What do you use to connect to the Internet and/or friends?

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac – more like uneven bars!

OK, so I decided to add an iMac to the office and want to also run some of my Windows stuff (articulate, eh?). I conducted a bit of due diligence and decided to migrate the files using Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac product. I bought it @ BestBuy from an Agent who answered my question about “is USB cable included?” by saying “any USB cable will work.” Foolish me. I believed him.

MacBook Air floats in!

  It’s 10:48 AM on the left coast and Steve Jobs just concluded his MacWorld keynote. The highlight (if it really IS a highlight) is the MacBook Air. This ultra thin, three-pounder packs some sweet features into the thinnest frame on the planet (including a 13.3” screen and full-size keyboard).

MacWorld: Here you come!

It wasn’t all that long ago (sometime last year) that I speculated that the Mac OS Leopard had a strangely iPhone-ish quality to it and stated that I wouldn’t be surprised to see an iMac with an iPhone interface. http://www.richardokeeffe.com/16.html  Well, the current issue of NewsWeek hints at a similar possibility called a Mac Tablet. http://www.newsweek.com/id/91956/page/2  If this is true, I WILL be among the first in line to purchase!

Details to follow!

Back in the saddle…

OK, so Cadre Xiii has met in Beantown and now we’re onto semester finals (papers). While I have some time on my hands, I’ll continue with the saga of the upgrade which Sean, so aptly noted, “…upgrade, upgrade hardware, upgrade, upgrades nearly impossible so shop for a new computer, repeat.” And, to his point, I have added to my Christmas list an Apple iMac: 24″ 2.8 Mhz w/ Leopard and iLife already installed. Easiest way to “upgrade” is to buy the new machine. The one I am (was) upgrading is a five year old G4. hmmm, perhaps a “barely used” computer sale in the near future. Any interest?

And the saga continues…

Apparently, all the work in Unix has had some unexpected and unwanted consequences. My “keychain” is broken. Now, I am unable to do and see activities and files I could previously. It is as if I am a guest on my own computer (a stranger in my own land). So, now I’ll spend a bit of time trying to reset whatever to get my identity back.

BTW: I purchased iLife 08 for this technology review and, very similar to Apple’s gaff of NOT announcing version installation “challenges,” they neglected also to tell me that my G4 doesn’t have the horsepower to run iMovie 08. Wouldn’t that seem an obvious piece of information to share with customers (or potential customers)? On one hand, it was “only” $80.00, yet there is the principle of the matter.

Leopard installation complete!

  Continuing the Saga of Upgrading to Leopard…I was told I would be phoned at 11:00 A.M. this morning. At 11:55, my office phone rang: it was Apple Product Support (Dean). He uncovered a few more possibilities for us to try. Nada. Zip. Zilch. We were getting nowhere or so it seemed. Actually, he was eliminating alternatives. By 1:15 P.M. we had swapped the keyboard, the mouse, and the monitor (there was a Unix IOUSBFamily error causing the infinite scroll I mentioned yesterday. Somehow, swapping these components discontinued the error scroll and enabled us to work in the kernel (at least that’s where I believe we were). Had it not been for the time I have spent in DOS, I would have been hopelessly terrified: typing cryptic code wouldn’t have been the Apple of my eye; however, I was comfortable and we went to work.

The upgrade is complete. At least the Mac works again. However…

Leopard installation more like a dog…

As you may recall from my previous post last evening, the Product Specialist and I were still working toward a solution. I was “on hold” so I wrote the beginning of this saga. To continue, we completed our conversation at 6:30 (that’s after 3 ½ hours on the phone to Apple). My G4 is not running (it’s not even walking!). I am expecting a call this morning at 11 A.M. from Apple Support to continue troubleshooting. While I am less than satisfied with the upgrade process, I am extremely impressed with the overall professionalism of the Apple Support people with whom I dealt. They were courteous, patient, and spoke to me as a knowledgeable adult: never condescending or “short” with me.

Status: Product Specialist must consult with a Product Engineer (all of whom already left for the day, yesterday) because we’re experiencing “unfamiliar” conflicts rendering the installation unworkable. Damn.

Important note:

Mac OS X.5 (Leopard)…can’t get there from here…

Re: Mac OS X.5 (Leopard) my enthusiasm wanes… I started the installation at 12:21 this afternoon. Kept a step-by-step log (that I’ll make available later for the masochists among you). It is now 5:22P.M. and I am on “hold” with Apple (2 hours and 15 minutes so far.) (Had a customer service rep on the phone for awhile, however, an hour into THAT conversation he decided he needed to transfer me to a “Product Specialist” because there are some “known bugs” upgrading from Mac OS X.2.8 and earlier…which is exactly what I have – OS X 2.8. I never upgraded to Tiger; hence – I’m stuck in the middle and they can’t seem to get me out.)

I’m learning to juggle!

Well, I already know how to juggle. I’ve eight balls in the air (workplace analysis, research skills assessment, leadership interviews, lit review, blog, web presence, wife, & work  ) and I’m about to add a ninth (buying Mac OS X.5 [aka Leopard] this afternoon). It offers many features that are designed to work with my iPhone (HCI topic option) AND, I suspect that it offers a glimpse of where Apple is headed. Can you imagine an iPhone/iTouch interface on an iMac? (iCan!). 

Will report back soon on the OS update!