Mifi 2372

I've been seriously considering a MiFi. This is a device that lets you connect up to 5 WiFi devices to a cellular 3G network.

My main use would be to take it to our cottage where we would be able to still use the internet and keep in touch/be entertained/work. With up to 5 connections, me, my wife and the kids can all be using the net at the same time.

Yes, we would go to a cottage nestled in the woods near Cultus Lake and then spend the time on the internet :-)

Rogers and Bell are carrying it right now, $250 w/o contract. I'd like to get it unlocked so I can choose any carrier I want (and open the possibility to use it when we go out of country). I've found sites than can unlock for around $15.

I'm a bit on the fence: I really don't need another data plan especially when my iPhone plan has 6 Gigs of data and I use nowhere near this amount. If only I could use my iPhone SIM in the MiFi to access that huge data bucket....

Apple iPad

Well, they finally did it. After years of speculation, Apple has announced the iPad. Being an Apple fanboy, I'll no doubt get it, and claim to use it for teaching my residents (the big screen will make for easy reading of pdf journal articles and Keynote talks I use), but in reality, I'm jazzed by the big screen for videos, reading and the Calendar app. Given how the app market on the iPhone gave unprecedented functionality to that device, I'm very curious to see what the developers will come up with on this gorgeous screen.

Of course, it isn't the perfect device. I'd like to have seen a smaller bezel (I guess the design leaves more room to grip it without obstructing the view), and I'd have liked to see it incorporate GPS (it would make an obnoxiously large, windshield blocking navigation device, but other location-based apps might benefit), plus an integrated front camera would make it great for video chat, but as far as tablets go, it looks slick. I do lots of presentations and the new iPad Keynote ($10) will let me be even more mobile -- the instant on aspect makes it even slicker to set up for a talk.

For Pat, I think he needs a large screen just to keep track of his huge brood of offspring, if only to make sure he recognizes them all. Russian subtitled videos will also be easier to read. Did I mention that Pat is considerably older than me, thus anything he can do to work around nascent presbyopia will be beneficial, thus, the large screen is crucial.

Airstash

Here's an Advance Induction -- this is something I'll likely pick up when its released. Airstash is a new device which allows you to make a personal WiFi file server using any SD card up to 32Gigs. Any device with a WiFi connection and a web browser can view the files within, including movies, music, doc and presentation files. No other internet or 3G connection required.

The neat thing is it charges in the USB port and you can drag and drop files to it, then unplug it and when you turn it on, it creates a small WiFi network any multiple users can connect to it to download or view the files.

We take lots of car trips and the girls each have their own iPod Touches. Now, I can load on movies for them and they can independently choose what they want to watch -- I don't have to sync each iPod. The server device can sit in the front of the car (or even in my pocket or coat), or I'd bet I can leave it plugged into a car USB charger so it won't run out of juice.

With residents and other teaching situations, I can turn it on and allow them to log in and download the pdfs, journal articles or handouts we discuss on rounds. Cool.

No price yet but they hint at around $50-75 (their website says "about the price of one month of iPhone service").

BTW, I hear Pat has finally picked up an iPhone. Yep, another point for me.

27" of pure joy: i7 27" iMac and an SSD!

Just got my new shiny 27" iMac with the i7 processor & 8 Gigs RAM. Wow this thing is fast - benchmarks twice as fast as my 2006 MacPro. It runs VMware really smoothly.

I've even opened it up (removing the front glass!) and replaced the internal hard drive with my SSD (solid state drive) from the MacPro for even faster loading and its smooth like butta!

Pat has really got to try out how much an SSD can enhance the computing experience. After having on on my Macbook Air, I got used to near instantaneous app launches and short boot times. I picked up the OCZ Agility 120G SSD.


Anyhow, I do really like the new Magic Mouse -- the multitouch is better than the hardware buttons I've been used to, although suddenly my mouse's double finger swipe to go back/forward stopped working. I got it working again by reinstalling the driver from Apple's site.

I've tried out other apps to enhance the mouse's multitouch function. So far I like Better Touch Tool better than Magic Prefs -- although BTT is still a beta and isn't as pretty as Magic Prefs, I found BTT more configurable and actually responded to the gestures I programmed. Both are freeware.

Currently I've assigned a 3 finger swipe up to Expose all windows, 3 finger swipe down for Spaces, 3 fingers to left for volume down, to the right for vol up, 3 finger click/press to mute.

Better Touch Tool:
http://home.in.tum.de/~hegenber/BetterTouchTool.dmg
Magic Prefs:
http://vladalexa.com/apps/osx/magicprefs/