Shufflegazine January 2008 by EmiratesMac.com

shuffle January 2008 issue #15

middle east

monthly newsletter about all things apple

Gaming on a Mac

• Games for Kids • Marathon: the Legacy • Tribal Trouble • Reviews

Contents

About shuffle

May I Have a Word Please

Comic corner

Article Of the Month

SmorgasDashBord

Shuffle is published by EmiratesMac Apple User Group (EMUG). It is an independent, non-profit, newsletter containing news, commentary, tips and tricks, reviews, tutorials, and more, covering the world of Mac, iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, and anything else Apple, with a focus on the Middle East. Shuffle is also the official publication of EMUG detailing information about the user group and its activities. Editor in Chief is Omran Al Owais (omran@emiratesmac. com), Contributing Editor is Magnus Nystedt (magnus@emiratesmac.com).

Marathon: the Legacy

Contact

Retro Gaming

Letters to the Editor

EmiratesMac on Campus

Tribal Trouble

There is a discussion forum dedicated to Shuffle at EMUG’s web site (www.emiratesmac.com/forums/newsletter). There you can leave comments and suggestions and discuss Shuffle with other users. You can contact EMUG at mailing address: PO Box 70263, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Phone +971509211006; Fax +97126664289; Email shuffle@emiratesmac.com; Web www.emiratesmac.com.

Mac Models 101

iPod Models 101

All about Steve Jobs Part 7

Pangea SuperPack: Bargain Games

Games for Kids

Mac: A Gamer’s Dream?

Razer Pro|Click and Pro|Pad

Shuffle Reviews

Games for MacBook

My Favorite Podcasts

Games for iPhone

Profile of a Mac Seller

Peel the Apple

Recipe:Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Weaving the web

Adobe Tutorial

Gaming Accessories

Join EMUG

Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content of this publication, we accept no responsibility for errors, omissions or changes to information printed. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of EMUG. Articles are copyright their respective author, unless noted otherwise. Want to advertise in Shuffle? This newsletter is the only publication in the Middle East that is dedicated to Apple products. By advertising in Shuffle you reach a dedicated audience of Mac and iPod users. We strive to make Shuffle a high-quality newsletter that people will want to read because it’s so good. It’s written and produced by members of EMUG and other User Groups around the Middle East. Wouldn’t you want to be associated with that? If you’re interested in sponsoring Shuffle, or buying advertising space, contact Crystal at +971509211006 or crystal@emiratesmac.com to request our Media Kit. Want to write for Shuffle? If you’re reading this and you’re a member of the EMUG, or any other registered Apple User Group in the Middle East, we hope you will consider contributing. We’re looking for any type of articles you would be interested in writing, from something about the history of Apple and their products, reviews of hardware or software, essays, tutorials, or hints and tips. You can write in English or Arabic. The people who write for shuffle now are users just like yourself. If you would consider writing something for Shuffle, send us an email (shuffle@emiratesmac.com) or leave a message with your idea at the site (www.emiratesmac.com). Cover photo: ©iStockphoto.com/PeskyMonkey

Shuffle is sponsored by:

www.appleme.ae

www.arabcomputers.com.sa

www.centimetercube.com

May I Have a Word Please

Comic Corner

Gaming on a Mac can be a Gamble

Let’s be up-front about this; people don’t generally buy a Mac to play games on. If you’re really into gaming you’re much more likely to buy a PC or a gaming console. But that doesn’t mean that a Mac is necessarily a bad choice for a gamer, or a bad gaming platform. That said, the Mac’s market share is improving and there are companies making money on Mac games. Arguably the big elephant in the room when it comes to Mac gaming is Aspyr, but there are many others who continue to crank out good Mac games, even though the market has been declared dead by so many. With Apple going to Intel processors, a whole new world has opened up to Mac game developers. For example, TransGaming’s Cider portability technology lets game producers port PC games to Mac with relative ease. With titles already released like Battlefield 2142, Command & Conquer 3, and Tiger Wood PGA Tour 08, there is a lot of promise in this type of technology. Let’s also not forget that there is a proud heritage in Mac gaming; something that has perhaps been a bit lost in recent years. The Halo-series of games, a huge success for Bungie and Microsoft, can find its roots in what was for a long time Mac-only Marathon games. Unfortunately, when Apple hit on dire straits in the mid to late 1990s, so did game development for Mac, and it hasn’t really recovered - even now. I think it’s safe to say that as Apple is doing better, more game developers are looking at Mac as a viable gaming platform. This should mean that we can hope for more new games coming out for Mac, which can only be a good thing. In this issue we’ll try to show you some of what is currently available. Let me finish off by saying welcome to 2008. Shuffle is looking forward to a one-year anniversary of printing this newsletter in April, and of course in the next issue we’ll look at what was revealed at MacWorld Expo.

Geekculture.com has generously given their permission for EMUG to reprint their comic strip in our newsletter. Go to www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/ to see a new comic strip every day. Make sure you also check out all the other features on the Geekculture.com web site.

Article of the Month Each month, courtesy of Salam Studio & Store, the author of the best article in Shuffle will receive an AED250 gift certificate to be spent at any Salam store. This month’s winner is Nassir A. Alameeri for his article “Mac: a Gamer’s Dream?” Congratulations Nassir!

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Sm rgasDashB rd by Yasir (EmiratesMac) Dice The total random number chooser you really will never need – unless you are continuously left in a pickle wanting to choose some random number. The limit of randomness is 32 so you can’t go higher. RANKING:

Classic Memory A basic memory game with full classic OS interface, even that old minimize button is there, and it works. The game works with flipped over cards which you flip until you find the two that match. This is your typical memory game, but this time with an added touch of the past.

LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/ dashboard/games/dice.html

RANKING: LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/ dashboard/games/classicmemory.html

Sketcher An etch-a-sketch remake for your Dashboard, where you really have to shake it to erase. You can draw on it normally using your mouse, which means you can’t really have something altogether accurate. You also have access to supplied drawings by just pressing the star on the lower left corner. RANKING: LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/sketcher.html

For an explanation of “SmorgasDashBord” go to: www.emiratesmac.com/forums/newsletter/3424smorgasdashbord-explanation.html

Monsters A very cool and small strategy game. You are a small, yellow smiley that has to go through levels without being eaten by monsters. To complete a level you must move 50 moves without them getting you. There are silver bonus points you can accumulate along the way, but they aren’t necessary to complete the level. Playing is very straight forward; you use the arrow keys, and with every move you make the smiley moves once, so it depends on how you make your next move. RANKING: LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/monsters.html

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Marathon: the Legacy

Before Bungie (http://www.bungie. net) was bought by Microsoft and created the Halo series of games, it was responsible for creating games like Pathways into Darkness, Myth and, arguably more significant than the others, Marathon. Bungie was founded in 1991 and their first game was a Pong clone called Gnop. Their first commercial game was called Operation: Desert Storm but it was Minotaur (1992) that brought the company to most peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention. Pathways into Darkness (1993) broke new ground in game design and development. It was one of the very first 3D first-person shooter games, later made so famous by the Doom series. This game brought Bungie commercial success and several awards. I guess I contributed in some small measure to that since, as far as I can remember, purchased Pathways Into Darkness to play during my college years, to the

detriment to my grades. The success of those early games aside, it was Marathon that would put Bungie on the map of gamers everywhere. What begun as a sequel to Pathways into Darkness quickly developed into something much more. With a story line that captured gamersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; imagination and kept the game interesting, it introduced things like networked play, full 3D environment, advanced AI, voice communication between players, and more. Besides the technology being advanced, it was the story that set Marathon apart. In Marathon you play a security guard on the spaceship UESC Marathon, and you have to fight off aliens that have boarded your ship. In true first-person shooter style you have to solve problems, find clues, and shoot a lot of monsters.

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Marathon came out in late 1994, and was almost an instant hit. Also this game, I got from the US, installed it on my Mac (I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember if it was a IIcx or Quadra 660AV), and played it all night long. As with Pathways Into Darkness, this was obviously disastrous for my college studies, but I had so much fun. Bungie quickly followed up this success with Marathon 2: Durandal in 1995, which had a developed story, and supported more advanced technology - especially in networked game play. Marathon 2 was also the first Bungie game to come out for PC. That increased the people I could play with in my college dormitory, which I much appreciated. It was hard getting PC-people to accept that what was essentially a Mac game could be worth playing but as soon as they saw what Marathon was all about they gladly spent their time playing it too.

In 1996 Bungie released Marathon: Infinity with built-in editing tools, which spawned a virtual cottage industry of player-created levels, artwork, and more. And although I was never any good at it, I created levels and things, but none good enough to share with the rest of the world. One year later, in 1997, Bungie released the Marathon Action Pack, which was a complete collection of all three Marathon titles. But the story ends there, at least as far as Bungie is concerned.

Public Access Terminal 92-g<92.45.28.48> <Warning: Transmission may not be complete> Your last mission was a success, but I have terrible news. #@Pragma Nautical Redefined^# efenders reported seeing the aliens 1§moving a large cylindrical object. #101111011110111100001# is is a ‘7’.

Mjolnir Recon number 54

must stop them from exploding igniting/ blowing up/ *A94F12/ it/ the S’pht full spPace cOmputEr¢ Or PlannEd exterm. @14.Sword-Roland.transfer

Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000, after which time their efforts have been focused on the Halo games. On Mac we finally got to play the original Halo, but Halo 2 and 3 will most likely never reach our machines. Recently, in October 2007, it was announced that Bungie is once again going to be an independent company, leaving the Microsoft-sphere. Whether this means Bungie will once again develop games for Macs remains to be seen. Marathon still lives in the form of the Aleph One open source project (http:// source.bungie.org). Aleph One is a 4.1MB download, and then you need to pick a scenario and download that too. The original Marathon scenario, for example, is a 38MB download. Marathon: Resurrection (http://resurrection.bungie.org) takes the Marathon series even further. Resurrection attempts to put the old Marathon onto the latest 3D technology, using the Unreal Tournament engine. As they say on their web site, “We’re taking it all, messing with it, and spitting it back out.” The results are pretty astonishing and if you’re an old Marathon fan you should definitely take a look at it. In conclusion, Bungie may have given up on Marathon a long time ago, but fans certainly haven’t. In fact, Marathon is alive and well in different versions and you can enjoy the same excitement as we did back in 1994 when we played this game for the first time. Marathon, especially for Mac fans, is an important part of gaming history. Even if you were not around when the first Marathon game out, we felt you should know something about this breakthrough game.

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Retro Gaming Are you old enough to remember Commodore 64, Amiga, TSR-80, and other early computers? Do you remember your favorite games from back then? Those were exciting times when computer memory was really measured in kilobytes, not megabytes or gigabytes, and games were stored on tape drives (yes, the same kind we used to listen to music on), not on hard drives. If you remember those days, or if you’re just curios what games were like back then, head on over to

http://retrospec.sgn.net. It’s a community of people who like to create remakes of these old classic games. You can probably find your old favorite games there and it’s all available for free. Try Exolon DX, for example. It’s a free, 14MB download and it’s actually great fun. Sure, the graphics are not great compared with today’s standards, but the gameplay is great. Look around on the site and you’ll find more games too which can keep you buys for a long time.

