Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday this month. The best part is spring is right around the corner and that means warm weather. Not that I have too much to complain about this year. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have, by and large, been fortunate to have an extremely mild winter. We may still get a snowstorm or two, but the weather has basically been spring-like. No coats on Halloween, light jackets for New Year’s Eve (at least early in the evening!) and many days in the high 50s. Wonderful!

Continue reading »

Happy New Year!

Well, my cable modem is up and running perfectly. A smidge of a rocky start, but I am so glad I’ve made the investment! Considering I don’t like MediaOne http://www.mediaone.com (my cable company), that’s saying a lot.

Let me tell you how it progressed… When I ordered it, I was fortunate in that the cable company just made the transition to multiple user email addresses. While they currently only support four per account, it’s a start and four is a good number for my family.

I had to provide the email names right away. I tried to change one later, but the tech support rep didn’t do the job, or didn’t do it right, so when hook-up day came the change just wasn’t there. A minor inconvenience, but it doesn’t speak well of the company.

Continue reading »

>Merry Christmas!

I’m very excited… I’m getting a cable modem hook-up in a couple of weeks! Unfortunately, it’s past deadline for this article, however, once up and running, I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m excited about the potential for speed and the stability. While I do like AOL, it’s still much too hard to get on, and when you are on you get kicked off far too often. Sorry, but I expect better service than that. I understand that, in the scheme of things, Internet technology is still new, but still…

I have a reason to brag: My youngest step-daughter, Brianne, has become a first degree black belt! Asah! What a little karate kid! Okay, not so little, but the youngest are always the babies of the family!

In the October issue of Presentations, the Editor, Tad Simons, wrote a very interesting column on how the G4 ‘redefines speed altogether.’ He’s right. It crushes the competition. It is rightfully defined as a supercomputer. This is power, baby! And the most interesting and astute point Mr. Simons makes is at the end of his column: “Because even though the G4 is the fastest personal computer the 20th century has ever seen, it will ultimately be viewed as one of the slowest computers of the 21st century.” The future awaits, baby…

Helpful Hints

Desktop patterns: I just learned this recently and I am thrilled! It is SO easy!

Okay, say you are upgrading your Mac and you want to keep some of those desktop patterns that are on your older system. (Notice, I didn’t say taking patterns from someone else’s desktop. We don’t want to run the risk of any copyright issues!) You open your Desktop Patterns as normal (Apple; Control Panels; Appearance or Desktop Patterns depending on which version OS you have), click on the desktop pattern you want and drag to the floppy disk.

Then, when on your new computer, open your Desktop Patterns, open the floppy, click the pattern and drag the pattern to your new Desktop Patterns. It’s that easy! I was so excited when I discovered this. I was able to move several Desktop Patterns I had from an old Performa to my iMac.

Fonts Explained: These are always confusing. Sometimes you may notice a font, usually a unique one, looking very jaggy on the screen.Why? Well, the font needs two type of files or directions: how to look on the screen and how to print out. If it doesn’t have the appropriate screen file–and these must be exact, like Helvetica 12–it will look for a scalable TrueType font or use Adobe Type Manager (http://www.adobe.com). If it can’t find any of these, you get a rotten-looking screen font that probably prints out very nicely.

Other times, the font looks fine on the screen, but prints badly. When printing, your Mac looks in the printer memory, then for the downloadable version of the font (the how to print out portion mentioned in the paragraph above), then the TrueType version. If your Mac can’t find anything, you get a very jaggy looking type.

Control Strip: The normal position for the Control Strip is the lower left corner of your screen. But what if you want to move it? Simple. After holding down your Option key, click and hold the end of the strip not attached to the outer edge of your screen. You can now move it up or down or from left to right.

If you don’t like all the modules and want to strip it down, open the Control Strip folder in your System Folder and just pull out the modules you want out. Or, if you want to rearrange the modules, with the Control Strip open, click Option then click and drag the module you want moved. Too easy to be true. In fact, I just rearranged my Control Strip just before writing this Helpful Hint!

Screenshots:
One of the most well-known commands common to any Macintosh is Command-Shift-3. This creates a PICT file of your entire screen which can be opened with SimpleText. It can also be opened in pretty much any image manipulation software package, such as Microfrontier’s ColorIt! http://www.microfontier.com or Adobe Photoshop.

However, what do you do when you only want a portion of the screen and don’t have fancy software for editing? Press Command-Shift-4, then click and drag over the portion of the screen you want to copy. Voila!

Internet Sites of the Month:
http://www.love4oneanother.com. For those of you who know The Artist formerly known as Prince, you will love this site. For those of you who crave superb web design, you will love this site! Next to My Mac, this is the only site that I’ve ever truly wanted to experience in virtual reality.

The new millennium is right around the corner…

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.adobe.com
http://www.microfrontier.com
http://www.love4oneanother.com

Hello all!

Thanksgiving… can you smell the turkey in the air? Halloween is over and with it, the last of Indian Summer (if you were so lucky!). Now, the weather inches noticeably closer everyday to the really cold weather. As much as I dislike it, at least I know my tulips and crocuses will grow again in a few months.

Now begins the really hectic time of year. Most of us can’t escape from it. School has started, so now traffic is bad in the morning. Soon, the serious Christmas shoppers will start making traffic really bad in the evenings, too. We’re running the kids around to after-school activities, getting ready for the holiday season, finalizing year-end documents at work, and still attempting to keep up with our everyday activities all the while hoping to maintain some semblance of a normal, or at least more relaxed, lifestyle.

So, keeping in mind you don’t have a lot of time to read this month, I kept this column short and sweet. Enjoy!

Helpful Hints

Y2K stuff — Basically, you’re on a Mac; you’re okay! However, there may be a few glitches in the software or in macros and scripts you’ve written that can cause a few bumps in the road.

Probably the biggest offender will be databases or spreadsheets where the year is just a two digit number. Since you’ve never specified whether it is 19xx or 20xx, the program has no choice but to guess. A good habit is to always use the four digits in a year. A pain? Yes. But a problem solver? Absolutely.

Geoff Duncan wrote an excellent article on how Y2K affects Macs in the October 99 (whoops! I mean 1999) issue of MacWorld. It’s titled “At the stroke of Midnight on January 1, you won’t have to worry about your Mac — or will you?”

While I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, I suggest you take the time to follow his precautions to ensure a smooth transition into the new millenium. I certainly am. And then I can gloat over all the poor, suffering PC users. I may be freezing ’cause I won’t have heat, but at least I can use my Mac! (Or will, when the power is back on!)

Failing aliases — Possibly you deleted the original file. One of the few irritations of aliases is when you delete a file its alias remains. If you are absolutely certain the original file exists, that means the alias became corrupt. It’s easy enough to fix: delete the offending alias, do a Find File for the original, then create a new alias.

Unfortunately, maybe the file exists, but it’s now on a floppy or Zip disk. If you know this to be the case, again, delete the offending alias. Insert the floppy/Zip/Syquest/SuperDisk/whatever, and make a new alias from the file on the medium and drag it to the desktop. That way, when you insert your floppy (or whatever), the alias pops up for you but is also removed when you remove the floppy (or whatever).

Easy Scroll — In OS 8.5.x, you can activate a little hand that grabs your open window and lets you scroll in any direction your heart desires. Simply press the Command key, click in the window, and move your mouse. This does not work with document (unless it is an application specific thing). It works with the open folders/windows on your hard drive.

Opening DOS files ending in .exe — .exe stands for executable. Don’t you love DOS shorthand… NOT! If the files are compressed, you’ll need to decompress them first. StuffIt Expander will usually do the trick. There’s shareware product called Dropstuff with Expander Enhancer that also works well. Both are from Aladdin Systems http://www.aladdinsys.com

Once unstuffed, however, you need DOS emulation software to run the darn thing. Connectix Virtual PC, which I have, is fine http://www.connectix. com Or, Insignia SoftWindows will also do the trick http://www.insignia. com I’ve never used SoftWindows so I can’t compare it to Virtual PC. (And, frankly, comparing the virtues of DOS emulation software turns my stomach.) Virtual PC has worked well for my very minor DOS needs, such as opening files from my goofy friends who haven’t yet figured out that Macs are so much better!

Internet Site of the Month: The Online Sex Offenders Registry, at http://www.apbonline.com/safestreets/sexoffender/index.html. This is a great resource, right at your fingertips. ‘Nuff said.

Have a safe & Happy Thanksgiving!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.aladdinsys.com
http://www.connectix.com
http://www.insignia.com
http://www.apbonline.com/safestreets/sexoffender/index.html

Hello all!

Halloween is just around the corner–my favorite holiday! I love dressing up in costumes, decorating the house as a broken-down, haunted wreck (maybe resembling the now famous house in The Blair Witch Project?), and watching the kids go trick-or-treating. It’s much less stressful than Christmas–and not as cold! There are still leaves on the trees, and watching them blow around on a fall day is enjoyable. Fall is very beautiful in New England; it just never seems to last long enough. But then, nothing good ever does.

I read a very interesting article in The Boston Globe regarding a little town in Texas called El Cenizo. It has nothing to do with computers, but being the person I am, it caught my eye.

It seems the town government (consisting of three individuals) voted to hold its monthly meetings and all official functions in Spanish. I know, I know… some people, maybe even you, think this is a terrible idea! This is America and our language is English! Well, let me point out this little burg is not ousting English and plans to continue to translate all official documents to English. They’ll even translate the meetings into English if someone requests that they do so.

What they are doing is catering to their constituency–as all politicians do. They realize most of the residents of their town are more comfortable using Spanish, even if the resident in question is bilingual Spanish/English. Using Spanish while conducting town business will open up the government to those individuals whose English is poor or who don’t speak it at all. Granted, this wouldn’t work everywhere (New York City comes to mind), but for this little border town it makes perfect sense.

And, let’s face it: America is a country of plurality. It always has been. Yes, eventually, all immigrant families give up their ethnicity to blend in as well as they can, but they rarely give up all of it. Usually, you’ll find families have kept traditional food while incorporating American meatloaf. They’ll listen to the music of their national origin when not listening to Pearl Jam or Usher. And that’s all good! Our diversity has made us strong. It has made us the envy of the world. Even today, people die to get into this country.

