Tue, 19 June 2007 It is good to be back. This week I go over all the announcements of the WWDC and then have some insight and a tip. Here are the topics. Leopards 10 features EA Games Announcement ID Software Announcement Safari on Windows iPhone 3rd party Apps Where do Google Apps fit in How to leopardize your desktop part 1. Comments[2] |
Wed, 31 January 2007 I am back after 4 Months of hard work. In this episode we talk about the new Apple TV and Airport Extreme I give some unknown facts on the products and just my first impressions. My tips today focus all on moving your iTunes library to a new machine. I discuss using an external HD or a program called Senuti. Call in to my skype line at petersmactips or email me at petersmactips@gmail.com Thanks again. Be sure to check out The Tech Podcast Network and Goto Meeting our sponsor. Comments[1] |
Sun, 10 September 2006 Episode 46: Big Mac!! Theme Music Techpodcast Network Bumper Opening: Week and what I did. Goto Meeting Wicked Laser What would you do if that weak laser pointer you currently have had 100 times more power? Did you know that WickedLasers.com has a full line of portable lasers that are being termed the next generation of laser pointers! Why settle for a dot, when you can draw a line in the sky. According to the Guiness Book of World records WickedLasers are the most powerful portable laser. Purchased by the US Military for operations in Iraq. Each Laser is backed under warranty, with a large support community. Visit wickedlasers.com for full details of this technology marvel. News: 1: Apple updated the iMac line of desktop computers early Tuesday morning. The updated line includes many improvements and even 2 brand new additions to the line which now includes 4 iMac models. This pre holiday season is set to be a grand slam for Apple. The line now features 4 units all fitted with intel’s top of the line mobile chip the Core 2 Duo. All also feature upgrades via the Configure to Order option. Here is the basic line up. 17-inch 1.83 GHz iMac ($999) -17-inch widescreen LCD display; -1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; -512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB; -24x Combo drive; -Intel GMA 950 graphics; -160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 17-inch 2.0 GHz iMac ($1,199) -17-inch widescreen LCD display; -2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; -1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 3GB; -8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW); -PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory; -160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 20-inch 2.16 GHz iMac ($1,499) -20-inch widescreen LCD display; -2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; -1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 3GB; -8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW); -PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory; -250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 24-inch 2.16 GHz iMac ($1,999) -24-inch widescreen LCD display; -2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; -1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 3GB; -8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW); -PCI Express-based NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory; -250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; So the biggest upgrade is the inclusion of a brand new 24� imac that has 30% more viewable area than the 20�, is 40% brighter than the 20� and is also 1.5 x faster than the replaced Core Duo 20’ iMac. Here are some features and upgrades to point out. ALL units include the Intel Core 2 Duo 3 Units now feature 1 GB of RAM standard 3 Units are upgradeable to 3 GB of RAM 3 Units have upgrades available to the processor. the 17� to 2.16 and the 20� and 24� to 2.33. The 24� model and 20� models have upgrades available to 256 MB of VRAM The 24’ model features 1 Firewire 400 and 1 Firewire 800 The 24� model comes standard with an Nvidia Gforce 7300 and is upgradable to a Nvida 7700 GT that may be in a MXM slot. here is the skinny on this... Macsimumnews reports that the new 24" iMac incorporates a Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) connector for its video card. The use of this standard connector potentially means that the video card in the newest iMac is upgradeable. The 24� also reintroduces the Apple Vesa Mount Adapter. As you see this may be the best consumer lineup Apple has gone to battle with for the Holiday season. But this is only the tip of the iceberg... 