With the release of Mac OS X this past weekend, first impressions are coming in from all angles, especially from the My Mac Staff. Below we will be posting a dialogue of first impressions from staff members as we load the “worlds most advanced operating system.”
OS X: First Impressions: Adam
(Machine: PowerBook G3 “Firewire”/500/512MB/12GB)
First, I just need to say that Apple has really outdone themselves here, in
both good and bad ways. I love Mac OS X, I’m in it right now, but I can’t
make it my main system—yet. But I’m sure I’ll switch sooner or later. It’s
really excellent.
My system is a Pismo PowerBook G3/500/512MB/12GB. Mac OS X is pretty darn Continue reading »
fast on it, which is surprising to me. I thought I was going to need a G4
for sure. I’ll upgrade to a G4 eventually (my occupation demands it), but
for now, its nice to know I can run this OS without any problems.
As gestations go, this one was the lengthiest in the history of the Macintosh world. 15 months from the announcement of conception, to birth. I was in the audience at MacWorld San Francisco 2000 when the proud daddy, Steve Jobs, announced that we would soon have another little OS to feed in the near future. With the help of a giant screen, he showed us ultrasound pictures of what the little rascal would look like. And because almost everyone loves babies, the crowd oohed and ahhed at the child’s anticipated future antics.
It was a difficult pregnancy. The first projected release date was aborted and genetic code sent to all the wannabe developers to see what the problem was with the DNA. “Four arms! Six legs! No, no, let’s give it twelve eyes!” and the scientists were at it again…forming this love child from fantasies of one mighty superman Operating System that would be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap RAM hungry applications with a single bound.
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Well it happened. I was told it would happen and I’ll be dammed if it didn’t. I was told to be prepared for when it happened and was given ample and repeated warnings about it happening. And finally after six plus years of using Macintosh computers it happened, I experienced my first major system failure.
I never had a major system failure with my Performa 550, (Unless you count the time I rolled it down a flight of stairs, but that was more like a computer crash, not a system failure), and my 2 year old iMac has been humming along admirably ever since the day it showed up on my doorstep. So in some respects I guess you could say I was lucky to have gone this long without any major problems. However, on the other hand, having gone so long without anything bad ever happening in my little at home computer world, I was, because of that good luck, not prepared. I should have been but I wasn’t.
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This is the continuing story of what happened to the couple, Rosie and Rolf, who were introduced in my November 11/00 article,”Freckles.” Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Follow them in the ups and downs of that most cherished of rites – the honeymoon. It has been said that if you can survive the honeymoon, you can survive anything.
Freckles: The Honeymoon or
(The marriage was a success but the honeymoon flopped)
I knew on that New Year’s eve that Rosie was the girl for me. In fact, I’m sure I knew even before that night, but I guess I just couldn’t believe my luck. I had been a bachelor for 30 years and I had almost given up the thought of finding someone. On that fateful moment after the party, at the home of my best friend Moe and his wife Glorianna, we were together in a quiet moment and I uttered the fateful words, “Rosie, I think I love you.” In retrospect, it was a pretty damn stupid thing to say. Why think? I knew I loved her. It was that old commitment crap. Don’t appear too eager in case she has a laughing fit. Besides, I was pretty sure of her feelings for me even though she had plans to go to Europe that summer with another chum. Yet, clumsy profession of love aside, that was the moment that changed everything.
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Like many of you, I am a fan of the Star Wars films. When the first film came out in 1977, I was
seven years old. So I literally grew up on Star Wars. And I always thought it would be cool to be
able to be in a Star Wars film. (I still do!)
This brings me to a few weeks ago, when I went surfing some of the better Star Wars fan sites out
there. One of the best, theforce.net had been a major place for news before
the latest movie came out. Since then, I had not been back to the site much. But on this day, I
decided to take a look at some of the fan films they have showcased there. For those not in the
know, fan films are just that, films that Star Wars fan themselves have made, usually in QuickTime
format. Most are amateurish in nature, but most are better than I could do myself. Still, you could
tell these films, while entertaining at times, were far from the production level of the real things. And
I thought that would be the status quo for Star Wars fan films, until I watched Duality for the first
time.
