Mac-Forums Blog

Weekly Roundup: April 1 – 7

vansmith — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:31:15 +0000

Here’s the weekly roundup of the more popular discussions around Mac-Forums for the week of April 1st. Blog Posts Clamshell Mode Performance Issues: A Myth? In this article, vansmith explores the myth that clamshell mode might hinder performance, only to discover that this likely isn’t the case. Forum Discussions Member of the Month: April 2013 This week, we concluded the voting for the April 2013 member of the month. This month’s winner, mrplow, is a two time winner. As always, we congratulate and thank him and all the other nominees …

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Clamshell Mode Performance Issues: A Myth?

vansmith — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:52:03 +0000

Background A while back, I remember hearing a theory floating around that running a Mac in clamshell mode forced OS X to throttle the processor to save on heat. There is a tiny bit of anecdotal evidence to support such a claim (here) which ultimately suggests that something about clamshell mode might be slowing down the performance of the machine. As someone who runs his machine in clamshell mode quite frequently (the compulsive neat freak in me loves that it saves me space on my desk), I decided to put this …

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iOS and The State of Innovation

vansmith — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:23:21 +0000

Quite a few people have been commenting on an ostensible lack of innovation on the part of Apple when it comes to iOS. Search the word “stale” in relation to iOS and you’ll find yourself with enough content for a leisurely Saturday afternoon. Is this critique warranted in light of the mobile landscape that iOS competes in? Preface and a Confession Before I begin this conversation, let me put this out there – I use iOS but I use multiple Android devices and I tend to prefer Google’s Linux based …

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The Mysterious File:/// Bug

vansmith — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:15:55 +0000

Recently, there has been a rather silent but important story floating around about an odd bug built into Cocoa (OS X’s application programming interface that, in part, includes the user interface elements of OS X including things like buttons and text boxes). Although not generating a lot of news, this is an interesting bug that’s worth exploring. Triggering the Bug The bug manifests itself simply by typing File:/// into any native Cocoa widget. Open up any application that uses Cocoa for its text boxes and enter that string. Press space …

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VEHO’s Muvi X-Lapse…thing.

Doug B — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:55:15 +0000

I’m going to get the really boring and technical stuff out of the way first, so that I have room for my personal thoughts and… stuff. What is the Muvi X-Lapse? “The MUVI™ X-Lapse is the must have accessory for every film maker who wants to add something different to their movie edits. The MUVI™ X-Lapse enables a film maker to take up to 360° degree sweeping time-lapse images that when edited together create an amazing movie effect. It has both male and female standard 1/4 -20 UNC tripod screw …

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Flash v. JavaScript: Is One Really Better Than The Other?

vansmith — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 03:15:38 +0000

Introduction A quick search of the forums will reveal a particular unabashed bias towards technologies that leverage anything but Adobe’s Flash. To a certain extent, this is justified but should non-Flash based solutions always be the right method of delivering content? To answer this question, I investigated the efficacy of both Flash and its most often articulated “competitor” JavaScript1 to see how well they work in different situations. The Tests Before outlining the tests used to explore each technology, it’s important to note that I do not seek to suggest …

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The best budget headphones ever? NuForce NE-770x

Doug B — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:41:16 +0000

First a big thank you to both NuForce and those at the Mac-Forums for making this review possible! Let’s take a look at the NuForce NE-770X dynamic in-ear headphones. They come packaged in a basic cardboard box, encased in a fairly easy to open blister package. Nothing fancy. But what would you expect for $35? Like most in-ear headphones sold today, they also come with a cute little draw-string pouch, though in this case, a spiffy white one as opposed to the often seen black color. Nice touch. Also …

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Review: NuForce NE-600X/M

Raz0rEdge — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:58:44 +0000

Introduction In the market for an in-ear headphone to use for my gym sessions, I got the opportunity to review the NuForce NE-600X/M and compared them to the Apple headphones that come bundled with the iPods and iPhones. Packaging & Contents The NE-600X/M, unlike other headphones I’ve bought and seen at the store comes in an easy to open plastic shell. The top cover is released by depressing the tab. While not designed to be used as permanent storage for the headphones, it does provide a convenient way of storing the …

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OS X Lion Server Part 01 – What Type of Server R2

louishen — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:09:09 +0000

Preamble This is a guide to OS X Lion and Mountain Lion Server. There are a few differences but they are not major. Some people will want to run a server on an older Mac, one that doesn’t qualify for Mountain Lion. You won’t be able to find Lion Server on the Apple store, but I can confirm that Apple will still sell you Lion and Lion Server if you call Apple sales. So let’s get started. OS X Server, the server for everyone. Well, nearly right because it is and …

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Review: CoolerMaster Gear

vansmith — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:29:34 +0000

Jas Pro - Stretch Using a laptop flat on your desk isn’t the best for your posture, unless you have a secondary monitor. Using a stand can bring the screen up to a proper eye level. I’ve recently started using the Cooler Master’s Jas Pro for my MacBook Pro, and it makes a big difference. Made out of aluminum to match current Apple products, the stand is lined with soft rubber along the important edges that will touch your MacBook. The front tab holds the computer, and is plenty big to accommodate even an ancient …

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Not using Flash? You need Switch

Stretch — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:09:06 +0000

Running your computer without Flash installed is great. No unnecessary resource hogging while browsing the web. No annoying animated web ads. Unfortunately, not everything on the web is HTML5. This is where Switch comes in. I use Safari 99% of the time until I stumble across something that is Flash content. This happens frequently when I’m browsing Kickstarter since they are still using flash for their introduction videos (this has since changed, they are now using HTML5). When this happens, I load up Chrome (it has its own self-contained Flash …

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Review: iMac Riser/Stand

Raz0rEdge — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:50:02 +0000

Overview Seated ergonomics is crucial to ensure that prolonged computer use doesn’t adversely affect your posture. The Apple iMac is an all-in-one computer with a base at a fixed height. The entire assembly can be tilted up or down based the table height and that of the user. One option many users employ to change the height of the iMac is to employ a VESA mount to elevate the entire display assembly. This, however, can be cumbersome to install and depending on the mount location, cumbersome to use. Product If …

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OSX Lion Server Part 03 – Getting the Router Prepared

louishen — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 02:18:22 +0000

OSX Lion Server part 03 – Getting the Router Prepared We’ve dealt with the types of server installs in part 01 of this series and the network set-up we need to have in place in part 02. Before we jump in and actually install the software there is one final stage we have to look at before we continue, and that’s router set-up. Your network router is set-up to allow common tasks like web browsing and mail traffic to come in and out. However, many potential services are blocked by default. …

