January 31, 2008 by dinofond.

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January 28, 2008 by dinofond.

You’re thinking about travel, or possibly about global issues. Somehow, you need to ensure that people are on the same page as you are, at least as far as your plans for the future are concerned.

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January 27, 2008 by dinofond.

No click, the ATM is for poo. Same with Automobile Battery, no click is for poo.

The Aquarius left the dome light on chickaba =D

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January 24, 2008 by dinofond.

Apple bashed the competition in ‘07, the Macintosh division is growing at 2.5 times the rate of the marketplace. Think that only 6% of the computer base is OS X? Think again. Apple is outselling Gateway and is the world 3rd largest manufacturer of Computers.

“Apple’s revenue grew 35 percent year-over-year to $9.6 billion, an increase of almost $2.5 billion over the previous December quarter’s record-breaking results,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Our strong results produced cash flow from operations of over $2.7 billion during the quarter, yielding an ending cash balance of over $18.4 billion. Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $6.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $.94.”

That puts Macintosh Sales at 10 million units this year and 8.6 million last year, 18.6 million Macintosh Computers sold. Over 95% of Macintosh is sold in the USA with a population of 303 million, do that math… and that’s only the last two years. The last five have all been record breaking years in Sales of the Macintosh computer.

I know these sales numbers to be significant due to the increasing number of calls I get from customers on the OS X platform. Many of them are customers who were on the PC platform the last time we serviced them. Yup, times they certainly are a changing.

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January 22, 2008 by dinofond.

Ding Ding Ding!

A friend is giving me an $900 treadmill for fixing her computer, I am so grateful. Been looking for a treadmill for several months all way to expensive for me. I just don’t have 1k to shell out without using a credit card and that’s not going to happen. I pick it up Friday which rhymes with YAY! in an imperfect kind of way.

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January 22, 2008 by dinofond.

I heard this first from a Mac source LMFAO!!!!
~Dino
——————————————
Microsoft’s Mac Tax Repealed
By Matt, matt(at)smalldog.com

Yesterday, Microsoft changed its End User License Agreement (EULA) to allow all versions of Windows Vista to run under emulation. This means you no longer have to shell out $399.99 for the Vista Ultimate edition to run a virtual machine– a huge advantage for those users who don’t require all the features (cough, cough, bloat) but do need the ability to run Windows.

Many PC and Parallels customers opt for Windows XP Pro or Home over any flavor of Vista. I lack any real experience with XP or Vista, but from what I’ve read on the blogs, you’re probably better off going with XP.

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January 22, 2008 by dinofond.

After doing some long research I have come to a conclusion that is so very disturbing, hopefully I can get slash dot to publish my findings as I have sent them the data. Several M$ friendly hardware companies are refusing to release drivers for any other windowz operating system except Vista in their new product lines. This is ultimately how Microshaft is going to force users to adopt an operating system that is the worst I have ever seen including Windows ME. People, buy a Mac I am completely serious here. Vista’s a complete pile of garbage that is much less secure the XP ever has been. The virus / malware / spy-ware removals I am doing on the Vista platform are like nothing I have ever encountered. The security holes are the worst in any operating system I have ever worked on.

Last night I broke into a fully patched Vista Home Premium system just to see how it stacked up against other OS’s. I was in with an internet explorer 7.0 buffer overrun in less then 20 minutes. IE 7 is not any more secure then IE 6. Because it was based on a COMM object firefox was not included in this test. I simply wrote some code, put it on my intra net here at the office, served up the web page to IE 7 and boom! I was in. It was that easy.

Unfortunately I do not see it improving in the future. Over the next two years I am phasing out working on the Vista from the company, I refuse to work with it unless the service packs improve it considerably. It takes far to long to diagnose problems, end users get angry at the technician for the extra cost. If you adopt Vista, get used to those two words “extra” and “cost.” I have enough open source server work as well as the Apple boom which I am well qualified to work with to keep me busy. I have had enough of Vista period, good bye. As long as XP is available I will steer my customers toward it rather it’s replacing Vista as the OS or not.

