Tag: Apple

TIME TRAVEL at UVic … Sort of …

TIME TRAVEL
at UVIC !!!!
[ … sort of … ]

TODAY is Day 407 since Help Desk staff – ALL of us, have been working from home!

Sounds like an entry in a Doomsday Diary!

And … kinda right about that! So, of course, I immediately think of Time Travel! But, to keep it centred on TECH .. I will offer proof that the Commodore 64, and in fact, my own Commodore SX-64 is .. THE FASTEST COMPUTER OF ALL TIME! So .. Time Travel between different Techs and how fast they actually .. Travel through Time …. stay with me!

Absolute video proof that it is faster than any computer … AT STARTING UP! Hey, Time Travel is possible … but for now .. only forward!

You can see that my SX-64 is fully booted .. even before the Apple chime HAS FINISHED on my Apple 27″ iMac! BOOM! Hands down WINNER .. for starting up!

And as you can probably guess, my SX-64 is fastest at … shutting down too! Just turn the switch off! My 27″ Mac has to go through the proper shutdown sequence, and that can take anywhere from 30-60 seconds.

So, literally, my SX-64 is faster than my 27″ iMac – coming and going! I also have an old Mac SE, amongst other computers, too! But that needs a FLOPPY to boot up – and installs a RAM disk and … well if you know what a RAM disk is … good times … good times! And the SX-64 would still beat it! I even have an old external SCSI 100MB drive. That is NOT a typo – 100MB drive! Sure was an upgrade from 800K floppies!

OH, and that is my pet Flerken, Lilly! She is always on, so she wins by default! Don’t mess with Lilly!

Original iMovie
               Original iMovie

So, sometimes old tech, even ancient tech, might still have a purpose! I want to do a post about the original, ORIGINAL version of iMovie! Yes, WAY back when! I created some training videos WAY before I joined The Computer Help Desk!

      Back to the Future

And I still have an old 24″ iMac in CALL, dedicated (i.e. NO internet at all!) for analog to digital video conversion using a Pinnacle Movie box. Works incredibly seamlessly, and literally, I can digitize a 90 minute VHS movie in about 90 minutes of real time conversion! Then burn it to a playable DVD (Single or Double-Density!) in about the same amount of time. BOOM DONE! And uses either USB or Firewire .. how  quaint!

But that is another OAC Post .. in the future of course! BACK to the Future of course!

PS: This is my 200th published post here at OAC! First person to email me with this ‘200’ number wins a … chocolate bar!

Pinnacle Movie Box
      Pinnacle Movie Box
Pinnacle Movie Box Ports
     Pinnacle Movie Box Ports

‘TIME TRAVEL‘ Technologies… mostly  🙂

  1. Commodore SX-64 (Wikipedia)
  2. Commodore SX-64 Computer Review (YouTube)
  3. Systems ‘Meet the Team’ Open House (OAC)
  4. The IT Crowd (YouTube .. ALL EPISODES!)
  5. The 25 Best Time Travel Movies Ever
  6. 21 Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Binge-Watch
  7. 20+ Best Time Travel Books for Science Fiction Fans! (Up the Line by Robert Silverberg not there!)
  8. 10 Ancient computers that are still in use today
  9. 18 Things To Do With Old Computers That Still Work Today
  10. Check out how much a computer cost the year you were born

The Best of the 11th Doctor
(Matt Smith is MY Doctor!)
( Time Travel, of course! )

Apple II vs. Commodore 64

The 75 Best Commodore 64 Games Ever!

The 30 Best Time-Travel Movies That Will Blow Your Mind

BE SAFE EVERYONE!

Pandemic

 

NEW NEW NEW and COLOURFUL NEW TOO!

NEW NEW NEW
COLOURFUL NEW iMACS!

Hello Tim Apple!
                                                                                Hello Tim Apple!

NEW is good, right? Of course it is! And new technology is even better, right?

Absolutely! So .. NEW iMACS ARE FANTASTIC, right? YOU BETCHA!!!!

