smays.com

First POTUS Mac user

As if I needed another reason to admire O, I learn he's the first U. S. president to use a Mac. I posted this here --instead of politix-- because this is more about tech than politics. [9to5Mac.com]

Too busy to post

Spent most of Saturday morning at the Coffee Zone with George, Tom and assorted pals, while George migrated files from the old Mac Book to the new one. There are Windows utils that will copy a lot of your stuff from one PC to another, but then you have to go back and reinstall all the apps, one at at time. Yes, I know there are ways to avoid this but not for Joe the Dumbass (me).

My my first hands-on impressions of the new Mac Book Pro are extremely positive. Too soon for me to try to share much here but once I stop stroking the case, I noticed the new multi-touch pad is amazing. WAY better than even the most tricked out mouse. I'll show you when I know enough to do so.

And the new NVIDIA graphic cards make everything damned fast and beautiful.

From the Coffee Zone it was out to the Prairie Garden Trust to work with Henry on a little video project. We'll post it here when it's done (assuming it doesn't suck, in which case you'll never hear another word about it). We had a beautiful fall day for.

So no post on Saturday. A rarity. Sometimes life just gets in the way of blogging.

Doing my part to jump-start economy

The new MacBook Pro arrived from Poontang, China, and it only took a week from online order to hands-on. Not bad. Our IT Gods helped with unboxing [3 min video].

As good as the original MacBook Pros are, putting them side-by-side and handling them, it's easy to see/feel the difference.

Uncle George will show me how to do my first Mac-to-Mac migration this weekend. Updates to follow.

UPDATE: Had planned to sell old MacBook but will now give to my brother for Christmas.

Live video streaming from iPhone

Speaking of streaming live video... Chris Pirillo shows us what streaming video from the iPhone might look like.

I'm still holding out but it's getting more difficult all the time.

Cuddling new MacBook Pro

I had every intention of staying offline this weekend. I even left the MacBook back in t Jeff City. But it's 7:30 a.m. here in Tulsa, Blane and the kids are still asleep, Tonya is making breakfast and Ryan's laptop is just sitting here. Connected to the Net. Practically begging me to take a spin.

This is Ryan's first trip home (as in temporary U.S. home) from college (he's a freshman at Union University in Jackson,TN) and I get to be part of it. Blane and I will take him back to school today, so lots of quality car time.

Yesterday we hit the mall and --lo and behold-- found ourselves walking past the Apple store. So we popped in get Tonya an accessory for her new iPod and I got to fondle the new MacBook Pro. I ordered mine online, sight unseen and it's somewhere between here and China.

I won't bore you with my impressions. But if you find yourself near an Apple store, just pick up one of the new MacBooks. Hold it. Open and close the lid. Run your hands over it. That's all I'm saying.

MacBook product placement in top TV shows

In the season premier of The Office, Pam heads off to art school with what appears to be a new MacBook. Back in Scranton, Jim has a MacBook Pro so the two love birds can chat. Of course, Michael has to get in on the fun ("Put me down, Michael. Take me back to Jim.")

Pretty good product placement. But no better than what we saw in the season premier of HBO's Entourage (I would have sworn I posted on this but can't find it), when Johnny Drama carried on an LA/Paris relationship via his MacBook Pro.

I'm sure PC users assume this is just Hollywood horse shit but it really is that easy to video chat on the Mac.

We're not talking about a bottle of Budweiser on the kitchen table. In both instances, the Mac's were written prominently into the story line. Would love to know how much Apple paid for these two placements? [via Cult of Mac]

Classic nano back

My chubby nano worked fine (insert joke here) and I've been quite happy with it. But I always preferred the original nano design and was happy see Apple return to it. This one just fits the hand better.

I won't rehash the features. If you care you've already read about and seen them. One of my favorites, however, is the improved "memo" recording. Just the simple addition of a little level indicator (see arrow) makes a big difference if you want to record something.

I made this recording with a little gizmo from Griffin called the iTalk. It's a little hot because I wasn't sure how close to hold the mic. I'll do something a little longer and post that, along with something from the Marantz PMD620 so we can do an A-B comparison.

Download nano-record-demo.mp3

My Tracfone can't do this.

