Taxman: The Blog

Vintage Mac Update: Doing the Wash

2011-12-11T15:11:00.001-06:00

The sound on my Mac Classic doesn't work and my hard drive is no longer recognized by the machine. I think the hard drive issue might be due to a loose ribbon cable connecting the drive to the motherboard. The sound issue is likely due to leaking capacitors on the mother board (see post on Leaky Caps).

Today, I had a little free time, so I decided to open up the Mac Classic and check out what was inside. My first challenge in doing so was that I didn't have a Torx T15 screwdriver that was long enough to loosen the screws in the top of the case inside the handle. Therefore, a trip to Sears was in order to buy the Craftsman 6" Torx screw driver part # 48171 for $6.99. My local Sears had the item in stock so I was in and out in a flash. (That's important to me because I hate going to the mall!).

I was scared to open the Mac Classic because it has an old-school CRT inside. CRT's potentially retain high voltage that might kill you. I encourage you to search this topic and be knowledgeable before you root around inside the Mac. Don't do it just because I did! After researching the subject, I rightly or wrongly concluded that I could remove the motherboard without killing myself.

Flickr photo credit: markltb

When I pulled the motherboard out of the Mac, it actually looked pretty clean. The PRAM battery was dead as I mentioned in a previous post. How did I know this? The clock doesn't remember the time and the Mac doesn't remember any settings. That's how you know. Fortunately, the battery (1/2 AA size) hadn't leaked or become corroded. Still, I pulled it out to be safe. I'll order another online if I can get the Mac working otherwise.

Several websites recommend that you remove all the old capacitors from the motherboard and replace them with new ones made from a different material that doesn't contain liquid. You can find several websites discussing this. Others have suggested that the Mac starts working again if you give the motherboard a good cleaning. Some people suggest putting the motherboard in an empty dishwasher (without detergent and without using the dry cycle). I didn't see my wife going for this, so I opted to immerse the board in some warm water with a little dish soap and used an old toothbrush to clean around the capacitors. I am now drying the board thoroughly before I put it back into the Mac. I dried it first with a paper towel, then used the blow dryer and now I have it propped up in front of a fan.

I'll report back on how it works!

Links: Washing memory board, Bringing a Zebra Motherboard Back to Life, Repairing a Macintosh SE/30 with No Sound

UPDATE: As much as I hoped my Mac Classic would start from the hard drive with a resounding beep, that didn't happen. In fact, there was no change. I get some sound when I plug a speaker into the 3.5 mm jack on the back of the Mac but nothing from the speaker itself. I can live without sound. It's not like the Mac Classic will run iTunes! But, swapping floppies is the reason hard drives were invented. I'm going to look for a replacement hard drive for the Mac Classic.

Here they are: your 2011 international Santas!

2011-12-07T21:35:00.001-06:00

Each year, dozens of Santas from around the globe gather on this piano to signal the start of another Christmas season. No one remembers exactly when this phenomenon began or why the sentimental Santas choose to gather on this particular piano, although some suggest that it is has something to do with the fact that this piano is rarely played.

As the Santas line up for their annual group photo, this year's line up features USA Santa, representing the host country for the annual event. Also featured this year are Italian Santa (because the piano owner is Italian), Irish Santa (because the lady of the house claims to be Irish), French Santa (because we once visited Paris), Greek Santa (because I'm worried the Greeks aren't having a very good Christmas), and Spain Santa (which is actually the three wise men - how cool is that!)

In addition to the featured Santas, there are several very interesting Santa interpretations. Several different means of transportation are used from boats to donkeys. Some are even women.

The global Santas wish everyone a Merry Christmas and peace and prosperity in the new year.

Vintage Mac: Leaky Caps

2011-11-26T14:56:00.001-06:00

Owning an old Mac is complicated. I was prepared for the software side of things. I was even prepared for hardware compromises and incompatibility in my quest to use a Mac Classic in 2011. What I hadn't considered is the physical deterioration of old electronics after 27 years. Now that I've had an opportunity to become acquainted with my Mac Classic, I'm discovering that things aren't working all that well.

One obstacle is that my hard drive is only recognized periodically. Whenever I first remove the Classic from its bag and boot it up, I get prompted to enter a floppy with a system disk. After the system boots from the floppy the hard disk still isn't recognized. Yet, after several restarts or passage of time (I'm not sure which) the hard drive suddenly reappears and tests out with no errors. I am not sure why I'm experiencing this behavior. It wasn't doing this when I first got the Classic. It started after I re-initialized the hard disk and installed System 6.0.8 instead of System 7.1 that it came with.

