[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20071216.mp3]
Download today’s show here! 
MC20071216.mp3 [32.1MB 01:09:59 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 210. Leopard owners seeing green and not envy. Canada gets iTunes TV Shows. Consumers like Apple’s new spots. .Mac sales are up. Quicktime and GarageBand updated. iPhone can do video. Apple posts Holiday TV ad. French unlocked iPhones are “country” locked. 2G plus vs. 3G iPhone. File sharing in Leopard. Keyboard shortcut symbols and tricks. Taking screenshots on the Mac.
New music, The Beauty of Exhaling by Ice Cap Fortune [iTunes]
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Marriage is punishment for shoplifting in some countries. — Wayne’s World (1992)
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I do not know why you’d hack your OS or use complicated software like Cocktail to do simple screen shots. I live and die by these widgets:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/business/screenshotplus.html
http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/showcase/details.php?wid=113
You can set the default image type and save location.
Hey Adam,
Thanks for the show.
There are ADDITIONAL screencapture features in MAC OS X Leopard!
Take a look at the screen capturing section of Mac OS X Keystrokes Guide:
~ http://www.miniguidez.com/macosx/keystrokesguide/screencapturing/screencapturing.html
Cheers!
Great show this week, Adam. I too love skitch, and I have a few invites as well. If you would like some extra invites for anyone that asks for them, just email me and let me know.
Adam:
2 things: first, I heard your comment about .MAC. I’m also a .MAC user, but it would be cool that you do a segment on how you use your account.
Second, I hear you about the Apple TV, but wouldn’t it be better to do like Alex Lindsay? He claims that he took a flat panel LCD with pc input and got a Mac Mini and an external disk, blue tooth keyboard and mice, and presto, a TV media center to play all of hit iTunes and DVD stuff. That has more appeal to me, because right now all the TV that I watch is either iTunes or my NETFLIX stuff.
What do you think?
Adam,
An easier way to find the symbols for keyboard shortcuts: in the System Preferences/Keyboard&Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts, click on the Help icon (the question mark) and you will get a Help page with all the symbols described.
Much easier than web browsing!!
i would love to get a skitch invite if someone has an extra.
thanks.
Chris,
I just sent you an invite.
Joe,
I agree on the using a Mac Mini as a home media center. It’s a nice option and I have done two Maccast specials with Ara Derderian from the HDTV Podcast on just that topic. You should check those out.
Adam,
I listened with interest to the segment in your 12/16 show sent in by listener Marc about the differences between 2.5G and 3G networks. In my day job I provide wired network support for engineers who design and build 3G and 4G wireless networks all over the world. During my tenure here I have learned many things about cellular data network performance which I feel was not adequately covered in Marc’s comments.
First, please consider that he was determining network performance by using the browser on his cell phone. Most cell phones and PDAs offer very slow CPUs which provide equally slow browsing. The particular cell phone browser may simply not be able to render pages fast enough to provide the user with the ability to really test network speed performance.
For my own cellular data performance tests I use a cell phone as a modem connected via cable or bluetooth to a laptop computer. This setup gives me access to a device which can accurately measure data throughput for the cellular device.
I wonder what Marc’s results would have been if he attempted to access any of the web based broadband speed tests, such as those found on DSLreports.com. Assuming the browser in his cell phone could correctly use those website, I think he might have seen very different results.
In addition to the cell phone browser, network speeds can be constrained by the number of active users on the network at the time of the test, the amount of network backhaul available, and the user’s location with regard to the cell tower. If too many people are also passing data through the same cell, throughput will degrade. If other users on the cellular data network are transferring data, there could be a bottleneck in the backhaul networks between the cell site, the Internet egress, and anything in between. There can also be congestion on the Internet and at the destination website itself.
Most important is where you are in relation to the cell site and your signal to noise ratio or SNR. The further you get from the cell site, the slower your data speed will be. The more RF noise in your local area, the lower your SNR will be and the worse your data throughput. Unfortunately, most users lack the tools to be able to measure most of these things.
Generally speaking, 3G networks will provide better overall network performance to a larger number of users. As time goes on, the networks will get better and users can expect better speeds. But as you can see, there are still many issues which may make a network feel slow, even if it isn’t.
Marc’s final comment was about battery life. On this topic, I have no data. But Marc’s findings on his own phone certainly support what Steve Jobs and Apple have been saying about the need to improve battery life before they will put the iPhone on a 3G network.
If you’re interested I can probably read this in and send you an MP3 of it. But I don’t know when you plan to get the next show out. Email me if you want me to try to read it and get it to you before your next show.
-Paul
Adam,
One thing you forgot to mention about the Apple TV, it still requires a move to HD TV. I’m holding off for another year or two on HD TV, so for me, the Mac Mini is still the better solution.
-Paul
Hi,
Adam, another great show! Thank you for all of your hard work and great information.
By the way, I am also looking for a Skitch invitation if someone has an extra they would consider sending along.
Many thanks,
Paul
Skitch invites can be had from inviteshare.com or http://getsatisfaction.com/plasq/topics/get_your_skitch_invites_here
Read the post by Robert Scoble “The MacMini HDTV revolution” @http://scobleizer.com/2007/12/27/the-macmini-hdtv-revolution/
N.B. Triggered by Dave Winers post on Scripting News about the launch of his new product FlickrFan @ http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/12/27/newProductReleaseToday.html
The link to the post of Scoble should read: http://scobleizer.com/2007/12/27/the-macmini-hdtv-revolution/