Technabob » os x

Real Racing 2 for OS X Gets iPhone Steering, Costs 13x More Than iOS Version

Conner Flynn — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:00:48 +0000

If you are the kind of gamer who likes to twist and turn your device to control your game (Wii owners, I’m talking to you) and you feel the need for speed, you will love Real Racing 2. The OS X version of the title will allow you to steer your vehicle using just your iPhone or iPad.

The OS X version has everything the iOS version has, just on a bigger screen. You get a 16 car grid, Quick Race and Career modes, 15 racing tracks and over 30 officially licensed cars. There’s the 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, 2010 Nissan GT-R (R35), and 2012 McLaren MP4-12C to name a few.

You can get Real Racing 2 for OS X now from the Mac App Store (for just $12 more than the nearly identical iPad version). Also, be aware that it is a 711MB download, so just be patient Speed Racer.

[via Ubergizmo]

OS X Lion Coming to a USB Drive Near You

Range — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:00:12 +0000

I have been playing around with OS X Lion on my MacBook Pro for the last few days, and naturally I also upgraded my wife’s computer to the latest edition. But for the people who don’t or can’t download OS X Lion from the Mac App Store, there’s good news, as it will be coming to you on a USB stick too.

The only bad news is that the USB stick with OS X will arrive in August at the Apple Store for $69 (USD), which is more than double what the online version of the OS costs. Good or bad? I don’t know, but it’s nice to have the alternative.

There is an alternative. If you want to save some money, just pop on over to an Apple Store and use their free WiFi to download the 4GB OS X Lion install files. You can download Lion and copy it over a USB drive yourself. All you need is to open the package (Show package content) and navigate to Content-> Shared Support -> InstallESD.dmg and copy this dmg file onto a flash drive.

The Only Way You Can Top an OS Named ‘Lion’

Lambert Varias — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:11:20 +0000

In keeping with their cat themed-names, the latest major update to Apple’s OS X is named Lion, which as we all know is the king of the jungle. So where do you go from there? You go here:

Sorry Nyan Cat, we love you but Maru is the undisputed cat king of YouTube, with videos that have more than 100 million total views. The box-loving Scottish Fold is a living meme. He’s been mentioned in Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, has appeared in ads in Japan and has his own book and DVD, not to mention a Wikipedia entry. How many domestic cats boast such a résumé? How many domestic cats even have a résumé?

[via Twitpic via Laughing Squid]

OS X Inception: Simple Finder Version

Range — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:55:29 +0000

Yes, it’s true that Inception was a complicated movie. I enjoyed it a lot and watched it a few times. Each time, you pick up a few more details, plus that fight scene in the hotel was simply incredible since no CGI effects were being used. If you’re still confused about what happened in Inception and can’t stomach another watching, then check out this simple video that shows you what exactly happened to whom and in whose mind, using only the Mac OS X Finder.

This clever and funny video was made by Chris Baker. The tagline “your desktop is the scene of the crime” is really good too.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[Stellar via Kottke]

Selfcontrol Internet Blocker: for Those Who Lack Said Trait

Lambert Varias — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:45:34 +0000

There are already a several programs and browser extensions that can block access to the Internet for a set amount of time, but what makes SelfControl stand out is that it is ruthless. Designed by Steve Lambert, once SelfControl’s timer is set, it is set – quitting the application, restarting your computer or even deleting the damn app will not reset the timer. You’ll have to wait for it to expire before you can view cat videos again. Damn.

Fortunately, SelfControl can be set to only block access to certain websites or email. At least if you set it to allow email to go through, you can still tell your boss that your SelfControl is preventing you from working.

SelfControl was originally made for OS X only; you can download it for free at Steve Lambert’s website. A Linux version is being developed by a third party and is in version 0.9 as of this writing; download it here. Think you can improve Steve’s SelfControl? Get the code at github and mess with it.

[via Cool Tools]

Mac-in-the-Box

Lambert Varias — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:28:03 +0000

The guys at 1 Block Off the Grid needed a high-end Mac to run Adobe After Effects, but instead of buying an expensive Mac Pro, they decided to build their own computer. Normally that would be nothing to write home about, but the 1BOG staff really put the hack in Hackintosh. Here’s their computer:

The Mac (Pro)-in-the-box is running Snow Leopard, and has a Gigabyte motherboard, an XFX Radeon HD 5770 graphics card, a 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 processor, 1 TB Western Digital Hard Drive, 4GB (2x 2GB) Corsair RAM, 500-watt OCZ power supply, and a DVD burner. The ‘case’ is the Amazon box that the parts came in. Awesome.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The total cost? A little more than $800 (USD) in parts, a far cry from the $2500 price of the cheapest Mac Pro available. $2000 iMac, which as it is has a weaker graphics card, but a slightly better processor. The iMac also comes with a pretty (and pretty huge) 27-in screen, but I don’t think that’s worth $1200. Plus you can draw on the Mac-in-the-box case! Check out the 1BOG blog for more info on how they built the cardboard Hackintosh.

