Macbook Pro – Mac Blogs, Mac Prices, And Mac Reviews

Get ready QuickTime junkies — Apple is taking care of you. If you check Software Update, you’ll notice a new flavor of QuickTime is available today.

From Apple’s support document, here is what we can expect in this update.

Video:

• Improves single-pass H.264 encoding quality
• Increases the playback reliability of Motion JPEG media

Audio:

• Improves AAC encoding fidelity
• Audio tracks from MPEG video files now export consistently

Application Support:

• Improves compatibility with iChat and Photo Booth

You can download the new version right now via Software Update. Just note that you’ll have to Restart upon completion of installation, as QuickTime is a system component.

Do you have a need to capture screenshots for personal or work use? If so, you are in luck as the market for these tools is improving. In case you did not know, Apple provides default screenshot capturing within OS X (via command keys) and also provides an enhanced free tool (Grab). However, if you need more control than what Apple provides, you will want to read on and see what else is available to you.

We’ll be taking a look at three different screen capture tools. A longtime standard of mine has been Ambrosia’s Snapz Pro X. Another very popular tool is Plasq’s Skitch. And a short while ago, the folks at RealMac software released LittleSnapper, a new tool that takes a different approach to screenshot capturing.

Let’s take a look at what each tool provides…

Snapz Pro X – $69 (Ambrosia)

This is a very powerful tool, although the UI is a little dated. However, the rich functionality plus simple operation makes it a great choice, depending upon your needs. Of course, the price is very high at $69. However, when you compare the functionality to the price, Snapz Pro X is a great value.

Some of the key highlights for Snapz Pro X include:

• Capture screen, objects (menus, windows) and selection.
• Save your image to a variety of formats (PNG, BMP, etc.).
• Live preview what you are about to capture.
• Add watermarks to the image and change borders.
• Change the bit depth of the image from color to grayscale to black & white.
• Record movies of your clicks for screencasts with voiceovers using your Mac’s microphone.

On the downside, Snapz Pro X neither has any additional editing tools nor the ability to share images to services like Flickr or an FTP site.

Note: I had to use LittleSnapper to take a screen capture of the Snapz Pro X UI. I thought this was strange and thus appropriate to share (Snapz Pro X cannot capture its own UI).

LittleSnapper – $39 (Realmac Software)

LittleSnapper was released in late 2008 to a flurry of pretty positive reviews. The application has a ton of functionality and has a very modern UI. The price is more reasonable than Snapz Pro X, and the initial purchase guarantees free upgrades until version 2.0.

Here is a list of LittleSnapper’s key functionality:

• Capture complete web pages, or capture specific elements (via the HTML DOM).
• Capture screen, objects (menus, windows) and selection.
• Collect, tag and rate images. One of the unique features of LittleSnapper is its ability to organize all of your images, rather than leaving them loose in a folder.
• Edit your images via non-destructive tools. Yes, you can add information (text, arrows, blurring, etc.) without negatively impacting the image itself.
• Share your captured images with others via Flickr or via the QuickSnapper service (included with the product).

As I mentioned, LittleSnapper is very easy to use. It has a rich set of capturing tools for both the web and desktop. The file management features are exceptional, as you can group images by project or by rating. In fact, you can even create smart collections based upon specified criteria.

Compared to Snapz Pro X, this tool is much more modern. However, you can’t capture video/screencasts. Depending upon your needs, this might not be an issue.

Skitch (beta) – FREE (Plasq)

Skitch has been in public beta on the market for a little while now. The folks at Plasq have built a Mac screen capture tool that enables you to send the images to the web via their own service, Skitch.com.

My biggest beef with Skitch is that the UI is just completely non-standard. It’s meant to be fun, and you can argue that it is, although some of it just feels clumsy and busy.

Let’s take a look at Skitch’s core functionality:

• Capture screen, objects (menus, windows) and selection.
• Edit your images with text or drawing. Skitch automatically smoothes any drawing.
• Leverage existing iPhoto images and make edits.
• Share your captured images with others via email, Flickr, MobileMe or Skitch.com (included with the product).

Skitch is still in beta and it is unknown what the price will be once it officially launches. I know a lot of folks who swear by Skitch. However, given the user experience, I did not prefer it.

Conclusion

In researching the apps for this review, I came across many other tools that were either freeware, shareware or commercial. However, many appear to have become abandonware, having not been updated in over a year. So, I focused this review on current offerings.

