I have been working on a website for a research project I am involved in on Youth Participation in Music - rymeyouth.com : Research for Youth Music and Education.  It is an amazing opportunity to research and work with youth and learn more about youth involvement/engagement in musical activities.  Upon beginning to construct the website, pages and content, I was over enthused by all the different ideas I had and how to organize them, yet a very basic and seemingly minor detail got in the way of my productivity. The website design posed a problem, in amidst the thousands of templates for wordpress themes there are numerous that cater to technology, blogs, children’s content and even interests in art deco, yet not one Free theme catered to my needs.

It may be that in the giant jumble of “colour” categories and the number of “columns” I would require or even the option for “seasonal” filtering, there was no efficient way to search for a template that would combine a professional academic template with something that was a neutral colour scheme.  Since this project looks at creating opportunities for youth and adults to work in partnership to share and develop ideas and activities for positive youth engagement in music, the website could not simply cater to youth between the ages of 10-18 years old, nor focus on a sole audience of academic oriented adults – it needed somethings classy and professional, yet with a bit of underlying quirky artfulness.

A popular Wordpress theme (free) is called Pixel – yet this gave my site too dark and gloomy of a theme.  I tried looking for a theme that wasn’t so dark, yet only ended up with bland themes that were reminiscent of an office supply closet.  I know a majority of my colleagues that want “the perfect” academic looking theme just purchase a Premium Wordpress theme such as Spectrum by WooThemes.com, yet even with the vast customizations available from that theme, I still found it lacking. Not to mention that since this project is graciously funded by a SSHRC grant, we attempt to use our funds to the best of their capabilities, and I feel that a Free Wordpress theme should do the job!

For the meantime, I used a rather bland theme called Titan, as it didn’t muddy up the content of the site with its elaborate designs and it had the customizations that somewhat accommodated by needs.  The unfortunate part of free themes is that most of the decent designs are so overused on blogs across the Internet, that a non-blog focused site begins to look rather banal.

In this perpetual search for a Wordpress theme that can accommodate an academic feel while not exiling the site to a corner of rejection due to its “blog”-iness or over cluttering, I hope to finally find a theme that can hold up to my expectations.

P.S. You may wonder why I am so set on using a Wordpress theme – here is the explanation:

In the world of academic and research, there is a continual turn around of people working on research, and the perpetual fear of running out of funding, and alas, in the case that I would not have the time to work on updating the website, I would need to pass this task onto another webmaster – yet, it is highly likely they would not be as astute on the finicky details of website upkeep – therefore Wordpress has become my way of ensuring that website can easily and efficiently be updated, even by someone who isn’t familiar with running a website.

~Deanna

Since I first starting playing with my iPad, I have been enjoying the large screen and quick zippiness of the tablet.  The fancy calendar application, the extensive abilities of the Maps application and the beautifully clear and visually pleasing Video application have made my experience with the standard iPhone applications on this iPad an unbelievable experience.

Yet, I couldn’t help but have a feeling that something was missing. Just like that uneasy feeling in your stomach when you leave your credit card on the table at a restaurant after paying  -  you know you are missing something, but can’t put your finger on it. Its only once you are in the middle of trying to pay for the movie tickets do you realize you were missing it.

This week, in the midst of a busy day, I realized what the iPad was missing! Just when I needed it most.

The CLOCK application!

Of course, how did I not realize this sooner? Well, I was still using my iTouch as my bedside alarm clock, and it finally ran out of battery this week (yes my iTouch can keep a charge for over 7-10 days). In my enamored belief that my iPad could replace my iTouch’s role in my life, I came to the sad realization that it was missing the very thing that I rely on from all of my electronic devices. I use the aSleep application to give me soothing music to fall asleep to, but have always relied on the Apple Clock application to wake me up the next morning.  I am a bit of an insomniac and make a point of not looking at the clock at any time within the night, otherwise I would be checking every 5 minutes. My alarm clock application has been a lifesaver, it tells me when I can check the clock, get out of bed and all with personalized tones to accommodate my alarm clock needs and with additional alarm clock slots for @nachoman wake-up times too!

