Podcast number 27 is now online, which you can download in MP3 HERE
This week, Tim and Chad look at the top stories from MacMinute.com, our new podcast news sponsor! Check out MacMinute.com for your daily Macintosh news, updated as the news happens.
This Podcast is sponsored by SmallDog.com
This week’s feature is Rate The Rumors. Tim and Chad take on six of the most persistent Mac rumors floating out there, and rate which ones they think have zero chance of being true, and those that probably have some grounding in reality.
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Neale Monks, author of Buying Used Macs, considers the dual-USB G3 iBooks to be the best value Mac portables about. Find out why in the third of his articles on Classic Macs.
Mac portables have come and gone, and many will be remembered as high-water marks in the evolution of the personal computer. The G4 PowerBook as “portable supercomputer” redefined what users expected from their machines: big, widescreen LCDs, blazingly fast processors, and do-everything optical drives. The G3 PowerBooks combined sleek, black looks with performance genuinely comparable to a desktop machine, and probably deserve the name “Blackbird” far more than the PowerBook 500 series that actually carry that tag. But when it comes to balancing performance, looks, and price, my vote goes to the dual-USB G3 iBook, perhaps the first Mac portable to bring all the joys of mobile computing to the masses without having to make any serious compromises.
Previous “consumer level” Mac portables had tended to have mediocre performance and severely limited expandability. The PowerBook 100, for example, was built around a poky 68000 processor, obsolete even when this PowerBook was new. While otherwise nicely designed, and much cheaper than the higher-end PowerBooks 140 and 170 released at the same time, it was in no way a serious desktop replacement. A couple of years later, Apple released the PowerBook 150, a machine designed specifically for students and home users. Only slightly hamstrung in the performance department by its 33 MHz 68030 processor (the PowerBook 150 was sold at about the same time as the late Quadras and early Power Macs) it was its lack of ports that made this machine difficult to integrate into anything more than casual use. It lacked ADB ports for a keyboard and mouse, for example, and there was no way to connect an external monitor either short of using a hideously expensive SCSI port adapter. Though it had a built in modem, it lacked an Ethernet port, so it couldn’t even be used on an office network. All in all, the PowerBook 150 is remembered as one of worst machines Apple ever made.
Cost-cutting measures with the base models of later PowerBooks more or less replicated this pattern. The PowerBook 190, the cheap version of the PowerPC PowerBook 5300, wasn’t a bad machine, but like the PowerBook 100, in terms of performance was essentially obsolete from the beginning, and soon became incompatible with new software as developers focused on products for the Power Mac computers. The base model Wall Street G3 PowerBook did at least feature the same processor design as its higher end siblings, but the lack of a Level 2 cache meant that its performance was far, far worse than comparisons of processor speed would suggest.
The pre-history of the iBook
But there was a bright spot in the otherwise unimpressive history of “budget” Mac portables, and that was the PowerBook 1400. In many ways a nicer machine than the pro-level PowerBook 5300 series that had preceded it, the 1400 series was produced in a variety of models distinguished primarily by processor speed and the type and size of the LCD screen they used. A few models lacked a Level 2 cache, but even these machines turned in respectable performances compared with the 5300 series PowerBooks; those 1400s that did have a Level 2 cache (which was most of them) were much faster. But speed is only half of the story, and what really made the PowerBook 1400s such nice machines was that they were fully expandable. A variety of magnetic and optical drive options were available, including floppy drives, Zip drives, and CD drives. Two PC card slots allowed for yet more expansion, with many users adding things like Ethernet cards and wireless networking cards. Finally, all the 1400s came with ADB, SCSI, and serial ports, allowing them to be pressed into service as desktop machines without much trouble.
The last half of the 1990s was a time of crisis and rebirth at Apple Computer, and hot on the heels of the simplification of the desktop Mac line-up into consumer level iMacs and pro level Power Macs came a comparable division of the Mac portables. The G3 PowerBooks evolved from models using ADB and SCSI ports into ones relying on USB and FireWire, firmly pointing the way from proprietary, more finicky technology to user-friendly systems compatible with the rapidly proliferating ‘digital lifestyle’ gizmos that were by now becoming hot sellers across the home electronics market. But even the entry level PowerBooks were pricey, retailing for two to three times what an iMac was going for. What was needed was an “iMac to go”; enter the iBook.
The first version of the iBook received mixed reviews, but it sold well. On the plus side, it was designed to be sturdy and durable enough for use by students and families (unlike most other portable computers) and was compatible with the same types of USB peripherals as the iMac. It came with a modem and Ethernet port as standard, making it easy to connect to the Internet. Perhaps best of all, all the machines came with a crisp, 800 by 600 pixels, bright active matrix LCD screen that was joy to use, especially compared with the passive matrix screens that had been used on previous consumer level laptops. But there were downsides. For a start, the machine was big and heavy, and the bright colours and styling meant that it appealed more to kids than to professionals. Potential purchasers in business or academia had the choice of the G3 PowerBook, nothing less than the Mont Blanc of laptops in terms of price as well as looks, or the lower-cost iBook, which owed more to Fisher Price or Hasbro than Apple. The iBook also carried on the tradition of having limited expansion options compared with the high-end PowerBooks, lacking both FireWire and external video support.
The dual-USB iBook: First Impressions
Incremental changes to the iBook line saw the inclusion of FireWire support in later models, and eventually S-video output for things like outputting movies to televisions and projectors, but as Apple gradually moved away from bright, Toy Town colours towards a more sleek and classy design language, the iBook’s styling started to look more and more out of place. A complete redesign saw the iBook become much smaller and smarter, and many of the grumbles people had had at the iBooks seemingly deliberate limitations were fixed. All came with VGA monitor support and a 1024 by 768 pixels LCD screen that was big enough not just for OS 9 but OS X as well.
