philsquest

New Macbook?

There are rumors of a new Macbook coming out in September (Macworld issue 10/2008) It probably will have an aluminum case. I was able to fix my battered ibook G4. It has a new harddrive 160 gig. It seems to be faster as well. I found out now that my internal microphone dosn't work anymore. I guess the "book" sufferes from old age. So perhaps next year I will go for a new macbook, depending what they get on the market.
For now my battered ibook works and I am happy with it.

Addicted to Mac?

I was on Live-Navigators blog. He found a test to see one's addiction to Mac. I can say that I am relieved to be under 50%. Otherwise I would have gone to rehab.

41%How Addicted to Apple Are You?

My Mac ibook is back

On Friday morning I went into the Mac shop in Chiang Mai to order a new Macbook. My old one was in repairs for the last two month. I got to the point that I just needed a new one to be able to work. On the old Notebook I could not open my iphoto or do videos and the G3 is just very slow.
I didn't really want to buy a Macbook. I don't like the bigger size. It doesn't fit into my bag :-). Even though I like all the features and the speed. It also runs with Leopard OS 10.5 which would be cool to work with. I would rather wait and see in a year or two what they come up with.
Anyway I went to the shop to find out that they were able to fix it after all. the shop changed the logic board twice, checked the hard drive and the RAM. it was one of the RAM that was broken and made my computer freeze.
I am happy to have my Computer back. For the last two days I worked on it with no problems.

The continuing ibook story

I believe by now I probably bored you to death with my ibook computer problems. I went back to the Mac shop to see if they could fix the problem. Now it is probably my hard-drive that gave up. So I have to wait another week. So next year I'm going to have my computer back.
I am working on my new years resolutions.... (just kidding) Not really doing this kind of thing. But on the other hand it wouldn't be the worst thing to do. At least make some plans for the next year. I guess I need to first kind of look back on this year and draw some conclusions.

About Mac worship

Just kidding! I never was so into Mac to think that it is the only perfect thing in this world. I changed to Mac more then four years ago and still very much like it. I would not change back to PC. Still I had my share of problems with the machines. Perhaps it is because I by the cheapest Mac's I get. Even though I would like to buy a more expensive one. Here a small history of my Apple adventure.
I got a ibook G3 donated by friends more then four years ago, after the IBM thinkpad had to be retired. It took me about two month to figure out the OS and get familiar with Mac. After making that I never looked back. A bit more then one year after I got it, the Logic board (mother board) gave up. The Mac shop in Chiang Mai said it would cost 30'000 Thai Baht to replace it. So I decided to buy the newer ibook G4 (nealry as much). I also got the extended Apple-care warranty, so I have three years time to crash my laptop. I was happy!
Later I gave my G3 back to Switzerland and told my brother in law to see if they could fix it cheaper with a second hand logic board. When he went there the Apple shop changed it for free. It was a factory problem. So I had two laptops for a while. The older one my kids used. Then after three years, actually one month before the warranty expired it broke down. I brought it in to the Mac shop in Chiang Mai. After checking/fixing it twice, they changed the logic board twice as well and it is still in repairs. (one month now) It seems like I have to buy a new computer after all. At the moment I use my old G3 but it is soooo slow I cannot use my iphoto, garageband nor imovie. No problem for e-mail or the web as well as writing documents. But after new year I will have to get a new notebook the Macbook.
Long story I know. I realized how depending I am on the computer for work. I have a back-up from all my work, but the older computer cannot open some of the newer files, like the iphoto. The hard drive is also too small. I have to wait till I have access to more than 10'000 photos and all my movies and all my music till I get the new machine. As you can guess by now, I am a bit depressed about it.... just a little ;-)

Share the Mac experience

Here is a video I found on youtube. It is to be viewed with caution. :-)

Keep on dreaming

I am so tired of my old computer. It seems to be more in repair then on my desk. So I'm looking for option to buy a new one that goes with our budget.
The one I'm looking at is the miniMac for 31'500 Baht (CHF 1,149.00) I already have a screen and keyboard. It is a low budget mac but sufficient for what I use it for.

My dream would be the imac 47'900 Baht (CHF 2,099.00). But this will probably stay a dream. Just look at it. Sooo nice and stylish. Of course also very powerful and fast.

