Undisclosed Location

Using a Flip Video camera with iMovie '08

I have a new toy and at least for now I'm gonna have the bug to use it as often as I can. Julie got me a Flip Video Ultra for my birthday and I've been having fun with it since day one. Dare I say it, but this could be the year of video around here at Undisclosed Location. I'm going to have to get over how much I hate hearing my recorded voice, but I think that'll come with time.

There were a few hiccups to getting the Flip to play nice with iMovie '08 and the Mac in general. I freaked out at first try because all of the videos I had recorded played jerky and with garbled audio. This was even after installing the recommended 3ivx decoder that comes on the camera and updating the firmware after plugging the camera in for the first time. After doing a quick google search I came across a support thread suggestion to download and install Perian. Lo and behold, once I did this everything went smoothly. So if you're having problems with your Flip Video camera and your Mac, give the same thing a try.

Once I got video to show up correctly on my MacBook Pro running Leopard, the next step was getting everything to work with iMovie '08. I've read a few tips on how to get this done, but it seemed like this was going to be a multi-step process. So I simply fired up Automator and used the built in actions to create an application that would take care of the whole process for me. I added this application to my finder bar, and now when I plug in my Flip camera all I have to do is navigate to the "DCIM" folder and drag any videos I want to upload onto my "Flip Converter." Quicktime converts the videos from .avi to .m4v, saves them to my user "Movies" folder, and iMovie '08 Opens up and the import command is selected. You're then in control at this point, and can add your newly imported movie to a new even or an existing one.

You can try out this "app" yourself by downloading it here. And if you're aware of something better please let me know, because anything to make this easier will get me uploading more videos.

Honeymoon Bug Bite from Izzy on Vimeo.

The day Macs stopped "just working"

So I finally get Julie's mom to purchase a brand new iMac and the damn thing is crashing harder than Lindsey Lohan on the autobahn. Applications are unexpectedly quitting, the multiple user setup isn't working right, and Julie's family is ready to throw the stupid thing out the window. I spent a couple hours last week setting things up for them and even I ran into problems with iPhoto and camera syncing. I mean comon, iPhoto? I've never before had a problem with this progam...now I can't even get it to import photos the right way. I've got a lot of egg on my face right now, and if I don't get over there quit and resuscitate this thing I'm going to lose all credibility.

UPDATE: I went and did my best to fix all of the nagging issues...and I think I managed to fix just about all of them. Programs are now working as they should and photos are being imported without issue.

The real christmas eve

Santa Steve Jobs takes the stage tomorrow with his bag of goodies and I can't wait. The sad part is that Mac geeks everywhere will be tossing and turning tonight in anticipation of what will be under the tree after the Macworld Keynote. Only Apple could make people this excited about shelling out money, I know I never hear people getting foamed at the mouth over Bill Gates doing another Windows Media Center demo. *drinks his glass of kool-aid*

Consensus predictions seem to be the following:
1. iWork and iLife updates, including some kind of "iWeb" program
2. Some kind of Intel powered product, most likely an iBook or Mac Mini
3. A .mac announcement/upgrade

Other predictions that sound interesting:
4. Apple plasma displays with imbedded Intel processors...mmmm
5. Preview/announced release date of OS 10.5 (Leopard)
6. A iPod Shuffle, perhaps one with a screen

I've already got the Apple events page bookmarked so that when I get home from work tomorrow I can check out the keynote without reading any of the recaps. I want to see this as if I were watching live and don't want to accidently come across any of the new products while looking for the video. Apple needs to make some kind of page for dorks like me who want to watch the keynote after the fact and have that "live experience" so that the surprise isn't ruined.

I have a feeling that putting so much hype behind the event is going to inevitably lead to disappointment, but I've got some money saved away that's burning a hole in my pocket and I'd love to lay it down on cool Apple gear.

