http://www.myapplestuff.com Copyright ©2006 Chris Marshall
The European Perspective
by Chris Marshall December 2006
November has been a very calm month. My credit card is out of intensive car and my wife is allowing me out for a couple of hours a week, but only under supervision!!!
Probably the biggest bit of news on the personal front, in fact without doubt the biggest bit of news, is that we have adopted a cat! Now I know that isn’t exactly Mac related, but take a look at these pictures:
This is Moreno on his second day with us getting to grips
with my Mac mini. And here he is with Sand’s iMac:
Now isn’t that just about the smartest cat you have ever seen?
On the subject of pictures there are more pictures of Moreno on his Flickr account but of (hopefully) more interest will be this Flickr account where I am building up a library of Mac and Apple related pictures, specifically workstations so if you have a picture you would like me to post I would be really happy to receive it at my.applestuff@gmail.com.
What part of the month that wasn’t taken up by the cat,
reading and reviewing a number of excellent books was taken up researching the
dual screen problem with the Mac mini, which I cover later, zeroing and
reinstalling my PowerBook so I can use it solely for reviews and a couple of media
projects, and generally helping Sands get used to her iMac.
My ’Casts
Fun |
General |
Mac |
News |
Review |
Sport |
Technical |
These are all available via the iTunes Store Note the new name change from Apple J
Under Consideration
Nothing this month
Recently Deleted
: TWiT for no real reason other than they stopped broadcasting for a few weeks, I didn’t bother to catch up with the ones that where outstanding so I figured I wasn’t really enjoying them or was that bothered about them. I also think I was a little “fed up” with Leo, in that I listen to him on Inside the Net and he cops up from time to time on commandN.
: Mac Nation because I couldn’t remember the last time I listened to it or why I had subscribed in the first place.
: MacBreak Video. When I swapped Macs I noticed that the feed had stopped working, so I didn’t bother to find out why as it wasn’t something that I watched religiously.
Just Added
A welcome back to an older ‘cast that I decided to give another chance:
:Geek Brief TV
I have also added the Sky News Technocrat ‘cast. I enjoyed this segment when I used to watch it live on a Saturday morning so it is a great example of how a mainstream broadcaster can provide ‘casts.
Featured ‘Casts – Podrunner
There is very little to this ‘cast. It is simply an hour of high BPM music to run to. Very electric, dance orientated but I can honestly say that I find it easier to maintain a consistent rhythm when I run to these ‘casts and my times are better the higher the BPM. Well worth taking a look if you run. My wife uses them on her Nano, I use them on my 1G Shuffle.
European News
I was intrigued by the news that Apple will potentially release the iPhone “unlocked”. This would be a big shift away from tradition for the US but would be absolutely normal for Europe where we have pretty much always been able to buy all phones contract free. Maybe Apple sees Europe as a bigger market for the iPhone than the US?
It was absolutely no surprise to read that Air France was one of the first airlines to refute the claims that Apple had set up deals with airlines to provide iPod connectivity in flights.
Despite England’s current woes on the rugby pitch, they are the current World Champions, so it was good to see Rugby adopting Macs for their performance measurements and statistics. Not to be left out, Loughborough University also adopted Macs for their research projects.
Of course I couldn’t write anything about European News without saying congratulations to Jonathan Ive.
Digital Media Solution
I already covered this in my blogged this month, so I am not going to repeat it here. Suffice to say that attaching the Mac mini to both the TV and the 23” Screen isn’t easy at all. In fact I haven’t actually come across anybody that has done it yet. This is what it entails:
I have managed to hunt down the Female-to-Female DVI adapter, but as this is coming from the USA, I have had to go for the non-powered version, which may be a problem. The 32565 splitter isn’t in stock yet, so I won’t know if this works until the third week in December. Guess what I am wishing for, for Christmas?
It isn’t going to be an iTV if the Lifehacker article is to be believed. I have to say I am not at all excited about the iTV as it seems to propriety towards iTunes Store media and I only bought music off the store to date. I can already stream a recorded movie between Macs and view on a TV.
And Finally ………… how many iPods do you have?
This is something that has been bouncing around in my mind for some time now. It reawakens every time a new iPod is released and I have to find a justification for the new one.
I have five; a 3G 10GG iPod, a 3G 20GB iPod, a 1G iPod Shuffle, a 2G iPod Shuffle and a 5G 60GB iPod with Video.