So, I say if they want have Spanish as their preferred language, who am I to interfere? I don’t live there, and if I did, they would translate for me. What more would I need?

All right, I was on my soapbox again! I’ll step off now and turn to the reason for this column’s existence: Helpful Hints. (And if you didn’t bypass this entire section, thanks for reading!)

Helpful Hints

Generic Icons — Sometimes, files get corrupted and the icon for an application or file becomes generic. You’ll know this when you see it. The nifty little FileMaker icon you usually see on your database files will no longer be there.

So, how to correct? Try rebuilding your desktop. Yes, the tried and true method of cleaning up your hard drive should solve this pesky problem. How to rebuild? Simply hold down your Option and Command keys after starting (or restarting) your Mac. A dialog box will appear after it goes through its startup procedures asking if you really want to rebuild your desktop. Hit yes. Depending on the size of your drive, it will take a few minutes.

Another way to rebuild your desktop is to use TechTool Pro. This is a nifty little program that not only rebuilds your desktop but can zap your PRAM or perform a host of other maintenance tricks to keep your Mac running smoothly. If your needs are simple, you can download TechTool for free at http://www.micromat.com or purchase a much more comprehensive package either through Micromat or your favorite Macintosh catalog. It lists for approximately $99.00.

Calling all ClarisWorks 5.x users — Teemu Masalin wrote in with a tip. Visit the AppleWorks site http://www.apple.com/appleworks for free stationery, tips, and a special corner just for educators. There’s even an update to version 5.0.3 which includes the always necessary bug fixes. You can even change ClarisWorks to AppleWorks. Thanx, Teemu!!

Find File in MS Word — Granted, Microsoft is not my favorite company, but sometimes they do something right (I think it’s just the law of averages!). This is one of them.

Say you are looking to find several files created on the same day two weeks ago. Rather than updating the search criteria for each file, drag a representative file to the Find File box. The criteria will change to match the file you’ve dragged over. Now, you can quickly find all those files in one fell swoop!

Other Stuff

I want to touch base on my Imation SuperDisk Drive. I whined last month how it was more difficult opening floppies on this external drive than it should be. I wrote the company and didn’t hear anything as of press time. However, they did eventually write back. Kudos for Imation! Better late than never!

Anyway, they did ask me to check all the usual stuff, like cable connections and ensuring the power supply was securely attached. They also pointed out a few things I want to pass on:

1. Apparently there is an emergency eject on the drive. I thought there wasn’t. On the push button on the front of the drive is a little pinhole. It will not work if the OS has detected the floppy. Otherwise, use your trusty paperclip to eject the floppy or SuperDisk.

2. Defective disks will take a long time to mount, if at all. Makes sense.

3. Old or damaged disks may cause the drive’s read/write head to become dirty. To clean, use only the Imation cleaning kit available at http://store.imation.com

4. There are bugs in File Exchange 3.0 (on Mac OS 8.5 and 8.5.1) that can cause problems with some PC disks. Updating your OS to 8.6 corrects the problem.

5. The driver has been updated http://www.superdisk.com/sc/sc_dl.html.

I updated and am very happy with the results. No more problems mounting my floppies! Thanks to Randy at Imation Support for his response.

Internet Site of the Month: The Kelley Blue Book, http://www.kbb.com This is a great site if you’re looking to buy or sell a car. It gives you new car prices, options, trade-in price versus selling price… I made a great impression on my new, computer-illiterate boss by giving her all the information she needed to blow away the car salesman. There’s no need now for anyone to fear buying a car with this site at your disposal.

Happy Halloween!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.kbb.com
http://www.micromat.com
http://www.apple.com/appleworks
http://store.imation.com
http://www.superdisk.com/sc/sc_dl.html

Hello, everyone!

As I sit here, enjoying the late summer afternoon, I realize I’m having trouble deciding what to write about this month. Should I whine more about Windoze? Probably not. Everybody who’s anybody realizes the situation there (although I will say MS Access is not even close to being the powerful program FileMaker is!).

Should I talk about my first visit to a cadaver lab? No; some folks are squeamish. What about Tomb Raider? I got the program a few weeks ago and am enjoying it immensely. Not enough hours in the day to play that game. How about how easy it is to use an USB hub? Very easy! Truly plug and play (honest, that’s all there is!)

Or how about the problems with my Imation SuperDisk drive? Ah, that I should probably touch on. I mentioned previously that mounting floppy disks on the SuperDisk drive was a little bit difficult. My only success was putting the floppy in first, then turning on the iMac and usually rebuilding the desktop of both my hard drive and the floppy. Well, that’s starting not to work! The worst part is when the system does not recognize the floppy. You have to keep rebooting until it does. Why? There is no way to get the darn thing out! You press the little button on the front of the drive and nothing happens. I finally got fed up enough to write Imation on July 21. Today is August 3. Let’s see… that’s two weeks! Apparently, Imation’s not real good with customer service, either. Obviously they don’t realize a lot of people bought their drive so they could use existing floppies. The 120mb SuperDisk, for me anyway, was an extra added bonus. I am now regretting my purchase. What started as merely inconvenient has blown up into impossible. Should the situation change, I’ll let you know.

Mmmmmm, what else? Oh, Pete Miner wrote a wonderful review on the iMacButton. I was so thrilled I bought one! He and I both agree the pinhole restart on the iMac is kinda stupid. The iMacButton takes care of that. And it’s reasonably priced.

Helpful Hints

Specific program problems: If you are having problems with a specific program, it may be the program Preferences. So, how to fix? Well first, hold down your Shift key while restarting. That disables your extensions. Then, drag the application’s Preferences out of the Preferences folder located inside the System folder. Put it anywhere for now, just not in the System folder. Restart. If your problems disappear, the Preferences was the culprit. You can now trash the Preferences file or folder you removed from the Preferences folder. The application makes a new Preferences for itself the next time it runs.

Crashing, crashing, crashing: No matter how stable your system, crashes do happen. If they happen frequently, obviously something needs to be fixed. Don’t freak out–although it is certainly easy to do! (I certainly have!) First, keep track of what you are doing. Write it down if you have to. If you can’t solve the problem, that information will be invaluable to tech support.

Pay attention to what conditions the crash occurs. Is it always with AOL? What version? Is it always right after using QuarkXpress? Again, what version? After you’ve noted the specifics, then start your problem solving: try removing extensions, or removing Preference files, or perform a clean install of the program… you know, all the stuff you normally do when trying to fix your Mac. And don’t forget to rebuild the Desktop! Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.

Last, don’t forget to write down what you do! If, after performing all the Macmagic you know, the problem still occurs, call tech support. Hopefully, with all the information you have gathered, they’ll be able to get down to the nitty gritty and help you fix the problem quickly and permanently.

Application Switching: OS 8.5 has this neat little trick: you can tear off the Application menu from the Finder menu. What?? Okay, in the upper right hand corner of your Finder menu, there is the little application icon next to the name of the application you are currently using. That’s your Application menu. Now, most people click on that corner (a drop down menu appears, showing you all the open applications) and they pick the application they want to switch to. But say you want to tab between menus rather than using that drop down menu all the time. Why? Well, depending on how you work, it could be much faster and convenient. So, how do you do it?

By tearing off the Application menu. Just drag your cursor down and past the menu. Then position the window where you want it to reside. To move among the options (the different open applications, I mean), Command-Tab or Command-Shift-Tab. Quite honestly, I haven’t decided if I like it; I’m used to clicking all over the place. But I will try it. And, if you use Windoze frequently, you’ll find it mirrors the Alt-Tab function in Windows 95.

True Story: A friend of mine is a freelance desktop publisher. She also has had extensive training on Macintosh technical support. She knows these machines inside and out. She broke down and purchased one of those neat, Bondi Blue G-3s. She was so excited! Except, it wouldn’t work! It kept crashing. She called me, frantic and needing a shoulder to cry on. All that money, all that excitement, down the tubes. I asked if she rebuilt the desktop (I felt funny, knowing her technical background, but I figured thinking out loud might help her find the solution.). She said, “No. It’s just out of the box, so why bother?” “Well,” I said, “these things come preloaded with all sorts of software and sometimes upgrades to the OS are done prior to shipment by the reseller. Who knows what was done to your hard drive before it arrived?” So, for the heck of it, and out of true desperation, she rebuilt the desktop. And guess what? Yup! It worked!!! Problem solved! She felt sheepish but relieved. I was gratified my little ‘this will solve anything’ trick worked so well!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.MackiDo.com/Innovation
This site talks about Mac innovations. Great reading and good ammunition against Windoze fans who think Bill Gates thought up all that neat stuff like the mouse and windows and icons!

Happy Fall!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.mactimes.com/bin/news/index.p1?read=2070
http://www.MackiDo.com/Innovation

This column is open for anyone who would like to share their story about their first Macintosh. Like a first car, first date, first bike, or first time in love, Mac users never forget their first Mac. We would love to hear your story, and to share it with other Mac users. Send in your stories to Tim Robertson, Publisher, My Mac Magazine at publisher@mymac.com

By:Barbara Bell
PR Director, My Mac Magazine
pr@mymac.com

My first Mac experience took place on a little Mac Classic back in the very late 80s. It was a small box with a teeny, tiny, black and white screen containing these funny little icons I’d never seen before. Up until then I had been on a Wang terminal. Wang was the leading industry in my town, Lowell, Massachusetts. Everybody used them. It would have been sacrilege not to. I had taken a class in DOS programming so I could understand the darn thing a little better and it even made a bit of sense. You can imagine my shock, surprise, and yes, frustration when I saw how completely different and foreign the Mac was!

My job was to create a little 2 x 3 booklet, complete with graphics. At that time I was a secretary and had done nothing more challenging that typing reports and creating a few bar charts. I was excited about putting together a booklet and determined not to fail. But what’s up with this computer???

