LAUG 2.0 News

A podcast from the March meeting of the Lawrence Apple Users Group. This month’s topic included a presentation on managing and editing your digital photos by Matt, Mike and Bonnie.

The meeting opened up with introductions, recent Apple news followed by a discussion of the pros and cons of different photo management and editing applications. The programs discussed included iPhoto 06, Abobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop.

The door prizes for this month’s meeting included Preventative Photoshop and Mac Design Out of the Box both from Peachpit, as well as iPhoto 6 Missing Manual courtesy of O’Reilly.

Check us out on the web and subscribe to the podcast at http://www.laugks.org/news/.

 

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I am looking forward to talking about remote control software and giving a demonstration of Timbuktu Pro at the LAUG meeting next Wednesday April 4th. I’ll also be giving away a two-license pack of Timbuktu Pro (a $200 value) courtesy of Motorola as one of the door prizes. LAUG board member Matt Kappenman is reviewing Timbuktu for the LAUG and will post his thoughts here as well.

Although I will be demonstrating Timbuktu, I will also be discussing what remote control software is in general and how it can be useful for you. Basically, if you have more then one Mac in your house, have friends or family members with Macs, or have a computer at work and at home, you probably could save time, stress and money with remote control software (and don’t almost all of use fall into at least one of those categories?)

In addition to Timbuktu Pro, there are numerous other remote control products that work with Macs. Below you can find links to all the various products. I’ll talk about many of these on Wednesday. After the meeting you can come back here rather then try to remember all those URLs.

Mac-Compatible Remote Control products

Timbuktu Pro
Desktop Transporter
SpyMe
AstroShare
CoPilot
MacHelpMate
Apple Remote Desktop
Chicken of the VNC (client)
Vine VNC Server

Having recently upgraded from a Pismo G3 Powerbook to a black MacBook, one of the annoying things about my new laptop was its ability to look dirty. The matte finish of the MacBook tends to pick up the oils and debris from your hands easily. I found myself constantly cleaning the exterior and started to fear of taking it from my home, which kinda defeats the purpose of a laptop, don’t you think?

Then along comes Speck products, with a great solution I first saw at MacWorld. Unlike other cases that require you to remove the protection to use it, the SeeThru is designed to protect your Mac 24/7. This case is not designed to protect your Mac from impact but rather to protect the look of your MacBook and allow for easy cleaning.
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Personally, I am a Keynote junkie. I think I’m going to put in my will that my eulogy be done in Keynote. While I’ve used PowerPoint in the past, once Keynote was released I’ve never gone back.

Unfortunately, because I use the program so much, I (and my audience) get quite bored with the standard backgrounds included by Apple. I’ve gotten so bored that I’ll occasionally import backgrounds from PowerPoint, but that’s so PC! Sure I could design my backgrounds, however I have absolutely no design skills. If I was a good designer, I probably wouldn’t be using Keynote so much in the first place.

When I read about PowerSlides I knew I found the product that would save people from seeing the standard chalkboard background I used for practically every presentation. The product can be used for either Keynote or PowerPoint and retails for $39.99.
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Some say lightening can never strike the same place twice. The Missing Manual series proves that wrong. David Pogue and the O’Reilly gang constantly hit the mark and spark creativity and knowledge in a variety of programs.

IPhoto 6 covers absolutely every aspect of digital photography on your Mac, leaving few stones unturned. In order to make sure you get the great photos you need and minimized the editing needed in iPhoto, Derrick Story and David Pogue make sure you buy the right digital camera for your needs and tells you the basics of lighting and composition. After reading that chapter, I looked at my own iPhoto library and understand why I liked certain shots and why others ended up on the digital darkroom floor.

After explaining how to buy a camera and create great photos, the authors take you through the steps of using iPhoto in logical order: importing, managing, outputting and of course backing up. More technical manuals need to do this. Instead of taking you through the features, they take you through the workflow.

The writing was typical of the series: clear, understandable with plenty of screen shots to explain the concepts. While I consider myself an expert on iPhoto, the book was full of subtle tips and tricks to shave hours off my digital photo management.
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Did you know that “Mork and Mindy” was a spinoff from the hit TV show “Happy Days”. While Mork only appeared in one episode, that was enough to make it a hit. Sometimes spinoffs are great. “Mork and Mindy” was hilarious. Then you have other spinoffs that are pale imitations of the original. Does anyone remember Joanie Loves Chachi? Probably not. Windows Vista for Starters is a spin-off from the highly respected “Missing Manual” series. Unfortunately, it’s more of a “Joanie Loves Chachi” of the computer book world. Skip this spinoff book and head straight for the original : “Windows Vista, The Missing Manual.

First off, there was an extremely funny error that hopefully will be corrected later on. On page 11 in the book, under “Mouse and Keyboard Essentials” you find the opening statement of “This book gives you three kinds of instructions that require you to use the Mac’s Mouse.” Unfortunately, this was an early warning sign about the quality of the book (though “Windows Vista the Missing Manua”l has another funny Mac reference).
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Summary: A fine companion for the beginner or intermediate Final Cut Pro 5 user.

The Book:
Final Cut Pro (FCP) is a complex swiss army knife of an edit program and can be very intimidating to a beginner. There seems to be way too many layers, windows and other sharp objects on which to cut yourself. But once you appreciate its potential, you will put imovie in your old cigar box of treasures and only bring it out to share with the grandkids.
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