These new iBooks, released in 2001, are bright white like the G4 iMacs and use many of the same materials, but more than anything the “Ice Book” iBooks, as they quickly became known, share many design features with the iPod and G5 iMacs. The white plastic body is actually protected by a transparent plastic shell that provides both protection from knocks and keeps the paintwork from getting scratched. Fixtures and fittings are either white or silver, and the only black to be seen is the lettering on the keyboard. The overall impression is of a machine made from snow or ice, worked into the shape of a Mac portable, but otherwise left in its clean and pure original condition; in short, they look cool in every sense of the word.
The ports are arranged along the sides, rather than the back, of the machine, as is typically the case with PowerBooks. On the left hand side are the expansion ports, including, as the name of this series of iBooks suggests, not one but two USB 1.1 sockets. There is also a FireWire 400 port; a 10/100 Base T Ethernet port; a 56k modem port; and a modified VGA video out port for connecting an external monitor (in video mirroring mode). There is also a hybrid sound and video output socket that can be used either for things like headphones and loudspeakers, or else connecting the iBook to a television or some other analogue video display.
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On the right hand side of the machine is the power supply socket, next to the optical drive bay. The positioning of the USB ports on the left hand side of the machine rather than the right has proved to be problematical. For comfortable use by right-handed users, a mouse needs to be placed on the right of the machine rather than the left, but many mice (including the Apple ones) don’t have very long cables, and by the time the cable has run from the port on the left side of the machine, around the back, and onto a mouse mat, there isn’t much cable left to play with. In these situations, it’s preferable to connect the mouse to an external USB keyboard.
Using the iBook: OS 9 and OS X compared
Even a stock 500 MHz dual-USB iBook comes with 128 MB of RAM and 10 GB of hard disk space, more than enough to handle OS 9 with ease. Thanks to the G3 processor and a well-designed motherboard, not to mention 256 KB of Level 2 cache fitted as standard, these iBooks turn in decent performance comparable to a G3 desktop machine. Office 98, Photoshop 7, Dreamweaver 4, and Internet Explorer 5 all run well on these machines. These are great gaming machines as well, thanks to the CD drive, high-resolution screen, and a solid graphics card; the big screen lends itself to games like Civilization II, and even the early models have just enough processing power under the hood to make something like Diablo II worth trying out as well.
Of particular interest to many users is the fact that these machines also do well under OS X. There are a few caveats though, the first of which is that the standard 128 MB of RAM provided with these machines really isn’t enough to do more than run OS X and a few simple applications. To actually get any work done you will need a lot more memory, and a dual-USB iBook with 256 MB of RAM should be considered the minimum for stable, reliable OS X computing. The second thing to check is which version of OS X is installed; as a rule of thumb, avoid running anything less than OS X 10.1, and definitely install OS X 10.2 or better if you have it. All the dual-USB iBooks came with one or other version of OS X, but the earlier ones were supplied with OS X 10.0.3, which is slow, a bit buggy, and really little more than a well-polished beta.
Suitably configured, even the 500 MHz G3 iBook will run OS X applications like Office X, Safari, Mail, and earlier versions of the iLife programs very well indeed. Later model iBooks with faster processors obviously allow you to run more programs and get better performance.
Under the Ice
Opening up an iBook is a bit like cutting a peach in half: getting through the outer layer, the flesh, is easy, but breaking open the stone in the middle is very difficult indeed. Likewise, adding an Airport card or more memory is a breeze: simply flip up the keyboard and slide in the card. But anything more serious that this, like upgrading the hard drive, is an absolute nightmare. In my opinion, these are machines that no one without experience of repairing PowerBooks to component level should even think about opening up. There are dozens of tiny screws and little plastic catches, and the titanium frame and compact shape than makes the iBook so robust and sturdy also makes it incredibly fiddly to work with.
Fortunately, the iBooks have been very problem free, with only one significant issue know of, that of some dodgy motherboards that were used by some of the early run iBooks. Apple has done a recall on these, and if your iBook was in that production run, you can send it in and have them make the repair. One little issue that has bugged many users is the deliberate fudge Apple made with the video out port. In theory, the hardware should support video spanning as well as mirroring, but the software doesn’t allow this. Although a third-party patch can remedy this, it’s risky and certainly not endorsed by Apple.
A Successful Dynasty
The dual-USB iBook has turned out to be a very long-lived design, with versions still being produced today. One of the major changes has been with the screen, which is now available in both the standard 12.1-inch format and a jumbo-sized 14-inch version similar to those on the PowerBooks. By producing a variety of machines with different speeds, screen sizes, and optical drive options, Apple has tried to create an array of consumer level machines without significantly eroding sales of the higher-end G4 PowerBooks. This is a nice thing for users on a budget: for too long Apple essentially divided up the Mac portable line into a sucky but cheap model at the bottom with two or three substantially more expensive models at the top.
The iBook design has been a successful one, and hasn’t changed much in four years.
Over the years there have been a few across the board changes as well, such as the introduction of USB 2 and FireWire 800, but the most important has to be the switch from G3 to G4 processors. Though this has led to a narrowing the gap in performance compared with the G4 PowerBooks, Apple has consistently maintained clear, blue water between the iBooks and the PowerBooks, partly by increasing the speeds of the processors used by the PowerBooks, but also by keeping substantial differences in things like graphics cards and the amount of Level 2 cache.
