How To Use Multiple iTunes Libraries on a Single Computer

From Simon Blog

Chances are that you need to share your computer with other family members. Apparently you do not want to share your own iTunes library with others. You want to keep your own library and create a new one for other users.

There is a hidden feature that you may not know. iTunes does allow you to create separate library for individual user. Just hold down the Option key (for Mac user) / Alt key (for Windows user) each time you launch iTunes. You’ll then be prompted with options to create a new iTunes library or choose an existing iTunes library.

Let’s say you’re now sharing the computer with your mum and dad. Simply select the “Create Library…” option and create a new library for your mum. Do the same procedures again to create the library for your dad as well.

Later when your dad needs to use iTunes, tell him to hold down the option key (for Mac) or Alt key (for Windows) when launching iTunes. Then select the “Choose Library…” option and select his own iTunes library folder.



By using this technique, each of you can keep music, movies or apps in a separate iTunes library. You can have a complete control of your own library. You can add/delete music or sync your iPhone without affecting other’s iTunes library.

But please note that this method only works on iTunes 9.2 or up. It’s time to upgrade if you’re still using older version.

Avoid the Droid

For those of you sitting on a fence deciding whether to get an iPhone or an Android, today there was a very interesting article on SFGate. I pasted it below.

My favorite quote:

So when users buy an Android phone, what will they get? That depends. How will they get new apps? That also depends. Will those apps work with every Android phone? Probably not.

If you're already on iTunes, there's no reason to downgrade to the Android market. You'll have to reorganize your music/movies and rebuy/download all your apps. The simpler way is to just have one iTunes library for all your media that you can distribute seamlessly across all your Apple devices. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. I can't understand why anyone would want to fragment their media into another marketplace, another file system, just to save a few bucks on that buy-one-get-one free Motorola. But of course if I'm talking to a peecee user, you're already use to doing things the hard way for the sake of saving a few bucks. Carry on, my tortured friend.

All the goodies you get with iOS like Facetime, Airplay, and Airprint, you won't get any of that on a droid, sorry. And don't just take my word. I have a reader who recently swapped her iPhone 4 for a work-issued Sprint EVO. Now she can't sync her iPhoto, music, nor share games with her son, or do Facetime with her iPhone-toting hubby or her iPod Touch. The EVO is chunkier but yet the battery life can't even last a day. Go figure.

And I have another friend who opted for a cheaper Droid only to lose all its photos forever for no reason. Fact is, no mobile operating system is as stable, unified and mature as iOS. And no app store has as many offerings as the Apple App Store. Did you know J.D. Power rated Apple highest in smartphone customer satisfaction four years running?

Spend a little more on an iPhone now, and you'll get it all back when you resell it. Remember, with Android, you'll only get what you deserve.

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Amazon's Android Store Will Make Android Even Messier

Amazon's Android app store, which the company opened to developers this morning, will offer a better experience than the current Android Marketplace run by Google. Apps will be vetted by Amazon (much like Apple does with iTunes), which will get rid of a bunch of crummy apps that don't work right or feature unsavory content like porn.

That's good news for Android users, right?

Not necessarily. Having separate app stores for the same platform contributes to the biggest problem facing Android: fragmentation into a bunch of slightly different platforms, each offering slightly different experiences and supporting different apps. That's not a smooth user experience.

Users have already seen Verizon swap out Google search for Bing search on some phones, and Angry Birds developers Rovio have complained that the app doesn't work as well on some older versions of the platform, forcing them to build a "light" version. Android tablets will require powerful hardware, which means that apps which run fine on them might not run at all on earlier smartphone versions of the platform.

But the problem could get much worse from here. As developer Kevin Marks explained on his blog yesterday--and TechCrunch elaborated on--there are actually two Androids. Most popular Android phones are certified by Google and come with various Google apps built in, such as Gmail and Google Talk. But there's also the underlying Android operating system, which is open-source and can be customized by phone makers, carriers, and even Google competitors like Facebook.

As third parties build more customized phones on Android, expect more unique apps to emerge for each platform--imagine Zynga apps built for a Facebook Android phone, or a specialized Motorola app for backing up music and video, for instance. Amazon's Android app store will be a perfect venue for apps that Google might otherwise not highlight.

So when users buy an Android phone, what will they get? That depends. How will they get new apps? That also depends. Will those apps work with every Android phone? Probably not.

In 2010, users didn't seem to care, and bought phones based on Android anyway. But as the platform fragments further in 2011, that could change.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/05/businessinsider-amazons-android-store-will-make-android-even-messier-2011-1.DTL#ixzz1ABakENxT

Welcome to iOS

Thanks to Bank of the West and Christmas gift giving, many of you received either an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. For many of you, this will be your first Apple product ever! Congratulations! You are about to enter the Apple ecosystem known as iOS. So get ready, as your life is about to change dramatically for the better. And for those of you who opted for an Android or a Best Buy $299 peecee craptop, good for you too, because you truly got what you deserved.

Free Apps
The biggest appeal being on iOS is the iTunes App Store. There are over 300,000 apps available, both paid and free. Many of the free apps are trial versions that have limited functionality or perhaps just the first few levels of a game. The apps you really want are the full version apps, but for free. Most full version paid apps are only offered free for a very limited time. The best website to find out what paid apps are free daily is freeappalert.com. Bookmark it and check everyday, or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Best Stuff
Engadget recently had an useful article "Just got an iPhone?" It's a brief summary of what's available for the iOS products. Another place I like to go for research is iLounge.com where you can research how-to's or sign up as a member to post questions where tons of knowledgeable people can answer. The apps I personally use the most are iBART (BART schedules), WhatsApp (instant messaging via wifi), and Tango (Facetime/phone over wifi and 3G). And of course, Navigon MyRegion for the iPhone or iPad 3G.

