Found on the South Bank today. I think it expresses how we all feel. Simon and Jessica, we would all like a third series please.

Thanks to Andy for taking the photo with his digicam.

I am certainly enjoying the iMac. There are things it does really well, which are unsurprisingly mostly graphics and audio based.

Here are some of the things I've found in my first week of using a Mac.

Keyboard

The hash key is missing. Is this a big deal? Yes, if you program at all. The default mapping requires you to press ALT+3 to get the hash symbol. Crazy.

Thankfully, a kind soul has remapped the keys to what we expect from a UK keyboard.

Other keys which still confuse me are the page up/down, home/end keys, and that strange one next to the = sign on the number pad.

Web Browser

Mac OSX ships with Safari: A fast browser with lovely RSS integration. However, it lacks the versatility of Firefox. If Safari had Quick Searches and Extensions, I would consider using it as my main browser. As it is, I think I'll use Safari for feed reading and Firefox for everything else.

Terminal

I find that I complete tasks faster on a CLI than using a mouse. Therefore, a good terminal program is required. The built-in Terminal is adequate, but I am currently considering iTerm as an alternative. The main reason for this is tabbed sessions.

Text Editor

I am using vim as my basic editor. For ruby/rails development, I am trying out Textmate. However, it has yet to show me anything which warrants forking out money. It has no feature which it does better than vim or Xcode.

Virtual Desktops

Desktop Manager is a lovely little app which gives me multiple virtual desktops. This is a real boon if screen real estate is at a premium (and when isn't it?)

Ruby

Ruby on Tiger is somewhat crippled. There is no readline or support for extensions. These can be rectified by following/running this script.

Windows on Top

Maybe because Expose is built-in, Apple felt there was no need for this. However, I like being able to set certain windows to be on top of all others. If I'm watching a DVD, I don't want any windows to go on top of the DVD player, even if I move them that way.

Mouse follow and window roll up are other features I've not being able to find yet.

Copy and Paste

I am still getting used to using keys to copy and paste. I'm used to selecting text and pasting it using the middle button.

Here's how I see it. If I'm selecting some text, then I'm probably going to copy it, so why not do that for me? The next place I go to is probably where I want to paste it, so make that the middle mouse button click. This is how it works in Linux.

A Mac user pointed out that maybe they wanted to replace some text, so that's when their key use would be useful. Let's see shall we?

Mac way

1. Select original text (mouse)
2. Cmd + C (keyboard)
3. (if overwriting) Select text to overwrite (mouse)
4. Cmd + V (keyboard)

Linux way

1. Selet original text (mouse)
2. Paste text (mouse)
3. (if overwriting) Select text to overwrite (mouse)
4. (if overwriting) Delete (keyboard)

Note that the text to overwrite is now stored in my clipboard, should I choose to paste it elsewhere. The Linux way requires fewer steps and less attention switching from mouse to keyboard.

Dashboard

Apps that you use occasionally, but you want up fast. For example, a calculator or dictionary. Pressing F12 brings up the apps ready to use, on a transparent background.

Expose

Fancy window handling:

• F9 displays all the currently active windows
• F10 shows you all the active windows in your current application
• F11 makes all the windows slip off the screen

Holding down the key for longer makes it spring back. If you tap it then you'll stay in that view. You can also make it go in slow motion by holding down the shift key as you do your actions. Actually that's applicable to any window action - try minimizing while pressing shift.

RSS Screen Saver

Brilliant. It looks good and is very practical. Obviously there are more things I'd like it to do. Multiple random feeds. Different colours and styles. Ability to go back and forth. Timing. But I'm just getting picky.

Conclusion

No machine is going to be perfect. No shift from one OS to another is going to happen without some change and compromises. There are some annoyances and some gems. Most of the problems I've encountered have had solutions. Overall, I'm pleased with the iMac and would consider Apple for future machine purchases.

Venue: Vue, North Finchley

A retelling of the Batman story, this time focusing on his earlier years (hence the title). Bruce Wayne is found by Qui-Gon Jinn who trains him as a Jedi. After mastering all the Jedi skills, he declines an offer to join the dark side of the Force. Bale was stuck with the Batman character (playboy or broody), which is actually quite a one-dimensional character. He did quite well, except for his overdone scary Batman voice. Caine's Alfred was fun, but I didn't quite buy it. Katie Holmes shows that she is quite a capable actress, if she starts getting more grown up roles.

Morgan Freeman must have requested the role he played - basically Q to Bale's Bond. Gary Oldman played Jim Gordon to a tee. Cillian Murphy played the creepy Dr Crane with just the right amount of creep. Oldman and Murphy gave the best performances in the film.

This version comes much closer to the Batman portrayed in Frank Miller's Dark Knight, than Burton or Shumacher managed. A very good thing. I especially liked the attention payed to the logistics of being Batman, the other films failed to address. Exactly how do you get all that cool gear, with Batman insignia, without anyone pegging your secret identity?

The last episode of Doctor Who aired last night. Brilliant.

Christopher Eccleston has sadly given up the mantle to David Tennant. I really liked the energy which he gave the Doctor. I trust Tennant to continue what Eccleston started. After the awful Sylvester McCoy, and the short-lived far too serious Paul McGann, he was a welcome breath of fresh air. I think he's up there with Tom Baker.

Even if you have never watched Doctor Who before, you can get into it with this series. Unlike the not very scary McCoy episodes, these are properly scary with just the right amount of fun. The BBC have already commissioned two more seasons and a Christmas special. The Doctor is definitely back.

Due to the recent demise of my Sony VAIO laptop, I now have a shiny new iMac.

I decided to go for the 20" iMac G5, as this is a computer I intend on using for a good few years. Of course, I went for the wireless keyboard and mouse option, so there is only one wire: the power supply. The only thing I still have to do is upgrade the RAM to 2GB. I am reluctant to pay Apple more than double the price that Crucial charge!

I am still getting to know this computer and Mac OS X, but I like what I have seen so far. I am still using Ubuntu at work, so it should be fun to compare the two.

Last night, I went to my first poi spinning class in Camden.

I picked up some poi when I was in Brighton a couple of weeks ago. After trying to do some tricks, it became apparent that I needed a teacher. So, I found this poi spinning course, which runs every 6 weeks, and signed up immediately. There are about ten of us on this course, and we easily fill the hall we are using. Our teacher is a friendly New Zealander who looks just like the girl in the book. Besides making it look easy, she explains tricks in multiple ways as we all learn differently.

Carry-turns were a nice easy start. Shoulder reels followed, which I could do last night, but are proving a little more difficult now. And finally, the Weave: a trick I've been trying to do for the past couple of weeks. I think I cracked it tonight.

I spent my lunch break practising in the park, amusing onlookers by whacking myself in the head. Repeatedly.