If your looking for a way to convert a bunch of images to use numeric format, such as 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg etc.. You should look at iWaterMark by Script Software.

iWatermark has lots of cool functionality, but I just discovered the renaming functionality. This is great for testing images in applications where you don't want to type in long names. Also useful for renaming lots of files downloaded from the internet.

On February 11, 2008, Apple released a patch to Mac OS X 10.5, the latest patch brings the OS X to 10.5.2. According to the release notes, this fixes many problems/functionality issues reported by users. Including issues that I have encountered with 10.5:

• Airport not connecting to WEP access points
• Dock Folders not using the listing method
• Menubar not being transparent

I am still having issues with accessing WEP access points. This first happened when I went to visit PayPal in November and wasn't able to connect to their network. It made training a little difficult, but I was able to get things done by using a cable. I don't have any problems connecting to an existing network prior to the upgrade, or to a network that doesn't require WEP authentication.

I am now having problems getting my Powerbook to sleep. The problem has to do with "The IOUSBFamily was not able to enumerate a device." I had a USB flash drive, but ejected it prior to putting it to sleep. The computer doesn't goto sleep when I close the computer lid.

Given the problem that other users are reporting, I assume that Apple will probably be releasing another patch soon. It would be great to get the Airport problem fixed.

The following are the default Character styles that I have in my Indesign install on my laptop. This is a useful list if you are looking for various BODY and HEADLINE styles for your projects.

I just notice that I have 92 items in my Application folder on my Powerbook. Wow!! That's a lot of applications to manage. Which got me thinking, is that really worth my time to navigate between all these items?

Yes, having less is more. That is: Less applications means an increase in productivity. For example, learning more about Photoshop will allow me to simplify having multiple graphic applications. Sure iWaterMark, Thumbscrew, Picturesque all do some cool things, but wouldn't it be easier to learn just one application and not have to think about which application to use.

If you are looking for a good source for Macintosh Applications, I suggest looking at iusethis.com. Signup and list your favorite applications and see what others are using. Just for fun, check out what the most popular FTP application is on the Macintosh, the answer may surprise you!

Here's a list of items in my Applications folder:

Acquisition, Address Book, Adium, Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Help Center, Adobe InDesign CS2, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Stock Photos, AOL Instant Messenger (SM) ƒ, AppleScript, Aqua Data Studio, Art Directors Toolkit 4, Automator, Backup, BBEdit, Calculator, Can Combine Icons, Chicken of the VNC, Citrix ICA Client, CleanArchiver, ColdFusion8, CSSEdit, Dashboard, Delicious Library, DEVONthink Pro, Dictionary, DiscLabel, Disco, DVD Player, eclipse, epson, EPSON Printer Utility, EPSON Scan, Evaluating, Exposé, FileInfo, Firefox, Flip4Mac, Font Book, Front Row, Game Room, GraphicConverter, iCal, iChat, Image Capture, iMovie HD, Interarchy, Internet Graphics, iPhoto, iSync, iTunes, iWeb, iWork '06, Journler, KeyCue, Mail, Microsoft AutoUpdate, Microsoft Office 2004, Not Using, OmniGraffle, OmniGraffle Professional, OmniOutliner, OpenTerminalHere, Paparazzi!, Pixadex, Preview, QuickTime Player, RDC Menu, RealPlayer, Remote Desktop Connection, Safari, Scrivener, sidenote, SmartSVN, Snapz Pro X, Spaces, SQLGrinder, Stickies, StuffIt 11, System Preferences, Test Apps, TextEdit, TextMate, Time Machine, Toast 7 Titanium, Transmit, Utilities, Virtual PC, VisualHub

Yesterday Nolobe release Interarchy 9, the first major release of Interarchy since 2006.

I have been using Interarchy since 2001, version 4, and my inital reaction is that this looks to be an awesome upgrade.

I really like the new look and feel, it looks like a regular Finder winder. The Path Bar is great way to navigate back, and the side bar is very similar to what Transmit is using.

I am still playing around with it, but it looks like an awesome upgrade! I would highly recomend you download a trial version.

Check out Oracle Technology center for downloading and installing Oracle for Leopard.

This is the best way to install Oracle on a PowerBook G4.

This is a handy guide that I use as my sidenote reference to help me remember some common comands that I use in TextMate.

Some people might find it useful. Others might want to create their own reference guide. I would encourage you to design your own quick reference guide to help you learn all the techniques of Textmate.

I used OmniGraffle Professional to add the background image and header. Click on the above image to see the "Full Size" version.

One of the disadvantages of upgrading any Operating System is that some applications may have to be updated. Most of these updates are likely paid updates. This isn’t good considering that I am short on cash right now.

As far as I know there’s three applications that I have, that should be releasing a paid update fairly soon:

1. Textmate
2. Interarchy
3. SQLGrinder

I am considering changing the SQLGrinder Application. As much as I like using it, it does seem to be missing lots of tools and doesn’t quiet feel like its an enterprise application. For example, its not easy to manage multiple databases like you can with Aqua Studio.

