Four years and still happy on a Mac

It's been almost four years and I'm still gushingly happy about the switch to the Mac platform. In fact, I turned off all of the Windows computers over 21 months ago. Now it's a couple of Macs, iPhones, and an iPad in the house.

I have an employer-provided laptop with Windows 7 but I only use it for their work. Ironically, I still get the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Windows 7.

On the Apple platforms, I frequently use OmniFocus for tasks, Evernote for notes, Apple's Calendar, Apple's Address Book, iTunes, and Apple's Aperture for pictures.

I haven't written in detail about Evernote, but I love having the ability to capture notes on my Mac, iPhone, iPad, or employer's Windows platform, and have access to those notes from any of the same platforms.

I have Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac, but I'm trying to wean myself off of it in favor of Apple's iWork 11.

I even went out and bought an Apple TV to stream content from iTunes or the Internet.

I have no regrets. I pay a slight premium for Apple's closed ecosystem, but honestly the stuff just works. I no longer spend hours tinkering or reinstalling software or drivers. I can't believe how much time I used to "donate" having to mess with Windows-related stuff. No more.

I'm not coming back, Microsoft.

Review of OmniFocus

After asking a few people, hearing what other people are using for task/list management, and doing some research... I jumped in and started using OmniFocus on both my Mac and iPhone.

Conversion was a bit of a challenge. I had a flat list in Excel with a simple Name, Due Date, and Category. The import tools on OmniFocus are weak. I had to download a free-for-14-days copy of OmniOutliner, import from Excel into OmniOutliner, and then from OmniOutliner into OmniFocus. I got it done but the OmniFocus product could be improved here.

Tasks can be categorized in Projects with multiple sublevels. Works great for me. One quirk I noticed is that I cannot reassign a task to a new Project while in the Project "view". I must first switch to a Context view. I was almost prepared to give up on the OmniFocus product over there until I Google'd and learned I could move a task between Projects using the Context view.

Sync between the database on the Mac and database on the iPhone is seamless over MobileMe. I make changes on either device, changes are pushed up to the MobileMe cloud, and then pulled down to OmniFocus on the other platform when I open the software. No problems.

I wouldn't want to do a lot of data entry on the iPhone, but it's simple to enter a partial task in the Inbox and then worry about assigning to a Project/folder and a date later.

On the iPhone I like the simple interface showing me the multple Views from the home screen of the app. Projects, Contexts, Due Soon, Overdue, and Flagged tasks are quickly available.

Typical nice integration on the Mac where everything is searchable within OmniFocus or within Spotlight.

Not the cheapest solution out there, but if you want a multi-category, multi-folder solution that synchronizes across your Mac and iPhone then OmniFocus may be the solution for you.

Vista. On target to join Microsoft Bob and Microsoft ME

Per my original posting here, I never did have faith in Vista. Too much new code in a OS, and too many of the nifty, promised features were never delivered. Apple's approach of evolutionary (rather than revolutionary) is something I hope Microsoft will mimic going forward...

First Look: Windows 7 is a big bug fix for Vista

Script to update EXIF data in iPhoto '08

I shoot some photos with a digital Nikon D50, and some with a Leica M3 (35mm film). The pictures from the digital Nikon are encoded with plenty of detail in the EXIF tags, but the digitized images from the Leica and the 35mm film have only a few tags from the scanner.

I wanted a script that would update the desired EXIF tags direct in iPhoto. I looked around on the Internet at other scripts, and wrote a simple script to update a few EXIF tags on selected images in iPhoto.

I won't go into a full set of instructions here, but in summary these are simplified directions:

1. Download and install the EXIFTool, which is a platform-independent Perl library.
   
2. Enable GUI Scripting for AppleScript. In Finder, navigate to Applications -> AppleScript -> AppleScript Utility.
   
3. Start Script Editor. In Finder, navigate to Application -> AppleScript -> Script Editor. Copy the code below into Script Editor, compile it to verify no errors, edit as desired for your camera make and model (or other EXIF tags), and save for future use.
   

-- original script written by Peter Samson
global iPhotoVersion, selectedPhotos
tell application "iPhoto" to set iPhotoVersion to (character 1 of (version as text)) as integer -- get iPhoto version
if iPhotoVersion < 7 then
error "This script requires iPhoto '08 (version 7.x) or later."
else
tell application "iPhoto"
set photoList to selection
set selectedPhotos to (count photoList)
if class of item 1 of photoList is album or selectedPhotos < 1 then
error "You must select one or more photos. This script will intentionally not process an album."
else
repeat with i from 1 to selectedPhotos
set this_photo to item i of photoList
tell this_photo
set image_file to the image path
end tell
set output to do shell script "exiftool -Make='Leica' -Model='M3' " & "'" & image_file & "'"
end repeat
end if
end tell
end if

The script looks ugly here but don't worry - it will be formatted and pretty when you compile it in Script Editor.

The script above will set two EXIF tags - set the Make to Leica and set the Model to M3. There are numerous EXIF tags available for use.

Now, using the script. Keep the script open in Script Editor. Open iPhoto '08 and select/highlight ONLY ONE(!) image as a test. The script is designed to alter the EXIF tag(s) for the image(s) that are selected in iPhoto. Go back to Script Editor and run the script - it should update the EXIF tag(s) for the selected image in iPhoto. Go back to iPhoto and look at the EXIF tag(s) for the selected image. Done!

WALL-E and Mac envy?

First, Pixar's WALL-E is a great movie for all ages.

Second, there are easter eggs throughout the film.

