Hawaii Photos (page 1 of 3)

The first page of photos from our weeklong vacation to Hawaii last month is now up on our .Mac HomePage where all our other vacation photos are located. They are in chronological order and only cover the first few days. The following two pages will be posted shortly.
http://homepage.mac.com/ehargreaves/PhotoAlbum29.html

U2 Singles

CD Singles are often hard to find in the United States and are usually quite expensive when they can be found (due to their being imported from the UK). And since they only have 1-3 unique songs on them, the total price per song can be as high as $6.

So I was quite happy when U2 published The Complete U2 at the iTunes Music Store. This meant that most of those hard-to-find b-sides were available for purchase at the reasonable price of 99¢.

Unfortunately, they have continued to release multiple CD singles for individual songs (All Because Of You, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, City of Blinding Lights) that are import-only in the U.S. and are not available on the iTMS.

Wake Up Dead Man Record Labels! End this!

Now Playing

Since we have a networked TiVo, I was interested in the Now Playing widget for Tiger's Dashboard. Unfortunately, I was never able to get it to work. So I was a bit surprised to see it listed in Forbes.com's list of The Best Mac Dashboard Widgets. Until I read why they picked it:

I don't have a TiVo, and so I wasn't able to test this widget myself, but if I did, I think I'd use it.

That's how they determine 'The Best'? Boy, I can't wait to read Forbes' list of The Best Companies To Invest In: 'I don't have money or know what to do with it, but if I did, I'd pick this company.'

Oh, and if anyone can tell me why I can't get the widget to work, that'd be great. It just sits and spins while saying XML Downloaded. I'm not expecting you to answer, though, Forbes.

7/23/05 Update: I'm now using version 1.1 of the widget and it works great.

A memorable quote by Rob Enderle

This story has actually been sitting in my blog queue for more than a month now, but the quote still cracks me up.

It's No Party - Forbes.com

But analyst Rob Enderle, head of California-based The Enderle Group, says the so-called 'halo effect' around the iPod is really just a myth. "From what I'm seeing, the iPod simply drives people into the stores, and the foot traffic helps move product," Enderle says. "The iPod benefits the entire Apple product line, but Apple could have done the same thing by having Paris Hilton, or some other celebrity, visit the Apple stores."

I don't know about the rest of you, but having Paris Hilton visit the Apple retail stores would actually make me avoid them. And would it really inspire folks to purchase hundreds of dollars of computer equipment?

Oh, and it's always worth mentioning that The Enderle "Group" consists of two people: Rob and his wife. The guy's been wrong so many times it's not funny. Paris Hilton? Really, Rob? That's what you come up with?

A new logo for DC Comics

A note from the publisher

We've decided this is the moment to do something we've debated for the last few years and introduce a new DC logo. The symbol ... will be spinning onto the whole line in June, and as fast as we can, onto all our films, TV shows, video games, licensed products ... Look for the launch of the film version on "Batman Begins," and keep your eyes peeled to play art detective as you watch.

New logos are tough to pull off, but I think DC did pretty well with this one. The blue may be a default color, but it is not set in stone, as I've seen it on multiple comics now with different color schemes, much like the previous logo (otherwise known as the bullet).

Newsarama has an excellent analysis of how major this actually is at Countdown...to a New DC?, noting how DC must have been chafing at how Marvel was putting their logo prominently in front of all the movies (and even trailers) bearing their characters.

The Front Page

While I was still in rehearsals for "Man of La Mancha," I auditioned for the Stockton Theatre Project's production of "The Front Page." Since the first week of rehearsals were going to take place while Megan and I were in Hawaii, I figured I wouldn't be able to get a part. However, I did get cast as Mike Endicott, a poker-playing reporter for the Chicago Post, who has a tendency to complain about the job. Hmm... It's a comedy set in a newsroom during the 1920s and is (supposed to be) very fast-paced. At the time it was first produced it was considered quite profane ("For God's Sake!") and one of my first lines is a profanity (you know you want to come see it now!)

Astute observers of the cast list will note some other actors from "Man of La Mancha" in the production: Chris Hayhurst (the barber), Parker Cushing (Pedro), Chris McAdams (Captain of the Inquisition), and Jerly Her (prisoner).

Performances are one weekend only: Thursday, June 23-25 at 8 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday, June 26 at 2 p.m.

And yes, this is why I haven't been blogging or writing columns/reviews for the past few weeks.

TV appearance

When Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs opened, we had lined up some television coverage. Unfortunately, the pope died and a small tornado touched down in Sacramento, so the stations recalled their crews. Fortunately, some of them returned the next week and produced some reports. I had the fun duty of doing some on-camera interviews for both, although I only made the final cut of KOVR's broadcast. I actually thought KCRA's story was better (less clichéd), though it was shorter.

I've finally been able to convert the recorded clips from our TiVo into QuickTime movies thanks to iMovie and our camcorder's AV->DV pass-through mode. (No thanks to TiVoToGo, grrr) Click on the images below to view those clips. (Tiger users, if you want to save them, you'll have to pay Apple $30, grrr)

KOVR 13 News
2:10 length
2.2MB file size
(5-1/2 minute download via dial-up modem)

KCRA 3 Reports
1:01 length
936KB file size
(2-1/4 minute download via dial-up modem)

Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips

Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its partnership with IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors, CNET News.com has learned.

Believe it or don't. We'll know on Monday.

macCompanion May 2005

This review of Drive Genius was originally slated for the April edition of macCompanion, but Prosoft released an updated version just a few days before the issue's deadline. Good for them, though, as it raised my rating.

• Drive Genius 1.1
  Although Drive Genius is a single program, it contains a suite of functions that aim to provide disk maintenance and management. Those functions include: disk repair, defragmentation, duplication, repartitioning, sector editing, integrity checking, secure erasing, and benchtests.

The first weekend of performances of "Man of La Mancha" are over, so I finally have a few free minutes to post. I realize I haven't really blogged at all about the musical for the last two months, but you never really know exactly how things are going to turn out until they've actually happened. Everything came together for our opening night. We had a huge crowd that was extremely responsive and they really seemed to enjoy it. Most of the cast shows up outside the entrance to greet the exiting crowd and a few of them had some very kind words to say to me, which definitely makes all the long nights and days worthwhile. A few specific notes:

• The director told all the male actors not to shave their faces or get a haircut. I got a reprieve from the facial hair requirement, which turned out to be very good, since I had to make a couple of on-camera TV appearances to promote Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs (more on that in another post). But I have not gotten a haircut for nearly three months, which I think is the longest I've ever gone. Thus, my hair is probably the longest it's ever been. And by longest, I mean biggest. Of course, I wear a hat or a wig for 99.9 percent of the show.
  
  
• Following "Harvey" and "The Curious Savage," this is now my third play in a row about 'crazy' and/or 'mad' people. I guess it's my 'Crazy' trilogy. As one of the characters in "La Mancha" says, "Why are you poets so obsessed with madness?" Why, indeed. On the plus side, I think it's the best of those three shows.
  
  
• Due to contractual obligations, no recording of any kind is allowed. I do have some rehearsal footage, however. If/How/When I make that available is still to be determined...
  

We have a 10 a.m. special matinee performance this Tuesday followed by Friday & Saturday night shows and the final Sunday matinee performance. Tickets

Apple sued over use of 'Tiger', injunction sought

Apple has been sued by Tiger Direct, Inc. for allegedly infringing its trademark with the Mac OS X 'Tiger', according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg says that court injunction, if granted, could halt the rollout of new Mac OS X Tiger operating system, which will be officially released tomorrow.

Apple has called version 10.4 of its Mac OS X operating system "Tiger" since June 2004 and Tiger Direct Inc. waited until the day before its release to complain about trademark infringement?

The company says that Apple's use of Tiger has changed internet search results, directly impacting its ability to market product to its customers.

And when Siegfried & Roy were in the news, did that ruin their search engine rankings? Did they sue the tiger ten months later?

Stockton singer makes a grand return in Delta College's 'Man of La Mancha'

It's been years since the Delta department has tackled such an ambitious musical, (Director Harvey) Jordan said. The sets and lighting have already created a buzz among those who have seen how they transform the intimate theater into a 16th-century prison dungeon befitting the dream world of Don Quixote. But it's the collection of voices that makes this "Man of La Mancha" different.

"It's collegiate theatre, but we're doing all we can to raise the bar on a performance level," Jordan said.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has posted the actual multi-track audio session for "The Hand That Feeds" in GarageBand format at nin.com. Although he says the 70MB download requires GarageBand 2, I've heard it also works in GarageBand 1. In his own words:

For quite some time I've been interested in the idea of allowing you the ability to tinker around with my tracks - to create remixes, experiment, embellish or destroy what's there. I tried a few years ago to do this in shockwave with very limited results. After spending some quality time sitting in hotel rooms on a press tour, it dawned on me that the technology now exists and is already in the hands of some of you. I got to work experimenting and came up with something I think you'll enjoy.

