Games on the Mac
29/11/07 10:19 Filed in: Games
I just wanted
to let you know about a website, Mac Game Files, it's a great site
listing games for the Mac oddly enough. There's
lots of demos and shareware, which should keep you
away from doing real work for a long time. Apple
also has its own site of games, usually showcasing
some of the bigger titles (like EVE: Online now out on Mac)
Here's a few you might want to try out:
The big old ones, including Halo, yup the original Halo did come out on the Mac. Warcraft III, of course you can play World of Warcraft, but I preferred the non-online game (call me anti-social). How about Age of Empires III? Then the good old WWII games, Call of Duty 2 (older versions are available too), various Medal of Honors.
Lots of Diner Dash games, girls seem to love these and similar. Of course the plethora of Sims games are out, but I couldn't see a demo.
How about a twist on bowling? Rocket Bowl!
I think Big Bang Board Games comes on many new Macs, but if you've not seen it.
There's also the terrible, but addictive Reckless Drivin'. There's quite a few of those types of games which aren't that polished, but you keep going back to play, another's Slope Rider.
Then those puzzle games, where you spend hours clicking on very detailed pictures trying to find that one missing object, like Mystery Case Files. You'll wonder why you're playing it, but won't be able to stop.
Fancy riding a light-cycle from Tron? GLTron.
I'll end with a good old fashioned shoot em up, Titan Attacks!
That's a taster, there's loads more. Now; back to work...right...after...I finish...this.....level...
Here's a few you might want to try out:
The big old ones, including Halo, yup the original Halo did come out on the Mac. Warcraft III, of course you can play World of Warcraft, but I preferred the non-online game (call me anti-social). How about Age of Empires III? Then the good old WWII games, Call of Duty 2 (older versions are available too), various Medal of Honors.
Lots of Diner Dash games, girls seem to love these and similar. Of course the plethora of Sims games are out, but I couldn't see a demo.
How about a twist on bowling? Rocket Bowl!
I think Big Bang Board Games comes on many new Macs, but if you've not seen it.
There's also the terrible, but addictive Reckless Drivin'. There's quite a few of those types of games which aren't that polished, but you keep going back to play, another's Slope Rider.
Then those puzzle games, where you spend hours clicking on very detailed pictures trying to find that one missing object, like Mystery Case Files. You'll wonder why you're playing it, but won't be able to stop.
Fancy riding a light-cycle from Tron? GLTron.
I'll end with a good old fashioned shoot em up, Titan Attacks!
That's a taster, there's loads more. Now; back to work...right...after...I finish...this.....level...
Tired iPod? Just replace that battery!
27/11/07 14:42 Filed in: Tips &
Tricks
The Cult of
Mac have posted a quick step-by-step guide
on how
easy it is to replace your iPods battery. It looks
to be quite a simple process really (maybe not as
easy as sticking in a few triple-As). Well worth
trying than coughing up for a brand new iPod,
unless that's just the excuse you wanted?
Maplin have a good selection of replacement batteries for most iPods, for around £18 which come with the tools you need.
Maplin have a good selection of replacement batteries for most iPods, for around £18 which come with the tools you need.
Make Opera more Mac like
27/11/07 14:04 Filed in: Tips &
Tricks
I don't use
the web browser Opera much, but I have noticed it
does seem to eat less processor (meaning my fan comes
on less) than say Camino. The problem is
unlike Camino, Opera looks like some alien
application, and what's with the
tabs being at the
top?
There is an easy way to fix all this, just read David Storey's tips on how to make it more Mac like.
I agree with most of his recommendations, apart from I'd chose Samui 2 as a more Mac like skin; so it ends up looking more like this (oh blessed be, the tabs are below):
There are many others. To change skins, in Opera, select: Tools>Appearance.
There is an easy way to fix all this, just read David Storey's tips on how to make it more Mac like.
I agree with most of his recommendations, apart from I'd chose Samui 2 as a more Mac like skin; so it ends up looking more like this (oh blessed be, the tabs are below):
There are many others. To change skins, in Opera, select: Tools>Appearance.
Leopard Tweaks
21/11/07 12:16 Filed in: Tips &
Tricks
Some people
aren't really fans of the new Leopard dock with its
3D look, but there are ways to change it if you wish.
I'm not a Leopard user as of yet, but here are some
tips I've gleamed:
If you like the way the Leopard dock looks when on the side, then you can have that look at the bottom, just follow the instructions here. There are many other tweaks you can make to the 3D dock. Play around to see what you like.
