Geek Out! - Mac Performance Testing and Charts

If you really want to gain a deep understanding of how the Mac Mini compares to other Mac models, you need to check out this extensive set of benchmarks and reports from Macintouch.com

Performance Comparison:
eMac G4, iBook G4, iMac G5 and Mac Mini

Career-Op: Return -- with MP3 audio

Career-Op: Return
by Douglas E. Welch, ComputorEdge Magazine

As I write, I am finishing the last few days of a holiday vacation to my home state of Ohio and learning that returning from a vacation can be just as stressful as preparing to leave for one. Despite doing my best to complete any necessary tasks before I left, a host of new challenges await my return. The same will probably be true of your next vacation. If you want to ease your re-entry into the work-a-day world after the holiday break, here are a few guidelines to keep you on the right track.

(Continued)

Listen to this column on your computer, iPod or other MP3 player
MP3 via Coral | MP3 direct from WelchWrite.com
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It's not about you!

Here is an interesting take on how to better serve your clients by serving yourself less. The author, Kathy Sierra "is an author of bestseller Head First books (http://www.wickedlysmart.com)--a new brain-friendly series from O'Reilly."

While you may not be a writer or trainer, like Sierra, I think that the concepts discussed here relate to anyone who deals with customers and clients.

From the web site...

Users shouldn't think about YOU

Do you care what your users think of you?

STOP IT.

Our best advice for creating passionate users is:

Care ONLY about what your users think of themselves as a result of interacting with your creation.

That's a major shift for a lot of people, especially our tech book authors (and instructors). It's so natural to write with a critic sitting on your shoulder representing the person who isn't even in your target audience anyway, slamming you for leaving something out, or not being technical enough, or not proving how smart you are. I have a little story about this... (Continued)

Career-Op: The Art of the Small Deal - from the archives with MP3 Audio Podcast

Career-Op: The Art of the Small Deal
by Douglas E. Welch, ComputorEdge Magazine

America is often seen as the country of the big deal. Everyone seems to be looking for the big score, the winning lottery ticket or, in the case of the computer careerist, the one big project that will make enough money that you won’t have to work for the rest of the year. While you all probably know the fallacy of this thinking, you can be caught up in the search for the big deal, to the great detriment of your high-tech career. While you can and should continue looking for the big deal, you need to fit it in and around the day-to-day work that keeps you solvent.

(Continued)

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MP3 via Coral | MP3 direct from WelchWrite.com
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New Security Update from Apple

About Security Update 2005-001 for Mac OS X [Apple Computer Knowledge Base Changes]

Click the link above for detailed information Apple's latest Security Update for Mac OS X.

From the update documentation...

Security Update 2005-001 delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. This update includes the following components:

at commands
ColorSync
libxml2
Mail
PHP
Safari

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798

Cooking on the Radio with Jeff Nemcher :: A Very Special Interview with Rick Bayless

Jeff Nemcher, over at the Cooking on the Radio Podcast & blog has an excellent interview with Rick Bayless, an expert on Mexican food and a well-known author, television personality and chef.

Rick talks about his grant program which offers funding to small, independent farmers in order to insure a supply of fresh, local foodstuffs for his restaurants and the general public.

Well worth a listen. Listen using the link below.

Cooking on the Radio with Jeff Nemcher :: A Very Special Interview with Rick Bayless

Resetting iPod if it appears frozen or doesn't respond

After several months of Podcasting, a great friend was able to pass off his older iPod to me. I was about to order an iPod Shuffle, Apple's latest, low-cost music player, but this has made that purchase unneccessary. Thanks to Michael for his great generosity.

Of course, since the iPod is a computer itself, it sometimes needs rebooting. I ran into that problem this morning as I was about to dash off on a support call. A quick search of Apple's web site gave me clear directions for resetting the iPod and getting on the road. This might be a handy link to keep around just in case it ever happens to you.

Resetting iPod if it appears frozen or doesn't respond

Armory Arts Festival - Pasadena, California

Yesterday, we headed out for an “adventure day” at the Armory Arts Festival in Pasadena, California. The first part of the “adventure” was taking the subway from North Hollywood almost to the door of the Armory. We try to take the subway whenever we can. I didn’t know what the parking arrangements were at the Armory and sometimes I would just rather leave the driving to someone else.

We boarded the Red Line in North Hollywood, and then transferred to the Gold Line at Union Station. If you like visiting Old Town Pasadena, but don’t like the traffic and the parking issues, I would recommend the subway for your next trip. Memorial Park Station is one block away from Colorado and Raymond, near the center of Old Town.

Click the pictures for a small photo gallery!

The Armory is an amazing place. They have a series of classes and events throughout the year, but on this day it was a children’s wonderland of art. There were booths for multimedia collage, monoprints, felt landscapes and sidewalk drawing with chalk.

I think Joseph did every activity they offered during the day and we spent over 4 hours at the festival. This is longer than we usually spend and points up the excellent quality of the festival. In the end, Joseph even won a free class a the Armory as part of their free raffle.

The entertainment was first rate, with Mexican dancers, Repercussion (a tremendous drumming trio) and 3 Peace Ensemble, a world music group.

After the festival, we wanted a little snack before getting back on the subway for the ride home. A small sign pointed us to Hey, That’s Amore!, an Italian coffeeshop and grocery. This is an amazing serendipitous find. The owner is from Sicily and makes a fine cup of coffee. I haven’t had such good coffee since we returned from Sicily over a year ago. He also sponsors evening Italian lessons, conversation nights and movie nights. We will definitely be returning here as often as we can. Check it out whenever you are in the neighborhood.

A 50 minute subway ride brought us back to our vehicle in North Hollywood and the end of a great day.

Free Cornell Note Forms

Here are links to some forms for using the Cornell Note-taking System. These PDF files can be printed on your printer and then added to a notebook.

I have mentioned this note-taking system before and you can get more information at the link below. I found out from a friend that certain high schools are also teaching this system in an effort to hekp their students excel in their education.

AMERICAN DIGEST: Free Cornell Note Forms for American Digest Readers