Tag Archives: MacWorld

My Apple Life

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In his editor’s note in the March 2010 edition of Macworld, Jason Snell penned a great quote

“ The entire point of Apple’s products is that they are not interchangeable with anybody else’s. Only one company makes Macs, iPhones, and iPods, and that’s Apple.”

That statement was never more truer then after last nights experience I had trying to hack my Apple TV with Boxee. The hack ended up rendering my Apple TV useless, leading me to  a factory restore (hold down the menu button and the minus button at the same time until it reboots). In the past I loved to tinker with computer related equipment and normally the Boxee hack would have proceed, that was until I purchased my first Mac back in 2006.

You see I have swallowed the Apple Kool-Aid and like a cold glass of Grape, with a little extra sugar, its fantastic. I own a iMac, a MacBook, a iPhone, a Apple TV and several iPods. I would eventually love to own an iPad.

The geek in me loves new gadgets and over the last few years my gadgets have centered around Apple. All my Apple devices work with each other without any issues and the software is top notch. I have run 3 versions of OS X as a Mac user. I enjoy the community of MacHeads as they are simply head and shoulders above the rest.

Back In January in an attempt to get back to my tinkering ways, I purchased an HTC Droid Eris. Though I thought it was a great phone for the price it just didn’t fit my Apple lifestyle, and as Jason stated, it just wasn’t “interchangeable” with Apple. Not only that the Android community was not up to the challenge like my fellow MacHeads. So I took the phone back to Verizon Wireless and purchased an iPhone, ending my 12 plus year relationship with Big Red.

As a side note I later came across an article in the March 2010 issue of MacLife that listed the 10 steps in which you could sync your Android phone with a Mac. Yes ten steps to match the one you complete with an iPhone and iTunes. Not this is not the 10 steps upon set up but rather the ten steps each time. Setting up an iPhone takes a few steps at first but after that is is simply one step. Best of all I don’t have to tell the iPhone to mount on my Mac like an Android phone.

When it comes to my Apple products its like what Steve Job’s says “it just works.” Yes they all just work and that is alright by me. Now that may not be for everyone. At times I wish Apple would do a little more, but I don’t complain. Typically search google and find the third party app that will do what I am looking for.

I also love my OS X software that I have purchased over the years, and iTunes had been the go to app for me since I first used it on the Windows side. I still work in a Windows environment during the day and its in an operating system (XP) that is nearly 10 years old. It is safe to say it is an operating system that has gone past its recommended shelf life. Like an old gallon of milk, it needs to be thrown away. After a week at work its nice to come home and work with my Apple gadgets and delve into my Mac Life.

The Mac lifestyle has been good to me and I for one am satisfied living in my Apple Lifestyle.

The Dexim DA107 AV Dock Station

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When looking at the advertisement the latest edition of MacWorld, I was intrigued by the Dexim DA107 AV Dock Station, as it supported my iPod Touch’s video playback. Additionally, the dock came with a remote and was compatible with my iPod with video. Trying to finDRA107d a supplier proved difficult. Of the three available in the U.S., the local Boise Targets did not stock the item, nor did the Target website. The online dealers included Brookstone and RichardSolo. Brookstone wanted $30 more than RichardSolo, so my choice was obvious. It is at this time I must mention RichardSolo is a excellent online dealer and my experience shopping with them was more than one can expect.

After arriving I hooked the dock up to my television. To my surprise no guide appeared on my television screen. After doing some research this was not an option of this dock (please note the Dexim website was not clear on this point, it wasn’t after I played the video on the page and read Chris Breen’s review did I discover my error). Deflated I tried to navigate the iPod Touch with the remote. No dice, you actually have to get into the video section of the iPod before you are able to control the device.  Full disclosure controlling the device from the couch was difficult and in my use of the device I had to stand within a foot of it in order to get the remote to work.

Video play back was not good as 2 lines rolled down the screen during playback. Clearly this was not what I expected from an AV Dock that sells for $69.99 plus $5.00 shipping. So for the first time in a long time, I simply returned the item to RichardSolo. I had high hopes for the product, but unfortunately it was able to do the job I wanted it to do. Thus, my search continues.