For all you silly people still using that, there’s still hope ;) Google brings you a great new tool called Picasa, a program to organize your pictures in a way that can only be described as a “total iPhoto rip-off“. Which is a good thing I guess.

This Windows tool is completely free and doesn’t even look like a Windows program! What more can you want? Well, it has super smooth scrolling through tons of pictures, zooming in and out of your library, sexy slideshow interfaces and a star rating system. You’d think it IS Apple’s iPhoto but it isn’t. It’s a very good copy though and I wonder if they can really get away with making such an obvious replica.

Still, it’s a great tool if you’re stuck on the Windows OS. And there’s this weird timeline gimmick which looks funky, not pretty, but funky. I’d say, give it a try and you’ll learn just a little what working with a Mac feels like. Keep them coming and I might not be ashamed to be seen behind a PC again ;)

Just thought it would be nice to see all the pods together in the source list. It wasn’t easy since the USB2 and Firewire ports are placed so closely together, but I managed to plug them all in at the same time ;) Over the top? I don’t know :P

I know I know, but I just can’t control myself when entering a mac store. As I said, I ordered the iPod shuffle, and today, it arrived! I got a phonecall around 6pm from the local Apple shop, telling me my iPod arrived!

One hour later and 99 euro spent, the guy from the shop congratulated me, telling me I was the first person in this city to own an iPod shuffle. But to be honest, in this country, achieving that isn’t a big deal. There are no lines of 100 people waiting to get their hands on new hardware.

Anyway, I’m writing this entry with my new toy around my neck, and I must say, I love it. First of all, carying it around your neck like this is great. No excuses for not listining to your iPod anymore. The regular iPod requires you to put it in your pocket or a backpack or whatever. It’s not a big deal, I know, I use my iPod daily and always find a place to put it. But I won’t be running around the appartment with it,.. then, it’ll just sit in your way.

The iPod shuffle redefines the way you listen to your music, and I’m not talking about the shuffle function (which I use constantly on my regular iPod). No, this thing hangs around your neck and doesn’t bother you wherever you go. I can stand up this right moment and not having to bother with picking up the iPod and putting it in my pocket. Nor do I have to worry about scratching it as it moves across the surface of the desk, or even worse, pull too hard and throw it on the floor. No, this pod is going wherever I want ;)

As you can see, I’m crazy about my new toy. If they ever make a 40 gig version, my 3rd generation iPod is out of here ;)

So I’ll probably still use my old iPod to go to work, since I still have 4000 songs to rate and I like to have all the music I can carry to get me through the day ;) But it’ll be hard to choose which one to plug in when going shopping or walking to a friend’s place. I don’t want to cheat on my old iPod you see ;)

I’m guessing the iPod shuffle won’t sync Play Counts with iTunes. Nor can you rate your songs. But then again, this thing is made to be used on the move, jogging or whatever. You can’t be bothered with rating and finding the right song (maybe I should use this in the car, since checking the screen for a song and rating it while driving has gotten me into a few too many close calls :S), because you might run into something.

After 4 hours of battery charging and listening to it during half an hour (while writing this crap), I must say, I love the iPod shuffle. Sound quality is great and I just can’t get enough of the lanyard and the “I don’t notice that I’m carrying an iPod” factor. If you listen a lot to music, there’s no reason not to get one…

Apple is expensive, no doubt about that. Their mac Mini and iPod shuffle are a step in the good direction, making it accessible to more people. Still, us Europeans pay even more, since Apple likes to use the same numbers in other currencies. 99 dollars becomes 99 euro for the iPod shuffle, 79 dollar equals 79 euro when it comes to iLife ‘05. Seeing how low the dollar is lately, that’s a hell of a lot more we’re paying than our US neighbours.

To play it fair, the iPod shuffle should set me back 75 euro, but instead I end up paying 24 euro more (which is 31 dollars thank you very much!). Not that we can do anything about it I guess, except maybe just sign this petition.. fingers crossed.

