In my latest flurry of gadget-buying, yesterday came the Canon mini-DVD camcorder. It wasn’t rashness on my part, but something I’d intended to get for quite a while. There are always things you wish you’d been able to film, and as Paul and I have one or two interviews planned (first one coming up early next month, no names mentioned just yet), it was a good time to grab it.
It’s a very nice piece of equipment. It has a widescreen option, which is pretty cool. My only (minor) disappointment is that there is no input for an external mike, which isn’t totally necessary but would’ve been a useful option to have. Great value for money overall, though.
Expected tomorrow (later today, but after I’ve slept) is the Apple G4 Powerbook (1.5Ghz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HD). Again, this had been on my to-do list for ages. I knew I had to get a Mac. As I need more work, it’s somewhat essential. Most publishers use Macs, and by that I mean about 90% of them. Back before Win95, which in itself was slightly shaky (to be fair, WinXP is fairly decent, all in all), Windows was a seriously unstable piece of gear. Apple’s alternative got a foothold in the publishing market at that time and Gates has failed to consolidate this particular loss. I know, I know, we’re all losing sleep about it. 😉
Anyhoo, I’ve used the Mac system a few times, but I’ve never owned one. This seemed a good time for it, i.e. in the fallout of resigning from CI, etc. I’ve lined up a load of software too, including the usual suspects (Photoshop, Flash and all the stuff I already use on the PC), and some video-editing tools I don’t have, which are much-needed for doing interesting things with whatever interview footage we get in the coming months (of course, we want an option for streaming formats to put on the Web).
Becoming more fully conversant with a new system will be fun. But worryingly, it means I now own five computers. I think I have to thin that down before moving again… time to hire a skip, maybe. One of them is an ancient P133 and practically worthless. The other is more recent but rather bulky and not much use, though I might keep the 18″ LCD and get some cable for connecting the Powerbook to it… for tasks like colour print work (CMYK), laptop displays are generally inadequate. Anyway, three computers will be enough. 😉
The other two are the Advent laptop I’m typing on right now (1.70Ghz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD), and the main, work-station beast, a Hewlett Packard w/1.79Ghz, 1GB RAM, 190GB HD. I don’t know if these count as particularly powerful machines in 2007, but five years ago they’d have seemed pretty awesome. They do their jobs well, and I’d like to say I’m on the fence re PC vs Mac partisanship… a computer’s a tool to me, it either does its job or it doesn’t. However, being fluent in different ‘languages’ is always a useful asset. 🙂
One especially good buy a while back, and recommended to anyone needing such a thing, is the Freecom 400GB external HD. Got it from PC World for 120 quid. Excellent value, and finally I was able to transfer all working materials to a portable format that I can plug into any available machine.
On a completely different note, the news that Bowie’s decided not to play at the Highline Festival was a real downer. The official reason is that he’s too busy on a new project, but I can’t help feeling it’s more likely that he’s got cold feet. Since the heart attack in June ’04, he’s made four brief live appearances, singing 2-3 songs each time, so I think it’s understandable that jumping from that to a two-hour show could be… actually kinda scary. Paul and I were intending to go to NYC to see it, which blows our plans a bit. I really hope some more positive news comes through real soon.
I just bought The Good, The Bad and The Queen. Those who know I usually tend to buy Damon Albarn projects won’t be surprised. No opinion on it yet, though. It’s somewhere between Blur’s grunge-dirge on 13 and Demon Days by Gorillaz in sound, though perhaps closer to the former in spirit, i.e. not very cheerful. It’s better than Think Tank, but then, most things are. I need a few days to decide.
More overwhelmingly positive: Sinner, by Joan Jett. This has been out for six months, but evidently isn’t reaching these shores (it’s published independently on Joan’s Blackheart label), so I went and got the import in the end. I guess if your last memory of her was I Love Rock and Roll (jeez, lots of people are too young for that!), back in 1982, you might think she’s either long dead or an overweight mother of five working in a supermarket by now. Nothing of the sort. The import’s available on Amazon UK, so go find out for yourself.
Now, what I am waiting for with much anticipation, still on the old punk rockers theme, is… what else?… The Weirdness. What, did someone out there not know that The Stooges have a new album out this March? Yeah, that band with Iggy Pop. Their last album was about 75 years ago. (1973, actually.) I liked Skull Ring, Iggy’s last album (2003), but am sort of disappointed to see him clean-shaven again now, thus reducing the majorly unwholesome, serial-killer/Charlie Manson vibe. But you can’t have everything. 😉 I do expect this one to rock, though. Iggy is growing old very disgracefully indeed… and why not?
I’ll shut up now.