Macworld articles from February 2007

Macworld archives from February 2007

Parallels universe.(Parallels Desktop software)(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... If I needed an indicator that this whole Intel-Mac thing is opening new doors for Apple, I couldn't have asked for a better one than my Uncle Jim. He's a retired corporate executive who has always used Windows, at home and at work. And yet just...

To your health.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... When we were first considering doing a guide to computer ergonomics ("Macworld's Guide to Healthy Computing," November 2006), a story we've done many times over the years, we had to ask ourselves: "Is there anything new to say about it?" The...

Ergonomic advisers.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... KARIM CHRISTOPHER * Thanks for the article on ergonomics ("Macworld's Guide to Healthy Computing," November 2006). In their rush to create the latest, greatest products, hardware and software companies forget that their customers are real,...

Dangerous raids.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... JOE VANZANDT * In your article about the Mac Pro ("Inside the Mac Pro," November 2006), you point out that the expanded disk capacity of the Mac Pro makes it possible to speed up the machine by instituting RAID 0 (striping) among multiple...

How fast is FileMaker?(FileMaker Pro 8.5)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... JERRY WEIR # There's a big error in your review of FileMaker Pro 8.5 (November 2006). Your reviewer quotes the company as having stated that "version 8.5 is up to two times faster than FMP 8 on a PowerPC Mac." That statement is not true,...

Parallels universe.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... AMI SPERBER # In the article "Design for Any Browser" (Create, November 2006), David Sawyer McFarland suggests a way to return to full-screen mode in Parallels, by installing and configuring VirtueDesktops. I have been using a much simpler...

Pop goes the Gmail.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... PAULAPPLEGATE # In "Get More from Mail" (Working Mac, November 2006), Joe Kissell mentions adding a POP3 account to Gmail, but fails to mention the most important part: enabling POP3 access in the Gmail Web interface. To do so, choose...

On the road again.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... NEAL GALLAGHER # As a prolific photographer, who backs up gigabytes at a time when I'm out in the field, let me add two comments to your story "Back Up Photos on the Road" (Digital Photo, November 2006). First, the Apple iPod Camera...

Thumb drives, Ha!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... ALBERT REINGEWIRTZ * About your column in November on portable applications ("Your Apps in Your Pocket," Mobile Mac): I recently spent a week in New York and carried full-fledged copies of all my apps with me. I brought all my data and...

A better way to share.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... LEON NELSON # In "Better Living through iPhoto Sharing" (Mac 911, November 2006), Christopher Breen described several elaborate ways to move pictures from one Mac to another. I prefer a simpler method: On computer number one, select the...

Photoshop CS3 beta arrives: Adobe gives graphics pros an early version of Intel-Native app.(Adobe Systems Inc. developing Photoshop CS3 software)
February 1, 2007... In ordinary times, Adobe products see the light of day only when they're ready to land on retail shelves. But with Apple's transition to the Intel processor complete and the release of Adobe Creative Suite 3 still months away, Adobe has taken...

Macworld's seventh Annual look at the year ahead: Fortune-tellers.(forecasting information technology services industry)
February 1, 2007... Not even Steve Jobs knows everything that will occur in the world of Macs in 2007. But that needn't stop us from making our own predictions. So this year we asked Senior Editor Christopher Breen, Senior Contributor Adam C. Engst, John Gruber of...

Times puzzle editor is a longtime Mac user; Interview: Will Shortz.(macbeat)(Interview)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Will Shortz is the crossword editor of the New York Times, the puzzle master for National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and the only person in the world with a...

Beatles coming to iTunes?(Apple Inc. contracts with Beatles)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... According to a Fortune story, Apple and the Beatles are finally nearing a deal that would put the Fab Four's music on the iTunes Store--marking the first time the Beatles have allowed digital downloads of their music. "It would certainly be a...

FM transmitters OK in the United Kingdom.(NEWS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The United Kingdom has decided to allow the use of low-power FM transmitters that stream tunes from a portable music player to a car stereo. The amendment, made in December 2006 under the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949, fixed a quirky loophole...

Sony finds digital camera CCD problems.(charge coupled devices)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Problems with the CCD (charge-coupled device) in some of Sony's cameras could result in the inability to take clear pictures or any photos at all, according to the company. The CCD found in the DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33,...

Core 2 Duo reduces heat in some MacBook and MacBook Pro models: cooler laptops?(macbeat)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Since their respective releases in 2006, Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops have been hot items. Now that both have been updated with Core 2 Duo processors, Mac users are hoping that the laptops are a little less hot in one area in...

Players to integrate with in-flight entertainment: iPod in the sky.(Apple Inc. planning to team up with airlines to integrate iPods)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Already the perfect companion for a long flight, the iPod is set to get even better, as Apple announced plans to team up with several major international airlines to integrate iPods with their in-flight entertainment systems. The airlines,...