Change the tempo. Add new loops. Chop up the vocals. Turn me into a woman. Replay the guitar. Anything you'd like.

I'm not well-versed enough in the program to do any of those things, but I still had a little fun. Get it before the lawyers get involved.

U2 in San Jose on Sat., April 9

Prior to U2's concert at San Jose's HP Pavilion on Saturday, April 9, Zoo Station, a U2 tribute band from the Bay Area, was going to perform at the Britannia Arms pub down the street. They usually perform in the Bay Area, but we saw them once in Sacramento. Walking down the street, we bumped into "Barely Larry," who encouraged us to come to both the pre-show and the post-show performance where they'd be playing songs U2 rarely or never perform live.

Since we got there pretty early, we got to hear their soundcheck, during which they performed a note-perfect rendition of An Cut Dubh. By the time they started their set, the British-themed pub was pretty packed. 107.7FM The Bone was giving away three pairs of tickets and there were a ton of people there who did not have tickets to the show. Since we were sitting at a table, we couldn't see the band over the crowd. But we were going to see The Real Thing in a few hours, and it was about the music, anyway.

Their setlist was as follows: City Of Blinding Lights, Beautiful Day, Gloria, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Gone, One Step Closer, Until the End Of the World, Bad, Where the Streets Have No Name, New Year's Day, Pride, I Will Follow, Vertigo and everyone seemed to enjoy it. However, the 80-year-old (pictured) who danced on the table in front of us wasn't one of my favorites.

The HP Pavilion is a nice arena, though half of the advertising banners were for software companies I'd never heard of. There was a nice selection of merchandise available, and I had to pick up a keychain with the Vertigo 'V' logo (or the 'V' the TV miniseries logo, depending on your frame of reference). What was shocking were the vintage t-shirts for previous tours (Boy, October, War, Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, etc.) that cost $90 each. Yeah, like I didn't spend enough on the tickets in the first place. I heard that one person bought four or five, though (that's some scary math).

Our tickets were Section 115, Row 25. I was a little surprised to find out it was Row 25 out of 25. The nice side effect was that because we were directly in front of the box suites, we could stand without guilt. I was a little bitter that these were pre-sale seats, but getting them at all was lucky, considering how many other fans couldn't even get into the show.

The opening act for all the U.S. concerts (at least for the first leg) is Kings of Leon, which was a little disappointing to us, after discovering that Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, and Snow Patrol are opening for them in Europe. But I kept an open mind and was actually quite impressed with the quartet. They rocked pretty hard and fast and I compared them to the Southern Franz Ferdinand. Megan didn't keep an open mind, but was still impressed. The funniest part was when they dedicated one of their songs to "this guy over here who says we suck."

No doubt, no one there thought U2 sucked (well, other than the guy with the megaphone out front who said U2 were no longer a Christian band and we were all going to hell). They opened with City of Blinding Lights, which is a great live song and got everyone worked into a frenzy. Then they kicked into Vertigo, which everyone knew the words to, and turns out to be another good live track. It was unexpected but fitting when Bono worked some lines from 1980's Stories For Boys into the bridge. The stage was lit using the Vertigo circular iconography (or the Target retail store iconography, again, depending).

They followed with Elevation, which garnered a massive crowd sing-a-long that it seemed to surprise even them. Then it was time for my highlight of the night, The Electric Co., from their 1980 debut album. It was searing and great to hear that post-punk energy again. They followed that with another track from Boy, The Ocean, which I had completely forgotten and is a definite rarity. Its slow pace wasn't too well-received, though, and a lot of folks sat down. Of course, they got right back up for New Year's Day, which was bookended by Beautiful Day.

The stage took on a beautiful light scheme for Miracle Drug, which actually reminded me of Tron. During a lengthy prelude, Bono recounted the story of when he met Pope John Paul II and he traded his trademark fly glasses with him for a cross and rosary beads. He then hung them on the microphone before starting the song. Although that song gets a little overshadowed on their new album, it seemed like a classic track when they played it live.

A mini drum kit was placed at the edge of the outstretched circular stage where Larry banged out the beginning of Love And Peace Or Else. This song was not one of my favorites on their new album, but it took on a new life at the concert. Bono even shared the mic with Larry, which may have been a first. The song kicked off a war-themed group of songs including Sunday, Bloody Sunday and Bullet the Blue Sky. However, it was the most uncomfortable part of the show, with snippets of When Johnny Comes Marching Home thrown in. There was a cheer when Bono dedicated the next song to the men and women of the U.S. military, but it was Running to Stand Still. It's still a beautiful song that a lot of my friends rank very highly and has almost always been played directly after Bullet the Blue Sky.

Then it was time for a nice blast from the '90s, as they played Zoo Station, The Fly, and Mysterious Ways. Not having been able to see them in concert in the early '90s, this was great for me. Bono brought a girl up out of the audience to dance with him during Mysterious Ways. I think they were supposed to go offstage for their first encore after that song, but something didn't work right and I saw Bono shrugging to his bandmates, noting a 'dance-related mishap.'

I've heard Pride, Where The Streets Have No Name, and One plenty of times before, so that set was not super-thrilling, but they're all crowd-pleasers.

They came back for one encore to perform the Who-like All Because Of You, which rocked. Then Larry took over keyboards for a stripped-down version of Yahweh, which was actually a little too stripped-down for my tastes. And they ended it with their version of Psalm 40. Although they used to end every show with it from 1983-1989, it had not been performed at all in the 1990s. So its reappearance as the constant show-closer seems to say something. Maybe that guy with the loudspeaker should have come inside.

Visually, it was a combination of the Zoo TV, PopMart, and Elevation tours rolled up into one. Musically, they rocked, but the sound was incredibly muddy. It was sometimes impossible to make out what Bono was saying. Of course, that's almost inherent with indoor arenas.

Overall, it was not the best U2 concert Megan and I have been to. That belongs to the Salt Lake City show from late 2001. But that post-9/11 show had emotional highs that maybe can never be matched. The emotional high point of this show was Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, which is definitely one of their best songs ever. Unfortunately, that came halfway through the show, not at the end.

Jim Harrington of Inside Bay Area said it best, "So, if U2 couldn't top itself Saturday, it would just have to shoot for surpassing everyone else. Mission accomplished."

They also performed there Sunday, which yielded the performances of An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart and the premiere of Original of the Species. And among the many celebrities in attendance was Apple CEO Steve Jobs. U2.com report

LEGO Star Wars mini-movie coming soon

2Good 1.0

app4mac software introduce 2Good 1.0 Windows Edition for Mac OS X

Designed for the Mac OS X platform, 2Good is a revolutionnary software that allows Mac users to run any Windows applications.

2Good do not requires any Windows license and is distributed as a Freeware.

e-Column #110

Free online encyclopedia written by volunteers
The noble foundation upon which the Internet was formed is a digital world where the free exchange of information and knowledge connects the world. And one Web site that represents a noteworthy use of the Internet in that regard is Wikipedia.org.

e-Column #111

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo battle over desktop search
For some computer users, the speed and accuracy of search engines has made finding information online incredibly easy. Now some of the Internet's biggest companies are stepping up to make finding files on your computer just as easy.

Where has the e-Column gone?

My last e-Column for the East Oregonian ran on January 9. Although I had written one for January 23 (topic: Wikipedia), it has not yet run. Since my columns have sometimes been printed in the paper but not on the Web site, I sent another one to the Sunday editor (topic: desktop search). It turns out, though, that there has simply not been enough room anymore to print it. However, the editor has graciously agreed to continue to run the column on the web site. And as space becomes available in the news section, he will return the column to the print edition.

LEGO® Star Wars™ The Video Game!

"Coming in April 2005, the all new LEGO® Star Wars™ video game lets you become a true Jedi Knight as you battle against the dark side of the Force through all the fun, action and adventure of Episodes I to III."

As can be seen from the trailer, this is not stop-motion animation like The Han Solo Affair, but instead computer-generated animation. Still, that provides for more facial expression than regular LEGOs and the ship models seem pretty true to the toys.

The surfeit of trademarks aside, this is another combination I can get behind. First U2 and the iPod, then LEGO and Star Wars. What's next? The Simpsons and Transformers?

UPDATE: The LEGO Company and Lucasfilm are teaming up to celebrate Episode III with a one-of-a-kind five minute computer-animated special that combines all the action of Star Wars with the imagination and fun of LEGO bricks. It will air on the Cartoon Network Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m.

