Farsong Blog-o-Matic

“I weep, I cry, I shed a single glorious tear that contains the sum total of my linux music frustrations. I listen to The Pillows in linux after downloading an album from my media box at home. SongBird is awesome.”

So says my friend Chris — a fellow CS major (more advanced than I) and friend from back in high school. We'd gotten to chatting about GUIs and how it's hard to switch from a familiar one to a new one, and how he'd just forced himself to learn Ubuntu linux (first KDE then Gnome), but was still having a hard time switching completely away from Windows (and somewhat dreaded switching to OSX*).

Anyway, my friend Chris expressed his dissatisfaction to me at the state of Linux media players and libraries — the last reason that he still had XP as the main OS on his desktop, and the last hurdle in his switch to Linux. He'd tried Amarok and several others, but none did what he needed. He vastly preferred iTunes to anything else out there, and there was nothing he was aware of that did the job adequately — he used iTunes for everything except syncing his MP3-player, which required Windows Media Player to snyc.

So I mentioned Songbird (it also works with OSX and Windows, though it's still a beta). It was precisely what we were both looking for. One of the last hurdles for Linux as Main Machine for him has been taken down; taken away. And from what I understand, he's elated.


--
* As an aside, my dad switched from a klunky old HP to a svelte MacBook Pro this past Christmas. He deserved a new machine. I helped him propagate his files from Windows to OSX 10.5 seamlessly as part of my Christmas gift to him. (For reference, I used a 2.5" IDE-to-Firewire/USB 2.0 external drive enclosure to transfer files, and a Gmail account to transfer e-mails from Outlook, archiving them in the process).

I've been especially impressed by how easily he grasps the functioning of OSX — actually understanding the underlying paradigm of the OS, rather than simply a blind set of procedural steps. This is essential, as OSX doesn't do things in the same series of steps that Windows does, though one can achieve the same end result (arguably in a more-elegant way on a Mac). He switched and hasn't looked back; he hasn't needed to.

It's been at nagging me for a while.

August 2003 I got my first iPod. Zeitgeist: Most people had not heard of iPods. For HDD players, it was either Apple's or Creative's offering. One player from each, and Apple had just introduced support for the iPod on Windows — though this involved MusicMatch Jukebox and a plugin, as hell hadn't yet frozen over. The Rio was still big, and 256mb was a lot of Flash; 512mb was unheard of.

( iPod Ramblings )

This seems to happen every eight-to-twelve months: I compile a list of Mac software I use. Usually this is because a friend has switched to Mac.

We'll start with specs:
Right now I have one G5 PowerPC tower @1.8GHz, with 2Gb of RAM, and a MacBook Core2 Duo @2.0GHz with 1Gb RAM. The former runs Tiger (10.4.11 final) and is named Kirkegaard, and the latter runs Leopard (10.5.2 is the current version, as of this writing) and is named Lobo. I use them both. I have not taken the laptop with me to University yet this quarter, though I probably will.

I also use Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, and Adobe CS3, but there is open-source software to fill the gap. I can't in good conscience recommend The GIMP for image editing, though.


OSX is all well and good, and Leopard has a number of great new features that have replaced old software I used to use (Leopard came with tabbed Terminal and Screen Sharing, so out go iTerm and Chicken of the VNC). But sometimes, the built-in things in Mac OSX don't act in quite the way I want, or there is functionality missing. Ergo, third-party apps. All work on Leopard, based upon my usage. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if I've missed something or don't list something useful I should, comment! All links go to the developers' pages.


( Software for OSX--now with 120% more snarky commentary )

And that's that software I use in my everyday life on the Mac!

Got the little program running again that uploads my webcam to my FTP server as a JPG.

It updates about once every half-hour, if the app's running. I think it's cool, and it's a step towards the idea of discrete wearable computing (though, from the opposite point of view--with the wearable computing, one would see what I'm seeing instead of seeing me directly).

( Gross oversimplification: wearable computing=cyborg )

Steve on the MacBook Air:

It's pretty. Real pretty. It's also really expensive for the SSD-based one. For me, it'd be cheaper to find a SATA SSD for the MacBook I have.

