Everyone else is doing their 2009 and 2010 lists, so I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon. Here is my list of Apple predictions for 2010. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Mac’
Apple Predictions for 2010
Monday, January 4th, 2010One year with a Mac
Sunday, August 9th, 2009It’s funny, I use to be a “PC Guy” and hated console gaming and Mac. Now if you asked me, I’d consider myself a “Mac Guy” and 99% of the gaming I do is on a console. My, how times have changed.
A year ago next month, will be when I purchased my first Mac. It was intended as an experiment, me and some friends had delusions of grandeur and planned on making some iPhone apps. That hasn’t happened, not to say it will never, as there are a couple of apps that I’d like to see, but I’m not there yet.
Over the past year, my Windows rig (Vista, C2D @ 2.53 GHz, 2 GB RAM, ATI HD 4870 512) has been neglected, only turned on to run Quicken when I’m balancing the checkbook. Even that came to an end as I found something that fills my needs on the Mac. So, what software do I use? What Mac software replaced my Windows software? Let’s take a look. (more…)
New System
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009So, it’s been an incredibly long time since I last built a PC, or really done any kind of hardware work. Heck, where I work we have to wait 2-5 days for a union electrician to come and install a new HDD in a removable rack, and if we try to do the two minute job we’d get a grievance filed on us. It sucks, but thankfully I spend my days stuck inside of PHP code and an Oracle database.
After making the switch to OS X, I really didn’t think I’d ever be inside a PC again. Oh, sure, I opened up my Mac Mini and added some memory and swapped out the HDD, but that’s no big deal. Well, a few weeks ago I had a mysterious package arrive at my doorstep. After ensuring there was no white powder or explosives inside, I opened it up to find half a computer system courtesy of Dave, an old friend at OverclockersClub.com.
With the parts he sent me, and the graphics card I received from the OCC Christmas Contest, I had the beginnings of a damn nice PC. Just needed a few more things and it’d be good to go. Once everything was ready, I dusted off my old custom Lian Li PC70 Disturbed case, and shoved all the components in.
And, nothing… no video, no error beeps, no post, nothing. My first build in ages would power up and proceed to do nothing. A few hours later, I had given up. Actually, I thought I may have damaged the CPU or motherboard when installing the heat sink.
This afternoon, I decided to give it another try. Took the video card out, and nothing. Took the memory out and the system beeped at me. Hmm… so I put the memory back in, put the video card back in, and magic the system booted. Stupid PC! :p
So, now I’m up and running. Vista (Ultimate 64) is grinding away downloading the first round of updates, all 84 of them. I now find myself wondering, what the heck am I going to do with this system? My wife chirps in often with the same question. Truthfully, I have no idea. I’m not crazy about Vista (or the much improved Windows 7)… everything I do these days is on my Mac.
Perhaps I should blow it away and install Linux (it’s been a while since I’ve messed with Slackware). Maybe this will become a test web server, or some kind of FTP/file server. Though it really would be a waste of that Radeon HD 4870. Hmm… MythTV maybe?
Returning To OCC
Saturday, December 20th, 2008I received an early Christmas present a few months ago when I found out that my ban from OverclockersClub.com had been lifted. It’s kind of strange being back, as a lot has changed since May 2007. It’s like revisiting a house that you grew up in, but haven’t seen in 20 years. It’s very familial, yet so very different. (more…)
I Love Delicious Library
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008There are a lot of things that I love about my Mac. It’s a whole new world, full of new software and applications. One of the apps that I absolutely love is Delicious Library. I don’t recall how I came to find out about this, but I’m glad that I did.
Delicious Library does two things, it keeps an inventory of everything you have and helps manage items that have been loaned out to someone. Before this I attempted to keep a list of DVD’s I owned in a spreadsheet. That didn’t exactly work to well. And last December when my home was broken into and most of my video games were stolen, I didn’t have a comprehensive list of what video games I had. That made it incredibly hard to provide a list to insurance or the police.
Another nice thing about DL is that it can even publish your library to an FTP site so you can show it off to your friends, or just have a backup copy in case something happens to your Mac. Check mine out, you know you want to. – I still need to add a number of books that Celtica and I own.