Star Wars: Episode III Release Poster
"The theatrical release poster is now on its way to movie theaters. The new one-sheet is illustrated by Drew Struzan, continuing a tradition begun with the Special Edition release of the Star Wars trilogy in 1997."

Courage

Dan Rather Signs Off 'CBS Evening News'
"Dan Rather echoed a word he once briefly used to sign off the 'CBS Evening News' — courage — in anchoring the program for the final time after 24 years on Wednesday."

What this article doesn't explain is the source of Rather's usage. It's from the musical "Man of La Mancha" ...

macCompanion March 2005

The March 2005 issue of macCompanion has now been posted and the issues are now available in HTML format again instead of just a giant PDF. There's also a Flash Paper version, but you need Windows to use that. Hmm, a Macintosh-related publication in a Windows-only format. No, it makes no sense to me either.

• Leo Laporte's 2005 Mac Gadget Guide
  if you're a Mac user (you're reading this, right?) that's interested in gadgets, and don't want to search out lengthy reviews online, you'll enjoy this guide. At least for a few months

Man of La Mancha

Make your vacation plans now, everyone! I'm going to be performing in a production of "Man of La Mancha," April 28-30 and May 5-8. I've been cast in the role of Padre. There's only been one full week of rehearsals so far, but if the set looks anything like the sketches that've been prepared, it will look incredible. The costumes and props are already coming together and also looking great. The cast seems very talented, the director is well-organized, and the musical director and his accompanist are quite helpful. I can't think of a single thing to complain about! Could this be one of the best shows I've been involved with?

2005 Macworld Expo SF part 4

Boy, it's a good thing I only went to Macworld for one day. If I'd spent all week, you'd be waiting all year for my recap...

After the keynote ended, and the familiar strains of the Black Eyed Peas played (ironically, "Let's Get It Started"), us 'other' media were instructed to wait in our holding room while large banners were unfurled outside. They were so large that it would be too dangerous for us to be underfoot. This took about 15 minutes. It is unclear to me why these couldn't have been unfurled during the keynote.

I had an 11 a.m. appointment with Griffin Technologies and although the keynote was scheduled to end at 10:30 a.m., it was already after 11. They forgave me, though, and showed off their product SecuriKey, a small USB token that, when inserted into your computer's USB port, acts like a key that allows you to access your computer. And just like your car, no key -- no go. Even if someone steals your laptop and guesses your password, they will not be able to get to your files without your SecuriKey token.

It was spiffy, and their rep answered all my (good) questions effortlessly. I was impressed, but they didn't give me a review copy. What they did give me, though, was a thank-you snack bag. This may have been the best freebie I got the whole day. It contained chocolates, pretzels, nuts, some kind of snack mix, and a tiny bottle of Stolichnaya Russian Vodka. Yes, hard liquor! Just what any Expo-goer needs!

I headed over to the media center, which was now open. The attendants were handing out cards on which were printed the login and password to access the wireless network. It's now about 11:30 a.m. and they were still cutting the cards out as I walked in. Hmmm, and this place was supposed to be open at 8 a.m.? What were you people doing for three hours?

I asked the attendant if we would be receiving food vouchers (which we did last year). He said we wouldn't because a free lunch would be brought into the media center. However, he warned me to be there at noon, since it might go fast. I headed out for just a few minutes to take a quick look around the exhibit hall and then got back to the media center at 11:40 a.m. The food had been served and there was already a line 30-people long. D'oh!

I did get my free lunch, though, and it was quite good for a convention center. I recommend the Moscone Center Pasta Salad. Unfortunately, there were only diet soda drinks available. No, Diet Dr. Pepper is not as good as regular. But it does taste more like regular Dr. Pepper than ... Diet Coke. Hmmm, I guess that's an accomplishment.

My other main appointment for the day was a special, private press briefing by Adobe. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding everything I saw there. So I can't tell you much until ... well, I'm not certain I can even say that. And I'm not interested in getting cut off from Adobe's product flow.

During the briefing, I sat at a table with an older gentleman that worked for the New York Times. We had quite an interesting conversation, during which I learned he attended the actual keynote in the ballroom. He said I might have been more fortunate to be in the other room, since the ballroom was a little insane with teenagers taking pictures of themselves.

I think I can legally share that Adobe had an incredible food spread, including the best crabcakes I've ever had. In addition, they gave us all hardbound reporter's notebooks with embossed Adobe logos and high-quality silver ballpoint pens (with etched Adobe logos). And they had real soda available, not diet. Oh, and alcohol, of course.

McCartney show sparks complaints to FCC

The FCC has received a handful of complaints about Paul McCartney's performance at the Super Bowl – but not because it was too racy.

The complainants said that the show put on by McCartney was boring and didn't entertain them.

And you thought I was a complainer. At least I don't make a federal case out of it (literally).

In addition, two people submitted complaints this year about last year's duet by Jackson and Timberlake.

First I'm not the biggest complainer and now I'm not the biggest procrastinator?!

'Simple Life' Episode Upsets Residents

WOOD-RIDGE, N.J. - An episode of "The Simple Life" that showed hotel chain heiress Paris Hilton and sidekick Nicole Richie working at a funeral home upset some local residents.

They ... spilled what appeared to be human ashes onto a carpet, then used a vacuum cleaner to clean them up.

The ashes were actually a mixture of cat litter and cement, according to John Podesta, the owner of Kohler Funeral Home.

Podesta said he has received few complaints and would not have participated if he thought the episode would hurt the funeral home's reputation. He said the funeral home was not compensated for hosting the show's taping.

How bad must the funeral home's reputation be for the owner to think that allowing Paris Hilton to fake spilling human ashes on television apparently wouldn't hurt it? And no compensation? Wow, could this guy actually be dumber than Paris herself? Well, maybe not. I don't think his T-Mobile Sidekick got hacked because he picked his dog's name as a password.

Darth Tater

"Not even Mr. Potato Head can resist the power of the dark side. Meet Darth Tater. This Sith spud comes with a red lightsaber, black cape, and helmet, shoes, eyes, nose, teeth, and more! Darth Tater will be available for purchase this April at a toy store near you."

A Closer Look at a Mashing Success

macCompanion February 2005 articles

The February 2005 issue of macCompanion has now been released in PDF form. The feature article is my review of Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld in January, which is different than the one I just posted here on the blog yesterday. Double your pleasure!

I also wrote a review of Entourage 2004. As did fellow macCompanion staffer Ted Bade. Although I was interested to read his opinion, both our reviews were cut up and spliced together into one long review. My remarks are in blue, but are completely out of order.

February 2005 - 2.8MB PDF (7-minute download for 56K dial-up users)

• Watching the Keynote From the Basement – Page 19
  
• Entourage 2004 version 11.1.0 – Page 61

2005 Macworld Expo SF Keynote part 3

Wow, it's not until part 3 that you get my notes on the actual keynote. Well, I suppose part 1 was really more of a prequel. Too bad!

Normally, when Steve Jobs first comes out on stage, he thanks everyone for being there and notes what a beautiful day it is in San Francisco. He didn't do that this year, since it was a cold, rainy and pretty miserable day (another reason why I didn't show up super early to wait outside). Instead he noted that this was the first keynote to be projected in High Definition (HD). And all of us sitting in the overflow room watching a non-HD broadcast could care less. As will all of those who watch the streaming webcast and are seeing a "buffering" message every few minutes. Well, best to get the least exciting announcements out of the way at the beginning of the keynote instead of the end. So he then gave us all an update on the retail Apple Stores: 21 stores now open; 1 million visitors per week; newest store in London. The new London store did look pretty nice. If you're ever there, go visit.

An update on the iMac G5's progress was next, in which he proclaimed that it "gets rid of all the cables." Maybe in the promotional pictures it does. Maybe if you order it with the optional Bluetooth module direct from the online Apple Store and add an AirPort Extreme card and wireless mouse and keyboard and hook your printer up to your wireless router. But for the rest of us, there's actually just as many cords as usual. You have to hook up your iPod, right? He noted that it's gotten some great reviews in the press; and deservedly so, I think. But don't mention the Wall Street Journal's Walt "I Haven't Met An Apple Product I Haven't Gushed Over" Mossberg. Although he didn't cite specific sales figures, Jobs noted it is now Apple's highest-selling Mac.

Moving on to OS X, Jobs noted that there are now 14 million active users and "the transition to OS X is complete." Last year he said "the transition to OS X is over." Apparently the difference between 'complete' and 'over' is 4.5 million users. Also, that's still only 59% of the estimated installed Macintosh base. My prediction for 2006: The transition to OS X will be 'finished.'

