It’s been hot here. Unusually hot. This last week has been in the mid to high 90’s which seems about 10 degrees more than usual. This poses a problem for me. Last fall I removed the swamp cooler due to the duct work rusting out and making a mess and I haven’t yet resolved it. I realize it’s June and I should be prepared for the heat already, but I wasn’t expecting this much heat at once.

The Lowes and Home Depot don’t carry duct work larger than 8”. Luckily I was able to find a local hardware store called Samons that carries pre-made duct work. Not being ready to permanently install the duct work... let me just say that if your a fan of duck tape, you will be a fan of my work.

I have a managed to duct tape the whole mess together and sit it on the cement hole. If there’s a strong wind it will probably blow the duct work away, If it rains It will probably fill the hole with water. For now I’m cool.

There’s a number of problems with the plastic connectors for which I don’t recommend them. If you leave them outdoors all year round they get brittle and they don’t take a lot of abuse like when your dragging your hose across the cement. Instead I recommend the brass connectors such as the ones made by Camco.

Another issue with these things is they tend to get dirt in them and expand and contract with the weather. Sometimes you have to bang on them to get them to move again, try doing that with a plastic part.

A few weeks ago I was watching my Sony 60 inch rear projection TV (model KDF-E60A20) when the screen turned blank and the normally green power-on indicator started blinking red. I thought, this has to be a bad thing. My first assumption was the bulb died.

The bulb did not die, there is a whole other indicator light for a dead bulb. What was actually happening is the power-on indicator light was blinking 6 times. Some googling on this subject indicated that the thermal fuse had blown and it needed to be replaced.

Sony apparently has a service bulletin (E29102171) that covers the replacement. In order to access this information you have to be some sort of authorized service personnel. I did find a website where you could obtain the service bulletin but they wanted $12 to join the site first. Let me go on for a moment and say why I think this is a total scam. It seems the damaged thermal fuse situation is a design flaw and Sony’s replacement part is totally different from the original. This website is profiting off the situation by providing information was created by Sony. I won’t link to the site here, but if you search google for this issue you will surely find the site in question.

This is something that Sony should be fixing for free. I’m reading people are paying around $400 to get this issue repaired. I repaired mine for $17.91. The part itself was only $4.80. I ordered part 191002393 from Sony’s service site. Here’s how I replaced mine.

First, the thermal fuse is simply a small electronics part on the end of two wires that connects to the harness in the TV. The wire comes wrapped up in a small package about the size of two dimes. Shipping costs $11.95 to ship it in a giant box full of bubble wrap. Thanks Sony for wasting resources getting this to me.

The thermal fuse is located under the lamp housing in my TV. It’s a dime sized device mounted to the bottom of the TV with two wires coming out of it. It took me a while to figure out that this monstrosity is the thermal fuse considering how tiny the replacement is.

In order to get to the wiring harness I had to remove the rear panel of the TV. There’s about 10 screws that hold that on. Then I removed the fan housing to gain access to the original thermal fuse. I followed the wires back up to where they connected to the wiring harness. I unplugged the original fuse and plugged in the new one and ran the wires to where the original fuse is.

I did not remove the original fuse. It’s somewhat difficult to get to and doesn’t hurt to keep it on. I wrapped the new fuse wiring around the old one. There may be a actual place to mount the new fuse but i didn not see the service bulliten so I cannot say for sure. Now my TV works.

Warning: This is meant to give a basic guide on how the thermal fuse is replaced. It doesn't cover everything thing and could vary on other TVs. If you decide to replace your own thermal fuse based on this information you do so at your OWN RISK.

He will need a 1000 preorders to make the first production order and I suspect a jailbroken phone.

Since the bluetooth on iPhone is reserved for only wireless headset they actually used WiFi to transmit data between the GPS receiver and iPhone. To make this possible the GPS receiver integrates a processor, Wi-Fi antenna, and even a microSD card slot to store the maps. The navigation software itself will also be accesssed via the WiFi GPS receiver using a web interface. The navigation software used and customized for LocoGPS is iGO 8.

Impressive young Skywalker, Hopefully they will ditch the web interface now that the SDK is available. Hopefully Apple opens up the bluetooth interface so this sort of overdone interface isn't needed.

