SugarSync and iPhoto

I have recently started to experiment with SugarSync and I believe it will be the way I go for online backup and syncing, because it is simple and economical.

One thing that has always been difficult about backing up a Mac is if one uses iPhoto. iPhoto does a great Job of organizing and giving you basic editing tools. The one downside, is that it keeps all of your photos hidden within it content package. With all of its features it also adds in thumbnails and other miniature version of your photos to make your software experience truly great. This, however, effectively adds a gig or more to  the size of the space needed to keep iPhoto rolling. For me this is not the ideal situation for back up as I only care to have the originals backed up (and also SugarSync does not allow full iPhoto syncing across multiple computers).

If you’re like me and you want to have SugarSync just back up the originals, there is an easy way to accomplish this. If you have SugarSync installed on your Mac you can right click any folder and request that SugarSync to start syncing that folder. To access your iPhoto originals, cruise over to your pictures folder, right click the iPhoto Library  icon and click “show package contents.” Once inside there right click the folder “masters” and request that SugarSync “sync” that folder and give it some time, because it is gonna be a lot of space to fill up.

If you decide to go with SugarSync and decide to go with a paid plan,click this link and get us both an extra 10 gigs of space!

Why I think Outlook for Mac 2011 is sorely lacking.

I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Outlook 2011. I was not a BETA tester, so when the full release came out and my Exchange email provider released a downloadable version (which they did on the day of it’s release, kudos to Sherweb!), I was elated. That is until I installed it and played with it for about 15 minutes, only to discover that yes, it had more of a Mac feel, but it was lacking some of the features I was really looking forward to. Read: Entourage with a facelift.

No Side by Side Shared Calendars
Granted, I have not had the opportunity to play with Outlook 2010 for Windows, but I would imagine that the neato feature of having shared calendars  (or even overlapping calendars) with distinct coloring is still there. It is however, glaringly absent from Outlook 2011 for Mac. (I am willing to be corrected on this, so if anyone has figured this out, please, let me know!) What’s the point of having shared calendars if everyone’s calendar is colored the same and the only distinguishing aspect is one is lighter blue than the other. I believe this is a huge oversight. Despite what their own website says is a functional piece of the software (see image)

No CalDav Support
Now before you throw stones, I did not keep up with BETA development for Outlook 2011 and this was probably known early on, but I just assumed since Microsoft was singing the praises of how great this product would be for Mac users, that CalDav would actually be a part of this release. I realize that MS says it will be integrated in future updates, I can’t help but think, we’ll keep hearing that it’s coming and then find out, “It will be in Outlook 2013…we promise…” Oh and buy the way, you can’t even sync like you used to from Entourage (address book only in Outlook 2011), so it’s not only Entourage with a facelift, they also did some liposuction while they were in there.

All that said, it may float some people’s boat to be in a Outlook world once again, but I am sticking with the free versions that come with Snow Leopard (despite the lack of Public Folder functionality).

iPhone 4 Naysayers Are Just Flat Misinformed…

Scott Moritz posted this negative article about the iPhone 4.

To which I say:

5.Higher megapixel doesn’t always equal better photo, sometimes just bigger photo. I find the new camera to be very good quality.

4. There’s always a learning curve to typing on any smartphone. I was reminded of this when I had to go back to my blackjack for a couple of weeks till the iPhone 4 arrived.

3.Facetime is limited now, but is open for development, something that Apple is not known for. Wait for big things here.

2. Got my iPhone 4 a day early. Others will have to wait, but 600,000 in the first half a day of sales says something about the quality of Apple and expectation of the masses for that quality.

1. Don’t get me started on the limitations that would be presented on a Verizon iPhone. CDMA, old tech, etc. Does AT&T sometimes stink, yep. Still better than the old brick analog cell phone days. People are too comfortable with every convenience. I can’t believe what we can do with technology and how unsatisfied people are…

Paintbrush

If you are new to Mac and are looking for a simple and free replacement of MS Paint, here is your tool! Paintbrush

Viewing Exchange Public Folder Calendar in iCal (Incomplete)

NOTE: One of our readers pointed out that this is a one time shot and does not keep in sync with the public calendar. Keep in mind if any changes are made to your local copy or to the public calendar, these changes will not be reflected.

If you have an Exchange account with your company & are a Mac OS X Snow Leopard user, you are likely to have found the advantages of using Mac Apps (Mail, iCal and Address Book) with exchange delightful. The one down side was not being able to view Public Folder and at least for me, the ability to not view our Corporate Calendar.

Through the use of a Windows PC and full OWA capabilities (only available through IE at the time of this writing, it is coming in Exchange 2010 if your company has already upgraded) you can access your companies Public Calendar.

Once you have logged in to your Exchange OWA account via IE on a windows machine (or Windows VM), you can then go to the bottom left corner and click on public folders. Once you click the plus next to the domains main folder, all of your public folders will appear. Right click your Public Calendar (probably named something else) and then click copy. You will then be presented with a list of place to copy the folder. Copy it to your personal Calendar (Probably just called Calendar) and then wait (you shouldn’t have to wait too long.)

Now, race back to your Mac and open iCal. Assuming your Exchange account is already set up as your Exchange folders refresh you should see your Public Calendar appear. Once it does you can right click and “Get Info” and change the calendars color to your liking. That’s it.

I haven’t experimented with other Public Folders yet, but will in the near future. I will also try to upload a tutorial video, if the above is confusing.

Also know that if you are an iPhone user, this calendar will now show up in your main calendar without the option of turning it off.

WordPress wins 2009 Best Overall CMS award!

I definitely agree with this award. I use WP almost exclusively for design and build. Easy to use and great open source community! Way to go WordPress! Keep up the good work!

Read Article Here.

Entourage and Exchange

Note to self: Wait until evening time to clear cache and sync Entourage/ Exchange if you have tons of email in all of your boxes, that way you can let it run overnight and not miss any emails…

I thought Twitter Spam was supposed to be getting better…

Apparently the “Terms of Service” update that Twitter “updated” has done nothing for stopping Spam. Mine is actually getting worse…

Anyone else?

This is where the web is heading…

and I like it!

Mozilla Labs Ubiquity

While I was nosing around on Mozilla’s website, I can across this. It is a cool feature and I can’t wait for this sort of functionality in full!

Great Compact FireFox Theme

Vfox3 has instantly won me over. With a Safari like feel, it places your tabs up top and minimizes the real estate taken for browser necessities.
Check it out here.