Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

[Mike Lane]

On my PC I've got an external disk that has all of my images and music and documents etc, etc, etc. I can connect to it easily enough by going into the finder and hitting cmd-k and connecting to the drive using smb. The problem is that whenever my MBP sleeps it loses its internet connection and thus loses the smb connection to the external drive. So I'm stuck going in and opening the smb connection all the freaking time.

So I figured I'd try my hand at an automator workflow. Now, I can get it to automatically connect to the external drive, no problem what-so-ever. What I can't get it to do is to do it on its own. Is there a way that you can set the automator to run a workflow upon the computer waking from the sleep mode?

[ian408]

For those who dont already know...on a Mac laptop keyboard you get forward delete by pressing Fn+Delete.

Thank you!

[DavidTO]

:doh Hopefully I don't run into that...


I've been doing this for nearly three years and never once had a problem.

[wxwax]

Crucial's out of Macbook 2GB memory right now.

On the plus side, it was a pleasure plugging a firewire cable from my vidcam into the Macbook, and immediately being able to control the Sony with the Mac and view video. At least here, the "Macs just work" mantra is true. :thumb

[Andy]

Andy, does this affect (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=223501) you?

Crucial has me as a customer for life. They rang me up today, asking me if I wouldn't mind terribly, switching from the original RAM, to the new RAW, with Apple-approved heat-sinks? Their mistake, no problem, sure the new ram is more but that's ok we'll do it all for the same $$. Here's your new order #, the new ram will be at your door in a couple days, and here's an RMA *and* a UPS return label, please send us back the old ram. No problem that it's in your computer.

Have a nice day!

[wxwax]

Wow, talk about standing by your product. That's impressive.

[phuong]

Crucial has me as a customer for life. They rang me up today, asking me if I wouldn't mind terribly, switching from the original RAM, to the new RAW, with Apple-approved heat-sinks? Their mistake, no problem, sure the new ram is more but that's ok we'll do it all for the same $$. Here's your new order #, the new ram will be at your door in a couple days, and here's an RMA *and* a UPS return label, please send us back the old ram. No problem that it's in your computer.

Have a nice day!

so you're saying Crucial has released a new RAM that's compatible with the Mac Pro?
and can u point me to that "apple-approved heat sink" please?

actually i'm having a apple discount that saves me $400+ if i buy apple's ram (and even more if i take 3GHz model), but i still like to compare prices everywhere before making a final decision.

[Andy]

so you're saying Crucial has released a new RAM that's compatible with the Mac Pro?
and can u point me to that "apple-approved heat sink" please?

actually i'm having a apple discount that saves me $400+ if i buy apple's ram (and even more if i take 3GHz model), but i still like to compare prices everywhere before making a final decision.

Here:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Apple%2BMac+Pro&mfr=Apple&tabid=AM&model=Mac+Pro&submit=Go

And 1Gb sticks are being added this week.

[phuong]

great news Andy. but do i still have to buy heatsinks?

[Andy]

great news Andy. but do i still have to buy heatsinks?
No. These are new Rams, with the gigundo-heat sinks already built-in.

[phuong]

No. These are new Rams, with the gigundo-heat sinks already built-in.

thanks

edit: wow, they actually added 2GB sticks today. two for $960 :great: :great: :great:

[Seamus]

Hi folks,

I have two external drives connected to my macbook. Before I turn off the laptop I eject each drive. Is this the proper procedure? I turned off the laptop without ejecting one of the external drives and a warning message popped up.

Thanks,

Seamus.

ps, I got a set of bose external speakers, excellent kit.

[jimf]

I have two external drives connected to my macbook. Before I turn off the laptop I eject each drive. Is this the proper procedure? I turned off the laptop without ejecting one of the external drives and a warning message popped up.

Do you mean "turn off" or "sleep"? If you close the lid to put it to sleep, the drives remain mounted and disconnecting them without waking the thing up and unmounting them is a bad idea. If you shut it down then it will umount them itself as a matter of course during shutdown.

[patch29]

The Aqua version of NeoOffice (http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/download.php#download) is available for download now. I am downloading a copy now, 118mb for the PowerPC version.

[Seamus]

Do you mean "turn off" or "sleep"? If you close the lid to put it to sleep, the drives remain mounted and disconnecting them without waking the thing up and unmounting them is a bad idea. If you shut it down then it will umount them itself as a matter of course during shutdown.

That's the difference..... sleep v shutdown. thanks.

[Andy]

Can anyone tell me the difference in having 4x1gb vs 2x2gb or even 8x512mb - are there perceivable performance issues? Oh and the part about all the slots being used up, I get that. But other than that, does 4gb made up of 4x1gb sticks perform differently than 4gb made up of 8x512mb sticks?

[Mike Lane]

Can anyone tell me the difference in having 4x1gb vs 2x2gb or even 8x512mb - are there perceivable performance issues? Oh and the part about all the slots being used up, I get that. But other than that, does 4gb made up of 4x1gb sticks perform differently than 4gb made up of 8x512mb sticks?AFAIK it should be exactly the same assuming all the ramx0r0z have the same specs. Meaning if the 4x1gb is the same type of ram as the 8x512mb then you'll not notice a difference.

[wxwax]

Can anyone tell me the difference in having 4x1gb vs 2x2gb or even 8x512mb - are there perceivable performance issues? Oh and the part about all the slots being used up, I get that. But other than that, does 4gb made up of 4x1gb sticks perform differently than 4gb made up of 8x512mb sticks?
I read an esoteric post a week ago claiming that 4x1 made more efficient use of the computer. Not sure that it made any difference to everyday use, tho.

[Andy]

I read an esoteric post a week ago claiming that 4x1 made more efficient use of the computer. Not sure that it made any difference to everyday use, tho.
What I've found basically says that if you're splitting atoms, that it might make a difference. But for everyday Photoshop usage, it wouldn't.

[wxwax]

What I've found basically says that if you're splitting atoms, that it might make a difference. But for everyday Photoshop usage, it wouldn't.
Let's revisit the rationale for your upgrade, shall we? :deal

:rofl

[Mike Lane]

So I don't know how many people are interested in this. I've got the inclination to learn php and mysql so I really wanted to be able to set up my MBP so it would run apache, php, and mysql so I wouldn't have to run all my learning crapola through my dreamhost account. So what I did was to first read and follow this (http://www.digitalmediadesigner.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=40233-0), and then I read and followed this (http://www.digitalmediadesigner.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=44890-0). There is a third part to the article about how to actually enable php; however, after I did it I decided that I wanted to use php5 instead of the default php4 and I learned on the php5 download site that I had to undo all the steps in the 3rd part before I could install php5. :doh Installing php5 was actually crazy easy in and of itself and if you want to do that you can do so here (http://www.entropy.ch/software/macosx/php/) but only after you follow the steps in the first and second parts above. Then to install mysql go here (http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/index.html). You'll be up and running with a LAMP setup (or at least an AMP setup) in no time.

Then once you want to start learning php (if that's what floats your boat) you can go here (http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp).

So far it's pretty easy, but I can see how it could get rather complex.

[Mike Lane]

firefox 2.0 to become teh sekkkkkkssss (http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/Home/News.asp?id=40464)

[DavidTO]

So I don't know how many people are interested in this.....


The only part I don't understand is why I would want to install yoursql. :scratch

[Mike Lane]

The only part I don't understand is why I would want to install yoursql. :scratch:lol3

[wxwax]

Geek attack. :bluduh

[StevenV]

Mike, thanks for putting all those links & info into one place. I'd been wanting to do that too but was too busy (lazy) to dig around for all the details.

[ian408]

Here's a DOF (http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/calculate_convert/dofcdepthoffieldcalculator.html) calculator for the dashboard.

[StevenV]

how's that for timing, Mike? I just came across this: ISP in a Box v2 (http://switch.richard5.net/isp-in-a-box-v2/). :):

[Mike Lane]

how's that for timing, Mike? I just came across this: ISP in a Box v2 (http://switch.richard5.net/isp-in-a-box-v2/). :):Hey now that looks interesting. I may supplement what I've already done with that. I may have to back track some though. :doh I know, for instance that my php5 installation was for apache 1.3 whereas your article is calling for apache2. Oh well, if I can serve this up over the internets, that'd be much cooler anyhow.

Good find :thumb

[DavidTO]

Crossover Mac (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/) is available in Public Beta. It allows you to run many Windows applications from within OSX without the need to install Windows.

(Intel Macs only!)

[Andy]

Crossover Mac (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/) is available in Public Beta. It allows you to run many Windows applications from within OSX without the need to install Windows.

(Intel Macs only!)

IE6 installed on my Mac Pro, no Parallels, no Boot Camp

[Mike Lane]

IE6 installed on my Mac Pro, no Parallels, no Boot CampVery cool. I'm right now working on a way to get a more current version of IE6. I'll post my results if I'm successful.

[Andy]

Very cool. I'm right now working on a way to get a more current version of IE6. I'll post my results if I'm successful.
yah this version looks old?
And, I can't get it to fetch images from another website (like when I'm on SmugMug, it won't get the amazon images).

[DavidTO]

My 30 day trial of Spam Sieve (http://c-command.com/spamsieve/) expired today, so I ponied up to pay for it. It's been working great, and keeps a much better lid on my spam than the built in Junk filter in Mail.

:thumb

[Mike Lane]

yah this version looks old?
And, I can't get it to fetch images from another website (like when I'm on SmugMug, it won't get the amazon images).I can't for the life of me get IE6 to work in an XP bottle. I install it, and it indicates that it is installed but it is nowhere to be found :huh:wxwax

I may post to their forum to see if it's just me being retarted. But for now I have to give a big thumbs down to CrossOver Mac.

