Territorial Bloggings

So, I’ve had my iPhone for just over a month now, and I must say that it’s still just about the niftiest device that I’ve ever used. Seriously, it’s right up there with my MacBook Pro & the DirecTV DVR, which were heretofore the best and/or biggest game-changing pieces of technology that I’ve ever owned.

The Blackberry Curve that was replaced by the iPhone was certainly quite good, from a utilitarian standpoint. It was/is a great smartphone. But, I would state that it (and the Blackberry as a platform), IMO, is primarily a phone/communications device that has had some other things bolted onto it in order to become a more fully functional tool. And, make no mistake about it, it does these things very well. Even setting market share arguments aside, RIM has good technology, and they make it available to folks in attractive form factors that enable those folks to do lots of useful & necessary things. But deep in their heart/soul, Blackberries are still those two-way pagers — that’s their DNA.

The iPhone, on the other hand, feels to me like a computer — a Macintosh — that has a phone that’s been smartly grafted into it. Largely, IMO, that’s because of the fact that Safari works just like it does on any “regular” Mac, and that Mail on an iPhone handles attachments/content just like a regular mail client does. I’ve been able to read/view Word/Excel/PDF/photo files, and any other mail attachments without any problem on the iPhone — something that wasn’t nearly the case on my Blackberry (it was always a struggle). And, to put it simply & bluntly, the Blackberry browser is flat out inferior to Safari.

Quite frankly, and this was a surprise to me, the overall experience with the iPhone is good enough that, if I were presented with a situation where I was without a computer for an extended period of time (say a few days to a week or so), it would only be a minor inconvenience (with the Blackberry, it’d have been a major setback). I could do most everything I do on a daily basis, with very little change in how I do it. The biggest inconvenience/oddity is that there’s no cut & paste functionality, which impacts more than you might think.

As an iPod, it’s as stellar as you would imagine. So, the only thing I’ll mention in that regard is more a commentary on integrated car audio/phone functionality — if you can get it, do so! I can control the iPod using the stereo touchpad controls, via the USB link in my Honda Civic, and it’s very nifty. It’s fully integrated and it keeps the iPhone charged, which is an advantage over the regular audio-in jack option (which is still better than FM or cassette options). For phone use, I’ve got the integrated Bluetooth Hands-Free control, that allows full use of the phone, and is much easier (and, I hope, safer) than even the Bluetooth headset that I had been using. These aren’t unique to the iPhone, I know, but I do like how this functionality works with the iPhone, compared to what I had with my Blackberry & regular iPod.

As a side note, switching from Verizon to AT&T wasn’t a problem for me, either in terms of the mechanical process of switching (the conversion of the corporate account’s ownership to me & porting the number from Verizon to AT&T was painless), or in terms of Verizon vs. AT&T. I’ve actually found AT&T to be pleasant enough to work with after so many years of dealing with Verizon (their web interface is much better, IMO), the pricing & service plans are comparable enough to be a wash, and the coverage hasn’t been an issue where I spend my time (even when I’ve traveled far afield to West Lafayette & Akron). The next step will be getting Deb moved over to AT&T when her Verizon contract runs out in May, and then we’ll get a family plan set up (and probably have to deal with the inevitable of getting Melissa set up with her first phone…).

About the only thing that was easier with my Blackberry was integrating & synchronizing my work & personal calendars; however, that’s actually more a function of the fact that at work we use Novell’s GroupWise email/calendaring software, and have the requisite BES infrastructure up & running to fully accommodate the necessary integrations of Blackberries & GroupWise. GroupWise is rather notorious for not playing nicely or easily with a huge number of 3rd party apps, and their interoperability with the iPhone leaves much to be desired.

I’m now realizing that there are really three posts that I want to write on this subject. I’m now wrapping up the first one – general iPhone usability impressions. In the next post, I’ll delve a little deeper into the specific mechanisms that I’ve setup to make the iPhone work in an integrated and synchronized fashion, in terms of productivity (personal and otherwise). In the third & final post, I’ll talk about some of the iPhone apps that have become my favorites.

That realization made, I’ll close this first out by noting that my being a general Apple fanboy is only a small part of my infatuation with the iPhone (and my Apple fanboy-dom is actually, I would contend, more appropriately an “It-Just-Works-Elegantly” fanboy-dom…). Rather, my infatuation with the iPhone is based on what the device is able to do, how it is able to do it, and how those two factors map themselves to my way of getting things done. In light of how I do things, then, the iPhone really is that good.

