Macworld 2010 12 by backuper

REVIEWED: MICROSOFT OFFICE 2011

December 2010

www.macworld.com

Cool Gear for the Mac, iPhone, iPod & iPad

39 GREAT GADGETS

FOR iPHONES PAGE

FOR

MACS PAGE

FOR

iPADS PAGE

$6.99 U.S.

PLUS: THE NEW APPLE TV

THE NEW EDGE UNDERSTANDS 10,000 VOICE COMMANDS. ENOUGH SAID. It doesn’t just give directions, it takes orders. A whole lot of them. The 305-horsepower EDGE SPORT with MYFORD TOUCH.™* A voice and touch-activated communications system that puts your music, information and entertainment at your ﬁngertips – while your eyes never leave the road. It’s an automotive ﬁrst. All wrapped up in one thrilling ride. It’s quite possibly the world’s smartest crossover.

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Incorporating MacUser

CONteNts

December 2010 COveR stORy

34 The Macworld Gear Guide Each Mac user on your holiday list is unique, but don’t let that stop you from choosing the perfect gadget to complement your friend’s or relative’s Mac, iPhone, iPod, or iPad. We’ve assembled the best gear to share with you.

FeAtURe

66 Review: Office for Mac 011 RevIeW The latest version of Office for Mac has arrived, and we’ve reviewed the entire suite. Should you upgrade?

OPINION

The Macworld Gear Guide

From the Editor’s Desk This month’s Gear Guide is our wish book of the best tech gadgets, from the practical to the fanciful (iPhone-controlled helicopter, anyone?).

MAC UseR

16 The Birth of Mac OS X We take a look back at the debut of Apple’s operating system a decade ago.

18 The Effect of Mac OS X 20 Study: The Media Is Fascinated with Apple

22 Mac Gems Monitor battery life; access OS X’s hidden screensaving options; and easily track, manage, and pay your bills.

iOs CeNtRAl

Review: Office for Mac 

26 Preview: iOS 4. What you can expect from the latest update to Apple’s mobile operating system.

28 The iPad’s School Day: Apple’s Tablet Hits the Classroom 28 What’s New at the App Store

30 App Guide Each month, we review the App Store offerings that have caught our eye.

On the Cover Photography by Peter Belanger

4 Macworld December 2010

IT’S TIME TO LOOK AT THE WORLD FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE. Introducing the new Canon EOS 60D. Featuring our first ever 270-degree 3.0-inch LCD screen that allows you to express yourself from any angle, whether it’s an extreme high angle , low angle, or even self-portrait. And with an 18 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 5.3 fps shooting and multiple aspect ratios, you’ll capture stunning photography from every direction . Then see beyond the still in 1080p Full HD video.

I n s p i r e d. B y C a n o n.

Contents December 2010

WORKING MAC 32 Five Awesome Automator Tips Use Apple’s easy automation tool to extract text from PDFs, schedule workflows, and more.

36 Keep Cookies Under Control

34 MacSpeech Scribe 1.1

PLUS: Reviews 33, Business Center 82

PlAylIst 86 The Apple TV Reborn RevIeW The all-new Apple TV is smaller and less expensive than the one it replaces. Plus, it adds Netflix support. Check out our review.

84 Tame Your Playlists

PLUS: Reviews 83

DIGItAl PHOtO 100 Photoshop Elements 8 Gets Organized

RevIeW Adobe brings Elements Organizer to the Mac and adds a Content-Aware Fill feature.

101 Fix Your Vacation Photo Faux Pas

102 Preview’s Photo-Editing Powers

106 Three Apps for Adding Effects

PLUS: Reviews 104

192

CReAte 103 Mac Debut for Adobe Premier Elements 8 RevIeW Amateur video editors take note: Adobe offers up a video editing alternative.

108 Back on the Mac: AutoCAD for Mac, iOS

110 Free Plug-ins Freshen Photoshop

PLUS: Reviews 112

HelP DesK 116 Mac OS X Hints Get the old iTunes back, shorten URLs with a service, hide an app’s Dock icon, and more.

114 Mac 811 Batch-convert photos with Automator, make Google’s preferences stick, and more.

BACK PAGe 192 Spotlight

It’s totally not the Macworld Gear Guide.

4 Macworld December 2010

MACWeeK For weekly Mac news from Macworld.com, sign up for the MacWeek newsletter at macworld.com/myaccount/ newsletters.

At MACWORlD.COM Our latest podcasts, slideshows, and videos: Podcast: Reviewing the Apple TV (macworld.com/4494). Podcast: iPhones and iPads in Business and Education (macworld.com/4497). Podcast: App Guidelines and Ping (macworld.com/4493). Video: Apple’s iPhone 6 Goes on Sale in China (macworld .com/4498). Video: RIM’s Supposed Tablet Computer (macworld .com/4460).

A TOOL WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

From the eDitor’s Desk By Jason Snell

Wish Book Useful or useless? Depends on who’s asking.

ike pretty much anything in life, technology products can’t be viewed in simple black-and-white terms. It’s tempting to sort those products into two piles: one for useful tools and the other for useless gewgaws. But I don’t think it works that way.

photograph By pEtEr BElangEr

A Guide to Gear Every December, we devote our cover story to the coolest new Mac-friendly gadgets and gear we can find. (This year’s Gear Guide starts on page 34.) You don’t have to be a genius to figure out why: We’re entering the holiday season, when people spend lots of money on all sorts of tech-related products. Generally, the Gear Guide gets good reader feedback. But we do get some complaints that we’re writing about useless, overpriced junk. To the complainers, I say this: The $300 Parrot AR.Drone remote-control helicopter (page 46) is not junk. And overpriced? That depends on how valuable you think a camera-equipped helicopter that you control with an iPhone really is. In all seriousness, while a product like the AR.Drone might seem absurd—and let’s be honest, unless you’re waging war against your next-door neighbor’s fleet of remote-controlled Wi-Fi tanks, it isn’t particularly practical—I’ve had many geeky people ask me about it recently, more than any other product. Certainly, only a few of the people who are excited about the AR.Drone will actually buy and fly one. But reading (and writing) about tech products isn’t always practical. And that’s OK. What Do You Want? When I was a kid, I used to spend the fall poring over the annual Sears holiday catalog—aka the Wish Book. (If you don’t remember it, just imagine every single product that a kid could ever want, lavishly photographed.)

reading and writing about tech products isn’t always practical. And that’s ok. I’d be lucky if even a couple of the things I helpfully circled in the Wish Book made it under our Christmas tree. But that wasn’t the point. Sometimes products aren’t there just to be bought. They’re there to be dreamed about. I remember reading MacUser when I was in college. I’d memorize all the specs for Apple’s latest PowerBooks, dreaming about the high-end models. But I knew I’d never be able to afford that snazzy laptop with an active-matrix display and 16 levels of grayscale. (I suspect many of our readers do the same today when reading about a 12-core Mac Pro or an i7-based iMac.)

Practical Uses Different people dream about different products. Which is why I don’t have a good answer when someone asks me a question like, “Kindle or iPad?” There is no answer that’s right for everyone. I own a Kindle and an iPad, and I like both. They’re different products that share some overlapping functionality. Both are going to sell well this holiday season.

What’s great about the iPad is its versatility: As we’ve said in these pages many times, it’s good for games, e-mail, the Web, Twitter, and yes, reading. While I’m skeptical of tools intended for only one purpose, I like the Kindle because it’s a unitasker. You can’t really use it for the Web or Twitter or e-mail: It’s for reading and that’s it. A Kindle may not offer most of the iPad’s features, but it’s also $360 cheaper, nearly a third as heavy, and, in well-lit environments, better for reading plain text on a page. Which one is best? I can’t answer that, because I don’t know you. My wife loves her iPad but doesn’t use a Kindle. (She checks out books from the library.) But I’ve recommended the Kindle to friends who wanted a small, light device for reading books. The situation is similar with the iPhone. I know people who won’t buy an iPhone until it’s available from Verizon, because AT&T’s service is so bad for them. But that logic doesn’t work for me: At my house I can’t get a signal from Verizon or T-Mobile; AT&T and Sprint are my only options. With any luck, Apple will end that debate by extending the iPhone to other U.S. carriers in 2011. In the meantime, the value of the iPhone—as with any other tech product—will vary based on who you are and what you need. Macworld can tell you about the products—both serious and fanciful— that are out there. But the final buying decision is yours. You’re the only one who knows whether a remote-controlled helicopter, or an iPad or a Kindle, deserves to be circled in your own personal wish book. Jason Snell is the editorial director of Macworld. E-mail him at jason_snell@ macworld.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jsnell.

December 2010 Macworld 11

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MacUSER News and Analysis about Macs, OS X, and Apple

The Birth of Mac OS X

A look back at the debut of Apple’s operating system a decade ago By B eNj eDwa rDS

he fortunes of the Mac platform changed drastically 10 years ago. On September 13, 2000, Apple released its Mac OS X Public Beta, a limited-time trial run of the ultramodern, groundbreaking operating system that would replace the old Mac OS. Mac owners have been living with OS X ever since, so it’s easy to forget that the company endured some tough times. Mac OS X wound up being one of the key drivers in Apple’s comeback story. Microsoft’s Windows NT in 1993 and Windows 95 two years later put Apple’s claim of OS superiority on shaky ground. Apple found itself in an especially vulnerable position as the once-revolutionary Macintosh OS, first released in 1984 but only incrementally improved thereafter, suddenly looked antiquated. Apple found itself forced to confront its own mortality. The company launched a long (and ultimately mismanaged) quest to replace the classic Mac OS with a state-of-the-art successor, a quest that spanned three Apple CEOs and half a dozen or more OS candidates from both within and outside of Apple. The process finally came to an end in 1996 when Gil Amelio, then-CEO of Apple, selected technology from a company called Next.

The Next Connection Apple cofounder Steve Jobs started Next Computer in 1985 after he was forced to resign from Apple. Jobs assembled a team of talented engineers and programmers to craft the ultimate research workstation. While seeking the foundation of an advanced operating system that could 16 Macworld December 2010

First Look In September 2000, Apple released a beta of Mac OS X on a CD. For about $30, the beta gave users a look at the future of the Mac.

match Next’s plans for innovative hardware, Jobs and his team came across a new approach to Unix architecture. It was an experimental OS kernel—christened “Mach”—being developed by graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, including a 24-year-old named Avie Tevanian, who started the Mach project as part of his Ph.D. work in computer science. Tevanian’s Mach kernel was unique for its time. It had a far more flexible and modern structure than previous Unix-compatible kernels; it was this quality that attracted Jobs’s attention. Tevanian soon found himself working for Next and developing NextStep, a new graphical operating

system for the Next Computer, which was released in 1988. The Next Computer was a startlingly advanced machine for its time, but a stratospheric price held it back. Jobs eventually pulled the plug on the company’s computer line and focused entirely on software, especially the NextStep OS. NextStep evolved further in the early 1990s, gaining versions for multiple non-68K processors like SPARC and Intel’s x86 line. In 1996, when Apple was looking for its replacement OS, Jobs pitched NextStep to Apple executives. They liked what they saw, and in December of 1996 Apple announced it was purchasing Next with the goal of using NextStep as the

foundation of a new Macintosh OS. Steve Jobs would also take an advisory role at Apple. In a remarkable turn of events, the founder was back.

March 1999. It retained the classic Platinum interface of OS 8 (and the Rhapsody prototypes), but it got its DNA from NextStep.

From NextStep to Rhapsody Jobs eventually became Apple’s interim CEO. He filled important posts within the company with his trusted and accomplished Next brethren, including Avie Tevanian, who became vice president of software engineering. Apple engineers used NextStep 4.2 as the starting point for the new Macintosh OS and began a three year process that would transform the Unix-based OS into a consumer operating system. The project was code-named Rhapsody. It wasn’t long before Apple developed a prototype that functioned mostly like NextStep but possessed graphical elements borrowed from the “Platinum” theme of Mac OS 8. Apple put this new version into the hands of developers in August 1997. But the new OS met significant resistance from Adobe. Apple had originally wanted to channel all new development for Rhapsody through a programming system it called Yellow Box, which was essentially an updated version of the OpenStep development environment from the NextStep days. Yellow Box would have allowed applications developed for Rhapsody to be easily ported to other operating systems and even between processor architectures like PowerPC and x86. Unfortunately, developers would have had to abandon any investment they put into building classic OS applications. Adobe balked at this and refused to port its software over to Rhapsody. This lack of support from a key third-party developer, in addition to grumblings from other developers, ultimately caused Apple to pull the plug on its original Rhapsody plan in 1998. Rhapsody wasn’t truly dead, however. In its place came murmurs about “Mac OS X” (X being the roman numeral for ten). Under the name Mac OS X Server 1.0, Apple released the first and only commercial version of Rhapsody in

Enter OS X By 1999 the public knew about the shift from Rhapsody to OS X. What the public didn’t know was that, since 1998,

convincing. A big part of Apple’s development approach was to emphasize a combination of the seamless Classic environment (which would run all classic OS apps) and a new Carbon API that would allow easy porting of classic OS apps to OS X. Thanks to those changes, developers started to come around.

