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35 Replies Last post: Dec 6, 2005 11:49 AM by cpoff   1 2 3 Previous Next
Click to view Macworld.com's profile Enthusiast
Macworld.com
1,900 posts since
Feb 6, 2004
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Oct 27, 2005 10:30 AM

Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software challenge

Jennifer Berger’s challenge: to stay productive while only using the software bundle that came installed on her Mac mini. more
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Click to view Schneb's profile Enthusiast
Schneb
1,402 posts since
Dec 10, 2002
1. Oct 27, 2005 11:10 AM in response to: Macworld.com
A Way to Go with Media
"this Mac came may have come with every application I need."

you mean...

"this Mac may have come with every application I need."

And yes, it may just be all you need. However, the big lowpoint for me is iPhoto. First, it should be iMedia and be able to catalog and view Quicktime movies, EPS files and basically every kind of file you can dish out. It should catalog things by link reference and not making a copy. Spotlight should work natively with it searching via Spotlight Comments. And, you should be able to save custom catalogs to DVD archives for quick view of what is inside the DVD.
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Click to view webraider's profile New Member
webraider
150 posts since
Apr 17, 2004
2. Oct 27, 2005 11:38 AM
Re: A Way to Go with Media
In reply to:<hr />
And yes, it may just be all you need. However, the big lowpoint for me is iPhoto. First, it should be iMedia and be able to catalog and view Quicktime movies, EPS files and basically every kind of file you can dish out. It should catalog things by link reference and not making a copy. Spotlight should work natively with it searching via Spotlight Comments. And, you should be able to save custom catalogs to DVD archives for quick view of what is inside the DVD.

<hr />


Well, then what you are talking about is a merger of these three applications... i-DVD, i-Photo, and i-Movie. I also feel that this type of application should also be able to manage scanned document images, and do batch jobs.. this is VERY important for business, education... and even in my home. Right now.. I'm using Presto Page Manager to do this.

I do feel like I should also be able to format writeable media from the desktop and work with disk images that way too instead of going to Disk Utility. From the rumors of things however.. Apple is moving away from the finder desktop as we know it.

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Click to view mdawson's profile Old Hand
mdawson
3,029 posts since
Aug 31, 2004
3. Oct 27, 2005 11:48 AM in response to: Schneb
Re: A Way to Go with Media
Well there are always outliers in any sample population, Schneb, but I think Jennifers article hits a valid point. For a significant number of home users, the pre-installed software on a Mac mini is more than enough for the tasks that will be performed in the home. For a power user, like myself, a need a powerful machine even at home, but for many people, what how they use computers at work far outweighs how they use their computers at home. Excepting the ubiquity of Office, which is readily available for the Mac, the pre-installed software bundle with Macs far exceeds what just about any Wintel user will get with their ultra-cheap or ber-expensive PC.

Simply put: the software bundle for Macs has for a long time and to date continues to go unmatched.


“Cannot run out of time. There is infinite time. You are finite. Zathras is finite. This is wrong tool.” 2.3GHz Power Mac G5/4GB/500GB HDD/OS X 10.4.11/30-inch ACD, 60GB iPod (Color)
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Click to view bdkennedy1's profile New Member
bdkennedy1
111 posts since
Feb 11, 2004
4. Oct 27, 2005 11:50 AM in response to: Schneb
Re: A Way to Go with Media
iPhoto does catalog Quicktime movies. Try it.
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Click to view dlp's profile New Member
dlp
3 posts since
Oct 27, 2005
5. Oct 27, 2005 12:15 PM in response to: Macworld.com
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software challenge
"So when the 450GHz Power Mac G4 I bought in 2000 seemed beyond optimization, a Mac mini turned out to be my perfect salve."

Hey! 450GHz! Steve did break the 3GHz mark back in 2000. My G4 from the same year is only 450MHz!
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Click to view spimster's profile Member
spimster
211 posts since
Sep 1, 2004
6. Oct 27, 2005 12:20 PM in response to: Macworld.com
Antivirus??
... just a little out-of-date, no?

except for making the updaters available, they've discontinued carrying Virex haven't they?
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Click to view jhutcheson's profile New Member
jhutcheson
2 posts since
Oct 27, 2005
7. Oct 27, 2005 12:21 PM in response to: Macworld.com
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software c
In reply to:<hr />
(And of course, having a .Mac account enhances many of these tasks, and adds antivirus and backup tools.)

<hr />


This one line is extremely bizarre and smacks of being an afterthought. .Mac has not provided antivirus tools (read: Virex) since shortly after Tiger was released.

Now this may come off as being accusatory, but this entire piece feels very Jayson Blair meets Stephen Glass in it's account (if you don't get these references look them up). Reading it closer after the .Mac line got my attention, it seems to be an article that was written around a healthy review of Apple's own website for the product.

In reply to:<hr />
As for generally making my Mac life easier, I can find my files with Spotlight, make useful workflows with Automator, look up movie times in Sherlock, and troubleshoot with Disk Utility. The Dictionary and Calculator have already come in handy, and Dashboard offers pretty much any little utility I need, for free.

