MacAddict Jan07: Free Mac Software, Safari Plug-Ins, Linux On Mac, Mac Reviews, Mac Software Reviews, Ipod Reviews, Mac Games

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A B E T T E R M A C H I N E . A B E T T E R M A G A Z I N E .
Tech support
Productivity apps
Voice & video calls
Creativity software
Music & video content
How to outfit your Mac

without spending a dime!
REVIEWED: HOW TO:

■ iPod shuffle ■ Boost Your MacBook Pro’s Storage
■ LaCie Little Big Disk ■ Supercharge Safari
■ Pentax K100D SLR Camera ■ Extend Firefox’s Capabilities
Plus: Your Field Guide to Wireless Jargon

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06 JANUARY2007
NO.125•VOLUME12•ISSUE01
a better machine. a better magazine.
features
21 The Best Things
in Life Are…Free!
Cheapskates (and their bank accounts) rejoice! With our
guide to finding free stuff for your Mac, you’ll be good to
go while saving dough. by Dave Hamilton
31 Introducing
Next month, your favorite Mac magazine will get even better! Check out an exclusive preview of
Mac |Life and see how we’ll cover news, reviews, and how-to articles you won’t find anywhere else.
by the editors of Mac|Life
42 Walkin’ in a
Wi-Fi Wonderland
Wireless networking is the bee’s knees…when it works like it’s
supposed to. This month’s Field Guide contains the specs and
hardware you need to know. by Niko Coucouvanis
how to
70 Ask Us 76 Soup Up Safari
This month we’re blockin’ spam, stylin’ type, We show you our favorite Safari tricks and add-
crossfadin’ tunes, autoplayin’ QuickTime, ons, so let’s go Web surfin’ now (everybody’s
emailin’ via Unix, and more. learnin’ how). by Niko Coucouvanis
72 Run Ubuntu Linux on 78 Light a Fire under Firefox

Your PowerBook Firefox is great on its own, but you can trick it
Ready to join the Linux out with customizable
revolution? Here’s how extensions to suit
to install Ubuntu Linux your needs.
on your PowerBook. by Niko Coucouvanis
by Robert Strohmeyer
06 January 2007
08 CONTENTS
11 Editors’ Page 63 57
New name, new look, new size, new Web site, new editor-in-
chief...get all the “news” about our transformation to Mac|Life.
13 Get Info
Get the scoop on the newest Apple products, Adobe’s
Soundbooth audio-editing app, a germ-fighting mouse,
the latest graphics and publishing apps, and a clickwheel-
controlled flip phone that opens itself.
45 Reviews
46 15-inch Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro notebook Mac
62 Audioengine 5 speakers
60 Avid Xpress Pro 5 video-production software suite
63 B-Flex USB speaker
55 Blinkit iPod light
54 Bravo SE Disc Publisher optical-disc publisher
54 FontVista 3.5 font catalog software
56 imagePROGRAF iPF5000 wide-format printer
55 Intuos3 4x6 wide-format tablet
36 iPod shuffle digital-music player
58 i-Station 3 iPod speaker
63 iSuperCharger iPod charger
37 K100D SLR camera
49 Little Big Disk 320GB portable hard drive
50 MindManager 6 mind-mapping software
50 NovaMind 3.2 mind-mapping software 62
57 Photosmart R967 point-and-shoot camera
58 55 49
48 Picture Porter Elite digital-media viewer
58 Silver Portable 80GB Dual portable hard drive
37 TubeSock YouTube video-converter software
65 Games
68 Arcadrome game news
66 Bone Act One: Out from Boneville game news
68 Mountain Tanks game news 86 Log Out
66 The Sims 2: Open for Business game review 86 Letters
65 Torque Game Engine 1.5 game news Behold the iPumpkin, the best mouse for 2004 Professional Edition and a
65 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade arthritis sufferers, the return of Mr. T, and Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop
coming soon the most expensive mouse pad of all time. for Mac.
87 Contest 88 Shut Down

Two prizes are better than one, so we’re Raise a glass to the illustrious Max
QUICK TIPS
FROM THIS MONTH’S ISSUE
giving away a copy of Microsoft Office as he enters his golden years.
FONT BOOK DON’T LOSE YOUR PICK YOUR FORMAT TEN-FINGER TEXTING
APPLESCRIPT LOOSE SCREWS You can’t change Tiger’s Keep up with your text-happy
You can print When taking a notebook apart, default format for capturing friends without succumbing
font samples it’s essential to remember screenshots (PNG), but you to thumb cramps—the handy
from Font Book which screws go where. As you can press Command-Control- WataCrackaz AutoSMS
with the help of an AppleScript remove them, tape the screws Shift-3 (or 4) to send shots extension for Firefox lets you
located in /Applications/ to a piece of paper and label to the Clipboard, then paste send text messages right from
AppleScript/Example Scripts/ them with their exact location. them into Preview and choose your Web browser to your pals’
Font Book/Create Font Sample. From “Upgrade Your MacBook a format in the Save As dialog. cell phones. From “Light a Fire
From Reviews, p54. Pro’s Hard Drive,” p38. From Ask Us, p70. under Firefox,” p78.
08 January 2007
10 CONTENTS
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rik Myslewski
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MANAGING EDITOR Susie Ochs
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HOW-TO EDITOR Niko Coucouvanis
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REVIEWS EDITOR Roman Loyola
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“The Best Things in Life Are...Free,” p21, WEB MONKEY Nick Muerdter
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EPONYMEDITOR Max
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we’re highlighting three nifty freeware
ODF
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David Biedny, Joseph O. Holmes,
apps that appear on this month’s Disc— Helmut Kobler, Cathy Lu, Steven Parke, Ian Sammis, Deborah
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Shadovitz, Andrew Tokuda, Michelle Victoria, Buz Zoller
and if they don’t float your boat, we also
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have a slew of addictive games, a passel January ART DIRECTOR Mark Rosenthal
of useful utilities, a bevy of powerful 2007 ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Peter Marshutz
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dan Fitzpatrick
UIBUBMM
productivity tools, and more. We also have PHOTOGRAPHERS Mark Madeo, Samantha Berg
the Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive and BUSINESS
BJN
13 Games • 13 Productivity Enhancers
WFOU
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Stacey Levy, 650-238-2319
DM
a rebate form that can save you up to 100
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EASTERN ADVERTISING MANAGER
• 11 Utilities • and more!
LFT
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bucks. Who loves you, baby? Larry Presser, 646-723-5459
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WESTERN ADVERTISING MANAGER David White, 650-238-2502
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GROUP DIRECTOR, NON-ENDEMIC SALES
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Jim Schiekofer, 646-723-5410
INCLUDING:
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Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive
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MARKETING COORDINATOR Michael Basilio
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with money-saving rebate offer!
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MusicRenamer ChocoFlop Opera
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ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Jose Urrutia, 650-238-2498
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PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richie Lesovoy
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CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Peter Kelly
your music files into Mac OS X’s Core free—but few have all NEWSSTAND MARKETING MANAGER Bill Shewey
by easily—and Image technology to work the features of this one. BILLING AND RENEWAL MANAGER Betsy Wong
NEWSSTAND COORDINATOR Alex Guzman
consistently—renaming graphical Thumbnails of FULFILLMENT MANAGER Peggy Mores
the oddball ones with this magic on tabbed pages, DIRECT MAIL MANAGER Stephanie Blake
DIRECT MARKETING SPECIALIST Alexandra Davydova
slick utility. your image anyone? PRINT ORDER COORDINATOR Heidi Hapin
files. FUTURE US, INC.
4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080
www.futureus-inc.com
PRESIDENT Jonathan Simpson-Bint
VICE PRESIDENT/COO Tom Valentino
AUDIO & MUSIC DockFun! 4.7 shareware RapidoWrite 2.1 freeware CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER John Sutton
CoverScout 2.2.1 trial FileBrowse 1.0.2 trial TinyBooks 4.0.1 demo VICE PRESIDENT/CIRCULATION Holly Klingel
GENERAL COUNSEL Charles Schug
Martian SlingShot 2.0.3 demo Mouseposé 2.5.1 demo
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/GAMES Simon Whitcombe
MusicRenamer 1.0 freeware sqreensavers 1.0 freeware UTILITIES PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/MUSIC & TECH Steve Aaron
Application Wizard PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Dave Barrow
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/TECHNOLOGY Jon Phillips
FUN & GAMES INTERNET & COMMUNICATION 2.0 shareware
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/MUSIC Brad Tolinski
Arcadrome 1.0 demo ForgetMeNot 2.0 freeware AppZapper 1.7 shareware DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL SERVICES Nancy Durlester
Atlantis Sky Patrol trial Google Sitemap Automator BetterZip 1.3.1 trial PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richie Lesovoy
Downfall 2.6.2 trial 1.3 trial ChronoSync 3.3.2 demo
Fish Tycoon trial IdleWeb 2.0 freeware CuteClips 2 shareware
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville Interarchy 8.2.1 trial DiskTracker 2.3.3 (Classic)
trial OmniWeb 5.5 trial shareware Future US, Inc. is part of Future plc.
Future produces carefully targeted special-
Mystic Inn trial Opera 9.02 freeware DiskTracker 2.3.3 (Mac OS X)
interest magazines, Web sites, and events
Petal Palace 1.0.8 shareware Safari Enhancer 3.3.1 freeware shareware for people who share a passion. We aim to
Pile & Pop 1.0 demo Font Tools 6.0 demo satisfy that passion by creating titles offering
shivering kittens 1.0 demo MEDIA PTHPasteboard 4.0.0 B3 beta value for money, reliable information, smart
buying advice, and which are a pleasure
Smooth Operators 1.0 trial TechRestore mini Madness SecuritySpy 1.3 trial
to read. Today we publish more than 150
Table Tennis Pro V2 demo video shadowClipboard 3 trial magazines, 65 Web sites, and a growing
The Time Portal 1.0 demo Synk 6 Pro demo number of events in the US, UK, France, and Italy. Over 100 international
editions of our magazines are also published in 30 other countries across
Virtual Villagers trial PRODUCTIVITY
the world. Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock
Data Guardian 1.0.4 trial SPONSORS Exchange (symbol: FUTR).
GRAPHICS & MULTIMEDIA Diet Sleuth 4.6.0 trial Atlantis Sky Patrol trial
FUTURE PLC
CDFinder 4.6.2 demo Geo-Calc 2.0 shareware Fish Tycoon trial 30 Monmouth St., Bath, Avon, BA1 2BW, England
ChocoFlop 0.50 freeware iValet 1.0.2 shareware Microsoft Office 2004 www.futureplc.com
Tel +44 1225 442244
Cinematize 2 Pro trial Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive
NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN Roger Parry
Disc Cover 1.2.1 demo Test Drive Mystery Case Files: Huntsville CHIEF EXECUTIVE Stevie Spring
DropWaterMark X 3.6.0 trial Mori 1.4 demo trial GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR John Bowman
iVeZeen 2.2 demo OmniGraffle 4.1.2 trial Mystic Inn trial Tel +44 1225 442244 www.futureplc.com
REPRINTS: For reprints, contact Ryan Derfler, Reprint Operations
PhotoComplete 1.2 trial OmniOutliner 3.6.1 demo OmniGraffle 4.1.2 trial
Specialist, 717-399-1900 ext. 167
Sketch plug-in 1.1 trial Opal 1.0 trial OmniOutliner 3.6.1 demo or email: futurenetworkusa@reprintbuyer.com
PDFpen 3.0.2 demo OmniWeb 5.5 trial SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES: Please email mcdcustserv@cdsfulfillment
.com or call customer service toll-free at 888-771-6222.
INTERFACE Presentation Prompter 4.2 TechRestore mini Madness
A-Dock X 1.4.6 shareware demo video
Virtual Villagers trial
10 January 2007
EDITORS’ PAGE
11
Say Hello to STAFF RANTS

MacAddict is about to undergo a stunning
transformation. Our next issue will be Q. What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
bigger, thicker, and redesigned from the Max CARD-CARRYING AARP-ER
ground up to include new sections and a What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
My future, blessed with comfortable tan Sansabelt
design scheme as gorgeous and intuitive as Traveler pants, black Jobst for Men Over-the-Calf
our beloved Macs and Mac OS X. We’ll also Moderate-Support stockings, Milano Memphis-Mocha
have a new name: Mac|Life. Suede Soft-Footbed Birkenstocks, and an understated
Orbit Lounge Rayon Hawaiian Shirt from Banana Jack. Yes, I’m
Mac|Life is the natural next step for moving on to the land of shuffleboard, electric golf carts, and palm
MacAddict. When MacAddict was born 125 trees—check out my retirement party on page 88.
issues ago, we Mac addicts were a scrappy
bunch, fighting against the seemingly Peter Marshutz REBORN
unstoppable peecee juggernaut. We viewed ourselves proudly as Apple’s What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
My favorite thing about Mac|Life is the new look-and-
Department of Defense. feel; it’s stylish, fun, colorful, exciting, and surprisingly
But a funny thing happened in the Mac-versus-PC wars. We won. refreshing.
Today, Apple’s Macs and iPods are unquestionably the world leaders in
quality, value, and style. What’s more, with Apple’s domination of both Susie Ochs HOORAY FOR EVERYTHING!
the creation and enjoyment of digital entertainment, our Macs and iPods What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
For me it’s a tie between the increased page count and
have become the centers of our digital lives. how great it’s going to look. I can’t wait until people can
Hence, Mac|Life. As has MacAddict, Mac|Life will help you get the finally see it!
most out of your Mac. In fact, Mac|Life will preserve all the elements
of MacAddict that you’ve come to enjoy, rely upon, and learn from. Our Roman Loyola PIPE|DREAMER
tutorials will continue to show you how to squeeze every last drop of What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
power and pleasure from your Mac and its software. Our reviews will My favorite thing was the original Mac|Life style guide,
which called for the replacement of all spaces in text
remain authoritative and thoroughly unbiased. Every Mac|Life page will with the Unix pipe (aka “|”). But copy-edit traditionalist
both inform and entertain—and do so with a style and elegance that’ll Susie would have none of it. The|pipe|will|prevail(bang)
put a smile on your face.
Turn to page 31 of this issue for a nine-page taste of the future. Note Mark Rosenthal BA-BAR
that the news, reviews, and tutorials that you’ll find in this Mac|Life What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
I’m quite fond of that little bar that separates the words
sampler are real, but the table of contents isn’t—it’s there to give you an Mac and Life. It’s very mysterious in its own way. Bar
idea of what kind of articles to expect beginning in February 2007. code? Candy bar? Prison bar? Bar-nacle? (For the
One other improvement: We’ve added a new member to our editorial seafaring.) Re-bar? Bar-B-Q? Meet me at the bar? And,
of course: “Bye. Have a great bar!”
crew, Leslie Ayers, who’ll head up the Mac|Life team as its new editor-
in-chief. Leslie comes from a strong technology-publishing background,
Niko Coucouvanis MR. UNFURNISHED BASEMENT
including stints at Wired News, Smart Business, and PC Computing. What’s your favorite thing about Mac|Life?
I’m still on the team, but I’ve chosen to head up MacLife.com—it’ll go I dig everything about the new digs, so I’ll tell you my
live right after Steve Jobs finishes his Expo keynote speech on January least favorite thing: The fact that nobody else wanted
to call the front newsy section “Command-O.” Get it?
8, 2007. Commando? Heh, heh, heh...
Steve has said that 2007 is going to be the best year in the Mac’s
history. We say that it’ll also be the best year in Mac magazine history.
Enjoy,
comingsoon:February2007
Here’s what our editors are preparing for the premiere issue of Mac|Life.
What makes you unique? (You know, aside from your inexplicable obsession with kettle corn.) No two Mac|Life readers are
alike, so why should your Macs be? We’ll show you how to personalize your Mac so it suits you to a T. Expect to learn tons
of software tweaks, secret shortcuts, hardware mods and upgrades—and more! We’ll also round up the cream of the
digital camcorder crop—and help you decode digi-video lingo. And you’ll learn how to fix fuzzy cell-phone photos, set
up a RAID on your Mac Pro, and master special effects in iMovie. But why stop there? We’ll also test and rate Canon’s
HV10 high-def camcorder and the RoverTv portable DVR, among many other cool new products.
January 2007 11
Stand in 2-hour line for keynote
Eat overpriced hot dog
See what's new from the Omni Group
Going to Macworld Expo this January?

Stop by booth 602 and say hello.
The Omni Group

OmniGraffle • OmniOutliner • OmniWeb • OmniPlan • OmniDazzle • and more
www.omnigroup.com
get info
13
They just keep getting faster and faster. Yay!
Dynamic Core 2 Duo

Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro get upgraded with Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors.
A
bout three months after Intel MacBook Pro. The Core 2 Duo unless you’re editing video or audio, or
introduced its Core 2 Duo processors in the new MacBook Pros use performing graphical renders that last
processor, Apple unveiled a 4MB L2 cache, twice as big as the 2MB longer than a bathroom break, the 5,400-
the newest generation of L2 cache in the Core Duo MacBook Pros. and 4,200-rpm drives that come with the
MacBooks and MacBook Pros—just in The new MacBook Pros can support up new MacBook Pro will be fast enough.
time for the holiday shopping season. to 3GB of RAM (one 1GB SO-DIMM and For the both 15-inch MacBook Pros,
The Core 2 Duo replaces the Core Duo one 2GB SO-DIMM; the MacBook Pro has you can upgrade to a 5,400-rpm 160GB
processors used in the first generation of two SO-DIMM slots), a boost from the hard drive for an additional $100, or a
the Intel-based Mac notebooks. 2GB limit in the Core Duo MacBook Pro. 4,200-rpm 200GB hard drive for $200.
MacBook. Known in the geekosphere According to Apple, a hardware limitation Upgrading to the 200GB hard drive on
under its code-name, Merom, the Core in the Intel platform chipset prevents the 17-inch MacBook Pro adds $100.
2 Duo in the new $1,099 MacBook has the new MacBook Pro from addressing FireWire 800 is back on the new
a 2MB L2 cache, while the $1,299 and 4GB of RAM (a pair of 2GB SO-DIMMs). MacBook Pro. Each model has a single
$1,499 MacBooks use a 4MB L2 cache. Apple’s Core 2 Duo iMacs have a similar FireWire 800 port; the previous 15-inch
The MacBooks can hold up to 2GB of limitation (see Reviews, Dec/06, p44). MacBook Pro didn’t have FireWire 800.
RAM, which you should get if you can Apple introduced three different Other expansion options are a FireWire
afford it. Since the MacBook’s graphic models of the MacBook Pro; see the 400 port, two USB 2.0 ports (three USB
subsystem shares its memory with chart for their specs. One built-to-order 2.0 ports on the 17-inch MacBook Pro),
the main memory, the more RAM you option that was available with the old and an ExpressCard/34 slot.
have, the better. As with the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro but is now gone Just how fast are the new MacBook
generation of MacBooks, the high-end is the 7,200-rpm 100GB hard drive (you Pros? We got a 15-inch MacBook
model comes in black while the midrange can still get a 7,200-rpm 100GB hard Pro with a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo
and entry-level MacBooks are encased in drive with the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, processor, and we’re happy with the
white. Check out the chart below for the which actually reduces the standard improvements—turn to page 46 to see
complete specs. price by $100). Chances are that our complete review.—Roman Loyola
Model Processor Front- RAM Hard Optical Graphics Price

