Installing Windows Games With CrossOver Games
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Hey
I love my computer games. They are a good way to burn a couple of hours when I have nothing else to do. The problem with the Mac operating system is that it is largely incompatible with Windows games. There is a very simple and easy to use solution to this, CrossOver for Games. There are a variety of different methods to install games on your Mac machine. CrossOver allows you to go straight back into the Mac operating system without the need for a restart as you do with Boot Camp. Using Crossover Games is very simple once you get the hang of it. This post will serve as a guide and a review of the app.
CrossOver games works on a version of Wine, it allows you to run Windows programs on your Mac. Crossover builds on this app and I think is far more useful, especially for people who are not confident using Wine. CrossOver has a lot of supporting code and structure and works something like this, you have a “bottle” this is basically your Windows install without any of the Windows bits. Its an environment where Windows programs can run in peace. In this bottle you install your games (or other programs), when the install has finished CrossOver will configure the application so it can correctly interface between Mac and the Windows bottle. CrossOver has two versions of it app, a normal one and one for games. The games version is more suited to computer games.
To install a Windows game download and install the app. I can’ fully remember the initial process for setting up a bottle, however it would be something very similar to what is outlined here. In the app go to Configure > Manage Bottles. In the sidebar at the bottom click the plus button to add a new bottle. Select an operating system (Windows XP is recommend) and a name. You can have more than one bottle, how ever one will suffice. Once this bottle has a name and operating system.
You are now ready to install your applications. Go to the Applications tab in the bottles window or select Configure > Install Software. From the option that pops up, you can either install some supported software (especially useful for Steam) or install “Unsupported Software”. Unsupported software is apps that are not on the list. Install your software as you would. When you have finished your game is installed and ready to play. It can be accessed from the “Programs” menu item.
One option I would like to point out, is the ability to open the “C:” drive. This is under the “Advance” tab. It is very useful as you can view the files that the game files runs on, and you can make changes as you see fit, and example being adding Save Files or extra files needed by your game.
Most games run pretty quickly. They are not as fast as a Boot Camp install, however old games are pretty quick and run well. More modern games are a little laggy how ever you can play around the game settings to make it smoother. If you need ultimate performance I would install Boot Camp, for ease and simplicity I would go with CrossOver.
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Installing Windows Games With CrossOver Games
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Change the behavior of the iTunes zoom button in 9
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: iTunes, Terminal Tips
For me, one of the most welcome new features of iTunes 9 was the restoration of sanity to the way that iTunes responded to the zoom button. I had long been irritated by the non-standard behavior iTunes had displayed, brazenly flaunting the accepted practice of how the zoom button worked by toggling the mini player on and off, instead of zooming the window like a well-behaved Mac app.
Never once in all my years of using iTunes have I wanted to use the mini player. Whenever I tried to zoom the app and the mini player appeared, it would be quickly followed by muttering and grumbling. So you can imagine my joy and bliss at discovering that iTunes 9 finally validated what I had known all along. The zoom button was supposed to act a certain way, and if you want to do something different than the standard, then you ought to use the option/alt key.
I celebrated this change. I called friends I had not spoken with in ages to tell them about it. I wrote a sonnet to the proper use of the zoom button. A party was planned. Ok, maybe not all of that, but I was pleased with the change.
Then iTunes 9.0.1 came out and ruined everything. Yes, I said everything! No, you’re the one who’s overly emotionally attached to a relatively minor UI issue!
Well, apparently I’m not the only only one. Over on Twitter @zadr and @siracusa reported that you could revert iTunes 9.0.1 to iTunes 9.0’s behavior through a command in Terminal.app:
defaults write com.apple.iTunes zoom-to-window -bool YES
This tip was then “retweeted” about 50 times and ended up on MacOSXHints.com which is where I first saw it, moments before breaking out into song and dance.
If you would prefer not to get into Terminal.app, you can get the 9.0 standard zoom behavior in 9.0.1 (and presumably later versions as well) by holding down the alt/option key when clicking the zoom button.
Change the behavior of the iTunes zoom button in 9 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Change the behavior of the iTunes zoom button in 9 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Cool tools, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
Sometime this summer a wiseacre commenter (we get a few) suggested we do a “Five Apps” for a variety of somewhat offbeat topics. One wasn’t so far-fetched however: gastroenterologist. One could say that a gastro doc has about the same needs as any doctor, of course, and that’s an easy out. So here are 5 apps that are great for gastroenterologists and possibly any medical specialist… Coming soon: 5 apps for the lemur owner.
Epocrates Rx - This free app looks up drugs and is updated weekly. Epocrates [iTunes link] has already been available for other mobile platforms for a while, this is a must-have for physicians, I would think. There’s also a Pro version that is designed for medical professionals, and it requires a yearly subscription fee to work. It’s $99 for one year, which is pretty reasonable for what this does — which includes an amazing pill ID tool.
