The MacMania Podcast Blog

No Show Saturday

Hello,
There will be no live MacMania Saturday. Expect a studio show within the next week.

Thanks to our sponsor, Freecasts at http://freecasts.net.

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March 7, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Episode 52 Show Notes

Chris’ letter to Steve:

Dear Mr. Steve Jobs,
Hello, my name is Christopher Koffel and I am HUGE fan of Apple and your products! I am 13 and live in Cincinnati, OH. I have been an apple fan for quite some time and would like to ask you a few questions.

First off (which I HIGHLY regret) is that I use Windows. I am not a fan of windows at all! I always have to restart my computer (which I built) but that’s because of windows always having a problem with something. It says something about "an illegal operation" or something. Kids at my school say I am a big computer geek/nerd/dork but I love working with computers with my good friend Ben Fryxell. He just recently purchased a Macbook from you guys and he says he loves it! Let me say that I do not have an Apple product of any kind (except for one iPod that I got over the summer as a gift for doing well in school. I think that the design of every one of your products is second to none.
Besides my friend Ben, I have 2 other friends that use Macs (that I know of). One of them has a Mac Mini and the other has a previous model of the iMac. They say they love their Macs and tell me that I should get one. The only problem is, I don’t have nearly enough money to pay for one (due to the fact that I am 13 and cannot legally get a job, I also don’t get allowance). Anyway, I just recently got serious about deciding to switch to a Mac. Even though I don’t have any money to afford one, I have done extensive research on the different Macintosh computers to see which one could best fit my lifestyle. So far, I’ve been really into the Apple notebooks. I don’t really want to get a desktop only because I can’t take a desktop around with me . Here is where I need your help on the decision. Let me give you a little background information about my hobbies.

First of all, I am heavily involved with multimedia. I love doing webcam chats with my friend Ben using an old webcam that I got. I love listening to music and it is practically my life. I am in a band with 2 other friends and I just recently got into recording my music. I love recording myself using soundboards, microphones, and any other equipment I can find. I play 5 different instruments which are guitar, drums, piano, saxophone, and mallet percussion (such as xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, bells etc.). So, music is a big part of my life. I am also a band geek in the school band and I play in the Jazz Ensemble for our school every Tuesday morning before school. But, that is not the only music/audio that I work with.
Another thing about me is that I am very involved with theater technology. I work the soundboard at my school which means I handle music tracks, microphones, and various theatrical audio equipment. My other theater friend, Ross, has decided that there is a much easier way for playing music/DVD’s through the soundboard. Which is, to hook a computer up to it. The only problem is that we don’t have a permanent computer to use for mp3 files and other playthrough media. So, we end up having to borrow computers from other classrooms.
Another thing that I love to do is take photographs. I love photography and I am pretty good at it if I do say so myself (haha). I don’t have a really nice camera that real photographers use but I do enjoy taking simple photographs with my dad’s digital camera. I also like to edit them and take pictures off of the internet and edit them using Adobe Photoshop. I visited the apple store recently and I loved taking funny pictures with the iSight camera! I thought that the different distortion features were hilarious!

The last main multimedia subject that I like to do is video. I love to film videos for friends and sometimes youtube. Much of the videos I make, are for enjoyment and take place right at my desk in my room and other various parts of the house. I also have my little brother press the record button on my camera at my band’s concerts. I use Windows Movie Maker which is the SINGLE WORST video editing software on the ENTIRE PLANET!!!!!! Anyway, I got my hands on iMovie not too long ago at the Apple store her in Cincinnati and I absolutely LOVED it! I thought the entire package was great for editing videos! Anyway, these are the three main types of Multimedia that I love to do on my free time.

Anyway, after reading that EXTREMELY long letter, I’m sure I’ve just about put you to sleep! But, I would like your extremely valuable advice for this next part. Even though I don’t not have nearly a fraction of the money that it costs to buy a Macbook or other Apple computer, I would like to know which Apple desktop/notebook (preferably notebook) would best fit my lifestyle/needs. Please do not feel as if you need to email me right back because I know that you are an extremely busy guy and you have things you need to get done but whenever you get the time, I would truly appreciate your advise on buying an Apple computer.

Right now I would personally like to thank you for taking about 30 minutes out of your day for reading this (haha sorry about this long letter). Once again please do not feel the need to respond to this right away and I don’t expect a response at all. I would like to thank you again for taking time out of your day to read this and I hope to hear from you sometime in my lifetime.

Sincerely,
Christopher W. Koffel

P.S. If you would like my contact phone number, I will gladly give it to you when I know for sure that this is Steve Jobs and not someone who has a fake email to make it seem like you.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

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March 2, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Episode 50 Show Notes

February 24, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

No more enhanced unless…

Hello,

I have noticed that the enhanced podcast that I did two days ago has had no comments on the blog! If nobody is enjoying the enhanced podcast, there is no sense in doing it. I am happy to do it if you would like. If you want the enhanced version back, email me here.

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February 18, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | 1 Comment

Show Notes- Episode 48

The links mentioned will be in the enhanced edition of the podcast, which can be downloaded here.

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February 15, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Time Machine’s New Features

Time Machine now is in the Menu Bar! What everybody’s been waiting for! This is enabled by default when the 10.5.2 update is installed and you can enter Time Machine, force a full backup, or open the preferences. It also shows you when you last backed up.

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February 13, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Looking for a Sponsor

Hi,

As many of my listeners know, I am in great need of a new FireWire mixer. Being only a teenager, I am unable to afford one. Having one would make my podcast better. If I am donated a mixer, preferably something such as an Alesis MultiMix 12 Firewire, then that would be ideal to improving my podcast. I would run your ads on the show 100 runs in 50 episodes, and if you are interested in being a sponsor that would be much appreciated. Please email me if you are interested.

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February 12, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Yahoo Rejets Microsoft

Yahoo has formally rejected Microsoft’s $44.6 Billion bid for the company. This is because Yahoo officials think that $44.6 Billion is too small a price to pay for such a long-standing, famous, and valued company.

February 11, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Dell 15″ Monitor

I sit here at school, wishing that I was at home able to post this from Qumana. However, I cannot. I am using the WordPress web interface. Anyways, I would like to do a review of the Dell 15″ Flat Panel monitor. The monitor is a VGA display, which will work with the Macintosh using appropriate adapters. This has a 1024 x 768 Pixel resolution, so the picture is very clear. You can find the monitor right here. The one pictured there is not the exact model that I am using, but it is very similar.

See you soon,

Ben Read more »

February 11, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

MacBook Air In Person

Hello Listeners,

I tried out a MacBook Air! Let me tell you, it is thin! Many of you may have expected the pretty black keyboard to be soft somewhat like that of the MacBook Pro. You are wrong. The keyboard feels exactly like the keyboard on the MacBook, which I am currently using to type this post. The MacBook Air also is extremely light, just as Apple was touting. The screen is very bright, and for a machine with only 1.6 GHz, this was even faster than my MacBook–well, to be fair, I have nearly 80 GB of crud cluttering up my hard drive, but my god, this thing is fast! If you are looking for a super-portable laptop, the MacBook air is for you. Even iLife works well on it!

February 11, 2008 Posted by benjaminfryxell | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet