Macworld articles from October 2006

Macworld archives from October 2006

A taste of the future.(Apple Inc. plans)(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... Another year, another of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conferences and another Steve Jobs keynote full of product announcements. This issue of Macworld is packed with everything we could glean about those announcements: the new Mac Pro (page...

Eternal vigilance.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... Our readers love it when we write about Mac security. But the response to July's "Protect Your Mac" feature was unusually strong. Maybe because now that you can run Windows on a Mac, you can get Windows viruses, Trojan horses, and so on. But OS...

Is it safe?(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... MICHAEL TENNES # In "Protect Your Mac" (July 2006), I was surprised that you overlooked one of the most important security measures to protect your data and your privacy: setting an Open Firmware password. If someone boots your Mac from an...

Getting the boot.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... MICHAEL SPARKS * I have my reservations about the arrival of Boot Camp ("Boot Camp FAQs," July 2006). So what if I can run Microsoft Office in Windows XP on a Mac? It's still running on an old and unstable operating system. Why would I...

Voice of caution.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... FRANCOIS BACAVE # Your article on VoIP and Internet telephony was very useful (Reviews, July 2006). But it failed to mention one important thing about VoIP service: because it relies on a computer that needs electrical current, it won't...

Surfing Safari.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... BOB GULIAN # Reading Macworld, one might think that Safari is the only browser available for OS X. But it's not. Camino is an OS X rewrite of Mozilla's Firefox. It fully supports industry standards such as ECMAScript (macworld.com/1530)...

iPod ideas.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... ANDRE KEMP # Looking at your reviews of the latest iPods, which now have radio transmitters, video connectors for your TV, and voice recorders, makes me wonder: when do we get the iPod camcorder? Somebody must be able to figure out how to...

We blush.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... RICHARD F. THOMPKINS # Your piece on Disk Utility ("Disk Utility's Hidden Talents," Working Mac, July 2006) was just magnificent. I'm showing it to some old Mac hands who never knew what that program could do. Thank you so much. *...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2006... In "Disk Utility's Hidden Talents" (Working Mac, July 2006), we incorrectly stated that you could use Disk Utility to create a multi-session disc with a DVD. You can only do this with a CD. Also, you cannot use Disk Utility to create a bootable...

Mac Pro FAQs: what you need to know about Apple's new pro desktop.(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... At its Worldwide Developers Conference in August, Apple completed its transition to Intel-based Macs with a bang, replacing its Power Mac G5 desktops with the Mac Pro (VERY GOOD; macworld.com/1646). This high-end desktop runs on two dual-core...

Apple drops display prices.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Although it wasn't mentioned during the Mac Pro announcement, Apple lowered the prices of its Cinema Display line during August's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The 2,560-by-1,600-pixel, 30-inch Cinema HD Display dropped $500 to...

Microsoft axes Virtual PC for Macs.(Virtual PC emulation software)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Not surprisingly, Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) indicated that it will not develop a new version of its Virtual PC emulation software to run on Intel-based Macs. A statement from Microsoft read "developing a high-quality...

Quicken 2007 ships.(Intuit Inc. released Quicken Mac 2007, personal finance software)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Financial software-maker Intuit has released Quicken Mac 2007, which includes several new features. What it doesn't include, however, is native support for Intel-based Macs. An Intuit representative said that the company "focused on features...

Andy Ihnatko's take on the WWDC keynote: where's the rest of Leopard?(Worldwide Developers Conference)
October 1, 2006... There's an energy that permeates a Steve Jobs keynote--a weird, purple, sentient energy that Stephen Hawking has never been drunk enough to imagine. Even though there's nothing that won't be explicitly revealed between the time Steve thanks us...

Apple announces Xeon-based server update: new Xserve coming soon.
October 1, 2006... The Mac Pro may have been the big hardware announcement at August's Worldwide Developers Conference, but it wasn't the only one. Apple also unveiled a new Xserve, an updated version of its 1U rack-mountable server, now with two dual-core,...

Gamerhood service looks to expand game reach: Aspyr goes online.(Aspyr Media)
October 1, 2006... At a time when Mac users are clamoring for games but retail shelf space is as scarce as ever, Mac game publisher Aspyr Media has come up with a bold new initiative to meet that demand. Dubbed Gamerhood, the software targeted for a late-2006...

Multimedia beat.(multimedia software)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... RiffWorks 2.0, from Sonoma Wire Works (www.sonomawireworks.com): Music software lets you record short guitar riffs using real-time effects and a virtual drumming module ($130). SimpleChord 4.0, from Wonder Warp Software...

