Archive for December, 2006
December 2, 2006 at 9:26 am · Filed under Mac
I actually just returned my glossy screen MacBook Pro and brought home the matte screen version instead. The “glossy screen vs. matte screen” debate rages on… but having used both, I personally prefer the matte version.
I found the glossy screen to be excellent in low light situations but the glare and reflection was too distracting in most lighting. I find the matte screen, although not as bright as it’s shiny cousin, still produces plenty of brightness.
I’ve also heard several reports lately about glossy screens being harmful to one’s eyesight, so I also took this into consideration when making my choice.
tags: glossy screen, matte screen, macbook, mbp, macbook pro, macintosh
December 2, 2006 at 11:13 am · Filed under Mac OS X
I’ve been checking out bar code scanners for Mac OSX and came across something really cool today.
Delicious Library (http://www.delicious-monster.com) allows you to use iSight to scan bar codes for:
- Books
- Movies
- Music
- …and more
Delicious Library then builds a digital library of your collections. You can browse and search through your cataloged collection and also sync it with your iPod. Very cool.
tags: OS X, osx, barcode scanners, barcode scanner, mac osx
December 3, 2006 at 10:07 pm · Filed under Mac OS X
I just had a problem with my Mac and will be getting it checked out tomorrow…
I was working when a transparent gray layer covered the screen on my MacBook Pro and a message popped up saying “You Need to Restart Your Computer Now”. After restarting, I did a little searching around and found out it was a kernel panic.
Going to have my notebook checked out tomorrow, hopefully it isn’t anything serious.
tags: macbook pro, mac, osx, os+x
December 5, 2006 at 12:56 pm · Filed under Mac OS X
After running numerous hardware tests, Apple was unable to locate the cause of the kernel panic that happened the other night. Since it was probably a software issue, we reinstalled Mac OS X and so far there haven’t been any further issues. I’ll keep you posted.
Sidenote: Reinstalling Mac OS X was amazingly easy coming from a PC background. I was able to reinstall the operating system and keep all of my files, folders, and settings in tact. I’m getting spoiled.
tags: mac osx, osx, mac, macbook pro, kernel panic
December 5, 2006 at 1:34 pm · Filed under Parallels
Well, I finally got Parallels and Windows XP working. The problem was that I bought Parallels at a retail store and it seems that the version was a little outdated. After I downloaded the latest version from the Parallels website, it solved the “NTLDR is missing” error I was getting.
Everything is running really smooth, but I noticed a minor annoyance today. When running Parallels and OS X side by side (not in full screen mode), the XP window is oversized and the bottom of the window falls below the end of my screen. This makes it impossible to resize the window running the VM.
Here’s how I fixed it…
Go to the Windows desktop and right click. Choose “properties”. Then go to the “settings” tab and change the resolution to 800×600. That’s all there is to it, you should now be able to resize the XP window once again.
tags: parallels, mac, windows+xp, osx
December 8, 2006 at 2:41 pm · Filed under Mac Software
Over the past few days, I’ve been looking at the different audio software for Mac OS X. Here are two Mac audio software programs that I’ll be trying over the next week:
- Audacity - A free audio editor for Macintosh computers that allows you to cut, copy, paste, mix tracks, and apply effects to recordings.
- Amadeus 2 - Powerful sound editor with support of mp3 and Ogg Vorbis codecs, mp4 and .m4a formats, support for VST audio plugins, and sound repairing/analyzing functions.
From what I’ve seen, the audio software available for a Mac looks promising…
tags: mac, audio software
December 9, 2006 at 10:07 am · Filed under iPod
Last night I was at Best Buy with my sister trying to get a little Christmas shopping done when we passed the iPod display area. She stopped dead in her tracks, walked over to a silver Nano as if she had just fallen in love, and asked… “Can i use a Mac iPod on Windows?”
My reply?
“Sure, but why would you want to?”
…we’re going to the Apple store today to look at MacBooks. Macs are contagious.
tags: ipod, mac, ipod nano, apple
December 20, 2006 at 4:32 pm · Filed under Mac Software
I’ve been looking around for some eBay auction software for my new Macintosh notebook recently. Here are a few of the programs that I plan on checking out:
- AuctionGenie
- AuctionSieve
- Baywatch
- BidNobble
- CALC
I’ll report back with feedback once I’ve had a chance to try them all.
tags: ebay, macintosh, online auctions
December 21, 2006 at 11:30 am · Filed under Mac OS X
Well, I finally found something that I don’t like about my new MacBook Pro and Mac OS X…
Working with .htaccess files is a pain. Not only does Mac OS X hide all dot files, they also never make it to the server when FTP’ing.
The first FTP client I downloaded for my Mac was CyberDuck. It’s free and does a decent job, however .htaccess files never make it to the server when uploading. After some advice from a veteran Mac user, I picked up a copy of Transmit and it solved my problem. FTP’ing dot files with Transmit isn’t a problem and works great.
There is another solution… but it sucks. You can enable hidden file viewing by downloading a program called TinkerTool, however it really clutters the clean Mac experience with a bunch of extra files.
There has to be a way to show .htaccess files by default while hiding other dot files.
tags: mac osx, mac, os x, dot files, htaccess
December 25, 2006 at 8:10 am · Filed under Mac OS X
Amazing.
I had a chance to check out Microsoft’s new Windows Vista and I’m floored at how bad they ripped off OS X. It’s so bad that I’m actually embarrassed for Microsoft.
What about a little innovation here guys? Instead of copying and pasting stuff, why not make a feature better? If you’re going to release borrowed features, at least incorporate a little creativity and add some of your own ideas to improve upon things. Sheesh… no shame.
Here are a few videos that are good for a laugh…
=> The Real Windows Vista
=> David Pogue’s Review of Windows Vista
tags: os x, osx, windows vista, windows, mac
December 25, 2006 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Mac Accessories
Santa dropped off a new wireless Mac Mighty Mouse today and so far, I really like it. The Mac Mighty Mouse is bluetooth so there’s no need to plug in to the USB port. Also, set up was a piece of cake.
I’ve heard that people have been having problems with right click and the scroll ball but so far, everything is working perfect.
tags: mighty mouse, wireless mouse, mac, macintosh