Duality, by CrewOfTwo.com, sets a new standard of what a fan film can be. The acting is first rate,
but more incredibly, the special effects rival that of George Lucas’s own Industrial Light and Magic.
And, not surprisingly, it was ALL done on Macintosh computers.
After watching Duality a number of time, and showing it to not a few other people, I just knew I
had to contact the people responsible for this great film, and do an interview with them for
mymac.com. Happily, Mark Thomas and Dave Macomber, the creators of Duality,
readily agreed to the interview. (Which was conducted via email in mid-March 2001).
Before reading below, I highly recommend watching the film, which you can view here. You can watch the film in
QuickTime format of course. If you are on a low speed internet connection, I recommend viewing
the smaller QuickTime file in 320 and 47Mb in size
and for high speed broadband
connections, the 480 version. If you
simply don’t want to download such big files, and just want a taste of this fantastic six and a half
minute film, you can view either of the trailers, one 4.5Mb
in size or the longer trailer,
6.0MB.
Tim: Mark:, Dave, what can I say? I am blown away. Like I said in my preface to this interview, most fan films are shot using low quality equipment on home made sets. How did you pull off such a wonderful masterpiece without a HUGE bankroll?
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One does
not only wish to be understood when one writes;
one wishes just as much surely not to be
understood … all … select their audience when
they wish to communicate; and choosing that, one
at the same time erects barriers against “the
others.” All the more subtle laws of any style
have their origin at this point: they at the same
time keep away, create a distance, forbid “entrance,”
understanding, as said above — while they
open the ears of those whose ears are related
to ours.”
(Nietzsche — The Joyful Science.)
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Every now and then, some writer will do a column on the best of the best Mac websites out there. So, with the recent shake-up in the Mac web as of late, I thought I would give you my own list of top 5 Mac websites.
#5. MacWeek
MacWeek is a great resource of Macintosh information. In fact, they are…
Oh, wait, they closed shop. Okay, let’s start again,
#5. MacCentral. If you want hard-hitting news, MacCentral is THE place to get it. They DIG for their stories, rather than letting companies and PR firms simply email all their news to them. They also have some of the very best columnist in the Mac world today!
What’s that? The DO just wait for PR firms to give them all their news? And they went and fired all those great writers? Really?! Why would they do that? Well, gosh, this list is getting harder all the time. So, fine, I will start yet AGAIN!
#5. MacAddict. Now here is a website which knows how to have a great presence on the Internet. Now only do they write great columns and reviews, but they went out and picked up two of my favorite Mac writers, John Farr and sometimes My Mac contributor Rodney O’Lain. With gorgeous colors and original content, MacAddict is a step above the rest.
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I have a confession to make. I read comic books. It’s not like I’m confessing to dealing drugs, or looking at porn on the Internet (cough-cough) but it is something that seems to be extremely unpopular with some folks. They hear you read comics, and they think you are of lesser intellect or something. But the truth is, comics are fantastic, and offers some of the best reading materiel out there today. I am not talking about Archie comics here, either. I am talking about Bone, Astro City, Preacher, 100 Bullets, Metropolitan, and other of that sort. Great reading and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Why bring this up at a Macintosh related website? Well, besides the fact that one of my life goals for years was to become a comic book writer (and one of the reasons I started My Mac back in 1995, to hone my writing ability) I am proud to introduce a new writer to the My Mac staff. His name is Dwayne McDuffie, and besides doing some product reviews here at mymac.com, Dwayne also happens to be a comic book (and now, Animated Series) creator and writer. You can learn more about Dwayne at his web site.