For the money, I really have to say that LittleSnapper wins in this round-up of tools. When it comes to capturing, managing and sharing screenshots, LittleSnapper really takes the lead on all three fronts. Even though Skitch is free, it is also in beta and its UI is clumsy.

I will say that each company’s web site has excellent visual examples and video tutorials on how to use their respective products. Further, each company also has a downloadable trial, so that you can test the software for yourself before making a purchase.

They didn’t cry it from the mountain, but Apple this week did indeed update some hardware. Specifically, the 13-inch white MacBook, a holdover from previous models, now ships with the same NVIDIA GeForce 9400M of its bigger, aluminum unibody siblings. Not only that, but it also gets a processor bump up to the 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 1,066MHz frontside bus that’s found in the next model up, and a boost in the base ram up to 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 instead of just one.

Since Apple upgraded the optical drive to an 8x SuperDrive when they originally refreshed the line, the entry-level white MacBook now packs a lot more bang for your buck compared to older models, especially considering the unchanged, $999 price tag. It does still come standard with a 120GB hard drive, which is what you’ll see on a lot of netbooks if you don’t opt for SSD, but a DIY upgrade to a 320GB drive won’t set you back much more than $100, so it doesn’t detract much from the overall value.

Two things that remain in the white MacBook that people may be happy about are the FireWire 400 and Mini-DVI ports. Many users complained about the lack of FireWire in the new aluminum unibody line. The cable standard is useful in transfers that require a steady transfer speed, as from a video camera. Buyers wanting to updgrade from their existing plastic case MacBook will appreciate the use of Mini-DVI, as well, since they won’t have to pay $40 each for new display adapters.

Apple’s decision to upgrade the white MacBook may be related to the difficult selling market, representing a desire to offer consumers a better value proposition. It might also be that they actually listened to the excessive groaning at the launch of the new MacBooks and are trying to reach out to customers who weren’t thrilled about some of the changes. Either way, it’s a good move, and a good deal for those who were holding out for something more affordable.

AppTheater is a new site with an interesting concept — provide videos of iPhone/iPod touch applications allowing you to thoroughly preview before you buy. Hundreds of videos are already available, and the site has a respectably wide coverage of most popular App Store games.

The creators of the site provide a little more background about the idea for the site:

How many times have you bought an app on the App Store only to regret it? AppTheater is the premiere video sharing site devoted to iPhone and iPod Touch games. We’re here to promote games and save you money — preview games before you buy them.

How Does the Site Work?

In a very similar way to YouTube, you’re able to browse videos by application category, tag, or through a search facility. Clicking on “Channels” will show all the various categories of application — at present, almost all the videos featured are games, with very few (if any) in other categories such as finance, travel and sports.

This isn’t necessarily a problem, as games are certainly the most difficult apps to appreciate without a video demo — it’s fairly obvious from screenshots how a currency converter or weather application will function when purchased. Links to various apps are included from within the interface, taking you directly to the App Store.

The more you dig down into the site, the less populated and ‘busy’ it would appear to be, with only a few members in various categories. Hopefully this will change as popularity grows and additional applications and filmed and uploaded. As with any socially orientated site, as the user base increases it will have a great deal more value.

I’ll be interested to see how AppTheater expands, and whether it becomes a useful tool for researching iPhone/iPod touch apps before purchase.

Because Sometimes You Have to Wait A Long Time for Your Mark – No more long, boring stakeouts for you would-be assassins. This handy iPod mount for your sniper rifle will let you watch some YouTube, play a game, or check out the scores at the game you’re missing because you have to kill this guy.

Mac Menus For Multiple Monitors – I use my TV as a second display for watching movies, playing games, etc. Which means that not having menus on either one or the other display really cramps my style. Thanks to jkOnTheRun, I now have at least one option, even if it’s not ideal (that would be a top menu on each screen).

Microsoft to Tango With MobileMe – If you want to cut in on a competitor’s territory, the best place to strike is where they’re weakest. Apple knew Vista was disappointing, so they targeted the OS in their ad campaign. Microsoft may have learned that lesson, since they’re set to release a MobileMe competitor.

Seagate Drives Prone to a Slight Case of Not Working – Barracuda series drives that are used in some Apple computers are developing a nasty case of the fails. The good news is that the data can be saved on failed drives. The bad news is that an application which could warn you of imminent failure doesn’t run on Macs.

