Merlot for your Mac

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 4:56 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Right now, there are two primary ways to run Windows programs on your Mac: Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop. Well, there is also a third way, called Darwine. Darwine is a project run by OpenDarwin project which uses the WINE compatibility layer to run Windows programs on a Mac without Windows installed. Of course, Darwine is in its beta stage and is no where near perfect, though it does run certain programs very well. To get started with Darwine, you’ll need an Intel Mac (it does work with PPC Macs using the open-source emulator QEMU, though so far I’ve only tested it on an Intel Mac) and Darwine 0.9.10 (I tried using the latest version, 0.9.12, but it wouldn’t open any programs). To install Darwine, simply drag the Darwine folder to your Applications directiory. Then, you’re going to want to install Xcode Tools and X11 from your Tiger install disc (if you have Panther, you’ll need to get X11 from Apple’s website). After that, download FreeType and install it by going to the directory where you extracted it in the Terminal and typing:

./configure && make && sudo make install

Now you’re ready to run some programs. To start off open some of the included .exe files in /Applications/Darwine/Sample WineLib Applications. If you installed everything right, they should open in WineHelper and X11 and run fine. But more advanced and useful programs, such as graphics-intense video games, may not run quite as smoothly. Most programs I have not been able to successfully run, including Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2, Windows Media Player 11 Beta, and Star Wars Galaxies, though Adobe Photoshop is supposedly able to run, and do so much faster than under Rosseta. Still, Darwine is highly unstable (trying to run Gamemaker gave my Mac a kernel panic), and doesn’t run most programs, though I think that very soon Darwine will become a viable alternative to Parallels and Boot Camp.

Apple leaves Samsung for SigmaTel

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 3:36 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Business

Remember just one short month ago when Apple broke up with its belovéd PortalPlayer? And Samsung seemed to have been a bit cocky with regards to winning the deal with Apple? Well, Apple’s out to set things straight.

According to a recent EE Times report, Apple has decided to cancel part of its deal with Samsung and continue using chips from SigmaTel. Now, Samsung will supply chips for only the iPod nano, while SigmaTel will provide the chips for the iPod shuffle. This rash action seems to be the result of Samsung’s proclamation that it will be the new provider of chips for iPods.

I only have one question: knowing Apple’s reputation and want of tight-lips, why can’t companies just keep their mouth shut? You would think that after years of watching switched deals due to leaks, companies would learn their lessons in dealing with Apple, but I guess not.

[via the iPod Observer]

Apple sweeps the PC stage

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 2:49 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Business

Today PC World magazine released its ever-famous 100 Best Products of 2006. And what kind of company would Apple be if it didn’t have at least a few products in the top 100? Well, try five. That’s right, five of Apple’s products are in the top 100 (actually they are in the top 50). The iPod nano (#4), Boot Camp (#10), the Mac Mini (#35), the iPod (#36), and iTunes (#43) all managed to make the list.

Other significant winners are companies like Intel (whose Core Duo chip ranked in at #1), Google (whose Google Earth came in at #6), and Canon (whose 30D DSLR camera snuck in the top ten at #8). Also be sure to check out the top 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time (I’m so sorry AOL).

Lastly, what should a company who manages to put 5 products into the top 100 for the year win? Why Hardware Compnay of the Year, of course. Oh Apple, we’re so proud of you (even if a few of your old products did manage to make the 25 worst list).

Buying a new Mac? Apple takes back your old computer, free.

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 2:01 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » News

Apple’s recycling program was announced last month, but it’s officially launched today. The “Take-Back” initiative allows consumers to recycle their existing computer when they purchase a new Mac. Apple will pay for the expense of shipping the computer; all you have to do is pack it and send it to them. Easy peasy.

I’m not an extreme environmentalist, but I recycle when I can. My town in Massachusetts has a pretty aggressive regimen that allows us to toss just about anything into our green plastic bins. But I’m still glad Apple’s taken a proactive step here. When I used to work in tech support, we often had to dispose of lots of old computers; many of them ended up being refurbished and given to staff members or donated where possible, but there are always some that are just too old. With the rate which we go through computer these days, people don’t always think about the damage that’s being done to the environment, or what exactly goes in to making the machines that we love.

On the other hand, you could always turn your old computer into something new.

[via MacCentral]

Yet another Quicktime update

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 1:25 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Software » Updates

In what seems like an excess of recent Quicktime-related updates, Apple released version 7.1.1 today. The update is roughly 50 MB and proclaims to:

…address an issue with 3rd party start-up items on Intel Macs. This release also fixes an issue exporting Keynote presentations to iDVD.

I suppose it’s a good thing that Apple releases updates more frequently rather than less frequently, but it does seem rather odd to me, especially considering how sensitive most Mac users are to little things.

(Update: Macworld’s Jim Dalrymple reports that the update fixes Adobe CS installation issues on Intel Macs. If you’re just tuning in, QuickTime 7.1 broke the Adobe software installer. So this is good news for people trying to run Photoshop in Rosetta on their Intel Macs!)

