Mac OS X Hacks
100 Industrial Strength Tips and Tricks
Rael Dornfest & Kevin Hemenway
O’Reilly
ISBN 0-596-00460-5
406 pages
US $24.95 CA $38.95

The tide of Mac OS X “hacks” books is rising with the O’Reilly’s publication of Mac OS X Hacks 100 Industrial Strength Tips and Tricks. This trade paperback-sized volume is stuffed full of very useful suggestions to improve your OS X skills. While hard-core Unix converts to OS X may scoff at the some of the beginner-level “hacks,” there are plenty of fun tricks for novices to intermediates, and challenging techniques for intermediates to experts. The varying range of hack sophistication and difficulty is one of the best aspects of this book: you can start with the easy tips, move on to the moderate tricks, and hope someday you’ll be geeky enough to work the magic of the most exotic Unix-based feats of skill and daring.

The tips and tricks are sorted by subject; Files, Startup, Multimedia, User Interface, Unix and the Terminal, Networking, Email, the Web, and Databases. To help the reader decide which hacks to try, each one is rated Beginner, Moderate, or Expert, and is illustrated by a small thermometer. The higher the mercury, the more expertise (usually Unix) is called for. Be sure to check the temperature, as you may find an expert hack right next to a beginner hack.

Now, don’t get scared off by the “U-word.” Dornfest and Hemenway do a creditable job walking readers through the exact Unix steps needed (if any) to do a hack or trick. But, caveat lector; if you jump into deep water, you might be in over your head. Mistype some Unix commands in an Ÿber-geek hack, you’ll sorely regret the fact you don’t have enough Unix knowledge to truly understand the cookbook-style instructions. While ten pages of Hacks are devoted to an overview of commonly used Unix commands, after reading it I felt I knew just enough to get into serious trouble. So, exercise caution when typing. You’ll soon find out that Unix has no “undo.” But, good backups provide the courage to try new things!

Still too scared to try Unix? Morally/spiritually/philosophically opposed to command lines? Be at ease! Dornfest and Hemenway give plenty of fun mouse-based suggestions to learn how to do great slideshows, run an Internet radio station, modify the standard Desktop look and feel, and more. Just experimenting with the beginner-level hacks and the recommended shareware/free applications will be fun for many readers, so don’t pass by Mac OS X Hacks just because you are allergic to Unix!

Warnings aside, the power of Unix combined with the Mac OS is a thing to behold. Executing just a few simple Unix commands can add tremendous capabilities to your computer; email servers, sophisticated Web server functionality, neat user interface tricks, and many more.

Über-geek wannabes like myself will be tantalized by all the neat things that require only a modicum of Unix; SSH remote logins to another OS X Mac, running AppleScripts from the command line, running FTP servers, even setting up a Web DAV server (like an iDisk).

Later, when I get my nerve up, I’ll dive into the hacks to run the built-in Apache web server, as well as the Sendmail mail server, and experiment with setting up cron jobs to run tasks on a regular basis.

Mac OS X Hacks is a book you can live with for a long time, as few readers will be jumping into the expert hacks right away. You can come back to Mac OS X Hacks time after time, and find some new tip or trick to play with.

Production values are typically O’Reilly: outstanding. The trade paperback size makes this book quite easy to hold, unlike many of the boat anchors I’ve recently had to manhandle. Screenshots and type are both crisp and clear.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

David Weeks

The Woodcarver

Todd Long

eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method
Company: eMedia Music Corp.
Price: $59.95 US
http://www.emediamusic.com

I have been playing and teaching beginner and intermediate level guitar for over 40 years. Learning this instrument is easy for most people who practice regularly.

Music students pay $15 – $50 per guitar lesson, and a lot of that money covers instruction and repetition that self-starters and motivated self-learners don’t need to spend. At under $60 US for comprehensive instructional and reference material, eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method provides exceptional value for these students.

I remember being lukewarm to positive in my appraisal of Volume One, the beginner CD in this series. It has been revised since then. If it’s as good as this Intermediate CD (Volume Two), beginners now have a much better chance of learning from scratch.

From my first encounter with eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method (abbreviated as “IGM”), the experience has consistently been positive. Installation of the cross-platform CD’s software takes only a minute or two. Initial 23 pages of sensible, thorough Introduction and Tips cover all necessary instructions, commands, and options, including well-written and illustrated:

Mac OS X In A Nutshell
Jason McIntosh, Chuck Toporek & Chris Stone
O’Reilly
ISBN 0-596-00370-6
US $34.95 CAN $54.95
768 pages, not including index

The nutshell series of books from O’Reilly is well known to the Unix crowd, and so it is with a certain degree of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment that we now have Mac OS X In A Nutshell. It’s as if we are assured that Mac OS X is not only here to stay, but is here to be explored, worthy of mastery, and willing to make itself a useful and productive part of your computing environment.

In honor of this “achievement” I think it fitting that I should be writing this review using OpenOffice, (a Microsoft Office-wanna-be suite of apps but at an affordable price) running in Apple’s beta X11 environment, rather than MS Word or Apple Works. In addition, the software is not actually installed on this iMac, but rather on a remote iMac that happens to have the software installed as well as a VNC (Virtual Network Console) server that allows me to take full control of the system from a distance. I’m listening to my iTunes library as it streams from that remote system running a free mp3 server. The actual steps to doing these types of gymnastics have been available for Unix systems for some time, but not until Mac OS X came on the scene, have they entered the realm of one-click installations with GUI (Graphical User Interface) controls and preferences.

Although there are a few stalwart Mac aficionados who are still not satisfied with Mac OS X, based on a rigid comparison between known, pre-existing features in the classic Mac OS, they are missing the fact that the rest of us have moved from a 12 room up-scale home into a 70 room bona-fide mansion, and there’s a lot of Ônew stuff’ here that wants exploring and which offers more goodies than Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory! If you are an experienced Mac user, or a recent switcher from the Ôdark side’ who is prone to getting under the hood of the operating system, this book is written with you in mind. If you are a developer, administrator, or webmaster, you need this book within arms reach.

The nutshell books are primarily quick reference books covering technical issues and capabilities in detail, but without getting too far from the essence of the subject. This book won’t suggest a lot of 3rd party work-arounds or hacks to solve unique situations. It will suggest proper methods or warn you of some unexpected quirks that could sneak up on you. Perhaps you had been familiar with Mac file sharing, and knew that stopping a file share server would send a warning to the other users. Here you will be warned that Mac OS X, at least up through Jaguar, doesn’t warn anyone except the administrator. Bad things can happen when users are in the process of working with shared files and the server suddenly disappears!

Though you won’t find a lot of suggestions for 3rd party products, you will find some and they are mostly freebies that no serious user wants to be without, and most of them simplify your job by giving a GUI interface to access some of the real but hidden features of Mac OS X. One of these would be Tinker Tool, p187, a nifty little brainchild of Marcel Bresnick, that is considered in the top 3 must-have accessories in every power-user’s top 10 list.

“What if I already own Mac OS X, The Missing Manual, you ask? Tremendous! If you are a poweruser, than you are half-way home. Combined with the more terse, but more exhaustive components in Mac OS X In A Nutshell, you will have the depth and coverage to fill out the knowledge gained from The Missing Manual.

The 25 chapters are divided into 5 main sections and one appendix. The book covers Mac OS X client in detail; it does not cover Mac OS X Server at all. Section I orients the reader, depending upon their personal background and knowledge to how Mac OS X differs from, and where it is similar to, the classic Mac OS. The Task and Settings index is a tremendous resource; just look up the task you want to perform, and the menu path to control the settings is displayed for you. There are over 250 such tasks noted with the steps to accomplishing them, and reminds me of Adam Engst’s Crossing Platforms book written in a task oriented metaphor for Mac and Windows users attempting to get work done in the foreign OS.

Section II dives into the System itself, reviewing each System Preference, the core applications, including the iLife apps, networking, printing, managing files, and working in Java. The chapter on networking supports the theory that it’s wise to be paranoid when it comes to security! “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not really out to get you” as the saying goes, means that you will want to take closer look at the underlying methods to use secure protocols when sending authentication logins over the Internet (page 224). One of the least understood areas for most users is printing, and the alternate interfaces available. Power users who spend a fair amount of time in the realm of publishing will definitely want to study this in detail, learning the command-line tools when all else fails.