Accessories
If you go to the Apple Store or visit the kiosks inside the mall, you'll find that cases and screen protectors will cost upward of $15 and $7 respectively. If you go on ebay you'll find cases and 3-pack screen protectors starting at 99¢. These products are shipped from China so you can take comfort that you're keeping some 11-yo girl employed at the sweat shop. It will also take two weeks to arrive. If you need it sooner, select a US seller, pay an extra dollar or two, and you should receive in three days. So shop the kiosk and touch and feel the one you like. Then come home and find the exact item on ebay for 1/10th the price. Same applies to chargers and cables. Get a few to leave at the office, car, and each computer.

Jailbreak
Jailbreaking will allow you to customize the icons, background and broadcasting (tethering) your 3G signal. It will also allow you to unlock your iPhone for use on T-Mobile. And it will allow you to install unauthorized and pirated apps. So unless you're on T-Mobile or tethering your unlimited data plan for your iPad to piggyback on, I would not recommend jailbreaking. With the latest 4.2 iOS, some of the jailbreak-only features (background, folders, etc) are already included. If you really want to jailbreak, contact me offline, as there are many different procedures for the many different configurations. iPhone Hacks is one of the sites I subscribe to for jailbreaking instructions. For Mac users, iClarified has some great tutorials. If you want to try, here it is: Instructions for jailbreaking iPod Touch 4g

Halo Effect
Back during the days of the iPhone infancy, many industry pundits spoke of the Apple Halo Effect. It states that non-Mac users with first time Apple experience are causing them to purchase a Mac for the first time also. They realize Apple products just work, and work well – a far departure from the peecee environment. For the last five years, Macs have outpaced the entire computer market in terms of sales growth. So obviously many many people are making the smarter choice to switch. My question to you is: Will you see the light and switch too?

New iPods and Apple TV - Keynote Recap

As predicted, today Apple announced the newest updated line of iPods, including the iPod Touch with front/rear camera, HD video and retina display. So for those of you who signed up for the Bank of the West iPod promotion, chances are, you'll be receiving this latest model come December – I can't wait!!

For those of you still waiting for me to find you an unlocked iPhone, I would recommend going for the new iPod Touch instead. Sure, it may mean you'll have to carry both an iPod and a cell phone, but the new Touch is soooo much nicer than an old 3G/3GS, which lacks the hi-res display and Facetime. And the new Touch comes with the same superfast A4 chip found in the iPhone 4. Couple that with a battery that offers up to 40 hours of music or 7 hours of video, this is by far the most significant iPod upgrade in Apple's history.

With the new iPod Touch, street value for older models will drop big time. Here is my estimate for fair prices for used iPods and iPhones in good condition:

1st Generation iPod Touch – $80 generally avoid because it lacks a speaker
2nd Generation iPod Touch 8gb/16gb – $100/$125 (533mhz, 128ram)
3rd Generation iPod Touch 16gb/32gb/64gb – $150/$175/$200 (800mhz, 256ram)

iPhone 2G 8gb/16gb – $100/$120 (412mhz, 128 ram, no GPS)
iPhone 3G 8/gb/16gb – $150/$175 (412mhz, 128 ram, GPS, video with jailbreak)
iPhone 3GS 16gb/32gb – $225/$275 (600mhz, 256 ram, GPS, video)

Sure, you'll find plenty on Craigslist asking for way more than the above prices. But just because they are asking those prices doesn't mean they are selling at those prices. And the longer you wait, the cheaper they will get. Remember, iPhone 4's are still selling briskly (according to the keynote, Apple is activating 230,000 iOS devices a DAY), so more and more older 3G(S) will constantly be hitting the market. Just be patient.

In case you missed the keynote today, I've listed a recap of items covered:

Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices.
Apple is activating 230,000 iOS devices daily.
6.5 Billion iOS apps have been downloaded.

Apple is releasing iOS 4.1, it includes fixes for proximity sensor, Bluetooth problems and fix for iPhone 3G performance issues.
iOS 4.1 will allow users to take HDR photos.
iOS 4.1 will also debut Game Centre, Apple's social gaming network.
iOS 4.2 is coming to iPad. It will allow you to print wirelessly.


 iPod Shuffle.

iPod Shuffle will be available for $49.

iPod Nano.

It will cost $149 for 8GB model and $179 for the 16GB model.

iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch comes with iPhone 4's Retina display.
It includes Apple A4 chip, has a 3-axis gyroscope, iOS 4.1 with Game Center and a front-facing camera with FaceTime.
8GB model will cost $229, 16GB model will cost $299 and the 64GB model will cost $399.

Apple will be releasing iTunes 10. It also gets an all new logo, ditches the CD in the logo.
Steve Jobs has introduced a social music network called Ping, which will be integrated with iTunes 10.
You can follow your friends and artists. You can follow and be followed. It allows you to create a circle of friends.
You can post your thoughts and opinion. It will be open to 169 million iTunes users immediately.
Steve Jobs is demoing Ping. A social network all about music.
It is available on your iPhone and iPod Touch and is available now.


