Archive for ‘Mac’

101 results.

Getting Ready for Lion

by Krishna on July 2, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Posted In: Mac, News

Lion should be out in two weeks (July 14th, as of this writing), based on what I’m hearing on the Cult of Mac website.

I’ve been reading up on the new OS and plan to install it on a new hard drive once the new cat becomes available for download. (I think not supplying a physical disc as an option is a huge oversight by Apple, but I digress…)

Given that Snow Leopard (10.6.8) is required to download Lion, there have been a lot of questions floating around as to the feasibility of performing a clean install of Lion. It turns out that it’s pretty easy. Here are some handy links that I plan to reference when the time comes for me to install Lion.

When Lion is installed it will create a small recovery partition that you can then use to boot from, should anything get fu-bared with your installation. (It’s for that reason alone that I am steering clear of installing Lion on my main boot drive.)

Given that Lion takes advantage of gestures, I’m curious to know if would be worthwhile to purchase a Magic Trackpad. I don’t really use gestures that much on my 2008 Macbook Pro, so I’ll probably hold off and wait to hear what the general consensus is before dropping some coin on it.

Update: Macworld has a pretty good write-up on prepping for Lion. Worth a look.

-Krishna

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Review: Forklift 2.0

by Krishna on June 29, 2011 at 5:47 am
Posted In: Mac, News, Reviews

Product: Forklift 2.0.8
Manufacturer: Binary Nights
Date Reviewed:6-29-11
Retail Price: $29.99 via Mac App Store

I’ll preface this report by saying this review has been a long time in coming.

As a veteran Mac user, I’ve grown to deal with certain shortcomings with the Mac OS. (Yes, Virginia, there are a few.) Chief among my frustrations is file management.

Take a classic scenario that involves copying one file from within one folder to a separate folder location on your drive. To do this in Mac OS X, you would have to have two Finder windows open. As a Mac user for almost 20 years, I know that I am not alone when I say that copying and moving files on the Mac, as its currently implemented, totally blows.

I keep waiting for the day that Mac OS X will support a split-pane Finder view. Until that happens (and I’m not holding my breath), we have Forklift 2.0, from BinaryNights.

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

Forklift 2.0 has been dubbed “the second coming of file management”. Normally I’d dismiss that as hyperbole, but I think, in this case, the billing is right on the mark. This program offers split-paned windows, but it really does so much more. Don McAllister did a great ScreenCastsOnline video that covers the program really well. (You can watch it on the Forklift 2.0 website.)

Instead of retreading what Don’s superb 36 minute video has already covered, I’d like to share how I use Forklift 2.0 and how it’s made me more productive.

Right off the bat, Forklift makes it super easy to copy and move files using its split-pane interface. You can choose up to 4 methods when viewing the contents within each window: Icon, List, Columns, or CoverFlow.

Here’s Icon view:

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

Here’s the CoverFlow view:

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

I’m already sold on the program because of its split-pane view, but you can also have tabs within each split-pane. So instead of opening up 4 separate Finder windows, you can keep everything contained within one Forklift window. Forklift supports FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, and a bunch of other protocols I don’t really use. In my tests, I was able to easily configure, save, and connect to my servers without any issues.

Forklift is also smart enough to remember all your open window tabs.

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

You can swap the panes via a keyboard shortcut (Option-Shift-Command-P) or select a specific window pane (Left is Command-Left Arrow, and Right is Command-Right Arrow). And if you want to customize your keyboard shortcuts, Forklift lets you do that, too. Want multiple Forklift windows? No problem. Hit Command-N and a separate Forklift window (with its own split pane) appears.

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

Also in the Forklift Preferences, you can set a default text editor to use for specific file extensions. So if you want to use TextWrangler for .MEL files and Smultron for .HTML files, you can configure that easily within the program.

Forklift 2.0 screenshots

There is so much to discover within Forklift. I use it each and every day. And I haven’t even talked about Stacks, Disklets (which lets your apps reach remotely stored files), Droplets, its built-in batch renaming capabilities or its folder synchronization prowess. Did I mention that Forklift 2.0 comes with a full-featured application uninstaller?

