BBQIguana.com

Posts Tagged Apple

MacOS X error 0×80020022 trying to burn DVDs

Feb 20

Posted by Randy Hunt in Software, Technology

After being tremendously frustrated with my iMac failing to burn DVDs, and stressing myself out over what media might be supported, I’ve hit upon the solution to my problem: unicode characters.

I wanted to burn a DVD containing AVIs of Russian video, and I had given the Burn Folder a Russian name. Every time I tried to burn, I was greeted with error 0×80020022, and the media was immediately ejected.

Remembering the days of CD-R media and the compatibility hassles I once experienced, my first thought was to go buy a different brand of DVD media. But I experienced the error with the new media as well.

After stumbling onto a Mac support forum in which users blindly suggested that renaming a file had fixed the problem, I realized that I was probably trying to use forbidden characters in the volume name. Spelling my Russian words out in a Latin alphabet did the trick, and I am now burning the files.

Tags: ,

Comments

App Approval

Dec 9

Posted by Randy Hunt in Technology

I see a lot of complaints from developers about Apple’s app approval process. But here’s the thing: If developers aren’t complaining about app approval, it means someone, somewhere, is not doing their job right. If apps went out the way developers wanted them to, they’d have ugly interfaces, poor memory management, and no error checking whatsoever.

Personally, I like Apple’s app approval process. And I like the fact that it’s rigid and painful. In fact, I don’t think it’s rigid enough. I’d like to see them make it even harder to put apps like “iFart” online.

But, like it or not, iFart isn’t going to cause a system crash when you receive a phone call while using it. And that’s what’s important. The iPhone isn’t just a handheld computing platform…. it’s also a phone. And that means it has to work. It can’t be crashing all the time. And Apple’s process helps make that a reality.

Tags: ,

Comments

The Apple tablet computer

Oct 7

Posted by Randy Hunt in Technology

MacBook Touch Mockup

MacBook Touch Mockup

The rumor mill has been flying for a while, and I think enough has been confirmed for us to say confidently that Apple is definitely going to release a tablet computer in the beginning of 2010. At this point, I believe we can safely say that computer will have a 10-inch electrostatic touch sensitive screen (like the iPhone), and it will most likely have a HSPDA connection to AT&T.

The part that’s unclear, though, is… well… everything else about it.

But here’s my theory:

The MacBook Air was an incredibly cool new addition to Apple’s laptop lineup, but it was really mostly a sales dud by most measures… and I think the only reason for that was that the price was too high. But I believe the Air was merely an interim product — a way to begin recovering some of the costs associated with designing a completely disconnected, paper-thin computer.

Think about it: if you take a paper-thin tablet computer, lose the touch-screen, and add a keyboard… what are you left with, if not a MacBook air?

So what, then, do I expect to see? I think the iTablet (or whatever they choose to call it) will be exactly that: a MacBook Air, sans keyboard. I believe it will fit into a manilla envelope the way the Air does… and I believe that alone will be enough to distinguish it from all the other tablet computer offerings we’ve seen so far. A 10-inch tablet that fits in an envelope is exactly what every traveler on earth wants.

But that’s not enough. OS X has had some excellent handwriting recognition software for quite a while, but it will be better if I don’t need a tablet to enter it. Such features make this an easy Kindle killer. And in fact, if you include a stylus and allow me to write directly on the screen, you might as well go that extra step allow me to use my new iTablet as the world’s best ever replacement for a Wacom tablet.

And if the rumors I’ve heard about it pairing magically with the iMac as a second screen are true, well, how could you not think it’s worth that $799-999 rumored price?

Tags: , ,

Comments

Are you kidding me?

Jan 15

Posted by Randy Hunt in Technology

MacBook Air

Apple just never ceases to impress me. This is another home-run. Go watch the video and see how huge this tiny little laptop really is.

Tags:

Comments

Upgrading a G4 iBook to Leopard

Nov 19

Posted by Randy Hunt in Software

A few weeks ago I got an iPhone and was unable to use it with my computer. Last week I got Adobe Lightroom and then was unable to use it with my computer. The time had come to do something about that. So Friday I went to the Apple store and I got OS X Leopard.

I was unsure if Apple was still supporting G4 computers, but I was able to find that answer on their web site: they are. What I was not able to find, however, was any indication that I could upgrade. In other words, I was not prepared to do a clean install and wipe out my computer. The representative at the Apple store confirmed that I could do an upgrade.

The upgrade process took nearly three hours, and used almost all of the 10GB of free space on my hard drive. I hadn’t expected that. But I’ve found some ways to recover some space, so that’s not an issue. In fact, there really aren’t any issues. It just goes in and works. All of the upgraded software kept my settings and kept on working as I expected.

The only thing that stopped working was the driver for my Wacom tablet, but Wacom has provided almost a dozen driver upgrades on their web site in the three years since I first installed it, and after downloading and installing the new driver, my tablet worked like a charm.

