David

I have spent quite a bit of time on dial up internet access. I have since had dial up internet access three times, yeah I had it in 87′ but I also had it from 2001-2004 living in a rural location not serviced by dsl or cable.

I am currently posting this via a cellular, non-3G network card, but rural internet access has not been changed much by 3G or satellite… and now i’m already bored of this post from internet lag times.

So it’s back to a proper workflow using all local databases and server configurations and merely dropping by the office to sync my localhost and the remote servers.

A lot of you will be fiddling around with your new tv or computer or whatnot.. so i figured I share how we use technology.
lacie hard drives I have two of them daisy linked.. if you record a bunch of tv or movies, get a big one.
apple airport works by wireless streaming files between the hard drive, mac mini, iphones and laptops.
our iphones with a couple key apps like remote and airsharing – walk into the house.. plop your work documents on the hard drive and then email music or videos onto the tv.. the phone also acts as a wireless remote for itunes and air sharing your files from you hard drives. elagato eyetv – it works like a dvr/dvd/digital tv tuner/ and plays well with your cable, satellite or any DVB-C
a mac mini – it controls your home network and connects to the eyetv, home stereo and tv. You’ll need an HDMI to DVI cable too. We use a 42 phillips lcd and an amp with polk and klipsch bookshelf speakers.
two mac laptops – a macbook and 17″ macbook pro with a separate 24″ monitor for the desk and a fixed home ip address from your internet provider – so you can connect remotely to your home network….also throw in a wii, a netflix/gamefly subscription and an iphone enabled clock radio on your nightstand and in the bathroom and you’ll find yourself listening to podcast lectures in the shower. Let’s say you’re on the road at an ad agency in atlanta and you’re missing several files for a presentation.. you just fire up the laptop, log into the mac mini and drag the files over. While I’m listening audio books and last.fm recommendations on the road… I download a new album and audiobook onto da phone.. when I walk into the house, I press a button on the phone.. and viola.. it’s on my home stereo or tv to finish listening or watching. Ginny does all of her scheduling and documents with her @me.com account and calendars. I use google apps for calendars and email. If we’re running late on the way home from a trip to catch the new Simpsons episode.. I’ll fire up the iphone and setup the mini to record it. Ginny likes to take pictures in the car and upload them to Facebook. I prefer a Nikon D90 or a Panasonic DVX100 for the images stuff. I wish i had better audio equipment but i do have a decent Blue Microphone. I use Adobe CS4, Final Cut Pro and I also like Sony Vegas and Soundforge as I started in on them when i was in my bootlegged pc software stage and the ease of use stuck with me. What else.. other software you ask.. I use Macromates Textmate, Fetch, and Fireworks the most…..

Oh.. one other thing.. If you want to share a 3G network card connection with another mac.. hit system preferences > Network.. make sure to name your connection. System Preferences > Sharing > Internet Sharing > create a airport network and add internet from whatever you named the connection… gotta run.. happy holidays.