Another problem is that the PRAM battery is dead so it doesn't remember settings. I can buy a new battery so that's not a major problem. A third more serious issue is that I have no sound. I didn't even notice it at first and it wouldn't be that big of a deal except that it is a symptom of leaky capacitors on the motherboard. Some people suggest removing the leaky capacitors and replacing them. That process requires a steady hand and quite a bit of soldering. That's a skill I don't have. I never realized that these electronic components fail with age. Another potential solution to the problem is to wash the motherboard in the dishwasher! It sounds crazy but people say that washing the gunk from the leaky capacitors off the motherboard fixes sound and video problems the leaking causes. I'm hesitant to open up the Classic to remove the motherboard, however, because the CRT contains high voltage. It's just not worth it for me to get electrocuted so I can play with an old Mac. I'm just not confident that I know what I'm doing to risk it. I've already learned a lot from this process. A big lesson is that if you want to work with vintage computers you need to be comfortable taking them apart and soldering.

Printing on Vintage Mac

2011-11-19T14:32:00.001-06:00

I have a Mac Classic but I don't have a vintage printer. since word processing is what my Classic does best, I need a way to create output. One way of doing that is to save documents as RTF, transfer them on a Floppy to my MacBook Air and print them by launching Word on the Air. But, With some Googling, I found another way. On the Classic, I selected LaserWriter as my printer using Chooser control panel. Next, I print on the Classic using the normal print function for my Classic application. When the print dialogue pops up, choose print to postscript file. Next save the postscript file to a floppy. My Air can read from but not write to a diskette formatted on the Classic. I can copy the postscript file to my Air from the floppy. If I add an EPS extension to the postscript file, it will open with Preview when I double click on the file after an automatic conversion to a PDF. As the final step, I can either keep the output as a PDF or I can print it to any printer that is accessible to my Air. I realize not everyone will go to this much trouble just to use a vintage Mac, but I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane.

I Take on a Vintage Mac

2011-11-13T10:28:00.001-06:00

My New (to me) Mac

I've been thinking about getting a vintage Macintosh computer after starting to read Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. I came to the Mac with the introduction of the colored iMacs. I bought my first Mac because I was moving my family to Canada for work, and my teen daughter wanted me to buy one of those cool green iMacs for her to use for school work. It was my first time to get hands-on with a Mac for any period of time though I worked at Peat Marwick which used Macs in its audit department. I liked that first mac so much, I decided to buy a blueberry iMac for me. From that moment, I was hooked! A steady stream of iBooks and Powerbooks followed. When I started my own CPA firm in 2005, I decided to go all Mac hardware, outfitting the office with iMacs and Mac Minis, even a Mac Mini server. Yet, I missed those first Macintoshes.

As I read the Steve Jobs biography, it dawned on me that I could probably find an inexpensive classic Mac on eBay for a nominal price. So, I started to check out the auctions in the vintage computing section of eBay. I guess I wasn't the only one who got energized about vintage Macs by reading the Jobs biography. Either the Macs were being sold for parts or working systems were being priced at hundreds of dollars as collectibles. I bid in several auctions only to have them get out of control in the waning seconds.

I was so close to buying an SE 30, the high point of the compact Mac line this morning. I had been sitting on a winning bid of $202.50 and my maximum bid was $261.50. With $35 shipping, I realized I was overpaying for computers that probably most often end up in garage sales or being dumped at Goodwill. But, I wanted it. The final price on that Mac, set in the last seconds was $355. The other auctions I've been watching for this particular model were "buy it now" listings at $349 and $499. No way I was paying that much!

On Facebook and Twitter, I posted messages asking if any of my friends had old Macs that they would consider selling me. After all, I belong to the Apple Corps of Dallas, the oldest MUG in the world. Surely, there were packrats among this group of Mac super fans. As luck would have it, the monthly meeting of the ACD was this morning. I haven't been to a meeting in probably a year, but the program by HP on their ePrint capabilities sounded interesting, and I thought I could make my plea at the meeting. To my surprise and undying appreciation, an ACD approached me at the meeting and said that he had seen my post on Facebook. He'd gone up to his attic, found his old Macintosh Classic, and brought it to the meeting. He gave it to me! Gave it! How awesome is that!

About the Mac Classic

According to lowendmac.com, the Mac Classic was the white Macbook of its day, the first Mac to be introduced for less than $1,000. Released in October 1990, the Classic in its most basic configuration came with an 8 MHz 68000 CPU, 1 MB RAM, a SuperDrive (1.44 MB Floppy to you and me), and a space to mount an internal SCSI hard drive. The upgraded Classic came with 2MB memory and a 40MB hard drive. My classic has the 40MB hard drive and was apparently upgraded to sport 4MB RAM. Keep in mind, I'm talking megabytes, not gigabytes of RAM and hard disk space. One feature that is unique about the Classic is that it contained a "secret" ROM based boot up to System 6.0.8 that can be accessed during startup by pressing Option-Command-X-O.

