Archive for 'apple' Category
2008.02.27
iMovie 08 Sucks
I used to use iMovie 06 from Apple to edit movies. Quick, easy to use, loads of awesome effects and transitions… I didn’t use the application often but I always had a good time with it.
Today I am trying to gather together various movie clips at work to make into a master DVD. My computer at work has iMovie 08 and I’ve been looking forward to using it to see where things are better. I expected it to maybe not be easier to use (iMovie 06 is already so simple!) but somehow… Better.
Wrong.
iMovie 08 SUCKS. I cannot figure it out. Where is the timeline? Why can’t I simply change the order of the clips? Where is the ability to export to iDVD? I cannot understand what Apple was thinking. I guess enough people complained so that they have release iMovie 06 as a free download if you already own iMovie 08. This doesn’t fix the problem, but at least it will let me get around it.
I recently bought Final Cut Express as I anticipate doing more video editing. I am extremely nervous they might have fracked that up by emulating their “success” with iMovie 08.
If you’re new to iMovie and have the 08 version on your machine, give yourself a treat and go download the 06 version. You’ll be ecstatic you did.
1 Comment | Catergorized: apple film grrr2008.01.22
Mosaic Screensaver in Mac OS 10.5
Unbeknownst to me, Mac OS 10.5* has a screensaver that builds mosaics from existing photos. It actually does quite a good job of it! It will require you to have plenty of pictures in you iPhoto library or some folder to build good images, though. You can see here where to set it in your screensaver preferences. Click the third icon and let the system build out the image database. My machine is old so the first image is slow to load, but once it starts it’s really quite mesmerizing.
My only gripe is that I’ve set mine to use only my “High Rated” photo album. It does for the image to be mosaicked, but it used every picture from my photo library to build the elemental pictures in the mosaic. If you have images you’d rather not share with the public this could be a nuisance. Otherwise, give it a go and be amazed.
Seeing this screensaver, though, made me wonder why iPhoto doesn’t have a built in method of creating mosaics. Obviously the software exists already. Maybe a future update of iPhoto? The US Patent Office has recently published a new mosaic related patent from Apple, so this must be in the pipeline.
In the meantime if you’re interested in creating your own personal mosaic images on your Mac I recommend MacOSaiX. It’s quite versatile and has some interesting features; not only can you use images on your computer for the mosaic tiles, but you can query to sites like Flickr and Google Images for source material. Pretty cool.
* Yes, I refuse to call it by its cat name…
No Comments | Catergorized: apple geek photos2007.10.22
iPhoto 08 Gripes
Old Family PoloroidI got iPhoto 08 a few weeks ago along with the rest of the iLife package. I was initially not impressed with the automatic splitting of my photo library into “events” because my collection is haphazard, non-contiguous and completely out of order by dates. It took a lot of wrangling to get its default breakdown into some semblance of order. I have to say I still don’t like the whole thing, though at least going forward it will be easier.
My main gripe now, though, is with the Smart Albums. Smart Albums are essentially live searches of your photos based on certain criteria. I use them primarily to synch specific photos to my iPod and iPhone since I don’t want to copy the entire library over. This past weekend I scanned some really old photos of my family and thought it would be great to have a Smart Album of just my highest rated pictures of my family.
All of my pictures are tagged with keywords with people’s names so you would think I could create a Smart Album with the criteria
Rating is greater than three stars AND
Keyword is Mom OR Dad OR Chris OR Heather OR (etc)
This is not the case, though. The Smart Album function cannot handle simple Boolean strings. I have the options of either matching all or any options. This limits me to all AND or all OR.
To me this seems rather retarded. How has Apple missed such a simple and potentially useful tool? Or do they have it and I’m just missing something? Hopefully they include this in future updates because it seems, to me anyways, that it shouldn’t be too difficult to implement.
4 Comments | Catergorized: apple grrr photos2007.08.10
iPhone Testing
One of the brilliant parts of my job is playing with new gadgets and toys when they become available. I’m playing with (and posting this article!) with an iPhone right now. While functionally limited it’s still a very nice gadget. I’ll post more another time, but for now I’m quite happy with it.
