November 27, 2007

Free Music!
With the holiday season upon us, some bands are producing holiday themed music. While browsing the internet I found a few such tracks, along with the usual free offerings. Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? I find a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites out there. Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it - unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a google search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded.

Website downloads:
* Easy Anthems - Hark! (10 songs) A band I discovered by checking out some free samplings at 3hive.com. Easy Anthems is a country band with a fresh, alternative sound. Making good use of their vocal talent, they've belted out an entire album of holiday tunes. Featuring guest talent and an impressive line-up of musicians, this entire album is a free download from their website.
* Mikrofisch - Masters Of The Universe: (14 songs) Here's a low-fi, electronic band - How do those two go together, you may be asking? Well, it's a matter of saturation. Here the message is the lyrics, not a simple re-dubbing of syrup coated synth tracks. This German band is creating music that the kids can understand, while they're grooving to the tune. Oh, yeah, did I happen to mention - The entire album is your's for the taking?!

iTunes free download:
* The Bird And The Bee - Carol Of The Bells: (Free single) This week, Apple's giving away more than one tune. This one's for me. I've downloaded some B&B music in the past, and the Christmas Spirit convinced me to check this one out. Fantastic vocals and richly layered instrumentals mark this high quality rendition of a Christmas favorite. Skip the mainstream pop offerings and check out this alternative.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of November. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been rediscovering my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. With these acquisitions, I've updated my online music listing. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Frigid days of November:
Over the last two weeks or so (second half of Nov, 2007), we've been firmly in the grip of cold weather. It snowed twice - on the 20th and 23rd - and the temps have been low. Down into the teens during the night, and barely rising above freezing during the day. Despite the cold, the weather hasn't been bad. No storms to speak of. Just the crisp cold days of November in Colorado. Will it get colder? I can only imagine so, we've got a long time to go before we start seeing any spring showers or flowers.

Deck the Halls:
Kim has been busy filling the house with Christmas decorations. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, she took down the autumn decorations, and put the call out - "Bring out the tree!" Trudging down to the basement, I discovered the fact that I need help with this one. The new tree (we bought it two years ago) is nine feet high, and it weighs quite a bit. Kim helped me - by running me over on the stairs! Attaching the upper part of the tree was quite a chore, and I smacked my head on the chandelier three times before I hitched it out of reach. The tree is still crooked, but don't tell Kim. It sure looks nice with all those glittering globes and dangling doo-dads. As the gifts begin to populate the base of our tree, we're frantically trying to meet mailing deadlines. Our family lives in Wisconsin, and the post office is a favorite destination around this time of year. Today (27 Nov 07), I created our greeting card on the computer. Apple made that task a lot easier with iPhoto, and they're even doing the printing. No more wasted ink, paper, envelopes and most importantly - Time! What used to take several days to accomplish, was completed in about an hour. Thank you Apple!
<http://www.apple.com/support/ilife/tutorials/iphoto/ip5-6.html>

Software favorites:
I've recently installed some updates to a few of my favorite pieces of software. I've finally decided to add iWeb to the list, BetterHTMLExport has released an iPhoto 7.0/and Leopard compatible release, and GraphicConverter moves ever forward. One more steps towards perfection. Another product that's always getting better. This latest batch of releases address Leopard compatibility. With the recent release of Apple's newest OS comes a slew of software upgrades, updates and patches.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

GraphicConverter:
The developer of this fantastic application released two new versions (6.0.3 and 6.0.3b0) in the past few days. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($34.95). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html>

iWeb:
iWeb is Apple's entry into the HTML authoring/editing arena. It's powerful, easy to use and well polished. I've been using it more and more in order to create web pages for specific purposes. I don't use it exclusively, but I am starting to use it more and more. As a matter of fact, I'm using it exclusively on one particular web site that I manage. The best parts of iWeb are the integration with other Apple applications, the WYSIWYG interface, and the highly professional appearance of the web page outputs. The drawbacks are lack of control in web page export/output, and there's no way to view or edit the HTML code from within the application. The more recent release (with iLife '08) is a great improvement, but the application still has room for improvement.
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/>

