Macworld articles from March 2005

Macworld archives from March 2005

Small is beautiful.(products from Apple Computer Inc.)(Column)
March 1, 2005... As Steve Jobs introduces the new $499 Mac mini and the $99 iPod shuffle in his keynote at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, I half expect a used-car commercial to break out onstage: Our prices are insane! But in reality, these prices...

Publishing dustup redux.(FEEDBACK)
March 1, 2005... Forget Windows versus Macs, red states versus blue states, and Red Sox versus Yankees (yep, we're really jonesing for spring training). Apparently, the truly divisive dispute among Macworld readers is about page-layout applications. We ran a...

XPress versus InDesign.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... CHARLES FINLAY # I just finished reading "Publishing Dustup" (Mac Beat, December 2004). I've been using PageMaker since Aldus owned it. But if I had it to do all over again, I'd buy QuarkXPress. By raising the price on PageMaker upgrades,...

A tangled Web.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... LARRY GROSSMAN # Saft may be everything Dori Smith says it is ("Untangle the Web," December 2004), but I may never find out: its demo is the single most irritating program I've ever tried. The constant pop-up reminders to buy the full...

The wrong way around.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... BRENT MUSCUTT # I wanted to route iTunes to my digital-out port (S/PDIF) but send all other sounds through my G5's internal speaker. When I read your mention of Rogue Amoeba's Detour in Mac Gems (VERY GOOD; December 2004), I thought that...

Displays of disaffection.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... DAVID DECRISTOFORO # Apple's new 23-inch Cinema Displays don't measure up. The backlighting is uneven, discoloration around the edges makes the screen seem dirty, and they have a strong magenta overtone. I'm not the only one who has...

All-access keyboards.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... JEREMY M. COOK # Excellent tip on accessing the Displays and Sound preference panes using option-F1, option-F3, and so on (Mac OS X Hints, December 2004). However, you say there's no way to access the Displays pane via a shortcut on a...

Held back by the Mac.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... JOSEPH M. COATES # Recently, I was reading on the MTV Web site about U2's visit to New York (find.macworld.com/0236). About halfway down the page, I saw links to video of the visit. But when I clicked on them, all I got was an error...

Does Steve believe?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... JEREMY KRALL # Question 17 in your Mac trivia quiz ("Hands on Buzzers," Mac Beat, December 2004) was particularly informative. (Question: Who said, "If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it's worth--and get busy on...

Eye to the future.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... DAVID WEISMAN # Why am I reading the December issue in September? Am I looking at future news and innovations? I understand that postdating a publication increases its shelf life and marketability. But it also insults my intelligence. We...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2005... On page 66 of our January 2005 issue ("Picture Your Perfect Camera"), there is a picture of the Nikon F6 where a picture of the Nikon D70 should appear. In the "Half a Dozen 'Pods" comparison table (Mac Beat, January 2005), an incorrect...

Apple introduces iLife '05 and iWork '05: sweet software suites.(new products from Apple Computer Inc.)
March 1, 2005... The biggest news to come out of January's Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco may have been Apple's foray into smaller, lower-priced hardware--namely, the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle (see "Small Miracles," page 48). But Steve Jobs...

Mac mini, iPod shuffle top list of winners: best of show.(computer peripherals)
March 1, 2005... Twice a year, the editors of Macworld magazine and Macworld.com select the top recently released products, or products making their public debut, at Macworld Conference & Expo. Here are the Best of Show winners from January 2005's Expo. *...

Productivity beat.(new word processing software)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Grammatica 6.0, from Ultralingua (www.ultralingua.com): Grammar- and spell-checking application features an over-hauled interface, support for multiple languages in a single application, and the ability to check grammar and spelling in other...

Creative beat.(new document editing software)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Optix 7, from Mindwrap (www.mindwrap.com): Document-management and workflow application features improved meta-data handling, server-logging enhancements, and reduced reliance on Java on the client side (contact Mindwrap for pricing). ...

The Apple-RealNetworks battle rages on: are they for real?(Apple Computer Inc iTunes Music Store)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... When RealNetworks announced that its new Harmony technology would enable protected music downloaded from its store to play on an iPod, Apple was anything but thrilled (see "Music Battle Gets Real," Mac Beat, November 2004). In fact, Apple...