Apple TV

The second generation Apple TV is the fourth of the size of the first generation.
Apple TV is all about rentals, no purchases so you don't have to store it so you don't have to worry about storage management.
You can stream movies, TV shows and music.
You can rent first rent HD movies for $4.99.
You can rent ABC and Fox TV shows for $0.99.
You can stream content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe.
You can also stream content from your computer.
AirPlay feature which will be available in iOS 4.2 can be wirelessly streamed to Apple TV. Apple TV will cost $99, which is $130 cheaper than the first generation Apple TV.

Macworld 2011

Every year, somebody asks if I'm going to Macworld. I usually say yes. And then the next question I get is: "How can I get a free pass?"

Well good news to you. Free registration for an expo pass begins today through July 26. So go get yours now.

LINK

Apple most valued

At the close of the stock market yesterday, Apple surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company in the world. Today the lead widened even more. I know many of you are in disbelief that your beloved MSFT has fallen so far, or that your stock hasn't moved in 10 years... Am I gloating? Yeah maybe. But as an Apple faithful, I knew this day would eventually come. What yesterday proved is that I was right all along – that Apple makes wonderful products and MS lacks innovation, copies others, and is late to the game with half-baked products (Vista, Zune, Kin). Also this proves that more and more peeceer's are making the smart choice to end their misery. Unfortunately, many of my readers still refuse to let go, like a 40 year old still sucking on his security blanket.

I'm sure by now you know my opinion is very biased so please feel free to roll your eyes. Fact is, in my lifetime I've only used a peecee for a few days of training here and there, and I currently use it twice a month to do my timecard. What I find is that their desktop and menus are ugly and the workflow clunky, very unlike the elegance of my Mac. When I type on a peecee, I feel dirty, contaminated, like my soul has been violated... I can proudly say that I have NEVER even booted up a peecee in my life. And I never will. But that's just me.

What I do know I hear from my friends and family. If I had a dollar for every time someone said their peecee was slow, infected, crashing, in the shop, etc., I'd be a rich man. A part of me feels sorry for them, but a bigger part of me wants to say to them "Dude, you got a dell? Hahaha!" or "Wow, I would expect a better OS for $399..." but I'm too classy to pile it on :) All I know is that I wouldn't want to be them. Actually, who I really feel sorry for is the poor schmuck/friend they call upon (over and over) for tech support because they're too cheap to pay the shop $200 on a machine that has only a $150 value. Sure, I would do the same (it's the Chinese way), but is the cost savings worth the possible toll on your friendship? If I was that schmuck, I would immediately get a Mac and abandon the peecee just to preserve the friendship.

To make matters worst, generally the people that freak at spending a few extra hundred on a Mac are the very same people who happily spend a few extra thousand buying the EX/XLS/luxury versions of their car. Oh how people have no problem spending an extra $10k on a BMW/Lexus/Acura sedan over a comparably equipped Toyota or Honda because of the perceived "quality" and status. So let me ask, can a Lexus ES really get you from point A to B better than a Camry? And if so, at what cost? (Higher insurance, pricier maintenance and premium gas.) Are all those added creature-comforts really worth it? They say image is everything, but are you that much more the studmuffin/sexymomma with that fancy car when your kids are in the backseat?

Also, when you think about your luxury car, the annual depreciation alone is more than enough to buy a new Mac every single year. Hmmm, I can drive a beemer for 5 years and watch it's value plummet from $40k to $30K, or I can get an Accord for $25k and get a new iMac or Macbook every year and still come out ahead... And which one will bring you more happiness: sitting in your precious car while stuck in traffic? or creating incredible stuff on your Mac in the comforts of your home? Decisions, decisions...

Recently, one of the luxury car owners (and lifelong blanket-suckers) asked me what makes the Mac better? I started rambling off about OSX and it's lack of viruses and free preloaded iApps, but then I stopped. I told him to go ask someone who has switched. Since I've never used a peecee, I can't really compare. But of all the people I've helped switch to a Mac, NONE of them have ever gone back to peecee. Not one. In fact, in many instances, they've even convinced their spouses to switch too, so now they have two Macs in their household! Imagine that, a bunch of cheap chinamen willing to pay a premium for a computer! (Fortunately, some of us cheap chinamen also know a bit about value and quality of life.) Now the time they used to spend patching, upgrading and debugging is spent on just being productive. As they say, "once you go Mac, you never go back." To you all, you are welcome.

As graduation nears, some of you will get new computers for your kids. If you get them a cheap peecee craptop, then you are preparing them for a lifetime of hard labor. It's like in a village when a boy turns 10 and dad takes him out to work the rice fields. They'll spend their days frustrated, troubleshooting and rebooting. It's like forcing them to solve the Rubik's cube on a daily basis. At best they will grow up to be great problem-solvers. At worst, socially-inept nerds. Is this a chance you're willing to take?

Also you'll have the pleasure of training them not to open any .exe files or visit hundreds of virus sites that you won't know about until it's too late. Plus you get to do cool newsletters in Word and slideshows in Powerpoint using those snazzy transitions. They'll then thank you by taking that craptop to school where their unsavory friends can help fill it with satanic music, pirate software and loads of porn, thus crashing it and they you can buy another one. It's an endless cycle.

So instead of buying something that rhymes with feces, get the whole family a 27" iMac that stays in the house. Instantly, this beautiful appliance will add excitement and sophistication to your home, sitting as an inviting centerpiece begging to be explored. Your children's computer time can be monitored and limited. Your family will thank you for years to come.