[DavidTO]

David Letterman's Tribute to Bill Gates (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoGbLI3ePA).

[Andy]

IE6 installed on my Mac Pro, no Parallels, no Boot Camp
...but it's not the latest IE6 and Mike hasn't yet figured out how to get that :D

[Andy]

IE6 installed on my Mac Pro, no Parallels, no Boot Camp

:nah

[Andy]

to Macaroni (http://www.atomicbird.com/).

I paid for Macaroni on my Powerbook (now wiped and sold). I couldn't find the license key, wrote them, and they got me a new one no q's asked. And, it's universal binary now, too :deal

[phuong]

i have one last question concerning the Mac Pro.
with my discount, i can get from apple a 250GB for $184 and a 500GB for 368. then should i get apple's HDD or should i buy them separatedly. say, from eBay? and why?
(im not very good at computer, so i'm afraid it has the similar issue of incompatibility like with the ram - although i see there are quite a few deals on ebay that're much less than the above prices)

[DavidTO]

Little Snitch (http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html)

:thumb

[Andy]

Crucial has me as a customer for life. They rang me up today, asking me if I wouldn't mind terribly, switching from the original RAM, to the new RAW, with Apple-approved heat-sinks? Their mistake, no problem, sure the new ram is more but that's ok we'll do it all for the same $$. Here's your new order #, the new ram will be at your door in a couple days, and here's an RMA *and* a UPS return label, please send us back the old ram. No problem that it's in your computer.

Have a nice day!

New RAM here, and installed.

The heatsinks are VISIBLY huger.

Apple Certified RAM: http://images.crucial.com/images/resources/medium/package/FULLYBUFFERED-AP240-pinDIMM.gif

http://eshop.macsales.com/images/memorym.jpg

[JohnR]

Andy, what about Crossover that you didn't like?

I was going to show someone else that app but after seeing that you trashed it, I'm hesitant. Just wondering what you thought of it.

[Andy]

Andy, what about Crossover that you didn't like?

I was going to show someone else that app but after seeing that you trashed it, I'm hesitant. Just wondering what you thought of it.
I'm sure it's great for many apps. I *only* need Win for IE6 (for website dev work and testing) so I was hopeful that it would run real IE6 like on XP2. But no... so I ditched it. I have Parallels and run XP2 and IE6 in a virtual machine on my Intel Macs.

[Cipher]

Digital Grin is costing me way to much money. I have been following this Mac thread a little and combined with being toatly frustrated with Microsoft and Windows I have jumped to the "Darkside." I bought a MacPro and a 30" HD monitor today. I am playing with the Mac now but the monitor won't be here for a couple of weeks.

I am having to learn a computer all over, more or less. I have been on WinTel platforms since DOS 2.11 and had a 18 year career as a Windows system fabricator and LAN manager. I have hand assembled and configured over a 1000 Microsoft based PCs and except for a little Unix knowledge that helps on the Mac I am a complete novice again.

But I am loving every minute of it, well for the past 4 or 5 hours that I have had it anyway.

This thread is invaluable in helping get started, Keep it coming!

Andy :clap:clap

[Andy]

Digital Grin is costing me way to much money. I have been following this Mac thread a little and combined with being toatly frustrated with Microsoft and Windows I have jumped to the "Darkside." I bought a MacPro and a 30" HD monitor today. I am playing with the Mac now but the monitor won't be here for a couple of weeks.

I am having to learn a computer all over, more or less. I have been on WinTel platforms since DOS 2.11 and had a 18 year career as a Windows system fabricator and LAN manager. I have hand assembled and configured over a 1000 Microsoft based PCs and except for a little Unix knowledge that helps on the Mac I am a complete novice again.

But I am loving every minute of it, well for the past 4 or 5 hours that I have had it anyway.

This thread is invaluable in helping get started, Keep it coming!

Andy :clap:clap

:clap and :wave WELCOME to the enlightened computing world :D

We're happy to offer LIFETIME tech support. Holler anytime you need anything :deal

Enjoy your new Mac Pro!

[Andy]

to Macaroni (http://www.atomicbird.com/). So I used it to clear all my localizations files. What's the point, I don't speak anything but english anyhow. Once I did that the log told me this at the bottom:


Ditto: Localization cleaning complete.
Removed 273168 files and 68074 directories to save 3132.58 MB.

That's a lot of 0s and 1s :lol3

[DavidTO]

Ditto: Localization cleaning complete.
Removed 273168 files and 68074 directories to save 3132.58 MB.

That's a lot of 0s and 1s :lol3


I set Macaroni to delete localization monthly. That way if some localization sneaks in on an update to the OS, then it doesn't stick around too long.

Macaroni is awesome. Set it and forget it.

[W.W. Webster]

I set Macaroni to delete localization monthly. That way if some localization sneaks in on an update to the OS, then it doesn't stick around too long.I find Monolingual (http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/) works well for me in releasing the disk space consumed by irrelevant localisations - and it's freeware. :wink

[DavidTO]

I find Monolingual (http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/) works well for me in releasing the disk space consumed by irrelevant localisations - and it's freeware. :wink


Yabbut Macaroni runs on a schedule you set, and it runs the daily, weekly and monthly crons along with repairing permissions, all in the background, all on a schedule you set and all for $9. Close enough to freeware for me. Great app.

[colourbox]

That's why I use it too. Not having to remember to run those jobs is worth $9 to me. $9 to make my Mac essentially maintenance-free. All I have to do is enjoy my machine (well...and make regular backups).

And chuckle the next time I hear a Windows friend look at the calendar and mutter that it's time to defrag again, or reimage the Windows boot disk again...

[Cipher]

1. Is there a way to map the "Control" key on one of the auxillary buttons on the Mac Pro mouse?

2. Is there any way to sort the entries in the Safari bookmarks without having to drag and dropeach entry?


3. Is there any backup software native to OS X?

Thanks for your time.

[DavidTO]

1. Is there a way to map the "Control" key on one of the auxillary buttons on the Mac Pro mouse?

2. Is there any way to sort the entries in the Safari bookmarks without having to drag and dropeach entry?


3. Is there any backup software native to OS X?

Thanks for your time.


I don't have my Mighty Mouse hooked up right now, so I can't answer #1.

2) Make a folder in the finder. Drag the bookmarks to that folder, which should alphabetize them. Then drag them back into Safari. Not the best answer, but it works!

3) My favorite backup software is SuperDuper (http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/). Check versiontracker.com or macupdate.com for more options.

EDIT: I'm not the only one (http://osx.iusethis.com/search?page=2&q=backup) that loves SuperDuper!

[ian408]

And chuckle the next time I hear a Windows friend look at the calendar and mutter that it's time to defrag again, or reimage the Windows boot disk again...

So your friend doesn't know about Windows schedule tools? :lol3

[Cipher]

I....


3) My favorite backup software is SuperDuper (http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/). Check versiontracker.com or macupdate.com for more options.

EDIT: I'm not the only one (http://osx.iusethis.com/search?page=2&q=backup) that loves SuperDuper!

Thanks, I'll look for it.

[DavidTO]

Thanks, I'll look for it.


Look for it?!?!?!!?

I gave you the link! :D

[StevenV]

re backup, another option is SilverKeeper (http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/). It's free, and does a nice job backing up my data & pictures to an external HD. I've not explored all the various backup options out there, but it works for my purposes.

[DavidTO]

I downloaded NeoOffice 2 beta 3 ( http://www.neooffice.org/), and....meh. I'm no fan of Microsoft Office, but to me the price is worth the improvement over NeoOffice.

One big downside is that you're getting something modeled after the PC version of Office, which a big step backward, IMO.

I have some docs that I need to use a merge feature for. It's a 80 page manual that gets updated on a regular basis, so we've got the info that updates in a data source. Ugh...the PC approach to merging is so frickin' convoluted, frustrating and just downright stupid. I MUCH prefer the Mac version there. I finally gave up, BTW.

So there's that, and most likely for 90% of what you do, the PC vs. Mac approach doesn't really matter.

The other thing I noticed is that it's a bit slow, and the way it redraws windows as you resize them is....ugly.

I suppose if you're a switcher and you're used to the PC approach, it might be a fine option that could save you some change. But the Mac version of Office is a better bet, IMO. Even though it's one of my least stable apps, it's not yet Universal Binary, etc.

Now, if you don't need complete Office compatibility, definitely check out Pages (http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/).

[Andy]

I love buying from the Apple Store. Last week I ordered a new intel mac mini for my wife & kid. Well, they announced new models today, and so they automatically gave me the newer, faster model, and sent me a love note saying I'd also be getting a $45 refund, the price is actually lower :D

:clap Apple customer service

[phuong]

i thought they only announced the new 24" iMac.
there's a new Mac mini too?
is there anything new about the Mac Pro and Macbook Pro? i heard there's something about "Merom" but i dont really know what it is

I love buying from the Apple Store. Last week I ordered a new intel mac mini for my wife & kid. Well, they announced new models today, and so they automatically gave me the newer, faster model, and sent me a love note saying I'd also be getting a $45 refund, the price is actually lower :D

:clap Apple customer service

[Mike Lane]

i thought they only announced the new 24" iMac.
there's a new Mac mini too?
is there anything new about the Mac Pro and Macbook Pro? i heard there's something about "Merom" but i dont really know what it isMac Pro has been released and uses the Xeon processor. There are rumors about the MacBook Pro being updated to use the Intel Merom processor (a mobile version of the Xeon as I understand it), but no official words.