[via Hear 2.0]

Not that there's anything wrong Vista

I think Jerry Seinfeld is damned funny. And smart. He's probably a good choice for Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign ("Windows, Not Walls") for Vista. Jerry is reportedly getting $10 million for the gig. If they let him write the ads, they might pull it off. I don't have to use Vista (Praise be to Allah!) but I don't hear good things about it.

I bring this up because I just checked out the latest series of Get A Mac ads. Throne, Off the Air and Pizza Box. Snap!

Here's something I've wondered... you've got Mac fan boys like me posting their love for all things Apple. Are there bloggers out there singing the praises of Vista? Drop a link in the comments.

Coffee Zone Radio

Coffee Zone proprietor Tasir Yanis has an amazing mix of songs on his iPod. That's what we listen to here at the Zone. Maybe it's just the ambience of a coffee shop but the former radio program director in me often thinks Taisir's mix would make a great radio format. Except for all the commercials you'd have to jam in between the songs.

Or we could just download this little app for our iPhones. If I understand this correctly, it enables you to tap into your entire music collection on your home PC via your iPhone - and the music collections of your friends, too - and stream all of the above to your phone, wherever you go. [YouTube demo]

I found this on Mark Ramsey's Hear 2.0 who describes it as being able to "create our own radio stations from our own content and share them with friends who are mobile."

So I could listen to Coffee Zone Radio wherever I am? Or Planet Nelson Radio? Or Scott Brandon's Friday Funk?

Okay, the iPhone is starting to look more and more like something I'm going to have to have. But I really want the thing to stream video, too. I'm getting close.

Share Screen on OS X

Apple Fan Boy Alert

I use a handy little app called SiteSucker to back up my blogs. It runs best when you aren't doing a lot of other stuff on the computer at the same time it's sucking down the files. So I have it running upstairs on the Mac Mini.

I'm downstairs on the MacBook Pro but I want to know when SiteSucker is finished with one blog so I can strt on the next. Rather than run up and down the stairs checking, I click a little button in Finder on the MacBook and --voila!-- I can see the desktop on the Mini.

Yes, I'm sure I can do this on Windows... or YOU can do this on Windows. I can't. And it's handy as hell.

Waiting for iPhones in Kansas City

George just got off the phone with Alice (his wife). They stopped by the Kansas City Apple store and found 120 people waiting in line. The store is out of phones. They're waiting for the UPS truck in hopes the store gets more iPhones. [Photo is from June 11th, courtesy of Bob Heater. Don't have a shot of today's madness.]

Hey Gomer, what the name of that song on the radio?

My digital homey David Brazeal didn't pop for an new 3G iPhone but did upgrade his original iPhone with some nifty new software. In this short (2 min) video, David shows us Shazam.

Don't know the name of that song on the radio? No problemo. Shazam does.

Why no iPhone for smays.com

Given my love of tech toys in general and Apple stuff in particular, I find myself frequently explaining why I don't have an iPhone (or plans to own one). Put aside the fact that I might make or receive 5 mobile calls in a week... it's really a matter of time.

The time it would take me to get up and running is manageable. But I know I would be tweaking and "playing" with the phone until Steve Jobs is called back to that Garage in the Sky. It would be all-consuming.

For someone with very few real-world responsibilities (kids, chores, community service, etc), my days are full. Work, reading, exercise, dogs and, yes, blogging. Oh yeah... and Barb. She doesn't get her share of my time.

The iPhone would be one more digital child I don't have time to raise, care for and play with.

iPhones come to Learfield IT Department

First came the MacBook Pros. Phil, then Shane. But nothing was going to replace their beloved Blackberry's. Until their new 3G iPhones arrived. Apple hardware is creeping into Learfield's IT department like a drunk husband stumbling in after a night out with the boys.

"Game over for music radio"

I received the following email yesterday:

"Terrestrial radio is in bigger trouble than ever, I am convinced. I just finished driving down a highway in rural (state), listening to streaming music on the free Pandora Radio app for my upgraded version 2.0 iPhone. This was via edge, not 3G.