(NOTE: the Mac App Store version does NOT support Disklets, but the version you can purchase from the Binary Nights website DOES.)

You can even browse local and remote archives (zip, rar, etc.) as if they were ordinary folders. This feature is a huge convenience for me, as I happen to work with compressed files on an almost daily basis.

You can customize Forklift’s toolbar with features you use on a regular basis.

Forklift 2 screenshots

On mine, I have added buttons to facilitate Move To, Copy To, Rename, and Compress.

Forklift 2 screenshots

In short, Forklift 2.0.8 packs plenty of punch for $30. I know that this article isn’t so much of a review as it is an endorsement, but that’s the way I feel. The program has the spit-and-polish of a true Mac application. In my testing, I found Forklift to be a stable release. The attention to detail is everywhere: from the application’s icon to the layout, Forklift looks just as good as it works – and it works great!

So… are there any downsides?

Nothing really major, but I really want Forklift to save my FTP password info for the servers I connect to on a regular basis. (Update:There is an option to save FTP passwords within the Favorites > Show Favorites area. Hat tip to BinaryNights for letting me know!) Not really a down side, but it’s worth noting that Forklift 2 requires Mac OS X 10.6, which means you’ll have to have an Intel Mac to work it.

Pricing-wise, if you buy directly from Binary Nights, a single license will set you back $29.95. Family pack licenses are $49.95. Or you could buy it off the Mac App Store (MAS) and pay $29.95 and install it on all your Macs. Beware that the MAS version does not include the Disklets feature, so if that’s important to you, buy your copy from the developer’s site.

Bottom line: If you are frustrated by the inefficiencies of moving and copying files within the Finder, you owe it to yourself to try Forklift 2.0 out. And if that’s not enough to sell you, the built-in FTP / SFTP tools and file / folder synchronization features should.

Power users: After using Forklift for a week, you’ll wind up buying a copy. (Hey, it happened to me.)

Forklift 2.0 earns 4.5 out of 5 Bob Weiners.

Update:Thanks to the generosity of BinaryNights, I’m giving away 1 copy of ForkLift 2.0. To enter, simply post a comment below and state which two features of ForkLift you feel would be the most useful to you in your workflow. The winner will be randomly selected and notified by tomorrow at 10AM EST.

Good luck!

Update: We have a winner – reader Jamie Gambell’s number was randomly selected via Random Number. Congrats to Jamie, and thanks to everyone who shared and ReTweeted the contest!

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Mac Maintenance Sunday: Spelunking for Large File Sizes

by Krishna on June 26, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Posted In: Mac, News

In preparation for Lion, I’ve been organizing and pruning my Mac Pro’s boot drive: a 40GB OWC SSD. Space is at a premium on this drive, so I’ve limited it to the OS (Snow Leopard) and my apps. All the data I interact with lives on a separate internal SATA HDD. It’s worked out for me well, so far.

The two screenshots below give a visual picture of all the apps I have currently installed, with some overlap on the second screenshot. Click on each to embiggen.

Apps on my SSD

Apps on my SSD

40GB is not a lot of space. With the help of the excellent WhatSize utility, I have been able to check which files are the largest on my system. I spent an afternoon investigating file sizes and what I’ve found was pretty interesting.

I currently have a little under 20GB sitting in my Applications folder. Some of these apps will be pruned out of my system (via AppZapper) when I install Lion. The largest application size belongs to Autodesk’s Maya, weighing in at 2.03GB.

File Size measurements using WhatSize

Oddly enough, one of the largest files on my hard drive belongs to Backblaze, specifically within the Library > BackBlaze folder which weighs in at a ginormous 2.55GB. It’s pretty freaking huge and I’m not sure why. I’m currently investigating options to move the BackBlaze folder to another drive. The second largest file is Adobe, clocking in at 1.55GB. There’s over 314MB contained in a folder called SpeechAnalysisModels, which I’m not sure I’ll ever need. Same for the various Camera Raw profiles. I’m unsure whether or not it’s okay for me to delete these, so I’m leaving them for now.