[wxwax]

Mac Pro has been released and uses the Xeon processor. There are rumors about the MacBook Pro being updated to use the Intel Merom processor (a mobile version of the Xeon as I understand it), but no official words.
I get the sense that Merom in the Macbook Pro is a given. However, no word on expanding the memory. :cry

[DavidTO]

The new iMacs sport the 64bit Merom processor.

[rutt]

I get the sense that Merom in the Macbook Pro is a given. However, no word on expanding the memory. :cry

Yeah, that "memrom" will also be called Intel Core 2 Duo when it appears in notebooks. It's what you want. Benchmarks at about 40% faster than Core Duos at the same clock. Supposed to be quite a bit cooler (better battery life and won't make your lap sweat as much.)

It can't be very far off. It makes sense that Apple would put them in iMacs first (hadn't thought of that), but these have cooling issues and obviously Apple is trying to pitch them at higher end applications than previously.

I think when there is a 17" MacBook with Core 2 Duo, I won't be able to resist anymore. Anyone interested in at 1.67GHz PowerBook with 2GB?

The trigger event for a desktop upgrade, though, is going to be Photoshop CS3. I'm just not waiting for my 2.5GHz G5x2 very much at all.

[JohnR]

Apple still has a special event on Sept. 12th, most likely movies on iTunes and a new iPod Nano is the rumors. But perhaps that is when they'll introduce the updated laptops?

Man oh man...that 24" iMac looks sweet!

[Poseidon]

I love buying from the Apple Store. Last week I ordered a new intel mac mini for my wife & kid. Well, they announced new models today, and so they automatically gave me the newer, faster model, and sent me a love note saying I'd also be getting a $45 refund, the price is actually lower :D

:clap Apple customer service

I agree 100% They certainly made a lifetime customer out of me when they took back my G5, and sent out a Mac Pro!

Now I am looking at the Macbook Pro's to replace my current notebook PC. The only thing holding me back, is I have never seen a Macbooks display screen. My current PC is a Sharp AL-27, with a LCD display that is VERY BRIGHT. That was the main purpose of buying this particular model, as I do a slideshow at wedding receptions on my notebook.... Anyway, can anyone describe the brightness of the Macbook?

[DavidTO]

I agree 100% They certainly made a lifetime customer out of me when they took back my G5, and sent out a Mac Pro!

Now I am looking at the Macbook Pro's to replace my current notebook PC. The only thing holding me back, is I have never seen a Macbooks display screen. My current PC is a Sharp AL-27, with a LCD display that is VERY BRIGHT. That was the main purpose of buying this particular model, as I do a slideshow at wedding receptions on my notebook.... Anyway, can anyone describe the brightness of the Macbook?


I'm not gonna comment on the screen, because I don't really compare it. But I will say that if you're thinking about buying, wait. They should be releasing the new goodness very soon.

[Cipher]

Look for it?!?!?!!?

I gave you the link! :D


Sorry, How about look "at" it. :):

[Cipher]

re backup, another option is SilverKeeper (http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/). It's free, and does a nice job backing up my data & pictures to an external HD. I've not explored all the various backup options out there, but it works for my purposes.


Thanks, I have downloaded it and will take a look at it.

[Cipher]

Still trying to get used to the Mac way of doing things and I have a couple of new questions.

:scratch:scratch On WinTel I regularly would click and drag over some text mixed with pictures such as some of the online tutorials here. Once the text and pictures were highlighted I would "copy and "paste" in to MS Word. This would give me a Word documents with text and pictures pretty much exactly as I saw it online.

Using Mac Office 2004 this does not seem to work. Only the text gets pasted into the Mac Word document. This holds true with TextEdit and Melle. Am I doing something wrong or is this not possible on a MAC.

Also still looking for a way to evoke the "Control Key" via a "right click"

Thanks again for all help received.

Andy

[Poseidon]

I'm not gonna comment on the screen, because I don't really compare it. But I will say that if you're thinking about buying, wait. They should be releasing the new goodness very soon.

Thanks David, I was planning the purchase for spring time anyway... This wedding season is almost over, and my photo budget will be severly limited with no more wedding work...

[Mike Lane]

Way back when my wife got her first desktop in 2001, she also got an HP all in one printer along with it. That printer is downstairs connected to our current PC desktop via USB. I've been dreading the time that I needed to set up the printer to print from my MBP over the wi-fi because I figured it'd be a real pain. To my surprise it wasn't... mostly. The only problem is that HP doesn't have an OS X printer driver for our old printer. Fortunately there is a download you can get called gutenprint v5.0.0 (http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php3) that will install drivers for your old printers.

From there it was just a matter of navigating the printer setup to my workgroup and selecting the printer. Super easy!

[cabbey]

Thanks David, I was planning the purchase for spring time anyway... This wedding season is almost over, and my photo budget will be severly limited with no more wedding work...
And if you do wait that long, the thinking around where I work is that you'll finally see the core 2 duo based macbook pros. The theory is that they're waiting on the next big graphics card from intell, the number for which I forget at the moment, but it's due out around march.

I downloaded NeoOffice 2 beta 3 (http://www.neooffice.org/), and....meh.
I grabbed the same beta this week, after trying three different versions of open office on the mac. None of them were capable of dealing with the foil set I was trying to edit, which was generated on a linux box with open office. All of them crashed and burned when trying to edit an embedded chart in one of the pages. Some poking at them with brand new documents showed they were more stable, but... :dunno use them long enough and they'd drive me to :booze

Now, if you don't need complete Office compatibility, definitely check out Pages (http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/).
Yeah, very well worth the money, full office compat or not. Pages and Keynote are an amazing pair of applications. I think I've written maybe a dozen documents for work (90 to 140 pages each) with Pages since I've had it. Having a background in prepress, I tend to be a stickler for getting things consistantly the same, Pages is probably the first time since doing it all by hand with TeX that I've been able to push out a professional looking document (directly to pdf) without spending HOURS tweaking things. All they really need to complete iWork is a spread sheet.

[Andy]

Got Parallels working on the Mac Pro (after a few silly hacks, they expect to have new version for the Mac Pro out at the end of the year. It works just fine w/ no hacks on the Macbook Pro)...

And, a 2nd Display. So, Winders on the right, and all the more evolved stuff on the left :lol3

[Mike Lane]

So I'm using address book to put in all of my contacts. I was putting them in 3 different directories, birth announcements, friends, and family. I switched to one of the directories and scrolled to the bottom (making sure that directory had the right names in it) and I noticed that 2 of them said "No Name". I clicked on one of them and it was blank and thought "that's odd". Then I clicked on one that had a name and it popped up and then the entire @#$%ing address book just up and disappeared. Poof. Gone. See ya. No trace of it left over.

So I called apple. The end result of that was, "Uh, we have no idea what happened."

Great, just great. I guess I'll go downstairs on my windows machine and do it all over again on that.

[DavidTO]

Look for these two files, and move them to your desktop, but do not delete them:

User>Preferences>com.apple.AddressBook.plist
User>Preferences>com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist

Try moving them one at a time, first one first.

And I'll add, the beauty of .Mac. Expensive, yes, but along with the other features, my address book is always backed up.


So I'm using address book to put in all of my contacts. I was putting them in 3 different directories, birth announcements, friends, and family. I switched to one of the directories and scrolled to the bottom (making sure that directory had the right names in it) and I noticed that 2 of them said "No Name". I clicked on one of them and it was blank and thought "that's odd". Then I clicked on one that had a name and it popped up and then the entire @#$%ing address book just up and disappeared. Poof. Gone. See ya. No trace of it left over.

So I called apple. The end result of that was, "Uh, we have no idea what happened."

Great, just great. I guess I'll go downstairs on my windows machine and do it all over again on that.

[Mike Lane]

Look for these two files, and move them to your desktop, but do not delete them:

User>Preferences>com.apple.AddressBook.plist
User>Preferences>com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist

Try moving them one at a time, first one first.

And I'll add, the beauty of .Mac. Expensive, yes, but along with the other features, my address book is always backed up.No dice.

Now my address book has one entry in it that is mirroring the one entry that I've got in entourage. Great. Something tells me all that data is gone for good.

[DavidTO]

No dice.

Now my address book has one entry in it that is mirroring the one entry that I've got in entourage. Great. Something tells me all that data is gone for good.


No problem. You did back up, didn't you? :D

[DavidTO]

Also, this may help, clipped from macfixit.com:

A significant number of users have reported a loss of all Address Book content after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.3.

Dan Lepeska writes:

"The day after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.3 I was doing maintenance on my Address Book database. I was deleting multiple entries of addresses I created before the upgrade. Everything was going fine, but on one of the contact deletions I suddenly got the spinning wheel for over 10 minutes.

"When I tried Force Quit I noticed that Address Book, Mail, and Safari were "not responding". I confirmed Force Quit for Address Book and suddenly both Mail and Safari were responding. When I relaunched Address Book the entire database was gone. I had to restore from backup."

For many users, the issue does not occur directly subsequent to the update, but after a day or two of usage.

MacFixIt reader Joan Covington writes:

"In the last couple of days I have twice lost both Address Book and iCal databases, and fortunately had recent backups. (I am now backing up those applications every time I make even one change, just in case of a recurrence of the problem.) However, I have had 10.4.3 for several days -- since about 2 days after its release -- and I am not sure if it is 10.4.3 itself that is the culprit, or its clash with some other application. The problem did not occur immediately upon the 10.4.3 installation."

