Posts Tagged ‘imac’
Time Machine Rediscovered
Written by Arnan on January 7, 2010 – 2:13 am2 Months or so ago i bought the new 27″ iMac, last summer i bought the then new MacBook Pro 13″.
And both needed backing up.
With the ever bigger harddisks and increasing lazyness when it comes to connecting peripherals to computers i wanted something simple. I have never really backed up any iMac. Just the MacBook as i drag it around to places and thus is more prone to defects. however, with me moving my development files to my iMac and the hassle for IF it goes wrong a backup is just nice to have.
I used to back up my MacBook Pro with SuperDuper, which i bought, and synced an Western Digital 500GB Hard disk with every wednesday and sunday. It was manual and tedious. Too much steps for something i didn’t really want to do. Later i figured out that Time Machine didn’t really need the disk at all times and wouldn’t make a fuss if the disk was not found. I still use SuperDuper regularly for various things and i like it alot. But for a drive that isn’t always there it’s not really what i wanted.
So here’s how i do it now. In iCal i have made a repeating event to make some noise 3 times a week, prompting me it’s time for the backup. Then i simply hook up the drive and let it connected for a bit. And a few hours, or minutes, if i think about it. When Time Machine did it’s thing i simply disconnect the drive again.
I now do that for my iMac too since this week and it’s been really simple. For the iMac with the ports less accessible i bought a Western Digitial 1TB drive that shut’s itself off after a minute inactivity and just leave it connected.
It almost couldn’t be simpler.
So here i am, ending up using Time Machine and even liking it. When it was first introduced i didn’t like it much for it’s lack of options. With some tweaks using the preference pane Secrets even that can be solved. Like setting a longer interval for backups every day or every 12 hours instead of every hour.
Tags: apple, harddisk, imac, macbook, software, Time machineApple took over, bit by bit…
Written by Arnan on December 24, 2009 – 9:35 pmIt all started with a joke to my mum that i wanted a mac because it was more like Linux/Unix and thus free of Windows. Rid of the pest so to speak. The aim was a MacBook.
Early 2007 We bought 2 MacBook Pro’s. the 2.16Ghz model. Stood next to my several PC’s
It swiftly replaced my Acer Notebook. I was so impressed with OS X Tiger that i kinda fell in love with it immediately. The ease of use, pretty UI. Well you know how it is if you’ve got a mac.
Mid 2007 i apply for a job at the company where we bought the macs. And got the job. First and second tier phone support on all Apple products and related for customers of that company.
Late 2007 I buy an iPod Touch 8GB and take a PowerMac G4 from work to be my server. My 3Com base station is replaced by an Apple Airport Extreme.
Early 2008 Replaced my MacBook Pro for the then newly released model, the multitouch one. A few months later my main PC was replaced by the new Aluminium iMac 20″. Around this time i dismiss my PowerMac G4 to be replaced by an Ethernet NAS due to problems with OS X Leopard Server. The PowerMac goes to my mum so she can play her games of Myst.
Mid 2008 I aqcuire an iPhone 2G from a colleague at work, i decided i hated jailbreaking that same day but had to get along with it. This device replaces the iPod Touch.
Late 2008 Due to conflicts at my current job i move to another, i will be a Repair Technician. Repairing all applicable Apple products of roughly the last 10 years. My mum replaces her MacBook Pro of almost 2 years for the new Unibody design.
Early 2009 2 Mac mini’s enter the picture. They’re both 2nd hand. One will be my server, a 1.5Ghz core solo replacing the Ethernet NAS.
The other Mini, a 1.42Ghz G4, goes to my mum to replace the PowerMac G4.
Early-Mid 2009 I am now a Certified Mac OS X 10.5 Expert scoring 90 out of 100 in the exam. For fun i have bought an iBook Clamshell G3.
I’m finally approved for an iPhone 3G by T-Mobile and get one the week after.
Mid 2009 Replaced my now one year old MacBook Pro with the newer Unibody 13″ model as my ‘main’ laptop.
Late 2009 Replaced the iMac 20″ with an iMac 27″. The 20″ moved to be my secondary computer and the last PC was thrown out the house.
The wireless network is expanded with another Airport Extreme base station.
So after almost 3 years. No PC remains active in this house. We’ve switched from All PC to All Mac in less than 3 years. All our MP3 players have been replaced by iPods and iPhones and even our home network is powered by Apple.
And we love it!
Tags: apple, computers, imac, mac mini, macbook pro, network, pc, products, wifiI want to finger my iMac!
Written by Arnan on November 2, 2009 – 7:39 pmWith the great advances of the multi touch pad from Apple’s laptops i would like one for my iMac. Slightly bigger but a sort of tablet thing on a Bluetooth or USB thingy to finger my way through my iMac. Not one of those dumb pen tablets but an actual touchpad.
For the most tasks it will be amazing. Much better than an actual mouse. Just for playing games it will be crap. But that’s where Logitech steps in with a regular mouse i guess.
So how about it, your thoughts?
Tags: apple, imac, magic mouse, touchpadA magic mouse…
Written by Arnan on October 24, 2009 – 12:02 pm
So after a day of usage. I found only one flaw in the mouse. And two limitations.
As you might know, i’m on my computer a lot. For various things. I use the mouse a lot. One thing that still bothers me is the lack of proper right clicking.
This was awkward with the Mighty Mouse but it’s worse with the Magic Mouse. As i still use windows from time to time and am very fond of right-click-menus even in OS X i’ve enabled that option. However you can only use it when you kinda let go of the mouse and tap on the right side. With any ordinary mouse you can just leave your index finger on the left side and and right click with the middle finger. But with the multitouch of the Magic Mouse, something that was vaguely present in the Mighty Mouse, makes right clicking while touching the left side do other things. It’s annoying. So i have to lift my index finger and then right click. But be careful not to touch the sides of the mouse. Maybe it’s just getting used to, but with the Mighty Mouse i hated it and threw it aside after a few days.
The Limitations i found are it’s size and surface. It’s a bit too small for my hands. I have big hands. And am used to a handful of mouse. Like the Logitech MX518. Remember those? They are just fine. Now it’s like shoving around a swollen up touchpad. But that’s not so bad. It just takes a bit of getting used to.
The surface is plain plastic, shiny stuff. But when my hands are a bit sweaty the mouse is not so smooth for swiping stuff. I then have to grip the mouse to actually use the multitouch or you simply push the mouse away. But that’s a small hinderance from time to time.
Other than that it’s been a blast. If you’ve used the multi touch laptops from Apple. You know how it works. Swipe swoosh slide tap and something happens. The way you want it! It works very natural and easy. The scrolling is very neat. It works with some accelerometer that if you scroll faster or a larger distance you scroll faster and when you stop the scrolling slows down in a second or so. It’s great!
A huge fail is that the apparently new bluetooth module in the iMac has no driver for Windows. Am i weird to refuse using this iMac with Windows and a wired set? I hooked it up for the installation of course since Windows still is kinda dumb when it comes to installers. But when i got to the desktop i *have to* use the bluetooth. I bought Bluetooth so i want to use it. Period. At the moment this seems impossible so i shut down windows mid-action and didn’t do a thing with it since. I probably won’t until there is a Bluetooth driver.
Tags: apple, imac, mouse, newUnboxing the iMac 27″
Written by Arnan on October 22, 2009 – 9:04 pm
Fuck yea, i bought one the minute i saw it!
Today it arrived by UPS. Very smoothly, huge box!
In short it’s stunning. The screen size is amazing and a new world has opened for me. I never had such a big screen or high resolution before… And what’s also a nice thingy, there is barely any glare. I’m typing this with a light shining directly from behind me, over my shoulder, into the screen and all i see is a shadow of me on the table. The screen is perfectly fine, the reflection is minimal.
The speed is great, as expected and well. It’s just an amazing computer!
The new Magic mouse is a bit awkward because it’s very small and flat, for me anyway. But after a few minutes it’s a nice thing. The multitouch thing is fun and natural if you already have a MacBook Pro with multitouch pad. Perhaps this will be the first Apple mouse i’ll keep using for more than a few days. We’ll see
Whee!
Tags: apple, imac, new, random, unboxing
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