Hell Yeah Bitch! .com

Lifehacker had a nice little tip today on showing how to show hidden files within finder. Showing hidden files is as easy (if not immediately guessable) as entering these two lines into a terminal window:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder

(to hide files just change the TRUE to FALSE)
Knowing that I’d never remember the syntax for that ever again I put it into a simple bash script that can be ran from the command line. Read on to the rest of this post for the scripts and how to use them.

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There was a flurry of OS X updates today, including updates for bluetooth. After the required restart OSX wanted to update the firmware on the bluetooth (click for a full-size photo). All it would do is cycle between searching for a bluetooth device, and then preparing to upgrade it. It gave up after 4-5 tries and now my bluetooth is not functional.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

Someone’s got to make crazy Apple predictions, damnit! And if Mike’s not gunna step up to the plate…

Dan’s Super-Accurate Prediction Number One:
A bluetooth-enabled iPod and bluetooth ear buds. Yeah Yeah Yeah, Apple released two new iPods just a few months ago, but don’t you think that video iPod is getting a little shabby? Time for a new one and give that old wired clunker to your little brother.

Dan’s Super-Accurate Prediction Number Two:
Dell will drop Windows on all desktops and laptops and sell OSXI. You read correctly, my friends. Not only will Michael Dell announce that Microsoft pissed him off once too many times, but on the same stage he and Our Steveness will announce that they’re skipping OSX 10.5 – 10.9 and skipping straight to 11.0. OSXI will extend spotlight search capabilities to indexing all the books on your bookshelf, all of your DVDs (both movies and TV series), along with the contents of your pantry and refrigerator.
In an attack of retro glee, the new Dells will ship in colors of ’sweet violet’, ‘beaujolias’, ‘cadet’ and ‘khaki’. Initial sales will be impressive, until the blogosphere explodes with the discovery that ‘beaujolias’ and ‘cadet’ aren’t really colors at all, and that ‘khaki’ looks oddly familiar…

Dan’s Super-Accurate Prediction Number Three:
JHymn development will resume, with support for returning our Fair Use Rights back to the content that we pay for. This one is more of a hope and a prayer then anything else.

Walt Mossberg, the big daddy of tech writers, wrote in a recent column that…

We’ve been testing this new iMac, and our verdict is that it’s the gold standard of desktop PCs. To put it simply: No desktop offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard or Sony or Gateway can match the new iMac G5’s combination of power, elegance, simplicity, ease of use, built-in software, stability and security. From setup to performing the most intense tasks, it’s a pleasure to use.

Sounds like he’s pretty happy with it, which in turn makes me even happier than I was before with my new iMac. Why? I’m not sure. But any little added iMac happiness helps these days because my credit card bill just arrived.

One minor issue with Mossberg’s article though. Towards the end he wishes that the iMac’s remote had a power button. It does! Well, its a Sleep Button really, and its kind of hidden…but it is there. I wrote that it was one of my favorite features in my iMac review. (You just hold down the Play button for a few seconds.)

Link: A New Gold Standard for PCs

As promised, after speeding a few days with my new computer, I am now ready to sling a little review your way. Lets just get right to it shall we?

How fast is it?

Coming from a G4 933 iBook, the G5 (1.9 Ghz) in this last revision of the iMac seems very quick. Though you really don’t notice the speed difference until that first Spolight search. All iLife apps that I have tried so far (I’ve yet to get to Garageband) preform well. iPhoto handled my smaller sized library with no problem what so ever, scrolling up and down with little issue. iDVD and iMovie both preformed well in the simple tests, and I even tried to see how a more professional level video editing software, but…well, I’ll get to that later.

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I’ve got a few videos in iTunes that I don’t want any longer. When I want to get rid of a podcast that I’ve listened to I can either drag it to the trash or right-click and select ‘clear’. In the ‘Videos’ section of iTunes (for the mac) neither of these two methods work for removing a video file. I have to dig into the iTunes podcast folder and manually delete it, which doesn’t update the listings in iTunes. I know you can delete podcast videos from the podcast section, but that does not encompass every video that I’ve got in iTunes.

You can erase files from any of the library, shuffle, podcast and playlist sections, but files in the video section (which are bigger by many orders of magnitude) are locked in.

Those weekly 250mb DiggNation videos are starting to eat up a good amount of disk space….

….

Update: Ok. You can delete videos from iTunes if you find them in your Library, but navigating that enormous list is kinda a pain and it just does not make much sense to me that you can’t manage your files in the video section.

damn I bitch about iTunes a lot. I’m sorry. (I’m not, really, but it was nice to say.)

My new iMac G5 has arrived. Thats the good news. The bad news is that I can’t play with it today (I’m at work), tonight (I have plans) or tomorrow (Work again). But tomorrow night! Thats when the magic happens. And since I have noticed a complete lack of new iMac reviews on the web, I will pick up the slack and save the internet’s ass yet again by contributing a full review this weekend.

Thats all I have for this post. Sorry, it sounded like a lot more in my head.

Now that I have just plunked down some currency and bought one of the new iMacs, what do you say we start a discussion and see how depressed I can make myself (with some help from you)? According to Chris Adamson, Apple computers purchased today have about a four year lifespan (Is It Time to Wait for Intel?).

