Simon Royal.co.uk - My Blog

DS Lite

In the last six months I have been through every incarnation of the Nintendo Gameboy.  I have had an Original Nintendo Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP and now my latest addition a Nintendo DS Lite.

It had to be a white apple-esque version.  This little gem is a gorgeous piece of gaming equipment.  The graphics are absolutely blinding and the sound is fantastic.  It has built in wireless too and with a browser cartridge it turns into a wireless internet touch screen PDA.

My New Shirt

I wore my new birthday shirt for the first time today and the response was as expected.  A few sniggers and people talking behind hands, a number of heads turned. But I don't care.

Alternative Operating Systems

This is my final post about alternative operating systems. I promise.

There are a number to think about if you wish to escape the Microsoft Windows nightmare.

Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Sun Solaris, SCO UnixWare, OS/2, Amiga, BeOS and of course you have my favourite Mac OS. 

Whatever Happened To NextStep?

On my delve into obscure operating systems, whatever happened to NextStep? In the late 1980's Next Computer Inc developed a new operating system called NextStep, which ran on special hardware called 'black boxes'. It was advanced for its time featuring multi-tasking.

By the mid 1990's it was still going and they teamed up with Sun Microsystems to develop a cross platform operating system called OpenStep.

In 1997 NextStep was bought by Apple computers and was used as the basis of Mac OSX. Elements of the original NextStep can still be seen in Mac OSX today such as the Dock.

Whatever Happened To BeOS?

Following on from my earlier dip into OS history, I starting thinking about BeOS. Most of you will be asking what is BeOS.

Well in the 1990's Be Inc began developing the next generation OS called BeOS. It was designed to work on new modern hardware. Unfortunately Be wasn't making enough money and with Microsoft sticking it's big stomping foot in wouldn't allow machines sold with Windows to also be sold with another operating, and Microsoft won.

They also were hoping Apple would adopt it as a replacement for their then flagging Mac OS, but instead they went with NextStep and thus Mac OSX was born.

Be Inc went out of business, but some followers made versions that would run inside Windows and Linux which can still be downloaded.

BeOS 5.0 Personal Edition is the latest and is still supported by some software developers. I believe the Mozilla corp (those guys behind Firefox and Thunderbird) still release BeOS versions of their browser.

OS History

Being a true computer geek - and while in the mood for playing with yet another preproduction OS (Vista that is), I revel in the different operating systems I have been through in my computing life and I am going to share them with you - even though you probably don't care.

Microsoft
Windows 3.11, Windows 95a, Windows 95b, Windows 95c, Windows 95d, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millenium Edition, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Windows Longhorn (Build 4074).

Apple
Mac OS 7, Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS 9.2, Mac OSX 10.0 (Cheetah), Mac OSX 10.1 (Puma), Mac OSX 10.2 (Jaguar), Mac OSX 10.3 (Panther), Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).

Linux
Ubuntu 5 (Breezy Badger), Ubuntu 6 (Dapper Drake), Vector Linux 5.1, Vector Linux 5.1 SOHO, Damn Small Linux, 3, Damn Small Linux Not, Puppy Linux 2.11.

As you can see I have been through a number of them. These are not just dabbles or quick glances all the above have been installed and used thoroughly at some point in my computing life.

Government Spending

I don't often talk political on my blog, but there is a concern regarding how the government spends our money.  I'm watching TV while surfing and they are talking about poor pensions for current pensioners and future pensioners.

They are quibbling about not having funds for this and it will have to come out of the tax payers pocket. However, they managed to find out of nowhere £15 billion for the war in the Middle East.

Isn't this about priority and about looking after your own?  Why should the UK government spend money we need to increase the quality of poverty for people living in our country on fighting a never ending battle for peace that really isn't our problem. 

Two Faced

With all the news channels talking about the new face transplant surgery can I raise an odd point?

If this is supposed to be for people with facial disfigurement or people with horrific scars has nobody pointed out that ripping someones face or and placing on yours is not going to be seamless.

Watching today you will still have a scar that is covered by your hair, goes infront of your current ears or behind if you have new ears too and under your neck.

Isn't this just taking a scar from one place and giving you a new one in a different place. 

