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Mac OSX Noob thread of OSX noobs

dream

dream

Member
NekoFever said:
The hype's got me looking at it, but what does it offer over NetNewsWire?
Click to expand...

It has a brilliant interface. This sounds clumsy, and I know it doesn't do it justice, but the only way I can describe it is it's kind of like an iPad app on OS X without any of the clumsiness that comes from putting a touch based app on a pointer-centric system.

I find that Reeder helps me focus more on the content I'm reading rather than being aware of things like UI. It's just a very organic way to read shit.
 
P

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
X

X-Frame

Member
X-Frame said:
Can you edit/modify/add subscriptions from Reeder?
Click to expand...

dream, LC, whoever -- can you answer this before I impulsively buy Reeder? The only reason why I need to keep going back to the Google site is for this reason.
 
L

LCfiner

Member
X-Frame said:
dream, LC, whoever -- can you answer this before I impulsively buy Reeder? The only reason why I need to keep going back to the Google site is for this reason.
Click to expand...

yes, you can. add, remove, move around in folders.
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
quadriplegicjon said:
I would also add:

Perian - video codecs - http://download.cnet.com/Perian/3000-2139_4-100532.html
Flip4Mac - wmv codec - http://dynamic.telestream.net/downloads/download-flip4macwmv.htm
Dropbox - personally can't live without it - http://www.dropbox.com
Burn - free dvd burning utility - http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/
Click to expand...
I would have downloaded Perian a long time ago. But VLC seems to be the answer to all things and more. What a great piece of software it is.
 
D

Drewsky

Member
Veidt said:
I would have downloaded Perian a long time ago. But VLC seems to be the answer to all things and more. What a great piece of software it is.
Click to expand...
I agree but I like to be able to use quicktime with everything but really obscure video types if I can help it. That's why I like Perian.
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
True.
Plus, the quicktime interface is a lot better.Heck, I might just dl perian now..
 
A

Alfarif

This picture? uhh I can explain really!
Veidt said:
I'm thinking of getting iWorks. I'll probably need it for my new job.
Click to expand...

iWork is such a great software suite. I've used it to write novels (100k-250k words) and I do my budget via Numbers exclusively. It does take a little getting used to if you come from a MS Word/Excel background, but once you get into the groove of it, there's really no going back.
 
J

Jasoco

Banned
Veidt said:
I would have downloaded Perian a long time ago. But VLC seems to be the answer to all things and more. What a great piece of software it is.
Click to expand...
Drewsky said:
I agree but I like to be able to use quicktime with everything but really obscure video types if I can help it. That's why I like Perian.
Click to expand...
I prefer Movist. I set everything to open with it. Single window with all controls is much better. Me likey.
 
K

KtSlime

Member
I prefer MplayerX for the odd file I find that isn't playable by Quicktime X. (Pretty much everything I have is mp4 these days)

I just used Automator/iCal to automate everything recently (I cheated a bit and used "run shell script" to call see and modify some text), however I want to make my iCal entry dynamic, so I was thinking

iCal Event -> automator(load stuff -> edit stuff -> output stuff; new iCal Event)

However the default automator actions don't seem to have the ability to create a new event relative to the time I run automator. I'd like to run automator every 2 hours, I know I can just make a bunch of entries, and that is how it is right now, but I think it would be cleaner to just create a new event at termination of the old.

Any suggestions?

LCfiner: Does it support automator actions/downloads? *casts are a great feature, and keep me using Mail's rss.
 
L

LCfiner

Member
reeder? not sure. never used it in that manner.

I just checked and it doesn’t recognize enclosures for podcasts the way nnw does, if that was something you were curious about.
 
K

KtSlime

Member
LCfiner said:
reeder? not sure. never used it in that manner.

I just checked and it doesn’t recognize enclosures for podcasts the way nnw does, if that was something you were curious about.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I never got NNW to actually download any enclosures - messed around with it for a week to get it to download my files, that's why I switched to Mail.app.
 
J

Jasoco

Banned
Hazel is so awesome. The only thing I wish it had was scheduled cleanups and tasks that can run at certain times, as well as conditional tasks that run when certain conditions are met, like when a certain drive is mounted.

I also wish it had a progress box show on screen or some kind of "working" icon for when it's moving large files across HDD's.
 
K

KtSlime

Member
magus said:
Should I purchase vmware fusion 3.1 now or wait for vmware fusion 4? Where is the cheapest place to buy it?
Click to expand...

If you plan on upgrading to Lion when it comes out in about a month, I would hold off on getting it, at least till they announce a version for Lion.
 
