The Raging Tech

Which Apple Should I Get?

Last night after work, I had an appointment with a new Raging Tech customer (my in-person consultation & services business) about 20 minutes out of town from where I work (in the opposite direction of my home). They ended up being some of the nicest clients I’ve had so far.

I was able to resolve their issue with their Macbook and Airport Base Station and printer, and I gotta say: I really like the feel of the Macbook laptop. The interface is nice (the screen is a bit small though), it’s speedy, and the airport is nifty as well. I really like that you can print wirelessly or hook-up a USB hard drive (like ad-hoc Network Attached Storage!). I always though the airport was kind of gimmicky, but now that I’ve seen one, they’re not too bad.

With that said, I also really like the iMac. I use one everyday at work with an extra screen attached. But the downside to that is, my computer is in my office at home, and I hardly go in there because that’s where my unpacked boxes are, and it’s too depressing!

So, while a laptop would be really nice, I like the size of the screen and the graphics processor of the iMac. Then there’s also the Macbook Air, the really thin computer you may have seen on TV that Apple sells that will fit inside a manilla office envelope. I think that’d be really nice to have, something light-weight and not a huge burden to tote.

Finally, there’s the Mac Pro (I’m not even considering the Mac Mini this go round), which is hecka expensive unless I buy one refurbished. But they do have 8 cores, lots of memory slots (very upgradeable), room for several hard drives, and nice video cards.

I look to you, readers: Which Mac should I get if I decide to get one? Leave me a message in the comments.

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2.5

Tags: Apple, Mac, shopping

Three Things #1

I heard a guy on the radio (WNOX - Knoxville’s Talker) say this morning that you should start your day off like it’s a blank slate, and think of three things for which you’re thankful. Apparently, it’s not just new-agey inspirational stuff, it’s psychologically good for you.

So here goes, three things (in no particular ranking order) for which I’m thankful:

1. My Family: I love my late father, mom, sister, both grandmas, cousins, aunts, uncles, and everyone who has helped me grow up to be who I am. They’ve supported and encouraged me in their different ways, and like any loving family, they’d do anything they could for my betterment. In fact, my mom and sister are coming up in September to help me paint and get new furniture.

2. My Friends: I’ve met a lot of people that have pretended to be my friend while it was convenient, but I’m so very thankful for the people that have shown me they love me by their words and their actions. The friends that give up their time, money, energy, strength, and anything else without hesitation for me, and know I’d do the same in any way possible. These are friends who have stuck by me through tough and good times, and rally behind me when I need strength.

3. My House: I never dreamed I’d own a home and have a mortgage at 25. It’s not terribly uncommon, I just didn’t think I’d be at a point where I could do it now. God is good, and his love endures forever! My house is in pretty good shape, and I have plans to rennovate over the years to come, and it may not be the house I live in forever. But for now, it’s mine, and that’s a huge accomplishment to me.

So I do feel a little better, and I’m sure there’s no “rules” to any of this, so I’m going to list a couple more in brief: I’m starting grad school, I have a wonderful girlfriend and even though she’s moving away I’ve enjoyed our time together so much, I’m employed full-time with a salary and benefits, I have a big screen TV and a nice car (half-way paid for!), my boss gave me a compliment this morning on an e-mail response I sent to a user, and I’ve got two adorable black kittens at home that play and explore and in general amuse me greatly. I have to scoop their poop up from a litter box, but that’s a small price to pay.

Liked this? Try it out yourself! Have some tips of your own on how to start off your day happy and healthy? Leave it in the comments!

Rate this:

3.2

Tags: Gratitude, Health, Life, Thankful

VideoJug How-To: Avoid Trapped Arm Whilst Cuddling

VideoJug offers a wealth of information and How-Tos in video format on almost any subject. As they say, if they don’t have it, you don’t need to know how to do it.

