The OS X Thread

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

Taking a glance around the threads in this forum, you can begin to guess that I know a lot about OS X, Apple's pretty UNIX based operating system. I am a zealot. I also acknowledge its faults and embrace fixing them. I know more forumers have Mac's and I would like to create a central place for all Mac related questions.

This thread isn't just for problems either. Most of you probably aren't using your Mac to its fullest potential. I am continually pruning the set of Apps i use for OS X and have had experience in customizing them to the n'th degree. Here are a list of things I use regularly that make me happy to be in the land of *nix. If you use something that isn't here and love it, please make a post.

Growl - http://growl.info/
Growl is a notifier application. Many other applications work with Growl, like iTunes, Transmission and Adium. When I chat with people, theyr're im's are also displayer in the upper right hand corner of my screen like VH1's pop-up video. When songs change in iTunes, Growl displays the song along with the album art I've had iTunes append to the album.



Adium - http://www.adiumx.com/
The mother of all chat clients. Windows users drool over this little application and attempt to replicate it with Gaim and Trillian. You can make Adium look any way you like, including what color your little duck is on your dock. The biggest dowfall of Adium was lack of file transfer capabilty, but due to the "Summer of Code," that problem has been fixed. If you use Video and Audio Chat a lot, Adium is not for you. Sorry. Works with Growl.

Alarm Clock 2 - http://www.robbiehanson.com/alarmclock/
If you're like me, you have trouble getting up. My little 12" Powerbook is connected to a set of very nice speakers and I take advantage of this by turning OS X into (one of) my alarm clock. Through a discrete menu bar icon, you can set alarms that activate your prescribed iTunes playlist. The music can be set to faaaade in so you gently awake from your slumber. Alarms can be set on a reocurring basis for those with regular schedules.

Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac
Have a Mac with a microphone? Can't afford Garageband? Want to record stuff? Huh? Bumblebee tuna? Well you're in luck. Greasy hairy *nix nerd have toiled for years to create some amazing, open source, free application software. This is one of them. Audacity dates to way back in the day, but is still used and is still very good at what it does. There are a few effects you can apply to your sounds, like putting things in reverse and such.

Camino - http://www.caminobrowser.org/
Just reaching its 1.0 phase, Camino is one of my favorite OS X apps. After a two years of using Safari, I got sick and tired of waiting fos Apple to update their flagship browser. Safari's great for OS integration and RSS, but when I went to a page with more than 10 animated GIF's my little compass choked. So i considered Firefox. That was fucking disgusting. Firefox is one of the worst ports from Windows to OS X I have ever seen. Then, along came Camino. It's fast, and it looks like an OS X app should, cleana and simple. No brushed metal, no goofy templates, just awesomeness.


Flip4Mac - http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm
Sometimes movies are in .WMV. It happens. Nobody liks having to go into different Apps to do extra stuff. I like keeping everything in one place. Flip4Mac is an OS plugin that lets you watch and Windows Media within in your browser, sans having to exit to WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER. Thank God for this one.

Genius - http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Educational/Genius.shtml
This semester I have a pretty heavy workload. One of the courses that has a lot of bulk data is Programming in Java. I have a quiz every week on one chapter, so I need to learn an exact amount of information in a relatively short amount of time. And I suck at studying. I have no memory at all. I came accross this beaut a while ago but only started using it recently. You manually enter questions and answers into Genius - much like flash cards - then Genius teaches them to you, while at the same time reviewing previously learned material. If you get one wrong, it asks it again untill you get it right consistently. I've gotten A's on all my Java quizzes so far.

Google Notifier - http://mail.google.com/mail/help/notifier/notifier_mac.html
If you use Gmail and access it via browser, then this is for you. Google Notifier sits on your menu bar and glows red when you have a new message. It also can work with Google Calendars if you're into that type of thing.  

MacStumbler - http://www.macstumbler.com/
This app is still in beta and has been for years. it does not mean that it isn't good. I have a Mac laptop and I frequently use wireless signals other than my own. MacStumbler does a better job of finding signals than the built in Mac menu list, and can actually help improve your connectivity to weak signals. I don't know why, but I don't complain. Peole who steal wireless signals, this is for you.

Quinn - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10063
Yay sexy Tetris app!

