Saturday’s Apple: Bringing Your Mac With You On Holiday?

I know that many of you will be bringing your Mac with you when you travel for work or holiday this summer. In fact I’m writing this from Stockholm where we are for a few weeks for a combined business and vacation trip.

So what Mac is best for traveling? Even though the MacBook Air is the smallest and lightest Mac I’d probably pick the MacBook. It’s small and you can carry an extra battery which may save you in situations when you don’t have access to regular power. But it’s also powerful enough to do almost anything you need it to do.

An iPod makes the perfect companion for your Mac and obviously you want a portable device on which you can enjoy your photos, watch video and photos, and enjoy some music. The perfect device is the iPod Touch. You can sync photos from iPhoto or Aperture on your Mac, and videos and music from iTunes. With storage capacity of 16 or 32GB there’s enough space for all your media.

Chances are if you travel you will do it by airplane. You want peace and quiet on the flight and great sound quality, right? Get the Bose QuietComfort 2 noise-reducing on-ear headphones and the noise from the plane melts away and you end up more relaxed when you get to the destination. There was a review in a recent issue of Shuffle.

One of the best things that Apple has ever manufactured is the Airport Express Wi-Fi base station. Not all hotels have Wi-Fi but they may have an Ethernet connection. The Airport Express is the perfect traveling-companion. Just plug it into your hotel room’s wired connection and you have yourself an instant wireless network.

Whenever you travel with expensive gear theft is obviously a real threat you have to consider. Whipping out your nice Mac and expensive mobile phone when you’re at a cafe or airport can lead to trouble if you’re not careful. When you can, lock your Mac up with something like the Targus Defcon Computer Cable Lock. At least then no one can easily walk away with the computer. But remember that the best security is to behave appropriately. Don’t expose yourself to situations where you or your equipment could be in jeopardy and you will be okay.

With all the photos, video and other media you’re going to produce during your travels, an external 2.5” hard disk is a must I think. LaCie is a dependable brand and their 160GB USB 2.0 rugged hard disk has plenty of space for your media. It is also padded with rubber so it should be able to take tough action.

Even though you regularly take backups to the external hard drive, also consider online backup. Mozy offers unlimited online backup space for $4.95 per month. With clients for Windows and Mac, whenever you connect to the Internet the Mozy application will transparently copy data to the online account in the background.

And of course to protect all of this gear you need a bag. Since you also want it to be stylish Crumpler is a good choice. They make durable and good looking bags which protect your computer and more. If you want something that looks a bit less like a computer bag look at the bags made by Knomo.

So there you have it, a few suggestions for your travels with your Mac this summer. Whether it’s for business or for pleasure the Mac is a very useful and pleasant traveling companion. So make sure you protect it and your data as best you can. But above all enjoy your trips, let them reinvigorate your body, mind, and spirit so you can take on the coming challenges with renewed enthusiasm.

Saturday’s Apple: Experience From Using a Windows PC

Recently I had the dubious pleasure of using a Windows Vista PC for a while. Over a few days during our holidays I had to use shiny new HP Pavilion notebook to get on the internet as it was the only computer that could get online where we were staying at the time. This was because the Wi-Fi network was closed and there was no way we could get on it with our Macs. Anyway, you know the typical PC notebook, right? It’s full of ports, stickers, lights, and all kinds of things that I guess are meant to make buyers be impressed by it. Me, I just think it makes it look cluttered and cheap. But I digress, I’m certainly not the typical PC notebook buyer.

So this HP notebook is on spec pretty impressive. AMD processor running at over 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 17″ widescreen glossy display, Windows Vista Business, etc. It should run really fast, you would think, right? Well, yes you would think so but this HP was slow as trying to walk through mud. And I’m not 100% sure that there wasn’t something seriously wrong with it but I suspect it was just the usual Windows plagu: to avoid getting viruses and spyware you have to run software that is supposed to protect you and very often that software is worse than what it’s supposed to cure you against.

This HP was running the full Norton suite, it had another personl security software suite on it, and a few other bits and pieces. And I can tell you that even the slowest Mac that Apple makes today runs rings around this Windows notebook and it’s probably not because of hardware, it’s more likely the software.

But it’s more than the software, the exterior design is also very different from what Apple usually comes up with. You know how typical PCs look like, full of details, ports, buttons, stickers, etc. This one out-ports any Mac allright but it also looks very ugly. It’s like they try to cram every little bit of functionality into the computer without thinking about what it looks like. You know this but look at an Apple notebook and you will see what I’m talking about.

