Mac Stuff

[PN]

A request has been made by one of our members to start a "New Mac" thread. I think this is a good idea, because we have members who are strongly considering purchasing a Mac, or who (like me) have recently acquired one.

A word of caution for anyone who may be purchasing a Mac from Amazon: find out if this machine will be coming with Leopard preinstalled. There were some early hardware problems (screen dimmed on one side, sudden freezes) on a small minority of the aluminum iMacs. These problems have been resolved, but you don't want to buy old stock.

So far all I can say is that my new aluminum iMac is an elegant machine, very quiet, and seems quite snappy.

Thanks!

[Chaz19]

good idea! To start off -- has anyone had experience running Dragon both in parallels and in bootcamp?
I also found a hack that allows you to dictate into Mac applications but it appears to be way over my head and was wondering if anyone else has played around with it.

[PN]

Hello Chaz,

I decided to go with Windows XP in Apples Boot Camp and, from there, use Dragon. I purchased iListen to use with Leopard. Unfortunately, I am still installing software and getting things set up but I should have an update early next week.

I went with Boot Camp because I was hearing that other DNS users were encountering problems using Parallels. I am now more interested in VMware Fusion because it recognizes multiple processors and it is just plain faster than Parallels.

I'm sure we will hear from Liz when the time is right.

[Rrrrronnn]

Here's a pic again of my 24" iMac. 2.4 ghz, 2 gigs of ram, BBIG FFFAT Screeeeen ~ It's sweeeet...

[RSieck]

Ok...I'm a idiot when it comes to Macs. But I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with a Mac for my next computer...My Dell Laptop is just to slow--and windows...ugh...

So can I use most all the same programs on a Mac? What kind of OS do they use? Whats a good one to get? I want another laptop.

The last Mac I used was the size of a suitcase and the only color on the screen was green. This was way back in the early 90's when I was in elementery school.

[Scott Pruett]

So can I use most all the same programs on a Mac?
Generally speaking, yes.

What kind of OS do they use?
they come loaded w/ Mac OS X: http://www.apple.com/macosx/

Whats a good one to get? I want another laptop.
10:1 says a 13" MacBook would fit your needs: http://www.apple.com/macbook/

[McDuff]

Bought a MacBook Pro for my wife for Christmas(I'm on it right now). First Mac I ever played with(been a PC guy for decades), gotta say it is very fast and responsive. Seems very intuitive also, one of the reasons I bought it for her, as a Potter she is not a computer person. Figured she'd be safer online too.

If you work for a "bigger" company, check and see if they are involved with the Apple EPP program, saved me quite a few bucks.

[Lizbv]

I downloaded iListen 1.8. the install is very smooth, download great, and u can re download up to 50 times until a date in 08. I have no idea what commands to use but I figure that I will print off the command list sometime this weekend, I just haven't had the time. I did dictate a little and trained two additional reading sessions for iListen of 31 sentences each. The training is very similar to Dragon. I am using my VXI Talkpro headset with Andrea USB Pod. I never have cared for the Andrea USB pod because I think using it with Dragon makes dictation worse, so generally just plug in the talkpro. Nontheless, iListen requires a USB microphone. I did find that iListen works best with quiet environment rather than with Dragon, I can have a little noise in the background. maybe this will change once iListen gets more familiar with my voice?

A few weeks ago, I attempted to load Dragon on Parallels. guess (by default?) only loaded 512 of memory for parallels when it is running? To install, I have to load dns 7.0 pro, then upgrade to my disk of dns 8.0. dns 8 wouldnt completely install because there wasnt sufficint space? so, i had to delete 7.0 and dns 8 upgrade cd in order to run parallels. help?? shouldn't I be able to load both programs?

i haven't done any more w trying to reinstall dragon n parallels because i may be getting the latest version of dragon thru my work, it just may be a few weeks.

----------------------
Bootcamp:
haven't tried installing Dragon as I think its best that I wait till I get the full version 9.5, instead of using 7 & 8 (upgrade cd).

----------------------

RSeick:
All of the office programs are very compatible with Apples iWork program. There is Office for Mac too.

Chaz- How is Dragon, Parallels and/or Bootcamp going for you?

Ronnnn- Nice fish! :)

[b-man]

i've been on a mac for 15 years now (since i was hurt) from a laptop with
4 meg of ram to a power mac9600 to a g4 then g5. this month bought a
imac with that big 24 inch screen so i can run windows. unfortunantly i don't have the money to buy the windows operating system yet. yikes!

the only problem i've had with lepoard so far is my photoshop 7 is not
compatible with it. so until i sell my g5, i won't have the money for a
program i use everyday.

i haven't used a voice recognition software for a while, but i'm getting
tired of typing with my pinky. i don't really like headsets so i''ll have to
see how well they work with my imic. has anyone here used an imic with
a voice recognition program?

