Thursday, August 30, 2007

Possible design of a Macbook Lite-an ultra portable Macbook?




I have found an awesome design study by an Japanese artist (Isamu Sanada) which he entitled Macbook Lite. Could the ultra portable Macbook that has been rumored about countless times look something like this? I think it looks really nice, however would love to see it in white and with blue backlights.

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Heute habe ich eine sehr schöne Design Studie eines japanischen Künstlers (Isamu Sanada) gefunden, die ich Euch vorstellen wollte. Der Titel lautet Macbook Lite. Ob das sagenumwobene ultraportable Macbook so aussehen könnte? Ich finde das Design sehr gelungen würde jedoch gerne eine weisse Version sehen mit blauer Hintergrungbeleuchtung.

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今日は皆さんにおもしろいデザインスタディーを紹介したいと思います。Sanada IsamuさんがデザインしたMacbook Liteです。とてもカッコイイデザインだと思います。良く噂されているウルトラポータブルのMacbookがこんなデザインだったらいいなあと考えています。白いバージョンは青いバックライトだったら凄くいいと思います。

MB-switcher

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Firefox Campus Edition-released just in time



I have found something interesting that will be of interest to any student in the world since school starts soon or has already started. It is a firefox edition specially made for students. What is the difference to the regular version you ask? It comes pre-loaded with 3 very useful extensions:
  • Stumble Upon add-on
  • Foxytunes
  • Zotero
Especially the Zotero add-on is an useful add-on since it collects, manages and cites research sources from within Firefox.

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Ich habe heute etw. interessantes im Netz gefunden und zwar eine neue Version von Firefox speziell für Studenten. Es hat 3 wirklich nette Add-ons die vorinstalliert sind.
Vor allem Zotero ist interessant, da es die Recherche und Zitate vereinfacht.

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今日は新しいFirefoxのバージョンを紹介したいと思います。このバージョンは特に学生向きのFirefoxです。便利なadd-onが三つもう含まれているからです。特にZoteroは論文やエッセイを書かなくてはいけない学生にとっては欠かせないツールだと思います。

Firefox Campus Edition Official Homepage

MB-switcher

Shieldzone's invisible shield for the Macbook (full body version)





Arrival of my invisible shield

Today my invisible shield for the Macbook has arrived. It is the full body version that covers the bottom, the top case and the lid. I am really excited to try this one out. I guess my MB will get a thourough cleaning session tonight and will be equipped with the shields. Review will probably be posted in a couple of weeks since I want to test out the shields intensively. For now please enjoy the unpacking pictures.

Ankunft meines invisible shields

Heute ist mein invisible shield für das Macbook angekommen. Es ist die Full Body Version von Shieldzone.com. Somit wird fast die komplette Oberfläche des MB durch das Shield geschützt. Die Anbringung wird wohl heute Abend geschehen, nachdem mein MB sorgfältig geputzt wurde. Den Testbericht würde ich dann gerne in paar Wochen (ca. 2) veröffentlichen nachdem ich genug Zeit hatte die Shields zu testen. Und jetzt damit Ihr was zu schauen habt die unpacking pictures des invisible shields.

invisible shield 到着

今日やっとぼくのinvisible shieldが着きました。full bodyのバージョンです。このバージョンはマックブックのほとんどの表面をプロテクトしてくれます。早速今晩つけてみたいと思います。もちろんマックブックをきれいに拭いた後です。レビューは多分二週間後に記入すると思います。それまで読者を待たせるのも悪いので今日はunpacking picturesをポストさせて頂きます。





Official shieldzone homepage
Product page for invisible shields for the Macbook

MB-switcher

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

In for a new desk? A slick looking minimalistic cheap desk solution

If you are thinking about getting a new desk that looks nice with your Macbook or any other Mac for that matter you might consider getting some inspiration from this nicely done Ikea hack. The total estimated cost is supposed to be 130$ (although I think it might run you a little bit more than that...probably around 175$). This solution is especially worth a consideration for heavy garageband users or musical Mac users. However, it might also be a very nice desk for graphic designers. The keyboard holder offers enough space to store an external keyboard, a mouse, a Wacom tablet and much more (slight modification needed though, maybe another thin wooden plate). If I had the time and was in need of a stylish desk I'd definitely try this one out.


