The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.tuaw.com The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.tuaw.com/media/feedlogo.gif The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) http://www.tuaw.com en-us Copyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/New version of Parallels supports Vista SP1, XP SP3http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/10/new-version-of-parallels-supports-vista-sp1-xp-sp3/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/10/new-version-of-parallels-supports-vista-sp1-xp-sp3/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/10/new-version-of-parallels-supports-vista-sp1-xp-sp3/#commentsFiled under: ,

Parallels, Inc. yesterday released a new version of its flagship virtualization app Parallels Desktop (3.0.5600), which includes support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. It also fixes some kernel panic issues, unusually high CPU usage, and provides improvements to Shared Folders.

Parallels allows Macs with Intel processors to run Windows apps alongside Mac apps. You can follow our past coverage of Parallels here.

The update is free for existing Parallels 3 users, and is available as a 88 MB DMG package.

[via MacUpdate]
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]]>parallelswindowsRobert Palmer2008-05-10T16:00:00+00:00BusinessWeek examines Mac inroads in big businesshttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/02/businessweek-examines-mac-inroads-in-big-business/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/02/businessweek-examines-mac-inroads-in-big-business/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/02/businessweek-examines-mac-inroads-in-big-business/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This week's BW cover story puts Apple's approach to business users squarely in the spotlight, as Peter Burrows captures both the remarkable surge of employee-driven Mac purchasing for the enterprise (often triggered by staff who are Mac users at home, or as I sometimes refer to them, "iMullets" -- business in the front office, party in the home office) and what he characterizes as the mostly-benign neglect of the corporate market by Apple's sales force and support infrastructure.

More and more companies are letting Mac installations out of the creative/graphics and video gulag walled garden, some comparatively large concerns like Juniper Networks are implementing 'open choice' on platforms for employees, and a very few biggies have even declared a new all-Mac era in desktop deployments. Though marketshare gains for the Mac have been driven overwhelmingly by consumer purchasing, at some point that platform choice begins to leak back into the 9-5 window.

While Burrows hits it right on the nose with the factors that are accelerating Mac deployment (beyond employee choice and the iPhone + iPod halo effect, the Intel platform, Vista's lackluster prospects and virtualization are key drivers) and on some of the reasons companies might hold back (hiring additional Mac-centric IT resources and a lack of extensive choice in the product line), I think he overstates the degree to which Apple plays it hands-off with enterprise users. Yes, some of the most critical resources for Mac IT are external communities and not Apple-managed, but the sales force and professional consulting arms at Apple have been quietly toiling away for years to improve the standing of Macs at the office. Big-iron vendors like Centrify & Likewise are helping Macs integrate into corporate networks, and even the Microsoft Mac BU is working hard to make Entourage a best-of-breed Exchange client for the Mac.

Just the fact of IT conference tracks at WWDC and Macworld Expo for the past couple of years, featuring Apple engineers and product managers alongside their customers, shows that on some level Apple has been grappling with the needs of the enterprise market even if it's not the top priority at One Infinite Loop. With the planned introduction of the iPhone 2.0 firmware -- which tackles nearly every pain point of enterprise customers with a vigor worthy of the Other Steve -- it does seem that some Apple execs have begun to drink the Big Business Kool-Aid.

Thanks to Arik + everyone who sent this in
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]]>businessweekenterprisetweet-thisMichael Rose2008-05-02T12:00:00+00:00Mac 101: uninstalling applicationshttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/28/mac-101-uninstalling-applications/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/28/mac-101-uninstalling-applications/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/28/mac-101-uninstalling-applications/#commentsFiled under: ,

This time around in Mac 101 I thought it would be good to talk about uninstalling applications on the Mac, especially for the recent switchers out there. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not have a native utility for uninstalling applications. Most (though not all) applications are installed just by dragging and dropping them into the Applications folder, and most are similarly got rid of by dragging them to the trash. However, when you do that you often leave behind preference and support files, especially in your user Library folder hierarchy (/Users/yourname/Library, as distinct from /Library which is "owned" by Mac OS X).

