#134 PAB09 Afterthoughts

What's in this show:

I'm going to talk mostly about some of the events at PAB 09 in Kingston. It's been a month and I'm just now getting my thoughts down. My apologies to Bob and Mark, the show's promoters, and thanks guys, for once again producing a first class happening.

First I have some updates about my computer. Then, after I give you a quick reminder of what PAB is all about, I talk about Jowie Taylor and the Six String Nation Guitar. Check out the site, it's full of really interesting stories that I can talk about only in passing. Better yet, if you can attend an event where Jowi Taylor speaks(his schedule is right on the homepage) about this remarkable artifact, you should attend and get your picture taken holding it.

As a counterpoint to Jowi's story I discuss some sobering and pragmatic information presented by Chris Penn of the Financial Aid Podcast and Marketing over Coffee. This guy's good!

All this leads me to talking about identity, personal and national, and the power of the stories that people tell…

I'm serious about my offer to interview any Canadian expatriate, or emigrant to Canada. Send me an email at videostudentguy@gmail.com and we can talk via skype. It's easy!

Oh, if you can help me understand what to do with Twitter (@bermamot), I'd be very grateful.


This is a long show, about 45 minutes so I've listed the time-code for the sections so that if you want to get on to another subject you can scrub your way forward.

00:16 Introduction
06:47 What is PAB?
08:55 Jowi Taylor and 6 String Nation Guitar
25:04 Chris Penn
32:14 Networking 101
33:41 Social Media History
35:51 Personal History
37:29 Call to Action
40:42 Good Intentions
45:46 Close

#133 Laptop Down

Talking about hardware problems with my car, my own mental wiring and my laptop, leading up to attending Podcaster's across Borders in Kingston Ontario. I made it there an back, but I'll have to give you the high points in the next show.

Check out these shows,

• On the Log - Episode 68: The Sound Between the Notes
• DicksnJanes #202: postPABblab
• Being Buff # 36, Jowi Taylor PAB2009 Keynote: How a guitar brought a nation together
• Canadian Podcast Buffet will be uploading recordings of the sessions throughout the summer

Also, google PAB09. Every attendee who writes a blog or posts a podcast/vidcast will put this tag in their RSS fee.

In the process of troubleshooting problems with my laptop, using tools such as Techtool Pro, Carbon Copy Cloner and and Apple Disk Utility, the drive and the motherboard failed and an emergency trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar resulted in it being pronounced DOA.

All that I can do at this point is offer some cautionary advice on how to prepare, and deal with the inevitable computer meltdown.

Finally I go over some of the critical features I'm looking for in my next laptop.

Corrections:

1. I made an error in describing the pixel dimension of the MacBook Pro 15" laptop. It is 1440x900, which is identical to the highest resolution on my PowerBook 1.67 Ghz 17" laptop.
   
2. Also I was wrong about the price difference. There is only a $200 price difference, not $400.
   
3. Finally, the factory warranty is one year and you can purchase AppleCare, an extended warranty for a maximum of 3 years (not 4 years). A real bargain at $350. It covers any defective parts and service to replace them.
4. There are two graphics cards in both the 15" and 17' which have 2.8Ghz processors, and they function the same. There are other, slower processor 15" MacBook Pros and their hardware configurations are very different.
   

Here's the primary differences between the two laptops as far as I can determine right now.


15" 17"

• Cost Difference $200 less
• Two video cards Yes Yes
• Drive 500 Gig 500 Gig
• Card Slots SD ExpressCard/34
• Display Good Larger, HiRez
• Battery 7 hours 8 hours

The 17" is a good deal for the extra $200, no question about that.