1. Insert a blank DVD into your SuperDrive


Insert a blank DVD and select "Open Finder" as your "Action"

2. The Finder will pop up a window asking you to select an action. Choose “Open Finder” in the “Action” menu.
   1. If this window does not appear and some other application automatically starts, you will have to hold down the “Option” key on insert.
   2. If no other application launches when you insert a blank disc, you probably selected “Open Finder” as your default action and you can move on to the next step.


Select the "Untitled DVD" under "Places"

3. A Finder window will appear, with a new entry called “Untitled DVD” in the “Places” list. This is your workspace, and you will use it to create your DVD image.
   

   Drag and drop files or folders from other Finder windows

   1. Drag and drop files or folders here and an alias will be created
   2. You can create folders here as in any normal Finder location and can organize your files in them
   

   Watch the status bar to keep from over-filling the DVD

   3. Note the line at the bottom, which lets you know how much space is left for files
   4. If you are organizing aliases in folders, you must click on another “place” then back to the “Untitled DVD” item under “Places” to force a recalculation of capacity used/available
4. You can rename the disc by right- or option-clicking the Untitled DVD in Places and selecting “Get Info”. Give it a new name, but leave the “.fpbf” extension.


Click "burn" when you're ready to go

5. When you’re ready, click the “burn” icon under Places or select “Burn” under the “gear” menu.


Select the speed or rename your disc here

6. You can rename the disc or select burn speed in the next window. Click “Burn” again and wait while your disc is created!

Once you get used to the process, burning a DVD in Mac OS X is a painless and simple matter. But it’s not exactly self-explanatory!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | How To Create a Data DVD Using Only the Mac OS X Finder
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Remember when we said there was no future? Well, this is it.

I’m not talking about Joss Whedon’s masterful Firefly; I’m talking about the 1987 series, Max Headroom. If you’re not familiar with the series, you may be recoiling slightly in post-traumatic 1980′s stress at the thought of Coca Cola’s overexposed pitchman being associated with anything positive. But you really ought to give it a chance. The show is simply amazing.

20 Minutes Into The Future…

Although the show’s tagline indicates a near-future setting, its dystopian internal history suggests otherwise. Regardless of intent, the universe of Max is awful yet eerily familiar. Corporations have risen to exert ultimate control over a population where the rich have everything and the poor eat rats and live in the streets. Yet everyone is united in a cult of media, itself serving a few mighty advertisers.

Watching the 1987 production today is truly revealing. Some elements are laughably dated (the computer graphics, bulky electronics, and wardrobe especially) but the issues raised are remarkably prescient. A recurring theme of the series is the meaning and value of identity and the intriguing possibility of discarding it to become a “blank.” Other pertinent topics tackled include biomedical technology and bioethics, censorship, and the role of corporations. Throughout, the series challenges our assumptions of the role of individuals in a world of corporations.

Let’s make one thing clear: Although the show itself doesn’t need him, it would never have been made without the character of Max Headroom. The artificially-intelligent construct of reporter Edison Carter is at once obnoxious, poignant, childlike, and challenging. Although 1980′s technology did not allow him to actually be computer-generated, his character is much better used here than the countless commercials, music videos, and merchandising of the era would suggest.

Bryce Lynch introduces Edison to Max

If individuality and identity is the central plot line of the series, the dual character of meatspace Edison Carter and cyberspace Max Headroom is its driver. Max is not Pinocchio – he wants to be himself, not a real boy. And Edison is a surprisingly complex character, a self-interested boor who genuinely cares about the people around him. Max/Edison is supported by a memorable cast: Theora Jones, brilliant, beautiful, and caring; Murray, the producer who sits between Edison and the Network as represented by Cheviot and Grossberg; the viscious Breugel and Mahler; amoral boy genius Bryce Lynch; and the Blanks, Reg, Dominique and the rest. Lurking behind is the disappointingly stereotypical money-driven Ped Xing and his Zik-Zak corporation.

Although an obviously-limited production budget makes it feel somewhat tinny and empty today, it holds up remarkably well. The cast of Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambot, and the rest are solid if not as consistently-brilliant as W. Morgan Sheppard as Blank Reg. The pre-CGI models used for establishing shots are charmingly trashy, and the use of actual CGI was groundbreaking at a time when the Amiga ruled the world. The cyberpunk props seem ripped from the pages of mid-1990′s issues of Wired, but of course the inspiration runs in the opposite direction. Despite some retro feel, Max Headroom delivers solid entertainment and real intellectual meat.

