I really do love my Jambox speaker from Jawbone. It sounds good for its diminutive size. Jawbone just updated the firmware (how many speakers have a firmware?) and added a new audio mode. The only real pain int he update process is that I am required to download and install a menubar application. I then need to connect the Jambox and launch a Web site. I then must login to the mytalk.
I work on a windows machine during the day and generally connect to a half dozen unix and windows machines throughout. I toil away in front of my monitor for many hours without direct sunlight. Needless to say, I do everything I can to lessen the irritation of working on Windows. To that end, I’ve been using the Das Keyboard for about 18 months.
I really like the feel of the keyboard and appreciate the heft of the object.
On the recent episode of the B&B Podcast, Shawn and Ben had a lengthy discussion about the optimal home computing setup. They got pretty close to what I settled on a couple of years ago. I think this post describes my ideal setup until Thunderbolt is ubiquitous. At that point a MacBook Air could instantly connect to an array of devices through one cable and replace my desktop. I would still keep the MacMini server though.
I bought my first dashboard GPS unit in 2006. My wife had been against the idea for the prior year. Every time I suggested buying one she suggested that we were smart enough to use a map. But then one Saturday we went on a road trip to Ikea that nearly ended at divorce court.
We managed to take the right exit, but on the wrong highway. Because it was an industrial park on a Saturday morning, there were few options for getting local directions.
The Difference Between the Dual-Core i5 and i7 MacBook Air — Shawn Blanc
I'd add that the i7 is also better if you virtualize other OS' through Parallels or VMware. Also remember, Handbrake is CPU intensive and benefits from Hyper threading.
I’ve been using rudimentary Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) on my machines for several years. I picked up a few cheap-o UPS units at Costco and just hooked them up. They did their job, as long as I was home. You see, a cheap UPS is basically a big battery hooked up to a surge suppressor. It will protect your hardware and give you 30 minutes of extra power, but when the battery dies, it’s like ripping your computer plug out of the wall.
I’m always interested in Macworld’s iPad accessory reviews. I don’t always agree with their take, but they do a wonderful job rounding up what’s available. Their recent update on iPad 2 cases was no exception.
I was intrigued by the Speck SmartShell and decided to drop the $35 to try it myself. I was not disappointed.
The Good It works with the Smart Cover. There is a cutout that fits the Smart Cover hinge.
Following up on the SSD post from Jeff Atwood, I love my SSD boot drive but I keep the majority of my data on a secondary HDD. My primary home office computer is a late 2010 iMac with a 256GB Apple SSD and a secondary 2TB "data" drive. Here's how I have configured this setup to maximize the speed of the SSD but the storage capacity (and maybe reliability) of the HDD.
I would love for this data to be added to product reviews and packaging. I'm with Jeff, and would still buy an SSD drive. An SSD is the single most significant upgrade you can make to your computer. It's quite surprising how much the OS is limited by disk read/write speeds. Computer "speed" used to be limited by CPU cycles, then it was RAM. Now it's disk throughput.
At least data like this puts data backup into the proper perspective.
I purchased the Sony DRC-BT30 Bluetooth Headphone Adapter about a month ago from Amazon. After a month of heavy use I thought I’d share my experience with it. Be warned, it's an unsatisfactory ending.
Why? I listen to podcasts and music all day. My sole music player is my iPhone 4. I generally switch between a couple different headphones based on the working conditions. If I am stationary for awhile and need to concentrate, I will wear my Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones.
