MyTech

The Apple folks were able to replace the hard drive in my Powerbook quickly, and I picked it up last night. I noticed that they installed Tiger, not Leopard, and when I asked why, since I had Leopard, they said that they could only update to what was originally installed on the machine. I can understand their point, but it still took 2 hours to upgrade to Leopard, and another 1 hour or so to do all of the updates.

The machine still feels sluggish, and I was tempted to keep it at Tiger. However, I have software that won't run on Tiger, and when Snow Leopard releases later this year, Macports will only work on Leopard and Snow Leopard (most recent 2 OS versions).

Photoshop was surprisingly easy to reinstall. I had to dig out the old license number for the previous version, but there wasn't any problem with me having to re-activate the application without deactivating a prior copy. Must be machine signature issues.

I also cheated on my iPod/iTunes recovery, by using a shareware application, Senuti to restore iTunes form my iPod. Nice little application, very easy to use, and fast, so it was a good $18.00 spent.

I'm good about backing up, but even so, you can feel the gaps left by losing the original hard drive. Little bits and pieces, not to mention having to set everything up again. This is the first time I've ever lost a hard drive—I know, pretty amazing, eh? I feel like I'm wondering around a familiar room, and someone has moved the furniture and turned off the lights.

I also discovered that it's not a bad idea to completely dump your cookies, and other client-cached data from time to time. For instance, I found that Drupal's caching does not work well when you're using a resizable SVG image, but didn't spot the problem until accessing my sites from a brand sparkly new hard drive. Not sure what's happening, and will need to explore more fully. For now, caching is off.

I also found, and I feel very sheepish on this one, that my experimentation with OpenID actually left me without a way to log into my RealTech site. However, it was very easy to just move the module I had created, and here I am. I know—this was a classic painted-into-the-corner move. Bad me.

One area of concern I did have, is that Apple kept the old drive. However, I called this morning and was told that Apple shreds old hard drives to recycle the metal, and also to ensure that all the old data is gone. The recycling of the old hard drives is all handled in-house, too, and the company has never had a data breach because of old hard drives. So good-bye, old drive, I knew you well.

Alas, my Kindle 1.0 is now old school with the release of the Kindle 2.0. I am not disappointed, though. I never was one to worry about the style of the Kindle, the refresh rate is fine with me, and I have an 8GB SD card, which blows away the 2GB built-in memory in the Kindle 2.0.

I would like the better resolution, and the 16 shade of gray, and the slightly larger screen, but I don't read books with many figures, and I never use my Kindle for web surfing, so I don't feel terribly deprived. I have a modified cover that protects my Kindle, and allows me to read it comfortably without accidentally hitting buttons. But then, I can also walk and chew gum at the same time, too. I'm talented that way.

My Kindle 1.0 isn't sexy. OK. I can live with this. I'm not sexy, either. I live in Missouri. Sexy in Missouri means something slathered in barbeque sauce.

I drive a 2002 Ford Focus, which I think is sexy, but looks like a soap bubble on wheels. All my laptops are 3+ years old, which isn't sexy. I still find Twitter to be awkward, which is definitely not a sexy attitude. I have a calendar with cute cat pictures on my wall, don't have a single credit card, cellphone, or frequent flier mile—so very, very unsexy. That über hip east coast intellectual reading the Kindle on the beach? That's not me.

Owning a supposedly "sexy" Kindle 2.0 is not going to be a life changer for me, so why would I upgrade my working device for another?

I am glad that Amazon came out with a second device, as it shows the company's commitment to the ebook industry. I was disappointed, though, that Bezos didn't come out with support for ePub, and other formats; nor with any hint of openness about the current Kindle closed loop. International folks will also be disappointed, as no mention was made of international access. The Kindle exclusive Stephen King short story didn't do a thing for me.

The frugality of the Kindle, 1.0 or 2.0, I'll leave to a future writing at The Frugal Algorithm.

Photo is property of Amazon.

On Groundhog Day, I'll have had my Kindle for a year. I've been working on an anniversary review of the device, which will get posted either to the Frugal Algorithm or Secret of Signals. Or perhaps a bit in both, not sure.

The buzz about the Kindle now is that a 2.0 version is coming out, February 9th. I imagine a new version is likely, but contrary to what people have been saying, there has been more than one Kindle variation released in the last year.

Currently, there are Kindles running the following operating system versions: 1.04, 1.08, 1.1, and 1.1.1. Amazon has stressed that all provide the same functionality. The only thing to account for the difference, then, is variations in the device. Not a simple swapping of parts, either, because one doesn't need to update an operating system when one swaps identical parts.

I have a 1.04 version of a Kindle, and must admit to some curiosity about what improvements went into the 1.08 and 1.1 models. I know that one always takes risks buying version 1 of anything, but I don't think I've ever seen a case where an item's internal architecture has changed three times within one year. Changed enough to force a new version of the operating system. At a minimum, I have to wonder what will happen when new software functionality is rolled out. Do we 1.04 owners get the same goodies as, say, 1.1 owners?

To add further to the confusion, some people have reported in the owner forums seeing an OS version of 1.2 in their devices, and there are differences with this OS, but Amazon has stated this operating system has not been released. So rumor runs rampant in the forums, because we have no other source of communication about what's happening with the devices. To be blunt, Amazon does not communicate with Kindle owners.

Regardless of lack of communication, and despite being an "old" Kindle owner, I do still like my device, though I really wish we had folder capability. However, I'd really rather that Amazon support ePub, and release its AZW format to other ebook readers. And I'll have more to say on this later, too.