EmiratesMac on

Campus There are many students who are members of the EmiratesMac Apple User Group, and we’re all about supporting them in various ways. We’re excited about education and we want to be able to reach more students. So we’re starting a new initiative called EmiratesMac On Campus. If you’re a student at a school, college, or university, you could be the Campus Rep for EMUG. Send us an email at campus@emiratesmac.com if you’re interested. You will have to be a member of EMUG yourself first. Your job as Campus Rep will entail getting information from EMUG out to students on the campus, recruiting new EMUG members, supporting Apple fans on campus, and assisting EMUG with organizing events on your campus. The primary task is to be the main point of contact for students on the campus. All Campus Reps will be listed on the User Group page (http://www.emiratesmac.com/ index.php?page=usergroup). If you’re a student on any of the campuses with a Campus Rep, check there for who you should first contact with any questions.

Welcome to 2008

Letters to the Editor This is a new feature we’re offering in Shuffle, where our readers can send us their thoughts, suggestions, comments, complaints, or whatever else may be on their minds. As in most magazines and newspapers, just send an email to shuffle@emiratesmac.com and it may appear in future issues of Shuffle. We hope that you’ll consider writing in and we promise to take everything you have to say seriously and add it to our growing list of things we need to work on with Shuffle. So I am hoping that from next issue this space could be used up by letters sent to us. I should mention that you can write in either English or Arabic, either way is fine. English comments will be

published here and the Arabic comments will be in the Arabic section. That makes sense, right? So send in your Letters to the Editor to shuffle @emiratesmac.com. Please note that we will not accept any letters to the editor to be published here unless they are accompanied by the author’s full name, their email address and their mobile phone number. None of this personal information will be printed in Shuffle, but it may be used in trying to help us solve your problems. Letters will normally be published with the author’s name after it. If you don’t want your name published, please indicate this in your email.

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With this issue we welcome you to a new year: 2008. We hope it will be a year full of exciting things for you as well as for Shuffle. New issues are being planned right now and we’re trying to fill them with content that is both useful and entertaining at the same time. Of course we’ll continue with our common features, like an Adobe Tutorial, SmorgasDashbord, a recipe, Peel the Apple, reviews, and more, but we also hope that we can bring you new things. One thing we’re considering is a series on open source and Mac and we’re also looking at bringing your a few more deverloper-focused articles. Basically what we want to do is try to broaden the appeal of Shuffle so as many of you as possible can find something worthwhile to read in here. And as before, we welcome you to write for us. If you have article ideas, send them to us at shuffle @emiratesmac.com. Also go to http://www.emiratesmac.com to discuss this issue in particular or anything else regarding Shuffle. We always like to hear from you, our readers, about what you think.

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Tribal Trouble (TT) is a rare gem of a game which I’ve enjoyed playing very much for a while now. It’s a real time strategy (RTS) game where you take charge of either a tribe of Vikings or Natives, build a village, and fight your way toward taking over a fantasy island world. If you’ve seen Age of Empires, Age of Mythology or similar games you know pretty much how TT works. You see a world from above and with the mouse you control a number of characters - where they go to and what they do. You command them to build buildings, collect resources, and fight the enemy. That’s pretty much it. And if it sounds simple and easy, it is in some respects. And this is certainly not as complex a game as Civilization, for example, where you have to keep track of intricate webs of interconnected factors in order to make the best possible decisions.

There are combinations of characters, resources, buildings, etc. that you need to consider in TT as well, but it’s much more straightforward than in some other games. And therein lies perhaps the only complaint I have with TT - that there are not more types of tribes, characters, buildings, etc. But that’s a complaint only if TT is directly compared to some of the commercial games I’ve mentioned before, which isn’t really a fair comparison. For the size of the game (it’s only a 24Mb download) and the price ($29.95, around 110 AED) this is a great game.

games you have to build up your little civilization as quickly as you can in order to fight off an invading enemy and eventually invade and destroy your adversary. If you’re playing a campaign, you have to accomplish a mission on an island before you can move on to the next and tackle another mission. Unfortunately there is no way in TT to save a game in progress; it saves automatically, but only when you complete a level. Perhaps this is a small thing but it’s inconvenient, if nothing else, to have to give up a game in progress without any way of saving the progress.

Peons and warriors

Create your own game

Your typical game starts with a number of Peons (your basic working characters) stranded on an island somewhere. The Peons have to be directed to gather resources (wood, rock, iron, or chickens) and build buildings (Quarters, Armories, and Watch towers). In the Quarters you create more Peons and with the Armory you can turn Peons into Warriors with different weapons and, ultimately, into the most powerful being in TT - the Chieftain. In most

A unique and pretty cool feature of TT is that you can create your own game scenario complete with map and other game characteristics. Your created scenario comes with a unique code that you can distribute to others who would want to try the same scenario. So you can create a scenario with some particular characteristics and email the code to your friends. TT is also an online game where, it is claimed, the most enjoyable aspect of this game lies.

