Macworld articles from February 2005

Macworld archives from February 2005

Do your chores.(preventing disasters to Mac OS )(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... The last thing I want to do on a California winter weekend is rake leaves and clean out rain gutters. Yet it's an inevitable part of my life as a homeowner: either I do my chores or our house turns into a leaking, rotting hovel surrounded by...

G5? Gee whiz!(FEEDBACK)(Apple iMac G5)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... It was no surprise that our first look at Apple's new iMac G5 was the November 2004 issue's top letter getter. We received plenty of missives from readers who were just thinking about buying one, as well as a bunch from those who already had....

iMac G5, your take.(FEEDBACK)(Apple iMac G5)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... MARK ST. JOHN # My initial impression of the iMac G5 ("iMac G5," November 2004) is that it could be the affordable, full-power Apple portable for those of us who need to take our computers along for the occasional week at Grandma's or the...

Software on the cheap.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... IAN BECK # I really enjoyed your article about low-cost and free utilities ("Even More Software Bargains," November 2004). You missed a couple that I use every day and that really deserve a mention. A-Dock X (free; find.macworld.com/0184)...

Whither OS 9.X?(FEEDBACK)(Warren Potas)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... WARREN POTAS # Annoyingly, Macworld's relevance to the mass of Mac users who are still committed to the OS 9.X platform has essentially evaporated. The final straw is your abandonment of identifying Mac OS compatibility in software...

Ups for AppleWorks.(FEEDBACK)(John Hunley)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... JOHN HUNLEY # It really bugs me that Macworld spends so much time on Microsoft "Bloated" Office and so little time on AppleWorks. I consider myself an above-average Office user, and the only thing I miss using Apple-Works is a few features...

iRobot.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... MATT KAMBIC, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY ROBOTICS ACADEMY # Excellent article on Lego MindStorms robots (Geek Factor, November 2004). I wanted to draw your readers' attention to Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Academy. We help students and...

Top iTunes tips.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... DAVID DAIGLER # I've got lots of iTunes playlists and have wasted tons of time scanning through them to see if a given song is on one of them. Jim Heid's trick (Digital Hub, November 2004)--control-click on a song name to see which...

Eagle-eyed readers.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... DOROTHY ROSA HUNT # Shopping for a printer, I first checked Macworld's reviews and then moved on to Amazon.com. As you can see from the screenshot (shown below), the site's recommendation engine somehow deduced that I should buy the HP...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2005... In December 2004's Hot Stuff, we gave the wrong price for PhotoStamps. They cost "nearly 48 cents per stamp" in addition to the price of regular stamps. (PhotoStamps are currently unavailable.) Also in December's Hot Stuff, we gave the...

It's a take: for film makers and other creative professionals, FileMaker Pro gets two thumbs up.(Advertisement)
February 1, 2005... Everyone knows creative professionals are endowed with great "right brain" potential. That's allegedly the creative lobe in our heads, and it is the side creative people like to exploit and use. Similarly, creative people don't like to get...

Software Update keeps your software fresh: getting better all the time.(MAC BEAT)
February 1, 2005... Chances are pretty good that within a week or two of reading this story, you have seen (or will see) Mac OS X's Software Update window pop up to tell you, "New software is available for your computer." In response, you've probably either...

Quickeys X3 automates your Mac: wrist saver.(MAC BEAT)(CE Software Inc.'s automation utility improves productivity)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Typing the same string of text, drilling down into submenus, or even accessing complicated keyboard commands throughout the day is not only tedious and time-consuming--it can also contribute to potentially debilitating strain injuries. One...

Macworld's fifth annual look at the year ahead in Macs: fortune tellers.(MAC BEAT)
February 1, 2005... It's once again time for Macworld to predict what the near future holds for the Macintosh world. This year, we've tapped Contributing Editors Christopher Breen and Adam C. Engst, as well as Senior Writer Dan Frakes, to peer beyond the horizon...

