Updated: Review: AppleTV
The AppleTV has been out for over a year now, but with the Febrauary “Take Two” update, it is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. While the original AppleTV looked appealing to me, I passed on it. The original 40GB size was just too small (since rectified with a 160GB version), and apart from a few iTunes TV shows, content was hard to come by. That problem seems to resolved with the new movie rentals options. What follows is a look at the hardware, software, and real world usage of AppleTV.
(more…)
Posted: March 27, 2008 / Category: Reviews
Macintouch - Microsoft Office 2008 Review
Macintouch has a great in-depth review of Microsoft Office 2008 by Robert Mohns. Previously, I used Microsoft Office v.X and 2004 on a regular basis. However, since iWork ‘08, I’ve not used Office at all.
I hate to take this position, but with top notch virtualization options now on the Mac, and a quality, low cost native solution (iWork), I’m afraid there’s just little need for Office 2008. From what I’ve seen, the Mac Business Unit did an exceptional job with Office 2008. But that doesn’t change the fact that the landscape has changed since 2004.
(more…)
Posted: January 24, 2008 / Category: Reviews
Defective by Design: Apple iPhone Headphones
I’ve owned quite a few iPods (at least five to date). Many people complain about the iPod headphones. I’ve never been overly enthusiastic about them, but they did the job and sounded decent enough. The iPhone headphones are essentially the same as the iPod headphones, with a microphone/clicker on the right side wire, about 5 inches from the earbud. The micrphone/clicker is about half an inch long, and protrudes from the wire.
When wearing the headphones, you will notice that if you turn your head to the left or right, and you are wearing a shirt with a collar, that the microphone/clicker routinely gets snared on the collar. The reason I say they are defective by design is this: After several months of usage, that constant snaring takes a toll on the wiring in the ear bud connection. Eventually, it will short out, and ultimately, it will stop producing audio altogether.
Obviously, I’ve experienced this problem personally. Normally I wouldn’t care too much, except that because Apple made the headphone jack non-standard on the iPhone, I can’t just replace the included headphones with a new set (the market has changed - see below). I’m not interested in an adapter either, as I would lose the microphone and clicker (one of the coolest things about the iPod functionality in an iPhone).
So I called Apple Technical Support about a replacement. I am, after all, still under warranty. At first the nice lady said no problem. They would need a credit card number, just in case I didn’t return my defective pair. This was not a problem for me.
However, as we were wrapping up the call, she informed me that I would have to take the ‘phones to an Apple Retail store for the swap. There are a couple near me (within 30 miles), but frankly, I don’t have the time to drive down there, wait for a Genius, and drive back. I’m kind of stunned that Apple is making me jump through this hoop for a replacement pair.
So, sometime this weekend, I’ll be pulling my grumpy self in to an Apple Store for a replacement pair. Hopefully I won’t be made to wait too long.
Side note - I looked around for some 3rd party replacement ‘phones, and found a set for $12.95 from HD Accessories. I don’t have high hopes for them, but I’ll let everyone know if they are worthy of their price.
iPhone Battery Life
Well, today I decided to stress test the iPhone’s battery. I pulled the iPhone, fully charged, from its cradle at 7AM this morning. I had initially dropped the screen brightness to a very low setting. But for todays test, I upped it to about 50%. Keep in mind that at 50%, the iPhone is very very bright. (more…)
iPhone Review
As if the world needed another iPhone review, I finally feel like I’ve had enough time with mine to offer up my opinion. For the record, I acquired my iPhone last Friday night in Stamford, Connecticut at 11:30. Walked right in to the Apple Store, told them what I wanted, and walked out with it three minutes later. No line, no crowds, no fuss.
I activated it the next morning. Being away from home, I had my wife’s iBook with me. This wasn’t such a big deal, except that it was running OS X 10.4.9 and iTunes 7.2. So, before I could activate the phone, I had to upgrade both. Enter Starbucks and the T-Mobile hotspot WiFi. $9.95 and 25 minutes later, I was upgraded and ready to activate the phone. (more…)
10 Applications that rock (and most are under $25)
A couple of other Mac blogs have recently posted their thoughts on the top 10 Macintosh applications. I decided to take my spin on the topic and focus on the applications for $25 and under. All of these applications are used by me on a daily basis. Their existence is a tribute to the quality of software available on the Mac, and the ingenuity of the developers who produce these wares. All receive my highest recommendation.
