The Pink Mac

Pink your Mac.

Let’s face the facts, this blog would probably be nothing if it weren’t for my pink macbook. Although I had always dreamed of writing a blog on technology, for some reason things never really seemed to come together for my idea until I actually pink-ified my mac. With just the snap of a pink cover, my macbook instantly became its own personality and in one of those grand “a-ha!” moments, I had the inspiration for this blog. I know I have mentioned the Pink*Speck SeeThru cover that I bought at the Apple store on 5th Avenue in New York City, but I thought that I should do a formal review of it for everyone since I have now been using it for a little over a month now. First of all, I would like to say how much I like the color. With pink cases and covers nowadays, you really never know what to expect. Shades range from a dusty rose, to bubblegum pink, to hot or electric pink, and I know from experience that it can be frustrating when you find a case or cover you like, but the color is off. Of course, this shade of pink might not be your cup of tea, but for me, the color was right on!

The next thing I want to mention is the ease of use. Seriously, all you have to do is snap it on! Removal is a little trickier, but not really difficult. You just have to slide a credit card or something between the cover and the computer and unsnap the small little grooves on the case that keep it snapped in place. The grooves in the design are a nice touch because they are so small that you really don’t notice them when you use the computer, but they do a great job of keeping case to computer.

The final thing to mention about this case is the durability. I have been using this case, like I said, for over a month now, and I have been taking my mac in my bag with me without the usual sleeve case. This cover makes it easy for me, because I don’t have to put my mac into anything else, and I can just transfer it from bag to desk, to bag from bed, etc, without having to zip or unzip. Of course after a month of use, the cover has a few visible hairline scratches, but nothing major, and it is preferable to me that those hairline scratches be on the cover and not on the macbook! Overall, I am really impressed with this cover! I sort of expected it to crack or break by now (because I have low standards for plastic cases) but as you can see, that is not this case! If you were thinking about a hard shell style case for your mac, I would certainly say this is a good choice. I know there are a few brands out there with this similar style, but like I said before, I expect these sorts of cases to crack or break easily and it looks like the Speck SeeThru is going to be in it for the long haul!

{* The Speck SeeThru Hard Shell Cover also comes in orange, aqua, black, blue, clear, green, purple, and red– so if pink is not your color of choice, don’t worry, they have something for you!}

The Pink Mac

Macheads!

I mentioned earlier this month that there were two Mac documentaries that were being screened at this years Macworld Expo. One of them, Macheads, is now available for download on Amazon and iTunes. Of course, upon hearing this news I went straight to my computer and rented the documentary on the iTunes movie store and this morning I watched it, twice! It is only about an hour long, so I thought a second pass would be feasible and I honestly really enjoyed it. The movie basically chronicles the history of Apple and the mac community through the stories, views, and experiences of a number of different mac personalities. You get much of the back history of the Apple community and fan base from the fans themselves and even the self proclaimed Macheads in this documentary give Apple a bit of criticism for their recent disregard for the fan base that sustained them through their darkest hours. If you are a Mac fanatic like me, or just someone who enjoys the history of computing I would suggest that you check this one out!

The Pink Mac

Skin Me!

After I bought my new LG enV2, I know I promised you all a review of the skin I bought for it, and here it is! As you can see, this is a pink plaid cast vinyl skin made to custom fit the env2! I absolutely fell in love with the pattern and HAD TO HAVE IT!! I am not someone who usually uses cases or covers for my phone since I usually store it on my desk or in my purse, so using one of these skins for protection and accessorizing fits my needs well. It keeps the major parts of my phone free from scratches while also personalizing it to my preference without adding bulk or extra parts. I have been using this skin now for about a week and I am really enjoying it. I bought it from DecalGirl.com, an online retailer that sells similar skins for all sorts of electronic devices. So, although you might not have an enV2, you might be interested in a skin similar to this for your own phone or device.

Now, lets get to the technical details of this skin, shall we? It is made of a premium grade adhesive backed cast vinyl and then covered with a clear protective coating. The skin itself is not much thicker then a simple sticker, but it has much more to it than a sticker. It is pretty strong and it keeps its shape well in my opinion. Obviously, if you take a scissor to it, or try to rip it, it will damage the skin, but once the skin is applied it adds a nice protective barrier between your phone and the outside world. Now, let me be very clear– this skin doesn’t cover 100% of the phone. As you can see in the images, it covers the face and most of the back of the phone, leaving the edges and sides of the phone exposed. It also does not cover any of the interior of the phone. For me, that is not an issue since my phone is usually closed and I am not really worried about my phone getting damaged.