Im not much of a gamer, but theres always Chess, Marble Blast Gold, and Nanosaur 2 in case I get bored.

<hr />


Seriously... this kind of fluff sounds like a PR piece more than a personal account of one's own experience with the product.

The only thing in the entire piece that lent validity was the brief blurb about having an old mac in need of retirement and loading products like QuarkXPress due to the author's involvement in the magazine business.

Coming from a background in journalism, this piece really makes me wonder about Macworld and its content if the Senior Reviews Editor tries to pass this kind of stuff of as legitimate material.

I hope that at the very least Macworld staff (let alone the author of the article itself) bother to read these threads, as this should probably be responded to.

Jon
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Click to view kenaustus's profile New Member
kenaustus
32 posts since
Oct 14, 2005
8. Oct 27, 2005 12:24 PM in response to: Macworld.com
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software challenge
For most consumers I think you're right. I'm using a 1.5 PB at work (with 2 gigs of RAM) attached to a 23" display and it does all I could want it to do. I have had to add some apps for work, like an accounting program, but the basic Mac is a pretty complete package.

The one "enhancement" I would really like to see is iWork taking over AppleWorks position, including a spreadsheet, data base and all the templates. AppleWorks is the one weak link that Apple needs to address and I would not be surprised to see that addressed with iWork 06. There have been rumors of "Cells" for a while and FileMaker (owned by Apple) could have s mini version ready, and one that leads to a lot of upgrades to FileMaker itself.

Additional apps are often based on specific needs. I have PS Elements to work on very old family pics I have scanned in. The healing tool is simply too good to pass up on old, damaged photos.

The other thing I do is explore freeware or shareware. Something I never did on a PC. Apple has a good list and there is an ad free site (http://osx.hyperjeff.net/Apps/) that has 13,000+ OS X apps listed. Libraries for books, CDs and DVDs are have been added as has a currency converter and other little apps. I've tried about 50 and have kept over a dozen. The mini has a great core of apps, but I love the world it opens in areas like freeware and shareware.
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Click to view mvivas's profile New Member
mvivas
7 posts since
Oct 27, 2005
9. Oct 27, 2005 12:42 PM in response to: Macworld.com
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software c
I agree. I love my mini. I surf the web, email repeatedly, keep my budget on Quicken, etc. I do however dislike Appleworks and bought iWork for my mini. It does a fine job for me.
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Click to view amadeopuzzo's profile New Member
amadeopuzzo
36 posts since
Oct 27, 2005
10. Oct 27, 2005 12:57 PM in response to: Macworld.com
There's a Book Coming Out about this!!!!
There's a new book coming out in November on Peachpit that uses this as its central premise.

Mac Design Out of The Box

It's available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble
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Click to view MacTechAspen's profile Member
MacTechAspen
278 posts since
Oct 15, 2004
11. Oct 27, 2005 1:19 PM in response to: Macworld.com
AppleWorks
AppleWorks is better than most people give it credit for.

It is badly in need of catching up the OS X universe, but it is still a surprisingly useful application.

The very simplicity of AppleWorks belies its power. Many of the common tasks people don't think AppleWorks is up to, are actually pretty easy with basic workarounds (e.g. making text boxes in the drawing program and then dragging them to a WP document).

I use professional tools for professional projects, but for many common business and personal uses, AppleWorks is still my favorite tool. In fact, I just did a rather complicated mail merge project for a client using AWs.

Support from the Mac community for AppleWorks remains strong, and the AppleWorks Users Group is an amazing resource in itself.

AppleWorks is not all things to all people, but it remains a viable tool due to its simplicity and easy integration.
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Click to view elroy's profile New Member
elroy
45 posts since
Dec 2, 2004
12. Oct 27, 2005 1:20 PM in response to: Schneb
Re: A Way to Go with Media
In reply to:<hr />
"this Mac came may have come with every application I need."

you mean...

"this Mac may have come with every application I need."


<hr />

English majors.

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Click to view Philip Michaels's profile Macworld Editorial
Philip Michaels
802 posts since
Dec 14, 2000
13. Oct 27, 2005 1:36 PM in response to: dlp
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software challenge
In reply to:<hr />
Hey! 450GHz! Steve did break the 3GHz mark back in 2000. My G4 from the same year is only 450MHz!

<hr />


Well, obviously, we Macworld editors have an inside track on cutting edge technology.

And, also obviously, that's a typo that has been corrected.
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Click to view jberger's profile New Member
jberger
6 posts since
May 13, 2004
14. Oct 27, 2005 1:38 PM in response to: jhutcheson
Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: The Mac mini software c

Jhutcheson, I assure you that this piece came from my own experience with the programs and with my Mac mini. I come from a journalism background (and training) too -- sometimes, even hardened journalists like me need to wax positively about the things they like.

Jennifer Berger
Senior Editor, Reviews
Macworld
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