A Buyer’s Guide to Finding the Perfect Used Macintosh
by Dale Mugford
The used Mac market is at once vibrant, busy- and dangerous. As with any second-hand industry, there are awesome deals that make buying new seem downright crazy, and rip-offs that make you wish you’d paid the extra few hundred to ensure you got what you wanted.
Firstly, how do you discern a good deal from a bad one? Secondly, What are the tell-tale signs of legitimate sellers, and those of scammers? Lastly, what distinguishes a decent used purchase from a killer one?
These questions are important to answer when you set your sights on a used Mac purchase, and you’re in luck if you need help: This article will fine-tooth comb the process of finding, evaluating and buying your brand new (used) Macintosh. Continue Reading »
In advance of Tuesdays Apple event there is, of course, a lot of consensus that Apple will be announcing the addition of full length feature films available for purchase on iTunes. Well now Apple’s web site appears to have an interesting anomaly as pointed out by listener Sam. Go to http://www.apple.com/movies and take a look. Of course this page simply displays an error, but it is THE ERROR that is interesting. It shows a “403 Forbidden” error meaning there is content or at least a directory there possibly awaiting content. If you try the same trick with almost any other random value, http://www.apple.com/zunekiller for example, you will see Apple gives you a nicely formatted “Looking for something at Apple.com?” page instead of the standard ugly web error message. Now this may be nothing but a random fluke made to seem like more by a myriad of Apple meets Hollywood rumors, but it’s interesting either way don’t you think?
SendStation is giving away 1,000 of their Firewire PocketDock connectors for iPods for FREE (you just pay shipping). The offer is good for the first 1,000 people to make a request from the companies web site or until September 13th, so hurry. The PoectDock is a tiny connector that works with all Dock Connector iPods and lets you use the iPod’s docking port to connect a standard 6-pin FireWire cable. The PocketDock Firewire can charge and sync all Dock Connector iPods except, of course, the 5th Gen and Nano, which it can only charge. Get yours at SendStation.com.
[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20060906.mp3] Download today’s show here! MC20060906.mp3 [27.7mb 01:00:21 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 157. Apple release new Intel Core 2 Duo iMacs and revs Mac Minis. Apple planning special “Showtime” event September 12th. Apple settles iTunes patent lawsuit. The future of the iSight. Adobe may preview Universal apps next week? 2 New US Apple Stores, 1 Canadian set to open this weekend. NickStarr uncovers the Giselle “Get a Mac Ad”. Let the Airline notebook banning begin. Possible cure for MacBook Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS). Question on how to burn a data DVD. iPod on a Plane follow-up. How to keep iTunes in Sync with an external library. More on my call for Bloggers. Podcast Expo is coming. Supporting the show.
Guess Apple decided not to wait until September 12th to deliver its new iMacs. Apple just updated their web site with four new iMac models, including a huge 24″ model. All the new iMacs are up to 50% faster due to the fact that they now all have screaming fast Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The four models spec out like this: a 1.83 GHz and a 2.0 GHz 17-inch model, a 2.16 GHz 20-inch and the all-new 2.16 GHz 24-inch iMac. Prices start at USD$999.00 and they are shipping today through the Apple Store.
Update: As some astute listeners have pointed out, the top 3 iMac models now come with 1GB of RAM standard (Thank you Apple). Also the bottom of the line Intel Mac Mini received a quiet update too. The top model was bumped to a 1.83 GHz Core Duo and lower end model is now a 1.66GHz Core Duo processor instead of the Core Solo. Mac Mini pricing remains unchanged at USD$799.00 and USD$599.00 respectively.
Update too: Something important to note if you plan on buying the cheap 17-incher… it does not include the Apple Remote! If you plan on using it with FrontRow do yourself a favor and make sure you pick up the USD$29.00 remote when you make your purchase.
Remember how I mentioned that they were doing construction across the street from my house? Well it turns out there is a lot of granite over there and they needed to do some blasting. I caught the last round on video and thought I’d share. I know it’s not Mac related, but it is kinda cool. If you watch after the dust clears there is about a 10-15 ft. high mound of dirt, rock and debris that was extracted by the explosion. All of this is happening about 200 yards from the MacCast studio. Crazy.
CodeWeavers has recently released a public beta of it’s CrossOver software to allow owners of Intel Macs to run certain Windows applications without needing to install Windows. I just downloaded a copy and while it certainly is not ready for prime time, it does seem very promising. The application is based on the work of the WINE project which is attempting to bring Windows 32 libraries over to UNIX. As such, there are only a limited number of Windows applications currently on the CrossOver compatibility list which are known to work at this time. Continue Reading »
[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/maccast/MC20060830.mp3] Download today’s show here! MC20060830.mp3 [20.7mb 00:45:03 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 156. Bluetooth iPods without a new model? A device commonly known as an “iPod”. Three new Apple “Get a Mac” Ads posted. Intel shipping “Merom” Core 2 Duo chips. Greenpeace gives Apple low marks for environmental responsibility. Apple opens new Canadian retail store. VIsta may run on new Boot Camp 1.1. Apple drops price of ATI X1900 on BTO Macs. Apple adds Google CEO to it’s Board of Directors. The 64-bit question? Dashboard widget hacking. Troubleshooting help from the Console log. Parallels not yet working on the Mac Pro. An easy way to share video Podcasts, DVD. Getting lyrics on older iPods. MacCast needs you for blogging.
Well I was just listening to the latest creation from the Leo Lapotre TWiT machine, Mac Break Weekly, and I heard them mention this little application for putting YouTube videos on your iPod. Since how to convert YouTube video seems to be something I am getting asked about more and more frequently these days, I decided to check it out. The app is called TubeSock (I know, great name) and appears to be the first creation from StinkBot. What makes TubeSock so great is the same thing that makes many of my favorite Mac apps great, simplicity. It does one task and does it well. There are other ways to save and convert YouTube videos, like through the use Firefox plugins, but TubeSock makes it a pleasure vs. a pain. All you have to do is launch TubeSock, copy the URL of the video you want to convert and hit a button. From there TubeSock takes over, downloads the FLV file (Flash Video File), converts it into a video iPod compatible H.264 video and drops it right into iTunes. Sync your iPod and go. Now that alone would be enough, but Tube Sock also lets you choose other output options. It has settings for PSP, audio MP3, Mac H.264 and you can even save the raw FLV file if you want. It will also let you choose different locations to save the converted video. TubeSock can drop the converted video into your Movies folder for easy viewing in Frontrow or you can choose to place it anywhere else on your Mac. Add to that the option to add a link to your Safari bookmark bar that lets you send videos directly to Tube Sock and you have by far the easiest way to make your favorite YouTube videos available when and where you want to watch them.
The lovable Mac and PC duo are back in 3 new Apple ads aired during the Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday night. Apple has posted the new ads and they are currently available for viewing in the Get a Mac area of Apple’s web site. The new ads are titled “Accident” which focuses on the new MagSafe power connector, “Angel/Devil” which highlights iPhoto books and “Trust Mac” which points out OS Xs current (PC neigh-sayers note I said “current”) lack of spyware. I realize all these ads, past and present, use a lot of marketing spin to make their points, but boy they sure are fun. Enjoy.
The used Mac market is at once vibrant, busy- and dangerous. As with any second-hand industry, there are awesome deals that make buying new seem downright crazy, and rip-offs that make you wish you’d paid the extra few hundred to ensure you got what you wanted.
SendStation
CodeWeavers has recently released a public beta of it’s 
Well I was just listening to the latest creation from the Leo Lapotre 
