Westone 3 True-fit Earphones
Company: Westone
Price: $400
http://westone.com/personallistening
You’ll need an hour to determine the best tips for fit and comfort, from the ones provided with your new $400 Westone 3 premium audiophile-quality in-ear headphones. Add a couple of hours for testing different equalizer settings with your favorite genres of music, before choosing a universal equalizer that handles most music most of the time. I’m using “Acoustic” in my iPod, which delivers a pleasurable listening experience.
Then you’ll need another week or two to decide how to wear your Westone 3 superbuds, abbreviated here as W3. Ear cables hanging down, or looped behind the ears? Audio plug cable in front or rear of your body? Speaker driver snug or loose within your “ear bowl” space? Ear tips pressed in for maximum isolation, or a bit looser for additional comfort or ambient awareness?
RAIDBank4
Company: Micronet
Price: $999 (US) for 2 terabyte configuration
http://www.micronet.com
A lovely big package appeared on my front doorstep last week, and in it was an even lovelier 2 terabyte RAID 5 disk array from our friends at Micronet/Fantom.
Briefly described, the RAIDBank4 is a 4.85 x 6.5 x 9.1 inch box which holds four SATA hard drives (in this case, there were four decent quality Western Digital 500 GB drives). Micronet bills this unit as the “world’s smallest RAID”. While I don’t know this to be true, I don’t think it could get much smaller.
A perusal of the Wikipedia entry for FireWire reveals it to be Apple’s brand name for the IEEE 1394 interface, initiated by Apple themselves as a serial bus interface standard for isochronous real-time data transfer, intended to replace SCSI for connecting data devices while also supporting audio and video applications.
However, in certain sectors of the tech enthusiast community, particularly those driven by either love or loathing of Apple and its mercurial leader, FireWire is used as a call to arms, a rallying cry to petition the world against the perceived injustices of a cruel and fickle master towards his loyal followers. Ever since the new laptop line shipped, there has been an ongoing mournful wail of protest at the cheaper, consumer-orientated Aluminum MacBooks with their twin USB ports but the traditional FireWire port deleted. How will we connect fast hard drives? How will we access Target Disk Mode for recovery purposes? How will we offload video from our DV Cameras? How will we survive with the sky falling in on us?????
Well, I am not going to rationalize why Apple visited this apparently appalling curse on us all. Limited case space? Shortage of interface chips? Mafia protection racket? A Federal conspiracy by the USB alliance? Frankly, I don’t give a fig why, how or wherefore, I just don’t care. And the fact is that most buyers of MacBooks don’t care either.
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Features I like and don’t about Adobe Illustrator CS4
Full version $599 – Upgrade:$199
www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/
Being a graphics professional, there was no question as to whether or not I’d be updating to CS4. No, it’s inevitable. Since I’ve been hearing a number of gripes about having to spend large amounts of money on CS4 when CS3 is only 18 months old, I thought I’d share my thoughts about the new features of Adobe Illustrator (AI) CS4 and let you decide if it is worth getting.
The first thing I have to say about all of the CS4 apps is I love the new tabbed interface. Even if you don’t use tabs in Safari or FireFox, you will quickly appreciate how this new interface cleans up your desktop and makes switching between open files a dream. Moreover, the new interface also provides better support for multiple monitors. In CS3, every time you launch an application you need to reset your custom workspace. No longer. Now all of the Adobe CS4 apps retain their settings. This is something Adobe clearly should have fixed in CS3 but failed to do until now.
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I was really looking forward to getting my hands on Office 2008 a year ago. It looked promising, an update to a major Macintosh software title four years in the making. I won’t pretend that I really wanted this software to be great. I always hope software for the Macintosh platform is great. And having read many online reviews, as well as David Cohen’s first-hand reports, on Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows, I had high hopes.
When four MyMac Magazine staff members sat down with Microsoft at the Macworld Expo in January, including myself, it was with some trepidation and still excitement on my part. Trepidation because, at that point in time, I had been using the software for a few weeks and was experiencing some problems with the software, Microsoft Word in particular. Excitement because I was hoping to hear that the final, in the box version, had been updated to address some of the bugs and overall wonkiness I had experienced.
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This week, we are joined by Mark Altekruse from Abaltat to chat about abaltat Muse 2.0, his history in computers, working for Apple, and much more. Sam Levin picks some great products for Cool Mac Picks. And on the last segment, Tim and David are joined by iProng Magazine publisher Bill Palmer and new MyMac staffer Mark Rudd to discuss everything else under the sun. A long show, but well worth the time to listen!
This show is sponsored by:
Other World Computing
Pick up your copy of abaltat Muse 2.0 from OWC for only $149 now!
