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OS X Lion Server

Apple's newly released OS X Lion Server version, with it's over-simplified admin interface and missing components, has forced me to rethink my current OS X Server deployment, what I had planned for the future, and what this means for the future of the OS X Server platform. Yuck!

Google Chrome

Over the years I've tried a lot of web browsers. The many iterations of Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox, Safari, Camino, etc... For a while, I've been using Safari for most of my browsing needs. It's fast, has good web standards support, and I can sync my bookmarks with mobileme to all of my computers and devices.

Most recently, I've switched to Google Chrome. It's fast, simple, and also has good standards support. It works equally well on my Macs, Windows Netbook, and linux box. Oh, did I say it was fast?

Plus it has free bookmark syncing if you have a Google account such as Gmail!

Time Warner Cable TV for iPad

Time Warner Cable released a new iPad app today that allows Time Warner Cable Customers who subscribe to at least expanded cable or better to stream live HD television to their iPad.

I downloaded it from the iTunes app store and have to say that it is an excellent app. I streamed CNN to my iPad for over two hours this afternoon without a hickup. The video quality is excellent, and there is even a decent selection of channels to choose from. It doesn't have the whole cable line-up, but it has the most popular channels like Food Network, CNN, National Geographic, etc...

If you're a Time Warner Cable customer and have an iPad, I definitely recommend this app!

Update (3/16/2011)

I still really like this app, but it seems that Time Warner has severly understimated the demand for this service, it's been unavailable off and on since yesterday afternoon. I keep getting a message that they are unable to process my request. When it works, like this morning, it's awesome. This is the future of television.

Update (3/28/2011)

I'm still using this app all the time. I got a request from TV Geek Ray to provide a brief review and add some pics or video of the app. The app is very stable and so far I have not had it crash after watching many hours of CNN. The quality of the video is excellent. Here is a shot of CNN with the navigation menu displayed. (click on the pics below for full size screen shots)

The app itself is very simple. Click on the icon and it launches. If you have not logged in it comes up with the login screen.

If you have already logged in, it will go straight to whatever channel you were watching last. There are no settings or advanced functions. Touch the screen while watching and the navigation menu overlays on the screen and you can use your finger to browse through the 31 available HD channels. There are two buttons at the top of the screen, logout and channel history; their functions are self explanatory.

There are a couple of things that I have noticed:

• If you have been watching television for a long time (not sure how long), a message will pop-up and ask if you are still watching. If you do not click yes, it will close the program.
• There are no parental controls, although most of the channels offered are pretty benign.
• The app will occasionally buffer; this is usually related to issues with connection bandwidth. Most of the time (>95%) there are no problems with buffering.
• There is an approximately 5-10 sec time delay between what is showing on my HDTV and what is showing on the iPad. It probably reflects the buffer required to stream the HD content. Not a big issue unless you have the TV and the iPad on at the same time.

Like I mentioned before, if you're a Time Warner Cable customer and have an iPad, download this app today!

The Evolution of the Apple Mouse

This is a neat pictorial of the evolution of the Apple mouse from the Lisa Mouse in 1983 to the brand new Magic Trackpad. There have been some duds along the way, such as the hockey puck (yes I actually have one), but Apple continues to lead the computer world with innovative designs for their hardware.

click mashable.com for pictorial