It's on my list. These are the same guys who make the automatic paper towel dispenser I blogged about awhile back.

The main control unit allows you to select the temperature, flow rate and to program the three personalised user buttons. These buttons illuminate when selected directly or via the remote control. Two backlit LCD panels display the water temperature and flow level and are controlled by the temperature and flow dials. The flow control dial can also be used to start the shower. To prevent children from turning the water above 38ºC, the SafeStop (temperature override) button must be pressed before the raising the temperature above this level - so there's no risk of accidental scalding.
For convenience, the Pause button allows you to temporarily stop the water mid-shower - great if you want to wash your hair. When you're ready to re-start you shower, press the button again and it will return to the exact same setting. Finally, the Stop button is used to turn the shower off. This button can also be used to turn the shower on at the safe temperature of 38ºC - perfect for when you have guests staying.

Pretty nifty. I can't seem to find US pricing or availablity for this product. Anyone familiar with this product or similar devices?

A lot of information on the intertubes on the energy bill passed by congress, like engaget, has incandescent bulbs banned by the year 2012. In fact congress did not specifically ban incandescent in favor of florescent technology or any technology. Trying to find a news source which actually reported the specifics was difficult, a article on thedailygreen.com has more information.

Under the measure, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today's products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient.

They also say that florescent bulbs meet the 70% standard. What happens to bulbs higher than 100 watts? Scientific American had this to say

About two dozen categories of light bulbs are exempt from the U.S. law's efficiency requirements, including oven and refrigerator bulbs, candelabra lamps, plant lights, replacement traffic signal bulbs and the summer necessity -- the yellow bulb that doesn't attract insects.

Althought they will have a tough time meeting the 70% standard in 2020, incandescent are far from dead. I'm all for more efficient bulbs, but I am not a fan of the current compact florescent technology. I spent a small fortune on dimmable CFL bulbs only to be left with a pile of dead CFLs of which most lasted less than a year. I am not impressed with their dimming ability either (all of my switches are dimmable as part of my home automation system).

Whatever happens, incancesdents will get more efficient and CFLs and LEDs will get better/cheaper, and I will be happy to replace them with whatever works best. It may not matter anyways, 2012 is the end of the world.

My Palm TX and my iPod Photo are dead to me. literally. I think the batteries in both of them no longer hold a charge.

It started with my Palm TX about a month ago. One minute it would work and the next it wouldn't despite the battery showing a full charge before. Charging via USB wasn't helping it, I hooked it up to the wall wart charger which allowed it to operate for a few minutes.

My iPod Photo only lasts about 30 minutes on a charge. The battery indicator will indicate that it's mostly fully before it dies. Last year it would go a whole 8 hours.

I'm a person who lives off his PDA. Being without it for the last month has left me lost and naked. I'm not adjusting to life without it very well. I never listened to the radio with thanks to my iPod. Now I'm having to adjust to life without either. 16GB iPhone: where are you?

CompUSA is going out of business. I'm not sure what it is, too much competition, high prices, they can't figure out what it is they sell? Back in the day (early 1990's), they were one of the few places one could find Apple computers and accessories. My second Mac, a Centris 610, was purchased from a CompUSA in Arizona. I recall writing on a AMUG BBS about this computer's 20MHz 68LC040 being "blazing fast".

The actual purchase of the computer was not so blazing fast. I went to the salesman and said I want to buy that computer. The salesman goes to his little WYSE dumb terminal type machine and comes back with paperwork for me to fill out. I fill out the rather long form then wait like an hour to actually get the computer brought to me. Then i take it up front to pay for it.

Once in New Mexico, CompUSA was the only computer store to sell Apple products. Despite it being on the other side of town, sometimes taking a hour to get there, I used to visit frequently. I actually bought Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" there when it came out since there was no Apple store in town at the time. It's probably been a good year since I've been there, prices are too high and their selection was poor.

