Author: jamesclay

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Still no joy with Nokia N810 and JoikuSpot

Today I tried with no success to get my Nokia N810 to get an internet connection through JoikuSpot on my Nokia N95.

Basically it wouldn’t get an IP address from the N95.

I suspect that though the N95 is acting as a wireless router, it is still “seen” by other devices as an ad hoc wireless network rather than an infrastructure wireless network and for some reason the N810 doesn’t like this and therefore does not get a valid IP address from the N95, or perhaps DNS information. Now according to a comment on my blog post (about the PSP and JokiuSpot) on this said:

Actually, I’ve used N810 with JoikuSpot Light in the past. I no longer have the N810 so can’t try it with premium, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work…

I wonder if it is a DNS issue rather than an IP issue.

I know the whole setup was working as my iPod touch was doing fine.

Of course I can use a Bluetooth connection to use the N95 as a modem and get on the internet that way with the N810, but without using JoikuSpot only the N810 can get online and I (and anyone else) can’t use the connection.

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Need more bandwidth…

My 2Mb ADSL is just not sufficient for my needs, it just ain’t fast enough!

Basically I seem to be able to do one thing and one thing only. As soon as  I try to do more than one thing everything grinds to a halt.

For example I was uploading a 20MB video file and at the same time watching Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer and both slow down… Same happens when downloading video from the iTunes Store or other bandwidth intensive activities.

Alas I can’t upgrade my bandwidth as I am too far from the exchange.

It is  worse during peak times when everyone else if using their internet.

No real solution, so I will just have to whinge and moan.

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New Mac mini (possibly)

Nearly a year ago I mentioned rumours about a possible new Mac mini.

Then I said.

So it is looking like that we may well see a new faster, better Mac mini.

I do like the Mac mini, it works well as a little Mac for testing and trying things out as well as introducing people to the Mac. I also have used it in the past as a server for various web services and for limited use it works really well – probably would not be too happy if it was a production server.

I did try it as a TV computer, in other words connected to my TV, but I never really used it, in the main as it was an old G4 PPC model and was rather slow for recording and capturing video from an EyeTV USB device. The newer Intel models have the advantage of remote control and faster processors and graphics better suited to video.

I am interested to see where Apple goes with a new model and I may just have to get one.

This week we have seen pictures and video surface on the rumour sites, however similar things were said a year ago.

Yes I would like to get a new one to be a media server under my TV, but will we see a new one. We are going to just have to wait and see.

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Fantastic Contraption on the iPhone

One of my favourite sites at the moment is Fantastic Contraption so was well pleased to see an iPhone version.

The online game is described as.

An online flash puzzle game where you build whimsical machines to solve each level.

Well the iPhone version is basically an iPhone version of the online Flash game.

If you have played the website version, the iPhone version takes a little getting use to but you can still build quite complicated contraptions.

The downside is the £2.99 price, which is the most expensive iPhone app I have bought so far.

It’s not the most stable of apps for the iPhone the tutorial caused the app to crash twice and a hard reset of the iPhone.

Overall a really fun game.

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What’s that then…

I do go into System Preferences now and again, but not often. I accidently started it this evening and saw this at the bottom.

Hmmm…

I am pretty sure I didn’t install it. Now I know I haven’t downloaded anything recently, but this seemed weird. The name didn’t seem to give any clues.

I opened the preference pane to have a look.

Preference Pane

MacFUSE allows you to extend Mac OS X’s native file handling capabilities via 3rd-party file systems. Visit the MacFUSE website for more information.

Well I was none the wiser!

Did you think I was going to click the link, no I think not!

Did a Google search and got this.

Whats that then…

Made me feel a little better, as it would appear that it wasn’t some kind of malicious code.

Looked further down and it said in one of the other searches something about NTFS…

Now it was all starting to make sense.

Parallels must have installed it when I installed Parallels the other day.

Must stay on top of these kind of things.

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Installed Parallels 4.0

Well my copy of Parallels 4.0 arrived from Amazon who are selling the boxed upgrade for just £32. I didn’t use the enclosed CD, just the latest version from the Parallels website and the serial number included in the box.

The install went fine, converting my Vista and Windows 7 images went fine and Windows 7 is working fine. However I did have issues with the conversion of the Windows XP image, with some WMI errors.

The new version of Parallels is an improvement on version 3.0, but still don’t like coherence mode (default) which just doesn’t seem right on a Mac, much prefer using Windows in a window.

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New Kindle

Amazon have released a new Kindle.

It has many new features and is smaller and thinner.

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

One day we might get one in the UK, one day….

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iWork ‘09

Apple have released a new version of iWork with new versions of Keynote, Pages and Numbers.

Keynote has always been my favourite application in iWork and there are some new features which look interesting. Doesn’t seem to be a huge number of new features though, main ones which will make me upgrade are the integration with the iPhone (or iPod touch) and the web show functionality.

Haven’t got a copy yet, but will get the family edition so I can install it onto all the Macs in the house and the possible future MacBook I am thinking about getting.

I may also get iLife ’09, in the main as it usually integrates better with the newer version of iWork.

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Hmmm Parallels 4.0

In a previous post I did say I was downloading Parallels 4.0 so that I could install Windows 7. The download only includes the software and you pay for a licence key to use it. I have Parallels 3.0 and therefore will be getting the upgrade version.

It’s weird though, from the Parallels store, the upgrade is $49.99 which is nearly £50 by the time you convert to pound sterling, add VAT (even at just 15%). Must be because the pound is so weak against the US dollar at the moment.

It’s weird because Amazon are selling the boxed upgrade for just £32.

So for just over £15 less I can get the boxed set and real media, or pay more for a download. Doesn’t make sense to me.

I can wait for a few days, as it is only Windows 7 we’re talking about!

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iTunes Plus upgrades now à la carte

One of the big criticisms of the introduction of the widespread use of iTunes Plus on the iTunes Store (ie the removal of DRM) which was announced at MacWorld 2009 was the fact that you had to do an all or nothing upgrade.

That has now changed.

Upgrades now no longer have to be on a whole library basis they can be now done on an iTunes Plus upgrades now à la carte basis as seen in Apple’s FAQ (note opens in iTunes). You can now do single songs.

As a result I can upgrade my Prince songs, but not necessarily the Steps track I must have bought when I was not really with it!

iTunes Plus