DocWrite - Another free app with a service you subscribe to, but this may appeal to more than doctors. DocWrite [iTunes link] is a transcription service that sends your ramblings securely and sends you back a complete transcription in PDF or Word. DocWrite has a web-based dashboard for your stuff, too, so you’ll never be without those documents in text or audio.
PubSearch - PubMed is a massive database of medical research papers and PubSearch (free version) [iTunes link] is an iPhone app that’ll search them. Yes, of course you need a subscription to the database (noticing a trend here?). PubSearch also has a Mac desktop app, although there does not seem to be any coordination between the two. I’d imagine something like sharing bookmarks would be helpful. PubSearch Plus [iTunes link] costs $1.99 and is really the more functional version as it will show full articles and use EZProxy (where supported).
Medcalc - A free medical calculator? Yep, Medcalc [iTunes link] includes a ton of formulas for doctors, plus a few indices and charts and whatnot to keep a handy reference for those who need it. This app seems to cover a lot of ground, although I’m not sure how much applies to the field of gastroenterology.
Mobile MIM for iPhone and iPod touch - Sadly, this has yet to be released. But I’m guessing it’ll be at the top of many doctors’ wish lists. MIMvista makes real-deal medical imaging stuff and the MIM app for iPhone was demonstrated at WWDC. The demo was astounding, showing how doctors could merge CT and PET scans right on their iPhone and make notes for later use. The app is pending FDA approval, with no release date or price set.
Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
If you’ve been waiting patiently for the Dropbox app [iTunes link] to hit the App Store, your wait is over. The app has arrived, and brings with it the simplicity that Dropbox users have come to know and love.
Since Dropbox itself is a free service, it’s a pleasant surprise to see a simple, easy method for creating a new Dropbox account right off the bat if you don’t happen to already have one. The app just asks for a name, e-mail address and password, prompts you to accept the terms of service, and creates the account. During my testing, I did encounter a problem where I would receive a nondescript “Account creation failed (null). Please try again.” message, which I’m guessing may be due to high load on their servers. Still, this is not an encouraging encounter for new users.
Once logged in, everything worked pretty smoothly. On first login, You are presented with a brief welcome document that highlights some of the features of the app. Backing out of the document will take you to your Dropbox, which quickly lists any of the files and folders you may have in there. The app features built-in document preview for several types of files, including PDFs, text documents, spreadsheets, pictures and videos. You can also tag files as a favorite by tapping the star at the bottom of the file viewer, which adds the item to the favorites panel and caches a copy locally on the device so that it’s immediately available.
An unexpected feature is the ability to take pictures, video, or use existing media and upload them directly to the Dropbox. This could definitely be handy if you need to take a quick video and have it available on another machine without having to plug in your phone and wait for it to sync. Also unexpected, but incredibly welcome, is the massive amount of documentation that is available from inside the app’s settings panel. In addition to giving you general details about your account, the settings panel offers a link to watch a video about how Dropbox works, take a tour of the features, or browse their complete online help library, without having to leave the app. As many apps fall short in this area, it’s refreshing to see such detailed documention available, let alone right from the app.
A couple of side notes: As I mentioned above, the new user signup does not appear to work properly sometimes. I’m guessing this will be fixed in short order, though. You can log out of your Dropbox account by tapping the Unlink iPhone from Dropbox button on the settings panel, but beware that you will loose any favorites you have stored (the app does warn you of this). And finally, when you do logout of your account, the app just disappears from the screen, as if it crashed, although you are successfully logged out. In my eyes, these are minor issues (well, aside from the signup problem), and will likely be addressed with future updates, but still good to watch out for.
All in all, this is a very well done, simple app that connects you with an already great (and free) service. It’s available now in the App Store for free.
Gallery: Dropbox for iPhone
Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
If you’ve been waiting patiently for the Dropbox app [iTunes link] to hit the App Store, your wait is over. The app has arrived, and brings with it the simplicity that Dropbox users have come to know and love.
Since Dropbox itself is a free service, it’s a pleasant surprise to see a simple, easy method for creating a new Dropbox account right off the bat if you don’t happen to already have one. The app just asks for a name, e-mail address and password, prompts you to accept the terms of service, and creates the account. During my testing, I did encounter a problem where I would receive a nondescript “Account creation failed (null). Please try again.” message, which I’m guessing may be due to high load on their servers. Still, this is not an encouraging encounter for new users.
Once logged in, everything worked pretty smoothly. On first login, You are presented with a brief welcome document that highlights some of the features of the app. Backing out of the document will take you to your Dropbox, which quickly lists any of the files and folders you may have in there. The app features built-in document preview for several types of files, including PDFs, text documents, spreadsheets, pictures and videos. You can also tag files as a favorite by tapping the star at the bottom of the file viewer, which adds the item to the favorites panel and caches a copy locally on the device so that it’s immediately available.