Whilst we're talking about the Dock, with it came Stacks, which look to be useful, but some would still like Tigers old hierarchal view. Quay is a utility that can bring this functionality back. I can't say I'd miss it, whenever I was feeling industrious I'd put folders in the dock, then just forget to use them, so it's likely I'd prefer Stacks.
There is also another problem with stacks that the top icon is the icon it uses which can become confusing. There is a solution you can try from Japan which solves the problem with overlay icons.
Also the new translucent menubar can be changed to something more like tiger, or just more opaque.
The other complaint are that the folders aren't as easily recognisable as their Tiger counterparts. At a glance it's not quite so obvious what's what; you can of course change your folders, one you might want to try are these.
If you like the way the Leopard dock looks when on the side, then you can have that look at the bottom, just follow the instructions here. There are many other tweaks you can make to the 3D dock. Play around to see what you like.
Whilst we're talking about the Dock, with it came Stacks, which look to be useful, but some would still like Tigers old hierarchal view. Quay is a utility that can bring this functionality back. I can't say I'd miss it, whenever I was feeling industrious I'd put folders in the dock, then just forget to use them, so it's likely I'd prefer Stacks.
There is also another problem with stacks that the top icon is the icon it uses which can become confusing. There is a solution you can try from Japan which solves the problem with overlay icons.
Also the new translucent menubar can be changed to something more like tiger, or just more opaque.
The other complaint are that the folders aren't as easily recognisable as their Tiger counterparts. At a glance it's not quite so obvious what's what; you can of course change your folders, one you might want to try are these.
iChat Matte
21/11/07 11:56 Filed in: Software &
Updates
I like iChat,
but maybe those bubbly bubbles are starting to look a
bit to bubbly?
Fancy going a bit matte?
Try iChatMatte by Joshua Bryant.
Fancy going a bit matte?
Try iChatMatte by Joshua Bryant.
Mac OS X 10.5.1 is here
15/11/07 21:35 Filed in: Software &
Updates
The start of
the point
upgrades has
started in Leopard with 10.5.1, the first update to
Leopard and usually the one people wait for before
upgrading (if they're sensible).
As you would expect there's various bug fixes, notably a rather nasty one that could mean a loss of data when moving files.
If you have Leopard you should see it appearing in Software Update, or from Apple.
As you would expect there's various bug fixes, notably a rather nasty one that could mean a loss of data when moving files.
If you have Leopard you should see it appearing in Software Update, or from Apple.
Mac OS X 10.4.11 Update & more
14/11/07 22:22 Filed in: Software &
Updates
For those of
us, like me, who have yet to update to 10.5, Apple
have just released Mac OS X 10.4.11.
You should see it in Software Update, it includes Safari 3 (no longer beta) so if you've not updated that yet, you'll get that too.
Also iPhoto '08 was updated to 7.1.1
That's not all:
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Client
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Server
Server Admin Tools 10.4.11
Cinema Tools 4.0.1
Color 1.0.2
Compressor 3.0.2
DVD Studio Pro 4.2.1
Final Cut Pro 6.0.2
Motion 3.0.2
Pro Applications Update 2007-02
Soundtrack Pro 2.0.2
So if you've been waiting to update to Leopard due to some bug or other in one of those, it's likely one of these may fix that.
Oh and for you on Windows, Safari 3.0.4 is now out. You can now resize from any side! (I guess this must be big?) You now have an additional font smoothing option and many other things. Go download.
Update: They've been hard at it. One more update, this time for the iMac - iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0
You should see it in Software Update, it includes Safari 3 (no longer beta) so if you've not updated that yet, you'll get that too.
Also iPhoto '08 was updated to 7.1.1
That's not all:
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Client
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Server
Server Admin Tools 10.4.11
Cinema Tools 4.0.1
Color 1.0.2
Compressor 3.0.2
DVD Studio Pro 4.2.1
Final Cut Pro 6.0.2
Motion 3.0.2
Pro Applications Update 2007-02
Soundtrack Pro 2.0.2
So if you've been waiting to update to Leopard due to some bug or other in one of those, it's likely one of these may fix that.
Oh and for you on Windows, Safari 3.0.4 is now out. You can now resize from any side! (I guess this must be big?) You now have an additional font smoothing option and many other things. Go download.
Update: They've been hard at it. One more update, this time for the iMac - iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0
Hello iPhone
10/11/07 16:29 Filed in: News
The iPhone
arrived yesterday in the UK, I was surprised to see
that there were queues in London etc. which
just goes to show that the interest in the phone
hasn't died down.
