Happy Holidays and Welcome to the November/December 2007 issue of Mac Hints & Tips
Combined Issue
Due to holiday demands (and to try to catch up), I have decided to make this a combination November and December issue.
Macworld Expo
I will be attending this year’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco in January to see all the new “Leopardized” software and hardware.
If you are attending too, send me an email and we can get together for lunch or drinks or something, and talk about Mac stuff.
Please Donate!
I am requesting a $5-per-issue donation. I believe having these tips culled from the many various sources is valuable.
If you think it's worth more than $5, please donate more. If you believe it is worth less, then just donate what you think is fair. But please donate something.Paul Taylor
paul@mac-hints-tips.com
Scrolling
To activate and use the scroll bar in multiple open windows, you do not have to click on the window and then scroll; all you need to do is move the mouse over the window you want to scroll on and the scroll bar will work!
Jerry Zigmont, MacWorks, Madison Connecticut
Easier Private Browsing in Safari
If you use Safari's private browsing feature a lot, you're probably tired of the "are you sure?" confirmation dialog that appears every time you use this mode. In Tiger, you couldn't do much about it. In Leopard, though, just hold down the Option key when you select Safari > Private Browsing, and you'll bypass the confirmation dialog. ~ Rob Griffiths
Mad Mac News, Madison, WI
Fast Access to System Profiler
You've always been able to launch System Profiler from the Apple menu -- just select "About this Mac," then click the "More Info" button. But in OS X 10.5 (Leopard), it has gotten even easier: just press the "Option" key down, either before or after activating the Apple menu, and you'll see that "About this Mac" changes into "System Profiler." (And here's a side hint about System Profiler: it can now show you the potential burning speed of your recordable media. Just click on the "Disc Burning" entry in the "Contents" column, then insert your recordable media. System Profiler will then tell you the speed at which it can write to that media.) ~ Rob Griffiths
Mad Mac News, Madison, WI
Downloading/Adding Widgets
Don't get confused -- There is a difference between downloading a widget and installing it. It's all in the browser you use.
To install widgets you either:
I do because I don't like dashboard, so I convert each widget that I want use to a WidgiApp using Mesa Dynamics' Amnesty Singles. I store my limited collection of WidgiApps in a folder accessible through the Unsanity.com's Fruit Menu Haxie. But that's enough cross-threaded tip for this item.
Anyway back to Widgets: You can see, says Leland, where the confusion may come in. A user, who is used to downloading in Safari where the widget installs itself, fires up Firefox one day and does the same thing. But now, the widget just "lies on the desktop or in their Download folder."
That's because it was never launched, as it is when Safari handles the job. There's nothing mysterious going on there, but it is a distinction users would benefit from knowing.
If your experience was something other than that of my hypothetical Firefox user (a proxy for everything that falls in item 1 above), please take a minute to check the exact sequence of steps. If it's repeatable, then you've found a bug that should be passed on to Apple. ~ Leland, Musings from Mars
Harry {doc} Babad
System Administrator Privileges
What do you do when you have changed your Primary OS X account to a User account and do not have another Admin account created (i.e. accidentally uncheck the "Allow user to administer computer")? To fix the existing account, we need to create a temporary Admin account.
Reboot into single user mode. (Hold down Command/S while you reboot until you see the text-mode boot messages.) Mount the file system with this command /sbin/mount -uaw
Remove the hidden file that OS X creates when you do the initial setup. It's in /var/db and it's called .AppleSetupDone (note the beginning period). rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
Reboot by typing "reboot" at the prompt. When your Mac comes up, create new account -- it will automatically have System Administrator privilege. Make sure you give this account a name that does not already exist on your computer. Log into the new account, reset the system admin privileges on your already existing account. You can delete the new account you just created.
Jerry Zigmont, MacWorks, Madison Connecticut
Screen Resolution and WYSIWYG
Newer arrivals to the Mac world might wonder why they see so many references to 72ppi (pixels per inch), also referred to as 72dpi (dots per inch). Let's use the term "pixels" as it's technically more accurate.
As I'm sure you know, the image on your Mac's screen is made up of square colored dots or pixels. (Check with a magnifying glass.) The first Macs had a "screen resolution" of 72ppi -- 72 pixels per inch. This was important because in the publishing and printing industry measurement system, there were almost exactly 72 points to an inch. Thus, one pixel on the Mac's screen equaled one point. This made working with standard font sizes very simple, and the eventual adoption of the Mac by the publishing and printing industry was thus made easier.
At that time, all applications (i.e. programs) knew that the Mac's screen resolution was 72ppi, and were therefore programmed so that an object to be printed one inch long would be displayed using 72 pixels; that is, it would occupy one inch on the screen. Thus, objects on the screen, measured by a ruler laid across the screen, would be precisely the same size as those in the printed document. "Size for size" was for some years part of the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) concept.
As time passed, there was a move to display more information on a given size screen and also to show more detail in each item displayed. This led to an increase in screen resolution. The Windows operating system adopted a resolution of 96ppi, and the resolution of Apple screens also trended upwards, so that by the time Mac OS X came along, resolutions of nearer 100ppi had become standard.
The result of this progressive change was that applications could no longer make an assumption about screen resolution -- they could not know in advance how many pixels per inch would be used to display the images they presented. Still, they had to make some assumption, and the standard set was 72ppi. (This is also the standard set for Web page design, where all object sizes are defined in pixels rather than inches or centimeters.)
What happens now when an image is presented on screen? Let's consider an image that the application has defined as one inch long. The standard of 72ppi says that should be displayed using 72 pixels.
At a time when screen resolution was actually 72ppi, that 72-pixel object would have been one inch long on the screen. Now, with a screen resolution of 100ppi, it will be only 72/100=0.72 inches long on the screen; in other words, it will be only three-quarters life size. So much for that aspect of WYSIWYG.
This makes it a little tough for Mac users who simply want to know what something (typically a photo) will look like in real life (i.e. when printed). Photoshop, for instance, has a menu command View > Print Size. Surely this shows the photo at "life-size?" Unfortunately not. A 6-inch-square photo will be represented by 6x72=432 pixels along each side, which will be displayed on a new Mac's 100ppi screen as 432/100=4.32 inches square.
Some applications give you a way over the problem, by enabling you to view images at something other than 100% scale. (This doesn't change the image or document content at all -- it simply applies a "magnifying glass" to the contents of the document window.) Now, if my screen has 100ppi, and knowing that 100/72=1.38, I could display a 6-inch object at something close to 6 inches on the screen if I could view my document at 138% scale. If my application doesn't offer me that setting, I may have to settle for 125% or 150%, but that may be better than nothing.
