Author: Daniel Brusilovsky

VP, Technology at Golden State Warriors.

Time for a New Look

As anybody who visited the site recently can tell, DanielBru.com has gotten a new face, almost top to bottom. Previously, I was using the GlossyBlue theme designed by N.Design Studio, but now the blog is showing off the WP-Premium 1.0 by R.Bhavesh.

For the record, I did not work on customizing this theme alone. The awesome Matt Pippen, of Teen Media Productions, helped me along the way with CSS and PHP, and making the theme fit into the blog just beautifully.

But we’re not doen yet. Community, you’re involved in this too. Do you like the theme? Do you think that there’s anything else we can work on to make the blog look even better? Let me know by leaving a comment below, or through the contact form.

WordPress 2.5

WordPress is about to release version 2.5 into the wild (It just hit Release Candidate on the 17th). If you’ve been using WordPress.com or have peeked at the demo site you will know the biggest change coming to WordPress with this release.

My Beginnings in Blogging with WordPress

My original blog started at WordPress.com in April 2007, and I recently switched to my own self-hosted WordPress install in December 2007. With the re-launch of Apple Universe in February, I needed to get much more familiar with the platform, hence the switch.

At first, I was amazed at all the features like plug-ins, and user-installable themes. In my search for themes, I happened across iTheme, but at that point I didn’t know that Matthew Heidenreich would design an amazing theme for me. Once he was done, however, I was really blown away by his work.

WordPress 2.5 – Dashboard Design Refresh

Daniel Brusilovsky › Dashboard — WordPress

Although older releases of WordPress were easy to use, WordPress 2.5 brings a fully refreshed administration system that makes things easier to understand than before. The “Publish Status” option is now prominently displayed at the very top of the right-hand sidebar. (Editor’s note: As I’m working through this post, I’m apppreciating the intelligent relocation of features more and more by the minute.)

The result is a new way of interacting with WordPress that will remain familiar to seasoned users while improving the experience for everyone.

Daniel Brusilovsky › Dashboard — WordPress

The main tabs are functionally similar to older versions: on the left-hand side there are the Write, Manage, Design, and Comments links, (and, in my WP install, podPress), and on the right-hand side reside Settings, Plugins, and Users. However, links are now managed and created under the Manage tab, an alteration that brings back memories of the 2.0.x series releases.

The first major change that I noticed was the orange banner across the page, with a new super-emphasized “Write a New Post” button (and, directly adjacent to that button is one for creating a new page). Isn’t that the point of blogging? Generally, the first thought that comes to mind when I browsing to the Dashboard is writing a new post, and with WP 2.5 RC1, it’s clear that the WordPress team is aiming for this thought process. Blogging is the main objective; everything else merely enhances the experience.

Visual Editor Improvements

The WYSIWYG visual editor, a long time bane of many users existence, has been upgraded with support for TinyMCE 3. It includes a Full Screen mode for those that don’t like to be distracted when writing. I cannot speak a lot about this upgrade, as I don’t use WordPress’ visual editor, but the blogosphere has agreed that it’s a vast improvement over previous versions.

WordPress 2.5 RC1 is available for download. For a more in-depth review of the new features, Matt Mullenweg published a post on the WordPress Blog, and Aaron Brazell has an amazing outline of the new features, which inspired me to write up this article regarding WordPress 2.5.

Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp

Recently, I received a package in the mail from BSW USA, totally expectedly. As usual, I am very grateful for what was in the this package. But before I reveal the contents of the parcel, let me give you a little background on why the item in the package is of particular use to me.

Obviously, there were many things that I learned after holding the Apple Universe LIVE at Macworld 2008 event that I organized. The main lesson is that I need a bigger mixer, but right now that’s beside the point (and mixers are rather expensive). The matter being emphasized here is that guests at events like mine need to monitor themselves, usually through headphones. Monitoring helps speakers feel more confident about how they are speaking into the microphones (or, for example, singing, at a concert), which results in much better recordings. The problem: My mixer (Alesis MultiMix 8 USB) only has one headphone jack, so only one person (usually me 😉 ) can monitor the mix at a time.

The solution: The Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp that I got from BSW. This small device is basically a pro-quality version of those headphone Y-splitters that everyone uses with their iPods. The headphone amp connects to one of the outputs of my mixer, and four sets of headphones connect to the deck-sized box. This way, if possible interviewees live close by, they could come to my “studio” and record here, and both provide and receive high quality audio, instead of burning bandwidth on Skype (of course, we can blame ComCast for that).

