MacCraic

In the Beginning

When a number of our listeners suggested that Dave and I be certified I don’t quite think that the following was quite what they had in mind.

Since becoming a Mac owner (and subsequent fanboy) I have toyed with the idea of doing the exams to become Apple Certified, not just for the prestige of the Cert itself, but also to learn more about the best computing platform I have ever used.   It is one of those ideas that resided on my “someday/maybe” list.  When I was informed in June that I was being made redundant due to the current economic crisis I moved this idea to my current projects list replacing the work related projects that I would now no longer be responsible for finishing.

After careful consideration I decided what better way to assist my studies and keep me focused on my learning than to use the MacCraic website to blog about it.   I hope the blog will serve as my revision aid and also be of assistance to others who decide to follow along the same path.

So here begins the diary of my road to certification.

Finding Out What the Requirements Are

My first port of call was Apples website where I searched for what was required to become certified.   There are a number of various routes that you can take form Pro Apps to IT Support.  I decided to start with the Apple Certified Support Professional course (Nicknamed Snow Leopard 101).  A full list of available Apple training and certification can be found at http://training.apple.com/#certification.

Method of study

You can choose to attend an Apple Authorized Training Centre or study at your own pace using one of the Apple Authorized Training Books published by Peachpit (http://www.peachpit.com).

As there are no AATC’s convenient to me, coupled with time and family constraints, I opted to go the route of getting the book and learning at my own pace.   A quick search of Amazon and I had found and ordered the book.  Thanks to Pat Dengler (http://www.yourmacdoctor.com) for telling me about the book.   If you are in the LA area and need help with your Mac be sure to check out Pat.

Exams

Once I feel I have acquired enough knowledge I will apply for and sit the Snow Leopard 101 exam.   When I previously looked it appeared that there was not a place to sit the exam in Ireland however that seems to have changed and I will be looking into this at a later stage and will advise in a later post.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more of this as I hope this series of articles will be of assistance to others who choose to go the same route as me or just of general interest to Mac and MacCraic fans.

I look forward to having you as companions on my journey.

Thanks for reading.

That’s all the Craic till next time.

Justin

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Hello MacCraicers , know these posts have been thin on the ground but just want to point out the odd price (possible saving) situation that is occurring re mobile connectivity that you might choose for the iPad you may have bought in Ireland on launch.

At the moment and I’m taking the base model iPad for the simplest comparison, the 16GB model with just wi-fi retails for €499 while you will pay an extra €100 premium for the 3G model (this pricing differential is the same for the different models in the line).

If you choose to get the Vodafone Micro-SIM ( assuming of course you’ve paid the €100 premium for the pleasure of the 3G model) you have option of paying:

1 day iPad Plan

€3.99 per day

5GB data allowance

30 day iPad plan

€20 per month

500mb data allowance

Remember, like AT&T there are no termination fees for ending the contract after 30 days or a day depending on which plan you choose above.

Now here’s where this gets strange, at the moment Vodafone Ireland are pushing on their site the Vodafone mobile broadband hotspot (Mi-Fi anyone)

for the following tariffs:

Vodafone mobile broadband

€19.90 per month

10GB data allowance

Vodafone mobile broadband unlimited

You can purchase the hardware on Vodafone Ireland’s online store for €39 with the above plan of choice.

So let’s think about this for a second, you can pick up a 16GB wifi iPad €499 + VF mobile broadband hotspot €39 = €538 and for sake of comparison you choose the VF Mobile Broadband package-10GB monthly allowance (€19.90 per mth X 12mths) €238.80 gives a figure €776.80 for total cost of ownership initially.

However, if you decide to pay the premium & plump for a wi-fi+3G model and VF data plan then it works out as follows – 16gb wi-fi+3G €599 + again for comparison take the 30 day iPad plan-5GB allowance (€20 per mth X 12 mths) €240 which gives a figure of €839 for initial total cost of ownership

This means that you can save €62.20 by plumping for the first option of buying the base wi-fi model with Mi-Fi initially and enjoy double the monthly data allowance (10Gb vs 5GB). In 2nd & subsequent years you save only €1.20 per year but still get double the data allowance.

Know which iPad & plan you would choose ?  :-)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Hi to all who have been wondering where we’ve been for the last few weeks.   As is a MacCraic tradition we like to take a little rest every now and then to recharge the batteries.

I am pleased to say that after a nice vacation to parts sunnier than Ireland, we are back, refreshed, recharged and ready to cause even more mayhem.

Watch out for this weeks show which will have a slight bias towards vacationing with, or without your Mac (and how to get that super duper shot on the topless beaches around Europe).

Are you ready?   Can you handle the Craic?  I guess you’ll have to try it out and see.

Until next time, hang loose Craicers.

Justin

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Those of you reading this who also listen to the podcast will be aware that  I have made the jump into the Getting Things Done philosophy in respect to my personal and professional life.   Part of this adoption has been using iCal more rigorously than I have in the past.   Couple that with syncing iCal with my iPod Touch via Mobile Me and you get a powerful calendar combo.

Well lately that combo has been less than powerful as I’ve had an issue syncing calendars with my iPod Touch. Events I would add on my Mac were not appearing on the iPod Touch.  They would be added when synced via iTunes but the point was I wanted them added on the fly without having to be back at my Mac and wire in my device.

So I put on my investigative hat and went through the settings on the iPod Touch and made sure Push was turned on and that my Calendar was activated to sync.   Then went into my calendar checked it.   Still no new events coming down.  It was getting very frustrating.

Well remembering what Victor Cajiao of TypicalMacUser.com saying “Google is your friend” I executed a Google search for syncing and found a link to a support article on Apple’s website which basically told me to do what I was already doing.  Not very helpful.   As Einstein would put it “The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.

However in the sidebar there was a section for Related Discussions and under that a topic titled “Problems syncing calendars with Mobile Me“.  Sure enough user Stanley Horwitz was having the same issue as me.   Forum member A A P L had the solution.

This blew away all the crud that was there and I was left with a nice clean calendar with all my events showing up, including the ones just added on the Mac this morning.   Apple forums and user A A P L for the win who described the solution as the “Flush & Fill”.   So appropriate for MacCraic.

I thought I’d share that with you in case any Craicers out there are having  similar issues.

So until next time – flush and fill!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This week our heroes finally reach their magic number and celebrate with a thong, sorry I mean song.   Are you brave enough to listen to episode 69?

News

• A Bunch of Muppets in Cupertino
• Tit Case for iPhone (shows you where someone’s mind was when reading the headline)..also video proof.
• PowerBook Snow Board ( “think different” Xtreme! )

GoDaddy Advertisement

Dave’s Slot- Notes from Tim Cook’s Goldman Sachs talk (Updated with transcript) and Apple supplier audit reveals sub-minimum wage pay and records of underage labor

Dave’s App Pick: Vector Tanks- Battlezone for iPhone/iPod Touch for all the retro-arcade MacCraicers out there. Free on App Store till next Thursday.

Steve Jobs puts it all into perspective- Quick discussion/analysis of some Steve J quips from Apple AGM

Contact details

maccraic.com

twitter.com/justingbyrne

twitter.com/davidshortle

themaccraic@gmail.com

Mevio

Subscribe in iTunes (link)

 

 MacCraic 69 - Oral Hygiene [52:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bookmark It

Hide Sites