Thursday, April 08, 2010
Guard Geek
This is my workout set-up this afternoon:
I'm watching WGI Prelims LIVE (via the wgi fan network online) on my
computer, which I connected to the little TV in front of my elliptical
machine.
This is all kinds of geeky goodness! :)
Labels: color guard, geeks
Thursday, February 11, 2010
M(eh)-acWorld 2010
My Mom and I went to MacWorld today. This time, we really went - as it was actually the right date. Not like the time we tried to go in January. ;)
No surprise - it was just okay. I went in with fairly low expectations this year, and that's pretty much how it was. Apple wasn't there (for the first time ever) and the entire scale of the show was much smaller. Significantly fewer vendors, and a noticeable lack of big names like Adobe, Epson, etc.,
Over the past few years, there were many, many vendors selling iPhone cases. That's changed just a bit. The most common products this year seemed to be skins for the iPhones, iPod, and computers. Meh...
One small highlight for me was when we passed by the Microsoft booth. It was significantly smaller this year (no large screen demos/classes) but the did have the MacOffice "Gang" walking around. They made me smile, so I thought I'd take some photos to share with all my friends who used to work in the Mac group at Microsoft. :)
Excel & Word
Entourage and PowerPoint
I usually don't actually buy anything at MacWorld, so I was a little surprised that I left with two little items today.
The first was this little Eye-Fi SD memory card. I've noticed ads for this products for over a couple of years, and had a rough idea of what it was meant to do. I thought it would be something my Mom would be interested in. However, the more we spoke with the sales guy (who turned out to be one of the founders of the company) the more I realized that this was something that I'd really like. It has built-in Wi-Fi, so it can wirelessly transmit your files (photos and video) from your camera to your computer via your network. Handy! But the thing that totally sold me: it can also transmit files directly to my smugmug account! Super handy-dandy, since I use smugmug to backup all of my photos - it will do it automatically, so I won't have to remember to do it every month. They had a pretty good MacWorld special, so my Mom and I each bought one. I haven't tried it out yet (just got home) but I'm pretty excited to get it all set up.
I also bought a little Penguin-shaped USB drive. Only, I'm now realizing that there are no penguins in this photo!
Here's one:
Cute, right? I figure it'll be handy to keep in my purse, and I certainly won't lose it. :) The price was 2 for $25 for a 2GB - so my Mom and I each got one.
So, all-in-all, a pretty boring MacWorld. I think we covered everything in about 1.5 hours, and that was in fairly crowded conditions. My Mom and I had fun, though. :)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
it's always something...
The new iPhone 3.0 Software Update was available this morning. I usually like to wait a day or so after the initial launch, just to see if the launch goes smoothly or not. My friend, Mike upgraded successfully without any problems, so, against my better judgment, I decided to bite the bullet and update my iPhone.
After the initial download, an error message popped up without explanation. I went to the Apple web site, which suggested restarting my Mac. Simple enough.
So, I restarted, and the update started to install on my iPhone without incident. It took a few minutes, but everything seemed to go smoothly.
Up until I saw that my phone was back up and running...
...and everything was in German.
whoops.
no biggie, since everything else seems to be working.
Kind of funny, actually (she says, as long as she knows she'll be able to figure it out relatively soon...)
I found this thread on the apple discussion boards. No replies, so not terribly helpful, but, at least I know I'm not the only one.
After much searching on the internet, I eventually found this youtube video which demonstrates how to change the language on an iPod Touch. I figured it would be similar enough to an iPhone. Luckily, it was close enough for me to use as a guide, and I was able to switch back to English. :)
For the record:
to switch the language settings, go to... Read More "Settings", then to "General", then to "International" (second from the bottom). (these were all in German on my phone, but luckily, it wasn't hard to figure out what was what). The top option under "International" is "Language" from here, select "English".
Regarding the actual upgrade to 3.0, Mike just sent me this handy article:
How To Use The Best 40 Features of iPhone 3.0.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Is this because I said that I wouldn't drink the Kook-Aid?
Oh, come on! How many Mac problems am I supposed to have in one week?
Ugh.
Has anyone else had this problem?
karma?
update
Well, that wasn't so bad.
found this article online, and tried the following fix:
I opened iSync in the Applications folder. (You can find that by clicking on the Finder, usually to the far left of the dock/toolbar at the bottom of the screen.) Then I went to the top of the screen and clicked "iSync", then "Preferences" then Reset Sync History. This totally solved the problem.
Ugh.
Has anyone else had this problem?
karma?
update
Well, that wasn't so bad.
found this article online, and tried the following fix:
I opened iSync in the Applications folder. (You can find that by clicking on the Finder, usually to the far left of the dock/toolbar at the bottom of the screen.) Then I went to the top of the screen and clicked "iSync", then "Preferences" then Reset Sync History. This totally solved the problem.
Labels: computers, geeks, rant, technology
"Hi, I'm a Mac, but here's one of the things that Apple doesn't tell you about..."
So, yes, I am a Mac. I've been using the Mac since 1984, and I've never owned a PC.
I'm a huge fan of Apple products in general.
With that said, I love my Mac, but I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid.
Over the years, I've learned that not all things Apple vs. PC are black and white. This probably has a lot to do with me becoming a little more open-minded and educated about the world of PCs from my hubby, who used to work at Apple, worked on Mac products for several years, is still a fan, but (gasp) has been using a PC for several years now.
Let's set the record straight:
Not all Macs/Apple products are fail safe, and without problems
and...
PCs are not the evil entities that they are sometimes made out to be.
It's just not that simple.
Case in point: I'm on my third Mac laptop. I had a Powerbook (Wallstreet) that I bought in 1999, G3 Powerbook that I bought in 2003, and my current MacBook Pro that I've had since June 2007.
This last MacBook Pro has had it's fair share of problems (which have all been documented on this blog). I've had to bring it in twice to have the hard drive restored, had the battery replaced, and needed two new logic boards.
I just got it back two days ago with the newest logic board.
Good news: it seems to be much faster now, which is fantastic, and the monitor issues have been fixed.
Bad news: (and here's what Apple doesn't tell you...)
When you've been using Apple's Time Machine to back up your computer routinely, but you need to send you computer in for a new logic board, when you get your computer back, it doesn't recognize your old Time Machine files.
Not that this is a huge deal. The easy solution is that you just wipe out your old Time Machine back ups, and start fresh. Meh.
But, isn't that what Apple and Time Machine are all about? Ease of use.
The problem with Time Machine is that it's so simple that it's very limited on what you're actually able to control. Basically, you can turn it off or on, and you can specify the location of the external drive that you want to back up to. Pretty limited.
Anyhow, I called Apple Support to see if there was some way that they could help me find some hidden settings somewhere in my preferences to link my computer back to my old Time Machine Files.
The first person I spoke to was very nice, and helpful in the sense that she passed me along to another person who was more of an expert in such things. He admitted that this is an ongoing problem, and that in all of the cases that he's had, he's never been able to successfully walk a person through the process over the phone. It's just too complicated. Why? because it involves opening a terminal window, and doing a bunch of UNIX programming to sort things out.
Many moons ago, I worked at Sun Microsystems and learned the very basics of UNIX. Probably not enough to get me through this, though.
He offered to find a computer repair store in my city where I could bring my computer and my external drive, and they could fix it relatively quickly for a small fee. Hmmm.. I asked why I couldn't go to the Genius Bar at an Apple store, and he said that I could, but that it would take a lot longer to get in, and the people helping me may or may not be able to complete this successfully.
Now, luckily, I just happen to live with one of the most brilliant computer scientists I've ever met, and he has plenty of experience in many computer languages, including UNIX. I told the Apple Care rep this, and he suggested that Dick do a google search to find some instructions on how to solve this problem using UNIX.
So, we did just that. Dick found this helpful site:
10.5: Repair Time Machine after logic board changes, read the instructions, took many notes, typed in a lot of code, and eventually got it all up and running.
For the record, I took a screen shot of the UNIX code that he wrote. Not that I expect anyone to read or understand it, but I wanted to point out how incredibly difficult this would be for the average Joe Mac User to be able to pull this off.
UNIX gobbily gook
If Apple/Mac is always tooting about how simple their products are supposed to be, how is it that this is the second time I've had this problem in just over a year? And, even if it's a complete fluke that I had to have a logic board replaced, why is it so difficult to point my computer back to my Time Machine files so that I can have access to my back up files again?
Don't believe the hype.
No computer brand is trouble free.
There are no perfect computers manufacturers.
There are no evil computer manufacturers.
Companies make computers, and they all have issues.
I'm a huge fan of Apple products in general.
With that said, I love my Mac, but I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid.
Over the years, I've learned that not all things Apple vs. PC are black and white. This probably has a lot to do with me becoming a little more open-minded and educated about the world of PCs from my hubby, who used to work at Apple, worked on Mac products for several years, is still a fan, but (gasp) has been using a PC for several years now.
Let's set the record straight:
Not all Macs/Apple products are fail safe, and without problems
and...
PCs are not the evil entities that they are sometimes made out to be.
It's just not that simple.
Case in point: I'm on my third Mac laptop. I had a Powerbook (Wallstreet) that I bought in 1999, G3 Powerbook that I bought in 2003, and my current MacBook Pro that I've had since June 2007.
This last MacBook Pro has had it's fair share of problems (which have all been documented on this blog). I've had to bring it in twice to have the hard drive restored, had the battery replaced, and needed two new logic boards.
I just got it back two days ago with the newest logic board.
Good news: it seems to be much faster now, which is fantastic, and the monitor issues have been fixed.
Bad news: (and here's what Apple doesn't tell you...)
When you've been using Apple's Time Machine to back up your computer routinely, but you need to send you computer in for a new logic board, when you get your computer back, it doesn't recognize your old Time Machine files.
Not that this is a huge deal. The easy solution is that you just wipe out your old Time Machine back ups, and start fresh. Meh.
But, isn't that what Apple and Time Machine are all about? Ease of use.
The problem with Time Machine is that it's so simple that it's very limited on what you're actually able to control. Basically, you can turn it off or on, and you can specify the location of the external drive that you want to back up to. Pretty limited.
Anyhow, I called Apple Support to see if there was some way that they could help me find some hidden settings somewhere in my preferences to link my computer back to my old Time Machine Files.
