On your bike. Again.

I have succumbed. The lure of the great outdoors has proved too much. I've just ordered myself a new mountain bike. Nothing like as flash as the one that I sold six months ago, but then that was the point.

The new one is a 2006 Scott Reflex 20 Disc. And the best bit is that I'm saving £200 off the £600 list price via a friend who works for Scott.

That means I've only spent £900 of the £1100 that I got for my old mountain bike, leaving £200 to spend on accessories. I've already spent some of that on roadie kit, and the rest will go on bits and pieces for the new one.

And Christmas is coming up, so I should be fully kitted out ready for the new year.

Excellent.

It's terminal (part 2)

Part two! The extra RAM stick is installed, and now Terminal says:

phil-laceys-imac-g5:~ Phil$ ioreg -p IODeviceTree -n memory -S | grep ram-
| "ram-layout-architecture" = <00000002>
| "ram-bus-width" = <00000080>

I'm slightly confused, as the "architecture" value is unchanged, but the "bus width" value is now 80 instead of 40.

So does that mean I've changed from 64-bit to 128-bit or not?!?

Startup from cold now takes 38 seconds (18 seconds faster), and iPhoto takes 9 seconds to load (6 seconds faster).

I'm not sure whether these speed improvements are down to just having twice as much RAM, a 128-bit pipeline or a combination of both.

I fear there needs to be some research done. I feel an email to Apple coming on. :o)

UPDATE:
Not sure whether this is at all relevant, but 00000040 is hexadecimal for 64, and 00000080 is hexadecimal for 128.

Clear as mud.

It's terminal (Part 1)

Okay, here's part one of the memory experiment. Terminal tells me the following:

phil-laceys-imac-g5:~ Phil$ ioreg -p IODeviceTree -n memory -S | grep ram-
| "ram-layout-architecture" = <00000002>
| "ram-bus-width" = <00000040>

Which allegedly means that I'm currently running on a 64-bit architecture.

Startup from cold takes 56 seconds, and iPhoto takes 15 seconds to load.

Standby for part two!

RAM bam, thank you ma'am

So there I was, casually browsing the Apple technical support pages (yes, I am a geek) I came across a knowledgebase article entitled "iMac G5: The benefit of using matching memory modules". Intrigued, I read on, and they have this to say:

"If your iMac G5 has matching memory modules, which are known as "DIMMs," it will operate with a 128-bit data path. If the DIMMs aren't matched, then it uses a 64-bit data path. A 128-bit data path allows greater throughput than a 64-bit data path, in the same way that a 4-lane highway allows more traffic than a 2-lane highway. This allows the computer to manipulate large files faster. With a 128-bit bus, you would see better performance from the iMac when you have multiple applications open at the same time."

So it would appear that, because I've just got the single 512MB stick of RAM that came preinstalled in the iMac, that I've only been working with a 64-bit data path. The sacrilege! I've been missing out of 64 bits of lovely data goodness ever since I got it out of the box!

Not wanting to be missing out on this potentially earth-shattering upgrade, I ordered another myself another 512MB of RAM from Crucial.com and it arrived yesterday. I haven't had time to install it yet, but when I do I shall report back to let you know about the amazing performance enhancement it has given me...

Foxy

I know that I keep harping on about the Firefox web browser, but there is a good reason. The BBC website reports that now 1 in 10 people use Firefox globally, and the percentage is still rising. And with good reason too - Firefox is a much better browser than Microsoft's tired old Internet Explorer. According to the article, 14.1% of US computer users browse with Firefox, whereas it is only 4.9% in the UK. COME ON PEOPLE! What are you waiting for?! Download the Firefox browser now! There's no excuse. It's very easy, it's free and it's better than the crappy browser you're using at the moment. Talk about a no-brainer!

I have both Firefox and Safari on my Mac, and both of them are leaps and bounds ahead of Internet Explorer. To be honest I can't decide which one is better, but I do know that I prefer both of them to IE. However, you only have that luxury if you've got an Apple machine, so if you're a Windows user this makes the choice very simple indeed. Firefox. Firefox Firefox Firefox.

So go on. Do yourself a favour. Get Firefox.

Okay. Browser evangelism over.

Let's take a moment...