Side Bus Drive Drive Card
13-inch White 1.83GHz Intel 667MHz 512MB 60GB 24x Combo drive 64MB Intel $1,099
MacBook Core 2 Duo (two 256MB SO-DIMMs) (5,400 rpm) GMA 950
13-inch White 2GHz Intel 667MHz 1GB 80GB 6x double-layer 64MB Intel $1,299
MacBook Core 2 Duo (two 512MB SO-DIMMs) (5,400 rpm) SuperDrive GMA 950
13-inch Black 2GHz Intel 667MHz 1GB 120GB 6x double-layer 64MB Intel $1,499
MacBook Core 2 Duo (two 512MB SO-DIMMs) (5,400 rpm) SuperDrive GMA 950
15-inch 2.16GHz Intel 667MHz 1GB 120GB 6x double-layer 128MB ATI Mobility $1,999
Photo courtesy of Apple
MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (single SO-DIMM) (5,400 rpm) SuperDrive Radeon X1600
MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) (5,400 rpm) SuperDrive Radeon X1600
MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) (5,400 rpm) SuperDrive Radeon X1600
January 2007 13
v
14 GET INFO
the news of the month in bite-size chunks
NEW STUFF .MAC MAIL’S NEW LOOK

If you haven’t subscribed to .Mac because you hate the .Mac Mail interface, then you’ll
be happy to know that .Mac Mail now has a whole new look. In fact, it’s one you’re
probably familiar with—it looks just like Apple’s Mail app. Not only are the top buttons
similar, but the left source column is similar also. The improvements go underneath
the surface, too; .Mac Mail now lets you drag and drop messages into a folder, and you
can use keyboard shortcuts. Unfortunately, .Mac Mail still has a limited search function
(you can’t search mail content), and there’s no junk mail filter, but you can still use the
Mail app to access your .Mac Mail.—Roman Loyola
For guitar players only.
.Mac Mail
(top) looks like
4SIX-STRING SYSTEM Apple’s Mail
GuitarBox and GuitarBox Pro application
$495.95 and $695.95, respectively (bottom).
www.m-audio.com
Available: Now
M-Audio combines its Black Box
interface and Pro Tools M-Powered
production software into a recording
system for guitarists. The Pro
version includes more software
plug-ins.
4GERM-FREE MOUSE
Germ Free Wireless Laser Mouse
$39.95
www.iogear.com
Available: Now
IOGEAR’s new laser mouse features
a body with a titanium dioxide and
silver nano-particle compound
coating, which prevents yucky
germs and bacteria
from living on the
mouse.
iMAC, MAC PRO

Hypochondriacs
can now relax.
GET STORAGE
BOOST
4FREE PHONE CALLS
Skype 2.0 for Mac
Free
W ithout any fanfare, Apple has
made available the option to
buy a 24-inch iMac or a Mac Pro with
www.skype.com a 750GB hard drive. The 750GB hard
Available: Now drive option adds $399 to the 24-inch
With a broadband iMac’s $1,999 standard price. You
Internet connection, can go hog wild with the Mac Pro and
you can make free fill each of its four drive bays with a
calls to anyone on 750GB drive, for a total of 3TB (that’s
Skype, regardless of terabytes, folks; 1TB equals 1,000GB),
the operating system which will push the Mac Pro from its Imagine filling those four hard drive bays with
they’re using. Calling Reach out and standard $2,499 price to $4,695. If you 3TB of storage.
anyone who’s using a touch someone. decide to go with a single 750GB hard
traditional phone will drive, you’ll need to pony up $399—but that’s at press time.
cost ya, however. Check www.apple.com for the current price—hard-drive pricing is more
volatile than Tom Cruise.—Roman Loyola
14 January 2006
GET INFO
15
DROOLWORTHY
Sexy Stuff We Can’t Wait to Get Our Mitts On
Don’t Lose
This PhoneB
How’s this for indulgent? Bang &
Olufsen’s Serene ($1,275,
www.serenemobile.com) has
a motorized hinge so you don’t
have to put in the effort of
IMAGE COURTESY OF BANG & OLUFSEN

actually opening it yourself.
The inside of the dial ring is
a clickwheel you can use to
navigate the phone’s controls.
IMAGE COURTESY OF JWIN ELECTRONICS
Sexy Shelf System C

If you’re familiar with Bang & Olufsen products, then you can’t help but think that iLuv’s i9200 ($249.95, www.i-luv.com)
seems to have inherited some of B&O’s design DNA. This system has a four-CD changer, AM/FM tuner, alarm clock, and
iPod dock, and it’s available in black or white.
January 2006 15
16 GET INFO
shareware pick of the month

Democracy Player www.getdemocracy.com Free
It’s a new world we live in. With all the new technology at our disposal, we can make and distribute our own video works of art.
Democracy Player connects to over 700 Internet TV channels, and the app acts like a VCR for this wealth of digital content. Democracy
Player does the downloading, you do the watching. Here’s to less exercise and more TV!—Andrew Tokuda
3 Back to downloading programs: Click the

blue down arrow for the program you want to 5 After Democracy downloads a
When you launch Democracy Player, you’ll download. program, you can click the green
see a few popular channels from which to play button to play the video
download content. The blue numbers tell you within the Democracy screen.
how many programs are available; click on one
to start watching.
2 Videos can take up a lot of hard drive space.

Open Democracy Player > Preferences, click 4 While a download is progressing, you can 6 Make sure you have a lot
the Disc Space icon, and check the checkbox. look for more channels. Click the Channel of popcorn, because there are
This way, Democracy Player won’t download if Guide in the upper-left panel to bring up a thousands of programs to watch.
you’re down to a gigabyte of hard drive space directory. Subscribing is as easy as clicking
(or whatever size you specify). the green +Add button.
Bug of the Month
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
fix applications that won’t launch
Y ou click on an application, but it

won’t launch. If you’re lucky, you
see a bouncing icon in the Dock, but
3.
/Applications/Utilities).
Type sudo update_prebinding
-root / -force and press
with the application. Click the Quit
Process button. Launch the application.
Preferences. If the two fixes
often, nothing happens. A number Return. above fail, it could be a problem with
of potential solutions exist for this 4. When prompted for a password, the application’s plist file, where
problem, ranging from simple and enter your admin password and preferences are kept. Go to the
relatively quick to more tedious. As press Return. The process may username/Library/Preferences folder
always, back up your data before take a few minutes, and you may and search for any plist files associated
performing these routines. see various messages flash by. The with the problematic application. Drag
process is done when the Terminal the plist files to the Desktop and then
Update prebinding Mac OS X uses a returns to a normal prompt. try to launch the application, which
technique called prebinding to speed 5. Type exit and press Return. should create new plist files.
up application launches. On rare 6. Launch the application. Clean cache. A cache file might be
occasions, the prebinding needs to Activity Monitor. If an app seems to the cause of your problem. Try using
be updated. Do this to a problematic be hung, kill the process via Activity a utility such as Tiger Cache Cleaner
application before you launch it. Monitor (located in /Applications/ ($8.95, www.northernsoftworks.com)
1. Log in as an administrator. Utilities). Launch Activity Monitor and to perform system cache-deletion
2. Open the Terminal (located in select in the list the process associated routines.
16 January 2007
I’m an APC. I protect Macs.
APC Smart-UPS® 1000 provides

power protection and battery
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MacAddict_122006.indd 1 11/14/2006 5:22:34 PM

18 GET INFO
What’sNew
•
>>>>>>>>
SEEING RED
Freeverse’s
Lineform 1.2.3
Apple’s newest iPod nanos help fight AIDS. ($79.95, www
.freeverse.com) is
B esides black, silver, blue, green, and pink, the iPod

nano now comes in red, but the red iPod nano is
special. Dubbed the iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special
a vector drawing
and design app.
The new version
Edition ($199 for 4GB, $249 for 8GB, www.apple.com), this has better image
nano was created to support the Global Fund to fight AIDS handling, improved
GRAPHICS AND PUBLISHING

in Africa. For each RED nano sold, Apple contributes $10 to SVG support for
the Global Fund. “Now customers can buy the best music inline images,
player in the world and do something to help the world better color
at the same time,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a press management,
release. Apple is also offering an iTunes (PRODUCT) RED rasterizing at
gift card, available at the iTunes Store. higher resolutions,
For more information about the Global Fund, visit and more.
www.theglobalfund.org. More information about other Nemetschek’s •
(PRODUCT) RED products from companies such as line of VectorWorks
Buy an iPod, The Gap, Motorola, and Converse can be found at software has
help fight AIDS. www.joinred.com.—Michelle Victoria been upgraded
to version 12.5.
The software
NEW ADOBE APP

includes Architect
iPOD CASE ArtixScan M1:
($1,395, www
OF THE MONTH
MAKES NOISE Microtek’s new .nemetschek.net),
scanner. Designer ($1,795),
v Fundamentals
A dobe added a new application for

audio editing to its multimedia
line: Adobe Soundbooth (price to
($995), Landmark ($1,395), Machine
Design ($1,395), and Spotlight ($1,395).
A host of improvements includes new
be determined, www.adobe.com), drafting tools and drawing modes.
which competes directly with Apple’s • Martin Wengenmayer’s Cheetah3D
Soundtrack Pro, part of Apple’s Final 3.5 ($99, www.cheetah3d.com) is a 3D
Cut Studio suite ($1,299, www.apple modeling and rendering app. It now has
.com). Soundbooth is designed for new animation hot keys, and it can load
Made for li’l hands. video editors who aren’t necessarily PSD textures, among other new features.
professional audio editors—the app • Microtek’s ArtixScan M1 ($699,
Sure, ifrogz’s Tadpole ($24.99, uses interface elements familiar to www.microtekusa.com) is a flatbed
http://ifrogz.com) is cute, and users of Adobe After Effects and and film scanner. It has a 4,800-dpi
your kids will love the big, grippy Adobe’s other video-production resolution and 16-bit digital output per
handles. However, none of the applications, and it includes not only channel. It uses Emulsion Direct Imaging
parents on the MacAddict staff advanced and easy-to-use editing Technology, which uses a film tray
would ever let their kids lay their capabilities, but underneath the flatbed glass to scan film.
hands on their precious ’Pods. It also a powerful • Quark Interactive Designer ($199,
turns out that the handles are also music auto- www.quark.com) is a Quark XPress add-
very useful for grown-ups—during composition on that lets you create Flash layouts.
a recent retirement bash (see mode. Adobe • DTP Tools’ Page Control ($59,
p88), the DJ went overboard on is offering a www.dtptools.com) is an InDesign plug-in
the bubbly (ahem…Roman…), and free beta of that lets you create different page sizes
welcomed the extra help to hold Soundbooth within a single InDesign project.
onto his stereo-attached iPod. Said Sorry, PowerPCers: that’s open • Epson’s Stylus Pro 3800 ($1,295,
DJ promises to behave at the next Adobe Soundbooth is to the public www.epson.com) is a wide-format
party.—Michelle Victoria for Intel Macs only. through printer that supports media up to
February 17 inches wide. The printer can
SUBMIT YOUR CASE Whether your iPod case is a
custom-made one-off or mass produced, you can submit 28, 2007, at http://labs.adobe automatically switch between photo
it for Case of the Month consideration—just send it to .com/technologies/soundbooth. and matte black inks, and it has a new
iPod Case of the Month, Mac|Life, 4000 Shoreline Ct., Ste.
400, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Please note that we Adobe currently expects to release screening algorithm to create better-
cannot return cases. Soundbooth in the middle of 2007. looking output than previous Epson
—Roman Loyola wide-format printers could.
18 January 2007
PLEASE PAY THE AMOUNT SHOWN:
The Best
Things in
Life Are…
F R E.E ! by Dave Hamilton
All these goodies If you’ve got money burning a hole in

your pocket, you’re in the wrong place.
have the low, You won’t need it for today’s journey,
low price of as we tour through a Queen Mary–
sized boatload of free stuff just for you
absolutely and yours (your Mac, that is). We’ve got
☛ nothing.
software, support, services, music, and
more. This is one roundup that you’ll
want to read again while sitting at your
Mac, ready to check out each and every
item that sparks your interest. So strap
in, buckle down, and enjoy.
Software Quicksilver b51 NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta 3 TextWrangler 2.1.3 MenuMeters
OnyX 1.7.5 Mactracker 4.1b1 Firefox 2.0 Cyberduck 2.6.2 Chicken of the VNC 2.0b4
VLC Media Player 0.8.5 HandBrake 0.7.1 Audacity 1.3.2 beta Flip4Mac GarageBand
Plug-ins Crystal 2.4.9 MDA Free AU Effects, Sept. 2005 Edition Support Genius Bar
BALANCE DUE: MUGs Help on the Web Mac Owners Support Group MacFixIt Forums Apple Discussion
Groups Podcasts MacCast The Mac Observer’s Mac Geek Gab Voice Calling Skype
2.0 Gizmo Project Google Stuff Gmail Docs & Spreadsheets Earth Release 4 beta
Music, Video, and TV Democracy Player 0.9.1 Pandora eMusic FreeMacMusic Music
January 2007 21
☛
Software
One of the best things about the Mac is the quantity—and quality—of free software available.
Indeed, it’s possible to make it through your day using software that won’t set you back a dime.
Before you dig into these free goodies, however, it’s good to know a few things. First and
foremost, free often means more than just “cost-free”; it usually means “free from support” as
well. And then there’s freeware that’s actually donationware, which comes from a developer who’s
continuing to improve it and requests that happy users make a donation to support that effort. If
you’re looking for support, a donation is an excellent way of getting a developer’s attention.
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite freeware apps, but there are thousands more where these
came from—check out VersionTracker (www.versiontracker.com), MacUpdate (www.macupdate
.com), and FreeMacSoftware.com (you can figure out their URL on your own) to find more.
Productivity
If you can’t be productive with your Mac, you can’t
justify buying a new one. Use these nuggets when you
need to quit wasting time and get stuff done.
Quicksilver b51 Launcher on steroids…and acid Use Quicksilver to launch any app or open any file on your Mac.
Get it: www.blacktree.com You need: Mac OS 10.4 or later
Forget what you know about finding and launching documents
and apps. Once you grok the way Quicksilver does its magic,
you’ll amaze yourself with how you can simply type a few quick
keystrokes to magically make your Mac do your bidding.
NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta 3 Free replacement for

Microsoft Office
Get it: www.neooffice.org You need: Mac OS 10.3 or later
Based on the OpenOffice.org code base, this package includes
replacements for Microsoft’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access,
and Draw. NeoOffice takes it all one step further and makes a
fully Mac-ified experience, so you don’t need X11 or anything
else to make it work—and yes, it reads and writes MS Office file NeoOffice works so well that we wrote parts of this article with it.
formats natively. Dude, it’s free—go get it.
TextWrangler 2.1.3 BBEdit’s (mature) little brother

Get it: www.barebones.com You need: Mac OS 10.3.5 or later
Need to edit text files on an FTP server, rewrap a busted-up
email, sort a list of names, or even write some HTML, Perl, or
PHP? Go get TextWrangler. Based on Bare Bones Software’s
BBEdit engine, TextWrangler is one of the most valuable pieces
of freeware you’ll ever leech down to your computer. It’s not
often you get software this good for free, folks.
TextWrangler lets you edit and manipulate text in many

different ways.
22 January 2007
☛
Utilities OnyX 1.7.5
Multifunctional Mac OS X
Mactracker 4.1b1
Details about every Mac (and clone)
We all need to keep our Macs running
smoothly, and these free utilities are the maintenance utility ever released
Get it: www.titanium.free.fr Get it: www.mactracker.ca
key to getting—and staying—there.
You need: Mac OS 10.1.5 or later You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later
MenuMeters
Compact, thorough system-activity
monitor
Get it: www.ragingmenace.com
You need: Mac OS 10.2 or later
With MenuMeters, you can easily see

what your Mac is up to.
Something that should simply be A whopping 16MHz in 1989—how did we
included with Mac OS X, MenuMeters Use OnyX to help keep your Mac clean and ever survive?
is an excellent way to monitor your running well. The next time your old college roommate
system’s health and status. This System OnyX is a must-have utility for any Mac calls and asks you what kind of memory
Preference pane allows you to put disk, OS X user. Allowing you to run all of the she needs to upgrade her Power
CPU, memory, and network usage standard (and some not-so-standard) Computing PowerCenter Pro, you’ll
graphs and readouts in your Mac’s system maintenance tasks, clean your have the answer right at your fingertips,
menubar, giving you at-a-glance access Mac’s caches, and even customize your thanks to Mactracker. You could even
to vital system stats. Mac-using experience, OnyX will help use this to host a Mac geek party and
keep your Mac running smoothly. play all the startup chimes from every
Mac ever made. The fun never stops!
Internet
Having a Mac that’s not connected to the Internet is like running a three-legged race Chicken of the VNC 2.0b4
with only two legs. Er…um…well, it’s just not as fun. Remote desktop control
Get it: http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc
You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later
Firefox 2.0 Cyberduck 2.6.2
Customizable, standards-compliant Mac-savvy FTP utility
Web browser Get it: http://cyberduck.ch
Get it: www.mozilla.com You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later
You need: Mac OS 10.2 or later
Use VNC to see and control the desktop on

Firefox gives you ultimate browsing other Macs—or even Windows or Linux
flexibility. Use Cyberduck to manage all of your FTP machines.
If you want to trick out your browser, get connections. Ever need to control another Mac across
Firefox—it’s so hip and customizable, Certainly, Mac OS X has a few built-in the country (or even across the room)
it can be your low-rider and monster ways of using FTP, but none of them but you’re too cheap to pop the $299 (10
truck at the same time. From weather are as easy to use as Cyberduck. From systems) or $499 (unlimited systems)
status to Web-design help to themes Bonjour support to Spotlight integration, for Apple’s Remote Desktop? Well, by
that customize the look of your browser, this app speaks fluent Mac. It’ll even enabling VNC support in Mac OS X Tiger
there are thousands of add-ons to make hand text files back and forth with and downloading Chicken of the VNC,
Firefox more fun and more useful—check TextWrangler (p22)—that’s a can’t-miss you can do it all without spending one
out p78 for some of our favorites. freebie twofer! thin dime.
January 2007 23
☛
Software continued GarageBand
Plug-ins
Audio & Video One of the cool things about GarageBand
The Mac rocks when it comes to audio and video stuff, and these apps will make sure is that you can customize it with
that you rock right along with it. additional plug-ins and instruments.
We’ve provided a couple of our favorites
here, but if you want more, visit sites
VLC Media Player 0.8.5 Audacity 1.3.2 beta such as macmusic.org or www.hitsquad
Multiformat movie and audio player Full-featured audio editor .com/smm/mac/PLUGINS_AU and
Get it: www.videolan.org Get it: http://audacity.sourceforge.net customize your own GarageBand library.
You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later You need: Mac OS 10.3 or later
Crystal 2.4.9
Software synthesizer
Get it: www.greenoak.com/crystal
Support for multiple file types makes

Audacity a real workhorse.
With Audacity, you can easily take audio
files, edit them, cut them up, stitch them
together, and even record them from
VLC plays movies that QuickTime Player scratch. Audacity now supports Audio
won’t. Units plug-ins, as well.
VLC picks up where QuickTime Player Tweak to your ear’s content.
leaves off. There are plenty of video Flip4Mac The next time you get a hankering to
formats that just don’t play properly in Play Windows Media (WMV) files in create that perfect synth sound for
QuickTime, and for those (and others), QuickTime Player your space odyssey, there’s a good bet
VLC is your go-to app. Get it: www.microsoft.com Crystal can help. This multitimbral synth
You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later, QuickTime provides almost limitless possibilities
HandBrake 0.7.1 6.5 or later from which you can create the perfect
Rip DVDs to your Mac or iPod soundtrack for when the Ewoks are
Get it: http://handbrake.m0k.org being eaten by Mothra.
MDA Free AU Effects,
Sept. 2005 Edition
A series of free effects for GarageBand
and more
Get it: http://mda.smartelectronix.com
Use this to play those pesky Windows

Media files on your Mac.
This great piece of software allows you
Handbrake’s interface doesn’t look pretty, to easily play Windows Media files right
but the movies it creates sure do. inside of QuickTime Player. Note that
Just pop your DVD into your Mac, and Flip4Mac doesn’t support protected
HandBrake will convert it to a file files—those are only playable inside
playable by QuickTime or on your iPod. Windows itself.
Just make sure you’re not breaking the Set it, forget it, and just jam, man.
law when you do it, OK? Whether you want to be Jan Hammer
with a ring modulator, Joe Walsh with
a great talk box, or Jimmy Smith with a
Leslie, this free bundle of effects is an
awesome place to start.
24 January 2007
☛
MacFixIt Forums. Go to www
Support .macfixitforums.com and you’ll find

another great site full of thousands
of devoted geeks ready to share their
wisdom with you.
Though the Mac is clearly the most stable computing platform around, Apple Discussion Groups. Though
that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, nor does it mean that we—as Mac owners— the quality has diminished since Apple
always know how to do everything with our machines. Luckily, you can get eighty-sixed all of its paid moderators,
good support for free if you know where to look. http://discussions.apple.com still has
some active volunteers answering
questions and keeping things moving.
Genius Bar MUGs
If an Apple Store happens to have MUGs—Mac User Groups—are great Podcasts
sprouted up near your house, you can resources. Your local MUG is a network There are many podcasts dedicated to
take advantage of the Genius Bar. And of fellow Mac users with whom you can helping you get the most out of your
the name is accurate—these folks can share tips and all sorts of Mac geekery. Mac. Most of these shows will take
be of help with everything from fixing If you’re not sure what’s available near questions by email as well as voice mail,
your malfunctioning Mac to showing you, visit www.apple.com/usergroups allowing you to phone in a question that
you the ins and outs of GarageBand. Go to find your closest MUG. might get answered on the air.
online to www.apple.com/retail to make MacCast. Though this show definitely
an appointment (or simply call the store Help on the Web includes quite a bit of news, it has a
directly if your Mac is too sick to get There are a ton of Web sites where you healthy support aspect to it as well;
online) and then head on in. Regular Joe can tap some knowledgeable Mac gurus you’ll find it at www.maccast.com.
customers can reserve appointments the and get answers to your questions. The Mac Observer’s Mac Geek Gab.
day of, but a $100 ProCare card gets you Mac Owners Support Group. At Hosted by two longtime Mac geeks
14-day advance access to appointments. http://macosg.com you’ll find an Apple- (including your humble author), this
In hella-busy markets such as New York endorsed online user group full of some show often focuses on addressing
or San Francisco, that may be the best exceptionally knowledgeable, helpful, questions sent in by listeners. Take your
100 bucks you’ll ever spend. and active members. tales of woe to www.macgeekgab.com.
Voice Calling
Apple opened Pandora’s box when it let us start audio- and video-
chatting with other Mac users via iChat AV—but the conversation
doesn’t stop there. A few other apps and platforms have cropped up,
letting you chat not just with other Mac users, but with folks on all
sorts of computers.
Gab away—for free—with Skype 2.0.

Skype 2.0
Get it: www.skype.com making calls—it doesn’t hold a candle crossplatform (Mac, Windows, Linux)
You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later to iChat’s near-perfect speakerphone chat client, though currently it only
If you haven’t already heard of Skype, capabilities. That said, Skype is way supports audio, not video. Calls to other
you must not get out much. Simply put, better at dealing with firewalls and Gizmo users (including to their landlines
Skype not only lets you place voice and routers than iChat, and it can be a real and cell phones) are free, but outgoing
video calls to other computer users thing of beauty if you’re in an office calls to anyone else’s landline or cell
(including people using Windows and or hotel that has a funky network. will cost you a few cents—a penny per
Linux), but also includes a link to the Pay options include voice mail, SMS minute in the U.S. Gizmo does have echo
“real” world, letting you call U.S.-based messaging, and international calling. cancellation to make for a more natural
landlines, as well, all for free—at least speakerphone-type experience, and it
until the end of ’06. The quality of the Gizmo Project also includes a way of recording your
sound is many times better than that Get it: www.gizmoproject.com calls, which can be quite handy when
of iChat AV, though Skype basically You need: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later talking to absent-minded coworkers or
requires you to use headphones while Similar to Skype, Gizmo is a family members.
January 2007 25
Dem
If you
☛ on yo
getd
netw
storage per account, and Google Search onlin
Google Stuff to pore through it all, Gmail is one of the

true gems of the free-stuff-on-the-Web
world; check it out at www.gmail.com.
and j
once
when
Playe
OK, yeah, we love and hate Google at the same time. It scares the pants off of Earth Release 4 beta Mon
us, too. But if the company is going to rule the world and become Big Brother, Perhaps one of the coolest time-wasters [scre
we might as well enjoy the ride, right? Google gives so much stuff away that in history, Google Earth (www.google Expa
you’d think all of its engineers work for free. Some of our favorites are: .com/earth) lets you take yourself on a with
tour of basically anywhere on the planet.
Just type in an address or even the name
Docs & Spreadsheets other folks on a single document, and it of your favorite restaurant, and though
The Google dudes and dudettes know tracks revisions better than Word itself. the combined power of Google’s search
their interactive Web stuff. Docs & engine, satellite images, and maps,
Spreadsheets (http://docs.google Gmail you’ll be taken there. Then you can float
.com) lets you edit files right in your Yes, .Mac Mail has a spiffy new interface around, rotate your view, zoom in and
Web browser. You can start from scratch (see p14), but it ain’t free, and it ain’t as out, and really suss things out. You can
or simply upload your existing Word or slick as Gmail (www.gmail.com). With the even plan routes and let Google Earth
Excel files. You can also collaborate with best Web interface around, nearly 3GB of “fly” them while you watch.
Edit text and spreadsheets right in your Web Free Web mail has never been so tasty. Not much escapes Google Earth.
browser from any computer, Mac or PC.
Music ☛ Music
Though the RIAA and MPAA have
Downloads ☛
CNET Music. Free streaming
done their part to make sure that music from some of your favorite
Is it possible to bag free music without most everyone even thinking artists can be found at http://
supporting the college funds of defense about downloading music or music.download.com.
lawyers’ kids? Yes, it is. Read on. movies from the Web rots away
in a cold, dark cell (or, at the very FreeMacMusic. Pop on over to
least, is threatened with such), www.freemacmusic.com to find
there are plenty of places on reviews of and links to music,
Pandora the Web where you can still get all categorized by genre.
Tell Pandora (www.pandora.com) about music you like, free, quality tunes. There are lots
and it will create a custom Internet radio station for you. of artists who’ll happily share Artist Direct. Music and videos
Continue rating songs as you listen to them, and soon their music with you for free, in from top stars are available for
you’ll be in musical bliss. hopes of furthering their art and your edification and enjoyment
expanding their fan base. at www.artistdirect.com.
eMusic
Even though eMusic (www.emusic.com) isn’t free forever, Internet Archive. Literally GoingWare. Check out www
you can still get 25 free tunes from them, and the MP3s will hundreds of thousands of audio .goingware.com/tips/legal-
work fine on your iPod. Get ’em while they’re hot. files—including more than downloads.html to find links
30,000 concerts—are freely to thousands of sites that offer
FreeMacMusic available at www.archive.com. free music downloads.
A ton of free music is available on the Web, and the kind
folks at FreeMacMusic.com can help you find a tasty,
When he’s not busy podcasting the Mac Geek Gab or berating his minions at
steaming heap of it. MacObserver.com, Dave Hamilton takes his frustrations out on his drum kit.
26 January 2007
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Left
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TOY BOY: How Rob Swift uses his Mac to design the most mind-blowing toys!
Mac|Life
C R E AT E SHARE
E N J OY
FEBRUARY 2007 NO. 1
iLife
’07
Grow Your
Creativity!
>> WE REVEAL
YOUR MAC’S
HIDDEN
POWERS.
HOW TO REVIEWED
>Blog from your cell phone >Apple’s tiniest iPod
>Create special effects in iMovie >Custom shuffle accessories
>Master home entertainment lingo >Skype vs. SightSpeed
>Rescue files from a dead drive >NEC 19-inch widescreen display
Mac |Life >46<
F E B RUA RY 20 07 VO L 1 . N O.1
C R E AT E
E N J OY
SHARE
PICK
ONE UP
There’s more to portable
hard drives than capacity and
speed. We test the best-
looking handheld drives
for your Mac.
PORTABLE STORAGE isn’t nearly as humdrum as you
might think—especially now that DRIVE MAKERS
are starting to pay more attention to the appearance
of their GRAB-AND-GO OFFERINGS.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HANDS-ON
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
S TO RAG E
R
emember the beige box? Mac users have long had much cooler-looking
alternatives to the drab, putty-colored personal computers of the ’80s
and ’90s. But only recently have makers of external hard drives put as
much thought into the exterior design of their products as they put into the
internal engineering. Of course, we know that a portable drive’s performance has
absolutely nothing to do with how cool (or uncool) its case is. But we use Macs in
part because they’re the best-looking computers out there. Why shouldn’t we be
just as picky about our portable hard drives?
We gathered a group of portable hard drives with a range of storage
capacities. Then we loaded ’em up with our most storage-hungry files to
determine which ones are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside.
>>>12 M|L FEB•07 FEB•07 M|L 13<<<
FEATURES
COVER STORY
>>53 TOY STORY
>>32 THE Are you ready to play?
HIDDEN You won’t believe the amazing
POWERS OF tricks Rob Swift makes his Mac
iLIFE ’07 do in the course of designing
Apple’s creativity software the most innovative new toys.
includes undocumented (Only a Mac user could have
features that pump up its this much fun at work.)
capabilities beyond
what you ever thought
possible. We show you
how to unlock them all.
>>>12 M|L
>>>32 M|L FEB
FEB•07
07 ■
Departments
10 CONSIDER Our editor welcomes you to the most
eye-pleasing and useful Mac magazine ever created.
14 SHARE You know how your mom always said that
if you don’t have anything polite to say, don’t say
90
anything at all? Your mom doesn’t edit this magazine.
PLUS: You tell us: What feature do you most want to Create
see in an iPhone?
38 Upgrade Your MacBook
18 START An exclusive tour of one man’s amazing Pro’s Hard Drive Don’t be
basement Mac museum. A half-dozen reasons to be content with your ’Book’s
glad you haven’t bought a Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. puny storage capacity.
The truth about wireless security—and much more! 90 Call In Your Next Blog
28 CRAVE Can’t wait for iTV (or whatever Apple ends Post Why should your online
up calling it)? Now you don’t have to! presence fade just because
you’re away from civilization?
80 LEARN Feast your eyes on this field guide to home-
18
93 Master Filters In iMovie
entertainment technology terms. Channel your inner Scorsese,
86 ASK You asked, we answer. Learn how to turn iCal Bruckheimer, or Tarantino. All
into the ideal personal assistant, take control of fonts, you need is the right iMovie
and batch-convert high-res images for the Web. filter to set a film’s tone.
105 100
113
Reviews Listen PLAY
36 iPod shuffle Apple’s teensiest music player 112 ¡Bailé con iTunes Latina! digital- 117 Is It Time to Install a
37 K100D SLR camera music trend report Graphics Card in Your Mac?
37 TubeSock YouTube-to-iPod software 112 2G nano Cases five superskinny, trend report
supercool nano cases 119 Call of Duty 2 tips and tricks
99 Aperture 1.5.1 post-production photo software
113 AudioStation iPod speakers 119 Super Elvis coming soon
99 Blow Up Photoshop plug-in
113 FM8 audio synthesizer 119 Star Wars: Empire at War
100 HV10 high-definition digital camcorder
113 Vibe Modaphones stereo coming soon
101 Stylus Photo R380 photo printer
earphones 120 Derelict shooter game review
102 d2 SATA II 3Gbits 500GB desktop hard drive
116 Jukebox Station 80-watt stereo 121 Quizland trivia game review
103 FastTrack Schedule 9.1 project-management amplifier and iPod dock
software 121 X-Plane 8.50 flight sim game
116 Tower booming iPod speaker review
104 Skype 2.0 vs. SightSpeed Internet stand
videoconferencing and calling 122 The Sims 2: Pets Sims game
116 Absynth 4 synthesizer software review
105 Huckleberry “see-behind” glasses for iSight
105 MultiSync LCD 195WVXM 19-inch widescreen
112
display
109 Slingbox Tuner and SlingPlayer watch TV on
your Mac
109 iYoga fitness software
110 RoverTv portable DVR
COVER ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN MCFAUL
FEB 07 M|L
FEB•07
n
M|L 33<<<
12<<<
>>>Start FEED YOUR
MIND.
FEAST YOUR
EYES.
>>>10 TASTY FACTS ABOUT....
iPOD VENDING
MACHINES
The only thing that stands
between you and the objects
of your desire is seven feet
of shatterproof glass.
S
tifle the inevitable quips about
needing a thousand quarters to
buy a 30GB iPod: The machines
only take credit cards. And try not to get all
riled up imagining what you’d do if the last-
available shuffle got stuck on its way out
of the chute, because pounding on one of
these 1,600-pound hunks of metal and glass,
or attempting to tip it over, is pointless.
Zoom Systems, the San Francisco company
behind the ultra-high-tech vending machines,
assures us that they are engineered to
deliver products flawlessly every time.
(Plus, the goods inside are protected by
shatterproof glass and security cameras. So
back off.)
It’s scary how easy it is to part with your
money: Touch the screen, choose your
poison, and hit “buy now.” Swipe your card,
enter your PIN, and wait a few seconds for
the robotic arm to swish over to your item,
pick it up, and drop it gently into the slot
under the touchscreen. Before you can tear
off the shrink-wrap, out pops a receipt.
Congratulations…you’re so addicted to all
things Apple that you can’t walk by a vending
machine—a vending machine—without
indulging your iPod jones.
Here are 10 tidbits we bet you didn’t know
about Apple’s answer to instant gratification.
—Leslie Ayers
>>>34 M|L FEB•07

Deep Tech
>>>NUMBERS CRUNCH.
WE DID THE MATH BY R I K M YS L E W S K I

There’s a lot of freakin’ code in the new Mac Office.
A mind-numbing factoid recently popped up on Mac Mojo (blogs.msdn.com/
macmojo), the blog authored by the Microsoft Office for Mac developer team, aka
MacBU: At last count, there were 30 million lines of code in the new version of Office HUNGRY FOR A
for the Mac. Each MacBU developer is in charge of about a half-million lines, or, as TRIPLE TREAT?
the post noted, roughly the equivalent of 35 paperback books’ worth. To help you Personal computers have always benefited from
wrap your brain around that total number—30 million lines!—here are a few more advancements first developed for “big iron”—
points of comparison: industrial-strength servers such as those that today
30,000,000 lines of code

feed the world’s voracious online appetite. YouTube,
for example, serves 100 million videos each day. Google
uses an estimated 450,000 servers to handle a billion
are 3 million full-screen text If printed out and laid daily search requests. And then there’s the explosion of
messages sent from end to end, the distance
roughly Paris Hilton’s Sidekick t between Apple’s HQ in Web 2.0 sites such as Digg, Facebook, Del.icio.us, and
equal s A mere six
Cupertino, California, and many more. (After all, it takes an enormous amount
the Microsoft compound
to volumes out of in Redmond, Washington of computing power to give you instant access to
the 20-volume (852.5 miles door to door, everyone who “dugg” a BBC article on blue-jean dye’s
Oxford English if you must know) potentially deadly effect on cancer cells.)
Dictionary
In response, Intel inaugurated its Terascale
Research Program, an effort to radically boost the
performance of giant server farms. At the recent Intel
Developer Forum, the company announced three
mind-boggling hardware breakthroughs.
The first is an 80-core processor. (And you thought
1. WORTH THEIR WEIGHT Weighing 1,600 pounds and consuming 30 square your dual-core MacBook was burly.) Each of the 80
feet, the digital-music machines’ average sales range from $1,600 to $16,000 per square cores in this proof-of-concept chip is a simple math-
foot. Not bad. The flagship Apple Store in Manhattan averages $4,000 per square foot. only processor—so don’t expect to play Quake 4 at
light speed anytime soon. What’s important about this
2. AS SEEN ON TV Beyond iPods, other electronics, and standard vending-machine
fare, certain Zoom shops also sell Neutrogena and Proactiv skin-care products. (Late-night
TV watchers will recognize Proactiv as the three-step acne treatment that gave Jessica
The future of processors is
Simpson her now-perfect complexion.) fast. Breathtakingly fast.
3. JUST TRY IT A word to Barry Bonds wannabes: The glass on these machines is beastie is, well, that it exists, and that it can process
truly shatterproof, even if whacked with a baseball bat. (The engineers at Zoom Systems 1 trillion floating-point math instructions per second,
tell us that they actually tried it.) what engineer types call a teraflop.
One of the biggest barriers to maximizing the
4. FIRST TO MARKET The first two vending machines selling iPods appeared in
performance of a multicore processor is feeding it
the Atlanta airport and Macy’s in San Francisco’s Union Square in 2005.
enough data from memory. The standard scheme of
5. LOCATION, LOCATION The iPod machines can be found in 200 well-trafficked accessing memory from DIMM slots over a system bus
locations around the country, including airports, department stores, and even grocery stores. would choke mightily if asked to feed 80 processor
cores. To solve this, Intel places the processor cores
6. ON THE CLOCK After you’ve made your selection, the delivery portion of a directly on top of the memory chips, one slab of RAM
purchase takes an average of 59 seconds. When was the last time you got through any per core, using thousands of electrical connections. The
checkout lane in less than five minutes? result? The 80-core chip ’n’ RAM array has a memory
bandwidth of one terabyte per second—that’s about
7. KA-CHING! The priciest item sold in any Zoom Systems electronics vending
100 times faster than your MacBook.
machine is the $499 Motorola Q phone. The average purchase is between $85 and $145.
To feed this puppy with data from the outside
8. OH, BIG BROTHER Security cameras monitor the exterior of the machines, world, Intel also developed electrically pumped
which constantly send electronic data to the Zoom Systems “nerve center.” The telemetry silicon lasers that can deliver one terabit of data per
ranges from diagnostics and low-inventory alerts to info on consumer behavior patterns second down a single optical fiber. Exactly how they
and how much receipt paper is left. accomplish this is beyond the scope of this column,
but the technology is affordable, reliable, and 50 times
9. PERSONAL EFFECTS Early on, iPods were sold as part of Zoom Systems’
as fast as copper wire.
“Hotel 24 concept”—shorthand for machines outfitted with hotel guests in mind. The
concept had iPods and accessories rubbing elbows with yogurt-covered pretzels, Scope Intel estimates that it will take five years for this
mouthwash, and Trojan-Enz condoms. technology to find a home in big iron—and when it
eventually trickles down to your Mac, you’ll be able
10. OH, AND BY THE WAY… Despite successful sales of Apple products, there’s to use natural-language voice commands in games
one thing about Zoom Systems’ machines that Steve Jobs probably wouldn’t want you to rendered in real-time ray-traced image quality.
know: They run on Windows.
When Rik gets his 80-core Mac, he’ll use it to
instantly auto-translate Skype calls to his peeps
in Poznan into perfect Polish.
FEB•07 M|L 35<<<

>>>Reviews TOUGH TESTING, TRUSTED RATINGS
iPOD SHUFFLE
COMPANY: Apple
www.apple.com
PRICE: $79
REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS
10.3.9 or later, iTunes 7.0.2 or
later, USB
Tiny. Durable
aluminum casing.
No display. Ships with old iPod
earbuds. Can’t play Apple
Lossless files.
Mac | Life G R E A T
R A T E D
iPOD SHUFFLE
APPLE’S LITTLEST MUSIC PLAYER