The first person I spoke to was very nice, and helpful in the sense that she passed me along to another person who was more of an expert in such things. He admitted that this is an ongoing problem, and that in all of the cases that he's had, he's never been able to successfully walk a person through the process over the phone. It's just too complicated. Why? because it involves opening a terminal window, and doing a bunch of UNIX programming to sort things out.
Many moons ago, I worked at Sun Microsystems and learned the very basics of UNIX. Probably not enough to get me through this, though.
He offered to find a computer repair store in my city where I could bring my computer and my external drive, and they could fix it relatively quickly for a small fee. Hmmm.. I asked why I couldn't go to the Genius Bar at an Apple store, and he said that I could, but that it would take a lot longer to get in, and the people helping me may or may not be able to complete this successfully.
Now, luckily, I just happen to live with one of the most brilliant computer scientists I've ever met, and he has plenty of experience in many computer languages, including UNIX. I told the Apple Care rep this, and he suggested that Dick do a google search to find some instructions on how to solve this problem using UNIX.
So, we did just that. Dick found this helpful site:
10.5: Repair Time Machine after logic board changes, read the instructions, took many notes, typed in a lot of code, and eventually got it all up and running.
For the record, I took a screen shot of the UNIX code that he wrote. Not that I expect anyone to read or understand it, but I wanted to point out how incredibly difficult this would be for the average Joe Mac User to be able to pull this off.
UNIX gobbily gook
If Apple/Mac is always tooting about how simple their products are supposed to be, how is it that this is the second time I've had this problem in just over a year? And, even if it's a complete fluke that I had to have a logic board replaced, why is it so difficult to point my computer back to my Time Machine files so that I can have access to my back up files again?
Don't believe the hype.
No computer brand is trouble free.
There are no perfect computers manufacturers.
There are no evil computer manufacturers.
Companies make computers, and they all have issues.
Labels: computers, geeks, rant, technology
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
MacLemon
Good Grief.
This is what a diagnosis test result looks like when you have a bad video chip, and you have to replace the entire logic board, which had already been replaced a year ago.
I have AppleCare, but it's still going to take 3-6 days to be repaired.
I am just about ready to toss this computer out the window.
Labels: geeks, technology
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Quote of the Day
things that make me laugh...
"Trina is the wikipedia of guard"
- as said by one of my former students.
There are several old photos from when I used to teach a local high school color guard floating around Facebook, and someone asked what the name was of one of the guys. Someone else remembered his name, but I swooped in, and mentioned that this guy had moved to another state after high school to join another guard, then I proceeded to say which guard, and which years he marched. :)
funny.
"Trina is the wikipedia of guard"
- as said by one of my former students.
There are several old photos from when I used to teach a local high school color guard floating around Facebook, and someone asked what the name was of one of the guys. Someone else remembered his name, but I swooped in, and mentioned that this guy had moved to another state after high school to join another guard, then I proceeded to say which guard, and which years he marched. :)
funny.
Labels: color guard, geeks
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Geek Day!
Firefox on Mac (Top Left) Safari on Mac (top right)
Firefox on PC (bottom left) IE 6 on PC (bottom right)
It was a long day, but SO well worth it!
I had bought a copy of Parallels about a year ago. This software would enable me to have a Virtual PC environment on my Mac, where I could test my web pages cross-platform (ie: on both the Mac, as well as PC) and cross-browser (ie: Internet Explorer (both on Mac and PC), Safari (Mac) and Firefox (PC and Mac).
As a web designer, one of the most frustrating part of the process is making sure that the site works and looks the same on all browsers and on all platforms. You'd be surprised how different a site can look.
My previous solution was that I had one of Dick's old PCs, and used a switch between my Mac to the PC, so that the two computers could share the same monitor, keyboard and mouse - I'd just have to switch between the two.
This method worked fine for several years, but I started having problems with the switch reading my mouse and keyboard. I was going to buy a new switch, but the inexpensive version I was looking at didn't support my new monitor.
That's when I remembered that I still had a copy of Parallels that I had bought last year. I had tried to install it, but ran into several difficulties. It was pretty frustrating, so I kind of tucked it away for awhile, until I knew that we'd have some time to dedicate to it.
So, that day turned out to be today! It was chilly and wet out today, so Dick and I stayed in our pajamas all day, and holed up in the office, working on this all day.
Why did it take so long? The installation of the actual program wasn't a problem. Actually, it was made easier by the fact that an upgrade had just become available, so we upgraded to that, and were able to get rid of the old version that had given me problems.
The problem happened with the installation of the Windows OS. I decided to install Windows XP versus Vista - I really needed easy access to IE 6 on Windows. It seems to be the browser that causes the most problems for me. We installed XP, but then tried to install the service packs which contain many security updates. Long story short, we had to reinstall XP a couple of times, as well as reinstall Service Packs 1, 2 and eventually, 3.
After 6-7 hours, we finally got everything I wanted up and running! I'm now running Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6, Firefox and (bonus) Windows Live Messenger (PC version - It's so much better than the version available for the Mac).
The bottom line:
I'm able to test all of my web sites on 5 browsers all on the same computer (my Mac) at the same time! (Firefox, Safari and IE on the Mac, as well as IE 6 and Firefox on the PC) I can hop over to Dick's PC to test IE 7 - I'm running low on space on my Mac to install another Virtual Machine Version to add it.
It's super cool! I'm very excited about this. I'm working on 4 new projects at the moment, and have been having a hard time checking them out on all versions of all browsers. This is going to make my job SO much easier!
Labels: geeks, web design
Sunday, February 01, 2009
A conversation this evening at His 'n Her Condos
Dick needs a new computer. He has spent the last hour online, trying to figure out what he wants to get.
Trina: How's the computer shopping going?
Dick: It's so confusing. There are so many options. So many things to think about...
Trina: So, get a Mac.
;)
Trina: How's the computer shopping going?
Dick: It's so confusing. There are so many options. So many things to think about...
Trina: So, get a Mac.
;)
Labels: geeks
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Look who I ran into at MacWorld!
I taught Michael nearly 15 years ago when he was in the color guard at James Logan HS in Union City. Michael works as a photographer now in SF. We hadn't seen each other in at least 10 years (although we do follow each other's blogs).
What a wonderful surprise!
At MacWorld
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Windows Live is Live!
So, I know a few people who have been working on different aspects of Windows Live over the past few years.
Yesterday, the newest version of the Windows Live Home Page was launched.
It's very cool. I use hotmail (all of my email gets forwarded to this account for easy accessibility) and Dick and I both use the Windows Live Calendar for keeping track of our individual and combined schedules.
The new home page is really cool. It has everything upfront so that you can see your latest emails, your next calendar appointment, the temperature outside, etc., all at a glance. Very handy.
My favorite part? (cause I'm a dork) The dynamic themes that users can choose from.
I'm using the one with the little dark haired girl, and her little cat. They are so cute! What's so dynamic about it? Well, the header picture changes according to what time of day it is, and what the weather is like.
For example, here's what my home page looked like around 7:30 this morning:
Foggy early morning
Here's what it looked like around 8:30 this morning:
Still foggy, but some sunshine
...and here's what it looked like around 10:30 this morning:
Cool, and sunny
Isn't that seriously cute? I love following my little girl and her cat around throughout the day.
Yesterday, the newest version of the Windows Live Home Page was launched.
It's very cool. I use hotmail (all of my email gets forwarded to this account for easy accessibility) and Dick and I both use the Windows Live Calendar for keeping track of our individual and combined schedules.
The new home page is really cool. It has everything upfront so that you can see your latest emails, your next calendar appointment, the temperature outside, etc., all at a glance. Very handy.
My favorite part? (cause I'm a dork) The dynamic themes that users can choose from.
I'm using the one with the little dark haired girl, and her little cat. They are so cute! What's so dynamic about it? Well, the header picture changes according to what time of day it is, and what the weather is like.
For example, here's what my home page looked like around 7:30 this morning:
Foggy early morning
Here's what it looked like around 8:30 this morning:
Still foggy, but some sunshine
...and here's what it looked like around 10:30 this morning:
Cool, and sunny
Isn't that seriously cute? I love following my little girl and her cat around throughout the day.
Labels: geeks
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
The Universal Wish List Button
Because really, don't we all need one?
It's that time of the year! The holidays have arrived, and I am woefully behind in all things holiday related. I usually have all of my Christmas shopping done by now, but this year.... well, let's just say that I finally got started by shopping online last night!
I always appreciate when friends and family share their wish lists for gift ideas. I find it helpful, as I know that I can get them something that I know they would like.
I've been a fan of amazon.com's wish list for several years. I try to keep my wish list updated, and hope that it's helpful for others. (Not that I expect anything!)
The only problem with the amazon.com wish list is that you are limited to what is available to buy through amazon.com. (Not that their selection isn't entirely enormous, so you can generally find anything that you want there.)
Recently, amazon.com introduced something new and exciting!
The Universal Wish List Button!
That's right, with this handy tool, now you can put any item from any website onto your amazon.com wish list! All that you wish for in one handy place! (well, almost anything, anyhow) You can even add items from ebay.com! (no, really, I'm not addicted to the internet.)
Pretty cool, isn't it?
Now you, too, can add that adorable sterling silver "I Love You" heart charm from Tiffany's to your very own wish list!
:)
It's that time of the year! The holidays have arrived, and I am woefully behind in all things holiday related. I usually have all of my Christmas shopping done by now, but this year.... well, let's just say that I finally got started by shopping online last night!
I always appreciate when friends and family share their wish lists for gift ideas. I find it helpful, as I know that I can get them something that I know they would like.
I've been a fan of amazon.com's wish list for several years. I try to keep my wish list updated, and hope that it's helpful for others. (Not that I expect anything!)
The only problem with the amazon.com wish list is that you are limited to what is available to buy through amazon.com. (Not that their selection isn't entirely enormous, so you can generally find anything that you want there.)
Recently, amazon.com introduced something new and exciting!
The Universal Wish List Button!
That's right, with this handy tool, now you can put any item from any website onto your amazon.com wish list! All that you wish for in one handy place! (well, almost anything, anyhow) You can even add items from ebay.com! (no, really, I'm not addicted to the internet.)
