Macworld articles from June 2007

Macworld archives from June 2007

My week with the Apple TV: I've been waiting for the Apple TV for years. Now that it's here, I'm a fan.(Editorial)
June 1, 2007... For years before Apple announced the Apple TV, I'd been clamoring for just such a device. On the day Apple finally announced its Mac-based media center (then code-named the iTV), I said I would buy one as soon as I could. And true to my word, I...

Hanging up on the iPhone; no carrier.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... The iPhone is sleek, gorgeous, multifunctional, and ultracool ("Hello, iPhone," March 2007). But it has one major flaw. How un-Apple-like is it to have your mobile phone provider selected for you? Because most mobile phone users are already...

Hanging up on the iPhone; stop the madness!(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... It was with disbelief and then anger that I read the article "Too Much Integration" in March's Mac Beat section. An iTunes buyer is filing a class-action lawsuit because her music plays only on an iPod? Doesn't she realize she has a choice? She...

Hanging up on the iPhone; in defense of Safe Eyes.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I have read many reviews of products that Macworld has not been pleased with, but rarely have I read that a product was "difficult to recommend." I was surprised that you said just that about Safe Eyes 2006 (More Reviews, March 2007). Sure, the...

Hanging up on the iPhone; drip, drip, drip.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... In your review of all-in-one multifunction printers (March 2007), you named the HP Photosmart C7180 printer a Top Product. I agree that this printer is a fine performer for the money, but it has one glaring defect: In my experience, the inks it...

Hanging up on the iPhone; a simpler way.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... In response to Kirk McElhearn's article "Resize Partitions On-the-Fly" (Geek Factor, March 2007), I question the use of a Terminal command to do this. For me, Coriolis Systems' $45 iPartition (www.coriolis-systems.com) is safer and extremely...

Hanging up on the iPhone; right hand, left hand.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... In the Mac OS X Hints column in your March 2007 issue, Rob Griffiths wrote that "uninstalling programs [in OS X] is very simple... OS X has no strange .dll files or registry." But in the Mobile Mac column in the same issue, Joe Kissell wrote,...

Hanging up on the iPhone; please, Apple, please.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I have never begged a company to make a product before, but here I go: I have been using Apple computers since 1982. I love them. I also use a Palm, but it has become a colossal pain to use it with a Mac (even with Mark/Space's The Missing...

Hanging up on the iPhone; Sony versus Apple.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I was excited about buying one of Sony's new high definition camcorders--specifically, the HDR-SR1--which I planned to use in conjunction with Apple's Final Cut Express HD. But in doing my research, I read that Final Cut Express is not...

Hanging up on the iPhone; bye-bye, iSight.(FEEDBACK)
June 1, 2007... Why would Apple discontinue the iSight Web cam without replacing it? Many loyal Mac users don't have the newest of Apple computers, which have an iSight built in, but we'd still like to have a Web cam. I love my Mac but am frustrated with the...

Hanging up on the iPhone; can't please everyone.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use your magazine to further your political views. I don't need to see screenshots of Nancy Pelosi ("Hello, iPhone," March 2007) or hear about how cool it'd be to watch Al Gore's Current TV network on the...

Overheard on the forums.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... Apple could license some of Cisco's VoIP technology. [But] I'm assuming Cisco will be getting a big stack of money from Apple, because I don't see too much that Cisco would be getting technologically, other than a solid partner who will license...

Inside the Apple Stores: at six years old, retail shops are going strong.(BUSINESS)
June 1, 2007... Apple has come a long way since opening its first retail store in McLean, Virginia, in 2001. Six years later, the company now has more than 170 retail locations in five countries--including the first store on the European continent, recently...

Apple releases 8-Core Mac pro.(desktop computer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Thanks to the new Clovertown 3GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 series processors, power users can now get up to eight cores inside one computer. The latest model at the top of Apple's pro desktop line has 8MB of L2 cache per processor (16MB...

Leopard delayed until October.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Shortly before we went to press, Apple released a statement explaining that it won't release Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) until October 2007. The cause of the delay--the iPhone. Getting the iPhone ready for its June launch has had an unintended...

EMI offers DRM-free music on iTunes: historic shift brings higher quality and higher prices.(MUSIC)
June 1, 2007... Apple and EMI Group recently teamed up to make a huge announcement. No, the Beatles' music isn't coming to the iTunes Store (at least not yet), but EMI's entire music and video catalog will soon be available without any digital rights...

PMA gadgets.(Photo Marketing Association's PMA 2007 convention)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The Photo Marketing Association's PMA 07 convention in Las Vegas was primarily for photo store owners, professional photographers, and people who make their living selling cameras and related services. Much like Macworld Expo, this convention...