You can also buy Apple's $39 iWorks and use it alongside Google Docs for cloud computing. YOU DON'T NEED MS OFFICE AT ALL. All .doc/.xls/.ppt files will open and save seamlessly from every computer. (Note: If you must use Office, rest assured that it is 100% cross-platform compliant – I know, I work with blanket-suckers all day.) Everything just works! You'll have peace of mind and will sleep better while witnessing your family do tons of amazing stuff on it. Now that's value!

To end, I would like to leave you with an excerpt from an earlier post of mine:

This, my friend, could be you – Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish. Sure, you may save money up front. But at what cost? If I can mimic the voice of Al Sharpton:
"Guard your souls, my children! Don't be tempted by the Dell! It will consume you with instability, insecurity and uncertainty! Leading to loss of productivity, credibility, and longevity! Leaving you with feelings of negativity, irritability, and hostility. Flee my children! Flee I say! Lord have mercy!"

Right now you can even get a free iPod Touch with the Mac.

Dropbox - A must have for multiple computers

Do you have multiple computer at home? Or do you always take your work home with you on a jump drive? Or do you email yourself files so you can access from another computer? Your solution: Dropbox.

I recently started using Dropbox and it's great. I can upload/download files from my computer, laptop and iPhone. And I always know where the most up-to-date file is. It is fully integrated into my operating system, so it's just listed as another folder in my home folder. Other than the first time setting it up, there's no logging in, just instant access as if it was resident on your hard drive.

This cloud-computing service is a stripped down version of Apple's $99 MobileMe, but it's free for the first 2gb of storage. After that, it's $9.99/mo. for 50gb and $19.99 for $100gb.

Learn more about and download your Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/tour

So are you REALLY a PC??

Here's a shout out to all my Chinese peecee readers. I just ran across this ad this morning and HAD to ask one question: Are the people at Microsoft nuts?? Are they really that clueless?? Okay, that was two questions.

Do they really think that featuring this handsome fella is a positive representation of the "pc" people? Do they think this will really drive sales or reconvert Mac switchers? Yes dude, I totally believe Windows 7 was your idea. And I do believe that Windows 7 was made for people like you, just like parenting classes and tetanus shots.

I mean really, if Microsoft bought General Mills, I could only imagine what kind of social rejects would be gracing the Wheaties boxes – Dennis Rodman? If Microsoft was smart, they would parade this guy to all the Apple Stores just to drive customers away. And what the heck is he buying? Looks like vinyl at Rasputin's.

Question: so are mohawks making a comeback? I've seen a couple lately. Honestly I see no benefits of looking like a freak unless you want a career delivering pizzas. And even if it were making a comeback, I'm not sure it's working with this particular guy. Maybe he needs some piercings or tats to complete the look.

Sure, he's younger and hipper than John Hodgeman of the "I'm a Mac" commercials, but I just don't see normal, civilized, non-skateboarding-trailer-punk people wanting to be more like him. Those castoffs are already on Windows because OSX won't sync their Zunes!

And the worst thing? He's Asian!! Is there any other ethnicity that is sure to fail as trying to be anything remotely non-law-abiding! This guy looks like a former playground bully that never grew up and still likes beating up nerds. PC's beating up on fellow pc's – that's gotta suck.

Though I saw this ad on BostonHerald.com, my guess is it was originally aimed for the Yakuza-wannabe crowd in Japan or the gangs in Chinatown. Sadly, here in the United States, Wiliam Hung would've been the best choice. Sigh.

I'm sorry, but some pc people just need to remain as pc people.

I can live with a 27

Above is my newest piece of equipment, a HP 27" monitor. It is paired with my Apple 23" Cinema display. On the surface you may think it's a pretty sweet setup, but once you dig deeper, you'll understand why I'm not totally happy.

Here in the dungeon we have a five year upgrade plan for our computers. Each of us was given a $5000 allowance to upgrade our workstations. Yes, generous amount. But did you know that it was originally only $3500? They increased it only after I complained about how Major Mallrat spent $4700 on a screaming machine that she uses just for displaying her email! And then three months later another $2700 on a Macbook Pro so that she can display her email at the salon. Okay, I admit I may be exaggerating her shortcomings a wee bit. She also is quite capable of opening a PDF file on occasion and can click on a link to get to the web... In other words, she's a perfect candidate for a $400 peecee.

So I get 5000 of your tax dollars! Woohoo! What to buy? What to buy?!

I decided to settle on a Mac Tower 8-Core 2.26ghz for $3299 and a Dell 30" monitor for $1249. Total just under $5,000. The Major burnishes her saliva with her mystic medallion on the dotted line and the order is executed!

Enter Captain Insano.

Here is an updated photo of Captain Insano. She recently underwent a makeover in an attempt to make her look more human.

Captain Insano, being the micro manager of all micro managers, always feels the need to look at all expenses incurred in the underworld (although she conveniently ignores the salaries of herself and her axemen). She nitpicks about EVERYTHING! When I scrape my knees on the cobblestone floor or if the rusted shackles cut into my ankles, she'll feel the need to take inventory of the bandaids I use. That's how anal she is!