When you buy DL, you have the option to fork over $215 for (what I’m sure is a nice) bar code scanner or you can take a cheaper route and buy one off EBay. I got a USB Scanner for $30 or so, and another $20 for the USB cable. It works great. If you have an iMac or MacBook with a built in iSight, then no worries you can simply use that. Trust me, you’ll want a bar code reader if you have any kind of non-iTunes library. Yes, it’ll even track stuff you have in iTunes.
If you clicked the link earlier and saw my (well, mine and the wife’s) library then you see I’ve got movies (which is really DVD’s), video games, and books. That’s just what I selected to publish, you can also track just about anything else as well. Tools, toys, clothing, guns, gadgets, software, and more.
While the desktop portion of the app works fantastic, the export/publish leaves much to be desired. It’s very basic, and gives you two “themes” to select from when you publish. The published version has no search option, which sucks if you have a large library. It also has some problems from browser to browser, which hopefully will be fixed down the road. Sadly, there is also no method to customize the files, unless you chose to do it externally, which I’ve done a little bit to my published library.
For the desktop app, I’d have to give it a strong 10/10. For the publishing part, it wouldn’t score above a 5. I’d love to see some major work done the external part, maybe even a WordPress plugin. And I’ve already begun listing my ideas and feedback on GetSatisfaction.com.
Movies & Digital Copies
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008This certainly nothing new, but it was “new” to me. Today when I purchased Star Wars: The Clone Wars it had a nice little sticker on it that said it included a digital copy. I don’t know if any of the other movies in my library included this, and if they did and I didn’t get the digital copy, well I’m an idiot.
For those of you that don’t know the digital copies can be downloaded to your PC or Mac, and even transferred to your iPod. And it’s free with the DVD purchase. Not bad, you get two for the price of one.
How painful was the process? That’s the thing, it wasn’t. I simply put the “digital copy / bonus disk” into my Mac, opened up iTunes, and input the redemption code that came with the DVD. iTunes downloaded the movie, and now I have a digital copy… just like that. There is a similar process for PC+iTunes or PC+WMP.
Yes, I’m still one that buys physical media. Usually I’ll go for the Limited Edition or Special Edition copies first. After this, I’ll be looking to buy more movies with digital copies.
Yes, I’m Still Using The Mac
Monday, November 3rd, 2008I’m still a noob when it comes to things related to OSX, but I’m still going at it. Matter of fact, when I’m at home I hardly touch my PC. The only time I do that is once a week when I need to run Quicken. I must say, there is one incredibly annoying thing that I’ve found about using the Mac… Me.
I get so use to using the Mac, especially the keyboard shortcuts that I try using them when I’m on a PC. This happens when I first load up Quicken, and in the mornings when I get to work. I have to remember to “switch” myself back to the Windows world.
Aside from that, I’m loving it. 
I really wish I had the $$$ to buy a iMac or a MacBook, but for now my little Mac Mini (which I upgraded) is doing everything I need it to do. – Speaking of the upgrade, I’d been meaning to post pictures of that process, but I’ve been a little more than busy lately. I’ll get that done when I can.
What if Apple Created a Gaming Console?
Saturday, October 25th, 2008Everyone refers to the Xbox 360, PS3, and to a lesser extent the Nintendo Wii as a “next gen” gaming console. Does that mean the next round of consoles (Xbox 3602, PS4, Wii2) will be third gen, or will they just be the new “next gen”? I know, who cares, right?
A while back Apple announced to investors that there would be a “product transition”. No one is really sure what this is, or when it would be. Some think it was the new iPod Nano, the change to the iPod Touch, or even the new MacBooks. Others think it may be some kind of NetBook or Apple Tablet. Still others think it could be a new networked type TV. And some people think we have yet to se it.
Well, what if Apple were to venture into the realm of console gaming systems… better yet, what if they already had, and you didn’t know it. Perhaps you already have an Apple console in your living room, office, or bedroom. It may not be as big of a stretch as you think. (more…)
Mac OS X 10.5.5 Released
Monday, September 15th, 2008Apple has released released an update to OS X (Leopard). This update “includes general operating system improvements that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.”
This is kind of funny for me… I know I’ve not been using OSX very long, but it’s been pretty damn stable ever since I started using it. We’ll see how the update goes.
My First Mac
Friday, September 5th, 2008In case you missed it on Plurk or Neowin, Wednesday afternoon I bought my first Mac. Yes, you are reading that correctly… I now own a Macintosh computer. To be more specific, I now own a Mac Mini. Why a Mac Mini? Well for starters it was cheap. 
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