The MacCast » Adam Christianson

Mac Snac 001: 4th Gen iPod nano unbox

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Cool Stuff, Mac Snac, Reviews

A quick video unboxing the new iPod nano.

Maccast 2008.09.09 – Let’s Rock

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080909.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080809.mp3 [72.3MB 01:18:56 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 237. Wrap-up of Apple’s “Ready to Rock” event. New iPod Classic. New iPod Nanos. New earbuds. New iPod Touch. New iPod Shuffle colors. iTunes 8. iPhone/iPod Touch 2.1 software update. iPhone Security Flaw Confirmed. Fix coming. First Vista Seinfeld ad airs. Apple finally acknowledges father of the media player. Can Pystar win against Apple? Non-apple iPhone apps don’t launch, what’s up? The 9:41 vs. 9:42 iPhone discrepancy. Use Mail “Stationary” to spruce up emails. Reset iPod warnings Review: Koi Pond for iPhone/iPod Touch. Mac making unusual chimes at start up. Speeds on the Macs USB buses. External drives, bus powered or not?

Special Thanks to our Sponsor:
Faronics
Faronics Power Save Mac – Faronics Power Save Mac uses intelligent power management to ensure workstations are saving energy and money when they are not being used.

New music, You Don’t Need and iPod by Uncle Seth

EOL: Mac Vader Pro

There’s always work at the post office. — Hollywood Shuffle (1987)

Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3

Maccast Chat: Let’s Rock [update]

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

Update Apparently iChat/AIM has an incredibly low 35 person room limit. I had no idea. So we have set up an IRC Chat room for those who can’t join the iChat. Here are the details:

server: irc.efnet.net
room: #maccast

Join us for Live Maccast chat open right now and going through the end of Apple’s live “Let’s Rock” event today (9/9). The Apple event begins at 10:00 AM PST.

Join us on iChat/AIM in the room: maccast.

To access it using iChat:
1) Launch iChat
2) Go to: File–>Go to Chat… and enter “maccast” as the chat name.

or Click this link to join now (AOL Instant Messenger or iChat account required)

Maccast 2008.08.28

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080828.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080828.mp3 [76.2MB 01:23:14 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 236. New iPhone ads spotlight App Store. MacBook Air Software Update 1.0 released. Apple looking to post a strong quarter. What is wrong with 3G? Rumors brew, possible Sept 9th iPod event? Psystar sues back. Bloomberg glitch kills Steve Jobs. Feedback to App Store and Apple comments from last show. Your Mac is smart, use it. Smart folders, playlists, and more. Phishing scams targeting more Mac owners. MobileMe not for all Me’s Review: Recorder for iPhone. iPhone Apps like rabbits in iTunes, cleaning up the dupes. Time Machine warnings can be confusing. iPhone lore: 9:42 AM. Keyboard navigation for Open Save dialogs.

EOL: Wings Over Wallstreet

Special thanks to our sponsors:
Circus Ponies Smile on My Mac
Circus Ponies – The Easy Way to Get Organized on the Mac. Try it FREE for 30 Days.
Smile on My Mac, check out Text Expander

New music, Walk Right Over Me by The Gathering

Never lower your eyes to an enemy. — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3

“Code Monkey” from New Media Expo (live)

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Cool Stuff

Jonathan Coulton “Code Monkey” at New Media Expo 2008 (Live)
from Adam Christianson on Vimeo.

As promised here is the video of Jonathan Coulton (jonathancoulton.com) performing Code Monkey during the Coverville 500 event in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 2008 New Media Expo.

Clip used with permission from Jonathan Coulton and Brian Ibbott

Maccast 2008.08.19 – New Media Expo 2008

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080819SP.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080819SP.mp3 [65.1MB 1:11:08 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. A special episode of the Maccast recorded live from the show floor of the New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This show features special guests Victor Cajiao (Typical Mac User) and Ken Ray (Mac OS Ken).

Links
typicalmacuser.com
macosken.com
coverville.com
jonathancoulton.com

Special thanks to our sponsor:
Circus Ponies
Circus Ponies – The Easy Way to Get Organized on the Mac. Try it FREE for 30 Days.

New music, Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton, performed live during the Coverville 500 event

Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3

Maccast 2008.08.09

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080809.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080809.mp3 [62.0MB 01:07:38 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 235. Winners of Smile on My Mac contest announced. iPhone 3g shows strong results. Rumors of iPhone Nano are back. More apps disappearing from the App Store. iPhone phone home, iPhone phone home? NPD Group says Macs cost twice as much as PCs. Rumors of new Macbooks strengthen. Apple finally prepping new displays. To shutdown or not shutdown that is the question. Installing apps outside the Applications folder. iDisk, what is it good for? Open and Save dialog box trick. Has Apple spread itself too thin? Get more WiFi details from Airport menu bar item

New music, North Wind by The Pharaohs Of Rhythm

Special Thanks to our Sponsor:
Faronics
Faronics Power Save Mac – Get a free trial.

