Why is my Mac running so slow? - Part Three

Welcome to Part Three of “Why is my Mac running so slow?” Previously, I wrote about the importance of having free space on your hard drive and memory installed on your Mac. This next subject will be a short one.

Keep your desktop clean.

Your desktop is actually a folder. It lives at (your startup disk, usually called “Macintosh HD”) > Users > (your user name) > Desktop. The difference is that the desktop folder displays it’s contents on your desktop as icons. These are not your normal icons, because the operating system treats every icon on the desktop as a window. So having 100 icons on your desktop is like having 100 windows open at the same time. This uses tremendous amounts of system resources and slows everything down.

It’s easy for the desktop to get out of hand. Icons on the desktop are generally laid out in a grid. When the grid fills up, the operating system starts to place any additional icons in the same place, stacking them on top of icon for your start-up disk! So now, the problem is getting worse and worse and you don’t even realize it.

The solution is easy. Start by creating a new folder on your desktop. Call it “Stuff to file”, or something like that. Then, take everything on your desktop and put it in that folder. I doesn’t matter how many items are in that folder or how much space those item take up. To the operating system, it’s just another window. Once you have done that, you should notice an immediate improvement in performance.

Next, do some house cleaning. Start moving things from the “Stuff to file” folder into the the proper folders in your home folders: Documents, Music, Pictures or Movies. Create sub-folders in those folders, if necessary. Then, just keep track of the amount of icons on your desktop. If you notice, say, more that three columns of icons, it’s time to move things to their proper places, or throw them away.

As Dr. Bobby says, “Cleanliness is next to Steveliness”.

Thanks for the read,

Your Genius

Why is my Mac running so slow? - Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of “Why is my Mac running so slow?” Previously, I wrote about the importance of having free space on your hard drive. Now, I’d like to go into another common reason for poor performance; not enough memory. In this case, I’m am talking about random access memory, or RAM, the solid-state, electronic memory your computer uses for temporary storage.

I know that for many of you the difference between RAM and hard drive space may not be entirely clear, so allow me to draw an analogy.

Imagine that your computer is like a desk, a special desk that allows you to work very quickly. The only caveat to using this desk is that, when you are done using it, you must leave nothing on the top of the desk, or else it will vanish.

Let’s say that you want to send a letter to someone. You reach into one of the desk’s drawers and put your typewriter on top. You also get a piece of paper out of the drawer to write your letter on. As you are typing, you think to yourself, “I want to send a picture along with this letter.” You get your paints out from the drawer and a canvas to go with it. Then, you really decide to go crazy and send along a recorded message, so you pull out a cassette recorder and a cassette and start talking.

When you are done, you not only have to put the typewriter, paints and tape recorder back into the drawers, you also have to put the letter, painting and tape in the drawers as well.

In this analogy the top of your desk is RAM and the drawers are your hard drive. When you start your computer, it first takes the operating system and copies it from the hard drive into memory. The same thing happens when you want to, say, write a letter. The computer “launches” (loads into memory) Microsoft Word. When you are done, you not only have to “quit” Word (purge it from memory), you have to save your new document to the hard drive.

It’s easy to see that the larger the top of your desk is, the more things you can do at once and the more efficiently you can work.

That’s why it’s important for your computer to have enough memory. Having lots of RAM allows you to have more applications running at the same time, lets you work with large documents (like big image files in Photoshop) and allows the operating system to work more

efficiently.

Here’s how to tell how much RAM you have in your computer. Go to the Apple menu in the upper left-hand corner of your screen and choose “About this Mac”. “Memory” refers to the amount of RAM installed in your Mac.

The amount of RAM required for best performance varies depending on what you use your computer for and what operating system you are running, however, 1 GB of RAM is a pretty good place to start for a modern Mac OS (10.4 - 6). The good news is that RAM is relatively inexpensive and can be installed by just about anyone. If you need more info or help with upgrading your memory, let me know.

Thanks for the read,

Your Genius

Why is my Mac running so slow? - Part One

“Why is my Mac running so slow?” This may be the most common issue that I hear from my clients, so I thought that I would lay out the reasons why this happens. Because I’d like to go into detail about each of the various reasons, I will be breaking this topic into several segments.