A new Mac computer would be a dream

I went to the office with my fixed computer. The joy of having my ibook G4 back didn't last very long. Kernel panic. The screen frozen and I'm frustrated. I brought it back to the shop and got some sympathy and a a worried look from the boss. It is the logic board or the could be the RAM. They changed it already two times. I left the ibook there and luckily can still use the old ibook G3 my kids use. But also this machine is very slow and has a hard time with some of the software.
I started doing back ups on a daily basis now. Some of my stuff I have on three hard drives and even online with a .Mac account. So I can synchronize between the machines. Still I feel like I'm wasting time figuring things out.
In the Mac shop I looked at some computers. the Mac mini, the new iMac and the McBook. I believe sometimes next year I need to get a new Computer. If they can't fix the Problem with my ibook then I need to get one even earlier.

Communication with a Mac

Even though I had my share of problems with my ibook lately (as I write this my ibook G4 is in repairs again)  I like Mac computers. I don't regret switching even though there is a learning curve. Once the switch is made some kind of symbiosis takes place.

I our world of instant communication and connection we need reliability. A good and fast connection and the right tools. Internet connection has improved here in Thailand in the last 8 years, but can still drive you crazy. It is slow and fails all the time. But programs have improved. I use ichat, a mac only program. If a windows user wants to chat with me on ichat there AIM has a free program for Windows. Then I use MSN for Mac from Microsoft and of course skype . I must say I am no big "chatter". Still with some people it's a great way to stay connected. With others e-mail is great. Others the occasional phone call is the way to go.

I found another small application on the internet. (I like those little apps.) This one combines all the chat programs, except skype. So this way I don't have to have them all open. Specially if you are the seriuos chatter and have lot's of different screen names and chat programs. Here is a list of what you can use with Adium.

Click on the duck to get to the download page

My ibook is back

I got a phone call from the Mac shop this morning. My ibook is fixed. I'm so glad to get my old machine back. Next month this laptop will be three years old. When I bought it it had a one year warranty. I added another two years to the ibook with the apple care plan. It extends the warranty for another two years. Next month it would have been expired.
The Mac shop had to change the Logic board (mother board) which would have been an estimated 30,000 Thai Baht. (over 1,000 SFr.) So thanks to God that I had apple care. It would otherwise have been to expensive to get it fixed.

Break down ibook

My Mac gave up on me. Yesterday when I wanted to start it only the fan noise would come from the machine. Worse I couldn't turn it off and had to take the battery out. I brought it to the mac shop. I still have warranty with the apple care plan. What really annoys me is that three weeks ago I already had problems and brought it to the shop twice. They said it was just a system failure. No it is probably the logic board that gave up on me. I wonder if it has to do with humidity and the heat in this country.

I took out my old ibook G3 my kids use. The thing is just to get all the programs and my "stuff" on the machine. This will take some time.

Since we got a 500 Gig. external hard drive from Switzerland (Thank you so much Viktor), we have been backing up everything. So I just lost a view days of data.
I also signed up for a .Mac account. This makes the switching between all the machines a lot easier. When Lillian doesn't use her E-mac I have my account there as well with all the same data.

Radio Widget update

Ich habe letztes Jahr in einem Post über das Swiss Radio Widget geschrieben. Ich hatte später viele Probleme damit und es funktionierte nicht mehr. Ich nehme an wegen dem OSX update. Inzwischen hat Cyberdog das widget upgedatet und ich habe Gestern die neue Version runtergeladen. Leider können in der lightversion nur 9 Stationen (nicht meine Favoriten) angewählt werden. Um sich alle 42 Stationen reinzuziehen muss man SFr. 3.65 bezahlen. Na Ja, dies ist ja nicht mal eine Tasse Kaffee in der Schweiz. Also noch längst verkraftbar.

 

Aus zwei Gründen habe ich nun aber auf ein anderes Radio Widget gewechselt. Als die alte Version von Swiss Radio Widget nicht mehr ging habe ich mich für ein anderes umgeschaut und bin mit Radio Tuner fündig geworden. Zweitens kann ich mit dem Radio Tuner kann ich meine Lieblingssender (auch Ausländische) selber zusammenstellen. Dadurch habe ich nicht eine riesige Liste von Sendern die ich doch nie anwähle. Das Widget sieht nicht so cool  aus wie von Cyberdog, braucht dafür nicht soviel Platz auf meinem überfüllten Dashboard.

