Archive for October, 2007

Discussions boards are filling with reports of odd behavior with the Leopard Installer. I joined that experience yesterday with my first attempt at the upgrade.Since I have some important apps in my workflow that have yet to be declared fully Leopard compatible, I decided to wait on upgrading the primary drive in my MacBook Pro. Instead, I planned to upgrade to an external hard drive; and to begin that journey, I cloned the entire contents of my notebook to a volume on a USB 2.0 HDD.

After rebooting into the Leopard Installer DVD, I began the process of clicking through various screens. Soon, I ran into a serious roadblock: in the “Destination” screen where we choose the volume to be upgraded, no volumes appeared. Nothing. Read the rest of this entry »



Apple said it sold more than 2 million copies of the latest version of its operating system, Mac OS X Leopard, since its release on Friday.

Leopard introduces new features to Apple PCs, including automatic backup, a quick way to browse and share files over multiple Macs, and a new way to see files without opening an application, the company said in a statement.



Fatman iTube
The Carbon Edition is unique in that it uses a one piece form-factor and is… black..

This means that the amplifier and dock elements are built into a single piece chassis, thereby providing an elegant and high impact design. The specification has been uplifted to include 2 pairs of source inputs (plus the iPod dock), a remote control which handles volume and tonal changes for all three sources, (plus all the iPod functionality) and a huge increase in power to 25w per channel. Coming in two versions, (with matching speakers or without), the Carbon Edition is a logical progression from the standard iTube.

Designed for those with a darker side.

Remote
The iTube ValveDock Carbon Edition with Speakers comes complete with full function remote control.

Main Features
iTube Vacuum Tube Amplifier with integrated Dock for Apple iPod
Gorgeous black high-gloss finish
Valve processing gives warm, rich, audio characteristics

Specifications
Power Output: 25Wx2
Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20KHz (±1.5Db)
Harmonic Distortion: ≤0.5%
Signal-To-Noise Ratio: ≥86Db
Input Impedance: 100KΩ
Output Impedance: 4Ω, 8Ω
Valve Type: 2x6N1(ECC85)
1x6E2(EM87)
Power Supply: AC100~120V/50~60Hz, AC220~240V/50~60Hz
Dimensions: (Amp) 360x148x172mm (WxHxD) Weight (Amp) 3.97KGs

What's In The Box?
iTube Vacuum Tube Amplifier with Dock
Banana Plug speaker cables
Aux source audio cable for connecting CD player
Video cable to connect docking station to TV

iPod Compatibility
ipod 4th generation
ipod 4th generation (colour display)
ipod nano 1st generation
ipod 5th generation (video)
ipod 2nd generation (aluminum)

£429 fromFat Man



     When news of Apple working on new iPods that run on its legendary operating system first broke, analysts were expecting an iPhone like user interface on the new Nano and imagining all sorts of useful applications running on the iPod platform. However, when the new firmware visually turned out to be pretty much the old firmware with split-screen and CoverFLow tacked on, there was obvious disappointment. I believe these false expectations were at least partly responsible for the lukewarm reception that the new firmware received very early on.

     Truth be told, I did not share some of those unrealistic expectations. You see, to run a core OS X build with decent graphics reminiscent of the iPhone requires a substantial upgrade in Nano/Classic processor and graphics capabilities. Both of those upgrades currently do not make economic sense and contradict Apple's tradition of offering sequential product upgrades. So while the firmware has an OS X foundation, it doesn't look at all like the iPhone's rich interface due to hardware limitations on current generation players. CoverFlow IS something new, but it clearly looks and performs like a lesser hardware demanding version found on the iPhone.

     But is interface eye candy such as CoverFlow the only reason behind porting OS X to iPods or is there a grander vision of where the iPod is headed with OS X? Apple, it seems, has made the decision to move to OS X on the new iPods to in order to progressively offer more features with ease on each passing generation while still stressing simplicity of use. So, look for more enhancements added to the next round of iPods and keep in mind that the overall product roadmap is probably headed more towards a portable personal computing platform rather than just a media player. But that, of course, is several years down the road.

D.S.