This brief experience for me highlighted a basic difference between Apple and most other computer manufacturers, and it’s a difference that is hard to understand unless you’ve used computers from both sides quite extensively I think. It also reinforces my belief in trying to tell people about Apple and Macs because they should know about the difference because they deserve better than most of them are getting right now. At least everyone deserves to know about what Apple offers so they can make an informed decision. Let’s go forth and save the world!

Saturday’s Apple: The iPhone Mess Continues

Last week I wrote about WWDC and the expected announcement by Steve Jobs of a new iPhone. And indeed we did see a new iPhone, one with 3G and GPS, but otherwise pretty much the same. The iPhone 2.0 software was also announced and it will be available within about a month and a comment today on the site says that the AppStore will be also be available in the UAE which is reassuring. Perhaps that opens up the possibilities of an iTunes store for music, TV, and movies as well, and iPhone in the future.

But of course we were all disappointed that the UAE was not included in the 70 something countries - 78 I think by last count - that Apple listed as having within the year. That was a serious blow to many, I think. I was one of them, looking forward to an official launch in the UAE.

And especially now that other countries in the Middle East are getting iPhone, including Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar. Why is it that the Emirates is treated differently? I don’t think anyone can say for sure but again in the papers the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, said they would not allow any exclusive deal between an operator and Apple. The thing is that in Italy and India Apple already are working with more than one operator for launches later this year, so why not here? Perhaps Etisalat and Du cannot agree to let the other side carry iPhone as well, but wouldn’t that just result in them shooting themselves in the foot since they lose out on revenue? And if Apple elsewhere agrees on non-exclusive agreements why wouldn’t they do it here, and in doing so satisfy the TRA?

Obviously the questions far outnumber the answers and will so do for quite some time, I fear. Some recent rumors say that the UAE may get iPhone in 2009, or perhaps later. Some people in positions that should know something more than the rest of us still say that the iPhone will never be sold here. But now the iPhone is moving into countries where Apple IMC ME operates so I assume they’ll have to start selling and servicing it. That’s a change and it seems more certain that it will be here sooner or later.

So those who want iPhone 3G in the UAE can only resort to buying their phones from elsewhere and unlock (hack) them, just as they had to do a year ago. Or is it the same this time? News from US seem to say that it will not be the same thing all over again. Before customers could walk into an Apple store, buy the iPhones and walk out. Later they could unlock them or activate them the correct way online via iTunes. Now people will have to walk into a store and before they leave, when they make the iPhone purchase, activate for a two-year agreement in the store. There’s no walking out and activate later now. Although it’s not quite clear still exactly what the options are, but it seems that customers can cancel iPhone contracts but they then pay a penalty and records are kept so they can’t do this too many times, or they are refused to buy more iPhones.

What does this mean for the flourishing iPhone market in the UAE then? My guess is that the current iPhones will be continue to be sold for quite some time, and that sooner or later the 3G version will make it here, possibly at a very high premium. But I think it’s sad, so sad, that customers in the UAE and beyond who are more than willing to part with their money for an iPhone will not get the chance to do so, at least not an official one. And for those who manages to get one anyway there’ll be no service and support for the foreseeable future. This is not good for customers and it also doesn’t see good for Apple IMC ME, Apple Inc., Etisalat, Du, and the other players. But it’s happening and we can only wait and see how it plays out.

Saturday’s Apple: The Mac Faithful Gathering Again

So here we are again on the brink of another big Apple event. In a few days time Steve Jobs again takes to the stage at WWDC 2008 to woo the audience with his “reality distortion field”, if you believe in such a thing. It seems at least twice per year we’re in a similar situation where the rumors go crazy and reach almost fever-pitch the days before the event, Jobs goes on stage and we might get a “one more thing…” and some new products, some more awesome than others.

This is something that the non-Apple-annointed cannot understand. If you’re a switcher, or you’re just not into Apple as a culture, then this probably just seems strange to you. A bunch of people gathering around their computers to follow a speech on the other side of the world by continuously refreshing their web browser windows or eagerly following IRC chats, “that’s nuts” you would say.

And truth be told, it might be nuts. But I’ve been following Apple events for many years, actually from well before most of us had Internet. Back then all we could do was get messages from friends who attended via phone or some kind of electronic messaging, or just read it in papers and magazines - imagine that!

