The Great Computer Disaster
Episode 2
10.30 am
It’s time to call in expert help in the form of friend and computer technician, Robbie Dunn. We helped Robbie recently with some wording for an ad (“Is there a ghost in your machine? Exorcisms Dunn.) The CW also designed a business card for him, so we figure he owes us.
Robbie discovers the G3 has defective RAM.
Continue reading »
The Great Computer Disaster
Episode 1
It’s Sunday, 1.30 am. My husband and I have just returned from a party. My son, the Computer Whizz (CW), has our two Macs open on neighbouring tables, their guts spilled in anything but reassuring disarray.
He wants my husband (He Who Knows Nothing [HWKN], according to the CW) to help him by removing one of the hard disks from my G3. HWKN recognises the note of panic in the CW’s voice and, overcome by fatherly love, he stays up to help.
Continue reading »
SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) is a more contentious issue than many people realize. Sure for most folks it’s just an innocuous screensaver, for the more hardcore it’s a “buy a dedicated machine to pump the units up” deal. But some, myself included, view SETI as a terrible waste of time and resources. Most people object on grounds that we are supposedly alone in the universe. I do not share in that objection; my objections are purely pragmatic and argued below.
The logical beginning point for a discussion of SETI is the previously mentioned chances of life existing elsewhere. Here we see the beginnings of trouble, since no one knows precisely how life began it’s very difficult to place a probability on life existing elsewhere. Many argue that life arising purely by chance is so infinitesimally small as to be nearly impossible. They will tell you that all the constants of the universe must be just so, a little more gravity: the universe collapses upon its self. A small change in the fine structure constant and the universe is unsuitable for life. As compelling as these arguments may be they are not germane to the discussion, few would argue that the universe in incapable of supporting life. (For the record the argument is folly: how many chances does a habitable universe get to form? Obviously enough).
Continue reading »
Ok folks, gather up your flame throwers, and start boiling the oil. I’m about to to say some things which will certainly cheese off some of you. Let me explain some some things first: I consider myself to be a hard-core Mac user, and I don’t apologize for this. You shouldn’t either. Now, here at home, I proudly use my TiBook, sitting up on its Griffin iCurve stand. I run it just like a full size desktop, with an Apple keyboard and cordless mouse. All fine and dandy, yes? Hey, it works for me. But on the job? My main machine is a Sawtooth G4, with a Dell seventeen-inch LCD monitor connected to it. And you know something? I like it just fine.
Continue reading »
Nemo Memo: Why Does AOL Still Exist?
I have been using America Online for OS X since it was introduced. For routine email, chat, and typical AOL content, this new version of the software is fine. It’s different than concurrent updated releases for Windows, but subscribers can switch computers or platforms and soon be comfortable with any dissimilarities. The same can be said for going back and forth between Mac AOL 5 for OS 9 and earlier, and the other newer editions.
Most readers are wondering why AOL still exists, especially for people experienced on the Internet. “Why not use a real ISP, Nemo,” they (or you) are asking, since America Online is so late-1980s, or early-1990s? “In this post-Y2K environment, get with the program, John: Apple Mail, Safari browser, iChat, and the rest.”
Continue reading »
The Laptop Desk UltraLite
Company: LapWorks
Price: $29.95
http://www.laptopdesk.net
For most of my computing time, I use a desktop G5 with a 23” monitor. A comfortable chair and a nice desk / work surface completes the picture, and I have spent way too much time sitting there. However, I also own a laptop that, quite frankly, I don’t use nearly enough to justify how much I spent for it. I actually enjoy typing on the laptop (a PowerBook G3 400Mhz, or Lombard if you will, as well as the wifes’ 15″ G4) more than I do Apple’s extended keyboard. I always find that my hands more easily type on the bronze keys more easily than the keyboard on my desk, and I like the tactile feel better.
So why don’t I use the PowerBook more often? In a word, heat! The PowerBooks gets HOT when in use. I don’t like to use the ‘Book on a desk, I like using it best when it is sitting on my lap in the kitchen. So to deal with the heat issue, I have used various books to keep the hot ‘Book off my tender lap. There are some things there I prefer not to get too hot, if you understand my meaning!
Continue reading »
HP Photosmart R707 with R-Series Dock
Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: $349.99 (Camera) $79.95 (Dock)
www.hp.com
The R707 is the third HP camera I have reviewed over the last year and it combines all the things I loved about the Photosmart 935 plus a plethora of goodness and new features has been added that have made this camera everything I’m looking for in a digital camera.
The R707 is a 5.1MP digital camera with a 24X zoom (3X optical, 8X digital) that delivers very good pictures with an intuitive interface and a small though slightly larger than pocket-sized design.
Continue reading »
I’m surprised at the difficulty and expense of replacing iPod batteries. Not yet owning an iPod, I have been learning how individual models of iPod require different batteries and replacement techniques. Why should they cost so much and be so hard to swap?
In my work as a private music teacher and computer tutor, a CD-Walkman style of player is more appropriate than an iPod, so far. Swapping discs is what I need to do throughout the day, so I’ll save my $$$ for an iPod to be purchased when the time is right.
Continue reading »
Every time I turn on the television, it seems there is another company advertising a new Cell phone which double duties as a digital camera. Is this something you need in your life?
Digital cameras have changed the way we take pictures. Remember in the old days, about five years ago, when you had a 35MM film camera? You would take it to all the special events, such as a little league game, a wedding, on vacation, or anywhere you wanted to capture the moment. But being a film camera, you were choosy in your picture taking. You did not want to “waste” the film after all!
Continue reading »
Comments. Be heard!
MyMac Podcast #385
MyMac Podcast #384