The Mac was so new to our organization that we only had one. It was used for those few, “high-end” graphic jobs. There was a special cubicle it sat in, ready to be used by anyone. So, suddenly, there I sat. No training manuals, no user manuals, no training videos. Somehow, I figured it out. It’s not so hard! Sure, I had to learn what “Cut and Paste” meant (don’t ask what the equivalent on the Wang was–my memory isn’t that good) but once I figured those out, everything else made sense. I even learned to work the mouse. Awesome!

My love was born. It was secret, it was quiet, and I didn’t know then what to do with it. A couple of years later, I received a Mac II and became the Mac person in-house. That meant slides, mostly, but also handouts, reports, and some graphics. My expertise grew. So did my love for this nifty computer. I began to wonder how I ever found my way in that stupid DOS machine!

That little project done on a computer I had never seen before helped me to Think Different. I changed my career plans. I read everything I could to become proficient on the Mac and in desktop publishing. I graduated from reports and slides to datasheets, brochures, whitepapers, convention graphics. When a professional, freelance graphic designer called me a graphic designer (even though she was being kind!) I received the final push into my career direction: Marketing Communications. Being on a Mac meant I could do anything, be anything. Nothing could hold me back except myself.

And now, though I’m on a PC again at work, I have my iMac at home. It nourishes me, it frees me, it focuses me. How can a little machine do all that? By being different. By allowing me to be different. It makes me think “outside the box,” to use a corporate euphemism. As long as there are Macs, there are those of us who can march to our own drum, not tied down by uniformity. Its ease of use allows me to express what I feel needs expressing. It allows me to use what little creative talent I have and makes it better. Besides, the darn thing is cute!

So I say: LONG LIVE THE MAC!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Hello, folks!

Well, I’m in the land of the working again. I was laid off for slightly less than a month. Not too bad. I’ve moved from Marketing Communications (which I love!) to Meetings & Conventions (which is really a MarCom specialty). Basically, it means I’ll end up traveling a lot, and that can be fun! The biggest change is moving from a Mac at work to a PC–UGH!!!!!!!!! The dark side is threatening to engulf me!

It has been an adjustment. Not earth-shattering, but unnerving. The more I use that PC (and am I typing my column on the PC? I’ll never tell!) the more I dislike it. It’s more than just little things like the keyboard being different. I’ve read the mouse is more difficult and not as precise. Well, I can confirm that. It’s hard to work with. And special characters!!! On a Mac, you type your option key and a letter on the keyboard, and up pops your special character (like Option-R for ®). Sometimes, you press your shift key, too, but the more common special characters only need the two. Well, on a PC you press the “Alt” key and four numbers on the keypad. A minor thing, but more time consuming in the long run and less efficient. Also, Option-R is intuitive; Alt 0153 is not.

To top it off, there is no CD-ROM drive on this thing and no sound card! Can you believe it? It’s not that old. Those things we take for granted on Macs don’t really exist on the PC side. All in all, I find it really hard to believe these things dominate the industry. Talk about a good marketing campaign.

So, is there a plus side? Well, the IS department doesn’t hate me, which is nice–and strange. Actually, the IS department at my new company is extremely customer service-oriented and supports the Macs (albeit reluctantly) in the MarCom department. And, they patiently answer my annoying questions like “How do I create a new folder?” and “How can I label a folder in all caps?” Talk about culture shock! It’s very refreshing to use my nifty Bondi Blue iMac at home. (And before I forget, the PC’s keyboard is noisy! The Mac keyboard is relatively quiet compared to these “clicky” things.)

Here’s a puzzle for you and that I need help solving! I received an email telling me of an Easter Egg in Microsoft Excel 95 (it has to be 95). When you open a new spreadsheet, scroll down to row 95, and highlight that row. Tab once so the cell in the second column is selected. Now, under the Apple in the upper left hand corner, select About MS Excel and a dialog box appears. In Windows, you find About MS Excel under the Help drop down menu. Now, still in Windows, you click Alt, Shift, Control, then select the Tech Support button in the dialog box. I believe the corresponding keys on our beloved Macs is Control, Option, Shift. Again, press the Tech Support button.

What should appear is a graphic entitled “Hall of Tortured Souls.” You can move around in the hall using your arrow keys. After exploring the hall, go to the back, blank wall. Type EXCELKFA and a mini-maze appears. Something is at the end of the maze, but I’ve not been able to get that far yet (the keyboard is as difficult as the mouse on the PC).

My questions:

1) Does the “Hall of Tortured Souls” really appear on the Mac? (I do not have MS Excel 95 on my iMac…) It does occur on Windows.

2) Has anyone made it to the end of the maze? I’d love to see a screen shot!

(As a side note, my best friend might be purchasing a grape iMac. Why should you care? Well, she’s a PC person now and those funky colors Apple has made is catching her, and other PCer’s, eyes. Great job, Apple!)

Speaking of iMacs, I’ve noticed in the Mac catalogs that more and more USB products are being made and now, they’re coming in matching iMac colors! Way cool. Can you imagine an orange iMac, with matching printer and external drive?

And speaking of converting to Macs… I read on The Mac Junkie http://www.themacjunkie.com that a very cool game is being created for PCs only. The Mac Junkie has a petition going to try and convince the creators, Yosemite Entertainment & Sierra, to create a version for the Mac. The game? Middle Earth. It’s a 3D RPG based on JRR Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings. Sounds very awesome to me. Love those books! Anyway, it is supposed to have multiplayer support, permanent character death, weather, and the possibility of being branded a murderer (meaning you could get killed and there would be no justice for your death!). (Editor’s note: see my interview with composer Chance Thomas in this issue.)

If you’re interested in signing the petition, go to http://themacjunkie.com/middle_earth.html

But I digress… My trials and tribulations in the PC world leads me to my first Helpful Hint:

Cross Platform File Transfer:
Use TrueType fonts and DOS file naming (file.ext). Since both platforms support TrueType, there should be less file corruption when moving from platform to platform. And, since Macs don’t care too much what you name a file, the extension you add won’t make it crazy.

Moving Within Folders On Your Mac:
You can quickly move down long folder (and file) lists by typing the first letter of the folder you wish to get to. However, if you are saving a folder, make sure you click once within the dialog box where the folder names are showing. Otherwise, you’ll delete the name of the file.

Also, at the top of the dialog box, there is a drop down box where you can go to all the nested folders that you buried this particular folder/file in. Very handy and quick for moving around. Last, on the right hand side of the box, you will see a Desktop option. This will quickly bring the folder listing back to the desktop so you don’t have to dig through folder after folder.

Practice it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is moving around your computer (especially if you’re used to those darn PCs!).

Simplify:
If you want to unclutter your choice selection, there is an easy way to do that on the Mac. On your Desktop (not in an application!) go to your File drop down menu and select Preferences. There is an option you can check called Simple Finder in System 8.5 and up. By checking it, you reduce the items available in the drop down menus in Finder such as Get Info.

(Get Info: When you highlight a file, application, folder, etc., but don’t open it, you can Get Information on it. Getting information can be done in two ways: Option-I or by using your drop down menu under File. The information you get tells you basic stuff about the item you’ve selected (but not opened), such as what’s going on with memory and file sharing.)

Try it a few times. You may decide you prefer Simple Finder, or you may not. But ask yourself, “How often do I use all this stuff?” If it’s not very often, you might as well remove it from sight. It’s easy to turn back on.

Printing Problems:
Okay, this is very basic as far as tips are concerned, but if you check these when your problem pops up, at least you’ll be ahead of the game if you have to call tech support.

Hello!

What a wonderful summer this is turning out to be. My back porch is finally finished so I can sit out there enjoying the weather without frying in the sun, the flowers and rose bushes are growing like crazy, the cats are fat and happy, the kids are tall and strong… what more could anyone ask?

Before jumping into Helpful Hints, I’m going to spend a little time following up on a couple of items readers wrote in about.

Dawn (dmsings@earthlink.net) pointed out that when I spoke of backing up my iMac hard drive (using Retrospect), I neglected to say that I could specify for backup either certain files or the entire hard drive. I chose the entire hard drive which resulted in my using 9 SuperDisks (I have the Imation SuperDisk as my external drive.) She’s absolutely right. I chose to back up my entire hard drive for convenience. Should anything happen to my hard drive, everything is in one place, making restoration a bit easier (in theory, anyway!). However, to reduce the number of SuperDisks, I could back only those items that are not already on CD or some other medium.

By doing so, I’ll reduce the number of SuperDisks needed and lessen the time it takes for backup. Thanx, Dawn, for the info!

I did a MicroFrontier ColorIt! review in April and Doug (doughoil@inreach.com) added a couple a very important facts. I’ll excerpt directly from his email:

“MicroFrontier’s companion application, Enhance, is really very similar (to ColorIt!) in most respects, but it does support layers. (Note: For those of you who did not read the review, ColorIt! is an excellent image editing software program. It’s only real failure is its lack of layers support. And, depending on your needs, that may not really be such a problem.) It has other enhancements and costs more. Think of ColorIt! as Enhance Lite and Enhance as PhotoShop Lite. They are each worth the money–just pick your level of need. I own all three and use ColorIt! 90% of the time because it is easier and does what I need. The other point is that ColorIt and Enhance are both rock solid stable. I have never had a problem with either. The last major upgrade of Enhance was a bit buggy until a fix-it release, but it didn’t crash.”

There is absolutely nothing I can add to Doug’s comments. Thanx for the info, Doug!

I’ve been writing on and off on my experiences with my nifty little iMac (although not as nifty as Pete Miner’s!) and Robert (reye@tqtx.com) wrote regarding my AOL crashes. (To quickly recap, about the only time my iMac crashes is when I’m using AOL 4.0 or using FastFax after using AOL.) Robert wrote “I have found Fax SW on the Mac to be a great source of crashes and system extension conflicts. I have a separate set of startup extensions on my Centris 650 for JUST using the fax software. I plan on doing the same to my iMac when I upgrade Conflict Catcher to version 8 (from version 3 which is on the C650 right now.)”

Yet another example of users helping users. Robert, thanx for writing in!

