When I badly needed to get my small business website up and running, I didn’t have the time, patience, or the bucks for the granddaddy of web programs like Dreamweaver. But when I cried for help, a fellow videographer turned me on to what could be considered the great grandson of Dreamweaver, RapidWeaver (RW). While not a Macromedia product, this little web development program, created by RealMac, should be something like the iWeb in the iLife suite.

Like most all Apple’s programs, especially Pages and Keynote, RW is based on simplicity and elegance. For $34.95 (and so for free updates for licensed users), this program – if you have all your media resources developed–can help you build your website in less than a hour. I’m not kidding.

Recently updated, RW comes installed with thirty professionally built and simple themes in which you can drag and drop media into various types of pages to produce your site. You don’t have to mess around with tables, tags, layers, or HTML or CSS codes–that is, unless you want to.

Say, for example, you would like to build a photo album or portfolio page(s), I would suggest you simply organize your photos in an iPhoto album(s), open up RW and click on its Photo Album page from its pull down menu, select the iPhoto albums you created, and let RW do its thing—resizing your photos with thumbnails and preparing a nice clean navigation for viewing. Once photos are ready, you can open the Themes draw and sample which theme works best for your purposes. Even better, RW can produce Flash movies of your iPhoto albums on the fly. If you don’t like any of the thirty themes that come installed with the program, there’s also other ones that you can search and purchase from other professional builders. Or if you’re template-building carpenter, you can construct your own theme–another new feature of this RW update.

RW comes with 10 different page formats, including Movie Album, Contact Form, and a WYSIWYG Style Text page to do your own customizing thang. Because I haven’t learned HTML and CSS (yet!), I did my layout work in Photoshop and simply dropped in and saved the content in a couple of Style Text pages. I used the Movie Album page for my demos and the Clean theme for the overall layout of my site. With the new features of the Inspector part of RW, you type in the name, slogan or subheading of your site, and most importantly your copyright–to keep the thieves from ripping off your masterpiece.

The Inspector has also been updated with other features. Depending on your selected theme, you can now change the color of a template—from say red to blue, the width and location of the sidebars, and numerous advance options for HTML and CSS integration. Changing the sidebar from left to right didn’t always work well in a few of the themes I tried. Also, I found that some themes seem to work better than others, depending the content you’re using.

I can report, though, that when I was building my site, with a previous version of RW, I got rapid responses from RealMac’s help forum about any problems I was facing. I even iChatted several times with one of the guys, TBeardmore, who writes the very useful online tutorials for the program.

I can’t stress enough that RapidWeaver is about simplicity. You can’t build a large Apple-like site with it, but you can develop one that displays well your site’s content. If you’re a .mac member, you can publish pages directly to your .mac account/site. RW has a built-in FTP to post your site to other severs as well. Note, however, some servers, like mine, don’t accept RW’s FTP transfers.

As you will no doubt notice when you download a trial version of this software, RW uses Mac’s OS X native language, Cocoa. So it integrates well with iPhoto, iDisk, QuickTime, and TextEdit. This updated version also features support for Podcasts publication. And if you’re looking for web development inspiration, RealMac provides links to the sites of a growing number of its software’s users.

The documentation for the software is very good. It includes tutorials and FAQ’s. It even has a link to a handy little favlcon builder site, so you too can have little brand icon next your site’s URL like the big guys.

I look forward to RW only getting better for the average web builder. I wish someone at Peachpit press or the like would write a manual for this book so even more people might give it try. But honestly you can build a site without one. It’s just that simple.

PhoneValet 3.0
Company: Parliant
Price: $199.95 and up – $49.95 Podcast add-on
http://www.parliant.com

When I first saw the advertisements and reviews of PhoneValet, I thought it looked like a cool product, but probably not one I would have much need or desire for. Then almost a year ago, when we started the MyMac.com Podcast, suddenly the ability to record telephone conversations became something I was very much interested in. PhoneValet does much more than simple telephone recordings; in fact that is one of the lesser features of this program / hardware package.

Press 1 if…
Installing the software is a snap, although the software serial number is tied to the hardware serial number on the phone plug to USB adapter that makes up the other part of the package. This was a little buggy at first, as the user is forced to enter different serial numbers at different times during the setup process. In fact, the program rejected my license code ten times before I broke down and emailed Parliant for help. I was emailed possible solutions, which worked eventually. As a long time product reviewer, I have to say that the rigmarole involved to simply enter a license code should not be this time consuming or frustrating. Software companies are supposed to make life for the end user easier, not more difficult in a vain attempt to combat piracy. Why do I have to be inconvenienced?

Press 2 if…
Once the software was actually installed and updated to the latest version, it was time to set up the software to handle my entire phone answering needs. Turns out that PhoneValet comes in two different components, PhoneValet and PhoneValet Message Center. I am unsure why these two applications are not combined into one easy to use interface, but they are not. Both programs work well and are easy to use on their own.

Setup consists of telling PhoneValet what you want it to do. For instance, perhaps there are multiple people in your location; wouldn’t it be cool if each could have their own phone answering service? With PhoneValet, that possibility is a simple reality. In fact, PhoneValet can handle up to eleven different and unique mailboxes.

More, let’s say you are away from the office or home, but you really need to know when someone has called and left a message that you need. PhoneValet can email you the recording, wherever you are. It also works with SMS or pager, although I did not have the equipment to test either of those features.

When your phone rings, you simply let PhoneValet handle it. If you want to talk to the person leaving the message, you can pick up the phone. If not, listen to the message later on your Mac.

One of the cool factors is having your Mac announce who is calling via Caller ID. Yes, the Mac will actually speak the name of the person (or business) calling. Once you get used to using PhoneValet, it’s like having your very own personal telephone assistant, one who can even make calls, record calls, and save a history of your calls for future reference.

Press 3 if…
Don’t we all hate it when you call a phone number hoping to talk to someone, and get that Press 1 for sales, Press 2 for service message system? Well, usually those telephone systems are designed that way to route your call to the appropriate person or department, thus saving time for the business. Technical Support will probably not be able to help you with your sales question. PhoneValet gives you the option of having the same high-tech options for your business. It can route calls on a multi-line phone system, or route it to the correct phone mailbox. You can even set the program up to play messages, such as store hours, but not to take messages. This is handy!

If you’re worried that using a Mac as an answering machine will quickly fill up hard drive space, you should have no fear. While the quality of voice recordings are not CD quality, the stored messages in PhoneValet are fine for voice messages, and they don’t take up much space at all. Besides, even a five-year-old Macintosh probably has a 20GB hard drive, and according to the PhoneValet website, that would enable it to record 191 days of continuous voice messages. I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on being away from my phone for that long, and even if I were, I don’t think enough people would ever call to worry about filling up a hard drive. However, you can always archive voice messages and recordings to removable media for long-term storage.

As a Podcaster, I wanted PhoneValet for a very different reason: to record conversations to be used later on the podcast. To this end, PhoneValet works very well, and they even sell a bundle that ships with tools to help you clean up the quality of voice recordings to be used in podcasts. While I found the third-party tools that Parliant includes in this bundle (BIAS SoundSoap 2 and Peak Express 5) to work well, I found they simply could only do so much to help the rotten sound quality of the cheap telephone quality in my house. Yes, I think I have the oldest and crappiest phone service in the state of Michigan. Some recordings were simply too horrible to use in the podcast, no matter how many filters and enchantments I used to try and correct the problems. I don’t blame this on the PhoneValet software, nor on the applications in the Podcast bundle.

Press 4 if…
All in all, I am quite pleased with this software/hardware solution. The ability to record telephone conversations on my Mac has been something I have wanted for years, and PhoneValet does an excellent job of it. When I did have a problem, in this case a recorded conversation that the audio quality was actually pretty good, the program refused to playback the sound recording afterwards. One email to Parliant later, and I had a clever terminal command to correct the problem and save the recorded conversation. So, hats off to Parliant for great customer service.

MyMac.com Rating: 4 out of 5

Time for another edition of the Download Drawer.

As an art teacher, I am always looking for free art programs that my students can use on the eMacs in my classroom. This week I am going to talk about three of them on the computers right now: “Palette 2.0” by HaranBanjo, “Tux Paint” by New Breed Software, and “ArtRage” by Ambient Design.

Let’s start with “Palette 2.0.” “Palette” is a very simple paint program, great for the very young computer user. It has your basic tools: drawing, square, circle, fill, erase, and typing. It also has a couple of special effects like mirror and rotate. Like I said, a very basic paint program, with a very small learning curve.

