This article was written on September 28, 2007 by CyberNet.
I started off my morning with some Ubuntu 7.10 action since the first Beta had just been released. I downloaded the 688MB ISO image, burned it to CD, and got started immediately with the Live CD. It took a few minutes for it to boot up, but that’s expected since I’m running the operating system off of the CD I burned. I contemplated upgrading my current Ubuntu 7.04 installation with this version, but I didn’t want to risk the instability.
As soon as Ubuntu started up I was able to select my wireless network. Occasionally in the past it has had issues recognizing my wireless card, but this time it did a great job. It managed to pull in all of the networks in the vicinity:
There are several new features in Ubuntu 7.10, and here’s an overview of them:
Compiz Fusion – I tried this on my laptop but couldn’t get it to work for the life of me. Every time I tried to enable the “Extra” option the configuration screen would freeze up. This could be because I was running the Live CD, but I’m not ready to give up my stable Ubuntu installation yet to see if that was the root of the cause. To try and enable it yourself just go to System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Visual Effects -> Extra.
Desktop Search – The desktop search is a nice addition to Ubuntu, and makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for.
Fast user switching – I didn’t have multiple users on the computer to test this out with, but I’m guessing that it will be nice in those instances.
GUI for Screen Configuration – I was really excited about this because Ubuntu has always had a hard time recognizing my native widescreen monitor resolution. My native resolution is 1680×1050, and the closest I could get is 1600×1200. I tried switching the drivers for my ATI graphics card, changing screen models, and just about everything, but it had its heart set on not giving in to the widescreen resolution. 🙁
Automatic printer installation and non-free device drivers – Printers are now automatically setup when they are plugged in, and restricted drivers can now be installed in just a few clicks. This is great news for anyone with a wireless card from Broadcom!
NTFS writing – Users can now read and write to NTFS partitions. I tried to do this, but again, I was running the Live CD which wouldn’t let me mount the Windows drive. So for right now I will assume that it works. 🙂
It’s still a bit early for me to give an official thumbs up, but I would say things are looking pretty good. The final release is due out in October, and at that time I’ll go ahead and upgrade my current installation. Hopefully that will solve any of the issues that I was having with the Live CD version.
It’s been said that in today’s socially connected world, it’s almost impossible to completely remove your digital footprint from the Web. As hard as you try, traces of your bon mots, bio clips and tweets seem to remain sticky enough for others to find.
Trying to choose a litter mat to attract litter off your cat’s paws as she leaves the litter box will make you crazy. It did me. So I thought I’d share what I learned by checking out all the top rated litter mats on Amazon.com and finding out what litter-aly mat-ters.
The Pax and the Firefly are both fantastic vaporizers, but they suffer from the same shortfall: neither can handle anything other than loose-leaf material. Try to vape a concentrate or essential oil and you’ll be spending the rest of your evening de-gooifying your equipment. Not so with Da Vinci’s latest portable offering.
The announcement of Blackmagic’s $3000 RAW-shooting Cinema Camera in 2012 caused such a stir that not many could have anticipated a followup model, so soon, that was a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the size. The Pocket Cinema Camera continues forging the path of the upstart high-end video camera.
Usually one learns of a new innovation, invention, social media breakthroughs from techie news sites like Spot, AllThingsDigital. Mashable, and others. Word traveling fast in real-time is then amplified by all the major social networks (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, for starters) and if it’s really ‘disruptive’ it will begin to blanket our zeitgeist. This is then followed by the business trades and legacy publishers elaborating on the shiny new thing’s various iterations over time.
This article was written on September 30, 2009 by CyberNet.
It’s not often that I write about iPhone apps, but there are a few reasons why I want to point out SimplyTweet [iTunes links: free or paid]. First, I have to say that it hasn’t gotten nearly the amount of recognition that it deserves. It has one of the largest set of features out of any of the Twitter clients on the iPhone. If you decide to spring for the $4.99 version you’ll even get push notifications for mentions or direct messages, which is surprisingly something very few Twitter apps offer at this point.