While you can root these files out yourself, it's sometimes far from obvious where they are. To resolve this, a new class of uninstallers have appeared on the scene to address the problem. One of the first was AppZapper ($12.95), but many more have arisen like AppDelete (donations requested), SuperPop ($15), and CleanApp ($10). With most of these you choose the application you want deleted by dropping it on the uninstaller (or choosing it from a list); hit a button and the application plus its support files are sent to the trash. Taking a slightly different approach, Yank ($19.95) actually monitors your system while you are installing applications and creates a "Yank File" that records the location of everything created by the application. You then uninstall by running the Yank File.

Finally, there are uninstallers that integrate with the Trash itself, requiring no separate interface. Into this class fall Hazel ($21.95), which also does other automatic file management tasks, and AppTrap (donations requested). What's great about these last two is that you can just drag an application to the trash and they will automatically look for and offer to delete the support files. Indeed, this seems to me to be the most Mac-like and elegant approach. For my own part I mostly just use Hazel, though I still throw things at AppZapper now and again.
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]]>appdeleteapptrappappzappercleanapphazelsuperpopuninstalluninstalleryankMat Lu2008-04-28T10:00:00+00:00VMware Fusion 1.1.2 adds Time Machine supporthttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/24/vmware-fusion-1-1-2-adds-time-machine-support/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/24/vmware-fusion-1-1-2-adds-time-machine-support/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/24/vmware-fusion-1-1-2-adds-time-machine-support/#commentsFiled under: ,

Over on the blog for VMware Fusion, they've announced the release of version 1.1.2 which adds support for Time Machine backups of your virtual machines. Apparently 10.5.2 fixed some problem that prevented virtual machines from being backed up properly and they have now enabled it. They warn, however, that since Time Machine backs up anything that changes, and virtual machines tend to be rather large, you may want to exclude certain virtual machines to avoid losing too much space on your backup drive.

The new version also adds support for the MacBook Air (fixing a problem with the virtual drive), Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions, and simplified Chinese, as well as quashing various bugs.

VMware Fusion 1.1.2 is a free update for registered users and $79.99 otherwise.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
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]]>virtualizationvmwarevmware fusionVmwareFusionMat Lu2008-04-24T09:30:00+00:00IBM considering Macs for employees?http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/16/ibm-considering-macs-for-employees/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/16/ibm-considering-macs-for-employees/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/16/ibm-considering-macs-for-employees/#commentsFiled under: ,

Is Big Blue about to go Mac?

Well, not really. Roughly Drafted Magazine has obtained a document which describes a pilot program at IBM that has employees using Macs for their day-to-day work. Now, they aren't looking to ditch Windows in favor of Mac OS entirely. Instead, IBM wants to have diverse operating systems available to employees. From the document:

"Research is focusing on providing an IBM application stack on multiple Operating Systems, rather than be confined to one or the other."

At the end of the program's first phase, a full 86% of participants asked to keep their Macs, leaving comments like "It has been easier learning the Mac than learning Vista" and "Getting wireless running was a piece of cake on the Mac, much simpler than the PC" (amen to that, brother). Of course, this is probably an easier sell now that IBM doesn't make PCs any more.

Someone cue the chick with the sledgehammer.

[Via Infinite Loop]
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]]>appleibmoswindowsDave Caolo2008-04-16T23:15:00+00:00Vista beats OS X? Really?http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/vista-beats-os-x-really/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/vista-beats-os-x-really/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/vista-beats-os-x-really/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

ComputerWorld's Preston Gralla posted a blog entry titled, Five reasons why Vista beats Mac OS X. Clearly, this was link-bait, but you know what, I'll bite.
And although I vehemently disagree with the post's title and assertion, I want to make it clear that I'm not coming at this from the typical rabid Mac-fangirl stance. Until August of last year, I still used a PC as my primary computer (I used Macs at school and for creative work); I used to work as a PC technician. In our TUAW backchannel chat, I'm usually the first person to take the "don't knee-jerkingly attack the PC" stance.