The Kindle can do more than read books, it uses Sprint's EVDO data network to connect tot he internet. There is no subscription sign up or fees required to access this network. Think this sounds like a good deal? Think again, Amazon is going to nickel and dime you to death on content. After you paid $399.00 for the device, you will pay for every book through Amazon. Best Sellers run about $10 each, public domain books costs $1.99. You can subscribe to RSS feeds, but you will pay $1.00 a month for each feed. These are the same feeds that are available on your computer for free. You can also get newspapers, but again you will pay. There doesn't seem to be anyway to get content onto the Kindle for free, you will pay Amazon for everything.

I don't have a problem with Amazon charging for content, or even all the content, but only if the hardware is free or cheap.

I didn't even write about the hardware, the screen or it's very 1990's look. I will leave it to people who have one to talk about those things. Most of the reviews I've read have been in the "meh" or negative category with a small number that really like it. I've been using Palm devices for reading books and RSS feeds. I expect my future iPhone to have this same capability. This one isn't for me and I doubt any device which is designed around business model instead of the users will ever be.

[Update 12/02/07 12:41 PM] I should note, I also don't like the Sony PRS-500 e-book reader. It has it's own list of issues, some of them similar to the Kindle. At least it's not as ugly.

Just because something is technically feasible doesn't mean that it's a good idea. A seekingalpha.com article gives 10 reason, none of which are very good, that Apple should buy AMD. Let me give you my top 4 list of reason Apple shouldn't and won't buy AMD.

1. Intel kisses Apple's ass
2. Intel gives Apple pretty sweet deals
3. Intel current has better technology than AMD
4. Apple didn't have to buy Intel to get the first three items

It might have been a good idea for Apple to buy AMD when they were switching from PowerPC, but now it's just silly.

Disclaimer: I work for Intel. These are just my opinions, I have no inside knowledge.

Smarthome has a public beta of new Insteon SwtichLinc like dimmer that does not need a neutral. Some houses do not have neutrals in every switch location which means they cannot use current SwitchLincs

How it Works
The INSTEON 2-wire Dimmer Kit comes with two main pieces: a companion switch that installs in the switch box and a fixture dimmer that installs in your light fixture. With these two devices you'll now be able to convert one of your two wires in your switch box to a neutral, enabling reliable control of your light. The companion switch and fixture dimmer are "paired" at the factory so both devices will act as one. This means that once they're installed, you won't have to go back into the fixture, either for control OR for linking to other INSTEON-compatible devices. Simply put, the companion switch's SET button acts as a remote SET button for the fixture dimmer, giving you added convenience and flexibility.

Sounds a lot like the switches that are wired up to ceiling fans to allow separate fan and light controls from a single switch

Check out the discussion on the Smarthome forums

I wonder if this is going to be housed in what used to be Fab7

A California company will build a supercomputer here that will be housed at Intel Corp. in Rio Rancho. SGI of California has been awarded an $11 million state contract to build the computer. Businesses, governments and schools will be able to use the facility, to be called the New Mexico Computing Applications Center, to model complex problems, according to Gov. Bill Richardson's office. These range from creating new products to modeling scenarios for New Mexico's future water supply.

From Popular Science Magazine:

Think of the Gastrovac as a crock pot, vacuum pump and heating plate in one. Suspend your food—pear slices, for example—in a basket above a flavorful liquid, such as wine broth. Seal the machine, and hit a button to turn the cooking chamber into a vacuum. The low-pressure environment pulls all the air out of the food, compressing it like a squished sponge. Near the end of their cooking, drop the pears into the broth and restore the pressure. The liquid rushes into the cells, infusing the fruit with an intense wine flavor. And no oxygen means no oxidation—so instead of turning brown, fruit comes out as brightly colored as it was when first sliced.

Smarthome is having a sale on Insteon Devices. The sale is 24 October through 26 October.

10% off over 70 Smarthome-brand INSTEON Products

I'm still hoping for a bigger sale before the holidays

The metal duct work is mostly rusted away. I would expect that the ducting would be incased in concrete, which it appears there was an attempt to do so. Except only 50% of the ducting had concrete surrounding it, the rest was up against dirt. Damp dirt, which led to the rusting and the mud which penetrated the ducting.

I pulled up the majority of rusted mess out. I allowed the pit to dry out then vacuumed up as much of the dirt with a shop vac as I could. I also found a layer of dirt in the 18 inch duct that leads to the main distribution center under the forced air heater. Thankfully that where the dirt stops.