I'd like to take this opportunity to send my heartfelt condolences to my friend and colleague OliTee, who has suffered once again at the cruel hands of fate. His iPod is no more. It is an ex-iPod.

My thoughts are with him at this difficult time.

Video, Schmideo...

So Apple have finally released the video iPod - but I was fairly surprised to find out that it isn't a completely different machine, they've just cleverly squeezed video playback into the existing design. Admittedly, there are a few cosmetic tweaks - including, if you can believe it, making the iPod thinner than the 4th generation model, even though it contains more hard disk space.

When I heard that a video iPod might be on the cards, I was envisaging a completely different kind of device that would sit alongside the music iPod but do a fundamentally different job. I'm quite pleased to say that the route they've decided to go down is much more elegant than that.

If you remember, they combined the ordinary iPod and the iPod photo a few months ago so that all new iPods had the colour screen and photo capability. Now they've taken it one step further and dropped that model completely in favour of the iPod video. This goes hand in hand with their decision to do away with the iPod Mini in favour of the iPod Nano. It's quite a nice looking line up all in all.

It makes my 4th generation, monochrome screened, music-only iPod look a bit out of date - although I prefer to think that I'm a retro purist. And to be honest, this isn't far from the truth - I don't want my iPod to do video and photos, I just want it to be a music player. The majority of the time, I use it in the car, so the ability to play video and look at photos is really very redundant.

So there you go. Well done for all your innovation, Apple, but I'll be sticking with my distinctly out-of-date iPod thanks very much.

Playing catch up

So then, in case you're interested, here's a brief outline of the things that have been happening during the last couple of months whilst I've been "offline". Admittedly, there's not much to report, but here goes:

1) I sold the mountain bike on eBay, which went for a mighty impressive £1100! I immediately spent £500 of that on a nice shiny road bike - a Trek 1000. Then obviously the next step was to buy all the associated road bike paraphenalia - new helmet, pedals, shoes etc. Well, if you're going to do it, you have to do it properly don't you? I haven't bought a new mountain bike yet, because frankly I'm having too much fun on the roadie at the moment!

2) I seriously toyed with the idea of buying a Sony PSP, but then decided against it. In reality, I would have absolutely no use for one, nor any time to play it. If I have any game-playing time, it is spent on the Xbox.

3) Microsoft revealed the release date and cost of the Xbox360 - and it looks fairly impressive. £209 for the basic pack, or £279 for all the bells and whistles, with a release date of 2nd December 2005. I'm sorely tempted to get one, but I think I'll leave it until at least the new year.

4) I've been putting in lots of hours with the Special Constabulary - and I'm loving it. Not arrested anyone yet though!

5) I've spent quite a bit of my spare time on a freelance web design project for a local dental surgery - have a look at www.chdental.co.uk if you're interested.

6) We had double glazing fitted.

7) Work has been... erm... busy.

So a combination of work, being a policeman, web designer and cyclist have pretty much consumed all my spare time. Nothing else to report really. Apart from the road bike, there have been no major purchases, so the bank balance is looking very healthy. All I have to do now is to find something worthwhile to spend it on!

So there you go. You're up to date.

Enter via the back door...

I'm back! It's been a while, but I'm back on the blogosphere with this new look and new location. I'm no longer hosted on my own webspace, I've moved over here to Blogspot in order to avoid some... ahem... unwanted attention.

If you received an email from me to let you know that I've moved, you're one of the chosen few. Update your bookmarks accordingly. Or trash the email and ignore me. Your choice!

I've been fairly busy since my last post back in June, and quite a lot has happened, but I won't attempt to go into it all at the moment. Needless to say, I will update you all in due course. Watch this space.

It just doesn't feel... right.

I have a peculiar problem - and you're probably going to read this and think I'm even more weird than you do already - but I'm going to tell you anyway.

Last September, I got a new mountain bike. Thing is, that although it was new to me, it wasn't brand new. It was an ex-demo bike from the local bike shop. I had done loads of stuff for them on their website, so they owed me quite a bit of money, and they offered me this bike. Now it's a really flashy machine, and would have cost the best part of two grand when new, so I thought it seemed like quite a good deal.

