NVMUG eNews Meeting Announcement Program Change:
AppleWorks 6.04 Demonstration
and Discuss Contents of NVMUG Website
NVMUG Meeting
12 Noon - 2 PM
Saturday, August 12, 2000
Community Bank Building, St. Johnsbury
Please note these changes! There will be a door prize: a copy of AppleWorks 6: The Missing Manual. We will also discuss what we would like to have on the NVMUG website. If you can, be there to join in the discussion. If you cannot attend the meeting, please e-mail your thoughts to me at
hartleyj@sover.net
or to Midge at
nvmug@mac.com.
In this NVMUG eNews
1. Apple News Items
2. From MacChamp: How to convert a PDF file
3. New BooK: Mac OS In a Nutshell
4. Internet Humor
1. Apple News Items
By now you have all heard about the new Apple Mouse and Apple Pro Keyboard that come with the new iMac, G 4, and Cube computers. The iMac is the least expensive Mac yet, starting at $799, and the G 4 can have dual processors. The iMac and G 4 are more practical, but it sure would be nice to own a cute little 14 pound cube to take to NVMUG meetings for demonstrations instead of carrying in a 40 pound Performa. For more information, see
There are also the new 15-inch (diagonal) flat-panel Apple Studio Display, the 17-inch (diagonal) Apple Studio Display (16-inch viewable), and the 22-inch (diagonal) flat-panel Apple Cinema Display displays. They connect to the new Power Mac G4 and Power Mac G4 Cube via the Apple Display Connector, a single cable that
delivers video (both analog or digital), USB, and power directly from the computer to the display. I suppose if you are going to buy a new display, you might as well buy one that helps to eliminate the clutter of multiple cables.
A new improved iMovie 2 comes preinstalled on all the new FireWire-enabled desktop Macintosh computers (iMac DV models, Power Mac G4 Cube, and Power Mac G4).
A downloadable version may be available from the Apple Store at the end of August for $49.
I think the Northeast Kingdom really needs low cost faster broadband internet connections to take advantage of Apple’s new web tools like iDisk. But for big city folks iDisk offers Internet-based storage that's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. everyone who signs up for iTools automatically gets 20MB of storage space--for free.
Additional iDisk storage options (up to 400MB) are now available on an annual subscription basis.
Some people are very concerned about Internet privacy, and others want to tell all on their own websites. According to Apple, HomePage makes it easy to create a personal website and publish information on the Internet. With plenty of templates to use, you can quickly and easily publish your resume, photo albums, newsletters, and the desktop movies you create with iMovie 2--just by dragging and dropping files.
If you are considering buying equipment for digital video, digital photography, handheld computers, and the like, you might want to, first visit the new Digital
Gear section of iReview. It will direct you to some of the best sites on the web for information:
Or, if you are waiting to see OS X before making any major decisions, it is now scheduled for a September release of the Mac OS X public BETA and a formal release of the finished product in early 2001.
(includes QuickTime movies that show how OS X looks and feels according to the MacChamp newsletter)
I do not believe there was anything new about iBook, or the PowerBook, at MacWorld, but there were three desktop computers in Apple’s product matrix, and only two portables. Will there be a new Macintosh portable in the near future? For information from students who have been taking iBooks to school, check:
If you are looking for new or used Macintosh equipment at user group prices, there is a store that is promoted by Apple for user group members, The Mug Store. Here is the
Mug Store Password Schedule:
8/1/00- 9/30/00: User ID: osx / Password: aqua
10/1/00- 11/30/00: User ID: G4 / Password: cube
New and used Macintosh Computers at user group prices.
Phone: 1-800-689-8191. 2. From MacChamp: How to convert a PDF file
The latest MacChamp newsletter was very good with a number of brief articles and references to the web for more information. Here is one item with no web reference:
How to: Convert a PDF Flle into Editable Text
Usually you'll download a PDF file to simply view on-screen or print out.
But what if you want to edit the file. Can you convert a PDF document
into editable text? Yes indeed, using the free Acrobat Reader (version
4.0). Here's how:
-- Open the PDF file in Acrobat Reader (version 4 required)
-- In the View menu select: "Continuous"
-- In the Edit menu select: "Select All"
-- In the Edit menu select: "Copy"
-- Open a new blank document in any text editor or word processor.
-- Choose "Paste" from the edit menu
They will deal more with Adobe Acrobat (PDF) at their August 16 meeting. For information about the MacChamp Mac User Group, Burlington, Vermont see
O’Reilly has announced a new Macintosh book, Mac OS in a Nutshell, 1st Edition June 2000, 368 pages, $24.95 (US). As an NVMUG user, you are entitled to a 20% discount.
Their announcement says, “If it's true that "you can learn the Mac in two hours," it is also true that this operating system has hidden depths that, with the just-released "Mac OS in a Nutshell," you will be able to plumb. "Mac
OS in a Nutshell" is the reference book you'll keep by your keyboard for those moments when you just need to get under the hood, or answer a question quickly.
It was written by Rita Lewis with Bill Fishman. "I wanted to write the definitive Macintosh OS book and O'Reilly is the only publisher willing to take the time to do things right. The book took a year of my life. This has been the most rewarding, frustrating, humbling, and exciting year of writing in my 10 years as a freelance writer and 20 book," says Lewis. "This book is the culmination of a year of research and over 15 years of working with Macs. The book contains an extensive array of tips, tricks, suggestions, and tutorials that span the breadth of the subject. It is a very unusual Nutshell
book in that it is full of pictorial examples to illustrate the unique graphical emphasis of this operating system."
"Mac OS in a Nutshell" covers almost every command and utility, internet configuration and access, and clever ways to do familiar and not-so-familiar tasks, cutting through the hype and giving practical (and sometimes little-known) details you can use every day in the concise and easy-to-use nutshell format.
For more information about the book, including Table of Contents,
index, author bio, and samples, see:
To get the discount, be sure to include the code:
An old, bearded shepherd, with a crooked staff, walks up to a stone
pulpit and says . . .
And lo it came to pass that the trader by the name of Abraham Com did
take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely
woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called Amazon
Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far,
from town to town, with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving
thy tent?"
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short
of a camel load, but simply said, "How, Dear?"
And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in
between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply
telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums
and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)".
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the
drums.
And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all
the goods he had, at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But
his success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside
Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take
to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They
were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for
short.
And lo the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the
deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going
to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum
company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would only
work if you bought Brother Gates' drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over
by others". And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came
to be known, "eBay", he said, "We need a name of a service that reflects what
we are". and Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators".
"Whoopee!", said Abraham. "No, YAHOO!", said Dot Com.
