Macworld articles from July 2008

Macworld archives from July 2008

Heavyweight inboxing; Changing e-mail habits, and wishing the iMac a happy birthday.(FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK)(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... I began using Eudora, my first Mac e-mail program, in 1993. Fifteen years and countless tens of thousands of messages later, I vowed to change my e-mail ways, all because of Penelope and Merlin. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Time of Crisis...

Office animosity.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Running from office Microsoft Office 2008 meets with some less-than-enthusiastic reviews Microsoft rewards our four-year wait for Office 2008 (Reviews, April 2008) by removing VBA macros from Excel? I won't be upgrading if it means...

Overheard on the forums.(FEEDBACK)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... All the improvements [in OS X 10.5.2] are welcome, but the fixes for the Dock and the menu bar are especially good news. It shows that Apple does indeed pay attention--when we complain loudly enough. Now if Microsoft would just restore macro...

What about Tiger?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... I'd love to upgrade to Leopard, I really would ("Your Leopard Survival Guide," April 2008). Unfortunately, my PowerBook G4, which is working just fine, doesn't have enough free space. I know your focus has to shift somewhat, and I'll happily...

Safety first.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... In your article on Leopard's Firewall (Connect, April 2008), you praise the interface and function of Leopard's new firewall. You also correctly lament its inability to block outgoing connections. However, third-party utilities such as...

Time Machine and NAS.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... In "Better Backups with Time Machine" (March 2008), Joe Kissell says that Time Machine will not work with NAS devices apart from the Time Capsule. However, the article dedicates an entire section to configuring Time Machine to use a network...

Negative is positive.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... A letter in your April 2008 issue claims that there is too much negative material in Macworld. That is astounding to me. If Macworld never said anything negative about Macs, it would be the equivalent of Apple advertising. Producing a balanced...

Reader poll.(FEEDBACK)(Survey)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Which, if any, of the following places did you use to rent or purchase a movie or TV program in the last 30 days?* 80% RENTED IN LAST 30 DAYS (total) 34% FROM A COMPANY BY MAIL (such as Netfix) 33% FROM AN OFFLINE STORE 17%...

Correction.(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
July 1, 2008... The URL provided for Jobo in the May 2008 issue's Mac Beat (Creative Notes) was incorrect. The correct address is www.jobo.com.

Google's Mac development; Employees' pet projects opened the door to wider efforts.(BUSINESS)
July 1, 2008... Google engineer Amit Singh thought something was missing from OS X, so he took a look at what the Mac operating system didn't have that Linux and Solaris did. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Apple reports Strong earnings.(NEWS IN BRIEF)(Financial report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Strong demand forMacs, driven by record laptop sales, helped Apple turn a $1.05 billion profit for its fiscal second quarter ending March 31,2008. From January to March, the company sold 2.2 million Macs--up 51 percent from the same quarter a...

Boot Camp bumps to 2.1.(NEWS IN BRIEF)(Apple Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... To add compatibility with Windows XP Service XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and to fix other issues, Apple has released version 2.1 of Boot Camp, its software that lets Intel-based Macs run Windows operating systems in addition to OS X, Apple has...

Visual Basic's Office comeback; Users won't see feature until next version of Office for Mac.(PRODUCTIVITY)(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Microsoft announced that it will be adding back support for Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to Microsoft Office for Mac--a direct result of complaints from users about the removal of the suite's cross platform automation functionality. ...

Unlocked iPhones are a-ok with Apple; Hacked products show strong demand.(iPHONE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... If you were Apple, what would you do upon realizing that many of the 5.4 million iPhones you've sold haven't been activated on the networks of any of your worldwide cellular partners? The correct answer? Shrug. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

An epidemic of vulnerability.(TECH TRENDS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... More than 700,000 new computer viruses were identified in 2007, according to Symantec. Browsers are increasingly the target of infection. The number of Safari vulnerabilities identified held fairly steady from the first half to the second half...