Okay, so once you get past all of those features, there are two problems with this skin. First of all, it is a little difficult to put on. The skin came in pieces for each row of numbers and a different piece for the faceplate, so I basically sat there and had to– piece by piece– line up the sticker to the phone and apply it, then reapply parts that didn’t line up, etc. Luckily, I am good at this sort of thing, but if you are someone who has a hard time lining things up, you might need to get yourself some help. The upside to this, however, is that the skin can be reapplied many times and not loose its adhesive backing, so you can take multiple tries to attach it and it will still re stick each time!

Second and final negative feature of this skin is that the cracks between the stickers on the faceplate tend to collect dust/dirt and need to be cleaned out every once in a while. For me, this isn’t difficult, because I can just swipe my fingernail between the pieces of sticker and remove the stuck on dirt, but it is annoying that you have to do it in the first place. One thing I will say about that though, is that if you happen to buy a skin like this for another phone or electronic device like an iPhone, you might not have this problem because some of the skins for different devices are only one or two large pieces, as opposed to the 11 separate pieces that my phone’s skin requires.

Overall, I really do like this skin for myself. It fits my needs and it makes my phone completely unique– which I love! I would recommend this skin or others like it to anyone in the market for a similar product. Plus, you really can’t beat the price tag– I paid $6.99 plus shipping for mine!

The Pink Mac

Old Politics=Old Tech, New Politics=I think you know where this is going.

Apparently, when Barack Obama and his new staff entered the White House to begin their administration, not only did they inherit the old political problems, economic issues, and state of the union left to them by Bush, but also some outdated technology. It doesn’t surprise me that the White House is a PC environment, but it should surprise all of us that the PCs in the White House were running something to the effect of 6 year old software! Wow, no wonder nothing good came out of the White House for the past 8 years, they weren’t upgraded into the needs of the future. Well, it looks like Obama is off to a good start making the right sorts of changes in DC and if his previous inclinations are a sign of whats to come, I believe we will be seeing some shiny new tech arriving in slim eco-friendly boxes labeled with some sort of fruit… it’s just a guess!

{Story via here}
tech The Pink Mac

Belkin Making Waves.

For Christmas, my brother bought himself a 2G ipod touch, so of course I had to get him a case to protect this new tech (because I am such a great sister and all)! Knowing my brother’s tastes, I selected for him the Belkin Sonic Wave Two-Tone Silicone Sleeve in black/infrared. He LOVED it and so did I! I was so impressed with the quality of the case I stole his ipod touch for a few minutes to do a little photo shoot and review. As you can see this case is silicone, and despite the fact that I do not usually like silicone cases, the quality of this case was excellent. I really liked the thickness of the case, it wasn’t flimsy, but it was thin enough to show off the slim features of the touch.

Obviously this case doesn’t have any screen protection, but as you can see from the pictures, my brother uses a screen cover and the combination of the Belkin case and the screen protector actually seems to prevent scratches and other damage pretty well. Obviously a screen protector can’t prevent a hard object from cracking the glass, but it will prevent everyday scratches and can be easily cleaned. Overall, I recomment this case to anyone looking for the everyday shock protection of a silicone case for their ipod touch as long as you pair it with a decent screen shield.

The Pink Mac

Happy Inauguration Day!

Solutions The Pink Mac

Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger.

This weekend I finally bought the Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger! I found it on sale at Circuit City for $20.99 down from the usually $24.99 so I thought I should get it while it was on the cheap. I have been scoping this out for a while because not only is it a mini portable surge protector, it also includes 2 USB outlets and a USB to Mini USB cable for charging devices. I don’t have a wall charger for my iPods, so this is perfect for me! Plus it covers up to $75,000 in damages if it is defective, which is pretty spectacular. I have been using it for the past few days and I, of course, love it. There is not much more to say other than it has a 360 degree rotating head that comes in handy. Oh, but one small flaw that I discovered– when I tried to charge my iPod and my cell phone via the USB ports, the charge flow was interrupted and kept cutting in and out. I haven’t tried to charge two things simultaneously again, but if it keeps happening that is a major flaw because there is no reason to have two USB ports if it doesn’t actually charge two things at once. Other than that, I love the fact that it is a portable surge protector that also acts as a charger for my USB devices especially my iPods.