Sunday, August 26, 2007

Parallels vs. Boot Camp vs. Fusion

Alternatives how to run Windows (Windows programs)

So have you lost sight of all the options how to run Windows Vista or XP on your Intel Mac? Well, I have at first so I thought I'd give a little help to all those who lost sight. There are currently 4 alternatives to run Windows applications on your Mac if you are a proud Intel Mac owner.

Pros and Cons

Since I haven't tested out Crossover yet I'll focus on the first three alternatives. Boot Camp probably is the most common way to use Windows on your Mac, it being the cheapest alternative (free) and the oldest way. This is the only alternative that allows you to run Windows at native speed on your Mac. The downside to Boot Camp however is that you have to reboot your Mac to switch operating systems. I recommend using Boot Camp especially if you are a gamer and need the speed and Direct X support. You might be interested in using Bootchamp as well if you opt to use Bootcamp.
Next there is Parallels: it is the first virtualization software that reached final status. It's been around for quite a while now and it is probably the most spread among the 3 virtualization alternatives. Its GUI is pretty nice and it is fairly easy to install. It now even supports Boot Camp partitions. This means that Parallels can boot Windows using your Boot Camp partition if you already have installed Boot Camp and are a occasional Boot Camp user.
VMware's Fusion just recently reached its final status and is very similar to Parallels. It actually is almost the same from the feature list. The GUI seems more intuitive though in my opinion. A little annoyance with Fusion if you decide to use your Boot Camp partition however is that after you quit Fusion the Boot Camp volume isn't mounted anymore.

Performance and benchmarks

Now the question that users may pose is: Which of the alternatives is the best performance wise?
Well, obviously Boot Camp is. The surprise that is to mention is that however when you look at Parallels and Fusion you'll notice that Fusion seems to be snappier. This is exactly the feeling I got when trying both. Especially the starting process and boot process seem to be a lot faster on Fusion. Also quitting Fusion is a lot faster than quitting Parallels. Once you are in Windows however I couldn't detect any performance differences doing the usual stuff (surfing, iTunes, some office applications and chatting). However, there was a benchmark released lately that surprised me quite a bit. Apparently, Fusion is a lot faster and better in performance compared to Parallels (this is rather a surprise considering Fusion was in beta status just recently).

My recommendation

So my recommendation to you is: if you don't have a virtualization software installed yet (and you need one): use Fusion. The installation of Fusion is just as easy as Parallel's and the GUI is more intuitive and now there is even proof that Fusion is officially snappier than Parallels.

For more detailed benchmarks please check out
this link.

MB-switcher

Friday, August 24, 2007

Cooperation with susumu of McDo DESIGN/Kooperation mit susumu von McDo DESIGN/McDo DESIGNのsusumuさんとのコオペレーション

A cooperation with the multi talented susumu of McDo DESIGN has been worked out. He kindly offered to design the application icon for iMountIt so please support him by visiting his site and his work. He is a very well known designer for icons, themes, etc. in the Mac customizing scene. If you are a customizer you might have already heard of him, if not hurry to his site and check out the awesome stuff he has released.

susumuさんとのコオペレーションが決定しました。iMountItのためのアプリケーションアイコンのデザインを引き受けてくれました。susumuさんはMacのcustomizing sceneでは、かなり名の知れたデザイナーです。まだ彼のリリースしたアイコンやthemeをご存知ない方は是非McDo DESIGNのサイトへジャンプしてみて下さい。

Eine Kooperation mit dem japanischen Designer susumu von McDo DESIGN wurde ausgehandelt. Er hat netterweise angeboten das Icon für iMountIt zu designen. Er ist ein multi-talentierter Designer, der in der Mac Customizing Welt schon einen Namen gemacht hat. Falls Ihr seine Arbeit noch nicht kennt besucht bitte seine Homepage.

MB-switcher

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Seven Computing Wonders of the World

Can you name the 7 Wonders of the World?
Well, if you are a tech geek this might be far more interesting to you:
Lance Ulanoff wrote an article about his subjective 7 Computing Wonders of the World. Now, surprisingly Apple is listed twice in the list. Once the company Apple itself and the Apple iPhone as a product.

For more click here.

MB-switcher

Sony's iMac Killer?

So is this the iMac Killer produced by Sony? It sure looks nice but I think the iMac is superior to this PC. I sure kind of like the keyboard though that you can fold together.

