Media Edit Pro
Company: macXware
Price: $79.99
OS X and OS 9 compatible (despite the Company name)
Reviewing a program like Media Edit Pro is a tough slog. Not because of any shortcomings of the program but because it was completely different from what I expected. Perhaps a brief description of the review process is in order. What I review is stuff that interests me, and I’m interested in Movies. So when I saw a press release for Media Edit Pro I thought “Hey, Here’s a movie editor more robust than iMovie but cheaper than Final Cut Express, that’s something I’d like to try.” A couple of e-mails later and I had a copy. I installed Media Edit Pro (which is growing tiresome to type so I’ll truncate the title to MEP in future references) with no problems. then I downloaded and installed the update. Still a problem free experience. Found some footage to play with and fired up the program to give MEP it’s first test run. Big Problem.
Continue reading »
The Mouse
Company: MacMice Workspace Products Co.
Price: $39.99
http://www.macmice.com
A mouse is a mouse is a mouse, no? Well, no, not really. Everyone reading this probably has a mouse nearby, even if you are using a Trackpad on a PowerBook. But there are times, especially graphic manipulation, where using a mouse is simply easier and more accurate. And as we all know, Apple makes a decent mouse that ships with the Macintosh. Rugged, stylish, and easy to use. But it does have one problem; it has only one button!
Continue reading »
“On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce “Macintosh”, and you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984”.
-Closing line from Apple’s famous “1984” commercial, which starred Anya Major, and which was directed by Ridley Scott.
With the twentieth anniversary of the Macintosh upon us, I felt that this would be an appropriate time to tell “my story”, of how I came to be such a fan of this computing platform. Heck, everyone has stories, right?
Continue reading »
by John Nemerovski, with help from David Weeks
Two categories of new products have become ubiquitous during the past year: rugged, comfy laptop backpacks, and small, speedy external hard drives. Nemo and Weeks are big fans of both classes of items, and the good news keeps getting better.
Willow Design sent us a lean, mean, versatile case for a monster portable computing machine, the 17” PowerBook. PK-12 Garibaldi at well under $200 US is attractive, strong, and easy to use. Nemo carries a ton of computer equipment with him in Willow’s original 15” TiBook case, working all over town every day. His recommendation remains highest for road warriors who need maximum security and minimum bulk. Garibaldi holds a 17” PowerBook and just the right amount of gear to function efficiently. You want to climb a mountain and bring your MegaBook along? Ubetcha.
Continue reading »
SmartWrap
Selznick Scientific Software
$18.00 shareware registration
Here’s a quick review of a small piece of software that performs a single task very, very well.
Do you often have text like this:
>The Unix foundation of OS X brings with
>it all the power
>and complexity of
>multiple users and account settings.
When what you want is:
Continue reading »
Take Control of Users and Accounts in Panther
Kirk McElhearn
TidBITS Electronic Publishing
http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol
US $ 5.00 online purchases only
Take Control of Users and Accounts in Panther (TCUAP for short) is the latest addition to the TidBITS publishing roster, and it’s as good as its predecessors. If you use Mac OS X 10.3, aka Panther, and have any questions about the subtleties of users and accounts, then you need this 64-page ebook. Much of the material is relevant to earlier versions of OS X, if you haven’t Pantherized your Mac.
Continue reading »
HP DesignJet 120 large format printer
Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: $1295.00
http://www.hp.com
HP’s new DesignJet 120 is the best printer Nemo and Weeks have ever used or reviewed. We have some concerns regarding hardware and software, but all our comments on print quality are glowing with praise.
PLEASE NOTE: This review was done using both HP’s included CD software (OS 9.2.2) and web download driver (OS X/Jaguar). Our observations mention certain problems, many of which are supposed to be fixed by now for OS 9 and X/Jaguar, with newer drivers available from HP’s web site. Panther drivers should not display any of the bugs we encountered. Please keep all this in mind as you read our remarks.
Continue reading »
A weekend spotlight at MyMac.com! Need something worth reading? Check out THIS article.
Welcome to the first of what I hope will be a weekend tradition for years to come. I call it Weekend Archive, in which I showcase an article from the past here at MyMac.com. With over eight years worth of history, we have an extensive historical archive of content we would like to share with you. (With more being added from our old archives to our new format every day!)
Continue reading »
Card Photo Printer CP-200
Company: Canon, Inc.
Cost: $160 – $190, street
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/cp300-200/index.html
My “dream photo printer” turned out to be one that was not even on my mental radar screen.
Continue reading »
Canon Digital Rebel SLR
Company: Canon, Inc.
