Nice Tip On Battery Life
How to calibrate your MacBook Pro battery for longer life.
Archive for the ‘Hardware’
Two Turntables And a Microphone
Unboxed Apple IIc Sells For Nearly $3000 USD
One eBay seller ignored the recent boycott over eBay’s fee and feedback changes and netted a tidy profit as a result. He listed an unopened, new in box Apple IIc for sale, and it was snapped up for nearly $3000 by a happy buyer who wanted the 20 year old computer as a piece of history.
Said the lucky winner:
“I honestly can’t see parting with the computer, ever,” he said. “Even if I grow bored of reliving the glory days, it’s a functioning piece of history, and a beautiful one at that. It’s better than anything I’d pick up at an art gallery.”
Apple and Starbucks Patenting A Way To Cut In Line
In the news this week, Apple filed a patent petition that would eliminate the irritating necessity of standing in line. Once the technology is live, it is expected that Apple will begin testing it out in Starbucks stores, a good fit after the hugely successful iTunes song of the day campaign and iTunes WiFi channel in Starbucks from this year.
Basically, the technology would allow you to pre-order your cup of java or snack before heading into the store, pay for it, receive an order number and grab the item at the pick up window when you arrived - no waiting. It’s like cutting in line at a concert, without the ensuing fisticuffs.
This revolutionary development for the impatient out there, like me, will work with technology like the iPhone. It is not, however, expected to be iPhone exclusive - it should also work with your MP3 player, PDA, laptop or regular cell phone, though I do expect Apple to give its loyal iPhone customers first dibs on the “beta” version.
Apple’s application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a process for placing an order and then notifying customers when an order is ready to grab at a pick-up station. One goal, the patent application notes, is to avoid an “annoying wait in a long queue if the purchaser arrives before completion of the order.”
Of course, all good ideas come with a price, and the cost of this innovation is information. Stores opting in to the program, like Starbucks, would be tracking your orders and learning your favorite things, tailoring your shopping experience to suit your needs. I’m sure marketing to consumer taste would logically follow that, unfortunately.
The patent puts Apple’s partnership with Starbucks in a new light. The technology promises to morph Apple from the business of simply selling gadgets and music and movies that can be played on those devices into an intermediary in all kinds of exchanges.
No Router Switched Before Its Time
So you all heard me chime in on the network issues with Leopard. I sorted a few of them out by using Open DNS, but not all of them. Plus, that didn’t take into account the fact that the eMac was working fine on the WiFi network and the MacBook was not.
As a Christmas present to myself, I recently grabbed a new Airport Extreme router to replace my Original Airport (the space ship shaped one). What can I say, they were on sale, I had a coupon - it all worked out. The weird part is that is that all of my networking problems were solved simply by plugging it in and turning it on, from stability to signal strength.
This disappoints me. Sure, I love having the ease and simplicity of Mac use back, but I should have had that with the space ship router, which was completely fine. Does this mean that people who also have an older, perfectly fine Airport who have saved up to get Leopard will be forced to ditch their old faithful router or run the risk of keeping it and having a (shudder) Windoze style, never-working-well experience?
There are several things that have happened since the release of Leopard that makes me frown in Apple’s general direction. They have made a few bad marketing decisions, there have been complaints about their attention to detail on the Leopard project, and they have still not addressed the network connectivity and other issues in spite of repeated complaints from users.
Do I regret switching to Leopard? Absolutely not. It’s several steps above Tiger in most things, it’s gorgeous, and I love using it. I just didn’t like the amount of time it took EACH DAY to mess with the network when I had the original Airport hooked up. The original airport which was working beautifully with every other Mac OS it came in contact with.
Original Airport Currently for Sale On Ebay (5 day auction starting 12/4/07, no reserve)
I Can’t Believe It Is Almost Christmas: Apple Gift Guide
Apple released the Apple Gift Guide this week. I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! The link below will get you free shipping on items ordered from the Gift Guide. Enjoy!
Apple Store Gift Guide - Free Shipping on all Gift Guide items.
Apple Gets High Marks For Customer Service
PC Magazine readers give Apple an over all 9.1 score on customer service. Way to go Apple!
Of course, no Windows machine comes close to Apple’s 9.1 overall score. But even Apple was down from last year in just about every category except technical support, which went up to 8.4 points. Apple’s high marks extend even into areas we don’t have room to print charts for, such as the 85 percent rating for the reliability of software included on the computer (aah, iLife), the 93 percent score for new desktops working right out of the box, and the 9 out of 10 score for the attitude of the tech-support provider. Even the Apple.com Web site gets kudos for how much information it makes available.
Making The Switch
This is a well written piece on why Windows users are often reluctant to make the switch to Mac.
Let me say it right off the bat: Macs running OS X give the best computing experience on the planet. It’s not that Macs are perfect, but compared to everything else, there is nothing like the Mac experience. With that in mind, it’s difficult for many Mac users to comprehend why there are so many Windows users suffering needlessly by running a Windows system. That’s where I come in.