Here's a special note for Photoshop users. Don't think you can set a Photoshop image to this (138%) setting and get "life size." Oh no -- 100% in Photoshop means something completely different. It means "one pixel in the image equals one pixel on screen," so that if you have a 300ppi image 2 inches square (i.e. 600 pixels square) and display it at Photoshop's "100%," it will be displayed on a 72ppi screen as 600/72=8.33 inches square, but on a 100ppi screen as 600/100=6 inches square.
Are you confused yet? Probably. All I can suggest is that you read this item over, then over again. It was only through continuing exposure to this subject that I was able to figure out what the heck was going on.
The key is to understand that applications display images assuming that your screen has 72 pixels per inch. If it has more pixels per inch than this, the image will be correspondingly smaller than in "real life," i.e. printed size. To demonstrate, open one of your applications that includes a ruler among its tools, and compare that with a real ruler laid across the screen. What's your screen resolution? Look in System Preferences > Displays to see how many pixels your screen is displaying (it will look something like 1280x960). Note the larger of the two numbers. Now measure the width of your screen with a ruler, and divide this measurement (in inches) into the number you noted. This is your current screen resolution in pixels per inch. ~ Steve Cooper
AUSOM News, Melbourne, Australia
DVD Conversion
Use these tools to back up commercial DVDs.
HandBrake (free): Many of the Mac DVD-ripping utilities do a decent job, but they can't touch the complete capabilities that HandBrake (Eric Petit and Laurent Alma's tool) offers for free. If you don't need HandBrake's many configuration options, choose its less full-featured sibling, Instant HandBrake (also free). Like HandBrake, Instant HandBrake can convert commercial DVDs to a format that's playable on your Mac, iPod, or Sony PSP.
VisualHub ($23): VisualHub can convert almost any video format you throw at it to iPod, PSP, DV, DVD, TiVo, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG, and Flash formats. It can even fit up to 18 hours of video on one DVD, although that video will not look pristine.
What does this have to do with your DVDs? Although Techspansion claims that VisualHub won't convert video from commercial DVDs, it has (in many cases -- though not always) done so successfully for me. For example, it ripped Master and Commander with no complaints but produced garbage when ripping my DVD collection of the first season of Arrested Development. (HandBrake had no problems with Arrested Development.)
Another bonus: VisualHub can help you put your converted content on a DVD (compressing it to fit on a single disc) and then burn it -- no need to purchase additional tools such as Roxio's $100 Toast or $50 Popcorn 2 or Erwin van den Berg's €40 DVD2oneX2. Both of these utilities, however, do provide more flexible DVD-burning options than VisualHub.
Chris Breen's Mac 911
The Dish Tuner
Q: I have a Dish tuner that includes a digital video recorder. That setup works fine for me, but I'd like to find a way to record a few of my favorite shows onto DVD and then export them to my iPod. I was thinking that my Mac mini might be the tool for the job, if I can figure out a way to import selected shows to it from the Dish tuner, edit out commercials, and then record and export the shows. Do you have any suggestions on software or hardware solutions? ~ Paul Barsa
A: If you had a standard TiVo, I'd suggest you wait for the TiVoToGo service, which TiVo says will ship sometime this year. While the TiVoToGo implementation on a Windows PC was underwhelming, taking way too long to transfer and burn programs with poor results, the Mac implementation I've seen looks far more promising.
But a Dish DVR is a different beast and you won't be seeing TiVoToGo on it in this lifetime.
Just as there are hacks for TiVo, there are hacks for getting into the Dish DVR and copying files from it. Unfortunately, they're convoluted and require a working knowledge of Linux or Unix, or an understanding of using OS X's Terminal. Put Google to good use, and you'll find some of these hacks.
If you have a camcorder that offers a video pass-through option, I'd try that. The quality isn't terrific, but if you already have such a camcorder, this way is an inexpensive alternative. You plug the video and audio outputs of the DVR into the inputs of the camcorder, string a FireWire cable between the camcorder and the Mac, flip the camcorder into pass-through mode, start capturing in iMovie, and begin playback on your DVR.
When you finish recording, you can edit the results in iMovie and export it for burning to DVD or your iPod.
Chris Breen's Mac 911
What To Do When plist Files Go Awry
If your favorite application keeps crashing, fails to load, or freezes your Mac, the problem could be within your plist files. Property list (plist) files store specific application settings and preferences, and are usually found in either the Library/Preferences Directory in the root directory of your hard drive, or in the Library/Preferences Directory in your User name folder.
Plist files are listed according their host application: for example, TextEdit's plist file is named com.apple.TextEdit.plist (The beginning part of the name, "com.apple," indicates the vendor that created the application, insuring that no two plist files will have the exact same name.)
If you have a problematic application, you may have a corrupt plist file. Here's what you can do.
Start anew: Remove the application's plist files. The next time you launch that app, new plist files will be created with default application settings. Presumably, a new file will no longer have the corrupted data of the original file, thereby eliminating the problem.
Check for intruding apps: In some instances, more than one application may be writing to a plist file. For example, Safari's plist is often used by Apple's Mail.
If you are experiencing repeated corruption of the com.apple.Safari plist file or another plist file, investigate the other applications that could be writing to the file.
To do this, navigate to the plist file that you want to inspect, select its icon, and press Command/I on your keyboard.
Next, launch some of your routine applications and check to see if the "Get Info" window closes. This tells you that the app you just launched is using that plist file. Reinstall (or consider replacing) the offending application.
MacFixIt.com via LIMac Forum, Long Island, NY
Keep it Running
Many people don't think of the Finder as an application, but it is. You will see it in the Dock, just like all other applications, and if you open up the "Force Quit Applications" window by pressing Command/Option/Escape, you will see it listed with all of the other applications that are currently running. This is important to remember in case the Finder stops responding.
If you select the non-responsive Finder in the "Force Quit Applications" window, the "Force Quit" button at the bottom will change to "Relaunch." Once clicked, the system will attempt to quit the Finder and relaunch it. This will often clear up any difficulties.
If you continue to run into seemingly random problems with your system, open up the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder, and launch Disk Utility. Select your boot drive, and click "Repair Disk Permissions" under the First Aid section.
LIMac Forum, Long Island, NY
Check Definitions and Spelling Quickly
Mac OS X hides a clever little way to double-check a word's spelling and definition at the same time. Instead of launching the Dictionary application, you can open a dictionary window with a simple keyboard shortcut. Here's how:
The dictionary window appears showing what the word means along with how to spell it. Click anywhere else in your document to close the dictionary window. The downside is that this keyboard shortcut doesn't work in every application. Most Apple applications recognize the shortcut, but some third-party apps don't. ~ Jeff Garnet
The Mac Observer via Mouse Tales, North Coast MUG, Berea, OH
Jott -- Note to Self
Jott is a cool new service that will convert your voice into email or a text message. Just call a toll-free number from your cell phone, and leave a voice message. Jott will translate your spoken words into text, and then forward the text to an email address or send a text message to a cell phone.