Price: $899 (US) Body only
http://www.canoneos.com/
I strongly considered an alternate title to this review: “Chris, Here’s the perfect Mate to your GL2!” in honor of Chris Seibold’s expansion into the realm of semiprofessional videography with the Canon GL2. Chris, I know you were hoping I would talk you out of spending so much money for a digital camera, and when I didn’t, and you bought it, you probably wondered if I really knew what I was talking about. I probably didn’t, as usual, but you don’t regret it, now that you’ve had the chance to explore the capabilities! So, when you’re ready to get creative with still photography, this camera could be the answer! And I’m sorry if I’m the responsible party for destroying your savings account, Chris!
Nobody is a real Mac worshipper. I hope you understand. People who ‘love’ their Macintoshes are the same kind of people who ‘love’ their BMWs or their Mexican food. That sort of love, for the vast majority who has it, is much different, and much removed, from the love these same people would have for their mates, their children, or their country. Don’t even put their love for the Mac or some other man-made thing, in the same league as their love of their Creator.
So why am I different? Somehow I am. I don’t love Pixl. I don’t worship Pixl, although I probably should. Rather, I hate her, or it, or whatever Pixl is. This is some story, let me tell you!
Continue reading »
Contour Showcase for iPod
Price: $19.95 US
Company: Contour Design, Inc.
http://www.contourdesign.com
I love my iPod, but the slipcase that Apple ships with the iPod is horrible. First, you can only access the music controls by removing the iPod from its slipcase. Second, it doesn’t secure the iPod. If you pick it up the wrong way, it is possible for the iPod to slip out. Third, the power port is also blocked by the slipcase. This means that if you listen primarily in your car, like I do, the case is useless.
The Contour Showcase solves all these problems exceedingly well, and comes with a belt clip. I haven’t had a chance to use the belt clip, but I wouldn’t think twice about shooting hoops with my iPod clipped to my belt. With the Apple slipcase, I felt safer keeping the iPod in my pocket. Another nice feature is that the belt clip is removable if you do not need it. This item is smartly designed.
Continue reading »
DeskMount
Price: $99.00 (US)
Company: Marathon Computer Inc.
http://www.marathoncomputer.com/deskmount.html
I recently put a G5 on my desk. The problem? Nothing in my G4 will work in the newer machine. Not the RAM, not the graphics card, and not the internal hard drives, of which there are three. (Two IDE and a SCSI.) Now, my G4 is tricked out, as they say. It is fast, powerful, and has a ton more storage in it than the G5 does. But there is simply no room on my desk for both machines, and the floor space is at a premium. So what to do?
For me, the answer came when Marathon Computer Inc. sent their new product for review, the DeskMount. What is it, and what does it do? Simply put, the DeskMount for the G4 (a G5 model is in the works as I write this review) is installed atop your G3 or G4, and will attach to an included mounting bracket that you install under your desk. In effect, the DeskMount allows you to “hang” your computer underneath your desk. For me, this was the perfect solution. I would be able to keep my desk space, and floor space, yet still be able to access the G4 quickly and easily.
Continue reading »
HP OfficeJet 5510
Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: $199 (US)
http://www.hp.com
All things being equal, I would have to call the HP OfficeJet 5510 one of the best all-around printers / copiers / scanners around. I have reviewed enough all-in-one units now to appreciate a great model when I get to play with one, and after a month of testing, I can honestly say that the OfficeJet 5510 has really impressed me.
Printing is probably the main reason anyone would purchase this unit. The print quality is simply fantastic. Printing text-only pages is very, very fast, much quicker than I was expecting from an ink-jet printer. So quick, in fact, that my nine-year old daughter even commented on it just this morning. I used the OfficeJet 5510 to print out a letter to her school. She asked which printer it would come out, and I pointed to the HP. It was done printing just a few seconds later. Her reaction? “Wow, that was a lot faster than the silver and black printer.” The silver and black printer being the Lexmark 5150 I reviewed back in June 2003.
Continue reading »
Adobe Photoshop CS (8.0)
Company: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Price: $649.00 (full) $169.00 (upgrade)
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html
One problem with reviewing a program like Adobe Photoshop CS (8.0) is that one never knows just how much to write about. Adobe Photoshop is such a complex and massive program; it is almost an operating system in itself. So rather than going into each and every feature of the program, a task few would undertake in a product review, I will look at some of the new features of the program.
16-bit color support is probably the biggest improvement in Photoshop with the new CS version. Most graphic programs work with only 8-bit images, but Photoshop CS can now work with 16-bit in layers, brushes, text, shapes, and more. The support is worthwhile for those who need to work with the highest resolution images for color correction.
Continue reading »
Get Connected Kit for new iPod
Company: Xtreme Accessories, LLC.
Price: $49.95
http://www.xtrememac.com
When my .Mac membership came up for renewal, I had a choice of a few different incentives. I chose the $20 credit from the Apple Store. I desperately needed an auto charger for my iPod.
