Time is Running Out for BusySync Deal

I've been using the BusySync 2.0 beta for some time now and find it very well put together. I reviewed it here. The Google Sync is seamless and I haven't had any errors. This application has entirely replaced Spanning Sync for me.

I'm told the official 2.0 release date is toward the end of this month so if you are thinking about making the jump, try the beta now. If you are sold, buy it before the 2.0 final release and you can get the old price of $19.95. It is going up to $24.95 when the new version comes out.

FotoMagico Rides Again

My receptionist got married yesterday and somehow I got recruited to do the slideshow. FotoMagico makes it so easy. You literally drop the pictures in and the "Ken Burns" effect is done for you. This used to take me a lot of time in iMovie. I don't really care much for the way it incorporates music. It should automatically adjust the slide length to match the song length but for assembling the pictures it makes it too east.

I had the slideshow done when I showed up for the wedding but I did drop in one picture of them at the alter at the end and that one got a lot of response from the guests. The funniest part was the "official" photographer (who also drives a Mac) practically assaulted me and wanted to know the name of "that program."

Review - Time Capsule

I have been interested in the Time Capsule since it was announced at Macworld. I backup four computers in my home and 3 of the 4 drives kept at my home are over three years old. So I’ve been thinking it was time to replace a few of them and I’ve also been obsessing over getting my “N” speed hardware operating at “N” speed with a separate router and leaving the old router for the “G” devices on my network. So there I was thinking I’d buy some hard drives and a new router after the new year and Apple shows up with the Time Capsule. It seemed the perfect fit.

After looking at the cost of a large hard drive and a new router, I figured it would cost just slightly more to get the Apple device and I decided the premium would probably be worth it for ease of use and (yes) the aesthetic. Has anyone looked at most “N” routers? They have antennas sticking out at all sort of angles and look like a bad prop from Robbie the Robot.

I received the Time Capsule monday. As usual, Apple’s packaging is superb. Included in the box you get the Time Capsule, the power cord, and a package with the disc and some manuals. Unlike every other router I’ve ever bought, it did not include a short length of Ethernet cable. This really isn’t an issue for me since I already had the necessary cables but should be noted.

The disc included a new Time Capsule friendly version of the Airport Utility. In addition to adding specific support to the onboard drive, it also seems a bit more intelligent as to the set up help. I actually set up the Time Capsule on manual mode since I knew I wanted the 5ghz “N” radio operating and I figured it would be faster to do this myself. When I hooked up my older Airport to set the “G” network, the new software gave me a nice little pop up that said something like “Aha, I see you have another router plugged in. What would you like to do with it?” I clicked the “Bridge Mode” button and set the radio to “G” and I was done. I didn’t run a clock but the total set up time was less than 10 minutes.

Likewise, setting up the Time Machine backup was equally painless. I started with my wife’s MacBook that has about 75 gig of infrequently backed up data. I just told it to start and told her not to close the lid on her computer. When I got home for dinner it had already finished. I made a few small files and forced a backup that took under 30 seconds. I found that from about 15 feet, the wireless backup speed was about 10 gigs an hour. So far, I have 2 of the 3 computers getting backed up on the Time Capsule all done. My MacBook Pro, however, has been more of a challenge.

My MacBook Pro has about 170 gigs of data on it. I set it to do a wireless backup overnight. I knew it wouldn’t finish but I figured it could be done over two nights. It got nearly halfway the first night. I then “stopped” the backup and took it to the office. The second night I resumed the backup but when I woke up the next day things were wonky. It showed the status but didn’t seem to pick up on the 70 gigs backed up the night before. Anyway, the next night I tried to resume it and Time Machine gave me the “Preparing” bar for about 2 hours. According to the web, it was trying to sort itself out but I got impatient so I just hooked it up to the ethernet cable directly to the Time Capsule and told it to start over. Using the ethernet cable it uploads 10 gigs in about 45 minutes. It really isn’t much faster than over the air. Since this machine follows me out the door every day (and I leave pretty early), I decided to hold off on making the first backup of it until the weekend. Hopefully doing it one session will solve the problem.