WingNuts goes free.(Freeverse Software offering free download for WingNuts: Temporal Navigator )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Freeverse Software has made its game WingNuts: Temporal Navigator available as a free download. The previously $20 game is a PowerPC-only app that runs natively in Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X. WingNuts puts you in the pilot's seat of a time-traveling...

Blizzard offers free World of Warcraft demo.(Blizzard Entertainment)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... If you've wanted to play World of Warcraft (www.worldofwarcraft.com) but haven't felt like plunking down money for the game, rejoice: Blizzard Entertainment has released a free trial edition that lets you play the massive multiplayer online...

Victoria expansion pack released.(Virtual Programming introduced Victoria: Revolutions)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Virtual Programming (www.vpltd.com) has released a $15 expansion pack for Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun called Victoria: Revolutions. The turn-based-strategy game focuses on the British Empire during the reign of Queen Victoria and shortly...

Apple's superstars of poker.(Texas Hold'em game)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... One of the best parts of Apple's Texas Hold'em iPod game is the realistic characters you play against. Some of them look vaguely familiar, and I kind of assumed that some Apple employees were stashed among the stable of opponents. But it wasn't...

Hardware beat.(macbeat)
February 1, 2007... ety8, from Etymotic Research (www.etymotic.com): Bluetooth-based in-ear wireless earphones weigh less than half an ounce and ship with an optional iPod adapter for controlling volume, track selection, and playback (earphones, $199; with...

Storage beat.(macbeat)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Biggest FW800 RAID, from LaCie (www.lacie.com): Updated version of external storage device with RAID controller now uses a Serial ATA hard drive for better performance and features new silver design with lockable hard-disk drawers (1TB, $1,299;...

Updated MacBook pros offer speed Boosts: laptops get latest Intel processors and more.(Apple MacBook Pro)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Apple says that its latest MacBook Pro laptops, equipped with Intel Core 2 Duo processors in place of the Core Duo chips that powered the first-generation lineup, "deliver performance that is up to 39 percent faster." Although I was initially...

MacBooks get their first makeover: consumer laptops get core 2, too.(Apple MacBook)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Before even reaching its six-month birthday, the MacBook has had its first makeover. The changes--a new processor and (in two of the three MacBook models) more RAM, bigger hard drives, and double-layer DVD burning--aren't quite as substantial...

Backing it up: there are all kinds of backup apps out there. Which one is right for you?(Reviews)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... In the near future, Mac users will begin updating their computers to run Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). One of the most interesting features promised for Leopard is Time Machine, a built-in backup utility with a slick 3-D interface...

More reviews.(BBEdit 8.5, program editor)(EyeTV 250, TV tuner device)(QuickBooks Pro 2007, accounting software)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... For complete reviews of the products listed here, visit www.macworld.com/reviews. VERY GOOD 1/2 BBEdit 8.5 ($125; upgrade from version 8, $30), from Bare Bones Software (www.barebones.com): BBEdit has long been the go-to text editor for...

Browsers: Surf in style.(Mozilla Firefox 2.0, Opera 9.02)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD Firefox 2 (free), from the Mozilla Foundation (www.mozilla.org): Firefox 2, the latest release from the Mozilla Foundation, is another great browser that Mac users can add to their arsenal. The latest version sports a bevy of new...

FM transmitters.(Kensington Digital FM Transmitter)(Griffin Technology iTrip)(DLO TransPod)(DLO TransDock micro )(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... For reviews of more than 30 FM transmitters, go to macworld.com/2398. VERY GOOD Digital FM Transmitter/Auto Charger for iPod ($80); from Kensington (www.kensington.com): The Digital FM Transmitter plugs into your car's accessory jack and...

iPods.(iPod Gear)(Table)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Product Capacity Rating Price Display iPod 30GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $249 2.5-inch color iPod 80GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $349 2.5-inch color iPod nano 2GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $149 1.5-inch color...

Adeo Fitness Trainer.(NEW: GPS-BASED WORKOUTS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... GOOD Adeo Fitness Trainer ($150), from MotionLingo (www.motionlingo.com): For people who want some global-positioning satellite (GPS) functionality in a workout device--as well as an accessory that works with any iPod--there's the Adeo Fitness...

iTone iC200.(NEW: iPOD ALARM CLOCK)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... FLAWED 1/2 iTone iC200 ($120), from Emerson Radio (emersonradio.com): The iTone iC200's functionality is among the best we've seen in iPod alarm clocks. Its easy-to-use remote--which looks and feels a lot like a first-generation iPod...

5G iPod.(introduced by Apple Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... When Apple released the updated 5G iPod, it also announced a number of games, available for $5 each through the iTunes Store, that work with both the updated and original 5G models. Macworld.com blogger Peter Cohen has taken each of these games...

