Al Gore: Champion Of The Environment And Mac Geek

I came across this while reading the May 28, 2007 issue of Time Magazine:


That's Al Gore in his home office in Nashville, Te-Nuh-Say (you gotta say it with that Southern twang). And you may have also noticed his set of not one... not two... but THREE ginormous Apple Cinema Displays. *DROOLS*. If you look closely, you'll also see a tiny white speaker underneath the middle display. I think it's one of the two tiny ones from the JBL Creature II three piece speaker system. Al Gore's quite the hip geek, isn't he? I also like his ergonomic desk chair. Really looks like it gives great neck and back support. He definitely needs a bigger desk though. And also, what on earth is that giant frog ornament on his wall all about? The image caption states that "Mind-map software and huge Post-it notes help him order his thoughts." Maybe he should try cleaning his office, too.

Name A Mac And Get A FREE Meal!

Someone sent me an email today about another person running a contest entitled "Name My Mac". Apparently, there is a recently acquired Mac out there that is in dire need of a unique name! And its owner is asking for creative suggestions from the Pinoy Mac lovin' community. If your name gets picked, you win a P500.00 gift certificate for a nice, hearty meal at the UCC! So c'mon and join the "Name My Mac Contest"!

The VLC Media Player: A Great Alternative To The QuickTime Player

The QuickTime Player isn't the only media player available for Mac users. If you're looking for an alternative, or are just curious to try out a different one, I would recommend the VLC Media Player. It handles various audio and video formats such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, etc... It also plays DVDs and VCDs, making it a suitable alternative to the Mac OS X standard DVD player as well. It can even handle VOB files ripped from DVD-Video discs (when I try playing VOB files using QuickTime, the audio doesn't come out). If I encounter any other video formats that I can't seem to play in QuickTime, I try opening it with the VLC Media Player and it usually works. What I also like about it is its ability to play in fullscreen mode, which in QuickTime is only a feature available in the not-so-free QuickTime Pro version. The VLC Media Player, on the other hand, is absolutely FREE. So give it a try!

Download the VLC Media Player

Power Mac Center May 2007 Training Calendar

Click to enlarge:


The Power Mac Center Flagship Store is located at Level 2, Greenbelt 3 Ayala Center, Makati City.

Telefax: 729-7087 / 88

Disclaimer: PinoyMacLovers is not formally affiliated with the Power Mac Center. Please contact them directly for any questions regarding these seminars.

Featured PinoyMacLover: Sam OhThe PinoyMacLovers iLove iPod Project Entry#4

Hello, dear readers! Today, we have another featured celebrity. Yey! Those of you who are big fans of the ETC channel should be familiar with the very lovely and vivacious Sam Oh - Rated Oh's host extraordinaire. She would like you to meet her iPod.


Her iPod, being of the 4GB white Nano kind, clearly gives her so much joy as you can see in the pictures. Yes, such is the happiness that this music player can bring into people's lives.

I also wanted to know what type of music she's into, so I asked her - "What's on your iPod?"

1. Dig by Incubus
2. Time to Say Goodbye by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli
3. Sand in My Shoes by Dido
4. Hear Me Out by Frou Frou
5. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

Quite an eclectic list, I should say. One that seems to be reflective of her overall style and personality, I might add.

Thanks for the lovely pictures, Sam! :)

Also check out:
PinoyMacLovers iLove iPod Project Entry#3

Power Mac Center April 2007 Training Calendar

The Power Mac Center in Greenbelt has been holding FREE monthly seminars for Mac users. Here's the April 2007 schedule:

Paid short courses are now available as well.

The Power Mac Center Flagship Store is located at Level 2, Greenbelt 3 Ayala Center, Makati City.

Telefax: 729-7087 / 88

For more information regarding these seminars, send an email to training [at] powermaccenter [dot] com.

Disclaimer: PinoyMacLovers is not formally affiliated with the Power Mac Center. Please contact them directly before you choose to attend any of their seminars.

How To Write An Enye (or an N with a tilde) On A Mac

To write an Enye (or an N with a tilde) - ñ - on your Mac, simply follow these steps:

(1) Press option + n on your keyboard, then release. You should see the tilde (the little squiggly line).

(2) Then press n (or shift + n for the uppercase version).

What other characters can I put a tilde on?
You can also put a tilde on the letter A and the letter O:

• option + n, a = ã
• option + n, o = õ

[UPDATE 22-March-2011]

If you want to type the n with a tilde on an iPhone or iPad:
1. Touch and hold the N key until the pop-up menu comes out
2. Slide your finger to the ñ key and release

Related articles:

• How to type the Apple symbol on a Mac
• How to type an inverted questions mark on a Mac

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Apple Releases 8-core Mac Pro

The Mac Pro is now available in a staggering 8-core 3GHz configuration. Now that is definitely one sexy beast.

I've been able to play around with a first gen Mac Pro at this local reseller near my house, but I've never actually been able to really use one as in for most of the regular things I do like graphic design and video editing. I keep fantasizing about how fast it would be to render a Final Cut Pro video project in one of those super machines (add in a few 30" Cinema HD Displays and that would most definitely bring me to an ultimate geekgasm).

Read more about this intensely arousing machine at apple.com/macpro.

The Griffin TuneFlex + AirClick - For A Functional In-Car iPod Music System

A few weeks ago, I posted some pictures of PinoyMacLovers reader Nic's very cool Mac home setup. Today, we are going to take a peek inside his automobile and see his very functional in-car music system.



His iPod sits securely on a Griffin TuneFlex docking cradle. It has a flexible stem which allows you to adjust the cradle's position to your liking. It also plugs into your car's 12 Volt accessory outlet allowing you to charge and power your iPod. TuneFlex is also equipped with a standard 3.5mm line-out port so you could easily connect it to your automobile's stereo system.