The thing that originally drew me to SimplyTweet was one particular feature that I had been longing for. I wanted a way to load all of the unread tweets regardless of how many that was. Yes, I realize that the Twitter API has a restriction on how many requests can be made each hour, but if I want to max out those requests then, well, do it. And SimplyTweet does. It won’t load just 100 or 200 tweets, it will load as many tweets as it needs to in order to get back to the point where I left off. So when I go for 8-10 hours without loading the app it will grab all 400-500 tweets that I have yet to read. This is, of course, optional.
The main reason, however, that I wanted to cover the app is because of the developer himself. I’ve interacted with a lot of application developers for desktop apps, iPhone apps, and websites. I do my best to give useful feedback, and often reach out to my friends to get their feedback as well. I’ve also been involved in a good number of Beta programs for iPhone apps including the one for SimplyTweet. What makes this developer stand out is that he promptly responds to feedback. I’ve made several recommendations and requests, and the developer has acknowledged all of them… regardless of whether it was over his Twitter account or through email. His responses, however, weren’t just the common “that’s a great idea and we’ll look into adding it.” I’m pretty sure all of the things I’ve asked for have been implemented at this point, and, heck, some of the things I asked for were things that were already in the app but I just didn’t realize it.
The only other thing I want to see this app include is the ability to cache tweets. That way if I open SimplyTweet to load up my tweets, close the app, and reopen it all of the tweets will still be there without having to fetch them again. There are a few apps that do this, but SimplyTweet loads them fast enough that it doesn’t bother me too much. It would still be nice to have though.
I’ve bought other iPhone apps like BirdFeed, Twittelator, and Tweetie. Most of them have their own niceties, but SimplyTweet takes the cake. Robert Scoble also seems to agree.
Our devices have a never-ending hunger for power – it’s their single greatest failing, in a time when they can do incredible things but still only last around a day of solid use in the best-case scenario. But Mophie has made a name for itself providing extra juice for your devices, and now they’ve got a new Powerstation XL model that packs a crazy 12,000 mAh, which can charge some smartphones up to eight times over.
Pros:
Battery lasts and lasts
Intelligent amperage for less power wastage
Two ports for charging
Cons:
Price
A bit on the bulky side
Mophie’s Powerstation XL isn’t reinventing the wheel, it’s just making the wheel a lot bigger. Even design-wise, it resembles previous Mophie power pack devices, with a rubberized black top and bottom ‘sandwiching’ a silver wraparound rim. A button on the side will light up an LED indicator to tell you how much juice is remaining (to the nearest quarter), and two USB 2.0 ports on the top can charge up to two devices simultaneously, while a micro USB input is used to fill it back up once it’s empty.
The sandwich look is simple, good and a nice fit with Apple products, with which I’m generally using the Mophie Powerstation XL. Plus, the whole thing feels terrifically well-built, and you can imagine that if you pop the lid, it’ll be tightly packed edge to edge with battery cell units. Mophie’s backup batteries feel like they can survive a fall, which is more than you can say for a lot of the lower-priced models it competes with.
And the Mophie Powerstation XL also works as advertised. I used the partial charge it came with to fully reenergize a Nexus 5, HTC One and Nvidia Shield before it exhausted itself, and subsequent charges have managed to serve up multiple charges to my iPhone 5 while also topping up an iPad Air on the run. Plus, in terms of charge retention, you can easily have the XL in a bag for days without it losing a single dot of its energy meter to dissipation.
Mophie does good retention, and good overall life of the bank itself, which is why they can get away with asking for $130 for a backup battery and someone like IOgear charges a lot less. The XL is brand new, so I haven’t had the opportunity to test its longevity yet, but the Powerstation Pro I’ve had now for a couple of years still seems not to be noticeably diminished vs. when I first bought it.