Widget-to-app converter: Amnesty Singles 1.1.1.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Mac OS X's Dashboard can be a useful feature for accessing get-in-and-get-out tools such as dictionaries, calculators, weather updates, and more. But there are times when I want to use a particular widget without going through Dashboard. For...

Notebook protector: SeeThru.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Lately, the Mac-related question I've been asked most frequently has been, "Why is your MacBook Pro red?" You see, I've been using Speck Products' new SeeThru for the 15-inch Mac-Book Pro (VERY GOOD; $40; www.speckproducts.com). Made of...

iTunes automation: Doug's AppleScripts.(Mac Gems)
February 1, 2007... Apple's iTunes has its limitations, but I haven't seen any other program that makes it as easy to acquire and mange audio and video files. That said, heavy users of iTunes are quick to point out things the app apparently can't do. Many...

Sleeping beauty.(Brainwave's Pzizz 2.0)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... I'm a big believer in the power of napping, but I admit that much of this conviction is involuntary--I find it difficult to function in the afternoon if I haven't had some kind of a midday snooze. But sometimes starting my nap can be a problem;...

C6100dn.(COLOR LASER PRINTERS)(of Oki Data Inc.)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 C6100dn ($1,102), from Oki Data (www.okidata.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Oki C6100dn produces great-looking prints, and it includes built-in duplexing. It has easy network connectivity and quick printing speeds...

Stylus Photo R340.(INK-JET PHOTO PRINTERS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 Stylus Photo R340 ($200), from Epson (www.epson.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Epson Stylus Photo R340 prints the best color photos in its class, and it reproduces shadow detail extremely well. Its black-and-white...

Macs.(laptop computers)(Product/service evaluation)(Table)
February 1, 2007... DESKTOP Product Processor Display Rating More Information iMac Intel Core 2 17 inches VERY GOOD macworld.com/1727 Duo/1.83GHz Intel Core 2 17 inches VERY GOOD 1/2...

Desktop drives.(G-Technology Inc.'s G-Drive Q 500GB drive)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... OUTSTANDING G-Drive Q 500GB ($559), from G-Technology (www.g-technology.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The G-Drive Q SATA hard drive has nearly every type of connection you could want. The Q stands for quad--referring to the four...

Portable drive.(Roc-secure's Rocbit 2B )(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... OUTSTANDING Rocbit 2B ($230), from Roc-secure (www.rocsecure.com): The Rocbit 2B, which has 40-bit encryption, is priced a bit higher than similar portable drives that lack encryption, but it's well worth the premium if security is a...

PV-GS500.(MINIDV CAMCORDER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD PV-GS500 ($1,000), from Panasonic (www.panasonic.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The PV-GS500 is a fine piece of equipment: It offers great control, excellent video quality, and broad operational flexibility. Although it's at...

CanoScan 9950F.(FLATBED SCANNER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 CanoScan 9950F ($399), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CanoScan 9950F offers improved scan quality and more-intuitive software controls. This model tops its predecessor, the 9900F, in almost every...

21-inch display.(NEC MultiSync 2190UXi liquid crystal display)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync 2190UXi ($1,500), from NEC (www.necdisplay.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This display doesn't come cheap, but graphics pros will love the NEC MultiSync 2190UXi's vivid and accurate colors and wide viewing angle....

20-inch display.(NEC MultiSync LCD2070NX liquid crystal display)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync LCD2070NX ($799), from NEC (www.necdisplay.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The MultiSync LCD2070NX is great for people who want a moderately priced 20-inch monitor that can display bright, accurate colors. It...

17-inch display.(Dell UltraSharp 1707FP liquid crystal display)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD UltraSharp 1707FP ($279), from Dell (www.dell.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Budget-conscious display shoppers won't be disappointed by this highly flexible 17-inch monitor that has a built-in USB hub. Its display of text is...

8-megapixel digital SLR.(DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 EOS Digital Rebel XT ($899; with lens, $999), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Canon defined this market with the original Digital Rebel, and the company keeps its lead with the EOS Digital Rebel XT. The...

Advanced digital camera.(DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Fujifilm FinePix E900)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD FinePix E900 ($410), from Fujifilm (www.fujifilm.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Digital camera resolution keeps increasing, and the Fujifilm FinePix E900 follows this trend as the first point-and-shoot camera we've seen with a...

d2 DVD[+ or -]RW with LightScribe.(DUAL-LAYER DVD BURNER)(LaCie)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD 1/2 d2 DVD[+ or -]RW with LightScribe ($189), from LaCie (www.lacie.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whether you're looking to add DVD-burning capability to your system, looking for an easier way to copy optical discs, or just...

10.2-megapixel digital SLR.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Nikon D80)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD D80 (body only, $1,000), from Nikon (www.nikonusa.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The D80 delivers an excellent balance of features, image quality, and price. A top-mounted status LCD displays all the camera settings that you'll...

