Info Manager

Info Manager for October 20, 2003

[*]   Apple in the soft drink biz

[*]   Apple and AOL back in bed

[*]   Next? Windows on iPod

[*]   iTunes shares between computers, even PCs

[*]   OSX Updates safe again

[*]   iPod is getting closer

[*]   Equilibria at MumboJumbo

[*]   Macworld Expo Discounts

[*]   The Panther Stalks

[*]   Take the easy road to DMG

[*]   Create and Exchange Multimedia Flashcards

[*]   View, Navigate, Convert... "VINC"

[*]   Capture the (iSight) Moment

[*]   User Groups at O'Reilly Conference

[*]   Digi-Elements: Bring Sunny Skies to Photoshop

[*]   MUG Discount on greeting card software

[*]   MUG Members get 40% off Omni

[*]   Myriad Font

[*]   Stupid Mac BooBoos (Resolved)

 

Apple in the soft drink biz

Mark your calendars for February 1, because Apple and Pepsi will be giving away 100 million winning codes -- randomly seeded in 20 ounce and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and the winning codes will be redeemable for a free song from the iTunes Music Store. Winners will simply go to Apple's iTunes Music Store (www.iTunes.com), enter the code found under the bottle cap and choose any 99 cent song from the online store's vast catalog of over 400,000 songs. The Pepsi iTunes promotion will kick-off with a Super Bowl ad on February 1, 2004, and will run until March 31, 2004.Apple in the soft drink biz

Apple and AOL back in bed

Apple and AOL have formed an alliance to provide instant, one-click registration to the iTunes Music Store for AOL's more than 25 million U.S. members starting later this quarter. America Online will integrate links to iTunes artists, albums and songs throughout its leading music site, AOL Music, which will give members the option to link directly to the specific iTunes Music Store page to preview and buy music as they browse and read music news and reviews.Read more

Next? Windows on iPod

Well, not quite. But Apple has launched an iTunes Music Store for Windows users. Now Windows users can enjoy the same online music store that Mac users love -- with the same music catalog, the same personal use rights and the same 99 cents-per-song pricing. That's 200 independent music labels, with more than 400,000 songs. Right-clickers prepare.Story continues. . .

iTunes shares between computers, even PCs

* Cross platform music sharing: iTunes 4.1 now installs on both your Mac and Windows PC for cross-platform music sharing.
* CD Spanning: large playlist that won't fit on a single CD can now span as many CDs as necessary.
* Music links Draggable: for sharing music links with someone else, store links are draggable on a Mac and right-clickable in Windows. Email a link to a friend and they can launch iTunes 4.1 -- with a click -- and listen to the selection you emailed. (They need iTunes 4.1 installed as well.)
      Any music you purchase from iTunes can be shared with another computer you authorize -- whether it's a Mac or a Windows PC. You can authorize up to three computers.Story continues. . .

OSX Updates safe again

Remember we reported on the InfoManager list to halt updates until Apple fixed several serious bugs in the software? Now you're safe to update to OS X v10.2.8. Again: Apple re-released their operating system update after fixing the Ethernet connection issue that had affected some G4 PowerMac users, and correcting the battery status menu update that PowerBooks display. Mac OS X v10.2.8 Update Fixes Ethernet, Battery Status, etc., read this Macworld article

iPod is getting closer

I always said I wasn't going to buy one of those pocket devices until it had a few more features. I now use a pocket recorder for my notes rather than a palm. It just seems easier to tell it what I want to, then listen later. Besides, I've been known to leave digital cameras in airports, and digital voice recorders in the seats of airplanes. My Olympus recorder only cost $99 from Radioshack -- so, if I lose it or it gets damaged somehow, I haven't lost a huge investment. But iPod seems to be getting closer. All it needs now is a touch screen and stylus.
      Last week my fax machine was churning out twenty pages of new announcements surrounding the new iPod advancements. iPod now offers on-the-go photo storage, and can store up to 20,000 images on a 40GB iPod. Not that I would ever need such volume, the camera connection is definitely a plus.
      They've also teamed up with Belkin to bring voice recording to the iPod. Just connect Belkin's voice recorder mic and you can record all your own personal notes, lectures, interviews, and whatever.Read more. . .

