While Apple continues to lag on including even the option to install a Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD) drive on any Mac, FastMac (a third party vendor) has stepped in and is offering the drive for some Apple computers going all the way back to a PowerBook G3.

It doesn’t come cheap though, the $800 upgrade is available for the following Macs, PowerBook G3, iBook/PowerBook G4, MacBook Pro 17”, iMac G5, iMac Intel and even the Mac Mini. It is not available for either the MacBook Pro 15” or MacBook.

The $800 price tag means this is probably aimed at those who created high-definition video content because I really can’t think of anyone else who would plop down $800 for an optical drive upgrade. $800 on a video card maybe, $800 on a monitor, possibly but not an optical drive.

This $800 upgrade package includes all the software and hardware you need to get the drive up and running. Blu-Ray is not a format natively supported by OSX so they have gone to the extra step of including Toast 8 Titanium, for the price you are paying, they had better.

In addition to the Blu-Ray RW (BD-RW) format it also supports DVD+R/RW +DL (Dual Layer), DVD-RAM, CD-R and CD-RW formats. Though, I would consider DVD-RAM to be a dead format, it’s still a nice bonus.

The drive is a drop-in upgrade for your existing optical drive and I’m sure that they will include instructions of some sort. Be advised you have to perform the upgrade yourself and doing so may void your warranty if your Mac is still under warranty. If you have doubts about doing this yourself, take it to the nearest Apple Store where I’m sure they’d be more than happy to charge you an arm and a leg for installing the drive and remember, that’s in addition to the $800 you have already spent (that does not include tax or shipping).

It remains to be seen when Apple will begin offering Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD) drives on their Macs.

For those of you who have 30″ Cinema displays, hooray for you. For those of us toting Macbooks or Macbook Pros, we know all too well how valuable that 13″-17″ display space is. Without buying an external monitor, or engaging in a frenzied maximize/minimize battle, how do you keep all of your documents, programs, and windows neat and organized?

Two words (but one program): Virtue Desktops. Virtue Desktops is an amazing application, free of charge, that simulates multiple desktops that users can quickly and fluidly navigate between to keep windows and applications organized.

To give you an example, how would you like to have 3 13″ Macbook screens instead of one? I like to use one screen for iChat and iTunes, one for iCal and Camino, and one for Pages and iPhoto.

Virtue Desktops resides on your system tray, and has quite a few pretty options for transitioning between your desktops. I assigned my transition keys to “command+right” and “command+left”, which switches between my desktops to the left and right, respectfully.

What does transitioning look like? Anything you want, just about. Virtue Desktops includes many animations (my favorite being Cube, the Apple animation that rotates your desktop on a cube to the left or right. It is quite impressive visually, and it blows Vista users away, which is also fun to play with), including Cube, Slide, Reveal, Fade, Warp, and many more.

You can customize your transition speed, making a slow or fast transition. One unique feature is motion-sensor-based switching, in which simply shifting your Macbook will rotate your desktop. Pretty fancy, and again, let’s see Vista do that.

Virtue Desktops is surprisingly system resource light; currently it is using 12 mb of my real memory. Not too bad.

As I said in my first “Maximize your Mac” entry, you could avoid prying eyes in classrooms or work by pulling the ole’ minimize, or perhaps the Exposé hide, but personally I prefer to rapidly rotate to the desktop you’re supposed to be working on, switching from Camino, iTunes, and iChat over to Pages or Keynote. Eh? Pretty slick.

If you’re a Parallels user, you may have been frustrated from time to time by attempting to run Windows full screen, and having to transition between maximized and window views. With Virtue Desktops, you can simply run Windows full screen on one desktop, and have a couple others assigned to OS-X, with all those flashy transitions in between.

In closing, Virtue Desktops will really add a lot to your organization and timeliness, it doesn’t demand much in the way of system resources, and best of all, it’s completely free! Go try it out, and be sure to send me your own ways to “Maximize your Mac.”

Apple must have felt their “wow factor” was a little low; what with their relative silence since the rush of hardware updates; the iPhone being the most recent bit of hullaballoo. Today they kicked it up a notch, releasing an 8 core Mac Pro, as well as lowering the prices of their 20 and 23 inch Cinema displays $100, and their 30 inch $200.

It is generally known through the Mac community as well as the art and entertainment industries that the Mac Pro really is that…designed for the pros. If you weren’t working on the recent movie 300, running a recording studio, or doing intense graphical or image editing, you really don’t need the Pro.

