G4Shallow

I have two Apple Airport Express devices. One in the loft with a USB printer and a set of speakers then another one in the living room with a set of speakers connected to it. However, the printer was randomly vanishing from the network and the speakers would cut out from time to time.

So I reset both devices and swapped them around. I noticed that the printer would remain on the network on one of the AE’s but vanish on the other. So I put the working one in the loft and just disconnected the second one assuming it was just faulty. Well today I tried resetting the suspect one and it appeared fine but iTunes would not connect to it yet my iPhone would for about 30 seconds before it decided to vanish. Both AE devices are running 6.3 which is the latest version.

Doing some research it was suggested to try downgrading the firmware then upgrading it again so that’s what I tried but it made no difference. After scouring Apple  discussions one person reported similar problems until they changed their Wireless channel to 12. I have mine on 6 as there are no other wireless networks in my range with that number.

I logged into my Sky router and changed the channel from 6 to 12 and also changed it so that it was set to 802.11g only and lo and behold it works!!

So if you have an Airport Express with the following issues :

Airport Express sound cutting out
Airport Express vanishing from network

Then try the above changes on your wireless router. You never know it may work for you

Day 17 of 365.

When researching bokeh I came across this article www.diyphotography.net/diy_create_your_own_bokeh

So I decided to give it a go. Rather than do hearts, and being a true  Apple Geek I thought I would try using an Apple logo instead.

Here is my attempt.

Since Apple implemented the itunes.apple.com site more and more people are linking to these pages when reviewing apps. Apple think it’s a good idea to automatically open iTunes for you.

Personally I have to say I hate it as it means I just need to close it again so did a quick search and found the following blog article which gives us a simple way of preventing iTunes from launching

http://theappleblog.com/2010/03/15/how-to-stop-itunes-web-links-from-opening-itunes/

I decided not to install any of the software mentioned in the Safari update as the File Extension “Open with” modification is working fine for me and I can easily reset it without installing yet more software on my already bloated MacBook Pro lol

*Update*
It seems that it resets the file association on a regular basis so installing third party software is a requirement.

After waiting a few days to collect my thoughts on the iPad I feel as though there is a missed trick with the iPad. Maybe this is just down to the fact that deals could not be done or that I was just merely way off on what I thought the iPad would do.

I love the iPad even though it makes no real sense for me to actually get one, I have an iMac in the loft, use a MacBook Pro every day and it pretty much is my main machine an iPhone and finally and AppleTV but I still want an iPad! Do I really need an iPad though?

Some of the things that I feel the iPad should of had :

1. Flash Support
Yes, Flash. So many people claim that Flash is evil but a hell of a lot of websites are utilising Flash and what’s more if this device is supposed to be the “best way to experience the web” then it should be supported on the iPad. With so many people using Facebook and playing the games on there the iPad would of made and ideal device to play some of those games, oh wait maybe thats part of the issue – reduced revenue This is quite funny http://theflashblog.com/?p=1703

2. Lack of Camera
Again this is something I was so looking forward to the iPad having. Imagine being able to sit on the sofa and have a video chat with relatives using iChat or even Skype. I think this is an oversight by Apple. I bet it comes in a later version of the iPad which is making me wonder, should I actually wait before getting one?

3. Newspaper and Magazine Subscription or content.

This I thought was coming, ok well yes there is the New York Times application for it but I was expecting more. I was expecting or maybe hoping that some other newspapers and magazine publishers would have been announcing applications too. Check out this for an example of what I was hoping for : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk (Sports Illustrated – Tablet Demo). Macworld, Macuser, Stuff, T3, Maxim and other similar magazines. Say they do a review of a product, they could include a video of the product etc or a behind the scenes of a photoshoot! This would be fantastic.

Probably not going to happen in the forseeable future though, this is what Macworld stated when I asked about an interactive version of their magazine “That would be great but its likely not going to happen in the near future” – oh well.

So, if I actually got an iPad what would I use it for that I cannot already do on one of my existing devices. Well nothing really lol.

However this is what I love about the iPad :

Photos
Looking at the video of this feature I think this will be a fantastic way of showing your family and friends your family photos, well those that WANT to see them of course

Watching
I would probably watch a lot more downloaded content than I do now.

Reading
I don’t read many books as I read a lot online. I think sitting in front of a computer is too impractical and lying in bed reading an eBook on my MacBook Pro is simply not ideal. However, I can see me reading a lot more on an iPad simply due to how easy it would be and the experience should be great.

Playing
I love the gaming experience on my iPhone and this would be even better on the iPad as the real estate on the screen is way more than the iPhone. I am really looking forward to seeing how my favourite games on the iPhone look and perform on the iPad, especially from those developers that will optimise their games for the device.

Cost of the iPad.
Although the UK price of the iPad has not been announced Macworld suspect that the prices will be

WiFi Only
16GB – £388 32GB – £510 64GB – £591

WiFi + 3G
16GB – £490 32GB – £612 64GB – £693

Person

ally I cannot see the point of a 3G version of the iPad for my use. I have an iPhone so if I do want to do web surfing on the go then I will use that and I simply cannot justify paying for a data plan for this device. So that rules out the 3G versions. Without seeing the final pricing of the devices I will probably go for the 32Gb WiFi version and hoping it will come in under the £500 mark.

All in all I am happy with the iPad and will definitely be getting one, the question is do I wait for the version with a camera or do I buy early – anyone who knows me will know the answer to that lol.

What is it with Apple and their quality?

Maybe it’s just me, maybe I am jinxed. Here is a list of Apple equipment I have bought 

PowerMac 6100 no faults
PowerMac 6400, no faults
iMac, no faults
iBook Clamshell – Off ebay, no fault.
PowerMac G4, Hissing sound from speaker, not replaced/fixed
White iBook 500Mhz, No fault
Titanium G4 PowerBook, No fault
Aluminium PowerBook G4 LOADS of faults

• Screen faulty, faded one side
• Keyboard problems
• Trackpad issues
• Cracked plastics after repair
• Second screen, faded issue again
• Pixels faulty after it came back from repair
• Further problems with keyboard at this point Apple replaced it

Aluminium PowerBook G4 Second machine, 4 dead pixels and further screen issues (was sold on and Superdrive since failed)
Apple TV, died under warranty
Mac mini 1, no faults
Mac mini 2, no faults
iPod’s, iPhone and iPhone 3G no faults
Several xServes, couple of hard drive failures
Aluminium MacBook Pro, paint peeling under space bar and apple key, pitting
24″ Aluminium iMac, Defective glass replaced under warranty
Unibody MacBook Pro 1, was sent an opened and damaged machine

So, quite a few problems and now my replacement MacBook Pro has a dead pixel. I must be so unfortunate with Apple kit.

Here are a couple of photo’s of the pixel. They are being sent to Apple so they can evaluate the issue. But seriously, why do I love Apple kit so much even though there are quality issues!

Ok, after reading the above I see that most of the kit I have bought have not developed faults. However, last 3 machines have. God knows what Apple is going to say but I reckon it will be a case of  ”Sorry, one dead pixel is within the acceptable failure rate for screens”.