MacBook can see for miles and miles

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 1:18 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

Back in the day, the white iBook was the undisputed champion of AirPort reception, especially when compared to the pitiful performance of the first generations of the PowerBook G4. But now, there’s a new kid on the block, and he’s pounding the iBook into the dust. His name?

MacBook.

Sure, part of it can be chalked up to the fact that the pre-AirPort Extreme iBook didn’t support 802.11g only networks, or, for that matter, the far less common 802.11a networks. If you look at the picture above, you’ll get a rough idea of how many networks my old iBook picked up in a pretty dense area.

But if you want to see how many my new MacBook picks up, give that picture a click—I think you’ll be impressed. I know I was.

Parallels Desktop RC2 includes Compressor

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 12:34 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Well, it looks like Parallels Desktop is fast approaching its full release with the unveiling of RC2. In addition to better USB support, improved host-guest networking, and overall better performance, Parallels Desktop Release Candidate 2 also comes with Parallels Compressor Server Edition technology, which improves performance and decreases the size of the virtual hard drive of you Windows XP, 2003, or 2000 virtual machine. Of course, the inclusion of Parallels Compressor means a significant price increase for the final version from $49.99 to $79.99, though you can still pre-order it for only $39.99. Personally, I would rather get Parallels for the cheaper price and pay extra for the Compressor, but hey, what am I going to do.

Mod your Mac: you’ve got mail!

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 9:28 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Geekery

Eventually we’ll be able to replace our aging silver G4 and blue & white G3 towers with a brand-spanking new Intel Mac Pro (or whatever inane moniker they end up settling upon). But what to do with the old tower? Well, you could turn it into a file server, or perhaps blow it up. Sadly, they’re not quite suited to being turned into Macquariums (unless you fancy those deep sea fish that hate sunlight).

Or you could turn it into a mailbox. A real mailbox. Like the kind they put paper letters in? Let me explain: in the days—nay, years—before the advent of electronic mail, people used to get paper letters delivered to them from the very hands of dedicated government workers, who would trek through all sorts of weather, just to make sure their charges arrived on time, often bearing news from far off lands. Archaic, I know, but it served.

So I’m not sure if this Auckland, New Zealand resident was engaging in some sort of post-modernist artistic expression, or if he merely needed a new mailbox (do they even have the Internet down there?) for his valuable correspondence. Either way, I wonder if it still works…

[via Gizmodo]

NYPD wants to protect and serve your iPod

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 8:50 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Security

I learned about theft at a very early age. When I was in second grade, my parents gave me a Red Sox warmup jacket for my birthday. Thrilled that I would sport the same garb as Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst, I proudly took my jacket to school, where it was promptly nicked from my locker, never to be seen again.

If only I’d had the New York Police Department on my side. The NYPD is out to stop rampant theft of electronic devices like portable game consoles, cellphones, and, of course, the ubiquitous iPod. They’ve launched a free program to etch serial numbers onto electronic devices using a special embossing ink that’s only visible under infrared light. In addition, in case thieves get clever, they’ll also register your device’s serial number. It’s good news for iPod owners, who have often been at risk due to the distinctive nature of Apple’s trademark white earbuds.

You know, this probably wouldn’t have gotten my jacket back, but I would’ve at least like to feel that someone was trying. Nowadays, between the clothes they wear and the equipment they carry (iPods, cellphones, game consoles), kids are probably worth far more than they were when I was a wee lad.

[Engadget via Cyrus, who’s supposed to be on vacation]

Attack of the Mail zombies!

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 8:05 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Internet

The last few days, I’ve been experiencing some strangeness with my .Mac account. Mail messages that I read show up as unread in my mailbox a few scant minutes later (sometimes three or four times!). Messages I delete or junk reappear in the inbox, as if they’d never been removed. The shambling remains of the undead walk, moaning aloud for brains.

Well, maybe not that last one.

Anyway, I checked out Apple and .Mac support, but found no existing info documents about this problem, so I delved into Apple’s discussion boards and, sure enough, came across a variable trove of people with the same issue. Apple’s released no official word, some on the boards seems to think that it’s a problem with OS X’s Mail program; nobody knows for certain though, and since the majority of cases reported are from .Mac users, there’s a definite belief that there’s something wonky with the online service. Some people have suggested running cron maintenance scripts, repairing permissions, while others think that you’re liable to get just as much of a result from running stark naked through the light of the full moon.

One point I do agree with: when you pay a hundred dollars a year for a service that you can get from elsewhere for free, well, you expect things to work smoothly. Hop to it, Apple.

iWork is what CNET wishes Office 2007 were

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 7:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Call it wishful thinking or simply a minor mistake, but when taking a look at CNET’s guide to Office alternatives, not only is iWork listed, but it’s box appears again, right next to Microsoft Office 2007 beta 2. Is CNET sending a passive aggressive message to Microsoft?

Ok, it’s much more likely to be a simple mistake, but it’s still funny. I’m now on the lookout for a picture of Steve Jobs with a caption describing him as Bill Gates. Now that’s real comedy.

[Hat tip: Andrew]

Australians get to see Leopard first?

