Mac

Great Product Just Got Better

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I use (sometimes) The Missing Sync 4.x from Mark/Space.  It is a palm sync utility for the Mac.  I say I sometimes use it because I have some minor issues with syncing my PDA data to Entourage.  The Missing Sync is actually a fantastic product.  They just released a new version that now supports its own Avantogo Conduit.  I can almost seamlessly sync between my Thinkpad and my Mac Mini.  The only issue I have now is the category data from Entourage getting into outlook and vice versa.

I may start using my Treo with Entourage as my main source for mail and contacts and drop outlook all together.  Of course I say that allot, but I haven’t cut the cord yet.  Dam outlook.  you love to hate it.  And recently I have truly hated it.

All I can say is that Mark/Space is a company that gets me buying Mac hardware.  Why?  Because I know innovative people like these will write software that lets me use most of what I use on my PC, like my Palm Treo!  And no I don’t work for these guys.  I just like software that does exactly what it is supposed to without major problems.

Apple Ranked Top Brand!

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Apple has been voted the most influential brand according to Cnet News.com. Take that Microsoft! Where are you in the top 5? See even only having less than 5% of the personal computers in world hasn’t stopped Apple from having the most influential brand in the world. Go iPod!

Now the question is what will Apple do besides the iPod and music players?

Mac Mini, The Review Part 2 First Impressions

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If you want real benchmarks read CNET or Macworld. This is my opinion of the Mini based off of my 2+ years playing with OS 10 and Apple hardware. First the memory I put in the Mini (pumping it up to 1gig) really helped. The 1.4ghz G4 did not seem light years faster than the 1ghz G4 in my Powerbook 12″, but it was faster.

I had no problems loading up Microsoft Office, iLife 05, Konfabulator, ecto (using it right now), Netnewswire, and a bunch of other mainstay programs that I have.

One major issue I did discover was that it was VERY slow copying files to the drive. I have a 100mbit switch and router and copying 30 gigs of MP3’s took like 6 hours. That is drastically longer than it should take. I have copied a ton more in that period of time. I am not sure if it is the Mini’s NIC card, or the hard drive. looking over the spec’s I believe that the hard drive is what is causing this slow speed. What I don’t understand is that I have a Thinkpad with an 80gig 4700 or so RPM drive that is close to the spec’s of the Mini, but the Thinkpad can handle the same copy almost twice as fast. I don’t think anything is wrong, but I am extremely unhappy with that performance stat. In real world use I won’t be copying on or off the drive that large amount of data very often. it just sucks that it is so slow. in normal use so far today it has performed well.

The Mini plugged into my 20″ Cinema display without a problem. iLife 05 didn’t come installed. I assume that the final version was not ready when the final image for the Mini was burned into the hardware. That install took a few minutes, but was painless. I have not had a chance to try out the new iPhoto. The rest of the suite (minus iTunes 4.7.1 that I already had) is not stuff that I plan on using.

I am winding down my day of configuring software. I just finished syncing my Treo 600 with Entourage. I think that the only major thing I need to do is get my favorites out of firefox off of my Powerbook.

More reviews and impressions as I use the computer. So far so good!

Mac Mini, The Review Part 1 Upgrading Memory

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I got my Mac Mini yesterday. For a small computer it came in a massive box. Upon opening that box I found yet another large brown box.

Upon opening the smaller brown box I finally found the box for the Mini.

The box as Steve Jobs showed is very small.

First impressions was that the mini seemed heavy (for its size) and well built. Turning it on and configuring it was like any other mac. I got right into installing programs. Then I realized I needed to put the ram I purchased in it. I was not going to stick with the 256 megs RAM that came with it so I ordered a 1gig chip. The RAM upgrade was not as easy as originally led to believe, but it was doable by an end user. of course Jayson and I are both experienced computer (information systems) people and we both were a little skiddish about opening up the Mini. I never had to go buy special tools to open a computer. Read on for more details.

So Apple says the memory upgrade on the Mini is user upgradable, then does not recommend that you do it. I for one was not going to pay double for the Apple memory upgrade, so I decided to do the install myself. Macworld had a fantastic article on how to do it. They gave tons of photos, and explained what you should use to open the Mac Mini. Since I my vision is less than stellar Jayson and I ventured from my warm apartment to Home Depot by his place. There we bought the two puddy knives that the article recommended. The one criticism of the article is on what putty knives to get. The writer said get the thinest you can get. Not sure about you, but I had no idea what I was doing buying putty knives. I can do electrical or computer work, but home improvement stuff is not my thing. After feeling up a few knives we selected two that we thought were good. I include a picture of the label and the Home Depot part number in case you are like me and like exact details on tools you are going to use to open up your $500 computer. We used PN 037064091750 from home depot. Picture below:

The reason I am so specific is because if you goto a place like Home Depot you will see a wall this many options. Who knew you could have that many putty knives.