So she sees my monitor arriving at the docks and immediately inquires with the Major about it. Together they decide to ship it back and blindly pick the above $350 HP 27" (with horrible specs) instead. Then in a total reversal, the Mallrat has the gall to come to me and say, "I had a feeling she wouldn't go for it..." Huh?? It's already been budgeted for!! You spit-sealed the paperwork!! And it already got delivered!! Talk about being twofaced! Good thing for my self control or else I would've grabbed the closest dead rat in my cell and chucked it at both her brown noses!

Captain Insano reasoned that the 30" is too bright and would lessen the gloomy vibe in our dungeon. She also says it eats up too much energy and may strain the torturous effectiveness of the electric chair. As a good will gesture, she offers to move me to an even smaller cell so that I can sit closer to the monitor.

In an unexpected surprise, she then invites me to her private lair to show how she too has to deal with the current budget woes. There she demonstrates how she can get by just fine by using one candlelabra and the heat lamp in her python cage for lighting. She further confesses how she's unable to upgrade her crystal ball to the beachball sized one and how she hasn't sharpened the blade on the guillotine in months. "You ought to hear the wailing when it doesn't cut through on the first pass!" she jokes.

When her evil echoing laugh finally died, the Captain glares at me and cautiously reminds me that I should be happy with my situation. "Perhaps I have treated you unfairly," she prods. She then inquires if I've noticed the absence of Sargent Scrooge lately. I nervously nod my head as I try not to look at the puss oozing from her boil. She then reveals how she demoted and dispatched the Sarge because of her complaints. The Sarge is now in some far away unknown territory serving as the chief fleet mechanic. Unfortunately the wheels on their bus go Stomp and Stomp.


My heart began to pound as I pleaded her to spare me a similar fate. With a flash of mercy, she says to me, "You can live." And orders the axemen to drag me back to the dungeon.

Back in my cell I realize that I should just be happy with what I have, and to not dwell upon what I almost did get but got sent back before actually getting it by my evil selfish oppressors. I mean life is pretty good here. We just got a new shipment of rat traps, and my neighbor with the B.O. problem is only here three days a week... And yes, a 27" monitor is still very nice, especially running extended desktop alongside a 23". With all that screen space, I can be pretty darn productive having four applications open at once, not having to click through layers of windows to find them. And it's so much easier to ignore emails if you can just glance at the sender and then blow them off. And when my 8-core arrives, I'll be able to work even faster!

Yes, life can be good if you change your perspective on things. I will always have my tormentors. But if I accept them for what they are (pompous, inept, power-hungry) and do what they demand of me (clean up their mess, perform miracles, read their minds), then we all can live, work, and play in harmony in our beautiful realm of destruction. Because I know life can be a LOT worse. They could make me work on a peecee!!

Oops, gotta go! The lights are flickering, which means the crystal ball powering up...

Disclaimer: Some or all of the characters may or may not exist in real life and can just be a figment of the author's imagination and varying frame of mind. Some story lines may have been altered and/or embellished for added entertainment value.

Why Stop at 8-core??

With Apple's Tuesday announcement of the updated Macbook Pro laptops, it got me thinking about the Macbook Pro in our department. The one I setup last month and never got to see again.

Yes, in the midst of this crappy economy and job cuts, the Major, in her neverending quest to own everything shiny and expensive... your taxpayer dollars recently netted her a $2700 top-of-the-line 15" Unibody Macbook Pro. I tell you, the insanity never stops here.

The IT department, understandably balked at the idea of getting her another machine because they just spent $4500 on her 8-Core Power Mac in February. So instead the Major, being equipped with a company credit card and a lifetime of unabashed spending habits, paid for it from our individual department budget (more on that later).


Her reasoning for needing a laptop is so that she can work from home in the evenings and weekends. On the surface this sounds reasonable, but I don't buy it. That's just her misleading, feel-good illusion of justified spending. Fact is, if she spent less of her day doing tea time and visiting others, she should be able to complete all her work during business hours – That's what I think.

But what do I really really think?? I think having a laptop gives her more freedom to leave work early. She already sneaks out early every Monday to get her hair and nails done (among other 'tune-ups' I won't mention). Now she can leave while prominently toting her shiny Macbook Pro claiming to beat traffic and work from home when she's really sitting at the salon. Hmm, can you still type while getting a silk wrap?

I even suggested to her to save money and just get a $1300 unibody 13" Macbook. She complained that the screen was too small and preferred the 15". Now on the surface, this sounds reasonable, but in reality when she uses it at home, it's plugged into a 20" monitor! She's obviously never satisfied owning something if there is something better out there. Because fact is, she demands the best. And money is clearly no object.

And get this. She asks me to find her a portable 2.5" external hard drive. I find a stylish black 500gb Western Digital Passport for $99. But instead she prefers the orange 320gb version for $117. Who cares if it holds less and costs more?? The important thing is that "it matches my wallet!" (I'll try to get a picture of her wallet next time). Can you scream "High Maintenance" any louder?

So why does this bother me so much? Shouldn't I just be happy she leaves early?? Well it bothers me because our fiscal year ends in 2 weeks and that's when I get to spend leftover money on other essential items. We were planning all along to get two Nikon D90's since our D70's are approaching five years old. But since the laptop dipped into our budget (rather than IT's), we're now short $2000 to get the two cameras. Grrrrrr. So now I'll have to wait another year.

If all I blogged about was my job, I would have to rename my blog. How about "Finding the Cheese from my Cracker"? or "The Wheels are Spinning (but the Hamster is Dead)"? or "Toys in the Attic"?? In the meantime, to keep my sanity, I'll just focus on happy thoughts. I'm happy I still have a job. I'm happy I have this blog. And I'm happy I have all of you. Thank you.