The iBook legacy is that even users on a budget get to choose options, from basic models aimed at people who want need to edit text documents, give slide shows, and check e-mail while travelling about, through successively higher specification models that add things like CD burning and DVD playing. The base model iBooks have the strongest appeal for those who need a portable computer to supplement their desktop machine, while the models at the top of the range offer a lower-cost option to the PowerBook for those who need a desktop replacement machine that comes with all the trimmings.
Conclusion
Used dual-USB iBooks retail for around $500, a bit more for the later ones, and a bit less for the earlier ones. Unlike earlier consumer level PowerBooks, these machines were not significantly hamstrung out of the door, and attractive styling allowed them to cross from the home and education market over to small offices, academia, and really anywhere else that a decent, low-cost Mac portable was required. On the second hand market, the combination of OS X compatibility, niceties like FireWire and Airport, and what has proved to be a durable, largely trouble free design makes the dual-USB iBook one of the best value Macs out there.
Buying, choosing, and using an older Mac
I cover the pros and cons of computer stores, web sites, and eBay auctions in depth in Buying Used Macs and anyone interested in finding the best way to purchase a used Mac will probably find this book well worth their time. Check it our here, or download a sample chapter in PDF format here.
Dashboard is a metaphor for what’s right and wrong at Apple.
First, let me say Dashboard is cool, it’s sexy, it’s got neat transitions, and it is the number one selling feature of Tiger. I will use it, others will use it and I could never imagine something this cool coming out for Windows or one of the other UNIX, at least not first. Now that Apple has it, they’ll rip off the idea, poorly. So this isn’t a “Bash Apple/Dashboard” article. However all those positives doesn’t change what’s on the other side of this coin.
Second, let me say Dashboard is crappy User Interface design, especially compared to what it could have been. The old Apple (before NeXT) would have been embarrassed to ever release anything this narrow in scope, and totally missing the bigger point. It is what happens when Sales/Marketing designs UI’s and won’t listen to the engineers.
Good user interface isn’t about “hey that looks neat”; it is about “hey that works right, every time I want to use it”. It is anticipating needs, and making things broadly applicable to as many users, in as many ways as possible. It is also about designing and releasing the second version of a product first, so that there’s less change and more consistency/predictability.
Apple’s new UI’s works well for newbie’s, but less well for experts. Of course Windows works less well for both, and UNIX only works mediocre for experts/nerds, so Apple’s the best of the three, but that’s not much to be proud of. If Apple fixed things over time, I’d be easier on them; but things like the Dock, Expose, Finder, and Tiger in general proves that after 4 years and 4 revisions, they have no interest in fixing things that are broken; instead they’re too busy marking the next new feature.
Which brings me to Dashboard. Dashboard It is two things: A way to create new mini-Applications using web technologies (JavaScript as the Language, and HTML as the display). And it is a way to display these applications in a special floating layer.
Some think Dashboard is a rip-off of Konfabulator, but there are enough differences that even if the scope and functionality is very similar, the implementation is substantially different enough that Apple deserves the benefit of the doubt. But I understand their concerns that Apple keeps borrowing their ideas from developers without credit/compensation. In truth, Microsoft and UNIX people steal more with less innovation, so I guess that makes it all OK?
So, Apple created sexy little web-enabled Desk Accessories, and a floating layer to display them; Dashboard. Let’s stop thinking like a user or marketing person, and start thinking like a Human Interface designer. Ask the question, “How can I make each of the two behaviors as broadly applicable as possible, and anticipate users needs, and make things more consistent?
First is the Interface Mode issue: People want to place commonly used functions or information/feedback in a separate layer, and bring them up, or hide them en mass. But the bigger picture is that sometimes users want this stuff to float in front the other windows (it’s own layer), or behind them (status/display), or in front but opaque (background stuff is just noise). So users really want configurable layers that can bring in different groups of accessories at once. Instead of Dashboards “one layer” fits all design, they want multiple layers with different properties, controlled by the user. In other words, users want to be in control, not have Apple decide how they should work. That’s the difference between empowering users, and a marketing feature; don’t just steal, innovate.
Why should only things programmed in one way (Dashboards JavaScript + HTML) work on this layer? Users want to be able to put regular Apps, shell scripts, AppleScripts or Desk Accessories on this layer as well. Users don’t care what language something was programmed in; and they don’t want to have two different calculators: one for the dock, and one for the window/dashboard-layer. Make it so that any apps can be put into dashboard. And while we’re at it, the users and programmers want dashboard apps so they can be run as regular apps as well. Or to be able to use Dashboard App UI programming to be able to control scripts, apps, and so on. Apple totally failed to anticipate my needs as a programmer/user.
Let’s keep going. Basically, there are many types of Applications; regular apps, menu apps (menulings), docklings (things that display in the dock), dashboard apps, headless apps and so on. Why? Users and programmers don’t want 5 different versions. Apple’s lack of architecting is artificially limiting code to individual interface modes, and making users lives more difficult. There should be up to five modes for every app; not five apps to do one thing (in different ways)!
There’s no current way to move between these interface modes (apps, dashboard, menu, dock, etc.), but there should be; drag and drop. Allow users to drag an Application to the menubar to make it a menuling, or from there to the dock (to become a dockling), on the desktop/finder double-clicking will run as an app, and dragging it to the Dashboard indicator/layer will put it in there.