As this has turned into a (very) long post, I’ll stop now. If there are any questions, or if I’ve missed anything that you might want to know about, just ask & I’ll be glad to answer…

-ghp

This bad boy turned 25 years old this past week!

I almost got one of the original 128k Macs, in August of 1984, but ended up with an Apple IIc instead, much to my everlasting chagrin. I had to wait 3.5 years until I got my first Mac, but that’s not the anecdote I want to pass along here.

No, what I do recall from that original Mac intro/release was that I lusted after it. I had all the marketing slicks & promo materials. There was just something about that Mac OS, and the whole ethos that shrouded and enveloped the Mac — above and beyond that which distinguished Apple itself and the Apple II line — that I bought into, identified with, and wanted. I’d like to say that I knew that it was the future of computing; and maybe I did, on some way, way, way subconscious level that was so buried that it didn’t really count (my dad and I had many arguments because I wanted to use the computer as a means to do things, and thus wanted to buy software to facilitate that, and he viewed the computer as the tool by which you built the software to do things — I said he was cheap, he said I was lazy ). Anyway, I was bit by the bug.

Something that solidified it was that a classmate, Laura Behling, did get one. And for our Honors English class (with Mr. Stelmachowicz) we had a project to create a couple of satirical newspapers. Which is what we did. The Pansophical Pasquinade. And Laura “published” it on her Mac, at least the original copy, after which Mr. Stel ran off copies on the mimeograph machine.

I’ll pause here to remember the intoxicating smell of fresh mimeo copies……….

Ahhhhh, that’s nice. Who didn’t like to sit at the front of the row & get the stack of fresh, damp, purple-inked copies to hand back? C’mon now? Fess up…

Anyway, the newspaper, such as it was (and the copies of it that I still have in my greedy little hands!), is a fine example of using every font that the original Mac had available at the time (Chicago, New York, Geneva, London, San Francisco, Toronto, & Venice), in almost every style combo possible (bold, outline, underline).

Ah, memories…

-ghp

It’s alive… alive!

The new “old” 500mb SCSI drive has been successfully installed, replacing the dead 120MB drive (that had replaced the original 20MB disk). System 6.0.8 has been successfully installed, and my little SE is now running just as smoothly as it did on the day I got it in mid-March almost 20 years ago. Better, even, because I didn’t get it upgraded from 1mb to 4mb of RAM until Fall ’89 (at a cool $250/MB from the UNC-CH Tar Heel Bookstore!).

Also nifty to to note is that I was able to resurrect some files from an 18 disk (1.44mb format) full backup of the 20mb hard drive that I made back on 12/25/90! That is pretty darned neat. I remember how very cool & impressive I thought that 20MB hard drive was back when I got it. It was my first computer with a hard disk, and I was in heaven, because I didn’t have to worry about boot disks, system disks, data disks, and all the juggling thereof. I couldn’t imagine ever filling all that space. Even so, I was very careful about keeping everything backed up, just in case. And it only took 18 years to have such vigilance vindicated!

Now I just need to get my next project done — a “bridge” Mac of some sort, so that I can get all of my old word processing files (Mac Word 3.x, natch – I used Mac Word long before WinWord even existed, and even remember my first exposure to PC Word, when I was aghast at what a character-based piece of garbage it was…) migrated over from the SE-era floppies onto the MBP. I’m thinking something running, maybe OS 9.x. It’ll interesting, though, because my experience with MacOS jumped from 7.1 (in 1990) to 10.x (in 2002). I pretty much had no exposure to, or experience with, 7.5, 7.6, 8.x or 9.x, so whatever I decide to go with will be a learning experience.

-ghp

I get nostalgic quite easily. Always have. It’s not all that bad a thing, and probably contributed to my affinity with History & being an History major as an undergrad. That said, I do also tend to get melancholy at times, and that’s not always that good, when combined with nostalgia jags.

Anyway, of late, I’ve been getting increasingly nostalgic about computers. Someday, I’m going to attempt to do a more thorough rundown of the computers I’ve gotten, built, and/or used over the 26 years that I’ve had computers to call my own. The list of what I built & when, however, could be a bit tricky, though, as I’ve started to forget exactly what I built into the various boxes I assembled in the late ’90s.

The first computer that I really felt was mine was the Apple IIc that I got in August 1984, just as I was about to start my senior year of high school. I really, really wanted a Mac, but settled/rationalized that a IIc was OK because I could have a mouse with it, and might even be better because I could do my computer class (BASIC programming & such) homework just like at school (where Apple IIe computers were used). It wasn’t exactly what I wanted (I had bought into the Cult of Mac almost immediately upon hearing about the Mac), but I just wanted a computer with that rainbow fruit on it.