Notice the bag of pretzels.

Our new Screaming Machine!

Thanks to your taxpayer dollars, we recently purchased a new Power Mac with upgraded twin 3.0 quad-core Xeon Intel chip. This machine is so fast, it's quite amazing at what it can do! With this machine, you can open a 100mb Photoshop files in seconds – and doing so while ripping video in the background too. Complicated Illustrator blends/shadows and Final Cut Pro movie rendering is a breeze. It can do so many tasks simultaneously, there's practically zero waiting for anything. This could make my job so much more efficient...

But it won't.

You see, this machine goes to the Major. The Major's Dual 2.5ghz G5 recently died (coolant leakage) so we needed a replacement. Instead of giving the new machine to the people that actually do the intense work (the designers), she decides to keep it for herself.

The Major only uses three programs: Safari, Entourage (Outlook) and Word. Her idea of multitasking is sipping tea while reading email, or twirling her shoe while talking on the phone. She says the new machine is faster because Word launches in 2 seconds (an improvement over the 6 seconds it took in her old machine). Unbelievable! This is like buying a Ferrari to go grocery shopping when you don't even know how to cook!

In any other company, this would be wasteful, idiotic, even comical. But around here, it makes perfect sense. We suggested the top-of-the-line 24" iMac at half the price, but she still wanted the 8-core processor. She's the boss. She gets the best. She even complained that at only 3ghz, it wasn't truly the top-of-the-line. Sheesh.

So instead of a screaming machine, all we have are screaming designers. Think about it: a $4700 computer for email and word processing... Your tax dollars at work. Literally. Oh, and it also serves as a snack tray to hold her bag of pretzels.

Unbelievable.

Lightroom 2.2

This year for the first time, I was able to attend Macworld for three days. Two of the days were spent in a workshop for Adobe Lightroom. The instructor was book author Mikkel Aaland. We were also treated to several guests speakers including the inventor of Lightroom and Leo Liporte, a renowned tech expert (although I never heard of him before). The classroom was huge, with the ability to hold over 100 students. But we only had 16 students in all. I guess with the bad economy, not many people would be able to afford the $825 class fee, but thanks to your tax-payer dollars, I can!!

I learned a little bit of Lightroom from my Scott Robert workshop back in April. Scott glossed over the entire application and mainly focused on his preset filters. Fortunately for me, Lightroom is so intuitive, you can just figure things out by playing with the sliders. But I knew there was so much more to learn, especially with version 2. This workshop promised to be an intensive, hands-on experience. I was not disappointed.

The biggest upgrade from version 1 is the ability to pinpoint specific areas for editing. In the past, I would've had to rely on Photoshop for those abilities and thus create new files with each iteration. Now, everything is all contained in Lightroom. And with it's non-destructive editing environment, there's no additional files to eat up drive space or keep track of. This is a huge benefit if you're organizing a large collection of photos.

So me being an amatuer hobbyist with no professional aspirations – what does this all mean to me? To me, Lightroom 2 allows me to get away with taking even lousier pictures! Yes, believe it or not, the photos out of my DSLR probably aren't much better than the pics in your point-and-shoot. 90% of my photos are either under-exposed, shot with wrong ISO, or have bad white balance. And of the good 10%, half of them are out of focus! Enter Lightroom.

Lightroom helps me adjusts the photos to what I remember seeing when shooting. It also offers some cool filters to make the photo artsy in case I can't salvage them. If the picture is lousy, I'll just purposely make it extra grainy or blow out the highlights and say "Yeah, I meant to do that." – Hey, what can I say? I'm an artist! :)

Furthermore, I can make you look better too. I'll clean up your zits and smooth your skin. Whiten your teeth and sharpen your eyes. Just last week I made one of the chiefs so happy because I made her look 10 years younger by softening her wrinkles. Now she only looks 60!

Lightroom is so amazing, I've transferred my entire iPhoto library into it and will no longer be using iPhoto. Yes, you heard me right. I'm dumping an Apple product for Lightroom. But remember, while iPhoto comes free with your new Mac, Lightroom is $299.

If you do decide to try Lightroom, let me know and I'll be happy to give you a quick tutorial.

Lightroom Free 30-day trial here

I'm sitting at the BART station going to Macworld and that's when I realize
I'm supposed to have some RAW photos available for the class.

Class started on Monday, but the Expo didn't start until Tuesday.
Pretty neat watching them set up. Plus I needed more RAW images.

I've never noticed the incredible architecture at the Moscone Center until now.

Desaturated all the colors except blue. Then used reverse clarity to soften it.

Shot this with camera pressed against the glass.
With all the colors, the photo looked too busy so I used a sepia filter.

What you get for $15. Asian Chicken salad. It was very good!
Someone told me that the latest fad was photographing your food. Is that right?

CIBC Thanksgiving Slideshow

After Martin's party, we rushed home, rested for 30 minutes, and then off to the annual CIBC Thanksgiving banquet. There were over 500 people in attendance and as always, the food was very good. Unfortunately we couldn't eat much because we were still recovering from our food coma at Kincaids. After dinner, the video above was presented to reflect a year's worth of thankfulness. Even in these tough economic times, we are indeed blessed.