Apple buys chip designer; Purchase brings skilled engineers.(BUSINESS)(P.A. Semi)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Apple's recent purchase of microprocessor design firm P.A. Semi has triggered a wave of speculation over what the computer maker plans to do with its newly acquired asset. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The $278 million purchase, first...

Dialog box.
July 1, 2008... "We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again." Google's Vic Gundotra after discovering that the company had 50 times more searches from iPhones than from any other mobile handset "Both Apple computers [we...

Product watch.(Buffalo Technology Inc.)(nVidia)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... HARDWARE DriveStation Combo 4, from Buffalo Technology (www.buffalotech.com): External hard drive with external seral ATA, FireWire 400/800, and USB 2.0 interfaces comes in 320GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities ($140 to $349, depending on...

Wooden USB memory sticks.(Hot Stuff)(Oooms)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... What we're raving about this month The designer flash drive is usually overlooked as a status symbol, but not anymore. Whip out a one-of-a-kind wooden beauty at your next cocktail party, and prepare to bask in the envious oohs and ahhs of...

AudialHub.(Hot Stuff)(Techspansion)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Finding good tools to convert, isolate, tweak, and fix audio files isn't easy. Now Techspansion--the same company that brought us VisualHub--has released AudialHub, a simple audio-manipulation tool that can handle conversions to and from most...

iStat Menus 1.2.(Hot Stuff)(iSlayer)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... I've always been a stat geek when it comes to my Mac--I like looking at my CPU temperature, network traffic, disk activity, and other readings for the sheer voyeuristic pleasure of it. And iStat Menus from iSlayer.com gives me a free and fun...

AKG K 701.(Hot Stuff)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... I've tested hundreds of headphone models over the years. But the newest entry in my personal Headphone Hall of Famelist, AKG's K 701, ranks right near the top. Individually tested and numbered, each K 701 set (available online for $250 to $300)...

Audioengine A5N Bamboo.(Hot Stuff)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... I'm a big fan of Audioengine's $349 A5 speaker system. Few speakers for the iPod or Mac come close to the A5's performance, plus you get a USB port for charging an iPod and a built-in AC jack for connecting an AirPort Express But the new Bamboo...

The E-mail edge: leading desktop clients and Web-based services square off.(REVIEWS)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... If you have Internet access, you probably also have an e-mail account--and it's likely overflowing with messages. Taming the e-mail tide and screening out spam is no easy task, but the latest batch of e-mail clients for the Mac may help. ...

iMac speed boost; Apple's all-in-one Macs get the latest processor.(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... Finally, eight months after the aluminium iMac made its debut (macworld.com/3617), Apple has released an update to its flagship consumer desktop model. We found that, under the hood, the new iMacs differ significantly from the original...

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars [delta].(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $50 COMPANY: Electronic Arts URL:www.ea.com Few games have helped define the realtime strategy genre more than the Command & Conquer series. The newest chapter introduces an alien race faction called the Scrin, who...

Montage 1.4.(Software)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $150 COMPANY: Mariner Software URL: www.marinersoftware.com Even a rudimentary word processor can meet most of a screenwriter's formatting needs, so specialized screenwriting programs must deliver more. Montage 1.4...

Movie Magic Screenwriter 6.0.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... When it comes to screenwriting software, Movie Magic Screenwriter 6.0.3.111 makes a strong play for the top box-office spot. One of the most stable and full-featured professional screen-writing software tools available, Movie Magic adds...

VPN Tracker 5.2 professional.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING:VERYGOOD PRICE:$250 COMPANY:Equinux URL:ww.equinux.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a way to connect your Mac securely to a remote network over the Internet. A VPN client such as VPN Tracker...

324 LCD Monitor.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: OUTSTANDING PRICE: $1,060 COMPANY:LaCie URL:ww.lacie.com The 24-inch 324 LCD Monitor targets creative pros, but with two HDMI inputs, the monitor is both a multimedia display and an art director's tool. After calibration, the...

