Review: MacBook Pro 15" (Early 2011)

As someone that deals with computers all day long, I need to upgrade my hardware periodically as the applications get more complicated and my productivity starts to decrease. I try to get a new machine about every 2.5 years. My previous machine was a 15" MacBook Pro right after the unibody redesign. The machine performed quite well and my SSD upgrade last year kept it going. There was nothing really wrong with the machine, but the new version of Xcode and the increased complexity of my projects began to cause me some frustration waiting for builds to complete.

When I started my new job, I wasn't issued a new machine and didn't ask for one as I wanted to wait for the next revision of MacBook Pros. When the new machines got announced, I put in my request and it was approved (slightly different from what I wanted, but still an impressive machine). I ended up with a 15" MacBook Pro, 2.2 GHz Quad Core i7 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, high density, matte screen.

Since I had an SSD in my last machine, the big changes for me were the faster processor (2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo vs. 2.2 GHz Quad Core i7) and more memory (6 GB vs 8 GB). The first thing I did when I got the new machine and set it up was to compile one of my projects. The project was taking 45 seconds to 1 minute to compile. On this machine, the compile took about 15 seconds! Sweet!

What more can I really say? Compared to my old machine, this thing screams, but I'm sure I'll say it is slow in no time at all!

I haven't had a chance to give it the full laptop treatment (take it on a trip and see how the battery performs), but my first impressions are quite positive. I don't really measure app launching as some people do as I don't launch apps all day long; the compile time is the number one performance boost that makes me glad that I got a new machine.

Pros

• It's fast. There is no doubt about it, this machine can outperform a lot of desktop machines.
• Thunderbolt/DisplayPort can do audio out to an HDMI adapter which means I have one less connector to connect when I "dock" my machine.
• Built in SD card reader eliminates the need for me to dig out a reader when I need to configure my Eye-Fi card (I don't transfer photos using the card, just over WiFi.

Cons

• It's expensive. The price tag on this thing is something around $3000 which is a lot of money. However, if it was my own money, I would have gotten a similar machine as it is a tool that helps me earn money.
• The high density display is a bit hard to read.
• I'm undecided on the matte display; I've had glossy displays before and they work fine.

Summary
My "review" isn't like the detailed reviews that Macworld publishes, but sometimes people just need a yes/no on buying something. I've been a fan of the MacBook Pro line for a number of years and this machine definitely doesn't disappoint. However, when I get new machines, I like to get them immediately after Apple announces something significant and this upgrade with the Quad Core i7 is definitely one of those times. Luckily the major upgrades seem to coincide with when I want to upgrade.

For professional users, you can't go wrong with a 15" MacBook Pro, The size is right for the infrequent traveling I do, but is more than adequate for use as a desktop machine. I won't get another desktop machine as the portability is worth so much to me even if I don't use it all that often.

EyeTV and AppleTV Integration

When the second generation AppleTV was released, I was intrigued by it, but even the low $99 price tag didn't get me to bite as I couldn't quite justify it. Now that we're trying out Netflix (our viewing will increase this summer when most shows are in re-runs), the AppleTV became more interesting and then the enhanced AirPlay on the iPad pretty much sealed the deal for me getting one. I almost ordered one, but hesitated and then MacMall had an eBay special for $80 for one (+$6 California sales tax), so I bit.

So besides watching Netflix on it and streaming movies I create on my iPad with it, what else could I do with it? I already have a Mac Mini setup as a media center handling broadcast TV recordings on my EyeTV. Viewing shows with the EyeTV is fine, but I wanted to use the Remote app on the iPad as it looked cool (did I need a better reason?). I started hacking away at a system to export the videos and import them into iTunes on the fly. Since the export takes a long time, I needed to export the videos in the middle of the night after ETVComskip ran to strip out the commercials.

I came up with the following AppleScript to do the exports of the shows that were recorded in the last day.

set destFolder to "Macintosh HD:Users:mediacenter:Movies:EyeTV Encoded:"
set currentDate to (current date) - 1 * days
set currentSeconds to seconds of currentDate
tell application "EyeTV"
	set recordCount to count recordings
	if recordCount is greater than 0 then
		repeat with myCounter from 1 to count recordings
			set theRecording to item myCounter of recordings
			if busy of theRecording is false then
				set startDate to actual start of theRecording
				if (startDate > currentDate) then
					set thisTitle1 to title of theRecording
					set thisTitle2 to unique ID of theRecording
					set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ":"
					set theTextItems to text items of thisTitle1
					set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "-"
					set thisTitle1 to theTextItems as string
					set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {""}
					set thisTitle to thisTitle1 & " " & thisTitle2
					export from theRecording to file (destFolder & thisTitle & ".m4v") as AppleTV replacing no
				end if
			end if
		end repeat
	end if
end tell

Next I setup a cronjob like this:

15 0 * * *  /Library/Application\ Support/ETVComskip/\
MarkCommercials.app/Contents/MacOS/MarkCommercials\
 all > /dev/null 2>&1
15 2 * * * open /Users/mediacenter/Desktop/Export\
ToAppleTV.app
15 20 * * * rm -rf ~/Movies/EyeTV\ Encoded/*

The first line runs the commercial skipping, the second runs the AppleScript that I've saved as an app. The third line removes all the exported videos as they're no longer needed.