[dgrotz]

PN requested that I post our pm about parallels, vmware, and iListen so here it is:

I'm not sure what happened with parallels for me. I went to reinstal and it wouldn't let me, even dl the new version but had the same problem. Tech suport, user furom, and FAQ's were no help so I decieded to give VMware a try and I'm very happy with it, just a better UI and easier to use imo.

To be honost I don't use iListen much thse days but I have it installed and it does work for me. It took a lot of training, reading stuff it gives you but then it keeps learning as you use it. I would say it has descent accuracy (with a good mic). I tried dragon about 4 years ago and I was not happy at all with it's accuracy, it may be better now idk.

[PN]

Dave, thanks!

Your experience with these programs may help us to make a better decision before we buy/purchase these items, etc.

[Lizbv]

I am a complete NERD. I was at Comp USA last night and they are closing their stores and so all items are REDUCED! There were copies of VMWARE and so I got one, it was 30% off God Bless Us All (love a sale)! Now, I am not liking the way Parallels performs on my MacBookPro as several times it has crashed or not loaded properly. I am going to try VMWARE. Now, to find more hours in the day?

uS cRIPS should be PAID to test these goodies!

-------------
got this email in my inbox- fyi


Dear MacSpeech Customer,

At the upcoming Macworld Expo in San Francisco MacSpeech will show why 2008 is a year of exciting changes. It is at this very important event that MacSpeech — the industry leader in speech recognition on Macintosh — takes the wraps off of the future of speech recognition on the Mac platform.

If you are attending Macworld Expo (January 15-19, 2008), be sure to visit us at Booth #S-607 where you will discover what true speech recognition on the Mac is all about. If you are not attending Macworld Expo, be sure to stay tuned to the MacSpeech website at http://www.macspeech.com for important details and information about our latest in Macintosh speech recognition.

We look forward to showing you why 2008 is when everything changes for speech recognition on the Mac.

Sincerely,
MacSpeech, Inc.

[dgrotz]

I got that email earlier as well, sounds like they have something good for us:applaud:, tell us how you like VMware then.

[Chaz19]

(i wrote this last night & just posted)
Hey liz -- parallels and Dragon works well although they are not as smooth and quick as I would like them to be. I've been able to write reports and other large dictations completely on DragonPad the accuracy wanes depending upon how many other programs I have running. In my opinion it is still better than working with Ilisten.
I had a hell of a time with that program and tried various microphones including the expensive array. I worked on training for over a month but it seemed as time passed my recognition dropped below 90%.

Right now -- I just dictated this little bit on to DragonPad using my Macbook's built-in microphone. I got sick and tired of all the extraneous wires and widgets. If I speak clearly enough it works well although I'd be game to entertain other options if Ilisten's recognition rates improved. It can be tiresome cutting and pasting text from parallels to Safari and/or Word.

If I had some extra cash & time I would try VMware. or give these hacks a try.
http://forum.parallels.com/thread2721.html

Let me know your thoughts on ilisten...im curious ;)

[Chaz19]

I got that email earlier as well, sounds like they have something good for us:applaud:, tell us how you like VMware then.

I hope they do.

[Wise Young]

I have been following this discussion with great interest. I wonder why Dragon has not made a OSX version. The Mac market is quite a substantial market. While Windows has more machines in the office, Macs are being used more often in homes. iListen 1.7 is the only comparable program for the Mac.

Charles Moore is one of iListen's most consistent advocates and praises the program (). It has a large library of 330,000 words developed in cooperation with Oxford University. It is Applescript compatible and can execute macros http://www.amazon.com/MacSpeech-Inc-iListen-Mac/dp/B0000C6EOL (http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/il16.shtml\Source[/url)

However, at least one reviewer has suggest that the accuracy of the word translations tops out at about 90% (Source (http://www.atpm.com/12.09/ilisten.shtml)). Version 1.6.1 was not completely hands-free (Source (http://www.macworld.com/article/26662/2003/10/ilisten16.html)). It is intresting when a number of people complained about the accuracy and difficulty of using iListen, Chuck Rogers who is the Chief Evangelist for MacSpeech wrote on 10/25/07 that they should contact their help department and they will get people up and going with a high accuracy voice recognition:
http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=9614
Anyone who is having problems with iListen should contact our support department. In nearly 100% of the cases where someone experiences a problem, we have been able to get them up and running with excellent accuracy in very short order.

