Archive for January, 2008
January 31, 2008
One of my intermittent day-job responsibilities is to move big chunks of data (20 GB or more in a session) from the friendly, forgiving, name-your-files-whatever-you-want confines of a Mac OS X server onto cranky, finicky, no-funky-characters (but portable) NAS devices so that the data can travel with a production team to some far-away city. This is generally a straightforward and simple task, except for one annoying fact: illegal characters, as SMB or NTFS define them, in file or folder names can bring those massive copies to a screeching halt. Major buzzkill!
There are a few ways to clean up filenames to make them legal for transfer; I’ve used both FileBuddy and A Better Finder Rename with success, and ABFR even has an “NTFS legal” preset for quick action. For a single-purpose tool, though, there’s now NTFSready, This 10-euro donationware tool will hunt through your files and folders for illegal characters, nuke them, and that’s about all there is. Is it worth it? Well, if you need to rename files for NTFS use on an everyday basis, maybe. At 10 euro, though, I’d say you’re better off paying the $19.95 for ABFR and getting the flexibility that comes with it.
January 31, 2008
If you want an instant conversion mechanism for web videos to iPod-able formats, there’s the recently mentioned Tooble; if you want the same capability in a handy Safari plugin, there’s CosmoPod. The 2.0 version of CosmoPod is now available and it offers H.264 support, QuickTime 7.4 compatibility, and more.
CosmoPod will convert almost all web video and dump it directly to iTunes to be synced to your device, for €6.90 or $10, and there’s a 5-day demo available. Check it out.
January 31, 2008
As we speak many, many people are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their MacBook Air. When you open up the MacBook Air you’ll see that it includes a Leopard installation disk, as every other Mac does. This Apple KB article supplies us with an interesting fact: the Leopard disk will only work with a MacBook Air. The Installer checks to see if it is running on an Air, and if it isn’t refuses to install Leopard.
Clearly, with support for multi-touch gestures and Remote Disc, the MacBook Air is likely running a slightly custom install of OS X, so it makes sense that Apple would limit it to installing on the Air. In the same vein Apple warns you not to try and install a non-MacBook Air version of Leopard onto the Air. Something to keep in mind.
Update: This is why you shouldn’t blog before having your morning caffeine, folks. As many people in the comments pointed out this isn’t new to the MacBook Air, most restore disks only work the with model of Mac that they came with. It is still interesting to note, though, for people new to the Mac (right? Any body?).
January 31, 2008
ZDNet’s George Ou doesn’t exactly have a great record when it comes to Apple related analysis, but even the stopped clock is right twice a day, and he’s got an interesting article up about the forthcoming HD movies that Apple is planning to offer with Apple TV Take Two. His central point is this: high definition video is about more than resolution (whether 720p or 1080i/p); it also matters significantly how much the video is compressed. So his complaint is that the HD download services (both Xbox Live and the forthcoming Apple TV) offer video compressed so highly that even if it has the requisite number of pixels it “is simply not HD by any respectable definition.” He’s got another post illustrating the point.
Having become a bit of a HD video buff myself, I think his central claim is true. The highly-compressed video from the download services does not hold a candle to Blu-ray or HD DVD on a large 1080p display. If you think about the files’ relative sizes, how could it possibly? By the same token, however, it’s not entirely clear that this is what matters most to consumers. The obvious comparison is to audio; 128kb AAC files sound significantly worse than CDs with complex music and yet Apple has sold literally billions of them. So it may turn out that the convenience of the HD downloads ends up trumping video quality except for the videophiles. However, if that’s so it’s nonetheless true that average consumers make up the fat part of the curve where the real money is to be made. So even if Ou is right about the technical issues, it’s not entirely clear that it’ll matter in the long run. What do you think?
January 31, 2008
Although I am, and always will be, a devoted user of Apple products, the Macintosh and OSX, occasionally I find the need to do something that only the vagaries of Windows can accomplish. In the past, this required me to have a separate computer (a PC) with an install of Windows.