File Size measurements using WhatSize

My user folder takes up a whopping 1.58GB (nearly all of it comes from the Library folder within). The biggest culprits within the Library folder are the Applications Support folder (582MB) and Caches (527MB). Interestingly enough, the largest file inside the Caches folder belongs to com.atebits.tweetie.profile-images, which contains avatar images for everyone I follow on Twitter. Given that I’m using the official Twitter client now (formerly Tweetie), my suspicion is that the com.atebits.tweet.profile-images folder can be safely deleted. (On a side note: is there a Mac program that safely cleans out Application caches?)

Other culprits that took up a lot of space were the folders dubbed iPad Software Update and the iPod Software Update, found in User > Library > iTunes. Both folders took up almost 1GB of space together. I deleted both folders, as I can always re-download the applications should I ever need to restore my iPad and iPod devices.

In the process of doing some routine file size investigation, I’ve reclaimed almost 2GB of space, leaving my SSD with about 9GB free. With that said and done, I only have one thing left to say: Bring on Lion!

-Krishna

Update: I reclaimed an additional 2GB of data using Monolingual to remove the additional language resources that I’ll never use from Mac OSX. It also does a good job of scrubbing away PowerPC code from the Universal binary apps if you’re on an Intel Mac (saving even more space).

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Computing: It’s Fast Enough!

by Krishna on June 3, 2011 at 10:26 am
Posted In: Mac, News

I don’t need an excuse to talk about computers, because I love them so much. As a tech geek, I’ve always lusted after the latest and greatest. And yet now, for the first time since I began computing, I don’t feel the urge or compulsion to upgrade to newer machines.

Let me explain.

My two main computers are a 15″ Macbook Pro and Mac Pro. Both were purchased new in 2008 – the Mac Pro in February and the Macbook Pro in November. I use both machines extensively, the MBP has 4GB of RAM and the MacPro has 10GB installed.

new laptop

I bring my Macbook Pro to work (along with my trusty Spire backpack). The main applications I use on the Macbook Pro are:

  • Easy Grade Pro
  • Coda
  • Google Chrome
  • Sparrow
  • Photoshop CS4
  • Transmit
  • iCal
  • Pages
  • MarsEdit

I use the MBP primarily for writing, whether its HTML/CSS code or belting out documents. It occasionally gets used for design work (Photoshop / Sketchbook Pro) when I’m on the road.

my studio: June 5, 2010

For design work, I use the Mac Pro. I primarily run:

  • Sketchbook Pro
  • Photoshop
  • Manga Studio Pro
  • Painter
  • Maya

With an OWC Solid State drive, the machine truly flies. It’s the single best upgrade I’ve made, and would be my default upgrade recommendation after memory.

Both machines have been incredibly reliable. My chief complaint with the Macbook Pro has always been how hot its undersides get. Thankfully, using the smcFanControl software has made this problem a thing of the past.

My only complaint about the MacPro is the limited video card upgrade options. I wish I could buy an off-the-shelf video card and pop it in, without having to resort to arcane hacks.

I’m eagerly anticipating Apple’s forthcoming Lion OS. When it’s released, I’ll perform a complete rebuild of both systems. Anecdotal reports I’ve read suggest that the OS will run fine on my computers.

I don’t feel the need to be on the bleeding edge with my computing gear. In fact, I’m very satisfied with my computing set-up, and I hope to use these machines for several more years.

-Krishna

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Directory Fragmentation: It’s Real

by Krishna on April 8, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Posted In: Mac, News, Plugs

Directory fragmentation is very much an issue with Macs, as the first screenshot below clearly indicates. While I make sure to perform routine Mac maintenance on my desktop system, it had been several months since I last performed the same tasks on my notebook system (a Macbook Pro).

Before and After running Disk Warrior on my Macbook Pro

Below is the directory structure for the same drive after running Alsoft’s Disk Warrior tool.