Posted on May. 31, ’06, 6:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple

Tim Gaden of X Factor is reporting that Australia may get to see the next version of Apple’s operating system, code-named Leopard, first. In order to preview WWDC, Apple will be holding a series of special seminar events. In the description of the preview, Leopard was even mentioned.

Apple Developer Relations will be touring Australia and New Zealand in June to promote Apple’s 2006 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

WWDC is Apple’s most important annual event for developers from all walks of life. For anyone who develops for the Mac platform, nothing delivers in-depth information, unique insight, and unprecedented access to Apple engineers like the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. With five technology tracks, WWDC 2006 will cover the full spectrum of Mac technologies, from the current technologies in Tiger to what’s coming in Leopard, the next release of the Apple OS.

Will Tim’s countrymen be able to confirm some of the rumors? Or will Apple stay tight lipped until the turtle neck with a head that’s known as Steve Jobs reveals all?

Coming soon: iPod games?

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 4:11 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Games

GameSpot has recently reported that Apple is recruiting for a top-secret project, which seems to be related to iPod gaming. While nothing can be confirmed for sure, what we do know is that Mike Lampell, former technical director at LucasArts, is heading a top-secret group in the iTunes department. Apple is hiring C and C++ coders with a “gaming background.” The engineer who was recruited (according to GameSpot) said Apple wouldn’t reveal the nature of the job until he was hired and had singed a non-disclosure agreement. What might all this secrecy mean for the future of the iPod? Could Apple start selling games through the iTMS? Is the iPod turning into another cell phone?

[via the iPod Observer]

A quick thought on two-finger clicking

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 3:01 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

One of the new features that the MacBook introduction brought with it was the ability to bring up contextual menus by clicking while resting two fingers on the touchpad. On the one hand, this is exactly the sort of elegant solution we might expect from Apple—it’s very reminiscent of the touch-sensitive technology behind the MightyMouse.

Here’s the thing, though. While I’m still getting used to the two-finger scrolling method (when I remember to use it, it’s very handy for scrolling through long webpages and the like), I haven’t yet gotten to the point where two-finger clicking is in my muscle memory. When I think about it the reason is that when using the MacBook, my other hand is usually pretty close to the keyboard and it’s often just as easy to hit control and click.

Seems to me that control-clicking is much more inconvenient when you’re using a mouse, because you’re often concentrating on that hand, and moving your other hand to hit the keyboard is an extra annoyance. The two-click method seems more like a way to try and assuage those who constantly complain that there’s only one button on Apple portables. Anyway, so far I’ve found control-clicking to work just fine for me, but we’ll see if I can train my muscles to try two-finger clicking instead.

Adobe axes extraneous software packages

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 10:41 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Update: Jeff Carlson from TidBITS points out that the chain of transmission on the following news is somewhat tenuous, as it was originally translated from a report in French by someone attending the Adobe Live conference in Europe. Official word has not been released by Adobe at this point.

In a move that ought to surprise exactly nobody, the Voltron-like conglomerate that is now Adobe/Macromedia has announced the demise of two of its popular software packages: Macromedia FreeHand and Adobe GoLive.

Why? Because it’s got two much more popular packages in the same spaces, namely Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Now, I’m not a graphics person, so in the Illustrator vs. FreeHand debate, I’m mainly an uninformed bystander. I know people who like and swear by both products. But Dreamweaver vs. GoLive is my bailiwick, having previously earned my bread and butter as a web designer. While I didn’t use either program extensively, I had tried both, and I have to say that killing GoLive is probably the way to go. The best selling points for that app were its integration with the rest of Adobe’s suite, and since I have to believe they’ll be putting that integration into Dreamweaver, it’s kind of a no-brainer.

GoLive and FreeHand will continue to be supported for the time being, but no further development will take place on either of them; instead, teams will focus on Illustrator and Dreamweaver. It has yet to be seen if the acquisition of Macromedia will bring benefits to consumers, or merely eliminate competition in the creative markets, but we can always dream. And, apparently, weave.

Windows Media Player 11 attempts to imitate iTunes to death

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 9:50 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Windows

There’s nothing better to start off the work week than another report of the imminent death of the Mac platform/iPod/iTunes/Apple/bananas. Et cetera. The latest entry in the self-delusion sweepstakes is from Tony Briggs and that bastion of journalism, the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Briggs reviews Windows Media Player 11 in an article headlined “Will Windows’ [sic] Media Player 11 kill Apple’s iPod?”

Now, in all fairness, Briggs does admit that WMP11 is unlikely to kill iTunes, “especially given that millions of iPod users would never switch to anything with the Microsoft name on it.” True dat, Tony.

But most of the vaunted “improvements” that Briggs touts for WMP11 are laughable for iTunes users. Let’s run down the list. Oh, and for those of you wondering what’s with the seemingly unrelated picture up top, well, you’ll have to read all the way to the end. But trust me, it’s worth it.

It’s true: bold and italicize…at the same time!

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 8:48 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Tips

Mac OS X Hints underwent a bit of a transformation over the weekend as it transferred to a new version of its underlying software, Geeklog. The site has never looked better, and although Rob “Hint is my middle name” Griffiths is still working out the new site’s kinks, they are open for business.