Next up, “Tux Paint.” Will someone please explain to me why applications and games with the Linux Penguin "Tux" keep showing up on the Mac? Anyway, this is a fantastic paint program for the elementary age. It is very similar to the popular “Kid Pix,” by Broderbund software (by the way Kid Pix Deluxe 4 is fantastic!).

In “Tux Paint” you’ll find the basic tools and more. You can draw with more shapes than just a square and circle. There are numerous brushes to choose from, color tints, rubber stamps (of Tux), and many “Kid Pix” type of special effects. The interface is more complicated, also.

Finally, for the older students (or even hobbiest and professionals) there is “ArtRage.” This is another fantastic FREE program that mimics “Corel Painter.” It has many similar features, including natural media emulation and tracing paper. The tools include pencils, markers, crayons, and more. It does not have as many tools and features as “Painter,” but for free, you can’t beat it. The interface is pretty straight forward, too. This would be a great introduction to drawing on the computer before purchasing a more involved program like “Painter.”

There you have it. Three great paint programs for artists of all ages.

If you have any great freeware programs on your computer that you love, email me. I might mention it in a future article. Until next week, email me comments and questions, or post below.

Tim and Chad talk the latest in the MyMac Universe, and finally all is reveled about the Macworld Expo Article from last week.

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Bridget Davies Handmade iPod Covers
Price: £32 ($55 US), including postage and packing to UK
Sizes: Currently the classic iPod and iPod mini, other sizes available soon
Web site: http://www.bridgetdavies.co.uk

There was an article in a recent issue of Cosmopolitan that indicated that the majority of British women would spend any little windfall they came into on an iPod. The iPod has certainly become an essential fashion accessory, combining amazing functionality with dazzling good looks. But as any iPod owner knows, the iPod needs some protection from the outside world if you want to keep it all sleek and shiny, and to fill that market dozens of different companies have produced a huge variety of iPod covers. Most of the cheaper ones are fashioned from synthetic fabrics, and while they might do the job, they totally ruin the look of the iPod.

Now, with Christmas around the corner, any guy who wants a bit more than coal in his stocking is going to need to come up with something good for his significant other. Assuming your good lady already has an iPod, Bridget Davies might have just the thing for her: handmade iPod covers. Each is a unique work of art, produced from suede and silk, stitched and embroidered by hand, and available in a range of colours to match any outfit. In short, these are fashion-house quality items.

But what really makes them special is the price: at £32 (about $55) a piece, these things only cost marginally more than the mass-produced ones you can pick up at PC World. So not only do you get something that wife or girlfriend is going to adore, you do it without breaking the bank, a plus in anyone’s book!


As well as iPod covers, Bridget Davies produces a variety of other handmade items including cushions and jewellery wraps; her line of handbags in particular would complement the iPod covers very nicely and would make exquisitely indulgent presents. Besides Christmas presents, these iPod covers would make excellent gifts for birthdays, and the ones made from white fabric look to me like absolutely wonderful presents for bridal showers.

OK, now to the specifics: the iPod cover I ordered was charcoal grey with lilac trimmings cut to fit a fourth-generation iPod. Bridget Davies does have a web site, but ordering is done by e-mail. Prices include delivery within the UK, but she will ship internationally though postage will add slightly to the final price. I got my iPod cover within two weeks of ordering, but since these are handmade items made to order, you probably want to place your orders as soon as possible.

As far as features go, these covers adopt a minimalist approach. They aren’t toys for geeks, and what you get is a padded suede pocket embroidered on the outside with the design of your choice. The suede is durable and easily thick enough to keep the iPod from being scratched. It is sized to be a very slightly tight fit, so that the iPod is held in place. A silk ribbon forms the tie that stops the iPod sliding out, and if you need to see the iPod screen or press any of the iPod’s buttons, you’re going to need to open the ribbons and slide the iPod out. Bottom line, these covers are really for lightweight use, and I wouldn’t use one while cycling or playing sports, where one of the more heavyweight iPod covers would make better sense.

All in all, I’m glad I came across these iPod covers, and warmly recommend them to anyone looking for a useful but very stylish and feminine gift this Christmas.

Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1″ Widescreen Monitor
Company: Dell, Inc.
Price: $ $434.00 USD
http://www.dell.com

What’s the best thing about going into an Apple store? The hordes of black-shirted dudes with gleaming iPods round their necks? The Genius Bar answering any and every question that might come up in the Apple universe? Well, in my book it’s the rows of Macs with those killer large TFT screens. Even if a lowly Mac Mini is out on display, it will be connected to a gleaming Apple Cinema Display, and even the iMac G5s seem to favour the 20″ models. As for the Power Macs, a pair of 24″ or 30″ screens seems to be the only way to truly show off Final Cut Pro or Logic.

Cinema Displays are killer cool, with their gleaming aluminium cases and fabulous industrial design. They are priced as a premium product, and they look like they are worth every penny but that doesn’t make it any easier to afford one. I’d always thought that I would never be able to aspire to such a fine window to OS X. However, I have recently discovered that this is not the case. This technology is now available to us mere mortals, for little more than half the price that Apple charges.

Come Over to the Dark Side
You see, there is only one supplier of 20" 1680×1050 resolution panels that manufactures in volume – LG.Philips. Accordingly, Dell’s 20" 2005FPW panel uses exactly the same LCD panel as Apple’s 20" Cinema Display. Dell prices for monitors start out somewhat less expensive than Apple, but are frequently discounted by massive percentages, something Apple is not known for.

I needed to replace the 17" Acer panel I was using on my Power Mac G5. It showed poor colour registration and some fuzziness, principally because it only had a captive analogue connector, and no DVI input. It was playing havoc with my digital photography work, and was quite uncomfortable to use for long periods. I decided to get a DVI display, and when I got wind that Dell had a sale on their widescreen displays, I got my credit card revved. Three days later, a courier delivered my new screen.

Now, with Dell you get good value, a three-year warranty and industrial design that is firmly placed in the mid-nineties. The 2005FPW is dressed in a plastic shell in standard Dell dark grey, with the occasional silver highlight. However, build quality is very good, and the monitor ships with a robust grey and silver stand with cable management and height adjustment. The stand also allows the display to be rotated through ninety degrees to display a portrait image, though I have not tried this myself as I do not have enough vertical room on my desk. I believe this functionality will work without additional software on any Mac that is running OS X 10.4 Tiger and has an ATI graphics card.

As well as this feature, the monitor is stuffed with other goodies as well. There are four inputs (DVI, VGA, RGB and Composite) as well as a plethora of display modes, including a very funky picture-in-picture mode, which allows TV monitoring or multiple PCs to be used in you have them cabled correctly. The monitor has four USB ports, and acts as a USB hub – two are on the back and two are on the side. Dell also throws in power, DVI and VGA cables in the box but as you might expect on a higher-end product, none of the cables are captive to the monitor.

The only thing that is missing are speakers. I personally see this as no great loss, as monitor speakers are rarely of good quality. Dell will send a ‘media bar’ with speakers as an add on to the monitor if required,


Yada, Yada, Yada – What Does It Look Like?
In a word & superb! Connected via DVI, a bright and clear image of my Tiger desktop is displayed, and running through the calibration screens shows that no changes are necessary. Backlighting is strong and even across the display, and contrast looks fine. DVD and video playback shows little smearing to my jaded eyes, though I have to admit I am not a big movie watcher while I sit in front of my computer. Of course, DVDs play back in the 16:9 aspect ratio they were designed for, and the excellent contrast ratio means that blacks look black and a ‘washed-out’ image is not seen.

I do play the occasional game, though, so I fired up Halo to see how the Dell performed. After adjusting the monitor to display the image in the centre of the screen rather than stretching it to fill the display, I was pleased to see that here too the image was bright and showed little ghosting.

What I was really pleased with was the way this display affects my workflow. In Photoshop, you can push the took palettes to the edge of the screen while working on a large representation of your image, browsing images is a much nicer experience as well, and iPhoto really works best on a widescreen display. The Finder takes on a new ease of use as it is easier to drag and drop between two windows that you can actually see, and applications like Mail, iTunes or NetNewsWire really benefit from the extra real estate.