Will subscription-based services win out? Opposites detract.(Apple Computer Inc. iTunes Music Store)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Nearly two years after its debut, the iTunes Music Store continues to best all rivals. According to Apple, the store has a 70 percent share of the market for legal music downloads, and covers 65 percent of the global music market. So how do...

Storage beat.(new products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Biggest F800 RAID, from LaCie (www.lacie.com): Four-bay storage system supports RAID levels 0, 0+1, 5, and RAID 5+hot spare (1TB, $1,499; 1.6TB, $2,299; 2TB, $2,699). BittyDock, from Wiebetech (www.wiebetech.com): Bus-powered device...

Input-device beat.(new products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Harmony 880, from Logitech (www.logitech.com): Universal remote control features a USB port for connecting to a Mac and downloading device programming information and background images from the Internet ($250). OS X Keyboard, from Matias...

Consumer reports magazine gives Apple the nod: high marks.(Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Apple products have graced many a magazine cover over the past few years. But it was a real treat to see the words "Unspectacular results for Intel's new processor. Plus 59,940 reasons to reconsider Macs" on the cover of a recent issue of...

DVD training videos offer classes for everyone: get smart.
March 1, 2005... Learning the ins and outs of a new application can be daunting. Classes aren't available everywhere, books aren't always clear, and attempting to teach yourself can be both time-consuming and ultimately ineffective. These days, however, you can...

Hardware beat.(new products from computer peripherals industry)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... 2 X 1 DVI-DL Switcher, from Gefen (www.gefen.com): Switcher connects two dual-link DVI sources to one dual-link DVI display ($699). blue eye pro, from LaCie (www.lacie.com): Automatic hardware-calibration product is designed specifically to...

Networking beat.(new software)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... FileWave 2.0, from FileWave (www.filewave.com): Automated system for distributing and managing files on a network adds a patch installer that delivers OS updates (contact FileWave for pricing). LANDesk Management Suite 8.5, from LANDesk...

23-inch LCDs: these big displays give you more room, great performance.(liquid crystal display)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... If you use a small display, you know that switching between multiple applications and documents can turn into a sport that combines juggling with hide-and-seek. You bring your browser window to the front, search for a spreadsheet beneath three...

Mellel 1.8 and Nisus Writer Express 2.1: two challengers to Microsoft Word boast strong features and lean performance.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Looking for a word processor that has power where you need it but doesn't come with a lot of noisy bells and whistles you never use? Two recently released OS X word processors, Nisus Writer Express 2.1.1 and RedleX's Mellel 1.8.2, offer...

RSS- and Atom-feed readers: reader software automatically downloads the Web to your desktop.(Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... The popularity of news-reader applications has grown exponentially over the past year. These programs (also known as news aggregators), which download XML-based content from online publishers to your desktop, have rapidly proliferated, and a...

Apple Remote Desktop 2.1: improved remote-management app says good-bye to OS 9.(Apple Computer Inc.)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Any administrator who has been in charge of multiple Macs knows the repetitive chore of installing and updating software. Add in the inevitable phone calls requesting help, and you quickly wish you could shorten the distance between users'...

Route USA 2004 3.6: GPS trip-planning software guides you on your way.(Global Positioning System)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Although there are plenty of free online resources that will tell you how to get from your house to the store, for true long-distance mapping and trip planning--with Global Positioning System (GPS) integration, multiple stopping points, and...

Stufflt Deluxe 9.0: speed and productivity boosts augment Stufflt's latest release.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Answering the challenge for greater speed posed by the Finder's swift Archive command in OS X 10.3, Allume Systems has released Stufflt Deluxe 9.0. This upgrade is a quicker, altogether more functional program that improves archiving...

Starry Night Enthusiast 5.0: astronomy program reveals the wonders of the night sky.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Nearly everyone can identify the Big Dipper, and possibly Orion, in the night sky. But if asked to point to a constellation such as Cygnus or Cassiopeia, most of us would probably just shrug. Imaginova's Starry Night Enthusiast 5.0 places the...

Eye Candy 5: Textures; Photoshop plug-in upgrade targets specific projects, adds new patterns.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Calling all Photoshop filter freaks--the Alien Skin gang has released Eye Candy 5: Textures. This set of fully customizable texture generators consists of ten dazzling plug-in effects that work with Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Photoshop Elements...

