Macworld articles from April 2009

Macworld archives from April 2009

Netbook or bust: want Apple to make a cheap notebook? Get used to disappointment.(Editorial)
April 1, 2009... The computer industry is abuzz with "netbooks," those tiny, dirt-cheap laptops made by companies such as Asus and MSI. And, as you might expect, everyone's wondering why Apple doesn't make one. Apple is coy on the topic. In late January,...

Memory lane.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I couldn't agree more with John Gruber's "3 Things OS X Could Learn from the Classic Mac OS" ("The Mac at 25," January 2009), especially his comment on Window-Shade. I still occasionally use OS 9, and there is a certain visceral pleasure in...

Poor reception.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Of all my laptops, the ones from Apple have the worst wireless reception ("Beyond AirPort," January 2009). I'm using the latest generation of both the MacBook and MacBook Pro, and my older Dell laptops have much greater reception and range to...

Defending the puck.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Most people were never taught how to use the USB hockey-puck mouse properly ("6 Worst Apple Products of All Time," January 2009). If you place the palm of the hand directly over the mouse and use the fleshy part of the middle between the palm...

New MacBook screens.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I was poised to buy my first MacBook with the new aluminum unibody, Multi-Touch trackpad, and LED backlighting ("MacBook Makeover." Reviews, January 2009). But Apple's blinkered marketing of the mandatory glossy screen and omission of FireWire...

Open Windows.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... There's a free alternative to Parallels and VMware, called VirtualBox. Now under Sun's wing, it is stable and easy to use. It does lack a few features that the commercial offerings have, but it offers snapshots, as well as mouse and display...

Half an Apple.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Maybe Apple should consider selling off the computer portion of its business to a company dedicated to making computer software better and more stable. Then it could concentrate on iPhones and iPods, which seem to be all Apple is making if you...

Loud and clear.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... One-eared Mac and Apple diehards like me, who need a cell phone that works with a hearing aid's analog, electromagnetic tele-coil pickup, can forget about the iPhone--at least until it gets some serious reengineering. It does not emit the...

Overheard on the forums.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I've never once thought, "I wish this laptop was thinner." Smaller and lighter--now there's something most laptop users can appreciate. nom macworld.com/4342 I think during the next quarter, Apple will roll out new products, and...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2009... In "The 24th Annual Editors' Choice Awards" (February 2009), we called Hulu's 480p video resolution "high definition" when it is in fact only enhanced definition. High-definition resolution starts at 720 pixels.

Reader poll.(Survey)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Without Apple, should there be a Macworld Expo next year? No 13% Yes 87% Source: Macworld.com online poll, January 2008 Note: Table made from pie chart.

MIA: push notification: is it dead and buried, or waiting in the wings?(iPHONE)
April 1, 2009... Apple is no stranger to a missed deadline or two, nor is the company averse to pushing back a product's launch a few weeks or months when it needs more time. But a less common occurrence is the product that disappears entirely into the black...

An iPhone without a data plan?(iPHONE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Recently, Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi opined on how Apple could increase its smart-phone market share--by selling an iPhone without a data plan. Sacconaghi proposed two ideas: an iPhone nano that plays music and videos but can't...

Amazon Game Download service shuts out Mac users.(GAMES)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Amazon.com has quietly launched its new Game Downloads Web site (macworld .com/4403), where users can purchase and download more than 600 casual video games priced at $10 or less. For the moment, though, Mac users are excluded from the fun. ...

Flash on iPhone is a 'hard technical challenge'.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... After cut-and-paste, perhaps no feature missing from the iPhone ranks higher on the collective wish list than support for Adobe's Flash. The iPhone's Mobile Safari browser may give you the "real Web," but it doesn't let you view the many, many...

Apple is among the most popular brands.(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... We know that Apple and its products are front and center in many people's minds these days, but how do Apple's products compare with other brands? A company named Vitrue set out to gauge the impact of certain brands in the realm of social...

Coolpix P90.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... Coolpix P90, from Nikon (www.nikonusa.com): 12.1-megapixel camera features 24x optical zoom along with 15-frame-per-second shooting capability ($400).