Lowendmac.com calls the Classic a "compromised Mac" because of its pokey 8 Mhz processor. The website applemuseum.bott.org notes that the case, processor and basic configuration of the Classic are the same as the original compact Mac models. The website calls the Classic a slightly faster Mac Plus with a different name. This Mac was introduced after the SE 30, the zenith of the compact macs. In contrast to the Classic, the SE 30 had a 16 Mhz processor and buss, based upon the upgraded 68030 Motorola chip. According to applemuseum.bott.org, Apple somewhat hastily issued the Classic in response to criticism that Macs cost too much (sound familiar?), but the public didn't like Apple's solution of cutting specs. As a result, the company discontinued the Classic a year later and replaced it with a more robust Classic II. Still, it was clear by this time that Apple and perhaps the public had lost enthusiasm for the compact Mac form factor. The Classic and Classic II were making way for the Performa line with separate color monitors and CPU consoles. The last of the Compact Macs would be positioned at the bottom of the Apple food chain.

My Classic is running System 7.1 operating system. According to MacTracker (an iPhone app that tells these things), the Classic originally shipped with either System 6.0.6 or 6.0.7. The Mac also contained Microsoft Works 3.0 (upon which I started typing this document), AOL (ack!) and another communication program called First Class (the ACD bulletin board used to run on that application as I recall). I promptly deleted AOL and First Class to free up drive space. Cosmetically, the Mac is in really nice condition and David included a keyboard and mouse. The Classic isn't the Mac I was planning to buy on eBay, but as a free Mac, I'm going to give it a go.

Setting up My Mac

Even though my Mac was in use before the Internet became popular, there are awesome online resources maintained by vintage Mac enthusiasts. Lowendmac.com is one such resource, with specs of old Macs, plus numerous articles about setting up and using vintage Macs of all types. Another website called System 6 Heaven (euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html) makes the case that Macs using the 6800 chip run much faster on System 6.0.8 than with system 7. An article on lowendmac.com ("Which System Software is Best for My Vintage Mac?") also suggested using System 6.0.8 on the Classic. Since my Classic was unbearably slow with System 7.1, I thought I would give System 6 a try, but how?

At this point, my main method of moving files on to and off the Classic are by 1.4MB floppy disks. The Classic doesn't have an Ethernet port or a wireless card. There are some ways to connect a Classic to a network but I don't have the appropriate hardware to implement such a connection at this time. I found some old forgotten floppies in a drawer and I have a USB floppy drive that I purchased long ago and stuffed into another drawer. My Classic has the 1.4MB "superdrive" (ha!) whereas the original Macs used 800K floppies that modern computers can't read. Unfortunately, my main computer is a MacBook Air with OS X 10.7 installed. If I initialize a floppy disk on the Classic, The Air will read it but can't write to it. Floppies that I initialize on the Air are apparently unreadable on the Classic (even if I choose FAT format). There went my master plan up in smoke! Thankfully, I still had a Titanium Powerbook G4 in the closet with OS 9.2 installed. Since the TiBook has wireless card, ethernet, and USB connections, I can move files to the TiBook from my Air and then swap floppies between the TiBook and the Classic. I'm starting to see why people either have no old Macs or a bunch of them. It apparently takes a village of vintage hardware to move files back and forth between the ages. It starts sounding like a "how many people does it take to change a light bulb" joke.

I found System 6.0.8 via a link posted on System 6 Heaven pointing to Apple.com, where apparently downloads of several different legacy versions of the Mac OS can be had for free. To install system 6.0.8, I had to download the .sit files from Apple and decompress them using the free Stuffit Expander. The .sit file contained disk image files for the various versions of System 6 install disks. On my TiBook, I could mount the floppy disk images using a utility called Disk Copy and copy the files from the mounted disk image to freshly formatted 1.4MB floppy disks. System 6.0.8 fits entirely on two such floppies. I was concerned that my floppies wouldn't be bootable on the Classic since I would need to start the Mac from the floppy to re-initialize the hard drive and install the older operating system. But, unlike Windows computers, creating a boot disk on a Mac doesn't require any special formatting or copy procedure. I put Disk 1 in my Classic and restarted it. I had to put my finger over the drive slot so that the Classic wouldn't eject the disk during startup. The utility to initialize the Classic's hard drive is included on the floppy. I ran that utility first and then clicked on the installer. I few minutes later, Iwas running System 6.0.8. The web site was right. System 6 is way faster on the Classic than 7.1.

