uninteresting :: rich

i’m cancelling my netflix account for like the 3rd time over the past few years. subscription services are a catch-22 - on the one hand, it’s annoying to have to make time to watch enough movies to make it worthwhile, and on the other hand if you don’t use it you feel like your wasting your money. anyways, i can hardly even get through the movies i download…so bye again, netflix.

here’s a shot of my Mac mini setup alongside my Dell Dimension 8400. pretty crazy to think that about 14 mini’s would fit in the Dell case. (the case of the mini is slightly lifted up because i upgraded the RAM to a 1GB stick, but for some reason it’s only recognized as 512MB. so i gotta replace the RAM again soon, and figured i’d leave the cover unlatched.)

so here’s the setup:

• Mac mini: $499 version + airport card, self-upgrade to 1GB RAM
• Storage: external Maxtor 250gb firewire hard drive (7200rpm). still debating whether to boot from the slow internal drive (and having a self-contained system) or booting externally (which requires the external drive is always connected & powered on).
• Display: the mini connects to the VGA input of my Dell 2005fpw 20” widescreen LCD. the PC connects to it via DVI, so switching between displays just involves pushing a button. the mini also connects to the monitor’s built-in USB hub, adding 4 USB 2.0 ports.
• Keyboard/Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Desktop Elite. since it’s shared with the PC, i have to move the RF receiver back & forth between the USB port of the monitor (Mac) to the port in front of the Dell. this is kind of a pain, but i can live with it - especially since i really don’t need a $100 KVM switch.
• Audio: the mini connects to the auxiliary input on the PC speakers (Klipsch THX 2.1), so sound from both PC/Mac come thru at the same time.
• TV: (not Mac related, but just to complete the uber-nerd setup): video input into the monitor from cable TV, which can be viewed picture-in-picture with either Mac/PC or in full-screen.

why is Steve Jobs a genius? because i’m a computer/gadget geek that’s always been interested in OSX but never would have considered shelling out the money or desk space for a Mac…yet now it’s on my desk, i’m diggin it a lot, and just might consider a full fledged Mac setup for my next computer purchase.

I have installed an interesting application - BlogJet. It’s a cool Windows client for my blog tool (as well as for other tools).

i had a 3 hr layover in LAX on the way back home, so i met up with my sis & her husband, debbie & charlotte at encounter, the weird alien-spaceship lookin structure at the center of LAX. a somewhat disparate group, but it was good to see everyone in one shot. not to mention it was the one fun thing i did on a birthday that was otherwise spent working and travelling.