On a Macintosh, if your using JDBC connections for development, you are probably be using:

1. Aqua Data Studio
2. SQLGrinder
3. SQL4X Manager J

I am just learning Markdown with TextMate, and its a great way to do write blogs without having to use some complex tool. If your doing custom blogging tool and looking for an application to do clean HTML markups, I would suggest looking into implementing Markdown.

I was at a customer site earlier this week and was having problems connecting to their wireless network using a Powerbook G4 and Macintosh OS X 10.5 ( Leopard)

When I was trying to connect I was getting time out error almost instantly. As soon as I type in the WEP Password, which was a 128-bit encrypted password, I would get the timeout error.

The following message appeared in the console log:

November 6, 2007 11:18:38 AM SystemUIServer[204] Error joining SITE: Connection timeout (-6 timeout connecting)

I tried this several times and gave up. I check several Apple sites and it appears this is still a problem. I did an update to the Apple Keychain before I went to the customer site, which I think was supposed it fix the problem.

Guess what, it didn't. If your experiencing the same problem, don't bother to keep trying. There's several several postings on Apple Discussion Boards about this. I think the problem is how Apple handles 128-bit encrypt passwords.

I ended up having to connect via an Ethernet cable.

Last Saturday I updated my laptop to the latest version of Macintosh OS X (Leopard). The update took a long time to process, about 2 hours for my Powerbook G4 and it used up a lot of disk space.

My inital reaction of some of the new features have been mixed. Some of the new features are cool, while others I won't touch. The "Time Machine" feature is ok, but a laptop doesn't have that much disk space, so I don't think I'll be using it. (I think it would have been cool to name it "Back to the Future", after all the Movie did show a Macintosh in it.) The only cool feature that I was looking forward to seeing was Fan/Grid display of folders in the Dock. I am not very impress by it. It would be nice if that the Grid icons could be resize.

Also I am now experimenting putting the dock on the left instead of the bottom. I don't like the 3D look and I think the dock is taking up more space than it was before. Having it on the left is a little visual challenge since I am use to it being on the bottom for 4 years.

I do like the new Photo screen saver, it looks pretty cool. I was looking to see what new screen saver was in this build since Apple has done that in the previous OSX builds.

Is this a must have upgrade? I don't think so. I think most users can wait and upgrade when they can afford to or have it pre-installed on their next computer. Goto an Apple Store and play around with it, ask one of the sales people to show you some of the new features.

If you are a Macintosh developer and working in a development environment where some developers use dotNet, you should look at using the MonoDevelop. MonoDevelop is a free GNOME IDE primarily designed for C# and other .NET languages.

Keep in mind this is a complex toolset and will take some learning curve to get up and running. But I think if you are a serious developer, you can easily master the toolset over a weekend.

Using MonoDevelop will be significantly faster than Remote Desktop and in some cases using Parallel or Boot Camp. This is because you don't have to open up a separate OS enviroment to create C# or .NET code.

Experiencing some problems with the Blogging tool. Will conduct some cleaning this weekend to get things back up and running.

I don't think its anything too serious!

I got the new Apple Keyboard yesterday at the Apple store at the Natick Collections. Its great because the store is within walking distance from where I work. In some cases, its easier to park where I work and walk over to the store than to park at the Mall.

The keyboard is great, very quiet to type on and has a nice look and feel to it. I am using it as my primary keyboard with my Powerbook G4. I have my Powerbook on a Targus Podium Coolpad and attach the keyboard to one of the USB ports on my laptop.

I was using the MacAlley IceKey Keyboard for many months, it works pretty well, but the Apple Keyboard is cooler looking and has a modern design to it. Nothing wrong with the MacAlley keyboard, I'll probably take it home and use it on my home computer.

One of the disapointing features of the Apple Keyboard is that doesn't hold enough power to charge an iPod. This is supposed to be a USB2 keyboard, but when I connect the iPod it says that there's not enough power to charge the iPod. I know I have a USB2 port on my laptop because I can connect the iPod directly to the laptop.

The software update did fix the ability to power an iPod that is connected to the keyboard. The Apple Keyboard software update is 19.4 MB! Wow! What's in the software update? Also this is the first piece of Apple hardware that I purchased that didn't come with the software. Which is a good idea since most people would just download the latest software online anyways.

Apple System Profile Confirms this isn't a USB2 Keyboard:

Apple Keyboard: Version: 0.67
Bus Power (mA): 100
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple, Inc
Product ID: 0x0220
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

The keyboard has a 1 meter cable attached which is a perfect length for me. In the box there's a cable extender which doubles the cord length. So if you need a longer cable you could attach the extender. The MacAlley IceKey has a long cable which is pretty annoying.