The iPod strikes back

A couple of months ago I was struck with iPod lust and decided that I just had to have the new 5G iPod. Yeah, I know that my 4G iPod was less than a year old, but when the lust hits you, you just have to act. I managed to find a fellow resident who was looking for an iPod for the holidays and I made her what I think is a pretty sweet deal. I sold my mint condition 30GB 4G iPod (this thing has never been exposed to "the elements," it's been in a case since it came out of the styrofoam) with Contour Showcase cover, AirPlay FM transmitter, car charger, and extended warranty for $280.

My last Apple post today, I swear

From a CNET article:

After Jobs' presentation, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. "That doesn't preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will," he said. "We won't do anything to preclude that."

However, Schiller said the company does not plan to let people run Mac OS X on other computer makers' hardware. "We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac," he said.

OK, so this quote renders some of my good news and some of my questions obsolete. However, now the question remains whether Microsoft will sit back and let Apple claim to be the first "universal computer" or if it will block Macs from using Windows the same way Apple seems like they will block them. I don't even know how this will be possible. Any of you out there with ideas on how Apple will even be able to do this?

And oh yeah Apple, it's probably time to get rid of this performance page. *shakes head*

UPDATE: I just saw the keynote and I'm even more sick. There were so many contradictions to what we've always been told. This is the first time I've ever thought Steve Jobs was full of shit. A Macintosh is AN EXPERIENCE, not just a computer Steve. You of all people should know that. You can check out the keynote madness here.

Some good things about Apple moving to Intel

Of course not all the news is bad, here are some of the good things I'll be looking forward to based on today's announcement:

It will finally be possible to have a native dual-boot computer now that Windows and OSX can run on the same processor. As much as I hate to admit it, it'll be nice to have Windows and OSX on different partitions.

Prices should go down. Even if Apple doesn't slash its prices to get more in line with Intel-powered computers, a consumer now has the alternative to go somewhere else and use the same software.

Apple "mindshare" and "desktopshare" should increase. Even though I see Apple hardware going down the tubes, I can't imagine consumers choosing Windows over OSX when they are placed side-by-side and can be used on the same machine. Apple should become more popular than ever as more windows people get a taste of OSX.

The amount of OSX-compatible software should increase. This move may finally spell the end of the "gaming-divide" that has plagued Apple for so long. Companies will be much more likely to release versions of software and games that are Windows and OSX compatible since they'll both be running on the same processor.

Some questions I have about Apple moving to Intel

Why will people want to buy Apple-branded computers when they can just buy an Intel box for roughly half the cost and still use all of Apple's great software and the most amazing OS on the planet? Will Apple marketshare actually shrink as a result (if you count marketshare going by hardware and not OS installs)?

Will Apple turn into a software company because it won't be able to push any hardware other than the iPod?

Why would I want to buy an Apple desktop or laptop in the next two years unless it has an Intel processor in it? It's clear the future of the company has now moved away from the PPC processor, so why would I spend money in the meantime on a product that's on its way out?

What happens to the "Apple experience" of using a computer designed from the ground-up to run the software? Wintel people moving to OSX on their computers will know nothing about this and they will almost immediately be the majority of OSX users once the move goes through.

Will apps coded for Intel Macs work on PPC Macs just as easily as PPC apps are supposed to run on the Intel Macs? Or am I going to have to buy all new hardware to use the next-generation of Apple programs?

It's hard enough to explain the differences between Macs and PC's now, how will the average customer even know the difference now that everything will be Intel-based? Sure all of us geeks know what's going on, but the average shmoe going to CompUSA will be even more lost.

What are we supposed to call these new Macs? Mactels? Mintels? Ipples?

Apple IS moving to Intel processors

I'm sitting here reading live 2005 WWDC keynote summaries and I can't believe what's on the screen. According to the AppleInsider live update feed:

INTEL RUMORS TRUE: Jobs says there have been two major transitions for Mac: 68K to PowerPC and then Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. Now it's time for third transition to Intel-based Macs. Developers will begin to make the transition now. While users can begin to switch next year. Apple is making the move "because we want to make the best computers for our customers."

