Bye PC, Mac Got Me

I’ve finally decided that it’s about time to start using the Time Machine system that is built into Mac OS X. I’ve heard  a lot of great things about it, but haven’t really had the time or desire to play with it up until this point. When I began looking into the options for setting up Time Machine, I realized that the supported options were fairly slim. I could:

1. Purchase a Time Capsule from the Mac store that would cost me in excess of $400
2. Purchase an external hard drive that could be plugged into my MacBook Pro

Though both of these options would work, and would be ready to go “out-of-the-box”, neither of these situation was going to accomplish what I was looking to do.  Which brings me to my third option: Setup a dedicated drive on my Windows PC that could be used as a Mac Time Capsule through my Mac OS X software. This is basically going to be the best option for me because there will be no out of pocket expense; I already have a PC that has an extra 250GB drive installed. The trouble is going to bee getting Mac OS X and the Time Machine software to recognize the drive on my Windows PC as a supported network drive.

I had a friend of mine ask me, “Why would you even want to do that [Use Apple's Time Machine] anyway?”. And the answer is really simple… Just in case. Just in case what? Just in case anything ever happens to my MacBook, to my data, to my music, to my documents, to my applications, etc.

The Time Machine software creates an entire backup of your system the first time it runs, then ongoing, it creates incremental backups every hour, and every week. The beauty of incremental backups is that they don’t take up nearly as much space as full backups do, yet you get the same security and piece of mind.

Let’s say for instance that I start my backup and I have my wedding album in my iPhoto library. 2 months go by and everything is fine and good, but then I somehow accidentally delete my wedding album from my iPhoto library on July 30, 2009. All Time Machine backups going forward will not contain a link to my wedding album, however if I go to any Time Machine backup prior to July 30, 2009 I’ll be able to retrieve a complete copy of my iPhoto wedding album. Pretty cool right?

Well stay posted as I start my journey to create a Windows PC that acts as a Time Capsule to be used with the Time Machine software on my MacBook Pro.

written by Brady

Well folks, the day is finally here… The guys over at Apple decided that it was about time that they added Copy and Paste functionality for the iPhone. After months, if not years, of people requesting the functionality, Apple has finally decided to integrate it into there newest version of the iPhone software. Such as in the request list on the i.nconspicuo.us blog.

If you ask me, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Apples stock has been down over the last few months (along with the rest of the stock market) and the release of this new 3.0 iPhone firmware will come at just the right time to give Apple stock a well needed boost.

Here are just a couple of the new features that will be added to the iPhone with the release of the OS 3.0 software:

• Search your iPhone
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Send photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS*
• Read and compose email and text messages in landscape

written by Brady

Ever since I bought my new MacBook Pro, I’ve been reading everywhere about how useful the Quicksilver app is. Quicksilver is made by blacktree.com, and is a launcher program, but it’s effectiveness comes in its ability to be customized by dragging item into it and then specify actions within Quicksilver, such as emailing files, zipping files, sending items to people, moving or copying files or folders, etc. However, my only problem with Quicksilver right now is the fact that I can’t download it. I’ve been looking all over for it, and it has been unavailable for the past few weeks. Does anyone know where I can locate a copy for download?

Quicksilver is a unified, extensible interface that lets you easily execute commands and manipulate data across almost every applicatioin on your computer.

Quicksilver has many features and options to explore. Using Quicksilver, you can open applications, create an iCal event, play a song on iTunes, or email information from your Address Book to a friend.

The above quote is from Quicksilver.

written by Brady \\ tags: launcher, Quicksilver

I’m still very new to the Mac, so i was never really 100% sold on NeoOffice 2.x, I just decided to use that as my primary office software because it had further integrated with some of the internal operating features of OSX. Less than a week after I installed NeoOffice, OpenOffice.org released OpenOffice 3.0, so I decided to test it out. Needless to say, the reason that I’m writing this post is because I not only decided to check out OpenOffice 3.0, but I decided to switch and let that now be my primary office program. Have I ruled out NeoOffice? Not at all, but I’m going to stick with OpenOffice for now, at least until the September release of NeoOffice 3.0.

