I finally gave up on my iTrip, and dug up my old cassette adapter for the daily commute. Don’t get me wrong- the iTrip is a great device; I just can’t use it anymore. Much as I hate dealing with the wire trailing from my dash, it beats not hearing my iPod at all.
The main problem is location. I live in Northern Delaware, which puts me about an hour from Baltimore, 45 minutes from Philly, and 15 minutes from Wilmington. I get radio stations from all three. The Baltimore stations aren’t really listenable, but there’s enough signal to make using the iTrip not possible on those frequencies.
In fact, I’ve only found one frequency that works reliably with the iTrip. Of course, everyone else is using the same frequency, either with iPod-connected FM transmitters, or (more and more) with satellite radios. I don’t know what kind of numbers Howard Stern is pulling on Sirius, but I hear him several times a week as someone’s Sirius transmitter bleeds over to my radio.
The evening commute is the worst, since the traffic is generally much heavier, and of course slower. I also see lots of semis during evening rush, and they all seem to have some kind of transmitter these days- and usually much more powerful than my poor little iTrip. It was up to the task a year ago when I got my first iTrip (I traded up at Christmas for the one with the knob), but not with today’s crowded airwaves.
John and Dave are two of the latest among my co-workers to succumb to the siren lure of the Mac. They both have recent iMacs with the built-in iSight, so last night we tried a three-way video conference to see how it works (very cool, in case you were wondering). My iMac, being a bit over a year old now, has no in-built iSight, and I haven’t seen fit to drop the 150.00 USD for one.
Instead, I plugged in my Canon ZR65MC via Firewire. iSight was happy to comply, but the camcorder wasn’t. After 5 minutes, it shut off. Thinking it was a battery issue, I plugged it into AC power, and re-connected. Five minutes later, I was off the air. It seems the Canon has an auto-off battery saver that even works when you’re not on battery power.
Several minutes fruitless searching in the onboard menu system revealed no way to disable this “feature”, nor did 15 minutes flipping through the manual. The support website was also mum. Google eventually hinted at the answer, after alot of searching. For the next brave soul, here’ s the short version: Remove the tape.
It appears that if you have a tape in the camera, it assumes you mean to record tape, regardless of the firewire connection to the Mac. Without the tape, I guess it assumes you have another reason for powering up the camera, and disables auto shut-off. This makes sense to me, since I had to remove the tape previously in order to use the camcorder as an analog-to-digital converter for my old 8mm camera.
And just for the record, iChat video chat rocks. My wife and her father have been trying to get an audio chat working via Yahoo IM on their PCs for weeks, with only one (brief) success. iChat just worked. As the old commercial says, “There’s no step three.”
A couple of years ago, I received a Griffin Powermate for Christmas. I use it as shuttle control in iMovie and Garageband, and I love it. The only improvement I can think of would be a finger-tip recess in the top surface, to support rapid mutli-turn spinning (great for zipping through footage in iMovie – hold shift to zoom through at 10x speed).
I recently started importing all my old 8mm tapes via my DV camcoder, to burn to DVD and to re-archive on DV tape. Since I was importing from 8mm using my DV camcoder’s AV->DV feature, I has to manually split each import into multiple clips in iMovie. While doing this, I found that the Powermate didn’t work with iMovie anymore- it was just controlling the master system volume. Using the Powermate wdiget in System Preferences, I located the iMovie settings, and hit apply. The Powermate worked fine in iMovie again.
But each time I quit and restarted iMovie, or used the Powermate outside of iMovie, it would “forget” the iMovie setting and become a volume knob again. I found no solution on the Griffin website, so I emailed their support department. I received a reply a few days later, which solved my problem.
Seems that when last I did any serious work in iMovie (about a year ago) was prior to iLife 05, and so prior to iMovie HD. The settings in System Prefs (which I think were auto-installed with the Powermate) were for “iMovie”, not “iMovie HD.” I guess the name change means the settings weren’t inherited during the upgrade, which makes sense. I just added a new batch of settings for iMovie HD, and now it works perfectly again.
Thanks for the reply, Griffin. The only thing nicer than a great product is a great product with great support.
To quote Tim Allen, “Auugh Auugh Aughh!” The new memory for the iMac arrived today, in all its 1-gigabit-goodness.
The whole NewEgg experience was a good one; I will shop with them again. And I’m glad I went with the gig… the system definately feels faster.
Update: Bloglines users should now correctly see the image above. Oops.
I’ve been putting off ordering additional memory for my iMac G5 ever sine I got it. The configuration I bought at the Apple store included 512M installed as a single DIMM, and one empty slot. The iMac G5 will support up to 2G of memory. I new when I bought I planned to add memory. Given what Apple charges for memory, I knew it wouldn’t be purchased from them.
