Showing posts with label Apple Mac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple Mac. Show all posts
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Mac OS X Dtrace Scripts
I'm cleaning up my email notes and found this excellent article on Mac OS X Dtrace scripts from Brendan's blog.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Snapshots of Life in a World with Steve Jobs
In 1977, I drove up Peachtree Street to Datamart on Pharr Road in Buckhead. At the time it may have been the only computer store in Atlanta. If it wasn't, there weren't many. I clearly remember, not long after, when only three were listed in the Yellow Pages. The IMSAI and North Star computers there were wonderful to see, but the star of the store I came for was the Apple II.
I remember seeing a lunar lander game, probably the first time I'd seen computer graphics on a screen and certainly the first time for color graphics. I also recall a screen filled with BASIC code. At some point I probably keyed in and ran a bit.
A few years later, my wife and I went to another computer store to see the Apple Lisa. This was the first time I'd experienced a mouse and windows. The simple icons on a black and white screen, with a menu at the top, were compelling.
When I started work at Emory University in 1985 we had two Macintosh computers in a computer lab that was two doors down the hall from my office. In an handful of days we were unboxing a new LaserWriter. The big three-ring binder, “Inside the LaserWriter,” filled with loose leaf pages, and Adobe PostScript were a joy.
Just a few years later, my boss' boss had come from serving on the committee representing 25 universities that helped design the NeXT machine. We received two of first NeXTcubes produced and kept one in our office. My team named it Rubick. Not long after that, I had a NeXTslab on my desk. I was very fortunate to be able to put a NeXTslab, along with a PC and Mac, on the desktop of each of the five full-time professionals in my group.
The NeXT machines and NeXTSTEP were among the most delightful experiences I've ever had using and programming a computer.
Today, the Macbook Pro 13-in is one of the most beautiful computers ever made. That's the portable system I use now.
I'll miss the moments like these.
Photo by Marie Matthews.
I remember seeing a lunar lander game, probably the first time I'd seen computer graphics on a screen and certainly the first time for color graphics. I also recall a screen filled with BASIC code. At some point I probably keyed in and ran a bit.
A few years later, my wife and I went to another computer store to see the Apple Lisa. This was the first time I'd experienced a mouse and windows. The simple icons on a black and white screen, with a menu at the top, were compelling.
When I started work at Emory University in 1985 we had two Macintosh computers in a computer lab that was two doors down the hall from my office. In an handful of days we were unboxing a new LaserWriter. The big three-ring binder, “Inside the LaserWriter,” filled with loose leaf pages, and Adobe PostScript were a joy.
Just a few years later, my boss' boss had come from serving on the committee representing 25 universities that helped design the NeXT machine. We received two of first NeXTcubes produced and kept one in our office. My team named it Rubick. Not long after that, I had a NeXTslab on my desk. I was very fortunate to be able to put a NeXTslab, along with a PC and Mac, on the desktop of each of the five full-time professionals in my group.
The NeXT machines and NeXTSTEP were among the most delightful experiences I've ever had using and programming a computer.
Today, the Macbook Pro 13-in is one of the most beautiful computers ever made. That's the portable system I use now.
I'll miss the moments like these.
Photo by Marie Matthews.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
I'm a Mac?
I'm trying an experiment. For the first time in longer than I can remember (probably the first time since the Mac II (series) in the very early 90s, I'm trying switching to a Macintosh as my main desktop system at home.
I've had a Macbook Pro of some flavor or another from work for five years now, so the Mac OS X environment is no stranger. Also, everyone else in the household has a Macbook.
But, for almost 10 years, when I sit down at my desk to do something serious, it's been the old Dell running Windows XP. Now, mainly pushed by the growing Gmail app, I'm faced with needing to add more memory to the old Dell but I'm tempted to make the jump to a more modern OS.
Around 2007 I made a solid decision. I'd never move to Windows Vista. In the same way that Windows 95 was a clear win and I abandoned the Mac interface, thinking it was for good (note that I had been a Windows user simultaneously all along and was using various UNIX workstations as well), it was just as clear that Vista was as horrible a mistake.
To be fair, Windows 7 seems to have redeemed the design and Windows 8 looks very interesting but the jury is still out. However, for now, I still have no intention of using a Windows machine, at least as my main workspace, every again. I still reserve the right to later change my mind, just like I did with the return to the Mac world, when a new boss suggested I really use a Macbook.
So, I finally decided to take the plunge that I've been considering for a while. I'm using my daughter's abandoned white 2007 Macbook as a desktop machine, plugged into my LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
Parents of college students and high school seniors take note. I wondered if the Macbooks would last a full four years, including the battery remaining functional enough, etc. The answer for us is Yes! The Macbooks can easily hold solid for a full four years of use. I think the aluminum Macbooks even more so.
This is in contrast to my observations of other laptops. Their batteries seem to barely work for more than a year or two and I usually see the whole laptop being replaced in from one to three years, i.e., you'll be buying two traditional Windows laptops for a four+ year undergraduate degree run. Factor that into the price/cost/value comparisons: A Macbook for school is worth two non-Mac laptops.
I should also point out that I always have an Ubuntu Linux workstation nearby including on my desk and I still find them extremely functional and sometimes even delightful to use. If I had to use Ubuntu for my daily environment, I think I could.