I also wouldn't be able to edit video on it--I have never and will never trust USB 2.0 with DVI footage. It's merely thinner, though similar length and width to the MacBook I already have, and my MacBook is slightly faster. It's nice, but the draw of the device is somewhat mitigated by my BlackBerry.

Allow me to elaborate: the MacBook Air has less functionality than my MacBook--removing the FireWire port removes the ability to do proper video editing, and removing that makes the computer more of a word processor/internet device--and my BlackBerry takes the place of a small internet/e-mail device (specifically, it bridges the gaps between cellphone, PDA, and portable computer. besides, e-mail's the thing I would use the internet for the most. Why would I choose an ultraportable when I can't use it for some of the functions that I might need when away from my main machine? Why choose it when it can be supplanted by a smartphone like the iPhone?

Also, while it may be nice to have an ultrathin ultraportable notebook, it trades some of the functionality away. I was also somewhat disappointed, as I wanted something smaller than a 13.1" screen--the size of even the current MacBook seeming large to me. I'd love something in the form of the old 12" PowerBook, but with a widescreen display. Shave an inch or two off the sides--the MacBook is too wide. Of course, any smaller than the MacBook, and the size of onscreen elements will become an issue. Apple really needs to get on that resolution-independant OS stuff now.

It's all over the webs (the ones I read in my feed-reader), but in case you didn't know, NetNewsWire, the best RSS feed reader desktop client for Mac, is now a free download.

Version 3.1, baby.

I was using Vienna because it's "good enough" and was free, but NNW is a better program. Plus, it syncs over the ætherwebs, which is a boon for the same reasons that IMAP is good (ie, it keeps things in sync between my desktop and my laptop).

Edit: Sorry, it's a large image and should be under a cut.

( The Alliance is Evil )

The keyboard font used on all iBook models and 2003 and later PowerBooks is VAG Rounded, a variation on Helvetica Rounded.

Apple's other keyboards use Univers Italic on the keycaps.

So, I was wondering this thing. The truth, apparently, really was out there. My desktop's keyboard has Univers Italic, and the MacBook has the slick-looking rendition of a Helvetica-like font. Cool!


As for writing things, I used to like “Eurostyle” 'till I got wise to serif-ing. And it seemed that everyone was using it for ads. Now It's Hoefler Text I'm fond of. That, or Bell MT (which feels like a slightly lighter font because it is lighter and less condensed, but looks nearly the same). As long as it's not Times New Roman.

And I like the picture the icon is made from because the letter A has a pointed top. Seems like a rare thing in typography these days. I think it looks cool, but that's just me.

Anyway, I'm certain that there are some people out there who have a favorite font for doing things with.

I think that Apple's database listing is actually rather full of fail:


(Displayed are education prices).

See, I can guess at what products these are for, but unless I click the link, I don't know for sure. Somebody did a bang-up job there.

( Steve is a tremendous geek and this is what he does for fun. It involves Linux, WINE, BSD, Debian, Ubuntu, IEEE 1394, and having far too much fun with it all )

Current Specs:
30GiB Laptop IDE drive (in external firewire enclosure)
1.8 GHz G5 (600 MHz FSB)
2 Gb RAM
2x 300 GiB 7200 rpm SATA HD (formatted RAID 1 for a total of 300 redundant GiB)
DL DVD±RW
128 Mb ATI Radon 9600 XT


edit: I had forgotten how truly loud the G5 is when it hauls air through its bowels.

I swear by OSX and Macintosh. Mostly, this is because the system works well and stays out of my way. It's also because OSX does linx-y things with Terminal and the BSD Unix that is the core of the OS.

Of course, little of this means anything when something doesn't work right. Fortunately, things on a Mac work correctly 99.9% of the time.

I ran into that 0.1% to-day. It might be closer to 0.01%, but with a significance of 1/10 of a percent.

Anyway, Flash videos stopped working. Not the videos, per se, but all the audio stopped working. iTunes still played fine.

Try the page in Safari, instead of Firefox … nope. Restart the browsers? Still nothing.