It also features a pass-through dock connector so that you can use it simultaneously with other devices like iTrip or AirClick.

Nic uses the Griffin AirClick so that he can easily control his iPod using the remote, which conveniently straps to the steering wheel (you can also attach it to the hand brake).
It has five simple buttons (pause/play, previous, next, volume up and volume down) which you can easily navigate through using your thumb without having to take your eyes off the road.

Mac OS X Tip: How To Create Zip Files

The ZIP file format is a very popular data compression format and is very useful if you want to maximize disk space. When I store items in my USB flash drive, I usually ZIP them in order to save space. You can easily create ZIP files on your Mac by following these very easy steps:

Right-click (or control + click) on the file or folder that you would like to ZIP, then click on "Create Archive"

Voila! All zipped up. And you can unzip these files even if you open them in Windows.

The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards Finalists

The list of nominees for the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards has been narrowed down to 5 entries per category. And I am so happy to announce that PinoyMacLovers has been chosen as one of the finalists for Best Technology Blog. Hooray! I am so excited! :)

Check out the roster of finalists.

Apple Training Seminars At The Power Mac CenterMarch 2007 Calendar

Click on thumbnails for larger view:



For more information, you can contact the Power Mac Center at 729-7087 / 88 or send an email to training [at] powermaccenter [dot] com.

More On Icon Creators For Mac OS X

In the previous post, I talked about the nice little application called Pic2Icon, which is a great tool to use if you want to create icons out of picture files. What Pic2Icon does is it uses the contents of an image or picture file to create an icon, which it then applies to that original image file. So in effect, the original image file, ends up having a thumbnail of itself. There are other icon creation programs out there that are able to convert images into actual Apple Icon Image files (this type of file has a .ICNS extension), instead of just creating thumbnails. These Apple Icon Images or ICNS files can then be used as icons for your Mac applications.

One such application that creates ICNS files is Iconverter by Extraneous Software. This FREE program allows you to convert image files into ICNS files. It supports formats such as JPG and PNG, to name a few. You can use it to convert single files or choose to process an entire batch. It also allows you to go the other way around and convert ICNS files into image files instead. Oh, and it lets you convert pictures into Windows Icons too (those files have .ICO extensions).

Pic2Icon vs Iconverter
Pic2Icon has options for anti-aliasing and adding drop shadows, while Iconverter does not. However, these are things that you can easily add when you create your images using a graphics editor like Adobe Photoshop. If you have a poor quality image to begin with, applying anti-aliasing and adding a drop shadow to it using Pic2Icon is NOT likely to result in a significant improvement in quality. Iconverter, on the other hand, can create actual ICNS files. This feature makes it the icon creator of my choice.

Free Icon Creator For Mac OS X

I've always wanted to create my own Mac OS X icons eversince I found a few cool ones while surfing for some nice artwork at DeviantArt.com. My problem was that I couldn't find a FREE application that could let me do so. The only thing I could find was IconBuilder by the IconFactory. It's a plugin for Adobe Photoshop designed to help you easily create icons. Price tag: $79(USD). Ouch! As much as I wanted to create my own icons, I wasn't willing to shell out that much money. Of course IconBuilder does come with a few extra features such as the ability to create 1024x1024 icons (that's LARGE - if your display has a resolution of 800x600, your icons would actually be BIGGER than your desktop) as well as the ability to create icons for Windows (can't imagine what I'd use that feature for). But really, all I wanted was a simple icon creator. And finally, after months of searching, I found Pic2Icon. Developed by Mike Margolis, Pic2Icon is an application that allows you to create icons out of picture files (supports TIFF, JPG, PNG and many other formats). And it's FREE! Yey! It also works great and has easy drag and drop functionality.

To create an icon, drag your picture file into the Pic2Icon well (for this example, I used the apple from the PinoyMacLovers logo, which I saved as a PNG file with a transparent background).


Voila! Pic2Icon turns the actual picture into its own icon, retains the transparency and applies anti-aliasing (prevents jagged edges).

Pic2Icon was created way back in 2002. The developer site seems to be unavailable now. But if you read the readme file, here's an exerpt from what the developer has to say about the cost of the application:

Besides being 100% freeware, Pic2Icon is 'Get Mike an internship at Apple doing Cocoa development'ware. Basically, whoever gets me the coolest internship at Apple this summer gets a registered copy of all future versions of Pic2Icon.

Thanks for developing this app, Mike Margolis. I do hope you got that Apple internship. :)

[UPDATE 2011-01-04]
Pic2Icon is a pretty old app and hasn't been updated in awhile. For something newer, you might want to try Img2Icns. You can download the free version that exports to .icns files and folder icons. The pro version lets you export iPhone icons and favicons, and lets you convert icons into images.

Also check out:
- Cute Mac Icons
- More On Icon Creators For Mac OS X

The PinoyMacLovers Me & My Mac Project Entry#3

Hello, fellow Mac lovers! Today we have some cool pictures of a sleek-looking blacBook and an awesome setup sent in by my friend and loyal reader, Nic. Take a lookie...

His home setup involves a large 40-inch Toshiba Regza flatscreen TV hooked up to his very lovely MacBook via a mini-DVI to VGA adapter.



And just a few feet away is his spacious desk where he can work and play using his Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.



This is definitely one pretty cool setup.

Thanks, Nic!

Also check out:
The PinoyMacLovers Me & My Mac Project Entry#2

Disclaimer: The PinoyMacLovers Me & My Mac Project is an independent project and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved in any way by Apple, Inc. The use of any of the images featured in this project, in whatever manner and for whatever purpose, is prohibited without express and written authorization from the author.