February 3rd, 2009, 6 Comments »
I was fortunate to get a bunch more recommendations for OS X apps from Twitter and my previous post. I’ve included most of them below. I skipped a few that seemed particularly specialized, or specific to a particular profession (for example, software developer, web designer, and so forth). Here they are:
AppTrap - Ensures that all files are removed when you uninstall software.
Boxee - From what I gather, a kind of free, open source media centre.
Calaboration - For syncing Google Calendar with iCal. I’ve tried three solutions, and this is the only one that’s worked without serious agony.
CrossOver Games - Apparently a ’seamless’ tool for playing PC games on OS X.
DoubleCommand - A utility for remapping your keyboard. Apparently useful for using a non-Apple keyboard with OS X. I’m going to give this a try, as I want to use my big old Windows keyboard instead of the dainty one that came with my iMac.
DropBox - Storage app and syncing service for storing and sharing files. For what it’s worth, I tried this tool on OS X 10.4 and had a difficult time uninstalling it.
Evernote - Very handy research, note-taking and forget-me-not tool. I’ve never used their software, but have lately used their Firefox add-ons for research on our book.
Freedom - Turns off your network connection for eight hours, enabling you to temporarily defeat your Internet addiction so you can do actual work.
iAlertU - A car alarm for your laptop. It uses your Mac’s built-in motion sensor to trigger an alarm and snap a photo of the apparent thief with the iSite camera.
iTunes Alarm - Predictably, turns iTunes into an alarm clock.
Jumpcut - Access your clipboard’s history, and edit the contents on the fly.
LittleSnapper - Yet another screen capture app.
Little Snitch - A firewall app that can tell you what’s coming in and out of your computer’s network connection.
MacTheRipper - Extracts DVDs to video files. I used this app about a year ago, and it worked like a charm.
Mojo - Looks like a modern-day Napster or Kazza.
Popcorn - Another tool for extracting your DVDs to your computer.
Scrivener - Another app specifically built for the writer. Looks quite cool, though I wonder how a tool like this influences the kind of work you might create.
TextExpander - Saves you time by enabling you to create customized keyboard shortcuts for commonly-used phrases.
Transmission - A pretty terrific BitTorrent client that I’ve used on occasion.
TrueCrypt - “Free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.”
Thanks to Aaron, Masey, Newley, Rebecca, Darren, Chris, Mike, Ross, Kerry, Peter and Brian for the suggestions.
6 Comments »
February 2nd, 2009, 23 Comments »
This week I got a new iMac. It’s the first machine I’ve had that’s running OS X 10.5 (that would be Leopard for all you cat-lovers), the current version of Apple’s operating system. I thought I’d ask on Twitter about the Apple desktop apps that the cool kids are using. Here’s what I heard back. I expect that Apple power users will be familiar with all of these.
UPDATE: If this post interests, you might want to check out part two as well.
1Password - A password manager and form completer.
Adium - The popular all-in-one instant messaging client.
Bento - “Personal file organization and database”. I’m a little unclear on why I’d want this. Anyone?
Boot Camp - The app that enables you to run Windows on my iMac. Assuming I can acquire a copy of Windows, I plan to install it for running Windows-only games.
Caffeine - “Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back.” I gather this is for when you’re watching longer web-based videos, where the screen goes dim without inputs after a while?
ClicktoFlash - A Safari plug-in that turns all Flash elements in a web page to gray boxes until you click them. I’m a Firefox user myself, so FlashBlock looks like the equivalent.
FileVault - Software for encrypting one’s files. Boris assures me that I “can ignore FileVault — it’s for encrypting your home directory. Only uber nerds use it.” I am not an uber-nerd, so I’ll take his advice.
FileZilla - An open-source FTP client. I’ve always used CyberDuck, for no particular reason. They both have incredibly goofy names.
Fluid - Make site-specific browsers for your favourite web apps. I’ve been using Google Gears to get certain web app icons in my desktop’s dock, but this will work better.
HandBrake - “An open-source, GPL-licensed, multi-platform, multithreaded, DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.”
KeePassX - Another password manager. Yes, I’m troubled by that creative spelling of “key”.
Layers - If I understand it correctly, it enables you to build multi-window screen captures? Seems kind of like a nail in search of a hammer, but who am I to judge?
Mailplane - This is kind of a custom email browser for Gmail that makes the web-based email app act more like desktop software. I’ve used this on my laptop for a while, but lately (probably due to Gmail, not Mailplane itself) I’ve found it rather sluggish. So these days I’m giving Apple Mail a try.
PersonalBrain - A mind-mapping tool, from what I can gather.
Quicksilver - Hard to describe, so here’s Wikipedia: “allows users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching applications, manipulating files and data, running scripts, or sending e-mail.” I’ve had this installed on my laptop for some time, but I barely ever think to use it.
Skitch - The very handy, exceptionally usable screen capture and quick illustration app.
Snackr - An Adobe AIR app that, I gather, turns part of your desktop into a kind of CNN news ticker, powered by the RSS feeds of your choice.
Storyist - A word processor designed for novelists and screenwriters.
