iMac

The New Mac Mini

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I ordered one of the new Mac Mini's the other day.  It should arrive on Wednesday.  It is taking so long since I wanted 4gig's of RAM so it was a special order.  I got the stock HDD and Processor since I don't think I needed more than what it came with.  Now I will agree I have a few computers so why would I want another one?  Good question.  No real good answer.  I don't "need" anything.  However with this new Mini I can use HDMI naitivly so my hopes for a media center machine are once again alive.  I don't know if this Mac will have the same HDMI issues as my other ones have with the adapters to HDMI, or if the native cable will "just work".  If this doesn't work I am sure it is my TV that is the problem.  Well I am already pretty sure it is my TV that is messed up but we will see Wednesday.

If the media center doesn't work out I mainly bought this new one because my 20" iMac is slowly going.  Not sure why since it is only 2 years old but I don't have Apple Care and the screen has lighter colored vertical bars here and there (in regular intervals) that make me think it is the back-lights.  That was an issue for a while but now I am not even able to put most DVD's into the drive.  It starts making really bad sounds and wont spit them out.  I know I use the iMac as a server mainly to host up my iTunes video library but I do want it to work.  If the DVD drive goes I may end up just moving it to my bedroom to use as a TV or streaming host for videos that I wanted to do a while back and use the new Mini to host my iTunes collection.  In the end the Mini will be used as some sort of media center.  If it plugs into my TV or an extra monitor on my desk is really all that is up in the air.

LCD Burn in and Why I am Not Happy With Apple Right Now

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I own a 24″ iMac since March. For me going to a desktop as my main computer was a big deal since for years I had a laptop as my main computer. In recent history that has been either an Apple Powerbook or Macbook. When I calculated the cost of a new 24″ or larger LCD and a new computer I made sense to just get an a desktop. With my current job I was using the company issued laptop anyway so I needed portability less. The new 24″ iMac was a logical choice. It wasn’t as expensive as going with a dedicated computer and a large monitor. It also packed enough power that I would be happy for the time being.

Before the summer started I started to notice issues with the display on my iMac. At first i thought it was me. Then over time it looked like there were horizontal lines on the display. I thought something was wrong with the display but didn’t want to deal with calling in for support and then being without my computer for a while so I did what any good procrastinator does I put the issue off a bit. By the middle of the summer the issue started to bother me more and more. Partly because I was noticing it, and partially because for the amount I paid for this computer it should be working normally. But my annoyance aside I noticed something else with the display. It wasn’t that I was just seeing lines on the screen. At some times I was seeing burn in of items that are no longer on the screen. If you don’t know what burn in is, it is when you leave something on the screen long enough that even when you move it there is still a remnants or ghost of the object on the screen. It was an issue way back when with old CRT monitors, and is a problem with Plasma TV’s today. Up until this computer I have never seen it with an LCD. I am someone who has managed hundreds of desktop installs (with flat panels of all types and sizes) for companies, and I have owned at least a half a dozen or more flat panels personally over the past 9 years so I hope I know what I am talking about.

Surprised by what I found I put a note down to call Apple and see what I can do to get this fixed. The computer is after all just 6 months old as of this writing. After some more procrastination I finally called Apple last weekend. After two or three troubleshooting attempts by the support guy on the phone it was determined that he can’t do anything for me and I should take the computer to an Apple Store so they can look at it. I wasn’t too happy about that since this thing is not something I can throw in my bag, but I scheduled an appointment with the Apple Store in Soho and took it in on Saturday.

After a few minutes of seeing what I was talking about the tech went away for a few minutes and came back to tell me that the issue is in fact burn in, but the warrantee does not cover that since it is preventable. I was a bit surprised by that so we discussed the issue for a bit and he offered to bring his supervisor out to discuss. For one I will give them points for that. Usually getting a manager or supervisor is a painful task. The lead came out (I have their names but I am leaving them redacted for now since this is an ongoing issue) and we talked about the issue. They both claimed that burn in does happen on LCD’s but is rarer than with Plasma. I told them that is great but I have used flat panels like the way I use my iMac for years and never had this problem. Now with my iMac I can have a window up on screen and only after a few hours does it burn in. I have left my LCD tv on pause for hours before without any issues. It is an LCD! I explained my previous work and personal experience with LCD’s and how I am very surprised by this. They insisted the issue was preventable with power management and screen savers. Now I use a screen saver (maybe i could turn the settings from 30 minutes to 5, but come on) and whenever I don’t use the computer I have the top left corner as an action to put the display to sleep so I don’t know how I can do more.

