Back From a long hiatus… October 26, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Apple, Mac, Macbook Pro, Omnioutliner, OSX.Tags: Apple, Macbook Pro, Omnioutliner, Time Machine
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Hey folks, it’s been awhile. With school back in full swing, I haven’t had much time for posting, but I’ve had plenty of time to use my MBP and offer some more feedback. In addition, the new version of Mac OSX, Leopard, is now available to the general public. The initial reviews for Apple’s new OS have been overwhelmingly positive, and I’m looking forward to receiving my free copy in the mail (thank you Student Developer Program!).
Moving on, I’ve recently been toying around with taking all of my notes digitally, and the good news for mac owners is the app that I have found works best you will probably already have installed on your machine. Omnioutliner, produced by the amazing guys over at The Omni group, is a simple yet powerful outlining program that’s great for class notes, to-do lists, and even writing novels. This program makes it very easy to take detailed notes in my classes, and has the added bonus of being dynamically searchable (similar to spotlight), so that when I want to go back and review for an exam, all I have to do is type in the first few letters of the term or concept I’m looking for, and it takes me right to it. I’d gladly pay the $40 for the software, but the fact that it comes bundled with all new macs (as of Tiger, not sure about the new Leopard software kits) gives you all the more reason to open your Apps folder and give it a whirl.
Speaking of time-saving apps, here’s a simple yet effective app in the most unlikely of places…backups. SuperDuper! (despite the somewhat lame name ;p) is actually one of the best backup apps I’ve ever used, for one primary reason: before each backup session, it tells you exactly what it is going to do in plain English. Now, I feel that I’m pretty technically inclined, but when I’m looking at a bricked laptop with a midterm to review for (yes, I did seriously crash my mac to a barely bootable state, but it was entirely my doing…I was messing with the core GUI/studying/watching a movie/eating a sandwich simultaneously…a very bad idea in retrospect), it’s nice to know that the program is accommodating to my panicky state. In one simple step, I hooked up an external hard drive that I rigged from an old IDE internal hard drive, and overnight had it restore my mac to a state prior to the crash. It was refreshingly effective, sort of like what system restore is supposed to do for windows. The rollback was more effective, however, because superduper actually formats the drive first before it moves the stored image back onto the drive, making the end result what you would expect. All in all, a real lifesaver, and worth every penny (read: free). It will be interesting to see how well this program fits in with the new Time Machine feature in Leopard, but I’m sure there will always be a place for third-party backup utilities so long as there are paranoid people like me.
Well, that’s all for now…thanks to those of you who have linked to me, it’s nice to see that my info is useful to some of you out there!
Keeping in sync: the Motorola Q9m and The Missing Sync September 3, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Bluetooth, Macbook Pro, Missing Syc, Motorola Q9m.7 comments
So I’m with Verizon, and my new every two upgrade recently came up for redemption, which meant it was time for a new phone. I had been using the LG VX8100 for the past two years: a great phone, but I wanted to get a little more out of it, namely a way to keep track of all of my class assignments and appointments. My answer came in the form of the Motorola Q9m; the new version of their popular Q smartphone, which was just released in stores this past Wednesday. This new handset runs Windows Mobile 6, and I at first wondered if there was any way for me to sync it with my mac, or if I would have to resort to booting into Vista via Bootcamp in order to keep myself organized.
Fortunately, I found the perfect software solution, and this week’s App of the Week: The Missing Sync. This unique app acts as an interpretor of calendar, to do list, and contact information, syncing the information you enter in iCal and address book on the mac end with the appropriate Windows Mobile apps on your respective phone. The result is surprisingly effective, even with a phone as new as mine, the transition was nearly flawless. The Missing Sync offers numerous connectivity options for the wide variety of phones they support, including wifi, USB, and Bluetooth. To date, I have been syncing exclusively with USB, due to the fact that I have been unable to get bluetooth syncing to work. I have a feeling that this is mainly a pairing problem though, as bluetooth file exchange works between my mbp and my handset.
For those of you who are here about the handset, I have been very satisfied with it so far as a first-time smartphone user. When the initial specs were first released, I was slightly disappointed to see that the components were not the same as the Q9h, which is the GSM version of the phone first announced in Italy. Ultimately though, it hasn’t mattered: the phone is very responsive, and the new keypad is a godsend for texting and message composing compared with the old T9 input. As for battery life, I have more than enough charge to get through the day with moderate call usage and calender input. I can’t comment on performance during web browsing as I had a data block placed on the phone; but I probably will purchase a SD wi-fi card for those rare moments when I don’t have my laptop with me. Feel free to leave your questions about Missing Sync or the Q9m in the comments section of this post, and I will try to answer them as quickly as I can! Cheers!