My Bottom line, Vista is complete crap. My customers deserve much better then they are receiving. Oh, and the gentleman who owns the Dell Inspiron 7200 at a price of $2200 who was present having a beer with me while I cracked his machine? I just ordered him a Macbook Pro from my apple corporate account and XP home from newegg to use with boot-camp. His total cost? $2088.99.

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January 21, 2008 by dinofond.

Today I am deeply grateful my Keyboard controller still works.

It was rescued by Lady M from laying one end in a stream of water in the Garage. This thing weighs 47 lbs, it’s darn heavy to move by myself because of it’s shape. Thank goodness for you Lady M and shame on me for leaving it there while I moved studio stuff around.

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January 21, 2008 by dinofond.

Only some of us are Listening

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January 20, 2008 by dinofond.

Do you know what music is? Harmonic connection between all living beings.
~Robin Williams as Maxwell ‘Wizard’ Wallace in August Rush

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January 19, 2008 by dinofond.

YAY

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January 19, 2008 by dinofond.

In the last Month I have worked on far to many Vista machines from testing software to setups. At this very moment I’m working on an out of the box Dell Inspiron 1720 (flagship 17″ Notebook) containing the following:

Core 2 Duo 2.0 MHz
2 GB Ram
Windows Vista Home premium

This machine is as sluggish as an ibook G3 500 MHz with 128 MB RAM Running OS X 10.5, it’s a complete sloth (yee haw!). Every machine I have touched that has Vista of any flavor is a sloth, I have worked on about 50 of them now in the last year. Vista and Sloth are perfect together, the perfect description truly melding as one. 30 out of those 50 (or so) have XP on them at an additional cost to the owners, I know we installed them. I truly think Windows Vista is actually on the same plain of Shit-ness (yes that is a technical term) as Windows Millennium Edition (ME) is/was whatever. 18 months after launch vista is still a cluster fuck!

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January 16, 2008 by dinofond.

I came home really late from fixing an X-raid last night, having a band audition tonight in which I am completely unprepared for due to a busy calendar. I didn’t see the Macworld keynote until after 11pm. I did read the rumor sites live text-cast from my cell to get a “drive by” of the event. I was pretty disappointed in what I read before seeing the live quicktime of the event.

I still think (as I did when I read the text-cast) over all this incarnation of the Macbook Air will do poorly, but the first major rework I think will set a new standard. Let me back up here a bit. The new airport christened Time Capsule is a really good value. Basically and Airport extreme with 1 - 500 GB hard drive for $299.00. An airport currently priced is $179.00 do the math on the Hard drive cost, like I said great value.

Apple TV has been reworked so you now need no computer and itunes is including movie rentals from all 10 Major studios. This all works seamlessly with apple TV stand alone. This in conjunction with the rework of apple TV’s software and operating system enhancements makes it a really cool product. IMHO this is the big news of the show, I am planning on renting my first movie this weekend and watching it on my macbook pro through itunes. Itunes can deliver movie rentals to ANY apple product. The price of apple TV was dropped to $229.00 and current users (if there are any) get the software upgrade for free. Look at the website for new features in this product, you will see a MAJOR improvement. I think it’s insanely great!

The iphone too received a huge software upgrade with far to many features to mention here, but it’s a fantastic free upgrade. My opinion is these new features were always to be part of the iphone but apple needed to get the product to market and they knew they had a winner which proved to be the pudding. 20,000 iphones a day are being sold in the US market. The ipod touch also received a very major software upgrade with five new hands on applications including rich HTML email that can read photos, PDF’s, Word and Excel attachments. You can now get google maps and real time traffic info like the iphone, weather, notes and stocks just like the iphone through the ipod touch’s wifi. This upgrade is not free, but priced at only $20 I think it a great value.

Now we get to the macbook air, it the most amazing beautiful computer ever made. Literally enchanting to any geek or nerd such as myself. It has several breakthrough pieces of technology including: software to engage using CD ROM’s from other devices apple or PC, completely wireless in every way, fits in a legal size envelope due to it’s thin footprint. However, it has one USB port, no fire wire, no CD ROM, a permanent non-replaceable battery like the iphone and the memory is not upgradable. Mostly the issue I have is the price, the Hard drive version is $1799 and that’s far to expensive for anyone but the Apple aficionado. There is a Flash memory version aka hard drive-less which is the future of portables. But it’s $3098 I can’t see anyone adopting these in droves. I think few will purchase these because of the price point. However I think the next rework of this machine will make it possibly Apples best selling portable in the future.

