NVMUG eNews 2/16/2002
Last updated 2/17/2002
Bill Eddy had questions about Mac Link, Photoshop, and Scanning. Someone asked about web design. Hartley Jim Jackson demonstrated Mac OS X with help from Rick Flynn. Scott Pelok sent follow up information on his demonstration.
1. Marti's New iMac?
After last month's meeting, everyone wanted to know if Marti had bought an iMac. Marti said she was still considering. Last month she did not know about the new iMacs for less than $1800. Probably the least expensive would meet her needs. She would like to see one first. And, just this morning in the news from Small Dog they said they have a new G4 iMac on display.
If you are not on the mailing list for Small Dog's e-mail publications, check
http:www.smalldog.com2. Photoshop
Bill Eddy is a new member, and wanted to know how to use Adobe Photoshop. Warren said he has a large book that is a tutorial on using PhotoShop's features, but it doesn't tell you why you use them. Barry said you need a class in photography first. Someone said that the QuickStart book on PhotoShop was good, but is not a tutorial.
Michelle recommended checking the web site
http://www.planetphotoshop.com
Rick said that PhotoShop may contain more features and be more complicated than you need. You might find you can do all you want to do in GraphicConverter.
I believe Marti said that Mac Academy has training on PhotoShop.
Talk about timely! This came in today's Small Dog Eds Up!
This just in...Small Dog Electronics is now Adobe Academic Authorized. As soon as the paperwork is finalized, we will be an Adobe Academic Off Campus Reseller! When I was writing Eds Up!, I received a note inviting us to participate.
It will take a few days as we gather pricing, products, and licensing information, but hopefully I will have enough details to offer pricing and the opportunity for you to purchase from us next week. If you are thinking of adding Adobe products to an upcoming purchase, please think of Small Dog. It would be great to blow Adobe away with some great sales activity right out of the gate!
I am not sure what this is all about. We will have to wait and see. We will also have to wait for next month's program on How To Learn Photoshop presented by Michele, Warren, and Barry.
3. Scanning
Bill wanted to know more about using his Astro scanner. He was told the normally you use one third of the resolution of your printer, or 72 dpi if you want it for the web or display on your monitor, including sending it as an e-mail attachment. MIchele said that size and resolution should be considered together. She also said you can just scan with your scanner and use PhotoShop to edit the result.
Someone recommended
http://www.scantips.com
Information is also available in Warren's presentation on scanning last August, check
http://www.sover.net~nvmug
then look under Archives for the NVMUG eNews 8/25/2001 Warren Walker on Scanning
4. MacLink Plus
Someone put MacLink Plus up on the monitor so Bill could see it. Usually MacLink Plus will translate incoming e-mail when you double click the document. Otherwise just drag the icon for the document you want translated onto the icon for MacLink (or into an open MacLink). MacLink will tell you about the item, and whether it is something that can be translated. If you click TRANSLATE, MacLink will give you a list of applications from which you can choose to translate the document into. This works whether you want to translate a document so that you can use it, or so that you can send it to someone else.
More information about using MacLink Plus is available at
http://www.sover.net~nvmug
Look under Archives for NVMUG eNews 9/22/2001 Geof Gonter Presented MacLink Plus.
5. Web Design
Marti said she would like to learn more about web design. Warren said he studied Web Design, but it was really a course in HTML, hypertext markup language. He said that web design is something else, and asked whether she was interested in HTML or web design. Geof said that web design could include using a database, Java script, lots of different things t o learn using an application like DreamWeaver or Go Live. Warren added using Cascading Style Sheets which is like using a template, for example to define fonts instead of inserting the html code everywhere it is needed.
I offered to list some web sites for more information.
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/tutors/basics.html
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~mlhall/www.html
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/teachingtool/learn.htm
I am now reading HTML For the Wold Wide Web, a Visual QuickStart Guide
by Elizabeth Castro which I will have to return to the Lyndon State College library in ten more days. So, check your library.
Again today's Small Dog news was relevant with comments about It is Easier on a Mac.
You don't have to learn HTML to use it. Leading word processors like Microsoft Word and AppleWorks actually generate HTML documents for you. Just select Save As and then select HTML. It may not be the finest HTML code, but it works.
Then, according to Small Dog, Once you're online, all you need to do is copy a file in HTML format to the Web Pages folder (in the Sites folder in your Home directory, on your computer's hard disk), and that's it. You're done -- your page is ready for viewing.
I saw Midge make a note, so we may have something on HTML or Web Design as a future program.
6. Mac OS X
Whether and when you will want to switch to Mac OS X depends upon the applications available in OS X. iPhoto is not the only new application that requires OS X, and more will be developed in Unix and Cocoa, just as more of the current applications will be made compatible with OS X through Carbon and equipment drivers you need will become available . I currently use Classic to use my scanner and Adobe PhotoShop L.E. Until a beta version of Palm Desktop Organizer for Mac OS X came out, I had to reboot into OS 9 to use my favorite organizer.
One of the advantages of Mac OS X is that applications are separated from the operating system. If a Mac OS X application comes down, it doesn't bring the system with it. If you reinstall Mac OS X, programs generally remain unchanged and your data generally remains safe.
