Archives: September 2004
Wed Sep 29, 2004
Apple Updates Music and .Mac Sectors
August 29th:
After a long delay, the .Mac e-mail update. Users are now given 250 megabytes, up from the original 125 MB. Users are also given the option tp upgrade the the gigabyte mark for an additional $49.95 a year. While this is still the same amount as the Spymac mail for 50$ more, we won't get mad at Apple for being behind the market. We are just glad to see .Mac users are now able to compete with their Spymac buddies.
http://mac.com
http://spymac.com
Apple has also updated its Logic line of pro-audio tools used by over two hundred thousand
musicians worldwide. Logic and Logic Pro 7 come with many new features, head on over to
for further information.
Finally, two new Jam Packs marketed for Garageband users; Jam Pack Remix Tools and Rythym Section. Both carry 2,000 new loops and dozens of new instruments, both aimed at different types of musicians. The new Jam Packs, introduced today, accompany the one released on January 6th at Macworld San Francisco. The tools and Loops are in Apple Loop Format and can be used by Garageband, Soundtrack and Logic. Each pack costs $99 from the Apple store
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Sun Sep 26, 2004
Hurricane Jeanne (The Aftermath)
September 26th: We Floridians are getting tired of this, and I am sure the rest of the U.S. is getting tired of reading about it. The thing is, I wanted to share with you some media from the storm that hit St. Augustine, FL today. MPG's headquarters is located there and we suffered quite a blow. I will assess the damages tomorrow and find out just how bad we were hit. The hurricane is still proving its furry outside but the worst has passed. You can hear everything starting at around 12:30PM to 7:30PM in a sixteen minute audio recording brought to you by our Fourth generation iPod and Griffin iTalk voice recorder. The audio has been compressed for easay downloading. We also shot a 1 minute video compressed using Quicktime 6 Pro into an MPEG4 file at around 640K. Both have been uploaded via dial-up which took quite a while to our servers.
Click "Full Story" for downloads. More...
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Tue Sep 21, 2004
M$ Computer Crash Causes Airline Problems
September 21st: From Techworld.com. Eight hundred planes had were three hours without communication to air traffic controls due to a massive Microsoft Windows powered server crash. The servers controlled communications with commercial airlines. The lack of controls caused a few close calls between airplanes and forced controllers to communicate with planes via mobile phones filtered through working stations.
Full Article : Here
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Sun Sep 19, 2004
Day 1 Down
Well, yesterday I offically switched to Macs. I have been busy lately, though my new 14" iBook is so cool. I dont know how I survived with out it! The airport card is screaming fast, iChat, Safari, and Mail are so cool. Still trying to figure out GarageBand. I was also finally able to use the Wheel from Spymac. All of software that it came with is pretty sweet. AppleWorks is ok, though I am thinking of switching to Office for my documents. Its amazing at how much battery life you get. I mean with my old HP laptop, I could only get an hour, though six, thats amazing. Overall its pretty great.
1 GHZ iBook G4
256 MB of Ram
14" Screen
Airport Express.
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Thu Sep 16, 2004
Belkin Digital Camera Link
Belkin is the leader in iPod accessories. There are dozens of cases, carriers and other items for the Apple iPod, but Belkin has connectivity in every way imaginable for our favorite handheld music player. I have to admit the Belkin Voice Recorder is low on our scales compared to the Griffin iTalk, but their Media Card Reader and, recently introduced, Digital Camera Link are great for photographers on the go. More...
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Waterfield Designs' Vertigo
The second new case to Waterfields line is the Vertigo. Available in one size for only $79 dollars, it is a great price for a Waterfield Bag. Of course, the Vertigo has a lot of storage space while maintain its sleek look with plenty of pockets. I did have a few problems with the case; like lack of a computer compartment. The shoulder strap feels awesome and did I mention the pockets? More...
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Tue Sep 14, 2004
Rob Glaser Responds to Slashdot, Talks Up Real Networks
Slashdot sent 10 questions to Real Networks Rob Glasser. As promised to Slashdot, Glaser answered all the questions himself rather than through PR people. Several of the questions have to do with support for Apple and Harmony. An interesting quote is from Reals take on Harmanoy, Harmony simply added a new way to secure the content we've licensed from music companies. We didn't mess with the locks on any of Apple's music, stated Rob Glaser during this interview. He then added, We think it would be extremely anti-consumer for Apple to stop the music by intentionally breaking compatibility with Harmony. What!!!!! I can't believe he said that!