Pretty cool, isn't it?
Now you, too, can add that adorable sterling silver "I Love You" heart charm from Tiffany's to your very own wish list!
:)
Saturday, October 25, 2008
New monitor!
I am the happy recipient of an adopted (older model) 24" Apple Cinema Display! A friend of mine has a business in graphics/video and buys new equipment every year or so. He bought a new Apple Cinema Display earlier this year, and sold me his old one for a deal.
This thing is enormous! I had just bought a new 22" monitor in April (which is now going to Dick) and I thought that was huge. The screen on my new display is 2" larger, plus the frame around it is another 3". It's gorgeous, though.
The best part is that the screen resolution is 1900 x 1200, where as my old one only let me go as high as 1440 x 900. I can finally utilize the extra desktop space now! That's really important to me, since I usually have multiple applications/windows open simultaneously when I'm working.
I had to completely rearrange my physical desktop workspace. I used to have my laptop in front of me, with the external monitor to the side. Now, I've got this monitor front and center, with MacDreamy hanging out on the right side. I figured that I'd be using this new monitor as my main workspace now. It's going to take a bit of getting used to, but I think it's going to work out really well!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Pandora
Labels: geeks
Friday, July 11, 2008
Not upgrading to 2.0 yet
I woke up at 6:30 this morning (thanks to a certain little cat who was eating in the bedroom). I decided to wake up and check out my computer.
I remembered that today was the iPhone 3G release, and that the new iPhone 2.0 software was going to be available as well for all "old" iPhone users.
I thought I would install the new software update, and play with the new features.
Well, it was not to be....
I opened my Apple Updates to see what needed to be updated on my MacDreamy - the new iTunes update was in there. Cool. That went fine.
When I checked to see if the upgrade also included the new 2.0 update for my phone, I was it wasn't available.
So, I check the Apple iPhone Forum online and discovered that (apparently) thousands of iPhone users had tried to download the update this morning, only to have major problems with the install, essentially turning their iPhones (hopefully temporarily) into useless paper weights (or "bricks" which I think is a much better term).
The theory is that Apple is selling a ton of new 3G iPhones today, and they all need to be activated via iTunes. Plus, you've got the rest of us who have the "old" iPhone trying to install the new 2.0 software update... from iTunes. What's that mean, iTune overload.
From what I've seen on the forums thousands of users are stuck with non-working phones this morning. How frustrating.
I've decided to wait it out a few days until the dust settles.
Some of the new 2.0 features look really cool, but seeing as I've already had my fair share of computer issues over the past 24 hours, I think it would behoove me to wait this one out.
Update
Just found this story on sfgate.com:
Software problems bug Apple's launch of new iPhone
..and this story on MSNBC.com:
The 'iPocalypse' is at hand
I remembered that today was the iPhone 3G release, and that the new iPhone 2.0 software was going to be available as well for all "old" iPhone users.
I thought I would install the new software update, and play with the new features.
Well, it was not to be....
I opened my Apple Updates to see what needed to be updated on my MacDreamy - the new iTunes update was in there. Cool. That went fine.
When I checked to see if the upgrade also included the new 2.0 update for my phone, I was it wasn't available.
So, I check the Apple iPhone Forum online and discovered that (apparently) thousands of iPhone users had tried to download the update this morning, only to have major problems with the install, essentially turning their iPhones (hopefully temporarily) into useless paper weights (or "bricks" which I think is a much better term).
The theory is that Apple is selling a ton of new 3G iPhones today, and they all need to be activated via iTunes. Plus, you've got the rest of us who have the "old" iPhone trying to install the new 2.0 software update... from iTunes. What's that mean, iTune overload.
From what I've seen on the forums thousands of users are stuck with non-working phones this morning. How frustrating.
I've decided to wait it out a few days until the dust settles.
Some of the new 2.0 features look really cool, but seeing as I've already had my fair share of computer issues over the past 24 hours, I think it would behoove me to wait this one out.
Update
Just found this story on sfgate.com:
Software problems bug Apple's launch of new iPhone
..and this story on MSNBC.com:
The 'iPocalypse' is at hand
Thursday, July 10, 2008
My new Genius Bar Buddies
better!
Thanks to Ryan and John. : )
Reinstalling the OS with the geniuses...
while retaining the files that are in my user folder. I may have to
reinstall my software and other files.
This should be okay, as I've backed up everything through Time Machine
and on my secondary laptop. This still makes me super nervous, but
what are you going to do?
Now, about that battery connection problem...
Blech.
it's been one of those days...
Okay, not really bad, just not very great.
Mostly it's just that I keep having electronics break all around me, and it's kinda driving me nuts.
MacDreamy is acting up. Again. I'm getting tired of this.
This morning, I decided to finally install Office 2008 for the Mac. I've had the software for a few months, but was holding off on installing it because Dick had heard that it had some major syncing problems. We thought this could possibly cause even more problems than I was already having with syncing with my iPhone.
Well, last weekend, I finally got my iPhone syncing successfully with my newly established iCal. I don't love iCal. In fact, I don't really like it at all, but it'll have to do.
So, today I figured I should bite the bullet and finally upgrade my old Office 2004.
How hard should it be? I've installed dozens of applications to my Mac over the past couple of decades.
The installation seemed to go just fine....
...until it was almost finished, and instead froze my Mac.
Blech.
Long story short: MacDreamy is not working again. The finder doesn't even work, let alone any of my applications.
Luckily, I can still access all of my files with my Handy-Dandy extra Mac laptop that comes in really handy for just such events. I'm managed to copy over all of my super important files on to it, plus I have Time Machine back ups of my computer on an external drive.
I have an appointment tonight with the genius bar at the local Apple Store. I have a hunch that we're going to have to wipe my drive with a clean OS install. Painful, but probably the best idea at this point.
MacDreamy hasn't been all too dreamy this year...
In other news, my Xbox kerbusted last week. I got the all-too-familiar 3-ring circle of death on my Xbox last Wednesday when I was trying to play a friendly game of Rainbow Six: Las Vegas with Dick and Reeves. No go. Three red lights for me. I finally got around to calling Xbox support on Tuesday, and they sent me a nifty box to send my Xbox in for repairs. Again. You may recall that I've been through this with 2 Xbox 360s already. bummer.
Did I mention that I got an urgent call from a web client last night saying that their web site and their email had been down all day? I promised to look into it first thing this morning, which I did. I managed to figure out that their domain name had expired, and gave them the information to reinstate it again. They were very happy by the afternoon.
That was nice. It made me feel like I was able to trouble shoot something.
Dick was working from home today, and was with me when my Mac went all kablooie on me. I was at my wits end, as I'm kind of sick and tired of having computer problems, and not being able to figure out why. He assured me that these problems were pretty complicated, and not something that I would have been able to prevent from happening. I was feeling lame because I've been having to ask him for I.T. help a lot lately.
blech.
Okay, not really bad, just not very great.
Mostly it's just that I keep having electronics break all around me, and it's kinda driving me nuts.
MacDreamy is acting up. Again. I'm getting tired of this.
This morning, I decided to finally install Office 2008 for the Mac. I've had the software for a few months, but was holding off on installing it because Dick had heard that it had some major syncing problems. We thought this could possibly cause even more problems than I was already having with syncing with my iPhone.
Well, last weekend, I finally got my iPhone syncing successfully with my newly established iCal. I don't love iCal. In fact, I don't really like it at all, but it'll have to do.
So, today I figured I should bite the bullet and finally upgrade my old Office 2004.
How hard should it be? I've installed dozens of applications to my Mac over the past couple of decades.
The installation seemed to go just fine....
...until it was almost finished, and instead froze my Mac.
Blech.
Long story short: MacDreamy is not working again. The finder doesn't even work, let alone any of my applications.
Luckily, I can still access all of my files with my Handy-Dandy extra Mac laptop that comes in really handy for just such events. I'm managed to copy over all of my super important files on to it, plus I have Time Machine back ups of my computer on an external drive.
I have an appointment tonight with the genius bar at the local Apple Store. I have a hunch that we're going to have to wipe my drive with a clean OS install. Painful, but probably the best idea at this point.
MacDreamy hasn't been all too dreamy this year...
In other news, my Xbox kerbusted last week. I got the all-too-familiar 3-ring circle of death on my Xbox last Wednesday when I was trying to play a friendly game of Rainbow Six: Las Vegas with Dick and Reeves. No go. Three red lights for me. I finally got around to calling Xbox support on Tuesday, and they sent me a nifty box to send my Xbox in for repairs. Again. You may recall that I've been through this with 2 Xbox 360s already. bummer.
Did I mention that I got an urgent call from a web client last night saying that their web site and their email had been down all day? I promised to look into it first thing this morning, which I did. I managed to figure out that their domain name had expired, and gave them the information to reinstate it again. They were very happy by the afternoon.
That was nice. It made me feel like I was able to trouble shoot something.
Dick was working from home today, and was with me when my Mac went all kablooie on me. I was at my wits end, as I'm kind of sick and tired of having computer problems, and not being able to figure out why. He assured me that these problems were pretty complicated, and not something that I would have been able to prevent from happening. I was feeling lame because I've been having to ask him for I.T. help a lot lately.
blech.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I love Facebook
So, for those of you who don't know, Facebook is a social networking site. Once you've signed up, you can find friends, or friends can find you, and you can add them as "Friends" to your account profile. As a user of Facebook, you can change your "Status" to reflect anything that you might want people to know about what your doing.
For example:
Trina is blogging.
Once you're signed in, the Facebook Home page shows status updates for your friends, as well as a News Feed that shows recent activity. The activity might show recent comments your friends have made to your profile wall, photos that they have posted (or photos that your friends have been tagged in), or groups that they have joined.
This morning, I saw that a photo had been posted by someone that I don't even know. The photo had two of my friends tagged in it. (It told the name of the two people in the photo). Only, I had no idea that these two friends knew each other at all. And, this photo showed these two friends smooching!
I sent an email to Dick with a link to the photo asking:
Is this our xxx kissing our yyy?
He replied, "Yep!"
We laughed about it when he came home.
I emailed my friend "xxx" telling her about the small world that we live in. She thought it was hysterical, too.
