Alright guys, I know I need to start posting more on the blog, so I’ll work on that. First topic of this blog entry is this past week. For those of you that didn’t know, I was at the beach the entire week with an ISP that did not allow me to upload many YouTube videos or stream. I tried streaming a few times, but it was so laggy no one would have watched it. So, on to my plans for this week. I am going to be at home on Sunday (tomorrow), Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but on Thursday, I am leaving for Daytona Beach, Florida, and I will be there until next Sunday. I don’t think that I am going to be able to stream at all during that time, so I will try to do posts on the blog every day! Once I get back from Daytona, I will be at home until school starts back, so expect me to be streaming a lot over the next few months! Now, on to some upcoming videos. Expect and unboxing video sometime soon, even though it might not be the most exciting unboxing. I am also going to do a 2 month later review on my MacBook Pro soon. Those will probably be my next two videos, other than any video I make in Daytona, or any tutorials that are requested by viewers. That’s about it for now, so, I guess I’ll talk to you guys later!

OK, sorry this post is a little last minute, but I am going to be streaming live tomorrow during the WWDC Keynote tomorrow, and we can discuss the products and services that are introduced and updated at WWDC. Go over to the stream at live.aheidinger.com and check it out tomorrow. I should be streaming most of the day!

So, I just got done making a page on the website dedicated to my YouTube videos. So, I still want you to go over to the YouTube Channel and subscribe to the channel, but If it is more convenient, you can just come over to the website and watch the videos, while having easy access to the videos, read the blog, and watch the stream on at the Live page. Thanks for reading!

Hey Guys-

Just decided after getting some feedback from a recent video on YouTube that I am going to go ahead and do a series every week or so covering the top tech stories on multiple Mac rumor and news sites. I think that this will be released every Friday or Saturday. This show will probably be a two part video every week, because I am not sure that I could get all of that information into just one ten minute video. If you have any stories that you would like me to cover in one of the episodes, you can send me a link at alexheidinger@gmail.com and I will do my best to cover it. I'm also going to try to post more to this blog, as I really enjoy doing it. I'm also out of school now, so expect more posts. Alright, I guess that's about it. Expect a new video tomorrow sometime!

Sorry I haven't posted here in a while, but I have been quite busy assembling a video review of the software Mailplane. It is really a great app and it is worthy of a few YouTube shows, so look for those within the next month. Also, I am planning the purchase of two items very soon, and they are a 22 inch Dell display and a Logitech Webcam so that I can do some live streaming from my PC laptop and still have my Mac wide open for other tasks. That will enable me to stream about six-seven hours a day over Summer break. I hope to build up an audience during that time. I will be spending most of that time in front of the computer, but as soon as my mom comes home from work I will more than likely stop streaming, or I will be in and out of the stream. If you have any recommendations on what I should talk about during the stream please email me. Well, that's about it for now, so I'll talk to you later.

OK, so I have my first big application review for you, and it is on a great piece of software for the Mac known as Mailplane. Mailplane is basically and application that allows you to access the Gmail interface from a desktop application. In this review, I am only going to cover a few big parts of Mailplane. If you wish to view a more in-depth review of the application, then go over to my YouTube Channel and view the video entitled “Mailplane Review: Part x”. The reason that I put in an x is because this is such a great application, it is going to take way more than 1 YouTube video to do a good review. Alright, now for the text review.

Mailplane is a sort-of email client that allows you to access Gmail’s web client, along with the Mailplane interface, and this gives you lots of new possibilities. I have included a screenshot of the Mailplane interface below.



