Kitchen Done...

Until the day when we can afford to remodel our kitchen, we needed to do something with our backsplash.


Tiles would be one of my first choices because I immediately think: I can make them... But I know that will be a more permanent install.


So for now - a heavy vinyl wallpaper (from Shinns paints here in Wilmington, DE) that I have since this last summer, that looks like stone...


And below, all the clutter moved back in...


I can't believe how much more I actually like our kitchen now. I mean, I almost love it...


Stuff just looks good up against it! I can't wait to see what it looks like in the morning...


And below - my dad's first dog, in front of the fireplace in my Grandma Neal's old farmhouse that inspired my Random Boxes texture for my porcelain pendants...


I guess I've been raised by masons... Can't get enough of that stone!

-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Kitchen Done...

Until the day when we can afford to remodel our kitchen, we needed to do something with our backsplash.


Tiles would be one of my first choices because I immediately think: I can make them... But I know that will be a more permanent install.


So for now - a heavy vinyl wallpaper (from Shinns paints here in Wilmington, DE) that I have since this last summer, that looks like stone...


And below, all the clutter moved back in...


I can't believe how much more I actually like our kitchen now. I mean, I almost love it...


Stuff just looks good up against it! I can't wait to see what it looks like in the morning...


And below - my dad's first dog, in front of the fireplace in my Grandma Neal's old farmhouse that inspired my Random Boxes texture for my porcelain pendants...


I guess I've been raised by masons... Can't get enough of that stone!

-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Netflix, iTunes, K Mart?

     Most are aware of the popular video streaming and downloading services. These include Netflix, iTunes, Amazon's Video on Demand, and more. These are all services that let you either buy individual movies or TV shows, or, in Netflix's case, stream an unlimited number of movies and TV shows for a monthly fee.
     Apparently the idea of getting content online as opposed to walking into a shop such as the slowly falling Blockbuster, which has also started getting into the on demand market, became very popular. Popular enough that Sears and K Mart partnered up with a digital media software company called Sonic to create an online movie and TV show download site called Alphaline Entertainment.

Alphaline Entertainment Homepage

     Alphaline Entertainment may have some catch-up to do, because, although this is not a giant difference, movie buying prices are a few dollars more on Alphaline. The rental prices are the same at $2.99, but iTunes has TV rentals for 99 cents, while Alphaline only has TV purchasing.
     When watching a trailer on Alphaline vs. Amazon, Alphaline's video quality was noticeably better, but took longer to load. On Amazon, the trailer played fine in my Google Chrome browser, but on Alphaline, I had to open Internet Explorer (Which crashed on me. Again). Also, to log in, and pretty much to do anything else on Alphaline, you must be using Internet Explorer or Firefox.
      I then purchased an episode of the 1962 show The Jetsons. When I tried downloading it, the Alphaline Website told me to download the RoxioNow Media Player, which is free. After I got the RoxioNow software, I tried to find a way to download the TV episode. I still have not been able to find a way to download the media.
     Until I can get either 1. My download, or 2. My $1.99 back, I don't plan on using Alphaline again, and I don't recommend it for you. Also, how much do you trust Sears and K Mart to know about downloads, web sites, and software programs?
     For now, Alphaline Entertainment seems like a big red flag. Unless you want to watch high quality movie trailers online.

UPDATE: The problem I had with downloading the video was something with Google Chrome. To download the episode, I needed to be using Firefox, not Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. To watch a trailer on the site, I needed to be using Internet Explorer. Strange, huh?

Well, I did get my $1.99 worth of video, but iTunes: better, cheaper, and easier.

Zentangle Gift

I love the way Dave feeds my creativity and listens to what I really would like to use...



I have a hand me down Nikon digital SLR and now have a micro lens (AF Micro Nikkor 60mm 1:2:8 D) to use for photos of my beads (still have to work on lighting) and for my nature inspired photos...
Also happened across Zentangle on a blog not too long ago. Funny because it gives some terms and descriptions to my manner of drawing... Since I have been drawing like this since I was young - I wonder where I picked it up from...
Here are some of my first Zentangles from tonight...








And Chloe wanted to give it a try...




She even signed it...




-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Zentangle Gift

I love the way Dave feeds my creativity and listens to what I really would like to use...



I have a hand me down Nikon digital SLR and now have a micro lens (AF Micro Nikkor 60mm 1:2:8 D) to use for photos of my beads (still have to work on lighting) and for my nature inspired photos...
Also happened across Zentangle on a blog not too long ago. Funny because it gives some terms and descriptions to my manner of drawing... Since I have been drawing like this since I was young - I wonder where I picked it up from...
Here are some of my first Zentangles from tonight...