Tribal Trouble

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Often even the most simple games become intensely enjoyable once you play against other human players. Low requirements

There are many things to like about TT, and some of them concern the game play I’ve laid out above. Something else that’s impressive about TT is the performance. I’ve played it on a Mac mini 1.42Ghz 1Gb RAM, running Mac OS X 10.4.4 at 800×600 as well as 1024×768, and it runs “as smooth as butter” to borrow an expression from Steve Jobs. It’s a cross-platform game (Linux, Windows and Mac) which usually doesn’t bode well for performance, but I’m happy to report you can run this on relatively unimpressive hardware - which is really nice. TT seems to be a fully 3D-realized game. By that I mean it doesn’t look like flat 2D sprites wrapped onto 3D spaces. You can zoom in and out ( a nice feature is that the sound “zooms” along with the view), scroll around, change the viewing angle, and more. Basically you can look around everywhere and anywhere in the game to make sure you get the best possible view. Simple but challenging

In conclusion this is a rather remarkable game considering the graphics, game play, performance, and price. It’s simple to get going with it, but offers plenty of challenges that will keep you glued to your computer for a long time. As a Mac user it’s really nice to see a good-looking game that runs on relatively simple hardware that is also cross-platform. Go download the game, get your Peons building and collecting, and take your Warriors into the next village. I’m off for another round of TT, and I know that when I’m finished playing, I will wish there was more and that’s a pretty good indication of a game’s quality, I think.

“Once upon a time, a gang of Viking raiders got so drunk celebrating their latest pillaging that they got lost on the high sea and stranded on a remote group of tropical islands. Here they chose to stay for a while, much to the annoyance of the local Natives…”

You can download TT from http:// tribaltrouble.com. Price: A full version is AED110 ($29.95). This review was originally published on EmiratesMac.com (http:// www.emiratesmac.com/forums/ news-rumors-mac/261-review-tribal-trouble.html).

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Mac Models 101 Mac mini

Selecting what Mac to buy can sometimes be daunting, especially if you’re new to Macs. Therefore we put together this short guide to the different models of Macintosh computers currently on offer from Apple. This guide only offers some brief pointers. To evaluate what you should buy, we advice you spend some time with the Mac in a store. iMac The ultimate home desktop computer, the iMac is the all-in-one that packs a punch. You can get a 20 or 24-inch screen, up to 4GB of RAM, and 1TB of hard drive. The iMac’s selling point is the integrated package, which also happens to look really awesome. Price: from AED6199.

The introductory model, petite as it is, still packs quite a punch. Don’t take its small size as a sign that it’s slow. It comes with a Core2Duo processor of up to 2.0GHz, which is plenty for most things you’d want to do. It can also take up to 2GB RAM and 160GB hard drive as well as a SuperDrive. Its limitation lies in that it’s very hard to upgrade, and it has integrated Intel graphics, so don’t expect to play the latest 3D games on a mini. Price: from AED2699.

Mac Pro For the ultimate in power and flexibility, you can’t beat Mac Pro but it’s not cheap. You can get it up to an eight-core configuration, 16GB RAM, four 750GB hard drives, and two optical drives. You also have a selection when it comes to graphics card. Price: from AED11999.

MacBook Pro The main attraction of the MacBook is obviously its size. It has a 13.3-inch display which has enough resolution for most things (but is limited for tasks such as design), a Core2Duo processor of up to 2.2GHz, RAM up to 4GB, and a hard drive up to 250GB. The MacBook is a lot of power in a small package. If mobility is your primary concern, this is your choice. Price: from AED4999. MacBook For the technology you can find inside them, the MacBook Pros are surprisingly compact. But no one can say that the 17inch model is light and easy to transport. The 15-inch model is slightly smaller, and both sport a gorgeous, large display. It has up to 2.6GHz Core2Duo processors, 4GB or RAM, and 250GB of hard drive. If its power and large screens you want, MacBook Pro is your choice. Price: from AED7999.

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iPod Models 101 As with buying a Mac, selecting what iPod to buy is not always easy. In every issue of Shuffle we present the current models of Apple’s iPods, what their main features are, and the starting price. Hopefully this can serve as a simple and quick guide to the iPods so you can make a more informed buying decision.

iPod Classic This is the iPod we have known and loved for so many years, hence the name Classic. With a large display, plenty of storage space, this is still the king of the iPods even though many new models have been released. Comes in versions of 80GB and 160GB and is available in silver and black. Price: from AED1199.

iPod Touch iPod Nano Available in different colors, the Nano is the ultimate fashion accessory. With a wonderfully crisp display it can play video and the small size means you can slip it into your pocket and take it anywhere. Comes in 4GB and 8GB versions in five different colors. Price: from AED649.

This is iPhone without the phone. You get wifi for web browsing with Safari, full-featured iPod of course for music and video, and the wonderful iPhone multitouch interface. Comes in 8GB and 16GB versions Price: from AED1399.

iPod Shuffle This miniscule iPod is different from the other iPods not just in terms of size and price but in the fact that it has no display. The idea is that you listen to music on the go and it shuffles through the songs. There’s even an handy feature in iTunes that will always put a different combination of songs on it when you sync. Price: AED329. Apple TV Although it’s not an iPod we present it here as it seems Apple feels the Apple TV is in the same family. With 40GB or 160GB storage capacity, the Apple TV can take all your music, podcasts, and movies. The multimedia can be synchronized from one iTunes library on a Mac or PC, or streamed from up to five other computers. It’s the easiest way to get your multimedia content onto a TV. Price: from AED1399.