Along the top bar in Mailplane you have your typical refresh, open, and overview buttons that allow you to navigate Gmail, but then the buttons that make Mailplane special. The next button is Archive your mail, and I did not do this before in Gmail, when I was using Firefox, but boy do I ever use it now. This also applies to the star button. I love starring my mail in Mailplane now, and it works great. The next few buttons are expected in any mail client, the Print, Reply, Foreword, Send, and Delete buttons. The next button is also really great, the Screenshot button. This allows you to push one button, take a screen capture of part of your screen or the whole screen, and it automatically saves and attaches it to the mail. I have used that feature countless times, and it is great. The next four buttons are separated from the other buttons, as they are quite different. The next button is Google Talk and allows you to bring up a new window with your chat in it. I don’t use that feature, but I do use the built in AIM compatibility. The button that follows Google Talk is the Downloads button, and this allows you to bring up Mialplane’s own Download window, which really helps. The iMedia button brings up a Media Browser window that allows you to navigate multimedia on your computer and attach it to an email. The last button, Accounts, pops out a drawer on the left side of the window that allows you to change Gmail account that you are connected to, since most people have more than one email account. The last button on the toolbar allows you to customize the interface of the application. I have included a screenshot of the toolbar below.



Well, that is a quick overview of the Mailplane interface and some of the features in the application. I will have a multi-part review up on YouTube by the beginning of next week. Thanks for subscribing - Alex

I have had really bad earbud problems for the past few months. When I purchased my iPod I got a pair of Apple Earbuds. They lasted about a month, and then the cord came out of the plug, where it plugs into the iPod. I then went down to my local Apple store and purchased some Nike Vapor around ear-buds. One of the buds broke about three weeks ago on the bus when I was listening to podcasts, so I can't use those anymore. So now I am stuck without earbuds and I am having to borrow my brother's iPod earbuds. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a good set of earbuds for under fifty dollars. I am more than likely just going to buy the Apple buds again tomorrow and try to take better care of them this time. I would really like to get the Bang and Olfson buds, but they are really expensive. Anyone with suggestions? Click on the contact tab and then send me a quick email. Thanks for subscribing - Alex

Ok, so I just finished editing and uploading a video to YouTube. This time, it is a ScreenCast episode, all about what is in my dock and menu bar on my iBook. I simply read through every application/service that I have running on my mac at all times. You can check out this video and many others at my YouTube page. I also am going to begin broadcasting more on Ustream. Tomorrow, maybe not so much, unless the NASCAR race is rained out, in which I will be streaming most of the afternoon. The reason that I don't stream a lot is because it slows the iBook down a lot. I am currently looking for a Logitech USB webcam to use on my PC laptop so I can dedicate that just to streaming. I need to make a little money before I buy this, but when I make the purchase I will be streaming about 15 hours of every day, unless I decide to turn it off while I am at school. If anyone has any recommendations for a good USB webcam for under 50 US Dollars, then please send me a quick email by going over to the contact me page, or messaging me on YouTube.

Thanks for subscribing - Alex

Alright, so no final plans yet, but on Monday we (my Dad, a friend of his, and myself) are going down to the Concord, NC area to see some more race shops in the area. We have been down there to see shops twice and another two times to see races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. We are at least planning on going to JR Motorsports for the second time, Hendrick Motorsports, the Lowe's Motor Speedway gift shop to check for some Dale Jr stuff. We are then going back to Michael Waltrip Racing to see his Raceworld Experience again. This was really cool the first time that we went down there to see, so we figured that we should go back to see if we could see the team tearing down the cars after the race in Atlanta tomorrow. Enough about that, we are now going to talk about Ustream and my plans for over break. First, go over to live.aheidinger.com to see the live chat and the live stream via Ustream. You can then watch me for almost 24 hours a day. The only times that I will not be broadcasting is when my computer is not at my desk. Please sent me a quick message at alex@aheidinger.com if you have any ideas for what I could talk about on my Ustream channel.