BetterHTMLExport:
BetterHTMLExport is an iPhoto plugin which you can use to create web pages from iPhoto galleries. You can control the web page output much more efficiently than the you can with iPhoto's built in web page output controls, you have additional output options, and you can download, save, and use templates to create highly professional looking web pages. Or, you can build your own templates! This plugin is definitely worth the cash. I was tired of spending hours tweaking my photo web pages. BetterHTMLExport lets me spend my time more wisely.
<http://geeksrus.com/software/betterhtmlexport/>

Encryption:
Due to a recent upgrade in my operating system, I've updated encryption/privacy software. Leopard broke some of the software that I used/use for encryption, authentication and privacy. As a result, I had to wait a bit for the developers to catch up with this latest software update. It took some time, but I'm back on schedule now. People concerned with security and privacy are typically quite focused and goal oriented. They didn't take long to get their software compatible with Leopard. I use GnuPG v1.4.7 for encryption/decryption. If you would like to correspond in secret, please take note of my Public Keys. I use GnuPG with the GPGMail (d50/Leopard build) bundle, in order to encrypt/decrypt my email in Apple's Mail.app 3.1 (914/915) built on Mac OS 10.5.1 (build 9B18). My public keys are available on various keyservers, or you can get them from my website, whichever you prefer. With this recent change in my encryption software, I've updated my feedback page, computer page, and my public encryption key listing.
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/encryption.html>

Volvo repairs:
<rave>The other day (26 Nov '07) I had to take the Volvo in for some repairs. Over the last couple of days, two warnings showed up in the message center. One said 'Emergency brake needs service', the other said 'Engine needs service'. The vehicle wasn't giving any other indications that it might need service, but those are the sort of messages you don't want to ignore. So, we scheduled an appointment to have the Volvo looked at. The service coincided with a scheduled oil change and fluid check so we needed to get in anyway. I waited at the garage while the mechanic checked it out. After three hours I was starting to worry. That's when an employee called me over to the service desk. The good news, there were no major problems. A brake sensor had gone bad and it had to be replaced. The great news? They changed the oil (and filter), replaced the brake sensor, reprogrammed the braking system, and checked the brakes for only $38.00! Yeah, most of it was covered under warranty, but I always get good service at McDonald Automotive. It's a rare day when you leave the garage feeling happy!</rave>
<http://volvo.mcdonaldag.com/index.htm>

November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!
Kim and I both have off today, and we're celebrating Thanksgiving in our usual manner. We've invited a group of military members who are separated from their families during this holiday. One has a husband deployed to Djibouti, the others are single folks living in the barracks or off base by themselves. Kim and I know what it's like to be away from your family during the holiday's, and we're just trying to help out a few of military members by offering them some home cooked food, and good companionship on this special day. Kim and I hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving.

Neighborhood Watch:
Civic duty? Recently (Oct of 2007), I decided that I wanted to do more to help my community. With shift work, finding something that I can do to help has been a bit difficult. When I started wondering what I could do that wouldn't necessarily require a specific 9-5 schedule, I realized that my odd-ball schedule would actually work in my favor if I were up at odd hours of the day. I decided to volunteer with our local neighborhood watch. Like many of the people in my community. I own some nice things, and I want to keep it that way. Volunteering for the neighborhood watch doesn't require a lot of dedication, but it does require some attention to detail and a keen sense of your surroundings.

At our last Neighborhood Watch meeting, I volunteered to help with a newsletter and mailing lists. I even registered a domain (tollgatecrossing.org) for use with our neighborhood watch. Since that meeting, I've been working on a website and some mailing lists for our communities neighborhood watch group. If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're a fan of "Rob's World!" you'll want to check out the web page, just to see what can be done with Apple's iWeb software. The web page turned out very nicely, and I hope it serves our community well. This week, I updated the Neighborhood Watch page, I made several format changes, and added a link/new page for recent or upcoming events. In addition to all the web page updates, I also started up the mailing lists (There's one for watch/block captains, and one for residents of Tollgate Crossing), picked up my 'badge' (Apparently, the police department's background check didn't find any problems!) and some flyers for an upcoming meeting.

