Looking forward to going single again

Posted on November 28, 2006
Filed Under Macintosh | Leave a Comment

My MacBook Pro is arriving tomorrow according to DHL’s website, and I’ve been having some fun getting caught up with all things Mac OS X again. I haven’t been completely out of the loop, I’m on my Mac every day. I just haven’t been as devoted to reading Mac sites about the latest and greatest and knowing about every little utility out there as I used to be.

Here’s what I’m most looking forward about going back to a single computer again after nearly 3 years with my hands on two keyboards:

Desk space! Once I wean off the Dell, I’m going to get at least 2′ of space back that is currently occupied by the computer, its external keyboard, mouse, USB hub and external drive.
Syncing my iPod while traveling. I currently sync my iPod with my G5. When I’m traveling with the monster, I bring the iPod’s power adapter to keep it charged, but no updating of podcasts until I get home. Not anymore.
A fresh start. The Dell is starting to get creaky. Funky errors here and there, random weirdness. There’s something nice about starting with a fresh, clean system without all the accumulated junk. So no migration tools…I plan to reinstall applications from original CDs. Takes longer, but I always like the results better.
Easy printing. I never got sharing of my HP printer to work right, so it’s connected to the PC (much better driver for the PC than the Mac). When I want to print something off the Mac, I create a PDF of it, get it over to the PC and print that. Messy, but it works. I plan to try this to get printing from both sides of the fence.
Built-in iSight camera. One less thing to pack, and the Mac version of Skype does pretty decent video.
Dual monitors. When I’m home, I’ll likely put one OS on the Cinema Display and the other on the MBP’s display. Until I figure out a way to replace Outlook with something on the Mac side, and that day may never come, I’ll be jumping back and forth a lot.
Bluetooth. With only 2 USB ports (yikes!) it may be a good idea to look at the Bluetooth keyboard/mouse. Still can’t stand the mighty mouse, though.
Terminal is so much better than CMD in Windows.
Next time I get an email to make a change to an InDesign file and I’m on the road, I can make the change instead of writing back that the file is on the other computer and will have to wait until I get home.
With a good Spyware sweeping application (Webroot Spy Sweeper) and a good Windows spam filter (Cloudmark Desktop), I’m thinking I can do without ZoneAlarm. I can’t remember the last time it actually caught anything worth catching, if it ever did. We’ll see.

Apple MagSafe power adapter - Should I be nervous?

Posted on November 27, 2006
Filed Under Macintosh | 4 Comments

One thing they never mention when they tout the weight of a laptop computer is the heft added by the power adapter brick. In the case of my Dell Inspiron 9300, the power adapter adds a full pound!

I mean look at this monster, and it doesn’t even include the cable that connects from the brick to the wall.

The weight of a computer when it’s sitting on your lap isn’t really the problem. The problem is when you’ve got that bag on your shoulder and your flight lands at Atlanta’s Terminal E and your connection in 20 minutes is taking off from Terminal B. Every accessory you throw in that bag with the computer counts.

The new Apple MagSafe power adapter is nicely portable, as I remember my old iBook adapters were (also missing the part that plugs into the wall in this picture).

But there appears to be a widely reported problem of these light and cute things flaming up bigtime. Here. Here. I hope this is a problem Apple fixed since then.

I’m also curious what the real battery life is on the MacBook Pro…sure if I keep it really dark and never connect to the Internet, I can theoretically get 5 hours. But what about real-world? My Dell got 90 minutes under regular use, tops.

How to lose 3 lbs. quickly

Posted on November 27, 2006
Filed Under Macintosh | 2 Comments

Ha, thought I’d be talking about Weight Watchers or something? Not quite.

I just purchased a MacBook Pro! I’ve been thinking about it ever since the new Intel Core 2 Duo versions were announced. Now feels like the right time. I bought it from MacConnection to take advantage of a $150 rebate (which expires on Thursday) and an extra rebate on Parallels which will make the software free. My organization has agreed to reimburse me for $2K of the purchase, which is what we spent on computers for other employees. The sale of my G5 in the short term and my Dell Inspiron eventally should more than make up the difference.

I ordered this. MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo, 15.4″ display, 2.33Ghz processor, 2GB RAM, 120 GB hard drive. Plus Parallels, of course.

Even though MacConnection is running a free shipping deal, I’m heading out of town on Friday and will be home next Wednesday night. It would be really, really nice to have a trim 5.6 lb. 15″ MacBook Pro on my shoulder instead of a 8+ lb. 17″ beast whose power supply brick weighs almost as much as the computer itself. So I paid the extra $23 for 2-day shipping.

Here at home, it will sit next to my 23″ Apple Cinema Display.

I still need to pick up a full copy of Windows XP. I can do that anywhere. And I will need to buy AppleCare at some point.

My plan is to immediately replace the G5. Most important there is Adobe Creative Suite 2. I know there have been some hiccups running the Adobe apps under Rosetta (Apple’s technology that lets older Mac applications that haven’t been optimized for Intel run on Intel Macs). Once that’s stable, the G5 is outta here. Anyone interested in making an offer on a dual 2Ghz G5 with 2 GB and a 160GB HD? Comment below (be sure to include your email address which will remain between us) and we’ll talk about it. It’s in excellent shape.

Then I’ll start migrating everything that I’m currently doing on the PC where the Mac has no real equivalent over to the Parallels environment…Windows Live Writer, Outlook 2003, Quicken/Quickbooks, EverNote, etc. When it gets to the point that dust is starting to settle on my Dell’s keyboard, the transition will be complete and I can sell off the Dell. Won’t be overnight, but I’m looking forward to being a one-Mac gal again.

Check those ebay auctions carefully

Posted on November 25, 2006
Filed Under Life | Leave a Comment

from 1Pstart.com:

A young man in Boston waited in line for a PS3 at a local Best Buy for 40 hours to make sure he got his PS3 when it was released. He bought a bunch of games, an extra controller, and a 2 year warranty worth $100. As soon as he got home, he headed straight to eBay to collect his fortune. But, as you can tell from the title of this article, the story takes a very sharp detour into a flaming brick wall. You see, ebayer kusakay was one sandwich short of a picnic and, instead of setting up his auction to start at $0.99, he selected the ‘buy it now’ button. In a matter of seconds, the PS3 was purchased by a very lucky geeqnastie.

Here’s the auction.

The guy may have had the winning “bid,” but I’d be very surprised if he actually received his PS3, even after he forks over the buck.

kusakay has a feedback rating of 26. Hmmm….sacrifice an ebay account by renegging on an auction vs. stand in line for days and spend a whole lot of money and sell it somewhere else to get that profit. Somehow, I think geeqnastie shouldn’t be clearing room in his/her entertainment center.

Personally, I think eBay should ban the pre-sale auctions like this altogether. Make them like theatre or concert tickets and limit the markup, or say that the items can’t be sold until they’ve been out for a least a month. Sad that some poor kid won’t have his PS3 to play with because this guy bought one with no intention of ever using it.

Until then, it’s nice to see a little karma play a hand to dole out a little balance in the world.