TextMate - A fancier TextEdit. I used NotePad++ on my Windows desktop–I must check to see if there’s a OS X version.
Things - Task management software. Boris, if I recall correctly, described the Areas of Responsibility feature as a ‘game-changer’.
Ted - Combines RSS and BitTorrent to automagically download the TV shows you specify. I’m familiar with another app that does the same thing, TVShows.
Time Machine - Apple’s fancy backup system.
Tinderbox - “A personal content assistant that helps you visualize, analyze, and share your notes.”
VideoLan - The workhouse, almost-never-fails video player I’ve come to know and love. Nowhere is Apple more irrational than in its ridiculously narrow native support of video formats.
Yojimbo - Yet another information manager.
Thanks to Avi, Ian, Chris, Miranda, Graeme, Andrew, David, Kerry, Derek, Chris, Ryan, John, Danny, Martin and Masey. Apologies if I referred to you as a geek if you are, in fact, a Normal Human.
That’s a good start. What favourite app would you add to this list?
23 Comments »
January 8th, 2009, 23 Comments »
In 2006, I bought a new Windows desktop. It enjoyed a year off when we lived abroad and I exclusively used my laptop, but I’ve been using it heavily over the past ten months. It’s beginning to feel seriously creeky.
In 2009, I’d like to buy an Apple desktop. I’ll still need Windows occasionally, but I’ll just use Apple’s Boot Camp to run it in parallel when necessary.
I almost certainly don’t need a Mac Pro, which would cost more than I’d like to spend anyway. So that leaves me with the iMac.
But here’s the thing: I’d like to get a second monitor. And it’s going to trouble my sense of symmetry tremendously if those monitors aren’t exactly the same. Obviously they won’t be the same, because one will be an iMac and one will be a plain old monitor.
We’ve talked about dual-monitors before–I’ve still never worked with that set up. Have you used two monitors side-by-side when they’re not exactly the same model? Did it make your OCD go zing?
This is such a Foamy Latte problem. I’ll explain what I mean by that in an upcoming post.
23 Comments »
December 28th, 2008, 15 Comments »
I bought my white mid-range MacBook in August, 2007. About ten months later, little cracks appeared on the keyboard’s faceplate. They were on the seam where the top faceplate meets the front of the laptop, and maybe half a centimeter wide.
Eventually little strips of plastic snapped off the top of my laptop. It was really only an aesthetic problem, but the thing was still under warranty, so I got it fixed. It’s a good thing, too, because I seem to recall the Apple technician telling me the faceplates were, like, $500 to replace.
Another six months later, my replacement keyboard faceplate is suffering from the same problem:
I’m quite a heavy-handed typist. Maybe that’s it? Or is it my incredibly muscular wrists? In truth, it seems like an ongoing defect with the plastic and design of the faceplate. It’s not thick or strong enough to bear the ongoing weight of lazy typists who don’t pick up their wrists when they’re working.
After a year and a half with this MacBook, that and the overly-hot base are my only complaints. Later in 2009 I might upgrade to a MacBook Air, or I might go with another MacBook. Apple has given me little reason to return to the wayward Windows ways of my youth.
15 Comments »
August 12th, 2008, 2 Comments »
The one time I went into this Apple store on Yates Street, they gave me incorrect information about Bluetooth-enabling our old iMac. I was unimpressed, so I haven’t been back.
The clip art doesn’t even make any sense. The slogan says ‘Tune your Mac’ and they’re using an image of a (jauntily-leaning) doctor? Surely a mechanic (or, say, a piano tuner?) might have been a wiser option.
2 Comments »
July 10th, 2008, 12 Comments »
Back in the eighties, Vancouverites would frequently made odysseys across the border and visit the foreign temples of capitalism. At that time, there were a ton of brands which didn’t have a presence north of the border: Old Navy, The Gap, Banana Republic and so forth. People felt thrilled and sophisticated to be wearing clothes that you couldn’t buy in Canada.
Times changed, and we have more than enough of those once-exotic stores up here. However, there’s a new segregation in town, and it’s digital. Canucks can’t watch Hulu, the popular TV on demand service. Likewise for a lot of BBC programming.
Personally, I’m frustrated by the fact that I can’t use Rhapsody’s or Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 services. I’d happily pay ten bucks for an album, but not if it comes with DRM or in some proprietary format. So iTunes is out. I already subscribe to eMusic, but they often don’t have albums that I want (Hem, for example).
Canadians are second class citizens, I assume, because these services haven’t negotiated deals with Canadian rights holders. And they’re probably in no hurry–there’s only 30 million potential buyers up here.
In the meantime, my only alternatives are going to a store and buying a hunk of plastic (unreliable and not very green) or illegally downloading the albums I can’t buy on eMusic (sometimes unreliable). I trust we’ll get MP3s on Amazon.ca eventually, but hopefully it takes less time than for The Gap to come to Vancouver.
12 Comments »
May 31st, 2008, 15 Comments »
Here’s the scenario. Bear with me, it’s kind of tedious:
- My local copy of my music files are stored on a Windows desktop. We’ll call that PC1. For the record, I also store a synched backup at MP3Tunes.
