And So We Begin...

About Our December Meeting
At our meeting this month, we will be talking about a variety of software and hardware options for the Macintosh that anyone can treat themselves or other Macintosh users to for the Holidays. Most of these are things that I use everyday, think highly of them, and want to make sure you are aware of them as well. Not all of these break the bank either! They range from a number of freebies (some of which you already have but maybe aren't aware of) all the way to the latest and greatest models of Macintosh.

Many of the items are from small developers who may or may not have the plushest of websites, and whose url may be a challenge to remember. So I wanted to make sure everyone had a link and a brief reminder explanation of what they are. BTW, the listings aren't in any particular order or preference, and hopefully I've had the common sense to get them down correctly. First caveat: My apologies in advance for any errors. Second caveat: My apologies for the tardiness of getting this out. Third caveat: (this is getting tiresome... isn't it?) My apologies for the length of this diatribe. It's lengthy for a good reason: We have a LOT to talk about! And even more to come. January is going to be a supurb opportunity for all of us (details below) and in February we will have a complete MacWorld San Francisco report and a sneak preview of what is to come.

On with the show!

A Few Recommended Preference Panels & Desktops
The first grouping are apps that you always leave on, and extend the OS X feature set. Most of these app settings are controlled in Systems Preference Panels. The first three are "return to classic" features that some of us have a hard time parting with.

ASM is a menubar application switcher like the Classic OS's for just $15.00.

WeatherPop Advance is a menubar based weather forecaster with a number of easy to use, useful features. $8.00.

Mira is a control panel for the Apple Remote shipping with all new Macs that takes it way beyond Front Row for use in any app. All for $15.95! They even have an adapter so you can use this on any Mac running 10.4.x for another $16.05 (but you will still need an Apple Remote).

EarthDesk is an ever-changing desktop picture of the earth, continuously updated and features real-time cloud cover, lighting and many variants. All for $19.95.

Cepstral Voices are text to speech voices that go far beyond the quality of the free offerings that come with the Mac OS. If you make much use of the text-to-speech features, you should consider one of these for $29.99.

Plus Some Applications That Are Really Great To Have
VLC Media Player is a full featured multimedia player that handles a number of formats Quicktime does not support. It's also free and skinable!

Where do you get videos? Well, all over the net is the answer (depending on how resourceful you are). One of the most popular places is YouTube, which was recently purchased by Google. A clever programmer designed a free application that will download any of the YouTube videos right to your desktop, load them into iTunes and have them iPod ready if you so desire! It's easy and simple and does it's trick in a snap. Grab PodTube for yourself to see (the website is in French but don't worry, the program uses English: just hit the Télécharger link next to the information and it will download).

To describe Google Earth one needs to imagine a globe of the planet. Now imagine it inside your Mac and combine it with maps, data, and an index that knows no boundaries. And it's free!

Oh Yes, Hell Has Frozen Over
Parallels Desktop For Mac is an ingenious solution to running (dare I say?...) Windows on your Intel based Macintosh. This unique solution lets you have Windows operating near full speed at the same time that you are using OS X. It really is amazing. You can still use Apple's own BootCamp for the fastest speed PeeCee (but not at the same time). You will need a copy of Windows and $79.95.

As Always, We Need To Talk About The Hardware (iPods too!)
Let me emphasize a big point: There is no better time to buy a new Apple Computer than now. With almost every model, Apple is building industry leading speed, performance and quality - plus the phenomenal interface and suite of applications that comes free with every Mac. We have reached the point where every new model save for the Mini runs circles around any older G4, and seems to best the G5's 95% or more of the time. More and more of the applications and issues we discuss need the performance that the newer models offer. And the enjoyment and productivity gains we can obtain with them makes the leap almost non-issue. In other words, if you have been holding off until the Mac stars have aligned: your wait is over.

When it comes to value - there is nothing like the new iMac models out there. Whether your pocketbook allows for the $1,199 17" model, the $1,499 20" model or the $1,999 24" model - these are the most extraordinary performers I have ever seen for the money, and great products to have anywhere in your home or office. And if a laptop is your thing - the MacBook and MacBook Pro line is simply blowing away the competition. The Mac Pro's are simply stunning, and offer video performance that is off the charts.

There are a multitude of online and bricks and mortar places to buy Apple products at, but I can think of two that should be at the top of your list (regardless of what you choose: always remember to add memory for the full advantage of your computer purchase as it is the least expensive means of maximizing performance. As esoteric as it may sound, I recommend a minimum of 1GB and whatever is possible on most of these machines - which typically means 2-3GB).

All of these are fully optimized for the next generation operating system OS X 10.5 Leopard. And all of these models lead the industry (wait... that was a poor choice of words, let's make that:) cream the competition in terms of design, quality and user satisfaction.

