Info Manager

Info Manager for July 28, 2003

[*]   Apple Posts New Security Update

[*]   Attention: Safe Internet Lab Kits Available

[*]   [TOW] Morning After iTunes Naming

[*]   Peachpit Press has new Apple Pro Training Series

[*]   Teen settles with FTC over scam

[*]   FBI Visits P2P Music Traders

[*]   (MWX) Record the Airwaves or Any other Audio Source

[*]   (MWX) Troll the Airwaves with RadioSHARK

[*]   BuyMusic Blocks Macs

[*]   Gizmos now playing in your pocket

[*]   Nomad Grows Up

[*]   Toshiba Adds Flexibility

[*]   Wear Your Music?

[*]   Music and Pictures in a Keychain?

[*]   ONDIO: Seek, Tune in, Play, Record, Share

[*]   Sound Studio in your pocket?

[*]   AV320 Video Recorder (Camera to Go)

[*]   And now, the ultimate...

[*]   WOZ announces its product

[*]   (MWX) IceCAD USB Mini Graphics Tablet and Pen

[*]   (MWX) Mr. Clean Screens

[*]   PowerBook G4 SuperDrive Upgrade

[*]   Quotes: The Sanskrit, Holmes, Edison and others
 

Apple Posts New Security Update

Important Information: This software is a new binary for Work Group Manager ver. 1.2.2 and replaces version 1.2.1. Security Update 2003-07-23 improves the security of your system by assigning a "disabled" password to a new account created by Workgroup Manager until that account has been saved for the first time. This ensures the new account cannot be accessed by an unauthorized individual. The update requires OS X 10.2.6 Client or Server, and is available now from Apple's Web site.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120235

Attention: Safe Internet Lab Kits Available

Fred and brother Joe Showker are looking for user groups to participate in the roll out of an all new "Safe Internet" program for middle school aged children.
     Lab kits will be provided to interested schools at no cost to the school or sponsoring member. Kits include all the CDs, and learning materials to set up 10 to15 computers, Mac or Windows, and include a training package for teachers, administrators and parents. An impressive VHS video presentation is included for the 'adults' introduction to the program. Showker has already presented the video to several schools and one civic PTA organization with great results.
      Fred will be presenting the video as well as his "Anti Spam" presentation at the Virginia Mac Users Group (VMug) meeting this coming August 4th in northern Virginia -- check with http://www.vmug.org/ for directions and info.
This is an important and timely program and you are urged to bring it to your community's middle schools. Contact AACUG to get the details about this new program and get going today.

[TOW] Morning After iTunes Naming

This week's "Tip of the Week" (TOW) prize goes out to AACUG member S. Hall from Toledo Ohio. Shar writes:
I encoded an audio CD into iTunes without having my computer hooked up to the Internet so all the tunes were named "track". Rather than keying in all the names I discovered that all you have to do once connected again is to select the untitled tracks and then choose Advanced > Get CD Track Names. At that point iTunes logs on and zooms out to search the CDDB database. If the songs are in the database, which likely they are, iTunes returns the names of each track along with album title and genre. Pretty cool. It works for me under OS/9, and according to a friend with a new iBook it works in OS X as well.
Congratulations, and thanks to Shar for sending this one in.
Folks, you are encouraged to post your own tips and discoveries to the InfoManager and a prize if your tip is selected as the "TOW" ... just contact:
the InfoManager

Peachpit Press has new Apple Pro Training Series

This new series from Peachpit can be used to study to pass Apple Certification Tests. They currently cover the following software: DVD Studio Pro 2, Final Cut Pro 4, Advanced Finishing Techniques in Final Cut Pro, Shake 3, Logic 6, and Final Cut Express. Of course you can use your MUG discount. Get details at:
http://www.peachpit.com/

Teen settles with FTC over scam

According to ComputerWorld, a teenage who asked for credit card and account number on the Internet by pretending to be a web site of AOL and others agreed to repay $3500 that he had scammed off unsuspecting users and will not scam again. It is nice to know that one of these folks have been caught, but please don't give out confidential information just because someone asks for it.
Read the FTC's Statement and Download "How Not to get Hooked" a PDF file. To report a scam go to the FTC's online REPORT FORM Read Computer World's Story at: http://www.computerworld.com/

