Mail to iPod - now this is useful

Mail to iPod AppleScript - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

My wife might use this with her Nano. Drag an email to a mailbox, it goes to iPod next sync. Actually useful - if it works. Update after testing.

Weird lacunae: you can so view iTunes movies on a TV

Sometimes I think I've shuffled into this world from a parallel universe.

In my previous universe, you could buy a video cable (looks like usual mini-connector to RCA cable but I think the video/sound connector sequence is odd) for an iPod and play movies on a TV. I never tried it, the resolution was too low for even our crummy TV and my 4G iPod is clearly a music player first and a video player marginally. Besides, there wasn't anything for the kids, and we never have time to watch movies or tv ourselves.

Then word of iTV came out, and the fact that iPods output video seemed to have been forgotten. In this case Pogue does something very odd -- he mentions output from the iPod then forgets it a paragraph later ...

New at Apple: Smaller iPods, Bigger Ideas - New York Times: "Playback on a TV (for example, when connected to the computer or the iPod’s optional video dock) is exactly what Apple says it is: near, but not quite, DVD quality...

..Who, exactly, is interested in movie downloads at all? Compared with DVD’s, movie downloads offer limited selection, very little savings, no DVD extras and no surround sound. The files are huge, the quality isn’t even up to DVD standards, and you can’t play your movies on a friend’s TV or a DVD player in the car.

Huh? Is this some kind of bizarre supernatural mind control? If you carry the cable, you can play it on anything that accepts RCA inputs. The ultra-crummy DVD player our kids uses has a jack for that, and of course all semi-modern TVs do.

So what am I missing here? If iTunes has some of those Disney's kids movies you can't buy any more (Disney is weird/evil that way), we may even buy one. We'd need to buy the cradle though, a 4G iPod battery won't last through a movie without external power.

Update 9/21/06: The iTunes 7 update also updates the resolution capacity of the 5G iPods.

Data entry on the new iPods

iPods have long had some very limited data entry. You can modify ratings and build 'on-the-fly' playlists. I think that's about it.

The new iPods, however, have the ability to the ability to enter a string. Lower case and numbers only, used to search for songs. The data entry is rather slow, but since it auto-completes against a small string set it's probably quite practical. Hard to imagine entering phone numbers or addresses this way however.

iTunes 7 issues

Macintouch is compiling a list of iTunes 7 issues, mostly on OS X since this is a Mac site. A few that look like true defects:

- if your iTunes Library is in an atypical location you may have big problems. Consider relocating to a conventional location. OS X seems to be increasingly adopting the defects of XP.
- There's a big bug with OS X dual monitor setups. In some cases displaying the album images on a second monitor will lock up your system.
- Memory demands have risen significantly and there seems to be a lot of graphics processor demands -- presumably related to the album art. G3 machines are borderline for iTunes 7. Shame about all those machines Apple ships with 512MB of memory, much less the 256MB of only a few years ago.
- I was surprised to learn that iTunes 7 on OS X still doesn't support Apple's VoiceOver accessibility features. I'd like to see some ADA litigation going -- Apple has run out of excuses. They had the time, they have the cash, they own the US. Sue 'em.
- There's the usual odd mix of things not working on some machines. Some of these will be real bugs, some probably represent hardware or deep software issues that might have been exposed even by reinstalling iTunes 6.

As a side note the album art download feature, it's been pointed out, tells Apple know exactly how much music you have and what percentage is DRM vs. non-DRM.

USPS voice mail hell: a way out

Wow. I've seen voice mail hell before, but the USPS has lowered the pit even further. Their web site claims there's customer service on their 'track and deliver', but I couldn't penetrate the hellwall there.

How to Bypass Most Phone Menus and Get to a Live Operator pointed me to a solution that works, though they close at 8pm ET: "USPS 800-275-8777 dial 7-3-2-0-0".

Amazon claims the USPS delivered a package, but we don't have it.

Update: Amazon took care of the matter.

Update 1/26/07: The "bypass phone menus" site has since now become a business. A great resource.

Wanted: A used Mac mini (twin cities metro area)

I’d like to buy a G4 Mac mini to replace my mother’s Win98 box. I’ve not seen many come up for sale on Craigslist, so I thought I’d try on my tech blog.

If you’ve got one for sale, let me know (jfaughnan@spamcop.net). I’ll need the DVDs (classic too) that came with it and the video adapter. I’d prefer 10.4 to 10.3, but if need be I can buy an upgrade DVD.

I don’t care about Bluetooth or WiFi for this project and disk capacity isn’t important either. I’ll need to test the machine with an OS X memory test utility and with Apple’s Hardware Test in loop mode prior to purchase (if you’re not a Mac geek, you might not know that non-Apple memory often fails in these machines). An Apple keyboard is nice, but I can buy one — they’re oddly inexpensive. I don’t need a mouse.

I can show how to do a secure disk wipe so there’s no fear of data escape.

These older machines have kept their value pretty well. I’d be looking to pay $300 to $400 depending on the package. I’ll pay cash but I don’t do anonymous transactions — so I would need name, number, etc.

Thanks!

And now we return to our regular tech blog.

Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide

I think I got to this one, oddly enough, via Slashdot.

Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide

... The definitive guide to US airport wireless connections and free airport wifi

… we provide the most complete listing of wireless Internet access, service providers, airport coverage areas and Internet subscription pricing plans available.

… If you are considering a subscription to a wireless Internet service plan through providers like T-Mobile, Verizon, Boingo and AT&T, use this guide to find the service provider that best meets your needs based on which airports you use and your pricing and access requirements…

I'll eventually add this to my business travel page.

PS. I think Blogger is particularly flaky today ...