Still, it was impossible to read the post and NOT respond. Let's take a look at Mr. Gralla's arguments and dissect them one-by-one.

Continue reading Vista beats OS X? Really?

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]]>mac vs pcMacVsPcos xOsXvistaChristina Warren2008-04-09T17:00:00+00:00Slimming down Windows for virtualization or Boot Camphttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/slimming-down-windows-for-virtualization-or-boot-camp/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/slimming-down-windows-for-virtualization-or-boot-camp/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/09/slimming-down-windows-for-virtualization-or-boot-camp/#commentsFiled under: , ,


What madness is this, a post about installing Windows? Well, actually, the folks over at VMware's Team Fusion link to this handy Lifehacker guide to trimming down Windows XP to the bare essentials. Obviously this is of interest to anybody running Windows on a Mac, particularly on a portable with limited hard drive space. So if you should find yourself needing to tread on the dark side (whether in Boot Camp, Parallels or Fusion), it's worth a look. Besides, as I always say, the less Windows the better. It's just a shame you have to build it yourself on a machine running Windows with the Windows utility nLite and can't simply download a pre-built virtual machine.
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]]>boot campBootCampfusionparallelsvmwarewindowsMat Lu2008-04-09T12:30:00+00:00Macs at Microsoft fail to shockhttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/macs-at-microsoft-fail-to-shock/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/macs-at-microsoft-fail-to-shock/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/macs-at-microsoft-fail-to-shock/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Let's all point and laugh: the folks at Microsoft use Macs! Because, you know, they make Windows, and Macs aren't Windows, and Microsoft and Apple are competitors, and isn't it funny and aren't cats and dogs different?

Actually, let's not do this. Let's realize that Microsoft is a company and Apple is a company, and while yes, in some fields they are competitors, let's just put the whole Apple vs. PC idea to bed. Guess what: a Mac actually is a PC. It's a very, very well-made PC (in fact, the best made, in this blog's humble opinion). And why wouldn't the folks at Microsoft want to use the best PC out there to develop and run their programs?

The battle between Mac and PC was cute back during the PowerPC age, when there were major differences between the two platforms. But things have changed: Macs run Windows, dogs and cats are lol-ing together, and the war's just not worth fighting any more. Of course Microsoft employees use Macs -- who wouldn't?

[Via FSJ]
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]]>apple-vs-pcbill-gatesdogs-and-catsmacsmicrosoftpcsMike Schramm2008-02-25T18:30:00+00:00OS X Help simplifies the Mac seguehttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/os-x-help-simplifies-the-mac-segue/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/os-x-help-simplifies-the-mac-segue/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/os-x-help-simplifies-the-mac-segue/#commentsFiled under:

My mom and dad just purchased their first Mac. Unfortunately, it turns out I'm not a great teacher because I get overexcited about advanced features and take the basics for granted when I try to explain things. Fortunately for me, my father shares my autodidactic personality (might be where I got it...) and has been taking the learning curve in stride. I've felt like there are a lot of things they need to know about my favorite platform, though, that I haven't been very good at communicating. I've been wishing there was an all-inclusive, step-by-step resource that could better convey all of the information I try to share in my not-so-good-for-switchers way.

Enter OS X Help, which debuted in January and has built up a nice catalog of articles for people just getting their first taste of OS X. The site features the tag "Insanely simple tutorials for the first time Macintosh user." I immediately thought, "son of a switcher! This could be the answer!" From hardware tips to an in-depth look at Safari and Finder, Scott Haneda and Caroline Merchiers have compiled a well-organized collection of brief introductions to Macintosh topics. The email to my parents is on its way.