I must be mistaken, why would Apple remove a perfectly fantastic and reliable alarm clock? What is the purpose of my iPad sitting on my bedstand? An overpriced nightlight? Wait, what else was missing other than my alarm clock? – My World Clock of course. How am I suppose to organize my online video conferences without my world clock? Yes, you might say that I could just do the math in my head, but when trying to organize four or more different time zones, the World Clock can be instrumental in planning. Alas, no Clock application on the iPad means I have to likely use another less intuitive purchased application.

My hope is that in future updates to the iPad, or future generations, that Apple will include the Clock application, but it looks like for now, I am in the market for a reliable and good alarm clock application for my iPad that will run in the background. Nothing you say? Oh well, looks like I have to go charge my iTouch again, and deal with a tiny screen.

If you hadn’t realized that there was not a Clock application on the iPad just yet, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news.  If you had already noticed the missing application and are just as annoyed as I am, I share in your pain.

~Deanna

So I have a shiny new iPad sitting in front of me. It is sleek, smooth and looks like an oversized iTouch. What is the draw?

Plenty! The ability to read articles, books and my email without having to squint at my tiny iPhone screen to name a major one.

Now what I was looking forward to with the iPad was to be able to access the iBooks application and use the fancy new iBooks bookstore, yet sadly being in Canada, my canuck Apple ID does not let me do that.  Oh well, at least I can purchase apps for my iPad using the app store just like I do with my iPhone… Nope! Since there is no iPad App store yet in Canada, I am stuck having to purchase my apps on my computer or iPhone, then transfer those purchases to my iPad.

Looking around the internet, to see if there is any news on whether the iBookstore will be available in Canada once the iPad is released up here, I am inundated with speculations, rants and here-say: no real information or news. It may be possible for me to try to get an Apple ID that would be recognized by the American AppStore, but of course the only way to get an American Apple ID is to have an American Credit Card or iTunes Gift Certificate. Why can’t I just buy an American iTunes store Gift Certificate online to set myself up with an Apple ID you ask? Well, it is a cache-22, without an American Apple ID, I cannot purchase an American Gift Certificate, without the American Credit Card or iTunes Gift Certificate I cannot set up my Apple ID. Ah the circle of frustration – All I want to do is have my iPad function like it is suppose to!

When I open my iPad, various other applications are non-functional on it as well.  It seems that Last.fm’s app doesn’t even want to open.  Whether that is due to a non-compatibility to the iPad or my being in Canada, I am not sure, all I do know is that I am disappointed that I cannot use the Last.fm service on my iPad (which for the record, I pay for).

The big problem I find with the iPad up in Canada, is the inability to access the Canadian iTunes store.  What if I wanted to purchase some songs or purchase some apps? Nope, that can’t happen since I don’t have that fancy American Apple ID for the American iTunes Store.

All in all, everything else is absolutely amazing on the iPad, though I will be waiting with bated breath to see what emerges when Canada gains access to the iPad iTunes/App Store. Fingers are crossed that the iBook application/store will be available.

~Deanna

I am excited to say that I have in my possession, a brand spanking new iPad.

Now I could describe the various reasons that I think that it is a beautiful piece of machinery, though instead I figured I would tell you all about the most important part – the Calendar application called iCal.

Traditionally on the computer, be a Macbook Pro, MacMini or iMac, I have found that iCal’s functionalities are limited by the interface.  While I can enter my calendar entries with relative ease, viewing the weekly or daily events and notes lacks a relative fluidity.  The desktop iCal application functions very much like a calendar on my wall, where I enter information only to glance at it and the view does not change based on what time of day it is – I simply am able to see where in my day I should be by the little line with red-dot that is placed horizontally on my screen to indicate the time of day. Due to this basic wall calendar function, I tend to rely on the month-view more often.

