NetFlix, iPad/iPhone Trindad...

Let me start off by saying that Netflix is now available in Trinidad. I am not happy, not happy at all. I am so unhappy, I must be living before my time...
So, we here in Trinidad now have Netflix, and if you are less than 7 years old then you can be happy, because as far as i see, there's a lot of content for the kids.
OK, that is one good, but for me, 40% of it is not there.  It's a good thing that I like looking at older movies, because a good bit of them are there. But let's move on from that and get to the point at hand.

Netflix: the app, is free and it is a small download

So you the normal thing when you download your apps, you sort...

Nice, all is going well...
let's open her up...

Spanish...? Hopefully, they will let me change this, or it may just be the LogIn...
After log in

Very nice English... :)
So let's see my listing for F&F

 You know I'm mad now.  So, where's the other two from my US account?  Note, this is how I found out abut the missing content, I really did not think it was going to be this bad. This is the point where I started looking to see what there was for the kids, and I was 70% happy with it, so in my mind, okay, they can use it on the new Apple tv when it gets here..
So let me see how things are looking.

What the hell...
NO really
What the hell...
Clearly I am missing something...
Yes???
I must, right?
So I'm pulling out the iPhone at this point ...

The same thing...
So what?
Tell me...
Waits on Apple TV
and Back to Boxee...
We will continue this later...
 and if you still don't know why I am vex, let me spell it out for you.
Netflix on the iPad and iPhone not working...
updates...
Some of you have been asking for the firmware...
the iPad is on 4.3.5
the iPhone is on 4.3.3
and the app is 1.4.0 build 930547

20/9/2011 update
I opened the app to see...

Yes... :) Good move...

Put it in the Cloud

So i have been thinking about this for some time now. Most people want to put their stuff in the cloud (internet), and that is cool, does not matter if it is Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Dropbox or whatever you pick. Once you put it in the cloud, someone can get to it. "But my data is protected" you say, or, "must i have my information locked on a computer under the bed" or "your getting too old for the times". No ppl. Listen.
First, let me give you my line of thought.

• if it is on your computer, only you and the person who breaks into your house has access to it
• if it is on your computer and on the internet, you or the person who breaks into your house and anyone with "skills" on the internet has access to it.

It is that simple and let's keep it basic. So you if you "really" don't want someone to have a piece of information, don't put on the internet. Someone CAN get to it do matter what you think, and there is always someone smarter, more skilled than you. So you have a password, ok that may keep my dad from seeing it, but what about Pete from up the road who does a little hacking now and then and  knows how to use Google and shares his mp3 files with you and some other files that you did not know about. Again, "My service uses encryption", if you don't hold the key, that too means that the person/s given you that service has full access to you data.
Again i am not saying to be backward and not to use the cloud, just think before you upload. Those photos that you only want your "friends" to see, all it takes is for one of them to copy it and re-share it, or leave their account open, for the right person or even call their other friends who happen not to be your friends to see it. But i think you should understand where i am going with this. Understand that Trust is only as good as the person you think you are intrusting.

The Cloud Sync or Storage.
Now i live in Trinidad and the two best ISPs are Flow and TSTT and i think Flow is better (yes we leave that for some other time). If you are thinking cloud storage, this is what you should be thinking.
ME > ISP > ISP Data Line > Service.
This means there are four points to fail, and if any fails at any point you have no access to your data.

Now with sync, you have your data, and that is big, and you have it on all your sync devices, so even if you lose internet access, you still have your data and that to me is more "valuable". The wost that can happen is that you can't re-sync your data. but at least now you can work on the file, and sync later on.
If you are running a business and any one of these part go down, you are losing money. e.g i use Google for mail, and it has gone down once for 7 hr, so anything can happen.  Now we run Google mail with Outlook. What is the point in that? Simple. You still have all your mail with you even if the internet is down, you can still write that report and sent it in the outbox, when the service comes back you can send it out. You can even still look over your mail and write out replies. And Some Level of work can still happen. If we where running Gmail Web Apps, we all know what staff will say. "We have no mail, can we go home?"

