As mentioned previously, I have been on this mission to reduce space in my house with the elimination of books and other media. Well, recently I have started using the eReader application on my Droid and Dell Mini netbook and I have to say, for now, it does what I need it to do. If you have never used the eReader application, try it out, it’s free. The only issue I have found so far is that the electronic book prices in their market are a little higher than the rest of the market, as compared to Amazon’s and Barnes & Noble ebooks. If you are curious, here is what the eReader looks like on a netbook turned to portrait mode:

The advantage I have on this netbook is that the computer came with an Intel graphics card that has the ability to rotate 90, 180 and 270 degrees. All that I have to do is launch the eReader application and then hit a keyboard shortcut combination of CTRL+ALT+LEFT and the display rotates. As you see in the above picture, I can then hold my netbook almost like a standard size hardback book. Granted, this is not a perfect solution but for now this will work perfectly until 1.) I can find a practical need for a tablet device, 2.) devices advance technologically, and 3.) the devices and the media for the devices become more competitive and affordable.

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1. The Simplify Media app is best if you want to have access to your music library everywhere you go without having to load everything on your iPhone.  Using the desktop application, I installed it, created an account and pointed the application to my music library. Now, I can listen to my music everywhere, even on the Edge network. What is also great about this is that I talked my sister into signing up for Simplify Media. We added each other to our friend contact list so, now, not only do I have access to my music library, I have access to hers also, and vice versa. Current Price: $5.99 (I paid $2.99 when it first came out for a temporary promotion)

2. Shopper is just a simple shopping list to remind me of items I need to buy at the supermarket or Target. One of the great features about this application, though, is that it has the capability to email your list to another person. Very handy when you need your significant other to pick up something for you. Current Price: $.99

3. Evernote is just that, a note taking application. Yes, the iPhone has its own notes application but Evernote is a hundred times more powerful. Evernote has the ability to sync your notes to the “cloud” so it’s safe from data loss. Not only does it sync your text notes, but it can also sync your voice notes and picture notes. I use Evernote quite regularly on my iPhone but the great thing about Evernote is that it is everywhere; I also have it on my iGoogle launch page on my browser to access. I’ve never used it before but there is also an application you can install on your computer. Current Price: Free

4. Tweetdeck is for people who use Twitter and has been ranked as the best Twitter client out there. Current Price: Free

5. Facebook, of course, is for Facebook users. Although I have a Facebook account I rarely visit. Most of my status information is fed from Twitter. I mostly use this application for when people comment on my status on Facebook and I need to comment back. Current Price: Free

6. Skype is an application that allows you to make VoIP calls and instant message to all your Skype friends, however it only works on a wi-fi connection. Current Price: Free

7. Tip Calculator is great for people who suck at math. I use it every time I eat out. Current Price: $.99

8. Google Mobile is perfect if you use a lot of the Google services. I use the Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Talk in this application quite regularly, and they work really well. I was especially shocked at how well the Google Talk portion worked. Current Price: Free

9. Flixster is for the movie fan who likes to check out film trailers and times at your local theater. Current Price: Free

10. I mostly use the Free RSS application to read my friends blogs. Mostly. Current Price: Free

11. RSS Player is perfect for listening to podcast. I love listening to tech podcast. There have been times when I have listened to all the podcast on my iPod in my car and do not have the newest episode of my favorite podcast that I then use RSS Player on my iPhone to begin listening the to next episode. Current Price: $.99

12. Backgrounds is something my sister introduced me to. It just allows you to download wallpaper backgrounds for your iPhone. My sister found this background for me from the application. Current Price: Free

13. WordPress application is for when I want to post a quick blog to this blog site. Current Price: Free

14. Audioboo is great for audio blogging. I have my Audioboo account tied to my Twitter account so that when I have no time to type a Tweet, I talk a Tweet. Current Price: Free

15. The Sims 3 is self explanatory. I don’t know why I bought it. I’ve played it just a few times and then lost interest. Current Price: $6.99

16. Wolfenstein 3D is a port of the classic first-person shooter game. Same for this, I’ve played it a few times and lost interest. It’s pretty difficult to play a FPS game on the iPhone. Current Price: $1.99

17. Sportacular is a fantastic application for sports fans. I use this quite often to check on NCAA Football scores, to see who is ahead in the current PGA tournament, or to see how the NCAA Basketball teams are fairing during March Madness. Current Price: Free

18. Air Hockey is also self explanatory. This is a great two player game when you are waiting in queue somewhere with a family member or friend. Current Price: $.99

When the Apple iPhone (and iPod Touch) application store first came out, I told myself that I would never buy an application for my iPhone, especially since most everything that was out then was free. Well, I seem to have given in to quite a few pay applications since, especially the $.99 apps as they have seemed so compelling.