Hardware beat.
October 1, 2006... US-122L and US-144, from Tascam (www.tascam.com): New portable USB 2.0 audio interfaces include two XLR mike inputs with phantom power (US-122L, $199; US-144, $269). Securespot, from D-Link (www.d-link.com): New hardware device provides...

Apple cuts the cord on multibutton device: wireless Mighty Mouse.(macbeat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... When Apple released the Mighty Mouse--the company's first multibutton mouse--in 2005, Mac users had two choices for Apple-branded input devices: a corded version with many functions, or a wireless version with a single button. For users who...

Will new DVD format make it into Macs? Blu-ray on the way.(Apple plans to developed Blu-ray-based drives)
October 1, 2006... Apple has a good history of embracing emerging technologies--USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, and wireless networking, to name a few--and incorporating them into its Macs. With Apple on the board of directors of the trade group promoting the...

Imaging beat.(Red Giant Software LLC launched image processing software, Knoll Light Factory 2.5)(Autodesk new image processing software, Maya 8.0)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Knoll Light Factory 2.5, from Red Giant Software (www.redgiantsoftware.com): Plug-in for Adobe After Effects and Apple's Motion and Final Cut Pro creates a simulated flare effect (Editors edition, $179; Pro edition, $399; upgrade, $99). ...

Productivity beat.
October 1, 2006... Desk Lamp 0.9, from Alf Watt (www.desklampx.com): Desktop search utility adds tag-gable searches ($20). iYoga, from Software Studio (www.iyogayoga.com): New virtual yoga instructor includes a text-to-speech word processor ($35). ...

Dashboard Advisory feature transmits data: widgets phone home.
October 1, 2006... As part of its OS X 10.4.7 update, Apple quietly included a widget update mechanism called Dashboard Advisory to ensure that your third-party widgets are the most current versions, and that you're not using a widget disguised to present itself...

Education iMac: stripped-down 17-inch iMac is a good fit for schools and colleges.(personal computer)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... With the $899 iMac education configuration, Apple has a good chance of regaining some of its former glory with school systems by offering a powerful yet low-cost all-in-one computer that can run Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. This model is...

Task masters: calendar and project-management apps; Software to help you get organized, stay on schedule, and meet your deadlines.(Reviews)
October 1, 2006... Your information is everywhere: on notebooks and scratch pads, stuffed in your pockets, falling out of your backpack, on cocktail napkins--maybe even hiding in a stack of receipts. If you've ever wanted to get it all organized in one spot--on...

More reviews.(Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo label printer)(MacScan 2.1, anti-virus software)(Parallels Desktop virtualization software)(Print Explosion Deluxe 3.0, printer support software)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... For complete reviews of the products listed here, visit www.macworld.com/reviews. VERY GOOD Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo ($190), from Dymo (www.dymo.com): The Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo with Dymo Stamps software is the only postage and...

No more paper: document scanner.(Reviews)(Epson GT-2500)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Epson GT-2500 ($600), from Epson (www.epson.com): The Epson GT-2500, a flatbed document scanner with 48-bit color, is geared toward small businesses that want to easily scan documents. It has an automatic feeder and can produce...

Application-removal tool: AppZapper 1.6.(Mac Gems)(Brian Ball)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... For the most part, it's easy to install and uninstall applications in OS X--you drag an application's icon into the Applications folder to install it, and you drag that same icon to the Trash to remove it. But some apps also have support files,...

Extension manager: Diablotin 1.3.(Mac Gems)(Stephane Sudre)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... If you were using a Mac before OS X arrived on the scene, you probably remember Extensions Manager or its commercial alternative, Cassady & Greene's Conflict Catcher. Both utilities let you enable or disable individual system add-ons--control...

Multiple-item Clipboard utilities.(Mac Gems)(Steve Cook's Jumpcut 0.6)(American Balloon's PopCopy 2.3)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... As someone who works with text for a living, I've always wanted to incorporate a multiple-item Clipboard utility--one that stores all the recent contents of the Clipboard--into my workflow. I can't remember how many times I've copied (or, even...

iChat effects tool: ChatFX 1.2.1.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... If you've installed Apple's Xcode developer tools (included with OS X), you may have discovered Core Image Fun House, a nifty utility that lets you apply various Core Image filters and effects to images. Many of the effects are quite cool, and...

Magicolor 2430 DL.(COLOR LASER PRINTER)(Konica Minolta Holdings Inc.)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Magicolor 2430 DL ($499), from Konica Minolta (www.konicaminolta.com): The Magicolor 2430 DL is a capable networked color laser printer whose setup needs a bit of finessing. (The toner cartridges are preinstalled, but you need to...

