MacCast 01.05.2006

Written by: Adam Christianson

Categories: Podcast

Listen to today’s show here! podcast-mini2.gif
MC20060105.mp3 [19.8mb 00:43:08 64kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 112. MacCast at CES in Las Vegas. Skype me if you are in town (themaccast). My road kit and the Samson C01U Condenser Mic. Apple updates Airport routers and Bluetooth. Pete Townshend reminds us to turn down our iPods. Disney/ABC expand their iTunes line-up. iTunes dropped from new ROKR phone. Finally help with uninstalling Mac Apps. AppZapper is here. MacCast One Minute Tip #10 – The Dock. Huge Microsoft security flaw wreaking havoc, why do they put up with it? Retail iPod scams put the Grinch on Mac-mas. What it means for Ives to be a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Audio Issues around iMovie HD transitions. iPod Nano case warning. Software to “Restore” your Mac drive on reboot, MacShield Enhanced Edition. Your invited to the “Party for the People” at MacWorld Expo.

The I Love My Mac Song by Daphne Kalfon

Promos from Typical Mac User Podcast and MiniViewSF Podcast

I’m not deprived; I’m delinquent. There’s a difference, you know.

Shownotes: HTML or OPML
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There are 28 comments on MacCast 01.05.2006:

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  1. Nick Circosta | Jan 05 2006 - 04:51

    WICKED :)

  2. ChrisM | Jan 05 2006 - 07:41

    Pete Townsend is still the Bass with The Who, guess you didn’t catch any of the UK G8 concert in 2005 (where Pink Floyd reunited!!). If you can get hold of the DVD it is well worth it just for these two bands :-)

    iTunes on the V3i should be worth it, the V3 rocks, and with iTunes will rock louder :-)

    Great Song!

  3. MacFanDave | Jan 05 2006 - 12:21

    I disagree. AppZapper is way too expensive. It ought to be freeware — it’s a one-trick pony. Most other one-trick ponies have been given away as freeware (for example, MacJanitor, CacheOutX, Monolingual, TinkerTool.)

    Paying for something to do a task that will take a minimal effort is just wrong.

  4. Flashman | Jan 05 2006 - 05:41

    Hi Adam,

    It is a bit disappointing that many of the video podcast offerings of television shows are limited to tiny snippets of the programs.

    We’re doing things a little differently where I work, at an Australian broadcaster called SBS. We’ve released a full, free video podcast of our show “Speaking in Tongues”.

    It’s available at this link in both iPod and PSP-ready versions.

    The show itself is a weekly panel discussion format covering religion, ethics and the paranormal in a humourous fashion.

    We’ve got a better chance to do these sorts of things because we’re a public broadcaster. And we’ve got Apple to thank, because although video podcasting was possible before the 5G iPod, it was that device which demonstrated the mass-market potential of video podcasting.

    Loving the show from Sydney, Australia.

  5. maccast | Jan 05 2006 - 06:02

    Dave,
    It maybe a “one-trick” pony, but it does it well. The advanced user shouldn’t needs this as you point out, so they shouldn’t buy a tool like this, but for the average user who tries out a lot of free/shareware apps I think it would be a helpful tool. It’s a “clever” app and the developer should get paid for putting it together. Do you work for free? ;)

  6. rickt42uk | Jan 05 2006 - 06:05

    AppZapper is amazing! Thankyou!
    I had a problem where some preferences on ImageReady had corrupted and could no longer run it. I had previously gone through my system and erased everything to do with ImageReady and Photoshop, but having wiped and reinstalled this several times, I could not get the app to load. I ran AppZapper, reinstalled ImageReady, and it ran straight away.
    I would definitely reccomend this app to anyone in the position of having corrupted preferences.

  7. ptfigg. | Jan 05 2006 - 08:23

    I have to agree with Adam here. This is a very useful application that is well designed, and I am sure the developer spent hours researching the concept way before development even began. This person deserves compensation. Asking for $13 is completely appropriate in my opinion.

    -ptfigg.

  8. Natalia | Jan 05 2006 - 08:13

    Adam, great show! I am using the same Samson mic with garage band, but my levels are so low. How did you get your vocals to have good levels?

    ~Natalia

  9. Mundy | Jan 05 2006 - 09:24

    Have not had any of the aiport updates come up when I run software update. The last update I installed was the security update on 11.29.

  10. macFanDave | Jan 05 2006 - 10:46

    >> It’s a “clever” app and the developer should get paid for putting it together. Do you work for free?

    I’m in a similar situation as you — I program on Windows all day for work and use a Mac on nights and weekends because I love it. When it comes to comparing the platforms, there are a lot of subtle ways that the Mac blows away Windows. One of these is the high-quality freeware available. Can you get a free text editor on Windows that holds a candle to TextWrangler? No effing way! Do I have to mention Senuti, iPhoto Buddy, iPhoto Diet, Chicken of the VNC and Service Scrubber to convince you? When I need to grab something to work with Windows, no matter how simple the task, I find it depressing that there may be a scattering of freeware options (which usually are horrible) and the rest is overpriced shareware. I’ve always been impressed by the Mac developer community and how many give away apps that required significant effort (and blown away by Bare Bones’ decision to give away TextWrangler.)