Apple’s new 8 core setup only broadens that gap; the entire setup is listed below:

- 2 Quad-core Intel Xeon 5300 “Clovertown” processors at 3.0 GHz

- 16 MB L2 cache

- 128 SSE3 Vector Engine

- 1.33 GHz front side buses (2x)
Those are the basic processing specifications, and obviously you can customize your Mac Pro to your heart’s content.

Personally, if I was a professional, I would probably want this setup below:

- 2 dual quad-core xeon processors at 3.0 GHz each

- 4 GB DDR2 Memory (667 mhz)

- 1 Terabyte storage (2 500 GB hard drives)

- 4 GeForce 7300 GTs (256 MB each)

- 2 30″ Apple Cinema displays

- Applecare protection plan

This comes in at a lean $9,628. Drop in the bucket, right? But you have 8 CORES!!

As I stated before, Apple also dropped the price of the 20, 23, and 30 inch displays to $599, $899, and $1799, respectively. Most likely this is an incentive to those Pros who undoubtably want something pretty to go with their new Mac Pro…it could also be because their cinema displays are a tad bit overpriced to start with.

No complaints here; now, whoever gets their 8 core Mac Pro and 30 inch cinema display, you call me so I can play the most impressive game of Rome: Total War ever.

Google has just released their desktop application to users of Mac OSX 10.4 or later.  Of course, Mac users already have the advantage of a desktop search application built right in to the OS, Spotlight which is an instant search utility and can launch programs. This is much of what the Google Desktop Search is used for on Windows and now does it on the Mac.

Google has said that it will have no problem coexisting with Spotlight on the same system. “We designed Google Desktop for Mac to be a companion for Spotlight, Google Desktop searches users’ Web history and you can set it up to search Gmail too,” said Rose Yao, Google Desktop for Mac Product Manager.

Google Desktop for Mac will make use of any installed plugins for Spotlight and will respect the Spotlight Privacy list and won’t search those items. There is no need to rewrite the Spotlight plugins for use with the Google Desktop.

Two taps of the command key bring up the Google Desktop search box and as soon as you start typing, results are listed regardless of if it is a program or file.

Also with the Google Desktop installed, you will find a new button available in their online search page labeled “Desktop” which will launch a local search from within your browser. Google does not see or record your local searches in any way using this method. This option can be disabled if you are overly concerned about privacy.

Google Desktop can also find old files or files you might have accidentally deleted since it creates cached copies of files you view using the search and stores copies of these files on your hard drive. Just what I want, multiple copies of the same file (I hope that can be disabled).

Gadget integration will be available in a future version of Google Desktop for Mac. “If you know how to use Google, you know how to use Google Desktop for Mac,” Yao said.

I’ve decided to begin a small featurette designed specifically to keep my fellow Mac users, new and old, in the know about the best ways to get the most out of your Mac. What does that look like? Everything from cleaning tips to third party applications, widgets to WiFi, and anything else that could be of interest.

Also, as part of this little venture, I want to encourage you readers to leave feedback with tips and tricks of your own. Just because it was highlighted somewhere else on the internet doesn’t mean you can’t bring it up, and I’ll most likely run out of ideas and end up using yours from time to time, so please: speak your mind!

Today I want to talk about something I’m sure many of you are familiar with: ways to maximize efficiency through keystrokes rather than troublesome mouse or trackpack navigation.

I can definitively say I was something of a mouse addict until relatively recent. Before I made the beautiful transition to Mac, I was the quickest pointer in the computer lab. Once I entered college, however, I realized that efficiency wasn’t linked to my developing carpel tunnel…it was in keystrokes.

Sure, for leisurely internet browsing and movie watching, using the ole’ mouse or trackpad works fine; however, if your job relies on efficiency, you recognize the need for shortcuts and time-saving devices.

My first “Make the most of your Mac” tip is:

1. Learn to use quick keys in OS X

For you seasoned vets, I know you utilize quick keys better than any, but you surely remember that time when you fumbled around your keyboard, perhaps wondering why “Control+P” wouldn’t print your document (if you were transitioning from PC). This is a quick refresher of how to make the best of those simple quick key commands.

“Command” (again, for new users, this is the Apple key) mixes with many letters to give you easy control of your operations. Below I’ll tag the keys it can be mixed with, and what effect the combo has.

- a - select all

- c - copy selected material

- e - eject disc

- h - hide present program window (I’ll explain why I don’t use this)

- k - connect to server…used in mail programs to connect to server to upload and download messages, synchronize

- m - minimize current program window (I use this over hide because I can still see the document on the dock, and it has that pretty animation. If you’re going for secrecy, go with h)

- n - open new window in current program (blank document in Pages, new Camino window, etc.)