The bottom line is that if you need serious backup juice in a relatively small package that’s bound to be reliable, Mophie’s latest delivers. It’d be great if someone made a smartphone that eliminated the need for such a thing, but until then, at least there’s the Powerstation XL.
Apple’s new Mac Pro is a sight to behold: In black aluminum with an eye-catching cylindrical design, there’s little chance you’ll ever mistake it for any other computer. The previous Mac Pro was iconic too, of course, but this one is also just slightly larger than a football and dimpled on the top with a recess like a jet engine. But the true power lies under the hood, and what’s contained therein will satisfy even the most pressing need for speed.
Video Review
Basics (as reviewed)
3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor
16GB 1897 MHz DDR3 RAM
Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics cards with 2GB of RAM each
It’s like having an exhibit from an industrial design museum in your house.
Cons
It’s super expensive.
Bring your own screen/everything.
Design
Few would argue that Apple’s design for the Mac Pro isn’t unique. It’s been compared to Darth Vader’s iconic look from the original Star Wars movies, and in a less flattering light, called the “trash can” Mac. But when you actually have one sitting on your desk, it’s a very different story. The aluminum surface is cool to the touch, reflective without being shiny, and – somehow – astoundingly reassuring.
Mac Pro With Case
The new Mac Pro with its case removed, side by side with said case.
The Mac Pro Without Case
Underneath, the Mac Pro lays bare its circuit boards for all to see.
Mac Pro Without Case
Another angle. This is one of the FirePro AMD workstation GPUs.
Mac Pro SSD
Here you see the SSD module for the Mac Pro.
Mac Pro Case
This is the case, which is a solid piece of rigid aluminum.
Mac Pro Vs. Mac Mini
Here's the Mac Pro compared to the latest model Mac mini design.
Mac Pro Ports
This is a close-up of the I/O for the Mac Pro.
Mac Pro Rear Panel
Here's the locking switch mechanism that allows you to remove the lid.
Mac Pro Rear
Here's what the Mac Pro looks like when viewed from behind.
Mac Pro Vents
Here are the top vents on the Mac Pro, which channel air away from the "thermal core."
It’s the modern monolith of desktop computing, and indeed it does harken forward to a future age where the amazing engineering contained within is required for your everyday computing needs.
As it stands, of course, the computer housed within that sleek black shell will obliterate any task thrown at it by all but the most extreme and demanding of professionals. Apple might not be as fond of the so-called ‘moonshot’ as competitors like Google, but it gives great immediate futurism with the Mac Pro in terms of both design and performance.
The modularity of the new Mac Pro is not the same as it was with the older versions. You won’t be swapping 3.5mm HDDs out of bays, for instance. But the outer shell slides off easily once you’ve unlocked it, and you get full access to the RAM bays (upgradeable to a maximum of 64GB via four 16GB modules), as well as to the SSD units (which, while Apple-specific, are upgradeable too) and the GPUs (also theoretically replaceable with future Apple-specific hardware). But the real modularity comes via the external I/O: Thunderbolt 2 can theoretically display 4K video while simultaneously transferring it thanks to a unified 20 Gbit/s throughput rate, and there are six ports on the back, combined with four for USB 3.0.
This, combined with the unique thermal core Apple has created, makes for an incredibly small, quiet professional workstation machine. In testing, I couldn’t hear it unless I put my ear up close, and even then it’s a relatively quiet hum, not even close to the fracas my Retina MacBook Pro makes when it’s doing heavy lifting. It breathes a light exhaust of air through the top, too, which is actually a nice refresher if you’ve been slaving away in Final Cut Pro all day.
Performance
For the layperson or everyday computer user, the new Mac Pro will seem like a thought-based computer, where virtually every input action you can think of results in immediate response. Whether it’s the Xeon processor or the super-fast PCIe-based SSD or those dual workstation GPUs, everything seems slightly but impossibly faster than on any other Mac, even the most recent iMac and Retina MacBook Pros. To be honest, it’ll be hard to go back even for everyday tasks like browsing the web and importing pics to iPhoto.