But it’s a social gathering of like-minded people who when they get together can be really excited about the same thing. They can cheer about the cool products, be amazed at Steve Jobs’ performance, and just feel good about being together. It is truly a special experience and I hope as many of you as possible join us June 9th so we can all “ooh” and “aaw” together at what Stevie comes up with.

So what do you think of the rumors and what do you think will be introduced or launched at WWDC? At this point it would be foolish to deny that an updated iPhone is coming, and that it’s 3G is all but certain, but what else? Some recent rumors are saying that there is nothing more than 3G that is new to the iPhone, other than the software of course which we’ve known about for some months now. Is there a larger and smaller iPhone coming? Perhaps they’re setting iPhone up as the Mac lineup with choices for pros as well as consumers? An iPhone, and iPhone Pro, perhaps? If so, what would be in iPhone Pro? Larger screen, handwriting recognition, note taking software (a la Microsoft OneNote)?, etc. Well, one thing we know for sure, that many of us will be glued to our Macs on the 9th to see what Steve Jobs does talk about. Oh, and “one more thing”…

Why Not Mac?

Greg Hunt, Columnist for 7Days, talks to Shuffle about Apple, Mac, and his choice of personal computer.
by Magnus Nystedt

Q: Thanks for talking to Shuffle. Can you tell us something about yourself? Your background and what you do?
A: My name is Greg Hunt, and I’m a journalist and author. I write a column for “7 Days”, comes out on Fridays. It is a somewhat iconoclastic look at business and all that encompasses. My first book, They Saddle Dogs was published by Jerboa in April 2007. I was lucky enough to make the bestseller list and it continues to sell well. I have now launched it in Asia and I have an agent looking at the USA and my publisher’s are hoping to launch it in Europe. Anyone interested in travel, the Middle East, Father/son relationships, euthanasia or the occasional bad cheese sandwich might be interested in the book. I am working on my second book and its my first attempt at fiction. Also based in the Middle East it is, hopefully, a thriller. It took me a long time to find what I want to do with the rest of my life but I have found it in writing books.

Q: What kind of computer equipment do you regularly use and what do you do with it?
A: I cut my teeth on the Spectrum ZX and have always used a PC. Because of being in the media I have been exposed to Macs and sadly I have never taken to them. I think when you can write MS DOS from version 1.0 and you’re not exposed to Macs at an early age, it’s tough to feel comfortable. I have two young children, so don’t have the time to devote to learning a whole new way of life and I mean that. I spend anywhere between six to sixteen hours a day on my PC depending on how the words are flowing. I manage my life from cyberspace too.

Q: What was the last Mac you spent some quality time with? What model and what version of the OS did it run?
A: Now you’re asking. I guess it was the Power G3 back in ‘98, when I launched my first magazine called MONEYworks. I hired my first Mac operator at that time - Zac, who is still with the company and an outstanding geek when it comes to Macs. He knows shortcuts that need eleven fingers - and he can pull them off. He recognizes fonts, in fact, I think he reads about them at night, if you know what I mean.

Q: Some of us read recently one of your columns in which you said you were switching to Linux from Windows. In it you said that, ”I have never been able to get comfortable with Apple”. Could you explain that a bit further?
A: I think that comes from what I said earlier about growing up on PCs and not being exposed to Macs in England very much. My niece was, until recently, in charge of a division of Apple’s events and I could have got a family discount. But it was not to be.

Q: In the same column you said that Linux is the “only real alternative” to Windows. What did you mean by that, and why is Mac not an alternative?
A: Linux, for all its robustness, is more like Windows and an easier transition. Some of the builds coming out now are really very impressive. With all the dis-service I’ve had from Microsoft this is heartwarming. Bill Gates has forgotten where he came from and what made him one of the richest people in the world. He can cure the world of Malaria with donations, but he has betrayed generations of people who supported him - that’s a shame and I’m sure he doesn’t see it that way.

Q: You mention in the column that you now run a lot of open source software, like Firefox, Thunderbird, and Abiword. These applications are available for Mac OS X. Does knowing that these, and many other, open source applications, are available on Mac OS X change your mind in any way about perhaps looking at a Mac?
A: Nice try but I’ve explained that already. It’s a big change for me to migrate to open source, but I feel very strongly about it. I’ve since dropped Abiword for the Opensource Suite but I love Thunderbird, and for the way I work I believe it’s superior to anything Microsoft has. The browsers are a different story, and I’ve experimented with Safari and Firefox. I’d like something between the two, ideally. It burns me that Microsoft will only let me download updates and fixes on Explorer which, in my humble opinion, is the worst piece of software ever to come out of Microsoft. They should start that one again from scratch. I would say 90 per cent of the issues I have software-wise is because of this one bug-ridden, hashed together bunch of ones and zeros.

