Technology

Puttering Around The House

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I got up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Thankfully I felt better than I did yesterday. I cleaned up my apartment. I also decided I didn’t like my Desk Reorg and removed the extra Apple Display. I moved my Media Center iMac back to where it was last week and took my Dell monitor and plugged it into my bigger iMac. I am still using a dual display setup but I took apart my Laptop station setup. I just didn’t use it.

The Apple Display I have is starting to show its age so I don’t feel right selling it on eBay. As Kai likes to point out anything I sell generally is in top notch condition. I take pride in my reputation (and the added resale value good condition brings) so I won’t sell it. I think it is still good enough to give to my parents. They have a 19″ LCD I bought for my dad’s birthday a few years ago. Maybe they will like the upgrade.

Desk Reorg

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At home tonight I decided to reorganize my desk, again. About two weeks ago I moved things around on my desk(s). I have two desks and a little desk/cart arranged in an L shape since I can’t get the middle piece of my desk system in the color lament of the desks I have. So I have a make shift L. It actually looks pretty good. I love my Anthro Desks! I have been tweaking the setup since I got the smaller desk I used to make the L. Two weeks ago I took away my setup for my work laptop since i thought it was cluttered and put my media center iMac there in stead. I ended up not really using the monitor I freed up from the laptop setup so it was just sitting there idle.

Yesterday I got the idea to try a 2nd monitor on my iMac setup again. I also had the need for that laptop setup (using the laptop only wasn’t cutting it) so I decided to reorganize everything. I moved the media center iMac back to the center part of the L, returned the Dell monitor to setup my laptop again, and then broke out my old Apple 23″ cinema display to use as my second monitor alongside my 24″ iMac. I am not going to really be able to sell the Cinema Display since it is 3 years old so I might as well try to use it.

I know it sounds like allot of monitors, and it kinda is. But I accumulated everything over time. I actually have extra stuff I need to get rid of or give away that didn’t even make it to this configuration. I will use the main display on my 24″ iMac for personal stuff, the 23″ display on that iMac now sports a full screen XP VM that I can do work on. My 20″ iMac will remain as my media center and used for video processing and controlling my Apple TV & xbox 360 media centers. The other setup will be for my work laptop so I can do other work stuff on it.

Once I clean up everything I will take another Panorama picture of everything. Right now check out the before Panorama photos I took a few months ago when I still had my Macbook setup.

Desk Panorama Take 2

Before

After, TBD…

Spring Cleaning with Ebay

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Yesterday I sold my Nokia E71. I know, I use an iPhone 3G. I also bought a E71 a few months ago to play around with. I was hoping to be able to switch between iPhone and E71. I know, I bought and returned a previous Nokia E71 for that same reason. I wanted to give the Nokia more than a day trial. The verdict was it is a great phone but even with its drawbacks I like the iPhone and even when I did use the E71 I would often switch back to the iPhone. So since I am currently on a sell my extra stuff kick I sold the Nokia on Craigslist.

So far in the past month I have let go of my Macbook, and the Nokia. I loved the Macbook, but the reality was I wasn’t using it so I opted for the much faster iMac desktop. I am even contemplating letting go of my HP netbook since I have my work laptop that is an ultra portable. I am also looking to offload my 160gig iPod. When I got the iPhone I thought I would slowly stop needing an iPod. That is exactly what happened. With my new 16gig USB key and 16gig SD card in my laptop I no longer need the 160gig iPod for any portable file storage. That means it is getting wiped and put up for sale.

I am also in the process of selling my old Airport Extreme base station, but that is only because I upgraded. That sale will recoup half the cost of the new one. Man ebay you are my enabler for buying new stuff!

What I am not selling is my old 23″ cinema display. It found a new home as my second monitor on my iMac. I need to rummage through my storage bins to see if there is anything else I want part with. Don’t you smell spring cleaning in the air.

Windows 7 Release Candidate

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Last night I downloaded the Release Candidate for Windows 7. I had some false starts trying to install it on my Netbook last night. I finally was able to get the install files on a bootable USB flash drive I had. Once that was done it was really easy getting the OS on my Netbook. Since work was hectic today I only just got around finishing most of the install. I have the basic apps on it that I use.

