Technology Topic

Originally posted by drewhiggins[..]

I can tell you one thing. Change the earplugs straight away to anything, even a cheap Sony or Philips set. They're horrible.

Originally posted by MWSAH[..]

Got my own Sennheisers CX300 here.. Will be heaven on earth. I got the Philips HDD085 now, some 2-year old 3GB player with black adn white screen. It's loaded with U2 so I definately need a new one. I heard these Creatives are great, they might be even better than the Ipod Nano's. And the sound is also brilliant...

Originally posted by drewhiggins[..]

The nano is so feature-less. As are all the iPods (except the touch and iPhone). I might be getting a touch soon.

I started cleaning out my U2 collection the other day. Got rid of a lot of live shows (mostly Vertigo) and the compilation albums like 18 Singles, Best of 1990-2000 / 1980-1990 etc because I really don't need six identical versions of Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Originally posted by MWSAH[..]

Exactly right about those compilations. My Philips has a different approach: he knows the two Beautiful Days from ATYCLB and The Best Of are the same. So he puts BD in the Best Of map, leaving ATYCLB without BD. So I do have one version of it, but not in the right map. I can change the ID3-tag of course, but BD isn't the only one. I think I'll get rid of these compilations too...good idea

And about Vista: Indeed, Drew...way too slow. My laptop with 1 GB has XP and it's faster compared to the main PC, with 3GB, which has Vista running on it.

Originally posted by drewhiggins[..]

3GB should run Vista fine. My main PC runs XP Media Center Edition 2005 with 512MB RAM and does HDTV fine. And that same objective on Vista takes 1GB RAM minimum! So what's the deal? Either it's too slow or coded pretty shitty.

Only reason I had 18 Singles and Best of 1990-2000 was for the All I Want Is You, The Hands That Built America, Electrical Storm and Window In The Skies. Stuff The Saints Are Coming - I have a wrapped CD which I've had since the end of 2006, could become collectors stuff one day.

Originally posted by drewhiggins[..]

Mmmmm, a bit useless-sounding to me as well. So what's the "Air" reference mean? When it breaks can you can throw it through the air?

You can't use it over-the-air either (so to speak in technical terms). And that reminds me too...most modems plug in via Ethernet (the long blue cable with the clip on the end, actually it can be yellow, grey, red - whatever colour amuses you) doesn't actually work in this new MacBook.

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So you're stuck using USB cords or a USB dongle - and remember, you've only got one USB port. Is Apple taking functionality out of a lot of their products to get prices down and not having to support as much? They don't even support Firewire (officially) anymore, which is a better standard than USB and UWB simply because it's faster and more reliable.

Any difference in iTunes 7.6?

Originally posted by Apple
MacBook Air is the notebook that allows for a fully wireless lifestyle. It all begins with the fastest-available, next-generation 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR built in. And that’s just the beginning of the unprecedented wireless capabilities of MacBook Air.

Ahead of the curve.
In redefining thin, MacBook Air has shed something you no longer need: the optical drive. That’s because MacBook Air is built for the wireless world. So instead of listening to a CD, you can download music wirelessly from the iTunes Store. And instead of backing up files to a stack of discs, you can backup files wirelessly using Apple’s new Time Capsule.

However, for those times when you still need to install software on MacBook Air from a CD or DVD, a new feature called Remote Disc lets you wirelessly use or “borrow” the optical drive of a Mac or PC in the vicinity. So you can have full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around.

Remote Disc: How it works.

Set up Remote Disc on a nearby Mac or PC.
Select a nearby Mac or PC with an optical drive. On that computer, install the Remote Disc Setup software (found on the supplied Mac OS X Install DVD). It is now permanently enabled for Remote Disc.

Insert the software disc you want to install.
Insert the DVD containing the software you want to install on MacBook Air into the optical drive of the Remote Disc-enabled Mac or PC.

Install the software on MacBook Air.
In the Finder on MacBook Air, under Devices, select the icon that says Remote Disc. Click on the computer you enabled, and then double-click to open the software DVD. Now proceed with the installation just as if you had a built-in optical drive.

Even migration is wireless.
How do you transfer all of your files, music, photos and other valuable content from your old Mac to your new MacBook Air? Forget the FireWire cable — that’s the old way. MacBook Air lets you migrate everything wirelessly.
When you turn on MacBook Air for the first time, Setup Assistant walks you through the initial setup. Install the Remote Disc Setup software on the old Mac, and it will then be available to transfer information onto your new MacBook Air. It’s all wireless. All simple. And all secure.

Introducing wireless backup.
Mac OS X Leopard brought you Time Machine, the built-in backup that automatically copies files to an external drive. And now, Time Capsule — the new hard drive plus Wi-Fi base station — lets you use Time Machine to wirelessly back up your files. It’s effort free and yet another way MacBook Air lets you live and work untethered.

Originally posted by djrlewis[..]

Umm. You're way off the mark I'm afraid Drew. Bags of wireless support - the whole thing is built around it:-

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So, it's very wireless enabled. Seems Apple have decided CD/DVD is a dead technology, ultimately.

The iTouch update is available now - I have it and it's very awesome. The e-mail in particular is very good, and I have a little icon on the main screen for here now!

iTunes 7.6 seems to be for this extra functionality on iTouch/iPhone and for the rental thing (US only again it seems)...

Originally posted by djrlewis[..]
So, it's very wireless enabled. Seems Apple have decided CD/DVD is a dead technology, ultimately.

Sounds good. I'd just like to have iTunes 8 soon. iTunes 7.5 is getting boring.

Originally posted by drewhiggins[..]

What I was told by someone who watched the whole keynote and others who were actually there. So if it has wireless support, why do most people who were at the presentation tell me that it has no wireless? Oh well, it probably does have wireless (maybe not one of the earlier 802.11 standards) and I'm hoping it's 802.11n. But, I see no point to getting rid of a CD/DVD drive. What if people want to import their CDs to iTunes or something like that - or do an operating system upgrade - or even backup their music collection through iTunes? Not everyone I know has an external hard drive or a flash drive.

A question to Dan...if I only have 4GB of music is it worth getting an iTouch?

Originally posted by Apple.comDisplay: 13.3" LCD widescreen display, 1280x800 pixel resolution
Graphics: Intel GMA X3100 / 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Storage: 80-GB PATA hard drive / 64GB SSD optional
Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Merom[8], with 800 MHz FSB or 1.8GHz
Memory: 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM soldered to the logicboard
Optical storage: none, Optional External USB SuperDrive
Battery: 37 W-Hr Lithium-polymer battery, 5 hours running time
Bluetooth: 2.1+EDR built-in
Port connections: 1x USB 2.0

Originally posted by drewhigginsJust not "standard" wireless yet. The n standard is still being drafted 18 months on!,


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Not bad and looks the part, but the one USB port is probably a little bit of a drawback as well as no user-replaceable parts; the hard drive, memory and battery are sealed inside and external drives, Ethernet adapter, TV tuner (you've gotta get one for digital and HDTV) and expansion battery packs can be attached to the USB port only. So not one for upgrade enthusiasts.