If you are evaluating on what Database client application to use on Mac OS X. Here's some things to consider between SQL Grinder and Aqua Data Studio.

One nice advantage that SQLGrinder has over Aqua Data Studio is that it can keep the SQL color syntax between applications.

So if I have a SQL Query and copy it to Word/TextEdit/Pages the color syntax stays the same. Aqua Studio just copies the text unformated.

SQLGrinder handles Oracle connections better than Aqua Studio. Not sure the reason, but I am unable to make connections to Oracle using Aqua Studio. I believe that JDBC connections are managed better in SQLGrinder

I did have SQL4X Manager, but the version I have is old. (Purchased July 18, 2004) At some point I plan to test the latest version.

I am thinking this week of updating my BBEdit to the latest version 8.7 from 8.2. The upgrade only cost $30.

Since migrating to Textmate last year, I have been using Textmate for all my initial web development. Textmate is an awesome application and I would highly recommend it! However there some features in BBEdit that are pretty cool and worth keeping , here are some examples:

• If I open up multiple documents from an FTP application, such as Interarchy, BBEdit opens one window and puts all the selected files in a Drawer, which makes it easy to move around files. Thus making it easy when editing multiple files.
• The color syntax seems to be better in BBEdit than Textmate, the color tones are easier to read.
• After many years of using BBEdit I am very familiar with all the keyboard shortcuts.

The question is are the new features in BBEdit worth the upgrade? My initial reaction is that there isn't any must-have feature that I should upgrade for. So, for now I'll just use BBEdit 8.2 and Textmate 1.5.6.

To simplify matters, I have two FTP clients in my dock. When I want to use BBEdit, I use Panic's Transmit, when I want to use Textmate I use Interarchy. I think Interarchy and Textmate combination works really well.

I will be checking into Coda, the new application from Panic, which is supposed to be the latest and greatest FTP/Editor tool all in one.

I use the Kensington #72123 Mouse-in-a-Box as my computer mouse on my Powerbook computer every day. At home I use Logitech MX518 Gaming Optical Mouse. The Logitech is a great mouse, just seems a little "over powering" at times.

What amazes me is how simplifies the Kensington mouse is compared to the Logitech mouse. I really don't need a fancy mouse to perform simple tasks, clicking, right-clicking and scrolling. The Kensington mouse performs the task very well and a good mouse to have.

I purchase Apple's Wireless Mighty Mouse when it first came out, thinking it would be cool to have a wireless mouse. Today, the mouse is sitting on a shelf on my desk at home. Why? Well I had some problems with the mouse loosing the Bluetooth signal even thou it was inches away from the computer. I do bring it with me on business trips but very rarely do I use it.

This got me thinking about Apple's new iPhone that is going to be release this week. Sure its cool, got the latest technology, awesome graphics, and probably the best sound in wireless phones. But, is that something I really need? Am I better of just using a simplified solution? Earlier this year I got the LG VX8300 phone, and signed up with Verizon for 2 years. So I won't be jumping ship just yet to get the iPhone. However, I'll be checking out the phone the next time I goto the Apple Store.

In the meantime, if your looking for a good mouse, goto eBay and pickup a Kensington #72123 Mouse-in-a-Box. Currently you can get one for around $25.

To add content to this Blog, I am now using Journler, By Philip Dow, as my primary writing tool. Journler has a great writing environment and sophisticated tools that I need, such as tagging, organizing content by categories, custom labels, and a pretty good search engine.

I also like the default font that Journler uses: Cochin Regular 14n. However, sometimes I'll switch to Georgia Regular 14. If you use any Journal tool, try using Cochin or Georgia. When writing code I find that Monaco Regular 9 is better font to use, this is due to using BBEdit so much.

I still use TextMate to clean the code prior to going live since it has excellent HTML tools such as Google linking capabilities and entities converter. TextMate has quickly become an important part of my application development.

My day-to-day note-taking tool is still DEVONThink. I use this to store my source code examples and code references. All my personal and business documents are stored in Journler. This decoupling my personal life from my work life.

If your undecided between various Journal/Notetaking applications, I would encourage you to consider using more than one application. Consider one application for you business needs and one for your personal needs.

On my laptop I have both DEVONthink, MacJournal, and Journler. At one point in time I saw some value in each application and have purchased a license.

However, having mulitple tools is not very productive and can make finding information difficult. So over the next few days I am going to pick one application and use that as my default Macintosh Journal tool.

Top 5 functionality that I am looking for:

1. Search Functionality - not only within the application but also using Spotlight.
2. Label Content - Easily identify importaint content in the listing
3. Usibility - An application thats easy to use.
4. Sorting - Ability to organize content
5. Back up - Ability to do a complete backup and remove information as needed.

With the iPhone soon to be release, owners of any LG Phone, including my LG VX8300, will be seeing the following messages in iSync for a while.

