Uh oh

All that angsty iPad stuff? Yeah, I bought one. And I love it. But, I still maintain not having flash is a giant pain. Grr.

"Rich web content."

A reporter commented about how Apple isn't giving consumers the right to decide whether or not they can view "rich web content" on the iPad with flash. But it's more than that.

My bank uses Flash. I've visited several sites in the past couple days that have flash splash pages. I don't agree with the idea of doing it, but some people still do. And there is no way to get past the splash pages without being able to click on the flash content. Contrary to what Apple would have you believe, Flash is NOT just used for advertisements and videos. Granted, it IS used for games that get re-made for the iPhone and therefore make Stevie Boy more money.

Our company relies on Flash for web conferencing and seminars. WIthout it, we would be sunk. Flash is widely used, legitimately, and needs to be supported by any true "web device." I wouldn't call a car a car if it didn't have an engine just because the engine uses up more fuel than not having an engine. It's ridiculous.

Steve Jobs is merely trying to throw his weight around and see just how far he can push his influence in the world. He clearly has a vendetta against Adobe and he's doing all in his power to cause them major grief. Let's face it, if people start dropping Flash to become "iPad compatible" it will really hurt Adobe. Frankly, that seems like something the FTC or whomever would jump all over as it's a horrible business practice.

If they insist on crippling our web device by removing a huge portion of the web, at least they could have the dignity to give us some choice. I use a program called ClickToFlash on my computers and I love it. No flash content is loaded unless I click on a placeholder where the Flash content would be. Simple. Brilliant. Oh, and it just works. I can have my cake and eat it, too. If Apple wants a piece of the netbook pie, they better get cooking before their iPad becomes another Flash in the pan.

Dear Apple,

Please… for the love of all that is holy and sacred stop calling the iPad "magical."

Sincerely,
Me

9? 10v? OSX? Windows 7?

Back on the Mini 9 after spending an hour or so typing away and using the 10v. I really do love both netbooks as an OSX platform. I have to say, though, that I'm still less than thrilled with the kernel panics.

I would like to only keep one (which will probably be replaced by the iPad at some point) but they both have their places. I didn't get the bluetooth on the 10v, for example, so I can't jive with that when I'm mobile. It's a shame. The bigger keyboard is luxurious.

What I am running into with *both*, however, is the things they are both missing: Windows. I prefer running OSX on them, but (apart from the KPs) some things dictate a Windows environment. Case in point: I just acquired a USB GPS dongle. Extremely cool and cheap. Love the idea of using one of these things as a mobile mapping solution when required, but there aren't any reasonable OSX solutions for that. While, on the other hand, I have Streets & Trips 2009 sitting here, unused that's just begging to be installed on a nice, clean Win7 setup. Which netbook gets bumped back to Win7, though?

That's the question that I'm struggling with. A tough life - I know. The other grumble that I have is that I don't want to relinquish my only copy of Win7 to netbook activation and then not be able to use it for a different computer on down the road. Stupid MS activation...

*BOOM*

Got my first kernel panic while running Chrome. The only thing I can find between the various ones is that it happens when I'm scrolling down with the arrow keys. Random? I think so! Heat problem, maybe? Who knows. I've never had a KP on the Mini 9 while using Chrome. The 10v definitely gets hotter than the 9 seems to. This may be part of the problem. I'll continue trying to figure things out.

10v EPIC FAIL!

Wow! I just discovered a *huge* design flaw in the Mini 10v. When an SD card is inserted, it doesn't insert to sit flush with the body. The card just kinda sticks out - about half way. No perma-drive going on here. You don't want a card in there unless you're copying stuff to/from it. Sad. That combined with the trackpad issues is really making me doubt the idea of the 10v sticking around for too long. More thoughts to come!

