My most used iPhone apps

Let's see...

Mail of course but besides mail then:

1. NewsRack - connects with my Google Reader account to follow RSS feeds
2. Facebook - mostly from my car in a traffic jam.
3. MacDailyNews
4. De Standaard - sloooooow
5. Evernote
6. Tweetie

And that's about it...

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What I hate about MacDailyNews

I'm reading MacDailyNews on my iPhone. Great to get some daily Apple related news.

But I really hate the comments that are absolutely not "independant". I like Apple a lot but it's not a relegion to me... to them on the other hand...

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Mifi and the iPad

I bought myself a "Mifi". Not the official one that you can find on this website but one of "3" that I found on ebay (without Sim lock). I paid about 80 Euro's.

That's much cheaper than an iPad with WIFI and 3G and more flexible although you need 2 pieces of hardware to carry.

I already tested it at home and it works perfect with my iPhone so I don't expect issues with the iPad.

Now hoping that the iPad will be available soon in Belgium....

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Alfresco - Part 1

Not really for home use but I found a great Sharepoint alternative called Alfresco. Seems that it has more functionality, links with SQL Server and is completely open-source. I also found a VMWare appliance. Time for a test...

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iPad pants !

You will certainly need those for your iPad. More information can be found here.

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MobileMe and Windows 7

Open “Computer”, click on “Map Network Drive” at the top (under the path/location area), select the drive letter you want it to be connected under, in the folder name entry area you want to enter: http://idisk.me.com/username, enable “Connect using different credentials”,Click "OK", Enter your me username and password, enable saving of the information then proceed.

Done.

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Will Apple launch live TV before summer ?

And will we see a new version of the Apple TV ?

Maybe but probably not.

There was a strange message in Belgium today that Mobistar (an Orange company) will launch a very innovative new TV platform before summer that is not existing yet in Europe. Mobistar is the Apple iPhone partner in Belgium.

For the technical deployment Mobistar signed with some "very innovative companies" but they are not disclosing the companies. It is already sure that Mobistar was using Envivio for the Envivio iLiveTV™ solution for the Apple iPhone. This is not an Apple solution but it would be really inovative if Apple would go further with IPTV, using the Apple TV and the iPad to complete the picture.

But I think it will become more something like AT&T is bringing over DSL and that will be simular with this. This is exactly what was promised...

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iTunes

I have an issue with iTunes in Belgium: We don't have movies and TV shows. Buying movies in Belgium legally is pretty difficult. But there is a "workaround". I'm not sure if this is 100% legal but, anyway, it works and you don't need to download torrents.

I have 3 iTunes accounts: a Belgian one, a US one and a UK one.

Every time that I visit the UK, I buy an iTunes gift card and, via the Internet, you can buy US iTunes gift cards.

You just need to create an account on the iTunes store in the US or UK and you can start downloading as long you have sufficient funding on your iTunes account.

If you want to buy iTunes gift cards online, there is iTunesCode. You pay more than the normal USD/Euro rate but at least you can buy movies and TV Shows. I'm not sure how long they will exist but today they still do.

But there are plenty of other options on the Internet... also on eBay.

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Pre-order your iPad

In Belgium, you can pre-order your iPad in the Switch online store. The Wifi models will normally be available end of march while the 3G models will be available in april.

To pre-order, click here.

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Using your iPhone/Android/iPad/laptop while in Belgium

If you are traveling to Belgium you can continue using your iPhone (or iPad 3G or Android phone) without spending a lot of money on roaming costs.

When your smartphone is not sim-locked:

Go to a BASE store (you can find them in the biggest shopping streets across the country) and buy a prepaid card. The SIM card will cost you €15 but you can use that amount to call or to activate the mobile surf option. The disadvantage is that you will get a Belgian mobile number. Note: when using with the iPad, you will need to cut the SIM card as till today, in Belgium, we don't use micro SIM cards.

BASE is only having 3G in the major cities. Elsewhere they have EDGE.

When your smartphone is sim-locked:

Bad luck for you although there is a (not that cheap) workaround: Buy, before you come to Belgium, a Mifi that is not sim-locked. Go to a Discovery store (that is a Proximus/Belgacom store) and buy a reload card. Put this card in your Mifi, create a WIFI network and surf over the WIFI network with your smartphone. The daily cost is €2,5. The advantage is that you stay reachable on your known mobile number.

When you want to surf the net with your laptop:

Buy a 3G USB stick in Belgium (in Belgium we don't know SIM-locked phones or 3G sticks) in a Discovery Store and buy a reload card. Install the software that comes with your 3G USB stick on your laptop, insert the SIM-card and you are ready to surf the net.

And what about Mobistar ?

Mobistar is the official iPhone partner in Belgium. Their network is OK although today Base and Proximus are cheaper for prepaid cards.

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Building a home server - Part 2

Seems that there is actually a very good although very expensive virtualisation platform: Parallels Server for Mac. According to the information on the Parallels website you can virtualize OS X Server... The price is $1248.75... Well...

I will need another solution...

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Telenet Fibernet

Vandaag heeft Telenet er een nieuw product bij: Telenet Fibernet.


De naam is wat misleidend want het gaat hier helemaal niet over fiber. Ze maken gewoon gebruik van de nieuwe kabelstandaard Eurodocsis 3.0 maar de snelheden zouden wel vergelijkbaar zijn. Je krijgt met name:

• Een downloadsnelheid van 100 Mbps
• Een uploadsnelheid van 5 Mbps
• Tot in juli 250 Gb volume, daarna onbeperkt
  

Hiermee blijven we toch wel een stuk duurder dan in Nederland. Bij UPC betaal je voor het duurste abonnement 70,50 Euro per maand terwijl bij Telenet 99 Euro per maand neergelegd zal moeten worden. En zelfs de goedkopere versie (met een downloadsnelheid van 50 Mbps) is duurder dan de duurste variant van UPC.

Is Telenet Fibernet de moeite ? Voor de meeste gebruikers is dit, op vandaag, overkill maar in de toekomst zie ik dit zeker veranderen. Zelfs niet zozeer in de verre toekomst...

Ondertussen vergroot de voorsprong van Telenet tegenover de andere breedband-aanbieders. Ook Belgacom moet nu het onderspit delven...

Als ik de formules en promoties van Telenet zie, dan krijg ik wel heimwee naar de tijd toen Telenet nog de sympathieke underdog was...

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Building a home server - Part 1

I'm searching. Searching for computer parts. I would like to build a home mini server.

I want to build one small, silent, elegant box with enough memory (8 to 16 Gb) to run several virtual machines. The prefered design is a little bit like the Mac Mini.

When I look to the options for the virtual host system, the best option seems VMWare ESXi. Disadvantage is that I need a 64-bit processor. I also like Virtual Box but Virtual Box requires a host operating system and doesn't run as a service.

I could eventually buy a (second hand) Mac Mini but then VMWare ESXi doesn't seem an option then and I have the 4 Gb limitation. It would also be an expensive approach (even second hand).

I wonder why Apple is having a Mac Mini as server but why they don't offer the possibility to host additional virtual operating systems (except if you use Virtual Box) and why there is the 4 Gb limitation. Although expensive, it would be the perfect home server.

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