Microsoft Vista Release Candidate 2

Well my first run in with Vista Release Candidate 1 wasn't too good. I had a partition problem.

There is a lot of talk about Vista Release Candidate 2 (Build 5744), but unfortunately Microsoft has decided not to make it available to the general public and only to subscribers of MSDN.

Burn Baby Burn

 
Well my DVDRW drive is installed in my PowerBook. A nice little slot loading drive. I have yet to burn anything beit a CD or DVD.  I will let you know of my progress.

Microsoft Vista Release Candidate 1

Well, I have taken the plunge and ordered the release candidate 1 for Microsoft Vista.  I had a beta version when it was called Longhorn and it looked just like a rebranded XP.

We shall see what this looks like then.  We shall see how many Mac OSX features they have ripped off badly.

Microsoft Zune

Microsoft can't stand being left out in the cold.  I am surprised it has taken this long for them to jump on the portable MP3 player bandwagon.

With Apple stomping all over competition with the iPod, Microsoft look like they want to take the crown from Apple.  I will admit the Zune looks quite nice for a Microsoft product and the hardware specs look pretty impressive.

With video playback, lengthy battery life and wifi to boot it seems Apple will have to bring out some pretty impressive new iPod to keep the competition at bay.

However, I haven't seen a working Zune and would like to see if the interface is as clean and simple as the iPod. 

Further With Ubuntu

Here is my PowerBook booting into Ubuntu Linux. How is it going? Well I find myself using it more than the Mac OSX installation on here, but that could be because it defaults into Ubuntu.

My PowerBook is basically a wireless internet machine and under both Mac OSX and Ubuntu it works perfectly, with Ubuntu having a slight edge on speed. My bluetooth adapter works under both but I can't send to the laptop from my phone so still use OSX for uploading images.

Other than that most of my Mac OSX software like GIMP and OpenOffice run under the X11 window system which are written for Linux first and then moved over, so using them under Linux is no different.

The only gripe I have with Linux or at least Ubuntu is although it is the Mac PowerPC version it still pulls a lot of its shortcuts from Windows. It uses the Control key instead of the Apple key. Ctrl+F4 quits a program instead of Apple+Q.

This is the most success I have had with all my tinkering with Linux and I must admit I would choose it over Windows any day, but as for being my main OS of choice, it still has - or maybe I have to learn it a little before it replaces Mac OSX as my favourite OS.

Smoking Trio

I have stepped up my smoking a little lately, I don't know why probably increased stress. 

My New Birthday Shirt

It is my birthday today and along with the Apple watch my wife, my mum bought me a new shirt to add to my collection.  Everyone else thinks it is hideous, but I love it. 

New Console Specifications

With the three console makers all making a next generation offering, who do you choose. Here are the specs for them.

Sony Playstation 3
Processor: 3.2GB Cell
System RAM: 256MB XDR
Video RAM: 256MB GDD3
Hard Drive: 20GB or 60GB
Optical Drive: Bluray (2x bluray, 8x dvd, 24x cd)
Connectivity: Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2, USB 2

Microsoft XBox 360
Processor: 3.2GB PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
System RAM: 512MB GDD3
Video RAM: 10MB
Hard Drive: 20GB
Optical Drive: 12x DVD
Connectivity: Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless, USB 2

Nintendo Wii
Processor: PowerPC 729Mhz
System RAM: 88MB
Video RAM: Unknown
Hard Drive: 512MB flash memory
Optical Drive: 12cm Wii discs (8cm Gamecube discs)
Connectivity: USB-To-Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless, USB 2

Specifications of the Nintendo Wii are a little scarse and I am not sure how accurate they are. It seems as if Sony have pulled their finger out for once and are ahead of the game.

The XBox 360 is backward compatible with the original XBox.  The Playstation 3 is backward compatible with the Playstation 2 and 1. The Nintendo Wii is backward compatible with the Nintendo Gamecube, plus you can download a whole catalogue of old NES, SNES and N64 games to play on it.

Yet Another Lombard Upgrade

My DVDRW drive is due to arrive tomorrow for my Lombard and I have yet to triple boot with OS9 or add a second 256MB to it but I am already looking for what next to do.