On my iPhone and iTouch on the other hand, don’t even get me started on the limitations of the iCal application.  Viewing the Month-view is a pain, since due to the small screen size, the only indication I have that a date has a pending item or scheduled event is by a tiny little grey dot placed under the date.  Upon tapping onto the date, I am only able to view 2 events at a time, being forced to scroll up and down my typically lengthy list of daily events. Yes, I could just use the list-view option, yet frankly that does not accommodate my list of events well enough – as when you have more than 6 events in a day, you have to continue scrolling down to view more. What has also limited my iCal use on the iPhone and iTouch has been the fact that you cannot control the calendars that you view, you are stuck with EVERY calendar on your iCal showing up as a long list to torment you.

I have long awaited the day that iCal would get revised, and with the iPad that day finally came. Not only is the iCal application on the iPad much more intuitive, it gives me exactly what I have always wanted – a fluid user experience.

Opening the iCal application brings me to the month-view, and it looks relatively similar to the month-view on my Macbook Pro – But wait! there is a pretty transparency to the events and all-day events, cleaner lines, and a executive office appearance to the border.  In month-view there isn’t that much different at first glance, until selecting an event – it pops up with speed and efficiency, stating all the information including my notes and locations within a little pop-up box.

Selecting “edit” on an event brings up the familiar window of editing events, almost identical to iCal on the desktop –  Thank goodness for that.  Another welcome component of this process is that unlike the iPhone/iTouch, the rest of my calendar is not blocked by entering this edit or new event.  I can still clearly see the other things going on within my calendar.

Week-view: How fabulous, similar to regular desktop iCal, yet wait – what is so different, where is the rest of my appointments and meetings from this morning? Why does it seem like I have  so much more room to enter information? A quick scroll, and I realize that this version of iCal automatically took me to the current time and applicable events.  It is currently showing from 2pm through 11pm for the entire 7-day week, no having to view what already happened this morning, since realistically I likely am going to this view to look at where I am suppose to be right now.

Day-View: In my opinion, the very best part of this application! It looks nothing like the regular Day-view – which basically was a unnecessary full page of the day’s events expanded the event box horizontally.  What is so different about this Day-view you are thinking? Well if you haven’t seen it, it not only shows the regular Day-view calendar on the right hand side, it has a simple month calendar at the top left, and the best part is the list on the left-side of the events of the day! Take a peek below, it really changes the way I work with my calendar, making it appear to be a desktop journal that can have pages flipped back and forth.

Now the best part of the entire application is not only the fact that it seems to accommodate my ever calendar need, it also allows me to select which calendars I want to view.  A simple drop down menu at the top left corner lets me select which calendar I want to see – just like in the desktop version. How fantastic is that! Not only does it look more stream-lined, Apple really delivered on their revamping of the iCal for iPad.

Gone are the days of scrolling on my iPhone, squinting my eyes to find out what time or date the next hockey game is at. Opening up my iPad and opening iCal have refined the hectic mess of trying to organize the day. How did I ever use my iPhone as my primary input device for my calendar events before?

Now all I require is for Apple to provide this version of iCal for my laptop and desktop Macs. I am itching to get back to my iPad calendar whenever I am forced to use the “traditional” iCal on my Macbook Pro.  I like the change, but it needs to be continuous across all my computers.

So there you go, my opinion and first uses of iCal for the iPad.

Cheers,

Deanna

There have been rumors and rumblings for the past couple years about a Apple Tablet that combines the iPod, iPhone and Macbook all into one nicely sized tablet screen.  I have been eagerly awaiting hearing any news about this, and am always on the look out for any new comments on the Internets.  Every month it seems there is a post promising the Apple tablet’s emergence into the world “next month” or “any time now”, yet it never shows.

This week, the Nook by Barnes and Noble was released, which of course has spun much discussion on this being the precursor to the Apple tablet.  This fascinating eBook reader seems to put the Kindle to shame, yet as I was looking at product demos it seemed vaguely similar to something I have seen before.  Now, the Nook has a much fancier screen (in color), with 3G and Wi-Fi, yet the more I looked at it, the more it seemed reminiscent of the Apple MessagePad 2100 a.k.a. the Newton.