Measuring 1.07 by 1.62 by 0.41 inches, the your Mac and sync it with iTunes.
sleek, aluminum-encased iPod shuffle is a The one major flaw: Our shuffle came with the older-
EDITORS’ tiny technological treasure. generation earbuds, not the new improved ones. Sure,
CHOICE The clip opens to just under a half-inch $79 is a bargain—and Apple had to keep the price
wide, big enough to latch it onto a lapel, down somehow—but we still felt slightly cheated. And
pocket, or backpack strap. The clip could be a tad tighter— audiophiles aren’t going to like one other bit of news about
iPOD
it didn’t take much effort to yank the shuffle off its mount, the shuffle: It can’t play files encoded in Apple Lossless
SHUFFLE:
though it barely budged with natural movement. Using the format. So if you’ve ripped your entire music library this
ACTUAL SIZE
controls when it’s clipped on your shirt or pants pocket is way, those tracks are off-limits to your shuffle unless you
1.07 inches by
effortless, and Apple put an LED indicator light on the top rerip them using standard compression.
1.62 inches
and bottom of the shuffle. Nice touch. (Apple provides a The bottom line. If it weren’t for the outdated earbuds,
cheat sheet to decipher the different LED colors and blinks.) the new iPod shuffle would get our highest rating.
You also get a cute li’l USB dock to connect the shuffle to —Roman Loyola
>>>36 M|L FEB• 07
12 Mac|Life February 2007

ALSO >>> APERTURE 1.5.1 • SKYPE VS. SIGHTSPEED • iYOGA
▲
TRICK OUT
YOUR SHUFFLE TUBESOCK
Protect your shuffle with
a clear, durable shell—and
keep the cords tidy, too.
HANDY VIDEO CONVERTER EDITORS’
TubeSock takes YouTube (www.youtube.com) video clips, reformats them
MOPHIE MUEVA WRAPTOR CHOICE
($10, www.mophie.com) for your iPod, and saves them on your hard drive. Simply enter the video’s
URL at the top of TubeSock’s window. At the bottom of the window, choose TUBE SOCK
your format and where to save the file. It’s that simple. Too bad TubeSock
COMPANY: stinkbot
can’t load videos directly to your iPod. www.stinkbot.com
PRICE: $15
You can make TubeSock an option in Safari’s REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS X
Bookmarks Bar; then you’d just click the Show 10.3.9 or later, Internet connection
In TubeSock button in Safari to make that video Inexpensive. Easy to use.
Simple Safari integration.
appear in TubeSock, ready to reformat and rip. Preserves YouTube’s resolution.
Can’t load clips
The bottom line. All apps directly to an iPod.
From YouTube should be as easy to use as Mac | Life G R E A T
to YourMac. TubeSock.—James Ellerbeck R A T E D
P E N TA X K 1 0 0 D
SLR FOR FIRST-TIME USERS PENTAX K100D

Pentax’s K100D SLR camera is so user-friendly it practically smiles when
COMPANY: Pentax
it’s powered up. Good ergonomics coupled with a stainless steel chassis www.pentaxslr.com
PRICE: $699 with 18-to-55mm
and a killer price make it an ideal choice when you’re ready to move up to (27-to-83mm 35mm equivalent)
Tame your earbud cables a digital SLR camera. f/3.5-to-5.6 zoom lens
with this happy little REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 8.6
monster, available in four
Although the K100D’s 6.1-megapixel resolution may sound puny in or later, Mac OS 10.1 or later, USB
colors and even a glow- today’s 10-megapixel world, we found its resolution to be more than Quality construction.
in-the-dark version! Excellent images. Built-in
TUNEWEAR TETRAN
enough to roll color-brilliant, tack-sharp images out of our Epson Stylus shake reduction works with all
Pentax lenses. ISO to 3,200 for
($12.95, www.tunewear.com) 2200. The camera’s stock lens, a smooth-as-butter Pentax f/3.5-to-5.6 extreme low-light photography.
Uses AA batteries.
zoom lens with a focal length of 18 to 55mm (27 to 83mm in 35mm
Continuous shooting limited
terms), includes a sunshade and is perfect for general photography. When to four to five frames before
buffer fills. Four-way rocker
used at its widest focal length, however, slight vignetting (darkening) switch not positive enough. Short
battery life.
appeared at the extreme corners of the image.
Mac | Life G R E A T
The K100D has a built-in shake-reduction mode that compensates for R A T E D
unsteadiness at slow shutter speeds; it also works well for tight zooms
and extreme close-ups. This feature works with any Pentax lens, and with
an inexpensive adapter ($25), you can even use earlier screw-in lenses, Don’t be put off by
its 6.1-megapixel
though you’ll need to manually focus and set apertures.
resolution—this is
The K100D can take awesome black-and-white infrared pictures—a plenty of camera for
secret not revealed in the otherwise well-written manual. We gave this the price.
a try by placing a visually opaque Tiffen 87 infrared filter over the
Sporty, earmuff-style
lens. Though we then had to approximate where to aim the
covers for your earbuds
let you rock out without camera, the K100D was able to focus through the filter
tuning out traffic noise.
and calculate exposure, and it usually selected
SLIPSTREAMZ SLIP
($12.99, www.slipstreamz.com) shutter speeds from 1/6 to 1/30 of a second.
Most other digital SLRs (if they can shoot IR at
all) require long exposures and a tripod; with
the K100D’s shake reduction activated, we
captured sharp, well-exposed images.
The bottom line. The K100D is a quality
camera that’s fun to shoot with and delivers
superb images, and it’s available at a great
price.—Arthur Bleich
FEB• 07 M|L 37<<<

>>>Create>>>>>> HOW TO DO ANYTHING ON YOUR MAC
Upgrade Your
MacBook Pro’s Hard Drive
We don’t blame you if you’re jealous of your friends who have brand-new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros—all of which come
standard with at least 120GB hard drives. There’s no easy way to upgrade your ’Book’s processor (short of starting over
with a new one), but we can show you how to change out the hard drive for a roomier one.
Before you begin, clear off a work surface at least three times the size of your MacBook Pro and gather the items
listed below. Back up your hard drive before you start—just in case. To get your apps and data onto the new drive, we
recommend procuring a SATADock v4 from WiebeTech ($229.95, www.wiebetech.com). After installing the new drive,
connect your old drive to your MacBook Pro via the SATADock v4 and install OS X. When your ’Book reboots itself, follow
the Setup Assistant’s prompts to transfer your settings, files, and apps. BY NIKO COUCOUVANIS
>>CAUTION<< >>>WHAT YOU NEED

If you’re the type who
never crosses against the >> MacBook Pro ($1,999 and up, www.apple.com)
light, think long and hard before
attempting this upgrade. Unless >> 2.5-inch SATA hard drive, such as a Hitachi
you’re an authorized Apple Travelstar 160GB 5K160 5,400 rpm SATA
service technician, cracking Notebook Drive with 8MB Cache
open your MacBook Pro ($199.95, www.macsales.com)
voids the warranty. >> #0 Phillips screwdriver
>> T6 TORX screwdriver
>> Tape and paper, or sticky notepad
You’ll get a bigger hard drive and

a peek under the hood. And yes,
the screen will be blank when you
do this, since your MacBook Pro
will be powered down, unplugged,
and without its battery.
>>>38 M|L FEB• 07

ALSO >>> BLOG FROM YOUR CELL PHONE • MASTER iMOVIE FILTERS
▲
>>
1 Drive Out the Screws
Shut down and unplug your MacBook Pro, and then
remove the battery. Remove the screws as indicated in the
4Take Off
the Top
Remove the upper deck,
photo below—and don’t mix them up or lose them. Tape keyboard and all, by first gently
the screws to a piece of paper and label each screw with its prying up the rear (under the
exact location, or affix each set of screws to the sticky strip screen) with something flat, and
on a sticky note, labeling the note. Trust us—when it’s time then working it up gradually
to put the case back together, you won’t be able to tell the with your fingers toward the
RAM hatch screws from the side screws, or the long rear front. When only the front edge
corner screws from the ones that go in by the RAM riser. is attached, gently wiggle the
top piece to release it. (And be
careful not to raise the rear edge
too high off the base.) Once
you’ve freed the front edge,
angle the keyboard back, pivoting As you gently pry your ’Book’s
▲ ▲ ▲
it on the rear edge, and unplug top off, mind the keyboard
the keyboard connector. connector back there.
▲
The keyboard connector plug is so

Follow the arrows to find the screws. delicate that it has to be taped down to
the motherboard—so be careful not to
mangle the tape. If necessary, you can
2Remove the RAM

replace it with clear tape.
With the first batch of screws out of the way, remove

the RAM hatch door by pulling it out toward the vacant
battery bay. Release the small levers on each side of the RAM
module (which will spring up to about a 30-degree angle), pull
the module straight out, and set it aside. Repeat this process
5Dig Out the Drive
Remove the two screws shown
in the photo at right and move the
if you find another RAM chip lurking beneath the first one. Bluetooth wad out of the way. Unstick
Now remove the two screws at the rear of the RAM hatch. the two white plugs attached to the
(You’re taping all of these screws down as you go, right?) top of the drive and nudge those aside.
Leave the thin ribbon cables attached
for now—if you’re careful, you can
work around them. Gently pry up the
drive from either the front or rear inner
corner (away from the ’Book’s edge); the
mounting bracket will come out with it, so
note its orientation so you can replace it
correctly. Remove the combo plug from The brown ribbon cable
the end of the drive, leaving the ribbon connects the hard drive to
cable attached to the motherboard. the motherboard.
After releasing the levers, pull the RAM straight out.
3 Two More
Screws
6Rubber Baby
Hard-Drive Bumpers
Unscrew the four bumpers from your MacBook Pro’s
Flip your ’Book over to find original hard drive and install them on the new drive.
the two screws hiding in the Now comes the tricky part: Attach the ribbon-cable
battery bay, right under the connector you removed from the original drive to the
trackpad. These screws tap new drive and wedge it into place against the ’Book’s
into the lid-latch assembly, outer edge (look closely and you can see round
so be extra careful not to recesses for the bumpers) while keeping the mounting bracket noted in step
lose or confuse them. Do 5 wedged against the drive’s other side. As you work, mind the Bluetooth
not forget to remove these wad and its associated wires, and make sure you tuck in all four bumpers
Look for the screws in before prying up the top of on the hard drive snugly. When you get the drive in, replace the two screws
the battery bay. the ’Book! from step 5. Now put everything back in the order you took it apart. |<
FEB•07 M|L 39<<<

Field Guide to WIRELESS NETWORKING
Walkin’ in a Wi-Fi
Wonderland
by Niko Coucouvanis
W ireless networking, aka Wi-Fi, is arguably

humankind’s best invention since the
television. And much like the world of TV
technology, the Wi-Fi landscape is littered with
acronymic protocols, overlapping standards,
and incompatible hardware. Here’s how to stoke
your bloke (or your betty, or yourself) with home-
networking gear that works—with an existing
network, with a Mac, and with the knowledge you
glean from these pages.
802.11n isn’t yet an accepted

standard, but Belkin’s N1
Wireless Router ($149.99, www
.belkin.com) is a promising start.
The Specs WDS Extending a Wi-Fi network to cover your sprawling

estate might require you to set up a Wireless Distribution
802.11b Apple’s original AirPort introduced Wi-Fi to the System, which merges multiple access points (also known as
masses. Operating in the 2.4GHz frequency, 802.11b is limited base stations) into a single network covering more area than
to theoretical speeds of 11Mbps and a relatively meager range a lone router can. Such a setup requires compatible hardware
of 150 feet. and generally works best if all of the devices in the system come
from the same manufacturer.
802.11g The second wave of wireless, 802.11g boosts
802.11b’s speed and range to 54Mbps and 300 feet, ENHANCED 802.11g (TURBO G, SUPER G,
respectively, and provides backward compatibility with 802.11b 108G) Most Wi-Fi vendors have adapted MIMO versions of
devices (without the increased speed and range). Apple’s current their .11g gear to provide theoretical speeds of 108Mbps—twice
AirPort devices—and most other Wi-Fi hardware—use 802.11g. .11g’s 54Mbps. But none of the double-g solutions work with
Apple’s AirPort card; to use MIMO-g on a Mac, you need a
802.11n A few different versions of 802.11n are already on specific Wi-Fi adapter and router and OrangeWare’s Wireless
the table, dubbed “pre-n” and available from the likes of Belkin Driver for Mac ($15, www.orangeware.com). Check the
and Netgear. In fact, Belkin gave up on waiting for the official OrangeWare Web site for device compatibility.
spec and has debuted its N1 line of 802.11n hardware. 802.11n
boasts speeds of up to 300Mbps, but only with specific .11n SECURITY MATTERS Imagine your personal
drivers, which aren’t available for the Mac. AirPort cards using information flying through the air where any passing creep can
.11b and .11g can connect to .11n networks, but only at their harvest it by the handful. Wi-Fi certainly opens you up to this
respective native speeds. risk. That’s why we always suggest using security encryption.
Your AirPort card supports all of the common wireless security
MIMO Multiple Input, Multiple Output is all the rage—despite standards, which include various flavors of WEP and WPA.
sounding like a bad porno flick. Where normal Wi-Fi sends data (LEAP falls under WEP, smartypants.) However, we’ve found that
over one channel in the 2.4GHz frequency, MIMO splits the signal different vendors implement the standards differently, so, for
over two or more channels within the 2.4GHz band, increasing example, if you can’t connect to a given router using WEP 40-bit
both speed and range. 802.11n is basically MIMO-fortified .11g. hex, switching the security to WEP 128-bit ASCII might get you in.
42 January 2007
Hardware
For a simple, short-
WI-FI ROUTER A modern router is essentially a network in a box. It range Wi-Fi network,
provides Ethernet ports to connect nonwireless Macs, a Wi-Fi transmitter for an AirPort Express
wireless connections, and all the networking protocols you need to keep your ($129, www.apple
Macs connected with each other and the Internet—while keeping hackers out. .com) is all you need.
WI-FI ADAPTER Apple’s AirPort Extreme REPEATER A repeater is a combined Wi-Fi receiver/transmitter that
Card is by far the most common Wi-Fi adapter can pick up a faint Wi-Fi signal and boost it. If your neighbor’s unsecured
for Macs. Not only does the card come built in network is allllmost within working range of your desk or couch, for example,
on most modern Macs, it’s nearly the only Wi-Fi stick a repeater in your house where the signal is strongest, and avail
adapter available with Mac-compatible drivers. yourself of some free Wi-Fi!
ACCESS POINT To extend your own network via WDS Small and wedge-shaped,
(Wireless Distribution System), or to connect (or bridge) a wireless the Belkin Wireless G
network to a wired one, you want to connect an access point Travel Router ($69.99,
via either Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Unlike a simple signal repeater, an www.belkin.com) functions
access point gets its own IP address from the main router so it can as an access point,
essentially create a new network and act as a conduit between this repeater, or adapter.
new network and the main network.
ONE STEP BEYOND In the time-honored tradition of plug and play, one excellent way to
get more out of your wireless network is to add an antenna or signal booster. MacWireless has plenty
to choose from, including our favorite combo, the dangerous-looking (it’s freakin’ 5 feet tall!) 12dBi Crikey! If this antenna
Omni Antenna ($149, www.macwireless.com) paired with the company’s 11g 15x AirPort Mini Booster doesn’t give you
($159.98), which is available with connectors to fit Apple’s AirPort Extreme, as well as anything sporting enough Wi-Fi range,
either an RP-TNC or an RP-SMA antenna connector—which covers just about every router we’ve seen. you’re beyond hope.
ONE STEP TOO FAR What about HI-GAIN, NO PAIN For the fastest,
those sexy little antennae people hook farthest-reaching network, we recommend Hawking
up to their G4 PowerBooks? Most of those Technologies’ Hi-Gain Wireless-108G MIMO Router with
connect directly to the AirPort card, which AMP Technology ($129, www.hawkingtech.com) and
is buried deep in the ’Book’s bowels, the matching Hi-Gain Mini Wirelesss-108G USB Adapter
meaning you have to eviscerate your laptop ($49.99). The latter is one of the only Wi-Fi adapters
to install them. Last time we tried one, it (not made by Apple) that provides Mac drivers. You can
cost our PowerBook a new SuperDrive and also use your AirPort card with Hawking’s router—we The router’s three
keyboard—more than $300—and barely did, and got better range than with an AirPort router, antennae work together
boosted the ’Book’s range. but note that you need the matching USB Wi-Fi adapter to boost your speed
to get the full MIMO 108Mbps support. and range.
P.S. DON’T FORGET THE POWERSQUID Network gear is notorious The PowerSquid
for using extra-bulky AC transformers (aka wall warts), which can block outlets left and is a sure sign of
right on a regular power strip. The solution is a smarter power strip, and we dig Flexity’s evolution.
PowerSquid Surge3000 Calamari Edition ($79.95, www.powersquid.net). Besides
its cool name and dangerous-looking design, the ’Squid can accommodate the most
heinous AC adapter—plus, two of the outlets sport LEDs for easier use in the dark under
your desk.
Wi-Fi reaffirms Niko Coucouvanis’s faith in humanity.

January 2007 43
You’ll be
blown away.
RATIN¬S
You’ll be
impressed.
You’ll be
satisfied.
You’ll be
disappointed.
You’ll be
pissed off.
REVIEWS
better living through smarter shopping
45
The Audioengine 5 speakers (pictured) not only

have iPod connectivity, but also feature a rear AC
outlet and an auxiliary jack, so you can connect
Apple’s AirPort Express and remotely play your
iTunes music. See the full review on page 62.
Next month we’ll look at Canon’s HV10 high-
definition camcorder, Doghouse Electronics’
RoverTv portable media recorder and player, Alien
Skin’s Blow Up plug-in for Photoshop, Native
Instruments’ FM8 audio synthesizer, and more.
Reviews
46 15-inch 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro notebook Mac
62 Audioengine 5 speakers
60 Avid Xpress Pro 5.5 video-production software suite
53 Battery 3 drum sampler
63 B-Flex USB speaker
55 Blinkit iPod light
54 Bravo SE Disc Publisher optical-disc publisher
54 FontVista 3.5 font catalog software
56 imagePROGRAF iPF5000 wide-format printer
55 Intuos3 4x6 tablet
36 iPod shuffle digital-music player
58 i-Station3 iPod speaker stand
63 iSuperCharger iPod charger
37 K100D SLR camera
49 Little Big Disk 320GB portable hard drive
50 MindManager 6 mind-mapping software
50 NovaMind 3.2 mind-mapping software
57 Photosmart R967 point-and-shoot camera
48 Picture Porter Elite digital-media storage and player
58 Silver Portable 80GB Dual external hard drive
37 TubeSock YouTube video-converter software
Games
68 Arcadrome game news
66 Bone Act One: Out from Boneville game news
68 Mountain Tanks game news
66 The Sims 2: Open for Business game review
65 Torque Game Engine 1.5 game news
65 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade coming soon
We’d spend our

own hard-earned
PHOTOGRAPH BY SAMANTHA BERG
money on this
product.
Universal application
that runs natively on
both PowerPC and
Intel Macs.
January 2007 45
46 REVIEWS
Proof that switching to Intel

was the right thing to do.
Does that mean the extra 1GB of RAM

is wasted? Not when you consider the
speed of non-Intel-native applications
that must use Apple’s Rosetta, which
performs translations of PowerPC-native
software on the fly so the MacBook’s
Intel processor can do its work. For
example, in our Adobe InDesign CS2
PDF-export test, using 1GB of RAM in
both MacBook Pros, the new MacBook
Pro was 22 percent faster. When we
boosted the RAM in the new MacBook
Pro, the InDesign results at 2GB were 13
percent faster than the 1GB results. In
15-inch 2.33GHz Core 2

our Adobe Photoshop CS2 Actions test
at 1GB, the new MacBook Pro was only
2 percent faster than the old MacBook
Duo MacBook Pro Pro. But at 2GB, the results with the new
MacBook Pro were mind-boggling—a 67
percent increase over the new MacBook
SPEEDY NOTEBOOK MAC Pro’s results at 1GB. More RAM is good.
The results in our Doom 3 video
T his is something we’re just not used

to. We only recently learned to cope
with minor update after minor update
hard drive adds $100 to the $2,499
base price. We compared the 2.33GHz
MacBook Pro’s result to the model it
benchmark test were impressive as
well. The new MacBook Pro was 31
percent faster than the old MacBook
of the PowerBook G4 notebooks. replaces, the 15-inch Core Duo–based Pro. However, before you decide that the
Then, at the beginning of 2006, the 2.16GHz MacBook Pro. new MacBook Pro would make a good
MacBook Pro came on the scene, and The speed increases with the new gaming Mac, consider that we used an
notebook users rejoiced—finally, here MacBook Pro are impressive. The Core 2 Intel-native version of Doom 3 for our
was a notebook with a long road of Duo MacBook Pro was 21 percent faster test—non-Intel-native games will suffer
development ahead of it. Now we’re than the Core Duo MacBook Pro when under Rosetta.
looking at the first stop on that road: creating a OneStep DVD from a movie We also tested battery life by
the switchover from the Core Duo to in iDVD and when applying a Sepia watching a Lawrence of Arabia DVD
the Core 2 Duo processor. And our Tone video effect in iMovie HD. When (we never get tired of that movie). The
testing shows that there’s a lot to be exporting a video in iMovie HD, the new MacBook Pro was able to make
excited about. new MacBook Pro was a whopping 43 it to the movie’s intermission, and
percent faster. In our GarageBand Send- the battery lasted two hours and 24
The speed increases with the to-iTunes test, the new MacBook Pro minutes—seven minutes longer than the
new MacBook Pro are impressive. was only 3 percent faster. These results old MacBook Pro’s battery.
were taken with the new MacBook Pro at The bottom line. If you decided to
For this review, we looked at the 2GB of RAM and the old MacBook Pro at pass on the first-generation MacBook
midrange 15-inch MacBook Pro, which 1GB. We also tested the new MacBook Pro and hold on to your PowerBook
has a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor Pro at 1GB—you can’t buy the 2.33GHz G4, don’t wait any longer—the $2,499
and comes standard with 2GB of RAM. MacBook Pro with 1GB of RAM, but we 15-inch MacBook Pro is an impressive
The notebook we tested came with a wanted to see how much of a difference notebook. There’s really no reason to
5,400-rpm 160GB hard drive instead of RAM made. And as it turns out, our iLife putter along with that G4 notebook
the 5,400-rpm 120GB hard drive that’s ’06 test results at 1GB were practically anymore, unless you’re the sentimental
in the standard configuration; the 160GB the same as our results at 2GB. type.—Roman Loyola
COMPANY: Apple SPECIFICATIONS: (as tested) 2.33GHz Intel GOOD NEWS: Nice speed boost over previous
CONTACT: 800-692-7753 or Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 256MB ATI Mobility generation. Improved Rosetta performance.
408-996-1010, www.apple.com Radeon X1600 card, 160GB SATA hard drive, BAD NEWS: 3GB RAM limit.
PRICE: $2,499 ($2,599 as tested) AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0, Apple Remote
46 January 2007
Wacom Graphire4
Have fun with your digital photos
Enhance photos with pen control