1. Wallet 2
The first entry is a password storage/creation application called Wallet. It is the brainchild of Waterfall Software, which is lead by a 16 year old developer named Dustin MacDonald. The first version of Wallet was a nice Real Basic application that was better than the rest of the password storage applications available for the Mac. Wallet 2 is a complete rework in Cocoa. The attention to detail in this application is impressive. The only feature this application is missing is .Mac syncing. The author says he is currently working on it. Easily worth the $14.95 price tag.
2. skEdit
Another application by a lone developer under the age of 21. Sean Kelly’s web development coding environment is an amazing piece of software. Featuring code completion, hinting, integrated SFTP, site view, line numbering, search, HTML tidy integration, syntax highlighting, snippets and more.
If you do web development on a Mac, the $20 spent on this application will go down as one of your best investments ever.
3. Transmit
The reigning king of Mac OS X FTP applications. Version 3 adds a lot of useful features to the already established application like tabs, .Mac syncing, dock status icons, dock send, and much more. If you FTP, you need Transmit.
4. SuperDuper!
SuperDuper! has emerged as the best disk copying/cloning application on the Mac. It’s interface is super simple, and it’s results are super solid. Another piece of Mac OS X software that costs less than dinner and a movie ($20).
5. CocoaMySQL
CocoaMySQL just barely makes this list. Stuck at version 0.5, development on this open source application has languished since 9/11/03. Still, if you use MySQL on your Mac, this application makes maintenance and administration of your databases super simple.
6. Word Services from DevonTechnologies
When it comes to simple word processing, I like to keep it simple and use TextEdit. It does 95% of what I need from a word processor. The other 5% is handled by Word Services from Devon Technologies. This set of services adds several pieces of functionality to any cocoa application. Of particular importance to me - the statistics service, which gives me a count of words, characters, lines, and spaces in a document. As someone who writes papers that are counted by the word, I find this piece of code invaluable. And best of all - it’s free!
If you do any sort of screen capture on your Mac, this app is a godsend. Apple provides you with some pretty good basic screen capture features in Mac OS X, but this program gives you a myriad of options for your static and motion screen grabs. A bit pricey at $69.00 for the full version, but well worth it. The upgrade price from version 1.0 is $20. Snapz Pro X was included on many Powerbooks that Apple shipped, so you might qualify for the upgrade pricing even if you didn’t purchase version 1.0.
8. EvoCam
EvoCam is a great application that will use your webcam (or iSight camera) to capture images and either store them locally, or send them via FTP or WebDAV to another server. I use this to keep an eye on my dog when I’m away from the house. $25 can buy a lot of piece of mind, can’t it?
9. Adium
Open source instant messaging application that words on AIM, MSN, Jabber and Yahoo protocols. A constantly improving feature set, along a kitchen sink approach to instant messaging makes this application a must have for any Mac user.
10. Still Life
Every year for Christmas I produce a DVD for the family. I’m usually short on video footage, but I have an abundance of still clips. Still Life allows you to take those clips and create movies from them. Much in the same way that you can use the Ken Burns Effect in iMovie, Still Life creates motion movies from images with start frames and end frames. It is much more powerful than iMovie’s KBE, and easily worth the $24.95 price.
Path Finder 2.1.5
Forget the OS X Finder, it’s so last century. If you ask any Mac user what element most defines the Macintosh experience, the answer you will get will likely be “the Finder”. The Finder, the Macintosh file navigation tool, is the application most responsible for defining the Macintosh experience. However, the Finder in OS X, while superior in some respects to it’s OS 9 counterpart, is missing some key OS 9 features.
Enter Path Finder. Path Finder is a Finder replacement from CocoaTech. Written entirely in Cocoa, Path Finder employs some missing OS 9 features, and out-innovates Apple’s own Finder in many areas.
Return of…
The first thing you will notice upon launching Path Finder will be the OS 9 features it resurrects. Miss Labels? They’re back in Path Finder. Ditto Trash on the Desktop. Note that there are several utilities that bring back each of these features, and the total price of buying both of them equals about 2/3 of Path Finder’s price ($34). But Path Finder doesn’t stop there.