If your interested in following the progress, you can view pictures at a flickr set.

I have read about many people on the Smarthome and CocoonTech message boards have a lot of their Insteon devices failing. Some people have had a high failure failure rate. I've been following these discussion closely because I have yet to have any failures. Until a few months ago.

My first device to fail was a Switchlink V2 that was controlling the bathroom light. The device simply failed to turn on the lights nor would the LED bar light up. If I pressed the reset button and held it down, it would light one of the LEDs. According the the Smarthome message boards, this is a common failure mode.

Despite the inconvience of having to replace the switch (in a room that has no natural light), I have to admit that Smarthome has been very generous with replacments since these switches are probably out of warranty. On the other hand, these are all early first generation type switches, which are showing design issues. So they should be replacing them.

The other switch that has died is a LampLinc V2, it simply doesn't operate nor does the set button have any effect. I expect that Smarthome will replace it without question.

This week Leo Laport posted a review of the phone. Of course, he compares it to the iPhone describing the Curve as not nearly as easy to set up or pretty to look at but has more functionality than the iPhone.

It meets some of my requirements to combine my phone and PDA into one, and has the killer wifi VoIP feature but it's missing things that I use with my current phone. Sailing Clicker doesn't yet support Blackberry devices, instead the developers are "holding out for RIM to add JSR82-support (Bluetooth) to Java in their devices". Whatever that means, I doubt it will happen anytime soon. I not sure how well cross syncing between Outlook on a PC and a Mac will work. Finally, can you use make voice calls over wifi systems that require browser authentication?

Amazon only has two reviews, both positive so far. This indicates that it's a very new phone. As tempting as this phone was to run out and buy right away, I think I will hold off and see what happens in the next month.

I whined and bitched about my dam crappy MacBook Pro and how it wouldn't operate on battery. I always had to keep it plugged in. Multiple calls and visits to Apple resulted in them saying my out of warrantee laptop would need a expensive motherboard replacement.

I installed Battery Update 1.3, rebooted and unplugged my power connector. I expected an immediate power off, that's what usually happens. Nope, the computer stayed powered on.

I only left unplugged for a minute but it never ran on battery that long before. A longer term test will be next.

Update 10/07/07 12:09PM: I've been using it on and off battery power for several days and it's been working just like a laptop should. I noticed it wont charge to 100% a few times. I've reset the SMC to see if that will help. I'm happy but perplexed. Perplexed that it was fixed in this manner.

Steve Jobs pretty much said that a 3G iPhone will come eventually. That shouldn't be a surprise. TheStreet is the one saying that it will be in the first quarter of 2008. I'm 100% sure it will be here in the next 5 years, within the next 9 months is a little less certain.

Navigadget says that Apple will add GPS hardware in the first quarter of 2008

The reason behind this rumor is the fact that Apple has been in touch with Broadcom’s Global Locate unit to supply chips for the phone. Global Locate, which was recently acquired by Broadcom, makes assisted GPS chips that use a combination of GPS satellites and cellular network signals to get a location fix. A-GPS will improve what’s a called TTFF, even making it possible to get acquire correct position indoors

I'm not holding me breath for either. What I am still waiting for is a minimum 16 GB of memory. I will keep my money until then.

Apple had some interesting announcements for the ipod and iPhone today. I know a lot of people who bought 8GB iPhones are pissed at the price drop. I don't have any sympathy for you. I bought the iPod Photo for $599, only to have the iPod Video released a few months later $200 cheaper.

8GB wasn't enough memory for me, so I didn't buy. I'm patiently waiting for a iPhone with more memory. I'm surprised that there is a iPod touch with 16GB, but the iPhone is only available with 8GB. Could a iPhone 16GB be too far away?

I said the Palm Foleo was the death nail for Palm. Apparently Palm management thought so too. They are canceling it. Strait from the CEO himself.

To that end, and after careful deliberation, I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all of our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market.

Wow. What the helll is going on at Palm?

Smarthome is having a 25% off sale on a few Insteon items. Mostly Icon's and paddle replacements.

I think iLife'08 was suppose to come out earlier, but since Leopard was delayed, they had to fix it to work on Tiger.