More of a mod rather than an upgrade I intend to recolour it to white. My keyboard is playing up and intend to replace it with a white iBook one so I need a case to match. 

Birthday Tomorrow

Triple Boot - Tiger/Ubuntu/OS9

After only a few days from dual booting Tiger and Ubuntu on my Lombard and still awaiting the arrival of my DVDRW drive I am now onto the next choice of upgrade.

How about triple booting?  Yaboot is working fine offering boot choices for the two operating systems installed so I am sure it could cope with a third.

Yep. I am thinking of adding an OS9 installation to my Lombard. Actually it is a lot easier than running Linux as a second system but it should add just another neat touch to a beast of a Mac. 

New Parkinson Sponsor

If you are easily offended then please stop reading now. This may be because I was tired or because I have an odd sense of humor. While watching Michael Parkinson, I thought he could do with changing his sponsor.

1. Frijj - the milkshake drink. "Frijj sponsors Parkinson. The Ultimate Thick Shake."

2. Martini - the alcoholic drink of James Bond. "Martini sponsors Parkinson. Shaken not slurred."

Well, I thought it was funny.

Energy Crisis

With all the latest worries about rising energy costs and running out in the near future, we should all be saving energy. I had even heard rumours that some councils are going to cut down on the length of time that street lights will be on to save money.

It angers me while watching XFactor then, that the whole stage is illuminated by neons, there's spotlights, and about 8 TV screens doing nothing but showing the X logo. Then there is the indoor pyrotechnics, and giant screens on doors, not to mention the rest of the lighting on the audience and that must be just scratching the surface.

I am not being picky or have it in for XFactor tonight, but it is a little selfish. Sucking up all this energy while the rest of us ensure we turn off lights we are not using or make sure our TV is not left on standby - it makes me sick.

Let's make an effort as a nation and not let the electricity companies push higher rates on domestic users just to appease the bills for commercial users - because let's face it, it will be us squeezed first.

X Factors Sucks Even More

I have never been a fan of televised pop talent shows like X Factor. Actually calling them talent shows is a little over rated. Where is Steve Brookstein or Michelle McManus these days?

This series of X Factor is especially poor. The three judges sit there spouting cr*p about how each act has done so well and really excelled themselves this week. Are these people deaf or has my TV broken? They sing appallingly. They couldn't hold a conversation never mind hold a note.

Stupid Pricing

I was just watching Saturday night TV - oh joy - and noticed another ridiculous Tesco advert on ITV1.

Shamelessly after appearing as the special guest on tonights XFactor, Rod Stewarts new album was being promoted by Tesco. But even more annoying is the pricing, £8.73

Who comes up with these stupid prices? Everyone knows they price things at £9.99 instead of £10 to trick you into thinking it doesn't cost so much, but a obsure price such as £8.73 must be someones clever marketing idea, as it sure stuck in my mind.

Diet Choke

I have been without alcohol since the end of July and now am sick of Diet Coke. Even the cherry variant is losing it's appeal.

Ubuntu Second Look

Well after a few days of getting to grips with Ubuntu 6, I really like it.  My PowerBook boots to Ubuntu by default, and so far have found nothing I dislike.

The likeness to Mac OSX is uncanny, even down to software update. I am still a little puzzled about how to install software, but the bundled software with Ubuntu mean you don't really need to stray to far and with a massive repository of additional software it isn't that hard.

General feel is superb, it is amazingly quick and reliable.  Let's see what the future holds. 

Lombard DVDRW

The latest addition to my Apple PowerBook G3 Lombard is yet another optical drive.  I replaced the standard Apple CD drive with a Matshita DVD ROM a little over six weeks ago.

Now, that is to be replaced with a further upgrade, a Panasonic UJ-815-B slot loading DVD drive.  Yep! Mimiking the newer Apples, my old Lombard will have a slot loading DVD burner, due to arrive early next week.

However, no has yet to burn a DVD in a Lombard with DVDRW drive upgrade, probably down to low system cache or buffer. We shall see

Support Free Thinking

Down with Christianity. There is no God. 

Ubuntu First Look

Well I have played with a 'live' version of Ubuntu 5 before and liked it, but never got it installed on a machine until now.

