AAUG Reviews

by Randy Brandon, AAUG Member

Wow… GoLive 9!

I am trying to think back to exactly when I first got my hands on GoLive? And if memory serves me well, I think that it was probably GoLive version 3.

So here I am all of these years later sitting at my computer launching this latest version of Adobe GoLive 9.

Time has been kind to the GoLive program, and it was really all due to the good folks at Adobe who have nurtured it through numerous versions all the way to this latest incantation of GoLive 9.

I had been hearing rumors that Adobe was thinking of,(or already had) dropping the GoLive program from their list of products. So I was delighted when GoLive version 9 was introduced.

On to the program…

I was initially drawn to the Adobe GoLive program because of a few features that I really needed to have in a program that I wanted for my web design. And the one that stood out above all others was the ability to design web pages on a grid. And it might also be a good thing to mention that I managed to skip GoLive CS1, and 2 versions, so this latest version is almost like starting from scratch. (more…)

by Guy Okada, AAUG Member

I recently purchased a new iMac and it included an iPod nano. My silver nano is perfect for taking on walks or short trips as it is compact and light. I found the perfect protective case in the iSkin Duo.

The iSkin Duo is a silicone case that fits the nano like a glove. It comes in colors to match nano colors and includes a few handy accessories. Included are a dock adapter to allow the nano to fit into Apple’s Universal Dock, a port cover to keep dust from entering nano’s ports, a Hip Clip which allows your iPod to clip to a belt, and an adjustable lanyard which attached to the Duo. The Duo also has a clear cover to protect the clickwheel.

I especially like the feel of the Duo. It is sleek and the finish is not as slippery as the Nano itself. My nano feels much more secure now that it is snugly encased in the Duo and it isn’t bulky. In all, the Duo adds a mere l.65mm to the size of the nano. I took off the Hip Clip and I use the handy lanyard when I take my nano on walks. It took a few minutes to figure out how to take off the Hip Clip as the small instruction book with illustrations was not easy to follow (more…)

by Carlene Brown, AAUG Member

I have spent considerable time researching the origins of my ancestors who came to the United States from Germany. However, since the politics and borders of this country changed frequently it has been a challenge to determine which country each one lived in and who actually had political control. Then I read about Centennia and wondered if it could help me sort out some of the history. The Centennia Historical Atlas is an interactive map-based guide to the history of Europe and the Middle East covering the period 1000 AD to the present.

I downloaded the software from the Centennia Software site, and, as with most software today, had no trouble installing it on my Power Mac G5 running OSX 10.4.9.

Centennia contains three primary windows,

1) MAPS: The map window displays an evolving map of Europe and the Middle East. You are able to focus in on a single country or view a larger area. When you enter a specific date the map changes to show the map as it would have been at that time. Using the time control feature allows you to watch the country and border changes in the map through the centuries.

When you click on a country or region an identification tag pops up giving the name of the country and the power controlling that country on the date you chose for the map. (more…)

by Lelinda Bourgeois, AAUG Member

Again I found myself thinking, “The stuff that is in this book is outdated.” The cameras that he says are new were true for the time but not now.

This book did a great job of explaining to me, the history in cinematography. And again for me, if I was interested in history it would have been a decent book, hence the moose 3. However, I am new and getting into this field of digital cinema and I didnít find it as useful as I would have liked. I think this kind of stuff really is better learned on line and from websites and web blogs.

I read up on Mr. McKernan and apparently he is looked at in high regard for his quality and wealth of information. So that in it-self must make the book at least half good. I did enjoy learning some of the lingo. It was an easy to read and understand book. It was laid out in a fashion I could follow. It taught me things like interlacing and frame rate, camera choice (for its time), film is digital, small info about final cut, and a host of other things that will be helpful I am sure.

I believe the greatest piece of info in the book for me was chapter 10 on the indie films. This is more along the lines of what I was hoping to get in this book, but then again, it was only dedicated seven pages. So I got somewhat of an overview of independent film making. The book itself read as an overview, as each of the chapters were only allotted a mere 8-10 pages each. Not a lot of information can be conveyed to help someone learn if the first few pages of the eight are given to the history.

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by LeLinda Bourgeois, AAUG Member

The cover made me do it. The appealing green shiny cover and great looking microphone sucked me right in on this book. It did not weigh a lot, allowing me to carry wherever I wanted. Basic enough for the beginner, good step-by-step info. Good information on the history of podcasting, although I wish he had used that information in other areas. I didn’t really care about the history of it, just tell me how to use it, was my direction.

It really bothered me that it was so out of date. My first thought when I began to read this was, why am I reviewing a book that is two years and two months old. Everyone knows that technology moves so fast that when this book hit the shelves it was already out of date. I talked with a friend of mine who is into podcasting quite heavily and asked him if we could read together and then discuss it.

