Macworld articles from September 2002

Macworld archives from September 2002

Assessing .Mac: are for-pay Internet services a good idea for Apple? (From the Editor's Desk).
September 1, 2002... MANY OF US WHO LIVE IN THE MAC UNIVERSE SEE OUR year bisected by two weeks of Sturm und Drang, better known as Macworld Expo New York and Macworld Expo San Francisco. A frothy, and sometimes nasty, mix of rumor, informed speculation, and...

Feedback.
September 1, 2002... A Costly Lesson There was a lesson on every page of our June 2002 issue--everything from the best online photo service to how to build your own Mac-powered Lego monster. So what did we learn? We learned that when it comes to opinions about...

Corrections.
September 1, 2002... "Change Comes from Within" (Mac Beat, July 2002) listed an incorrect price for the Apple DVI-to-ADC Adapter. It sells for $149. In our review of FireWire hard drives ("Room to Grow," July 2002), the photo (on page 73) of the QPS Que M3...

iMac hits the big screen. (With a 17-inch Display, the Flat-Panel iMac Goes Wide).
September 1, 2002... When the flat-panel iMac was introduced in January, its floating-flat-panel design made one fact abundantly clear: unlike the original iMac, encased in a rigid plastic shell that limited changes to its basic design, this new model would be much...

Apple's quiet updates. (Mac Beat).
September 1, 2002... The flat-panel iMac might have been the flashiest product to come out of July's Macworld Conference & Expo, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs may have focused the bulk of his keynote speech on OS X's upcoming Jaguar update and the new iCal and iSync...

iTools is out, .Mac is in. (Online Service Goes from Free to Fee).
September 1, 2002... When Apple unveiled its iTools Internet services more than two years ago, the company promoted its free offerings as an opportunity for Mac users to take full advantage of the Internet. Indeed, millions of Mac users have done just that; Apple...

Apple's triple play. (iPod Available in 20GB Size, Windows Version).(also 5Gb and 10GB models)
September 1, 2002... When the original iPod debuted last fall, Mac users marveled at its then staggering 5 GB of storage capacity. But less than a year later, Apple has quadrupled the iPod's maximum capacity, introducing a 20GB model of the popular MP3 player. ...

OS X-native multimedia player finally arrives. (Mac OS X gets Real).
September 1, 2002... Any OS X user who's spent a good deal of time surfing the Web has run into a downside of using Apple's latest and greatest OS: streaming audio and video links that require RealNetworks' RealPlayer (800/414-8011, www.real.com). Since Apple...

Best of Show. (Macworld Conference & Expo).
September 1, 2002... At each Macworld Conference & Expo trade show, the editors of Macworld magazine and MacCentral.com evaluate the many new hardware and software products that debut at the event, and they select the most exciting ones to receive best of Show...

Keep rockin'. (Inside iTunes 3).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... It's difficult not to call iTunes 2 a success--Apple says that in the music-playing software's 18 months of existence, it has distributed 14 million copies. With the release of iTunes 3, it's time to restart the count. Running only on OS...

Apple makes a digital hubbub. (iSync, iCal Expand Mac Connectivity).
September 1, 2002... Apple's digital-hub strategy centers on connecting Macs to various portable digital devices--something Apple calls "Mac to mobile." The catch is synchronizing the data on your Mac with PDAS, cell phones, and other digital gadgets. ...

Jaguar unleashed: Mac OS X 10.2 arrives. (Mac OS X 10.2 Update Due August 24).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... You've already heard about the features of OS X's new version (see "Mac OS X Evolves," August 2002). But now the update has a formal name, a price, a release date--and a cute package. Due August 24, Mac OS X 10.2 will offer an enhanced...

iPod, therefore iSteal? Digital copying technology comes under Fire-how it could Affect You. (Mac Beat).
September 1, 2002... Next time you're standing in front of a mirror, take a long look at the face you see. Maybe even turn your head to the side and imagine a block of mug-shot numbers hanging around your neck--because that's how some in the entertainment industry...