I haven't said anything on the matter because I really didn't know what to think. On the one hand, I'm hoping that a move to Intel will make Macs more affordable, but on the other hand I feel like something about Apple has died today. Part of what using an Apple meant was that you were using something different than the mainstream, something premium that worked so well you'd be willing to pay more for it up-front. I'll have more thoughts later, but for now I'm just wondering about what this means for the future of a company I've invested a lot of love in...

More live feeds:
MacRumors // MacObserver // MacScoop

PS: One funny thing about the announcement was that it sure was bad news for this guy.

PPS: I can tell Mac news sites aren't used to a lot of traffic because all of them couldn't handle it. Every single major site I visited was either slowed down to a crawl or rendered unreadable.

PPPS: Blogwaffe has pointed out that: "Apparently, the first Intel Inside Mac will ship June 6th, 2006. 666: indeed, the veritable number of the beast."

Ripping audio tracks from a DVD

I've done the coolest thing this weekend, which has made me even prouder of my music collection. I was watching my Jamie Cullum DVD again and wondering why I couldn't listen to the audio from this disc through my iPod. For some time now I had been meaning to figure out how to rip the audio off of this DVD, and I decided that before I take another long trip I was going to make it happen.

You'd think something like this would be easy to figure out from doing a quick Google search. That was hardly the case. It took me a good bit of time and a lot of trial and error before I finally found a system that worked (and used freeware). I make no claims that this is the only way to do this and I'm sure that I'm probably doing something wrong, but the bottom line is that all of my concert DVD's are now on my iPod. Of course I have to make it clear that you should only do this if you own the DVD's in question and that it should be for your own personal use only. Also, these directions correspond to people using the Mac versions of these programs (though I'm sure the directions would be somewhat similar if you found Windows equivalent programs). Now then, let's get to the directions:

FINALLY

The yin to my Apple yang

I've neglected to show off my latest bit of Apple geekery that I alluded to in an earlier post. Lucky for me that my dad was on vacation in California and was nice enough to swing by Apple HQ and make a few purchases from the company store.

How cool are these little puppies eh? I've only received one comment on them in the hospital, but I anticipate someone asking me about it while I'm working in the office. I can think of nothing better than being able to dispense quality medical AND computer advice to my patients.

My new toy

This entry comes to you courtesy of a shiny new iBook. That's right, I've gone and got myself a new toy which I have been playing with for the past couple of days...hence, the lack of posting around here. If it's possible, this new purchase has made me an even more rabid Apple fan than ever before. I'll share my impressions with you in this post which I warn will be full of geeky enthusiasm and perhaps even a nerdgasm. I've even taken pictures of the opening of the box, which is par the course for any rabid Apple fan. Set your nerd phasers to stun...

Music disappointment day

Maybe I'm the only one, but after today's announcements from Apple I am completely underwhelmed. In fact, I'll go as far as to say I'm totally disappointed. This is the first time I can recall where Apple has done things completely half-assed. Let me explain.

iPod market share growing

Just when I thought it's grip on the digital music player market couldn't get any stronger, the iPod continues to exceed expectations and dominate it's competitors.

The iPod had an 82 percent share of the market in U.S. retail stores in the 12 months ended in August, up from 64 percent in the same period a year earlier, and 33 percent two years ago, according to Port Washington, New York-based NPD Group Inc.

I have to admit that when it was first released I was skeptical about how successful this music player would be. I thought Apple had priced buyers out of the market and that it would be a sad day when the iPod met the same fate as the Cube. Apple has proved, however, that people are willing to pay a premium for this superior product. Hell, some are even willing to eat roaches to get one.

Never mind what this has done in terms of unit sales, I'm fascinated to know if there is some kind of study out there that determines how many people have turned to Macs for all of their computing and made "the switch" because of exposure to the iPod/iTunes combo. This little player has to be the best trojan horse Apple could have ever asked for.

(links via MacMinute)

Even more reason to hate the record industry

As if you needed any more...