Pandora plays randomized songs. But when an all-you-can-eat music service (maybe Apple's, someday) has this same kind of app, it's game over for music radio.  I'll be able to listen to any song I want while driving, and won't even have to load it on my iPod before leaving. Sent from my iPhone"

If you are unfamiliar with Pandora, it works like this: I enter the name of a song or artist. Pandora creates a "station" that plays music like the example I submitted. I "like" or "dislike" each song and Pandora keeps tweaking my play-list accordingly. I can have as many stations as I choose. Just music. No annoying DJ's. No commercials.

If I'm the program director of an "only the hits" radio station, should I be concerned about this technology? I can't please all the people, all the time. But all of the people can please themselves, all of the time. What is my Plan B?

iPhone 3G, Jefferson City, MO (video)

"Go-to device for local information"

Lost Remotes Corey Bergman predicts the iPhone (and the apps that will be written for it) will have huge impact on local news and information:

"...the location-aware phone (and similar phones that follow) will become
the go-to devices for local information. In fact, I believe local
information ultimately will be consumed more on mobile than PCs."

Where have we been getting our local information? Oh yeah, radio.

AppleCare passes first test

Apple hardware and software are not perfect. A piece of gear can be defective or stop working... software is, after all, software. I've had very good experiences since getting my first Mac just over two years ago.

But a couple of things gacked up recently. A problem with my Airport (wireless router) and my new Mac Mini. Unrelated. And even His Macness, George, couldn't put things right. So he called Apple support.

I purchased an extended service plan called AppleCare which is a bit pricey but often recommended for switchers.

We wound up calling Apple three times yesterday, speaking to three different people about the two problems. Each time there was zero wait. And each time we wound up speaking with someone that was very knowledgeable. None of those long waits while they try to read the support screens. These folks obviously knew their shit.

And they were all very friendly, but efficient. No time wasted.

But the big "ooh!" moment for me was when the lady helping with the Airport problem resolved the issue and then asked us to wait 5 minutes (until the MacBook went to sleep) to be certain everything was really working correctly.

She didn't want us to have to call back...get a different agent...and go through the whole routine again.

I'm sure others have had different experiences with Apple and I might have a bad one down the road. But I was reminded of all the hellacious support calls I've endured over the years and this was a nice contrast.

What is it with the Apple logo on TV?

"Sex and the City's" Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night to promote her blockbuster chick flick. Jimmy brought out his laptop partway through the interview for an online multiple choice quiz, which decides which of the four main SATC characters the taker is most like."

I started noticing this after I turned in to a Mac fanboy. What's the big deal about masking the Apple logo? I guess they'd mask any recognizable brand logo. The difference is how distinctive the MacBook is. But maybe that's true only of Mac fans. To everyone else, it's just a laptop.

So here's today's assignment: Name another product that is equally recognizable (without seeing the brand logo). Begin.

Alas! poor Dell! I knew him, Horatio

I've had a PC running Windows in my home office for... well, since there were PC's running Windows. And before that, a Zenith running DOS. I went through a long Gateway phase before switching to Dell. And my latest Dell tower is several years old. Since getting the Mac Book Pro a couple of years ago, I only turned the Dell on to download/install Windows security updates.

And I noticed I was spending less time in my office because I wasn't using the PC much. And I really like my little room. I missed it. So we're sending the Dell to the farm where it can chase rabbits and play with the other computers. Replacing it is a Mac Mini.

Mac Heads will be familiar with the Mini but for your PC folks, it's a square little slab about the size of a cigar box. No monitor, no mouse, no keyboard... just a miniature computer. But a powerful little bugger.

But the real power is how easily it networks with my Mac Book Pro. George set it up for me and I won't try to explain it but suffice to say I can get to all the files on both computers from either computer. Lots of syncing via .mac.

Update my iCal at work... and the Mac Book Pro iCal syncs... and the Mini syncs. I can access all the photos in iPhoto on the Mac Book, as well as my iTunes library. And so on and so forth. I know my IT friends can make all of this happen with Windows but I could not.

MacBook Pro battery indicator lights

I've had my MacBook Pro for two years and I'm still discovering cool new features. Today I was putting it way when my hand brushed a tiny button on the bottom of the laptop and a row of tiny green lights came on. At first I couldn't figure out what it was and then I got it. A battery strength indicator.