We were told back in June 2004 that the next version of OS X would arrive in the first half of 2005. And since we're now IN the first half of 2005, I was hoping we'd find out a more specific timeframe. Unfortunately, we didn't. Which I presume rules out January, February and March as possible ship dates. Jobs' demo of the unfinished system upgrade showed one reason why there's no official ship month yet: it crashed.

It was obvious from the beginning that there would be a GarageBand demo (and presumably an update), since a guitar could be seen on the stage. So it was no surprise that the entire iLife suite was updated (except iTunes, which lives in its own, exciting iPod world). Now that we have a G5 at home and a videocamera, I was actually interested in what the updates would be. iPhoto 5 got plenty of applause, especially for a demo showing how easy it was to straighten a photo with the horizon. And I took delight in the fact that U2's "Sweetest Thing" was used in the iDVD demo. In fact, when Bono sang "My love, she throws me like a rubber ball," the home video footage actually showed someone throwing a rubber ball. John Mayer (who Jobs reminded us many times was up for two Grammies) returned to show off GarageBand 2, specifically its new music notation capability. One interesting feature is that you can manually alter the notes directly on the notation by dragging them up and down the clefs. Of course, after Jobs did that to a recording Mayer made, it sounded incredibly awful, as expected. I can imagine GarageBand 2's advertising slogan: "Now it's even easier to make horrible music!"

iWork, Apple's incredibly late successor to the aging AppleWorks, was a welcome announcement. It's different in a couple of ways. First, it doesn't have as many varied capabilities as AppleWorks (spreadsheet, database, drawing, painting). Also, it is not bundled with new Macs. Pages, the "word processing with style" application looked more like an easy-to-use page layout application. The funniest part, though, was when Jobs noted that it would include 40 templates, a "new concept." Yeah, because no one has ever included pre-built templates with their apps ... except maybe Adobe, Microsoft, and, oh, Apple, among others. Although a new Apple-created 'Office' software bundle has been predicted since Keynote 1.0 was released, no one predicted the low price of $79. (A lot cheaper than the $400 it would cost to get Microsoft's Word & PowerPoint)

Similarly, although rumors were rampant that a cheap, headless Mac would be introduced at Macworld, there were still plenty of surprises. First, it was not pizza-box shaped. Believe me, I know pizza-box shaped. I used a Quadra 605 from 1994-1999 and it even opened like a pizza box. Instead, the Mac mini is shaped more like a Nintendo GameCube. Plus, it's shockingly small. Apple continually does injustice to its products by photographing them in a white, Matrix-y void. It is impossible to realize how small this G4 computer is until you see it in person. And when Jobs held up the box by its little handle, the crowd was blown away. I've seen bigger (less fashionable) purses.

Normally, the Mac mini would be the 'one more thing' at a keynote. But it actually got short shrift in keynote time for the new iPod shuffle, which is like a Bizarro Apple product. Normally, Apple creates something that is innovative and feature-rich. PC users ignore it, citing its high price tag and noting that 90 percent of the market uses something else; while Mac users tout its superior nature. The iPod shuffle is not particularly innovative and is certainly not feature-rich. Now PC users will complain about how lame it is while Mac fans will note that it's really cheap and Apple has 70+ percent of the digital music player market. Personally, I have no desire for an iPod shuffle, but it broadens the iPod line even more and gives folks a more affordable way to join the party. Comparisons of the iPod to the Walkman have come up often, but I don't recall the Walkman costing $300. $99 is an incredible price and everyone predicts they'll sell a few tons of these things. Of course, everyone said they wouldn't sell any iPod minis and those sold incredible numbers, so now I'm slightly wary.

Apple is good at surprises. But it's one thing to beat low expectations. It's another to not live up to high ones.

Next time: post-keynote euphoria; free vodka; and does Diet Dr. Pepper really taste more like regular?

Ants

I was hoping to post another chapter in my one-day saga at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, but have been battling ants all weekend. So I put our Christmas videocamera and the new iMovie software to use. The one-minute movie is available here.

2005 Macworld Expo SF Keynote part 2

Okay, it's now been one week since I got back from my one-day trip to San Francisco for the annual Macworld Expo. And during that time, seemingly every pundit in the tech universe has published their thoughts on the possible ramifications of what was announced there. My "official" and largely unimportant view is reserved for macCompanion, which is how I was able to attend. So here's my experience as a "media" member:

Preparations for Macworld Expo start pretty early. Media registration opened on Nov. 19, I applied on Nov. 26, and my application was approved on Nov. 29. Why did I delay slightly? Once you are approved, you start to become bombarded with e-mails from the companies exhibiting at Macworld. This is nice if you have an interest in these companies or their products. But seeing as I was only going to be attending for one day, and the morning would be consumed by the keynote, I would not be able to interview the 50+ companies that e-mailed me (and some that phoned me).

IDG World Expo, which organizes Macworld Expo, sends out an e-mail one week prior that gives all the details: where to get your badge if you haven't received it in the mail already (I had), where to get your badge holder, procedures for getting into the keynote, media center and hours of operation, and show highlights. The e-mail noted:
Steve Jobs’ keynote presentation ... takes place ... at 9:00 a.m. in the Esplanade Ballroom. Please allow yourself enough time to pick up your badge and/or badge holder on keynote morning. If you did not receive your badge/badge holder on Monday, we recommend arriving at Media Registration no later than 7:00 a.m. to ensure you get to the keynote on time. Media Registration opens an hour earlier this year – at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. When you have your badge and badge holder, please follow the Media signs to the Lower Esplanade Lobby. This is the staging area for the media. You must be in the Lower Esplanade Lobby by 8:30 a.m. to ensure admittance to the keynote.

Last year, to ensure that I would get into the keynote, I showed up between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Unfortunately, that meant standing outside the Moscone Center in the cold for quite a while. It also meant standing non-stop until 9 a.m. I wasn't going to do that again, so this year I arrived at about 7:40 a.m. Last year, I waited with a group of other media folk in front of a door marked with a large sign that said 'Media Enter Here.' After an hour or so, we were told that was the wrong door, which caused us to lose our place in line for the keynote. And this year, once again, I went to the door marked with the giant sign that said 'Media Enter Here.' At which point I was told it was the wrong entrance for media, who were supposed to enter at a different door. No, these signs are not stuck in any way. They are on movable stands.

Thankfully, the media registration booth was open as promised and I got my badge holder. It's not enough to have a badge, see, you have to have a badge holder. This is so that you can wear your badge around and everyone can see your status: exhibitor, presenter, staff, media, etc. According to the instructions in the e-mail, I was supposed to "follow the Media signs to the Lower Explanade Lobby. This is the staging area for the media." Except when I tried to head to the Lower Esplanade Lobby, I was directed down the escalator and into a presentation room that had been roped off and was surrounded by Expo staff. 'Hmmm, maybe this is the staging area,' I thought. But there were two giant video screens in the room; both were turned on, and showed a broadcast schedule of music and color bars leading up to the keynote at 9 a.m. That's when I realized, 'That's no moon!' ... I mean, 'This is no staging area, we aren't going to get to see the keynote live!'

I thought perhaps my showing up at 7:40 instead of 6 a.m. was the problem. No, there were other people in the room that had been there as early as possible and had been immediately directed to this media overflow room. What was really happening was that they had separated the real and not-so-important media.

One thing I learned at last year's Macworld keynote is that there are two levels of the media: the group I'm in and the real media. The real media do not wear media badges and do not wait outside in the cold to get into the keynote. They get complimentary food and beverages and get let into the keynote five minutes before everyone else to sit in reserved seats. I'm fine with that, because I understand that I do not belong in the same group as those from the New York Times. But last year we still got to get into the keynote as promised. Apparently there were so many real media people that registered at the last minute they kicked the rest of us into the overflow room downstairs. But there ended up being between 100-200 media people in that room and not all of them were worthless. Meanwhile, I found out from a New York Times writer that the MacTeens.com folk were in the Ballroom for the live keynote. Here's a clue: if someone with a media badge is a teenager, should they be allowed in the keynote while a TV news cameraman is sitting downstairs? Also, I sat next to some MacTeens last year and they were incredibly rude, annoying and unprofessional. From what the New York Times writer told me, that hadn't changed.

One of the other problems I faced last year was that wireless Internet access for media is provided but you must know the name and password for the wireless network, which is provided in the media center. Since I was waiting outside to get into the keynote the whole morning, I didn't have that info and had no Internet access prior to/during the keynote. Since the media center was scheduled to open at 8 a.m. and was right next door to the media overflow room I headed over at 8:10 a.m. to get the name and password ... and the doors were locked. How many years has IDG been organizing this thing? Also, everyone was quite thirsty and hungry but the food vendors refused to sell anything. One even turned around the coffee pots because people were pouring themselves coffee (which they wanted to purchase). Yeah, you wouldn't want to make money with your coffee monopoly.

