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Soiree info at: www.user-groups.net/Soiree
Our friend Ilene Hoffman, has written an article with the above title for MyMac.com. It really hits the mark on why I go to Expo. I think that if you have ever been, you would agree. Read it and then join us at the Soiree on Tuesday evening. Article at ... mymac.com
Nielsen/NetRatings is reporting that for the week ending June 20th, Apple.com had 4.42 million visitors. HP was second with 2.36 million and Dell followed up with 2.29 million. Gateway was fourth, but only had 312,000. For the complete story and additional statistics go to ... internetretailer.com
That is the title of one of the event's at the Geeks and Gadgets Stage during MacWorld Expo. It will be held on Wednesday the 14th at 1:30 PM. If you are at the show, you should check it out. Maybe get some ideas for your group.
The Boston and Philadelphia AppleScript User Groups are holding a meeting as part of the "Birds of a Feather" activities during MacWorld Expo. The session title is "AppleScript Success Stores" and will have a question and answer period. This will be held on Wednesday the 14th and 6 to 7 at the Geeks & Gadgets Stage (157A). Afterwards, they will retire to the "Noname" restaurant for dinner. (Seems like everything except the UG Soiree is happening on Wednesday evening.)
Of course you can get the inside info about all the parties at ... Ilene's Macworld Party List!
Apple isn't the only company that has problems with its computers. Although it has been a while now since they had notebook batteries that burst into flames. Now, Dell is recalling "The Dell Combination Auto/Air Adapters" sold between December 2003 and May 2004. The adapters allow the notebooks to use either a standard AC wall socket or a DC power. If used with another companies power cord, they could provide an electrical shock. So they are replacing up to 38,000 of them. Full story at ... computerworld.com
By the nature of my job, I try to keep track of new technologies. But I hadn't heard of UWB (Ultra Wide Band). Apparently it is a much faster protocol than Wi-Fi, but it isn't shipping. According to this article in Electronic News, ABI Research feels that these are the two that will slug it out in the market place leaving powerline networking behind. Full story at ... reed-electronics.com
It had to happen. Taking and merging the iTunes type downloads with a CD store. Mix & Burn Inc. is doing just that with a "Music Tablet" that provides a catalog of 200K songs that can be burned in the store to a CD in 4 minutes. $10 per disk for the first seven songs and $1 per song after that. More expensive than iTunes, but might appeal to those who aren't technically minded or don't want to disclose credit card info on the 'net. Full story at ... startribune.com
That means that soon purchasers of Microsoft products will start getting vouchers for $4 to $29. Of course, some schools will get a lot of those vouchers. The total bill comes to $1.1 Billion. The original settlement was for the vouchers to be good for Microsoft products. But after Apple and a few other companies complained, the agreement was changed to allow the vouchers to be used for any computer or software. Full story at ... Computer World
Copyscape, currently in beta, will allow you paste in a selection of text on your web site or even from your word processor and see if anyone else is using it. Sounds like a great way to track down those who are using your material. See it in operation at: copyscape.com). Read the ResearchBuzz.com article at ... researchbuzz.org
Google has Google Groups 2 in beta. Looks interesting. But with the exception of being able to "bookmark" particular topics in a group, I don't see much different from what they already have. Of course, these aren't Usenet either. Check it out at ... groups-beta.google.com
Pest Patrol announced this week a new library of spyware information and removal instructions at: research.pestpatrol.com . Of course, 99.9% of this applies to the "other" platform, but Macs are at least mentioned in one of the articles. (I did a search on "Macintosh," but not "Mac.") ... Read more...
This came from Microsoft's MacTopia newsletter. It is possible to upgrade from any previous version of Microsoft(r) Office 2004 for Mac. For only $239. Of course, if you are a student, you can get the full version for ONLY $149. I would be doing one or the other right now, except that it requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 and my Beige G3's video card can't handle that version of the OS. DARN!! SeeWhat you might not realize is that you can upgrade to Office 2004 for only $239 - if you already own an earlier version of Office for Mac. Upgrade today and take advantage of the great new features described in this month's articles. You can register for the newsletter at ... mactopia.com
I mentioned Ilene a few minutes ago, I have printed out her list and added items to my itinerary. You can too. Check out the list before you go. If you ever wanted to meet Ilene, chances are she'll be at the UG Soiree. Hope to see you there ... ilenesmachine.com
Ken Winograd of Space-Time Associates has released the latest update for this great little accounting package for Mac users. In response to user suggestions they've added an option to "Save As Text (TAB-delimited)" to Accounts Dialog, and added new preference for default day determination when entering new items. TinyBooks is designed for Sole Proprietors, home and other small businesses, and family finances. It's a simple, flexible, non-bloated, single-entry bookkeeping and accounting system for the Macintosh -- and probably the simplest way to handle the books for most small companies. Full details ... Winograd.com
Laurent Muller has released Xupport 2.2, the "Swiss Army Knife" for Mac OS X. Xupport is a graphical user interface to configure many hidden Mac OS X and Unix options. It provides many functions to maintain, optimize, backup, clean, hack, enhance and secure Mac OS X. For Mac OS X 10.2 or higher, available in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Russian, To get more detailed information about Xupport go to ... Xupport 2.2 web site
Our good friend Adam Engst asks: "Have your MUG members been asking questions about wireless networking, such as: What's the best place for my base station? Should I be worried about neighbors sniffing my network traffic? How can I improve my wireless network's coverage area? Why does my Titanium PowerBook G4 have such lousy range? How do I add wireless connectivity to my old Mac? Can I buy cheaper hardware from manufacturers other than Apple?"
In his second Take Control ebook, wireless guru Glenn Fleishman answers all those questions and more, providing step-by-step configuration instructions and hard-won advice from his years of experience. Along with co-authoring The Wireless Networking Starter Kit, Glenn covers the wireless field for The New York Times, Macworld, the Seattle Times, InfoWorld, and TidBITS. From Glenn Fleishman, this 89 page PDF book from "Take Control" books is just $5 ... Take Control of Your AirPort Network
Attention teachers and educators: Apple has a new website devoted to the topic of using iChat AV and iSight in the classroom. The site even includes a growing collection of lesson plans ... apple.com/education/
Is the printer connected to your Mac, a network printer? Absolutely--if, that is, you're using Mac OS X v10.3.4, "Panther." With Mac OS X, you can share any printer connected to your Mac with everyone else on your local network--even with colleagues using Windows--just by clicking a checkbox. Spend a few minutes exploring our interactive "Printing in Mac OS X" tutorial, and you'll agree: with Mac OS X, printing from your Mac has never been easier. (From Apple eNews)
"It requires wisdom to understand wisdom:
The music is nothing if the audience is deaf."
- Walter Lippman
"You miss a 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
- Wayne Gretzky
"The life of man is like a game with dice;
if you don't get the throw you want, you must show your skill in
making the best of the throw you get."
- Terence
Have a great week...
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