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No, there really is nothing wrong with the spelling I’m just really excited that my PowerMac processor upgrade card from Gigadesigns is finally here! Ordered from Other World Computing and shipped via FedEx, my package finally got here after about 5 days (would have been faster if I hadn’t ordered just before the weekend).

So what does the package look like? Well, here are some pics!

So how does the new G4 1.4GHz card compare to my puny old G4 400MHz? Here’re some benchmarks:

(1) Encoded an MP3 file using LameBrain from an AIFF file on the hard drive

3min 46sec (G4/400MHz) vs. 1min 11sec (G4/1.4GHz)

(2) Created a contact sheet using Photoshop Elements 2 out of 75 pictures
9min 38sec vs. 4min 06sec

(3) iMovie 4 export of a 1min 30sec clip into “CD-ROM Quicktime” preset format
6min 28 sec vs, 2min 21sec

The gains aren’t exactly linear, but I suppose the performance gains aren’t so dramatic after some point (at least with these applications/tasks anyhow).

One advantage that Apple touts of its .Mac service is the ability to synchronise the bookmarks of its Safari web browser between several Macs. Alas, not many people make use of this because

1) .Mac is not cheap at US$99 a year (though, granted, you do get a ton of other features with the subscription)

2) Apple’s Safari only runs on the Macintosh platform

3) Not all Macintosh users use Safari

So let’s say, like me, you use the great Mozilla Firefox web browser at two computers, say at home and at work, and you want to keep your bookmarks in synch, how can you do it? Well, instead of manually copying your bookmark files over every time :p you only need to install the Bookmarks Synchronizer Plug-In for Firefox and you’re ready to go!

Only thing though, is that you’ll need to have access to an FTP log-in: your copies of Firefox will need to synchronise to somewhere now won’t it?

Hopefully a future version will allow synching to a USB flash drive – now THAT would make synching more accessible to most people.

I’ve been using Mozilla Firefox for a while, and in my opinion it is the BEST web browser right now. I’m not just talking about surfing speed though: there’re also other things you don’t get in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Apple’s Safari, like user-installable themes, extensions (like plug-ins that enhance the functionality of the web browser) and control over pop-up ads. Get more information by clicking this button

A problem with many workplaces, however, is that you usually won’t be able to install software in your computer. Troublesome, but I suppose it has its merits: the PC tech support side won’t have to go through the nightmare of removing inadvertently installed adware or spyware, the way I need to with my dad’s PC thanks to my sister’s “brave experimentations”!

So how do we run Firefox in the workplace then? Simple: get Portable Firefox, unzip the files to a folder on your USB flash drive or other external storage device, and run it off there! Cool huh?!

I was looking around the big Sony shop at Bugis Junction, and what should I see but the much sought after white coloured Sony EX71SL in-ear headphones (at least I THINK they are anyway, since it’s been so damn hard to for me to find them)! Selling at S$72 after a “10% discount” (who’re they kidding? the online pricing is S$72!!), there was only..gasp!…one box left! So guess what I did? Yes faithful readers, I bought the very last one..ahahaha (reminds me of the feeling I had when I got the very last piece of a really cheap USB flash drive and proclaimed it to the disgruntled queue behind me at a recent PC Show..)

So how does it sound? Let’s see…incredible volume level and clarity,crisp highs, lows pack a punch,midrange is clear and dynamic range is simply excellent. One note on the lows: it really feels like you’re listening to subwoofers rather than mere headphones! The in-ear nature of the headphones, however, makes it important that you:

1) clean your ears regularly
2) never share your in-ear headphones with anyone else (yucks!!)
3) never munch anything while listening, unless you enjoy listening to the sound of your teeth grinding against whatever it is that you pop into your mouth..no kidding!
4) watch where you’re going..yes, the headphones block out most ambient noise!

So, goodbye to adequate Apple earbuds and hello to the most excellent Sony EX71SL as the companion to my trusty Apple iPod!

No thanks to my sister’s penchant for “trying out” software and visiting some interesting websites (using Internet Explorer, no less), my dad’s Windows XP PC was becoming more and more sluggish with each passing day. More frustratingly, a few pop-up ads would appear as soon as Internet Explorer was launched, marring the surfing experience.

Now, I’ve managed to switch my dad to the superior Mozilla Firefox (and he didn’t even notice it, thanks to an Internet Explorer skin for Firefox), so he’s been experiencing tabbed browsing and doesn’t suffer from pop-up ads and the like. But that doesn’t do anything about the adware/spyware-infested state of my dad’s PC. So what could I do?

A recommendation at an online forum led me to Spybot Search & Destroy. It scanned my dad’s PC and found all sorts of stuff which were removed in minutes! Now my dad’s PC is significantly faster (as fast as an AMD Duron running Windows XP ought to be, anyhow)!

So all that’s left is to convince my sister to start using Mozilla Firefox, and to stop experimenting with interesting-looking software…

One thing that’d always bugged me about SMB printing from my Power Mac to the shared Canon S600 connected to my dad’s Windows XP PC was that the print quality had been unsatisfactory: either the colours are “off” or too faded, and no amount of tweaking of print settings helped. (Text printing looks OK though). It looked like, at least where my particular Canon printer is concerned, Gimp-Print drivers simply don’t cut it for graphics. (OS X 10.3 comes with Gimp-Print for printing to some remote printers, among other things).

I did consider attaching the printer to my Mac instead, but I can’t seem to make the space on my desk for the printer. So it seemed that I was resigned to sub-par graphics printing from my Mac (or I’d have to print from the PC every time)….until I came across

How to Use a Printer Attached to a Windows XP Computer in Mac OS X

It requires the installation of Ghoscript (a freeware) and enabling of UNIX print services on the Windows XP machine, as opposed to the simple “click job” of SMB/Windows printing on the Mac; but the minor hassle is worth the dramatic improvement in print quality! Now graphics printed from my Mac to the shared printer look the way they’re supposed to! Wish I’d found that webpage sooner!