fight for innovation.

No More Blog

2005-02-25T11:39:00.000-05:00

Since I can't figure out how to just delete the whole blog, I'm just not going to post here anymore. Sorry :/

Apple and HD

2005-02-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

It's a couple weeks old, but I still found this article to be pretty interesting. Just goes to show how Apple really is driving the HD revolution!

Oi.

2005-02-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

Training tomorrow.. and of course, this means that I can't mention anything about my job from this point on! Wish me luck!

My iLap

2005-02-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

Apparently, my iLap is ugly. Everyone that sees it cringes.

It keeps my lap cool and protects generations of future Dans from extinction. I love my iLap... so why must everyone be so cruel?

Nude drive-thru, anyone?

2005-02-10T01:39:00.000-05:00

I know it's not Mac-related, but Shel found this on the MacMinute forums anyway. A strip club with a drive-thru, CHEAP! And gosh is it a classy joint, too. What's funny is that I think I actually remember seeing this in the news (as the eBay site is sure to mention) a few years back.

I'm just trying to figure out if it's more of a drive-thru peep show or actual live drive-thru stripping. I mean, I won't bid until I have all the facts. It's just good business sense.

My Bush Post

2005-02-10T01:25:00.000-05:00

I'm a Bush supporter, on good days. I hate reading the transcripts of his non-scripted speeches, though. Because, honestly, how in the world can one man get so disasterously off track? And his Q&A transcripts are even worse! I've lived in Texas, and although they may be slow, being a Texan does not provide anyone a free pass to speak like a ten year-old struggling to explain to their teacher the purpose of the science project that their mom did for them the night before it was due because they're a lazy dumbass and didn't pay attention in class. I just need something to explain this man's severe lack of English language skills. Dyslexia? Laura Bush is too sweet to marry a retard.

With that said, I love debating this whole social security privatization issue, and while I may stand with Bush on this one (God forgive me), I can still laugh at the idiocy of the political strategery behind it all. I found this (second article down, the FAQ) just browsing the blogosphere.. if you haven't seen it already, I hope you can enjoy!

A&E!

2005-02-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else a fan of A&E? I can't get enough of their movies ("Shamus" is on!) and Caesar's 24/7 is as good as reality TV gets. Granted, Murder She Wrote is hard to swallow, but every channel has its weaknesses ;)

More random bits

2005-02-09T14:53:00.000-05:00

So no satellite radio for the iPod. I assume that's no huge surprise. Steve Jobs' philosophy is much less isolationist than in the 80's, but doing any type of potential shared revenue deal seems tough for him to swallow. Anyone have an opinion on that?

I've been reading a lot of post-Superbowl opinions of Jacksonville, and now everyone seems to be able to praise it. It really does just take time to get used to this place. It took me a year to stop hating it. In fact, now I love it. I'm still waiting for my Apple employment info in the mail, but I guess I should have asked Dave (the asst. manager) when exactly to expect it.

My girlfriend just got bitched at by the new management at our apartment complex. She went to put the garbage outside our door and of course there was someone from management standing there. If we do it again, we get fined. You know, it would help if there was a garbage compactor within a 3-mile radius of the building we're in. I'm also supposed to inform my roommate that he should stop throwing his cigarette butts on the ground. This guy is such a moron.. it doesn't take much common sense to know not to throw cigarette butts RIGHT in front of your own door.

Oh! I found my new favorite website. maps.google.com. All vector based.. I scrolled from Jacksonville to Miami without reloading anything! Seems pretty accurate, too. I don't know why it excites me so much.. I showed my girlfriend and there wasn't even a raised eyebrow involved in her reaction.

Oh well.
Happy Chinese New Year!

Don't Buy from Me

2005-02-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

I am possibly the worst eBayer I know of. For the life of me, I just cannot seem to ship internationally without running into wall after wall. Today, for instance, I finally got everything together to ship the stereo to this guy who lives in Canada. I get to the UPS Store and I fill out the shipping form, they package everything up, and get ready to ring me up. "Where's the recipient's phone number?" they ask. I tell them he didn't give me one. "Well we need that or we can't ship it." Great. I knew this too. I've actually had this problem before but it was so long ago, I guess my mind just let it slip. I'm sure I'll try sending it out again, but these things never seem to be my priority. Yeah, that's right, I'm the guy that charges $35 for S&H and gives 2-3 week shipping estimates. eBay should really cancel my account, but nobody ever leaves me enough negative feedback. In fact, my feedback number is actually still positive. It blows my mind.. really.. I laugh about it. I'm laughing about it right now. Please, someone get me suspended. I don't know who's twisted idea it was to sign me up and give me this much responsibility. It must stop.

