JMTee's Noteworthy Weblog

NB! MOVED TO NEW SITE: JMTee's Journal

2006-05-21T14:06:00.000+03:00

I finally decided to take the plunge and move my blog from Blogger to .Mac/iWeb. With the latest update to iWeb software the remaining hinders were erased: iWeb received proper comments and the update speed was improved. Also, I've always wanted to use more photos and pics on my site, and with iWeb it is a simple drag and drop operation. So, please update your bookmarks to point to the new address at JMTee's Journal.

More iPod users in Stockholm?

2006-05-03T18:17:00.000+03:00

I've been on a business trip in Stockholm today and I'm now waiting at Arlanda airport my home flight back to Tampere.

I arrived early in the morning and had a nice 20-minute walk to my meeting through Kungsholmen which was waking up to a new day. What I noticed was, that a lot of people were using some sort of earbuds - maybe half of them being white ;-) Maybe it is just the fact that there are more people in Stockholm than in Tampere, but I got the impression that there were more people using portable players than back home. Well, just thought that I pass on this relevant information... OK, got to go to gate now.

Hipster PDA + Wallet

2006-04-23T08:54:00.000+03:00

See my solution for Hipster PDA + wallet combination here.

Betalogue: Mighty Mouse: I guess I am hooked

2006-04-18T21:04:00.000+03:00

My sentiments exactly. I have ment to blog about the Mighty Mouse, which I've found out to be really great. I've noticed that many people, for example some at our office, have dismissed it off hand without even really trying it. But don't take only my word for it, go and read this review at the Betalogue.

Sherlock Holmes on my iPod

2006-04-17T21:52:00.000+03:00

Like so many people, Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has always intrigued me. I remember reading The Hound of the Baskervilles when I was a kid. Also, I recall seeing some of the old Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce films on TV years back. From that time on, Basil Rathbone has been the Sherlock Holmes for me. Jeremy Brent as the TV series Holmes has come close, but Rathbone remains number one.

Lately I've been going through the complete canon of Holmes stories for the first time. I haven't been reading them, however, instead I've been listening to them on my iPod. Couple of years back the English MacFormat magazine had a complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories included on the cover CD. You can also get lots of free Sherlock Holmes audio material from the Net. See, also A Study in Sherlock weblog for Holmes related stuff and info.

3000 Miles to Graceland

2006-04-10T22:30:00.000+03:00

OK, the film's just started and I've already lost track on how many people have been shot dead. And I've seen my cousin's husband who has a small role in the film, so I think I can switch off the TV and go to bed... not my kinda movie.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

2006-04-09T22:33:00.000+03:00

Even though I’ve had the DVD for a long time, I had not watched this, Hayao Miyazaki’s first film before tonight. And of course it was as great as all the other Miyazaki films. I watched it with original Japanese audio, witch is the way I prefer it – with English subtitles, naturally. Yesterday I and my youngest son watched the newest film, Howl’s Moving Castle, but it was dubbed in Finnish. Even if the Finnish dubbing was well done, I still have to watch the film anew soon with the original voices. It’s just the only ‘right’ way for me.

.Mac Syncing not Working

2006-04-09T00:42:00.000+03:00

Apparently the syncing has been lost for several days now. I was wondering what was the matter when .Mac side informed that it was syncing for the first time(!) I tried several trouble-shooting options before resorting to forums. I could have save a lot of time had I checked the forums right away.

Fictional Countries in Tintin Comics

2006-04-02T20:39:00.000+03:00

There was a brief list about fictional countries in literature, films and especially in comics in today’s Aamulehti newspaper. The list included among other comics related countries Borduria from the Tintin stories – but no Syldavia, the neighbouring country, not even if in the accompanying illustration Tintin was running with the sceptre of king Ottokar of Syldavia. And what about other fictional countries in the Tintin stories? There was no mention of Central American countries of San Theodor and Nuevo Rico? And no Arab country of Khemed? What ever happened to investigative journalism?

Testing iWeb and .Mac as Blogging Solution

2006-04-02T01:12:00.000+03:00

I've been playing around with the iWeb program and I've been seriously considering moving my blog over to .Mac. The limitations of the iWeb – missing commenting, for example – can be overcome, but that means some tweaking and I'm not sure I want to do that on a regular basis. On the other hand, iWeb integrates seamlessly with other iLife software, so adding pictures, for example, couldn't be easier; it's much easier than with Blogger. We'll I'll have to see. In the mean time, you can have a look at my test blog at the address web.mac.com/jmt

My 'Sync Chart'

2006-03-28T22:25:00.000+03:00

I have been using Mac OS X's .Mac synchronising services almost as long as they have been available. Getting a new Mac or mobile phone has never been a problem when it has come to transfering calendar or contact data to new decices; I've let synchronising take care of that. My biggest problem, though, has been the fact that I've not been able to sync my work calendar with my mobile phone. I tried to do with Apple Scripts but that was too cumbersome. But now, finally, with the latest update to Entourage, it is possible. In order to better illustrate the setup, I made the below 'sync chart'. And it really works ;-)

How to Import Archived Mail Back into Mail.app in Tiger

2006-03-22T05:42:00.000+02:00

I don't quite believe this... For a long time I have taken backups of important mail in Mail.app by first archiving them in a folder in the Mail.app left panel and then just dragging them to the Desktop. This way I've had an mbox file which I could burn to CD or import back to Mail at will. Or so I thought...

When I today tried to import some of my archived mail from an mbox file I noticed that I simply couldn't do it. I could open individual emails from within the mbox file, but could not import all of them back to the Mail.app. At this point I turned to the Internet and found this explanation on a small developer site:

'In Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger", the default message format for Mail messages changed from the Apple custom mbox-package format to the new emlx format (where messages are stored in individual files for Spotlight indexing). However, if you need to recover from a hard drive crash, it's almost impossible to recover your mail messages easily since Mail won't import emlx files and you can't add them to your mailboxes any other way.'