Despite all the bitching and moaning done by the record labels about declining sales and the dangers of online music downloading, they are still the fat cats at the top of the food chain in terms of profits. A report from independent.co.uk reveals that the labels are taking the majority of online music sale profits and actually make more in the legal downloading of music than they do with selling CD's at retail. From the article:

...figures from the US show that Apple Computer, the dominant legal download business in Europe and the US, retains just 4 cents from each 99-cent (55p) track sale while "mechanical copyright" holders - generally the record labels, who own copyright in the song's recording - take 62 cents or more. Music publishers take the rest - about 8 cents.

With the sites, the copyright owners have doubled their share of royalties, even though the marginal cost of manufacturing has fallen to almost zero.

The revelation will embarrass industry executives, who meet this week in Manchester for their annual In The City music conference.

This is a perfect example of greed run amuck. The labels have demanded so much of the profits that online music retailers are finding it hard to sell enough tracks to stay in business. Apple has the advantage of being able to tie-in the most popular digital music player in the market, but it's clear that 4 cents a track isn't enough to make this business model profitable in the long run for a company. The record industry is shooting themselves in the ass yet again and turning more and more people against them.

(link via AppleInsider)

Mac blogging software

Every once and a while I get a bite from the new technology bug and go out on a search to find new blogging software to help feed my unhealthy addiction. Tonight was one of those nights when I went out on the prowl to find fresh ways to feed my habit.

Why use blogging software? Let me answer by providing you with a few advantages depending on the program you use.

1. Saves you time
Fire up the program, type in your entry and hit post. No logging into TypePad/Blogger/etc. needed. Quickly add categories, open/close comments, ping weblogging services, add formatting tags with keyboard shortcuts, view and edit previous posts...all from one window. No need to visit different pages to upload files/photos, you can do it straight from the program and have it complete with custom formatting. It's a blogger's dream.

2. Writing posts offline/saving drafts
Those of you who have broadband access may wonder when there could be a time that you would lack a connection to the internet and would need this feature. I thought this myself until the day of a service outage. Inevitably I had a couple great ideas for posts, and had to resort to writing them into TextEdit. Sure, this is a useable workaround, but what about when you have posts that you are developing over time? Write a little bit, save it as a draft and just keep adding to it as you get to it. When it's done, no need to log into your account and cut/paste...you just press post when you have a connection to the internet.

3. Managing multiple weblogs
For the blogger who has multiple sites, blogging software is a Godsend. You can manage all of your accounts and posts from one location...even if they come from different services. Have a Blogger blog that you post in for family and a MovableType-powered site that you have kept secret? No problem. You can post to all of your weblogs from one program and forget about having to juggle around account information.

The Apple Product Cycle

Dan over at Dan's View On The World has an entry making the rounds in the online mac community. Through careful observation and life experience he's pegged the exact sequence of what happens when Apple releases a new product. Boy did he ever nail it (even in the parts when he's exaggerating he's not too far off), especially in his descriptions of how Mac fans react. When a company stirs up as much emotion and loyalty as Apple does, you're bound to get a few crazies in the mix. Case in point, my favorite part of the entry:

Nerd porn threads appear in the Mac forums. Some lunatic with too much time and money on his hands disassembles the new device down to the bare, soldered components and posts pictures.

I'd probably end up slapping people at the expos too Dan.

Your iPhone is ringing

According to Mike Davidson, the time is right for Apple to turn the smartphone world upside down in the same way it did for music with the iPod. He argues that all the foundations and business models are in place, and that not acting now could spell the end of their successful "digital lifestyle" plans. I agree with a lot of his ideas, but have doubts as to whether Apple is eyeing the phone market. Don't get me wrong, I'd love more than nothing else for my next phone to have the familiar Cupertino trademark, but I see a few problems with this happening.

iPod beginnings

With all the hoopla surrounding the newly released iPod, I thought an article over at Wired which takes an inside look at the birth of the iPod was extremely fitting. It's a great read, which usually these Apple behind-the-scene computer stories are. In fact, every story I've ever read about Apple and product development has had drama in it now that I think carefully. Either 1.) the authors embellish, 2.) Apple creates the drama, or 3.) that's just the way it is with this company. I have a hunch which answer is the right one, but no matter what the reason I'll keep coming back for more.

