The Mac thread

[mech]

For Pointy Cat.

So which Macbook Air did you get? A fair few of my friends have got them now - you can't beat that formfactor. Apparently the Air is killing in sales too.

It's funny though, I read some PC centric site ripping the shit out of the Air and Ultrabooks in general, for being 'underpowered' - all their commenters chimed in too bagging them out, it's like these guys have never had to travel with a laptop before (which is their point isn't it?)

Anyhoo, regarding the switch to Mac - I got a Mac Mini in 2008/2009 as an HTPC, and as an experiment to see how I liked using the Mac operating system. It's grown from there, and now I've got two Macbooks (one Air, one Pro) as well as the Mac Mini, and only one Windows operating system in the house on my main gaming computer. I use Parallels on OS X so I'm not missing any apps, and surprisingly I find OS X much nicer to use most of the time (though Windows 7 closed the gap somewhat, OS X is still nicer, but it's quite subjective).

I also recommend getting a copy of Tuxera so you can write to NTFS drives at speed. It sucks that you have to buy it (around $30 IIRC), but worth it.

[Pointy Cat]

I got the base 11" model. I was unsure which model I needed as my list of things to do on it is limited to browsing, IM and video. I kept umming and ahhing over it and was told to buy the base model and if I feel like I need the extra RAM I can just return it and get the next model up. That pushed me over the line as I've never had a sales guy before tell me to get the base model of anything and then say if it doesn't work out just bring it back. Too used to being up-sold I guess. I may swap, but so far even the base model seems pretty solid. Streamed some 720p mkv's I tested before flawlessly.

It's a really nice unit I must say, build quality and form factor is amazing. Not surprised these are selling well. I'm quite impressed with how smooth this thing is, even on the base model. Getting used to OS X is going to take some time though haha.

I'll never switch to Mac for my main PC, for obvious gaming reasons, but as a portable this thing will sure do nicely. Also I just had a quick look at Tuxera, sounds like something I might have to get, will see though.

[mech]

I recommend pages like the following: http://apple.stackexchange.com/question ... and-tricks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of little tricks in OS X to make your life easier.

One good one is holding option when clicking any of the menu icons on the top right (e.g. the sound icon) - it will usually bring up a context menu for you.

Command-space = search.

Make sure you enable right click in the preferences

That's all I can think of for now that I use all the time...

[Twit]

Edit - oops, read the thread twit. Only relevant bit:

These days I couldn’t live without Alfred. And possibly Moom. For app reviews ’n stuff I’d recommend mac.appstorm.net (they also have sections for Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows).

The main trouble with OS X is the lack of print screen.

[Vzzzbx]

There is a print screen but you have to hold down 20 obscure keys and do a chicken dance.

[westical]

I'm tempted to get a Mac Mini for HTPC use, but the entry price always scares me off. Maybe when they get refreshed...

[Pointy Cat]

Thanks mech. Lots of new things for my Windows brain to learn haha.

I must say I am very fond of this things touchpad. Usually I really dislike the touchpads on laptops, and I was going to hunt down my old bluetooth mouse, but I don't think I'll bother since the touchpad on this is fantastic.

[Madmya]

You need to go to the top of the screen to close a program. Always.

[Cardsy]

Unless you hit Command Q.

[Vzzzbx]

That's a bad thing?

[mech]

You need to go to the top of the screen to close a program. Always.

wat

[mech]

Thanks mech. Lots of new things for my Windows brain to learn haha.

I must say I am very fond of this things touchpad. Usually I really dislike the touchpads on laptops, and I was going to hunt down my old bluetooth mouse, but I don't think I'll bother since the touchpad on this is fantastic.

You'll want to look up some gestures, there are some nifty ones there. Three fingers up will give you an overview of what's open / create new spaces. 3 fingers left and right let you go to those spaces / the widgets. Four fingers going inwards brings up the icon app launcher. Four fingers outwards shows the desktop.

I'm tempted to get a Mac Mini for HTPC use, but the entry price always scares me off. Maybe when they get refreshed...

They're much cheaper now, and it's absolutely worth it. They are whisper quiet (never hear a peep from mine), fast (most HTPCs are quite gimped speedwise) and will play anything you throw at them. They only use like 10W of power so it's using almost no electricity (the external HDDs I have plugged into mine probably use more power). So handy having one double up as an HTPC and constant server at home. I just need to figure out how to get it to broadcast my foxtel to me over the net.

[Talez]

There is a print screen but you have to hold down 20 obscure keys and do a chicken dance.

Shift-Command-3 (⇧⌘3) or just use Grab.

⌘-Space is the most useful shortcut in OS X though.

[Twit]

There is a print screen but you have to hold down 20 obscure keys and do a chicken dance.

Shift-Command-3 (⇧⌘3) or just use Grab.

⌘-Space is the most useful shortcut in OS X though.

Unless you have Alfred, in which case the next key over is the most useful shortcut. And the printscreen stuff is just a stupid meme from the Jobs goneburger thread.

[Twit]

Mech, bastard, you’ve got me thinking about a Mini for an HTPC / server now. Which probably means I’ll buy one on the way home. Thanks a lot.

Could you tell me some more about your setup? I assume you keep it on constantly – never sleeps? Do you watch TV through it with a tuner card? Are you using a front end like XBMC / Boxee / Plex? Are you using something other instead of the dopey Apple remote? What do you use to remote into it from outside? Any particular setup tips you’d recommend, apps, caveats?

[mech]

Mech, bastard, you’ve got me thinking about a Mini for an HTPC / server now. Which probably means I’ll buy one on the way home. Thanks a lot.