It took me a minute to wrap my head around the possibilities, but now I love having Jott. Read on to learn more about this free new service, and some very interesting uses for Jott.
http://askbobrankin.com/jottnotetoself.html ~ Bob Rankin
Mouse Tales, North Coast MUG, Berea, OH
Accidental Universal Access
Q: Lately my iMac has been in a strange state: every mouse operation evokes a spoken response, as does every attempt to open a control panel or a window. Additionally, there is always a dark rectangle outlining some object in the current window or on the desktop. I looked through various libraries for an obvious plist file, but could find none. Restarting my Mac has not helped. Ideas? -Clay Ross
A: Allow me to offer this general advice: when your Mac unexpectedly talks back to you, zooms in on objects, activates windows and menus when you press keys on your keyboard, displays an enormous cursor, or shows you a display that looks like an X-ray image, run, don't walk, to the Universal Access preference pane.
This System Preferences pane was designed to help people with physical limitations. You can use it to control the cursor with the keyboard or make your Mac recite the names of buttons and menu items, for example. Many of these functions can be initiated with the press of a few keys. Apple has done its best to make accidentally activating these key combinations difficult, but that can still happen.
And it happened to you. Somehow, you managed to press Command/F5. This command fires up Voice Over, a helpful tool that can recite the name of the foremost application and the names of items within it, while highlighting those items (that's the dark rectangle you're seeing).
Press Command/F5 once more, and your Mac will cease its jabbering. ~ Christopher Breen
Mouse Tales, North Coast MUG, Berea, OH
Editing Old Home Videos
Q: I'm trying to use a DVD recorder to transfer my home videos to DVD. Then I'd like to be able to edit the .vob files from the DVD to cut out unnecessary footage. How do I transfer those .vob files from the DVD into an editing program on my Mac, without having to de-multiplex them, recompress them, and so on? I've tried DVD Studio Pro without any luck. ~ Sarah McDonald
A: First, you'll need a few apps: Squared 5's free MPEG Streamclip, Apple's QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component ($20), and Roxio's Toast ($80). If you have Final Cut Pro or DVD Studio Pro, that MPEG-2 Playback Component should already be on your Mac -- it's included with those programs.
Once you have the apps, drag the .vob file you want to edit from the DVD into MPEG Streamclip. If there are additional .vob files associated with the one you've dragged into the program, you'll be asked if you'd like to import all the parts of your movie. Yes, you would.
In MPEG Streamclip, use the Cut, Paste, and Trim commands to edit your video. Once it's edited to your satisfaction, choose File > Save As, and save your edited file as a new .vob file; that way, your original .vob file won't need any de-multiplexing and recompressing. iDVD and DVD Studio Pro won't take the resulting .vob file, but Roxio's Toast will. Create a DVD-Video project in Toast, and drag the .vob file directly into Toast's main window; then you should be good to go.
If you care to, you can export your video to another format that DVD Studio Pro will accept: MPEG Streamclip can export these files as standard QuickTime, DV, AVI, or MPEG-4 files.
Chris Breen's Mac 911
Storage in an Emergency
Have you ever been in a situation where you have a file on your computer that needs to be transported to another destination but you forgot your flash drive? Here are some tips for the "in a pinch" storage solutions:
You can use your iPod when connected to your Mac. After iTunes launches, select your iPod in the Devices list, and from the Summary Tab select the "Enable Disk Use" option. Now you can copy the file (s) to your iPod and transport them.
A Digital Camera Storage Card (like a Compact Flas;h card) can store any type of file, not just images. By connecting the card to your Mac with a card reader you can copy files and transport them.
A FireWire/USB 2.0 External Drive case can allow you to reclaim a hard drive from an old Mac and use it as a convenient external portable storage device. You can easily transfer files from a computer, backup files or store large file archives on the hard drive. FireWire/USB 2.0 hard drive cases work between PCs and Macs too.
You can use your laptop to move large files to another Mac by attaching a FireWire cable between the laptop and the "targeted" Mac. Restart the laptop while holding down the "T" key to put it into Target Disk Mode <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583>. The laptop's drive will now appear on the desktop of the "targeted" Mac as another hard drive.
For more information, call QuadStar at 440-546-9911 or e-mail us at sales@quadstar.com.
QuadStar Digital Guidance
Keep a Log Book by your Macintosh
Computers are becoming more reliable, but they are not quite as simple and rugged as a kitchen appliance. They are complicated beasts and are still prone to failure. Keep a backup of your files, but also keep a customized logbook to help you troubleshoot and repair your system.
When I worked in the Aerospace business, I kept a huge set of three-ring binders in my office, with much information about the operation of the company's VAX computers. I wasn't the System Manager, I was just a programmer, but I needed much of the information in them. One large manual contained just enough information on how to start up the computer!
As the owner and main user of your Macintosh, you are the System Manager, and must plan ahead for the basic problems.
Some of us own several Macs, so if one breaks down, we use the other one to continue our work and get on the Internet to troubleshoot the other Mac. But not all of us have this luxury. If your computer won't start up, and you have no way to check the online help, you need a notebook by your machine with some basic information in it to help get you out of a jam.
The idea is to keep printed pages about subjects that would be difficult to look up if your Mac were ailing. For example, one page I would keep in my book would be how to start up the Mac from a CD, how to start in single-user mode, how to eject media on startup (CDs, etc.) and how to start in "target disk mode" (which makes your Mac behave like a FireWire disk drive, just attach it to another Mac to mount the drive). Another page might be about resetting the PRAM (parameter RAM in memory). Or a page about repairing your disk. Or replacing your battery.
But where do you find such nuggets of information? Much of it is in the Finder's Help menu. Search for keywords such as "startup," "install," and "system." Find pages you might want to keep handy on paper and print them out. Save them in a 3-ring binder. Here are a list of useful Help articles I found that should be included a basic System manual:
Make some custom pages for yourself. For example, make a log sheet of your backups. Note the dates of your backups and the disk (or DVD, etc) that saved it. Make another log sheet that contains a record of all your software installations. If you need to rebuild your Mac, this will be very handy for you or the expensive computer expert who does it for you. You may need another sheet to record web-site accounts you've created (such as Yahoo! mail, etc.) with account names and hints about the passwords.
You could even save your pages as PDF files, transform them to GIF documents with GraphicConverter, import them in to iPhoto, and make a custom hardbound book for yourself! But the binder is a better idea, so you can add and update pages.
The binder could also hold the OS X installer DVD that came with your Mac, and some important application CDs, such as iWork or Office. Special plastic CD holders are available that fit in binders.
Customize your book with any useful information, even important emails. The possibilities are endless.
Mouse Times, Santa Barbara, CA
Email Problems
I have long been using the PowerMail program for my email. But a crash of this program in early May made my file of past email messages for the past two years unreadable (and also unable to be copied by the Finder.) Replacing the PowerMail program by a fresh copy did not help. My last email backup was on a CD made in February, so I have lost three months of email files. However, the many attachments I have received are different files, in another place. So I still have those. There is some advantage in periodically starting a new "environment" in PowerMail. One has to set up the mail server details afresh, but the next batch of messages is saved to a new file, which can be backed up separately. ~ Bruce Craven
AUSOM News, Melbourne, Australia
Canning the Spam
I haven't received a piece of spam in my inbox for the past month.
Doesn't sound like much, but realize that I get over 300–500 emails a day (from personal, to business, to mailinglists) and regardless of how much training I did with my spam filter, about 20–30 spam messages would end up in my inbox every day.
On the positive side, Mail.app manages to capture the bulk of my spam using the junk mail feature. For example, in one day Mail.app successfully categorized 314 emails as junk. Unfortunately, it missed 42 of them, which would have ended up in my inbox if not for my secondary spam trap.
That's almost 12% missed, meaning that my junk mail filtering is only 88% effective. But, by using my primary and secondary spam/junk filtering I've managed to bring that average up to 100%.
The method that I use for secondary spam trapping is to set up two new rules in my mail program. (To add/edit rules in Mail.app you go to Mail Preferences and then select "Rules.")
The first rule is the tricky one to set up. Its purpose is to capture one of the latest types of spam that is called "image spam." It basically embeds an image in the email and normal spam filtering doesn't capture it.
To set up this rule, add a new rule with the condition (the last option) of Edit Header List, and then add a new item to the list called "ContentType." Next, "OK" out and then use ContentType as your criteria. Select "contains" and then type in "multipart/related". Click the "+" choose "Sender not in my previous recipients." This will make sure if any of your friends send you one of these types of emails you will get it.
My choice for dealing with these messages is to put them into a unique folder so that I can review them at my leisure. There for my action is "Move message" to mailbox "Image Spam".
The next rule is very simple. It has 2 conditions:
The action for this rule is to move the message to a mailbox called "Unknown Sender." I tend to review this folder more often because it has a better of chance of catching emails that I want.
Using the combination of Mail.app's spam filtering and these two new filters, I've relieved my inbox by quite a bit! ~ Joe Arcuri
Connecticut Macintosh Chronicle, Hartford, CT
The Mystery of the Non-Transparent Transparency
I was covering for a friend who was on vacation, and while comparing his latest printout of a brochure to the actual InDesign layout, I uncovered a mystery. The printout showed two overlapping shapes, one filled with blue and the other yellow with "transparent" green in the overlap. Yet in the layout neither of the shapes looked transparent. "Hmm! What's up with this?" I thought. I clicked the yellow object, which was in front of the blue object and no transparency was shown in the new Effects panel. Yet even though the panel indicated a Normal Blending Mode, it sure looked like the yellow object had Multiply applied to it. "Was this a bug in CS3?" I questioned. And then the answer popped into my head. It wasn't a bug or a problem of any kind. The answer was a very old feature from Illustrator that had been incorporated into the earliest versions of InDesign and still remained. To confirm my theory, I went to the View menu and selected Overprint Preview. Now the yellow object appeared to be transparent on my screen as well. But just to make sure, I opened the Attributes panel (Window > Attributes). When I selected the yellow object, Overprint Fill had been checked. Mystery solved! ~ Jeff Witchel
Layers Magazine
Talking About New Documents, Why Not Skip the Dialog?
If you want a new document with exactly the same specifications as your last, wouldn't it be nice to skip the dialog and just open the document? In a previous tip, I mentioned some of the great features in the Welcome Screen (Help > Welcome Screen). Well this is one of them.
Let's say your last document was a print document, but you customized the New Document Profile by using inches instead of points in the Units section. In the "Create New" section of your Welcome Screen, hold down your Option key when you click on the new Print Document profile button. Instead of opening the unwanted New Document dialog, you'll skip directly to your new document. Are you still considering unchecking the "Don't Show Again" option in the Welcome Screen? If not, I'll keep those Welcome Screen tips coming.
Layers Magazine
Can an Object Have More Than One Fill?
Since the Appearance palette was introduced to Illustrator several versions ago, an object could have multiple fills. See for yourself. Add a Swatch color Fill to any object. Open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) and with the object still selected, select the Fill listing in the panel. Now click the Duplicate button (page icon) at the bottom of the panel and a new Fill listing is added. However, the bottom Fill can't be seen because it's hiding directly behind the top Fill. That's easily fixed though. With the top Fill listing still highlighted, go to Effects > Path > Offset Path. In the window that opens, type a negative number to make the Fill smaller and Voila! Want to add more Fills? Fill 'er up! Just repeat the same procedure and add as many fills as you need.
Layers Magazine
The Panel That Opens Up the Power of OpenType
Unlike standard type formats such as Postscript Type 1 or TrueType, OpenType can have thousands of Glyphs (versions of characters) in a particular style of a type family. With so many Glyphs available, how can you find the exact one you're looking for without an endless search through the Glyphs panel?
That's what the OpenType palette (Window > Type > OpenType) is all about. In both CS2 and CS3, it opens the back door to the power of OpenType. Buttons along the bottom of the palette allow you to turn on various alternate Glyphs in selected copy with a single click. So, if you want to use Standard Ligatures, Contextual Alternatives, Discretionary Ligatures or even Swashes, you can select any or all these alternatives and more. If a particular button in the panel is grayed out, it means that the Glyph alternative does not exist in that type family. Some families, such as Garamond Premier Pro, Caflisch Script Pro or Bickham Script Pro, are loaded with lots of ways to give your typesetting extra character and style. ~ Jeff Witchel
Layers Magazine
The New Look of Master Page Objects
In earlier versions of InDesign, master page objects looked like any other object. So much so, that you couldn't tell which was which until you marqueed across them and the Master objects remained unselect. In CS3, being able to spot master page objects on document pages has gotten a lot easier. If the object has a dotted edge, it's an object from a Master Page. There are Master objects with no dotted edge, but that's another tip. ~ Jeff Witchel
Layers Magazine
Finding and Fixing Preflight Problems on the Fly
I got a call from a student who was working on her first real InDesign job: a huge catalog with hundreds of images. It was time to Package the job (File > Package) and possible problems were found in the Preflight process that InDesign performs before collecting the layout. In the warning dialog, she clicked the View Info button and the Preflight window opened and indicated that there were three problem Links. One of images was missing, one modified, and one was RGB. She clicked on the "Links and Images" section and a listing of over 300 images prompted her question. She asked, "How can I quickly find the problem images from among all these Links?" I responded, "In the lower left of the Links and Images section, check the 'Show Problems Only' option." Just the three problem images remained. She clicked on the first image in the list, which was modified and noticed the "Repair All" button in the lower right of the window, which she pressed. A window opened so she could Relink the photo that had gone missing. After relinking, only one Link remained in the problem list, the RGB image. She fixed and saved it in Photoshop and returned to the InDesign problem list, but the image remained. She asked, "Why is it still a problem?" But before I had a chance to answer, she noticed the Update button, which she clicked. With nothing left in the problem Links list, she pressed the Package button. Problem solved! ~ Jeff Witchel
Layers Magazine
Making Perfect Measurements a Snap
Q: "Snap to Guides" is one of my favorite features in InDesign. Not that it's a big breakthrough life-changing feature, but probably because I use it so much for setting up pages and aligning objects. A typical example: I'm setting a multi-panel brochure layout that will fold into itself so that no two panels will be the same width (to allow for the folding). My printer has given me all the measurements, so I have all the folds marked with Guides. I want my columns of type to be 3/16" from each fold. How can I quickly set up guides that are 3/16" on either side of each fold?
A: Easy! Select the Rectangle tool (M) and create a 3/8" square. This would make the center 3/16" from all sides. Then I click-and-drag this square from its center snapping it to my fold Guides. Next, click-and-drag Guides from the vertical Ruler to each side of my selected 3/8" "measuring" square. I repeat the process for each fold creating gutters between all my columns that are 3/8" wide, half of which (3/16") falls on either side of the fold. Perfect!
LIMac Forum, Long Island, NY
Bringing Back Those Cropped-Away Areas
When you're using the Crop tool (C) to crop images, you'll find that you actually have some options on how the area you're cropping away is handled after the crop. For example, in the Options Bar (as long as you're not on the Background layer) you'll see an option that lets you either Delete the cropped areas or simply Hide them from view (in other words, the areas are still there, they just expand out into the canvas area). If you choose the Hide option, it crops the image window down to the size of the crop, but since the cropped-away areas are still really there, you can use the Move tool (V) to drag these cropped areas back into view.
Planet Photoshop
Remove Unwanted People from Public Photos
This tip comes in handy for graphic designers who need a quick way to get pedestrian-free photographs of their signage or environmental projects.
There is a classic digital photography technique for removing unwanted people: Take several shots of the same scene using a tripod -- then layer those photos in Photoshop. People move around between shots, so you can use parts of one photo to erase an unwanted person from another.
Our own twist is to use Photoshop CS3's improved Photomerge feature to automate this task. Simply shoot a collection of photos, erase the unwanted people in Photoshop, and let Photomerge stitch together a finished image.
Step 1: Take multiple shots of your subject (preferably with a tripod).
Step 2: Erase unwanted people from each photo. Open your photos in Photoshop. Before you erase your unwanted people it is important your resulting image supports transparency. So, in the layers palette, double-click on the background layer and give it a name.
Then quickly erase unwanted people using any of Photoshop's eraser tools. Unlike other retouching techniques, you don't need a lot of finesse here -- just do a rough erase, making sure to remove all unwanted people from your collection of photos.
Note: Save your finished photos in a Photoshop (PSD) format to maintain transparency.
Step 3: Use Photoshop CS3's Photomerge to stitch the photos together.
In Photoshop CS3, choose File > Automate > Photomerge. Pick your collection of images with the people erased. Check the "Blend images together" option and click OK.
Photoshop will churn for a while. This process takes some time depending on how many photos you are working with and the speed of your computer.
In the end, the Photomerge feature combines your many photos into a single composite image -- filling in the erased areas using parts from other photos in your collection.
Crop your resulting image, and save the completed masterpiece.
Do experiment with this technique -- it can quickly become addictive.
CreativeTechs.com
Photoshop CS3 Extended's Automatic People Remover
You must take several shots of the same scene using a tripod. This technique uses a new feature in Photoshop CS3 Extended called image stacks. With the right settings, Photoshop automatically identifies areas that are similar between your photos (the unchanging background) and removes the elements that change between shots (the wandering people).
So, if erasing people by hand seems like too much work to bother with (and if you spent the extra money to get the Extended version of Photoshop CS3), you can use this cool automatic people remover technique.
Step 1: Take multiple photos with a tripod.
Step 2: Load your photos into an image stack. In Photoshop CS3 Extended, choose File > Scripts > Statistics. Pick the collection of photos you took with a tripod. Go ahead and check the "Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images" checkbox for good measure.
And the magic option: Choose a Stack Mode of Median.
Note: This script is not available in the standard version of Photoshop CS3 -- you must be using the Extended version.
The Results: People Automatically Removed!
Photoshop will process for a few minutes as the images are loaded, and after a moment you'll see your resulting image with most of the people automatically removed. Cool!
How does this work? This technique exploits a new feature in Photoshop CS3 Extended called an image stack. Look in your Layers palette, and you'll see that your images have been converted into a special type of Smart Object.
An image stack creates a single composite view out of a larger collection of images (in this case your original photos shot with a tripod). By choosing different stack modes (Layer > Smart Objects > Stack Mode) you can change how Photoshop generates that composite view.
Using the median setting, Photoshop automatically identifies areas that are similar between your photos (the unchanging background) and removes the elements that change between shots (the wandering people).
Experiment with the other settings and see what types of results you can achieve.
CreativeTechs.com
How to Change Photoshop's Canvas Color
Photoshop provides a neutral gray canvas around your images when you work in full screen mode, or when you zoom out so the image is smaller than your document window.
Have you ever wished you could change the color of this default grey? There is an easy way, and although most people don't know the trick, it's been in Photoshop since version 4.
Here are the basic steps for this technique:
CreativeTechs.com
Hit Those Channels Fast
When you're in the Curves dialog (Command/M), if you're charging by the hour, you can certainly travel up to the Channel pop-up menu and choose each individual channel you want to work on, but if you want to do it the fast way, just press Command/1 for Red, Command/2 for Green, and Command/3 for Blue. If you need to return to the composite RGB channel, press Command/Tilde (~). By the way, the Tilde key lives right above the Tab key on your keyboard. Don't feel bad. Nobody knows what the Tilde key is. We're not sure it's a real symbol at all. We think it was made up so there wouldn't be an empty space there on your keyboard. Hey, it's somewhat plausible.
Planet Photoshop
Quick Monotone
In Photoshop, here's a quick way to colorize a grayscale image to match a specific color in a layout. First change its color mode to RGB (Image > Mode > RGB).