Some of the features that I find very useful in the new version of OpenOffice 3.0 are:

• The new splash/open screen, allows documents to be created, opened, etc.
• Multi-page view in the word document editor
• Notes in the margins of word documents

I’m sure there are many other features that I’m overlooking, but those are some of the features that I noticed at first glance.

written by Brady \\ tags: NeoOffice, office applications, office suite, OpenOffice

Since purchasing my MacBook Pro, I’ve been scouring the internet for the best Mac apps – preferably free apps, that can be installed to make me just as, if not more productive than I was on my PC laptop. I’ve found quite a few great apps thus far, and have started my own list of Must Have Mac Software and Mac Applications.

Mac News Online put together The Ultimate Mac Apps List that has some great freeware and shareware programs. They’ve also got a great “More Info” link on each app that gives you a great overview of each program when you click on it.

Q8mug put together the type of list that I was looking for – Must-Have Mac Apps for the new Mac Switcher! Being a PC convert, this list is exactly what I was looking for because it offers many programs that are comparable to PC programs. If you to are a PC convert, I’d recommend checking this page out.

MacInstruct put together a list of Twenty Must-Have Mac Apps that I’ve been living by thus far. Every app on this list is something that I’ve give some serious time either reading about and/or trying and testing.

FreelanceSwitch has gathered a larger than the rest list titled 35 Absolutely Essential Mac Apps. This list has apps for every type of Mac user. Don’t forget to check out the comment section, there are quite a few reviews and other recommendations.

Mind Mining Medium (say that 3 times fast!) has a part one list which consists of only free apps. If you’re on a budget, be sure to check out Must Have Mac Apps: Part I – Free Apps.

I’ll be posting more of the Top Mac Apps lists soon, but these were some of the ones that I found particularly helpful.

written by Brady \\ tags: best applications, Leopard, Mac, must haves, OSX

As a recent convert from a PC, I’ve slowly been realizing not only that is the Mac OSX operating system great, but I’ve also realized that there are many programs that need to be installed in order to be able to complete all of the tasks that I normally do from day to day on my PC.

Adium

First and foremost comes unproductivity. That’s why Adium is on this list. Adium is a full featured chat program/instant messaging client that can be used to connect to all of the most popular platforms: AIM, MSN Messenger, Jabber, GTalk, Yahoo!, Facebook, MySpace IM, ICQ, Mobile Me, and more. Adium is easy to configure, has more options than you can dream of, and just works great.

NeoOffice

Now if you’re looking for an office suite and don’t want to fork out the $349 to pickup a copy of Microsoft Office for Mac, you’re in luck because NeoOffice allows you to open/edit/save all of the popular Microsoft Office file formats. Not only that, but it is based off of the OpenOffice suite, but extended with OSX features and functionality. A must have!

FireFox

One program/application that will be a familiar item for many PC users will be FireFox. Still known as one of the best web browsers, FireFox is hard to beat with its speed and ease of use. The ability to install add-ons has made FireFox the leader of the browser war, and it functions just as good as any other browser on the Mac.

VLC Media Player

QuickTime is great for MOV files, but when you need a media player that will play other video formats, VLC Media Player is a great place to start. VLC Media Player is a simple, no frills player. It has a clean interface and is simple and easy to use.

If you have any comments, suggestions or recommendations, please leave a comment as I’m still new to the Mac and would love to hear what any of you seasoned veterans prefer to use.

written by Brady \\ tags: best applications, best programs, instant messaging, media player, must haves, office suite

If you’re converting from PC to Mac like I have, you may be beginning to look for a new office suite to install. If you’re looking for something familiar, Microsoft Office for Mac is always available, but if you don’t mind spending a little extra time to learn a new interface, there are some very viable alternatives to Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac. Especially when you consider the $349 price tag on Office for Mac, it makes these others look more enticing.

Microsoft Office 2008
Your most familiar option when selecting a new office suite for your new Mac will probably be Microsoft Office 2008. When it comes down to it, Microsoft Office is still the most popular office productivity suite and its document formats are widely used and accepted among almost all companies, organizations and universities.

iWork
If you switched to a Mac for all things Apple, then iWork will probably be the platform for you. It comes with 3 applications Pages (word processor), Keynote (presentations) and Numbers (spreadsheets).

OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a free open source application that is available for all operating system platforms. It offers compatibility for opening and saving all popular Microsoft formats. OpenOffice has a handy autocomplete feature that recognize commonly used words and completes the word for you. With a look and feel very similar to that of Microsoft Office, OpenOffice will be a quick transition for any current Microsoft Office users looking for a quick switch, and best of, OpenOffice is entirely FREE!

NeoOffice
NeoOffice is a port of OpenOffice made specifically for the Mac OSX platform. NeoOffice has integrated dozens of native OSX features, which makes it a great choice for Mac users (new and old). Some of the native OSX features found in NeoOffice are:

1. Media Browser
2. Native Floating Tool Window
3. Magnify and Swipe Trackpad Gestures
4. Menus available when no documents are open
5. Import images from scanners and cameras
6. Cmd + Clicking on the window titlebar
7. OSX Leopard grammar checking support

In terms of functionality, you’re not going to find much in Microsoft Office that isn’t offered in NeoOffice.

Summary
If you’re looking for familiarity and don’t mind forking out $349, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is probably going to be the best choice for you. Or if you love everything about Apple, and the simplicity of all things Mac, iWork is probably the platform you’d like to consider – with a price tag of only $79, it is very fairly priced and will get the job done for you. If you’re looking for a fully functioning office suite on a budget (or on no budget), your choices are simple – OpenOffice or NewOffice. I’ve chosen to go with NeoOffice due to the fact that it was ported from OpenOffice, and it builds upon native functions of Mac OSX.

My choice – NeoOffice.

Download Links:

NeoOffice
OpenOffice
iWork
Microsoft Office

written by Brady \\ tags: iWork, Microsoft, Microsoft Office, NeoOffice, office applications, office suite, OpenOffice, productivity software

Since switchin to Mac, I’ve been looking for a good FTP program that will get the job done with features similar to that of FTP programs that I used on my PC – Ipswitch’s WS_FTP Pro, CuteFTP, etc. After searching for quite awhile, it was obvious that there were 3 leaders.

1. Fetch – Shareware: $25.00
2. Transmit – Shareware: $29.95
3. Cyberduck – Free

Seeing that I just spent over $2G’s on my new MacBook Pro, I decided to go with the freeware version of Cyberduck to start, and I must admit that thus far, I’m very happy with it. It really is plain and simple, and took no time to learn or get used to. I installed it and immediately was able to FTP to my site and transfer files. Some of the best features of the Cyberduck FTP Client for Mac are:

• Browser – Simply open and FTP site and browse the documents just as you would on your Mac. You also have the option to use QuickLook, the handy new feature that is built into OSX Leopard.
• WebURL – If you specify the corresponding website when setting up your FTP connection, you’ll be able to open up the corresponding web URL without having to open your browser and type in the address. Handy, especially when editing and working with non-dynamic HTML based sites.
• Integration – Cyberduck allows integration into the OSX platform, allowing Cyberduck to become the default handler for all FTP/SFTP connections.
• Activity Window – Gives a current status of all open transfers.
• Keychain – Stores all passwords in the System Keychain.
• Amazon S3 – Allows easy connection and access to Amazon’s S3 file storage service. Great for backing up files.
• Synchronization – One of the best features, this allows you to directly synchronize local and remote directories, and prior to synchronizing, Cyberduck will display a listing of affected files and directories so that you can see what will be changed/updated prior to starting the sync.

written by Brady \\ tags: FTP

As Microsoft has been releasing newer server operating systems, many of the machines in my company have been updated from Windows Server 2003. I am now finding myself running into the problem of not being able to connect to Windows Server 2008 machines using CoRD (Cocoa Remote Desktop) – which worked perfectly for connectiong to Windows Server 2003 machines.

Has anyone found a solution for connecting to Windows Server 2008 machines via remote desktop from a Mac?

written by Brady \\ tags: CoRD, Microsoft, remote desktop, Windows Server