The new features, going from 10.3 to 10.5 are amazing, and seem to run quite well on my iBook, even if it’s not a dual core Pentium. And yes, I took a few minutes to play with the new features of the OS, but only a few minutes, because what I really wanted to do was play with Lightroom… which is awesome.

And what about the iPhone? No dialogs popping up when I plug it in. No device listed in iTunes. I think something must have gotten set to ignore the iPhone when I tried it on 10.3.9 and it didn’t recognize it. Time to Google it.

Tags: ,

Comments

Woohoo! I have psychic powers!

Nov 1

Posted by Randy Hunt in General

It has been pointed out that I actually predicted the iPhone two years ago.

I bought my first iPod on Thursday, June 9, 2005. The following day, I wrote this:

The real magic is the iPod itself, though. I couldn’t understand what was such a big deal about iPod when reading reviews, but after having it in my hand for five minutes everything was clear. This really is one ingeniously designed technological wonder. I wish Apple would make cell phones. And tv sets. And cars.

And apparently I wasn’t far off with my next comment, about tv sets, given my positive experience when I first looked at Apple TV.

Tags: , ,

Comments

An entirely non-Apple experience

Oct 16

Posted by Randy Hunt in Technology

Okay, so I got the iPhone. It’s just a phone, a set of ear buds, a USB cable, and a cradle, all tucked neatly into a very small box.

I bought it from an AT&T store and asked if it would require a new contract or if I could just continue the contract I already have. The representative who sold it to me told me I could just pick up my existing contract where it is now.

Then she told me it’s really easy to activate the phone, you just plug it into iTunes and do it all from there. Wow, that sounded cool.

Well, I got it home and plugged it into my G4 iBook. Instead of activating iTunes and showing the new device, it brought up iPhoto… as if I’d plugged in a camera! A little digging around on Google revealed that iPhone requires iTunes version 7.3 or later, but that version of iTunes won’t run on OS 10.3.9, the version on my iBook.

Okay then. I pulled out my PC and plugged it in. (Yes, I love my Mac so much that I don’t even plug in the Windows computer.) Booted it up and went to install the latest iTunes. The latest version, 7.4.10, requires XP but I still use Windows 2000. Fortunately, iTunes 7.3 (the minimum required version) can run on Windows 2000 with service pack 4.

All right then. That meant I had to install Service Pack 4. So I downloaded the service pack and installed it. Then I downloaded iTunes 7.3 and installed it. Finally… I’m on my way. Then I plugged in the iPhone and…?

Unrecognized USB device. A little more research revealed that the phone itself isn’t supported in Windows 2000. It requires XP or Vista, or Mac OS 10.4.10.

Final verdict? If I want to use my new iPhone, I need to upgrade my computer(s) or buy a new one. I’m not ready to do that yet.

Fortunately, I was able to install the latest iTunes at work this morning and activate the phone. To cap off the entire experience, I do, in fact, have to start a new 2-year agreement.

So on the plus side, I finally have my iPhone, but on the minus side, I can’t sync with it at home, and I’m now locked in to AT&T for two more years, unless I pay the early termination fee.

And so, as far as user experience upon purchasing a new iPhone, I give it a 2 out of 5. It’s horribly non-Apple to choose not to support older versions of the Mac OS — particularly previous subversions of the current version! It’s even worse to make those requirements so hard to find — I should not have to search Google to find a way to activate my $399 cell phone.

The cardinal sin, though, is the much talked about partnership with AT&T. For Apple, a company known for user experience, locking Apple users in to a company with a reputation for horrible customer service is unforgivable.

Tags: ,

Comments

iPhone

Aug 19

Posted by Randy Hunt in Technology

iPhone

I stopped at the Apple store on Michigan Avenue on Saturday to have a look at all the newest stuff they’ve got out.

The new iMacs are beautiful, well-priced, and have enormous screens. I think I want one. And the Apple TV was something that didn’t really wow me when I read about it online, but playing with one in the store made a big difference. I think I want one of those, too.

Somehow, in spite of all the iPhone hype, I managed to walk into the Apple store without the thought ever entering my mind. But upon entry, you’re surrounded by demo models of iPhones, and after I’d played with everything else, I went ahead and played with an iPhone.

I love it! It’s awesome. I’m going to see if The New AT&T (formerly known as Cingular) will be offering them, since my contract will be up for renewal in a few months. If I can wait and get it at a discounted rate for signing a new contract, I will. If not, I may just go buy one next week.

Tags: ,

Comments

Steve Jobs style

Mar 6

Posted by Randy Hunt in General

How to Dress Like Steve Jobs is entertaining enough, but you aren’t having real fun at his expense until you play the Steve Jobs dress-up game.

Tags: ,

Comments

OS X on PC

Aug 15

Posted by Randy Hunt in Software

Some people have already managed to get versions of Mac OS X running on their PCs.

Tags: ,

Comments