I’ve decided not to trust any online storage companies. My experience with Mozy helped make that decision.

I will continue to have faith in “on-site” backups.

I will concentrate on my Macintosh and associated external hard drives.

I already have a 1 TB external hard drive as my Time Machine drive. It only backs up the main Macintosh drive.

I have an external case with 2 1TB drives.

One 1 TB drive contains my projects, and the other is a “Super Duper” clone copy of the “Projects” drive.

Tomorrow I will have a 500 GB drive that will have a Super Duper clone copy of the main Macintosh hard drive.

Next month I will have the 1TB Iomega NAS drive.

The NAS drive will be my multimedia drive. All of my multimedia files will be on that drive… and nowhere else.

Then I will use the my 1TB Iomega Prestige hard drive to make a Super Duper Clone copy of my new Iomega NAS drive.

Iomega Home Media 1 TB NAS 34337

$140 at Amazon.com

The Iomega Home Media 1 NAS (Network Attached Storage) device looks great to me.

1TB of hard drive space will handle my multimedia files fine for now.

You can add other USB drives to this device, but the drives must be formatted FAT32 or NTFS (Windows based formats).

You can also share a printer.

The NAS 34337 is also an iTunes server.

I use iTunes on all my computers.

I decided to get an actual NAS drive/device because my Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) apparently isn’t reliable as a server.

I will give away the first of my PC’s this weekend.

The first to go will be the old Microfly computer, with the ancient AMD processor.

The computer runs Windows XP,  has two 250 GB hard drives, 3 GB of DDR Memory.

I just need to go back over it, and be sure there is no personal information on it.

A few weeks ago I installed Windows XP and some other programs on it…then stuck it back on a shelf.

Next, I plan to eliminate the need for a Multimedia PC.

The first step will be to buy a NAS (Network Attached Storage) disk drive.

The NAS will allow any computer on the network to find multimedia files, etc.

The second step will be to buy a streaming device that will take multimedia files from the network, and output them to the TV.

That will leave the “Bones PC” and “Beast PC” free for my shows, if or when I start doing live shows again.

Then I will wait till I’ve saved enough money to buy a Mac mini.

When I have the Mac Mini, the Bones PC will be the next to leave.

I will most likely keep the Toshiba Satellite notebook computer.

Apparently some of the NAS drives need to be formatted with NTFS, even if you’re accessing the files from a Macintosh.

It’s very easy to shut down a notebook computer and get it out of the way.

It’s more difficult to deal with a desktop “tower” computer, even if it’s a mid-sized case.

I’m thinking I’d rather give away my computers than sell them.

Some of my neighbors most likely would love a “new” computer.

Everyone in this building lives on a Fixed, Limited Income.

I paid the rent today.

Then I went to the local Credit Union to deposit my $50 check from TokBox.

That’s where the “Funny Math” comes in.

I had opened a savings account a year or so ago, with the minimum $25 deposit. I never got around to depositing any more money.

I moved to a different apartment in February of 2009, and never informed the Credit Union.

They kept charging me fees till there was nothing left in my account.

In essence, I deposited $50, but only have $25 available.

That’s ok because I actually want to have some money in a Savings Account, finally.

Yes, I may save enough money till I can buy a Mac Mini, or maybe even a Mac Pro.

I don’t want to touch that money until I have at least $600 saved.

But at least the Credit Union has my proper address now, and I won’t lose any money from those fees!

Last week I received some Netflix DVD’s.

I saw the wonderful ads for BluRay players, and got excited all over again.

I asked my online friends what they thought of BluRay.

Again, I decided not to buy a BluRay Player.

The consensus was that BluRay is a dead or dying standard.

The days of “Physical Media” (DVD & BluRay discs) are over.

I watched my rental DVDs and went back to Netflix’s abysmal selection of “Instant videos” for streaming.

I did get some satisfaction from watching the new Doctor Who series, and maybe another series whose title I’ve since forgotten.

After that, I couldn’t find anything worth watching.

The Netflix “Instant Movie” collection is not the same as the selection of DVD rentals.

At Netflix, the physical media outweighs the streaming media.

****

I’ve resisted Apple’s iTunes store for years. I just don’t like hearing all the hype.

I went to the iTunes store twice in the last few months.

I can’t understand what the hype is all about.

In my own experience, it appears that the iTunes store is playing “Hide and seek.”

I can’t find the categories I’m looking for on the first page.

The categories Apple offers don’t interest me at all.

I don’t care if a movie won an Oscar. I don’t care if the iTunes store staff picked a movie.

If I want a Horror movie, I don’t want to decide if it’s Horror Comedy or Horror Adventure, whatever.

Just let me look at Horror movies.

Don’t give me 3-4 titles, and ask me to click a button “to see all.”

I get exhausted trying to browse the selection at the iTunes store.

I’ve never spent any money there, and probably never will.

My assessment of the iTunes store:

iTunes loses in both the Physical Media and Streaming Departments.

*****

I will most likely continue my Netflix subscription.

I get “unlimited movies” for $25 a month.

Realistically that means “4 movies at a time, and a total of 20 a month.”

I’ve never been able to push their shipping system to give me more than one shipment a week.

Maybe one day I’ll find good movies to stream online….

Maybe one day the “streaming services” will get the right idea.

I’ll continue to buy DVD’s of my favorite TV shows and movies.

Then I’ll “rip” them, and stream them from my hard drives.

I will go and pay March’s rent.

Then I’ll go to the bank and deposit the $50 I got from the TokBox survey.

This will be the start of my new Macintosh savings plan. (I will periodically deposit money into this account until I can afford the Apple or Macintosh device I want at the time.)