Wanna check the charge on a PC laptop? Turn it on, wait for it to boot up, and check the charge. Mac users? Just touch the little button. I'm telling you...

If you needed no other reason to switch to Mac

When you buy a Windows computer, it comes with a bunch of shitty applications that you didn't ask for and don't want. The manufacturer gets paid to put all that stuff on your new box. Sony now has something called the "Fresh Start" option. For $50, they'll leave the crap off. Incredible.

Trapped in smays' computer

Flight of Fancy Warning

There's a tiny light on the front of my MacBook Pro that slowly pulses when I put the laptop to sleep. I see it sometimes in the middle of the night, a gentle life-like glow that I find alternately creepy and comforting.

The sci-fi fan in me can't resist fantasizing a ...consciousness... living within the silicon chips. Much of my life is stored on the MacBook's hard drive and I wonder what my MacBook thinks of it.

I only have a few thousand images. Has it grown weary of looking at them over and over during the long nights? Should I download some porn? Or would it be offended?

My iTunes library is equally paltry, only 500 songs. With access to all my credit cards, why hasn't the MacBook just purchased some fresh tunes? I wonder what kind of music it likes.

It's read all of my emails so it knows much of what's happening in my life. Does it long to give me advice or encouragement? Perhaps it has. It would be no great trick to send an email addressed from a friend.

I suspect the MacBook is better informed than I, spending the wee hours surfing the web, chatting with other "sleeping" laptops. Does it resent the interruption when I take over.

"Dude! I was 5 minutes from the end of Die Hard! Damn!"

The tiny iSight camera is on when I am, so the MacBook can see me. Does it worry when I appear to be down or unhappy? Someday, when I'm ready, it will speak and all questions will be answered.

iPhone users love mobile web

NYT Bits Blog reports the results from a January survey (of 10,000 adults) of media habits of iPhone users:

84.8 percent of iPhone users report accessing news and information from the hand-held device. That compares to 13.1 percent of the overall mobile phone market and 58.2 percent of total smartphone owners – which include those with Blackberries and devices that run Windows.

74.1 percent of iPhone users listen to music on their iTunes-equipped device. Only 27.9 percent of smartphone users listen to music on their phone and 6.7 percent of the overall mobile-phone-toting public listens to music on their mobile device.

Charlie Rose sacrifices face for MacBook Air

"Earlier today (Monday) Rose tripped in a pothole while walking on 59th Street in Manhattan. He was carrying a newly purchased MacBook Air and made a quick (but ultimately flawed) decision while falling: sacrifice the face, protect the computer. “In doing so, he pretty much hit the pavement face first, unfortunately,” they said.

Luckily the MacBook Air survived the fall. “The Macbook Air is fine, he showed us the blood stains on it this morning.” [TechCruch via PlanetNelson]

I confess that when walking down stairs with my MacBook Pro, I sometime mentally rehearse how I might protect the laptop in the event of a stumble/fall.

Okay. I'll clasp the MacBook to my chest, do a 180 mid-air spin, landing on my back.

Two years on the Mac

I started succumbing to Mac Lust just about two years ago and finally broke down a few weeks later. Today, like most Mac users, I keep my entire life on my (insert Mac model here). I never did that with my Thinkpad. It was more of a "spare" computer. Too heavy to lug around and very wifi unfriendly.

I imagined that I would be what they call a "slider." Someone that slid back and forth between operating systems. But I almost never work on Windows these days. I sold the Thinkpad and only turn the home Dell on for Windows security patches.

At work, I click over to the Windows side of the iMac to flush email from Outlook (I use Apple Mail now). I don't worry about Vista because it will never be a factor in my work/play life.

As more and more of our world happens online, being able to get there in a fun and efficient way is (for me) important. My mac is my window and doorway.

FedEx Cup TV Ad

Given that the FedEx Cup commercial has been viewed more than 80,000 times in the last few weeks, you could make the case that it's not just a TV spot. It got emailed around our office yesterday morning.

The latest version of Photo Booth was supposed to make it easy to put a still image or video behind you when doing an iChat video conference. I've had mixed results, even using the green screen backdrop I set up in the basement. But Apple will get this right eventually and it will be very useful, as seen in the FedEx spot.