All operating systems grow obsolete, but even ten years after its commercial debut, we’re still living in the golden age of OS X. Apple had been secretly developing a vibrant and fluid new graphical interface for Rhapsody named Aqua. It was during Aqua’s development that the philosophical shift from Rhapsody to OS X took place. Jobs unveiled Aqua to a stunned audience during his January 2000 Macworld Expo keynote speech. The delighted, newly permanent CEO spent a large portion of his speech demonstrating Aqua’s graphically striking new features. Apple found itself, for the first time in at least a decade, with an operating system that people could not wait to get their hands on. In September 2000, Apple obliged. According to Tevanian, the company knew that it couldn’t just keep the betatesting process under wraps. The company needed to get the OS out into as many hands as possible. Apple set the price of Mac OS X Public Beta at $29.95. The beta sold through Apple’s online store; the company later offered a $30 discount on the first full release of OS X (version 10.0) when it shipped in 2001. Reviews of the public beta were mixed but optimistic. OS X represented a promising future for Apple, but the company still had a long way to go in producing a fully mature OS. As usual, it was the third-party developers who needed the most

Moreover, developers saw the writing on the wall. Jobs made it clear in January 2000 that Apple would be pursuing a single OS strategy. Within a year, he announced, Apple would ship OS X by default on all new Macs. That date got pushed back a bit, but it ultimately came to pass, and OS X was on its way to a widespread installed base.

The OS X Legacy OS X is the heart and soul of Apple’s software strategy, and OS X proved to be an essential investment to ensure the continued viability of the Mac platform. But how long will it last? Tevanian, who left Apple in 2006, is surprised and delighted at how flexible OS X and his clever little kernel turned out to be. After all, he says, OS X runs on a wide range of hardware, from industrialstrength servers to desktops to iPhones and iPods. Apple had a 20 to 30 year lifespan in mind for OS X during its development, says Tevanian, but he suspects its fundamental underpinnings may last even longer. Ultimately, all operating systems grow obsolete, but for now, even ten years after its commercial debut, we’re still living in the golden age of OS X. Benj Edwards is a freelance writer who is also editor in chief of the Vintage Computing and Gaming blog.

December 2010 Macworld 17

MaC USer

The effect of Mac OS X

A former Macworld editor recalls his first impressions of Mac OS X

By rOB Gri FFiThS

y life changed 10 years ago, when Apple released the Mac OS X Public Beta. At the time, it seemed like this new OS was just the next step (albeit a big one) in the evolution of the Mac. While icons and windows simply existed in OS 9, they seemed to jump off the screen in OS X. Shadows helped distinguish between layers of windows, and the colorful Dock at the bottom of the screen contained easy-to-access icons both for currently running applications and for programs I placed there myself. On visuals alone, there was no doubt that the Mac OS X Public Beta represented a decisive break from the past. That’s not to say all was perfect. Aqua, as Apple called its new interface, was besieged by an attack of the striped backgrounds. Aqua also consumed a lot of screen real estate, especially when compared to OS 9. Mac OS X’s windows were larger, its Dock took up more space, and Finder windows had huge toolbar areas filled with massive icons. And don’t even get me started on the heavily translucent menus. Finally, some apps (Address Book, I’m talking about you) were just downright ugly. Still, overall, I remember thinking that I was using something that felt modern and forward-looking. To me, the important ways in which OS X worked boiled down to one thing: stability. The Mac OS X Public Beta included all the proper buzzword technologies of the day—true multitasking support, protected memory, and other goodies under the hood to help keep the machine running, even when an application quit. Instead of rebooting because a program crashed, as I had to do in OS 9, the Mac OS X Public Beta would simply display a message telling me that a program had crashed, but that I could continue working. What a wonderful change. 16 Macworld December 2010

OS X’s 10 Most Innovative Features Ten years ago, even early adopters of Mac OS X probably couldn’t have conceived of the OS features that we rely on so heavily today. Here are the ten features that we consider to be the most significant contributions to the Mac experience.—MA378—Ma cwAoo

1 2

Time Machine: Backup program introduced with OS X 10.5.

Spotlight: Introduced as the desktop-search successor to Apple’s Sherlock in OS X 10.4.

d Of course, there were less welcome changes with the public beta. For one thing, it was slow—the Finder, in particular, was extremely slow. Simple tasks such as launching applications and opening files could be unbearably slow; in tests I ran at the time, program launching was anywhere from two to five times faster in OS 9. Another problem concerned peripherals: Most of them simply didn’t work in the public beta. Even with the plethora of good changes I’ve listed, however, the public beta probably wouldn’t have changed my life if it hadn’t been for one additional key fact: Mac OS X Public Beta was written on top of a Unix core, and included a Terminal application to directly access that core. Even more importantly, in the beginning, using Unix commands in Terminal was nearly a must for a whole range of tasks, such as getting certain printers to work, changing network settings without rebooting, making Terminal’s window translucent, installing a text-based alternative to the Internet Explorer browser, and finding strings of text within text files. Looking back now, if that public beta had been nothing more than OS 9 with a pretty new face but the same basic underpinnings, I wouldn’t have launched MacOSXHints.com, joined Macworld, and eventually ended up

Unix Underpinnings: Thanks to Unix, Mac OS X finally gained the stability that was long lacking in the Mac OS.

The Classic Environment and Boot Camp: These technologies made it easy to transition to the Mac.

Developer Tools: These tools help developers take advantage of new, compelling features.

Exposé: This was the first significant attempt to improve window management since Windows 95.

Bonjour: This networking technology was introduced as Rendezvous in OS X 10.2 and renamed in OS X 10.4.

iChat: Included in OS X 10.2. Gave OS X a notable productivity boost.

Native PDF Support: This lets you view PDFs with the Preview application and easily create PDF files with any program that supports the Print command.

Smart Folders: Using the power of Spotlight, Smart Folders are essentially saved searches.

working at Many Tricks, one of my favorite Mac software developers. So thank you, Mac OS X Public Beta, for spurring a change in my life that I couldn’t have predicted but am very grateful to have experienced.

PDFpen: Feature #7 – Reduce Bloated Scans

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visually-rich PDFs without the guilt and extra bytes. A few clicks will reduce resolution and color depth. Try PDFpen today and see just how easy it can be to slim down.

To see all the top 10 features of PDFpen, visit us at: www.smilesoftware.com/macworld

MaC USer

Study: The Media Is Fascinated with Apple By jOaB jaC kSO N

A study released in September 1626 by the Pew Research Center states that Apple gets more coverage in the mainstream media than any other technology company. About 09 percent of the coverage either lauded Apple as innovative or superior, or praised the company’s fan base, while only about 27 percent of the coverage focused on the shortcomings of Apple products. The researchers studied 437 technology-related stories across $1 news outlets, including newspapers, TV networks, radio programs, and news Websites. The samples were taken between June 2, 1669, and June 36,

1626. (Trade publications and news sites, such as those offered by IDG—Macworld’s parent company—were not examined.) Overall, 2$.2 percent of all technology stories on these outlets focused primarily on Apple. About 22.4 percent focused on Google, 7.2 percent on Twitter, and 4.3 percent on Facebook. Trailing the pack was Microsoft, which despite its launch of Windows 7 and Office 1626 during this time period garnered only 3 percent of the coverage. The disparity in coverage is striking, given that during approximately this same time period, Microsoft still generated slightly more sales than Apple.

Macs: Current Lineup SPeCS

raTiNG

PriCe

DiSPLay

SPeeD7 Mark 0 a

Intel Core i8/8.06GHz

mmmm

$1199

21.5 inches

178

Ms8o

Intel Core i8/8.2GHz

mmmm

$1499

21.5 inches

190

Ms88

Intel Core i8/8.2GHz

mmmm

$1699

27 inches

188

Ms8s

Intel Core i5/2.8GHz quad-core

mmmm

$1999

27 inches

217

Ms8r

Mac Mini

Intel Core 2 Duo/ 2.4GHz

mmmm

$699

not included

117

M8—s

Mac pro

Intel Xeon/2.8GHz (quad-core)

mmmm

$2499

not included

280

Msrd

Intel Xeon/2.4GHz (eight-core)

mmmm

$8499

not included

287

Msrw

Intel Xeon/2.66GHz (12-core)

none C

$4999

not included

none C

MsM—

MacBook

Intel Core 2 Duo/ 2.4GHz (white)

mmmm

$999

18 inches

118

Mo—l

MacBook air

Intel Core 2 Duo/1.86GHz

mmmh

$1499

18 inches

swr8

Intel Core 2 Duo/2.18GHz

mmmh

$1799

18 inches

swrs

Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4GHz

mmmm

$1199

18 inches

118

Mcrc

Intel Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz

mmmh

$1499

18 inches

126

Mcro

Intel Core i5/2.4GHz

mmmmh

$1799

15 inches

146

Mcr8

Intel Core i5/2.58GHz

mmmm

$1999

15 inches

150

Mcrs

Intel Core i7/2.66GHz

mmmm

$2199

15 inches

161

Mcrr

Intel Core i5/2.58GHz

mmmm

$2299

17 inches

154

Mo—d

PrODUCT

FiND CODe B

DESktop iMac

poRtaBLE

MacBook pro

Speedmark 0 is Macworld Lab’s standard test tool for benchmarking systems running Mac OS X 26.0 (Snow Leopard). For more information on Speedmark testing, go to macworld.com/$$63. B In a browser’s address field, typing in a find code after macworld.com/ takes you to a product’s review or overview. C System has not yet been tested or rated.

16 Macworld December 1626

PLUG. PLAY. RECORD.

When You’re Ready to Record, Shure Makes It Simple. When it’s time to record, reproducing your sound is critical. Now you can easily capture your notes, beats, and vocals digitally using Shure microphones and headphones built upon more than 80 years of engineering experience. Plug the Shure PG27USB and PG42USB condenser microphones directly into your Mac or PC – no additional software is needed. Both models feature integrated pre-amp, zero latency monitoring, headphone jack, and monitor mix for professional recordings. Monitor your recording with Shure Professional Headphones. The SRH240, SRH440, and SRH840 deliver even, accurate sound reproduction and an incredibly comfortable ﬁt.

To learn more, visit www.shure.com/PGrecording

Mac User

Mac GeMs

Discover Great, Low-Cost Mac Products By Dan Frakes

savescreenie 2.0.0

Watts 1.1.1 Laptops Laptop batteries no longer suffer from the “memory effect” and related life-shortening afflictions. But that doesn’t mean modern notebook batteries are maintenance free. If you want to keep your MacBook’s battery performing at its best, Apple recommends performing monthly calibrations (support.apple.com/kb/ HT1490). Watts aims to make such maintenance easier, while incorporating noteworthy features of a few other portable Gems. Watts’ systemwide battery menu provides more information than Apple’s own, while taking up less room. The utility can also notify you, using Growl (macworld.com/ 6618), when your laptop’s remaining charge dips below a percentage you choose, and whenever your laptop switches between battery and AC power. Watts also tracks detailed information about your battery’s capacity and life-cycle status. But Watts’ calibration features are what make it unique. The program reminds you when it’s time to calibrate and then walks you through the appropriate steps. Watts can also remind you not to always run your laptop off AC power (which isn’t good for the battery), and it can help you properly charge the battery for long-term storage.

mmmm; $7; Binary Tricks; macworld.com/6617

UtiLities Mac OS X includes some nice screenshot features, but it offers no official way to customize the format, location, or name of the resulting images. Savescreenie 2 provides access to these hidden OS X options via an easy-to-use graphical interface. You can choose from among 11 file-format options (including PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF, and PSD), edit the location where OS X saves screenshots, and change the base name of screenshots (OS X adds the date and time to this base).

mmmm; free; cf/x; macworld.com/6619

Go to Weblog Read Mac Gems online (macworld.com/macgems) for longer reviews of these and other products.

DockView 1.37 UtiLities If you click and hold on a program’s Dock icon in Mac OS X 10.6, after a couple seconds you’ll see Exposé-like window previews. DockView offers a similar, but more convenient, feature: Simply move the cursor over a program’s Dock icon, and you instantly see previews of that application’s windows. You can click on a preview or—great for keyboardshortcut lovers—press a keyboard shortcut (1-1, 1-2, and so on, each displayed on the respective preview) to bring that window to the front.

mmmh; $8; Kapeli; macworld.com/6620 22 Macworld December 2010

DRIVE

IMAGINATION WITHOUT LIMITATIONS

E TIVITY

MACWORLD READERS GET 10% OFF

Mac User Mac Gems

powerMate 3.1 inpUt Griffin Technology’s PowerMate—a chunky, aluminum controller knob that doubles as a button—used to be a popular Mac accessory, but after years without a software update, the device became a stylish paperweight. The recently released PowerMate 9.1 brings OS X 41.6 compatibility and a number of new features. You assign actions to various PowerMate triggers: rotate clockwise, rotate counterclockwise, press, long press, and press-rotate combinations. (You can now use modifier keys with these actions, allowing for many more distinct triggers.) For any trigger, you choose one of a slew of possible actions, from opening files and programs to simulating mouse and keyboard actions. You can even configure the same trigger to perform different actions in different programs, or create completely different sets of actions that you can switch between. Don’t have a PowerMate? Griffin plans to start selling the hardware again.

mmmm; free; Griffin Technology; macworld.com/6622

chronicle 3.0

G e M U P DaT e

BUsiness Chronicle aims to help you track, manage, and pay your bills. You enter information about your debts—the payee name, the dollar amount, and the due date— and then select the way that you’ll be paying: online, by mail or phone, or using automatic withdrawal. Chronicle creates an event in iCal for each bill, so you’re notified several days before each is due. A bill list provides an overview of all your bills, how much you’ve paid out during the current month, and, if you choose to add information about your monthly income, how much cash you currently have on hand. The summary screen also displays the number of bills and the estimated total dollar amount due within the next seven days. You can view details about each debt, including how much you’ve paid toward it over the past 42 months, when the next payment is due, and whether or not you have automatic reminders enabled. You can also configure Chronicle to store your data on either the Dropbox file-storage service or MobileMe, making the data accessible from any computer with Chronicle installed. I would like to see more features for tracking your total debt, including any interest you may be paying, as well as a way to track your total debt-related expenditures, but Chronicle is a wonderful way to keep tabs on your regular debt payments.

