Posted by Scott Hughes
Tue, 28 Feb 2006 18:30:00 GMT
Damnit! I waited too long to flip my Mac Mini PPC on eBay… Now that Steve’s announced the Intel Mac Minis, it’s going to be a hard sell. If you were holding out on switching, the new Mac Mini’s look a lot more attractive than they were before. From the Engadget live-blog of the event:
10:09am PT - Introduced the iMac, doing really well out there, MacBook Pro reviews are off the charts, two of the things helping this transition are universal applications. Rosetta turned out to be much stronger than we thought it would be, running most PowerPC apps. Today we’re introducing our third machine, the mac mini based on Intel’s Core Solo processor.
10:11am PT - It’s two and a half to three times faster in the same box. Also, putting a core duo processor in the Mini, it’s 4.8x to 5.5x faster. We have a product that’s over five times faster in the same form factor. We’ve added gigabit ethernet and doubled the number of USB 2 ports to four. Analog and SPDIF input and output. And its really quiet, it’s a pretty great product.
Ooohh.. Audio-input – something that was missing on the previous generations of Mac Minis. But this is nowhere near the point of giving me Buyer’s Remorse (not like those poor folks who bought the iMac G5 a couple of months before they announced the iMac Core Duo).
Posted in OSX | Tags MacMini | no comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:18:00 GMT
OS X has an annoying (at least, to me) idea about how the Home/End keys should work. For a while, I tolerated it because it was my duty as a switcher. But, going back and forth between my work PC and my home Mac is painful (especially now that my home Mac is sitting next to my work PC). I finally stumbled upon this reference to help over write the default key bindings to come up with something that’s a little more natural for me. Here’s what I used for my new key bindings
/* ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict */
{
/* Home Key */
"\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLine:";
"^\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfDocument:";
"$\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLineAndModifySelection:";
"$^\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:";
/* End Key */
"\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLine:";
"^\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfDocument:";
"$\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLineAndModifySelection:";
"$^\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:";
/* Left Arrow Key */
"^\UF702" = "moveWordBackward:";
"$^\UF702" = "moveWordBackwardAndModifySelection:";
/* Right Arrow Key */
"^\UF703" = "moveWordForward:";
"$^\UF703" = "moveWordForwardAndModifySelection:";
}
I played around with trying to get the Shift+Delete combo to do a forward-delete (like Windows Delete key, instead of like Backspace), but I couldn’t get that to work. My MacBook Pro keyboard only has the one Delete key, but if I use a Windows keyboard the Windows Delete key works as expected. I’d be interested if anyone else had a tip about a good way to get a convenient forward-delete on my MacBook keyboard.
Update 3/11/2006:
Apparently, on all Apple laptops, the mapping for a forward delete is fn + delete. However, it seems I can’t use fn + [cmd|opt|ctrl] + delete to do any fancier forward deleting (like “forward delete word), because once I press any of the modifier buttons it’s as if the fn button is ignored in the combo.
Posted in OSX | Tags MacBook, MacBook_Pro, MackBookPro, osx | no comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:37:00 GMT
Documentation for the MacBookPro’s audio line-in/line-out say that it’s a combined stereo and optical digital plug. If you look down in it, it looks deeper than your standard stereo plug, so I believe them that there is something fiber-optic waiting for me at the end of that tunnel… The problem is: how am I supposed to get to it? If you take a look at the end of your standard optical digital cable, it’s immediately obvious that there is no way that it will plug into the same hole as a headphone jack. I’ve already purchased the DVI-to-S-Video adapter so that I can hook it up to my TV. But I don’t have a good way to get audio out without that plug. Granted, I could just use a stereo-to-RCA adapter, but my home theater setup isn’t easily wired that way. I have all my stuff switched through optical digital boxes, with no connection on the RCA plugs.
Anyone have any guesses about how I’m supposed to access that? I’m hoping someone will tell me that it’s a common enough port and that there are adapters readily available for other brands.
Update Well, thanks to the commenters, I now know that Monster sells exactly what I need.
Posted in Technology | Tags audio, MacBook, MacBook_Pro, MacBookPro | 3 comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Fri, 24 Feb 2006 03:21:00 GMT
Finally got my MacBook Pro 2.0 GHz…. And it is fast, fast, fast. It blows the piddly G4 in my Mac Mini completely out of the water.