I resigned myself to my fate and found a good seat facing one of the giant video screens. What I thought was hilarious was that a bunch of other media people had found seats in the front center of the room ... which did not face the video screens. Apparently they were deluded into thinking someone was going to use the stage (David Pogue was going to ... the next day). At some point prior to the keynote starting, the video screens displayed pressoverflow and the wireless network to use to gain Internet access. Everyone with a laptop excitedly logged on, to discover that although they were on the network there was no Internet access to be had. Oh, but the MacTeens were posting live updates from the ballroom upstairs.

At 9:07 footage started streaming in of various people actually at the keynote. Notably, I saw David Pogue, Al Gore and Steve Wozniak. Then the keynote started. Then some dude came in and sat down right in front of me. Seriously, can I catch a break here? This guy shows up for the 9 a.m. keynote at 9:08 a.m.? What the .... !

The good news was that I go to watch the entire keynote as it occurred on a large, quality screen with 100-200 other media. And since there was no satellite feed nor a live webcast this year, that was, indeed, something. But Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field doesn't extend beyond the ballroom, so I probably noticed a lot more than I probably would have noticed live. Like how he said the G5 iMac 'gets rid of all the cables' while the accompanying slide has pictures of it in use ... with many cables. Oh, there's plenty more to come ... in part 3

Best U2 B-Sides

U2 has a number of songs that have never appeared on their albums, yet are quite good in their own right. Some, like "A Celebration," were released as singles on vinyl to maintain radio interest in the band. Others, like "The Three Sunrises," were put on EPs. And some, like "Silver and Gold," were performed live on a semi-regular basis. Now that nearly all of U2's released songs are available at the iTunes Music Store as part of The Complete U2, I've created an iMix of what I consider the 13 best b-sides. These are completely original compositions and do not include remixes, covers, or live performances. Also, one I would have included is the mid-1980s track "The Sweetest Thing." But that was remixed to great effect, released as a single in 1998 and placed on their "Best of 1980-1990" album, so seek it out there.

iMix: Best U2 B-Sides

I can always add or subtract to the list if anyone makes a comparable argument for or against any song.

2005 Macworld San Francisco Keynote

I finally have Internet access here at Macworld so I'm just going to make a quick post here while I have a free minute. I saw Steve Jobs' keynote. And by saw, I mean I watched it on a screen in the basement with 100-200 other media people in a separate room below the actual event. Lame.

There's plenty of other lame things that happened (maybe I really should rename this blog Something Bitter) but there were plenty of notable new hardware/software products announced at the keynote that you should check out:

iLife '05
iWork
Mac mini
iPod shuffle

Is that enough for ya?

e-Column #109

Web sites, individuals help with relief effort
As the tragic news of the Dec. 26 earthquake and subsequent tsunami has spread across the Web, so have initiatives to help the relief effort.

Wired News' 8th Annual Vaporware Awards

In Vaporware Phantom Haunts Us All, Wired News' Leander Kahney provides a great roundup of 2004's vaporware – technology products that were announced but not delivered. Some Mac fans will no doubt chafe that Apple was on the list this year for the 3GHz G5, which was promised to arrive in the summer and still has yet to be unveiled. But no one should be making promises they can't keep; Apple included.

Notable to me was the inclusion of TiVoToGo, which was announced by TiVo in January 2004 and continually promised to us TiVo users as "coming soon." As late as December, the company said the service would be available at the end of the year. Well, the end of the year came and went with nary a peep. But on Jan. 3, 2005, TiVo sent press releases to the Associated Press and other media that they had released TiVoToGo. Yay! Wait, where is it?

We have the necessary setup: A Series2 TiVo connected to our home network and the Home Media Option enabled. Yet we received no messages through the box nor via e-mail. Visiting their web site, I finally found reference to it. Apparently you have to download a new version of their TiVo Desktop software application ... which is for Windows only. Well, I have Virtual PC 7 on our G5 iMac with Windows XP Pro, so I figured I'd just do it that way. Yet when I installed the software, it did not find our TiVo on the network. Huh? Oh, apparently our TiVo's system software needs to be upgraded to handle the new feature. According to the web site, the only way that will happen is if you fill out a form on their site requesting the new software. Then you have to wait a few weeks for them to give it to you.

Is it technically released if no one can use it?

And their statement that they're working on a Mac version sounds a little false to me since they promised to support the AAC file format in their Music-streaming feature more than a year ago and haven't delivered on that promise either.

The Life of Ray Vol. 2

My brother Ray's second movie is finished and it's pretty funny. Also, he obviously has some mastery over iMovie that will put any of my future creations to shame. There are two versions – small and medium – but both are pretty big in file size since the video is 12:42 in length.

• 10.9MB small size
  
• 20.8MB medium size

A new iPod that can download videos?

John Shinal, Technology Editor for CBS MarketWatch, wrote in the company's Internet Daily newsletter that "Apple has again upped the ante with a new iPod that can download videos as well as music." When I e-mailed him to ask about this unknown-to-me product, he replied, saying "Apple unveiled it at the CES show in Vegas."

I noted to him that seemed a little strange, since, by all other accounts, Apple did not attend CES. He replied again, writing "Sorry, I misspoke. I was editing stories from both trade shows this week, as we ran an advance on MacWorld on Monday and TiVo news today from CES. My Apple reporter tells me that Apple will soon unveil - at MacWorld, not CES -- a flash iPod capable of downloading videos."

Although a flash memory-based iPod is widely rumored to be unveiled at next Tuesday's keynote, that's the first I've heard that video capability would also be involved. It also seems completely ridiculous to me for two reasons:

1. A flash iPod would undoubtedly have smaller storage space than a regular iPod or even the iPod mini. I would guess maybe 2GB at the most. Yet videos take up much more space than music, for obvious reasons.
   
2. The other benefit of making a flash iPod would be to make it smaller. Why would anyone want to watch video on a screen that is smaller than a regular iPod's and likely even smaller than the iPod mini's?

Of course, there are also all the other reasons that Steve Jobs cited for not making a video iPod (no content, etc.) but he's certainly capable of changing his mind (January 2002: "The CRT is dead") so I don't consider his previous statements to be proof there will never be a video-capable iPod.

e-Column #108

The best, worst of 2004
The year is almost over, which means it’s time to rank everything from gadgets and gizmos to goofy commercials. And there are plenty of sites on the Web willing to participate in the “best of” tradition.

Informer 2004

The 2004 edition of the Hargreaves family Christmas newsletter - The Informer* - is now available for download. It is a 684KB PDF file, which translates into about a 2-minute download for you dial-up users and 40-second or less download for the broadband folks.

There are also now links to the last five Informers in the right-hand column under the newsletters heading. Mmm, consolidation ...

* There is no relation to the 1992 Snow song

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb review

After both the critical and commercial success of 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and its accompanying Elevation tour, where else did U2 have to go but down? I privately wondered if the group would hang up their instruments and finish on a high note rather than risk future disappointment. But I'm nothing if not a U2 junkie, and would rather have more music than less, regardless of general reception.

Every U2 fan has a favorite album and nearly every one wishes the group would revisit that sound and create another album just like it. Personally, after hearing their cover of The Ramones' "Beat on the Brat," I hoped they'd revisit their post-punk roots and really rock hard. Information about the album preceding its release fed that desire, especially since their original producer, Steve Lillywhite, was aboard.

The first single, "Vertigo," which everyone has probably heard a million times, is a great song, in my opinion. And it's almost exactly the song I wanted them to make. Its success is only icing on the cake. So I had high hopes when I first listened to "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb."

Unfortunately, "Vertigo" is the only song on the album that sounds like itself. Thus, my initial listen of the album was a bit disappointing. It seemed a little boring. Not only were they not revisiting past glories, they didn't seem to be breaking any new ground.

Certainly there are shades of "The Unforgettable Fire" ("Miracle Drug" and its heart-on-the-sleeve earnestness) and "The Joshua Tree" ("City of Blinding Lights" and its driving rhythms invoke "Where The Streets Have No Name"). The unabashed social conscience of both those albums has returned without the politics. Bono isn't afraid to speak honestly and isn't afraid of being uncool (like naming a song "Yahweh").

Of all their albums, "Atomic Bomb" is most like "All That You Can't Leave Behind," with its variety of slickly-produced songs. But that album had more variety and its songs were simply more unique and compelling. Only the slow ballads on that album were boring. The ballads on "Atomic Bomb" are the highlights.