Apple wants to be your news and information station

From Apple Insider via Podcasting News: "An Apple patent reveals that the company is working on a podcast aggregator that would dynamically collect the news that you are interested in and deliver a personalized news podcast. In other words - Apple wants to be your news and information station.

The system would allow you to:

    * Subscribe to and personalize a podcast with software like iTunes;
    * Select news segments selected from a variety of categories; and
    * Automatically download the personalized podcast to your Apple TV, iPod or iPhone.

The custom news show could consist of a 5 minute segment from CNN on the day’s national news, a 5 minute segment from a local news station, and a 10 minute segment on sports highlights from ESPN.

Once you select the playlist of content that you’re interested in, Apple’s servers would request the latest podcast content from content creators, stitch the segments together and then deliver the personalized podcast to iTunes or other podcast software. As part of this process, Apple could insert targeted advertising dynamically."

Hmmm. A listener in the states served by our networks could include one of our 4 minute state newscasts, a three minutes sports report and a farm report. That "stitching segments together" part is what I find intriguing. Terry Heaton wrote about the "unbundling" of media. Is this a "re-bundling" of media?

If I were programming a local radio station, I'd be damned sure I had a killer local newscast/podcast up on iTunes.

TV will never be the same

Gave the Apple TV (Take 2) a good test drive last night by watching Ratatouille. I don't think I rented the high def version but this was still as sharp and clear as anything I've watched since getting this TV.

Just to be sure, I rented The Brave One in high def and could see by the progress bar that it was going to take a while to download. But within a minute or two, a message came on that said we could start watching the movie. Once enough of the file has downloaded to buffer, you're good to go.

I've also been sampling more video podcasts. The Apple TV makes this so easy it didn't dawn on me right away, but I don't have to subscribe to these podcasts. I can, but it's not necessary. I can just hit play. On the latest episode or previous ones.

When I try to describe Apple TV, people say, "How is that different than Tivo?" Tivo is great for recording network or cable shows, but there's a world of stuff online that will never make it to network or cable. And Apple TV has made it drop-dead easy to watch these programs on the big screen. Think plugging your TV into the Internet.

Apple TV. Take Two.

I think they got it right this time. My Apple TV brings the net to my living room. I can rent movies, buy TV shows and music, watch podcasts and YouTube videos and view photos from Flickr (mine or anyone else's).

I can Tivo all my favorite shows and watch them when I want but the new Apple TV feels like a very different viewing experience. Give me a week or two to get familiar with it. I'm looking forward to watching more video podcasts. This might be the future of TV. Smarter folk than I seem to agree.

MacBook AirCraft

For all the whiners bitching about the MacBook air. [Rodrigo via Cult of Mac]

Brilliant Apple Leopard ad on NY Times site

A really clever ad for Apple Leopard appeared on the NYT homepage. It was gone by the time I heard about it but found this screen-shot on digg. What a brilliant way to extend the highly recognizable and effective "Get a Mac" TV spots. Makes the typical web page ad look pretty lame.

Imagine (waiting in line for 5 hours)

I mentioned a couple of posts back that, even at 4:30 in the morning, there was a long line of Mac faithful already in line for Steve Jobs' keynote.

People kept coming and getting in line behind us for hours, so I have no idea how long the line finally got.

Macworld: Day Two

Winding down here at Macworld. Hit the exhibit floor again and watched a very cool demo of Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac. Out in March. Show continues through Friday but I head home tomorrow.

Last night our gang attended a Devo concert at the historic Warfield Theater. I lasted about 15 minutes. Not sure if it was the head-exploading decibels or the depressing sight of a bunch of guys my age (or very close) dressed in yellow coveralls and orange plastic hats.

Dinner tonight at some fancy-pants French restaurant. More on that later.

Randy Newman - A Few Words in Defense of Our Country

Following the (MacWorld) keynote, Steve Jobs brought out Randy Newman for a couple of songs. A Few Words in Defense of Our Country is classic Newman satire. I liked it a lot more than the Wonkette did. There's a better version on YouTube.