Try messing with the Sound in System Prefrences. Adjust outputs and the like … nope. Nada.

Let's restart the computer. Lalala. Sixty seconds later: infinity divided by zero? What's that? Oh, riiiight. Nothing.

We're at our wits' end. Let's try Google and The Internets.

Oh, here it is. Apparently something changed the line-level input sampling from 44kHz to 96kHz in the hidden and obscure Audio MIDI Setup.app. Right, which is the first place I'd look.

Oh, what's that? Flash audio plays imediately? No way.

Let's mark this as “Completed'd!”

</ full of win>

Reasons Steve likes his iPod (alternately titled “Reasons Steve's iPod is Not Really That Great to Steal”):

1) It's Firewire (IEEE 1394) only. Yeah, it does USB 2.0, but it only charges over Firewire--USB just drains the poor thing's battery. Face it: most Windows boxen don't come with Firewire. Of course, that's because Firewire is about fifteen times more efficient than USB 2.0 (which means it's multiplied by a factor of roughly 400 for USB 1.1, and another 1200 for USB 1.0)

2) Battery life of <8 Hrs. You just try going without charging it (see above).

3) Monochrome only. No color. Certainly no video. I can play Doom on it, but only under linux. Seriously, though--do you really need to Video bit, let alone the color bit on a device used for music? A 2" 320x240 pixel display does seem a bit … cramped. I have a laptop for whatever video I need.

4) 40 GiB HD. It's a little cramped, but the battery'll give out if you try to load 15 Gb over USB or unpowered Firewire.

5) It came with a Firewire AC/DC converter-charger. Actually, the fact that it came with a wall-plug at all is amazing. And a dock.

6) The Button layout will confuse anyone used to the accursed click-wheel. Plus, the buttons light up with awesome little red LEDs.

7) It's thick. About the size of two new iPods stacked together, like a pack of playing cards.

8) The case is white, and white Apple products are so last-season. It's all brushed aluminium and black and glass, now (funny, how the brushed aluminium look came out in 2003 …)

I'm still using OSX 10.4, “Tiger,” and I'm going to keep using it for a while. See, there're a few things that concern me with some of the UI Changes in OSX 10.5 “Leopard,” and I'll wait until they're ironed out to make a purchase.

( The Leopard and it's stripes )

There's a lot more than just these things, but it's also more usable than previous versions. Ars Technica takes a look at it. Basically, Ars gives it a pretty full review. Better than my second-hand words.

I really should just direct to voicemail all calls to my cell from numbers I don't know. I don't because “Hey, maybe someone wants to get ahold of me!” No. That never happens. The people who call me are in my contact list, and the numbers I don't know are either wrong numbers, or … well, there were these weird calls in Spanish for a while, but I stopped getting them after I put my number on the National DNC registry.

Yeah, and I do check my voice mail and reply with regularity. Same with e-mail.


Anyway, funny story. I came home this afternoon. One of the reactions of habit is to always check the mailbox for new post. We were in luck because there was not just post, but there was also a package addressed to my mom, from [crazy cat lady aunt]. Now, [crazy cat lady aunt] can be bizarre at times, but we love her just the same (we can be pretty bizarre at times, too); besides, she's family. She's the one who sent me the green pillow/quilt with the bugs on it (I have never gotten that folded back up properly to fit inside the bag bit).

Anyway, she's weird but she does mean well. So, there's a package. It's about the size of a DVD case, or maybe a small book.

"Go head and open it," mom says on the phone.

I do. We both have a laugh, because it's neither a book nor a DVD, but a package of microwave popcorn! (and a card)

I'm stunned for a second, but then both mom and I have a hearty chuckle.

"I did chat with her, recently," mom says.




Leopard, purported to be on its way to Gold, and preparing for a launch the 22^nd.
( Words about the Graphical refresh on the upcoming OSX 10.5, “Leopard” )

Maddox doesn't like the iPhone. I don't care for it much either, but Maddox likes to yell about things; he can do the yelling here. Also: he tends to use the f-word like some people use co-ordinating conjunctions.

“That is the Zen of Mac. You don’t think, it just works.”

[via MacDailyNews]