Before and After running Disk Warrior on my Macbook Pro

At present, I’m running Coriolis System’s iDefrag to take care of the file fragmentation on my computer. Below is the current progress (started this evening):

iDefrag running on MBP

I’ve used DiskWarrior and iDefrag for several years now and would highly recommend them both for any Mac user looking for a solid arsenal of quality Mac utilities.

-Krishna

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How to link your Sparrow mailboxes to an external drive

by Krishna on April 4, 2011 at 9:19 am
Posted In: Mac, News

If you have a solid state drive (SSD), you know that every GB you have is precious real estate. I’ve been using Sparrow for a few weeks now, and one of the things I noticed was how fast the space on my SSD was dwindling as a result of Sparrow’s ever-growing mail database. (Side note: I reviewed Sparrow a few weeks ago.)

What to do?

Fire up the terminal and create a symbolic link, that’s what!

A symbolic link basically serves as a pointer (or alias) to the new location of the files / folders you want to access. Sparrow’s mailbox files are in a folder called Sparrow under:

~/Library/Application Support/

The first thing I did was quit the Sparrow application and then copy the Sparrow folder to its new location on my data drive . Next, I renamed the Sparrow folder on my SSD to Sparrow.old. I made a back-up copy of the Sparrow.old folder on a tertiary drive (just in case I screwed something up).

In the Terminal.app, I changed directories to my SSD’s Application Support folder via:


cd /Users/kms/Library/Application Support/

Then I ran the following command line:


ln -s /Volumes/NEW DRIVE/Users/kms/Library/Application\ Support/Sparrow Sparrow

Next, I typed:

ls -ltra

to check to see that the symbolic link was pointing to the new location (and it is!).

Terminal showing symbolic link

After insuring things worked, I removed the Sparrow.old folder from my SSD, and reclaimed about 2GB in the process.

In summary, moving Sparrow’s mailboxes to a separate drive is pretty easy – and worth doing if you’re running short on disk space.

-Krishna

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The Biggest Flaw with the App Store

by Krishna on March 8, 2011 at 11:15 am
Posted In: Mac, News

Plain and simple: it’s difficult to find apps. Let me explain.

Because of my ever-curious toddler’s propensity to play (and alter) my iPod Touch, I’m looking for an application that will lock my iPod Touch’s icons. I don’t want them to move or jiggle until I type a password to authorize the changes.

My first search was at the App Store itself. I performed a search for the term “icon lock”. Nada. Typing in search terms is not helping me find an application that will do what I want. This has happened to me on several occasions. Outside of doing a Google search, I wind up finding the specific apps I want via chatting with friends on Twitter.

(Still no luck on finding an app that will do what I want – and I have no desire to jailbreak my iPod to use an unsupported app.)

Which brings me to my main point: the App Store search is GREAT, if you know the name of the application you are looking for – but downright useless if the only thing you have a general idea of the functionality you’re looking for in an app.

Do you agree or disagree? Sound off in the comments below.

-Krishna

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Review: Sparrow 1.0.1

by Krishna on February 22, 2011 at 8:02 am
Posted In: Mac, News, Reviews

Product: Sparrow 1.0.1
Developers: Dominique Leca, Hoa Dinh Viet and Jean-Marc Denis
Website: http://www.sparrowmailapp.com
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2011
Retail Price: $9.99 via Mac App Store

Do we really need another Mac e-mail client? That’s the question that came to my mind when I first encountered Sparrow, just a few short weeks ago.

Sparrow, just a few hundredths of a point release past 1.0 (as of this writing), was garnering a lot of positive buzz around the Mac community – much like Tweetie did when it was first released. As a reasonably satisfied Mail.app user for many years, I was curious to find out what the hype was all about.

As all things tech, my curiosity eventually got the best of me. I visited the Sparrow website and watched the introductory video. After reading numerous reviews online, and buoyed by the positive comments on the Mac App Store, I succumbed to temptation and purchased the program.