Take this hint, for example, from user bobme:

I found this out while wanting to bold and underline a word in TextEdit. I held down the Command key, and then simultaneously hit the B and the U keys. Sure enough, bold AND underline. I checked and it works in Mail — and even in Word! Of course I had to push the limits. Bold, Underline, Italic? No problem. Try that on Windows!

Huh. I have to admit, as a Mac user of fifteen years I had no idea that this was possible. Granted, I don’t often want to bold, italicize and underline a word at the same time, but it’s somehow gratifying to know that if I did want to, I could. Yet another piece of fodder to try for my pro-Mac evangelizing. I’ll put this one upfront, right next to “it’s so pretty.”

Update: A number of people, both here and on Mac OS X Hints, have pointed out that this works on Windows too. Spoilsports. As for those who complain that this is nothing new, well, I’ll point out it’s plenty new to those who didn’t know about it. Me, for example. Next time, I’ll come up with something truly amazing for you jaded types.

Mac mini owner gets his DVR on

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 8:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

I have one reason for posting a picture of this guy’s DVR setup: to make Derik envious. I know he’s been in mourning ever since Steve announced the last mini without support for recording TV broadcasts.

Jeff (last name withheld so that Derik won’t track him down and attempt to steal his setup), has wall mounted an Intel Mac mini with a 1GB of RAM, a 300GB HD, Miglia TVMini HD tuner, and more. His only complaint is that audio is handled through internal speakers in his monitor, but he’s on the lookout for a good wall-mountable surround sound receiver.

And somewhere, there’s a puddle of drool collecting on my fellow blogger’s desk. Snap out of it, man!

[via Digg]

My Bluetooth adventures

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 7:57 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

One of the features my new MacBook has that was new to me is Bluetooth, the wireless protocol of choice for Viking empires. I bought a Bluetooth phone a few months ago, the Motorola E815, but so far my only experience with Bluetooth had been convincing my father to let me borrow his Acura TL, which has a built-in HandsFree system.

Setting up the phone to sync with my MacBook via iSync was simple enough, but at that point I sort of hit the end of the road. For some reason, the E815 isn’t compatible with OS X’s Address Book (it shows up, but I can’t pair it), and my phone has locked out the protocols which allow file exchange. Thank, Verizon. You guys have been great, really.

So I went in search of third party utilities. The first one I found, BluePhoneMenu, had the functionality I wanted (namely, to have a notice pop up onscreen when the phone was ringing; sometimes I miss calls because my phone’s on vibrate or silent), but it was incompatible with my phone. I tried out their new app, BluePhoneElite, but it does a bunch of other things I don’t really need, and it’s $20. Yes, I’m cheap frugal.

What would be really useful is if there was some way of turning the MacBook’s speaker/microphone into a handsfree device. That way I could answer my phone without rifling around trying to find it. I would probably pay $20 for that.

Dell puts the cart before the horse

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 7:30 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

Michael Dell didn’t get the message from Steve Jobs. Apparently the company is suffering from the shared delusion that they’ll start selling Mac hardware. If you take a look at their driver website, there is an option for “Apple Mac OS” in addition to the expected Windows options.

Obviously this is an error, but it’s still fun to pretend like it was intentional. The only other explanation I can come up with is that Dell will start adding official support for some of their branded peripherals, like their displays. I’m guessing not though. Why start now?

Teh Apple cube is broke!!!!

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 6:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Stores

Everyone has a story. Sometimes, a few extra exclamation points help emphasize things despite rampant spelling mistakes. Today’s example is “Stuck at apple” or as titled at Digg “The Apple cube in New York city broken in only 6 DAYS!!!!!”.

I took the elevator down because it was so cool. When we left me and 5 other members of my group went up in the asome [sic] glass elevator, when we got to the street level i got out of the elevator, AND THE DOOR CLOSED BEHIND ME!!- theres two diffrent [sic] doors an inner and outer door but curved glass for the round elevator, the exterior wouldn’t open but the inner door kept on opening and closing.

No, I will not go through and quote anymore of the article as I don’t feel like adding more [sic]s to this entry.

Here’s the quick synopsis: An elevator in Apple’s new Fifth Avenue store broke. Several people were stuck for 45 minutes. Exciting.

The challenge

Posted on May. 30, ’06, 6:00 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Riccardo Ettore, developer of TypeIt4Me, laid out a challenge when I wrote about TextExpander changing from a donationware model.

Dear Derik have a look at TypeIt4Me 3.0 and let me know if you still “feel like it should be left back with OS 9” :-)
http://homepage.mac.com/rettore/ty2/TypeIt4Me3.0PublicBeta.html

Looking forward to your comments,

Riccardo

I took him up on it and took a look at the 3.0 beta. I officially retract my OS 9 comment. It fits right in and even has a cute icon for its menu. It had a myriad of configuration options as well. Now that TextExpander is $30, and TypeIt4Me is a slightly more economical $27, I see some tight competition.

