The MacSale Bundle is available until August 18th ‘09

The MacSale Bundle is available until August 18th:

http://themacsale.com/

For $49.99 (USD), The Mac Sale presents 10 superb apps:

* REALBasic Personal – A rapid development tool for newcomers to programming and old hands alike.

* Iris – An image manipulation program with a killer UI and superb capability.

* Interarchy – The grandaddy of FTP on the Mac, solid, reliable and embracing new systems such as Amazon S3.

* Flux – “This is like Dreamweaver on steroids.” – downloadsquad.com.

* Scribbles – A fun sketching program with a remarkable and innovative interface.

* TaskPaper – Task Manager which focuses on getting things done and not fiddling with options.

* WriteRoom – The minimalist word processor loved by writers.

* Stuf – Clipboard manager that lets you share items over your network.

* Mariner Calc – Quick and solid spreadsheet which won’t bog down your Mac.

* HoudahSpot – All the features Spotlight should have.

I like the WriteRoom for editing in a clean retro 70s terminal look, and the program Interarchy for my FTP transfers.

I didn’t have any serial number problems with this bundle that I had with the MacBundleBox. I received all of my serial numbers almost immediately and an email with links to the application websites. All of the apps were downloadable as upgradable trials.

Erika Eick

MacBundleBox issues resolved

Followup to previous post-

The serial number for Stomp was sent to me last night from the developer, who happens to be in New Zealand-and it was Monday there already.

SoftPress repaired my registration for Freeway Express and I was sent two emails Monday morning from the UK, confirming I could download the correct full version of the software.

Erika Eick

MacBundleBox 5 and some Caveats

I purchased the MacBundleBox (v5) package yesterday and there are some caveats.

1- The download links are not given to you. You have to go to each individual website and download the software. The MacBundleBox website has an archive file with some of the application trials. That archive is missing some of the extras for the applications, so going to each website and getting the apps that way will fix that.

2- Some of the serial numbers are not given in the email- The email just had a word as a serial for iCash that didn’t work. I then had to go to the recover serial number page for iCash and I did get an email for that app.

Stomp has no serial number and no means to get one from the website. I have an email sent to MacBundleBox and will hopefully get a reply.

3- Freeway Express is a trial version only- and cannot be serialized. I tried to register at the SoftPress website and somehow my serial# got attached to version 4 of Freeway. I have an email sent to SoftPress as well and will hopefully gat a reply as to fixing that. Then I will able able to download the full version.

So for $49 and a bit of work you’ll have a nice set of applications and save some money.

Erika Eick

My father is gone…

My father passed away July 9th, 2009. My mom, sister & I saw him an hour before he went, and he didn’t look good. The cancer had spread from his bladder to all over. The labcoats never told my mother anything about his condition. My sister who is a nurse did get some information on the phone after waiting a week from some doctor. Nice healthcare system! The hospitals in this particular system are regularly understaffed, and getting any info is extremely difficult. My Dad’s insurance would deny tests on occasion for some bizarre reason. My sister mention similar staff cuts at her hospital.

Some folks are telling me that the proposed federal health plan would tell the healthcare labcoats what to do. Hahh! The insurance companies already do that!

At least my father passed away peacefully…

Back again…

Well I’m finally back to working on this blog. My father is ill with cancer, and has been in & out of the 2 different hospitals near our area since November 2008. He is now at his home with home hospice care. Things are not looking good for him, so our family is trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

Canon Rebel XT vs D40

I’ve just started using a Canon digital SLR- and older 2005 model known as the Rebel XT. I normally use my Nikon D40 and that’s a very good camera. But the Rebel is great camera as well, with images very sharp & good color throughout. The viewfinder is not as bright as my Nikon’s but still very usable. The autofocus is fast but quite a bit different than Nikon’s, I had a little trouble with the vertical composition shots. I guess I’m still learning about Canons. The build quality is definitely of a lesser grade than my Nikon. But it’s not so bad really, not enough to keep me from using it. I like that the Rebel has a depth of field preview, and will work all Canon EF & EF-S lenses. You can use older Nikkor lenses with more expensive Nikons, but not with the D40.

One nice feature about the Canon DSLR is the software included. You get an image browser, stitching application, wireless file utility, a computer utility that can control the camera, and best of all a RAW processing program to edit the RAW files. The Nikon equivalent is Capture NX, but it’s an additional purchase.

Erika

My Apple Rave

In my previous post I talked about the iMac as a toy. Well the new models are nice toys- just a ‘bit’ overpriced. I still have my 2002 indigo iMac and it’s still a fine little Mac. But is also has a limited upgrade path, and today’s iMac should have a better one than mine. I mean of course that with landfills full of old computers, having more options to upgrade helps thwart the dumping. My older Macs had PDS & processor slots to allow at least some way to keep running more current Mac OS and applications. Even the Mac SE/30 had a way to do this. I loved mine! I loved my PowerMac 7300 too, it had PCI slots as well, I still use it on occasion. But why not fix that on the iMac today?