App of the Week: AppFresh August 27, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in AppFresh, Apple, Mac.add a comment
Time for another installment of App of the Week! The app for this week I actually just found last night, so I haven’t had a great deal of time to test all of its functionality, but from what I’ve seen, it looks quite promising.
AppFresh functions for third-party applications much in the same way that Software Update works for Apple products. When you launch it, it performs an inventory of all of your installed programs, plugins, and even widgets, attempting to match them with the iusethis database to search for updates. The result is quite effective, positively identifying more than 75% of all of my applications and providing accurate information about their version status. The remaining 25% of those applications were not actually apps at all, but rather other items that resided in the apps folder, such as documentation and uninstall prompts, which naturally did not have update options.
So why use this program? While it’s true that a great deal of apps have their own update client built in, many of them aren’t activated unless you prompt them to, or at best remind you of a new version. AppFresh does a comprehensive check of all your apps at the same time, allowing you to pick and choose which updates you want to perform, referring you to the appropriate website for the download. In addition, you have the option of backing up the currently saved versions of your apps, should an update go awry. Though AppFresh is still in beta, it has all of the polish and the functionality of not only a near-finished product, but also one that every mac user should have in their Applications folder.
App of the Week: Quicksilver August 22, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Mac, Macbook Pro, OSX, Quicksilver.1 comment so far
Well, now that I’m finally settled in my new apartment, 5mb cable humming along, it’s time I got back to posting. As promised, today I intend to talk about an app for mac that has changed the way I interact with all of my apps. Of all of the apps that I have looked at both prior to and following my acquisition of my new mac, I can safely say that Quicksilver was the most talked about. At first blush, Quicksilver appears to be nothing more than a glorified app launcher; but if that’s all you wind up using it for, you either: A) don’t really need it, or B) haven’t truly taken the time to understand the genius behind it. I spent one week off and on reading the documentation and watching a brief video tutorial, and I am convinced it’s one of the coolest apps I’ve ever seen as far as “productivity apps” are concerned.
Quicksilver is called up using a simple keyboard hotkey (the default is Ctrl+Space, but I have changed it to Cmd+Space due to how often I use it). From there, you are given a simple box in which you begin to type what you want to do. The behavior of the program is very similar to Spotlight, in that as soon as you start typing, it will anticipate what you want to do. This can be anything from opening other applications and folders, to running scripts. But the real beauty of the program lies in its adaptability; as you use it, you can tell it what actions you use most, and it will tailor itself to those frequently executed actions. All of this while remaining completely invisible, until it is called upon.
Since I started using Quicksilver, I have since started using it as frequently as I use Finder, moving files and folders 6 or 7 branches deep from the home directory by just using keystrokes, and without opening any additional windows. It’s also become an invaluable companion in iTunes, allowing me to easily move to the next track, or even assign tracks to playlists and apply ratings, all without ever bringing iTunes out of a minimized state. My current project with Quicksilver, which is taking some time due to Thunderbird inconsistencies, is to type a brief text message, an email address, and then to send said message, only using Thunderbird briefly for the send prompt. This, and other frequently repeated actions, can be perfected with just a little practice. For those of you on windows who want to see what this experience is like, I suggest you try Launchy.
Well, that’s all for now; if you give Quicksilver a try after reading this, I would be interested in hearing your first impressions of it, and how you use it. Remember, less is more!
Problem, meet solution. August 12, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Apple, Macbook Pro, Magsafe.add a comment
After reading through my last post, I realized that I made it sound like I’ve had a pretty flawless Mac transition, which is not entirely true. While it has certainly been easier than I thought, it has not been without it’s bumps.
In terms of software failure, I have one instance that I can recall in my week’s ownership thus far involving iTunes. I have between 3500 and 4000 tracks that I keep in (loose) rotation, via my ipod and my primary machine, and after many hours of searching prior to my MBP getting here for solutions on how to transfer playcounts and other playlist data, I came to the realization that I was going to have to rebuild my database by hand. I looked at this as an opportunity to weed out all the tracks I didn’t really listen to anymore, and up until today I had filtered through about a third of my collection. When I opened up itunes today, I noticed that all of my tracks had disappeared. I found that I could still play them through shuffle, meaning that my tracks and their paths were intact, but I was unable to continue with my reconstruction. I tried repairing permissions, a common method of fixing random system anomalies, but to no avail. Unable to find any other tips after a brief search on Apple’s itunes forums, I went ahead and reinstalled itunes. Experience told me that if itunes worked that same in OSX as it did in Windows, all of my playlist data would be preserved, even if I reinstalled the program. Sure enough, a reinstall fixed the problem, so no real harm done, other than a little inconvenience.