So two of the three machines that need to be backed up on this drive are working fine. Other than the difficulty getting the first sync on my big MacBook Pro, everything seems peachy. The incremental backups don’t seem to noticeably slow things down (granted none of them are very big) and it provides that seamless wireless Time Machine I was hoping for. I’m not even sure if my wife, who has little interest in these things, is aware that her MacBook is backing up every hour.

My friend Victor Cajiao over at the Typical Mac User made an interesting postC questioning whether or not it really is a “server grade” hard drive. I guess time will tell on that issue but for now I’m pleased to have an easy solution. Interestingly, you can even mount an external USB drive to the Time Capsule and run your Time Machine off that. This of course begs the question of why this can’t be done with an Airport Extreme. So far Apple has been mum but at some point, someone is going to have to explain that.

There are some very sophisticated backup systems out there with varying degrees of complexity. I think the Time Capsule is a great device for laptop owners who want a routine Time Machine backup and simple set-up. In that regard, Time Capsule hits the mark. You can purchase a 500gb Time Capsule for $299 or a 1TB Time Capsule for $499 directly from Apple.

MacSparky on the Typical Mac User on March 9

Some of you may know my friend Victor Cajiao over at the Typical Mac User website and podcast does an excellent Sunday afternoon podcast over at TalkShoe.com where the listeners and hosts talk about all things Apple. Victor usually has outstanding guests. This week, however, he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel and I'll be co-hosting with him at 5:00 p.m. pacific time. We'll be talking about the new iPhone SDK, how I exist in a windows office with my Mac, my shiny new MacBook Air and anything else that comes to mind. I'd love to hear from the MacSparky readers so if you find yourself looking for amusement tomorrow afternoon, head on over to TalkShoe and join the fun.

The New MacBook Air

Okay. I am weak. It started as a small nugget of an idea at Macworld and germinated slowly. The middle part is foggy but tonight I find myself on my couch setting up a MacBook Air (the HD version) and not exactly sure how it all happened. I guess Apple has that effect on people.

Anyway, the MacBook Air is entirely unable to do about 30% of my computing (video, music, and a few other things) and perfect for the other 70%, especially the lawyer side of things like Scrivener, Keynote, the Omni applications and other things work related. It is so thin on the edge that I think I could shave with it.

Anyway, I'm just getting set up and will be reporting back as I get deeper into it. One nugget of information: I have an external USB DVD player that is about 3 years old. I plugged it in to the Air and it recognized it without problem. It is not as pretty as the Apple external drive, but it gets the job done. Looking through my pile of software the only three disks that need to be installed are iWork, Office, and the Airport Utility. Stay tuned!

iPhone SDK Hopes and Dreams

Just 12 hours until Apple lifts the curtain off the SDK for the iPhone. I'm never very good at predictions but I thought I'd go ahead and weigh in on my hopes for the iPhone in the coming year.

Task List Management

For the love of Pete, let me manage my tasks. I was very pleased to see Omni's #1 honcho, Ken Case post a comment this week on MacSparky about Omni's eagerness to get OmniFocus on the iPhone. I have complete faith that if it is at all possible, the Omni wizards will figure it out. This will be huge for me.

Break Me From the Web

There are several applications that have no business being web based. I decent business calculator, 1Password, a basic word processor, and an outliner (OmniOutliner please!) come to mind.

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

I had third party applications on my iPhone for a short time but reset it months ago. That being said there are some really nice third party apps that I would love to see brought into the official fold. The screenshot app and Flickr uploader come to mind but there are more.

Shock and Amaze Me

The iPhone is an entirely new platform. I'm sure there are people that have ideas I've never considered. I look forward to discovering them.

Hardware Support

A bluetooth keyboard could be a game changer for a lot of us. The device has a bluetooth receiver. Please Apple, throw the bloody switch.

A Word About Distribution

The iPhone is such a huge target, I'm alright with Apple acting as a gate keeper to make sure everything is safe. That being said, I really hope Apple does not abuse such a position. If they do they may find the world passes the iPhone by. I remember a time when Windows was a sad little platform that nobody thought could compete with the Mac. Lets hope Apple doesn't blow another lead by being close minded.

So what are you predictions? Only 12 hours left.

Time Capsule Initial Impressions

As my British friend,
Darren Rolfe, would say, I've been "under the Kosh" this week but things are getting back to normal. Set up of the Time Capsule was extremely easy. This was true even in light of the fact that I was setting up a dual wireless network to accommodate the various "N" and "G" devices in our house. I simply followed the new Airport Utility software's built in menus and was done in 10 minutes.