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Back It Up Part 2

Slydude — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:21:54 +0000

In part one of this series, I discussed what files to backup and what types of backups were possible. Whether you choose to archive, backup, or clone data, if you haven’t started a backup regimen, you’ll want to start one. This isn’t a review of the backup programs available for Macs. Instead, we’ll learn from mistakes I’ve made backing up data. Hopefully, you will avoid similar mistakes. Cloning Issues As you can see from the reviews, there are various options available for cloning your Mac. In fact, you can use recent versions of Disk …

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IMAP Email and Notifications: How-To

vansmith — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 17:02:39 +0000

Introduction In this article we’ll look at how you can use Mountain Lion’s notification system to notify you of unread emails for any IMAP account. More specifically, we’ll look at how you can leverage Python and cron to check any email account at a specified interval, notifying you of any unread emails. Target I’m not one to limit the audience for an article since of the main purposes of this blog is to encourage you to try new things. However, this article might be better suited to those who are comfortable with the command …

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OS X Mountain Lion: The Mac-Forums Guide

vansmith — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 15:27:20 +0000

Contents Preamble Upgrading through the Up-to-Date Program Prepping for the Upgrade How to Create Your Own OS X Mountain Lion Install DVD or USB Drive Good News, There’s an App That Will do it For You Do it Yourself Step by Step Create a Bootable USB Installer Create a bootable DVD Using the USB drive or DVD Upgrade/Install Process Itself Post-Install/Finishing Touches Conclusion Preamble Welcome to OS X 10.8, the ninth iteration in Apple’s OS X operating system line. Codenamed “Mountain Lion”, OS X 10.8 continues the convergence of OS …

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While the MF ML Guide is Under Construction…

vansmith — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:00:35 +0000

As we continue our work on the official Mac-Forums Mountain Lion guide, we provide the following set of links to get you started while you wait. Did you recently buy a new Mac? You many qualify for a free copy of ML. You can find more info about it here. Can you Mac handle Mountain Lion? Make sure it can by checking the system requirements here. Not sure you want to upgrade? Here’s Engadget’s comprehensive review. If that’s not comprehensive enough, the Ars Technica review will certainly be. Feel like creating …

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OSX Lion Server Part 02 – Getting the Network Right

louishen — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:52:11 +0000

Here we’ll cover all the network configuration details that you’ll need to have in place to make sure the installation goes smoother later on. Whether your going for a local server or a full-on public server with its own domain name, it’s important to understand how the server communicates with your devices both inside your home or business and outside in the big wide world. IP addresses – the network of numbers You may know this stuff already, but I’ll briefly cover this subject anyhow, just in case the whole area of …

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Back It Up Part 1

Slydude — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:40:16 +0000

No matter how reliable your Mac has been, you need a plan for backing up your data. At some point a hard drive will fail, you’ll delete an important file or just do something stupid as I did recently. When that happens you’ll be glad you had a backup. Lets look at some of the things you need to consider in developing an effective backup strategy. In the second part of the series we’ll look at some of the tools available for backing up your Mac. Archive, Backup, or Clone …

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OS X Lion Server Part 01 – What Type of Server

louishen — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:41:54 +0000

Preamble OS X Server, the server for everyone. Well, nearly right because it is and it isn’t. OSX Server is certainly one of the most user friendly server installs out there, but it’s still a server, and setting it up has its own pitfalls that you can easily fall into. I have found that Apple’s own documentation on OS X Server comes in two flavors. The basic guide reassures you that everything works and it’ll be all fine, which is OK, until you need something more in-depth. Then you graduate …

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Putting Your Apps on a Diet

vansmith — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 19:58:02 +0000

Given that hard drive size is rarely a concern anymore, developers seem to make an assumption that space is no longer a issue. Despite this, a common complaint in forum posts is a lack of hard drive space. Although the following tip won’t solve all space issues, it can be a valuable part of the process of conserving and freeing up space if needed. Application Structure Applications for OS X are commonly distributed as application bundles which, to be fairly blunt, are little more than glorified folders containing the application binary and required …

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More Spotlight Tips

Slydude — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:32:57 +0000

Stretch’s introduction to Spotlight demonstrated why so many people find Spotlight useful. I’ve used it for some basic searches but always felt I wasn’t using it to its fullest potential. A few quick Internet searches led to some interesting tips that should make Spotlight more effective. Since Spotlight is the backbone of all searches on your Mac, anything that makes Spotlight smarter makes your Mac smarter. Here’s some of my favorite tips. Advanced Searches If you’ve mastered the art of using AND, NOT, and OR to perform complex searches in …

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Choosing a Digital Camera

razormac — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:10:45 +0000

Macs have long been a favorite of Graphics Professionals; so it is no surprise that “Switchers” first priority is often photography. We see many questions like, “I just got my new Mac and I love it . . . What software do I need for photos?” or “How do I get my pictures from my camera into iPhoto?”, or even “I need a new camera; what should I buy?”

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Simple Print Server using Automator and Dropbox

vansmith — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:40:13 +0000

By the end of this article, you will have set up a folder action for a Dropbox folder such that anything added to it will be printed. With this set up, you’ll be able to print documents from anywhere in the world and/or print content from mobile devices that are supported by Dropbox.

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Wake Up Folio by Cooler Master

Stretch — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:30:04 +0000

Like the idea of the iPad’s Smart Cover but decided it doesn’t provide enough protection? You want a full protective case for your iPad with Smart Cover capabilities? Cooler Master’s Wake Up Folio case may be what you are looking for.

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Make The Most Of Spotlight

Stretch — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:32:14 +0000

Spotlight can be a very useful tool but it can be a little daunting for a beginner. Simple math equations, file searches, launch applications; it can all be done from Spotlight. To get started, either click the magnifying glass in the top right hand corner of your screen or push Command+Space on your keyboard.

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Cooler Master ARC Review

pigoo3 — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:46:27 +0000

I just received Cooler Master’s ARC stand for MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and iPads. It’s a device that allows the placement of a MacBook or MacBook Pro in a vertical position while using your notebook in what is called “clamshell mode” (using your notebook with the display closed and attached to an external monitor) or it can be used as a stand for an iPad. The ARC stand is “arch-shaped” (my wife thinks it looks like a “Taco-Shell”, which kind of makes it fun), has a deep wide slot along its …

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Cargo-Bot, the iPad Game Programmed on the iPad

Stretch — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:34:37 +0000

Cargo-Bot - a new iPad app by the developer Two Lives - was coded, tested, and finished, all within the Codea iPad app.