The system installation wiped out the one piece of software that was installed on my Mac, Microsoft Works 3.0. So, I needed to find some applications to install on my Classic via the floppy disk shuffle. I found links to multiple applications on 68k.preterhuman.net. Right now, I'm using an early version of Clarisworks (which was later named Appleworks) instead of Microsoft Works.

What next?

I am enjoying using the Classic as a writing tool and as a tangible history lesson of early computing. I plan to do more tinkering to see if I can come up with a better way to exchange files between my Classic and other Macs. I don't recommend that anyone give up a modern computer for a vintage Mac. But, as a lesson about what was and what is now, getting hands-on with a working vintage Mac really makes the point better than reading a history book.

I dig my Scott Evest button-down shirt but...

2011-10-28T11:24:00.002-05:00

I ordered the really cool blueberry pinstripe button down shirt from Scott Evest and I really like it. I've worn it twice already and I plan to get more. The fit and finish is very professional. My only beef was the logo that is printed on the sleeve cuff, not something I like seeing on a dress shirt I'm wearing to a business meeting. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels that way. I got an email from the company saying that they were rethinking the branding on this piece.

I love the shirt and I'm sure it will be in heavy rotation, but there are a couple of nits. One, is that it may not make sense as travel clothing. It's one thing to have a jacket with a bunch of pockets when flying that I can put on the belt when I walk through TSA screening. It's another thing to have my shirt pockets loaded up with goodies. I can't exactly take off my shirt. Another thing is that while it's machine washable, it didn't come out of the dryer ready to wear. Even after ironing, it doesn't look like the shirts I typically wear to work. So, this week I took it to the cleaners. They say they'll have to treat it like a dry clean shirt because the extra pockets and such. So, there are some peculiarities to getting into the business wear market that differ a bit from the athletic and travel wear.

Still, I love the shirt, and I've become a Scott Evest junkie. Time to put on my essential travel jacket and get some lunch!

Dang! The Economy is Growing After All

2011-10-28T08:52:00.001-05:00

I'm catching up on my news this morning reading the paper edition of the Wall Street Journal. I'm a digital guy, but I still love to lean back in my office chair in the quiet of my office on a Friday morning and actually flip through the pages of the Wall Street Journal.

"Recession Fears Recede As Economy Grows 2.5%" is an article in the October 28, 2011 print edition. Authors Josh Mitchell and Sara Murray say that the economic growth is quick enough to blunt fears that the US is about to plunge into recession again but not fast enough to signal that that halting recovery is about to get on a roll. The authors quote Justin Wolfers, an economist at the Wharton School, "If the economy grew at this rate forever, the unemployment rate wouldn't fall." So 2.5% better but still not good enough.

Consumers are spending but not saving, an unsustainable situation (but hardly anything new). Companies are more willing to spend on equipment than on people. Yet, isn't that what Congress is promoting with tax incentives? You get to write off 100% of new equipment, but there's no comparable tax benefit for investing in new jobs [my comment not the authors].

As year-end approaches, consider the future of your small business. Tax incentives favor buying new equipment or spending on starting up a new business this year over next. Consumers are spending money, so position your business to capture some of that spend. Be bold in promoting your brand and position your business to be a winner as the economy rebounds. Hire somebody if you can, even if only part time or contract. Get that stuff done that you've been putting off. Let's get this economy moving in the right direction (up) again.

And have a great day!

$3 Free Cats

2011-09-25T15:47:00.003-05:00

I had a chance to sit down with GarageBand this morning and create an arrangement for my original song, "$3 Free Cats". As the song says, I saw this sign out in front of a vet's office near my house for several weeks and it always made me laugh that they were charging $3 for "free cats". I created the song first in Band in a Box and then exported the song as MIDI to GarageBand. In GarageBand, I saved only the drums and organ. I recorded my own bass, guitar, vocals, and backup vocals. This is about as close as my skills will allow me to get to the song I heard in my head. I hope you enjoy and share with a friend!

Here's the YouTube link

Taking a Brake

2011-09-16T09:18:00.001-05:00

That's right. A brake. Today, I'm taking a day off from taxes and accounting and enjoying the lake with my bride. We enjoyed a long walk among the pines with cool crisp weather. The ground was still damp from the half inch of rain that fell last night, a much needed respite from the prolonged drought that has plagued this area. It feels like 100 degree days are behind us. I sure hope more rain is in our future. Enjoy your weekend. Like my other CPA friends, I'll be gearing up for that final push that is the 10/17 deadline.

New song Idea #2: "Too Cold for Flip Flops"

2011-09-07T07:19:00.000-05:00

Too Cold for Flip Flops
by Bill Miranda
All rights reserved.