SPOILER ALERT #1 – Yeah, a big fan of Apple! Ever since I was able to convince a skeptical Macintosh salesclerk to ‘Test Drive A Mac‘, way back in 1984, I have been hooked! Okay, also a Commodore-64 Fan Boy too! But I do use WIN computers for about 99% of CHD stuff now too! I was able to demonstrate the all new Macintosh, to the entire teaching staff where I worked – and even to my night courses too! Good times … good times …..

Apple Spring Loaded Event April 2021
Apple Spring Loaded Event April 2021

The entire  Apple “Spring Loaded” event is below, at  YouTube! And just the new  iMac announcement too! They are certainly a far cry from the first ever Macintosh sold by Apple! Click here to see a full roster of ALL the Apple Events going back to 2019.

iMacs will now be powered by an 8-core M1 chip, which is a huge step forward for security. THAT ALONE should be a major factor when considering a new computer.

Click for colourful GIF iMacs!
               Click for BIG colourful GIF iMacs!

Colours ARE pretty – but not new. Apple did a similar theme years ago with the a ‘Fruit Colors’ release of the G3 iMacs! And I just found out that there were 13 different colours! WOW! I actually still own the Graphite one – and it still works! All the colours are in a YouTube video below and an article here.

Click for BIG NAMED colourful GIF iMacs!
Click for BIG NAMED colourful GIF iMacs!

And if you want to see a HUGE GIF of them ALL NAMED as they make your head spin, then click here or on the iMac to the left!!

 

Full Technical specifications of the recently announced iMacs, directly from the Apple site: click here  on the image/text below:

New iMacs 2021
                                                                                New iMacs 2021

Hello iMac Colours!
                 Hello iMac Colours!

For me, the M1, Big Sur, RAM, CPU, SSD, 4.5K (there is half a ‘K’ now?) etc. are all fine and dandy. I expect improvements and enhanced tech in those areas. But I was SO GLAD TO SEE … A RETURN TO THE 24″ SCREEN!

I have a 27″ and it is … too large. CALL has had 21.5″ screens for years … and they are fine. But I really like that ‘Sweet Spot’ of 24″ monitor size!!!!!! Just seems the right size for my eyes and desktop.

And the new ‘Magic Keyboards‘ also look VERY promising! I am an old school fan of the wired extended keyboards and mice, but those are not an option, so I will eventually … get used to them!

Magic Mouse
                  Magic Mouse

The ‘new’ size monitor, Magic Keyboard and Mouse are the real imporovements for me. What you see, what you type and what you point at. Yup, those are key to me! 

Magic Keyboard
           Magic Keyboard

I will probably order my new iMac in July-ish, when their Educational promotions are on. So probably just a free headset that I will never use! It could be a cheap christmas present too!

I will  just have to wait! I have small Table below (one of my new favourite ‘toys’ with OAC!) comparing the original Macintosh (128K) and the new iMacs announced!

And further below, is a great site, EveryMac that you can look up ANY Apple product and find specifications! A great site!

Mac vs iMac (Apples vs Apples!)

The TECH StuffMacintosh
(1984)
iMac
(2021)
RAM128K maximum 512KUp to 16GB
STORAGE400K Single Sided 3.5" floppy! Maybe an external SCSI HD of 10MB if you were lucky!256 / 512 / 1TB SSD
SCREEN9" monochrome
512 x 342		"True Tone" widescreen "Retina 4.5K" display mounted on a svelte aluminum stand.
4480 x 2520
MOUSEClunky but worksWireless
WIRELESSYeah.No. Cables galore!Wireless everything!
INTERNETHAHA x ♾One iMac to rule them ALL!
PROCESSOR & SPEED8 MHz 68000 processor,5-nm Apple M1 processor with 8 cores (4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores), an 8-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, 8 GB of onboard RAM
Operating SystemOriginal Mac 0.97macOS 11 Big Sur
Original Price$2495 (US)$1499 - $1699 (US)
Weight16.5 lbs (7.5 kg)9.88 lbs. (4.48 kg)

FULL TECH details of Macintosh, iMac and … G3 MAC CUBE!

