Broadband Internet service has become commonplace across the United States. Whether it is a cable modem, dsl, satellite of some sort, or another kind of wireless high speed Internet access, increasing numbers of users are getting on the information superhighway with a Porsche instead of a moped.
A couple years back (but following my departure for school), I finally convinced my father to get a cable modem. My argument for it wasn’t just speed or the services that become accessible when one migrates (such as streaming media). It was in a large part based upon a monetary argument. It was cheaper to get a cable modem.
Once of my favorite websites is RailHead Design. It’s become a daily stop because, well, it’s updated every day (at least during the week). I’m resolving myself to having the same discipline (though my entries tend to be a bit longer than Maury’s). Starting today and happening every day unless I go on vacation, I will be adding at least one new entry.
I’ll probably borrow (ok, steal) from sources such as Obscure Store, Fark, and Maccentral to fill the void on days when I have nothing good or interesting to say.
The first and most major news of this fine Monday is Apple’s preview of the next revision of Mac OS X, code-named Tiger. Apple’s introduced some very provocative new features, all of which are documented (albeit informally) at their Tiger preview site.
The first feature to catch my eye was Spotlight. Based upon Apple’s new Metadata-based search technology, Spotlight brings live search to not just the file system or Mail atomically, it allows for system wide searching of many services including Mail’s messages, contacts, calendar entries, the filesystem, etc. all at the same time. Very cool. However, following a disturbing trend that Apple is perpetuating, Spotlight also very closely resembles one of my favorite pieces of software, LaunchBar. Live searching across multiple data types is what LaunchBar excels at (especially the upcoming 4.0 version which has many, many file types and databases integrated into its own search engine).
I’ve always been a big fan of the TV show Sliders. It was immediate, starting with the debut on Friday night on Fox a long time ago. I tuned in as often as I could to watch their adventures (this was at a time in my life when I was still working until 9 every Friday and starting to develop a social life). Sure, it was geeky, but then again, if you look up at your location bar, there isn’t much denying.
After making a semi snap decision about screen protection for the 12″ Powerbook, I ordered a Notebook ScreensavRz from RadTech. Wanting to maintain the color scheme of the Powerbook, I ordered the Titanium color with the Powerbook logo on it. The other colors and designs are cool, but not my taste. I ordered last Friday (at 8:26 PM).
My first compliment (of my series of many that will follow in this review) is that they processed and shipped my order that day. Most businesses close up shop at 5, but not RadTech apparently. They diligently processed and shipped my order only a couple hours later. Not only that, but my order arrived on yesterday (Monday). I can’t entirely give them credit for it coming here so quick through the mail system, but I can give them credit for actually shipping my order when they said they did.
The ScreensavRz itself came in a neat little tube. I’ll attach pictures later on if I can figure out how and I still have the motivation. Inside was the ScreensavRz itself, and a one time use alcohol wipe. My laptop is new, so I said that pad for later (even though I already have an iKlear Power Klean Kit). The tube is nice enough to reuse either to store the ScreensavRz later (though it’ll be with the Powerbook about 99% of the time) or other little things.
I pulled out the very soft ScreensavRz from the tube and, to be frank, it looked a bit smaller than I expected. Just to emphasize this point for potential buyers, it does not completely cover the surface of the Powerbook. It leaves a bit of a border (which again, I’ll take pictures of given time and motivation). However, this border is about the width of the border around the display or a little less, so your screen is, in fact, completely protected. I imagine this was done to avoid bending of the computer that would result from the cloth being pressed between the two sufaces (if it were larger). It is large enough to perform its task and stay put, so there are no worries there.
Thanks to the material RadTech decided to use (Optex), it doubles as a cleaning cloth. I can attest to this. I sneezed, getting some of my wonderful saliva on the screen, leaving some spots when it dried. I took the ScreensavRz and wiped the spots right off, even without wetting it. That won’t work for everything, and you can actually dampen it in order to get off more stubborn marks. The material is also washable, so using it to clean won’t permanently besmirch its appearance.
All in all, I’m wholly satisfied. For $13.95-$17.95 (dependent on size), you get quite a few things: an LCD cleaning cloth, LCD protection, a one-time use cleaning pad, a nice little carrying tube, and peace of mind. I’ve read testimonials about how it’s not possible for the keys to touch the screen and honestly, it’s not that I don’t believe them. Examining my own Powerbook has convinced me of that. However, with the extra functionality provided by the ScreensavRz, its low cost, and the reassurance that marks will never happen, I feel this is a worthy complement for any Powerbook and worth a look.
Continue reading for pictures
You’re all very tired of hearing about my latest purchase. Well, I have a nice L.L. Bean briefcase-like laptop bag that I’ve been using for about 4 years now. It’s a great bag. It served me well all through college. What made it even better was that it’s computer compartment fit my old Powerbook (the Pismo) perfectly. It was tight and snug in its padded compartment. It even had it’s own sleeve type thing that fit it.
Now that I’ve had my Pismo for 4 years, I’ve noticed some marks on the screen that aren’t oils or dirt. They’re scuff marks from my keyboard rubbing up against the screen. This has gotten exponentially worse since I actually started carrying my laptop to class with me (mostly because of the prevalence of wireless Internet available at U-Mass).
It’s such a widespread problem that companies started selling screen protectors. This includes Other World Computing, Radtech, Shaggymac, Acme Made, and Marware. I know there are even more than that, but I didn’t feel like writing out URLs all day.
Labor Day weekend, the project that I’m working on at Raytheon will be migrated to Raytheon’s new facility in Woburn from the old one at Bedford. Now, it’s not that I dislike Bedford or anything about it, but the new building (which was originally Genuity’s) is simply amazing.
Nearly every surface is either glass or mirrors, which is actually a little disorienting. Every time I was waiting at the elevator, I’d think it was open because the reflection off the mirrored doors was so clean and clear, I swore I was seeing the inside of the compartment.
For my last birthday, I got an EyeTV from Elgato Systems. For those of you not familiar with the product, it’s essentially a TiVo type device for one’s computer. You can record TV shows to watch later, watch live TV (with a small time delay for encoding), and pause live TV (the feature I use most by far).
In order to efficiently use the EyeTV, it’s necessary to have access to some type of TV guide in your computer that allows for channel selection and selection of shows to be recorded. Elgato provided this with an account at TitanTV. This had two limitations: it’s a web based interface and you had to use IE with it. Both of which are something I’m not interested in.
I finally broke down and bought Dragonball Z: Budokai 2. It was on sale for $20 and while I was at it, I got Budokai 1 (again for $20). I was looking forward to comparing the two games, but unfortunately, the first Budokai was out of stock (even though it was the one not on sale).
So, I’m sure you’re dying to know how it is. I’ll tell you. It’s pretty good. The game play is decent and the moves are pretty cool. What problems do I have with the game? It’s a little complicated for one. You get these cards describing new items. Sometimes it’s a new character, a new move, or a new arena. However, sometimes they’re items. If it’s an item or move, it shows up in your list of capsules (confused yet?). How you enable these capsules for characters isn’t obvious. Once you go to do this, sometimes you can’t enable them (but there is no explanation of why). Once you figure it out, it’s not so bad.