Bob Shayler welcomed us to the February meeting of SLMUG and outlined the evening for us. He will keep the presenters within their time frame.
Ed Matlock went on line to our slmug.org web site. He led us through the site button by button. The Home page notes the next meeting, brief history, link to 20th Anniversary Macintosh ads, a link to O’Reilly Gear, and a link to the map of SL High. The Info/FAQ button revealed the meeting location, list of officers, and a series of most frequently asked questions with appropriate answers. The Join button provided a printable application form with a link to doing so via a pdf document with a link to download Adobe Reader. The Archives button leads you to links to the Newsletter, meeting Minutes, Photos, Reviews, and How to’s. The Links button will provide passage to Apple Computer sites, Northern California MUG’s, Mac Publications, Macintosh Resources, Mac Mail Order & Specials, Rumor Sites, and Search Engines.
Ed then noted that this month‘s DOM CD includes Breers Bungalow, 7 QuickTime Movies, Tinker Tool, and Alsoft DiskWarrior updater. Ed includes on the DOM what seems to be needed most and is open to suggestions. Folders for both OS X and OS 9 are included on the disk. Our grateful thanks to Ed for his work on our behalf!
Randy Madrid gave Mac News and Events commentary:
- Apple has added two more .Mac exclusives to its .Mac Member Benefits, including Twelve Free GameHouse Puzzles and a special discount for Pop & Drop.
- Business Week examines Mac OS X’s security: “… Apple has actually done a good job of protecting its unsuspecting user base … OS X comes with a default setting that requires a login name and password before it allows any new software to be installed … no Mac user needs to worry about inadvertently clicking on e-mail attachments carrying virus software.”
- The Wall Street Journal writes “iTunes site leaves classical music fans singing he blues,” noting organizational and searching issues:” … the music … wasn’t properly sorted …”.
- IntelliScanner Collector 1.1 adds Palm sync, and more. Intelli Innovations today updated its consumer Personal Barcode Reader for Mac OS X, adding a multitude of new features.
- Apple has announced the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program, which covers repair or replacement of the logic board in specific iBook models manufactured between May 2002 and April 2003 that are experiencing specific component failures affecting built-in and attached external displays. It covers affected iBooks for three years after the first retail sale of the unit and is available for iBooks with serial numbers in the following range(s): UV220xxxxxx to UV318xxxxxx. Apple will also reimburse customers who have paid for repairs on these iBooks.
- Unova, Apple resolve patent dispute. Unova announced the resolution of a patent dispute with Apple patents held by both companies.
- Pixar/Disney. In a conference call with analysts to discuss Pixar’s financial earnings, Steve Jobs blasted Disney for being weak creatively and unwilling to compromise on a distribution agreement. Jobs said negotiations with four (unnamed) major studios will begin in March and Pixar hopes to have a new deal by the fall.
- Former Disney board members Stanley Gold and Roy Disney think Apple and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs would make a great choice to run Disney if CEO Michael Eisner were to be ousted later this year.
- PowerPC 970-based IBM processors. Microsoft, Sony and at least two other major technology corporations are making huge investments in IBM’s POWER processor division. The rapid drop in G5 pricing that would result could allow Apple not only to lower prices and increase its profit margins, but enable IBM to speed up the rollout of new POWER family, including the Gf6, four to five months ahead of schedule.
- Apple earlier released a seed of 10.3.3 update, only to pull it from its servers. Shortly after releasing it, developers were told there was a problem with this seed and 20” iMac, and not to install it on 20” iMacs. So far it has not been reposted.
Lee Donehower (new member) and Tony Farley (SLHS science teacher) presented a demonstration of iSight and iChat with Terry Higgins giving additional input. Requirements for use: G3 processor to 600 MHz or greater or any G4 processor or later (non Apple upgrades are not supported); Mac OS X v10.2.5 or later and iChat AV (available at www.apple.com/ichat); a .Mac account; and a broadband Internet connection using a DSL or cable modem, or over a LAN. And, of course, someone to video chat with. To discover other iSight folk you can check out www.ichatfinder.com. Lee indicated that one could do video conferencing cross platform. Check out www.ivisit.com. Doing video conferencing takes quite a bit of bandwidth. Lee and Tony demonstrated one on one conferencing on two different computers via the Labs Ethernet connection. They could see and talk with one another. Instant messages and small files could be sent to one another (audio, video, file sharing). Lee and Tony disconnected and restarted via airport. Worked fine. Lee shared that a businessperson cut travel by 80% by using iSight with clients. Using iSight you are limited to one on one, iChat can have many folk involved. Can see videos on iChat. One can use iSight with video applications such as QuickTime Broadcaster. Could be used for classroom presentations to several sites. One of the issues for iSight is the lighting. Need good light. Fluorescent lighting tends to cause a greenish look. There is a new public beta of iChat, which calls for the use of Panther. The goal is to make possible video conferencing with XP Windows’s users. How do you begin to use iSight? Install the software, plug in iSight via the firewire connection and the software takes over.
Terry Higgins, staff at the Apple retail store in Walnut Creek, demonstrated and reviewed two of iLife 4 applications. The only application that is downloadable is iTunes. Educators may purchase iLife 4 at a discount.
- iPhoto 4: Connect your digital camera to your computer and iPhoto is launched automatically. You can find the picture you’re looking for in seconds, whether you have 250 photos or 25,000. With new time-based organization and Smart Albums, iPhoto keeps your photos organized automatically. You can now select a play list not just 1 tune to give back ground to your slide show. Batch changes can be made. Pictures can be shared within a network (all have to have iPhoto 4). Photos may be shared via email, .Mac homepage, or on a CD or DVD (which can be viewed even on a PC). There are 17 themes for jazzing up your photos in home page editing.
- iMovie 4: You can record iSight camera into an iMovie. Audio will show as a waveform. There is a new view menu where you can make adjustments to audio/video portions of your movie. Batch editing can be applied to video clips, including non-adjacent clips. Bookmarks are also a new feature. With iMovie 4 you can quickly edit and trim right in the timeline by simply clicking and dragging. Sync audio and video with “snap to” precision. Integrate all of you iLife content and share movies on your .Mac homepage, by email, or via your Bluetooth devices.
The other elements of iLife 4 not reviewed can be viewed on Apple’s web site: GarageBand, iTunes 4.2, and iDVD 4.
Terry also mentioned Ambrosia Software’s program Snapz Pro X, a screen capture software. You can find it at www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/.
The meeting concluded with thanks to all the presenters. Adjourned to the “Board meeting” at Bakers Square.
Dayle Scott, Secretary