D2 Blu-ray professional BD-R, BD-RE drive.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... d2 Blu-ray Professional BD-R, BD-RE Drive, from LaCie (www.lacie.com): 8x Blu-ray Disc burner features USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 interfaces ($450).

iCon 431.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... iCon 431, from nova media (www.novamedia.de): 3G USB modem is compatible with HSUPA, 3G, UTS, EDGE, and GPRS networks ([euro]168).

Lumix TS1.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... Lumix TS1, from Panasonic (www.panasonic.com): 12.1-megapixel camera is waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof; records AVCHD Lite HD video ($400).

Pixma MX860.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... Pixma MX860, from Canon (www.usa.canon.com): All-in-one printer features Wi-Fi wireless printing and comes with five individual ink tanks ($200).

Xacti VPC-FHi.(HARDWARE)
April 1, 2009... Xacti VPC-FHi, from Sanyo (www.us.sanyo.com): AVCHD camcorder can record 1080p video at 60 frames per second ($500).

Captain FTP 6.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2009... Captain FTP 6, from Xnet Communications (www.captainftp.com): Updated FTP software adds sync scheduling using Time Machine ($29; upgrade, $19).

Cubase 5.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2009... Cubase 5, from Steinberg (www.steinberg.net): New version of digital audio workstation features an integrated vocal-pitch-correction section and new beat-creation tools, among other additions ($500).

Fontcase.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2009... Fontcase, from Bohemian Coding (www.bohemiancoding.com): Font-management utility uses an iTunes-like interface for managing and sharing fonts ($46).

Mellel 2.6.(SOFTWARE)(RedleX)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Mellel 2.6, from RedleX (www.mellel.com): Updated word processor adds Quick Look support for Leopard and a new Spread View for looking at facing pages together ($49; upgrade, free for two years).

Snapplr.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2009... Snapplr, from Briksoftware (www.briksoftware.com): Screenshot utility uploads screenshots to a Web site to aid in online sharing ([euro]20).

SugarSync 1.5.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2009... SugarSync 1.5, from Sharpcast (www.sugarsync.com): Updated online file syncing, data storage, and file-sharing service adds shared folders (pricing starts at $2.49 a month).

Elton John iPods benefit charity.(iPod + iTunes News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Here are the eight words I'm sure you've been dying to read: Swarovski crystal-encrusted Elton John-signed iPod nanos. If you're worried that your iPod is falling short in the bling department, maybe you should consider a trade-up that not only...

Settlement reached over scratched 1GiPod nanos.(iPod + iTunes News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In 2005, Apple introduced the iPod nano. Unfortunately, some unlucky consumers who jumped headfirst into the pool of first-generation Apple products found themselves the owners of iPod nanos that were rather easy--OK, let's say very easy--to...

Record labels still wary of Apple's wrath.(iPod + iTunes News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The head-butting between Steve Jobs and the recording industry seemed to be over when Apple announced that the record labels would finally give up digital rights management, while Apple would allow them the flexible pricing they so desired. ...

Google adds over-the-air calendar, contact sync for iPhone.(iPHONE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Syncing your contacts and calendars to the iPhone--and, more important, keeping them in sync--is easy enough if you're using MobileMe or you have a Microsoft Exchange account, both of which keep your contacts and calendars up-to-date through...

What's behind the Mac Box Set?(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In January, Apple announced the Mac Box Set, a $169 bundle comprising OSX 10.5 (Leopard), iLife '09, and iWork '09 for $169. That's roughly a 40 percent discount over buying the three individually. (Apple also offers a $229 Family Pack, good...

Making a 'MatteBook' Pro.(LAPTOPS)
April 1, 2009... My feelings on glossy displays are clear--I despise them. So I sent a MacBook Pro to TechRestore to spruce it up with a matte display. You can read about the results at macworld.com/4406. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Google earth dives beneath the waves, soars into space.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Google Earth lets you explore the blue planet from your desktop through maps, satellite imagery, and more. And now you can peer under the whitecaps to explore the ocean floor, and travel to Mars as well. The beta of Google Earth 5...

The increasingly untethered workforce.(Tech Trends)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... A growing portion of North American companies are going wireless, according to a new Gartner study. It finds that the number of workers equipped exclusively with mobile phones will surpass those with only desk phones in 2011. And by 2012,...

Internet Scrabble Club.(Hot Stuff)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... As a Scrabble fan, I've tried online versions of the classic game, including the official Scrabble app on Facebook. The best version I've found is the Internet Scrabble Club. Download the Java app, log in to the ISC server, and you can find a...

Berkeley Lamp II.(Hot Stuff)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... If you spend your days at a desk, good lighting can make a huge difference. Full Spectrum Solutions' $289 Berkeley Lamp II is the first lamp I've tried that bathes my desk and office in bright, pleasant light without creating any eyestrain or...

Back-In-Time.(Hot Stuff)(Tri-Edre)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Leopard's Time Machine is great for creating backups, but its interface is limiting. Tri-Edre's $29 Back-In-Time offers a more flexible way to access those backups, even on multiple Time Machine disks. It allows you to see how many different...

Tune Blocker.(Hot Stuff)(Matias)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Technology, at its best, saves us from doing stupid things. If you've ever connected your iPod or iPhone to someone else's Mac to charge it and accidentally told the device to sync with that person's library, you know where I'm coming from....

Ocean Way Drums.(Hot Stuff)(Ocean Way Studios)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Imagine having two great audio engineers sitting next to you when you load up your virtual drum kit. That's exactly what you've got if you use Ocean Way Drums, a new music tool from Grammy-winning producer Allen Sides and Grammy-nominated...

Pages '09: Apple's word processing package is almost perfect.(Reviews)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... The introduction of Pages '09 marks the fourth release of iWork's handy word processing and page-layout application. Each new release of the program has featured major improvements to Pages' word processing tools, capable page-layout features,...

Numbers'09: number-crunching advances boost Apple's spreadsheet program.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... Numbers '09, the spreadsheet component of Apple's iWork '09 application suite, is the second major release of Numbers since its debut in iWork '08. While the initial version of Numbers worked well for small projects and included some beautiful...

Keynote '09: Apple's presentation app improves but still lacks key features.(iWork'09)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... After six years and thousands of slides, I can't imagine getting along without Keynote. Its rival, Microsoft PowerPoint, has made progress on many fronts but still doesn't equal Keynote in elegance or ease of use. Despite some disappointing...

Dictate 1.2.1.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $199 COMPANY: MacSpeech URL: www.macspeech.com This is the first speech-recognition program for the Mac that offers recognition as good as that of similar Windows software, such as Nuance's Dragon...

FileMaker Pro 10.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD 1/2 price: $299 COMPANY: FileMaker URL:www.filemaker.com There's something for everyone in version 10 of the Mac's most popular database-management program. The most obvious and significant change is the new...

FusionFall.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $6 per month COMPANY: Cartoon Network URL: www.fusionfall.com FusionFall is an attempt by the Cartoon Network to create a family-friendly massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that parents will be...

Mathematica 7.0.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: SUPERIOR PRICE: $2,495 COMPANY: Wolfram Research URL: www.wolfram.com For more than 20 years, Mathematica has been a powerhouse in the technical-computing market. The two most significant upgrades to version 7.0 are built-in...

Peak Pro 6.0.4.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $599 COMPANY: BIAS URL: www.bias-inc.com Musicians, podcasters, sound designers, and other audio producers rely on Peak Pro, a longtime standby for audio production. The program is used for editing stereo audio and...

C544dn.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $499 COMPANY: Lexmark URL: www.lexmark.com In order to replace the toner in this color laser printer, you open up a side panel, and the four separate cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) easily pop in...

ESP 9 all-in-one.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD PRICE: $300 COMPANY: Kodak URL: printers.kodak.com Kodak's ESP 9 is a multifunction ink-jet device that prints, copies, faxes, and scans. The printer does well with Kodak paper, producing sharper and more vibrant prints than...

MacBook Air 1.6GHz.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE:$1,799 COMPANY: Apple URL: www.apple.com The new 1.6GHz MacBook Air is very similar to the first-generation 1.6GHz MacBook Air (GOOD 1/2; macworld.com/3388). The major difference is that the new model has an nVidia...

G1.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $400 COMPANY: T-Mobile URL: www.t-mobileg1.com T-Mobile's G1, an Android OS--based mobile phone, has emerged as the Apple iPhone's first serious competitor. Among the features the G1 has that the iPhone doesn't: a...

iDive 300.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $300 COMPANY: H20 Audio URL: www.h20audio.com The iDive 300 lets you use your iPhone or iPod underwater to a remarkable depth of 300 feet--handy for professional scuba drives who need to make long decompression...

Networks Stereo Radio with FM.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $750 COMPANY: Tivoli Audio URL: www.tivoliaudio.com The distinctive-looking Networks Stereo Radio with FM can stream audio from the Internet or any computer on a local area network, as well as play audio from a USB...

RemoteTap 2.0.(NETWORKING)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $7 COMPANY: ReadPixel URL: macworld.com/4332 The remote control app RemoteTap makes you install a pane in your Mac's System Preferences, giving you a scaled-down Mac screen on your iPhone for faster redraw speed....

USA today 1.0.2.(REFERENCE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: free COMPANY: USA Today URL: macworld.com/4326 Say what you will about USA Today as a newspaper, but its graphics-heavy, compact approach to news coverage fits the iPhone perfectly. This mobile version of McPaper...

Fring 1.0.2.4.(CHAT)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD PRICE: free COMPANY: Fringland URL: macworld.com/4328 Fring combines your chat buddy lists and lets you make voice calls via Skype. But the chat service lacks some features, and VoIP calling is spotty (macworld.com/4329). ...

Google Earth.(REFERENCE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: GOOD RRICE: free COMPANY: Google URL: macworld.com/4330 Like its desktop counterpart, the iPhone version of Google Earth gives you stunning bird's-eye views of the planet, letting you zoom from one city to another. But unlike the...

Rolando.(GAMES)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RATING: VERY GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $6 COMPANY: Ngmoco URL: macworld.com/4324 Another alarmingly addictive game from Ngmoco, Rolando makes you responsible for rolling little round Rolandos to safety, avoiding obstacles, pitfalls, and shadowy...

More reviews.(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... More Reviews See more iPhone and iPod touch apps we've tested at iPhone Central (macworld.com/4i64). APPLICATION DESCRIPTION PRICE RATING FIND CODE * AccuWeather.com 1.02 weather free GOOD 1/2 ...

Top products.(REVIEWS)(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)(Table)
April 1, 2009... CAMCORDERS High Definition PRODUCT RATING PRICE TYPE FIND CODE Vixia HV30 (pictured) VERY GOOD $554 MiniDV 3708 www.canon.com HDR-SR11 Handycam VERY GOOD $735 hard...

Mac Gems: discover great, low-cost Mac products.(REVIEWS)(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... UTILITY Baseline 1.4.2 RATING: GOOD 1/2 PRICE: $20 COMPANY: MildMannered Industries URL: www.mildmanneredindustries.com I've often recommended Erwin Bonsma's GrandPerspective (VERY GOOD; macworld.com/4318) and ID-Design's WhatSize...

Beyond the box: it's got face recognition, improved video tools, and more. But is iLife '09 worth the upgrade.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... With iLife '09, Mac users get creative opportunities that outshine those in any past version of the suite. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] iPhoto's advances into the realm of face recognition and geotagging not only devetail with popular new...

iPhoto'09: high-profile upgrade debuts face recognition and geotagging.(Beyond the Box)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... Of the five applications that make up iLife, iPhoto has the broadest appeal. With iPhoto '08 (VERY GOOD; macworld.com/3061), Apple tried to simplify photo management by introducing the concept of events, which let you automatically organize...

iMovie'09: Apple's revamped video editor surpasses previous versions.(Beyond the Box)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... When Apple decided a year and a half ago to start from scratch and introduce a new video editor for iLife, the version it shipped should have been more like iMovie '09. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Instead, the company released iMovie '08...

iWeb '09: FTP uploading, new widgets boost iLife's Web builder.(Beyond the Box)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... Apple's goal with iWeb is to give users an easy way to create and update lively, personal Web sites without needing to know complex Web building technologies. With the addition of FTP capabilities and some powerful new widgets, iWeb '09 ably...