FBI Visits P2P Music Traders

Thursday and Friday's newspapers were buzzing with the news of hundreds of subpoenas and warrants issued for trading, exchanging, or downloading copyrighted music. We've been running articles for months now warning of RIAA crackdowns on frequent downloaders of proprietary music and video. An interesting twist emerged however when many of those arrested were not the ones downloading the music, but those who own the accounts. One shocked parent never downloaded a file in her life -- but is the registered subscriber of a cable modem hookup for a student in college some 400 miles away! Another parent was snagged in the dragnet because her account for her daughter -- also away at college -- was heavily used by the daughter's roommate!
Folks, the news is so widespread, it even hit our local paper -- other stories are all over the place. Here's a page with links covering the issue as far back as January this year:
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/2003/riaa.html

(MWX) Record the Airwaves or Any other Audio Source

Rather than risking a visit from your friendly local FBI officers, perhaps recording your own MP3 music right off the airwaves might be an alternative. Last week we told you about "Wire Tap" the new recording software from Ambrosia -- another Macworld discovery is Felt Tip Software's $50 Sound Studio! It's perfect when you want record and edit some sounds -- off your own turntable, or from the FM air waves -- in Mac OS X as well as Mac OS 9. Sound Studio supports 24-bit/96 kHz audio in either stereo or mono, with the easy copy-and-paste editing found in other $200 and $300 packages. If you're feeling creative, there's also a variety of effects and transformations you can easily add. Probably the most important feature is the ability to record and stop based on time or audio level. This is an essential feature for digitizing those old vinyl LPs in your collection. More details and download info at: http://www.aacug.org/MUG/

(MWX) Troll the Airwaves with RadioSHARK

For a bit more substantial unit, for desktop use, the Shark AM-FM Radio not only pulls in the superb, high quality FM stations, it allows Time Shift Recording. For just 49 bucks this software controlled AM-FM radio hooks to any Mac computer to play or record any AM, FM or even Internet radio broadcast. You can program the RadioSHARK to record a scheduled show or as a way of pausing live radio, giving you the ability to return to right where you left off moments or even hours later. It can also record audio Internet streams, either scheduled or real-time, from any streaming audio application available. As in "TVO" you can grab the songs as they're broadcast into individual MP3s, skipping the commercials. Also useful for those illusive NPR articles you hear but then later cannot locate without a pay subscription to the NPR web site. Here's a picture of the Shark, and to pre-order for shipping by end of Summer go to: http://www.griffintechnology.com/

BuyMusic Blocks Macs

Everyone is buzzing with the news about the new Apple knock-off music store online -- BuyMusic. After opening with a lot of hoopla, Mac users visiting the store for the 79-cent deal discovered a rather rude notice:

"In order to take full advantage of BuyMusic.com's offerings
you must be on a Windows Operating System using
Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher.

Now, this struck one outspoken Mac guy we know as rather rude -- so he wrote a seething review of the online upstart!

Dr. Bob LeVitus says:

"it should come as no surprise that an iTunes Music Store imitator for Windows users appeared on the scene this week -- an attempt to grab a piece of the pie before Apple gets its Windows software out the door."

and continues...

"BuyMusic.com's big marketing push is songs for 79 cents. But it's a bogus claim. For example, only one song in its Top 100 Downloads section cost 79 cents; all the others had prices from 99 cents to $1.29."

Then Bob points out that

"their search engine didn't work. I was never able to search the site for a song, an artist or an album. Each time I tried, I got *server not found* messages"

Read all of Dr. Bob's rantings in The Houston Chronicle

Gizmos now playing in your pocket

by Fred Showker

People always ask me why I don't carry all the high-tech gizmos like a Palm, and iPod or a cell phone. Well, quite frankly, that's why! I really have trouble keeping up with one device, what tha'heck would I do with three or four. I always said however, when they combine voice recording/recognition, music playback/recording, and cell phone into a single PDA, I might take a look.
      With all the new products for recording and playing music, and the anticipated industry backlash to Apple's iPod, I thought I'd take a look at some of the other devices available on the market.
      My quest began with Vern Seward's article in the Mercury News saying: "my pearl for the week: Products that are adequate and inexpensive often triumph over products that are better and cost more. I'm betting this will prove true in the market for hard-disk portable music players, now dominated by Apple Computer's elegant and expensive iPod." You can read the whole story at: www.bayarea.com

Nomad Grows Up

Probably one of the top contenders for the MP3 player market hails from Creative Labs. The Nomad Jukebox line offers a lower price point than Apple for a somewhat less sexy but full featured unit. At $399, the Jukebox offers 60 gigabytes (GB) of storage compared to Apple's 15 GB iPod (or even the 30 GB model at $499). No, it's not quite a well 'designed' -- the interface is somewhat harder to use and the controls harder to see and understand. And, it's slightly larger. But all the other features are there. No, it doesn't record.... keep reading. See the Junkbox at: http://www.creative.com/

Toshiba Adds Flexibility

Toshiba's new Portable Digital Audio Player (MEG50AS) sports a removable 5 GB Hard Disk Drive at the $349.99 price point. Since the storage is removable, probably larger capacities are available. See the picture and download the PDF brochure or visit the Toshiba web page at: http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/

Wear Your Music?