For those of you that read this, and have an iPhone or iPod Touch, I would love to hear what you have on your device. Just post your list in the comments below.

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This is just a video explanation of using a software KVM solution instead of a hardware solution.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

I found out after the install that the reason I was having audio problems is because my speaker plug was not in all the way.

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I have plans to upgrade the hard drive in my Macbook to a 250GB drive since I found 100GB wasn’t enough; the drive doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. Since I was upgrading the drive I thought it would be the perfect time to upgrade to Leopard since I would be rebuilding my Macbook after all. Well, I couldn’t wait. I bought Leopard this evening with every intention to wait to install the OS when I installed the hard drive tomorrow evening but my impatience got the better of me and I just finished upgrading.

So far as I can tell it’s just pretty. Yes, there are some minor improvements to some of the integrated applications that come with OS 10 like Mail, the Address Book, and iCal but what I am most interested in trying out, and should be using the most of, is Spaces. Spaces is the utility that allows you to have multiple desktops giving you the power to have multiple applications open in separate desktops. Example: I can have two desktops setup. One would have my web browser and iTunes open and the other would have a word processing application and a dictionary application open. It gives you the ability to work in several applications without cluttering up one desktop.

I still plan to install it again. Once I get the new hard drive in the mail I will be completing a fresh install of Leopard on my Macbook instead of an upgrade.

I love technology!

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Click here to view the embedded video.

iPhone 2.0 upgrade, iTunes App Store and a useless iPhone application.

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After much thought on if I really should buy an iPhone, I finally decided to drive to the AT&T store last evening and buy the 8GB version. The purchase was a breeze and the activation in iTunes on my Macbook, once I got it home, was smooth. It wasn’t until later in the night when I was in bed reading my emails using the Wi-Fi function on the phone that my nightmare began. Ironically enough, it was when I was watching a Quicktime video on Apple’s site from the Welcome email that Apple sent me that the phone started crashing. What Apple did was email me a Welcome email with a guided tour video of the iPhone that redirects you to this Quicktime video. I was about 15 minutes into the video when the phone suddenly rebooted. Once it came back up into the OS (the iPhone is actually running a full version of Mac OS X) it froze again. I tried powering it off but it remained frozen in the OS. I then performed what they term as a hard reset using the iPhone combination of button presses (the Home button and the Sleep/Awake button) to reboot the device. It rebooted but remain frozen once it booted into the OS, all the time displaying a “Searching…” in the upper left for the AT&T network. I plugged the phone into the wall, since I knew the battery would discharge overnight being that it would not power down (and you can’t remove the battery since Apple has no means of doing this, like an iPod), and went to bed completely annoyed.
I woke up this morning with nothing but the AT&T store on mind knowing that, deep down, I was going to have an adventure. And an adventure I ended up having.
After I drank my coffee, ate my breakfast, watching an episode of Carnivale in the process, I left for the AT&T store with the boxed iPhone in one hand and my Macbook in the other thinking that I may have to activate the new one while I am away from home. When I got there a young lady greeted me with a smile but then her face changed to shock when I told her that my iPhone crashed and did not recover. She and her manager then told me that they could do nothing for me, even though I had purchased it from them the night before, and that I had to take it to the Apple Store. It was my face that then turned to an expression of shock. I was flabbergasted. Reluctantly, I left the store and drove down the street to the Apple Store. Looking at this on the bright side, it was a good thing I was not far from the Apple Store; I probably should have just bought it from them in the first place. The only thing is the Apple Store is in the mall. I hate the mall.
When I got to the Apple Store, another young lady greeted me with a smile but then her face also turned to shock when I stated I needed to exchange my iPhone because it had crashed. She directed me to one of her co-workers that worked in the correct department which I then explained to this person the situation. Another surprised individual who could not understand that there could be any problems with an iPhone, until I pulled out evidence Exhibit A to show her the crime. She took the device and tried to reset the device, as I did, but had no luck either. She then took the device over to the “Genius Bar” where a technician looked over the device and attempted, yet again, the same exact steps while I waited at the front counter. She finally walked back over to me with the device in her hand when low and behold the device reboot successfully into the OS without freezing while she was handing it to me. We were both amazed, however I explained to her that this clearly was an intermittent issue and that I would like to swap it anyway for a new one since I was having the issue. She complied and proceeded to make an appointment for me to see a “Genius”…what!? Make an appointment to simply swap the device!? Yes. Apparently, that is Apple’s procedure and there was nothing I could do to sway the young lady. What made it even worse was that the next soonest appointment they had was two hours from that time. That meant I needed to go back home to wait. To my own amazement, I kept my cool and anger and gave in. Yes, I was a teeny, tad annoyed but I gave in. What was something else that was interesting during our conversation was that I could replicate the problem. While she was still in front of me, I turned the Wi-Fi on and the iPhone rebooted and froze. So, through an accident I figured it out on my own that it was the Wi-Fi that was causing the problem.
I then went home, with the same defective iPhone, and waited for my 1:45 appointment. The appointment turned out to be uneventful and a simple exchange was agreed upon by the “Genius” at the Store.
After going through all of that, I wonder if choosing an iPhone was a smart thing. I know something for sure, I will try my hardest to make this phone last beyond the next year and hope that I do not have to shop for another mobile phone for at least two years.

