Changing to Mac

At the end of 2010 my old Acer laptop started to show signs of old age. I started to consider my options. I was pretty sure that I did not want to buy a desk top computer. There were couple of very interesting options that were on offer from Sony and Samsung. Both of them were laptops with Core i5 processors and large and fast hard drives. The buz that has been surrounding Apple for the past five years got also to me and made me consider buying a Mac. Unfortunately the pricing of Mac computers has been a bit of putting. Let's face it the hardware in the laptops usually is a bit out dated (that changed with the new generation of MacBook Pros. Still there is something strange with the Macs that lured into buying one. I was pretty lucky to find a two month old base model MacBook Pro for only 870 euros with a neoprene bag (value 40-50 €) and with preinstalled MS Office. The whole package was delivered to me with the same price. So converting to a Mac did not end u being so expensive, at least not for me. I've used a Mac now for about four months and here are some of thoughts about my experiences. 

Even though I would not like admit it there is this strange aura around Macs. It just feels so much cooler to use.  It is funny how Apple has been able to make devices that do not not represent the latest technology cool. A lot of it is to do with user experience which, I think, is just wonderful. The ease of use and the fact that device just works is wonderful. Also it was not that hard to impress me since my previous laptop was from the 2006.

I usually listen my music from my computer so I really appreciated that the 3,5 mm headphone jack also acts as an optical audio out that connects to my stereos. I also like iPhoto and iTunes works much more smoother than in Windows XP. Before this blog post turns totally into just repeating how wonderful Macbook Pro is as a laptop I think it is better to stop. But before that I want to make just one more point. I think that for most people that are not even so technically oriented as me Mac offers ease of use and stress free computing. Also you will constantly find features that make the use of your computer more easier and just a bit more pleasant. So far the closed nature of Mac's software environment has not caused me any problems and I have been able to install all the programs that I have wanted to. In conclusion, so far my Mac experience has been very positive.

PS. Don't change to Firefox 4 it caused me a lot of problems I had to go back to 3.6.

PPS. Oh, they are starting to sell them iPad twos in my country. Should I get one?

My favourite Android apps

I've had my HTC Wildfire now for nine months and I would like to share couple of my favourite apps.

Winamp

Winamp for Android

 The standard music player that HTC offers is all-right, at first. After awhile you start to notice the limitations of the program. They are mainly on the usability side. The default music player just isn't that agile and easy to use. Particularly changing between the player and library and getting to the track list of a album is a bit difficult

Winamp for Android is makes listening to music more enjoyable. The user interface has some pretty nice features. Like when you are playing an album you just simply swipe down wards and the track list is exposed. Also the search function is very agile. At the newest versions when you swipe left or right you can change the song. Winamp for Android also plays Shoutcast internet radio.

C:geo

C:geo

Oh, this app has brought me so many fun moments during the last six months. Absolutely the best way to search geocaches on a Android device. Not much more to say about this. The program is updated frequently and if you start geocaching you might find a fun new hobby.

AndNav!2

AndNav!2

There are a number of software that you can use for navigation in Android and there are also paid version available from TomTom and others. I opted for AndNaz!2 which is free navigation software. You can use maps from many sources like Mapnik and Google Maps. The maps that Mapnik provides are very accurate and detailed. You can download maps directly from Mapnik and save them on your device. Also when you browse maps on AndNav!2 the maps are saved to the device for later. The problem is that the route directions are downloaded from a different service which is bit of a bummer. This means that you always need an internet connection when you want route directions, but if you have an unlimited data plan that shouldn't be problem. For a free navigation software AndNav!2 is great program and is able to fulfil most of your navigation needs.


Frozen Yoghurt

Finally thank god they finally released the 2.2 Froyo update also to Wildfire. It made the device so much better. The device itself feels a bit more responsive but the best thing that came with the 2.2 update were the many small tweaks and corrections made to the GUI and language translation. Like the fact that when you turn the phone while using the camera the controls turn accordingly.

Coco Starts a New

This blog post has been delayed due to lazyness and work obligations. Now, being unemployed, I have a lot of free time so I can focus on more important things like blogging.

Have you noticed that Conan has started his new show on TBS. Oh, you have. Shit. This is not starting very well. 

Anyways here are my thoughts about the new show.

I was totally excited about Conan's new show and had really high expectations. I think so did Conan and his crew, because Conan was visibly nervous during the first couple of shows. After a couple of weeks I think Conan got his act together and was again able to relax infront of the camera.

This new show has proven atleast one thing. The style of comedy that Conan his writers do can not be adapted to suit Tonight Show. There needs to be that edge and sillyness in their comedy. Or maybe, and actually I vote for this option, it is just the fact that the audience of Tonight Show is so much older that they just do not understand Conan's comedy. The comedy in the new show is atleast as good as the in Late Night. And you can see that people doing the show are having fun.

Conan is enjoyable to watch and even the product placements do not bother me that much.

Still:

To Kill A Mocking Bird

I finished this book already couple of weeks ago, but still I wanted to say a few words about this book.

It is no wonder that "To Kill A Mocking Bird" has its place as one the novels that is mentioned when talking about how the race question in U.S. society has been dealt in literary culture. Yes, eventhough the book is written from a "white" perspective it draws very sharp and clear picture of the double standards in the U.S. justice systems and peoples minds in the 1930s. Of course the whole book is commentary to the situation in 1960s, but still the it draws a vivid picture of Maycomb county.