(link via MacMinute)

WWDC keynote announcements and the uproars

The Web is abuzz with news from the Apple WWDC keynote. The big debate going around is whether or not Apple has slighted a third-party developer with the announcement of Dashboard in the upcoming OS. I don't really know what to think about this one. My initial impression was that Apple did wrong and was not helping itself when it came to encouraging developers to release products on the platform. After reading more opinions on the matter and reading what dashboard is based on, however, I'm seeing both sides of the issue. All I know is that I tried Konfabulator and the only reason I didn't keep it was because when using Exposé all my widgets became unviewable. The Dashboard implementation of widgets seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

I was much more intrigued by the introduction of Automator and the upcoming releases of Safari and iChat. The demo of Automator alone made me want to get Tiger. I can't even imagine how much time it's going to save me when I get my hands on it and start scripting. The new Safari RSS looks slick as hell, and I'm looking forward to putting it head to head with NetNewsWire. Being able to do my RSS reading and web browsing in one place would be great, so I'm hoping the new Safari meets all my RSS needs. The ability to conference voice and video chats on the next iChat AV has me drooling. What a freaking amazing thing to have work seamlessly. Makes me wish I had an iSight and friends who owned them as well.

Also going around is some discussion on the new LCD displays, most notably the 30 inch behemoth which will set you back some 3K not including the 600 needed to buy the necessary video card. The display situation in particular is what frustrates me about Apple sometimes. Talk about bleeding edge. They are so so far ahead that they've designed a kick-ass product that hardly anyone will be able to afford because of it's price. I'm all for change and moving forward, but don't you have to take baby steps as well? The cheapest display you can get now sits at 1,300 dollars. Hardly a bargain price.

Steve didn't really wow me with any of the announcements, and I gotta say this was one of the lest exciting keynotes I've seen him give. I cringed when he was trying to excuse the lack of 3GHz G5's and I was wondering if he really thought the adoption of OSX was as quick as it was because of how amazing of an operating system it was and not because all new products were requiring us users to upgrade if we wanted to take advantage of them. I'm glad that the OS keeps moving forward, but I'm wondering how much longer people are going to be willing to pay for new updates every year or so. As for me, as long as I have an education discount I will be a sucker for them.

Apple does it again

I can't believe how often Apple leaves me with my jaw on the floor. They've done it again.

AirPort Express

Want to have a wireless network in your home/apt? No problem, just plug it in the wall.
Want to share a USB printer or print wirelessly? No problem, just plug it in the wall.
Want to stream your music on your boombox/stereo? No problem, just plug it in the wall.
Want to extend the range of your already existing wireless network? No problem, just plug it in the wall.

No configuration needed, you just plug it in. Take it with you if you have a powerbook, all you need is an electrical outlet.

With this device alone, it's clear Apple is the leader in wireless technology. This has all the makings of the next big thing. What other wireless router/base station gives you all these features for only $130? What other wireless routher/base station even gives you these features?

I love being a Mac user.

The iPod is leaving the nest

We've got big news in Apple country. The company we all know and love has decided to create a new division that is dedicated solely to the iPod. Not a big surprise considering that iPod sales have now eclipsed Mac sales.

What does this mean in the long run? Well, I can only speculate that we'll see some interesting things happen with the world's best music player. Why create an autonomous division if you don't plan on expanding product offerings or moving in different directions? Perhaps the iPod as it's own platform with third party developers? I can't wait to see what comes next.

Macworld Expo Impressions

I've given myself a couple days to really digest what I saw at this years Macworld Expo and not give a rash opinion. I read all of the press releases, first-hand reports, and opinions I could find. I saw all of the expo floor pictures and special features out there.

...and I still can't help but be disappointed.

Innovating in Vain?