[Ed. note: Brett's modesty forbids any mention of our own Mac 101 series for new and returning Mac users... but look there, it got mentioned anyway!]
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]]>osxhelpswitcherstutorialsBrett Terpstra2008-02-25T10:00:00+00:00Chris Pirillo's 50 reasons to switchhttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/18/chris-pirillos-50-reasons-to-switch/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/18/chris-pirillos-50-reasons-to-switch/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/18/chris-pirillos-50-reasons-to-switch/#commentsFiled under:

It's a quiet day at TUAW headquarters (located in scenic Ann Arbor, MI) -- Monday is a holiday here in the USA, in honor of Presidents Washington and Lincoln, two leaders in times of dramatic change.

Speaking of change, how many signs and wonders do you need to know that there's a major Mac migration afoot? TechTV veteran and vidcaster Chris Pirillo, a Windows expert and advocate of long standing (but a friend to the Mac community nonetheless) recently bought himself a Mac Pro and has let his freak flag fly as an official Mac Switcher. Our fondest congratulations go out to CP on this momentous occasion... combined with legendary gadfly John C. Dvorak's recommendation to buy Macs in the newspaper of record, it's an indication of how far we've come.

Chris has posted a well-considered and ample "50 Reasons to Switch" piece over at his blog, where he notes that he's still an Outlook user and still runs Windows (in VMware Fusion or Boot Camp) for some tasks; as far as he's concerned, the OS choice isn't a "religious issue" but rather a recognition of what works, and what works for him is Mac OS X. He ends the post with a gentle dig at the Windows community: "I'd like to challenge any Windows enthusiast to publish 50 Reasons to switch from Mac OS X to Microsoft Windows. ;)" No doubt a few will take him up on that.
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]]>chris pirilloChrisPirilloswitchersMichael Rose2008-02-18T16:00:00+00:00Seven tools for switchershttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/07/seven-tools-for-switchers/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/07/seven-tools-for-switchers/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/07/seven-tools-for-switchers/#commentsFiled under: ,

Samuel Dean at Web Worker Daily has compiled a nice list of applications that will make Mac OS X more familiar or recent switchers. Included in the list is Adium (for multi-protocol IM), WhatSize for identifying file sizes and types in a manner similar to Windows Explorer and Firefox, since they were probably using it on their Windows machine, anyway.

One tip I always share is the spotlight search feature in System Preference. Many switchers get lost in translation; that is, figuring out what Apple has named a certain system preference, or where it lives. System Preference search lets them enter a keyword, like "trackpad", and see the highlighted result. It's very handy.
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]]>osswitcherssystem-preferencesDave Caolo2008-02-07T15:30:00+00:00NTFSready cleans up your filename acthttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/30/ntfsready-cleans-up-your-filename-act/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/30/ntfsready-cleans-up-your-filename-act/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/30/ntfsready-cleans-up-your-filename-act/#commentsFiled under: , ,

One of my intermittent day-job responsibilities is to move big chunks of data (20 GB or more in a session) from the friendly, forgiving, name-your-files-whatever-you-want confines of a Mac OS X server onto cranky, finicky, no-funky-characters (but portable) NAS devices so that the data can travel with a production team to some far-away city. This is generally a straightforward and simple task, except for one annoying fact: illegal characters, as SMB or NTFS define them, in file or folder names can bring those massive copies to a screeching halt. Major buzzkill!