The first and most common reason your Mac is running slowly is that the hard drive is too full. The hard drive is the mechanical device that stores all of your Mac's information. Without it’s protective outer plate, it looks like this:

It’s not to be confused with memory, also referred to as RAM, or random access memory. Not having enough memory can also cause slow downs, but I’ll cover that in another article.

When you start your Mac, it loads it’s operating system from the hard drive into RAM. Also, when you launch an application, it, too, is loaded into memory, as well as any documents you may have created or opened. The operating system also needs to use the hard drive for temporary storage as you work. It creates what's known as virtual memory on your hard drive, accessing it constantly.

You can find out how much free space you have on your hard drive by clicking once on the icon for your hard drive to select it, then a) From the "File" menu, choose "Get Info" or b) right click on the icon and choosing "Get Info." You should see a window that looks like this:

This is the “Get Info” window for the 500GB hard drive in my MacBook. You’ll notice that the capacity is listed at 499.76 Gigabytes. The actual usable capacity of the drive will vary and will always be lower that what the manufacturer lists on the box. Just round up to the next highest round figure.

Of the 500 GB on my hard drive, about half is available. If your drive is too full, performance is affected dramatically. You need to keep at least 10% of your total hard drive space free for the operating system to use for optimal performance.

So then, what can be done to solve this?

You could start moving files off the hard drive to external storage, either to an external hard drive or to optical media (CDs or DVDs). The problem is that you will probably need to move a large amount of data to make a dent in the overcrowding. Most of the space will be taken up by, in order of size, videos, music, images and other documents. There will be very little that can come from the system folders and the applications are usually necessary and don’t take up much space anyway. So, unless you have a ton of music, movies and pictures that you don’t mind not having on your computer (and, by the way, not backed up), this is not the best solution.

The best solution is to replace the hard drive with a larger one. Fortunately, the cost of hard drive storage has fallen quite a bit. For instance, if you own a MacBook or MacBook Pro, a new 500 GB hard drive can be bought for less that $100 and can be installed fairly easily. For other Macs, replacement maybe more involved. I can replace the hard drive in a MacBook in about 5 minutes. An iBook, on the other hand, involves removing about 30 tiny screws to complete the 90-minute job.

After the new hard drive is installed, all the data needs to be transferred from the old hard drive to the new one. Data transfer can take several hours and requires a tool which will allow you to hook a bare drive up to your Mac.

As you might have guessed, hard drive replacement is one of the services I perform for my clients. For most modern Macs, hard drive replacement, including the new, 500 GB hard drive and data transfer, is only $199. Other hard drive sizes are available as well.

After the hard drive has been replaced, you will notice a marked difference in the responsiveness of your Mac. There is an added benefit as well. Remember, every hard drive will eventually fail and the older the drive is, the greater the chances of failure. So, a new hard drive will not only make your Mac faster, it will give it a new lease on it’s digital life.

Thanks for the read,

Your Genius

One to One Training at the Apple Store

As someone who makes a living traning people how to use their Apple computers, it may seem counter-intuitive to talk about Apple's One to One program. But, if you are buying a new Mac, and you want to learn use it to your fullest potential, I highly suggest it.

When you sign up for One to One at the same time that you buy a new Mac, Apple will transfer your files from your old computer, teach you all the basics in face-to-face training sessions, and guide you through more advanced projects. You can make up to one appointment per week for a year. Quite a deal for only $99.

What's the catch? You must buy One to One at the same time that you buy a new Mac. Also, you may not be able to get training on some third-party applications. And, of course, you must go to the Apple Store for training sessions.

So, if you can't get One to One because you didn't buy it when you bought your Mac, want to work at your home or office or for any other reason that One to One doesn't work for you, you know who to call.

Yelp. The People Have Spoken.

Yelp is a website that can best be described as a cross between the Yellow Pages and a social networking site. It features information on local business from restaurants to dentists. The thing that makes Yelp special, however are the reviews.

Yelp users are encouraged to write reviews for business they have used. The business are, for the most part, unable to change the reviews and users are encourage to be as honest, helpful and even as entertaining as they can in their opinions.

In addition to reviews, Yelp users can rate business from one to five stars. When you visit a businesses page, the average star rating is prominently displayed, along with the reviews and other information.

The Yelp database is searchable, making it easy to find, say, best the sushi restaurant in the West Los Angeles area as judged by people who actually ate there. Yelp is a very fun and helpful website that should have a space on your browser's toolbar.

