If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably read recently my public conversation about switching my MacBook Air for a MacBook. I’ve had quite a few e-mails on the subject so I decided to post on it.
Up until last year, I’ve always been a one computer person. That is, I generally used a fairly high-end laptop computer as my sole device. For a long time, that was a 17 inch MacBook Pro.
I was fortunate to get a MacBook Air in March, 2008. It was liberating. After using such a big laptop for several years, the ability to simply drop the computer in my briefcase or take it with me to the coffee shop was fantastic. Very quickly, the MacBook Pro was relegated to sitting on my desk at home and the Air followed me everywhere.
A few months ago, Apple released updates to the iMac line and a friend, who happens to work at the Apple Store, told me some of the prior version iMacs were on sale for $600 off. Since the MacBook Pro wasn’t leaving my desk anyway, I sold it and used the money to replace it with a 24 inch iMac. I love it.
The only time I took the MacBook Pro off my desk was to use it with my MIDI keyboard, which is in a different room. I was able to load a stripped down version of Logic on the MacBook Air but this new task, along with a lot more presentation work and media heavy projects at the office and the general bloat of dropbox synced files has me bumping into the processor, memory, and space limitations of the MacBook Air.
Also, in the meantime Apple redesigned the MacBook. The new unibody design fixed many of the shortcomings in the prior design. Particularly, they added an LED screen, which is far superior to the LCD screen in prior MacBooks. I have set up a few unibody MacBooks for friends and it really isn’t much different than a MacBook Air. It is a pound and a half heavier and slightly thicker.
The improved MacBook design got me thinking about my next laptop. Frankly, the gap has been closed between these two products and a MacBook, even slightly heavier and thicker, is more appropriate for my use. This is where I got into trouble. I was browsing the refurb store for a friend and realized that I could sell my MacBook Air and replace it with a unibody MacBook for about the same money. It made sense, so I did it. The new machine is already on the way and the old machine is being prepared for its new owner. This strangely leaves me without a laptop for a few days.
Nevertheless, when the dust settles I will have a shiny new (refurbished) MacBook with more memory, a faster processor, and a bigger hard drive.* I’m curious to see if the slightly increased size causes me to carry it around less. I doubt it will but regardless, I will report back.
* Exactly how much bigger is a subject of some debate. I could either put in a massive drive or speedy SSD drive. I haven’t decided that one yet.
Launchbar Review
I’ll admit I’m just a little bit crazy about Quicksilver. I’ve used it, tweaked it, and even produced screencasts about it. But as much as I like Quicksilver, I also like things that are new and shiny. So a few months ago, when the latest version of LaunchBar was released in beta, I decided to do an experiment and use it exclusively for a few months. Now that I’ve thoroughly kicked the tires, it is time to report in.
LaunchBar begins as an application launcher. In this respect, it is no different from Spotlight or Quicksilver. The process of launching applications is painless with LaunchBar. You start typing and the application appears. You can hit return to launch it or, better yet, hit the space bar and it gives you a list of the most recent documents opened with the application. Using this tweak you can get your file open quickly.
LaunchBar offers a great deal more however. You can access your address book and quickly start an email or display a contact’s phone number on your screen. One nice touch is that it actually lists the person’s name along with the number. This is an improvement over Quicksilver.
You can also easily search and play iTunes by genre, album, or composer. You can also search Safari history or dig straight into the file system.
Using the dot command you can enter a web site directly into LaunchBar and open it with one keystroke. You can also do a Google search simply by typing “goo”, hiting the space bar, typing your search term and then enter. Once you get it, you will be working much quicker. This same method is used to search other sites like Wikipedia, Google Images, and iTunes.
You can also manipulate, move, and rename files. You can even create and name folders. It has a nifty clipboard that allows you to keep a running log of clipped links, text, and other assets. There is also a simple way to add new iCal events direct from the LaunchBar command line. If you use iCal to-dos you can program those as well.
