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General 31 Dec 2010

Where shall I begin? This year has been filled, no tightly packed with events for me and it is for the first time since doing these recaps, that I can look back at the past year with full and utter joy.

January and February may have been good, it’s just that I don’t remember much from these two months. They were for me spent waiting on what was to come in March and what has made this year so incredible long and good.

Finally I must say, March came around and filled with so much fun and excitement that I don’t know where to start. My 18th birthday was first up (March 11) which of course means that I am now able to do a whole lot of things that I couldn’t before. One being to start my own business, for which a registration was sent at 6 a.m in the morning when I woke up before I even left bed. Can you tell I was ecstatic about this?

Following my birthday, I had a trip plan. For me this was big from all possible aspects. First of all, the trip was to Photoshop World. I don’t know if I have ever had a week with so much fun as I did then. Being able to meet up with everyone I have gotten to know over the past years was just so much fun. Right now I am struggling to find words to describe it, just as I did earlier this year.

As two added bonuses to the trip, it was my first trip that I did on my very own without friends or family and also my first time in the USA. Talk about excitement and fun.

I would have been rather happy with these events alone, heck who wouldn’t? Still, there is one more event in April that I am also very proud to look back on. I got my drivers license proudly on the first attempt and yes, I still have it. ;) All kidding aside, I am truly proud of myself for everything I achieved in the beginning of the year.

Looking back now, this year has been incredible for me. With that start and then working hard both in school and with work, I now sit with a business doing a healthy first year at the same time as I have one semester left at school before graduating this summer. With this year as a base with everything that has been going on, I can only imagine that 2011 is going to be even better.

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General 23 Dec 2010

It is one day left before christmas (for us here in Sweden who celebrate on the 24th) or two days before if you celebrate the 25th. Time is running out. If you have remembered that you have (gasp!) forgot to buy a gift for someone, here are some last minute tips for a couple of different type of people.

…for the photographer!

B&H Photo Video Gift CardIf the person on your list is a photographer, I have an idea for you. Get them a gift card from B&H Photo Video. Since B&H offers good shipping for many countries outside the US, it is also a good gift to give international people that might be on your list. Just check that they are eligible to purchase form B&H.

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Technology 21 Dec 2010

Synology DS411j NASI don’t know why I haven’t been thinking about ordering a NAS (Network Attached Storage) earlier. Since I move a lot between two places it has proven very impractical to keep moving hard drives with me, both for backup and for file storage. With my laptop being my primary computer, disk space is always a bit at a premium.

All in all, I am really looking forward to being able to access files over the net from anywhere, both via AFP on the Mac as well as from any computer using the web interface which I must say sounds impressive.

I opted for a Synology Diskstation DS411j which had all of the features I wanted in terms of “applications” and connection abilities. What made me choose this specific model was the capacity, being able to store 8 TB spread out over 4 slots.

Once I get it in a couple of days and set it up over christmas, I will give a little review on how it is working for me and what I think.

Technology 20 Dec 2010

FaceTime on the iPhone 4The ability to do FaceTime calls has been available for about half a year now and was applauded when announced together with the new iPhone 4 at WWDC back in June. As time has gone by however, I have myself only used this feature once and that as a test to see if it actually worked as promised, right after getting my phone.

This leads me to ask the question, “Why am I not using FaceTime much?”. After all, this is a good service with a stunning UI even though it has a few quirks in it. When I sit down and think about this, I come up with two answers.

  1. First it is the entire idea about video calls. Being a teenager (allbeit, with only a year and a quarter left until 20), I should be the right person to judge this. I am not though. To start with, I do not call people that much, neither do I text people a whole lot. When I do it is usually not for the sole purpose of general socializing.I have never been to keen on the video chat idea. For some situations it is lovely. When it comes to meetings or get-togethers that you are able to have over the entire globe, the technology is just amazing. When it comes to general chatter, I just don’t like it as much. Perhaps it is because I am that used to instant messaging systems (where I also do not use video chat) and sitting in whatever outfit that suits me at any given moment. Showing yourself on video needs preparation and making yourself look presentable.
  2. Secondly FaceTime is only available through WiFi networks. This is truly the only major factor that keeps FaceTime from getting big. If I could call anyone in the world from anywhere in the world, whenever, I would be much more likely to use FaceTime for many more calls. As it stands now there is a certain hassle connected with making sure you are on a good WiFi connection and then arranging the call (again, whenever you know you are going to be on WiFi).

Then of course there is the fact that you don’t look that flattering when a camera is stuck under your head pointed right up…

Anyhow, those are my ideas on why FaceTime is not gaining the traction it probably should be and why we are not hearing much about it. Now I am interesting in knowing if you use FaceTime much, a little or never and what your reasons are!

Software 19 Dec 2010

JigglerSometimes I just want to leave my MacBook Pro working by itself, without falling asleep. Other times I want to lie down in my bed with me mac on the other side of it, used as a TV either watching real TV (shocker!) or podcasts.

Anyhow, the problem with this is that I have set my computer to automatically fall asleep after X amount of minutes without use. Normally, 95% of the time, this is my desired action, however there are the remaining 5% when I don’t want it to do that. Rather than going into my System Preferences and changing the setting that controls the time it takes before it goes asleep every time I want to make an exception (and then changing it back afterwards), I found a utility.

The utility is simple enough and called Jiggler. What it does is equally simple but nevertheless brilliant. The application, when launched, jiggles your mouse cursor at an interval which you can set yourself. The computer will think that it is being used and will not go to sleep, saving a lot of settings hassle while still giving you the desired result. Oh, the best part about Jiggler is that it is a free download!