Leopard cometh, October 26th

Every time Apple announces the arrival of a new program or piece of hardware the Apple forums have double the posts (I actually just made that up, but it wouldn't suprise me). For good reason to. Apple produces innovative products at competitive prices.

Leopard is the big deal now. In ten days the OS I am running (10.4 Tiger) will be uncool, out of style, and somehow not as productive (mine as well get the new one eh?). $129 will get you a single license while a cool $199 will snag five.

The Advent of OS X Leopard 10.5 is heralded by the number 300. Apple boasts 300 new improvements of 10.4. These aren't just little patches like Windows users are used to either. Cool new interfaces and ideas are making their ways to our computers on October 26th.

According to the Countdown Timer, as I write this there are nine days, 23 hours, and 23 seconds till the release. Talk about hype!

There are some very interesting features in Leopard.

Finder can operate like coverflow in the iPod.

Quicklook allows you to preview any document, file, video, and many other types without opening an app.

Time Machine keeps your computer backed up automaticaly with an external HD.

iChat has some amazing background and sharing options. You can share anything on iChat that Quicklook can preview.

Spaces allows you to divide your monitor real estate more efficiently, reducing the need for multiple monitors or quadrupling productivity.

Boot Camp comes standard, all you need is your own version of Windows.

And Mail has cool email templates for the sentimental.

Check it out at Apple.com

A Mac Browser Better Than Firefox?

Firefox has come to be regarded as an standard web browser for both Mac and Windows users. For the most part it is safe, secure, and very functional.

But I learned something new today on my jaunt down to my local Apple store. There is a better browser than Firefox for Mac. It's called Camino.

Camino uses the same Gecko engine used by Firefox and looks very much the same. One big difference though. It's fast. Firefox is a memory hog, especially when you have a lot of tabs open. For some reason Camino hardly uses any memory compared to Firefox.

Sometimes in Firefox it would hang up if I tried to open a new tab and follow a link at the same time. Not so with Camino.

Camino also comes with some great features for those developers out there. You can save you session to return at another time. In the preferences section you can have Camino start with the same sites open when you quit. Of course it has normal spell checker. Integration with Keychain is an added bonus. Feed detection is standard so subscription is super easy.

Essentially Camino is Firefox optimized for Mac.

Maybe we can get some addons for it? It is open source.

I Bought a Mac, Why You Should Switch Also

This is one of those controversial posts that always gets Windows users blood running and the comments cooking off in the inbox. I would know. As of two weeks ago I would have been one of them. I would have marveled at how blind the Mac user was and think that they just need to learn how a computer works. I would ask myself who would buy a computer you can't upgrade, is expensive, looks weird (to some), and can't run the majority of software out there. What could possibly be dumber?

I could actually. All my marveling and wondering was for naught. I had never operated a Mac before. I didn't have a clue what I was thinking about. I felt I was superior in my choice of platform. I was proven dead wrong two weeks ago.

You can bluster all you want about how your PC runs great and you never have any problems but that is because you have not used a Mac. You just don't know what it is like to have no problems. You are not used to just having something work. When I had my Windows platform I was the same way (FYI: I have been a Windows user all my life, till now). I was used to troubleshooting my missing drivers, missing .dlls, cryptic error messages, random crashing, viruses, adware, constant maintenance, and consistent upgrades. I just considered it a challenge or even a necessary evil. After all, Macs were just not good enough for me, or so I thought.

When I used a Mac for the first time I expected to be introduced to an immature computer, a fancy looking expensive toy that couldn't really handle the stress of everyday work and play. Instead I got a smooth and fast load time into the OS, A very appealing fluidic display, and consistently fast load times for programs that more often then not exceeded the abilities of Windows applications.

Take Itunes for example. Any computer user can get it since it runs on Windows also. Look at the graphical user interface compared to Windows Media Player. It is simple when WMP is complex. The user in Itunes can access any music without wading through menus, a two year old could burn a CD, the main controls are in a central location with everything else, the player is well thought out. In WMP it took me 30 minutes to understand most of the features. I still don't know how to make the track slide out thingie in the Now Playing section come back.

Then there is the design of the Mac. Very few people that I have met think Macs look bad. At that, Apple products are all aesthetically pleasing to me. There seems to be a quality of design and a passion for not just user friendliness but also the cool look. A lot of Windows users scoff at this but I think it means Apple has not forgotten it's customers. Microsoft products are devoid of personality, cold, and business like. It seems to me that Microsoft is largely bureaucratic and has a hard time letting personality and creativity show. I am not saying Microsoft doesn't show creativity at all but it certainly could see a boost.

I just installed the Microsoft Zune on my Alienware M7700 to retrieve some music. What a nightmare. I do not exaggerate. I would never buy a Zune even for the low prices they are at now (low demand=low price). To use an IPod you connect it to your computer, load Itunes, and you should be ready to go. Simply drag the desired music into the IPod tab and the downloading initiates automatically. In the off chance that it needs an update it only takes a few moments to download and install the update. To get a Zune to connect to a computer you must first install new software for the Zune, Windows XP doesn't have the drivers,. The music player is confusing, awkward, and not at all intuitive. It took me 10 minutes to sync music to my PC. If you are unlucky enough to need a Zune update, prepare to spend an inordinate amount of time watching the update download, three minutes, transfer, one minute, install, two minutes, and apply, 30 seconds. It's ridiculous! I don't know why Microsoft doesn't make their products streamlined. I think the Zune is a great idea laden with too many features and gimmicks. To use a Zune you have to install separate music software. The Zune will not run off of WMP. WHY!?!?! Wouldn't it be so much easier if you just used WMP? I bought an IPod for it's ease of use and that is exactly what I got. There is a lot to be said about the simplicity of design in a Mac. The IPod needs competition to keep Apple innovative but Microsoft's attempt fell flat on it's face, as you can see here.

The Mac I bought was the Macbook. I think it's the best laptop for your money. My new Apple Macbook has a huge line of after market accessories that are easy to purchase at Amazon.com.

If you are interested in Mac products, go here for the real authority: Learn
About Mac. Free Trial Now..