As a side note: Why do PC review guys always have to match the stereo type car salesman? I guess this is a mystery we will never solve;)

MB-switcher

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Testbericht: Steermouse-der ultimative Maustreiber


Nachdem ein Review für Steermouse auf Englisch schon gepostet wurde möchte ich gerne einen deutschen Testbericht nachreichen.

For the English version of the review please click here!

Was ist Steermouse?
Steermouse ist eine Treiber-Software für Macs, die es erlaubt auch Mäuse, die ursprünglich nicht Mac kompatibel sind zu konfigurieren. Dies ist vor allem nützlich, da viele Mäuse keinen Mac-Treiber haben.

Was kann Steermouse?
Steermouse kann jede Maustaste individuell konfigurieren (bis zu 16 Tasten). Funktionen, die man den jeweiligen Tasten zuordnen kann sind vielfältig:

  • Tastenkürzel
  • Cursor Movement: Konfiguration, dass der Mauszeiger automatisch auf “OK” Knöpfe von Fenstern sich bewegt als Beispiel.
  • Scroll: vertikales Scrollen, horizontales Scrollen
  • Diverse Klickarten
  • Öffnen von Applikationen und Dateien


Weitere Features sind:
Anpassen von Scrollgeschwindigkeit und -beschleunigung
Anpassen von Zeigergeschwindikeit und -beschleunigung
Anlegen von individuellen Profilen für verschiedene Applikationen

Steermouse und meine Erfahrungen
Ich nutze Steermouse nun seit ca. einem Monat (seitdem meine Logitech VX Revolution aufgrund der Logitech Control Center Software dauernd Kernel Panics verursachte). Dank Steermouse existiert dieses Problem nicht mehr. Die Funktionen, die ich nicht mehr missen will, sind die Möglichkeit verschiedene Profile für Applikationen anlegen zu können und die Vielfalt an möglichen Funktionen, die man benutzen kann. An eine Sache, an die ich mich allerdings auch nach längerer Zeit nicht gewöhnen konnte, war die Cursor Movement Funktion. Ich bevorzuge es dann doch selber den Zeiger dorthin zu bewegen, wo ich ihn haben will. Bezüglich der Stabilität kann man nur Bestnoten vergeben. Ich konnte bisher noch keinen Ausfall meiner Maus verzeichnen; auch die Kompatibilität zu anderer USB Hardware ist vorbildlich (ein anderer Maustreiber, den ich kurze Zeit versuchte verursachte z.B. Konflikte mit meiner Macally iKey5 Tastatur).

Fazit:
Steermouse ist eine echte Lösung für Mausbesitzer, die keine Mac-Treiber für ihre Maus auffinden können. Aber auch Mighty Mouse Besitzer könnten ihre Freude an dieser Software haben, da sie wirklich die Produktivität einer Maus steigern kann. Der Preis von 20$ ist auf den ersten Blick happig für eine Treibersoftware, aber sie ist es wert, wenn man seine Lieblingsmaus ohne Komplikationen mit erweitertem Funktionsumfang weiterbenutzen kann.

Letzte Anmerkung:
Zur Zeit läuft eine Aktion, bei der eine Lizenz für Steermouse zu vergeben ist. Für Details zur Teilnahme bitte hier klicken.

MB-switcher

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

iMountIt: MacFUSE & ntfs-3g - read/write on NTFS Drives

For a lot of people switching to a Mac after using a PC for years the fact that there is no NTFS write support under OS X is a huge disappointment. Since all my external Hard drives were NTFS formatted I was looking for a possibility to write on NTFS drives under OSX (without the work-around of using Windows under Parallels or vmware). What I stumbled upon is MacFUSE and the ntfs-3g driver:

MacFUSE: http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/
Ntfs-3g: http://ntfs-3g.org/

First, install the latest MacFUSE release (restart required) then get the ntfs-3g driver (here is a binary package).
On the webpage of Daniel Johnson you will also find the instructions how to mount your NTFS drive with the ntfs-3g driver. Basically it is a couple of terminal codes. After mounting the drive with ntfs-3g drivers your drive will appear with a network icon (apparently this is normal, so no worries).
There used to be a nice package by ShadowOfGed automounting all NTFS drives with the ntfs-3g driver etc. But that package is no longer available (hopefully it will be back by popular demand).
Either way, I was more interested in mounting my drive read/write only when I needed it and not as a default but soon got tired of typing in these terminal codes each time and found something beautiful on the AppleNova forums. This is a AppleScript code for a droplet so you can just drag&drop your drive on it and it automatically remounts it with the ntfs-3g driver. But there were some things I wanted to add/improve and so ended up rewriting parts of it and adding additional features:

iMountIt

So here is my version of the droplet: download (updated:12th Sept 2007)

Credits go out to snert67 from the AppleNova forums for coming up with this ingenious idea and providing his source code!

