Backing up is a serious business. And at MMISoftware we like to keep backups of, well, everything. Over the years we have used a range of methods, including incremental backups to CDs and DVDs, but our current preferred method is to backup to external hard-drives and then remove them to a safe place…

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I was in London (UK) this afternoon for a meeting and had some spare time, so I decided to pop in to the Apple iPod Store near Oxford Circus. The last time I visited the store (around Christmas time?), and boy does it seem to have changed….

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My new MacBook Pro has arrived. This is good news as it means final tests of MMISoftware programs can be completed.

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Just ordered one of the new MacBook Pros over at the AppleStore.

Looks like the laptop will be delivered some time in February. Should be interesting.

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In an earlier post I said how sales had dropped off in the 6 weeks prior to the launch of Tiger. Interestingly sales are now beginning to increase (and we haven’t even released the ‘Tiger’ updates yet), however, they are still not back to their pre-’Tiger-six-week’ level. I guess time (and the release of software updates) will tell.

PowerBook G4 12″ and an Airport Express

Well, a new 12″ PowerBook G4 has arrived and replaced the trusty iBook.

The new PowerBook is a very nice piece of kit. The keyboard is a vast improvement over the iBooks and the processor is much faster, particularly when compiling code. Bottom line, very impressed. Setting up the machine was a snap. The longest part of the process was copying over all the data from my iBook (this was performed using ‘firewire mode‘ on the iBook). The approach I took was to copy the contents of each director from my home folder over to the corresponding folder on the PowerBook. This seems to have worked fine.

The ‘Airport Express’ has been a bit of a surprise. First, I was surprised by how small the actual piece of kit is. To have the power supply and ‘the Airport guts (essentially a mini-computer)’ in such a small box was a a big surprise. The Airport was extremely easy to configure and was up and running in a matter of minutes. Another surprising plus, and worth the upgrade from the second generation Airport, was for the first time FTP worked! I had tried everything to get FTP to work with my old Airport and just couldn’t get a stable connection. I haven’t seen it published anywhere but the ease at which FTP now works, and the fact it took zero-configuration suggests, that UPnP (i.e. the Airport ‘senses’ which ports need to be opened up to support the process [FTP, gaming, chat etc.] being carried out) is now working.

Looking for a new PowerBook

Time to replace an old and slow iBook with a new PowerBook….

I have looked at the various models and decided the 12 inch PowerBook with a SuperDrive fits my needs. Having looked in various stores in the UK I have discovered that you can not buy a 12 inch PowerBook anywhere! The stores may have them on the shelves, but they have none in stock. One store had a back-order of 120 (and had only 2 models in stock in the UK), and the other store could not find a PowerBook in any of its branches within 60 miles. (They did offer to sell the one on display!)

Tried Amazon (in the UK), with no luck.

Looks like it is time to hit the AppleStore. Whilst I am there I may have to buy an Airport Express! (BTW, don’t get your RAM at the AppleStore as it is way overpriced! £200+ compared to £99 in the High Street for 512 MB.)