Mac

The New MacBook Air

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This week turned out to be a two laptop week.  I was already thinking about selling my existing 2010 Macbook Air and upgrade to the new i5 2011 Air’s that just came out in July  when I convinced M to order a new Macbook Pro but I finally pulled the trigger on the new Air today.

I was waffling for a while since the 2010 model is still perfectly good.  The big drawback for me was the processor wasn’t anywhere near a desktop or even a bigger laptop’s speed.  That changed when the new i5 Air’s came out.  After figuring how much i could sell my old Air for i decided to make the jump and upgrade.

I have bought lots of stuff at the 5th ave Apple store but today was actually the worst experience i have ever had there.  It was super crowded and it took forever to find someone to help me, only to have them tell me oh you need to find a free computer and tell the ipad sitting next to it you need assistance and then you will go into queue to get help.  Problem there is everyone is on these laptops for hours surfing Facebook and two no one tells you that is the process.  I have bought more than one computer from this store and this is the first time i have ever had to do that.

Drama aside i was able to get the model I wanted and headed home.  Well after more minor train drama i was able to get home but that is another story.

I had already taken a backup of my old Air using Carbon Copy Cloner so setting up this computer was as simple as plugging in the backup hard drive and saying yes restore from an external hard drive.  For that function alone i have to love Apple!

 

 

Another Convert

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Today the unthinkable happened.  I ordered M a new computer.  Since 2003 M has had the same HP laptop.  Long ago I gave up making fun of her for it.  For me I like something new, and I know that most people don’t.  For her even though the laptop was old by any standard it worked for her.  If she was happy, I was happy.

Recently however M has been rebooting the laptop constantly and commenting on how slow it is.  I am not sure if something changed recently or if it was just that she has been using my new iMac and noticing the difference in speed.  She was hesitant to spend the cash on a new one.

I finally convinced her to take the plunge.  I was pushing a Macbook Pro, but I really didn’t know her usage requirements so I wasn’t sure if she could do everything on a Mac.  After running a test of the one app in question I ran into a snag.  A remote desktop app she used required an activeX control and couldn’t be used on a Mac.  After talking with M I realized that app wasn’t used that much so using VMware was an option.

With the activeX issue squared away we ordered the entry level Macbook Pro 13″.  I am hoping M will be a happy Mac convert.  She is not the first person I have converted to the Mac.  Besides about a dozen friends or more I finally got my parents converted to an iMac also.  I think everyone has been happy as a convert with the exception of Jayson, but Jay is now looking to get another Mac so I will have a 100% conversion rating.

We await the new Mac to arrive later this week.  Then I have to figure out how to migrate all the data from the HP to the Macbook Pro.

Trying Outlook 2011

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Busy day at work today. I took a call at 8AM at home and then ran to the office after that. Full day of calls later I am pretty tired.

I did eak out some time to try using Apple Mail with exchange. I couldn’t really do it well before getting migrated to Exchange 2007. Now that I am moved over I gave it a try. i did so also a few weeks ago briefly but played with the settings a bit more today. Short summary for me is i like the ability to see threaded conversations in all folders in one view like in Outlook 2010, but otherwise not very happy. I will continue to use Outlook 2011 when running on my Macbook Air or Outlook 2010 in a VM.

Plex Media Center 9

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Earlier this month Plex came out with a new version. I had been really liking version 8 since I started using my Mac mini as a media center back in late June. I was eager to download the new version when it came out. Initially I was not very pleased. I had significant issues with my media library upgrading. Well, part of the problem was it didn’t upgrade. I had to start over and lost all my customizations. The new version also had issues downloading TV metadata initially. Thankfully the download issues were resolved and I am actually quite pleased now how Plex 9 is turning out.

I also purchased the IOS media streaming app for my iPhone and iPad. That is slightly slow, but it is very cool to be able to stream everything to my portable devices.

I’m still playing around with my set up, but I hope to have everything tweaked the way I like it very soon.

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iPad 3G

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When the iPad was announced I decided to stick with a MiFi and go with the Wi-Fi version. I already had a 3G hotspot (my MiFi with Verizon) and the Wi-Fi version was coming out much sooner than the 3G version. In practice using the MiFi wasn’t that seamless. It was okay, and I was getting decent speed, but there were times when it didn’t work or was just slow to work.

Because of the limitations I decided that maybe I could use the 3G version after all. I have a Wi-Fi version so I was in no rush however I started checking out the Apple stores in New York City to see if they have them in stock. For most of June they didn’t. While I was in Syracuse I stumbled upon an Apple Store in the mall. I figured it didn’t hurt to ask if they had a 3G version in stock, so I did. As it turned out they had exactly what I was looking for, the 64 gig 3G iPad. Since they have them in stock I figured what the heck. I went and bought one. I assumed, accurately that I could sell the Wi-Fi version for nearly as much as I paid for it. When I got back from Syracuse I posted it on eBay. I don’t know the exact amount but I don’t think I lost $50 on the transaction.