As you might have guessed, "I'm Your Genius" is on Yelp. So, If you would like to write a review, just click the red button at the top of this article, register with Yelp and write your review.

And, if you have a small business that could use some extra advertising, check out Yelp for Business Owners. As my girlfriend says, "Why not? It don't cost nothin'."

Rumor: Black Friday at the Apple Store offer extra deep discounts.

Last month, I explained why now is a good time to buy a new Mac. Well, get your credit card warmed up and your desk cleaned off, because the BEST day to save money on a new Mac is coming up.

With the exception of educational discounts, Apple normally doesn't do sales. However, you will find savings at the Apple Store on Friday, November 27th. The day after Thanksgiving is commonly known within retail as "Black Friday". It's the only day of the year that Apple offers discounts on computers.

This year maybe even more interesting. The Boy Genius Report website reports that there is a strong rumor, based on leaked advertising that Apple will be offering "...up to 25% off all Macs". Black Friday discounts are usually 10% to 15%, making a 25% discount very enticing. Of course, the wording means that there maybe only one model getting the big price cut. Still, 25% off, say, the least expensive MacBook would mean savings of $250, bringing the price of the $999 laptop to just $750.

But, even if the above is just a rumor, there will, without a doubt, be discounts on selected Mac models that you won't see any other time of the year. So, if you can brave the crowds, it may be very well worth your while.

Apple releases Safari 4.0.4 for Mac and Windows

Apple today released Safari 4.0.4 which is recommended for all Safari users and includes improvements to performance, stability, and security including:

• Improved JavaScript performance

• Improved Full History Search performance for users with a large number of history items

• Stability improvements for 3rd-party plug-ins, the search field and Yahoo! Mail

Safari 4.0.4 is available via Software Update and also via standalone installers for Mac OS X 10.6.1 or 10.6.2, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.5.7, Mac OS X 10.4.11, Windows Vista, XP and Windows Vista.

Your Genius

Apple Releases Mac OS 10.6.2

You know, I thought I was going crazy.

My computer would unexpectedly log me out and I wasn't sure why. It seemed to happen so seldom, that every time I would forget to look it up. I just got into the habit of saving constantly because I had project that I needed to complete.

Well, today Apple released 10.6.2 which, among many other issues, addresses:

"an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly"

Nice.

I'm definitely going to update this afternoon. Here the official Apple line on 10.6.2.

Your Genius

The 10.6.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

• an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly

• a graphics distortion in Safari Top Sites

• Spotlight search results not showing Exchange contacts

• a problem that prevented authenticating as an administrative user

• issues when using NTFS and WebDAV file servers

• the reliability of menu extras

• an issue with the 4-finger swipe gesture

• an issue that causes Mail to quit unexpectedly when setting up an Exchange server

• Address Book becoming unresponsive when editing

• a problem adding images to contacts in Address Book

• an issue that prevented opening files downloaded from the Internet

• Safari plug-in reliability

• general reliability improvements for iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, and iDisk

• an issue that caused data to be deleted when using a guest account

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3874

A New Hard Drive at a Great Price

Okay, so maybe you can't afford a new Mac right now. That doesn't mean that you can't make your Mac better. A great way to start is with a hard drive upgrade.

If you bought your Mac two or three years ago, the hard drive that came with it was probably only 80 to 160 gigabytes in size. Between videos, music and pictures, that space can get eaten up quickly.

If you let the free space on your hard drive drop below 10%, your Mac's performance will suffer. In fact, if you let it get too low, your computer won't run at all! And, of course, every hard drive will eventually fail and the older your drive is, the closer it is to failure.

Fortunately, hard drive prices crazy low right now, so I have put together a Hard Drive Replacement Package for my clients. The package includes:

• Pick up of your computer from your home or business
• Replacement of your hard drive with a 500GB drive.
• A fresh install of the operating system, updated to the latest version (or the version you had previously)
• Data transfer all of the information (files and applications) from your old hard drive
• Return of your computer and your old hard drive, generally within 24 hours.

All of this for only $199.

This offer applies only to the following models: MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac G5, Mac Pro, PowerMac G5. Due to the additional labor involved, upgrades for other models are available at a slightly higher price. Depending on the model, larger capacity drives, up to 2 terabytes, are available for a slightly higher price.

