Hey just a quick post, my video I made of the iTunes 8 Visualizer was picked up by Mac Rumors. This might not interest you all, but it a big deal for an up and coming blogger like myself. Thanks to everyone who check out the video, and commented about it. I very much appreciate the support. That video is picking up about 700 views an hour because of MacRumors and Digg.

Mac Rumors Post: http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/09/odds-and-ends-new-shuffles-in-ear-headphones-first-impressions-and-more/

Viddler Link: http://www.viddler.com/explore/ATLChris/videos/13/

Just a quick video to show off the new iTunes 8 visualizer. Steve never mentioned it at the “Let’s Rock” event, but it is new, and pretty amazing. Sorry about the low quality.

UPDATE: I also put a copy of the video on YouTube by request of some of my readers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azaO7xsksM4

Hot off the press, Apple C.E.O. Steve Jobs just announced a new function in iTunes 8. This function called Genius is essentially Pandora. Based on rating, number of plays, and style of music, iTunes 8 will make other recommendation of artist and songs it thinks you will like. The Genius function will also analyze your library and create playlist based on the artist. Like Pandora, this will auto create playlist of music that sounds alike. I think it is a functionality that is well over due to iTunes which is now the largest distributor of music in the US.

This service seems like a compelete rip of the famous service my Pandora Music. Most people are saying that this is a welcome addition to iTunes because Pandora is doomed to shutdown soon.

So I have received a couple of emails and comments from people asking what apps I have actually purchased for my Macbook Pro and my iPhone, so I decided to write a post letting everyone know what apps I think are just so totally awesome that I have actually spent money on them.

I will start with my Macbook Pro. I have had my MBP for a while now, so I have really had the chance to explore a lot of the apps that are made for OS X. I was a windows man up until I purchased this machine so I had ZERO Mac OS X apps in my collection.

Adobe Photoshop CS2

I lucked out with this program. As many of you know, Photoshop runs for about $650 at most locations. Well I was able to snag a CS2 version (slightly outdated, currently on CS3) on Craigslist for just $100.00. That is a heck of a deal! I use Photoshop regularly so it was my very first purchase after I got my new MBP.

Price Paid: $100.00
Homepage: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/index.html

As you all already know, I am loving my new iPhone. While the phone itself is awesome, the true enjoyment of the phone comes from the third party apps. Below I am going to walk you through the useful apps I have choose to follow me everywhere I go. This list is only the useful apps; I am going to review games in Part 3 of my iPhone coverage.

If you think I am missing some great apps, please let me know so I can check them out.

WeatherBug

The default weather app on the iPhone SUCKS! It is missing a lot of information that one might want when looking for a weather report. WeatherBug gives you all the normal stuff like current temp, heat index, humidity, and a few day out forecast, but what I really find useful is that WeatherBug allows you to view radar maps that use the Multi-Touch pitch zoom functionality.

While I have had some issues with the radar maps not loading completely, it has not really bugged me. WeatherBug also allows you to view weather webcams around your area. Also, you can track multiple locations very easily.

iTunes Download Link: WeatherBug

Twitteriffic

As most of you know, I am a twitter fanatic. I love posting tweets when I am away from my computer. I have been doing this for sometime via text message, but now I can easily post tweets without using up my text messages.

Twitteriffic has some nice extras too. You can post photo tweets directly from Twitteriffic as it is integrated with the Twitpic.com service. Twitteriffic also uses the built in iPhone GPS to update your profile on Twitter with your exact location. I find this to be a little to intrusive on my privacy. I don’t want people knowing exactly where I am all the time so I don’t use this function.

There are 2 versions of this app, a free version and a pay, I use the free because well, it is free. The only real difference is that with the free version, you see an ad appear in your Twitteriffic home screen. This does not bug, because the ads are tastefully done, and placed in non annoying locations.

Additional Note: Twitteriffic is very complex and might be overwhelming at first, but read the hints and give yourself some time to figure out how it all works then you will love it!

Associated with: http://www.Twitter.com/
iTunes Download Link: Twitteriffic

OK, so I was not planning to purchase an iPhone, but about 3 weeks ago I was told that my company was taking away our Blackberrys. They were scheduled to shut them off on August 1st, and I found out it was for sure on July 24th. Well, that didn’t leave me much time to get a new phone so I rushed over to the AT&T store to order a 16GB Black iPhone. I ordered it in about 15 minutes. The store clerk said 5 to 7 days arrival, so I was not to worried that it would make it to me by August 1st.