Where section II gets into the networking and sharing mechanisms in the system, Section III gets deeply into the core of the networking administration services; namely, the NetInfo database. This is one of the most strategic and important parts of the operating system, yet it has probably the poorest built-in tool set for managing it through a GUI, therefore, understanding this set of services is critical to the administrator of multiple Macs on a network.

Section IV covers the Developer Tools, included with each distribution of Mac OS X since the beta offering. This won’t teach you to write programs, but it will familiarize the programmer with what’s already available in Mac OS X, what the purposes of each tool are, and what resources are available to acquire additional tools and/or documentation. Since Apple added CVS (Concurrent Versions System) support with the Jaguar Developer Tools, this section details every command available at this time; it also covers every emacs shortcut and command to bring the developer as quickly as possible up to speed when working in Mac OS X. It’s the best and most concise treatment of emacs I’ve seen thus far, and my copy is already dropping open at that spot.

While a lot of the previous sections expand on the advanced features available from the command line, Section V covers the parts of Mac OS X that form the chapters of most other Unix reference books: the Terminal, grep (pattern matching), shells and shell scripting, and the X Windows system. It should give a Unix power user cause for reflection that a book of this kind can and should put off discussion of the terminal and the basic CLI (Command Line Interface; i.e. the Terminal.app) to chapter 19 in a 25-chapter text. I think it is appropriate, particularly for the intended audience: the power user who isn’t particularly wedded to the CLI and will if a better method exists to configure and manage services, use it. Nevertheless, nearly every Unix user I know has a handy desk reference designed for each flavor of Unix they handle, covering every single available command. 220 pages of this book are enclosed in chapter 25 and aptly called Unix Command Reference. At this time it is the most complete and thorough compilation of every one of Mac OS X’s Unix commands to be found anywhere. You won’t find this level of information in any other book, on any number of web sites, and certainly not within the man pages.

There is a brief appendix, really a listing in topical format of web resources with their URLs, that winds up this excellent and much needed reference for Mac OS X. It’s really a no-brainer as to whether you need this book. If you spend a significant portion of each day using Mac OS X and have found you cannot get by without frequent use of the Terminal and system utilities such as the Console, the Network Utility, or the NetInfo Manager, this book can be a very handy resource and save a lot of searching through Apple’s support site or various Mac OS X geek sites for tips, in-depth explanations or how-tos.

MacMice Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Jeffrey McPheeters

Audio Hijack Pro 1.0
Company: Rogue Amoeba Software
Price: $30.00
$16.00 for owners of Audio Hijack
http://www.rogueamoeba.com

I reviewed the original Audio Hijack for MyMac.com soon after its original release, and found it to be a splendid little tool for capturing (hijacking, in Rogue Amoeba parlance) audio streams. Best of all, Audio Hijack is able to hijack RealAudio streams to disk, which no other application is able to do.

After stewing in their own juices for several months, the programmers at Rogue Amoeba have come up with Audio Hijack Pro, a substantial improvement to Audio Hijack. AH Pro addresses some of the shortcomings found in the original, and adds several neat features.

Some of the new features are:

Hijacks audio from any application
Hijacks running applications
MP3 and AIFF audio recording from any application
Ability to pause recordings – avoid commercials!
Customizable recording file names
Tivo-like timed hijacking/recording
Enhanced timers with added functionality
Adds DSP effects to any audio
Supports VST and AudioUnits DSP plugins
Supports visual plugins including VU Meters and Menu Bar Meters
Inline Level Meters
Graphical DSP patch area for easy DSP adding
Patch Navigator for easy reference
Ability to save sets of DSP effects (Patches)
Load/Unload plugins at runtime
Integrated help and tutorials
Available in multiple languages
While that’s a hefty laundry list of new features, some jumped out at me. One drawback of the original Audio Hijack is that recordings can be done only in AIFF format, which requires plenty of disk space. AH Pro is able to record directly to MP3, which saves conversion time and effort.

Timers and presets are a huge win for AH Pro. Timers allow you to start AH Pro, and indicate when you want an audio stream captured. You can even create a preset timer to run repeatedly. If you want to capture, say, Car Talk, every week at a certain time, you can set a timer to capture the Car Talk audio stream URL for a particular time duration. Granted, AH Pro must be running to start the process, but it is easy to just set the timer and leave AH Pro in the background. When the time comes up, the desired audio application will start; the hijacking will commence, and run for the preset amount of time. If you do get serious about timed recordings, you’ll appreciate the fact that each successive recording is given a sequential file name; the original Audio Hijack couldn’t do this.

Because AH Pro works at a low level, it captures audio before it gets to the speakers. Just for fun, I started a RealAudio hijacking, hit the AH Pro mute button, started iTunes, and listened to music while the hijacking was recording a recent Fresh Air interview to disk. When the capture was done, I burned the AIFF file to an audio CD to later enjoyment in the car.

The DSP (digital signal processing) features are enhanced, but I didn’t spend much time evaluating them. Bit-twiddling various settings in an attempt to improve the dubious quality of Internet audio streams is not how I want to spend my time. One capability I did find interesting was the level meter to monitor recordings. However, I must confess I can’t quite see the point of monitoring levels of an Internet stream when you can’t adjust the level of the source if there is problem.

The main drawback to AH Pro is a slightly quirky interface. I had to read through the on-screen help file (a printable version would be nice) to figure out how to do captures on a regular schedule, as the interface was a bit odd. Once that was done, operation was easy. While the interface and overall appearance is far superior to many shareware applications, a few things are less than blindingly obvious.

Is Audio Hijack Pro worth the $30 ($14 for upgraders), especially when the original version is still for sale? While your mileage may vary, I found timers and presets make day-to-day usage of Audio Hijack much friendlier. The enhanced DSP features and plug-ins aren’t interesting to me, but the ability to record directly to MP3 is a great timesaver. If all you do is the occasional Internet stream capture to AIFF, you may want to keep the piggy bank closed. But if you do many captures, want to use timers and presets, and make MP3′s without conversion, Audio Hijack Pro is worth the extra money.

MacMice Rating: 4.5 out of 5

David Weeks

Mac OS X Disaster Relief
Troubleshooting techniques to help fix it yourself
Ted Landau with Dan Frakes
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-16847-X
684 pages
US 34.99 CA $54.99

I usually have a tall stack of books in the MyMac.com review pipeline, and new additions are added to the bottom of the pile. Sometimes it takes titles a while to surface, but when Ted Landau’s Mac OS X Disaster Relief arrived, it went promptly to the head of the pile.

When I began reading the actual troubleshooting sections, I began to worry.

“Did I make a mistake upgrading to Mac OS X?”

When I was half finished with the troubleshooting sections, I worried some more.

“Maybe I made a mistake owning a Macintosh.”

By the time I finished the book, I was really worried.

“Maybe I should just get rid of all my computers!”

After reading page after page of gruesome OS X problems, I felt spooked. But after a cup of warm milk, I remembered that I’d never seen many of these gremlins, and probably never will. My OS X installation runs well most of the time. But I have had troubles that took quite a while to eradicate. I wish I had Mac OS X Disaster Relief close at hand before my last experience with a disk I could not unmount.

Mac OS X Disaster Relief is not the kind of book you buy to get a warm and fuzzy feeling about OS X’s incredible stability, and how its bulletproof Unix foundation never crashes. You won’t find any of the marketing happy-talk that spews from the depths of Apple’s PR machine.

What you will find is page after page of specific and detailed fixes to both common and uncommon OS X problems. Ted Landau knows his stuff; he is probably best known for the creation of the MacFixit web site, and for his Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters. Sad Macs dealt with OS 9 troubles, and Mac OS X Disaster Relief is a more-than-worthy successor.

There’s no fluff in this meaty book. My brain was working overtime on many pages, thinking about the variety of different problems and solutions. Landau devotes comparatively little space to OS X overview, except in places where a fundamental understanding of OS architecture is needed. While there is the usual discussion of Aqua, and OpenGL, the bulk of Chapter 4, Understanding Mac OS X, is spent on a thorough exposition of the contents of /Library and /Users/”Home”/Library. Each folder, beginning with Application Support, and ending with StartupItems, is covered in detail. While this information could be found by consulting MacFixit, Macintouch, Apple’s KnowledgeBase, Mac OS X Hints, and Google.com/Mac, your Mac would be obsolete before you found it all. Mac OS X Disaster Relief is the best compendium of “what part does what job” I have ever seen for OS X.