Your current hard drive must be good working order to transfer data to your new hard drive. Data recovery from a failing hard drive is not included.

That's all for now. Thanks for the read. Give me a call.

Your Genius

Why It's a Great Time to Buy a New Mac

Let's face it, these are not the best economic times and buying a new computer may not be in the cards for you right now. But, if you do find yourself in the position to get a new Mac, now is a particularly good time to do so. Here are a couple of reasons why.

The new Macs are here.

Apple recently released new versions of the iMac, MacBook and Mac mini models. The new iMacs, starting at $1199, are particularly stunning and, most likely, my next Mac purchase. The new MacBook has been greatly upgraded and is a solid buy at $999. Or, if your budget is even tighter, but you have access to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, the Mac mini starts at $599.

New Macs also mean new Apple refurbished products. Apple refurbs have the same warranty as the new ones and you can sometime save quite a bit on the price. New, previous generation Mac are also sometimes available. Check out what is available here.

In any case, getting a new Mac will insure a long computing life with a machine capable of handling anything that you can throw at it. Plus, you get the latest operating system and all of the newest iLife software (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand and iTunes).

As far as you PowerBook users are concerned, you may want to wait on your purchase of a MacBook Pro. There are strong rumors that new models with much faster processors, including a possibility of a quad-core (four processors on one chip) will be coming out very soon. As always, my advice is to get what you need when you need it. It's your call.

If you still can't see yourself affording a new or refurbished Mac, there are still more options. Try checking Craigslist for a fairly recent used Mac. Just be sure that the machine that you are interested in has at least a an "Intel Core 2 Duo" processor. If you're not sure what kind of chip the computer has, go to the Apple Menu and choose "About this Mac". It will say what kind of processor the machine uses. If you can, have someone check it out for you.

Also, a great source for the lowest Mac prices is dealmac.com. They scour the web for the best Mac deals around.

The G4/G5 is dead

If you have a Mac with a G4 or G5 processor, the good news is that, if you are using Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard", you will never have to upgrade your system software again…because you can't.

Apple's newest operating system, 10.6 "Snow Leopard", will only run on computers with an Intel processor, as opposed to the earlier PowerPC processors. If you're not sure what kind of chip your Mac has, see "About This Mac" above.

This is not to say that "Leopard" isn't a good operating system. It's perfectly fine and will be for years to come. So, if your PowerPC Mac is doing everything you need it to do, you should be in pretty good shape. However, there will still be issues that you won't be able to fix without upgrading your computer. Most of them involve the internet.

The G4 PowerPC processors and the video cards used in the MacBook, PowerBook and some iMac models don't handle Flash video well. Flash is used for many video sites, including YouTube. As computers get faster, web developers raise the bar as to what hardware is required to display video well. In this case, the G4 Mac is no longer enough. Have you noticed videos playback getting choppy to unwatchable on some websites? This maybe the reason.

Another example is Skype. Although you can use Skype with a 800 MHz G4 processor or better, in order to use the video feature, you need an Intel processor. As time goes by, more and more internet-related issues will arise for the PowerPC Macs.

The turnaround begins with you

So, if you can swing it, go ahead and pull the trigger on that shiny new iMac. As scary as that might be, I can almost guarantee that you will have a big smile on your face the first time you fire it up. You will enjoy the computer more, so you will use the computer more. You will become more productive and you might find that, in a year or so, the computer has paid for itself.

And, if you need help choosing a new Mac, setting it up, transferring/backing up your data or anything else, feel free to contact me.

Thanks for the read.

Your Genius.

Talking Points: New Unibody MacBooks

This week, along with several other product announcements, Apple released a new MacBook. This new MacBook completes the transition to the unibody for the entire portable line. Here's the skinny:

As Gizmodo said, "It's basically a white Macbook Pro". Both computers have the same 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of memory and a LED-backlit display with the same contrast ratio.

The new MacBook has also been given the one-piece, glass, Multi-Touch trackpad/button found on the Pro series.

Although, at a glance, the body of the MacBook looks similar to the previous model, this version is much more solid, thanks to the unibody design. The corners have been rounded for a more organic shape. The bottom now had a rubberized bottom plate that feels more secure on the lap.