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Adobe Go Live 5.0
Company: Adobe
Price: $289.95
http://www.adobe.com
The Dilettante’s Corner
That’s right, I said dilettante. I don’t get a macho charge out of bragging about how difficult it is to run my system. I don’t much care what’s going on under the hood of my iBook. I use it to work and on occasion, play. My computers are tools, they’re supposed to accommodate me, not vise versa. That’s why, whenever possible, I use a Macintosh.
Product: SmartDisk’s
VST USB Flash Media Reader
Here
ya go.
from the Apple — very tasty!
A Personal Story: Testing Under Intense
Expo Conditions
Okay, here is the story.
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Get to the Back of the Bus – Mac Segregation
I am having a very unusual computing experience here and now. I
loaned my old reliable Mac 8500 to my son to do an animation, and
then my trusty Mac 7100 went south on me late last week. Horrors!
I have not been without a Mac for a number of years.
This situation would be a great excuse to go out and buy that Continue reading »
iMac I want, but for now it is not to be. -So here I am sitting
(ahem…) at a borrowed Windoze PC to write on, and to check
my email. In the process I am finding out a few minor revelations
about being a Mac user.
Ott-Lite Vision Saver
Estimated Price: $199.95 list
Environmental Lighting Concepts, Inc.
http://www.ott-lite.com
(web site under construction; use their email address, fax, or toll-free phone numbers instead, listed on the home page)
Tucked away in a small corner booth at January’s Macworld Expo a display that stopped me in my tracks as I dashed wildly through the exhibition halls. I had seen a few tiny teaser advertisements in Macintosh print publications, so when I glimpsed the table full of Ott-Lite Vision Saver lamps my dormant curiosity ignited.
The Ott-Lites are sleek, elegant, stylized, classy, expensive, and do the job with flair (but no glare). I hope the company web site is completed soon, because no print description or boring spec sheet can render the beauty and refinement of these table and floor lamps.
Ranging from penguin-like 13 Watt Portable Lamps to 18 Watt Floor and Desk units, these gems are gorgeous. Don’t be fooled by the low wattage numbers. My graphite color 18 Watt Clamp-On Desk Ott-Lite provides more desktop illumination than the halogen bulbs overhead in my office ceiling.
MacWeek gets the Axe
What can I say? MacWeek, one of the oldest and proudest Macintosh publications ever, has closed its doors. And the Macintosh world is the sorrier for it. Or are we?
Some History Continue reading »
When I first started reading MacWeek, it was a weekly trade print publication. It was, and retains the title even today, the best Mac related publication ever. It had reviews, columns, investigative reporting, an excellent layout, and best of all, a pro-Mac approach. It was written for the professional user, which I was slowly becoming at that time. (I publish My Mac in my spare time, but I am an Information Technology Manager in a Macintosh studio full time.) MacWeek, in many ways, helped me make the transition from Mac user to Mac professional.
Eliminator GamePad Pro
Company: Gravis
Price: $29.99
http://www.gravis.com
For hardcore games, owning a joystick or a PlayStation type controller is a must. Some games are just a lot easier to control using a game controller than a mouse/keyboard. Gravis, now a part of the Kensington Technology Group, has been making award winning game controllers for the Macintosh longer than any other vendor. And their long development for the platform shows in the Eliminator GamePad Pro.
The Eliminator GamePad Pro connects to your Mac via the USB port. It is plug and play in the true sense of the word. There is no software to install; you just plug the unit into your USB port. In fact, I plugged the Eliminator GamePad Pro into both the built-in USB port as well as a USB hub, and the unit performed flawlessly every time.
The Eliminator GamePad Pro uses Apple’s own InputSprocket technology. When you plug it in, the Mac will automatically see the GamePad. The catch? Whatever game your playing must also use Inputsprockets, otherwise you will not be able to use the Eliminator GamePad Pro.
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Comments. Be heard!
MyMac Podcast #385
MyMac Podcast #384