I have also had a hardware issue that required the assistance of Apple directly involving the Magsafe Power Adapter. The adapter itself is unique from other power adapters in the sense that it attaches to the laptop via a magnet (hence its name), and safely detaches in the event someone trips over the cable. Also, the adapter has a visual indicator for charge, informing the user when the laptop battery is completely charged. My problem arose roughly 3 days into my usage, when I found that the adapter would not charge my MBP and made a rather unusual hissing sound, much like cassette tape feedback. I tried all sorts of suggestions, even to the point of resetting the PRAM and System Management Controller, to no avail. Finally, I found this article on Apple’s website that led me to believe that I had a loose seal on my power adapter (see the picture by step 7 in the link). After speaking with an Apple rep over the phone, they agreed to send me a new power adapter free of charge in about a week, which was an agreeable outcome. Of course, the adapter hasn’t given me any trouble since then (typical of Moore’s law of tech), but it’s nice to know that I’ll have a fresh adapter to use in time for the school year.
So that’s been the worst of it, and compared with the two power supply failures and hard drive failure (a week before finals, I might add) in the time I used my windows desktop, I’ll take an easily replaceable power adapter as an issue. Granted, it doesn’t make it perfect out of the box, but it doesn’t overshadow the sheer usefulness of the product on the whole.
Hopefully that balances things out an makes my review a little more objective; I’ll be sure to post any more experiences, good or bad, as I come across them. Also, keep an eye out for my first review in the next week of a mac-only app that is truly in a class by itself! Cheers!
All OSX now…(with some Vista to taste) August 12, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Airport Express, Apple, Bonjour, Macbook Pro, OSX.1 comment so far
Now that I have finished with most of the major system migration from my old PC box, I can finally sit down and give a decent review of my first week with my Macbook Pro.
Perhaps even more important than my impression of the machine is the operating system it’s running on. After my first weekend with the MBP, in which I spent most of it in Vista gaming, I have now been able to spend some quality time in OSX, and I wish I would have thought to switch sooner. Aside from the big features, such as real-time searching in Spotlight (which Vista tries so hard to recreate), it’s the little keyboard shortcuts and GUI features that I find brings the most enjoyment to my Mac experience. A good example of this would be the use of Exposé, which allows you to view all of the windows and programs you currently have open in a single keystroke. As a person who frequently has multiple browser and folder widows open while working with a program, this is a godsend. In addition, this feature can be used in conjunction with “hot corners,” which simply reduces the action required to a mere mouse movement. I have used Vista’s Aero glass Alt-TAB feature to attempt to perform a similar action, but while visually appealing, it doesn’t help me get things done.
Even something as routine as installing and uninstalling apps is simplified in OSX. A simple drag-and drop into the trash is all that’s needed in most cases, with a quick find-and-delete in spotlight being the most the user ever has to perform in addition. Coming from windows, with its myriad of proprietary uninstallers and registry keys to eliminate to ensure the application is really gone, this is a welcome relief.
Since this is the first laptop I’ve ever owned, I’m also slowly learning that I no longer have to be tied to my desk to perform all of the same actions I’ve become accustomed to doing on a desktop. The Airport Express that I purchased this summer, in addition to providing wireless access to my house, has demonstrated that Apple products just work. No drivers to install, no files to browse for: you just plug it in and start using it.
While I was impressed with this ease of use with Apple products, I wasn’t fully convinced until I tried it with some third-party products, namely the Brother HL-5140 laser printer I have been using for school. Now this printer is not terribly old, but it has since been discontinued, which made it a perfect candidate for a compatibility test. On the Mac end, I plugged the printer in via USB, and printed a test page out within seconds. I decided to see how far my luck would go by attempting to print over my wireless network, and after plugging it in via my APX, it again my document printed without incident.
On the windows side however, things went quite differently. I am using Vista Business via a Bootcamp partition on my MBP, and I had hoped I wouldn’t have to go fish for drivers in the middle of working on a project, being the latest version of windows. But alas, as soon as I plugged the thing in, it barked at me for drivers, and unsuccessfully attempted to find them for itself. After a trip to the Brother website (which was admittedly easy to use and find what I needed), the document printed. As for wireless printing, I used a windows version of Bonjour (per Apple’s suggestion), and after profiling and clicking through a setup dialog, got wireless working for it as well.
