Sunburnt Suburbia

Experiencing Mac OS X Lion

Yesterday I was home ill, so I took the chance to upgrade my MacBook Pro to Mac OS X Lion, the latest version of the Apple Macintosh operating system. Chance is the right word, as operating system upgrades can cause all sorts of unexpected problems - significantly slower performance, important applications no longer working, and other applications broken. 

Overall though, the experience exceeded my expectations. Mac OS X Lion deserves a cuddle. 

The most noticable change comes when you start up. OS Lion displays a window to inform you that the hand movement needed to scroll the page has reversed. Now I swipe my fingers up to move the content up, and down to move the content down. For experienced computer users this will be an irritating change, but it actually makes more sense. 

Next I learnt all the 'multi-touch' gestures. These really make some of the basic tasks of computer use easier, but depend upon a moving away from 'mouse' cursor control to a 'touch pad' control. I personally prefer touchpads, as they are quicker to use. 

OS Lion has made the auto-completion and auto-correction functionality on the iPhone and iPad part of all Mac OS X applications that choose to use it. This takes some getting used to, but is useful, as I am far from perfect in my typing.

The Mission Control functionality constitues one of the most significant changes. I think that it markedly improves Mac OS usability, making its control of multiple applications and windows significantly better than Windows 7. I particularly like its combination of full-screen and multiple-window applications into an elegant whole. 

I like the changes to Mail and Calendar applications. They make these applications more effective. 

I have also tried speech commands again, even though there were only small changes with OS Lion. They work OK when in an empty office, but would not work well in a shared office space. Also speech commands need a lot of practice just to use them - voice controlled computers ain't here yet. 

Ability to resize all window corners and sides finally mimics the useful Windows feature. I find it interesting that this change has a low profile in the promotion for OS Lion. 

I have not reviewed the auto-save and automatic versions functionality that OS Lion has. This is something that should have been in the OS 10 years ago, and is still needed in Windows. 

Most importantly OS Lion has not slowed my computer, and caused only one small problem. Overall I am happy. With OS Lion, Apple have done a nice job of making the world a little bit better. 

MacBook Pro disappoints

On Saturday I bought a MacBook Pro 13" computer so that Bryony could have my older MacBook black for university. The MacBook Pro 13" looks good, has nice ergonomics, and runs fast. However the process of transferring applications to it has not gone well. 

Last time I was up and running in 2 hours. This time it has taken me longer than 5 hours and I still have problems to fix. This brings memories of the experience when moving to a new Windows computer. I do not want such things with my MacBooks. 

Interloper in the house

Upon his return from New Zealand, Callum opened the Asus notebook computer that he got for university and gaming. Really he got it for gaming - hopefully it will be OK for university. It becomes the Windows 7 interloper in a house of Mac computers. 

 

It's useful to have the Windows 7 experience to hand, as it provides us with direct comparison when performing the day-to-day tasks of home life. Maybe another blog post for that?

Michael

DiskWarrior saves my day

Gradually my MacBook has deteriorated in its performance and reliability. As I mentioned earlier, I thought that it probably had a hardware fault. Today I faced up to wiping the hard drive, checking it and reloading the software application by application. This was the only solution I could see, and it involved many hours of boring work. I could think of better ways to pass a Saturday. 

I got from somewhere a recommendation for DiskWarrior, which I thought included a utility to perform rigorous hard drive tests. It was actually a utility to recreate a new file directory from the data on the hard drive. And in doing this it fixed all the problems that have plagued me over the past 7 or 8 months, even the sound problem that I thought a hardware fault. 

Every Mac owner should buy the DiskWarrior software! 

Michael

Livescribe smart pen - paradigm shift in note taking!

Taking notes during meetings has been an irritation for many years. I need to take notes, but having them only in paper form causes hassles for retrieval and long-term use. On the opposite side, taking notes on a notebook computer also has problems - I cannot effortlessly type as fast as I can hand write, drawing diagrams is inconvenient, and most importantly the physical form of the computer hinders the meeting interaction. 

The livescribe Pulse smart pen seems to solve most of those problems. I got one a couple of weeks ago, and after testing it out have decided it is a "Paradigm shift in note taking". 

Pros: Most effective technology for recording and playback of meetings, lectures and discussions yet produced. The Pulse smart pen effectively eliminates the problems of recording audio information for later reference.

Cons: Requires a paradigm shift in thinking to make the most use of it.

Summary: It is a product for recording verbally communicated information - it is not really a good device for turning hand-written text into ASCII characters. The product is designed to counter the difficulties of recording audio and later on trying to get to specific points in the audio. 

Consequently written notes no longer become the record of the communicated information. Now I only write down key words and phrases to mark points in the audio that I may want to get back to easily. There is no need to write quickly - more important to write clearly so the handwriting recognition works reliably. 

When retrieving information later I raise the playback speed to counter the issue that I read faster than people can speak. High playback speed doesn't completely counter this, but it helps a lot. 

To use it as a means to transfer hand written notes onto a computer is to misunderstand its purpose. It is an OK device for this, but that is not its real strength. 

So given that I often need to take notes in situations with mostly verbal information communication, for this it is the best product in the world!

 

Top of Google search results

After years of maintaining this blog, which has become a family journal to help us remember with joy, I finally tried to find it on Google. Doing so provides some ego boost and procrastination. 

A search for our names will not reveal anything because we deliberately write content to avoid this. However neither does a search for 'Stringer family' find our blog. The Stringers in the USA get all results on the first Google page - the only page that counts. A search for 'Stringer family + Melbourne' get us to the bottom of the first Google page through a post about the Australian Open. Liz Stringer a musician of no relation gets most of the listings, but only just. There are a few Stringers connected to Melbourne. 

A search for 'Sunburnt Suburbia' though, gets us to the top of Google's list. Petty though the feeling is, I got a buzz because I like our blog's name. I think that it is a sticky idea. 

Michael

iPhone is really good!

After a week with an iPhone, I have decided that Apple have created an excellent product. It does everything that I need of it well and easily. I can telephone people from my contacts lists quickly; I can play music, videos, podcasts and audio books; I can access maps and find my way around when visiting clients; I can check my e-mails and process them.

I can do all of this with much greater ease than I ever could with my 4-year old Treo 650, and from what I can see of others' mobile phones, much greater ease than most other people can right now. Despite the hype that Apple products generate, in the end it all comes down to how good a tool they build for the tasks people want to perform. A good tool becomes an almost seamless part of you, and the iPhone achieves that.
Michael

Finally I have an iPhone

My old Treo mobile phone was wearing out. So of course the replacement had to be an iPhone, as the iPhone can do everything that my Treo could two years ago. Why get a phone that has no extra functions? Well because that is all the functions I need, and the iPhone does them all much more easily! That is why.
Michael

New gadget: EyeTV

EyeTV turns one our iMacs into a TV and video recorder. Certainly it makes recording of TV shows much easier. Browsing through the recorded shows is elegant too. However my favourite bit is just watching TV while working on the computer.
Michael

Michael's MacBook black

Susan needs a notebook computer for university, so unfortunately she gets a hand-me-down PowerBook G4 and I get a new MacBook black.

I debated long and with uncertainty between the MacBook black and a MacBook Pro with a 15" screen. In the end the sheer size of the MacBook Pro put me off - also I needed a black computer to go with my black iPhone - so the choice was made. I used the Migration Assistant software to transfer everything from my old notebook, so I was up and running in 2 hours.
Michael