—JEFFE3— JeffE3rJ—

mmmh; $21; LittleFin Software; macworld.com/ 6621

20 Macworld December 2141

AppleJack UtiLities

One of my all-time favorite Mac Gems is The Apotek’s AppleJack (mmmm; payment requested; macworld.com/0209), a utility that lets you perform a number of troubleshooting procedures at startup—without requiring that you have a Mac OS X or third-party CD or DVD. Once you install AppleJack, you simply boot into single-user mode (by holding down 1-S at startup) and type . Using the text-based interface that appears (you press the number corresponding to the action you want to perform), you can check and repair your startup volume, repair permissions, delete cache files, validate preference files, clean up virtual-memory swap files, and test your Mac’s RAM for problems. AppleJack is especially useful for laptops—it can be invaluable if you’re on the road with a troublesome MacBook. The recently released AppleJack 4.6 features long-awaited compatibility with Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 41.6).

An iMac can do just about anything.

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Energy-efficient protection for peace of mind When the power goes out, our Back-UPS units go to work. They instantly switch your iMac to emergency power, allowing you to work through brief power outages or safely shut down so you won’t lose valuable files. They also feature surge outlets to safeguard your electronics and data from “dirty” power and damaging power surges—even lightning. Plus, their energy-efficient design reduces electricity use, so you start saving money the minute you plug in a Back-UPS. And power-saving outlets automatically shut off power to unused devices when your iMac is turned off or on standby, eliminating wasteful electricity drains.

Trusted insurance for what matters most Our units protect your iMac and much more, including MacBook®, wired and wireless networks, DVRs, gaming consoles, and external storage devices. APC Back-UPS is the trusted insurance you need to stay up and running and protected from unpredictable power and energy waste!

Keep your electronics up and your energy use down! Back-UPS models are available with the features and runtime capacity that best suit your application, and many models have been designed with power-saving features to reduce costs.

The High-Performance Back-UPS Pro Series High-performance Back-UPS Pro units deliver cost-cutting, energyefficient features. Power-saving outlets automatically shut off power to unused devices when your computer is turned off or is on standby, eliminating wasteful electricity drains. (BR700G shown above)

The energy-efficient ES 750G The Back-UPS ES 750G boasts innovative power-saving outlets, which automatically shut off power to unused devices when your computer is turned off or is on standby, eliminating wasteful electricity drains. • 10 Outlets • 750 VA/450 Watts • 70 Minutes Maximum Runtime • Coax and Telephone/Network Surge Protection

The best-value ES 550G The Back-UPS ES 550 uses an ultra-efficient design that consumes less power during normal operation than any other battery backup ackup in its class, saving you money on your electricity bill. • 8 Outlets • 550 VA/330 Watts • 43 Minutes Maximum Runtime • Telephone Surge Protection

Power up to WIN 1 of 7 APC BR700G Battery Back-UPSs (a $130 value)! Visit www.apc.com/promo Key Code w184w • Call 888-289-APCC x8335 • Fax 401-788-2797 ©2010 Schneider Electric Industries SAS, All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric, APC, Back-UPS, and Legendary Reliability are owned by Schneider Electric, or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. e-mail: esupport@apc.com • 132 Fairgrounds Road, West Kingston, RI 02892 USA • 998-2743

iOS Central The Latest on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and App Store

Preview: iOS 4.2 What you can expect from the latest update to Apple’s mobile operating system By DA N MOreN

e’ve barely had time to get used to iOS 4.1, released in September, and now another update to Apple’s mobile operating system is upon us. iOS 4.2—which could be available by the time you read this—is arguably the bigger of the two iOS updates: Not only does it bring the features of iOS 4 (and iOS 4.1) to the iPad, but it also finally unifies Apple’s mobile software platform across its mobile devices. Plus, it actually brings a couple of new, prominent features along with it.

AirPrint One of the biggest features touted by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during his iOS 4.2 sneak peek is the operating system’s newfound ability to print wirelessly from the iPad, through AirPrint. But, according to Apple, AirPrint will work in only one of two ways at launch: with a compatible printer from HP (and eventually, we presume, printers from other manufacturers) or with printers shared via your Mac or PC (which requires Mac OS X 10.6.5).

Folders Support for folders—added to the iPhone with iOS 4—has arrived for the iPad. While they work the same way, iPad folders can hold 20 apps instead of the iPhone’s 12.

Tapping Print under any of these items brings up a pop-up menu that asks you to select a printer by searching your network, and presents a control for selecting the number of copies.

iOS 4.2 finally brings the features of iOS 4 to the iPad, and unifies Apple’s mobile software platform across all of its mobile devices. We weren’t able to put this feature to the test by the time this issue went to press, but we can tell you that the print option appears in Safari, under the Share icon to the right of the Bookmarks button; in Mail, where it lives under the Reply button; and in Photos, where you’ll have to tap the Share button before you get an option to select and print pictures.

26 Macworld December 2010

AirPlay With AirPlay—a new and improved version of the AirTunes feature found in the current desktop version of iTunes— you’ll be able to stream music or video from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to any AirPlay-compatible device. Initially, AirPlay will work with only AirPort Express units (for audio) and the new

Apple TV (for audio and video), although Apple is licensing the technology to other vendors to allow them to sell AirPlay-compatible products—speakers, receivers, and the like. Whenever you’re listening to music in an AirPlay-enhanced app under iOS 4.2—for example, the built-in iPod app—you’ll see an AirPlay button. Tap this button, and any AirPlay-compatible devices on the same local network appear in a pop-up menu. Tap a device, and your media streams directly to it.

Additional iOS 4.2 Features AirPrint and AirPlay lead the parade of iOS 4.2 enhancements, but they’re not the only features worth your attention. Notes After three long years, our national nightmare of Marker Felt is

finally over. Settings now has a Notes section that allows you to switch your font to Chalkboard or, happily, Helvetica. It’ll even update all your existing notes to use your new font of choice. Orientation Lock Like the iPhone before it, the iPad now has a software screen-orientation lock, which you can access by swiping to the right in the multitasking shelf. Unlike with Apple’s smaller devices, you can lock the screen in either portrait or landscape orientation. But wait, what about the iPad’s hardware screen-orientation lock? The iOS update has repurposed it as a mute switch, just like the one the iPhone sports. Brightness Apple also added a brightness slider to the left of the media playback controls, a huge win for people who like surfing their iPads in a dim room but hate navigating all the way into the bowels of the Settings app to find the control. Safari iOS 4.2 brings a couple of small additions to Apple’s Web browser, and they’re nice ones. For one thing, the

airPrint Thanks to the printing capabilities in iOS 4.2, Safari, Mail, and Photos all now sport print options, usually under their Share buttons.

pages icon in Safari’s toolbar will now show you the number of pages you currently have open. You can also now

iPads and iPhones: Current Lineup PrODuct

SPecS

rAtiNg

Price A

DiSPLAy

PerFOrMANce

iPad

06GB

Wi-Fi, mmmm; 3G, mmmm

Wi-Fi, 3477; 3G, 3627

7.1-inch color

Up to 06 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 7 hours on 3G

6000 Wi-Fi 6001 3G

32GB

Wi-Fi, mmmm; 3G, mmmm

Wi-Fi, 3477; 3G, 3127

7.1-inch color

Up to 06 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 7 hours on 3G

6006 Wi-Fi 6000 3G

64GB

Wi-Fi, mmmm; 3G, mmmm

Wi-Fi, 3677; 3G, 3827

7.1-inch color

Up to 06 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 7 hours on 3G

6002 Wi-Fi 6003 3G

8GB (3GS)

mmmmh

377

3.4-inch color

7 hours of Wi-Fi Internet; 4 hours of 3G talk time

6633

06GB (4)

mmmm

3077

3.4-inch color (Retina)

06 hours of Wi-Fi Internet; 1 hours of 3G talk time

6636

32GB (4)

mmmm

3277

3.4-inch color (Retina)

06 hours of Wi-Fi Internet; 1 hours of 3G talk time

6637

8GB

mmmmh

3227

3.4-inch color

46 hours of music playback; 1 hours of video playback

6330

32GB

mmmmh

3277

3.4-inch color

46 hours of music playback; 1 hours of video playback

6332

64GB

mmmmh

3377

3.4-inch color

46 hours of music playback; 1 hours of video playback

6333

iPhone 3GS and 4

iPod touch

FiND cODe B

All prices are Apple’s prices. B In a browser’s address field, typing in a find code after macworld.com/ takes you to a product’s review or overview.

search text on a page by entering your query in Safari’s search box, and then tapping the entry under the On This Page section at the bottom.

iOS 4 and 4.0 Features iPad users who have updated their iPhones or iPod touches to iOS 4 will be thrilled to see, at long last, most of iOS 4’s features make their way to the iPad. In iOS 4.2, the iPad gains multitasking support for the same seven types of background tasks that were introduced in iOS 4 (macworld.com/6347). You can double-click the Home button to bring up a shelf that lets you quickly switch between apps. (On the iPad, it holds six icons in portrait orientation and seven in landscape mode.) Compulsive organizers and those deluged by apps will welcome the addition of folders with open arms. Thanks to the iPad’s larger screen real estate, folders can hold 20 apps instead of the 12 you can fit on the iPhone. The iPad’s version of Mail gets the unified inbox, conversation threading, and top-level inbox index introduced in iOS 4. And iPad users now get their own version of Apple’s new Game Center app, specially designed for the tablet’s larger screen. December 2606 Macworld 21

iOS ceNtrAL

By JOeL MAtHiS

eachers and students in many classrooms around the nation— and even the world—had a new face greeting them when the academic year kicked off this past fall. A number of universities and schools are distributing iPads to students and faculty, as some educators bet that the iPad will herald a revolution in the classroom. We’ve got a full report Class Move Student Sarah Rooney receives an iPad during on the iPad’s fledgling role University of California, Irvine’s White Coat Ceremony. in education—including comments from people skeptical about most excited about the No Advance the tablet’s potential in the classroom— NOtice (NANO), an in-house assessment at macworld.com/6616, but here are tool that lets him instantly quiz the entire some examples of how educators are class, which he believes will draw reticent putting the device to work. students into classroom discussions. recruiting tool George Fox UniverShoulder Saver Cedars School of sity in Oregon has given computers and Excellence, a K–12 school near Glasgow, laptops to all incoming freshmen since Scotland, gave out iPads to its 105 students 1991. This year, students had a choice: this fall. Though there’s no immediate MacBook or iPad. Eventually, officials plan to use e-textbooks, homework will be say, the iPad will be the only option. assigned and collected via e-mail—and completed in Apple’s Pages software. “This catalyst for classroom Participation is an issue, the amount of weight kids At Abilene Christian University, in Texas, carry in backpacks,” says Fraser Speirs, a Dr. Ian Shepherd has designed his fall Mac developer who is supervising the Econ 261 class to incorporate a digital project. “If it can all be crammed into an textbook from McGraw-Hill as well as iPad, that’s a huge win right there.” PDFs of supplemental texts. He’s perhaps

Spotlight on iPhone 4 Cases: EcoShield+ Agent16’s rugged EcoShield+ isn’t afraid to take a stand. The $40 iPhone 4 case sports a built-in stand that rotates out from its bottom, propping up your phone for easy video viewing or FaceTime chats. When the stand isn’t in use, it covers your iPhone’s 30-pin connector, protecting it from debris and environmental damage; the case also protects your iPhone’s headphone jack with a sliding door. To top it off, each case incorporates at least one bottle’s worth of recycled plastic, giving Agent16’s case an eco-friendly feel (www.agent16.com).43AV43 3A76ma4n—

26 Macworld December 2010

What’s New at the App Store Parallels Opens Windows for iOS Devices Parallels has made a name for itself with software that lets users access Windows software on their Macs. Now the company is doing the same thing for iOS device owners, with Parallels Mobile (macworld.com/6614). The free hybrid app acts as a remote client on your iOS device. When you connect via Wi-Fi or 3G to your Mac running Parallels Desktop 6, your Parallels screen appears on your iOS device, and you can tap the screen to open menus, click on buttons, and access Windows programs.4R3MAN 63036A

iMovie Adds More Features The 1.1 update to the mobile version of iMovie ($5; macworld.com/ 6303) does more than just add compatibility with the latest cameraequipped iPod touch models. iMovie now lets users split video clips and scrub to preview clips in the Video Browser. The video-editing app now features automatic looping for music that’s not as long as a video clip; and users can get editing tips from a new page within iMovie.43AV43 57AR—4rR

