Scripting News

Thu, 18 May 2006 19:27:25 GMT

MyTunesRSS: "Enjoy all the songs in your iTunes music library on any device that has network access to your iTunes computer."

Thu, 18 May 2006 19:53:35 GMT

Paolo wonders if the MacBooks will age well. "Plastic laptops tend to wear on the corners and scratch easily," he says. Funny thing is, I don't think they're plastic cases, or if they are, it's a very strange kind of plastic that feels like a hybrid of metal and plastic. It's warm to the touch, unlike metal, but it definitely has a different feel from the iBook G4.

Thu, 18 May 2006 20:03:12 GMT

Two years ago: "It's got a very conservative mission, to answer questions about RSS, to help people use it, to promote its use. It's basically a support function."

Thu, 18 May 2006 06:57:04 GMT

Micki Krimmel and Al Gore, lookin marvelous!

Thu, 18 May 2006 07:41:13 GMT

New header graphic, taken at Future In Review.

Thu, 18 May 2006 07:40:34 GMT

Podcasting at MIT.

My new Mac

Thu, 18 May 2006 18:21:43 GMT

The black MacBook is a very nice computer, a clear upgrade from the earlier iBook G4. People have expressed concerns about the keyboard, but so far it's fine, no problem.

Well, that was too good to be true. I hadn't installed the memory upgrade when I wrote the bit above. The people at the store said they couldn't do the installation for me, and it would take me five minutes, and it couldn't possibly go wrong. They actually say things like that at Apple stores. So I was feeling positive (see above), tried to install it, and now the computer won't boot. I tried re-installing, still wouldn't boot. I tried going back to the old memory configuration, and it wouldn't boot. Conclusion: the computer is fried. I got lucky when I called, the person I spoke with was only slightly arrogant. That's the problem with Apple's culture. They teach their people they're so much smarter than we are, but at the same time they design computers that require you to do these upgrades for yourself, and I'm fairly technical, and I managed to break the computer doing it. Bad design. In any case, I'm paying for it with my time today, I'm heading back to the store in Emeryville to see if we can't get this resolved. I feel really stupid for having bought this computer. Yeah, they are the geniuses. They got my money, and I got a time-sink and headache.

Postscript: I brought it down to the Apple store and they were able to install the memory. The tech said "You really have to force it in there." I'm logged on to the net through EVDO. Happy again.