IronWil Blog » MacBook

The iPad

Iron Wil — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:41:10 +0000

For starters, I have to say that I am amazed!

I can see replacing my 13″ MacBook with the iPad and using my iMac to do the heavy lifting. I can see using Dropbox and Evernote even more. I can see converting all my current OOo [OpenOffice] documents to iWork which means that it easily justifies the expense [not that I consider iWork expensive]. In fact, I think that I could buy 1 iPad for each of my family members and then set up accounts on our iMac as the kids get older. This would allow my boys to each have one for online games and Apps and their own music selections.

While my personal transition to eBooks has been slow, this may entice me to make that move. I am using Stanza on my iPhone & it isn’t really a compelling experience. I also don’t have a lot of reading time and find that Audible is a better resource for me right now. I hope that this iBook software allows for marking and notes because that would be a big failure right out of the gate if it wasn’t included. I hope that Amazon gets on board like Audible has with Audiobooks available via iTunes; especially if they can keep the books at the low cost they already are for Kindle owners.

I think this beats the NetBook model hands down even if it isn’t quite what I thought it would end up being. Now, a few weeks ago I published my own predictions for the iPad.

I predicted that Apple would release a multi-touch device similar to the JooJoo [aka CrunchPad] that ran Apps, eBooks, with WiFi/3G, iTunes, a built in battery, Lala, and the content aspects of the Sports Illustrated Tablet demo. I was right on some items and we could still see Lala become part of the service package MobileMe [I was not the first to suggest this]. I will admit that I am still blown away. I love the device and look forward to heading into town in 60 Days and testing one out. I think I will have to get a sitter & take the wife to a movie to justify the whole thing.

I know that many people will not get it until they see others using it and that I can understand. It was the same way with the Kindle and other devices. I didn’t get the iPod until I owned one. Yeah, until I owned one and then I felt dumb because I had not invested in it before then. It was a mind blowing music experience and since then, I have bought a couple dozen albums.

New Prediction, iSlate with Inkwell for writing with a finger or 3rd party stylus. This will be more like the Axiotron ModBook. It will be slide between the iPad and MacBook.

iron wil

Rotten Apples? Nope, Just Complaints

Iron Wil — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:33:03 +0000

I recently joined the iPhone community with the expiration of mobile contracts. I am extremely happy with my new hand-held computer!

I have 1 major problem and two real irritations. First Bluetooth, I have a BlueAnt X5i that works better with my iPhone than my MacBook [13" Black Late 2007]. I have discovered that my iPhone has a bit of a problem. If I let the headset die while connected to the phone I lose all sound. I turned the Bluetooth off and back on then off again, but that didn’t work. I had to power-cycle the device [No, I didn't try a soft reset which might have worked]. I had to run the battery down before I got the audio back. It was really annoying.

Second, I was using my headset to listen to music in the office and turned off the Bluetooth [on the phone] before turning off the headset. I lost all audio again, I was frustrated; but then reconnected them and I was able to listen to the audio through the X5i. I then turned it off and then turned off the Bluetooth [on the phone]. My audio returned.

Sheesh, can’t they just release the audio channel when Bluetooth is turned off???

Okay, this relates to both iTunes and the iPhone. Why does the software not remember my Account Password?!?!? I don’t understand what is wrong or not working in iTunes or the iPhone App [Store]? Why does the software not save the password even when the check box is selected in iTunes and why does the iPhone App [Store] or iTunes App. This seems pretty simple to me, it is MY phone and MY account, if content is downloaded it is going to be . . . where . . . on my iPhone!!! I tried several tricks from The MacCast and still iTunes doesn’t save my password for downloading new Apps or Digital content.

I realize that Apple & Mr. Jobs have their way of doing things; however, this doesn’t meet the simplicity rule that Apple likes to apply to almost everything else they do. I really like the simplicity model that is used in many things; yet, this seems like something that would make sense. Make it a feature and allow users to turn it off and on, so I can decide if I want to save the password or not.

