One more thing....

So then. There it is. The Apple Expo in California. An eagerly anticipated event for anyone passionate about Apple products, as they invariably launch new software and hardware. In the past, even if we've had a pretty good idea about what Apple are going to launch, they always seem to have a trick up their sleeve.

So then. How did they do this time? Personally I thought the event was pretty tame for Apple ... but that's not to say the updates weren't interesting. They just didn't have the 'Oh my, look at that', heart racing, giddy as a schoolboy, dreaming about how this new box will change my life .. kind of effect.

To jump in at the deep-end: Apple released their first ever Intel-based Mac. This in itself is a major milestone for Apple ... but it was overshadowed by the hype they gave the shift to Intel in the latter part of 2005. We were all expecting at least one member of the Mac family to replaced with Intel hardware for this event. Yeah, OK. So they surprised us by having not one, but two members of the family upgraded: The iMac and a complete revamp of the Powerbook (now called the MacBook Pro, thus dropping the IBM/Power association). They're nice looking machines, and they're faster than their IBM counterparts ... but I'm hesitant to start dreaming about owning one :o)

This is the first time that the Intel-based version of the Mac OS-X operating system has been made available to the public, and there are bound to be teething troubles. Especially since any software that has not been recompiled for the Intel CPU will be run through a subsystem named 'Rosetta'. In theory this is great, as it means older applications will always run on these new systems. In reality, however, any application running through Rosetta is bound to suffer some performance degradation, which may frustrate new owners of these super-fast machines. I think I'll wait for a while :o)

The other thing I find suspicious is the lack of information about the new Intel 'Core Duo' chip. Is it a 64-bit chip? Yes, I know the benchmarks show this thing is almost twice the speed of the G5 ... but in order to achieve this has Apple / Intel taken a backwards step?

There were other semi-interesting updates today too: A new iLife suite (iLife 06), which had some pretty tame new features for a major update. The addition of a web authoring package, iWeb, looked more promising ... but it's not clear whether it's only for .Mac subscribers.

With so many recent updates to the iPod, it was hard to believe they'd come up with anything new .... but they managed to squeeze in an iPod remote/radio adapter which allows you to listen to FM radio on the iPod. Great. Just what I always wanted .... oh, wait. It's only available for the new iPod video :o(

All that aside, I think that the shift to Intel looks promising. If anything I would guess that Apple are making a point by keeping the design of the new iMac and the laptop almost identical to the previous model. They're saying "Look. We've shoved Intel chips in these things, any everything stays the same. We're still Apple". I'm sure there'll be many more innovative Apple products over the next 12 months, but for now they're playing it safe.

There'll be more Expos. (Fingers cross for NAB and Final Cut 6 :o)

UPDATE: Apple have posted a TV ad they've made about the Intel switch.

Flickring Boat

I've decided to upgrade to a Flickr Pro account.

I figured: What am I going to use Flickr for? Am I going to fill it full of random holiday photos and images of empty coffee cups ... or am I going to put my better photos on it, and see what people think?

I was surprised then, after uploading this photos I took in Tunisia, that it only took 10 seconds to get the first random comment posted about it. Another 10 minutes go by, and all the other photos I uploaded were getting a look in. Not bad, eh?

After hunting around the Flickr website, finally trying to figure out what's available, I discover 'Groups'. Groups are communities of Flickrites who share a common interest, or like a certain genre of photography. There are groups for black n' white photography, photographs taken in West Yorkshire ... even photos of Apple Macs. Joining one of these groups allows you to publish your own photos in the group for comments. They're also a source of amazing and inspiring images.

If you already use Flickr, then you probably said 'duh!' while reading the last paragraph. I can't believe I've been a member for so long, and never bothered to find out how the site works. Ah well.

Hopefully my new year's resolution (No. 6), which is to 'Get out and use my camera more often', will result in a very Flickry year :o)

New Phone

I got a new phone last week. It's not the smallest one I've ever owned!

I don't know what happened. I was all set for getting a smaller phone; the story of Tim's Nokia Communicator fresh in my mind ... and then I bought this. Ah well. It's cool anyway!

2005: The Year of Stuff

Hmm. I can't think of any better way to describe it:

"Yeah, I remember the year of '05. Stuff happened."

To be honest, I just got on with living. I did some pretty amazing things in the
latter half of the year, which are still hanging around on this front page.

So then, what did I do then? Lets have a look (in no particular order):

• I had the most amazing holiday to the USA in July. Cost us a fortune, but worth every centy-Americany-penny-thingy.
  
• Joined the gym in January. I even went to it a few times. :o)
  
• Bought a new car. Ever since I bought my Renault Clio six years ago, I've always fancied owning a Laguna. Yes, I know it's a bit of an old-mans/reps car ... but I've never been too bothered with the outside of a car. It's the inside that I spend all my time in :o)
  
• I've technically owned four ipods this year. Not bad. I'm aiming for less this year.
  
• Attended IBC at Amsterdam. Finally!
  
• Miss T's entire family moved to Spain ... and then back again.
  
• I bought my first Apple computer. A shiny G5 iMac. Miss T has had to fight for attention ever since :o)
  
• I discovered that Miss T and I weren't the only folks to painfully enjoyed the Eurovision Song Contest. Here's to more Eurovision parties.
  
• I went rock climbing in the Lake District with my good friend, Emma.
  
• Hmm ... and I can't quite remember which year I discovered geo-caching ... but I certainly did quite a bit of it in 2005.
  
• I started a blog!
  
• ... and a load of other stuff that's probably important, and that I should remember.

Working on the principal that a picture speaks a thousand words (that's about 5 Power-of-TV questions), here's Oli's 'Images of 2005'....

Enjoy.