DVD Shrink runs fast in Parallels

DVD Shrink performs fast while running in Parallels.*

* MacBook Pro
2.2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 128MB Geforce 8600 graphics card
* Using a Windows XP VM (virtual machine) with 512MB of RAM and up to 15GB allocated to the VM.

A backup of a DVD movie took only 10 minutes in Parallels (using a pre-ripped DVD Video folder). This is faster than any compression I've done on a PC. Usually it would take around 15 minutes to compress a DVD on my old Dell Latpop (1.86GHz centrino processor, 2GB of RAM). DVD Shrink is performing faster in a virtual machine than it was on my midrange laptop from 2005.

* Note: Copying the ISO file created by DVD Shrink into a Parallels shared folder took about five minutes, so this actually evens out the amount of time for the compression.

Bottom Line: If you're a PC user that misses DVD Shrink, definitely consider running it in Parallels, unless of course you are already running Bootcamp. Mac users: DVD Shrink is probably the best DVD Compression program available on PCs or Macs, and it's also free!!

Be aware that DVD Shrink has not been updated in the last three years, so it cannot remove the latest copy protections. Use MacTheRipper to rip the DVD Video files to your hard drive, and then compress them with DVD Shrink.

If you know of any DVD Shrink equivalent (free) programs for the mac, post a comment. DVD2OneX is the closest thing I've found for Mac, but it only allows the main movie to be extracted, and it costs around $40. I want to keep the menus and the chapters when backing up my DVDs.


Coming Soon:

Burn and Backup your DVD movies on a Mac

Tip: Take screenshots with keyboard shortcuts (Mac)

Mac OS X offers a quick and application-free way of taking screenshots of just about anything.

Here's a rundown of the keyboard shortcuts.

• Command-Shift-3:
  Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop
• Command-Shift-4, then select an area:
  Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop
• Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window:
  Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop

• Command-Control-Shift-3:
  Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard
• Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area:
  Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard
• Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window:
  Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard
  

When a using the first set of shortcuts (with #4), the screenshot will be saved to the desktop as a PNG file.

If you need to do any extra cropping afterwards, simply open the images in Preview, crop, and re-save them.

Also check out the freeware application Backdrop for masking any desktop icons, desktop backgrond, or other clutter before taking the screenshot.

Download of the Week: Block out distractions with Backdrop

If you regularly watch movies on a Mac with dual monitor, backdrop may be perfect for you. Backdrop is a nice little freeware program for Mac that will block out the rest of the screen with a solid color of your choice. I use this on my laptop when watching movies on my 19" LCD monitor connected to my laptop so that the other screen is black while watching the movie.

Backdrop is also great for taking screenshots without the clutter of other application, desktop icons, or background images to inflate the image file size of your screenshot. You won't have to worry about taking the time to clear off all your desktop icons before taking the screenshot

If you're running Windows, check out Dropcloth featured on Lifehacker.

Backdrop website

Connect your Mac to a TV

How to Connect a Mac to a TV

You can connect your Mac to a TV for under $25, with the Apple's DVI to Video Adapter. This cable connects to the DVI port on the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro and outputs to either S-Video or Composite (yellow video cable). I bought one directly from Apple for $19 + $4 shipping. Excellent deal if you ask me! I would have bought it on Amazon but it's $20 plus $5.78 shipping--Yikes!

If you're using an Intel iMac, MacBook, or PowerBook g4, you can get Apple's Mini-DVI to Video Adapter for $19 + $4 shipping also.

Both of the these video cables will only cover the video portion. They do not send the audio to the TV. If you don't already have one, you can pick up an 1/8" inch to RCA cable for about $5-10 at your local RadioShack, Target, etc. This cable will go from the headphone jack of your computer to the red/white audio jacks of a TV or stereo system. You can also get this Belkin audio cable on Amazon.


Free those Office, Lost, and Heroes episodes from your Mac, and get them in your living room where they were meant to be watched!

Mac Apps - Maybe Someday

There are a lot of great Mac apps out there, and many of them happen to be free to boot! Here's a rundown of the Macs I plan to install at some point in the future. Most, if not all of these applications have been featured on Lifehacker.