Apple Now Selling Used Products in China – Apple computers aren’t selling like hotcakes in China, which now represents a major market, even with the global economic turmoil going on right now. They’re probably hoping that offering used/refurb deals will net some more customers.

It may not have arrived at Macworld, as some thought possible, but it looks like we could yet see a quad-core iMac from Apple in 2009.

The rumors have gained renewed strength based on news from Intel regarding new, low power quad-core processors that they’ve just released. The new processors are designed for desktop use, in contrast with the existing low-power notebook chips, and as such would represent a departure for the iMac line, which typically uses mobile processors.

The new Core 2 Quad processors introduced by Intel are low power, but they still use far more energy than the existing Core 2 Duo mobile chips used in current models, and generate far more heat. Intel, however, clearly is thinking about the chips with the iMac or iMac competitors in mind, saying they’re designed for “sleek and cool desktops.” I can’t think of many other machines that fit that description, can you?

Of course, there’s a big difference between wishful thinking on Intel’s part and what Apple will actually do. Even if affordable, do quad-core iMacs make sense from Cupertino’s perspective? Basic logic would seem to suggest that the move from duo to quad-core processors would be a natural next step, but there’s the question of what it would mean for Apple’s clearly delineated product categories.

Quad-core iMacs would probably sap some entry-level power users away from the Mac Pro line of desktops, since, if Apple stays true to form, pricing levels will not change with hardware improvements. It is true that eventually the line will probably have to go that way, but Apple generally makes sure that their higher-end products stand enough apart from their more widely appealing computers that corporate buyers for media professionals know where they have to put their money.

As evidence that the quad-core iMacs could indeed be based on these new chips, AppleInsider cites older rumors that suggested Apple was working on new cooling methods for their all-in-one desktop that could handle the excess heat generated by the more power-hungry chips.

Yesterday, I looked at QuickBooks 2009 for Mac and while the new version is an improvement in many areas, it does not replace the Windows version in all situations. In fact, there are a number of good reasons to continue to use the Windows version of QuickBooks despite your desire to switch completely over to the Mac. Here are the major reasons to stick with QuickBooks for Windows.

Multi-user QuickBooks

If you have multiple people in your company that need access to QuickBooks (maybe AR, AP, controller, CFO or CEO) then you have to use the Windows version. The Mac version simply does not support multiple users. Period. You could also consider using the online version of QuickBooks, as long as you can live with the limited feature set.

QuickBooks Premier

QuickBooks Premier is really five industry-specific flavors of QuickBooks: Contractor, Manufacturing & Wholesale, Nonprofit, Professional Services, and Retail. If you need the extra features to support these industries, then you will only find them on Windows. Some of the features are pretty compelling, so I would recommend you take a hard, long look at the product description before you pass on Premier.

Inventory Assemblies

The big example that gets trotted out whenever this discussion comes up is the additional inventory tracking options in QuickBooks Premier. Specifically, you can create and track “assemblies” in Premier that consist of other items that are assembled to make a product. The benefit of assemblies is that you can track the components and either combine them into assemblies or break them apart into individual items for sale as needed and QuickBooks will still keep an accurate count of all your inventory, and help you prepare the correct invoices for these items.

QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition

If you are a CPA or an accountant for hire that supports several firms, then you have to get the Windows version. Intuit has a special version of QuickBooks Premier Account Edition available just for you that allows you to easily work with multiple companies and prepare all the reports and statements that your clients may need.

Payroll

Do not be misled here. Intuit gives a blanket warning about payroll to people considering switching to the Mac version. The real truth is that you cannot use Intuit’s Payroll Service that is fully integrated with the Windows version of their software. You can use QuickBooks Payroll for Mac to accomplish the same thing. However, if you are committed to Intuit’s service, you will want to stick with the Windows version of QuickBooks.

Merchant Services

QuickBooks for Windows allows you to process credit cards directly in the application. This feature is not available in the Mac version. If you are using Intuit’s Merchant Account Services, then you will want to stick with the Windows version.

Online Bill Pay and Funds Transfer

Again, this is a feature that is built in to the Windows version that is not available directly inside the Mac version of QuickBooks. There are a number of other ways to pay bills online through your bank’s website or CheckFree, etc. You just need to decide how much you like Intuit’s service and if you want the convenience of accessing this service and scheduling payments from QuickBooks itself (admittedly, a great convenience).

So Now What?