The Bottom Line
Of course, it makes sense that the extra screen real estate that a 1680×1050 display gives you will improve your computing experience, and it’s a no-brainer if the price is right. Here in the UK, you can pick up a decent, brand name 17" 1280×1024 4:3 ratio panel for around £170, or US$300. A 19" 4:3 panel will give you the same resolution for around £240, or US$425. This panel lists with Dell at £507 (US$900), which is £40 less than the price for a 20" Apple Cinema Display. However, I got it from Dell at £325 (US$575), substantially less than the Apple product. I am lead to believe from some of the posts I see online that in the US, rebates can bring the price below the $400 mark!

I can remember just a few years ago that 17″ CRTs or 15″ TFT flat panels were priced at just over £300. The fact that for a little more you can today get such a fantastic display amazes me. As you spend all of your computing time looking at your monitor, and such a device should last longer than your current Macintosh, I feel that these displays represent excellent value for money.

MyMac Rating:
At this sort of price, I have no hesitation at all at giving the Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW 20" Widescreen Display a mark of five out five.

5 out of 5

XtremeMac iPod nano Tuffwrap 3-pack
Company: XtremeMac
Price: $24.95
http://www.xtrememac.com

I have an Apple iPod nano and while I’ve heard all the crying and moaning about screen scratches, it hasn’t affected me. My nano (a white 4GB) came with a protective clear plastic covering and I left it on. This protected the nano’s front from all sorts of bad possibly scratch inducing stuff but it was hardly a permanent solution. I knew it was simply a matter of time before the third party companies making a mint of the popularity of the iPod would come up with a better way. I was not to be disappointed. Do a google-search on “iPod nano covers”, and a plethora of products will soon be on its webby way. The problem with selecting a device like this is that you have no way of knowing if this is the answer you’re looking for. I rarely select covers for electronic gear via the net because I like to look at it first. So it was off to my local Apple Store to see what is available.

There were a few to choose from and I opened the packaging of each to inspect it even with Apple Store employees glowering in the background. The one I finally chose was XtremeMac’s Tuffwrap 3-pack. XtremeMac also has a single case identical to these in white for $19.95. For five bucks more you get three. It was the little touches provided by XtremeMac that decided it for me. Things like the ribbed sides that made it easy to grip and that none of the ports or dials were covered. If you have other accessories for your nano, rest assured that the Tuffwraps would not prevent you from using them. The cover itself is made of silicone, so you can place it on almost any surface and be assured it won’t slip off easily.

The nano slides into the Tuffwrap not without some hard pressure (being silicone, it’s a very tight fit) and once in place will not fall out. There are three screen covers included (one for each Tuffwrap) and you put them in place once the nano has been wrapped. No directions are included to do this and I would be very careful when putting the cover in as one wrong twist could damage the screen. To put the cover in, simply pull back on two sides of the Tuffwrap where the screen is, put one side in place, repeat with the other three sides. If I were XtremeMac, in the next generation of these products, I would already have the cover in place before the nano was inserted. Not that it’s hard to put the cover in, but there are too many McDonalds coffee spillers out there looking for people to blame for their own stupidity.

There are three different three packs to choose from: red/white/black (this is the one I chose), orange/exorcist green/dark grey, and light grey/pink/purple. XtremeMac claims that these combinations are “coordinated” and far be it for me to disagree other than to say that anyone choosing an electronic device with an eye toward coordinating with their outfits based on colors should please consider why they are buying the product in the first place. I put the black cover on (since black seems to be this year’s…um…black) because it was the first one that fell out of the box. Well, that and it matches my Monster iCarPlay iPod FM transmitter so well DAHLING.

Highs
Three different colors in three different packs for the fashion challenged
Ribbed for her pleasure
Tight fit
Non-skid back
Screen protector

Lows
The green really is hideous
Inserting the screen protector wrong could damage your nano

In my opinion, this is the best of most of the nano covers currently available

4 out of 5 stars

When people in the Mac world use the term “Switcher” they usually are referring to those switching from a Windows computer to the Mac. Well, there is another, lesser talked about, group of “Switchers” out there. These are those who are just now making the change to Mac OSX. Whether it is Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, or earlier, there are a few changes to be aware of. OK more than a few, but that would be an entire book. I’m going to cover some of the more obvious and everyday tasks that might be different. Consider this a jump-start for OSX.

First there is the Apple Menu. It is still in the left hand corner, but more than just the color of the Apple logo has changed. The Apple Menu is no longer a customizable menu that can be loaded with applications and folders. Now the menu is for basic functions of the computer: Logout, Restart, Shutdown, System Preferences, About This Mac, etc.

Did I just say you go to the Apple Menu to shutdown the computer? Yup. No more Special menu in the Finder. Those items have been relocated. Besides those mentioned above, emptying the trash is now done in the new Finder menu.

That’s right, the new Finder menu. In OS9 the finder menu was on the top right of the menu bar. Basically, it was a place to switch between applications. Now, the Dock handles these tasks (see my article “Macspiration-Customize Your Dock”). The Finder menu is now an application menu and is located next to the Apple Menu. It is only visible when you are on the Desktop. The Finder is now an application that is always running. It can be relaunched from the “Force Quit” menu (a good idea if things start getting wacky).

Besides emptying the trash from the Finder Menu, you can customize the Finder through Preferences. Several options like removing the warning when you empty the trash, customizing labels, setting spring-loaded folders, and more can all be set here.

Speaking of the Trash. Where did the trash can go? Instead of being located in the lower right of the screen, it is now located in the dock. The trash still works the same, you place files in it to delete them and you empty it. You still drag CD’s and other media to it for ejecting.

Let’s go back to the Apple Menu for a moment. Did you notice something missing? No more control panels and extensions! The cause of many OS9 startup crashes. Items from the control panel are now located in System Preferences, which is in the Apple Menu. From your desktop picture to the date and time, you can find it there. No more need to worry about extensions conflicting on boot!

Moving along, some other important changes from the Finder, and other applications, are keyboard shortcuts. If you are like me, you use keyboard shortcuts all of the time. Well, Apple went and changed several of them. No longer will APPLE-N make a new folder. You need to use APPLE-SHIFT-N. APPLE-N will open a new window in the finder. APPLE-M no longer makes an alias, that is APPLE-L. APPLE-M will minimize a window to the dock. Those are just a few of the new shortcuts. To find out more check the menus from the finder and different applications. The key combination is on the right of the menus.

One final, and possibly one of the more important changes, is how to quit an application. Instead of going to the File Menu, you now go to the Application Menu (as described above when discussing the finder). Every Application now has it’s own menu when it is running. In that menu you will find Preferences (no longer in the Edit menu), the “About…” , the option to quit that program, and other choices.

As I said at the beginning of this article, this is more like a Jump-Start for OS9 to OSX switchers, and not the definitive guide to OSX. These are just a few “heads up” items I think one should know when making the switch. Are there others that could be listed? Sure. The windows look different, you control windows a little differently, you can change the size of your icons on your desktop, etc. Several of these can be found in older articles of Macspiration, and I am not going to repeat them here.

A person switching from OS9 to OSX probably knows the basics of working on a Mac. The best way to learn OSX is to explore this new operating system, and have fun doing it! If that is not enough, visit your local bookstore. There are plenty of great books on learning OSX. In the meantime, enjoy the new look, and the new effects, and especially fewer crashes (bye bye black bomb!).

Think I left something out that is really important? List it below this article in the comments section, or email me, I’d love to hear from you.

Since I’ve started writing for MyMac, I’ve been keeping my eye for computer tips, programs, and plug-ins that might smooth out my workflow for research and writing. Finding a way to organize and quickly access web pages and their links for articles I’m writing was a problem I faced. I tried creating temporary bookmark folders, but my Safari menu bar and collection of bookmarks are already overflowing. Plus, as I come across websites and documents for future articles and projects, I need a way to file them somewhere for future reference.

Well in researching this problem, I came across PimpMySafari, a kinky resource site devoted to making Apple’s web browser ten times better. Within a few clicks inside the site, I came across Concierge, a deft little bookmarking assistant similar to what you’d find in Firefox and Opera web browsers. Now you may ask, why don’t you just make the rebel Firefox your main web browser? Well, it doesn’t solve my problem the way Concierge does.

There’s quite a few features that come with Concierge – created by developers at Borrowed Time, Inc. – But I’m going to discuss what makes it most attractive to solving my problem and perhaps yours if you’re a student, researcher, web designer or freelance writer. Or if you’re just a geeky user who wants to outfit Safari with tons of gadgets and controls.