[via TUAW]

Humble Indie Bundle: What Would You Pay?

Lambert Varias — Sun, 09 May 2010 12:43:33 +0000

Looking for some fun games for your PC? Why not grab Wolfire’s Humble Indie Bundle? It’s made up of 5 games – including the critically-acclaimed World of Goo – for a total value of $80 (USD). The awesome news? You decide how much you want to pay.

Here’s a closer look at the games included in the bundle. Prepare for horrible rapping:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This promo is only good until May 11, so go to Wolfire to buy the Humble Indie Bundle now. Now I’m not saying you should pay the full $80, but be a dear and don’t just pay a penny okay? Remember – these are all cross-platform games with no DRM, plus you can donate all or part of your payment to non-profit organizations. It’ll be a cold day in hell when the likes of EA and Ubisoft make deals like this.

Megaman Effect: Best Mac App Launcher Ever

Lambert Varias — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:23:40 +0000

I don’t how else to say this, but the MegaMan Effect is a very…Windowish application, but I sure am glad it’s available to us Mac users. When it’s turned on, every app that you launch gets the Mega Man II level boss introduction. Yes, 8-bit music included.

It’s QUICKTIME MAN! Able to launch in frameless window mode! His weakness? Knock out his Perian cannon and he won’t be able to play mkv files anymore!

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Someone should integrate this into Quicksilver, Launchy and all other app launchers. MegaMan Effect was made by Mike Zornek and is a free download. Thank you Mr. Zornek, you just made my day.

[via Forever Geek]

Hey N00b, Here’S How You Install Os X on an Sd Card

Lambert Varias — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:39:39 +0000

Macworld Senior Editor Roman Loyola posted a video guide showing how one can install Apple’s OS X Leopard on an SD card. The new Macbook Pros (save for the 17-in) come with an SD card slot, so you can install apps on the SD card and boot from it if for instance you want to perform repairs on the internal hard drive. It’s a very straightforward guide, a format-this-and-install-that affair, but nonetheless helpful for non-techies.

Without fiddling with a Leopard installer’s disk image and throwing some stuff out, you’ll need at least an 8 Gb SD card to make a portable Leopard installation.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Wasn’t that easy? Now all you need to do is wreck your internal disk so you’ll have a reason to boot from the SD! I’m kidding. And before anyone asks, no, you can’t boot a PC with this card.

3.5-Inch Floppy Disk Raid: Why? Why Not?

Lambert Varias — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:32:16 +0000

Welcome to the latest edition of Why? Why not?, where we look at concepts and creations that exist for no real reason. Yes folks, I’m talking about products of democracy, of free will, and most of all of too much free time. Our forefathers lay down their lives so that we may spend ours coming up with these batshit insane ideas, such as the 3.5-inch USB floppy disk striped RAID setup by Daniel Blade Olson.

In very simple terms, a set of physical disks can be linked using RAID technology for the purpose of having backups and/or increased disk performance. Which gets us to our dear Mr. Olson, who happens to work for Y-E DATA, a USB floppy drive company. He tried setting up his “very important scientific feat” in WIndows XP, but the OS had more common sense than he had, and would not allow the FDD RAID. (Un)Fortunately, OS X 10.2.4 was more accommodating. The rest was a simple matter of plugging everything in and using Disk Utility to create the array.

So what can his army of floppy disks do? Store 4.22 MB of data, that’s what. It can also transfer a 3.6 MB file in 32 seconds. “Turbo lightning speed” indeed. For his next project – I swear this is still all true – Olson has totally left the boundaries of sanity and wants to create a 125 USB floppy disk drive array. My god. The drives will probably fill up his room, and will most likely have a total capacity less than 256 MB.

[via Every Joe]

Download a Very Early Build of Google’S Chrome Browser for Intel Macs

Lambert Varias — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:40:43 +0000

A blogger/developer has compiled a very very early build of Google’s browser, Chrome that runs on a Mac. I tested it myself a couple of days ago and it’s fast alright.