With that said, i think that Apple has it right. Make all your files available to all your device and also hold the files in the cloud. Again i did not say that because i am a mac guy, but because if i where to do it, that is how i would do it. Yes i do use Google Docs and love it. But i will like to hold on to my data locally.

It comes down to how important your information is to you. If you don't want anyone to have access to it, be ole school zip it, rename it .mov, put it on a CD, run your car keys over it and put it under the bed. :)

Boxee vs AppleTV (G1)

So you all know I am I big apply fan boy, but thanks to my buddy Khemchandra Persadsingh , he give me his Boxee Box for a weekend, yes, last weekend and i can't give it back. No, really, i can't my kids where using it the same day. i didn't have to show them a thing and the iPhone remote worked the same. All the tv shows that i have in my FreeNAS looked so much better. Now i have a Hacked AppleTV that is running Boxee, and it does need restarting ever so often while i did not have to do a thing with the Boxee Box. The Apple TVs shows tv shows and movies from iTunes just as good, but 90% of my content is downloads, so it wins hands down. My only downs right now are the Load time for shows, it is twice as long as the AppleTV and using the remote at night, you can't see the keyboard and that is it.
Now i need to really compere this to the new AppleTV that i was sure that i was going to buy, until the Boxee Box get here.
Thinking about it now, i really need to compare a Boxee Box, Apple TV (G2) PlayStation 3 and Web enable TV. But for now, if you don't have a PlayStation 3 and in the market for a set top box, really think about getting a Boxee Box.
I will have to end this review short as i don't feel like i have all the facts to hand to you. So consisder this my preview.
Later ppl

New iMacs are here and with Thunderbolt

Apple released their new iMacs this week adding the new Thunderbolt Port. What is Thunderbolt? We will get to that, but first a quick look at the specs of these new computers.

Starting from the Low end, we have:

iMac 21

Screen

• 21.5-inch (viewable) LED-backlit glossy widescreen TFT display with support for millions of colors
• Resolution: 1920 by 1080 pixel

Processor

• 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 6MB on-chip shared L3 cache

Memory

• 4GB (two 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 memory Configurable to 8GB

Hard hard

• 500GB (7200 rpm) hard drive

Graphics

• AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory

On the High-end

 iMac 27

Screen

• 27-inch (viewable) LED-backlit glossy widescreen TFT display with support for millions of colors
• Resolution: 2560 by 1440 pixels

Processor

• 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 6MB on-chip shared L3 cache

Memory

• 4GB (two 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 memory Configurable to 16GB

 HardDrive

• 1TB (7200 rpm) hard drive Configurable to 2TB hard drive or 256GB solid-state

 Graphics

• AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

Configurable to AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB GDDR5

All carry

Video Support and Camera

• FaceTime HD camera
• Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to a 30-inch display (2560 by 1600 pixels) on an external display
• Support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes

Audio

• Built-in stereo speakers
• Two internal 20-watt high-efficiency amplifiers
• Headphone/optical digital audio output (minijack)
• Audio line in/optical digital audio input (minijack)
• Built-in microphone
• Support for Apple iPhone headset with microphone

Connections

• One Thunderbolt port on 21.5-inch iMac
• Two Thunderbolt ports on 27-inch iMac
• Mini DisplayPort output with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (adapters sold separately)
• One FireWire 800 port; 7 watts
• Four USB 2.0 ports
• SDXC card slot
• Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Audio in/out
• 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
• IR receiver

Wi-Fi

• 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking;² IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology

Input

• Apple Wireless Keyboard: Full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)

Magic Mouse
Smooth, seamless Multi-Touch surface with support for simple gestures (scrolling and swiping). Click and double-click anywhere. Ambidextrous construction accommodates left- and right-handed users.