Years later, much to my chagrin, I found out that my father was surprised when my mom & I came home with the IIc instead of the Mac. He expected, and was OK with, my getting the Mac. The thing is, though, I was firmly convinced that he was dead set against the Mac, as it wasn’t as “practical” as the IIc. It wasn’t the first, and certainly not the last, time that I outmaneuvered myself!

That all said, I’m very fascinated by this Flickr photoset of someone unboxing a pristine, never-before-opened, 1988 vintage Apple IIc. Very cool. Very cool, indeed.

Now, I wouldn’t want to have that IIc, as my nostalgia doesn’t extend far enough to want to actually use one these days.

The same, however, cannot be said for the Mac SE that I got in 1988. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to be putting the final touches on refurbishing that SE, so that I can have it up & running again in time for its 20th anniversary. I’m not looking to try and get it online or anything like that (I’m not that much of a masochist, after all…), but I do want to have it working & running just like I did back in the day. I have every intention of keeping y’all updated with all the gory details…

-ghp

Got a laptop? Need a desk?

(click on the image, then just enter in your zipcode & Staples will let you see it at their site…)

I just picked one up for $20 (on sale – reg. price is $30), and it’s been outstanding. It fits my 15″ MacBookPro like a glove, leaving plenty of room for the wireless Logitech mouse that I use. It’s made it much easier for me to do my computing while staying more visible & available to the family, and it’s been a Godsend this past week, what with having to keep tabs on the new puppy!

-ghp

Contrary to the paucity of posting, I’ve actually had quite a bit going on of late. At least inside my head. The problem, it would seem, is that I’ve not yet gotten to the point where I’m comfortable writing about it.

Writing about things theological, while something I’d like to do, continues to be difficult because I would feel like a bit of a hypocrite. Not because I’m having doubts or anything like that, mind you, but more because I’m feeling quite burdened by the Law and my inability to measure up to it. At some point, though, I’m sure that I’ll be ready to write about some of the battles & developments that I’ve found so fatiguing, especially in the congregation. Suffice it to say that the Old Adam makes it tough to rest in the Gospel comfort that is found that the foot of the Cross…

Writing about things TV/realitytv is a bit slow because the new Fall season is about to begin. The Summer shows (The Closer, Eureka, etc…) are coming to a close, and I’ve been focusing more on enjoying, rather than analyzing, them.

Writing about things technology-related just hasn’t been grabbing me either. My new wireless/bluetooth Mac keyboard is very, very cool. But it’s more fun to write on than it is to write about…

Writing about things work-related would be helpful, at least to my psyche, but I’m not sure it’d be the most prudent thing for me to do. I’ve got quite a bit on the front-burner, so to speak, in this area, but it’s also the one that I’m most worried about, because I’d hate for being (too) open about some things to come back & bite me, IYKWIM…

On the blogging front, I’m smack in the middle of a major pruning of the Territorial Archives. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while, and have just gotten around to it. I was almost to 1000 posts, and I just had the nagging suspicion that there was way too much junk in the archives. I also wanted to get everything properly tagged. It’s also looking like this housecleaning will serve as a prelude to a change away from WordPress and over to Movable Type 4. I haven’t yet fully/irrevocably decided to change, but it’s looking very attractive to me, as MT4 has some really nice things going for it in the recently released new version (and WP is just striking me as something that just ain’t what it once was…).

-ghp

Well, it was a good news/bad news kinda deal…

Good news: I figured out both what was wrong with the iMac’s wireless connectivity, and how to deal with it such that I didn’t have to drill holes or take the iMac in for repairs.

Bad news: It wasn’t cost-free.

In short, the Airport (wireless) card in the iMac is dead. I tried pretty much everything I could find to try at Apple’s support site, and I couldn’t get it jolted back into working. Unfortunately, beyond RAM upgrades, the iMac isn’t really something that I want to try and crack open in order to make sure that something just didn’t come unseated. And I really didn’t want to take the time/money/risk of taking it into the Apple Store (in Chicago) in order for them to check it out. I didn’t get the AppleCare with it, and it’s been about 15 months since I got it, so it’s out of warranty.