I had a little bit of a fright when I first powered it on. I had read a review on TUAW that said there was a high-pitched hiss coming out of the back hinge area. I’m kind of sensitive to those sorts of hisses (my doctor tells me I’m a ferrari, high performance and very sensitive to improper care) and I tend to get headaches pretty easily. Well, as soon as I powered up the MacBook Pro, it was unmistakable. I could feel the whine in my teeth. For a second, I completely sank… But I figured once I cleared my desk and found a good place to dock it, I might not notice it anymore. Well, I’ve been using it for a couple of hours straight and I haven’t heard the whine come back since the first few minutes after startup.
The new iPhoto is crazy fast… Quicksilver is so fast that I think it’s reading my mind. I’ve had a little bit of fun playing around with Photo Booth (see pic above, click image to see a few more). Not much else to report so far… It took over an hour and a half to move my music, photos, and movies over. I do like the 2-finger scrolling on the trackpad. I do not like the fact that the bottom of this thing gets pretty damn hot… Kind of makes it a “laptop” in the loosest sense of the word “lap”. Won’t be in my lap during a Texas summer.
Posted in Technology | Tags MacBookPro, PhotoBooth | 3 comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:51:00 GMT
Damn, they are shipping my MacBook Pro direct from Shanghai! If I’d known that at the time of shipping, I would’ve upgraded to something faster. Those 2-day air prices are a pretty good deal if we’re talking about international shipping.
Posted in OSX | Tags MacBookPro | 1 comment
Posted by Scott Hughes
Tue, 21 Feb 2006 04:59:00 GMT
On the way back from the airport a few days ago, I noticed a building in a shopping center claiming to be a “Christain Office Supply” store. Going into the mexican restaurant in front of it, I just remembered it as kind of odd. Coming out of the mexican restaurant (after I’d had a little tequila), I got a few ideas about what they might sell there. The first one that popped into my head was a 20-pack of Jesus Died for your Pens. I thought this was hilarious, but Nicole told me I only thought that because I’d been drinking… It wasn’t long before she and Erik joined in on the fun. We came up with:
- A Crucifax Machine
- Sermon on the Mounting Board
- 3 Holy Punch
- Stationary of the Cross (Apparently, Stations of the Cross is a Catholic Prayer)
- Silent Nite-lite (not really an office supply)
- A-Toner for your Sins (ok, we obviously ran out about here)
Can you think of any other good ones? If so, please leave it in the comments. Blasphemy is a blast for me!
Too bad there isn’t a CafePress option for making big, fancy pens… I wonder if I could make any money selling Jesus Died for your Pens.
Posted in Humor | Tags blasphemy, humor, word_play | 2 comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Thu, 16 Feb 2006 17:38:00 GMT
I’m just a little embarassed at how familiar this music video sounds. I’d never heard of the comedy trio Tripod before Dare let me know about that video, but you can call me a fan after hearing this line:
Oooooh Baby, I can’t wait until we start…
It’s just that the save points are quite far apart!
And this one:
You know I can’t stop thinking about you baby…
And all the magic coins that I need to collect, yeah.
So true, Tripod… So true…
Posted in Humor | Tags games, humor, music | no comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Wed, 15 Feb 2006 00:33:00 GMT
Playing around with celebrity face matching.
I think the technology has a long way to go, but it’s still fun to play around with
MyHeritage.com’s facial recognition software.
Though it is quite funny that I look just like an Asian actress (according to their software!), I find it even funnier that Nicole looks like Shakira. We really enjoy making fun of Shakira and we were laughing pretty hard at this parody of her this parody of her last weekend. The software must have misinterpreted Erik’s goatee as a second chin; I really don’t think he looks anything like the first secretary general of the United Nations. I guess I might look a little bit like that Asian actress…. Before she lost about 200 lbs.
I suppose MyHeritage’s goal is to collect a hell of a lot of faces for their database. And they probably get loads of photos by letting people compare their pictures with celebrities. Don’t sign up with your real name if you don’t want your illegitimate children to be able to contact you after a successful face match on MyHeritage.