PosiMotion
Check out G-Spot!
Links from the show
abaltat Muse 2.0
LearnMacsOnline.com
iProng Magazine
The Hess Events List Macworld Conference & Expo
Macworld 08 photos
Warfare Incorporated
Cool Mac Picks:
dJay DJ Application
DLO iBoom JukeBox
ewoo eFizz Travel Speaker
Holiday Mistletoe
email – MyMac Magazine – Twitter – Advertise – Reviews Archive – Podcast
OtterBox Impact for iPhone 3G
Company: Otter Products, LLC
Price: $19.95
http://www.OtterBox.com
OtterBox has continuously produced a large number of products for laptops, iPods, MP3 players, iPhone and most recently for the iPhone 3G. Not willing to stop, OtterBox just recently announced their latest product for iPhone 3G users, the iPhone 3G Impact case. Made from durable silicon, the Impact series is designed to provide a bit more protection for your iPhone 3G by dissipating impact away from the iPhone and providing a bit more of shock and bump protection than most other cases.
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The birth of my geekdom happened on a rainy day in late 1982. I had been working for Apple long enough to qualify for my free computer which every employee received once they completed their probationary period. I received a call from the human resources employee and she walked me to the “Apple Store” (a makeshift caged area used to store merchandising products and computer systems).
As I loaded the boxes onto a dolly and wheeled the precious cargo out to my car, I don’t think my feet touched the ground once. Surely I must have had a dumb silly smile on my face the entire time. I finally had a computer of my very own. Oh how excited I was to open the boxes. If only I had a video camera back then, well, and the Internet. Can you say, “unboxing?”
I can still remember the smells, textures, and sense of amazement as I removed the CPU, floppy drive, and monitor out of their boxes. There it was, my very own Apple ][. My life and bank account would never be the same. Growing up, our family had an Atari console which seemed to have Pong loaded most days of the week. However, this was completely different. Something changed that day. I then began to look at the world through rainbow colored glasses. I was not just an Apple employee; I was an Apple evangelist.
Activetrax on the go audio
Company: Seattle Sports
Price: $39.99
http://www.seattlesortsco.com
Have you ever run out of battery power for an external iPod speaker system? I have two teens who love to play music from their iPods on external speakers. I find these little speakers eat AA batteries like candy. There must be a better way. A smarter alternative that doesn’t force me to keep tossing spent batteries into my landfill.
Outdoor outfitter, Seattle Sports Company, sells the Activetrax on the go audio speaker system for campers, hikers and anyone who might need an eco-friendly radio solution or who might not have access to a power source from time to time.
Office 2008 for the Mac on Demand
By Steve Johnson
Que Publishing
http://www.informit.com/que
US $29.95
554 pages
ISBN 978-0-7897-3923-0
Microsoft released Office 2008 for the Mac back in January of 2008. While the initial flurry of books and manuals had slowed, new titles continue to arrive.
Prolific author (46 titles for Que alone) Steve Johnson’s new addition to the On Demand series is Office 2008 for the Mac On Demand. Is this the right help book for you? Let’s see.
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Kensington ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock
Company: Kensington
Price: $24.99
kensington.com
In its promotional materials for the ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock, Kensington notes that in the U.S. a laptop computer is stolen every 53 seconds (this from a 2005 FBI/CSI survey). Other studies have shown mind-boggling statistics on laptops “lost” at airports, to the tune over 12,000 per week! Although many of those losses occur at security checkpoints, a number of them take place in common areas like concessions and lounges. Sure, some of these laptops may have been legitimately lost, but it’s hard not to argue that an ounce of prevention, in the form of a simple notebook lock, is worth at least a pound of cure when it comes to theft.
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How Wikipedia Works
And How You Can Be a Part of It
Phoebe Ayers, Charles Matthews, and Ben Yates
September 2008, 536 pp.
No Starch Press
http://www.nostarch.com
US $29.95
ISBN-13 978-1-59327-176-3
Encyclopedias, those big books that have attempted to summarize all human knowledge, have been around since the time of the ancient Greeks. Pliny the Elder probably had an easy time of it, since the sum of all human knowledge was a bit smaller in his day than in ours. Denis Diderot, a now obscure French philosopher who lived in the 18th century, gave encyclopedia writing the ol’ college try. Most MyMac.com readers would be more familiar with Funk and Wagnalls, the World Book, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, if not their door-to-door salesmen.
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Two brothers who quit the Microsoft gaming studio Ensemble Studios to become iPhone App developers, David and Paul Bettner, join us for a candid talk about all things iPhone and their new company, NewToy. Sam Levin joins in with a new Cool Mac Picks. And Tim, David, and Guy talk about Adobe pulling out of Macworld Expo, the Simpsons skewering Apple, iPod shortages, and the latest drama that is Psystar. Plus a brand-new sponsor, PosiMotion!
