I've Freed the Penguin

It was going to happen and it finally did, I've freed the penguin, the Linux Penguin! Well not actually freed, but I'm sending him to a new home. That also puts me down to one less computer and one less operating system. This of course is a good thing for me and its all part of the fall preperation for baby #2. It also tiddied up things a bit since now I don't need to be running one computer to stream music to another computer, and in the meantime I've finally added those outdoor speakers to enjoy for the summer!

People ask why do you need four computers? Well all those computers have jobs to do and just last night they were all hard at work: the laptop was playing WOW (clearly the most fun), the desktop was converting some small videos, the iBook was doing some downloading, and last but not least the older desktop was doing some video converting, yes it was a busy evening.

Yet freeing the penguin is only the first step since soon I'll be getting an iPhone and thats going to change things yet again for me, but change is good right, yes as long as its not too painful!

A Laptop that fits in a Manila Envelope is Cool!

You've got to hand it to Steve Jobs and Apple, they really know their marketing, and they really know how to make technology cool. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm going to get a MacBook instead of a PC laptop. However I won't be getting a MacBook Air, not because its not cool just because I need a little more Book for my money.

The slim size of the MacBook Air is amazing, anything that can fit in a manila envelope is cool in my book, heck right after the announcement I went over to the filing cabinet and realized I already had a case for one in the event that I did buy one! It's the cost of the MacBook Air thats a bit much for me. At a base price of $1,800 its priced slightly higher than the comparable MacBook I've been pricing and eying up which has twice the hard drive space, a faster processor, an optical drive and the three year warranty for just about the same price.

I like how Apple solved the optical drive issue with two choices, one which going on the fact that you at least have another PC in the house is essentially free, the other is only $100 for a USB optical drive and thats also pretty cool. However despite the fact that the machine has 2GB of ram which is nice, I can't get over the need for more hard drive space.

Overall though its a damn nice piece of hardware and anyone caught with one is going to immediately have the cool label attached to them.

I'm not an iPod user and I don't have an iPhone so the rest of Apple's Keynote didn't mean a whole lot to me, but Apple products do essentially define cool (even if my Zune is SO much better than any iPod) and they do a hell of a job at it. Heck maybe that's why the Nintendo DS and Wii sell so well, maybe people think Apple makes them!

Happy New Year Digital Life Resolutions!

Happy New Year everyone! I thought I'd make my first post of 2008 about what I plan to do tech wise for the year 2008, my tech resolutions if you will.  So without further ado, here we go.

First and foremost I will get a laptop this year, and 99% says it will be an iBook, and another 99% says I'm going to put either XP or Vista on it as well.  Getting an iBook will give me the best of both worlds. Now I just need to do a little research and run it through finance.

I spoke in my last blog about a garage theater I was planning on creating.  For the most part that's been scrapped.  But what I'd like to do is add a bit to my Linux music server.  What the plan is there is to add an inexpensive receiver, DVD changer and a set of speakers for inside the garage and outside the garage.  The idea is to add music for outside in the backyard and make it easier to add a projector for some impromptu summer movie sessions if they happen.

Hopefully soon I'll receive my 2nd 360 (more on that when I get it) and become a 2 360 household. My friend had his here for new years and I got a taste of what it will be like, its nice.

I need a new digital camera, well I don't need one but I have a need to upgrade the one I have.  I've been doing some research, I may be making it more complicated that it needs to be, but I don't want to go too cheap and I also don't want to go too expensive.  I want to stay away from using AA batteries as well.  But this year I would like to get a new one.

This year I see a larger transition away from buying allot of video games, allot of full priced video games, probably end up buying more Live Arcade games though, and this year I'm going to go back and finish a bunch of the ones I've already bought before I go on another purchasing rampage!  This of course doesn't have anything to do with playing games!

Finally and this is my biggest stretch.  I've just been exposed to GPS and its pretty cool, I've been looking at some of these and if the right one comes by with the right price I'd like to add one of these babies to my gadget collection!

So there it is, I'm trying to keep it realistic while adding worthwhile technology to the home.  I guess that means its time to get the finances in order so all this tech doesn't give me a real life blue screen of death!  And who knows maybe new years resolution 2009 will be to get my wife to start using some of it!

The Multi Computer Home

As I sit here watching TV with my wife I've just broken the news to her that in 2008 I'm buying a laptop (more on that in another post). Her response of course was a resounding WHY?! Of course for me the reason is easy, because, well I want one. But it does go a little deeper than that of course, its all about need and usage. My blog is called Digital Life because thats what I do, I like technology, I use technology and for the most part I buy the right technology for what I need to use. But lets get back on topic.

Sure a few years ago if you had two computers in your home you were either rich or maybe you worked from home or maybe it was because your old computer that you replaced was still in the attic, basement or garage, not working just not thrown away yet. But nowadays there is a need for more than one PC in the home, if you have kids in school read no further you need no more explanation. But what about me? I have right now four PC's, three desktops and a laptop. Now in all fairness, technically I only actually bought one of them so that is what has led to having so many. And for the most part they are all being used for worthwhile purposes and not just lying around collecting dust.

The biggest stretch I have is an old PC in my garage running Linux and basically acting as a music server and occasional check the web in the garage thing. It works and during the summer I plan to add some outdoor speakers which will make it work even more. Next up is another older Dell I use upstairs as a machine to collect and covert media for the main PC, it also acts as a media server and Internet access machine. The main PC is the one I bought and use the most (okay it's the one that runs World of Warcraft) and finally is yet another hand me down my iBook which since its not Wi Fi enabled or have a good battery its more of a mobile desktop Mac.

Again there's a need for that laptop but there's also a need for what I currently have. Times are a changing, think about television, no one would even question you if you had a TV in your bathroom, it's that TV just about anywhere is culturally accepted . The multi computer home is on its way, sure it has some time to go but for me that time is now. Now excuse me while I go work on convincing my wife of that.

Getting it all Connected

Sometimes the hardest part of building a digital life can be getting it all connected.  As 2007 comes to a close at the end of this month I have realized how much has changed in the past year.  One of the most important things for me is how my media is handled.  A digital life cannot be enjoyed if its more work than play.  In the past I've made things work, but alot of input on my behalf was always needed. This year with the Fall 360 dashboard update, the purchase of an 80GB Zune, the addition of my iBook, my Linux PC in the garage, and my Cingular 8125 I've had more time to enjoy media and less time getting it all to where it needed to be.  Today I had the task of getting a friend's 360 and PC connected together, essentially starting his first home network.  If there is one thing I enjoy more than getting my own media to work its getting someone else connected as well.  Of course the average person doesn't need as much as I have!  So now that it's all working together I have a new task for 2008, getting the wife to start using it!