I have to say I am so far impressed with what I see. I don’t know the true benchmarks but Windows 7 seems much faster than Windows XP Home was on the Atom processor. Granted I haven’t really run any apps. I have just been installing them, but the system does seem more responsive than with XP. The graphics on 7 are nice also. I like pretty, yet functional OS’. Right now I have the HP Mini 1000 plugged into a 23″ display and it is working fine. I will continue to play with it over the next few days, but my first impressions are positive. The only main downside I see is that at idle with 1 program running (IM) the system is using around 46% of my 2gigs of RAM. Not as bad as Vista, but not by much.

Xmarks

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For years I tried (and generally succeeded) to use the same computer at home and at work. At my current job I have a company laptop that is different than my home computer. This presented a problem with managing my browser bookmarks that I hadn’t had in years. I also need to use Internet Explorer for work stuff but I like to use Firefox whenever I can. Switching between the two setups was a bit frustrating. I recently downloaded Xmarks. It solved the issue of syncing bookmarks between browsers and computers. I liked how easy it was to setup and use I already have it on all my computers. I am liking web sites / applications that let me take my data with me on whatever computer I want and everything is synced up!

New Headphones

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I felt horrible after work, but I forced myself to run the errands I had to before collapsing. I got a hair cut since I really needed one and that always makes me feel better. This time it did a little but the cold didn’t magically go away. Dam cold. On my way home I ran over to the Apple Store. I needed to replace my Bose in ear headphones. I am kinda pissed that a $99 pair of head phones broke. I can only hear out of one ear sometimes. I did have them for almost two years (or so I think), so I didn’t go shopping for another brand. I liked the bose ones overall so I got another pair. I do bang them up so I think I got my moneys worth, or I am just saying that to justify buying another pair. I just know if I had to go another day with the Apple headphones I was going to go crazy!

Bye Grandcentral, Hello Google Voice

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I have been using Grand Central since December 2006. When it was announced I thought it was the perfect idea that solved most of the issues I had with multiple phone numbers that I have been trying to solve since 1996! Grand Central had great promise but two issues I had with it prevented it from being the solution I wanted it to be. The first issue was simply the quality of the calls recieved via Grand Central. For me at least the performance was hit or miss. I couldn’t rely on it as my main inbound phone number because I got burned so many times by call quality issues. The other issue I had was that Grand Central required you to press 1 once you picked up a call. The options it offered (1 to answer a call, 4 to record, and other options to send to Voice Mail or listen in on the VM) were nice, but 99% of the time I pressed 1 to answer the call. On a smart phone such as my iPhone it was a pain to find the virtual keypad and press one. It was even worse if I was using a headset. They never offered an option to turn off that requirement to press an number when you answered a call, until now.

Google bought Grand Central what seems like ages ago and nothing ever happened with the service. I was happy to keep using my Grand Central number as the default number I gave out when signing up for something or to a doctors office, the pharmacy, etc but I still used my mobile number as the main number I gave out. Recently at work I started using Grand Central as my main contact number and my mobile as my backup since I move around allot but people still get my mobile to reach me on. This week Google announced the release of Google Voice, aka the relaunch and upgrade of Grand Central. I patiently waited until my account told me I can upgrade to the new Google Voice. So far I am very impressed. My major technical issue regarding having to always press the keypad to start a call has been resolved. I now have the option of turning that off, so I did. I also liked the SMS functions, and the ability to leverage my existing GMail contacts. The transcribe feature is nice, but just bells and whistles to me for now.

I am hoping that the quality of the calls are consistent with the new Google Voice. If they are, it is an almost perfect solution for me. I look forward to using it more over the next few weeks to put it through its paces. It took google a while to get this update out, but so far it seems worth the wait!

The New New iMac

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Last Wednsday I broke down and ordered one of the new iMac’s that were announced on 3/3. This was both a planned and impulse purchase at the same time. It was an inpulse purchase since I wasn’t planning on taking any action just yet, but I had been planning getting something. My issue has been that for about a year I have wanted something bigger than the 23″ Cinema Display I had. I deffered purchase for months because none of the computers I had could power such a display. Then I got a new Macbook in November that could power the 30″ display. I didn’t go right out and buy one since first it is an expensive piece of hardware, second the adapters to power the display on the Macbook were backordered. By the time the cable was availible the big rumor was (and still is) that Apple will announce new displays. So yet again I waited, until they announced new iMac’s. Now I was torn on what to do. Do I spent allot more and get a huge display but have a slower computer, or go for the all in one really fast computer?