{This has been reposted from blackalligator.blogspot.com}

The Pink Mac

EnV Me.

I am totally excited to announce to you all that I FINALLY got a new cell phone today and it is completely awesome. I bought the new LG enV2 in black, it is fabulous! My old cell phone was a razr, and was beginning to crap out on me after only a year of use, which I find to be unacceptable. It is my own fault though, I was attracted to the slim design, nifty camera, and pink, of course, and I completely ignored the negative feedback from friends about the phone being a piece of… well, you know! Today the saga ends, however, because this new LG really rocks. My friend El Night Owl picked up one a few days ago and wrote about it, so check that out, but I am still going to do a little bit of a product review for you as well.

Let’s begin with the features I love, shall we? Okay, for starters, I love the fact that this is a brick phone that also flips open for texting! I used to be a big fan of the Nokia brick style phones, but they disappeared a few years ago and in there place were clam shell flips or sliders. Well, I am getting the best of both worlds with this phone because the brick is super easy to use not having to fumble with flipping it open to take a call, but on the other hand we have the full keyboard for texting. And, man, have I been texting! It is a breeze to text on this phone! I love the fact that I can text complete sentences, insert punctuation, etc, without having to sort through different menu options! That brings me to the next amazing feature, the speaking text option. Basically, you can have your phone speak your text messages to you! Yeah, wow, right? That’s what she said! Anyway, final feature I love is the camera. 2.0 mega pixels and it takes great quality images! What more is there to want in a cell phone, really?

Okay, so now maybe I should talk about features this phone is lacking. Really, this phone doesn’t lack much, but I have a pet peeve about one of the features that is not fully functional and that is the speaker phone. This phone does have a speaker phone option, however, as far as I can tell, you can only activate speaker phone when the phone is open. Hopefully, I am going to be found incorrect on this, however, so far, I can’t make the speaker phone turn on when I have the phone closed. This is a problem for me, because when I am driving and I get a call, I like to turn speaker phone on and set my phone down in the cup holder when I talk. Well, if the phone has to be open for the speaker to activate, that means I need to flip it open, which I know isn’t a big deal, but it is an annoying step to have to take. Oh, one more complaint I have about the phone– the ringer. I guess the speakers for the phone are technically inside the the flip portion of it, because when the phone is closed, the ringer is muffled. This is more than a little annoying because the ringer never seems to get very loud. More testing must be done to check how this works, but for now, I wish the volume on the ringer was louder when the phone is closed.

Okay, well I hope you enjoyed this review of my new LG enV2! I am really excited about this phone and I totally think the positives outweigh the negatives I listed above. One final thing I want to say about this phone, however, is just the quality of the construction. I really feel as though this phone is going to last me. LG phones are usually a great quality, and I think this model is no different. I don’t feel as though I am going to break it when I flip it open, the way I did the with razr, and I think it could totally survive some major drops- it just feels solid, which is always a great thing for a cell phone! Okay, so check back soon because I ordered a skin for the phone that I will also be reviewing when it arrives. As you can see in the picture above, it is a pink plaid style sticker that protects from minor scratches and such. So, get back here soon to check out that review and if you happen to have either an enV2 or a similar sticker style skin for the phone, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Solutions The Pink Mac

Coolest Moleskine Ever!

I know that Moleskine notebooks are part of the analog word and might seem to have no place on this technology blog, but this is a horse of a different color! This customized “Geekster Moleskine” as it is called by its creator, is actually an 80 GB external hard drive casing. Now, I don’t know about you, but I love the look and feel of a Moleskine notebook, so this hard drive speaks to my personal interests very much and I have to say, I sorta want one! I know I have more external hard drives than I need right now, but what is one more? This Moleskine hack was created using a laptop  hard drive, something I do happen to have an extra of, so perhaps I might be able to create my own custom Moleskine drive using the directions written up by the creator of this hack! Hmm, this is totally moving the wheels inside my mind! You can take a look at more pictures of the project here, and see the work in progress here. Enjoy!

The Pink Mac

ReqWIRED Reading.

Today, while perusing the magazine section at the grocery store, I picked up a new magazine as you can see. I have heard of WIRED before and since it is tech and all, you would think I would have caved for it a while ago. Well, I finally got myself a copy of the magazine to read through, and so far it looks good. The headline stories are about Obama, Apple, and global warming so it should make for a good read!