Mac Net Journal

I've been amused reading all of the blog buzz about the iPhone over the last few days. Among the most hopeful of the posts which really captures my thoughts about the iPhone right now is Mark Bernstein's Happy iPhone Day post from this morning. Like Mark, I hope this is the start of some real advances in communications and computing devices.

There are a handful of reasons that I am not standing in line like Robert Scoble and his son (I love Robert's recent post about the fellow geeks in line at the Apple Store in Palo Alto, Calif.).

My current contract with Verizon doesn't expire until March 2008
I am not so sure I want to deal with AT&T
No upgradable battery in the iPhone version 1
No memory expansion in iPhone version 1
Sheer cost for what you get in version 1

It is going to take some willpower to hold out, but I imagine I will stick with my Treo 650 and Verizon service until early next year, then decide whether the current version of the iPhone at that point in time would be worth switching to AT&T for service...

A telling noise, or how I saved a crow
Monday, June 25, 2007, 7:24 PM

I quickly pulled out my earphones as I settled on the front porch a few minutes ago, as I shifted from finishing my three-mile jog to investigate why there were suddenly 100 or more American Crows calling and circling in a frenzy near the neighbor's back yard across the street. I watched for a minute, while dozens of crows swooped down toward the alley behind the house and then rose again - like they were diving after a particularly hated cat or dog. Amidst all of the noise and activity, I kept seeing one crow that looked like it was thrashing around about three feet off the ground.

I snagged my camera bag from inside the house and took the short walk around the end of the block and down the alley, all the while watching and listening to the still-growing numbers of crows gathering in the air and in the trees overhead. Then, when I rounded the end of the alley and started walking forward to investigate, I could immediately see the problem. The crow that I had seen thrashing around was actually stuck and desperately trying to free itself from something that was holding it to a wooden fence. As I walked closer I could see that the crow somehow had its head slip down between two pieces of the wooden fence, and it was flapping its wings to try and get unstuck, but there was no way it could release itself. Its head had slipped down between the wood by more than a foot, and without intervention the bird was going to be a goner.

I grabbed a stick and held it under the crow's feet, then slowly raised it up. The bird's head slid between the slats of wood and then broke free, and it rose into the air as the cacophony of crow song rose above me. In this summer when there are fears that American Crows in Puget Sound Country will soon fall prey to the mighty mosquito carrying West Nile Virus, I guess I did my small part to preserve one of the less graceful of its species. That's the life of an Auduboner and bird watcher - one bird at a time...

A smorgasboard of recent useful blog links
Monday, June 25, 2007, 12:30 AM

I am cleaning up the open links I am currently reading through on this rainy Sunday, and thought some of these may be useful for others - even though they are not specifically about Macs:

Web apps for students - a compendium of Web 2.0 tools that would be useful for students, as well as writers and others. (from readwriteweb.com)
RSS feeds for the creative Mac user - James Dempsey's list of RSS feeds he recommends for creative workers, including a downloadable OPML file that you can add to your RSS reader of choice. (from Macworld.com)
Getting Things Done network from Feedburner - This site does a good job tracking the latest posts from top GTD sites. It's good to have around for checking occassionally to see what others are doing better and more efficiently than you.
Handy tips for using ChronoSync - I don't use ChronoSync much these days, since I have a backup solution based on using SuperDuper. But if you like ChronoSync, this is a very useful compendium of tips.
How Scoble uses Google Reader - While I am still straddling the fence in using Google Reader, uber-blogger Robert Scoble is living in the application. See how he keeps track of more than 600 feeds using Reader, including a video interview... (from the Google Reader blog)

A thorough review of the Lamy 2000 fountain pen
Sunday, June 24, 2007, 12:24 PM

PigPog offers a comprehensive review of the Lamy 2000 fountain pen. I really appreciate these kinds of reviews, mainly because I am a fountain pen geek. If you're in the market for another pen, this looks like a decent choice.

Today's Mac OS X update to 10.4.10
Wednesday, June 20, 2007, 9:14 PM

I am downloading and installing the latest update for Mac OS X 10.4 tonight. The update weighs in at 49 MB on my Intel-based MacBook Pro. Here are the release notes provided by Apple:

The 10.4.10 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger. This update includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

RAW camera support

Mounting and unmounting external USB devices

Support for 3rd party software applications

Security updates

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n305533.

For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

On today's WWDC announcements
Monday, June 11, 2007, 10:21 PM

I am still reading about the announcements from today's keynote address by Steve Jobs. These are my quick takes on a few of the key pieces:

Leopard - I look forward to seeing Leopard in action when it arrives in October. The innovations announced for the Finder are interesting. It remains to be seen how useful the "cover flow" view for browsing files will work in the Finder.

My observation of what will be changing in this new version of Mac OS X is that a lot of the changes are more about eye candy than about really getting work done on my Mac. I will use the new Finder features, Quick Look, possibly Time Machine and Spaces, but all of the other top features listed on the Apple site are for built in applications that I have already abandoned in favor of more powerful third-party applications. Will Leopard be worth $129? Yes, just so I keep up with the latest technology - even though I won't play with all of the bells and whistles.
Safari 3 beta - It is interesting that Apple has rolled out this new browser for Windows, and new features for the Mac version as well. But like many high-end browser users, I don't even bother using Safari now. This beta isn't really for me. Apple touts Safari as the fastest browser, but I am using Firefox more and more because it is extensible. Speed isn't everything...

We'll see what else comes out of the WWDC...

Macintouch review of new MacBook Pro 15-inch LED
Sunday, June 10, 2007, 10:19 PM

Macintouch offers a good review of the new MacBook Pro 15-inch LED...