B2500 Series MFP.(HARDWARE)
June 1, 2007... B2500 Series MFP, from Oki Data (www.okidata.com): Series of multifunction printers offers monochrome printing, copying, and fax functionality with color scanning capabilities (starting at $249).

iMultiMix 8 USB.(HARDWARE)
June 1, 2007... iMultiMix 8 USB, from Alesis (www.alesis.com): Eight-channel all-in-one mixer features direct-to-iPod recording, as well as recording to computer via USB ($499).

iSee 360i Video recorder.(Advanced Technology Office Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... iSee 360i Video Recorder, from ATO (www.atollc.com): Video recording device that works with iPods adds adapters that allow it to work with first- and second-generation iPod nanos ($199).

Power pro desktop hard drive.(HARDWARE)
June 1, 2007... Power Pro Desktop Hard Drive, from Iomega (www.iomega.com): RAID system can store up to 2TB of data on four hot-swappable Serial ATA drives ($1,700).

Wilkes University moves to Macs: Pennsylvania school pulls plug on PCs.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... When is a Mac more than a Mac? When it's a Mac and a PC. Thanks to the Mac's ability to run both OS X and Windows, Wilkes University (www.wilkes.edu) has begun switching to Macs for all of its campus computers. The move will save the...

Spam.(TECH TRENDS)
June 1, 2007... According to a new study from security company Symantec, spam accounted for 59 percent of all e-mail messages received during the second half of 2006--up from 54 percent during the first half of the year. Some of the rise is due to the...

Eve Online.(GAME BUZZ)
June 1, 2007... During March's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, CCP Games confirmed that it would bring Eve Online to Intel-based Macs. The company calls Eve Online the world's largest game universe. It's a massively multiplayer online role-playing...

iTunes adds Complete My Album option: Apple lets users buy remaining album songs at a discount.(online music services)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... One nice thing about digital music sales is the option to buy and download one or two tracks from a particular album--instead of buying an entire CD--if you like only a few songs or are giving a new artist a try. The only downside? If you...

My Craps Game.(GAME BUZZ)
June 1, 2007... Digital Showcase has announced the release of My Craps Game for OS X and Windows. Designed just for fun, the game lets you practice your skill at this popular casino game. My Craps Game, which is Universal, features Vegas odds and casino rules....

BBC Motion Gallery moves to QuickTime 7: update allows better quality at smaller sizes.(desktop video software)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The BBC's collection of motion imagery, BBC Motion Gallery, provides video and movie clips and short-form programs for license to filmmakers, videographers, TV producers, and others. And as of recently, the organization has begun doing so,...

Widget of the month.
June 1, 2007... TV Forecast Sick of reruns? Tell Matt Comi's TV Forecast (payment requested) your favorite television shows, and it lists the next new episode of each show in chronological order. You can quickly see the episode title and date, as well as...

Data Backup 3.(SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2007... Data Backup 3, from Prosoft Engineering (www.prosofteng.com): Backup and archiving software features an improved interface and adds the ability to back up to multiple CDs and DVDs, automatically spanning the archive across multiple disks ($59;...

DeltaGraph 5.7.4.(Red Rock Software's new data analysis and graphing software)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... DeltaGraph 5.7.4, from Red Rock Software (www.redrocksw.com): Data-analysis and -graphing software features improved data transfer between Mac and Windows versions ($299; upgrade from version 5, free; upgrade from previous versions, $199).

FCC to examine net neutrality: issue could affect content providers, consumers.(INTERNET)
June 1, 2007... The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an inquiry into how broadband providers manage their traffic, again getting involved in a debate over network neutrality. The FCC voted to launch a notice of inquiry to examine...

Dialog box.(MAC BEAT)
June 1, 2007... "Apple TV requires you to download your content to your computer before you can send it to your TV. In other words, if you want to watch a music video from iTunes, you must first purchase it online, then download it, then store it on your Apple...

Sound studio 3.5.(SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2007... Sound Studio 3.5, from Freeverse (www.freeverse.com): Sound-recording and -editing software adds ID3 tag and iTunes metadata editing and format support for Apple Lossless, ADTS AAC, NeXT/Sun audio, and Ogg Vorbis ($80; upgrade, free).

PDF-office professional 6.0.(SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2007... pdf-Office Professional 6.0, from Universe Software (www.pdf-office.com): PDF form-creation and -design software adds the ability to create images directly in the program ($158; upgrade, free).

Interactive Weather Map.(Hot Stuff)
June 1, 2007... I'll admit it: I'm a bit of a weather nut. Besides Apple's included Weather widget, I also run one that displays an animated version of the current radar image. But it's not nearly as cool as the Weather Channel's new Interactive Weather Map,...

Elevator.(Hot Stuff)
June 1, 2007... If you regularly use your laptop at a desk, some sort of riser or stand is an ergonomic must: you should raise your laptop's screen to the proper viewing height and then use a separate keyboard and mouse, placed at a healthy (that is, lower)...

Lotsa Helping Hands.(Hot Stuff)
June 1, 2007... When family or friends are going through a challenging time--anything from an illness to a new baby--most of us want to help. Trouble is, it's not always easy to know how. Using Lotsa Helping Hands, you can create a free password-protected Web...

Primus AW.(Hot Stuff)
June 1, 2007... To celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, bag and case maker Lowepro has released a new camera backpack for outdoor photographers that aims to be easy on the environment. The $280 Primus AW has room for a professional SLR camera with an...