and or

Magic Trackpad
Solid-state scrolling trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch and expand, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, rotate, screen zoom, scroll, click and drag, click drag and lock, secondary click A and B

Starting Price tag  1199 US for the low-end and 1999 for the high-end


Now Thunderbolt (originally codenamed Light Peak) is an interface for connecting peripheral devices to a computer via an expansion bus. Thunderbolt was developed by Intel and brought to market with technical collaboration from Apple. Thunderbolt essentially combines PCI Express and DisplayPort into a new serial data interface that can be carried over longer and less costly cables. The interface was originally intended to run on an optical physical layer using components and flexible optical fiber cabling. However, conventional copper wiring turned out to be able to furnish the desired 10 Gb/s Thunderbolt bandwidth at lower cost. Later versions of Thunderbolt are still planned to introduce an optical physical layer based on Intel silicon photonics technology.
Seeing that Thunderbolt is based on PCI Express technology, Intel/Apple can use existing USB and FireWire peripherals — even connect to Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks — using simple adapters. And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing adapter.

How does Thunderbolt stack against the rest?

You may have realized Apple does not carry USB 3.0 Ports and therefore hopes on the forward movement of Thunderbolt as the new Hi-Speed interface standard.

Thunderbolt-ready devices.

Storage

• Promise Pegasus R4 and Pegasus R6
• LaCie Little Big Disk
• Sonnet Fusion RAID

Video Capture

• Blackmagic UltraStudio 3D
• Matrox MX02

Adapters

• Promise SAN Link Fibre Channel adapter
• Sonnet Allegro FireWire 800 adapter
• Sonnet Presto Gigabit Ethernet adapter

Some quick specs of Thunderbolt

• Dual-channel 10 Gbps per port
• Bi-directional
• Dual-protocol (PCI Express* and DisplayPort*)
• Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
• Daisy-chained devices
• Electrical or optical cables
• Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization
• Uses native protocol software drivers
• Power over cable for bus-powered devices

Some early tests done by Apple

Using the Promise Pegasus R6 RAID Drive these where the Read/Write Speeds

And using the same drive these where the number of 720p streams that where possible using Thunderbolt.

Early Demo of Thunderbolt on a MacBook Pro with a raid drive and a second Monitor

So what does Thunderbolt mean for me Today as a "normal' user... Nothing... I have not been a USB fan for hi-speed connects, and Firewire works very well for me when i have to connect my video camera or when connenting external Hard Drives. But i am very happy to know that the day in which i need to connect a second Monitor, back-up my iPhoto library (now at 420GB) or connect to some upcoming cool up and coming gear (all one one port), I already have that port siting there waiting.
As a "PowerUser" I can see no disadvantages in not using this port, even today, as two of my past-times are Photography and Video, working from home means there is a limit to number of devices i can put on my desk. We always need/want faster drives, and a second monitor is always a good thing to have. Being able to have these simple wants over "one cable" is a big plus. This means, Firewire camera to the Raid Drive to a (HDMI) 34' Sony and then to a iMac all on "one cable". Come on... And that is just the start and things to come.
I have always been a Power User, meaning that i always had to buy PowerMacs, but this line of computers have truly have moved me to really consider being a iMac user and not because of price, but because of performance. Starting at i5 4GB of RAM, Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt @ $7000TT, that is a very easy sell for me.

Google Plus

Up till now Google to me was mostly "search". Now i love Google's super clean interface.

And as a mac user we love not thing more. I also do have a Gmail Account, well two, a "kesnut@ and kester.johnson@ that i use for odd things and my main account is MobleMe from Apple.

 

 So a buddy of mine +Ismaaeel Baksh sent me a Google+ invite seeing that we both share the love for iPhones mainly and other tech stuff. Now in my mind i was thinking that i not going to do this "facebook: thing again, if it is anything like that i am out". But on looking at it was given "circles"

 and my mind said, "hey, we can redo this the *right* way",  where yes i have friends, but there are the friends that i just lime with, as opposed to the friends i have a vested interest in and like the family member that you call and then there are the ones that you only see at Christmas. 

