March 30, 2007 Meeting

Aoraki Macintosh User Group Home Page

Snippets from Previous Meetings

SESSIONS

ALTERNATIVE WIRELESS BROADBAND

Although not able to be present at the meeting, Sheryl had supplied some information which may be of interest to members who are currently unable to obtain a broadband Internet connection via their local telephone exchange. Scorch Communications are progressively implementing a network of wireless broadband which aims to cover as much of rural New Zealand as possible: locally, they have a tower at Mt Misery (Cave Hill) and are building one at Mt Shrives (near Waimate), and these should provide coverage from Orari to Maungati, as well as coastal South Canterbury. Check their website for costs:
http://www.scorch.co.nz/

Thank you Sheryl for sending in this useful information - it's good to know what's available.

The session led to a discussion in which members shared various internet connection arrangements, prices, plans and speeds. Remember that you can test your Internet connection speeds (both download and upload) by visiting NZ DSL's site:
http://www.nzdsl.co.nz/module-Speedtest.phtml

This site runs a test on your connection, and gives the the kilobytes per second rate at which data is able to transferred at the time:

MacBASICS: SOME PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

Tony had prepared a Basics session on aspects of AppleWorks Drawing, but did not present it as most members present were already familiar with this application, or did not use it. Instead, several members contributed to a session which covered various presentation techniques, including photo labelling, viewing images onscreen and slideshow composition:

LABELLING PHOTOS

Labels can easily be superimposed by on photos by importing the images into AppleWorks Drawing: Steps to follow:

1. Open an AppleWorks Drawing document.
2. Import the image into the drawing document, either by dragging it in from the desktop or an application such as iPhoto, or by using the File/Insert menu (can be fiddly, as you have to specify the format of the file as well as its location - quicker to drag and drop if possible!)
3. If you intend to print the image, resize it as desired (using the Arrange/Scale by Percent or by dragging the corner 'handles' - remember to hold the Shift key while you drag corners in at 45º to preserve the correct ratio). Check the image size by using the Options/Object Size menu.
4. Create a text frame by clicking on the A tool in the toolbar, then type and format the desired label.
5. Hold down the Shift key while you click on both the image and the label to select them both.
6. Press Apple+G to group the image and its label as a single object.
7. Save the labelled image to the desired location (eg desktop) by using the Save As menu, and selecting File Format as JPEG.

PRESENTING IN iPHOTO

Following a query about iPhoto image presentation, Tony demonstrated the difference between the two available iPhoto 6 methods of viewing photos onscreen:

• you can either view a group of photos as a temporary slideshow, with one set of settings for the show
• or you can create (and save) an actual slideshow, which may contain individual image settings

When you have selected the roll, album or group of images (as above) that you wish to display, click the Play button to show them as a temporary slideshow. A Slideshow dialog box appears, giving a choice of Settings (including transitions, duration, order, automatic Ken Burns effect, etc) and Music, in which you choose the desired selection from your iTunes library. You can then view the images with your choice of settings, which apply to the whole group.

If, however, you make your selection of images and then click on the Slideshow button, you create (and save) a slideshow in iPhoto's source list. As before, you have a choice of settings which apply to the whole group, but you also have customisable settings which replace the global settings for individual images, including chosen Ken Burns effect settings (as opposed to automatic), so in effect each image can have its own range of settings, if desired, and the entire slideshow is saved, and can be exported, as a single entity.

Hugh mentioned PhotoMagico, a shareware slideshow application with a number of advanced features, and he will demonstrate this at a future meeting.

Thank you to members who contributed to this session.

eBOOKS

Hugh described the availability of eBooks, which are online publications of books which can be downloaded. Some are free, and others need to be purchased from the publishers. Free books are either copyright free (where the copyright has lapsed), or have been made available by the authors. Availability for download depends on both the country of origin and the country of destination, as copyright laws vary between countries.

Some sites which provide eBooks are:

Thank you Hugh for introducing eBooks to those of us to whom they were new.

eBOOKS

iTUNES

Rikky demonstrated some of the features which are in iTunes 7, notably Coverflow (above), which gives fast graphic access to the album cover artwork which is available for download with many items purchased through the iTunes Store. Scrolling horizontally causes the album cover images to appear to flow across the screen in a moving series, with the 'current' tune featuring centrally.

Other new features in iTunes 7 include a backup facility for the iTunes Library, and the availability from the iTunes store of iPod games and movie downloads.

Thank you Rikky for keeping us up to date with iTunes developments.

USEFUL APPLICATIONS

During the meeting several useful applications were either mentioned of demonstrated, including:

ADOBE READER

Most of us are familiar with Acrobat Reader, the ubiquitous application for viewing PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Its latest release (Version 8), named Adobe Reader, is part of the Adobe Acrobat suite of applications for authoring and modifying PDF files (which, incidentally, were invented by Adobe in 1992). Tony gave a brief look at this new version, and noted that he now uses it as his default PDF reader in preference to Preview (which does not readily allow for resizing of PFD files within Safari; this often makes them difficult to read).