If you're a resident of Tollgate Crossing, and you're concerned about the safety and security of our community, you might want to join or mailing list to receive periodic alerts, updates and information. For additional information see the Neighborhood Watch web page.
<http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/Departments/Police/Neighborhood_Watch/index.htm>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/index.html>

Finally, some snow!
We've been pretty dry of late, the last precip - that I can remember - occurred on the 20th of October. We went an entire month without any precipitation (around our house), now we've got some snow. It's the dry, powdery stuff, and thankfully, I didn't have to shovel. Today (on the 22nd), it's still here. Most of the lawns are covered, but it's melted away from the roads and sidewalks. Along with this coating of white fluffy stuff, came a plunge into arctic temperatures. The temps began falling on the 18th, and they've been down in the low 20's ever since. I guess we won't need the air conditioner for some time. It's a white thanksgiving. What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?
<https://www.robsworld.org/iwebpages/First_snowfall_-_Oct.html>

November 18, 2007

Mac OS 10.5.1 update:
Apple is hard at work, making sure that Leopard is running on all cylinders. Finding security flaws, patching annoying bugs, improving the user experience. It's been less than a month since the release of Leopard, and here's a significant update. So, what's new in this update? Updates to the Airport wireless capabilities, Back to My Mac network improvements, Disk Utility improvements and adjustments, iCal fixes, resolved multiple issues with Apple's Mail application, improved Microsoft networking compatibility, patched a printer problem, addressed a few Firewall security issues, cleared up a few System and Finder problems, and closed out a couple of Time Machine bugs. I upgraded to Leopard last month, and so far I'm very happy.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306907>

Comcast Broadband is Super-Snappy:
<rave>Yesterday (17 Nov 07), I had to call Qwest in order to make some changes to my telephone plan. While I was on the phone with the representative (captive audience), she pitched their 'broadband' DSL service. I told her that I already had Comcast High-Speed. She then proceeded to tell me the Qwest's DSL service has comparable speeds for less money! I laughed, and explained to her that there is no way Qwest could possibly match or exceed the speeds I'm getting for less than I'm paying now. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if they would even offer any residential package that might reach the same speeds that I'm getting with Comcast. Then she wanted to know how fast my connection was - I told here it was 6MBps download and that's when she broke down. "I'm just telling you what I've been told to say". Thanks anyway I said, and that was the end of that.

Well, curiosity got the better of me, and I had to check out my 'actual' connection speeds. So, I headed on over to BroadbandReports.com in order to test my provider's speed. There are plenty of places online where you can test out your internet connect speeds, this is just one of them. After running the test, I discovered something amazing. I knew I had underestimated my actual connect speed, but I didn't want to give Qwest anything too ridiculous. So I gave her a number that I thought reasonably approximated my connect speed. According to Comcast my speeds are supposed to be: Upload - 384KBps, Download - 6MBps. When I ran the speed test: The results shocked me. I've known that they usually ran higher than the 'advertised' speeds, but I was really amazed at the results: Upload - 1.4MBps, and Download -30MBps. Initially, I didn't believe the speeds, so I checked out the results of other Comcast customers. Wow! The results are accurate - Those speed are ridiculous, fantastic, Comcastic! I wonder how much Qwest would charge for speeds like that? Comcast cost $42.95 per month. </rave>
<http://www.broadbandreports.com/stest>

My Mom's visit - 2005?
How did this slip my notice? Yes, my mother paid a visit, back in 2005! I wrote about it (back then), on more than one occasion, and I took pictures. I even created a web page for the photos. Somehow, I forgot to put a link to those pictures on my photo page (back in 2005). The other day (November 2007), I was working in iPhoto, when I realized that I had pictures from the visit, but no web page? As I said, I had made a web page, I just forgot to post the link. Sorry mom! I'm such a bad son. So here we are, over two years later, and I'm finally posting a link to those photos.

Mom's visit ran from 22 to 28 October. October of 2005, that is! The visit came as a complete surprise to me, and Kim is the master of conspiracies - keeping the whole thing under wraps until I woke up from a nap to find my mom sitting in the living room. What a great visit! We went out to eat, played dominos, reminisced, and had an enjoyable week together. I was glad that mom got to see the new house, and I look forward to her next visit. So here are the photos from her visit. I also updated the photos page to include a link to the photos on that page. It may be a bit late, but I thought you still might want to see the pictures.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphoto/mom2005/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/photos.html>

Neighborhood Watch:
Civic duty? Recently, I decided that I wanted to do more to help my community. With shift work, finding something that I can do to help has been a bit difficult. When I started wondering what I could do that wouldn't necessarily require a specific 9-5 schedule, I realized that my odd-ball schedule would actually work in my favor if I were up at odd hours of the day. I decided to volunteer with our local neighborhood watch. Like many of the people in my community. I own some nice things, and I want to keep it that way. Volunteering for the neighborhood watch doesn't require a lot of dedication, but it does require some attention to detail and a keen sense of your surroundings.