Yep, you never know what you're going to learn about your friends on Facebook!
For example:
Trina is blogging.
Once you're signed in, the Facebook Home page shows status updates for your friends, as well as a News Feed that shows recent activity. The activity might show recent comments your friends have made to your profile wall, photos that they have posted (or photos that your friends have been tagged in), or groups that they have joined.
This morning, I saw that a photo had been posted by someone that I don't even know. The photo had two of my friends tagged in it. (It told the name of the two people in the photo). Only, I had no idea that these two friends knew each other at all. And, this photo showed these two friends smooching!
I sent an email to Dick with a link to the photo asking:
Is this our xxx kissing our yyy?
He replied, "Yep!"
We laughed about it when he came home.
I emailed my friend "xxx" telling her about the small world that we live in. She thought it was hysterical, too.
Yep, you never know what you're going to learn about your friends on Facebook!
Labels: geeks
Friday, April 18, 2008
New Monitor
Before I left on vacation, I ordered this Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22" LCD Monitor. I'm always amazed at how for television/monitor technology has come, and how much cheaper they are each time I buy a new one.
This thing is humongous. It's gigantic. It's ginormous.
It's amazing how much larger 5 inches is.
The monitor is supposed to support 1680 x 1050 resolution.
Unfortunately, the highest resolution option that my Mac is letting me choose is 1440 x 900.
I tried to download the driver software, but apparently, it's only meant for the PC. I'm going to have Dick look at it when he comes home. I'd really like to utilize having more screen resolution.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica returns tonight for it's fourth and final season!
This is such a great show.
I can't believe it's been more than a year since that last episode aired. I need a refresher synopsis in a major way.
Here's a good article about the series from sfgate.com.
Labels: geeks, pop culture
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Over-The-Top Cool!
Dick got a new cell phone a couple of weeks ago. It's a BlackJack II by Samsung. While I may be biased, it doesn't do many of the cool things that my iPhone does, but even I admit that it has a few features that are uber-cool that my phone doesn't have.
The coolest is that it can connect to your computer (either via a cable or through bluetooth) to connect you to a PAN (Personal Area Network) via AT&T's 3G Network (which is much faster than my Edge network.). This allows Dick to connect to the internet even when he's on the CalTrain to and from work. Really amazing.
We're here at the Washington Dulles airport (again) sitting in the very comfortable United Airlines Red Carpet Club. Dick asked me if I wanted to connect to the internet. We turned on Bluetooth on my Mac, then connected to his phone wirelessly. A couple of set-up wizards later, and voila: I'm connected to the internet!
We tried to see if we could connect both of our computers to his phone at one time, but alas, only one computer at a time. :)
Super Cool!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Quickbooks on the Mac vs. Quickbooks on the PC
I've been using Quickbooks Pro for the PC to do all of my business accounting since 2002. I only use it for writing invoices, and receiving payments. I really don't use it for much, but these two functions are very important for me to keep track of things.
A couple of months ago, I made the switch to Quickbooks Pro 2007 for the Mac.
My assessment so far:
Quickbooks for the Mac totally blows.
(how's that for a professional assessment?)
I just spent about 2 hours sending out invoices. It should have taken me about 45 minutes.
It's amazing to me how different the two iterations of the program are. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I know how these things go: each iteration is written by a completely different group: like Office for the Mac versus the PC.
But really, this is really brain-damaged.
Sending out invoices was always very easy and fast of the PC version. I'd write out the invoices, and send them out in batches. I could even have a standard "email body" that went onto each email, with correct customer name placed in the appropriate field. It was all very fast and simple. After writing the invoices out, sending as a batch took less than a couple of minutes.
Not on the Mac.
I have to send out each invoice individually, and send it as a large monster-sized PDF file. The PDF file is 1.7 MB, versus the size of the PDF files that I sent on the PC, which was 35 K. That's a HUGE difference. If I were a client of mine, I'd be wondering why the file has to be so large. That's ridiculous, and I look like a Lame-O.
There are a bunch of other features that don't exist in the Mac version. There are a bunch of things that just don't "work". There are so many things that I've come across that just take so much more time than they should.
Considering I only use this program to generate and send out invoices, and to record payments, I'm really amazed at how much I'm missing from the PC version. I feel lucky that I don't rely on this program for more. I'm so very unimpressed.
Boo on you, Intuit.
A couple of months ago, I made the switch to Quickbooks Pro 2007 for the Mac.
My assessment so far:
Quickbooks for the Mac totally blows.
(how's that for a professional assessment?)
I just spent about 2 hours sending out invoices. It should have taken me about 45 minutes.
It's amazing to me how different the two iterations of the program are. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I know how these things go: each iteration is written by a completely different group: like Office for the Mac versus the PC.
But really, this is really brain-damaged.
Sending out invoices was always very easy and fast of the PC version. I'd write out the invoices, and send them out in batches. I could even have a standard "email body" that went onto each email, with correct customer name placed in the appropriate field. It was all very fast and simple. After writing the invoices out, sending as a batch took less than a couple of minutes.
Not on the Mac.
I have to send out each invoice individually, and send it as a large monster-sized PDF file. The PDF file is 1.7 MB, versus the size of the PDF files that I sent on the PC, which was 35 K. That's a HUGE difference. If I were a client of mine, I'd be wondering why the file has to be so large. That's ridiculous, and I look like a Lame-O.
There are a bunch of other features that don't exist in the Mac version. There are a bunch of things that just don't "work". There are so many things that I've come across that just take so much more time than they should.
Considering I only use this program to generate and send out invoices, and to record payments, I'm really amazed at how much I'm missing from the PC version. I feel lucky that I don't rely on this program for more. I'm so very unimpressed.
Boo on you, Intuit.
Labels: geeks, rant, technology
Friday, March 07, 2008
MacDreamy is MacHappy!
Repaced: 1 logic board, and 1 hard drive cable. Actual harddrive is
alive and well - all data intact!
Labels: geeks, technology
Thursday, March 06, 2008
I see an iPhone in Dick's future...
Dick has been waiting a long time for this announcement:
Apple tweaks iPhone for business uses
Next software update will enable device to work with Microsoft’s Exchange
Looks like the full version won't be available 'til June.
Apple tweaks iPhone for business uses
Next software update will enable device to work with Microsoft’s Exchange
Looks like the full version won't be available 'til June.
Labels: geeks, technology
Monday, March 03, 2008
A week without my MacDreamy
I brought my Mac to the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store yesterday. The "genius" tried everything that Dick and I had tried the day before: connecting it to an external monitor, removing the RAM, etc., He didn't have any luck either.
He told me that I was probably right in thinking it was the logic board. He said the quickest way for him to have it repaired was to send it out to their repair facility (rather than in-store - not sure why). He sent it out today, and hopes to get it back to the store by Friday or Saturday.
Poor MacDreamy.
I'm kind of surprising myself that I'm not more freaked-out about this than I am.
The truth is, it could be a lot worse! I'm very lucky in that:
I completed several projects in the last 4 weeks, and this week should be slower than last month. Good timing!
Dick and I have an extra PowerBook (there's a story in there somewhere). It's about 4 years old, but still works well. I was able to install my important apps to it, so I can continue working.
Here's the biggie: I was able to access my MacDreamy's hard drive via our network. This means that not only is my drive probably okay, but I was also able to copy all of my important files onto my temporary laptop so I still have access to all my work.
I do have my entire hard drive backed up on an external drive, in case the worst-case scenario happens. (knock wood)
I'm really counting my lucky stars here. This week could've been completely unproductive work-wise, and probably would've driven me bonkers.
I might invest in some extra RAM for this old PowerBook. It has 512MB. I think it has the capacity for 1GB, maybe 2GB. MacDreamy runs on 4GB, so I'm really noticing a speed issue here, but still - no complaints!
Here's hoping MacDreamy comes back at the end of the week, files intact, and good as new!
He told me that I was probably right in thinking it was the logic board. He said the quickest way for him to have it repaired was to send it out to their repair facility (rather than in-store - not sure why). He sent it out today, and hopes to get it back to the store by Friday or Saturday.
Poor MacDreamy.
I'm kind of surprising myself that I'm not more freaked-out about this than I am.
The truth is, it could be a lot worse! I'm very lucky in that:
I completed several projects in the last 4 weeks, and this week should be slower than last month. Good timing!
Dick and I have an extra PowerBook (there's a story in there somewhere). It's about 4 years old, but still works well. I was able to install my important apps to it, so I can continue working.
Here's the biggie: I was able to access my MacDreamy's hard drive via our network. This means that not only is my drive probably okay, but I was also able to copy all of my important files onto my temporary laptop so I still have access to all my work.
I do have my entire hard drive backed up on an external drive, in case the worst-case scenario happens. (knock wood)
I'm really counting my lucky stars here. This week could've been completely unproductive work-wise, and probably would've driven me bonkers.
I might invest in some extra RAM for this old PowerBook. It has 512MB. I think it has the capacity for 1GB, maybe 2GB. MacDreamy runs on 4GB, so I'm really noticing a speed issue here, but still - no complaints!
Here's hoping MacDreamy comes back at the end of the week, files intact, and good as new!
Labels: geeks, technology
Saturday, March 01, 2008
My Mac: Sleeping Beauty
stop the drama!
I usually put my computer to sleep whenever I'm away for any length of time.
Yesterday, I left the house right before 4:00, and went out for the evening. (Happy Birthday, Jud!)
When we came home late last night, I went to my computer to check my email. (no, I'm not addicted) Much to my chagrin, it wouldn't wake up! It didn't seem to respond at all.
So, I did what any good trouble-shooter would do: I restarted my computer (hard restart by keeping the power button down, then pressing it again to start).
Again - nothing.
Although, it sounded like it was restarting. I could hear the disc spin, but nothing came up on the screen at all - just a blank, black screen.
Then I did the next step that any good trouble-shooter would do: try starting it with the system disk. Still nothing. (though I could hear the drive reading the CD, and it sure sounded like it was booting from the CD!)
When I work at home, I always connect my laptop to an external monitor, and even that was completely black. Tried unplugging it, replugging, unplugging.... (I had also since removed all other peripheral, so I was working on my laptop alone.)
I hoped that this meant that it was a monitor problem, or a board problem, and hopefully NOT a drive problem.