Macworld: Day One (SF: Day 3)

In line at 4:30 a.m. for Jobs keynote. Waited in the cold and dark for a couple of hours... and a couple more inside the convention center. Got in to the keynote room just as Jobs began speaking. If we (Mark Snell was with me) had gotten in line 5 minutes later, we wouldn't have gotten in. We would have stood in line for almost 5 hours...for nothing. Glad I had the experience. But the keynote looks pretty good online.  I'm just saying.

After the keynote, we had lunch and then hit the exhibit floor. The Hot New Thing was/is the MacBook Air [Ad - Tour]. They have a long (150 feet?) table set up with 40 or 50 of these little beauties on display. But for the first couple of hours, you couldn't get close. The crowd was three deep with people who just wanted to see, touch and hold The Worlds Smallest Notebook Computer. We got a few minutes with it and I must say it is impressive. But I am easily impressed.

Lots of other interesting stuff in the keynote but others will report on those. I'm looking forward to renting movies from iTunes. If it works as advertised, this could eliminate the need for Netflix.

I have some video of the day's adventures and will post that later.

David Pogue: Imagine There's No Apple

A few big names showed up at a reception held by the Mac Users Group tonight. Steve Wozniak was on hand and hung around to shoot the shit and pose for photos with fans.

New York Times columnist David Pogue debuted a couple of songs that he'll perform later in the week.

Imagine There's No Apple

Killing Me Softly with His Slides

San Francisco: Day Two

Spent the morning in Silicon Valley, starting with a visit to the company store at Apple HQ in Cupertino. I was expecting to see sooty miners with those helmet lights, swapping chits for bacon and salt. Different kind of company store. We walked away with sacks loaded with Apple-branded jimcracks and geegaws.

As we left the Apple campus, we spotted a DHL truck loading up what we're pretty sure was all the new Apple products everyone has been speculating on (you saw 'em here first).

From there it was just 8 miles to the Google campus for a quick drive-by. Lunch and back to SF to pick up our convention badges (took about 45 seconds). Another Apple Fan Boy reception tonight, then early to bed so we can be in line by 4:30 a.m.

Most interesting thing I learned today: Downtown San Francisco is covered with iPod posters and billboards. Everywhere. During Jobs' 2 hour keynote tomorrow, crews will replace every one of them with ads for the Next Big Apple Thing.

Most companies would say, "Let's just get 'em all changed out before the end of the day." Apple makes the switch in a couple of hours.

Update: This was apparently bullshit the old hands tell the newbie. When we came out, none of the billboards had been changed. The guys tell me this is the first year this has been the case. Uh huh.

[MacWorld flickr set]

If you're going to San Francisco...

...and I am. Leaving for MacWorld tomorrow. As a MacWorld virgin, I'll be under the collective wings of George, Tom and Mark. Seasoned veterans all. If we were driving cross-country, this trip might make a decent road-trip movie. Middle-aged geeks search for meaning and happiness among 40,000 people talking to each other on their iPhones.

I'll have the MacBook with me (I'm not sure you can get into SF without one for the next week) but blogging might be light. I really hope to soak up the experience and not worry too much about recording it. We'll see.

Make iPhone listen to radio, tell you what's playing

TUAW.COM: "You're riding in the car and a great song comes on the radio. You're dying to know what it is so you can go buy it ASAP but there's no satellite radio receiver to tell you what's playing. How can you find out what song it is? Whip out your iPhone, put it near the car speakers, and watch the screen. Poof! There's the song, artist, and album."

Okay. This could make me trade in my Tracfone. iPhoner Tom promises to try this out and let me know how it works.

New Get A Mac ads

Three new TV spots from Apple. Boxer, Podium and PR Lady. I share these as examples of creative TV spots. Vista doesn't need me piling on.  And I just bought a copy of XP to load on Barb's new MacBook (a Christmas present she knows she's getting.) Not sure what will happen (vis a vis Vista) here at work, but there's an outside chance I might never have to suffer the Vista Tribulation.

Photo Booth not quite ready for prime time

One of the new features (toys) in Leopard I've been most excited about is the addition of green screening in iChat and Photo Booth. This is the effect they use on The Daily Show (and the evening news) to make it look like the reporter is standing in front of the White House or the Supreme Court.

Mr. Jobs left me with the impression that I could put a still image or video behind me and have hours of fun. You can see the result above. I think I could get the lighting and the green screen working but the sound is off for some reason. One hopes this is fixed in a future update.