Well we did and we had very different views. He told me to put it in the trash. Everything I needed to know could be found on line and would most assuredly be more up to date than this “piece of junk.” Yes he was quite unimpressed with it. He started talking about all kinds of other stuff that is out now like Garageband 3 (even the version that I just got 3 months ago was to old he said, Garageband 2). He started talking about other new things that are out now and I know I didn’t read about them in the book. And no I can’t tell you what they are casue I didn’t understand.

This is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book somewhat. It was quite simple to read, no big lingo or stuff, just the basics. It was lacking in luster, the cover was what got me. (more…)

by Steve Nigl, AAUG Member

I’ve reviewed several iPod cases and at least two from iSkins. The eVo3 is the best silicone case I have yet seen.

The eVo3 is a one-piece stretch-over case. What makes this case unique is a clear Lucite front plate which serves as both protection for the screen as-well-as providing a structural frame for the case. The Lucite has a hole over the click-wheel area, exposing a thin membrane of silicone. You dial and click through this membrane.

Installation is straight forward enough, but the technique takes some mastery. Simply remove the front plate by stretching the silicone to allow it to fall free. Insert the iPod through the screen hole, and reinstall the clear plate. Easy right? The trick is getting the Lucite in the channel provided. I found it was easiest to work from the bottom up.

The fit-and-finish are high quality and all the controls and ports align without much trouble. If you use your iPod’s hold switch (and who doesn’t), you’ll need to cut along a perforation with an Xacto blade or similar tool. I also noticed that the docking port on the bottom is covered with silicone. It’s pre-cut to make a flap-like door. Bend the silicone away from the port before attaching the USB cable. I haven’t tried it, but the iSkin website claims that this case is slim enough to fit into an apple iPod dock.

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by Gerrit H. Dalman, AAUG Member

While most tech gadgets come with thousand-page manuals just like they did twenty years ago, Apple has become known for avoiding shelf-bending tomes as testament to their intuitive products. That’s all well and good, but sometimes you’ve just got questions that can’t be answered by a leaflet. Sometimes you need a checklist, a field manual, or a little OJT!

Enter O’Reilly’s missing manuals. The how-to series covers everything from PowerPoint to eBay in great detail. The most recent volume, penned by prominent technology journalist David Pogue, is a thorough exploration of Apple’s newest device, the much-acclaimed iPhone.

Pogue is no newcomer to Apple or to writing. He has been covering the company from his seats at MacWorld and then the New York Times for years. He even blends media with humorous videos from time to time - who can forget his comparison of Mac OS X to Windows Vista last year?! He’s definitely a fan - but an honest and critical one - and what he has to say about the iPhone is pure gold.

iPhone: The Missing Manual is as thorough and organized as you would expect from a book with “manual” in the title, but it’s an easier read than most publications you’d unpack along with your accessories. It’s even humorous at times and thanks to the light tone, you can get from cover to cover or through a relevant chapter pretty quick.

The book is well organized and takes the reader through each of the iPhones features one-by-one. Convenient chapter names like “Editing the Contacts List” or “Syncing Podcasts” allow you to jump straight to the content you need with ease.

Of course The Missing Manual wasn’t written by Apple, but this is to your benefit because it also contains a lot of extras that you wouldn’t expect to get straight from the manufacturer. (more…)

by Richard Geiger, AAUG Member

Parallels Desktop for Mac uses a virtualization technology that you can run Mac OS X and Windows, Linux and more side-by-side with your Mac OS on any Inlet-powered Mac with out having to reboot. The reason I wanted to run Windows on the Mac was because I use Garmin eTrex Vista GPS which requires Windows in order to run the software. Garmin has stated they want to support the Mac Platform but they have only a few GPS models that do. I also do web design and wanted to test web sites using a Windows Machine. Sometimes I run into website that will not work with Safari or Firefox on the Mac platform such as some government sites so then I use Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. I also have a Dell computer running Microsoft Windows 98 and I wanted a newer machine.

I tested Parallels desktop on a Mac Book Pro 15 inch with 2 GB of memory and a 100 GB hard drive. I found parallels program easy to install and did not have any problems. I choose to install Window XP Professional on my computer instead of Window Vista because of the problems people were having with Vista. In addition my older GPS unit was supported by Windows XP and I was not sure about Vista.

I had a problem trying to install Windows because Parallels did not recognize my DVD/CD drive. The Parallels manual said to use Mac OS Disk Utilities to create a disk image if Parallels did not recognize the DVD/CD. I had problems creating the disk image since the Parallel’s directions were very short and not clear what to do. (more…)