My wife has four; a 1G 4GB iPod Mini, a 1G iPod Shuffle, a 2G iPod Shuffle and a 1G 2GB iPod Nano.
Too many I hear you say? On the surface yes – but let me explain my rationale a little. Up until about 3 years ago I used to think that “bigger was best” e.g. I wanted phones that included a camera, my diary, contacts, notes etc. I wanted everything to be duplicated across all of my computers, and I wanted an iPod that held everything.
Over the years I have become much more interested in distributing my data and activities. To be honest, this probably started off as a good means of justifying another bit of kit, but slowly I have come to embrace this philosophy.
So what does this mean in reality? Basically it means that when a new product comes out that I “must have”, my inclination is to look at how I can distribute my workload, data and activities. Let me give you a couple of examples:
I started off with a 17” G4 PowerBook. I recently bought a Mac mini initially to act solely as the hub to our media set up. However I decided to use the Mac mini as my main computer, so now I have cleared down the PowerBook and use it purely for a couple of digital projects that I am working on, for some very specific web sites, and for the reviews that I do. That way I keep things separate, my main Mac is stable at all times and I get to enjoy both machines on a daily basis.
Back to the iPods
My library is still just small enough to fit on the 60GB iPod, so I have everything stored on it. In addition I synchronize my Photo’s, Calendar and Address Book. I also have a copy of VoodooPad notes on it as well. Surely that is enough? Well yes it is at the moment, but by next year I won’t be able to store all of the above on it anymore, so will I want to buy a bigger model? In the past, yes, but now not at all. I have already backed up all my purchased music and audiobooks to the 20GB 3G iPod and will continue to use this as a means of backing up these files, and optionally listen to them. On the 10GB 3G iPod I backed up our language courses and the music that we like to listen to on the roof, and it is sat upstairs in the InMotion speakers, so we can use it when we are on the roof. My 1G iPod Shuffle I use for running, so it only syncs with the Podrunner music that I run to. The 2G iPod Shuffle has a random selection of my 1* music on it and it lives in my pocket pretty much all the time. So, as you see, I have distributed audio material across a number of devices so not only have I got some built-in data security, but also to avoid exposing more expensive items to unnecessary risks as I use them.
My wife has pretty much done the same, although we have got in a bit of a mess with hers. As she doesn’t have anything bigger than 4GB she can’t store her whole library on one iPod, but as her library is the same as mine, that really isn’t an issue for her. She can borrow my 5G 60GB anytime she travels. Her iPod Mini has her favorite albums, podcasts, diary and address book on. It also syncs with her VoodooPad. The Nano she uses just for running, although it does have her photo’s on it and a couple of albums in case she wants to stop and have a coffee mid-run J. Her 2G iPod Shuffle is set up the same as mine. It is her 1G iPod Shuffle that is potentially surplus to requirements, although we have enabled it for disc use, added a few albums “just in case” and use it for backing up Quicken and a few other files that we regularly transfer between the Mac mini, iMac or PowerBook for example pictures we have taken.
Will I buy a new Video iPod? No. I don’t really have an inclination to watch a video on a device that small. Will I buy a bigger iPod? No. I don’t need any extra space at this moment. I think I will buy an old 1G Nano for my running, as I really like the Nike + kit that my wife uses.
Will I buy an iPhone? Well that is a totally different debate for another day – but I am starting to work on the justification J
About Chris Marshall
Educated in the UK and USA, I have lived and worked in the UK, USA, and Spain. I currently live in Spain in a state of semi-retirement where I spend most of my time developing my skills on the Mac and understanding the significance and opportunities of the “Web 2.0” explosion.
I have recently started writing reviews and articles for macCompanion[1] and for The Mac ReviewCast[2].
From a “day job” perspective I don’t really have one at the moment. I am doing some PC training and support locally and have been advising a couple of small start-up businesses. When I do work, it is a business consultant[3] with an emphasis on small and start-up businesses and mentoring individuals. I am particular keen to help US organizations establish themselves in Europe. I am also keen to develop my writing skills.
Blog: http://www.myapplestuff.com
Digg: http://www.digg.com/ (MyAppleStuff)
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourcoolmacpics/
Family: http://www.almerimarlife.com
Personal: http://chrismarshall.vox.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/myapplestuff