Could you tell me some more about your setup? I assume you keep it on constantly – never sleeps? Do you watch TV through it with a tuner card? Are you using a front end like XBMC / Boxee / Plex? Are you using something other instead of the dopey Apple remote? What do you use to remote into it from outside? Any particular setup tips you’d recommend, apps, caveats?

Correct, I keep it on all the time. I originally had it on a sleep schedule but it was too annoying, plus I had it queue up downloads for after midnight (which I don't need anymore, so I might put it back on a 3-9am sleep schedule after all).

I don't watch TV on it - need to figure that out at some point. I have it run Air Video Server and TV Mobili so I can watch mkvs stored on it via my Samsung TV and my iPhones and iPad. Use Plex to run it normally. I have a logitech universal remote which can be programmed for Plex, much more powerful than the shitty Apple remote. Pressing "Menu" on it automatically launches Plex and you can navigate purely with the remote. I also have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse for when I want to browse the web or whatever.

I use the built in apple VNC client to connect to it remotely - I can VNC to it from my iPhone which is VERY handy. The caveat with that is that it only does 32bit colour, so when I only had 256kbit uploads it was quite slow to remote to - now I have 2mbit and it's fine.

The only other app I run on it is Chronosync to back things up from other PCs and to have a copy of all my photos/documents stored centrally. Windows has offline files which is MUCH better, but this does the job.

I originally had bootcamp on there for Windows stuff, but I deleted that the other day as I never used it, haven't even installed Parallels on there (unlike my other two macs), I can't say I've needed anything. The only other hiccup to using a Mac Mini as an HTPC is it CAN'T decode blu-ray / hd-dvd - that is a windows only thing.

It is great having a central, fast (but low power) computer on all the time. I use it to convert movies to my iPhone/iPad, download stuff which is then stored centrally, rip DVDs/CDs - it's been a great little box to convert all the DVD rips I made of my old VHS tapes for instance. Newer Mac Minis would need an external drive to do that though...

And it's just nice having your media all in one spot and accessible from anywhere.

[Twit]

Thanks for the info mech.

I was thinking that if I were to do this I’d probably still use the machine in the back room to rip anything I need, but then just chuck it on the mini (or an external drive connected to it). Plex sounds like a good option for managing it all. I was thinking of an EyeTV too just so I wouldn’t need to switch between sources and that sort of stuff. There seems to be a plugin to integrate that with Plex. Only question would be if I can control all of it adequately with a remote.

I’m also keen on the idea of having a machine always running so I can remote in and queue things up if I want. I haven’t really tried to have a proper setup since back in the original XBMC days. Everything I’ve done since has been half-arsed.

[emptyvessel]

I got a Mac Mini for christmas for use as a HTPC and so far it's been quite good apart from a few bugs with Lion that make it a pain in the arse (no sound bug is fucking painful)

I've got Plex as the front end, which will pick up all the local stuff configured in Plex server and stuff on my NAS mounted and configured as a source in Plex Server. One thing that shits me that I still need to fix is that the latest Plex client removed the ability to launch other apps from within it, which was going to be the crux of my entire keyboardless interface. I still might downgrade Plex versions to get that back. XBMC offers a launcher which I've played with a bit but I prefer Plex for media.

As well as Plex, I've got Transmission with a web interface and Ted installed for downloading stuff. I also have emulators and Steam loaded with a lot of Indy games, played with a wired 360 controller and the appropriate drivers.

One other Lion bug is how inconsistent it is with the Bluetooth keyboard and Trackpad. I've had the keyboard disappear and not pick up again until a reboot and I've had the Trackpad become all jerky and unusable all of a sudden. Both are known Lion issues so at least I know it's not faulty hardware.

My desire is have a keyboardless interface for all the media and games, which I'm still working towards. I'm using the Apple remote but I might haul my Harmony remote out of retirement again and replace my existing remotes (couldn't use it due to a manual switch process in my old setup)

[Cardsy]

Grab this for controlling your mini EV and fuck bluetooth off. If you have a tablet, it's the perfect keyboard/mouse combo for an HTPC.

I use it with Plex on my mini (in runs on wifi, so you won't have connection problems).

http://mobilemouse.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Twit]

Ooh, I hadn’t even considered some little gaming on it. OS X can happily recognise PS3 controllers too, so maybe I could pair one of them to it for the odd simple game. Sounds like you’re all running Plex for this purpose too, so that’s good.

[mech]

I use Snow Leopard btw, not keen on putting Lion on there.

[emptyvessel]

Cardsy - I've got that, but haven't got it working all that well. For example it won't wake up a sleeping Mac, and has connection issues.

More than likely configuration, although I've got wake on LAN enabled so it should work.

[Talez]

If you're after TV for a Mac Mini HTPC server I'd recommend the HDHomeRun which basically takes a normal antenna and gives you two digital tuners on a network. You can then use EyeTV (or Windows Media Centre as you prefer) as a DVR app and TV app. You can also stream TV to the iPhone/iPad from EyeTV and if you have the server version of OS X (i.e. you bought a Mac Mini Server) you could VPN in and watch live TV over the 3G network if you wanted.

You can also use the tuners from a desktop/laptop as well if the Mac Mini isn't using both tuners.

[Twit]

I think I might be the world’s stupidest impulse purchaser. Formed an idea in the morning on the way to work, bought the product on the way to the car when going home.

So now I have a new mini with the dual eyetv thing. Ahead is 50 hours of dicking around until I have something setup that I’m comfortable with (assuming I ever get to that point). I hope this turns out like I envisaged...

[Talez]

Doesn't really take too long to set it all up. When you say the "dual eyetv thing" do you mean the HomeRun?