Based on my experience adding memory to my Powerbook, I inteded to purchase my iMac memory from Crucial. Crucial is a division of Micron, and many sources state that Crucial supplies Apple with all of its memory. Indeed, the memory I purchased a couple years ago for the Powerbook seemed identical to the memory already in the machine, except for the part number (the memory sizes were different). The website has a memory selector to ensure you buy the right unit, the price was very good, and overall I was satistfied with the entire experience.
Shortly after I purchased the iMac, I looked on Crucial’s site for memory. The prices have not changed in that time (about a month), and are currently:
- 256MB – USD 42.99
- 512MB – USD 79.99
- 1GB – USD 259.99
Wow! Quite a jump in price from the half gig unit to the full gig. Given that the iMac only holds two DIMMs and that any future memory upgrade will mean removing an existing chip, I’m highly inclined to buy the 1GB module. However, I really balk at the markup.
So today I’ve hit the web, looking for reputable providers of Mac memory with better prices. I’ve learned quite a bit. For example, using a single DIMM or a mixed pair of DIMMs results in your memory bus operating at half the full speed- a matched pair is faster (Apple Technote). However, I’ve also learned that in real-world tests, the net speed improvement is 0%).
I also learned about a web resource I didn’t know about- ResellerRatings.com. This site allows users to rate online shopping experiences, both with numerical ratings and with written reviews. As someone who always checks Amazon’s reviews when shopping for new goodies, I think I’ll be using this site quite a bit in the future.
So did I find a good deal? I’ve looked at a bunch of websites, including Smalldog, Transintl, Otherworld Computing, MacGurus, and MacSolutions. The best price so far (for a 1GB DIMM) has been 155.50 USD at NewEgg. In addition, NewEgg has an excellent rating at ResellerRatings, based on nearly 10,000 reviews. The memory is Patriot Memory from PDP Systems. I’m not familiar with the memory, but the NewEgg site has a number of reviews for the product from iMac G5 owners. So, I ordered one. More to follow when it arrives.
No one makes the mouse I want. If they do, I certainly can’t find it. For years, I’ve been an avid user of the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical, practically since its introduction. I use one at work and one at home. Now that I have Bluetooth support in my iMac G5, I’d like to use a bluetooth mouse. Apple’s single-button excuse for a mouse is a joke (come on Steve, get over it), which is why my Apple bluetooth mouse has never been unwrapped. Unfortunately, I can’t find a single bluetooth mouse that compares to my Intellimouse. I like it so much that when my old standby at home needed replacing (my fault), I bought two, just incase they stop making them.
Prior to first using an Intellimouse, I had already made the switch to scroll-wheel mice. Two buttons and a working scroll wheel are what I consider the absolute bare minimum for a useable mouse. The Intellimouse Explorer was the first optical mouse I ever used, and the optical performance was my original reason for switching to the mouse. Over time, a couple of other features have become just as important.
First is the shape. The height of the mouse feel perfect under my hand, as does the symetrical shape. More expensive Microsoft Mice with fancy ergonomic shapes, such as the Intellimouse Explorer for Bluetooth feel uncomfortable to me. Given that I’ve used the same mouse design for at least five years, I’m sure any new mouse will feel strange, but I;m certain I want a symmetrical mouse design.
The second important consideration is the button count. The fourth and fifth buttons are important to me- especially the thumb button, which I use as a web-browser back button. Any time I’m forced to use a mouse without this button I suffer an immediate drop in usability- it’s like suddenly losing one of your shift keys. I want at least four buttons on my bluetooth mouse, with the fourth being a large thumb-activated button.
I had hoped to find a bluetooth version of the Intellimouse, but it does not seem to exist. The only bluetooth mouse I’ve found from Microsoft is the one I linked above- Asymmetrical, and with the fourth and fifth buttons next to each other in a placement I find awkward.
Checking other manufacturers has proved fruitless as well. I’ve never been a fan of Logitech mice, but their MX 900 Bluetooth Mouse may be the current frontrunner. It is symmetrical, but the total of 8 buttons seems like overkill, and the dual thumb-accessible buttons don’t look comfortable. I’ll have to find one in a store where I can try it before I decide. Also, it comes with a horribly ugly charging stand/bluetooth hub. I don’t need a “hub” (my computer has bluetooth) and I don’t want a charger- I want a mouse with replaceable batteries like my Apple Bluetooth Keyboard.
DVForge, a company that appears to specialize in accessories for Apple products, has a nice looking contender called The Mouse BT, which would look great next to my Apple Keyboard. Unfortunately, it has only three buttons.
If you know of a bluetooth mouse with at least four buttons and symmetrical form factor, please let me know. This mouse cord is staring to bug me.
Here’s something I’m very past due on posting. Last month, I posted about my dead camcorder. The unit, a Canon ZR65MC has returned from Waranty-service land, and all is well. I’m impressed with Canon’s service.