An alternative solution is to use BluePhoneElite. For some reason the Address Book works fine when importing contacts. However the first name and last name get reversed when it goes to the phone, so on each import I have to change the order of the name.

I recently upgraded my cellphone and purchase a LG VX8300. I really like this phone over my Samsung A670 since it has Bluetooth capabilities and a better sound, including a speaker phone.

The screen is a little bigger, and I with that I needed create some new Disney World Haunted Mansion wallpaper. If your a Haunted Mansion fan, and have a LG VX8300 download these wallpapers that I created.

I am working on some ring tones. For some reason, Disney isn't providing any Haunted Mansions ringtones as they did when I purchased the Samsun A670 a couple of years ago. I think this is a big mistake since there are plenty of Haunted Mansions fans that would like to have Grim Grinning Ghosts as a ring tone. Once I am done with it, I'll put it up here so others can download it.

Google it...

Apple Tiger Bugs:	1,300,000
Microsoft Vista Bugs:	28,100,000

Oh, Vista doesn't officially come till next week. Lets see where the numbers stand Tuesday morning (January 31, 2007), once users installed it and start blogging it.

Wow Apple announced the iPhone for $499! The bad news is that it runs on Cingular network.

Apple would have been better to make a couple of these for different providers. In the northeast, Verizon pretty much has the most coverage. After all, they will have to make a different phone for Europe and for Asia.

more later...

I have been working on the features section of this website and looking to take advantage of using Final Cut Express HD that I purchased last year.

I have my VCR connected to my Sony DCR-TRV720, as a pass-through and connected to my desktop computer using firewire. I got this working in Final Cut Express, so that I can record video, by using File > Easy Setup and selected DV-NTSC DV Converter. The only downside is that the audio doesn't play through the speakers.

Final Cut Express HD is a great piece of software, and one of the cool things that I didn't know that was included is Apple Compressor. This allows me to compress multiple Movies at the same time! Very Cool!

I currently have Media Cleaner 5 for all my compression, and its a great tool. But its a little out of date and I am unable to compress using the latest H.264 Codec. I am not sure if its worth getting the upgrade to Cleaner 6.5 since that costs $179. I think the key advanage would be the RealMedia and the popular Flash Movie Format that is not available in Apple's Compressor2.

I'll investigate other options, as there might be some plug-ins that might work with Quicktime or Compressor, such as Helix Producer.

I am in the process of Installing Oracle on my Powerbook G4 and G4 Desktop for development purposes. Here are the steps I am currently using.

First download Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.0.3) for Mac OS X Server

Then perform the following commands from the Terminal:

su -
sudo nicl . -append /groups/admin users oracle
sudo gcc_select 3.3
sudo nicl . -create /groups/dba
sudo nicl . -append /groups/dba gid 601 
sudo nicl . -append /groups/dba passwd "*"
sudo nicl . -create /users/oracle
sudo nicl . -append /users/oracle uid 601
sudo nicl . -append /users/oracle gid 600
sudo nicl . -append /users/oracle shell /bin/bash
sudo nicl . -append /users/oracle home /Users/oracle
sudo nicl . -append /groups/dba users oracle        
mkdir /Users/oracle
chown oracle:dba /Users/oracle
sudo nicl . -append /users/oracle gid 601
nireport . /users uid name | more
mkdir /opt
mkdir /opt/oracle
mkdir /opt/oracle/product
mkdir /opt/oracle/product/10.1
chown -R oracle:dba /opt/oracle
cd /Users/cryan/Desktop
mv ship_mac_db.cpio.gz /opt/oracle/product/10.1/
cd /opt/oracle/product/10.1
gzip -d ship_mac_db.cpio.gz 
cpio -idmv < ship_mac_db.cpio

That's where I am at for now...

Here's a little tip for insuring that your pictures look high quality. Note that if you have a consumer type camera you may not have enough pixels to have very large prints made that look good. Use the following general guidelines when sizing images to aspect ratios":

• For a 4 x 6" print, the image resolution should be 640 x 480 pixels minimum
• For a 5 x 7" print, the image resolution should be 1024 x 768 pixels minimum
• For an 8 x 10" print, the image resolution should be 1536 x 1024 pixels minimum
• For a 16 x 20" print, the image resolution should be 1600 x 1200 pixels minimum
• For a 20 x 30" print, the image resolution should be 1600 x 1200 pixels minimum

A really cool feature in Text Edit is the ability to save Graphics inside the documents. This works well with Safari.

So I can select a text on Boston.com, Yahoo.com and then paste it into a TextEdit document and then save it as a 'rtfd' which is a Rich Text With Graphics Format. This makes saving stories with photos a lot easier...

The following is a list of workout songs that I found. This list was create in early 2001. I am sure that there's some additional songs that could make this list.