Oh, yeah and don’t forget to make a check box area for Audiobooks so that I can decide what Audiobooks I put on my iPhone or iPod!!! Seriously, I have a dozen Audiobooks on my phone & I know that I can delete them from iTunes; but I would rather just control them like other media on my devices.

No, I still love my iPhone and am happy with it . . . let’s keep it simple Apple!!!

This rant is now over.

iron wil

Bluetooth and my iPhone

Iron Wil — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:42:56 +0000

Last year, I bought a BlueAnt X5i and have enjoyed using it with my MacBook [13" Black]. It is light enough to wear throughout my workday or on the weekends at home. I used it sporadically with my computer because I couldn’t always use it in the office or home.

Last month, I got my iPhone [finally - 32 gig] and decided to pair my iPhone and X5i so that I can listen to music and Audiobooks while commuting, in the office, or at home. I hadn’t really thought about how much I really liked this combination until I walked to the water fountain to pour out some water and left my phone on my desk. This was an “I didn’t even think about my phone because it is on my person 90% of the time” moment; next thing I know, I am rounding the corner and thinking gee will I loose my connection? Will my devices stop working because I am about to put a second corner and 40′ between them?

I have to say that I was very happy to still hear music as I dumped out the water and then headed back to my desk. There are some design changes I would make to the X5i, but that is because I have a big head and thick ears . . . but between the two devices I am in audio heaven! I hardly ever pull out my ear-buds, unless the X5i is recharging.

iron wil

Hey! Turn Off That TrackPad!

Iron Wil — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:54:22 +0000

After installing Snow Leopard I wanted to make sure that I could use my mouse with my MacBook [Black 13"]. This is a feature that I absolutely love about Macs and I have not seen it on any PC yet. I connected my mouse for the first time last week and I went looking for the check box. I couldn’t find it. I didn’t have time to root around and see if it was someplace else. Today, I was spending much more time on my computer and realized that I need to find and turn off the TrackPad when I am using the mouse.

So, today, I went to Google and found a link to Apple Support. Apple moved the checkbox to Universal Access?!? Yeah, that is what I said! Why there???

So, I made the change and voila, I have killed the TrackPad for mousing!!!

iron wil

Net TWIT NetCasts – 2009.08.29

Iron Wil — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:06 +0000

TWiT 209: Dvorak Shrugged

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Om Malik, and Kirk Harnack

The Apple-Google-ATT conspiracy, the US CIO babbles, and TWiT goes digital…

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 155: When You’re Ready to Compromise, Call Me

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, and Merlin Mann

Snow Leopard, new “Get a Mac” ads, MacBook refresh, Apple Tablet news, App approval process, and more.

Show Notes

Security Now 211: Hacking Electronic Voting Machines

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

How researchers hacked the most secure electronic voting machines.

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 120: Bing Is My Back-End

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Windows 7, Yahoo competition, Xbox 360 prices, Word, Nokia, Snow Leopard, and more.

Show Notes

This Week In Google 5: Ice Cream In The Clouds

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, Doug Kaye, and Mary Hodder

Snow Leopard, mobile apps as content, Chrome/Android, Facebook privacy settings, and more.

Show Notes

iron wil

HP Mini 10 – Experiment Preparation

Iron Wil — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:02:32 +0000

I just got my HP Mini 10 and I had time last night to open it up and ‘play’ with it. it was really easy to install Windows 7 Beta on it, except that it is no longer a valid copy of Windows. I picked up a copy of Windows 7 [32-Bit] RC from an associate and will be installing that tonight! I will then hopefully be able to get it up and running and start using it instead of my MacBook. No, I am not making a platform switch; but I am testing it to see if what I have heard about Windows 7 is true. That it can and will run on a Netbook. I am curious.