- o - open

- p - print current window

- q - quit current program (note: on Macs, you can either close the current window and keep the program running, or completely quit the program. It is always humorous to encounter new Mac users who have all their programs running, and can’t figure out why all those triangles stay beneath every program they open. Use the “command+q” if you’re done with the program, otherwise your RAM will fill up)
- t - you can use this to add something to a sidebar, or favorites, but I use it to add a tab to my current window browser. Tabbed browsing is old news, but if you don’t use it, start! Save yourself the time of clicking around 8 different browser windows, and save the memory.

- v - paste current selection. Staple quick key, along with copy, quit, etc.

- z - undo last action. If you do any sort of creating (writing, photo editing…anything really) this will be your best friend.

That list seems extensive, and it is; however, once you start using them, you won’t go back to using the Finder bar to browse for these commands.

2. Function keys - these you could generally experiment with on your own, but I’ll outline their uses below.
F1 - brightness down

F2 - brightness up

F3 - mute

F4 - volume down

F5 - volume up

F6 - number lock

F7 - display voice-over menu

F8 - open voice-over utility

F9 - exposé function that separates all open windows so you can select which you’d like. Play with it and see if its your style; some people use it, some people don’t. It’s handy if you’re trying to maximize desktop space

F11- hide all open windows. I don’t know about you, but in my life there are moments when hiding my current windows is adviseable. For instance, when my professor directs his gaze at my screen as he passes by. However, I have a better solution to the secrecy problem which I will highlight later.

F12 - show dashboard. I like to use this key, coupled with setting my dashboard to appear when I move my mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen. Depends on my mood, really.

That’s all I have for today, but I have plenty of other ideas swimming around the ole’ noggin that I will be sharing very soon. Again, please share ideas you have by posting or emailing me! Until next time, good readers…

Recent buzz surrounding the possibility of the Beatles’ tunes finally gracing iTunes has grown stronger over the last few weeks. Today, Apple notified certain members of the press that they would be making a press release in London, England tomorrow, April 2nd.

Though press release rumors are always better than gold to the Apple community, the general consensus (or wish) is that the Beatles will be adding their music to the iTunes library. Steve Jobs will be in attendance and there will be a “special live performance,” by a band that has yet to be named.

Hmm. London, England, musical guest performance…we’re betting this press release isn’t about Leopard.

The only other hot Apple topic that might be the press release’s focus would be the iPhone, though the Apple community’s somewhat flaky track on the iPhone’s progress wouldn’t point to any groundbreaking revelations tomorrow.

Either way, Apple always makes the most of press releases, and as long as the release doesn’t pertain to delaying Leopard until 2008, we’re sure it is bound to put a smile on Apple fans’ faces worldwide. Be sure to direct your browser to Apple.Blorge.com for the press release overview tomorrow.

A recent article by my friend Jonathan on the proper time to upgrade your Apple products got me thinking; sure, Apple likes to release new goodies to the market every time you blink, but how often do Apple consumers really need to upgrade?

We all have faced the grim news at one time or another that our new Apple product was just outdated by the latest Steve Jobs’ announcement; one of the more particularly painful stories I have heard was from a friend who saved all his meager earnings to buy a color iPod, and the day after his purchase, the video iPod released. Ouch.

What may not surprise those who love Apple is that my friend didn’t mind that his iPod was just “outdated.” He still had a great product, and he never complained once.

You see, the beauty of Apple is that the standard of excellence found in every one of their products doesn’t leave buyers needing to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Though the rest of the consumer technology market demands a steady budget for “necessary” upgrades due to planned obsolescence, Apple creates quality that has enormous longevity.

The two key factors that make Apple products last are quality and support, both of which don’t buy into “planned obsolescence.” I’m willing to bet all of you that are Mac users have friends or know of someone (or are the person) that still uses that Powerbook G4, or the older iPod Mini?

If you search for the classic iPod Mini on Ebay, you’ll find them still selling for over $50. Why? Because it is a fantastic product, regardless of newer models.

Similarly, I know plenty of Mac users who run OS-X Tiger on older G4-based systems. How many PC users are running Vista on Pentium 3’s?

The reason Apple users are able to use products that have been around for longer than the industry standard of 1-2 years is because Apple dedicates many resources to maintaining quality support for each product they release.

I keep coming back to iPods, because I feel the success of the iPod has been instrumental in the overall rejuvenation of Apple’s public image; Apple has maintained updates and support for all iPods that have hit the market.

Though usage and wear do eventually tire out some of the older models, Apple has never orchestrated the demise of any iPod model, or any product of theirs, for that matter. Much less can be said about other technology giants; poor customer support, infrequent support updates, and planned obsolescence are all demonstrative of what has become the face of the technology industry.