Seashore - http://seashore.sourceforge.net/
This is for those who miss MSPaint and want something similar that isn't overkill (Photoshop). it is a little more fancy than ye olde MSPaint, but it's come as close to a replacement that I've found. I know a lot of the stuff the Davey does for forum stuff is on Seashore.

Senuti - http://fadingred.org/senuti/
I like backups of things. I have an iPod. It acts as my mobile music player and my MP3 music backup. Notoriously, getting your music off an iPod has been a bitch. Not with Senuti. Very, very idiot proof. DATA REDUNDANCY IS GOOD, PEOPLE.

Transmission - http://transmission.m0k.org/
A lightweight, no nonsense Bit Torrent client. I've been using this for a year and a half and have had no complaints. Works with Growl.

VLC - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
VLC is the titan of media players. Almost every format I throw at it, it plays. it reads subtitles, can take screenshots and buys you hookers. VLC is a neccesity for all OS X users.

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes701.html

itunes all patched up for all you peoples with complaints. I know that Mits had some issues, so hopefully this will fix it.  

[الله أكبر]

Ah, thank you. I am downloading it now.

Also, my iTunes is in German  

[الله أكبر]

Update:
I downloaded and installed the new version. Things seem to be working smoothly now. Danke.

[Shire Le Buff]

I just went download crazy, thanks Dan.

I'm a big fan of stealing wireless signals so I was excited about MacStumbler, but I can't seem to get it to work.   Sometimes it just turns on then the application closes immediately, giving me a flash of the window.   The other times the window just comes up and freezes, leaving me with a worthless window I can't close.   Any idea what's wrong?

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

The folks at MacStumbler haven't written a Universal Binary yet. Meaning Intel-based Macs can't use the software. My bad, folks. This program is still in beta phases, so I guess the pressure to keep with the times isn't there.

NetNewsWire Lite - http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NetNewsWire
I used to use Safari. Which means i used to use RSS feeds. A lot. For webcomics, tech sites, news sites, blogs of people I knew, and anything else I could think of. Then I met  Camino. Camino was fast and wild and knew how to show a girl a good time. So i switched and lost my live RSS bookmark menus. Finally, I resorted to adding another program to my things I open immediately when I turn on my machine list. I was wary at first, but the free version of NetNewsWire has been pretty good to me. The layout is appealing and modifiable, it handles every type of newsfeed I throw at it, and it's made by NewsGator, an online feed aggregator for the Web 2.0 kid on the go. The coolest part? I can check my subsribed feeds from work on News gators site and when I return to my PowerBook, the stories I read online are marked as read in NetnewsWire. Pretty slick.

[Shire Le Buff]

Can anyone recommend a decent compiler for my MacBook?   I atleast need one that can work with Java.  

I've been using NetBeans, which is fucking beautiful on PC but turns into a slow lumbering idiot on my Mac.

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

For my Java class, we are required to use Eclipse. It's not bad. But not great either. It pretty much holds your hand for everything.

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

[Shire Le Buff]

I worked with Eclipse during High School.   It's pleasent, but NetBeans has the better debugger in my opinion.  

As long as Eclipse doesn't take forever to turn on, shut down, and free my whole damn computer I'll be honkey dory with it.

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

Bump for Seth, who's getting a MacBook!

[WWW.SETH.COM]

Bump for Seth, who's getting a MacBook!

On it right now. I like it a lot. I'm still trying to figure out if I can right click on anything...They wouldn't let us get in line and buy it at the counter. The guy who helped us was named Dan; he looked a lot like regular Dan, except I think he might have been part Armenian.

To bring up the whole buying the computer thing...We entered the Apple Store at the King of Prussia mall and it was packed. So we looked around ourselves, not really asking or receiving any helpe from the already over-worked Apple employees. So we examined some of the display models and since we already had a pretty good idea of the specs we were looking for, we got in line.

Apparently, at an Apple store, this is a mistake.

One of the employees, carrying a futuristic portable credit-card reading device came through the line, cutting down the wait. When he got to us he asked if he could help us make our purchase. We stepped forward and informed him that we would like to purchase a macbook.

"Hold on," he said, simultaneously cutting us off and giving us a practice salesman's look. "I'm not letting you guys get up there," he meant the counter "until you've talked to a floor person about the promotions and your options."