BUTLER

Rikky gave a demonstration of Butler, a most interesting utility application. MacOS gives very good access to the contents on our computers Ð with the Dock, column views in the Finder, Spotlight, etc, but with Butler the situation gets even better! Butler is an extremely versatile utility application which gives fast access to almost anything, as well as performing a number of other tasks for you more readily than the System does.

By default, Butler puts a This Mac, Bookmarks and Enter Query icons in your Menu Bar:
These icons, among other things, give you direct access from your menu bar to:

• all applications on your computer (not just those added to the Dock)
• all documents and other folders
• all System Preferences
• all iTunes music (and controls)
• Google Internet searches
• all addresses in your Address book
• all browser bookmarks
• With each of these you can go straight to the desired pane/window/tune/address without first having to open the relevant application.

HereÕs a 'This Mac' screenshot example:

From the Introduction in Butler Help:
Butler's purpose is to make it easier for you to perform different - potentially recurring - tasks. Butler lets you assign one or more triggers (control methods) to perform tasks.

Triggers used: menu bar/docklet, pop-up menus, abbreviations, hot keys, hot corners, events

Tasks may be to: launch applications, open files, access preference panes, manage bookmarks, search the web, run AppleScripts, extend the pasteboard, enter text snippets, simulate keystrokes, control iTunes, accelerate Spotlight, move/copy files, etc.

Due to its unique variety of triggers and tasks, Butler is more flexible than any other utility you've seen before. So don't worry if you don't have a use for all of its features right from the beginning. Just start using Butler and discover a new feature every day.

To download (1.8Mb) visit: http://www.manytricks.com/butler/

This application certainly changes the way a Mac can be accessed! Thank you for introducing us to it, Rikky.

VUESCAN

Hugh described VueScan, a versatile scanning application that is able to produce very high quality scans from almost any scanner (old or new), usually better than the original software. Reviews rate its features, interface, performance and value for money as extremely good. Having an application like this gets around the problem of the scanner software becoming outdated in relation to the computer's operating system, and at $US40 it's good value if doing an amount of scanning which needs to be of high quality. Visit the developer's website: http://www.hamrick.com/index.html

We look forward to a demonstration of VueScan at a future meeting, Hugh!

MIMIO - AN INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD DEVICE

Presentation technology in schools, companies, etc is now often includes the interactive whiteboard, which are usually a whiteboard-type surface which has an imbedded network of wiring. This is connected to a computer, which in turn is connected to a digital projector which displays the computer's video output (ie. what is displayed on the screen) on the whiteboard. Special pens are used to write on the board, and the resultant information can be digitally recorded.

Tony demonstrated an alternative device called a Mimio, (illustrated below) which does not need a special board - a special 'capture' bar attached to the side of an ordinary whiteboard, together with pen-holders which contain ordinary whiteboard markers, tracks the movements made with the pens and sends a digital signal (wirelessly if desired) to the computer, where each 'page' can be stored, edited if required, and printed if needed - how often do teachers wish they had a record of plans, lists, etc made on the whiteboard!

The Mimio does not even have to be connected to the computer while being used - it has the ability to store up to 10 hours' worth of recorded 'board' movements, which may be later downloaded to the computer. Neither does it necessarily need an actual whiteboard surface to be used - a large sheet of paper with the Mimio placed at the side will do just as well.

Another way to use it (as with other interactive boards) is to project the computerÕs video output onto the whiteboard, ÔcalibrateÕ the Mimio and the computer, then proceed to use the board as a touch-screen to operate the computer Ð all sorts of applications for this in classrooms!

Advantages of the Mimio are cheapness (much less than the usual interactive board), portability and versatility. Disadvantages are the lack (as yet) of suitable Mac supporting software, eg. writing recognition software, which turns handwriting into printed text, is still being developed.

Certainly adds another dimension to the use of computers! An interesting device.

FAVOURITE WEBSITES

Several members suggested interesting and/or useful sites to visit, including:

This website points you to other sites which supply free images/desktop pictures/screensavers of various sports cars.

This URL takes you to the page on Air New Zealand's site where discount airfares are advertised - great for bargain trips!

Also visit Kayakfor available international airfares, in order of price:

For a variety of products, updates and troubleshooting solutions, visit http://www.macfixit.com

http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/ for all the latest versions, updates, downloads, etc.

MetService are not providing a free weather forecasting service (you used to have to pay for it) which is local, comprehensive and customisable - you can choose which aspects you wish to appear: local forecast, 15-day forecast, weather map, mountain forecast, etc.
Visit http://www.metservice.com

Thank you to the various members who contributed to this session.