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6/30/2007
Discover the Power of Open Directory (Part 2)
Noah Gift shows how to set up a Mac with an NFS home directory using Open Directory, integrate an existing Linux NFS file server for a cross-platform home directory, and authenticate a Linux client into Open Directory. Read More... Put Your Mac to Work: Top Automation Tips
Computers are good at doing the repetitive tasks that humans find annoying. Mac OS X includes a variety of tools for automating tasks simply and efficiently, and shareware goodies can improve things further. Neale Monks looks at some of the best ways to automate your Mac. Read More... 6/29/2007
Apple's iPhone: Will It Make or Break the Mac?
Apple was forced to delay the release of Mac OS X 10.5 to make sure the iPhone shipped on time. Is that merely a blip, or an ominous sign of things to come? Neale Monks discusses the impact of Apple’s iPhone on its core business-the Macintosh. Read More... 6/22/2007
Graphical Toolkits for Apple's OS X: GTK+
In the latest installment in his series on windowing system options for Mac developers, Jeremiah Foster takes a look at using GTK+ on OS X. If you like living on the bleeding edge, this article will show you how to install and get up and running with GTK+ on OS X. Read More... Six Fresh Tips from iPod: the Missing Manual
The tiny pamphlet that Apple includes in each iPod package is enough to get your iPod up and running, charged, and ready to download music. But if you want to know more about how the iPod works, all the great things it can do, and where to find its secret features, turn to iPod: The Missing Manual, by J.D. Biersdorfer. It's the book that should have been in the box. Read More... Using Your iPod in the Car
When you love your music, you want to listen to it everywhere—including and especially in your car. Although you could pop on your earphones to listen to your iPod while driving, that's not really safe and might even be illegal in your particular locale. A better solution is to somehow pipe the tunes from your iPod through your car's built-in audio system. How you do this depends on the features of your particular car (and car audio system) and how much trouble you want to go through. Michael Miller runs through the most common options in this sample chapter. Read More... 6/20/2007
Youtube video to be iPod compatible?
From an Apple Press release today- "...YouTube has begun encoding their videos in the advanced H.264 format, and iPhone will be the first mobile device to use the H.264-encoded videos. Over 10,000 videos will be available on June 29, and YouTube will be adding more each week until their full catalog of videos is available in the H.264 format this fall."We are assuming that this means that we'll also have more content for the Video iPod, which is very good news. 6/18/2007
Making the Most of Apple Mail
At first glance, Mail seems to be a simple e-mail client, but there is quite a lot of power beneath its Spartan exterior. In time-honored Apple fashion, though, you do have to root around a bit to really get the most out of Mail. Neale Monks shows you how to use Mail's filters to keep out more spam along with other useful Mail tricks that you’ll soon find yourself using all the time. Read More... The Top Five Microsoft Office Alternatives for Mac Users
Need the functionality of Microsoft Office on your Mac, but can't afford its hefty price tag? Tired of waiting for a universal version of Office for your Intel Mac? Ryan Faas gives the ins and outs of some low-cost and free alternatives. Read More... (Editor's Note: The above article doesn't mention Nisus Writer Express, a great alternative to Word.) 6/14/2007
Bridging the Mac-Windows Gaming Gap
New developments announced at Apple's Developers Conference take different approaches to getting games to run on both platforms. Read More... 6/12/2007
News from the WWDC (Oopps!)
