Comments on David Alison's Blog: First impression of the new Mac Pro

I would recommend against a FireWire camera if you...

2008-04-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

I would recommend against a FireWire camera if you want to use it with a VM. While a FireWire camera will work fine with BootCamp, neither of the VMs out there (Neither Parallels nor Fusion) support FW devices other than standard disk devices. The internal iSight on all new Macs is USB, and therefore supported under the VMs. I am finding this to be an issue with my iSight and my Mac Pro - I wish I also had a USB cam for use under Windows when running the VMs.

The firewire camera will work, you should be able ...

2008-04-20T20:04:00.000-04:00

The firewire camera will work, you should be able to choose it if the camera is on when you open iChat, and the nice thing is that anyone you are chatting with with get a great camera image. But I am sure that you will be able to find an affordable that hangs off the monitor. With your HD cam I think you could use the joby tripods with them and they are also coming out with some cool attachment parts for mounting an ipod or other accessories. Linkage: http://www.joby.com/products/gorillapod/gogo/

I also have an Apple MacPro refurb. Not a bad deal...

2008-04-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

I also have an Apple MacPro refurb. Not a bad deal. Regarding a cam for the MacPro. I bought a Logitech Vision MP for Mac and I can't say it is all that good, a lot of noise in the picture unless you have a lot of light. I remember the iSight working better on my older Macs that did not have a cam built-in.

@Cyclist: Thanks for the tip. The only problem is ...

2008-04-20T15:20:00.000-04:00

@Cyclist: Thanks for the tip. The only problem is they are Windows specific keyboards - while they probably work fine with a Mac I'd really like to get something that has the Mac keys even though only a few are different from Windows. As I've been typing on this Apple keyboard it is starting to grow on me.

@G7Whatever: Hmmm - hadn't thought of that. I do have a Sony based HD camera that has firewire. I'll see if that will work. What I think I want is something that simply hangs right on the edge of my monitors though.

If you have a video camera with firewire on it you...

2008-04-20T14:53:00.000-04:00

If you have a video camera with firewire on it you can always use that as your web cam.

Could I recommend the Kinesis ergonomic keyboards?...

2008-04-20T12:53:00.000-04:00

Could I recommend the Kinesis ergonomic keyboards? I've got 3 of them; I bought the first one about 6.5 years ago, and it was only just recently that I had a few keys start to act up.

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com

@Chris S: Sorry man, not sure I understand the que...

2008-04-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

@Chris S: Sorry man, not sure I understand the question. Do you mean mouse buttons?

I am wondering if all the buttons on your G5 are w...

2008-04-20T00:03:00.000-04:00

I am wondering if all the buttons on your G5 are working correctly? Specifically the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th? What software are you using to get it to work? I can't get anything but the regular 1, 2, and 3rd buttons to work.

I do like the keyboard on the MacBook, which is wh...

2008-04-19T18:41:00.000-04:00

I do like the keyboard on the MacBook, which is why I'm willing to give the Mac aluminum keyboard a shot. Moving large chunks of data over to the Mac Pro now. This machine really does scream!

I have to say that I absolutely love my thin alumi...

2008-04-19T18:19:00.000-04:00

I have to say that I absolutely love my thin aluminum Mac keyboard. I really liked the keyboard that comes with the MacBook notebook computer. I had been using the older clear plastic one and it was a real problem. The keys actually started losing the ability to move properly. I don't understand why, but as soon as Apple released the thin keyboard, I snatched it up. Been loving it ever since.

As to a webcam... Good luck! I have been looking and looking and just haven't really found any decent webcams. At least not as good as the one that comes with my MacBook. I really don't understand why Apple stopped selling the iSight.

I have been watching eBay for an iSight, but the price is just a little too steep for me. I don't want to pay more than $90 for one. At least not for one that is only the camera and a Firewire cable.

The iSight is great since it has "auto-focus". This means I could use it with Delicious Library to scan barcodes in and still use it as a normal webcam without having to adjust the focus each time.

If you do find a webcam that you like, please post about it here so that I can check it out.

Thanks and enjoy your new (and very heavy ;) ) toy!

I am using a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard with my ...

2008-04-19T18:11:00.000-04:00

I am using a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard with my Mac at home. Works just fine. I don't care if the keys have the Apple specific symbols or not, I am not looking at the keys anyway while typing.
At work I am using the Mac flat aluminum keyboard. Which is not nearly as bad to type on as I thought it would be. I still think I like the Microsoft keyboard better.

Please post when you get your camera and how it co...

2008-04-19T18:08:00.000-04:00

Please post when you get your camera and how it compares to your iSight one on the laptop.

@Anon: Thanks for the keyboard recommendations! I'...

2008-04-19T17:41:00.000-04:00

@Anon: Thanks for the keyboard recommendations! I'm going to give this keyboard a chance but I'm a heavy touch typist and the ergonomic keyboards (the type split in the middle) are just more comfortable for me. I appreciate the links!

Matias keyboards http://www.matias.ca/ are suppose...

2008-04-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Matias keyboards http://www.matias.ca/ are supposedly the cat's whiskers. In particular, their Tactile Pro keyboard is the same mechanism that Apple used in the very early 90's. They had a metal frame, built heavy and SOLID. Concerning the Apple keyboard, I worked for a while at a newspaper, and they had one of those keyboards still in service over 10 years later. It had been used so much there was a very visible dent worn into the right end of the spacebar from the literally millions of times it had been pressed.

Now the Matias Tactile Pro is $150, but for a professional it may be worth it. I cannot say from experience. They also have other, less expensive models.

MacAlly also makes some good Mac specific keyboards, at more reasonable prices. http://macally.com/ I have been happy with their products.

For 10 years now, Apple's keyboards have been the weakest part of their systems. That new silver Apple keyboard is a toy!

Note: I have no interest in companies mentioned, just interest as a user.

@Zac-Wight: sure! Apple. Here is a link to all the...

2008-04-19T16:18:00.000-04:00

@Zac-Wight: sure! Apple. Here is a link to all the refurbished machines.

Here is a link to the specific machine I bought.

Since you said it was refurbished, might I ask whe...

2008-04-19T16:14:00.000-04:00

Since you said it was refurbished, might I ask where you bought it from?