MyMac Podcast 32
You can download the show in MP3 format here

This week, a television crew from the CBS affiliate WWMT came out and filmed Tim and Chad for a story on Podcasting. Check out WWMT here, and once the newscast is on the air, we will be sure to link to the segment about the MyMac Podcast. Come back later tonight for that link.

This Podcast is sponsored by
SmallDog.com.
RamJet.com

Promo of the week: Mr. Nice Guy. Please check out the podcast Tim listens to the most.

Contest This Week!

Want a chance to win some very cool gear from Griffin Technologies? Here is your chance. Listen to this weeks podcast, answer one of the two questions, and submit your answer to contest@mymac.com. What are we giving away?

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This weeks feature, Walking in a Widget Wonderland. We take a look at eight new Dashboard Widgets.

Send any feedback, MP3, AAC, or plain text email, to mymacpodcast@gmail.com

News story on MyMac.com with Video

This is the news story as it ran on WWMT about MyMac.com and our podcast. Click the link below for a 20.6MB quicktime movie file.

Here is the online story link

Here is the QuickTime Video Link

In June 2000, five years ago, MyMac.com lost one of our own. Susan Howerter, columnist and author or the “Stocking Stuffer Steve book” passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Susan first came to my attention in August 1997. At the time, we had a column titled “The Reader Voice” in which we let our readership send in their own samples for publication. This was one of the best ideas I had ever had, as it netted us not a few regular columnists, reviewers, and indeed friends for years to come. Susan sent it an article titled “DUEX ex Machina” in August, hoping I would print it in the magazine. She had sent it to another Mac publication as well, but they passed. I was blown away! It was a brilliant piece of writing, so I not only published the piece in our September 1997 (#29) issue, I also asked her to join our staff as a regular writer. Happily, she agreed.

In October 1997, Susan began writing her ever-popular column “Out of the AppleCart.” Susan had so much ambition, in fact, that in November 1997, she also wrote a second column at My Mac, “Churning the AppleCart”

Churning continued on for a year, ending in October 1998, while Out of the AppleCart continued until May of 2000.

Susan did not limit herself to just MyMac.com, however. She also wrote for the once popular “MacTimes” website for a half year. Her column there, From The Desktop Dilettante, was very popular, and gained Susan even more fame in the Macintosh arena. Sadly, MacTimes feel on hardship, and Susan was forced to quit, focusing solely on MyMac.com and her new project, the book “The Stocking Stuffer Steve Book”


This month, years after her death, Kate Ancell, Susan’s niece, contacted me. I had never met Kate before, and she was the first relative of Susan’s to contact me since that sad day five years prior. I was happy to hear from Kate, and we started up a dialog. I told Kate how I had planned on writing something to commiserate Susan’s death, what she meant to us here at MyMac.com, and invited Kate to write something herself.

Thanks, Kate, for sharing the following with us.

To Susan, five years on: in memoriam by Kate Ancell

In many ways, I think I was a disgrace to my aunt Susan. The first of our family to purchase – and love – a Mac (way back in 92, when the screens were only slightly smaller than a postage stamp), I remained ignorant of their finer qualities, out-of-date with their emerging technologies, and resolutely uninterested in why they did what they did, so comprehensibly and so well. I never even mastered clip art. In fact, though I used QuarkXpress all day every day for years, I never learned to layout pages. I tell you all this so you will know – and those of you who knew Susan will especially understand – that, although Susan’s Mac journalism was what propelled her into the world of publishing, for me it came late to the party. This, of course, is not the Mac’s fault: Susan was always writing, long before the home computer, and even before the advent of the electric typewriter.

When I picture the Susan of my childhood, I see her always surrounded by pages: lesson ideas and plans for her special Ed students (and if ever there was a teacher who went the extra million miles, it was Susan – her kids’ parents have no idea, I’m sure…), poems, songs and stories. (When my family was in a plane crash in 1978, my mother must have read Susan’s opus “Broken Bones Only” a hundred times to my patched-up little brother.) Some of you may know that Susan loved traditional English mysteries; she wrote two children’s mysteries (full, book-length manuscripts) that I thought then and still think now are wonderful – like Susan, they were academic, entertaining and slyly funny.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the publishing world couldn’t see what we all saw in Susan’s writing. Susan was not a self-promoter in any way, and I’m sure she followed the prescribed route for getting a book editor to consider her work – I don’t think she even approached agents. So, due perhaps to a combination of her diffidence and the height of the slush pile – and much to the children’s book market’s loss – her books were never published. In fact, it took a confluence of events to burst her, like a roman candle, into flaming, eternal print: in the early nineties, Susan discovered the Mac; the Internet publishing revolution came along; and Tim Robertson took the time to see what was in front of so many faces for so long – here was a Talent, searching for a medium.

Susan had a knack for speaking to her reader in engaging prose that also taught a lesson – no doubt the result of her years in the classroom. She also loved the fact that, on the Internet, you could be who you really were. The same casual anonymity that allows bloggers to post online journals for years without anyone knowing their names gave Susan the confidence to be who she was without worrying about what, for example, her mother might say. The Internet, and My Mac, allowed Susan to write in her true voice, and to be heard. It was undoubtedly the greatest gift that anyone could have given her, and I can state unreservedly that it gave her more happiness in her last years than any of us could have imagined.

I wish that Susan could have seen how much the online community has grown and evolved. I suspect that she would have had a blog – it seems like the sort of thing that would have appealed to her, very much. I know that she would be writing – it was what kept her moving forward, more than anything else. And I’m confident that she would still be in the thick of things in the Mac world, burning the midnight oil, keeping up with the controversies, and being forever disappointed that her niece was so far behind the times.

News story on MyMac.com with Video

This is the news story as it ran on WWMT about MyMac.com and our podcast. Click the link below for a 20.6MB quicktime movie file.

Here is the online story link

Here is the QuickTime Video Link

iPed2 Adjustable iPod Stand
Company: Thought Out
Price: $39.99
http://thoughtout.biz/iPed2.htm

One of the first iPod accessories that came to market once the iPod was released was an iPod stand. When a buyer spends as much money for an iPod as they do, laying it flat on your desktop is not the ideal way to treat it. There have been many, many iPod stands released over the last few years, but I think my search for the perfect stand may be over.

The iPed2 is a solidly built metal stand that can be adjusted for any iPod model, including all four generations of full-size iPods, as well as the iPod minis. (The company also makes an iPed for the iPod shuffle) It will work even if your iPod is in a case or skin, a useful feature that some iPod stands cannot boast.

The iPed2 is not only adjustable to hold the various iPods, but it also tilts up and down so that you can set it for easy viewing on your desktop. The base itself is very solid and, more importantly, wide. This keeps the iPed2 very stable, important when it is holding your iPod. Who wants an iPod stand that feels like it could topple over?