The answer has always been for me to go modular. Get a laptop, KVM and maybe a desktop. I actually owned several iMac’s since I started using Mac’s. Each time I ended up selling them or returning one of them because I wanted more options than an all in one offered. So as I write this post from my new 24″ iMac I have to wonder, did I make the same mistake in buying an all in one again for the 3rd time? My own answer to that question is I am not sure, but I hope not. The reason I think now is the time for a nice fast desktop is that since last year when I hatched my plan for wanting a larger 30″ display my situation has changed slightly. My previous jobs have not cared if I used my Powerbook or Macbook. Partsearch even bought me a Macbook Pro to use, so I was always using the same machine at work and home. That made sense that I had a desktop setup at home that accommodated that. An all in one computer didn’t really do that. My current job issued me a windows laptop. Now I am hearing that I can probably do a non standard build and actually use a Macbook, I haven’t really wanted to test that theory. That means I keep my work and home computers separate. This is the first time in years that I have had to do that. Since I bought my latest Macbook in October it has been used off of its stand maybe 4 times. That for me was the deciding factor that I don’t need a personal laptop. For the times I want a portable that is not work issued I do have the netbook.

So I made my decision. I went with the all in one iMac. It is fast, and at some point when RAM gets a bit cheaper I can fill it with 8gig’s of memory. My Firewire 800 Drobo is plugged right into it, and it is FAST! For now I think the added cost and slower computer that would be used didn’t make the 30″ display viable for me. If money was no object I would of course go for a Mac Pro, but unfortunately it isn’t.

For now I am very happy with my choice!

The Laptop Upgrade

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I got a new laptop at work today. I am switching from a Thinkpad T61 to a Dell Latitude D430. The 430 is not as fast as the Thinkpad, but it is only 3lbs. Since I am never in the same place two days in a row working it is worth the performance loss to get the portability. I am not a huge fan of the fact that the build I get has XP on it but so did the Thinkpad so I am not complaining that much. I had to spend what little free time I had today moving my stuff onto the new computer so I can give back the old one. I guess it is being repurposed right away. The jury is still out on how good the Latitude is. My D420 at Redcats wasn’t horrible, so I am hopeful this guy is pretty good.

Netbook Update

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I have had my HP Mini 1000 for about a month and a half now and so far I haven’t had the urge to get rid of it. On the surface that doesn’t sound like a stellar endorsement, but from me it is. The netbook hasn’t changed my life or anything close to it. I am not really even using it for the main reason I got it. I ended up returning the wireless USB card so I don’t lug the netbook around with me everywhere allong with my work computer. What I do use the netbook for is light typing around the house, or when I don’t want or need to carry a regular laptop around I throw it in my bag. It was cheap enough so I don’t regret keeping it and using it like this. It is a nice to have and when I need it I am very grateful I have it.

The screen size prevents me from using it much more than I currently do. That is partly due to the screen being small, and my eyes being not so perfect. The keyboard still kicks ass, and the wifi and bluetooth actually work without any major complications. That is not something I could say for previous bluetooth experiences with Windows XP.

I just recently paired my Jawbone 2 bluetooth headset with the Mini 1000 to use Skype 4.0 on it. I never really used the Jawbone even-though as bluetooth headsets go it was expensive. It is also the best rated bluetooth headset I could find, but I never fit in my ear. I just read a kick ass review by someone at Cnet. The fix was so simple it was almost funny. They suggested putting a Jabra ear gel on the earpiece. I had one from an old Jabra headset and the instructions worked flawlessly. The headset now fits snug on my ear. I will use it with the Mini 1000 for a bit so I can make Skype calls on it. I want to try that out vs my Mac the next time I work from home. I am curious about the call quality differences between the latest Mac version of Skype and the new 4.0 version for Windows.