So how does all this fancy gadgetry stack up against my beloved Quicksilver? Actually pretty well. Using LaunchBar you are trading in some of the high end Quicksilver commands for stability. I’ve had troubles keeping Quicksilver running as of late and in the two months I’ve ran LaunchBar (mostly in beta), it has never crashed on me.
While the LaunchBar command line is very functional, I wish it was customizable like the interface in Quicksilver. I miss my cubes. Also, LaunchBar is a paid applicaiton, 24 Euros ($32 as of this writing). While I do miss some functions from Quicksilver, I think some of the features improve upon Quicksilver and it is definitely more stable. I know Quicksilver is open source now and it may get new life but for the time being. I’m sticking with LaunchBar. You can get a 30 day trial of LaunchBar from Obective Development at www.obdev.at.
You can listen to this review on MacReviewCast #209
Apple Hires Security Guru
Apple hired security prodigy Ivan Krstić. Promising News. So far, Apple has managed to stay out of the Virus quagmire. Hopefully this means they stay that way.
If I was in charge, I’d hand Ivan a laptop and just say “find a weakness, fix it, then find another.”
iPhone Gem – Dictionary.com Application
Several times I’ve had need of a dictionary on my iPhone but, alas, dictionary applications are unusually expensive. Yesterday I again found need for a dictionary and decided it was time to bite the bullet. I went snooping in the App Store and was surprised to find an excellent (and free) dictionary application from Dictionary.com.
I’ve only been using it a few days but I really like it. Did I mention it is free? If you’ve been waiting for a dictionary application, check this one out.
Mac Power Users Episode 2 – Email
Today the Mac Power Users Episode 2 went up with the conclusion of our discussion of e-mail.
I’m really having fun with this podcast. Katie Floyd is great and we’ve been listed in iTunes as “New and Notable.” Tell your friends.
Closing Out on Friday
Web Worker Daily ran a very good post about some worthy habits when closing out on Friday. The fifth tip is to “reflect on the past week.” I’ve often done this after after concluding a particularly good or, more importantly, not-so-good project but never considered doing it on a weekly basis. I’m looking forward to trying it out.
image from webworkerdaily.com
Mac Power Users Episode 1
Katie Floyd and I recorded 2 hours about e-mail for the Mac Power Users. We were afraid we would scare people away with such a long first episode so Katie, rather brilliantly, cut it into two pieces. So long as you can stomach my occasional incoherent rambling, there is a lot of good information. Since we are just getting started, iTunes reviews wouldn’t hurt either.
Mac Power Users Website
Mac Power Users on iTunes
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Playing with MindNode Pro
I’ve always had trouble getting on the mind mapping bandwagon. I’m sure this is partly because I am extremely comfortable in outlines and do lots of project planning in my task planning application. I think another reason, however, is the price and learning curve required by most mind mapping applications.
Recently, I started making mind maps in MindNode Pro. This OS X application is very simple and I’ve been able to constructively use it with almost no time spent “learning” the program. I know there are more feature rich mind mapping applications out there but right now I am really enjoying MindNode Pro. The $15 license fee combined with the shallow learning curve makes this one easy to try on.
Insuring Your Mac
I mentioned in my hackintosh article that I keep a theft/damage insurance policy on my laptop. I also discussed it on this week’s Mac Roundtable. I have received several e-mails from readers asking where I got it. I’ve used Safeware.com for several years. The policy costs $108 per year and insures my MacBook Air up to $1,800. Since I bring my laptop everywhere, it makes sense to me. Thankfully, I’ve never needed to make a claim. I can offer no opinion about their claims process but Safeware.com is the company I use.
Also, I use this policy in addition to AppleCare. As I understand it, AppleCare covers any mechanical, internal problems and the Safeware policy covers theft and accidents.
Mac Roundtable #62 is Up
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the Mac Roundtable #62. In it we discussed the recent quarterly reporting, hackintosh netbooks, the rumored Apple tablet, and shared our favorite picks. Mine was the Livescribe pen, that I fully intend to review in the future.
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