In the weeks prior to this, I was sharing with a fellow carpooler that I was up late every night working on a slideshow. He wondered why it took so long and asked what version of Powerpoint I was using. I'm like "riiiight." Sensing my sarcasm, he further says, "You know you can do some really nice things in Powerpoint..." Really? You don't say!

That's one thing I notice most about most peecee users. They think Microsoft is the only way to do things. They use Powerpoint for slideshows, Word for newsletters, and didn't know what a PDF was until Word added the feature. Granted if you've never used Mac OSX, then you won't have any idea what incredible programs come with it (iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, Garageband, etc.). Yes, these are already included in OSX. And iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) costs only $99 and will open/convert all your Word/Excel/PPT files and well as export back.

When you buy a cheap peecee and you factor in all the additional productivity and anti-viral software you need to purchase, it'll get rather expensive quickly (while still remaining a cheap peecee).

Below, fittingly is my favorite "I'm a Mac" commercial.



Christmas Newsletters
If any of you are fortunate enough to be on the Christmas list of a certain Fremont family with two girls, you'll know that every year they produce hands down, the most professional looking newsletter. At first glance it had me scratching my head wondering why an amazingly talented designer such as myself can't even come up with something this nice. I mean this family isn't extra special. They're just an average family with average intelligence (stay with me here...). How could they excel in something they have zero training in? That's when they told me they just used a free, pre-existing template included in iWork Pages and voila! Aha! That explains everything!! So this is proof positive that using a Mac can make the average family exceedingly above average (and in my opinion, most special!).



If you're on our mailing list you'll notice our "newsletter" is getting smaller and smaller every year. Actually, I wouldn't even call it a newsletter anymore. It's just a 5x5 piece of paper with some pics and some ramblings. I don't know how you all find so many things to write about that it will fill up both sides of a page when I'm struggling to fill even a 5x5 space. Maybe because we don't travel. Or maybe because we don't do anything fun. Or maybe because we're just raising a bunch of under-achievers... who knows. So don't expect too much from us this year. But my advice to you all: More pictures and less text. Because by the time people are done reading my blog, they'll be too tired to read anything else. Haha!

Until then, I wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I'll look forward to your 'upgraded' newsletters and hope to reunite with you in the coming weeks. Let the parties begin!

Black Friday Preview

Black Friday is in four short days. Many of you have asked me if I've heard of any good deals. Yes, there are plenty of deals depending on what you are looking for. So I will just direct you to the same great preview site as last year, tgiblackfriday.com. There you can browse all the major store ads and prepare your Friday game plan. Everything is well listed and organized by categories. A great resource!

On their front page you'll notice a lot of peecee laptops under $400. To those I only have one word to say to you, RESIST! Sure you'll save a lot of money up front, but in the course of it's lifespan it'll cost you in other ways in terms of time and frustration, not to mention your soul.

I have one friend who succumbed to a tempting cheap vista laptop last year. Now after experiencing my Macbook for the first time, she really wants one too! But in order to justify buying another laptop in a year, she's going to try and dump off the peecee on her mother. Now imagine if she had just gotten a Macbook to begin with. She could buy a faster one this year and then lovingly pass on the older one to her mom. Now imagine how much stronger that mother-daughter relationship would be. You cannot put a price on that.

For me, I plan to stay home this year. The three friends I met up with last year are either missing, sick or on vacation. And considering many of you successfully shopped online for electronics last year, I think I'll do the same. Good time to start surfing is 9 p.m. on Thursday since then it will midnight in the east coast. Not all places will offer free shipping, but before you start to gripe, consider the shipping charges your luxury tax for not having to drive and sit on the freezing pavement for hours hoping to get your item.

If you're shopping for clothing, toys or household stuff, online is not an option. You'll have to get your butt out the door. Based on my experience last year, here's my one and only recommendation for you: Do not go alone! Having a buddy to alternate standing in line/shopping will save you tons of time when a minute could make the difference between getting and not getting that last item off the shelf. A buddy can get you a snack when you feel like you're going to pass out or watch your stuff in case you get into a fight. Black Friday can easily be a day of high anxiety.

Lately I've found the best deals on ebay using the live.com cashback. It's been holding steady at 25% for the last few weeks. If you're not taking advantage of this great promotion, you're really missing out. 25% off is huge for stuff like Macbook, iPods, Wii/Wii Fit, PS3, DSLR camera, and other pricey electronic items that are either hard to find or never go on sale. Also no sales tax and it gets delivered! For directions on how to use it, please read my two previous blogs about it.

So good luck on your Black Friday adventures and be sure to read about my last year's adventures for lessons learned.


LINK: Last year's Black Friday

LINK: 30% Cashback

LINK: 35% Cashback

LINK: TGIBlackFriday.com

Who's Your Nerd?

I must say, whenever a friend comes to me and tells me about their peecee problems, I am sad. The selfish part of me wants to say "I told you so!" But the (much larger) sensitive side of me eventually prevails as I console and share their pain. I sympathize with them and try to alleviate their agony by pointing them in the right direction – to the Apple Store.

I also must say that whenever you come to me and tell me you just bought a Vista laptop, a little part of me dies. Really it does. I don't care how cheap it was or how creative you were stacking coupons... as a friend and a reader of my blog, I ask you, "Where is your loyalty? Do you really enjoy stomping on my heart? Does the word 'betrayal' have any meaning? How can you expect our friendship to survive this tragedy?"

I won't name any names, but you know who you are. And my heart bleeds for you. Sniff, I need a tissue...