Quickly and easily edit your digital photos using the
control of the Graphire pen and your included copy
of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 3. Selectively apply
high-quality photographic enhancements using the
included Nik Color Efex Pro™ 2 GE filter collection.
Draw and paint

Create original artwork with the natural feel of your
Graphire pen and the amazing capabilities of the
® ™
included copy of Corel Painter Essentials 2.
Jot notes, handwrite emails, and sign

Use your Graphire pen on a Mac to enjoy all the
digital-inking capabilities of Apple® Inkwell®.
Patented pressure-sensitive pen

• 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for natural
brush control
• Patented cordless, battery-free technology for a
natural feel and superior performance
Cordless, battery-free mouse

• Patented cordless, battery-free, ball-free, and
optics-free mouse with three programmable
buttons and a scroll wheel
From $99 • Alternating between the pen and the mouse
reduces repetitive motion
Valuable software included

Includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Corel Painter
Essentials 2 for creating natural media art, Nik
Color Efex Pro 2 GE for selectively applying photo
Have fun with your photos! enhancements, and more.
Intuos ®
Cintiq ®
For the serious photographer,

designer, and artist
Work directly on screen Visit Call
Intuos starts at $229
Cintiq 21UX – $2499 www.MacPhotoFun.com 1.800.922.1247
©2006 Wacom Technology Corporation. Wacom, Graphire, Intuos, and Cintiq are trademarks of Wacom Company Ltd. All rights reserved.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All prices are U.S. estimated street prices.
MacAddict_Jan07.indd 1 11/1/06 5:39:55 PM

48 REVIEWS
continuous playback for stills

and videos, and up to 12 hours
when playing audio-only files:
MP3, WMA, unprotected AAC,
and WAV formats only—you
can’t play any music purchased
from the iTunes Store (you
also can’t play any TV shows
or movies purchased from the
iTunes Store). Audio, though,
is the Picture Porter Elite’s
Achilles heel. The sound from
It’s easy to use, but it won’t replace your iPod. the built-in speaker is so tinny you
can fuggeddaboudit, and you might
Picture Porter Elite think about using better-sounding

earbuds than the ones Digital Foci
provides. Tuning in to FM radio stations
USEFUL DIGITAL-MEDIA STORAGE AND PICTURE VIEWER was kludgy; the earphones have to be
plugged in because their wires double
A t a mere 1 by 1 by 3 inches, the

Picture Porter Elite is a portable
media device that can store and display
LCD allows wide-angle viewing. With
the pics now on the Picture Porter Elite,
you can clean your memory card in your
as an antenna, but plugging in the
earphones disables the speaker.
On the upside, the device plays
photos from a digital camera, play camera and shoot more pics. videos quite well. Though it’s not
music (including FM radio), and show The Picture Porter Elite rotates photos compatible with QuickTime’s MOV
videos on either the device itself or a TV. quickly, and you can check image format, it’s simpatico with MPEG-1,
It can do more than an iPod, but it’s not sharpness by zooming in. When you look MPEG-4, Motion JPEG, and WMV. If your
as elegant. at pictures, you can display limited EXIF TV has a video-in jack, you can connect
Transferring pictures from your information (exposure, ISO, resolution, the Picture Porter Elite and play its
camera is easy and relatively fast. date and time, and lens used) along videos on the TV. If your TV has a video-
Just select the Backup icon, snap in with a histogram of each image; this out jack, the Picture Porter Elite can take
your camera’s memory card (it takes information appears over the image that TV signal and record it. The problem
CompactFlash, SD, and Memory Stick; you’re looking at. We were pleasantly was that the included audio/video
other formats require third-party surprised to find that the device can cable for input to the Picture Porter
adapters), and choose either Full also display RAW images from dozens Elite didn’t work; Digital Foci confirmed
Backup, which will back up everything of cameras, such as Canon’s 1D, 30D, that the RCA plugs on our cable weren’t
300D, Rebel XT, and others; Nikon’s D80, functional. We had to spend $12 on
Even with its quirks, the Picture D70, D1x, and others; and many Kodak, phono-plug couplers to fix the problem.
Porter Elite can be useful. Fujifilm, Olympus, and Minolta cameras What a hassle.
(the Digital Foci Web site has a complete The bottom line. The Picture Porter
on the card including data, audio, and list of supported RAW formats). With the Elite is a versatile little bugger, it’s
video, or Photo Backup, which will hunt included cables and remote, viewing our simple to operate, and if you shoot a lot
only for images. We transferred 512MB photos on a TV screen and printing them of images, it could very quickly pay for
of photos from a SanDisk Ultra II CF out on any PictBridge-enabled printer itself in memory cards you won’t have to
card in two and a half minutes. Photo was a no-brainer. buy. It won’t replace an iPod for music,
thumbnails can be scrolled eight-up or The device’s rechargeable Li-Ion but even with its quirks, the Picture
displayed full-screen—a bright 3.6-inch battery provides four hours of Porter Elite can be useful.—Arthur Bleich
COMPANY: Digital Foci PRICE: $399 (40GB), $469 (80GB) GOOD NEWS: Transfers images from most memory
CONTACT: 310-763-9100, REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS X, USB cards. PictBridge printing.
www.digitalfoci.com BAD NEWS: Requires extra adapters to record TV
shows. Mediocre sound. Can’t play FM through speaker.
48 January 2007
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800, :9<F=OK2 :9<F=OK2
FireWire 800, Bigger and heavier thanBigger
other mobile
and heavier
drives.
than other mobile drives.
FireWire 400, or USB FireWire 400, or USBExpensive. Expensive.
50 REVIEWS
MindManager 6 and NovaMind 3.2

STIMULATING MIND-MAP SOFTWARE
MindManager’s interface works well, but

its layout choices can be constraining.
as linear text. As you add multiple

layers of branches, images, links, and
groupings, your map can easily grow
beyond the dimensions of your display.
Both MindManager and NovaMind help
you cope with bloat by allowing most
layout elements to be toggled globally.
When printing, for example, hiding
hyperlinks is a useful option. Selectively
hiding branch layers is also possible.
NovaMind provides a detail slider while
MindManager offers keyboard shortcuts.
MindManager’s Filter feature is a nice
touch that allows you to quickly hide
everything but the selected elements.
Exporting is where NovaMind clearly
outshines MindManager; we counted 17
ways to get your map out of NovaMind.
Keynote and PowerPoint export creates
simple presentations with the whole
map depicted on the first slide, and a
slide for each branch composed of plain
T he mind map was popularized

in the 1960s as a more natural
way to take notes. Constructed with
map. We appreciated NovaMind’s three
layout modes, which let us choose the
amount of flexibility we wanted. Despite
text. It’s not something you’re going
to present as-is, but the roughed-out
framework is something to start with
a central idea or concept placed at the different approaches to where we and—at the very least—spares you the
the center, and branches that radiate could place the branches of our maps, finger cramps and tedium of a hundred
clockwise from the center, mind maps both products offer a wide range of copy-and-paste routines. While the
are used for brainstorming, problem options for formatting branch designs, Keynote export worked as we expected,
solving, scheduling, and countless fonts, and colors. PowerPoint export isn’t a traditional
other tasks. For this review, we looked A mind map’s branches can be export at all. Rather than save a new
at a pair of mind map applications: adorned with icons, pictures, notes, and file in PowerPoint format, NovaMind
Mindjet’s MindManager 6 and NovaMind links. Both applications include scores requires you to have PowerPoint running
Development’s NovaMind 3.2. of images to use in your mind maps, but with a slide show document open at
Both products provide tutorials NovaMind’s offerings are more varied the time of export. It then controls
to get you started. We preferred and engaging than MindManager’s PowerPoint using Visual Basic Scripting
MindManager’s animated tutorial, repetitive and sometimes cryptic to create the new slides. Interestingly,
which quickly and efficiently imparts images. NovaMind displays text another NovaMind export option is
the information you need to get notes in a floating window, while the MindManager XML. MindManager, by
started. NovaMind’s written tutorial MindManager window has a notes pane contrast, isn’t as generous, offering
is effective but more time-consuming. that can be toggled. Choosing between four types of image export and three
Both products lay out your maps as you the formats is a matter of taste, but of text. More frustrating is reading the
build them—helpful for newcomers. MindManager gets our nod for displaying specifications for MindManager’s PC Pro
Unfortunately, MindManager never text notes in a tool tip whether or not the version, in which PowerPoint, Word, and
relinquishes much control over your notes pane is displayed. HTML export are touted. Argh.
Mind maps aren’t nearly as compact While MindManager and NovaMind
MINDMANAGER 6
COMPANY: Mindjet PRICE: $229 GOOD NEWS: Comfortable user interface. Password
CONTACT: 877-646-3538, REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 10.4 protection. Animated tutorials.
www.mindjet.com or later, 70MB disk space BAD NEWS: Pricey. Anemic export options.
Constraining layout choices.
50 January 2007
NovaMind has great graphics, though its interface is confusing.
share the common purpose of creating among your thoughts. Starting on any
mind maps, each has some unique branch with text, clicking the Suggest
features with no analogue in the other. Child Branch or Suggest Sibling Branch
MindManager allows maps to be button opens a list of words related to
password protected, and it can store the words on your branch. While it’s
authorship metadata. One handy feature similar to a thesaurus, the BPS casts
is the callout, comic-strip-like speech a wider net than just synonyms. We
bubbles attached to branches of your invoked the BPS from a branch titled
map. When you have a text note that’s Solve Problem and got some synonyms
too important to simply link to, callouts and antonyms, but we also got words
are an appealing way to put that text like pyrogen. It’s hard to argue that a
right on the map. MindManager is more fever-inducing substance of bacterial
Mac-like in its interface—you may not origin is anything but a problem that
forget that you’re working in a product needs solving.
with deep PC roots, but Mindjet has The bottom line. On features alone
made a genuine effort to make its app it’s a tight race, but we prefer NovaMind
look and feel like Mac software. for its flexibility, superior export
NovaMind is not without its unique choices, and Branch Proposal System.
goodies. We could spend hours playing NovaMind’s $99 price brightly contrasts
around with the Branch Proposal Mind Manager’s $229 asking price. We
System. The BPS, as it’s called, is a can’t see paying more than twice as
tool to help stimulate new connections much money for something almost as
good.—Stuart Gripman
NOVAMIND 3.2
;GEH9FQ2 NovaMind HJA;=2 $99
;GFL9;L2www.nova-mind.com J=IMAJ=E=FLK2 Mac OS 10.3.9 or later,
60MB disk space
?GG<F=OK2 Myriad export choices. Helpful Branch Proposal System.

Better bundled graphics.
:9<F=OK2 Pricey. Icon-driven interface can be confusing.
Battery 3 has ample Battery 3 has ample
editing tools for looping
editing tools for looping
selections of soundselections
files. of sound files.
other human touches, other human touches,

resulting in a looser, resulting in a looser,
more organic feel.more organic feel.
The main interfaceThe main interface
is a single windowis a single window
with the Cell matrix with the Cell matrix
at the top and modal at the top and modal
editing panels at the editing panels at the
bottom. The Cells bottom. The Cells
(up to 128 per kit)(up to 128 per kit)
Battery
Battery
3 3 are used to drag and
sampled sounds to
aredrop
usedindividual
sampled
to drag and drop individual
be triggered
MIDI, with Cells corresponding
sounds
MIDI, with Cells
viato be triggered via
to corresponding to
GROOVIN’ DRUM GROOVIN’ SAMPLER DRUM SAMPLER specific MIDI notes. specifi
Battery
c MIDI3 comes
notes. Battery 3 comes
B B
attery 3 is a slick, attery
geared toward triggering
sounds, and whilesounds,
geared toward
it’s exceedingly
is a slick, potent with
potent3sampler
and while it’s exceedingly

sampler
drum triggering percussion
drum
more than 12GB
a wide range of musical

withofmore
sounds,
percussion
sampled
encompassing
a widegenres
than 12GB of sampled
sounds, encompassing
range of andmusical genres and
capable and customizable,
capable and it’scustomizable,
not a styles.
it’s not a These sounds styles.
are These
organizedsounds intoare organized into
drum machine fordrum instant machine
gratification. preconfi
for instant gratifi cation. gured kits;
preconfi
loadedguredinto Battery,
kits; loaded into Battery,
To tame this beast, Toyou’ll
tameneed this beast,
some you’ll need a kit’s
someindividual instruments
a kit’s individual appear instruments appear
actual drumming chops.
actual drumming chops. in their corresponding in theirCells.
corresponding
Clicking a Cells. Clicking a
Battery 3 takes a large
Battery array
3 takes
of a large array Cellof triggers the sound,
Cell triggers
and when the you
sound, and when you
sampled drum sounds sampled and drum
mapssounds
them and maps use an themexternal controller,
use an external
the velocity
controller, the velocity
onto a series of MIDI
onto notes
a series
thatof are
MIDI
then of aare
notes that played
then note creates
of a played
a crossfade
note creates a crossfade
played on an external
played controller
on an external
such ascontroller between
such as multiple between
sounds mapped multipleonto sounds mapped onto
the M-Audio Trigger theFinger
M-Audio ( Trigger Finger ( a single MIDI note.aPlay singlea note
MIDIon note.
thePlay a note on the
Mar/06, p50) or any Mar/06,
MIDI keyboard.
p50) or any Trigger We
WeMIDI keyboard. Finger softly,
Trigger
for example,
Finger softly,
and for example, and
also tested Battery alsoin GarageBand
tested Battery (it’s a soft (it’s
in GarageBand snare-drumatap softis snare-drum
the resultingtap is the resulting
loaded as an Audio loaded
Unit plug-in)
as an Audioand Unit plug-in) sound;and hit the padsound;
with more hit the
force,
padand witha more force, and a
were able to use ourwere Mac’s
ablekeyboard secondary,
to use ourtoMac’s keyboard to rougher secondary,
snare snap rougher
is played snare snap is played
tap out rhythms. Battery
tap out 3rhythms.
can be used Battery 3 can instead.
be used You can create
instead. yourYou owncanvelocity
create your own velocity
as a stand-alone appas aor stand-alone
with any Audio app or with anyandAudio
kit maps withand any kit
of the
maps included
with any of the included
Units–compatibleUnits–compatible
software. software. drum samples, or drum importsamples,
your ownor import your own
Battery 3 has no built-in
Batteryrhythm
3 has no built-in rhythm sampled sounds. Batterysampledalso sounds.
makes Battery
a also makes a
generation abilitiesgeneration
along the abilities
lines of along the linesgreatof soundboardgreatfor podcasting,
soundboard perfect
for podcasting, perfect
the instant gratification
the instantprovided
gratifi
bycation provided for triggering
by sound
foreffects
triggering in real
sound
timeeffects in real time
Steinberg’s gloriousSteinberg’s
Groove Agent glorious
2 Groove Agent while2you’re recording whileshows.
you’re recording shows.
( Sep/05,( p47) or Glaresoft’s
Sep/05, p47) or Glaresoft’s The bottom line. Pro Themusicians
bottom line. looking
Pro musicians looking
addictive iDrum ( addictive Jan/05, iDrum ( for a one-stop drum
Jan/05, forsampler
a one-stop will drum
be well sampler will be well
p48), which are designed
p48), which for unskilled served by Battery served
are designed for unskilled 3, as long by Battery
as they have3, as long as they have
drummers. You can drummers.
load standard You canMIDIload standardthe skills
MIDI needed for thecomposing
skills needed cohesive
for composing cohesive
files into Battery 3,files
whichintothen
Battery
trigger the thenand
3, which convincing
trigger the percussion
and convincing
patterns. percussion patterns.
sounds and produce soundsrockin’ andgrooves,
producebut If tabletop
rockin’ grooves, butfinger drumming
If tabletopisfinot ngeryour
drumming is not your
you’ll have to huntyou’ll
thosehaveMIDItofiles
hunt those MIDI strong
down files downsuit, you might
strongwant suit,
to you
consider
might want to consider
on the Web. Once on they’re
the Web.
in, youOnce
canthey’re in, you a simpler
can softwareadrum simpler machine
software with drum machine with
use various tricks use
to add various
roll, fltricks
am, andto add roll, flbuilt-in
am, and beats.—David
built-in
Biednybeats.—David Biedny
;GEH9FQ2 Native Instruments