A massive update to the iPhone is coming. The iPhone update will have 3rd party application support, better syncing, a notes application, etc. They will all require technologies in Leopard that Apple doesn't want to give away.

The AppleTV will also have some major updates. Once such update could be Safari and the ability to browse the web on your TV (good by WebTV). One such feature will eliminate the need for a keyboard since you will manage and sync bookmarks from Safari on your computer. It also illustrates the need to have Safari on Windows

Apple is scrambling trying to get band-aid fixes in place so people don't loose interest for the next few months. What do you think, am I way of base?

Even T-Mobile's coverage map shows less than optimal coverage at my house.

Boo Who. No iPhone for me till this is better. At least I have Transformers to look forward to.

Apple sure likes taking things to the last possible second. The iPhone will be out by the end of June. The second to the last day of June: Friday, June 29th. Check out the new iPhone commercials at Apple's site. Pretty amazing demos.

Apple iPhone Commercials

This doesn't sound good if I want to get my MacBook Pro repaired, which has similar issues. I might as well hold off and buy a new one

Last week a MacBook Pro 15”, 13 months old, came in for repair because the battery would not charge, and the machine had stopped responding to the power button. This machine had been “heavily” used, and did not have AppleCare. In this case, the machine required at the very least a replacement logic board, a part that costs over $1000. Generally, out of warranty machines can be sent in to Apple for flat-fee repairs. This program requires a machine to show no signs of accidental damage—no significant dents, scratches, bowing, or liquid spills—but this machine had lots of dents, plenty of bowing, a separating top case, and damage to the screen.

Apple will still repair damaged computers as mail-in repairs. They have a tier system for the extent of damage, and this one was a Tier 4, the most costly. The MacBook Pro was sent in, and had most every component—inside and out—replaced as part of the Tier 4 dispatch.

When I heard the rumors that Palm was going to release some magical, wonderful, world-changing device I was excited. I've owned several models of Palms and I carry my Palm TX with me everywhere. In fact, I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my Palm TX to switch to a iPhone. I was really hoping Palm was going to have a new kind of PDA.

Then I see this Foleo thing and wonder: WTF? From what I can tell, it's a sub-laptop that's designed to sync with your Treo. This has been in development for a few years?

It is not meant as a Laptop replacement, but more of a large screen, full keyboard companion to your smartphone's capabilities and email functionality. While initially the product is not meant as a Laptop replacement, as time goes on and more developers create unique solutions Hawkins sees its utility as a laptop like device expanding.

I obviously don't get it. I don't know who is going to buy it. Everyone has a laptop. People, my mom has a laptop. Your suppose to carry your laptop around and this thing just to read your email? Oh, and carry your phone.

I thought the writing was on the wall for Palm, but if they have been putting their R&D into this instead of improving the Treo, then I would say this is the beginning of the end.

All of the Apple laptops I've purchased have had one problem or another. My Pismo Powerbook G3 shuts off if it's jostled too much. My iBook G3 caught on fire when the power cable running through the hinge shorted out. My Powerbook G4 has this weird graphical glitch. It's hard to blame Apple though, all three of these computers served me well, took my tourture and are all still in use with 10.4 (the iBook was in use up till a few months ago). Except my MacBook Pro which is broken again.

I just had to have the first Mac with a Intel chip in it. Three months after buying it had to be sent back into Apple where they replaced the motherboard, fan assembly and battery. A year later it's out of warrantee and I'm having battery problems again.

It started when the battery would be down to about 50% charged, and the computer would shut down. Slowly that number would get higher. Today it will shutdown when the battery is charged 99%. I took it to a Apple store and they thought it was a internal wiring problem. I wasn't convinced after all reported battery problems Apple has had. I bought a new battery but the computer reacts the same way. So it's not the battery.

It's probably a motherboard. It's out of warrantee so Apple won't repair it for free, in fact they tell me it will be quite expensive. Not to mention that I've already had to replace a hard drive that died. The cheapest non Apple repair I can find is $695. I think I'd rather hold onto the money so I can buy a iphone.

I installed a ceiling fan in the living room today. It's the simplest, most basic ceiling fan I could find, an 60" industrial ceiling fan from Home Depot.

