Filed under: Gaming, Features, Tips and tricks, iMac, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW, Macbook Pro
Ask TUAW: MacBook Pros, iMovie Export, Shuffle Autofill, Windows Gaming and more
This week in Ask TUAW we have questions about the MacBook Pros, exporting from iMovie, Autofill for the Shuffle, Windows gaming on an iMac, and more. Remember new Mac users and Switchers who are enjoying our Mac 101 series should feel very welcome to post questions for Ask TUAW; we're happy to have them. As always, please submit your questions for next week by commenting on this post.
BobbyW asks
When the Macbook Pro came out there were many complaints about the heat and the buzzing sound. Did the Core Duo 2 fix these issues? What about the newest batch of machines? My Macbook Pro Core Duo runs kind of hot. I'd be interested in upgrading if there was significant improvement in the new machines.
For the most part the "moo-ing" problems that seemed to plague the early MacBook Pros do seem to have been solved. Of course the machines are still going to be quite hot. There's just no way to get around this. So whether these issues have been totally "fixed" probably depends on the what you consider adequate.
With regards to the new MacBook Pros that were only announced yesterday, it's obviously too early to say anything specific. However, I would expect there to be a substantial performance gain vis-a-vis your Core Duo MBP. The new models apparently have the new Santa Rosa chipset (though this does not seem to be officially confirmed by Apple as of yet). If so they will benefit from improved bus bandwidth, as well as slightly higher clock speeds, and so should definitely represent a significant performance improvement over the Core Duo MPB.
Jason asks
I run a video podcast for posting videos of my kids for friends and family in distant places. I've been using iMovie to create the videos since I got my iMac in January. I like to export one full quality version for archival purposes and one iPod-compatible version for posting on the podcast. The problem is that when I select the Share->iPod setting in iMovie, it exports the file as a 320x240 video. I know iPods can support much better resolution, and 320x240 looks very bad on a computer screen. Is there a way to change this setting so that I don't lose file quality OR the convenience of the exporting directly to an iPod-ready format?
This isn't really a direct answer to you question, but I would actually suggest that what you're doing now with two separate exports is non-optimal. Instead, export the high-quality version and then use iSquint (free), or better yet its indispensable big brother VisualHub ($23.32), to convert that to the iPod version. I realize you lose the convenience of exporting directly from iMovie, but you'll find that the conversion in VisualHub is much faster than the second export from iMovie. Furthermore, you'll be able to tweak the setting to your heart's content if you so desire, or you can just go with the defaults which almost always yields excellent results. If you really want to dig into it, you can define expert settings in iMovie (export to QuickTime movie the choose Expert), but I really don't recommend it because the QuickTime exporting engine built into iMovie is so slow.
Zachary asks
When a program creates a dialog box there is always a preselected entry highlighted in blue that I can select just by pressing the Enter/Return key. How can I select a non-default option without using the mouse?
We covered this in a previous Ask TUAW. You need to activate "Full keyboard access" in the Keyboard & Mouse Preference Pane.
altern8tif asks
I've got a questions regarding the iPod Shuffle. Does the shuffle mode apply for all audio media forms? Like audiobooks for instance... I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to listen to an audiobook with the chapters in randomised order.
No, according to this Apple Support Document, the "Autofill feature of iTunes will not add audiobooks and podcasts to iPod shuffle." You need to keep in mind, however, that this will only apply to audiobooks and podcasts that iTunes recognizes as such (i.e. fall under the Audiobook and Podcast categories in iTunes' Library sidebar). If, for instance, you added a MP3 podcast by hand directly into the iTunes library it might be added to the shuffle. As long as you haven't done that, however, you should be fine.
Alan asks
How can I get my keyboard to be recognized whenever I bring my MacBook back from sleep? It's annoying, because my mouse gets enabled perfectly fine. If it makes any difference, it's not a "Mac" keyboard (although it works just fine, of course).
This should not be happening. By any chance is your keyboard plugged into an USB hub? If so I would suggest trying it plugged straight into the computer. If it works then you may need to try a different hub. There was a problem way back with OS X 10.2, but that should not be affecting you. Of course you can always unplug and re-plug it, but that's hardly an optimal solution.
jps asks
I would like to install windows on my 17 inch Imac (current revision and specs) purely for gaming. Given that I'm going to be playing games on it exclusively, I'm not sure whether its at all worth bothering with Vista, or in fact whether Vista would make my life more difficult than just installing XP. Are there any resources online available for figuring out which would be the best choice, and is there any real reason for me to go with Vista?
No, it's probably not worth it for you. The newest games for Windows will require Vista because they're being built with DirectX 10. Unfortunately, the iMac's video card is not DirectX 10 compatible anyway, however. For the foreseeable future any games that will run on your hardware will almost certainly be XP compatible, so in my view it's simply not worth it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Bryan said 9:49AM on 6-06-2007
As far as question #1 about the buzzing sound of the MBP... I have a core2 15" and it still buzzes on AC power. On battery it is silent.
The mooing is a separate issue, which I never had.
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jon Stieglitz said 9:55AM on 6-06-2007
Is there any way to fill a non-shuffle ipod with music randomly? I have an ipod that is smaller than the size of my music collection and I would like to add musiic randomly.
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jin said 10:01AM on 6-06-2007
Regarding the new mbp's using the Santa Rosa chipset, there's no "apparently" about it. It's right there on the tech specs page under Processor and Memory:
"800Mhz frontside bus"
Given the previous Napa model had a 667Mhz fsb, and as far as Centrino chipsets go only Santa Rosa offers an 800mhz fsb, thats officialy confirmed enough for me.