Macs.(personal computers, laptop computers)
October 1, 2006... DESKTOP Product Processor Display Rating iMac Intel Core 17 inches VERY GOOD Duo/1.83GHz Intel Core 20 inches VERY GOOD Duo/2GHz Mac mini Intel Core not...

Stylus Photo R340.(INK-JET PHOTO PRINTER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 Stylus Photo R340 ($200), from Epson (www.epson.com): The Epson Stylus Photo R340 prints the best color photos in its class, and it reproduces shadow detail extremely well. It's a great choice for printing brilliant color...

Desktop drive.(FIREWIRE DRIVES)(Iomega Black Series Triple Interface)(OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 Black Series Triple Interface, 250GB ($240), from Iomega (www.iomega.com): You can't go wrong with its speed, connection options, and low price per gigabyte. This drive can boot OS X via FireWire and includes Retrospect...

Portable drive.(FIREWIRE DRIVES)(Rocsecure Rocbit 2B)(OWC Mercury On-the-Go)(Iomega MiniMax)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... OUTSTANDING Rocbit 2B ($230), from Rocsecure (www.rocsecure.com): Rocsecure's Rocbit 2B, with 40-bit encryption, is priced a bit higher than similar unencrypted portable drives, but it is well worth the premium if security is a concern....

CanoScan 9950F.(FLATBED SCANNER)(Canon Inc.)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 CanoScan 9950F ($400), from Canon (www.canon.com): The CanoScan 9950F offers improved scan quality and more-intuitive software controls. This model tops its predecessor, the 9900F, in almost every way--resolution, color...

23-inch display.(LCD MONITORS)(Hewlett-Packard L2335)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 L2335 ($1,599), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com): Along with its outstanding value, analog and digital connectors, ability to pivot to portrait mode, and adjustable height, the L2335 provides excellent video-in options and...

20-inch display.(LCD MONITORS)(NEC MultiSync LCD2070NX)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync LCD2070NX ($799), from NEC (www.necdisplay.com): The MultiSync LCD2070NX is great for people who want a moderately priced 20-inch monitor that can display bright, accurate colors. It sports digital and analog...

F17-inch display.(LCD MONITORS)(Dell UltraSharp 1707FP)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD UltraSharp 1707FP ($279), from Dell (www.dell.com): 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 very good, and its color is...

8-megapixel digital SLR.(DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 EOS Digital Rebel XT ($899; with lens, $999), from Canon (www.canon.com): Canon defined this market with the original Digital Rebel, and the company keeps its lead with the EOS Digital Rebel XT. The Rebel XT is a very small...

Advanced digital camera.(DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30K)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30K ($700), from Panasonic (www.panasonic.com): The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30K is a sizable beast: at 1.5 pounds and just over five inches long, it feels more like an SLR than an all-in-one camera. The chunky...

PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW.(DUAL-LAYER DVD BURNER)(Plextor Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW ($239), from Plextor (www.plextor.com): The PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW drive features flexible connectivity options; it burns 2.4x-rated dual-layer media at 4x; it has fast 16x burn speeds; and it has the...

8-megapixel digital camera.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Hewlett-Packard Photosmart R927)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Photosmart R927 ($350), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com): This camera shoots very good images and has a large LCD and easy-to-use menus. Controls are plentiful: The R927 offers aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes, as well...

6-megapixel digital camera.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Casio Exilim EX-Z600)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... GOOD Exilim EX-Z600 ($280), from Casio (www.casio.com): Where the low-priced Exilim EX-Z600 excels is stamina: it took 500 shots on one battery charge. One of the EX-Z600's more unusual features is the built-in perspective (keystone)...

Desktop USB/Firewire drive.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Western Digital My Book Pro Edition 500GB)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 My Book Pro Edition 500GB ($350), from Western Digital (www.westerndigital.com): Desktop Mac users looking for a spacious and speedy extra 500GB of storage should consider the Western Digital My Book Pro Edition 500GB drive....

Portable USB/Firewire drive.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(LaCie Little Big Disk 200GB)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Little Big Disk 200GB ($599), from LaCie (www.lacie.com): If you're looking for a respectable amount of fast external storage, the bus-powered LaCie Little Big Disk mobile hard drive is a top performer--but at a price. Its solid,...

Get smart: great Mac gear for teenagers--and their parents.(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... If you or your kids are headed back to school this fall, you'll need new gear--which is why we've assembled the following guide. We asked Christopher Breen to look at the current lineup of desktop Macs and explain which ones make the most sense...