My G4 tower is upgradeable today, but as I mentioned in a previous post it’s just too pricey to do so right now and probably will always be so.

Now Apple is very good about nicely formatted documentation, even when electronic. I love the computer, iPod and application manuals that Apple puts out. Keep up the good work Apple!

I use OSX Tiger (I can’t run Leopard) and it is a beautiful operating system. It beats the other UNIX like systems I’ve used, like Linux, Solaris, SCO, in desktop ease of use and looks. That’s why I use it for my creative stuff. I have used my PC for some of the same work, especially when that was the only platform my community college had. Errrrg! Not quite as nice as OSX…

Erika

My Apple Rant

I  belong to to a great Macintosh user group & on occasion I browse the group’s forum. One member who happened to be a PC pro & a professor I had in college posted a rant about how Apple doesn’t get the business market. He said the iMac was a toy for the home user. I agreed and posted:

“I used to work in IT, doing support, upgrades, research, and evaluation of products. I also did Mac support in the same categories, and it was always difficult, from the hardware standpoint and in dealing with management. 

The iMac is a toy- a nice toy designed to promote Apple’s margins in a short term stock market driven product cycle. Easy upgrades and hardware maintenance is key in business and for home enthusiasts. Remember the G5? Before Jobs returned to Apple I could buy a Mac at Sears, get in-home setup & service. Jobs torpedoed the well liked printer lines. And charging for OSX ‘upgrades’ as Apple has done would not last long in the business market. 

I have 4 PC towers, 1 Toshiba laptop, 1 g3 iMac & 1 G4 tower. I can buy the nVidia Quadro series cards, at various prices and fit them in my PCs. Not so on the Macs, except the high end. If you do serious CAD, 3D CGI, medical research, engineering work on your computer you will need a Pro card at some point. nVidia has price points for entry level workstations )FX-370 and the FX-570 which are G80-class GPU cards. They will fit in lower spec PCs, but only top drawer Macs. What’s the point of an entry level card in a high end Mac you probably don’t need? 

I don’t think most Mac users understand this. Hollywood has embraced Macs for video editing & some compositing work, but a large majority of 3D CGI & composting work is still done on PC workstations. Mac render farms I don’t know much of either. Few movie projects or game design projects are done strictly on one platform- you need a variety of tools and people and the platforms they are familiar with. 

3dsMax is one of the premier apps in 3D and it does NOT run native on OSX. If you want to get hired, knowing this app helps. Maya is on both Mac & PC but targets a different area of 3D and I still see more job specs ask for 3dsMax. 

What I need is a sub $1000 Mac tower with access to PCI slots, PCIe slots, upgradeable power supply ability, and support for the FULL range of nVidia Quadro series cards. Not for gaming, but for the range of 3D apps I mentioned before. Then Apple will have a winner… ”

—-

Now I AM a Mac fan, I’m not knocking Mac users, just Apple for not going after the business and enthusiast market.

 

Erika

Perfect Day- Sunday May 25th 2008

Sunday was a perfect day for me. The weather in NW New Jersey was beautiful, low 70s, fairly clear sky. I took my morning walk with my Nikon D50 in hand & shot a few photos around my neighborhood. I was reminiscing about the good ole days in the seventies when I used to hang out at Flanders Valley Airport. I would sit in the grass and watch cows & the local Cessnas, Pipers, and other small aircraft takeoff/land. I would also on occasion sit in the pilot’s lounge to hear the tall stories and general aviation banter of the locals. This experience later led to me work in aviation electronics for 13 years.

So I decided to head out to Sky Manor Airport near Pittstown to spend a similar day to watch airplanes fly & taxi. My husband managed to find a good bench to sit on-they have picnic tables and a nice little restaurant at the field. Sunday brunch is good at the airport but we had already eaten. So I grabbed my Nikon & went out talk to the pilots on the tarmac. I met a lot of nice folks, one with a nice Cessna 150, another with a Navy T-28, and a gentleman who used to fly a Mooney but retired after his partners bowed out. The T-28 made quite a show with its loud radial engine and made a nice takeoff. I even saw a Piper Cub liftoff and land from the grass near a barn at the other end of the field. Now that’s the way it should be!

Erika

Day 8 since my husband left the hospital

It’s been eight days now since my husband left the hospital after having bypass surgery. He’s doing quite well, though he’s still weak from the whole ordeal.

On the day of discharge the surgeon & duty nurse unloaded a boatload of prescriptions for me to track & administer. Plus a daily insulin shot as well as a few glucose tests with the requisite needle pokes.

He has a nice scar down his chest, little scars around his belly, two scars on his donor leg, and his old gallbladder scar from its removal many years ago.

Medicine today seems so old fashioned to me- whatever happened to all that cool doctor stuff in Star Trek? No dermal regenerators, bio-beds, handheld medical scanners, cures for age-old maladies. I loved Dr. McCoy’s comment in the fourth movie while in a hospital elevator in San Franscisco- “what is this? the Dark-Ages? Drilling holes in his head…”

Erika