On first look, Ubuntu 6 is superb. It is very quick and being Mac conversant it is not too different a feel. In terms of hardware support it was fantastic, everything worked.

My wireless card required a driver under Mac OSX, something odd for OSX as most things work without additional drivers. Well, without any configuring my wireless card worked. All I needed to do was point it to my router and within 2 minutes I was up on the net.

I could get used to this. So far I haven't found anything I don't like, of course with any new operating system it is different so there will be things to find and discover.

Dual Boot Success - Part 2

Success! I am writing this on my Apple PowerBook G3 Lombard using Ubuntu Linux. My machine is now running Mac OSX Tiger and Ubuntu 6.

Dual Boot Success

After toying with dual booting on my Lombard I went for it.  Using a superb tutorial for setting up Tiger and Ubuntu I was away and with excellent success.

Once both operating systems were installed it was time for a little trickery.  Already having cloned my OSX installation to a second hard drive. Nobody likes having to lose all your settings and applications, so with Carbon Copy Cloner cloned it.

Then I swapped the hard drives over and cloned my back up drive over the top of my freshly installed OSX partition. Once complete, swap them back and I then have a totally up-to-date OSX installation with all my settings, documents and apps just as they were before + an install of Ubuntu to play with, knowing that if things get to much my trusty OSX is just a restart away.

Back To U

Well after a brief break from the Linux scene, the nagging bug has come back and I am ready to try again.  You may ask as a Mac user using a Unix based operating system, why I want to?  To be perfectly honest I don't know.

It probably stems from my Windows days and the wanting to escape such a poor OS. But then I stumbled across Mac one day and have never looked back, well only occasionally to see if Linux was still in the far distance.

Well, armed with my PowerBook, I am attempting to dual boot between Mac OSX Tiger and Ubuntu 6 Dapper Drake.  We will see.

3GB Download

New Look

Well after much debate, I have gone for a new look site and blog, as you would know if you are reading this. As with everything, there will be a few things that new tweaking but on the whole it looks good.

I wanted a simple styled site and have toned down the images and gone for a grey look. Hope you like it... 

Apple Watch

I love anything Apple.  In anyway I can show my devotion to the Mac scene I will.  My wife bless her, constantly has to listen to rants about how Mac is better than PC and the latest offering from the Apple camp.  Mind you, it was her idea to sell her PC and go completely Mac at home.

Above you can see my latest addition to mac memorabilia, a new Apple watch.  I already own an official limit edition blue watch which was to celebrate the release of Mac OS 8. 

My new one is an unofficial watch, but I love it.  Original rainbow logo on the face, but also three black logos around the strap. Now which ever way my arm is facing people will see an Apple logo and I will be noticed.

Mobile TV

With mobile phones gaining new features every month, there isn't a lot left to add to them. We have bluetooth, infa red, camera, video camera, wifi, office compatibility, GPRS, music player, video editing, the list is endless.

What next? TV! With the government hoping for 2009 for the turn off of analogue TV the world is going digital. Yes the Lobster 700 and the Nokia N92 feature built in freeview TV receiver and DAB radio receiver.

How cool is that. No longer tied to the living room to watch TV. Let's face it analogue handheld TV's have never been that good - well this is the future. We use our mobile phones for everything else so why not watch TV on it.

Funny how we have gone from wanting 60" widescreen, flat screen, surround theatre sound systems with all the trimmings to 3" barely stereo handheld devices that believe it or not you can use as a good old fashion telephone.

USB Heated Gloves

Don't let your hands get cold this winter. Try the USB heated gloves. These are not fake, they really exist. 

First Ever iPod?

The Dream Is Over

After much debate I have decided to stop with my Dreamcast collecting. In fact, on a plan to downsize on unneccesary items and to profit from it my beloved Dreamcast collection of over 50 games and rare accessories is gone for ever. I will miss it as it was an awesome machine.

Style Change?

I have never been one for keeping things the same for too long. Since launching my tblog it has gone through a number of style changes, the current being the longest stayer.

I have kept it this way for a number of reasons, one I like the colour scheme and am used to how things look and the other is the rest of my site is based around the same style and would also require adapting to suit and I can't be bothered with all that at the moment.