Equilibria at MumboJumbo

Anyone searching for balance in their lives can end their quests with Equilibria, the new puzzle game from MumboJumbo. This cool new game is available now for Macintosh and Windows computers -- plus a Java version for online gamers.
      Equilibria starts with a group of multi-colored marbles on a playing field. As more move in from all sides, players click groups of three or more same-colored marbles to remove them from the playing area. It's that simple... well, almost. Download a free trial of Equilibria, or test your sklls online

Macworld Expo Discounts

For a limited time, user group members can register for a free Exhibit Hall pass or take 15 percent off all conference packages at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco (January 5-9). These discounts are available only to user group members. But do it before November 10. Use the User Group Priority Code (available at AACUG Members page) when you register at Macworldexpo.com

The Panther Stalks

Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" will be released October 24. To kick off the release, Apple Stores will be holding events from 8 p.m. to midnight. Chuck Joiner's "MUG" center has some ideas for ways your group can promote itself and join in the fun. For those of you not near an Apple Store, check with your local Apple resellers. Many of them are planning their own Panther events. See "Night of the Panther" or Chuck Joiner's Mug Center

Take the easy road to DMG

The easiest way to create ".dmg", ".img", and ".smi" disk images on Mac OS X is to drop your content on DropDMG. Command-C's new DropDMG can encrypt images and encode them with BinHex, GZip, BZip2, or MacBinary. It can create images with rich-text license agreements. It also supports segmented images and images that auto-open when you mount them. There are many time-saving features such as temporary preferences when you hold down Option, remembering recent folders, and the ability to create more than one image at a time by dropping multiple folders onto DropDMG. All the options are available from AppleScript and from the "dropdmg" command-line tool. It requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later (10.2.8 recommended) and it's just $10. Click for irect download, or read the full story.

Create and Exchange Multimedia Flashcards

Reader Terry Bird has tipped us on Studycard Studio a program developed to create and exchange multimedia flashcards. Version 2.0 adds printing, import, export, find, sort and more. Check out Studycard Studio 2.0, and the free Studycard Studio Lite 2.0 at Digital Meadow

View, Navigate, Convert... "VINC"

RecoSoft Corp has rolled out an upgrade to their program called VINC (View, Navigate & Convert) the integrated disk navigation, document viewing and conversion tool. VINC provides rapid viewing and high quality conversion of MSWord, PDF, AppleWorks, RTF, PNG, JPEG Photoshop etc... files. It now provides the capability of viewing PDF files and converting PDF* files into any of the other word processing file formats VINC supports. Users are now able to extract the PDF text data for editing in their favorite word processing software. A 30 day Trial Version of VINC v1.7 is available from the Recosoft web site

Capture the (iSight) Moment

With GCam, you can now record those memorable moments on your iSight and thanks to MacMice, it's all free. iSight Video Recording Software is a free software application for recording video from an Apple iSight or other Firewire video source. This full-featured video recording application lets iSight web cam owners easily record clips in Quicktime format. GCam is freeware, and you can download it from the MacMice Workspace

User Groups at O'Reilly Conference

User Group members attending the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference are invited to meet O'Reilly User Group Coordinator Marsee Henon and Apple User Group Advisory Board member Lorene Romero on October 28 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the bar (no-host) in the lobby of the Westin Santa Clara. For more info, email Lorene Romero at lorene@mac.com. O'Reilly's Mac OS X Conference is October 27-30 at the Westin Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA. See: O'Reilly.com