To eliminate the hum from the fan controller I could implement a work around by Ed Cheung. It's a passthrough device that properly switches the speed without humming or damaging the fan. The cost of this device is about $50. A Switchlinc is about $45. Together I'm getting close to the price of the CCWHISPLC, but at least it would still not be X10. I'm still pondering this option.

The last problem with this fan is it hangs a bit low. My ceilings are 8 foot high and this one hangs about a foot down. I think I can cut down the 6" rod about 4 inches which should help.

I really dig this Ball Ceiling fan buy the Modern Fan Company. I think this will be the fan I will put in my master bedroom. Lighting By Gregory has them not too badly priced at $260.

They also have a ceiling hugger version, but it hangs at 13 inches, where the smallest down rod on the normal fan lets the fan hang at 11 inches. There are light kits available for $60 more and come in white or brushed aluminum.

I've been looking for a way to organize all the receipts I get, espcially the ones from Home Depot and Lowes. There's a few programs out there for the Mac but they require you scan them in with another program. They seemed more work than they are worth.

Neat Receipts attempts to solve this problem. They have a program for managing recipts that works directly with a scanner.

Just scan your receipts into the NeatReceipts software. The program will automatically crop, rotate and resize the receipt image, then apply patented Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and character analysis technology to read and understand the text on the receipt.

The killer feature here is that it uses OCR to extract the information from the recipt, eliminating the need to manually enter the information. It also has some sort of IRS certification so that you can keep the scanned doucments for tax purposes, so you can throw out the paper version.

Currently, Neat Receipts on works on Windows XP (a Vista beta is available). They are working on a Mac version for release in 2008, in which I've signed up to be notified. The Neat Receipts scanner and softare are $229.

Way to go Apple, the second time around they are shipping my order on time. 1:01am Apple Time.

Hello Gregory Smith, We wanted to let you know that your order has shipped. If you ordered multiple items, you may receive separate shipments with no additional shipping charges. All shipments except those delivered by the U.S. Postal Service require a signature on receipt. Visit Order Status to track or pre-sign for your shipment. If you'd like to request a return, print an invoice or view your account history, please log in to Your Account. Best regards, The Apple Store Team			Order Number: WXXXXXXXX Order Date: JAN 09, 2007
Shipment Information
Shipment Date: MAR 20, 2007	Delivers by: MAR 23, 2007		Shipping Address:
Carrier Name: FEDERAL EXPRESS	Tracking Number(s): XXXXXXXXXXXX
All shipments except those delivered by the U.S. Postal Service require a signature on receipt. The name of your carrier is listed with the shipment information above. Tracking information may not be immediately available. U.S. Postal Service and other carriers may not provide tracking information. If you have questions about this shipment, please read Frequently Asked Questions about shipping.
Shipment Details
Product Name		Product Number	Unit Price	Qty	Subtotal
APPLE TV-USA		MA711LL/A	$275.00	1	$275.00
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For order status and answers to questions, please visit Customer Service online. Or call 1-800-676-2775, Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-10 p.m., or Sat-Sun 9 a.m.-6 p.m. CT. Please have your Order Number available. Get the latest news right from the source. Subscribe to Apple's free newsletters and find out about the latest products from Apple and its partners, plus special deals and much more. This order is subject to Apple's Sales and Refunds Policies. Privacy Policy			Purchase Order Number: XXXXXXXXXX
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I will so buy one of these when it finally comes out. What took you so long, Apple?

Looks like Apple forgot to file for ye olde confidentiality agreement, but today an FCC filing showed off Apple's latest device: the Mighty Mouse with Bluetooth. If anyone's surprised, well, that'd be pretty silly of you being that a wireless / Bluetooth Mighty Mouse is what's been asked for of Apple since day one of the peripheral's release. So, who's got odds that they'll finally freaking fix those pitiful squeeze triggers on the side? By the way, for those not interested in poring over the manual, expect the "M6" (the device's listed codename) to be powered by AA cells -- not by an internal rechargeable battery (i.e. don't expect a little dock or USB plug, bucko).

Update 07/25/06: It's been released!

Last month I had the final issue that caused me to call Apple to have my MacBook Repaired. It was an issue that apparently is affecting many people, the battery no longer charges. The other issues? Screen whine and heat.

