Audio CD Ripper Tool: Max

Today, I tried to do recording from my audio CD by using Audacity and could not figure out a way to record from internal device. From Audacity, I only have option to record from Mac's microphone.

The another alternative is to find out a ripper application. I found one called as Max. This is the one I need for my job and it does the job well. Here is the interface of the program:



Before you rip tracks, you should set up your output format and directory first. What I did for the format is mp3 from the Max->Preference..., then Format tab. Add available output formats first (select and then + button). In the upper panel, make sure the output formats are checked. The Output tab is the location for ripped files. You can change it from default Audio to anywhere you like.

Now it is ready to go! Click on Encode tool button. The ripper process window is displayed:



Nice thing is that the Max is free!

As usual, for the installation, I put the decompress folder (Max-0.8.1) to MyApplication folder where is the tools I use (I separate them from Mac's default applications). The next thing is create an alias of Max.app and put it to my Utility folder on the Dock. In case I have not used this tool for a while, I can always find them from my Dock. Even Mac's Spotlight is great to find application, you may not recall the name of program you need.

Mac Mouse Cursor Location Tool

Finally, I found a very nice mouse locator tool by 2Point5fish.com It is free! It is specially useful for demo or show cases.

The tool come with configuration in system preference in other area. It is easy to configure. I use F5 key to toggle it and set it indefinitely when it is on. Here is the example of the mouse locator:



From the provider's web site, you may find out more different cursors for use and instructions available as well.

Mac Tip A Day: Log In Without Mouse

See the blog detail in my new WordPress blog: Mac Tip A Day: Log In Without Mouse.

AIM Very Slow On Windows

During my vacation in China, I tried to install AIM on my friends' Windows XP machine (notebooks). The reason is that I thought it might be easy to do video chat with my iMac since iChat only supports AIM accounts.

I only had once success to see my iMac side since I did not have video camera in China. Later on I realized that the Windows browsing becomes very slow. I am not sure it is AIM issue or the internet connection issue. The connections are all ADSL through telephone line. By chance, when I uninstalled AIM on one machine, the painful connection retained back to normal. I am not sure why.

It is too sad that I have no choice to use Skype to do video chatting.

The Best Is Yet To Come

I was not able to watch the keynote speach by Phillip Schiller at MacWorld 2009 when I was in China. Back to Calgary from the vacation, I just watched the speech last night. Most media or web reports are mixed with disappointment, however, I feel the speech is very exiting. I am mostly interested in iLife 2009, especially iPhoto, iMovie and GrarageBand.

I have used iLife 08 recently to edit my photos and videos. I made several DVDs and very impressed by its power and easy use. The new features provides more powerful features and I like them very much. The only thing is that there is little information about iDVD. Not sure if iDVD provides "Play All" for all sections or not. I tried to find out a way to do that, but it looks like that iDVD does not support that, only iDVD Pro or Final Cut does, which is very expensive.

Anyway, most people expect more from the event, such as updated Mac mini, iMac, New OS Snow Leopard, and upgraded Mighty mouse. I would like to see Mighty mouse and Mac Mini, because I love multi-touch and less expensive mini as multi-media center. However, I cannot get all at once. As the song says, The Best Is Yet To Come!