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Playing YouTube Videos in VLC

vansmith — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:58:00 +0000

For this week's quick tip, we'll explore one of VLC's more "hidden" features. More specifically, you'll learn how to play YouTube videos in said media player. This is quite simple and involves only a few steps.

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Learning the Command Line (Part One)

vansmith — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:30:36 +0000

You may have stumbled across the Terminal application, having little knowledge of what it was for, you ignored it. I don’t blame you – for 98% of Mac users, it is of little value. Or is it?

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Multitasking Probably Isn’t Killing Your iPhone’s Battery

Slydude — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:06:14 +0000

Recently one of our iPhone 3GS units began needing to be recharged before the end of the day. Quite unusual given that we were only sending a handful of text messages a day from that phone and hadn't taken any phone calls on the day we noticed the problem.

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It’s All About Options and Preferences

Slydude — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:37:08 +0000

I'm not a keyboard shortcut junkie. I use cut, copy, and paste all the time but most others escape me just when I need them. Here are a few though that I've been using a lot lately.

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Lost Harddrive Space?

Stretch — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:08:42 +0000

Where is my space going? I don’t know what is taking up my hard drive, please help. I have tons of “Other,” how do I delete it? My hard drive is full and I can’t find what is using it. We see these questions all the time on the forums.

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Apple iPad Event

matt — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:30:50 +0000

Right now Apple is announcing their latest product release, revealing details of what is to be the latest iteration of the iPad! We’ll keep this short in favor of press coverage at the event itself. Follow the streaming coverage from the Wall Street Journal...

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Review: Zagora Colca Sac MacBook Sleeve

razormac — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:59:09 +0000

The Colca Sac line of protective sleeves are handmade by elves (just kidding--at least I think I am) by Zagora in Salt Lake City, UT USA.

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Review: Cosmonaut pen for iPad

Aptmunich — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:22:28 +0000

The Cosmonaut is a capacitive stylus that was launched to much hype last Spring on Kickstarter. Created by the same guys that made the Glif tripod adapter for the iPhone. Its creators promised an unparalleled writing experience on the iPad, but does it live up to the hype? Let’s find out…

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Review: TinTac Hoxton messenger bag

Aptmunich — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:06:22 +0000

Inspired by the area in London with the same name, the TinTac Hoxton is designed as an everyday commuter or casual bag. The Hoxton is a casual messenger-style bag that is big enough to carry a 13” MacBook or iPad.

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Review: Eye-Fi Pro | X2

Aptmunich — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:52:09 +0000

What’s the most annoying part of digital photography? That’s right, fiddling around with the memory card or USB cable to copy your photos to your computer. Well the Eye-Fi cards promise to have a better solution for copying photos: these cards can transfer your digital snaps wirelessly!

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Review: Waterfield Cargo bag

Aptmunich — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:08:36 +0000

Waterfield bags are designed to be very tough (not surprising as the company was founded by a former bicycle messenger), so I was keen to take a closer look at the Waterfield Cargo bag.

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Review: Dodocase for iPad 2

Aptmunich — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:34:06 +0000

The first accessory every iPad 2 owner buys is one of Apple's Smart Covers. But as elegant as the Smart Covers are, they do not offer much in the way of protection - my iPad already has a number of alarmingly deep scratches on the back from being in my bag with my keys and camera.

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Basic Mac Troubleshooting

cwa107 — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:08:57 +0000

While Macs tend to be very reliable and require little maintenance things can sometimes go awry. This guide aims to provide some basic steps to resolving the more common problems we see at Mac-Forums. While this guide is by no means comprehensive, hopefully one of the methods below helps to get your Mac back on the right track. METHOD ONE: QUICK FIXES Restart your computer This may seem obvious, but many times we’re so used to just letting our computers sleep when we’re not using them, we don’t think much …

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Wireless Networking FAQ

cwa107 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:58:07 +0000

With more people buying notebooks and setting up home networks, we field quite a few questions related to wireless technology. The goal of this guide is to address some of the more common questions related to wireless networking to educate you in some key areas in order to keep your connection running smoothly. Range and Interference The location and placement of your wireless router can dramatically impact the effective range of your wireless network. Your router should be placed as centrally within your home as possible. An ideal location in …

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Review: Sparrow

Aptmunich — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:56:17 +0000

A shiny new Mail client for OS X has been making the rounds recently — Sparrow for Mac. Sparrow first caught a lot of attention last year when the initial public beta was released. I have to admit, I was quite skeptical after a first look: it seemed like a weird rip-off of Tweetie for Mac combined with everything I disliked about the Gmail web interface. But the final 1.0 release has really won me over. Sparrow gets rid of the visual clutter caused by lists of folders, unread count badges …

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Review: Sony NEX-3

Aptmunich — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 13:19:46 +0000

I recently was given the opportunity to test Sony’s new NEX-3 camera – a compact camera featuring a full-sized APS-C sensor. This is a similar concept as the Olympus E-P1 I reviewed last year, but features an even smaller body with a larger sensor. Sony were kind enough to loan me a NEX-3 for a fortnight recently, so I’ve put this intriguing new camera through its paces. *Note:* I’m most definitely an amateur when it comes to photography, so this review will focus aspects that someone upgrading from a compact …

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Apple, Music and iTunes

the8thark — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:00:22 +0000

If you ask someone what has made Apple so successful in the first decade of this century, you may get a lot of responses saying the iPhone. That may be true, but, the iPhone is only part of the story. The predecessor of it all, are iTunes and the iPod. Sure, Apple was not the first IT company to enter the music market. Sony began a long time ago with the Walkman along with many others. One could argue Apple’s doings have had a bigger impact on the way people …

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Review: Dropbox Part 1

schweb — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:38:00 +0000

Many Mac users are increasingly looking for easy ways to sync, share, and back-up important files in the cloud. Luckily, there’s an easy solution to all of those needs, Dropbox. Dropbox allows automatic background syncing and backup between any device on which you’ve installed the Dropbox application as well as on the Dropbox.com website. This gives you a worry-free way to ensure the latest version of your file is on all of your devices and you have a secure back-up on the Internet. Dropbox offers 2GB of storage for free in …

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Review: Olympus E-P1

Aptmunich — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:22:01 +0000

Author’s note: This is a review of the Olympus E-P1 provided to me for one week to review on Mac-Forums & my personal blog Jetplane Journal. Thanks go to Olympus for the opportunity to take their latest & greatest for a spin. Introduction In general, most people choose one of two types of cameras: Simple point & shoot cameras (P&S) that are extremely small, but don’t offer manual adjustment options – or complex & large DSLRs, which offer full control over nearly every aspect of your image. But the size …