Nisus Writer Pro public beta 2 available
Sunday, June 10, 2007, 8:49 PM

A new public beta version of Nisus Writer Pro is available. Let more fun begin...

Will Jobs kill virtualization options with Leopard features?
Saturday, June 9, 2007, 5:56 PM

Wired hits the mark with an article posted yesterday about speculation about what will be in the full feature set for Leopard, which Steve Jobs is expected to outline in more detail in his keynote at the WWDC: Who's afraid of the Stevenote? Virtualization developers should be.

I just paid $50 to upgrade my installation of Parallels Desktop, so I know I will be disappointed if Jobs more or less puts the product out of business with his keynote announcements next week...

After some experimenting, Camino 1.5 works well
Thursday, June 7, 2007, 11:13 PM

Like a lot of Mac users, I am enamored with a variety of Web browsers. Camino is one of the most visually appealing and fastest browsers out there, but I haven't used it for many months after something went haywire with the version I had running on my Mac. Today I took the time to dig around and throw out some old preferences files, then I installed the new version 1.5 and after a little fiddling around tonight it is up and running!

I may try using Camino as my default browser again from time to time, but I have been using butt-ugly Firefox for the last few months as my browser of choice, and some of the extensions I have loaded for working with Gmail in particular have grown on me. It's nice to have choices, and also nice to have another Mac browser option that actually looks like it was created for the Mac.

Parallels Desktop 3.0 screams
Thursday, June 7, 2007, 11:01 PM

I upgraded Parallels Desktop on my MacBook Pro to the newest version 3.0, and this new version is quite an improvement on my machine with 2 GB of RAM. Since installing it this afternoon, I have left Windows XP running on the virtual machine the whole time and it hasn't slowed my MacBook Pro at all.

Why run Windows on my Mac at all? David Pogue offers a good perspective on that in his Circuits column on the New York Times site today: Breaking down the walls between Max OS X and Windows

Today's announcement - the revised MacBook Pro
Tuesday, June 5, 2007, 10:57 PM

Apple's anticipated announcement of a revision to its MacBook Pro line went about as expected today. There isn't a lot of innovation here to make people leap from an earlier model of the MacBook Pro - a little more speed, a little more built in memory, a new processor set and new graphics chip set. The real innovation is the use of the LED backlit screens that are touted as easier on the environment. I will be curious to hear if there is a real-life improvement in battery life with the LED screens.

As Adam Engst notes in TidBITS, now is a good time to remember that "old" MacBook Pros are still very functional machines and there is no reason to run out and buy the newest machine, unless of course you are in the market already or the techno lust is just killing you...

As I dig into iGTD, Merlin teases about OmniFocus
Monday, June 4, 2007, 10:07 PM

I have spent the last couple of weeks trying iGTD as a tool for managing my workflow at home and at work. I haven't been convinced that it is the tool I will keep using - especially since I could do many of the same things using Tinderbox instead, but I keep experimenting. Meanwhile, I see today that Merlin Mann has posted a good teasing article about the pending arrival of OmniFocus - the GTD application set to arrive soon from the makers of OmniOutliner and OmniWeb. One of the toughest things about actually getting things done when you are trying to use the GTD system is fighting the temptation to hop from one application to another in search of the perfect app. Obviously I have fallen for the temptation.

First take of Expression Media
Monday, June 4, 2007, 8:37 PM

I installed the "upgrade" to Microsoft Expression Media from iView MediaPro over the weekend. I haven't really worked with it yet, but on the surface, the Mac OS X version is little more than a rebranded version with a slightly new look and feel and no new functionality. Others are far more unhappy with the upgrade, such as Doug Plummer's straight-to-the-facts post Expression Media is a big dud. Apparently the Windows version of Expression Media introduces a number of bugs along with the lame rebranding of iView MediaPro. Ouch. As one person posted on a digital asset management thread in the Microsoft forums, how could Microsoft break a functioning program on its own operating system? It takes talent...

Meanwhile, it looks like it is time to start thinking of another tool for managing images and workflow on my MacBook Pro. Over the last few months I have tried the 30-day trial versions of Adobe Lightroom and Aperture, and neither tool seemed the perfect fit. Lightroom is lacking as a digital asset management tool, but it kicks iView's butt for quick image editing. And for whatever reason, Lightroom felt more natural to work with than Aperture. But I don't see myself leaping to buy either one anytime soon. I will continue trying Expression Media for a while before deciding to take the leap to something new.

Related article: Do you need pricey photo software?

How some people manage ideas on their Macs
Sunday, June 3, 2007, 7:04 PM

Giles Turnbull started an interesting comment thread on the MacDevCenter regarding the tools that people use to manage ideas on their Macs. It is interesting to note the collection of organizers, outliners and other programs that people use, and how they cross over with the tools that people use to manage their workflow through GTD - Getting Things Done.

One of the most interesting comments is how one person manages ideas using an iPod along with a Belkin TuneTalk.

The rush to the iPhone begins
Sunday, June 3, 2007, 6:06 PM

News tonight that Apple and AT&T have run an ad proclaiming the iPhone will arrive beginning on June 29 means that the next 25 days will be packed with iPhone news. MacDailyNews has links to a trio of ads that tout the virtues of the iPod.

Are you going to buy one right out of the gate? I am taking a wait-and-see approach. I have a workable smart phone right now in my Treo 650, and my two-year contract with Verizon on that phone doesn't wrap up until next March. That may be enough time to see Apple upgrade the iPhone to a second generation model - maybe something with more than 8 MB of memory.

We'll see if I can stay disciplined enough to wait...