I think I’ll still shell out for TextExpander though because TypeIt4Me lacks the ability to insert pictures and also expand without a trigger (which can admittedly be problematic in many cases). SmileOnMyMac offers a really nice comparison sheet which actually points out that TypeIt4Me has several important advantages, namely application specific snippets, enable/disable via menubar and keyboard, and multiple snippet files.

Thanks to Riccardo for making me take a second look.

Read & update web pages on your iPod

Posted on May. 29, ’06, 6:30 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod » iPod Software

Why not really use that 2.5 inch LCD screen that comes with your iPod? Rather than printing or using your laptop or cell phone to read the latest in news, simply use your iPod! This is possible with iPodulator Pro, which accomplishes three major feats with regard to iPod-reading:

1. Converts websites to iPod-compatible text files for reading in the “Notes” section of your iPod Extras.
2. These websites are automatically updated on your iPod; no need to re-download the page to your Pod every time it changes.
3. Removes the 40,000 character limit on iPod notes. Your web pages can now show up in full with no limit in characters or length.

iPodulator Pro is in public beta testing right now, which means it will be free, until June 10th, at which point it will become $9.95. Try it now while it’s free to see if it might work for you!

Culture rifts and disturbing illustrations

Posted on May. 29, ’06, 11:03 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Humor

Boot Camp has generated a lot of attention from the media. There’s been the standard amount of misinterpretation (“Apple is going Windows!”, etc.). However, some of the funniest come from across the Pacific, Japan.

Imagine Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in nothing more than towels and big grins. Spooky. Visit the link to get the full effect. Personally, I’d never have imagined anything similar. I’d rather not do it again.

[via Digg]

I want Omni goodness now

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 9:39 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Over on their blog, Omni Group has started hinting about their new product. This is what they’ve let us know so far that it is not:

• A replacement for Mail
• Capable of producing documents
• Something that costs more than $20
• Anything iPod-related

I’m sold already. They’ve also said that they’ve:

1. Tried to get a dog to bark on command; failed.
2. Attempted to order a gorilla mask; succeeded.

I don’t know if I can live without the first thing.

The TVMax is a great complement

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 9:11 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

Disappointing millions (ok, just me), Steve Jobs introduced the last Mac mini without a DVR. And then I wouldn’t shut up about it. Miglia is now offering the TVMax solution. Much like stacking solutions such as NewerTech’s miniStack, it features the same footprint as the Mac mini, allowing for stacking.

I can see it now, an Intel Mac mini, a TVMax, a miniStack (filled with a 300GB+ drive I picked up somewhere cheap), and the Gyration wireless mouse and keyboard. That makes for a really kickbutt digital video recorder (and more). What else should I add to complete the system?

Sleep redux

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 8:29 PM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Rivals

I can’t seem to remember anything anymore. I try to keep up to date with Microsoft’s Vista OS. As I read “Vista Beta 2 takes a sleeping pill”, I got a really strong case of deja vu.

Looking for a fast yet reliable way to shut down your machine and bring it back up just as speedily? Looks like Vista might just have the solution. The new Sleep power state is a combination of the Hibernate and Standby power modes and provides the best of both worlds.

Ok, Where have I heard this before?

Sleep combines the features of both - it writes data to RAM so that you get the speed benefit, but it also caches it to the hard drive in case of power failure. In such a scenario, Vista will actually kick in a resume from Sleep mode, using the data stored to disk instead. Neat.

Oh, wait, that’s right. That’s Safe Sleep. We’ve had that for a while now. In fact, there was a version of it in Mac OS 9.

MacBook too hot for TV?

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 3:10 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

We’re going through a bit of a warm spell here in Boston. How warm? Well, tomorrow’s supposed to get pretty close to 90°, which is a little bit hot for this time of year. It is not, sadly, hotter than the bottom of a MacBook, apparently.

You can see a video over on YouTube of a MacBook user testing various parts of the notebook with an infrared temperature sensor. The computer had been running various apps for about 3 hours, and it registers temperatures between 86.8°F and 119.8°F. The user’s personal opinion is that the heat range is “quite exceptable [sic],” though some other MacBookers have disagreed in the comments. I don’t have a heat probe available to me, so I can’t confirm with my own numbers, but the MacBook certainly does get toasty at times, just like its big brother, the MacBook Pro.

How about it MacBookers: hot or not?

[via Digg]

Your wedding DJ, on shuffle

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 8:33 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

MarketWatch has an interesting article on the burgeoning trend of using iPods instead of DJs at wedding receptions. Now, my best friend from college got married just this past weekend, and I was on hand serving as best man. At one point during the planning of the wedding, several months ago, my friend jokingly suggested using my iPod instead of a DJ (this was in addition to making me shoot and edit the wedding video). Fortunately, I ended up doing neither of these things, and my friend ended up hiring professionals, which I think was a good decision in the long run. Especially for my sanity.

Granted, using an iPod can save you a lot of cash (the figure from the article that the average wedding runs $25,000 can cause palpitations), but honestly, having somebody else worrying about the music is priceless. I can tell you first hand that the bride, groom, and most of their close friends and family have enough to worry about without having to go and check on what song is coming up next on the iPod.