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Review: Logitech m555b Bluetooth Mouse

cwa107 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:20:39 +0000

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to make a mouse that will appeal to everybody. We all have different sized hands, like different kinds of features and put our mice through varying amounts of torture. So although Apple’s wireless Mighty Mouse does an admirable job, at one point or another most Mac users have probably thought of straying to another vendor for a better electronic rodent. If you’re a notebook user, you’re probably aware that all modern Mac notebooks support Bluetooth – and that’s a good thing since Apple has never …

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Review: IOGEAR GCS632U 2-Port KVM Switch

cwa107 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:14:52 +0000

What is a KVM Switch? Have you ever wished for an easy way to control 2 computers from a single keyboard/mouse/monitor? If so, you’ll need a KVM switch. Short for Keyboard-Video-Mouse, KVMs have long been used by technicians and ordinary users alike who need access to multiple machines from a single “console”. In recent years, the proliferation of USB mice and keyboards has all but eliminated the older style PS/2 connections that we were so accustomed to on PCs. In turn, KVM switches have recently changed focus to support USB …

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Review: Belkin 7-Port USB Hub Plus

skipper1072 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:40:33 +0000

Belkin’s latest version of their popular 7-port hub has been redesigned and adds cable management features. This review will take a look at the changes, design and performance of Belkin’s latest offering for USB junkies. Design The first thing you’ll notice is the design Belkin has chosen for this hub: Its rectangular shape means it’ll take up less space on your desk than previous versions, while retaining the two top ports – useful for USB memory sticks and similar devices. The top ports are also spaced out a bit, so …

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Is the time right for Apple to start licensing OS X?

cwa107 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:39:58 +0000

It has always struck me as odd that Apple’s design philosophy inevitably favors form over functionality. In some cases, that strict allegiance to form often compromises what would other be a very useful product, like the MacBook Air. I’m sure a lot of people value the beautiful aesthetics of Apple machines above all else, but I’m not one of them – and I’m not alone. As much as I like the looks of my MacBook Pro, the few extra seams it would take to make the hard drive readily accessible …

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Review: Things – a stylish task management app for OS X

Aptmunich — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:22:35 +0000

Things, a task-management application for OS X, debuted this year at Macworld after a lengthy public beta. Despite being Cultured Code‘s first foray into the world of task management apps, Things is an extremely polished, attractive app – but does it actually make you more productive? UI & Design Cultured Code really nailed the visual presentation of Things: The UI is very “mac-like” and looks very nice. Features are easy to discover and UI elements are easily identified. The list view Things uses to display your tasks feels as though …

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Aaaaand, we’re back

schweb — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:56:36 +0000

After a hiatus, I’m excited to announce the return of the Mac-Forums blog! While initially the blog was developed for Macworld Expo reporting, our return brings a much wider array of future topics. Just some of the things we hope to write about here: Tips and how-tos Product reviews General commentary on Apple ecosystem We won’t be blogging straight out Apple news, there are already many great sites that do that, but we hope to bring you a little Mac-Forums insight into the world of Apple and its products. We …

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iTunes Movie Rentals and device syncing

Chris Ainsworth — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:38:30 +0000

So, before I left San Francisco, I rented Pirates of the Caribbean 3 to watch on the flight and I synced it to my iPhone this morning. Actually, I started the download process yesterday afternoon, because the bandwidth in my hotel was so poor, but I digress. Anyway, the rental process was very easy and moving the file over was just as I expected. It’s a 1.8 GB file, so moving it over via USB takes a few minutes. What seems to happen though, is the file is moved from …

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More Mac games at the Expo, Part 3

Michael Gaworecki — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:59:34 +0000

This is the final Mac games post of my 3-part series (read parts 1 and 2). There’s a whole bunch of companies makings games for the Mac who were demoing products at Macworld 08, and I wanted to mention just a few more.

Ambrosia is soon to release a really great-looking game called Aquaria that was described as an “ethereal action/adventure underwater fantasy game.” A guy not employed by Ambrosia had logged so many hours on their demo this week that they let him show me the game. It looked gorgeous. You play as a mermaid trying to reunite her people, who are scattered across what looks like a vast system of underwater caves. Can’t wait to play this game. Ambrosia is also putting out Multiwinia, a sequel to Darwinia, later this year.

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What I Learned from Macworld 2008

Kathryn Vercillo — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:29:22 +0000

As I’d hoped, the Macworld Expo provided me with a chance to dive headfirst into the Apple pool. Between the exhibits and the presentations and the random conversations that I had with people throughout the week, I was able to get a really good idea of why people like Macs and what things I might be interested in doing with the one that I’m about to get. Here’s a round-up of the things that I learned from attending Macworld this year: - Macs really are more reliable. Everyone that I …

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Green Tech at the Expo

Michael Gaworecki — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:24:08 +0000

Green Tech was by no means prominent at Macworld 08, but there was still a pretty good amount on display. Environmental sustainability has become a major concern when it comes to technology products. Computers and most other electronic devices consume lots of energy while they're living and produce lots of waste when they die. Hazardous waste, in many cases. But nearly all of the major manufacturers have begun thinking through the lifecycle of their products and designing them to have as little an impact on the environment as possible – not only because of the demand for Green Tech in the marketplace, but also because it’s just plain old good business.

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One last Best of the Booths

Michael Gaworecki — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:57:59 +0000

I do believe one final Best of the Booths post is in order. There was so much to do and see this week, I didn't even get a chance to take a nap in one of the sleeping pods Pzizz had been kind enough to set up for us.

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Technology as Necessity

Kathryn Vercillo — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:40:23 +0000

At yesterday’s conference presentation on the Cybernetic Teen, Jason Cranford Teague used the word “necessity” when talking about technology for teens today. He provided an interesting comparison between a teen’s tech use in 1987 and a teen’s tech use today. He also provided a definition of the word “necessity” which made sense within the context of his presentation. And it got me thinking about whether or not I’d agree that certain technology is a necessity for teens today. Because it was on my mind, I talked it over with several …

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Only a Few Hours Left

Kathryn Vercillo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:22:04 +0000

With only about four hours left to see all that there is to see here at MacWorld, everyone’s running around trying to make it to the things that they’ve missed out on so far. From what I’m hearing as I’ve spoken with people this morning, everyone’s seen all of the things that they were especially interested in seeing. However, they’ve also all heard about tons of stuff that wasn’t at the top of their priority list which they want to check out before the Expo closes up shop. A few …

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More Mac games at the Expo, Part 2

Michael Gaworecki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:19:06 +0000

I'm very glad EA has returned to releasing games for the Mac, because they have some of the coolest titles that are available on the platform. I already discussed Spore at length, so I’ll concentrate on a few of their other games that are demoing at Macworld 08.