Like the iphone, the ipod touch and apple TV, the Macbook air will eventually get there on Price and technology. When that happens I surely would love to have the whole wireless entertainment shebang in my home. Right now I would gladly settle for Pro tools working on OS 10.5. Having the complete apple home is too expensive currently for my budget hopefully in the future that will change.

My final thought is, with itunes movie rentals and all the other premieres at Macworld I think lightning struck twice in a row.

peace out!

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January 15, 2008 by dinofond.

Asleep, then I realized Mac World is in the morning. I am now bouncy boing boing boy who looks as though he has had many energy drinks. I’m hoping for something Macintosh, last year was iphone this and iphone that. Personally, I don’t know a single person who owns an iphone and I couldn’t afford one. If I could I would be enjoying Google maps while out on the road instead of getting lost. I won’t buy one unless AT&T is not the carrier, I don’t do business with Companies who censor singers because it’s not instep with the regime. Ok, now I go dream OS X kthxby

AT&T Silences Pearl Jam

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January 14, 2008 by dinofond.

I tear on the leash
That keeps me contained and controlled
Let me go
I want to break free
And bite my way out of this hole

One last hope
To rise and break away
Above the faded line
Way beyond the ties that bind

This I know
The risk is worth the gain
It’s worth the sacrifice
Way beyond the ties that bind

I run but the chains
Pull me right back to the floor
You control
I rattle the cage
I won�t be your slave anymore

One last hope
To rise and break away
Above the faded line
Way beyond the ties that bind

One last hope
To rise and break away
Above the faded line
Way beyond the ties that bind

You broke me into pieces
Don�t tell me what to be
Damn you all, I’m gonna find my way

One last hope
To rise and break away
Above the faded line
Way beyond the ties that bind

This I know
The risk is worth the gain
It’s worth the sacrifice
Way beyond the ties that bind

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January 14, 2008 by dinofond.

Submitted by Mr. Norton

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January 12, 2008 by dinofond.

macnn.com

On January 3, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple’s patent application titled Integrated monitor and docking station . This timely patent presents us with a glimpse into a new iMac-like docking station that Apple has been working on since 2006. Two of the unique features presented in this patent include a telephonic handset and a liquid cooling system. With product launches at MacWorld 2008 likely to include notebooks, a notebook companion like this proposed docking station could be the surprise launch of the year.

Apple’s Patent Background

Traditionally a portable computer docking station requires a separate external monitor to be connected (e.g., by cable) to the docking station when a display other than the integrated display of the portable computer is desired to be used with the docking station. Often a significant amount of desk space is required for placement of this docking station and separate display. Attempts have been made to conserve the required amount of desk space by allowing the external display to be stacked on top of the docking station. However, the stacked combination still occupies a large amount of space and is cumbersome to move and transport. Therefore there exists a need for a docking station and display combination that is configured in a more efficient form.

MacBook Docking Station

Apple’s patent FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the front view of a proposed docking station. The design, in general, carries continuity with their current iMac desktop design. The illustration points to an Apple MacBook sliding into this new docking station that is described as including an iSight webcam and other peripherals such as a speaker, microphone, storage device, memory card reader, a telephonic handset, a battery charger and more – including a liquid cooling system.

Rear and Side Views of Docking Station

Apple lists Augustin Farrugia (Cupertino, CA) as the sole inventor of this patent which was originally filed in July 2006.

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January 9, 2008 by dinofond.

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January 8, 2008 by dinofond.

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January 7, 2008 by dinofond.

The Washington Post

Why I Believe Bush Must Go
Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.

By George McGovern
Sunday, January 6, 2008; B01

As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president.