When Concierge is installed, it becomes a part of Safari’s menu bar with a toggle drawer that slides out on either side of a web page window. The drawer has three parts that take bookmarking to another level. The part I use most is called Scratchpad. I would have called it Notebook or File Cabinet, but hey they didn’t ask me, though they certainly anticipated my problem. In Scratchpad, you can add bookmarks (as well, as Address cards/groups and files and folders from your Finder which become like aliases to your source files) to subfolders you create. So if for example, I’m writing an article about Safari, I can create a subfolder called "Safari article" and then place related websites and files that I need to access for, well, this article. If I plan to write future articles on Safari, I can add more websites and other files and/or create subfolders within subfolders for increased organization.


But note if you’re short on screen space the open drawer makes your Safari window smaller. However, I see no reason to have the drawer open at all times. You can set it to open only on known sites or just click Command+0 to open it.

With the drawer open, you can have all subfolders displayed at once or one at a time. You can also add annotations to your bookmarks and little yellow sticky-like notes you keep right with your list of bookmarks. I image these latter features will be a blessing for academic users writing papers and dissertations.

The other two parts of Concierge make searching for your bookmarks and visited pages a lot faster. Also, like Safari, Concierge lists your bookmarks and visited web pages in alphabetical order and/or by date visited, but you don’t have to leave your current Safari window to search your history or bookmarks. You can also find them just as fast as you can in Safari using the search window.

Finally, the developers of Concierge included their version of smart folders. These folders can’t be configured by users, but they can collect, if you prefer, related links and history from sites you frequently visit. However, I wish the smart folders could, if possible, be configurable for say recording the types visited pages, e.g. sign-in or forum pages. I would also like to see a way to archive subfolders when you’re done with them.

Concierge has other small features that you can read about in the very useful documentation on the developers’ website. Limitations come with this fully-featured shareware program, but I’m sure that once you begin using it and seeing how it can help you organize internet and computer sites and files, you won’t mind paying a well deserved ten bucks.

MyMac.com Rating: 4 out 5

This week, Chad and Tim look at the latest happenings in the Mac world.
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Not Mac News with Chris Seibold
Email us at mymacpodcast@gmail.com

It is almost time for that annual gathering of the Apple and Macintosh faithful in San Francisco, what we all have come to know as the Macworld Conference and Expo held during the second week of January at the Moscone Center. This is THE event of the year, more so in 2006 after Macworld Expo Conference organizers IDG World Expo has pulled the plug on the summer Mac Expo in Boston.

While everyone is finalizing their plans on attending the show, IDG has up and changed a policy that could potentially have an adverse effect on how the show is covered this year. So unless you plan on attending the event in person, you may be curious on what this new policy will mean to you, the Mac users of the world, as well as the Mac (and iPod) vendors who plan on showing off their wares at the show.

In the beginning of November, I was contacted by IDG’s Mike Sponseller, the Public Relations Manager for IDG World Expo. He was asking if we (MyMac.com) would be interesting in doing a live podcast from the Macworld Expo. Chad Perry and myself have been working towords that end, but have been unable to acquire the sponsorship dollars needed. (A lot of interested parties, none with a check in hand.)

I told Mike Sponseller as much, that we are working on attending but have not firmed up plans one way or the other as of yet. On Monday, Mike emailed me, writing, ‘I’ve had a few folks from MyMac.com sign up for press passes. Due to high demand, media badges are limited in number and will be offered at the rate of one per organization or outlet.’

I had been made aware of this new policy a week before, when Roger Born emailed the MyMac.com staff about it. He was worried he would not get a press pass and would be unable to attend. This did not sound right to me. Why would IDG limit press passes to one per organization? What would the rational be for such a decision? So I set out to find out.

Turns out, this is a direct result of the resurgence of the popularity of both the Macintosh and iPod brands, as well as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) moving up a week. (They usually have that expo at the same time as the Macworld Expo is held.) More news organizations want to cover the event this year than ever before. But therein lies the problem. What do you do if you are IDG when you really only have a finite number of ‘media seats’ at an event? There are only so many chairs for reporters and journalists to sit down to do their writing, edit their pictures, or record their video or podcast. There are only so many seats for reporters in the keynote address area, as well as the overflow theater. (Where MyMac.com found its writers last year.)

So this year, the decision on IDG’s part was to limit press passes to one per organization. And not just the ‘Mac Press’ but even to the mainstream press. It sounds like a good solution, no?

From the standpoint of IDG, Mac and iPod buyers, and the vendors who display and market their new products at Macworld Expo, I believe the answer is no, this is not a good solution any way you look at it.

Some of the problems are self-inflicted on IDG’s part. As IDG PR Manager Mike Sponseller admitted, last year they gave out many press passes to those who, really, are not deserving of the name or title. Just because Joe Macuser has a website where he posts tidbits about Apple, that does not make him a qualified journalist or news organization. Much more stringent controls need to be in place at IDG to limit who is legitimate news sources. This should be done without too heavy a hand, however, but it needs to be done nonetheless. And in most cases, a quick perusal of said sites will reveal whether or not they should or should not quality for a press pass. (On a personal note, yes, I do believe MyMac.com qualifies, as we have for years. We bring our readers news from the showroom floor, interviews with vendors, some of the very best picture galleries of the new products, and informed and expert commentary of the products we feel most Mac users would like and need to know about. But besides all that, both IDG and Apple agree.)

People who cover the event under a ‘Press Pass’, it should be noted, are allowed to do so as a courtesy on IDG’s part. They (IDG) are under no obligation to grant free passes to anyone, press or news organizations or whomever, at any private event they run. But realistically, it only makes good business sense to do so.

So why do I feel limiting press passes to one per organization is a bad move? Glad you asked.

First, from the self-interest department. If we, MyMac.com, are limited to only one person (with a press pass) covering the event, that person will not be in a position to bring you, the reader, as much information as we normally would do. This will limit the number of articles or news stories we publish during the Macworld Expo week, and that can have an adverse effect on our bottom line as a publication. The less people who visit our site, the less money we can make in advertising revenue.

If we only have one person covering the event, that person’s time is very limited in what he/she can do. Does that person spend a day doing nothing but taking pictures? (VERY popular if our statistics are any indication.) Do they spend their time hands-on with the new gear you, the readers, are most interested in? Do they spend their time chatting with the PR people of the Apple, Microsoft, or Adobe booth getting the rundown on the latest and greatest coming out over the next year? Do they spend a day going over the smaller vendor booths, finding the hidden gems you may not have otherwise learned about? One person can only do so much.

From IDG’s standpoint, does limiting the number of people with press passes (less people on the showroom floor) hurt them in the short or long term? The less written about the event, the less people online will read about the event and get excited about it, thus less people attending the show in the future. It is the press people who write the about what it is like to attend the event, which in turn gets people excited and yearning to attend.

But wait! IDG has TOO many requests, which is a good thing, right? Again, yes and no. It is great that more news organizations want to cover the event, but bad in that if these organizations only have one person doing so. That lone person is less likely to cover the event as well as a team of two, three, or four people could. (Just ask John Nemo, Owen Rubin, David Weeks, etc. if you don’t believe me.)

What about the vendors? You know, the companies who pay IDG to set up a booth and showcase their latest offerings. The main reason these companies come to these events, and the Macworld Expo in particular, is to get the word out about their new products. While they do indeed love the fact that everyday Mac users (the public) get to attend the show (unlike E3) and look at all the nifty new stuff, it is really a combination of networking with other people and getting the press to come see your new product and write about it.

For every one person who attends the Macworld Expo and visits a booth, many, and many more will read and learn about a new product from an article online, in a newspaper, or in a magazine. So while the day-to-day paying attendees are welcome at vendor booths, it is really the press who the vendors need to talk to. Simply a matter of return on investment.

If you were a vendor, and had spent (as an example) $50,000 on a booth at the event, how would you feel knowing that there will be potentially much less in-depth press coverage of the event? How much return on investment do you get, and at which point then does it become a zero sum gain?

What about the small vendor, stuck way back of the Moscone center, who does not see as many people, does not get the huge crowds, and sees very little press coverage. How much less coverage will these vendors receive this year when there is only one person from a site like ours covering the event rather than a team of writers looking for these small vendors? Will they return next year when they find out there will be less written about their products?

Finally, how will this new policy affect you, the Mac user who cannot attend the event, but instead counts on the Internet to keep you up-to-date on the goings on? One writer, as I wrote above, can only cover so much of an event of this size. If said writer has to choose between covering the latest Microsoft product demonstration, or visit a backpack laptop case vendor, guess which one gets covered? But what if you don’t need the latest and greatest from Microsoft, but really do need a new laptop bag? That is one less article not written that could have been immensely helpful to you.