So, in order to get Spotlight working, Apple decided to lose easy mail archiving. Note, that there is no way of exporting or saving mail from the Mail.app – at least I don't know about it.

Luckily the same site that offered the explanation also provided a solution in the form of a small program which converts the new format back into standard mbox format which then can be imported back into Mail. Brilliant. If you need the app, you can get it here.

But really, Apple should've done this, or at least they should have provided an other way to export and import your mails. Not good, Apple.

Burnt MacBook Pro Power Connector

2006-03-19T20:10:00.000+02:00

This doesn't look good. Hope it's an isolated issue.

Startup Times

2006-03-19T08:24:00.000+02:00

All right, the MacBook Pro 2.0 GHz has been up and running for couple of days now. Over all it is definitely faster when it comes to Intel-optimised software. Also, the user interface is clearly more responsive than with my old PowerBook G4 1.33 GHz.

One of the impressive things is the shorter startup time, which has been reported by many people on the Net, and which I can corroborate. It is roughly half the time of G4 1.33. Below find a graph indicating an average of three consecutive startups and the time in seconds it took to reach the login window. The averages were 28.3 and 56.1 seconds for MBP and PB respectively.

Note that after an extensive use or updates the boot time can be much longer, but the same trend of MacBook Pro taking approximately only half the time continued there also.

Anyway, the real test for me is the speed of MS Office products, more of which I'll post next week after I get to use them in real environment at work.

MacBook Pro

2006-03-17T19:48:00.000+02:00

Finally my long awaited MacBook Pro arrived. It's the 15" 2.0GHz model. I will be installing it tonight. I think I'll use the Migration Assistant for the first time ever. I've always done clean installation before, but it will take time to get everything set up correctly, so migrating my data and settings from the old laptop is a tempting option. We'll see...

No More Fat Moomins

2006-03-14T19:09:00.000+02:00

Apart from our Mac-using bishop, an other great thing in last Sunday's Aamulehti newspaper was that finally our Moomin strip series is reprinted in correct proportions. Wohoo! So far it has always been squeezed vertically to better fit into the reserved space, but now the Moomin 'Sunday page' is three normal strips on top of each other. This change is due to Aamulehti incorporating two small tabloid sized parts called Ihmiset (People) and Asiat (Matters) with the Sunday paper; this has given more room for comics, crosswords, Sudokus and stuff.

The only sad thing is that the Moomin series is nearing its end, but I guess it was better late than never. So, thanks anyway, Aamulehti!

The Flying Bishop of Tampere

2006-03-12T19:52:00.000+02:00

Today's local newspaper, Aamulehti, has a story about the bishop of Tampere, Juha Pihkala, who apparently is a Mac user and a keen virtual pilot(!) The bishop doesn't want to shoot other planes, though, which is probably a good thing considering his occupation; instead he uses realistic flight simulation software X-Plane with pedals and stuff. Way to go, bishop!

Office on Rosetta?

2006-03-10T19:18:00.000+02:00

This MacNN news item made me again think of the speed of the Rosetta emulation on the new Intel Macs. I've seen lots of different speed comparisons, but mostly they have been too 'geeky' or too much graphic application centred for me. What I would like to have seen is a test of MS Office applications on Rosetta. I'm a heavy user of Entourage, Excel, Word and Power Point (in that oreder) but have not seen decent real-life comparisons. To remedy this, at least a little bit, I promise to run some real-life speed tests on MacBook Pro 2GHz and my present PowerBook G4 17" 1.33GHz – when the MacBook arrives – and report my findings here.

MacNN | Apple sends developer legal threat

2006-03-09T19:03:00.000+02:00

It seems that I got FrontRow working on my PowerBook at the last moment: MacNN | Apple sends developer legal threat. Well, my preordered MacBook Pro should be arriving soon, so then I can have FrontRow the 'proper way' with remote control and all...

Note to Self: Flip4Mac on intel Macs

2006-03-08T22:15:00.000+02:00

This hint will come handy when my MacBook Pro arrives (hopefully very soon): macnews.net.tc: Flip4Mac on intel Macs

FrontRow on My Mac...

2006-03-06T18:22:00.000+02:00

... even though it shouldn't be. Here's what's playing right now:

According to the specifications Front Row should only be able to install on the newest Macs. With the instructions found via macnews.net.tc I was able to install and run it on my 17" PowerBook 1.33 MHz. And it's working fine :)

If Microsoft make iPod...

2006-03-01T06:59:00.000+02:00

This is hilarious: YouTube - Microsoft iPod

Note to Self: macnews.net.tc: DropCopy: Useful

2006-02-28T12:14:00.000+02:00

macnews.net.tc: DropCopy: Useful.

EyeTV and YLE subtitles

2006-02-20T20:25:00.000+02:00

One problem I encountered during my brief test was that EyeTV was not able to show subtitles in the YLE programmes. I know that Finnish National Broadcasting Company YLE uses a different, more advanced system of sending the subtitles than other European TV companies. Where others (Finnish MTV3 and Nelonen included) 'burn' the subtitles into the main programme, YLE sends the subtitles separately. Unfortunately many of the digiboxes don't support this feature, and since YLE is the only company using this feature, the manufacturers are not in a hurry to add support for it. EyeTV seems to be belonging into this group.

When I mentioned this to a representative of a retailler of this product, he said that updated version of the software should provide the support. Unfortunately I was not able to corroborate this even though I updated the software from version 1.8.3 on the CD to the newest one from the EyeTV website; i.e. version 1.8.4.

Hands on EyeTV

2006-02-20T20:23:00.000+02:00

I got to test the EyeTV digital receiver and recorder for Macintosh and I'm pleasantly surprised how well it works. The setup was straight forward plug, install and play. Basically, I now have a full digital TV in my Mac. The TV has actually been on since I installed it. It has been running on a background window playing music videos from The Voice channel.

I also briefly tested the recording. You can see a recorded music video running behind the EyeTV window. I saved it in DV format and fired it up in QuickTime Player.