• Caffeine ("stay awake" Utility)
  When Caffeine is activated it prevents the computer from going into sleep turning on the screensaver, extremely useful when watching movies, slideshows, etc. After you're finished using it, simply turn if off to have normal sleep functions. I only let my Mac go to sleep once (in two weeks of use) My boss has told me that sometimes his mac is sluggish waking from sleep. I'm sure I'll end up using this to watch movies, and pass it along to friends who also watch lots of video content on their macs
• DiskInventoryX (Hard drive space usage)
  When my 120GB laptop hard drive has less than 40GB of free disk space, I'll probably install this one, or I might use it to analyze which folders on my large external hard drives are taking up the most space. Right now I don't need, but I'm sure I will come 6 months or a year from now. On my Windows computer I used JDiskReport, which is apparently also available for Mac.
• Quicksilver (Application launcher)
  Yes, I've read all about it's features on Lifehacker, but it's functionality for launching apps may not be neccessary with stacks of application aliases. Quicksilver's other features could prove to be useful, and I'm just the type of Geek that would love it for the sake of it's keyboard functionality.
• Handbrake (DVD video ripping)
  This handy application rips DVD to various video formats and has presets for iPods among other things. It's one of the simplest, free ways to get videos converted for your iPod. I've got the DMG saved, but I probably won't use this very often, because I prefer to "backup" DVD movie discs with DVD Shrink. I don't like the loss of quality when ripping below a 1GB video file and I'd rather have a disc that I can pop into any DVD player with the chapters and menus intact, not to mention a great quality boost!! If I run across some novelty movies, then I might install and it and fire it up.
• Backuplist+ 5.0 (Backup utility)
  It looks like a great free backup utility and it's the exact functionality I desire with backup, simply knowing that a few essential folders (pictures, music, documents, software) are backed-up on my external hard drive. I'll give this one a spin to backup the new photos on my laptop.
• Transmission (Torrent client)
  It was picked by Lifehacker in their "2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps". It's open-source, and the only reason I don't currently have it is because I don't have high speed internet access. In a few weeks, I'll install this one to get some torrents up and running again.
• Google Earth
  I'll probably install this in a few weeks, but unless I'm bored or have some time kill, I would rarely use it all.
• Schoolhouse 2 (assignment/project organization)
  This would have been a great app to have in high school to keep track of all my assignments. I might use it before I finish my college degree, when I have lots of work to keep track of. Featured on Lifehacker here: Download of the Day: Schoolhouse 2 (Mac)

Other apps in the waiting list:

Writeroom (only text on the screen to help focus on writing, $25)
JDarkroom (free alternative to Writeroom, text only writing tool, Windows/Mac)
Celtx (Media pre-production and collaboration tool)
ImageWell (image viewer/editor)
Isolator (applcation focuser/isolator)
Celestia (free space simulation program Windows/Mac/Linux )
FreeDMG (make DMGs for free, and w/ more features than Disk Utility)
Renamer4Mac (free batch/bulk file renaming utility)
DVD2oneX (DVD video compression for burning)



I welcome any comments with applications you've tried, plan to try, or will get around to eventually. Send me a buzz by email.

Macs handle zip files out of the box

Mac can both unzip Zip files and create them, without any additional software!! It appears that this feature was made available with the release of Tiger.

To open a zip file, simply double clip on it and you'll see a new folder appear in the finder within a few seconds with the name of the zip file. Dead simple. No extractors or unzippers needed, unless you're dealing with .RAR files.

To create a zip file, simply select a file, folder, or group of files and right click on them. In Tiger choose Create Archive of . . . In Leopard choose Compress "your-filename" from the context menu. In a few seconds you'll have the zip file, which you can rename if neccessary.

See: Apple Pro Tip of the Week - Making ZIP Files (Compressed Files) in One Click

My essential Mac applications

Here's a list of my current essential Mac applications. Most of these applications I use on a daily basis, and some I couldn't live without!! I've seen lots of lists of "top Mac apps", but a good portions of those applications tend to be specialty items.

• Firefox
  Safari isn't bad, but for web design and a more customized surfing experience it's the only way to go. If you're on Windows this is a must to keep you secure from security holes in Internet Explorer.
  
• OmniFocus
  This GTD (Getting Things Done) based application is excellent for keeping track of every task and project you need to accomplish. Things can be organized by project, "context" or due date. I couldn't live without this at work, and it's helping me stay on track. A license will cost you $80, starting Janurary 8th, 2008.
  