As a user, there’s no visible way to select the multiple dashboard layers or visible feedback that they exist. So have tabs/drawers that are dashboard layers that can be pulled out, and each shows the function key that will activate/deactivate it. You could drag to that tab/layer as a target, and a way to add apps to it. Instead Dashboard has this lame widget picker (different from everything else). Why? Why reinvent a third way to pick files when you have two perfectly acceptable ones already?
I realize there are complexities to making all this work, but that’s irrelevant to good UI, it is a solvable problem that makes it more versatile for more users/more applications/more often. That’s what UI people do: advocate for the users to make the machine “more friendly” and usable.
Compare the differences. Now to train a user you have to teach people about all the types of apps and ways of activating and picking them and so on, and what modes they run in, and so on. The way I’m talking about, you just teach people to drag things where they want, and the cursor would tell them if that was OK or not.
Conclusion
Some will criticize what I’m saying; “you’re not happy with what Apple’s giving you, and are asking for something else “. But that’s the point. Users can adapt to bad UI, but good UI adapts to them and makes itself more predictable and usable. Apple forgot to broaden its solutions. Instead of thinking about what I might want (like interface engineers), they’re thinking like second-rate UNIX hacks slapping stolen features in as fast as they can or marketing wonks that are thinking about sex appeal and sell-ability instead of use-ability. I miss the old Apple. I want something adapt to the way I want to work, not force me to adapt to the way Steve Jobs or someone at Apple wants to work.
Sure Dashboard is better than nothing (Windows/UNIX), and I’ll use it — but I can’t stop looking at it’s failed potential. The difference between that potential and the reality is what makes the difference between a sexy marketing feature, and a really valuable competitive advantage. So Apple has added lots of features that are cool to a few people, in very limited ways, if you happen to use it exactly as Apple wants. They market well, demo well and sell well. But each is also a huge missed opportunity to make a dent in the Universe, to make art, and make something that people will not only buy, but will love using.
Drag Bag Streetwinder – laptop backpack with wheels and telescoping bar handle
Review by Owen Rubin and John “Nemo” Nemerovski
Company: That Pack
Price: $189
http://www.thatpack.com
My search for the perfect 17” PowerBook continues, and as it does, “Nemo” finds a very cool new bag at the same time. I have said all along that I wished someone would make a 17” PowerBook bag that had wheels, and John has wanted something to make carrying around all his equipment much easier than carrying it over the shoulder. The large size and weight of the PowerBook just screams out for wheels, as does any large amount of “stuff” against that sore shoulder. And here are those wheels on a very cool black, white, and red rolling “backpack” for John, and an almost all black with red stripe model for me (this bag also comes in blue and black as well.)
When John and I saw these bags at last January’s San Francisco MacWorld Expo, we just knew we each had to try it, so we spent a l-o-n-g time with the company’s representative drooling over these bags, each of us for a different reason. Does Streetwinder meet our expectations and demands? John and I thought we had found the perfect missing bag. But did we?
The unusual Streetwinder laptop case from That Pack is packed full of innovative features that make this one very versatile bag. At first peek, this bag looks like a rather large backpack. But to use as a roller bag, simply pull the sturdy, brushed aluminum telescoping pull-bar handle from the top near the back of the case, lock it into one of two positions, short or long, up to 41”, and you are ready to roll on two oversized, 10cm polyurethane wheels.
But if you would rather wear this as a backpack, collapse the handle back into the bag and find, tucked into its back pocket next to the handle, two well-padded backpack straps. Connect these two straps to their corresponding buckles hidden behind a large pad at the bottom back (held closed by Velcro) and this bag quickly turns into a very comfortable backpack. A chest strap is also included to stabilize your bag should you need it. And should you decide to simply carry this like a briefcase, there is a rugged, rubberized grab handle at the top.
The bag has three compartments for all your stuff. A small one on the front, a medium one in the middle, and the large main pocket towards the back. John’s bag also had an “elastic band” on the front to hold the included insulated food compartment, and both bags have two large web pockets on the sides which easily hold water bottles or sunglasses. (Finally someone other than Timbuk2 that thought this was a great idea!) The smaller zippered pocket on the front has a place to hold pens, a spot for your ID, and a Velcro closing web pocket on the bottom. The medium pocket, also zippered, contains a large divided pocket for files and papers, two small, Velcro secured pockets for cell phone, power supply, or an iPod, and a smaller web pocket at the bottom which closes with a zipper. Both the small and medium pockets extend fully to the bottom of the bag, so they should easily hold a great deal of stuff.
The large pocket in the back is where they want you to put the computer, as well as other bulky or large items. Access to the pocket where the backpack straps go is accessible from here via a zippered back panel, a clever feature to get at items that may have dropped into this pocket. On the opening flap is a large padded pocket designed to hold a computer. The zippers on the main pocket, unlike the other pockets, also contain “kissing” loops to allow the addition of a small lock to secure this area if desired.
Lastly, a LOT of small little details have gone into this bag, which are much appreciated in day-to-day use. Along the top is a small zipper which includes an integrated pullout foul weather cover for the bag to keep it dry and clean when raining. And just to keep the wheels out of your way, two wheel covers pull out from the bottom pad to protect you from any dirt or water on the wheels. A small “thermal” soft box is included to help keep your lunch fresh or your drinks cold. And they have added a small, self-sealing “hole” above the middle pocket to allow you to attach your head phones to your iPod, pull the wire through this opening, and listen while carrying the case without having to remove your player.
