MacNoob

Well, I had a reader tell me that I’m no longer a noob. I’ve been using a Mac almost exclusively for two years now so I guess I have crossed the threshold out of noob territory. OK, so I guess it’s time to move on. I’ve registered the mactexan.com domain and I’ve built a Squarespace site for starters. I really love the WordPress ecosystem, but Squarespace does make things mighty easy. I’ll be phasing out MacNoob.net and focusing my efforts on MacTexan.com. No promises, but I think I’ll do a little of both for a while until I decide on the new platform. Stay tuned here and here.

Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae

Three days ago the FedEx man dropped off what I thought was way too small a box to contain my new laptop. I bought a 17” MacBook Pro to replace my late 2007 model (also a 17” MBP). Most reviewers write off the big Mac portable as impractical, but I’ve loved mine since I got it nearly two years ago and have always been happy to trade a little portability to get all the features offered by the 17, not least of which is its big, beautiful, high-res (1920 X 1200) display. At this year’s WWDC we learned Apple was removing the ExpressCard slot on all MBP models except the 17”. For me, that was the clincher. I use the expansion for eSATA, 1394b (FireWire 800) and a multi-card reader and wanted my new portable to retain those capabilities. This model may be the last to do so, but its not like I need much of an excuse to get a new Mac. This just happened to be a good one. Here’s what I bought:

17” MacBook Pro

3.06 MHz Core 2 Duo

4 GB DDR3 RAM

256 GB SSD

First impressions:

Apple’s “unibody” manufacturing technique for all MacBook Pro models yields a laptop that, when closed feels as solid as an axe blade. Additionally, the fit and finish of this portable is more precise with tighter tolerances than any laptop I’ve ever seen. Its < 1” thick body is amazingly rigid (both open and closed) given its larger proportions. The non-user-replaceable battery came fully charged according to the LED indicators along the left edge so I immediately powered up as soon as I got the protective mylar off. After going through the OS X setup I applied 150 megs of software updates from Apple and powered down. After moving to another office and attaching the magsafe I was anxious to see how the SSD would affect boot speed so, using my iPhone as a stopwatch, I pressed the power button. 32 seconds later OS X was running and the disk access was zero! In the thirty years I’ve been in this business I’ve never seen any computer boot so quickly.

Benchmarks I’ve seen for Apple’s SSD performance were far from stellar when compared to others, but this initial experience put a big smile on my face nonetheless. It happened again the first time I launched Safari. I clicked its dock icon and Safari appeared instantly. It’s almost as if it were running already and I just unhid it. Next, I opened Mail. Same thing. The app launched almost before I got my finger off the mouse. After two days use and migrating all my apps, settings and data from my old MBP, the boot time has increased to a whopping 44 seconds. My advice: If you can afford an SSD for your laptop, buy it! No other upgrade will increase the overall speed of your computer a fraction of what a good SSD will.

After three days:

This is by far the fastest laptop I’ve ever used. Apps open in a blink and file saves happen so quickly I rarely see a progress bar. The NVidia graphics do an excellent job rendering 3D and I’m sure the upgraded GPUs have a lot to do with the machine’s overall “snappy” feel. On more than one occasion I’ve caught myself unnecessarily waiting for something that had already happened while I wasn’t looking.

The LED-backlit display is quite an upgrade from my late ’07 model. First, when the display is off, the black bezel and the screen become one, a nice look. Wake the machine and the high-res, glossy display instantly comes to life. This is quite different from my previous machine with its fluorescent backlighting. It normally took 5 – 10 seconds for the screen to reach its normal brightness and color accuracy. This new Mac display is not only more responsive, colors look quite a bit more accurate also. Side by side, the older Mac’s screen looks almost dull by comparison.