Lately the weather's
Been predictably hot
Always the same thing
Like it or not
But now there's this new thing
And it's making me blue
It's too cold for flip flops
But I don't want to wear shoes

I've got dogs that need walking
Every day
I put on my flip flops
And we're on our way
But all that is changing
I don't know what to do
It's too cold for flip flops
But I don't want to wear shoes

If it's too cold for flip flops
It's too cold for me
I've got nothing in common
With winter, you see

There's football on TV
There's a chill in the air
But if it's too cold for flip flops
Then what do I care

Cuz if it's too cold for flip flops
Then it's too cold for me
I've got nothing in common
With Winter, you see

Song idea: "$3 Free Cats"

2011-09-03T11:04:00.000-05:00

"$3 Free Cats"

[Note: I'm thinking electric blues feel...]

I'm driving home from the office today
I pass a vet's office on my way
Out in front, there's a sign in the yard
As the light changes, I study it hard

It says,"Free Cats. Inquire within."
Then there's $3 tacked on the end.
I read it twice before the light turns green.
You gotta pay $3 to join the free cat scene.

I get on home and I ask my wife
If she'd heard of free cats that cost $3 to buy
She said she'd always thought that free meant free
That's the way life's supposed to be.
I said maybe so but it ain't no more
You gotta pay $3 if you expect to score.

Free Cats. Inquire within.
But you gotta have money if you expect to get in.
$3 free cats is what we sell
If you don't have $3 you can go to... well,

I decided to pass on the free cat deal
I've got my $3 but it's how I feel.
If something is free, you shouldn't have to spend
That's the message that I want to send.
I'm happy living in my cat-free zone
With no free cats invading my home.

Free Cats. Inquire within.
But you gotta have money if you expect to get in.
$3 free cats is what we got
The sign is still there so they must have a lot.

Drive My Car - Ukulele Cover

2011-07-28T07:29:00.001-05:00

This video works fine on my computer but when I upload it to youtube and to my blog, the audio and video get out of sync. I'll have to research what to do about it. Any thoughts? In the meantime, I hope you enjoy listening anyway.

To the Cloud!

2011-07-21T17:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, my firm launched a virtual server with Cloud9 Real Time. I've been hosting QuickBooks desktop software with them for about a year. That solution worked well for me, my staff and my clients, but we were still using a variety of other tools and I was still having to maintain a server in my office. Recently, I made the decision to move all of my Windows applications and client data to a dedicated virtual server with Cloud9. This will help my firm in several ways:

1. Provide a consistent user platform for all my firm users whether they are working in or out of the office and whether they use a PC, a Mac, or even a Linux computer.

2. Consolidate all of my client data on a secure dedicated server with rigorous backups and contingency planning to minimize service disruption.

3. Create an environment that can be customized for interaction with specific clients as we continue to grow.

Some of my users will continue using the cloud as they did the shared environment. They can log in via a browser and see an "e-dashboard" to launch their QuickBooks files:

For the rest of us, who need to access multiple applications and interact more directly with client data for multiple clients, we will login via Microsoft Remote Desktop Connect (for Mac or Windows). This provides a virtual computing environment that looks like a rather homely but familiar Windows desktop:

We are just getting familiar with our new work environment and how we will modify our workflows to accommodate it. I'd love to hear how other CPA firms and businesses are going to the cloud. I'll post more as we get up and running.

Psycho Killer - The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - BBC Proms

2011-06-30T08:44:00.002-05:00

If you think of "Psycho Killer" as the definitive ukulele song (and if you don't maybe you should), this version by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is outstanding! I've got a fever. Ukulele fever! (sorry cowbell fans) Catch it!

Ukuleles are Fun!

2011-06-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my wife informed me that my Father's Day gift was going to be a ukulele and that I needed to help her figure out what to get. We did some online shopping but along the way discovered an awesome store in Dallas that sells ukuleles -- The Uke Lady Store.

They made the shopping experience so much fun. Clearly, they have a passion for ukuleles and this got me excited about my gift. I've had so much fun with my uke since I got it. One thing you have to do if you live in Dallas and have a uke is discover the Dallas Ukulele Headquarters (DUH!) - a resource for knowledge and meeting up with fellow ukulele enthusiasts. As they say in DUH, "without U it's just a kulele".

There's lots of great ukulele websites where you can find Ukulele tabs and lessons. Plus, there's a trove of ukulele material on Youtube. I'm just learning the uke but here's a little recording I made last night:

There's no time like summer to discover the ukulele!

Yes I'm married to iOS: But only for my Tablet

2011-02-19T11:23:00.001-06:00

Me and the Blackberry have had a long term on-again off-again sort of thing. My first Blackberry was one that looked like an old-school pager (model 900?). For its time it was a magical device. Then, I had one with black LCD screen in a format that looked more like the Curve. My current Blackberry is the Bold 9000.

