Tag: Mac

The January 2008 issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available to help you ring in the new Mac year.
Mike Chamberlain looks back at the first of 2007, and how his desire for a “MacPhone” panned out, and surprisingly so, later in the year. Mark notes how smaller cars might not always be a good thing, but smaller iPods are, and wonders what lies ahead for Apple’s music player line. Mark’s also thankful that FileMaker has remained easy to use, lo these many years. ATPM reader Tricia Roach becomes an ATPM contributor, with a Segments piece on how she uses her Mac’s video capabilities to stay involved in the lives of her grandkids.
This month’s desktop pictures are courtesy of ATPM reader Jennifer Curry, from her 2006 trip to Cuba. They feature the island nation’s buildings and cityscapes. Meanwhile, Angie flashes back to 1984 as she and Cortland face off against Lisa in the Mudrix for a final showdown.
Linus takes Baseline, a utility which helps you look at file and folder sizes on your Mac, through its paces. Ed uses BusySync to get things done, allowing others to subscribe to or read his iCal calendars, thus assuring everyone’s on the same page. Chris Lawson tries out, and really likes, the Fin Laptop Handle/Stand, while Lee pairs his iSight up with Iris for some fun. Reader Mark Stoneman contributes a review of Mellel, a word processor I’m fond of, and a must-have for those who work with right-to-left languages such as Hebrew or Arabic.
This issue marks the entry in to the fourteenth year of publishing for About This Particular Macintosh, and we hope it’s a great year for our readers, and Mac users everywhere!

The November issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available for your reading pleasure.
Wes kicks off the month by covering–what else?–the blogosphere’s reaction to Mac OS X Leopard. He also has a choice bit regarding the ZFS file system, which I encourage you to read. I realize that particular topic sounds boring–I teased Wes I was printing out that part to help me get some sleep–but he’s done a stellar job of condensing a boring subject in to easy-to-understand layman’s terms. Our intrepid blog investigator also dishes out the links on the forthcoming iPhone development kit for application programmers, as well as a few other choice bits.
Mark–who seems to have the same attitude toward mobile phones as my parents–talks iPhone from the Brit perspective, while also pondering the Google goings-on in the mobile phone space. Speaking of pondering, Mark’s also beginning the laptop or desktop? dilemma. He gets extra points for using a title from one of my favorite authors. Lee’s taking a break from his great column, Photoshop for the Curious, returning in our February edition. To tide you over until then, he documents some other Photoshop-related links you may be interested in.
Sylvester offers a great how-to on extending iTunes’ abilities with content presets. ATPM reader Graham Lindsay was nice enough to share photos from his native Australia for this month’s desktop pictures. Just as all seems lost, our intrepid hero reenters the Mudrix to save the woman he loves in this month’s Cortland.
Small business owners may be interested in Ed’s review of Billable, whereas many folks may be interested in Paul’s look at Graph Paper Maker. Yours truly makes an appearance this month, as I contribute to the iPhone Case Roundup, with Lee and David. Lee likes XtremeMac’s Luna, and Ed is impressed with Nisus Writer Pro. Finally, Eric puts SuperSync through its paces.
As usual, you can read this month’s issue in a format of your choosing.

The October issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available for your reading enjoyment.
If you haven’t gotten enough iPhone news in the past month, or if you’ve just been vacationing in the Eastern Hindu Kush with Osama, Wes has a big round-up in this month’s Bloggable. Speed is on Mark’s mind, as is, um, more speed. Of a sort. And referencing the first in a certain series of science fiction movies many would know by name, but few will recall by the included reference.
Lee delves in to one of Photoshop’s premier features, layers, while Sylvester talks about your Mac’s speed. (Was there a theme for this issue that no one told me about?) Matthew has a how-to for installing a cooling fan in our beloved Cube. (For the record, he installed it in his Cube, which is not the same as my Cube. We don’t share a Cube. I was using “our” in a communal sense, as in all Cube owners everywhere. Oh, never mind…)
Tim Allen–the photographer, not the actor (though that would be pretty cool)–shares with us some shots he’s taken around the United Kingdom, including his home town of Kent, as part of this month’s desktop pictures selection. The Usual Suspects it ain’t, but to paraphrase Bill and Ted, “Strange things are afoot at Wieser Graphics” in this month’s Cortland.
Chris Lawson tries out a pair of iPod cases, the Claro, and the PodFolio, while Linus puzzles the ins and outs of Crossword Forge. Chris Dudar dives in to digital watermarking with iWatermark, while I am underwhelmed by DLO’s TuneStik. Lee hauls around the Velocity Matrix Backpack, and yours truly reviews Apple’s latest game-changing device, the iPhone.
As usual, ATPM is available in a variety of formats, so you can read it however you choose.

Jeff Ventura:

What’s interesting about Windows -> Mac switchers is that they typically feel a need to vocalize their experience in one way or another. That’s pretty remarkable, because it means that somehow Apple knows how to make evangelists out of users. I’m not sure any other company on earth does it as effectively. Apple’s installed base isn’t just an installed base: it’s a field marketing department.

[…]

Aside from very specialized computing tasks, there is literally very little reason to own a dedicated Windows machine anymore. I’d proffer that for the great majority of users, a Mac would work just fine if they do a modicum of research and go into the move with an open mind and the understanding that the Mac != Windows and there will be a learning curve. After that, it’s all good.

Wherein I shamelessly plug my favorite computing platform.
DealMac has a post where they put three systems in a head-to-head-to-head competition for specificationss and price. The systems? The Sony VAIO VGC-LS37E All-In-One Desktop PC, the HP TouchSmart IQ770 Desktop PC, and Apple’s iMac. The verdict? The iMac comes in cheaper than both of the PCs, and it trumps them both in the specs department. Not to mention the iMac is the best-looking of the three, and you get to use the best operating system in the world, instead of Windblows Windows.
So answer me again on why you’d want to use a Windows machine? Avoid the heartache, people–believe me, with a spouse insisting on bringing a new Dull in to our household, for her use, I’m well acquainted with the heartache–and just buy a Mac.

The September issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available for your reading pleasure.
Former staffer, and still good friend, Raena Armitage provided us with a fun cover this month. Thanks again, Raena! If Rob didn’t already have my undying friendship, well, by the power of Greyskull he has it now, managing to work our behind-the-scenes discussion of the new college football season in to this month’s issue. (I confess, this is one reason why you’re not seeing my iPhone review this month.)
Wes covers the big story of the Mac blogosphere from last month, the outing of Fake Steve Jobs, as well as iPhone-related AT&T issues, the iMac refresh, the new Apple keyboard, the latest addition to the iWork suite, and something having to do with brandy and lobster. Regarding that last, maybe our Wes has been sniffing too much newspaper ink at work or something.
Mark laments the Microsoft-blinders of myriad IT professionals, who don’t quite get that not everyone uses Windows, much less Internet Explorer. And speaking of Microsoft, Mark wonders if there might not be some new measurement of time coming forth. If you’ve ever needed a fancy tile graphic, Lee’s got the lowdown for you in this month’s Photoshop For The Curious, so you can knock it out without having to resort to talking to Crunch, the neon-blue mohawked graphic designer with the spike through his cheeks who blasts emo rock from his cubicle.
ATPM reader Jennifer Curry was kind enough to share some shots she took in 2004 from Australia’s Great Ocean Road. These are some breathtaking views of The 12 Apostles and the London Bridge rock formations. Thanks so much, Jennifer! More and more, the swing dance hall offers naught but misery for Cortland, while Todd suffers iPhone temptation. We’re also given a handy guide to online forum denizens.
Matthew explores the under-the-hood utility Cocktail, which, last time we checked, was not a Tom (Maniac) Cruise vehicle. Ed covers Curio 4.0, while Eric dives in to my feed reader of choice, NetNewsWire 3.0. ATPM’s official flight deck officer, Chris Lawson, isn’t suitably impressed with the radioSHARK 2, while Linus puts Snapz Pro X through its screen-capturing paces. Finally, Wes looks at the online, free-form information manager Stikkit, which doesn’t even require a Mac to use, just a web browser. Preferably one which is not from The-Company-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named. (Sorry. I’m currently reading through the Potter series for the first time ever. Apparently, it’s having an effect.)
As usual, this issue of ATPM is available in a variety of formats to suit your wants, desires, and needs.

