Macworld articles from July 2003

Macworld archives from July 2003

A musical journey: why Apple's Music store will change the world. (From the Editor's Desk).
July 1, 2003... MAKE NO MISTAKE: APPLE'S LATEST PRODUCT RELEASES (including the iTunes Music Store, the new iPods, and iTunes 4) are an attempt to revolutionize the ways people purchase and use music. And while it's far too soon to know for sure, I think that...

Feedback.
July 1, 2003... X Marks the Spam Responses to our April 2003 issue proved that no one likes spam. But if there's one thing that irritates some of our readers more than those unceasing, unwanted offers of weight-loss miracles, high-tech doodads, and...

Corrections.
July 1, 2003... "More Mac Software Bargains" (May 2003) gave incorrect information on jEdit 4.1's system requirements. The program runs only on OS X. The Game Room (April 2003) incorrectly reported the companies responsible for F1 Championship Season...

Courting video pros: Avid and Apple compete--and the users end up winning. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... In an elaborate courtship battle that rivals any of the ardor-fueled calculation and strategizing you might see on The Bachelor, Avid and Apple are pulling out all the stops in their efforts to win the affection of the professional video...

Game beat. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Software Championship Manager 4, from Feral Interactive (www.feral.co.uk): More than just an update to club and player data, this new version--which puts you in charge of your own soccer club in one of 39 national leagues--includes the...

No news is good news: Mac users should stay vigilant against virus outbreaks. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... The arrival of OS X gave many Mac users their first taste of Unix. But some experts worried that the new OS's Unix base would lead to less-welcome arrivals: more Mac-specific viruses. The feared outbreak hasn't materialized yet, but Apple and...

Symantec's quicker fix. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Mac users may be immune to many of the virus problems that plague PCs, but even if a virus doesn't put your Mac out of commission, you can pass the problem on to a Windows user via e-mail. For that reason, at least one feature in the latest...

Internet beat. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Software Authoring WireFusion 3.2, from Demicron (www.demicron.com): The authoring tool for interactive Web presentations has added OS X compatibility; previously, it was available only in Windows and Linux versions (professional...

Input-device beat. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Hardware Keyboards A mouse and keyboard combination from Microsoft (800/426-9400, www.microsoft.com): The Wireless Optical Desktop Special Edition ($85) features an optical mouse, keyboard, and wireless transceiver, all with a white...

Make room for FireWire: Apple promoting IP-over-FireWire as Ethernet alternative to Xserve users. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Fire Wire isn't just for connecting iPods and DVD burners anymore. A software package from Apple lets you use plain old--and fancy new--FireWire cables to connect Macs in a network. Apple's IP-over-Fire Wire software turns a FireWire bus...

MP3 players start a flash dance: keychain-size devices combine storage, music. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Apple's iPod proved that a great MP3 player should carry more than just a tune, winning raves as much for being a pocket-size portable drive as for its music-playing prowess. Other manufacturers are following Apple's dual-functionality lead,...

Ethernet's fast-falling prices: linksys rolls out low-cost Gigabit Ethernet switches. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Gigabit Ethernet--a high-speed transmission technology that can deliver data at 1,000 Mbps--may become an affordable way to connect equipment over a network, as prices for Gigabit Ethernet switches that achieve this greater throughput fall...

An Expo for Creative Pros: New York Mac show gets new name, refined focus. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Apple will be in New York for the biannual Macworld Expo this July, but the midsummer Mac trade show will kick off on July 14 with a new name--Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo. Organizers say the name change is more than cosmetic. This...

Track changes. (Profile: Q&A with Roz HO).
July 1, 2003... A lot can change in a year. Just take a look at the relationship between Microsoft and Apple. In the past 12 months, a five-year technology alliance between the onetime rivals expired, Apple released a pair of products that challenged...

Education beat. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Software Graphing DeltaGraph 5 for Mac OS X, from Red Rock Software (801/322-4322, www.redrocksw.com): The charting, graphing, and data-analysis software adds OS X compatibility ($299; upgrade, $199). Information Management ...

Multimedia beat. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... Hardware Cameras A digital-video camcorder from Canon (800/652-2666, www.usa.canon.com): The Elura 50 ($899) features a 1/6-inch, 680,000-pixel CCD image sensor. Along with FireWire and USB interfaces, the camcorder also features...

