The Daily Teaser — 23-10-2013: iPod, uPod, wePod …

Blimey, there’s a thing.

IF it’s an accurate piece of reporting.

Last night — UK time — saw Apple making it’s usual big new product announcements.

And for a fanboi, like me … ?   There’s a whole ;pile of interesting stuff: the new iPad Mini 2, and iPad Air, look rather yummy.

As does the Mac Pro*: which should ship fairly soon.

The one thing that has caught my eye … ?   Is that Apple have ALSO announced the arrival of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.   Which looks like it’ll be both free, and (possibly) work on my aging mini.

We’ll have to see, I think.  It’d be nice, to have a bit of new kit, so to speak.

At ANY rate … ?   Let’s get a move on, shall we?

~≈Ï≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers.   Along with telling us some things are rare†, she ALSO bagged five out of six.

So let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s iPod themed questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To,’ license and video … 

Q1) 23rd October saw Apple introduce the original iPod: in which year … ?

Q2) How did you connect one of the original iPods to a computer: USB, FireWire or SCSI connection … ?

Q3) What’s the smallest model of iPod: the Shuffle, Mini or Nano … ?

Q4) The iPod Touch — like the iPhone and iPad — all use what, as their operating system … ?

Q5) The iPod Classic is controlled using not a touch screen … but what … ?

Q6) Finally … music files on the iPod are usually in the .aac format: which stands for advanced audio … what … ?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 22nd October, 1966, saw The Supremes become the first girl band to have a US № 1 album to their name.   What was the name of the album … ?

A1) The Supremes A’ Go Go.

Q2) 22nd October, 1983, saw the CND hold their largest ever protest march: what does CND stand for … ?

A2) The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Q3) 22nd October, 1978, saw the second Papal inauguration of the year.   Who was enthroned as Pope?

A3) John Paul 2nd.

Q4) More to the point, whose was the first … ?

A4) John Paul 1st.

Q5) 22nd October, 1966, saw double agent George Blake, escape from prison.   Which prison had he been held in … ?

A5) HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Q6) Finally … 22nd October, 1859, saw Spain declare war on which North African country … ?

A6) Morocco.

I’ll leave you with this thought, from one of the tech magazines doing the rounds …

“Less than half the size and weight of the Nomad Jukebox plus a firewire connection that can fill the player's 5GB hard drive in only 10 minutes. When so many Windows and Linux users desire a Mac-only device, you know they have done something right.”

From MP3 In 2001 In Review.

And with you with a case of Vertigo … 

Enjoy the day … 

*        OK, I preferred the look of the older version of the Pro, the one that was, effectively an updated G5 tower.   But the new one … ?   DOES look good: and seems to be impressive, spec-wise.

†        Rare’s the word, Debbi … !   (Oh, we got talking about Mac buying … ?   If I’ve understood it, correctly, Apple should start shipping the new iPads, and Mavericks equipped Macs, by the end of this month.   That’s probably the best time to visit your local Apple store … :D )

Primer: Genius … ?

23rd March, 2013.

 

You know, I have to confess, I think — think — that title’s quite possibly right.

You see, I’ve just rented the little science-fiction film, Primer, from the iTunes store.

As you might just have guessed from the poster.

And I’m thinking, here, that it’s possibly a work of genius: because I’m — frankly — wondering what else to call it … 

Hmmm … let me sleep on that, folks … !

~≈§≈~

27th March, 2013.

Busy, busy, busy … !

But I think I can say I’ve slept on Primer*.

And … ?

Well … 

Primer tells the story of a pair of engineering students — Aaron and Abe, played by Shane Carruth and David Sullivan — who, along with friends Robert and Phillip, meet regularly to brainstorm new ideas that they can patent.

And, in the finest tradition of garage engineers, everywhere, making a fortune on the lines of Wozniak and Jobs, or Hewlett and Packard.

That’s not quite the way things goes, though.

Abe and Aaron initially start working on a box-like machine for reducing an object’s mass.

Which turns out not to reduce mass.

No … 

It turns out what they’ve accidentally invented is a time-machine: something the pair use to milk the stock market.

Much as it’s tempting to say “With Hysterical Results” … it’s really not.

Not when the pair realise they’ve got tangled up in their complicated time-loop … 

~≈§≈~

Now, I’m actually going to be perfectly frank, here, if I may … ?

I really couldn’t tell you whether Primer is a work of genius.   Or otherwise, frankly.

But I am pretty sure the film is something of a gem: that I, for one, feel is worth you spending some time with.

With a 77 minute run time, this is a film that, had I the money, I would want to buy.   Primer is an intellectually dense film that I’m — as I write — watching again on my iPod.   Given that it’s a film one needs to pay attention to, buying it would allow me to watch it as many times as possible: it’s complicated, as well as watchable.

Given that … ?

I think I have to give Primer a four star rating …

Primer

★★★★

*        I should add, at this point, I managed to work out how to turn on my iPod’s closed caption switch.   For those of us watching a closed captioned film the same way — via and iPod Touch running iOS 6.x or higher — you’ll need to go to Settings>Video and set the Closed Caption switch to ‘On’.   I hope that helps.

Around Brentwood …

You know, it’s not that often I post up photos, it really is. 

 But … ?

Well, having been given an iPod for Christmas — only a fourth generation, but I’m not complaining … ! — I have to admit, I went out wondering, today.

And got a bit … 

Well … 

Snap happy.

I’m not complaining.

It means I got some exercise, earlier … !

Enjoy.

The Mount

Saint James Road

Rollason Way

Brentwood High Street

The Brewery Tap.