Apple | Something Creative

Apr 11

On buying my iPad

Apple, Computer Geek, Reviews No Comments »

O.K… I know, I said I wasn’t going to get one, I was going to wait until the second generation. Well, I changed my mind. Today I bought an iPad. I walked into the Apple Store still not sure if I was going to pull the trigger or not but when I picked one up and messed around with it, I was hooked – instantly.

So what made me change my mind? Well, there are a couple of reason. First, I plan to use it in the kitchen as I can sync my cookbook program to it. I can prop it up on the counter and work through the recipe. Second I plan to use it as a killer pre-flight tool. I can check weather, have the weight and balance calculated, go through checklists, have maps and charts – the possibilities of pre-flight and in-flight use are endless. Finally, and probably most accurately, I’m a geek who loves new stuff. I admit it, and I’m not ashamed. I pay the geek / early adopter tax. Sure I complain about it, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. By the way, when is the next iPhone coming out???

As for a review, it is currently syncing so I’ll make another post after I’ve had a chance to work with it for awhile but I have no doubt that it will easily work its way into my daily life.

iPad

Tagged with: Apple • iPad

Dec 17

Review – Socialite

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Today I purchased the MacUpdate Winter Bundle and have discovered a gem of a program in that bundle that definitely puts it over the top.

I give you: Socialite.

It is made by our friends at Realmac Software who I have been fond of since using Rapidweaver to quickly publish some standards compliant web pages while on a deadline.

But back to Socialite… Socialite has instantly replaced 2 applications and one “always open” tab on my browser. It incorporates several social networking services in a one window package.

This one window contains a sidebar which displays the various services you choose to use (Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Google Reader, RSS and Twitter are all available). Clicking on a particular service will bring all of that service’s updates to the main body of the window for your viewing pleasure. I, however, usually click the “Unread” button and let Socialite go out and get all my updates (you can set how often you want it to check) and present them to me in chronological order in the main window. This way, I don’t miss anything. Each service you subscribe to has expandable menus that if, for instance, you just want to read your main twitter account direct message, you can dial them up and not be bothered with everything else. The services also have an unread count badge that updates as new updates are downloaded and other updates have been read (the total unread count also displays as a badge on the Dock icon).

Socialite does not stop at just delivering you your updates. It also allows you to send out your own updates. You can post to Twitter, you can “Like” a Facebook post, you can also take a Facebook post you like and send it out as a Tweet, you can post a reply to a Facebook post, you can…. well you get the idea. Need to see that post directly in Facebook? Just double click the update in the main window and it opens a new tab in your default browser.

The main body of the window is also split horizontally to show you the RSS article or preview that you have chosen (see image below). If you need to see the entire article on the original site, it is just a click away. Socialite also boasts a built in photo viewer for Facebook and Twitter and Flickr images that have been shared. The preferences are extensive and make it possible to create the exact experience you are looking for. From Growl notifications to Appearance mods, Keyboard Shortcuts and more, you can make Socialite work the way you want it to.

I definitely encourage all Mac users that spend time using Facebook, Twitter, and RSS/Google Reader to get Socialite. It is a steal at $20.00 directly from the developer. The MacUpdate Winter Bundle at only $49.99 is also a great way to get this and 13 other Mac apps for one low price.

Socialite Screenshot

Cheers!!

Tagged with: Apple • Mac • Mac OS X • software

Oct 29

On Making a Hackintosh

Apple, Computer Geek No Comments »

O.K… I finally did it. I’ve been talking about getting a netbook to put Mac OS X on for awhile now. I have finally done it. I chose the Dell Mini 10v. Our friends at Gizmodo have published a great How to Hackintosh a Dell Mini 10v article on their website. I’ll be using that as my guide as I make my very own Mac OS X netbook. Side note: I’m going to mention all the steps, but leave out most of the how-to details as the Gizmodo website does a great job (pictures included) of giving you the nitty gritty.

Disclaimer: I understand that though I am using a perfectly legal copy of Snow Leopard, this does, in fact, violate the Apple EULA and though I’ve not checked, I’m sure the folks at Dell would frown upon this as well. There is also that small chance that something could go wrong during the install and brick my netbook. This all being said, I choose to move forward with the project.