Eye of the Tiger	Survivor
Physical	Olivia Newton-John
Stronger	Britney Spears
Come On Over	Christina Aguliera
Rollin'	Limp Bizkit
Rocky Theme	Phil Conti
Baby Got Back	Sir Mix-a-lot
Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)	C+C Music Factory
Bye Bye Bye	N'Sync
Express Yourself	Madonna

Apple has discontinued the Apple Card for the Apple Extreme card. However not all computers can use the new card.

You can search ebay for Apple Cards, but they cost $129+. Which is a lot of money to spend to make your desktop computer wireless.

I found a cheaper solution this weekend. I bought a DLINK USB Adapter (DWL-G122) for $45. I downloaded some third party driver and was able to connect with no problems. (Search for Macintosh USB Wireless for the Driver.)

This is a short term solution, over the next few months, I'll be building a home network that will replace the wireless connection.

[Download a PDF Version of this for easy reference.]

I was able to get a Linksys Modem connected to a Comcast using the following steps:

• I called Comcast (888) 633-4266 to register the Modem Mac address. (This can be found on the bottom of the modem.)
• The 'DS' Light was flashing non-stop, indicating that it was not getting a signal. I had to try a different cable wall jack. Turns out the one I was using was not set up correctly.
• Once I got connected I just went through www.comcast.net instead of using the CD installation. For some reason on my Mac, Comcast kept disabling the Ethernet port.

Once I was able to surf the Internet, I connected a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router:

First I needed my computer Mac Address:

Finding the Mac Address on a Macintosh OS X:
You will need this for Comcast Cable.

1. Open up System Preferences.
2. Click Network
3. Under the 'Show' Menu select 'Ethernet'
4. Select the Ethernet Tab (Its the last tab.)
5. The Ethernet ID is what you need.

Then I started the process:

1. Shut down the computer, and unplug the power cables to both the router and the Broadband modem.
2. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the computer and plug it into the Internet or WAN port of the router.
3. Take another the Ethernet cable and connect it to the computer.  Then, take the other end of that same cable and connect it to Port 2 on the back of the router.
4. So you have at this point the Modem cable going into the 'Internet' port of the Router and a cable from your computer to the Router second ethernet port.
5. Plug in the Broadband modem's power cable and wait for all of its lights to stop blinking.
6. After the lights on the Broadband modem stop blinking, plug in the router's power cable.
7. Start up the computer.

Now your ready to configure the router:

1. I used Firefox instead of Safari, since I was experiencing some problems submitting Linksys Settings. (I was seeing the raw HTML code after submittals)
2. When the browser window opens, go to the Address bar and type in the router's IP Address and click on the Go button (192.168.1.1 is the default IP address of Linksys Routers).
3. A window will appear prompting for a “User Name” and a “Password”.  Leave the “User Name” field blank, and type in the router's password and click on the OK button to login (admin is the default password).
4. The router's web-based “Setup” utility should then load.
5. From the “Setup” page, click on the MAC Address Clone sub-tab.
6. In the “MAC Clone” section, set the option to Enable.
7. Click on the Clone Your PC’s MAC button.  Once this is done, the “User Defined Entry” will show MAC Address of the Ethernet Adapter of the computer you are using.  Verify this address with the Mac Address” observed in earlier steps.
8. To make the Wireless Work, click on the 'Wireless' tab, then click on the green button. It will instruct you to click on the Cisco Systems logo on the Router.
9. Be sure to use a cool Wireless Network Name!

[Download a PDF Version of this for easy reference.]

To create a rule line, similar to rule paper:

1. Create a line the length that you want.
2. Change the line stroke weight to .5 (Standard Line weight)
3. Select Step and Repeat (Edit -> Step and Repeat)
4. Put in the number of lines you need in Repeat Count
5. Put in .2 inch or 1p2.4 Vertical Offset (Standard College Rule)

This is great if you are creating custom index card or custom cards for the scan card system.

Right now on my Powerbook G4 I have 8 applications open, and these represent the most productive applications that I use at work.
In the order that they appear in the Dock:

• Safari
• Apple Mail
• BBedit
• Interarchy
• DEVONthink
• iTunes
• Virtual PC
• Aqua Data Studio

Yesterday, Apple announced some pretty good numbers for last quarter. Once again the iPods are stealing the show.

I can't wait until they have a living room version of the iPod, a device that will replace having Multi-CD Electronic devices.

