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When you think about all the places Macs make an appearance, probably one of the most unlikely places would be the country of Malta. And, although Malta is one of the smallest countries in Europe (a small 360 sq klm island just south of Sicily!) the Mac has big support through the Malta Macintosh User Group!
This community user group features meetings, newsletter, programs and welcomes all Mac users from Valletta, Malta and Victoria (the three cities on Malta) to learn and get the most out of their Macs. Jim Sims, Ambassador and Webmaster invites you to visit and get acquainted! Jim says:
Macintosh Users of Malta and Gozo...UNITE! Together we can accomplish much more than we could ever do separately. Bravo! Malta!
According to an article by Jim Dalrymple at Computer World, the new Apple iPod division will enable other consumer electronic devices. This in turn will encourage third party development of add-ons. This is yet to be seen but it is an interesting concept. Read more...
This software is PC only, but certainly points video in a new direction. This is for handling video conferencing via the Internet. Previously, this software worked on developing video for burning to DVD, but this is more for conferences with video presentations. Sounds like some new features fro iMovie. Read more...
As we reported on Apple's response in our 0405-24 edition of InfoManager, now ZDNet is running a story about how quick Apple responds to security leaks as they are found in OS X, but that they are slow to let people know about their response. (In fact, we've reported on this story since March of 2004.) Here's the story from zdnet.com
Apple is expected to introduce Mac OS X 10.4 at their developer's conference later in June. This will make 5 versions of the OS in 4 years. Even Apple has admitted they can't keep up that pace of OS development. Besides, they are now back to 2 or 3 years ahead of Microsoft in development. Since Longhorn won't be seen before 2006, they should still be able to maintain a lead in usability and features. Read the Mac Night Owl take on it
Steve Jobs will kick off the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote on the next major release of Mac OS X . . . 'Tiger'
Add new modules to the ever popular "Space Toster" along with music score and a Kaleidoscope and you've got the all new After Dark for Mac OS X
Sony has decided that there isn't a future for a Sony PDA outside of Japan. And apparently those days are numbered too. They believe that the cell phone will replace the PDA and will no longer be making their PalmOS based device for the U.S. or other non-Japan markets. Read more...
Yesterday's Hotwired pushed a breaking story by Joanna Glasner about a patent that was recently obtained by Microsoft covering the use of such technologies as double-clicking and holding down a button on a PDA. Critics call it yet another example of overly broad patents on familiar technologies. Would Microsoft call in on that patent? We'll have to wait and see. Hotwired
MacMinute ran a story telling that the Worldwide Newton Association conference will be held this fall just after AppleExpo in Paris, France. Read the article at wiredblogs, or go straight to the source at: Worldwide Newton
According to InfoWorld, Apple has signed an agreement to purchase 60 Gig hard drives for use in their iPods. Seems to me that we have to find something to use all that space for besides music. My 20 Gig drive is only about 15% filled with all the music I own. Although I admit I will continue to add more music and audio, but 60 GIGs? Read the full story... infoworld.com
Fred comments. . .
Lynn, it won't be long until we're all yearning for more storage. I replaced the 40 gig drive in the G4 tower with a 60 gig, back in December, and now am considering dropping in a 120 gig 2nd drive. My client filing folder alone has outgrown it's original 20 gig partition, and the email folder has topped 10 gigs.
At home, where I store all my digital photos, I've managed to max out a 40 gig and am agonizing how to make more room. My digital photo collection dates back to the first digital camera in 1994 and it's really great to have all that history immediately accessible -- rather than to dig through CDs.
All the new programs have become bloatware too. I remember when Photoshop shipped on a single 1.4 floppy and ran on a 2-meg laptop. Today's software not only takes four to five times more space just to instal, it produces wildly bloated file sizes as well. I demonstrated this to my Digital Graphics students at JMU, by building a quick Adobe Illustrator file in Illustrator 3.2 (vintage 1990) and the EPS came in at around 125 K. The exact same file, I mean exact -- vectors, styling, the works -- generated in Adobe Illustrator 10 was over 500K. Who knows why, there's no difference in the visual or the print output! So expect today's files to be some 500% larger than 1990 files. But if I were advising our readers today, I'd have to advise them to buy an external FireWire drive like LaCie's new Porsche drives.
This new book by David M. Bourg, teaches you most of the basic physics needed to create illusion of reality in a modern game. Reviewed by Master Programmer Alex Restrepo at Aleriant, inc., and VP of ColombiaMUG... UGN Library
Dan East of MaMugs says: Just when you think it's safe to go back into Borders, the puns have reemerged from the people who brought us 'Down & Dirty Tips.' This is another "gotta have" item from the Killer Tips collection. [Dan reviews Scott Kelby's Adobe Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks book... MUG Bookshelf
For game developers and graphic designers starting out in 3D modeling, 3D-Matrix is easier to use than other modeling packages, with a range of export functions acting as a gateway to other powerful tools. UGN Software Department
A frequent question is "How much should I charge?" Of course you don't know how much to charge until you know how much it cost, right? Now, TimeCache simplifies billing for multiple employees' time and expenses... TimeCache
Tired of the same old network news? RSS NewsReaders will help you grab the news as it happens! Enjoy this first entry in a multi-part mini-series from ... This Old Mouse
Cate Defrise from Mac Games and More is featuring a choice selection of Japanese Shareware and Freeware Games, and has included descriptions and explanations in English, as most are inaccessible to English speakers who do not read Japanese. A variety of games have been selected with significant translation attention paid to the game, Koi-Koi Pure, an extremely popular Japanese card game that requires in-depth information to play the game successfully. macgamesandmore.com
Well, the rumors last winter that McDonald's had signed on with iTunes proved incorrect. But now, apparently McDonald's has agreed to distribute a Sony Connect music store song with each Big Mac Extra Value meal. (See, it isn't a super sized meal.) The give-away is suppose to start June 8th and run for 6 to 8 weeks. Would you like a song with that?
I found some of the art here to be interesting, but nothing that any one would call good. Check out this museum at: museumofbadart.org
On July 29, from 5 to 8 PM Cold Stone Creamery stores all over the U.S. will be giving away free slices of Oreo Ice Cream Cake. They are accepting donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation as part of the event. For a location near you see: coldstonecreamery.com
"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."
- Jawaharlal Nehru
"When we do the impossible we realize we are special people."
- Jan Ashford
"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life -- mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." - Julius Erving "You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."
- William Adams
"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do." - Henry Ford
Have a great week...
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