At times you can feel the warm summer breeze on your face or the floor boards slighty squaking under your feet when you walk accross the kitchen inside Finch's house. The atmosphere and milieu is so well crafted, present all the time and strong with out being pushy. It just lingers there in the background as it should.

The second thing I wanted to say is about the story line. I did not have knowledge about the actual story line before I started the book so the kind of indirect progression of the story with couple of side stories really lead me a stray. I really did not know how the story would end. This is probably the best part of the book. 

But what makes this book so great is that is Harper Lee's ability to write in a manner which touches your feeling and with out preaching at the same time.

Moscow, Moscow

In November my travels took me for the first time to Moscow, the splendid capital of Russian Federation. I was very excited to go since I had a lot of previous experience from visiting and living in St. Petersburg.

St. Basil's Cathedral at night

I was visiting Moscow on a business trip and was staying at one of the best hotels in the city, at least location wise. The hotel I stayed in was the lavish ”Hotel National” on the edge of Kreml and Red Square. The room that was booked for me was the basic room of the hotel but stil it was one the nicest hotels I had ever stayed in. The bed was huge and there was hot tub in the bathroom. Very nice!

The days I had to spend at the exhibition dedicated to higher education. The event itself was pretty pointless but it gave me the opportunity to observe the behaviour of young Muscovites. Somehow I was not able to see anything especially Russian in the young people they seemed like young people in any other European city I have visited.

My free time in Moscow was rather limited. During the day I popped for lunch to ГУМ and then headed back to the exhibition booth. During the evenings I went and tried to explore the area around Kreml. I did not visit any special places I was just very happy to spend the evening walking around in the fresh air after having spent the day in doors. Yes, fresh air. At least I felt that the air in the center of Moscow is much fresher than in St. Petersburg.

Out of the few places I visited I should mention the small church on the edge of Red Square and the shopping center Okhotny Ryad. I light a couple of candles for the memory dead grand parents and observed the evening service for couple of minutes. It was really nice to see something different than the usual turisty stuff. The shopping Okhotny Ryad is massive under ground complex and I almost got lost in it. I had some nice fried chicken at food court down stairs. Fried chicken seems to be one the favorite fast foods all over Russia. Other than food I did buy anything from the shopping center, but if you are in of anything you can get it in Okhotny Ryad. The prices at the New Yorker store did not seem that expensive taking in to account the prices in Germany and the fact that it is the center of Moscow.

What did I eat in Moscow? I must admit that quite a few times visited some fast food place, but I did visit the traditional soviet style restaurant in ГУМ a couple of times. You can get a proper meal there for few hundred roubles but I usually filled my tray with everything. I once tried the boiled cows tongue. All I need to say is that I do not have to try it again. Maybe prepared in different way than just boiled would make tongue a more appticing choice. The last night me and my colloegues visited ёлки-палки another restaurant serving traditional Russian cuisine. It is actually a chain of restaurants but the price quality ratio is very good and at least during the evening you get a discount for choosing the buffet table and beers are not that expensive either.

Corona at Stary Telegraph

I only visited two bars during my stay, I tried to stay a way from the hotel bar since it looked very expensive and a place that might eat your soul after it takes your money. I went to the restaurant on the second floor of Stary Telegraph twice and on the last night I found a nice Irish Pub on a side street near my hotel. It was full of lively conversation and all the people seemed to be on a good mood. After a few beers in the pub I headed to to Stary Telegraph for the second time where I was kindly invited to table of a group people celebrating birthday of Natalia. I had very nice evening with them. For breakfast the next day I had only two glasses of water. =)

My only criticism goes for the Шереметьево airport. It was quite difficult to decide which check in desk to choose since there were no signs to guide which check in desk leads to the gate your flight is leaving from. Yes, in Шереметьево you must choose your desk according to the gate. Ofcourse there were quite good signs in the main lobby but we never went there. So more signs please.

Happy New Year 2011!

Twentyten was a pretty good year for me. I achieved some things that I never thougth I would do. Also I think it was a year of spritual transformation for me. At the beginning of 2011 I feel much more relaxed and happy than before, still I do have some things to work on.

I am quite excite about the new year. I hope it brings new and exciting things for me and my loved ones. 

I did see quite a strange dream last night. At first I was at a medeval town where I was hiding from Death Knights and evil Mages from World of Warcraft. I threw spells on them and was able to defeat couple of them and drive the rest of them away. Oh, and I was wearing this magical cloak (or I did cast spell, can't remember which) that made me invisible.

In the second part of my dream I was flying with Lady Gaga over southern France. I do not why we were doing this. We were looking for the apartments in the top floors of apartment blocks and tried to sneak in. Maybe to have sex. I remember how the sun was shining and the trees were green it was obviously the beginning of summer since the temperature was not that high. Eventually I think me and Lady Gaga found a place we liked and got in. The apartment was on top of a white house and there was a big balcony almost like a veranda. I unfortunately I do not know what happend next.

Hopefully this was some sort of a premonition of what will happen to me during 2011.

Conan on TBS

Oh yeah. Conan's new show is starting on TBS on the 8th of November. Definately going to watch. I do not want to forget to watch the first show. That is why I added the counter.

BTW. Still getting lot of hits because of the blogs I wrote about Conan earlier. That's cool.