C.K. Sample, III
Articles by C.K. Sample, III
Video-up your non-video-capable iPods
There's a new iPod-enhancing gadget on the block to help bring your non-video iPods up to speed with the 5G video-capable iPods that people like me have been waiving around, taunting you with while calling you nasty names like "peasant" and "Non-viddy": the iSee 360i. This nifty little device sports a slightly larger (3.6") miniscule screen than the one on the iPod 5G, has direct line-in video recording, and a reported 4 hour battery life. So, later this quarter for the price of $249 all of you peeps with 4th generation iPods, as well as those of you rocking it small with iPod minis and iPod nanos, will be able to enjoy the same video goodness that we who bought 5Gs have been lording over you these many days, weeks, and months.
Apple Matters' This Day in Apple History
Hadley over at Apple Matters pinged me last week to let me know they were doing this, but today it is official: Apple Matters introduces This Day in Apple History. They've set up a whole section of the site to keeping track of what happened when, they put together their own widget with three very cool Apple flavors, and they've launched a contest celebrating the launch giving away a custom engraved 5G iPod, a Newton, or an Apple II.I need to dig through the archives to find out when TUAW first launched and to let Hadley know important dates like when Scott and I first started blogging for TUAW. ;-)
South Park moving to Xserve SAN arrays for storage
No South Park episodes in the iTMS yet, but TV Squad points out that South Park is switching over to Apple Xserve SAN arrays for keeping track of all the animation craziness that is the show. This ComputerWorld article details the move: "Franzen said he chose Apple hardware based on a 'gut' feeling that its technology would be good, and so far, he has not been disappointed. Franzen said he now expects to add two more Xserve arrays for a total of 15TB of storage and place his disk storage behind a couple of switches from Cisco Systems Inc. in order to make managing his storage easier." That's the kind of gut feeling I like to hear about.
Freeing up space
Well, it's not quite Spring yet, but I'm doing a little virtual cleaning. The 100GB hard drive on my 15-inch Powerbook only has a little over 1GB free, so I'm going through and cleaning house. There are, of course, the multitude of videos in iTunes. It still aggravates me that you cannot burn backup copies of the iTMS-purchased videos via iTunes, but instead have to locate them inside your Music folder and manually drag them over to a disk to be copied. There's also a couple of gigs of email. Since I kicked Mail.app to the curb a little over a month ago and decided to give Thunderbird a whirl, I decided, why bother with an email client at all. I just migrated all my email over to Gmail and am archiving all my local mail folders. Next is to go through and remove all the extra programs that I never use. Then... what? Language localizations? Share your space-saving tips in the comments.
What needs to happen with TV shows on the iTMS
I almost gave up complaining as my New Year's resolution, when I realized that I gave up New Year's resolutions as my New Year's resolution back in 2000.In any case, since you all know I am rather fond of beating dead horses, here's my current gripe: Last night, Arrested Development and Surface were both new episodes. I watched Arrested Development, knowing that I would be able to either grab Surface off of iTunes or via bittorrent later. As I am up this morning, preparing for work, I check the iTMS and there is no new Surface. Apple and NBC both just missed out on $1.99. I'll grab the show off of bittorrent for free, since it's not ready to go when I need it. I also have no problem doing this because I don't see how temporarily grabbing something off of the Internet (supposedly illegal) differs largely from recording it on my Replay TV the night it was showing and downloading it to my computer and then to my iPod (legal).Now, whether this is really what I do or not (wink wink), the above paragraph describes the actions of a certain percentage of the market that is escaping the sales of Apple and the TV networks. If Apple and these networks really want to profit and change the face of media, then they need to start releasing the shows simultaneous with the airing of the show. They could even charge $.25 extra as an "early bird" fee, and they'd most likely make a lot more sales and a nice profit, because that's why the iTunes Music Store has been a success: it's more convenient than all the alternatives of questionable legality.Also, because of this, on the morning commute, I won't be watching Surface. I'll be watching things like Rocketboom and Channel Frederator. Free media daily and weekly with no odd restrictions. That's what the networks should be worried about more than presenting a nice space between airing the shows and offering them for download. What's that? They'll lose advertising dollars? Well, then, how about you cut out the middle man and rather than distributing the shows for $1.99 through the iTMS offer them for free with advertisements available from your website, pre-formatted for the iPod and the PSP in a nicely scalable MPEG-4 format. Slap it in an RSS feed, call it a podcast, and that way anyone can subscribe to your shows on any computer and you won't keep losing mindshare to new media.
