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.

Dashboard Widget - Chuck Norris Facts

Chuck Norris. Humor is just a click away...

Chat or IM apps

The August, 2007 edition of Mac Life magazine has a review of several chat/IM applications: Adium X, meebo, and Spark.

I've been using the native clients for Microsoft Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, but Adium X looks promising! I like that Adium X offers tabbed chats (one window, with one tab per chat).

Optimize your Entourage database

I always found it beneficial to periodically compress my .PST files for Outlook on a Windows computer. The same is true for the Entourage database on the Mac.

Begin by stopping Entourage. Then in Finder, navigate to Applications -> Microsoft Office 2004 -> Office and click on the Database Utility. Once the utility starts, select the desired identity (typically Main Identity) and select Compact Database.

Entourage's Project Center

Entourage includes the hidden gem Project Center (not available on Outlook in a Windows environment). I'm using Project Center to correlate tasks, calendar entries, emails, files, etc. to individual projects.

Read the Beginner's Guide article.

Connecting Entourage to salesforce.com

My move to the Mac and (ultimately) to Entourage initially meant I could not integrate Entourage to the CRM application salesforce.com.

I have since found and installed the Maildrop application. Maildrop provides integration between Entourage and salesforce.com for email and Cases, but it does not provide synchronization between calendars.

Annoying problem with Parallels v3.0

See this discussion forum on the Parallels website.

I have Office 2004 for the Mac installed (on the Mac side of my world). I also have Excel installed on my Parallels/Windows virtual machine. What is happening is I click on a file with a .XLS extension (on the Mac side) and Parallels wants to start Excel on the Windows virtual machine.

My Mac is already ghetto

See the screen comparison (between old/recent and new) in this ComputerWorld article...

I upgraded to Parallels v3.0

I don't have an immediate need for v3.0, but it does provide better/compatible graphics support for some software.

Ensure you stop/quit your virtual machine before upgrading Parallels. A friend told me that having the virtual machine in a suspended state may result in some nasty side affects after one upgrades the core Parallels software.

Tidbit. Parallels v2.0 has build numbers in the 3xxx range, and Parallels v3.0 has build numbers in the 4xxx range. A tad misleading for the user.

Sharing files (or not) between Mac and Parallels/Windows

Parallels provides the option for you to share/access files between the Mac and the virtual Windows machine. I have the option disabled since I want a level of isolation between the two machines. I don't want a virus or rogue script to be able to destroy data files on both sides of the "fence".

How to force background maintenance tasks

See this Apple article on how to force background maintenance tasks.

In a nutshell, you might periodically run these three commands from a Terminal window:

1. sudo sh /etc/daily
   
2. sudo sh /etc/weekly
   
3. sudo sh /etc/monthly
   

Keeping your Mac secure

See this InformationWeek article on OS X and security.

I use Parallels to provide the virtual machine for Windows XP on my Mac laptop, and therefore I am also running an anti-virus program (McAfee) on the WinXP OS.

Mac vs Windows cost analysis

See this ComputerWorld article.

My experiences were similar. Go online and config/price a Macbook Pro laptop and a HP or Dell laptop with similar specs. You might be pleasantly surprised.

One fellow's thoughts on forthcoming OS

Read here. It's an interesting hypothesis that the forthcoming Leopard OS would natively run Windows applications (ie., no need for Parallels).

Next version of Parallels

The website TechCrunch has a review of the upcoming release (version 3.0) of Parallels.