Category: Apple

Once I get the old clamshell iBook which I posted about yesterday night, I am going to install Linux on it. The reason is OS9 is a great OS and should run nicely on the iBook, but if I want to use it for web surfing its going to suck because there are no decent browsers on OS9. iCab sucks, Mozilla sucks and IE is the best of the bunch so you could imagine how bad the situation is. OSX would install on the iBook but its not going to be fast, its not even going to run at a decent speed at all.

This is why I have one other option to go with, Linux. I am going to install Ubuntu on the iBook and then install FireFox. With a 160MB RAM and 300mhz CPU, it should run smoothly and definitely faster then installing OSX on it.

If you have a Mac and are interested in installing Linux on it, you can download and burn the Live version on a CD. That way you can check out the OS without needing to install it. [Link]

A friend of mine called me earlier, he is in the Mac business and I had asked him before if he ever came across someone who wanted to sell their old iBook to give me a call. So he calls me up awhile ago tells me there is a 300mhz Tangerine iBook, excellent condition with box and all its CDs for and owner is selling it for only KD25. It comes with 32MB RAM but it would cost me only $29 to add another 128. I should be able to run OS9 easily on the system and if I need to I could even install OS10. I am thinking of getting it since when they first came out I really wanted one but couldn’t afford it. I remember I had just started going out with Nataly back then and I went with her to the Apple Store to show her how funky the ibooks were. I also wouldn’t mind having a laptop to surf the web while watching TV or lying in bed. I won’t be using it for anything else just web browsing. I might even just run VNC on it and connect it to my main mac and use it like that. Lots of possibilities for a really good price, KD25 only. Very tempting.

Wow, this rocks. vpn.google.com/getpass/

I just downloaded the PPTP software DigiTunnel and am going to try it out. If it works I won’t have to use proxify anymore.

Update: It didn’t work at work but I just set it up at home now and its working perfectly. Keep in mind that once you disconnect from the VPN you will need to get another username and password from the google site. Bye bye proxify!

I love the way how Wired always give credit to Tony Fadell for the creation of the iPod. Majority of other media outlets usually make Steve Jobs the star. [Link]

The Eminem Apple ad that was played for the first time during the Apple event a few days ago was pulled. Want to know why? Check this.

This is what Psyop did awhile back [Link]
This is the ad Apple did [Link]

Notice the similarities? Maybe Apple should rework the color scheme atleast.

A friend of mine is selling his 2GB black nano for KD70. Its not brand new, it has been slightly used for 1 week with the plastic cover still on so no scratches or anything. If interested leave a comment below.

Yesterday PowerPage redesigned their website. I think I liked the older design better. [Link]

Daring Fireball has posted some interesting observations from yesterdays Apple event. The most interesting ones to me are:

– The new iPods do not support FireWire
– The itunes video downloads are low-res 320×240
– Video playback battery life sucks. 2hrs for 30gb, 3hrs for 60

Here is the full list. [Link]

One thing I would like to add here. When I got my first iPod it came with a case, remote control and a power adapter. The new iPods don’t come with either and that really sucks.

New iPods, they look exactly like the older ones… yawn. [Link]

Yesterday I was able to scan all my CD collection into Delicious Library using the CueCat. I was surprised at how good the CueCat worked. Since it cost me only $10 I was expecting it to be inaccurate and unreliable but out of the over 300 CDs I scanned I had maybe only 5 instances where the CueCat couldn’t read the barcode and those were often because of non standard sized barcodes (ie very small) or because they were inverted barcodes (white stripes instead of black). For $10 the CueCat is a real steal.