The upgrade went exactly as the review said. You have to be careful but Jayson was able to get the Mini open and ram in it with any major problems. Funny enough the only problem he did have was getting the case back on. In order to get the clips to all lock into place he had to do it in a certain way or else the back part of the case wasn’t as snug as it should be. After a few minutes of tinkering and all was fine again. Now I had maxed out my memory on the Mini. Below are a few pictures we took when we opened it up. they are not very good. Neither of us had our real camera’s. All I had was my Treo Camera Phone. It sucks in low light conditions and his place was not well lit.

The Mini found the memory right away and I was off and running from there.

The Mini Has Shipped

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My Mac Mini has shipped. I should receive it right on time just like Apple said. I am actually surprised. But very happy. I should get it sometime tomorrow. Hopefully my extra ram I ordered also comes on time tomorrow. I did not get my memory from Apple. I was not paying $400+ on a 1 gig chip. I got the same memory for $220. Not saying where, but yes it is a deal. Some things just have a crazy markup on them.

Pictures and a possible review when I get it.

Mac Mini Sounds Great, Just Get Over It

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I have been reading reviews questioning the Mac Mini. I just read this review and it says the same thing allot of people have been saying “the mini is not as cheap as you thing for what you get”. I have one thing to say to all these people, “get over it”. Yes it is not the most cost effective system out there. PC’s will ALWAYs be cheaper. I for one would NEVER buy a bottom of the line Dell or Gateway, but I did buy a bottom of the line (sort of, since I got the $599 model) Mac. Why, because the bottom of the line Dell, gateway or HP’s are crap. I won’t go into specific’s, but I am a m a Systems Engineer. I have worked with both Dell and HP entry level desktops. There is a reason why they are are entry level. I would never recommend them for a friend to buy. The Mac Mini on the other hand was on the market for 2 hours before I put an order in for one. Why? Generally Mac’s are quality gear. Is it the cheapest computer you can get? No of course not. is it the cheapest Mac out there? Yes by far.

I like many people already have a mouse, keyboard and extra monitor. That equals no extra cost for me. I also have a KVM so I don’t even need the extra mouse, keyboard or monitor, but I will use them. So as Steve Jobs said it is a good second computer. I don’t need the super power of a G5 tower, nor do I need the 17″ monitor that comes with the entry level iMac.

Oh and the review I referenced before said basically if you want a super small desktop you can do that with a PC. The Mini is not unique (or that is what I read into it). They are correct. Unfortunately Dell, HP, Gateway & IBM don’t sell a super small desktop. Know how I know that? I tried to do a project at work with the smallest desktop I could find from a major manufacturer. do you know what we ended up with? A semi small HP desktop that weighed in at a whopping 15lbs, vs the mini’s 3 lbs or so. Joe schmo user won’t go out and buy a no name box. I for one would not recommend a super small desktop from bob’s computing. I quoted out a small form factor box with very decent specs back in September. it cost over $900.

Why do reviewers have to Apple bash? Can anyone admit that YES Apple has a good product. it is not for everyone, but for the target audience they went after it is a good product. Lets face it, someone who wants a $300 PC won’t be getting a Mac. This Mac is for people who have a pc and want to give the Mac platform a test drive, or for Mac owners who want a cheap (relitivly) second box. Why does everything this company does have to be bashed by some people. If they cured cancer people would give them shit about it.

I am not even someone who likes everything Apple says or sells. I wouldn’t touch the stuff until OS 10.2 came out. I still have brand new PC at home, and a PC laptop along with a few desktops at work, but I was and still am open to the fact that the Mac does some (not everything) things better than a PC.

If you are going to bash a new Apple product, go ahead and bash the Shuffle. I got nothing to defend that with. I will stick with my 40 gig iPod! Thanks anyway.

