Ordered Aperture

Well, the trail version did its job. Kudos to Apple for finally releasing a pro tool as a trial version. After ten days or so of using and playing with the 1.5 trial version I stepped up to the plate and ordered the full version from Amazon.

So far here are some things I really like:

• I can gather previews from all my catalogs across all my drives and then sort and rate with out having to be connected the the actual media.
• I love the new loupe that stays in one place while I move the cursor to the area I want to see enlarged.
• I installed a Flickr plug-in that is really slick. it lets me upload directly into Flickr
• The easy rating system

I am testing Aperture by running it on my MacBook Pro because having this tool on the road is important. I figure it will be better on the G5 with the good graphics card and the 23-inch display. Aperture runs fine but if I have Parallels, a couple of browsers, Photoshop, Skype and a few other applications running it does slow down even with 2 Gigs of RAM.

One of the reason I got the full version is so I can have an install on my G5 as well.

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Aperture 1.5 Trial

I am again trying Aperture since the recent posting of the fully functional trial for Aperture version 1.5. So far so good. I imported about 10,000 photos and am working trough them much more quickly than I did when I was using iView Media Pro 3. I really like the full screen version.

After reading reviews I was almost ready to make the commitment to Aperture anyway but having the trial version is helping me see if it will really work in my situation before plunking down the 300 clams for the full version.

More on this as I use it.

FYI, I am running Aperture on my MacBook Pro with 2GB of RAM but will get it installed on the G5 as well; just as soon as that video project is finished!

Replacement MacBook Pro Battery Helps My ‘Book Run Cooler?

Since I have not done any software updates since the replacement battery was installed, as of this writing, I can’t attribute the fact that, according to iStat Pro, my MacBook is running about 12 to 15 degrees cooler than with the original battery to anything other than the new battery. Same work environment and charger. I verified this by installing the original again and sure enough, the temp went up again. Weird!

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What the Flock?

I’m posting this from Flock, a new browser that has a blog editor built right in. Nice, basic formatting is available in a WYSIWYG window. Not sure it will replace Ecto yet but I like the idea of not having to leave the browser to do a quick post.

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I Knew It Would Not Be Long!

When I got my Ipod Hi-Fi I noted that it probably wouldn’t be long before there is a carrying case for the Hi-Fi. Well Waterfield Designs has introduced the iPod hi-Fi Speaker Case. It looks like what I expected but is a bit spendy coming in at almost half the cost of the Hi-Fi. That said if the quality is like other bags/cases from Waterfield then it is worth the coin. If I find myself carting the Hi-Fi around a lot this is probably whrer it will ride.

Check it out at:

http://www.sfbags.com/products/hificase/ipodhificase.htm

Starting From Scratch on the MacBook

Some gremlin made it onto my MacBook and kept interfering with the ability to open programs. I think it was related to Entourage but could not nail it down and figured that I should just start from scratch with a fresh install of the OS and all the programs I use regularly to see if it would go away or reappear. So far, so good!

When I first got the MacBook I transfered all the settings and files via the wizard that is one of the first things you’ll see when you start a new Apple Computer. The idea is great and for the last several times I’ve done it I had no problems. Well, at least not that ever showed themselves to me but I think the system had a bunch of baggage that was not needed. I noticed preferences from 2001! So a fresh install seemed like a good idea and, as I said, so far, so good.

I have about a week of working and installing all the programs I use nearly every day. This was more work that I thought but the MacBook has not been shut down since the erase and install of OS X. Much of the time spent to this point was finding serial numbers, install disks and getting some important files like the QuickBooks data file and Sambucus time stuff together, installed in the right place and humming along again. Of course I did have to do a bit of “real” work but this whole project has set me behind a few days so hopefully the smooth running MacBook makes me productive enough to catch up!

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MacBook Pro iSight Camera and iMovie

This iSight thing is really cool. It is embedded right in the bezel at the top of the screen and is available anytime you want it. No need for extra gear. Having the iSight everywhere could open up a lot of new possibilities.

