:: Monday, February 17, 2003 ::

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This is the view from my front door! :: Yup - God or Mother Nature or (insert your belief here) has really packed us in here in my neighborhood in little old Delaware. Two feet of snow, something we haven't gotten in awhile. I've lived in both Nebraska and Buffalo - both areas famous for their snow - but I haven't really seen anything like what I saw today. It's probably partially because Delawareans don't quite know how to handle this amount of the white stuff, and also because my apartment complex has had trouble getting us cleared out. Before I came in for good Monday night, they had a little Bronco down near the front of the development, with a plow attachment, trying to nibble away, but it didn't seem like they were going to have much luck. So while I got my first honest to goodness snow day in 10 years today, tomorrow I'm hitching a ride in with a colleague who's had an easier time getting out.

It was quite a scene though. After being snowed in on Sunday, too, many of my neighbors came out and tried to dig out their cars. Forget the fact that the access road they would have to back up into still wasn't plowed, at the very least they had the snow off their cars. I interviewed many people for work (I'm a newspaper reporter by day, in case anyone didn't know this), and most of them said they just wanted to get outside. It's a snow emergency out, which means a $500 fine if you don't have a good reason to be driving, but there were still people trying to get out of the complex to go to the store, even though it is a quarter of a mile away and more easily accessible by foot right now. People and their cars! You can see all of my snow pics at my .Mac site.

That looks a lot like ... iPhoto? On Windows? :: Yup, I hadn't realized it, but there's a whole community of Windows users who try and make their desktops look as much as possible like OS X. You can also see a whole bunch of pics of how their desktops look here. On the one hand, it's kind of flattering for Apple and Mac fans to be imitated in such a way. On the other hand, it's also a bit scary, IMHO. Couldn't these people actually get Macs or something? And why polish Windows to make it look pretty? It's still Windows.

My $%&#ing Web host! ... :: Also, please disregard the forum section of the site for the moment, my Web hosting company has a habit of occasionally changing the UNIX paths on my server, thereby rendering all of my CGI scripts useless, and I haven't had a chance to fix the board. It's broken right now! I will have it fixed by the weekend. Speaking of the weekend: I should have the new G4 by then. I'll update with pics and my reaction when it's finally sitting on my desk and plugged in!
:: Steve 9:52 PM [+] ::
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

What a fantastic surprise - OS X 10.2.4 fixed my biggest pet-peeve!

But as usual, it's a day late and a dollar short :: Yup, check your software update preference panes, kiddies, Apple's released the 10.2.4 update to OS X. And for the first day in nearly a week of battling a sinus infection, the antibiotics have finally kicked in and I was even fairly coherent when I downloaded it. The release notes said some of the usual things - you know, updates and improvements to Address Book and I don't even remember what else. For the most part, I haven't noticed anything different under 10.2.4 than when I was working under 10.2.3, except for the fact that it seems to have broken my installation of PHP on my Apache Web server. But considering some of the horror stories you sometimes hear on MacFixIt after an update like this, I consider that to be a good thing.

But one thing unexpected and welcome did happen upon rebooting, and it happened right away. Frequent viewers of United Mac may remember my biggest Jaguar pet peeve, the incredible shrinking screen upon reboot effect on some of the original iMacs, an effect that, I might add, I've never been a fan of. Well I couldn't believe it, but after installing 10.2.4 today, my screen, for the first time ever using Jaguar, held its geometry after a reboot! Oh, the joy!

It just figures, though, that I'm in the process of getting a new (to me) Quicksilver G4 w/17-inch Studio Display, which will arrive sometime over the next week. The Bondi Blue iMac that is finally fixed with the update will be going to someone else sometime next week, too. It's one of my last auctions up on eBay right now. Oh, well. I'm sure there will be another obscure OS X problem with my G4 that I'll be able to harp about on the site for the next year or so until I finally replace it with a brand-new G5 somewhere down the road.

Havening a good time :: And something made me revisit a site I've pointed out before, the Chronicles of George. This site is so funny (at least to a geek-type like me!), that it's worth pointing out again. George is a computer help desk guy with grammar issues and, well, issues all around. ... I know I've already pointed this out this week, but head over to the Konfabulator site. Mac developers are coming through in spades producing new and useful widgets, and the program is getting a ton of publicity. It's already changing the way I look at my desktop, I can tell you that.
:: Steve 8:45 PM [+] ::
What a fantastic surprise - OS X 10.2.4 fixed my biggest pet-peeve!

What is Konfabulator?

Answer: Whatever you want it to be! :: OK, this thing, this Konfabulator, is among the coolest things I've ever come across. What is it? Would you like to know! It's anything. It's everything. Haha. You see, this is funny to me, drawing it out like this, because Konfabulator is actually the latest creation of Arlo Rose, once a member of Apple's UI (that's "user interface") design team and the creator of Kaleidoscope, the program we used way back when to change themes, or "schemes," on the OS 8-9 platform. His latest creation is a little less classifiable...