Garou

Garou

Member
Veidt said:
I would have downloaded Perian a long time ago. But VLC seems to be the answer to all things and more. What a great piece of software it is.
Click to expand...

VLC is not that bad, but there is so much to improve, for example in regards to subtitle-rendering, etc.

The in my opinion best Media Player on Mac OS: http://www.mplayerosx.ch/
 
X

X-Frame

Member
What is Readability?

Playing with Reeder for Mac, there's sometimes those feeds where it'll only show you a preview so you need to go to the website to see the whole post, but I was just playing around with stuff and I hit the Readability button at the bottom and the whole post showed in the Reeder window -- I didn't need to open Safari or a browser.

When I go on my iPhone to try the same thing, it asks me for my login details. I don't get it .. I didn't have to do anything for Reeder for Mac.
 
L

Liu Kang Baking A Pie

Member
X-Frame said:
What is Readability?

Playing with Reeder for Mac, there's sometimes those feeds where it'll only show you a preview so you need to go to the website to see the whole post, but I was just playing around with stuff and I hit the Readability button at the bottom and the whole post showed in the Reeder window -- I didn't need to open Safari or a browser.

When I go on my iPhone to try the same thing, it asks me for my login details. I don't get it .. I didn't have to do anything for Reeder for Mac.
Click to expand...
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=readability&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

You're confusing bookmarking with Readability vs using the Readability view.

When you use the bottom right menu, you're bookmarking. When you tap the R on the top right, you're viewing.
 
X

X-Frame

Member
Oh, yeah all I want is the readability viewing. Is there any way to default it to be ON when I click on feeds that need it?

I'm searching the settings and can't find anything ..
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
I"m a fan of MPLayer Extended, but I play a lot of mkv files. But VLC is good to have if you plan to use Handbrake.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
Jasoco said:
Yeah, VLC looks outdated. Movist looks nicer but it hasn't been updated in years.
Click to expand...
it plays movies, what the heck else do you want it to do?

hit the fullscreen button and tell the diference between the two
 
I

iNancy

Neo Member
PhoncipleBone said:
For torrent I have been using VUZE. Granted I have only had my mac for about three or four months, so I am still fresh with it too. Congrats on the purchase.
Click to expand...

I use VUZE on my MBP as well. I actually like that program.
 
J

Jasoco

Banned
Squire Felix said:
it plays movies, what the heck else do you want it to do?

hit the fullscreen button and tell the diference between the two
Click to expand...
Movist has navigation via the left and right keys and up and down for volume. Plus it has a single window with no separate controller. Plus it has options for opening files in either QuickTime or FFMPEG and allows you to switch between them.

Movist >>>> VLC

IMHO
 
J

Jasoco

Banned
LCfiner said:
I could never get used to Vuze and the fakey java based UI it has. too nasty.

I just use Transmission
Click to expand...
Me too. I can't stand Java UI's for anything except MineCraft mainly because you don't interact with the Java interface, rather a custom game interface. But something that's supposed to be a Mac/Windows app it's horrible. Transmission is built for OS X and works perfectly.
 
M

Medalion

Banned
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
 
Joel Was Right

Joel Was Right

Member
Medalion said:
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
Click to expand...

Me too. Just don't be shy in asking any questions; I was camped here for at least a week :D
 
M

mrkgoo

Member
Medalion said:
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
Click to expand...

I know it's made out like there's this big 'switch' to be made, but honestly, there's barely any learning curve. The biggest differences are mostly preferential in nature, such as close windows being on the left instead of right.

If you can get used to those changes, then you'll be fine after a few days.
 
J

JonCha

Member
mrkgoo said:
I know it's made out like there's this big 'switch' to be made, but honestly, there's barely any learning curve. The biggest differences are mostly preferential in nature, such as close windows being on the left instead of right.

If you can get used to those changes, then you'll be fine after a few days.
Click to expand...

This is so true. It honestly took me about an an hour at the most to pick everything up, which is surprising considering I was braced for an entirely new experience.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
Medalion said:
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
Click to expand...


Anything 10.6.x is Snow Leopard, Lion will be 10.7.x.

Hope you enjoy your new purchase :)
 
H

herod

Member
Medalion said:
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
Click to expand...

My only tip would be - try dragging and dropping stuff, a lot more than you do now. It's surprising how many applications support it. Drag into programs, onto dock icons, anything you can think of.
 