...and then I went to play golf....
Came back, did some research, and eventually, found this: Topic : Blank Screen - even when booted from the CD - Weird Sleep Cycle perhaps?
No good answers here: sounds like it's a logic board problem.
boo.
I've made an appt. with The Genius Bar at the Apple Store for tomorrow. Let's see what they say.
So, how come it doesn't sound like I'm completely freaking out?!
Oh, I am, believe me, but I've also realized that it could be much worse.
Here's the good news:
I have a backup: I'm using Time Machine, and haven't had to use it for anything big yet, but it has been backing up my hard drive for the past few months. I trust it's doing something good for me.
I also keep full backups of my most important files in full on my external drive.
But that's certainly not enough to keep me calm.
The real reason I'm not totally freaking out is because I just figured out that I can access my computer's drive through our network. I'm copying over all of my super-important files to our extra PowerBook right now. At least I know I have access to it! (and I know that my drive is okay, even if I can see anything on my computer right now.)
I'm installing all of my regular apps onto our second laptop so I can use it as a backup computer in case mine needs to go into the shop for a while. Certainly not ideal, but much, much better than the alternative.
I usually put my computer to sleep whenever I'm away for any length of time.
Yesterday, I left the house right before 4:00, and went out for the evening. (Happy Birthday, Jud!)
When we came home late last night, I went to my computer to check my email. (no, I'm not addicted) Much to my chagrin, it wouldn't wake up! It didn't seem to respond at all.
So, I did what any good trouble-shooter would do: I restarted my computer (hard restart by keeping the power button down, then pressing it again to start).
Again - nothing.
Although, it sounded like it was restarting. I could hear the disc spin, but nothing came up on the screen at all - just a blank, black screen.
Then I did the next step that any good trouble-shooter would do: try starting it with the system disk. Still nothing. (though I could hear the drive reading the CD, and it sure sounded like it was booting from the CD!)
When I work at home, I always connect my laptop to an external monitor, and even that was completely black. Tried unplugging it, replugging, unplugging.... (I had also since removed all other peripheral, so I was working on my laptop alone.)
I hoped that this meant that it was a monitor problem, or a board problem, and hopefully NOT a drive problem.
...and then I went to play golf....
Came back, did some research, and eventually, found this: Topic : Blank Screen - even when booted from the CD - Weird Sleep Cycle perhaps?
No good answers here: sounds like it's a logic board problem.
boo.
I've made an appt. with The Genius Bar at the Apple Store for tomorrow. Let's see what they say.
So, how come it doesn't sound like I'm completely freaking out?!
Oh, I am, believe me, but I've also realized that it could be much worse.
Here's the good news:
I have a backup: I'm using Time Machine, and haven't had to use it for anything big yet, but it has been backing up my hard drive for the past few months. I trust it's doing something good for me.
I also keep full backups of my most important files in full on my external drive.
But that's certainly not enough to keep me calm.
The real reason I'm not totally freaking out is because I just figured out that I can access my computer's drive through our network. I'm copying over all of my super-important files to our extra PowerBook right now. At least I know I have access to it! (and I know that my drive is okay, even if I can see anything on my computer right now.)
I'm installing all of my regular apps onto our second laptop so I can use it as a backup computer in case mine needs to go into the shop for a while. Certainly not ideal, but much, much better than the alternative.
Labels: geeks, technology
Monday, February 18, 2008
That's 3 hours of my life I'll never get back
or, why you should never use Network Solutions for web hosting...
That was brutal.
After 3 hours, I just finished uploading a new site.
3 hours.
THREE HOURS!
I can not believe how much I hate Network Solutions right now. I've never had a client use them for web hosting services before, and now, I'll dissuade anyone who is ever considering them.
Here's what happened: a few weeks ago I put up a temporary "Coming Soon" kind of placeholder page up. That took something like 20 minutes.
Anyone who has ever FTP'ed files up to a server knows this should take a matter of seconds. Not minutes, and certainly not tens of minutes.
So, my client called Network Solutions after I had that bad experience (I had told him to dump them, and to switch to another web hosting service). Well, Network Solutions claimed they were familiar with it, and that their servers were down, and that it almost never happens... blah, blah, blah.
I've been working on this site intensely for the last 4 weeks, with the intention of launching it tonight at 6:00pm PST.
I wasn't thinking. I should have tested the FTP connection earlier today. I should have uploaded all of my images files, and all of my secondary files. I shoulda,woulda, coulda...
But I didn't.
Instead, I waited until 6:00 like a fool, expecting everything to upload within a couple of minutes.
These are not large files. We're talking 200k files, and 4k thumb nail files. The thumb nail files were taking longer than 5 minutes each! I was about ready to pull my frickin' hair out!
The good news: my Hubby is a total rock star. We had friends over this evening (to help celebrate the launch). Dick fixed them all drinks, then, when we all realized that this was going to take me a while, Dick called in an order to our fave Thai restaurant, when out to pick it up, served it, AND cleaned up. All the while, I was sitting with my laptop, staring at it through glossy eyes.
Everything was finally up by 9:00, and we had an official launch.
That was brutal.
Worst. Web. Hosting. Service. Ever.
That was brutal.
After 3 hours, I just finished uploading a new site.
3 hours.
THREE HOURS!
I can not believe how much I hate Network Solutions right now. I've never had a client use them for web hosting services before, and now, I'll dissuade anyone who is ever considering them.
Here's what happened: a few weeks ago I put up a temporary "Coming Soon" kind of placeholder page up. That took something like 20 minutes.
Anyone who has ever FTP'ed files up to a server knows this should take a matter of seconds. Not minutes, and certainly not tens of minutes.
So, my client called Network Solutions after I had that bad experience (I had told him to dump them, and to switch to another web hosting service). Well, Network Solutions claimed they were familiar with it, and that their servers were down, and that it almost never happens... blah, blah, blah.
I've been working on this site intensely for the last 4 weeks, with the intention of launching it tonight at 6:00pm PST.
I wasn't thinking. I should have tested the FTP connection earlier today. I should have uploaded all of my images files, and all of my secondary files. I shoulda,woulda, coulda...
But I didn't.
Instead, I waited until 6:00 like a fool, expecting everything to upload within a couple of minutes.
These are not large files. We're talking 200k files, and 4k thumb nail files. The thumb nail files were taking longer than 5 minutes each! I was about ready to pull my frickin' hair out!
The good news: my Hubby is a total rock star. We had friends over this evening (to help celebrate the launch). Dick fixed them all drinks, then, when we all realized that this was going to take me a while, Dick called in an order to our fave Thai restaurant, when out to pick it up, served it, AND cleaned up. All the while, I was sitting with my laptop, staring at it through glossy eyes.
Everything was finally up by 9:00, and we had an official launch.
That was brutal.
Worst. Web. Hosting. Service. Ever.
Labels: geeks, web design
Friday, January 18, 2008
MacWorld 2008
My Mom, my sister and I have a long standing tradition of going to Mac World San Francisco together. My Mom pulled my sister and I out of high school for a day in 1985 so we could attend the first one!
We also have a routine: we meet for an early lunch/breakfast at Mel's Diner at 5th and Mission, then head over to the Exhibit Hall. For the last couple of years, we've attended on a Friday, which is the last day, because it coincides with one of my Mom's days off.
So, we met all this morning at 11:00. My sister's boyfriend, Graham, also joined us. After lunch/breakfast, we headed over to the registration area. The registration was actually held in the new section of Moscone center this year (Moscone West).
It was a good year. It seems like it was larger this year that it has been for the past couple of years. There were two exhibit areas - the main one, and another large and busy one in Moscone West.
All the same stuff: lots of accessories for your iPod/iPhone/Mac, etc.,
We breezed through everything, including the Apple area. I was mildly interested in actually picking up (physically) the new Mac Book Air, just to test the weight. It really is remarkably light. The touch pad was also pretty cool - works like the screen on the iPhone. I still don't have any desire to buy one, though. At this point, it seems like a really great travel laptop, or presentation laptop, but not a serious full-time computer.
I didn't buy anything today. There simply wasn't anything that I "needed". If I had needed a cover or new carrying case for my iPhone, or my laptop, it would certainly have been the perfect place. Alas, I'm very happy with what I already have, and don't have any need for replacements. :)
Actually, there was something that I would have bought today, if given the option. I found these super cute little iPod/AM/FM clock radios. I've been looking for something compact that I can put on the shelf of the new bathroom. These really fit the bill. They are about the size of a square Kleenex box. Unfortunately, they weren't selling them at the show, and even more unfortunate, they won't have a web site for another month or so (or something like that. I couldn't quite figure it out). They did mention that I could find them on ebay, which I did tonight, but have discovered that it's only available right now in the UK. I think I'll just wait another month or so...
Here are a few fun pictures that I took today.
We also have a routine: we meet for an early lunch/breakfast at Mel's Diner at 5th and Mission, then head over to the Exhibit Hall. For the last couple of years, we've attended on a Friday, which is the last day, because it coincides with one of my Mom's days off.
So, we met all this morning at 11:00. My sister's boyfriend, Graham, also joined us. After lunch/breakfast, we headed over to the registration area. The registration was actually held in the new section of Moscone center this year (Moscone West).
It was a good year. It seems like it was larger this year that it has been for the past couple of years. There were two exhibit areas - the main one, and another large and busy one in Moscone West.
All the same stuff: lots of accessories for your iPod/iPhone/Mac, etc.,
We breezed through everything, including the Apple area. I was mildly interested in actually picking up (physically) the new Mac Book Air, just to test the weight. It really is remarkably light. The touch pad was also pretty cool - works like the screen on the iPhone. I still don't have any desire to buy one, though. At this point, it seems like a really great travel laptop, or presentation laptop, but not a serious full-time computer.
I didn't buy anything today. There simply wasn't anything that I "needed". If I had needed a cover or new carrying case for my iPhone, or my laptop, it would certainly have been the perfect place. Alas, I'm very happy with what I already have, and don't have any need for replacements. :)
Actually, there was something that I would have bought today, if given the option. I found these super cute little iPod/AM/FM clock radios. I've been looking for something compact that I can put on the shelf of the new bathroom. These really fit the bill. They are about the size of a square Kleenex box. Unfortunately, they weren't selling them at the show, and even more unfortunate, they won't have a web site for another month or so (or something like that. I couldn't quite figure it out). They did mention that I could find them on ebay, which I did tonight, but have discovered that it's only available right now in the UK. I think I'll just wait another month or so...