It got me thinking. Is it really a larger shot at Microsoft? Is EVE representative of Apple, and WALL-E representative of Microsoft? EVE is sleek and sumptuous. WALL-E is a relic and limited in function. WALL-E covets EVE and eventually isn't shy about it.

Walt Mossberg's tips for switching from Windows to Mac

Walt Mossberg writes the Personal Technology column for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and he has a great article on Tips for switching from Windows to Mac.

The article discusses items such as Menu Bar, Dock, System Preferences, keyboard shortcuts, and so on.

Convert your videos to your iPod

Use this free software from iSquint.org

Display the expanded Print dialog by default

Shamelessly copied from MacLife...

1. From Applications, start a new Terminal window.
   
2. In one line/command, enter this: defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool TRUE
   

To reverse, enter the same command but with FALSE

Spotlight can do more than search

I got this from an Apple podcast...

Open Spotlight (magnifying glass in the top right corner).
Type in 52*7, and you'll see Spotlight function as a calculator.
Type in Canuck, and you'll see Spotlight function as a dictionary.

Being able to tab through all fields

You may find that you cannot tab to a drop-down list box (e.g. a list of States) when entering data in a form. Use System Preferences to change this behavior:

1. Open System Preferences.
   
2. Click on Keyboard and Mouse.
   
3. Click on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
   
4. At the bottom, click on the radio button representing All Controls.
   
5. Close System Preferences.
   

Memory consumption

I bought my Macbook Pro with 2Gb of memory (RAM). I recently upgraded to 3Gb and it's made a substantial difference since I frequently use Parallels to run Windows XP on a virtual machine. If you're looking at a new Mac and will use Parallels, consider having 4Gb of memory.

Memory from www.crucial.com is working fine for me, and the price was substantially cheaper than memory from Apple.

"Find Out How" website from Apple

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx

Maintidget

Maintidget is a useful addition to your Dashboard. Use this widget to run the daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance scripts for Max OS X.

I upgraded to Leopard

I upgraded to OS 10.5 (Leopard) last night. No serious problems, easy upgrade process, and my Macbook Pro laptop definitely seems faster using the new operating system. My observations:

• Before the upgrade, I moved off some data files to ensure I had sufficient disk space. I took all software patches from the various vendors (Apple, Microsoft for Office on my Mac, Parallels, AdiumX, and so on). I also did a backup of my data files.
  
• I have not installed any unusual software on this Mac laptop. Unknown if that made my upgrade be fast and successful.
  
• I rebooted just prior to the upgrade to ensure most applications were stopped.
  
• Total time to upgrade was approximately 90 minutes.
  
• Seems to be a tad higher on memory consumption. Nothing drastic, but now I'm thinking I'd like to increase from 2Gb to 3Gb of memory for when I have everything running (including Parallels).
  
• As of this morning I only have a slight problem with the third-party chat/IM client AdiumX - it connects to Google and Yahoo, but not to MSN.
  

Leopard spanks Vista

So says this ComputerWorld article.

As for me, I bought OS 10.5 (Leopard) but will likely not upgrade until the end of November (read: I rely on my single Mac and will wait for the 10.5.1 set of any fixes to appear)...

Parallels with OS 10.5

If you're using Parallels for your Windows VM, ensure you're on the latest version and patch of Parallels. See this support article.

The Threatened Monopolist

ComputerWorld article on Microsoft throwing its WSUS customers under the bus.

What happened to Configuration Management, ITIL-compatible processes, and so on? Give me Mac on the desktop and Linux on the server...

AdiumX for chat/IM

I've been using the consolidated chat/IM client AdiumX for two months now and am incredibly happy with it. Tabbed chat windows, works with Google, MSN, and Yahoo, and so on.

Tidbit. AdiumX does not automatically show you as Away if you're away from your Mac for an extended period of time. You may change this in Preferences.

Price of Leopard

Apple quotes the new OS at $129, but Amazon.com quotes the new OS at $109. You might shop around if you don't immediately need the new OS.

Getting ready for the leap to Leopard

ComputerWorld article...

Spoof IE in Safari

I stole this tip from the September, 2007 issue of MacLife magazine. It allows you to make a website think your Safari web browser is Internet Explorer (IE) version 6.

1. If running, close your Safari web browser.
   
2. Launch a Terminal window (Application/Utilities/Terminal).
   
3. Enter this command defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1 and then press Return. This will enable the Debug menu in Safari.
   
4. Close the Terminal window.
   
5. Start your Safari web browser. You should see the additional Debug menu.
   
6. Navigate to Debug -> User Agent and select Windows MSIE 6.0.
   
7. Now, try using Safari with the Microsoft-centric website!
   

This approach may not work if the website has any ActiveX controls or similar, but it's worth a try. It worked reasonably well for me on the Quick Arrow website.

NOTE: You'll need to change the User Agent to Windows MSIE 6.0 each time you start Safari!

Best Mac software?

bestmacsoftware.org

Nifty screen saver based on iTunes artwork

If you use iTunes on your Mac...

Navigate to System Preferences, click on Desktop & Screen Saver, click on the Screen Saver tab, and select the iTunes Artwork screen saver.

Right-click in Parallels

By default the Mac mouse is not setup to do right-clicks. To change this, open System Preferences and then click on Keyboard & Mouse. Enable the Secondary Button (right side of the mouse).

I sometimes find that right-click does not work in Parallels. If you encounter this problem too, hold down CTRL+SHIFT and left-click. This will emulate a right-click event.

Alternatives for Project and Visio

Visit the Omni Group and their OmniPlan and OmniGraffle products.

Unknown if the products are comparable to Project or Visio, if one can save to formats compatible with Project or Visio, etc.