    And since you mention it, I am trying to develop a “clever” app to make use of the pmset command to give non-geeks better control of their Macs power and sleep patterns. Inspired by the generosity of Mac developers before me, I plan to make that one free. Ultimately, I’d like to do something more sophisticated and be able to live “The Life.”

  11. Mat | Jan 06 2006 - 12:09

    Hi Adam. The audio problems you mentioned in iMovie HD may be more pervasive (or, this might not be related), perhaps in one of their encoder libraries. I now have 3 songs I bought from iTMS, two with a popping sound and one with the buzz sound you mentioned. I’ve been going back and forth with Apple via email, but no solution yet. I’m wondering how many others have got corrupted songs. BTW, I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the download process, since two of the songs i re-purchased 4 weeks later with the exact same problem.

    Thanks for the ‘cast
    -mat

  12. Alex M | Jan 06 2006 - 05:54

    I’m new to this – does the eMacCast come later than the normal one??

  13. ptfigg. | Jan 06 2006 - 06:40

    Interesting. I guess the reason why I feel compensation is justified most of the time is I am currently researching OSX Development [Cocoa, Objective C, Xcode]. I have some ideas and concepts for small scale audio applications, plugins, etc, which I need for my work, and are not readily available. It’s a daunting task I must say. UI development is a cinch with Xcode. It’s learning the programming language and how to implement it which is going to take some serious dedication.

    -ptfigg.

  14. Jane | Jan 06 2006 - 08:48

    Hi Adam, I was wondering where the link to the Nano case pictures is? I can’t seem to find it.
    Thanks.

  15. Stitzu | Jan 07 2006 - 06:51

    Haha, I just thought I might point out that Adam said 2005 at the beginning of this show. I guess we all make mistakes though. ;)

  16. Ken | Jan 07 2006 - 07:40

    When is it coming out in the Enhanced podcast?

  17. jrcookster | Jan 07 2006 - 08:32

    Adam – love the cast. Was wondering if there was a deal for your listeners who wish to purchase AppZapper? Keep up the good work!!

  18. Ryan Gray | Jan 07 2006 - 01:12

    The 12-bit audio recording option on DV camcorders is to be able to go back and dub audio in the camera. Somehow or other, with 16-bit recording, you get one 16-bit stereo track, but with 12-bit recording, you get two 12-bit stereo tracks, only one of which is used at first. You can then go back and dub onto the 2nd 12-bit stereo track in the camera later. I suppose the sample rate is also lower in the 12-bit mode since 16 is less 12 times 2. With most editing done on the computer, there is not much need for this dubbing capability I think.

  19. Mitch | Jan 07 2006 - 04:12

    Ken,
    Since Adam is at CES, I would assume that he’s been unable to get it added to the feed. It is finished, just needs to be added to the feed.

  20. maccast | Jan 08 2006 - 09:38

    Ken,
    Yes it usually comes out a day or two behind, but in this case it was ready the same day, but I was out seeing sights on the Strip until 2:00 AM and didn’t check email when I got back. When I got home yesterday I checked and posted. You should have it now. Sorry.

  21. maccast | Jan 08 2006 - 09:41

    Natalia,
    Are you using the little Java app to control the gain and monitor levels that is available from the web site? It’s called SoftPre and the links are down near the bottom half of this page, http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810&brandID=2

  22. maccast | Jan 08 2006 - 09:44

    Jane,
    The link to the images can be found in the shownotes. The shownotes link is near the bottom of this post where it says, “Shownotes in HTML”. To make it easier here is the direct link to the images, http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jimgardner/index.html#unique-entry-id-13

  23. Makhaon | Jan 08 2006 - 10:26

    There are other problems with 12 bit sound: it may get out of synch with the video on iDVD and iMovie.

    The moral of the story: use 16 bit audio. I see no downside to it (tho’ I am not a power user)

    -m

  24. Craig Patchett | Jan 09 2006 - 12:23

    While it’s definitely a good idea not to turn up your music too loud in your earbuds, I’m sure Pete’s hearing loss has nothing to do with him performing live on stage thousands of times over the years next to massive speaker stacks!

  25. Neil McDougall | Jan 09 2006 - 04:30

    Hey Adam
    First up on the AppZapper front, how does it do with an application like Suitcase that leaves a ton of invisible files on your Mac, oftem with very anonymous names like .SC? Would it catch that stuff?

    As for the listener who wanted an equivalent to Norton’s GoBack, the Mac “industry standard” for that kind of thing seems to be an application called Deep Freeze by Faronics (http://www.faronics.com). They make versions for the Mac, and for Windows, and version 2 just came out. I know numerous schools in the Chicagoland area that swear by it.

  26. James | Jan 10 2006 - 12:47

    Adam,

    Just so you know, it is Jonathan “Ive” and not Ives as in “Burl Ives”. Love the podcast — can’t wait to hear your reaction to the Macworld news today.

    James

  27. Andrew | Jan 10 2006 - 11:12

    Adam always has the coolest songs on the Podcast, but I never can find a place to buy them. It is so infuriating. Where can I buy a copy of “Country Song.” Anybody know? I loved the Geoff Smith song played before the holiday. I tried to find it everywhere. I even e-mail Geoff Smith, but unfortunately he had no way to sell me the song or the album.

  28. Natalia | Jan 11 2006 - 04:01

    Adam, yes, I am using that Java app. I find I hve to talk right into the mic to get good levels…I’ll post in the forums, maybe folks can help. Thanks for your reply!