It’s so fast that it left most of a browser’s functions at Google’s labs: plug-ins don’t work so it can’t play Flash videos. There’s no History, no Bookmarks, no Preferences, no Find, and you can’t even open a link to a new tab. But it’s fast.

If you want to try Chrome on your Mac, you can download the application at said developer’s blog; the compiled app is for Intel Macs on Leopard only (10.5 and up). Don’t delete your current browser yet because Chrome is sure to have lots of bugs. But it’s fast. Perfect for blog speed-reading.

Wi-Far Out: Wi-Fire USB Range Extender

Lambert Varias — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:35:42 +0000

Wireless connectivity is the bees’ knees. In most cases however, you have to give up some of your connection speed for the convenience and neatness of being wireless. Sometimes it’s the router’s fault, but I think you’ll agree with me that the built-in receiver/transmitter in most computers, especially the ones in laptops, could be better. If you frequently rely on wireless connectivity then you will love the Wi-Fire.

The Wi-Fire is a USB device that boosts WiFi signals. It uses a directional antenna, a powerful receiver along with proprietary software to enable a computer to detect and access wireless sources up to 1000 ft. away. I haven’t personally seen the Wi-Fire at work, so I’ll let the experts from Maximum PC do the talking: “Our jaws really dropped as we moved the notebook ever further away: 350 feet from the router, with the signal passing through an insulated, double-thick interior wall and a steel garage door, the Wi-Fire delivered TCP throughput of 14.5Mb/s.”

Dr. Macenstein even said that the Wi-Fire works even better than advertised, giving him not 3 times but 5 times the normal range of his G4 Powerbook.

The Wi-Fire works with the three major operating systems. It has a retractable cable for portability and easy storage. The Wi-Fire is sold at hField Technologies’ store for only $79 USD.

It does have it’s flaws though, like its size and the boring design. It also only supports 802.11b and g, so you won’t be able to run at 802.11n speeds. Dr. Macenstein also said that when you attach the device on your computer using the clip, “a slight breeze will send the Wi-Fire toppling, as the “clip” aspect of the stand is pretty much useless”. But overall, I think the Wi-Fire is a really neat gadget. I really hope it’s being sold here; the free internet signal boost will be a lot of help.

[via CoolTools]

Axiotron Modbook: Mac Tablet Computer Revealed

Technabob — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:14:08 +0000

At this week’s Macworld conference, Axiotron is showing off its new Mac-based tablet computer, the ModBook. The ModBook is an aftermarket hardware modification kit that transforms Apple’s MacBook portable into the world’s first Mac tablet computer.

The ModBook features a WACOM pressure-sensitive digitizer, allowing artists to draw directly on its 13.3-inch (1280×800) LCD screen. It also works with Apple’s Inkwell handwriting and gesture recognition software, providing immediate integration with all applications. The computer also features built-in GPS tracking, and iSight camera and an internal CD/DVD or DVD burner. Axiotron has also encased the computer in a magnesium alloy case for durability.

The ModBook will be available from Other World Computing with prices starting at $2279 for a complete system, including an Intel Core Duo MacBook, the ModBook conversion kit and a 1 year warranty on the complete system.

[ADDED: Video of the ModBook in action, via CrunchGear...]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Wwdc 2006 Keynote Coverage

Technabob — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 16:58:04 +0000

Here’s the latest news from Steve Jobs’ keynote address at Apple’s 2006 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) today…

9:50am (Pacific): The Apple Store is temporarily down for maintenance, so clearly something new will be released today…

10:03am: Steve Jobs has taken the stage.

10:05am: 50% of new Mac purchasers are new Mac adopters, and over 17 million visited Apple stores in last quarter. Shipped 1.33 million Macs this quarter. Over 3/4 of the shipped Macs were Intel-based.

10:10am: New PowerMac replacement the Mac Pro. These will contain Core 2 Duo “Woodcrest” processors. Each with 2 dual-core Xeon processors performing at up at up to 3GHz and 4MB L2 cache. Estimated to run 1.6 to 2.1x faster than a G5 quad machine. Real world increase should be around 2x faster than prior machines. Since the machines require less power, there is less cooling required, and more room for hard drives (up to 4 per box). These machines will feature the same case design as prior PowerMacs, but the interior is totally redesigned. Drives will “snap” into place, room for larger double width graphics cards. 4 PCI Express slots and up to 2TB of storage.

10:15am: $2499 Price for the Mac Pro with:

Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processors
4MB shared L2 cache per processor
1.33GHz dual independent frontside buses
1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200-rpm hard drive
16x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD