Posts by Scott Mcnulty at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Scott McNulty
- http://blog.blankbaby.com/

Scott McNulty is a techie with an English degree. His first Mac was an iMac in the summer of 1999 and he hasn�t looked back since. Considered an expert by few, and an annoyance by many Scott takes it all in stride. When not writing in the third person about himself, he can be found taking care of several Windows servers and more Windows desktops than you can shake a stick at (hey, a guy's gotta make a living). He also maintains a personal website; Blankbaby, and is "Philadelphia's Most Influential Blogger", a title which is self-proclaimed and entirely unfounded.

TapeDeck 1.0

Posted May 9th 2008 3:30PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Audio, Software

Call me a curmudgeon if you must, but I am wary of any app that replicates a physical object with its UI. Isn't a large part of the power of computing come from the fact that programmers can transcend the limitations of the real world and offer up better ways of doing things?

In this frame of mind I started looking at TapeDeck, a new $25 Leopard only recording app from SuperMegaUltraGroovy and Toastycode. As the name suggests it looks like a cassette recorder of old, but it does offer up some improvements. Each recording is saved on a new 'tape' automatically, so you never have to record over a previous file (TapeDeck records audio in the AAC format, so the files are small, but you can make them even smaller by lowering the recording quality). It also allows you to annotate your tapes and then search your recording library using that information, and you can send your audio to iTunes if you prefer to organize your files that way.

The real question is: does the UI help or hinder TapeDeck? I'll have to spend more time using TapeDeck to fairly answer that, but at first blush this app is great fun to use (especially if you remember using tape recorders like these).

AT&T lists WiFi hotspot access as part of iPhone plans

Posted May 8th 2008 11:29AM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Internet, iPhone

It looks like the reports of AT&T offering free Wi-Fi at their hotspots were not unfounded. Above you can see a new 'Included Feature' that AT&T is bundling with all their iPhone plans. Along with long distance calling, visual voicemail, call forwarding, 3-way calling and Caller ID you now get 'Access to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots.' Not too shabby at all.

[via iLounge]

Update: And like that it is gone! AT&T really needs to get their story straight on this one.

Found Footage: Mac for Attorney General

Posted May 8th 2008 9:00AM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Odds and ends, Found Footage

Greg Macpherson is running for Attorney General in Oregon. Normally this isn't the stuff of TUAW posts, but normally political campaigns don't run an ad that is very reminiscent of a certain computer company's advertising.

It would seem that Mr. Macpherson's nickname is 'Mac,' and I think you can see where I'm going with this. Check out the ad here. Sure, it isn't a laugh a minute, but it is fairly clever.

Oh, and this post should in no way be considered an endorsement for any political candidate of any sort.

Thanks, Brant.

PC Magazine likes the new iMac

Posted May 6th 2008 9:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: iMac

PC Magazine has been reviewing Mac for awhile now, but it still strikes me as rather novel when they recommend a Mac. That's just what they did for Apple's latest iMac. PC Mag doesn't find anything too groundbreaking on this new model, but the speed improvements are welcome.

But why mess with success? The current design of the iMac is serving it well, and similar computers from other companies still haven't caught up with the iMac in terms of looks.

However, not everything is rosy in iMac land. PC Mag disses the Mighty Mouse (I usually toss the included Mighty Mouse aside myself), and would like to see an integrated media card reader.

iMac turns 10

Posted May 6th 2008 1:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iMac, Apple

It was ten years ago today that Steve Jobs mounted the Flint Center auditorium near Apple's campus and revealed the product that would save Apple, and become the best selling computer of all time: the iMac. It is hard to believe that this cute little guy is ten years old, but it is true.

The original iMac came stocked with a 233MHz G3, 32MB of SDRAM (though you could bump it up to a whopping 128MB), a 4 gig harddrive, 2 USB ports, a CD-ROM drive (not a CD burner, Apple was late to that party), and an IrDA port. These specs might not make your heart skip a beat nowadays, but the iMac is the product that started Apple's amazing turn around. It was the first mainstream computer to break with the past and offer only USB ports, no legacy connectors here. And it is worth noting that the iMac can also be attributed as the killer of the floppy disk.

I recall the howls from the tech community about the iMac's lack of a floppy drive. 'People love their floppies!' 'This is nothing more than an expensive toy!' All charges leveled against the iMac, but the decision actually helped create a market for USB accessories as most people bought their iMac and a USB floppy drive (I know I did. I used that floppy drive twice: once to make sure it worked, and another time to copy a file).

The iMac wasn't available for purchase until August of 1998 (for the base price of $1299), but today is a date that should be circled in Bondi Blue for any true Mac fan.

Check out our gallery of screenshots that show Apple's website the day after the iMac announcement. All screenshots was taken using the Wayback Machine.

Gallery: iMac 1998

Thanks, Shane, for reminding us of the date!

Vodafone to sell iPhone in 10 countries

Posted May 6th 2008 9:10AM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: iPhone

Today Vodafone announced that it is partnering with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten countries:

Australia
the Czech Republic
Egypt
Greece
Italy
India
Portugal
New Zealand
South Africa
Turkey

The official announcement doesn't offer much in the way of details. We have no idea when the iPhone will be available in these countries, or if Vodafone will have a special iPhone plan. Also worth noting is the lack of any mention of exclusivity in these countries.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1

Posted May 5th 2008 11:16PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Software

VMware has just announced VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1, the first beta of the second iteration of their very successful virtualization product for the Mac. As you'll recall Fusion allows you to run a host of OSes on your Intel Mac including, but not limited to, many flavors of Windows.

The above video gives you a tour of Fusion 2.0 Beta 1's top new features, including:

Multiple monitor support (up to 10 displays!)
Improved networking and printing
Support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 (this is experimental, and it might not work on your Mac)
A refined UI for settings and VM management

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The beta is available now, and best of all the upgrade to version 2.0, when it comes out of beta, will be free to all Fusion users. You can register for the beta program and download the hefty 300 MB installer here.

Broken iPod: fix it or replace it?

Posted May 5th 2008 7:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family

There are few things worse than reaching for your iPod only to find that the screen is cracked, the hard drive has died, or that the darned thing just won't play music anymore. At that point you have to ask yourself, like someone did of the New York Times, do I fix this iPod or just replace it?

The answer is easy if your iPod is still under warranty, but if it isn't things get a little trickier. If your iPod is a few models behind what Apple is currently offering it probably makes sense to put the money you would have spent on replacement parts towards a new iPod. However, if you have an iPod that Apple doesn't make anymore (I'm thinking of the iPod mini) then you just might want to fix up your piece of consumer electronics history.

What say you, insightful TUAW reader? Would you just get a new iPod, or be more eco-friendly and get your old iPod fixed?

SSHing for fun and profit

Posted May 5th 2008 4:30PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Internet Tools, Terminal Tips

I'm sure you've heard all the cool kids talking about SSH in the cafeteria during lunch, but you had no idea what it was. Be ignorant no more, because Devanshu Mehta is writing a series of posts about using SSH for Apple Matters.

The first in the series explains the basics of SSH and what you'll need to setup before you can start securely tunneling like a spy.

Here's the really short explanation of SSH: it allows you to create secure connections between two computers. The protocol is a standard, so you can SSH into almost any kind of computer, assuming it is running SSH and you have the proper credentials.

I'll be keeping my eye out for the upcoming parts in this series, because who can't use some more secure connections in their life?

Mozy 1.0

Posted May 1st 2008 6:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Software

A little over a year ago we wrote about back up purveyor Mozy's beta Mac client, and many people were quite excited. Time passed, the seasons changed, and the Mozy folks were quiet. Quiet until today, that is. That's right, Mozy 1.0 for the Mac is now available for download.

In a nutshell, Mozy is a backup application which backs up your files to Mozy's servers. As you might guess, this requires the use of the Internet, and perhaps just a little magic. The backups are encrypted, so you don't have to worry about someone peeking at your files or taking some of your MP3s for their own collection. Mozy also ships with 'Backup sets,' which are predefine file locations and the like to make backing up easier. For example, the iTunes Library Backup Set will target your (shockingly) iTunes library, while the Desktop Backup Set makes sure all the files on your Desktop are backed up. You can even create Backup sets of your own, which I did to backup only those items that I bought via the iTunes Store.

The application itself is free because Mozy makes their money charging for the storage your back ups use. A free account will get you 2 gigs of back up space, while $4.95 per month will get you unlimited space (and if you pay for a year or two in advance you get a few months for free).

I signed up for a free account and took Mozy for a spin. Overall, the application is just what you want from a backup app: unobtrusive and easy to use. The downside to Mozy, and this is true of any system that backs up over the network, is speed (I know that the topic of upload/download speeds is fertile ground, but that discussion is outside the scope of this post). I backed up 1.4 gigs using Mozy and it took 4.5 hours.

Check out this gallery for lots of screenshots of Mozy, as well as a look at how one restores files from back up.

Gallery: Mozy Walkthrough

DomainBrain 1.0

Posted May 1st 2008 11:00AM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools

If you're anything like me (and I hope you aren't, for your own sake) then you have more logins for websites than you know what to do with. I run upwards of 14 billion personal websites, blogs, bulletin boards, and Gopher servers and I've forgotten my username and password for 95% of them. If only someone could help!

DomainBrain to the rescue. This simple app is designed to be a one stop depot for usernames, passwords, web admin URLs, content management system credentials, and database logins. You can even encrypt the contents of DomainBrain so that a ne'er-do-well can't pilfer your passwords in passing. You can also organize your various websites into folders to help keep track of what's what.

