Random Thoughts

I just learned that Doyle Dykes, Taylor Guitar Clinician and incredible guitarist, will perform at Discovery World in Milwaukee on November 25, 2008 at 7 p.m. I saw Doyle a few years ago at a music store and his playing and stories blew my mind. The event benefits Discovery World and Guitars for Vets. Anyone care to join me?  Tickets are $10 each exclusively available through Discovery World 414-765-9966 or online. May also be available at the door if space is still available.  Who’ll join me?

Here’s Doyle playing Wabash Cannonball.  I think there may be some Orange Blossom Special thrown in for good measure.

I’ve been struggling with a syncing problem for a week.  I have a 60GB iPod and run iTunes 8.01 on a Mac Pro with Leopard 10.5.5.  I’d plug in the iPod and before it could sync the first file I’d get the error:

Attempting to copy to the disk <name> failed.  You do not have enough access privileges for this operation.  iTunes could not save to your Music Folder because you do not have write access.  Check the permissions on your Music Folder and folders in your Music Folder, then try copying this file again.

iTunes would then disconnect (not eject) the iPod and several other errors and warnings would pop up.  I searched and searched and tried many solutions but finally figured it out.  I needed to change read/write permissions on the iTunes Library file and iTunes Music Library.xml file — not for me, but for staff and everyone.  I did both at once so not sure which file did the trick or which role.

I documented my troubleshooting with a mind map.  It shows all of the things I tried and what eventually worked.  Hope it works for you, too.

Note you can click-drag the map to reposition and expand/contract the branches. If you’d like to edit the map and add your own detail, click the mindmeister logo to visit the hosted site.

As mentioned in the past, I make extensive use of Apple Scripts to convert my downloaded podcasts to audiobooks and Audiobook Builder to rip CDs to audiobooks.  This allows me to rate and manage on my iPod and then remove them easily with iTunes smart playlists.  It also allows me to play the file at high speed on the iPod.  The process involves converting an MP3 to AAC (M4A), then changing the file name to end in M4B, then deleting the file and sending it to the trash, then recovering it from trash and readding it to iTunes.  Now do you see why I use a script to do that?  It appears that iTunes has finally made this process a little easier.  I’m not sure how it works with MP3, for instance, will it convert them to AAC?  I’ll still use my scripts for my workflow since I typically receive a dozen or so new podcasts daily but this is certainly a good way to handle one or two files at a time.

Hat tip to Lifehacker for this one.

EepyBird’s Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has a review of the Podcaster iPhone app I mentioned the other day. Check it out.

Interesting interactive map here from GasBuddies.com. When I first looked at this in morning, Wisconsin was one of the few red areas in the country. Now (9 p.m. CST) most of the states directly below Wisconsin are read. It is interesting to see the amount of variation across the country. Note the map in the most changes as gas prices change so when you read this, my commentary may no longer be valid.

Thanks to Bob at work for sending this my way.

I don’t have an iPhone or iPodTouch yet.  I’m waiting for my killer app before I break my Verizon contract and jump.  The app for me would be the ultimate podcast player.  As I’ve shown in other posts, I jump through a few hoops to manage my podcasts (see here and here).  This helps the workflow associated with download, listening and removing and with a few AppleScripts it isn’t to cumbersome.

My bigger issue is capturing notes and bookmarking specific portions of podcasts and audiobooks so that I can quickly retrieve those notes when I get out of my car.  For instance, I’d like to be listening to a podcast via bluetooth headset, be struck with an insight based on the content, press the button on my bluetooth, speak a quick note or two, then get back to listening.  When I’m out of the car and back to the office or syncing with my Mac, I could pull up a list of “notes” and the app would show me a list of all files that had attached notes, allow me to skip directly to that spot of the podcast or audio book, play back the note and perhaps the section of the podcast…you get the idea.

I thought maybe the iPhone version of Evernote could work but a few conversations with the developer pointed out some limitations with iPhone in that it doesn’t run multiple apps at once. So that indicates that I’d need an all-in-one solution.  Unfortunately, it looks like Apple may not allow that app to be created. A new iPhone app, Podcaster, may not make it to the app store having been rejected by Apple because:

Apple Rep says: Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.

This app isn’t exactly what I’m looking for but the developer’s experience would indicate that the journey may be tough.  It’s really a shame that a helpful $4.99 app can’t make it to the store but the $1000 I Am Rich app can.  Come on Apple.  We expect better from you.

David Pogue’s blog on the NY Times site is one of my favorites.  (Pogue is author of several of theMissing Manual books such as my favorite Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual.)

The other day he published his gaget list for 2008.  Several of his choices match mine.  For the entire list go here.  We match (or are close) on D-SLR, Camcorder and DVR.  See the details after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

I frequently hear from friends, “I’d consider a Mac but it costs more than a PC. Doesn’t it?” My gut response has been, “Not if you compare Apples to Apples!” (no pun intended.) MacWorld recently published a comparison of comparably equipped laptops. See this article for the details. The results (prices as of 6/20/2008):

MacBook vs. Dell XPS M1330 - Mac wins by a few bucks
MacBook Air vs. Lenovo X300 - Mac wins by $1571
MacBook Pro vs. HP’s Compaq 8710w Mobile Workstation - Mac wins by $263

Just what I thought! Can you get a $400 Windows laptop from Best Buy? Sure but don’t compare it to a MacBook — they’re in different leagues. Some other considerations as stated in the article:

• Windows computers are perpetual targets for spyware and viruses. Macs are targeted, too, but not to the same degree.
• The Mac OS and Apple computers both come from the same company. While Macs
  aren’t trouble free, you’re less likely to experience as many unexplainable crashes and incompatibilities as you might on a WindowsPC.
• Apple has earned top scores from PC World readers in reliability and service.
• The Mac OS X Leopard is a clever, nimble operating system and a pleasure to use. Windows Vista is a behemoth. While not the demon it’s often made out to be, it ain’t the Mac OS, either.
• Apple laptops have thoughtful design touches, such as keyboards that illuminate automatically in dim lighting.
• There are many more laptop choices in the Windows world, and at a greater variety of price points.
• There are still plenty of software applications available for Windows only. (You can run Windows on Macs, of course, using Apple’s Boot camp, which is included in Mac OS X Leopard, or a third-party virtualization program such as Parallels Desktop for Mac

By the way, I use Parallels for two Windows apps that I use occasionally. It works great.

This is a great year to be a Milwaukee Brewers fan! You can help get Corey Hart into the All-Star game by voting here. (Requires flash.)

Or go here to vote directly.