What about the smaller software vendor who has a fantastic new product, but because the press has been as hamstrung as it is by this new policy, there is a good chance that their product will be covered, thus less chance for you to learn about this product. Not only does the vendor loose, but so do you as a customer and Mac user who could have greatly benefited.

I understand the challenges IDG faces putting these shows together. It is a massive effort, and they do it so well most people don’t even notice how much work went into the planning of the event. (The mark of a true pro.) There are thousands of man-hours IDG spends getting the show ready for that first person in the door. Not only do they have to coordinate with every single vendor, they also have to worry about a thousand small details no mere mortal could comprehend. It is not a job I would particularly want, I can tell you that.

For everyone involved, from IDG to Apple to the vendors to those covering the event like MyMac.com, a successful Macworld Expo is in everybody’s best interest. I want the Macworld Expo to be a smashing success, an event Mac and iPod owners dream about attending. I want IDG to make as much money on the event as they can, so that they will continue to host and plan the event for years to come. I want all the vendors to have a good and productive show so that they will return every year, and continue to create the great products we Mac users need for our computers. I want our own coverage to be great; as it has been in years past, so that more readers (and our podcast listeners) will come back and read about our observations about the event. Helping inform Mac users on the great, and not so great, Macintosh products is the reason I personally created this site over ten years ago.

So it is very frustrating to me when a policy is put into place that has, in my opinion, no positive benefit for anyone involved. I can only hope that someone at IDG will rethink this shortsighted policy, and correct it quickly.

I should note that IDG is aware of my concerns, and we will have more than one person covering the event, albeit without press pass.

Update:
I was told that as of Wednesday, November 16th, this policy has been rescinded. IDG contacted me with the following: “We’ve done away with the limiting of press passes. If you’re legitimate media — you get a press pass. If you’re not media or just a blogger or a fan site, then you won’t get a press pass.”

I applaud IDG for correcting this policy, and look forward to a successful, informative, and fun Macworld Expo this year.

Did you know MyMac.com is in the apparel and accessory business? Our friends at CafePress.com helped us design exciting shirts, baseball caps, shoulder bags, and other practical goodies with the MyMac.com logo. Order yours today. Mine just arrived (see photos below) and it’s a very attractive, high quality t-shirt.

1. While connected to the Internet, open your favorite Web browser, and go to this site.

2. All the MyMac.com logo items are there, on a single Web page. Scroll down and up to see every product.

3. Click on a small image or description underneath it to see additional photos and complete details on any item.

4. Click on “View Larger” to see every photo at a larger size, which especially helps you decide how the shirts will look, including a “Zoom In” feature on our MyMac.com logo, plus color swatches and a sizing guide.

5. Click “Add to Cart” on the page for the item(s) you are ordering, making sure you indicate your quantity, size, and color choice(s)

6. Click on “Keep Shopping” to order additional item(s), or “Proceed to Checkout” to complete the order process.

7. Call the USA toll-free number, if desired, or click on “Continue” in the New Customer area, upper right.

8. Provide all necessary billing, shipping, credit card, and new password info, as requested, and then click “Continue” lower right.

9. Finish your order, print out your email confirmation, and wait at your mailbox for a couple of days.

10. Once your groovy new garment or accessory arrives, send us a JPG photo of you wearing or holding it, or send our Podcasters an audio description of how your MyMac.com item made an impact at your local MUG meeting or at the Macworld Expo. I’ll be wearing mine there!

David Weeks snapped the above two photos using Apple’s new Photo Booth application. The first one (front of shirt) is weird on purpose, says David, to demonstrate one of Photo Booth’s tricks. The second one (rear of shirt) is more or less straightforward. We hope to discuss Photo Booth in the near future.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled series of tutorials.

For my tenth Macspiration article (wow, is it ten already?) I decided I would make a list of ten tips that could be useful to any Mac user. Some of these might be obvious to the advanced user, but hopefully you’ll find something to help you out.

1. New Folders: Want a new folder for files or applications? Go to the “File” menu in the finder, click “New Folder,” and it will appear on the desktop or in the folder you are in at the time. Just type the what you want to name the folder after it appears. You can also, from the finder, use the keyboard shortcut of Command-Shift-N.

2. Renaming Files and Folders: Want to rename a folder or file? Or missed the opportunity to name the folder in #1 above? Click the name of the folder/file, and immediately move your mouse down. The format of the name will change into an editable field. Type your new name and press return. This works for any application also.

3. Using Aliases for Important Documents or Applications: An alias is also known as a shortcut in the Windows world. It is like a “stand-in” for the original icon. To make an alias click the original icon, go to the “File” menu in the Finder, and click “Make Alias”. An alias can be moved anywhere on your desktop or within the computer. Double clicking an alias will give you the same result as double clicking the original icon. If you accidentally delete the alias, the original will still be on our computer. Just make another alias and keep going! You can tell the different between and alias and an original by the little arrow on the lower right corner of the icon.

4. Resizing Icons and File Names: Are the icons in your computer and/or text under those icons too small for you? From the finder go to the “View” menu and show view options. From there you can resize the icons to make them bigger or smaller, and you can change the point size of the text. If you are doing this from within a folder, you have the option of making the same change to all your windows and folders.

5. Let your computer update itself (sort of): In the “Software Update” preference panel, there is an option for automatically having your computer check for updates from Apple in set intervals. It can also download those updates and let you know when they are ready to install (not recommended for a dial-up connection). All you have to do is click “Install” when prompted, and enter the administrator password. It is usually prudent, however, to wait a few days after a new Mac OS X update is released, allowing other Mac users to test and use the update to find out if there are any potential problems you would want to avoid. If there are, simply decline to update until a fix is made available.

6. Running scripts: What are scripts? Honestly, I’m not really sure, but I know you have to run them on a regular basis. I’ve read explanations about them, and still don’t really understand. I do know there are daily, weekly, and monthly scripts that the computer will run itself as regular maintenance if you keep it on 24/7. If you don’t keep it on all the time, you have to do this on your own. There are several free and pay programs out there that will do this for you. I use a program call Yasu, by Jim Mitchell Designs. It does more than run these scripts, and I run it with each option checked once a month. I’ll also run it when I notice my computer is slowing down, and it seems to work every time. (On another note- I also run Alsoft’s Disk Warrior once a month for regular maintenance).

7. BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP (especially those downloads): Whether it is for documents, downloads, or applications, you should backup on a regular basis. This could be to an external Firewire hard drive, CD-R, or even a flash drive if the files are small enough. You never know when something might go haywire and potentially cause you to loose everything. (Look for future Macspiration articles about using a flash drive on a Mac, and burning data CD’s).

8. Emptying the trash: Seems obvious, but just putting a file into the Trash Can is not enough. Trash can build up and take up valuable hard drive space. Not sure if the trash has something in it? Check the dock. If the can is empty you’re OK, if it looks full, I’d empty it. I empty the trashcan whenever I put something in it. Others would say wait a few days just in case you decide you need what is in there. It’s up to you. To empty the trash, go to the Finder menu and click “Empty Trash.” You’ll be prompted with a window to make sure you definitely want to empty they trash. Click the appropriate option.

9. Putting folders in your Dock: One thing I do to keep my apps organized is having three folders in my Dock- One for internet apps, one for graphics/productivity apps, and one for iLife apps. Each folder contains aliases of applications I regularly use. When I want to launch one, I go to the dock, click and hold the folder to get a menu of its contents, and I choose what I want to run by moving the mouse to it and letting go. To get a folder into the dock, just drag it there and release when space is made for it. Folders reside on the right side of the dock.

10. HAVE FUN AND DONT BE AFRAID TO TRY THINGS OUT. I say this in a lot of my articles. Most of what I know about the Mac, and the software I have, came from playing and trying things out. If you really mess things up, you can always reinstall the software and start over. Just be sure you STAY OUT OF THE SYSTEM FOLDER, until you are experienced enough to know what you are doing.

As usual, send me emails with comments or ideas; or leave a comment below. I love hearing from you. Look for more Quick Tips in the future!

Hey! Only 90 articles to go for 100!!!

MyMac.com Interview with Martin Taylor, Photoblogger

NEMO: What is a photoblog, and how is yours focused?