Here's what currently on my July Playlist:
Africa, As We Walk to Fenway Park In Boston Town, Black Water, Broken Wings, California, Candle in the Wind, Desert Moon, Dirty Water, Don't Dream It's Over, Drift Away, Ebay (Parody of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys), Gangsta's Paradise, Going up the Country, How Bad Do You Want It, I Lost On Jeopardy, Independance Day, Iris, Live Like You Were Dying, Maybe I'm Amazed, Merchandising Wright Brothers, Nothing Compares to you, Otherwise, Parents Just Don't Understand, Psycho Killer, Somebody's Watching Me, Teddy Ballgame, This Used To Be My Playground, Tubthumping (I Get Knock Down), Waiting For A Star To Fall, Walk On Water, Wind of Change, World Series Game 4, You're Still the One

Well after months of thinking about buying a new Powerbook, I finally bought a new one last night at the Apple Store in Salem, New Hampshire. This is the model I selected:

15.2-inch TFT Display
1280x854 resolution
1.5GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
80GB Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon
9700 (64 MB DDR)
Backlit keyboard
Gigabit Ethernet
FireWire 400 & 800

Apple made it easy to copy Applications from my old laptop onto my new laptop. It took a couple of hours to move 20 GB of data. All this was automatic. I just connected the two computers and told it what I wanted to copy. It couldn't have been easier.

I had to enter in my Serial Number for Snapz-Pro and install MySQL. Other than that, things work as they did before.

They were selling 512MB Ram for $150 with free installation. I declined that knowing that I could get a better deal online. I found places that had the same memory for $50.

The screen is much brighter and some applications do appear to open faster.

In March I purchased Sticky Brain, however due to problems with the software in my upgrade to MAc OX 10.4, I can no longer use the software.

I tried to uninstall, reinstall and nothing worked. I have two computers and can't get the main program to work. The shortcuts and other features work, but I can't get to the main screen.

Other people were having a problem with Sticky Brian, so I decided, since I use the program as a work tool, that I need a different application.

Right now I am using DEVON think, and so far everything is working well.

I think the problem with Sticky Brain is that it uses OpenBase as a database and I have MySQL installed on both computers. I program a lot in MySQL, so I don't plan to uninstall the database.

This past weekend CNet got the scoop that Apple will start using Intel chips in their computers starting next year. I think someone at Apple intentionally leaked the information so the the Developer's Conference would be getting a lot of publicity.

The news that Apple is switching from PowerPC to Intel chips could confuse consumers, some analysts are warning. "Apple has sent a strong signal that it would be sensible to wait a year if you want to buy a new Powerbook," Gary Barnett, research director at Ovum, told BBC News. Mr. Barnett said he would have been more impressed if Apple had decided to switch to AMD processors. AMD had "out-innovated" Intel in terms of its 64 processor technology, he said. "Everything around PowerPC seems to interesting and optimistic - AMD can be classified as that too. Intel is just the current leader, albeit it by a big margin."

My impression is that most consumers don't care what's in the box. They just want to know if its easy to use and will it work with their exisiting programs.

Apple's move to Intel is an economic and technological win for Apple. They will be able produce cheaper computers that will run really fast. It appears this all has to do with getting a G5 chip in the Powerbook.

Also Yesterday:

Jobs introduces Wolfram's CEO, who said they ported Mathematica 5 to Intel-based Macs in 2 hours. Working version in 2 hours flat. Only about 20 lines of code changed.

Ok... Maybe you should reword that it took 2 hours test changing 20 lines of code. The above quote makes it seem that Mathematica has slow programers.

The Associated Press is reporting that Apple is in secret talks with Intel, and the AP is spreading the rumor that this has to do with the possiblity that Apple might be using Intel chips.

A couple of years ago, Apple was in talks with several major record companies and all the rumors were about how Apple was going to buy a record company. However, it turns out that Apple was in talks to get record companies to sign off with Apple's new music service.

So the rumors of Apple using Intel instead of IBM could be just that rumors. Apple might be planning some Living Room accessory and would like to use Intel Chips. This might be a better option since it wouldn't infringe on any contracts that Apple and IBM have.

Its possible that Apple-TiVo might be working on something using an Intel chipset, that would be cool...

Since I am thinking of updating my laptop, I was going through my list of applications that I currently use. These are the major applications that I have:

• Acrobat 5 - use to create and Modify PDF douments
• Adobe Illustrator - use to create Illustrations on the computer
• Adobe Indesign - perfect for creating booklets and PDF documents
• Adobe Photoshop - Photo editing tool
• Audio Hijac Pro - Record radio stations
• BBedit - Primary HTML editor on the Macintosh.
• Can Combine Icons - Custom Icons
• GraphicConverter - Use to browse images.
• Interarchy - FTP client
• Microsoft Office - Word/Excel and Powerpoint files
• SQL4X Manager J - Use to access MySQL and SQL server
• Sticky Brain - Use to jot down notes and information
• Toast 6 Titanium - Burn CDs and DVDs on unsupported Mac hardware.

Freeware Applications:

• Remote Desktop - Microsoft remote desktop tool
• VNCViewer - VNC client

I created this list so that I can find all the serial numbers and disks. I know programs like Carbon Copy can migrate data between two computers, but I am thinking of doing a fresh install.

Today I purchased a new 20" Apple Display.

Since 1999, I have been using the Apple 15" display at a 1024 x 768 resolution. The new Apple Displays are much better and have a higher resolution (1680 by 1050 pixels). Putting a new display on an existing computer almost seems like you have a brand new computer.

