2008 was kind of a big year for me. I started this site, bought a house, bought a new car, got a girlfriend, and got involved in a upcoming project that is unannounced. I wanted to write a formal post about all that has gone on this year, and what I am planning for next year.

2008: Wrap Up

As I said earlier, 2008 was a big year for me. I started the year off pretty strong when I for the first time kept a New Year’s resolution. What was it, well it was to quit smoking. I smoked my last cigarette on New Years Eve, 2008. Quitting cold turkey was hard, but I am very glad I did it.

From then I decided it was time for a new car. My 2000 Nissan Maxima was approaching 100k miles and I wanted to sell it before it hit that mile stone. I ended up trading it in for a brand new straight of the truck 2008 Nissan Altima. So far, I love the card, it is a step down from the Maxima, but it get great gas mileage and handles like a race car. Having a car payment sucks, but you got to do what you got to do!

Yesterday I wrote a long post venting about the issues that 10.5.6 has brought to me and to my Macbook Pro. I was having a problem with mail crashing every time I loaded a message with an attachment. Well, I am delighted to report that the issue has been fixed thanks to a user by the name of Til-Berlin on the Apple discussion forums:

In the end I found out that I have two Mail.app on my HDD. Apperently I was using a old updated (which reports also as 3.5). Deleting it and using only the one at /Programs solved my issue. I believe this is the application file from the Combo Update.

~ Til-Berlin (Link)

I looked at the version of Mail I was using from my Dock icon (Mail Menu > About Mail) and noticed that my version was 3.5 897.2/903.3. This is the problem. The current version of Mail is 3.5 903.3 only! I did a quick spotlight search on my mac to find 2 versions of Mail, one was the currupt one that I was using, and one was the good version (3.5 903.3.) I removed the bad one (3.5 897.2/903.3) and then added the good one to my dock, and opened it up. IT WORKED!

Til-Berlin suggested to reinstall the combo update after all of this, but I didn’t have to do this.

I hope this helps everyone who is having problems. You can check out my other post with fixes and details on the problem here: http://atlchris.com/582/os-x-1056-i-hate-you/

What is Boxee? Well, Boxee is a must have application for anyone who loves television, movies, music, and pictures. In a nut shell, Boxee is a beautifully designed application that was created bring your digital media content from your computer to your TV. Whether you download movies illegally, stream them from Netflix, or even pull them in from free online sources all over the net; Boxee will make life easier for you.

Design

One of the many things that makes Boxee stand out from it competitors is its design. Boxee was designed with ease of use, beauty, and the Apple remote all in mind. The ease of use factor is just that. It is easy to use. Menus are laid out nice and orderly. Everything is easy to find, from a TV show on your hard drive to a episode of The Office from Hulu.com. I pointed out beauty, because Boxee stays faithful the the Apple beautiful design principles. Buttons are very large and colorful, text has nice hover and glow effects, colors flow beautiful, and finally, slide transitions are used when switching from page to page. While these might not seem important to a review, I find design a major factor in how much I like an application.

OS X Leopard is by far the best OS I have ever used. It has been flawless to me with no problems, until now. Apple recently released Mac OS X (10.5.6) update to all Leopard users. Being the Apple fan boy that I am, I ran the upgrade as soon as it showed up on my desktop. Boy was this a mistake! Mac OS X 10.5.6 is riddled with bugs and issues. MacFixIt.com has released a couple of post highlighting the many problems associated with this update. Mac users beware, DO NOT UPGRADE TO 10.5.6 JUST YET!

One particular problem has me very frustrated. When I launch the OS X Mail application, which I use religiously to keep my 15 email account in control, it crashes as the result of an attachment. Yes, doesn’t that sound strange? I can load Mail just fine, but the second I click on an email with an attachment, it freezes up and crashes. It can be a image, a PDF, a doc, … it doesn’t matter, just the loading of the attachment results in a application crash.

Most of you know, that my 2 passions in life are technology and films. Well, I have covered plenty of the technology stuff on the blog, so I thought I would start to get more involved with film news and reviews on top of the technology stuff that I will continue to do also.

The Synopsis & Cast

With that being said, I recently went to see Kevin Smith’s new film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. This movie stars Seth Rogen (Knocked Up and Superbad) as Zack, and Elizabeth Banks (40 Year Old Virgin and Defiantly, Maybe) as Miri. Zack and Miri are two longtime friends that are struggling to make ends meet and pay the bills at the apartment they share. In dire need of money, they decided to make a porno. They take off to local strip clubs and sex shops in search of actors and crew. The main story line of the film is about the sex scene that Zack and Miri have for the porno, and the feelings it brings out.

The Review

Zack and Miri is a good film, I will just come out and say it. It offers up a large number of gut busting laughs while holding a pretty good plot line. I am a big fan of Kevin Smith and his past films, so I had high expectations going into this film. Even with the high exceptions, I enjoyed this film. It is not as great as some of his other films, but it is in no way bad.

It does what you would expect, by delivering great one liners, gross out comedy scenes, and very very awkward sex moments. I would go into depth on some of my favorite scenes, but I don’t want to give away to much. There is one scene that is so over the top gross out funny, if you have seen it, you know what I am talking about. It works like Judd Apatows baby being born scene from Knocked up and the re occurrence of male nudity in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where you can’t look away but it is horrible to watch and funny at the same time. The film also features Craig Robinson who most know as Daryl the warehouse guy from NBC’s The Office. His scene with his stereo type wife towards the end of the movie is one of the classic moments I will remember from this film.

Some of you know how much of a fan I am of my Flip Mino. I purchased my first Flip Mino video camera back in July. Check out my unboxing and review post of the original Flip Mino. Unfortunately I have not gotten a chance to explore the new Flip Mino HD in person, but I have been reading many rave reviews.