MARTIN: A blog is a way of self-publishing to the web in journal form. The blogs you usually encounter on the web are text based. Photoblogs are based around photographs, although they sometimes contain text, too. Photoblogs are not static like a gallery, as most photobloggers post new images regularly — somewhere between weekly and daily. Readers usually navigate through pictures in chronological order and photoblogs usually allow readers to add comments to a photograph that can develop into a community of readers.

The unofficial photoblog headquarters is photoblogs.org where you can learn more and find links to thousands of examples of photoblogs.

NEMO: What goals did you have at the beginning, and how have they evolved?

MARTIN: My goals for photoblogging have always been the same: to motivate myself to make more photographs and to find an audience for those pictures. When I first created my photoblog I was obsessed with getting hits and visitors to see my photographs. But as time has gone by I am more concerned with just producing and posting quality work that I am proud of. Chasing an audience is frustrating and nowhere near as much fun as actually taking pictures, so my goals remain as they were but the emphasis has changed.

NEMO: Which software and web tools are required for your photoblog?

MARTIN: Most blogs utilize a content management systems (CMS) built specifically for bloggers. The CMS usually handles accounts, posts, comments, and archives. The CMS resides on your web server and you access it through a web browser from any machine on the web. As an author you log into the CMS and create posts through forms, and your visitors see html pages that the CMS creates as a result of those posts. The style and structure of your blog are controlled by a series of templates which you also edit through the CMS.

I use one of the most common blogging software packages called Movable Type. I chose to install Moveable Type on my web server and set it up myself. This approach gives you a lot of flexibility and control but it does require you to have a little geeky knowledge about servers, ftp, databases, etc. For those people who aren’t comfortable with those technologies there are services that will host your blog, such as Typepad, Blogger, and others.

NEMO: Which cameras, lenses, and image editing applications do you prefer?

MARTIN: The camera that goes most places with me is a prosumer camera, the Sony F717 (for examples, click here). It’s bigger than the average consumer would want to carry but the image quality is very good in part due to its huge lens. I’ve owned it for nearly three years so I’m not too precious about it anymore.

When I go out specifically to take photographs I use a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera. It’s the consumer Canon model, the Digital Rebel, also known as 300D (see here for examples). All the lenses I use are Canon consumer models, not the high-end, professional L-series lenses. My standard, walkabout lens that lives on the camera is a 28-105mm (f3.5-4.5). When I need something wider I use the 18-55mm zoom lens. When I need something longer I use a 75-300mm image stabilized lens. When I need something faster for low light I use a 50mm f1.8. It all gets a bit complicated with reduced frame cameras like most DSLRs are (the sensor size on most DSLRs is smaller than a 35mm frame), as you have to multiply all focal lengths by 1.6x to see how the lens will really perform. In 35mm film terms my lenses range from 28mm to about 480mm that covers most things I encounter.

I also use some film cameras when I’m looking for a change of pace. I have a lot of old cameras that I have collected but I often use my old Olympus OM system, (examples here) some 1970′s rangefinders, (see here and here) a monster Russian medium format SLR and a couple of Japanese medium format TLRs (Twin Lens Reflex).

I used to use Photoshop 7 as my image-editing program. About six months ago I switched to Photoshop Elements 3 as I needed the ability to handle RAW files from my DSLR but I didn’t have the money at the time for the latest flavor of professional Photoshop. I thought it would be a temporary move to the consumer version of Photoshop but I’m really enjoying having a truly integrated organizer and editing suite and I haven’t found that much missing from Elements that’s in the professional version of Photoshop.

NEMO: Do the images need to stand on their own, or do they require text?

MARTIN: Some photobloggers augment their images with words. Although I do sometimes add text to my posts I rarely “explain” a photograph. I do use the post title to provide some context but, in the end, I want each image to stand-alone. Photobloggers run the gamut from those who write paragraphs to accompany every image to those who very strictly never write anything.

One of the great things about photoblogs being visual is that you don’t need to share a photoblogger’s language to enjoy their work. Although the majority of photobloggers are still in the US and most write in English I do visit photoblogs in Japan, Europe, India and South America. And it’s great to be able to just step into those worlds.

NEMO: Are certain types of photos more effective than others for web presentation?

MARTIN: Some photographs do work better as large prints than they do on the web. In general those images have a subtlety in detail or in their range of tones that doesn’t come through in an electronic format. Other images simply look better big, which you can’t achieve on the web if you don’t want to swamp the real estate of your visitors’ screens.

With those provisos, most other images work well in web presentations. Photos that stand out though often have vivid colors, which makes sense when you consider that the average computer monitor more closely resembles a light-box than a paper print. Both strong contrast and strong composition stand out especially when you’re trying to achieve maximum impact in the smallest number of pixels. The smaller the display size is, the stronger and simpler the composition has to be to really translate.

NEMO: What image size and file size are your JPGs on the site?

MARTIN: I always try to remain aware that my visitors may be seeing my site on a sub-notebook with a 10″ screen not the 21″ screens I have available to me. To begin with I made my images 600 pixels on the longest dimension. The trend in the last year or so on many photoblogs has been towards larger images and I have caved a little. My images are now more typically 650 or 700 pixels in the longest dimension. I do try to keep their physical size to 100k or less but with images that contain more complex elements that is sometimes not easy. I rely on Photoshop’s “Save for Web” command to find the compromise I want between compression and byte size.

NEMO: How do you make the black and white photos?

MARTIN: When I was using Photoshop 7 I used to use the channel mixer to do this. This gives you a huge amount of control but the channel mixer is one of the few things that is missing from Elements. These days, if I’m in a hurry, I often use one of the preset settings from the free Photoshop plug-in Virtual Photographer. If you haven’t tried it you have to give it a go. It gives you many different photographic effects and it’s totally free.

If I have more time and the effect I’m looking for is more critical I use the layers technique for Elements described here.

NEMO: How much $$ cost initially and afterward will people need to spend on a photoblog site?

MARTIN: You can start photoblogging for no cost. Even with a free blogger account you can post images in your blog and that’s all you need to get going. I started off using the free service fotolog.net which was fine until I wanted more freedom and control. These days people also use flickr as an photoblog of sorts. All these services come with the advantage of the camaraderie of a built in community.

These days I pay for my own domain ($7 a year) and web hosting (less than $10 a month and I use it to host other sites than just my photoblog). The costs are pretty modest, because I’ve spent more on dinner for two here in San Francisco than I spend on my photoblog in a year.

NEMO: Can you suggest a few other top quality photo blogs?

MARTIN: Some of my favorites can be found on my links page. It’s also worth checking out photoblogs.org and look through the top 100 there for what is most popular among photoblog readers. I’ll point out a few I think are exceptional:

• From San Francisco, Jose who runs EXP has a very modern aesthetic that I really admire and enjoy.

• From Japan, Appareil has a refreshingly minimalist approach to composition.

• From Canada, Worksongs takes you places you otherwise wouldn’t see with his ‘urban exploration’.

• From Michigan, the Snowsuit Effort takes intimate portraits of street people and humanizes them with snippets of their stories.

• From the UK, Shots has some great environmental portraits.

NEMO: Which pictures on your site are your personal favorites?

MARTIN: I like this one of jellyfish because it was taken in the early days with my first reasonable digital camera, an Olympus 2000z, (for example) and I was starting to understand the potential digital photography held for me.

I have a similar emotional attachment to this one of an Egret fishing because it was taken within days of getting a next generation prosumer camera; the Sony F717.

From an aesthetic standpoint I like this shot of my work place, (See picture on right) this one of Santa Monica beach life, this more local beach shot, this urban San Francisco scene and this dog shot.

Ask me tomorrow and I will probably select totally different images.

NEMO: How much cropping and image editing go into a typical finished JPG?

MARTIN: This varies picture to picture. I’m not a purist that believes you have to show every image full frame without straightening or cropping. I find off kilter horizons very distracting and will straighten my images to remove that distraction but I try not to edit just for the sake of it. In my most extreme case, my shot of the moon is cropped to about a third of the original frame. Why? Because you really need a telescope to take this kind of shot and even my longest telephoto doesn’t have the reach I needed to see Luna details.

Most shots are much less cropped but they are touched in other ways. Usually I tweak the levels. I straighten horizons and occasionally correct skew. Depending on the camera I used I may increase the saturation a little (DSLRs under saturate colors compared with digicams). My final edit is always to resize for the web, sharpen appropriately and then save for the web.

NEMO: Explain any techniques you used for the photos of “Carmel Mission” and “Tree and Concrete.”

