Nothing is every easy with computers. I ordered an Apple Airport Express, the little WiFi gizmo that has an audio out jack. You take it anywhere in the house, and you can plug it into your stereo, a pair of powered speakers, etc. The music from iTunes magically comes out of it. Very neat. I run the CD with the software, and it says I need to be as OSX 10.3 or later, and I'm at 10.2.8. So close. I guess this is a reason to upgrade to Tiger (10.4). So I make a run to the Apple Store to buy Tiger. I get it home, and it won't install. I have a problem with my disk. I run the Disk Utility, and it says I have a problem it can't fix. Lovely. So I've ordered Diskwarrior by overnight delivery. I'll try again tomorrow. Hopefully it will be able to fix it.
The one really good thing from my trip to the Apple Store is that I bought a new pair of powered speakers, to replace those little balls that come with an iMac. They are the StudioPro 4 from M-Audio. They were sitting a little forlornly on the bottom shelf. The guy in the Apple Store really didn't want to sell them to me. "They're monitors for a keyboard - not for listening to music." He showed me a number of sub-woofer/satellite combos that didn't do much for me. Eventually I convinced him that it would be OK to buy them, and I'm very glad I did. They're sturdy little mini-monitor speakers, with a 4" woofer. The stuff coming out of iTunes sounds like *music* now, instead of a vague approximation. In audiophile speak, they commit errors of omission, not commission. They actually have a sound-stage that isn't half bad for $145. They don't play terribly loud (they're 18W), and they don't have a lot of low bass. But they make music, which is high compliment indeed.
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