The new Flip Mino HD has a couple of new feature but overall is not that different from the original Flip Mino. It is the same size as the Flip Mino, the same design, the same size LCD display and button layout. All of the new features in the camera are directly related to the addition of HD capabilities. The sounds quality on the HD is pretty much the same as the original Mino, which is great. That is one of the things I really like about the Mino series, is the wonderful audio quality.

The Video

A new resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels which is 720 pixel HD quality. Now, keep in mind that HD from this little camera is not going to be like watching a Blu Ray. Yes, it is HD but it is very highly compressed to allow for maximum recording length on the built in 4GB of memory. It is compressed with H.264 video compression and AAC audio compression which results in a MP4 file format.

I want to make sure it is clear, that this video is HD, but not high quality HD. Yes, I am sure it looks good, but many people don’t understand the concept of being true uncompressed HD and highly compressed HD.

I have watched multiple videos shot on the HD Mino, and it is very good quality for the size of the camera. If I was not so strapped for cash (See Why Here) I would defiantly be purchasing one.

Amazon is known for offering great deals on the Flip cameras, so make sure you keep and eye on the Amazon page for this product. I bought my original Mino on Amazon for $50 less then anywhere else. Here is the product page: Flip Video MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black)

In an attempt to write about stuff that you all want to read, I have added a sidebar application called “skribit.” This application adds the ability for people to suggest topics they would like me to post about. The application will add the suggestions to a list, then over time, my readers can vote on which suggestions they would most be interested it.

Hopefully, this will allow me to better understand what type of content you all want to read. Also, it will definatly help me when it comes time write, and I get writters block. Like I said from day one, I am not a processional writer, so it is hard for me to come up with content sometimes.

So, get your suggestions in now so I can keep this content flowing to you all.

Hey everyone, I wanted to touch base with you all on that is going on with me. I apologize for the lack of posting goodies this past week. As many of you know, I am in the process of purchasing a house, my first house to be exact. Being this is my first attempt at the buying process, I have discovered how much work actually goes into purchasing a house.

Instead of posting about tech news, I have been dealing with appraisals, inspections, mortgages, and more! I am set to close on my house December 1st, 2008, yay! I have a few week break between now and when I move in, so I am going to take this time to try and post as much content as I can.

The House

Some of you might be interested in my house, and some of you might not, but I am going to talk about it anyways haha. I am purchasing a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath, end-unit town home here is Atlanta, GA. I am super excited. This is my first ever house, and it is a very nice place. I can thank the economy for getting me such a good price. Below are some pictures. I hope you all like!

The house is in great shape, it is newly painted in and out. I t also has a very well groomed backyard and side yard. Now all I need is furniture, I am currently only renting a room in a house, so all the furniture I have is just office and Bedroom.

I promise you more post are the way.

About 4 years ago Tivo announced they were working with Netflix to bring streaming movies to your TV. That was the last we heard anything about it. Now, Netflix streams to the PC, the MAC, and the XBOX 360. With all the advancements on the other systems, many thought that Tivo might have silently divorced Netflix. Well, it was just announced that Netflix and Tivo have started to role out a private beta of the new streaming functionality to a couple thousand subscribers of both services.

The Official Press Release:

TIVO AND NETFLIX ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO INSTANTLY STREAM MOVIES AND TV EPISODES FROM NETFLIX DIRECTLY TO THE TV THROUGH TIVO DVRs

Deal Provides Netflix with New Content Distribution Channel, Solidifies TiVo’s Leading Position as One-Box Solution for Simple Navigation and Delivery Of the Best Entertainment Content to the TV

ALVISO, Calif. and LOS GATOS, Calif.,  October 30, 2008 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world’s largest online movie rental service, today announced that they are teaming up to provide Netflix and TiVo® Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL subscribers with the ability to have thousands of movies and TV episodes instantly streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs.

The two companies said they are initiating a test of the new capability today in several thousand U.S. households and expect it to be broadly available in early December, in time for the holidays.  The ability to instantly watch content from Netflix on the TV via TiVo DVRs will be offered at no additional charge to customers who subscribe to both services.

The agreement provides Netflix with an important new technology partner to instantly stream a growing library of more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes directly from Netflix to the TV.  It also solidifies TiVo’s leading position for simple navigation and delivery of the best entertainment content to the TV.

Read more »

Geek Brief TV is a very quick and to the point technology/gadget video podcast. I love to watch video podcast, but I find it hard to keep up with a lot of my favorites due to my busy schedule. Geek Brief is one of the two video podcast I make time to watch every week. At an average run time of 3 to 5 minutes, anyone can find time to watch this video podcast.

Geek Brief TV serves up technology news and a couple of new gadgets of the week. Some of the technology goodness includes a flashlight that is actually a drink warmer, an unboxing and slight review of the Aluminum Macbook, and a geek road trip. Yes, I said a road trip. Cali and her crew are currently traveling across the country in a bus, filming at exciting locations and meeting up with some of the big names in the technology world. Currently, Cali is in the middle of a 2 part series “Behind the Scene of the TWiT Cottage with Leo Laporte.”

Besides all the great technology goodness, Geek Brief TV is hosted by the very talented Cali Lewis. On top of being super cute, she is very entergetic, a bit on the goofy side, and very knowledgable. A lot of video podcast these days higher professional actors/models to be the beauty that attacts a geek boys to the show. Well, Cali Lewis has the looks, but what makes her great, is that she is a super geek. She knows technology and can appreciate gadets that are purly awesome on a want only basis.

If you have never seen it, check it out. Youc an find it on iTunes, RSS, and on GeekBrief.TV.