Conceal Surge Protector.(Hot Stuff)
June 1, 2007... If you're like me, your gear requires more power cables and power bricks than you know what to do with. Even worse, the resulting mess makes the area around your desk an electronic obstacle course. Belkin's $50 Conceal Surge Protector can help:...

Spam Fighters: Seven utilities that can keep the junk out of your inbox.(email filtering software)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... Anyone who has launched an e-mail client to discover a glut of offers for dubious nostrums, bogus diplomas, and indelicate physical congress is well aware that spam--the junk mail that fills our inboxes in ever increasing amounts--is a huge...

macworld.com/reviews: What we're reviewing online this month.(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... SOFTWARE Billings 2.0.5 RATING: VERY GOOD1/2 PRICE: $59 COMPANY: Market-circle URL: www.marketcircle.com Billings 2.0.5 is designed to take the aggravation out of invoicing for free-lancers and the self-employed. The program's...

Top Products: Your guide to the best hardware we've tested. See more at macworld.com/reviews.(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... PRINTERS LASER PRINTER C6100dn RATING: VERY GOOD1/2 PRICE: $1,102 COMPANY: Oki Data URL: www.okidata.com The C6100dn, from Oki Data, produces great-looking prints, and it includes built-in duplexing. It has easy...

Mac Gems: Get more and expanded reviews at macworld.com/macgems.(Art Text 1.0.6)(MailFollowup 1.1)(StartupSound.prefPane 1.1b1)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... GRAPHICS Art Text 1.0.6 RATING: VERY GOOD PRICE: $30 COMPANY: BeLight Software URL: www.belightsoft.com Many Macworld readers have lamented the fact that the popular Mac OS 9 program TypeStyler, which let you create textual...

Ready for Prime Time? TV: what you need to know about Apple's new entertainment hub. Plus: the Macworld review.(Apple TV)(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2007... In October 2005, Apple demonstrated its interest in selling video content alongside its digital music offerings by adding TV shows to the iTunes Store. Great as it might have been to watch these programs on a computer or--in very small form--on...

State of the Mac: what Macworld readers like--and don't like--about their Macs.
June 1, 2007... Fred Morris never had a problem with his Macs--not with his Mac Plus or his Special Edition iMac. But seven months after his 2006 purchase of a 20-inch iMac Core Duo, the machine began acting up. It shut down spontaneously. For a while, things...

8 ways to go green: an energy-efficient office is good for the planet--and your wallet.(Working Mac)
June 1, 2007... You don't have to drive a Prius, have a worm bin out back, or keep a picture of Al Gore under your pillow to be concerned about saving energy and natural resources. I think everyone can agree that saving money is good. It just so happens that...

The exercise iPod: get in shape with the help of your music player.(Playlist)
June 1, 2007... Running is hard work. On cold, rainy mornings--or after a long workday--finding the inspiration to get out the door can be daunting. But I've found that, along with cool new shoes, there's one major technological advancement that makes getting...

From iPhoto to Aperture: make the move to Apple's high-end photo program.(Digital Photo)(Column)
June 1, 2007... As your photography skills and gear advance, you may start running into iPhoto's limitations. Perhaps you need more image-adjustment tools or want a better way to manage and back up pictures. If iPhoto is feeling cramped, consider switching to...

Notebook cleanup and protection: how to clean your Mac laptop--and keep it clean.(laptop computers)(Column)
June 1, 2007... Laptops are subject to far more abuse than desktop Macs. Dirt, dust, and scratches keep them from looking new for long. But that doesn't mean you're stuck with smudges, stains, and scrapes. Here's how to make your Mac laptop look good...

RAIDing the Mac Pro: how to set up a RAID in Apple's latest tower.(redundant array of independent disks)
June 1, 2007... The Mac Pro and the previous top-of-the-line desktop Mac, the Power Mac G5, may look alike on the outside--cheese-grater exterior, huge brushed-aluminum handles, and USB and FireWire ports up front--but inside, they're entirely different...

Mac OS X Hints: the insider tips you won't get from Apple.(Help Desk)(Column)
June 1, 2007... Quickly Set Office 2004 Zoom Levels Many programs have a Zoom menu item that you can use to make everything on screen larger or smaller. This helps you see small text and manipulate tiny objects more easily, for instance, or check an...

Mac 911: solutions to your most vexing Mac problems.(HELP DESK)(Column)
June 1, 2007... Taking Out iPhoto's Trash Q: Recently, I went through more than 2,000 photos in my iPhoto library and deleted the not-so-good ones in order to free up a little space on my hard drive. Alas, when I went to the Trash to empty it, none of the...

Hints of change: there's something happening here. And whatever it is, it's good for Mac users.(mac os x)(Column)
June 1, 2007... Sometime around the beginning of 2007, I sensed a change in the air. The first whiff came when Microsoft's "No fooling, this thing really is an iPod killer" Zune laid a big stinker during the 2006 holiday season. Then, in January, when...