If you're into the ultimate in portability try Philips' incredibly small chic and sleek Wearable Digital devices. The Philips KEY006 is a 128MB Audio Key Ring matches sleek good looks with an ultra lightweight and sturdy magnesium body which delivers up to 6.5 hours of 100% shock free music anywhere, anytime. Just look at this picture -- the Key 006 isn't much larger than your thumb. You can download a fully illustrated PDF Spec Sheet

Music and Pictures in a Keychain?

The Philips KEY008 is basically just like the 006 above, but now adds the ability to take digital photos! It's only 128 Mb, but it does take hi-res 1.3 mega pixel VGA photos for transfer via the direct USB plug-in. The lightweight magnesium body can take lots of punishment too! Here's a thumbnail of Key 008 and it too has a downloadable Acrobat PDF Spec Sheet

ONDIO: Seek, Tune in, Play, Record, Share

ONDIO then comes along and raises the bar with their mini MP3 and voice Player/Recorder with built-in FM Radio -- and yes, it does record directly into MP3 from built-in FM radio. A unique aspect of recording is the 30-second retro-recording buffer -- allowing you to record complete songs even if you press the record button after the song has started! It also sports a microphone so it can double as a Voice Recorder during meetings or to remember important ideas that come to you while you are on the move. The expandable 128 MB Flash Memory lets you organize libraries, save for archival use, or swap out playlists. At $ 149.95 it's a pretty sweet deal. Here's a photo and you can visit the web site at: http://www.archos.com/

Sound Studio in your pocket?

Yes, now you can be your own DJ with Phillips' audio jukebox - the world's smallest recording studio. Yes, it stores thousands of tunes with its 15 GB drive -- yes, you can use it as an external (USB) hard drive, and yes it plays all the MP3 and WMA audio you can jam on it. Here's the kicker: the built-in microphone and line-in connection allows for crystal clear MP3 recording from any audio source, or dictation from your own voice! (I was recently at a live performance of classical guitar and the guy next to me had one of these. The concert recorded directly through the built-in microphone was surprisingly clear and "listenable") Another super-desirable feature are the genre-linked equalizer settings. You can automatically select the desired equalizer setting, selecting from 4 traditional presets: Rock, Pop, Jazz and Classic, or configure your own. Once assigned it always remembers your settings. It looks pretty cool too, here's a picture and you can download the PDF Spec Sheet.

AV320 Video Recorder (Camera to Go)

Okay, so raise the bar again with your personal handheld entertainment center MP4 Video Player and Recorder, MP3 Music Player & Recorder, Photo Wallet & Viewer. Did he say the kitchen sink? No, not yet, but you can view videos and photos on TV or built-in color LCD from the 20 GB USB 2.0 hard disk. This one's (500542) $ 599.95. (There's a $495 version with 40 GB storate.) See the picture and grab the details at: http://www.archos.com/

And now, the ultimate...

Another of those new 'devices' which blew me away at Macworld was the Mobile Entertainment Centre (MEC) from iAvias. I walked by the booth seeing a lone man standing holding this device with no one else around. I thought: wait a minute, there's a story here. The MEC is a complete multimedia entertainment device with some rather remarkable features.
     Play DVDs games, Cds, even watch your digital camera slide shows on a colorful LCD display panel (16:9 format).
      The MEC Station includes FireWire IEEE 1394 (high speed transferring technology), so it's not only a quick digital audio and Video player (including decoding), but also a portable disk storage system complete with its own LINUX real time operating system, and powerful multimedia processing engine. It supports nearly all digital photo/music/video/flash formats which could be downloaded from the web, and can double as a portable hard disk drive to be an external storage device.
Click for a photo and download the PDF Catalog For full details visit: http://www.iavias.com/

WOZ announces its product

Wheels of Zeus, the company owed by Apple founder Steve Wozniak has finally let us in on what is the product that has been at least two years in development. It is a locator chip that uses WOZNet to report where it is located. Thus you can check on suitcases, kids and parents to know where they are located to within just a few feet. This chip uses GPS technology and sounds rather cool. Full story at: Siliconvalley.com

