Recently, I needed to find an application that was “similar” to one I use on Windows, which was Microsoft Visio.  After asking around on Twitter, there was only one response from a bunch of people…..OmniGraffle.  Wow, how did I not run across this before?  Needless to say this was an app I had to grab, as just looking briefly at the screenshots on their website, I knew this would work for me.
Just to get you up to speed, OmniGraffle is an application to create diagrams, charts, layouts, mockups, and everything else in between.  My need at the time was to create a detailed network chart of devices, computers, wireless access points, etc.  I was anxious to jump in to Omnigraffle and see what it could do.
Upon start OmniGraffle presents you with a fair amount of templates to get you started.  These range from space planning, to organizational charts.  Of course, you can start with a clean slate by starting with a blank page.  OmniGraffle is one of those applications where you can jump right in and get to work.  However, you would be missing out on so many features that there isn’t enough time to describe them all.
OmniGraffles includes a ton of stencils, shapes, fonts, fills, and much more.  Much of this is common objects you would use when creating a document.  You don’t have to rely on these completely though, as you can use virtually any image by simply dragging it onto the canvas.  You can also create your own stencils, and there is even an online repository to download more.
Creating your chart is easy, there is no other way to put it.  Drag your objects onto the canvas, and then you have a huge range of tools at your disposal.  Just about everything is editable and adjustable, so the manipulations you can do to your design is almost endless.  Whether it’s a mockup of a website you are planning, or a network chart, you will not find anything better to create them with than OmniGraffle.
Trial downloads are available at http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/

Recently, I needed to find an application that was “similar” to one I use on Windows, which was Microsoft Visio.  After asking around on Twitter, there was only one response from a bunch of people…..OmniGraffle.  Wow, how did I not run across this before?  Needless to say this was an app I had to grab, as just looking briefly at the screenshots on their website, I knew this would work for me.

Just to get you up to speed, OmniGraffle is an application to create diagrams, charts, layouts, mockups, and everything else in between.  My need at the time was to create a detailed network chart of devices, computers, wireless access points, etc.  I was anxious to jump in to Omnigraffle and see what it could do.
Upon start OmniGraffle presents you with a fair amount of templates to get you started.  These range from space planning, to organizational charts.  Of course, you can start with a clean slate by starting with a blank page.  OmniGraffle is one of those applications where you can jump right in and get to work.  However, you would be missing out on so many features that there isn’t enough time to describe them all.

OmniGraffles includes a ton of stencils, shapes, fonts, fills, and much more.  Much of this is common objects you would use when creating a document.  You don’t have to rely on these completely though, as you can use virtually any image by simply dragging it onto the canvas.  You can also create your own stencils, and there is even an online repository to download more.

Creating your chart is easy, there is no other way to put it.  Drag your objects onto the canvas, and then you have a huge range of tools at your disposal.  Just about everything is editable and adjustable, so the manipulations you can do to your design is almost endless.  Whether it’s a mockup of a website you are planning, or a network chart, you will not find anything better to create them with than OmniGraffle.

Trial downloads are available at http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/.

http://blip.tv/file/get/Millerjw-MacsInLifeEpisode17983.mov

Last night, I decided to replace my hard drive. I had recently done it on my wife’s 13″ MacBook and it was super simple so I figured that my 17″ (late 2006 model) would be easy as well. Boy, was I surprised when I downloaded the how-to guide. It was minor surgery and a bit unnerving to say the least. Nevertheless with extreme care and meticulous attention to detail, the deed was done and I now have a brand new 500gb hard drive in my machine. I wouldn’t recommend doing this yourself if your macbook is still in warranty because I have heard this will void it. Mine is just out of warranty and been operated on several times by the Apple care crew so I figured I would take the risk. If yours is as well and you have the intestinal fortitude to operate on your Mac, it’s not too bad. Just make sure you have the right tools, follow the guide and it doesn’t hurt to pray. Happy tinkering!

http://blip.tv/file/get/Millerjw-MacsInLifeEpisode16671.mov

This post has been a long time in the making. As many of you know, I love my Mac and all the apps I use on it are just as amazing. Since I am in the creative field, I didn’t want to focus on the typical apps that I figured were a given (i.e. Adobe products), but focus on some of the great simple apps for the Mac desktop that I use every day. This is just the ones that I thought of off the top of my head. There are plenty more but at 10, this podcast was long enough! Don’t you love how I say the number 5 twice? haha, what a dork! ok, Here’s the list:

• TextExpander


• Things


• Suitcase Fusion


• Last.fm


• Mailplane


• Tweetie Desktop


• TextMate


• Dropbox


• GrabUp


• Transmit

NOTE: I have been informed that GrabUp isn’t playing too nice with Snow Leopard so honorable mention goes to TinyGrab for nearly the same simple functions as GrabUp.

http://blip.tv/file/get/Millerjw-MacsInLifeEpisode15830.mov

http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/overview.html

http://blip.tv/file/get/Millerjw-MacsInLifeEpisode14185.mov

http://blip.tv/file/get/Millerjw-MacsInLifeEpisode13118.mov