Q: Is there something you could think of that Apple could do that would change your mind and make a Mac more of an option for you?
A: Redesign its OS, keyboard and mouse to suit me - and make Bill Gates sell his Apple shares.

Q: If you had one piece of advice for Apple Inc., what would it be?
A: Don’t ever let Steve Jobs go again - what were you thinking?

Q: Finally, is there anything you would like to add to our readers in the Middle East?
As far as Apple and Macs are concerned I’m very happy at the company’s resurgence and wish I’d bought shares when Jobs came back - as I thought of doing at the time; but we all have twenty-twenty vision in hindsight. It’s good that there’s an option for those who don’t want Microsoft but can’t handle say, Linux just yet. However, like I said, the trickle of people like me migrating is slowly becoming a flood. Soon, it won’t matter what Microsoft do, the world will go Open Source in the same way that telephony will all go through he likes of Skype. We already have WiFi mobile phones operating in Hong Kong; Imagine that, calls to anywhere in the world, except the UAE and a few others, for virtually nothing. Surfing the web on an existing account and not having to pay through the nose for it.
My advice to your readers is this: find something you love to do and make it pay. It doesn’t have to pay a lot, just enough to live on. But, people who do what they love and do it well, through some very strange quirk of fate, seem to make good money and sleep well at the same time. That’s priceless. My favorite saying is this: “Life should be defined by its possibilities, not its limitations” - Good luck, we all need a little bit of that.

Adobe Tutorial: Deploying a Flash Video Movie to a Web Site

In this tutorial we’ll import a video clip into Flash, and publish it in a format so you can put it on a web site, including the player movie (SWF), Flash Video content (SWF or FLV), and HTML page. Most Web sites use JavaScript in the HTML document to detect whether the browser has the Flash Player (and the required version of it) installed. In addition to this Javascript, Flash CS3 now creates a separate Javascript file that the HTML file must use in order for the SWF to bypass protection controls in an Internet Explorer browser. Note – The following video formats are supported for importing embedded Flash videos if Quicktime 7 or above is installed on your Mac: .avi, .dv, .mpg, mpeg, .mov.

Brian is an Educational Technologist trying his best to learn as much Adobe software as possible.

by Brian Nielsen

Step 1
Set stage dimensions to the same dimensions you wish the movie to appear in your html web page. Click File menu > import > import video.

Step 2
Click radio button “On your computer” and navigate to location of video you wish to import to the Flash stage. Click Open button.

Step 3
When prompted to do so, select the first radio button “Progressive download from a web server”. Enter an Output filename for the movie to be imported.

Step 4
Select the color of the skinning you wish to use for the FLV player. Click finish button and you will be prompted to save the FLA file before encoding begins.

Step 5
Select File > Publish Settings. Select Flash (.swf) and HTML as the two formats to be published. Select to where you want to save your files.

Step 6
Five file objects will be created: a JavaScript file, an HTML file and a SWF file with your movie name, a FLV file, and a skinoverlay SWF file.

Step 7
The HTML can now be modified and styled in an editor program like Dreamweaver. You can also create a completely new HTML page and include the FLV movie by copying the SWF object embed code into the new HTML document.

Step 8
Javascript files are not always needed to embed SWF into HTML documents. However, the generated Javascript file and JS code within the published HTML should be used to bypass Internet Explorer protection.

Step 9
Finally to deploy, FTP the folder containing all your HTML, JavaScript file, FLV movie and SWF files to your web server.

Peel the Apple

Q: Is there any way where I can save the book I create in iPhoto as a PDF or something, so that I can send it as an email to people?
A: Yes, you can. As with any application in Mac OS X print your book to a PDF file, then take that file to the printer. Make sure that you check with the printer concerning the specifications of the book, so you know the format, colors, etc. that you want will be accepted. In the US and UK, customers can buy books online, straight from within iPhoto. That would be something we’d like to see Apple IMC ME implement as well.

Q: I just bought a Blackberry 8310, and it doesn’t come with any software for Mac. How can I sync it with my iMac?
A: Blackberry themselves don’t provide any software for Mac, which is a shame, but they do distribute PocketMac for free (http://www.pocketmac.net/products/pmblackberry/). PocketMac is pretty good; not bad at all for something that is free. But when I’ve used it I’ve had nothing but problems with it. Personally I prefer Missing Sync for Blackberry (http://www.missingsync.com/missingsync_blackberry.php). Even though it’s $40 compared to PocketMac’s $0, it’s well worth the money. The interface is better, it seems more reliable, and it can sync more different kinds of information.

