I am not really sure how I missed this one, but I guess (like many others) I was so blown away by the awesome specifications of the new Mac Pro that I didn’t notice an interesting omission. Now I need to give credit where it is due, because it was listener Scott who actually brought this to my attention, “Despite the great configurability of the new MacPro, did you notice you can’t add a remote control?… “The addition of FrontRow (also missing from the specs) with a remote would have been so nice!”

Ah ha, you see it now too. I guess Apple feels their Pro customers are too busy working to enjoy a little media experience on their Macs?

Now I am sure that to some people who purchase a new Mac Pro this may not be a big deal, but for other customers like Scott it does obviously matter. I think I tend to be in agreement with Scott on this one. The Mac Pro could really serve double duty as a nice secondary home entertainment device. It could be ideal our secondary forms of entertainment like IPTV, video podcasts and iTunes TV downloads. Note that Apple dropped prices on their Cinema displays and many of those buying Mac Pros will also pick up a 23″ or 30″ HD display. Wouldn’t that make a Mac Pro an awesome, and easy, way to add a media center to a spare room or den in your home? We all know that OS 10.5 will have FrontRow built in, so part of this omission will be solved then, but it doesn’t ship until Spring 2007.

There is no doubt that the Mac Pro is the king ca-macho macho of all Mac-dom, but there does seem to be a couple of niceties (FrontRow, Apple Remote, built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) Apple has decided to reserve for it consumer customers. I would expect things to change when Apple releases Leopard with FrontRow in the Spring, but I guess for now Pro users will still need to rely on the great 3rd party solutions like Media Central to get their Mac media center fix.

Apple’s Mighty Mouse can’t seem to catch a break. I’m still amazed at the bad reviews it gets. And almost all the reviews of the new wireless version seem to have the same ‘Too little, too late’ mantra.

This review may be a little different. I have been using a Mighty Mouse exclusively for the past ten months, and I couldn’t be happier. It seems to address nearly every beef I’ve ever had with other mice. These three points are where the Mighty Mouse shines for me most:

1. Size & Weight
I have a problem with large, bulky mice (I don’t have dainty hands, by the way). The way I mouse, I basically use my thumb and ring finger to move, and index and middle for clicks. I have never liked ‘mitting’ my entire mouse. Too many mice that are ‘ergonomically’ designed seem to REQUIRE you to do a full on, sweaty-palmed wrap around. As a lifelong Mac user, I’ve always worked with quick mousing and lots of keyboard shortcuts. I don’t get stuck into the right-click, click, right-click, click mode that Windows traps you in. That is just too slow and constricting for me.

The Mighty Mouse is svelte, lightweight, and easy to glide. It has a low profile and symmetric Tic-Tac like shape. It’s easy to grab, move the pointer, and get back to the keyboard. You don’t need to conform your hand to the shell of the mouse just to move it.
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Can losing the cord save the mediocre Mighty Mouse?

Well at least Apple finally caught a clue and fixed one of my major complaints about the Mighty Mouse. It should have been Bluetooth from the beginning, especially since every Mac currently ships with Bluetooth built-in. Now, I actually bought an original Mighty Mouse and I was really excited about finally having an Apple designed mouse with two buttons and scrolling. I even used it for a while, but the truth is it now lives life in a bottom desk drawer (a fate I feel many a Mighty Mouse may have met). My reasons for abandoning the Mighty Mouse are unknown even to me. The only answer I have is an esoteric one and it involves knowing that using the Mighty Mouse just never felt quite right. The mouse-ball was fun to play with, but was never really as practical as a scroll-wheel. The “squeeze” button was always awkward to use and the invisible right mouse button never seemed to be as functional as the button on a true two-button mouse. Lastly there was the wire. It just never made sense considering all the great wireless two-button scroll-wheel mouse options available from Microsoft, Logitech and others. So while Apple has lost the wire, and that is a good thing, I think this new revision of the Mighty Mouse may end up being the “Almost but Really Just Not Quite Mighty Mouse with Bluetooth”.

UPDATE: I just read that the new version is also laser based and not optical, which is a nice improvement, but doesn’t really fix the issues I mentioned above.

With the official word from Apple that Steve will give us a glimpse of Leopard at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in August the media frenzy to predict new features is starting to roll into high gear. I have already seen many of the fakes which are surfacing around the web and now there is even a how-to so you can join the party. While surfing this morning I ran across this great article on MacWorld listing 23 new features some of the best minds in Mac media would like to see included in the upcoming OS X release. As I was reading the article and nodding in agreement to many of their suggestions I realized that for almost every “feature” they were recommending, they also pointed out a 3rd party program already available and already doing the job. Then I realized while I use many of these 3rd party applications myself there were others listed that I don’t use and I am not interested in using. So why are we, and Apple, seemingly so eager to pump up OS Xs feature set? With the last few releases of OS X we know Apple has set a precedence of “borrowing” concepts from great 3rd party developers and rolling them into OS X. The downside to this “borrowing” is we often alienate and lose these developers along with their innovative thinking. Plus, I wonder if there isn’t a better argument for not integrating so many features into the OS.
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Here is a story about why you should all do as I say and not as I do.