The vise that holds the iPod itself can be adjusted via included spacers/washers. When I first looked at the iPed2, I wasn’t really impressed at how adjustments were made to support the various iPod models in or out of cases. The user has to unscrew a bolt via the included metal rod, add, remove, or change the different sized washers, and put it back together again. But after adjusting the vise/seat, I found the process straightforward.

The one drawback to this is that you adjust it to hold for one configuration, say an iPod in a case, then you have to go back and adjust it if you have multiple cases or don’t always use a case. I personally have a few different iPod cases that I use, depending on my mood, and I don’t want to have to readjust the iPed2 every time to accommodate it. It would have made much more sense to make the adjustments via a spring-loaded method, with no tool required. Lose the adjusting tool or the small bag of different sized washers/spacers and you’re out of luck.

The base itself has a hole in the back for convenient USB or FireWire cord placement. This obviously is for dock-connected iPods, as the first two FireWire iPods are plugged in via the top of the unit.

All in all, even with the adjustable shortcomings, I really like the iPed2. I can see where improvements can be made in future models, but for what it is, I enjoyed the iPed2.

MyMac Rating: 4 out of 5

Visual Quickproject Guide
Retouching Photos in Photoshop Elements 3
Nolan Hester
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-32118-9
US $12.99 CA $17.99

Visual Quickproject Guide
Creating a Photo Book and Slideshow with iPhoto 5
Elizabeth Castro
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-35752-3
US $12.99 CA $17.99

I’ve never been a big fan of Peachpit’s Visual Quickstart Guide series. I prefer a more traditional manual instead of Visual Quickstart’s emphasis on screen shots and short captions. So, when the recent box filled with Peachpit titles for review arrived, I sorted out the titles I wanted to read, and planned to send the the two books called Visual Somethingorother to fellow reviewer John Nemerovksi, as his psyche appreciates them more than do I.

But before packing them off to Nemo, I took just a few minutes to flip through both Creating a Photo Book and Slideshow with iPhoto 5, and Retouching Photos in Photoshop Elements 3. Wow! I came away favorably impressed. Later, I took the time to read both titles from cover to cover, and was even more impressed.

Peachpit’s Visual Quickproject series is designed to show you how to get a project done quickly and easily. A Quickproject book’s not going to teach you the ins-and-outs of a particular application; that’s better left for more comprehensive manuals. Many users just want to know how to do one project well, and aren’t interested in learning every feature and keyboard shortcut. Peachpit prices the Visual Quickproject books lower than most full-featured manuals, so you won’t feel that you’ve paid too much for too little.

Nolan Hester’s Guide Retouching Photos in Photoshop Elements 3 is a perfect target for a Visual Quickproject. He walks the reader through an easy sequence of editing actions to improve digital photos. You’re not troubled with unneeded details about color spaces or gamuts, for example. This book is written for a novice or intermediate photo retoucher who wants to know what steps to take, and in what order, and can dispense with color theory.

Following the Hester’s steps will get you a good looking digital photo. Could you do a better job if you had bought 400 page Photoshop manual? Sure, but would you have ever -read- a 400 page book?

Elizabeth Castro’s Creating a Photo Book and Slideshow with iPhoto 5 is equally well done. It’s true that, compared to iPhoto 4, iPhoto 5 has simplified the process of assembling photo book and slideshows, but Apple’s weak documentation still leaves the user in the lurch.

Castro gives the the right amount of information and process to get you through the sometimes confusing process of making a photo book. A nice touch is the inclusion of a good tip about how to edit iPhoto’s preference file to increase the resolution of the photo book file sent that gets sent to Apple.

I wish I’d read this before I edited my first photo book, as the workflow that I used was inefficient. By following Castro’s recommended steps, you’ll have a good look photo book or slideshow with no wasted time or effort.

Peachpit has always had good production values, and these two additions to the Visual Quickproject series are no exception. Both books have lots of vivid full-color screen snaps. Important text is highlighted in a contrasting color. Both books are about 135 pages long, so they won’t take over your desk.

Conclusion. If you want to learn the basics of Photoshop Elements photo editing, or photo book/slideshow creation, but don’t want to wade through a manual the size of the Manhattan phone directory, I strongly recommend these two Visual Quickproject titles.

iPort
Company: Sonance

Price: $599 US

www.Sonance.com

What do you get when you have a company, Sonance, renowned for its in-wall speakers and they create a solution for playing your iPod in your house? The in-wall iPort, a device that will literally challenge you in how you use your iPod.

I originally wanted to do this review as a video review via QuickTime, because I think more people would understand what the iPort is all about that way. But because the size of a QuickTime movie can be so large, we decided to hold off for a few more weeks. Thus, this text review to start.

The iPort is a docking station. Nothing new there, right? Ah-ha, but imagine a docking station inside your wall, one connected to your home theater system. Imagine being able to send music to different rooms in your home. Obviously the iPort is designed with the high-end music lover in mind. If your home does not have a multiroom sound system, then the iPort is really not for you.

Installation is the key. If you’re not handy or comfortable with cutting holes in your walls, then the iPort will need to be professionally installed. You may also want to make sure, if you are a renter or living in an apartment, that installing the iPort won’t get you tossed out of your home or void your lease.

While I do have a multiroom amplifier in my Onkyo, my wife really was not very keen on my ripping holes in a wall simply to test and review a product that I have to ship back soon. So Sonance was kind enough to send a demo unit box, which they use at expos and the like. How good is the customer service and people at Sonance? The first demo box they shipped was damaged in shipping (Thanks UPS!) and they replaced it with a non-damaged unit days later. Keep in mind that this demo unit weighs around fifty pounds, so it wasn’t cheap for them to do so.

As I said, installation is no simple matter. Included with the iPort (which supports all the large dock iPods, as well as the iPod minis) is a template to use when cutting into your wall. But installing the iPort in the wall is only half the installation as you also have to run wire from the iPort to your sound system as well. Not a biggie if you install the iPort near your sound system but much trickier if you place it in another room. You also have to power the iPort via the included 15-Volt DC power supply. This will provide power to the iPod for charging as well.

Speaking of wire, the iPort uses Cat5, 8-pin cabling to connect it to the rest of the system. This is much better for quality sound transfer than a super long RCA cable. It also allows you to use an iPod Photo video features to connect to your television for slide shows.

Once all the cables and installation of the iPort itself is complete, you do have the option of painting the white ABS iPort faceplate to match your wall color. The white itself does match the iPod color, but you may want it to better match your wall than the iPod.

The iPort does come with a variety of cradles for the different iPods. For instance, the full size iPod cradle will not work with an iPod mini, so the iPort has a cradle for the mini included. The cradles are easily removed, so if you are a multi-iPod family; you own an iPod Photo and your spouse owns an iPod mini, you’re all set. (Older iPods will not work, you must have a dockable iPod) This also means that if Apple releases a newer iPod dock slimmer than the current models, all you would need to purchase to keep using the iPort is a new cradle. Since it’s a piece of plastic, it shouldn’t be expensive.