Bloggers Block

During the day I think of plenty to write about in my blog. When all the kids are settled in bed and I sit to write up my thoughts, suddenly they dissapear.

Portable Passion

Gone are the days when owning a computer meant a dedicated desk on which a massive grey boring box of tricks was attached to a massive ugly monitor. Desktops have slimmed and my latest desktop is an Intel iMac, which is a mere 3 inches thick and contains everything in the screen.

Going even smaller means portable.  Portable gaming, mobile communications, PDAs and laptops. I'm no exception, I love having everything to hand on the move.

I have a Gameboy Advance SP for gaming on the move.  A Nokia 6280 mobile phone for internet, email, camera, video camera and of course communication tool. I have a PowerBook G3 for the ultimate in portability in computing.

I am toying with the idea of buying a PDA with wifi for the ultimate in portable surfing. 

Minted

We have had little choice in chocolate for years.  McVities Club was one of the first I can remember that offered mint or orange flavoured chocolate.

The last trend was everything in white chocolate, but the latest thing, is mint. I love mint chocolate and my latest find is McVities chocolate digestives with mint.

They are fantastic. I have never been a fan of digestive biscuits, normal or chocolate, but the mint just adds something superb. 

Spiggy Offline

My blog-buddy Spiggy has decided to discontinue with his internet at home.  For whatever reason he sees fit, but come on. No internet. That's like chopping your arm off.

When I moved into my new property I was without the net for a couple of weeks and I didn't know what to do with myself. Hopefully Spiggy will see the error of his ways either that or will become an avid Eastenders fan.

Apple Sticker Blitz

I got hold of 10 little tiny Apple stickers. They are of the old coloured rainbow logo. I was going to keep them but where is the fun in that.

I am trying to think of interesting places to stick them (no... not there). I have one on my front door, one on my telly and one on my Gameboy Advance SP. Any suggestions for further 'noticable' places of where to put the other 7 welcome.

Mac Naming Ceremony

I am not alone as a Mac user to name their machines, but I am having problems picking a name for my new Intel iMac.

My old iMac G3 was called 'Kihei', my eMac was called 'Emily' and my PowerBook G3 Lombard is called 'Lilly'. 

So any suggestions? 

Install Tiger. Do It Now

I have harped on about how I installed Tiger on my Lombard even though it shouldn't support it. But I cannot stress enough the benefit of doing it.

You may be thinking that if Panther is last officially Apple supported version of OSX for the Lombard, then there will be problems once Tiger is installed. Rubbish. Tiger is much faster and more stable.

My Lombard now boots faster, apps load quicker and general usage isn't so sluggish. In Panther I had to disable sleep as it wouldn't wake yet Tiger has no problem, and with a new driver my wireless card works flawlessly. Under Panther it had to be inserted after the machine had booted otherwise it would'nt get an IP address from my router, under Tiger it works a dream even with it inserted.

So, with a modded DVD enabling about 10 other machines like the old Beige 'Gossamer' and 'Artemis' G3's, early G3 iMacs and clamshell iBooks, to use Tiger it is worth serious consideration.

Even on my eMac which supported Tiger, but came with Panther you could notice the difference in speed and stability.

Install Tiger. Do It Now.

News... News... News...

Does it irritate anyone else when you watch news reports in the morning and they repeat the same 'news' in the evening.  Not only that, a 30 minute news broadcast repeats the same stories about three times within the same report.

I like '60 Seconds News', a short sharp burst dishing out just the info you need to know in one minute.

It can be squeezed into an ad break or tagged on the end of a program and even if they repeat its only short. 

Doom Relived

It is just one of those games I can't put down. Forget 3D graphics, forget realistic blood and artificial intelligence, Doom is still the king.

On every machine (that is was available on) I have owned I have bought a copy of Doom. PC, Mac, Sega Saturn, Playstation and now my Gameboy Advance. I played the shareware version on the PC to death and now I am bashing the hell out of my Gameboy Advance.

I have even swapped my original Gameboy Advance for a Gameboy Advance SP, because it has a backlit screen so I can play it in poor light and more importantly, the dark.

Ooo! Doom in the dark...

1GB

Tiger On Lombard - Success

Well, I have finally managed to get Tiger onto my PowerBook G3 Lombard how I want it.