But should an album be judged solely based on past works? Certainly not. In the iTunes five-star rating system, I've given three songs five-star ratings and two four-stars. That's better than most albums and not too far behind "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

Of course, musical reviews are incredibly subjective. What one person finds fresh, someone else finds awful. Some think "Numb" is the lamest song the group has ever made, while others think it's the coolest. So while an Associated Press reviewer calls "A Man and a Woman" easily the best track on the album, I call it the one I'm highly likely to skip over given the opportunity.

Although the rocker "All Because Of You" is the next single to be released in America, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" will be released in the rest of the world. "Sometimes" is the superior song. Incredibly personal, passionate and grandiose, it's easily one of the best the group has ever made.

What makes that situation even worse is that "The Complete U2" has alternate versions of a handful of the songs on the new album and I consider those superior to the released songs, including "All Because Of You."

"How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" is not a return to whatever you consider their previous greatest album. It's not a step forward into a strange new era of aural satisfaction. It's also not the best album they've ever made. But it's a good album. And I can be happy with a good U2 album.

• Vertigo: 5 stars
  alternate version, Native Son: 4 stars
  
• Miracle Drug: 4 stars
  
• Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own: 5 stars
  alternate version: 4 stars
  
• Love and Peace or Else: 3 stars
  
• City of Blinding Lights: 5 stars
  
• All Because of You: 3 stars
  alternate version: 4 stars
  
• A Man and a Woman: 2 stars
  
• Crumbs from Your Table: 3 stars
  
• One Step Closer: 3 stars
  
• Original of the Species: 4 stars
  
• Yahweh: 3 stars
  alternate version: 4 stars
  
• Fast Cars (bonus track on some editions): 4 stars
  alternate version, Xanax and Wine: 4 stars

e-Column #107

Christmas online about more than just shopping
This Christmas season, many news reports will once again focus on how much money is being spent at online stores. But there’s more to Christmas than shopping and there’s more to the Internet than spending money.

macCompanion December 2004 Reviews

The December 2004 issue of macCompanion has now been released in PDF form. Dial-up users take caution: this one's even larger than normal. There are two reviews by myself, one of which is only a slightly different version of my blog review of The Complete U2.

December 2004 - 3.5MB PDF

• The Complete U2 – Page 18
  
• Picture Rescue 1.1.0 – Page 109

The Complete U2 - A Review

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a big U2 fan. And that I'm a big Apple Computer fan. So the combination of the two lately has been pretty exciting. But I was a little suspicious about The Complete U2, since it was advertised as having more than 400 songs - 25 of which would be rare and unreleased tracks. *Only* 25?

I've been collecting U2 singles since I first got ahold of the One single, which had three excellent b-sides. Believe me, I've checked the U2 bin at every single music store I've ever visited. It is not easy to find them all, and many are only available on vinyl. So I was happy to see that not only are all the U2 singles included in this set, but also the original cover art of each one.

Of course, songs that were released as singles are also included on their respective albums, and on one of the two greatest hits albums. So almost every song that was released as a single is duplicated three times in the collection.

A unique part of this collection is the included digital booklet. It's a PDF file that appears as a track in iTunes and opens in your default PDF-viewing application when double-clicked. It includes liner notes on all of U2's albums by Bill Flanagan and commentary by The Edge on the unreleased tracks.

The unreleased tracks are from the recording sessions for All That You Can't Leave Behind and How To Disable An Atomic Bomb, including alternate (and sometimes superior) versions of songs from the latter album. There are also three early demo tracks from 1978.

There are also three complete live shows included:a March 1981 club show in Boston; the final Love Town concert in Dublin on Dec. 31, 1989, before they went away and "dream(ed) it all up again;" and a Popmart concert from Mexico City in December 1997. The latter show was released as a fan-club-only CD, but the first two have never been officially released. Bootlegs of those shows are considered great.

I've had difficulty locating the other fan club CD – Melon – which is composed entirely of Achtung Baby and Zooropa remixes. It is included in the collection ... mostly. The liner notes mention that it contained 9 remixes, yet only 7 tracks are included. There are a number of inconsistencies like that: two of the remixes listed in the Unreleased & Rare section were actually released a few years ago on The Best of 1990-2000's B-Sides disc; the Perfecto mix of Lemon appears twice but is only two minutes long (the original song is nearly six minutes); a live version of New York is said to have been performed in 1997, even though the song didn't exist until 2000.

And every single track is dated 2004. That's a problem with the iTunes Music Store in general - albums are dated by their latest release (or addition to the store) rather than their original release date. I don't mind hand-editing ID3 tags, but 446 tracks is a lot of work.

Although the collection is very large, it is not 100% complete. But I noticed that most of the missing tracks are covers: Dancing Barefoot, Don't Take Your Guns To Town, Everlasting Love, Fortunate Son, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Neon Lights, Night And Day, Paint It Black, Pop Muzik, Satellite Of Love, and Unchained Melody. I imagine there are legal issues involved, but it's certainly disappointing because some of them are really great recordings (some really aren't) and I don't have a couple.

It also would have been great if the songs from the Rattle and Hum film that couldn't fit on the original album were included. The film version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," performed after the 1987 Eniskillin bombing, is considered one of their greatest live performances ("#&^$ the Revolution!").

All in all, "The Complete U2" is not 100 percent complete. But it's a massive and far-reaching collection, nonetheless. It's difficult and expensive to find all of the b-sides and remixes since some exist only on vinyl and some are only on European imports which tend to cost $10 for approximately two songs.

I was happily surprised to find that most of the tracks can be purchased individually for $0.99 a piece, so if you don't want to spend $150 for the 400+ collection, you can pick and choose your favorites.

It's only worth the full price if you can count up at least 150 or more tracks in the collection that you don't have (this can now be easily done with iTunes 4.7 by dragging the songs from the Music Store into a playlist). Of course, if you've bought the Special Edition U2 iPod, you've got a $50 instant rebate, so it only took 100 songs to make it worth my while. ;)

I'll try and post an iMix of my favorite U2 b-sides at the iTMS soon. And, of course, I'll post a review of the new album. It's been a good week for this U2 fan.

When I was looking for an old publicity photo of Alan Rickman as Snape (for this post), I came across the Teaser One-Sheet for July 2005's "Charlie Chocolate & The Chocolate Factory." Although it's now up on the official Web site, I haven't seen it in any theaters yet, so I thought you all might enjoy it and this brief, official synopsis:

Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing and enduring story.

I liked Burton's Planet of the Apes "re-imagining" more than most, but still consider the original film superior. However, as a fan of Roald Dahl's book, I found the original Charlie & The Chocolate Factory film disappointing (Gene Wilder's performance notwithstanding). So I'm looking forward to seeing what will surely be an improvement.

e-Column #106

Refine your searches with these tips
Search engines have been essential tools for finding information on the World Wide Web since its earliest days. And although search engine usage is at its highest rate ever, not everyone has learned the tricks to performing great searches.

On the weekend before Halloween, The Haggin Museum was host to An Evening At "Haggwarts" – its inaugural Harry Potter-themed event. Despite my adding the extra 'g' and putting it in quotes, many people still complained that Hogwarts was misspelled. Sigh.

I ran the potions bar as Prof. Severus Snape, who is deliciously played in the films by the talented Alan Rickman. I had a lot of fun being even more snarky and bitter than normal and scaring young children (no tears, though). And it may have been the first time I wasn't pale enough for the part.

In October, Megan and I visited the Museum of Pez Memorabilia in Burlingame, since it's only about 90 miles away from Stockton.

It's a very small museum, but Pez dispensers don't need a lot of space. Besides telling the interesting history of Pez, there are many unique dispensers on display as well as other antique/collectible Pez-related merchandise. There are even some plaques built for classic Star Wars characters dispensers that have been signed by the actors (Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse).

One of the more interesting aspects is that there are a number of Pez dispensers made every year in other countries that are not sold in the United States. Hello Kitty and Mr. Bean are Japanese- and British-only, despite having made a name for themselves in America. But even The Lion King and Shrek & Friends are European imports that are not available in the States. What's with the licensing issues, there?

Earlier this year they added a Classic Toy Museum, which is also small (shares the space, actually) but is still a lot of fun and informative. I didn't realize Mr. Potato Head had a number of other vegetable friends, including an onion, cucumber and sweet potato.

One of the old View-Masters on display there (circa the 1940s, I think) is also on display at the Nov. 28-Jan. 16 "Toys & Games: 1880-1980" exhibition at The Haggin Museum.

Little Help?