Helpful Hints

Hiding Your Files — Okay, you’re at work, typing something extremely confidential on your Mac. Let’s face it, at work, privacy is at a premium and yet, you’re supposed to keep that darn file hidden from prying eyes. What to do? Well, as soon as someone comes into your cube/office/area, click the Option key while the mouse is in the Finder area of your screen. Presto chango! No more document!

The longer version of doing this is going up to your upper right-hand corner of the screen, where the name of the active program is showing, and choosing the Hide option when you click and hold on the name. (This is the Applications menu.)

Using the Option key shortcut, you can still reopen the file where you closed it in the Applications menu. Just remember, this just hides the file; it does not save or quit the application.

What version is my application? — Ok, you need to know what version of a certain application is. You can’t find the CD or floppies; or maybe you downloaded directly from the website you bought it from. There’s two ways to get this information. First, if the application is open, go under the colorful Apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, click and hold, and you’ll see a About… option. Activate this option and you’ll get your information.

But say you don’t want to open the application. Simply click once on the application icon, hit Command-I (or go under File, Get Info) and an information box pops up. This, too,will tell you what version the application is.

Stacking documents — Documents (in any program) stack themselves in the order in which they are opened. If you are going to be working on multiple documents during a particular time period, there’s a way to order them for your viewing pleasure. Holding the shift key, click once on the documents in the order you want to view them. Then, hit Command-O (or go under File, Open), and they will appear in the order in which you shift/clicked! This is why I love the Mac!!!! E-A-S-Y!!!!!!

Interesting Reading
June MacWorld column, ‘The Desktop Critic’ by David Pogue. He discusses the “sloppiness of today’s high-tech numberology.” And, after reading his column, I can only agree. He talks about modems, list prices, market share, memory requirements, megahertz, and version numbers. Very interesting and eye opening. It’s worth your time to stand at the magazine rack for 10 minutes at your local bookseller and read this column (always on the last page of the journal!).

Internet Site of the Month: I found a great site of short stories for all you horror fans, Pulp Fiction Head. Here’s the URL: http://members.xoom.com/drbmbay/pulp.html. Enjoy!!!

Don’t forget — have a Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://members.xoom.com/drbmbay/pulp.html

Hello, everyone!

Well, here we are–50 issues into one of the best Macintosh digital magazines ever created. What an amazing journey it has been. I first found My Mac when I received those weekly emails from AOL–you know, the ones where they inform you of the latest updates to AOL and how great they are for you.

Well, I had to check out My Mac. I loved it–very nontechnical, down-to-earth, straightforward–a lot like me! And, it was free. Since I was in the process of buying a house, free sounded real good.

Then, in one of the first issues I read, Tim mentioned the need for a beginner’s column. He wanted a writer that could give tips to people who are just starting to master their Macs. I had been playing around with the idea of writing for awhile and thought, “Why not? I’m not technical but I can help folks move around their systems better.” So, I sent Tim a tentative email and was thrilled he thought I was good enough to join the ranks of the My Mac columnists.

Wow! Not only did I get to write about a subject near and dear to my heart, not only would I be able to help people out, but I am now a published writer! Be still my beating heart. Ideas crammed my brain (writer’s block was still a year away!). Anticipation sweetened my days. Excitement thrilled my soul! But wait, write a good column and close on my house, all at the same time? That’s when I started to sweat.

So, I decided my husband could handle the move for awhile and I could get down to writing. I wrote my first column in my new house, with just my trusty Mac and computer desk there­nothing else. It was a bright November day, sunlight streaming in the windows, echoes reverberating through the structure, children’s laughter filtering in from the park next door. The satisfaction I got (and the strung out nerves!) knowing what I wrote was going to be read, and hopefully helpful, simply cannot be adequately expressed. Or, at least not by my humble talent.

And, I kept writing. Every month, no matter what was going on at work or at home, I made the time to sit down for a couple of hours and pound out a column. Some have been better than others, but overall I think I’ve improved. For me, it has been a personal journey of discovery: Do I like writing? Do I like writing about Macs? Do I have anything pertinent to say? Do I have the patience and stamina to continue doing this? Am I really helping anybody out there? The answers to all the questions? An unqualified, resounding YES!

I found I do enjoy writing and have considered trying my hand at freelancing (of course, time is always an issue!). I especially love writing about one of my passions: The Mac. Yes, it’s just a computer, simply a tool, but a tool that has opened up a world of opportunity and information to me. That’s why I keep it around.

Do I have anything pertinent to say? Well, sometimes! Like everyone else, sometimes I have a point, sometimes not. But it’s fun finding out!

But I especially enjoy hearing from My Mac readers. Why? Not to stroke my ego, but to make sure what I am saying has meaning for you. If my Helpful Hints are not so helpful, I should stop wasting my time and yours. But when I receive an email letting me know I’ve hit the mark, well, that truly makes my day. And, it makes it a little bit easier to pound the keys the next time around.

Being part of the My Mac team has been a uniquely wonderful experience for me. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. To be included with such distinguished writers has been an honor. Tim and Russ, thank you! Thank you for allowing me to become part of My Mac.

Now, I promised some of you I would publish information you sent me, and I intend on following through. Next month will be a nice compilation of two months’ worth of columns, so look to receive credit where credit is due, and look for a ton of useful Helpful Hints to make your Mac’ing even more fun!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.mymac.com

My Mac, of course!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.mymac.com

Dear Readers:

Spring is here! My tulips and crocuses are pushing their little stems up through the dirt, getting ready to amaze the world with their loveliness. It almost makes winter worthwhile.

Teena in Australia has written in with some fabulous information. Read on; I think you’ll like what she says:

“iMac Update is a periodic news communication from Apple Computer sent to customers who requested more information on iMac. If you received a copy of this issue of the publication from someone else and would like to subscribe to iMac Update yourself, you can do so at the following website: http://www.apple.com/imac

“Did you know that Apple’s Technical Information Library (TIL) contains over 14,000 articles filled with valuable product, technical, and troubleshooting information? It’s true. In fact, Apple product and support personnel add to this rich knowledge base on a daily basis. Just recently, they added an article that could help you if you encounter a problem with your modem while going online with iMac. The article — iMac Modem Troubleshooting — describes some symptoms you may experience (like not hearing a dial tone) and suggests likely causes. To read the article, go to: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n43079

“What other articles are available? Take a look at the new or modified articles we’ve added to the TIL in the last 7 days: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/Changes

“The Tech Info Library is where I’ve found answers to all my iMac questions…re: freezes, bugs, etc., and perhaps it’ll help you. I must admit I also have the problem of the frozen mouse after periods of non-use, the same as rustyhoge@mindspring.com wrote about, and just unplugged from one USB port and into another, which solves it. It has only happened twice so I didn’t go to the Tech Library about it, but I’m sure it’ll be mentioned there.

“Found this in the Tech Info Library…not much help, I’m afraid, so we’ll have to suffer with the mouse’s temporary loss of memory of what it’s doing!” http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n234508

Teena wrote the above messages to Rusty and Anne after reading about their trials and tribulations in a recent Starting Line. Teena, I can’t thank you enough! Some people don’t have the time to look, others don’t know where to begin. Your tenacity and perseverance is admirable–and impressive! Thank you for sharing the information.

Helpful Hints

Avoid all those “Back” buttons in Navigator. It’s easy! Say you want to visit the previous site and don’t want to hit the “Back” button a dozen times. Simply hit the Option key then the “Back” button. It takes you to the first page you visited in the previous site.

The next best thing to rebuilding your desktop is defragmenting. Rebuilding your desktop cleans it up. Defragmenting puts things back together. You see, as you save files, they can get moved all over your hard drive. And, the further away a file is from the application (whether a document or an extension or whatever), the longer it takes to open or work. So, how to defragment? It’s easy but, this is one where you have to buy a software package. Norton Utilities is a great one. There is also one by La Cie named SilverLining. I’m sure there are others. The only one I have used is Norton Utilities and I have found it to be sufficient. [Editor's note: Alsoft's DiskExpress and DiskExpress Pro are also excellent defragmenting tools; safe, reliable, and efficient. DiskExpress is unique in that it not only "puts things back together," it reorganizes them according to usage.]

Ventilation is your friend. Keep the space around your hard drive clear. We’re all aware that our hard drives contain fans which keep its “guts” cool. If you block the flow of air, the fan can’t do its job. That puts you at risk of overheating your system. Not a good thing. So remember–don’t stack up junk around your hard drive. A clean desk is a happy desk!

Browser Status Bars. At the bottom of Netscape and AOL (and I’m sure MS Explorer), there is a nifty little status bar. This status bar lets you know the status of the page you are visiting. Say you just typed in the URL of the site you want to visit. It begins to download. If you look at the status bar (located on the bottom of the browser window), it tells you what percentage of the page is downloaded. It also lets you know when the download is complete. How is this useful? Well, if you’ve been waiting 5 minutes and only 5% of the page is downloaded, you might want to move on. Or, at least go start another pot of coffee and make an omelet!

Site of the Month: http://www.Renie.com

Renie is a fashion illustrator. If you have an interest in fashion, or fashion illustrations, visit her site! It downloads quickly, it’s easy to navigate, and her drawings are great!

Happy Summer!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.apple.com/imac
http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n43079
http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf
http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n234508
http://www.Renie.com

Happy Spring!

I received some interesting comments regarding my ravings (or was it rantings?) on my nifty iMac. I thought this month I would describe some of the problems other folks have run into. This is an all points bulletin for help so if you have a solution to the problem, feel free to email them with the information! (And please copy me while you are at it so I can share it with everyone!)

Ann (Nascann1@aol.com) just bought a cool Blueberry iMac (yes, I’m jealous!). As I did, she was having problems with the AOL 4.0 preview that was preloaded onto her Mac, but has since worked it out. Her issue was:

“My biggest problem is with AppleWorks, as everytime I go to use it, it freezes and I get error 1 so I restart and go in again then I get error 11.” She has rebuilt her desktop and taken it back to the reseller for tech support, but to no avail.

If anyone has a an idea, please drop Ann a line.

