Invitation: Mobile Studio Seminar

Ynzal in cooperation with the Philippine Center For Creative Imaging will be conducting the Mobile Studio Seminar:

The seminar will feature Apple Aperture and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and will show how these tools can make post-production more efficient.

For additional details, please visit: http://ynzal.com/mobilestudio.html
To register, please send an email to events [at] ynzal [dot] com

Disclaimer: PinoyMacLovers is not affiliated with Ynzal or the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging. Please contact them directly if you have any inquiries.

The Arduous Task Of Reinstalling Windows XP

Every now and then, I am reminded why I am NOT so fond of Windows. My dad's laptop which runs on it has gone all wonky, so I decided to just reinstall the OS instead of trying to fix the numerous problems it had one by one. My intention was to erase everything and then reinstall XP. So I took out the installation discs (two recovery CDs, one software drivers CD and another one for Norton AntiVirus), did some stretches & took a few deep breaths, and began the arduous task of restoring my Dad's laptop to a decent working state. Long story short, after 3+ hours (littered with numerous alert messages, changing from one CD to another and one too many restarts), XP was reinstalled. But this would apparently NOT mark the end of my troubles, because when I checked my program files, I was surprised to see that all of my other programs from the previous installation were still there. As it turns out, I simply reinstalled Windows but did not reformat my hard drive. I suppose I only have myself to blame for expecting the whole process to be simple (or any process on a Windows system for that matter). On a Mac, if you wanted to reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, you run the installation disc and choose an option called "Erase and Install". It's THAT straightforward. But NOT in XP. Apparently (now that I know), you have to boot the recovery CD from the CD-ROM drive. To do this, you must power up the system, press F12 and select CD-ROM as boot device, insert recovery CD in CD-ROM drive, and press any key on the keyboard within 5 seconds once the "press any key to boot from CD" message appears. And then to format your hard drive, you'll have to press a few more keys, select partitions, remove partitions, create new partitions, etc... My point is, it's not that simple. And if you're the type of person who gets a heart attack with any alert message that pops up on your computer screen, you'll definitely have to find someone else to do this for you.

So here I am lamenting about the 3+ hours of my life wasted, all in vain because I have to do everything again hoping that things will go smoothly the second time around. But the next time my dad decides to get a new computer, I am telling him to get a Mac. He'll be much better off. And ultimately, so will I.

iBook G4 Still Available

I was doing some window shopping at Greenbelt last weekend and I came across a still-brand-new iBook G4 for sale at Avante (the electronics shop near Power Books at Greenbelt 4 2/F). I asked the sales guy how many of it they still had in stock and he said they had three left. If I remember correctly, it was the 14-inch model with the 1.42GHz processor. That was the last of the 14-inch iBook G4s which was discontinued in May of 2006, so those three remaining units must have been in Avante's stock room for a loooong time now. The price tag is Php 64,990, which to me seems way too expensive since you can get a MacBook that's more than twice as fast for around the same amount. But anyway, if any of you (for whatever reason) are still looking for an iBook G4, you can head on over to Avante. They probably still have it in stock since I was just there last week. It ain't exactly an iPhone, you know?

What Computer Should You Buy?

There's an interesting article at Macworld.com entitled What computer should I buy? I think it's a great article for those of you who are thinking of making the switch. It highlights a few of the great reasons why the Mac is a good choice, but also presents some points on why it may not be for everyone. So if you're deciding whether or not to jump into the world of Macs, go read the article, and hopefully it'll help you make a good decision.

Thanks to Roncastry for letting us know about the article.

Power Mac Center Updated July 2007 Training Calender

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

Tel: 729-7087 / 88
Email: training [at] powermaccenter [dot] com

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

iPhone Mania!

It has finally been released! And Apple fans in the US waited in line by the hundreds at their local Apple and AT&T stores to get their very own iPhones. For the rest of us who live outside the US, we'll just have to contend ourselves with internet pictures & videos, and hope that one day, the shelves of our local Apple retail stores shall also be lined with iPhones so that we, too, can have the chance to own this revolutionary phone, widescreen iPod and breakthrough internet device rolled into one.

Check these out:
iPhone unboxing photos on Flickr
Flickr group for pics taken using the iPhone
Pics of the iPhone being disassembled (gasp!) at ifixit.com

And here is a video of the iPhone being unboxed:


[via TUAW]

Ligaw Liham: 2007 Cinemalaya Finalist, Proudly Made On A Mac

Ligaw Liham, a film by Jay Abello, is one of the 10 finalists in the upcoming 2007 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Festival. It stars the very talented singer, Karylle, and newcomer John Michael Lee. This film also features two of Bacolod’s finest actors, John Gilbert Arceo and George Macainan. Ligaw Liham was shot entirely in Negros and beautifully pieced together on a Mac.

The film was edited seamlessly using Final Cut Pro HD on a fast Power Mac G5 2.5GHz Quad supercharged with the Blackmagic Decklink HD realtime engine and 1.22 terabytes of hard disk space.

Synopsis
Sometime in the 70’s, in a small town in Negros, the post office simply stops its operations. No one knew about this except for the postman and his caretaker. When Nor, the town simpleton, finds out about this secret, he finds an opportunity to sway to the dance of love when he assumes the identity of another man. Nor reads the letters hidden in an old warehouse and takes over the pen of Karen’s husband who was working in Saigon. Soon after, a correspondence between Nor and Karen takes place. And Nor finds himself truly falling in love.

I encourage you all to support Philippine independent cinema and watch Ligaw Liham at the CCP Theater on July 20-29, 2007. It will also be shown at the UP Cine Adarna, formerly UP Film Center, sometime in August, and at the Robinsons Galleria's IndieSine some time after. You may visit the Ligaw Liham website or Ligaw Liham on Multiply for more details.

Playing WMV Files On Your Mac

I looked at the downloads page of the Apple website today and saw that the Windows Media Player 9.0 for Mac was among the top 10 downloads. I was a bit surprised to see that a lot of people are still downloading this player since Microsoft had already ceased its development (which they announced in January 2006) and it also isn't universal binary. But if you're looking for a way to play WMV files on your Mac, don't worry. There are still a lot of great options out there such as...

VLC Media Player
The VLC Media Player is a cross-platform media player (which means it can run on many different operating systems). It supports a large number of video formats including WMV, WMA and ASF. Best of all, it's FREE! I've installed it on my Mac and I find it to be a great alternative to the QuickTime Player.

Download the VLC Media Player for Mac OS X

Flip4Mac
Flip4Mac's Windows Media® Components enables Mac users to play WMV files using the QuickTime player. This feature comes with the FREE trial version. You can also purchase software upgrades which give you added features such as the ability to import Windows Media files in QuickTime Pro and to export to WMV format using iMovie or Final Cut. Visit flip4mac.com to download WMV components for QuickTime and to get more information.

Related articles:
The VLC Media Player: A Great Alternative To The QuickTime Player
Perian: Adds QuickTime Support For Many Different Video Formats
Making Sure QuickTime Plays DV Files At High-Quality
Downloading Videos From YouTube And Playing FLV Files On Your Mac

Widget World: Sudoku Fun

Sudoku is this highly addictive numbers game where you have to place numerals in a 9x9 grid. But it has to be placed in such a way that each of the nine rows, nine columns and nine 3x3 internal boxes contain the numbers 1 to 9 without any of the numerals repeating themselves. It's definitely one of my favorite brain teasers. So if you're a Sudoku fan like myself, or simply want to try it out, then you might want to download the Sudoku Fun Widget by James Pitts. It's a great way to exercise those brain cells.

How Do You Type An Inverted Question Mark In Mac OS X¿

Just hold down shift + option + ? and you get ¿

Now go forth an invert your question marks!

Power Mac Center June-July 2007 Training Calendar

DISCLAIMER: PinoyMacLovers is not formally affiliated with the Power Mac Center. If you wish to attend any of their training seminars, please contact them directly to confirm the schedule.

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.