There are a few ways to clean up filenames to make them legal for transfer; I've used both FileBuddy and A Better Finder Rename with success, and ABFR even has an "NTFS legal" preset for quick action. For a single-purpose tool, though, there's now NTFSready, This 10-euro donationware tool will hunt through your files and folders for illegal characters, nuke them, and that's about all there is. Is it worth it? Well, if you need to rename files for NTFS use on an everyday basis, maybe. At 10 euro, though, I'd say you're better off paying the $19.95 for ABFR and getting the flexibility that comes with it.
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]]>file managementFileManagementntfsMichael Rose2008-01-30T09:00:00+00:00Apple posts "Find out how" tutorialshttp://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/29/apple-posts-find-out-how-tutorials/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/29/apple-posts-find-out-how-tutorials/http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/29/apple-posts-find-out-how-tutorials/#commentsFiled under: ,


Today, Apple added a new "Find Out How" section to their website. This new page features video tutorials of the following aspects of the Mac:
This information is no doubt welcome to many new switchers, or potential switchers, who want to learn more about the user interface. You can also subscribe to these in iTunes by clicking the "Download videos to iTunes" button at the bottom of the video window.

Thanks Joseph!
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]]>Apple websiteApple.comFind Out HowCory Bohon2008-01-29T17:30:00+00:00Parallels vs. VMWare: Benchmark resultshttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/parallels-vs-vmware-benchmark-results/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/parallels-vs-vmware-benchmark-results/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/parallels-vs-vmware-benchmark-results/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Like it or not, lots of us who own Intel-based Macs have to run Windows from time to time. Although Boot Camp is pretty fantastic if you need to run a processor intensive application (or you want to play games), virtualization is the more attractive solution for users who need to access productivity applications, like Microsoft Office 2007, but don't want to have to live in the Windows environment. The two big players in the virtualization field are VMWare's Fusion and Parallels' Parallels. Both applications let you install a Windows XP or Vista virtual machine on your Intel Mac without having to leave OS X, both offer a level of integration between the two operating systems and both retai for $79.99 (USD). So, which virtualization program is the fastest? Well, that's what MacTech attempted to find out in their exhaustive benchmarking trials, comparing Fusion 1.0 (build 51348), Parallels 3.0 (build 5160) and Boot Camp head-to-head-to-head in a variety of different computing tasks.

So what's the bottom line? Because of how the software if designed to integrate between the two platforms, Parallels came out ahead in many of MacTech's tests. For certain more processor heavy uses, VMWare, thanks to its ability to take advantage of both cores, came out the best. For networking performance, Boot Camp was king.

While I found the benchmarking tests very interesting - and useful - prospective buyers should be aware that in the middle of MacTech's testing procedure, all three Windows options for OS X were upgraded. With the release of Leopard, Boot Camp came out of beta and VMWare is now at version 1.1 and Parallels was updated on December 5 to build 5582. I know just from my own unscientific experience, Fusion 1.1 improved significantly in speed and overall performance from version 1.0 and while I was a big fan of Parallels under Tiger, I have "switched" to Fusion for Leopard.

Trial-versions are available for both programs. Remember that in order to use Windows XP or Vista, you need a valid user license.

Thanks, Rich.
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]]>parallelsvirtualizationvmware fusionVmwareFusionwindowsChristina Warren2007-12-19T16:00:00+00:00TUAW Buyer's Guide: What to get a "switcher"http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/13/tuaw-buyers-guide-what-to-get-a-switcher/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/13/tuaw-buyers-guide-what-to-get-a-switcher/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/13/tuaw-buyers-guide-what-to-get-a-switcher/#commentsFiled under: , ,

As a recent fully-fledged "switcher" myself, I'd like to think I have some ideas about what to get the recent Mac convert (and no, this is not just my Amazon wish list - though anyone buying me stuff is free to use it as such). If you haven't already purchased the switcher in your life a gift for Christmas or the Birth of Santa (tm. Bart Simpson) or any other winter-themed occasion, here are some items you might want to consider. Please note that the prices in this guide are in USD and current as of this writing, subject to change without notice. Check with the manufacturer's website or your favorite retailer for updated pricing. Now, onto the goodies!

Books:

Maybe I'm just really lame, but I'm always a fan of giving (and receiving) books geared towards a person's interests and sensibilities. Somehow, a book just seems more personal than a gift certificate, and less easy to screw up than a piece of clothing...