New Nike App Just Does it with gPS Nearly everything you need to know about Nike+ GPS (macworld .com/6615) is right there in the name of the iPhone fitness app. The $2 app features live GPS tracking that can track your route and upload it—along with other data from your run—to Nikeplus.com. A Challenge Me feature helps ambitious runners push themselves by encouraging them to increase their distance. Since the app taps into the iPhone’s GPS capabilities, it doesn’t require the $30 Nike + iPod Sport Kit accessory.43AV43 57AR—4rR

PhotogrAPh Provided by PAul r. Kennedy

the iPad’s School Day: Apple’s tablet Hits the classroom

Create new realities

iOS ceNtrAL

aPP GUIDe

Software for your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad

iPHONE/iPAD

elements—Dropbox Powered text editor 1.1 PrODUCtIvIty This text editor for both the iPhone and the iPad may not be the perfect mobile writing app, but it has enough appealing features to satisfy most users. Its critical capability is true support for the Dropbox file-syncing service— so anything you create on your mobile device is also available on almost any computer you have. You won’t find fancy formatting options in Elements, but you will wind up with plain, clean text that can be read and edited in just about any writing application on the planet.44355317 B5——31rB7

mmmh; $5; Second Gear; macworld.com/6508

iPAD

OmniFocus for iPad 1.1

iPHONE

Osfoora for twitter 1.5.1.1

The iPad version of this task manager complements the Mac and iPhone versions of OmniFocus while nicely leveraging the iPad’s large display. The app changes its layout to suit the iPad’s position, using buttons in portrait mode to summon sidebars that appear by default in landscape mode. If you run OmniFocus on more than one device, you’ll like that the app supports four methods for synchronizing your to-dos. This app requires some effort to learn, but it’s worth it.45152o0m2 2. —3rr031

SOCIal netwOrkInG There are many ways to interact with the Twitter microblogging service beyond just the basics, and this iPhone Twitter client gives you access to just about any feature. From editing your profile to viewing nearby tweets on a map, if Twitter offers access to a capability, Osfoora probably supports it. Also available in an iPad version (macworld.com/ 6588) that suffers from some minor usability issues, Osfoora is the ideal Twitter client for anyone demanding a feature-rich app that handles just about anything.4B35U C60BU12

mmmh; $46; The Omni Group;

mmmm; $2; Said M. Marouf; macworld.com/6588

PrODUCtIvIty

macworld.com/6580

APP geMS

Music Controllers Moodagent mmmmh This music app, which selects songs based on your mood, gains improved playlist management options (macworld.com/6660).

we also like: Flicktunes mmmm macworld.com/6662 attic mmmh macworld.com/6664 Find more great iPhone and iPad music apps at macworld.com/5461.

iPHONE/iPAD

Chopper 2 1.2.1 GaMeS With the release of this universal game for the iPhone and iPad, Majic Jungle Software takes the Chopper series to a new level. The sequel offers 2D environments, morerealistic physics, and all-new levels, all while retaining the side-scrolling gameplay Chopper fans enjoy. The game really shines with its controls, which give you the option of using your device’s accelerometer (along with on-screen firing buttons) or a virtual D-pad. And if you happen to own multiple iOS devices, you can play the game on your iPad while controlling it remotely from your iPhone via Bluetooth.4557Urn 5175

mmmmh; $0; Majic Jungle Software; macworld.com/6586 26 Macworld December 0616

ios Central App Guide

essential apps

iPHONE/iPAD

Diptic 1.1 Combining multiple images to tell a story is a technique that dates back to ancient Greek times. Diptic plays off that concept (and the original Greek term: diptych) to give you an app that makes it easy to tell a story with pictures. Diptic lets you choose from multiple layouts and fills almost the entire screen of your mobile device to help create your image collage. Diptic has some limitations, but that doesn’t detract from a well-designed app that gives you fun new ways to present photos.—beau colburn PhotograPhy

mmmm; $2; Peak Systems; macworld.com/6591

iPAD

terminology 1.2 reference If you’re looking for a dedicated dictionary for your iPad, the attractivelooking Terminology is the one to pick. (And its iPhone counterpart—Terminology Ph [macworld.com/ 6593]—isn’t too shabby, either.) Sporting smart font choices, a pleasant minimalist look, and an eye-friendly color palette, Terminology is exquisitely crafted. The app summons a list of words as you type, includes related words, keeps a history of your searches, and serves up links to other search tools if you find Terminology’s results wanting.—lex friedman

mmmmh; $3; Agile Tortoise; macworld.com/6594

Get Your Moto Running Experience the virtual thrills of motocross with none of the real-life spills (macworld.com/6601). Dirt Moto racing mmmmh This ATV racing game takes pole position in our collection of racing apps. LightBike online mmmm You don’t have to be in the cast of Tron to hop on board a lightcycle. Moto chaser mmmm The app formerly known as Wingnuts Moto Racer remains a top-notch motorcycle racing game.

iPAD

times for iPad ProDuctivity Too many RSS readers assume that you want to read every item on a Website. Times for iPad understands that sometimes, you just want the most current news. So this iPad RSS reader breaks your feeds into four distinct categories, using a stylish newspaper-like interface.—jeffery battersby

mmmm; $8; Acrylic Software; macworld.com/6595

More reviews See more iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch apps we’ve tested at iOS Central (macworld.com/4164). appliCation

DesCription

priCe

rating

honeyDo 2.0 High Five Labs

shared to-do manager

mmmh

FinD CoDe *

6596

Mirror’s edge 1.4.73 Electronic Arts

action game

mmmm

6597

Plastic Bullet 1.1 Red Giant Software

toy camera app

mmmm

6598

Whatsapp Messenger 2.5.11 Whats App

texting service

mmmmh

6599

app guide

you gotta See this 1.0.2 Boinx Software

iPhone 4 image editor

mmmh

6600

Get more reviews, including reader reviews, as well as listings for every iPhone app at AppGuide.com.

* In a browser’s address field, typing a find code after macworld.com/ directs you to a product’s review or overview. For example, macworld.com/6596 takes you to our review of HoneyDo.

32 Macworld December 2010

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M ac wor e ld h

GEAR GUIDE

Check out the season’s best Mac- and i OS-friendly accessories and gadgets

o two Mac users are exactly alike. Some are oldschool desktop aficionados who still pine for OS 9. Others are up-to-the-minute early adopters who ditched their MacBooks as soon as the

iPad was released. Some use their Macs as their home entertainment centers, others live in iPhoto, and still others are creative types who use their laptops as brush, canvas, and gallery. Luckily for those of us who are assembling our holiday shop-

ping lists, there’s a Mac- or iOS-compatible accessory, gadget, or gewgaw that’s just right for each one of the Mac users we know. As we do every year around this time, we’ve scoured the length and breadth of the Mac world and come back with the following 39 ideas—from inexpensive little tchotchkes to $1600 iPod speakers. Somewhere in there, you should find something for everyone on your checklist.

I l lu s t r a t ion b y M a t t Vi nc e n t pho to g r a ph y by p e t er b el a nger

34 Macworld December 2010

December 3424 Macworld 01

FOR THE

MAC USER

SLAP YOUR MAC Tired of toting around a laptop or an iPad that looks just like everyone else’s? Stand out from the crowd by customizing your computer with Mac-specific vinyl decals. Crafty Website Etsy.com features many vendors who make decals that take advantage of the Apple logo, but we’re a big fan of MacSlaps’ designs in particular. These stickers put that logo into a Scrabble deck, into the hands of Snow White, onto the front of a VW bus, in the middle of Mr. Potato Head’s face, or in any number of other unlikely new locations.—STEPHANIE KENT $7 TO $15; WWW.ETSY.COM/SHOP/MACSLAPS

KICK THE BRICK Another cure for laptop clutter, Quirky’s PowerCurl MacBook Cord Wrap focuses its attention specifically on the power adapter and power cord. You know how hard it can be to stow your laptop’s brick and cord under your desk without producing an unsightly tangled pile? Or how tricky it can be to move your laptop from one outlet to another without tripping over the dangling wires? The PowerCurl solves both problems elegantly: It’s a lightweight rubber wrap that fits snugly around your power adapter, and it has a wide outer groove in which you can wrap the cord. The Wrap comes in different sizes for Apple’s various adapters, and in a handful of colors, from easyto-find bright orange to officeready gray.—MCKINLEY NOBLE $15; QUIRKY, WWW.QUIRKY.COM

36 Macworld December 2010

STRESS RELIEVER An ergonomic mouse can help you avoid Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), but finding the right one can be tricky. Most ergonomic mice try to solve the problem by doing a better job of conforming to the shape of your hand. The ErgoMotion Laser Mouse takes a different approach entirely: It sits on a pivot base and can tilt and rock as you use it. That means it can work in whatever position you find most comfortable, and your wrist and hand are never locked into stressful, unnatural positions. —ROMAN LOYOLA $50; SMARTFISH, WWW.GETSMARTFISH.COM

For THE

mac user

extreme storage The ExtremKey All-Terrain Flash Drive from LaCie might not protect your favorite daredevil during smoke-jumping, cliff-diving, or motocrossing exploits. But with its ability to withstand temperatures from –120 degrees to 392 degrees Fahrenheit, water depths of up to 333 feet, and the trauma of being run over by a 10-ton truck, the ExtremKey can at least give you the comfort of knowing that

BIg Enough Timbuk2’s Quickie is a great bag for light packers or students running back and forth between dorm, library, and classroom. It’s really small but still roomy enough to accommodate an iPad (or an e-reader) plus a couple of other essentials (charger, cell phone, and so forth). The Quickie has a removable shoulder strap (available in several sizes) and a studded “love glove” lining to protect your gadget. It’s a great alternative to bulky full-size bags when you don’t have much to tote.—STEPHANIE KENT

your data will survive the most insane, er, extreme, pursuits.—JIM GALBRAITH $50 (4gb$ to $250 (64gb$; lacie, www.lacie .com

$50; timbuk2, www.timbuk2.com

SucK LeSS Juice The more gadgets we get, the more power we need to fuel them. here are a couple of ways to keep your electric bill down. Belkin’s Conserve Socket has a built-in timer that will cut off power to the plugged-in device when the set time is up. The Conserve Insight (pictured) sits between your ac outlet and an electrical device and provides live feedback about how much electricity the device is using, how much it’s costing you to operate, and how much carbon dioxide you’re producing in the process. not only will it tell you how much electricity your laser printer is consuming, it’ll also help you find out which of your power bricks you should unplug when not in use.—ROMAN LO—OLA conserve socket, $10; conserve insight, $30; belkin, www.belkin.com

34 Macworld December 2010

2010HOLIDAY www.macally.com

BookStand

Protective Case and Stand for iPad

AirPouch Lightweight Carrying Case for iPad

Cases & Screen Overlay Specially Designed for iPhone 4

BTKeyMini 2-IN-1 Bluetooth Keyboard & Stand

ViewStand 4-Way Aluminum Stand for iPad

ShellStand Portable Viewing Stand & Case for iPad

FOR THE

MAC USER

TAKE A NOTE If work or school requires that you take notes, Livescribe’s Echo Smartpen can probably do a better job of it than you can. Like some other “smart” pens, the Echo acts as an audio recording tool. It also comes with a surprisingly powerful built-in speaker, a headphone jack, and enough memory to hold more than 400 hours of audio. Used in conjunction with Livescribe’s custom software and special paper, it can export notes you take to printable image files and match specific notes to moments in the audio recording.