DLO HomeDock mini-review
I finally got my hands on a DLO HomeDock of my own, thanks to the magical powers of the holidays. We've pointed to other reviews in the past, but I thought I'd offer my own mini review:Positives:Docks and charges your iPod while connecting it to your TV/Stereo/Entertainment Center.Has a remote control.Controls music, volume, and playing and pausing of media nicely.Let's me watch Channel Frederator on my TV.RCA and S-Video outs with USB connection for docking with your computer and a power adapter for running the device and charging your iPod.It isn't ugly and my wife doesn't mind it sitting on top of the TV.Negatives:At $99, this device is a little pricey, considering that you can attach your iPod to your TV with a $15 cable, and, assuming that the cable is long enough, you will have no need for the remote.You cannot rewind, fast forward, or select videos via the remote. Hitting fast forward or rewind takes you to a music track.No digital audio out.While music is playing, nothing shows on the TV (if you have it plugged into the TV).Overall, I'm pleased with the device and give it a 7 out of 10 gerbils with Apple logos shaved into their fur. Check after the jump for some pics of the HomeDock in action.
Jobs in a suit
I've seen this pic before, but it's getting the traffic over at Digg, so I thought it worth pointing to again. Here's the full-size picture of the cover of the premiere issue of Macworld, featuring Steve Jobs, not in jeans and a turtleneck as a friend to the consumer, but in a suit, trying to sell the Mac to the world. He also seems to be doing some sort of Jesus's arms in the Last Supper painting thing with the way he's hovering over those three Macs.
The sky is falling: Hackers targeting Macs?
Well, since the New Year is fast approaching and we haven't had a good tech-oriented end of the world fiasco since back in the Y2K era, people are scrambling for tech-related doom and gloom stories. Here is one such story, pointing out that hackers *may be* targeting the Mac now. The article is based on a Symantec study that showed that Macs are not impervious to attack and that since Mozilla-based browsers are so darn popular on the Mac end of things, that the security issues of Firefox and Mozilla over the past year indicate possible future problems.My take: Sounds like a study funded by Microsoft. I'm also not sure if I trust Symantec's findings in Mac security, considering their own recent issues in that area.[via Digg]
What's on your iPod for the holidays?
I was just chatting with Judith about her brand new 5G iPod, which she loves, and we started talking about the shows we're cramming on our iPods. She asked if I had grabbed the Battlestar Galactica freebie off of iTMS yet (I had), and I was telling her about all the stuff I have to watch on the plane ride to visit my parents and the different ways I've planned for extending and powering the iPod beyond the 3 hours of video play it can handle.I have the audio to the Grinch and a bunch of Futurama episodes, Battlestar Galactica episodes, video podcasts, episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Office and Lost, and Rushmore and the first Star Wars Trilogy.At some point, Judith asked, "Have you done a 'what's on your video ipod for the holidaze' post on TUAW?" I hadn't, so here it is: For those of you traveling or simply looking for some private respite away from your family this holiday season, what shows have you loaded up on your iPod? What music? Please share in the comments.
Happy Holidays! Expect low posting...
Hello readers! Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, a Festive Festivus, and a Super Atheisticus!* Also, I wanted to let you know that it looks like the majority of the TUAW team will be traveling over the holidays and largely in a non-posting state over the weekend, so don't be overly distressed if you don't see *tons* of content. Since Dave Caolo usually has his kids write all those posts for him (come on, like one guy could really do all that posting!), maybe even he'll be absent. In any case, don't fret. We'll be back and cranking out the regular TUAW goodness on Monday, I'm sure. Also, there is every chance that I will post multiple posts with pictures on Christmas day, bragging about all the Mac schwag I scored from Santa. w00t!*I made this one up for our heathen free-thinking readers. Feel free to use it.
Help Dori Smith get her System alerts back
Check out this post over at Backup Brain. Dori Smith is having a very odd problem where her System Alerts aren't playing, although every other sound on her computer sings like a charm. It's like a troubleshooter's puzzle for the holidays. She even posted a Flickr set of her settings to serve as clues. Checking in on the comments reveals a few helpful suggestions like playing with the MIDI settings and zapping the PRAM, but no word on whether any of that has helped yet or not.For those of you who are about to flame this post, asking, "Why is this on TUAW?" The answer: Because I needed to get a post up by 12:30, I like Dori's blog, and it actually stumped me and I thought the phrasing of the whole thing was very mind-bender puzzle-esque. :-b
Newton Museum going-out-of-business sale
If this large vintage collection of Macs made its way into Dave's basement, I'm sure all the Newton-related items being offered up in this eBay auction will also end up there. The complete collection of The Newton Museum's stock is up for grabs and it's nothing if not a thorough collection. I mean, they even have an eMate. Anyway, everyone else is digging this, so I thought we should too. If you win it, let us know.