Another reader adds:

"I did the 10.4.3 update a few days ago, put my ibook to sleep on and off for the next few days. but the next time i rebooted (two nights ago) my entire address book database was gone!"

Andy corroborates:

"This morning I started up my iBook, recently upgraded to 10.4.3, and... My Address book database is also completely gone."

One MacFixIt reader offers a more detailed observation of what is causing the problem:

"The problem seems to trigger by making some change in the Address Book and it somehow not getting 'auto-saved' correctly upon quit. While Address Book does keeps it's own backup copy of the Address Book database file, when a user opens Address Book after the first error occurs (not knowing it has occurred), and sees no addresses, then quits Address Book again, it replaces the backup copy with an empty Address Book as well. So now you're stuck.

"My limited analysis to date seems to point a something with how Address Book does it's 'autosave' and the interaction of that with other processing/applications (Spotlight? Address Book Widgets? iSync? Mail?) As a precaution since it happened to me, I use Address Book's manual Backup Database command to create my own backups. I'm glad I did too, since the problem did re-occur for me once, and I was quickly able to get back to my last manual backup state. There is some bad bug here that needs to get priority to get fixed by Apple."

Jari Kokko writes:

"I had read that Address Book entries might disappear after the new Tiger update. So I took precautions and exported all cards into a .vcf file. I updated and - POOF - my addressbook only had two entries. I double-clicked the vcf file and the import function warned that all cards are duplicates and would be updated. I let it, and true enough, all cards were back. I believe that the data doesn't disappear after all, it just becomes invisible. This is backed up by the fact that the 'empty' Address Book data file is not smaller than the ok one.

Monty Lee adds:

"Just to let you know, I have two computers, each experienced the loss of the Address Book. One is a Dual G5/2, the other a Dual G4/800. After updating to 10.4.3, both lost their address books in a couple of days. I thought it had to do with Dot Mac Sync, so I turned it off. I restored the Address Books from a backup (unfortunately several weeks old), only to find out that a couple of days later it was gone.

"I've reverted (painfully) back to 10.4.2 because of other problems with 10.4.3 (won't print) on one machine, and will have to do it on the other if I lose the Address Book again."

Possible fix In some instances of this problem, the data appears to merely be hidden and not permanently deleted. In these cases, a simple fix submitted by MacFixIt reader Ross may be helpful.

"Reading MacFixIt and fearing the worst I went to my Address Book which was in view card and column mode - it appeared that all but one of my entries was gone (last entry viewed was there). I toggled between view card and column and view card only and all of my entries came back. It took several toggles to restore all entries."

[Mike Lane]

It appears address book is full of holes. I'll just use entourage from now on. Microsoft to the rescue :wxwax

[Mike Lane]

In case anyone cares or is using address book, I've been playing around with it and entourage. My address book and entourage are automatically synching in real time. I can put info into one and it shows up in the other immediately. This was obviously the source of the problem that I had (which would have been nice to know a few hours ago).

[DavidTO]

In case anyone cares or is using address book, I've been playing around with it and entourage. My address book and entourage are automatically synching in real time. I can put info into one and it shows up in the other immediately. This was obviously the source of the problem that I had (which would have been nice to know a few hours ago).


Why were they doing that and how did you get them to do it? So what you thought was a problem was expected behavior? Am I being slow? I don't quite get it.

[Mike Lane]

Why were they doing that and how did you get them to do it? So what you thought was a problem was expected behavior? Am I being slow? I don't quite get it.There is an option in entourage that will sync itself with the address book app. I don't recally checking it, but that doesn't mean I didn't at some earlier point in time. But now that I'm working between address book and entourage I don't think that it was entourage that was the problem. If anything, entourage would have simply synched itself with address book and made it look the same. So I think that it was some other unknown bug with address book that made it lose the data.

[Seamus]

the new ipod and stuff announced today, a 1 hour + video here (http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/sep_2006/event/index.html)

shay

[wxwax]

The Shuffle looks pretty cool.

[DavidTO]

The Shuffle looks pretty cool.


I like the new iTunes.

[Mike Lane]

I like the new iTunes.:agree Finally automatic artwork updates!!!

[bigwebguy]

:agree Finally automatic artwork updates!!!bout time. and also allows you to transfer music off your ipod to another authorized computer.

it's actually a usable media manager now.

its interfaces are also shockingly similar to windows media player 10. (with the exception of the uber cool cover browser.)

I still wish they would make it easy to access music from a central location. I have a media server where i keep all my music and photos, having to maintain the library manifest on each computer where i play music from is maddening. Especially now that it takes SOOO freaking long to add music to your library because of the gapless playback information gathering. Which by the way there is no way to turn off.

Sigh.

[DavidTO]

I still wish they would make it easy to access music from a central location. I have a media server where i keep all my music and photos, having to maintain the library manifest on each computer where i play music from is maddening. Especially now that it takes SOOO freaking long to add music to your library because of the gapless playback information gathering. Which by the way there is no way to turn off.

Sigh.


????

Why not Share Library?

There's also software that expands on the sharing capabilities of iTunes.

[colourbox]

I have the current Shuffle now and while I like the smaller size of the new shuffle it isn't as easy to use as a flash drive because they took off the USB port to save space. I use the flash drive feature a lot, so I'll keep mine.

[bigwebguy]

????

Why not Share Library?

There's also software that expands on the sharing capabilities of iTunes.
because it's a server in my basement and i'm never at that box when i add music

so that library manifest will never get updated and i'm in the same boat i am now

[Mike Lane]

its interfaces are also shockingly similar to windows media player 10. (with the exception of the uber cool cover browser.)I see from Digg that they bought coverflow. Excellent idea apple :thumb

[DavidTO]

because it's a server in my basement and i'm never at that box when i add music

so that library manifest will never get updated and i'm in the same boat i am now


Why not just replace the iTunes Library with the file from the machine you've added music from?

You could also check out iTunes Library Manager.

They'll never add what you're asking for, since the way it's set up is part of their anti-piracy policy. Not really effective against piracy, but it looks good to the record companies, ya know?

[bigwebguy]

Why not just replace the iTunes Library with the file from the machine you've added music from?cuz then i will lose all the existing library information. :scratch

They'll never add what you're asking for, since the way it's set up is part of their anti-piracy policy. Not really effective against piracy, but it looks good to the record companies, ya know?Bah. That's a bad excuse for poor implementation. It has nothing to do with piracy protection. You still have to be on an authorized computer to play the music, no matter where it's stored. Windows Media Player has no problem handling this type of setup. :dunno

WMP will also lookup album art from multiple sources, just in case the MSN music store doesnt have your album. Apple is so high on itself that it must figure since ITMS doesnt have the album then you dont need the art. It wont even tell you that it couldn't find it...it just sits there and does nothing. HELLO! Did you find it?

sigh.

[DavidTO]

cuz then i will lose all the existing library information. :scratch



No, you'll be copying your library info from the machine that you import music on to the one that you serve from.

There are workarounds for this. But it sounds like your happy with WMP? :dunno

[DavidTO]

One last thought, before I stop :deadhorse

When you launch iTunes, hold the option key, it'll give you the option of creating a new library or choosing an existing one. Choose the one that's down in your basement.

You only need to do that when you're importing music or making changes to the library. Otherwise, just use sharing for playback.

[bigwebguy]

No, you'll be copying your library info from the machine that you import music on to the one that you serve from.
:dunno

I'll have to double check how this works, but i'm pretty sure that the shared library and local library xml files are not the same...or at least differentiated in the xml where replacing the one on the server would majorly b0rk things.

either way it would require me logging into that server, which is just dumb.

i would very much like to use WMP but i cant play any of my fairplay protected music on it.

why does it have to be so freaking difficult for me to listen to music I PAID FOR!!!!!

[DavidTO]

I'll have to double check how this works, but i'm pretty sure that the shared library and local library xml files are not the same...or at least differentiated in the xml where replacing the one on the server would majorly b0rk things.

either way it would require me logging into that server, which is just dumb.

i would very much like to use WMP but i cant play any of my fairplay protected music on it.

why does it have to be so freaking difficult for me to listen to music I PAID FOR!!!!!


I think my last idea is the best. Option key on launch.

[bigwebguy]

I think my last idea is the best. Option key on launch.dunno, we'll have to see how well that handles network shares and where the files end up.

[DavidTO]

dunno, we'll have to see how well that handles network shares and where the files end up.


The files end up where you tell them to end up. In your Prefs, if you have iTunes manage your music folder, or wherever you want them if you turn that pref off.

[bigwebguy]

The files end up where you tell them to end up. In your Prefs, if you have iTunes manage your music folder, or wherever you want them if you turn that pref off.like i said, remains to be seen how it handles network shares when opening from a network share. Sometimes it tends to chase its tail.

[DavidTO]

Apple is so high on itself that it must figure since ITMS doesnt have the album then you dont need the art.


This is not true. I imported an album last night that's not in the iTMS, and the album art was there, no problem.

Might not work for all albums, but it did work for me.

[Mike Lane]

This is not true. I imported an album last night that's not in the iTMS, and the album art was there, no problem.

Might not work for all albums, but it did work for me.:agree. No radiohead albums are sold on iTMS but all my radiohead albums have album art.

[DavidTO]

Still not complaint free, but this iTunes update is the best one I've seen.

[JohnR]

:agree. No radiohead albums are sold on iTMS but all my radiohead albums have album art.