Copy protection: the day the music died?
September 1, 2002... As methods for digitally producing-and reproducing-music proliferate, some in the music industry are trying to prevent computer users from passing around music files. Some Mac users have run afoul of Key2Audio, which prevents would-be listeners...

Power to the pixel. (Sharper Images for Digital Cameras?).
September 1, 2002... Hardware maker Foveon (877/436-8366, www.foveon.com) hopes to shake up the digital-camera market with a chip designed to produce sharper digital photos that have better color rendition than today's cameras provide--and offered at a similar...

Dude, where's my Mac? (Software Tracks Missing Macs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The same quality that attracts consumers to Mac laptops--all that power in a compact and portable package--also appeals to computer thieves. Rather than resigning yourself to never seeing your pilfered laptop again, you can take a bite out of...

Laptop learning curve. (A Year After Big iBook Purchase, Henrico County Looks Ahead).
September 1, 2002... When the Henrico County, Virginia, school district placed an $18.6 million order for 23,000 iBooks in May 2001, the size and scope of the purchase garnered headlines. Over the course of the 2001-2002 school year, Henrico County's computer...

When Macs meet TiVo. (Digital-Video Recorder comes to the Mac).(El Gato Software's EyeTV)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Sure, you can use your Mac to edit digital videos and assign every song in your CD collection to various playlists. But Apple's vision of the Mac as a centerpiece of the digital lifestyle will never be fulfilled until you're able to record...

New paper, new OS. (Macs at Work).(New York Sun uses Mac OS X)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Back in April 2002, the New York Sun became one of the first major daily newspapers to debut in the new century. And the first issue to roll off the presses bore another distinction: it was produced on this century's first major new OS, Mac OS...

Typesetters. (Pro File: Q&A with Harold Grey).
September 1, 2002... Adobe's announcement this spring that it would be converting its Type Library fonts into the OpenType format didn't produce banner headlines. But for designers, the move to a simple, single-file, cross-platform format is revolutionary....

Photo finishers. (For Web Service, Image Editing is Everything).
September 1, 2002... For the amateur shutterbug with neither the time nor the inclination to master a powerful image-editing application such as Adobe Photoshop, the complex edits required to turn a simple photo into a memorable gift can be daunting. But just as...

The power of the pen. (Plug-in takes Photoshop Effects beyond Layers).
September 1, 2002... Adobe Photoshop filters traditionally affect a selected area or layer. But Wacom Technology (800/922-9348, www.wacom.com) and nik multimedia (619/725-3150, www.nikmultimedia.com) are teaming up to create a new approach to filters. The result is...

Premiere event. (Adobe's Video-Editing App comes to Mac OS X).
September 1, 2002... Imagine watching a trailer for a film you can't wait to see, only to learn that the movie isn't due to hit theaters for another year. That's what Adobe Premiere fans have had to endure. More than a year before Adobe (800/833-6687,...

Corel's name game. (Product Watch).
September 1, 2002... "What's in a name?" isn't a rhetorical question at Corel (800/772-6735, www.corel.com). Last year, the Canadian software maker spun off new divisions called Procreate and Deep White. Now the changing monikers have hit the product level: the...

Audio to go. (Palm-sized Speaker lets your Music be Heard).
September 1, 2002... Thanks to the iPod, your favorite tunes--as much as 20GB of them--are never more than an arm's length away. Unfortunately, if you want anyone else to listen in on your music, you'd better have a stereo system and a set of speakers within...

Apple eMac: all-in-one G4 with flat CRT display proves the true successor to the original iMac. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... When it comes to the late-1990s revival of Apple under Steve Jobs, the original iMac gets a whole lot of the credit--and rightly so. This year, Apple replaced that bulbous G3 Mac with the groundbreaking iMac G4, which boasts a flat-panel...

Meetingmaker 7.1: automated group-scheduling package adds OS X--based server and Java client. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... The value of a group-scheduling package can be difficult to grasp--until you're on the losing end of a double-booked conference room. Meetingmaker's self-titled Meeting-maker 7.1 promises to keep your calendar in order. This client/server...