I started reading up on Mac Rumors and the Mac Forums only to find that people were seeing 2 to 3 week waits on 16GB iPhone orders. This got me worried so on July 29th, I woke up at 6 A.M. to go stand in line at the Apple store. I didn’t want to wait in line, but at this point I had no choice. Got in the line at 7:15 A.M. to find about 30 people in line ahead of me. At 8 A.M. the store opened and around 8:30 A.M. I was given my “Chocolate Factory Gold Ticket.” At this point I could have left and came back to the store later that day to pick it up but I didn’t have to be to work till 10 A.M. and I worked about .5 miles away. So I waited and waited and waited. 10 A.M. comes and goes, I am about 5th in line so I am just waiting. After I call into work and say I am stuck in traffic, I finally get into purchase my iPhone at about 10:15 A.M. I was a new AT&T customer and I was NOT porting a number so I figured the activation process would be easy. Well it was, it took about 15 Minutes and I was on my way with a working iPhone.

As for my AT&T order, I called and was told I had to wait till the iPhone was received in store to cancel the order. So I waited and waited. Well today, August 5th, I finally got a email that the iPhone was in store. I went to the store, and canceled my order. Oh, and it took about 25 minutes to cancel the order which is CRAP!

OK, so I have been a full week with my new iPhone. Let me remind you that I never even touched a 2G iPhone. I did have a iPod Touch that came with my new MBP. Yea, so let me just say:

In this guide, I am going to show you step by step, how to upgrade ram in a early 2008 model Macbook Pro. I am upgrading my 2.4GHz/200GB Macbook Pro from 2GB of RAM up to 4GB. Th process is very easy, but you still need to take it slow so you don’t damage your beautiful Macbook Pro.

BEFORE YOU START:

I would recommend you do this on a table, in a uncarpeted room, doing this on carpet can create static electricity which can fry your whole machines. Also, make sure you shutdown, NOT SLEEP, your Macbook Pro. Finally, disconnect all wires (USB, Firewire, Power,…)

A few days ago, I reviewed my first ever purchased program, Media Link, for my new Macbook Pro. Well today I am going to review another product I decided to purchase; it is called Awaken from Embraceware. Ultimately it is an alarm clock and sleep timer for any Mac and iTunes. It is very customizable in that it has many options to set from volume, to playlist, and more.

I have mainly been using the program as a sleep timer so my Macbook Pro will sleep after a specific amount of time. This allows me to fall asleep with my iTunes playing but not worry about running my laptop all night long. I created a custom playlist called sleep, set the timer to 1 hour and that is it! 1 hour later my MBP goes to sleep!

I use a real alarm clock to wake me up so I have not played with the wake functions, but I know it will wake up a Mac from sleep to activate the alarm clock. It also allows you to set a different alarm for each day, and you can completely customize each day!

It is a very beautify written application. The style is at par with Mac standards, and it is very tough with customization options and advanced functionality. I have only touched on all this program has to offer, for more information please browse over to http://www.embraceware.com/software/awaken/. It is a messily $12.95 and comes with updates for life! For many years I looked for something like this on Windows, but never had any luck. Awaken works on both Intel and Power Macs, but sorry no Windows!

Price: $12.95
Trial: YES, 14 Days (Full Functionality)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Official Site: http://www.embraceware.com/software/awaken/

About 2 weeks ago I purchased a brand new Macbook Pro. I am totally new to OS X so I am discovering all kinds of new goodies. One of which is called MediaLink by NullRiver Inc. MediaLink bridges the gap between the PlayStation 3 and Apple’s OS X.

The PlayStation 3 doubles as a media server, with Windows this is done very easily using Window’s Media Player, but with Mac, this is a problem. MediaLink turns your Mac into a media server that your PS3 can see. It is very easy to setup, and runs hidden in the background.

One of the greatest functions of it is how well it organizes your files, if you want to watch a episode of Diggnation a video podcast you have in iTunes, then you just select iTunes > Podcast > Diggnation just like in iTunes, it even provides a Quick Look like preview!

MediaLink is available for $20.00 from NullRiver.com. A trial is available but it is limited to 30 minutes of continuous use. I downloaded the trial and ended up purchasing the product with in 20 minutes! It works great, it might even work better then Windows Media Player did!

The only negative I have found is that sometimes the PlayStation 3 has a issue seeing the MediaLink server. This is solved in 2 seconds by opening the MediaLink preferance panel, and stopping the server then restarting it!

So of you might have heard from my tweets, or my status updates on various sites, that I recently bought a Macbook Pro. Below is a list of the specs in the model I purchased:

• 15.4 inch Matte Screen
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB Memory
• 200GB Hard Drive
• Double-layer SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

I purchased it from the Apple Store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. I originally went into the store expecting to buy a 2.5GHz/250GB/Glossy model, but the lady in the store talked some sense into me! I decided to go for the smaller processor because of the $400.00 difference, I just didn’t see it being justified, and also I was coming for a 1.8GHz windows machine, so I figured 2.4GHz was plenty of an upgrade. I also changed my mind on the Glossy/Matte because of the need for real colors in my designs and photography. I am very surprised at how well I like the Matte, because my old laptop was Glossy.

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