But how did it work in the real world? Zippered access is not difficult once you get used to where your items are located, but there are a lot of zippers which all group near each other, so getting the correct one was often a problem. Wheels are large and well balanced, and portability is easy given the many ways to move this bag. But, speaking of balance, Streetwinder flunked in its most mission critical task, containing your portable Macintosh. As cool as this bag is, if you are planning on carrying a computer, this may not be the best bag for you unless you plan to be very careful. First, the computer pocket inside the large pocket is not padded well enough to truly protect your computer. An extra sleeve would help here. BUT, because of where this pocket sits, there are just too many other ways to damage your computer.
First, when a 17” is placed in into this bag, the top corners of the computer pressed against the top inside edge of the bag, exposing them to easy damage from the outside. More padding along the top edge would have solved this problem, and adding a sleeve prevented the computer from properly fitting into the bag. Note that this may not be as big a problem for a smaller computers, but then again, a smaller computer might slide about in this large pocket, a different concern. Secondly, when the computer is placed in the bag, the bag becomes quite top heavy. What was a relatively stable standing bag now wants to easily fall forward, and fall RIGHT where your computer is sitting. Putting the computer against the back of the bag, and holding it in place with the “suitcase strap” was an alternative to the padded pocket.
While this originally looked like a good idea, and seemed a bit more secure, the PowerBook was now being pressed firmly against the aluminum handle sitting right behind it, which could, if the bag was dropped or bumped, easily cause damage to the computer. I opted not to put my computer there. Again, a padded sleeve might help, but then I loose a lot of room.
Lastly, because the computer is basically in a pocket on the opening flap part of the bag, when you unzip this flap, it is inclined to quickly fall forward, carrying your computer with it. In one case, my PowerBook pushed open the Velcro strap and slid out onto the floor. A few small stretch retainers on the flap would have helped here, or perhaps putting the padded pocket in the back, and the suitcase strap on the flap would have been a better choice. We wondered if the designer had ever actually put a computer in there?
Without the computer, the bag was very stable, but still had a few minor issues that I expect will be fixed in later bags. When the handle is fully extended, it had a bit too much wobble and did not feel secure. There were no problems using it however, and it functioned perfectly. The padded carrying handle (you are instructed to NOT lift the bag by the drag handle) has a few too many indentations to be comfortable in your hand, and constantly flops forward to block the main compartment zipper access. And frankly, this handle did not look or feel sturdy enough to pick up the bag when fully loaded.
The small, included booklet did not give any instructions on the use of most of these additional features, which was annoying. It took some time to find where the wheel guards were hidden (well in the bottom flap,) where the backpack buckles were (near the same place), and exactly WHERE one attaches the chest strap I have no idea as I never found the matching connectors. I was also told there was a key loop I never found, and if my bag was supposed to have the elastic straps on the front, they were simply missing or hidden on my bag.
John’s final solution was to keep his iBook in a Laptop Armor case (see this review) and use Streetwinder for “… a boatload of accessories and cables…”, which worked perfectly. While John felt this was an elegant and secure solution, I am not inclined to carry multiple bags, so this will not work for me. I will definitely use this bag when I do not need to carry a computer any long distance, but as a rolling solution for my 17” PowerBook, I am really sorry to say that this is not the answer. Given all its features, I really wanted it to be! Maybe I just need to buy a 15” PowerBook, and then this would work better. But as the ultimate backpack, this IS the best bag I have seen, I would highly recommend it, your mileage may vary.
John and I both give this bag a strong rating of 3.5 out of 5, when all factors are considered. Additional specifications, photos, and testimonials can found on the manufacturer’s website.
iPhoto 5 The Missing Manual
by David Pogue and Derrick Story
O’Reilly Media
US $ 29.95
CA $ 41.95
ISBN 0-596-10034-5
388 pages
Looking for computer books?
Buy the books with the picture of a dog holding a book in its mouth on the cover.
The “dog holding a book in its mouth” logo is the logo of Pogue Press, the publishing house started by David Pogue to publish his Missing Manual series. I’ve often said you won’t go far wrong buying a Pogue Press book, and the new iPhoto 5 The Missing Manual (iP5MM for short) is yet another example of a well-written computer software manual. Pogue and Derrick Story have been writing about iPhoto since version 1, and he’s got it down to a science. But with many new and important changes in iPhoto 5, there’s plenty of information to write about.
Like previous versions, iP5MM provides a fine discussion of the basics of digital photography. Newbie’s: read this section, the grounding you’ll get in the fundamentals will stand you in good stead. Veteran shutterbugs looking for the scoop on iPhoto 5 can skip ahead to Section 2, which covers the nuts and bolts of iPhoto 5.
Rather than simply regurgitate the table of contents or the press release that accompanied my review copy, I’ll list 10 new things that I learned from iP5MM.
1) How to use iPhoto 5 to edit RAW format images. While RAW is a file format that may be too complex for the average user to take advantage of, Pogue and Story give the reader enough of the basics of RAW files so the reader can decide if they want to learn more on their own.
2) How to use iPhoto 5 to manage digital sound files, in addition to photos.
3) How to create and manage Smart Albums (one of the best new features in iPhoto 5)
4) How to use the iPhoto Calendar to search your photo library by date.
5) How to use the new editing panel tools: brightness/contrast, saturation, sharpness, straighten, exposure, and levels. If you don’t use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to edit your pictures, these new iPhoto editing features provide new editing power that older version of iPhoto don’t have.
6) The basics of using the histogram. When using the new editing panel, iPhoto now provides a histogram chart that allows you to better edit you photos. Understanding the histogram chart is not obvious, so Pogue and Story discuss histogram basics. If you don’t understand it after the first read, re-read it, and your photo viewers will thank you for taking the time to better tweak your snapshots.