What would be my first circle?

I have about 350+ contact in my gmail, is it that i only know 6 ppl with Macs, No, But these are the ppl, that if it where 3am and Steve jobs was at my house, if they where not on their way, i can wake them and tell them. (overly dramatic of course). But these are the ppl, not only have a mac or an iPhone, but live in the Apple ecosystem. People who have used macs for 25yrs plus, and stayed with apple in the up and down, we knew, we loved the products that much. It was a honest Circle and it was something that could not be done in twitter, facebook or skype, because Google+ now lets me, post news, videos, links, have chats voice or video, with this group only and from one interface. 

I can now organize my life online the same as my real life. Now with that said, those with "fake" online lives, the switch may not be as "nice". Google "assumes" that you are, who you say you are. And if it is that you want to live in a world where people are who they say they are, you will totally love Google+. This meant that i will need investing more in my kester.johnson account and build on the creditability of that name. I don't think that there was any other time in the human race, where your voice was just key strokes away for the world to see, less you live in china. I not saying that this is so because of Goolge plus, but because of the Times we live in. It is getting harder to find "credible" sources out there, more are more people are finding it easy to have their views heard, true or false, positive or negative. So when i see +Leo Laporte, i know that is leo and that is a voice that i trust because and i can feel safe in following.

So i have lost a weekend and a week, playing with Google+ and in doing so i have been playing with all of the other Google's apps and i have found these that guys have some really good apps. Reader and Analytic are the ones i am playing with now. Some i have added to my iPhone like Latitude, this weekend, i will be moving all my contacts to Google+ and have it sorted. Even move all my work contact and see if you have work and home separated.

Now this service is still in beta, and Google says that there for lots of more stuff coming, but i am liking it already.

Have a good weekend all...

See ren, i post... :)

FreeNas version 8 *wait*

OK, time to upgrade my FreeNas server...
so as of now i have 1 40Gb dive (my download folder), 1 780Gb drive (my Music TV Drive) and 1 500GB drive as my Movie Drive). All are shared using Samba and AFP. I also have run the Bittorrent client, this saves me from having one of the computer from being on all the time. No Bittorrent, no upgrade, now they will add it in time but for now, it is just one of those things "I" need...
If you like, Freenas has placed a Comparison Chart 7 vs 8.
http://freenas.org/comparison/item/freenas-comparison


This means that i will have some time to redo my wireless network.
Hacking my LinkSys with DD-WRT...

Early week rant... Apple Juice, why...

So I started a blog "yes I know, again", and I was just going to keep it techie. But I am sitting in bed with a iPad thinking, why apple does not sells an unlocked iPhone by choice? why am I this big apple fan? why am I the odd person in my work place of 90 plus persons to own a apple computer? Really why did I drink that apple juice???

Now if I am really honest with myself, I think I know the answers to these questions...

Clearly the iPhone is one of the best phones on the market. So why apple does not want to sell these phones to anyone in the world? Simple, they can not make that number of phones to sell on the open market. Yeah Kester nice try, but let me continue, if you know apple they always want to do their best. Now if you're making a phone and you can only make, let say 500, wouldn't you want those 500 people to have the BEST EXPERIENCE ever with your phone. In that case if you were able to work with one carrier that will help give the best service for that phone, will you not do that? At the end of the day I would like to think, that's just what apple did. If we can only sell 1 million per month, let's team up with some of the main carriers and make the best phone and service that we can. It is just that simple, yes?

