Matt’s Desk: Editor’s Blog

When I was getting ready to upgrade my MacBook to Snow Leopard with a format and fresh install, I began by backing up my files to an external hard drive.  I had accumulated hundreds of documents, photos, music tracks, etc., and wanted everything backed-up – not just via Time Machine – but also as raw files and folders.

One of the folders I made sure to backup was the Music > iTunes folder, which contains not only my music, videos and podcasts, but also the configuration information that lets my iPhone 3GS know that it’s partnered with that specific iTunes library.  Apple only allows an iPhone to sync with one iTunes library at a time (bummer), so failure to backup and restore the iTunes folder on your Mac after a fresh OS install will result in having to wipe and restore your iPhone before you can sync with iTunes again. 

Shortly after I began the upgrade process, an email came in from an iPhone Edition reader asking why he couldn’t sync his iPhone 3G with his new iMac running Snow Leopard.  After I replied with the bad news, I began writing a series of tutorials for iPhone Edition laying out the steps for backing up and restoring iTunes library information on a new or re-installed Mac or PC. 

I’ve just completed the section on Moving Your iPhone to a New Mac, and should have PC to PC, Mac to PC and PC to Mac sections completed in the next few days.  If you’re moving to a new Mac, or performing a fresh install of the new Mac OS, have a read and tell me what you think.

-M

I’ve been using Windows Live Writer for well over a year on my office PC, but when it comes to posting to this blog or the Pocket PC Central News Center from my MacBook, I usually stick to the WordPress web interface. I just haven’t been able to find blogging software for the Mac that comes anywhere close to the ease of use Live Writer offers — not by a long shot.

This is odd, too, because software for the Mac is usually top notch, so much so that I don’t miss my PC for a moment; and with blogging being so pervasive, I’m surprised by the lack of easy to use, no-brainer blogging applications for the platform.

I’ve tried several of the Mac solutions – Ecto, MacJournal, MarsEdit — and each leaves me wanting. Does anyone have a better suggestion?

I would love to hear it.

-M

@Despair.com

I have a lot of files – a LOT of files – on my office PC, and they’re spread over four drives (two internal, two external).  With nearly 3 terabytes of graphics files, photos, archived documents, video downloads, DVD backups, and drive images, finding what I want when I want it can be a headache.

Vista’s built-in Windows Search offers indexed search, which is great if you don’t have many files, or if you have a single drive – but for a setup like mine, the index becomes so bloated that searching is either too slow or too buggy, and I don’t like waiting for the index to be updated when I add a large amount of new data.

Over the past year, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking for the perfect desktop search solution for my needs. Google Desktop is one of the better options available, but it’s another indexer, and not really what I’m looking for.

The best option I’ve found is a free solution called Super Finder XT.

Super Finder XT offers traditional search without indexing for Windows XP, Vista and 7, and it’s very fast.  You can search one or multiple drives, search file names and/or contents, specify size and/or date parameters, wildcards, and more. and all of these options are presented with an Office 2007-ish ribbon UI.

If you like the program as much as I do, consider donating to the developers or posting a link on your blog to spread the word.  It’s now one of the most used programs on my office PC, and if you do a lot of searches, it’ll be one of yours, too.