Mac system takes control: AmazingWorld lets you take charge of your home from your Mac. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... The Mac has long enjoyed a reputation as the centerpiece of any room. But Amazing Controls (408/399-1800, www.amazingcontrols.com) is taking that idea one step further by equipping Macs to be the control center of every room. Amazing...

RAIDers of the lost floppy: Mac user builds floppy-based RAID drive--just because. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... When you're attempting the impossible or the insane (or both), it's important to have the right tools--for example, a Mac. Daniel Blade Olson has one--an aging Bondi Blue iMac running OS X 10.2.4--and he recently used it to create what is...

Storage beat. (Mac Beat).(MCE Technologies' MCE External 4X DVD-R/RW FireWire/USB 2.0 SuperDrive and Lucid-SD Portable DVD-R/RW Fire Wire Drive )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Hardware Drives Desktop and portable DVD-recordable optical drives from MCE Technologies (949/458-0800, www.mcetech.com): The MCE External 4X DVD-R/RW FireWire/USB 2.0 SuperDrive ($329) is a desktop optical drive that writes DVD-Rs at...

What's hot. (Mac Beat).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Special All-Music Edition 1. Apple opens its online iTunes Music Store. Features of the service include the ability to download full albums, exclusive music tracks from top artists, and a virtual store clerk who snorts contemptuously at...

Picture this: eMac gets graphics boost; faster processors, new graphics card mark desktop update. (Mac Beat).
July 1, 2003... When the eMac debuted a year ago, Apple used the all-in-one desktop to take aim at the education market (see "Head of the Class," Mac Beat, July 2002). Having since made the machine available to consumers at large, Apple now hopes to broaden...

RealBasic 5.0: software-development application remains top in field. (Reviews).(Real Software)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... We're going to state right off the bat that RealBasic 5.0 is a significant and worthy upgrade to an already fine product. As a programming environment that lets ordinary civilians write useful Mac software with a minimum of experience, sweat...

4th dimension 2003 standard edition: database-development app adds cool new features but retains familiar barriers to ease to use. (Reviews).
July 1, 2003... Before the Internet, it didn't really matter which proprietary database system you used, as long as you could export a cab-delimited file. Times have changed as databases have become increasingly interconnected, and 4D's 4th Dimension has...

Faxstf X pro: major improvements earn fax software a place among its competitors--though it's not without faults. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Smith Micro's Faxstf X was the first--and for a while the only--fax application available for OS X, but it had some significant problems (**[1/2]; May 2002). The recently released, and compatible with OS X 10.2 and later, Faxstf X Pro has some...

FontLab 4.5: highly scriptable, OpenType-compatible font editor deserves to be the typography professional's choice. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Since the last update of Macromedia Fontographer in 1996, type designers have developed a yearning for an up-to-date, affordable, Mac-compatible font editor for TrueType, Type 1, and OpenType fonts of many languages. With the arrival of...

Freehand MX: illustration program joins the MX family. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Somewhere between versions 9 and 10, Macrornedia FreeHand went through an identity crisis--the application wasn't sure whether it was a print-focused illustration tool, a multimedia program, or a cut-rate Macromedia Flash. But it has recovered,...

TextWrangler 1.0: text editor brings BBEdit features to bargain market. (Reviews).(Bare Bones Software )(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Despite its version number, Bare Bones Software's TextWrangler is not a conventional "1.0 product"--a new product with new and untested code. Instead, it's a $49 text editor based on Bare Bones' $179 BBEdit (****1/2; March 2003), a product...

Portfolio 6.1: upgrade to OS X-native digital-asset manager speeds workflow. (Reviews).(Extensis )(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Digital-asset managers have been around for as long as digital publishing, letting publishing professionals instantly survey, evaluate, and select files. Extensis Portfolio 6.1 is a stand-alone, industrial-strength digital-asset manager...

Giga Designs G4 upgrades: recent entries to CPU-upgrade market let you hold on to your old Mac. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... The argument for buying a processor upgrade gets a little weaker each time Apple introduces a new machine. But if you're not sure you want to forsake your trusty old Mac, an upgrade card will let you throw a smaller overall amount of money at...

