begin clean install of Leopard. See you on the flip side! (Actually… I’ll just continue blogging using Amy’s PC.)

10:26P - (Now blogging using Amy’s Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. Yuck.) Inserted Leopard install DVD. Selected “Erase and Install”. Installation is currently checking the install DVD for errors.

10:42P - Disc checking complete. Installation has started. Estimated time remaining: 50 minutes.

11:19P - Installation is complete in just under 40 minutes. Reboot. “Welcome” montage is annoying, as always. New VoiceOver voice is surprisingly human-sounding.

11:22P - Going through usual initial setup steps. No, I do not want to sign up for a one-year 99.95 USD .Mac membership, thanks.

11:24P - And that’s it! Software Update opened up w/ an update for Remote Desktop.

I’m breaking up with FeedLounge.

It started out as a whirlwind romance over a year ago, but in its last days was one of those relationships you just know isn’t right, but you try to fix it out of hope and loyalty. FL is beautiful . . . gorgeous, even. Her way of “tagging” feeds instead of just throwing them into traditional folders was the wave of the future. Unfortunately, she’s also a bit of a whore . . . demanding $5 for every month she gives to you. Even then, she doesn’t always perform her expected duties — leaving feeds un-aggregated, giving “Server Errors” every few days and making the site unaccessible for hours, or even days. It just got to be too much. These differences are irreconcilable.

So, goodbye FeedLounge. All things must pass. As Sandra sang, “sunset comes for everyone”. Google Reader is my main squeeze now. She’s not as pretty as you, but she gets the job done, and for free.

Best of luck to Scott and the rest of the FeedLounge crew. Listen to your customers, and act accordingly, or you’ll lose them.

1.83 Ghz Core Duo
1GB RAM
80GB HDD

*squee*

Some background first . . .

Most folks who follow the latest happenings in the Macintosh world know about the discoloration that’s been reported in about 20% of the new white MacBooks. After a scant two to three weeks of use, the grey-white color of the palm rests and touchpad of affected MacBooks are turning a yellowish-brown hue that won’t wash off with any sort of cleaning product. The spots look kind of like pit stains. Of course, my ‘Book was part of that 20%.

Surprisingly enough, websites soon began to report that Apple had acknowleged the discoloration as a manufacturing defect (thanks to some screaming and complaining on Apple’s forums and from StainedBook.info), thus making it a warranty-covered repair. Still, there had not been (and, as of this writing, there still has not been) an official statement from Apple on the issue published on their website. So, I decided to see for myself . . .

My first step was to call AppleCare, Apple’s technical support arm. The representative, who apparently had never heard about the discoloration issue until my call, put me on hold for a few minutes so she could speak to a specialist, and when she came back, asked me a few questions about possible other causes for the discoloration. The questions were obviously “official Apple questions” of some sort, because it was quite plain from her tone that she was reading them from a script that she had been given. That, and they were identical to a set of questions detailed on a MacNN forums thread I’d read earlier that day.

A few minutes and a confirmation number later, she informed me that a box was on its way to me so I could ship my MacBook back to Apple for replacement of the top case plastics. This made is quite apparent that the reports were true: Apple had indeed recognized the discoloration as a warranty-covered defect. Only trouble with this route was that I’d be without my computer for two or more days . . . not exactly good when this is my work machine. I received the box the very next day, and decided to hold onto it just in case my next idea was a bust . . .

On July 4, I made an appointment at the Genius Bar and headed off to my local Apple Store. After explaining the situation to the Genius at the bar (who also had never heard of the problem until my visit . . . sheesh), he took it to the back room to discuss it with someone. After coming back out, he informed me that they’d order another top case for me and that I’d need to bring the computer back at that time. Pleased, I promptly cancelled my mail-in repair with AppleCare and tossed the box.

I received the call from the store on the 11th informing me that the part had come in, and I took the computer in around 10:30a on the 12th. They gave me an “official” time window of 48 hours until completion, but told me that since I brought it in early on a not-too-busy day, it’d probably be done same-day. Indeed, at 2:00p, Apple’s repair status site had the “Repair Complete” message next to my case number, so I headed back to the store after half a day of using a not-so-swift iBook G4 we have in the office. They brought my MacBook out of the back room, new plastics and all. No more pit stains.

So, good show, Apple. Recognizing what everyone expected you to brush off as “cosmetic damage” as the manufacturing defect that it was and deciding to do something about it.

It remains to be seen whether the replacement plastics (which supposedly have a different composition) will retain their lovely grey-white color. Watch this space for updates.

Tags: Macbook, Apple, Macintosh, AppleCare, Apple Store, Genius Bar, Apple Genius

Starbucks asks: Coffee, Tea, or MP3
I can’t decide whether I love or hate this idea.

(Tags: Starbucks, digital audio, convergence)

As some of you already know, Microsoft recently announced that the next version of Internet Explorer, IE 7, will use the well-known orange icon Firefox’s default theme uses for RSS and Atom feeds. As a dedicated Firefox user, I’m pretty excited about the atmosphere this creates for further collaboration among broswer developers to create (and abide by) standards for the web.

You can help to establish the new standard by simply using the icon instead of a text “RSS” link or the graphic. If you haven’t already, check out FeedIcons.com. Download. Customize. Use.

Check the bottom of this site for how I’m using it.

(Tags: RSS, RSS icon, RSS icons, feed icon, feed icons, syndication, really simple syndication)