Modo 102: Luxology's 3-D modeler offers power features, customizable interface.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Luxology's modo 102 is the best tool we've seen for subdivision-surface (sub-d) modeling, a technique typically used to create 3-D models of characters and other organic surfaces. In some ways similar to Nevercenter's Silo 1.3 (VERY GOOD 1/2;...

QuarkXPress 6.5: update introduces image-editing flexibility.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... While most changes in the QuarkXPress 6.5 update are too minor or specialized to have much impact, a new image-editing XTension, QuarkVista, may bring about a major change in your workflow. QuarkVista lets you alter images in your layouts...

Ivory 1.0: virtually flawless virtual pianos sound superb.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Virtual instruments let musicians integrate a wide variety of sounds into arrangements, and they eliminate the tedious steps required to set up and record the real thing--provided the musicians even have access to the real thing. But the...

FrogPad Bluetooth iFrog: wireless keyboard lets you type with one hand--awkwardly.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... Your Mac's keyboard may sport futuristic features like volume controls and backlit keys, but typing remains a two-handed proposition. FrogPad claims that its Bluetooth iFrog, a pint-size device that measures about six by four inches, improves...

Color ink-jet printers.(Top Products)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 Stylus Color R800 ($399), from Epson (www.epson.com); January 2005; find.macworld.com/0246 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VERY GOOD Pixma iP8500 ($350), from Canon (www.canon.com); February 2005; find.macworld.com/0275

Color laser printers.(new product from Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD LaserJet 2550Ln ($600), 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

Flatbed scanners.(new product from Canon Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 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);...

Digital cameras.(new product from Canon Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... 7.1-MEGAPIXEL DIGITAL CAMERA VERY GOOD 1/2 PowerShot G6 ($699), from Canon (www.canon.com); January 2005; find.macworld.com/0206 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 7.2-MEGAPIXEL DIGITAL CAMERA VERY GOOD Cyber-shot DSC-P150 ($499), from...

Portable for general consumers.(new laptop from Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 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 for pros.(new laptop computer from Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 12-inch PowerBook G4/1.33GHz with SuperDrive ($1,799), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 12-inch PowerBook G4 packs a lot of power into a compact, elegant case (July 2004)....

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

Desktop for pros.(new power based computer)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD 1/2 Power Mac G5/dual-2.5GHz ($2,999), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We think this Mac's clear speed advantage, huge memory capacity (as much as 8GB), and generous hard-drive size (it comes with a...

New: displays.(TOP PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... 23-INCH DISPLAY VERY GOOD 1/2 L2335 ($1,599), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com); page 22 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 19-INCH DISPLAY VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync LCD1960NXi ($729), from NEC (www.necmitsubishi.com); October 2004;...

OptioX.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(new digital camera)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... GOOD OptioX ($450), from Pentax (www.pentax.com) Its split body is unique, but as much as we like the 5-megapixel OptioX, its pictures just don't measure up. You can find 6-megapixel cameras that take better pictures for about the same...

PhotoPC L-410.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD PhotoPC L-410 ($200), from Epson (www.epson.com) This bargain 4-megapixel camera produces sharp, clear photos with very good color. However, its movie mode has grainy video and weak audio. This camera is really designed to be a...

Flatron L1930B.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... GOOD 1/2 Flatron L1930B ($579), from LG Electronics (www.lge.com) The Flatron L1930 is an inexpensive, 19-inch LCD with 1,280-by-1,024-pixel resolution. It offers solid overall performance without a lot of bells and whistles....

Pixma iP5000.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... VERY GOOD Pixma iP5000 ($200), from Canon (www.canon.com); This great all-around printer uses ink drops as small as 1 picoliter to print clean text and photos. It has built-in duplexing capabilities and can print directly from a...

The game room.(new computer games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... They're superheroes who have retired to the suburbs. Sure, Pop's gone to seed a bit and Mom may be a bit wider in the hips, but they've still got it where it counts--plus, now they have a couple of superpower-endowed kids. And they may just be...

Mac Gems.(new computer peripherals and software)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2005... In August 2004, I introduced you to Carsten Blum's Plain Clip (VERY GOOD; www.bluem.net), a useful little app that strips text of all formatting so you can copy formatted text and then paste it as plain text. Reader response to that...