And Chloe wanted to give it a try...




She even signed it...




-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

[How-To] - Quickly Empty Trash on MacOS X

So, I often end up in situations where there is just too much data in my Trash and emptying Trash on a Mac can take ages. The annoying bit is – while Trash is being emptied – you can not delete anything else meanwhile. I ran into a situation today where I needed to reclaim my disk space on my internal disk and the only way to do so was to empty trash which had about the same size of stuff in it. Deleting via the Finder window can take ages as it counts the files and deletes them, it almost seems like an endless process.
Apparently, you can do so via the Terminal window

cd ~/.Trash

rm -rf *

That command recursively and silently deletes everything in Trash within minutes.

Apple Mac App Store

     Over the past few years the idea of apps became very popular. You can now get iPhone apps from the iOS App Store, or Android apps from the Android Market (although you have to download them from your phone), you can even get apps for your Windows netbook with Intel's AppUp.

Mac App Store Running on a MacBook Air

     Apple, who kind of started the the app thing with it's iPhone and iPod Touch, is doing it again with a app store for the Mac. According to the Apple website, the Mac app store will be available for download on January 6th. It seems almost exactly like the iTunes app store for iOS, but the apps here are a lot more expensive.
     It seems that almost all of the Mac programs you can buy on the shelf at a computer store will be available for  download here. Some programs include iPhoto, GarageBand, Color Studio, and Home Watch.
     A similar program to the Mac App store exists already, called Bodega. Bodega can probably do almost everything the Mac app store can do, but must have a smaller selection.

Bodega 

     So what will the Mac app store give me that something like Bodega won't, and what benefit do I have by using this rather than going to the store and taking the software off the shelf? Why would I want to use the Mac app store?

Mac App Store Logo

     Firstly, coming from Apple, it will be a clean interface, a lot easier than surfing around the web for a download that might not even be there. Also, it will be a great place to find reviews, both good and bad, for the software.
    It seems good so far, but there a few reasons why you may want to stay away. If you have a slow internet connection, this is a bad idea. You don't want to spend hours waiting for a 1GB program to download. Also, Apple will probably have the same approval process here as they do in iOS. Apps may get pulled, and you might not be able to find the apps you want.
    So is this a good thing? For most, yes. But some may find themselves going back to the brick and mortar shops, and pulling that same old software off of those great metal shelves.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Want Gadgetator to write about a topic of your choice? Just leave a comment with a suggestion for a new post.

                                                                      

FACETIME iPhone 4 - Waiting for Activation Error

• It seems quite a number of users a facing this problem.
• In Malaysia, there are many cases especially for Celcom subscribers. Officially - only Maxis and Digi are selling iPhone 4. Celcom has yet to officially launch their iPhone 4.
• My theory for those who are not able to get their Facetime activated is probably either due to the SMSC is unable to send the activation code to the users or Celcom is intentionally blocked this activation for the time being.
• Blocking Facetime activation is a way to deter customers from buying Celcom's competitors iPhone 4.
• That's my 2 cents worth of theory.
• I purchased the iPhone 4 months ago and have no problem activating Facetime on my Celcom line. I think this problem just recently occurred for the new users.

[WARNING] - Untethered Jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 with Redsn0w 0.9.7b1

• Unfortunately the Beta release of Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 is still buggy.
• Several have reported some problems. 
• Personally - I have not tried it yet until Dev Team officially posted the Jailbreak on their website.
• At the moment, if you are not the Redsn0w tester - stay away!

Updated:

Some of the known issues as posted here:

• Netflix App Crashes
• Mobilesubrate Crashes
• Bluetooth disabled
• App Switcher crashes device
• YouTube doesn't currently work
• AirPlay does not work
• Videos on camera roll do not work
• iPod Player doesn't work on iPhone 4 or the iPad
• Some App Store Apps Not Working
• Some devices getting stuck in boot loop

[How-TO] - Download iOS 4.2.1 ipsw

You could update your iPhone 3G/3GS/4 or iPod Touch 2G/3G to iOS 4.2.1 using iTunes. You could download iOS 4.2.1 IPSW files from the below given direct download links by Apple.

iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4

iPod Touch 2G

iPod Touch 3G

iPod Touch 4G

iPad

[HOW-TO] - Untethered Jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 Using Redsn0w 0.9.7

• Breaking News! Thanks to the Source below!
• Finally the waiting is over! You can now get your Untethered Jailbreak solution today!
• Got the news from the Tweets...and its still Twittering like mad now!
• Full details as shown in Redmond Pie website. Even the Dev-Team website has not been updated yet!