2: While the iMacs were in the shop getting “tricked out�, the mac mini received an upgrade also. Here are the specs... Mac mini 1.66Ghz ($599) - 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor - 2MB L2 Cache - 667MHz Frontside Bus - 512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM) - 60GB Serial ATA hard drive¹ - Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) Mac mini 1.83Ghz ($699) - 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor - 2MB L2 Cache - 667MHz Frontside Bus - 512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM) - 80GB Serial ATA hard drive¹ - Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) While the specs do not seem as impressive as the iMac line, there is now a clear separation of the two lines of computers. The iMac now takes a seat as Apple’s Prosumer workhorse and the mac mini takes over the consumer line. Some extra power, the discontinuance of the Core Solo and Hard Drive upgrades to 160 GB. All for under $800... and if you need a screen too Get the $999 iMac. 3: Apple invites the Media again. This time it is “Showtime�. With the announcements of the iMac and mac min upgrades it seems that the initial speculation of new iPods may have been correct. We’ll take a wait and see attitude as speculation of future Apple products almost always comes up off base. 4. Amazon to sell movies. The Amazon Digital Download service has gone online. Vidoes are available for sale from $7.99 to $14.99 and for rent for 24 hours for $3.99. Since finding this story there have been reports stating that this service is anything but user friendly. These reports come from writers and editors of major tech magazines and not just everyday users. I know that new services have teething pains. Just look at Urge... But to not work at all and still take your money. I would highly recommend not buying videos through Amazon until we here a full non-biased review. 5. Elgato releases Eye-TV Hybrid. I found this item while searching through the message boards on Apple Insider. The nature of this product is inputting High Quality Analog or Digital T.V. to your Macintosh Computer. The product is listed as being Available week 2 of September. This intrigues me as I have just spent my hard earned cash on a 24� iMac and having it double as a T.V. in my office would be a good thing. My office right now has a 17� iMac with a 17� secondary display, 2 printers, a Vonage device, and Airport Extreme and a 25� T.V.. It would be good to get rid of the T.V. since the 17� iMac is staying as my wife’s computer. Here is the skinny on the Eye T.V. Hybrid. it has a form factor similar to a usb wireless network adapter. It can handle both Analog and Digital signals it has a USB extension cable for better placement The package comes with Elagatos High Quality Eye TV 2 DV recording and play back software which even includes option to export to iPod and psp. Read more here Elgato's Eye T.V. Hybrid Music from The Podsafe Music Network Xms3 Skool Sux - Radio Friendly Version Tips This weeks tip is a video which explains why this episode is a video instead of an audio file. I have had many many many many questions about Paralles and before I go on remember I do not work for them, I just read the manual, However today I am hoping to put to rest the ease of use of Parallels and the ease of installing and configuration Parallels offers. In the mean time I got an email from Parallels stating that they had a new version. Here are the details. Update Release Candidate of Parallels Desktop for Mac The Update Release Candidate (RC) of Parallels Desktop for Mac gives Apple users the ability to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system and their critical applications at the same time as Mac OS X is now available! The Update RC is upgraded with several major additions: • Support for new quad-processor Mac Pro towers outfitted with up to 3.5GB of RAM This addition means that Parallels Desktop for Mac is now compatible with all Intel-powered Apple computers, which in addition to the Mac Pro includes the MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini! • Compatibility with developer build of Mac OS X 10.5, code-named “Leopard� • Experimental support for Windows Vista The Update RC of Parallels Desktop for Mac also includes a number of other important upgrades, such as: • Solaris guest OS no longer hangs after suspend/resume • An improved Parallels Tools package • Full support for OpenBSD 3.8 as a guest operating system • G4U hard disk cloning tool now works in virtual machines Other improvements & fixes that make Parallels Desktop even easier to use: • Better video output improvement and acceleration • Added multi interface USB devices support (including Windows Mobile 2005 devices) • Added isochronous USB devices support (including WebCam devices) • Minor USB fixes • Keyboard support improvement: Eject CD key