I’ll attend the Free Spaghetti Dinner-Grand Re-opening of our Community Room…

This event happens during the First Break of the Bingo games. I don’t play Bingo.

I need to buy a ticket for our Easter Dinner next month.

I’ll return home and make sure I’m setup for the Mac N Tuesday show with thetechbuzz.net

(I’ve rearranged a few things, and have some ideas in mind.)

I plan to get to bed around midnight.

As you can see, I’m pressing ahead with my plan to again become Socially Active with my neighbors.

I’ve made up my mind. Yes, I want to buy some geeky stuff!

Brite-view BV-5005HD Streamer (etc). $100 at Amazon.com

iPod Touch 32 GB $270 from Amazon.com

Maybe it’s not an iPad..but this device is small enough to fit into the pocket.

The iPod Touch would be a very handy device for me.

Mac Mini, starting at $600

This will be the first new Macintosh computer that I buy.

The Mac Mini will be perfect for use with my shows or videos.

The Mac Mini will replace one of my PC’s.

Those purchases will take a few months..

I believe the next purchase might be a Mac Book…

I still want a Mac notebook computer.

It must have taken me an hour to find a local taxi cab company that was in business and answered their phone.

I’d been using one Taxi Company for around 3 years. But he hasn’t answered his phone over the last 3 months, as near as I can tell.

The Lewiston-Auburn Maine area has less than 5 Taxi Companies, so there isn’t much to choose from.

Some Taxi companies don’t have a disapatch number. There is usually only one driver on duty, and he has a cellphone.

I got City Cab (also associated with Two in One Cab?!).

I just love their dispatcher. He sounds so thrilled to get your call (Not!)

He sounds really bored, and doesn’t want to say much.

After you give your pickup point and destination, he says merely “Ok.”

I suppose OK is sufficient… but maybe not.

How long will it take for the Taxi to arrive?!

I guess it doesn’t really matter because he was apparently the only Taxi in town that was available today.

I went to the Hannaford’s store in nearby Auburn today.

I was determined to use a “regular” grocery store, rather than Walmart.

Walmart is a great store, but it’s too easy to buy DVD movies, stereo equipment, etc.. when you’re supposed to be buying food.!

Usually, I do my grocery shopping around the 4th of the month. That’s when I “get paid,” along with everyone else who gets Social Security, etc.

Of course, the 4th of the month is usually one of the busiest days for the Taxi Companies.

Of course, this is the weekend, s0 the store was pretty crowded.

Hannaford’s has less variety and quantity of items than Walmart.

I spent some time in the Produce department because I want to eat some healthier foods.

I was quickly exhausted from bumping into all the people everywhere I turned.

Then I set out to the other aisles.

I did my best to bypass some of the tempting, “unnecessary” stuff, and move onto “more important” food stuff.

But I only got halfway through the store when my small grocery cart was full.

I rarely keep track of my purchases. I rarely know how much I’ve spent.

This time I was smart.

I paid some bills, got the rent money together, and allowed myself $250 for groceries for the month.

I spent less than that!

I congratulated myself, and went outside.

Then I realized I’d forgotten some of the “non-food” essentials (toilet paper, “Kleenix,” Denture Adhesive, etc.)

I went back into the store, apologized to the ladies at my register. They agreed to watch my cart.

Back into the store I went, and got “the other essentials.”

This time I was able to use the Express Lane, since I had less than 14 items!

I got all my stuff back together and used my phone to call the Taxi.

Oh, but I had entered the phone number wrong on my new phone.

I took out the deactivated old phone, and got the proper number.

I got the same bored dispatcher, thanked him for his time.

The Taxi arrived very shortly after the call.

The Taxi Driver was polite, helped me load and unload the trunk.

I gave him a tip, and shook his hand.

The groceries are mostly put away…

I just need to deal with some of the produce, and the meat.

I usually get hamburg in large packages.. then I divide it into smaller amounts, and store it in ziplock freezer bags.

Then it’s time for a shower and a nap.

For some reason I get rather warm when I go grocery shopping.

I guess all that body mass generates some heat?!

I have some extra money…

Later in the month, I can go out for misc. stuff.

I should be able to get the “free shuttle” bus over to the grocery and back.

They allow you to carry one or two bags, as long as you can take it all on the bus in one trip.

I’ve been thinking, trying to decide when I’d resume my Live Shows.

The truth is that I’m not in any hurry.

And, when I do resume the shows, I want to do it my way.

That includes the $270 Behringer Eurorack Mixer.

If I had that mixer, I’d feel better about my audio setup.

I’m catching up with my bills, so I’ll be able to spend more money on equipment.

It might take me 3-4 months to buy the mixer.

My ideal setup would be to replace 1 or 2 PC’s with 1 or 2 Mac Mini computers.

I would like the ability to dedicate a computer to the show, and not use it for other tasks.

The ideal setup can wait… I’d get the mixer first.

There’s another advantage to taking off some extra time.

I’ll have more free time for exercise, and socializing in my apartment building, etc.

In the meantime, I remain committed to thetechbuzz’s Mac N Tuesday show.

I might be available as a guest or panelist on other shows.

Brite-View BV-5005HD CinemaTube 3-in-1

1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader

Available at Amazon.com for $100. Here is the link.

My recent computer misadventures merely underscored the difficulty of my current setup.

I felt compelled to move 2 computers out of their comfy little cubbyholes, back onto mobile computer desks.

Do I really need a whole computer just to access my Multimedia?!

The answer is “No.”

I think this device will do just fine.

Ok, this doesn’t appear to handle Netflix… but I find the Netflix instant streaming video selection to be limited and mostly boring.

This device would fit easily in my entertainment center.

I could free up another computer.

I think I’ll buy the “CinemaTube” in April.