The iPort comes with a built-in IR emitter so that you can use an optional IR receiver for remote control of the iPod. This is really a great feature, as the iPod does not come with a remote control (hint to Apple) and to change tracks or playlists require you to get off your couch or chair to make any changes. With the built-in IR, you can use a third-party remote control with the iPort, making the system even better yet.

One neat $550.00 add-on Sonance offers is the Navigator K2 In-Wall Keypad. This LCD control pad can be programmed not only to control the iPod but your sound system as well. The K2 can be placed in any room (see installation information above) so that you have access to your iPod or audio system remotely. Without actually trying one myself, I can’t give much more information than that. But it sounds like an almost must-have add-on. I know if I were going to be installing the iPort, I would probably spring for the Navigator K2 as well.

I really like the iPort. It’s a great way for high-end audiophiles to attractively add an iPod to their multiroom audio system. For instance, I enjoy spending time in the backyard, but hate carrying a radio or CD player with me. I also don’t want to take my iPod outdoors if the weather doesn’t look too inviting. With outdoor speakers connected to my home audio system, and the iPort and iPod safely in the house, I can send the audio from my iPod through my audio system to the outdoor speakers very easily.

While anyone can purchase a cheap iPod dock with audio-out options, the Sonance system is superior for those serious about aesthetics and acoustics. It is a brilliant design, implemented with the same craftsmanship Sonance is known for with their in-wall speakers.

MyMac.com Rating: 5 out of 5


After the Review.
Ah, nothing like progress. After this review was written and edited, and right before it was posted online, good news came out about the iPort. It seems that as great as the iPort is, it is about to get even better!

Following on the heels of its successful 2004 launch, iPort™ announces a new and expanded line of five feature-packed iPorts to satisfy any in-wall application. Highlighted by a universal docking bay that conforms automatically to the shape of all current generation iPod hard drive players, the new line’s features include integrated IR remote control, two-way RS232 communication, and the ability to pass balanced video over long distances. iPort is the newly formed division of Dana Innovations. Dana Innovations is the parent company of Sonance, who introduced the first iPort in 2004.

The new iPort In-Wall, or IW series represents a dramatic leap forward in install-ability and future upgradeability. Fundamental to the new design is that all iPort models feature a universal docking system (patent pending) with a self-adjusting base plate that automatically conforms to any size iPod. An adjustable insert on the face easily rotates in and out to ensure a secure fit. No adapter plates are needed with the new iPort IW series products.

In addition, all but the most basic iPort model incorporate an upgradeable motherboard, into which plug-in cards can be added making future system expansion a breeze. These feature cards offer expanded capabilities for balanced audio, balanced video and two-way RS232 communication.

“Adding integrated remote capability and RS232 compatibility and eliminating the need to change inserts to fit different sized iPods were our top design priorities,” said Kim Parker, Director of Product Development. “Addressing all three goals and adding an upgrade path to the future are huge plusses for our customers.”

A new and simplified two-piece design makes the iPort easier to install and upgrade. A primary in-wall chassis houses the electronic motherboard and wiring connectors. The chassis is secured to the wall using a pair of integrated Rotolock™ clamps and the audio and video terminations are simple plug-in RJ45 connectors. A separate faceplate, incorporating the new universal docking system, snaps securely onto the in-wall housing.

The IW-1, a basic version with a fixed feature set, charges the iPod when docked and outputs unbalanced audio and video for local room applications. It will have a suggested retail price of $200. A wall plate for unbalanced audio is included, while a wall plate for the unbalanced video is optional.

The IW-2 ($350) adds an integrated IR receiver and uses the modular motherboard design that provides an upgrade path for adding plug-in feature cards. Three upgrade kits are planned: balanced audio ($275), balanced video ($325) and RS232 ($225). iPort will also offer stepped up configurations that pre-load the plug-in cards simplifying the installer specification process and reducing dealer inventory concerns. These prepackaged models include the IW-3 ($600), which builds on the IW-2 by adding a balanced audio capability for shielded long distance wiring runs between the iPort and the system’s amplifier or distribution hub.

The IW-4 ($800) adds to the IW-3, further enhancing it with RS232 connectivity for two-way communication with larger control systems. Two-way communication allows for remote viewing of the metadata from the iPod, including playlists, track, artist and album name on third-party video displays. The top-of-the-line IW-5 ($1100) completes the available feature sets by adding a balanced video module for runs up to 250 ft between the iPort and the video display or distribution hub.

“We learned a great deal with our first two generations of iPort, and consumers don’t just want to share music next to the computer,” added Scott Struthers, president of iPort and developer of the first high-fidelity in-wall speaker more than 20 years ago. “People want their iPod where they hang out with friends and family: the living room, the kitchen, the den, wherever they get together. We developed this generation to be the most complete line possible to address the wide variety of applications our customers described.” All the iPort In-Wall models except the IW-5 will ship by the end of June, with the IW-5 is scheduled to ship in July. Upgrade kits will be available starting in July.

MyMac Podcast 31

You can download the show in MP3 format here. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed at this link.

This week, while Chad is on holiday camping out in the great wilderness and working on a top-secret Apple project (see Chris Seibold’s Not Mac News in the show for more details) Tim heads to Kalamazoo to record the show with regular guest Tad Scheeler as co-host.

This podcast is sponsored by
SmallDog.com
RamJet.com

We get our Mac news from MacMinute.com for the Podcast. Check them out!

We have a winner in our XtremeMac contest! Who won? You have to download and listen to the show to find out.

While Tad and Tim record the podcast, the kids were out fishing. As promised in the during the show, here are a couple pictures the girls took themselves while catching fish.

_{Sara (Tad’s Daughter), near, and Brittaney (One of Tim’s kids) fish while the Podcast is recorded}

^{Raechel Robertson (Tim’s Daughter) catches a fine looking fish!}

Please send all feedback, regular email or MP3 files, to mymacpodcast@gmail.com

Call is a yearly tradition, but this is the week I post something on Rodney Lain. Rather the write something new, simply follow this link to see last years post, and feel free to contribute to the discussion below that article.

A few days late, but MyMac Podcast 30 is online and can be downloaded here in MP3 format. This show is an hour long, hope you don’t mind. Time flies when you are having fun, as we did recording this weeks show.

This week, we talk about why we are three days late recording the Podcast. It is all good, Tim just had an important job to finish before he could make the long trek to the recording studio to meet up with Chad and record this week. But next week, look for the Podcast to be early.

Our feature this week and our contest is one and the same. We look at the bib box of goodies sent to MyMac.com from XtremeMac. They sent us the new iPod Shuffle gear, which includes AirPlay, SportWrap, SuperHook, TuffWrapz, Bumperz, Shieldz, Audio Kit for iPod shuffle, and the SuperClip. Listen to the show as Chad and Tim check out and talk about all this gear, and then enter the contest and win one of those items! Send all contest entries to contest@mymac.com.

