Ravings from a Man in an Old White House

I have an iMac G5 running OS X Tiger (10.4.10) and a Windows machine, a laptop, running XP SP2. I decided to back-up my iTunes library from the PC to the Mac using the simplest protocol available to me: Windows File Sharing, a/k/a SMB, a/k/a Samba. From the PC’s perspective, everything was grand. The Mac was having trouble. The Mac had no problem finding the PC on the network, and would even show the icon for the share in the sidebar and on the desktop. When the share was selected, all it would show is a blank page and “0 … Continue Reading

In addition to possibly bringing news of a snap election, Parliament’s returning to session after the long summer recess (they’ve been off since 26 July) has great significance: BBC’s Today in Parliament podcast recommences. I can already hear Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, saying, “Order, Order,” followed by an announcer saying, “Good evening, this is David Wilby at Westminster…” Of course, since the presenters rotate, it may not be David Wilby. It may Tessa Duggleby, Keith MacDougall, Rachael Hooper, Robert Orchard, or Susan Hume. In any event, I am excited. The only problem is … Continue Reading

My iPod has been acting funny lately. It is a fourth generation iPod (photo) whose the battery may be going. The thing will suddenly restart (in the middle of a good song, I might add), but instead of getting itself back to the main menu, the Apple logo is followed by either a little frowning-faced iPod icon telling me to go to apple.com/support (or some such) or a battery logo with a lightening bolt to the left side. The last time the LCD was stuck on, and the iPod would not respond to any attempt to reset or plug it … Continue Reading

Sony’s CEO, Kaz Hirai, is annoyed that Microsoft is so damned unoriginal, according to an Ars Techinca article. Ars suggests that the Hirai is just trying to stir-up trouble because X-Box 360 is starting to take-off, while no one wants to pay for PS3. I say that’s about right. And while we all like to criticize Microsoft, it doesn’t make Sony’s new gaming unit anymore affordable. If Sony puts out a product that they can comfortably price-out at a reasonable dollar amount next time, maybe those anti-Microsoft comments won’t smell of sour grapes.