Fortunately, with Apple’s switch to all Intel all the time, I no longer need that other Windows PC and instead can use a “virtual” Windows PC running on my Mac with the help of a software product provided by Parallels or VMware.
In the past, I was a big fan of Parallels and used it exclusively. More recently, though, I have switched to VMware Fusion for my Windows virtualization needs. Nothing against Parallels, its still a great product, but I just find VMware a bit more “Mac-like” and easier to setup and use. If you agree and use VMware Fusion as well, head on over to their website because there’s an update to the software waiting there just for you.
This update is, according to the VMware site: “a maintenance release that contains fixes for a variety of issues.” What might these issues be, you may wonder? Well, if you really want to know, feel free to read the release notes. Or, if you decide to just “go for it” and not read the fine print, go here and download away.
January 31, 2008
When it comes to alarm-clock applications for the Mac, we’ve got two very fine choices — Alarm Clock Pro from Koingo Software, and Awaken from Embraceware. For most people, using your Mac as an alarm clock may seem a little unusual, but at the time I happened to be at University I lived in fear of my regular alarm clock’s tone. So, with my Mac on the desk a few feet away, I set about finding a suitable Mac alarm clock application. I eventually settled with Awaken, and since then it’s interrupted plentiful hours of slumber with music of my choosing.
You can imagine my joy then, to discover that Awaken was updated on Sunday to a whole new version: version 4. A significant re-write under-the-hood and a new UI cap a feature list that now includes: the ability to run scripts with alarms; the ability to select specific podcasts (not just music as with prior versions); better Apple Remote support and an improved full-screen mode.
Best of all, the update from version 3.x to 4 is free for registered users (though, you will need to re-enter your registration information and alarms after updating), and costs just $12.95.
January 31, 2008
The same geniuses who brought you the iJailbreak solution for Apple’s latest iPhone and iPod Touch 1.1.3 firmware have gone that extra mile of tweaking and created iJailbreak Mobile: now you can enable unofficial third-party software on your cellphone or PMP without even needing to use your Mac or PC. Requiring your device has already been Jailbroken for versions 1.1.1 or 1.1.2, the process involves adding ‘http://ijailbreak.com/repo.plist’ to Installer.app and running the new application that installs while with a decent WiFi connection.
Photo via Crunchgear
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January 31, 2008
Here in the UK it’s not uncommon for the iPod Touch to be described as “all the best bits of the iPhone” with the less-successful parts (the non-3G phone, the relatively-poor camera, and of course the carrier lock) omitted; Needham & Co analyst Charlie Wolf is willing to go one further, however: he’s claiming that Apple gave up 1.5 million iPhone sales during Q4 2007 by releasing the Touch with its almost-iPhone feature set, and moreover knew exactly what they were doing.
“If the company is successful in this endeavour, it would provide a compelling upgrade path for the estimated 85 million people who already own iPods. And it could attract new users to both the iPhone and the iPod platform as well. The company appears willing to risk the cannibalization of a significant number of iPhones to accomplish this” Charlie Wolf, analyst, Needham & Co.
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January 31, 2008
UK Apple partner O2, who hold the exclusivity contract on the British version of the iPhone, have today announced a refresh of their iPhone-specific monthly tariffs that could see users with up to three times the amount of included voice minutes and SMS text messages as before. While the two entry-level packages - priced at £35 ($69) and £45 ($89) - will not change in price, subscribers on the cheapest tariff, say, will receive 600 minutes rather than 200.
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January 31, 2008
Today, Apple added a new “Find Out How” section to their website. This new page features video tutorials of the following aspects of the Mac:
This information is no doubt welcome to many new switchers, or potential switchers, who want to learn more about the user interface. You can also subscribe to these in iTunes by clicking the “Download videos to iTunes” button at the bottom of the video window.
Thanks Joseph!