At our last Neighborhood Watch meeting, I volunteered to help with a newsletter and mailing lists. I even registered a domain (tollgatecrossing.org) for use with our neighborhood watch. Since that meeting, I've been working on a website and some mailing lists for our communities neighborhood watch group. If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're a fan of "Rob's World!" you'll want to check out the web page, just to see what can be done with Apple's iWeb software. The web page turned out very nicely, and I hope it serves our community well.
<http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/Departments/Police/Neighborhood_Watch/index.htm>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/index.html>

November 13, 2007

We voted, did you?
I sure hope so. Kim and I voted early. Because of our work schedules, we voted by absentee ballot. <rave>Colorado made it very easy for us to vote by absentee ballot and we really liked the booklets they sent us ahead of time. They sent out a booklet containing analysis of all the ballot initiatives. It really helps when it comes to unraveling the opposing commercials and rhetoric you hear on the news. The booklet include all the facts, plus some pro and con points of view. With the help of the booklet, I found answers to most of my questions, and had a place to start when doing my own research. Now that's government working for me!</rave>
<http://www.arapahoevotes.com/>

I got my flu shot, did you?
I sure hope so. The company that I work for (Northrop Grumman) cares enough about my health to offer free flu shots this time of year. Studies have shown that the benefits of a flu shot far outweigh the costs. If you get the flu shot, you are likely to have a 'sympathetic reaction'. Since the shot contains dead virus (or weakened virus), your body thinks it's being attacked. It thinks you've got the flu. As a result, your body starts to produce anti-bodies, and you start to feel like you're getting the flu. Your body starts to ache and you get some congestion. Sure, you might feel crappy for a day or two, but this 'sympathetic reaction' is nothing compared to the actual flu. Many people think that this 'sympathetic reaction' is actually the flu. Luckily for them, it's not. You can still get the flu after an inoculation, but it'll be a different strain. No one can predict (with complete accuracy) what, if any, flu strain you will be exposed to. Getting a flu shot is a good idea. People who don't get the flu shot are more likely to get the flu (Dhuh!). They will probably miss some work, they'll feel crappy, and they'll pay more in medical costs than they would have for the flu shot.

The military mandates that all active duty members get a flu shot, but I know for a fact that there are plenty of military folks who find some way to avoid that flu shot. It never fails to amaze me as I watch these people coughing, shivering and suffering through the flu. They don't report to sick call, because the clinic might find out that they didn't get the flu shot. Self inflicted idiocy. In the meantime, they're putting me at risk, and I have to pick up the slack while they're released for the day by sympathetic supervisors.

(FYI: I'm not medically trained, and I don't claim to have any special knowledge when it comes to flu shots, so do your own research before believing my remarks. There are risks associated with the flu-shot, and I don't know whether you fall into a risk category. Consult a real doctor.)
<http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm>

Ask the Geek:
Embracing my inner geek, and laughing along the way. Here's a whimsical entry that may or may not bear repeating. It's a silly little interlude into geekish humor. Posted after a recommendation by a coworker, I thought I'd give it a try, so here goes:

So, if you enjoyed that bit of whimsy, I'll try to produce more silly Q&A entries in the future. Thanks go out to Brian for his inspiration and insightful questions...

D&D updates:
We played D&D on the 3rd of Nov, 2007, and the updates are in. Having spent themselves on futile battles with mindless creatures and evil denizens, the party has finally discovered an entrance into the Duergar complex of Firestorm Peak. Bluffing their way into an underground town, the party seeks out clues and supplies. This course of action seems to be buying them some time, and that's one thing they've very little of. As the clock ticks forward, the gates wait for no one, and making up time is now a priority. Will the party have enough time to find and vanquish the source of evil within this mountain? Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure!

