MacUpdate is offering a bundle of all these apps for $64.95. One little catch, that shouldn’t be a big deal is this. The last three apps are locked until target numbers of bundles are sold. Once a target is reached, a locked app will be available to you. The last two bundles sold reached the final target number. This offer expires April 29th.
- Hazel - Cleans and organizes your files
- Art Text - Creates pretty text
- MenuCalendarClock - A menu item on the top of your screen with lots of info
- Leap - Like spotlight but a lot more
- StoryMill - For writing stories
- Typinator - fills in your commonly typed words or pictures for you
- DVDRemaster Pro - Compress large dvds to fit into standard size ones. Compress for iphone, ipod, etc.
- Sound Studio - Edit sound files
- BannerZest - create flash slideshows
- Parallels Desktop - run windows on your intel mac.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Last night I picked up an Airport Extreme! I’m pretty excited. Set up was relatively easy. Below are some random observations so far because I love unordered lists.
- No more web based configuring like with my old Netgear, instead you use Airport Utility.
- In Airport Utility, “SSID” is listed as “Network Name.” And is it just me or does it seem confusing that there is something called “MAC Address” and it has nothing to do with Macs?
- Airport Utility shows who is connected and how much bandwidth they’re using in a neat little line graph.
- The Extreme’s access list setup also lets you choose what times devices can connect to the router.
- If you have an iPhone or any pre-N device like my Core-Duo MacBook, you can’t use the 5ghz frequency. You’re stuck with 2.4ghz like everyone else.
- Airport Disk is cool though I swear it was called “Airdisk”. I can’t wait to figure out how to access it from anywhere on the internet. Also, I don’t think you can change the name of the disk while connected to the Extreme.
- Time Machine through the Airport Disk seems to be working. I used the gigabit ethernet for my initial MacBook backup. I’ll let you know about the wireless-G backup experience after I work on some large files.
- I have an Ethernet card in my Epson 7600. My old version of EpsonNet 1.9a couldn’t find the printer through the Extreme, 2.2a could! I thought Epson was going to leave me behind again, but they didn’t.
- I have not used the built in print server.
So far it seems like a pretty solid router at a good price considering what you get: gigabit ethernet, wireless print server, NAS, Time Capsule-like Time Machine, wireless-N, and Apple support.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
I have a point and shoot that I love, the Fujifilm F11. It’s a great camera, especially under lowlight. I bought it off ebay a few years ago from a Japanese seller. The F11 wasn’t being sold in the US, just the F10. Anyways. I think I need a replacement. Even though I hate Canon because of the problems I’ve had with their dSLR service department, I’d still consider getting one of their P&S’s.
One day I was perusing the internet, and I found this site for CHDK. Basically it’s site dedicated to a firmware hack but not a hack that allows certain Canon cameras to do a lot more cool stuff. I say hack but not hack because it doesn’t really change your firmware. It’s just a little app that is saved on your SD card that the camera just runs. Below is a list of some of the features:
- RAW capabilities. *.CRW must be converted to Adobe DNG.
- Live Histogram
- Zebra mode (flashing highlights)
- Shutter speeds of up to 1/64,000 for freezing things like bullets through apples
- Longer video recording limited only by card size
- Longer exposures
- depth of focus
- exposure bracketing
- motion activated shutter for shooting things like lightening bolts
- ability to run scripts
Most of the Canon cameras that can use this hack are a little bit older. Check the CHDK site to find if your Canon is compatible. The Canon camera I’ve been looking at is the SD1000. I like it because it looks a lot like the old APS Canon Elph, the one I never owned. I love the super square shape. And it can be bought for about $150. So much power in such a little package!
This would be great solution for a tinkerer. It will be be especially awesome when I force people I take pictures of to wait even longer while I’m trying to figure out the best setting to use via my new hack.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
I just got back from Hawaii, and it has inspired me to want a new set of stuff.
- A waterproof camera like the Olympus 1030 SW. Well not just waterproof, it is shockproof, pressure proof, and freeze proof. It also has 28mm (35mm equivalent) lens.
- A portable computer like the eee pc 701 4g or 900, so I can move the images off the camera to a hard drive and upload to a blog or flickr.