Live 2.0 and Phrazer 2.0: two apps represent the highs and lows of loop-based sequencing. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... Mac-using DJs looking to get a groove on are increasingly turning to loop-based sequencing applications. Much like Sonic Foundry's renowned Acid for Windows, Ableton's Live 2.0 and BitHeadz's Phrazer 2.0 allow you to string together prerecorded...

This month in digital cameras.(Photo Marketing Association show)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2003... This year's Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show brought a flood of new digital cameras to market--and made it clear that choosing a digital camera isn't getting any easier. Camera companies keep cranking out models with strikingly similar...

ZBrush 1.5: package lets 2-D artists break in to the third dimension. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... If you've ever tried your hand at 3-D modeling, you know that it's a complex process involving weird tools and changing viewpoints. Pixologic's ZBrush 1.55b delivers sophisticated tools to would-be 3-D artists, but it provides them in a form...

Datavideo DV Bank: drive that acts like a tape deck provides improved workflow for video editors. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... DV cameras provide an easier production workflow than any previous video technology. But despite the power of digital editing, tape can still be a hassle. That's where Datavideo's DV Bank comes in. The DV Bank is an external FireWire hard drive...

Mac Flipalbum 3.0: effort to bring real-world feel to virtual photo albums is easy to use but yields mixed results. (Reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2003... The concept of "natural media"--the attempt to bring a real-world feel into the digital realm--has been around almost as long as computers themselves. Mac Flip-Album 3.0, from E-Book Systems, tries to approximate the real-world experience of...

Hot products.
July 1, 2003... Macworld's TOP 5 1 **** 1GHz PowerBook G4, 17-inch ($3,299), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com): It pushes the limits of portability, but the 17-inch PowerBook is the best combination of features and performance in any PowerBook. It's an...

Add smarts to OSX. (Mac Gems).
July 1, 2003... WHILE OS X HAS BROUGHT US A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS--primarily stability, although I will admit that I've grown to like the Aqua interface--there are a bunch of things the Next crew should have borrowed from the traditional Mac OS when they were...

Save the drama. (The Game Room).
July 1, 2003... AT A TIME WHEN MANY GAMES SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR A darker edge, with angst-ridden heroes confronting heavy moral dilemmas, it's refreshing to sit down in front of a game that doesn't come with a lot of emotional baggage. From comic-book heroes...

Behind the music.
July 1, 2003... Take an In-Depth Look at Apple's Music Store, iTunes 4, and a New Generation of iPods Although record companies are loath to admit it, your days of walking into a record store and buying an $18 CD--often because you like one song you heard...

All roads lead to rendezvous OS X's networking technology and new Mac products make connections effortless.
July 1, 2003... Your flight from the East Coast was delayed--you dash into your company's West Coast office with only a few minutes before the big meeting. Undaunted, you pop open your PowerBook and hook up to the local AirPort network. You calmly choose Print...

Put weblogs to work.
July 1, 2003... LOW-COST TOOLS LET YOU PUBLISH PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL SITES INSTANTLY With no paper, printing, or distribution costs, the Internet has eliminated many of the financial barriers to publishing. Whether you're a CEO, a scientist, or simply...

Switch, don't fight. (Secrets).
July 1, 2003... Former PC users--Switchers--have received so much recent attention that longtime Mac users may feel disregarded: "Hey, I've been using a Mac since 1984! Where's my danged banjo-pickin' commercial?" Chin up. In a way, we're all Switchers--from...

Memo to Al: handy suggestions for one newly elected Apple board member.
July 1, 2003... AL, I REALLY WANTED TO WRITE AND TELL YOU HOW pleased I was to learn that you were joining Apple's board of directors. Granted, as long as the company has Steve Jobs as CEO and Mini-Me in its commercials, Apple has as much brand-name,...

Macworld creative pro conference & expo.
July 1, 2003... July 14-18 New York The Javits Center Conferences July 14-18, 2003 Expo July 16-18, 2003 www.macworldexpo.com New York's most important and largest event for Design, Publishing, Video & Audio Professionals and Prosumers....

Pentium envy; switching to Intel: bad for Apple, good for pundits. (The Big Picture).
July 1, 2003... AS SURE AS THE SUN RISES IN THE EAST, AND AS SURE AS there will always be an England, someone will waste your time this year trying to convince you that Apple's destiny lies with Intel-compatible processors. If you look closely, you'll notice...