Compact photo printer.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Hewlett-Packard Photosmart A716)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD Photosmart A716 ($200), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The HP Photosmart A716 has a multitude of nice features. It has a built-in hard drive, produces water- and smudge-resistant prints in a...

Portable photo printer.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Epson PictureMate Flash PM 280)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... VERY GOOD PictureMate Flash PM 280 ($300), from Epson (www.epson.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Flash PM 280 offers the best-looking 4-by-6-inch borderless photos of all the portable photo printers we've tested. Its convenient...

The 22nd annual editors' choice awards.(Panasonic PV-GS500)(Apple MacBook Pro)(HP Photosmart Pro B9180)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Every year, Macworld reviews hundreds of products, everything from Apple's newest desktops and laptops to little developers' little utilities that do things you never thought you needed done. But which ones were the most useful or innovative?...

Decode the web: see through the clutter with our tips for searching, browsing, and using RSS.
February 1, 2007... For most of us, the Web is as essential a tool as our word processors, e-mail clients, and photo-editing software. Yet even if you consider yourself a Mac pro, you can sometimes feel like a newbie when it comes to navigating this massive...

Easy Mac backups.(WORKING MAC)
February 1, 2007... If your computer is stolen, damaged, or incapacitated, you can always repair or replace the hardware and software. But what about your data--those photos and videos of your kids, the big proposal that's due on Monday, or the half-finished epic...

The podcast listener's guide.(using iTunes 7.0 for podcasting)
February 1, 2007... Tired of listening to the same stations playing the same music, sawing the same old sports cliches, and repeating the most deadly dull of local news? Thanks to the world of podcasting, your daily drive doesn't have to be a drag. Apple's iTunes...

Make massive prints.(digital photography)
February 1, 2007... Looking for an inexpensive way to add interest to a blank wall? Want to show off your digital photos in a way that will really get noticed? The next time you make a print of your favorite photo, don't settle for a measly 8 by 10 inches....

Customize your DVDs.(Apple iDVD software)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Apple's iDVD software (included with the $79 iLife '06 suite) makes it almost ridiculously easy to turn home movies and other videos into visually stunning DVDs. In fact, the program does almost all the work for you. But there are also plenty...

Upgrade your laptop.(MOBILE MAC)
February 1, 2007... Your laptop is a couple of years old, and you're not particularly happy with its performance anymore--but you aren't ready to spring for a new one. What to do? You've probably considered upgrading your portable Mac. But what, exactly, should...

3 great tricks for geeks.(reading email on iPod)
February 1, 2007... Geeks don't conform to the status quo--and neither do their Macs. But even the best of us can get stuck in a word-processing and Web-browsing rut. If your New Year's resolutions included breaking out of the ordinary, we're here to help. Read on...

Mac OS X hints: the insiders' tips you won't get from Apple.(HELP DESK)(Column)
February 1, 2007... Cancel the Shut Down Command It's happened to us all: you tell your machine to shut down, and then you remember that there's one last thing you need to do--send an e-mail message, check the weather forecast, or pay a bill online, say. Once...

Mac 911: solutions to your most vexing Mac problems.(HELP DESK)(Column)
February 1, 2007... Manage iWeb Pages from Anywhere I used to share my photos via .Mac's HomePage feature. Now that I've upgraded to iLife '06, iWeb is more suitable for my needs. The only problem is that with iWeb, I can manage my site only from my home...

Radeon X1900 G5 Mac edition.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(ATI)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Feel like your PCI Express-based Power Mac G5's graphics performance is a bit slow? Suffer no more, thanks to ATI's $349 Radeon X1900 G5 Mac Edition card. While it isn't quite as quick as the Mac Pro's X1900 card (which, by the way, doesn't...

eFilm ExpressCard 34.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Delkin Devices Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Serious photographers--and even many not-so-serious ones--will tell you that a media-card reader is the way to get your photos onto your computer. Using a card reader is faster than connecting your camera to your Mac, and it saves your camera's...

PiXel check 1.2.(image processing software)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... If you've recently unpacked your new iMac, MacBook, or monitor, or if you're getting ready to sell an older LCD-based product, you should inspect your screen closely for dead or "stuck" pixels. For new machines, malfunctioning pixels (which...

Moo MiniCards.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
February 1, 2007... The practice of handing out personal calling cards began in 15th-century China. I'm pinning my hopes of a renaissance on Flickr. If you're a member of the innovative photo-sharing site, you can turn your snapshots into tiny calling...

Nikon D40.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Making the leap from a fully automated point-and-shoot camera to a digital SLR can be intimidating, but things just got much easler with Nikon's new D40. In addition to being one of the smallest, lightest, and least expensive digital SLRs...