- Julie and I both have iPods. We listen to podcasts. I use iTunes on PC1, but she subscribes to her own set of podcasts on her Mac. We’ll call that Mac1.
As far as I can figure, you can’t load stuff (songs and podcasts) on the same iPod from multiple computers, particularly when those computers use different operating systems. When I plug my Windows-formatted iPod into Mac1, it wants to reformat it and wipe the thing clean. The same happens in reverse with Julie’s Apple-formatted iPod.
In short, I want to load music from PC1 and then podcasts from Mac1 onto the same iPod. I think this is impossible, at least if I want to use iTunes. What do you think?
This problem would go away if iTunes offered support for user profiles. I guess I’d better submit a feature request.
I think the least painful solution is to remove my Windows PC from the scenario by copying all of the music to an external hard drive. Then we can just attach that to either of our Macs, and access the music library that way. Alternately we could try to set up a home network amongst all our computers. Both of those solutions feel like way too much solution for such a simple problem. Such is consumer computing in 2008, I guess.
15 Comments »
May 21st, 2008, 16 Comments »
CNNET News features an article by Tom Krazit today entitled ‘Apple missing golden .Mac opportunity’. Krazit argues that Apple has missed an opportunity with .Mac, and has some suggestions for revamping the service:
For example, if $49 a year granted you access to 20GBs of online storage, unlimited photo sharing on a Web page you designed, and unique capabilities such as Back to My Mac, you might be more willing to pay the equivalent of four bucks a month. Use the same service to link iPhones and iPod Touches with Macs, and you increase the value of each device, while also giving users a reason to buy both their handheld and desk-bound computers from Apple.
Or, Apple could give away a free year of .Mac service with the purchase of a new Mac. That’s the drug-dealer strategy: the first one is free. After that, once you’ve put all your images and videos on the .Mac service, $49 a year won’t seem like much to keep that service running. Apple does provide a 60-day trial period for .Mac services, but that’s not enough to get hooked.
For the uninitiated, a .Mac account costs $99 per year, and gets you the following main benefits:
- Easy posting of photos and videos space on Apple’s servers.
- 10 GB of online storage.
- Virtual access to your Mac from any other Mac.
- Integration with the Apple iLife suite.
Do you have an .Mac account?
I don’t. I can see how it would be convenient, but $10/GB per year always struck me as exorbitant for online backup.
Besides, our requirements for online storage run to, I don’t know, 200 GB. Plus, our 5000-odd photos are already backed up on Flickr and my 8000-odd songs are backed up on MP3Tunes.
I’m still looking for a well-priced, reliable backup option for our Macs. We tried Mozy’s beta program, but it failed miserably.
16 Comments »
March 31st, 2008, 1 Comment »
Earlier in the month I asked you, dear readers, how you were syncing Apple’s iCal and your Google Calendar. You offered several solutions, but the one I ended up trying was BusySync. It lasted about three weeks before doing this to my calendar:
As you may have guessed, there’s only one luncheon. Julie and I are speaking at it, so the event should appear twice, not five times.
I don’t think I did anything peculiar to the app–I just installed it and expected it to work. And, sadly, it didn’t. At least the uninstall process was relatively straightforward and didn’t permanently screw up my Google Calendar.
I’d consider Spanning Sync, but this issue isn’t really worth 65 of my hard-earned dollars. Back to a web calendar-only universe, I guess.
UPDATE: The folks at BusySync are on the ball, and already emailed with a detailed explanation of the issue. It’s not worth my time to troubleshoot it at the moment, but I appreciate their prompt and thorough response.
1 Comment »
March 17th, 2008, 2 Comments »
It was a whirlwind week of meetings, appointments, errands and a conference in Vancouver last week. On Saturday I made the move across the water and have taken occupancy of our Fairfield apartment.
I’m pretty happy with it. It’s a modern reno inside the shell of a 1912 heritage house, with some original features (doors, floors, stained glass) retained. The office upstairs is big and bright, and has a rooftop deck off it with views of the Olympic peninsula and downtown. It’s furnished down to the face clothes and grapefruit knives, which is awesome. One trip to the grocery store and I’m ready to work.
It took Shaw Cable two trips to get my internet access working, but at least they were on time, honest and efficient. Julie’s in Morocco for another two weeks with her sister, so I expect to get plenty of work done.
One thorn in my productivity is that I had to take my MacBook into the shop. About three months ago, the fan started to sound like a crippled Sea King helicopter. It was seriously loud, and it would often rev and spin out. The surface temperature of the laptop increased, and I started seeing worrying behaviour in graphics-intensive apps like World of Warcraft.
Given that the thing is less than six months old, I’m underwhelmed. I count myself lucky that it didn’t melt down in Morocco, where I suspect that there’s a dearth of Apple stores.
I took it into Soho Computer Services here in Victoria. They’d only had it for four hours when they called to confirm my diagnosis–the fan is shot. Kudos to them for the quick turn-around.
Hopefully I’ll have my muted, cooled MacBook back by the weekend. In the meantime, I’m using our underpowered G5 iMac. It’s in desperate need of a RAM upgrade, but it’ll have to wait until I get my laptop back.
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