On Saturday there was an article in the New York Times about some poor sap's brand new Vista laptop crapping out in the first 72-hours to the tune of an $800 repair bill. Below are some excerpts.

Since I had ordered my Dell over the phone, I tried to seek technical support the same way. The Dell answering menu kept directing me to seek help online. After nearly an hour, I finally contacted a human, but there was an infuriating language barrier. It sounded as if the customer representative was repeatedly asking if I’d pressed the “cat slap button.” Then I realized she was referring to the “caps lock” button. I asked where she was. “In the Philippines,” she replied.

I called John C. Dvorak, a prominent columnist for PC Magazine and a podcaster on the Podshow network. “I advise everybody to buy a Macintosh because Apple products are the easiest to use,” he said. “If you own a PC, you have to find a local nerd, a kid, maybe a relative. Every family has one unless they’ve just moved here from a foreign country. That’s the only solution.”

“A geek is someone who bites the head off a chicken,” he notes. “A nerd is a socially inept person with faulty eyewear.”

“We would have made a lot less money off you if you’d come to us and asked what to buy before you decided on the Dell Inspiron 1720,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of new operating systems like Microsoft Windows Vista because you get software bloat. They do some remarkable things. But they also have too many processes going on at the same time, and they often make needless and confusing changes in the way their features are presented.”

This, my friend, could be you – Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish. Sure, you may save money up front. But at what cost? If I can mimic the voice of Al Sharpton, "Guard your souls, my children! Don't be tempted by the Dell! It will consume you with instability, insecurity and uncertainty! Leading to loss of productivity, credibility, and longevity! Leaving you with feelings of negativity, irritability, and hostility. Flee my children! Flee I say! Lord have mercy!"

For all you nerds out there that have been repairing peecees your whole life for family and friends, I say bravo to you! I wish I had the skills, the patience, and the time to devote to such a thankless job. Um, actually I don't. But I will be sure to send people your way anyway! :)

And to those of you that don't know jack about fixing a computer and is stuck in a nerdless family... it's YOU that I fear for the most. You'll call me and I won't have a clue to what you're talking about. Sorry, I don't have the latest Norton... Sorry, I don't know why your cousin's iPod won't play your WMA files... Sorry, I don't know why they can't hear you on your webcam... – yes, all real questions. I want to help you but we must speaka-da same language first. We must be on the same page. I can't jump your car if you already drove it into the lake...

I may no longer have the faulty eyewear, but I'm still a nerd for many people (all Mac users, mind you). For most of the people I support, many of them don't even need me. With the exception of hardware issues, most problems they figure out themselves. They in fact, are their own nerds – to which makes me a needless nerd to the nerdless! It's a great feeling. But to the rest of you, my heart is still wounded. Although I do have a forgiving heart :)

No more excuses

I hope you didn't line up for one of those $400 peecee laptops on Black Friday. You may have saved some money up front, but you'll be paying in other ways, such as mental anguish and lost productivity.

Here is a great deal on a decently-equipped brand new Mac mini. It's only $475 delivered from a trusted seller on ebay. A similar model currently sells at Apple for $599 + tax. The current 1.83ghz model has more ram, but this one has a superdrive (dvd-r). This is really a great deal. But act fast because the auction ends in 6 days or when his supply of 38 units sell out. The only thing I would add is some more ram ($23). Of course you can use your existing usb keyboard, mouse and monitor too.

Due to my blog, SO MANY of you have asked about getting a Mac this past month (and even this past weekend). You're frustrated at your peecee and just don't enjoy your computing experiences. I won't name any names but here's what I've heard from all of you (see if you can identify your statement):

1. My girls need a cheap computer to play on.
2. My wife's peecee is crashing nonstop.
3. How do you convert a dvd movie to mp4?
4. My daughter took my Mac and I don't want to share with my wife
5. I have video editing software but it's not user friendly
6. Dude, can you do a newsletter template for me... in Word?
7. How do you copy a dvd movie?
8. I don't know how to attach a photo to my email
9. How can I do a simple slideshow?
10. Will my Office files open on a Mac?

Dear friends, my heart bleeds for you. I'd love to help you, but we must first establish some common ground. We need to speak the same language. So go get your Mac and then come see me for the hookup. Say goodbye to viruses and pop-up windows and say hello to newfound freedom and productivity. Start organizing your photos, making home movies, and backing up all your dvd movies and stop installing drivers, service patches and the latest virus protection. The new Leopard OS is intuitive and user-friendly. You'll be amazed at all you can do. I've been using Macs for 18 years and I'm still discovering little neat tricks. At this price, this really is a no-brainer.

Fastest Vista Notebook Ever

According to PC World. And just in time for the holidays!

Kids are getting smarter these days

This was taken from the Missouri School of Journalism. Click on it for a larger view. I almost kinda feel sorry for that lonely windoze user in the front row. Nah, not really.

From the school's site:

Q. What brand or model should I buy?
A. The faculty has designated Apple Computer as its preferred provider for two primary reasons: (1) Apple's OS X operating system is based on Unix, which makes these computers far less susceptible to viruses than other computers. Viruses are a serious problem on university campuses. (2) Apple iBook and PowerBook computers come bundled with iLife, a suite of applications ideal for learning the basics of photo editing, and audio and video editing. We'll use those programs in several classes.

So yes, this photo is real. The only thing odd are the two students in front without computers. Maybe they wandered into the wrong class...