This morning the MacBook Pro update we have all been waiting for happened. Following yesterdays rumors on digg, Apple has updated the entire MacBook Pro line to include all Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Apple claims the upgraded systems provide up to 39% more performance and all models come with double the storage and memory of their predecessors. The new systems also all include a Firewire 800 port. So you now have your choice of either 2.16GHz or 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and can add even more storage (up to 200GB) and memory (up to 3GB) via Apple’s build-to-order options. Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro models are priced at USD$1,999.00 and USD$2,499.00 and should be shipping this week, with the 17-inch model priced at USD$2,799.00 shipping next week.

Update/Note from Editor: I have been able to confirm from Belkin that at this time this product is not Mac compatible. A Belkin spokesperson has said the company is working on Mac compatibility and are planning support for Macs. When Mac support is added we will try to get a unit for a full review and update.

For a Mac-head who uses his laptop as a portable desktop, plays videos in the corner of an external monitor while working, and has lots of stuff to plug in, the Belkin Notebook Expansion Dock might be a great tool.

The word “might” is important here because although Belkin’s information page says the dock will work with any laptop with an ExpressCard port, e.g. a MacBook Pro, Belkin never mention’s OS X, only Windows XP and Vista.
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The final round of judging for My Dream App has begun. Guest judges for this round are Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple; Guy Kawasaki, the Apple evangelist; J. Allard creator of Xbox and Zune; Bruce Horn creator of “Finder”; and Amber MacArthur, G4TechTV personality.

The contest has been underway for the past month, with elimination rounds each week. Voting ends on Tuesday, October 24th at 8 PM EDT when three winners will be announced. The winners will see their ideas turned into Mac shareware applications.

Users who vote this round will receive a copy of Overflow 2 (USD $14.95) and PhotoPresenter (USD $7.95).

My Dream App was created by Phill Ryu. If you want more information about the contest visit My Dream App (http://mydreamapp.com).

On Friday, October 20th, Econ Technologies released an updated version of ChronoSync. ChronoSync is an automated synchronization and backup application for Mac OS X. ChronoSync runs natively on PowerPC and Intel Macs running Panther or Tiger.

The ChronoSync application allows you to back up your computer, synchronize two computers, archive files, filter files and folders, and analyze your data. A useful feature of the product is the scheduler, where you can create synchronizer documents that will handle your updates automatically.

The 3.3.3 version of ChronoSync fixes the following:
– permission errors on locked files under Mac OS X 10.4.8
– a file copy failure bug that occurred when there was no opposing file, the filename was greater than 30 characters or the filename began with a “0”
– a bug where rollback predetermination could not be specified for mirrored sync modes.

The update is free for existing users. You can download a demo of ChronoSync 3.3.3 or buy it for only USD $30 from Econ Technologies (http://www.econtechnologies.com).

I love the Internet as an amazing tool for learning. Dale told us about students podcasting down-under. The Internet community encyclopedia, Wikipedia shows the value of collaborative education. And yes, even YouTube has worked to inform us with viral videos and user comments.

It was on YouTube that I found this 35 minute video. It’s a rare video of a young Steve Jobs giving a demo of the NeXTSTEP operating system.
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Well, I never ever thought that I would move away from bookmarking hundreds of web pages to keep track of interesting items. But things in my everyday Mac life are about to change and it will be interesting to see if the changes are permanent. For a long time now, if I found something of interest on the Internet, I would bookmark it and try to put it into a meaningful category. More often than not into a bookmark folder called something like ‘interesting software’ or ‘to look at later’. I came to realize just this week that I hardly ever went back to these bookmarks, so I was probably wasting a lot of my time, which I could spend more creatively.