But they did have OK Computer on iTMS when they first started it..I got it off of there. Wish they would bring them back. :cry

[DavidTO]

My new Mail.app icon.

[bigwebguy]

:agree. No radiohead albums are sold on iTMS but all my radiohead albums have album art.i stand corrected then, but some feedback would still be nice.

and yes david, i agree this is the best iTunes update yet. It amazes me how far behind it has been though.

[phuong]

what do you mean "hack" ? is it like, Parallels doesn't work properly under MP without those "hacks" ??
how would you compare it with Boot Camp?

Got Parallels working on the Mac Pro (after a few silly hacks, they expect to have new version for the Mac Pro out at the end of the year. It works just fine w/ no hacks on the Macbook Pro)...

And, a 2nd Display. So, Winders on the right, and all the more evolved stuff on the left :lol3

[DavidTO]

i stand corrected then, but some feedback would still be nice.

and yes david, i agree this is the best iTunes update yet. It amazes me how far behind it has been though.


I agree with the first comment about feedback.



I trust you're right about the second. I wouldn't know, though.

[Andy]

what do you mean "hack" ? is it like, Parallels doesn't work properly under MP without those "hacks" ??
how would you compare it with Boot Camp?
Never tried Boot Camp.

||s requires some gentle care when running on a Mac Pro.

1) you have to set your boot args to 3.5gig if you have more than 3.5 gig of ram

2) you have to sleep the machine and then wake it

3) now launch ||s

Otherwise, you get Kernel-panic city. There's plenty of help and commiserating on the ||s forum:
http://forums.parallels.com/forum53.html

I have it running now, it works fine once you know how to beat it into submission :lol3 They promise a new build by end of year, and hopefully you won't have to go thru these hoops.

[Mike Lane]

Never tried Boot Camp.

||s requires some gentle care when running on a Mac Pro.

1) you have to set your boot args to 3.5gig if you have more than 3.5 gig of ram

2) you have to sleep the machine and then wake it

3) now launch ||s

Otherwise, you get Kernel-panic city. There's plenty of help and commiserating on the ||s forum:
http://forums.parallels.com/forum53.html

I have it running now, it works fine once you know how to beat it into submission :lol3 They promise a new build by end of year, and hopefully you won't have to go thru these hoops.
||s :poke :lol3

You are now teh l33t!

[wxwax]

I notice that Crucial doesn't stock memory for the iMac 2.33mhz.

[Andy]

||s :poke :lol3

You are now teh l33t!
d00d, we all use ||s here at SmugMug. It teh s3kz

[Andy]

Upgraded wife and son's Mac Mini to the new Intel box. Have to say, Apple makes upgrading soooo easy. Pop a firewire from the old to the new, everything is copied over exactly as it was on the old box. The new machine automagically updates itself with the latest software, and boom-done. Painless. Actually, a joy to do, compared to most experiences I've had in the past with this sort of thing.

:clap

[phuong]

boot args? can you tell me what is args? when i create a XP VM, the maximum RAM i can create is 1.5GB. it's no where near 3.5GB (i have 4GB ram)
by the way how do you instantly sleep the MP?

Never tried Boot Camp.

||s requires some gentle care when running on a Mac Pro.

1) you have to set your boot args to 3.5gig if you have more than 3.5 gig of ram

2) you have to sleep the machine and then wake it

3) now launch ||s

Otherwise, you get Kernel-panic city. There's plenty of help and commiserating on the ||s forum:
http://forums.parallels.com/forum53.html

I have it running now, it works fine once you know how to beat it into submission :lol3 They promise a new build by end of year, and hopefully you won't have to go thru these hoops.

[Andy]

boot args? can you tell me what is args? when i create a XP VM, the maximum RAM i can create is 1.5GB. it's no where near 3.5GB (i have 4GB ram)
by the way how do you instantly sleep the MP?
http://forums.parallels.com/thread4137.html

Read the forums there, it's really beyond me to actually help, I just copied and pasted stuff....

[phuong]

pretty interesting indeed. a few tweaks and it just works.
but still, it's not perfect yet. so i'll just stick with Boot Camp for now.

[StevenV]

I've got an external firewire drive that I had formatted Fat32 (so I could use it with both PC and Mac). It was connected to the Powerbook the other day, I deleted a bunch of stuff and then empied trash. The empty took forever and then the Mac hung. Locked up tight, couldn't even get to Force Quit. So I let it sit for a while to see if it'd come back, eventually just powered off.

When I booted again, it wouldn't see the external drive, says it's an un-initialized volume. Windows XP basicly says the same thing. It looks like the partition table's bonked.
:cry

Know of any software tools that might help?

[DavidTO]

like i said, remains to be seen how it handles network shares when opening from a network share. Sometimes it tends to chase its tail.


Maybe give this (http://porkrind.org/multitunes/) a try.

[patch29]

Cool. :rofl


ctrl+opt+cmd+8

[Mike Lane]

Maybe give this (http://porkrind.org/multitunes/) a try.Doesn't work for me at all.

[thebigsky]

Can anyone recommend a way of boosting my Apple network signal strength? I've tried an Omnibot external aerial for my basestation and it has made little difference.

I'm aware that the Airport Express can be used as a repeater but strangely not if you use WPA encryption, which I do.

Charlie

[Poseidon]

When I booted again, it wouldn't see the external drive, says it's an un-initialized volume. Windows XP basicly says the same thing. It looks like the partition table's bonked.
:cry

Know of any software tools that might help?

Foor PC, www.recovermyfiles.com

WORKS AWESOME! It takes FOREVER, but I had the same problem on an internal drive that I crashed using the wrong IRQ's... It recovered almost everything. It was well worth the $70 to get back about 60,000 pictures...

[wxwax]

If you haven't upgraded to iTunes 7 yet... don't.

Sounds like Apple released it before it was ready, a great many problems (http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2006/09/fix_for_the_itu.html) for users.

[DavidTO]

If you haven't upgraded to iTunes 7 yet... don't.

Sounds like Apple released it before it was ready, a great many problems (http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2006/09/fix_for_the_itu.html) for users.


Yeah, I've seen that. I got lucky. Upgraded, and nary a problem. I read that an update is imminent.

[ian408]

Know of any software tools that might help?

Partition Magic.

[wxwax]

Figures.

Apple and Virgin don't mix (http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/09/15.15.shtml).

:lol3

[wxwax]

I was getting enthusiastic about the 24" iMac... until I read that PS runs slower than it does in a iMac G5.

Patience, grasshopper, wait 'til the Universal Binary comes out, see how much faster it is. I guess that'll give Apple time to get the bugs out, too.

[DavidTO]

I was getting enthusiastic about the 24" iMac... until I read that PS runs slower than it does in a iMac G5.

Patience, grasshopper, wait 'til the Universal Binary comes out, see how much faster it is. I guess that'll give Apple time to get the bugs out, too.

Sid,

How's it going? Have any commentary from a switcher about pros and cons now that you've got a few months under your belt?

[wxwax]

Sid,

How's it going? Have any commentary from a switcher about pros and cons now that you've got a few months under your belt?
Nothing deep, David.

The thing starts and shuts down a lot faster. No major bugs, some minor oddities that aren't chronic. I've been spared Patch29's unexpected shutdown problem.

I don't like playing Windows video files on the 'net, it's a pain, even with FlipforMac. And I wish I had software for removing the bugs I just know are being planted on the system. I don't care if they work on Macs or not, I just want them off.

I also deeply miss the Windows status bar, where I have an icon on the bottom of my screen for every open program and document. Having it makes it super simple to keep track of everything, especially multiple Word documents. Mac doesn't seem to have an equivalent, so navigation is more challenging - actually, downright frustrating when it comes to multiple Word docs.

I really like the easy program install and uninstall. Drag and drop, very nice. Also, I couldn't believe how easily I could control my video camera and import video - just plug in a cable, start the program and go. Amazing.

I very much like the keyboard and form factor of the Macbook. The screen's OK - like other lappies, if not viewed at precisely the right angle, it's no good for judging photos.

I'm seriously considering a 24" iMac for my next desktop. But I hesitate, because it sounds very much like Universal Binary Photoshop won't be here until April '07, and I don't want to go through the hassle and expense of a slower, interim CS2. Also, I worry a bit about 3 grand on a system - it's expensive, and I wonder how soon it will be out of date, as media files grow ever larger.

[colourbox]

I also deeply miss the Windows status bar, where I have an icon on the bottom of my screen for every open program and document. Having it makes it super simple to keep track of everything, especially multiple Word documents. Mac doesn't seem to have an equivalent, so navigation is more challenging - actually, downright frustrating when it comes to multiple Word docs.

What did you do in Windows with multiple Word docs that you can't replicate on the Mac? The Mac Dock has these features if you haven't checked them out yet:
* If there's a black triangle under an application icon in the Dock, that program is running. Therefore you can track all open apps.
* If you right-click on a dock icon of a running app, all of its documents are listed in the right-click menu that pops up, and you can choose any of the docs right there. The frontmost window is marked.
Also, you can flip through open doc windows by pressing Command` (on US keyboard) and you can also use Expose to pick from all windows of a single app, as well as its usual function of picking from all windows in all apps.

I'm seriously considering a 24" iMac for my next desktop. But I hesitate...Also, I worry a bit about 3 grand on a system - it's expensive, and I wonder how soon it will be out of date, as media files grow ever larger.