I am also curious to see how “addicted” I am to my MacBook and the OS X Platform. I know that I could probably make a straight forward switch to Ubuntu or a similar Linux distro. My major concern is functionality, will it work with my computer. That is why I didn’t stay on Ubuntu 3 years ago when I ran it for 6 months. Odd little things kept happening and so, I went back to Windows when both of my PC’s died in a week’s time. No, I don’t think it was the OS. I am sure that one overheated and the other got static shocked from the outside. I am still puzzled by that, but I had to turn around and spend a bit of cash to rebuild one machine & by that point, I was beyond figuring out what happened.

I digress.

Windows 7 looks pretty nice and it works much more like Linux and OS X than ever before. The UI is very clean and well designed. I like the tile effect on the bottom for open windows and I like the loose sidebar tools, it is much better than having the Sidebar and having to work around it. I really like having the widgets on the desktop where I can find them quickly. Dashboard in OS X, is also nice, but sometimes it is frustrating because they seem to take their time loading unless I pop it open and then close it and come back to it later [with the F5 Key]. Sigh, nothing is perfect.

iron wil

The Next Big Cat is Released

Iron Wil — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:16:59 +0000

Apple updated it’s website today to announce that Snow Leopard will be available to on the 28th of August, yeah, in 4 days!!! I pre-ordered already. I am excited to get this up and running. I know what I will be doing this weekend! What about you?

My family will be put out and things will be off kilter; but the cat is out and will be installed soon. I have 3 Macs to update; a first Intel Mac, a Late 2007 15″ MacBook Pro, and a Late 2007 13″ MacBook. I will update my 13″ and then run that for a week. Next, I will update the other 2. Finally, I will have to mitigate any problems the wife and SIL have.

iron wil

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.08.15

Iron Wil — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:47:20 +0000

TWiT 207: Grandpa’s Woody

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Scott Johnson, Veronica Belmont, and Molly Wood

DDoS of Twitter, Google Voice, Facebook goes ginormous, pay-per-post, cyber czar, and more.

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 153: The Case Against Apple

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, and Andy Ihnatko

Calacanis’ criticisms, social iTunes, antiglare MacBook Pro, Facebook/Friendfeed, and more.

Show Notes

Security Now 209: The Vitamin D Story

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

A rare off-topic discussion about Steve’s research into vitamin D.

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 118: Microsoft Gets Its Mojo Back

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Microsoft’s death exaggerated, Nokia, Zune HD, upgrading/migrating, Windows Phones, and more.

Show Notes

This Week In Google 3: There’s A Command Line For That

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis, and Anil Dash

Facebook/FriendFeed, Caffeine search, Google Reader goes social, “Send To” features, and more.

Show Notes

iron wil

Top 10 Windows 7 Features vs. OS X: Leopard

Iron Wil — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:05:14 +0000

I came across this article today in the news from V3.

‘Available networks’ tool on taskbar — already present in OS X, works great! It was called Internet Connect, but now is just part of the Network pane in System Preferences.
Fewer annoying pop-ups — true we get a bouncing dock icon if you want it; but pop-ups aren’t standard.
HomeGroup — oh yeah, I think we call that Bonjour.
Device Stage — sounds like more work, OS X launches the program and gets ready to work.
BitLocker support for removable storage — Now, for businesses, this has promise. Home users get nothing from what I understand. There is FileVault; however if you want whole drive encryption, you can get tools like TrueCrypt.
Speedier boot-up — yeah, that is working . . . my MacBook was still faster booting OS X than it was booting Windows 7.
Libraries — copycat? Yeah, *Nix systems have been using this model for some time now.
User Account Control is less in-your-face — about time!!!
Multi-touch — okay, this is only available on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and ModBooks; we are still waiting for Apple to release a NetBook or Tablet PC that will blow our socks off.
It’s not Windows Vista — yeah, we never thought we would see something more busted up than Windows ME; but that has come & now they are ‘getting it right’.