How to use:
Just extract the zip archive and you’ll end up with “iMountIt.app”. Put this anywhere you want (e.g. the Applications Folder) and put it in your Dock if you wish. You can double-click (or just click if it’s in the dock) and it will list the currently mounted drives. Just select the one you want to remount using the ntfs-3g drivers and click ok. The easier alternative is to just drag&drop the drive on the application.
If you use this application with a non-NTFS drive it will just remount it. If you’re done using the drive with ntfs-3g drivers just drag it on the droplet again and will remount without the ntfs-3g drivers.



Notes:
Strangely it takes about 5sec to unmount the drive. If you manually use the terminal it is way faster. If someone knows why this happens I would appreciate some comments. If you do not have multi-partitioned drives you might want to open the application in the ScriptEditor and edit the part where it unmounts the drive to use the “tell Application Finder…” option instead of the shell command (goes much faster but unmounts all partitions on the same disk).

The Mac Collector/Der Mac-Sammler/マックコレクター


So ever wondered who was the biggest Apple/Mac fan in the world? This guy probably has the greatest Mac collection. His collection: 100 Macs!!!

Nun hat sich schon jemand mal gefragt, wer der größte Mac Fan/Sammler auf der Welt ist? Wahrscheinlich dieser Mac Fan. Seine Sammlung: 100 Macs!!!

世界一のマックファンは誰かと聞いた事ありますか?それは多分この方ではないかと思います。彼のコレクション:マック100台!!!

The Mac Collector-on CNN.com

MB-switcher

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Apple Keyboard freshly arrived from Japan! / Apple Tastatur frisch aus Japan angekommen! / アップルキーボード日本からようやく到着!


My new Apple Keyboard has just arrived from Japan! Check out the unpacking photos! Review will follow once I have used it intensively.



Meine neue Apple Tastatur ist heute aus Japan eingetroffen! Ein Testbericht folgt sobald ich es intensiv testen konnte.



やっと日本から注文したアップルキーボードが着きました。レビューは何日間か使ったあとポストしたいと思います。




MB-switcher

Digg it!!

Some of you may have already noticed but there is a digg button in the top right corner since yesterday. If you like my blog please "digg it!" I appreciate it. Thanks to those who already dugg my blog;)

Wie manche schon erkannt haben mögen gibt es jetzt einen digg it Knopf oben in der rechten Ecke. Falls Euch mein Blog gefällt bitte diggt ihn. Vielen Dank an diejenigen, die meinen Blog schon gediggt haben;)

こんにちは、昨日からこのブログに digg.com のボタンをつけました。このブログがお気に入りでしたら、ぜひdiggして下さい。もうdiggして下さった読者たちへ、応援ありがとうございます。

MB-switcher

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Gossip / Tratsch / ゴシップ


Are they the new dream couple?!

Das neue Traumpaar?!

お似合いのカップル?!

right: Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple); left: Kathy Griffin (actress, comedienne)

For more: click here

MB-switcher

Friday, August 17, 2007

Win a free license for Steermouse! Eine Lizenz für Steermouse zu gewinnen! ステアマウスのライセンス抽選!

Countdown: Deadline 16. September 24h

So you have read the review for Steermouse and are interested? Well, as a little treat for you readers I was able to get one license I can give away to you thanks to the really nice people at Steermouse. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Yoshi from team Steermouse especially for this.
Instructions how to win a license:
It’s real simple: Download a trial of Steermouse, use it and write anything you like about it (feedback, opinions, feature requests, etc.) to my email address (macbookblog_at_gmail_dot_com). The person who has the most interesting ideas/opinions will get the license. The dead line is 30 days from today.

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Nun habt Ihr das Review für Steermouse gelesen und seid interessiert? Ich hätte eine kleine Überraschung für Euch: In Kooperation mit dem Team bei Steermouse verlose ich eine Lizenz für Steermouse.
Was Ihr dafür tun müsst ist einfach:
Ihr lädt euch die Trial von Steermouse runter, benutzt Sie 30 tagelang und schreibt dann mir eine Mail mit Euren Ideen, Verbesserungsvorschlägen, Meinungen, Feature Requests, etc. an folgende Adresse: macbookblog_at_gmail_dot_com. Die Person mit der beeindruckendsten Mail bekommt die Lizenz. Dead line ist in 30 Tagen.