The iPhone Dev-Team have just released their “backup plan” (Redsn0w 0.9.7) for untethered iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak. The just released beta version of Redsn0w will enable you to jailbreak (untethered) iPhone 4, iPad and iPod touch 4G on iOS 4.2.1.

Here’s what you will need to know before proceeding:

• iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 4.2.1
• iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with SHSH blobs saved for iOS 4.2 Beta 3.
• Mac OS X
• Access to iOS 4.2 Beta 3 firmware file.
• If you rely on Ultrasn0w unlock, STAY AWAY from this version of Redsn0w.
• Currently limited to iPhone 4, iPad and iPod touch 4G only.

The best thing about this “backup plan” is that it doesn’t require you to restore or re-jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Warning Note:

This is a beta tester program. Things can go very wrong, so please don’t even consider testing if you have pictures or other media on your device that you haven’t backed up!
Until we fix some sandbox issues with bluetooth, the bluetooth functionality is disabled.

Here’s how to do it:

Note: Skip to Step 2 if you have previously jailbroken (tethered) your iOS device on iOS 4.2.1 with Redsn0w.

Step 1: Restore your iOS device to the official iOS 4.2.1 firmware and jailbreak it using Redsn0w by following our step by step guide posted here.

Step 2: This untethered jailbreak completely relies on SHSH blobs saved for 4.2b3 (iOS 4.2 Beta 3). To check whether you have SHSH blobs saved for iOS 4.2 Beta 3, start Cydia and wait for it to completely load the main page. You should now see “SHSH: 4.2b3” on top as shown in the screenshot below:

Step 3: Download Redsn0w 0.9.6b7 and connect your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with Mac.

Step 4: Now download usbmuxd from here and extract it on your computer. Start Terminal inpython-client directory and then run the following commands as shown in the screenshot below.

chmod +x tcprelay.py
./tcprelay.py -t 22:2222

Step 5: Start Redsn0w and point it to the official iOS 4.2.1 firmware file.

Step 6: Now click “Next” and select “Jailbreak Monte” option, followed by selecting iOS 4.2 Beta 3 firmware file.

Step 7: Now make sure your device is both OFF and PLUGGED IN to the computer before you click “Next”.

At this stage you will be presented with a screen where you will have to quickly hold “Power” button and then while holding the “Power” button, you will now have to hold “Home” button too. Now after few seconds release “Power” button but keep holding “Home” button until installation begins.

Step 8: Sit back and enjoy while Redsn0w will do all the rest for you. Once done, your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will restart automatically and you will find it fully jailbroken (untethered) on the latest iOS 4.2.1 firmware.

Download iOS 4.2.1 for iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G, iPad, iPod touch 
Download Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 for Mac 
Download iTunes 10.1.1 for Mac


SOURCE:  Redsn0w 0.9.7 Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 Released ! Here’s How To Do It !

Another HOW-TO Guide --> HERE.


UPDATED:
New Source to help you install the usbmuxd.

[HOW-TO] - Install Adobe Photoshop CS5 for MAC

Photoshop CS5

• You can download the Photoshop CS5 from here.
• And find the instruction to install here.

onOne Plug-in CS5

• You can download it form here.
• And find the way to activate it from here.
• This plug-in works in 32-bit mode. Thus, see here to run your CS5 in 32-bit mode.
• Check this youtube on how to use it.

My To Do List For 2011

There are so many things that I am getting to "deadlines" with. Some are past due, some I've just added, some I have been considering for a while.

So for my 2011 "To Do"

1. Apply to the DE Master Gardener Program (apply like now - due 1/11/11)
*COMPLETED AND IN THE MAIL!!! 12/22/10*

2. Donations out the door and uploaded to my "Specials Blog" (to be done ASAP!)

3. Get ready for the Drawing Lab 2011 (Starts next week!)

4. Marsha Neal Studio Website Updates (Will I ever really get to this?)

5. Have new clay cutters made (I should be able to get to this fast - just need to find that file on my computer somewhere…)

6. Jewelry Making area studio makeover - need to just get my brain around that!

7. Um - new work for Marsha Neal Studio? Well, maybe inspiration will hit me as I am working on learning some drawing skills and hopefully taking classes on becoming a master gardener…

8. Get through the 90+ emails sitting in my email inbox… (sorry if you have not heard back from me!)

I think the alignment last night of the heavens put me back on track to get myself going again…

Got kids from school, had dinner with a surprise visit from Santa at Jakes Wayback Burger in Kennett Square, Christmas lights and flowers at Longwood Gardens, and super happy kids…

Back in alignment indeed…

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My To Do List For 2011

There are so many things that I am getting to "deadlines" with. Some are past due, some I've just added, some I have been considering for a while.