I'm currently using my iPhone 4 SIM in it (with a plastic adapter I bought on the i-net from Germany). One thing I've decided about tablets is that if you have one, the app experience (whether iOS or Android) is so much better than what it is on the smaller phone screen. As a consequence, do I really want my phone to be a smaller mini-me version of my tablet? I don't think so!

Rather, I think my phone should specialize in different tasks than my tablet, like texting, email, quick posts on Facebook or Twitter, and God forbid, an actual phone call!

To that end, my favorite specialized phone-calling, data entering device is.... the Blackberry. With all respect to Steve Jobs, a real keyboard is loads better than a touch screen facsimile of same. And, the Blackberry keyboard is the best! Full QWERTY, lots of keyboard shortcuts. It's just the best.

The Blackberry Bold 9000, though a bit long in the tooth in so many other ways, has the best of the best of the Blackberry keyboards.

I know, the iPhone and Android have left RIM in the dark ages when it comes to things that phones can do, but if this Tablet thing catches on, my prediction is that people might (and I say might) rediscover the joy of the real freakin' keyboard on their phone and return to the Blackberry as a companion to their Android or iOS tablet. I love gadgets of all stripes and I'm not faithful to any one phone platform (as my SIM switching ways will clearly show) but consider that we are leaving the world of convergence. We aren't trying to cram every last function into our smartphones because we have a tablet for that and because we are getting older and can't see all that tiny stuff on our tiny screens!

I'd welcome your thoughts on this subject. That's my 2 cents.

I'm Married to iOS. I only Fool Around with Android

2011-02-11T18:30:00.000-06:00

This tweet about sums up my try to walk away from the iPad into the waiting arms (? this analogy is starting to break down) of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and its Android ways. The Internet is clogged with people batting about whether the iPad is all that, but for me the answer is clear. I love my iPad. As much as I liked the 7" form factor of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I like my iOS apps more: Netflix, Hulu Plus, for example. I don't use them all the time but when I want to watch a show, I want to watch a show. My AT&T voicemail at the office has a great app for iOS, but no Android app. Music creation? There are tons of interesting music instrument apps that I enjoy playing around with. Android? not so much. Flipboard for the iPad is an awesome way to view content. No such app for Android.

Sure, for web browsing, Twitter, Facebook (Android wins on Facebook, actually), e-book reading, and e-mail, I enjoyed one platform just as much as the other. I'd even go so far as to say that these activities are better on the Tab because I love the 7" size.

What about the fact that the tab can play Flash video? Flash works so poorly on Android devices that Apple fans aren't missing out on much there.

The bottom line for me is that I can bear to part with the Galaxy Tab and use only the iPad. I can say with certainty that I could not personally give up the iPad and go it alone with the Galaxy Tab.

So, the Galaxy Tab went back to the Sprint store today. As a final note, the Sprint store rep was very pleasant to to deal with. I was dreading the return process. Turns out there was no reason for concern. The return was fast, friendly, and there were no hassles. I'd do business with them again.

I'll always remember those two weeks with an Android tablet, but I'm married to iOS.

My Favorite Ride is Back in My Drive

2011-01-22T15:59:00.002-06:00

We recently purchased a more up-to-date used car for my youngest daughter to drive back and forth to college, so my 2002 BMW 325i is once again back in my drive way and I have the keys! This is my favorite car of all times and it has survived being driven by both of my kids. The only body work resulted from a bad hail storm several years ago.

This car is just so fun to drive! Plus, today I just resolved one of my biggest complaints about having such an old ride. I love satellite radio (Sirius), plus I wanted to connect my phone for hands-free communication via bluetooth. The 2002 BMW was also not equipped with an AUX jack to play music from an iPod or other MP3 device. We went for years burning CDs and listening to boring old FM radio, but no longer.

After researching the matter on BMW forums, I discovered the Mediabridge from Dice Electronics.

I found several good installation step-by-step posts online. Here's one. There are also numerous Youtube videos if you search under "Dice mediabridge" about how to install it in your E46 BMW. What I love about this device is that it attaches to the CD changer port on your factory BMW radio. It comes with a long cable that you can run from the trunk to behind your glove box where the mediabridge hides. I was also able to add the Sirius SCC1 direct connect radio (another similar size box) to the Mediabridge.

Everything is hidden away and looks like factory install. Sirius radio, BT, USB, AUX can all be selected by pressing the MODE button on the radio. The radio controls and steering wheel controls all work with the device and with my iPhone 4 to select tracks, playlists, artists, etc. Plus, the factory radio displays the track information. Mediabridge gives audio cues as to what device has been selected and tells you the name of the Sirius station that is playing before it starts playing it.