Glasser also answered questions about the price of digital music. Selling digital music will involve some kind of tiered pricing new mainstream songs for 99 cents retail, and up-and-coming artists and back catalog artists at a lower price. However, Real is still trying to prove that such a tiered method can work effectively....
More...
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Wed Sep 08, 2004
MyPersonalGetaway Ads: Now Open
September 8th: MPG has been hard at work on their Ad-system for weeks now and until we get our next release ready, we have brought you MPG 2.0's first pre-release feature. The new ad system's launch is with perfect timing too. We charge per click and per view. Rates are as low as five follars per one thousand views and 20 dollars per five hundred clicks. We are pricing these ads competitively in hopes to get personal and professional individuals to buy space to further develop MPG. The owner has been paying for MPG out of pocket for the past nine months and developement costs of the next version are getting high. We hope this addition will speed up our attempts to further your experience on our website. You can find out more info by emailing We accept paypal, check or money order.
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Tue Sep 07, 2004
Waterfield Designs' Cozmo
The Cozmo is the newest case from Waterfield Designs. It is an extremely sturdy case for carrying almost anything. There are two sizes; a small (14 x 10 x 4 / 1.9 lb.) and a large (16 x 12 x 5 / 2.7 lb.). Their prices range from $139-$149. The Cozmo is definitely a major addition to their family of cases with new features never seen in a Waterfield Case. With a reinforced side, solid bottom for protection and ability to stand on its own and more storage space than any case in class. This case also has colors schemes like other cases from the company.
Click "Full Story" for more. More...
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Mon Sep 06, 2004
User Submitted Apple-Expo Pictures
It may be a little late, but one of our readers, dabaer, has posted some pictures on his .Mac website from Apple Expo.
The Pictures
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One Big Family
In the past month we have survived 2 hurricanes Charlie and Frances , before each hurricane I noticed something amazing about the way people were acting.
Click "Full Story" for more More...
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We Survived Big Frances (Matt's Reflections)
Well, you guys looks like me and Adam got off the hook pretty easy again, there was no major damage here in St.Augustine at all, the storm lasted for about 2 days ,
Click "Full Story" for more More...
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Fri Sep 03, 2004
iPod 4th Generation
Gallery can be fount at https://mypersonalgetaway.com/hardware/ipod/index.htm
At first glance I thought this was just a band-aid to another iPod coming out around January. I kept those thoughts up until I used the sucker. The iPod fourth generation is the must-have computer accessory of the summer and that is an understatement. It has a great price range, does everything over USB 2.0 as well as Firewire, has the rebirth of the original wheel and works will all Apple accessories for the third generation iPod (excluding iPod cases). It was very difficult to get the new iPod but we finally got one and here is a break down of its new features and additions. More...
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AirPort Express w/ AirTunes
Gallery can be found at https://mypersonalgetaway.com/hardware/airport/index.htm
Apple is slowly moving more and more into the digital music revolution. Like Steve Jobs says, everyone loves music. He is right. Even the people that hate a lot of things have a favorite band or favorite song of all time. Apple has been cornering the market since their release of iTunes back in 2000 then their iPod in November of 2001. They have added the iTunes Music Store, updated the iPod, added new headphones to their lineup and just recently the release of an inexpensive Wi-Fi base station with the ability to stream music anywhere in your house via iTunes. Airport Express is an Airport Extreme station the size of an Apple notebook power brick with Ethernet, USB and audio ports on the bottom. There is no power cable since you plug the entire brick into the wall. From there, you can browse the internet wirelessly, print via airport to your USB printer and stream music to stereos all over the house and for $130 USD you can afford to buy more than one. More...