The last package I sent overseas, which happened to be an Apple Cinema Display, never even GOT to Italy. Or did it. It's still in limbo, and no one even knows where it is. I'm sure it will show up at my door in a few months, beaten and battered, with a "Return to Sender" label slapped on it. No doubt the guy is pissed, and he should be because it was absolutely my fault by screwing up his customs information. I'm just that bad. So, to all you potential international customers, beware of me on eBay. I'm a lazy, bungling idiot and I tend to confuse myself quite a bit. Basically, I'm prone to getting just about anything and everything about your order utterly wrong.

And I won't even give you your money back.

My afternoon entertainment

2005-02-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

Although more people will probably read this on the MacNN forums where I found it, it's still nonetheless amusing. Take a look at the sellers' replies.

I can't believe Kornhesier is still bashing the city. Apparently, it was too "windy" on the river yesterday.. I suppose today it will be too sunny, since it's absolutely beautiful outside. The thing is, no one here would mind his criticism so much if he were actually HERE.

interesting reads

2005-02-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

I think this guy really said what i wanted to in my first blog post. I also read an interesting article today detailing the development of the Ctrl key, specifically how Bill Gates copied the Ctrl + Z/X/C concept from Apple, but only after Apple and Microsoft tried to make everything as incompatible with word processers as possible... or something. Now I'm not one of those people that accuses Gates of stealing everything from Apple.. they both copied each other quite a bit in the past couple decades... all I'm saying is that this was an interesting read (and that I really wish I could find the article now!) I think I found it reading through either the MacNN or MacMinute forums. Hrm.. I'll post the link if I can find it.

Update: found the link here.

Update, Apple Stock, and Errands

2005-02-04T04:04:00.000-05:00

Yeah I know, I'm full of originality. And dont you worry, I've got more where that came from.

Finally got my Powerbook all fixed up.. it's been cooling itself like a champ at last. I never imagined I'd enjoy obnoxious fan noise as much as I do right now. It's bliss. In fact, I really wouldn't mind if it just never turned off again, but I guess then I'd never have battery life. Soo... Whatever.

I saw that Apple's stock took a dive today.. My first reaction was one of sheer joy (serves them right for making me waste a day fixing my PB with no phone support), but then I remembered I actually own quite a bit of AAPL. I assume it's just a little profit taking, and hopefully not because of this moron.

I have so many errands to run tomorrow... I have been constantly overwhelmed this week. I need to start making lists again because I'm getting way too disorganized. Does that help anyone else? I used to stick post-it notes all over my monitor to remind myself to do everything from studying to taking out the garbage. Maybe I just have a one-track mind :\

Powerbook Trouble

2005-02-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

I've been having fan issues with my 12" Powerbook for about a month now.. it just wasn't kicking on when it needed to (ie a lot of I/O activity). I finally got sick of having to set the side panel of my Powermac G5 on my lap and then setting my Powerbook on that to distrubute heat effectively. So, for the past 2 hours, I've been testing out a ton of stuff. First, I ran a hardware test and it kept crashing on the memory test. Usually this means bad RAM, so I took out my 512MB module. Next, I backed up all my files to my iPod (seriously, how EASY is to backup apps on OS X.. I'm loving this). Now I'm waiting on my 2nd fresh install. You see, the first install went smoothly, but I forgot about disk permissions in OS X... basically, when you have about 30 system updates to install, don't do them all at once. I've been so wrapped up in this all night, I forgot this simple step. I rebooted the system and well, it wouldn't boot. But it gets weird here.. I opened up the Disk Utility off of the Restore CD and it found noting to repair. Odd. Still not booting.. so that's where I am now.

I'll update the OS gradually this time.. reboot after each update, etc. When all that's done (before I copy all my files from my iPod this time), I'm going to pop in the RAM and do a hardware check on it again. I'm hoping it's ok because I can't seem to recall WHERE I got the actual RAM from.. I really don't wanna spend 100 bucks on a new stick of it if I don't have to. Ugh.. all this, and I still haven't managed to get that cable out of my car.

I sure hope I'm going about this the right way. This is the first time any Apple product has acted up on me like this and I'm not used to doing any work on anything but PC's. It's a learning experience, that's for sure.

