LAUG 2.0 News

I just wanted to drop in really quick before the extended weekend to talk about my new favorite piece of software, Write Room. Basically the software is a simple text editor that allows the user to enter a full screen mode in which the distractions your computer presents i.e. IM, RSS, email, podcasts etc…disappear.

I really love this quote from the developers site;

For Mac users who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter, but live in the digital world.”

The software is still in beta but it looks to be another great app from Hog Bay Software. I’m not going to give the software a “dog-cow” rating as it is still in beta, but it looks to be a great app. I hope everyone has a great Fourth of July weekend!

Via: Binary Bonsai

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

I really had high hopes for this book. So many of my clients are switchers. They go from a PC to a Mac and don’t have a grasp of any of the basics. “Where’s my Outlook? Internet Explorer? Oh no!!”

Unfortunately this book is for intermediate PC users who are switching to the Mac, not novices. The book assumes knowledge of how to configure a PC and then builds on that knowledge for you to be able to do it on a Mac. The book tells you how to move your files from your PC to your new Mac, PC programs and their Mac equivalents, and how to configure your Mac. Not much time is really spent on how to “use” your Mac. To be fair, that’s what the title says “Switching to the Mac”, not “How to use a Mac, Switcher edition.”

The best chapter by far is the “Transferring email and contacts” I took copious amounts of notes because the chapter was so detailed. Anyone who wants to move their emails from their PC should buy this book. It covers using Outlook, Eudora, Netscape and more to their Mac equivalents, including OS X’s Mail.

In my experiences, people switch to a Mac because they found PCs too difficult to understand. Explaining things in PC terms kinda defeats the purpose of switching. For novices, look at one of the Intro to Tiger books.

If someone isn’t an intermediate PC user trying to swtich, but a novice…by this book for the person setting up your Mac so they can get all your information off your PC and make the transition to Mac as seemless as possible.

Pros: Expert advice on how to take your files, settings, and programs from a PC to a Mac
Con: If you wanted to learn all that stuff, you’d probably still be using the PC

Three out of five dog cows

Good news for everyone who enjoyed receiving the old newsletter via email! Yesterday we added the ability to subscribe to this website and receive email updates when all the great reviews, podcasts and news that you loved about the old newsletter are posted.

If you look to the sidebar on the right of the homepage you’ll notice a box that includes the headline “Subscribe via Email.” All you have to do to subscribe is enter your email address, confirm it, and you are all set to continue receiving all your great LAUG news. One note though, this is not a replacement to the emails that Dave sends out containing the meeting topic for each month. This is strictly for newsletter related info.

p.s. Don’t be surprised if you don’t receive the email right away as it might take a day to get your email address into the system for updating. If you have any problems feel free to email me (mattkapp at gmail dot com).