;GEH9FQ2 Native Instruments HJA;=2 $229 HJA;=2 $229
;GFL9;L2866-556-6487,;GFL9;L2866-556-6487, J=IMAJ=E=FLK2 MacJ=IMAJ=E=FLK2
OS 10.4 or later, Mac OS 10.4 or later,
www.native-instruments.com
www.native-instruments.com 512MB RAM, 14GB disk 512MB
space RAM, 14GB disk space
?GG<F=OK2 Extensive ?GG<F=OK2

percussion-sample
Extensive
library.
percussion-sample
Deep editing and library. Deep editing and
effects capabilities. effects capabilities.
:9<F=OK2 Its lack of :9<F=OK2
built-in rhythms
Itsorlack
beats
of built-in
relegates
rhythms
it to theor beats relegates it to the
professional drumming crowd.
professional drumming crowd.
54 REVIEWS
FontVista 3.5
SERVICEABLE FONT-CATALOG SOFTWARE
F ontVista 3.5 is a font manager that

serves as an interface for fonts
installed on your Mac. With version 3.5,
Example Scripts/Font
Book/Create Font
Sample.) FontVista’s
FontVista now supports TrueType (Mac hiccup when printing a
and Windows versions), PostScript Type sample is that if a font
1, Multiple Master fonts, OpenType, and is missing, FontVista
Apple DataFork fonts. prints unsightly black
FontVista’s interface makes it easy rectangles instead.
to print samples of your font collection. Unlike Apple’s It does its job reasonably well, but there’s room for improvement.
All you have to do is select the font, Font Book, FontVista
decide on one of three layouts, and doesn’t provide instant onscreen more efficient way to work, especially for
then click the Print Page button. previews of your fonts; you must use designers with a thousand or more fonts.
Printing a font sample using Apple’s FontVista’s Layout Preview to see a And FontVista isn’t as comprehensive
Font Book (which comes with Mac OS font onscreen. as Morrison SoftDesign’s FontDoctor
X; it’s in your Applications folder) isn’t We’d like to have the ability to preview ($69.99), which has features for weeding
so simple—you actually have to use smaller lists of checked fonts, rather out corrupt fonts.
AppleScript to print the sample. (The than the whole library. It would also be The bottom line. FontVista is a good,
script to print a font sample out of Font good to be able to double-click a single basic font-catalog application.
Book is in /Applications/AppleScript/ font to view it. These options would be a —James Ellerbeck and Roman Loyola
COMPANY: Morrison SoftDesign PRICE: $19.99 GOOD NEWS: Good software interface. Easy controls. Quick
CONTACT: REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS X access to font print samples.
www.morrisonsoftdesign.com BAD NEWS: No double-click font opening. No previews of
single fonts.
Bravo SE Disc Publisher

EASY-BAKE OPTICAL-DISC PUBLISHER
O ur first thought upon encountering

Primera’s Bravo SE was “We should
get the band back together.” The Bravo
of duplicating an existing
disc or building a new audio
or data disc; formats include
burns and then prints labels on up to VideoCD, CD Extra, ISO 9660,
20 optical discs in a run, completely and DVD Video/Audio, but for a
unattended—or while you stare true interactive DVD, you need
hypnotized as its robotic arm shuttles to use an authoring app such The Bravo SE is a whole cottage industry
discs from stack to tray to print bed to as iDVD. in a box.
output bin. The only glitch is that you have to
Disc burning and printing is a design your art independently in a glossy prints that didn’t turn into a
notoriously time-consuming task— graphics app and then specify the image mess of bleeding color in the rain (or Dr.
especially in bulk—so Bravo’s automated file in the print dialog. Fortunately, Bravo Pepper spill).
workflow (discflow?) will save you loads provides templates on the included CD The bottom line. You either need a
of time. The Bravo met its claimed 15- for common disc sizes. Another concern device like this or you don’t. But if you
discs-per-hour output on our sample is the cost of printable media: Primera’s do, the Bravo SE is as affordable as it
disc, which contained 600MB of data printable CD-Rs cost from $.50 to $.80 gets, and its image quality will make
and about 50 percent ink coverage. (DVDs start at $.90) each—we used the you look like a rock star—and that’s
The bundled Discribe mastering top-shelf TuffCoat with WaterShield CD-R really what it’s all about, hmm?
software walks you through the process discs and were rewarded with accurate, —Niko Coucouvanis
COMPANY: Primera PRICE: $1,495 GOOD NEWS: Burns and prints 20 discs unattended. Handy
CONTACT: 800-797-2772, REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 10.2 templates included.
www.primera.com or later, USB BAD NEWS: Device and blank media are expensive. Design
software not included.
54 January 2007
G:K>:LH
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d’s dock. your iPod’s dock. There’s also a red the There’s
Intuos3also
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Mac designers.—Roman Loyola
Q2 Intuitive Devices ;GEH9FQ2

HJA;=2 $29.95Intuitive Devices HJA;=2 $29.95 ;GEH9FQ2 Wacom ;GEH9FQ2
HJA;=2 $229.95 Wacom HJA;=2 $229.95
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MacService
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available today. dilettante, but if you demand pro-level
The iPF5000 is a beast of a printer, quality for large media formats, you’ll
weighing 108 pounds and taking up revel in the clarity and realism of the
about a 30-by-40-inch chunk of desk iPF5000’s prints. The iPF5000 uses
space. The iPF5000 uses 12 inks to create pigment-based inks, which tend to be
prints up to 17 by 22 inches. The inkset more moisture resistant than dye-based
includes four black inks (photo black, inks, and offer more resistance to fading.
matte black, gray, and photo gray), as There is a hidden cost: Calibrating
well as the usual photo-inkset found your display and the iPF5000 is key
in many photo-realistic printers—in to successful color reproduction. The
this case, red, green, blue, yellow, iPF5000 doesn’t necessarily present you
cyan, photo cyan, magenta, and photo with the color you see on your monitor
magenta. The inks come in 130-milliliter unless you spend time adjusting that
size only, priced around $65 each—pretty color with a calibration device from a
expensive, and Canon wouldn’t give us company such as ColorVision (www
any specifics on how long we should .colorvision.com) or X-Rite (www.xrite
expect each cartridge to last. .com). It’s not a deal-breaker, but it is a
Along with the expanded inkset, you’ll consideration.
find an amazing selection of media to The bottom line. Though it’s an
print on—about 50 at last count. Media expensive proposition (both its up-front
range from canvas to archival-quality fine- price and long-term consumable costs),
art papers to vinyl and backlit films. Some the iPF5000 is a solid (literally and
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Photosmart
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R967
R967
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POINT-AND-SHOOT
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T T he 10-megapixel
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he 10-megapixel
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Photosmart
Photosmart
anItantishake
Photosmart
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adds an antishake
R967 supplants
R927 at the R927
top at
mode andmode
R967 supplants
of the
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and 10x
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zoom.
digital zoom.
The updatesThelook
updates
goodlookon paper,
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we don’tbutthink
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significantsignifi
enough canttoenough
chooseto the choose
R967 over
the R967
the now-cheaper
over the now-cheaper
R927 ($299.99).
R927 ($299.99).
The R967 The has R967
a lot ofhas thea core
lot offeatures
the corethatfeatures
makethat the make
R927 the R927
such a goodsuch thing.
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LCD. Framing
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shotsand is easy,
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and theremains
screenviewable
remains viewable
even under even
strong
underdaylight.
strong The daylight.
R927’s Theintuitive
R927’scontrols
intuitivefoundcontrols found
their way onto
their the
wayR967.
onto the R967.
And just like
AndthejustR927,
like thethe R927,
R967 produces
the R967 produces
great-looking great-looking
images. Colors
images. areColors
vivid and are vivid
accurate,and accurate,
and overall and sharpness
overall sharpness
is excellent,
is excellent,
with noisewith noticeable
noise noticeable
only in photos only intaken
photos in low
taken in low
light. The light.
R967’s Theadaptive
R967’s lighting
adaptivetechnology
lighting technology
helps bring helps
out bring out
details in details
high-contrast
in high-contrast
photos—we photos—we
found thatfound the bestthatresults
the best results
came when came
it waswhen
set ittowaslow,set
while
to low,
usingwhile
the using
high setting
the high would
setting would
sometimes sometimes
wash out details.
wash out details.
In an attempt
In antoattempt
rid photos to rid
of photos
motion of blur
motion
during blur
low-light
during low-light
situations,situations,
the R967 adds the R967 a new addsantishake
a new antishake
mode. It worksmode.by It works by
digitally “pushing
digitally “pushing
the film” (underexposing
the film” (underexposingthe imagethe andimage and
then overdeveloping
then overdeveloping
it). The technology
it). The technology
needs more needs
tuning;more tuning;
in our tests,
in our
antishake
tests, antishake
didn’t eliminate
didn’t eliminate
or even minimize
or even blur minimize blur
significantly,
signifi
butcantly,
did add buttons
did of
add noise
tonstoofournoise
photos.
to our photos.
Surprisingly,
Surprisingly,
the new digitalthe new zoomdigital
workszoom likeworks
a charm. like Image
a charm. Image
quality wasquality
impressive
was impressive
in pics weintook picswith
we took
the digital
with the zoom
digital zoom
totally maxed
totallyout.
maxed out.
The bottom Theline.
bottom line.toIt’s
It’s hard recommend
hard to recommend
the R967 over the R967
the over the
R927 when R927
the when
R927 is thenow R927a good
is now value.
a goodIf you
value.
need If you
the extra
need the extra
megapixels megapixels
and more and successful
more successful
digital zoom,digital
go zoom,
for the go R967.
for the R967.
Otherwise, Otherwise,
the R927 remains
the R927your remains
best your
bet.—Gil
bestLoyola
bet.—Gil Loyola
;GEH9FQ2 ;GEH9FQ2
HP HP HJA;=2 $349.99HJA;=2 $349.99
;GFL9;L2800-752-0900,
;GFL9;L2800-752-0900, J=IMAJ=E=FLK2 J=IMAJ=E=FLK2
Mac OS 10.3.9Mac OS 10.3.9
www.hp.comwww.hp.com or later, USB or later, USB
?GG<F=OK2 ?GG<F=OK2
Feature rich. Impressive
Feature rich.
digital
Impressive digital
zoom. Nice LCD.
zoom.
GoodNice
image
LCD.quality.
Good image quality.
:9<F=OK2:9<F=OK2
Antishake doesn’t
Antishake
work well.
doesn’t work well.
Many featuresMany
are found
features
on the
arecheaper
found onR927.
the cheaper R927.
58 REVIEWS
Silver Portable 80GB Dual

REPLETE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
T he Silver Portable 80GB Dual is a

cleanly designed portable hard drive
that has everything you need from a
read performance averaged 14.88MB
per second, with write speeds slightly
higher at 15.62MB per second. As usual,
compact drive. Its aluminum enclosure FireWire performance was faster, with
is minimalist—barely larger than the 2.5- typical read speeds of 27.9MB per
inch 80GB laptop hard disk it sheathes. second and write speeds of 27.8MB per
The drive is almost silent and is powered second. The aluminum case keeps the
via the USB or FireWire port. drive cool, too—it didn’t feel warm to
Iomega packages the drive with the touch.
both FireWire and USB cables. Yay! Instructions for use are provided,
The USB cable also features a second Portable, slim-line storage that’s truly along with a CD that has a full copy of
USB connector to provide extra clutter free. Retrospect Express 6.1. Retrospect
power for the drive, because on some may not be the most intuitive backup
laptops and with some USB cards, the by the USB or FireWire port, this isn’t software around, but it is reliable, and
power provided by one USB port isn’t a necessity. its inclusion is a welcome addition to
sufficient. The drive also features a We tested the device using both this reasonably priced portable drive.
5V DC power connector, but no power FireWire and USB 2.0 and discovered The bottom line. The Silver Portable
supply—you’ll need to supply your own. its performance to be typical of most 80GB Dual has a lot to offer in its little
But since the drive works fine powered portable hard drives. Via USB 2.0, package.—Ed Haynes
COMPANY: Iomega PRICE: $149.95 GOOD NEWS: Compact design. Runs cool and quiet.
CONTACT: 888-516-8467, REQUIREMENTS: FireWire 400 BAD NEWS: Pricey. USB 2.0 should be faster.
www.iomega.com or USB
i-Station3
PORTABLE iPOD SPEAKER STAND
R oad warriors like to travel light,

which makes the iPod a nice travel
buddy. Now your iPod can have a travel
The i-Station3’s audio
quality matches that of
similarly priced portable
buddy of its own: the i-Station3 portable radios or CD players—not
iPod speaker stand. particularly warm sounding,
Measuring 4.41 by 6.3 by 1.18 inches, with some bass distortion and
the i-Station3 easily fits into carry-on weak highs, but acceptable.
luggage or a backpack—though you’ll But when you’re traveling, the
either need to make a little bit of room i-Station3 makes hotel living
for the power adapter or use four AA a lot more comfortable. On
batteries. The iPod dock folds out, and a road trip, we successfully
when you attach your iPod (you get occupied a couple of toddlers About as big as
several iPod adapters for a good fit), the with the i-Station3—we played a day planner.
i-Station3 charges it when the power a few videos on the iPod while
adapter is used. The i-Station3 has a the audio went through the
rear USB dock so you can connect it to i-Station3 so both kids could The bottom line. The i-Station3’s
your Mac for some syncing goodness. hear (some of us can’t afford to install small size and battery capability make
There’s also an auxiliary-in jack for other elaborate DVD theaters in an SUV). A it a nice traveling companion for your
audio devices. remote control isn’t included, however. trusty iPod.—Roman Loyola
COMPANY: Logic 3 PRICE: $59.99 GOOD NEWS: Decent audio quality. Small and portable.
CONTACT: REQUIREMENTS: Dockable iPod Can use batteries.
www.spectravideo.com BAD NEWS: Weak bass and high-end sounds. No remote
control.
58 January 2007
06fip305_SS_MAC Ad_1PG_Mac Addic1 1 11/7/06 3:37:39 PM
06fip305_SS_MAC Ad_1PG_Mac Addic1 1 11/7/06 3:37:39 PM

60 REVIEWS
Avid Xpress Pro 5.5 seamlessly mix them all together is a

time-saver. Another feature we dig is
Xpress’s built-in motion stabilizer, which
POWERFUL VIDEO-PRODUCTION SOFTWARE SUITE can remove (or at least minimize) camera
A vid Xpress Pro 5.5 is a high-powered

video editor brought to you by the
company that put the digital into digital
improvement is that it can capture, edit,
and export HDV and DVCPRO HD video
as well. If you’ve jumped on the HD
shake. Effects packages such as Adobe
After Effects or Apple’s Shake can do the
same thing, but being able to do it right
video editing. Not only does Xpress bandwagon, chances are that Xpress in your video editor saves time.
offer a long list of pro-level features, will work with that stunning footage Arguably, Xpress’s biggest advantage
but it also sports file compatibility with you’ve shot. Plus, if you add Avid’s Mojo is that it’s compatible with all of the
higher-end Avid gear found in edit bays hardware to the mix ($1,695 to $2,495), high-end Avid workstations in the world
around the world. But Xpress still has you can also work with uncompressed (and there are lots of them, since Avid
some annoying quirks; namely, its Mac SD video. Xpress still doesn’t support is considered the gold standard in film
support has been pretty iffy lately, and uncompressed HD, which is something and TV production). You can do the vast
Avid Xpress Pro uses the same interface as Avid’s other editors, so if you know one Avid, you know them all.
it also costs nearly $400 more than that Apple’s Final Cut Pro handles right majority of your work using Xpress,
Apple’s Final Cut Studio ($1,299, www out of the box. and then take your project to a rental
.apple.com), which has more features. Xpress does have something that suite and finish it up on a high-end
Xpress’s core features have been Final Cut users will envy, however: Avid box. For example, suppose you
in place for years—things such as the ability to combine different media shot your project in uncompressed
flexible trimming tools, advanced color formats on a single timeline without HD, but you copied it to DV video
correction, real-time video and audio having to render them first. Nowadays, tapes and edited those tapes on your
effects, multicamera editing, media a project’s footage can come from Xpress-equipped PowerBook. (Why not
consolidation, and a highly customizable different cameras shooting in different a MacBook Pro? More on that later.)
interface. Version 5.5’s most important formats, and Xpress’s ability to Once your edit is done, you could take
COMPANY: Avid Technology REQUIREMENTS: G4 or faster, Mac GOOD NEWS: Full of pro features. Works with popular
CONTACT: 800-949-2843, OS 10.4.6 or later, QuickTime 7.1 or HD formats. Compatible with higher-end Avid systems.
www.avid.com later, 1GB of RAM, 128MB of video BAD NEWS: Historically iffy Mac support. So-so
PRICE: $1,695, $49.95 upgrade RAM, 40GB disk space companion apps. No Universal binaries. Pricey.
60 January 2007
62 REVIEWS
Audioengine 5
PRIMO iPOD SPEAKERS
T he lucrative iPod-speaker market

has plenty of choices, but many units
sacrifice quality for size. This leaves an
adjacent audio input.
On the back of the
left speaker you’ll
opening for the Audioengine 5 speaker find another audio
system to fill a niche that’s likely to start input and an auxiliary
growing this very minute. AC outlet, which is
The Audioengine 5 has two distinct perfect for plugging in
speakers, eschewing the one-piece an AirPort Express to
construction that’s popular with iPod stream your iTunes library wirelessly to Also available in black.
speaker sets. The benefit is a far more the speakers. Brilliant. Of course, you
explicit stereo sound image—something can plug just about anything in there—at never betrays their bookshelf size (each
even Apple’s iPod Hi-Fi struggles with. the very least, the outlet helps clean up speaker is 10 by 7 by 7.75 inches). Even
The downside is that you have some that tangled web of wire. the bass levels are quite prominent
speaker wire to deal with. No biggie. All of these inputs don’t mean much without the use of an external subwoofer,
The Audioengine 5 charges your iPod if the actual sound quality is subpar, so though the speakers do favor the highs
while it’s plugged in, but there’s no actual we’re glad to say that these are among at louder volumes.
dock—the Audioengine 5’s powered USB the best-sounding iPod speakers we’ve The bottom line. If sound quality is
port does not allow for data transfer. ever heard. Crisp, clean audio emanates your main concern, you can’t go wrong
Plugging in an iPod shuffle will require the from the boxes, and the huge sound with the Audioengine 5.—Kaiser Hwang
COMPANY: Audioengine PRICE: $349 GOOD NEWS: Fantastic sound and build quality. No receiver
CONTACT: 877-853-4447, REQUIREMENTS: Device with needed. Well-thought-out design.
www.audioengineusa.com audio out BAD NEWS: Costs more than other speaker systems. No
digital input, dock, or remote.
iPod Showcase
Interested in advertising? World’s Smallest Charger Banshee Listening Station
The only 5.0 surround system in

a single listening station.
To advertise in the iPod Lighten your load. Shatter the perceived limitations of
Showcase, contact: RadTech’s ACpower is the world’s audio for your iPod with a massive
smallest and most powerful 50 watts of peak output power. The
Larry Presser iPod and USB charging solution. Banshee’s patented technology
646-723-5459 Slightly larger than a match box, produces ultracrisp midranges with
lpresser@maclife.com the ACpower features flip-out deep and powerful bass. Available
AC blades that rotate a full 270 at RadioShack, select Circuit City
Stacey Levy degrees, allowing it to fit into any stores, Discovery Channel Stores,
650-238-2319 AC receptacle, even on crowded and Chicago-area Abt Electronics
stacey@maclife.com power strips. locations.
www.BansheeAudio.com
www.radtech.us/acpower 312-474-6108
Advertisement
REVIEWS
63
B-Flex iSuperCharger
USB-POWERED SPEAKER HANDY iPOD CHARGER
T he B-Flex’s sound is richer than the sound from the speakers

on a MacBook Pro or PowerBook G5, and the volume is a
couple of notches louder. But since you can’t play
L ooking like some dark-ages medical instrument, the
iSuperCharger is an iPod charger that can use four
different power sources: a 12-volt car socket,
both the built-in speakers and the B-Flex at the your Mac’s powered USB jack, a power outlet, Despite its
same time, you’re basically replacing the ’Book or a 9-volt battery. Plug the iSuperCharger’s Frankenstein-like
speakers. The B-Flex is better than the Mac mini’s dock connector into your iPod and you’ll design, it works well.
built-in speaker—but that doesn’t take much. soon see the charging battery icon on your
You can spend the same $40 on an affordable set of ’Pod’s screen. Easy enough.
powered speakers that use the Mac’s audio-out jack You can still use your iPod
(though you’ll need a power outlet). The B-Flex extends while it’s charging, but the
about seven inches from your Mac’s USB iSuperCharger’s dock cable is
plug—and the device was loosey-goosey short, so you’re closely tethered
in each USB jack we plugged it in to. if the device is plugged in. Also, the
The B-Flex actually proves The bottom line. If you want to USB cable is almost too short—on a crowded
that the ’Book speakers minimize your carry load, you’ll like USB hub, it’s hard to find a fit.
aren’t so bad after all. the B-Flex.—Roman Loyola The bottom line. It’s a handy device.—Roman Loyola
COMPANY: JLab Audio PRICE: $39.95 COMPANY: Van Hauser PRICE: $39.95
CONTACT: 520-393-8414, REQUIREMENTS: USB CONTACT: 800-990-1900, REQUIREMENTS: iPod
www.jlabaudio.com www.ipodsupercharger.com
GOOD NEWS: Small enough to tote around. GOOD NEWS: Can use four different power
BAD NEWS: Expensive. Loose USB connection. sources to charge your iPod.
Short gooseneck. BAD NEWS: Pricey. Short USB and
dock cable.
iPod Showcase
Elite Audio Gear PodSwap iPod Mounting Solutions
Owning an iPod can be more

