Tag Archives: macbook

Life should be as easy as a Mac

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I long ago lost track of how many computers I have owned. During the latter Windows days, I would by a new computer rather than go through the hell of trying to upgrade the operating system. It was just easier to buy a new box with the new OS already installed. But in every instance, it was necessary to re-install all of my applications and move my data over.

Our IT guys have assorted utilities for making “ghost images” and simplifying the process, but it has always been a pain ion the ass for me. Before I switched to Mac.

My new 13″ MacBook Pro arrived yesterday. I set it next to the 15″ MBP I’ve been using for the last year… connected them with a FireWire cable… and then just followed a few simple steps on the new laptop. And then I went to lunch.

When I returned, all of my apps, all of my data, and all of my settings had been copied over to the new computer. Done. I really can’t imagine how it could have been any easier.

The 13″ is about a pound lighter and you notice the difference immediately. (I keep the thing with me at all times) The smaller form factor forced Apple to move the little speakers and –although I don’t see them– the sound is as good as the larger laptop.

I doubt I’ll see the upper-end 7 hours of battery life but hope to get four, which would be a big improvement.

Last night Barb asked, “Tell me again why you got a new computer?”

“Because I’m a good boy,” I replied.

Jing go the strings of my heart

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Did you ever show someone how to do something online and then show them over and over and over again? Sure you have. A couple of years ago I started using screencast apps (like ScreenFlow) to record brief “how-to’s” that I could put online rather than do the same demo again and again.

ScreenFlow and Camtasia and similar products enable you to record your demo once, and then let folks watch it when –and as often– as they want. These apps are very good… and maybe too good. (I tend to go on and on)

Lately I’ve been using Jing, which is made by the same people that make Camtasia. The difference is Jing is free and it limits your screencast to 5 minutes. Which I consider a feature, not a limitation. It forces you to focus, to be concise. If you need more than 5 minutes, you’re probably rambling and wordy.

I’ve done a few screencasts showing our reporters how to put stories online using our new WordPress websites. Recorded on the MacBook and uploaded to Screncast.com ($15/year). I then just send the links to our folks and they can watch the short videos (without downloading files). Works on Mac and PC.

Newsroom change

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I only snapped one photo of Bob Priddy in action on election night. Through studio glass (you can see my reflection in this larger image) with producer John Simms in the background. MacBook Pro and video camera are streaming live video to Ustream. Big screen TV’s on the walls, high-speed connection to the Secretary of State’s website with up-to-the-minute returns.

When I joined the company in 1984, Bob was still writing stories on this manual Royal typewriter (below). Audio was captured on reel-to-reel tape recorders and “dubbed” to analog carts. We had a UPI printer spewing out the news (on long rolls of paper), and election returns were phoned in by a reporter sitting in the Secretary of State’s office.

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Can’t imagine what we’ll have in four years. Bob Priddy’s memory of those days is better than mine:

“Actually, we were using cassettes, not R2R in ’84. We relied on UPI for election returns with reporters at various gatherings of candidates. We didn’t put anybody in the SOS office until the Presidential primary of ’88, after studying what AP and UPI did in the 86 general election.”

Tulsa Bound

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Off the grid for a few days starting Friday. Heading down to Tulsa for family time with Brother Blane. My nephew Ryan will be home from Union University (Jackson, TN) where he’s a freshman. Ryan and his brother and sister grew up in Indonesia and were home schooled. I’m eager to hear his thoughts on college life. If his Facebook page is any indication, he’s having a great time.

I’m not taking the MacBook on this trip so the blog will be dark for a few days (unless Ryan takes pity on me).

MacBook product placement in top TV shows

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Ichattv_2In the season premier of The Office, Pam heads off to art school with what appears to be a new MacBook. Back in Scranton, Jim has a MacBook Pro so the two love birds can chat. Of course, Michael has to get in on the fun (“Put me down, Michael. Take me back to Jim.”)

Pretty good product placement. But no better than what we saw in the season premier of HBO’s Entourage (I would have sworn I posted on this but can’t find it), when Johnny Drama carried on an LA/Paris relationship via his MacBook Pro.

I’m sure PC users assume this is just Hollywood horse shit but it really is that easy to video chat on the Mac.

We’re not talking about a bottle of Budweiser on the kitchen table. In both instances, the Mac’s were written prominently into the story line. Would love to know how much Apple paid for these two placements? [via Cult of Mac]

American Photobooth

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Boing Boing is truly "A Directory of Wonderful Things." Like American Photobooth, a new illustrated history of photobooths by photographer Nakki Goranin.

"Goranin doesn’t much care for the mall’s machine, which is digital—the print quality is not what it used to be. But, she says, there are only about 250 authentic chemical booths left in the United States…

Before the photobooth first appeared, in the 1920s, most portraits were made in studios. The new, inexpensive process made photography accessible to everyone. "For 25 cents people could go and get some memory of who they were, of a special occasion, of a first date, an anniversary, a graduation," Goranin says. "For many people, those were the only photos of themselves that they had."