At the WWDC, Apple CEO Steve Jobs Monday announced a way for programmers to write applications for the company's new iPhone handset and said that the company is offering a version of its Safari Web browser for users of Microsoft Windows PCs. But it was later realized that Safari for Windows was just like the others browsers for Windows, full of security holes. One side note that didn't seem to get enough attention is the new finder in Leopard. Go here to see a Quicktime preview of it, it's pretty cool. 6/11/2007
Apple TV straddles between 'hobby' and 'hype'
Apple TV has been in stores for just two months, but there are already signs it may join the Lisa, the Apple III and the G4 Cube on the computer maker's list of flops. There are no sales figures yet, but demand seems tepid based on anecdotal reports. And reviews of the once widely anticipated product have been mixed at best. Read More... 6/08/2007
Hit-and-Run: Launching AppleScripts with Keyboard Shortcuts
AppleScript automation is one of OS X's most useful features, and it can be made even better with the use of keyboard shortcuts. Jochen Wolters examines three ways to assign a keyboard shortcut to an AppleScript, and digs in to FastScripts and Quicksilver in this detailed tutorial. Read More... Discover the Power of Open Directory
Open Directory is one of Apple's best-kept secrets. Get the real scoop on Open Directory, and learn how to configure a very basic Open Directory system and set up an OS X Open Directory client. Read More... Take Back Your Mac's Hard Drive: The Best Ways to Reclaim Disk Space
Do you feel like your Mac is always running short of hard drive space? And you can never quite figure out how it all got used up? Ryan Faas is your guide to not only finding out where all those gigabytes went but also how to get them back. Read More... 6/01/2007
The Power of Preview: Ten Tricks for Getting More Out of Apple's Little PDF Viewer
Can you dump Photoshop in favor of Preview? Probably not, but Preview is a little gem of a program capable of doing far more than you might imagine, says Neale Monks. Read More... Creating a Home or Small Office Server Using Apple's AirPort Extreme Base Station
Looking to set up centralized file and printer sharing for your home or office? Want to avoid sacrificing performance of any of your computers or suffering the hassle of setting up a server? Apple's AirPort Extreme offers a simple, cross-platform, one-stop solution that includes incredible performance. Ryan Faas shows you why AirPort Extreme's amazing combination of features for a relatively low price point is a great tool for your home or small business. Read More... Taking Pictures
Recently, I've been doing a lot of work with iPhoto; either troubleshooting for some of my clients or for my own personal use. From my experience with working on iPhoto, I've reached a couple of conclusions. Firstly, most people (myself included) really don't use or understand all the features of iPhoto. Ninety percent of the people I encounter just use iPhoto as a way to import and catalog their digital Photos. And even in regards to cataloging, few people are using keywords in a way that will get the most out of the program. This really isn't the fault of either the user or the application. Like so many iLife applications there just isn't adequate documentation. I know, you'll find a lot of information by using the help menu, but for me, the help viewer just doesn't cut it. To get to know a program, I like to have an actual printed book or manual. That's where "iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual  " from Pogue Press/O'Reilly comes in. It covers everything, from how to get the best shots, organizing and editing them, and using all the special output options of iPhoto (prints, slide shows, books, calendars, cards, movies, etc.). It even has a very good trouble shooting section (did you that you can access several options for rebuilding your iPhoto database by holding down the command and option keys when launching the program?). If you are an amateur photographer and want to get the most out of iPhoto, this is a "must have" book.But if you are a professional digital photographer, it won't take long before you find iPhoto 6 lacking. The way it stores photos in dedicated folders is inflexible, it's editing tools are sub par, and it just doesn't have some of the functions that a professional photographer would find useful. Enter "Abobe Photoshop Lightroom" I've been playing with it for the last few weeks and it looks really promising. It let's you store your photos where you want. It has powerful nondestructive editing features, it lets you add keywords to multiple photos in a way that is actually usable, and it has some very interesting output options (ones geared more towards the professional than the home user). Now I know that a lot of people might be saying "what about Apple's Aperture"? Well, check out the comparison of the two programs online at http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/lightroom.ars/8, Lightroom compares very favorably. To me, the two biggest advantages to Lightroom are Cost and System Requirements (which are, essentially, a cost issue). Like iPhoto, lightroom isn't exactly intuitive. The interface is very different from any other Abobe product that I know. So it's not the kind of program that you just install and 'hit the ground running'. Fortunately, there are some great books out on Lightroom. Two of them include "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Workflow: The Digital Photographer's Guide  " by Tim Grey and "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for Digital Photographers Only" by Rob Sheppard. They both are thorough books that you'd want to read cover-to-cover to get the most out of the program, but I prefer the book by Rob Sheppard. Maybe it is just because I like the layout or writing style of Sheppards' book better, but it also seems like a book that I'd use as a desktop reference after I finish reading it.All in all, Lightroom is a very useful program for the digital photographer, but don't take my word for it, download a trial copy at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/ |
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