But that’s not what the Mac Pro is for: It’s a professional machine designed to help filmmakers create elaborate graphics, 3D animations and feature-length films. It’s aimed at the most demanding photographers, working in extreme resolutions and doing batch processing on huge files. It’s for audio producers, creating the next hit album using Logic Pro X and low latency, high bandwidth I/O external devices.
For me, Final Cut Pro was bound to be the wrench that would otherwise throw my existing Mac setup some trouble. On the Mac Pro, FCP X ran like a dream, rendering and publishing in the blink of an eye. I had to pinch myself to prove that I wasn’t dreaming after it took fewer than 10 seconds to render and publish the final edit of a 1080p video a little over two minutes long. And again, nary a peep from the Mac Pro itself.
For the super nerdy, you can check out the Geekbench scores of the new Mac Pro we tested here and here. Remember, this is the baseline, entry-level version without any customization options, so it’s the bottom of what you can expect in terms of performance.
Features
The Mac Pro has some unique abilities that you won’t find in any other Mac, including the ability to power up to six Thunderbolt displays at once. I ran two Thunderbolt Displays plus a 21-inch iMac, as well as a Wacom 13HD through the HDMI port, and Apple’s premium machine didn’t even break a sweat. This is definitely the computer for the video producer who wants to be able to monitor output in real time while working on some raw video at the same time, or the information addict who feels they just aren’t getting enough with the two or three displays that represent the maximum possible output with a MacBook Pro or iMac.
Another great feature is the upgradeability, which ensures that, as futuristic and ahead-of-the-curve as this Mac already is, it’ll be even more future-proof thanks to the ability to swap out components down the road. Apple hasn’t revealed any details about later upgrade kits, but it’s reasonable to expect that RAM, SSDs and even GPUs will be available for those who feel they need even more out of their maxi Mac.
One final subtle but very nice feature is the auto-illumination of the ports that happens when you move the Mac tower itself. It’s extremely useful for helping you plug the right device into the right port when you’re looking to add new devices, and likewise when you’re looking to unplug something. This kind of attention to detail only reinforces that if you have $3K to spend on a Mac, your money’s in good hands with Apple.
Bottom Line
The Mac Pro is almost absurd in terms of its abilities. It’ll blow away any ordinary computer user, including one with even slightly advanced demands like myself (occasional video editing, plenty of Photoshop, some digital graphics and podcast production). But in reality, my Retina MacBook Pro wasn’t straining under the demand of my needs, either – the Mac Pro merely makes it all seem effortless.
That said, it’s rare that a computer is an investment; mostly these days, you buy one with the expectation that you’ll probably need another in two years’ time. The Mac Pro, somewhat like the iPhone 5s, is designed with the future in mind, so that video producers who aren’t working on 4K but will be expected to in a few years don’t have to reinvest.
For anyone who’s been looking forward to a replacement for their aging gray tower Mac Pro, and for anyone who has the money and is willing to spend it, the Mac Pro is a no-brainer, but for the rest of us, we needn’t reach quite so high to touch the sky when it comes to Apple’s line of OS X hardware.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
![Christie's Scapegoat [Bridget Anne Kelly] Faced Light Traffic On Twitter Trail](https://i0.wp.com/inventorspot.com/files/imagecache/ContentHalfWidth/blog1/Screen_shot_2014-01-10_at_6.35.17_PM.png "Christie's Scapegoat [Bridget Anne Kelly] Faced Light Traffic On Twitter Trail")
One final subtle but very nice feature is the auto-illumination of the ports that happens when you move the Mac tower itself. It’s extremely useful for helping you plug the right device into the right port when you’re looking to add new devices, and likewise when you’re looking to unplug something. This kind of attention to detail only reinforces that if you have $3K to spend on a Mac, your money’s in good hands with Apple.