About a week and a half ago my 20″ iMac G5 started to turn off by itself. I thought it was a fluke at first, but when it happened 2 nights in a row I began to get suspicious. So I began the normal troubleshooting procedure: plugged into another outlet, reset the PRAM, ran repair permissions, reset the Energy Saver settings, reset the SMU, etc. Now, this is my main desktop system where I store all my iPhotos and other personal files, so you would think at this point it would have been a good idea for me to make a backup right? Of course it would of, but if I had, I would not be writing this and since I am, I’m hoping sharing my story will allow you to learn from my idiocy.
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We have all heard (and even been a part of) the rumors that the MacBook Pros heat issues are stemming from the amount of thermal paste applied. Not too long ago an image was released from Apples service manual that pictured approximately 10-20 times too much thermal grease being applied to the CPU in a MacBook Pro and this was all we were going on. I had my suspicions then that this was simply a pictorial and had nothing to do with the actual amount applied (I still believe any Genius worth their position would not apply, or leave applied, that amount of thermal grease). It would seem however that it is true.

That is to say the amount of thermal grease being applied is far too much, but not that it is making the difference. I just ran across James Duncan Davidsons experiment over at MacDevCenter and it is certainly interesting.
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The Truth is Out There

So ask yourself how you would feel if overnight you were suddenly hated and villified by an entire community just for speaking your mind on a few Mac forums and blogs (the MacCast included)? Well, that is exactly what happened to Jason Tomczak. If the name sounds familiar you probably think you know him as the guy who brought a lawsuit against Apple for the scratching issues with the iPod Nano. If so, you would be correct in the fact that his name did appear as lead plaintiff in the suit brought forth by David P. Meyer & Associates Co. LPA and their representative firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. But, according to Jason, that is the only fact you would have correct. A name on a sheet of paper.

Jason recently posted an Open Letter to the Mac Community and, according to him, he never wanted to be part of any lawsuit against Apple. He claims the law firm contacted him and asked for his “insight into the problem” which he provided. He also maintains he did so with the understanding that he wanted no part in any case they may file as a result of his opinions. So after months of remaining silent and after becoming a target for the hatered and loathing of many Apple fanatics, Jason took action and is revealing his side of the story. He hopes his letter will finally clear his name and expose what he considers to be the truth behind the lawsuit. I hope you all take a moment to read it. It offers a great perspective directly from a main player in the story and goes far beyond all media bites we heard last October. I am sure if I go back and listen to my comments at the time I am probably guilty of perpetuating the hype and guilty of letting my pro-Apple bias prevent me from peeking behind the media curtian. One thing is for sure, Jasons story serves as a reminder to be careful about what we say and, even more importantly, to be careful about who we say it to.

Open Letter to the Mac Community
The Truth Behind the iPod Nano “Scratch” Class Action Suit

Microsoft has released the required system specifications for running Windows Vista. Does this really effect Mac users you may ask? Well yes, possibly. Since the introduction of BootCamp there has been a lot of talk about compatibility with Vista on a Mac and finally we are getting somewhere in the discussion.

There will be two different levels, according to Microsoft, of Vista compatibility; “Vista Capable PCs” and “Vista Premium Ready PCs.” Most modern Macs fall into the latter category barring the x86 processor and of course we now have that covered with all the new Intel Macs.

The specs are complex however and some believe Macs may not be “Premium Ready” due to the integrated graphics and RAM modules used. To be Vista Premium Ready Microsoft lists the basic specs as being:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 GB of system memory.
• A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero.
• 128 MB of graphics memory.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive.
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability.

More information can be found here.

Still the question remains; would Microsoft want to sabotage Windows on Mac? Also would Apple want to sabotage Vista on Mac. I really don’t think either company can see a benefit in that and think Vista will run on all compatible machines as soon as Microsoft can ship it.

A Brief and Warped History of the Mac, part 11 (Single Button Simplicity)

I’m a huge fan of the MacCast. There are several reasons why I favour it over pretty much every other Macintosh PodCast – such as Adam’s style and the fact that we seem to largely agree on a lot of things. But that’s not to say that we agree on everything – I know that Adam is not a fan of Apple’s traditional single button mouse format. Sparked by Apple’s new Mighty Mouse – this week, I want to look at the importance of the single-button mouse on Mac’s interface.

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A Brief and Warped History of the Mac, part 10 (Future OS)

With Mac OS X version 10.5, Leopard in the works and Windows Vista, er, having its name unveiled, my thoughts have turned to the future. Mac OS X is the best operating system ever developed – its unique blend of high power UNIX and stylish, easy to use interface mean that the new version of Windows will really have to go some to catch up. We all wait with baited breath for Steve Jobs to stand on a stage and say, ‘Tiger is great, but for all the developers in this room – it’s old hat, because look what Leopard can do…’ Well actually, the most exciting part is what he says after that. New tweaks to the Aqua interface will probably filter in, great new features to make your life easier will crop up – and if they don’t, we’ll all be very disappointed.

So what is to come in Leopard? Well as I gaze into my crystal ball, I am at a loss to speculate what might appear. Better optimisation on the Intel Macs that will be commonplace by then is a strong likelihood. Even more extreme graphics, with support for PDF spec 1.6 built into Preview, more real time effects filters in Core Image and probably some other graphical innovations that none of us can guess.

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