As it is with the new MBPs, the battery in the MacBook is not replaceable by the consumer. However, this is one of the reasons that the new portable is more solid and stiff. Apple claims a run time of "up to 7 hours", which in the real world will end up being about 4 hours, which is still pretty good.

Oops! No more Firewire port. USB 2.0 only.

Mini-DVI port has been replaced with the Mini Display Port, so make sure that you get the right adapter to use for hooking up an external monitor/projector.

The new MacBook sells for $999.

Your Genius

Talking Points: The New iMacs

Apple has released the latest versions of the venerable iMac lines. Here are the talking points:

New processors, including Apple's first use of a desktop processor. Previous iMacs have used what are basically laptop processors from Intel. These "Core 2 Duo" processors are used in the all but the top-of-the-line 27" model. For the first time, the so-called Core i5 and i7 chips are available in the new iMac, including a quad core configuration. Yes, a quad-core iMac.

Display sizes are 21.5 and 27", up from the previous model's 20 and 24". The new displays are LED-backlit for brighter, truer color. The new displays are use a 16:9 aspect ratio, making them a bit wider than previous models.

Also, in case you need another reason to go with the 27" iMac, it has a display port that will send signal in or out. This means that, in addition to using a second monitor with the built-in display, you can get signal in from, say, a Blue-ray player and display it on your iMac's monitor, a first for Apple.

The iMac now has four slots for memory, meaning that they will accept up to 16 GB of ram. Wow.

The computers are now slightly thinner, the "chin" underneath the display is smaller. The formerly plastic back is now aluminum.

Apple has included an SD card slot under the optical drive.

The new iMacs come with the new Apple Magic Mouse.

Prices for the new iMacs range from a $1199 for a 21.5-inch, 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo model with 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive, to about $2200 for a 27-inch, quad core Intel Core model with 4GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive

Your Genius

The New Apple Magic Mouse

Apple has released a new mouse. The Magic Mouse uses the same Multi-Touch technology first introduced on the iPhone. Click anywhere, scroll in any direction, and swipe through images on its smooth, seamless top shell. It works wirelessly using Bluetooth, so you don’t have to worry about cables or adapters cluttering your workspace.

Alas, the Magic Mouse only works with the new iMac, but maybe we will see a software update that will let us use it with older Mac. Let's hope. You can learn more about the Magic Mouse here.

Your Genius

Microsoft tried to kill my computer!

Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but here's what happened.

My little MacBook started overheating. The fans would spin up to full and make lots of noise when using Safari or Firefox. It got to the point where the browser would slow to crawl, making it hard to even type an address in.

I opened Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor) and took a look. Turns out that a process called "Microsoft Sync" was taking up around 100% of my processor resources. The Intel-based Macs have a dual-core chip, so there is theoretically 200% processing power available at max. "Microsoft Sync" synchronizes information between iCal/Address Book/Notes and Entourage and it does it in the background.

To make matters worse, I use the 2004 version of Microsoft Office and the version of "Microsoft Sync" that comes with it is not a "Universal Binary" version. In other words, the software was not written for the Intel chips. This "non-native" software runs, but runs badly and will really slow down your computer.

So, I opened Microsoft Entourage and went to the Entourage menu and chose "Preferences..." Under "General Preferences" are setting for "Sync Services". I turned off syncing for iCal, Address Book and Notes and Viola! (or, as kids these days spell it "Walla!") No more fan noise and Safari and Firefox now run faster than a Senator from a town hall meeting!

Bottom line: If you have Microsoft Office installed, but don't use Entourage, turn Sync Services off.

If you do use Entourage, but don't use iCal/Address Book/Notes, turn Sync Services off.

If you use Entourage and you still want it to sync with the Apple software, make sure that you are using the latest version of Microsoft Office.

And, if you get a chance, launch Activity Monitor and leave it open to get a good lesson on how your Mac is using it resources.

Cheers,

Your Genius

Contactizer Pro: Contact Management Software

If you have been using Macs for a long time, then you might remember Now Contact and Now Up-To-Date. Since, at the time, the Mac operating system did not come with address book or calendar applications, the Now suite provided those features and much more. With Now, you could create links between elements of the two applications. So, if you called someone and made an appointment to see them, you could link their contact file, the event in the calendar and any other relevant information, such as notes.