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All about A biography of the co-founder and CEO of Apple

Steve Jobs Part 7

Photograph by Graham Parker appears courtesy of Apple, Inc.

by Romain Moisescot The iPod revolution In 1998, however, Steve didn’t expect the digital hub to expand around music: he thought the next big thing was going to be desktop video editing. He even compared it to the desktop publishing revolution. That’s why the first iApp Apple released was iMovie, not iTunes, and that’s also why the new generation of iMacs were called the iMac DV and they came with FireWire connectivity in which to plug digital movie cameras. When the Napster phenomenon erupted in 2000, Steve realized he may have been wrong this time: “I felt like a dope. I thought we had missed it. We had to work hard to catch up.” (Steve Jobs in “How Big Can Apple Get?”, Fortune, February 2005) To gain some time, Apple bought SoundStep, a fledging start-up that was working on a digital jukebox project called SoundJam. His founder, Jeff Robbin, had been working for the Cupertino firm a few years earlier and was glad to have a chance to come back. He became in charge of the team that, only 4 months later, released the first version of iTunes, which Steve Jobs showed off at the next MacWorld Expo in January 2001. But the biggest coup was yet to come. Even before iTunes was released, Steve asked Robbin and his iTunes team to work on another new project, that of a portable digital music player. Apple’s market analysis had shown that, unlike the market of digital cameras and digital camcorders, the MP3 player market was in quite a horrible mess, with

miserable products and no clear market leader. Apple felt it could seize this opportunity to enter the market in a big way with an elegant and easy-to-use device that would be the ideal companion to its own music software, iTunes. The hurriedness to bring this new product to market was so high that, once again, Apple had to turn to outside engineers. It hired Tony Fadell, a young engineer who had started work on such a handheld music player. Once hired, he decided to base his new design on the work that had already been done by a small California-based design firm, PortalPlayer. Steve convinced the firm to work full-time for Apple and shut down its existing customers, which included IBM and a dozen Asian manufacturers. He was very interested in PortalPlayer’s work because they already had a working operating system for their music device. It took all of Jonathan Ive’s design team’s collective genius to transform the germ of this music player into the stunningly beautiful cigarette-box size iPod that Steve had the privilege to introduce to the world on October 23, 2001, just in time for the holiday season. The player, which carried “1,000 songs in your pocket” for $349, was widely acclaimed for its breathtaking easy-to-use interface and scrolling wheel, its compactness, as well as its large hard drive capacity. But it remained reserved to Mac users. Not for long: in July 2002, iPod (which now could host 2,000 songs on its 10 GB hard disk) was available to the “Dark Side of Com-

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puting”, the Windows world. Everything went very fast from then on. Sales started to take off: 140,000 iPods were sold in Q3, 2002; over 200,000 sold in Q4, 2002; and 336,000 sold in Q3, 2003. But it was only the beginning: in April 2003, Steve unveiled what the iTunes & iPod division, now run by Jon Rubistein, had been working on for the past year: the iTunes Music Store. The iTMS was the first online music store that had achieved to get the blessing of the Big Five, the five largest music labels (Sony, Warner, EMI, BMG and Universal), partly for the same reason that Lotus had let Improv be bundled with NeXTSTEP back in 1990: given Apple’s small marketshare in computers, their risk was quite low. They agreed that Apple could sell songs for just $0.99 and whole albums for $9.99. In addition, Apple already mastered the technologies needed to run such an operation thanks to its own online computer boutique, the Apple Store, as well as its large movie trailer download website. The iTunes Store was a great success from Day One. In 8 weeks, 5 million songs were sold, and 8 more million were purchased in the following 15 weeks, bringing the iTunes’ share of the legal music downloading market to 70% – while it was only available on the Mac! The labels were seduced and they agreed on the next big move: on October 16, 2003, only six months after its introduction, the iTunes Music Store became available for PC.

All about Steve Jobs Steve called the PC version of iTunes the “best Windows app ever written”. It instantaneously became the #1 online music store and today still enjoys an 80% marketshare, having sold 850 million songs by early January 2006. European stores opened in June 2004 and a Japanese store opened in August 2005. A strong store is of course a consequence of an ever-growing iPod marketshare, which is now around 75% of all MP3 players, with a total number of 42 million iPods sold in January 2006, 32 million of which were purchased throughout the year 2005. Latest developments The purpose of this article is not to go into details about Apple’s latest products, so I will avoid mentioning them in great detail. A few dates, however, are worth noting: March 24, 2001: the day Mac OS X’s first public version, code-named Cheetah, became available. Although it had many flaws, they were quickly corrected in the following versions, each of which added dozens of new features to the system: Mac OS X 10.1 (Puma) on September 25, 2001; Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) on September 18 2002; Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) on October 24 2003; and the latest version [at the time of this writing] Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) on April 29, 2004. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is due to be released in 2007. May 15, 2001: the opening of the first Apple Retail Store. Ironically, retailing is the solution that Steve brought up in May 1985 to remedy Apple’s problems, a suggestion about which the board disagreed before it sided with John Sculley. Apple’s retail operations proved very successful, and there are now 135 Apple stores in the US (as well as a few flagship stores in the UK and Japan), which welcomed 26 million visitors during the holiday quarter of 2005. June 6, 2005: during his keynote speech of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2005, Steve announced one of the biggest moves for Apple - the switch from PowerPC chips (the G3 and G5 chips were built by IBM and the G4 by Motorola) to Intel chips. Intel was seen as the enemy when Steve returned to Apple, and he is now considered the company’s savior. One of the reasons this switch was decided is that Apple’s engineers could simply not put a powerful but way too energy-consuming G5 processor inside its PowerBook and iBook portable computers. The whole of Apple’s product line would be using Intel processors by the end