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[iTunes was playing "Nessun dorma" by Pavarotti while I was writing this.]

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Gates speaks up over Apple commercials

I like what is written about four paragraphs down, it’s very true:

“There is little truth to the claims made by the most zealous of Mac users, and the educated Mac user often never attacks Windows, or PCs in general, because it isn’t about a system, it is personal choice, and what works best for them.”

Having used most operating systems – Windows, Linux and Mac – it is truly about personal choice. The most fascinating things that won me over with Mac are the applications that come with it for free, the iLife suite for example (iMovie, GarageBand, iPhoto & iDVD), and also the fact that it’s truly not required that I purchase and run a anti-virus program (in Windows, I am constantly annoyed that I have to install anti-virus because I know it’s required and yet I also know that it often bogs down the system performance). There really isn’t anything wrong with Windows, it doesn’t crash on me all the time, like most anti-Windows people state, and hasn’t since Windows 98. And, even if my Windows 2000 or Windows XP gave me a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), it’s not because of the operating system, it’s because of the crappy drivers that were written for Windows by the hardware manufacturer. But, it is true about the security of Windows, it is not as secure as Linux or Mac. Windows has many security flaws and vulnerabilities that are discovered almost everyday, especially in Internet Explorer (use Firefox people, it truly is for your own good), and is extremely prone to virus attacks. But, again, it’s not entirely Window’s fault, the world is out to get Microsoft. Mac, and even sometimes Linux, has security flaws that are discovered in their operating system too. I check for OS X updates almost once a week and find that there are security updates at least twice a month, not as many as Windows but they’re still there. For the most part, viruses are not written for OS X, only Windows, because, as mentioned, the world is out to get Microsoft.

I can tell you now that OS X still has problems and mistakes, it’s not a completely perfect operating system. Just yesterday I was editing a video in iMovie and the damn thing kept crashing on me. I’ve deducted the problem as being a corrupt project and I will have to delete it to start over again, which sucks because it’s a huge project with many edits and movie clips.

But, I will say, it is true what is stated about the differences between Mac and Windows. I still believe Windows is perfect for the business and Mac is perfect for the home user. Take that as you will as a personal and professional opinion. Also, even though Macs are a little more expensive than most manufactured PCs (which is changing fast due to the switch to Intel processors in Macs), I have found so many more applications that are free (most open source) that have been fantastic substitutes for software I would normally have to buy for Windows.

And, one final note, OS X is a faster, smoother operating system than Windows XP. I’m currently running only 512MB of RAM in my MacBook and it still runs and opens common applications rather fast. Whereas I have seen running 512MB in Windows XP is a mistake and most common applications do not open and run as fast. Although, I still plan to bump my MacBook up to 2GB as the extra memory will help me when editing videos in iMovie.

So, to end on what I started saying at the beginning of this post, there is no perfect operating system. In my personal, and professional, opinion, Mac is not better than Windows, and Windows is not better than Mac, and Linux is not better than Mac, and Windows is not better than Linux.

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Well, I did it, I sold my Mac Mini on eBay. My first ever Mac that I owned for only 7 months. I had to sell. With the purchase of the new black Macbook, there was no need to keep it around. Besides, I really needed the money after my car problems at the end of December (see previous blog post).
The person who purchased my Mac Mini is getting a deal. He bought it for $700 that included the AppleCare warranty, an external 160GB external hard drive (called the miniStack because it stacked perfectly under the Mini), a Mac keyboard and wireless optical mouse. All a retail value of around $1000 he got for $300 less. No worries. I expected a loss, as one should on a used product.
But, I’m not sad, I have my Macbook to keep me happy. I can’t express enough how much I LOVE my Macbook. My only regret through all of this is I wish I had discovered the Macbook – more importantly the refurbished Macbook – at the time I was considering the purchase of the Mac Mini back in May. Adding $200 more to the purchase of the Mac Mini toward a Macbook instead would have saved me a lot of time and money.

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