Max and Me

The Max Headroom series came about just at the right time for me. I was solidly in my teens at the time, devouring the work of Harlan Ellison and J. D. Salinger, and beginning to question the reality of my middle-class American world. Max was cool in 1987, but the show surprised me with its dark center. It bridged pop culture to Philip K. Dick just as it bridges Blade Runner to The Matrix.

Having just purchased a VCR, I had the forethought to record the series as it aired, not knowing it would be 23 years before an official release. As the series wore on and was eventually cancelled, I came to see these tapes as the prized possessions they would soon become. As the years passed, I pressed friends to give Max a try, and college showings brought serious discussion among the WPI gweeps.

My Max Headroom DVD set was a placeholder until this official release

Max was not totally forgotten, of course. It re-aired on Bravo, the Sci-Fi channel, and TechTV as late as 2001. Prodded by friends, I even produced my own DVD set of the complete series, sending these to friends at cost. I found myself at the center of the Max faithful, all of us wishing for a real DVD release. But it seemed that time had moved on and forgotten the series.

DVD Release

Astonishingly, 2010 brought news of an official release, and Amazon delivered my copy yesterday. Max Headroom: The Complete Series is a 5-DVD set, featuring all 14 episodes along with a special-features disc. The slim set features a lenticular cover and brief booklet with an essay by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, of LOST and The Middleman.

The video quality is probably as good as the (videotaped) source material would allow, and the vintage synth soundtrack is crystal clear. The episodes appear to be presented full-length (TechTV mercilessly chopped them) and the full opening and closing credits are intact. Even Max’s post episode monologue is presented.

ABC split the series in three parts, airing six episodes in the Spring of 1987, five more in the Fall, two more the following Spring, and leaving one unaired. The DVD presents the episodes in this original air order, but I suggest following the production schedule instead. It resolves some odd questions (when would Theora have had time to tell Bryce about her brother?) and results in a more-satisfying arc.

The original British Max Headroom movie darker still

Sadly absent from this DVD release is the original British Channel 4 TV movie, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. It presented an even-darker view of the first episode before the series was produced, replacing much of the cast. Shout! Factory, producers of this DVD set, claim that the original film elements have been lost and a DVD produced from the standard-definition tapes remaining would not have satisfied fans. I will continue to treasure my own DVD copy!

Stephen’s Stance

Max Headroom is astonishingly solid, holding up well after 23 years. It’s well worth the watch for anyone interested in science and technology issues, provided they can stomach Max himself. I highly recommend purchasing Max Headroom: The Complete Series!

I will be reviewing and commenting on the episodes over the coming months. I suggest subscribing to me “All Posts” or “Personal” feeds so you can follow along! I’ll be using my preferred episode order:

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Like Dystopian Cyberpunk Fiction? You’ll Love Max Headroom on DVD! Really!
This post was categorized as Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

It amuses me to think of the statistics:

• We have 11,284 tracks stored, including 279 Christmas songs and 549 kids songs!
• Most songs were ripped using LAME at the VBR3 setting in joint stereo
• This music library takes up 58 GB of storage on my NSLU2/Firefly server
• The jewel cases take up six large cardboard boxes, but the original discs take up just two fat CD storage books

We’ve quickly adapted to a hierarchical model for home music distribution.  The main server has everything, so our two Roku Soundbridge players play directly from it.  But we also use iTunes on three machines, and have imported a subset of the music to each based on personal preference.  From these iTunes implementations, we sync a sub-subset to our iPods – a 40 GB click wheel, two iPhones, and two Shuffles.

Although our TiVos can play MP3 files over the network, we don’t bother.  It just seems wrong to turn on the TV to listen to music…  Similarly, we don’t use Windows Media Player for much of anything, even though it’s compatible with the Soundbridges and media server.

We listen to a lot more Internet Radio than I thought we would, too.  Sometimes we’ll even tune in WKSU over the Internet rather than hoping for good FM reception.  And I’m listening to WBUR a lot again, too.

I’ve also started to rip DVDs to watch on the iPhone, and am storing these on the NSLU2 too.   Add in the iPhone versions created automatically by TiVo Desktop Plus, and I’m amassing a large collection of H.264 media.  In fact, I’ve already got 50 GB of H.264 video stored up there!  Makes me want to go get an Apple TV so I can easily watch it at home.  Is the end of the DVD coming soon, too?

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2007. | No More CDs
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