Before reading Mac OS X Disaster Relief, I thought I knew a bit about OS X. I should, after plowing through over a dozen OS X books, each one saying it is the best in the field. But Landau is the first to say OS X has at least 7 ways of crashing at startup. (Apple does like to give the user flexibility…) Chapter 5, Crash Prevention and Recovery presents the startup sequence in slow-motion detail, and you learn exactly what happens (and what can go wrong) at each step in the process.

Crash problems are mercifully left behind when you arrive at Chapter 6, Problems with Files: Open, Copy, Delete, and Beyond. One of the first “gotchas” that drives an OS X newbie to run screaming from the room in frustration is the inability to empty the Trash, or to even put files into the Trash. Fixing Trash headaches is kid’s play for Landau, and you’ll learn several ways to solve this problem.

The best part of Chapter 6 is the lucid discussion of aliases, symbolic links, and hard links. Not being a Unix geek, I never understood the differences between these three “pointers to files” and how they differed from Mac OS 9 aliases. Landau set me straight in less than a page.

I could easily recite how useful the Troubleshooting Printing, and Troubleshooting Networking, File Sharing and Internet sections are, but that would be redundant. Every section is good, with golden nuggets of knowledge throughout.

Obviously, I love this book; its the best OS X book I’ve read since I reviewed David Pogue’s OS X The Missing Manual. My copy of this masterful work is already dog-eared, and I’ve had it only three weeks. Mac OS X Disaster Relief is a MUST addition to any OS X user’s library. You can read it straight through, from start to finish, as I did, or you can use it as a reference for when you encounter trouble. Either way, it will be worth far more than what you paid for it, as Landau will certainly save you time, probably save you money, and maybe save you some hair loss.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

David Weeks

Our friend at DealMac.com, Bill Schlosser (Director of Marketing) sent us this really cool comparison. We thought you would enjoy it!

At dealmac, we’ve seen some dramatic price changes since our founding six years ago. To mark our anniversary and the thousands of deals that have crossed our pages, we’ve put together an entertaining summary of some of the best examples of how things have changed — mostly for the better, but sometimes not.

Products 1997 – Present
2x-speed CD burner cost…….. $388
48x-speed CD burner…….. $10

128MB of laptop RAM…….. $1,300
iBook/14-inch screen/800MHz G3/DVD-CDRW…….. $1,300

0.3-megapixel digital camera…….. $400
2-megapixel camera…….. $80

XLR8 604e/225 processor upgrade…….. $970
GigaDesigns G4/800 upgrade…….. $299

Sony Multiscan 15in CRT monitor…….. $350
NEC MultiSync 15in LCD monitor…….. $179

512K L2 cache DIMM…….. $99
512MB PC2700 DIMM…….. $55

Apple LaserWriter 12/640 PS…….. $1,499
Samsung ML-1430 laser printer…….. $139

Western Digital 4.3GB SCSI hard drive…….. $499
IBM 120GB EIDE hard drive…….. $103

Apple 6100/DOS Card Compatibility Kit…….. $150
An entire 1GHz PC at WalMart…….. $200

Of course, some things never change:

Adobe Pagemaker 6.0 for Mac…….. $300
Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac…….. $312

And some things change in the opposite direction:

MacOS 7.6.1 Upgrade…….. free
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Upgrade……$68

Tim Robertson

Google Hacks 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools
Tara Calishain and Rael Dornfest
O’Reilly & Associates
US $24.95
CA $38.95
ISBN 0-596-0447-8
329 pages

Google is currently the most popular Internet search engine. While almost every Internet searcher is familiar with basics of Google searching, there’s far more to Google than meets the eye. Google Hacks tells individual Web searchers and Web site programmers how to best take advantage of Google’s tremendous amount of searching power and flexibility.

The first three chapters (Searching Google, Google Special Services and Collections, and Third-Party Google Services) are targeted at the end user. They present a wealth of detail about how to access Google features most users didn’t know about (myself included): wild cards, date range searches, spell checking, phone book, translations, and more. You’ll learn Google has special directories of images, newsgroups, and mail-order catalogs. (I made sure to NOT tell my wife about the on-line catalog feature!)

The balance of the book is for web site programmers. They get plenty of tips and tricks about how to incorporate Google search technology into their web sites. While many of the tips are not for novice web programmers, most intermediate webmasters can spruce up their sites with the tools presented in Google Hacks.

The production quality is typical O’Reilly, and that means good! Clear screen shots, and crisp dark type make this read easy on the eyes.

If you want to learn how to exploit Google searching, or want to add Google search features to your web site, Google Hacks 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools is a good place to begin the learning process.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

David Weeks

MacRelevant – My Cell Phone Number
Tim Robertson
Publisher/Owner, Columnist, MacRelevant
Friday, 4/18/03

Thank you, FCC, for doing the right thing for the people. For a government agency, that is a rare thing indeed.

Tim Robertson

Our first reader letter arrived shortly after the review was posted.

Mr. Nemerovski, you wrote that:

“Downloading Intuit’s latest updates took under seven minutes at moderate broadband speed.”

Not being a highly-paid journalist, *I* am on a 56 Kb dial-up. It took me over two hours to download the required TurboTax updates (two nights ago). There was no message in the update process indicating the total size of the files that needed to be downloaded, so I sat at my desk, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

While I am grateful that Intuit is doing a thorough job of making sure that the software is accurate, I feel that your glowing review needs to be taken down AT LEAST ONE NOTCH until Intuit provides one of two things as a courtesy to their paying customers:

1. An estimate of the size/time requirements for the update(s), based on connection speed and the current traffic load on their servers. As in, “OK, Curt. You’re not going to be able to work on your taxes tonight. Just go to bed, because I’ll be processing for a while,” or

2. A coupon for a free update CD from the original retail point of purchase when the size of the update approaches 25 MB.

I feel like charging Intuit $49.95 for the time I spent staring at my iMac’s screen.

Sincerely,

Curt

Then a second reader weighed in.

I’ve finished using TurboTax Deluxe 2002 for this year. I’ve used TurboTax/MacInTax for several years.

I’ve found that over the years, the deluxe version “Help Resources” has decreased in quality. The first year I used a deluxe version, it included two tax text books, plus the government regulations.

The past couple of years and this year, it has only one tax text plus the government regulations.

Most disturbing was the question I asked about the standard daily expense allowance when working away from home. The answers from both the government and text resources gave information concerning 2001__ “…in 2001 the standard allowance….” There was no mention of the allowance rules for 2002.

Did they just copy last year’s resources??????

thanks for any help getting to the bottom of this.

George

Three strikes and I’m out.

Dear Mr. Nemerovski:

The timing of your review (for me) is quite good, since I just started using the product this week. Have there been any reports of Turbo Tax not working on dual processor Macs? I have a two QuickSilvers, a single 867 MHz and a dual 1 GHz. The installer would not run on the dual machine. Any attempt to run the installer would result in a relaunch of the Finder. Similarly, any attempt to access the “TurboTax Deluxe 2002″ folder on the CD also resulted in the relaunch of the Finder. I found this odd, but could find no work around. Unfortunately, Intuit on-line tech help couldn’t provide a solution up to this point either.

Thank you for considering this issue.

Steve

The first correspondent quickly wrote back to say:

I am quite satisfied with the final workings of the product (I was even able to avoid a lot of work by downloading my W-2, because my company uses ADP), but the update process left a lot to be desired.

Curt

I then contacted Intuit, publisher of TurboTax, and received the following information:

For the third reader, there have been no reports of problems with any of TurboTax components running on a dual processor system. Unfortunately, we would need additional information from customer. For example, has there been any problems running other CDs on his computer.

For the first issue, I have forwarded these comments on to the product management team. This is always helpful to the team here when considering future products and items that will make the customer experience better.

Regarding the second reader, we would again need more information as there are many items that are considered “standard allowances”. He may be referring to the area of per diem for lodging, or food, etc. If he could send more information about what exactly he was looking for or a screenshot or even the form he was dealing with, it may help to give them an idea of where to look. Note that, each year every effort is made to include the most updated information for the publications that is available at the time of the product release.

I hope this helps.

I asked Intuit what the best way will be to handle so many reader inquiries. Here comes the last word on the topic, until we address TurboTax in 2004.