Speech recognition is the hardest thing you will ever ask your computer to do, and it is especially hard to do on a Mac (for a variety of reasons). MacSpeech has outlasted IBM on the platform an there are no other competitors. Why? Because our software works exceptionally well.

I would like to remind anyone who worries about that to remember that if it didn't work well, we would NEVER get a good review. We get plenty of good reviews and comments as well. You can see links to some of the good reviews at [url]http://www.macspeech.com/reviews. You can see testimonials at http://www.macspeech.com/testimonials.

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc. (10/25/2007, Version: 1.7.1)



http://www.atpm.com/12.09/ilisten.shtml

[Chaz19]

Their support (macspeech) is indeed excellent & helpful. I spoke with them on a variety of different occasions but my experience with the software was still unpredictable and aggravating. On the other hand Dragon's support is costly and bogged down-- yet their product is g8.
I suggested to them to look into OSX but never received a response.

[metronycguy]

i was in the Apple store in soho tonight , they was a presentation on this new bento program , it is pretty cheap 49 bucks and there is free 30 day trial. it looked like a good program, one of the reason's didn't like macs were the lack of a decent organization , very poor compared to windows office.
the address book in the mac was severely lacking, entourage was not a comparable product , was missing journal features .
i also heard th enew macpro came out 3 days ago, they had one in the store but i forgot to go look at it .

[Chaz19]

does anyone use a seperate journaling program regularly? I found a freebie -- 'diary' on the Apple site but it is overly simple and dated.

Any suggestions?

[metronycguy]

i wonder if bento has the journral feature, i asked the designer last night, he wasn't that clear on the answer.
it almost wanted to make me buy a mac , but i still got to check out andy;s hardwire and prices comment!
bento has a feature that i really like , it make sit very easy to do a spreadsheet calculation's, this to me will pay for itself.
i have mileage for medical stuff that is probably over 1000, th last time i did it i had a accountant help write the program in excell. i think i could easily do it in bento.
everhting you do in bento as far as ical and address it auto upgraded in whatever device sync to your mac, like iphone and itouch

[PN]

I recently installed Windows XP using Apple's Boot Camp. I didn't want to have to spend or waste any time trying to get Dragon or Real VNC to work with another computer using Parallels or VMware. It took me about 15 or 20 minutes to install Dragon on the new iMac. XP works very well on the iMac, and I would say that I have a very fast Windows machine.

One of the drawbacks to Windows is having to install security software for protection.

I was planning on installing iListen yesterday but I encountered a scheduling conflict. After reading some of the user reviews for iListen, it looks like I will need at least an hour to go through the process, along with the training. I should have this task completed before Thursday, and will post my results.

[McDuff]

Ok, stupid Q by Mac newbie:

What is the simplest way to just burn a cd? Wife's new MacBook Pro laptop came with all the usual Apple apps, just don't see burn cd anywhere.

[trainman]

Put in your writable DVD/CD into the drive and open your finder (face on bottom left). The blank disc will show up in the left hand side of the finder, drag the info you want onto the disc's icon. When you're finished, go to that disk using the finder and there will be a "burn" button on the top right.

It's pretty much just drag and drop, fairly easy once you're used to it.

[Broknwing]

Ok, stupid Q by Mac newbie:

What is the simplest way to just burn a cd? Wife's new MacBook Pro laptop came with all the usual Apple apps, just don't see burn cd anywhere.
if you want to do photos, select the photos you want(make sure the cd is in the drive) then go to the "SHARE" drop down tab and choose "BURN".

If you want to do music in iTunes, it's similar, except that there's also a button on the bottom right corner so you don't have to go into the menu...

[McDuff]

So, do we have to actually load the data(music) into a "real" spot on the comp first? I'm used to burning music on a pc doing a read/burn where the s/w just uses a temp area that then gets auto deleted. iTunes imports the cd into your lib automatically.

[SCI-Nurse]

Easiest to download it to iTunes, then burn the CD, and if you want to, you can then easily delete the data from iTunes, or alternatively just leave it there in a separate library so you can later put it on an iPod when desired.

(KLD)

[McDuff]

What's the best s/w to d/l to view a .wmv file on a Mac?

[Scott Pruett]

What's the best s/w to d/l to view a .wmv file on a Mac?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx

use quicktime. :)

[McDuff]

Ok. I saw that, just thought it seemed weird that the best would come from MS, but I guess since they didn't write it, it's ok. :)

[Wise Young]

Ok. I saw that, just thought it seemed weird that the best would come from MS, but I guess since they didn't write it, it's ok. :)

McDuff, .wmv stands for windows media file. Windows provides a program for Mac computers to view their files. It is buggy windows software but you can't beat its free price. Here are several Mac alternatives.