I set up my wife's MacBook first since it was the machine most desperately in need of a backup. I didn't tell her exactly what I was up to but told her not to close the lid for the day. When I got home from work it was done. I then set my MacBook Pro to do the same over night and it got about halfway the first night. I then "stopped" the backup and took it to the office. The second night I resumed the backup but when I woke up this morning the backup window looked a bit wonky. It showed the status but didn't seem to pick up on the 70 gigs backed up the night before. I should have taken a screenshot. Anyway, tonight I tried to resume it and Time Machine gave me the "Preparing" bar for about 2 hours. According to the web it was trying to sort itself out but I got impatient so I just hooked it up to the ethernet cable directly to the Time Capsule and told it to start over. Using the ethernet cable it just uploaded its first 10 gigs in 45 minutes. At this rate it will not be done by the time I need to leave for work tomorrow so I may be doing this again.

Other than the difficulty getting the first sync on my big MacBookPro drive it seems to be working great on my wife's MacBook. The incremental backups don't seem to noticeably slow things down (granted none of them are very big) and it provides that seemless wireless Time Machine I was hoping for. I'll be putting together a more detailed review for Surfbits this weekend.

Digging Out

Even uber-organized folks such as myself occasionally find themselves caught up in 16 hour days. I haven't had much time for Mac geekery as I dig out of this hole but can give a very short account of hooking up the Time Capsule.

I had almost no time to look at it but decided to give it 15 minutes last night. In that time, I was able to set it up and configure (with the new Airport software) the old router into bridge mode so I am now running dual "N" and "G" networks. I tested the over-air TimeMachine backup and get about 10 gig per hour. I got some sleep and found it had backed up 60 gb while I slept. Life should be more normal by tomorrow night and I'll have more information then.

Time Capsule Landing Today

Lately I've been obsessing about running a dual "N" and "G" network and getting a more reliable TimeMachine system for the laptops in my home. The Time Capsule seems to fit the bill. It is arriving today so I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Automator Walkthrough - Auto Save and Load Wallpaper

Every so often, I like to troll the archives of interfacelift for new wallpapers. It is a great site with plenty of interesting wallpapers and icons for your Mac. It even remembers your screen resolution so you can filter through only those wallpapers that fit your screen. I keep wallpaper images in a subfolder in my pictures folder. The problem is that once I find a good wallpaper there are a lot of clicks and drags involved getting the file into the wallpaper folder. No problem though. Automator to the rescue.

Step One - Start a new Custom Automator Project

Once Automator opens, start a "Custom" project.

Step Two - Tell Automator to get the Webpage

When you run this script, you'll already have the picture you want open in Safari. So the first step is to tell automator to get the current Webpage with the command, "Get Current Webpage from Safari" This can be found under the "Internet" category in Automator.

Step Three - Tell Automator to download the URLt

Next, Automator needs to download the URL to your wallpaper folder. This is done with the Automator action called "Download URLs" which can be found under the Internet tab. Drag it over and we are going to customize it.

Specifically, you need to tell it where to put the wallpaper file. It defaults on the "Downloads" file but that isn't a good place for wallpaper. First click the selection arrows...

Then click "other" and find your wallpaper folder.

At this point you could stop if you like. The Automator script will automatically grab your wallpaper and save it for you. I also wanted it to automatically load the file as my current wallpaper so I continued.

Step Four - Get Finder Item

In order to load the new wallpaper, Automator needs to select the file. Drag over "Get Specified Finder Items" from the Finder group.

Step Five - Load the Wallpaper

The final step is to take the selected file and load it into the desktop. There is an Automator task for this function called "Set the Desktop Picture" from the Finder group.

That is it. Four simple actions will save lots of clicking and dragging for all wallpaper addicts.

Step Five - Save the Action

Automator gives you a variety of ways to save your scripts. I'm going to save this one as a plug-in to the script button in my menu bar so I can get to it easily.

Save as a "Finder Plug-in"

And then it pops right out of your script menu and you are good to go.

Enjoy! If anyone comes up with any interesting tweaks to this action, let me know in the comments or email.