The August issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available.
In this month’s Bloggable, Wes makes sure to avoid coverage of “the largest technology premiere since the launch of Windows 95”, which would be the debut of the iPhone. Well, he almost avoids it, but does feature a round-up from the blogosphere concerning the WorldWide Developers Conference, the continuing chase to unmask Fake Steve Jobs, and the tale of Photoshop’s birth. Mark, meanwhile, has found a great benefit in the .Mac service over what he’s been getting from his local broadband provider.
Paul delivers a well-rounded meal of web sites for your browsing digestion, including subway maps, fast food ads versus reality, and a digitally-reproduced manuscript of Portuguese sonnets. Part of getting to the next action in GTD is processing. This month, Ed takes a look at processing reference material, which can play an important role in exactly what action you’ll choose. In the latest Photoshop for the Curious, Lee offers a resolution tutorial. (That would be screen resolution. Conflict resolution…well, that’s another publication.)
This month’s desktop pictures are courtesy of staffer David Thompson, and feature scenery from a recent motorcycle trip through parts of Texas and Utah. Cortland finds himself in a spot of trouble with the fuzz, while Angie is paid an unexpected visit. Meanwhile, evil plans are afoot to acquire the Cortland OS.
Andrew enjoys some screen time thanks to El Gato’s EyeTV Hybrid, while Frank Wu offers a double-dose of MagSafe adapters–the Portable Power Station from Battery Geek, and Mikegyver’s MagSafe 120w AC/DC Car/Airline Adapter–for MacBooks and MacBooks Pro. Finally, Linus finds learning fun with Travelogue 360 Paris. I kind of wish my son was older so he and I could play this game together.
As usual, this issue of ATPM is available in a variety of formats for your reading pleasure.

The July issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available.
Ellyn kicks things off by noting how the Internet’s managed to let us support our servicemen and women in ways that wouldn’t have been possible in wars past. In this month’s Bloggable, Wes has a round-up of posts on–what else?–the iPhone. Mike laments the pains of the tech upgrade cycle, but looks forward to what the future may bring. Mark offers his “furs thoughts” on Mac OS X Leopard, based on the information recently released at the Worldwide Developers Conference. As he looks forward, Mark also looks back, noting how old technology, while great at the time, may not be so great in the future when we need it once again.
Ted returns with an ATPO of a different sort, comparing past WWDCs, as well as Apples and oranges, with today’s. Lee delves in to some of the cool stuff one can do with Photoshop with layer effects, while offering the acquisition saga of his latest tech toy, a new MacBook Pro. Yours truly has an acquisition saga of his own, as I relate my tale of iPhone hunting.
This month’s desktop pictures are courtesy of ATPM reader Forrest Brown, and feature Crowders Mountain, North Carolina. “Uncomfortable” is the word of the day for the Cortland crew: at the office, on the dance floor, or in MySpace. No one is having a good time on this particular night, well, except for maybe Steve. Qaptain Qwerty interviews the guy waiting for One More Thing™.
Linus plays around with Crossword Express, while Frank Wu puts the i-Volution Shell, a carrying case for MacBooks, through its paces. Lee’s impressed with the PocketDock AV, and Paul takes Redline for a test drive, though I think we need to talk about those gas receipts he submitted for reimbursement.
As always, ATPM is available in a variety of formats for your reading pleasure.