The perception of Apple and their products has been steadily on the upswing, especially since the turn of 2007; though, much of the public still perceive Apple as expensive and flashy. This, obviously, is because they don’t know what Apple is about.

When it really comes down to it, you can spend much less as an Apple consumer in the long run, in comparison to the competition. Not only that, you get the sexy chic and superior quality that Apple is known for. I suppose if the entire public knew that, Apple’s marketing team would be out of a job. Better to break it to them slowly, right?

Apple updates their product lines quite often, more often than other manufacturers of MP3 players, home entertainment devices and computers than I can name off the top of my head. Sure, you can buy PCs with the same processors, memory, motherboards and graphics cards from the likes of Acer, Lenovo or Dell. What you don’t get is the reliability of OSX.

If you want a Mac upgrade usually the answer is to just buy a new Mac. But when is the right time to buy that new Mac or iPod. MacRumors think they have the answers.

According to them the current generation of iPods and iPod Nanos are approaching their end of life cycle so their recommendation is only buy if you absolutely positively need one.

Since the iPod Shuffle was just recently updated, it’s safe to buy as it will be around for a while longer.

Updates to practically the entire Mac line are expected save for the MacBook so if you are eyeing that MacBook Pro, Mac Pro or iMac, don’t buy it. At the very least, wait for Leopard to come out, it is doubtful Apple will offer free updates to Leopard for even recent purchases of Macs with Tiger on them. I’m holding out for Leopard. It is rumored that when Leopard releases the MacBook Pros will be updated with quad core Intel processors. They’re stuffing quad-core processors in laptops? I’ll believe it when I see it.

Take this with a grain of salt, we know that MacRumors isn’t exactly the most reliable source on the internet but they do toss out some interesting thoughts. They were right about the switch to Intel processors but wrong about a new G5 processor. A new Power processor has materialized in the form of the IBM Power6 for use in servers but will probably never see use in Apple or any desktop computer.

Apple has just added a new feature to the iTunes market, known as “Complete My Album.” The aim of this new feature is to allow users up to 6 months to purchase the remaining album tracks from individual songs they’ve downloaded at a discounted rate.

The concept behind this new feature isn’t terrible; from time to time, I’ve been known to download a song I’ve enjoyed, and later investigated the rest of the album. However, as many of you have experienced and know, many times that one great song is..well..the only great song on the album.

That’s the whole great thing about iTunes in the first place, right? Sure, it would be nice to have a CD with lyrical and artwork inserts, but when you only like a few songs, why waste the extra money for the mediocre tracks?

That makes Apple’s move to allow users to purchase whole albums at a discounted rate curious; is there really that much of a demand from an army of iTunes users who can’t stand to go without the whole album?

Perhaps Apple isn’t the one behind it; sure, its their software, but perhaps they’re feeling the heat from the production studios to sell more of those mediocre songs the studios invest so much in.

Even you aren’t that familiar with the music industry, you still might not be surprised to learn that most studios produce a few “hits,” and then create filler to complete an album. That’s why most popular artists only have a couple popular songs per CD (Note, when I say popular I mean highly marketed mainstream artists).

That is why iTunes is so great. Get those few songs that are really great, and skip the fluff. I can safely say I won’t be completing too many albums online any time soon; however, options are always nice. Good lookin’ out, Apple.

Those of you who have a Mac out there are probably familiar with Boot Camp, those of you who don’t have probably heard of it.  Boot Camp allows those with Mac OSX 10.4.6 or later to install Windows XP and now Vista on a separate partition and run either OS natively without emulation.

Until now Boot Camp has only supported XP, while it was possible to install Vista it was met with several issues including but not limited to driver compatibility problems.  Boot Camp 1.2 Beta was just released and supports installing any copy of Vista on your Mac.

In order to use Boot Camp 1.2 Beta you must have OSX Tiger 10.4.6 or later, the latest firmware, an Intel based Mac (of course), a blank CD or DVD (and a burner), a printer for the instructions (I don’t read instructions, feel free to skip that step but do so at your own risk), full version of any XP or Vista edition as upgrade versions will not work.

Depending on the version of Windows you are installing, Boot Camp will create the appropriate drivers for that OS and burn them to the media of your choice (CD or DVD).  After you have installed Vista it may be necessary to run the driver CD or DVD that you created.  However, Vista will no doubt use at least some of its native drivers to support the hardware on your Mac (it is after all PC hardware).  Feel free to replace the native Vista drivers with the ones that Boot Camp created for you.

Macs now do Windows XP and Vista.  In fact, Macs are the prefect machines for Vista, running that OS natively faster than its own homegrown OSX.  Tell me, how backwards is that?