7) In the section on producing photo books, iP5MM provides a great summary of the formatting and styles each book theme uses. While this is not really new, the many new styles are detailed. This section will save you lots of time and frustration trying to figure out how each theme is formatted.
The photo book section has a great tip on how to view the actual PDF that iPhoto 5 sends to Apple, so you can proof the “final” version.
9) The section on making slide shows has outstanding tips on using QuickTime to edit digital camera movie files to make more professional slide shows.
10) The book provides fine hints on how to share iPhoto libraries among different users.
The physical book itself is improved from previous versions. iP5MM is now printed in color, which gives it far more punch. The paper stock is substantial, to withstand lots of use. Plus, the book is bound with RepKover, a heavy-duty binding that allow you to have the book folded open, pressed flat on your desk, without damaging the binding. RepKover eliminates the dreaded “brand-new paperback book shedding pages because I creased the binding” disease.
Long-time readers of my columns might read this review and say “Ho-hum, yet another rave Weeks review for a Pogue book.” In response, all I can say is that I have yet to read a Missing Manual book that was not an outstanding production. iP5MM is highly recommended.
MyMac Podcast – 26
This is our 26th show, which you can download in MP3 format HERE.
This week, Chad and Tim talk about all things Mac. We also change up the format a little bit, and introduce our new Focus segment. This week, we look at the .Mac question. Should you get .Mac or not?
Links from this week –
SmallDog.com
MacMinute.com
The Mr. Nice Guy Show http://mrniceguy.org/
Weekly Archive of the week –
Key Cap Kids by Carolyn Curtis
This week, Chris Seibold’s Not Mac News!
We welcome any and all feedback. Feel free to email us your comments in either text or as an MP3 feedback file. And if you would like us to promote your Podcast, send your promo in as well! (Mention MyMac.com in your promo, and we will be SURE to play it!)
Send all feedback to mymacpodcast@gmail.com
iCon Steve Jobs The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business
By Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon
Publisher: Wiley
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0471720836
308 pages (soft cover)
Virtually every Macintosh or iPod owner knows that Apple’s founder and current CEO is Steve Jobs. He’s got more name recognition than any other high-tech CEO can ever dream of. Jobs is known for his patented “reality distortion field” which allows him to persuade doubters of almost anything he wishes, as long as the listener is in his presence.
Jobs is a volatile personality, know for his strong opinions on high tech design, and attention to even the smallest design details on his products. His quirks and foibles are legendary around Silicon Valley.
Authors Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon have crafted a detailed look at the rise, fall, and rise again of Jobs’ business career. Starting with Jobs’ first entrepreneurial efforts selling telephone “blue boxes” while still in high school, they cover the Jobs’ entire business cycle, concluding with a good look at the relationship between Pixar and the Disney company.
Young and Simon know that Steve’s mercurial personality and hot temper provide plenty of good copy. The best-known Jobs antics are well documented: I continue to be amazed at how people put up with Jobs year after year. But then, that’s just more evidence of how well Jobs can get other to follow his vision.
iCon is a catchy title, playing on the “iXXX” names of so many Apple products. Since it implies Jobs is a con artist (and some may heartily agree) the title is really serving to get you to buy the book, thinking you’ll have a 308-page scandal sheet. However, you don’t get a scandal sheet, you get decent journalism, overall.
iCon is a mostly-balanced presentation, covering Steve’s successes and failures in equal measure. The relationship between Jobs’ personality and his business practices gets fair treatment, with plenty of examples of both his desirable and not-so-desirable traits.
I found iCon’s style to be slightly dry, and in parts unengaging. Perhaps it’s because Jobs has had so much previous media exposure, with some of the best anecdotes already in print for years, that I found much of the material to be less than riveting. Andy Hertzfeld’s Revolution in the Valley tells the best Jobs stories in a more engaging manner, as he was there to experience Steve first-hand.
To set up Jobs second act, which is the whole point of the book, the authors have to discuss the Steve’s rise, fall, and termination from Apple Computer. Nevertheless, the setup is too long, and much of it’s old history. The book would be better served moving into the actual Pixar and Next “Second Act” much sooner, as the history of Next and Pixar is not nearly as well-known as Steve’s Apple Computer history.
iCon’s best section is the detailed description of Steve’s relationship with the Disney Company and its then-CEO Michael Eisner. The book’s last 60+ pages contain new information and analysis covering business right up to the release of the Pixar film The Incredibles that’s not made up of shopworn anecdotes.
If you’re interested in Steve Jobs both as a personality and as a businessman, iCon -Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business, is a fairly good read. It’s not the best presentation of colorful Jobsian anecdotes (choose Revolution in the Valley for that) but it has very good coverage of Steve’s recent work at Pixar. The writing style won’t have you turning pages until late into the morning, but it won’t put you to sleep early, either.
IceTune Speakers and Dock
Company: MacAlly
Price: $69.99 US
http://www.macally.com
IceTune is one of most clever, useful items of iPod-Ware ever produced. It’s a three-module iPod speaker + charger with different inserts (three are included) for each current and most previous models of iPod, including the Mini but not the Shuffle. If you want a battery-powered iPod speaker, buy something else, but if you want a stylish, versatile non-audiophile powered stereo speaker + charger, IceTune is a very good choice.
What it isn’t: super loud, or adjustable for treble and bass.
What it is: compact, easy to use, adaptable, neat looking, well designed, and fairly sturdy. (You don’t need an iPod, because a Line In socket is included in the base module, but IceTune screams iPod at full voice.)