Here is just a brief test of the iSight on the MacBook Pro. (About an 8MB Quicktime file)

One of the many things that make the MacBook purchase a good one.

MacBook Pro 1.83 Dual Core Arrived!

I got my MacBook Pro on Monday. First impressions, so far, so good!

I got the 1.83 Dual Core with a 7200-RPM, 100GB Hard Drive and 1GB of RAM. It shipped from Shanghai on Thursday and I had it in my hands on Monday. FedEx is cool!

The first thing I did was to shoot a few shots of the packaging and some comparison photos with my Titanium Powerbook and my 17-inch G4. Yeah, I am a gear whore…

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Apple ships MacBook Pros with faster processors

Saw this on MacWorld UK today. i am sure a lot of other sites have the news too. Cool thing is I have a MacBook Pro on order since the day after the MacWorld announcement so, hopefully, I’ll get more than I bargained for!

Apple ships MacBook Pros with faster processors:
Apple has begun shipping the top-end MacBook Pro with processor speed up to 2.0GHz, from 1.83GHz.

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eBay Listing Tool GarageSale Gets Updated

If you are on a Mac and listing on eBay you should be using GarageSale. It makes it possible to do ebay listings right from your desktop.

I’ve been using GarageSale for several months and really like it. One of the best features is that I can do work to list items even when I am offline. Then I find an access point and upload all the listings at once. Very nice. There are a lot of other nice features like iPhoto integration and a nice collection of templates to give your listing a good look.

The easy to use eBay listing tool has been updated to version 2.0.3.

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MacBook Pro – the First Intel Mac Portable

Apple announced the MacBook Pro which has a 1.67 or 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor, built-in iSight, the new MagSafe connector (to keep your precious ‘book from becoming a missile when someone trips on your power cord) and ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics cards.

I ordered one (the 1.67 version with 100Gig, 7200RPM drive and more memory) and hope it delivers on what my 17-inch PowerBook really failed to do. Replace my beloved TiBook. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to like about the 17-inch ‘book, especially that big, gorgeous display, but it really has turned out to be too big for my mobile needs so I will sell it and hope the new MacBook fits the bill.

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Got my New Powerbook Yesterday

17 inch, G4! Got it mostly for the increased real estate to work with on the screen. I was hoping the new 15 inch would have been the way to go but when I saw the 1680-by-1050 as well as the 120GB drive, I was sold. The only thing it needs is more RAM. Coming soon from OWC!

I got the new Powerbook from Amazon because they had a $200 rebate!

I opened the box, fired the new ‘book up and went through a couple of minutes of set up. I then came to a screen that asked if I had an old computer. Yes, I said. It told me to hook up a FireWire cable and start the old machine in target disk mode, which I did. It gave me a list of directories to choose to transfer from, I chose and it began to suck all the files, applications, user data, well, everything actually and gave me a 3.5 hour ETA to finish 54GB of transfer. I left to do some other work and when I came back I had a new computer that is almost an exact copy of my old one. How cool is that?

The physical size of the new machine is not THAT much larger than the TiBook 800 it is replacing but it seems quite a bit larger because of all the cables plugging in to the sides. Easier access but sort of like it has wings I should look out for. The TiBook had all rear facing ports.

In the office I use a Griffin iCurve, an Apple keyboard and a Mighty Mouse. I also normally used an ethernet cable to the router for the file transfer speed because the TiBook was only 802.11b but with the g card in the new ‘book I am going to try it without for a while. That keeps me from having to plug into the tight side of the new 17.

So, I haven’t done all that much work yet but every app I’ve opened so far has worked perfectly. No serial numbers needed to be reentered, passwords all work. Things seem a bit slower that the TiBook in some respects but I am assuming it is the lack of RAM. I’ll let you know when I get the new sticks in a couple of days. Might have a bit to do with the 5400rpm drive too but I hope not too much. The old machine has a 60GB 7200rpm drive in and if I remember right I noticed a speed increase when I added that drive. We’ll see.

More later!