This show is sponsored by SmallDog.com. Can you believe it? Small Dog is ten years old, the same age as MyMac.com! Hey, that makes us both 70 years old in dog years! To celebrate their ten years of serving the Mac community, Small Dog is giving away ten iPod Shuffles. Click here for your chance to win.

RamJet.com. Welcome our latest sponsor, Ramjet. Did you know you can pick up a 1GB memory chip for a Mac mini for only $125? Check it out here.

MacMinute.com, the offical news source for the MyMac Podcast. Click the link, read it, bookmark it, and check them out often!

We played the promo from PodQuiz this week. Check them out here.

Also this week, Not Mac News with Chris Seibold!

Send all comments and suggestions to mymacpodcast@gmail.com

Laptop Legs and Mac Feet
Company: LapWorks, Inc.

Price: $24.95 (currently on sale: $19.95)

http://www.laptopdesk.net/access-legsf.php

I own a newer PowerBook. And as anyone who owns a newer PowerBook (or any newer laptop) knows by now, it gets very HOT! Apple use to put extendable legs on the back of their PowerBooks, but not any more. Now they put these VERY tiny little feet on the bottom, which not only fall off all the time, but also raise the computer no more than 1/8th of an inch off the desk, if that! Sorry Apple, but that does not work to keep this thing cool. The same is true for my Dell Latitude; which also has small, useless feet on the bottom. I have tried putting all sorts of “thing” under the back edge of my PowerBook to raise it up a bit, just to let some cool air underneath, but sooner or later, the PowerBook slides off the “thing” and starts to heat up again, not to mention the aggravation of the computer falling to the desk while typing. I have also seen many inexpensive products that claim to lift the computer off the desk, but I usually ignore these things because so far, all the “laptop stands” I have tried just do not work well, are too bulky, take up too much space in my laptop bag, or are heavy.

Enter Laptop Legs™ and Mac Feet from LapWorks™ to solve the problem. When I first saw this product, I said, “No way, I’m not sticking those things to the bottom of my PowerBook.” But once again, after having my PowerBook get so warm I could not longer type on it, I decided to give them a try, and I am happy I did.

So what are these things? They are small, flat pieces of plastic with double-sided sticky tape on one side, and a pair of hinged feet on the other. Mac Feet and Laptop Legs are the exact same product, the only difference being color. Laptop Legs are a dark gray, to better match the PowerBooks, while Mac Feet are white, and much better match the iBooks. Installation is as simple as peeling off the tape backing and pressing them onto the back corners of the PowerBook. To be honest, my first reaction was asking myself, “ How will I get these things off if I do not like them, and will it leave a mark?” Fear not, they do remove easily. There is a small screwdriver slot on one side of the leg, and by applying a small amount of pressure with a flat-blade screwdriver while heating slowly with a blow dryer, these things popped cleanly off. But after using them for a while, this is no longer an issue for me as I have not wanted to remove them.

These little pieces of plastic were JUST what I needed. They extend to one of two heights by flipping down one of the two hinged feet, raising the PowerBook either 1” or 1 3/8” high. When folded flat into themselves, they measure less than a half of inch, which means they took up almost no space in my bag. And as for weight, a pair of Laptop Legs weighs just a quarter of an ounce (7 grams), so you will not even know they are there.

You will know they are there when you turn on your machine and let it run for a while. With the back edge of my PowerBook raised up just 1”, I noted (using a widget that measures the internal temperature of my machine) that my PowerBook ran, on average, about 15 degrees cooler than without the feet. This was also evident in the fact that the top and keyboard did not get so hot. I also noted that with the back edge raised, I found it easier to type as well, noting that my hands and arms did not feel as fatigued as before. Lastly, with the back end up 1 3/8”, the top of the screen was also raised up that much, so I was not looking so far down at my screen, which made using the PowerBook a bit easier as well.

These little feet have a one-year warranty, and right now you get 2 pair (4 feet) supplied in each package for $5 off the regular price. They are tough little guys, each capable of supporting up to 15 pounds, and the manufacturer claims to have tested them to over 40 pounds. While I do not plan to test that number any time soon, I am for sure not worried about my 7-pound PowerBook or my 8 pound Dell on these little guys.

MyMac rating: 5 out of 5. They do EXACTLY what they claim and do it well, and all for little money. What more can you ask for?

No list of classic Macs is complete without reference to the big, blue bubble that saved Apple and the Mac OS. Neale Monks takes a look at the G3 iMac.

A good argument can be made that the original G3 iMac was the computer that saved Apple and the Macintosh operating system. Prior to the release of the iMac, Apple had become a marginal player compared with the likes of Dell and Compaq, with a steadily shrinking market share and no obvious influence on software development or industrial design. While Apple certainly made many good computers, they also made a lot of mediocre ones, especially at the low end. Looking at the good first, the PowerBook 3400 (1997) and then the G3 “Wall Street” machines (1998) had both set new standards in mobile computing, consistently trumping anything the Wintel world had to offer. But on the downside, a succession of undistinguished beige boxes didn’t do nearly so well at attracting sales in the important home, small office, and education markets. The budget Power Mac 4400 (1996) for example was as dull and insipid as anything the likes of Elonex or Gateway had turned out. It was obviously cheaply made, offered only fair performance, and unlike the low-end PCs, forced you into buying relatively expensive Mac-only peripherals like printers and keyboards.

This isn’t to say that there wasn’t any innovation coming out of Cupertino. Apple (and its spin-off company Claris) continued to turn out some truly wonderful programs throughout the early and mid 1990s. QuickTime, ClarisWorks, Claris Emailer, FileMaker Pro, and HyperCard were all solid applications that delivered plenty of power with an elegant, easy to use interface that really showed off what the Mac could do. Of course, the problem was that some of these programs also came in Windows versions, so software alone wasn’t enough to keep Apple ahead of the pack. So while Apple continued to do well in certain markets, in particular graphic design and publishing, sales at the low end was poor, and over the long term this boded badly for the company. More often that not, whenever Apple was in the news, it was prefixed by terms like “beleaguered” or “ailing”.

And along came Steve…

The big news in 1997 was the return of Steve Jobs to the company, at first as an advisor to the then-CEO Gil Amelio, and then with Amelio’s departure a few months later, as acting CEO. Jobs put a young British designer, Jonathan Ives, in charge of the Industrial Design Group at Apple. Both Jobs and Ives shared the same vision for Apple, that they shouldn’t try and supply the market, but create it by designing innovative, lust-worthy products that sell for the same reason as BMWs and Mont Blanc pens — not because people need them, but because they want them.

The G3 iMac was one of the first machines that Apple produced under the new Jobs stewardship. Designed as much to be an attractive and fashionable object as a useful computer, it was brightly coloured and strangely shaped. Even the name of the colour, Bondi blue, evoked something a good deal more exotic that computer shoppers had been used to. Later versions of the G3 iMac followed in this tradition, as with the five “fruit flavours” of the Revision C models.

Some critics panned the iMac as an ill-conceived, underpowered toy that was yet another symbol of where Apple was going wrong. Some argued that it was overpriced for what it was, and that consumers really didn’t care what a computer looked like, so long as it was fast and cheap. Others said that the lack of expansion and upgradeability would be a fatal flaw because it essentially locked into using the iMac as it came without the opportunity to add to improve the machine as the years passed. Perhaps these critics had some fair points, but consumers didn’t seem to care, and the iMac sold phenomenally well. Over 400,000 were sold during the first month alone. Having scored a dramatic home run, Steve Jobs had secured his place at Apple, and the rest, as they say, is history.

First impressions

Unlike many other classic Macs from the past, modern Mac users will find a great deal about the G3 iMacs to be very familiar. There’s no floppy drive, for example, and all peripherals are connected using either USB or FireWire. Kitted out with enough hard drive space and memory, it is even possible to run OS X on a G3 iMac, though performance isn’t all that good. Like all modern Macs, the G3 iMac is designed to connect to the Internet easily, and comes with a 56k modem as well as an Ethernet port. Finally, a built-in optical drive at the very least gives the user access to CDs, and in some machines the optical drive will also read DVDs or burn CDs. So, superficially at least, this is a truly modern Mac.

On the other hand, the styling of the G3 iMac is as much a contrast with the sleek white and aluminium shades favoured by today’s Macs as it was with the beige boxes of yesteryear. Where modern Macs tend to be slim and based around the infamous ‘round rectangles’ so beloved by Steve Jobs, the G3 iMac has its own unique, globular form that doesn’t really fit in with any other Mac produced then or since. The closest thing to a G3 iMac in terms of shape and colour is perhaps an early iBook, and it is perhaps not a surprise that the iBook was marketed as the “iMac to go”.

Besides shape and colour, texture and translucency play important roles in giving the iMac its unique look and feel. Ventilation grills are not hidden from view but built into the back of the computer, and similarly textured grills cover the loudspeakers at the front. The fascia around the display has a semi-translucency that reveals a candy stripe pattern similar to the horizontal stripes featured in many aspects of OS X; although not distracting, it is enough to make a large and otherwise plain expanse of plastic seem much more interesting than it is. Perhaps the most dramatic use of translucency is with the coloured casing that fits across the top and sides of the computer. Depending on the model (some being more transparent than others) it is possible to see many of the components on the inside of the computer, such as the cathode ray tube. The high-end graphite iMac models had the most transparent casings, essentially replacing the happy and friendly colours of the consumer models with a more serious, working machine image.

Using the G3 iMac

The last G3 iMac was dropped from the Apple computer line-up in 2003, and even a fast G3 processor can feel a bit sluggish by today’s standards. But having said that, the later models featuring processors running at 500 MHz or more are certainly plenty fast enough to run OS X and most modern applications. Classic applications like Photoshop 7, Dreamweaver 4 and Microsoft Office 98 run even better, and in fact there probably isn’t much reason to convert at G3 iMac to OS X unless you really want to.

All the G3 iMacs are built around the same 15-inch monitor capable of resolutions up to 1024 by 769 pixels. There are differences in the number of colours they can show at any one time though, the later models with better graphics cards naturally being the best, but otherwise sitting in front of the screen of any one of them will feel much the same as with another. More variation comes with the mice; the early models had a circular “hockey puck” mouse that was generally considered to be less ergonomically efficient than the more traditionally shaped ones (though I know people who actually quite like them).

One problem with the G3 iMacs was the lack of a fast graphics card, so compared with contemporary Power Macs these were poor machines for 3D gaming. But this isn’t to say that these don’t make good family machines: things like Civilisation II, Quake, and Diablo run fine, and indeed any games designed for older, pre-G3 computers, generally work well. Obviously there was some tweaking as the years went by, and the later machines with variations of the 8 and 16 MB ATI Rage Pro graphics cards will certainly handle something like Quake II and Falcon 4 without any problems.

Opening up an iMac

In a word, don’t. Like the compact Macs, there’s really not much a home user can safely or productively do with these computers. The main motherboard module slides out easily enough, and more memory or a new hard drive can be added without too much fuss, although infuriatingly the instructions for how to add memory are supplied as a PDF file, which obviously cannot be read on the iMac while it’s being upgraded! But beyond these simple changes, the user is best advised to leave repairs to the CRT and the other components inside the main casing to the professionals.

Conclusion

The G3 iMac is a remarkable machine in so many ways, and the fact that numerous Windows PC manufacturers tried in their own ways to create comparable machines probably says all you need to know. The concept of a computer as a fashion accessory was born with the iMac, and forms the bedrock of Apple’s marketing strategy across the board. Apple is now expected to continually innovate not just at the engineering level but at the design level as well, and every new iMac, PowerBook, and iPod is deliberately crafted as much to excite lust among consumers, as they are to deliver good performance at the right price. The G3 iMac used a language of colour, texture, and shape to create something exciting and new, something that created a market for a fashionable computer where before there hadn’t been one. In doing so, it threw Apple a lifeline, buoyed up their sales and market share, and galvanised the legend of Steve Jobs as the man who saved Apple.

Buying, choosing, and using an older Mac

The G3 iMacs are covered in much more detail in my e-Book, Buying Used Macs. There you’ll find tables comparing all the different models as well as discussions of the possible upgrades. Enjoy over 170 pages of classic Mac goodness, all for a measly $5.

Nemo asks, and Guy answers, this time with solutions for your crashes, bashes, and smashes that occur every so often on your Macs. What can you do to prevent them from happening? Read on, seeker of knowledge.

JOHN: How often do you restart or shutdown in Panther Guy under normal circumstances?

GUY: I very rarely feel the need to shutdown these days. Typically only after OS updates. My main workhorse these days is a 933Mhz G4 iBook; so I usually just close the lid and let it go to sleep. I really like just opening the top and going to work. At least I usually do. For a while, I was having the “not waking from sleep” issue.

JOHN: Whazzat?

GUY: This problem has plagued Apple users ever since Panther (OS X 10.3) came out. A few of you might not know what I’m talking about, so in a nutshell, here is what “Sleep Mode” is. Many users, to keep from having to waste time booting up their system, hardly ever turn it off. They simply put their computer to sleep. A computer put to sleep will save all current screen data and settings, spin down any drives (hard drives or optical), and shut down the attached monitor or screen. The power used by your computer while in sleep mode is minimal and your restart time is measured in seconds.

JOHN: Any Potential drawbacks?

GUY: I’ve left my iBook in sleep mode for days without losing more than 5-10 percent of available battery life. It is not a solution for everyone though. If you have system-critical information on your machine, remember that unless you set your preferences to ask for a password when waking from sleep mode, “Sleep Mode” gives you no security from anyone who can gain physical access to your computer. As far as your computer knows, it’s still you when the lid is opened. Something to think about before using it.