Thing is, now I've got it, I don't really like it. It rides really well, the kit is top-notch, and it's probably a better bike than I'll ever need. But it just doesn't feel right somehow. It doesn't really feel like it's mine. I've tried my best to just forget about it, because, let's face it, I'll never actually spend £2000 on a mountain bike, but that's not the point. I don't feel comfortable on it.

I think the time has come to just admit that I don't like it, put it on the mighty eBay and then spend the proceeds on a replacement. I fully appreciate that I'll only get about £900 to £1000 for it, and that the replacement bike that I'll buy for that kind of money won't be as good as the bike I've got at the moment. But at least it'll be mine. Properly mine. And it'll be of a quality commensurate with my bike riding ability, as opposed to being completely out of my league, which is what the current one is.

I think I'm just not very good at "second-hand" stuff. I bet you're all reading this and thinking that I'm ungrateful, and maybe I am, but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. And that's never good.

Widget, it's got a widget...

Well, this is a bit exciting - or at least it is if you're a geek like me. I've just installed a Tiger widget that lets you post to your blog direct from the Dashboard. What a great idea! If you want the widget, head on over to the Dashblog site to download it.

Lots of things, all rolled into one!

It's been a bit busy round these parts, so please excuse my lack of posting. Let me briefly give you a run down:

1) My new iMac is just LOVELY. I want to stroke it.
2) Roku released a firmware update which solved the Tiger/Soundbridge incompatibility problem.
3) I've discovered the wonders of www.photobox.com, not only to get my digital photos printed, but also to create and share online photo albums. Have a look at Matt & Bec's wedding photos or our skiing photos if you feel so inclined.
4) I got sworn in as a Special Constable on Tuesday, so I'm now a copper! A part-time one admittedly, but a copper nonetheless!

Right then, now I've got all that off my chest, I shall be gone.

Broken

It would appear that Tiger (the new Mac operating system) doesn't work with my Roku Soundbridge, meaning that at the moment I am without streaming music.

Roku support assure me that they're aware of the problem and are working with Apple to create a solution. Should only be a matter of days. It's just one of those little bugs that need ironing out when you've got new software. Ho hum.

So, for the time being I've had to resort to using CDs! How very last century...

Big Mac

So you may remember (after all, it was only a few days ago) that I ordered one of the new G5 iMacs, and therefore needed to sell my three-month old Mac Mini. Fortunately for my bank balance, that proved to be a very easy task as several colleagues were more than keen to stump up the asking price. Also - because the iMac has a built-in screen, I also found a buyer for my existing 17" TFT screen.

Best thing of all, Apple - despite quoting a five day build time and three day delivery time - managed to get the iMac to me by Friday, meaning that I had the weekend to play with it!

I started off by backing everything up (I did a complete clone of my Mac Mini) to the external hard drive, and then I reinstalled Panther (OSX 10.3) on the Mac Mini so that it was back to factory settings, ready for its new owner. Once that was done, I boxed it all up, complete with all the original manuals and disks etc. Then I disassembled my TFT monitor and boxed that up (good thing I keep all the boxes!) and put that to one side. By the time I'd done all that, it was past midnight and the iMac was still in its box!

Not wanting to rush the "new gadget installation process" I waited until earlier today to get it all set up. Fortunately this was an incredibly easy process. One cable for mains power, and we were up and running. The install process found my bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and then seamlessly connected to my wireless network. After booting up, I copied by user file across to the iMac from the external drive and the job was done. Simple!

Moving on up

Apple released their new G5 iMac models today, and they're incredibly impressive. They've obviously been listening to what the punters want, because they've addressed every single one of the issues that people had with the original models. I, for one, cannot find them lacking in any way.

Apple have increased the processor to a 2GHz G5, upped the RAM to 512 MB, added a 16 speed DVD burner, put a 160GB hard disk in, installed Airport wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0 as standard, and to top it all off, it comes with the new operating system, Tiger, installed. And if all that wasn't enough to convince you - and here comes the killer blow - they've priced it at £999 including VAT.

Needless to say, I've ordered one. Anyone want to buy a Mac Mini?

Just do as you're told!

So there I was, merrily surfing the web, when my Mac Mini popped up a little box which told me that my bluetooth mouse was running out of batteries, and that I should replace them immediately. Obviously, I chose to ignore this warning. Surely there would be enough juice in the batteries for another couple of days? The computer was just being alarmist.

Ten minutes later, another message appeared. "Your mouse batteries are critically low. Your mouse may fail at any time". So clearly, this time, I leapt out of my chair and replaced the batteries, right? Nope. I ignored it. Again.

Then the batteries failed.

I begrudgingly went and got two new batteries and installed them in the mouse. Did it work? Of course not. So - without any mouse and using just keyboard shortcuts to navigate - I went to the system preferences to see if there was a "reconnect mouse" option or something. I managed (after a bit of faffing) to get to the mouse preferences, but unfortunately there was no immediately obvious solution. Then I had a brainwave. I'd switch off bluetooth, start it up again, and then that would probably make the mouse work. Clever eh?

I tabbed to the button that said "Switch off bluetooth" and hit the space bar. A box popped up. "If you switch off bluetooth, you will no longer be able to control your computer. Are you sure you wish to continue?"

In my panic, I pressed enter. "Bluetooth is now switched off".

AAAAAGH!

Anyway, here I am, 45 minutes and a USB mouse later, and everything seems to be working again now. Next time my Mac tells me to do something, I'll do it. It's clearly cleverer than me.

I want that one... and that one...

Gentlemen, start your engines... it looks like Xbox 2 is here. Or rather, Xbox 360 as it now seems to be called. Various sites around the web have images that are allegedly the "real deal" - the final design that Microsoft will be unveiling at E3 in May. And if they're accurate, then it's a distinct improvement on the current Xbox.

For a start, it's silver and shiny, rather than matt black, so they're on to a winner straight away as far as I'm concerned. Then there are the system specs - apparently, the Xbox 360 contains three (yes, three!) IBM PowerPC processing chips, which are essentially the same ones that Apple use in their G5 machines, so there is some SERIOUS power in there. The controllers are wireless as standard, as is wi-fi networking. The hard-drive will be an add-on, but seems to me to be almost essential. And word on the street says that it'll be in the shops in time for Christmas. Have a look at the Definitive Xbox 360 FAQ over at ign.com for more details and images.

Before then, however, is the Playstation Portable (PSP). The European launch date has now been confirmed as 1st September 2005, with a price of £179. Which is a bit pricey for sure, but it won't stop me buying one on launch day!

No turning back...

A friend of mine told me yesterday that he had sold his entire CD collection on eBay, as he now has them all stored on his computer as MP3 files, and therefore no longer needs the original discs.

Crikey.

I can't see myself being in that position any time soon. I think I'm too worried that technology will change to the extent that it could make my digital music files obsolete. Over the last two years, I've already ripped my CD collection twice - once as WMA files, and then (after getting my Mac) as AAC. Who is to say that next year, another (better) format won't turn up, making my AAC files out of date? If I don't have the original CDs, how will I take advantage of this new technology?

This is the same quandry which has - up until now at least - prevented me from purchasing any music from the iTunes Music Store. I have no doubt that it's an excellent innovation, and it's very convenient, but not actually possessing a physical item is slightly disconcerting for me. I appreciate that I should (as a hardcore gadget freak) be advocating the completely digital approach, but I can't do it. Not yet anyway. Follow my friend's example at your peril...

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

Looks like 29th April is the launch date for Tiger then...

Which leads me to ask myself whether I should go for the upgrade straight away (and start playing with all the lovely new features immediately) or whether to hang fire for a few weeks so some other hapless users can iron out all the undiscovered bugs!

Going, going, gone

I've been flogging stuff on eBay again. The M-Audio Fast Track that I bought a couple of months ago to use with my Mac Mini has gone, mainly because it didn't perform particularly well, and because I just don't have the time to sit around making computer music. Also, I've flogged my old Creative Labs Muvo NX MP3 player because all my music is now encoded as AAC files, which it doesn't support. If I need a little solid-state player for whatever reason, I'll get myself an iPod Shuffle instead.

One of my New Year Resolutions was not to buy any gadgets on impulse and then have to flog them on eBay, so it looks like I've failed on that one. However, some of the others are going quite well. I've bought an Apple Mac, I've been skiing and I'm half way through my Special Constabulary training. I've packed in going to the gym though - I just don't have the time any more.