My MacBook is For Sale!

Alas, it is time for me to part with my old friend, my MacBook. Having revived it from the land of the dead, and restored it to better than new condition, I have to part with it. I have to pay off the debt I got into replacing it!

It is on ebay right now.

Here are the specs.

• 1.83 Ghz Dual-Core Intel Core Duo Processor
• 2 GB DDR2 PC2-5300 677 Mhz 200-pin SO-DIMM RAM
• 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive SATA
• ComboDrive (CD±R/W & DVD)
• 13.3" Screen at 1280 x 800 resolution native
• Front Row (remote included)
• Leopard Mac OS X 10.5.1
• iLife '08
• iWork '08
• Microsoft Office 2004
• Windows XP Professional SP 2
• 2 USB 2.0 Ports
• Wireless 802.11a/b/g/draft-n
• Ethernet 10/100/1000
• iSight web cam
• built-in mic
• headphone and mic jack
• stereo speakers
• Mini-DVI out
• And more....

If you are interested, please check out the auction. If you "Buy it Now" at the Buy it Now price, I'll throw in my Brenthaven carrying case, which is $50 online.

I really hate to part with this computer, since it was the first new computer I ever bought, but I can't really justify keeping it since I replaced it. Also, since people have asked, I will say that I can load all my YouTube videos on it, and even sign it, if you are so inclined. And if you don't want XP for whatever reason, I can take that off, too. It's a new hard drive with a fresh install of everything - so this is in better-than new condition. I replaced the keyboard, maxed out the RAM, and put in a bigger hard drive. This this is better than the MacBook Air in every way except thinness!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment - email me - or contact me through ebay. Thanks for reading and happy bidding!

And the Beat goes on... your new touchscreen WiFi OS X based iPod?

What will be announced at today's "And the beat goes on..." Apple announcement? Will be be the iPod Touchscreen? FatBoy Nano? WiFi for iPods? OS X based iPods? The Beatles' library on iTunes? All of the above? How about a speed bump for the Mac Pro and the Xserve? Only time and the Steve will tell. But, mere hours before the announcement, Chad W. Smith (hey, that's me!) gives his thoughts on the subject.

Digg this

Return of the AntiPod Nano!

I just wanted to give an update on my "AntiPod Nano" - aka my new mp3/mp4 player. There have been some questions, especially since it was so cheap. It just seems too good to be true.

The player seems to be most of what it was advertised to be. I can't get it to record, but it does have audio and video playback, it does have an FM tuner, it even has ebook and contacts list support. Just no record, (that I can get it to work, anyway - there is a hole on the side labeled "mic" but selecting record from the menu results in a reboot).

What the player is, is what's called a S1 mp3 player (actually, an S1 mp4, player, but anyway.) They are cheap knock offs made in China. There are users lists and forums - one such is s1mp3.org. The controls are kludgy, and it's rife with copyright and patent violations. (The box has mp3 / mp4 writen with an upside W from the Sony Walkman logo, and every page of the horribly translated manual has the Apple logo on it.) It's a click wheel design, like the iPod.

I've heard the rumors (on s1mp3.org) that it may not actually be 4 GB - just 2 GB. It says 4 GB when I connect it to my PC - but they said if I format the drive, it will only be 2 GB, or even 1 GB. That is not the case (at least not for me). What some people have problems with is, after 2 GB, it starts giving them error messages, so they reformat the drive to FAT 16 and only get 2 gigs. The problem isn't the player - it's the format. FAT 16 only supports partitions up to 2 GB (or so I've been told). I've reformatted it twice to FAT 32, and it gives me 4 full GB. (I haven't put that many songs on it yet, so I can't vouch for it not having error messages. Also, before I formatted the drive, my MacBook didn't even recognize that it existed. It now works.

There is no real way to organize the music. You can't sort or shuffle on the device at all. The mp3s play in alphabetical order within the folders. Speaking of folders - you can only have 99 files in a given folder. It just won't recognize file # 100 or higher. And you can only have folders one deep (so music1/ and music2/ not music1/a/ music1/b/ - just top level folders). I'm not sure, but I'd guess you can only have 99 folders - so 99 * 99 (9801) is your absolute limit of number of files.

Also, you don't load it through iTunes. You just use it like a drive. I read something about using Windows Media Player to load it (and maybe that will let you arrange playlists or whatever) - but I'll just stick with doing it myself.

The point is - if you are willing to put up with some frustation and limitations - it's a good deal. If you just want a simple player - and video player and/or money isn't important - get something else.

The Cash On Delivery thing threw me for a loop, too. But look at it this way - if it's COD, they can't take your money without shipping you *something*. It could be an empty box or an envelope - but you will get something. If you pay with a Credit or Debit Card or electronic check - they have your money before anything leaves their office. It does cost about a buck to get a money order from the post office or a gas station or something - but it's not much, (I paid $0.89 I believe.)

I can't completely recommend this site. I mean, it's a little shaddy, but I got what I ordered (well, I also ordered a 4 GB MiniSD card, but got a 4 GB SD card, so there was a mistake.) So it's really up to you whether the risk is worth the reward. I can say it's not a total scam - they didn't rob me - but there's 0 service after the sale (no replies to my email saying I got the wrong card and can't get record to work).

My New Media Player

You can order this MP4 player with more features than the iPod Nano with 4GB of storage for only $58 on the Computer Warehouse Inc..