Incompetency in the Car

2005-02-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

I don't understand why I have a mental block when it comes to anything to do with cars. I can assemble and disassemble a computer, even laptops, with very little difficulty. Build a table or desk? No problem. However, uninstalling my aftermarket stereo is a much different tune.

First off, I sold this on eBay without actually removing it from my car beforehand. Yeah, I know. So far, I've gotten the headunit out and I've ripped up the carpet on my passenger side to get some "hideaway breakout box." Thing is, the cable that connects the two units is caught on something behind a few panels and now there are something like six band-aids on various fingers just from attempting to pull off these panels. I think I have splinters from the plastic. Plastic splinters.. from my car. Yeah thats actually a new one. It doesn't help that its thirty degrees outside, but hey, lucky me, because now I won't bleed all over the place since my blood is just turning to ICE instead. Awesome.

My Interview with Apple

2005-02-02T04:24:00.000-05:00

Despite all the rumbling by the sports media about the lack of, well, everything in this town, at least Apple is doing its part by opening up a retail store in the new St. John's Town Center here. When I first discovered Apple had plans to open a store in Jax (what residents refer to the city as), I was very excited. Exuberant really. I checked the Apple jobs page every hour, every day. Yeah, it was ridiculous. Eventually, the jobs for the new store appeared. I applied, and on Monday I had an interview with the lovely Amy Beskar and one of her assistant managers. Apparently Amy is transferring from the Mall of America store.. I'm assuming that's a pretty well-established location? The interviews were taking place over two days at the Marriott off Salisbury Road... I hadn't been there before so I left about 30 minutes early, even though the Mariott is apparently only 2 miles from my apartment. It was easier to find than I thought and I got there with 20 minutes to spare. I don't particularly like waiting around in lobbies, so I decided to sit in my car, listen to The Shore on my iPod and snack on a Snickers marathon bar to kill time.

The recruiter (whom you deal with to set up your interview) told me someone would be waiting for me in the lobby and just to look for them (apparently, they'd even be wearing something Apple-related so I couldn't miss them!). Right. Well, first off, it turns out this Marriott has two "lobbies." One lobby was on the other side of the hotel and was really nothing more than a bus ramp. The REAL lobby.. you know, where people actually check in to the hotel, is where I decided to park myself in a rather comfortable chair while I waited for some maniacal Apple manager in a flaming orange Apple shirt and iBook in hand to pop out from behind a table. I don't know, I had my ideas. I waited until 2:35 to get nervous. I saw no one other than hotel staff on my end. However, at the other end of the hotel, I could see throngs of people boarding buses for some NFL Super Bowl Experience deal. The only activity I saw were volunteers in matching red parkas and baseball caps frantically ushering everyone on and off their prospective buses. It was crowded, and Apple couldn't possibly be hosting interviews over there. Way too busy. Right? Whatever. I quickly tire of smiling at every person that walks by me in hopes of meeting my interviewer; I was right next to the restroom and a lot these people probably felt a little uncomfortable with me sitting in front of it grinning at them as they came in and out. So I decided to take a break and look at the Super Bowl Media Guide sitting on the table beside me. I remember really liking Tampa Bay's Super Bowl rings best of all. And apparently the 80's was a dull decade for the NFL's championship game... Whatever. I checked my watch. It was 2:45. I'm frantic. I finally decide to go look for the Apple staff. I'm thinking that I can't possibly be this much of a moron... if it hadn't have been for the recruiter's instructions, I would have sought out the conference room these guys were in immediately. Right? I mean, the list of the hotel's events is sitting right beside me. Apple Computer. San Jose Room. 8am-5pm. Yes, of course it's the recruiter's fault. Shit am I late or what.

I find the conference room they're in. It's 3:05. The assistant manager peeks out the door and asks who I am. I'm Dan..uhm..uhm.. Lewis. Yep, I even screwed up my own name. This is going REAL well. They actually apologize to me... apparently the assistant manager had seen me at the other end of the lobby but I guess he didn't think I was the 2:30 appointment.. you know, since I wasn't even remotely close to where I was supposed to be or anything.