This could really be something for me, but I'm getting an Intel MacBook Pro and EyeTV is not universal binary yet. Well, maybe after receiving the MacBook I can test EyeTV again to see how well it performs on Rosetta.

[This entry was originally posted on 2006-02-18 but had to be reposted due to problems in the Blogger database]

Mac OS X: Paradise Lost

2006-02-20T20:21:00.000+02:00

I think it was only this week that I told a PC user that there still are no viri for Mac OS X. Now this is not true anymore. Even if the debate still seems to be be going on whether the malware in question actually is a virus or a trojan or a worm is not significant. The thing is that the days of care-free surfing on a Mac are over.

One could argue that the first malware is not exploiting any vulnerability in the operation system as often is the case in the Windows world, but it's only a matter of time before Mac users have to guard themselves against similar attacks as the PC users have used to do. The situation on a Mac may be inherently better due to various reasons, and anyway we are still light-years away form the PC world, but as is the case with the bird flu, we have to start preparing ourselves. How you do this, when there is hardly any anti-virus software around, is a good question. Anyway, I'll start looking...

More on the matter in English: Mac Rumors: Mac OS X Virus/Trojan Summary

And in Finnish: Digitoday: Apple: Leap ei ole virus vaan haitallinen ohjelma

[This entry was originally posted on 2006-02-18 but had to be reposted due to problems in the Blogger database]

Left Outside Alone

2006-02-07T06:57:00.000+02:00

It has been a while since I've had problems in accessing our company network from outside; normally it just works, but this morning, when I would've needed to get to the server (and mail) from home, it just wouldn't happen. It's not a disaster, since I can get to work later, but it is an annoyance and means that my already busy day will be even busier due to this. Not good.

Let Outside Alone, by the way, is maybe Anastacia's best song ever. Time to put it on...

Quality Problems in the iTMS

2006-02-05T09:30:00.000+02:00

I've been using iTunes Music Store quite a lot, and have been mainly very pleased with the service. Lately, however, there seems to have been problems with the quality of the songs – this seems to be especially true with Finnish songs. In several of the songs I've purchased, there have been pauses and cut-offs within the songs. I've reported these problems to the iTMS customer service and have received compensation in the form of a refund. However, after reporting the latest defective song, I didn't received a refund but got a free song credit instead.

Says Apple:

We have issued 1 replacement song credit to download the song of your choice. The next time you log in to your iTunes Music Store account, the free song credit will appear in the top right corner, by your account name. When you download songs from the iTunes Music Store, the credit will be used as payment until all credits have been used or have expired.

And indeed, this new icon now shows in my iTMS window:

A Film Night

2006-01-26T00:47:00.000+02:00

Last night it was a time for another 'film night' with the usual bunch of friends. This time the theme was 'managing a band', and the films were a Finnish film 'Pitkä kuuma kesä' (A Long Hot Summer) (1999) and The Commitments (1991), neither of which I had seen before.

Basically, both films tell the same story: get your band together and hit the road. In the Finnish film the time was early 80s and the music was mainly Finnish punk and rock of that era. Very nostalgic stuff for me. Three stars. The Commitments, on the other hand, gets four stars. Great film. Soul music might not be my favourite cup of tea, but in this package it was more than enjoyable.

For a future film night theme I suggested Richard Curtis. He's mainly known as a writer (lots of TV stuff like Mr Bean, The Black Adder, Comic Relief and films like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually). I surely have the material ready ;)

Minäkin olen rikollinen

2006-01-24T14:55:00.000+02:00

Luin äsken Tietokone 1/06:sta "Näin murtuu kopiosuojaus" -jutun. Sitten näin Digitodayssa seuraavan jutun: Itsensä ilmiantanutta kuulusteltu - Myös Jyväskylän poliisi selvittelee Rauhalan Organisoitua keskustelua. Mielenkiintoista nähdä, kuinka ymmällään oleva poliisi ja oikeuslaitoksemme tulevat kopiosuojauksen murtamiseen suhtautumaan.

Näin Macintosh-käyttäjän kannalta mielenkiintoista oli myös se, että Tietokone-lehtikin päätyi jutussaan toteamaan, että paras keino kopiosuojausten ohittamiseen oli Macin tai Linux-boxin hankkiminen: "Helpointa rippaus oli Macissä."

Tiukan laintulkinnan mukaan minäkin varmaan olen rikollinen, kun olen ripannut kopiosuojattua musiikkia Macilleni ja siirtänyt ne sieltä iPodiini kuunneltavaksi. Se, että Macintoshit (ja Linux-koneet) eivät välitä kopiosuojauksista, tarkoittaa kiistämättä uudistetussa tekijänoikeuslaissa kriminalisoitua "tehokkaan suojauksen" murtamista. Olenko vielä enemmän syyllinen, jos levitän tietoa kopiosuojauksen kiertomahdollisuudesta suosittelemalla Macin hankkimista ja mainitsemalla, että samalla poistuvat kopiosuojattujen levyjen tuomat ongelmat oman musiikin kuuntelemisessa?

Betalogue: Diappearing messages in Mail

2006-01-22T10:29:00.000+02:00

Even though I haven't been blogging in recent months, I have been participating in various discussions on other blogs through commenting systems. The latest one concerns a potential Apple Mail problem, which very possibly has affected my mother. Read more about the problem of the dissappearing messages at Pierre Igot's excellent Betalogue blog.

New template

2006-01-21T10:41:00.000+02:00

I got rid of the old template, which contained lots of extra html code, which I had lost track of. This template is one of Blogger's basic templates. Also, the text is now in Unicode meaning that, for example, special Finnish characters like 'åäö ÅÄÖ' are not displayed correctly in the old posts. Sorry about that.

Of course, I should also start publishing new stuff again... ;)

GTD

2005-07-21T08:43:00.000+03:00

Eventhough I still haven't got/read the book which started it all, I've been looking quite much into GTD lately--I've even deviced my own version of the Hipster PDA. For those who don't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about can decipher the code by checking the links. Also a good introduction into GTD can be found in the Getting started with 'Getting Things Done' section of 43 Folders.