MARTIN: The Carmel Mission shot I actually manipulated in PS Elements more than most of my shots. The original image suffered from a typical problem encountered when you’re shooting a subject against a bright sky; I exposed for the building which left the sky washed out. To rescue the sky I created 2 layers in Photoshop Elements; on the first I set the levels so the building looked good to me and on the second I set the levels for the sky. I then cut through one layer to revel the other so that I could have both the sky and building that I wanted. I was actually in a bit of a hurry when I did this so the effect isn’t as subtle as I would have liked but that’s the joy of photoblogging; you don’t have time to polish everything to perfection.

For Tree and Concrete I took a shot of a large, modern church here in San Francisco relatively early in the morning while the light was still at a low angle as I wanted to emphasize the structure’s shape with strong shadows. The original was taken in RAW format using my Canon DSLR so I got to tweak the exposure in the Photoshop RAW converter, from Adobe.com, even before the image made it into the editor. Using the slider settings in the RAW converter allowed me to get both the shadows and highlights as I wanted them from the outset. When I examined the picture I actually found the color distracting to the form and composition so I converted it to black and white using the Photoshop plug-in Virtual Photographer I mentioned earlier (the setting I used supposedly mimics a traditional silver film and print). I finished off with sharpening to try to emphasize the lines of the blocks of tiles.

NEMO: What distinguishes superior digital images from all the others?

MARTIN: Digital photography is no different to chemical photography in this regard. That an outstanding image is good technically almost goes without saying. As with most arts and crafts, clichés are boring. Being new without being gimmicky is a fine line but I’m always looking for photographs that demonstrate a unique way of looking at the familiar.

I think the one temptation that digital has over chemical photography is to over-Photoshop an image. Once you’ve got a few software skills it is too easy to over-sharpen, over-saturate, and to add artful vignetting to every shot you work on. I see this on quite a few very popular photoblogs where the images to my eye look too artificial. Don’t get me wrong, I love Photoshop and the digital darkroom but I want the images to still look real and honest even after the photographer has played with them on the computer.

NEMO: Why are most digital photos so boring?

MARTIN: I’m not sure this is exclusively a problem with digital photographs but the fact that digital photography allows anyone to shoot the equivalent of half a dozen rolls of film a day does make it more obvious. I think the biggest problem is that people see what they want to see when they’re taking a shot rather than what is actually there. A camera doesn’t see things like we do. When we see a beautiful sunset we just see the wonderfully saturated sky. We tune out the overhead cables and we chose to ignore the fact that the foreground is boring; we just focus on the sky. The camera isn’t so selective. If there are overhead wires in the frame it will include them. If the foreground is flat it will be obvious in your prints to an objective observer. But we are emotionally invested in a shot. We just remember how beautiful and intense that sunset was even if the resulting photograph doesn’t reflect that.

Learning to critically evaluate and edit our own work is a difficult skill to acquire. You have to learn to see your work in a way that your audience will view it. It often helps to get someone else’s opinion. Often I show my electronic proof sheets to my wife and she helps me pick out the shots that are worth additional attention. On a similar theme, it’s better to leave your audience (be that your family, friends or strangers on the web) wanting more. This again has to do with editing; if you have ten great shots of the same subject from different angles, be ruthless when you edit and only select one to show people. It doesn’t matter how great the other nine shots are, because if you show all ten images your audience will begin to switch off around photo number three.

NEMO: Which camera should a newcomer purchase?

MARTIN: I often get asked, “What camera should I buy?” It’s a hard question to answer unless you know the level of experience a photographer has and what they want to use the camera for and, obviously, what their budget is. Even then my answer would be tainted by my own loyalty to certain brands and models. Buying a new camera can be intimidating and it’s really easy to get embroiled in one of the many ongoing debates such as film versus digital, DSLR versus digicam, or Nikon versus Canon and forget to go out and actually take pictures.

When I first got into photography in the 80′s there was a quote that many people referenced: “Buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner.” A lot of camera owners are very snobby about their equipment that it’s not an attitude that helps them be better photographers. The best camera for you is one that you will carry and use. For some people, one camera suits all their photographic needs. Others of us have an arsenal of cameras and we choose the best one for a specific situation.

A new camera these days usually means digital and most consumers want something small, light, and cute. Most photographers who want to be taken seriously gravitate towards a Digital SLR. These are opposite ends of the spectrum and in the middle there are the “prosumer” (or “bridge” cameras). There are pros and cons to each category that would take too long to go into here.

The best advice I could give is to use the camera you already own for a while, be that film or digital, compact or SLR. If you don’t already own a camera, borrow one from a friend or family member. From using that camera for a while work out what you really need (and to a lesser extant, want) from a new camera and then go from there. What are its shortcomings? What features do you need to get the shots you want?

The old adage that a bad workman blames his tools holds true for photography. I’ve seen great photographers create fantastic photographs with cheap, horrible cameras. I’ve seen many more wannabe’s with expensive, top of the line cameras, who produce horrible snaps. The camera you use really doesn’t matter that much; it’s how you use it and that you use it frequently that really counts.

NEMO: Tell us about your camera collection and online tutorial instructions.

My wife will tell you that I’m a packrat. I’ve collected all sorts of things but I’ve collected cameras since my teens. Nothing very high-end, but good quality items. I particularly like cameras from the 60′s through the 80′s as they were made of metal, chrome, leather, and glass. They are manual, mechanical, and relatively easy to repair and they just look and feel how I imagine a camera should. These days, with the digital revolution, you can pick up nice, useable film cameras for pennies on the dollar compared with their original values. I’ve bought cameras from flea markets, CraigsList and eBay recently. Also, when someone finds out you collect old cameras there’s occasionally an old camera in their closet they’ll pass on to you.

When I set up my photoblog I was interested in how the blogging CMS software could be used for something other than a traditional journal blog. I played with templates and formats a little and found that the software could be adapted to store collection/hobby or tutorial type information so that’s what I did. Also, you can interlink one blog from another so I can write about my opinions on a camera model in my camera blog and link to pictures I’ve taken using that camera in my photography blog. It just takes a little planning about how you are going to categorize your posts.

The tutorials are currently scant but I have put up a couple of things that I’ve learned how to do so that others can learn from my mistakes. The interesting thing about putting this kind of information into a blog if you allow comments from your readers is that they can correct your mistakes and express their own opinions. In this way, static pages can be kept alive and current to some extent. That’s one of the reasons that I’m a great advocate of using blogging software for things other than traditional blogs. Just about anything you used to put into a static site can be adapted to a blog format and it will be easier to maintain and to develop as a result.

NEMO: Tell our readers about your Flickr.com “dog blog” picture series.

MARTIN: Flickr is a web service owned by Yahoo. You can upload and store your images on Flickr but it isn’t a service like Shutterfly or Ofoto for getting prints. On Flickr you can organize, describe and tag your photos. You can also comment on other people’s photos, join groups and post your images to them so it’s more about community than prints. Accounts are free or low cost.

I am dotty about my fur-baby, Babalu, but dogs, along with flowers and kids, are very clichéd fodder for photoblogs so I didn’t want too many pictures of him appearing on my main photoblog. I find that I use flickr to publish those pictures I want to post and share but I don’t want on my blog so it has become something of a sandbox or playground for me. I’ve created a group there for Havanese dogs where I share photos from the dog park and doggie play dates. Like most flickr groups, anyone can join the group and add their own pictures of their dogs too. That’s how I use flickr but other photobloggers use it in different ways to supplement their main photoblogs. Some use it to display alternative or B-list shots or to show expanded sets of photographs.

NEMO: Who is Martin Taylor (the guy who isn’t you) and do you know him?

MARTIN: The “real” Martin Taylor is a jazz guitarist from Scotland who is well known in muso and guitar-geek circles. I only know him through his records although I have seen him play live once. I doubt he has heard of me unless he has Googled himself recently. I’m convinced that many of my site’s visitors are confused jazz fans as a huge number of hits to my site come through search engine results.

NEMO: When you’re not photoblogging, who are you in real life?

MARTIN: I am a software engineer working for Oracle. At the moment I work in a group that develops tools for documentation authors (XML, HTML, XSLT, etc.). I am an expatriate from England, and I began working for Oracle in the UK twelve years ago before they moved me over to HQ in Silicon Valley ten years ago. I live with my wife, Patti, and our dog, Babalu, in a very foggy part of San Francisco.