A visit to the Apple store showed just the thing I needed for 19.95, but I was also thinking about replacing the auto cassette adaptor too. It was making a loud grinding noise and was irritating. Sometimes you could hear it over the music, like a mysterious bad musician. The cassette adapter came from an old portable CD player that has a lot of attachments. It also had an audio cable that I hooked up my Dock to, and was running the iPod through the kitchen radio. This is my iPod’s home base, and it made my kitchen radio, a Zenith Bose-wannabe, sound much better. And of course, no commercials!
Continue reading »
SightFlex
Company: MacMice Workspace Products Co.
Price: $29.99
http://www.macmice.com
When Apple released the iSight desktop video camera, I had to have one. Working with iChatAV, the iSight was a perfect way for me to talk face-to-face, or at least via voice, to the other MyMac.com staff members and other friends. As I use a 23” Apple Cinema Display as my monitor, the iSight looked great sitting atop it. But there were two problems. The top of my monitor is over my head, so all video is facing down. The second problem is that the mounting bracket Apple provides with the iSight is horrible, in that the cheap plastic mount actually sticks to the back of my $2,000 monitor. It cannot be removed now.
Enter the SightFlex. It is, by far, the best choice for iSight owners. Made of a heavy metal base (That closely matches the look of the G5 and PowerBook G4) and a flexible steel tube, it not only works great but is also a solution for any Mac user. It works with a iMac, eMac, PowerBook, G4, G5, etc…
The MacMice website states that the SightLFlex was inspired by the good, old-fashioned gooseneck lamp. I can see why, as that was my first thought when I looked at the product.
Continue reading »
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the house where I grew up. My father has lived there for forty-seven years. He bought the house and the seventeen acres it sits on in 1956 from my grandfather for seventeen thousand dollars. The house was built in 1927. Before my family moved in, the lath and plaster interior walls were gutted and new sheetrock was hung. Walls were painted and carpet laid. The kitchen was remodeled with modern appliances. The rest of the work would come later.
I shared a bedroom on the main floor next to my parents’ bedroom with my older sister Teresa. Our younger sister Jane was born the year we moved in. I don’t remember her sharing our bedroom, she must have slept in mother and dad’s room. When she was older, the upstairs was finished and we three girls moved up there. We had two beds to share between us, but I remember that most of the time we shared the same bed. I was the middle child, and often ended up sleeping in between my two sisters.
Continue reading »
About eight years ago as the Internet began to take off futurists began predicting the great change that would take place in K-12 education in our country. Students would no longer go without subjects, they would just hop online and take a class in cyberspace. Well, it’s 2003 and with the exception of a few isolated schools in the high plains nothing has changed. The need for physical contact between our youth and their teachers still reigns supreme. It comes down to a simple case of companionship; young students need the physical presence of an adult, whether it is a teacher or a parent in the case of home schooling.
However, this rule does not apply to colleges and universities. Many are jumping into the cyber education arena. Their efforts have paid off especially in the area of continuing education and advanced degrees. Several of my fellow teachers have taken courses online over the past few years in areas very specific to their desires or requirements. No longer does a teacher need to wait for summer vacation to travel to a distant university for two weeks of intensive classes. One only has to find the time to get online for an hour or two a day at most. What was once an obscure event offered by an eccentric professor is now a major part of a university’s course catalogue.
Continue reading »
Recently a huge Mac rumor was unleashed: McDonalds was going to give away a billion (that’s like a million but with a B) songs via iTunes. The rumor was never exactly denied but it was also never confirmed. So McDonalds might still give away a billion songs, but then again McDonalds might not. So the rumor (reported as fact) is now just a rumor again and the net result is a zero increase in certainty. This is a fine opportunity to engage in a little free form speculation: McDonalds won’t give away a billion songs via iTunes. Why do I say that? I have my reasons: Mayor McCheese isn’t a very strong authority figure and can you really expect the Hamburgular to go legit? (Note how the preceding was presented as speculation.)
Whether or not Grimace starts passing out John Hartford singles the entire sordid affair says a little bit about the nature of Mac Rumors. The first thing the McTunes fiasco says is: If you put a rumor in print on paper it’s reported as absolute fact. If MacIndustrialEspionage.com had reported the same rumor it would be widely ignored, or if not ignored it would be cited as: “MacIndustrialEspionage.com is reporting” instead of “ApplepieTunes” (Oh, the delicious pun). To be fair many sites did run the “Daily Post is Reporting…” right under the monster headline “McDonalds to Give Away a Billion iTunes” so we should cut a little slack to the more cautious web sites. I digress, the point of this particular missive is not on the proper format when reporting a rumor but the value of a Mac rumor in general. That value, it turns out, is very low.
Continue reading »
Comments. Be heard!
MyMac Podcast #385
MyMac Podcast #384