This post wasn’t supposed to be a “go apple” rant, but I have read like 5 or 6 reviews that said the same thing about the mini. Why hasn’t a major brand done what apple has done with a super small nice looking desktop PC? The cube came out in what 2001. Where is the name brand competition to the cube or the mini? Really, where. I would have bought it back in November when I got my PC. Oh wait, it doesn’t exist. That is why I couldn’t buy it. Dell does not innovate, they make things cheaper than everyone else. That is why I have been known to buy Dell at work, but for myself no thanks. HP at least innovates, but they are still not as ahead of the curve as Apple is.

Lastly yes the Mini is not as cheap as $499 or $599. If you buy ram, bluetooth or Wifi it adds cost. But it is still much cheaper than the next viable mac that I would get. It is still 3lbs and 2″ thick by 6.5″ wide. Like I said, no one else can give me the same thing, so I will stick with the Mini.

Early Mini Mac Order

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I am glad I got my Mac Mini order in a few hours after it was announced. Jayson noticed that Apple’s website now says shipping in 3-4 weeks. My order status still says shipping on or before 1/21/2005, so I am happy.

While I am on Mac’s I need to point out to some employee’s I work with that it is not ok to bash me because I like Mac’s. I once hated them, and I know where you are coming from. It is still not ok to mock us. Especially if I have the ability to hire and fire you:) Those people know who they are, and hopefully know I am just kidding. If not, “I am in fact kidding”. You will be converted. Brian and I are on a quest to get our department to embrace easy computing. Jayson is already eying the mini. Kai was eyeing it, but his truck needs tires, so it is on hold for a while. he will check out the big store in SoHo when he is down next week.

The Waiting Is Over, Now More Waiting!

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The waiting is over. The rumors are in fact true. Apple has released a small (cheap) desktop that does not require you to buy an all in one model. The Mac mini is actually real. Rumors were flying for over a month, but they are in fact true. I for one am very happy. I went the iMac route only to sell it because I don’t want to be locked into an all in one unit. I won’t upgrade my monitor so often, but I will upgrade my desktop. I also don’t use my Mac for super power user functions, so a $1500 tower is out. The Mac Mini is perfect for me. Inexpensive small desktop computer. I may get rid of my Powerbook and just get 2 Mini’s. One for work and one for home. What I will probably do is just leave the powerbook at work.

I was one of the crazy ones. I went online and ordered mine already. it took an hour since the apple site was really slow, but I got my order confirmation already. I am told it will arrive on the 22 of this month, but you never know with hardware vendors. My hardware vendor who I usually buy stuff from gets me great deals if I buy for personal use, but he could not guarantee the delivery date. I ended up getting the faster processor model with the extra hard drive space. I will upgrade the ram with 3rd party memory. With shipping and the extra ram I am talking about $800 for the total package. Not bad since the entry level iMac is like $1299 but it comes with a 17″ monitor and I already have a 20″. I want flexibility. This will give it to me. I am very excited. Apple finally listened to what people (me) wanted. I hope they sell like hot cakes. As for their flash music player, I will pass. I am very happy with my 40 gig iPod.

The “Official” Cut Over To My New Computer

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I have been spending less time on my move to a new desktop (see past posts), but I am almost done. I think I am past the point of no return. Or shall I say I am now officially working off of that computer. What fine line did I cross to let me say that? Not sure. I am doing almost nothing on that computer yet. I think what did it was moving off 90% of what was on my firewire drive (plugged into my powerbook) over to the new computers drive. The final straw was importing my MP3 collection into iTunes for windows on the new computer. All 28gigs are now working on the desktop. Fear not, I can still listen to all that music on my Powerbook. I just shared out the itunes on my desktop. Now I can listen wirelessly anywhere in my apartment.

Like I said I am still using the Powerbook as my primary machine, but everything is now a network share off of the new desktop. I am also using the desktop as the DVR I originally planned.

I am also reformatting my iPod as we speak. I am setting it up so it will sync with my PC. I have never used the iPod with a PC so lets hope it is as easy as with my Mac? With it formated for a PC (FAT32), I can use it as an external hard drive and shuttle data back and forth between work and home. I can also use it to plug into a Mac or a PC. The limitation I had with it in Mac formatted mode is that I needed to plug it into only Mac’s. It was a pain to do that.

Once the iPod cut over is completed I will need to continue to install all the needed applications on my desktop. Now that most of the data copying is over, I can focus on configuring the machine more. New computers are time intensive to setup:(

Well the format of the iPod to FAT32 went ok. I am now installing my music again using my PC copy of the files. it looks like it is taking longer than on my Mac. Not sure what is up with that.