Then choose your desired color as your Foreground color. (Click and drag the Color Picker across your image and let go on any pixel on your display.)
Then add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer by clicking the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. In the dialog, click the "Colorize" checkbox, which will move the Hue slider to your Foreground color. Now simply adjust the Lightness and Saturation sliders and you're done. ~ Sherry London
Photoshop User Magazine via Design Tools Monthly
Fix Those Stray Pixels Fast!
Sometimes when making a selection with the Magic Wand tool (W) or Color Range command (under the Select menu), Photoshop will leave little stray pixels unselected.
You can tell where they are because they appear to twinkle on and off, kind of teasing, nay, taunting you, because your selection is not complete.
Luckily, there's a quick way to rein in those renegade stray pixels. Go under the Select menu, under Modify, and choose Smooth. Enter a Sample Radius of 1 pixel and click "OK." That will usually do the trick - those stray pixels are now selected.
Planet Photoshop
How To Get An Undo After You've Closed The Document
As you probably already know, the History palette keeps track of the last 20 changes to your document, and you can use it for multiple undos when working on a project. The only bad part is that when you close your document, your undos (in History) are automatically deleted.
However, there is a way to save an undo, as long as it's a tonal adjustment (such as Curves, Levels, Color Balance, etc.), by creating adjustment layers. Just click on the half-white/half-black circle icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose your tonal adjustment from the pop-up menu to create an adjustment layer.
These adjustment layers are saved along with your file. That way, the next time you open the file, you can go back and edit your Curves, Levels, etc., adjustment by double-clicking on the adjustment layer's thumbnail. The last-applied adjustment will appear, and you can edit it live.
If you decide you don't want the original adjustment applied at all, you can drag the adjustment layer into the Trash icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. You can also add a Gradient fill, a Pattern fill, and even a Solid Color fill as an adjustment layer, giving you an undo at a later date, because again, they're saved as layers with the file.
Planet Photoshop
Don't Change that Acrobat Document Name in Midstream
I've noticed that in some applications, changing the document name while the document is open can cause a bit of a problem. Applications in question include Acrobat files and at times MS Word, and GraphicConverter (GC) 5.x. files. The effect is random for GC 6.x files, which I just installed.
For me, using the Fugitsu high-speed document scanner, this is a real problem. To smooth sequential scanning the scanner and associated software (read Iris 11 for Fugitsu) gives each new document a customized name I designated, in this case one based on date and time. (E.g., 2007_04_16_12_37_16.pdf.) Then I renamed the document NAS Tank Waste Study Summary to meet my filing needs.
And the screen shots were grand, gnash -- gnash. I changed the name back to the misspelled original and all was fine. Why couldn't I -- I tried -- save as the document: I don't know, it sometimes works but mostly does not.
Harry {doc} Babad
Some Tips for PDF Perfection
You know the drill: You've finally created a near-perfect PDF document that will garner you thanks and praise from co-workers and supervisors alike, but there's just one small problem.
Maybe you can't import images correctly. Or maybe you can't get just one link to work correctly. Whatever it is, it's driving you batty. The following are answers to some common detail-oriented problems that cause their fair share of headaches.
Inserting Multiple Images into a Single PDF
Sometimes you need to import quite a few photos or illustrations into a PDF, but it's too time-consuming to import them one-by-one. If that's the case, select File > Create PDF from Multiple Files, select the browse button, then select the image files you'd like to import. Each image will be imported onto its own page in the resulting PDF document.
Deleting Watermarks
The question of how to delete a watermark in a PDF comes up often on listservs and in chat rooms, and luckily, the answer couldn't be simpler. Simply select the Touchup Tool, select the watermark and hit "Delete."
Embedding Special Characters in a Comment Field
It's a small problem, but one that nags. How do you change a single character within a string of text inside a comment field?
Some PDF users may be tempted to use the Touchup Tool. While the Touchup Tool is useful in many situations, such as changing an entire run of text, it's not the solution to this problem. Instead, if you're using Acrobat 6 or later, use the Properties Bar. ~ Stephen Bryant
LIMac Forum, Long Island, NY
AirDisk and Apple's Backup
Q: Can I use Apple's Backup in conjunction with a USB drive attached to a new AirPort Extreme Base Station? ~ Calvin Johnson
A: You can. And there's a good reason to do so if you have a bunch of Macs: Using this scheme, you can back them all up to a single drive, because it will be available to all Macs you have on your network.
To start, hook up the external USB drive to the AirPort Extreme Base Station's USB port. Then verify that the Base Station recognizes it by launching AirPort Utility (in Applications/Utilities), opening the configuration profile for the Base Station, and clicking on the Disks tab. You should see your drive listed there (see "Wireless Backups")
Back in the Finder, choose Go > Connect To Server. Click on "Browse" in the resulting "Connect To Server" window, find the name of your Base Station, select it, and click on "Connect." Select the drive in the window that appears and click on "OK." Then enter your AirPort password to mount the drive. All you need to do after that is launch Apple's Backup and choose that networked drive as the destination for your backup plan. (If you don't have Backup now, you can get it by subscribing to Apple's Mac service.)
Although this method is generally convenient, it does have a significant drawback. It's slow -- really slow! I found that backing up 50GB of data from my MacBook Pro took most of the day over a wireless 802.11n network. If you're backing up just one computer, it makes a lot more sense to connect the backup drive directly to that computer.
Also, be aware that Backup can't mount a drive attached to an AirPort Extreme Base Station. You need to make sure the drive is mounted before you begin the backup. ~ Christopher Breen
Mouse Tales, North Coast MUG, Berea, OH
Zinio Reader Rejects Your Bug
For several reasons, I've just about given up on any subscriptions through Zinio. First and foremost, it's difficult, but not impossible to capture part of a downloaded magazine for future reference. When one does capture part of an article, it is water marked in an obnoxious manner. Finally at least every other time I attempt a download (since I updated Macintosh OS X, perhaps past version 10.4.7) it refuses to do so.
Solution -- I deleted Zinio Reader using CleanApp and reinstalled the reader. This method defacto removes all associated Zinio reader application files, but not the documents downloaded with the reader. In that fashion it mimics Christopher Breen's solution.
Christopher Breen had a more detailed solution that I quote below.
"If you use the Zinio reader to subscribe to digital versions of magazines, you may find that it refuses to open or download your issues after you transfer your data to a new Mac or restore a hard drive. To fix this, delete the Zinio application and a trio of files located in your user folder/Library/Preferences: ContentGuard, com.zinio.reader.plist, and Zinio.plist. Be sure to empty the Trash after putting the files there. Finally, reinstall Zinio Reader, and the application should once again see you as a valid subscriber."
PS: Oh, the best reason to give up on Zinio is that all but one of my paper magazine subscriptions offers easy free or almost free access to the magazine's contents.