That said, it’s certainly a feasible option for smaller affairs where budget is a primary concern. After all, the key things about weddings is that they’re supposed to be fun.

[via Infinite Loop; pic from iPod my Photo]

Growl: it’s grrrrrrreat

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 8:16 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

We’ve mentioned Growl a few times in passing, but I think it deserves its own post. As a project, Growl is fairly ambitious: it attempts to create a framework that OS X applications can use to notify a user of various events. It might not sound particularly glamorous, but it’s an important part of the user experience.

Think of all the ways an application can notify you: dialog boxes, dock icons, sheets, etc. Not to mention all the various thing applications need to notify you of: you’ve got mail, RSS stories, IMs, hardware disconnected/connected, downloads…the list can go on and on.

Enter Growl, a preference pane that lets you manage how applications push to you all the information you want in a consistent, predictable fashion. Once you install the preference pane and a supported application, the app registers with Growl; you can then configure its notification preferences in the Growl preference pane to display in a number of styles. At the moment, my favorite notification is the Music Video style (pictured), which pops up a transparent band across the bottom of the screen.

My only regret at the moment is that although more and more apps are adding Growl support, my current RSS reader, NetNewsWire, only has it via a third-party AppleScript, which is somewhat flaky. Rumor is that it’ll show up in a future release, though, and I’m looking forward to it.

Return of the eMac?

Posted on May. 28, ’06, 4:40 AM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Hardware

Oh, the eMac. The little, all-in-one, white Mac used in educational environments, now lost in a world of Intel Macs. Well, the little eMac may soon be finding its way back home. According to AppleInsider, Apple will be re-introducing the eMac line with Intel processors and better parts during the second half of 2006. One of the improvements that may be made to the eMac will be an LCD display instead of a CRT, which will allow the eMac to get a little slimmer. Of course, LCDs mean higher prices, but the new eMac should still be less than the $1,299 low-end iMac. Still, this is all just speculation, but who knows, maybe the eMac will be revived after all.

[via AppleInsider]

Apple redesigns the Pro site

Posted on May. 27, ’06, 1:09 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Internet

Apple’s Pro site has long been one of my favorite pages to visit. Being a creative professional myself, I always found the stories of photographers, post production houses, music studios, filmmakers, and others to be quite intriguing. As of yesterday, the Pro site sports a brand new design which, although it seems busier, is actually better organized.

In addition to a new layout, the site received three new “video profiles” of different creative pros. The site also includes links to Apple’s regular creative pro stories/profiles, a link to the pro color page, tips/solutions for pro apps, and seminars. This new page seems to be a continuation of Apple’s new creative-geared switch campaign.

Sound and fury over Jobs’s comments signify nothing

Posted on May. 27, ’06, 11:26 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Steve Jobs

A couple of the major tech blogs (namely, Engadget and Gizmodo) have been making a big fuss about a comment made by Steve Jobs in a recent interview with NBC’s Brian Williams. The remark ran as follows (from MSNBC):

Williams: Do you know the downside of innovation? The rap on it is the minute you buy an iPod, you have to get the newest iPod.

Jobs: You know, you keep on innovating, you keep on making better stuff. And if you always want the latest and greatest, then you have to buy a new iPod at least once a year.

The stories seem to focusing on that last sentence. Actually, they’ve been focusing on the last half of that last sentence: “you have to buy a new iPod at least once a year.” As if Jobs was being prescriptive, sending an order out to the Mac faithful who, all across America, perked up and began shambling, zombie-style, to the nearest Apple Store, all the while muttering: “must…buy…iPod…Steve…commands.”

Bollocks, if I may affect an Anglicism. Every tech enthusiast knows that the product you buy is obsolete almost as soon as you buy it. The speed of the technology industry isn’t just ludicrous, it’s gone plaid. Steve isn’t saying that everyone needs to buy a new iPod every year, though I’m sure he wouldn’t mind; he’s merely saying that with the rapid pace at which tech is advancing, people who want to stay at the cutting edge are going to have expend a lot of money. Which has been true pretty much since the advent of the personal computer. Running headlines like “Jobs: You have to buy a new iPod at least once a year” is really just sensationalism.

In short: nothing new here, folks. Move along.

Macworld gives MacBooks 4.5 mice

Posted on May. 27, ’06, 9:37 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

We have, of course, bombarded you with MacBook news since the laptop’s launch just over two weeks ago. Hopefully, you’re not sick of it yet, and if you are, well, maybe you should skip this post.

Macworld Editor Jonathan Seff has given the MacBook a thorough investigation for Macworld’s full review. He found the laptop “very impressive, not only compared to the iBooks and PowerBook it replaces, but also compared to its new Pro brethren.” Although graphics performance leaves something to be desired for the hardcore gamer, the MacBook is suitable for pretty much all other tasks, including video editing.

I installed the Intel-native Final Cut Studio (one piece of this professional suite, Motion, wouldn’t even install on an iBook) on the 1.83GHz model, and found everything quite useable. (Apple says that Final Cut Studio is not supported on systems using Intel’s GMA950 graphics processor, but I found that it worked just fine.)

