Over the next couple weeks I’ll be sharing my favorite things from 2010. These items weren’t necessarily new in 2010 but they were either new to me, extra awesome this year, or on my own holiday shopping list or wish list. The lists will be grouped by different personality traits I would use to describe myself so that you can use them as holiday gift inspiration as well.
These are a few of my favorite Apple things from this past year:
27″ Core i7 iMac
After I switched back to a desktop from a laptop, I had a lot more hard drive space, computing power, and USB ports so peripherals made a lot more sense again. This year I stocked up on some new games and accessories.
- The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion
- The Sims 3: Ambitions
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
- Fujitsu ScanSnap Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Scanner for the Macintosh
- USB Extension Cable
iPhone 4
After a few weeks of hassle from AT&T, I did get my iPhone 4. I outfitted it with:
- Agent18 Flowervest
- Powersupport Crystal Film Set for iPhone 4
- Belkin Mini Surge Protector/Dual USB Charger
- Car Charger for Apple iPhone
iPad
I didn’t get an iPad this year (yet – here’s crossing my fingers for Christmas) but I do plan on getting myself one when the iPad 2 rolls around in Spring 2011. When it get’s here I plan to outfit it with:
Apps
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links.
I’ve had my new Apple TV for two and a half weeks now and I can confrim that it’s totally awesome and blows the socks off the old Apple TV.
At first I was skeptical whether the new or the old unit would be better since the old unit had an internal hard drive and significant issues with trying to stream data however the new version streams much, much more smoothly. I had planned to keep both plugged in at the same time for awhile to test them side by side but upon realizing I only had one HDMI cable, I gave up on that idea and I haven’t even thought of plugging the old version back in.
I have only a few complaints about the new Apple TV.
First, it’d be awesome if my movies and TV shows available to stream from my iMac showed up in the Movie and TV Show menus rather than in the Computer menu.
Second, after a week of exclusively using the Remote app on my iPhone, I got a phone call and wanted to pause the show I was watching while I talked on the phone. When I went to pause my show with the real remote, it didn’t work. Upon further investigation, I deduced that all 3 of my Apple Remotes worked on my new Apple TV from 5 feet but not from 10 feet (the distance to the couch).
Last Thursday, I set up an Express Lane support phone call via the Apple website which meant I got to pick a time and they called me so I didn’t have to wait on hold. My issue was directed to a Senior Support representative who overnighted me a new Apple TV. I have 10 days to return the not perfect first unit by taking it to my nearest UPS store (less than a mile from my house) where they will pack it and ship it at Apple’s expense – if I don’t take the old one to the UPS store within 10 days they’ll charge my credit card for purchasing a second unit. The Senior Support representative also gave me his direct extension in case I have any problems with the new unit.
The following day, XKCD released a comic that made me question whether that tech support experience was so good that it had to be a dream.
Lots of big and exciting things going on around here.
I had my first blood test since the end of chemotherapy in May and I currently have 5.7 k/uL white blood cells which is in the normal range for the first time in almost a year. I’m feeling better than I have since about 2003.
Last week one of my coworkers brought an adorable puppy into the office. After the puppy and I cuddled for a while I said that I wished I could take him home with me and my coworker said I could (his old owners were moving and could not take him to their new place) so after many years of my dad’s strict no dogs rule and then several more years of waffling over whether my cat would tolerate a dog in the house or not, I have a dog and he and the kitty are getting along fine. Lucky is about 4 months old, 7 pounds, and a Chihuahua mix.
My mom and I have also launched a co-authored food blog at KuchenTogether.com. I’ve always been interested in food blogging but just didn’t have the food photography skills. Mom doesn’t have the blogging tech savvy so we’ve combined our super powers.
My new Apple TV has arrived and it’s awesome. I was planning to keep my old Apple TV plugged in along side it but that plan got derailed as soon as I realized I only had one HDMI cable and didn’t want to buy another. The new Apple TV is so awesome I haven’t even considered switching back to the old one. I do have a couple thoughts on how the interface could be a little more user friendly so expect to see a post dedicated to the new Apple TV in the not too distant future.
Now on to this week’s link love:
270 readers
2938 followers
490 fans
Here at 