I called Apple, at first the guy on the other end of the phone started to argue about the heat issue, but I said I had to send it in for the other things so at least they could give it a look. He agreed and put it on the list.

I got a prepaid DHL box in a few days. It took me about a week to get my stuff backed up then off to Apple it went. It’s too bad I didn’t plan it better, as I send it right into the Memorial Day weekend and the thing had to wait for a part so they had it for a little over a week.

It’s been about a month now and I can say that they did fix all issues. The heat issue has significantly improved as well

I ordered my MacBook Pro. I must say it's a stupid name but the specs are pretty good. Should be considerably faster than my current 1GH TiBook. A lot of people have been whining and bitching about the specs. Yes It will be eventually replaced with something with better specs, but for now this is the fastest laptop Apple has and I want it.

One thing that's interesting is that Apple never refers to the processor as the Centrino Duo, as Intel does. They only call it Core Duo. Perhaps Centrino would suggest that this laptop is not a "pro" laptop. I suspect in 6 months they will be putting in whatever the next Pentium M processor is in the Pro version and moving the Centrino into the regular MacBook.

Update 01/13/06 6:15AM:

24 things you can do with your laptop, some which relate to computing.

"My IBM laptop makes a great veggie squeezer!"

Link

This came out of no where. Apple quietly introduced a new mouse today. "Yawn" you say, everyone has a multi-button mouse. Being Apple and all, they have some innovative features.

Innovative Scroll Ball and Button

Perfectly positioned to roll smoothly under just one finger, Mighty Mouse's Scroll Ball offers full 360-degree scrolling capability — up/down, left/right and diagonally. You can scroll long web pages, pan full-size images, maneuver around large spreadsheets, control a video timeline and more. And you can even click the Scroll Ball to access your favorite Tiger features such as Dashboard, Spotlight or Exposé.

I'm buying one, and I will buy a bluetooth one when it comes out.

Update 08/02/05 07:00PM: The first review that I've seen is out. Looks like you can get them right now at the Apple Store. I suck because there is no Apple Store in New Mexico so I have to wait 5 days for shipping. I could have driven the nearest store and picked one up myself quicker than the shipping.

Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer -- and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of "Alias," right?

Unfortunately, the scenario isn't fictional. In an effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page with identifying information. That means that without your knowledge or consent, an act you assume is private could become public. A communication tool you're using in everyday life could become a tool for government surveillance. And what's worse, there are no laws to prevent abuse.

It's just wrong. Wrong, wrong wrong.

Thanks Boing Boing!

The first set of PPC vs Intel benchmarks have appeared. It was inevitable but it's not a fair fight in this case, as the PPC machine has two processors vs the 1 P4. In addition the software is probably not well optimized for the Intel machine, thusly the PPC clearly kicked the ass of the Intel machine.

Lets see how well a current G4 based PowerBook does against a current Centrino based PowerBook. After all, there will never be a G5 PowerBook.

A seattle coffee house has turned off it's free WiFi for the weekend. With surprising results.

Strongin said that the five-year-old cafe added free Wi-Fi when it seemed their customers wanted it a couple of years ago. It initially brought in more people, she said, but over the past year %u201Cwe noticed a significant change in the environment of the cafe.%u201D Before Wi-Fi, %u201CPeople talked to each other, strangers met each other,%u201D she said. Solitary activities might involve reading and writing, but it was part of the milieu. %u201CThose people co-existed with people having conversations,%u201D said Strongin.... Worse than just the sheer number of laptop users, Strongin noted, is that many of these patrons will camp six to eight hours%u2014and not buy anything. This seemed astounding to me, but she said that it was typical, not unusual. The staff doesn%u2019t want to have to enforce the cafe%u2019s unspoken policy of making a purchase to use the space (and the Wi-Fi), and on the occasions that they approach a non-buyer about a purchase asking, %u201CCan I get you a beverage?%u201D the squatter often becomes defensive, explains they%u2019ve bought a lot in the past or just the day before... They%u2019ve gone two weekends with no Wi-Fi, and so far, they%u2019re pleased with the results. The staff %u201Cloves it,%u201D she said, and regular customers are %u201Ccoming up to us and thanking us.%u201D They have received a few nasty emails. But Strongin said that last Sunday was one of the best revenue days they%u2019ve had on the weekends in a while. %u201CIt was kind of a bold move.%u201D

I frequent a local coffee shop called Satellite. I always buy a ice tea (sorry, not a coffee drinker) and muffin and make use of their free WiFi for several hours.