Continue reading TUAW Buyer's Guide: What to get a "switcher"

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]]>gift guideGiftGuidegiftsholidashmac fashionMacFashionChristina Warren2007-12-13T11:00:00+00:00NTFS on your Mac two wayshttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/19/ntfs-on-your-mac-two-ways/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/19/ntfs-on-your-mac-two-ways/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/19/ntfs-on-your-mac-two-ways/#commentsFiled under: ,

PC-to-Mac switchers are sometimes surprised to discover that while Mac OS X has full support for reading, writing and formatting the older FAT32 Windows disk format, media formatted with the NTFS scheme (NT for "New Technology" a la Windows NT, FS for File System -- introduced in 1993, not so 'new' anymore...) mounts as read-only on the Mac.

Even though there are valid technical reasons for keeping the NTFS drives read-only -- for one thing, the NTFS format is a Microsoft trade secret and must be licensed for full compatibility -- this constraint may cause challenges for cross-platform operations or Boot Camp users who choose NTFS for their drives. Without a separate FAT32 volume or a Windows-side utility like MacDrive, transferring files can be a pain.

Enter the new release from Paragon, NTFS for Mac OS X 6.0, meant to overcome this limitation. Paragon has sold a Linux NTFS driver for some time now, but this is the first version of the tool for Mac OS X. For $29.95, you get a driver compatible with 10.4.6 and up which works on both PPC and Intel Macs (why version 6 for a new product? It's tracking the version of the Linux utility, also at v6). You can download a 10-day trial here.

The primary selling point of Paragon's tool is speed and compatibility, when compared to the option behind door number 2: MacFUSE/ntfs-3g, the Google implementation of the FUSE library for Mac OS X paired with the open-source build of NTFS support (now stable after 12 years of development!). After a change of developers on the Mac build of ntfs-3g earlier in the year, the package is now tracking along nicely and all indications are that the combination of MacFUSE and ntfs-3g works well, albeit more slowly than would be ideal. If you have occasional need for NTFS writeability, MacFUSE might do the job; if you'll need it every day, check out Paragon's tool. If you only need to drag and drop to an NTFS volume while you're running Parallels or VMware Fusion... well, relax: both virtualization apps provide reciprocal file transfer, and Parallels will even open your disk images on the Mac side as needed, without launching the full Windows environment.
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]]>ntfsMichael Rose2007-11-19T11:15:00+00:00VMware Importer makes migrating from Parallels a snaphttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/13/vmware-importer-makes-migrating-from-parallels-a-snap/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/13/vmware-importer-makes-migrating-from-parallels-a-snap/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/13/vmware-importer-makes-migrating-from-parallels-a-snap/#commentsFiled under: , ,



In our post yesterday on VMware Fusion 1.1 we mentioned that VMware had also included a beta of their new Importer application. However, after using it tonight, I thought it was worth a separate post of its own, because it makes migrating from Parallels to Fusion incredibly easy. The amazing thing is that I converted an old Parallels 2.5 WinXP VM which Parallel's 3 itself had not been able to import successfully!

Basically, when you start the Importer it gives you a window in which to drop the Parallels .pvs file (just Win2000, WinXP, Win2003 Server or Vista at this time). It asks you where you want to save the new Virtual Machine and a few minutes later, boom it starts right up in Fusion -- no muss and no fuss. For me the amazing thing was that I had previously tried to import the same image into Parallels 3 and it failed. So basically the upshot is this: if you're running Parallels, but you'd like to give Fusion a try, the barrier to entry has now dropped to next to nothing (besides the hard drive space).

