Nate's Blog

2011-07-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION ALL NATE'S BLOG FANS! THIS IS TO INFORM YOU ABOUT MY PERMANENT SWITCH TO WORDPRESS. AFTER MUCH CONSIDERATION, I DECIDED THAT WORDPRESS WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE TO HOST MY BLOG AS IT OFFERS BETTER FEATURES AND CUSTOMIZATION.

LINK: http://www.nathannitz.wordpress.com

Short Link: http://www.nathannitz.co.cc

My computer and gadget collection

2011-03-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

History is an important and fascination topic to know and learn about. I personally enjoy History class at school the most, but that's just me. I think it's cool to learn about events from the past.

There are many kinds of history. There's history like government and history about a country or a person, but there's also computer history. There have been huge events in the history of computers since they were invented. There isn't a "1st computer", and it is really hard to call any computing device the 1st computer. There are computers though that include new technology or are 1st's in the computing category, such as Konrad Zuse's Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computing machine.

There is one company though that has a lot of history in it though : Apple Inc. Apple was formed back in April of 1976. Originally called Apple Computer Inc, the company later removed the word Computer in 2007 so they could focus more on their portable devices, such as the iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

There really is a lot to learn about Apple's history, so I won't explain much of it, but I do have some cool computers from Apple's history, and a cool portable gadget from the PC market as well.

The coolest gadget I probably have is the Apple Newton - eMate 300. The Newton line was Apple's 1st line of PDAs (portable digital assistants). Apple introduced the newton line in 1993, and the eMate was introduced in 1997. The eMate was designed for school markets, hence the letter "e", which apple uses for their education products. The eMac was also made for schools, but has been discontinued.

The eMate could be considered apple's "netbook of the 90's." It runs the Newton OS. It has a touchscreen, grayscale backlit screen. It has a keyboard, and a PC-Card slot for expansion. It also has a headphone jack and 2 connection ports to an old Mac system. This is pretty much obsolete nowadays. I have only played around typing and using its drawing program. It comes in a blue sturdy case, and the hinge feels very durable. The keyboard is designed to be spill-proof. It has a carrying handle built-in to the top of the case as well.

I purchased this item mainly for the collector's purpose, and I thought it looked really cool. And hey, it was only $30.00 for both the eMate and Power Adapter (usually more expensive), so I used the opportunity to get a piece of cool apple history.

Pics of this and more on my computer collection soon.

-Nathan :-)

Congrats Packers!

2011-01-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers in their NFC Championship victory over the Chicago Bears, which leads them to Super Bowl XLV!

iMac G4, Apple History, and Other Tech Stuff

2011-01-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today, January 19, 2011, I received my iMac G4! I also received the Apple Pro Speakers that go along with the iMac. Before I talk about my G4, lets get some background info about the G4 iMac. At Macworld in 2002, Apple introduced the iMac G4 to the world. The iMac G4 was revolutionary, incorporating technologies never seen in Apple's desktop line. It featured a 15" LCD, 700 or 800Mhz G4 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 2MX 32MB graphics, a 40GB Hard Drive, all in a half-spherical shaped case. The screen with its adjustable arm was probably the most unique part of the whole computer. The screen is attached to an arm, which is attached to the base. It can be rotated 90° in either direction from the center position (180° total). The arm could also be moved up or down, while keeping the screen in the same position as it was put in. In certain positions, it would appear as if the screen were floating in midair. Through the iMac G4's 2 1/2 year run, it was upgraded with many new features and enhancements. A 20" screen model was added in 2003. USB 2.0 was introduced. Faster CPU speeds were added, while the older speeds were phased out. Speeds up to 1.25Ghz were used in the iMac G4. Higher RAM amounts were added. Overall, this was a shaky ground that Apple was treading on, but they had created a perfect computer. One that "would be the end to CRTs", as stated by Steve Jobs.