I know Cyrus and I have both been enjoying our new MacBooks, and I would unequivocally recommend them to someone looking for a solid laptop. Sure, they run a little more expensive than bargain bin PC notebooks, but that money actually goes to making the machine better. What a novel concept.

Apple loses appeal to Does

Posted on May. 27, ’06, 8:36 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

Last month, the Apple v. Does case was heard by the State of California Court of Appeals. Apple had won the first round of the case, but the Electronic Freedom Foundation had appealed the decision, which had declared that the bloggers in question were not protected by California’s Shield Law, which protects reporters from revealing their sources.

Yesterday, the appeals court handed down its ruling:

The judge in the State of California Court of Appeal 6th Appellate District agreed with lawyers for PowerPage and AppleInsider who argued that the confidentiality of sources for the online journalists were protected by the First Amendment.

Of arguments that suggested the information revealed by the websites was not to the public good, Judge Conrad Rushing (above right) said:

“we can think of no workable test or principle that would distinguish ‘legitimate’ from ‘illegitimate’ news. Any attempt by courts to draw such a distinction would imperil a fundamental purpose of the First Amendment, which is to identify the best, most important, and most valuable ideas not by any sociological or economic formula, rule of law, or process of government, but through the rough and tumble competition of the memetic marketplace.”

Apple has not yet commented on the decision.

How-to: perform an easy, fun, & fast computer prank

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 2:53 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | Apple » Humor

Perhaps this is the oldest trick in the book, or perhaps this is something you’ve never heard of. Nonetheless, I thought it would be best to educate, inform, and warn my fellow Mac users. The following is an easy and quick way to prank your friend in Microsoft Word:

Simply navigate to the Tools menu, and then select “AutoCorrect…” In the main pane, type in any common word (some good ones are: the, a, and, because, however, the person’s name, etc.) into the “Replace” box. Then choose a funny phrase or other word to type into the “With” box and click “Add.” Now anytime the person types your chosen word, it will be replaced with the phrase of your choosing. This is a great prank because it is dormant—sometimes certain words may not be discovered for weeks, or maybe the person won’t be able to figure out why “Tom Smith” keeps changing to “Tool Bag.” It’s all just harmless fun.

UPDATE: While at least one reader has strong objections to this prank, I personally happen to think the concept is harmless and hilarious, when used responsibly. It should go without saying: use good judgement when performing any prank.

iWeb 1.1.1 update fixes .Mac publishing issue

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 1:21 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software » Updates

The new iWeb 1.1.1 update is here, featuring bug fixes for publishing to .Mac accounts and…nothing else. The update can be downloaded either from Software Update or directly from Apple’s website.

“Swoosh” may only be the beginning

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 1:19 PM PT by Scott Silverman

Category | iPod » iPod Software

So yeah, Apple paired up with Nike the other day to release an iPod nano exercise companion. But where there’s one there’s more, right? (Like cockroaches, really.) According to Hrmpf.com the Nike partnership may only be the beginning, as Apple has filed several exercise-related patents. One of these patents is an exercise-music tempo sync, where the beat of your music matches the pace of your run. I can see that working really well, because I often end up running in sync with my music. So this little feature may help runners train faster, better, and easier. Keep the feature comin’ Apple!

Use your Mac to make your vac sing

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 1:14 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Geekery

Have you ever had a sudden urge for your vacuum cleaner to play the Mario Bros. theme song? Probably not, but if you ever had, there is now a way. To do so, you’ll need to connect a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner to your Mac using either Bluetooth or USB, and then download the free program RoombaMidi. Then, using either a MIDI keyboard or the free MidiKeys, you can create all of the cruddy sounding MIDI music you want to play on your Roomba. To see this feature in action, you can check out this demo video. I wonder what’s next for Apple/Roomba integration. Maybe the ability to stream to music from your iPod to your Roomba? Maybe.

[via Engdaget]

Picasa comes out for Linux, but not for Mac

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 12:55 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Software

Picasa is a program run by Google that allows you to organize, find, edit, and share all of the photos on your computer. For a while now Picasa has been available only on Windows, but today Google released the program for Linux. While it’s great and all that you can install Picasa on Linux, Google seems to have let Mac users out of the fun. I mean, what gives? Why does Google seems to think that Linux is more important for running Picasa than the Mac platform is? Well, there are a variety of answers. One is that it just may have been too hard to re-program Picasa for a different processor type (the Linux version can only run on i386 processors), though this wouldn’t explain why they just don’t make an Intel-only version for the Mac. You could also say that there’s no Picasa for Mac because of the fact that Picasa for Linux is really just a modified version of Picasa running under WINE, a program that allows Windows programs to be run under Linux without Windows installed. Of course, this could be done on the Mac using Darwine and an Intel Mac. But probably the most likely reason for no Picasa for Mac is that Macs don’t need Picasa, they’ve got iPhoto instead. Still, if you really want Picasa for Mac, you may be able to run it in X11 on an Intel Mac now, and if not, I’m sure Darwinports will be porting it to the Mac platform very soon.

