Ryan & Amanda Keefer's Personal Site: Cycling, Family, Tech, Music, Software & Game Reviews, etc.
// November 22nd, 2008 // No Comments » // Design
While a lot of these could be a bit gimmicky, and only be a value on a rare occasion, some of these would be absolutely great knowledge to have for kicking up a given photo, wallpaper etc. It’s definitely worth a read for multiple of these lighting effects:
// November 21st, 2008 // No Comments » // Apple
Just after midnight today, Apple released its newest firmware for the iPhone – version 2.2. I’ve only had a little bit of time with the update, but the coolest part for me is the fact that you can download podcasts through the iTunes store app.
The other major addition this time around is Street View integration in the Google Maps application, which, like Google Earth on the iPhone is pretty smooth and works well with the multitouch interface.
Mobile Safari’s been slightly updated too, with the top chrome now having the address bar and search box both visible.
The home button now can be double clicked from any of the menu screens to take you back to the first screen. You can also now turn off the keyboard’s auto correction. Under the hood, I’m sure there have been multiple updates, bug fixes, etc. So far so good, and it’s good to see new features still being added to the iPhone and its native apps.
Apple Releases iPhone 2.2 Firmware with Street View, Emoji and More
// November 20th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music, Van Halen
Here’s a real lengthy article about Eddie Van Halen and his 16-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen joining the band, replacing original bassist Michael Anthony rather unceremoniously.
I know I haven’t given the young Van Halen the benefit of the doubt, but as I’ve voiced many times before that Michael Anthony (and ultimately Sammy Hagar) got the short end of the stick. Granted Edward Van Halen is biased, but it does sound like the young WVH is pretty damn talented on multiple instruments. I just hope they release another studio album.
I really like that blue Frankenstein bass Wolfie’s got too.
// November 19th, 2008 // No Comments » // General Posts
So the new Xbox Live Experience is live for everyone today, and it’s a great facelift. I’m still a little perplexed at their new avatar system that’s a complete bite off of Nintendo’s Wii Mii identity. Overall though, the new experience is streamlined and a step in the right direction for the Xbox 360 as a gaming and media center.
// November 18th, 2008 // No Comments » // Sports Stuff, UNC-CH
This time of the year, it’s getting colder, days are getting shorter and there’s fewer miles for me on the bike. But yet I still love this time of year for one big thing – college basketball.
Granted, I love when football season kicks off a few months earlier, but nothing beats college basketball season for a Tar Heel fan (and alum). Carolina basketball holds a special place in my heart and a priority in our house. He’ll, our wedding was even scheduled so it wasn’t to intersect with the ACC, nor NCAA tournaments.
I’m typing this during halftime of the Carolina / Kentucky game, and the game has been all UNC, even with Hanbrough and Ginyard on the bench with injuries.
Carolina had a wonderful season last year, though they ended on a sour note in the NCAA tournament, turning in a piss-poor performance against a great Kansas team.
Regardless, if this game tonight against Kentucky is any indication of what the season holds for Carolina,we can look forward to smothering defense and an up-tempo offense, continuing even as the starters get a rest on the bench.
Man, I love this time of the year. Go Heels!
// November 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Apple, Tech
I’m finding more andmore that I’m using my home computers less and less, and it’s all the iPhone’s fault!
The iPhone, along with the other current smart phones, have put some very portable and very functional computers in your pocket.
With my Apple-branded iPhone, I’ve constantly got emails from work and home alike. I’ve got a fully functional web browser (save Flash plugin) to surf whereever there’s a wifi or cell tower in range. As if that weren’t enough, the iPhone and now the Google G1 Android phone have a huge collection of apps, games, etc. You can utilize the phones for more and more productivity and entertainment tasks that partially obsolete other devices including your home computers.
Granted, there are a few other factors contributing to less computer usage at home. After a full weekday of coding in front of my speedy work Mac Pro 8 core powerhouse, by the time I get home, I don’t have much desire to be in front of my home computers – dually because their puny in horsepower in comparison, but more because there’s little desire to spend a ton of more time in front of a computer monitor.
// November 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Funny Stuff, Gaming
Oh man, these are hilarious – the real names of select games (mainly video games). I especially like “Pound 4 Buttons” and “Definite Virgin VII: Girls are Overrated.” So sad. So true for a lot of the gamers out there.
// November 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music, Van Halen
Further proof, like you need more that Eddie Van Halen is the root of all problems related to Van Halen the band. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love the music Van Halen has put out over the years with David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar. Hell, I even liked the Gary Cherone “3″ album. But as much as I love the music and respect Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing, the guy is a selfish and messed up human being.
// November 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // Apple, Computers
A clean car feels better. Less clutter and dirt lead to a nicer looking and feeling vehicle. The same is true for your computer. The other night, I spent the time doing an archive and install on my PowerMac G5. I did some clutter removal on it, getting rid of apps I hadn’t opened in months – some even in years. I also went through and did a cursory deletion of old documents, images, videos etc. that like the aged applications, hadn’t been touched in long periods of time.
I also ran some utilities to maximize my aging machine’s agility:
Monolingual – removing extraneous language files from a slew of applications, my library directory and a few other places. In my machine’s case, it freed up 2.5GB of storage space.
Cocktail – Used it to force the daily, weekly and monthly cron jobs to run, rebuild launch services database, as well as some miscellaneous file management.
IceClean – Utilized to do a whole set of OS X Maintenance tasks.
TechTool Pro – used to optimize all my hard drive volumes and files for faster access.
Granted the above utilities all overlap some, but other than taking up some extra time, the combination in all, along with the remove of unused applications and files has made for a leaner and faster machine.
// November 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Funny Stuff, Work
Check out the first of several videos to come in the next couple weeks about Carl’s job hunt. Funny stuff and I think the production value of the whole thing is freakin’ great.
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