I used the Migration Assistant utility to copy everything from my old Mac via a FireWire 800 cable. It was very simple and took about an hour and a half to copy my settings, apps and data totaling 110 GB. After a restart, I was almost sad. My new Mac looked exactly like my previous one. It took some of the “new” feeling away. Other than that, the tool worked amazingly well. Everything “Apple” transferred without a hitch. iTunes was complete, recognizing my iPhone and Touch, iPhoto, Aperture and their libraries are intact and the new Mac now knows all my network settings for three different networks and multiple hotspots. Maybe I’m still a bit of a noob, but when something works so wonderfully I appreciate it. I haven’t become jaded by Apple’s thoroughness just yet. All I’ve had to do since migrating is re-authorize a number of applications. Some were much more difficult than others, but I’ll save that rant for another day.

Contrasts:

I’m preparing my old Mac for my daughter as I write this. Starting that task after not using the computer for a couple of days throws the differences of the two machines into sharp relief.

Booting the older MBP seemed painfully slow even though it only took about 90 seconds.

Also, I immediately noticed the audible difference. The older Mac’s hard disk does make a little noise. It isn’t much, but after using the SSD for a couple of days, even the relatively light chatter of the 320 GB disk is noticeable.

The older display is less bright and the white balance appears shaded slightly yellow by comparison.

The keyboard difference is noticeable although I use an external keyboard and mouse most of the time. I use this box as a desktop replacement for the most part and the new keyboard feels almost exactly like the latest desktop keyboards from Apple.

The new buttonless trackpad is a much bigger improvement than I imagined. I spent some time setting it up and adjusting my preferences where I also discovered the new gestures make the new trackpad the control device of choice when manipulating graphics and also for navigating Spaces and Expose´.

Speed. This new MacBook Pro is damn quick. It runs every bit as good as my iMac (purchased in April). It should, the specs are almost identical and the SSD is definitely faster than the iMac’s 640 GB hard disk.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m completely pleased with this new machine. Am I $3400 pleased? Probably not, but machine envy is nothing I’ll have to worry about for a few months and my techno-itch has been scratched.

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Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae, Commentary

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail asking how my WWDC experience was. I replied: “It’s like drinking from a fire hose!” That response may have been a bit melodramatic, but I still stand by it. The conference presents so much information so concisely its difficult (if not impossible) for a mere mortal to absorb it all. If you’ve ever seen a video of an Apple keynote you have an idea of how polished their presentations tend to be. Even though the subject matter was different, every session I attended at this year’s WWDC was put together that well. Instead of talking about new Macs or iPhones like in a keynote, the session presenters talked about new code constructs, OS X Leopard features or any of 100+ different subjects at varying levels of detail and complexity. The labs were done just as well. The first floor of Moscone West was over half lab space, filled with enough new Apple hardware to make any fanboy think he was at the North Pole with Santa Steve and the four labs I attended were staffed with knowledgeable, helpful engineers. As is customary with Apple, nothing gets done half way.

I spent the week attending five sessions (or labs) per day and every one of those sessions were professionally architected and excellently presented. As impressive as that may be, Apple orchestrated over 280 sessions and labs for more than 5000 developers and from everything I’ve been able to gather, they all went well. In fact, I had a difficult time deciding which session to attend on several occasions. There were typically over twenty sessions and labs available for every time slot and odds were, there would be more than one that interested me. Fortunately, Apple will post video of all the sessions on their site so I won’t have to miss anything.

As valuable as the presented material was, the availability of Apple engineers and their willingness to help was of equal worth. Every session ended with a Q & A and I gleaned a ton of information without ever stepping up to the mic. The four labs I attended proved to be some of the best time I spent all week because the engineers were available to answer my questions and provide guidance for my specific problems. I also enjoyed the 100Mb internet connection whenever I plugged my Mac into one of the lab’s hardwire ethernet connections. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never experienced a connection anywhere near that fast. I took the opportunity to download all the available SDKs and iPhone OS versions and snuck in a HD movie download to boot. The new James Bond flick downloaded both versions (>4.5GB) in about 10 minutes! My 5Mb connection at home usually takes a couple of hours. But I digress…

My only regret was not having enough time to mingle with other developers. While Apple provided lots of seating and internet connectivity outside the sessions and labs, I just never seemed to have the time to take advantage of it for fear of missing some of the prepared material. This is one thing I’ve vowed to change next year. No doubt, I’ll be back!