Here are a few fun pictures that I took today.
Labels: computers, geeks, san francisco
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Geeky McGeekster
When Geeky Worlds Collide...
Dick and I just bought a new toy. It's a Garmin NUVI 760 GPS device. It's pretty cool. We honestly don't drive outside of SF very often, so we haven't had a chance to really use it yet, but we've had fun taking it around the town, and testing out what it can do.
The Garmin web site has a few 3D vehicles that you can download to show up as your vehicle on the screen. I was really hoping to find a MINI Cooper, but no luck.
Last night, I was surfing around some MINI forums to get some opinions on a GPS mounting option for my car, and I came across some MINI icons for the Garmin! Imagine my excitement!
This morning, as I was riding with Dick to the CalTrain station, I decided to take a picture of the GPS screen with my little MINI Cooper, tootling along the Streets of San Francisco. Pretty cute, huh?
BTW: here's the mounting system I'm thinking about getting for my MINI (the second option down). Has anyone used the Kuda products before? Thoughts?
Dick and I just bought a new toy. It's a Garmin NUVI 760 GPS device. It's pretty cool. We honestly don't drive outside of SF very often, so we haven't had a chance to really use it yet, but we've had fun taking it around the town, and testing out what it can do.
The Garmin web site has a few 3D vehicles that you can download to show up as your vehicle on the screen. I was really hoping to find a MINI Cooper, but no luck.
Last night, I was surfing around some MINI forums to get some opinions on a GPS mounting option for my car, and I came across some MINI icons for the Garmin! Imagine my excitement!
This morning, as I was riding with Dick to the CalTrain station, I decided to take a picture of the GPS screen with my little MINI Cooper, tootling along the Streets of San Francisco. Pretty cute, huh?
BTW: here's the mounting system I'm thinking about getting for my MINI (the second option down). Has anyone used the Kuda products before? Thoughts?
Labels: geeks, mini, technology
Monday, November 19, 2007
The iPhone doesn't lie.
never question the iPhone
Yesterday afternoon, as we were out and about, I was using my iPhone to check the weather for the week. I was surprised that it had forecasted rain for today (Monday). So Dick and I made plans for me to drive him to the CalTrain station this morning. (I always drives him when it rains, so he won't have to drive his scooter.)
We left the house this morning at 7:30. It was sunny, with clear, blue skies!
I told Dick that perhaps the iPhone had lied to us.
"liePhone", he said.
(editor's note: that's funny!)
Well, here it is, two hours later, and lo and behold: it's raining out.
The iPhone doesn't lie.
I owe my iPhone a public apology.
Listen to your iPhone.
The iPhone is your friend.
Yesterday afternoon, as we were out and about, I was using my iPhone to check the weather for the week. I was surprised that it had forecasted rain for today (Monday). So Dick and I made plans for me to drive him to the CalTrain station this morning. (I always drives him when it rains, so he won't have to drive his scooter.)
We left the house this morning at 7:30. It was sunny, with clear, blue skies!
I told Dick that perhaps the iPhone had lied to us.
"liePhone", he said.
(editor's note: that's funny!)
Well, here it is, two hours later, and lo and behold: it's raining out.
The iPhone doesn't lie.
I owe my iPhone a public apology.
Listen to your iPhone.
The iPhone is your friend.
Labels: A day in the life, geeks
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
I have friends?
I just noticed that I now have 50 friends on Facebook. I know that's not very many at all compared to a lot of people, but it surprises me.
I first joined Facebook in late July, I think. Dick had to pull my arm just a little bit. He kept telling me how much I'd like it. I resisted a little bit, figuring I wouldn't use it much, and that I wouldn't know many people using it anyway. Early on, I figured that the only "Friends" I would have on Facebook would be my cousins ("Hi" to my cousins!) and some of Dick's friends from work.
It didn't take me long to figure out that it was actually pretty cool. Since then, I've reconnected with some friends over-seas (including a long-lost friend from art school who I've been trying to find for years), some of my old color guard friends, and I even got a note from my favorite Science teacher from high school! Pretty cool!
So, now I have 50 friends on Facebook. And, I have to admit: I actually really like Facebook, and I'm on it more than I'd like to admit. (like I needed another internet addiction!)
I first joined Facebook in late July, I think. Dick had to pull my arm just a little bit. He kept telling me how much I'd like it. I resisted a little bit, figuring I wouldn't use it much, and that I wouldn't know many people using it anyway. Early on, I figured that the only "Friends" I would have on Facebook would be my cousins ("Hi" to my cousins!) and some of Dick's friends from work.
It didn't take me long to figure out that it was actually pretty cool. Since then, I've reconnected with some friends over-seas (including a long-lost friend from art school who I've been trying to find for years), some of my old color guard friends, and I even got a note from my favorite Science teacher from high school! Pretty cool!
So, now I have 50 friends on Facebook. And, I have to admit: I actually really like Facebook, and I'm on it more than I'd like to admit. (like I needed another internet addiction!)
Labels: geeks
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Time Machine Rocks
I've been using it to back up my system since Saturday. Today was the first time that I needed to restore a file.
it totally rocks.
this app was worth the price of admission alone.
it totally rocks.
this app was worth the price of admission alone.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Installing Leopard
that was easy...
I woke up this morning at 5:00 for no apparent reason, so I thought I'd get up and install the new Apple OS that I just picked up yesterday afternoon.
I backed up all of my important files to my external drive first (did that on Thursday, actually), just in case any problems occurred during the transition.
The installation took about an hour or so, and went very smoothly. Everything seems to be back up and running just fine.
One of the features that I was most interested in is Time Machine - a utility that will automatically back up your files. I had been using Retrospect for a while, but was very unsatisfied with it. I actually stopped using it all-together a few months ago, and have been looking for a better solution ever since.
Time Machine claims to keep:
-hourly backups for the past 24 hours
-daily backups for the past month
-weekly backups until your backup disk is full
cool. I started running it about 30 minutes ago, and it's chugging along now.
Another feature that I'm interested in is Boot Camp. This utility will allow me to run Windows on my Mac. This will come in very handy - I've had a separate PC set up for years so that I can test my web sites on dual platforms and browsers. I've also been running Quickbooks off of that, but I suppose I should upgrade to a Mac version of that,anyway.
Anyhow, so far, so good. I'm always happy when the upgrade to a new OS goes smoothly. It just seems like so many things could go wrong!
I woke up this morning at 5:00 for no apparent reason, so I thought I'd get up and install the new Apple OS that I just picked up yesterday afternoon.I backed up all of my important files to my external drive first (did that on Thursday, actually), just in case any problems occurred during the transition.
The installation took about an hour or so, and went very smoothly. Everything seems to be back up and running just fine.
One of the features that I was most interested in is Time Machine - a utility that will automatically back up your files. I had been using Retrospect for a while, but was very unsatisfied with it. I actually stopped using it all-together a few months ago, and have been looking for a better solution ever since.
Time Machine claims to keep:
-hourly backups for the past 24 hours
-daily backups for the past month
-weekly backups until your backup disk is full
cool. I started running it about 30 minutes ago, and it's chugging along now.
Another feature that I'm interested in is Boot Camp. This utility will allow me to run Windows on my Mac. This will come in very handy - I've had a separate PC set up for years so that I can test my web sites on dual platforms and browsers. I've also been running Quickbooks off of that, but I suppose I should upgrade to a Mac version of that,anyway.
Anyhow, so far, so good. I'm always happy when the upgrade to a new OS goes smoothly. It just seems like so many things could go wrong!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
iCaved
Saturday, July 7th. 2:10pm
Okay, I admit it: iCaved.
About two weeks ago, my Mom and I had a discussion about the soon-to-be-released iPhone. My Mom had mentioned that my Dad was trying to talk her into switching cell phone service providers so that she could get an iPhone.
My response?
Something along the lines of:
"Oh, the iPhone....overpriced.....over hyped....really, I just need a phone...will probably have a lot of bugs....blah, blah, blah...."
However, I specifically remember that I also added:
"But, I probably said the same thing about the iPod, so what do I know?"
Later that day, Dick came home and asked if I'd watched the 20-minute guided-tour online at apple.com about the iPhone. No, I had not.
A couple of days later, as Dick was out playing golf, I watched it....
When he came home, I told Dick I had watched it, and that I got it.
I had a newfound desire to own an iPhone.
Luckily, this was a mere 1 week before the release of the phone.
Even with all of the release hype, we decided that I should probably wait a few months for Apple to shake out the bugs, etc., Well, the iPhone was released, the reviews were (for the most part) really positive, and Dick had a chance to play with a few of them at work. The verdict: it really was as cool and amazing as we were led to believe.
So, I should add my disclaimer here:
I've had my last cell phone since December, 2003. I loved my little Samsung flip-phone, but I've always wanted to be able to sync my contact and calendar to it. Having email would be a huge bonus.
I decided to wait to get a new phone until I got a new computer with Bluetooth. Enter my new MacBook Pro - that I got about 3 weeks ago. Now, I felt ready to start looking for a phone. I was actually looking at Razrs the day my Mom mentioned the soon-to-be-released iPhone to me, and I decided that it would be wise of me to wait until they came out and to assess all of my options.
So, yeah, I watched the online guided tour, and I was pretty much hooked. The reviews that I had read by early adopters were pretty favorable, and Dick's friends who had them at work were really happy with them. There was only one thing left to do: I had to try to out for myself.
I went to visit Rob and Sharon on Friday, and Rob gave me a demo of his phone. Five minutes later, and my mind was set. It would just be a matter of time.
I was fully ready to place an order online and wait the 2-4 weeks until delivery. On a whim, I called the Apple store at the Stonestown Mall on Saturday around 1:00pm. I asked, if by chance, they had any 8GB iPhones in stock. To my surprise, they said they had a few left, and that if I came in soon, I should be able to get one. Dick and I ran out the door, and flew to the mall. We waited in line behind 2 other people, and happily, were able to buy an iPhone.
I'll write about the set-up process, and my initial review in another post. I think this one is getting long enough.
More later...
Labels: geeks, technology
Friday, June 22, 2007
Geek Humor
Reeves just sent me a link to this site.
If you know HTML at all, you'll understand why it's so funny!
Apparently, a lot of people thought they were funny, too. They're sold out!
Labels: geeks
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
MacDreamy
Monday, June 18, 2007
My new MacBook Pro: The most amazing plug-and-play experience EVER!
Greetings from my brand-spankin'-new MacBook Pro! (I'm having a hard time not calling it "PowerBook" still!)I've been waiting since October for Apple to release their newest version. Last time I ordered a laptop, I bought it and a newer version was announced within the next 2 months or so. Lesson learned. Wasn't going to let that happen again!
Apple made the announcement about 2 weeks ago. I ordered it last week, and FedEx delivered my beautiful new baby this morning.
Can you believe it's been 4 years since I got my last laptop? I'd say that's pretty darn good in the ever-changing world of Technology-land. I had a 60GB drive, and have been down to my last GB or so for several months now. I haven't ripped any new CDs onto iTunes, and I don't have any photos on my computer. All in an effort to save precious disk space.
Okay, I have to rave about the new Apple Setup Assistant. It's new to me, at least. They didn't have this 4 years ago when I had to transfer all of my files/applications/preferences via ethernet or network.
I turned on my new shiny mac, and the first thing that popped up was the Setup Assistant.
I said, "Okay, I'll play along."
I figured it would ask for the norm: language, country, time-zone, registration, etc.,
The first thing it asked (after language and country) was if I had another Mac with FireWire.
"Um... Well, Yes! I do!"
Then it says it'll sync all my data from my old computer to my new computer.
"Cool."
I figured it would sync stuff that was Apple application or system things like security passwords, my iTunes library, Safari bookmarks, etc.,
I assumed I'd still have to transfer most of my files over, and reinstall most of my Applications.
I was SO wrong!
I clicked the button, and there it went - syncing all of my files, folders, applications, preferences, etc.,
We went out to dinner, and then to a bookstore, and came back about 2 hours later.
My entire computer had been synced!
Everything!
I didn't have to do a thing!
It was completely plug-and-play!
Amazing! I'm still stunned!
The only thing I had to do was Authorize this computer for my iTunes songs that I've purchased from the iTunes store. That was it.
Everything else just....worked.
I'm still amazed. Those guys at Apple... Kudos to you!
This was definitely the least painful experience I've ever had to switching to a new computer.
Last time, I was switching from my OLD Powerbook Wallstreet Edition,which I had bought in 1999, (and was all SCSI) to a 2003 PowerBook G4 with USB. (I bought it right before USB2 came out). Because I had to make the switch from SCSI to USB, I had to buy all new peripherals (scanner, printer, keyboard, mouse, etc.,) I also made the switch from Mac OS 09 to OS X. A whole new operating system! It took several days (weeks?) to get everything straightened out.
This time: a whole new story. It took less than 2 hours, and I wasn't even home having to watch. I came back, and voila! everything was done.
Only this time, I'm running quadruple the amount of RAM (from 1GB to 4GB!) and have more than double the storage capacity (from 60GB to 160GB!).
The transition was so seamless that I barely notice that I'm using a different computer. (in a good way) I'm sure I'll notice it more once I use it for work tomorrow.
I LOVE my new Mac!!
Labels: computers, geeks, just trina, technology
Monday, March 26, 2007
Battlestar Galactica
Did you watch the season finale last night?
How about the previews at the end?
Battlestar Galactica...
...continues in 2008
2008?!
What the Frack?!
How about the previews at the end?
Battlestar Galactica...
...continues in 2008
2008?!
What the Frack?!
Labels: geeks
Friday, March 23, 2007
"Help me, United States Postal Service. You're my only hope."
My sister-in-law just sent this picture to me:
this cracks me up!
I checked out http://www.uspsjedimaster.com, and there's a teaser up there with a video clip, and a statement saying "On March 28th Two Powerful Forces Will Unite".
I, of course, have to know what it is, so I submitted my email address at the bottom so I can "Be the first on Planet Earth to know why".
I'm such a sucker.
I'm hoping this means that we're going to see a lot of little mailboxes around the country dressed up like R2-D2.
That would be hysterical.
...and as my sister-in-law says, It makes me want to dress up as Leia and go mail something!
this cracks me up!
I checked out http://www.uspsjedimaster.com, and there's a teaser up there with a video clip, and a statement saying "On March 28th Two Powerful Forces Will Unite".
I, of course, have to know what it is, so I submitted my email address at the bottom so I can "Be the first on Planet Earth to know why".
I'm such a sucker.
I'm hoping this means that we're going to see a lot of little mailboxes around the country dressed up like R2-D2.
That would be hysterical.
...and as my sister-in-law says, It makes me want to dress up as Leia and go mail something!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Geek Heaven
This weekend (Friday afternoon through Sunday morning), Dick and I attended the 2nd Annual Technical Recognition Event for Dick's work. Last year, it was in Vancouver, this year, it was held in San Francisco!
We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill, which was a real treat. The weather couldn't have been nicer, which was a welcome change for about 95% of the people who came from out of the area.
The event was for the high-end tech guys at the company, and their S.O.'s. This is a real treat for me, as I had a chance to meet and talk with some really interesting, and brilliant people who have done some amazing things in their careers. As you can imagine the geek factor was very high.
During dinner last night, the promise of a "special guest speaker" was highly anticipated. We already knew that Bill Gates would be speaking (whom I really enjoyed listening to last year) but no one knew who the other speaker would be.
..and then the time came.
...and the lights dimmed...
...and the Star Wars music came...
Yes, it was George Lucas! After Dick and I saw it was him, we thought it made a lot of sense: he's local to SF, is big into technology, and is interested in the same types of education endeavors as Bill. The two of them talked on stage for about 30 minutes before holding a Q&A with the audience. I have to say, it was pretty cool.
After dinner, Dick and I were both pretty tired, and decided to skip the After Dinner Disco Party. Too bad for me! This morning, as we were checking out, we saw that the attendees of the Disco Party received these really cool light sabers as a gift! What a bummer that we missed out on that! I had coveted them at Costco about a year ago, but they're pricey suckers!
Anyhow, it was a fun and interesting geek-filled event.
This computer/Star Wars geek was very satisfied.
Uncle Bill with Uncle George
We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill, which was a real treat. The weather couldn't have been nicer, which was a welcome change for about 95% of the people who came from out of the area.
The event was for the high-end tech guys at the company, and their S.O.'s. This is a real treat for me, as I had a chance to meet and talk with some really interesting, and brilliant people who have done some amazing things in their careers. As you can imagine the geek factor was very high.
During dinner last night, the promise of a "special guest speaker" was highly anticipated. We already knew that Bill Gates would be speaking (whom I really enjoyed listening to last year) but no one knew who the other speaker would be.
..and then the time came.
...and the lights dimmed...
...and the Star Wars music came...
Yes, it was George Lucas! After Dick and I saw it was him, we thought it made a lot of sense: he's local to SF, is big into technology, and is interested in the same types of education endeavors as Bill. The two of them talked on stage for about 30 minutes before holding a Q&A with the audience. I have to say, it was pretty cool.
After dinner, Dick and I were both pretty tired, and decided to skip the After Dinner Disco Party. Too bad for me! This morning, as we were checking out, we saw that the attendees of the Disco Party received these really cool light sabers as a gift! What a bummer that we missed out on that! I had coveted them at Costco about a year ago, but they're pricey suckers!
Anyhow, it was a fun and interesting geek-filled event.
This computer/Star Wars geek was very satisfied.
Uncle Bill with Uncle George
Saturday, March 03, 2007
I used to be a good troubleshooter...
....and then I started to date, then married someone who is an even bigger computer geek than I ever was!
I have an external drive connected to my laptop that backs-up my computer each night. Tuesday morning, I noticed that my computer was unable to read the drive, and the only option I had was to initialize the disk. Well, that's never my first choice, so I decided to restart my computer a few times, and re-connect the drive. No go. It didn't work at all.
I considered reinitializing the entire disk, but decided not to do anything until the weekend. A full backup of my drive takes a bit longer than 24 hours, and I didn't want it to disrupt my work for an entire day (or two). I figured I'd have Dick look it over during the weekend, and if I still needed to initialize the disk, I would just leave my computer alone for the entire weekend.
This morning, I asked Dick what he thought I should do. I asked, "Should I just initialize? It hasn't been able to read the disk all week."
He said he'd come up to look at it. I asked if he wanted me to restart my computer, and disconnect an re-connect the drive.
He said he'd just turn it off, and on again first.
....then he left the room.
....then my external hard drive showed itself on my desktop, all fine and happy...
...and I felt like an idiot.
I should have known this! This is the first thing I should have tried after restarting my computer didn't work.
Why is it that I rely so heavily on Dick's geekdome, that I've relaxed my own inner-geek, and can't step up to the plate to figure these things out for myself?
It's like there's some weird geeky-comfort knowing that Dick can fix things. I used to be the one my friends would call for computer questions! I used to be able to figure stuff out like this all the time. This is not difficult.
I've become the techie-geek damsel in distress because I married a knight in geeky armor.
Shame on me. Time to step things up, and become my own geek again.
Dick just walked back in, and read my blog.
He said that Craddock's First Law is "When in doubt, power cycle."
I should write that down.
Oh, I'm so embarrassed!
I have an external drive connected to my laptop that backs-up my computer each night. Tuesday morning, I noticed that my computer was unable to read the drive, and the only option I had was to initialize the disk. Well, that's never my first choice, so I decided to restart my computer a few times, and re-connect the drive. No go. It didn't work at all.
I considered reinitializing the entire disk, but decided not to do anything until the weekend. A full backup of my drive takes a bit longer than 24 hours, and I didn't want it to disrupt my work for an entire day (or two). I figured I'd have Dick look it over during the weekend, and if I still needed to initialize the disk, I would just leave my computer alone for the entire weekend.
This morning, I asked Dick what he thought I should do. I asked, "Should I just initialize? It hasn't been able to read the disk all week."