So in the end, the big question is this: Is it really that much more of a hassle to get drivers for a device? For someone who is used to it, and knows where to look, probably not; but for someone who has no idea what a driver does, or where to find them for their device online, it can be a huge blow to productivity and overall enjoyment of using a computer. I feel that just being able to save those 5-10 minutes digging for drivers will add up over time, and will go a long way towards me getting the most out of my MBP.
The first 72 hours… August 6, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Apple, Macbook Pro.add a comment
So, my Fedex tracking number told me that I would get my new Macbook Pro today in the mail. Turns out Fedex was better than their word, and I received my bundle of laptop joy this past Friday. My original intent was to post as soon as I got it online, taking pictures of every step of the process and my first impressions. But the truth is, I’ve been using my new Macbook Pro so much that I really haven’t even had time to stop and post. Yea, it’s that great.
The first 72 hours I have used this laptop has altered the way I have thought of using a computer on a number of fronts. I’m just not used to something simply working perfectly the first time in OSX; from drivers, to apps, to custom settings and preferences. I felt that even though I considered myself an experienced user, I would still stumble when first learning the ins and outs of the mac GUI, but after taking the time to read the manuals, I was amazed at how fast I caught on.
I spent the first night after I got my laptop zeroing out the hard drive, in order to insure against future instability due to bad sectors on the drive. From there, it was all installations…Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, the usual cross-platform suspects. But where OSX really shines is in its third-party development, and I hope to showcase a number of the apps that I have found to be the most useful and interesting in the coming weeks.
The arrival of my MBP was perfectly timed with a visit to one of my friend’s houses in Indianapolis. I figured the best way to truly test out my new system’s hardware capabilities would be with a good old-fashioned LAN. The 8600 GT card in this setup did not disappoint. We spent most of the time playing CnC3, which really puts a machine through its paces. When I played this game on my old desktop, I had to turn all of the settings down to as low as it would go, at 800×600 resolution; now I play it on ultra high at the native 1440×900, and it is simply amazing. And contrary to what most people have reported, it really didn’t heat up all that much, considering its small form factor.
Since I spent most of the weekend playing games, I also obviously installed Windows via Bootcamp. I wound up going with Vista Business addition thanks to the generous donation of a spare license by one of my good friends (thanks Matt!). I haven’t decided if I am going to stick with Vista, but if I change my mind, I have a copy of XP Pro to fall back on (thanks Drew…you guys and your crazy education discounts ;P).
On the whole, things went very smoothly in my first 72 hours; there were a few hiccups here and there: one crash out of a game, and some installation issues with some older games in Vista, but I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I will try to keep a weekly log of all of my experiences with both Vista and OSX as I break this machine in (I just today migrated all of my files via Ethernet). I hope you are enjoying reading about my experience as much as I am actually living it! Cheers!
Let the waiting begin… July 23, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Apple, Macbook Pro.add a comment
Well, the deed is done. I ordered my setup last Friday, and it should be here sometime hopefully in the next two weeks or so. Here’s what I wound up going with:
- 15.4″ LED LCD
- 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo
- 1440 x 900 resolution
- 2GB memory
- 160GB hard drive
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM
So now the long wait begins…I’ve done just about everything I can to get ready for the arrival: XP disc is ready for dual-booting, equivalent mac apps are being downloaded for immediate use, and I’ve paged through the entire 100+ PDF manual. I’ll most likely update once it gets here, so for now, hope for clear weather in Shanghai!
Preparing for the purchase: must-have addons for Macs July 19, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Airport Express, Apple, Apple Developer Connection, booq, Etymonic Research, Ultimate Ears.add a comment
So the ADC update that I mentioned in my previous post went through without a hitch; I have the discount in hand (or I should say, online) all ready to use. It turns out that it goes through much faster if you give them a copy of the schedule for your upcoming semester. But anyway, pretty easy for what you get.
As for the Airport Express, I couldn’t have asked for an easier setup. Even on my windows box and the Westell modem I have it hooked up to now, it took all of 3 minutes to get a WEP-secured network going (I would have used WPA2, but my DS lite doesn’t take to heavily encrypted networks too well ;p). It should be perfect for the apartment, and I’ll bet setting up a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) is just as easy.