However, when Mac OS X arrived on the scene, the makers of Now didn’t keep up. The Now company is still around and they are supposed to be working on a worthy successor to the old software, but the product’s progress is unsure. Meanwhile, the choices for contact management software (CMS) available to Mac users remain slim. There is very little on the Mac side that would be the equivalent to ACT! on Windows.

Recently, I consulted with a new client who was looking for a CMS solution. I told him that I was as well. It had been awhile since I had looked into what was available and would investigate any new applications that might work. This is how I ran across an application that comes very close to being the new Now and more.

The first problem with this app is the name: Contactizer Pro! It sounds like something that should have a label on it that says “As seen on TV!” Once you get past the name, the software itself is quite good. CP runs in a single window with tabs in a menu bar that switch between five modules: Contacts, Tasks, Events, Communications and Projects. The developers of Contactizer Pro, Objective Decision, have insured that CP looks and acts like a true Mac application. On the left side on the window is a Sources bars which changes with to the module chosen in the browser part on the window. Below, the source bars is a filters area, not unlike the source and filters areas in Apple’s Mail application. CP almost feels like someone took Apple’s Mail, iCal and Address Book apps and smooshed them together.

The main window can be split into an upper and lower section. The lower section is then occupied by an activities viewer, which has five tabs, Tasks, Events, Communications, Attachments and Maps. So, for example, if you are looking at the Contacts in the main viewer and a contact is selected, you will see the tasks, events, communications, attachments and maps (by way of Google) associated with that contact.

There is also a hideable area on the right side of the window in which you edit the details of whatever is selected in the main window.

One make-or-break feature for me is for the CMS to sync with the information in Address Book and iCal. Contactizer Pro handles this fairly well. Changes made to any of the CP modules are immediately synced with the corresponding Apple data. For me, that means that the information is also automatically synced with my MobileMe account and my iPhone. Yeah, now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

The opposite is true, with one exception. When you make a change in iCal, the change is not automatically reflected in the CP Events module. However, there is a very conveinient “Sync” button, making it easy to sync manually. I would hope that this issue would be addressed in the next version. Still, it’s not that bad.

There are other features of CP which take it above and beyond the Now products. In fact, CP is so feature-rich that I won’t go into detail about all of them here, but here are some examples:

• Project Manager lets you create your own process schemes, and efficiently links the resources you need to complete them.
• Tag contacts, tasks, and projects with multiple category labels.
• HTML email template builder included.
• Merge information into letters via Microsoft Word or Apple Pages.
• Bluetooth phone pairing for incoming calls notifications and direct dialing (but not for the iPhone. Doh!).
• Data Picker “heads-up display” panel for fast embedded search to quickly find data you want to link to other data.
• Categories “heads-up display” panel for fast assignment of multiple categories.

The amount of things that CP can do works against it in a way. It makes the software seem complicated. However, after taking the time to learn the ins-and-outs of CP, I came to realize that it is not so much complicated as it is “deep”. You can play in the shallow part of the learning curve and get the basics done, or you can dive deep and take full advantage to what CP has to offer. However, if you did decide to master CP and make it part of a regimen, I have no doubt that your productivity would benefit greatly.

Contactizer Pro, which is currently at version 3.7, sells for $120. There is also a light version called Contactizer Express which does almost everything that the pro version. Notably missing, however, is integration with Apple Mail. Fully functioning versions of both applications are available as a 30-day trial from the Objective Decision website.

I like this application. It has already made it easier for me to juggle the various aspects of my business. There are still a couple of sticking points which are, though not deal-breakers, are annoying nonetheless. Hopefully, these issues will be addressed in the next version.

And, maybe they’ll even change the name.

Genius Notebook: An inexpensive book webmercial

One of my clients, Kim Canazzi, wrote a book and was thinking of how she might better promote it on the web without spending an arm and a leg. We were able to come up with a short, simple promo video using only artwork from the cover of her book, royality-free music and some Final Cut editing.

This is a good example of what you can accomplish even when you are on a tight budget. If you have a project that you would like to promote, but you are not sure how, give me a call.

Apple releases new Safari 4 Beta and it's a good one...

Earlier this week, Apple released a new version of their Safari web browser. I've been trying in out for a few days and I'm a happy camper.

