Mac Net Journal

Engadget has a funny piece about a head-to-head review of a Samsung Q1 UMPC and a more than 10-year-old Apple Newton. What's so funny? The Newton works, while the UMPC crashes too often and has woeful battery life.

It makes me wonder whether Apple will ever get in gear and create an ultra-mobile machine like the Newton again - something that is good for more than listening to music and watching videos on a miniscule screen?

OmniPlan - another Maclicious tool from Omni Group
Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 11:07 PM

I just downloaded and started playing with the newest public beta version of OmniPlan - the newest program to come from The Omni Group in Seattle, makers of such useful tools as OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, OmniWeb and more. This will definitely take some time to learn and try out, but OmniPlan already looks useful on the surface of things. And it ties together well with OmniOutliner.

Like the rest of the software to come from The Omni Group, OmniPlan is built with simplicity in mind. But by its nature, versatile planning tools tend to be more complicated than something like an outliner. Think about my most favorite tool on the Mac, Tinderbox. It is so simple to use on the surface yet so powerful under the hood that you could immerse yourself and live in the program. This appeals to some people - like me - but it turns off others. Some people want simple tools that do one thing. These are the people that tend to love software from The Omni Group.

I will write more about OmniPlan as I start trying it out in a real work setting. My play with the program may be a little limited though, since it is beta software and shouldn't be trusted for important work just yet.

More to come...

Apple fesses up, will repair whining MacBook Pros
Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 9:55 PM

Other News: MacBook Pro Noise Problem - "If your 15-inch MacBook Pro emits a high-pitched buzzing sound, please contact AppleCare for service." [MacInTouch]

Once again, I show a tendency for impecable timing. I haven't heard the whining from my MacBook Pro yet, but I have only had the machine for a little over a week. I will definitely be listening...

Where in the world is Mac Net Journal?
Saturday, July 22, 2006, 4:37 PM

There have been some new developments in Mac Net Journal land. The biggest is that I am writing this from my weekend vacation in San Francisco, where I am staying in a quaint hotel downtown called The Mosser. The hotel would be a good option for anyone attending Macworld Expo in January, which is held just down the street at the Moscone Center. I flew down Thursday night to join Natalie, since she has been here since last Tuesday. We will pack up and fly back to Tacoma tomorrow - just in time to get back to work on Monday.

Right now we are taking a break from the 95-degree heat outside by spending the hot part of the afternoon in our relatively cool room.

Another new development is that I am just about one week into using my newest Apple notebook - a 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro with a 15.4-inch widescreen. The biggest change I have noticed so far in moving up to this machine from my 12-inch PowerBook G4 is that the processor just screams in comparison. Scrolling from one image to another in iView MediaPro is painless now! But this larger computer is also quite a bit hotter. I am getting used to using a platform to hold the computer on my lap.

A slightly new version of Tinderbox
Tuesday, July 18, 2006, 10:27 PM

Mark Bernstein announces a the release of Tinderbox 3.5.2 on his blog. The new release fixes bugs and offers the abilty to drag vCards into Tinderbox.

Getting Things Done - a whole lotta talkin' going on
Saturday, July 15, 2006, 10:45 PM

Every few months there seems to be a surge of posts on the Web about getting organized and Getting Things Done, and this seems to be one of those weeks. Here are some links:

Ten Mac Tools for Getting Things Done from Hawk Wings
Getting Things Done, Resource Edition from 52 Reviews

File and folder encryption and the Mac
Saturday, July 15, 2006, 10:19 PM

Glenn Fleishman offers a quick compilation of options for encrypting files and folders under Mac OS X in today's Seattle Times.

PowerPage crowns Treo 700 as best smartphone for Mac users
Friday, July 14, 2006, 10:25 PM

The Apple Core: Treo 700p, still the best smartphone for Mac users - Bank in November 2005 I wrote about the Treo 650 from palmOne and how it's the best smartphone for Mac users. Its successor, the Treo 700p, now inherits that crown. [PowerPage.org]

After one day of heavy use, SOHO Notes has potential
Tuesday, July 11, 2006, 10:11 PM

I had a day full of meetings and decided to give SOHO Notes a test for note taking. The jury is still out, but after a few hours of use I found it to be a worthwhile tool. And with its ability to hold just about any kind of information, it could be a versatile program. Of course, I use Tinderbox for much of my note taking and it offers some richer tools for accessing that information as the number of notes grows - among them, not only can I search for notes that fit the search terms but the new version offers ability to see similar notes by opening a special window.

I'll keep giving SOHO Notes a try. Meanwhile, I tried SOHO Organizer and stick by my original assessment - the whole program is a mistake. If I wanted to use iCal and Address Book to manage those parts of my information management needs, why would I want to add another 'organizer' application to the mix? No thanks...

New versions of SOHO Notes and SOHO Organizer
Monday, July 10, 2006, 8:35 PM

I am trying to give SOHO Notes and SOHO Organizer another chance with this latest version, mentioned today on MacCentral:

News: SOHO Notes 5.5, Organizer 5.5 released - Chronos has released SOHO Notes and SOHO Organizer 5.5; each new version has myriad improvements. [MacCentral]

When I bought the programs earlier in the year as an upgrade to the old reliable Personal Organizer program that I had used years ago, I was so embarassed to have purchased such pieces of crap that I didn't even mention the programs on this site. But it is time to come clean now. My name is Rob and I make decisions to buy bad software from time to time.

I haven't had time to really examine the new version, but it couldn't possibly be worse. Personal Organizer was one program that tried to do too much - a datebook, an organizer, a word processor, etc. Now it is three programs tied together that try to do too much. It uses iCal for the datebook functions - a huge mistake since iCal is one of the worst of Apple's iApps. Then it adds an address book and a separate notes application.

I promise to give these a fair shake this time around, but why use three apps that suck up RAM when you could create one useful program that does its job and does it well?

John Gruber on the Mac OS X tipping point
Saturday, July 8, 2006, 10:35 PM

John Gruber does an interesting job breaking down the shortcomings in the logic that some people are using as they switch from Macs back to open source platforms in order to get away from the lock in that they argue is making Apple products less appealing: The Mac OS X Tipping Point

New logic boards in MacBook Pros
Saturday, July 8, 2006, 10:33 PM

Apple Sneaks New Logic Board Into Whining MacBook Pros - They sort of skipped the first step: admitting they have a problem, but Apple is at least starting to patch stuff up with their customers who have been complaining about whining MacBook Pros since the release of the product. By Paul Miller, Engadget [myapplemenu]

Maybe this means it is getting safer to buy a 15-inch MacBook Pro now - something I have been feeling more and more tempted to do any day now...