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皆さん、ステアマウスのレビューは気に入ってもらえたでしょうか?そうでしたら、おもしろい企画を紹介したいと思います。じつは、ステアマウスの Yoshiさんからこのブログの読者一名にライセンスが与えられます。
何をすればいいのかと言うと、
ステアマウスについての感想、リクエスト、その他をメールでこのアドレスに送って下さい。macbookblog_at_gmail_dot_com 送られて来たメールから一番印象にのこったメールを書いた方にライセンスを差し上げたいと思います。期限は今日から30日です。

MB-switcher

Thursday, August 16, 2007

New Design / Neues Design / 新しいデザイン

As some of you have already noticed my blog has a new self-made design. What do you guys think? Comments are very welcome.

Wie einige Leser schon gemerkt haben dürfen, wurde das Design meines Blog verändert. Über Kommentare würde ich mich sehr freuen.

どうも、このブログをよく読む人たちはもうお気づきかと思いますけど、新しいデザインを作ってみました。気に入ってもらえれば嬉しいです。

MB-switcher

Review: Steermouse - Driver for your mouse

How I found Steermouse
As promised a while ago when I was searching for alternatives to the Logitech Control Center Software, here is the review for Steermouse. The search for USB mouse drivers began because of the problems I had with the LCC and my newly bought VX Revolution mouse.

What is Steermouse?
Steermouse is a driver software for various mice that do not come with Mac drivers. You can however use this software also if you are a proud owner of a Mighty Mouse and want to enhance the functions of your mouse. For a list of recommended mice by Steermouse please visit their homepage.

Features
Now let’s talk about what Steermouse can do:

  • it can assign various functions to a mouse key (shortcuts, different click options like double-click, command-click, open function (you can open a file or an application by one click) and a switch application command (command-tab like)).
  • an interesting function called “cursor movement”; you can have the cursor move to a specific location (f.ex. “OK” button of a dialog box) by one click.
  • adjustment of scroll speed and acceleration
  • settings for cursor speed and more importantly cursor acceleration

Steermouse, my VX Revolution and me
As you can see the list of what Steermouse can do is very long. The list above isn’t even complete but a short outline of what you can do. In my case the aspects that I like about Steermouse is firstly the possibility to assign any keyboard shortcut I want to my mouse. I use this often. Secondly, I like the fact that you can set up different profiles for each application you use. This means that in Finder a specific button might be a double-click, in Word however it might be the “paste” button. But what I like even more is that now I can finally adjust the cursor acceleration easily. However, a function I could not get used to was the cursor movement function. This may vary from person to person though.
Regarding stability and conflicts: the software is super stable-no problems concerning that. There weren’t any conflicts caused by Steermouse hardware-wise like failure of other USB devices and I have quite a few I threw at it.

The bottom line
The price tag of 20$ may seem high at first BUT it really is worth the money if you have a mouse that is not supported natively by Mac (f.ex. Logitech Mediaplay) or if you are a mouse user who wants maximum control over what your mouse does. Concerning the first point: I have tried Steermouse with my old Mediaplay I had and I was able to configure all the buttons. On my search to solve the problem with the LCC software I encountered many other Logitech mice owners with similar problems. I recommend using Steermouse if you are a Logitech mouse owner because the LCC software is just too buggy and Mac support by Logitech just isn’t as good as the Windows support. By the way the Steermouse team’s support is excellent. And as a last note: I do not have any trouble with kernel panics anymore;-)

MB-switcher

IMPORTANT: There is another interesting announcement tomorrow concerning Steermouse-so if you are curious just drop by-you won’t regret it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Large Leopard 10.5 OS X gallery/Leopard Bilder Gallerie/レオパード スクリーンショット集

Here is a link where you can find a rather large gallery of the upcoming OS X Leopard screenshots (ver. Mac OS X 10.5 9A499).

Hier sind einige schöne Screenshots von Leopard zu finden, der nächsten Version von OS X.