File Navigation on steroids…
File navigation is the Finders primary purpose, and as a replacement, Path Finder shines. It employs all three methods of navigation - icon, list, and column view. Path Finder windows also feature a customizable shelf, just like the Finder. Path Finder also features a desktop, just like the Mac Finder. When both file browsers are active, the Path Finder desktop sits on top of the Finders desktop.
Which brings us to another point. You can use Path Finder as a compliment to the OS X Finder, or you can use it in place of it. Up until the most recent release, replacing the OS X Finder meant messing with the command line and potentially ruining your system. Now, Path Finder employs a “Quit Finder” command in the application menu, allowing you to permanently (until restart at least) replace the Finder. This is a welcome addition, and one that we’d like to see taken to the next step with a way to permanently replace the Finder. Of course, we’d need a pref to switch back, if we so desired.
Path Finder also features a handy Menu Item that allows for quick access to all your applications, all of your running applications, and your favorites.
Another Path Finder only innovation is a Preview tray, accessible in any view. This tray provides a full 128×128 view of the selected icon, along with the items various stats. This lessens the trip to the “Get Info” box (which Path Finder also features in a superior form).
Path Finder also features a bottom tray that allows you to adjust a Windows transparency, and set it to “Float”. When floating, the specified Window will always remain on top of all other windows.
Another Path Finder innovation is it’s built in Text Editor. It’s not Word, but it is quite functional, and gives TextEdit a run for it’s money.
New to 2.1.5…
One of the best things about Path Finder is that it’s developer is constantly making bug fixes and implementing new features. Version 2.1.5 saw the addition of two new additions that are quite innovative. First is the process tray, which sits on the right hand side of a Path Finder window, and can be toggled with the tiny circle on the left. The Process tray shows all running processes, and allows you to quickly switch between them. Also shown is the Trash and it’s current status.
The coolest new feature is the Drop Shelf. The Drop Shelf holds anything you want it to. Applications, folders, files, aliases, etc. These can be grouped in to any number of Shelfs. Path Finder comes with three shelfs already configured - Standard, Favorites, and Applications. Standard features all the folders in your home directory. Favorites and Applications are all the items from their respective folders.
The coolest aspect of the Drop Shelf is it’s ability to replace the Dock for power users who need more. Path Finder just needs to go the extra step and provide a way to permanently turn the dock off and implement a application switcher, and it will have replaced one of OS X’s most controversial tools.
Have it your way…
Another criticism of the OS X Finder is it’s lack of customization. OS 9 provided the means to change system fonts, colors, etc. Path Finder picks up where OS 9 left off, and allows for full customization of font and typesize for all views. In addition, you can set two colors for Column and List view rows, making it easier to discern which information applies to which item. You can also specify text color, whether to italicize aliases and bold folders, and dim invisible items.
Path Finder also allows you to fully configure the keyboard commands. Not happy with “Apple-N” creating a new window and not a new folder? Well, you can easily change it with Path Finder.
The high level of customization in Path Finder is truly remarkable. In my opinion, this is one of it’s strongest features.
This and that…
Path Finder is a great replacement or addition to the OS X Finder. It’s not perfect, and could use improvement in a few areas. Desktop icon arrangement is a work in progress and will surely get better in the upcoming releases. Overall performance is decent, but certain functions like copying files tend to hog system CPU cycles. Startup time is a bit long. These are minor quibbles that will most certainly be addressed in the coming weeks and months.
Perhaps the best thing about Path Finder is it’s developer, Steve Gehrman of CocoaTech. That’s right - this product is developed by one individual, compared with the many working on the OS X Finder. Steve is constantly updating his product, and actively solicits feedback on features and performance. Try making suggestions to Apple about the Finder and see how far they get you.
Overall, this is the single most important OS X system utility. For only $34 you restore just about every cool OS 9 feature OS X is missing, and you get a file navigator that Apple hasn’t even begun to catch up to.
Our rating: 5 out of 5
Cost: $34
Website: http://www.cocoatech.com
Posted: September 8, 2003 / Category: Reviews