Another package will be coming later this week, with a lots more fun goodies and gadgets. All of this new gear is proudly donated, so thank you very much donars!

~Daniel

Video: STS-123 Shuttle Launch

One of my greatest friends, and one of the smartest people I have met in technology is Ben Higginbotham. Ben not only knows a lot of technology, and how things work, but about astronomy. Ben has been a huge fan of astronomy ever since I have met him.

Ben worked very hard on this hobby, and I felt that his work is well worth sharing with everyone. Ben live streamed on UStream.tv the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor! Here is the clip from Ben’s stream:

http://ustream.tv/rqyzo0QgnMfsMyUP0gNj8g.usv

Ben has a blog up for his space podcast, called SpaceVidCast. Check it out!

Born Again Mac User Podcast

Marcelo Lewin of the Born Again Mac User Podcast (part of The Digital Media Dude network) recently brought me on his for an interview. It was a great honor to be on the show. The episode was about switching from Microsoft Windows to the amazing Mac OS X. The two co-hosts, Marcelo, a.k.a. “Rabbi Marcelo” and John Devine, a.k.a. “Reverend John” got really into it, so did I, and they really did a great job co-hosting the show. You can find the episode on the Born Again Mac User Podcast site.We had a blast talking about my switch, and also some problems that occurred. Here are the interview questions, for quick reference:

  • Tell us about yourself.
  • Tell us about your podcasts.
  • Why did you switch to Mac?
  • Mac or PC in school?
  • What was the best thing about the conversion process?
  • What’s been the worst thing about converting?
  • Biggest conversion surprise?
  • What’s the best Mac convert resource?
  • Is there anything from Windows that you miss?
  • What’s your favorite Mac app?

The Digital Media Dude network has other podcasts that I think you will enjoy. Check it out – you might learn something cool!

Daniel’s New Toy

Daniel has a new “toy”. Daniel likes his new toy. Daniel will take his new toy to many places. Daniel needs to stop talking in the third-person now.

After tweeting and recording a Qik video about this, it is time to announce my new toy. My school isn’t the richest school in the world, but we do have great sports, music, and of course, academics. One thing that our school does lack is a laptop for every student.

If you remember, from a very long time ago, on the Apple Universe Podcast LIVE event at my high school, the computer lab aide, Mrs. Bandong, joined me to talk tech. I came to the computer lab, like I regularly do at school, and noticed a tablet-like computer on her desk. My curious self brought me this machine.

The little handheld computer is called the Nova5000, and is made by Fourier Systems. The Nova5000 runs the Windows CE operating system, and includes an absolutely amazing plethora of ports! Here’s a list of the Nova’s external connections:

  • Ethernet port 10/100-Built-in WiFi 802.11g
  • 3 female USB 1.1 ports, for connecting a keyboard, mouse, flash drive, etc.
  • 1 male USB port for Microsoft ActiveSync (to synchronize the handheld with a desktop Windows computer)
  • CompactFlash memory card slot
  • Headphone and microphone jacks
  • Built-in audio speaker (Mono)
  • 12-bit / 8 input scientific probe sensor interface
  • VGA monitor port

Now you are thinking about what this has to do with me, Daniel. Well, Mrs. Bandong was incredibly generous and actually gave me the Nova5000! I would like to thank Mrs. Bandong very much for donating this handheld to me.

Since the Nova500 has both a mic and headphone jack, I might use it in taking podcasting on the road with me, but we’ll see what happens. I managed to get a number of good pictures of the Nova handheld, which are posted here for your perusal:

Nova5000

Nova5000

Nova5000

You can find the rest of the photos over at my Flickr account.

