The Problem Recently some of my MacBook hardware failed. The MacBook had sat in a corner unused for a long time. My iPad has come to replace it as my main portable device. Most of what I wanted to do — read the news, email, calendar, magazines — can be done quite easily from my iPad. The MacBook was neglected and somehow it's battery and SuperDrive failed. I sent it off to a repair shop which confirmed that indeed the…
DVD
I looked through all the Black Friday flyers, not because I wanted (or needed) anything, but because I was helping find bargains for friends and family I knew were looking for specific items. I ended up buying a heavily discounted blu-ray player that had been on my wish-list for some time. I assuaged my guilt by donating my three year old DVD player to my brother-in-law. minimalmac: You can pledge to get rid of an amount of stuff equal to…
I've used boxee.tv and I must say .. I am blown away. On an a MacBook ( suppots Ubuntu Linux, OS X, and AppleTV at this time ), with supplied Apple remote this thing easily gives TiVo a run for the money. With Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu support, these guys are definitely onto something. Have you read about how TiVo and Netflix are teaming up? Soon, you will be able to stream your Netflix Instant queue directly to your TiVo.…
I think this would make an excellent Ubuntu Linux workstation for a small office. Intel® Pentium™ Dual Core T2390 (1.86GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache) Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive) 1GB1 Shared DDR2 at 667MHz (1 DIMM) 160GB2 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Integrated Stereo Audio with 5.1ch digital output (S/P DIF)…
The discussion over on the MacWorld forums have me thinking more about the Apple TV, Apple Time Capsule, Time Machine, and iTunes movie rentals and purchases. I think iTunes music and video rentals and purchases will become the way I get all of my media content. I think I can replace the cable company HD PVR, my TiVo, and my DVD player with Apple branded products and totally be without any physical media. Although the Apple TV is a great…