Another year, another article about how Apple has done it all wrong and should have licensed itself out. This one does manage to stay unbiased and objective though, so it is a good read. I'll be the first to admit Apple has made many mistakes along the way (the example of the LC product line in the article as one of the biggest), but I don't believe non-licensing of the OS to be one of them. Give the article a good read and then tell me what you think. I think this excerpt, referring to the iTunes Music Store, sums it up nicely:

Once again, Apple has pioneered a market--created a whole new business, even--with a cool, visionary product. And once again, it has drawn copycats with the scale and financial heft to undersell and out-market it. In the end, digital music could turn out to be just one more party that Apple started, but ultimately gets tossed out of.

EDIT: Make sure you read the comments from readers. Thy will show you why Apple will be around for a long time to come.

Steve Jobs talks to Rolling Stone

How could I resist linking to this interview? No real big announcements, but I love it when Apple gets good press. The iTunes music store turned out to be a lot bigger than what the skeptics thought. Everyone from Wal-Mart to Coke has jumped on the online music store bandwagon. New products are coming out all the time claiming to be the "iPod killer." It's great seeing Apple lead the way in popular opinion for once...

Decisions, decisions

Damn Apple and their strategically-sized/priced iPod hard drives.

I'm almost sure that tomorrow I'm going to take advantage of the 10% all things music sale that Apple is having their stores. As much as I want an iPod, however, they sure are expensive. The cost will be even higher considering I'll also have to get a car power adapter, an FM transmitter, a protective case that allows me to view the display, and the extended warranty. This will total somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 including tax if I go for the 40 GB iPod. Thing is, that I'm not sure whether or not I should just tone things down a bit and just go for the 20 GB...but for $100 more you get double the space with the 40 GB...

...if only there were a 30 GB model and the 20 GB was a $100 cheaper than it is now. Anyways, by this time tomorrow, if I don't chicken out (which I am beginning to) I should have the iPod I've wanted for a long time now.

Super-sized Promotion

Hot on the heels of their deal with Pepsi to give away 100 million songs, it looks like Apple has landed an even bigger promotional partner. McDonald's is rumored to be inking a deal that will give away 1 BILLION music downloads through the iTunes Music Store.

That's right, one billion songs.

My disdain for Apple marketing only leads me to conclude that Pepsi and McDonalds were the ones who approached Apple or a newly hired intern slipped in a secret memo that got the ball running. Either way I'm glad to see something smart happen on the Apple promotion front.

Note to Apple marketing: WAKE UP

Ever since I became a dedicated Mac user I have wondered who was at the helm of Apple advertising and what they were smoking. It never ceases to amaze me all the incorrect assumptions people have regarding Macintosh computers and why Apple can't design ads to debunk them once and for all. Not to mention the fact that every time I turn on the TV I have to see 50 stupid Dell, Intel, Gateway, or Microsoft commercials for every 1 Mac commercial.

Even the newest ads for the iPod frustrate me. Why not show people actually using these amazing devices? What's up with the silhouette dancers on the colored backgrounds? How does this help advertise the iPod in any way? People who don't know what an iPod is have no idea what is going on. There is no phone number listed to find more information, no web address shown to find more information, nothing. Throwing in "iPod" at the end of the commercial with an Apple logo is not enough.

...and while we're at it, where are the ads for the iTunes Music Store? Why do I have to see Napster all over the place on the airwaves and never hear a peep from the leader in this industry?

UPDATE: Right after I posted this I finally saw a commercial for the Music Store...I think. At the end of the dancing sequence I saw "itunes.com" written. wow...now THAT'S advertising a service

Panther arriveth, I installeth

Well I finally had the time to sit, install Panther, and look around. On the whole, I'm happy where this OS is heading, despite the fact that there were some changes made that will take some getting used to on my part. I'll be digging under the hood more and more this week, but for now, click below to find out if you agree with my first impressions.

