Geek

I was going to put my thoughts on Snow Leopard, the latest version of the OS X operating system from Apple for the Mac, on my geek blog. It was then that I realised that I had blown up that blog when I was moving servers a month or so ago. Instead of taking time to rebuild that blog before writing my experiences with Snow Leopard, I thought I would just include it here on my personal blog, since I have a lot of Mac users that read along. I also thought it might interesting for those that visit via their Windows based computer. But then again, all this geek talk could be boring altogether, so I guess I’ll just jump right into it.

We have four Macs in The Manor that have the chops to be upgraded to Snow Leopard. This is due to the fact that Snow Leopard is for Intel-based Macs only. All Macs have been Intel based (basically using the same processors as their Windows-based counterparts) for the past three or four years. Two of the Macs use have G4 PowerPC processors, one straggler is older with a G3. These will have to stay on the older Tiger operating system. The Macs that I upgraded included my MacBook Pro (the last of the previous generation with a 2.5 gHz processor), Earl’s MacBook Pro (same generation as mine, but with a 2.4 gHz processor), the studio Mac Mini (the first generation of the Intel Mac Minis with a single core Solo processor) and Jamie’s MacBook (the latest incarnation of the Macbook, I am remiss in knowing what processor it has).

The installation process on all four machines was relatively painless. Both my and Earl’s MacBook Pro went flawlessly, completing in about 45 minutes. My Mac Mini was the same experience, though it took about an hour. The fly in the ointment was Jamie’s MacBook, which I find ironic since it’s the newest computer in the house. When I started the install on his computer it froze about 10 minutes in. I had to force the computer off and start over, luckily, no files had been overwritten or moved prior to this and I was able to boot into Leopard before starting over with the upgrade. On each of the machines software upgrade immediately downloaded and installed an additional upgrade. I don’t recall what this upgrade was but it went painlessly.

Once the upgrade was in place I was ready to rock and roll. My MacBook Pro is my primary machine and I do a lot of different things on it: I edited video, I manage all my photos, I do all of my online interacting and I manage my finances. None of my applications have complained about the upgrade, everything seems to be working fine. I have even been successful with using Skype, which I had read on Twitter folks were having an issue with. I don’t know why I am lucky in that regard.

The primary thing I look for when upgrading an operating system is improvements in the user experience. A quick glance at the screen of a Mac will not clue you in as to whether it has Leopard or Snow Leopard on it. Both look pretty much identical in that regard. One little improvement that I enjoyed was an animation of the wi-fi icon that tells me when my computer is looking for a signal. Speaking of which, that area is a _big_ improvement since the upgrade; my MacBook Pro now finds my home wireless network in about a second when I open the lid versus the five seconds it took under Leopard. That delay used to irk me because I did not experience the same delay under Windows Vista or Windows 7 on the same computer; I’m happy that Apple fixed that.

Other UI (user interface) improvements that I am enjoying include the improvements to stacks on the dock. The scrollbars are a much needed improvement and quick look works flawlessly.

One thing not included in Snow Leopard that I wish had been included was a little bit of “glass”. While I think Microsoft uses this a little too much in Windows Vista and Windows 7 with their Aero interface, I think that a little bit here are there adds a touch of class to the UI. While there are some cool visual effects on the dock with both Leopard and Snow Leopard and the file bar across the top has a glassy appearance (if you want it), I think if Apple had included a touch more glass in Snow Leopard users would have had something to look to assist with the the feeling that they upgraded their operating system. Granted, Apple has said all along that they were focusing on the mechanics of the operating system with this upgraded by making it leaner; I still think a little bit of something in the UI would have made people are little more excited about the upgrade.

My MacBook Pro and my Mac Mini both feel decidedly snappier with the upgrade. Things are purring along beautifully and with the exception of one glitch when the computer went into sleep mode (the screen got stuck in dim mode when I was typing this blog entry), everything has been working great.