We do have technical support set up for customers to contact Intuit regarding various issues/comments they may have. Just go to TurboTax Support and go first to the FAQs. If a question is not answered there, they can then move to step 2, which is chat. If they are still unable to resolve an issue, they move on to step 3 which is phone support. All of this support is free and an easy, convenient option for customers. If they choose not to go through the 3 steps and want to go immediately to the phone, they will then be charged.

This is probably the best resource as issues are then evaluated directly with the customer, on a one-on-one basis.

Thanks to all readers of MyMac.com, plus every company that cooperates with us directly. We appreciate your support.

John Nemerovski

There is a little known curse that comes with teaching Critical Thought. It is especially bad if you also teach History. It is that your thoughts do not always go where you want them to go. Sometimes they bring you to conclusions that you would rather not think about.

I have not written in a while. Events happen, or rather transpire, and the writing sometimes gets pushed aside. However, that does not mean that the thinking goes away. Watching events play out on the world’s stage lately have transfixed us all, especially since 9/11. You know what I mean? This whole interplay between America and the rest of the world seems to be something brand new, and most people are unsure of what to think about it.

The fact is America has been, and is now, in the position of being not just the world’s benevolent leader, but the world’s dictator. In other words, America could become an Imperium like Rome was in its days of glory. The reason this has never happened is because our leaders have been patriotic Americans who have been fairly well reasoned individuals who were more intent on using diplomacy to solve the world’s problems. Our leaders generally have also had the check and balance of Congress to oversee their decisions.

Our current President, however is a redneck Texan. This is not an accusation nor a derogatory statement of Mr. Bush. He is a good and decent man. He is even a religious and prayerful man, and I have learned to pray for him too, since he took office.

We all know that people like him are true blue patriots, through and through. They are just different kinds of Americans than, say Americans from the East or the West Coast. For a redneck American, if a neighbor, or a country or a people should happen to cross them, they will bring out the big guns and just blow them folks away without thinking twice about any morality or justification for their actions. This is just how they are. It is up to you to conclude if this is a good thing or not for our country right now.

There are a lot more issues involved here than meets the eye, and there are issues of personality concerning our President and those of his staff than we could go into here. Then there is the issue of oil and our dependence on it. There is also the debate about whether Saddam is the threat to us and the world that our President portrays him to be.

There are a dozen more issues in all of this, but I think you see the point that we are in a new and different place right now in the history of the world than we have ever been before. And the world knows it. Global anti-war demonstrations and the surprisingly hot disagreements of the United Nations charter members are unprecedented.

So where do you think this is all going?

Twenty years from now we could all be living in the new American Empire. The world could also be dealing with the United States on the same desperate basis that the nations of the world had to face with the Roman Empire.

What would life in an American Imperium be like?

First of all, forget personal freedoms such as the right to assemble, the right to bear arms, and the right of free speech. These would all be taken away in order to protect the Motherland. You might also lose the right of free travel in between states. You could also see the sale of Citizenship replace the right of people born here to be citizens. But the country and the world would be a safer place to live, right?

How close would the American Imperium be to a dictatorship? Ask any ancient Roman citizen. Perhaps if we are lucky we will not have to burn incense to an American Caesar casting himself as a god sometime in this century.

All of this is impossible, you say?

Think about it.

Only a third of Americans bother to vote in any election. The majority of all high school graduates are unable to read beyond a sixth grade level. The very idea of Critical Thought is a joke. Most Americans are more concerned about their personal wealth and their mobility than they are about the real issues facing our planet such as global warming, genetics, or crop control. Apathy and ignorance abound in our proud nation. This of course does not apply to MyMac readers!

You might be thinking that the current events are just that, current events, and they won’t be an issue in the future. Not so. Our population is in decline. The nations who we view as our enemies have very prolific populations. Millions of Americans are laid off their jobs, while the very important and necessary jobs in this country go begging for qualified and educated applicants. History says these current events are not going away in this century.

Suppose our President is successful in the impending war with Iraq? Suppose our faltering economy booms afterward, and oil prices fall? Suppose Mr. Bush and others who think like he does continue to fill the office of President in the coming decades? Suppose we see that the other nations are powerless to prevent us from doing what we please, and that the United Nations is indeed ‘marginalized’ because of its weak and unenforceable policies?

Suppose there are to be more horrors like the fall of the Twin Towers on September 11th inflicted upon our shores by our enemies?

Do you see the pattern? Can you see the trend?

Some people even believe that an American Imperium might be the only thing that could prevent a catastrophic World War III. What do you think?

For a picture of what the American Imperium would be like, go to “Advanced Citizenship 10101” Or re-read Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers,” Or perhaps if you are very brave, read Orwell’s “1984.”

History changes. Nations rise and fall.

History also repeats itself, (there went another Serbian leader, right on time!)

- and those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Thanks for your time. . . – oh, and don’t forget to vote!

Roger Born

Back Office
Company: Shaun Jackson Design
Price: $149.95
http://www.sjdesign.com

Steve Jobs has called this the year of the laptop. I agree, I rarely touch my G4 tower preferring my iBook owing to the addition of a wireless router. Of course once you have semi splurged on a laptop you are going to want to take it with you somewhere. You may find yourself with the urge to take it on the road, you may want to haul it to the local coffee shop, heck you might not need to take it anywhere you might just want the status of hauling around a laptop because cell phones are so passe. Whatever the reason you’re going to need something to haul said miracle of compact computing and here your choices are nearly limitless. You can use anything from a free brown paper sack to a finely crafted leather satchel costing…well if you have to ask you can’t afford it.

Most of the conveyances you’ll run across are nylon, the better ones are ballistic nylon (I don’t think that means the nylon is really pissed but I could be wrong). Your average bag is just a receptacle to carry your junk from point A to B with the tacit assumption that you won’t want to use your computer along the way and you’ll remove said computer from the bag once you arrive. Fortunately for those of you with $149.00 someone has thought, errrr, differently and designed a system you can use on your commute and one you’ll want to leave your computer in once you get to your destination.

I am speaking (naturally since the title gave it away) of the Back Office by Shaun Jackson Design.

I am blown away by this product, give me a million monkey helpers, a million years, and a million square feet of ballistic nylon and I would never have devised something this well designed. The cleverness is not in the quick conversion from backpack to briefcase (more on this later) the truly inspired bits lie elsewhere. The Shaun Jackson folks tell me it’s supposed to be a mobile office, I remain skeptical. If the Back Office really were a mobile office where’s the stale coffee and that scratchy material covering the cubicle walls? Actually, if you can live without off color water cooler jokes and putty file cabinets you can probably get by with the Back Office as a mobile office.

Where does the aforementioned cleverness begin? I suspect it starts with being designed form the ground up explicitly for laptops. For example, unclasp one buckle and the Back Office unfolds across your lap with pockets on either side. You’ll feel a little bit like a super techno latter day gun fighter. A quick pull of a zipper and you’re up and running (sure it’s a double entendre, but it’s unintentional). Once you start computing you’ll note that the bottom is stiffened to provide a nice desk like feel. You might also note that the neoprene blocks your computer is sitting on angles your computer to a very comfortable typing position (I have been told these blocks are actually there because G4 PowerBooks run so hot, I guess they’re useful on more than one level). If you’re doing anything with iMovie you can easily shove a Canon Z series in one of the pockets and you’ll have a pretty complete video editing bay right in your lap. If you’re using iPhoto most digital cameras will fit into one of the pockets, so you can retouch your photos in your very own ballistic nylon cocoon. In fact, if push came to shove, you could jam a Canon Z, an iPod and a digital camera into the pockets… heck that would put in multimedia nirvana. Back to the more mundane: you’ll notice that the zipper is placed in such a way as not to bother you while typing, a major annoyance with my current computer bag. Also deftly placed are the CD sleeves behind the screen, on my bag this is wasted space, on the Back Office you have twelve separate pockets for burnable media. The final bit of cleverness is the addition of two pieces of nylon between the bottom of the case and the aforementioned CD holding top. These super neato straps prevent the top from flopping all the way over leaving you with a really cool looking lap wherever you’re computing.