- A camera/notebook backpack like the Crumpler Sinking Barge to put all my goodies into. I have a $5 Million Home Crumpler bag that is really solid.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
A few years ago Sonic Impact came out with a $30 amplifier that shook up the hi-fi market. It was compared favorably against amplifiers that cost thousands of dollars. It became so popular, Sonic Impact came out with another version, the Super T-Amp, using better components which is the one I bought. The heart of these little amps is a Tripath TA 2024 which gives the sound of a Class A-B amp but the efficiency of a Class D. Because the amp is only 5 watts per channel, it requires very efficient speakers. As an aside, highly efficient speakers (aka single driver full-range speakers) is a whole world I’ve just recently explored. To me, they just look like home made looking speaker boxes with one driver. The prices are usually in the thousands. Why is everything in hi-fi so expensive? The Bel Canto eVo 2i amp uses a similar Tripath chipset and costs $3200! This is why I like finding jewels like these T-amps. On another side note, hi-fi companies ripping audiophiles off is not uncommon. Gainclone, monster cable, and Virtual Dynamics Power 3 are other examples.
Anyways, to the point of this post. I was looking for a new DAC to hook up my Mac’s optical out with my Super T-Amp. This is when I found this interesting site that looks like was born from the t-amp craze. On the front page was a new amp called the Pop Pulse T40i that has caught my fancy. It too is based on a Tripath chipset but with a higher 40wpc. It even has a remote and a digital display! The price is only $225 which is a bargain compared to the other Tripath based amplifliers on this site.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
I’m looking for something that organizes ideas and thoughts for the Mac. These are the choices I have so far:
- Journler - I used this for a while when it was free. The developer is going to start charging with v2.6. It’s mainly for organizing written thoughts though you can integrate music, pictures, weblinks, etc.
- Yojimbo - I’ve heard good things about this. This just feels like an information database.
- Bento - Pretty new. From Filemaker.
- DevonThink
- VoodooPad
These apps kind of do the same thing but not really. Some focus more on text, some more on just keeping data organized. It all seems so vague to me thinking about it now. I’m basically looking for a hub for my life, a centralized spot where I can start my day. A place I keep attachments like pdfs, pictures, docs, whatever. A place where I can go to when I think, “Oh I need to pick up some milk,” or “Oh I really want that USB coffee warmer so bad. I should blog about that soon,” or “Oh I need to remember to buy those tickets when it goes on sale next week.” Basically an app that does everything! That’s all I want.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
I don’t care which. I want a really fast lens. These are Nikon’s fastest lenses. Canon and Leica make faster at F1.0. Unfortunately, Nikon’s bayonet mount limits the fastest speed to f1.2 which is still ok way with me. Choices:
- 55mm F1.2 in AI and non-AI can be found relatively cheap.
- 50mm F1.2 in AI and AIS are more expensive (newer than the 55mm).
- 58mm F1.2-Noct is super expensive. Corrects coma.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
My trusty old white Netgear wireless-G has served me well for a few years now. It hasn’t caused me too many problems, well nothing a simple unplug/replug couldn’t fix. But I think it is time it should be replaced with the new old Airport Extreme.
A couple of days ago Apple offered a software update for their Airport Extreme that now allows time machine backups. This means you can back up your files wirelessly. This was the only reason to buy the expensive Time Capsule and now you don’t have to. Unless there is some other reason to get the Time Capsule I’m just not aware of.
I also own an Airport Express. I once used it for Airtunes only. Currently it just sits on a shelf. My Apple TV has replaced that role. But now if I get an Airport Extreme, I can bridge it with the Express to extend my wireless range!
Oh yeah, this is going to work so great with my new Blac X! FTW!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Bent plywood chairs are cool, the Eames Low Chair Wood (LCW) especially. Not sure what it is about Mid-Century modern stuff that I love so much. Charles Eames’ philosphy, when designing this chair, was to make something affordable and accessible to everyone (like Ikea?).
Some standout points:
- It’s low.
- It’s a chair.
- It’s made from bent plywood. Originally, Charles Eames wanted to form the plywood into a shell, but was much too weak.
- There are no holes on the seat and backrest. The different parts were joined together by a series of rubber shock mounts glued to the wood and connected with bolts.
- It now costs up to $1200 new.
Thanks Wikipedia for the info!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Installation
Very easy. Just plug all the cables in. Drop the drive in. It just works, on a Mac that is. I didn’t really look at the instructions.
Observations
- 3.5″ drives slide in easily. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to go off track and not hook up right.
- Ejecting 3.5″ drives require a little more than just pressing the eject button. You should probably pull on the drive too. (I wonder if that was in the instructions.)
- Ejecting 2.5″ drives seem to get stuck a little. It just might be the drive I was using.
- The flap which covers the drive slot seems a little flimsy.
- The drive light on the top of the Blac X consists of two lights: a blue power light, and a red drive activity light.
- I’m having an issue when unmounting a 2.5″ drive then remounting it. Blac X doesn’t seem to recognize the drive. I have to turn the Blac X off then back on for it to work.
- It allows deep sleep like so many USB devices do!
- Does not prevent automatic sleep like so many USB devices do!
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
