International Mac Podcast

Computers themselves have evolved drastically since the turn of the millennia, back in 2000 a single gigahertz was a lot, and a gigabyte of RAM was considered overkill. The Playstation 2 and XBox were still vaporware, Cellphones just made calls and PDA’s just remembered data, and neither WiFi nor Cellular Data Networks had really caught on.

This decade brought HUGE advances in the hardware side of computing, and yet the way we interact with our computers is nearly identical to how it was back then. In fact, the way we use computers hasn’t significantly changed since 1984, back when color screens were a novelty and the internet was only for the geekiest of geeks. Modern UI’s are often still based around the limitations and capabilities of 26 year old computers, and though we don’t really think about it, are now just a huge inconvenience in almost every situation. We’ve already seen some very successful attempts at getting rid of these vestigial interfaces (chances are you’ve got one in your pocket right now), and I think that by the end of this decade the software that we use now will be just as obsolete as the hardware of 10 years ago is today. (more…)

This is a companion review for the NosillaCast podcast for RemotePad, an iPhone and iPod touch remote control app.

So, you’ve been buying equipment, enduring the harsh and sometimes often untruthful sales pitches from Best Buy associates, and you’re now setting it up. Your home theater system is starting to look really good, but how to control the Mac mini at the center of it all? RemotePad does that, and it does it well.

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What if I told you that you could play a game that’s been around since 1988 on your Mac… without an emulator or compatibility layer? And what if said game was an important part of Macintosh history? And… what if said game was both highly addictive, and free? No, this isn’t some kind of nostalgic fantasy, it’s real, and boy is it fun!

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Now, your first thought is probably: “Emulation? Huh? Why would I want to emulate anything? I mean, yeah, I use a Windows VM every so often, but aside from that…”, right? Well, in this post I’ll give you a few use cases for miscellaneous emulation, and list a few sites to get emulators from.

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Hi there, it’s the newest member of the IMP team, Matt Rhinesmith, with my first post!

Today I’ll be talking about some neat and useful things you can do with the old PowerBook or iBook you have sitting in your “Macs I Used To Use But Didn’t Have The Heart To Get Rid Of” closet/shed/bin/etc.

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It seems I start every post with a discussion of my GTD theme, but I do want to say that it has evolved. Instead of being about GTD, the system, it’s more about organizing and removing distraction. It is in that spirit that I bring you a comparison of many apps that any writer may find a use for: the fullscreen text editor. This idea revolves around removing more or less everything but your words from your screen, and having you concentrate on what you type. (more…)

A little disclaimer before I begin the review. Ambrosia Software, developers of Wiretap Anywhere, did provide me with a review license of their product, however please know that it has not in any way biased me in my review. I thank Ambrosia Software for allowing me to review their product.

Again before we begin, I have an apology to make. The above mentioned review copy of Wiretap Anywhere was given to me, at my request, almost one year ago, in March, 2009. I had every intention to review it immediately, but as often happens, life gets in the way. I hope Ambrosia will forgive me for this.

Now, into the review proper. Wiretap Anywhere ($129 USD, http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wta/) is a piece of software for the Macintosh to allow you to direct any sort of audio in any sort of way. It does this by creating virtual audio devices. (more…)