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The Washington Post and the news on the net

Michael Gaworecki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:43:28 +0000

If you haven’t ever seen any of the short videos in the onBeing section of WashingtonPost.com, you should do yourself a favor and check them out. They are incredibly funny and profound, yet the idea is simple: People from the Washington D.C. area talking on the subject of being themselves. The web arm of The Washington Post is one of the most innovative news organs out there. Rob Curley is head of the “skunkworks” team that conceives and builds the newspaper’s creative web presence. He gave a presentation on Thursday at Macworld in which he described himself and his team as “Mac nerds from Kansas trying to save a dying industry from the Internet.” He sees that salvation coming from local and even hyper-local news delivered through a variety of inventive web tools.

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More Mac games at the Expo, Part 1

Michael Gaworecki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:16:27 +0000

I promised more coverage of the game offerings here at Macworld 08, and I'm delivering. This is going to be a three-part series of blogs detailing the plans that various companies have for games on the Mac in 2008. I’m going to start with Aspyr. You may remember from my last post on Mac games at the Expo that they specialize in porting games from the PC to the Mac. They’ve got a huge year coming up, as their new releases are all big gaming franchises being made available for the first time on the Mac.

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Thursday’s Best of the Booths rundown

Michael Gaworecki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 05:42:14 +0000

Chris and I happened by the never-ending table of MacBook Airs and I snapped a few photos of it for you to enjoy. Enjoy.

There's a lot more pictures of Expo booths after the jump.

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Make Your Own Mac Games

Kathryn Vercillo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:59:33 +0000

Macworld Senior Editor Peter Cohen gave a presentation at MacWorld Expo today providing resources for Mac users to learn how to make their own games. The sites that he suggested were mostly for the creation of simple games but provided some options for more advanced users as well. Here are the five sites that Cohen suggested would be good for guys (or gals) interested in making their own Mac games:

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Tech Tips for Teachers

Kathryn Vercillo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:31:50 +0000

There have been two presentations at MacWorld's Users Conference which have focused on using today's technology to be a better teacher. The one I went to yesterday was about Web 2.0 and its impact on e-Learning. The one I just came out of was on Teaching the Cybernetic Teen. Both of these presentations provided some great tips about how teachers can make use of the way that kids communicate through technology today to improve the way they educate those kids. Here are some tech tips for teachers to take advantage of:

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David Pogue at the O’Reilly Media booth

Michael Gaworecki — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:54:29 +0000

You never know what you’ll see as you cruise the show floor. I noticed a fairly large crowd around the Oreilly Media booth so I stopped by to take a look. All the commotion was over a speaker they had in their booth, none other than David Pogue – New York Times columnist, sometime reporter for NPR’s Morning Edition, and CBS news correspondent – sharing a few tips from the latest in his Missing Manual book series, Mac OS X Leopard Edition: The Missing Manual. He’s a very personable speaker. …

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Quote of the Day

Kathryn Vercillo — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:38:56 +0000

I just walked past a couple of guys talking near the presentation rooms at Moscone West and overheard one say to the other: “Having a Mac is protection from problems.” This seems to sum up what people have been telling me all week as I’ve discussed with them my reasons for switching from a PC to a Mac. Even before I came to the MacWorld Expo, I was being told that Macs rarely require tech support and that they have a much lower security risk than PCs. Of course, even …

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MacWorld Best-of-Show

Kathryn Vercillo — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:04:17 +0000

This year was the first year that the MacWorld Expo featured a presentation of their “Best of Show” awards with live on-stage demonstrations of the products that were selected as outstanding by their team of Mac experts. Unfortunately, with all of the running around that I was doing from presentation to show floor and back again, I didn’t get a chance to make it to the presentation. I did, however, make sure to read up on what other people said took place there. The best summary of all of the …

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Mac-Forums Flickr Group

Bryan Schwegler — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:03:03 +0000

And to build on Mike’s last entry regarding digital photography, if you are a member of Flickr, don’t forget to join the Mac-Forums Flickr group.

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A few digital photography tips

Michael Gaworecki — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:06:21 +0000

I am an atrocious photographer, so I thought I’d attend a couple digital photography sessions and learn a few things. Turns out the first one I attended was way over my head, and the second was almost too basic. All the same, I picked up a few tips that I thought might come in handy to someone else. Chris Orwig did a session on “The Art and Craft of Digital Photography” that was nearly two-thirds an inspirational speech centered on two quotes: “Stillness of hand does not make up for …

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How to keep your Mac running smooth

Michael Gaworecki — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:31:39 +0000

By far the best and most useful session I attended today at the Users Conference was “Running Your Mac Lean, Clean, and Mean” by Dave Hamilton. He presented his qualifications as follows: • Mac Observer – 9 years • Mac Geek Gab Podcast – almost 3 years • Geek ... forever!

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My second day on the show floor

Michael Gaworecki — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:28:13 +0000

I thought I’d share a couple more interesting products and booths that I came across today. We’ve all been in a situation where our iPod has run out of juice, leaving us tuneless and videoless at the worst of times. Which is why I think the iZAP R08-IV for iPod Video is a great product. The literature claims that it can give your iPod up to 10 hours of video playback and a whopping 36 hours of audio. But the guy in the booth told me he thinks the 36 hour estimate is “soft”! ZAP!, whose name stands for "zero air pollution," also makes the Recharge-It-All Universal Battery, which has connectors for every mobile device you can imagine. Plus there are actually four rechargeable AA lithium-ion batteries inside that you can take out and use in your digital camera. It’s convenient and it can help you be more environmentally friendly!

IntelliScanner won a Best of Show award at last year’s Macworld Expo for their IntelliScanner mini, which is a miniature barcode scanner that lets you scan all your books, music, and movies and manage your collections in their proprietary software. This year they’ve come out with the professional-grade IntelliScanner SOHO for managing inventories and other bigger cataloging jobs. The software has an interface similar to iTunes, and it even lets you create the equivalent of iTunes playlists so you can organize your audio, video, and book libraries by genre. Before you say “You’ve got to be a serious neat-freak to want one of those,” consider this: The software also has a function that lets you track who you are lending a book, DVD, or CD to simply by scanning it in! My friends would probably think I’ve finally lost it if I started checking out my books to them, but I’ve lost so many from “lending” them to friends that I really don’t care at this point.

I wrote about the Modbook yesterday, but I didn’t get any pictures. I happened to cruise by today and got a couple of great pictures of one of their demo guys drawing a bluejay on the Modbook, so I thought I’d share them.