10月にリリースされるレオパードのスクリーンショットを見つけました。バージョンはMac OS X 10.5 9A499です。

click here

MB-switcher

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

iMac Special / iMac Spezial / iMac スペシャル

Since I don't have the cash for a new iMac :-( I can't review the iMac myself so I tried to find good links where you get good information about the new iMacs and found two of them which I really liked. The first one is a video of neo-fight.tv which is practically a brief tour. The second link is a rather technical post (benchmarks). Hope you guys enjoy it.

残念ながら学生のぼくには新しいiMacを購入するすべがないので、このブログの読者のためにネットでおもしろそうなリンク集を探しました。結局見つけたのは二つなのですが、楽しんでもらえればうれしいです。

Im heutigen Post wollte ich zwei Links posten, die ich im Netz gefunden habe, die ich sehr interessant fand. Der erste Link ist ein Video und der zweite ist ein Link zu einem Benchmark Artikel. Hoffe Ihr habt euren Spass dran.

iMac Video (neo-fight.tv)
Benchmarks

MB-Switcher


Edit:
For gamers/Für Spieler/ゲーマー用ベンチマーク

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Another feedback voting!

Hi, so I have some hardware, accessories and software to review. Based on the feedback you guys, the readers give I will post my next review. The list you can choose from is the following:

-macmice iBreeze (laptop cooler)
-Dr. Bott T7 USB 2.0 hub
-Pimp your Finder series (a how-to pimp your Finder series)
-incase Sling Pack

That's the list you can choose from for now. So if you have a favorite why not just leave a short comment? I will post the next review in around 5 days I think since I am kind of busy right now.

Hier ist wiederum eine Liste von möglichen Reviews für den nächsten Post. Ihr könnt wählen welches Produkt Ihr am liebsten wollt. Also am besten einfach einen Comment hinterlassen.

そろそろまた新しいレビューをポストしたいと思います。上のリストから選んで下さい。特に読みたいものがあればコメントでも記入して下さい。

MB-switcher

Macbook Sucks Review

So I found a Macbook review of another kind. This is just hilarious. This guy must be on drugs or something. I especially like how he rambles on about the power button and the restart bar (what the hell is a restart bar!?). If you wanna have a good laugh just watch this!

MB-switcher

Are we stupid?/Sind wir blind?/私たちの目は節穴なのでしょうか?


New Apple Keyboard
Originally uploaded by sprottenblog

So are we really stupid? Did anyone notice that the new Apple keyboard was kind of weird? I don't know if the "not-so-right-angle" of the new keyboards has any effect on usability or stability of the keyboard but from the first impression I'd say the second version looks better and kinda feels right, too.
Design-wise the new keyboard isn't really that impressive anyways, so I wonder if this is just another mistake Apple made? Or was it intended? I guess we'll never know. I just sure hope that the typing feel of these keyboards are similar to the original Macbook keyboards because if they aren't there really is no reason to buy this, in my opinion, rather mediocre designed keyboard.

MB-switcher

Friday, August 10, 2007

Days of our Macbooks - Redmond Edition started!

Maybe some of you already noticed a new link on the right hand side: Days of our Macbooks - Redmond Edition. This is a new blog of mine where Windows related news, tips, tricks and software reviews will be posted for Mac users who need to use Windows and for Mac users who aren't too savvy in the Windows world yet. This blog however isn't the first priority compared to the original Days of our Macbooks so please understand when that blog isn't updated daily.

MB-switcher

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Fun: The solution to clean bathrooms-the urinal racing game!


Well, this post has nothing to do with Macbooks, Apple or Macs in general. But it's a technology related story so I thought I'd share it with you guys:
In a bar in Frankfurt/Germany a marketing agency installed urinals with built-in sensors and screens in the wall, so that everyone who "had to go" was able to play a racing game on the screen as long as the "flow" wasn't disturbed. This was done for a taxi company in Germany. After the racing game is over an ad is displayed asking the "gamers" to call a cab if they've been drinking too much. In my opinion a funny as hell, new, fresh idea to market things;-P

Source: click here (German)

MB-switcher

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Tucano Second Skin-Winner of the first poll

After a poll which review you guys wanted to read next the Tucano Second Skin won with a rather large margin. So as promised the review is here! Enjoy!