Hackintosh v1 and v2

So, I've been running OSX 10.6.2 on my Dell Mini 9 for some time now, Mr. Anderson. I like it quite a bit. It runs fast (surprisingly so) and works just peachy most of the time. I do have a good handful of kernel panics when running Safari, though, go figure. I've tried turning off extensions, hardware, voodoo... Nothing has gotten around that so far. The solution so far has been to switch to Google Chrome, which runs fairly well (not quite as fast as Safari, sadly) and hasn't had a panic on me once, yet. (Knock on wood.) As much as it's worked well, I am a little bummed about the keyboard on the Mini 9, however. It's not the key size that bothers me so much as it is that they put the apostrophe way down by the arrow keys. It's not something you ever really get used to.

So, when I got a coupon for 20% off a refurbished Dell Mini 10v (plus free shipping) I had to bite. Verdict? Not bad. The standard hard drive is slooooow compared to the 9's SSD. Installation took about twice the time (or more) than installing on the 9. Similar stories for boot times, etc. The keyboard is a dream! Everything is where it should be, which is lovely. Not to mention it's 92% the size of a normal keyboard. Not too shabby.

Safari still kernel panics. Weird. I've resigned myself to the fact that having a hackintosh means making sacrifices. Mine happens to be needing Chrome for a reliable experience when browsing.

But! (Ohhhh, the but!) The trackpad on the 10v is positively horrible. I mean just bad, bad, BAD. I'm wondering if it's a deal breaker. Tracking is sketchy, at best, clicking is a horrible pain, the edges are a ton more sensitive than the center... I don't know what they were thinking when they designed this thing. Bad move, Dell.

The jury is still out as to which netbook I'm going to keep. Awesome keyboard + HD space + horrible trackpad? Or, do I go with the bad keyboard + awesome trackpad + SUPER FAST SSD? It's almost sixes. Only a bit more playing will tell. I do still need to upgrade the RAM in the 10v, which would help the snappiness a bit. But that's a giant pain on this machine.

Oh, and the battery life. Much better on the 9, which isn't surprising given the SSD. Well, not *much* better. Maybe half an hour? Still, every little bit helps when you're in the ~3 hour range. I am very pleased with performance on both machines, though. It's phenomenal. Much more than I'd expect out of a netbook. I'm tempted to convert the 10v to a dual boot platform so I can have my cake and eat it, too. Perhaps I'd know more then about whether I want to keep it or the 9. Time will tell.

Grr iPad

I can't fathom how a company releasing a device they want to legitimately position as a web appliance can not have one of the most prolific web technologies not supported. It's just ludicrous. It's also generally a deal breaker. Whose dumb idea was this?

"The iPad is the best web-surfing experience..." -Some Apple High Up Muckity Muck

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Without Flash? So, basically I get the "best web-surfing experience" but I have to go to a laptop or *real* computer in order to view 50% of the websites I frequent properly. EPIC FLAIL!

I'm weak!

So... T-mobile has unlimited plans now for $80/month... Unfortunately, that didn't stop me from going back to AT&T and getting an iPhone 3gs. Yeah. T-Mob's data has just been too flaky lately, and every AT&T phone I've been able to get my hands on to test has been consistently faster (even on just EDGE) and has been MUCH more reliable and consistent. I'm definitely happy with my move. The cool thing is that if I decide to go back to Tmo before 90 days is up, they'll waive the activation fee and reverse the charges for the early termination fee. But... I don't really see that happening unless someone can show me that EDGE performance and reliability improves 10 fold. Unfortunately, I don't foresee that. :(

Who knew?

I always thought that Windows machines were more for... semi-power users. People who like to right click. I *love* to right click. But, I'm finding that I am appreciating OSX more and more for it's power user abilities. For example, I just used (for like the 10th time in two days) terminal to kill processes. A little kill -HUP is a good thing. Granted, I could do the same thing on a Windows machine, but I'm just starting to relish the command line experience of OSX. It's nice to have a good, solid GUI on top of a true *nix system.

Video Conversion?

Handbrake... is... AWESOME!

OH NOEZ!

My Macbook Pro OSX install haz Windows XP virus!! I'm so glad I stumbled into this website that tracked it down for me!!!!!!!!!!!!111

Stupid. I don't care that I get hit with tons of spam. What I do care about is that this site (which apparently thinks I'm running XP) maximizes Safari's window when I get redirected to it. I *hate* that and it's appalling that there is no option to prevent this browser hijack. That having been said, I apparently should find some virus removal software since I have a virus that makes my browser window look like an XP hard drive. Crazy.