An unexpected feature is the ability to take pictures, video, or use existing media and upload them directly to the Dropbox. This could definitely be handy if you need to take a quick video and have it available on another machine without having to plug in your phone and wait for it to sync. Also unexpected, but incredibly welcome, is the massive amount of documentation that is available from inside the app’s settings panel. In addition to giving you general details about your account, the settings panel offers a link to watch a video about how Dropbox works, take a tour of the features, or browse their complete online help library, without having to leave the app. As many apps fall short in this area, it’s refreshing to see such detailed documention available, let alone right from the app.
A couple of side notes: As I mentioned above, the new user signup does not appear to work properly sometimes. I’m guessing this will be fixed in short order, though. You can log out of your Dropbox account by tapping the Unlink iPhone from Dropbox button on the settings panel, but beware that you will loose any favorites you have stored (the app does warn you of this). And finally, when you do logout of your account, the app just disappears from the screen, as if it crashed, although you are successfully logged out. In my eyes, these are minor issues (well, aside from the signup problem), and will likely be addressed with future updates, but still good to watch out for.
All in all, this is a very well done, simple app that connects you with an already great (and free) service. It’s available now in the App Store for free.
Gallery: Dropbox for iPhone
Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Quick Look: Bento 3
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The whirlwind development of FileMaker’s consumer database software continues with the release of Bento 3. Bento 3 adds several new features, including shared libraries, iPhoto integration, security options, and best of all, an upgrade price.
First released in November 2007, Bento was supposed to be the database for the rest of us, touting ease of use over the flexibility of complex relational database applications like FileMaker. Bento 1 was priced at $49, as was Bento 2, released just over a year later. That price caused some consternation among Bento 1 users opining Bento 2 was the “real” first release. Apparently FileMaker has listened, and is now offering current users of Bento a $20 discount. While the price for new users remains $49, Bento 3 has enough “new” that those using or needing a simple database application should at least consider the free trial.
As to what’s new in Bento 3, the first thing you see is a redesigned Template Screen. Bento 3 adds 10 new templates, bringing the total to 35, as well as a direct link to the Bento Template Exchange. The online exchange has nearly 300 database templates created by users and developers at FileMaker.
The biggest change to the interface of Bento 3 is Grid View. While database users will be familiar with the spreadsheet-like Table View, and Form View for individual database objects, Grid View is reminiscent of iPhoto Events. If there is a single image in a record, you see a thumbnail, with multiple images being cycled through via mouseover. This is actually pretty useful, be it with home inventory or recipes. If there are no images, you can look at a thumbnail of the Form View, which is not so useful. Something else that is useful is iPhoto integration.
As a serious iCal user, the seamless integration Bento affords is invaluable. As an example, Bento allows me to create Smart Collections of events, like auto maintenance or trips to the vet. Not only can I add fields in Bento, like cost, but I can edit fields that iCal uses. Now, Bento has added iPhoto to the list of integrated OS X apps: Address Book, iCal, and Mail. Unfortunately, what happens in Bento, stays in Bento with iPhoto integration. While I can associate new record fields with photos in Bento, I can’t edit iPhoto fields. Anyone who struggles with iPhoto’s awkward keyword editing understands how big a letdown this is. To balance that letdown for me, we finally have sharing in Bento 3.
To those who bemoan the lack of shared, editable calendars with iCal and MobileMe, Bento 3 appears to offer a workaround. Bento 3 sharing is a lot like iTunes sharing over a local network. It’s as easy to set up as the preference pane above, but even more useful. Up to five people, each needing their own copy of Bento, can edit shared databases. While I have not tested this yet, I’m assuming that editing iCal and Address Book data will be reflected for respective users.
The last big addition to Bento 3 is the option of database security, but there are numerous other small enhancements that can be experienced in free trial. Bento 3 requires OS X 10.5.7 or 10.6.1, costs $49 (or $29 for qualifying Bento 1 and Bento 2 users). There will also shortly be a new release of Bento for iPhone, free to current users and $5 for new users.
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Podcast #109: iMac and Mac mini Refresh Rumors and a New Theme Song
September 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The rumor mill is gearing up for iMac and Mac mini refreshes. Just in time for holiday shopping and to give Jan a dose of buyers remorse. Palm takes a stand and states that it will continue to enable iTunes syncing for the Palm Pre even though Apple keeps disabling it. The staff wonders why Palm just doesn’t put all that effort into creating their own music syncing software and a Newton engineer returns to Apple after 15 years just in time for the staff to come up with the perfect name for rumored Apple Tablet.
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