Macintosh Special-Interest Group
Macintosh News Links:
Tips, Bugs, New Programs, etc.
March 2008
NOTE:
Please send in brief descriptions of problems, questions, issues you
would like dealt with at the March 4, 2008 Mac SIG meeting.
this will ensure that
- we get to them during the meeting, and
- somebody will know something about them (or confess ignorance) at the meeting.
Click here to send an e-mail describing your problem, question, issue.
(Last update 3/3/08 11:30 am)
Time Machine: when to use it and when not to use it (MacWorld March 2008):
Use Time Machine alone for backups if ...
- you have more than one external drive for backups, with one of them off-site most of the time
- you don't mind spending several hours to restore if you lose your HD
- you have two or more Leopard Macs and can boot from another Mac if one goes down
- your primary need for backup is specific files you are working on, esp. with othersUse Time Machine plus another program for backups if ...
- you use SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner for a bootable backup in addition to Time Machine
- you use an online backup service for offsite backup storage
- you encrypt some of the files you want to back up with Apple's File Vault
Skip Time Machine altogether if ...
- you don't have a really big hard drive or two hard drives
- you want to back up to CDs or DVDs
- you encrypt any of your files
- you have a backup system in place that you are happy with
A good, inexpensive way to open (and edit and write) files in Microsoft's new Office 2007 formats:
Microsoft
is using new file formats for its new versions of Office (2007 for
Windows, 2008 for Mac). The new MS Word format is .docx, for instance.
How do you read and/or edit such files on a Mac?
- buy a copy of MS Office Home & Student ed. for $120-150 (best if you do a LOT of work with others who use MS Office)
- get a copy of NeoOffice for free and use it in place of MS Office
- get a copy of Apple iWorks 08 (read .docx files but not save them) -- see a review
(Last update 2/6/08 9:36 pm)
iPhoto '08 library format ("package"); why, and how to work around it:
http://www.maccast.com/2007/09/21/new-iphoto-08-library-tip/
iPhoto Buddy as a way to manage multiple iPhoto '08 libraries in the old folder format:
http://www.iphotobuddy.com/
SuperDuper!
version 2.5 is released today (2/6/08)! Leopard-compatible and
with features that enable it to be used with Leopard's new Time Machine
backup program:
Shirt Pocket Software
Checking Leopard and other compatibility issues with almost all Mac programs; also the best source of info and downloads for all Mac software:
http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/
Apple launches Mac Tutorials, aimed at switchers from Windows but useful to all:
MacNN | Apple launches basic Mac tutorials
Apple - Find Out How - Mac OS X
Tweaks to Leopard:
Ultimate Leopard Tweaking Guide - Appletell
Recent Mac Bugs and security issues:
Leopard data-loss bug:
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Finder Data Loss Bug
Leopard bugs in genera, from macintouch.com:
Leopard: Bugs and Fixes
The new Microsoft Office 2008:
Microsoft Offers Workaround for Office 2008 Security Flaw || The Mac Observer
Time Machine:
Detailed explanation of what is involved in using Time Machine to back up:
James Duncan Davidson > Restoring from Time Machine
Illustrates that it is more complicated than it seems
Another simpler way of getting a bootable backup from Time Machine:
Time Machine help and more: Take Control of Easy Backups in Leopard
From Jan Franklin:
Bootable Time Machine...
Starting
with a clean, newly-formatted TM drive, use Disk Utility and do a
restore (source: Install DVD; Destination: TM drive). Once the restore
has completed, you'll have a bootable TM drive which can be selected on
startup by pressing and holding the Option key down. All that's left is
to go into TM's preferences and select this drive for your TM backups.
Switching to alternate iPhoto and iTunes libraries, without using auziliary programs such as iPhoto Buddy or iPhoto Manager:
TMO Quick Tip - Options: Selecting Alternate iPhoto and iTunes Libraries || The Mac Observer
MemoryMiner: a new Mac program useful for telling torie about your family, collections of photos, etc.? Who knows something about this?
MemoryMiner - Digital Storytelling Software
Celestia: A free Mac astronomy planetarium program:
Celestia: Home
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