You have looked over the list and you have found that you had better keep using QuickBooks for Windows. Do not despair! The options for running the Windows version have increased significantly over the last couple years and it is fairly simple to do this from your Mac. Tomorrow, I will start a two-part series explaining the different options to run QuickBooks for Windows on your Mac. I can promise that one of those options will meet your needs and you will be able to keep the best of both worlds.

I wrote earlier about Mac clones and where Apple may draw the line. A recent example I gave of the sheer bravado of the cloners was the story of EFI-X USA selling a dongle with PCs as pseudo-Mac clones. The company that supplies the dongle did not approve of this, and I mentioned in my article how EFI-X USA admitted as much.

Well, today comes a report that the company making the dongle (Arts Studios Entertainment Media) has officially severed ties with EFI-X USA as their North America distributor. According to the article: 

The whole situation was triggered when EFI-X USA LLC (unrelated to ASEM as a company) started peddling generic PCs with pre-installed OS X and the EFI-X dongle. This upset ASEM which sought to block the American shop from selling machines. A falling out of sorts ensued and, as of the 12th of January, ASEM has come forward and denounced the EFIX USA business model as breaching its NDA and terms & conditions.

Good for them. As they had shown before, they see a difference between selling an item for a one-off Mac installation on PCs, and wholesale distribution of what are essentially Mac clones. As explained in my post, Apple has little history of going after one-off “Hackintoshes,” but are not likely to stand around while anything resembling a ready-made Mac is being sold to the public at large. 

Keep in mind that the dongle in question is still available. ASEM has simply picked a more, shall we say, ethical, distributor: 

ASEM has appointed a new EFI-X partner in the US. It’s named Express HD, a newly-founded hardware etailer that’ll take over selling ASEM’s EFI-X UEFI dongle.

Lest there be any doubt this was a case of ASEM knowing the difference between enabling a thing, and selling it ready-made as a “Mac,” comments from ASEM’s CEO should make it clear: 

Not peddling hardware pre-installed with OS X and not pitching itself as a competitor to Apple is what sets the EFI-X apart from the likes of Psystar and other clone makers, says [ASEM CEO David] Rutigliano.

Exactly. 

Obviously, I don’t know what Apple’s future intentions are regarding the practice of bypassing the Mac OS X EULA and installing it on non-Apple hardware. Maybe at some point they’ll decide ASEM’s dongle makes it a little too easy, and try to shut it down as well. But I tend to think they won’t, certainly not anytime soon, and will continue to focus their efforts on the Psystars of the world.

A couple of days ago I installed Windows 7 beta (32-bit, Ultimate version) on my 13″ unibody MacBook, and I thought I’d recount my installation experience in case some of you are curious how the other half (OK, the other 95 percent) live.

Alas, this exercise afforded little opportunity to dazzle anyone with my technical acumen. I have no stories of incompatible hardware (even my five-year old HP printer is fine), no BSODs, no failed installations. Heck, I can’t even brag about hitting up Microsoft’s knowledge base and then going to the four corners of the Internet to download various drivers to make it all work. 

Make no mistake, I was still in the Windows world, and got a reminder of that pretty quickly, which I’ll explain shortly, but the bottom line is this was about as uneventful an installation of Windows as you could ask for. 
 Here’s how I installed: 

• Hit the MS web site and download the beta. It comes in the form of an ISO image file. As an aside, MS warns you that it may take “many hours” to download the file — it’s 2.44 GB. Ha! They laughed at me when I ponied up extra dollars each month for Cox Cable’s special premium high-speed connection. The fools! Who’s laughing now? Thirty-seven minutes for the download.
• In VMware 2.01 create a new virtual machine. My existing VM is Windows XP, which Windows 7 will not upgrade, but I didn’t want this beta software on the existing machine anyway. Hey, it’s beta folks, the beauty of VM is you can have a new “PC” whenever you want it. For the new machine I chose Windows 2008 Server as the “base.” I used the ISO file as the installation media. 

• I did not choose the Easy Install option. I suspected a scripted easy installation might not work until VMware has a bona-fide Windows 7 option. Since I was using Windows 2008 Server as a surrogate, I figured I’d just handle the install prompts myself. 

• Replied to the usual prompts, and the installation took off. It was done in under 40 minutes. 
• Installed the VMware Tools. 

That’s really it. After this was done I changed the desktop to 1280 x 800 and ran it full screen. Internet, sound, trackpad, graphics, all just worked. I didn’t even have to configure my printer, it was just there as my default. Smooth.