support, left/right Shift/Ctrl/Alt (Option)/Windows keys difference support • Added virtual disk cache policy option: Mac OS X performance optimized or guest OS performance optimized • Image Tool fixes • Optimized disk cache policy for Suspend/Resume feature • Windows ME Suspend/Resume fix • Shared Folders first time access acceleration • Clipboard synchronization tool fixes (unreadable symbols sometimes added during copy and paste) • Sound playback and recording improvement • Minor Full Screen mode fixes • “Unable to allocate virtual memory� during virtual machine power on fix • Minor GUI fixes and improvements • Solaris doesn’t work with more than one virtual disk fix Get the Update RC of Parallels Desktop for Mac Now! The updated version is FREE for all existing Parallels Desktop for Mac users. If you’re new to Parallels Desktop for Mac, you can start using improved Parallels Desktop for Mac by downloading and installing the RC on a «clean» machine. Click here to get a free 15-days trial! NOTE TO REGISTERED USERS: If you already have your copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac you can update it easily - simply click the button below, download Update RC file and install it over your existing version. You will NOT need to reinstall any guest OS or any applications when you update your Parallels Desktop for Mac. Don't forget to update Parallels Tools after installing Update RC. The final version of Parallels Desktop for Mac is coming soon! When we release the final update in just a few weeks, Parallels Desktop for Mac will auto-update. If you have auto update disabled, you'll be able to manually update Parallels Desktop for Mac by downloading the update package off of www.parallels.com Promos Closing Vote!!!!!!!!! Comments[2] |
Sun, 3 September 2006 Episode 45: Googapple or Appoogle Opening... A quiet week at first and then ... News: 1) Googles CEO Eric Schmidt joins Apple Board of Directors. Speculate the �whys?� and �what for?�s all you want. This is a good thing for Apple and now you see a very interesting web beginning to form. Pixar is acquired by Disney and the purchase makes Steve Jobs the largest single holder of Disney stock. Eric Schmidt joins Apple�s Board right after the new Google Office online is previewed. Interesting indeed! I wonder what Apple, Disney, and Google can do to the world as a team. 2) Neo Office goes Universal and Aqua. Now yet another way to replace the Bloated MS Office on your mac. Currently there are many applications that an mac user can use to replace the different programs bundled in Offive 2004. Writely (recently purchased by Google) replace Word with an online interactive collaborative word processor. Tables recently entered beta and does extremely well at replacing excell for the average user. Apple�s own Appleworks and iWork both are great packages that replace most of what you do in office. Neo Office is a free, OS X ready version of Open Office. It is compatible with most office documents and is currently available for Power PC based macs. An intel version is currently in testing and has been released as a beta. 3) New macs... None yet, however, rumors abound this time of year. My advice!...... Do not get caught up in rumors or speculation. Apple never comments on unreleased or unannounced products so all you hear this time of year is unsubstantiated rumors. 4) New content on iTunes. There is a constant influx of new content on iTunes. Bob Dylan has released his entire collection to iTunes for sale. Also new T.V. shows and other video content is on sale. Head over to the iTunes Music Store for more info. 5) Apple reduces the cost of the ATI X1900 graphics card and upgrade for Mac Pro. The Card alone was reduced from $499 to $399 and the upgrade to the Mac Pro�s existing card was reduced from $350 to $250. Shipping times still show 3 to 4 weeks. 6) Microsoft starts Mac business Unit Blog. Music from the Podsafe Music Network Defy Tips....... 1) Spotlight 2) Tile Game Sponsors......... Wicked lasers Goto Meeting Closing Sponsored by: WickedLaser.com the world most powerful consumer Laser Comments[1] |
Sun, 27 August 2006 Episode 44 Back after an eternity Mac Pro Xserve Open GL Multi threaded Merom Released Music From the Podsafe Music Network Quinn with Glitter Tips: Apple Experience Moving file from you r PC to a mac. Moving your iTunes library from a PC to a Mac. Senuti Go To Meeting. Closing Sponsored by: WickedLaser.com the world most powerful consumer Laser Comments[1] |