I mentioned that the Back Office converts from a backpack to a briefcase and this is a fairly neat feature. My mind turned immediately to the bike commuter while my wife pointed out that the backpack feature would be very useful when one is in an Airport where your hands are usually occupied by luggage and five-dollar pretzels. Whatever the use, the ability to go from a backpack to a briefcase is a convenient feature, still don’t make the mistake of thinking that the Back Office’s main selling point is gimmickry (you can also get a shoulder strap for ten bucks). The construction is very high quality throughout and the case is padded to provide that shiny new mini G with some extra protection. I had only one complaint about the Back Office and that had to do with the neoprene risers. The neoprene blocks Velcro into the bag securely but there is no way to semi permanently attach the neoprene feet to your laptop thus ensuring that (if your laptop is on the “It’s a Small World” side of the size range) the computer won’t slosh around while traveling.

Bottom Line: A very rugged, extremely well thought out design. I don’t think you’ll find a better way to carry your laptop. Note to Shaun Jackson Design: give the engineer behind this one a raise.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Chris Seibold

Review – I-VOLUTION for 20GB iPod
Tim Robertson
Publisher/Owner, Columnist, MacRelevant
Tuesday, 4/15/03

I-VOLUTION for 20GB iPod
Company: VAJA Corporation
Price: $69.90 US
http://www.vajacases.com

I really do enjoy my 20GB iPod, and I really do want the best for it. When it comes to cases, I want something that feels as well built and sturdy as the iPod itself. I recently reviewed the FlipStand iPod case, and while I liked the plastic case / stand, it would be unfair for me to compare that unit with the Vaja case. While well built, there is really a matter of craftsmanship missing from the FlipStand, and that is very evident the first time you slide your iPod into the Vaja case.

MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

Tim Robertson

Have you noticed some Mac sites that really do nothing more than talk about how many hits they get? Is that as boring to you as it is to me? Or how long they have been publishing. Or how many “pages” they have on their site. Yawn…

So one of my fellow MyMac-ers suggested I do a similar column, to show we get more hits than they do, have been publishing for almost eight years, you know the drill. Nahh…

(I guess I did do just that for a moment there, didn’t I? DOH!)

Anyone else getting tired of the constant war news? I mean, sure, I want to know what is going on just as much as the next guy, but holy-moley CableMan!

So, only one Macworld a year, eh? At least they kept the one in San Fran. I mean, I would much rather spend a week in January there than a week in the summer in NY or Boston.

I am finally reading Gil Amelio’s “On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple” that I have been meaning to get to for, I dunno, a few years now. Good book. I like Gil more than I did. I think he has been short-changed for the current state of Apple. Seems like a nice guy. Hey, I wonder if I could get him to write a column here… Maybe started a new feature, “Ex-Apple CEO Corner” or something.

Bet another Mac site steals that one.

Speaking of stealing, do you know how many things I started here at MyMac.com years ago, only to see show up on other sites? Good thing I am such a generous person. Otherwise I would be ticked off. Of course, I like to use these website link things, and I was not the first to come up with that idea…

Is it just me, or does “embedded journalist” seems like an obviously contradictory term and idea?

I love watching the Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf try to spin overwhelming coalition military success to make it seem as if Iraqi is winning the war. Yeah, I know I said I am sick of 24/7 war coverage, but just once I want to see that guy telling more lies and talking out of his ass as an American tank rolls past him while the television cameras are rolling. That would be great! Let him spin his way out of that one. He would probably say it was a captured tank that the Iraqi’s are using, while the American flag flutters on the tank.

Hey, my strapped-for-cash buddy John H. Farr from AppleLinks is selling some cool bronze, umm, things on ebay Go take a look, and bid big!

Hey, I just found out MacCentral is still publishing! Cool! Would be nice if they ever linked to some of our content. Yeah, right… I recommend MacMinute.com as the best up-to-date Mac news site. Gotta love the independent spirit there. And remember, MacMinute is run by the same guy who originally started MacCentral Ôlo those many moons ago.

Just did a search for myself at Google.com. Hey, I made it to the number one Tim Robertson there, finally passing Actor no one has ever heard of and some CometMan guy. No idea what that is all about.

Have fun!

Tim Robertson

Photoshop 7 For Windows And Macintosh Visual QuickStart Guide
by Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-201-88284-1, 556 pages
$24.99 US, $38.99 CN, £18.99 UK

When it comes to a Peachpit Press Visual QuickStart Guide, one can guarantee that a straightforward introduction to the subject matter is what they’ll get. That’s precisely the case with Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh by Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas.

This book is perfect for those readers uninitiated in the expanded depths offered by Photoshop 7, or for those who have never fired up any Photoshop software at all. Like other books in the Peachpit line, this is an excellent text for any classroom – since it starts quietly from scratch while building the proper mechanics for advanced Photoshop rigors.

Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh begins one’s journey with a strong grounding in recognizing how the world of P7 is presented to the user. This is accomplished with numerous graphical visuals detailing specific toolbars and palettes necessary for an essential understanding of the P7 universe (this graphical format holds throughout the book). All of the illustrations are screenshots from Mac OS X, and of course the perfunctory Windows shots are available to guide the user of the PC along in their chosen platform.

Graphics like these make it easy to follow along without resorting to one’s memory or computer screen. Every visual piece from beginning to end is laden with italicized descriptions to foster an instant understanding of what is described, giving the touted “QuickStart” moniker justification in Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh. Using OS 9.2 proved no difficulty in understanding the OS X cross-references. Additionally, all passages that deal with P7 exclusively exhibit a small “7.0!” graphic beside the text to clue the reader in on sections that are specific to P7 – making an immediate reference for those interested in P7-only features while the beginner continues an unobstructed path toward basic Photoshop understanding.

Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh goes slowly from the start; those seeking enlightenment will not find it in the first few chapters as they progress from the basics of startup, color management, and dimension and resolution. The fun starts in Chapter Seven where one is introduced to Layers and the nice subtleties that are introduced in the P7 palette. For those completely unfamiliar with Layers this chapter shows just what Layers are and can do in the world of photoediting (just practice with using them if you’re a Photoshop novice of any sort and very soon you’ll learn the beauty).

Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh continues with descriptions of the true essentials necessary for basic Photoshop competence such as Color Correction beginning in chapter 9 with highlights on certain tool refinements, such as those given to the dodge and burn tools, with the “7.0!” beside the passage. Chapter 17 is noteworthy for any Photoshop user given the expanded use of Typography functions in the P7 environment. Typography can now be utilized in myriad fashions offering much greater flexibility to the graphic designers of the world that needed a little extra push in Photoshop text handling capability.

Final chapters build up such advanced techniques as filter usage, specifically the P7 Pattern Maker Filter to create an assortment of pattern-making functions within a toolset, or the advanced settings of the Automation functions that now include security features in P7. Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh doesn’t exclude chapters on how to apply the knowledge you’ve learned – it shows you how to put all this Photoshop power to use in print or for the web.

Finding the topic you want is made a bit easier for the chronic page flipper. Each page has a line of vertical type on the outer edge that gives a few words about the subject on that page; a wonderful thing if you can’t remember where the index resides. This book is beautiful for beginners, but as the complexity of Photoshop methods diversifies a well informed Photoshop user will find a perfect springboard into the realm of P7, although the advanced user will require more to make the most of it all.

MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

Todd Long

Nemo’s MyMac.com BOOK BYTES RATING SYSTEM:

MacMice Rating: 1 = NOPE, forget it, and read something else

Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2
by Brad Miser
Que Publishing
ISBN 0-7897-2904-0, 913 pages
$39.99 US, $62.99 CN, £28.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate lever users and above with some Mac OS experience; may be slightly intimidating to novice Macintoshers.

COMPLETENESS: Very thorough.

READABILITY: Factual, and slightly dry.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Loaded with tables and screen shots; somewhat small in size but crisp in quality.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Outstanding.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Very good, due to depth of coverage that other books don’t provide.

BULK RATING: Use good posture when lifting.

WEEKS SAYS: Great reference book; you probably won’t read it in bed.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition (Covers Jaguar 10.2)
by David Pogue
Pogue Press / O’Reilly
ISBN 0-596-00450-8, 713 pages
$29.95 US, $46.95 CN
http://www.missingmanual.com

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate to novice lever users; advanced readers may wish for more technical info.

COMPLETENESS: Very thorough, but does not include some of the geekier aspects of OS X.

READABILITY: Excellent — conveys technical detail without using intimidating jargon.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Loads of readable screen shots and sidebars.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Very good, but not as much advanced-level detail as provided in Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Outstanding.

BULK RATING: Suitable as a chock for small vehicles.