Rusty (rustyhoge@mindspring.com) wrote about specific iMac freezes. They are:

“Often, when my Rev B iMac [the version with the graphics upgrade, but before the new 6 gig drive ones] has been sitting idle for some time (asleep or not, doesn’t seem to matter), the mouse and/or keyboard become inoperative.”

“Usually unplugging the USB connection at the iMac (for keyboard) or unplugging the mouse from the keyboard (for the mouse) will bring them back to life. I have installed both the 1.1 update [Apple iMac Update 1.1 from Dec 17] and the firmware update from Apple. Neither seem to have had any impact.”

I suggested my old standby of rebuilding the desktop since he hadn’t tried that yet. Again, if anyone has suggestions, send Rusty a note.

Now a quick follow up to my backing up saga… I finally purchased more SuperDisks. I went through the whole backup thing using Retrospect and I forgot to turn off my extensions! (For those of you who don’t remember, I had major extension conflicts when I originally tried backing up. ) So, the system crashed. When it was running again, I finished the backup using 9 of the SuperDisks! The only snag was my extensions and that was my own fault. So far, I’m real happy with Retrospect as a backup software package and SuperDisk for the medium. And, I have peace of mind knowing my system is backed up. Of course, I need more SuperDisks for the future, but I’ll worry about that later…

Helpful Hints

Copy File Versus Alias: I recently wrote about a System 8.x alias shortcut, holding Command, Option, and dragging the item to where you want the alias to be. This is not to be confused with a shortcut a reader told me about, only holding Option and then dragging your item. This creates a copy of the entire file, not an alias. An alias is a shortcut to the original file. Any changes made when you open the alias is to the original file. A copy is just that, a copy. You now have two versions of the file on your computer. Not only does this take up more hard drive space, but any changes made to one of the files will not be reflected in the other, as these are two separate documents.

User generated tips: Brian (debsguy@mindspring.com) had several helpful hints for Mac folks:

“Add additional physical RAM–I believe Macs really love mucho RAM (I agree!); TechTool Pro is an excellent preventive maintenance tool for checking most components and for completely rebuilding the desktop… I have found that running a quick check of FINDER INFO in the expert interface mode, followed by a rebuild of the desktop enhances stability after you download and/or install a new program or app… keeping the directories and files clean seems to pretty much minimize crashes for me; Consider leaving AOL–I run into lots of users who have multiple problems with AOL… ISPs seem to work very well with Macs, especially if you deal with email attachments in various formats; upgrading to MacOS 8.5.1 is a good move… I can honestly tell you that my OS has not crashed in about three months, which leads me to believe that Apple’s latest OS version is quite stable.”

These are great tips to help you keep your Mac, whatever version, running smooth. Thanx, Brian!

AOL : Mark (mhollis@onepine.com) wrote in about AOL and his suggestions for improvement. As with any software, he recommends allocating “loads of RAM.” He runs AOL 3.0 with 9.8 MB allocated and 11.9 for Netscape. His experience with AOL 4.0 is less than perfect, which is why he sticks with 3.0. (But remember, folks, AOL only recently formally released AOL 4.0. Up until now, those of us with it were working with beta versions and by their very nature, problems pop up. The newly released version, hopefully, will correct those little crashing bugs!) Bottom line: More RAM equals less crashing. How much less depends on your system, software, etc., etc., but it never hurts.

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.asianmall.com/ikenobo/about.html

This leads you to a site that explains about the ancient art of ikenaba flower arrangements. (There’s actually much more to ikenaba than just flowers, however, my focus of the moment is the beautiful and artistic arrangements.)

From here, you can go to Yahoo and search the web for the nearest Ikenaba classes. It’s a great way to bring out the artist in you (especially if, like me, you can’t draw or paint!)

One final note… I was browsing through my latest copy of Century 21 House and Home (March/April issue). Guess what I saw! Yep, a cute iMac ad! What a surprise! Since the text came out a little difficult to read, I’ve retyped it for you below:

“At last, a computer that you won’t want to lock up when you’re not using it. The Apple iMac is changing the shape of home computing, figuratively and literally, and your friendly desktop may never look the same. Since it was introduced last fall in the translucent blue shown here, the iMac has been selling like hotcakes. And for good reason. This sweet and smooth-looking little machine delivers power and speed while it adds glamour to your home office. Featuring a built-in high-resolution 15-inch monitor and a 56k modem, it zips through online downloads. It is also cable-modem ready, so when your cable company hooks you up it will tear even faster through the web.
It’s also available in Tangerine, Lime, Strawberry, and Grape.”

Pretty cool, huh?

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your thoughts with me this month. I enjoy hearing from readers as their experiences, good and bad, help make all of us better Mac users.

Happy Easter!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.asianmall.com/ikenobo/about.html

Color It!™ 4.0
Company: MicroFrontier
Estimated Price: $99.95
Special Introductory Price $49.95
Upgrade: $29.95
http://www.microfrontier.com

ColorIt! Version 4.0 is a very impressive image editing package. Easy to use, great documentation, and low cost–I think I may have found a replacement for Adobe Photoshop.

I first saw Color It! four or five years ago. At that time, MicroFrontier was giving the package away for free. Not being one to pass up a free software package, I sent away for my copy. I had a Performa 400, so needless to say, Color It! ran like molasses. However, I liked what I saw and was very disappointed I wasn’t able to take advantage of the program. Over the years, I made a point of catching the occasional article written about Color It! and have enjoyed seeing the program improve over the years.

Color It! installs like every other Macintosh program. Just double-click on the installer, specify where the folder goes, and you’re done. I also took a moment to install my scanner plug-in, and changed the Memory requirements of the program: Minimum Size to 6459 and Preferred Size to 8459 (the default Preferred Size is 6459). There is mention of a potential conflict with Macintosh’s (or a third party’s) Virtual Memory function. Fortunately, this is well documented in the installation procedures and User’s Manual. Basically, Color It! has its own Virtual Memory which can cause problems on non-Power Macintosh computers. As long as Color It!’s Preferred Size is less than the available RAM, you should be fine. Otherwise, turn off Virtual Memory.

One of the advantages of Color It! is its ability to work with Photoshop; a great money saver on top of Color It!’s already low price. There is a Photoshop Save As function and you are able to use most third party Photoshop plug-ins. However, a few Photoshop plug-ins (like Mask Pro) use layers, which is something ColorIt! does not support, and this could be a drawback for some users.

A nice little documentation feature is The Official “Color it!: Helpful Hints” Document. This nifty list tells you how to optimize your work performance in Color It!. It discusses things like memory requirements, image size, editing patterns, saving documents, and a whole lot more. Yet, the hints are not the long meanderings of a workaholic tech writer. They’re short, to the point, and understandable. It’s a nice complement to the User’s Manual.

Speaking of which…
The User’s Manual installs on your hard drive as a PDF file. If you have access to a laser printer, I recommend printing a copy for reference. But, I wouldn’t advise it if you have an inkjet printer as the manual is 132 pages. However, if you definitely prefer looking at the written word as opposed to a screen, then it might be worth your while.

I found the User’s Manual a wonderfully well written document. Not only does it walk you through a tutorial, but also gives you scanning tips and file format information. This includes the new PNG format. This format, possibly better than JPEG and GIF, was designed specifically for web graphics. The data provided in the manual is basic information everyone needs to know but can be so hard to find. I know I will use this manual as general reference in addition to answering Color It! specific questions.

The manual starts off with a “What’s New” chapter which provides a great introduction into Color It! functions. For instance, there is a new Web Map Palette which makes it possible to create and modify web image maps (those little text files that describe clickable regions in a graphic which links to an HTML page). There is also a new Animation Palette–I created my first animated GIF using this palette!! In addition, there are numerous enhancements to the already existing palettes which, I feel, brings the program on par with Photoshop.

I jumped right into the tutorial which gave me the flavor of the program. I found commands easy to find, and easy to understand. After using Photoshop for several years, I discovered Color It! to be incredibly user friendly and intuitive. Yes, you could say that my familiarity with Photoshop makes understanding Color It! easier. However, Photoshop has a huge learning curve, and I’m midway on that curve. Even so, Photoshop is still very confusing and complex. I find Color It! to be much more straightforward with its commands. Additionally, the descriptions in the User’s Manual breaks down the more complex functions into information that anyone can understand.

After creating my first graphic and animated GIF, I moved on to the rest of the manual. It reads like any other, with explanations of the various tools and miscellaneous functions. So, I ran a couple of my own tests. First, I wanted to see how easy it was to open a Photoshop 4.0 file with ColorIt!. Well, the function was transparent. ColorIt! didn’t even tell me it was converting a Photoshop file. I like that. That means all my formatting remains the same.

I then did several scans. Absolutely no problem. I am even using those scans in a training manual at work. No problem dropping them into a QuarkXpress 4.0 document or printing proofs off of a QMS 860 laser printer.

I tested Color It! on a PowerMac 8500/132, running System 8.1 with a 2 gig hard drive and 64MB of RAM. It ran like a charm. That’s where I did most of the heavy testing, like scanning photos and opening Photoshop documents.

I also tested it on the original Bondi Blue iMac, running System 8.5 with a 4 gig hard drive and 64MB of RAM. Again, no problem! It’s a nice little program that I will be able to use at home, both for work I bring home and for my stepdaughter’s homework. It’s easy enough for them to use–although I will insist on their reviewing the tutorial first!

The best part is for those of you with older systems, Color It! can run in as little as 3MB of RAM and requires only a 68020 Mac running System 7.0. You’ll never be able to do that with Adobe Photoshop.

Two notes
I could not get the Paste to Fit command to work. I followed the instructions in the tutorial, but it just did not happen. Since the rest of the program functions so well, I hesitate to say it is a bug. More than likely, I did not follow the instructions as well as I thought I did.

One regret (mentioned earlier) is that Color It! doesn’t support a “layers” function. In Adobe Photoshop, layers allow you to build a graphic by laying elements on top of one another. What makes layers so great is each graphic element in the document can have its own layer, allowing you to activate an individual layer and editing only the activated layer without affecting the rest of the graphic. However, for what most of us need or want to do with ColorIt!, the inability to work with the layers function won’t really be missed.

