First impressions are that this machine is much faster then my 6year old MacBook Pro.  Very nice.  The screen is pretty much all that everybody seems to say.  Bright, clear, and beautiful.

I did order the wired keyboard with the number pad along with the new trackpad, and the magic mouse…. So far I seem to go back and forth between the track pad and the mouse, which is interesting.  Not sure if it will stay like this or if I will gravitate to the trackpad.  The keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the keypad was a good choice for me.

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I knew that I could not afford a new MacBook Pro, so I started looking at my options.
I could get a windows laptop running Windows7.
I could get a Mac mini.
I could get an iMac.

Admitedly Microsoft’s Windows 7, looks pretty slick and they seem to have made major improvements to security. But it would cost around $800.00 to get the equivalent windows versions of the software that I need for my work.

Mac Mini sounded like a good solution until I realized that it would cost more money for a second monitor(not even sure if you can hook up a second monitor through the hdmi port).

This led me to the 21 inch iMac, I can hook up a second monitor with ease, plus for the price, it is probably that fastest solution available….

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Image via CrunchBase

I Moved from FireFox to Google Chrome as my default browser as soon as plug-ins became available on Google Chrome.  I tend to only use plug-ins that enhance productivity in web development, but those same plugins seem to slow FireFox to a crawl.  I just checked and these are the Google Chrome Plug-ins that I use.  They are very similar to what I used on FireFox.

• Development Plug-ins
  • csscan
  • Web Developer
  • Regular Expression Checker
  • Firebug Lite
  • Screen Capture
  • Measureit!
• Productivity
  • Better Gmail
  • Clip to Evernote
  • 1Password
  • DayHiker
  • Google Mail Checker
  • Google Voice
  • Send Using Gmail
• Entertainment
  • StumbleUpon

Unfortunately FireFox is much slower then Google Chrome both in starting up and rendering pages. The difference in speed is so pronounced that I decided for my own sanity to try Google Chrome, and never came back.

Now it looks like FireFox 4beta will be a real attempt at catching up with Google Chrome in speed and even wisely adopting the top tab layout to better support how web apps appear in the browser.  Unfortunately some of the layout stuff like top tabs are not yet available for Mac, though they say coming soon.  The good news is that there is a marked improvement in start-up times and page rendering.  Not as fast as Chrome yet, but much better then the current stable version of FireFox.  Things that I expected (since this is an early beta) without being disappointed are incompatibilities with some of my plug-ins.

I think that FireFox 4 holds some promise in the near future, but it still needs some time in the oven before it will be ready for another poke.  For the moment Google Chrome is still secure as my default browser, but the folks at google had better look out.  FireFox is starting to catch up.

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From the apple site…
This iOS software update for iPad contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

• Improved Wi-Fi connectivity
• Fixed an issue that could prevent copy and paste of single-page PDF attachments in Mail
• Addressed an issue that could cause video playback to freeze
• Improved reliability of video-out when using iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter
• Added Bing as an option for Safari’s search field

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPad (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G)

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The GraphGear 1000 uses .3mm lead and seems pretty well made for the price.  The tip contracts to protect the nib from accidents, and shirt pockets from holes.  While this is no RotoRing, it has good heft and balance, and its thinness is fits my hand well.

Bottom line, I really like the GraphGear 1000 for the price and usability.

Image by geehall2 via Flickr

The new iOS 4.0.1 was released today that is supposed to address the “bar issue” where signal would seem to drop more dramatically then reality suggests when covering the external antenna.

So far it has not had a negative affect on my iPhone usability, but I seem to have lost a bar.  This makes sense due to how Apples change really just reflects a more even signal strength span between bars on the iPhone 3, 3Gs, and 4.

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This whole circus makes me wonder who is really behind the iPhone 4 bad press.  Perhaps the competition?  With all the other vast improvements found in the iPhone 4, this has to be making the competition very nervios.  If they can slow down the acceptance of the iPone 4 perhaps they will have a chance to catch up.

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Image via CrunchBase

THE beta 1 version of Firefox 4 released last week has a distinctly unfinished feel to it. I suppose this was to be expected, given the browser’s beta status, but after the dramatic improvements that Firefox went through going from Version 3.0 to 3.5 and 3.6, the jump to 4.0 seems almost anti-climactic.

via Manila Standard Today — Firefox 4 beta — 2010/july/13.

Personally I have become enamored to Google Chrome.  Google Chrome has all the plugins that I really need for development, and it is very very fast compared to Firefox.  If they can match or come close to Google Chrome’s speed and startup time, I may consider going back to Firefox as my primary browser, but I am not holding my breath…

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From the Gmail Blog:

“Rich text signatures have long been one of our most widely requested features. Some of you have tried your own solutions, including Greasemonkey scripts, browser plugins, and even using canned responses from Gmail Labs. Others have simply lived with frustration of not being able to change the colors or font size of your signature, or insert images and links. Either way, you’ll be happy to know that today we’re launching the ability to write your own rich text signatures right in Gmail.”

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I had managed to get some extra hours last month and used some of it to improve my kit (hopefully not enough to make my awesome wife nervous).

So anyway… My logic went something like this:
Hmm. I have been working on limb independence and do not seem have made much progress in a while.  It feels like my feet are always struggling to keep up.  I spent some time tweaking my hi-hat stand (An older Yamaha stand), getting it to feel more responsive.  The bass drum pedal on the other hand was also a Yamaha, but it felt a loose and it squeaked from time to time.  Being a pretty new drummer with no experience with other bass pedals, I did some research to see what others thought.

As it turns out there seem to be about three favorites out there, and there are decisions about wether or not to get double pedals.

1. Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive running around $320 for a single pedal and $650 for doubles.
   1. Absolutely beautiful.
   2. Expensive as….
   3. Lots of great reviews
2. DW 9000PB Single Pedal running around $300
   1. Not as beautiful.
   2. also expensive…
   3. Lots of great reviews
3. Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide Single Pedal.  This one goes for $170
   1. Not as beautiful
   2. a lot cheaper
   3. Some pretty good reviews here, but with more of what seem to be personal preference issues.
4. Mapex Falcon Bass Drum Pedal just a bit more then the Iron Cobra at $197
   1. I actually like the look if this one over the Iron Cobra and the DW9000
   2. still cheaper then the top two
   3. Just out this year.
   4. Amazing reviews, sometimes even compared to the DW9000

So with this information in hand, I went to my favorite drum shop to poke at what they had.  the Pearl Demon Drive felt really smooth but that price was just too much.  the DW9000 felt pretty nice also but still too much for my wallet.  I ended up with the Mapex Falcon since it was compared to the DW9000 and the price was barely within what I had to play with.

Oh, and of course I had to get new drum heads….  I went with the Evans Hydraulic Glass for the toms and an Evans EQ3 for the base drum.  I tuned the drums to around the lower midrange of what the shells are tuned to, and tuned the res heads a bit tighter.  I installed the new bass pedal and started messing around with the settings for a few minutes, settled on the batter location and added the sticker to the drum head to protect it….

Then I got down to business.  I ran through my exercises, noticed how great the new drum heads sounded tuned lower.  It took about 10 minutes to start getting used to the new pedal but I noticed right away that bass drum hits actually felt more solid and on time.  It has to make you wonder if it is psychological or hardware, or a bit of both.  From the very first 20 minutes on, my speed and accuracy on the Bass pedal  has increased.  I now have far less accidental bounces, and I am feeling in the groove much more constantly then before.