• Thunderbird
  An excellent email client from Mozilla, the makers of Firefox. It's clean, simple, and a much appreciated alternative to Outlook and Outlook Express. If you're currently using Mail for Mac, it might not be worth the switch.
• Lock Desktop
  This automator application is the equivalent of locking the desktop on a Windows comptuer. It keeps all of the applications running, so you don't have to put the machine to sleep to protect it with your password. Stepping away from your desk for a few mintues? Lock Desktop is perfect for keeping your computer secure while you're away. It's compatible with Leopard!
• 1Password
  Have a hard time managing all your different passwords and logins. 1Password comes to the rescue, storing all your logins and encrypting them with one master password. You'll never have to try and guess what username and password combination you used. It integrates with Firefox and Safari among other web browsers. There's a strong password generator for times when you need a secure password on demand. Macworld is still offering a free license giveaway for 1password. It's normally a $30 license!
• Backdrop
  This application is essential for taking screenshots or even watching movies when using dual monitors. It covers your screen in the color of your choice. This will enable you to take screenshots that have smaller filesizes and eliminate distracting backgrounds. Watch movies on a laptop with second monitor? Use backdrop to cover the screen in black so you don't see anything on the screen.
• TextWrangler
  For a free code and text editor, Text Wrangler has some excellent features. Lifehacker has featured TextWrangler several times.
  Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
  Lifehacker: Rebuild your mac with 20 useful downloads

Coming soon:

Mac Apps - Maybe Someday
A list of great Mac apps that I'll haven't gotten around to trying yet.


Read more:

Lifehacker's Top 10 Free Mac Downloads
Lifehacker's Top 10 Mac utilities

Switching to the Mac - keyboard shortcuts

After eight years using PC's I was worried that my switch to the mac would be problematic because of my love and usage of keyboard shortcuts. Immediately after using the Mac I've already discovered several keyboard shorts that I use regularly. There's only a few shortcuts that I miss from the PC, but so many new ones that I use to save me time on my Mac laptop.

• Command + ,
  Open an application's preferences
• Command + Q
  Quit an application (saves time over going to dock or using the menu bar)
• Command + Tab
  Equivalent of Alt+tab on windows, easily switch between two applications or any applications. . .I couldn't work without this, especially in web design
  

F11 Show all Windows in Exposé (I custom set this key for this)
F12 Hide all Windows and show the desktop (custom set)

• Command + N
  Open a new finder window
• Shift + Command + N
  Create a new folder (one of my favorite shortcuts on the Mac, and unfortunately there's no equivalent on PC's)
  

Option + arrows Move a word left or right, helps to quickly get through a typed line


And of course. . . .

Command + C Copy
Command + V Paste
Command + X Cut

Thank God these basic commands are essentially identical on the Mac.

The only shortcut I really miss from the PC is F2 which allows you to quickly rename a file or folder. There's no keyboard shortcut for renaming something on a Mac, but click twice slowly a filename can be renamed.

Firefox shortcuts

• Command + T
  Open a new tab (this one saves a lot of time, I'm a tab-a-holic)
• Command + R
  Reload a page
• Command + arrows
  Use the left and right arrows to go back and forward in the history (can be a real timesaver on a website you just browsed when you're not using tabs)
• Scroll wheel click
  Yes, it's not a keyboard shortcut, but it will open a link, bookmark, etc. in a new tab, a college friend of mine showed me this one, and he's been my hero ever since. I feel pity for the poor souls that are control-clicking on links in web browser, or even worse, opening pages in a new window. I couldn't browse the internet without this one. . .
  

Maybe someday

Command + D
Bookmark a page in Firefox

Function (fn) + delete
equivalent of using the delete key on a PC keyboard. My laptop doesn't have a "delete" key so I might start using this eventually

Eject button
Apple's design prowess really shines with the eject button standard on all mac keyboards for several years back. It's faster than going to the desktop and dragging a disk to the trash


If you have any keyboard shortcuts you can't live without that I've missed, please feel free to send me a comment by email.

Mac: View System Processes and Performance

How to view the System Processes and Performance on a Mac

Navigate to:
/Applications/Utilities folder/Activity Monitor

The Activity Monitor on the Mac is the equivalent of the Task Manager in Windows

The Activity Monitor displays the system processes, CPU/memory usage.