When you pair your phone to bluetooth, the music on my iphone can stream to my car stereo wirelessly via bluetooth and I can still change tracks with my steering wheel. Alternatively, I can connect my iPhone via USB cable for charging and playback through USB. Sound quality is very good too. This device has really pimped out my ride. I'm very excited about it!

Dice makes similar devices for other makes and models of cars besides BMW. If you're missing satellite radio and bluetooth in your ride, check out Dice. I ordered both the Dice Mediabridge and the Sirius SCC1 module from Amazon. The whole kit was right at $300. It took me about 2 hours to do the installation.

Google Chrome Blog: Keep calm and carry on: Chrome notebook

2010-12-11T11:43:00.002-06:00

Google Chrome Blog: Keep calm and carry on: Chrome notebook

I love this Youtube video that Google made to show off how you won't lose your data while working in the cloud.

As Seen on TV? No, but I'm in a magazine!

2010-11-30T09:10:00.001-06:00

I'm really excited about being featured in the December issue of CPA Technology Advisor magazine for use of technology in my small accounting firm. This was so much fun to do, and I really appreciate that they ran the article. Like you, I'm a practitioner trying to figure out how to use all these tools to grow my business and leverage my time. I've made lots of mistakes along the way, but the fun is in trying new things. I hope you enjoy the article. Small is the new big!

Is your Blog or Website a Business or a Hobby?

2010-11-15T11:57:00.000-06:00

Many of you have taken time to read my post about Google ad revenue being considered self-employment income and the need to report that income on your personal income tax return on Schedule C (IRS tax form) for income from a trade or business. On Schedule C, you may claim expenses related to this income to reduce both the income tax and self-employment tax.

While your expenses may be claimed to offset your blogging or website revenue to zero, you may experience a situation where your expenses exceed your revenue, resulting in a business loss. Ordinarily, business losses may be claimed as an offset to other income on your personal income tax return, such as wages, interest and dividends, or retirement income. However, if a loss is attributable to an activity not engaged in for profit, the loss is not allowed as a deduction against other income. The IRS and tax practitioners refer to this limitation as the "hobby loss" rule.

There is a presumption in the US tax law that an activity is presumed to be engaged in for profit if gross income is greater than expenses for 3 out of 5 consecutive tax years. Just because you meet the presumption, you are not necessarily free from challenge by the IRS if you have small profits in the 3 out of 5 years compared to large losses in the other 2 years.

You are not necessarily dead in the water if you can't meet the 3 out of 5 year test. If you claim business losses on your tax return in more than 2 out of 5 years, you don't submit any extra paperwork with the return you file your tax return, but if you get audited by IRS, you will need to be able to prove by facts and circumstances that your blog or website is a business activity that is engaged in for profit.

Some of the factors that get considered in determining whether you have a business or a hobby are:

Whether the activity is conducted by the taxpayer in a business-like manner.
Whether the taxpayer has the appropriate expertise to conduct the activity.
The amount of time and effort spent by the taxpayer in carrying out the activity.
Whether assets used in the activity are expected to appreciate in value.
The taxpayer's success in other activities.
The taxpayer's history of income and loss from the activity.
The amount of any occasional profits from the activity.
The financial status of the taxpayer.
Elements of a personal pleasure or recreation in the activity.

Referring to your activity as a "labor of love" or a "hobby" is probably not a good fact.

Hobby losses aren't the only hurdle you'll have to jump through to claim business losses against other income. There are also at-risk rules and passive activity rules to consider.

My original post was concerning your ability to offset your blog and website income with deductions. You are able to do that even if your business is considered to be a "hobby" for tax purposes. But, you won't necessarily be able to offset other income you may have earned with the extra expenses from this activity.

Complicated? Yes. Consult your tax advisor for a more detailed analysis of your situation. This article is general in nature and may not take into account all aspects of your tax situation. You can't rely on this article to avoid penalties with the IRS or your state government. Plus, if you are reading this in another country besides the United States, your laws may be different.

Cancel Christmas? Dissecting a Tax Drama?

2010-11-14T13:23:00.001-06:00

*** UPDATED ***

Mike Cane pointed me to this unhappy tale about the IRS sending an unexpected tax bill to the creator of the Online Etymology Dictionary related to their Google Ad revenues:

First the warning: If you have a Web site, and you ever put Google ads on it, and you ever made a penny off those ads, congratulations! The Internal Revenue Service owns you.

According to the IRS you are a private contractor employed by Google; you are a business; and you will have to pay business taxes and the rates that go along with them. Doesn't matter how big you are, how long ago you put those ads there, or whether you made $20 or $20,000 off them.