LOTR Film Marathon

2005-07-21T00:02:00.000+03:00

As you can see, I haven't been blogging for ages; I guess I've been too busy on the other fronts of my life--both at home and at work.

Now, however, I'm on vacation and today I and my two sons had a film marathon: we watched the extended DVD versions of all of the three parts of The Lord of the Rings. It took us almost exactly 12 hours; from 10 am to 10 pm. We had only a couple of junk food breaks during the day. It was really great and the extended versions added some background to the story--at least for me who couldn't remember all the details from the books which I read years and years ago. For fans I think it is a must to see the whole spectacle in one go, because it really is one film--albeit a very long one ;)

This day in Music

2005-04-22T16:30:00.000+03:00

What was No. 1 hit on the day you were born? Find out at This day in Music. For me it was 'Only the Lonely' by Roy Orbison on the UK chart ;)

Safari 1.3

2005-04-17T18:15:00.000+03:00

Along with the Mac OS X 10.3.9 update we got new Safari browser, now in version 1.3. I can say that the overall performance is faster. Here are some highlights of the new Safari from the Surfin' Safari blog of David Hyatt of Safari developing team.

Speed of the Tiger

2005-04-04T06:50:00.000+03:00

Mac OS X Tiger was not released on April Fool's Day, but it won't be long now. In the mean time, read this this review of a beta version in MacNETv2. If all this is true, we will be seeing a long awaited speed boost with Tiger. Can't hardly wait...

Note to Self: Soikko 1.0 Mac OS X:lle

2005-03-20T13:21:00.000+02:00

Soikko 1.0 Mac OS X:lle Suomen kielen oikoluku Mac OS X:lle. Toimii esim. Mail, TextEdit (TeXturi) ja iChat -ohjelmien kanssa. Beta-versio my�s Pages, Keynote ja BBEdit -ohjelmian kanssa.

Finnish Music in the Finnish iTMS

2005-02-14T22:51:00.000+02:00

I've created a new site for the Finnish Music in the Finnish iTMS list. You can find it at http://homepage.mac.com/jmt/finitms/. Basically, what I've done, is that I've divided the page in sub-pages, because of the text length limitations within the pages created in the .Mac

Suomalaisen musiikin (surkea) tila iTMS:ss�

2005-02-05T17:14:00.000+02:00

Parin, kolmen viikon ajan Suomen iTMS:��n on tippunut nihke�sti uutta suomalaista musiikkia, mutta t�m�n viikon lis�ys on kuitenkin tavallista runsaampi: uutta musaa l�ytyy mm. Egotripilt�, Antti Tuiskulta, Hanna Pakariselta, Gimmelilt�, Topi Sorsakoskelta, Reijo Taipaleelta, Antti Huovilalta ja Anne Mattilalta. Kaikki lis�ykset l�ytyv�t tavalliseen tapaan t��lt�.

Olen pitk��n ihmetellyt suomalaisten levy-yhti�iden musiikkipolitiikkaa iTMS:n suhteen. Vaikka iTMS:st� on alusta asti l�ytynyt my�s uutta suomalaista musiikkia, on p��osassa kuitenkin ollut vanha iskelm�voittoinen musiikki tyyliin Kirka, Paula Koivuniemi, Tapani Kansa, Lea Laven, Solistiyhtye Suomi jne. En mill��n jaksa uskoa, ett� t�m� on musiikkia, jota netin kautta ostavat ihmiset ensisijassa hankkivat. Miksei heti alkuun nettiin tuoda uusimpia levyj� ja kuumimpia t�hti�? Vastaus on tietenkin pelko. Levy-yhti�t, eiv�t viel�k��n halua my�nt�� nettikauppojen merkityst�. N�k�alattomuus valitsee ja vanhasta bisnesmallista pidet��n kynsin hampain kiinni.

Jotkut levyteollisuuden edustajat ovat kyll� jo pehment�neet suhtautumistaan nettikauppoihin, mutta esimerkiksi n�ist� Joni Nikulan esitt�mist� mielipiteist� on vain v�h�n yli vuosi aikaa, enk� usko ett� Nikula olisi kyennyt my�nt�m��n itselleen saati sitten muille, ett� h�n oli v��r�ss�. Sama taitaa, ik�v� kyll� p�te� valtaosaan Suomen levyteollisuuden napamiehist� - muuhun johtop��t�kseen tuskin voi tulla, kun katselee suomalaisen musiikin valikoimaa iTMS:ss�...

Note to self: 'Synching' incompatible phones

2005-02-05T12:36:00.000+02:00

macnews.net.tc

Wired News: Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill

2005-02-03T13:34:00.000+02:00

Go check this out: Wired News: Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill: 'To the growing frustration and annoyance of Microsoft's management, Apple Computer's iPod is wildly popular among Microsoft's workers. "About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod," said one source, a high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous. "It's pretty staggering."'

Apple Introduces New PowerBooks

2005-01-31T22:20:00.000+02:00

Nothing ground breaking here. The new models come with 1.5GHz and 1.67GHz G4 processors and include minor enhancements, like faster hard drives. But all in all, I think my 'old' 17" 1.33GHz model still fares pretty well when compared to these newcomers.

The State of the Ark & cheap LCDs

2005-01-29T16:35:00.000+02:00

I was just out on the town to do some shopping when I noticed The Ark's new album The State of the Ark displayed on Stockmann's music dept. The Ark's two previous albums were great so I decided to get this one also. But instead of shelling out the twenty something Euros Stockmann was charging for it, I decided to check whether it was available on the iTunes Music Store, and yes, there it was for the normal 9.99 Euros. Needles to say that I've already downloaded it, burnt it on CD and printed out the CD artwork - all this for less than half of the retail price :)

I've been considering to get a Mac mini for the kids, but I only have old CRTs which I'm not keen on using. The cheapest LCD's which I was able to find were 149 Euros for a 14" screen. The cheapest 15" was 189 Euros. I'm still considering...

Now playing: Let Me Down Gently - guess by who and from which album :)

Note to self: Build Your Own PVR (for free) with HackTV

2005-01-28T11:55:00.000+02:00

O'Reilly: Build Your Own PVR (for free) with HackTV

Note to self: .PST Import Tool Beta

2005-01-17T22:43:00.000+02:00

.PST Import Tool Beta: 'In response to Office for Mac users' request for an easier way to migrate .pst files from Outlook 2001 to Entourage 2004, Microsoft created the new .PST Import Tool.'

Note to self: e2Sync

2005-01-17T22:42:00.000+02:00

e2Sync today introduces e2Sync Personal 'MS Entourage support for iSync and mobile phones, PDAs, iPods...'

Better Cross-platform Computing Needed

2005-01-11T09:38:00.000+02:00

Couldn't agree more with the writer of this article: Apple Owes the Enterprise a Better Client.

Note to self: Networking Windows with OS X

2005-01-11T09:06:00.000+02:00

Mac Forums - GUIDE: Networking Windows with OS X

Lis�� suomalaista musaa iTMS:��n...

2005-01-08T17:48:00.000+02:00

Parin viikon tauon j�lkeen iTunes Music Storeen on taas lis�tty suomalaista musiikkia. Uutta musiikkia l�ytyy ainakin seuraavilta artisteilta tai bandeilt�: H.I.M., Waldo's People, Don Huonot, Tarja Lunnas, Kirka, Janne Tulkki, Aikakone, Paula Koivuniemi. Lis�ykset l�ytyv�t tavalliseen tapaan Suomi-musaa -listalta.

"Gates endures computer crash during CES keynote speech"

2005-01-07T12:00:00.000+02:00

Nokia Collector

2004-12-29T13:10:00.000+02:00

I read somewhere about a Nokia-made utility to synchronise files on your phone and your Mac, but searching the Finnish Nokia site with the word 'Macintosh' didn't produce a link to anything downloadable. I could see on the Nokia 7280 phone page that a utility called Nokia Collector exists, but there was no obvious way to download anything. I then googled for the phrase 'Nokia Collector' and got to a download page for the application. It was available at 'www.nokia.com' but not at 'www.nokia.fi'(!) Also, the Nokia Collector seems to be available only on the Nokia 7280 page even though it probably works with other Bluetooth enabled phones, too.

Anyway, I downloaded the application and it works fine with my Sony Ericsson T610(!) Much better than using the Bluetooth File Exchange utility.

Here's the 'missing' link: Nokia 7280 Phone Support Nokia Collector.

The Graphing Calculator Story

2004-12-28T11:13:00.000+02:00

This is a nice one: The Graphing Calculator Story. These kind of stories ad to the 'Apple Legend' :) Graphing Calculator used to be one of the first applications to be fired up in the good old OS 9 days to test the speed of a new Macintosh computer. It still exists in the Application (Mac OS 9) folder in the Classic system, but you can also download a free OS X version here.

Suomi-iTMS

2004-12-17T23:07:00.000+02:00

Listaan lis�tty�: Anssi Kelaa, Aikakonetta ym.

Kwan, Emmi, Killer, Kemopetrol in Finnish iTMS...

2004-12-12T22:11:00.000+02:00

I have just updated my Finnish music in Finnish iTMS page. At least Kwan's new album Love Beyond This World has just been added to the Finnish iTMS. I also came across Emmi, Kemopetrol and Killer plus couple of others which I probably haven't noticed before.

If you come across Finnish music whihc is not included in the list, you are welcome tor drop me a line about it and I'll update the list accordingly.

1.99 Euros to Charity; No New Finnish Music in iTMS

2004-12-07T23:22:00.000+02:00

Just downloaded Do They Know It's Christmas (2004 Version) by Band Aid 20 from iTunes Music Store. The price of the song, 99 cents, goes to charity, but in addition Apple will donate an extra one Euro to charity as well.

What comes to the song, I still prefer the original 1984 version. And the cover art for the single is truly awful.

And finally, there seems to have been no new Finnish music additions to the Finnish iTMS for two or three weeks now. Not good!

Added a link...

2004-11-30T22:27:00.000+02:00

... to the side bar pointing to my Finnish Music in the Finnish iTMS page.

On G.W. Bush's IQ

2004-11-29T21:36:00.000+02:00

To continue on previous post's IQ theme... this is an old one, but here it is anyway: On G.W. Bush's IQ (or Lack Thereof) - Netlore Archive. Okay, okay... it's under the heading 'Urban Legends and Folkolore'.

US Election 2004 Results Listed by Average IQ

2004-11-29T21:11:00.000+02:00

Whether this is true or not is not that important - it is funny nevertheless :D See for yourself: US Election 2004 Results Listed by Average IQ. And be sure not to miss the second statistics with average income, either. Thanks Pepe.

iPod photo 60 GB

2004-11-28T19:42:00.000+02:00

OK, the first weekend with the brand new iPod photo 60 GB has come and gone. The iPod is simply brilliant. I got the gadget at the end of last week and I've now transferred my 4,000+ songs to the iPod plus made backup copies both from my private and my work profile. I still have almost 30 GB free space.

The next step is to transfer the photos to the iPod, but I haven't had yet time to do this...

Suomi-musa Suomi-iTMS:ss�

2004-11-24T21:11:00.000+02:00

Olen Suomen iTMS:ss� surffaillessani naputellut muistiin vastaan tulleet suomalaiset albumit. Lista n�ist� l�ytyy t��lt�. Heti k�ttelyss� t�ytyy todeta, ett� lista on sanalla sanoen suppea, eik� todellakaan tee oikeutta suomalaiselle musiikille. K�yk�� katsomassa. P�ivit�n listaa aika ajoin.

"Finland f�r - men inte vi"

2004-11-21T15:38:00.000+02:00

S� st�r det i december numret av det svenska versionen av MacWorld, och det g�ller naturligtvis iTunes Music Store som inte komm till Sverige n�r Finland och �tta andra nya europeiska l�nder fick det nyligen. K�ra v�nner, ni burde ha r�stat f�r euro, n�r ni hade m�jligheten... :)

A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne

2004-11-18T21:36:00.000+02:00

I've always been a big fan of 'The Best of...' and 'A Tribute to...' albums. Today I made a real find in the iTunes Music Store; I was searching for a music by Jeff Lynne of E.L.O. when I came across Lynne Me Your Ears - A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne album by various artist. After listening to few of the samples I quickly decided to buy the album. After all, it was only 9,90 for 32 songs! The downloading is progessing in the background while writing this. And the song playing at the moment is Rockaria by Pat Buchanan. Rockaria along with the Livin' Thing were my favourites from E.L.O.'s A New World Record album.

Now Playing...

2004-11-17T17:04:00.000+02:00

... the new album by Die Toten Hosen: Zur�ck zum Gl�ck :)

My iTunes Music Collection...

2004-11-14T20:20:00.000+02:00

... on my PowerBook is now over 4,000 songs or over ten days of listening or around 16 gigs.

Now playing Pat Benatar: All Fired Up - The Very Best of..

K�vin juuri...

2004-11-13T13:16:00.000+02:00

... Stockan levyosastolla ja siell� oli myynniss� R.E.M.:in uusin levy Around the Sun hintaan 22,90. Min� hankin kyseisen LP:n iTunes Music Storesta hintaan 9,99 ja olen polttanut siit� CD:n, jonka hinta on noin 0,60. En nyt jaksa mietti�, mit� iTunesista tulostamani kansi maksaa paperi- ja mustekuluina... :)

Huonompi juttu on se, ett� Epe's oli myynyt Die Toten Hosenin uutuuden Zur�ck zum Gl�ckin loppuun. Ja kuten arvasitte, sit� ei ole saatavana Suomen iTMS:st� - Saksan iTMS:st� se kyll�kin l�ytyisi :( Pakko t�m� on kuitenkin jotenkin hankkia ennen joulukuun puoliv�lin konserttimatkaa...

Nyt soi: The Phantom Tonesin LP Entitled Nameless.

Note to Self: ClockLink.com

2004-10-29T09:56:00.000+03:00

ClockLink.com

Was I the First to Purchase an Album from Finnish iTMS?

2004-10-26T23:42:00.000+03:00

I think so. Here's a pic where I'm downloading the first song of the R.E.M. album

And here's what the Finnish iTMS Top 100 list says at the moment

Lis�� suomalaista musiikkia iTMS:ss� (P�ivitetty)

2004-10-26T22:56:00.000+03:00

Suomalaista musiikkia n�ytt�� koko ajan tippuvan lis�� suomalaiseen iTMS:��n. Edelleen t�m�n hetken suurimmat t�hdet n�ytt�v�t puuttuvan - liittyneek� t�m� siihen ett� levy-yhti�t eiv�t viel�k��n t�ysill� usko/luota nettimyyntiin ja haluavat pit�� varmimmat rahantuojansa CD-kannassa? Joka tapauksessa bongailin seuraavia uusia artisteja iTMS:st�:

Arja Koriseva, Don Huonot, Edvard (kuka Edvard?), Hanna Ekola, Happoradio, Kirka, Lea Laven, Mikko Kuustonen, Neon 2, Tapani Kansa, Tommi L�ntinen, V�rttin�...

Hmm... t�t� menoa iTMS-hankintani suuntautuvat jatkossakin ulkomaisen musiikin puolelle ;)

P�ivitys: Viimeisin uusi artisti: V�rttin�

We Got iTunes Music Store! (Updated)

2004-10-26T21:16:00.000+03:00

Finland was one of the new iTMS countries announced today. It seems that it was the Euroland that got iTMS - sorry Nordic friends, but you should've joined Euro ;)

I've also already downloaded my first album; it was Around the Sun by R.E.M. at the price of ? 9,99. It has also been copied to my wife's iBook (which I authorised to play purchased music) and also synced to her iPod. Everything worked without a hitch!

Apple also announced new iPods and new iTunes. At the moment I'm downloading the new iTunes 4.7 - don't know what's new in it, put I'll find out soon.

Update: It seems that I was the first one to purchase an Alternative album; at least at the moment my purchase is no. one at the Top 100 Alternative albums list in Finnish iTMS (alongside with three other albums at the writing of this) :)

More Rumours about iTMS Coming to Finland, Too

2004-10-25T21:16:00.000+03:00

According to this Mac Rumors article, Finland might be among the new countries to get iTMS! I can corroborate that iTMS is not available (unlike yesterday) for browsing. The article suggests that this could be a sign of localised (or Pan European) iTMS being around the corner.

Suomalaista musiikkia iTunes Music Storessa (Viimeisimm�t lis�ykset boldattu)

2004-10-24T14:07:00.000+03:00

Pienell� hakemisella l�ytyiv�t ainakin seuraavat albumit. Osa albumeista l�ytyy useammasta iTMS:st�, mutta osa esim. vain USA:sta tai UK:sta. En ole tarkistanut kaikkia titteleit� eri iTMS:ist�, jote alla oleva lista ei ole t�ydellinen. Loppuun lis�tty ne levy-yhti�t, jotka on mainittu albumeiden yhteydess�.