Digi-Elements: Bring Sunny Skies to Photoshop

Have you ever wished you could add a cloud to a picture? Add water with reflections? Wouldn't it be great if you could do all that in Photoshop without learning 3D modeling?
      Aurora 2 is a Photoshop plug-in that adds 3D clouds, skies, sun, moon, stars, water, and more in Photoshop. Aurora makes creating 3D nature easy and offers a lot of power. The SRP $179 (US) (download version) is now available to MUG members for only $135 (US) with electronic coupon code (available at AACUG Members page)Digi-Elements

MUG Discount on greeting card software

Nova Development's Macintosh greeting card software allows you to make beautiful store-quality greeting cards for every occasion in minutes! With millions of unique possibilities, 3,000+ greeting cards, 45,000+ sensational graphics, and over 500 color photographs to choose from, Greeting Card Factory for Macintosh is the easiest and most complete software of its kind. Regularly $49.95 (US), this product has a limited-time introductory special offer price of $34.95 (US), a 30 percent discount for members from Nova Development

MUG Members get 40% off Omni

The Omni Group develops beautifully designed, powerful productivity applications. OmniWeb is a feature-rich web browser designed to put you in control, OmniGraffle is an intuitive diagramming and drawing tool, and OmniOutliner is an indispensable program for outlining and organizing information. Get all of these Mac OS X apps and more at a great price! Members are now eligible for a 40 percent discount on ALL of Omni's products. (UG Code applies) Expires January 31, 2004.Read more

Myriad Font

Macbeth Vannoy, Apple Regional Liaison to the East Central Region writes:
"User group officers have asked about the new Myriad Font, found in some Apple Sales Web presentations. While the font is not available for download, presentations on ASW usually come in two varieties and the Reseller-Retail Version does not require proprietary fonts. If your group has a Myriad preso, Helvetica makes a good substitute."
      Myriad is Adobe's "not-quite-Frutiger" face and has been included on virtually all the Adobe product CDs for the past four years. Pop in your latest Adobe CD and search for "Myriad" you'll see. It's also on all of the Adobe Classroom books. Which reminds me: don't forget to search deep into many of those program CDs. You'll find many fun goodies. Finding new fonts is always a bonus.

Stupid Mac BooBoos (Resolved)

You remember last week's column and our problems getting multiple-session CDs burned from the Apple X finder?
      After several days of testing, both effort and time, using the Disc Copy method in the finder, we've experienced what Matt says is true.
      Out of 20 students in my "Intro to Digital Graphics" class at JMU, I'm finding only a handful who can actually then use the multi-session CDs created on OSX in their machines back at the dorms or at home. This represents a mish-mash of computers from Windows 2000, to OS9 6400s, to brand new G5s and FP iMacs.
      Making individual multi-session CDs for personal use is a no-brainer... all Mac users should be doing it. You can watch the mailers in your Sunday paper from stores like Office Max and Staples and find super deals all the time. I just bought TWO Sony CD-RWs for two G4s here, at $39 each, with a $10 Sony mail-in rebate. They slide right into the mounting bracket on the Macs -- because Apple uses the exact same units. However, when you try to please a lab full of sophomore students, (or UG members) the game plan changes dramatically.
      The solution that has now satisfied is regular CDs. I picked up another "Rebate" offer at Office Max over the weekend an purchased one stack of 100 CD-Rs at 14-cents each, and another of 50 with a mail-in rebate making those a nickel each. I have them available to students in my office, and when it comes time to "hand in" or store their digital papers, I just give them a blank CD.
Drag-n-drop, burn it. End of story.
      As an aside to this story, about a third of the class went out and bought 128mb SanDisc "Cruzer" drives at a recent $29.95 sale at Office Max. These USB "flash memory" drives are the best thing since sliced bread for USB equipped computers. HOWEVER: one caveat -- they must be initialized as HFS FIRST before successfully copying files to them -- unless the destination system is Windows. With these, the students merely bring the Cruzer in, plug into their keyboards, and transfer the files. Fast and sweet. Done deal.
      Fred Showker

Quote of the week: Leacock

"Advertising may be described as the science of
arresting the human intelligence long enough
to get money from it."
      - Stephen Leacock

 
      pau

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

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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.

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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