Because of Apple’s rock bottom price of this upgrade ($29 for a single computer, $49 for a family pack, good for five computers), I recommend the upgrade to everyone that has a Mac with the specs for it. I believe the speed improvements and the interface tweaks are used to it.

I am a very happy geek tonight. I found Super Breakout from Atari for my iPhone. Atari games are the coolest.

So tomorrow is the big release of the latest version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Dubbed “Snow Leopard” (all versions of OS X have been dubbed with a ‘big cat’ name, whether used in public or not), this version focuses on speed performance and many changes “under the hood”. This has gotten me back in full blown Mac fanboy mode. To celebrate I resurrected a gifted PowerMac G4 that used to be called “Close ‘n Play”. It is now called “chaos”. I am typing my blog entry on this resurrected computer at the moment. It is working well.

Back in the early oughts I never thought I would be an Apple fanboy. As evidenced by this early blog post, my interest in all things Mac was definitely there, but my familiarity with Windows and developing interest in Linux was taking precedence back in the day. Today I’m all about the Mac, though I do have one PC in the house so that I keep my Windows skills in check for my job. It’s running Windows 7 (at the moment) and plays well with the network. While quite flashy and very functional, I have to admit I’d much rather do stuff on the Mac. I wish they’d give me one at work, but I’d rather settle for 100% of my salary first.

So tonight has been about being a geek, something that I find very comforting and relaxing. I can’t believe it’s the end of the work week already. It’s going to be a geek weekend for me (being on call and all), but I think that’s just what I need.

This is a tech-related post but I have to vent about something so I’m putting it on my regular blog instead of posting it on one of my tech blogs.

The other day I posted that I started using an iPhone app called “TrailGuru” in tandem with my cycling. The app promises all sorts of geeky wizardry to accompany my cycling regimen by allowing me to track how many feet I climbed, how fast I went, how many calories I burned and the like. It even allows me to map my route to share with the world. The screen looks something like this.

You will notice that in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 51 seconds I averaged 2.0 mph and traveled 2.38 mi. That’s riding _really_ slow.

Here’s the thing. Apple says that they give the premium computing experience to their users. They are the chicest of the chic, the finest of the fine and the shiniest of the shiny. This is why they have the power of approval on their app store; they don’t want anything installed on the iPhone that is going to compromise the iPhone experience. This fact has never been so prevalent than when Apple denied the addition of a Google Voice app, saying that it duplicated too much of what was already offered on the iPhone.

I guess I can get that, though I don’t really agree with it.

While TrailGuru promises the world through it’s application, it can’t really handle the iPhone very well. For two days in a row now the program has crashed whenever a text message is sent to my phone. The little pop-up comes up saying that I have a text message and then all is lost on TrailGuru. Everything but the timer comes to a halt, the battery drains and the phone gets really hot.

It’s a good thing this app is free.

There has been a small wave of iPhone abandonment in the tech world since the denial of Google Voice being added to the app store. I haven’t jumped on that bandwagon yet; for the most part I love my iPhone 3G dearly and I often find myself marveling at what I can do on this little technological wonder. However, I find it hypocritical of Apple to allow apps such as TrailGuru in all it’s crashing glory to be added to the app store fine and dandy when it can be crashed by something so obvious as a text message when they won’t allow better apps to be added because of a purported compromising of the Apple experience. That is kind of big brotherish.

In short, do I love my iPhone? Yes. Would I buy another one? No.

My favourite Office character was Scribble, but I must admit that the geek in me laughed out loud at this video.

Link to Beyond Binary (article and video about Office 2010 on ‘Beyond Binary’ by CNET’s Ina Fried).

Good marketing, Microsoft. 🙂

I feel mischievous.

Two days ago I was producing a video on my Linux box to prove that I could do it. Today I couldn’t live without my MacBook Pro.

It’s iPhone 3.0 day. While I’m not tripping over myself to go out and buy a new iPhone 3Gs, I have to admit that I do love my iPhone 3G and all things Mac and I am very excited by the pending update to the iPhone software. I guess once you go Mac you don’t go back.