One of the reasons I decided on going with the new displays was that the computer at work I am using 1280x1024 resolution and I have gotten use to the higher resolution.

The downside of upgrading the monitor is that I can't use it on my Titanium Powerbook laptop. I have to purchase a ADC converter which costs $299. Its almost cheaper to buy another monitor.

I haven't figured out what I am going to do with the Apple 15" monitor.

I have been using BBEdit for at least 5 years on a daily bases. Recently someone told me about Smultron, a powerful text editor for the Macintosh.

This is a pretty cool app, that could easily replace BBEdit if it incorporated one feature, the ability to Zap Gremlins. Gremlins are strange bits of characters that usually appear when I copy text between Windows and Macintosh.

I really like the Code Snippets in Smultron. This makes reusing code a lot easier. In BBEdit, there isn't a way to store code within the app.

I am working on a way to integrate Smultron with Interarchy, its not working as I would expect. But if you use BBEdit, I would highly recommend checking out Smultron.

Oh, Smultron is about $119 cheaper than BBEdit, its free!

If you are using Peak LE, iMovie, or Photoshop and you are experiencing problems dealing with files greater than 2GB, you may need to reformat your drive. If the drive is formatted as HFS or FAT32, then filesize on external drive is limited to 2GB.

You need to format the drive as Mac OS Extended. This will eliminate the 2GB limit problems.

Last year at MacWorld in NYC Griffin Technology announce a new tool called Radio Shark. It like a TIVO for the Radio. I saw a couple of prototypes on the show floor and it seemed like a cool tool. I liked it because it the only audio program that you can set to schedule a radio show. The only other Macintosh audio program that can schedule recordings is Audiocorder.

Its been 1 year since Griffin Technology announced Radio Shark, and the webpage still says it 'shipping soon'. They are about as bad as Microsoft in announcing a product well before its finished.

Today I was lucky and had the opportunity to get away from work and at least checkout the exhibit floor at MacWorld Boston. This was a far cry from the days when they split the show between the World Trade Center and Bayside Expo.

There were only 80 exhibitors this year, a much smaller than the last show in Boston. While everyone knows that Apple wasn't there, there were some other notable exhibitors missing from the show floor.

• Adobe
• Microsoft - They could have capitalized on Apple not being at the show!
• Aladdin Systems
• Macromedia
• Bare Bones - Makers of BBEdit, this is their home town!
• MacSoft

However, the there were lots of attendees and the exhibit floor was filled with people looking to buy software/hardware. I heard over and over again, that this is only a beginning, and the success of this show will only lead to a bigger show next year.

One of the Town Hall panelist said that Apple didn't need to be at the show since 80% of the American population lives within an hour drive of an Apple store, so if they wanted to see the latest Apple hardware and Software they could goto their store. The show was an opportunity for other developers to show their stuff.

Anyway the next Boston MacWorld is July 18, 2005, we'll see what happens next year.

I uploaded my daily commute playlist that I have on my iPod. Many of the songs are ones that I put together from my own music collection.

I typically select this playlist when I drive to work every morning, and sometimes on my evening commute, if there isn't anything exciting on any of the local Boston stations.

The Child Stars song comes right from the DVD. Instead of buying the soundtrack for Dickie Roberts for one song, I used Ambrosia's WireTap. If you are a Macintosh user, you can download Wiretap for free from Ambrosia Software website.

The Airplane sound is pretty funny, and this is usually the first sound I select when I leave in the mornings. This is a short sound byte that I captured before an airplane crew was about to open the cabin doors. I'll put it in my sound library shortly.

I was thinking of getting a new hard drive for my desktop computer. So this evening I spent a few minutes looking around the web at some electronic stores near me to see who had the best pricing for a 120 GB internal hard drive. (Since this is to be for storage, the speed of the drive didn't matter.)

Best Buy	Maxtor	$113.99
Comp USA	Maxtor	$119.99
Micro Center	Maxtor	$139.99
Staples	Maxtor	$119.98

It appears that Best Buy had the best pricing option. Not only that BestBuy.com has the ability to order online and pick it up at the store, so you'll know it will be there when you arrive. (It isn't fun going to the store and finding out that they don't have it in stock.)

However looking online, I noticed that MacSales.com has a Maxtor 160GB drive for $117.99. So if I am willing to wait a couple of days, I can get a 160GB drive for about the same price of 120GB drive.

I'll probably go for the MacSales.com option.

I am in the process of making my new apartment to be pretty high tech. Right now I have a wireless network and a webcam setup. In fact, you can see the latest photo online.

In order to do this I have one of my old Macintosh computers, Powermac G3 400Mhz, in my living room. So I thought I would take advantage of the computer and use it as a personal stereo. I have run into two problems:

1. The speakers I wanted to use are not working, this is probably because I have the wrong input connector, and buying an adapter at Radio Shack should fix this.
2. The more serious problem is that I can't see other Itunes libraries from my two newer computers. This seems to be a 'known' problem since other people are encounter this.