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Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae, Commentary WWDC

I quit my last job because the promised 15% travel turned into something closer to 50%, so getting on an airplane is not my idea of a good time.  Be that as it may, I can’t wait to fly to San Francisco this Sunday to attend my first WWDC (Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference).  Aside from providing an escape from Houston’s already oppressive 90+ degree heat and 100% humidity, the Bay Area is hosting nothing less than “nerdvana” for five days next week.  I really try not to get caught up in all the fanboy hype, but as WWDC draws closer, the Apple rumor mill output goes off-scale, piquing my anticipation.

Everybody tends to focus speculation on Monday’s keynote, and while I’m excited about it I must admit [as a fledgling Apple developer] the lineup of sessions and labs I’ll be attending has me more excited than Johnny Five in a Barnes & Noble.  If Apple delivers half of what they promise on their web site, the trip will be well worth the three grand I’ve invested in it.  There is a ton of new technology to cover this year, even by Apple’s standards.  OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is looming on the horizon, iPhone OS 3.0 is due to be released this month and we don’t even know what new magical hardware Mr. Schiller will introduce during Monday’s keynote.  There will probably be a new iPhone, maybe a larger tablet-like device.  Speculation ranges from the probable to the completely implausible but what is certain: Apple will spring something surprising, they always do.  I’m getting stoked just writing about it all.

It’s easy to lose sight of what the “D” in WWDC stands for amidst all the speculation and hype, especially if you’re on the outside looking in.  As I try to plan my week using the published schedule of sessions and labs, I get snapped back to reality in short order.  This is going to be real work! I even wonder if my poor brain still has the capacity to assimilate all the information being offered.  It’s going to be like drinking from a fire hose.  Compounding this dilemma, I’m certain I’ll be attempting at least a portion of this task with a (hopefully)mild hangover.  Oh well, all I can do is give it my best shot and hope to capture what I need.

Beyond everything I just described, what I most look forward to is the intangible.  I’ll be immersed in all the Apple goodness with the people who build OS X, the iPhone OS and  the applications that run on them.  Me, right in the middle of the event that all the blogs, news and fanboy sites will be focused on next week is like an escape from the every-day, mundane routine and a pilgrimage to the center of the Apple universe.  For a few short days this is where it’s happening, and I’m going to be a part of it.  Cool.

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Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae WWDC

Apple’s recent hiring of Bob Drebin has sparked a tsunami of speculation as to Apple’s intentions regarding chip design and manufacture.  AppleInsider points to LinkedIn profiles of Drebin and Wei-han Lein to support their speculation about a new, home-grown mobile processor for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch successors.  With last year’s purchase of PA Semi, over $25 billion in the bank and all the new hardware hotshots including Mark Papermaster, Apple seems to have all the pieces in place to mount a serious effort to design and build its own chips.  The question is: For what?

Consensus among pundits points to the afore-mentioned mobile processor and that may be true, but I think they have something else up their sleeve.  Looking closely at Mr. Papermaster’s hardware group, one finds a ton of engineers (some say over 100) with graphic chip design and manufacturing backgrounds.  I’m starting to believe Apple has a desire to make its own graphics hardware.  Here’s why…

1. OpenCL technology (that leverages GPU capabilities) built into Snow Leopard promises to take OS X performance to the next level once application development catches up to the standard.  This just feels like something Apple would leverage by controlling the hardware and API completely.
2. Intel and Nvidia sue each other so frequently their lawyers have their own parking spots at the courthouse.  Apple has clearly staked its foreseeable [Mac]hardware designs on Intel and everyone seems to agree, that was the correct move.  If the squabbling gets nastier, Apple may have to distance itself from Nvidia to avoid getting caught in the middle.
3. AMD (owners of ATI) has to be reeling from the exodus en masse of their key engineering people.  I don’t think their graphics product pipeline has run empty yet, but with so many ex-employees now in Cupertino, ATI no longer seems like the kind of company Apple would need to partner with.
4. If ATI and NVidia are both undesirable, that leaves…NOBODY! (Yes, I know Intel makes graphics chipsets, but Apple’s last hardware refresh ditched them altogether.  The divorce is final.) Apple clearly hopes to make OpenCL a differentiator between OS X and Windows.  Given its history of tight (and closed) coupling of OS X to its hardware, Apple may not wish to bet the farm on any technology they don’t own outright.