Macintosh vs iMac vs Cube
                                                                    Macintosh vs iMac vs Cube
Mac Cube
                     Power Mac G4 Cube

Anyone dare to guess what colour
I am going to buy?

‘NEW‘ Technologies 
… in theory …

  1. How Magical is Apple’s M1 Chip, Really?
  2. Apple M1 Chip (Wikipedia!)
  3. Apple M1 Chip: Everything You Need to Know
  4. Should You Skip the Apple M1 Chip?
  5. All 13 Colors of iMac (YouTube video imbedded in article!)
  6. Apple History and Other Fine Nerdery (512 Pixels YouTube  Channel!)
  7. Apple iMac G3 333 (Fruit Colors) Specs
  8. Commodore SX-64 TV Ad 1984 (YouTube)
  9. Timeline of Computer History
  10. This Day in Tech History
  11. Awesome Computer History (A curated list of computer history ….)
  12. 24″ iMac M1 Buyer’s Guide-DON’T Make These 8 Mistakes🔥(YouTube)🔥
  13. Apple M1X iMac Release Date and Price–Available in 2021?🔥(YouTube)🔥

Apple announces new iMac models that come in different colors, advanced camera and mic systems

Apple Event Spring Loaded
April 20, 2021

All 13 Colors of iMac G3

Apple “Test Drive a Macintosh”
Ad Campaign (1984)

1985 – Macintosh – Test Drive A Mac Computer (Better Quality)

Macintosh 1984 Promotional Video – with Bill Gates!

Evolution of Laptops (Portable Computers) 1975 – 2020

BE SAFE EVERYONE!

Pandemic

 

Comparing Apples and Oranges II . . . Technology!

Comparing Apples and Oranges
but this time …..
TECHNOLOGY!!

My last post was about Recycling, but .. prefaced with a mea culpa of ‘Comparing Apples and Oranges‘. I liked that concept so much, I am going  to do it again … and whenever the mood strikes me!

How about camparing Apples to … Commodores! Yes, compare a few ingredients between my first ever computer – a Commodore SX-64 and a new iMac! An earlier post was entitled “Open the Pod Bay Door HAL. . . or Computers I Have Owned or Worked With” and talks a bit about my beloved Commodore SX-64!

I will still go out on a limb and say that the SX-64, that I still own, and still WORKS, is the fastest computer ever built! EVER! Well, EVER .. for startup!

I will prove it too! BUT in a future post about how fast computers are! You will have to stay tuned for that!

Okay,  so Google is your friend and I will display a few offerings when I searched for “compare commodore 64 with new mac“.

SX-64 vs iMac (Apples vs Oranges!)
INSTALLEDSX-64
iMac
RAM64KUp to
32GB 2666MHz DDR4
STORAGEHAHA!1TB SSD
SCREEN4"21.5"
MOUSEJoystick!Wireless
WIRELESSHAHA x 2!Oh, yeah!
INTERNETHAHA x ♾Can't live without it...
PROCESSOR & SPEEDMOS Technology 6510 @ 1.02 MHz (NTSC version) @ 0.985 MHz (PAL version)3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
Operating System Commodore KERNAL Commodore BASIC 2.0macOS 11 Big Sur

And that is about it! Definitely .. Apples and Oranges Commodores!

Yes, a bit cheeky, but just think about how much technology has not only changed, but IMPROVED! Look below for a comparison between a mobile phone and the computers used to … LAND A MAN ON THE MOON! And don’t be so hasty to dismiss …. older technology!

Oh, and … learned about inserting a TABLE here too! BONUS! Tables are very curious beasties here at OAC. A bit of fiddling but .. they do work. Just fussy! And I did learn about them! And that will be a future post too!

Curious Links for 
Comparing Technologies!