This satisfies my information junkie needs without needing to save paper or scan it; or to put up with Zinio. Only Scientific American still requires a fee for each article you download… shame on them.
Harry {doc} Babad
Run Windows Safely
Q: My wife just purchased a new iMac. She uses OS X about 90 percent of the time but also uses Parallels Desktop to boot into Windows for a few work tasks that require it. My wife never uses a browser on the Windows side, but the computer is connected to the Internet 24-7. Is Windows still vulnerable to viruses and spyware in this situation? What protection do you recommend? ~ Christopher Hosford
A: Yes, Windows is still vulnerable. To prove it, try this: Without running your browser or your e-mail application, perform some normal tasks on your Mac and keep an eye on your DSL or cable modem's activity light. That blinking indicates that your computer is conversing with the Net, even if you aren't browsing the Web or exchanging e-mail. Furthermore, while your wife may swear she'll never launch a browser while running Windows, there'll likely come a time when she'll need to check something online and won't switch back to OS X to do it. Finally, your mention of your wife's work tasks should set off alarms. Where do these files come from, and how are they shared? A burned CD can carry a virus just as easily as an e-mail attachment.
The point is that Windows on a Mac is still Windows, which means that it's still vulnerable to all the same cooties that can plague PCs. With that in mind, if you're using Parallels Desktop, you need to behave like a regular Windows user and take precautions. Fortunately, doing so need not cost you a nickel. I have a living, breathing Windows PC sitting next to my Mac, and I've protected it for next to nothing.
Although you can buy firewall software with more bells and whistles, the free version of Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm is an easy way to block incoming threats. I rarely use a Web browser on my PC, but ZoneAlarm has logged more than 105,000 attempts to access my computer (granted, the majority of them were innocent). It also alerts you when applications or utilities try to make Internet connections and asks you for permission before it'll let them do so.
As for viruses, I used to run the Windows version of Symantec's Norton SystemWorks on my PC, but I let the subscription lapse because there are enough free alternatives. The one I chose was Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus. If you choose a free program, you won't get virus updates as fast as you would with a product you paid for, and you won't be able to tweak settings as much. But for my limited Windows use, it's plenty good enough.
For dealing with spyware, I take yet another cheapskate route: Lavasoft's free Ad-Aware SE Personal. It works only after the fact -- that is, after the spyware or adware has infected your system and you want to get rid of it. The for-pay options -- Webroot's $30 Spy Sweeper, for example -- can block spyware and adware before they have a chance to touch your computer.
Migrating to a new Mac
Now that Apple has completed its transition to Intel processors, a lot of Mac users are thinking about replacing their old PowerPC machines. Here are tools and tips that will make the job easier.
FireWire Cable
When you first fire up a new Mac, Apple's Migration Assistant (found in /Applications/Utilities) will help you move your data, but it'll demand a FireWire cable to do so.
External FireWire Enclosure
You have multiple IDE hard drives in your old Power Mac, yet your new Mac Pro works only with SATA drives. What to do with those old drives? Consider sticking them into FireWire hard-drive enclosures. Just slip an old drive into the enclosure, and you've got an external hard drive. Enclosures with Oxford 911 and 912 chip sets (which let your Mac boot from those drives) run from $50 to $80 and are available from vendors such as Other World Computing (eshop.macsales.com) and FirewireDirect.com. Note that if you put your old Mac's boot drive into an enclosure, it won't boot your new Mac until you install an Intel-compatible version of OS X.
Drive Adapter
FireWire enclosure too rich for your blood? Or maybe you need to connect your old drives to your new Mac only for a short time? Newer Technology makes a $25 USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter -- a couple of cables that let you connect an IDE or SATA device directly to your new Mac via the Mac's USB 2.0 port.
Serial Numbers
As efficient as Apple's Migration Assistant is about moving your applications from Mac A to Mac B, sometimes it misses some of the files that authorize you to use those apps. So just in case, make a note of all your applications' serial numbers.
Chris Breen's Mac 911
Unusual Travel Web Sites
We all know the big Travel sites like Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity .com, Priceline.com, and others so this month here are some GREAT... UNUSUAL TRAVEL WEB SITES!!!
If can only investigate one site from this article, this should be it! This is an amazing and unusual travel site! It has the best collection of links to all kinds of travel websites including ones to overcome fear of flying, getting a passport fast, finding a trip for single parents, converting currency, cheap travel, and much, much more. At last count, it has 134 categories of travel-related websites and hundreds & hundreds of actual, useful links!
Provides "real" unbiased travel info, reviews, and advice from everyday travelers. Members give opinions on places, restaurants, hotels, must-see attractions, and day trips. And writing your own reviews or travel experiences earns you points redeemable for gift cards & frequent flier miles!
Designs unique vacations focused on the heart of a country, staying with locals, visiting places you never thought you'd see, and doing things you never thought you'd do. It's a leading operator of small group adventure tours. Vacations are designed in 5 themes: Worldwide Holidays to Africa, Asia, South & Central America, India, etc. Family Adventures for parents & children. Escapes Short breaks "with a difference". Volunteer holidays with real, worthwhile, "hands on" work in local communities around the world. Honeymoon Special occasions to romantic/memorable locales.
A Travel companion-matching site. If you don't want to travel alone, it'll help you find a companion. If your spouse/partner can't get away, it'll help find a person to travel with. If you have a date and destination for a trip, it will help you find a person with the same travel plans. Or, if you have a special interest, say golf, painting, or bird watching, etc., TravelChums will help you find a buddy who shares your interests, enthusiasm, and experiences.
When you gotta go, you gotta go! Finding a restroom while traveling is a challenge. The answer? The BathroomDiaries.com. This site has reviews and maps of toilet locations worldwide that you can print out and take with you!
If you are looking to "couch out" while traveling (that is, sleeping for free for a night or two on someone's couch!), then CouchSurfing.com is for you. Believe it or not, there are over 150,000 people shown who are willing to help!
Lets you plan travel based on your interests, and makes sure you don't miss an important event. Plan your journey around festivals, performances, even meteor showers in locations across the globe. You can search by location and/or date. Just a few of the event topics are: Adventure, Classical Music, Clubs & Parties, Film, Food & Drink, Heritage, Jazz, Kids & Family, Literature, Music, Natural Phenomena, Opera, Performing & Visual Arts.
Want a Cooking Vacation, a Writing or Golf Weekend? ShawGuides.com lists 5,800 different programs, including tennis and golf camps, arts and cultural trips, language vacations, wine schools, photography vacations, and more!
Devoted to giving practical tips and tricks on traveling light with the focus on how to pack for travel anywhere with only one bag!