Q: I forgot my password for the parental control lock on system preferences on my Mac OS X 10.5. I can’t find help on Apple support. I can’t download anything because it requires a password - a password I don’t have. Is there anything I can do? Please help me, please.
A: You should be able to fix this by restarting your Mac from the installation DVD (hold down the C-key when restarting) and running the Reset Password Utility from the Tools menu. Select your startup hard drive and select your account. Then type in your new password twice, and restart the Mac.

Q: I’m putting together a DVD with iDVD and I keep getting an error saying something like “total menu error exceeds 15 minutes”. What’s wrong and how do I fix it? I can’t seem to figure it out.
A: The problem is that you’ve placed too much audio or video content in the theme’s menu or drop zone. If it all together exceeds 15 minutes, you will get that error. You can fix this by opening up the inspector (View > Show Inspector), and adjusting the slide at the top of the inspector pane to be as short a possible. For example, if you drag a 20 minute movie clip into a drop zone, that will count against the time allowed. If you then adjust the slider to something like 20 seconds, you free up time, and should be able to get rid of the error message.

Q: I take a lot of video with my small Canon camera and they’re in AVI format. I know I could take them into iMovie, make a project, and then make them into Apple TV format because I want to watch them with my Apple TV. But that’s complicated and I just want something simpler, since I don’t want to edit. Is there a solution that’d be quicker?
A: I’d recommend something like VisualHub (http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/, $23.32). You just drop your AVI-files on its icon, select the Apple TV preset, and VisualHub will do the proper conversion and even add the movies to iTunes when it’s finished. As long a your iTunes and Apple TV are then set to stream or sync, you should be able to enjoy your movie on the Apple TV. It’s certainly not an ideal process but it should be simpler than going through iMovie.

Insert Video Into Powerpoint 2008

Most of us have sat through long and boring presentations using PowerPoint. They often look the same and are too full of text. Sometimes it would spice things up a bit if the presentation contained some video; and with PowerPoint 2008 it’s become easier than ever to put video in PowerPoint. So grab that digital camera you have (they can often shoot video), make some brief movie clips, and take your presentations to a new level.

by Magnus Nystedt

Step 1
Create a new slide and select the appropriate slide layout.

Step 2
Select Insert > Movie and select the video file you want to insert.

Step 3
Select “When clicked” or “Automatically” in the dialogue that is displayed. You can change this later if you need to.

Step 4
Resize and position the movie on the slide.

Step 5
Select the options in the Movie section of the Formatting Palette. Also look at the options in Quick Styles and Effects in the same window.

Step 6
When you save the PowerPoint file, make sure you run the Compatibility Checker. Also check the report it produces for suggestions about potential compatibility problems and what you can do to address them.

WriteRoom: Wonderfully Yummy Mac Software

“Distraction-free writing” is something it seems more and more people talk about. It basically means that modern operating systems offer too much menus, gadgets, widgets, docks, and other stuff sitting on the screen, and all that takes away attention from the task at hand- writing. So WriteRoom makes it very simple. It blanks the screen and shows your text, and only your text in the middle of the screen. In fact, writing in WriteRoom can look exactly like this page. I love this idea and use it all the time. Must of my writing takes place with WriteRoom. It’s just scrumptiously delicious to use. You can try WriteRoom for free (http://hogbaysoftware.com/products/writeroom) and if you wish to keep using it, it’s $24.95.

by Magnus Nystedt

Bento: the Personal Database

I’ve just got a copy of Bento a smaller version of FileMaker Pro with capabilities more aimed at personal use. I just had it for a little while, actually, I installed it today. By first impression it is a great little piece of software. If you need to do anything with database type of filing and at a reasonable price this is the perfect solution. For a heavy programmer this might not be flexible enough. But for a reasonable expectations and an intermediate needs from such type of software I would say it is one of the best. We would like to thank WinSoft (http://www.winsoft.eu) for providing a copy of Bento.

Key Features:

• Easy to use, no programming required.
• SQL capabilities.
• Integrates easily with iCal and Addressbook.
• Pre-loaded formats for differing needs.
• Customizable to a certain extent (but more than basics).
• Capability of creating your own structure that fits your specific needs.
• Around AED443 for a family pack of five.
• Allows storage/attachment of other external files within individual records.

by Sarie

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