For those who didn’t know, Microsoft has unbundled the basic mail, chat, photo, etc. software from Windows 7. Therefore the installation is pretty spartan. So the first thing you should do is download the Windows Live Essential apps to fill that gap. I’ve been running these in beta on XP for quite a while, and they were taken out of beta status just a couple weeks ago. 

It was at this point I hit my first snag. I used VMware to share my Mac’s Pictures folder, and then pointed Windows Live Photo Gallery to that share. It created a couple picture thumbnails, and then froze. I could force quit the app, but every time I opend it it would try to process the share, and freeze. 

So I removed the share, thinking the app would balk at it being missing and I could just get rid of the reference. Nope, it still tried to handle the share and would freeze. Bummer. 

OK, I uninstall the app and re-install it. Sadly, it remembered the share and still froze. 

So I dug into the Registry to see if I could find where the string for this share was stored within the photo app so I could delete it manually. It was at this point I really remembered I was in WIndows. Put simply, the registry blows. Anyway, my searches turned up negative so I needed to take another tack. 

I re-established the share and decided to try using the brief delay between the app opening and when it tries to process the share to delete it via the app’s interface. I couldn’t quite right-click the share and hit Delete fast enough on the first two tries, but on the third I got it. Now all is well. 

While the registry serves as a Windows reminder, I don’t really blame anyone for this issue. Is it the VMware share? Is it Win 7? Is it the photo app? It doesn’t matter much since right now VMware does not claim support for Win 7, and I’m sure it’s not yet a tested config for Microsoft either. For what it’s worth, I’m using another VM share for a folder between the Mac and the VM machine in Windows Explorer with no problems, so it may be the photo app. 

The only other glitch I had was that after a few hours that first evening, I lost sound. I tried rebooting and a couple other things, but it was getting late and I resolved to tackle it the next day. However, the next day (yesterday) it was working again, and has been since. 

So what’s it been like in use? My short time so far with Win 7 has been positive. I do not have the Aero “see-through” windows or previews (the VM graphics do not support them), but even lacking those the interface is decent. Hovering over an app in the dock taskbar pops up the names of the windows (or tabs in IE), and overall response seems to be close to my XP SP3 VM. 

As I get more familiar with Win 7 in comparison with Mac OS X and Win XP I’ll likely post more bits and pieces of my experiences. For now, however, I’m off to a good start.

Interestingly, Apple has made the decision to no longer require a serial number for the retail copy of iWork. It doesn’t require any online activation, and — in the same fashion as iLife — would seem to have no piracy prevention as such.

Apple notes that:

iWork ‘09 retail boxes no longer come with a serial number. Install iWork ‘09 from the enclosed disc and you’re ready to go.

Obviously a serial is still required if you choose to download and activate the iWork trial via the Apple website.

Though retail versions of iWork ‘09 no longer come with serial numbers, you will need a serial number if you are using the iWork ‘09 trial version and decide to purchase the fully-functional version of iWork ‘09

Potential Reasons Why

There are a number of different reasons why Apple may have chosen to take this route. Firstly, it could simply be that the method of using a serial key is a fairly ineffective anti-piracy tool. Serials soon become widely available online, making it easy to steal the software without purchasing a license.

Secondly it could be that Apple is planning to take iWork down the same route as iLife, bundling the application as standard with a new Mac. This is a move I would have already expected Apple to make, as it’s a logical step towards generating widespread use of their software. When faced with a choice between iWork and Microsoft Office for Mac, consumers are likely to choose the option they are already familiar with. If iWork is bundled for free, however, it is a no-brainer to at least give the software a try before electing to purchase Office.

Why Does This Matter?

It may seem as though this change in policy is a fairly trivial concern, and one not likely to make any difference to you. However, this type of minor shift can tell a story about what is happening behind the scenes at Apple. In this case, they would seem to be accepting that anti-piracy isn’t worthwhile (if people see their software worth stealing, it must be a sign that it’s good!). This puts them in a very different camp to Microsoft, who has been inventing ever more elaborate methods of protecting Windows Vista and Office in recent years.

It will be interesting to see how long companies continue the cat and mouse game of copy protection before accepting that it is a phenomenon of the software world that they will struggle to battle against.

iWork Details

At present, purchasing iWork costs $79, and includes Keynote ‘09, Pages ‘09 and Numbers ‘09. I expect that the price will remain the same for a reasonable period on account of the new version just being released; it could be another year before any move to bundling it with a Mac is considered.