Additional links: My Raedan Macbook case/bag review
My fabrixcases case/bag review
English
Deutsch
日本語

Review:

Size: 32,5x22,7x2,75 (in cm)
Color: black
Material: neoprene
Street price: 20-25€

The Tucano Second Skin for Macbooks 13.3 comes in 3 different colors: Red, grey and black. I shall be writing about the black one. I think it's not exaggerated to state that the Tucano Second Skin is one of the most famous sleeves for the Macbook (at least in Germany this is the case). The sleeve itself is made out of neoprene (a material of which divers' suits are made of) and is very lightweight and soft. The zipper of the sleeve is rather average and is good enough for a sleeve like this, I guess. I have seen more high quality zippers used on sleeves though, for example on the Incase Neoprene Sleeve for Macbooks (a review shall be posted soon). What I like about the zippers is: they go pretty far down and you can get your Macbook in and out pretty easily. The printing on the sleeve including the logo in the front and the graphics on the back are simple and do seem cheap in my opinion. It feels like the standard print option you can get in any print shop when you want your individual T-shirt printed. Now to the protection this sleeve offers: the sleeve itself is rather thin and in my opinion offers limited shock absorption but on the other hand the primary goal of sleeves is scratch protection. However, the edges of the Second Skin are reinforced since that is probably the part where the most shock absorption is needed when your Macbook is carried in a messenger bag or a backpack. Scratch protection is the real strength of this sleeve: the inside of the sleeve is soft not to scratch your precious Macbook and as you can see in the 3rd picture there is a small lining along the zippers to protect the Macbooks from scratches that might be caused by the zippers. I especially like that detail as it shows how much thought was put in this product.
The bottom line
The Tucano Second Skin for Macbooks is a decent sleeve. I recommend this bags to all MB owners that carry their MBs in a bag or backpack already and only need scratch protection. The good: The sleeve opens really wide thanks to the zippers that almost go down all the way. The extra scratch protection along the zippers is well though out. Extra reinforcement (shock absorption) along the edges is a plus. The bad: The printing looks cheap. The zippers itself seem average. Last words: Anyone who is on a tight budget should get this bag (one of the cheaper ones and the price-quality-ratio is very good). Someone who doesn't want a bag that almost anyone around him has should probably consider another bag.



MB-switcher

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Apple Event: New iMac, iLife 08 and iWork 08; workaround to access iMac site. Update: mac mini upgraded

Well so that's what Apple had up its sleeve.
A new iMac made of aluminium and glass with a new keyboard that matches the new design.
iWork 08 and iLife 08 with substantial improvements and slight .Mac enhancements to go with the updated iLife and iWork suites. For more details and updates please visit here.
If you can't wait till the Apple store is up, here is a little trick to get to the iMac site: type www.apple.com/iMac in your browser and you shall get there. Good luck and enjoy.

Update: The mac minis got the long awaited upgrades: new processors (faster), more memory and a larger HD.

MB-switcher

Monday, August 6, 2007

VMWare Fusion officially released!

Well, what can I say: today is a day full with Mac related news. VMWare Fusion is no longer beta but final. Now that VMWare is final you have 3 different methods of using Windows on your Intel Mac: Boot Camp, Parallels and VMWare. How good VMWare really is compared to Parallels, only time will tell.

Official homepage


MB-switcher

Fake Steve got busted! -> Daniel Lyons, Forbes editor

Fake Steve got busted and his identity reveiled. Fake Steve is in reality Daniel Lyons, an editor for Forbes magazine. He started his blog a while ago and pretended to be Steve Jobs and went undetected for about 14 months. The guy who found out is a reporter of the New York Times; a certain Brad Stone. It's amazing how Daniel Lyons managed to go undetected for such a long time...his blog certainly is worth a read.

偽Steveの正体が判明。実はForbesの編集者だそうです。名前はDaniel Lyons。本当に一年以上良く捕まらなかったですね。かなりおもしろいブログなので是非読んでみて下さい。

The secret diary of Steve Jobs

New York Times
Article (German)
Article (English)

MB-switcher

Anniversary: 1000 visitors for Days of our Macbooks

Days of our Macbooks has reached the number 1000 for visitors!
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the readers of my blog. Hopefully you will be reading my blog for a long time. As a treat Days of our Macbooks now has a RSS feed so you guys can stay up to date easily. On top I joined the technorati community so if you like my blog please favorite me. Thanks for reading my blog!