  1. Did Commodore, more than Apple, contribute to the birth of the personal computer?
  2. C64 cs iPhone
                            C64 vs iPhone

    The Commodore 64 vs. the iPhone 3G S: The Ultimate Showdown

  3. Your Mobile Phone vs. Apollo 11’s Guidance Computer
  4. Your Smart Toaster Can’t Hold a Candle to the Apollo Computer
  5. Mac, iPod, iPhone & iPad Specs – EveryMac.com’s Ultimate Mac Comparison
  6. 1984 Apple Macintosh vs today’s Apple iMac: Spec comparison (A Little Dated but fun to read!)
  7. Showdown: Original 1984 Macintosh vs. Today’s Apple iMac (A more up to date comparison – still fun to read!)
  8. Comparison of Macintosh models (Need at least ONE Wikipedia Article per post!)
  9. Systems ‘Meet the Team’ Open House (December 2017 & I set up my old SX-64!)
  10. Cray-1 v. MacBook Pro (A threaded conversation .. but interesting!)
  11. The 80’s supercomputer that’s sitting in your lap (Dated, but so much fun!)

Is a new Mac slower than a Commodore 64? Old 🆚 New

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI3C9yLVsVE

Can an 80s computer beat a new one at Chess? Old 🆚 New

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN8AbHpCRF0

Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer (HD)

The Real Story Behind Apple’s Famous ‘1984’ Super Bowl Ad

BE SAFE EVERYONE!

Pandemic

 

I Excel at PowerPoint . . . or Computer Puns and Jokes

I Excel at PowerPoint
. . . or . . .
Computer Puns and Jokes

Taken
Taken

I don’t know who you are or why you stole my copy of Microsoft Office …. but I will find you. You have my .. WORD! I hope I have ‘Taken‘ your attention away from whatever you were doing! Just when you thought it was safe to blog again … COMPUTER PUNS AND JOKES!

CALL Facility Klingon & Sindarin
CALL Facility Klingon

I always try to sneak in jokes, puns or riddles into many of my CALL Facility orientations and handouts too! I once included ‘Klingon‘ in a handout of languages that The CALL Facility had resources for! And it is still at ZOHO!

Soothsayer Cat
Soothsayer Cat

And then UVic goes and offers a course in Alien Languages (Klingon & Sindarin!)! That makes me a soothsayer! I wonder if that means a pay raise or not! My guess …. NOT!

And more ‘Product Placement’ as I posted a previous Bog Blog about … Puns titled ‘When is a Door Not a Door? When it is a Jar“!!

The best part of puns are when they are impromptu and happen instantly! All too often, my eyes widen or roll about and that is an early warning system for colleagues … PUN ALERT! PUN ALERT! People know me all too well! I would be horrible at poker! LOL!

I found one site where a computer was programmed to CALCULATE the funniest puns and it came up with the following….. and …. yeah, NO! Even I have lines I do not cross … and they are often …  lines of code! LOL!

I often say that if I am having fun, then the students are having fun too! There is so much stress nowadays that humour IS good medicine! I won’t bother telling you my absolutely favourite jokes and puns other than …

… it is always my NEXT ONE!

Some interesting links to tickle your funny bone, or perhaps, seek medical attention afterwards!

Enjoy!

  1. XKCD – A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math, and Language
  2. Explain XKCD Wiki
  3. 25 Computer Puns That Will LAN You In A Pool Of Laughter
  4. Computer Puns
  5. Com­puter Jokes
  6. Puns about Technology (Misc. Computer Puns)
  7. Fourteen Computer Puns That Only Tech Heads Will Understand
  8. 10 Computer Geek Jokes and Truisms
  9. A Computer Made a List of the 5 Funniest Puns it Knows
  10. Computer Programming Puns
  11. 55+ Best Computer Puns

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

30 Awful Computer Puns
(in Less Than 2 Minutes)

31 Jokes for Nerds

       

XKCD Eternal Flame Explained

Think Different or . . . Apple Commercials Through the Years

Think Different . . . 
. . . or . . .
Apple Commercials
Through the Years

Think Different Albert Einstein
Think Different


Think Different. As iconic as the ‘1984’ Mac commercial is, this may be one of the most remembered Apple campaigns … EVER! Well, at least for me. I have this poster in my office at home. I uncovered a bunch of them years ago, doing an annual cleanse of some closets we once used as storage! Serendipitous for me!

