m.w. tremblay

…but it’s not working. = (

All I get is a black screen.

My Commodore 64 is on the fritz too. It doesn’t perform the memory check and display the command prompt.

= (

I have gotten several odd comments here in the last couple days. I thought “Wow, people are actually reading my blog!?”, but then I realized that Askimet was still deactivated from a WP update. Now I beleive that all of these commenters were rather odd spammers….not the usual “VIAGRA!!!!!!CHEAP!~!!!!OTCS!!!!!” spammers.

If any commenters out there are not spam bots, please comment this post. = )

A commenter reminded me that I needed to write an update to this post.

Cell phone tethering:

The solution that I found for 3G internet in the sticks was the Verizon Mobile Broadband devices. Verizon sells 3G modems that come in USB and PCMCIA versions that connect your computer to their 3G cellphone data network, however; this is not the best solution. With Verizon you get a very solid network, but that comes with a high price ($60 a month) and a restrictive data cap (5 gigabytes). To add insult to injury, they charge you high overage fees (.25 cents per megabyte last time I checked).

Millenicom used to provide unlimited 3G data access for $60 a month, but at the time of this posting it appears that they have changed their plans to match the competitors. For shame!

Cricket Wireless is an up-and-coming wireless company that provides unlimited 3G data access for $40 a month, but if you use over 5 gigabytes a month your connection speed is reduced for 30 days, and they don’t say what that speed is reduced to. Cricket Wireless has very spotty coverage at the time of this post.

The best solution is to move to somewhere with cable. It’s 2010.

Whitespace internet:

Not much has really changed since my last post….

Tivo:

DVR systems such as Tivo are still one of the best solutions for many people. My plan? Buy a Mac Mini, install Plex, connect it to my TV, and use it for hulu, and all of my digital media. It would be a flexible and powerful solution for a digital entertainment TV system, and I can still add DVR features with some extra hardware.

Well! Things have been quite awesome lately. The apartment is working out nicely, and I have all of the things needed to make it a proper home. This includes my girlfriend and two kittens! The kittens are getting along wonderfully and are ridiculously cute. The vet absolutely loves them!

I have made some new video game and vinyl acquisitions recently, some good stuff. I shall work on photographing everything!

I don’t really have much to say today. I just don’t like to neglect my blog!

I either forgot, or did not realize how needy Siamese cats are! Smokey has been going nuts left alone all day while I’m at work. He really needs a play mate! On Friday (tomorrow) I am adopting one of his siblings left from the litter. It should not be too hard to care for both of them, and Smokey would be very very happy to have company during the day.

Also, if I do not get a pal for Smokey, I wouldn’t be able to leave him alone for more than a day for fear of him getting all depressed and emo. That’s just how Siamese are!

Fascinating Siamese facts: Siamese cats are not loners in the wild like most cats are. They lack the superb night vision, camouflage, and nocturnal nature that wilds cats have. It is beleived that Siamese cats depended on humans for their survival, and evolved with them. Siamese means “of or from Siam” and Siam is what we call Thailand today. Siamese cats are sacred temple cats!

We got everything moved into my apartment on the 15th. It wasn’t too bad except for my Ikea Expedit series entertainment center, which just barely fit up the stairs. The apartment is looking kind of bare so far. The furniture that filled my bedroom in my parents house is now dispersed throughout a rather generous one bedroom apartment. This is more room than I have ever had, so I need to look into more furniture and wall decor! On the walls I will hang art prints such as the works of M.C. Escher or Salvadore Dali. Allposters.com seems to have good prices, and I can get cheap frames at Ikea.

On Friday I am picking up the new kitten, Smokey! I also can not wait until my girlfriend gets back from her family vacation!

Yesterday I signed the lease on my first apartment. Exciting stuff! I have already moved some stuff in, and we are going to move all of the furniture in on Saturday. Lots of work!

The apartment is really nice, and the neighborhood is soooo quiet. I do not have a yard, but I have a freaking park! Alum Springs Park actually, and it’s just beautiful. I think it will be a fine place to live

Thanks to the Saint Vincent DePaul thift store in Fredericksburg I now have a full living room set. I got a loveseat, two endtables, and a coffee table for $200! I wouldn’t have been able to afford stuff so nice if I bought it brand new.

Alright…time to weigh in on the Psystar issue

My opinion has changed (and my writing skills have improved) since I wrote the linked post. The more I think about Apple and their hardware and software locking policies, the more I defend them. The restrictive Apple atmosphere is what gives the brand it’s identity, and in some respects it results in Apple’s reputation for very reliable and easy to use products.

I think the Macintosh line of computers is just fine. Surely, if Apple opened up OS X to different hardware then more people would use it, but should that really matter to Apple? I must give Apple credit for this, because they don’t lock their software and hardware together to restrict the user. They do this to establish a brand identity, and to tightly control how their systems run.

I do not like the “iTunes devices”. I do not like iTunes, and I do not like having devices that are locked to it. But still, this is personal preference and not a true fault of the brand. Since I am a free consumer I made the choice to buy an Android based phone to replace my iPhone and iPod.

Psystar’s idea is still kind of cool, but I no longer think Apple should listen to them, or even tolerate them.