In preparing for my imminent Macbook Pro purchase, I’ve picked up a few key accessories to make sure I get the most use out of it from day 1. First up, a protective sleeve: I tend to keep a lot of stuff in the two packs I use, (a Timbuk2 bag and a North Face backpack) and it tends to roll around. To protect from scratches and dings, I picked up the Vyper M2 Sleeve from booq bags. I’m a bit of a bag freak, so this site I found to be right up my alley (albeit pricey for my tastes). Still, the sleeve is high quality stuff, and is custom-fitted for each model, making sure every one is a perfect fit.
The next purchase I made was somewhat mundane, but still important: a good mouse. I have seen plenty of wireless notebook mice around campus and can definitely appreciate not being stuck with a touchpad, but the USB dongles that come with most of them I feel like I would lose in an instant. So I went with another wireless option, bluetooth. I found this mouse on amazon, and based on the reviews, seemed to fit the bill perfectly. And to boot, I found some OEM refurbished units on ebay for about half as much as the new units. The lack of any dongles to lose, plus the benefit of wireless, I think will work well for those longer sessions.
The last purchase I made may not seem as vital for any new Mac owner, but for me, at one of the top party schools in the country, they are a godsend. Up until recently, I have used a pair of ER-6s, which were fantastic noise cancelers, but always felt a little flimsy for frequent use. Well, after 5 years of loyal service, the fitting on one of the cables gave out on me, and I found myself needing a new pair. But this time, I decided to try a different brand; I had heard good things about the Super.fi 3s from Ultimate Ears, so I took the plunge and gave them a shot. So far, I am impressed; they offer about the same noise-canceling properties as the ER-6s, but with better low-end reproduction and a more solid build. The only thing I’m having trouble with is getting a consistent seal, but as I learned with my first pair, that comes with time and practice.
It won’t be too long before I pay that visit to the mac store, let’s just hope there are no delays!
Airport express, and how to score a sweet discount on mac hardware July 8, 2007
Posted by jumpingship in Airport, Airport Express, Apple, Apple Developer Connection, Mac, Macbook Pro.1 comment so far
Now that the buzz over the iPhone has died down, (after some 750,000 units sold) I have started making some hardware purchases towards my future mac. I started with a router, the Apple Airport Express, for my new apartment this coming fall. I’ll admit, my networking skills are not what they should be (I hear you snickering), and it seems that even the “foolproof” wireless configurations that many laptops and routers are bundled with these days give me trouble. After reading a large number of reviews on the APX, it seems that the majority of people are very satisfied with them, and especially liked its ability to stream iTunes music to any stereo wirelessly via the router’s built in Airtunes feature. What really sold it for me was the ability to create “profiles” for wireless surfing abroad, such as in a hotel room that doesn’t natively have wireless. The downside? Many of the reviewers complained of the router literally burning out about after about a year and a half or so. While I wonder if these people just decide to post their reviews to vent their discontent with the product, the sheer number of complaints did have me wondering. I’ll be sure to post updates along the way when I receive it and set it up.
Ok, so here’s the real reason you’re reading this post: how to score that sweet mac hardware discount. Some disclaimers: first, the discount will cost you initially: $99 for a one-year subscription (this is explained further down the post), second, this only applies for currently enrolled students, which as far as I know, means college students and those enrolled in a university, whatever gets you an ID. Third, it only works once, lifetime; you can’t take another trip to the candy store, so make your purchase count if you can use it. And lastly, you’ll have to fill out a bit of paperwork and fax it to Apple to prove your student status, which really shouldn’t take too long.
Still with me? Good. The discount comes through the Apple Developer Connection, or ADC. The discount is good for 20% off any major hardware purchase through a special subsite of the Apple store. I tried it out on some Macbook Pro configurations that I am looking into, and you basically are able to purchase the next configuration higher at the same price as the one you are looking at. For Wisconsin (and most other university) students, it’s an additional $200 off the student discount for the base Macbook Pro that Apple gives you through their education store. But what’s that you say? You want more for your trouble? Well, the ADC discount has that covered too. In addition to the discount you also get current versions of OSX and Xcode (because it is a developer subscription after all) mailed to you for the year duration of your membership. What does this mean for you? It means that you will score a free copy of Leopard (the next version of OSX) when it comes out this fall. All in all, it’s a really good deal for what you pay for, especially for those of you like me who need to buy hardware soon and can’t wait for the Leopard release. I just purchased the membership today, and I’ll keep you posted on how it works.
Jumping Ship 