There is no question that Apple has one of the best marketing programs … in history! This post is predominantly about their ads in video format, which range from poignant and dramatic, to humorous and sometimes silly! They truly do …. Think Different …. all the time!

Kevin Costner - Lisa
  Kevin Costner – Lisa

And at the time, obscure actors might have shown up too! Kevin Costner will forever be linked with the introduction of the Lisa computer, which is a whole different post too!

The BEST ads are cast with actors who don’t take themselves too seriously and actually parody their on-screen presence … and blend it with their off-screen personality!

The Rock x SIRI
     The Rock x SIRI

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson did this perfectly in his ad for Siri a few years ago. I doubt Apple could afford him now!

What Will Your Verse Be?
  What Will Your Verse Be?

My absolute favourite commerical of ALL TIME is probably not what you might think. Oh yes, I do like the 1984 commercial (Directed by Ridley Scott – Gladiator, The Martian, Thelma & Louise, Blade Runner, Alien .. yes THAT Ridley Scott!) but my favourite is for the iPad Air with Robin Williams narrating his poetry speech over some amazing world moments. Do you remember which movie this came from? HUDDLE UP!

As a summer project many years ago, I decided to find as many Apple Commercials on YouTube as I could and learn how to create movies and burn a DVD, dedicated to only Apple Commercials!

YouTube was relatively new and it might not have even been bought by Google yet! Still, I learned how to create and edit movies, burn DVDs and improve my knowledge of various video formats, editing techniques and making movies!

iMovie HD 2005
  iMovie HD 2005

A future post, once we return to UVic, will be about using iMovie HD! What? You have never heard of that version? That doesn’t surprise me!

iMovie HD was one of the very first versions (2005!) and can only

MovieBox DV
    MovieBox DV

run under a macOS that is named after a kitty! But it is surprisingly robust, has simple and intuitive editing controls and works with some old hardware called MovieBox DV (2003!) that can digitize VHS cassettes! Sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks!

And one more thing … Apple has long been the target of parody ads! There is one for a new iPhone at the very end of the videos below. But the BEST one is called ‘The Power to Crush the Other Kids”. It is nowhere to be found on the internet and YouTube has pulled it due to copyright infringement concerns, by NBC’s ownership of Saturday Night Live. If you can find it, it is truly hilarious!

Some interesting links below with even more background to Apple’s numerous ads throughout the years!

As long as there are words out there, there will be a site that Google finds for each of us!

Enjoy!

  1. The most memorable Apple ads of all time
  2. 15 Best Apple Commercials of All Time
  3. The 14 best Apple ads of all time
  4. 10 Apple ads that show how the brand has evolved
  5. 289 Best Apple Ads – Pinterest
  6. The best 18 Apple commercials of all time
  7. The best ad Apple produced from each year since its 1984 Super Bowl hit
  8. THE BANANA JUNIOR 6000: COMPUTERS AND COMEDY
  9. The 10 Funniest Apple-Ad Parodies
  10. The 10 Funniest Mac Apple-Ad Parodies

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

Think Different
Narrated by Steve Jobs

What Will Your Verse Be?
Apple iPad Air

1984 Super Bowl Ad

The Real Story Behind
Apple’s 1984 Commercial

Best Apple Commercials 2020

29 Best Apple Commercials
of All Time

Complete 66 Mac vs PC Ads

Best Apple Commercials

Every Apple Computer Ad

Top 10 Iconic Apple Ads

Best Apple Commercials

Best Apple Commercials

30 Years of Mac Ads
1984 – 2014

15 Funny Apple Ads

iPhone Parody
A Taller Change

 

New from Apple, the iCan.