Status Update: Apple v. Psystar v. Apple

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

The Florida Court has granted Apple’s request for a stay of proceedings pending the outcome of the Appeal. This is typical and expected. The Florida Court had not yet ruled on Apple’s Motion to transfer the Florida case to Judge Alsup in California. On the Appellate front, Apple has filed its Answering Brief as well as a Motion for Judicial Notice.
Status Update: Apple v. Psystar v. Apple | World of Apple.

The Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books 2000-2009

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009
1 Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4 And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7 Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8 His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9 TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Myracle, Lauren
10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11 Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers
12 It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13 Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15 The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16 Forever, by Judy Blume
17 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18 Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19 Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20 King and King, by Linda de Haan
21 To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22 Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23 The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24 In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25 Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26 Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28 Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29 The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30 We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31 What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
32 Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33 Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35 Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36 Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
37 It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38 Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39 Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40 Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41 Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42 The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43 Blubber, by Judy Blume
44 Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45 Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46 Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
47 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by George Beard
48 Rainboy Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50 The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
51 Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52 The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53 You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54 The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55 Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56 When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57 Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58 Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59 Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60 Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61 Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62 The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63 The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64 Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65 The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67 A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68 Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69 Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
70 Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71 Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
72 Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
73 What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
74 The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75 Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76 A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
77 Crazy:  A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78 The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79 The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
80 A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81 Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82 Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83 Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84 So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86 Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87 Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88 The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89 Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90 A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91 Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Graighead George
92 The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93 Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94 Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
95 Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96 Grendel, by John Gardner
97 The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98 I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99 Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100 America: A Novel, by Frank, E.R.
via ALA |.

Verifing Time Machine Backups?

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Time Machine is very boolean in it\’s operation.  It either was successful or failed.  So if there is a single file that it can\’t backup, it aborts it\’s current backup, and shuts down until the next backup cycle.  This isn\’t exactly an optimal solution.  Other Backup software (eg Retrospect) will log an error on a particular file, but continue with the current backup cycle, until done.
Time Machine does not have any built-in mechanism to verify a set of backups as being valid. That\’s one issue with Time Machine, being consumer orientated instead of enterprise…
Sure, you could perform a Disk Repair in Disk Utility, but that doesn\’t validate the Time Machine backup data.  That instead will verify the structure and integrity of the backup disk. (Of course, Disk Warrior verifies / repairs in a complementary manner).
The only way that I see that you could verify the data in the backup is to do a full restore.
Well, I have just learned that Time Machine claims to have a verification method, if you are using a Time Capsule.  Option-Click on the Time Machine Menu Extra, and you will see (starting with 10.64) a option called Verify Backups.  This Apple Technote(HT4076) discusses the process, and it is simply running a Disk Utility / Verify Disk on the Time Capsule disk image.  This does not necessarily verify the data was accurately backed up, but verifies the integrity of the Disk Image.
So, it doesn\’t really verify your backup data…  It\’s verifying the backup file\’s integrity…
So at this point, I still have not found a reliable method to verify Time Machine Backups….

Nickelodeon Greenlights The Legend of Korra

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Nickelodeon announced this morning that it has given the green light to \”The Legend of Korra,\” from \”Avatar: The Last Airbender\” series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko:
Nickelodeon, the number one producer of television animation in the world, has greenlit a new series from the creators of the hit animated TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was announced today by Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group.  The new series The Legend of Korra (working title), from creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011, continuing the evolution of the animated franchise and its mythology.  The original series was the inspiration for the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies live-action epic adventure, The Last Airbender, which has already grossed more than $115 million at the box office to date.
\”Mike and Bryan have imagined a compelling new story inspired by the Airbender mythology that they so brilliantly crafted when the TV series began,\” Johnson said.  \”This new avatar is not only a girl, but also hot-headed, independent and ready to take on the world.\”
The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and follows the adventures of the Avatar after Aang – a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenaged girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra.  With three of the four elements under her belt (Earth, Water, and Fire), Korra seeks to master the final element, Air.  Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern \”Avatar\” world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology.  It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive.  However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart.   Under the tutelage of Aang\’s son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.
via Nickelodeon Greenlights The Legend of Korra.