Dropload and others solve file-transfer woes: sever your attachments.(MAC BEAT)(www.dropload.com provides large file delivery services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... How many times have you tried to attach a short movie or a file archive to an e-mail only to find that the intended recipient's ISP won't accept large attachments? If you're anything like me, it has happened too often. Enter Dropload...

Mac DVD creator works before movie is done: ahead of the game.(MACS AT WORK)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Given their complexity and breadth of scope, typical special-edition DVD releases often begin production well before their movie counterparts are complete. The head start gives DVD producers time to shoot and assemble bonus materials so the...

Networking beat.(MAC BEAT)(MacWireless offers wireless USB interface and broadband router)(Thursby Software Systems' Dave 5.1 file sharing software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... 11b USB Stick, from MacWireless (www.macwireless.com): Wireless USB interface attaches to a Mac's USB port and includes a 7.5-inch flex extension for boosting wireless reception ($80). Broadband Router, from MacWireless...

Productivity beat.(MAC BEAT)(softwares for Mac OS X's Address Book)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... 4-Sight Fax 6.0, from Soft Solutions (www.4sightfax.com): OS X fax server software boasts a big speed improvement and adds automatic fax notification and support for Address Book (contact Soft Solutions for pricing). ABDialer 2, from...

Why stop with U2? iPod tie-in opportunities abound: isn't that special?(MAC BEAT)(rock star launches Apple Computer Inc. iTunes Music Store's iPod U2 Special Edition)
February 1, 2005... It was quite a sight last fall, seeing rock star Bono share a stage with rock-star-of-the-tech-world Steve Jobs, as the two unveiled Apple's iPod U2 Special Edition. The $349 20GB model with a black case and a red Click Wheel may bear U2's name...

Apple releases Logic Express 7, Logic Pro 7: sound off.(MAC BEAT)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The iTunes Music Store lets people purchase high-quality digital music. But for left-brained folks not content with just listening, Apple is here once again with help for creating content, too. With the newest major releases of its professional...

Multimedia beat.(MAC BEAT)(AWS Guitar Tuner 2 music software from Alex Wilson Studios)(Popwire offers Compression Master 3, data compression software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... AWS Guitar Tuner 2, from Alex Wilson Studios (www.alexwilson.com): Redesigned software for guitarists adds nine alternative tuning options, more keyboard shortcuts, and a three-octave note player (free; ad-free version, $1). Compression...

Internet beat.(MAC BEAT)(web browser, file-sharing software, and image processing software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Firefox 1.0, from The Mozilla Organization (www.mozilla.org): Web browser features pop-up window blocking, tabbed browsing, privacy and security features, and live bookmarks with RSS integration (free). Galerie 4.0, from Myriad Software...

H & R Block, Intuit update tax software: pay up.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... It's that time again. You'd rather not deal with it at all, but let's be realistic--it's never too early to start thinking about your taxes. And with the latest releases out already from H & R Block and Intuit, makers of tax-preparation...

What's happening in the digital music world: listen to the music.(MAC BEAT)(product enhancements)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... It's time again to bring you up-to-date on some of the recent news in the digital music realm--and Mac users have reason to celebrate. iPOD MINI GAINS NEW FEATURES [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] iPod mini users who update to the latest...

Storage beat.(meshed brief)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... BravoPro Disc Publisher, from Primera Technology (www.primera.com): Automated system with USB 2.0 connectivity burns and prints up to 100 CDs or DVDs at a time (52X CD-R version, $3,495; 16X/32X DVD[+ or -]/CD-R version, $3,995). Devideon...

