Daily Update – 2010.04.26

I’m going to start doing these “daily updates” which are basically short bullets, paragraphs, or links to things that I think would appeal more to viewers of this website specifically, rather than my entire group of Twitter followers.  Here is the first set:

• The trackpad on my laptop (HP Pavilion dm3-1030us) is really fucking pissing me off.  First, the slightest bump fucks with the zoom level of text in my browser, or the size of the icons on my desktop.  I’m not kidding you…. this is a serious, serious problem.
• Also, for some reason, at random the pointer on my laptop will turn into a magnifying glass, and even though clicking won’t magnify, the pointer won’t change back to a regular arrow.  I have to go into the Mouse preferences in the control panel, change the pointer style, and then change it back to Windows Aero in order to fix it.  This is making me really, really angry.
• I’ve started downloading old copies of operating systems that I used to own, use regularly, and love.  Right now in my download queue are copies of BeOS, NextStep, OPENSTEP, and Apple Rhapsody DP (the pre-cursor to Mac OS X) as well as old versions of Windows, DOS, OS/2 and Solaris.  I’m pretty excited.  I’ll be putting together a gallery of these operating systems, and will mention more in my next post.  Old technology excites me, and I love learning the history and reminiscing with friends about the old tech we used.
• To tide you over until I get that gallery put together (I have a TON of stuff going on, 3 non-profits I’m working on/with, 1 startup company that isn’t my own, getting Team Spearfish off the ground, serving 72 clients, and starting 18 different web projects… all with a team of less than 5 people…. plus meeting ALL this week to iron out all the details of the Team Spearfish partnership and strategic plan), check out this website called GUIdebook.  It’s one of my favorite sites for looking at old tech, and the posters are really cool. – http://guidebookgallery.org
• I have new computer syndrome really badly, and I really want to buy a new Mac.  I don’t know if I want a desktop or a laptop.  I could justify both, but really, I need it for business more than I need it for personal reasons (I keep separate computers for business and personal… or at least try to), and should therefore get the most powerful Mac I can afford.  I made the mistake last time of buying an inexpensive iMac just to have a new computer, and the video card was too weak to do Multiclips in HDV using Final Cut Pro, which was something I did a lot during that period of time.
• I also really want either an iPad, iPod Touch, or a Zune HD.  The startup I’m working on requires me to have both an Intel Mac and some kind of iTouch device, but I also have a Zune Pass and am unsure of whether or not that’ll work with my Droid.  I want to listen to music in my car, although for right now, Pandora playing on the Droid thanks to Verizon Wireless‘ flawless coverage in my area, is satisfying enough.