Besides being 3G there really isn’t any major difference between Wi-Fi version. The problem I was trying to solve, a.k.a. easy turning on 3G when there is no Wi-Fi was fixed. Now all I have to do is wait for the new version of the OS with multitasking and all will be right with the world.

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The New Mac Mini

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I ordered one of the new Mac Mini's the other day.  It should arrive on Wednesday.  It is taking so long since I wanted 4gig's of RAM so it was a special order.  I got the stock HDD and Processor since I don't think I needed more than what it came with.  Now I will agree I have a few computers so why would I want another one?  Good question.  No real good answer.  I don't "need" anything.  However with this new Mini I can use HDMI naitivly so my hopes for a media center machine are once again alive.  I don't know if this Mac will have the same HDMI issues as my other ones have with the adapters to HDMI, or if the native cable will "just work".  If this doesn't work I am sure it is my TV that is the problem.  Well I am already pretty sure it is my TV that is messed up but we will see Wednesday.

If the media center doesn't work out I mainly bought this new one because my 20" iMac is slowly going.  Not sure why since it is only 2 years old but I don't have Apple Care and the screen has lighter colored vertical bars here and there (in regular intervals) that make me think it is the back-lights.  That was an issue for a while but now I am not even able to put most DVD's into the drive.  It starts making really bad sounds and wont spit them out.  I know I use the iMac as a server mainly to host up my iTunes video library but I do want it to work.  If the DVD drive goes I may end up just moving it to my bedroom to use as a TV or streaming host for videos that I wanted to do a while back and use the new Mini to host my iTunes collection.  In the end the Mini will be used as some sort of media center.  If it plugs into my TV or an extra monitor on my desk is really all that is up in the air.

Suprise, Yes I bought An iPad

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Air that most of my friends will not be surprised to find out when I bought the iPad. I pre-ordered it the first chance I got. It arrived this Saturday. I actually should have just gone to the store and pre-ordered it for pickup. Instead I ordered it and had it shipped so I didn’t have to deal with the store, but there was a lot of uncertainty on if the shipment would arrive on time.Next time I may just go to the store.

I wanted a tablet for some time, and I believe I written blog post about it. I was skeptical at first that the iPad would not suit my needs, however after reading more about it I think it will.

My first impressions are very positive. It seems nice and well built. The screen is fantastic. The dedicated iPad apps also pretty neat. I really do need a case that will allow me to stand up on angle but those won’t be available for later in the month. Other than that the lack of other accessories available now I can’t wait to give this a test drive. I opted for the 64 gig WiFi version. Since I have a Verizon MyFi I don’t need to wait for the 3G version.

Hey, I Can Talk To My Computer Now

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So, this is interesting first post for me. I am writing this, well not really writing this, in fact I’m actually dictating this. For quite some time I have been eyeing the Mac when speech dictate software. This month I finally broke down and bought the software. It is not often that I spend $200 on a piece of software. This software however, peaked my interest enough for eagle on order it. So far, saying this paragraph hasn’t been the most seamless thing in the world, but it is the first one that I am trying. This is one of those things that I have to a try for a while to see if it really is worth using.

It is funny, this is one of those features are what computer that my dad has been asking for for 10 years. He can’t understand why after so long, and so much technical progress, you can’t just simply speak to a computer. I know if I show him this he will want to give it a try, but won’t like the side effects of using such a system.

Well, for a first go round it is taking longer to speak than it would have taken me to write this post, but it was interesting.

Tech Support Day Tomorrow

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I am in the process of setting my parents up with a new iMac. For years I have been trying to get them to switch to a Mac. They are on their 3rd computer in like 4 years and having problems. That number is a bit misleading. They had a 3 year old machine that finally went and we got them an HP desktop. The on board video went or was slowly dying on that and there was no expansion slot so about a year or so ago I ordered them a new Dell desktop. Unfortunately over the past few months they have been having huge issues with it. It is all software based, and I could probably wipe it and restore it and all will be good but the thing has Vista, and it would take a large amount of time for me to do that.

I was surprised that my dad asked about if it was time for a Mac. Way back when the Power PC Mini was out I gave them one to try. Unfortunately it was slow and it spoiled his views on the Mac. I think his work friends convinced him it is easy and fast. That on top of all the issues he was having made it the right time to get them to switch.

The new 21″ iMac arrived at my apartment on Wednesday. I am installing some basic programs now, and my dad will come pick it up tomorrow. I will go over to his place and move his files over and setup the machine for him. Hopefully that will be uneventful.

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