Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

Brian Tiemann
Silicon Valley-based purveyor of a confusing mixture of Apple punditry and political bile.

btman at grotto11 dot com

On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

« ? Blogging Brians # »

Book Plug:

Buy it and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall

12/8/2003 -  12/9/2003
12/1/2003 -  12/7/2003
11/24/2003 - 11/30/2003
11/17/2003 - 11/23/2003
11/10/2003 - 11/16/2003
11/3/2003 -  11/9/2003
10/27/2003 -  11/2/2003
10/20/2003 - 10/26/2003
10/13/2003 - 10/19/2003
10/6/2003 - 10/12/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Tuesday, December 9, 2003
20:38 - Ldoch	(top)
Just thought this was kinda cool... When you buy a standalone iPod dock, it comes with two top plates-- one for the thinner 10/20GB models, and one for the thicker 30/40GB models. You snap it on over the heavy, rubberized base. Each top plate is wrapped in a plastic sheath that says, in several languages, "Make sure to use the correct cover to match your iPod!" Because once it's snapped on, it's really difficult to get it off. The manual says you can remove it by pressing on the connector tongue (which sticks through the slot into the divot) while pulling on the sides with your fingers, but this doesn't work very well (and risks damaging the connector). "Apple does not recommend that you try to remove the cover!" says the manual, directing you to a knowledge-base article about it. That said, though, the presentation of the pieces, in their styrofoam coffin, is impeccable-- just like all the other iPod-related accessories that are out these days, and of course the iPod itself. Yep-- I've got a new 20GB one. Christmas came early this year. And now I've got a dock for both home and work, so I can recharge at work as well as at home. (You can't sync the iPod with more than one computer, though, so it'll just be to recharge when I plug it in at work.) I had to get a second cable for it, but that's no problem-- the Dock Connector->FireWire cable is now available on the ubiquitous iPod Stuff shelf at Fry's or any place that sells the little buggers. So are spare power adapters, spare docks, Dock Connector->FireWire/USB2 cables, and so on. Notable, by the way, is that when the new iPod is plugged in to your computer and finished synchronizing (as long as you don't have FireWire disk mode enabled), it no longer says "OK to disconnect"-- it actually reboots back into player mode, right in the dock. This has two neato positive effects: a) you can play audio through the dock, using the handy audio-out connector; and b) you can pick the iPod up out of the dock and immediately begin playing, without having to wait for it to reboot. Obvious in retrospect; very slick. I'm still not wild about the four small touch-pad control buttons below the screen; the spatial purity and symmetry of the original design and its annular ring of buttons around the scroll wheel are gone (you can't find the button you want by feel alone anymore, as the new buttons' shapes are identical and give no tactile indication as to which is which), and you can no longer touch a button without "pressing" it. Similarly, making the scroll-wheel into a trackpad-style control has the drawback that the control no longer moves with your finger-- your finger slides along the surface, making motions somewhat less positive (and if your finger is wet, it's even worse due to stiction). But the upside is considerable: No moving parts, a thinner enclosure, and no way for sand to get into the wheel, as was a common problem reported by beachcombers with the first-gen iPods. But all the new software doodads are just great. I love the "Music Quiz" game. Yeah, yeah, there's the old "Bricks" game (which started life as an Easter egg, if you can remember back that far); and they've added an interestingly-designed Solitaire game and the rather macabre "Parachute" (in which you shoot down helicopters and then plug the survivors as they drift to the ground). But Music Quiz is an outstanding idea: when you start it, it grabs a random ten-second clip of a random song from your library, and the names of four other random songs, and it displays all five titles for you while the clip plays. You have to select the correct song title as quickly as possible, as the incorrect answers disappear one by one and the timer runs down. The quicker you answer, the more points you get. It's genius. There's no goal, but I could sit there playing it for hours. Star-rating songs through the iPod is da bomb, though On-the-Go Playlists I haven't had much use for yet. I'm still just getting used to the idea that all my music, and all my playlists, fit on my iPod now. Hot damn. The remote rocks too, by the way. No more digging the iPod out of its hip-holster to control it or skip to the next song. There are only two drawbacks to the remote: a) its keys are symmetrical, meaning you can't tell which way is up by feel (unless you're really clever about which side has the clip lever); and b) the extra cord which connects the remote to the iPod is hard to get under control. I poke it through my belt loops, but now I've got this mass of white wires across my front as I try to pay for lumber at Home Despot. Ah well-- life in Utopia is so hard, innit? Mmm. Music.