• Flip4Mac™ which allows you to view .wmv files using Apple's Quicktime program. The free version allows you to view low resolution files. The purchasable version gives you more bells and whistles for $29. The latest version of Leopard-compatible flip4mac is at http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28842

• Xilisoft Video Converter DvX http://www.xilisoft.com/video-converter-mac.html will convert most video formats to others ($49) with versions for PowerPC and also for Intel Macs.

• Other Mac Programs to convert wmv files to other formats http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/wmv-codec-mac.html including files that can be used on ipod and iphone.

• Shareware programs to convert from one format to another are available from many programmers and, while they are free, they are usually not supported and not upgraded for each version of the OSX. http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/news/index.cfm?newsid=20020

Wise.

[Lizbv]

I'm sooo happy I bought a MAC. Not one thing I'm unhappy about, XCEPT.......sometimes Parallels won't load and have to restart computer. I use it mainly for remote access to my work. No more updates on Dragon. sorry I apologize. I just would rather wait now due to this dragon version for MAC coming, for $29 instead of trying to solve my install issues I previously have experienced.

Such a lot of $ for a MAC but so worth it in every way.

[McDuff]

Wise, thanks for the various links they will come in handy, you definitely are a Mac guru. That one that Scott linked and I d/l'ed was the free version of the Flip4Mac, seems to work fine for now. Just for the record y'all, I admit I am a Mac newbie, but I am well versed in most anything pc. I was in pc chip design for many years, I was the Mgr of the Physical Design group that did all the Cyrix coprocessors & processors(seems eons ago). Now off into Network processors. I have "gone over to the darkside" to many of my old friends, getting a Mac for my wife. :)

Liz, I too think that this was a wise decision, though a pricey one. I feel much better about my wife becoming more computer literate using this machine. She never liked using pc's.

My only 2 gripes so far. It is more work to burn a cd than on a pc. Three mouse clicks and you had a copy. Here you import to iTunes, grab songs, drop into a playlist, then tell it to burn. Minor, but would think that since this is an "artists" machine, I would think it easier.

Second, so far I really miss having a "right click" that brings up a menu. Just a learning curve, but razzafrazzin. :)

[Rrrrronnn]

...My only 2 gripes so far. It is more work to burn a cd than on a pc. Three mouse clicks and you had a copy. Here you import to iTunes, grab songs, drop into a playlist, then tell it to burn. Minor, but would think that since this is an "artists" machine, I would think it easier.

Second, so far I really miss having a "right click" that brings up a menu. Just a learning curve, but razzafrazzin. :)

As far as burning files quicker, note the attached pic and follow these steps:

1. Highlight what you want burned, as I did in my Latest Exams Folder. This could just as well be your Music folder.

2. Click the file menu and choose Burn "xx" Items to Disc (in this case it was 3 items)...

3. In the dialog box that pops up, give the CD/DVD a title and click burn.

Three clicks baby!


As far as the "right click", put your mouse over a file, and hold the Control key as you click. This is the Macs Right Click. If you have a 2 button mouse or trackball, you can program the extra button with this option. If you are using a touchpad on a laptop, I believe tapping the pad with 2 fingers while over a file brings up the right click as well.

[McDuff]

See, that's why the web is so great. Either this or I could RTFM(read the f'in manual) :)

It is a laptop and the 2 finger click works great(how do it know?) for a "right click.

Since most music burns will already be from inside iTunes, your 3click method looks to hold promise. Thanks again. Part of the fun of new stuff is playing and tweaking(well for me anyway, not the wife).

[Rrrrronnn]

These are better than reading the manual...

Videos!

http://www.apple.com/macosx/guidedtour/ <-- Click the Watch it, then after that on the bottom left there are Find Out How videos.

Text based with lots of step-by-step and pic examples. Check out switch 101...

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

[PN]

Hi, Liz. I believe the crossgrade update for MacSpeech Dictate, if iListen was purchased in 2007, is $99. If you purchased iListen in 2008, then the price is approximately $28 for the upgrade.

Listening to reports from the MacWorld Expo, MacSpeech Dictate uses the Dragon Speech engine, and is reported to be a level or more above iListen. It takes about five minutes to train and it is being compared to DNS 9.0.

I heard that iListen will go on sale and the price will vary anywhere from $29 to $49. If you purchase iListen for $29 in 2008 then you can see how you will save some money on the upgrade to MacSpeech Dictrate.