On Saturday, 11/5 Tim Robertson sent out an email to the staff of writers at MyMac.com requesting a MyMac.com widget. I had never made a widget, and had no clue how to do it. I had read it was easy and I recalled seeing several programs for making widgets. So I decided to give it a try.

I found a widget-making program on the Internet called Wcode (or Widget Code) by Bryan Goldstein and Jeremy Bilien. The program has a 15-day demo, so I figured I’d start there.

It seemed pretty straightforward. You answer a few of questions about the widget and the program builds it for you.

After about a minute I had a widget with default graphics sitting on my desktop. I thought if it was that easy, I’d have a widget done in no time. Was I wrong.

I installed the new widget, and tried it out. The RSS feed was not working. All I had was the default widget graphic on my screen. Thankfully, the back of the widget worked fine. I tried several more times, and still nothing. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and I couldn’t find any directions or help files to help me out. I decided to call it a night, and try in the morning.

Sunday morning came and I figured I was tired the night before, and I must have missed something obvious. I DID miss something obvious, but it took several more tries to figure that out. I eventually noticed a “+” on the RSS part of making a new widget. I decided to push it (what did I have to lose?). YES! The RSS feed was saved into the code, and when I tested the widget again it worked!

Next up- the graphics. I knew that would be the easy part.

First, I decided to search the Internet for tutorials on making a widget. I found a great website here. I didn’t understand much on the site, but I did learn that a widget was a package containing many files in it, including art files. You can views these files by control clicking the widget icon and choosing “Show Package Contents”. These art files became my templates for what eventually became the final art.

Illustrator, Photoshop, ImageReady, and some logo files from Tim helped bring the artwork together. I thought the widget needed its own identity, so I made a widget version of the MyMac mascot.

Finally, I used Dreamweaver to make some customizations to the widget. It displayed the front of the widget as if it was a website making changes there easy. For the back, I had to dive into the HTML code. I’m not a programmer, but I know some basic HTML, and I was able to make some minor changes to the back of the widget.

During my adventure I did find some things I just couldn’t figure out. For example, what is the point of the pull down menu on the back of the widget? I don’t know, but I couldn’t delete it without losing the “Done button.” Also, I tried and tried and tried to change the color or delete the little MyMac.com from under the RSS feed. No luck.

After some art revisions, and HTML tweaks and disasters the morning flew by. It was time to get off the computer and join the world. It was a beautiful day and I didn’t want to spend it indoors. So I emailed the final version to Tim, and I am thrilled at the reaction.

As Tim said in his article, this is version 1.0, and it could probably use some tweaking. I would love to know how to make the changes I mentioned above. I’d also like to know how to change the shape, and size. I had a totally different design with the mascot, but I wasn’t able to get it working right outside the rectangular format of the template.

If you can help out, send me an email or drop a note below. Thanks in advance and I’ll catch you in Macspiration.

The Non-Designer’s Design Book
by Robin Williams
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-321-19385-7
191 pages
Price: US $19.99 US, CN $30.99

When I started my wedding and event videography business, I quickly noticed my marketing material looked liked ransom notes compared to the professional brochures, newsletters, websites, and business forms that I received from other businesses. But I couldn’t afford to pay professional designers to lay out the material I needed. And even if I could afford them, I realized that as a videographer, I needed to know something about effective elements of design for my multimedia work.

So to get up to speed, I read the first edition of The Non-Designer’s Design Book, by Robin Williams. Now in its second edition, this extremely easy to read primer is a must for anyone who has to produce newsletters, brochures, flyers, DVD covers, home pages, iPhoto books, scrapbook pages and other design projects. Even if you have the bucks for professionals to do the work for you or you use professional templates like the ones provided in Apple’s Pages, Williams’s book provides the insight for what to look for in good design and typographic principles.

First off, if you’re serious about learning design basics, I strongly encourage you to read this book from cover to cover. Williams, who also has written a set of very accessible books on Tiger and Mac usage, explains the four principles of design: proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast.

Now this is not academic jargon, so don’t think you’re in for boring, overly detailed instructions. You can easily work through this book in a weekend and apply the principals immediately to your current and past layouts. Even if you’re producing a simple resume, Williams’s principles will make you shine.

Pick up any well-designed magazine or brochure you’ve received in the mailbox. Notice how one or two colors contrast with one other, as in the in the MyMac logo design or homepage. How would it look if the entire page was designed using only one font type or even if all the text were capitalized–such as in many of the fliers I get from my daughter’s school? Using contrast in design means using bolder typeface for headlines contrasted with smaller and readable typeface for subheads and texts. Notice also how colors contrast–bold white headings in a red banner, with, perhaps one letter of the text in black.

Pick up a well-designed restaurant menu and notice how repetition is used to organize information. You may notice how bullets or recurring icons are used for visual appeal and to help read through the material.

And then there’s the alignment principle. Elements on a page should have visual connection. MyMac’s two column homepage is an example. One side for its features list and the other for its list of blog posts. The white and blue color contrast between the columns is also used to build the alignment and unify it with the rest of the page.

Similar to alignment is the principle of proximity whereby items relating to one another are grouped together. A well-designed business card would show this principle whereby logistical information is grouped apart from the name and title.

Williams provides numerous everyday examples to suggest how to apply each principle in your projects. She doesn’t explain how to use design software, but the design principles can be easily applied using AppleWorks, Pages, Photoshop Elements, or even iDVD. You basically just need to know how to use font styles and layers in these and other similar programs to apply the principles.

Each chapter of the book ends with a neat little quiz and a review that both test and reinforce your understanding of each principle.

The second half of the book includes tips and tricks for specific projects like business cards, postcards, page design, and newspaper ads. What you learn in this book can also be applied to web page design, but Williams has co-authored a similar book on that subject that goes into greater detail.

Finally, Williams’s section on categories of type will help you organize and use your OS X Font Book. She explains the differences between and the uses for Oldstyle, Modern, Slab serif, Sans serif, Script, and Decorative font styles. Entire books have been written on typography–and again Williams has written one on the subject–but this introduction is the most non-professionals will need.

As she says, her The Non-Designer’s Design Book does not replace four years of design school, but her book is to basic and intermediate design layout to what Elements of Style is to good writing and grammar usage. It should sit and be accessed right along side your Pages or InDesign manual.

MyMac.com Rating: 5 out of 5

Managing Your Personal Finances with Quicken
by Tom Negrino

Peachpit Press
147 pages
ISBN 0-321-29365-7
US $12.99 CN $18.99

When I purchased my Mac mini several months ago, I was surprised to see a copy of Intuit’s Quicken 2005 personal finance software fully installed. I had been shopping around for such a program, but didn’t want shell a lot of money for one. So I decided that even it didn’t have all the features I wanted or needed, I’d make it work because I didn’t have to spend extra money for it.

Opening and starting program wasn’t that difficult and I could have accessed online guides and help, but I don’t like reading manuals online, and most them of I find tedious to read anyway. No doubt I could have learned how to use Quicken without a manual, but I like to learn as much as I can about program so that I can get the most out of it.

So I turned to Tom Negrino’s Managing Your Personal Finances with Quicken, an affordably priced book that would get me up and running with Quicken in no time. Like other Visual QuickProject guides, Negrino’s book is well laid out with large, color coded chapter headings and concise instructions.

There’s no need to read this book from cover to cover. Its design and structure are for accessing what you need to know as you work through the program. The book is written for both Mac and Window’s users, the latter getting a little more instruction–perhaps because those users need it.

Beyond setting up my accounts, what I found most useful are instructions on many time saving features of the program like setting scheduled transactions and downloads, setting up categories for income and spending, and creating reports for tax purposes. Wish I could say I used the section on setting up investment portfolios, but unfortunately it’s not a book on how make that kind of money–only how to record what you make, which in my case is nothing. At least for now anyhow.

Negrino, who has written other QuickProject guides, including Quicken 2003 for Mac, also provides instruction for using Quicken’s main features: check writing, balancing transactions, managing credit cards and mortgage payments, paying bills online, and making split transactions. Handy colorful screenshots of the software are used throughout the book. And his "extra bits" sections provide useful tidbits of personal finance advice for and beyond the program.

If you’ve never used an accounting program and you’re wanting to get more efficient with your personal or small business financing, this QuickProject book will be useful. I have to admit, though, I haven’t referenced the book beyond the first few times I used to learn the program. Thus the book lives up to its subtitle–a visual guide that will save you the time and headache of learning a particular program.

MyMac.com Rating: 5 out of 5