And we haven't even discussed the wonderful iPods! They are all just incredible in terms of features, value, quality, ease of use, and performance. I will admit: I was not a big fan of the first shuffle. It just didn't send me. But wow oh wow. What the second generation iPod Shuffle does for so many people right now at such an affordable price: it's simply incredible. All of $79 and the best stocking stuffer you can imagine. The Nano Remastered? It is much, much more than remastered. It is just awesome. And the price? Wow (again). $149 for a 2 GB model, $199 for the 4 GB models, and $249 for the 8 GB models. Quality, sound and accessories are identical: Capacity is the only difference. And if anyone is the least bit athletic or into running: the Nike+ Nano is the cat's meow. This is how tech is supposed to be. Enable users. Not complicate them. It's the real deal and you shouldn't hesitate to encourage it (or give it). Only $29.95 for the Nike+iPod connectivity portion (which can even work in other running shoes).

The full size iPod hard-drive based versions are still the right one for collector gluttons like myself. Yes, they are a bit more fragile than the Nanos. But yes: They are still a steal for the money. Yet now it is suddenly practical to have multiple iPods. Sure, part of it is the affordability, but another part of it is the practicality. Different uses often dictate different devices. What you may use in a workout room or in a glovebox is not necessarily the same as you use at work, or in your home. They play video and make the storage issue rather moot, plus excel at usability. $249 for the slim 30GB model, and an amazingly low $349 for the 80GB version.

You can also always visit the AppleStore 24 hours a day for the latest, most up-to-date selection of all models shipped free at the right price without sales tax to anywhere in Oregon. Easy to deal with and offering discounts on refurbished models as well, The AppleStore is a great place to buy Apple products. (For those affected: AppleStore online or one of their many stores is where qualified buyers receive strong educational discounts).

Lastly, A Desperate Plea:
Please Help Spread The Word About Our January Meeting!
In January, we are very fortunate to have a very unique program on fonts, font management, & type design given by a number of colleagues of mine (I could repeat this over an over again: We are very, very, very fortunate to have this opportunity - and need to be sure we make it just as rewarding for the presenters). To be successful, an event like this needs graphic designers, professionals, as well as the serious pro-sumer users and scrap-bookers to attend. These people are highly skilled in their professions, and give users a phenomenal exposure (yes, yes, yes) into ways to unleash their creativity. To be successful, we need to be sure Mugport gets the word out that shows these folks that we appreciate, applaud & make their efforts worthwhile.

These folks are in town to join me on a pilgrimage to MacWorld San Francisco (minus the Koolaid™... oooh, now there is a good font name: Koolaid™ Sans, but I digress...). They are coming from all parts of the world to take an incredible road-trip there down the gorgeous coastline of Oregon and Northern California.

Alejandro Paul is the main founder and principal designer of Sudtipos, an internationally known South American font development studio based in Buenos Aires. He has been a popular speaker on the international creative circuit, and many of his fonts have garnered global praise, and can be seen in many publications as well as on the packaging of many consumer products. He will be presenting some of his studio's work and showing the versatility of some of his widely used creations. Go to his beautiful new Sudtipos website designed by another colleague of ours and check out his creations. Many of his types are also sold at Veer.com, his largest and primary reseller, where you can testdrive his most popular types. For more examples of Alejandro's design work, visit his Estudio Paul website.

Patrick Griffin is the founder, type director and principal designer of Canada Type, a font development studio based in Toronto. Aside from many award-winning and best-selling retail fonts, he has developed custom typefaces for large corporations as well as small and specialized businesses. His list of clients include high-profile names such as ABC, Ziff-Davis Media, Much Music, Jacquin's and Kohl's. He will be speaking about the general pros and cons of the OpenType font format and its benefits to creatives working on OS X. He will also showcase some of the Canada Type library and answer any font-related questions in a Q&A segment.

Sigur∂ur (aka Siggi) Ármannsson is an Art Director and the IT Director of Iceland's premier advertising agency IceAd (Íslenska Auglysingastofan) in Reykjavik, Iceland, who also happens to have a moonlighting career making type and language localization for types at his consulting firm font.is. Siggi is a member of a group of professionals in Iceland called Moire, setting the production and pre-press standards for the designing and printing industry in Iceland. A Mac user and type aficionado since 1986 who has extensive knowledge in programs of all varieties and what they can do; he likes to say that his main drive is not how things work, but why things don't work as they should. At his agency he manages a huge array of Macs, PeeCees, and people, giving him a unique insight into real-world issues. Siggi will talk about font management, using Linotype's FontExplorerX, a free tool you can get on the link. You can get a taste of this at Siggi's FontExplorerX Tutorial Elsewhere on his site you can also brush up on your Icelandic...

So there it is! Help get the word out and let's soak up what we can from these talented experts! I'm looking forward to seeing you at the meeting,

Michael