So I immediately tasked myself to go find a Newton to confirm my suspicions.  Lo-and-behold, a wonderful professor of mine had one in his possession.  So I took a peek at it.  This MessagePad 2100 (Newton) was created in 1989, has a bright blue/green back-light, decent sized 8″x4″ screen, weighs about 1.25 lbs, but seems as sturdy as an Otterbox Case.  This “tablet” style mini-computer has a stylus that you use to write on the screen, which uses a writing recognition software to convert the writing into text (Plus the writing recognition learns from your writing style – more than I can say for many of the writing recognition applications built for the Apple iPhone).

With different sound capabilities, a 28.8k modem (though quite zippy since the files maintain a very small size on this machine – and keep in mind this thing’s battery life far outshines my Apple iPhone which only lasts me 12 hours when not using it), mail.app, notes, calendar, organizational assistant, games and more, I was intrigued by this machine that is 20 years old. Yes,  this tablet style computer with a word processor, with a touch screen, address book, writing recognition, and with Internet (and the ability to fax), seems too good to be true. Yet, I sat there holding it in my hands wondering how the long awaited Apple tablet doesn’t sound like it has changed all that much, expect with the addition of color screens, better resolution, and access to the Apple App Store (But any critics of the potential new tablet are skeptical about it being able to maintain enough battery life).  The Nook and Kindle also don’t seem to have come very far in comparison either, they are simply eBook readers with Internet (and a white case).  I think a modern day revision of the Newton would be a welcome product,  seeing as Apple already pretty much has had the beta out for 2 decades.

I am not going to stop waiting with baited breath for a glimpse of a modern tablet from the Apple store.  Though now that I have seen what Apple was capable of 20 years ago in a tablet style portable computer, I think I will wait on buying a Nook or Kindle, and just hold out for the Apple Tablet.  If history proves anything, it will definitely be good.

Cheers,

Deanna

So after all the hassle of waiting to get my Macbook Pro (Zappy the Lappy) fixed, between the problems with the zapping, the bad optical drive, the kernel errors, the glitchy mouse after the replaced logic board, the problem has been solved.  Well, the problem with the old laptop has not been repaired or figured out, but yours truly ended up getting a brand new laptop replacement!

I am the proud new owner of a Macbook Pro 15″ laptop (still waiting to name it). Since the Apple store doesn’t keep any old stock in their store, I ended up getting the newer swankier version of the 15″ Macbook Pro!  It has a 7 hour battery life, lighter weight, and a little bit speedier too. Ahh, after all the stress and hassle of having a glitchy laptop, I now have a happy, faster laptop.

So happy that everything worked out in the end. Though the funny thing is, this laptop emits a small electrical charge (zap/buzz) off of its top case as well. I think I can live with that though. I am just happy to have a functional laptop, with all my files, so I can sit on my couch, curled up with a blankie, and mark papers in peace.

Cheers everyone, and have a great weekend.

Deanna

I have been dealing with the Apple Store (Pacific Centre) and the telephone Applecare support centre for the past few months, trying to get my laptop fixed.

It all started with my laptop zapping me when I was typing, and there was always a consistent buzzing feeling emanating from the top case.  I didn’t think anything of it until my keyboard started to become a little more violent with its zaps to my little finger tips (sometimes it actually hurt, and for my fingers that is saying something – I played piano for 2 decades).  So I took my macbook in to get fixed.  The guys at Apple were so cheerful and nice, and I had high hopes.  They replaced the topcase on my laptop, and sent me on my way.  Lo and behold, it did not fix the problem, and even worse, my trackpad was now totally wonky.  So another visit to the Apple store needed to be scheduled.  They then replaced the top case again, and this time the logic board.  Alas, after this fix, the laptop not only seemed to be a little “off”, it was having Kernel errors on a daily basis! I couldn’t win.

After consulting with the Applecare phone support, numerous troubleshooting strategies and testing and testing and did I mention testing, it seemed like the laptop just had a weird problem. So today @nachoman was nice of enough to take my laptop back over to the Apple Store to see what is to be done about it now.

Fingers are crossed that I either get a new replacement laptop or they can find the magical way of making my poor little laptop feel better.

I will keep you posted.

Deanna