Posted in Humor | Tags celebrity, face_recognition, faces | 1 comment
Posted by Scott Hughes
Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:31:00 GMT
The very day before the day that my MacBook Pro is set to ship, Apple announces that the palsy 1.83GHz machine that I ordered is no longer the top of the line laptop… Now you can upgrade that machine to 2.16GHz!!
The day before the day mine ships, it is suddenly obsolete. Soon, machines will be obsolete before you can order them. Then we’ll have conversations like, “Yeah, the new Intel Kismet processors are supposed to be out in 3 years, but they are already obsolete”.
Update
Wait a minute, there is no 1.67GHz option anymore (formerly $1,999) and the 1.83GHz option has changed prices (was $2,499, now $1,999). Does that mean apple is going to ship me the 1.83GHz I ordered, but charge me the lower price? Or charge me the price I paid and ship me the new model which sells at that price (2GHz)??? I think I need to get on the phone.
Update
Apparently, my 1.83GHz order will be automatically bumped up to the 2.0GHz model. I guess I’ll ignore the $300 upgrade to the 2.16GHz proc, that way Erik will have a little window room to one-up me. I one-upped him on the Mac Mini purchase, so it’s his turn.
Here’s the official announcement from Apple about the new models:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/feb/14macbookpro.html
Update
Just got the email from Apple:
Better still, prior to shipment we’ve improved the entire MacBook Pro family with configurations starting at 1.83Ghz up to 2.16GHz. We have upgraded your MacBook Pro from a 1.83GHz processor to a 2.0GHz processor at no additional cost! We anticipate shipping your upgraded order by February 28, 2006.
Those bastards! I’m all ready for my new arrival, then I found out she’s going to be better than I anticipated… Then they hit me with the shipping delay! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!
Posted in Technology | Tags Apple, MacBookPro | 2 comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:50:00 GMT
Just got back from our 4th annual ski trip. We went to Snowbird mountain resort near Salt Lake City, Utah. We had a fantastic ski vacation. I’ll have lots of pictures and video available soon (once Erik stops holding them hostage). In the meantime, I wrote up a short novel describing nearly every major event of the trip. I wished I’d done this for every ski trip we’ve done, just for my own edification. I don’t expect anyone (not even my friends) to read the whole thing, so here are some highlights:
- Nicole and Erik got attacked by Mormon proselytizers at the Mormon Temple Square Visitor’s Center.
- Nicole and I skied a lot of fresh powder, going off-trail whenever possible.
- I convinced Erik and Nicole to join me on a very intimidating black diamond run, which was quite an accomplishment.
- Nicole got a great video of me crashing a jump I did off a little snow ramp.
- The Mineral Basin ski area (the backside of Snowbird) is one of the most beautiful ski areas I’ve seen. The bowls of snow seem to go on forever.
Here is my full Ski Log for Snowbird 2006. I’ll post a link to the pictures and videos as soon as I free them from Erik’s tyrannical hold.
Update: The complete Snowbird 2006 photoset is up on flickr. Working on converting the video to a reasonable distribution size.
Update: Loaded the video of me crasing a jump on Ourmedia.org, which is very slow. I uploaded it to Google Video as well, but it hasn’t been verified yet. When it’s uploaded there, I think I’ll try embedding the player in the full ski log. Until then, try watching it on my ourmedia page.
Read more...
Posted in Personal, Adventure | Tags ski, snow, snowbird, utah, vacation | 4 comments
Posted by Scott Hughes
Fri, 03 Feb 2006 00:52:00 GMT
I found out about this amazing browser plugin via Chris Pirillo. His pitch for it completely sold me on it:
I don’t care who you are - you need this free plugin. In FireFox or IE, you’ll finally know what you’re walking into. For example, if you did a search for ”gnome” on your favorite search engine with SiteAdvisor installed, you’d see a set of results with colored checkmark images next to ‘em. These things will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about an unknown site. Hover over a spidered site, and it’ll tell you how many pop-ups it serves, how many links to other “green” (good) sites, how many emails per week it sends, how many “green” downloads it points to, etc. Click the image for even more information.
It makes googling a lot easier… Now when I construct a poor search phrase and get garbage results, I can visually filter out the sites I don’t want to even check immediately.
Posted in Technology | Tags firefox, google, web | no comments
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