Fan boy
Am I?
Yes,
Why? Because I get it.
Get what?
Apple wants me to have the best, no really, they do, a lot of companies try to sell you this idea, but Apple is one of those that really really want you to know that they have the best to offer you. My first computer was a mac and all others after it. All where solid, worked with no issues and I loved owning them. Owning an apple computer really does make you feel like you really are a part of something bigger.
My iPhone, as a phone, i can text super fast on it, i can find numbers super fast on it and as a phone i am very happy about it. The iPhone as a computer, first thing, no flash, ok, i don't have a problem with that as 90% of the sites i go to don't have flash or most sites are moving away from flash and in my view point flash is on the way out unless it evolves. Most people say the "it don't do flash, so it does not make sense", if flash is that important to you then u are right, the iPhone is not for you... Apps on the iPhone, pointless to comment on that... love them, and more more are coming out, to the point where i am thinking about doing some coding myself.

1 in 90
Why am i the 1 in 90 people that own a mac. What is it in my DNA that makes me that person. Is it that i am smarter than these people, no there are a few people there that are smarter than me. Yes i do have friends that own macs, most because them have to have one (work related mac tend to be bast for AV persons), but few have one because they just want to. One of these persons was a PC person then they got a iPad, now they have moved the company to all macs, note he does not do AV. He just drank the juice. Down to getting a apple at home. So then i asked what do i share with this guy.
We like mac
We like them to the point where given the chance i would promote the use of it in home and work
We are really into "family life"
We are in to alternative energy to the point we are actively doing it. (point) the link must be here. Mac users do think differentially, we understand sacrifice, but still want the best. we don't mind giving up some freedom for a simpler life. we understand: it is not just the love of technology, but the love of what technology can do for me, and to do it.


I am a MacUser, and i love the juice. I got my wife a iPad because i know she will love it and it will fit in perfect for her, but i will not get her a mac, unless i dual boot it with windows. I know that my "boss" will love having a iPhone, but understand having a mac just does not cut with his work. I would not get my dad a mac, not yet, something is still missing for him, but i did for my mom and she needs a new one. My kids, i want them to have both, i want them to just see a computer for want it is, a tool.

We all can't like the same thing, we and all different, it don't not make us better or smarter. we are all different and we all just need to remember that when we talk about that things we love.


If you reading that and have a apple product, please leave a comment as to why.
Others you can leave any comment.
Laterz

My Main Tech Info Sources

So some of you may be thinking, where does this guy get his info.

So i am a big Apple fan so we will start with:

http://www.macrumors.com/ latest in Mac "news"

http://twit.tv/mbw Weekly Mac News podcast ft. Leo Laporte , if you recall TechTV, this means you are already clicking the link :)

http://twit.tv/twit Weekly Tech News podcast ft. Leo Laporte

http://gizmodo.com/ Latest Tech Toys

http://www.wired.com/ Latest in Tech News (was one of the best tech sites back in the late 90s and is building back up to be one if the best)

News Networks
Live.twit.tv live web-stream of the TWIT Network

Fun
http://www.make-digital.com/ for people how are into making cool stuff
http://www.google.com/mapmaker/ help Google out by updating GoogleMaps yourself
http://www.hackint0sh.org forum mac based hacks

Paper Magazines
http://www.popsci.com/ Popular Science
http://www.popularmechanics.com/ Popular Mechanics

again this is just some of the Main ones i really like...

later going to start preping for the Freenas rebuild, and i will post that up later this week.

First of many to come (FreeNas 8 is out)

It is now 3:29AM so i will keep this one short. For those f you that don't know what FreeNAS is:
FreeNAS™ is an Open Source Storage Platform based on FreeBSD and supports sharing across Windows, Apple, and UNIX-like systems.

OR in short
Home built NAS.

What is a NAS. NAS is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. They systems are networked appliances which contain one or more hard drives, often arranged into logical, redundant storage containers or RAID arrays. Network-attached storage removes the responsibility of file serving from other servers on the network.
"don't you just love Wikipedia :) "

again in short
Very cool, home built network accessible drive

so over the next few days i will do a write-up on this to help anyone looking to do something like this, but i am really doing it because i have really bad memory... :)