Blogger (somewhat) recently added the NavBar that you see at the top of this page. I find the Search feature quite useful and imagine it could also be useful for visitors. Unfortunately, it hasn't been working for a little while. Searching for the word "eddie" gives the following error:

Your search - eddie - did not match any documents. 

No pages were found containing "site:home.earthlink.net~meged/blogger.html"

It looks like there's a problem with the underlying code, since the actual URL of this site is home.earthlink.net/~meged/blogger.html but I have no idea how to fix that since the only control I seem to have over it is to turn it on or off. And a search of Blogger's Help section hasn't turned anything up. Anybody out there using Blogger's SiteSearch NavBar with success? Anyone know how to solve my problem?

macCompanion Oct.-Nov. 2004 reviews

Although I've had some reviews published by macCompanion in the last two issues, I haven't linked to them here because I was waiting for them to be posted on the macCompanion Web site. But apparently a Web editor has not been found to replace the last one that resigned (yet someone is still editing the reviews incorrectly). Thus, you can only read them by downloading the PDF editions. Here are links to the last two issues and the page numbers of my reviews.

October 2004 - 2.3MB PDF

• iPod 2100mAh Replacement Battery – Page 60
  
• Audio Hijack Pro 2.0 - Page 66
  
• Data Backup 2.0 - Page 68

November 2004 - 2MB PDF

• 1.8GHz G5 iMac 17-inch widescreen computer - Page 60

I'm Not Dead Yet!

If you visit this blog regularly, I'm sorry ... for not having updated it much since early October.

See, my former manager at The Sacramento Observer had a baby, so the paper's president asked me to keep SacObserver.com updated while she's out on maternity leave.

I'm glad to be able to help out, but it does take up most of my evening. And seeing how I work at my full-time job at The Haggin Museum during the day, write my column for the East Oregonian on a bi-weekly basis, and write the occasional monthly review(s) for macCompanion, that leaves me very little time to blog, iChat, e-mail, or basically communicate at all with friends, family, pets, etc.

But that doesn't mean Megan and I haven't been trying to make the most of our weekends. So I've got plenty of backlogged items due to hit soon. Hopefully by the time you read this there will be one or two posts already above it.

e-Column #105

Firefox next browser to challenge Explorer's online dominance:
After Microsoft's Internet Explorer gained 95 percent share of the Web browser market against nearest competitor Netscape, the product stopped being updated. But now it faces a challenge from the newly-released 1.0 version of Firefox.

e-Column #104

Electronic data still not as reliable as hard copy

Wow, this one got cut up something fierce. I guess I'd better start writing shorter columns. Although the posted version is linked above, I'm reprinting the original below:

The often-repeated saying is that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Roughly 15 years ago, I was given a nifty present: an electronic calculator that also stored contact information like names and phone numbers.

Naturally, after entering all the information into the tiny device (though large by today's standards), I threw away the various pieces of paper that held the original names and numbers.

It was easy and fun to call up contact information for friends and family by using the simple buttons and view it on the tiny LCD screen.

But one day that screen didn't display anything. The battery had died.

I figured it was a minor setback, seeing as how the device had a removable panel where the pill-shaped battery could be swapped out. But upon the purchase of a new battery and its subsequent installation, I was surprised to discover that all of the information stored inside was gone.

Those discarded scraps of paper seemed quite valuable all of a sudden. And I vowed to never again to solely trust an electronic device with important information.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are today's equivalent to that rudimentary device. PocketPCs and PalmPilots can carry phone numbers, e-mail addresses, calendar appointments, to-do lists, notes and much more, depending on the capabilities of the specific hardware.

But some things haven't changed. Although some PDAs can function as cell phones, music, photo and video players, and surf the Web wirelessly, users need to keep an eye on their battery life.

Many models will lose all their data if the battery runs out or comes loose (a not uncommon occurrence for those who accidentally drop things).

The caveat is that synchronizing the PDA to a computer means your data will be backed up, preventing you from rummaging around for old scraps of paper.

And modern computers certainly don't lose their data when they are unplugged or even when their internal battery is removed. That information is stored safely on the internal hard drive ... right?

Last month, I was planning to attend an out-of-state wedding. As a member of the wedding party, I had received various e-mails with dates, times, locations, phone numbers, links to registries, and other important information. I had also made plane and rental car reservations online and had the confirmation numbers stored on our home computer.

One week before I was scheduled to leave, the unexpected happened. An ant crawled into the computer and died. Its legacy was that my computer would no longer boot up.

Yes, it was a true computer bug.

Although the machine itself was still under warranty and repairs would cost nothing, it meant it would be out for at least a week (which actually turned into two).

Luckily, I had made a complete backup of the computer's hard drive only a few days prior. But without an actual computer to access that backup drive, the information was inaccessible.

Computer users are often advised to keep a backup of important data on their computers. But also advisable is the concept of keeping a hard copy.

Certainly, few can print out every important document they have stored electronically. But consider how you'd fare if you couldn't access the information on your home or work computer for two weeks.

In the end, both the airline and the car rental business were willing to accommodate my situation. Although their records are kept electronically, they always print a copy for you, and I dread the day when boarding passes are electronic.

Working at a museum, I'm well aware that paper does not last forever. But unlike electronic data, you won't open a three-year-old book and suddenly find that the words have mysteriously vanished.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to print out this column.
———
Eddie Hargreaves was the Webmaster of eastoregonian.com. He can be reached at meged@earthlink.net.

Here's a disturbing sentence: "President Bush was campaigning in actor-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger."

e-Column #103

Sites benefit, suffer from the Slashdot effect: "If you used Google during this year’s summer Olympics, you probably noticed the standard logo was replaced by stylized versions depicting Olympic sports."

Not only did the last sentence of this column get cut (understandable), so did the last word of the headline (huh?). Once you've read the posted column, select the invisible text below to read the original final sentence (don't worry, it's not that exciting):

Perhaps someday Slashdot will feel its own effect from another site and start thinking about it a little more.

Choked with fear

Megan and I went to Paramount's Great America last weekend. Since it was the first weekend in October, the attendance was a lot lower than the normal summer rush. That made it better, since the lines were shorter. It also meant that some prices had been lowered, including that for the Xtreme Skyflyer. Here's the description:

Experience the breathtaking thrill of hang gliding and skydiving. You'll be hoisted 153 feet above ground, and dive at speeds up to 60 miles per hour while free-falling 17 stories toward the Earth skimming just six feet above the ground.

It's like reading how food tastes. Although technically accurate, it can't convey the experience. Having inherited some fear of heights, hanging face-down from 153 feet up is scary for me. And then plummeting toward the ground is pretty freakin' terrifying. But I can now say that I've done it and, unlike the woman that took her turn before us, didn't scream or weep. Heck, I was even able to pull the rip-cord ("Smithers!").

I didn't purchase the video to show you all, since it came on an VCD and I was told it was Windows 98-compatible. Yeah, that's not selling me on it.

The difference between .com and .org

I suspected I wrote my column on the Internet's relation to politics a little too early, but I think it was confirmed when Vice President Dick Cheney said folks should visit FactCheck.com. It is the first time I've heard a non-candidate Web site mentioned in a nationally-televised debate.

Unfortunately for Cheney, FactCheck.com is not the address of the "independent Web site sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania." That Web site is FactCheck.org. Making this even worse for him is that liberal billionaire George Soros bought FactCheck.com and linked it to his own Web site.

Hmm, maybe I should make sure hagginmuseum.com doesn't get bought by, um, its adversaries.

Bugs

When our Strawberry iMac died, it wasn't too big a deal to us because I could just pull the hard drive out, pop it into a FireWire case and connect it to my iBook. Granted, that machine also served as our Web server, but I didn't think too many of you were checking out our Sims scrapbooks, anyway.

Unfortunately, within a week, my iBook became unusable, leaving us with no Internet access at home. Worse, we were flying to Portland in a week and all our flight/car rental/contact info was inaccessible.

I immediately dropped it off at the local Apple Authorized Service Provider, who said they'd probably have it back in four business days. Of course, that didn't happen (it's me!) and it wasn't available again until about a week after their estimated date. Apparently they shipped it off to Apple to fix (I could've done that) but failed to provide me with the note that Apple provided with the repaired machine explaining what they did.

Since it had actually died at work (we were reviewing a controversial DVD), the Museum had offered to foot the bills for the repairs. But it was still under warranty, so I didn't pay a dime. Also, I had backed up all the data just four days prior so we were up and running again without too much trouble. And our trip to Portland was a success.