Bottom Line
The documentation is superb as is the value. I did not call for tech support as there was no need. My next printing job will incorporate a Color It! graphic so… I may do a follow up to tell you how well it does (or does not!) work.

My recommendation is to buy it. If you need an image manipulation package, Color It! will do the job.

MacMice Rating: 3.5

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.microfrontier.com

I’m happy to say my iMac saga gets better and better. The AOL crashes have almost disappeared–prior to my purchase of Norton Utilities or Tech Tool Pro. I rebuilt my desktop (that old standby in Mac maintenance) after I noticed some weird things happening and the system has been running smoothly since.

I also received my copy of Retrospect and backed up the hard drive. The funny thing is I ran out of Super Disks–I was one short! Even so, the peace of mind that comes with having my hard drive backed up is great. I’ll just have to back up a little smarter the next time, at least until I buy more Super Disks.

Using Retrospect was incredibly easy. While it’s annoying to sit there and swap out disks, there’s simply no way around that–for now, anyway. Bottom line, I like the program very much. My only suggestion for improvement is really minor, but I believe helpful. As I said earlier, I ran out of Super Disks. Well, whenever a regular floppy disk is used, your Mac tells you if there is enough room to hold the file being copied onto the floppy. I would like to see something similar with Retrospect. When setting up the parameters of the specific backup job, it would be nice if Retrospect determined the media you were backing up on to and then told you how many of that media you need. For example, I was backing up my entire hard drive to IMATION Super Disks, which hold 120MB each. The program could have determined how full/empty my hard drive was and determined how many Super Disks would be needed for the back up. That would have told me immediately that I did not have enough disks. Then I would have been able to make the decision to either cancel or revise the backup.

As I said, it’s a minor improvement that could be made, but I believe it would increase the functionality of the program.

I was going through MacMall earlier this month and drooling over the ever-expanding iMac peripherals! And, of course, drooling over the bright orange iMac, too! It’s great to see this little computer has become so popular, so quickly. I can get a scanner, trackball, digital camera… all with USB connections for the nifty little iMac or new G3. Speaking of which, the new G3 is a fabulous looking machine. And powerful! I can see it making great inroads into the graphics community, especially if they expand the color offering as Apple did with the iMac.

Helpful Hints

Hello!

It’s February, Spring is a promise and we’re still paying those holiday bills! One of mine was an iMac purchase. In my last column, I gave you a quick run down of my initial thoughts of this great little computer Apple came out with. This month, I thought I would add to that a bit and give everyone some things to think about if they are considering purchasing an iMac.

I do get a fair amount of crashes and as I mentioned last month, the little pinhole on the side is a pain to deal with. On the plus side, I believe the crashes are related to my early version of AOL 4.0, which came already installed. Why do I think that, you ask? The crashes are more frequent when using AOL. I’ve had them when I quit out of AOL rather than signing off first, when I try using FastFax after using AOL (but not when using FastFax first), and sometimes the system freezes while AOL is in use. Fortunately, I’ve lost no data and the system checks itself when it restarts.

I plan on purchasing Norton Utilities soon to help manage this problem. I will also upgrade to the final version of AOL 4.0 when it’s released. Between the two, the crashes should decrease, and if I’m really lucky, go away completely!

I finally received my free version of Retrospect–a fine backup utility. (Apple had a great coupon book that offered all types of freebies depending on your purchases. Retrospect was one of the offerings.) I tried doing a backup of my entire hard drive and ran into some problems. I was attempting to backup my external drive. As you know, iMacs do not come with floppy drives, so I purchased a SuperDisk drive from Imation. This external drive not only allows me to use my floppies, but also use 120mb disks that are the same size as floppies. These will provide a nice medium for backing up. (I just don’t have the courage to try backing up to the internet yet so if someone has tried it, let me know how it works!)

Back to the problems–first, my disks would not mount. I had a horrible fear that my computer curse had come back and I would have to swap out the drive! But I did a quick rebuild of my drive’s desktop file and removed the small speaker I had placed on top of it. Fortunately, that took care of the problem. (For those of you not familiar with rebuilding your hard drive’s desktop file, see below!) I then starting backing up and my system froze. Bummer! But, no problem. I got out my trusty paperclip, gently inserted it into the pinhole on the right hand side of the iMac and restarted my system. I started to backup again. This time I ran into a Error #3. So, I stopped the whole process. I emailed Dantz to make sure Retrospect is compatible with O.S. 8.5. I received an email back saying it was and a polite request to call customer service–which I will do this week.

Hopefully, I’ll get this resolved quickly and backup my iMac. Better safe than sorry is my motto!

My only other real difficulty (if any of these are “real!”) is with the keyboard. I am accustomed to an extended keyboard… until the iMac, I don’t believe I have used anything else! So, it is a challenge to use the regular keyboard that comes with the computer. I make more spelling errors just trying to find the correct placement for my fingers. Granted, it’s something that a little practice takes care of, however, if Apple ever decides to put extended keyboards in with new Macs, I would be extremely happy.

My feelings are these minor irritations are just that; minor. I thoroughly enjoy the speed of the machine, the great monitor, and huge hard drive. I may get a trackball just because I prefer them and a scanner to use with Kai’s PowerGoo, but these are only wants, not necessary items. Over all, this little computer has everything necessary to use at home.

Helpful Hints

Rebuilding the Desktop–Rebuilding your desktop is the easiest thing in the world you can do to help keep your system running smooth. There’s a couple of different ways you can do it. First, there’s the old-fashioned way. When starting your Mac, hold down the Command and Option keys until you see a dialog box. This box will ask you if you really want to rebuild your desktop. Hit Yes, and let your Mac do its thing.

The second way is just as easy. Download MicroMat’s http://www.micromat.com free version of TechTools, or purchase the full-fledged version, TechTool Pro (only $99.00). This automates the process and offers a few other options as well, such as zapping your PRAM.

Keeping your Desktop Clean–O.S. 8.x offers nifty features to keep your desktop from becoming cluttered. One is by using the WindowShade option. This closes the window with one click, but keeps the document open. To reopen the window, click on the icon again and your window pops open.

The icon you’ll use is a square with a double line running through the middle of it. It is located in the upper right hand corner of your open window.

Another option is just moving your windows around. In System 7 and below, you could only click and hold on the top bar of the open window to move it. In OS 8.x, you can click and hold any of the window borders to accomplish the move. Easy!

Aliases–There’s a few of ways to create an alias. The first is using your Apple menu. Click once on the item you wish to make an alias of, go to File and scroll down until you see Make Alias. You’re done! Or, again after clicking once on the icon, you can use the key command, Command-M, to make your alias. The drawback to each approach is you have to click and drag the alias to where you wish it to be.

To streamline a little, click, hold, then press the Option and Command keys, and drag the original icon to where you want the alias to be. Once there, release all the buttons and you’re done! Okay, you need coordination between all your fingers, but it is easier.

Internet Site of the Month:

Mark Kantrowitz’s financial aid site, http://www.finaid.org. For folks looking for financial aid for college, this offers a ton of information!! It’s almost overwhelming but if you need financial help, this is a great place to start.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.finaid.org

Well, I have to brag a little bit… okay, a lot! ComputerTown had an offer I could not refuse so I bought an iMac! As you can see, I’m a tad bit excited. The speed alone makes the purchase worthwhile. The software bundle just adds to it. AppleWorks, the upgrade to the old ClarisWorks program, along with Quicken, FastFax, and several others were already installed.

Of course, the first thing I did was get on the Internet using the new AOL 4.0 (yes, I still use AOL!). Email names for everyone and the kids have pretty much monopolized the system ever since.

Along with the computer, I purchased the Imation SuperDisk and an Epson Stylus Color 740 printer. Set up for all was extremely easy, even for a Mac. I’ll admit I took longer than the 10 year old I heard Apple used for its demo video. With my computer curse, I wanted to take no chances. However, it went extremely smoothly. I had just enough connections for everything. If I later buy a scanner, second printer, whatever, I’ll have to also buy a USB hub but that doesn’t look to be a problem. In fact, a hub is easier than the usual SCSI hook ups we’re used to. SCSI limits the amount of peripherals you can hook up to your system and each device must have a unique number. SCSI also tends to be extremely temperamental. It’s not unheard of to go through various hook up configurations until you find that one that works. With a hub, you just plug everything in. The only limit are the number of connectors on your hub. And, you can connect hubs to increase the connectors!

I spent the second day with my new system loading up software. It went beautifully! Then, my curse kicked in. I noticed the CD-ROM was not loading. When I put in a CD, there was nothing… no sound, no icon on the desktop. I used the Help Center, found under Help on the desktop. I followed instructions, made sure the appropriate software was where it was supposed to be, and still nothing. Now, I’ve had this computer for 24 hours. Needless to say, I was a little upset. Plus, it was late Saturday night so there was no help to be found from the vendor.

I tried forcing the CD to load by using the program already on my hard drive. Nothing! So, the next day, I called ComputerTown. They told me to load it up,bring it down to them and let them have a look at it. I did and they quickly AND very nicely swapped out my iMac for a new one. I asked if the CD-ROM drives in the iMacs were temperamental. ComputerTown said no. The only problems they had seen up to that time were software issues. I was the first hardware problem. Figures! My computer curse strikes again!

In my opinion, there are a couple of things Apple could have done to make the move to iMacs a bit smoother. There is no emergency restart button. If your System freezes, the old Command-Control-Power combination doesn’t work. There is a little hole on the side of the iMac that you insert a paperclip into that restarts the machine. I’ve had to do it a couple of times. I find it to be a hassle. For someone not comfortable with sticking paperclips into their Mac, it may be an issue.

I’m also not comfortable with the CD-ROM drive. And not because of my curse! You can’t just slide in your CD and off you go. It must snap in and out. And the CD-ROM drive must be pushed all the way in, not just a little nudge and it then goes it on its own.

But, are these enough to not buy an iMac? NOT! These are minor irritations, not even inconveniences. Not worth basing a purchase decision on.