I told you THATS a setup

In an update to something I wrote about a few days ago, there are fresh performance numbers for the Virginia Tech supercomputer made of PowerMac G5's. According to InformationWeek, the cluster has now achieved 8.7 trillion operations per second (TFlops), which will move it from fourth to third on the list of the top 500 performing supercomputers in the world.

You gotta love this:

The Virginia Tech system was assembled from off-the-shelf Apple Macintosh computers running 2,200 64-bit IBM microprocessors. "We wanted price-performance"...the IBM processors in Apple's G5 Macs cost one-tenth as much as Intel's Itanium 2 processor and also less than a 64-bit chip from Advanced Micro Devices...

Broadcasting live

...from the Apple store in Lyndhurst (and from a gorgeous 12 inch powerbook as well). The store here is PACKED so I'll just say if you haven't had the chance to visit an Apple Store yet, and one is near you, you should definitely go. If anything, you can check out the coolest technology around.

Now THATS a setup

The numbers are in, and according to the New York Times, the "Terascale Cluster" built at Virginia Tech with PowerMac G5's will rank in at 4th on the list of the top 500 performing supercomputers in the world. Preliminary numbers show this 1,100 unit G5 cluster achieving 7.41 trillion operations per second (TFlops). Official results will not be reported until November, so reports are that "the final speed number might be significantly higher."

These results are amazing considering the cost of this supercomputer in comparison to the others in the top 5. You can check out some pics of the setup on the Virginia Tech project page.

According to The TOP 500 Supercomputer Sites, the top 5 Supercomputers as of June 2003 were:

1. NEC, Earth-Simulator
Number of processors: 5120
Max GFlops acheived: 35860.00
Theoretical max GFlops: 40960.00
Location: Earth Simulator Center, Japan, 2002

2. Hewlett-Packard, ASCI Q - AlphaServer SC ES45
Number of processors: 8192
Max GFlops acheived: 13880.00
Theoretical max GFlops: 20480.00
Location: Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, 2002

3. Linux Networx, MCR Linux Cluster
Number of processors: 2304
Max GFlops acheived: 7634.00
Theoretical max GFlops: 11060.00
Location: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA, 2002

4. IBM, ASCI White
Number of processors: 8192
Max GFlops acheived: 7304.00
Theoretical max GFlops: 12288.00
Location: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA, 2000

5. IBM, SP Power3
Number of processors: 6656
Max GFlops acheived: 7304.00
Theoretical max GFlops: 9984.00
Location: NERSC/LBNL, USA, 2002

Next next generation iPod

Is there any way to improve this already amazing portable music player? You better believe it.

Seeing this soon to be released player from Samsung that will be offered in conjunction with Napster 2.0 makes me wish Apple had been ahead of the curve with respect to built-in features.

Part of the appeal for the iPod is the ability to carry around your entire music library in a pocket-sized player. If I'm carrying around all of my CD's in my pocket, wouldn't it make sense to want to take this music with me in the car? This is where a lot of people, including myself, listen to most of our music. Why do I have to plug in extra peripherals to make this happen? The whole MO at Apple is to make products that "just work." Even more reason why an internal antenna should be built into the iPod to make transmitting music to car and home stereos seamless. No one wants to have to carry around dongles and cables to make this work and have to pay an extra 30 or so dollars in the process. I can understand having peripherals for recording audio and reading media cards, but there is no reason why transmitting and receiving FM signals should require me to buy two separate plug-in devices.

The only way I could see an add-on as justified would be in the case of satellite radio. Can you imagine how cool it would be to have XM radio available to you wherever you go, including the car? I think Apple could really help give exposure to satellite radio and boost sales if this sort of thing was made available. It definitely makes sense to me...digital quality sound on a digital music player.

Get on this quick Apple...the next generation iPod awaits.

Less than a week away

Oct. 24 will be a very cool day for me. The new Apple Store in Lyndhurst will be opening, putting an end to my need to make periodic 3 hour trips to Columbus, where the closest Apple Store used to be. This store is only like 20 minutes away, which will make it all too easy to go and drool over my wish list items.