Creative beat.(briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... formZ 5.0, from Autodessys (www.formz.com): Updated 3-D-modeling app offers native OS X support and incorporates new API technology and scripting language (contact Autodessys for pricing). GRASS 5.4, from OpenOSX (www.openosx.com):...

iPod photo: if it fits your needs and your budget, this iPod is for you.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... After weeks of rumors about a more-colorful iPod, Apple turned conjecture into cold, hard fact by unwrapping the iPod photo--the first of its portable music players to offer a color screen and the ability to display digital pictures and album...

iBook G4s: portables get a speed boost; AirPort Extreme now standard.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... On the outside, the iBooks have scarcely changed in nearly four years, but on the inside, they just keep getting better. Apple cranked up the clock speed on all three models, made AirPort Extreme standard across the line, cut the price of the...

Power Mac G5/1.8GHz: single-processor model rounds out the low end.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... It can't be the good, the better, or the best model, so just where does the new $1,499 Power Mac G5 fit into Apple's pro desktop lineup? Slowest is one way to describe it. Cheapest is the other. Unlike its siblings in the current Power Mac...

Monochrome laser printers: with so many features available, your choices aren't black and white.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... Color laser and ink-jet printers seem to get all the attention. Ink-jet printers are inexpensive and print great photographs, but their text isn't as sharp as laser printers' output. And their expensive inks make the cost per page too high for...

Ink-jet photo printers: Canon's Pixma iP8500 and i9900 run swiftly and silently.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... Canon has released a pair of color ink-jet photo printers that are similar in technology but target somewhat different markets. The Pixma iP8500 delivers fine-quality prints no larger than letter size. The i9900 also prints well, and it can...

Photoshop Elements 3.0: upgrade offers enhanced editing tools and streamlined interface.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... A photo-editing program aimed at nonprofessionals needs to serve two audiences: experienced shutterbugs who want advanced digital darkroom features, and casual snap shooters who just want better shots. Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 dances...

Contribute 3: Web-page editor gains speed, tools, and administrative features.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... When Macromedia released Contribute 2 (VERY GOOD 1/2; November 2003) last year, Mac users finally had a simple Web-page editor that novices could use to update Web sites and that Webmasters could rely on for administration. Contribute 3 is a...

Painter IX: changes to interface and brushes may justify high upgrade cost.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... What Adobe Photoshop is to image editing, Corel Painter is to digital painting. Sure, you can paint with Photoshop's brushes, but Painter lets you paint with other tools and even use virtual papers that mimic their real-world counterparts. The...

Quicken 2005: premier personal finance app adds iPhoto integration and excellent account setup for new users.(REVIEWS)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... There's no better application than Quicken for managing your personal finances. With a slew of features that let you track everything from how much money you spend on Pop-Tarts to your current net worth or how much you've racked up in ATM fees,...

You Control: Fonts 1.1; Versatile utility puts a WYSIWYG font menu at your fingertips.(REVIEWS)
February 1, 2005... Of the colorful names my Macworld coworkers call me, "type geek" is my favorite. So it's no surprise that I love You Control: Fonts 1.1.1, a utility from You Software that adds a WYSIWYG font menu to the OS X menu bar. But the $30 You Control:...

Griffin RadioShark: great white USB device lets you record and pause live radio.(Universal Serial Buses)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... Griffin Technology's much anticipated RadioShark is a USB-based radio that not only feeds audio into your Mac, but also allows you to time-shift, pause, and record live radio broadcasts--it's essentially a TiVo for any local AM or FM radio...

Displays.(Top Products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... 19-INCH DISPLAY VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync LCD1960NXi ($729), from NEC (www.necmitsubishi.com); October 2004; find.macworld.com/0081 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 17-INCH DISPLAY VERY GOOD SyncMaster 172X ($539), from Samsung...

Flatbed scanners.(Top Products)(Canon CanoScan 8400F, Canon CanoScan 9950F)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... MIDRANGE SCANNER VERY GOOD 1/2 CanoScan 9950F ($400), from Canon (www.canon.com); find.macworld.com/0188 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOW-END SCANNER VERY GOOD CanoScan 8400F ($150), from Canon (www.canon.com);...

Color laser printers.(Top Products)(HP LaserJet 2550Ln, Lexmark C510n)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD LaserJet 2550Ln ($599), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com); find.macworld.com/0083 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VERY GOOD 1/2 C510n ($1,019), from Lexmark (www.lexmark.com); June 2004; find.macworld.com/0084

DV camcorders.(Top Products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 Optura 40 ($999), from Canon (www.canon.com); November 2004; find.macworld.com/0130 VERY GOOD PV-GS200 ($999), from Panasonic (www.panasonic.com); November 2004; find.macworld.com/0130 VERY GOOD DCR-PC109 ($899), from...

Portable for general consumers.(MACS)(Apple iBook G4)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 12-inch iBook G4/1.2GHz ($999), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We've always appreciated the entry-level iBook's compact size and relatively low price. Apple's $100 price cut and included...

Portable Mac for pros.(MACS)(Apple PowerBook G4)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 12-inch PowerBook G4/1.33GHz with SuperDrive ($1,799), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Our favorite of the four PowerBooks we reviewed, the 12-inch PowerBook G4 packs a lot of power into a...

Desktop Mac for general consumers.(MACS)(Apple iMac G5)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 20-inch iMac G5/1.8GHz ($1,899), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com); [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Elegant, all-in-one design melds a speedy G5-based system--complete with a 160GB hard drive and a SuperDrive--with a big, bright...

Desktop Mac for pros.(MACS)(Apple Power Mac G5)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 Power Mac G5/dual-2.5GHz ($2,999), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We think the clear speed advantage, huge memory limit (as much as 8GB) and hard-drive capacity (it comes with a 160GB Serial...

7.1 megapixels.(NEW: DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Canon PowerShot G6)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 PowerShot G6 ($699), from Canon (www.canon.com); January 2005; find.macworld.com/0206 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

7.2 megapixels.(NEW: DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD Cyber-shot DSC-P150 ($499), from Sony (www.sonystyle.com); January 2005; find.macworld.com/0206 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

8-megapixels.(NEW: DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD C-8080 Wide Zoom ($999), from Olympus (www.olympus.com); September 2004; find.macworld.com/0091 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Top Products are those we've recently reviewed in a comparison of like products. As new products become...

20-inch Cinema Display.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 20-inch Cinema Display ($1,299), from Apple (www.apple.com) The 20-inch Cinema Display may cost a bit more than other 20-inch LCDs, but its slim, aluminum case; great image quality; and standard digital connectors will have folks...

Exilim EX-P700.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD Exilim EX-P700 ($599), from Casio (www.casio.com) This 7.2-megapixel camera has a stylish black finish, a live RGB histogram, and an excellent help system. It's a great camera for beginning enthusiasts to grow into, but...

PhotoSmart 2710.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Ink jet printer)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD PhotoSmart 2710 ($399), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com) You can print, copy, scan, and fax from this full-featured ink-jet all-in-one--and you can do it all wirelessly! You can also print good-quality 6-ink photos after...

SyncMaster 213T.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... VERY GOOD SyncMaster 213T ($999), from Samsung (www.samsung.com) This 21.3-inch, analog and digital (or dual-mode) LCD with 1,600-by-1,200-pixel resolution can pivot and display very good text and graphics. It comes at a reasonable price....

The game room.(video game reviews)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... Being the pilot of a cargo freighter in deep space is tough. Sure, you get to travel to new worlds and meet interesting people. But you also run the risk of being gunned down by pirates, getting trapped in an ion storm, and worse. It's all part...

Mac Gems.(REVIEWS)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2005... Photos are personal things--pictures of vacations, friends, family, or even the treasures we've decided to sell on eBay. But for people who make a living off of their photographs, use them for business purposes, or just want to make sure that...

Prevent Mac disasters: eight simple steps you can take now to keep your Mac from falling apart.(Mac OS X)
February 1, 2005... The mixed-up menus. The sudden crashes. The ever-spinning beach ball. They're all signs that your Mac is headed for trouble--maybe big trouble--if you don't do something soon. OS X tends to be more stable than some other operating systems I...

The 20th Annual Editors' Choice Awards.
February 1, 2005... In 2004, we reviewed more than 450 products. We saw the introduction of the iPod mini and the iPod-influenced iMac G5. And we got important updates to Mac standards such as FileMaker Pro, Bare Bones Software's BBEdit, and QuarkXPress, as...

Dialing for less.(WORKING MAC)
February 1, 2005... Even in the age of e-mail and iChat, sometimes it's easier to pick up the phone. After all, you can get an instant response, and it's nice to hear a voice once in a while. Now you no longer have to stray from your Mac when you want to call...

Inside the iPod photo.(DIGITAL HUB)(MP3 player usages)
February 1, 2005... With a color screen that displays your favorite pictures, the iPod photo is a beauty to behold. It's easy on the ears, too--the 40GB ($499) and 60GB ($599) models carry enough tunes to turn your life into a music video (see our review, page...

CSS troubleshooting.(cascading style sheets)
February 1, 2005... CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) seems like the answer to your Web-design prayers--until you test your layout in a couple of browsers and see chaotic pages that bear little resemblance to your creation. But you can have your CSS and cross-browser...

Location, location, location.(MOBILE MAC)
February 1, 2005... To really take advantage of your laptop's portability, you need network access wherever you go. But to maintain that access when you move from one place to another, you have to change a slew of OS X's settings. Fortunately, OS X lets you save...

How's the weather?(GEEK FACTOR)
February 1, 2005... What was the hottest day of the summer? How much rain did we get this spring? An old maxim says that weather is what you talk about when you can't think of anything else to discuss, but for as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by...

Mac OS X Hints.(HELP DESK)
February 1, 2005... Redistribute your .Mac storage, mark e-mail addresses for unspecified domains in Mail, change the order for list-view columns, burn more data onto CD-Rs, and create a navigable pop-up disk-drive folder in the Dock. Choose How to Allocate...

Mac 911.(HELP DESK)(Column)
February 1, 2005... Philosophers and physicists say that change is the only constant. To celebrate the shifting patterns of life, this month's Mac 911 is all about change--changing the color of Safari's links, changing Windows video files into QuickTime movies,...

Transit.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... If your Mac is the center of your entertainment world, M-Audio's $100 Transit can make that world rock a bit more. Transit is a portable 24-bit, 96kHz audio interface for connecting your DAT or Minidisc player to your Mac, routing DVD Player's...

The Cult of Mac.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... In his $40 book The Cult of Mac (No Starch Press, 2004), Leander Kahney shows the best--and the most-frightening--aspects of our devotion to the computer Apple has offered us since 1984. Homemade Dock window stickers, MacQuariums, wild hardware...

Photoshop Elements 3.0's improved red-eye tool.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Demonic possession aside, that red gleam in your photo subject's eyes is likely the result of your camera's flash. The $90 Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 makes red-eye removal very easy. Just click anywhere near the offending color, and the...

What's hot: brought to you by John Moltz of the Crazy Apple Rumors site (www.crazyapplerumors.com).(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... 1 Apple ships iPod Socks. In related news, the company has discontinued its open-bar policy at product-design meetings. 2 Firefox 1.0 is released, featuring live bookmarks and customizable searching. In response, Microsoft announced a huge...

OS X named most secure.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... We all know it in our hearts, but now it's slightly more official. London-based mi2g recently released a report that says Mac OS X and BSD Unix are the "world's safest and most secure 24-7 online computing environments." Linux offers the worst...

Altec Lansing XT1.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Altec Lansing's new $130 XT1 speaker system provides portable sound that's far superior to what your laptop can normally pump out--it's a welcome accessory for people (me, for instance) who don't like to go anywhere without tunes. Its USB cable...