Image Credit: "Get a Mac Ads: Better" by silverkeys on Flickr
Mac are cool! Get over it Microsoft! I haven’t heard of people not liking something cool. Even those who pretend not to like cool things are following a popular un-cool trend, which in some circles, is cool! There are some features in OS X that are, for lack of a better word, cool (how many more times can I use this word). They are also very helpful. Throughout the past 24 days I’ve been using these features extensively but haven’t mentioned them at all. Today is all about showing off some of those features I find, cool. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "Once you go Mac, you don't go back." by Andrew Trinh
I’ve been spoiled by Mac and I will not go back to PC! I cant go back! Day 23 was filled with working on PC’s in school bas to finish work and fixing families laptops and desktops. I found myself making silly mistakes. I’ve grown accustomed to Mac and instantly missed my mouse-pad gestures and the placement of the command key, I expected everything to work as they did on my Mac. They did not. I was in a world I’ve known for many years that suddenly felt alien. Program installations displayed unnecessary pop-ups, the right mouse button seemed unnecessary (although I miss it the most on Mac), laptop cases felt flimsy, and the ALT key was in the wrong place! Clearly, Planet Windows was a world I left far behind 22 days ago. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "PRO TOOLS WITH THE MAC G5" by jae michie on Flickr
I do plenty of audio work. I create music, podcasts, and edit tons of audio. To complete these tasks in Windows, I required several different tools, one for song creation, audio editing, mixing, and recording. This is not meant to be a negative, audio programs aren’t built to serve every audio purpose. I never liked the Windows specific audio creation and editing tools, some provided great features but lacked many others. Continue Reading »
Image credit: This is frustration" by cw3283 (cwPhotography) on Flickr
My Mac Life hasn’t been perfect (although damn near close!). Over the past three weeks there has been a small list of frustrations I’ve had with the new Mac. Nothing is perfect and these mounting frustrations are smaller than the long list of frustrations with Vista. With the Apple Wordwide Developers Conference a week away, I decided to list a few of these issues. Some of these frustrations may be fixed in the upcoming version of OS X – Snow Leopard. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web" by jgarber on Flickr
The past two days has revolved around website development on the Mac platform. As a web developer I regularly require the use of an Apache environment with PHP and MySQL. When I discovered OS X has Apache and PHP built into it’s system, I nearly flipped. The ability to create and develop websites on a localized platform without needing to upload changes to a web server would save time and energy. Activating Apache, PHP, and MySQL within Leopard is a different story.
There are two methods for creating an environment integrating Apache, PHP, and MySQL; “The you need to know what your doing” method which requires some utilization of the terminal and a text editor and the “Easier, complete solution” which uses a LAMP. It has taken me two days to collect a series of resources and find the best solution for myself. This post is not geared towards new Mac owners, but new Mac owners who are web developers. I’m not going to detail the process, but provide an overview and links to a manual installation or using a LAMP. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "Flaming PowerBook" by cype_applejuice on Flickr
Today I’ve learned one lesson about the MacBook Pro. It is hot! While Avalon (the computers name) is cool and stylish it can also become very warm! This is typical, computers generally produce a fair amount of heat, including laptops. It’s recommended that laptops (of any make) should not be used in a person’s lap for an extended period. This warning can be dire for men as it may reduce male fertility (I kid you not!) Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "Apple Store SOHO - Garageband Workshop" by Midnight Talker on Flickr
The Apple Retail Stores have daily workshops covering Apple products and topics. These topics range from the very broad, such as getting adjusted to your new Mac life to the very specific, like Final Cut Pro or creating music on your Mac. On the outside these workshops may seem like a ploy to bring people into a store and purchase even more product, but they are extremely helpful. These are generally hour long sessions where you can get hands-on training, help, or learn how to do new things with Mac. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "Apple Genius Bar" by .imelda on Flickr
When you begin a MacLife(tm), there are several things that are completely different than any previous computing life. In some ways it feels like you’ve waken up as a cat instead of a person. You need to learn about being a cat when all you know is how to be a human. To their credit, Apple has plenty resources to help with the migration and introduction to the Mac world. One amazing resource are the Mac Genius’.
Apple loves to tout the friendliness and expertise of their staff. When I began looking at purchasing a new computer I asked several Mac genius’ across 3 stores and 2 states all sorts of questions concerning Mac. My questions were specific from web design to general maintenance. Each one of the Genius’ have been able to answer my questions or find another Mac Genius to answer my question. I’ve never left the Apple Store without an unresolved issue!
What happens if there isn’t a Mac Genius around and your left alone, by yourself, with a million questions to answer? Through the advice of friends, Mac Genius’ and google searches I’ve compiled a list that has helped me through my initial days of adjusting to Mac. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "Halfway point!" by OwenBlacker on Flickr
15 days in, and I’m very happy with the new MacBook Pro (Avalon), even drawing some jealously! To say that getting a new computer has changed my life is cheesy, but accurate. In 15 days, they way I work and live has changed dramatically, this is due to the fact that my life is directly related to IT. I’ve been able to accomplish tasks faster, easier, and manage them in ways unable to do previously. Life changing, yes, perfect, damn near close.
Half of the things I had to worry about when using a PC have been removed from my computing life. Viruses, spyware, malware aren’t high concerns; but does not mean I can begin to act recklessly. Most of the maintenance tasks, file organization, and compatibility issues I’ve experienced with PC are gone. Continue Reading »
Image Credit: "music mac" by shapeshift on Flickr
It took plenty of testing, but I understand why most recommend using iTunes for music management on Mac. iTunes performs the management without using additional plugins or tools. I’ve previous detailed my requirements for a program that organized music. I felt iTunes was limited in scope and did not perform the tasks adequately enough. In Windows, I had several tools that managed by music collection, one for categorization, another for playing, one for streaming music. None of these applications talked to each other, my music manager did not integrate with my music player which did not integrate with my music streamer. Many times I had to rely on folder management to perform the work I required. When I realized some of iTunes benefits, and it’s integration with other applications, it warranted a second look. Continue Reading »