20 Suosikkia -sarja: (US - ei UK, DE, FR)
- 60-luku / Rock / Hetki Ly�
- Aki Hietala - Jos Luoja Suo (Huom. my�s UK, DE, FR)
- Helena Siltala - Ranskalaiset Korot
- Kaikki Rakkauteni: Suosituimmat Beatles - Klassikot Suomeksi
- Kauneimmat Valssit, Vol. 2
- Kun Rock 'n' Roll Tuli Suomeen, Vol. 1
- Reijo Taipale: 20 Suosikkia 2
- Seitsem�n Sein�hullua Veljest�: Banaania Poskeen
- Tauno Palo - Ruusu On Punainen

Charlies: Vain V�h�n Aikaa (UK, DE - ei US)
El�kel�iset: (yhteens� kahdeksan eri albumia) (US, UK, DE, FR)

Jukka Kuoppam�ki: Sininen (US - ei UK, DE)
Jukka Kuoppam�ki: SIninen - SIngle (US - ei UK, DE)
Jukka Perko: Music of Olavi Virta (UK, DE - ei US)
Jussi & The Boys: Keh� Kaartuu (US, UK, DE, FR)
Kake Singers: Me Halutaan Olla Neekereit� (US, UK, DE)
Kari Veps�: Onnenmaa (UK - ei US)
Maarit: Siivet Saan (US, UK, DE, FR)
Marit ja Mikot: Marit Ja Mikot (US - ei UK)
Nelj� Ruusua: Haloo (UK, DE, FR - ei US)
Niko Ahvonen: Painovoimaa Vastaan (UK - ei US)
Pekka Lehti: Outo Voima ('Strange Force') (UK)
Pekka Lehti & Outo Voima: Sohjo (UK)
Sami Koivikko: Salmiakki (US - ei UK)
Scandinavian Music Group: Onnelliset Kohtaa (UK)
Solistiyhtye Suomi: He Soittavat Humppaa (UK - ei US)

Levy-yhti�it�:
Aito Records
Bluebird
RCA Records Label
Shitkatapult
Terrier
WM Finland

Lis�ksi l�ytyy, mutta on varmaan ollut jo aiemmin:
Hanoi Rocks: Two Steps from the Move (US - ei UK)

Toivon edelleen, ett� t�m� tarkoittaa iTMS:n olevan tulossa Suomeen l�hiaikoina - mahdollisesti jo 26.10. Applen ja U2:n tapahtumassa.

iTunes Music Store Coming to Finland, too?!?

2004-10-24T09:31:00.000+03:00

Just today I run into some obscure Finnish stuff in the U.S. iTMS. I have no idea for how long they've been available there. It seems that all the below albums come from WM Finland (Warner Music, I think) and include some '20 Suosikkia' series albums:

20 Suosikkia: 60-luku / Rock / Hetki Ly�
20 Suosikkia: Aki Hietala - Jos Luoja Suo
Reijo Taipale: 20 Suosikkia 2
20 Suosikkia: Kauneimmat Valssit, Vol. 2
20 Suosikkia: Tauno Palo - Ruusu On Punainen
Marit ja Mikot: Marit ja Mikot

Could this be a sign that the Pan European iTMS would include also Finland? It's hard to imagine that the above titles could have any commercial potential outside Finland :) I couldn't find any of the really big artists available, but if we can get the huge foreign catalogue, who cares. I keep my fingers crossed eventhough I don't dare to hold my breath...

Video-DVD:n polttaminen ei viel�k��n onnistu.

2004-10-19T23:40:00.000+03:00

Koska ongelmat DVD:n polttamisessa jatkuvat, postitin kysymykseni my�s Hopeisen Omenan keskustelufoorumille. Viestiketju - tai siis ketju vain siin� tapauksessa, ett� kysymykseeni tulee vastauksia :) - l�ytyy t��lt�.

Burned DVDs not recognised as proper DVDs

2004-10-16T15:50:00.000+03:00

I just posted the below message to Apple discussions:

How can I burn a DVD which is viewable on a normal DVD player? I've used Disk Utility to create a CD/DVD master image, which I then burn on a DVD. I'm sure that the data is OK, as I can watch the film with my Mac's DVD Player, but when I've burned it on a DVD, the disc is not recognised as a proper DVD by ordinary DVD players nor Mac's software player. Note, that I can still play the movie on the disc with my Mac by telling the DVD Player program where the VIDEO_TS folder is.

I remember reading somewhere that the invisible .DS_STORE files, which Mac creates, should be erased prior to burning the disk, but I don't seem to be able to do that. I can use Find to see the little buggers, but dragging the folders to the Trash doesn't seem to help. Running the Find again, shows that the invisible files are back on the image. Is this the problem? If so, how can I remedy it?

There must be some obvious thing I'm overlooking, but what? Any advise?

The thread can be found here.

Apple to open 'borderless' Euro music store

2004-10-02T23:19:00.000+03:00

Event though I seriously doubt it, I can still hope that Apple's pan-European iTunes Music Store will also cover Finland. Finland is, after all, part of the Euro region, so that could possibly make things easier. Anyway, here's the latest on the subject by the Register: Apple to open 'borderless' Euro music store

'How the music biz can live forever, get even richer, and be loved'

2004-09-23T23:07:00.000+03:00

Highly recommended to everyone: The Reg correspondet Andrew Orlowski speaking to the 'cream of the music industry' in the UK and telling them that 'it's never had it so good, that it's been swindled by the technologists, and that it should dump DRM and embrace freedom'. Read the whole story here.

Nokia 7280

2004-09-10T01:04:00.000+03:00

Whoa! Nokia is producing a Mac compatible phone. Hopefully this means means more compatible phones in the future.

Note to Self: Mail Scripts 2.2.5b

2004-09-05T21:28:00.000+03:00

Mail Scripts 2.2.5b is a collection of AppleScript Studio applications for Mail and Address Book offering additional features or simplified workflow.

iTunes Music Store in All EU Countries in October?

2004-09-01T21:56:00.000+03:00

I didn't watch the Parix Expo Keynote (I've nothing against Phil Schiller but he's no Steve Jobs) so I missed the announcement that iTunes Music Store would be available in all EU countries in October(!) I found this piece of news from this MacFixIt article. I sure hope it's true...

AirPort Express

2004-08-31T22:30:00.000+03:00

Today it arrived: the AirPort Express base station. Installing it and hooking it up with the stereos was a breeze without any problems. Now the thing is to find an optimal location for it. For the time being at least, it's at the first floor in a fairly central location of the house - it is small and stylish enough so that it can be plugged in an electric outlet which is quite visible. It is also hooked to the stereos. The range seems to be the same or slightly better than with the old Nokia station - or it might just be the new location. Anyway, I can again surf wirelessly with my PB with an AirPort Extreme card - it never worked with our old Nokia wireless router. My wife's iBook with an old AirPort card, on the other hand, always worked well with the Nokia and works also excellently with the new Express station.