of 2006. The move started with the introduction of the first Intel-based Macs at MacWorld 2006: an iMac using Intel’s Core Duo and a pro notebook, called MacBook Pro, which was the successor of the venerable PowerBook G4. October 12, 2005: after the unveiling of the 5th generation iPods, featuring video capabilities, Steve announced the opening of the iTunes video store. From this day on, you could not only buy music videos but also TV shows from the store for just $1.99. The first TV shows available were the biggest shows in the US, ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Lost’, both of which were made by ABC which was owned by Disney. On that day, Disney’s new CEO Robert Iger was welcomed on stage to talk bout the deal, not failing to mention his current negotiations with Pixar (see below). The iTunes video store now features shows from more than TV stations, including ABC, NBC, USA Networks, ESPN, MTV and The Disney Channel. January 9, 2007: in acccordance with rumors that had been going on for more than three years, Steve unveiled the iPhone at Macworld SF, a state-of-the-art mobile phone combined with a widescreen iPod and a portable fullfeatured Web browser. In addition to the Apple TV, a video system allowing you to watch your digital media on your widescreen TV, the iPhone embodies Apple’s new vocation as a full-blown home electronics company, which started with the iPod. In a highly symbolic move, Steve Jobs announced at the end of the keynote speech that the company was dropping the “computer” in Apple Computer, officially becoming “Apple Inc.” Thirty years after its foundation, it is clear that a new page of Apple’s history has been turned, and the future looks bright: with market dominance in legal music downloading and MP3 players, as well as a competitive lineup of personal computers running the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X, and a world-famous leadership in innovation, the “fruit company” appears stronger than ever. Pixar While Steve dedicated most of its energy to Apple, his “other” company, Pixar, proved even more successful in its own world. Each one of its new feature films: Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004) was a blockbuster by Hollywood’s standards: Monsters Inc. reached over $100

million at the domestic box office in just 9 days, and Finding Nemo $70.2 million in its first weekend! The Pixar deal with Disney for 5 animated features was to end after the release of Cars (2006), and Steve had to re-negotiate the contract. He wanted Pixar to own its next movies as well as The Incredibles and Cars, plus a higher share of the movies’ profits. He wanted to “rent” the Disney marketing machine but not be dependent on the Disney company. However Disney’s CEO Michael Eisner disagreed upon his terms and in January 2004, after ten months of tensions and increasing frustration, the negotiations ended. Steve’s opinion about Disney was quite clear: he didn’t want them to own any of Pixar’s movies because it would allow them to make sequels: “We feel sick about Disney doing sequels, because if you look at the quality of their sequels to such movies as The Lion King 1 1/2 and their Peter Pan sequels, it’s pretty embarrassing.” He declared Disney could no longer create great movies - it was only good at marketing them. “The truth is that there has been little creative collaboration with Disney for years. The collaboration we do have with Disney is centered around the marketing of the films, not the making of them”, He added: “We think the Pixar brand is now the most trusted name in animation” (which is true). The success of The Incredibles thus became extremely important to Pixar, as the movie came out at a time where the animation studio was looking for another company to distribute its work. And it was a success: it won 2 Academy Awards and brought in $261.4 million from the US box office. However, Pixar re-opened its negotiations with Disney in 2005, as The Walt Disney Company got itself a new CEO, Bob Iger. As you’ve read above, Iger was instrumental in agreeing to sell its ABC and Disney channel TV shows on Apple’s iTunes online video store. It was the official start of an appeasement in the relationship between Steve Jobs and Disney. The biggest and most unexpected news was yet to be announced: on January 24, 2006, Disney announced that it would acquire the Pixar Animation Studios. The price tag was set at $7.4 billion (or 2.3 Disney shares for every Pixar share). The Pixar honchos were assigned new roles at Disney: Ed Catmull became President

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of the new Pixar & Disney animation studios, John Lasseter its Chief Creative Officer as well as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Steve himself was appointed to Disney’s Board of Directors (as a non-independent member). Steve officially stated that: “Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders. Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world.” (Official press release) Personal life One of the most difficult episode of Steve’s life occurred in the midst of the turnaround of his very busy career. Let’s hear him talk about it instead of describing it: “About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle

into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now. This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades.” (Stanford Commencement Address, 12 June 2005) The news of Steve’s cancer was made very public (he even released a letter to all Apple’s employees on August 1, 2004 — downloadable on the website). It resulted in the sending of letters of compassion and kind words from the entire world, as well as raised concerns about Steve’s succession as the head of Apple and Pixar. Conclusion After having read this long biography yet very short account of Steve’s career, I hope you get the feeling what an incredible man he is and why he is worth the building of a biography. An orphan raised in a modest background, his flair for business and passion for technology have allowed him to reach fame and fortune in his early 20s. Some people denied his ability to envision the future of technology and have attributed this success to being at the right place at the right time, others said it was all because of his silver tongue, yet he has proved them wrong many times over with Macintosh, Pixar, the digital hub strategy and the iPod. His most highly criticized flaws are also his strongest assests: his drive for perfection, his

Pangea SuperPack: Bargain Games Pangea Software just had their 20th birthday and they celebrated in style by releasing a collection of ten of their games under the name of The X Pack. Unfortunately this collection is no longer available when you read this but there’s the Super Pack instead, which is almost as good. It’s a wide selection of games of different types: Enigmo, OttoMatic, Bugdom 2, Cro-Mag Rally, and Billy Frontier. It’s quite a collection and there’s something for everyone. For those who want more action there’s Billy Frontier, for kids there’s Bugdom 2 and Cro-Mag Rally. If you’re into adventure and family-friendly action, there’s OttoMatic. You might be happy to know that most, if not all, of these games are available in Universal Binary as well as pure PowerPC versions – so they’ll play even on pre-Intel Macs. You can find Pangea’s Super Pack at http://www.pangeasoft.net/superpack/. Price: $49.95.w

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refusal to compromise with products as well as employees, his undeniable business skills, his love of aesthetics. He has left an indelible mark on every one of the three companies he’s founded: one has failed, the two others have become giant successes and corporate icons, but all are recognized as being at the edge of innovation in their respective fields. Steve has also learned from his failures and has gained maturity. Isn’t it ironic that it is the enfant terrible of Silicon Valley (as he was often called) who never graduated from college who was honored to pronounce the Commencement Address at Stanford at age 50? His speech has circulated all around the globe as an example of wisdom. While many would have given up after the two successive downfalls he’s endured, Steve Jobs has made his way back to the top with his characteristic intensity and force of will, and with astonishing success: twelve years ago, he was a technological outcast, and he’s now considered one of the most important personalities in the world. Is it luck? Maybe. His charisma, his chutzpah? It sure is. But especially the extraordinary amount of talent and genius of a man who has never ceased to impress the world, and is not willing to stop. Credits This biography of Steve Jobs is published with the permission of Romain Moisescot. You can find the original online at www. romain-moisescot.com/steve/biography/ html/biographyFR.html. This was the last piece in this series Look for all the articles online at http://www.emiratesmac.com.

Games for

Kids

by Crystal (EmiratesMac)

Finding the right games for your children can be hard. You want them to play games that will help them with school, reading, writing, colors, and so on. But if your child is like most children, they will get tired of the games fast or they will not like the game to start with, and this can hit the pocketbook hard – unless you find free games. Here a few of my picks, which can help your child learn and play at the same time.

Tommy And the Magical Words Tommy and the Magical Words (http://www.redmarblegames. com) will keep your older children and your inner child busy for hours. Not only do you have to make up words for the tiles that you are given, you have to make it to the next island or the next stop. You can try the demo before you buy it for $19.99.

LadyBug LadyBug (http://www.midoritech.com/ladybugs.html) is a colorful game that will entertain your child for hours. This is not a free game but it is a ‘try it before you buy it’. At $9.99, it will not break your wallet even if your child does not like it. This game will not only help your child with colors but also builds their fine motor skills as they take the ladybug through the flowers to their very colorful homes.

TuxPaint Tux Paint (http://www.newbreedsoftware.com) is a drawing program that will bring out the creative side in your child. This free game will entertain your children for hours, and what better way to get your children to be creative. Even the adults in the family can entertain themselves with this program.

BabyShield BabyShield (http://www.dugaldmorrow.com) is a game or program that might just save your valuable work on the computer. Have you ever worked for many hours only to have your child suddenly come behind you and hit that delete button, finding all your hard work gone in a second? Well this program can save you that pain, and it is only $7.00. BabyShield is nice in that it not only saves your work, but also entertains your child while teaching them colors and animals. Math Tac Toe Math Tac Toe (http://fastrabbitsoftware.com/products/ math-tac-toe.htm). What better way to help your child with math than making a game out of it? It’s basically Tic Tac Toe, but with math. For a cost of $9.95 it’s a cheap way to help your child with their math.

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I’ve been a Mac user for the last three years. I guess I was lucky enough to join the Apple cult right at its third revolution. The first I believe was when Apple created the personal computer revolution, the second was when Apple created amazing seamlessly artistic designs underpinned by an amazing operating system: Mac OS X. The third I consider to be the period that started almost three years ago, when Apple computers started outselling all other PCs on the market. Let’s look past the huge selling power of iPods and iPhones, which seem to steal the limelight away from the Macs themselves. When most PC manufacturers are selling products at an annual increasing rate of 3-5 percent, Apple has consistently been outselling the competition at about 10 percent a year. So what? What does this mean? Choice. Four years ago the choices in games for a Mac were slim and none. So much so that I would have never even thought of a Mac as a gaming platform. I was very content with my Sony PS2 and using my brother’s top of the line Dell for PC games. Today, a MacBook Pro is as much a gaming machine as an Alienware notebook. That’s something huge considering that Alienware is the gamer’s game machine. Apple’s shift from G4 and G5 processors to Intel processors mean that a huge power gap was closed between Macs and high end PCs. Don’t get me wrong, as I type I’m typing on my trusty G4 iBook. But in the real world, and when high powered applications, and in specific games are concerned, my poor G4 doesn’t stand a chance. Today an iMac with its robust 2.8Ghz of Core 2 Extreme power and 1TB of hard drive space is as much a gaming machine as an Alienware PC, and frankly speaking, it looks much much better. In three years I have seen Macs go from professional/design oriented (or perceived) computers to a truly life oriented platform, inviting in every aspect, from workplace spreadsheets to amature web design, to the newest title in the DOOM franchise. A platform that was once so professionally oriented is still that

on many levels, and so much more on so many others. A peek at any of the usual suspects in PC gaming, be it Alienware, Dell, or Toshiba, and then today’s Macs proves my point. A Mac has become a gaming monster in its own right. Searching for PC games on Amazon. com today will show that there are about 60-70% the amount of games for Macs that there are for PCs. This means that for every 100 games for PCs, there are 60 for Macs. This is a huge change from just over three years ago when the number would have been closer to 20.

Mac: a Gamer’s

Dream?

And its not just the more robust hardware that makes contemporary Macs a viable gaming machine. It’s the fact that top notch gaming producers acknowledge Macs today as a platform worth developing for. With such mainstream titles as Need for Speed, Harry Potter, and Star Wars available for the Mac today, the momentum has been set. Even Dashboard in OS X can be a mini gaming engine with small, amazingly rendered, and very fun games available at a cool sweep of the track pad. Back in the day, I questioned if the move to Intel processors was even a good idea. I hated the loss of identity that it might create for us Mac users. I’m glad to say that my fears were ill founded. It has brought nothing but raw power and an more openness to the Mac platform, enough to which gamers would flock to it, game developers would seek it out, and us Mac users would accept it, but not to the point where us Mac users would forget who we are in the Personal Computer world. Today I can spend more time gaming on my Mac than I do on my old rusty PS2. So much so that I didn’t even bother picking up a PS3 or Nintendo Wii. The new Intel Macs are a gamer’s dream if that gamer is interested in more than just gaming, they combine raw power – on par with most gaming machines, amazing technology – that enables gamers to see a Mac as a viable gaming platform, breath taking design – which is second to none, and above all, a newly found choice. Something Macs may have lacked once, but do not any longer.