I tried out the iPhone in the Carphonewarehouse in Cambridge today (and then saw it in the O2 shop opposite). I found it remarkably easy to use, surprisingly so, the keyboard works well and was very accurate, camera shots looked fine (I'd not believe the MP myth) and Safari was great, I even managed a smidge of self publicity.
I came out with my very own iPhone, it's very slim...
I tried out the iPhone in the Carphonewarehouse in Cambridge today (and then saw it in the O2 shop opposite). I found it remarkably easy to use, surprisingly so, the keyboard works well and was very accurate, camera shots looked fine (I'd not believe the MP myth) and Safari was great, I even managed a smidge of self publicity.
I came out with my very own iPhone, it's very slim...
Microsoft Office Update 11.3.9
07/11/07 11:15 Filed in: Software &
Updates
Fixes an
issue which caused Word to quit when printing.
Download
Download
Trojan Hype
06/11/07 15:26 Filed in: News
The media
sure like to get over excited at any mention that Mac
OS X may not be secure, it's like they're desperate
to all run in and say 'I told you so'. Well
Bill Thompson who gets his
guff blog posted on the BBC
site sure seems like your average wind up
merchant, I think he must be paid by the word for
all the waffle.
He says: "At the moment the fake codec is being spread via porn sites, but it will quickly spread to more mainstream sites", which shows a complete misunderstanding. Trojans are not viruses. Trojans can’t spread on their own and they can’t self-replicate (viruses can do both).
He's not the only one of course, and for a nice take on the whole thing, take a read of Daring Fireball on the same subject: "To get hit by it, you must (a) be the sort of moron who downloads “video codecs” from porno sites; (b) mount the disk image and launch the installer;"
It's not going to turn up on YouTube (since when did you download a code for YouTube? ummm never?), so don't worry about it, the people getting hot under the collar about this are just after headlines. Your Mac is as secure as ever it was.
He says: "At the moment the fake codec is being spread via porn sites, but it will quickly spread to more mainstream sites", which shows a complete misunderstanding. Trojans are not viruses. Trojans can’t spread on their own and they can’t self-replicate (viruses can do both).
He's not the only one of course, and for a nice take on the whole thing, take a read of Daring Fireball on the same subject: "To get hit by it, you must (a) be the sort of moron who downloads “video codecs” from porno sites; (b) mount the disk image and launch the installer;"
It's not going to turn up on YouTube (since when did you download a code for YouTube? ummm never?), so don't worry about it, the people getting hot under the collar about this are just after headlines. Your Mac is as secure as ever it was.
iTunes 7.5 & Quicktime 7.3
06/11/07 10:08 Filed in: Software &
Updates
It's more
updates for you, so back to Software Update
for iTunes 7.5 and
Quicktime 7.3 you go.
iTunes now can now activate the iPhone anywhere the service is available, a new game for iPods, Phase and various fixes.
Quicktime, create iPhone compatible web content, updated JavaScript support, support for iTunes, and various fixes.
Requires a restart.
iTunes now can now activate the iPhone anywhere the service is available, a new game for iPods, Phase and various fixes.
Quicktime, create iPhone compatible web content, updated JavaScript support, support for iTunes, and various fixes.
Requires a restart.
iMac & MacBook Pro Updates
02/11/07 11:06 Filed in: Software &
Updates
Apple have
released a couple of updates which include those
pesky various bug
fixes:
MacBook Pro Software Update 1.2
iMac Software Update 1.2 Tiger
iMac Software Update 1.3 Leopard
So, if you're lucky enough to own one of those, better get updating, they should pop up in Software Update.
MacBook Pro Software Update 1.2
iMac Software Update 1.2 Tiger
iMac Software Update 1.3 Leopard
So, if you're lucky enough to own one of those, better get updating, they should pop up in Software Update.
Updated MacBooks
Apple have updated their MacBook line with intel's
Santa Rosa chip set, so if you have been waiting,
now's the time to buy.
Clock speeds haven't changed that much, frontside bus
has increased to 800mhz.
13" White 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard
drive, GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Combo drive £699
13" White 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard
drive, GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Superdrive £829
13" Black 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard
drive, GMA X3100 Graphics chip set, Superdrive £949
The MacBook Pro now has a 2.6Ghz option £160 and
5400rpm, 250GB hard drive £100 (7200rpm 200GB
£130).