Any of these reasons, taken separately, don’t amount to much, but together they make a strong argument for both the means and motive for Apple to build their own graphics hardware.  Couple that with a $25 billion bankroll and there’s no doubt they could if they wanted to.  Now it’s just a question of Apple’s desire and few ever seem to guess that right.

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Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae, Hardware, OS X, Technology chips, design

After spending the better part of the last 25 years in the computer business, doing everything from low-level (assembly language) programming on mainframes to corporate I/T management, Apple has made a convert out of me.  About six months ago I spent around $650 on a Dell Studio Hybrid for my game-room entertainment center and I’ve regretted the decision ever since.  Unless the world changes dramatically, it is the last PC I’ll ever buy.  I’m done.  Kaput!

This is coming from a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Windows professional of 17 years.  I was such a die-hard Microsoft fan I bought a Zune!  Not one of the new, sleek ones either, but the first generation model shaped like a deck of cards, only fatter.  (I’m offering to give it away to registered readers of this blog, but can’t get enough people to sign up.  I think I might have done better offering a sharp stick in the eye!)  Many years ago I bet my professional future on Microsoft and have since made decision after decision that kept me on a Redmond-centric career path.  I don’t regret those choices too much.  In my professional lifetime there have always been ample opportunities to work with Windows systems and prosper.  That probably won’t change substantially for the foreseeable future because Microsoft is so entrenched in corporate America. But a new day is dawning and Microsoft’s sphere of influence is shrinking measurably.

Two and a half years ago I bought my first Apple product (a 30 gig iPod video) and my computing life was changed forever.  I had owned my Zune for about three months at the time.  My daughters all asked for (and got) iPods for Christmas that year and I was amazed at how much more user-friendly the whole iPod experience was, even with Windows.  Before the new year, I too was an iPod owner and eight months later I bought a new 17” MacBook Pro.  Since then I’ve bought an iPod Touch, a MacBook Air, an iPhone and two iMacs.  Yep, I got it bad.   Business analysts like to talk about the iPod “halo effect”, but for me it was more like a good nuking.  In fact, my only transgression was the afore-mentioned Dell.  I wish I’d bought a Mac Mini, but really thought I needed a Blu-ray player. The machine doesn’t do anything well. Its blue-ray player is skippy, and it seems like every time I want to sit down and watch something I have to wait for another update to finish and reboot. The only really good experience I’ve had with it is playing shared content with iTunes! Like most PCs, the Dell was long on specs but short on performance.

Maybe spending so much of my life immersed in win32 made switching to Apple even more of a pleasurable contrast.  Whatever the reason, moving to OS X re-invigorated me and I am constantly, pleasantly surprised by how well thought out the operating system is and how well everything works together.  Add to that Apple’s superb industrial design and I’m completely hooked.  I could (and often do) sit in front of this iMac for hours and enjoy the last minute as much as the first.  When I have to do something on one of my Vista machines I get the chore done and log off.  The day is fast approaching when the MacNoob house will be devoid of anything Windows and I can’t wait.  A wealthier MacNoob would have made this a reality already.

The only negative resulting from my switch: I still work in a veritable sea of Microsoft OSs, replete with barely manageable firewalls, anti-virus servers and a never-ending list of patches and zero-day exploits.  It was the same before I switched, I just didn’t know how bad I had it.  Now, wrenching on my Windows network has become a real chore.  It used to be fun before I realized how avoidable much of the effort is.  I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I’d taken the blue pill and never known the pleasure of using my Macs. Uggggh! I just got a chill.

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Joseph Kelley Apple Minutiae Apple, Mac, switcher