MacSparky

The Airport Express has received a radio upgrade. It is now an “N” device and will not be responsible for slowing down you “N” network. I’m sure there is probably a good reason, but I really wish they had done this at the same time they released the “N” speed airport extreme.

The Airport Express is a device that should not be overlooked. For $100 you can stream music to your stereo, put a printer in the closet, get the internet to a computer with no wireless, hook your xbox into the network, or increase your network signal. Obviously you can’t do all these things at once but having it around sure is handy. Since Apple TV also does AirTunes, I was able to liberate mine from my stereo and now I’ve got it managing a printer that just does not like to play nicely off a USB hub.

Some of you may know my friend Victor Cajiao over at the Typical Mac User website and podcast does an excellent Sunday afternoon podcast over at TalkShoe.com where the listeners and hosts talk about all things Apple. Victor usually has outstanding guests. This week, however, he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel and I’ll be co-hosting with him at 5:00 p.m. pacific time. We’ll be talking about the new iPhone SDK, how I exist in a windows office with my Mac, my shiny new MacBook Air and anything else that comes to mind. I’d love to hear from the MacSparky readers so if you find yourself looking for amusement tomorrow afternoon, head on over to TalkShoe and join the fun.

It is Tuesday again. This time Apple announced some very nice updates to the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. They include processor and hard drive bumps. Likewise, the MacBookPro 17″ is now getting an LED display and the MacBook Pro line is getting the MacBook Air gestures on the track pad. You can see the product details here.

I know several people who have been waiting for this update (including my friend Victor from the Typical Mac User podcast) and I expect we’ll be seeing reviews of the new hardware in no time at all.

I’m still quite satisfied with my slightly aged MacBook Pro. If any readers are buying one of the new machines, chime in on the comments.

I’m a big fan of both OmniFocus and Andy Ihnatko so when Andy took OmniFocus for a spin without cracking the manual or any other preparation I knew I would be in for some laughs. As Andy attempts to trundle through the application he brings back a few memories of me through the beta process. Hang in there Andy, it will come together.

Interestingly, Ken Case from Omni submits a few comments providing some good application tips so at the end it actually gets educational.

Check it out.

So my day began .. well .. in the dark. I had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch my flight to the bay area. I knew I was a geek, but this brings it all to a new level. Just a word to the wise, if you ever decide to carry on a Blue Snowball microphone on an airplane, make sure you tell the TSA about it first. It is after all round and full of electronics. They spent quite a bit of time looking at mine but eventually decided I was not a threat to national security. At least not today.

I arrived in Oakland at 8 and then took the various busses and trains necessary to get me to downtown San Francisco. I had intended to meet up with Victor from TheTypicalMacUser podcast where all of us plebeians would follow the keynote on iPhones, Macbooks, and other things Apple. Fortunately for Victor however, he managed to get into the keynote. So it was just Jonathan Cost, from MacTipsDaily at ThinkMac.net and I waiting for the exhibit halls to open. Jonathan and I were lucky to get down to the doors early. Very quickly, there were a LOT of people waiting behind us.

We were lucky to get in just as the doors open and some of the first people to get our hands on the new MacBook Air. It is quite an impressive bit of engineering. I just can’t get over how small it is.

As readers will know, I had my heart set on an iTablet. I’m sure this machine will be very popular but I’m happy with my MacBook Pro. There are a lot of missing features and it is pretty expensive.

The improvements to the Apple TV are really exciting. I used the new interface and watched HD movies on it. I’m thinking this may spell the end of my Blockbuster subscription (which just got more expensive).

The iPhone 1.1.3 upgrade is also a nice upgrade. It looks like things are getting ready for the SDK. I’m going to be talking to Omni and Barebones about this tomorrow.

I gave an extended interview to Steve Stanger tonight at the MacAttack so you can get a lot more information listening to that. For tonight I think I need to get some dinner and some sleep.

Happy New Year fellow Mac Geeks! I look forward to (among other things) making MacSparky even better in 2008. A few ways I’m going to do this include:

* Better production values in the screencasts (I’m slowly figuring it all out)
* Select guest posts
* Superior MacWorld coverage in just 2 weeks!

If you would like an excellent New Year’s Resolution, try slowing down. Leo made an excellent post on this point over at zenhabits. Go and check it out.

My kids went nuts over these new plug-ins for Leopard iChat. We spent about an hour chatting too each other with the various faces and effects. The 70s kid in me of course immediately gravitated to the the Star Wars bluey thingy. “Luke! Use the Force!”

You can download them from Apple right here.