DroboShare.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $199 COMPANY: Data Robotics URL: www.drobo.com DroboShare, a companion to the Drobo USB storage system, makes Drobo available on a network. DroboShare keeps things simple by eschewing the more...

eGo (250GB).(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $152 COMPANY: Iomega URL: www.iomega.com This bus-powered portable hard drive makes toting your digital files easy. In our testing on a Mac Pro, the eGo's USB performance slightly outpaced its Fire-Wire 400...

GHDMIAS4 4 port automatic HDMI switch.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: OUTSTANDING PRICE:$190 COMPANY:iogear URL:www.iogear.com HDTVs usually have one or two HDMI ports for high-resolution digital video and audio signals. With an HDMI switch like the GHDMIAS4, you can connect up to four HDMI...

Zeppelin.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: OUTSTANDING PRICE:$600 COMPANY: Bowers&Wilkins URL:www.bowers-wilkins.com Three things make the Zeppelin stand out from the crowded iPod speaker market. The first: its appearance. B&W applied many of the design principles behind...

Neo-Flex Combo Lift Stand.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING:VERY GOOD PRICE:$79 COMPANY: Ergotron URL:www.ergotron.com The Neo-Flex Combo Lift Stand is an interesting combination of a monitor stand and a laptop stand, with a VESA standard displays mount on the left side and an adjustable...

SpaceNavigator for Notebooks.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING:VERY GOOD PRICE: $125 COMPANY:3Dconnexion URL:www .3dconnexion.com The SpaceNavigator for Notebooks is a3-D mouse that lets you move horizontally, vertically, and in a third dimension of depth within 3-D programs such as Autodesk...

TuneStudio.(HARDWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING:VERYGOOD PRICE:$250 COMPANY:Belkin URL: www.belkin.com The TuneStudio is a four-track audio mixing console that can record to and play back from a fifth-generation iPod, a second- or third-generation iPod nano, or an iPod...

Printers.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... LASER PRINTER; C6100DN RATING:OUTSTANDING PRICE:$679 COMPANY:Oki Data URL:www.okidata.com The C6100dn, from Oki Data, produces great-looking prints and includes built-in duplexing. It also offers easy network connectivity...

MACS.(PRINTERS)(Table)
July 1, 2008... PRODUCT PROCESSOR RATING PRICE DESKTOP iMac Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4GHz VERY GOOD $1.094 Intel Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz VERY GOOD $1,467 Intel Core 2 Duo/2.8GHz VERY...

Flatbet scanner.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Perfection V700 Photo RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: [dollar]474 COMPANY: Epson URL: www.epson.com The Epson Perfection V700 Photo is an excellent and extremely speedy midrange scanner that's equipped with two lenses for people...

Digital cameras.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... DIGITAL SLR D40 RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: [dollar]449 COMPANY: Nikon URL: www.nikonusa.com The Nikon D40 is a great value. This 6.1-megapixel camera comes with every feature you'd desire in a DSLR, such as adjustable...

MiniDv camcorder.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... PV-GS320 RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: [dollar]3-8 COMPANY: Panasonic sonic URL: www.panasonic.com Compared with other 3-CCD MiniDV camcorders, the Panasonic PV-GS320 is a bargain. And it's a good choice for people who want a...

LCD monitors.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... LARGE DISPLAY LP2465 RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $615 COMPANY: Hewlett-Packard URL: www.hp.com The HP LP2465 is an extremely adjustable 24-inch desktop LCD panel with a 16:10 wide-screen aspect ratio that immediately...

Firewire hard drives.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... DESKTOP DRIVE My Book Studio Edition RATING: OUTSTANDING PRICE: $239 COMPANY: Western Digital URL: www.westerndigital.com The My Book Studio Edition's affordability, versatile connection options, compact design, and good...

iPods.(Table)
July 1, 2008... PRODUCT CAPACITY RATING PRICE* DISPLAY iPod classic 80GB VERY GOOD [dollar]230 2.5-inch color 160GB VERY GOOD [dollar]319 2.5-inch color iPod touch 8GB VERY GOOD [dollar]259 3.5-inch color...

