The Author – Bart Busschots
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Jan
29
The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same
Filed Under Polemics & Politics on January 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I know some people don’t like it when I get political. However, when you give your blog the tag-line ‘an Irish Voice in the Blog Sphere’ you sometimes have to take time to reflect on events in Ireland, even if they are political. It’s been almost a year and half since I last shared my views on the situation in Northern Ireland on this blog and back then I felt that the Unionists were being let down terribly by their leaders. Since then there has been a lot more movement from the IRA. They have basically ceased to exist and their political wing has now agreed to support law and order in Northern Ireland by backing the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). At the same time the Unionists are refusing to accept a report by the police ombudsman proving what we all knew already, that there was serious corruption within the old Northern Irish Police Force and that they colluded with Unionists. Basically, Unionists continue to live in a revisionist past while the republicans are looking to a brave new future for Northern Ireland.
[tags]Northern Ireland[/tags]
Jan
29
Why Do Bloggers Blog?
Filed Under 42 (Life the Universe & Everything) on | 1 Comment
This is a question Daren Barefoot is investigating. If you’re a blogger and you’re reading this he’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete his short survey at www.whydoyoublog.com/survey.
As to why I blog, in short:
- Gives me a place where I can keep a record of all the technical stuff I figure out and the cool software I come across making it easy to find in future. When I come across a problem I know I’ve solved before I just go to my blog and search! I could keep that kind of stuff private but why? When it’s on the web I can get it form anywhere and others can benefit too!
- Gives me a place to send people when they ask me a question I’ve answered before.
- From time to time I actually enjoy writing. I know the vast majority of my articles are technical but when I feel like writing an article on something I’m interested in (even if it is just Harry Potter some of the time) I have a place to do it.
- By writing down my opinions and predictions it gives me a good way to look back and see how good of a handle I really have on things.
- I actually have some readers!
Jan
11
iPhone – Next iPod or Next Newton?
Filed Under Computers & Tech on January 11, 2007 | 2 Comments
I had promised in my immediate MacWorld 2007 keynote reflections that I’d do a more in-depth article on it later but on reflection the Keynote really was just the iPhone so you’re getting this article instead!
In the buildup to his big announcement of the iPhone Steve Jobs showed us a time-line with other great Apple innovations, he was very selective though. Probably one of Apple’s most revolutionary products was the Newton, the first PDA, and it was a flop! On the other hand, the iPod with it’s really simple UI was also a great Apple innovation, and it has taken over the world! So much so in fact that the terms iPod and MP3 player are interchangeable in many people’s minds! Regardless of what happens I believe we will look back on the iPhone as something new and something special. The question is, will it be looked back on like the Newton, revolutionary, great, ahead of its time, but ultimately a failure, or like the iPod, a revolution that took over the world?
[tags]iPhone, Apple, iPod, Newton, MacWorld[/tags]
Jan
9
MacWorld 2007 Imediate Reaction – WTF, Leopard?
Filed Under Computers & Tech on January 9, 2007 | 4 Comments
OK, first off, WTF … what happened to Leopard? I want to know when the next OS X will be out and more importantly what will be in it! I’m just shocked that software did not feature at all in the keynote. No new iTunes, no iLife 07 and no Leopard. What can I say, that’s a pretty big aspect of my predictions blown right out of the water!
So, in short I expect to hear lots about Leopard, very little about the Macintosh line (apart from the usual gloating about its greatness 🙂 ), and a good bit about iTunes in the form of the iTV, movies for more people and a cool iPhone.
On the plus side I did say more movies and TV Shows, iTV and the iPhone so I guess three out of four ain’t bad!
[tags]MacWorld 2007, Apple, Steve Jobs[/tags]
Jan
9
.Mac – The Devil is in the Implementation
Filed Under Computers & Tech on | 6 Comments
Apple really go out of their way to push .Mac so a little over three months ago I decided to give their 90 day free trial a go. I may as well see for myself what all the hype is about right! On paper .Mac is great. The iDisk is a wonderful idea, the idea of syncing your application settings, calendar, contacts email …… is wonderful. However, I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase the devil is in the detail, well, with .Mac it’s similar, the devil is in the implementation.
[tags]Apple, .Mac[/tags]
Jan
8
Musings on What iLife 07 May Bring
Filed Under Computers & Tech on January 8, 2007 | 2 Comments
A pretty major omission from my MacWorld 2007 predictions is iLife 07. No idea why my brain wasn’t tuned in to the fact that every MacWorld I remember seems to have brought an iLife release, so why would the year be any different? You could argue that with Leopard on the way iLife may come later in the year, and that was my view for a while, but I’ve changed my mind. Anyhow, regardless of when it does come out I want to discuss what I’d like to see in it.
I don’t really use iMovie or iDVD enough to have anything interesting to say about them. I used both twice in iLife 06 and each time it was a problem-free and rewarding experience. I have a lot more experience with the other iLife components so I’m going to concentrate on those, namely iTunes, iPhoto, iWeb & GarageBand.
[tags]MacWorld, Apple, iLife, iTunes, iPhoto, iWeb, GarageBand[/tags]
Jan
4
MacWorld 2007 Prediction Time
Filed Under Computers & Tech on January 4, 2007 | 6 Comments
Well, it’s that time of year again, Steve Jobs is hopefully about to release some totally unexpected surprise on the Mac community, I am of course talking about MacWorld. As normal I’m going to put my money where my mouth is and make some predictions. So far my success rate has been descent but this year I feel I’m shooting in the dark much more, what with the Intel move being complete, the Macintosh line-up being all fresh and complete, and the iPod line looking pretty fresh and up-to-date too. So, now that I’ve made my excuses, on with the predictions!
[tags]MacWorld, Apple, Steve Jobs[/tags]
Jan
1
Running NMAP on Intel Macs
Filed Under System Administration, Security, Computers & Tech on January 1, 2007 | 4 Comments
Before I switched to an Intel based Mac I had always used NMapFE as my nmap front end. Since I only need to run nmap on my G4 MacMini at home and my G5 PowerMac at work I didn’t notice until today that NMapFE doesn’t work in Intel Macs. I had recommended NMapFE to Allison of the NosillaCast and she replied to tell me it didn’t work for her. I tried it on my own MacBookPro and sure enough, it doesn’t work. So, I went hunting for a good nmap GUI for Intel Macs and eventually came up with a good solution. The bad news is that this solution involves installing three things separately. But, don’t worry, all three are small and painlessly simple to install.
[tags]nmap, security, Mac, OS X[/tags]