Today, (Tuesday, February 26, 2008) Apple released new Macbooks and Macbook Pros. Well, I guess they did not come out with NEW Macbooks, but they upgraded the tech specs on both. For example, both systems have the newer 45nm Penryn Processor in them, which, when compared on paper is not that big of a difference, but when you look at the benchmarks, it makes a pretty big difference. You can now get the newer display in the 17 inch Macbook Pro, instead of just the 15 inch. I'm not quite sure why anyone would want a 17 inch notebook, but, I guess whatever floats your boat. Both lines of notebooks also received a upgrade in storage space. You can now get up to a 300GB hard drive in the Macbook Pro, but it is excruciatingly slow at 4200RPM. I'm not quite sure why Apple can't offer a faster drive at a higher capacity. That was about it when it came to updating the new systems, other than the fact that the Macbook Pros now have the Multi-Touch technology, just like in the Macbook Air. I don't believe that the trackpad is any bigger, as it was already huge to begin with. Not much other than that was upgraded, as I don't think that Apple released any software updates to their systems. Check the YouTube channel tomorrow for a video on the new Macbook and Macbook Pro. I will probably record the show on Ustream, so check there if you would like to watch me record and edit the show. Just go to the Ustream website and search for (without the quotes) "iAlex @ Work". Thanks for reading and subscribing.

I've been reading a few blogs lately, and I have noticed that many bloggers have began to post their favorite things on the web. I was just siting here listening to the NosillaCast Podcast, and thought that I should post my favorite podcasts. First of all, I will let you know that I listen to many podcasts, all off of my PC, since it has a bigger hard drive than my Mac. Here is the list and a brief description of each podcast.

• Apple Universe with Daniel Brusilovsky: This is a weekly audio podcast done by a 15 year old high school student. His podcasts typically run between 10 - 30 minutes, discussing Apple news throughout the week. He also does lots of web streaming on Qik and Ustream, which can be very interesting to watch.
• The Glenn Wolsey Show: This is a video show that is available in iTunes, but is mainly on YouTube. This is a quick video show done by a 16 year old whose shows are usually between 5 and 10 minutes in length. These videos do not come out on a frequent basis, unlike most podcasts. He typically posts shows 1 or 2 times a month.
• The Mac Attack: The Mac Attack is a Mac tips and tricks podcast done by Steve Stanger who discusses lots of tips, tricks, and updates released by Apple, and what they do to your system. His podcast comes out weekly and is very fun to listen to.
• The Mac Roundtable Podcast: YES! The Mac Roundtable is back. The podcast went away for about four months, but apparently the podcasters got together and decided to bring it back, and it is now being produced once a week, on two different days. The discuss lots of things relating to all things Apple.
• MacBreak Weekly: I don't listen to this podcast every week, but when I do listen to it, I enjoy it. The two big names are are Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann. They talk about not just the week in tech, but the week in Mac.
• The MacCast/MacCast Loop: This is a weekly podcast done by Adam Christianson, which comes out on Sunday and one weekday. Once again, he discusses most things related to his Mac experience and Apple news.
• The Nick Danforth Show: This is another one of those shows that is available in iTunes, but is mainly done on YouTube. I love watching his shows, even thought it is one of the shows that does not come out that often.
• The NosillaCast Podcast: This is a weekly Mac podcast that comes out every Sunday evening, that is usually about 45 minutes long, where the wonderful host, Allison Sheridan, discusses software and different pieces of hardware that she uses on a day to day base. This podcast is very fun to listen to.
• ScreenCasts Online HD: ScreenCasts Online HD is a weekly HD screencast where the host, Don McAllister demos an application. These are great videos that I can not even begin to describe. Just go over to the website or iTunes feed and check it out. I would also recommend subscribing to his Extra! Membership.
• The Typical Mac User Podcast: The Typical Mac User Podcast comes out twice a week, once on Sunday, which is a live show hosted on Talkshoe, and there is a show that comes out Tuesday. Victor Cajiao hosts this show, and he is great fun to listen to.

There you have it, my favorite podcasts. I know, most (if not all) of them have to do with either Apple or Tech. That's me, a typical geek. I love listening to all of these podcasts and I suggest that you check them all out.