Category Archives: Software

Jul 22 2011

Lion: First Impressions

OS X Lion revealed at WWDCI took the plunge and installed Lion the day it became available. Normally, I do everything by the book and backup everything onto an external drive (usually cloning the whole drive, just in case) as well as important files onto DVD.

This time I took the totally rash (some may say reckless) course and just installed Lion without any backups. Now before you start commenting and telling me what a total idiot I am let me make one or two things clear. First, all my important work files are backup in Dropbox. Secondly, I have numerous DVDs full of my image files. Thirdly, well, thirdly I just trusted Apple. Yes I know that’s a bit rash but hey, they have had at least 18 months to get this thing right and all the pre-release comments from developers was that everything was going smoothly and no big problems had arisen.

So, how did it all go you are asking? Well, in simple terms it was totally problem free. Having purchased Lion in the App Store and clicked the ‘Install’ button I just left it for a few hours to do its stuff. As it happened, I had a meeting I needed to go to that evening so when I returned it was all done and dusted. One thing that did surprise me about the whole thing was that unlike previous upgrades there was no ‘Previous System’ folder. Everything was as before, except that instead of Snow Leopard I now had the Lion interface to get used too.

Also, apart from the whole thing being so trouble-free, it also took just a few hours rather than a whole day to do. No more copying files back into the new set-up etc. Just carry on as normal.

Also, the new scrolling didn’t bother me, I just adapted quickly to it and have decided to stick with it. Those bloggers who make a point of changing settings to go back to the old way of doing things, well my view is that they should live in the present and go with the flow. Its easy and after a while you don’t even notice.

Other positives are that everything seems a bit quicker though this could just be a subjective thing because of the novelty of having a new OS. Certainly, Finder seems quicker and once indexing had completed, searches in Spotlight seem to be much quicker.

So, all in all, first impressions are excellent. Apple deserves a big slap on the back for making the whole process so smooth and trouble-free. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the cost either. Just £21 for the right to install Lion on up to 5 authorised Macs is a steal. Well done Apple!

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Jul 15 2011

Mac SuperBundle – 10 best-selling apps for just $49!

Mac SuperBundle

Nova Development have a promotion currently on that is offering 10 best-selling Mac apps for just $49. So what, you might ask. Haven’t we seen it all before? Well maybe so, but this deal does include Parallels® Desktop 6 for Mac, which normally retails at £79.99!

In addition, you can get:

  • VirusBarrier X6 (normally $49.95)
  • Food Network Recipe Manager (normally $39.95)
  • Money 4 (normally $38.99)
  • DVD Remaster (normally $49.99)
  • Washing Machine 2 (normally $9.99)
  • Yummy FTP (normally $28.00)
  • Font Explosion Volume II (normally $19.99)
  • Inspiration Set of 150 Pages Templates (normally $19.99)
  • Bonus App – 4Media iPod to Mac Transfer (normally $29.99)

All this adds up to $366 worth of software, a saving of $317 (or 86% off), so it represents a good deal, especially if you don’t own some of these apps already. If you are interested, why not head over there now.

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Jun 24 2011

Facebook to release iPad app?

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

A report in the New York Times citing unnamed sources, indicates the world’s largest social network is will release a free app optimized for the Apple iPad. The question many are asking is ‘why has it taken them so long?”

Users will be able to upload video and images captured on their iPad 2. Why Facebook has taken so long to produce an app for the iPad when there has been one for the iPhone for so long now is a mystery but at least its on its way, finally!

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Jun 17 2011

10.6.8 build 10K540 seeded to developers

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Logo

Image by Dekuwa via Flickr

Apple has seeded the latest build of Snow Leopard to developers. This build lists no known issues, and it has the exact same focus areas as an earlier build: AirPort, Networking, Graphics Drivers, the Mac App Store, QuickTime, and VPN. As Lion is due very soon this is no doubt the last update to Snow Leopard we will see.

Snow Leopard has been great and it will be sad to see it replaced but Lion holds great promise for the future of the Mac platform. It will, of course, be around for quite a while as many users will hold off before upgrading to Lion. However, with the move to the App Store and the reduction in cost will probably see fewer users delay than with previous version.

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