Minor Ethical Dilemma

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I am officially a lawyer now. I am studying for the New York Bar Exam in Connecticut. However, the location where I take this review course only allows their wi-fi to be used by registered law students. I started off my law school career at this school, but graduated from another school, so I am not a registered student.

I know that they don’t broadcast their SSID and they use WEP. However, I met with the ethical dilemma – get the WEP key somehow or just deal without wireless access for four hours per day. I can’t jeopardize my career for wireless internet access. It’s a shame though.

Pointless Apple Speculation: iMac Pro

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I’ve been reading a bunch of tech sites for a while and talks of the Power Mac G5 successor have resurfaced. It seems as if Apple has registered “Mac Pro” and people think that this will be the new name of the Power Mac since Steve Jobs said that they were done with “power.”

I had another idea. Based on Apple’s naming convention with their new notebooks (MacBook and MacBook Pro), I thought that maybe “Mac Pro” won’t be the name. The MacBook is the notebook aimed at consumers. The iMac is the desktop aimed at consumers. The MacBook Pro is the notebook aimed at professionals. So, why not the “iMac Pro?”

I know that the Mac Mini throws off Apple’s naming convention and my idea a little. But think of it this way, Apple has already gotten people to understand that the iMac is a slick device. Why wouldn’t they capitalize on that by introducing an iMac Pro line? Power Mac G5 users who are looking to get the new desktops will get them no matter what Apple calls them. So maybe Apple will go after markets where the Power Mac didn’t. Imagine seeing the line up of computers on apple.com and seeing iMac and iMac Pro. The consumer who has heard of iMac may be inclined to look over to see what this Pro model is about.

Then again, maybe the iMac will be renamed the “Mac.”

WMP 11 Looks Good

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Windows Media Player (“WMP”) 11 has made the rounds on the tech sites. I’ve taken a look at it and it looks good. I’m a Mac user and Microsoft has dropped WMP support with WMP 9 (which is terrible compared to 10 and 11). After seeing WMP 11 with its slick interface and organization of all kinds of files. If you haven’t seen the screenshots, WMP organizes pictures, CDs (I’m not sure about video organization) into stacks. You’ve got slideshows, music and video playlist management in a free piece of software.

I really want WMP 11 on Mac OS X. Hopefully, Mac OS X 10.6 – Leopard will have virtualization built in so I can run a Windows program on my Mac. I just haven’t found a true replacement for WMP since switching to OS X. iTunes is great for music management – it’s crap for video (it handles like 2 file formats) and iPhoto is a separate application. I would rather there was an all-in-one app for the Mac.

Video Lan Client (“VLC”) can handle everything great on any OS. But there just isn’t true playlist management like WMP. One of these days, I’m going to have to quit my complaining that VLC is not WMP by taking the open source VLC and giving it the functionality I miss. In the alternative, any one else can take my idea and feel free to implement full playlist management (maybe even smart playlist management like iTunes too while we’re at it).

Vista makes me reconsider MS.

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I’m a Mac user. I like the clean look of OS X, the stability, and its great software. Back when I was a Windows user, I enjoyed XP’s stability (compared to 3.1), the customizable look – which I cleaned up – and its tremendous amount of freeware.

So Vista is coming soon. The Aero glass interface is nice and slick; MS’s new alt-tab is very clean. It’s like MS copied some concepts from Apple. In all fairness, I believe that MS has some of the same ideas as Apple, but just gets its ideas out later. I’ve had some ideas for products that ended up becoming real products. I believe that different people can have the same idea at the same time, but one gets it out to the public faster.

I really miss Windows Media Player (“WMP”). That software is like a super-VLC. WMP can play almost anything and can organize so many different files. Plus, the new WMP 11 is great. It did take ideas from iTunes, but it puts iTunes to shame with its picture and video management. Apple sticks with iPhoto and iTunes – however, MS has them beat with a piece of software that does them both. WMP does it all, actually. Videos, pictures, music – WMP can play it. Its video playlist managment destroys Quicktime. Plus with the right plug-ins, WMP is all you need. (Stay tuned for my “Finder stinks” post.)

So Apple hardware is fancy and slick. Big deal. I know I pay premium for the name and software from Apple. Now that Microsoft is catching up to Apple with Vista, it has me thinking. Would I be happier with Vista? I’ve never dealt with a virus other than one on a relative’s computer. I know what I’m doing. I don’t just download anything out there.

The MacBook Pro (“MBP”) should be cheaper than it is currently priced. The new MacBook (“MB”) may be a better value than the MBP. I just wonder if my next laptop will be an Apple or a Lenovo. Let’s see what Vista can do. They may win me back.

Wii being endorsed by Microsoft AND Sony.

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I’ve been following some of the E3 coverage on cnet.com and other sites. I’ve read that Microsoft has endorsed the Nintendo Wii. Microsoft says instead of getting a PS3 for around $500 or $600 get an XBOX 360 and a Nintendo Wii for the same price. Sony doesn’t have the same argument, but they think people will buy two systems – their PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.

So we’ve got 3 companies pushing Nintendo: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, themselves. Everybody says to get one. This is pretty interesting. I wonder if people who weren’t considering Wii are now thinking about getting one.

For a fuller story on this topic go to arstechnica.