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Microsoft Blogger Lounge

Bryan Schwegler — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:52:32 +0000

Probably one of the coolest places at the show. Thanks MS for the free M&M’s, water, and WiFi!

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TidBITS: Resource for the Mac User

Kathryn Vercillo — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:31:08 +0000

One of the MacWorld presentations that I checked out today was Tools for Collaboration by Adam Engst, the publisher of TidBITS. Although I’m new to Mac, I have some familiarity with the publication because I’ve researched Mac news for different articles that I have written over the years. However, when Adam asked the people in the room how many of them were readers of TidBITS, the number of hands in the air was fewer than I would have expected. Perhaps this was because it was just after lunch and everyone …

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Office:mac 2008

Bryan Schwegler — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:35:03 +0000

As I sit in the Microsoft Blogger Lounge, I thought it would be appropriate to spend a minute to give you my very early first impressions of the newest version of Office for Mac. I don’t want to go into too much detail, as I hope someone from the Mac-Forums will volunteer write a full review. But I will say that I’m impressed. Not only is it faster on Intel Macs, but the completely revamped user interface just provides such a better experience using Office on the Mac. I’m going …

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The Mac-powered digital studio

Michael Gaworecki — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:27:52 +0000

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus made a stop at Macworld Expo 08 and offered tours, plenty of digital music equipment to play with, and a very helpful guy named Nick to talk about their amazing digital studio setup.

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Wikis: Where Collaboration Is Happening Today

Kathryn Vercillo — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:17:29 +0000

The first two presentations that I went to today both focused a bit on collaboration. First, I went to Web 2.0 and E-Learning which had a segment about how online collaboration can benefit the classroom environment. Then I went to Collaborative Editing Tools and Techniques which focused on collaboration options for the publishing world, be it web publishing or print publishing. Although each of these presentations focused on multiple types of collaborative environments, they shared one strong suggestion in common. Both said that wikis could be successfully used as collaborative tools for essentially any environment.

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Girl Gamers at MacWorld

Kathryn Vercillo — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:32:50 +0000

The first presentation of the Users Conference that I attended was this morning's Vision Track presentation on the relationship between Web 2.0 and e-Learning. One of the things that speaker Nick Floro talked about was that educators can use gaming, especially interactive gaming platforms such as Second Life, to engage students who are used to dividing their attention amongst multiple things at once. (He explained how you can create classrooms in Second Life and use them to present video materials in a sort of online virtual interactive classroom).

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iTunes Movie Rentals starting to trickle in

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:55:48 +0000

iTunes Movie Rental titles started to show up slowly overnight, replacing some of the placeholder titles iTunes web developers had presumably stuck in to test the Top Rental module (some which were not for rent, by the way). I’m trying to decide what movie I’m going to rent for my iPhone and my 4+ hour flight back to Cincinnati Friday. On the way here, I watched a movie I purchased, but renting is what I really want to do. I wonder what this will look like on my iPhone display. …

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MF Exclusive: Interview with Jeremiah Cohick

Bryan Schwegler — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:51:05 +0000

During this week I was fortunate to spend some time with one of my very good friends and one-time Apple Switch commercial star, Jeremiah Cohick. I sat down with Jeremiah after the keynote to ask him his thoughts. B: On a scale of 1 -10, how would you rate this keynote overall? J: I’m going to go with a 7. I’m not at all interested in movie rentals through iTunes because I have Netflix. I am not going to buy an AppleTV, there wasn’t any hardware update to it to …

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MacWorld Gear and Accessories

Kathryn Vercillo — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:45:16 +0000

Walking around MacWorld this week, I've rapidly learned that the laptop bag I use to hold my computer and notebooks and all of the other junk that I tote around isn't really very comfortable. As a result, I found myself drawn to the many booths in Moscone West that were selling laptop bags. Once I'd turned my attention to that, I found that I was also pulled towards all of the different cases and accessories for other gadgets. Here were some of my favorite accessories finds:

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MacBook Air’s unremovable battery

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:18:40 +0000

John Gruber posted a great first look at the MacBook Air, chiding the tech media about its enclosed battery, and I couldn't agree more:

No swappable battery. I think this aspect is going to play out exactly as it has with the iPhone: (a) there’s going to be a ton of criticism from the gadget and tech press decrying this as a terrible decision; and (b) the vast majority of users don’t care and won’t mind the sealed battery at all. Seriously, the press is not going to shut up about this — you can’t go 10 feet in the Expo media room without hearing someone complain about it. I personally like carrying an extra charged battery with me on long trips, but it wouldn’t keep me from buying an Air if I otherwise wanted one.

Amen, brother. Folks need to get their heads around this.

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I’m now officially a rumor site

Bryan Schwegler — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:12:11 +0000

So only 2 of my 8 predictions came true during Steve’s keynote, but I think that more than qualifies me to start a new Apple rumor site. This keynote of course had some pleasant surprised: iPhone and iPod touch software update – So just one more reason for me to be jealous of all the iPhone owners. By far I think the coolest new app is the location service in Google Maps. Very cool how them implemented that and it’s a good compromise to including full GPS. But Apple, what …

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How to seduce a Mac geek

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:33:17 +0000

Last year for Macworld ’07, San Francisco Chronicle newspaper sex columnist Violet Blue posted her sexy Macworld tips in a column entitled “How to Seduce a Mac Geek: A Macworld Sex Guide.” When I stumbled upon it this morning, I had a good laugh. It’s fun reading, and don’t worry–it’s safe for work–well, barely. It’s a newspaper web site, so c’mon. Here’s a taste: You can tell by how they walk, male or female, that they’ve had a bite of that Apple. It’s obvious that the Mac user is just …

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Mac Games at the Expo

Michael Gaworecki — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:03:59 +0000

Mac gamers: the phrase is pretty much a contradiction of terms. Or at least it has been traditionally. There are actually some encouraging signs at this year’s Macworld Expo that the gaming industry is finally coming around to acknowledging Macs.

For one thing, there’s a grand-looking “Mac Games” pavilion. True, it isn’t quite bursting with game demos, but at least there are enough to allow for an entire Mac Games pavilion. They were all supplied by the few game developers that have booths at the Expo, so I’ll just describe the games by company.

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MacBook Air ad song: New Soul by Yael Naim

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:04:30 +0000

I searched on all the lyrics that I could recognize to find the song in the MacBook Air envelope ad in iTunes. It’s called New Soul by Yael Naim. Kinda catchy. You can download it here. And how cool is it that Apple continues to introduce artists to a bigger audience via their television commericals?