JOHN: So what was the glitch?

GUY: The dilemma that many users were having with their computers in Sleep Mode was that their machines were not waking back up. You would open the lid and stare foolishly (something I know a lot about) at a screen that won’t wake up no matter what you do. You pound in frustration on the spacebar. Your index finger aches from repeatedly pushing the “Esc” key. You howl at the Greek god “Hypnos” (Son of Nyx and her husband Erebos. No, I’m not making this up) for mocking you. But it is all for naught. Your computer lays dormant. Its soft white light at the lock clasp glowing on and off derisively.

JOHN: And the fix?

GUY: The not waking from sleep was a real pain in the neck. The weird thing is that the symptoms were never consistent enough to say “AHA! HERE’S THE CULPRIT!” It would happen with applications left running or even with a clear desktop. It would happen with the iBooks AirPort card (This is Apple’s wireless 802.11g card for those of you who haven’t paid attention for the last few years) on or off. Receiving a signal or not. The solution? Push and hold the “Power Button” until you hear the unmistakable sound of your computer completely turning off. Of course any unsaved data you HAD can be considered toast. It is gone, fineeto, sayonara baby. This never happened to me when I was using Jaguar (OS X 10.2). Fortunately once I downloaded the 10.3.8 update it stopped happening.

JOHN: What about crashes and freezes? Common or rare?

GUY: I know that freezes still happen to some people. If it happens to you, consider that the problem may not be software related. Cheap memory or a failing hard drive are likely suspects as well (Book ‘em, Dano). If you have consistent freezes or Kernel Panic (more on this later), there is a good chance that your problem is hardware related.

JOHN: You’re making me nervous.

GUY: Nervous? Welcome to my world. It’s always a good idea to have a System folder on a different bootable drive or partition. One that hasn’t been used for anything other than booting up. Not as your main “Let’s get this Party Started” drive. Just a back-up if or when something goes wrong. Remember to update it as well as the OS on your main drive. Different versions of even the same system can report a problem on your main drive, so you want to mirror that OS as best you can. Run “Disk Utility” from your mirrored OS onto the drive you suspect may have a problem. We’ll go into what to do with Disk Utility later.

JOHN: I sure hope so.

GUY: To test your RAM (assuming your have more than one RAM chip and that each is at least 256MB), open your machine at whatever entry point is required to gain access. Remember to first ground yourself on some internal metal inside your computer. The power supply is a good choice, but please make sure your machine is shut down and the AC power plug is removed. Depending on your machine, there can be dangerous voltage inside. If you have an all-in-one (any machine with an internal monitor like an iMac or eMac), there can be extremely high voltage present even with the machine off and the power plug removed. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. Anyway, remove one chip, close the covers, and restart your machine. Try some of the applications you have been using at the point of your system freezes or whatnot. If it runs OK, put the RAM back in and pull out one of the other RAM chips. Repeat for as many chips that you have.

JOHN: How often?

GUY: If you have bad RAM, any other chips besides the one determined to be faulty that came from the same source can be considered suspect. If you didn’t get your RAM from Apple when you ordered the machine but from some third party manufacturer, you could have a bad batch. Always go with a reliable source. One that’s been around awhile.

JOHN: Good idea.

GUY: I haven’t had an actual system freeze (I have had Kernel Panics. An altogether sort-of different beast.) since moving to OS X. That’s not to say that I haven’t had applications crash, but the worst thing when that happens is you lose whatever unsaved work you had. In pre-historic times (Classic OS 6-9), a crash could happen at any time, for almost any reason. If you had documents open with other applications at the time, you would pray that the machine wouldn’t hard freeze before you could save. These prayers more likely than not, were usually in vain.

JOHN: What is a Kernel Panic?

GUY: Colonel Hogan’s evil twin. Actually, it’s a dirty little Mac secret. For all the boasting and bragging that Mac fanboys do about OS X not crashing, or laughing at Windows owners and their blue screen of death, Macs have their own equivalent. It’s called a Kernel Panic. It’s related to OS X’s UNIX roots. How do they happen? It may be related to a Directory Failure or from a user moving or deleting a file they shouldn’t. It can even be caused by some Utility programs attempting to fix unrelated problems. Even a waylaid font at startup can cause a Kernel Panic. Purchasing hardware without OS X drivers can cause problems.

JOHN: Do you then force quit and log out / log back in, or do a full restart?

GUY: If you’re dealing with a Kernel Panic, then all you can do is restart the machine by holding down the “Power Button.” If it’s just an application crash, typically I’ll just keep working. I’ve rarely had applications crash more than once during any session. If it’s an application freeze (where the spinning beach ball just won’t go away after a reasonable amount of time), I’ll use the good old option+command+esc to bring up the force quit menu. I hate to do that though because any work not saved is going to be gone.

JOHN: How stable is OS X, Guy?

GUY: I have to say there is a world of difference between OS X and Apple’s old operating system (The OS formally known as 7-9) as far as crashes go. I could count on at least one crash a week with OS 7-9, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Kernel Panics I’ve had since switching to OS X in 2002.

JOHN: After a problem, are you running any utility software, such as Apple’s Disk Utility?

GUY: Unlike many reports, I have had no major OS related problems. I do use Disk Utility on occasion. Mostly just to check that file permissions are on track.

JOHN: When and how often should people be using Disk Utility to repair permissions?

GUY: Well, according to Apple, permissions should be checked anytime a major OS change is made. Like updating to a new rendition (10.3.8 to 10.3.9) or a new OS altogether. I’m getting ready to make the move to 10.4 (Tiger) as soon as Amazon.com can get it to me. If you have some spare time, it’s not a bad idea to do it after installing any big applications.

JOHN: What are permissions, anyway, and why do they need to be repaired?

GUY: Permissions are another “gift” from the wonderful world of Unix that has added so many other joys to OS X. After installing a program or creating a new file or folder, you can set who can use the item. In other words, you can establish who has permission to have access to or use a particular item. It’s easy to do too. Just right-click or CTRL-click on the item and select “Get Info.” An information box will open with all kinds of nifty options. One of those is the “Ownership and Permissions” section. Be very careful. Choosing the wrong parameter can make the file, folder, or application unavailable to even you. Of course you can always change it back as root, but it can be troublesome if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

JOHN: Don’t the developers coordinate their permissions?

GUY: Yes they do, but making major changes can do odd things. Sometimes when you add a new program or change/upgrade your operating system, the way permissions are handled may change a bit. Add in that third party software makers don’t always follow Apple’s rules or that Apple itself doesn’t always follow their own rules and you can have either corruption or even deletion of your permission files. When that happens, Katie bar the door, you’re going to get all kinds of problems. One of the first things to do is to use the Disk Utility software and check/repair your permissions.