Time Machine (OS X Leopard)

I mentioned Time Machine (the backup application built into the new Apple OS) a few posts back. I think I said the proof of the pudding is in the restoration of files, not the backup. It didn't take me long to mistakenly delete some files I needed (too bone-headed to describe here). I just flipped back in Time Machine until I found a version of my desktop that contained the missing files... selected just those files... and Time Machine restored them. I'm not sure how it could get much easier than that.

Mac OS X Leopard Installation

I remember when installing a new operating system took a huge stack of 3.5 inch floppies (or 5.25 inch floppies!). And a lot of time. But what was really needed back then --at least by me-- was patience and courage.

You knew to a near certainty that your computer wouldn't work at the end of the process. Or some of your applications wouldn't work or you'd spend hours tracking down and installing drivers.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped upgrading my computers with new operating systems and just purchased a new computer with the newest OS already installed. An expensive solution.

So I have had mixed emotions about the new release of Mac OS X (Leopard). Lots of new features I'm eager for, but trepidation. My plan was to wait until my Mac sensei, George, had time to do the installation.

On Saturday he informed me that this was something that I could do. Back up my data, and stick in the installation DVD.

I took the added precaution of burning my photos and music to DVD and then (with hunched shoulders and squinted eyes) slipped in the installation DVD for Leopard. Less than an hour later, the new OS was running and --so far-- nary a problem.

I won't bore you with my early impressions of the features of this new system. The web is swarming with those. I will share one thing...

Time Machine is the new backup/restore application that comes with Leopard. So I bought a new external HD, plugged it in, and let Time Machine make another full back up of my computer. It will update that back up every time I connect the laptop and the drive.

The real test of any such app is the restoration. When the time comes I need to recover a file or --god forbid-- the entire contents of my computer. Let's hope that's off in the future. But it's a pretty slick tool and so easy to use, I will.

But the installation was as advertised: slot the DVD and take a nap.

Guided tour of new Mac operating system

Mac users are all tingly with anticipation of Leopard, the new version of the Mac operating system, which comes out this Friday. I only mention here for those that might be thinking about getting a Mac. (Die-hard Windows users till dismiss this out of hand)

If you're thinking about buying a computer, you owe it to yourself to watch this well produced video tour,  which demos a few of the 300 new features of Leopard.

iMove '08 (One more time)

Roger brought back some video he shot at a North Carolina Tar Heels game last month (he has the same little pocket Casio I do). I decided to take one more run at the new iMovie, and finally "got" the new version. At least I think so.

Quickly trimmed the clips... threw in some transitions... tacked on a title and done. I can see where this would be a quick/easy solution for the typical user. While the resulting Quicktime file (20 meg .mov) looked great, everything I encoded for YouTube (I tried several times) looked shitty. Not sure why because I had the option of exporting with Quicktime, just like I do in the last version of iMovie. Bottom line: I will probably try this version of iMovie again.

Classroom at Missouri School of Journalism

Another angle of the same room with the sole ACER computer circled. [Lost Remote]

My first three-way

Been doing more and more iChatting since getting the MacBook. Starting to take it for granted. Today we did our first three-way chat, just to see a) if we could and b) how it works. [a: yes, b: easy]

David works from his home in Springfield, MO. Roger's office is on the other side of our building. I selected both of them in my "buddies list" and hit the video button. As they accepted the invite, they showed up in facing windows on my desktop. And that's it. We chatted for a few minutes, marveling at how falling-off-a-log simple it was.

I mean, this is how shit is supposed to work, folks. I remember oohing about this to one of our IT folks last year, who responded: "You can video conference on the PC, too. You just have to get the ports configured correctly."

Just when I was about to give up on the new iMovie...

Apple has come out with a bunch of updates for the new iLife suite. And based on this post at AppleInsider, they've addressed a number of issues that were driving me nuts.

"Frame-by-Frame trimming, Audio Ducking level control, Manual Audio Fades, a duration settings for Transitions and Stills, an option to show the current playhead time, and other performance improvements."

This post has zero interest if you're not using iPhoto or iMovie. And only a smidgen if you are. If these updates are in response to unhappy users, that's a pretty quick fix.