mac

Shortly after I bought a MacBook, I posted an (unpopular) article in which I vented about learning and using the new platform. I'd been a Windows guy for 20 years, and although I knew a transition to OS X would require effort, I didn't expect it to be quite so frustrating.

But I have since found a way forward with the machine. Rather than trying to jam it into my well-established workflow and have it replace my Windows laptop, I'm now trying to use it alongside my PC. It's also the only computer I travel with. And with a few tricks, I've found it to be a positive and productive experience.

Side by side on my computer keyboard (oh Lord...) At work, I like using the MacBook for instant messaging, Twitter, Skype, for researching and browsing, and for anything involving video. My old ThinkPad is slow, and offloading these apps from it during the day is a small help. I still use my PC for e-mail, since there's as yet no reasonable replacement for Outlook if you work at a company that runs Exchange servers, and for writing and taking notes, since my fingers know their way around a PC keyboard.

Although I'm using two computers, I use only one primary keyboard. Thanks to the old open-source app Synergy (and the Mac version called SyngergyKM), I can control the Mac from the keyboard that's connected to my ThinkPad. I have my MacBook on a stand to the right of my Thinkpad's external monitor (recommended: the Rain Design mStand), and when I drag the mouse off the right edge of the Windows screen, it appears on the MacBook. The keyboard then controls the Mac as well. Even better, copy and paste works between the machines (although, awkwardly, the keystrokes for copy and paste are different on a PC and Mac--I'm still learning to adapt to that). … Read more

Buried in an insightful Ars Technica article on digital music is this casual throwaway line, "At Princeton, Macs accounted for an astonishing 40 percent of all student computers in 2008."

Forty percent?!? That's amazing. In the general operating-system market, according to Net Applications, Apple commands nearly 10 percent of the personal-computer market, which shows great progress over its formerly anemic market share but which still is a distant second place to Microsoft's 88 percent share.

But that's today. The funny thing about students is that they eventually graduate. With graduation comes jobs, which provide discretionary income to buy more Macs. … Read more

If you use a Mac and a PC, we have some tips for making the combination smooth and in sync.

Microsoft launched a new ad this past weekend showing a delightful four-year-old girl using Windows Live Photo Gallery to upload, edit, and share pictures. At the end of the ad, she shows how "easy" it is to perform those basic functions and says, "I'm a PC and I am four and a half."

Once again, Microsoft is trying to show that there's a lighter side to its operation, which has taken a beating from Apple over the past few years. During Apple's "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" ad campaign, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company continually suggested the software giant is dull and that Vista can't compete on any level with Mac OS X.

Microsoft's public image declined as Apple gained control of the topic. The average consumer only heard one side of the story.

Microsoft was forced to fight back against Apple and it started its $300 million campaign by enlisting the help of Jerry Seinfeld. The Gates-Seinfeld spots didn't discuss the value of owning a Vista machine and said little about Microsoft itself. Instead, they used Seinfeld's image and humor to convey a message: "Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft and just like him, we're able to loosen up, poke fun at ourselves, and we want you to realize that although Apple has painted us in a certain light, we're nothing like that."

Those who follow the tech world, readers of this column, and others [like your editor, Don] believed those ads failed to capture, well, anything positive. They believed that Gates looked awkward on camera. The humor was lost on them, and because they didn't discuss Microsoft products, they saw them as a waste of money.

I couldn't disagree more.… Read more

In an interview with Computerworld UK, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had some interesting things to say about the enterprise and its desire to keep Windows XP instead of switching to Vista.

"If you deploy a 4- or 5-year-old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home," Ballmer told the publication.

Ballmer went on to say that it's incumbent upon the business world to make employees happy and comfortable and the best way to do that is to deploy Vista as soon as possible.

According to market research firm Forrester, Windows Vista can be found on less than 10 percent of all the computers companies in North America and Europe are running. Windows XP can be found on over 71 percent of enterprise computers. Ballmer wants that to change.

But his premise that an increasing number of people will be asking for Vista doesn't really make sense. According to research firm Net Applications, Windows XP still controls almost 64 percent of the worldwide consumer market. It's trailed by Vista and Mac OS X 10.5 with 27 percent market share and 5 percent market share, respectively.

Based on those figures, I'm not convinced that there are that many people walking into their supervisor's office wondering when Vista will be deployed at the office. In fact, it's far more likely that they would rather use something they know--XP.

But Ballmer's desire to get enterprises to switch to Vista has me wondering what's so bad about Windows XP. Is it really such an awful operating system that every company should switch?

No way.… Read more

A federal judge is letting Mac clone maker Psystar amend its legal defense against Apple.

Psystar was delivered a blow in November, when Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court in Northern California dismissed Psystar's antitrust claims against the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker. The antitrust suit was a response to a copyright and trademark infringement suit Apple filed in July against Psystar, whose OpenComputers are designed to run the Mac OS X operating system.

In its amended complaint, Psystar accuses Apple of copyright misuse, as well as unfair competition violations based on its alleged copyright misuse. … Read more

If your Mac laptop doesn't come with a built-in airport card, or if you want to add Wireless-N to your desktop, you now have more options.

Trendnet, maker of the cheap yet reliable Wireless-N access point, announced Thursday that it will implement Mac support for two of its Wireless-N USB adapters--the Trendnet TEW-624UB (version B1.1R) and the Trendnet TEW-644UB.

Mac support for these adapters comes in the form of a software utility and a driver that allow the devices to work with Mac OS X v10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). Though the retail packages of these … Read more

Apple reportedly is gearing up to offer location and multi-touch developer tools in its Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, according to a report in AppleInsider

The geolocation tools will take a page from the iPhone software development kit (SDK), by way of the CoreLocation framework, according to AppleInsider. The CoreLocation works inconjunction with the Mac's networking hardware, aiming to provide a GPS-like experience.

Apple's next generation OS will also provide developers with programing interfaces that are Cocoa-based, as a means to maximize the use of the multi-touch features within the MacBook and MacBook Pro … Read more

Apple is going to need a little more time to get its new 17-inch MacBook Pro out the door.

Last week Apple updated its order page for the new MacBook Pro unveiled at Macworld 2009 to reflect a shipping lead time of 7 to 10 days. But AppleInsider now reports that those who preordered the systems from Apple have been told not to expect their systems before February 19.

Apple didn't provide an exact explanation for the delay but told customers via e-mail that "wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than … Read more