CalculationCenter 2: powerful math program makes hard stuff easy for Mac users with real-world problems. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... As Stephen Wolfram, founder of Wolfram Research, proved in his recent book A New Kind of Science, Wolfram's Mathematica application can be used for profound investigations of the complexities of nature. But if your job description does not...

Color laser printers: the big players bring quick prints within reach. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... Not long ago, color laser printers were slow, balky, very expensive beasts. Only highly trained professionals could change their consumables, and they needed to live in a climate-controlled room to produce consistent color. Given that history,...

Video-capture cards: if you work with uncompressed video, these four professional cards can help you take Apple's final cut Pro to the next level. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... Final Cut Pro works admirably as a software-based, nonlinear editor, but adding hardware to the mix can expand its capabilities. PCI video-capture cards allow editors to capture and edit uncompressed and even high-definition video and graphics....

Gemini UDS 1.1: Internet search utility drills deep to bring you the results you want. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... By cataloging Web sites in advance, search engines can query more than 1.5 billion pages in less than a second. But even the best engines force you to spend time weeding out dead or irrelevant links. Snowtide Informatics Systems strives to...

Omnis Studio 3.1: software lets pros quickly develop database apps. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... The Holy Grail for database users and developers is an intuitive, fast, and powerful development tool that lets them create and package the entry forms and reports that make a database more than just a storehouse of information. Omnis Studio...

ADVC-100: digital-video converter preserves memories in true form. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... Canopus's ADVC-100 is a small box used for converting video from VHS, camcorder, or other analog sources to DV-format digital video on your hard drive. Once the video is there, you can edit it and create DVDs or QuickTime movies to send to...

Spring Cleaning 5.0: uninstaller application supports OS X and provides powerful searching--but it remains an untidy utility. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... The problem of how to dispose of extraneous files without also deleting desirable data has long plagued Mac users. Aladdin Systems' Spring Cleaning 5.0 tries to make this task easier; it locates and lets you deal with unnecessary files, such as...

iDraw 1.1: illustration and animation program has many problems. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... What Apple's powerful iPhoto and iMovie are to managing photos and editing movies, so you might assume MacPowerUser Software's iDraw would be to drawing illustrations and animations. iDraw 1.1.1 shares OS X compatibility and an elegant...

Terminal-emulation programs: PowerTerm and CelView make their Mac OS X debuts. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... Many of us spend our computing days and nights looking at a shiny Aqua interface, but plenty of people still earn their lunch money staring at screens that look more like DOS than anything remotely graphical. Those systems include everything...

ConceptDraw Presenter 1.0: presentation software offers a comprehensive collection of drawing tools but lacks important basic functions. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... For Mac and Windows users alike, the terms "PowerPoint presentation" and "electronic slide show" have been almost synonymous for years. But Computer Systems Odessa's ConceptDraw Presenter 1.0.1 aims to provide a viable alternative to...

SpinImage DV Pro: easy-to-use VR-object--creation software lets you take things for a spin. (Reviews).
September 1, 2002... A VR object--a QuickTime movie of a rotating object--can be a great way to spice up online catalogs and photo galleries. But creating these objects is usually a time-consuming process involving expensive VR rigs and lots of still photos....

MacBreakZ 3.2. (In Brief).
September 1, 2002... 9X ####; Publicspace.net, www.publicspace.net; single license, $25; five licenses, $100 Ergonomics experts say that taking frequent breaks makes computer users less likely to injure themselves. To provide the necessary encouragement...

File Buddy 7.1. (In Brief).
September 1, 2002... 9X #### 1/2; SkyTag Software, 919/933-9595, www.skytag.com; $50 File Buddy 7.1 is a unique utility that gives advanced users unprecedented control over files and folders in both OS 9 and OS X. By dragging and dropping a file, folder,...

