Ask TUAW: USB for iPhone, clean installs, MP3 tagging and more

hey guys, i have a sony vaio laptop, and when i connect my iphone, my computer thinks is a camera, so i can't sync with itunes, on the other hand my ipod nano works just fine, i think i don't have suficient power in my usb port, if you have the same problem or the solution, please help. Thanx in advance.

@Keith (#22)
One of the better screen capture programs is iShowU which is $20 at http://www.shinywhitebox.com/

Here's my question for next week; To break up the monotony of mac-related questions... I would like to know the best way to get coworkers to stop drinking your beverages from a communal refrigerator. I'm on the verge of installing a hidden camera. ;)

What is a good video screen capture program? Is there a good one for free?

#19 -- sorry to hear that. Seems like there are some variant results for USB1 users out there, as many people are reporting that their iPhones sync OK with the older interface.

#20 -- I'm checking around to see who is equipped to run gaming benchmarks on an iMac running Vista -- all my Boot Camp'ed machines are running XP. In general, you should expect to see comparable performance in Boot Camp gaming to the speeds you'd see on a conventional PC with the same processor and video card. The X1600 is not a true high-end gaming card but it should be more than adequate for most games.

Here is a question for Tuaw. I am having the darndest time finding any benchmarks for Windows Vista gaming in Boot Camp on any Mac. Specifically I am looking for a Core2 iMac. Is there someone that has one of those? Can they run 3d Mark 05 or later and see what kind of score it is pumping out. And what kind of frame rates does it get with Half Life 2 and Doom 3 and C&C Tiberium Wars? Anyone's input is appreciated.

Jeff

Contrary to what has been reported, my iPhone does not work with my 12-inch PowerBook G4's USB port. It charges but cannot be detected by the iTunes. I'm forced to sync it with my PC. :(

#10 -- Maggie, check your login items under System Preferences --> Accounts. The updater is probably there and can be removed from the list.

#17 -- Josh, as long as the backup is a bootable clone (like those produced by Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) then you may use Migration Assistant to pull data from it. A backup made via a Finder copy or other file-at-a-time method will not work.

hi i have a potentially obvious question. Can you use Migration Assitant from a backup on an external HDD? Or does the migration have to come from a "real" computer? I am thinking that migration assistant requires firewire target mode on the mac, is this the same as using an actual firewire HDD? I just thought about this after reading Alan's upgrade question above, and was considering the possibility of doing a clean install of leopard (once its released) and then migrating my old account from a backup so that i can still get at all my apps from tiger... thanks/cheers

@babbington: Great collection on your site! Thanks for sharing! I'm a Windows convert and I use Tag&Rename and LOVE IT but I've yet to find anything which does it for me on Mac. I'll have to peruse your list.

Currently I'm trying MusOrg (because it's simple and free), I still do most of my music management on my PC in T&R.

I also have a question for next week. My iTunes library (about 200 Gb) is on my iMac which is not always switched on. As this is my main computer I would like to keep it here. However, my Mac Mini *is* always on and sometimes it would be more convenient to stream music from there. Is there any way of keeping an exact mirror on the Mini that automatically updates when I change the library on the iMac? All my music (bar one track) is DRM-free as it has been ripped from my CD collection, and I have a large enough external drive attached to the Mini to store it, so neither of those points are obstacles.