I had some issues with Delicious Library though. I was able to scan the barcodes of most of my alternative music without any problems and I wasn’t expecting any problems since most of my alternative music is made up of mainstream stuff like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails etc.. When it came to my downbeat music I was expecting Delicious Library to have problems since the majority of the stuff are low profile and from small labels but since Delicious Library connects to a wide variety of sources it didn’t have a problem recognizing the CDs and loading up their info with CD covers. Sometimes though Delicious Library would load details from Amazon.co.uk for example where they wouldn’t have a CD cover while if Delicious loaded it up from Amazon.com it would have gotten a CD cover so I had to manually go to the Amazon.com website, take the ASIN number and dump it into the library myself to reload the info to be able to solve this issue. It did this less then 10 times but it does slow things down.

The big problems with Delicious Library came when I was trying to add my old techno stuff from the early 90s. The majority of the labels and CDs don’t exists anymore and Delicious Library had a hard time finding the CDs at all in the online databases yet alone finding the CD covers. So I was forced to add around 5 CDs manually because they didn’t exists online while the rest of the CDs which it did find didn’t have CD covers, but thanks to a wonderful website called Discogs, I was able to find the CD covers and drag and drop them into Delicious Library.

Today I will start adding my books to Delicious and then will follow with my DVD’s and videogames. I don’t know what I will do with all this information when I am done but I am sure I will figure something out. Oh and by the way, you can scan barcodes right after each other without having to wait for Delicious to load up the info. This saved me a lot of time since I just scanned CDs non stop without delay.

Last week I posted some prices from the new Mac store that opened up in Kuwait called zMacShop, well tonight I past by it and I posted my experience on Miskan.com. So check it out. [Link]

I got my CueCat today from Aramex. So far I have been having problems with it. The CueCat works like a keyboard, when I scan a barcode with the CueCat, it types out the barcode number on my mac. The problem I have is that when I scan the number in the organizing software Delicious Library and when I scan a number into TextEdit (like Notepad on Windows) I get 2 completely different numbers where the one in TextEdit is the right one. For example I picked up a random book lying around here, when I scan it into Delicious Library I get the barcode “978908090103408” but when I scan it into TextEdit I get “9780891348382 90000”.

I don’t know whats wrong with Delicious Library, I am going to try and google it now and figure out the issue. Other then that the CueCat is pretty cool, works like a charm. Unlike regular barcode scanners you don’t hold the CueCat from a distance and highlight the barcode, you have to take the CueCat and touch the barcode and then swipe it across. It doesn’t matter if you hold the barcode upside down or vertically it will still scan it right.

Anyway if you are interested in the CueCat it sells for only $9.99 on Amazon. The cheapest barcode scanner you can get.

Update: Ok figured out the problem, or atleast figured out how to get the barcode scanned right. Instead of clicking on “Add a new item” and then scanning, I should just scan right away and it will add it for me. Cool.

A new Apple stored has recently opened up in Hawalli called ZMacShop. Its located in the basement of Al-Walla Complex, shop number 116. The store stocks regular iPods, iPod mini’s, shuffles, U2 Editions, mighty mice, shit loads of ipod covers, genuine and various ipod accessories, mac minis of various specs, iMacs and ibooks. Soon they will be getting iPod nano’s also.

Their prices are a bit cheaper then other Apple stores, here are some examples of their prices:

Shuffle 512 – KD37
Shuffle 1GB – KD55
iPod Mini 4GB – KD70
iPod Mini 6GB – KD76 KD86
Mac Mini 1.25Ghz/40Gb – KD180
Mac Mini 1.42Ghz/80Gb – KD210
Mac Mini 1.42Ghz/80Gb with SuperDrive and bluetooth – KD266
iBook G4 14″ – KD560

For more information you can call them after 5PM on 2617575.

Here are two links showing the history of Apple.com’s front page. The first link is a flickr set while the second link is to Archive.org. I used to sooo love the beige G3 PowerMac’s…

Flickr Set
Archive.org

“This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units,” Apple said in a statement, referring to the reports of seemingly unprovoked nano screen breakage. “Our figures show this issue has affected less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the total iPod nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.” The company said affected customers should contact Apple to arrange for a free replacement unit. [Link]