Waiting for an AirPort Express

2004-08-30T19:37:00.000+03:00

Ordered the AirPort Express a couple of weeks ago, but apparently they are not available in Finland yet. At work I have a pair of active loudspeakers, but at home I have to use the tiny PowerBook speakers to listen to the music, so you can imagine that I'm looking forward to streaming my iTunes catalogue through the stereos...

Mauri Antero ja Mac

2004-08-30T19:30:00.000+03:00

Satuin juuri n�kem��n televisiosta pienen p�tk�n M.A. Nummisesta kertovasta norjalaisesta dokumentista. Mik�li n�in oikein, niin Nummisen Lemp��l�n m�kill� - jossa h�n oman kertomansa mukaan tekee kaiken luovan ty�ns� - oli Macintosh-tietokone. Veikkaisin, ett� kyseess� oli G3-tason Power Mac ysik�yttiksell� :)

Note to self: Microsoft Word Help FAQ

2004-08-30T18:11:00.000+03:00

Microsoft Word Help FAQ at www.ShaunaKelly.com. Don't know how much of this is applicable to Word 2004 for Mac, though.

Brother Bear (Karhuveljeni Koda) 3/5 stars

2004-08-29T15:02:00.000+03:00

Went to see Brother Bear today with my youngest kid. The film was OK, but what was not OK, were parents who bring too young children to the cinema or talk to the kid throughout the film explaining what is happening on the screen.

The first incidence ended when approximately two or three-year-old kid sobbing "I want out of here" was finally carried out by his father after less than ten minutes into the film. And I managed to silence the talkative woman sitting beside us by throwing a couple of annoyed glances at her. Sigh!

No iTunes in Nokia Phones - Unfortunately :(

2004-08-09T18:05:00.000+03:00

First there was the Apple-Motorola team-up for mobile music download, now it is Nokia teaming up with Loudeye/OD2. Read the Register story here.

Noteworthy? Part XXXIII

2004-08-01T22:28:00.000+03:00

Spymac: Don't park your stolen cars near your house.

Sigh!

2004-08-01T22:11:00.000+03:00

Tomorrow morning the office waits again after the holidays :(

Now Playing: Great Free Music!

2004-07-26T00:11:00.000+03:00

How could I have missed this: Mikseri.net?!? Just saw it mentioned on TV and now I've downloaded about ten great songs already.

Mikseri.net is a website providing a venue for new artists to present their music to the world. Check out at least these artists: Quaint, I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper, Alipaine, Blueborn...

Lomamatkalla

2004-07-23T18:54:00.000+03:00

Vuotuinen Muumimaailma-k�ynti onnellisesti takana. T�m�n matkan hitaimman palvelun palkinto menee Naantalin Kaivohuoneelle. Onnittelut.

The Da Vinci Code

2004-07-20T23:55:00.000+03:00

I finally bought it today: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Finnish hard cover version has been in the shops for a while, but I was looking for a pocket book and today I saw the English soft cover version (EUR 9.90) in Akateeminen book store here in Tampere.

I immediately started reading it putting a side - for the moment - The Last Call by Tim Powers, and was right away absorbed into the story, which is dealing with the same mysteries many other writes, like Baigent & Lee, for example, have dealt with before. Without going to the details, be prepared for secrets affecting the very essence of the Catholic church - or actually the very essence of Christianity.

The fact that Brown is digging into the 'greatest conspiracy of all time' is clear from the first page, where we learn that the Louvre curator, who becomes the starting point of the story, is called Jacques Sauni�re - and, as everyone familiar with the Rennes-le-Ch�teu mystery will recall, there was a certain priest called Abb� Sauni�re in this small parish in Languedoc...

The last book I've read on the subject was The Templar Revelation by Picknett & Prince, which, along with the Baigeant & Lee books, is actually on Browns 'Partial Bibliography' for The Da Vinci Code. As I said, I've just started reading, but it will be interesting to see how Brown has tackled the story...

Note to Self: Webstractor

2004-07-14T20:09:00.000+03:00

TidBITS: The Simple Brilliance of Webstractor

Kerry

2004-07-14T09:07:00.000+03:00

As if there weren't enough reasons to choose Kerry over Bush, here's one more. Via MacNN

Note to Self: syncOtunes

2004-07-12T11:02:00.000+03:00

syncOtunes 0.93 - VersionTracker: Synchronise iTunes libraries on different Macs.

Note to Self: Favicon

2004-07-11T11:15:00.000+03:00

Betalogue - Using a favicon with Safari [with comments]

'Redmond, we have a problem'

2004-06-28T12:23:00.000+03:00

The new Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' banners are slapping Microsoft in the face :-D Check them out here.

Note to self: ByteController 0.5

2004-06-27T18:27:00.000+03:00

Apple - Downloads - iPod iTunes - ByteController 0.5: "A small user interface utility for controlling iTunes. ByteController gives you three buttons in your menu bar: Previous Song, Next Song and Play/Pause. You can apply different skins to it, and assign hot keys to the buttons."

Leaked Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Screenshots?

2004-06-27T17:49:00.000+03:00

Prior to next week's World Wide Developer Conference where the next incarnation of Mac OS X will be presented, the rumours are winding up. Here's input from Mac Rumors: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Screenshots?
Update 2004-06-28: The screenshots are apparently genuine since they were removed by Apple's request from the above link, but the screenshots can still be viewed here.

Alright!

2004-06-23T16:30:00.000+03:00

Apple sells 800,000 songs in Europe in the first week. Now, Apple, pretty please expand the service to Finland, too... :)

Archbishop 'may star in Simpsons'

2004-06-20T20:57:00.000+03:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Archbishop 'may star in Simpsons': "Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams would look 'very seriously' at an invitation to appear on animated comedy The Simpsons."