Pluggo 3.0. (In Brief).
September 1, 2002... 9 ####; Cycling '74, 415/974-1818, www.cycling74.com; $199 If you want one affordable package that contains a slew of audio plug-ins compatible with Steinberg's VST, Mark of the Unicorn's MAS, and Digidesign's RTAS effects formats, you...

Typeset 1.1. (In Brief).
September 1, 2002... 9X ###; Vizspring Software, www.vizspring.com; $15 Vizspring Software's Typeset 1.1.1 is a shareware application that lets you view your active fonts in a WYSIWYG format. It won't activate them for you, but it works well with the more...

ScatterLight Lenses. (In Brief).
September 1, 2002... 9 ### 1/2; Andromeda Software, 805/379-4109, www.andromeda.com; $98 Andromeda Software's ScatterLight Lenses filter for Adobe Photoshop provides a way to give your photos a dreamy, soft-focus look. The filter offers four main...

Something for everyone: gritty action, kid adventure, and everything in between. (The Game Room).
September 1, 2002... BUCKSHOT FROM A SHOTGUN SHELL DISPERSES IN A WIDE pattern. That's just one lesson I learned while playing Max Payne, one of the games I review this month. And like scattered buckshot, the other products I look at cover the gamut-from a...

Put Office X to work: be more efficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage.
September 1, 2002... Whether you work for a multinational corporation or run a small business out of your basement, you've probably got at least one--if not all four--Microsoft Office apps installed on your computer. But although Microsoft's Office suite ($499;...

Instant gratification. (The Digital Darkroom).
September 1, 2002... Fashion photographer and art director Patricia Martine knows the value of immediate results. Martine, whose clients include Talbots, Macy's, and Nine West, works with models who earn as much as $2,500 per day. "For each pose, I'll take between...

Dig deeper with DVD Studio Pro. (Let our Expert Guide Show you how).
September 1, 2002... Apple's DVD Studio Pro 1.5(800/692-7753, www.apple.com) is a powerful and feature-rich program that leaves iDVD in the dust when it comes to professional DVD production (see Reviews, August 2002). With it, you can subdivide your content into...

Fine-tune your tablet. (Secrets: Graphics).
September 1, 2002... Graphics tablets have become essential tools tar digital illustrators. In Addition to simulating the distinctive look of real-world tools such as paintbrushes and chalks, a properly configured tablet can make you more productive. One of the...

Digital brushstrokes. (Secrets: Graphics).
September 1, 2002... Professional artist and teacher Cher Threinen-Pendarvis began her career in fine art using traditional media. Then in 1988 she bought a Mac II for her small studio and taught herself how to use Adobe Illustrator 88 and Letraset's Image Studio,...

Final Cut Pro audio. (Secrets: Multimedia).
September 1, 2002... If you want to create a convincingly realistic soundtrack for your digital videos, you must sculpt the sound to match the environment. Sweetening involves altering a clip's audio to make it better fit your video. This is most important when you...

O'Reilly[R]: Mac OS X conference.
September 1, 2002... September 30--October 3, 2002 * Santa Clara, CA conferences.oreilly.com/macosxcon Join us for four intensive days as we explore the power of Apple's state-of-the-art operating system. We've got tutorials and sessions presented by "best of...

Make peace with PCs. (Secrets: Mac OS X).
September 1, 2002... Being a Mac user means running into Windows--you know, the operating system the other 95 percent use. Since you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em--but you don't have to give up your Mac. Peaceful coexistence with Windows PCs is...

Prints charming. (Secrets: Mac 911).
September 1, 2002... We all realize that the idea of a paperless office is so much utopian claptrap. What--at your next all-company meeting you're going to pass around a PowerBook displaying that quarter's financial results? Hardly. With reality in mind, this...

Microsoft's penance: after five years, I've got a few demands.
September 1, 2002... AUGUST 7 MARKS THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE Historic Boston Accords. In 1997--after a spectacular lunch (which put four waiters in the hospital with repetitive strain injuries) at the Four Seasons Hotel--Apple's and Microsoft's...