Archive for December, 2007
December 22, 2007 at 7:46 am · Filed under Apple, firewire, ipod
The other day a friend of mine was having trouble with his 3rd generation iPod. The 3G iPod is the one with the four glowing red touch-sensitive controls nestled between the wheel and the display. His iPod was showing the ‘please plug me in’ icon. You could hear the hard drive spin up, start reading and then stop. I was concerned that the 40 gig drive was dying but usually a failing drive emits a repetitive clicking sound.
He had already tried to connect the iPod via USB to two different computers in an effort to satisfy the iPod’s request. iTunes nor Disk Utility could read the iPod.
We checked Apple’s iPod support page. To my surprise, Apple seems to have removed the step-by-step support options for 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation models.
Then it dawned on me to locate a Firewire cable since iPods of this vintage still shipped with Firewire connectivity as their main method of transferring data. The first iPod model was Firewire only. After the 4G iPod, Apple nixed Firewire cables and has been shipping them with USB2 cables only.
Using the Firewire cable, the iPod came back to life instantly and my friend was stoked.
December 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm · Filed under Apple, microsoft
This is way-cooler than Elf Yourself. Enjoy! Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmasolidays!
December 21, 2007 at 7:33 am · Filed under ebay, microsoft, windows
Funny stuff here. I found this auction of somebody selling a new full copy of Windows Vista Home Premium edition. Here’s the sales pitch:
This is a Full Version of Windows Vista Home Premium. NOT the upgrade. It has never been opened. Why you would want this POS operating system is beyond me, but if you’re determined to get it I’m willing to take your money for it. I would recommend that you just stick with Windows XP, or perhaps try Linux.
Click Here to see the entire auction.
December 21, 2007 at 1:39 am · Filed under Internet, Marketing, bloggers, blogging, contest, john, johncow
If ever there was a contest to look like John Cow, Zac Johnson of the “Make Money with Super Affiliate Zac Johnson” blog would take the cake.
I guess they call them Lookie-Likeys across the pond. Am I right John?
December 17, 2007 at 6:35 pm · Filed under Web Dev, blogging, money
One of my favorite ways to make money on this and other websites is through a partnership with AuctionAds. AuctionAds is a simple service that connects publishers like me with Ebay auctioneers who wish to advertise their auctions on relevent websites.
AuctionAds is very simple to set up. Sign up for an account here. Once your account has been created, you can have the website generate a snippet of javascript code that will populate ads on your website. (Feel free to contact me if you have questions on how to manipulate your code.)
You can adjust the ads to match your website’s design, or maybe you want to draw attention to the ads by choosing an opposite color for the ad’s font. If your site has a lot of red in it, a green AuctionAd might draw a visitor to want to click.
You can declare specific keywords to control what type of auction will appear. Or, you can let AuctionAds scan your site’s content and choose ads automatically. There’s even a feature that will let you link to a specific auction of your choosing.
December 12, 2007 at 9:02 pm · Filed under Apple, Internet, Stuff, blogging
The table is set for MacWorld in January 2008 and a tasty bowl of rumors is on the menu.
MacWorld, to an Apple Fanboy, is better than Christmas. Steve Jobs is like Santa Claus. Phil Schiller and Woz kinda look like elves.
Macs
This biggest news to be revealed on January 15th is a totally redesigned portable Mac. Since 1997, Apple has followed a very simple strategy for the Mac lineup. The strategy involves four quadrants of Macs.
- Consumer Desktop (iMac)
- Consumer Portable (iBook/MacBook)
- Pro Desktop (PowerMac/Mac Pro)
- Pro Portable (PowerBook/MacBook Pro)
The only exceptions to this strategy have been the PowerMac G4 Cube and the Mac mini.
Where this rumored new ultraportable will fit into Apple’s strategy is still up in the air. The MacBook Pro form factor is largely unchanged since the days of the PowerBook G4 so one can postulate that it is the professional consumer quadrant that will be see a major overhaul next month.
iPhone
There is speculation that disk-mode and voice recording are coming to the iPhone. Disk-mode would enable an iPhone owner to use the device as a portable mass-storage device. iPod users have enjoyed this feature for a long time.
Google’s integration of GPS-lite into thier Maps application suggests that Apple might enhance the iPhone map client too. Its not true GPS. Basically the iPhone will be able to tell you where you are by identifying nearby cell phone towers. Jailbroken iPhones have already had this ability thanks to Navizon.
If the iPhone is to get 3G, don’t expect it until at least summer 2008.
iPod/iTunes
Don’t expect much change to the iPod lineup. In a perfect world, the iPod touch would come with the capacity of an iPod classic. But this is not a perfect world.
“People want to own thier content.” This is the mantra that Jobs and Apple have claimed is why the iPod/iTunes Music Store model has been so successful. Subscription models don’t work on a large scale. Unfortunately, the ownership model has not migrated to TV and movies very well. Have you ever seen a retail chain built around renting music?
Offering movie rentals in iTunes makes sense. Price each movie at $3.99 and let it behave like a purchased movie for 10 days. DRM will probably have to be a necessary evil to get buy-in from production studios. Maybe this scheme will wake the AppleTV from its “hobby” status.
The Stevenote
A Stevenote is the model rock-star moment that a geek could aspire to acheive. Some try to imitate. The Stevenote will get going on Tuesday January 15th and 10am PST and typically lasts about 90 minutes. Let’s hope there will be no appearances by John Mayer. John, you’re good - but your presence at MacWorld gettin a little played out.
For the nostalgic Mac fan, here is a fine archive of Keynote videos in a downloadable torrent.