(MWX) IceCAD USB Mini Graphics Tablet and Pen

This is the smallest, and neatest digitizing tablet I've seen. It's the ideal tool for Apple InkWell for handwriting recognition, freehand sketches, or to simply use with your favorite graphic applications such as Adobe Photoshop to retouch your photos. The active area is only 2.85" x 2.14" but it does everything a full size tablet can do! The 3-button cordless & pressure-sensitive pen is fully adjustable to 1024 levels and offers a natural response like a pen or a paintbrush. Use the customizable pen buttons to invoke frequently-used commands, or to electronically erase mistakes! To save pen battery power, if it hasnŐt been used for about three minutes, it automatically turns off. Just tap the pen tip to any surface and it jumps back to life. Best of all it's just $49 -- and it's from the highly trusted, long-time Mac developer MacAlly. ( See a Picture ) Go to: http://www.macally.com/

(MWX) Mr. Clean Screens

My brother got so enamored with RadTech at the show, he bought the whole package. The ScreensavRz product is an ultra-microfiber cloth that will protect your laptop screen from damage caused by the keys while the lid is closed. According to the RadTech guy, these subtle marks on the screen are caused by the oils from your hands left on the keys. The demo at the booth had everyone captivated because the laptop was actually turned over with screen down, facing up, and then briskly 'scrubbed' with the ScreensavRz cloth and a bit of alcohol. Everyone thought it would damage the monitor, but it doesn't! If you own one of the newer iBooks or TiBooks, it's worth your while to discover RadTech... at: www.RadTech.us

PowerBook G4 SuperDrive Upgrade

The unique thing about PowerBookResQ is how they do their business. They ship you a secure shipping container for your PowerBook, complete with return ticket, fix it in 24 hours, and FedEX it back to you! I haven't tried it personally, but others say it's super!

The PowerBook G4 "SuperDrive" upgrade for the PowerBook G4/400-1GHz is a slot-loading DVD-R/CD-RW drive designed to replace your built-in CD-RW-only or DVD-only drive with a drive that can burn CD's AND DVD's that can be played in most consumer DVD players. The PowerBook G4 SuperDrive upgrade is bootable and compatible with Apple's Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, iDVD, iTunes, Disc Burner, Apple DVD Player, and Toast. The drive reads at 24x, writes CD-R at 16x, writes CD-RW at 8x, and writes DVD-R/RW at 1x. A 1-year warranty applies. It's only $399!

The PowerBook G4 Combo Drive upgrade for the PowerBook G4/400-1GHz is a slot-loading CD-RW/DVD drive designed to replace your built-in CD-RW-only or DVD-only drive with a drive that can burn CD's AND play DVD's! ... thus eliminating the need to drag around extra hardware and cables. -- only $199 at: www.powerbookresq.com/

Quotes: The Sanskrit, Holmes, Edison and others

"Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."
      - From The Sanskrit

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."
      - Samuel Johnson, writer

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
      - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Many of lifes failures were by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
      - Thomas Edison

"Teach a child to play solitaire, and she'll be able to entertain herself when there's no one around. Teach her tennis, and she'll know what to do when she's on a court. But raise her to feel comfortable in nature, and the whole planet is her home."
      - Joyce Maynard

"Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame, but greatness, because it is determined by service."
      - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"It's a strange thing, you have said it thousands of times I am sure... you will never know what you can do until you try. However the sad truth is, that most people never try anything until they know they can do it."
      - Bob Proctor

pau

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Also see: MUG NEWS bursts from the AACUG Mac User Guide (MUG)

Note: Features schedule

The InfoManager invites user groups to use his column in full or in pieces in their newsletter. Or add a link to their web site. He would appreciate word that you are doing so however and if you can, please send a pdf version of the newsletter for his perusal. Or provide him with a link. The address is InfoManager@user-groups.net. You can also use that address for feed back.
Note: Features schedule
1st Monday Vendor of the Month; (VOM)
2nd Monday "InfoManager's Humble Opinion (IMHO);
3rd Monday TBA (What would you like to see?)
4th Monday: User Group Tips. (Send them in)
5th Monday: Nothing extra - my day of rest. ;-)
Of course I could make adjustments to this schedule as I see fit and will take suggestions. Have a great week! Note: In light of the new AACUG MUG tabloid publication, I may be changing the above schedule. Please send me your input.
Pau

The Info Manager is a veteran of the UGN (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He's been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long time user group member, he's served as volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and many points in between. Currently working with the Apple Corp of Dallas, the Dallas Mac Pack, Cowtown MUG of Ft. Worth and TUMS (the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society) doing newsletter articles and the monthly CD-ROM Update. Post a lead Info Manager should follow up on.

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