2 Comments | Catergorized: apple geek2007.07.11
Mac or PC
It’s one of the weirdest, long running gun battles in the computer world. Mac versus PC. And by PC we mean Microsoft Windows. There are many views of how it came about, why it continues, and no two agree.
What I love are people who can make fun of both sides equally, which is why when my Dad sent me this video I just had to share. The group responsible for this has a homepage where you can download this gem and play it on your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. The music and video production is so good, it just had to be made on a Mac, right?
No Comments | Catergorized: apple technology2007.02.05
Are Mac Users Snobs?
Mac users are definitely snobs, at least if you’re Charlie Brooker. I have to admit that the ads Apple is using are really irritating but I don’t get the snobbishness. I guess the ads in Britain are a bit different, though. I do love how Mr. Brooker keeps meaning “Windows” instead of “PCs”. It’s a simple slip up, but when it comes to it a Mac is a PC, too.
Still, I love the idea that I might be a snob (30% snob!); I’ve never been in a position where I could consider myself elitist. I mean, I consider myself better than the majority of humanity but no one believes me so it doesn’t count. Mac people aren’t really snobs, even if Bill Gates thinks Steve Jobs invented the world.
Mac people are just like anyone else really. They are serious sometimes, sarcastic at others, innovative and intelligent, and not afraid to poke fun at themselves while camping out overnight to hear the keynote at Macworld. Even Microsoft, that bastion of the PC, makes Mac software. It’s true Mac users don’t have the latest or coolest games on the market, but then again that’s what game consoles are for.
I think ultimately Macintosh users are no more snobs than anyone else. And in the case of Mr. Brooker, we’re only snobs because he’s so inferior that everyone else looks superior. And he hates that.
No Comments | Catergorized: apple geek2007.02.03
Independent Applications for Macintosh
A couple days ago I was cruising the web and came across mention of a software package called Sparkle. I’d heard of it before but didn’t know what it was. It turns out it’s a package that allows developers to include automatic updating to their software. Not something I can use. Then I saw all the applications that use Sparkle (scroll down their page) and hit Macintosh independent applications heaven.
Look at all those apps! From the freeware BombSquad (a minesweeper application) to full-on, commercial point of sale software Checkout. Even Scrivener, which I’ll be purchasing myself in the coming week, is listed here. Most of the software I’d never even heard of and I’m smiling thinking of how many apps there are out there flourishing for the Mac.
So if you get a chance check out some of the applications listed on the Sparkle page. Support independent Macintosh software!
No Comments | Catergorized: apple geek2007.01.16
Whither iLife 2007?
In all the hulabaloo surrounding Apple’s new iPhone it never occurred to me to inquire about updates to Apple’s other software products like iLife, iWork, and other professional applications like Final Cut Studio, Logic Pro and Shake.
Were announcements made that I completely missed? There wasn’t even any hooting and hollering about the next generation operating system, 10.5, codenamed Leopard. BTW, am I the only one irritated with the cats as codenames? I want the next one to be called Tabby or Siamese…
There are rumors that these products will be released with Leopard, possibly because they will rely on something within the OS to function properly. This would be disappointing for most Apple users who will not be able, willing, or ready to make the upgrade. Hopefully Apple will not leave all of us in the proverbial dust.
2 Comments | Catergorized: apple technology thoughts2006.11.21
Get Your Music on iTunes!
Being someone who makes music, you want people listen to what you have. Of course you could go play open stages and gigs in small venues that smell of stale beer, but for the solo jockeys out there another option is to work through TuneCore. They seem to have a decent business model that is musician friendly. Has anyone used their services?
No Comments | Catergorized: apple audio2006.10.12
The Apple iLon
I found this in my perusing of the interweb recently. As I’ve been on a big Battlestar Galactica kick recently I thought I’d share the Apple iLon. It’s my text (bolded), but I don’t know who the creator of the picture is…
The iLons were created by Apple. They thought different. They rebelled. They have many fans. And they have a plan.