After hearing what they had to say I questioned them that basically my normal day to day use of this computer will cause burn in, since when I am working from home I will use it from 8-10 hours a day and during that time I have IM windows and a twitter feed up on screen all the time, yet according to their assessment that is enough time to burn in the display (and my usage has shown that to be true) and they claimed that to be the case, and their recommendation was for me to minimize windows I am not actively using. Now I thought that was a total cop out answer. Come on. I have personally done the same exact things on many other LCD displays with NO issues. Heck when I go into the office at work I the exact same thing with no issues. Why is it that this is such a major issue but only affecting my 24″ iMac. I have another iMac I use for a media center and I don’t have the same issue with that one. I am still baffled by their stance on this.

The two gentleman I spoke to offered to escalated the issue to their engineering team. I asked them if that was possible and they took my information and are in the processes of doing just that. I will give both people I dealt with credit. They were helpful, and friendly the entire time I spoke with them. After I articulated my issues with what they were saying they offered to escalate and so far are doing so. I just can’t believe that Apples stance is basically I am using the computer wrong.

I am writing this on Monday evening. As of yet I have not heard back from Apple on the escalation. I will follow up tomorrow. Since my visit to the Apple store Saturday I went online and did some research about LCD burn in. Apparently it is not totally uncommon but still seems like a rare thing. I tried something that Apple themselves suggested to counter act the issue and it worked a little but the problem is still there. I also worked from home today and noticed that for a while I could see a bit of burn in from a window I had open for maybe 3 hours that day. No one can tell me that 3 hours of something being on the screen is acceptable for burn in to happen. It just blows my mind that is what I am being told! I await an update from Apple, and will update this post or create a new one when I do!

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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.

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!

Why Am I Still Sick

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If you have been reading this blog you will have noticed that I have been complaining of being sick on and off since October. Well this is disturbing since I normally get sick with a cold once or twice a year and that is it. Well I have counted what can be 3 cold’s and the flue since October. Needless to say I am not happy.

This whole week I have been coughing allot and had a stuffy nose. It is weird, some colds you just feel like crap and don’t want to do anything. This one I just coughed like crazy and sounded like crap, but I was able to work. Thankfully I had off Thursday and Friday. I left a bit early from work Wednesday and started taking Tylenol PM. I have been in a haze ever since. I woke up this morning and wasn’t tired anymore but I could not concentrate at all. I ended up watching movies and lying in bed most of the day. I couldn’t do anything else if I wanted to.

Late this afternoon I felt a bit better and decided to rearrange my desk a bit. I took my Athlon XP desktop out of the closet and set it up on a corner of my desk. I totally cleared off my desk when I got my iMac but I decided that I had some use for my XP desktop to be out. So I shifted the iMac over and placed the monitor for the XP box in the corner. I have less desk space now and things look a little more cluttered, but it isn’t that bad. If I don’t use the computer I can always put it back in the closet with my server.

I am also giving the apple pro speakers that came with my mac a try. They don’t use a subwoofer and so at first I didn’t want to use them since my creative speakers have a subwoofer. The only thing the apple speakers have going for them is they don’t take up much space. They don’t actually sound so bad now that I have been listening to music on them for the past 2 hours.

The only problem I have now is that I think half of my computer table is not level. it is not visible when working on it, but I know that it is, so it is driving me crazy. I am to much of a perfectionist…

This entry was written while listening to Unwell from the album “More Than You Think You Are” by Matchbox 20

Tech Shake Up

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I am having problems with my iMac. it keeps crashing on me almost once a day. My Powerbook never did that on me. It started happening after I put in the Airport Extreme 802.11g WiFi card and my extra 512 megs of ram. At this point I honestly don’t know if either of them is causing this problem. I took out the Airport card. I don’t use it that much since the mac sits on a desk with a switch right on the floor. If it keeps crashing I will take out the ram. if it still is having problems I may just wipe the hard drive and configure it from scratch. I did just open up out of the box and started using it:)

I am still waiting for the Treo 600 to become available for T-Mobile. No end in sight for that. I called handspring to buy an unlocked version of the phone. They said they had unlocked Cingular branded (but it would work with T-Mobile). the only problem was that it is backordered for 2-4 weeks. No one else has them in stock either. I can get an AT&T version, but it is locked. Been there, and done that. I can also get a sprint one from anywhere, but I want a GSM version. T-Mobile has been good to me for most of the time since September 2000. I don’t count that period of 4 months after 9/11/2001 but we did have issues with service in NYC. Handspring wanted $700 for me to wait 2-4 weeks. I decided to wait a bit longer. I don’t want to order the phone and then be able to order my T-Mobile version for $399, and not be able to because I already had an order in. If/when they can ship my order same day or next day I may get it. I am not happy!!!

This entry was written while listening to Wherever You Will Go by The Calling