I can't bring myself to touch any Mac desktop under a Mac Pro. The issues are RAM and drive bays. Because of the rising file sizes, if the iMac could handle at least 4GB of RAM, I might look at it. No way would I spend 3 grand on one. I am thinking about getting a dual 2.0 Mac Pro for $1999 after rebate at macconnection.com (http://www.macconnection.com/B2C/PM/Brands/Apple/Mac+Pro.htm) and using my current monitor. With four cores on board already, I don't have to have the fastest CPU. I need RAM and drive bays.

[bigwebguy]

I also deeply miss the Windows status bar, where I have an icon on the bottom of my screen for every open program and document. Having it makes it super simple to keep track of everything, especially multiple Word documents. Mac doesn't seem to have an equivalent, so navigation is more challenging - actually, downright frustrating when it comes to multiple Word docs.ding ding ding. that's my #1 complaint as well. expose' is fine, but it's an extra step that isn't necessary on my pc.

[bigwebguy]

Yeah, I've seen that. I got lucky. Upgraded, and nary a problem. I read that an update is imminent.the only problem i've had is that it says my iPod nano is 'undergoing restoration' on my windows box and that i need to do a factory restore. works fine on the mac. odd especially considering the nano is formatted for windows.

other than that no problems....well besides the already documented functional shortcomings. :bwg

[DavidTO]

ding ding ding. that's my #1 complaint as well. expose' is fine, but it's an extra step that isn't necessary on my pc.


I know it's not the same, but have you tried Witch (http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?section=witch)?

[bigwebguy]

I know it's not the same, but have you tried Witch (http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?section=witch)?nope

[wxwax]

What did you do in Windows with multiple Word docs that you can't replicate on the Mac?
I can look down at the half dozen icons on my task bar and with a single click call-up the Word document I want. I usually memorize which is which by their position, so i don't waste any time.

I write for a living, do a lot of cutting-and-pasting, and back and forth for references, so I like having everything spread out before me, if you will.

From what I understand, there's no way to duplicate this ease of experience in a Mac. :dunno The task bar thing kinda works, but isn't as easy.

[wxwax]

I can't bring myself to touch any Mac desktop under a Mac Pro. The issues are RAM and drive bays. Because of the rising file sizes, if the iMac could handle at least 4GB of RAM, I might look at it. No way would I spend 3 grand on one. I am thinking about getting a dual 2.0 Mac Pro for $1999 after rebate at macconnection.com (http://www.macconnection.com/B2C/PM/Brands/Apple/Mac+Pro.htm) and using my current monitor. With four cores on board already, I don't have to have the fastest CPU. I need RAM and drive bays.
Nice to know I'm not nuts. this is pretty much my concern. Not so much drive bays, as the 3GB memory limit.

[StevenV]

thanks for the suggestions re: partition magic and recovermyfiles.

re: iTunes7 - installed(upgraded) both PowerBook G4 and Windows XP systems, no problems here (for whatever it's worth).

[rutt]

I don't know how to duplicate this exact experience, but I do something different which solves the same problem with a very different model, virtual desktops. The idea is that you can have a separate virtual desktop for each project you have in flight. I use one for web browsing, one for programming, one for email, one for photoshop. Switching to a different desktop shows all the windows for that desktop and hides all the others. A window can be moved between windows. I love virtual desktops, don't know how I existed without them (well, that was a very long time ago, about 15 years.)

Supposdly this functionality will be built into Panther, the next major release of OS X. For now, you can get the functionality with a free third party utility, Desktop Manager (http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/). Don't be put off by the nerdly appearance of the home page. Once you install it, it's very easy to use. Just download the most recent dmg from the download page, copy the program to the applications folder, and run it. Look in your tool bar for the new icons. Then play for a while, being sure to check out the preferences. Don't worry about trying it;l you can always just delete it. I'll try to answer questions.


I can look down at the half dozen icons on my task bar and with a single click call-up the Word document I want. I usually memorize which is which by their position, so i don't waste any time.

I write for a living, do a lot of cutting-and-pasting, and back and forth for references, so I like having everything spread out before me, if you will.

From what I understand, there's no way to duplicate this ease of experience in a Mac. :dunno The task bar thing kinda works, but isn't as easy.

[DavidTO]

Supposdly this functionality will be built into Panther, the next major release of OS X.


That would be Leopard. Panther is old news. :D

Rutt, I know you know that, just want to make sure others are clear.

[Andy]

Never tried Boot Camp.

||s requires some gentle care when running on a Mac Pro.

1) you have to set your boot args to 3.5gig if you have more than 3.5 gig of ram

2) you have to sleep the machine and then wake it

3) now launch ||s

Otherwise, you get Kernel-panic city. There's plenty of help and commiserating on the ||s forum:
http://forums.parallels.com/forum53.html

I have it running now, it works fine once you know how to beat it into submission :lol3 They promise a new build by end of year, and hopefully you won't have to go thru these hoops.
8 days later, and they've fixed it quite nicely. New build available for Parallels, and all the Mac Pro issues are resolved. Parallels uses all available Mac Pro RAM, and there are no Kernel Panic issues. They really did a nice job, worked hard and resolved some stickly issues. There are *no* hacks or workarounds required to run the latest build of Parallels on a Mac Pro.

[Andy]

Rutt, I know you know that,

:poke :rutt

[rutt]

That would be Leopard. Panther is old news. :D

Rutt, I know you know that, just want to make sure others are clear.

Well, actually, once you get to be a certain age, it's no longer clear what you know. I suppose I could know that if I tried harder.

[Andy]

Well, actually, once you get to be a certain age, it's no longer clear what you know. I suppose I could know that if I tried harder.
:rutt :rutt :rutt :lol3

(and I'm right behind you!)

[Andy]

w00t - expresscard from Delkin (http://www.tuaw.com/2006/09/23/delkin-efilm-expresscard-34/)

[Andy]

add TUAW to your FF Search bar (http://mycroft.mozdev.org/download.html?name=tuaw&category=all&country=all&language=all&submitform=Search&sherlock=yes)

[wxwax]

I can't bring myself to touch any Mac desktop under a Mac Pro. The issues are RAM and drive bays. Because of the rising file sizes, if the iMac could handle at least 4GB of RAM, I might look at it. No way would I spend 3 grand on one. I am thinking about getting a dual 2.0 Mac Pro for $1999 after rebate at macconnection.com (http://www.macconnection.com/B2C/PM/Brands/Apple/Mac+Pro.htm) and using my current monitor. With four cores on board already, I don't have to have the fastest CPU. I need RAM and drive bays.

Something (http://www.macworld.com/2006/09/firstlooks/imac233bench/index.php) to think about. Clock speed versus the software's ability to use multiple processors.

Many applications, like iMovie, iTunes, Photoshop, and Microsoft Office—not to mention tasks most folks spend the day running on their Macs, like word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsing, and 3-D games—are either not as CPU-intensive or are less savvy when it comes to multiprocessing. Thus, the iMac Core 2 Duo’s faster clock speed trumps the multiple Xeons found in the 2GHz Mac Pro.

[DavidTO]

So, I just finished reading iWoz (http://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-Invented-Personal-Co-Founded/dp/0393061434/sr=8-1/qid=1159760775/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-9847654-8067365?ie=UTF8&s=books), and at the end of the book, he's talking about the late 90's, when the Mac was suffering from instability. Everyone was complaining about it seemed. One day, his son is surfing in iCab, not IE. Well, everyone was pretty much using IE back then, especially because it was bundled with the Mac. Woz started using iCab, and found that his crashes stopped. The crashes didn't just happen when you were running IE, apparently, but everyone that was using it was having problems with the system crashing. He did a lot of research (informal) and found that those running Netscape, iCab, anything but IE were fine.

And yet, no one at Apple would listen to him. Probably because of the agreement they had with MS. But what Woz was saying was don't blame the OS for it. Sure, it's part of the problem, but it's not the OS that's crashing, it's IE, which no one ever expected.

In any case, what Apple did in response was license NeXT from the other Steve.

Also, the other thing I learned was where the whole Motorola chip thing came from...Gus said somewhere that it took Mac this long to start using the chip everyone else uses...and the reason for using Motorola chips (actually a clone in the beginning) was that they could be had for $20, and the two Steves were running this thing out of their apartment/mother's home when they built the Apple I.

Anyway, these types of things were interesting, but what was best about the book (and I'm not raving about it--it was OK, engaging enough, but not great), was to get to know what drove and motivated Woz, and to understand how revolutionary his ideas were. This man conceived of and built the first computer with a keyboard and a screen. Before that it was punch cards and blinking lights. The man's a genius in many ways.

[rutt]

The man's a genius in many ways.

And he wants to make sure you know it. I heard him interviewed on the radio, and found him to be truly insufferable. You can hear this interview here (http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2006/10/20061005_b_main.asp).
I guess it's worth hearing, but take it with a ton of salt.

[DavidTO]

And he wants to make sure you know it. I heard him interviewed on the radio, and found him to be truly insufferable. You can hear this interview here (http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2006/10/20061005_b_main.asp).
I guess it's worth hearing, but take it with a ton of salt.


That comes through in the book a bit, too. But his is an interesting story.

[StevenV]

David (and anyone else who might know), do you know of a good book, website, vidcast, etc. where I can learn about various CODECs and encodings, when to use which ones, the pros and cons of each, etc? I'm building shorts in FinalCut Pro, but am mostly clueless when it comes
to the final render & export phase. I want to put my stuff on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=MiltonPIX), iPods and the school's "jumbotron" (which takes some specific-settings AVI of some strange sort) and am just trying to understand it all.

thanks

[Poseidon]

As a Mac newbie..... When the next version of OS X is realeased, is that a free upgrade? I can't seem to find any upgrade information on Jaguar as far as cost goes....