He said he'd come up to look at it. I asked if he wanted me to restart my computer, and disconnect an re-connect the drive.
He said he'd just turn it off, and on again first.
....then he left the room.
....then my external hard drive showed itself on my desktop, all fine and happy...
...and I felt like an idiot.
I should have known this! This is the first thing I should have tried after restarting my computer didn't work.
Why is it that I rely so heavily on Dick's geekdome, that I've relaxed my own inner-geek, and can't step up to the plate to figure these things out for myself?
It's like there's some weird geeky-comfort knowing that Dick can fix things. I used to be the one my friends would call for computer questions! I used to be able to figure stuff out like this all the time. This is not difficult.
I've become the techie-geek damsel in distress because I married a knight in geeky armor.
Shame on me. Time to step things up, and become my own geek again.
Dick just walked back in, and read my blog.
He said that Craddock's First Law is "When in doubt, power cycle."
I should write that down.
Oh, I'm so embarrassed!
Labels: computers, dick, geeks
Saturday, February 03, 2007
My head is full....
Dick has been teaching me javascript. We've only been doing this for an hour, (and we've made good progress) but my head is tired now.
Time for dinner.
Time for dinner.
Labels: geeks, web design
Monday, January 22, 2007
Naming my new iPod
On my way home from Pilates this morning, I had a sudden a-ha! moment, and came up with a name for my new iPod Shuffle:
Fizzgig
Now, I think this is very clever, but I'm wondering if anyone else will get it?
clue #1: Pod People
I also love that my Shuffle has a capacity of 1 gigabyte, and that its new name has the word "gig" in it! :)
How big is my iPod? Why, it's a FizzGig!
I am such a geek.
Fizzgig
Now, I think this is very clever, but I'm wondering if anyone else will get it?
clue #1: Pod People
I also love that my Shuffle has a capacity of 1 gigabyte, and that its new name has the word "gig" in it! :)
How big is my iPod? Why, it's a FizzGig!
I am such a geek.
Labels: geeks, technology, trina-isms
Do the "Shuffle"!
FedEx just knocked at my door and delivered my new iPod Shuffle to me! One of my sister-in-laws sent me a gift card for the Apple Store as a Christmas gift, so I used it towards the purchase of the new fabulously small shuffle. I love my regular iPod, but I've been wanting a smaller iPod that I can workout with, or take on walks with me. The Shuffle is perfect for this.
I haven't even plugged it in yet, (It was literally delivered just 10 minutes ago) but I had to comment on the packaging.
Say what you will about Apple, but they sure do know how to package a product. Seriously, I almost don't want to take the shuffle out of its case, because it just looks so pretty! (I'll get over it)
More later... (after I finally decide to take it out of its packaging!)
My (now seemingly monstrous) 40GB iPod with my new (teeny-tiny) iPod Shuffle.
update:
9:37am
(that was quick)
Cutest little dock ever
So far, I love this little thing!
Little iPod Shuffle Dock sitting on my PowerBook
I haven't even plugged it in yet, (It was literally delivered just 10 minutes ago) but I had to comment on the packaging.
Say what you will about Apple, but they sure do know how to package a product. Seriously, I almost don't want to take the shuffle out of its case, because it just looks so pretty! (I'll get over it)
More later... (after I finally decide to take it out of its packaging!)
My (now seemingly monstrous) 40GB iPod with my new (teeny-tiny) iPod Shuffle.
update:
9:37am
(that was quick)
Cutest little dock ever
So far, I love this little thing!
Little iPod Shuffle Dock sitting on my PowerBook
Labels: geeks, technology
Saturday, January 13, 2007
MacWorld Milestones
We had a lot of fun at MacWorld yesterday. However, for the first time in recent memory, I didn't buy anything.
I spent part of the time walking around the floor with Omar and Sarah, then after they had to leave, I hooked up with my Mom and Dad. This was my Dad's first MacWorld, and he was quite the trooper! Omar actually commented to me how cool my parents were for attending MacWorld. I told him that my Mom is really into tech-gadgets, and that my Dad was just being a great sport and wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about.
I also told Omar that my super-cool Mom actually took us out of school for the day so we could all attend the first MacWorld in January, 1985. Now, that's a cool Mom! This reminded me a few other MacWorld milestones in my life:
It's really pretty amazing to think about how much MacWorld has changed over the years. Back in the day, it really was "Mac World" - all things Macintosh. Software, hardware, new color monitors (I remember how very cool that was), and the place you went to find good deals on all of these. These days, it's just a little bit "Mac Oriented" with a whole lot more gear oriented towards the iPod, and consumer electronics, in general. My Dad and I were walking around the floor, and every third booth or so, we'd joke, "Look! iPod skins! What a novel idea!" (seriously, every third booth or so was some sort of iPod cover/skin)
Omar had a nice write-up of some of the new goodies that we looked at.
As for me, although I didn't buy anything, I did come home with a couple of fun freebies: A Case-Mate iPod Shuffle case (which has inspired me to buy a new Shuffle) and a very funny little plush dog from Fetch (still my FTP program of choice).
Baby's first MacWorld
I spent part of the time walking around the floor with Omar and Sarah, then after they had to leave, I hooked up with my Mom and Dad. This was my Dad's first MacWorld, and he was quite the trooper! Omar actually commented to me how cool my parents were for attending MacWorld. I told him that my Mom is really into tech-gadgets, and that my Dad was just being a great sport and wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about.
I also told Omar that my super-cool Mom actually took us out of school for the day so we could all attend the first MacWorld in January, 1985. Now, that's a cool Mom! This reminded me a few other MacWorld milestones in my life:
- MacWorld 1985
This is when it all began. My parents bought one of the original 128K Macs in 1984 (after much pleading on my part). My Mom took my sister and I out of school for the day so we could attend the convention. - MacWorld (NYC) 1998
The meeting that would go down in history: It's the NYC MacWorld where Dick met Omar for the first time, and offered him an internship (and later a job). - MacWorld 1999
This was the year that Apple released the colored iMacs for the first time. They were also into their very cool "Think Different" campaign. Dick and I had just started to date at the end of December 1998. During the first week of January, he walked into the art gallery where I worked, and invited me to come to the Apple party with him that night. Now, I don't know if all girls would feel this way, but for me, that was one of the coolest dates ever!.
That same year, I introduced Dick to my sister, Tiffini. He looked at the two of us, and asked, "Which one is which?" - MacWorld 2000
I introduce my Mom to my new friend, Omar, who is working at the Microsoft booth. Omar later tells me that I have a very cool Mom. ;) - MacWorld 2004
After finally upgrading to a new PowerBook, and having just received a iPod for Xmas, I was, for once, not completely out-of-date with all of the Mac Products. I bought a lot of goodies this year, including my favorite "Mac Chic" t-shirt. - MacWorld 2007
Yesterday was my Dad's first time to MacWorld, and also Omar's baby's first! (she's only 8 weeks old!) It as a whole different experience this year, but I really enjoyed it.
It's really pretty amazing to think about how much MacWorld has changed over the years. Back in the day, it really was "Mac World" - all things Macintosh. Software, hardware, new color monitors (I remember how very cool that was), and the place you went to find good deals on all of these. These days, it's just a little bit "Mac Oriented" with a whole lot more gear oriented towards the iPod, and consumer electronics, in general. My Dad and I were walking around the floor, and every third booth or so, we'd joke, "Look! iPod skins! What a novel idea!" (seriously, every third booth or so was some sort of iPod cover/skin)
Omar had a nice write-up of some of the new goodies that we looked at.
As for me, although I didn't buy anything, I did come home with a couple of fun freebies: A Case-Mate iPod Shuffle case (which has inspired me to buy a new Shuffle) and a very funny little plush dog from Fetch (still my FTP program of choice).
Baby's first MacWorld
Friday, January 12, 2007
Greetings from MacWorld!
At this moment, I am sitting at the Microsoft Blogger Lounge, typing in a blog. It seemed appropo, so I figured, why not?!
Having a good time so far. I just spent the last two hours wandering around the floor with Omar and Sarah Shahine. Sarah was quite the hit, as we think she was perhaps the youngest MacWorld Attendee this year :)
Today is the last day of MacWorld (in fact, we're into the last hour and a half now) so it seems to be quieter here than usual (which is kind of nice). I haven't bought anything yet, but I have been inspired to buy a new iPod Shuffle soon. :)
signing off from MacWorld.
Having a good time so far. I just spent the last two hours wandering around the floor with Omar and Sarah Shahine. Sarah was quite the hit, as we think she was perhaps the youngest MacWorld Attendee this year :)
Today is the last day of MacWorld (in fact, we're into the last hour and a half now) so it seems to be quieter here than usual (which is kind of nice). I haven't bought anything yet, but I have been inspired to buy a new iPod Shuffle soon. :)
signing off from MacWorld.
MacWorld Bound
I'm heading out for my annual MacWorld Trek today. This year, I'll be attending with my Mom, my Dad (his first time!) The Oracle and Baby Oracle (her first time as well! ;) ).
Should be a fun day. I'm planning on buying a new MacBook Pro soon, so it'll be good to get more info on that, software, etc.,
I'm curious to see the iPhone, although I'm not sure if they'll actually have any on display since they won't be available until June. I'm not convinced that they will live up to the hype once they do come out. Omar (he who we call "The Oracle") has some interesting thoughts on that here.
I never quite know what I'll be picking up at MacWorld from year to year. One year, it was my "Mac Chic" t-shirt, another year I left with 2 (count 'em) laptop bags (both of which I still love!).
Should be a fun day. I'll be back with the report later!
Should be a fun day. I'm planning on buying a new MacBook Pro soon, so it'll be good to get more info on that, software, etc.,
I'm curious to see the iPhone, although I'm not sure if they'll actually have any on display since they won't be available until June. I'm not convinced that they will live up to the hype once they do come out. Omar (he who we call "The Oracle") has some interesting thoughts on that here.
I never quite know what I'll be picking up at MacWorld from year to year. One year, it was my "Mac Chic" t-shirt, another year I left with 2 (count 'em) laptop bags (both of which I still love!).
Should be a fun day. I'll be back with the report later!
&
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway --- oh right, I *am* my own employer!
;)
© Copyright 2003-2007, Trina Chow