I don't see how I'll be able to, but I gotta find a way to be one of the first 1000 people in the store...

UPDATE: It tentatively seems like fortune is smiling on me. I just looked at the call schedule and saw that I'm on-call on the 23rd. This means that I will be getting out by at least noon at the latest on Friday and may be able to make it to the store in time. This may be one time when being on-call actually turns out to be a good thing.

iPod me please

In more Apple/Music related news, some new iPod accessories were introduced that make me want one even more than I did before (if that is possible).

You can finally capture audio, including class lectures with a voice recorder that connects to the top of the unit and provides an omnidirectional microphone. The audio files can then be imported and organized in iTunes where you could then burn them to CD. THIS WOULD HAVE RULED if it was available a year ago when I was recording class reviews on microcassette. I could have listened to reviews in the car on freaking CD...how cool is that?

Also available is a media reader that allows you to transfer digital camera images onto your iPod when you're on the road and away from the computer. A great feature to have if you are on vacation and are taking a ton of pictures. It is a bit on the pricey side if you ask me, but once other companies produce the same thing it will probably come down. I think Apple should find a way to build this into the iPod, even if they make it available on a separate "mega-media" version and thicken the unit a bit.

If anyone is looking for a Christmas gift for me...look no further. I'm wanting an iPod now more than ever.

Hell Froze Over

Very fitting expression in this case. Apple has made a Windows app, and I'd be willing to bet that it will be one of the best on the platform. Check out iTunes for Windows here and download it if you don't already have it. I guarantee it will change the way you listen to music. Now you PC users can get a small taste of Apple quality and join the digital music revolution. Buy your songs, then put them on your iPod or burn them to CD.

Panther cometh

Well lookie here, a release date for Panther (Mac OS 10.3) has finally been set. This will be a must buy for me for a couple reasons:

1. Revamped finder with new layout and addition of labels
2. Exposé
3. Updated Mail
4. Faster and better Preview app
5. System-wide faxing ability from any program that can print.
6. iChatAV (which will truly ROCK once Becka gets a Mac.
7. The fact that it's only $69 for poor students like myself. Try getting a major Windows upgrade for that price.

I'll be getting mine delivered on the evening of the 24th, you should too.

Switched

These are the kind of reactions I love reading when people decide to finally switch over to a Mac. I've told countless people how great Apple products are, but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself.

Karen makes the fifth person I've helped switch over to Macs (not counting Becka who still doesn't own one ;-) ). Too bad I don't get some kind of commission check to buy this beauty.

Endorsement from the originator

It doesn't really surprise me that the inventor of the World Wide Web uses Apple's web browser. What was surprising,however, was finding out that the platform he used to develop the web...and where that platform is now. Pretty cool article, check it out.

I must admit I was a doubter myself when Safari was announced, and I stuck at first to using Camino. Once the final version of Safari was released, however, I decided to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. I've never looked back.

Pages load faster, the interface is unobtrusive, bookmark management is the easiest on any browser, and the snapback feature is amazing.

If you own a Mac this is probably the browser you are using...and for good reason.

(link via Raves, Ramblings, Rants, Randomized)

AppleLore

For you mac fans out there, here's a fascinating look into the history of a company that we follow almost daily.

From the site:

The purpose of this site is to collect information to create a first-hand, historical record regarding Apple Computer and Claris Corporation. The information and stories that are collected will be preserved for use by students, scholars, universities, and other non-profit organizations.

The content of this site will become the sole property of the Computer History Museum, and cannot be reprinted, copied or sold without express, written approval by the Computer History Museum.

Former Apple employees have joined this weblog site and are writing entries from their inside point of view, and telling some stories that we have never heard. Especially interesting are entries like this one that tell us how worried Apple was over Win95.

When you have some time to burn, check out AppleLore and read all the tales yourself.

G5, other announcements

Yesterday was a good day to be an Apple user.

Panther
iChat AV
iSight
Safari 1.0
Powermac G5 aka "the world's fastest personal computer."

Check the new stuff out if you haven't done so already.