I called the warranty service 800 number on Monday, Nov 22. The representative was very appologetic and helpful. The camera was shipped out the same day, to New Jersey (very fortunate, as I’m just across the Delaware River from Jersey). They returned the camera via FedEx, who tried to deliver it December 9. We missed the FedEx guy a couple of times, but finally received the camera last week. The note in the box confirmed that the CCD was replaced, and that the camcorder was also “cleaned and adjusted.” Very swift turnaround, and I’m quite pleased to have it back in time for Christmas (and in time for a pre-christmas video-editing project).
While reseearching the problem initially, I read a number reports on the web about others having the same problem (dead CCD) right before or right after the end of the warranty period. Sherri sent a letter to Canon, suggesting a recall might be in order. The day after we received the camcorder, I received a call from Canon. Sherri wasn’t home so I took the call. I couldn’t recall the details of the letter, so I didn’t ask about a recall. The woman from Canon asked if we had received the camcorder and if everything was okay. She also gave me her direct number, and asked us to call if we had any further problems with the camera at any point in the future.
This is a great example of customer service done right. After the camera first stopped working, I was ready to swear off Canon products- which is a shame, considering that I also own a Canon i960 Photo Inkjet which I love. Two excellent “personal” contacts (my initial call and their followup), plus the rapid turnaround and FedEx shipping of the repaired camera during the holidays, all adds up to a satisfied customer who will be both a repeat customer and a great word-of-mouth customer.
Several weeks ago, I got a surprise when trying to use my camcorder, Canon ZR65MC. After turning it on in camera mode, the image through the eyepiece was black, although the timecode and other overlayed information was visible. A quick check of the lens cap revealed that I had not, in fact, forgen to uncork the device. Opening the side-door view screen didn’t help… same problem. Some tinkering revealed that playback still worked. I thought perhaps I had somehow changed a setting, and spent several minutes trying to figure out how to restore the video. By the time I had given up, the event I wanted to capture had already begun.
Although I forgot about this for a couple of weeks, I’ve resumed my search for an answer. I could find nothing in the manual or online support website. Looks like warranty service will be needed. Fortunately, Sherri does a great job of hanging on to receipts, and I tend to keep boxes for exensive items. The camcorder was purchased last year on 11/29, so I’m still (barely) within the year’s warranty. I have to call an 800 number Monday morning to get shipping instructions. Oh, Joy.
Doing a little more digging, I found that I’m not the only one having problems. Seems alot of people with the ZR65MC, as well as the ZR60 and ZR70MC (the other two cameras that were on the market at the same time) have seen the same problem, and generally around the end of the warranty- some before, many after. At least mine happened before. I’ve been trying to see if anyone’s posted about this in Amazon’s review section, but Amazon is slow beyond use (yet again, but that’s another post). This year, Canon has a new crop of camcorders out- the ZR80, ZR85, and ZR90. I have no idea if they suffer the same flaws as their older kin, but if you plan to buy a Canon camcorder, I suggest you hang on to the receipt. I’ll post more here after I’ve talked to Canon.
Update: Canon repaired the camcorder under warranty, and I had it back less than three weeks after shipping it. Read the complete update.
My TiVo started acting up a few weeks ago, locking up and requiring a power cycle (unplugging) to recover. This isn’t the first time I’ve had problems, but this time it was chronic. Each reset would buy me a day or two before another lockup. The last time I had problems, I considered a MythTV setup, but I decided to check into a new TiVo first.
Glad I did. TiVo currently has a $100 rebate offer. I decided to buy two new 40 hour Series 2 TiVos- the rebate is good on up to two units. Total after rebates was $200. I doubt I could build a single MythTV unit for $200. For another $60 or so, I added a pair of USB wireless ethernet adapters. I now have a Tivo in the bedroom and one in the family room, each wirelessly connected to my LAN.
Why two? With both units connected via the LAN, I can transfer shows between them (Series 2 TiVos only). This means I can watch shows upstairs that were recorded downstairs. Plus, with two units, I can setup one TiVo to record my shows, and Sherri can setup the others for her shows. With show transfer, we can watch anything on either machine on either TV.
Another handy feature of having the machines networked used to be called the “Home Media Option,” and was $99 per unit (one time fee) when the Series 2 was introduced. Since that time, the fee has been dropped- thankfully, since I wouldn’t see paying for it. For free, however, it’s handy. It allows you to view pictures or listen to music from a PC on the network. The picture viewer is nice for showing everyone pictures from our digital camera (the only camera we use anymore).
I’ve had this setup in place for a couple of weeks, and I love it. A couple of tips for others trying to use a USB Wireless Adapter with a TiVo: First, while your TiVo can download program info over the web instead of dialup, you’ll have to hook up the TiVo to a phone line for it’s first call home. Secondly, many newer USB adapters (including newer firmware releases on common models, like the Linksys WUSB11) require a software update to the TiVo in order to be recognized. After your TiVo has made it’s first call home and finished updating program info (up to 4 hrs post-phone-call), use the setup menu to force another call home. This time, you should download the newest TiVo software. Once the call is done, you’ll need to restart the TiVo (again, setup menu). After the reboot, your adapter should be recognized.