Send in the clones

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 12:37 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

The iTunes Music Store has added a bunch of new video content, including special content from NBC News and the Emmy-winning first volume of Cartoon Network’s animated Clone Wars series.

I’m known world over for being a bit of a Star Wars buff. Okay, well among my friends anyway. Clone Wars is excellent and well worth your time. Which isn’t much, given that the first volume is composed of twenty episodes, none of which are longer than about five minutes (they’re running $1.99 an episode, or $10.99 for the whole volume, which is quite a deal, if you do the math). The series was created by Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack fame and follows the adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the intervening time between Episode II and Episode III.

They are, in my opinion, much better than any of the three prequels, though a lot of that has to do with the intense reliance on visual imagery in favor of dialogue and the overall graphic style of the show. Volume 2 is reputedly arriving sometime in June; I actually haven’t finished watching it yet, though it is on my iPod video for long plane rides.

French twist: DRM legislation gets knotty

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 12:01 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

I know what you’re wondering. “Dan, what’s going on with the whole France thing?” Well, by France thing, I assume you’re not talking about that paradise of francophilia, Disneyland Resort Paris (née Euro Disney), but rather the proposed legislation that would require that music download services make their digital rights management schemes interoperable. Yes? Okay, good.

When last we heard from regions Gallic, a gutted version of the DRM bill had been passed by the French senate. But this is not necessarily the end of the rigmarole (that’s French for, er, rigmarole). The French National Assembly passed a different, stricter version of the bill. The two houses need to reconcile their differences before a bill can be passed into law. Matthew Honan over at Playlist has the full skinny on the French mess, which is well worth the read if you’re at all interested in this matter.

If you’re not, well, you can join me as I daydream about my other French love: toast.

Apple lets you redownload iTMS content…once

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 10:45 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

A post over at The Content suggests that contrary to popular belief, Apple will let you redownload your purchased content, but only once. The poster was having trouble downloading an episode of Firefly, and in a conversation with the support tech, he asked what would happen if he lost all of his downloaded content. The answer was somewhat surprising:

In the event that a customers entire music library is lost, the iTunes Music Store does re-grant the purchases history. Please keep in mind that Apple does not offer protection against the loss of purchases, so this is a one-time exception.

Is this a change in Apple’s policy, or just a rogue tech support agent? In the past, Apple has stated before that losing music requires you to redownload it. I did a quick search and found a relevant document.

Be sure to make regular backups of your media files (in your iTunes Music folder) by copying them to an external hard disk or other media. Otherwise, if your hard disk becomes damaged or you lose any of the music you’ve purchased, you’ll have to buy any purchased music again to rebuild your library.

But this whole deal got me thinking: why not let users redownload their content? Would their systems explode? Would the world grind to a screeching halt? Probably not. Here’s what I think.

My MacBook is zombie-free

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 9:43 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Hardware

As I said earlier in the week, I’m loving my MacBook. Fairly early on, however, I noticed a recurring sound that sounded almost like the computer was moaning rhythmically. Naturally, my first thought was that I had somehow received a zombie MacBook, which was crying out for delicious brains.

It appears I was mistaken. But only by a couple of letters; MacBooks are not, in fact, moaning, but rather mooing. And one intrepid MacBook owner decided to vivisect his MacBook to determine what was causing this strange noise (my guess, an entrapped dogcow, was sadly not to be). In fact, as you might guess, the “mooing” was being caused by the MacBook’s fans ramping up as the processor temperature increased.

I’m glad to have the source of the trouble identified; I was a little worried that I was the only one experiencing this issue. In truth, it’s not a very distracting sound unless you’re working in utter quiet, and even then it only comes on sometimes. Still, I’m relieved to know that my machine isn’t zombie-infested.

[via Gizmodo; picture from Penny Arcade]

DivX Player for Mac finally arrives

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 7:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Video

I’ve used VideoLAN Client for all my media needs for a while. It was necessary as some codecs weren’t available on OS X in any other form. DivX has had codecs out there a little while and between that and VLC, I haven’t lamented the lack of an official DivX player much at all.

The DivX people have finally delivered with their player for Mac. I’ve downloaded it and the single most compelling option is the ability to fade everything but the movie on the screen. It’s like dimming the lights in your living room when you pop in your latest DVD rental. That feature alone makes it a keeper for me, despite the three fifteen crashes I’ve caused just playing with the interface (without playing a movie).

Apple Store proposal update

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 6:48 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Stores

If you had a keen eye, or read MacUser, you knew that one wacky guy proposed to his girlfriend via the time lapse of the fifth avenue Apple store opening. I wanted to know if she said yes. I found my answer on Kottke.

I got an email from Uschi and she couldn’t be happier to announce that she said yes to the proposal and that her fiancé James has made her “the happiest woman in the world”. Congratulations, you two!

He’s got a lot more information, including the setup for this stunt. Quick thinking on James’ part.

Macworld Podcast #40: Nike, Quark and Apple

Posted on May. 26, ’06, 6:30 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Music » Podcasting

I can’t believe it. The Macworld Podcast has turned 40. It seems like only yesterday it was just 39. Not that it’ll be slowing down any. Far from it, in fact. The latest installment clock