I first used XPostFacto and it wasn't too happy with it afterwards, then I tried cloning my iMac HD but its Intel and didn't work, then I read about altering the Tiger DVD, which was quite a simple process and there you go, it worked. Installed as it it was meant for my Lombard.

I'm just updating via Software Update and then I shall begin using it again. 

Tiger On Lombard - Second Attempt

Last night I installed Tiger on my Lombard a supposed unsupported machine, by using XPostFacto . While this worked it seemed to hang in verbose (text) mode and while booting, verbose was slow.

There are a couple of other ways to install Tiger.

1. Take out the hard drive from the Lombard, put it in a USB/Firewire enclosure and use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the hard drive from an existing Mac running Tiger. Unfortunately, my working Mac is an Intel iMac and the Lombard is a PowerPC so this didn't work for me. Although previous attempts at cloning a hard drive using Carbon Copy Cloner worked without a fault.

2. Modify the Tiger install DVD. It seems that the only reason Tiger won't install on certain Macs is because of a line in the installer like this:

function checkSupportedMachine(mac hineType)
{ var badMachines = ['iMac','PowerBook1,1',
'PowerBook2,1', 'AAPL,Gossamer', 'AAPL,PowerMac G3',
'AAPL,PowerBook1998', 'AAPL,PowerBook1999'];

With a bit of tweaking, modifying the OSInstall.dist file and reburning the Tiger DVD with this line instead:

function checkSupportedMachine(mac hineType)
{ var badMachines = [ ];

You can now install it without any extra effort on those G3 Macs without built in Firewire.

For more indepth instructions on how to do this check out this link.

Tiger On Lombard

My PowerBook G3 Lombard has had some major tweaking since I bought it two months ago.

I've replaced the internal hard drive, upgraded from a CDROM to a DVDROM drive and upgraded the RAM from 192MB to 384MB.

Now it is running Mac OSX Tiger. Yes, unofficially supported by Apple, and via normal methods you cannot install it on a machine without built in Firewire. Using XPostFacto to get around this and half an hour later I am writing this post using Tiger.

No hardware problems, just needed a newer wireless card driver and everything is fine. You may be asking why? One is because I can and the other is because Mac OSX Tiger runs faster than its predecessor Panther.

God? No!

I am a devout athiest. A strong upbringing in the Christian ways put me off and as soon as I could free-think for myself discovered Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution.

Is the idea of natural selection and adaptation to specific surroundings through generations of species so far fetched compared to the idea of an omnipotent being that created everything from man down to the blades of grass?

With some heavy reading ahead of me, I am working my way through 'Origin Of The Species' with 'The Descent Of Man' next of my list.

The whole Creation theory, bible and christianity stinks of bull sh*t so much, how can anyone believe it over a rational look at scientific reasoning and historical facts, I don't know?

See-Through Mac

What is it about clear cases that woo peple so much. When the XBox was brought out in clear everyone wanted one, even if they had a black XBox already?

I was browsing round the net when I stumbled across some rare Mac mods for clear cases. Check out these two auctions for clear cased Macs, one here and the other here .

Here is an old Mac Portable in clear, how cool is that. I want to find a clear option for my PowerBook G3 Lombard.

Wide Awake

Having three kids, the oldest being 4 is stressfull and tiring. I know I brought it on myself. Lack of sleep and constantly on the go eventually catches up on you.

So, I am throwing as much strong black coffee, Pro Plus and Lucozade down my neck as physically possible to keep me buzzing. Sooner or later I am going to burn out with exhaustion.

FlyMac

It seems I am not the only one who loves my new iMac. There has been a fly in our house for about a week now and it's favourite resting place is on my iMac, usually while I am using it. I've tried clicking on it, but it won't go away.

You Can't Put A Good Book Down

I have never been one for reading novels.  Why read unless it is to educate or inform you. I read very little, but if I geet a good computing book then I am hooked.

Books like 'The Road Ahead' by Bill Gates about his prediction for the computing future some of which was true and some being the most powerful man in computing he made true and 'Apple Confidential', the history of Apple computing from birth to date floats my boat.