10 things you need to know about Leopard: the next version of OS X won't arrive until spring 2007. But we've got a sneak peek now.(Mac OS X 10.5)(Cover story)
October 1, 2006... In Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), it was iChat AV, Expose, and Fast User Switching. In OS X 10.4 (Tiger), it was Spotlight, Dashboard, and Automator. And in OS X 10.5 (code-named Leopard), it'll be Time Machine and Spaces. With every new version of...

Your Mac's Secrets revealed! 59 ways to use your applications better, smarter, and faster.
October 1, 2006... We all seek our own holy grail of computing--a feature or shortcut that would make our lives so much easier, if only we knew where to find it. Well, now you can stop the endless searching in menus, help folders, and Web pages. Macworld's band...

Save time with Word's styles.(Microsoft Word)
October 1, 2006... Whether you want company correspondence to have a certain look or need your dissertation to follow MLA styling, you can easily spend hours formatting Microsoft Word documents. But there's a faster way: click within a paragraph and apply a...

iTunes' sharing skills.
October 1, 2006... One of the joys in life is sharing your tastes--and iTunes obliges that desire with built-in sharing features that let you open your library to other people, as well as take advantage of their reciprocal generosity. iTunes' sharing features let...

Take command of keywords.(iPhoto 6.0, photo management tool)
October 1, 2006... Want to find every close-up taken of your children during summer vacation? When put to good use, iPhoto 6's keywords feature makes complex searches like this easy. Keywords are descriptive words that you can use to label and categorize your...

Custom templates in pages.(Pages 2.0, word processing software)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... Pages 2, the page-layout and word processing program included with Apple's $79 iWork '06 suite, comes with more than 60 beautiful and versatile templates. So I was surprised when a friend complained that it didn't have a template for a...

Remotely access your Mac.
October 1, 2006... You're on the road, it's the night before your big presentation, and after a long day of travel you fire up your Mac to do a last-minute check on your slides. That's when you realize that you forgot to bring them with you--that the presentation...

Firefox extensions for geeks.(Mozilla Firefox web browsers)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2006... Mozilla's Firefox browser is a great tool for surfing the Net. And thanks to a growing number of free Firefox extensions, it's an especially good tool for people who want every possible ounce of browser power--and who are willing to tinker with...

Mac OS X Hints: the insiders' tips you won't get from Apple.
October 1, 2006... Close All but the Current Finder Window Savvy OS X users might already know that option-clicking on a Finder window's close button (the red dot in the title bar) closes all open Finder windows. But what if you want to close everything...

Mac 911: solutions to your most vexing Mac problems.
October 1, 2006... Get iTunes Video Audio on Your Nano I purchased a music video from the iTunes Music Store (iTMS). Can I play the audio on my iPod nano? Doesn't buying a music video entitle me to enjoy the music track separately from the video? Bill...

JVC SU-DH1.(sound cards)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Watching movies on your laptop or your iPod can be a great way to pass the time. Unfortunately, headphones don't give you the same aural experience as a home theater system. JVC's new $130 SU-DH1 surround sound headphone adapter aims to change...

Cooliris Previews.
October 1, 2006... The most basic thing to admire about Google is its simple interface. The search engine runs fast because it cuts out pesky details (like images) that could slow down searches. But sometimes you want more, and the Cooliris Previews plug-in gives...

File Buddy 9.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
October 1, 2006... SkyTag Software's $40 File Buddy has been part of my file-altering arsenal for years. Lately I've been playing with a beta of the next version, File Buddy 9, which has tons of new features like Universal support, the ability to disable or...

What's hot.(Mac Pro's release marks the completion of Apple's and Intel transition)(Apple demonstrates the backup utility as part of the upcoming Leopard opearting systems)(Steve Jobs turns down a salary for his board position)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... 1 The Mac Pro's release marks the completion of Apple's less-than-a-year-long Intel transition. In that same amount of time, Microsoft went from a developer's build of Vista to a slightly less buggy developer's build. 2 Apple demonstrates...

Out of the Park Baseball 2006.(computer sport games)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... It's easier to strike out the heart of the New York Yankees' lineup than it is to find a Mac-compatible baseball game. But like a flame-throwing relief pitcher rushing in from the bullpen, Sports Interactive has come to the rescue of...

Riya.
October 1, 2006... Labeling photos in iPhoto is a bit like going to the gym--you know it's good for you, but who has the time? That's why I've been teaching Riya to label my photos for me. This free site uses an algorithm to detect faces in your photos and, with...