Okay, I enter this Apple dealer, just for some information and the guy asks me if I want to order it… And I actually manage to say no thanks. So far so good. I walk out of the store, continue our little shopping but the question of the vendor is contineously repeating itself in my head. I’m trying to think of reasons not to get an iPod Shuffle and there are plenty. I already own a 3G 40Gb iPod and I only use it in the car, at work and once a month when I actually go places on foot. I never take public transportation and when I’m going somewhere Elke is always with me so I can’t go putting headphones on and ignore here right? ;) I’m never in a situation where I can really use mobile devices (my Gameboy Advance SP feels already lonely and I know I shouldn’t get a PSP nor a Gameboy DS, although… damn it).

So if I never get of my lazy ass and only use my iPod in the cases above, why would I get a Shuffle? … Well what about sports… I’ve been telling myself I’d do some sort of sport this year since the only running I do is to get a coffee on the 5th floor at work, for which I, yes, use the stairs (I’m on the 6th :D) So I was thinking of starting some jogging. The iPod I have is great for walking and sitting, but running? I don’t think so. But, am I taking up jogging to get an iPod Shuffle or am I buying an iPod Shuffle to take up jogging… ? Oh well…

What about the USB stick storage capability? I have this crappy Dell USB stick from work, which can contain the ridiculous amount of 64Mb of data. I never use it because nothing fits on it. But the iPod Shuffle can contain 512Mb to 1Gb! And it looks sexy!

So anyway, one hour later we pass the same shop again, and I’ve somehow managed to tell myself the pros win against the cons, I walk into the store and order the bloody thing. So half a month from now, I’ll be an iPod richer, but a poor man.. again.

Well, at least I haven’t ordered a Mac mini yet ;)

I completely forgot about this, but in an hour the Huygens probe will land on Titan, a moon of the planet Saturn. Reason is, they expect to find water, or ice anyway, on that planet. Although it’s too far away from the sun to receive enough warmth from it directly, the gas planet Saturn could provide it with enough heat to host life.

Anyway, you may or may not know, but I used to love all this stuff (still do but not actively busy with it all). And hearing this on the news today, reminded me that you could send your own message, which would be put on a CD and sent with probe. Thousands of people, including Karsten and yours truly, typed in our message and in one hour it will be entering Titan’s atmosphere! :D

Anyway, if you want to check out the messages that are sent, go here. We were teenagers when we wrote ours, so don’t laugh ;)

Meaning, Apples website updated!

Check out the iPod Shuffle and the new Mac Mini.

A new iPod, now everyone can get one at $149! :D

iPod Shuffle - flash player based on shuffle mode, tiny… almost as small as remote for iPod, no display, 1 oz, play/pause/volume/prev/next are controls.

(Source: http://veerle.duoh.com)

Update: Pod Shuffle - $99 512MB (120 songs), $149 1GB (240 songs) (tnx to same site as above)

Jobs introduces Mac mini. New member of Mac family including a slot-load Combo optical drive, FireWire, ethernet, USB 2.o, both DVI/VGA output. It [lays DVDs, burn CDs, and is very quiet and tiny. Its height is half the size of an iPod mini. Jobs calls it “BYODKM” — Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, Mouse. Will come in two models: 1.25GHz 256MB/40GB for $499. A second model with a 1.4GHz, more memory and larger hard drive will sell for $599. Mac mini will ship on January 22. Ships in a box smaller than the regular iPod box.

There go my savings. Damn u Apple! Thank god it’s cheap though. Can someone get me a nice sexy TFT screen? ;) (tnx to Katoo)

I kept my promise! :D I uploaded a couple of more pictures, again from our trip to London. Click to enlarge and see our dear Elke with her favorite chef, Jamie Oliver.

We queued for ages for Jamie Oliver, just to hear security tell us we were waiting for nothing since the queue ended 20 people before us in the line. But stubborn as we are, we waited and waited. Security went nuts, kept telling us to leave and stop waiting, but we kept at it. And it was worth the wait, because Jamies entourage decided he still had time before his next appointment to let the small insisting group of crazy fanatics come through and meet him anyway.

Although he had to see 17 more people in a very short time, he wasn’t acting all “get on with it and you’re not worthy” like David Carradine. No, he actually had this high speed conversation with you and even took time for a nice picture ;) Thanks Jamie, we really appreciate it! (I touched one of Englands greatest chefs hands! Would this improve my cooking skills? ;))

Anyway, you may or may not have noticed, but from now on you can see the latest uploaded picture displayed in the right menu. Or head over to Flickr to see them all!

Enjoy!