DomainBrain is free for tracking up to 4 domains, and $14 if you want to track more than 4.

Apple posts new iMac Developer Note

Posted Apr 29th 2008 7:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Hardware, iMac, Apple

You all know that Apple revved their popular all in one computer, the iMac (have you heard of it?) the other day. Keeping with tradition, Apple has also released an updated developer note for the bumped iMac.

There are no startling revelations in the document, but it is worth a read for people looking to create some iMac add-ons (someone out there must be thinking of doing something along those lines).

Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Release 1

Posted Apr 29th 2008 6:05PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Software Update

How better to end a long day of blogging than with some Java? I know, that's a lame joke but think about what I'm working with here: Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Release 1. Apple released this update to Software Update for all you Java thirsty people out there (I promise that's my last Java joke).

What does this Java update do? It adds support for Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_05, though only for 64-bit Intel Macs. PowerPC and 32-bit Intel Macs are not invited to this update party. You should note that this update doesn't replace the default install of Java on your Mac, it merely adds support for SE 6.

This update requires OS x 10.5.2 or higher.

Thanks, Chris.

Found Footage: Thinkpad MacBook Air parody

Posted Apr 29th 2008 6:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Odds and ends, MacBook Air

There are two hot ultraportable computers on the scene now-a-days: the MacBook Air and the ThinkPad X300. Some clever Lenovo lover created this MacBook Air ad parody which points out the key differences between the Air and the X300: number of ports and an internal DVD drive (only available on some models).

Judging by pure aesthetics alone the Air wins, but ThinkPads are time tested workhorses so I wouldn't count out the X300. Either way, this parody is one of the better ones I've seen.

[via Fake Steve]

3G iPhone to cost $199?

Posted Apr 29th 2008 5:50PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Rumors, Apple, iPhone

Everyone seems to think that Apple will be announcing a 3G iPhone this coming June, so now it is time to start rumormongering about something else. Fortune is reporting that, according to sources close to the story, AT&T is planning on taking a $200 hit on every iPhone sold (with a 2 year contract, of course). That's right, AT&T is going to knock off $200 on the 3G iPhone to ensure that everyone and their toddlers have (and use all the wonderful features that AT&T's network has to offer) an iPhone or two in their pocket.

This rumor doesn't seem too outlandish to me, given the realities of the cell phone market. Most cell phones are given away for free, since the carriers make their money from the monthly fees. The only wrinkle in the story, of course, is that Apple also receives a cut of the money from the monthly contracts. We'll see if that impacts AT&T's plans at all.

Next Page >

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Cory Bohon	45	6
2	Dave Caolo	43	0
3	Mat Lu	36	3
4	Michael Rose	32	20
5	Erica Sadun	30	0
6	Scott McNulty	28	1
7	Brett Terpstra	27	0
8	Mike Schramm	21	4
9	Robert Palmer	9	18
10	Steven Sande	7	5
11	Christina Warren	6	17
12	Joshua Ellis	3	1
13	Chris Ullrich	3	1
14	Nik Fletcher	2	2
15	Lisa Hoover	1	0
16	Jason Clarke	1	2
17	Victor Agreda, Jr.	1	3

XSEED inks Marvelous deal, Valhalla Knights II confirmed First Gears of War 2 gameplay video on Xbox Live tonight A dwarven explosion of Wrath of the Lich King info	CallerComplaints: Track down telemarketers and umm... complain Googleholic for May 9, 2008 64-bits of frustration, eliminated with FF3in1
Super secret spy iPhone Yahoo! and Inquisitor seen sitting in tree Found Footage: Understanding technology's past	Option Update: FedEx puts active into lower Q4 view on fuel costs Look for Boeing's shares to rise with the 787 Dreamliner Closing Bell: $126 Oil trumps deficit... week ends down
New shots of X-Blades, Things on Wheels, and Roogoo New Bizarre racer set for 2009 LEGO Indiana Jones achievements swing online	MINI offers free driving lessons GM quits renting, buys headquarters for $626 million Ferrari GT heading to Paris, teaser site launched

TapeDeck 1.0

AT&T lists WiFi hotspot access as part of iPhone plans

Found Footage: Mac for Attorney General

PC Magazine likes the new iMac

iMac turns 10

Vodafone to sell iPhone in 10 countries

VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1

Broken iPod: fix it or replace it?

SSHing for fun and profit

Mozy 1.0

DomainBrain 1.0

Apple posts new iMac Developer Note

Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Release 1

Found Footage: Thinkpad MacBook Air parody

3G iPhone to cost $199?

TUAW Features

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Sponsored Links

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) bloggers (30 days)

Featured Galleries

Twitter Updates

Most Commented On (7 days)

Recent Comments

More Apple Analysis

More from AOL Money and Finance

Weblogs, Inc. Network