So, once everything is successful, I'll be able to stream music from my office to the living room and the dinning room. Apple just announce a cool new adapter, I'll have to check that out to see if it will fit into my network.

For the past few months I have been using MacJournal by Dan Schimpf Software. This is a great Macintosh application that allows you to store data in a Journal form.

Does this mean I am writing a book? No, I am logging all my PHP, ASP and Cold Fusion code so that I can use them again. This application allows you to store the data in an organized way and the find it easy.

For the past 2 years I was using BBEdit, and saving the files in a Library folder. However, this makes searching hard, and BBEdit doesn't support images.

If you do any development on a Macintosh, you should check out MacJournal.

A year ago I mention a neat Mac OS X utility called Carbon Copy Cloner. Well once again I need it again since I'll be install a new 60GB hard drive into my laptop. Most of the software I'll be installing will be from scratch, but Carbon Copy Cloner will help with migrating some other programs.

Carbon Copy Cloner is an easy way to copy one hard drive to another. Its a great backup utility for people who have laptops and want a complete backup of the system.

If you use a Macintosh and visit MSNBC you'll discover that you are not able to utilized their website. All the video content checks the operating system and will not play the video if you are not using a Window's system, even thou Windows Media Player is available for the Mac.

I was also getting errors when I was clicking on several news links. It appears that MSNBC is using some special HTTPD redirect commands that are not industry standards.

This isn't a major issue since there are lots of sites that offer news on the Internet, but it just goes to show how Microsoft tries to force people to use their technology even if its not the best.

Since March, 2002 I have been keeping track of my daily work by creating a folder on the desktop. This folder has the current date, so its easy to find something work I did for any particular date. This also handy for DVD and CD backup of my work.

This morning I decided to automate creating a daily folder by installing some PHP code into my index.php file. This way everytime I open up my web browser, a new folder is created on the desktop only if there isn't already one created.

<?
// Create a Directory for Today's Work
$name = date('n.d.y');
if (!is_dir("/Users/$user/Desktop/$name")) {
mkdir("/Users/$user/Desktop/$name", 0777 );
chmod( "/Users/$user/Desktop/$name", 0777 );
}
?>

For the past 29 days, I have been using Mac OS 10.3 (Code name Panther). Some of the features that I really like are:

• Updated Finder. Making it easier to navigate to frequently use folders.
• iChat Video. Cool idea, just have to know mac users in order to use it.
• Easy to Install and view fonts.
• Exposé, the fastest way to get to any open application's window.

However I have run into a few problems:

• The desktop frequently crashes whenever I move files on the desktop to a folder that is also on the desktop.
• Mail's Junk Mail feature is not working.
• iMovie frequently crashed whenever I open the application.

The following are features that I would like to see in future upgrades:

• The ability to lock your computer, like the ctrl-alt-delete feature in Windows.
• Better database integration. (Apache, PHP, and Perl are installed by default. Why not MySQL?)
• Printing all the Fonts that are installed in your computer. (A font info sheet)
• The ability to view the current month calendar when you click on the clock in the menu bar.
• Better FTP integration from the finder.

Overall its a nice upgrade, but I wouldn't put it in the category of a must have upgrade. You bet bet is to wait for next year since that release will probably cost $100. Unless Apple decides to give a discount to customers who bought Panther.

According to Apple Computer, the problems that I have been having with my laptop is due to a bad third party memory. I installed the 512k memory about a year ago, so I don't think it had to do with the memory.

I have learned that an external Firewire hard drive works faster than an internal hard drive in a Powerbook. So I am going to put my newly purchased 40 GB hard drive into my Firwire case and use that as backup storage.

Powerbook Problems Summary:
For the past couple of months the computer was having problems booting the internal hard drive. I was able to boot the computer using a Firewire drive and the internal CD-ROM drive.

I installed a new hard drive this morning on my Powerbook G4 500 series laptop. I upgraded from 20 GB to 40 GB hard drive! I found the Torx T-8 tool at Sears yesterday for only $2. There are some places online that are selling it for $5 plus shipping! You need this tool to install a hard drive in a powerbook. So far everything seems to be working fine.

I also discovered that parking at the Fleet Center is $1 cheaper than the 'GARDEN GARAGE' where I would normally park. This is just a little longer walk to the Museum of Science but since it is underground parking it might be better for the warm summer months!

I just purchase a new hard drive for my laptop, since I am using it more now. However, I can't use it since I am unable to find my Macintosh OS 10.2 CD. So I went to CompUSA and purchased a Mac OS X 10.2 CD at $129.

However, today I found this niffity program called Carbon Copy Cloner.

This application allows me to copy the contents of my hard drive to another drive. The cool thing is that this is FREE! So, I am taking back the unopened Mac OS X CD to CompUSA and will use