Not to be rude or anything, but this isn’t a great time for me to have a house elf in my bedroom. — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

EOL: Meet the iPhone Nano
Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3

Is iPhone 3G’s Scott the new Jenny?

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Cool Stuff, Random Thoughts

scott_01.jpg scott_2.jpg

Those of you who are old enough will maybe remember the 80’s hit Jenny by Tommy Tutone. The song repeated over and over again 8675309, the supposed phone number of a fictitious girl named Jenny. Back then the song drove anyone across the nation with that phone number nuts as they were overwhelmed by annoying random phone calls.

Today, most movies, TV shows, songs, commercials, etc. use a “555” number to avoid this type of issue. So imagine how strange it was for me last night when I saw one of Apple’s latest iPhone 3G ads prominently featuring what looked like a legitimate phone number. In the new Work Friendly ad for the iPhone 3G there is a point when they display a contact entry for Scott Frankel and right there in the middle of the screen is an actual (408) phone number. Two actually, because there is also a bad edit in the middle where the screen magically changes mid-shot and adds a second “office” number. After my initial shock wore off I began to wonder. Why would Apple use a “real” number in an iPhone ad? Was this simply a mistake by the ad agency? A clever marketing campaign? I could see by the zip code it was a Cupertino number, so was this a secret hotline into Apple’s headquarters? Well, any Mac geek can probably guess what I did next. Of course. I grabbed my own iPhone and started dialing.

The first number, Scott’s “mobile”, simply had a call failure each time I tried it. The second “work” number went straight into a generic voicemail box. Now, I didn’t leave a message, but I have to wonder what would happen if you did. What is the point of all this? Is there a point? In the back of my mind I was kind of hoping this was a great viral marking scheme and the start of some cool iPhone/Apple treasure hunt like the kind of campaigns the folks over at Mac Heist have crafted in the past. But alas, it doesn’t appear to be so. Seems like a missed opportunity. Truth is, it’s probably just a prank on some poor unsuspecting intern who works at Apple. This guy is now wondering why he gets like 3,000 voice mails a day and why the folks in marketing snicker at him as he shuffles out of his cubicle each day to go have lunch. Maybe he should give Jenny a call and see if she’s available to join him?

Maccast 2008.08.02

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080802.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080802.mp3 [64.0MB 01:09:48 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 234. Next iPhone OS Update gets to developers. iPhone 3G starting to crack under pressure? Apple makes it easier to get your iPhone 3G. Mobile Me is finally fixed, maybe? AirPort Extreme Update 2008-002. Rumors of new Macbooks, chipsets, etc. iPhone ripples generating smartphone tsunami. iTunes 7.7.1 update. Leopard 10.5.5 shows up for developers. Apple finally patches DNS flaw, kind of. iPhone security using Wi-Fi. Finding and removing hidden files. Nullriver NetShare iPhone App. Removing 3rd party apps from sync list. Adjusting podcast auto delete settings. Flagging Mail.app email for follow-up. How-to disable iPhone backups.

Special thanks to our sponsors:
Circus Ponies
Circus Ponies – Free 30-day Trial of Notebook

New music, FCC by Bullethead

EOL: John Mayer Apple Genius

Don’t touch it! It could get infected… — Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3

Maccast 2008.07.24

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20080724.mp3]
Download today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20080724.mp3 [77.9MB 01:25:04 128kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 233. iPhone 3G is cheaper, has complaints, and is in short supply. iPhone 2.0 feeling a little more like public beta for some. Update for older iPod Touches. iPhone 3G unlocks and jailbreaks released. Apple apologizes for Mobile Me, offers penance. Apple’s second quarter growth takes it to #3 in the US. Apple 3rd Quarter earnings call. New Macbooks soon? Quad core of iLife updates. 3 New iPhone ads posted. Microsoft and Ubuntu look for more Mac like experiences. Why isn’t TimeMachine talked about more? Fixing Time Capsule backup kernel panics. iPhone 3G calendar color fix. Auto open disk images on mount. Dusting off your Mac. Hack your way to .Me almost push. Should we give our Mac preventative medicine? Be careful with App Store purchases. iPhone 2.0 screenshots built-in.

Special thanks to our sponsors:
Circus Ponies Smile on My Mac
Circus Ponies – Free 30-day Trial of Notebook
Smile on My Mac, check out Happy 5th Birthday!

New music, With My Freeze Ray by Dr. Horrible


I have a PhD in horribleness — Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008)

Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3