Did you know that? I didn't. I had to start putting Google ads on etymonline in 2005, because people kept ripping the entire content at one gulp and it was crashing the servers. Some of you regulars might even remember that time. The only solution was to rent more expensive servers, and the only way I could afford that was to minimally monetize the site with the smallest possible ads.

I had been declaring that ad revenue as "extra income" and dutifully paying my taxes on it. Suddenly last year the IRS informed me I owed them scads of money that I didn't have. Link to "Cancel Christmas"

What I gleaned from the story (and subsequently confirmed with the author) is that the web site creator reported the Google Ad payments as income but did not treat them as self-employment income. If you are an independent contractor or operate a business as a sole proprietor, you are not only subject to income tax but also to self-employment tax. Self Employment tax is the equivalent of the FICA and Medicare taxes that are withheld from wages. When you are an employee, your employer pays half of the tax, but when you are self-employed, you must pay both halves. The tax rate is 15.3% on the first $106,800 and 2.9% of anything over that amount.

Self-employment tax is imposed on your net business income, not gross. What may have happened in this case is that the author reported the Google Ad payments as "other income" on page one of Form 1040 and did not file Schedule C, which is where you report net income from a business. Had the author reported the Google Ad revenue on Schedule C, he would have been entitled to reduce the amount subject to both income tax and self-employment tax by allowable deductions, such as the payments to the web host, which is supposedly what the Google Ad money went to pay for.

It may be that the web site creator can still file amended returns for 2007 through 2009 and reduce the assessed amount. Generally, the statute of limitation runs three years from the date you file your tax return. The taxpayer does not have to merely accept the tax assessment in a situation like this. In my opinion, the next step would be to submit amended returns to the IRS moving the income to Schedule C and reporting the business expenses that offset the revenue. It may be that by doing so, the assessment can be reduced to zero. The IRS will take into account additional facts or a change in the way that items are reported, but they need you to provide them with the additional information in a format that they can accept. That is where your CPA, tax attorney or enrolled agent can provide valuable assistance.

Mike Cane writes on his blog:

The decree would be: IRS calculates the monetary value of using a free site and taxes us based on that use. There are “in-kind” taxes that could easily be contorted to make this happen. The IRS could rule we’re obtaining taxable value in a way that makes us allwind up owing them something.

Or: They could decree that since WordPress is deriving monetary value from the ads on this site, I am therefore a WordPress contractor somehow liable for the value I’m adding to their system. Link to Mikecanex.wordpress.com

IRS can tax you on value that you derive but not on value that you create for others. Bloggers should be cautious about bartering to avoid recognizing taxable income, but IRS will tax Wordpress on value they received, not Mike Cane.

Bottom line: If you are a blogger or web site creator and receive Google Ad revenue, whether $20 or $20,000, you should report that as income on Schedule C. You should also report all the deductions that you incurred in earning that income, such as your web site hosting, monthly ISP bills, and maybe even depreciation on your computer. The net income is subject to both income tax and self-employment tax. Whether you consider your blog or website to be a business or a labor of love, if you receive money from advertisers, from a paypal link on your page, or by any other means, your web site is a business. I join the creator of the Online Etymology Dictionary in hoping that his unhappy surprise helps others avoid a similar fate.

Empty Nesters by Taxman45

2010-11-10T21:53:00.001-06:00

Taking the GarageBand Project to the next level, I wrote a song! We need songs for old people, not just for kids. I wrote about what I know. No, not taxes! (But stay tuned, I've got some ideas). I recorded this song, on my 11.6" MacBook Air with a Samson G-Track Condensor Mic and GarageBand amps for my bass and guitar tracks. If you like the song, download it or send the link to a friend. I'm doing this for fun and to learn some new skills. Enjoy! Empty Nesters by Taxman45

You Can't Do That - Final Mix

2010-11-07T17:14:00.000-06:00

Lessons learned: Recording is tedious work. Mixing is even more tedious. MacBook Air works great as a GarageBand machine (even the lowly 1.4 Ghz Processor with 2GB RAM). The hard drive is what makes it zing. I really like the iRig, both as a headphone practice amp with my iPhone and iPad, but also as an input device for GarageBand. I hope you enjoy my tune. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions. Thanks for listening!

You Can't Do That - Final Mix by Taxman45

You Can't Do That (Version 3) by Taxman45

2010-11-07T14:05:00.001-06:00

It's been awhile since I revisited my GarageBand Project. I moved the file over to my new MacBook Air 11.6" and GarageBand 2011. I replaced the last MIDI track (other than drums) with a lead guitar track that I recorded using my IK Multimedia iRig hardware with my MacBook Air using the amp emulator and stompboxes built in GarageBand. I'm no Lennon and McCartney, but I think the tune is shaping up. Your thoughts? You Can't Do That (Version 3) by Taxman45