GarageBand '09: make and learn music with Apple's audio app.(Beyond the Box)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... With each new version of GarageBand, Apple tries to explore a different angle, hoping to capture a new audience. With GarageBand '09, the new lure is guitar and piano lessons. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Veteran GarageBand users aren't left...

The world's greenest computers? Are Macs as environmentally friendly as Apple says?(How Green Is Your Mac?)
April 1, 2009... When Apple launched its new family of MacBook laptops last fall, its ad campaign focused on their eco-friendly attributes: a recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure, mercury-free LED backlights, fewer toxins than other computers, and a...

Responsible recycling: what to do with your Mac when its days are over.(How Green Is Your Mac?)
April 1, 2009... When your Mac is no longer the shiny new kid on the block, there's no shortage of ways to extend its useful life. An old Mac can work as a recipe-storage library, for instance, and that antique iBook can be a backup drive. [ILLUSTRATION...

E-mail etiquette: how to mind your manners when sending messages.(Working Mac)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Just as the posted letter once replaced the smoke signal as a primary means of long-distance communication, e-mail is now displacing the letter. As it does so, many of us are moving into uncharted behavioral territory. But fear not--our...

Fill in missing iTunes track info: take advantage of music info in the iTunes Store.(Playlist)
April 1, 2009... When you buy a new CD and slip it into your computer's optical drive to rip it, iTunes automatically queries an Internet-based database to discern the artist's name, the album's title, and the titles of its tracks. (If it doesn't, you may need...

Customize your calling cards: online printing services can help you get noticed.(Create)
April 1, 2009... Thanks to the proliferation of affordable and easy-to-use online printing services, business cards are popping up outside the office, freed from the confines of the 9-to-5 workday. Freelancers and job hunters use them to stand out in a crowded...

Troubleshoot your MacBook: solve the most vexing laptop problems.(Mobile Mac)
April 1, 2009... From touchy trackpads to balking batteries, Apple's portable computers (the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air) are vulnerable to certain problems not shared by their desktop siblings. If you have an Apple laptop that's giving you grief,...

Get audio into your Mac: how to work with mics and other input methods.(Recording Studio)
April 1, 2009... You can use your Mac to record late-night jam sessions, snatch tunes hummed into a microphone, and much more. But to do any of these things, you'll need to carefully consider the type of input device that will best suit your needs and help you...

Mac OS X Hints: the insider tips you won't get from Apple.(Help Desk)(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... iPhoto Thumbnail Tricks Whether you use Apple's iPhoto '08 (VERY GOOD; macworld.com/3061) or iPhoto '09 (VERY GOOD; see our review on page 42), a couple of keyboard shortcuts will make working with your image thumbnails easier. If you want...

Mac 911: solutions to your most vexing Mac problems.(HELP DESK)
April 1, 2009... Error-Proof E-mail Attachments Q: I'm a photographer and need to e-mail photos to other people, many of whom are Windows users. When I do this with Apple's Mail, most Windows users can see the pictures but can't save the attachments. Is...

Bugs & fixes.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Blurry Photos after iPhone 2.2 Update Many iPhone owners have complained about a bug in the iPhone 2.2 Update that affects image display. It notably affects photos received as e-mail attachments. When viewed in Apple's Mail, an attached image...

Help someone make a smooth PC-to-Mac transition.(TOOLS OF THE TRADE)(personal computer)
April 1, 2009... I recently helped a beloved aunt move from a PC running Windows XP to a new iMac. To prepare for the operation, these are the tools I packed: A Portable USB Drive Sometimes the quickest, way to move files from a PC to a Mac is to jack an...

What's wrong with this picture: the video business doesn't get the digital market.(SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2009... At this year's Macworld Conference & Expo, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller announced that by the middle of this year, the entire iTunes Store music catalog--10 million songs strong--would be available in DRM-free versions. I was...