Here is Adamson’s logic:

The key is probably: how soon will it be until new stuff that you want won’t run on your PowerPC Mac? Here’s how I’m teasing out this logic: at WWDC 2005, we were promised a look at Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) at WWDC 2006, which is next Spring or Summer. There’s usually a lag between unveiling an OS to developers and shipping it, so the developers can learn and use the new features. Add 6-12 months to the Leopard preview and we probably don’t expect Leopard until, what, late 2006 or (more likely) sometime in 2007. Intel Macs are supposed to ship in mid 2006, so clearly some future version of Tiger will support them, as will Leopard.

Apple said with the release of Tiger that the timeframe between major OS releases would slow down, so when do we expect to see Leopard’s successor? If Tiger shipped in 2004 and Leopard is in 2007, then maybe Mac OS X 10.6 ships around 2010 or so. That’s four years after the Intel switch.

Of course, just because you can’t run the latest operating system, it doesn’t mean that machine is dead. There are many, many functioning, productive computers out there running strong on Panther or Jaguar. The real question boils down to: How long will your computer be “Modern”? “Modern” meaning that your computer can run the tasks of a current off the line computer. Do you think 4 years from now Steve will be extolling the joys of OS X 10.6 (lets say Ocelot) and then mention that the “transition is complete! …so we aren’t offering this for PowerPC.” and then quickly move on to the new iPod that cooks you breakfast and doubles as a vibrator? Mac people do tend to hold on to their computers longer than most PC users, but does that mean that Apple has the same bond to their legacy computers?

Is my new iMac not going to make it past the age of 4? Will I ever get to see it get on the bus to kindergarden?! Talk amongst yourselves…I’m getting vaclempt.

I’ve got a gripe with Apple. Yes, its true, I have found fault with his Steveness and his kingdom. My gripe is:

When you release a new product…actually release it.

I have been trying to get my hands on a new 17″ iMac with the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Its simple. Thats all. When you call the two Apple stores I have in my area, they both gave me the same exchange:

Me: I was checking to see if you have any of the new 17″ iMacs with bluetooth keyboard and mouse?
Them: Let me check…[long wait]…well, we had one, but we sold it.

Let me just pull a “Out of This World” on this story, and pause it right there. (See? Now the image at the top makes sense!) You had ONE and you sold it? You just had one? What the hell kind of release is that? One! Lets continue…

Me: Do you have any idea when you will get more in?
Them: Hold on…[long pause]…Not really, no. We do have a couple of the 17″, but not with the wireless keyboard and mouse.
Me: Ok…but you have no idea when the package with the Bluetooth keyboard and moust combo are arriving?
Them: No, but the ones we have in stock do have Bluetooth, they just aren’t paired with the keyboard and mouse.
Me: Yeah…I want the keyboard and mouse…What do you think? Should I just order it online?

[ Puts fingers together.] Pause! At this point in the conversation, the guys rambles on for a few minutes about how ordering it online would be a “custom order and ordering it in the store would be a custom order, but they have custom order boxes ready to go” (just not now I guess) …and blah blah blah, never answering my question.

Why the hell would you release a product and then not ship it to the stores in more quantities than one? Steve said: “Available today. Shipping from the factory.” yet I guess its just the one guy putting the damn things together over there, because none of the stores in St. Louis seem to have the faintest idea when they are going to recieve more. Seriously Steve…what the hell?

On the plus side, I did find a way to work in a very obscure early 90’s TV show reference. Lets see your BoingBoing’s or your Slashdot’s do that!

Also, if any Apple Store employees are reading this by chance, could you be so kind as to answer the question the guy I got never did: If I want the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, would I be saving time ordering it online?

UPDATE: Screw it. I just ordered one at the online Apple Store.

As I semi-patiently wait for my local Apple stores to get in the new 17″ iMac (with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse), I’ve been trying to find a good review of the new features and get any info from people that are lucky enough to already have one of them in their possession. Recently I ran across an article on CNET Asia that included an interesting tid bit that I haven’t heard anywhere else yet. Here’s the part of the article that matters: (The emphasis, is mine.)

For a better audio-visual experience, Apple has added a cool remote control which looks so much like an iPod shuffle you may just want to stick your headphones into it. Using infrared technology which is usable up to 9m from the desktop, it lets you control photo viewing, DVD movies as well as video and music playback vie Apple’s proprietary Front Row interface. One feature we liked was the magnetic back which allows the remote to “stick” to the side of the screen when not in use. The remote has enough power to last for up to two years, after which the remote has to be sent to Apple’s service center for battery replacement.

Is that odd to anyone else? If you want to replace the battery in your iMac remote you have to have it sent to Apple for a replacement?! I just can’t believe this. So off to Apple’s support page!

After checking the Apple Support page, I found a whole page on how to change the battery on your own. Weird. Is there something with the Asian versions of the iMac that don’t allow battery replacement? Some weird Chinese regulation? Is the writer of the article a moron? No matter what the answer is, the fact of the matter is that I was mostly done writing an article about how lame it is that you can’t change the battery yourself when I found out that, in fact, you can…so I just figured I would post this article up anyway.

Sorry to waste your time, but its not like you had anything to do anyway.