October 2008 Archives (18 posts)
Presto Chango! Windows 7 or Mac OS X?
Windows 7 development could be code-named The Clone Wars because of its striking similarity to OS X and the iPhone OS.
A video on BBC’s website takes a closer look at Windows 7 and its adoption of the iPhone’s multi-touch user interface. In the video, technology analyst Rob Enderle tries to demonstrate ‘pinching’ to resize a window. He mutters “presto chango” and pinches an image 6 times before it resizes properly! It looks like Microsoft has a little bit of work to do before this thing gets released.
Yesterday ars technica took a look at Windows 7’s user interface. The rounded windows with drop shadows and now the new task bar are all very Mac-like. The taskbar is actually identical to an older version of the Mac OS X dock.
Most of the technology headlines yesterday focused on the fact that Windows 7 Will Be Less Annoying Than Vista. I think a lot of Windows user will just be happy if it works properly. I have a few clients that can’t stand Vista and have switched back to Windows XP, primarily for stability and compatibility with older apps.
Stay tuned. The other Steve wants Windows 7 shipping by next year even though Microsoft said it likely won’t get released until 2010.
Posted in OS X Software at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)
Wassup 2008
Remember the Wassup Budweiser commercial from 8 years ago? The boys are back. True.
Change.
Posted in Humour at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)
Classics
Classics looks like a really slick e-book reader for iPod Touch and iPhone. The demo on the Classics website shows animated pages turning with page flipping sound on an iPhone screen. The text is nicely formatted, you can bookmark pages and skip ahead to different chapters.
Several classic novels will be available when the app launches — Paradise Lost, Gulliver’s Travels, Hound of the Baskervilles, Call of the Wild and more. The catch is that these books need to be formatted for the Classics app. Still, there is a good selection of novels that I assume are in the public domain.
If the developers of Classics figure out an easy way to format books for this app then they have a homerun on their hands. For now it looks like another showcase app to impress your friends with.
Posted in OS X Software at 8:17 PM | Comments (0)
Amazon.ca is Slipping
Amazon.ca has been slipping in terms of service and product selection for over the last year. If you live in Canada then you have to deal with Amazon.ca which is not the same company as Amazon.com.
The product selection is inferior, the prices are higher and the inventory is a downright joke at times. Quite often Amazon.com will have mulitple copies of a book in stock and Amazon.ca will have nothing.
I ordered 2 books and a DVD in December 2007. One of the books and the DVD were in stock and shipped immediately. The other book wasn’t in stock and the estimated ship time was 8 weeks. I cancelled that part of the order or so I thought.
This morning I received a copy of Working The Light: A Landscape Photography Master Class. Now how is that for service?
It took Amazon.ca 10 months to get a book in stock and send me an order that I already cancelled! I ordered the book from chapters.indigo.ca at least 8 months ago. Something is seriously wrong with Amazon.ca.
As a result I now do most of my online book/DVD shopping at chapters.indigo.ca. Their site was weak when they started but now they are on par with Amazon.ca if not better. Their inventory surpasses Amazon.ca which is the main reason I use them now.
This summer I was looking for 4 books. Amazon.ca had 1 of them in stock. chapters.indigo.ca had all of the books in stock and that is where I purchased them.
Posted in Books at 11:13 AM | Comments (9)
The Wire — Season One
I’m watching season one of The Wire. Why? Several blogs (kottke.org, 43 Folders) that I read have raved about The Wire being the best television series ever made.
Merlin Mann on The Wire:
I’m one of the many people who consider The Wire to be the best series that’s ever appeared on television; my wife and I have watched the first (and, in my opinion, best) four seasons at least three times.
I’m on episode 7 of season one and it’s starting to get good. The show requires a lot of patience and if you don’t pay attention, you’ll lose your way pretty quickly. One of the best television shows ever? I’m not completely sold. Yet.
Posted in Television at 10:19 PM | Comments (1)
Handshake for iPhone and iPod Touch
Handshake is a free app that lets you to send your contact information to another Handshake user in your vicinity. The idea is similar to ‘beaming’ contact information between Palm Pilot users.
Posted in OS X Software at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)
The biggest flop of the 21st century
The iPhone platform has been around for just 18 months. In the last 4 months, for the first time ever:
- Apple sold more iPhones than RIM sold BlackBerrys
- The iPhone generated more revenue than the iPod or Macintosh
The iPhone is a huge success which is why these quotes are amusing.
There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item.— Steve Ballmer
I wonder when Microsoft is going to release a Zune with a built-in phone to overtake the iPod?
These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months.— John C. Dvorak
No wonder cranky John says, “iPhone and gPhone be damned! I’m sick of reading about new phones” in his latest PC Magazine column.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If the iPod is the biggest success of the 21st century then iPhone is likely to be the biggest flop of the 21st century.— Laura Ries
I wonder how many people would hire self-proclaimed “marketing guru” Laura Ries? I find it odd that her company doesn’t list any actual clients on their website.
Posted in Apple at 5:33 PM | Comments (0)
Simple DVD Ripper for Macs
RipIt calls describes itself as “The Simple DVD Ripper for Macs”. If you need to copy your DVDs to your Mac then Ripit may be the easiest way to do that, just not the cheapest ($18.99).
I’ll continue to use Mac the Ripper but if you want something dead simple then RipIt is your best bet.
Posted in OS X Software at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)
Subaru Seizure
Back in February my wife and I spent $4,000 in repairs to her Subaru Legacy. Then in March, we spent another $1,300.00 in repairs.
On Monday morning the engine in our piece of crap Subaru seized. A new engine will cost $2,000. At this point I’m ready to start using public transit. With the money we wasted on the vehicle we could have purchased a TTC Metro Pass for over 3 years!