Sparrow is the first application I’ve bought without having the ability to test it out first. (The developer’s blog mentions that a free Sparrow Lite version is waiting approval from the Mac App Store as of this writing.)

As of this writing, Sparrow only supports G-mail accounts. IMAP support for other services are promised in the 1.1 release.

First Impressions

The big difference between Sparrow and Mail is the Sparrow user interface. It’s obvious that Sparrow’s minimal interface was inspired by Tweetie, but how well would that interface translate to a regular e-mail user like myself? Is there a compelling reason to switch to Sparrow if you are already satisfied with Mail.app (or any other Mac e-mail application, for that matter)?

Read on, true believers…

I’ve put Sparrow through its paces as my main e-mail client for approximately two weeks before writing this review. Upon first launch, a dialog box appears asking for your name, email address, password and signature. Sparrow then retrieves your e-mail. That’s it! Set-up was incredibly easy.

Sparrow 1.0.1 screenshots

The first thing I noticed about Sparrow is its streamlined, ultra-minimalistic interface. This arrangement allows me focus squarely on the e-mail messages. I found Sparrow’s small window footprint to be ideal, particularly on my laptop, where screen real-estate is at a premium.

Sparrow 1.0.1 screenshots

Each received message shows the name of the sender, the subject, and the first few lines of the text body. You can follow conversation threads very easily in Sparrow. Double-clicking on a message will cause the email to pop open in a separate window. If you prefer, you can reveal messages in a slide-out tab, available on the lower right corner of the application’s window.

Sparrow 1.0.1 screenshots

Managing multiple G-mail accounts is simple – you can configure new accounts within Sparrow’s preferences, as shown below.

Sparrow 1.0.1 screenshots

Composing an email is straightforward, and drag-n-drop file attachment supports image previews.

Sparrow 1.0.1 screenshots

I have several e-mail folders configured within my G-mail accounts, and my initial concern was that Sparrow wouldn’t support them. My fears were quickly put to rest: Sparrow handles G-mail folders with aplomb, making it very easy to archive emails into their specific folder via G-mail labels. Accessing archived e-mails is also a breeze. Clicking on the tag, located on the lower lefthand side of the Sparrow window, will bring up all the archived folders you have created in your G-mail account.

The Sparrow user interface is very intuitive; managing my e-mail has never been easier (or fun!).

Conclusion

Sparrow is a really slick e-mail client, but is it worth the hassle (and $10) to switch from Apple’s Mail.app to Sparrow? After two weeks of usage, I would say a qualified “YES”.

Why the qualification?

If you don’t use G-mail accounts, Sparrow (in its present state) is somewhat useless. You’ll have to wait until Sparrow version 1.1. However, if you live and breathe G-mail like I do, you’ll find there’s a lot to love with Sparrow, particularly if you have multiple G-mail accounts. Basic AppleScript support has been added in Sparrow 1.0.1, for those that need it.

After using Sparrow for 2 solid weeks, I have all but forgotten about Apple’s Mail.app. Sparrow’s speed and streamlined interface makes managing e-mails much easier and (dare I say, fun!). In my humble opinion, Sparrow is worth the $10 asking price – especially if you manage multiple G-mail accounts on a regular basis.

Sparrow 1.0.1 gets 4.5/5 Bob Weiners.

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Apps I’ve installed on my SSD

by Krishna on February 19, 2011 at 8:49 am
Posted In: Mac, News

My favorite Mac apps

A picture speaks a thousand words, so what better way to share the apps I use on a regular basis than with a screenshot?

Living off of a 40GB SSD on my Mac Pro, I’ve had to be pretty conservative on selecting the applications that need to live on it. As of now, I have 8.4GB left on my OWC SSD drive, and I hope it stays that way for a while. All of my data resides on a separate internal 1 terabyte SATA hard drive.