After the 1972 presidential election, I stood clear of calls to impeach President Richard M. Nixon for his misconduct during the campaign. I thought that my joining the impeachment effort would be seen as an expression of personal vengeance toward the president who had defeated me.

Today I have made a different choice.

Of course, there seems to be little bipartisan support for impeachment. The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians. So the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising.

But what are the facts?

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly “high crimes and misdemeanors,” to use the constitutional standard.

From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team’s assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged — perhaps even by a congressional investigation.

In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq. That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion — by far the highest in our national history.

All of this has been done without the declaration of war from Congress that the Constitution clearly requires, in defiance of the U.N. Charter and in violation of international law. This reckless disregard for life and property, as well as constitutional law, has been accompanied by the abuse of prisoners, including systematic torture, in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

I have not been heavily involved in singing the praises of the Nixon administration. But the case for impeaching Bush and Cheney is far stronger than was the case against Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew after the 1972 election. The nation would be much more secure and productive under a Nixon presidency than with Bush. Indeed, has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney era?

How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?

It happened in part because the Bush-Cheney team repeatedly deceived Congress, the press and the public into believing that Saddam Hussein had nuclear arms and other horrifying banned weapons that were an “imminent threat” to the United States. The administration also led the public to believe that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks — another blatant falsehood. Many times in recent years, I have recalled Jefferson’s observation: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”

The basic strategy of the administration has been to encourage a climate of fear, letting it exploit the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks not only to justify the invasion of Iraq but also to excuse such dangerous misbehavior as the illegal tapping of our telephones by government agents. The same fear-mongering has led government spokesmen and cooperative members of the press to imply that we are at war with the entire Arab and Muslim world — more than a billion people.

Another shocking perversion has been the shipping of prisoners scooped off the streets of Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other countries without benefit of our time-tested laws of habeas corpus.

Although the president was advised by the intelligence agencies last August that Iran had no program to develop nuclear weapons, he continued to lie to the country and the world. This is the same strategy of deception that brought us into war in the Arabian Desert and could lead us into an unjustified invasion of Iran. I can say with some professional knowledge and experience that if Bush invades yet another Muslim oil state, it would mark the end of U.S. influence in the crucial Middle East for decades.

Ironically, while Bush and Cheney made counterterrorism the battle cry of their administration, their policies — especially the war in Iraq — have increased the terrorist threat and reduced the security of the United States. Consider the difference between the policies of the first President Bush and those of his son. When the Iraqi army marched into Kuwait in August 1990, President George H.W. Bush gathered the support of the entire world, including the United Nations, the European Union and most of the Arab League, to quickly expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The Saudis and Japanese paid most of the cost. Instead of getting bogged down in a costly occupation, the administration established a policy of containing the Baathist regime with international arms inspectors, no-fly zones and economic sanctions. Iraq was left as a stable country with little or no capacity to threaten others.

Today, after five years of clumsy, mistaken policies and U.S. military occupation, Iraq has become a breeding ground of terrorism and bloody civil strife. It is no secret that former president Bush, his secretary of state, James A. Baker III, and his national security adviser, Gen. Brent Scowcroft, all opposed the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.

In addition to the shocking breakdown of presidential legal and moral responsibility, there is the scandalous neglect and mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. The veteran CNN commentator Jack Cafferty condenses it to a sentence: “I have never ever seen anything as badly bungled and poorly handled as this situation in New Orleans.” Any impeachment proceeding must include a careful and critical look at the collapse of presidential leadership in response to perhaps the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

Impeachment is unlikely, of course. But we must still urge Congress to act. Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is also a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot.

As former representative Elizabeth Holtzman, who played a key role in the Nixon impeachment proceedings, wrote two years ago, “it wasn’t until the most recent revelations that President Bush directed the wiretapping of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — and argued that, as Commander in Chief, he had the right in the interests of national security to override our country’s laws — that I felt the same sinking feeling in my stomach as I did during Watergate. . . . A President, any President, who maintains that he is above the law — and repeatedly violates the law — thereby commits high crimes and misdemeanors.”

I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won’t be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I’d like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin.

There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger, such as the ones we faced when I served as a bomber pilot in World War II. We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered.

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