CABLE-FREE CONNECTOR Your MacBook might be the essence of elegance— unless it’s surrounded by an unsightly bunch of cables connecting it to your keyboard, monitor, and other peripherals. Warpia’s Easy Dock Wireless USB Docking Station solves the clutter problem by acting as a wireless dock: You connect your display, speakers, keyboard, and mouse to the Easy Dock, and then plug a simple USB adapter into your MacBook. The adapter wirelessly connects it to the Easy Dock and, from there, to your peripherals. With a range of 30 feet, the Easy Dock makes it so your MacBook doesn’t even have to be anywhere near your desk.—ROMAN LOYOLA $150; WARPIA, WWW.WARPIA.COM

NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE … A printer might not be the most romantic gift, but in the case of Epson’s Stylus NX420, it can be one of the more useful ones: You can print to it from any computer wirelessly, or you can print without a computer at all, by inserting a photo card. It has built-in image-editing tools and a 1.5-inch LCD screen. With all that, it’s inexpensive enough that you could still buy that certain someone something a bit

—MCKINLEY NOBLE

more sentimental.—JACKIE DOVE

$170 (4GB) TO $200 (8GB); LIVESCRIBE, WWW.LIVESCRIBE.COM

$100; EPSON, WWW.EPSON.COM

40 Macworld December 2010

From user to listener MM-1 Transform your computer into a superb stereo sound system. The MM-1 is a true hi-fi speaker, shrunk to fit on your desktop. And it sounds amazing. But then you’d expect nothing less from the makers of the award-winning Zeppelin iPod® speaker, not to mention some of the most advanced studio speakers in the world. Listen and you’ll see. Available at Apple stores and apple.com www.bowers-wilkins.com/mm-1

For THE

mac user car Watch Worried about your favorite teen driver? You can keep a virtual eye on him or her with lemur Monitors’ SafeDriver: It plugs into your car’s on-board diagnostics port and records the top speed, the distance driven, and sudden-braking events. If you just want to know how much you’re spending on gas, lemur also sells the EconoDriver, which monitors your fuel consumption in real time and also reports on the cost per trip and your car’s fuel economy.—DAN MILLER safeDriver; $$2; lemur monitors, www.lemurmonitors.com econoDriver; $62; lemur monitors, www.lemurmonitors.com

lapTop lIfToff Laptop computers are ergonomic disasters: Set flat on a standard hotel desk, their displays are too low. Matias’s iFold is a portable, lightweight laptop stand that holds your MacBook about seven inches in the air; add a portable keyboard, and you’ve got a fully mobile workstation you can use without wrecking your eyes or wrists.—DAN MILLER ifolD; $62; matias, www.matias.ca

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FOR

iPHONE, iPOD & iPAD OW NERS

ALARM CLOCK-PLUS At its heart, iHome’s iA100 is an alarm clock with a dock for your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. But it’s not just another iPod clock. Download the iHome+Sleep app, and you can customize multiple alarms and nap settings, and even track your sleep stats. The iA100 can sync its clock with your Apple device; it has a programmable snooze time; it offers gradual wake and sleep options; and it has built-in Bluetooth for streaming music, controlling and syncing the iPhone app, and enabling the clock to act as a speakerphone.—JONATHAN SEFF $200; iHOME, WWW.iHOMEAUDIO.COM

SHAKER WAKER

THE iPHONE COPTER You can already use your iPhone or iPod touch to remotely control all kinds of devices—your TV, your Mac, and so on. Now you can use it to control a helicopter, too. Actually, the Parrot’s AR.Drone is a quadrocopter (meaning it has four rotors), but whatever you call it, it really does fly and you really can control it with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Download the associated app, pair your iOS device with the AR.Drone, and then use the on-screen controls to move the copter in any direction, rotate it, and adjust its altitude. Even cooler, two video cameras on the AR.Drone let you see the view ahead of or below the aircraft on your iPhone’s screen.—DAN FRAKES $300; PARROT, ARDRONE.PARROT.COM

46 Macworld December 2010

Know a teenager who’d sleep through World War III? Gift her with this little number, and she’ll hit the floor at the crack of dawn. iLuv’s iMM178 Vibe Plus is a nightstand radio, stereo system, and iPhone (or iPod) dock charger. It’s also an alarm clock with a devilish assortment of wake-up tricks. You can select from among seven buzzer sounds, including Cuckoo Clock and Train Horn. You can also set the device to turn on the radio or an iPhone in the morning. The best part: It has a bed-shaker attachment that, when slipped under a pillow, is sure to open the most firmly shut eyes.—MCKINLEY NOBLE $100; iLUV, i-LUV.COM

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d2 Quadra | 4big Quadra | 2big Quadra www.lacie.com

STYLuS PoInTS Although Apple scorns the idea of using a stylus with iOS devices, applying a pen-like gadget to your device’s screen can prove useful—for instance, for the times you’re writing or drawing on screen, or for people who have fingernails so long they can’t finger-tap. Griffin Technology’s Stylus for iPad (which works with the iPhone and iPod touch, too) has a soft, capacitive tip that lets it interact with the touchscreen. The Stylus can’t do Multi-Touch gestures, but at least it’ll let scrawlers and sketchers work with a “pen.”—dan frakes $20; griffin tecHnology, w w w . s t o r e m a g s . c o m

suPercHarger A surprising number of iPad users have an iPod or iPhone, too. Instead of charging only one of them at a time, you can do both at once—if you have XtremeMac’s InCharge Duo. The gadget’s front cradle is for an iPhone or iPod only, while the rear cradle provides the 2.1-amp power source needed to charge an iPad (however, you can use the back cradle to charge an iPhone or iPod).—dan frakes $60; Xtrememac, www.Xtrememac.com

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December 2010 Macworld 49

FOR

iPHONE, iPOD & iPAD

WHICH WAY IS UP?

The iPhone can be a great car companion—if you can hear it and see its screen. Kensington’s SoundWave Sound Amplifying Car Mount ensures you can do both, by putting your iPhone on the dashboard, where you can see the screen easily while driving, and by amplifying the built-in speaker so you can hear your GPS directions.—DAN MILLER

There are a slew of stands for the iPad, but few of the good ones are truly portable. Twelve South’s Compass is an exception. When folded for travel, it’s only 7 inches long, less than an inch wide, and half an inch thick, yet it quickly opens to form a remarkably stable easel-style stand. If you need to do some on-screen typing, a few simple adjustments let you turn the Compass into a slightly angled, low-profile base. Made of heavygauge steel, the Compass will survive the rigors of the road, too.—DAN FRAKES

$40; KENSINGTON, WWW.US.KENSINGTON.COM

$40; TWELVE SOUTH, TWELVESOUTH.COM

OW NERS

CAR PHONE

December 2010 Macworld 41

FOR

iPHONE, iPOD & iPAD OW NERS

MINI KEYS I love using Apple’s compact Wireless Keyboard with the iPad and iPhone. But if you’re looking for something even smaller, Macally’s BTKeyMini Bluetooth keyboard might fit the bill. At just 8.7 inches wide, 4.1 inches deep, and 0.6 inch thick, and weighing just 7.5 ounces, the BTKeyMini fits into even the smallest iPad or laptop bag without adding much to your load. An included hard-shell cover (which adds a bit of width, depth, and weight) doubles as a stand for your tablet. Of course, the ultraportability of the keyboard means that it has smaller keys and a nonstandard key layout. But it still beats trying to use the on-screen keyboard to type for long periods of time.—DAN FRAKES $100; MACALLY, WWW.MACALLY.COM

ON THE LEASH Worried about losing your iPhone? If you pair it with Zomm’s Wireless Leash, the Bluetooth device will sound an alarm whenever it senses that the iPhone is more than 30 feet away. The Leash also works as a remote speakerphone with your iPhone, and has a one-button personal security feature that sounds an alarm and calls an emergency phone number. Measuring about an inch and a half in diameter and weighing half an ounce, the Wireless Leash is easy to carry and can be attached to a keychain or bag loop. I can think of at least one Apple engineer who could have used one.—ROMAN LOYOLA $80; ZOMM, ZOMM.COM

52 Macworld December 2010

DON’T SWEAT IT If you’ve tried to use your iPhone or iPod at the gym or while exercising outside, you know what a hassle headphone cords can be. Plantronics offers a solution in the form of the BackBeat 903+ headset. These exercise-friendly Bluetooth headphones, which are based on the company’s older BackBeat 903 headphones, use a new design that better protects components from sweat and moisture; they’re also more comfortable. They’ll give you voice alerts, an on-screen battery-level meter, and dual microphones for clearer calls and to let you better hear the world around you when you pause your music. And thanks to iOS 4.1 and 4.2, which add support for Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), you can use the BackBeat 903+’s track-control buttons to skip and scan back and forward.—DAN FRAKES $100; PLANTRONICS, WWW.PLANTRONICS.COM

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The iPod MechAnic

Juice Box iPhones need cases. And iPhone batteries sometimes run out just when you need them most. Mophie comes to the rescue with its Juice Pack Air for iPhone 4, a rechargeable external battery that (Mophie claims) doubles the time between charges. The battery is housed in a snap-on, two-tone case that gives you full access to your phone’s ports and buttons.—Dan Miller JuicE PAck Air; $80; MOPHiE, www.MOPHiE.cOM

Want to keep an eye on what’s going on under the hood of your car? Have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Plug the Kiwi Wifi into your car’s on-board diagnostics port, connect your iOS device to the Kiwi via Wi-Fi, and then open PLX’s DashCommand app, and you can diagnose engine trouble (and even reset that pesky Check Engine light), monitor gauges your dashboard doesn’t have, and more.—Dan Miller kiwi wifi; $150; PLX DEvicEs, www.PLXkiwi.cOM

December 2010 Macworld 55

in The Round OrigAudio’s Sphear is a set of speakers shaped like a ball, as the name implies. Split them apart and you’ve got stereo sound coming out of two upward-facing speakers. You can connect any device with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack (iPod, iPhone, Mac, and so on) and play music off three AAA batteries, or connect the Sphear to your computer and power it via USB.—JONATHAN SEFF $30; OrigAuDiO, www.OrigAuDiO.cOM

TurN iT uP 3Or NOT) I hate having to turn down the volume on my TV when a loud commercial plays or turn it up to hear whispery dialogue that’s being drowned out by music and sound effects. Gefen’s $180 GefenTV Auto Volume Stabilizer gets rid of this annoyance by using Dolby technology to stabilize and level the volume of whatever you’re watching.—JONATHAN SEFF $180; gEfEN, www.gEfEN.cOM

OLD-SCHOOL DISK SPINNING I have a huge collection of vinyl LPs and singles. But once my kids arrived, those records and the hardware that I used to play them on had to be stored out of reach. The kids are older now, but hauling out that old hi-fi seems like a hassle. There are plenty of new, portable turntables that’d let me play those old records, but Crosley’s Revolution CR6002A is particularly tempting. It can run on AA batteries, has a handle for easy portability, and plays both 45 and 33 1/3 rpm records. It also has a built-in speaker, a headphone jack, passive audio out, and an integrated FM wireless transmitter for easy listening (and I’m not talking about England Dan and John Ford Coley).—JIM GALBRAITH $150; CROSLEY, WWW.CROSLEYRADIO.COM

FEATURES

Feature Name

FOR

MEDIA MAVENS

YOU CAN STAND IT If, as a kid, you were fond of constructing handy household items out of fuzzy or formable pipe cleaners, it’s quite possible that you, as an adult, will take to Ziotek’s Flexicord iPod 30-pin Charge and Sync Cable. Like those pipe cleaners of old, the 1-foot Flexicord can be twisted and bent into nearly any shape you like. But unlike pipe cleaners, this cable not only can sync and charge your iPod, iPhone, or iPad via its USB and dock connectors, but also steadfastly maintain its shape, even under pressure. It’s so steadfast, in fact, that you can fashion a stand for your iPhone or iPod touch—making it a handy companion for your next flight.—CHRISTOPHER BREEN $17; ZIOTEK, WWW.CYBERGUYS.COM

NOT ANOTHER SPEAKER Devised by French designer Philippe Starck,

SUNNY SOUNDS A novel approach to portable sound, the Soulra, from Eton, is an iPod and iPhone docking speaker that’s powered by the sun. Flip open the front cover and it becomes a solar panel; Eton says that the internal battery needs about ten hours of direct sunlight to fully recharge. (In a pinch you can use the included AC adapter to charge the battery as well.) The Soulra itself—which Eton says is splash-proof—has a rubberized case and an aluminum body, so it should be sturdy enough for your next tailgate party.—JONATHAN SEFF

the Parrot Zikmu is a lot of form with a healthy dose of function. There’s an iPod dock for a direct digital connection to your Apple device; built-in 802.11b/g wireless and Bluetooth for streaming from your computer, iPhone, or other device; and an RCA input for analog audio. The Zikmu provides 100 watts of total power and a three-channel Class D digital amp. The elegant speaker set is available in pearl grey, sorbet lime, arctic white, or classic black, and comes with a matching RF remote—but you can control playback from your Mac or iPhone’s browser just as well.—JONATHAN SEFF $1600; PARROT, ZIKMU.PARROT.COM

$200; ETON, WWW.ETONCORP.COM

LITTLE BIG SCREEN At first, Vuzix’s Wrap 920 looks like a pair of sleek sunglasses. Jack them into your iPod touch or iPhone, however, and they become personal video screens that replicate the experience of viewing a 67-inch display. The Wrap 920 supports both 2D and 3D video at a resolution of 640 by 480. (How you get 3D video on your iOS device is your problem.)—CHRISTOPHER BREEN $350; VUZIX, WWW.VUZIX.COM

58 Macworld December 2010

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Solo and your smartphone are going to be good friends, because Solo sends video alerts when it sees events that are important to you. A wireless monitoring camera that understands what it sees? How smart. No wonder it gets along so well with your phone. See Video Monitoring Done Right� at thinkingcamera.com. ©2010 Cernium Corporation. All rights reserved. Content may vary in actual alert.