B

bionic77

Member
Medalion said:
Great this thread is here, I just bought my first Mac today, a Macbook Pro 13 inch monitor with an i5 2.3GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, and running 10.6.7 which I believe to be Snow Leopard.

I like to think I am computer saavy in general I will pick things up quickly but this is really a whole new beast... I've been a Windows man for ages.
Click to expand...
I switched back in 2005 or so, and the one thing that I could not figure out on my own was how to install applications. No matter how many times I double clicked on a new application I had just downloaded it wouldn't install.

Then my friend made me a feel like a total idiot when he just drapped the new application to the Applications folder and it installed in a few seconds (then told me you drag it to the recycle bin to uninstall).

The first thing I would do is set the keyboard shortcuts (figure out if you want to hit shift to use the shortcuts or hardware controls) and then start playing around with all the function keys (hit the tab and shift buttons for additional fun).
 
M

Mecha_Infantry

Banned
bionic77 said:
I switched back in 2005 or so, and the one thing that I could not figure out on my own was how to install applications. No matter how many times I double clicked on a new application I had just downloaded it wouldn't install.

Then my friend made me a feel like a total idiot when he just drapped the new application to the Applications folder and it installed in a few seconds (then told me you drag it to the recycle bin to uninstall).

The first thing I would do is set the keyboard shortcuts (figure out if you want to hit shift to use the shortcuts or hardware controls) and then start playing around with all the function keys (hit the tab and shift buttons for additional fun).
Click to expand...

There's usually a bit more to it, but yeah, that's the basic premise of installing/uninstalling any esp on OS X
 
T

Treefingers

Member
Mecha_Infantry said:
There's usually a bit more to it, but yeah, that's the basic premise of installing/uninstalling any esp on OS X
Click to expand...
Yeah it's best to get something like TrashMe or AppCleaner to get rid of applications since just dragging an application to the Trash leaves its application data hanging around on your computer.
 
B

bionic77

Member
Treefingers said:
Yeah it's best to get something like TrashMe or AppCleaner to get rid of applications since just dragging an application to the Trash leaves its application data hanging around on your computer.
Click to expand...
Yeah I use AppZapper, but I didn't want to give him too much information at once.
 
Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station

Member
I want to use scenes from a show I have on DVD to make an analysis video for a project I'm working on, so I have to make rips of like 20 DVDs (using Handbrake?). Any recommendations for settings/compressions to make the files manageable in size, yet still friendly to iMovie and Final Cut Pro?
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
Dreams-Visions said:
I only use 2:

iTunes
Tag
Click to expand...

See, I've been using iTunes for years, but now that I'm using Google Music a lot I can see the tags aren't perfect. Doesn't iTunes do some weird just for iTunes stuff that can screw you up if you take your media elseware? That's why I want to redo all the info directly to the files.

Thanks for the rec though, will try Tag out.


WAIT A SECOND

Am I retarded or does Tag not support Mp3s?
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
Jtwo said:
See, I've been using iTunes for years, but now that I'm using Google Music a lot I can see the tags aren't perfect. Doesn't iTunes do some weird just for iTunes stuff that can screw you up if you take your media elseware? That's why I want to redo all the info directly to the files.

Thanks for the rec though, will try Tag out.
Click to expand...
I've noticed a few inconsistencies between iTunes and say...Zune. But not many at all.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
Well, doesn't iTunes screw up things like compilations and stuff? I have a few remix albums and in iTunes it shows up as one item, but on google music there is a different album for every variation in the artist field. It's ridiculous.

Also, tag apparently doesn't support mp3s or aacs. Just flac and ogg... kinda useless for most of my files.
 
K

KtSlime

Member
Jtwo said:
Well, doesn't iTunes screw up things like compilations and stuff? I have a few remix albums and in iTunes it shows up as one item, but on google music there is a different album for every variation in the artist field. It's ridiculous.

Also, tag apparently doesn't support mp3s or aacs. Just flac and ogg... kinda useless for most of my files.
Click to expand...

iTunes screws up a lot of tag stuff, but not much most people (esp. English speakers) would notice. The day Apple fixes their tagging/info dialog in iTunes could possibly be the happiest day of my life, or at least be bigger to me than Lion and iOS 5 together. - Yeah, iTunes bugs me that much.
 
M

Mobius 1

Member
I bought a new Macbook Pro 15", with the idea of selling the 27" iMac to cover it's cost - now that I need to be a bit more mobile and all that.

But when it comes to it... I don't want to part with the monster screen. :( Help me GAF.


On other news, iTunes 10.5 and Safari 5.10 have been rock solid for me. No performance or bugs so far.
 
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