WEEKS SAYS: This is the “gold standard” for OS X books; it’s the only OS X book I would give to my mother.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Mac OS X Jaguar: The Complete Reference
by Jesse Feiler
Osborne / McGraw-Hill
ISBN 0-07-222789-3, 901 pages
$39.99 US

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate to novice level readers.

COMPLETENESS: Very complete — covers basics, plus detail on topics such as AppleScript Studio and basic programming.

READABILITY: Easiest on the eyes, due to large screen shots and font size. Author’s writing style is understandable, but not as conversational as Pogue’s (Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition).

ILLUSTRATIONS: Highly informative, but they lack contrast and presence on the pages.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Very good.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Solid.

BULK RATING: Density approaches that of depleted uranium.

WEEKS SAYS: For readers who want something more detailed than Pogue’s book, but less geeky than Brad Miser’s Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

The Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, Jaguar Edition
by Robin Williams
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-16966-2, 784 pages
$29.99 US, $46.99 CN, £22.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Total beginners through inquisitive intermediates.

COMPLETENESS: Extremely thorough on Mac OS X basics.

READABILITY: Exceptional.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Plentiful, but lacking in presence and contrast on printed pages.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: All fundamentals, but little advanced detail.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Very good.

BULK RATING: Large format size allows you to help hold down roof on house in wind storm.

WEEKS SAYS: Robin spends more time on Mac fundamentals than does any other author.

Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5
Nemo MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Mac OS X Pocket Guide
by Chuck Toporek
O’Reilly & Associates
ISBN 0-596-00458-3, 141 pages
$14.95 US, $23.95 CN

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate level readers who understand Mac OS X but don’t use it enough to remember all the small details; very useful for UNIX and Windows switchers.

COMPLETENESS: Provides essential information, with no padding.

READABILITY: Surprisingly good.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Minimal and small.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Not included.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Good but not great.

BULK RATING: Could blow away in moderate breeze.

WEEKS SAYS: Chuck’s UNIX sections are the best parts.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

The Mac OS X v.10.2 Jaguar Book
by Mark R. Bell
Paraglyph Press
ISBN 1-932111-73-5, 550 pages
$34.99 US, $54.99 CN, £28.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: New Mac users who don’t need instruction on absolute beginner material.

COMPLETENESS: Adequate — covers the usual material, but does not distinguish itself.

READABILITY: Comfortable writing style.

ILLUSTRATIONS: A good number, but they suffer from lack of contrast and presence on the pages.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Minimal.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Better choices are out there.

BULK RATING: Could fit about six or seven in an average grocery bag.

WEEKS SAYS: Not one of my favorites.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5

Mac OS X All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies — Version 10.2 Jaguar
by Mark L. Chambers
Dummies Press
ISBN 0-7645-1796-1, 688 pages
$29.99 US, $44.95 CN, £22.50 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Smart readers who learn best via itemized and bulletted tutorials.

COMPLETENESS: Yes, indeed.

READABILITY: Lively and conversational.

ILLUSTRATIONS: High quality.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Over 100 pages on the new iApps.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Definitely, yes.

BULK RATING: Thick, but not overly heavy.

NEMO SAYS: Don’t confuse this title with Bob LeVitus’ Mac OS X for Dummies, 2nd Edition, which is geared toward total OS beginners. Mac OS X All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies goes deeper, including chapters on introductory UNIX, intermediate-level networking, and a whole lot more.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

Start! The No Nonsense Guide to Mac OS X Jaguar
by Greg Simsic & Katy Bodenmiller
Osborne / McGraw-Hill
ISBN 0-07-222737-0, 189 pages
$16.99 US

TARGET AUDIENCE: Switchers and people who don’t need a full-sized book but require more than a pocket guide.

COMPLETENESS: Just the facts, ma’am.

READABILITY: Very good — this is an easy to read book; it’s not overburdened with fancy formatting and excessive quantity of sidebars.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Ample, and of good quality.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Just enough to get you going.

VALUE FOR MONEY: High for switchers, moderate for others.

BULK RATING: Big enough to cover your head in a sudden downpour, but not so heavy you can’t hold it in one hand.

WEEKS SAYS: If you convince your friends to dump Windows and get a Mac, give them each a copy.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5

Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X in 24 Hours, Second Edition — Covers Version 10.2 Jaguar
by John Ray and Robyn Ness
Sams Publishing
ISBN 0-672-32474-1, 438 pages
$24.99 US, $38.99 CN, £17.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Mac newbies, but not those who call themselves “Dummies.”

COMPLETENESS: While it has relatively little discussion of navigating the Desktop, it has the right amount of detail on how to use OS X’s included apps.

READABILITY: This is one book that does not try to jam too much text and graphics into too little space.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Good number and quality.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Tells you enough to get up and running.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Better than its Dummies competitor.

BULK RATING: Wouldn’t strain your undernourished grandmother.

WEEKS SAYS: While not as folksy as Mac OS X for Dummies, 2nd Edition, this title focuses more on using your computer than learning your way around it.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5

Mac OS X v.10.2 Jaguar Little Black Book: Concise Problem Solver
by Gene Steinberg
Paraglyph Press
ISBN 1-932111-72-7, 537 pages
$29.99 US, $46.99 CN, £20.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: People with an (OS X) problem and readers who want to get their computers setup and working correctly from the very beginning.

COMPLETENESS: Good — covers causes of and solutions for most OS X predicaments, plus solid solutions for OS-wide functionality.

READABILITY: Writing style is comfortable; page layout is somewhat cramped due to unusual size and format of this comprehensive book.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Small, but crisp and clear.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Not pertinent; book is geared more for OS-level problems and software.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Very good, with caveat — this is not a general purpose OS X volume.

BULK RATING: Fits in glove box of 1983 Honda Civic.

WEEKS SAYS: I’d recommend this book to solve most beginner to intermediate level problems.

NEMO SAYS: Author Gene Steinberg reminds Book Bytes that “We have several big chapters covering initial installation and setup of OS X, plus chapters devoted to Finder, Dock, network management, etc. Mac OS X v.10.2 Jaguar Little Black Book is not a general OS X book in terms of applications, since we only cover the basics, although we have a long chapter on Apple’s Mail app.” Nemo agrees, observing that Chapter Three, “Mac OS X User Preferences,” is especially strong and worthwhile.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

Mac OS X Disaster Relief, Updated Edition: Troubleshooting techniques to help fix it yourself
by Ted Landau
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-16847-X, 684 pages
$34.99 US, $54.99 CN, £ 26.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate to very advanced users and troubleshooters.

COMPLETENESS: Best single collection of problem-solving tips we’ve seen so far.

READABILITY: Almost fun — doesn’t read like a reference manual.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Some, and of varying quality.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: For troubleshooting only.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Has no serious competition.

BULK RATING: Weighs less than the sweat you would exude trying to fix your Mac without this book.

WEEKS SAYS: I hope you’ll never need it, but you probably will.

NEMO SAYS: Mac OS X Disaster Relief contains details of how OS X works that go beyond troubleshooting information.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Teach Yourself Visually Mac OS X v.10.2 Jaguar
by maranGraphics
Wiley Publishing
ISBN 0-7645-1802-X, 307 pages in full color
$29.99 US, $39.99 CN, £22.50 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Visual learners — from complete beginners to intermediates looking for a refresher.

COMPLETENESS: Each individual two-page lesson is loaded with information.

READABILITY: Not much pure text; mostly images and captions.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Outstanding — absolute best.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Addresses the big three: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Ubetcha!

BULK RATING: Denser than it seems.

NEMO SAYS: This series continue to impress me with its quality and consistency.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5

Mac OS X Advanced 10.2 Visual QuickPro Guide
by Maria Langer
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-16893-3, 344 pages
$24.99 US, $38.99 CN, £18.99 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Intermediate level OS X users who aspire for more.

COMPLETENESS: Reasonably thorough.

READABILITY: Terse, which is standard for this format.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Many verge on being too small, but there are bazillions of them.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Only System Preferences and included Mac OS Utilities; no coverage of any other apps.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Affordable.

BULK RATING: Wispy inside and out.

WEEKS SAYS: This book gives you the how, not the why.

NEMO SAYS: “Picks up where the Mac OS X 10.2: Visual QuickStart Guide leaves off,” according to author Maria Langer. Nemo uses Maria’s Visual QuickStart and Visual QuickPro books all the time. John relates well to the series’ task-based tutorials, which are strong on relevant screenshots.