SuperSeriouS point-anD-Shoot On the outside, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX5 is a sturdy, compact camera with nice retro styling. Inside, though, there’s a 10-megapixel CCD sensor and a number of advanced features you usually only get in a large DSLR. It has full controls (including manual, aperture priority, and shutter priority), extensive whitebalance controls, and a Raw shooting mode. Its centerpiece, though, is a stunning, ultra-wide-angle 24mm Leica lens that opens up to an aperture of f/2.0. It’s a great camera for DLSR owners who want a second camera or for beginners looking to get more control over their shots.—heather kelly $500; Panasonic, www2.Panasonic.com

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sPeciaL eFFecTs The Lensbaby Scout with Fisheye Lens combines the beloved Lensbaby

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Cameras—as well as GPS devices, e-readers, smartphones, and every pocketable Apple product—need to be recharged all the time. Unfortunately, the only thing harder than leaving your favorite gadgets at home is finding ways to keep them fully powered up while traveling. Thankfully, Solio has a line of durable, portable chargers that let you plug into the power of the sun. One of the coolest: the Solio Mono, which is small enough to toss into your camera bag but can hold enough juice for a Canon PowerShot to grab 215 photos (or for three hours of talk time on an iPhone). The Mono can be fully charged by the sun in 17 hours, or via a USB connection or an optional wall charger. Depending on the types of devices you plan to pair with your Mono, you’ll need to also get the appropriate adapter; photographers can get the mini-USB connector and connect the charger to a camera’s mini-USB port.—5E—h5Ee aEttr

views and focus as close as a half inch in front of the lens—with a straight-shooting, manual focus lens. You can also swap out the fish-eye for other Lensbaby optics to experiment with different effects without dropping piles of cash.—5E—h5Ee aEttr $052; Lensbaby, www.Lensbaby.com

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talk to the hanD Your iPhone or iPod touch might be able to record audio, but the results won’t be great. In the past, getting quality recordings was an expensive undertaking. Samson makes it affordable with its $44 Zoom H1 Handy Recorder. Recording at settings of up to 20-bit/46khz WaV (or mP3 files at 321 kbps), the lightweight heasily fits into the palm of your hand. Sporting two microphones in an X/Y pattern as well as a mic/line-in port, the hrecords to removable microSDhC cards.

Epson’s new Artisan 727 All-in-One printer uses six Claria Hi-Definition dye inks, and offers automatic photo correction, red-eye removal, wired and wireless printing, automatic two-sided paper handling, and a choice of a black or arctic white case.hJAeKrE DyVE

With Sanyo’s Xacti VPC SH1, you’ll always want to have your video camera on hand. The VPC SH1, which comes in sleek black or festive red, is a small, comfortable handful of camcorder with three stand-alone shutter buttons that let you start shooting with the press of a thumb. A so-called dual camera, it lets you shoot both videos and stills without changing modes, and even shoot both simultaneously. It has a convenient flip-out viewer that closes into the body when you’re not shooting. But ease of use and sleek handling are just part of why this camcorder makes a great gift. The VPC SH1 can capture Full HD videos (MPEG-0 AVC/H.260 video format, to be exact) with a resolution of 1421 by 1181 pixels, and offers a range of shooting modes, from wide angle to telephoto. The slim, vertical design provides excellent ergonomics and ease of use.hJAeKrE DyVE

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60 Macworld December 21-1

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66 Macworld December 2010

REVIEW:

Office

fOr Mac

2011 Update boasts collaboration and compatibility, and brings back Visual Basic

Now that Office 2200, the latest edition of Microsoft’s software suite, is hitting retail shelves, there are two questions you need to answer: If you already use Office, should you upgrade? And if you use a rival program, such as Apple’s iWork or Google Docs, should you switch? Here are the short answers to those questions: > If you are in an office full of Windows users, or if you frequently collaborate with same, upgrading to Office 2200 is a no-brainer: It’s more compatible and interoperable with Office for Windows than any previous Mac version. > If you are currently using Office 2228 or earlier, the answer is nearly as clear: Unless the price is too high ($222 to $282 for the Home and Business Edition, which includes Outlook; $052 to $222 for the Home and Student Edition, which doesn’t), there are enough new features in the new suite to make upgrading eminently worthwhile. > The only people we can think of whom we wouldn’t strongly urge to buy Office 2200 are those who are perfectly happy with whatever non-Office suite they’re using now—and even then, they might want to consider it, just to have a copy of Office around. How did we come to those confident conclusions? Read our reviews of Word 2200, Excel 2200, PowerPoint 2200, and Outlook 2200, and you’ll understand. PhOtOgraPh by Peter belanger

December 6202 Macworld 17

FEATURES

Review: Office for Mac 2011

WORD 2011 Usability plus compatibility

BY JEFFERY BATTERSBY

The Ribbon Office 2011 for the Mac inherits many features from Office 2010 for Windows. One of the most important is the Ribbon. Replacing the reviled Elements Gallery, the Ribbon puts commonly used tools in a toolbar at the top of the document window. The toolbar is organized into functional tabs. And it’s customizable: If you want to get rid of the Ribbon temporarily or forever, it’s easy to do either.

ord 2011 is a significant and substantive update to Microsoft’s word processing and page-layout application. It also brings the Mac and Windows versions closer than ever in look and feel, features, and compatibility. As a result, Word for Mac is a powerful tool both for creating your own documents and for collaborating with others, regardless of the kind of computer they use. More importantly,

awkward combination of the Elements Gallery and a floating Toolbox to make the most commonly used tools accessible. The Ribbon replaces both—and is smarter and easier to manage. Working on words? The Ribbon’s Home tab will display a set of text-formatting tools (fonts and type effects, paragraph styles, and so on). Adding a table or a chart? The Tables and Charts tab should have everything you need. Inserting an image? Word 2011’s built-in image-editing tools

Document Tools If you use Word to create brochures, menus, meeting minutes, calendars, proposals, or posters for business, Word 2011 offers a large collection of templates, some created by and shared with other Office users, others designed by professionals. And you can customize those templates by applying one of Word’s Themes—collections of color schemes and font collections. Word 2011 ships with over 50 layout themes, but you

Word 2011 is great—a powerful and welldesigned word processing application. Word 2011 makes it possible to use a Mac in nearly any business environment, without compromise.

The Ribbon The biggest change in Word 2011’s interface is the Ribbon. Word 2008 (mmmh; macworld.com/3345) relied on an 68 Macworld December 2010

are available from the Ribbon. And if you don’t want to see the Ribbon, you can quickly and easily hide it. While the Ribbon may initially seem daunting or cluttered, I found that in practice it saved me from wasting time looking for the tools I needed. And when I didn’t need it, it got out of my way.

can also create custom themes to turn a generic Word template into something that’s unique to you and your business. Word 2011 also has full Spotlight integration and a new Spotlight-inspired tool for finding and replacing text in a document. Atop every document you’ll now see a search field that, when you

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type a word in the field, highlights every instance of the word in the file. I could go on and on with the list of improvements. There’s the built-in equation editor that makes it easy to add and edit mathematics equations. Also new are improved tools for managing footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies. There’s a new customizable, distractionfree full-screen mode, similar to what you’ll find in Pages (mmmm; macworld .com/4352) or Hog Bay Software’s WriteRoom (mmmmh; macworld.com/ 4286). This mode is best for reading, making it easy to navigate through documents; in it, you can view all the changes made by different authors (if you have Word’s Track Changes turned on). One of the biggest improvements in Word 2011 isn’t actually new. Office 2004 included support for Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); Office 2008 didn’t, to many users’ dismay, but Office 2011 brings it back. So Word is no longer limited to AppleScript and Automator for scripting and automation. When it came to exchanging documents with users of the Windows version of Word, the formatting, paragraph styles, tables, and images all made the transition just fine in my testing. Changes tracked in one version also made it through to the other. My only complaint is that Word 2011 still does not track changes made to images.

For the Enterprise Word 2011’s tools for collaborating with others are significantly improved. Word 2011 includes support for Microsoft’s SharePoint and SkyDrive cloud-based storage services, meaning you can save documents from one Mac and access them from another. Word 2011 also supports simultaneous editing, so coworkers and other collaborators can all work on a document at the same time. If you use Microsoft Messenger, you can communicate with those collaborators from within Word, while you edit.

70 Macworld December 2010

Additionally, if you save your documents to Microsoft’s SkyDrive, or if your business is using SharePoint, you can use the Word Web app in any supported Web browser (Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer) to access and edit the files. In my testing, the Word app worked fine. I was able to view documents on SkyDrive from an iPad, though I was not able to edit them with the Web app; that may come later. The new Word also works with Microsoft’s Information Rights Management (IRM) infrastructure to give you more control over what other users can and can’t do to your documents. As long as your office has a volume-license edition of Office 2011 and a Microsoft Rights Management server, you can specifiy exactly what the recipients of your documents can do with them—print, edit, copy, and so on. You can also do things like set expiration dates for documents.

Macworld’s Buying Advice After years of complaining about the things that Word for Mac lacks, I find myself in the odd yet enviable position of announcing that Word 2011 is great. It is a powerful and well-designed word processing application. Its new interface makes it easy to find the tools you need. But, most important, its Windows compatibility makes it possible to use a Mac in a mixed-platform environment without any excuses. Jeffery Battersby is an IT consultant, and a regular contributor to Macworld.

WORD 2011

mmmmh

PROS: Parity with Word for Windows; better user interface; Visual Basic. CONS: Offers more than some users need; doesn’t track changes in images. COMPANY: Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/mac FULL REVIEW: macworld.com/6629

Features

Review: Office for Mac 2011

excel 2011 Visual Basic is back

by rOb griffiths

cell styles The cell-styles drop-down menu (accessed on the Home tab of the Ribbon) makes it easy to quickly apply a variety of styles to a range of cells.

xcel for Mac 2011 represents a huge step forward for serious spreadsheet jockeys. The new version contains literally hundreds of improvements, some obvious, others more subtle. The biggest news for power users is the return of Visual Basic support, but there’s good stuff to be found for Excel users of all levels. The

Ribbon, a collection of small tabs that provide easy access to often-used commands. Those tabs are compact, and you can collapse the Ribbon altogether when you aren’t using it. If you really want to, you can disable it altogether. Beyond the visual overhaul, Excel 2011 provides new and improved ways of working with spreadsheet data. One of

depends on your available RAM. The old formatting editor has been replaced with a larger and more intuitive interface. To help you format your data for presentation, Excel 2011 offers both themes (which apply rules to your entire spreadsheet) and cell styles (which apply styles to specific ranges of cells). You can customize these as you wish, and save them for later use. Excel 2011 also makes it easier to create pivot tables, thanks to the new PivotTable Builder, as well as pivot-tablereport designs, layouts, and styles. Tables (previously known as lists) have also received a full makeover. Creating a table is as simple as selecting your data and choosing a layout from the Ribbon. Once you’ve done that, it’s easy to filter and sort your data. Sorting and filtering in general are improved. You can, for example, sort or filter on a font color or cell color; see matches immediately as you create your filter; and use built-in filters (such as Above Average).

Macros are Back Excel 2011 addresses what was perhaps my biggest complaint about its predecessor: its lack of support for macros. They’re back in Excel 2011, via Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Excel 2011 supports some new macro features too, such as the ability to set watch expressions, and it handled all of my existing macro spreadsheets (including a complex model containing custom menus

excel 2011 is a solid program for anyone whose job requires heavy spreadsheet use. only things preventing a perfect rating are uneven performance and some features that don’t follow Mac norms.

the Interface Excel 2011 looks much different than Excel 2008 (mmm; macworld.com/5546). Gone are all the floating toolbars and the floating formatting palette. In their place (and throughout Office 2011) is the 62 Macworld December 2010

the most interesting is sparklines— miniature graphs that appear within a single cell. Instead of building a full chart to look for data trends, you can create a sparkline by selecting some data, choosing a menu item, and clicking a destination cell. Conditional formatting is also greatly improved. You’re no longer restricted to three conditions per cell; the limit now

and input forms) just fine. Microsoft says that macros you create on the Mac should work perfectly under Windows (because the two programs now use the same version of VBA); I haven’t been able to prove that one way or another yet. For users who share Excel projects with others, Excel 2011 has more to offer than previous versions. You can now protect a cell’s contents while allowing

FEATURES

Review: Office for Mac 2011

Conditional Formatting In Excel 2011, you have many more options for defining conditional formatting than in Excel 2008.

changes to formatting. You can also allow or prevent insertion and deletion of rows and columns, the use of filters and sorting, and more. If your sharing needs are simple, you can save your spreadsheets to Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud-based storage service. You can then access and edit those spreadsheets online through the Excel Web app. And multiple users can edit the spreadsheet at the same time, as you can with Google Docs.

Some Room for Improvement While this release makes great progress compared with Excel 2008, there are still things that don’t work quite as you’d expect. Excel uses its own dictionary instead of OS X’s; pressing 1-A doesn’t select all text in the formula bar; and OS X Services are unavailable. In addition, Excel 2011’s performance is a bit uneven. It did great in a number-crunching test, recalculating a 15,000-row by 22-column worksheet (with a mix of slow-to-calculate formulas) in less than a second; Excel 2004 and 2008 each took more than five seconds. But I found the interface slow; when I scrolled a large spread-

74 Macworld December 2010

sheet, Excel 2011 took more than six times as long as Excel 2004.

Macworld’s Buying Advice You should definitely upgrade to Excel 2011 if you’re using an older version. The new interface and improved functionality make short work of even large projects, while the protection and sharing features make it easier to work with others—both on the Mac and on Windows. The problems I did have are not big enough to affect my overall verdict: Excel 2011 is a solid program for anyone whose job requires heavy spreadsheet use. Macworld Senior Contributor Rob Griffiths is Master of Ceremonies at Many Tricks.