I had to uninstall iListen and right now I do not have time to go into the details.

I really miss the ClickLock feature for the mouse on Windows, and I have sent a letter to Developer Technical Support on this issue.

One other question: Do you need to be concerned about third party cookies using the Safari Browser or Firefox when using the Mac? I always deny third party cookies on my Windows machine.

[Chaz19]

i found dis here little addon to itunes a few nights ago when i wanted to fall to sleep to NPR... maybe apple will add on this feature in the future.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16377

[PN]

I reinstalled iListen yesterday without any problems. After I went through the five-minute training, my accuracy was about 50 percent. It is recommended that you continue to do the training until your accuracy is 90 percent. This could take an hour. I have iListen 1.7 and need to upgrade to 1.8 in order to get the crossgrade discount for MacSpeech Dictate. It looks like the price has now dropped from $99 to $79.

I am not able to highlight sentences or paragraphs using my Kensington Expert Mouse with Leopard. I called Kensington Tech Support and they are working on a new software release for Leopard.

iListen will not work with Firefox. When I tried to exit iListen after using Firefox, the computer froze. I was not able to do a force quit, so I had to do a hard boot to turn the computer off.

iListen seems to work fine using Safari.

[Scorpion]

Generally speaking, yes.


they come loaded w/ Mac OS X: http://www.apple.com/macosx/


10:1 says a 13" MacBook would fit your needs: http://www.apple.com/macbook/
What Scott said. :)

[Chaz19]

Is there a way to add a dictionary option to 'ctrl-click??

[Broknwing]

Is there a way to add a dictionary option to 'ctrl-click??

If you use FireFox and have the Google bar, there's a dictionary search that you can get to with ctrl-click...Is that what you were looking for?

[Kristi]

What is up with iChat? I cannot get on video chat with my friend Jeremy who has a Dell and this has been going on since Christmas. I rarely use iChat, but would like for it to work when I DO use it.

[Broknwing]

i thought it was just mine!!!! i was gonna ask you to test mine out for me :( I was talking to a friend with a pc as well & it wasn't working...
well, text was but no a/v...GRRRR idk...

[Chaz19]

If you use FireFox and have the Google bar, there's a dictionary search that you can get to with ctrl-click...Is that what you were looking for?

hmmm...that may be. These days I'm reading so many articles and books in PDF or .doc and I was wondering if there was a plug-in or something that could be added to the control click function so I could find the definitions of-so-many-words I don't know faster then cutting and pasting to the dashboard dictionary.

I'll give your idea go. Thanks ;)

[Broknwing]

you're welcome...no problem...hope it helps solve your dilemma... :) Honestly I didn't know it was there until you asked...I did the control click on my screen to see what options I got & there it was...I knew I had a bunch that I never used...I guess Google is good for a lot of things huh?

[Kristi]

i thought it was just mine!!!! i was gonna ask you to test mine out for me :( I was talking to a friend with a pc as well & it wasn't working...
well, text was but no a/v...GRRRR idk...

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6042325�

Apparently we aren't the only one having the same problem. It looks like it has to deal with Leapord and those that don't have it.

[Zeus]

What is up with iChat? I cannot get on video chat with my friend Jeremy who has a Dell and this has been going on since Christmas. I rarely use iChat, but would like for it to work when I DO use it.
If your friend has a Dell, then they're presumably using AIM to video-chat with you through iChat?

iChat and AIM have always been flaky - sometimes they work, sometimes nothing. Leopard 10.5.2 (due any day now) should fix a BUNCH of bugs in Leopard, so iChat may work better then.

If you want a PC to Mac video-conference, Skype is the most robust connection by far.

Chris.

[Kristi]

Thanks Cspanos. I'll try that. You are correct in him using AIM for his video chat and we kept getting the same errors.

[PN]

I am strongly considering purchasing Apple's Time Capsule. This product will wirelessly sync with my iMac and back up the entire drive, including both operating systems. I was thinking that if the hard drive suffers a mechanical crash in the iMac, it would take me hours along with days to completely restore everything. $300 for the 500GB model should suffice. This device will probably work with Apple TV, so I am in a way purchasing for the future. My only concern is that the price may drop precipitiously.

http://images.apple.com/timecapsule/images/overview_timecapsule_20080115.png

[dgrotz]

That thing is nice but a little pricey, any NAS unit will work, the computer has the software to make easy backups, the newest OSX anyways, LeCei 500GB NAS is $185 1TB $220.

I do like apple stuff better if I have the money but in this case idt it matters that much.