This could come in very handy!

Did your Apple Powerbook G3 (Pismo or Lombard) battery die? Have you shopped for a replacement battery, and wondered if your trusty powerbook was worth what it was going to cost for a new battery? Are you handy with a soldering iron and other tools? Are you adventuresome? Would you like to conserve the world's resources by recycling? If so, then you might be interested in this article about my brief adventures with Powerbook G3 batteries.

This Mac mini review, I can't figure out if it's a serious review or a joke.

...its sleek look comes at the expense of the parallel port, serial ports, the PS/2 ports and the drive bays... did I forget to mention that the Mini has no PCI slots either? And no floppy disk drive? Well, no wonder they got the unit to be so small... or I could grab an equally stylish, full-featured eMachine at the gas station with a bag of chips for less than half the Mini's price, with the added benefit of being able to run Windows XP. Decisions, decisions... The Mini boots up into a stripped-down operating system which Apple calls OS X, similar to the stripped-down WindowsCE OS found on many handhelds

I admit to being an Apple Fan Boy, so my opinion might be a little biased. But it's so close to completely missing the point, it must be a joke.

Engadget posts a pretty good write up on turning the Mac mini into a media center. They cover everything including connecting to video, I wasn't aware that Apple made a DVI to S-Video adapter. Also to watch HD content you need to directly connect to the DVI cable. I don't quite get it, the Mac mini can handle HD using the DVI connector but not through adapters? Anyways, the way their suggested set up works, you need more than just the Mac mini to do this which is not probably what many were hoping for. Clearly, this thing isn't fully up to the task of a Media Center. Hopefully Apple is listing and planning to come out with something better.

You might also be interested in two open source media center projects that have appeared. Both iTheater and The Mac Media Center Project claim the same thing, but neither have anything working. It's hard to say which project is going to have the best chances but looks like The Mac Media Center Project has more active users than iTheater.

First let me say that I'm sorely disappointed that I have been beaten to it. It was always my plan to have a complete car interface powered by a Mac. I have most of the hardware, I just need to write the software. Oh and assemble the car; a minor detail

?We had been completing the design and prototypes of our modified iBook and PowerBook car installs when rumors of the Mac Mini began to circulate earlier this month,? said Benzaquen. ?We immediately began working on a new design and plan for car conversions on the new Mac Mini platform. We are pleased to be the first to offer the exciting Mac Mini conversion at a price far more accessible than any mobile PC alternative.? Classic Restorations? exclusive Mac Mini Auto designs provide for touch screen or conventional LCD display options. Although the the Mac Mini mounts in a single-DIN slot in dash, Classic Restorations can customize installation to fit under the seat, in the glove box or any other location in the car.

OK but I still may have the last laugh. As I intend for the entire car to be controlled by the AI software I will create. Bawa ha ha ha!

You might also be interested in the Mac mini in relation to the cube. Apple had the right idea with the cube but wrong price. I'm convinced that the Mac mini is really the Cube II. Of course the cube was more upgradable since the Mac mini has the video onboard you won't be upgrading the already craptacular video hardware.

PVRBlog also makes the suggestion that the Mac mini could be the iHome. Really it lacks a lot of horsepower to do serious video work, like compressing/decomressing, etc. Or maybe it doesn't but I think it does. Anyway a lot of people are saying "If it would have just had this or that", but if it did it would have cost more. Who knows, maybe it will become the iHome. In any case I will probably be trying to put it in my car and my AV rack.

Appleinsider says Apple will make 100,000 minis a month. That's a lot of minis. Also check out this page on how the mini is the "Mac for the masses" based on price. It's very interesting actually.

Instead I think I will wait for this...

Update: Here's a "spy photo" which it is probably not. But hey it looks feasible.

Update 2: It's definitely coming, from the mouth of Apple itself. Hopefully it will be here at MWSF.