EXCEL 2011

mmmmh

PROS: Better interface; Visual Basic; pivot-table tools; sparklines. CONS: Uneven performance; some features aren’t Mac-standard. COMPANY: Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/mac FULL REVIEW: macworld.com/6625

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Features

Review: Office for Mac 0111

POWerPOint 0111 Layered view, path animation

by franklin n. tessler

owerPoint for Mac 2011 resolves many of my complaints about PowerPoint 2008 (mmmm; macworld.com/3349) with compelling new features and a revamped interface that make it easier than ever to develop dazzling slideshows quickly.

Better Interface I haven’t been a fan of the Ribbon in the Windows Office apps, so I was pleasantly surprised by its implementation on the Mac: It provides instant access to most of PowerPoint’s tools and functions without being too obtrusive. Elsewhere in the new interface, a handy new control lets you adjust the size of slides in the Normal and Slide Sorter views. For users who prefer not to reach for the mouse, new keyboard shortcuts let you zoom in or out in 15 percent increments. But perhaps the biggest interface enhancement is a new view that displays every layer on a slide as a series of translucent sheets that appear to float on the screen. As you mouse over each one, it lights up and a number appears to indicate its position. You can then drag the layer to move its objects back and forth. PowerPoint offers a dizzying array of ways to manipulate the size and appearance of graphics that you import or generate within the program. A new Media Browser, for example, conveniently consolidates access to photos, sounds, clip art, symbols, and shapes in one place. The new Remove Background tool lets you select which parts of a picture to retain and which to clear. There are also new tools for cropping, color correcting, rotating, and adding other effects to movies; and instead of adding clips to your presentation by linking to them, they are now imported

62 Macworld December 0171

dynamic reordering A new view lets you see individual layers of complex slides; you can then rearrange those layers by dragging them one way or the other.

by default. You can choose a picture file as the movie’s poster frame, and you can pause and scrub through movies during a slideshow. Annoyingly, though, you still can’t trim movies by adjusting their starting and ending points, nor can you add sounds to play across a set of slides.

animation and transitions PowerPoint 2011 fills a huge gap in the previous version’s animation repertoire by adding motion paths, which let you move objects along tracks—either predefined or drawn from scratch. The path-animation tools are better than Keynote’s in some ways (PowerPoint’s paths are easier to define and edit). Still, I was disappointed that—unlike PowerPoint 2010 for Windows—the new Mac version doesn’t include an advanced timeline, which would graphically display all the animations on a slide. It’s much easier to choreograph multiple animations graphically than to drag them up and down in a list.

I was also frustrated that PowerPoint’s library of transitions still isn’t as good as Keynote’s. PowerPoint’s dissolve transition is coarser than Keynote’s, and PowerPoint lacks equivalents to many of the stunning effects in Apple’s software. For example, Magic Move, a versatile Keynote transition that moves objects as one slide replaces another, is absent. Although you can duplicate the effect with custom animations in PowerPoint, it takes considerably more effort.

Long Distance Presentations Showing a presentation remotely has always been a problem unless everyone in your audience is using PowerPoint. A new tool in PowerPoint 2011 helps fix that, by letting you broadcast slideshows over the Internet, using Microsoft’s free PowerPoint Broadcast Service. When you connect to the service after entering your Windows Live ID and password, PowerPoint uploads the presentation and displays a link that you can e-mail to

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Features

Review: Office for Mac 0111

your audience. Anyone who has the link can see the presentation in a Mac OS or Windows browser, whether or not they have a Microsoft account. As you might expect, distributing a presentation this way imposes a few restrictions. Slide transitions are replaced by fades, audio isn’t transmitted, and movies don’t play. It also takes time to upload the presentation, so you’ll need sufficient upstream bandwidth if your slideshow is large. PowerPoint 2011 also includes tools that let several people see and revise presentations shared on Microsoft’s SkyDrive. Anyone with permission can revise slideshows with the PowerPoint Web app or by using the actual PowerPoint application.

Macworld’s Buying advice Despite a handful of miscues, PowerPoint 2011 is Microsoft’s strongest upgrade of the program since 2004. If you’re using an earlier version, updating to PowerPoint 2011 should be an easy decision. If you’re shopping for your first presentation program, choosing between Keynote and PowerPoint is a tougher decision. The two programs are much more evenly matched than ever. But even if you’re a die-hard Keynote fan, PowerPoint 2011 is worth a close look. franklin n. tessler is a radiologist and has been writing about presentations for more than 01 years.

POWerPOint 0111

mmmmh

PrOs: Better interface; pathanimation support; coauthoring. cOns: Inferior transition tools; no graphical timeline for animations. cOMPany: Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/mac full revieW: macworld.com/9902

62 Macworld December 0171

OutlOOk 2011 Good-bye, Entourage

utlook 2011 inherits some features from its predecessor, Entourage 2008 (mmmm; macworld.com/3349). But if you think of Outlook 2011 simply as an upgraded Entourage, you’re going to be frustrated.

user Interface As with the other Office 2011 apps, the first thing you’ll likely notice when you open Outlook 2011 is the Ribbon, the enhanced toolbar that sits atop the document window. At first I hated it; I prefer a minimal user interface. But after using it for a while, I changed my opinion. It may be a bit garish, but it does keep the tools I use frequently where I need them and doesn’t get in the way. Full menus are still there, so you can collapse the Ribbon and instead use the menus and key commands if you like. Every keyboard shortcut I used with Entourage worked in Outlook 2011. My biggest complaint is that the Outlook 2011 toolbar is skimpy. The only buttons it can hold are Send/Receive, Help, My Day, Print, Undo, Redo, and Search. e-mail I tested Outlook 2011 in the same configuration that I use for Entourage every day: six IMAP accounts, three of them using SSL for both sending and receiving mail; two Gmail accounts; and one Exchange 2007 Exchange Web Services (EWS) account. I have over 70 IMAP rules, a handful of SMTP and Exchange rules, and too many Mailing List Manager rules to count.

by JOhn c. Welch

Importing data from Entourage was a snap. Accounts, rules, signatures, e-mail messages, events, contacts, and categories all imported without a problem on the first try. (Make sure the Entourage Database Daemon is running.) Importing from other programs was similarly pain-free. I successfully dragged a few thousand .eml files into a folder in Outlook 2011; I did not test .pst file imports. The IMAP/SMTP accounts worked correctly; Outlook 2011 handled both SSL and non-SSL accounts with ease. HTML and plain-text messages were sent and received just fine. If you have an account with a mail provider Outlook 2011 recognizes (such as MobileMe), the app does a good job of automatically setting it up. My only real quibble is that you can’t create different settings for different accounts: You can’t, for example, specify a different default setting for composing a message (HTML or plain text) for each account; nor can you specify different customized headers or opt to view the full headers of messages on an account-byaccount basis. Outlook 2011 lets you compose HTML e-mail about as well as Entourage did. You can set basic options—such as font, font style, lists, indents, and alignment—and you can insert proper hyperlinks; but the program won’t let you insert flashing text or tables. Outlook 2011 is also better than Entourage at displaying received HTML.

Calendars and Contacts Outlook 2011’s calendar also contains some notable improvements on

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Features

Review: Office for Mac 0211

Entourage. If you have multiple calendars, for example, you will see a merged view for all of them, both local and Exchange, in Outlook 2011. One touch I particularly liked: When you select a calendar, events for all your other calendars fade out a bit. One trick I wish Outlook 2011 had learned from iCal is the ability to change the calendar for an event from within the event itself. Event setup has changed a bit. There are now two different kinds of events: appointments and meetings. The difference? You invite people to meetings, not to appointments. You can invite someone to an appointment, but when you do, Outlook changes the event into a meeting. I’d guess that this is one of the features Microsoft included because Outlook for Windows has it. Outlook 2011 has no CalDAV calendaring support (perhaps because this version was so heavily focused on Exchange). I hope future updates fix that; Outlook 2011 is entirely too useful to be solely bound to Exchange calendaring. Contact management hasn’t changed much from Entourage. If you’re using Outlook 2011 with LDAP directory services, you can’t browse those directories, but search works well. Too bad Outlook 2011 assumes all directories are Active Directory; if your business uses something else (Apple’s Open Directory, say), some things won’t show up correctly. Outlook’s to-do manager didn’t change too much, but I don’t think it needed much improvement. The same with the Notes feature, which remains extremely basic. Both sync with Exchange.

under the Hood Entourage’s database was one big file, which made for painful backups. (Time Machine would back up the entire file, even if you’d made only minor changes.) In Outlook 2011, each item occupies an individual file or multiple files. Time Machine backups may be easier, because everything’s in an individual file. But there’s no actual Time Machine

62 Macworld December 0212

conversation view Among Outlook 0211’s many interface improvements on Entourage is a Conversations view (similar to the one in Apple’s Mail) that groups message threads together.

integration. In Mail, you can restore backed-up messages from within the Mail interface. With Outlook, you have to restore files using the standard Time Machine interface. (There is still a database in Outlook, but it’s there just to optimize searches and other nonessential functions. It’s much smaller; my Entourage Database is just under 5.5GB, and my Outlook 2011 database is just over 500MB. Exchange support is much better in Outlook 2011. (I tested it with an Exchange 2007 server.) Tasks that took multiple steps in Entourage, or that never worked right at all, work well in Outlook 2011. To take just one example: If you were using Entourage and the connection to the Exchange server was interrupted, the only reliable way to get it back was to restart Entourage. That’s fixed in Outlook 2011. Unlike the other programs in the office suite, Outlook doesn’t support Visual Basic for Applications. Outlook’s AppleScript support has been revamped and reorganized, but it still has its shortcomings; if you rely on AppleScript in Entourage, I’d recommend waiting until Outlook 2011’s AppleScript implementation is fixed before making the switch.

Macworld’s Buying advice Outlook 2011 is a 1.0 program—and it represents a huge change from Entourage in almost every way. It’s different enough that Entourage users will have to make some big adjustments. That said, as a version 1.0 product, Outlook has a number of holes and bugs that need to be fixed, and fixed quickly. But none are deal-killers. If you need an Exchange client on the Mac, Outlook 2011 is the king. John c. Welch (www.bynkii.com) is the IT Director for The Zimmerman Agency, and a longtime Mac IT pundit. Special thanks to Andrew Laurence and the Exchange team at the University of California, Irvine, for their assistance with this review.

OutlOOk 0211

mmmm

PrOs: New interface; better Exchange support. cOns: Assorted version 1.2 bugs; holes in AppleScript implementation. cOMPany: Microsoft, www.microsoft.com/mac full revieW: macworld.com/6606

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Working Mac Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Make You and Your Mac More Productive

Five Awesome Automator Tips use apple’s easy automation tool to extract text from PdFs, schedule workflows, and more BY Chri sTophEr B r E E n

ac OS X’s built-in automation tool, Automator (in /Applications), is capable of performing wondrous feats, yet far too many people ignore it—believing that the program is too difficult to use or their work wouldn’t benefit from automation. Neither is the case, as evidenced by these tips for the Snow Leopard version.

2. Listen to Your Documents Snow Leopard includes another helpful Automator service that lets you take your documents with you in audio form. This is a great way both for people always on the move and those with visual impairments to access text documents. To invoke it, launch System Preferences, select Keyboard, click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, and select Services in the window’s first column. Scroll down to the

Far too many people ignore Automator, believing that it is too difficult to use or their work wouldn’t benefit from automation. the Services menu—found in all your Snow Leopard applications under Application Name ▶ Services—includes three new entries: Browse iTunes Library, Browse Movie Library, and Browse Photo Library. Choose the most appropriate one based on your needs, and a Media Browser window appears. Just select the file you want and drag it into a document.

82 Macworld December 2010

Text heading and enable the Add To iTunes As A Spoken Track service. Now open a text document that you’d like to save as an audio file. Select all the text, choose Services from the application’s menu (for example, BBEdit ▶ Services), and then invoke the Add To iTunes As A Spoken Track command. An Automator workflow kicks in that

uses OS X’s built-in text-to-speech feature to convert the text to audio and then saves the file to iTunes. You’ll find it under the new Spoken Text playlist with the name Text To Speech.

3. Trigger Workflows through iCal When you launch Snow Leopard’s Automator, the workflow sheet that appears contains a list of templates. One worth paying attention to is the iCal Alarm template. Using it, you can create helpful workflows that are triggered at a particular date and time. For example, to automatically back up a Current Projects folder on your desktop to another folder (one on another drive, for example), select the iCal Alarm template and then create a list of actions that includes Get Specific Finder Items, Get Folder Contents, and Copy Finder Items. (Click Files & Folders to reveal these items in the Actions column.) Drag your Current Projects folder to the Get Specified Finder Items action so Automator

illustration by Jack Hornady

1. Get to Your Media More Easily If you spend much time with Apple’s $79 iLife and iWork suite applications, you’re probably accustomed to having your media close at hand via the Media Browser—a pane that displays the contents of your movie, photo, and iTunes libraries so you can more easily use these elements in projects. Yet when you want to access these files with a different application, the pane is absent. It needn’t be if you get a collection of Automator services. Travel to the Mac OS X Automation Website and download the Media Picker Services collection (macworld.com/6578). When you install it, you’ll discover that

understands that it’s the source folder. Leave the Get Folder Contents action as it is. Then drag your destination folder, which we’ll call ‘Backup,’ to the Copy Finder Items action. If you click the Run button, you’ll see that any items you’ve placed in the Current Projects folder are copied to the Backup folder. (If you want old files with the same name to be replaced by newer files, enable the Replacing Existing Files option in the Copy Finder Items action.) When you save the workflow, you’ll be prompted to name it. Do so, then click Save, and iCal will open, with the Backup event’s Edit window showing. In this window you can create a repeating alarm— one that goes off once a day at 6 p.m., for example—that triggers the workflow to copy the contents of the Current Projects folder to the Backup folder.