 

Datensicherung für den Mac

Eigendlich habe ich immer nur meine Daten auf eine externe Festplatte gezogen. Nun wird einfach die Datenmenge zu gross um immer alles zu ersetzen. Ich probiere momentan verschieden Programme aus die mir die Arbeit erleichtern sollen. Einige der Programme sind Silverkeeper, iBackup und SouperDouper. Vielleicht wisst ihr Mac Useres eine gute Möglichkeit. Was braucht ihr?

Ein weiteres Problem ist der Platz. Ich muss mir eine weitere Festplatte besorgen wo ich dann die Backups von allen Computern Platz haben. Mal sehen was ich da tun kann. Die Auswahl hier in Chiang Mai ist nicht gerade gross. DVDs brennen geht schlecht ich bräuchte zuviele davon. Vielleicht die wichtigste Daten. Adressbuch, Mail und meine persönliche Daten. Für itunes und iphoto bräuchte ich 7 DVDs.

ich bin offen für Ratschläge. Braucht Jemand .Mac um Daten zu sichern?

Airfoil mit Airport Express

Hier nochmal ein kleines Program das ich mir angeeignet habe. Im Büro und zu Hause brauche ich Airport Express. Mit diesem Wireles Router kann ich jeden USB Printer und Boxen oder Stereoanlage anhängen und so die Drahtlose verbindung geniesen. Der Nachteil mit dem Audio ist das es nur mit iTunes funktioniert. Da gibt es aber Abhilfe mit dem Program Airfoil (auch für windows users)

Mit dem Program kann ich auch das Swiss Radio widget über die externen Boxen laufen lassen.  Auch alle andere Programme auf meinem Mac funktionieren. Wichtig zum Beispiel für Garageband und iMovie. Airfoil kann als Demo runtergeladen werden. Der sound wird aber durch ein rauschen abgestellt nach etwa zehn Minuten. Es war mir zuviel dann immer wieder neu zu verbinden. So habe ich für 25$ eine Registration besorgt.  Das Program kann ich für alle empfehlen die Airport Express verwenden.

High Priority

Ich habe ein kleines Program im Internet endeckt das mir mit meinen Aufgaben hilft. Ich brauche ical für meine Termine. Für eine To do List habe ich dann Stickys gebraucht. Mit High Priority habe ich ein Tool gefunden das mir das eintippen von Aufgaben vereinfacht. Es ist verlinkt mit iCal. Es spielt keine Rolle ob ich die Aufgabe in ical einschreibe oder ob ich High Priority aufmache. Super ist die Integration in der Menuliste. Ich kann dann eine Aufgabe eingeben ohne eine Program aufzumachen.

Du kannst das Program als Demo herunterladen. Mit dem Demo kannst du die To do's sehen aber keine neuen in High Priority einschreiben. Ich muss sagen die 6$ sind eine gute Investition. Das Program geht auch auf den neuen Intel Macs.

Swiss Radio Widget

Widgets ist einer der super features in OSX. Einer meiner Liebelingswidgets ist Swissradio by Cyberdog. So kann ich DRS3 hören und von der guten alten Schweiz träumen. Auch bekomm ich dann auch mit was politisch so geht und verlerne mein "Schwytzerdütsch" nicht ganz.

Create space on your hard disc

I found this little application on the net. It gives you the choice to erase languages on your computer that you don't need. These language files come with the operating system waiting for you to learn and use them. So in my old days I decided not to learn Azerbaijani and get rid of it. I took the languages I don't use often, like Tagalog, Africans and many others off my hard disk. Perhaps another 200 MB more for music and photos.
The program was written by J. Schrier and I. Stein. Check it out at www.monolingual.sourceforge.net

Note: After you deleted the languages. They are gone. No more Chinese. Except if you reinstall OSX. Don't forget to take the program off after you're done. You won't need it anymore. Extra, extra space.

I also took off MS office and only reinstalled Words and Excel. Because I use pages and keynotes (I like them much better) I just realize that my notebook is very limited in space, even though I put a 100 GB hard disc in. I guess I have to many photos.