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Advertisement August
May2006
2006 63 63
GAMES
COMING SOON
because you play as hard as you work
65
The Crusade Will W ere you hoping to unwrap

that brand-new World of
Have to Wait Warcraft expansion pack, The

Burning Crusade, during the
holidays? Were you counting on
The Burning Crusade to provide
you solace from holiday family
get-togethers, during which
your mom loves to retell that
embarrassing story about how you
didn’t stop breastfeeding until you
were 6 and your tipsy dad blabs
about how you could’ve been the
next Heisman winner if it weren’t
for the fact that you have your
mother’s hips? Well, here’s the
bad news: Blizzard says that The
Burning Crusade will slip a few
weeks so some bugs can be fixed,
and so it won’t be available until
January—that means it’ll miss the
holiday shopping season. That
also means you level-60 types get
to spin your wheels for a few more
weeks. The good news? Heisman
Trophy winners don’t necessarily
“ Sorry we’re late. But make it in the NFL. Just ask Gino
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: DEV/PUB: Blizzard, www.worldofwarcraft.com we’re fashionably late.” Torretta.—Roman Loyola
THE BURNING CRUSADE AVAILABLE: January 2007 ■ PRICE: $39.99
G A M E N E WS
Roll Your Own

S top complaining about the
sorry state of Mac games. Put
your money where your mouth is—
and make your own. You can start
with the new Torque Game Engine
1.5, which now has rewritten
Mac-platform code to make
development a lot easier and more
Mac-like. It’s even multithreaded
so it can take advantage of
multiprocessor power.—RL
Created using the
TORQUE GAME DEV/PUB: GarageGames, www.garagegames.com Torque Game Engine.
ENGINE 1.5 AVAILABLE: Now ■ PRICE: $150 (indie license), $750 (commercial license)
January 2007 65
66 GAMES
The Sims 2: Open

for Business
YET ANOTHER SIMS purchase merchandise
and set prices for your
2 EXPANSION PACK wares. You spend most
M any people dream of breaking

free from The Man by starting a
business. Sims are no different. The
of your time working the
store, developing skills.
As your business grows
Open for Business expansion pack gives popular with customers,
your Sims the ability to start and run a you earn stars; once
business. It’s satisfying, but after a while, you gather enough, your
Open for Business is all about work. And business rank goes up
eventually, work just isn’t much fun. and you get perks such as
To start a business, you buy a cheaper wholesale prices We’re finally realizing our Eliza Doolittle dreams by opening a
community lot or set up shop in your or an automatic boost in modest flower shop.
home. You can create any number of reputation.
businesses; you’re only limited by the Compared to other Sims expansion COMPANY: Aspyr
CONTACT: 512-708-8100, www.aspyr.com
types of objects available to you. We packs, Open for Business is trickier to PRICE: $34.99
bought a small space and turned it into master. It took a while to figure out how REQUIREMENTS: 1.2GHz or faster processor, Mac
OS 10.3.9 or later, 256MB RAM, 2GB disk space
a flower shop and espresso bar. Besides to open or close the shop (you need to
selling prefab plants, we invested in a buy a sign) and how to set prices. GOOD NEWS: Lets you build a business from the
ground up. Finally, you can follow your Sims to work.
flower stand that allowed our Sims to The bottom line. While the first few BAD NEWS: A little more complex than other Sims
create and sell their own arrangements sales are exciting, the thrill goes away. games. Dull.
while improving their skills in that craft. Open for Business may add an extra
RATED
Using the special business tools in dimension to your Sims’ existence—but
the upper-right corner of the screen, you it’s about work, not fun.—Cathy Lu
SO-SO
G A M E N E WS
Be a Bone
Head
Yes, the new game from
Vanbrio is indeed called
Bone. Go ahead, get your
giggles out (heh, heh; you
said bone…). Done? OK. In
this adventure game, you play
Fone Bone, and you’re lost.
It’s up to you to figure out how
to find your cousins, Phoney
Bone and Smiley Bone. This
game is based on Jeff Smith’s
graphic novel Bone: Out from
Boneville, and the game does
a great job of capturing the I see London,
novel’s artistic stylings.—RL I see France…
BONE ACT ONE: OUT DEV/PUB: Vanbrio Entertainment, www.vanbrio.com

FROM BONEVILLE AVAILABLE: Now ■ PRICE: $12.99
66 January 2007
www.macsoftgames.com
Blood
Violence
+- <6B:H
ON THE
G A M E N E WS G A M E N E WS
DISC
Blast and Run Arcadrome 1.0
Get Tanked
P laying like a combination of Robotron and Asteriod,
Arcadrome is full of fast-paced, shoot-em-up action. Your
goal is to pick up energy crystals before the aliens get their
E very now and then, we get a hankerin’ for Combat on
the Atari 2600—but we’re too lazy to haul our 2600 out
of storage. Fortunately, there’s Mountain Tanks, a 3D game
grubby alien paws/hands/tentacles/whatever-appendages- that’s much, much cooler than Combat. You command a tank
they-have on you. With 100 levels, Arcadrome is sure to fill with a ton of weapons and you have to defend your city. You
the hours on those cold winter nights.—RL get to play with all sorts of things that go boom, such as
ballistic rockets and grenades. Eat your heart out, Lieutenant
T.M. Landry.—RL
The chase is on.

Weapon of mass
destruction.
ARCADROME DEV/PUB: PolyEx, www.polyex.com MOUNTAIN DEV/PUB: Battery Acid Games, www.batteryacid.org
AVAILABLE: Now ■ PRICE: $17.95 TANKS AVAILABLE: Now ■ PRICE: $14
70
because inquiring minds have the right to be inspired
http://c-command.com/spamsieve/) lets you apply Mac OS X’s Core Image

and add Thingy to the list of known filters directly to your text. If you go this
spammers whose email is blocked route, be warned: ChocoFlop is a work
automatically. in progress, currently at alpha status—
meaning it’s not even beta yet—so it
might crash at any time, taking with it
the stylized logo that
you just blew the last ON THE
two hours tweaking. DISC
ChocoFlop 0.50
AUTODESPAMIFICATION
I keep getting mail from a spammer You can easily educate Mail’s junk
called Thingy, and I would like to block mail filter.
it. How do I block all messages from his
specific address in Apple’s Mail app?
We don’t want to know about this Thingy STYLIN’ TYPE
of whom you speak, but we can help Since TypeStyler isn’t out—yet?—for
you avoid his mail. In Mail, highlight Mac OS X, are there any alternative Photoshop Elements can make Garamond
a message from Thingy and select text-twisting applications besides look at least fairly grand.
Message > Bounce from the menubar, Microsoft Office WordArt? It’s gotta
which will send him a bounce-back be cheap—I can’t afford professional PNG PONG
message claiming that your address is graphics apps. When using good ol’ Command-Shift-3
invalid—which will hopefully convince Yup, we got tired of waiting for (or 4) under Panther, the screenshots
Mr. Thingy to take you off of his list. TypeStyler, so we’ve turned elsewhere came out as PDF files. Now with Tiger
Another way to dodge specific emailers for our text tweaking. Adobe Photoshop they’re in PNG format? Is there a way to
is to add them by name to your junk Elements ($79.99, www.adobe.com) change which format to use?
filter. Open Mail > Preferences > Junk has rudimentary effects like Flag, Fish, Nope, you’re at Apple’s mercy there.
Mail, click Advanced, and use the plus- Arch, and Wave, each configurable You can dance around this restriction,
sign icon to add a condition. Use the via sliders. To use an effect, select though. If you want to capture TIFF files,
pull-down menus to configure the new Elements’ type tool, type some text, use Grab (/Applications/Utilities). If you
condition as in our screenshot, and the then select Layer > Type > Warp Text and want to pick a different format, try this
mail might keep coming, but you’ll never knock yourself out—the text remains trick: Press Command-Control-Shift-3
see it unless you dig into your Junk box. editable until you simplify (or rasterize) (or 4)—adding the Control key makes the
If you use Microsoft Entourage, make the layer (Layer > Simplify Layer). If you’d screenshot go directly to your Clipboard.
similar adjustments under Tools > Junk rather try something with way more Now open Preview (/Applications/
Email Protection and Tools > Rules. Yet options and way less stability, we just Preview) and select File > New From
another solution is to buy a third-party discovered ChocoFlop (free alpha, on Clipboard to deposit your screenshot in
spaminator such as SpamSieve ($25, the Disc or www.chocoflop.com), which a blank document, which you can save
perusal via System Preferences > ZOOMY

Mouse & Keyboard > Bluetooth. If you Isn’t there a quick and easy way to
use non-Apple wireless devices, check zoom in on my Mac’s screen?
for battery levels under the Wireless We just discovered one, and it’s a real
setting in your device’s driver software hoot—though it works only in Mac OS
or System Preferences pane. 10.4.8 or later. Hold the Control key
while diddling your Mighty Mouse’s
BATTERY
on the right sideCHECK
of the iTunes status scrollball or twiddling the scrollwheel of
window
Is there thingy?
some widget or app that will a so-equipped mouse.
show the
That’s status
actually of the batteries
a snapback icon—in my
keyboard and
recognize mouse?
it from Safari’s URL bar? Click FADES MAKING YOU CROSS?
it
It to bring the
depends oncurrently
who made playing song to
your keyboard In iTunes, songs start playing before
the
andtop of your
mouse. browser
Apple’s window.
wireless Bonus:
mouse and the present song is done playing.
Apple
keyboardcallsboth
thatreport
statustheir
window thingy
respective SNAP
Our BACK,
mouse’s JACK
batteries are in good shape, Why does this happen—and, more
the iTunes
battery Display
levels backArea.
to your Mac, for your What’s
but up with
we lost the littlekeyboard.
our wireless curvy arrow important, how can I fix it?
52
70 August 2005
January 2007
DIFFICULTY No whining—
anyone
It’ll take some
effort, but you
This stuff’s
for the pros.
HOW TO
71
RATINGS can do this! can do it.
UNIX UNIVERSITY
UNIX MAIL
Can’t I use Unix for something useful and press Return to end
that I actually do, such as sending and send the message.
email? If you try this trick at
Sure, but this is the realm of true work or school, note
geeks. How geeky, you ask? Well, that mailing to people
when you send email via Unix and who aren’t on your
your Mac’s Terminal, you drop the e local network might not
and just call it mail. Deep in its Unixy work, depending on
heart, Mac OS X contains a full mail how the recipient’s mail
system that operates independently of host interacts with your
your standard ISP-account email that company (or school)
you access through a client app such network’s machine-
as Eudora, Thunderbird, Entourage, naming protocols.
Apple Mail, and so on. You can use the Your Mac’s internal mail system is as no-frills as it gets. To see mail that
built-in Unix Mail to send and receive you’ve received, or
messages with users on your local a subject for your message, press otherwise tinker with your secret mail
network or out over the Internet. Return, and then get on with your system, type mail and press Return; then
To fire off an email, type mail message—there’s no prompt for you to type a question mark (?) and press Return
recipient@isp.com (substituting your type the message body. When you’re for some help. Type q and press Return to
recipient’s real email address) and done typing, press Return to enter a exit mail. As always, type man mail and
press Return. When prompted, enter line break, then type a single period (.) press Return to access the manual pages.
in Preview’s default format (that pesky TextEdit (/Applications), launch the Command-F (or Edit > Find > Find), and
PNG again) or whatever format you app first, select TextEdit > Preferences, type autoplay into the search box.
prefer in the Save As dialog. and click the Open & Save tab. Put a When you find it, change the associated
checkmark in the box labeled Ignore value from the default False to True.
QUICKTIME, EXTRA QUICK Rich Text Commands In HTML Files. Close iWeb uses two types of encoding, so find
Is there a way to make my QuickTime the preferences dialog and open your
movies play automatically when iWeb site folder, either on your iDisk or
someone opens their iWeb page? in the Finder, depending on where you
Surprisingly, no—at least not a push- publish your site. For each movie page,
button way. If you’re willing to dig into iWeb creates a folder called Movie_files,
some code, however, you can force inside of which you’ll find a file called
iWeb movies to automatically play when Movie.js (if you changed the default
the page loads. Roll up your sleeves page title, use it here in place of Movie). Find your movie’s files under Movie if you
and launch a text editor—if you use Open the file in your text editor, press didn’t rename them in iWeb.
autoplay again and change the value

docks
iDVD’son yourBrowser—
Media screen to True. Note that you’ll have to repeat
at the
just same
make time?
sure you click this process every time you publish the
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first. site and overwrite your changes, so it’s
Nov/06, p60. But we worth your while to use TextWrangler
SAVE
were wrong, so very, (free, www.barebones.com), which has
Whenwrong.
very I save aWily
document,
readers a simple batch Find & Replace feature.
Yakkity-yak, don’t crossfade my playback! some apps
reminded lettwo
us of me save anywhere
options: A-Dock onX
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($10, Mac,thebut some
Disc only offer a list of
or http://jerome Niko Coucouvanis never met a Mac he couldn’t
iDVD
Oh, that’s a feature! Although Apple places to save it. What gives?
.foucher.free.fr/ADockX/ADockX.html) beat into submission, yet he knows that one
will someday replace him.
iDVD
calls6’s Media Browser
it Crossfade is cool,we
Playback, butcall
I want
it to and DockFun
That’s what ($19.95,
the spiffyon theblue
little Discarrow
or
use picturesTurn
annoying. that itaren’t in my
off via iPhoto
iTunes > Library. www.donelleschi
next to the Save
Can I get them> into
Preferences the Media Browser
Playback.
without importing them into iPhoto?
ON THE
DISC click
.com/dockfun).
As We
text field is for;
standit corrected
to morph and
Submit tech questions or
helpful tips directly
via email (askus@macaddict.com) or c/o
DOCK,
You DOCK,
sure can. GOOSE
Assemble the photos you
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DockFun 4.7 dulytruncated
the spanked.Save MacAddict, 4000 Shoreline Ct., Ste. 400,
Who in
want says that you
a folder andcan’t
drag rock multiple
the folder into dialog into fully South San Francisco, CA 94080.
navigable Finder-esque window.
January 2007 71
72 HOW TO
run Ubuntu Linux on your PowerBook
Run Ubuntu Linux on

Your PowerBook
by Robert Strohmeyer
WHAT YOU NEED

PowerBook or other PowerPC-based Mac
Ubuntu 6.06 or later (free, www.ubuntu.com)
W
e love OS X, but our inner renegade wants to try out Linux,
the infamous rebel OS. Here’s your hands-on guide to
getting Ubuntu Linux up and running on your PowerBook. We
chose a mature Mac for two reasons: First, Ubuntu’s system
Note: This tutorial shows you how to install
requirements are plenty gentle, and second, we don’t advise subjecting Ubuntu Linux on a PowerPC-based Mac using
your main Mac to this type of identity crisis. the PPC version of Ubuntu. If you have an Intel
On that note, be sure to back up all of your data before beginning any of Mac, the instructions will be much the same, but you
these steps, or you’ll be sure to lose it forever. Really. We’re not kidding. have to use the i386 version of Ubuntu.
1
Get Linux
There are as many versions of Linux as there are grains
of sand in Waikiki (OK, well, almost as many). But for
the kindest Linux initiation, we recommend Ubuntu Linux (free,
www.ubuntu.com), which comes preconfigured with a host of
handy helper apps that make it easier than you’d expect to get
your Mac running under Penguin power. Download Ubuntu—it’s
nearly 700MB, so you might prefer ordering it on CD, which is
also free. Note that you’ll need to burn the downloaded file
onto a CD anyway, so if you aren’t equipped to burn discs, order
the prefab installer (just click the Ship It Free link on the main
Ubuntu page and follow the instructions). If you’re downloading, If you’re not
select Mac (PowerPC) Desktop CD and download the disk image equipped for a
to your Mac’s Desktop. Load a blank CD into your Mac’s optical 700MB download
drive, launch OS X’s Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities), click the and disc burning,
Ubuntu disk image in the left pane, and then choose Burn from order Ubuntu on
the menu at the top of the screen. CD—it’s free.
2
Prep Your Partitions
To get the most out of Ubuntu on your Mac, you’ll want
to maintain an OS X partition on the side (if for no other
reason than that The Sims don’t exist in Linuxland). Be sure you’ve
backed up all of your data before attempting this step, or it’ll all
be lost permanently. Boot your Mac from your original Mac OS X
install disc (insert the disc, shut down, and then hold down the C
key while starting up) and then run Disk Utility (select Utilities >
Disk Utility from the menubar). In Disk Utility, select your hard
drive in the left pane and then click the Partition tab in the right
pane. You’ll want to create three partitions, the first of which
should be a Free Space partition of at least 10GB in size, which
is where you’ll install Ubuntu. The second is a Mac OS Extended
partition for Mac OS X, which you should name Macintosh HD,
and the third should be a Free Space partition of about 500MB
or so in size, which you’ll use as a Linux swap partition later on.
Click Partition to seal the deal, quit Disk Utility, and proceed with Make Ubuntu’s partition at least 10GB.
installing Mac OS X on your Macintosh HD partition.
72 January 2007
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74 HOW TO
run Ubuntu Linux on your PowerBook
3
Installation Station
Once your Mac OS X partition is ready, it’s time to install
Ubuntu; pop the Ubuntu CD into your drive and restart
your Mac while holding down the C key. You’ll be greeted by
a black splash screen with the Ubuntu logo and a few startup
options. Next, select Start Or Install Ubuntu, and Linux will boot
into Live CD mode, which lets you run and install the OS from
the CD. After it starts up, you’ll see a big ol’ Install icon sitting
on the desktop. Click that to get going.
Follow along through the install screens until you get to the
Select A Disk screen. Here, select Manually Edit Partition Table
and click Forward. The Prepare Partitions screen will show you
the available partitions on your drive, and the following screen Installing Linux doesn’t get any easier than this.
will let you assign specific uses to those partitions. Use the
drop-down menus to designate your smaller (500MB) partition installation. After Linux is installed, your Mac will automatically
Swap and your larger Free Space partition your Linux root reboot, and you’ll be presented with a little boot menu in the
(identified as a forward slash: /) and make sure both have a upper-right corner of your screen. By default, Linux will load
checkmark under Reformat. Then click Forward to complete the unless you type either X for Mac OS X or C for CD-ROM.
4
Enable AirPort
By far the biggest hassle you’re likely to face in loading from the obsolete ghostcorp.net address listed (you’ll get an error
Ubuntu onto a PowerBook is the lack of AirPort drivers if you try it their way). Open your Ubuntu Terminal (Applications >
in Linux. The trouble here is that Broadcom, the company that Accessories > Terminal), type in the commands from that
makes Apple’s AirPort cards, hasn’t made its source code forum thread, delete the line that reads wget http://www
available for Linux developers, so they’ve had to create a .ghostcorp.net/AppleAirPort2, and enter the following in
sneaky workaround. In fact, this workaround is one of the main its place: cp $OSXROOT/System/Library/Extensions/
reasons we had you install Mac OS X before installing Linux. This AppleAirPort2.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleAirPort2 .
is an easy hack, but it takes a little effort. To do it, follow the Note that the command contains one blank space at the
instructions in the Ubuntu forums at http://ubuntuforums.org/ beginning, after cp, and one more right before the period at the
showthread.php?t=142727 with one exception: Get the driver end—that copies the file into your current working directory. The
directly from your Mac OS X partition rather than downloading it rest of the instructions in the forum thread work as described.
This command hijacks a copy of Mac OS X’s AirPort driver for Ubuntu to use.
5
Get to Work (or Play)
With Ubuntu Linux installed and your AirPort wireless
connection working, your PowerBook is ready to
roll. Ubuntu comes preloaded with a whole bunch of useful
apps, including a full-blown office productivity suite called
OpenOffice, a robust e-mail and contact/calendar program
called Evolution, and the popular Firefox Web browser.
Photoshop fiends will get a kick out of the totally free GIMP
image editor, which supports a massive array of plug-ins that
make it a worthy contender to its not-nearly-free Adobe rival. What’s your pleasure? Ubuntu hooks you up with an endless
You can add more apps to your Linux system by running selection of free software.
Add/Remove Applications (click Add/Remove at the bottom
of the Applications menu) and surfing through the huge download and install them for you in moments. You can pick
selection of free software. Pick some you like, and Ubuntu will from a whopping list of apps, utilities, games, and more.
6
Get Help
Linux has a well-earned reputation for complexity, and
while Ubuntu does a good job of overcoming most of
Linux’s geeky tech hurdles, it’s far from problem-free. To get
quick answers from others who have traveled this path before,
visit the Ubuntu forums at www.ubuntuforums.org.
Make Swap what? Find all the help you need at the Ubuntu forums.
As editor-in-chief of Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, Robert