Fri, 7 July 2006 PMT0043 Peter’s mac Tips Episode 43 News Items. 1> OS 10.4.7 Updated. last week Apple updated OS X Tiger to Version 10.4.7. There were many fixes and enhancements so make sure that you run software update to update your computer to this new version. One thing to note on this release is that the Open GL drivers were updated and you will see an improvement in game performance. I am a gamer and I play World of Warcraft and the new Civilization IV and have seen a great performance increase on both. One procedure that may help you is reinstalling old Games after this release. I ran WoW right after the update and saw some improvement, I then reinstalled the game after reading a thread on Blizzard’s website and saw a marked improvement in graphics performance. http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1047intel.html http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1047ppc.html 2> Another security Flaw/Virus. It was reported by Symantec that there was a security flaw in OS 10.4.6 that could allow someone to take control of your desktop. This of course was announced after Apple released the 10.4.7 update that fixed this flaw. 3> Sid Meier’s Civilization IV comes to Mac. Aspyr release Civilization IV Sid Meier’s latest release of the Civilization Franchise sports a brand new Graphic enviroment as well as speedier play, The game itself has been out for some time on the PC and now comes to the mac thanks to Aspyr, You can take control of many Civilizations and lead them on the path to victory. Victory Conditions can be Conquest, Cultural, Space Race or be elected as Supreme Leader by the UN. Go to http://www.aspyr.com/games.php/mac/civ4/ for more information. 4> eMac meet your Replacement. Apple release a new Educational Computer on July 5th. The replacement for the eMac is the new iMac for Education. The new system sports the same design as current imac models and comes in a 17� screen only. At a street price of $899 it is by far the most affordable Apple complete system. The system feature the sames specs as the low end Macbook, however, with an 80 GB hard drive. Here are the specs, 1.83 GHz Core Duo, 512 MB DDR2 RAM, 80 GB HD, integrated Intel GMA950 Graphics, 17� display and all the loving things that Apple adds to the iMac line. http://www.apple.com/education/imac 5> Steve Jobs to unveil OS X 10.5 Leopard at this years WWDC. Steve Jobs will be demonstrating OS X 10.5 Leopard on August 7, 2006 as the WWDC begins. The last time he did this was two summers ago when Tiger was demonstrated. The fact that the OS is being demonstrated means nothing when considering the release date. When Tiger was demonstrated in June on 2004 it took until April of 2005 before it was released. Remember the WWDC is to show of new and existing technologies to the developers. If they do not have the OS now then it will be some time before you will see support for it if it was released. With that said, August 7th will be a very informative day. I CAN’T WAIT. 6> Microsoft to Release iPod Killer in November. Ha Ha Ha! LOL This is too reported. Read it elsewhere. I am tired of iPod killer stories. I look at them as filler for slow tech new days. 7> Cross Over to bring Wine to OS X... Well intel based macs. Cross Over is an application that when installed on your system as long as it has an intel chip will allow you to run certain Windows based programs right out of the Applications directory even without Windows being installed. Linux Users call this wine and it does work with some programs. With Bootcamp and Parallels already being in the market I am sure there will be a dozen other applications very soon that offer Windows compatibility on intel based macs. http://www.codeweavers.com/ 8> Intel release the Woodcrest processor otherwise known as the Xeon. This long awaited brings 64 bit dual core performance to intels main server chip. One thing to look out for is if this will someday power Apple’s Xserve line of servers. Advertisement... GoTo Meeting. Still driving or flying to get to all your meetings? Then you need GoToMeeting – the easiest and most affordable way to hold online meetings. With GoToMeeting, you can meet with anyone, anywhere in the world. All you need is an Internet connection and a PC, which means you no longer need to leave your office to hold presentations, demonstrations, training sessions and collaborations! Simply invite people to meet you online during your conference call and they’ll see your desktop on their computer screens! Now for the best part: You can try GoToMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts. That's gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts. GoToMeeting. Try it free today. PROMOS ANN ALOP industrial Radio TIP: Parallels installation and setup. Music Music for http://music.podshow.com Darren Geffre’s Desire iPod troubleshooting 1. Reset your iPod, iPod nano, iPod mini, or iPod shuffle. 