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5

Mac OS X for Dummies, 2nd Edition — Covers Mac OS X version 10.2 Jaguar
by Bob LeVitus
Dummies Press
ISBN 0-7645-2564-6, 362 pages
$21.99 US, $32.99 CN, £15.50 UK

TARGET AUDIENCE: Dummies. (If you have to ask, this book is for you.)

COMPLETENESS: Good, except completely skimps on how to use included new Jaguar iApplications.

READABILITY: If you like the classic Dummies format, you’ll enjoy this one too.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Great cartoons and screen shots.

COVERAGE OF OS X APPLICATIONS: Inadequate. We feel a book for newbies should include more than one paragraph on Internet Explorer; why is it Apple Chess program has more coverage than the other apps?

VALUE FOR MONEY: It’s good.

BULK RATING: Light, yet filling.

WEEKS SAYS: This would be worth a higher rating if Bob had more information on the applications included with OS X.

NEMO SAYS: Bob’s editors at Dummies Press think the new iApps are not part of the OS — they’re applications, so he was only able to cover most of them briefly. Basic apps involved in “real” OS activity, such as System Preferences or Disk First Aid, were given more space in Mac OS X for Dummies, 2nd Edition. Book Bytes appreciates that Dummies titles have an upper page limit, which this book reaches. Bob would certainly devote another chapter or two on the iApps if his format allowed it. He tells MyMac.com, that “The focus of this book is exclusively on OS X, and my other active title, Dr. Mac: The OS X Files (which is soon to be released in its Jaguar edition) is mostly about productivity and working with all the new software.”

Nemo/Weeks MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5, on account of its ways of introducing newcomers to Jaguar.

John Nemerovski

Digital Video Essentials
by Erica Sadun
Sybex
US $29.99 CA $ 47.95
ISBN 0-7821-4198-6
252 pages including index, CD with demo software and training video included

Eria Sadun has a thing for digital imaging and video. A previous work, iMovie 2 Solutions Tips, Tricks, and Special, was reviewed last December with great notices.

Digital Video Essentials should be considered to be a prequel to her iMovie book, even though it was just published a few months ago. Why a prequel? Digital Video Essentials is a general overview to the entire digital video experience, whereas iMovie 2 Solutions is great exposition on mid-level to advanced iMovie-editing techniques. If you are just plunging into the digital video ocean, and have no experience with actually shooting video footage, than you need to walk before you run.

Sadun starts with the fundamentals of digital video; analog versus digital, FireWire vs. USB connections, DVD versus VCD. This section is mercifully short, as the vast majority of readers will already own a digital videocam, and won’t need to worry about the subtleties of using analog to digital converter boxes.

Many pages are devoted to the filmmaking aspects of digital video. This is the best part of the book. The lack of planning and not understanding basic film technique is what puts the “amateur” in “amateur video.” If you read, think about, and employ the concepts and techniques Sadun presents, your video projects will have at least something in common with Spielberg’s and Huston’s movie epics: good planning, lighting, composition, and editing. There’s far more to making successful videos than having an expensive camera and gee-whiz editing software. If your footage has bad lighting, incoherent movement, and garbled sound, then you won’t be able to salvage it in the editing process. So, fight your desire to skip the “boring part” to get to the information on editing and burning software; it’ll be worth your while. You won’t be an expert, but you’ll have a working grasp of the basics, and your videos will reflect your study.

Once you’ve captured the footage, and transferred to your computer, you need to edit it. Digital Video Essentials is a cross-platform book, and Sadun devotes equal time to the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Windows applications may get a few more pages, simply because of the greater number of Windows editing applications in the marketplace. But, unlike her comprehensive iMovie book, Digital Video Essentials does precious little more than scratch the surface of how to use each of the many video and audio editing applications she presents. While it’s frustrating that you learn only how to do basic editing, the space requirements to cover each app in detail would be impracticable. Novices will need more detail than Sadun provides; so get a book devoted to the application you’ll use.

Once you have your masterpiece “wrapped” and “in the can,” you may want other people to see it. Burning DVD’s and VCD’s get a full chapter, again split between Macintosh and Windows. I found the content devoted to creating video for streaming over the Web to be a good introduction to Web video delivery. As in other technical sections, Sadun hits the highlights, and tells the reader where to go to get more detailed information. Exporting digital video to VHS tape via a digital video camera or a converter box is touched on, as well.

Digital Video Essentials production values are good. The type is crisp and the layout attractive. The screen shots are generally good, although some photos are washed out.

Conclusion: Digital Video Essentials is a 232 page attempt to teach the basics of film making, video editing, and media creation. It is somewhat successful. But the film making fundamentals alone could really use the entire 232 pages, or more! I think Sadun’s attempt to shoehorn both filmmaking and film editing/media production into one slim volume falls a bit short. But a more comprehensive effort to cover the material would have brought the book into the “boat-anchor” category, and I’ll bet that is not what Sybex had in mind.

If you have no idea what is involved with producing digital video, this is a good overview, especially the discussion of how to plan and shoot good footage. You’ll come away with a grasp of what’s involved, but you’ll need to buy a manual for your specific editing and burning applications.

MacMice Rating: 3.5 out of 5

David Weeks

I’ve never been any good at dating. I can be a good boyfriend once I get to that point, but the dating thing is beyond me. The entire pretense just doesn’t work for me and I think it shows. Halfway through dinner I usually continue the conversation in my own head. You know, the sort of things that you would normally answer, but don’t because you’re on your absolute best behavior. For example, when she asks you what you like to do in your free time, it is usually not acceptable to answer, “download computer porn and masturbate.”

Maybe I just never put the time into the practice of it, I don’t know. I simply never learned how to “be” on a date. I’m just not a good actor and I’m full of self-loathing so I can’t really fake the smooth talker guy, or the confident and charming guy. All of my serious relationships (all both of them) have been the result of not quite dating but more like hanging out gone awry.

Ever since my very first date, ice-skating with Katie Winston, I’ve been both bored and frightened by the concept of dating. I just hate the idea of trying to pretend I’m something I’m not, trying to get someone to like me, to really like me, and of wasting a hundred bucks on dinner and stuff when I should be paying off a credit card and working to become rich and famous.

Then there’s the flipside of the whole dating conundrum. The loneliness. Like it or not, the things we enjoy tend to be much more enjoyable when there’s another party involved. It’s just the process of matching up seems so arbitrary these days that people seek out companionship for the sake of companionship without really being interested in the specifics.

This brings me to my problem. I live in a pretty big city. Second biggest in the country, by someone’s calculations. And dating in a big city, one in which you are not native, is a puzzling trick. A tricky puzzle. I abhor bars and clubs and I’m really not a big fan of parties so meeting a nice young maiden with whom I could spend time with is not an easy proposition. I have always fallen into the trap of dating someone I work with, but after three instances in a company of less than fifty people, I’ve pretty much exhausted the pool. I wouldn’t say I’ve achieved desperation, but when I filled out my profile at an online dating service it certainly felt like it.

I’m not opposed to internet dating. It certainly has less of a stigma attached to it than just five years ago. There’s just something about it that feels unnatural to me. Maybe I’m a na•ve romantic, but I still believe in the notion of soulmates, or meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right (you know, whomever you are looking for). I’ve heard some great stories about positive online dating happenings, but my experience with it has been less than amazing.

I was completely honest in my profile. I didn’t try to pass myself off as the confident charmer or smooth talker guy. I simply wrote about what I liked to do, what I didn’t like to do and said I was looking for someone to do the same. Sure, I tried to do it in a funny and clever way (whether I succeeded is anyone’s guess), but that wasn’t misrepresentation as I’m always striving to be funny and clever (usually failing on both counts).

Now, I haven’t met a lot of girls this way, but I would say enough to form an opinion. I’ve learned the difference between some of the bigger sites, which ones attract a smattering of intelligent and honest clients, and which ones are the millennium equivalent of the skankiest singles bar. All I know is when a girl opens a conversation by requesting the dimensions of my penis, she’s not the one for me. I’m not saying it’s not a fair inquiry, but isn’t the penis query something that usually comes after the “hey, how are you?” opening questions?

I’ve had dates that started off poorly, but ended well, and yet there was never a follow-up. I’ve had dates that were about as pleasurable as a tumor extraction that I had to actually be mean in order to avoid the follow-up. What happened to the good old days of not calling and the problem goes away? And if a date is miserable for one person, isn’t that usually evident that it’s not going to work out? When did saying “I’ll call you” or “I’ll e-mail you” start getting interpreted literally?

