Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Mac Rumors and Other Tidbits

Word from macosrumors.com is that we'll be seeing newly updated Macbook Pro notebook systems on Sept. 25th, this upcoming Monday. Very sweet deal! I was hoping to Core 2 Duo MacBooks's would be coming along soon. I've been hoping to buy one to help me with my job and my projects outside of work. The idea of being able to run Windows and OS X on one machine has me drooling. There wasn't anyway I was buying a new system until the processors were updated. I knew the Core 2 wasn't too far off, so I was patient.

Other news that's related to me wanting to run both environments on one machine, both BootCamp and Parallels are preping to be updated. Parallels plans to offer CD and DVD burning capability, new security features, and 3d graphics support for OpenGL and Direct X.

Very sweet


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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Sunday Morning at Dunkin' Donuts

Ah well this was a pretty good weekend. We got a lot done around the house and still managed to fit in some fun and family time in the mix. Sunday we woke up still pretty worn out from our marathon of house cleaning all day Saturday. So we decided to go out for a little breakfast. We decided on the Dunkin' Donuts up in Olney, MD for a quick breakfast samich and coffee.

I've been digging Dunkin Donuts lately, the company has really stepped up in refreshing their brand over the past 5 years or so. The attention given to remodelling the stores is noticeable, the coffee has improved greatly, and the offerings outside of their doughnuts has also improved. The Lady and I walk in to the joint with Little Man in tow. Not much of a line, and three cashiers on duty, this place really looked to be on the ball.

The set-up was standard, there was counter with the three cash registers, and one of those expandable line dividers to seperate the line of folks waiting from those folks making their orders. Pretty standard, same set-up found in banks, bookstores and fast food joints throughout the nation. However it must be a tough concept for doughnut eating Olney residents. We line up at the what is clearly the beginning of the queue... behind the little divider. More folks enter the restuarant, instead of lining up behind us, the get right up behind one of the people ordering as the cash register, basically cutting in front of us and showing total disregard for the suggested queue area. Lady informs them where the line is squashing any notion that they are ordering ahead of us.

After we sit down to eat, we notice that folks continue to ignore the queue area instead deciding as a group that lining up right up behind people at the counter is a better idea despite the fact that it boxes the poor people in who are trying to get away from the counter with hot coffee and breakfast, the crowd also starts to block the only doorway making entering and exiting considerablly difficult. PLUS since they are all deciding to crowd as a blobby, chaotic line group instead of organized in the true queue area, none of them can see the donuts or the menu on the wall above the cashiers. We just watched, dumbfounded by the stupidity of this Sunday morning crowd. Maybe folks are just mentally challenged until they get that morning rush of sugar and caffeine.

Adding to the confusion and inconvenience of moving around this little doughnut shop. A couple of the employees decided that the peak of the Sunday morning brunch crunch was the perfect time to sweep and mop the floors. I'm happy that these employees are into keeping their establishment clean and sanitary, but mopping down the floors during one of the busiest times of the week just seems to be a bit idiotic. It was quite an orchestra of disfunction and disorder. Made for an entertaining breakfast.


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Friday, September 15, 2006

Hands on: iTunes 7

The new iPod and iTunes store offerings have been well documented in the news and tech blogs, so I won't add to the search engine noise and relist the products. Overall they make sense to announce together, focusing on the music and video entertainment. Hopefully Apple will update their MacBook line quietly like they did their iMac and Mac Mini products.

Being the iPod devotee that I am, I promptly downloaded iTunes 7 following announcements on Tuesday afternoon, along with the iPod software update. I love the new view options and the automatic cover art download feature. I also like the way they've put iPod file management and sync preferences more towards as main screen tabs up front once you've got an iPod docked to your computer instead of buried in a file menu.

The new look of the iTunes GUI is also pretty slick and well done. The most attractive the app has ever been in my opinion.

I'm also very happy about the new gapless play feature that Apple has FINALLY included in iTunes.

I haven't had any problems with the installation of iTunes or the iPod software upgrade. I have read about people with freeze up issues, but that seems to be the case whenever there is an update. I've also heard some original 5G iPod owners, like myself, who are bitter that the search feature isn't possible on our iPods like it is for the new 5G iPod. I'm happy with new game offerings and the alphabetical browsing feature. I think its a little nutz for people think they'll continue to get all the new features. There has to be some incentive for folks to buy the latest iPods.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Apple Annoucements today

Uncle Steve is rolling out some new merch from Apple today. Most folks are expecting expanded video offerings via the iTunes store with updated iPods to accompany this expansion, just in time for the holiday season. I'm guessing that since the iTunes store is down for an update today, that's not too much of a stretch.

I'm hoping we see the notebooks line updated with the Core Duo 2 processors. A new desktop cpu ystem in-between the mac mini and pro desktops ala the old Cube design would be a fun product addition.

We'll soon see what's in store for us Mac and iPod fanatics.

Monday, September 11, 2006

The Doctor is In

Hey folks, I'm back. Just back from a week in mostly sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Overall a great vacation, that I was in dire need of. The past year with job layoffs, new jobs, a new baby, and all that goes with those events put quite a few grey hairs on my head.

However after my break, I feel refreshed. I'm happy to in my new job, which continues to be all that I'd hoped for. Our son continues to learn new things, it so much fun for the Lady and I to watch him advance as he grows. He did fantastically in his first airplane trips. He practically slept through the flight home. I'm glad my sister was along with us on both flights there and back, we had a lot of stuff to haul around and the extra pair of hands made it easier. Little man enjoyed his pool and beach time, just relaxing on his towel or along with one of his parents or grandparents. He got to take a dip in the ocean...which didn't go over too well. He much preferred the pool, once he adjusted to how cool the water was.

On this trip The Code Monkey's main squeeze, the Philly Girl came along with us. She seemed pretty cool. It was nice to finally meet this chick and get to know her a bit.

It was sad to see the vacation end. A week really isn't enough. I love this country but our employment laws regarding personal leave for family matters and US companies vacation offerings are deplorable. I just finally started relaxing toward the end of this vacation, I really needed another week to get a good break. At least my new job gets me back up to 3 weeks a year... better then the pitiful 2 weeks I had from my last gig.