Since the wired NIC works without a problem (heck, I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to when then Airport card died, as I haven’t even tried to use it for months…), I set out to figure out a way to see if I could leverage my existing wireless network. This, then, is where I met with some success. Apple has made it quite easy to link two (or more) Airport base stations together into an extended-range single wireless network. So, all I had to do was go out & plunk down some coin for a new Airport Extreme.

Eh, after deciding to take the plunge & get the full MacBook Pro monty, what’s another $180 in order to see my grand vision come to fruition, right? In for a penny, in for a pound!

So, I was able to set up the new, better-featured, Airport Extreme as the main base station, and I relegated the older one to be the relay station and, more importantly, the iMac’s link into the wireless network.

Everything is now working as it should — the family is getting adjusted to using the iMac, and I’ve got my MBP setup going, including having the 19″ ViewSonic LCD monitor from the now dismantled virus/malware magnet, er, Windows box running as a second display alongside the MBP. It’s pretty cool to have a 1280×1024 display to complement & expand the workspace provided by the MBP’s 1440×900 display.

All’s well that ends well, I guess…

-ghp

Soon to arrive at Schloß TB:

A brand spanking new 15″ MacBook Pro!

Side benefit #1: It’s coming with a free 4gb iPod Nano (silver, natch…)

Side benefit #2: Schloß TB will now officially be an all-Mac shop, as the orneriness & age of the last Windows box prompted this upgrade.

I’m giddy with excitement…

-ghp

22 years after I first wanted one (but settled for a IIc instead)…

18 years after I first got one (an SE)…

15 years after I went over to the PC/Intel/DOS/Windows side…

I’m finally going back.

Back to the Mac!

Yup, a nice, shiny, new 17″ 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo iMac is making its way to my grubby little hands.

And I can hardly wait!

I’ve gotten to the point that I’m tired, more or less, of building my own computers, as well as dealing with the vagaries of Windows. I respectfully tolerate Windows, and the world of XP (and Vista if/when it ever arrives) is certainly better than than either the DOS/Win or Mac worlds were back 15 years ago. But I’m tired of dealing with the constant state of care, feeding, and vigilance that Windows imposes on a responsible computer user.

Building/assembling my own systems just doesn’t hold the hobbyist allure that it once did — I’m at a point where I’d rather spend my time using the computer (surfing, blogging, writing, etc…) as a tool than as an end in & of itself (tinkering, tweaking, etc…). I want my main system to be one that is rock solid, easily updatable & maintainable, powerful, and cool — both in hardware and software. And Apple is currently the only provider of such an integrated solution. OS X 10.4.5 is the best marriage of UNIX & GUI out there, and the new Intel-based Macs are incredibly advanced, powerful, and cool.

Apple’s OS X 10.4.5 (Tiger) is, quite simply, the best operating system currently out there. Linux is a rapidly developing up & comer, but it requires too much time & effort, and I’ve found that I get overwhelmingly consumed by it when I try to run it. I’ll dabble with it in the future. And I don’t really hold out that much hope for Windows, as I’m not sure that Windows can be salvaged without a total scrap-and-rebuild effort — the kind of thing that Microsoft has never been willing to do, but that Apple has done 4 times (Apple II to Mac, Mac 68k to Mac PPC, Mac OS “Classic” to OS X, and PPC to Intel). Sometimes, the installed base simply must be told that they’ve got to change to move ahead, backwards compatibility be damned…

I’ll never suffer the radical platform-bigots/zealots gladly, because I’ve long believed & said that there are pluses/minuses & valid uses for all the major platforms. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Mac, and I’m really fired up about being able to drink the kool-aid again! Anyway, as long as I’ve got kids who like to play Disney’s ToonTown Online, I’ll have to keep a decent Windows box around!

-ghp

It doesn’t seem possible — Tetris has turned 20.

It hardly seems possible, but it was almost 17 years ago that the relationship between me & my (soon to be) wife was solidified over some marathon sessions of alternating games of Tetris on my Mac SE (1MB RAM & 20MB HD). Good times.

The game that ate away the most time back then, however, was a card game called Klondike. This hugely addictive game (I swear that sometimes I almost got into a trance playing it, and couldn’t stop even if I’d have wanted to…) was, IIRC, the first shareware app that I ever registered! And the registration has served me well, as I was able to contact the author a year or two ago to ensure that my “lifetime upgrades” license was still in effect. Thus, the game that I first started playing on a Mac running System 5.1 is still running on my Mac G4 that’s running OS X 10.4.3! Very cool…

-ghp
(and, yes, I know I’m slack for not posting more — but given my readership/hit-counter numbers, I’m not sure that anyone’s even noticing… )