Twitter Updates for 2008-02-18

  • @DonMcAllister: Thanks a lot Don! There are a lot more changes to come 🙂 #
  • Done! http://www.appleuniversepodcast.com/ #
  • Typical Mac User Podcast @ http://www.talkshoe.com #
  • On phone with PayPal… #
  • PayPal support is stupid #
  • New Blog Post: http://tinyurl.com/2jaavj #
  • @gdrage: you still there? #
  • @gdrage: whats your AIM? #
  • @SpencerC: yes… #
  • @SpencerC: one sec…let my reply #
  • @dsifry: I also think so… #
  • Opening iChat…bye bye Adium #
  • Shower… #
  • @Scobleizer: Over here….why do you keep on copying Facebook? #
  • Taking the laptop, and going to bed….good night from the PowerMac G5! #
  • Going to work #
  • At the office…replying to TONS of emails 🙂 #
  • My sister doesn’t like the fact that I don’t have school today…but I like it 🙂 I am at the Qik office, baby! #
  • I might be getting a new Mac soon….very soon #
  • @macmaniapodcast" that is for me to know, and for you to find out soon #
  • @jonathandavies: I know what I might be getting, but its up to one person #
  • @David_Ford: haha…a no 😛 #
  • I’m streaming live right now, come chat! http://qik.com/video/9041 #
  • I’m streaming live right now, come chat! http://qik.com/video/9042 #
  • @SpencerC: : what? #
  • I am adding 1GB of Ram to the PowerBook G4….yay 🙂 #
  • @SpencerC: maybe #
  • @Chris24: I wonder who gave you that…. 😛 #
  • @CaliLewis: You are a super star 🙂 #
  • Going to lunch with the team… #
  • Back from lunch… #
  • Video editing with @shooby #
  • @michaelper22: I can’t comment on that…..yet #
  • Trying to run GarageBand on my Mac…ya right! #
  • @stuhelm: oh ya….I need one really badly #
  • @michaelper22: dont’ worry about it now #
  • Conference Call in 5 min #
  • @: sure thing #
  • @SpencerC: sure thing 🙂 #
  • @Chris24: phew…thank god 🙂 Have fun with it #
  • @guitarplayr82: sure thing 🙂 #
  • @Chris24: Enjoying Frenzic? #
  • @Chris24: No problem…blog about it and say where you got it from 🙂 #
  • @superic: thats where we went during MacWorld! #
  • Going to circut city…buying a Mini DV camera… #
  • @David_Ford: no….for Qik #
  • @patphelan: awesome! We should meet up! #

Twitter Updates for 2008-02-17

New Apple Universe Web Site

The time has come! The Apple Universe Podcast is now LIVE at http://www.appleuniversepodcast.com! It has been a long journey, and all of the work has been more than worthwhile. I just want to take a minute to introduce the team, and share a little background about each member.

Richard Escobedo – Executive Web Architect, Executive Director of Web Design

Richard joined the Apple Universe team in late January of 2008 to help oversee the development of the Apple Universe Website. Richard comes to Apple Universe as an avid tech blogger, web developer, and entrepreneur. He is CEO of his own media company, Richard Escobedo Networks, as well as Founder of SunFox, a multi-platform web based e-mail client. Richard brings a year of WordPress development, knowledge, and creativity to the table, as well as over two years of design and web development experience. Richard loves playing football, in fact he’s been starting on the ‘A’ team for the past two years, and plans on playing JV football his freshman year; in addition, he enjoys watching movies, and reading. For more info about Richard, check out his blog, which he writes in prolifically, or drop him a line via e-mail at richard@appleuniversepodcast.com.

Michael Perlman – Blog Editor

Michael Perlman is a technology lover who maintains several Web sites and produces a podcast of his own, and appreciates the occasional ski trip. Michael joined Apple Universe in January of 2008, and has worked with Daniel as the editor on Daniel’s blog. Michael lives in New York City, and is currently a junior in high school. Michael can be contacted through the contact page on his site (and also via various instant messaging protocols, as outlined on that page; he just asks that you mention you found him on the Apple Universe Web site).

Mike Cohen – Server Engineering

Mike joined the Apple Universe Web Team in January of 2008. Mike is the person responsible for the server and hosting of Apple Universe. Mike is a truly a great member of the team, and a much appreciated asset. Mike is a software developer and web designer based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with over 20 years of programming experience in C, C++, Objective C, PHP, MySQL, Java, Visual Basic, and AppleScript. Mike specializes in Macintosh and Linux, but also has experience with Windows. Currently, Mike works for Absolute Software developing security and asset management products for the Mac. Mike also runs the popular Apple news site, MacMegasite, for which Daniel is one of the lead writers. Mike can be contacted via email.

Once again, thank you very much to the team all your help.

Visitors, let us know what you think of the web site. Myself and the team work hard to meet your expectations, and we definitely want to hear from you. Leave a comment, or drop a line at the contact page.