osx

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.5.6 to customers this afternoon.

The 10.5.6 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.

via Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.5.6 - Mac Rumors.

I have gotten Kubuntu installed and upgraded to KDE 4.1 and I am not sure what it is but the GUI seems like it is lacking consistency. I haven’t been able to put my finger on something concrete as of yet, however as I noticed when moving from XP to Vista, this upgrade from KDE 3.x to 4.x feels like a bit of a step backwards.

Some parts of it are completely visual. I think that this is partly to do with Kubuntu releasing KDE 4.x before they have had a chance to put a theme or skin on certain things (ie. Firefox). We’ll see how that pans out with future official releases of Kubuntu with KDE 4.x.

The rest of it has to do with things like the “start” menu (I don’t know if I will ever call it something else, I know… bad Marcus!) changes. Like with Vista it feels like there were changes; not to improve the functionality, but to change it. I am frustrated with things being changed just to change them. I have felt that Microsoft has done that often in the past simply to roll out a new version of software (as with Office suites when all you notice is new icons) simply to gain revenue.

To compare this to my first experience with KDE 4.x when it was still in beta and RCs would be a positive thing. When installing those versions I was usually greeted with usability problems of insurmountable proportions causing me to drop the idea within a day. Don’t get me wrong, I am still going to be using my Mac as my main computer as I still have no desire to move away from OSX. This is one of the first times that I will test and OS in this fashion. In the past I have usually switched my main computer over to the test OS, partially because it is a good test method and partially due to my tiredness of Windows. To continue this test I will be running the operating systems side by side and try to perform the same tasks on the Kubuntu machine after having done it in OSX.

I know that my initial reaction is not positive but I will try to remain unbiased and really look at the functionality of the interface.

I love finding new things… well things that are new to me anyway! I have an HTC Touch mobile phone with Rogers in Canada (I know… Rogers.. boo-hoo!) I like the phone but I have never really liked the way that any phone has synchronized with my computer. For some reason it always seems to be a hassle and a complicated process.

What is funny is that up until now I have always been syncing my mobile phones with Windows and using mostly the included sync software. Now with the HTC Touch I am faced with an entirely new problem, how to sync Windows Mobile devices when running OSX.

The people at MarkSpace have all the answers! I found a program there called The Missing Sync that is built to sync between otherwise incompatible platforms. I used the trial of The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile which allows me to easily backup my phone data to my Mac.

There are a ton of features included with software, some of which include:

• Connects with Windows Mobile devices via USB and Bluetooth
• Supports devices running Windows Mobile 2002/2003/5/6
• Syncs with Address Book, iCal, Entourage 2004 and others
• Syncs Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other files
• Downloads iPhoto albums and iTunes playlists
• Imports device-side photos and video
• Encodes QuickTime video for mobile playback
• Provides drag-and-drop install of .cab-formatted applications
• Displays phone call and SMS text message logs on the Mac
• Supports two Macs and any number of Windows Mobile devices
• Universal application provides the best performance

But what they don’t really say in that list is how easy it is to use. Pretty much every tool I have used in the past to sync my phones have been touch and go ant sync time. I was always scared that I was going to delete the data in my Outlook, on the phone or possibly corrupt both. You don’t get this feeling when using The Missing Sync.

Note that you also have other options other than Windows Mobile phones including The Missing Sync for iPhones and Blackberry. I encourage you to go check out their line of software if you are looking for a new synchronization solution.

Once in a while I am still amazed by something new for web browsing. Today it was a application sent to me from my buddy Jay. He is heavy into photography and digital editing so I can only imagine he found it through one of those avenues while searching around (feel free to correct me in a comment).

Piclens is an application that can be run with IE6 or 7, Firefox and on Windows XP, Vista or Mac OSX. They have made it an addon for Firefox and seeing as this is my browser of choice, that’s how I am using it under OSX. This is a very nice application. They have kept it simple in what it does but made sure that the features they created work very well. Their tag line is simply “Your favorite sites. Full-screen. 3D.”. When you load the application you get a full screen experience unlike anything we are used to. It organizes everything into thumbnails that are browsable by scrolling through side to side. When you want to view something you can double-click it. If it is a picture then it will blow it up full screen for best viewing and if video it will blow it up and start playing the content. The best way to get a real feel for how it integrates with your browser and then displays content is to go watch the demo here.

I was instantly hooked. After I installed the application I was drawn in by a feature called discover which allows you to browse content that they have organized into categories. For example, I wanted to look at some news items. Click on the button on the left for news and I was looking at thumbnails.

Would I recommend it? Yes, it’s good to entertain yourself. Google is still the place for me to go when I need to know something in particular but this will be good when I want to browse around.

Apple has just officially released OSX 10.5.3. If you open up the software updater you will now see it listed there. It looks to be about a 420 MB download, so rev up your high speed connections

Among the updates are some changes to Time Machine, Spaces, Parental Controls, Mail, iCal, iChat, Airport, Automator and Address Book. For a complete list of updates you can check Apple’s site here, or here for security updates.

Let’s get installing folks. I am curious to see what people think of the update and if you see any issues.

I have wanted to try OSX for such a long time now. I remember seeing the first versions at a friends house when it was still not cool among my PC geek buddies to use a Mac. I was still intrigued with the interface. I am not sure what it was at the time but it just looked polished.

I am in the IT field and need to use a PC at work simply because I am troubleshooting problems on them and writing scripts on them. It doesn’t leave me with much of a choice really, and it doesn’t bother me either. For work purposes I understand why corporations use Windows based machines and quite frankly they do their job very well.

That being said about work, at home I have always felt that something was lacking with my computer. I am always trying a different Linux distro or another Windows add-on to try something new. So when I first heard that Apple was going to release Intel based Mac’s, I was excited! Here is the first opportunity for me to get a system that was able to run both OSX and Windows. This is an exciting proposition. The problem with that is I already have many computers and they are all working. It is very hard to justify buying a new computer just to change OSs.

This lead me to wish that Apple would release OSX for the masses. I would definitely use it. Many people already are with hacked versions of the OS calling them Hackintosh’s or labeling the practice the “OSX86 project”. That means that there are some people out there wanting to try OSX but most likely financial reasons are holding them from buying a Mac.

Let’s look at this financially. Take the MacBook Pro from the Apple Store, which sells for $1999 and compare it to the Dell XPS which sells for $1049.99 on Bestbuy.com. The Dell has more memory, a larger hard drive and it also comes with an OS, Windows Vista. So when we are comparing apples to apples here (no pun intended :)) the Dell seems to win the battle. My conclusion to the money battle is that even if Apple charged $300 for OSX, it seems like you would be better off with the Dell. Or would you?

Apple has always been in complete control of their entire product. This is the OS on the hardware they are manufacturing. By only using certain components and in certain situations, Apple has managed to keep their product pretty sound. There are many arguments from Windows fans that OSX has many of the same shortcomings as Windows, but I feel that some of Windows shortcomings affect the day to day experience.

Apple has had the Mac vs. PC ad campaign for quite some time now and one of the ads that still catches my attention is the ad that pokes at the need for a major upgrade for you to run Windows Vista. It’s funny because Apple has stopped support for legacy hardware on a number of occations. There were many systems that were left behind when OSX first was released. Where as some people in the Windows community think that is a negative point and now even Apple has brought it up, I think that ties into the polish of the product.

Let’s look at this another way. Apple doesn’t release OSX because it is not in the OS business. Maybe people would disagree, but I feel that they have written an OS to put on their hardware so that the user is offered a complete solution which is sound due to control.

So would I run OSX on my PC? Only for the geek factor. Really what I want is a Mac and I think my next computer will be one.