I don't think I've ever stumbled through an interview like that in my life. I was so nervous, and all the waiting and panicking in general didn't add much placidity to my state of mind. Working for Apple is a dream for me, and all I could do was crack jokes. Nervous habit. Rely on your humor, Dan. Except I had nothing to offer this time. The jokes weren't even top notch. I mean, I swear I think I even tried bribing them with free Super Bowl tickets. I can't remember if they even cracked a smile at that one. Not that I didn't make them laugh at all.. I'm a funny guy, but I think I came off more... I don't know.. strung out/hyper/rush this guy some methadone, than say, congenial. Likeable. Hirable. At least I remembered to put my resume/app/release in a folder. Which reminds me of an exchange I had with Amy that went something like this:

Me: Here you are (handing folder to Amy).
Amy: Wow.. I had an assistant manager once that would have hired you on the spot just for having this stuff in a folder!
Me: Damn, why can't you be her!
Them: SILENCE. ABSOLUTE SILENCE.

Tough crowd.

I do want to add that the Apple management team was VERY nice.. just the kind of people you'd really want to work for. Very down to earth and incredibly forgiving I'll say. I would love to have an opportunity to work for Amy Beskar. In fact, I hope she somehow reads this and laughs about that day at the Mariott. And then she hires me. And gives me a free Powerbook G5.

Apple Stores show zero availability of Mac mini, iPod shuffle

2005-02-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

From MacMinute:

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that Apple retail stores are having a very hard time keeping up with demand for the new Mac mini and iPod shuffle. In a survey of all 98 U.S. Apple Stores, Munster said he found "virtually no supply" of the new products, with only three Mac mini units and zero iPod shuffles. "We believe initial demand for the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle has exceeded what Apple had been expecting," the analyst said in a research note to clients Monday. Munster reported that the average waiting list per store for the Mac mini was 18 people, while the average wait for the iPod shuffle per store was 120 customers.

I don't understand why Steve Jobs still thinks that intentionally bottlenecking initial supply is actually a sound market strategy. Just give em what they want, Steve. There's no need to try to simulate real demand. IT'S THERE!

To begin..

2005-02-01T17:11:00.000-05:00

Despite what the URL of this blog may read, I am a very open-minded guy. I've been using PC's since I was a kid. My first computer was a Commodore 64. My second was an Amiga, and let me say now that James Pond will always hold a place in my heart. My first home-built computer was a 66-mhz beige beast; it had an LCD display proudly displaying its clock speed. Oh, how Aces of the Pacific FLEW on that thing. I can remember my first Packard Bell, how I loved to play around in DOS (and how many times I had to format the HD because of it ;) How many hours lost on AOL waiting on my 14.4 modem can probably never be calculated. But I didn't care. Computers were constantly changing, evolving, and they were just so much FUN! These were the days before widespread viruses, spyware, and of course, email spam. These were the days of intense competition, when companies like Microsoft and Apple BOTH innovated. Computers were opening new doors and expanding old horizons; it was an amazing time to grow up.

Believe it or not, my first Mac experience wasn't until 2004. Yes, last year. I finally got sick of all the trash that was spewing out of my Dell PC and bought a G4 Aluminum Powerbook. I had always pined for a laptop, and I figured I'd give Apple a try.. I could always ship it back if OS X proved to be too daunting for a lifelong Windows user.

Well, folks, it wasn't daunting. Not in the least bit. It was refreshing! Transformational! OK, a bit over the top, but when I figured out how to use my 5-button mouse with Expose, I was so excited I seriously invited three friends over just to show them. Personal triumphs and OS X's fluffs aside, it's functionality is parallelled only by XP Pro in the Windows world. Honestly though, who out there is wetting their pants using XP each day?

Using a Mac is an experience unto itself. Every time I talk to another "switcher," one thing always agreed upon is the wish that we had given Apple a chance sooner (ie the introduction of OS X). Personally, I love bleeding edge technology, and I salivate over terms like multicore and hypertransport; what I'm realizing however, is that people like me aren't the majority, something Apple realized long before I. Most people just need something functional for their needs: Check their email, stocks, upload pictures, write their life away in Word. Plus, with everything being so internet-centric now, your internet connection is just as important as your processor. Apple sees where its new "niche" is. Isn't that what Apple caters to best? Niche markets... Right! But this is no niche at all; Apple has created the iPod for the computer world with the Mac Mini. Sure, it's clearly form over function to some degree but it's perfect for its intended market. Best of all, people are enthusiastic because they have a viable choice again. No matter what age you are, innovation has and always will be exciting. It's a simple truth of life. So, why is Apple the most influential brand of the year? No, it's not just the iPod "fad" Mr. Rollins. It's simply INNOVATION. Apple has seeded a revolution here.

You see, computers aren't just functional, they're FUN again.