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Hoo boy: The first day on the show floor

Michael Gaworecki — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:00:27 +0000

Aaah, there’s nothing quite like cruising the show floor at a big convention. It’s overwhelming, it’s over-stimulating, but it’s tons of fun. In the Expo’s South hall alone you’ve got major software application developers like Microsoft, Adobe, and Google all conducting tutorials and training seminars; you’ve got access to every iPod or iPhone accessory you ever wanted, and about 18 million more that you never knew you wanted, from big names like Samsung and Shure right down to local retailers from all over the country; and of course you’ve got the Apple store as the giant hub of it all.

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Too Many Gadget Distractions for PC Girl

Kathryn Vercillo — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:58:25 +0000

My goal going into MacWorld this week was to try to learn everything that I could about using Mac Notebooks. The idea was that this would make it easier for me to make the transition from PC to Mac. But what I discovered when going through the exhibitions today was that I couldn’t keep my mind focused on my goal. There were just way too many cool gadgets and fun accessories to let me stick with a Notebook-Only mindset. I may not have decided on any Mac computer stuff yet …

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Interoffice envelope

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:26:20 +0000

C’mon, how cool was it when Steve brought out the MacBook Air in an interoffice envelope? And how many of you are going to slide your new MBA (yes, folks are calling it that) into a manila envelope the first day you take it to work? Huh? Huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought. All of you. Check out the MacBook Air envelope ad introduced in today’s keynote at Apple.com.

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An update for MacBook Air-like gestures?

Chris Ainsworth — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:56:34 +0000

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Super Sensory Overload

Kathryn Vercillo — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:07:53 +0000

I spent several hours this morning wandering around the exhibits at Moscone West. The best description that comes to mind is “sensory overload”. There are so many sounds and sights, things to play with and people to talk to. I’ve just been going from booth to booth, trying to take everything in. The Digital Photography stuff has captured most of my attention. There’s an exhibit of glamorous portrait photos when you first walk into the West Hall that immediately caught my eye. The bulk of my morning was spent wandering …

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The MacBook Air’s environmental progress report

Michael Gaworecki — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:59:43 +0000

My biggest hope was for a truly green Mac, and that hope faired extremely well. No, we didn't get the first fully recyclable, 100% toxin-free, super-energy-efficient machine, but Jobs had prepared a presentation on the environmental friendliness of the MacBook Air, and he stated that he would deliver an environmental progress report with every product Apple announces henceforth. That is huge: It means Apple has really taken the mandate for a greener Mac to heart, and is committed to being the leading environmentally responsible computer manufacturer they should have been all along.

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Keynote announcements

Michael Gaworecki — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:28:18 +0000

The Macworld Expo 2008 Keynote Address by Steve Jobs has finally come and gone, putting an end to all the speculation. The big news, of course, is that the MacBook Air predictions were nearly spot on. There was plenty of other news, too, but it took quite a while for the event staff to get the masses in the door and in their seats. So long, in fact, that many of us missed half of the Keynote. The main auditorium was beyond capacity, and so were the rooms playing the Keynote on closed-circuit television. But no one was grumbling. Everyone had come to see a big announcement, and they weren't disappointed.

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iTunes / iPhone update server overloaded

Chris Ainsworth — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:08:20 +0000

If you’re trying to update your iPhone and iTunes, get in line. I was able to get my iTunes updated to 7.6, but can’t connect to the iPhone update server at all. Anyone having any luck? Post your successes and thoughts in the comments or on the forum. Note: Macworld also seems to be crashing Twitter sporadically.

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My Macworld keynote initial impressions

Chris Ainsworth — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:46 +0000

Wow...where to start? I gave myself time to think about Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote on my way back from Moscone West to the hotel, and let what I just saw sink in a little. Let me take the major announcements and items one-by-one and give you my first thoughts. Bear with me...I'm still trying to get my head around some of this stuff.

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The Women of MacWorld

Kathryn Vercillo — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:53:31 +0000

As I was walking around the MacWorld Expo yesterday and this morning, it struck me that there seems to be a fairly even balance between men and women attending the event. This is a notable change from many of the tech events that I've attended over the years where I frequently find myself to be the lone gal in a group of guys. That got me wondering whether women were also equally represented as speakers at MacWorld. A quick perusal of the conference speakers' schedule reveals that the speaking part of the event continues to be male-dominated. However, there are some women speaking throughout the week. Here is some more information about the women that I found on the schedule:

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First-night parties and late-night campers; plus, help wanted

Michael Gaworecki — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:16:02 +0000

I checked out the Ars Technica/Gizmodo pre-Keynote party this evening. They were giving away the last raffle prize just as me and my girlfriend got to the front of the line to get in. We also missed the free food and booze, which is probably why that long line behind us was completely gone when we left 30 minutes later. One good thing about the trip down to Harlot – see grainy, artsy photo I took (okay, I took it with my cell phone) of a painting of a harlot that adorns the wall of this stylish joint – was that we got to see the campers waiting outside the Moscone center on our drive back. About 20 people at 9:30 p.m. A Macworld rep told me while I was at the convention center earlier today that they were expecting campers, and that I should show up by at least 6:00 a.m. tomorrow if I want a seat at the Keynote. She wasn’t kidding, apparently. After the jump: Help me decide which sessions to attend!

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Hopes and predictions

Michael Gaworecki — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:01:06 +0000

If you take “There’s something in the air” as literally as you can, it seems obvious that Apple is planning on releasing either a new wireless device or new wireless capabilities for its existing product lines. But then who knows if they even mean it literally at all. Instead of what I think Steve Jobs is most likely to announce, here is my list of the rumored products that I’d most like to see unveiled tomorrow morning...

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6 Macworld Users Conference Presentations for the Average User

Kathryn Vercillo — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:18:00 +0000

The MacWorld Expo has a number of different conferences going on within it. Some people started attending lectures today at the Power Tools Conference. Others are waiting until later in the week when the Mac IT Conference begins. For the average user, the best conference is probably the Users Conference. Happening on Wednesday and Thursday, this conference is absolutely jam-packed with things to satiate the curiosity of any kind of computer user. On each day, there are three time slots during which presentations will take place. This means that a person attending a full presentation during each time slot can catch six different Users Conference information sessions during the conference. There are seven to choose from at each time (falling under the general categories of Click, Create, Inspire, Leopard, Magic, Work, and Vision). Many of these presentations are of specific interests to certain niche users (gamers or photographers, for example). But there is at least one during each time slot that appeals to a more general audience. Here are the six general presentations that a basic user might check out this week at MacWorld’s User Conference:

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A few more prediction thoughts

Bryan Schwegler — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:07:24 +0000

So I had a few more thoughts on what the “air” theme may mean: - Updated Airport Express (802.11n and maybe a form factor tweak?) - Music subscription service I reserve the right to keep adding to my list of predictions until 9:00 AM PST tomorrow.