このブログも visitors で1000人を突破しました。
読者の皆さん、どうもありがとうございます。これからも応援よろしくおねがいします。これを切っ掛けにRSS feedが新しくつくられました。どうかご利用して下さい。その上、technoratiでもリストされているので、このブログがお気に入りでしたら是非、favorite してください。これからも、頑張りたいと思っています。

Mein Blog hat die Marke von 1000 visitors erreicht!
Ich möchte nun die Gelegenheit ergreifen und mich bei all den Lesern meines Blogs bedanken und ein neues Element vorstellen: es gibt nun einen RSS feed damit Ihr keinen Post mehr verpasst. Ausserdem ist mein Blog jetzt auch bei technorati gelistet also falls Ihr Gefallen an meinem Blog habt bitte klickt den Button an der Seite. Nochmals vielen Dank an alle Leser!

MB-switcher

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Refresh Finder 1.2: Will make Switchers feel right at home!





Review: As a recent switcher myself I had a few things that I really didn't like about the Finder. One of the most annoying things that I experienced was the absence of a reload/refresh button for Finder windows. Now, some of you Mac users will claim that this feature is unneeded for the Finder because it refreshes itself. Well, in theory it should but in reality this isn't always the case. Downloaded files don't show up, newly created files are missing, etc. Up until now I used to close a specific window and reopened it to refresh it (however, even this method didn't always work).
Well, do not look any further: I have found a nifty little application that makes switchers feel right at home. It adds the refresh/reload window capability to the Finder and for me it works miracles. No more frustration because of missing files or not displayed files. If you have experienced any trouble finding files because the Finder windows weren't refreshed try out this app. Installation is very easy: download the .dmg (link beneath) and copy the Refresh Finder.app whereever you like and drag the application to the Finder toolbar. Now you have a little icon in the toolbar you can click whenever you need a refresh. On a sidenote: clicking the toolbar icon refreshes not only the active Finder window but all open Finder windows even when they are inactive. It might be just the application you have been looking for.

Refresh Finder Home

MB-switcher

Friday, August 3, 2007

Bootchamp-A must have for Boot Camp users

Bootchamp is a nifty little freeware I have come across recently. As a Boot Camp user I don't want to miss this little application anymore. Are you annoyed by the fact that everytime you want to boot your Windows XP or Vista via Boot Camp you have to sit in front of your Intel Mac and press the alt key to choose the Boot Camp partition in your bootloader after every reboot? In that case don't look any further. Given you are an OS X user and you occasionally have to use Windows and then have to reboot from OS X to Windows you can do it easily using this. What it does is the following: a pop up window appears after you double-click Bootchamp and asks for your administrator password. After pressing "OK" it boots automatically into your Windows partition without user interaction. This is a time saver (you can go make yourself a cup of coffee while your Mac reboots) and there are nomore "Damn, I missed to press the alt key---now I have to reboot again!" experiences. Try it out and be amazed how such a simple application can be this useful!

Link

MB-switcher

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Belkin 4 port USB 2.0 hub Review



The Belkin USB Hub fits the Macbook (white) and the iMac perfectly. I think the design is really nice. It is a 4 port USB 2.0 Hub with 3 ports in the back and one port as a top-loading port. This port is especially useful if you own a 1. generation iPod shuffle. This port is also very nice to have to copy small files on a USB stick or for devices you only use occasionally. Also to be mentioned you do not need any drivers to use this hub with a Mac in OS X. It's simple plug and play and up until now I didn't experience any problems with it. The hub is shipped with an external power source also if you plan to connect multiple power hungry devices. If this is not the case for you, you can use the hub without the extra power supply too. There is a little green LED beneath the plastic at the top that switches on when it's ready to be used. One little complain I have is that the hub itself is really light (weight wise). You can see in the second picture that the hub lifts off the table if you use all the ports in the back and place it at the edge of a table. Other than that there is no reason not to buy this hub if you're looking for a stylish hub to go with your new Mac. The street price of this hub is around 20Û so it is not too expensive for a hub with an included external power supply.

Product page



MB-switcher

Microsoft Office 2008 release delayed

The long awaited MS Office 2008 (UB version of the office suite) will be delayed according to some sources. It was scheduled to be released later this year. However, Microsoft announced that the manufacturing of the new Office suite for Mac will start December and the release will be postponed to January 2008. That is sad news since it means that Mac users are stuck another 6 months with the old Office 2004 that only runs via Rosetta on Intel Macs which means that the speed of the Office suite is nowhere near the PC Windows counterpart.

More details: click here