5. opt for an Automatic slideshow Automator also includes an Image Capture plug-in that lets you do cool things. In iPhoto, create an album (File ▶ New Album) called ‘Today’s Pictures,’ for example. Open Automator, create a new workflow, and in the template chooser select Image Capture Plugin. Click on the Photos item in the Library column and create a workflow that contains these steps: Review Photos, Import Files Into iPhoto, Get Selected iPhoto Items, Play iPhoto Slideshow. In the Import Files Into iPhoto action, choose your Today’s Pictures album as the destination for your pictures. And in the Get Selected iPhoto Items action, choose Albums from the Get Selected pop-up menu (this causes the action to be named Get Selected iPhoto Albums). Save your workflow (File ▶ Save) with the name Review And Slideshow. Now connect a camera to your Mac (this can be your iPhone). Open Image Capture (in /Applications), and from the Import To pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen choose your Review And Slideshow workflow. Select some images and click the Import button. An Image Review window will appear that displays the first image, along with—among other things— Reject and Approve buttons. Click the

appropriate button and continue to review your images. When you finish reviewing the images, iPhoto launches, adds the images to the Today’s Pictures album, and displays a slideshow of the images you approved.

5. pull Text from pDFs If you’ve ever sought an easy way to extract text from PDF files, Automator provides it. Create a new Automator workflow, and in the templates sheet More Media Browser access Fond of the iLife and iWork Media choose Application. Browser? Download a free Automator workflow, and you can access the browser from many more applications. Create a workflow that contains these Then save the Automator application to actions: Get Selected Finder Items (under your desktop. When you’re ready to Files & Folders in the Library column) and convert a PDF file, just drag it on top of the Extract PDF Text (under PDFs in the Automator application you created. In a Library column). In the Extract PDF Text short time, Automator will extract all the action, choose Rich Text as the output text from that document and place it in a option—the text will look better this way. new text document within the target folder. Select an output destination—a folder You’ll likely have to clean up the text, as you’ve called ‘PDF Text,’ for example— you’ll see odd characters and formatting. from the Save Output To pop-up menu.

Keyboard Folio For short trips, many people opt to take an iPad instead of a MacBook. Sena Cases’ Keyboard Folio ($050; www .senacases.com) combines three of the most popular iPad accessories—a rigid folio case, a stand, and a keyboard—in a single, compact package. The leather case is handmade and features a soft liner to protect the iPad’s surfaces. The front cover hosts a compact, low-profile Bluetooth keyboard. The back of the case holds a stand for the iPad that folds flat for travel. And the whole folio closes securely using a snap closure.—D—D an—Frk

December 8202 Macworld 13

WorKinG MAC

Keep Cookies Under Control Why you might want to kiss Web cookies good-bye, and what to expect if you do BY KirK MCELhEAr n

ecently, little boxes began popping up on Web pages I visited. They showed my picture and welcomed me by name. They also included details that made it clear these sites knew I was a Facebook member. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this is nothing new—other sites have used cross-site cookies to determine the ads they display. But this time, it was enough to spur me to action. I decided to get rid of all my Web browser cookies. What would the consequences be? Cookies are, after all, intended to make surfing easier. They give your computer a unique identifier so your actions can be tracked and your needs (say, your site login information or preferences) anticipated. I’d already ditched Google for privacy concerns (macworld.com/ 5773), so I figured it would be an interesting experiment to delete my cookies and see what happened.

how to Delete Them You delete cookies by taking a trip to your browser’s preferences. In Apple’s Safari 5.0, choose Safari ▶ Preferences, select Security, click Show Cookies, and finally click Remove All. With Mozilla Firefox 3.6.8, select Firefox ▶ Preferences and click on Privacy. Select the Remove Individual Cookies link and then click Remove All Cookies.

Product WatcH

What You Lose Once you get rid of your cookies, the first thing you’ll notice is that you won’t be logged in to sites you visit regularly. Amazon asked me to “sign in to get personalized recommendations.” A

forum I visit regularly took me to a Login page. When I went to my blog’s administration page, I was prompted to log in there as well. This shouldn’t be a big hassle if you’ve been storing usernames and passwords in Safari’s AutoFill preferences, for cookie Preferences Safari's Security preferences give several example. (Go to Safari ▶ Preferences, options for dealing with cookies. I use the third choice—to only accept cookies from sites I visit. click AutoFill, and then select the User Names And Passwords option.) If you Ways to Take Charge have, then Safari will enter your While you could go as far as turning off usernames. Passwords stored in your cookies in your browser, this can prevent keychain will be filled in as well. certain Websites from working correctly. For example, you can’t buy anything on Amazon.com or log in to Facebook. What You Won’t Lose I’ll settle for deleting my cookies One thing you won’t notice, however, is regularly. Several tools can help, including changes due to the loss of the cookies Intego’s $20 Washing Machine 2 (www advertisers use to track your activity on the Web. These cookies don’t require you .intego.com), which can also delete browser caches and other dross either on demand to log in anywhere; they just record what or on schedule. Titanium Software’s free you do. Deleting these cookies is a good Onyx (www.titanium.free.fr) can clean way to keep your surfing habits somecookies from a couple dozen browsers, what private; but as you surf, you’ll get though you can’t schedule it to run new cookies, and, over time, the ads you automatically. Deleting your cookies from see will be, once again, somewhat time to time can clear out the hundreds or influenced by your browsing history. It even thousands of them that accumulate. didn’t take long after I got rid of my And in the process, it will give you a new, cookies before my browser showed pristine identity when you visit Websites hundreds of new cookies in its list. A where you don’t have to log in. half dozen per site is common.

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82 Macworld December 0111

omniFocus 1.8, from The Omni Group (www.omnigroup.com): Task and project manager gains a number of organizational, sharing, and syncing updates ($81).

Studiometry 8, from Oranged Software (www.oranged.net): Project-management software includes new template system, updated calendar, HDD project archiving, and more ($011).

WORKING MAC

MacSpeech Scribe 1.1 By J EffERy BATTE RS By

Whether you’re a terrible typist, you’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome, or you think best on the go, MacSpeech’s $150 Scribe can help you put your ideas on paper without using a keyboard. Unlike traditional voice-recognition software, Scribe doesn’t require that you be tethered to a computer with a wire and a mic. Instead, you can use virtually any handheld or other recording device (including your iPhone’s built-in Voice Memos app) to capture your thoughts, as long as what you’re recording can be saved in any of Scribe’s five supported audio formats: .aiff, .m4a, .m4v, .mp4, or .wav.

REVIEW

Training Scribe To get started, you need to spend a few minutes teaching Scribe to understand the way you speak. Scribe needs only 120 seconds of recorded speech—although the more you train the program, the better it gets at being able to recognize your particular diction and speech patterns. You also have the option of feeding Scribe text files you’ve written to give the program a better idea of the vocabulary you use and to make its transcription all the more accurate. While spending more training time with Scribe is beneficial, I was impressed with how well the program worked with minimal effort on my part. There were words I had to correct,

again. MacSpeech representatives suggested I use a different format, and once I made the change, Scribe worked great.

Transcribing and Editing When training is complete, you can begin using Scribe to transcribe your recorded audio. Scribe uses a clunky two-column interface for editing your transcribed speech: One column contains the Speedy Training MacSpeech Scribe can quickly learn your transcribed text speaking style by analyzing a snippet of recorded text as short as and the other 120 seconds. contains a numbered list of alternative transcription word when you speak it, but the capital options. Clicking anywhere within a W is incorrect. I was able to add the phrase changes the list of possible properly spelled word to my user library, transcription options. Clicking a number but I couldn’t delete the incorrect in the list changes the phrase in the body spelling. I ended up having to change of your document. If none of the phrases each instance of the word by hand. are correct, double-click the phrase in the list that comes closest to what you’ve said Macworld’s Buying Advice and edit as necessary. Scribe will then Small foibles aside, MacSpeech Scribe is a powerful and intelligent tool for transcribing your recorded speech. A simple training process and access to a wide variety of standard audio formats mean that you’ll be moving spoken words to the printed page in a matter of change the phrase in your document and minutes and with a minimum of hassle. update its library of words. The application ships with a vocabuJeffery Battersby is an Apple Certified lary library that includes about 150,000 Trainer and regular contributor to Macworld. words. Unfortunately, there’s no way to correct typos—few as they may be—that mmmh; $150; MacSpeech, appear in the included library. For www.macspeech.com; example, the library includes the word full review, macworld.com/6582 MacWorld, so it properly recognizes that

Small foibles aside, MacSpeech Scribe is a powerful and intelligent tool for transcribing your recorded speech. but for the most part Scribe picked up everything I said. Still, my initial training sessions did not come off without a hitch. I used a Snowball mic and Apple’s GarageBand to record, and then I exported audio as an .mp4 file. This officially supported format caused Scribe to crash repeatedly, requiring me to start training all over

86 Macworld December 2010

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g If you need speed, volume, and economy, plus good photo printing, this printer is well worth considering. The front input tray holds 600 letter/legal sheets and has a 170-sheet output tray on top. The B-610DN connects via USB or ethernet. Automatic duplexing is standard. Plain text averaged 14.8 pages per minute (ppm), while a four-page PDF of mixed text and graphics managed 2 ppm. A high-resolution color photo (at near-fullpage size) printed at a rate of 1.1 ppm. Print quality was mostly very good. Photos on Epson’s own matte paper boasted accurate colors and a slightly dotted, but even, texture. Text printed on plain paper was nicely dark but a little fuzzy. The B-610DN’s consumables are extremely inexpensive. A full-color page would cost just 6.5 cents. The high-yield colors (with T517 designations) offer 0.3 cent per color, per page. The Epson B-610DN removes nearly all question of whether an inkjet printer can succeed in a business setting (macworld.com/5684).

mmmm; $699; Epson, www.epson.com

oWc Mercury extreme Pro re SSD 200gB e OWC’s Mercury Extreme Pro RE SSD 200GB is a 2.6-inch solid-state internal drive. As with all solid-state drives (SSDs), the Mercury Extreme Pro RE SSD has no moving parts,

88 Macworld December 2010

Hardware and Software for All Your Business Needs

a high price per gigabyte, and relatively low capacity when compared with standard hard drives. It does, however, offer eye-popping speed improvements over 2.6-inch hard drives. It duplicated a 1GB folder 58 percent faster than the stock drive in our test system, uncompressed a 2GB file 77 percent faster, launched Photoshop 63 percent faster, and booted up 45 percent faster. Our testing also shows that, unlike some other SSDs, the OWC drive still performs consistently even after significant use (macworld.com/5687).

mmmmh; $550; Other World Computing, eshop.macsales.com

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StarTech.com 2 Port Professional USB DisplayPort kVM Switch g If you use two computers, the first step to clearing clutter off your desk is the purchase of a KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) switch. Hook your computers up to this device, and not only can they share the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse, but you can effortlessly switch back and forth between computers on the fly. StarTech.com’s 2 Port Professional USB DisplayPort KVM Switch with Hotkey Control is the first product of its type to be compatible with computers and monitors that use DisplayPort connectivity. Connected computers will each use up one DisplayPort port and one USB port, while the remaining DisplayPort port supports your main monitor. A trio of other USB ports enables you to connect your mouse, a keyboard, and a USB hub (macworld .com/5685).

mmmh; $220; StarTech.com, www.startech.com

g Compared to other online conferencing services, GoToMeeting aims low. For $73 a month, GoToMeeting lets you connect with up to 16 attendees at a time in as many online meetings as you wish. But you can communicate in meetings only three ways: phone conferencing, built-in Voice over IP, or built-in text chat. For voice calls, participants either dial a longdistance phone number provided by GoToMeeting or talk through the VoIP tool. An optional, toll-free call-in line is also available, but it costs as much as 16 cents per minute per caller; the rate drops if you buy a monthly plan. In one of its most thoughtful touches, GoToMeeting displays the current speaker’s name on screen so everyone knows who’s talking. As host, you can present files directly from your Mac. That means you can show any file that runs on your machine within

Find it online For expanded reviews, type the blue URL at the end of each summary into your browser’s address bar.

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Reviews

its native application. You can also pass control to another participant, who can then remotely control your Mac. Mac users can’t record meetings. GoToMeeting includes 128-bit AES protection to encrypt your data, keeping exchanges private. The service also has a free iPad app that lets participants view (but not initiate) meetings and participate via VoIP. If all you need is basic screen sharing, GoToMeeting can handle the job, but its clunky interface and inability to record sessions leave it lagging more attractive alternatives (macworld.com/6587).