How it works is simple. With all cables attached and plugged into a wall outlet, set your dock connector equipped iPod in the appropriate fitting on top of the small, round control module, turn on IceTune’s power, adjust its volume control, and enjoy your audio files. The two cylindrical stereo speakers can either stack under the power module or be split apart, as you desire. The entire trio is lightweight and a brilliant white in color, except for a glowing blue ring of light that projects subtly from underneath IceTune’s power puck.
With iPod and IceTune volume at maximum, playback will fill a room with audio to spare. Sound quality is clean, with minimal distortion, but not much bass response (as expected from the modest specs, 1 watt per channel and 20 – 20,000Hz frequency response).
When your iPod is resting in IceTune’s built-in cradle, charging is taking place during playback. This adds value and convenience to an already fine compact speaker system.
In real world listening tests, Barbara “Mrs. Nemo” — who is not easily impressed — was raving about IceTune’s appearance and sound without any prompting from your friendly reviewer. She likes this set because it is small, with decent audio; easy to adjust and easy on the eyes.
Speaker wires could be doubled in length to 3’ each, and the hexagonal stacking notches could be a little more pronounced, but those two are the only suggestions I have, aside from requesting a more robust bass response. I’m listening to oldies pop music while I’m writing these comments, and 50’s rock sounds much better on IceTune than it ever did in my youth. Earlier I went through an entire playlist of classical, jazz, pop, and more, and iPod’s “Small Speaker” EQ setting provides the most consistently good sound.
MacAlly provides detailed views of IceTune on its web site, at: http://www.macally.com/spec/ipod/ipod_03.html. Have a look, then decide if you think that $70 US is fair value for such a clever product. I do.
Specifications:
1 Watts/channel @ 8 ohms
Frequency Response: 20- 20000 Hz(-3dB)
Net Weight: 1.57lb
Dimensions: 4″ (L) x 4″ (W) x 8″ (H)
Designed for all iPod, iPodMini, iPod Photo with 30 pin dock connector
AC adapter included
MyMac.com rating at 4 out of 5 for listeners who value appearance and design more than a booming bass.
Click here to download this weeks show in MP3 format.
33 Minutes in length
This show is sponsored by SmallDog.com
This week, Chad and Tim talk about this, that, and the other thing.
Check out Warped Thoughts, our buddy Jason Hansen’s PodCast. We played his promo on the show. If you want to hear your PodCast promo, email it to us at the email link below.
Not Mac News #10 by Chris Seibold.
Want to help us out in the next MacMOD Video program? We are looking for ideas on what we should turn into a Mac, modify a Mac, or what have you. Listed to this show for more information, then email your suggestions to MyMacPodCast@Gmail.com
This week Neale Monks, author of Buying Used Macs, looks at the Macintosh SE, the first of the compact Macs to sport the line-up of serial, ADB, and SCSI ports and probably the best value machine around for anyone wanting to start a classic Mac collection.
The Macintosh SE was a landmark machine in many ways. Although similar in size and shape to the previous compact Macs such as the original Mac 128, the Mac SE has the same colour and styling as the later Macintoshes, and there is an obvious family resemblance to between the Mac SE, first produced in 1987, and something like the first generation of G3 Power Macs released ten years later. Both the Mac SE and the earlier Power Macs used the Apple Desktop Bus (or ADB) interface for input devices such as mice and keyboards, and despite a few styling changes over the years, a mouse from a Mac SE will work fine with the G3 Power Mac, and vice versa. Similarly, the keyboard changed little over time (the most notable changes being the introduction of a numerical keypad and function keys) and the ADB keyboards used by the Mac SE and later Macs are fully interchangeable. Although present on earlier Macs, the SCSI and serial ports on the Mac SE are another point of similarity with later machines, replaced in the late 1990s with FireWire and USB but still among the most popular add-ons to modern Macs and PowerBooks, either through expansion cards or plug-in adapters.
Really the only differences between a Mac SE and a later, all-in-one Mac like a Performa 5300 are the small monochrome screen and the much slower processor. In most other regards the SE remains a completely familiar machine to anyone who used Macs through t early to mid 1990s, despite its age. While early models didn’t always come with built-in hard drives and “Super-Drive” floppy disk drives, most of the later ones did, and these are by far the nicest ones to use. The Super Drive disk drive is able to read and write to 400k, 800k, and 1.4 MB floppies, whereas the earlier model Mac SEs are limited to 400k and 800k disks only. The two most common configurations of the Mac SE are ones with two non-Super Drive disk drives, and ones with a single Super Drive and a single hard drive, usually something of the order of 20-40 MB in size. Obviously with a built-in hard drive you have the option of installing larger operating systems than can be fitted on a single floppy, and these machines will run most versions of the Mac OS up to Mac OS 7.5. However, with only space for up to 4 MB of RAM, the earlier versions of the OS, in particular Mac OS 7.1, are much more efficient.
First Impressions
The Mac SE is a bit smaller than a G3 iMac, but otherwise has the same basic layout. A 9-inch, 512 by 342 pixel monochrome screen dominates the top half of the machine. Running the Mac OS in black and white can feel a little bit odd to some people, but it can actually be rather fun. Without the distraction of colour, the care that went into designing things like icons and control panels becomes all the more obvious.