SRSLY?!

Is this a joke? I've decided two things.

#1 - there are a lot fewer quality applications that are FREE for the Mac.

#2 - Some people are nigh unto delusional in their pricing structures. Case in point: Omnifocus. I've heard good things about this task manager (indeed, I think my brother uses it) but they want $80 for a single user license! EIGHTY DOLLARS! Oh, and if you want to get the partner iPhone app, you will spend another $20 for a grand total of $100.

Wow. I have purchased *much* more useful software for much less money. I will give you that I'm sure it's *very* useful software. There are reasons that it has a good following. But the idea that it will cost me $100 to organize my to-do list and bring it with me are pretty preposterous. I understand that there are less Mac users, so they probably want to get as much money out of it as possible. I know that "Things" one of their competitors doesn't have quite as solid a product. But it costs $40 less for the desktop and iPhone versions together. And frankly, even $60 seems a bit expensive for a fancy task management system.

This isn't a unique trend, though. Mac software just is more expensive overall. I just got Kara a copy of Sims 2 with two expansions (new) for the PC for $20. Sims 2 for the Mac is $30 and that doesn't include any expansions. Freaking greedy. I suppose that all those suckers (myself included) who are willing to spend the extra money on the hardware somehow are expected to automatically spend more on all our software as well. I will say that it makes not getting pirated software just that much harder. I run legit, but gee whiz. Throw me a bone, here.

MBP, still FTW

I freaking love my Macbook Pro 17. That is all.

...


Fine, that's not all. Since it's raining outside and making everything seem better, I'll wax poetic for a bit. Hmm. Or not. My MBP is turning out to be the best laptop I've owned. I'm sure it is already, who am I kidding? I have to also admit that my affection towards OSX is also growing. Strangely, I still harbor some ill feelings towards it, though.

Why? I don't know. Maybe it's not really OSX so much as it is that I still can't do some of the things that I want to do on my Macs. Like GAMES, GAMES, GAMES! Freak. Even if I *had* games that I really wanted to play that worked on Mac, neither of them have the horsepower needed to run really new stuff. Or even some not-so-new stuff. I wonder if Macs will ever be gaming platforms. Probably not. I think gaming is definitely moving toward consoles. Once they get keyboard/mouse controls on my XBOX 360 it'll negate the need to ever buy another gaming computer in the future. I digress...

So, my thoughts after a couple more months of use. Keyboard: good. Trackpad: awesome except in Windows. Grr. Screen: good, but I've noticed that when the screen is on but there is nothing showing (like a black desktop) there are two *very* distinct light trails coming from the bottom. If it weren't for the fact that I rarely have a black screen, this would really, really annoy me. I used to use black desktops exclusively for clutter-free's sake. Couldn't do it with this thing. I'd go mad. Which is kinda weird because I've never had a laptop that's that noticeable. Oh well.

Form factor is, of course, fantastic. Very light(ish) and very portable and pretty freaking sturdy thanks to the unibody construction. Everybody knows these things, I'm just saying what I'm thinking.

Ok, but honestly? It's getting a little ridiculous how much I'm falling for the Mac... WARES that I have kicking around these days. I like that most Mac developers are pretty decent UI and graphics designers, apparently. I *like* the Mac software that I've purchased. Imagine that. I am appalled at how much stuff I've gotten on my iPod Touch these days. It makes it so very tempting to return to the iPhone world, even though I like my Blackberry too much for that. Well, that and the fact that T-Mo still is the only provider to have UMA. Oh, and the virtual keyboard still isn't a match for my BB. But holy Hannah Montana, I do have a lot of apps that I use quite regularly that aren't just games. That definitely didn't happen on my last run through with my iPhone 1G. Still, it's tempting to make the port back. Especially with fantastic combos like 1Password that I would *love* to have with me all the time without having to carry my iPod Touch and Blackberry. I don't want to carry two devices, but ... well, there just isn't a replacement for two, yet.