This episode is sponsored by
Other World Computing. Check out their Blu-ray burner here!
PosiMotion. Show off your iPhone Sexiness with A Level here!
Links from the show:
Speck Products
Prosoft Engineering
Macworld Expo
NewToy
Simpsons Apple Parody
Cool Mac/App Picks 12.04.2008
Griffin TuneBuds Mobile
Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 3G
Axio Sling Pack for 15" MacBook Pro and PC
Frenzic
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TeamViewer
Web site: http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx
Cost: free for non-commercial, personal use
TeamViewer is a remote screen sharing, viewing, and controlling application, with a file transfer function. Using the Internet, your computer can see or be seen, and control or be controlled, by anyone, anywhere, in seconds, for free.
You could use free screen sharing in OS X Leopard 10.5′s iChat to view and/or control a remote computer’s screen, and to exchange files, but the software has potential network glitches, from my experience. Seasoned Macintoshers can also accomplish the same thing via a Screen Sharing command in the Leopard Finder, with help of some geeky System Preference settings.
YuuGuu, a startup in England, has the same capacity, plus a few enhancements. Its beta application is operative, but not yet in full release.
Glance Networks, a friend and advertiser here at MyMac Magazine, is an affordable enterprise quality robust screen sharing company with a mature product cycle that is stable and dependable. It will be covered in depth in a future Nemo Memo.
Waterfield Designs MacBook Air Suede Jacket Sleeve
Waterfield Designs
http://www.sfbags.com/products/laptopsuedejacket/laptopsuedejacket.htm
US $29.00
Waterfield Designs MacBook Pro SleeveCase
Waterfield Designs
http://www.sfbags.com/products/sleevecases/sleevecases.htm
US 42.00
Mophie Radura iPod Cases
Company: Mophie
Price: $20.00
http://www.mophie.com/
I prefer iPod cases that are clear. I love the look of iPods in general and think it is a shame to cover them up with a case that hides the unit. Mophie’s Radura cases fit my iPod case criteria.
CableJive iPhone and iPod Charge Converter
Company: CableJive
Price: $37.00
http://cablejive.com
Scosche passPORT
Company: Scosche Inc.
Price: $29.99
http://scosche.com
I was a Day One iPhone purchaser, and I loved it from the beginning. When the 3G iPhone was introduced, I was able, barely, to resist its siren song. I told myself that long wait times for some of my most-visited web sites to load was OK. I told myself that the fair-to-middling accuracy of the Map application without GPS was acceptable. iPhone version 1 forever! However, a good friend let me use his 3G iPhone for a couple of hours, and the siren song grew louder. I was able to resist for one reason only. Apple, in its infinite wisdom, changed the dock pinouts; original iPhones use 18 volt (FireWire) power, and 3G iPhones use 12 volt (USB) power.
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BlueAnt V1 Voice Control Bluetooth headset
Company: BlueAnt
$99.95 US
http://www.blueantwireless.com
While I’ve long been a cellphone user, I’ve never taken to using a Bluetooth headset. Each time I see a person with one stuck in an ear, my first reaction is that they have some horrible growth on the side of their head, and why don’t they get it surgically removed. However, the Weeks Division of MyMac Labs recently received an evaluation unit of BlueAnt’s V1 Voice Control headset. I swallowed my fashion concerns, and gave the V1 a try during a four-day business trip.
BlueAnt touts the V1 as the world’s first voice controlled Bluetooth headset. While I take any such “world’s first” claims with more than a pinch of salt, BlueAnt has created a fairly good Bluetooth headset.
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Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection
Company: Adobe Systems, Inc.
Price: $2,499
http://www.adobe.com/
ABOUT THIS REVIEW:
This is a “first look” review for a general audience — design shops and creative professionals already know what they want and how to get it. You won’t see any in-depth evaluations of individual programs here (those will come later), but I will hit the high points and let you know what’s new. I’ll also discuss ordering and pricing options, tell you about special deals, and share my thoughts on how mere mortals can afford this software suite. Finally, I’ll talk about the installation and how that went. I learned a few things about the new Photoshop and Dreamweaver, too, so let’s have a look.
OVERVIEW: Continue reading »
Reviewing the CS4 Master Collection in toto is like describing America after a single transcontinental flight, so please bear with me. To demonstrate what I mean, when I first opened the box, this is what I found (for more information on the individual apps, browse the main Adobe Products page)
Comments. Be heard!
MyMac Podcast #403
Review
Review
Review
MyMac Podcast 400-5!