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mac.column.ted: Customizing System-level Startup

by Ted Landau

Show of hands...how many of you have heard of Startup Items in Mac OS X? No, I am not talking about the list of items (that used to be called Login Items) that appear in the Startup Items tab in the Accounts System Preferences pane. I am talking about the "true" Startup Items -- the ones that reside in the StartupItems folder in the /System/Library directory. These items -- part of the standard installation of Mac OS X -- run each time you restart your computer, even before you log in to your … Read more

mac.column.ted: The iTunes Music Store 4.5: Win one; lose one

Ted Landau May 2004

The recording music industry continues to act as if it believes in time travel -- or at least an ability to stop the clock. File lawsuits against enough teenagers, bully enough companies, lobby enough congressman and pass enough DRM (digital rights management) legislation - and their reward will be a to return to the glory days of decades past, when sales of CDs seemed headed to an altitude higher than the peak of Mt. Everest.

News flash to the recording industry: Time travel only works in science fiction fantasies. It's time to live in the … Read more

mac.column.ted: Manuals and monopolies

Ted Landau April 2004

Manuals and monopolies

When you have to go a month between columns, sometimes you find you have more than one topic you'd like to cover. This month is one of those times. Rather than pick one and drop one, I decided to go with both.

 

Bring back the manuals

The other week I started a long overdue and dreaded task -- cleaning out the storage area of my basement. In one corner I found about a dozen or so unlabeled boxes. Most of them contained stuff that no longer held any interest to me. … Read more

mac.column.ted: It's two...two companies in one

Ted Landau March 2004

It's two...two companies in one

Making a variation on the tagline from an old commercial: "Apple is a hardware company. No, it's a software company. No, it's two...two companies in one."

Amidst all the buzz surrounding Apple's cool new products -- from the iPod mini to the Power Mac G5 -- what is less talked about is a central facet behind Apple's continued success: Apple's dual role as both a hardware and a software company. Apple is the only vendor that creates both the hardware that … Read more

mac.column.ted: Making music with GarageBand

by Ted Landau February 2004

Making music with GarageBand

Warning: GarageBand can be hazardous to your health. How can you tell if you have fallen victim to this malady? Here are some of the warning signs: Are you mixing loops during times of day that should be spent on more trivial activities, such as eating and sleeping? Do you record your voice over and over, striving for that perfect take, while your spouse consults a lawyer to see if endlessly singing off-key qualifies as spousal abuse? If so, you've been hooked. I know. It's happened to me. I … Read more

mac.column.ted: The one where I visit Microsoft

by Ted Landau

January 2004

The one where I visit Microsoft

Now it can be told.

Last November, a week or so before Thanksgiving, I visited Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond. Actually, it was more than a visit. It was closer to a press junket. I was invited by Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU for short and pronounced "Mac-Boo"). The MacBU is responsible for all of Microsoft's Macintosh products. They generously picked up the complete tab for my trip. I say this up front because it can be hard to be impartial when you are writing … Read more

mac.column.ted: 20 years and counting

by Ted Landau

A return to those thrilling days of yesteryear...

"The easiest-to-use, most powerful and innovative personal computer yet to hit the market." (InfoWorld)

"You won?t find another machine that?s as easy or as much fun." (Byte)

"It is far easier to use than anything we've seen before." (Bill Gates, as quoted in Macworld)

"The industry, as it catches its breath, is calling it a winner." (Softalk)

"It is the best hardware value in the history of the personal computer. It should establish itself as the next … Read more

mac.column.ted: The "little" changes in Panther: Which ones were worth it?

by Ted Landau

The software developers that work for Apple are akin to miracle workers. Think about it. Apple, with resources inevitably limited as a consequence of its 4% market share, has come up with three major upgrades to OS X in three consecutive years. In contrast, Microsoft's next major Windows upgrade (code-named Longhorn) has likely been delayed until 2006.

But even without the Windows comparison, Apple's upgrades would be impressive. To see what I mean, take a brief scan of Apple's Mac OS X Web pages for Panther. You'll see a litany of new and … Read more

mac.column.ted: Breaking my cardinal rule

by Ted Landau

Last month, I broke one of my cardinal rules: Never buy a new computer model until it has been out for at least 3 months (waiting six months is usually better). Why? With a device as complicated as a computer, there are always some glitches that don't get discovered until after a new product ships. Apple inevitably releases a "version 2" of the product that fixes these glitches (and maybe throws in a few new features besides). That's when its time to pounce. Actually, a similar a rule applies to software as well: … Read more