This is actually a beta version of the fourth version of Safari, so there may be a few bugs to be worked out in it. However, I haven't come across any yet. What I have come across is one very noticeably faster internet experience, and I'm not the only one.

The Safari 4 beta is available for both Mac and Windows, so it has been examined by experts on both sides of the platform aisle and the reviews have been almost unanimous. Most agree that the Safari 4 beta is now the fastest web browser on earth, almost three times faster that it's closest competitor, Firefox 3. For someone who spends as much time on the internet as I do, I love the fact that I have a new tool which is saving me time every time I use it. And, it's free!

In addition to a big speed boost, Apple had added several new features that seem borrowed from iTunes and the iPhone/iPod Touch. The Top Sites feature lets you enjoy an at-a-glance preview of your favorite websites. Safari 4 Beta tracks the sites you browse and ranks your favorites, presenting up to 24 thumbnails on a single page.

As it does with iTunes, Cover Flow offers a highly visual way of reviewing your site history and bookmarked sites, presenting full-page previews of the websites that look exactly as they did when you last visited them.

Cover Flow also partners with Full History Search, giving you a dramatic new way to revisit sites, letting you flip through full-page previews of the sites you visited in the past. Safari automatically stores all the text and a thumbnail of every page in your history. Just type a word or phrase in the History Search field in Top Sites, and Safari quickly presents you with a list of possibilities. In fact, you can search for anything that was on a page you visited, even photo captions. To jog your memory, Safari presents the sites it finds in Cover Flow, giving you the opportunity to spot the right site on sight.

The Safari 4 beta takes the tabbed browsing up a notch...literally. The tabs have now been moved to the top of the browser window to allow more room to view pages. I don't use tabs that much myself, so I can't really speak to the improvement.

All in all, I am very happy with the changes Apple has made to there web browser. Even though this is a beta release, I'm going to suggest that you download it and give it a spin yourself.

Mac OS X 10.5.6 released

Mac OS X 10.5.6 released: better AirPort, gaming performance, more

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.5.6, which resolves a slew of bugs, and increases performance and stablity for a number of system components. Among the enhancements purported in this update:

AirPort Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.
Graphics Includes general improvements to gaming performance; includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.
MobileMe Contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Mac automatically sync within a minute of the change being made on the computer, another device, or the web at me.com.
Time Machine Fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.
Safari Improves compatibility with web proxy servers.
Networking Improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server; improves reliability and performance for AT&T 3G cards.

On Becoming Real - Facebook Events

"I walked into the party at a small, Portuguese restaurant and was not surprised that I knew virtually no one. Or, should I say, had never met anyone there, but I knew about them. For some, I had seen pictures of their summer vacation, known if they had recently started or ended a relationship or where they were from. I knew them through Facebook. Now, they had become people. After the meager scraps of information gleaned from Facebook encounters, we now feasted on unfettered conversation. We laughed and heard them laugh at the same time. We shook hands, hugged, took pictures, drank wine. We became real."

Yes, Facebook Events is a "networking" tool. But it can be so much more in terms of making connections with friends and new friends. Here are a couple of reasons why you should consider creating a Facebook Event for your gathering, or as a reason for your next gathering.

It's easy to use. Just fill out the details on the form pages and your guests have all of the information they need to attend. There is even a link to a Google map to the location.

One of the most overlooked features is "Export". Every event has an "Export" button. When you click it, FB generates a .ics file, which then automatically opens and adds the event to your default calendar application. With just one or two clicks, your guests now have your event added to their calendar.

The event has all of the event information, including links. Since I use an iPhone, it is automatically added there as well. Now, when I leave the house, I know that if I get lost, not only do I have the address, I can see a Google Street View of the actual building.

I usually have my camera when I go out and I like to take pictures of people. When I get back home, I can upload them to Facebook, then tag the pictures (put names to the faces in the picture). If I don't have the camera, I can use my iPhone to take a picture, and post it on FB. The friends are notified that their picture has been posted, which generates more interaction.

Events generates a list of attending, not attending and undecided guests. Here's what I love about this. There may be people that I know on FB, but have never met. By looking at the lists, I can make a mental note of who I might want to meet. I even have a picture of them (if their profile picture is a picture of them).

And, last but not least, it's FREE!

There is something magical that happens when a bunch of people who have only known each other on the internet finally meet. It makes you wonder if computers might actually not be evil.