Because there is no photographer to intimidate, photobooth subjects tend to be much less self-conscious. The result—a young boy embracing his mother or teenagers sneaking a first kiss—is often exceptionally intimate. "It’s like a theater that’s just you and the lens," Goranin says. "And you can be anyone you want to be."

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I have lots of photos of my sweety and a particular fondness for these, taken in one of the pre-digital booths. She really doesn’t seem very self-conscious in these.

Many of my acquaintances are very good photographers. They have expensive equipment and take it seriously. I am way down on the other end of the spectrum. I take a lot of photos and don’t worry too much about the quality. I throw ’em up on flickr (and into iPhoto) and move on. Like high school typing class, I’ve opted for speed over accuracy. So the old photobooth appeals to me on that level.

PS: I could not guess the hours I have spent scanning photograph during the past ten years. Every so often I burn a CD and take it to the safe deposit box. Other than our pups and Barb, I can’t think of anything I value more. And I must add that the Mac –and iPhoto in particular– has made it possible to manage all my digital images. I keep about 1,700 on this MacBook and can find an image with a minimum of effort.

PPS: Speaking of photobooths… I’m told one of the most popular applications on the Mac is Photo Booth, loosely based on the original.

A fun zealot with a beehive and sexy shoes

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Regular readers are familiar with my sputtering attempts at screenplays here. Never can come up with the third act. But Maureen Dowd can and does. Vice in Go-Go Boots, starring Sarah Palin.

“This chick flick, naturally, features a wild stroke of fate, when the two-year governor of an oversized igloo becomes commander in chief after the president-elect chokes on a pretzel on day one.

The movie ends with the former beauty queen shaking out her pinned-up hair, taking off her glasses, slipping on ruby red peep-toe platform heels that reveal a pink French-style pedicure, and facing down Vladimir Putin in an island in the Bering Strait. Putting away her breast pump, she points her rifle and informs him frostily that she has some expertise in Russia because it’s close to Alaska. “Back off, Commie dude,” she says. “I’m a much better shot than Cheney.”

Somewhere in the hills of Hollywood a starving scribe is clicking away on his MacBook. Look for a Labor Day release.

Web specs

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I stopped buying/reading newspapers a long time ago. But there are times –breakfast, for example– when it is inconvenient or impractical to open the MacBook. My solution has been to print articles I find online and take them with me.

KowonvideoglassesI’d really love to have a pair of reading “glasses” with some flash memory to which I could Blue Tooth these articles, including photos and video. I don’t see why that would be technically difficult and damned handy. This is close but likely to get my ass kicked at the local diner where I have breakfast. I’m thinking more along the lines of Clark Kent glasses.

No, I don’t need wifi access. That would be cool but would add a lot of cost. And, yes, I know there are all kinds of portable readers out there but I don’t want to tote around even a book size device.

What I haven’t tried is saving the text to my iPod. Not a great reading experience on the nano but it would work fine on the Touch. Hmmm. And if wifi was available… I suspect this wheel has already been invented.

What is it with the Apple logo on TV?

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"Sex and the City’s" Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night to promote her blockbuster chick flick. Jimmy brought out his laptop partway through the interview for an online multiple choice quiz, which decides which of the four main SATC characters the taker is most like."

I started noticing this after I turned in to a Mac fanboy. What’s the big deal about masking the Apple logo? I guess they’d mask any recognizable brand logo. The difference is how distinctive the MacBook is. But maybe that’s true only of Mac fans. To everyone else, it’s just a laptop.

So here’s today’s assignment: Name another product that is equally recognizable (without seeing the brand logo). Begin.

PageCast: Short, sweet and real

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There are just so many things I like about The PageCast, I’m not sure where to begin. First, what is The PageCast.

It’s a 60 second video by Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin, previewing the three stories that he thinks you should be watching for today. You’ll find it on the top/right of The Page. Big whoop, right? Okay, here’s some of the things I like about this simple idea (and this particular PageCast):

  • It maximizes the reach of a popular, plugged-in political reporter.
  • It’s short. One minute. Easy to watch, easy to produce.
  • It’s real. Or at least it appears real. Today’s PageCast was recorded in what appears to be Mr. Halperin’s hotel room in South Dakota (prior to Tuesday’s primary). And he obviously just came from the gym or a run. (Note to TV and Hollywood directors: THIS is what real sweat looks like. Not the little spritz you put under your star’s arms and on his chest. Save this image for future reference). And Mark hasn’t shaved yet. The guy looks like we all do on a Sunday morning.
  • Zero production. If I had to guess, I’d say he recorded this with his Mac Book sitting on the hotel desk. Probably in one take. He emails the file to some web monkey who uploads to The Page and it’s done. No crew, no director, no editing.

The news directors of our radio networks would be great at this. And their listeners/readers/viewers would eat it up.

UPDATE: My buddy Kay reports that Mark Halperin records PageCast between 7-9 a.m. (usually), wherever he happens to be and in whatever he happens to be wearing. If he’s on the West Coast, he usually records them at night. He thinks of what he wants to say just before he begins recording (or in the shower or at the gym), on his MacBook Pro (edits with iMovie).

The idea was prompted by the desire to put video on The Page, while keeping it easy to produce and watch. Just as I suspected. Simple idea, well executed.