[W.W. Webster]

When the next version of OS X is realeased (sic), is that a free upgrade?Version upgrades, for example, Jaguar (10.2) -> Panther (10.3) -> Tiger (10.4) -> Leopard (10.5, early next year) are chargeable. Intra-version upgrades, for example 10.4.7 -> 10.4.8 (the current release), which come through every couple of months or so, are not chargeable for existing users of the current version.

[DavidTO]

David (and anyone else who might know), do you know of a good book, website, vidcast, etc. where I can learn about various CODECs and encodings, when to use which ones, the pros and cons of each, etc? I'm building shorts in FinalCut Pro, but am mostly clueless when it comes
to the final render & export phase. I want to put my stuff on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=MiltonPIX), iPods and the school's "jumbotron" (which takes some specific-settings AVI of some strange sort) and am just trying to understand it all.

thanks


I don't. I should. I work in FCP, but I always only need to output DV quicktimes. :dunno

[Poseidon]

Version upgrades, for example, Jaguar (10.2) -> Panther (10.3) -> Tiger (10.4) -> Leopard (10.5, early next year) are chargeable. Intra-version upgrades, for example 10.4.7 -> 10.4.8 (the current release), which come through every couple of months or so, are not chargeable for existing users of the current version.

DOH! I guess my fingers were moving faster then my proof reading....

Thanks for the answer on the "chargeable" upgrade, any idea on how much?

[DavidTO]

DOH! I guess my fingers were moving faster then my proof reading....

Thanks for the answer on the "chargeable" upgrade, any idea on how much?


Usually $129 for a single license, and $199 for a family pack, up to 5 computers. Or free, if you buy a new computer with it...if you're ready to upgrade, it's worth figuring into the equation.

[Poseidon]

Thanks!

I am thinking of a new laptop, but I'll bet that a new laptop purchase will not get me the upgrade on my MacPro right?

[StevenV]

I don't. I should. I work in FCP, but I always only need to output DV quicktimes. :dunno

fwiw, over on Creative Cow I got this suggestion: Ben Waggoner's Compression for Great Digital Video (c) 2002 CMP books could stand an update but it covers the groundwork

[StevenV]

Foor PC, www.recovermyfiles.com (http://www.recovermyfiles.com)

WORKS AWESOME! It takes FOREVER, but I had the same problem on an internal drive that I crashed using the wrong IRQ's... It recovered almost everything. It was well worth the $70 to get back about 60,000 pictures...

you're right, it does take it's time (and hangs sometimes without looking hung; I got their tech guy on the line after letting it run overnight for 13 hours and he said "oh. no, it shouldn't take that long.") but does a good job. 42,500 files recovered, thanks for the recommendation.

[Mike Lane]

Anyone know why I would be having problems with connecting to a webDAV server with the mac? Not so much connecting I guess. I hit cmd-k and then the server and it connects just fine. But when I try to upload something I get the file name and that's about it. It shows up as 0K when I look at it on my web server (which is set up properly afaik btw). Is there anything special that I have to do? I know I had trouble connecting to my 802.11b because my WEP password needed to have a $ in front of it. So maybe it's something that easy that I'm just missing. :dunno

[Poseidon]

you're right, it does take it's time (and hangs sometimes without looking hung; I got their tech guy on the line after letting it run overnight for 13 hours and he said "oh. no, it shouldn't take that long.") but does a good job. 42,500 files recovered, thanks for the recommendation.

:thumb Your Welcome!

[colourbox]

Usually $129 for a single license, and $199 for a family pack, up to 5 computers. Or free, if you buy a new computer with it...if you're ready to upgrade, it's worth figuring into the equation.

Keep an eye out for deals. For the 10.4 rollout, macsales.com had it for $99, no rebates or strings attached.

Anyone who is eligible for education discount can get it for $69, I think.

[Andy]

Steve's in trouble now... (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/11/apple_ny_store/)

[Mike Lane]

Steve's in trouble now... (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/11/apple_ny_store/)The idea behind it is kind of the same too. It's not difficult to imagine a hoarde of mac devotees swirling around the ny mac store.

[Seamus]

An interesting site about the macintosh (http://www.folklore.org/index.py)

[bigwebguy]

need mac help

I have shares on my windows PC server that i use for my photos and music. I can mount them no prob on the mac, but everytime it goes to sleep they disappear and i have to manually remount them. Is there anyway to automount these things on wake?

I've told airport not to turn off on sleep and i've also added them to my startup so they mount when i start the computer but they still disappear.

[Mike Lane]

need mac help

I have shares on my windows PC server that i use for my photos and music. I can mount them no prob on the mac, but everytime it goes to sleep they disappear and i have to manually remount them. Is there anyway to automount these things on wake?

I've told airport not to turn off on sleep and i've also added them to my startup so they mount when i start the computer but they still disappear.This has been vexing me too. I've searched but haven't found an answer on the web. I thought that maybe I could create a workflow that would recognize when the computer woke up from a sleep and would automatically connect. The best I could do was create a workflow that would connect to the drive but I couldn't find a way to make it start upon wakeup. It's fairly trivial to get it to run at startup so that's something. My absolutely uneducated guess is that it would take some kind of applescript to recognize when the computer woke up and then you could run the workflow.

Unfortunately my brain doesn't contain any apple script. If I could just do that with CSS. :rolleyes

[DavidTO]

This has been vexing me too. I've searched but haven't found an answer on the web. I thought that maybe I could create a workflow that would recognize when the computer woke up from a sleep and would automatically connect. The best I could do was create a workflow that would connect to the drive but I couldn't find a way to make it start upon wakeup. It's fairly trivial to get it to run at startup so that's something. My absolutely uneducated guess is that it would take some kind of applescript to recognize when the computer woke up and then you could run the workflow.

Unfortunately my brain doesn't contain any apple script. If I could just do that with CSS. :rolleyes


How about using Sleepwatcher (http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/) to activate your workflow?

[Mike Lane]

"A little bit knowledge of the Unix command line is required to benefit from this software."

Unfortunately I don't even have enough knowledge of the Unix command line to know if I can run a workflow from the Unix command line. :rolleyes But assuming that you can, it appears that this would be the solution.

Lee I'm sure you can figure out the workflow, but if you need any pointers for some odd reason let me know.

[DavidTO]

"A little bit knowledge of the Unix command line is required to benefit from this software."



A workflow is basically an application, isnt' it?

From macosx.com:

The command is simply open (which can also be used for opening directories). The most basic example of launching an application:
open /path/to/some.app

More complex possibilities also exist:
open "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt"
opens the document in the default application for its type (as determined by LaunchServices).

open /Applications/
opens that directory in the Finder.

open -a /Applications/TextEdit.app "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt"
opens the document in the application specified (in this case, TextEdit).

open -e "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt"
opens the document in TextEdit (the -e option specifies TextEdit).

open http://www.apple.com/
opens the URL in the default browser (lynx, naturally *wink*)

open "file://localhost/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt"
opens the document in the default application for its type (as determined by LaunchServices).

open "file://localhost/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/"
opens that directory in the Finder.

[patch29]

Revised Macbook Pros, now up to 3GB of ram. :D

Specs Here. (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html)

[rutt]

Revised Macbook Pros, now up to 3GB of ram. :D

Specs Here. (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html)

This is what I've been waiting for. The lights for for this are now green. I ordered one to replace my 17" powerbook which I will now try to sell.

The iMac lights are also now green. PowerMac, OK, but 4X Xeons will ship early next year so if you want the true high end, it might pay to wait 3-6 months.

[wxwax]

Cheaper than Crucial, $200 less than Apple for 4GB of Mac Pro memory.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory

Anyone ever use these kids?

[DavidTO]

Cheaper than Crucial, $200 less than Apple for 4GB of Mac Pro memory.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory

Anyone ever use these kids?


Yeah, they're cool, dude. Totally solid. Righteous.

[DavidTO]

This is what I've been waiting for. The lights for for this are now green. I ordered one to replace my 17" powerbook which I will now try to sell.

The iMac lights are also now green. PowerMac, OK, but 4X Xeons will ship early next year so if you want the true high end, it might pay to wait 3-6 months.


Finally (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=52871&postcount=3).

[rutt]

Finally (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=52871&postcount=3).

Photographers with relatively recent power macs in the beginning of 2005 would not have suffered too much from following this advice. Especially if Photoshop is their #1 performance issue.

People who would have had to do without in the meantime and people with other performance issues (and needs like virtual machines for windows), well, that's a different story.

I waited for myself, because I had a 2xG5 desktop and a recent powerbook. In the meantime, I ended up buying 3 MacBooks for family members without performance needs and steering my uncle to a Intel IMac for photography (just recently).

There's a fine art to this. Andy stays on the cutting edge by selling quickly at good prices. I like to wait to upgrade until the benefit is very clear. In this particular case, something unusual was going on. It was clear a couple of years ago that Apple was at a dead end with PowerPC based systems, especially for portables. So purchases during most of 2005 were clearly end of life systems. Fine if that's what you needed when you needed it, but better to wait if possible. Early MacBooks had lots of problems and by this summer it was clear that a major processor upgrade was imminent.

The Mac Pro story is different. These have been around for less than 6 months and have been pretty solid from the start. 8x compared to 4x might not actually be such a big deal for most applications including day to day Photoshop. (I'll explain Amdahl's Law if anyone cares.) So fine, unless you want that 8x just for the cool factor (I might.) But still, if you have a 2x 2+GHz G5, you might as well wait for PS CS3 which might correspond to the intro of 8x systems.