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Apple In-Ear Headphones
Gallery can be found at https://mypersonalgetaway.com/hardware/headphones/index.htm
At Macworld San Francisco in January of this year, Steve Jobs introduced before the iPod mini a companion the current iPod family. He showed off a forty-dollar pair of in-ear headphones in the same distinguishable white as the included iPod headphones. He boasted they had better sound since were deeper in the ear and were also more comfortable. I agree with the comfort level but other than that, these headphones have more downfalls than I can list in this short review. More...
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iMac G5: Our take on Apples most overpriced iPod
As you all know, two of MPGs writers, Adam Jackson and Mike Livsey were up all night on Monday covering Apple Expos keynote. There, Phil Schiller introduced the long-awaited iMac G5. The new beauty packs a G5 processor, 17/ 20 LCD, combo or Superdrive and a brand new design that is a mix between iMac, eMac and Apples iPod. At MPG we love the new design and its entry price of $1299. Many complain of its lack of aluminum and minimal moving monitor but others have fallen in love with the new computer and have already bought theirs. More...
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MPG At Photoshop World
September first: MPG will be attending Photoshop world on September the third and using our media badges to get some exclusive interviews from exhibitors such as Adobe, Quark, Apple, Scott Kelby Books, Wacom, and many other corporations and graphic technology companies. We will also snap pictures and give you the scoop on one of the largest Mac oriented shows of the year. Although Photoshop world is Mac and PC, it is a Mac dominated show and if it is any sign the exhibit hall is sold out for the expo. We will be going the last day in hopes for some smaller crowds since the show is in Orlando Florida as opposed to Miami. Orlando is only three hours drive from our home quarters.
Side-note: Hurricane Frances, a category 4 hurricane (as of this writing) with winds up to 145 miles per hour and a 300 mile radius (covering the entire state of Florida, if making land fall, will hit the tip of Floridas south border on Friday morning and be at the northern most points of my state by Saturday. This means that the last day of Photoshop world may be cancelled. Of course we hope for the best because I can only get Friday off to cover the show floor. Please keep your fingers crossed in hopes that we can get the coverage we need to satisfy our readers.
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Stepping Away from Our Normal luxuries
Sometimes we, as Americans take things for granted. No, not human beings, but as Americans. We have it all I would say. All of it is not free but all is available to those who can pay the price. What is all in this context? All is comfort, luxury and our needs and desires fulfilled. Today I got home and had to get the number to Photo Shop World to see if it will be cancelled on Friday. I live 2 hours away from Orlando Florida, home of this years Photoshop World. I wanted to do some interviews and PR things for the website. Well, anyway I had no dial tone on my phone. I thought it was my phone, but then my computer could not get online so therefore my phone is out. Of course, it is not out from lack of payment just from the fact that it is out to piss me off. More...
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Thu Sep 02, 2004
If you don't have the money, stay at home!
I think that part of a college education should include a mandatory temporary job serving at a restaurant. I have been a server off and on for nearly 4 years now, while going to school. I have learned some valuable lessons in the process. The biggest thing I have learned is how to:
TIP YOUR SERVER More...
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A threat to iTunes? Not really...
In one of my previous stories I told you about the possibility of Microsoft taking over the theme park industry, or at least part of it. Now Microsoft aims at taking over the music download industry and is making a fair play at it. Microsoft announced and released their beta version of the MSN Music, their online music store and download service.
This new service touts many similarities to Apple's iTunes and also includes many advanced services that Apple fans can only hope for in their future, like video and online radio...
More...
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Wed Sep 01, 2004
The Microsoft theme park
Beware Apple fans, your next visit to a Six Flags park may startle you after the rides are renamed to "The Blue Screen of Death" and the newest ride "The Longhorn." Which I might add is only 65% complete. But when your roller coaster car flies off the unfinished track, it will be your own fault. Bill Gates who owns 12% of Six Flags may be considering a take over of the company...
More...
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Tue Aug 31, 2004
Democratic House Call
A few weeks ago, as I was watching Big Brother on television, I received a disturbing telephone call. The lady on the other end of the line explained that she was with the Democratic Party and wanted me to participate in a survey. I was feeling generous and agreed to participate. She proceeds to tell me that she has volunteered to call people who are listed as "Independent" on behalf of the Democratic Party for research purposes. I knew right there that the rest of the conversation was not going to be a pleasant one. More...
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