All in all, I had a great experience with both ComputerTown and the iMac. I’ve had no problems with the swapped-out system. I feel for the money involved (around $1800), the value is superb. The support from ComputerTown and the Help Center was great. Documentation is a little light, however, so be sure to print off all those read me files that accompany the software. You’ll find extremely useful information hidden in those documents.

Peripherals are a washout. I am very interested to see how many manufacturers make peripherals for the iMac. Right now, there are a couple of mice, a scanner, hubs, and a smattering of other devices. I predict, with the huge sales the iMac has had, there will be many more peripherals by the end of 1999.

Helpful Hints

Closing versus Quitting–By clicking on the upper left hand box you see in every document window, you close that particular document. But how many of you know that the progam is still active? Let’s see a show of hands. Okay, I see most of you know what I am talking about. But for those few who don’t, let me elaborate.

Closing a document is just that… closing. It’s like taking taking a file and putting in a file folder. You’re done with it for the time being. But, the application is still open. That means should you want to open another document created by the same application (say, AppleWorks) you are not relaunching the program all over again. You’re just opening a document.

But quitting means you are putting the application away, not just a document. That file folder mentioned in the previous paragraph is now being put in a file cabinet until you need the information it contains. You can quit in a couple of ways. Either hit Command-Q or go into the File drop down menu and Quit will be at the bottom.

Extensions–Extensions are neat little items that expand the functionality of your Mac. You see their icons at the bottom of your screen whenever you start up. For those of you with experience using extensions, this tip should help a lot.

To open the Extensions Manager while your system is booting, hold down the spacebar. The Extensions Manager will appear. Set up your extensions, then close the Extensions Manager. Start up will continue. If you have selected extensions that load before the Extensions Manager appears (you’ll see their icons at the bottom of your screen before the E.M. opens), hit Command-Option-Click and the E.M. close box. This restarts your system “midstream” and handles your extensions accordingly.

If you’d like to figure out what extensions match what icons, open your Extensions folder in the System Folder. Most of the icons show themselves.

Changing Desktop Pattern–In O.S. 8.x, this is easy and fast! You can use the old way, but clicking on your Apple in the upper left hand corner, clicking on Control Panels and then Appearance. But, you power users will simply control-click on the desktop. This opens up a small menu with Change Desktop Background at the bottom. Select that and you’re ready to pick a new image.

Don’t forget, once you’ve chosen your background, make sure you hit the Set Desktop button in the bottom right hand corner of the dialogue box. This applies the background to your desktop.

The MacBug Tale: So no one has a software bug they want to tell the world about? Come on, I know someone out there has a MacBug story! Email them in!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.vanguard.com

The Vanguard Group is an investment company. I first heard of them when my company decided to use them to administer our 401k program. I then read an article that gave the group high ratings. When I’ve dealt with them, I’ve been very happy.

I was particularly interested in their Women and Investing section. However, this site contains information all investors, especially beginners, will find useful. Good luck and good investing!

Happy New Year!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.vanguard.com

Today, I’m taking a little trip down memory lane…

I was speaking to a friend of mine, a very talented desktop publisher. I asked her what was the most difficult thing for her to learn on the Mac when she first started on the platform 10 years ago (I needed something to write about this month!). Her response was very interesting. Her problem area was strictly learning curve–even the Mac has one! And then, as now, PCs are predominantly used in the corporate world. Her difficulties arose in the almost impossibility of networking both Macs and PCs–remember, this was 10 years ago. Fortunately, things are easier now.

She fondly remembers receiving her first email from her boss’s house (Microsoft Mail, no less!). Such a big deal, his using a modem. Her original film recorder (a peripheral that images 35mm slides directly from the Mac to a roll of film) was interesting because she had to assign color or the slides would have been in black and white. Of course, it was all done on a Mac SE which had no color!

Her first scanner was black and white with 300 dpi (dots per inch). Trust me, back then 300 dpi was kicking. Now, a standard desktop scanner has at least 2400 dpi and that’s starting to be considered too low. But hey, she thought her first scanner was really cool–We all did!

Her first illustration software package was MacDraft. She moved up to MacDraw, then ClarisCad. When she finally discovered Freehand and Illustrator she was in HEAVEN!

It was so funny and nostalgic listening to her. As exciting as computing is today, sometimes it doesn’t compare to the beginnings. Just discovering what was possible, making it work, pulling of the job successfully and so much more easily! You really felt like you were on the cutting edge of design and technology.

Helpful Hints

ObjectSupportLib Extension–This arrived in my email as one of Z-D Journal’s The MacAuthority newsletter weekly tip. In a nutshell, if you are using any version of OS 8 and are continually crashing, look for this extension in your Extensions Folder. (The Extensions Folder is found in your System Folder by double-clicking on your hard drive.)

For some reason, this known conflict causer is still dropped into the Extensions Folder by many installer applications. What makes it interesting is the ObjectSupportLib function is now written into the System Software so the extension itself is obviously unnecessary. Click and drag this thing to your trashcan and get rid of it!

MS Word Tool Bars–Microsoft Word has several tool bars for your use. Unfortunately, there are so many that if you had all of them on, you probably couldn’t see your document! I tend to use the standard tool bar and nothing else. Since I use MS Word strictly for word processing, the standard control bar is perfect.

To make it even more perfect, I’ve customized it. It’s very easy to do. While in MS Word, go to the Tools drop down menu. Select Customize. You get a very detailed dialog box that allows you to customize your tool bar. Simply click and drag! For instance, you want to remove an icon from the control bar, click and drag it off the bar. It’s gone! You want to add an icon, click on the one you want in the dialog box, and drag it to where you want it located in the tool bar. Voíla!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

As much as I dislike winter, I do like the first few months. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s… they really take the sting out of the cold. Too bad winter can’t end after New Year’s Day!

Say, how many of you are into free speech? All of you, I’m sure. Thanks to free speech, we have unfettered use of the Internet. We can say pretty much what we want, within very wide limits. We can watch whatever type of entertainment “floats our boat.” We can listen to everything from classical to Marilyn Manson to those forms of expression that defy categorization. Or, we can choose not to, which is the ultimate expression of free speech.

Yes, I’m on my soap box again. Last year, I signed up with the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC). I didn’t join (I’m a bit cheap!), but I do receive their newsletters and call Congressmen. Occasionally, I visit their website.

I’m sure many of you remember the Communications Decency Act. It was passed by Congress in an attempt to protect children from pornography on the net. Unfortunately, it also stepped on the rights of all adults in this country. As a result, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. Don’t get me wrong–there are definitely things that are appropriate for adults that are not for children and we should make every attempt to keep our kids safe. And, that’s my job as a parent–to keep my kid safe. It’s also my decision to decide exactly how and from what. Not the government’s.

(On a side note, I find it completely hilarious that the Republicans, who like to keep these kinds of decisions within the family structure, are so willing to let the government decide what is harmful to our kids and what is not.)

Anyway, they’re are at it again. On September 24, the House Commerce Committee passed the Child Online Protection Act (HR 3783). While the intentions are good, so I like to believe, this bill is as detrimental to the Internet as the CDA. I won’t go into the whole argument here. But visit the site. Read the arguments. Decide for yourself. And if, like me, you decide that HR 3783 is for the birds, call your Congressman. CIEC tells you how.

If nothing else, ask yourself two simple questions: “Is censorship, in any form, truly good?” And, “What exactly do ‘they’ not want me to know if ‘they’ are willing to impose censorship and infringe on free speech?”

Helpful Hints

System Folders — You should have only one of these. If you have multiple, take the extras and store them someplace. If you don’t, you’ll have problems! For instance, a coworker of mine has multiple System Folders. He also has multiple versions of the same fonts in all of these folders. And printer descriptions. And extensions. And everything! Needless to say, when he prints, it’s a crap shoot whether it’s a smooth operation or not. Somehow, he’s able to do what he needs to do everyday, but it’s not without problems. Constant crashes are only part of it. Jaggy edges on his type are another.

“Why doesn’t he remove the extra folders,” you ask? All I can say is he likes to live dangerously! He also has an excellent backup system in place. My advice, however, is don’t do this! Even with backup, it’s too risky.

Soft Returns and Grouping Words — Both of these are used when you don’t want to break up text. They each have their use and depending on what you are doing depends on which you use.

First, what are they? Well, a soft return is Shift-Return. It is used when you are at the end of a line of text and, to keep it from breaking funny, you use a soft return before the automatic word wrap takes affect. This makes a return that does not incorporate any paragraph styles you have in place. It keeps the text block looking smooth.

Grouping is a little different but has the same end result. You still have words you need to group together. Let’s take a line of text, say one that breaks in the middle of a date. Move your cursor between the two words you need to keep together and hit Option-Spacebar. This keeps the two words together no matter what.

Closing Windows — Months ago, I covered the key Commands you use to close your Finder Windows (Command-W and Command-Option-W). For those of you using Mac OS 8.1, Command-Shift-W closes your pop-up windows and removes the tabs. Additionally, Command-Option-Shift-W closes all Finder windows and again, removes all pop-up tabs.

The MacBug Tale: So no one has a software bug they want to tell the world about? Come on, I know someone out there has a MacBug story! Email them in!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.CDT.com

This is The Center for Democracy and Technology, which sponsors the CIEC. First Amendment advocates will love this site!

On closing, I hope you have a big, oven-stuffing turkey, belly-busting Thanksgiving!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.CDT.com

Halloween is just around the corner! Pumpkins, black cats, spiders, trick or treating… great stuff! The leaves turning brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows. The wind blowing through the trees, rattling the branches like bones. It’s time to watch reruns of all your scary favorites: Halloween, Halloween 2, Halloween H2O (okay, that one is still at the theater, but you can always see it twice!). Let’s not forget the all-time scariest movie of all: The Exorcist. Make sure you have someone you trust holding your hand while watching that one.

What else can you do to get in the mood? Read some of Stephen King’s most frightening novels: Salem’s Lot, The Tommyknockers, It, The Stand. Or, if you prefer, go to his early short story collections such as Skeleton Crew.

Before I go into Helpful Hints, I wanted to write about an experience I’m having with AOL. A couple of months ago AOL sent out an offer for its new long distance service… 9¢ a minute! Not too shabby. So, I signed up. In the offer I received via snail mail, it said go to keyword LDJULY to get the details. I thought, “No problem. I’ll sign up right now and print off the details tomorrow.”