I don't know as much about IMacs, except that the 24" with core 2 duo looks very sweet and I would have been happy to have waited for it if possible.

Things really are different now. Intel has won. Apple won't undergo another processor family switch again for a very long time if ever. Well, they might have some AMD systems or something, but that won't matter. Core 2 Duo looks to be early in it's life cycle and the only huge improvement on the horizon is more cores. Apple has had time to shake out the original rush-to-market design of the MacBook Pros and IMacs.

In short, this looks like as good a time to buy an Apple computer as I can imagine.

[wxwax]

Mac Pro.

[rutt]

Mac Pro.

Thanks, I fixed.

[colourbox]

Cheaper than Crucial, $200 less than Apple for 4GB of Mac Pro memory.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory
Anyone ever use these kids?

I just put some of their RAM into my Mac Pro and it's all good. I've been getting my RAM and hard drives there for a couple years now and never had a problem, and I moved to them after using some other vendors before (transintl.com, ramjet.com, crucial). The other vendors were OK but they cost more.

I ordered the RAM last week. They dropped prices slightly this week. I called them about it, but they don't have price protection. I don't think anybody else does price protection on RAM so no big deal I guess.

[wxwax]

:thumb

[DavidTO]

Recommended by Apple for all MacBooks (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbooksmcfirmwareupdate11.html).

[wxwax]

Recommended by Apple for all MacBooks (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbooksmcfirmwareupdate11.html).
:thumb Thanks.

[DavidTO]

A pre-release version of AppleJack is available for Intel and PPC Macs, here (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/applejack/AppleJack-1.4.3rc3.dmg?download). This was previously only available for PPC Macs. AppleJack is a fantastic utility that will repair your disk, permissions, clean up cache files, virtual memory, and check your preferences for corruption. It's free, and easy to use, one of my top 10 utilities.

To use it, you start in single user mode, which is a command-line environment, but don't fear, all you need to do is type "applejack auto restart" without the quotes, hit return, and AppleJack will run and restart your computer when it's done. No need to boot off of a separate disk to repair your directory. Easy peasy.

[wxwax]

A quick fix (http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=4876) for anything that's wrong with your Macbook.

[patch29]

A quick fix (http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=4876) for anything that's wrong with your Macbook.


I think you mean iBook. :rolleyes :bad

[wxwax]

As (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2216) for the reasons behind Long's dismissal, it's not exactly clear. But as the report points out, most people who've watched the "Get a Mac" ads come away "liking the 'PC guy' while wanting to push the 'Mac guy' under a bus."


I concur.

[wxwax]

A pre-release version of AppleJack is available for Intel and PPC Macs, here (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/applejack/AppleJack-1.4.3rc3.dmg?download). This was previously only available for PPC Macs. AppleJack is a fantastic utility that will repair your disk, permissions, clean up cache files, virtual memory, and check your preferences for corruption. It's free, and easy to use, one of my top 10 utilities.

To use it, you start in single user mode, which is a command-line environment, but don't fear, all you need to do is type "applejack auto restart" without the quotes, hit return, and AppleJack will run and restart your computer when it's done. No need to boot off of a separate disk to repair your directory. Easy peasy.


Since downloading some of the stuff on your site, my lappie has twice frozen solid, requiring a reboot.

I've run Applejack after each freeze. :dunno

[wxwax]

Now that they've put the Core2Duo in the Macbooks, aren't the differences between the MB and the MBP almost gone again?

Other than the extra gig of memory, and the matte screen, what's the benefit of buying a 15" Pro?

[colourbox]

Other than the extra gig of memory, and the matte screen, what's the benefit of buying a 15" Pro?

More screen space for your palettes (1440x900 vs. 1280x800)
Better external monitor support (2560x1600 for 30" Cinema, vs. 1920x1200)
FireWire 800
ExpressCard/34 slot
Backlit keyboard (OK, we're reaching now)

The differences are much smaller than the iBook vs. PowerBook. Apple can't let this continue, and won't downgrade the MacBook, so that leaves only one other possibility. Could Apple be looking to put distance between the MacBook and the Pro with a new Pro model that puts more distance between them again? Macworld is only 2 months away...

[wxwax]

Great, thanks. This should be interesting.

[DavidTO]

Yeah, I thought the Core 2 Duo would be the distinguishing factor, but I guess not. :dunno

Also, isn't the video RAM shared on the MacBook?

[colourbox]

Also, isn't the video RAM shared on the MacBook?

Oh, good catch! :thumb

I should have added a disclaimer on my list..."May not be a complete list" because it was mostly off the top of my head and the spec sheets. I was sure I had missed something...and I did.

[DavidTO]

A pre-release version of AppleJack is available for Intel and PPC Macs, here (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/applejack/AppleJack-1.4.3rc3.dmg?download). This was previously only available for PPC Macs. AppleJack is a fantastic utility that will repair your disk, permissions, clean up cache files, virtual memory, and check your preferences for corruption. It's free, and easy to use, one of my top 10 utilities.

To use it, you start in single user mode, which is a command-line environment, but don't fear, all you need to do is type "applejack auto restart" without the quotes, hit return, and AppleJack will run and restart your computer when it's done. No need to boot off of a separate disk to repair your directory. Easy peasy.


The final Universal Binary version of AppleJack is available here (http://applejack.sourceforge.net/).

[wxwax]

The final Universal Binary version of AppleJack is available here (http://applejack.sourceforge.net/).
To update, you just download it again?

[DavidTO]

To update, you just download it again?


Well, you have to install it, too. :D But yeah, it'll upgrade your existing installation.

[wxwax]

Well, you have to install it, too. :D But yeah, it'll upgrade your existing installation.
:thumb

[DavidTO]

:thumb


Did you get the new firmware for your MacBook yet? You get it via Software Update. Read the instructions. All Intel Macs have updated firmware. :D

[wxwax]

Did you get the new firmware for your MacBook yet? You get it via Software Update. Read the instructions. All Intel Macs have updated firmware. :D
I do that about once a fortnight.

[wxwax]

New quad core Intel processors formally announced.

Intel Clovertown Xeon

Processor Frequency Bus L2Cache Price

E5355 2.66GHz 1333MHz 8MB $1172
E5345 2.33GHz 1333MHz 8MB $851
E5320 1.86GHz 1066MHz 8MB $690
E5310 1.60GHz 1066MHz 8MB $455


"The (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=6829) other family of processors, the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700, is up to 80 percent faster than the company’s current Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor X6800. This is the first quad-core desktop processor available, running at with 2.66GHz with a 1066MHz FSB. The processor runs on Intel’s existing 975X Express chipset family."


"Intel (http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=6556)plans to launch two more quad-core Xeon chip designs in the first quarter of 2007, including one that draws just 50 watts for applications in ultra-dense data centers. The company will also launch a chip for mainstream desktops that quarter, calling it the Core 2 Quad."

[wxwax]

What I find curious is that even though some of these chips will find their way into macs, not one Apple site that I visit has yet mentioned them.

I've noticed this pattern before.

Maybe this (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=3053290&postcount=346) is why. :dunno

[colourbox]

What I find curious is that even though some of these chips will find their way into macs, not one Apple site that I visit has yet mentioned them.

Oh yes they have (http://www.google.com/search?q=clovertown%20mac%20pro).

And some people have already tried them out in a Mac Pro (http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6)! :wow

[wxwax]

Oh yes they have (http://www.google.com/search?q=clovertown%20mac%20pro).

And some people have already tried them out in a Mac Pro (http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6)! :wow
That's all old stuff. I'm talking about today, with the formal announcement of actual quad-core products.

[DavidTO]

That's all old stuff. I'm talking about today, with the formal announcement of actual quad-core products.


Here you go (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2236).

[DavidTO]

So I came across a couple of Windows dialog boxes via Crossover Mac, and I gotta tell you: what a fugly, confusing, poorly worded and poorly designed POS Windows is. Bleccch.

If you have any doubts about what I'm talking about, take a look here (http://www.xvsxp.com/interface/dialogs.php). The quote at the top of that page is awesome.

[wxwax]

Here you go (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2236).
Thanks. Filed at 7pm, that's why I missed it.

[DavidTO]

Thanks. Filed at 7pm, that's why I missed it.


Yeah, definitely posted after your post. Just an FYI.

[wxwax]

So I came across a couple of Windows dialog boxes via Crossover Mac, and I gotta tell you: what a fugly, confusing, poorly worded and poorly designed POS Windows is. Bleccch.

If you have any doubts about what I'm talking about, take a look here (http://www.xvsxp.com/interface/dialogs.php). The quote at the top of that page is awesome.
Yet millions survive each working day on that beast.

I like my Mac, and will probably convert completely w/in 6 months (funds permitting.)

I still don't see what the big deal is, though. The stuff you cite is very small potatoes. There are far more confusing dialogues to be had on both systems.

[DavidTO]

Yet millions survive each working day on that beast.

I like my Mac, and will probably convert completely w/in 6 months (funds permitting.)

I still don't see what the big deal is, though. The stuff you cite is very small potatoes. There are far more confusing dialogues to be had on both systems.


I just don't know why they put up with it. I have to read a paragraph to know if I want to answer yes or no in Windows. On the Mac the choices are Save, Don't Save or Cancel. Pretty obvious.

But yes, I am acting like a spoiled little child, Windows does a lot of good work for a lot of people. I'm just ranting. :D

[wxwax]

:lol3

[wxwax]

From across the hall (http://www.advrider.com/forums/