Bubba has kindly consented to allow me to have a page to talk about my second love: Computers.
We're going to discuss the subjects below, and I plan to add to them regularly, so check back often!

Mac OS X / FreeBSD / Fedora Core 4 / Building a website / Bash Scripts / Dust

Mac OS X Tiger

The world's most advanced operating system.

This is the absolute coolest operating system I've ever used. It's so stable and robust. I've been using it for about a year now, and it's never crashed, not once. That's because under the surface of OS X is an industrial strength, Unix-based core.

Click the image above to see a screen capture of my desktop. You can see some of the applications I use the most.

Apple introduced Tiger in 2005, sporting over 200 new features! We're certainly not going to look at all of them, but we will discuss some of the ones I use.

Spotlight - Find anything, anywhere, fast

I keep my folders pretty well organized, but sometimes I need to find a file or folder and can't remember where I put it. That's where Spotlight comes in.

There are two main ways to use Spotlight. From the menu bar, or from a Finder Window.

Notice in the screencap above, there is a little magnifying glass in the upper right of the menu bar at the top of the screen. When I click that icon, the Spotlight search field opens. That's where I type in the term(s) I want to search my filesystem for. Here's what it looks like when I search for 'barbecue'.

All I need to do now, is click the file I want from the results. Very cool, and very fast.

You can also save Spotlight searches, so if you need to search for something on a regular basis, like files that have been modified in the last week, you don't have to type in the criteria again!

Dashboard - Handy widgets at your command

Another of the really big new features in Tiger is Dashboard.

Pressing F12 on the keyboard brings up the Dashboard, which includes mini-applications called "Widgets" that run in the background until you need them. There are literally hundreds of 3rd party widgets available.

The included widgets are:

• Address Book
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Dictionary
• Flight Tracker
• iTunes
• Phone Book
• Stickies
• Stocks
• Translation
• Unit Converter
• Weather
• World Clock

Notice in the screencap above, in the bottom right, I'm using a widget to track my system's uptime.

Other New features

The Safari web browser now boasts an integrated RSS reader.

iChat AV lets you video and audio conference with up to 3 other users.

Automator lets you...well, "automate" repetitive tasks without programming.

QuickTime 7 now features H.264 video.

.Mac sync allows you to synchronize information from your computer to other Mac's and your .Mac account, if you have one.

VoiceOver is the spoken English interface for the visually impaired.

Parental Controls protect your kids in a wide range of preferences and applications.

Mail now features Spotlight search technology and Smart Folders.

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