Enter Yojimbo, by Bare Bones Software, which I would like to describe myself as an ‘Electronic Scrapbook on Steroids’. Many people are pushing around a category of software called ‘GTD’ which stands for ‘Getting Things Done’, at this early stage Yojimbo does fit into this category, but seems to offer a whole lot more besides.
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Google wants to know that they love you. Well… that’s not quite true, they want you to know that they love your Mac. Google has started an Official Google Mac Blog to reach out to Mac zealots users like us. The first post to this blog tells Mac Users:

If you sit down at your Mac, start up your browser, and search for “Google mission statement”, this is what you’ll see:

“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

We’re pretty serious about that mission, including the “universally accessible” part. It means making products that everyone can use – including Mac users. We want to provide great products and services to the tens of millions of Mac users around the world, because it’s the right thing to do, and because Mac users inside and outside Google demand it. That’s why we’ve recruited some of the best, most passionate Mac people out there for a Mac Engineering team.

Google is also provding a page to download all of the fruit of their labors so far at Google Software Downloads for the Mac.

Note from editor: If you have not seen it yet and are at all into 3D modeling and stuff, be sure to checkout the FREE Google SketchUp application.

Quickly scrubbing through video clips to locate the precise portion of a clip to use in a project is a common event for video editors. Final Cut Pro offers several methods to scrub through video and there are useful USB devices that can aid in quickly locating that special scene.

The onscreen jog wheel and shuttle controls in the Canvas and Viewer windows are adequate, but the J-K-L keyboard commands are more efficient. J is backward playback, L is forward playback, and K stops playback. The more times the J or L keys are tapped the faster the video plays back. If the L key is tapped a few times to speed up forward playback, tapping the J key will slow down playback. The reverse is also true. If the J key is tapped to speed up reverse playback, tapping the L key will slow reverse playback down. Holding the K key down and then holding the L or J key down provides slow motion forward or reverse playback.

USB controllers, like the Contour ShuttlePRO V.2 ($110) or Contour ShuttleXpress ($60), from Contour Designs (http://www.contourdesign.com ), provide jog and shuttle controls (along with several user programmable buttons that can be configured for other Final Cut Pro functions) to help scrub through video in Final Cut Pro, but having a mouse with a scroll wheel will save you some cash. Simply move the cursor in Final Cut Pro over the Viewer or Canvas and roll the mouse’s scroll wheel up and down to scrub through the loaded video clips (if in the Viewer) or sequences (if in the Canvas). Even better is Apple’s new mighty mouse with it’s mini-trackball Scroll up and down to scrub through video in the Viewer and Canvas, and left and right to quickly scrub through the timeline on long projects.

Stay tuned!

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 162. Apple sees (RED) with new iPod Nano. Apple ships a few infected iPods. Apple purchases Silicon Color. Analyst claims 2 iPhones are in the works. Apple plans support for BluRay and HD-DVD? A fix for iPods that reboot after 1.2 firmware update. Find more music you iLike. Mac Bluetooth keyboard and mouse recommendations. “iPod tax” is wider spread than I knew. Converting WMA files for use in iTunes. How to remove old applications from OS X. A response to my .Mac and iTunes support rant. iCal alarms pop up in wrong place after 10.4.8 update. Followup on creating an enhanced podcast. The latest on the MacBook “RSS” repairs. smcFanControl app to adjust your MacBook (Pro) fan speed. ScreenCasts Online enhanced podcast tutorial and special offer for MacCast listeners.

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Seeing as this is my first article for MacCast.com I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is John and I’m an 18 year old Photographer and Journalist from South Jersey. I’ve grown up using both PCs and Macs, yet always used a PC as my main machine. I have been using, taking apart, breaking, and fixing computers since the Windows 3.1 days, but over the next few months I plan on making a full transition to the Apple hardware.

I have always loved Macs but because of certain software that is only available on Windows, gaming, and cost I have always used PCs at home. With Apple’s recent transition to the x86 platform and offering users the ability to run Windows, those reasons are no longer holding myself and others back from making the switch. Not to mention the major improvements going from OS 9 (what I used) to OS X being a very attractive aspect of the switch.
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