Then I read 'The Cult Of Mac' all about Mac culture from mac modding to tattoos and geekdom. A change of pace with 'Fundamentalism' all about the different views on Darwin's Evolution theory.

I now have three books to read.  One being 'Origin Of The Species' by Charles Darwin, 'Hard Drive' all the about the making of Bill Gates and Microsoft and 'Odyssey : Pepsi To Apple' following the career of John Scully from Pepsi to Apple Computers.

Not everyones cup-of-tea, but I have never been the Mills & Boon type. 

Silence Of The Fans

I am sitting in a room with two computers, yet they don't make a sound.  My Intel iMac and my PowerBook do not even hum.  My previous Mac, the eMac made a loud whirring sound all the time. You got used to it, but you could tell whether it was on or not.

My wireless router is louder than both Macs put together, as it seems to make a little whistling sound. 

How Many Computers Do I Need?

Well after my nerd speech, this fits right in.  I have an Intel iMac and a PowerBook G3, but I still want more. I am trying to get an Apple eMate or Newton MessagePad 2100 and would really love a tablet PC.

I can't help myself. It's the tinkering thing.  I want an Apple eMate or Newton MessagePad 2100 so I can add wireless capabilities. I want a tablet PC like the Fujitsu Point so I could surf wirelessly without a keyboard.

Oh the pain. I will go to sleep tonight thinking about pulling apart a tablet PC and upgrading it. I will dream of sitting in my local wireless enabled coffee house with a MessagePad checking my emails, watching other users face as I surf with this custom configured beast.

I Am Nerd

I have no shame in admitting it, I am a nerd. Computers are no longer exclusive to nerdville, but some people like myself still push the boundaries.

Rather than here's my computer, like most people would say, I would point out that it is an Intel iMac running Mac OSX Tiger. The fact I am a Mac follower rather than a Windows man already sets me higher in the geek chain.

I get excited about adding RAM to computers, or delving inside a supposedly non-upgradeable Mac. I revel in knowing about different RAM speeds and types, and what a Front Side Bus is and I can run through nearly every menu option and error message in every carnation of Windows from 3.11 to XP and from Mac OS9 to Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger.  I know what NTFS, FAT and HFS+ are, I prefer sorting out problems using a DOS command or terminal window. I know what a sudo command and a kernal panic is.

I think adding wireless capability to an aging PowerBook or replacing an internal hard drive in a laptop is fantastic. I care about benchmark results, I can hold my own in an Intel vs AMD dispute and what the purpose of a float point is.

I am even excited about writing this post. 

AOL Wireless Advert

Is it me or is the latest AOL advert stupid?  It's the one about 'isn't it funny how we are back to a world without wires', touting their new wireless broadband offer.

First of all, offering wireless broadband at the same price as regular broadband is a little misleading. All their broadband is the same, they just offer a free wireless modem and if your machine isn't wireless ready then you will have to shell out for a wireless card or USB option.

Not being picky but isn't your ADSL line cabled into your house, from your local exchange? Isn't the modem plugged in to the ADSL socket via a cable? 

Web Keywords

For example, if I wanted to go to the Apple website, then rather typing http://www.apple.com in the web address bar, just type 'apple' and hit return.

I know when I first left work and AOL was king of ISP's they offered a similar service, but I hadn't seen it since then.

It doesn't always take you were you expect, but 90% of the time it does. Also if you are bored you can try it out on odd words and see which website you are taken too.

Thanks For The Memory

For me because I am a sad computer geek there is nothing more exciting than adding more RAM to an existing computer and seeing the difference in performance. Yes, that is sad. But hey, that's me.

My new iMac Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz has 512MB and I have just ordered a further 512MB, bringing it up to a lovely 1GB of RAM.

My PowerBook G3 Lombard has 256MB of RAM and I have just ordered a further 256MB, but I will have to remove one of the 128MB sticks, so will bring the total to 384MB, and thus leaving me a 128MB stick to sell.

PowerBook Doh

I was working happily away on my PowerBook until it suddenly went off. Pushing the  power button didn't make any difference.

It was plugged in so I couldn't work it out.  Well, stupid me forgot to switch the plug on that the power adapter was plugged into and I didn't notice the battery slowly slipping away. That is what you get for disabling the 'battery low' notifications.