Oh, and ATT still has the worst pricing planes *cough*gouge*cough*...

Sprint seems to have the most appealing plans right now... but... Ack. CDMA. *shudder* hehe

MBP, MOAR!

I like my Macbook Pro 17. A lot. The more I use it the more I enjoy it for it's power, screen, etc. And I do like OSX on it. But I really, really wish that Apple would put some time into their bootcamp drivers. It's inevitable that people are going to run Windows on their Macs - Apple can't fight that. You'd think they'd at least make it slightly less painful for their customers. Oh well.

[Haiku] Keyboard Demon!

Oh, ergonomics!
Disregarded for beauty...
Carpal tunnel now!

Hahahaiku

I've decided to do a couple mini-reviews by way of haiku.

My first one I call...

Mighty Mouse
------------------
Cannot right click you!
Left finger not high enough?
Give me tactile clicks!

The Mighty Mouse... Almost

I decided to get the Apple keyboard and a Mighty Mouse when I was using my MBP17 as a desktop. The keyboard becuase it's pretty small, and the mouse because a buddy of mine used his with work and liked it.

The keyboard is fine. Well, as good as you can hope for for a non-ergonomic keyboard. CTS, here I come... again. The mouse though. Hmm.

I've finally stopped using the Mighty Moose. For two resons.

1. The side "buttons" are just too stiff. I suppose that's intentionally, but I just didn't like squeezing the sides.

2. (This is the killer.) Right click is just waaaay too iffy. Sometimes I'd have to click 4-5 times before my left finger would be elevated enough from the surface of the mouse so as not to register a normal click. Plus, it seemed like my right finger placement was affecting it as well.

Fortunately, my trusty Logitech G5 works a treat. Well, once I installed SteerMouse to get the acceleration under control. And bind the extra buttons. Life is good, now.

Time Tracking FTW!

Previously I'd been using a program called Klok to handle my time tracking needs in Windows. It's based on Adobe Air, and works pretty well for the most part. It's graphical, easy, and can export to Excel with drag and drop ease - which I really liked.

I've been using Klok for my Mac, as well. But, I was growing increasingly fed up with not being able to sync between two different computers (or more) and wanted something that was web based. That, coupled with an EPIC FAIL on my last timesheet (Klok just managed to screw up everything, I don't even know what happened) and I decided to start looking around again.

I ended up deciding to try the Google Calendar method. It's simple, online, and it integrates with iCal. Pretty good. The only thing was that I had to manually count my hours spent across my various projects. Until I found...

TimeTable! TimeTable is awesome. It basically looks at your iCal and calculates the hours for you based on what's in there for a given timeframe. Like this week. Then you can export that data and send it happily on to whomever handles your timesheets. In a nutshell? It's awesome. I tried it for literally 2 minutes before heading to the developer's site and buying it.

For me, this is perfect. I can visually manage my hours in iCal, which syncs to my Google Calendar, which syncs to iCal on my laptop. Then, I can easily compile and send off my timesheets. Life is good.

What's This?

Well, it's like this. I recently decided that I needed a new 17" laptop as I was doing more and more work on my laptop and my 13" and netbooks both weren't really suited for heavy code work. So, I went on a shopping spree. After trying two Dell 17" offers and not being totally happy with either of them, I opted to get a Macbook Pro 17. Why? Well, I knew I could install Windows on it.

But something funny happened on the way to the forum. First, I fell in love with the trackpad gestures. Second, I realized OSX has come a loooong way. Third... (and this is what killed me) I found some coding software that I absolutely fell in love with. (Panic's Coda.)

So, long story short, I found that I was possibly more productive within OSX than I was within Windows. Longer story short? I now spend most of my time on my Mac mini and spend the rest of the time curled up with my MBP17 in front of the TV. Life is pretty sweet. Except now I'm using TWO macs and am still struggling to come to grips with some of the things I miss, some I love, some I hate. The transition from Windows has been interesting at best. I'm gonna post some of those experiences here.

You know, that is until I get tired of this. I give myself 2 weeks. haha