I've been using this for about a week now and it's working quite well. I can control the shows from my iPad, but my wife thinks I'm just doing it because I'm a geek (and I say, so?).

The only issues with this is that I can't delete the shows with my AppleTV and as of now, I'm keeping the backup copies on the EyeTV. So I have to manually delete the watched shows from iTunes as well as EyeTV. Once I get more confident, I'll modify the AppleScript to delete the shows from the EyeTV after exporting and then I can write another script that removes the shows from iTunes after they have been watched; this is a little risky as I'm not sure if I can tell if it has been completely watched or partly watched. I wouldn't want to prematurely delete the shows.

While this isn't for the novice, I think it's pretty cool and if I can centralize all my media watching to the AppleTV, I'll be pretty happy. The Remote app on the iPad is very slick and beats any standard remote.

Review: Ram Mount iPhone car mount

When I decided to ditch my GPS unit to use my iPhone, I needed a way to secure my iPhone in my car or a rental car so I started to look for options. On the MacBreak Weekly podcast, Andy Ihnatko raved about the mounting systems from Ram Mount. Since Andy reviews a lot of products and seems pretty critical of some poorly made ones, I figured he might know what he's talking about. I decided to give the iPhone 4 bracket a try.

The first problem I ran into is that Ram Mount website is a bit confusing, so I surfed over to GPSCitywhere they had some very helpful videos to explain the system. Basically you purchase a bracket and a mount. When you get a new device, you just get a new bracket and use the mount you already have. Since the brackets are relatively cheap (about $10 with shipping), this seems like a huge win as it will be cheaper in the long run and reduces waste.

After I got over that hurdle and received my bracket and mount, I put it all together and tried it out by placing the suction cup on the window. I've never been a fan of suction cups as they tend to fall and don't seem all that reliable. However, I chose the suction cup mount for its flexibility. It stuck quite well and it looked promising for actually using in a car.

On a recent trip, I rented a car and the 3 hour drive to our destination would definitely put the mount to the test. When I tried to get the mount onto the windshield in the lower left corner (California law requires it to be in the very lower left corner within 5 inches of the bottom or something like that, so the gooseneck was going to be a big help), it didn't stick. I realized that I had it on a sticker, so I moved it slightly and got it directly on the windshield, locked it in place, and put my iPhone in it. The first part of the trip was quite bumpy (I'm not sure where CalTrans spends our tax dollars repairing roads, but it wasn't on the freeway we traveled) and I was expecting my iPhone to fall. However, it held up not only for that part of the trip, but for the entire 3 hour drive and then all the way back without coming loose once.

The gooseneck allowed the iPhone to be positioned at the right position so I didn't have to take my eyes off the road. All the pieces feel stiff and I hope that they stand up to the test of time.

This definitely seems to be a system that I'll be using in the future when I get my next phone as it held up on my first test and seems well made. I like the interchangeable pieces and the locking suction cup mount appears to work well and is quite secure.

Pros

• Ingenious system that allows you to pick and choose mounts and brackets.
• Appears to be well built.
• Suction cup mount sticks well despite bumpy roads.
• Gooseneck allows for easy positioning of mount.
• Relatively inexpensive components.

Cons

• Website for ordering directly from the manufacturer is confusing.

Summary
If you're looking for a way to mount an iPhone (or other smart phone) in a car, I don't think you can go wrong with the Ram Mount system. Ordering from GPSCity is the way to go as the prices and shipping are quite reasonable; they're also quite fast at shipping.

The wrong way to use a Smart Cover

One of the coolest aspects of the iPad 2, believe it or not, is the Smart Cover. I like the idea of having a built in stand and have used it a number of times. However, it seemed a bit unstable to me and I thought it was very un-Apple to do that. So I watched the Smart Cover video on Apple's site again and realized my mistake. I thought that when the cover was "rolled up" the micro fiber side was on the inside of the triangle so that the plastic side of the cover was towards the surface. Well, that isn't the case; the proper way to fold up the Smart Cover is to have the micro fiber towards the surface where the iPad is resting.

I feel a bit dumb about not seeing this, but having the micro fiber "out" just seems wrong. Oh well, when opening the Smart Cover and making it into a stand, take a look at the video on Apple's website if you have any questions about the stand working right.