74 January 2007 Strohmeyer denies any involvement in the writing of this article.
76 HOW TO
soup up Safari
4 56
7
Soup Up Safari
3
2 8
1
0
by Niko Coucouvanis R.P.M.
X1000
WHAT YOU NEED

Mac OS 10.4 or later ($129, www.apple.com)
Safari 2.0 or later (free, www. apple.com)
ILLUSTRATION BY KEN BOUSQUET

C
hoosing a Web browser is almost as big a deal as
choosing the Mac OS over Windows—only Apple’s ON THE
Safari browser isn’t as obviously superior to other DISC
browsers as Mac OS X is to Windows. Here, then, are some Forget Me Not 2.0, Safari
Enhancer 3.3.1, IdleWeb 2.0
tricks and add-ons to make Safari sing.
1 2
Unfill Your AutoFill Command-Tab, Not Command-Q!
We’ve fought with Safari’s AutoFill enough that we Ever hit Command-Q and quit Safari when you intended
finally tracked down a way to manage the sucker. The to close a window (Command-W) or switch applications
benefits include no more errant fill-ins when Safari thinks it (Command-Tab)? Install Forget Me Not (free, on the Disc or
knows what we’re thinking, snappier Safari performance, and http://math.uchicago.edu/~fowler/Software.html), and when
possibly tighter security. Open Safari > Preferences, select the you relaunch Safari, it’ll reload the inadvertently closed pages
AutoFill tab, and click the Edit box next to Other Forms. See all and tabs. Bonus: Forget Me Not also adds an Unclose Window
the sites listed there? Select and remove the ones that give you command to Safari’s File menu so you can reopen a window
trouble, or click Remove All to start fresh. Click Done to return after you accidentally close it. Forget Me Not is a SIMBL plug-
to the main AutoFill pane, then remove the checkmark from the in, so you have to first install SIMBL (Smart InputManager
Other Forms box to nip AutoFill in the bud, and make sure the Bundle Loader—it’s a safe way to hack features like this into
box labeled User Names And Passwords isn’t checked. applications). A SIMBL installer and
full instructions are included in the
Forget Me Not package.
No more scrounging through Safari’s

history when you accidentally close
a window.
4
You know not to use AutoFill for your user names and passwords. Veg Out While Surfing
Web surfing isn’t what you’d call an extreme activity,
3
Tab Ya Later but all that scrolling and clicking—where’s Kiosk mode
Tabbed browsing (Safari > Preferences > Tabs) rocks, when we need it? IdleWeb turns the Web into the TV-style
Niko Coucouvanis is widely considered a walking
loading new windows into the current window’s Tab Bar, passive entertainment we crave. Grab the app off this month’s
from where you can instantly view any of the Tab-opened pages. Disc (free, www.edot-studios.com); it’s an OS X Screen Saver
You can press Command-T (or select File > New Tab) to add a Module, so double-click it and follow the onscreen prompts
new blank tab so you can type a page’s URL into the URL field, to install it for all users or only yourself. If the installer doesn’t
but the cool kids use Safari Enhancer, which adds tons of handy deposit you in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver,
tricks, including a cache deactivator, history options, and a New go there and select the Screen Saver tab. Then select IdleWeb
Tab button. Install and launch Safari Enhancer (free, on the Disc from the list and click Options,
or www.celestialfrontiers.com), select System-Wide Settings, where you can set page-scrolling
version of Kiosk mode.
and check the box labeled Add New Tab Button To Safari behavior, activate Kiosk mode,
Toolbar. Then launch Safari, select View > Customize Address and drag in sites from your
Bar, and drag Bookmarks list, or right from
the New Tab Safari’s URL bar into IdleWeb’s
icon into the Bookmarks list.
Toolbar.
IdleWeb is like autopilot for the
Add Tabs from the Toolbar. Internet.
76 January 2007
78 HOW TO
light a fire under Firefox
Light a Fire under Firefox

by Niko Coucouvanis
WHAT YOU NEED 4
Mac OS 10.3 or later 1

($129, www.apple.com)
Firefox 1.5 or later 3
(free, www.mozilla.com)
Firefox extensions
(free, https://addons.mozilla.com)
1. Many extensions bring their own Toolbar and 5

park it up here. 2. Some just steal a corner of the
Status Bar. 3. Some, like Google Calendar Quick
Add, stay out of your way until summoned via a
keyboard shortcut or the Tools menu.
4. Control-click in the Toolbar to show or hide 2
specific extensions. 5. Choose Tools > Extensions
for the handy Extensions Manager.
T he other major Mac Web browser, Firefox, has some unique

tricks up its sleeve: extensions, which add missing features.
Unlike standard browser plug-ins, extensions also provide
configuration for your specific needs; thousands of extensions
are available free at https://addons.mozilla.com. Here we’ll show
you some of our favorites and how to manage and tweak them.
NoScript 1.1.4.5 WataCrackaz Auto SMS

Scripts on the Web are like people: Some are You can send SMS text messages
good, some are evil—and you can’t always tell at from Firefox’s Toolbar with the help
face value. So Firefox’s wholesale enabling and NoScript lets of WataCrackaz. We’re not sure how to We wouldn’t use it
disabling of Java and JavaScript (Firefox > you decide pronounce it (or if we want to know), but to call 911, but this
Preferences > Web Features) isn’t so handy. on the fly this slick extension lets you select a U.S. is slick.
NoScript lets you decide on a site-by-site basis which scripts or foreign carrier, type in the telephone
which scripts to run and which to disable. are OK. number, and bang off a text message. We know, using all 10
fingers is technically bad chatiquette, but nobody has to know.
StumbleUpon 2.86
Admit it. Sometimes you get bored at work—really Google Calendar QuickAdd 1.5.6
bored, to the point that you can’t even think of Here’s a shortcut to add calendar entries quickly without having
a fun Web site to waste a few minutes at while Caution: to open a Google Calendar page—but you do have to be logged
your brain recharges. StumbleUpon compiles StumbleUpon into your Google account. Once you’ve installed the extension,
and categorizes well-reviewed sites so you can may be habit just select Tools > Google Calendar Quick Add or press Control-;
procrastinate more efficiently, and it’s fully forming, (semicolon) to summon the Quick Add box.
interactive so you can add your two cents via which may get
the thumbs-up and -down toolbar icons, or leave you fired. Fill up your
comments for other StumbleUpon users. Google
Calendar
Google Calendar Notifier 2.5 from
We didn’t think we needed appointment anywhere
reminders right in our Web browser, but on the Web.
after a week we’re hooked and can’t live
without them. Niko Coucouvanis still considers Web browsers the scourge
of the earth.
As if you’d forget happy hour.
78 January 2007
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86
tell us how you really feel
LETTERS my MacAddict subscription.

As soon as I installed
StartupSound.PrefPane and
heard my newly modulated
SHARP TIPS, startup chime, I knew life
SHARP READERS had changed for the better:
Your magazine stands out No longer would I be waking
from the competition with my husband in the middle
the sense of fun and humor of the night if I suddenly
that is found in every issue. needed my Mac. Bonus: Now
Also, you must be psychic I can ease into the morning
with your software secrets gently, instead of being jolted
“For Creatives” in the hyperalert by that deafening
Nov/06 issue (“From the major chord. A big, big thank
Minds of MacAddict,” p21)! you for a small (?) fix! As long as it doesn’t burst
Right when I was working —Anne Milton into flames, you’re set.
on perfecting some images Hey, if Macs can sleep,
of a lighthouse that I want so should husbands. I had much difficulty getting my mouse to work on a glass
to submit to iStockphoto, I (Bonus: Extra credit for your table until I discovered the most appropriate mouse pad.
read your tips on Photoshop MacAddict-esque use of Incidentally, I also found a use for my PC laptop where it
sharpening that made every “Bonus.”)—Max couldn’t possibly crash, fail, or otherwise let me down.
other sharpening technique —Travis
obsolete! I now have OH, SOFTEN UP
beautiful lighthouse images I really enjoyed “From the
that I couldn’t possibly have Minds of MacAddict” article highlights, but you’ll have of the Internet and came
achieved without such a (Nov/06, p21), especially the same hard shadows. across a banner ad for Mr. T’s
timely tip from you guys! the “For Creatives” section —Marc Parsons new reality TV series. Being
—Charlie Thiel by Mark. But (you knew a Excellent point; thanks interested, I clicked on it.
Always happy to help! knock was coming…) taping a for sharing. But as the Firefox chose that moment
May your newly sharpened piece of paper over the flash Zen riddle asks, if a light to “suddenly quit.” My report
lighthouse lift your of a camera will not produce appears softer, but no one to Apple consisted of the
contributions above the fog of a softer light. The only way is around to see it, and a following: “I had just loaded
cruddier stock images.—Max to “soften” the light is to tree falls on a mime, does Mr. T’s TV show Web site and
increase the size of the light anyone care?—Max Firefox quit. Go figure, huh?”
SHH, STARTUP source. The paper will reduce I wonder what they’ll make of
Your advice on how to the output, which may appear THE RETURN OF that.—Sean
silence the startup sound as a softer light because CLUBBER LANG We pity the browser that
is worth the entire price of you’re not blowing out the I was perusing the vastness can’t handle the T! If your
8gb
browser is back on the A-

4gb
30gb
shuf
80gb
24in
Team, check out www.tvland
Survey Says Here are the results of our October 2006 survey. Check out
www.macaddict.com each month for a new online poll.
.com/originals/ipitythefool.
—Max
What do you MIGHTIER THAN

expect Apple 31% Finally, a freakin’ iPhone WE THOUGHT
to announce at 22% iPod with video and I cannot fault your overall
January’s Mac a full-frontal, big-screen evaluation of the wireless
Expo? touchscreen 7% Steve in a Mighty Mouse (
(PRODUCT) RED turtleneck
Oct/06, p47); however, it
with a matching soul patch,
à la Scott Spiezio might discourage people
from even trying it—it
received a five-star rating
9% iMac (PRODUCT) 27% Early release from me. I have arthritis in
RED Special Edition of Leopard—meaning my thumbs, and I have found
immediately
the Mighty Mouse to be the
4% Leopard will most comfortable mouse
run on generic PCs I’ve ever used, as I’m able
to control it without having
86 January 2007
WRITE TO US!
MacAddict, 4000 Shoreline Court, Ste. 400,
FOR CD PROBLEMS:
go to www.futureus.com 87
South San Francisco, CA 94080 FOR SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES:
or letters@macaddict.com call (toll-free) 888-771-6222
WIN!
to grip it with my thumb.
I think you should inform
you readers that this mouse
may very well be useful for
people with problems like
mine.—Ted Leash Win a Microsoft
We got a lot of feedback
about that review, Ted, but
Productivity Pack!
your tip gets our biggest This month we’ve got your highly
thumbs up. Thanks!—Max Saving the day for arthritis productive self in mind, offering you the chance to win a copy
sufferers—but few others. of Microsoft Office 2004 Professional Edition ($499, www
VILEFAULT .microsoft.com/mac) and a Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop
Sure hope those external for Mac keyboard-mouse set ($99). All you need to do to win this
terabyte drives hit the powerfully potent pair of productivity promoters is to write the
market soon.—Nathan Hart best caption for the image below. Only one entry per contestant.
Or a zettabyte*—then
you could back up Niko’s
illustrious library of skanky
Entry Form
B movies.—Max You mean you don’t have
4,092GB to spare?
iPUMPKIN Write a caption
We had a pumpkin-carving presently taking orders for for this picture.
contest in the library where them, but I don’t think anyone
I work, and we created the will buy ’em because they
iPumpkin. It’s powered by decompose rather quickly. CONTESTANT INFORMATION
a 30GB video iPod, plays —Joe Barricella Full Name:
video on the LCD screen, You can’t take it jogging, but Address:
and audio through the you can make it into a tasty City: State:
earbuds (gourds). We’re pie.—Max Zip:

Email or telephone:
Send email entries to: contest@macaddict.com with the subject: Microsoft Contest (Don’t
forget to include your address information!) Send snail-mail entries to: Microsoft Contest,
MacAddict magazine, 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
Deadline for entry: January 31, 2007. Contest results will appear in our May/07 issue.
Contest Rules The judges will be MacAddict editors and will base their decision on 33 percent humor, 33 percent
originality, and 33 percent creativity. All entries must be received no later than January 31, 2006, with the winner
announced around May 2007. By entering this contest, you agree that Future US, Inc. may use your name, likeness,
and Web site for promotional purposes without further payment. All prizes will be awarded, and no minimum number
of entries is required. If two or more people enter identical winning captions, the entry received first will be awarded
the contest prize. Prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians. Future US, Inc. is not
responsible for damages or expenses the winners might incur as a result of this contest or the receipt of a prize,
and winners are responsible for income taxes based on the value of the prize received. A list of winners may also be
obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Future US, Inc. c/o MacAddict Contest, 4000 Shoreline
Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080. This contest is limited to residents of the United States. No
purchase necessary; void in Arizona, Maryland, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and where prohibited by law.
Winner! Congratulations
to Kenneth Simon,
whose caption won him a 250GB LaCie
Brick hard drive ($129.99, www.lacie
.com). Special thanks to the dozens of
you whose captions centered on either Due to Graphic
bird poop or Pepto-Bismol—and a content in this issue of
quizzical head-scratch for the one guy MacAddict, parental
whose contribution featured both. discretion is advised.
Volume 12, Issue 1
MacAddict (ISSN 1088-548X) is published 12 times a year by Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San
Francisco, CA 94080. Periodicals Postage Paid at South San Francisco, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Newsstand
distribution is handled by Curtis Circulation Co. Basic subscription rates: one year (12 issues + 12 CD-ROMs) U.S. $39.90,
Canada $43.95, U.S. prepaid funds only. Canadian price includes postage and GST 128220688. IPM 0962392. Outside the
U.S. and Canada, price is $53.95, U.S. prepaid funds only. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MacAddict, P.O. Box
5126, Harlan, IA 51593-0626. Future US, Inc. also publishes Maximum PC, PC Gamer, Official Xbox Magazine, PSM, Guitar
World, Guitar One, Guitar World Acoustic, Bass Guitar, Guitar Legends, Future Music, Future Snowboarding, Snowboard Journal,
Snowboard Trade News, Revolver, and Scrapbook Answers. Entire contents copyright 2006, Future US, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. Future US, Inc. is not affiliated with the companies or products covered in
MacAddict. Ride-Along enclosure in the following edition(s): B1, C1, C2, C3. PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF
Earbuds on loan from the jolly green guy. AMERICA. Publications Mail Agreement #40043631. Returns: 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor ON N9A 6J3
*A zettabyte is 1 sextillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) bytes—or 1/1,000 of a yottabyte. January 2007 87

88 SHUT DOWN
don’t let the back page hit you on the way out
88 January 2007 Illustration by Jack gallagher

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Offer subject to CDW’s standard terms and conditions of sale, available at CDW.com. ©2007 CDW Corporation
WITH HP YOU CAN PRINT YOUR VISION.
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The ideas in your portfolio should stay true to the ideas in your head. That’s why the
new HP Designjet series of printers have a built-in spectrophotometer that analyzes
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13” x 19” 8 Vivera pigmented 24” – 44” pedestal printer 24” – 44” pedestal printer
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*Mac and PC fully compatible. © 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Some of the images are simulated.
Mac Addict.indd 1 10/12/06 2:42:41 PM

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125 SNEAK PEEK: The coolest Mac magazine you’ve ever seen! p31 KFP9FP1?

JAN : I < 8K <

How to outﬁt your Mac

REVIEWED: HOW TO:

Plus: Your Field Guide to Wireless Jargon

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72 Run Ubuntu Linux on 78 Light a Fire under Firefox

87 Contest 88 Shut Down

the Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive and BUSINESS

• 11 Utilities • and more!

freeware freeware freeware 125

Say Hello to STAFF RANTS

Going to Macworld Expo this January?

The Omni Group

They just keep getting faster and faster. Yay!

Dynamic Core 2 Duo

Model Processor Front- RAM Hard Optical Graphics Price

NEW STUFF .MAC MAIL’S NEW LOOK

iMAC, MAC PRO

IMAGE COURTESY OF BANG & OLUFSEN

IMAGE COURTESY OF JWIN ELECTRONICS

Sexy Shelf System C

shareware pick of the month

3 Back to downloading programs: Click the

2 Videos can take up a lot of hard drive space.

Y ou click on an application, but it

APC Smart-UPS® 1000 provides

APC Solutions for Every Level of Protection

Buy now - Special Offers!

MacAddict_122006.indd 1 11/14/2006 5:22:34 PM

B esides black, silver, blue, green, and pink, the iPod

GRAPHICS AND PUBLISHING

NEW ADOBE APP

A dobe added a new application for

F R E.E ! by Dave Hamilton

All these goodies If you’ve got money burning a hole in

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta 3 Free replacement for

TextWrangler 2.1.3 BBEdit’s (mature) little brother

TextWrangler lets you edit and manipulate text in many

With MenuMeters, you can easily see

Use VNC to see and control the desktop on

Support for multiple file types makes

Use this to play those pesky Windows

Support .macfixitforums.com and you’ll find

Gab away—for free—with Skype 2.0.

Google Stuff to pore through it all, Gmail is one of the

FEBRUARY 2007 NO. 1

>>>12 M|L FEB•07 FEB•07 M|L 13<<<

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN MCFAUL

>>>10 TASTY FACTS ABOUT....

>>>34 M|L FEB•07

WE DID THE MATH BY R I K M YS L E W S K I

30,000,000 lines of code

FEB•07 M|L 35<<<

APPLE’S LITTLEST MUSIC PLAYER

>>>36 M|L FEB• 07

12 Mac|Life February 2007

125 SNEAK PEEK: The coolest Mac magazine you’ve ever seen! p31 KFP9FP1?

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?GG<F=OK2 Myriad export choices. Helpful Branch Proposal System.

?GG<F=OK2 Extensive ?GG<F=OK2