Radiotope -

What a Kite Sees

Edward Marczak — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:37:12 -0800

Man-made flying objects are almost universally inspiring. As a kid, I launched Estes rockets and always wanted the model that had the 110 camera (film!) built in (http://www.apogeerockets.com/estes_snapshot.asp). Looks like even that has been replaced with video now: http://www.apogeerockets.com/Estes_Astrovision_Video_Rocket.asp. Well, I still have the rockets, but figured I'd start small. A local toy shop had a nice selection of kites. I found a plain, triangular kite with a 7' wingspan.

OS X Virtualization Not so Virtualized?

Edward Marczak — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:35:32 -0800

Virtualization changes everything. Well, at least, a lot of things. It is a huge change in the area of testing in particular. Being able to snapshot a test environment, abuse it, and easily return it to some known state is enormous. However, I'm having a problem getting OS X Server running under VMWare Fusion on the new MacBook Pro. Fusion itself runs fine. I can virtualize other operating systems. However, the combination of VMWare Fusion v2.0 (build 116369), OS X Server and the new unibody MBP doesn't work as far as I can tell.

Mac Microsoft Office Update and Spaces

Edward Marczak — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:28:21 -0800

One thing that has really irked me since OS X 10.5 shipped (and even before, for that matter), was that Microsoft Office didn't "understand" Apple's Spaces feature. Invoking Spaces while Word is running would leave document windows and toolbars strewn across different spaces and half-operable. Looks like the latest Mac Office Update, 12.1.4, fixes this.

iPhone Experiences

Edward Marczak — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:11:17 -0700

Been meaning to post something about the iPhone purchasing experience. On the day the iPhone 3G was released, I went to an AT&T store and placed an order for two phones, and received them 3 days later. The salesperson I dealt with was an absolute professional, and a pleasure to work with during the provisioning and transfer process (I was formerly on Verizon). Overall, it was just about the easiest process ever, which is why I've been confused by reports of people having a difficult time or still waiting in line. There's a simple remedy: go to an AT&T store.