I bought Parallels for my Intel Mac as soon as it was released,but given my experience with Fusion (especially with the downloadable appliances), I think VMware has a convert. I fully recommend giving it a try. The VMware Importer is a free download. It's also supplemented by the VMware convertor which will create an image of a working PC that can then be imported into Fusion as a VM.
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]]>FusionParallelsvirtualizationVMwareVMware-ImpoterWindowsMat Lu2007-11-13T11:00:00+00:00Trillian IM client being ported to OS X - private alpha testing beginshttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/06/trillian-im-client-being-ported-to-os-x-private-alpha-testing/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/06/trillian-im-client-being-ported-to-os-x-private-alpha-testing/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/06/trillian-im-client-being-ported-to-os-x-private-alpha-testing/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Trillian for the MacWhile it's pretty hard to imagine why they'd bother, Cerulean Studios is porting Trillian, their wildly successful Windows multi-IM client, to OS X. How will Trillian (a commercial product) compete against Adium (a free product), particularly considering that Adium is a number of years ahead of Trillian on the Mac, and is by all accounts a very strong multi-IM implementation? As someone who used Trillian for a number of years in Windows, I can say that Adium has completely met my instant-messaging needs on my Mac. I'm what you might call a heavy IM user, with 6 accounts that I use regularly.

Now, to be fair, Cerulean Studios states that this is in fact not a port at all, but a ground-up reimplementation of Trillian. The teaser screenshot on their announcement page is certainly intriguing. From the announcement:

Though this first alpha build of the OS X version of Trillian is still very preliminary and minimal - the functionality pulled through is about the same as the Flash-based web version - the code for every single feature on the Windows version is there in the underlying mediums. As the UI is expanded, those features will become available. The OS X version will be playing catch-up to the Windows one for a while yet, however.

Currently it appears that test versions are only being offered to testers of the current Windows-based Trillian Astra. Click through to the announcement page if you'd like to sign up to test Trillian on your Mac.
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]]>AdiumAdium-XIMMac-TrillianTrillianTrillian-AstraTrillian-MacTrillian-ProJason Clarke2007-10-06T19:00:00+00:00Mac 101: Three Dock tipshttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/19/mac-101-three-cool-dock-tips-to-try-right-now/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/19/mac-101-three-cool-dock-tips-to-try-right-now/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/19/mac-101-three-cool-dock-tips-to-try-right-now/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



There's a lot to love about the Mac's user-friendly desktop and one of my favorites is the Dock, otherwise known as "that spot at the bottom of the screen where all the application icons line up." Here are a handful of nifty tricks for the dock that new users might like to know about, and long-time users may have forgotten.

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]]>add-icondockmove-dockresizetipstricksLisa Hoover2007-09-19T09:00:00+00:00Mac 101: change keyboard modifier keys with a Windows keyboardhttp://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/13/mac-101-change-keyboard-modifier-keys-with-a-windows-keyboard/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/13/mac-101-change-keyboard-modifier-keys-with-a-windows-keyboard/http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/13/mac-101-change-keyboard-modifier-keys-with-a-windows-keyboard/#commentsFiled under: ,



You may recall that one of Apple's slogans when the Mac mini was released was BYOKM-bring your own keyboard and mouse. Well a lot of those keyboards will of course be Windows keyboards, and while they work fine on a Mac, there's one particularly annoying thing. For some reason the keyboard Windows key is mapped to the Mac Command key and the keyboard Alt key is mapped to the Mac Alt or option key. The reason this is a problem is that on a Windows keyboard the Alt key is right next to the spacebar (where the Command key is on a Mac keyboard). So if, like me, your keyboard shortcut muscle memory is to the key next to the spacebar then all your shortcuts get messed up on a Windows keyboard. Fortunately, there's a simple solution to this problem in the Keyboard tab of the Keyboard & Mouse Preference Pane. There if you click on the "Modifier Keys..." button you'll be taken to a dialog where you can easily remap the keys. So to make a Windows keyboard work like a Mac keyboard just change the option key to the command key and the command key to the option key as follows:

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]]>keyboardMac 101Mac101modifier-keyswindowsMat Lu2007-09-13T15:00:00+00:00