We did not want to be rude and so returned to the line to await further instructions. Another guy came by and said the same general stuff. Asking us to wait in an open area on the floor, he left us alone for a second time. We told him that we knew what we wanted and were ready to buy a computer. I suppose that Apple does this for our own good. They get a lot of people who have no idea what is going on...I don't know. I quietly felt like we were being treated like idiots.

Then Armenian Dan came over and helped us. Trying to sell us some extra software and a .Mac account and some other stuff. He had trouble knowing who to make the sale to. My Dad was there and Armenian Dan wasn't sure if he should make his pitch to me (who was obviously not the bank) or my father (obviously the bank). He kept looking back and forth, trying to bring us both within the area of effect of his GAZE OF MARKETING.

We escaped woth our lives and our dignity. And a new Macbook. And we weren't there for that long. It just felt like there were a few unneccessary complications at the store. I'm happy and excited. I just need to download a bit torrent client.

[Shire Le Buff]

I ordered my Macbook off the Apple website.   Less hassle and it allows you to customize the hardware unlike the already assembled models at the Apple Store.

You can right click on stuff by either holding the control key while clicking or using a newer non-Apple mouse.

Sometimes I still go to the Apple store just to play with stuff.

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

I ordered my Macbook off the Apple website.   Less hassle and it allows you to customize the hardware unlike the already assembled models at the Apple Store.

You can right click on stuff by either holding the control key while clicking or using a newer non-Apple mouse.

Sometimes I still go to the Apple store just to play with stuff.

This fucking post.

The Apple website is great, and lets you not deal with the "free spirits" that work at Apple Stores. Seth, you needed a computer in a hurry, so you did the right thing. Hopefully now you see why I repeatedly told you not get any additional software. I hope I wasn't annoying.

Right clicking with a single button mouse pad is hard at first, but, like driving stick shift, if becomes second nature.

I too play with stuff in the Apple store. Something about the newness of all their products and the "go ahead and play with it" attitude that makes me do this.

[Larry Flyntz]

I quietly felt like we were being treated like idiots.

Indeed. I absolutely hate the Apple store in that mall, or at least the folks who work there (and I have to assume the same goes for Apple stores everywhere). It seems that one of the reasons Apple has a reputation as being a brand for smug bastards is that their stores are operated by smug bastards. Although, this is probably true of most tech-related operations.

[Violent Unrest in Allentown]

Indeed. I absolutely hate the Apple store in that mall, or at least the folks who work there (and I have to assume the same goes for Apple stores everywhere). It seems that one of the reasons Apple has a reputation as being a brand for smug bastards is that their stores are operated by smug bastards. Although, this is probably true of most tech-related operations.

One time I talked to an employee about working at the Apple Store. The told me to do something unique with my application so I would separate myself from the crowd. Like making my application into origami.

Fuck.

[CadmiumYellow]

every time i go into the kop apple store it is mobbed with confused individuals! so i give the people working there a lot of credit. i feel like they do the best they can with mobs of mall shoppers, who are not even easy to talk about CLOTHING with, much less complicated/expensive machines.

[WWW.SETH.COM]

Yeah, I totally understand that whole "yeah, let me deal with some more jerks" mentality of a customer service job. But being kicked out of line made me feel like I was kind of getting treated like a child. I'll admit I don't know much about computers, but in this instance I was prepared to be like a Macintosh hawk. Swoop in; obtain compter; swoop out.

To their credit, once some of the bullshit was out of the way, we were able to proceed at our desired breakneck pace.

[CadmiumYellow]

no i understand! and you're right, they should've been more specific with their customer service. you were a serious customer with a goal in mind and you should've been taken more seriously.

i'm sorry i promise that i only defended the apple store employees because i also work at the kop mall and deal with meandering Mall Shoppers all the time. so i kinda feel their general, overall customer-related pain.
but i did not in any way mean to imply that the way they treated you was right.

anyway sorry guys you can go back to talking about computers and stuff now!  

[WWW.SETH.COM]

Ahh...I just read that stuff again. It sounds like I had a really negative experience at the Apple store. It wasn't that bad. Just a tad frustrating.

[CadmiumYellow]

it is allllll gravy manco cause now you have a fabulous new macbook!