Now to my iMac G4. My iMac is in the last "set" of iMacs, from September 2003-August 2004. It has a 1.0Ghz processor, 768MB RAM (up to 1gb officially), 80GB hard drive, and Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It came with an Apple Keyboard, and a white Apple Pro Mouse. I installed iLife '06 on it, and I plan on putting some more software on it in the future. I purchased the Apple Pro Speakers that go along with it, and they sound beautiful. I don't think I have ever heard sound that good coming from a 2.0 sound configuration. The 2nd place would be my Klipsch Promedia speakers. They were designed to go with a subwoofer, but that broke. The bass is really good on them, even without the sub. That's for another post though. Back to the iMac. Like I said, the speakers sound really good. The 15" LCD is really clear and bright, and it would be great for photo or video editing. I have iLife, which includes iMovie HD, iPhoto, iWeb, and iDVD on it. The iDVD won't work without a SuperDrive, or a compatible external DVD-RW drive. The mac has a combo drive in it, which will work fine. This computer is noticeably faster than my 10-year old iMac G3. I love this computer, and I will be creating a review video for it soon. There will also be more tech-related articles and videos coming soon, so stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone on the web! I plan on posting more during the 2011 year, and hope to start and work on some new projects this year also, so check back soon!

-Nate

Microsoft DreamSpark: Free Student Software

2010-12-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

The other day I was browsing the web and I came across a Microsoft site called DreamSpark. It is a website where students and teachers can get Microsoft software for FREE. This is legal. The website belongs to Microsoft. To get some of the software you need a Windows Live account (hotmail, msn, live ID). You login on the site using it, then you have to verify that you are a student or teacher. You go through the process of doing that, and once that is completed, you are able to download software that you normally have to pay a lot for FREE! I had to contact Microsoft to get verified because my school wasn't listed, but they sent me an activation code, and I was able to verify. To download software in the future, you have to use the same Live ID that you verified with, otherwise you can't download certain software. There is a large list of stuff to choose from, and each software is easily identifiable by its logo. You just click it and then you can download.

My Laptop: Compaq Presario M2000

2010-07-29T23:03:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, July 22 I got my new laptop, a Compaq Presario M2000. This laptop is from 2004-2005 and was made by HP (Compaq was aquired by HP). There were different models to this laptop. I know that there were Pentium/Centrino models and models with a card reader built-in. Mine doesn't have a Pentium CPU but I can add a card reader using the PC-Card Slot. Here are the Specs:
-CPU: Intel Celeron Mobile 1.4 GHz
-RAM: 1GB
-Hard Drive: 40GB
-DVD/CD-RW Drive
-15" LCD screen
-2 USB 2.0 Slots
-Mini 1394 (FireWire) Port
-VGA-Out
-PC Card/PCMCIA Slot
-Headphone/Mic ports
-JBL Pro Speakers
-No built-in Webcam or Microphone

Installed Software:
-Windows XP Professional
-McAfee Total Protection 2010
-Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise
-Microsoft Works 8
-Sonic RecordNow!
-InterVideo WinDVD 5
-CCleaner
-The Logo Creator
-ACID Xpress 7
-Paint.NET
-KRISTAL Audio Engine (Digital Audio Workstation)

note: picture is stock photo, not my laptop

Farewell My Netbook

2010-07-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today (July 13) I sold my ASUS Eee PC netbook. I sold it on Craigslist for $100 (a Benjamin!!!). The sale included the netbook, charger, manuals, Free netbook travel kit, and a software essentials cd. I am happy that it is going to a good home and to good people. I will miss its small size and portability but I will find a laptop (or a desktop Mac) that I will enjoy also. I have had it for about a 1/2 year and got some good use out of it. It played Hulu and YouTube well, ran Facebook, Gmail, and USTREAM.TV webcasting well. I enjoyed using the netbook but I wanted a larger screen so I am planning on buying a laptop (Mac preferably). I will consider a newer desktop PC or a Mac instead though. I have been scouring Milwaukee Craigslist and eBay for a replacement. Overall I would buy a netbook again as long as it had more hard drive space and a larger screen. I like netbooks, but you cant fully replace a laptop with a netbook.

SonFest 2010 at NWBC

2010-07-06T13:21:00.001-07:00

Once again at Northwest Baptist Church we will be
doing SonFest 2010! SonFest at Northwest is a
huge event! There are many things to do such as: outdoor games, prize raffles, Live Music by the Northwest Baptist Worship Team, Cookout Lunch, and much more! Check out the video below from the 2005 SonFest:

SonFest 2005 Slideshow

Visit NWBC’s site at www.northwestbaptist.com.