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SMAC said 10:01AM on 6-06-2007
altern8tif asked:
"I've got a questions regarding the iPod Shuffle. Does the:
shuffle mode
apply for all audio media forms? Like audiobooks for instance... I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to listen to an audiobook with the chapters in randomised order."
You answered something about how the shuffle is filled. This is a great question. I put audio book on my 1st gen Shuffle and when set it to non-shuffle mode the chapters still don't go in order.
How is the "order" determined when put on the shuffle??
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mathmonkey said 10:34AM on 6-06-2007
I've got a question for next week.
I have an iMac in the office and a MacBook everywhere else. I really like the MacBook keyboard, but there's no way to use the iMac as a display (without messing with VNC). Is there an external keyboard I can use with my iMac with the same form factor as my MacBook?
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Jon said 10:40AM on 6-06-2007
"When the Macbook Pro came out there were many complaints about the heat and the buzzing sound. Did the Core Duo 2 fix these issues? What about the newest batch of machines? My Macbook Pro Core Duo runs kind of hot. I'd be interested in upgrading if there was significant improvement in the new machines."
I upgraded from a PowerBook G4 12" to a black MacBook (1st gen) and it seemed to be a lot cooler than the PB. I used to get all kinds of marks on my PB because it was so hot that my fingertips would sweat. My fingers don't sweat with the MacBook, even though it's 1st-gen. Either it's cooler or it's something to do with the plastic coating.
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deepsreddy said 2:58PM on 6-06-2007
Re: New Question Post No. 5
You'll want to look into an app called "teleport". It'll allow you to control one computer with the keyboard and mouse from another as long as they are both networked. So if you were to plunk a macbook down next to the imac, once you move the mouse over to the imac (like moving to a second display) your keyboard will control the imac as well. It's a great little piece of software for everyone who keeps a laptop on their desk along with their desktop. It really limits how many times you have to shift your hands back and forth.
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Andy said 10:50AM on 6-06-2007
@Mathmonkey
Synergy does exactly this...
http://software.landryhetu.com/synergy/
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JoshK said 11:14AM on 6-06-2007
@SMAC
I, too, use a 1G shuffle (which I love). If you select the shuffle (in iTunes) when it is plugged in, you should be able to see the order files will play when not in shuffle mode on the iTunes screen. This should be the same order that you added them to the shuffle in.
best of luck.
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Alan said 11:45AM on 6-06-2007
I guess I'll elaborate on my question: I currently do have it plugged in with a USB hub (non-powered), although the problem also occurs without the hub. The mouse is also plugged into the hub, and it works just fine. Perhaps the keyboard is at fault?
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patrick said 11:52AM on 6-06-2007
In regards to the new macbook pros, I picked one up yesterday and it appears to have a 800mhz FSB, so does that mean it is santa rosa?
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Joe said 12:06PM on 6-06-2007
jon: "Is there any way to fill a non-shuffle ipod with music randomly?"
I'd create a smart playlist with some junk criteria (such as Artist is not zxzxzxzx, assuming Mr. Zxzxzxzx never releases an album) and limit size to the available space on your model of iPod. I'm not sure quite how often you want to re-randomize your selection, but this should at least get your started in the right direction.
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Michael said 12:07PM on 6-06-2007
How come there is so little explanation on exactly what all these "16x full screen anti-aliasing, 128-bit High Dynamic Range rendering, and a texture fill rate of up to 8.2 billion per second" actually mean??? I've tried googling and wikipedia-ing these, but I'm not sure I'm finding the right things. What is the dynamic range ratio going to be? Will this have any affect on non-gamers? Does anyone know any good resources to learn about this technology??
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mathmonkey said 12:16PM on 6-06-2007
Thanks, Andy. That relies on VNC, however, which I don't mind so much, but I don't get the nice iMac screen res. It really is a cool product, though.
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Chris - MyFirstMac.com said 1:53PM on 6-06-2007
Regarding Zack's Question about using keys to make selections in dialog boxes:
In many programs you can type the first letter of the button name to trigger it. And don't forget you can always hit the Escape key to trigger the Cancel button.
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Andy Wingate said 1:09PM on 6-06-2007
@MathMonkey
Would Teleport do what you want?
http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/
NewFormula describe it better than Abyssoft http://newformula.org/words/articles/teleport-remote-control-for-your-mac/
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Arnoz said 1:29PM on 6-06-2007
Regardign jps's question, how much space would I need to install Vista and three games? I'm planning to do the exact same thing: install Windows via BootCap to be able to play sometimes. I only have Vista so I'm wondering how much disk space it is going to take for the srtrict minimum OS thingies and only 3 games.
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Mark said 2:04PM on 6-06-2007
@Alan:
My guess is that your keyboard is wonky, as I have a MBP, unpowered USB hub, and cheapo USB keyboard, and have never had a problem with the keyboard not being recognized. Have you tried the typical troubleshooting rigmarole? Swap all variable parts:
-try a different keyboard
-use the same keyboard and USB hub on a different Macbook
-etc.
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Brandon said 2:54PM on 6-06-2007
Is there a way to have a keyboard shortcut to bring up the keyboard viewer (if you want to find it, its in the international preferences)? Also, is there a way to make it any bigger than it lets you?
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Michael L. said 3:23PM on 6-06-2007
First, thanks for such a great site. I have jumped out of Windows and am learning a lot. I have looked online for answers to these questions, with no luck:
I'm using Pages and Text Edit (no MS Office, by choice). How can I get a decent icon for .doc files, something better than the blank page? It doesn't help to look for icons in a resouce file on a Mac with Office -- there's no package to look through. And where would a replacement icon for .doc files go? I can't figure out where that blank-page icon is kept.
(By the way, I don't prefer .doc files, but I do have to sometimes use them.)
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