Our next gaming date is 17 November, 2007. Stay tuned for more adventure; there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come. With the departure of Duracell and the addition of two new characters, the party faces the challenge of adapting to these new characters, while simultaneously facing the challenge of an ever-ticking timeline. In this quest there is a time limit that the party must be cognizant of. If they spend too much time fighting beasties, they just might find that they've run out of time to unravel the mysteries of Firestorm Peak. Be sure to follow our adventurers as they search for Tanar's father, and seek out the source of taint inside Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

The 4th Edition of D&D:
It was bound to happen sooner or latter. Wizards of the Coast - The company that produces my favorite game, announced (on the 16th of August, 2007) the pending release of version 4.0 of the game. The company that owns D&D is best known for their Collectible Card Game - Magic The Gathering. With this new release, they've proven their true ethos. Profit over purist. Recently, I read an article by Erik Mona (former editor at Dragon Magazine (Oh yeah, there's another complaint. Wizards of the Coast decided to pull the hardcopy magazine in favor of an electronic version. I don't like it. I should pay for an electronic only magazine? I'll never read it. I like the hardcopy format. I don't watch movies on my computer, and I won't read a magazine off my computer's monitor. I think it's a bad idea.)). Aside from being a former editor of Dragon magazine, Erik Mona is also a former author of many D&D products, gaming supplements, and the current publisher of Paizo Publishing LLC – A gaming company built around the whole 'Open Gaming License' concept first embraced by Wizards of the Coast. Mr. Mona is not entirely happy with the new direction of the 4th edition. This excerpt from a recent article (by Erik Mona) should give you some insight into where our favorite game is headed.

"Wizards of the Coast is a multi-million-dollar subsidiary of a billion-dollar toy corporation. The designers, editors, and art folks working on D&D probably represent one of the most expensive Research and Development teams in the entire Hasbro "family," and an expense like that demands mega-profits. I'm not sure that a simple pencil and paper RPG can deliver the kind of profit to keep Hasbro's support, which is why I think you're seeing pushes toward micro-purchases (say of "virtual" D&D Miniatures for use on the Virtual Tabletop similar to the "virtual" cards in Magic Online), ongoing opt-out low-cost digital "subscriptions", and a strong emphasis on the highly profitable prepainted plastic miniatures. It behooves Wizards of the Coast to "monetize" as many aspects of D&D as possible, to keep the game as fresh and free of limiting "baggage" (such as continuity), and to keep up with the design approaches taken by massively multiplayer online roleplaying games that appeal to the next generation of gamers. To keep Hasbro happy, D&D must deliver huge profits similar to the company's other brands to remain a viable business for the corporation."

The ethic and motives driving this entirely new version of D&D mean that my $1,875.00 plus collection of 3.0/3.5 books are obsolete. A hefty exercise in planned obsolescence. There's nothing wrong with these books, but Wizards of the Coast has decided that I need to buy all new books in order to continue playing the 'official' version of my favorite game. I don't like it, and I don't like the things I'm hearing about this new version of the game. What am I going to do? I'm not 100% certain at this point. I haven't made a firm decision yet, but I'm leaning towards - Screw that! For now, we'll continue to play 3.5.
<http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=4e>

Another new Mac user:
Recently, my younger sister (Alice) got a new computer (actually it's a used computer - from my older sister). So now she's hooked up to the internet, but she can't receive or send email? Yeah, it'll take a bit of work – she's a newbie, but I doubt that it'll take much longer before she's sending and receiving email on a daily basis. It took her some time to get connected - her ISP's a bit primitive. Her only choice at the moment is dial-up, but I'm looking forward to chatting with my sister in the near future. Hopefully, I can help her figure out some of the more subtle Mac maneuvers, like how to 'point-and-click'. She's just one of the people I know who've recently switched to Mac (Dennis, Pete, Micheal, and now Alice). Welcome to a place where computers aren't a chore - where you can follow your creative urges, and stop worrying about trojans. Maybe you'll be next. Why would I recommend a Mac? For all my reasons, check out my 'Why I Mac' web page, or you can check out Apple's shiny glossy pitch.
<https://www.robsworld.org/whyimac.html>
<http://www.apple.com/getamac/>

Apple Security Update:
Yet another security update released by Apple - QuickTime update 7.3. provides updates to Mac and Windows versions of Quicktime. Eight patches to prevent arbitrary code execution and access by malicious java applets, support for iTunes 7.5, updated support for creating iPhone-compatible web content, and updated JavaScript support in the QuickTime Web Plug-in. Apple's software update makes it easy to find out about, and implement these security updates. If you own a Mac, you can rest assured that any potential security concerns will be addressed in a timely and thorough manner. You can read more about the update at Apple's website. Keeping my Mac safe from malicious hackers and such.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/security/>

More music in November:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? I find a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites out there. Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a google search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of November. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been rediscovering my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. With these acquisitions, I've updated my online music listing. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

What would you do with a Time Machine?
While there may be no such thing as time, Apple's got a Time Machine built into Leopard, and I for one am very grateful.Time Machine is an incremental backup application. It's integrated into Apple's newest Operating System (Leopard), and I recently had the opportunity to check it out first hand. I was doing a bit of work on the computer, trying to clean up some music tracks and get rid of some old mp3s. Unfortunately, I inadvertently deleted the wrong tracks — and then I emptied the trash! Thankfully, Apple's Time Machine made recovering the files a snap. It's application sensitive, remembers where you left off (so you can safely shut-down or reboot without losing data), backs up everything, only backs up what you want, and works in the background without any attention. It was easy and painless to use. With a couple of clicks, I recovered my iTunes tracks in a couple of seconds. Awesome! I had to buy an external hard drive to get the Time Machine up and running, but luckily, CompUSA had a good sale on some Lacie drives. Considering the fact that storage space is incredibly cheap, how can you afford not to back-up your data?
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/timemachine.html>

Job search spam:
Back in 2004, when I was looking for a job, I submitted my resume to the 'Defense Talent Network' (aka ClearanceJobs.com). I submitted my resume to this outfit, because it looked like they might be able to help me find a job which would make use of my security clearance. As it turns out, I didn't need their help. I found a job by applying to various companies directly. After I found a job, I continued to get job offers from several web sites/companies. While I was able to convince most of them that I no longer needed their help, I wasn't able to make this company stop. Nothing I did seemed to work. I followed their unsubscribe instructions, submitted my email address to their removal web-form, sent email to their unsubscribe address, and I even sent email to the president of their company. None of that worked. I even gave them the benefit of trying twice! When the job offers wouldn't stop, I started reporting them as spammers through spamcop.net. Eventually – after the fifth such report, their web host contacted me. I explained my problem, provided documentation (with full headers), and a detailed analysis of the spamming incidents. The web host administrator asked them (DTN) to remove me from their list, but I don't have any confirmation regarding my removal. I can only assume that I "Have Not" been removed. Oh well, I'll just keep reporting them. As my spamcop reports continue to place them on black/block lists, perhaps they'll get the hint and change their ways. In the meantime, I'm warning everyone I know (those seeking jobs) not to use DTN in their job search.

Software favorites:
One of my favorite pieces of software recently released an update. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. One more steps towards perfection. Another product that's always getting better. This release marks the incremental advance of beta releases. The latest batch of beta releases address Leopard compatibility. With the recent release of Apple's newest OS comes a slew of software upgrades, updates and patches.

GraphicConverter:
The developer of this fantastic application released a new beta version (6.0.2b2), in the past few days. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($34.95). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

November 8, 2007

Leopard is here!
Apple released the newest Mac operating system back on the 26th of October — My birthday! While I was really looking forward to the update, I held off a few days before I upgraded. I wanted to let them work out a few kinks (and there was one), and I was on vacation. I waited a little bit before I updated. On the 4th of November, I installed the new operating system, and I have to say, I'm very happy with it's performance so far. I purchased my copy (the last in stock) from CompUSA, which offered an instant $20.00 rebate. Saved a bit of money, and I didn't have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

After I got it home, I prepped my machine for the upgrade. I removed all the OS9 components. It's been more than a year since I've used any OS 9 applications, and I haven't missed it at all. So much for the legacy of previous Mac operating systems. OS 10 has been better than anything else available, and no one would ever dream of a return to the pre-X days. I also disabled many of the extensions to my operating system. Turned of all the haxies, and other preference panes. I even removed the plugins from my Mail.app. After that I made a clone (using Carbon Copy Cloner) of my boot drive — Just in case. I even tested the clone, just to make sure that it would boot.