First off, Konfabulator isn't really an "it," or an application, as you would think of normal applications. It's a "javascript runtime environment," which means it's an environment in which a program can run. Or, more specifically, an environment in which "widgets" can run. These widgets are the coolest little things. You start Konfabulator by double-clicking on it, and then you can go to its menu in your menu bar and open new widgets. By default, it comes with cool widgets that check stocks, show a to-do list, or get the latest weather. The cool thing about these widgets is - like everything Arlo has ever done - they have style (see screenshot). They also blend into your desktop and almost become a part of it. There's no icon in the dock, no window to close or minimize. They're just always, well, there. Looking cool. Displaying information. Updating the information. It's like having a one of those desk-sized calendar pads, only it updates itself without any trouble from you. I suggest everyone try it! And since this was only released this week, I'm sure new widgets will be popping up daily!

Exchanging to become easier for switchers :: According to CNet, Microsoft is revving up its production of an Exchange client for Mac OS X. Exchange is what Outlook for Windows is based on - a centralized and proprietary server for e-mail, contacts and calendars. Microsoft came out with Outlook for Mac OS 9, the only application that con connect to an Exchange server from a Mac, but never updated it for OS X.
Meanwhile, Think Secret, which proved itself rather well with it scoop on the new iMacs last week, is reporting that the Microsoft Mac BU is busying itself with finishing MSN for Mac and has put Internet Explorer 6 on hold in the meantime. That's fine with me. Once a final release of Safari with tabs (wishful thinking) is released and Chimera reaches version 1.0, I'll probably never want to look at Internet Explorer again, anyway!

Simon says :: Remember that old electronic game with the lights and the annoying music from the 70s, Simon? You know, the one in which you had to repeat the music patterns like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Well, I've come across the coolest little program to fool with the next time you have a spare moment or two on an OS X machine - Simon Extreme. The program's duplication of the game is so eerie that I almost regressed completely back to childhood. Only changing the original cheesy computer tones to the "metal" flavor included brought me back. Addictive. Stay away from it. Or don't. Oh, do what you will, but don't blame me when you get strung out and lose your job!

One more thing :: This was pointed out on one of the e-mail lists I belong to, but if you click here, you'll go to a blog that features a pretty cool (although long) Switcher story that Apple seems hasn't picked up on.
:: Steve 6:46 PM [+] ::
What is Konfabulator?

World saddened by Microsoft's possible fate

CNET: "Microsoft is warning that the success of the open-source movement could hurt its sales, potentially forcing the software giant to cut prices and sacrifice both revenue and profits" ... :: The flags are flying at half-mast, the president has declared a national moment of silence for 11 a.m., and the New York Stock Exchange is closing for the day to show its support. Even the thousands of open-source programmers around the world who work on great software projects like OS X's Darwin core, Mozilla and Linux have posted messages of support on their Web sites, telling the world's largest software company they are sorry. "We are sorry, Microsoft. We did not mean to hurt you."

Alright, maybe not. Does Microsoft deserve our sympathy? I don't think anyone should be asking me that question! According to the CNET article, the warning is a part of a filing with the federal government. It goes on:

Companies often include cautionary language in their regulatory filings about potential risk factors. Other threats listed by Microsoft include potential litigation, the fact that many of the company's newer products are unprofitable, and "General Economic and Geo-Political Risks."

I wonder which Microsoft products are unprofitable? Anyway, this all proves the theory that open-source software is more than just a good way to get applications for free or next to free, it's also a way to ensure fairness to all of us, Mac users and Windows users, as we try to deliver ourselves from the clutches of the world's most domineering company.

New iMacs, buy my stuff! Please? ... ::As Think Secret predicted, I'm sure you've noticed by now that there are new iMacs and eMacs for sale at Apple's site. No need to go into it in too much detail here, other than to say that the price drops are nice and are making it tough for me to decide what Mac I'm going to buy soon. ... Which brings me to: Come on, you guys! Buy my stuff!
:: Steve 6:33 AM [+] ::
World saddened by Microsoft's possible fate

Think Secret: New iMacs today!

Think Secret is at it again :: The Mac rumor site, Think Secret is making a prediction that before the day is out we will see Apple introduce new iMacs. According to Think Secret's spies:

The new iMac models are primarily speed-bump editions with the addition of Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme support. That does not include AirPort or Bluetooth cards. Prices will start at US$1299. In addition, Apple will not be upgrading the eMac line, but will instead lower prices of existing models to stay more competitive, starting at $999 up to $1299.

I like this primarily because I may soon be in the market for a new Mac, and was leaning away from the iMacs and toward the eMacs because of price considerations. I may reconsider. We'll see before the day is out, I assume, whether Think Secret is right. They have a much better batting average than the other Mac rumor sites, however.

Buy my stuff, Roger Ebert and George Bush :: Some more odds and ends from the Web ... Ever wanted to own computer peripherals and equipment that actually used to belong to Steve Sobek? I didn't think so. But maybe you might want some of it for other reasons. Check out my special page for the whole slew of eBay auctions I put up over the last couple of days. It's all for a good cause, the aforementioned campaign for a new Mac. If you help out, I'll be able to continue giving you the steadfast and expert opinions I give you on Macs every week! Alright, just buy the stuff, will ya? It's used and you can probably get it cheap. :-) ... Roger Ebert takes a dig at Windows in his review of "Final Destination 2". If you're wondering, he gave the movie one-and-a-half stars. Yikes. ... And finally, in the "Gee, we already knew that category,a quote from Nelson Mandela on George Bush: "What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust."



:: Steve 11:32 PM [+] ::
Think Secret: New iMacs today!

"So costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom"

"I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

- Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby of Boston, Nov. 21, 1864




:: Steve 1:47 AM [+] ::
"So costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom"