Celtic Odyssey

This is going to be a technology rant. I’m just warning you. Apple is streaming today’s meeting. To quote Apple: Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. This really, really, irks me! What get’s me is that line that Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming ‘is based on open standards’ but one is required to use an Apple product to view the stream! So, once more, Apple takes open standards and puts their own spin on it and then requires people to use only their products. In other words, the close the ‘open’ standards and make them proprietary! So, they have cut out all Windows users and all Linux users that don’t have iPads, iPhones, or iPod Touches. Now, one solution is to just not view the event. And that’s true. I know I won’t be. But tha...

As some of you know, I am a Geek. I own my own computer consulting business and last night was a special treat. One of my clients asked me to accompany her to purchase a new computer. And not just any computer. A brand-spanking new iMac. In case you don't know, the iMac is made by Apple Inc. It is a all-in-one design that is beautiful as well as practical. It comes in either a 20" or 24" model. My client opted for the 20" model (after much discussion). Here are the other hardware specs: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1GB memory 320GB SATA hard drive 8x double-layer SuperDrive ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory AirPort Extreme (802.11n wifi) Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR Apple Keyboard Apple Remote Mighty Mouse Each model comes with an iSight camera (for video chat), SuperDrive (DVD burner), Mac OS X (of course), and iLife (Apple's multimedia suite), just to mention a few. She also purchased an Airport Extreme wireless base station. As noted, th...

The worlds best browser has just been given new life -- on the PC.  That's right!  Now you can run Safari , the native web browser from Apple, right on your Windows XP or Vista OS.  As most of you know, I am an Apple user.  I really love the whole thing -- the very latest hardware ( iMac , MacBook , Mac mini , iPod , and the soon to be released iPhone ), and the coolest, most advanced OS in the world, Mac OS X (current build, 10.4 Tiger and the next generation, due out in October, 10.5 Leopard).  As you also know, this isn't the first time Apple has released an app for Windows.  Apple's iTunes is downloaded almost one million times a day by Windows users.  So, they aren't too worried about this not being picked up by the Windows world. Why would people want to do that?  A number of reasons: ease of use, eligance of the interface, but mostly -- speed.  Safari is roughly twice as fast as IE 7 and roughly 1.6 times faster than Firefox.  And these are speeds th...

Things have been going full speed over here. I am in the middle of trying to get my home business off the ground. It is a computer business and you can see an ad for it here . That is taking a lot of my time. I am hoping that I can get a sign made for my front yard, seeing as I live on a busy street, it should help bring in business. I also read a great article (or should I say letter) from Steve Jobs. Whose that? Where have you been living? Mr. Jobs is the head of Apple . The guy behind some great things like . . . um . . . oh, I don't know . . . the iPod ! Apple also makes some great computers too (the best, in my humble but correct opinion). Their latest 'gadget' is called the iPhone . It is an iPod, an Internet communications device, and, well, a phone all rolled up into one! It isn't available yet, but when it comes online, watch out! It will set the phone world on it's ear. Anyway, back to the letter . In it, Mr. Jobs has thrown down a gauntlet....

I recently saw the keynote speech Steve Jobs gave (you can see it here ). All I can say is '...wow...' There are some very cool features coming out in Leopard but the one that blew me away (and from the sound of the crowd, a lot of other people as well) is something called 'Time Machine'. Time Machine is a backup utility built right into the OS. It backs up everything on your Mac -- photos, music, docs, and the entire OS -- automatically. Then, the cool part, is that if you need something that you 'know was in my Documents folder yesterday' (my family is notorious for saying things like this), you click on the Time Machine icon from the Dock and you are transported into outer-space with a series of Finder windows cascading back to 'the beginning'. There is a time line on the right-hand side of the screen where you can just select the day you want to go to, or you can just click on one of the arrows to go back to when the contents changed -- this co...

. . . or as I like to call it . . . The End of the World as We Know It! If you don't know what I'm referring to, let me assure you that I have not joined the follies of Dispensationalism. No, I'm referring to something a lot different. You can now run Windows natively on your (Intel based) Mac. That's right. You read that correctly. Apple has released a beta app called 'Boot Camp' that will let you install WindowsXP on your Apple computer and then dual boot between Mac or Windows. The interesting thing about this is that, while this is beta software now, it will be a part of Apple's next OS, Leopard. Now, there is no reason for panic. At least, I don't think so. Right now, Apple is growing by at least 30% which is roughly three times faster than any other computer company out there. And this little feature should increase that to three hundred times! Imagine, all the people that we know who still are using Windows but we keep pestering them to get a Ma...

Mac : I like my iBook greatly. Doesn't that sound weird? I used to say 'I love my iBook' but now I try not to say 'love' regarding 'things'. I love YHWH, Jesus, Mahina, Sumi, my parents, my pets (especially Maddie), nature, etc., but not things. However, when it comes to my Mac -- the hardware as well as the OS -- it's really, really hard not to say it. This is the best computer experience around. Period. If you don't have one . . . what are you waiting for!!! I'm sure I have told you about it already. You have gotta get one of these things, I'm telling ya. It will be the best computer experience you have ever had. But that's just me. Maybe you like getting spyware and viruses. Maybe you like having to always update those things (and if you aren't, you really should be). With the Mac, you don't have to worry about it. Anyway . . . Bible : I have been thinking a lot lately about the Bible and it's pla...