The Apple and the Pear

Today Apple announced an upgrade to its iMac line. Among other improvements, it introduced a feature called Frontrow, which is actually a UI allowing a user to access his muic and videos, control iTunes and iDVD, etc. by using a simple IR remote control. This is Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s Media Center PC, and the first impression has been really possitive.

However, this feature is available only on iMacs, whereas, to my opinion, it would really useful if added to the Mac Mini. Imagine being able to connect your Mac Mini to your big-screen TV, and use it as the center of your digital media!

I came across iBush while browsing through the Macintosh Software section in the Demonoid.com torrent directory.

iBush is “an artificially unintelligent Oval Office Occupant simulator”. The current version (v2.4) ofers unique capabilities, such as the ability to talk nonsense about the most interesting issues, such as “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, “Waging war against Iraq”, “America’s Israeli Friends” and “America’s Arab Friends”. The recent release of the code has been updated in order to say the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about what happened in Ohio.

This is also the first piece of software that I’ve come across that is distributed through a beggarware license, that is, you are required to buy a homeless person a EUR5.00 meal if you decide to use it

iBush is currently only available on Mac OSX, but for those who have still to discover the truth, a CGI version is available somewhere

OK, I know I’ve been silent for quite some time, but these were two really busy weeks. Now I’m back, and I’ve found a new tool for my Mac.

It’s called Konfabulator, it’s really like the new Dashboard that will be included in Mac OS X “Tiger”, and it has an amazing collection of plug-ins (they call them widgets, downloadable from www.widgetgallery.com) that people can install and run on their desktop.

Beyond the basic tools providing useful info, such as the weather forecast, CPU utilization, etc., one can find widgets like a Mac port of Minesweeper, the current Department of Homeland Security threat level, or the must-have office app KoverMe! that can be used to take a screenshot of your desktop while you are busy and use a hot-keuy to cover up your desktop with this screenshot at times when you need to pretend being busy :D.

I strongly recomend this app, which I’ve already installed. Thanks to Dimitris Giakoumis for scanning through the WidgetGallery identifying these great widgets!

Hehe, my new PowerBook is here and it’s working! I’ve been fooling around with it for the last two hours, and I’m amazed with it!

I’m trying to get into the philosophy of MacOS, i.e. forget that I should think about what my computer might want me to do (Windows), but what *I* want my computer to do for me! In the meantime, I’m downloading a series of apps and utilities, reading the manuals and trying not to break anything

More on the results tomorrow!

OK, it might be a few days before I actually get to touch my Mac but I think it is prudent to start preparing for the migration.

What’s the most important task in this process? By far, the migration of my mail and all the additional information (tasks, contacts, appointments and notes) residing in Outlook 2003, the PIM tool that I use in Windows. I intend to use MS Entourage 2004 on my Mac to handle my mail, and I was expecting (foolishly it seems) that the transition would be just a matter of importing my Windows Outlook .pst file into Mac:Entourage.

After some initial search, I came to the following conclusions:

• very few people are using Mac:Entourage 2004 yet, or at least not that many as to have come up with the same problem
• migrating from Outook tou Entourage X (the previous version of Entourage) required a quite laborious process of migrating from Outlook to Mozilla (in Windows) or Eudora, transfering the files to Mac, changing certain file extensions and then hoping that this would be read by Entourage. Oh, btw, some attachments and non-mail information will not be migrated…

Then, through some additional search, I came up to an article on converting mail boxes on FrogNet. This directed me to this wonderful site, ScriptBuilders, full of AppleScript apps that automate almost everything. Among them I located Import-Export Entourage X 1.3.1, which seems to be able to transfer information between Outlook, Entourage, Excel, Palm Desktop and other Windows and Macintosh PIMs.

OK, now I feel a bit more relaxed. I have to check this out though, so I’ll update you on Tuesday!

Hi there! How are you?

Just logged on to say hi to you all! OK, this is my second attempt to start a blog. My previous blog, hosted by a good friend of mine and notorious blogger, Diego Doval, ended up with no more than a few posts. You see, I can easily get tired of things, unless there is something that can keep my enthusiasm (usually quite difficult).

However, it seems that I’ve found something that will probably keep me going for a while! I’ve just ordered a new Mac! It’s a new PowerBook G4, 1.33GHz, 12.1″ display, etc. (find more info here).

I’ll explain the reasons why I decided to buy a Mac in a new post, but for the moment I would like to state the purpose of this blog. My “Mision Statement”

I intend to use this blog in order to record my experiences in migrating from Windows to the Macintosh. I expect this to be less daunting than it might seem to be, and I hope that this blog will help convince other people to do the same.

Well, my Mac will be here on Tuesday, so until then there would be plenty of time to talk about why I’m going through this and what I expect to get out of it!

So, TTYL!