I first learned about VideoJug from Thrillist Nation, an e-mail newsletter I subscribe to (via Thrillist.com), and this one seems particularly useful for anyone who may at some time or another, cuddle up next to a significant other.

How To Avoid Trapped Arm Whilst Cuddling In Bed

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3.5 (1 person)

Tags: Cuddle, Trapped Arm Syndrome, VideoJug

Emmersive Sci-Fi Podcast “The Leviathan Chronicles”

The audio book has long been a literary tradition pretty much since the first years of audio recording. When radio became widespread, serial-format shows were often broadcast in the evenings after most American families had finished dinner and were settling down.

Now, we listen to broadcasts in all sorts of ways: iPods, streaming audio, the radio, satellite radio, or via a subscription online such as a podcast (which can in turn be played on an iPod or in iTunes or another audio player).

The serial-format radio drama still exists today! A neat one I recently discovered called “The Leviathan Chronicles” is divided up into chapters, available as episodes of a podcast online.

From what I can tell from the first chapter, it appears to be about a Chinese and an American sub that wind up in the same trench at the same time. An accidental firing sets off some sort of an energy pulse below the surface of the ocean. A year later, a government agent is called in to investigate what happened, because the signal from under the ocean was answered… from space.

So far, the presentation is pretty engaging. The background audio sounds like the ocean up against the outside of a sub wall, so you feel like you’re actually listening in inside a submarine. Also, instead of just a straight read-through, there are actors reading the lines of the characters, and a sexy female British voice reading the narration.

Rate this:

3.4 (2 people)

Tags: iTunes, Leviathan Chronicles, Podcast, Sci-Fi

Bye Bye, DRM - Hello Manageable Music!

Since the legitimate sales of digital music downloads began, record labels and recording artists have been looking for ways to protect their intellectual (ha, if you can call it that) property. Copyright law alone was not enough to enforce rights protection, so before many would let their music be sold online, they required a system to prevent copying and distribution.

That’s where Digital Rights Management (or DRM) came in to play. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (or DMCA) was passed in the United States, making the circumvention of any digital or electronic system designed to prevent copy or distribution of works illegal and prosecutable with huge fines. These DRM systems qualified under the DMCA, and that made the RIAA and MPAA very, very happy.

Unfortunately, there was no standard on DRM, and so each online retailer of digital media invented their own proprietary system. This lead to issues with media not being accessible on all PC platforms, mobile devices, or other arguably Fair Use methods of enjoying your purchased content.

As a result, more people turned to illegally downloading content to get higher-quality, DRM-free media that could be played (or at least converted to play) virtually anywhere. Also, the delivery times from Peer2Peer networks was faster, and often lead to movies and music being leaked before their official release.

From a marketing perspective, what was the community at large saying about how it wanted its media? Free is obviously nice, but people know free either means advertising or lack of legality. Some labels and artists and film studios started to realize that customers want media fast, in high-quality, early releases, and they want to be able to enjoy that media on anything that will play it.

iTunes led the way towards the DRM-Free movement with higher-quality iTunes Plus music unencumbered by DRM or other restrictions. They have by no means released the entire iTunes Store in this format, but offer many artists already. Amazon followed up next by making their entire store DRM-Free mp3 format downloads. And just recently, Rhapsody joined the pack by offering DRM-Free downloads on a per-track basis.

Also, Verizon Wireless is jumping on the bandwagon by partnering with Rhapsody, and will soon allow VCast customers to download music from Rhapsody DRM-Free, by way of a $15 / month subscription for the music rental, or a per-track purchase just as you would from Rhapsody’s program on the PC.

Will DRM-Free music turn more “pirates” into legitimate customers? Will you purchase music, video, etc. that you’ve previously downloaded from Peer2Peer networks? What devices do you use to play your media besides your computer? Let me know in the comments.

-The Raging Tech

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2.5

Tags: Amazon, DMCA, DRM, iTunes, media, Music, Rhapsody, Verizon Wireless