New iPhone Leaked, Microsoft's Kin, and other Tech Related Things

2010-04-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Nathannitz.tk Followers,
Check out my new tech related site. The new blog is for everything that has to do with technology, such as conputers, phones, etc. You can check it our here or go to http://www.techwizard1.wordpress.com/ to see articles on such things as the new leaked iPhone and Microsoft Kin. You can also get the latest info about the webshow that my friend Nathan and I do. Check it out! :)

Celebrate Easter at Northwest Baptist Church!

2010-03-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

VISIT OUR CHURCH ON EASTER WEEKEND TO ENJOY ALL OF THE EVENTS THAT

ARE LISTED ABOVE IN THE EVENTS LIST. ENJOY!!!

Check Out Our Webshow Saturday/Sunday

2010-02-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Just letting you know to check out my webshow this Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon. My friend Nathan and I originally created a webshow back in 2008 called Nitz Sports Fanzone. In late 2009 we decided to change the show from just sports related to an everything webshow. The new name is Live Time With Nath@n-X2. We broadcast using USTREAM.TV and use ManyCam for effects and other stuff. Click HERE to go to our show! We will broadcast at 11:00 pm Saturday Night and at 1:45 pm Sunday. Make sure to check us out Sunday because we have a special NASCAR Daytona 500 Special Webcast! HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

(Click Picture For Link To Our WebShow)

My New Review

2009-12-23T15:51:00.001-08:00

I am going to start my review for restaurants around Milwaukee/Southeastern Wisconsin. Sometimes I will even review places from other cities if I am out of town. I am still thinking about a name for it but I am thinking of calling it one of these names:
-Nathan's Plate
-Nate's Plate
-What's on Nathan's Plate?
-What's for Dinner?
-What's on the Menu?
-Dining with Nathan
-The Nitz Review

COMMENT ON WHICH ONE IS THE BEST!

P.S. - Merry Christmas From Nathan Nitz

Winter Storm - Dec. 8-9

2009-12-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Last week Tuesday (12/8) and Wednesday (12/9) we had a winter storm blow through. They predicted snow amounts up to 1 foot. We didn't get that much here in Tosa. From the internet and TV it looked like every school in southeast Wisconsin was closed except for Milwaukee Public Schools, Wauwatosa Public Schools, and possibly some others. The reason is that there wasn't enough snow in our area and Milwaukee schools stayed open which means Tosa Schools will also stay open usually. CHECK OUT THE PICTURES OF THE STORM!

RADAR FROM STORM IS BELOW:

2009-10-23T05:18:00.001-07:00

» Get your own FREE music player

The Hunger Games - Susanne Collins

2009-10-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Over the past 2 weeks I have been reading a book called The Hunger Games by Susan Collins. I would rate this book a 10/10. The 2nd book called Catching Fire recently came out and I want to read that one too. This book takes place in the country of Panem which lies where the US used to be. It is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. The reaping is when each district chooses a boy and girl tribute to compete in the Hunger Games. Then the 24 children/teens go into an arena and fight for the Death. The main character is Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark (see pics). They are both from District 12 and are the 2 tributes. I won't give away any more of the story so you will just have to read it to find out what happens.

Trip to the R/C Aircraft Park in Milwaukee

2009-09-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

I was at my mom and stepdad's house last weekend (Sept. 19-20). We did many fun things. The thing that I enjoyed the most I think was going to the Milwaukee County R/C Air Field. We went on the right weekend too because they had their own R/C Fly-in that weekend. We saw all kinds of planes. We even saw a jet and a helicopter! These R/C planes aren't like the kind you can buy at a Toys-R-Us. These are bigger, are fuel or electric powered, and come in different types of material (plastic, wood, Foam, etc.). We had lots of fun there and spent about 2-2 1/2 hours there.

SEE PICTURES/VIDEOS I POSTED OF THIS TRIP!!!

My first Post!

2009-09-06T12:45:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my Blog/Site! This is my first post and I will be customizing my blog and will be posting more later.