JOHN: Is this a preventive measure, or some sort of treatment?

GUY: It can be considered both depending on what your experiencing. Like I said earlier, it isn’t a bad idea to run it every so often (once a month) and it should be one of the first things you do if you have problems with an application.

JOHN: How often do you need to restart from the Panther installer disk, holding down the C key, and then run Disk Utility to repair your hard drive?

GUY: Believe it or not, I’ve never had an OS related drive problem since going to OS X with 10.2.

JOHN: Never?

GUY: Call me lucky, but the only drive related failure I’ve ever had wasn’t due to faulty hardware or an errant system malfunction. Nope, it was due to my own blindingly incredible stupidity.

JOHN: Go public with it.

GUY: I was afraid you’d say that. My QuickSilver 933 G4 has a 60 GB drive. When I needed more space, I added a 120 GB internal drive on the same IDE buss. What I DIDN’T do was set one to a master and one to a slave via those unbelievably small jumpers on the front of the drive. So I basically had two master hard drives on the same IDE bus. I think the most amazing part of this was that it worked for almost six months before disaster struck.

JOHN: What did you do to recover?

GUY: I tried Apple’s disk utilities, but the drive was hosed real bad. OS X wouldn’t even see it except as a blank and kept trying to get me to erase and reformat. Since I had a lot of almost irrecoverable DV files, I was in a blind panic. I did some research and ended up buying MicroMat’s TechTool Pro and another 120GB drive. I was able to get all the data off the fracinstat drive and transfer it to the new one. I was even able to re-use the hosed drive after reformatting.

JOHN: Have you ever used something called “FSCK” after restarting, then holding down the Apple and S keys? What is this, and do normal people need to understand it?

GUY: OK, this is right off a Linux page.
“Fsck is used to check and optionally repair one or more Linux file systems. filesys can be a device name (e.g. /dev/hdc1, /dev/sdb2), a mount point (e.g. /, /usr, /home), or an ext2 label or UUID specifier (e.g. UUID=8868abf6-88c5-4a83-98b8-bfc24057f7bd or LABEL=root). Normally, the fsck program will try to run filesystems on different physical disk drives in parallel to reduce total amount time to check all of the filesystems.”

Well, that was crystal clear. Seriously though, broken down, FSCK simply checks file systems. I’ve never actually used it and most non-UNIX geeks have probably never heard of it.

JOHN: I’m sorry I asked.

GUY: It was much more common in the 10.0 and 10.1 timeframe (you know, the old days) to have a system error and have a partial start-up with a command line saying “file system dirty, run fsck.” These days, you’re better off just running the disk utilities that come with your operating system installation disks.

JOHN: Not always practical.

GUY: That’s true, sometimes your system disks may be far away from your location. In that case, fsck may be your only hope to recover from disaster. How to use it? First you must reboot your computer into single-user mode. But GUY (I hear so many of the voices in my head telling me), I only have one user at a time using the computer. Not the same thing. To put your computer into single-user mode you must restart your computer and then hold down the command (you know, the key at the bottom of your keyboard next to the space bar. C’MON! The key with the little Apple on it) and “S” key. Hold them down until a bunch of text that in no way resembles the actual English language appears.

JOHN: What next?

GUY: When it stops and you have a blinking cursor (If you ask me what that is, I will really have to smack you.), then type in the following: fsck –y (For those of you that are instructionally challenged, type in the following although without the quotes, “f” “s” “c” “k” “hit the spacebar once” ,“then the minus – symbol”, “y”. If you typed in the “hit the spacebar”, or the, “then the minus symbol”, please consider having yourself neutered.), then hit “return” or “enter”. You’ll see a lot of text go across the screen. If during the test you see:
*****FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED*****
repeat the fsck –y command until this no longer appears. This is crucial so don’t forget.

JOHN: I promise.

GUY: Once you no longer see this message (or maybe you never saw it, which is OK too), to get out of single-user mode, type in either “exit” or “reboot,” then press the Enter key

JOHN: Are there any third party utility applications you prefer?

GUY: I’m a big fan of MicroMat’s “Drive” and “TechTool Pro” series of utilities. In the past I have also used FWB’s “Hard Disk Toolkit”

JOHN: How often in real life should they be used?

GUY: Depending on what you use your computer for, once a month or so should be sufficient. As a general rule of thumb, I don’t like to use more than half of the space available in any hard drive. Sometimes though (especially with portables) you don’t have any choice. If your hard drive is more than half full, then you may want to consider doing maintenance tasks a little more often.

JOHN: Which third party apps, in priority order, need to be bought and owned by most of us?

GUY: With Apple’s Disk Utility right there as part of your OS, there may not be any in particular you need. The right tool for the right job is finally on board for most mortals.

JOHN: Is it any loss that Symantec’s Norton Utilities is no longer being supported for the Macintosh?

GUY: Back in the System 7-9 days, Norton Utilities was an almost gotta have piece of software. Symantec has turned a once great program into a pile of dung, only fit for festering beetles, egg sucking dogs, virus programmers, and Madison Avenue advertising executives (not necessarily in that order). OS X doesn’t seem to need as much handholding as the old days, and Symantec never updated Norton to make it even half as useful as it once was. Plus many other companies stepped up and filled the gap left behind.

JOHN: Why don’t computers work well enough, like a finely tuned car, so they only need routine maintenance, instead of all this special software and other remedies?

GUY: Another car analogy! Generally speaking, cars are made to do one thing. Take us from point A to point B safely. Computers are made to do whatever we ask of them. Whether you’re just making a document or editing digital video, computers these days are born to multi-task. Because of this, it’s impossible for the manufacturers to anticipate exactly what we might do. Even specialty makers like Alienware for gamers or some of the Audio or Video computer specialists can’t determine ahead of time what the users might do. Heck, I barely know what I’m going to have for breakfast even as I make it. Apple is different from many other computer makers not just because of a processor or operating system, but because their computers are made to do almost any task that most users might ask right out of the box. If you want a Dell or Gateway to do many of the same things, you can’t order their low-end boxes and expect them to perform like a Mac mini. Sure it costs more, but you get more and that’s the real value of buying a Mac.

JOHN: What happens if people simply wait until a bad problem occurs, then contact Apple or independent tech support, rather than worry about all the possible nuts and bolts that can shake loose (figuratively speaking)?

GUY: Then they’re just about like everyone else that makes a significant purchase. No one expects to spend a lot of money and then have problems. But sometimes things happen. Do routine stuff like Disk Utility once a month or so and leaving your computer on once a week overnight (You can have the monitor go to sleep, but the computer must be functioning) for the built-in Unix maintenance to do their thing should leave you for the most part trouble-free.

JOHN: Are some Macintoshes more reliable than others, and should be purchased with that attribute in mind?

GUY: I typically avoid first generation machines of any type. If there are going to be serious bugs, that’s where you’ll find them. I remember that some of the clones were somewhat problematic. I had an APS M-Power 200MHz 604 (This was a sub-licensee using Motorola’s StarMax design) that I never really did get to run right.