Finally, I was ready for the update. I chose the default update method (upgrade). I didn't really need to do an archive and install, or a complete erase and install. I was expecting the upgrade to take somewher in the vicinity of 8 hours. I was surprised to find that the upgrade only took 4 hours on my dual processor 1.8GHz power mac. After the upgrade completed, I logged in, ran through the upgrade wizard prompts, and found myself wishing I could play for several more hours. Unfortunately, it was late and I had to get to sleep. I left the Mac logged in, with Spotlight and TimeMachine hard at work.

After I got up from my nap, I went to work configuring all the new preferences. I went through all the preference panes, checking the settings to make sure they were all set the way I wanted them. After that, I did a bit of investigating, discovered some of the unexpected changes. Sherlock is gone completely, Google talk has been added to iChat, users can obtain a free .mac iChat account, startup is quicker (in 2 min and 30 secs, I had my desktop and 8 programs running), Safari is much faster (must have plugged some memory leaks).

In addition to the surprises that I noticed, Apple's new operating system is loaded with hundreds of new/updated features. I could compose an impressive and lenghty list, but Apple's already done that. You can check out all the new features at their website.

As a result of my OS update, the following pages have been updated. myfavs.html (updated Safari version info), feedback.html (removed an expired email address, updated iChat and encryption info), mycomputer.html (updated OS, Terminal, and Mail.app info. Removed info regarding OS 9 through Classic emulation).
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/>
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/>
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>

Mac OS 10.5 update:
Already?! Well, not really, a very minor update. Something that couldn't wait. Apple issued a patch to the newest Mac OS on the 27th of October. The day after the launch of Leopard. It seems that there were some issues with passwords not working.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306804>

SpamCop plugin still works under Leopard:
Good news for spam fighters everywhere. The long discontinued SpamCop plugin (v1.3.2) for Mail.app (made by Subsume), still works on my PowerMac G5 running Leopard. I've used this plugin for years now. Thanks to this simple little applescript, I've been able to report thousands of spam messages through SpamCop.net. SpamCop has told Subsume to knock it off, and the plugin doesn't work with Intel Macs, but it still works on my computer. It's the only Mail.app plugin (on my system) that didn't break under 10.5. I'm very glad that I've still got this little plugin working. Without it, I'd probably stop reporting spam. You can still download the plugin for Mail.app from Versiontracker. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll see any updates should a future update break the plugin.
<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14753>

November 04, 2007

November starts with music:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? I find a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites out there. Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a google search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of November. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been rediscovering my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. With these acquisitions, I've updated my online music listing. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Software favorites:
One of my favorites has recently been upgraded to version 3.6.2 It's one awesome FTP tool. Hmm, Awesome and FTP in the same sentence? Maybe you should check it out? This update marks the beginning of a slew of upgrades. Apple just released a major OS update (on the 26th of Oct, '07), and many developers will be releasing updates in the next few months. Here's one of the early updates.

Transmit:
An FTP tool that does it all. Anyone who publishes web pages eventually needs a way to upload their pages to a web site. I've found that stand alone FTP tools are the best for this task. Transmit has a clean and easy to use interface, and some really nifty features, like the ability to resume a transfer that's been interrupted, site synchronization capabilities, iDisk integration (It's way faster than the finder!), drag-to-dock sending, column views, a built in text editor, and secure ftp transfer (in various different flavors) capability. The most recent update moves this software up to version 3.6.2.
<http://www.panic.com/transmit/index.html>

External Hard Drive:
This month (Nov '07), I bought a new hard drive for my Mac. With prices of storage plummeting, I figured that I could afford some additional storage space. I was pleasantly surprised to find a 500Gb Lacie hard drive (USB2.0 compatible, design by F.A. Porsche) on sale at CompUSA ($116), I decided to make a purchase. The Lacie drives are trusted by Mac users, and I was fed up with Maxtor. 500Gb is a lot of storage, but I'm gonna need it. I recently purchased a copy of the newest Mac OS. Leopard, Mac's OS 10.5 contains something called 'Time Machine', an automated incremental back-up solution. This new back-up software will need lots of disk space, so I figured I might as get a big drive. This baby ought to take a while to fill up. I hope... With this recent purchase, I updated my Computer page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/laciedrive.png>