Ipod is really amazing! This little stuff, or rather, the resources and softwares provided by Apple are very good.  And podcast is the case in point! And now, the new programme called " iTune U" is way greater than that.  Podcast provides various programmes from most of developed countries, including some amazing and classical programs like Discovery(has audio and videos), music videos, audibooks etc, and iTune U offers speeches, talking of some famous universities like Yale, MIT..etc. Very nice.



mostwanted2.jpg picture by FordGTGuy

Forget the Red Sox, Zune has just won CNet's most wanted gadget poll. The new Zune has rocketed to the top of the pack weeks before the November 13th launch. Word is getting our about the larger glass LCD screen and thinner, smaller size of the Zune 80. Microsoft has invested heavily in R&D to make sure Zune defeats the competition in every aspect. A 27% reduction in size leaves the Zune lighter than the 80gb iPod and it's still scratch resistant. Existing Zune owners are prepared to receive, free of charge, new Zune 2 firmware features including wireless Wifi sync and 1 click podcast subscription.



I wrote about Bose's iPod Docking Station a few days back in my post Bose’s iPod Docking Station: A clear winner. In this post, i shall be writing about yet another iPod Docking Station (Philips DCD778) which was released by Philips a few months back.

Philips DCD778

Philips DCD778 according to the company is a device which is designed to be used in the kitchen and can be mounted under any cabinet. Following are some of the features of this entertainment system

  • Includes 8.5 inch LCD Display.
  • Capable of adding TV, AM and FM tuning.
  • DVD Playback.
  • Dual Speakers
  • 40 button Remote control.
  • Silver design to match many contemporary cabinet designs. ( This is a good feature as the product is indeed an "under cabinet"
  • iPod Adapters.
  • Cooking timer with a Clock

Philips claims the DCD778 Dock Station is compatible with fourth and fifth-generation iPods, iPod minis, and iPod nanos.

Philips DCD778 is available in US for a price around 300$.

Related Posts: Bose’s iPod Docking Station: A clear winner

Do let me know about other docking systems and i shall include it in the Reader Contribution section.

Cheers

Vaibhav



As vezes o consumidor se identifica tanto com o produto e a marca que consegue influenciar toda uma campanha publicitária, afinal, ninguém melhor que o próprio cliente pra dizer o porquê dele gostar tanto assim do produto.

O estudante inglês Nick Haley, de dezoito anos criou um comercial para o ipod touch com cenas do produto e a trilha sonora "Music is my hot, hot sex" do Cansei de ser sexy. Quando o departamento de marketing da Apple viu o vídeo no you tube, pediu para a TWBA Chiat/Day entrar em contato com o rapaz.

Pronto: surgiu um convite para produzir o comercial e veiculá-lo na Tv, apenas para o mercado japonês, europeu e norte-americano.

Compare, este é o original:

E este foi o da agência:



I'm a bit too busy for posting tonight because I've been developing on my earlier inspiration. So far I have a stuffed iPod (to test my cases on) and a prototype case. I'm not quite done yet, but we're getting somewhere. :)

I also put in a couple part-time applications for some exciting freelance writing opportunities. We'll see where that goes.

Here's some links from MillionaireMommyNextDoor's edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. (you can vote for my post on tipping, if you liked it!) Here's some good posts from the carnival.

The Financial Blogger concludes an investigation of Primerica. I haven't read the rest of the series, but I certainly plan to.

In Reflections of a BizDriven Life, there's a reflection on the yin and yang of earning and paying interest.

From Debt Free, some Credit Card Practices to Look Out For.

IWillChangeYourLife investigates Debt and Dreams.

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I heard this quote recently that went "You can tell a person by what they have on their Ipod."  What's on my Ipod then and how does this relate to the business of illustrated children's books?  I have an 80 gig video Ipodand it is mostly filled with educational stuff.  Granted, my movies take up a majority of space on my Ipod with my favorites such as Godfather, Braveheart and 300 but it's really other media.  Here's my educational stuff:  Anthony Robbins, Automaic Millionaire by David Bach, Donald Trump How to get Rich (Yes the Donald), Enlightened Wealth Training by T Harv Eker, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Negotiations, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, Self Made Millionaire by Brian Tracy, and a ton of teleseminars.  Of course I have some music but it's really less than 30 total songs.  My educational materials probably totals over 40 hours of great stuff. 

Luckily for me, I spend a lot of time in the car close to 2.5 hours.  So instead of listening to the news or radio stations, I educate myself while I'm driving.  I fill my head with things that will support me and keep me learning.  I'm an avid learner admittedly so.  If you're not growing you're dying.  So I try to learn something new everyday and having the Ipod sure helps.  I've met so many people like myself that believe in mobile education or the "University on Wheels" as Brian Tracy says.