Also, rest assured, the old XP machine is still humming away right here, still plugged into the same monitor. I still miss the nicer looking, more pleasing fonts of the Windows XP GUI compared to the slightly too-weighty sans serif fonts of the Mac. But, I'm making that compromise to move on.
Next on the radar: Upgrading from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard to 10.7 OS Lion. Do I make that plunge? I'm intrigued by this new OS.
I've had a Macbook Pro of some flavor or another from work for five years now, so the Mac OS X environment is no stranger. Also, everyone else in the household has a Macbook.
But, for almost 10 years, when I sit down at my desk to do something serious, it's been the old Dell running Windows XP. Now, mainly pushed by the growing Gmail app, I'm faced with needing to add more memory to the old Dell but I'm tempted to make the jump to a more modern OS.
Around 2007 I made a solid decision. I'd never move to Windows Vista. In the same way that Windows 95 was a clear win and I abandoned the Mac interface, thinking it was for good (note that I had been a Windows user simultaneously all along and was using various UNIX workstations as well), it was just as clear that Vista was as horrible a mistake.
To be fair, Windows 7 seems to have redeemed the design and Windows 8 looks very interesting but the jury is still out. However, for now, I still have no intention of using a Windows machine, at least as my main workspace, every again. I still reserve the right to later change my mind, just like I did with the return to the Mac world, when a new boss suggested I really use a Macbook.
So, I finally decided to take the plunge that I've been considering for a while. I'm using my daughter's abandoned white 2007 Macbook as a desktop machine, plugged into my LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
Parents of college students and high school seniors take note. I wondered if the Macbooks would last a full four years, including the battery remaining functional enough, etc. The answer for us is Yes! The Macbooks can easily hold solid for a full four years of use. I think the aluminum Macbooks even more so.
This is in contrast to my observations of other laptops. Their batteries seem to barely work for more than a year or two and I usually see the whole laptop being replaced in from one to three years, i.e., you'll be buying two traditional Windows laptops for a four+ year undergraduate degree run. Factor that into the price/cost/value comparisons: A Macbook for school is worth two non-Mac laptops.
I should also point out that I always have an Ubuntu Linux workstation nearby including on my desk and I still find them extremely functional and sometimes even delightful to use. If I had to use Ubuntu for my daily environment, I think I could.
Also, rest assured, the old XP machine is still humming away right here, still plugged into the same monitor. I still miss the nicer looking, more pleasing fonts of the Windows XP GUI compared to the slightly too-weighty sans serif fonts of the Mac. But, I'm making that compromise to move on.
Next on the radar: Upgrading from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard to 10.7 OS Lion. Do I make that plunge? I'm intrigued by this new OS.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The 11-in Macbook Air
I saw the 11-in Macbook Air at the Apple Store last night. My first impression is, Wow! My second impression is, Yeah, Apple is right on this one, this is the future of the netbook/laptop computer.
Additional impressions:
Additional impressions:
- This is better than the iPad. Yeah, I've finally played with iPads on a few occasions and it's compelling and amazing, but I'm not sure how practical. The enthusiasts I listen to on podcasts are starting talk about migrating back to their laptops and refer to the pad as always a second computer that you want to use, but that it's maybe even a luxury.
- The 11-in screen is sufficient and the resolution is the same as on the 13.
- My 13-in Macbook Pro seems big now. 8-/ And heavy. !!
- I've been expecting the end-of-media for a few years now and I'm starting to embrace it. I'm resisting buying CDs, DVDs and Bluray discs, and a Bluray player, so far. So, no so-called optical drive is okay, I think.
- The 11-in has exactly the ports I use, USB for a mouse and keyboard, video for external monitor or TV, audio for speakers or headphone.
- The wider aspect screen seems shorter and is a bit off-putting. I don't know if it would actually be bothersome but that's something to take a second look at.
More later.
Basically I've had nothing but reservations about the iPad from the start, in spite of being excited about the idea of a computing pad for decades. I have no reservations and I'm pretty excited about this computer.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Fun With Say
If you have a Mac, try this. Open up Terminal (it's under Applications/Utiltiies) then at the command line type:
You can actually type anything in the second part you want to say.
In fact, you can just type
Then keep typing lines of text. To end it, hold down the Control key and press D (Ctl-D).
There are also many different voices you can play with.
- say -v "Cellos" "Droid"
You can actually type anything in the second part you want to say.
- say -v "Cellos" "Wow, this is really interesting. I did not know you could sound like this."
In fact, you can just type
- say -v "Cellos"
Then keep typing lines of text. To end it, hold down the Control key and press D (Ctl-D).
There are also many different voices you can play with.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
MacPaint
Many of you will remember MacPaint as being one of the applications bundled with the first Macintosh computers. Apple has made the source code available via the Computer History Museum. It was written in beautiful Pascal (the wonderful language that I loved!) by Bill Atkinson.
Enjoy!
(If you want to read more Macintosh history and anecdotes, check out Folklore.org by Andy Herzfeld).
Enjoy!
(If you want to read more Macintosh history and anecdotes, check out Folklore.org by Andy Herzfeld).
Saturday, January 17, 2009
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