So for my 2011 "To Do"

1. Apply to the DE Master Gardener Program (apply like now - due 1/11/11)
*COMPLETED AND IN THE MAIL!!! 12/22/10*

2. Donations out the door and uploaded to my "Specials Blog" (to be done ASAP!)

3. Get ready for the Drawing Lab 2011 (Starts next week!)

4. Marsha Neal Studio Website Updates (Will I ever really get to this?)

5. Have new clay cutters made (I should be able to get to this fast - just need to find that file on my computer somewhere…)

6. Jewelry Making area studio makeover - need to just get my brain around that!

7. Um - new work for Marsha Neal Studio? Well, maybe inspiration will hit me as I am working on learning some drawing skills and hopefully taking classes on becoming a master gardener…

8. Get through the 90+ emails sitting in my email inbox… (sorry if you have not heard back from me!)

I think the alignment last night of the heavens put me back on track to get myself going again…

Got kids from school, had dinner with a surprise visit from Santa at Jakes Wayback Burger in Kennett Square, Christmas lights and flowers at Longwood Gardens, and super happy kids…

Back in alignment indeed…

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Best Sound for your iPod or iPhone

     I was recently asked in a comment on an earlier post what the best or very good sound system would be for an iPod or iPhone. After doing some research, I found out a few things. One of them: sound is expensive. For good sound and features, you'll have to pay somewhere around $200.

Soundfreaq Sound Flatform

    You can get a basic iPod dock player with some moderate features for about $30, but you won't get the same great sound quality and more advanced features that you might get with the more expensive products. Before you read any further, you should probably answer this one question: Am I willing to spend for sound? If you aren't, you'll probably just pay $30-$40 for something that will play your music, probably has a radio, and maybe even has an alarm clock.
     If you want great sound quality, some sound changing effects, and maybe Bluetooth capability, you'll have to be willing to pay for it.
     For a great looking device with great sound quality, I would recommend the Soundfreaq Sound Platform. It has Bluetooth capabilities, a cool boxy design, and an FM radio. It features a cool cabinet in the side for storing the remote. You can buy it on Amazon.com for $199.99, although it is currently "temporarily out of stock". CNET did a good video review which you can see below.

  

Soundfreaq Side View

    
     For more portability, great sound, but less extra features, the Logitech S715i is a good choice. It can easily fit into a backpack for bringing it with you, and can last about 8 hours on a charge. It is available on many sites, but Amazon.com has it for the cheapest of all, $99.99. CNET also did a video review on this, which you can view below.

Logitech S715i

     More good names to look into are Bose, which is known for great sound quality, Altec Lansing, also known for good sound quality, and Sony, which has some good looking devices for about $70.
    So if all you wan't your music to play aloud, pay $30 for a cheap device that does that fine. But if you care about high sound quality, spent a couple hundred dollars on something nice.

Choosing an iPod

     Looking for an MP3 player? Trying to find what you need at the best value? So you looked at user reviews of the MP3 players out there. And you decide you'll go with an apple device. Now what?
    Apple makes 4 iPod devices. The iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and the iPod Touch.

iPod Classic

    The iPod Classic will set you back $249, but gives you 160GB of storage. It does music, videos, and podcasts, along with games. It also includes a clock and some other basic features.

iPod Nano

    The Nano costs $149 for 8GB, or you can double the storage for an added $30. It, unlike its predecessor, only does music, podcasts, and radio (a feature not available on any other models). Its small touchscreen display  might be a little too small for one's fingers. For video recording and playback, you might want to check out the earlier edition (5th generation), but get it while you can.

iPod Shuffle

     The Shuffle is available at an inexpensive $45. For that you get 2GB of storage. The Shuffle was once available in 4GB, but it seems that currently only a 2GB version is available. The Shuffle can only do music and audio podcasts. It has no screen, so you have to organize your music in the right order on iTunes.

iPod Touch

     The iPod Touch is my recommendation. It is available in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB, at prices of $229, $299, and $399, respectively. For only $80 more than the Nano, you get video recording and playback, two cameras, the ability to run apps, a web browser, and more. Pretty much everything you can do on an iPhone 4 you can also do on an iPod Touch.
     So if all you need is the ability to listen to some music, the Shuffle should be fine. For more features, get either the current Nano, or, I would recommend the previous one. For a lot of storage, and most of what the Nano can do, go with the Classic. But if you want a very useful, fun device that can do almost everything the above devices can do and more, choose the iPod Touch.

Below is a short video advertisement for the Apple iPod.