2. Retry your iPod with a different USB or FireWire port on your computer (please note that the latest iPods can only be synced through USB). 3. Restart your computer, and make sure that you have the latest software updates installed. 4. Reinstall your iPod and iTunes software. You can download the latest versions of iPod Updater and iTunes from our website. 5. Restore your iPod using the latest iPod Updater. Important: Please note that restoring an iPod will erase all songs and files on your iPod and restore it back to its original settings. Make a backup of any files on your iPod before restoring it. After restoring, you can transfer your music and files from your computer back to your iPod again. http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/five_rs/ CLOSING The Fair Tax was created by first asking the American people what they wanted out of a tax system, and then having a team of respected economists design a tax system that met those demands. The Fair Tax replaces the income tax and all other federal taxes with a national consumption tax. The Fair Tax is levied only once, at the point of purchase on new goods and services. The simplicity of the Fair Tax frees Americans from our current overwhelming tax code and unshackles the U.S. economy. The Fair Tax: * Abolishes the IRS * Closes all tax loopholes and brings fairness to taxation * Maintains our current Social Security and Medicare benefits * Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy * Allows American products to compete fairly * Reimburses the tax on purchases of basic necessities * Enables retirees to keep their entire pension * Enables workers to keep their entire paycheck http://www.fairtax.org Comments[2] |
Fri, 16 June 2006 I am back to a regular schedule so these podcasts should start coming more frequently. This episode I give my impressions of Windows Vista beta 2 A New iPod, The new and improved U2 iPod A car alarm for the Macbook Bootcamp impressions revisited Other podcasts to listen to, The Macreview Cast , The mac Attack The Maccast This weeks tip, using Apples Backup which comes with your .mac account. Music from the podsafe music network. Wake up by The Living End Goto Meeting ad Closing. Thank you for listening to the program. You can always feel free to send email to petersmactips@gmail.com Comments[1] |
Sun, 28 May 2006 PMT 0041 • Where I've Been ▼ News ▼ Macbook • Specs • Cool Facts • Dashboard Source Code---Dashcode • Things to know ▼ Macbook Pro's Upgraded • 1.83 GHz to 2.0 GHz • 2.0 GHz to 2.16 GHz • Price Adjusted on old ones is - $100 ▼ Final Cut Express Upgraded ▼ All 3 Applications in Final Cut Express Now Universal ▼ Final Cut Express 1.5 New Features • Full Keyframe Effects • Dynamic Realtime Effects ▼ Live Type 2 New Features • Professional designed DV and HDV formatted templates • New vector-based animated LiveFonts • Unicode support for both system fonts and LiveFonts • 60 New effects • More than 10GB of animated textures, fonts and objects ▼ Soundtrack 1.5 New Features • New interface • Improved Multitrack Editing • Single and Multiple Track recording • Improved Audio Processing ▼ iLife Apps updated ▼ See the page for updates ▼ iWeb brought forward to version 1.1 • New templates • edit pages from multiple computers ▼ Music from the Podsafe Music Network ▼ Never Say Die from Barry Mc Cabe • Site Link ▼ Goto Meeting advertisement • gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts • Closing Comments[1] |
Mon, 8 May 2006 Life Gets in the Way is the best way to put what I am going through into words. Here are the show notes. New Commercials for Mac and iPod 17" Macbook Pro Forget about the rumors, enjoy what you have now. More Memory=More Performance parallels upgrade again Aperture Upgraded, don't forget about the 200 E coupon Possible fix for batteries that don't hold a charge. It worked for me, but I am still highly skeptical. An explanation of my current events. Music from Podshows' Podsafe Music Network Wise Investors by In Medias Res Thank you for Listening and Subscribing Comments[1] |
Mon, 1 May 2006 It has been a bit since my last podcast. Family and readying this house for sale is taking its toll on me. Please be patient and the Podcast will keep coming. New Macbook Released, The 17" 2.16 GHz top of the line Macbook Pro. More iTunes news. Balmer states Windows should run on Real PCs Parallels releases Beta 6 My look at the Parallels vs. Bootcamp methods of running Windows. Go To Meeting ad Quick Tips Vote for the show at Podcast Alley Send Comments, Feedback and questions to petersmactips@gmail.com Comments[1] |
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Peter's Mac Tips A Podcast for Switchers and Long Time Macintosh Users
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