As mentioned earlier, the Mac SE comes in a number of configurations as far as mass storage goes. Easily the most convenient and fun to use is the Mac SE SDHD, or “Super Drive – Hard Drive”. These tend to be the later model Mac SEs, and as their name suggests come with both a 1.4 MB floppy drive and a hard drive. Alternative versions of the Mac SE include dual Super Drive models, ones with a hard drive and an 800 k floppy disk drive, and ones with two 800 k floppy drives and no internal hard drive. While kits did exist for upgrading SEs without hard drives or Super Drives, these are very difficult to get hold of now, and there’s no real reason to look for one given how inexpensive these computers are anyway. Regardless of the exact configuration, the hard drive and floppy drives are stacked in the midsection of the computer, one above the other.
Like the G3 iMac, the keyboard and mouse are connected to the main body of the computer with cables, though in this case via the ADB bus rather than USB. Because the Mac SE has two ADB ports, you can connect the mouse to the keyboard, and then the keyboard to the Mac, leaving an ADB port free for other devices such as joysticks, software dongles, drawing pads, and so on. So just like the USB system, ADB allows you to daisy chain devices together quite easily. The one big difference is that ADB is not “hot unpluggable”, meaning you cannot add or remove ADB devices when the computer is switched on. More often that not, accidentally unplugging an ADB device does no more harm than slow down the movement of the cursor to a crawl until you next reboot, but potentially you can blow the ADB circuitry on the motherboard.
Opening up the Mac SE
The Mac SE is not an easy machine to open and upgrade, and there’s no question that some parts of the machine’s inner workings can hold a dangerous voltage even when switched off. But having said this, making sure your Mac SE has the full 4 MB or memory is one of the best ways to make it more fun to play with. While System 6 doesn’t need as much RAM and works fine from a floppy disk, things like the absence of aliases and a non-configurable Apple menu makes it feel rather awkward compared with System 7. Provided you have an internal or external hard drive to use with your Mac SE, running System 7 is a lot nicer. However, because of the residual voltage that can hang around the cathode ray tube, the insides of the Mac SE are very dangerous to work around, and my advice here is to either buy a Mac SE that already has 4 MB of RAM, or have a competent computer technician make the upgrade for you.
One complication is that because of the relatively slow SCSI bus used, you need a “slow” hard drive. This isn’t as weird as it sounds, as in actual use you won’t notice the hard drive slowing down the Mac SE (at least, the SE won’t be any slower than normal). What it does mean is that when the hard drive is formatted, you need to use a 2:1 interleaving ratio. This will probably be done for you automatically by the Hard Drive Setup program if you are using an Apple-branded or Mac-compatible hard drive, but otherwise you’ll need to use the software that comes with the hard drive to achieve the same thing. Incidentally, the old 100 MB Zip drives with the SCSI interface make perfectly usable external hard drives for these computers, and can be picked up very cheaply.
The other reason to open up a Mac SE is to get at the expansion slot. These computers were the first to feature a slot for third-party upgrades, and while the higher-end Mac II released at the same time had no less than 6 NuBus slots, the Mac SE “processor direct slot” became a popular way to enhance these (relatively) inexpensive machines. External video cards were popular with users in design studios and publishing houses, while others opted for Ethernet cards to allow faster networking than the built-in Local Talk interface. Even processor upgrades were offered, delivering several times the original performance thanks to cards using Motorola 68020 or 68030 processors. There’s no reason to buy any of these upgrades nowadays, though they do turn up on web sites and eBay from time to time, but if you come across an already upgraded Mac SE, a premium of $5-10 may well be worth it. A Mac SE with an Ethernet card is particularly neat because it can access the Internet or be turned into a basic web server. Doing both of these things is a challenge, to be sure, but a fun one and a nice way to spend a few hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Using the Mac SE
Compared with any modern computer, the Mac SE is S-L-O-W slow. However, when using programs designed for this vintage of computer, performance isn’t actually all that bad, and if you’re writing a letter in Word 4, or doing some basic line art in MacDraw, you won’t find yourself being slowed down by the computer. Other useful programs that run well include PowerPoint 2, HyperCard and ClarisWorks 2.1. Whether or not you would ever use these programs to do useful work is rather more debateable.
Connecting a Mac SE to the Internet via a modem is possible but not really worthwhile, because it only works reliably with modems in the 9,600 to 14,000 baud speed range. Instead, install Mac TCP onto an SE with an Ethernet card and connect to an existing home or office network. Telnet, Eudora 2, and early versions of the web browser Mosaic will work adequately well, but bear in mind that anything that needs a colour screen (for example JPEGs on a web page) aren’t going to work.
When looking for programs to run on the Mac SE, the two main issues are the 8 MHz, Motorola 68000 processor (which was close to being obsolete even when the Mac SE was released) and the small, black and white screen. Many computer programs designed for pre-Power Mac Macs expect a 68030 processor and a 640 by 480 pixel screen capable of running in at least 256 colours.
Conclusion
The Mac SE is a cheap, likeable Mac that can be easily obtained second hand practically anywhere that deals with old computers. It’s one of the few Macs that has a unique “Easter Egg” built into the computer, and with the right sequence of keys (hit the debug key on the side, and then type G 41D89A), you can bring up a slide show made up of photographs of the SE development team. Thanks to its complete set of standard ports, it is an easy machine to add things to, a Zip drive in particular being a very cost effective way to add external storage and share files with other, more modern, computers. All in all, a nice machine with which to start a Classic Mac collection!
Buying, choosing, and using an older Mac
If you enjoyed this article, and would like to start collecting old Macs, why not take a look at my book, Buying Used Macs? It’s available for download right now, and for just $5 you’ll get over 170 pages of information on classic Macs like the SE along with tips on how to spend your money wisely; where to get software for computers of this vintage; and how to exchange files with modern Macs and PowerBooks.
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