Step 1 – Procurement

Procure a Dell 10v. I chose to use the Dell Outlet website to get myself a refurb in order to save a little money. Signed sealed and delivered you should be able to get one on your door for less than $300.00. Keep an eye out for coupons and free shipping offers. Once the FedEx person arrives you will get to have a little unboxing party. Here’s what mine looked like.

IThe Box
The Packaging
The Goodies

You have the box itself, which is very light… This will be easy to carry around compared to the 15″ Macbook Pro. The basic “refurb” packaging, nothing fancy. Finally, the stuff (minus the power adapter which I simply forgot to add to the photo). Next we move to Step 2…

Step 2 – The Setup

I set up the Mini next to my Mac Pro station so that I would have everything I need in one place. Side note: Unfortunately, my nice 24″ monitor that I had died recently which is why you will see the old 20″ in the pictures (until the UPS man get here with my new one). Anyway, here’s the setup:

The Setup

The first order of business is to make a bootable USB drive with the Snow Leopard Install Disk image on it. I will give you a hint – do this in advance. There’s nothing worse than having the Mini on the desk ready to go and waiting an hour for Disk Utility to do its work. You can use a flash drive (8GB or larger) or, as I did, you can use an external USB hard drive. I have a 100GB bus-powered drive at my disposal so I put it to use.

While Disk Utility is doing its thing I fired up the netbook going through all the Windows XP setup stuff just so it would be done and not cause any trouble down the road. With that out of the way, it was time to prep the BIOS of the netbook so that it would be happy to accept the drive Disk Utility is busy making.

Again details are posted on the Gizmodo site so I won’t bog you down with them, but here are a couple of pictures detailing my process.

Confirm BIOS Version
More Details

With the netbook ready to go, we continue to wait for Disk Utility to finish up. Once it is done, it is time to run a handy little program that does the final prep on your boot drive to get it ready for action. You can find the file here. I’m not sure entirely what it does, but it worked like a charm. Now it is time for the magic to happen…

Step 3 – Installation

At this point – with the mini off – you connect the USB drive and start up the mini. Provided you remembered to set the BIOS to start from USB instead of the HDD you should see this
The beginning of the transformation

From this point it should be a fairly typical OS X install with one small exception. This was even different from the Gizmodo post so keep it in mind should this pop up on your install. When OS X asks you where to install, obviously you want to pick the internal HDD, but I got the !Triangle and it wouldn’t let me choose it. Apple, being cool like they are, did give you the hint to launch Disk Utility which I did. I formatted the drive Mac OS X journaled quit Disk Utility and poof, it was ready to install. I chose the options I wanted and hit the install button…
Installing

Then it was more hurry up and wait. Honestly though, for a tiny little computer with only 1GB of RAM and an Atom processor, it didn’t take that long at all. When it is done you get this…

Welcome to OS X

It started right up, the internal speakers worked great and the built in camera worked to set a picture for my account that was created during the setup. I immediately chose software update and got that going and when all was said and done I had myself a Mac OS X 10.6.1 netbook courtesy of Dell and some creative people on the web that figured all this out long before me.

Ahhhh

I have removed the Windows XP and Intel Atom sticker and also used a silver Sharpie to color in an Apple sticker which nicely covers the Dell logo on the front of the computer. I’ve synced with Mobile Me and I’ll install DropBox soon to have access to all my stuff and I predict I will live happily ever after…

Cheers!!

Tagged with: Apple • computer • Computer Geek • Dell 10v • Hackintosh • Snow Leopard

Oct 21

Apple Updates

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I know, I know… It’s been a long time. I’m sorry. I thought I would get back into the swing of things by reminding you all to go check out the new Apple products.

Apple updated the iMac, Macbook and Mac Mini lines today. They also introduced a new mouse – the Magic Mouse.

For me, I’m intrigued by the Magic Mouse and the new “server” option with the Mac Mini. One I can afford, and one I can’t… wonder which is which