The next day, when I was online, I typed in the keyword. It found nothing. I tried this for a couple of weeks. Nothing. I finally emailed Steve Case, President of AOL. I got a form email back. I eventually received an email from the long distance group letting me know the service has been activated. I emailed back explaining my situation. Long story short, I have not been able to get the details about the service.

Do I truly think I’m going to get the shaft? No. Especially with the problems AOL had not too long ago with line access, I think they will want to stay on the straight and narrow. And yes, I should have checked it out before I signed up. Even so, that does not change the fact AOL should have corrected this problem. If I couldn’t locate the information, how many others had the same issue? This is simply poor customer service.

Helpful Hints

HH#58: The MacAuthority– This is a neat little website I found. It covers, of course, Macintosh news. You can even sign up for email messages, all absolutely free! It’s related to a printed newsletter by the same name, The MacAuthority. It’s a great newsletter, costing about $40.00/year. Well worth the money. It gives you helpful hints, things to watch out for, things you might want to research more. It’s very informative. The website is http://www.cobb.com/tma

HH#59: How to Open a file, folder, or application– This is actually something I covered when I first started writing for My Mac. However, one of my readers, Buzz Buzzell, suggested might be good to cover again. It’s very basic, but very necessary when working on your computer.

Macs use double-clicks on the mouse to open pretty much anything. If you happen to double-click on a particular item that only needs one click, it’s no problem. It doesn’t affect the file/application/folder in any way. There are utilities you can purchase to reduce all your mouse clicks to one, if you prefer to work that way. We won’t cover that here.

Okay, I have to make an assumption: you know how to open your hard drive and how to open and use your browser, whatever it is. Essentially, the same principles apply to opening everything else.

Another way of opening something on your hard drive is to use the Open command. Simply click once on the item you want to open. Then, go under File at the top of the screen, drag down to the Open command and you’re all set! Or, you can use the keyboard shortcut, Command-O. Same results. Your file/folder/application will open for you.

Another way to open a file is to click, hold the file, and drag it to its application file. (The application which created the particular file you are looking to open.)

Another neat function our Macs have is opening unknown text files. For example, you have a read me file and you’re not sure what program created it. Simply click and hold that file, then drag it to your word processing application icon. Nine times out of ten, that will open the document. It could have been created in SimpleText, MS Word, TeachText, WordPerfect, or something else entirely! Fortunately, most word processing programs have reached the point where they will open a document created by another program. You may lose some of the text characteristics, but you should be able to read it.

Thanx to Buzz Buzzell for the topic suggestion!

The MacBug Tale: Check out The Conflict List, http://www.quillserv.com/www/c3/c3.html Take care of those bugs before they take care of you!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.amazon.com.

This is probably the most advertised website in the world next to Yahoo!. I visited it for the first time last week and was I impressed. Why? I was looking for some oddball books. Hey, I love reading and I have eclectic tastes. What can I say? Plus, I’ve had a hard time finding easily accessible DVD suppliers. Amazon.com provides both and more! All on-line. Easy to search. Easy to buy. Quick delivery and easy on the pocketbook. If you haven’t already, take a look. You’ll like it. (I was especially pleased with the fast delivery. I received both my orders in less than a week!)

Have a happy and safe (and scary!) Halloween! ;­)

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.cobb.com/tma
http://www.quillserv.com/www/c3/c3.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/mymacmagazin
http://www.amazon.com

I have a hodge-podge of items I wanted to talk about so if it seems like I’m skipping around a bit, it’s only because I am!

Have any of you seen “I Know What You Did Last Summer“? For those of you who have, what do you think of that opening song? Maybe I read too much Stephen King, but the singer sounds like a dead man to me… a dead man who doesn’t yet know he’s dead. At the same time, I find his voice compelling. I could listen to it for hours before burning out.

Finally, we have an ISDN line at work. While I’m not hooked up to it my co-worker is. It’s nice to pretend we’re in the early 20th century!

I recently went white water rafting for the first time in my life. Fun, fun, fun! The river we were on was pretty tame. It was a beginner’s raft trip. Lots of calm water and 10 miles long! Even though, it was pretty nice floating on the water, anticipating the excitement of the upcoming rapids. I am proud to say I did not fall off the boat once, although several of my friends did! And the water fights! I felt like I was in grade school again. If you’ve never gone, I highly recommend scraping together the $$ and taking a couple of days to make a trip. If nothing else, the scenery is worth it.

I recently adopted an abandoned kitten. Someone dropped a box with him and his litter mates into a pond! Fortunately, a friend of my step-daughter found them and we took the most aggressive one of the pack. We figured we needed one with a little spunk to stand up to our Siamese. Boy, did we get what we asked for! What a little fluff-ball of energy! With dark gray, medium length fur and gold-green eyes, he races around the house looking for something — anything — to play with. He’s literally started jumping on the walls just to work off that energy! He’s funny, too. He’s learned how to play fetch better than our Siamese and he pants like a dog when he’s too hot. Not bad for a freebie.

That also brings me to my mini-lecture this month. If you must get rid of some animals, don’t dump them off just anywhere. If you honestly cannot afford the fees the Humane Society charges for leaving animals, then leave them on the Humane Society’s doorstep, on a weekday, so they’ll be taken care of. But what am I telling you for? All Mac people are humane people, right? I knew that we were!

Helpful Hints

HH#55: Easter Eggs – Easter Eggs are neat little messsages or mini-programs planted by software programmers into software. They can be something as simple as the programmers’ names appearing on the screen or as complex as a walking, shooting alien. And, they’re usually discovered by accident since the key commands to find these things are obscure!!!

Let me share one with you. David Pogue mentioned this in a recent Macworld column. If you use QuarkXpress, you can bring up a little multimedia Easter Egg called Quark the Alien. You have three key configurations, depending on which version of Quark you have, so try all three. They are: Command-Option-K; Command-Option-Shift-K; or Command-Option-Shift-Delete. Sit back and enjoy!

If Easter Eggs appeal to you, a good reference book is David Pogue’s The Great Macintosh Easter Egg Hunt (Berkley Books, 1998).

HH#56: Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance – There are so many little things you can do to keep your Mac running smoothly. For real maintenance, please read “Tech Tips” and “The Senior Macintosh Center” each month. However, to point you in the right direction, this is the place to start.

If you haven’t already, purchase Norton Utilities, or something comparable. It does nifty stuff like optimizing or defragmenting your hard drive. What the heck is that you ask? Well, first, they’re two different things. In a nutshell, both rearrange your hard drive so related files are closer together which makes things run faster and smoother. Defragmenting is the most efficient, but cannot be done from the startup drive while the startup drive is in use, while optimizing can. But, don’t read too much into it here. Buy the software and glance at the book. As with the vast majority of Macintosh software, Norton is easy to run and does a world of good for your computer.

HH#57: Basic Stuff – Here’s a very basic tip for someone just up on the Mac: the mouse. The mouse and the arrow icon on your screen are related to each other, as I’m sure you discovered. You move the mouse, you move the arrow.

Now, the mouse you receive with your Mac is very simple. It has one button to hold down the drop down menus (although I understand in System 8.0, the menus stay down by themselves!). When the menus are down, you move your mouse down the list. Simply stop when you’ve reached the command you are interested in. That action activates the command. Easy!

Say you just have icons on your desktop and you want to open one. Move your mouse over it and click twice. Voila!

There are also third party mice or trackballs you can purchase. These offer various options such as programming quick saves, quick prints, etc. My personal favorite it Kensington’s Turbo Mouse. It is actually a trackball with four buttons. Although my trackball is old and only has two buttons, they serve me well. One button is used for the click and hold — the same function that the button on the traditional mouse is used for. I programmed my second button for printing. One click and the print menu comes up. Very handy and very quick. (And one more reason that Macs perform better than PCs. My print button is programmed with Command-P and since that command is the same in pretty much any Macintosh program you find, that function always works. Try doing that with PCs. They’ve gotten better, but true standardization is still not a reality.)

The other thing I like about my trackball is I programmed it for a left-handed person. Yes, I’m a lefty! The two advantages here are I can actually use my trackball efficiently and it confuses the majority of folks (right-handed individuals). This discourages them from using my system unauthorized.

On the newer laptops, mouse/trackball input is accomplished via “touch” pads. These are simple in theory: put your finger on the pad and move the arrow! In truth, you need a little practice to ‘finesse’ your movements.

If you’ve never used a mouse or touch pad before, or just purchased a third party mouse, trackball, or touch pad, practice with some games first; games that do not require joysticks or game buttons. I found Solitaire worked for me. Get something simple that you find interesting, and play away. By the time you are burned out on the game, you’ll have that device pretty much under control.

Thanx to Buzz Buzzell for the topic suggestion!

The MacBug Tale: Depending on the volume of responses, this is a new section to the Starting Line. I’ve come across buggy software in my time, as I’m sure we all have. So, why not share? Send in your tale of macbugged software and get a byline in My Mac!

Since this is the beginning, I’ll start: I was forcibly converted to MS Word 6.0.1 some time ago. I love the table function and use it frequently. When I clear large volumes of information from a table, I use the Clear button (located on the numeric keypad). Well, I was creating a bar chart in Word and was working in the data sheet portion that supports charts. I needed to delete a large volume of information from the data sheet. I highlighted what I wanted erased. I hit the Clear button. Instead of clearing what I had highlighted, the entire data sheet was gone, as was my chart!

Granted, you could argue that a data sheet is different from a table and you’d be right. However, the Clear button should have only cleared the highlighted areas, not the entire function! I consider that a bug!

So, send in your harrowing tales of dealing with Macbugs. I look forward to reading them!

Internet Site of the Month: http://www.nowonder.com

Free, reliable technical support? Almost too good to be true. But trust me, it is. It’s staffed by volunteers. That’s one of the ways they are able to keep it free. I did try it, as a test. As promised, I received a reply in 24 hours.

Good computing!

Barbara Bell
pr@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.nowonder.com