Seriously though, we’re looking at dumping the car and leasing a new Toyota Matrix for $200/month. Somehow we got stuck with a lemon. I’ll never purchase or recommend a Subaru vehicle again.
Posted in Personal at 8:31 PM | Comments (2)
Slow Down
On Saturday night I was driving home in my Mustang when I lost it. The guy driving the vehicle in front of me appeared to be drunk. He was driving about 5 km/h and weaving back and forth.
As I got closer I realized he wasn’t drunk, he was just talking on his cellphone. I roared around him in first gear and kept going. In no time I was doing about 110 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. I didn’t bother to slow down until I was near my house a minute later. That’s when I noticed a police car following me at a high speed. Uh oh.
The policeman got out of his car and asked me why I was in such a hurry. I told him that I was heading home to watch the start of the Leaf game and I wanted to hear the new Hockey Night in Canada theme song. He asked for my license and registration.
He didn’t get a radar gun on me but estimated that I was doing about 110 km/h. It took him 2 km to catch up with me. I thought to myself, I’m in big trouble here.
The policeman said he was sitting in a parking lot when he heard me squealing around the corner. He said that my exhaust system gave me away. The new Flowmasters on my car sound great but they are anything but subtle.
With the new street racing laws we have in Ontario the policeman said he could take my car away. Immediately. Howerver, he was in a good mood and said he would only give me a ticket for failing to produce a valid insurance certificate — the one I gave to him expired a few days before (the new insurance was sitting in a pile of unopened mail on my desk). Duoh!
The policeman wrote me a ticket then started telling me about his sister’s Mustang and how much fun it was to drive. Before he left he told me to take it easy and slow down. I apologized and was on my way. For the last few days I’ve been driving slightly under the speed limit.
Posted in Personal at 8:00 PM | Comments (2)
The 25 Best News Photographs From Vanity Fair’s
Vanity Fair has put together an interesting list of the 25 best news photographs. I can’t get this image out of my head.
Posted in Photography at 5:50 PM | Comments (1)
Have you ever seen a cheap Mac?
A couple of weeks ago PC Magazine published an interview with Steve Ballmer and he had plenty of things to say about Apple including this:
I’m not saying that there are not some things that people like about Macs, apparently there are. But have you ever seen a cheap Mac? No.
Check Apple.com on Tuesday October 14, 2008 for a cheap Mac.
Posted in Apple at 9:28 PM | Comments (0)
XDR-TB
XDR-TB (extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis) is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. XDRTB.org tells the story of XDR-TB through Nachtwey’s powerful photographs. Visit the site. Watch the video and find out more.
XDRTB.org also has the full video of Nachtwey’s TED Prize wish — powerful and inspiring stuff from a great photographer and humanitarian. If you don’t understand who James Nachtwey is and why I’m going on about him just watch the video. Better yet, find a copy of War Photographer (2001) and watch that.
Posted in Photography at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)
How to get out of jury duty
On Monday morning at 8:30 AM I was at the Court House in Toronto, waiting to perform my civic duty as a potential juror. By 11:30 AM I was released from jury duty and felt like a bird let out of a cage.
How do you get out of jury duty in the city of Toronto? One way is to be self-employed. I was ‘one of those people’ that dared to stand up and asked to be released.
My reasons were simple:
- I’m self-employed and don’t get paid for being there. Some companies pay their staff when they are on jury duty. My company isn’t one of them.
- I’m in the middle of several projects for various clients, all of which have tight deadlines. My inability to meet these deadlines would hurt my client’s business and jeopardize my relationship with them.
- Unhappy clients lead to drinking beer, financial hardship and unemployment cheques.
The court asked me to have one of my clients fax them a letter and explain how my participation in jury duty would hurt their business. By 11:35 AM I was sitting in a client’s office explaining why I need a letter faxed to the Ministry of the Attorney General ASAP.
Posted in Observations at 9:37 PM | Comments (4)
More Retro Ads
Where would we be without Gillette and their safety razor?
My favourite from this bunch of ads is the one for ‘prompt control of senile agitation’. I think I’ll send my father a bottle of Thorazine. That should calm the old man down for a little while.
The Tipalet cigar ad is amusing in a ‘Mad Men’ sort of way. Had I know that I could “hit her with tangy Tipalet cherry” cigar smoke and have her follow me anywhere I would have started smoking Tipalet when I was a youngster. Too bad they didn’t advertise in the comic books back then.
Posted in Design at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
Pocketpedia
I’m loving my new iPhone 3G and have just started looking at some of the apps that are available. Pocketpedia by Bruji is one of the most useful apps that I’ve come across.
I use DVDpedia (also by Bruji) to keep track of my DVD purchases. With Pocketpedia, I can export my entire DVD collection with DVD artwork and have it on my iPhone. There have been a number of times when I’ve seen a DVD on sale and I can’t remember if I already own it. Now I can refer to Pocketpedia and get all the details of my DVD collection.
The best thing about Pocketpedia is that it is completely free.
Posted in OS X Software at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
Vintage Advertising
WellMedicated has 50 Inspiring Vintage Advertisements. Great list. I love the Volkswagen ads.
Posted in Design at 10:16 PM | Comments (1)
Blu-ray Godfather
I wouldn’t rank the Godfather movies as my favourites but I know a few people that absolutely love them. All three movies have been completely restored for a Blu-ray DVD release and they might be worth another look.
Slate magazine has a great piece on Rediscovering Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy on Blu-ray that goes into some detail about the restoration process and why this version of the films will be the best anyone has seen in 30 years.
If you were too young to see the original theatrical release of The Godfather in 1972 then you might be in luck. If you live in New York, LA or Toronto you’ll be able to see the newly restored version this month.
Posted in Technology at 9:43 PM | Comments (1)