True Mac OS X applications are often installed as bundles. The icon looks and acts like an application, but it contains other parts the program needs to run. When you drag it onto your hard disk, it runs without a special installation. When you no longer want it, you drag it to the trash without looking all over for its parts.
Mac OS X has memory management and multitasking. After I start a new application in Mac OS X, I sometimes close the window, but I seldom quit the application. It is ready to go the instant I want it again. I also generally just put the system to sleep instead of shutting down.
When you first start a program in Classic, it takes maybe a minute to bring Classic up, but then you just leave it up ready for the next time you need it.
When you print in any Mac OS X program, it offers Cancel, Save, and Preview. You use Preview to see what the document will look like when it is printed, and you can save the document directly from Preview into a PDF file that anyone else with a pdf viewer can read.
Little black triangles below the icons on the Dock show which ones are currently active. Rick suggested and advised as I control clicked on the Dock to open the Dock preferences and change it so that images below the cursor are magnified so people could see them better.
In addition to probably too many programs, mostly OS X but two Classics, my Dock contains a folder that gives me access to Utilities, and a PDF document. Use the Dock for whatever you want handy.
The Dock also contains the trash and a Finder icon. I use the Finder in column mode which shows the hierarchy trail. It is easy to move files from one column into a folder in the next, or even a couple of columns over. For reorganizations, open a second Finder in column mode and transfer anything to anywhere.
The button bar on Finder windows can be modified. I put a trash can up there so I do not have to drag so far to move items to the trash, but then by habit I forget and start dragging the long way.
Two new Mac OS X only programs are nice, but still need work. I use Captain Ftp, freeware, to upload to our web page. It is an elegant design. You highlight the item you want to move from the other computer or from your computer, and click an action button. A copy is then move where you want it. But, I did have some trouble uploading some of the larger graphics last time.
OmniWeb is a beautiful Mac OS X scanner, but I like to be able to save a web page and then bring it back into a scanner like it was, and so far that does not seem to work in OmniWeb.
My favorite organiser, Palm Desktop is available in beta Mac OS X, and in OS 8 - 9. I wanted to demonstrate its calendar, address, and to do features, but there is still a problem in the beta form and I will have to get my backup data file before it will work. I did have the print of the calendar that I carry with me because I do not own a Palm PDA. (Tonight I found my backup and restored it with no lost data.) For a free copy try,
http://www.palm.com
I thought I took a picture to put into iPhoto, but did not check to see if I got it. I connected the camera to my iBook, clicked on the drive icon, and iPhoto came up. The on click uploaded seven older pictures. The way you can search through photo icons and use a slider to enlarge or shrink them is pretty impressive. I ran a very short slide show, and showed the book you can make.
Barry had taken some pictures at the meeting. We hooked his camera up, but I made a mistake and unplugged then replugged the connection to the computer. That caused the dreaded spinning icon, I think some call it a panic. It only seems to happen when connected to another device or the Internet. It seems to confuse the computer so that Mac OS X does not read your mouse clicks. Sometimes it seems to find what it is looking for. Sometimes you have to do a reboot. It is not frequent or disastrous, but it is annoying.
Originally I had planned to wait unit I got Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
and then follow it to learn to us Mac OS X, but the Missing Manual is still missing. Sometime after I get it we may have another demonstration, and we will definitely have a written review. Instead, I followed Stephen Farber's advice to forget what I knew about OS 9 (forgetting is an easy thing for me to do), and to use the new features of Mac OS X. They are there because the designers of Mac OS X think they are an improvement. That approach works. I learned to appreciate Mac OS X and prefer not to use Mac OS 9.2 except when I have to.
7. Apple Titanium Service
Rick had terrible experience with Apple Support for his Titanium Mac PowerBook. It cost him postage for Apple mistakes, tied up his PowerBook, and he had to pay to ship stuff back to Apple when it was there fault. The worst part was the service people he talked to didn't care. I did not get the information accurately enough to tell you the story, but if you get a support person at Apple who doesn't seem to care, or one that you are not sure he knows what he is talking about, see if you can talk to someone higher up.
8. Scott Peloc Follow Up
When I e-mailed the meeting announcement, Scott and Gail both informed me that the date was wrong. Scott also added that this was a sure sign that the PRAM battery is dying. I sent a quick e-mail to Art at Small Dog, then later I remembered seeing something about having to reset the date if you reset an iBook in order to restart it. I wrote Art to apologize for bothering him, but he had already e-mailed me to just charge up the iBook's battery. The iBook does not have a PRAM battery.
Scott also wrote with follow up information from his presentation to the group.
Secondarily I have other news for your folks if you would like to pass it on. Remember the demonstration we tried to do where we tied two powerbooks together and wanted to boot one to the other via (F)irewire holding the (F) key. WRONG you (T)ransfer over firewire by booting the second machine when it is connected to the first by holding down the (T) key.
Another poorly documented tidbit for you folks. If you get the iPOD and find that is starts to act crazy (it is after all a device with an operating systems, just like you computers and palms and cell phones). You can reboot the system will will actually force a system rebuild by holding down the MENU and PLAY buttons together for 10 seconds.