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The day has finally arrived

Michael Gaworecki — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:02:34 +0000

I’m mostly looking forward to cruising the Expo floor, I’d say. Grabbing free schwag and being overwhelmed by all the activity at a convention this size is always fun. More specifically, I’m especially excited to check out Berklee College of Music’s Dream Studio, which promises to be “filled with Mac hardware and software to help bring your musical vision to life.” There are over 30 companies unveiling new products this year, too; I’m sure more than a few of them will be worth tinkering with. I’ll also be stopping by the CCP Games booth, no doubt. As a sci-fi nerd, Mac nerd, and former employee of an MMO developer, I was pretty stoked when they announced that EVE Online was coming to the Mac. The beauty of a convention the size of the Macworld Expo is, I have no idea what else I’ll be checking out while I’m there, but I’m guaranteed to find something completely awesome. Probably many things. Stay tuned to the Macworld Expo blog here on Mac-Forums.com and I’ll tell you all about them. I'll show you pictures, too.

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5 Reasons Macworld Appeals to a PC User

Kathryn Vercillo — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:59:52 +0000

As I'm walking around the Moscone Center checking out all that Macworld is going to offer this week, I'm highly aware of the fact that I am the only person in the entire building who is using a PC Notebook. (See original post here as to why I'm doing that.) As I enviously walk past all of the shiny, small notebooks with the Apple on the front of them, I feel conspicuous. I'm convinced that everyone is thinking, "what is this PC woman even doing here?!" To answer that question, here are five good reasons that a PC user might want to be at Macworld this week.

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Could it be Apple Air Freshener™?

Bryan Schwegler — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:15:35 +0000

The Macworld banners have everyone wondering what the big announcements will be at the keynote on Tuesday. "There's something in the air" conjures up all kinds of ideas. I personally think Apple is going to unveil an environmentally-friendly line of air freshening products ala method. Ok so not really… So what I do I really think it could all mean?

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Apple.com front page changed to tease Macworld slogan

Chris Ainsworth — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:49:52 +0000

Apple.com changed their front page this morning to tease their slogan for Macworld, “There’s something in the air.” What?! What is in the air?! C’mon! I can’t take it any longer!

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All Registered and Ready for Macworld

Kathryn Vercillo — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:04:19 +0000

I’d anticipated that getting checked in to Macworld this morning would be a headache. The Expo managed to surprise me by making it a relatively easy process. Although there were some people in line who didn’t seem to know where exactly they were supposed to be, the registration and check-in went quickly. The people working at the Expo seemed to know exactly what their individual jobs were and getting signed in went smoothly. In fact, it went much more smoothly than any other event that I’ve ever attended. Kudos to …

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A tough act to follow

Chris Ainsworth — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:17:25 +0000

(Ugh. When is Apple going to update this handout photo)

How do you follow up the Keynote of All Keynotes? I don't think you can. I think while everyone is hoping for something spectacular to come out of Steve Jobs' Macworld Expo keynote address tomorrow, I expect his speech to be more state of the Apple union than anything. So, while I know the reality distortion field generators will be outputting at their fullest capacity at Moscone West, I'm preparing myself for product annoucements that are more incremental in nature than anything else.

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What to do on Macworld Eve?

Bryan Schwegler — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:34:29 +0000

What’s a better way to spend Macworld Eve in SFO than trying to find free WiFi and chocolate? Well let me tell you…n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Of course you can’t just enjoy the free WiFi and chocolate without spending some time reading the rumors and bookmarking the best places to get the latest news on Macworld (besides this blog and Mac-Forums.com of course). I’ve made it no secret that I personally am hoping for AppleTV updates to include a TV tuner card and DVR functionality. Somehow I’m thinking that’s not the “Something’s in …

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PC-to-Mac convert heads to Macworld

Kathryn Vercillo — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:32:00 +0000

It’s funny the things that divide families. In my family, the PC vs. Mac debate has long been a hot topic. My kid brother is a fully committed Mac lover who regularly tells me that I shouldn’t be using a PC. Over the years, he’s dispelled many of the myths that I held about Macs and given me a number of good reasons to make the switch. But, being his big sister, I can be pretty stubborn about the argument so I held out with the PC for a long …

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More than just Apple

Bryan Schwegler — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:19:29 +0000

So I know we’re all excited by the Stevenote on Tuesday and the possible new product announcements, but I’m actually just as excited to be able to visit some of the exhibitors. There are some really great Mac developers who are going to be at Macworld. Personally I’m looking forward to stopping by to meet the guys at Panic, equinux, and plasq. I’m excited (and please don’t shoot me) to visit with the Office devs at Microsoft. Oh and who can miss the Pownce Pre-Launch party on Wednesday night? So …

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“There’s something in the air.”

Chris Ainsworth — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:15:02 +0000

On the message board, D3v1L80Y drew my attention to the banners that are currently being hung around Moscone Center in preparation for next week’s expo. Here’s a photo I found via Apple Insider: Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what Apple’s hinting? Gruber mentions the font is straying from their typical presentation. Please post your ideas in the comments or in the board.

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Joy of Tech: Macworld celebrity checklist

Chris Ainsworth — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:15:06 +0000

If you are planning to go to Macworld, make sure you print out and bring along Joy of Tech’s handy Macworld Celebrity Checklist in advance (collect them all!). Who on their list are they missing? Post any omissions in the comments. And if you do go to the show, don’t (please) be a swag whore. Don’t be that guy.

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Our Macworld blog on your iPhone

Chris Ainsworth — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:02:32 +0000

We’ve installed a free WordPress plugin to generate iPhone friendly pages (and some iPhone mobile goodness) for the blog. Of course, if you’re wandering around the show floor during Macworld, and you’re staring at this site or something else on your iPhone, don’t forget to look up from time to time to watch where you’re going.

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Hello world!

Bryan Schwegler — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:04:37 +0000

Next week, myself, Chris Ainsworth from iNET, a few guest contributors, and hopefully a few of your fellow Mac-Forums community members will be heading to the Macworld 2008 Expo in San Francisco. We plan to use this blog to update you on our hopes and dreams as well as the amazing anouncements bound to come out of the show this year. So, please stay tuned for updates, photos, and random Twitter ramblings. And if you see us wandering around the trade show looking lost, please feel free to come up …

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