Oh, what happened to the iBook to cause its problem? We don't have official confirmation, but we're pretty certain that it was caused by ants. Seriously, a few days prior, we found ants crawling out of and around it. So far there's no Apple TechNote detailing what to do if an ant dies on your motherboard...

iMac G5

After 5-1/3 years of service, our Strawberry G3 iMac finally gave up the ghost. Although we had upgraded a number of its components over the years (512MB RAM, 40GB HD, 16X CD-RW) the death of the monitor pretty much spelled the end of our beloved, but aging, all-in-one.

Since Apple had just announced the release of G5 iMacs, it seemed only fitting one of those would become its replacement. We were able to pick one up at the Arden Fair Apple Store in Sacramento and, after a couple of weeks, I'm happy to report we're both pleased with it. I may write a review for macCompanion, but here's a few things I found notable about it.

• The computer seems Kubrickian; like a white version of the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey."
  
• The power button's location on the back of the machine seemed odd to me. But it turns out we never use it. Instead, we just let it sleep when it's not in use.
  
• I thought the vertical CD drive might result in slow burning and ripping speeds. But we've been able to rip CDs at rates as high as 17x (the G3 topped out at 3x).
  
• The built-in speakers sounded much more impressive than I expected.
  
• The screen is incredibly:
  • Bright. We have the brightness level set to nearly its lowest point and the image is still striking.
  • Large. We have a 17" model, and it seems gigantic. The native resolution of 1440x900 allows for a large working space, but is impossible to find appropriately-sized desktop pictures (wallpaper) for.
• The 1.8GHz G5 chip is incredibly fast (at least for now). I noted with some amazement that SETI@Home units that took 18.5 hours to finish on our old machine get completed in 3.5.
  
• Comes standard with a one-button mouse. As Scotty would say, "How quaint."
  

e-Column #102

Planning to get married? Get some online tips
Weddings are steeped in tradition, with faux pas noted constantly in the columns of Dear Abby and Ann Landers. But although doing things electronically used to be considered inappropriate, the Internet has become a significant tool in planning a wedding.

U2 // Vertigo

U2's newest single has been released to radio and is also available for purchase via the iTunes Music Store.

But if you want to hear the whole thing (instead of a 30-second preview), click here.

For more information on their soon-to-be-released album, "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," visit U2.com (which now works correctly in Safari)

e-Column #101

Internet provides outlet for filmmakers: "Although Hollywood has been fighting to keep its movies from being pirated via the Internet, a different group of films not created by the studios has been flourishing."

macCompanion September 2004

RadTech BT-500 Bluetooth Mouse
RadTech's BT-500 Bluetooth mouse works better than Apple's, has greater functionality and costs less. Its small size and light weight make it an excellent choice for mobile Mac users who are willing to shell out for AAA batteries every few weeks.

Santa Cruz

Megan and I visited the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk yesterday. With temperatures hitting 99˚ in Stockton and Sacramento, we figured the coast would be a bit cooler. The weather forecast said Santa Cruz would have a high of 85˚ and be mostly sunny. As you can see by the picture, there was no sun, only fog. Oh, and the temperature was off by about, oh, 20˚!! So much suntan lotion wasted...

I rarely read Parade magazine, but felt compelled today to see what ridiculous celebrity questions were posed to Walter Scott in his PersonalityParade® column and what his often-judgmental answers were. But I never expected to see the following Q&A, which was sandwiched between questions about one of the stars of Fox's summer series North Shore ("Is that his real hair?") and "Whatever became of actor John Kerr?"

Q: The Saudi army recently dealt al-Qaeda a major setback by killing its military commander. Does that mean the Saudis are finally getting a handle on their home-grown terrorists? – Samuel Z., Miami, Fla.

A: Yes–but only for the time being. Al-Qaeda has lost several of its senior operatives in Saudi Arabia in recent months, but it's already regrouping. We expect its new military commander, a 38-year-old militant named Saleh Mohammed al-Oufi, to try to unleash a wave of terrorist violence in the near future.

Ignoring the fact that Walter Scott consistently refers to himself as 'we,' why would anyone write to Parade's PersonalityParade column to ask questions about Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda, terrorists, etc.?

Well, if someone tells me that Al-Qaeda's new military commander isn't planning to unleash a wave of terrorist violence in the near future, I can pull out my copy of Parade and show them how wrong they are.

e-Column #100

Politics having a big year online: "Because this is an election year, politics is a big topic online. But the Web has had a decidedly stronger impact this year in politics than it did during the last presidential election."

USATODAY.com: Students crazy about iPod follow the music to Apple laptops: "Now that Microsoft Office is available for Macs, (University of Arizona's on-campus store salesman Jeff) Guba says, students can work with many Windows programs, such as Outlook for e-mail and Word for documents. 'That made a big difference,' he says."

Apparently both the store salesman and USA Today are unaware that Microsoft Office has been available for Macs since at least as far back as 1998, three years prior to the introduction of the iPod.

e-Column #99

Subscriptions for online gaming far short of expectations: "In 2002, a new business model for computer gaming set video game publishers' expectations high. Two years later, those expectations have been dashed."

Ignore the posted first sentence of my latest column. It's actually the headline I suggested.

e-Column #98

Choices abound for online photos: "Between traditional photo companies and new dot-com businesses, there’s a proliferation of photo service Web sites. These sites offer photo storage, organization, editing, sharing and printing."

Conservative Television Watchdog Targets Movies: "A Miramax spokeswoman said the (Parents Television Council) seal of approval helped the studio position its recent feature 'Ella Enchanted' as a 'film that offers quality entertainment for the entire family.' Warner Bros. Pictures used the seal in print ads for its Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie 'New York Minute,' ... Universal Pictures is employing it for 'Two Brothers' ... New Line Cinema ... used the PTC seal in advertisements for 2003's 'Secondhand Lions.' ... None of the four movies made a dent at the box office."

See, here's the deal: So many people complain that there are aren't enough family-friendly films. But when some come out, they never go see them! (Not that I want anyone to see "New York Minute")

Other films that were made with much care for families that saw little reward were 1997's "The Borrowers" and last year's "Peter Pan." Money talks!

"Noting that at least six of the 18 shows that PTC sanctioned to its members during the 2003-04 season had been canceled -- including ABC sitcoms 'Married to the Kellys' and 'Life With Bonnie' and NBC's 'The Tracy Morgan Show' -- one network executive called the PTC seal the 'kiss of death.'"

Director McG Flies Out of 'Superman': "'Charlie's Angels' director McG is no longer attached to shoot the next installment of 'Superman,' becoming the latest filmmaker to leave the long-stalled project."

Yay! Better no movie than the horrendous one he would have made.

e-Column #97

Return receipts tell you if e-mail is read ... sometimes

Ironically, this column didn't run for weeks because the editor never received my e-mail.

Lego Spider-Man

The Peril of Doc Ock:
"Catch a comical spoof of the latest 'Spider-Man' movie, as Spidey tangles with Doc Ock in a world comprised solely of LEGO pieces."

The film is by Spite Your Face Productions, which also created amusing Lego films for Lucasfilm and the Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD. It's available in Windows Media and QuickTime.

The Corpse Bride

The news that Johnny Depp is teaming up with Tim Burton again didn't surprise me. What did was the news that their next project is "The Corpse Bride," a stop-motion animation film like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James & The Giant Peach." In addition, some of the work will be done at Will Vinton Studios in Portland, OR.

Yahoo! Movies - Greg's Preview - The Corpse Bride

Spider-Man 2

It's not too surprising that Spider-Man 2 is such a good film, considering all the great people involved. Those talented folks include co-writer Michael Chabon, whose "The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay" is a must-read; Alex Ross, whose stunning paintings depict the first film's events in the opening montage/recap (and will now have no reason to complain about not being involved, like he did when I saw him at WizardWorld Chicago); composer Danny Elfman, whose soundtracks are second only to John Williams (and whose Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack sounded remarkably like one from Elfman); Tobey Maguire, who brought real emotion to the role of Peter Parker; the surprisingly effective James Franco as Harry Osborne; and director Sam Raimi, who still managed to provide amusing cameos for Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee.

My only real complaint is that the truly excellent new rendition of the "Spider-Man Theme" by Michael Bublé (who Megan and I had the pleasure of seeing open for Chris Isaak in Sacramento) was cut in half and pushed to the tail end of the credits in favor of Dashboard Confessional's "Vindicated."

My ranking of Best 10 Comic Book Superhero Movies is now adjusted as follows:

1. Superman: The Movie/Superman 2
   
2. Batman
   
3. The Rocketeer
   
4. Spider-Man 2
   
5. X2: X-Men United
   
6. Hellboy
   
7. The Crow
   
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
   
9. Spider-Man
   
10. The Mask

Comments are welcome...

Disneyland 2004 Vacation Photos

We got our other roll of film developed, so now all the photos I could fit on a single page are up on our Photo Album.