Good compression settings for iPod videos
I've been tinkering with compression settings on videos, trying to find the best balance of size, quality, compression settings and compatibility for my video-capable iPod ever since the beginning of November. H.264 is very nice and cool, but it takes forever and a day to compress using QuickTime Pro's export to iPod option. Since I'm not really interested in projecting my videos in large on the wall via an HD-capable projector, there's no need to pick it over MPEG-4. Also, I want to make sure that my videos, especially ones like the video podcasts we do here at TUAW, are viewable by as many people as possible. So the best option is to wrap it in a .mov wrapper. That way, anyone with QuickTime should be able to watch the file.So, in order to do this nicely, I first installed 3ivx as the codec to use. I've been meaning to try the new Divx codec, but haven't had a chance yet. I open the file I want to convert in QuickTime Pro and choose Export to Movie and hit the Options button. This will bring up a Movie Settings panel like the one pictured with this post: Choose Settings... and pick the 3ivx D4 4.5.1 codec, set the quality to medium, the frame rate to 24 and bitrate to 400 kbits/sec. Then adjust the size. If you have a 740x480 video file, then shrink it down to 360x240. Set the sound to AAC 44.100 kHz Stereo at 160kbps. If you are hosting the file online, check the Prepare for Internet Streaming box and select Fast Start. That's it. The resulting file will be reasonably sized and playable in a browser, on your iPod or on any QuickTime compatible system.
Soundtrack Pro v1.0.2 Update
I saw this news over at Accelerate your Mac. There's a v1.0.2 update to Soundtrack Pro that weighs in at 42.2 MB and "addresses certain reliability and performance issues of Soundtrack Pro 1.0 and 1.0.1."I have Soundtrack Pro, so I was wondering why none of these pro updates are showing up via Software Update anymore. When I went to download the update I figured out why: it takes you to a page where you have to enter your Apple ID and serial number to the program before grabbing it. Must be pirate patrol. Aggravating to law-abiding types like me, but I guess it makes sense.
6 ways to stick your iPod in your car
Over the weekend, our sibling blog, Autoblog posted about a cool article from Technoride (part of PC Mag) covering six ways to pair your iPod with your car. FM Transmitters are nice, but you can also go the cassette adapter route, or even use a line in, if you have the proper connection in your car.I personally prefer to just race around town with my noise-cancelling headphones on ignoring all sounds from the road. Is that wrong?
Dock your iPod in your Xbox 360
If you have a brand new iPod and a brand new Xbox 360 and you have a penchant for hacking, then you've probably already spent several hours staring at both devices and trying to figure out how to make them embrace each other in the embrace that only two cool gadgets can share. Luckily for you, you gadget freak, Eliot Phillips shows you the way to build a Dock for your iPod into your Xbox 360.
My spin on 10 apps every new Mac user should download
I normally wouldn't post this, because I don't tend to agree with the list, but the Digg kids are all piling on top of it, so I thought I should share here: it's a list of 10 apps every new Mac user should download. Here's my take on the list: AdiumX is nice, but I'll stick with iChat. I like iChat. If I need to use all those other protocols, maybe I'll launch Fire. Cyberduck rocks. I like it. *But* I've been using Fugu recently. It rocks better and harder. Safari is a better browsing experience on OS X than Firefox. Firefox is great and all, but it doesn't integrate nicely with all the OS X goodness like the built in Dictionary and spellcheck, not to mention Services. Until it can do that nicely, Safari wins (especially if you load up Saft). iBackup.... eh. I'll stick with Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper, thanks. Nvu... uh, no. This is not something that every new Mac user should download. There are lots of people not coding websites who don't need this one. Quicksilver rocks, but I find if you get used to Spotlight and don't mind the slight delay, you don't use it as much. Stuffit Expander? I mean you need it, but isn't it already on the System when you buy it? TextWrangler is nice, but I'll have to say they should have mentioned SubEthaEdit. VLC is good. Windows Media Player?! Why is this on a top ten? That's my take on it. Head on over and have a gander for yourself. [via Digg]
MarsEdit 1.1b6 public beta
We knew that development of MarsEdit was continuing, but the good news of the weekend was that 1.1b6 public beta of MarsEdit is now available: "This release updates the French localization and fixes a few bugs, including a work-around for a time zone problem with some weblog systems. (More details are on the beta page.)" Not much really new about it, but cool nonetheless. Get it.
Death to IE on Mac! Long live Safari!
All support for the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer will cease on December 31, 2005 and all official distribution of the browser will cease on January 31, 2006. In other words, IE is finally dying. You won't be able to download it from Microsoft anymore. Instead they will recommend that you use Safari or Firefox. On a broader note, this means that fewer sites can justify having IE only versions of their sites. They cannot say, "Well, get IE for Mac and it should work." No. Start clean-coding your sites for Firefox and Safari compatibility or lose 6 percent (and growing) of your customers.
Apple Matters interview with John Battelle
Apple Matters has an interview up with John Battelle, one of the original founders of Wired. The interview is pretty interesting because of the comparisons drawn between Google (web-search) and Apple (Spotlight) and the importance of search. From the blurb leading into the interview proper: "As search spreads to the desktop via Apple technologies like Spotlight and Googles Desktop Search (Windows only) John answers questions concerning possible synergys between the two companies and why Apple Matters." Check it out.