My favorite, regularly used productivity apps that have made the transition over to the SSD drive are:

  • Sparrow (review coming soon)
  • Google Chrome (ridiculously fast browser)
  • Divvy (window size / location management)
  • Witch (window selection management)
  • Path Finder (an excellent Finder replacement)
  • Typinator (text expanding of frequently used text)
  • Blast (easy retrieval of recently created / modified data)
  • LaunchBar (quick access app launcher and more)
  • HyperDock (Windows 7-type thumbnail previews via the Dock)

Each are worth its full weight in gold. You can find the complete list of software I use on a regular basis, in case you’re curious.

Got any of your own Mac app recommendations? Post ‘em in the comments below!

-Krishna

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Review: Witch 3.5.8

by Krishna on February 6, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Posted In: Mac, News, Reviews

Product: Witch
Manufacturer: Many Tricks
Website: http://www.manytricks.com/witch
Date Reviewed: 2/6/2011
Retail Price: $14.00

The Problem

One of the biggest problems inherent to Mac OSX has been window management. If you have multiple apps and windows open across multiple Spaces, finding the right window can be just as infuriating as trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Witch screenshots

I’m a power user – it’s not unusual for me to have several applications and windows open at once. Normally managing open windows on a single screen isn’t too much of a problem for me. But when you add multiple desktops (Spaces) into the mix, finding the specific window I want to work with can be a huge pain in the rump.

Sure, Apple has a few built-in tools that you can use, like Command-Tab (to cycle between applications) and Expose (to see an overview of all open windows in a graphical format) but neither tool, in my opinion, does a particularly effective job of solving the problem many users face. In a nutshell, Mac OS X lacks a built-in window manager that lets you directly access and cycle between all open and minimized windows on your system with a simple keystroke.

Enter the application Witch ($14), by Many Tricks, which attempts to simplify window switching in Mac OS X. Is it easy to use? Does it make managing windows more efficient? Let’s find out.

Taking a Tour

Witch is available as a System Preference (from the Many Tricks website) or as a stand-alone application from the Mac App Store. My evaluation is based on the Mac App Store version (which I scored for the sale price of $9.99).

Installation was a total breeze (after all, this is the Mac App Store version), so my focus for this review will be on using the application instead. (Quick note: even though Witch is an app, you can keep it running and not have it displayed on your Dock, if you prefer.) When you launch Witch, you’ll see a Settings window with three tabs. The first tab (shown below) lets you customize a keyboard shortcut trigger.

Witch screenshots

I’ve set Option-Right Arrow for my trigger. When I press that keystroke, Witch presents me with a HUD display that lets me choose from all the available applications and windows I have open on my computer. With Option-Right arrow pressed, I can use the arrow key to cycle between all available windows. I can also use the mouse to select a specific window.

Witch screenshots

The second Witch tab (shown below) lets the user customize the application’s behavior. You can customize the delay in showing the HUD display, list windows from all Spaces, show a preview of the window as you cycle to it (shown below), and much, much more.

Witch screenshots

You can also optionally use a numerical ‘hotkey’ to immediately select one of the first 10 windows within the list. I was very impressed with the level of customizability Witch offers.

Witch screenshots

The third tab, “Appearance”, controls the look-and-feel of the app. You can choose between one of several presets, which control the color of the text and background of Witch’s HUD display. You can create your own setup, of course, and save it for later use.

Witch screenshots

Conclusion

Witch feels cohesive and very much a part of the OS. After using Witch for only a few hours, I immediately installed the application on my other Macs. Having used it for the better part of the week now, I find that I can’t live without it. Witch is priced at $14 via the developer’s website, and I believe the app is fairly priced for everything it delivers.

I have absolutely no reservations whatsoever in recommending this app for Macintosh users. Witch brings proper window management to Mac OS X, and does it in an elegant, straight-forward manner. It’s a very powerful and customizable tool, and in my usage, Witch has really improved my productivity manyfold – I’m no longer wasting valuable time ping-ponging between virtual desktops to locate the proper window. It’s a must-have app for Mac owners who want to get the most out of their machines.

Witch gets a coveted 5 out of 5 Bob Weiners.

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