Online dating is a good way to at least attempt to weed through some of the candidates out there. If you like a certain activity, like parasailing, you can usually find someone else that enjoys parasailing. It helps. But nothing will ever take the place of that first meeting. And first impressions usually are easier to come by when you aren’t trying to make a first impression.

When you meet someone, you’re supposed to have that spark, that instant burst of chemistry that exists between two people. It’s that spark that is the driving force in getting two people together. And I’m not even saying the spark is a result of how a person looks. Sure, that’s part of it. But it’s about how they smile and laugh and touch your hand. It’s something physical and beautiful, but it’s not necessarily something you’d find on the cover of Vanity Fair. The whole online dating thing is geared to manufacturing the spark. Although I’ve seen that work, I don’t think it’s as common as I once believed.

What can I say? I’m just a hopeless romantic. I don’t mind the idea of online dating. I think people can find people that way. I just don’t know that I can. Despite my reservations though, I just updated my profile. We’ll see what happens.

Want more? Check out TV Zero today!

Secrets of the iPod, Second Edition
Author: Christopher Breen
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-3211-16783-X
240 pages including index
US $21.99
CAN $34.99

Apple’s compact and elegant MP3 player is easy to use; that goes without saying. But just because the iPod has a slick user interface doesn’t mean Apple tells you how to actually use all the neat built-in features. Apple continues to ship the best MP3 player with skimpy documentation. New iPod owners usually scratch their heads trying to figure out how to get contact data, for example, from their email application into their new gadget. The new owner may know the iPod has the great feature of being able to do double-duty as a bootable FireWire hard drive, but is stuck because Apple says little about how to install OS X on it.

Christopher Breen’s Secrets of the iPod Second Edition will tell you how to take full advantage of the iPod. Secrets is written in an easy-to-read (but not aw-shucks) style that’s been honed by Breen’s tenure as a contributing editor of Macworld magazine.

The book is well laid out, beginning with an overview of the device itself and its controls. Considerable time is spent on how to best handle managing music on the iPod. You get page after page of excellent tips on how to use iTunes to best advantage when syncing the iPod to your Macintosh. I found Secrets to be a great manual for iTunes, as well as the iPod; two books for the price of one!

As the iPod is available for Windows as well as the Mac, Breen gives equal shrift to the Windows user, clarifying what can and cannot be done on a Windows iPod. MusicMatch, the iPod equivalent of iTunes, gets all the coverage that iTunes receives. A nice bit of detail is his discussion of MusicMatch alternatives, in case you prefer a different Windows MP3 player application.

Several chapters follow the music-related section, and this is where Secrets shines. Using the iPod as an external hard drive is a great capability, and Breen discusses using it as a storage device and as a bootable system disk for the Mac. Up-to-the-minute instructions on how to install Max OS X 10.2 Jaguar are included, as Apple unfortunately neglects to tell the iPod owner how to do this. How typical of Apple…

Getting contact and calendar information is a feature of newer iPods, and Breen provides specific details on how to use the most popular contact and email applications to export contact data in the required vcard format to the ‘Pod. If you use Palm Desktop, Eudora, or NOW Contact, Chapter 5 has what you need to get your contacts ‘Podded. Chapter 6 covers calendar data, with the same step-by-step instructions for the most common Mac and Windows calendar applications.

iPods are mobile devices, and Secrets has an overview of headphone and earbud options, as well as car power adapters, and RF transmitters.

Apple may think that nothing can ever go wrong with the iPod (if so, why did Apple up the warranty from 90 days to 1 year?), but Breen knows better. He provides some basic troubleshooting hints that may prevent a trip to the dealer.

Production values of Secrets are high; the print is dark and crisp, the typeface is well chosen, and the screen shots are easy to view with plenty of contrast. After reviewing a boatload of books with tiny, faint printing and fuzzy screen shots, I congratulate Peachpit for printing a book that is physically easy-to-read.

Conclusion. If you want to do more than just get some MP3′s into your iPod, Secrets of the iPod Second Edition will teach you what you want to know.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

David Weeks

Ilford Printasia Photo Paper
Company: Ilford
Price: $9.99 – 20 sheets of 8.5 x11 inch paper
Available internationally via retail and online stores, with dealer locator on the website
http://www.printasiafun.com

INTRODUCTION (VERY LONG, BUT WORTH READING)

My personal relationship with Ilford Imaging USA, a large UK-based international photography products corporation, goes back over twenty years. I was teaching myself to be a custom darkroom printer from color slides using Ilford’s Cibachrome (later called Ilfochrome) materials. I established a healthy long-term working relationship with local and corporate Ilford staff, and I contributed articles over many years to their Photo Instructor magazine.

The lights went out in my darkroom when I began doing digital image work using software and inkjet printing materials. During the past two years, working as a camera club photography judge, I have been astonished by the results from superb new high-quality photo printers. The humble Epson 740 print engine in my Epson Stylus Scan 2500 printer/scanner/copier produces nearly darkroom-quality prints, when taken from suitable digital photos.

Ilford makes good products. The caliber of their new range of Printasia premium photo papers is consistent with my experiences over many years of association with the company. Their Printasia web site is cumbersome, but contains helpful information in many languages.

A WORD ABOUT INK: it’s expensive. You will spend more $$$ on ink than you ever anticipated when you obtained your printer, so get used to the idea. For routine home and office printing, Nemo recommends Tyler Martin Company’s budget ink cartridges. When you’re producing exhibition or gift photo prints, often your best choice is to use the official name brand ink manufactured by your printer company.

A WORD ABOUT PRINTERS: they’re affordable (except for replacement ink). Competition is fierce in this arena, with new models released throughout the year, so get the best printer for your needs after doing extensive research. Many Apple retail stores have side-by-side displays of printers and prints from the same image, to help you make your decision.

MORE ABOUT PRINTERS: understand the differences. They typically are either “photo” printers or “text” printers. For most non-exhibition general usage, buy a photo-printer if your primary goal is to produce images (rather than text), and a standard printer if your situation is the opposite.

A WORD ABOUT PRINTER SETTINGS: use them. Each inkjet printer has options for custom paper types and sizes. The correct settings will optimize both paper feed and ink distribution. Do not skip this step, or you will be sorry. Ilford provides extensive information on printer recommendations and settings. Ink can take minutes or hours to dry completely when using special photo paper, so be patient or move to Nevada, where it’s very dry.

OKAY, NEMO Ñ HOW IS THIS PRINTASIA PAPER?

It’s excellent. During the past month I have been rationing my two 20-packs: one each of Photo Satin Paper and Photo Glossy Paper. The glossy has a true gloss finish, but it’s more subtle than obnoxious and reflective. Satin surface is lovely, and is becoming my favorite.

I was also sent a ten-sheet Glossy CD/DVD Labels (cost is $9.99 US) which included a handy template and instructions. I haven’t used the label stock yet, because of bad experiences with other brands in the past. I’ll give them a try as soon as I can. I also received a ten-pack of Glossy Greeting Cards ($9.99 US), pre-scored and complete with envelopes and printing information. You can also buy packs of 4×6-inch photo paper, which is priced at $8.99 US, and 8.5×11 inch Fine Art Matte Paper (ten sheets for $12.99 US). Larger sizes (11×17 inch and 13×19 inch) are available too. Exciting, all these different sizes and surfaces, at such affordable pricing.

Ilford offers a money back guarantee on all photo paper products, which Nemo applauds.

My limited experience with other brands of inkjet photo paper has led me to a decision to buy cheap for non-exhibition photos and expensive for high-quality prints. At fifty cents US per sheet, Printasia photo paper is a well-priced premium product. Its glossy and satin surfaces are pleasing to my eyes and fingers, and to my photos!

Will I purchase more of it once this introductory supply is gone? Yes, definitely. Do I have any unanswered questions about Printasia that can’t be answered either from the website or from working with the papers? No. Am I concerned that the Printasia “PhotoImpression” CD I received entitled “Enjoy the Inkjet Experience” is a Windows-only product? Definitely Ñ why not include Macintoshers?

It’s a pleasure to use, display, and recommend Printasia premium inkjet photo paper. Please send more, Ilford.

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
Fantastic products! Well worth your money and investment. The best of its kind.

John Nemerovski