Small miracles: Apple takes size and price down a notch with the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle.(Apple Computer Inc.)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... EVERY YEAR, MAC USERS GATHER in San Francisco to see Steve Jobs unveil the Next Big Thing at Macworld Conference & Expo. This year was no different except that there were two Big Things--new products that are big because they're so small. ...

Mac security: fact and fiction; Are you worrying too much about security--or not enough? Find out what the real dangers are.
March 1, 2005... VIRUSES. SPYWARE. INTERNET HACKERS AND WIRELESS PROWLERS. Most Mac users gaze on smugly as reports of each new Windows security crisis break. And they have good reason: At press time, research from Sophos (a maker of antivirus software)...

Find Excel data fast.(way to use Microsoft Excel Lookup Wizard)
March 1, 2005... Excel users often need to retrieve data and repurpose it in many different ways. For example, you might use sales figures in an annual report or create invoices from an inventory list. But pulling data out of large, complicated Excel...

Free your music.(DIGITAL HUB)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2005... Are you constantly tethered to the headphone jack of your Mac or iPod--even when you're home alone? The problem may be that you don't have the right speakers. Whether you're lounging around the house or relaxing on a tropical beach, we'll help...

Inside Camera Raw.(use of Adobe Photoshop CS Camera Raw)
March 1, 2005... If you have a midrange or pro digital camera, you can probably produce images in the raw format. A raw file is a record of the data a camera's sensor captures. Shooting raw beats shooting in JPEG format for several reasons, but to benefit from...

No files left behind.(file accessing methods)
March 1, 2005... It's a traveling professional's worst nightmare: you're on the road, it's the night before a major meeting, and you discover that you've left your slides and notes on your home or office Mac--or that you've left some vital phone numbers on a...

Type less in Terminal.(use and editing of commands)
March 1, 2005... Many people stay away from the command line because of the tedium of typing in long, precise commands. But you can save lots of time and type less by using the command history functions built into the shell you work with. The shell keeps a...

Mac OS X Hints.(ways to relocating the application)(Column)
March 1, 2005... Change the default column order in list-view windows, relocate applications from the Dock, manage your Mail recipients list, always send Windows-friendly attachments from Mail, modify graphics from Terminal, and combine multiple PDFs into one....

Mac 911.(HELP DESK)(Column)
March 1, 2005... I understand that the computer--and the Mac in particular--has made our lives vastly richer, but damn it, every so often mine acts in ways so idiotic that I want to pitch it into the nearest ditch. Are you likewise frustrated by Services that...

Laptop bags.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
March 1, 2005... Looking for a stylish way to tote your Mac laptop? Timbuk2's $80 Marina (left) takes the classic handbag to the next level with laptop-safe padding; a plush lining; a mobile-phone pocket; and bright, fun colors. For something with a bit more...

Incase Charger.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
March 1, 2005... Incase Designs has long provided carrying and storage accessories for Apple products. Now the company has expanded into the electronics realm with its dual-input Incase Charger--as far as I know, the only charger of its kind for the iPod and...

RePorter.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
March 1, 2005... Are you tired of crawling under your desk to connect and disconnect cables to and from your Power Mac G5? I know I am. Marathon Computer's $60 RePorter is here to help. The 5-foot-long port extender features breakout connectors for FireWire...

What's hot.(new releases from Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... 1 Apple ships the iPod shuffle. Future releases include the iPod hustle, the iPod electric slide, and Lambada: the forbidden iPod. 2 Apple announces that it shipped 4.5 million iPods during 2004's holiday quarter. Of course, unlike Apple's...

Evoluent VerticalMouse 2.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
March 1, 2005... Finally, someone has made a mouse that takes my wrist out of a twisted, pain-inducing position, and makes me look good doing it. That's why I love the very thoughtfully designed $75 Evoluent VerticalMouse 2, which puts your hand in a neutral,...

ConvertX for Mac.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
March 1, 2005... Elgato's EyeTV product line has become synonymous with watching and recording TV on your Mac--and for good reason. Plextor even licensed the excellent EyeTV software for its ConvertX PVR. What I like about the ConvertX are the small...