Winds of Change

written by Charles DeVore

from Mouse Tracks June 2002

It was a wonderful Macintosh Business Expo for PMUG; we talked to about 300 or more people and passed out around 500 fliers. We have 40 new members because of the show. I'd like to thank the Computer Store and Erick Labbs for PMUG's booth. Thanks to the following volunteers for coming in to help answer questions: Dick Miller, Marge Dunay, Dick Loucks, Brian Combs, John Mantzefield, Rory Bowman, Michael Minamoto, Barry Netzley, Carol Hibbard, Carolyn Blecha, and Steve Riggins.

Another MacCamp has come and gone. Janet did an inventory of the machines that were at Camp Saturday night and came up with the following numbers. Four people were running machines with some version of 8.x, six people were running 9.0, three people were running 9.1, and 33 people were running 10.1x. However, a couple of the OS X users had loaded or purchased OS X for the classes at MacCamp. A couple folks brought two machines. We all had a lot of fun learning all the new features OS X has going for it. There were lots of goodies to hand out thanks to Garr Reynolds, the Apple User Group Program Manager. We gave away two copies of OS X and lots of tee shirts, sandals, and posters. Remember–the next Camp, October 18th through 20th, is PMUG's 35th MacCamp. So sign up well in advance, for this will be a sellout event.

The WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) has just happened and most of what we are hearing is that OS X will get a new update very soon, adding some new features. Code named Jaguar, the new updates will improve handwriting recognition and text-to-speech conversion. QuickTime will be updated to version 6 with MPEG-4 video and audio streaming. Rendezvous will be a auto-configuration tool for IP networks; and there will be a new Finder and Sherlock 3. iChat, compatible with AOL's Instant Messenger, will be added for those who want to chat with friends on-line. There will be improvements to the Address book and Mail applications as well as faster video support for those machines that will support it. Last but not least, there will be more UNIX tools and Windows file sharing support.

You really do need to watch out what Apple Tech support advises you to do. One of my friends spent a lot of time on the phone with tech support about problems she was having with an Epson scanner and her brand new iMac. The Tech seemed think the scanner was the cause of her problems and that she should return it and buy a different scanner. Which brand did he recommend to her? Why Epson, of course. Doesn't that make you wonder what they smoke in the break room?

Many folks ask about upgrades to their machines and in most cases the answer is, if you have a G3 or G4 the upgrade (RAM, hard drive, even processor) is most likely worth the cost. However if you have a machine that is older than that and want to make improvements, you might want to think about trading up your whole machine. Folks with Quadra or CI/LC type machines can usually move up to a 6400, 6360, or even a 7500 for under $300. This will allow you to use 8.1 or above and let you keep those older printers and scanners you've grown so fond of. You pay a little and you get a couple more years of life out of your software and hardware devices.

Several people have asked what books are recommended for OS X. If you are just getting started and know nothing, then the Little Mac Book on OS X by Robin Williams is for you. If you have played around with it for a while and are ready to get in deeper then The Missing Manual by David Pogue may be what you are looking for. Here is what I do when picking a book on a topic I want to know more about: I go to the bookstore and read some of the chapters. Only then will I make the commitment of spending my hard-earned cash. You see, no book in the world will help you if the writer writes above or below your comfort level.

You can reach me at charles@cdevsol.com.

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