JOHN: How many times have you wanted to toss your ailing Mac into the nearest dumpster?

GUY: Well never the Mac. I have been tempted to dump some problem making software that wouldn’t do what I wanted it to.

JOHN: Have you ever rescued an Apple computer from a near-death experience?

GUY: A few times I’ve assisted in such an endeavor. I belong to the Washington Apple Pi (www.wap.org) user group and one of the neat things these guys do is the “Tuesday Night Clinic.” Just bring in your Mac (Don’t even need a keyboard, monitor, or mouse as they supply just about any kind required), and for a small donation, an expert volunteer will try and fix your machine. There are usually 4-6 people there with an incredible sense of knowledge between them and they bring in all the software necessary to fix almost any Mac. That’s one of the differences between Mac owners and PC users. You don’t see Dell or Gateway support groups like MUGs.

JOHN: What’s your one-sentence advice to summarize all this conversation on troubleshooting and repairing software problems?

GUY: Macintosh computers like any other man-made devices can break down. If I had to come up with one sentence to summarize (and I guess I do since that’s what you asked me to do), it would be this: While things can go wrong with a Mac, you’re much better off than with all the problems for a PC owner. Or is that just redundant?

JOHN: Thanks, Guy. I think I’ll head over to the Apple Store to look at the faces of the unsuspecting customers.

Wine Collector 1.0
Company: Intelli Innovations
Price: $179.00 USB scanner version
$279.00 Bluetooth scanner version
http://www.intellisw.com

Intelli Scanner Express Package includes IntelliScanner Express reader and software bundle: Media Collector, Wine Collector, Auction Automator, and Home Assets

$249.00 USB $349.00 Bluetooth

Bar code scanning technology is no longer limited to commercial applications. Intelli Innovations is a North Carolina software firm that produces bar code scanners and bundled software applications for consumers. Intelli’s software that’s bundled with their handheld bar code scanner is a database that allow the consumer to easily organize home assets, wine bottles, books, or digital media. Intelli’s UPC bar code scanner is compact, and comes in USB or BlueTooth models. Each software application is specialized for one purpose, so if you want to use your scanner for multiple purposes, you’ll need to buy each specific application, or buy the Express combo package.

The Weeks divisions of MyMac.com Labs spent several hours evaluating Intelli Innovations’ Wine Collector package.

First, let it be known that, while I appreciate a good bottle of wine, I’m in no way an expert oenophile. My massive wine stock totals around 20 bottles. For me, a spending $25 retail for a bottle of vino is spending a fair bit. But since we’re talking about scanning wine bottle bar codes, you don’t have to read Wine Spectator to benefit from Intelli Innovations Wine Collector.

Opening the shipping box reveals just the handheld scanner, and a few pieces of paper. No installation CD is to be found: one of the pieces of paperwork has the registration code for software you download from Intelli Innovations’ web site. Not a broadband subscriber? Fear not, the Wine collector download is only 2.8 MB, so you won’t grow old while downloading if you have to use a dial-up collection to get it. Requiring an Internet Connection to install is a bit annoying, although it does guarantee that you’re getting the most current version of your application. Given the need for Internet access to access the Wine Collector database, this requirement is not a significant inconvenience.

Once unStuffed, the software starts right up. Plug in the USB scanner, and it will beep when your Mac recognizes it. No driver was required: Mac OS X Tiger recognized it right away!

Wine Collector is a simple database designed for cataloging wine. Each record is for a particular kind of wine, and each field holds specific data. Fields include Winery, Name Type, Color, Vintage, Size of bottle, Country of origin, region, cost, etc. You can add text notes for tasting opinions, ratings, and add images (graphics of the label) as well.

Wine Collector has the ability to perform “Smart Searches” a la iTunes. You can create and save searches for wine that meet specific characteristics, and the search results updates a new bottle are added to the collection.

Owners of large cellars will appreciate the fields for the physical location and position of each bottle. Needless to say, I left those fields empty.

As with iTunes, you can choose to display as may fields in the display as you like.

To add a wine to the database, click the Add Wine choice in the File menu, or type Apple-N. A small dialog box appears, asking you to scan the bar code on the label. Point the scanner at the bar code, press the button on the scanner, and within a second or three, you’ll hear a beep, and see the bar code in numeric form in the dialog box. Click the dialog’s Start button, and the software will connect to an Internet wine database to locate the information on the wine.

Intelli Innovations does not reveal details about the database, but it was able to provide data on all but a few of my bottles. The few that were not listed were “low-price specials” that no self-respecting wine aficionado would be caught dead imbibing.

The main issue with the database was that it invariably failed to fill in the “Vintage” field; the vintage usually appeared in the Name field. It was not difficult to add it manually. Otherwise, the database was quick to access, and comprehensive. Not owning a wide variety of bottles, my testing wasn’t exhaustive. If you do have that rare bottle, and it’s not recognized, you can manually enter the data. A later conversation with Tech Support indicated that this is not uncommon, as some vineyards use the same UPC bar code for different vintages, and this makes it difficult to get the right vintage into the database.

The scanner was generally reliable, although once or twice it refused to recognize a bar code. Unplugging and replugging the scanner fixed this momentary loss of consciousness.

It’s good that Wine Collector is easy to use, as documentation is virtually non-existent. You get absolutely no paper or electronic documentation. The application’s Help menu refers only to scanning issues, and provides very little useful information. The Intelli Innovations web site looks great, but there’s no useful support information at all.

Calling the 800 number for Technical Support gives you an earful of voicemail, asking you to leave a message that may take up to three days for a response. Three days is a long time when you need Tech Support. I left my question on tape; it took until late on the second day to get a response. The polite technician was able to answer my question in a timely manner. When I complained about the lack of documentation, he agreed to email me a one page PDF help file, which turned out to be not very impressive. You may also leave emails for Support, but I did not try that avenue. While live Tech Support may be difficult for small companies, there’s simply no excuse for not having useful help files and FAQ’s on the web site. The answer to my easy question about determining the optimum maturity date should have been made available on their Web site. That should not be too much to ask, given Wine Collector’s $179.00 price.

Conclusion

Wine Collector is an easy to use scanner and database combo. Scanning is quick and easy, and the database will give you searching and sorting capability over almost any aspect of wine data you can imagine. The scanner can be used with any of Intelli’s software applications including Collection, Wine Collector, Inventory, and Xtagger.

If you have a big wine collection, Wine Collector will help you stay organized and informed about your cellar’s contents, with little more effort than pointing a bar code scanner at the bottle’s label. Some entries may require slight editing to get the right vintage date.

I was not impressed with Intelli’s support. Their lack of information and help on the web site is not good, especially given the cost of the package. Hopefully, you’ll not need support, as the database is easy to use.

MyMac.com rating 3 out of 5