If you want a normal, preplanned, tour-operated vacation with every waking minute planned for you, GeckosAdventures.com is not for you! What it does offer are grassroots adventures (179 trips in 49 countries), including travel on public transport, eating like the locals with the locals, and staying in small family-run hotels or home stays.
A daily web magazine with uncensored hotel reviews from all over the world. The Good, The Bad, and The Disgusting. It covers hotel deals, reviews, tips, hotels to avoid, and great hotels you should stay in. It's updated daily. They welcome traveler input. If you have something to say about a hotel stay; have a tip on finding hotel deals; have photos of a top-notch hotel; or know the perfect place for that weekend getaway, become a member and submit your story, or just comment on the current published stories.
Steve Kropla's Help For Worldwide Travelers, helps plan an international trip. It has a comprehensive listing of worldwide electrical and phone info. You can search for information like: International City Codes, Electric Plug Types, Television Standards, Mobile Phone Guides and more.
What a Country! For only $5, this service will match you with a special seatmate on your upcoming flight. You can choose, "Find a Date", "Find a Friend" or "Find a Job." And matching isn't limited to onboard seating; you can also search for travelers who will be at your airport at the same time. So if you're looking for a date in LA, a business partner in Tokyo, or just someone to share a cab to Midtown, AirTroductions is there for you!
A free, up-to-date, and reliable worldwide travel guide. So far, they have 13,360 destination guides and articles written by travelers from around the globe. Share your own expertise about a specific destination or check out what other travelers have to say about places.
Connecticut Macintosh Chronicle, Hartford, CT
Peter's "Wacky Site of the Month"
Things that make you go... "DUH!" or maybe... "WHA"??? Example: on a TV Remote Control -- "Not Dishwasher Safe"; on a clothes iron package -- "Do Not Iron Clothes On Body"; Portable stroller -- "Caution: Remove Infant Before Folding For Storage"; Orange Juice Can -- "100% Pure All-Natural Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice from Concentrate"; on a Hammer -- "May Be Harmful If Swallowed"; Bottle of dog shampoo -- "Caution: The Contents of this Bottle should not be fed to Fish."
See the rest at: www.dumb.com/productwarnings.htm
Holiday Web Sights
Christmas
Aristotle's Christmas on the Web
www.wassail.com
Carol Garretson's Christmas Stories
www.geocities.com/Heartland/1510
Christmas Traditions around the world.
www.santas.net/ aroundtheworld.htm
Christmas 'round the World (Wide Web)
http://eclecticesoterica.com/christmas.html
Hundreds of Christmas cookie recipes
www.christmas-cookies.com
WorldView! Christmas.com around the world!
http://christmas.com/worldview
NORAD's tracking of Santa
www.noradsanta.org
CLAUS.COM is the oldest and most popular Christmas website on the Internet
www.claus.com/village.php
How to purchase and care for a live Christmas tree
www.christmas-tree-care.com
Lots of neat Christmas information from the people at HowStuffWorks.com
www.howstuffworks.com/christmas
Holiday stories, recipes, traditions, games, etc.
www.merry-christmas.com
Reader's Digest Christmas
www.rdchristmas.com
Games, a letter from Santa, Mrs. Claus and Rudolph, and you can write to Santa
www.northpole.net
Hanukkah
Hanukkah Basics from the Jewish Heritage Online Magazine
www.jhom.com/calendar/kislev/han_basics.html
Judaism 101: Chanukah
www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm
Virtual Chanukah
www1.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp
About.com's Hanukkah Crafts site
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/hanukkahcrafts/a/113000a.htm
Torag.org – Chanukah
www.torah.org/learning/ yomtov/chanukah
Kwanzaa
Official Kwanzaa Website
www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org
Kwanzaa Recipes
http://members.tripod.com/~Nancy_J/kwanzaa.htm
Lots of information about Kwanzaa, its origins, and activities
www.globalindex.com/kwanzaa
Lots of useful Kwanzaa information
www.tike.com/celeb-kw.htm
Useful information about celebrating Kwanzaa and the various symbols and rituals
http://members.dca.net/areid/kwanzaa.htm
MouseBytes, St. Petersburg, FL
Mac Hints & Tips is a compilation of tips found in Mac user group newsletter from around the world, as well as many Mac-related books, magazines, websites, and individuals. Following is a partial list of some of the contributors with links to their websites. To all who have contributed to the Mac community, we all give many thanks for sharing their tips and expertise.
Mac User Groups:
AUSOM News, newsletter of Australia's largest Macintosh User Group, Apple Mac Users' Society of Melbourne Australia. www.ausom.net.au
Connecticut Macintosh Connection, newsletter of the Connecticut Macintosh Connection in West Hartford, Connecticut. www.ctmac.org
LIMAC Forum, newsletter of the Long Island Mac Users Group in Seaford, New York. www.limac.org
Mad Mac News, newsletter of the Madison Macintosh (Mad Mac) User Group in Madison, Wisconsin. www.madison.com/communities/madmacintosh
Mouse Tales, newsletter of the North Coast Mac Users Group, Cleveland, Ohio. homepage.mac.com/ncmug_oh
Mouse Times, newsletter of the Santa Barbara Mac User Group in Santa Barbara, California. www.sbmug.org
Friends:
Harry Babad, macCompanion eZin
Jerry Zigmont, consultant for MacWorks, System Design and Solutions for Macintosh, in Madison, Connecticut. www.macworksinc.net
Websites:
CreativeTechs.com -- "Left brain support for right brain professionals." Friendly expert computer support for Seattle area creative teams. www.creativetechs.com
PlanetPhotoshop.com -- Online Photoshop news, tips, and tutorials sponsored by NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). www.planetphotoshop.com
QuadStar.com -- A Broadview Heights, Ohio, company focusing on providing excellent computer service and support to the local educational and business community. www.quadstar.com
Publications:
Jay J. Nelson's Design Tools Monthly -- An executive summary of graphic design news which includes Mac news and rumors, new software and hardware announcements, upcoming seminars and shows, interesting websites, and other valuable information. You may request a free sample copy of this monthly newsletter by going to www.design-tools.com or calling 303.543.8400.
Layers Magazine, (formerly known as Mac Design Magazine) is the top graphic design magazine published today. Layers Magazine is edited by Scott Kelby, the President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and also editor of Photoshop User, the NAPP's excellent newsletter. www.layersmagazine.com
Macworld Magazine. The ultimate resource for Mac users. Each issue is packed with practical how-tos, in-depth features, the latest troubleshooting tips and tricks, industry news, and is home of Chris Breen's Mac 911 columns. www.macworld.com
If you are not a member of a Macintosh User Group, I highly recommend that you find one in your area and join. User groups are the greatest source of information and help available to all Mac users -- from novices to experts. You can find one in your area by going to apple.com/usergroups/find