CandyBar 3.1.2.(UTILITY)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... Mac gems: get more and expanded reviews at macworld.com/macgems RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: [dollar]29 COMPANY: IconFactory and Panic URL: www.iconfactory.com and www.panic.com For as long as the Mac operating system has let you change...

Finderpop 2.1.2.(UTILITY)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2008... RATING: OUTSTANDING PRICE: donations requested COMPANY: Turlough O'Connor URL: www.finderpop.com FinderPop lets you browse the contents of any folder or volume via contextual menus. Control-click (or right-click) on a folder or...

Quay 1.1b3.(UTILITY)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: [MATHEMATICAL EXPRESION IS NOT REPRODUCABLE IN ASCII] 7, or about $10 COMPANY: Rainer Brockerhoff URL: www.brockerhoff.net Speaking of browsing menus, early versions of Leopard were missing hier-archical...

Essential Mac maintenance: Keep your Mac in tip-top shape with these simple tasks.
July 1, 2008... You know you need to change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles, clean your house's gutters every fall, and brush your teeth at least twice a day--but do you know what's necessary to keep your Mac in good shape? For the most part, Macs run...

Empty your inbox; 3 easy steps to taming e-mail clutter once and for all.
July 1, 2008... As I write this u, my e-mail application's inboxisin box is empty intipty ln fact, it's:almost always empty at the end of the day. This seemingly amazihg feat didn't require a great deal of technological sophistication, organizational wizardry,...

Master mail's reminders; Make sense of notes and to-do items in Leopard Mail.(Working Mac)
July 1, 2008... If you rely heavily on e-mail to keep track of your projects and responsibilities, then you'll appreciate Mail's new ability to create notes that hold important snippets of information. The Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) version of Apple's e-mail...

Manage your iTunes library; Keep your media files organized the right way.(Playlist)
July 1, 2008... You probably have a lot of stuff in your iTunes library. Music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks can easily add up to thousands of files. iTunes is both a media player and a database, and it's the latter feature that helps you...

The lowdown on loops; Tips for obtaining and editing garageband loops.(Recording Studio)
July 1, 2008... Although GarageBand has evolved to become a popular program for building podcasts, it continues to be an invaluable tool for musicians, DJs, and producers. And for these musically inclined individuals, loops remain much of the program's focus....

How to buy a lens: give your DSLR new powers without spending a fortune.(Digital Photo)
July 1, 2008... If you purchased your digital singlelens reflex (DSLR) camera as part of a kit, you already have a basic lens that takes pretty good pictures. However, part of the attraction of this type of camera is that you can switch out lenses to get the...

Networking with Windows; Sharing files between Macs and Windows PCs.(Connect)
July 1, 2008... Mac OS X 10.5 represents a historic moment in Mac Windows relations: it lets Macs and Windows PCs see each other on the network, with no special software (or talent) required. In fact, you can go in either direction. Your Mac Can see shared...

Best Automator downloads; Building better workflows with third-party actions.(Geek Factor)
July 1, 2008... Automator is a great tool for automating basic tasks on your Mac, no scripting or programming required. By dragging pre built actions together, you can quickly and easily create countless workflows to do things you might otherwise have to do...

Mac OS X Hints; The insider tips you won't get from Apple.(Help Desk)
July 1, 2008... View File Information in Quick Look Quick Look mode in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is a great way to preview a bunch of files in a folder, especially image files. Just open the folder containing the images, select an image, press the spacebar,...

Mac 911: Solutions to your most vexing mac problems.(HELP DESK)
July 1, 2008... iMovie Slow-Mo a No Go? Q: In iMovie' 081 can't seem to find the effects I had with the previous version of iMovie, specifically the slowmotion effect. What's going on? Susan Alexa A: Apple's iMovie HD (VERY GOOD;...

What I hate about Leopard: After two years of development, the latest OS X should be better.
July 1, 2008... When Apple released Mac OS X 10.1 in 2001, I ditched OS 9 and never looked back. With rare exceptions, if a program didn't run on OS X, I didn't use it. When Apple released 10.2 (Jaguar), 10.3 (Panther), and then 10.4 (Tiger), the first...