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by Nassir

Razer Pro|Click and Pro|Pad In the March 2007 issue of Shuffle we reviewed the Pro|Click and the Pro|Pad from Razer (see “Review: Razer Pro|Click and Pro|Pad”, page 7). Since it’s a combination that is well suited for games, we thought we’d repeat the main points here. The main selling point of the Pro|Click mouse is the high resolution, 1600DPI which, according to Razer, is about twice that of the sensors used in most mice. Basically this means that it is more responsive to your movements and more exact as well. The Pro|Pad is all aluminum, with a teflon coating and rubber-type feet. It works very nicely together with the Pro|Click mouse, and you can see how they’re really made for each other. Since both the Pro|Click and the Pro|Pad both use Teflon coating, they work almost without friction. You can find more information about Razer’s products at http://www.razerpro.com, and you can download their driver software from http://www.razersupport.com. Price: The Pro|Click sells for $59.99 and the Pro|Pad for $29.99.

EmiratesMac Training Courses EmiratesMac’s course offerings start off with Introduction to Mac OS X and iLife. In the Mac OS X course you will learn the basics of how to log in and get going with your Mac, find your way around the interface, open and save files, do some simple maintenance, get online, and more. In the iLife course we cover how to manage and edit photos, create movies, burn DVDs, create web pages, and put together a music masterpiece, all with the iLife applications. ©iStockphoto.com/hdoggrafix

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Shuffle Reviews Games galore, that’s what this issue is all about. We review three games, so there’s a little something for everyone. All the games are generously donated by iStyle and they’ve been raffled off to a few lucky winners on EmiratesMac.com.

FIND MORE ONLINE. You can find more information online and share your views about the items we tested in this issue or anything else on our web site at www.emiratesmac.com. ©iStockphoto.com/blaneyphoto

Harry Potter Collection Price AED249 From Aspyr Distributor iStyle Web http://www.aspyr.com/product/ game_specs/39

The Harry Potter Collection, also called the Deluxe edition, basically consists of the games Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. Missing from the collection is the Order of the Phoenix game. Unfortunately the games are a bit old by now (they date back to 2002) but if you’re a Harry fan, they’re still great games. In creating these games they’ve stuck pretty close to the movies, which I guess can be both good and bad. You get to be Harry in the environments from the films; walk around the halls of Hogwarths, fly on a broomstick, play Quidditch, use the invisibility cloak, and use potions and spells, etc. Hogwarts seems very familiar (yes, I’ve seen all Harry Potter movies) and you quickly get into the spirit of the place and all the people you meet. The game makers seem to have come up with a good balance of action and puzzles; there’s plenty of fast-paced action that gets the pulse going, but there’s also puzzles and clues to be solved that keep your mind working. Unfortunately the controls are not very easy to manage and I can see it being hard for some younger players to get it right. Probably because of their age, the graphics are not very good, but they do the trick. The benefit of that is that The Harry Potter Collection has modest system requirements: you need a PowerPC G3, 350MHZ or better. This means it should play well on many older Macs, which can be a blessing in homes where the kids have a G3 or G4 Mac. To conclude, if you’re young at heart and a fan of the Harry Potter movies, the Harry Potter Collection is a good investment. But if you’re after the latest in game graphics and don’t care much for the Harry movies, try another game instead.

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Shuffle Reviews

Prey Price AED299 From Aspyr Distributor iStyle Web http://www.aspyr.com/product/ info/67

In Prey you play Tommy, a native American and you’re task is to run around various alien worlds and shoot as many aliens as you can, while at the same time trying to figure out clues for how you shall proceed. Your ultimate goal is to rescue your girlfriend Jen and your grandfather. Prey doesn’t offer anything revolutionary, but should rather be seen as a welcome addition to the somewhat suffering FPS (first person shooter) market. Perhaps there’s little more to do with this type of game but at least Prey makes a good attempt and for fans of these types of games it’s quite a lot of fun. This is a great game but the introduction is really bad. They make you sit through many minutes of a sort of movie that I would guess is intended to explain the setup for the game. Some aliens come and take you all into their spaceship, where you manage to break free - and that’s when the fun starts. You get a wide range of cool guns which you can use to blow any alien to smithereens. So far it’s a pretty standard FPS game, but it does offer a few innovative features. You can flip gravity, so you suddenly walk on the ceiling - making it possible to pass certain obstacles. On special walkways, you can walk on the walls or the ceiling. Finally, you can also spirit walk; this means you leave your body behind and can walk across spaces and through walls where your body cannot pass. You need a pretty speedy Mac to really enjoy Prey. Minimum specifications include a G5 or Intel chip of at least 1.8GHz and a dedicated 3D accelerated graphics card. To sum up, Prey is a breath of fresh air in a crowded FPS market. If you’re an FPS fan it’s a safe buy, and you will enjoy many hours of intense action, blasting away evil aliens.

The Sims: Life Stories Price AED219 From Aspyr Distributor iStyle Web http://www.aspyr.com/product/ info/72

Sims: Life Stories is one of the latest additions to the Sims series of games. It features a new Life Story mode in which you play as a particular character in the game. System specifications are pretty modest; Aspyr says Power PC G4, G5, or an Intel Chipset with a speed of at least 1GHZ. We tested it on a MacBook Core2Duo 2GHZ, and it ran perfectly fine. This makes Sims: Life Stories notebook friendly. Life Stories is based on Sims 2 and in many ways it is the same as Sims 2. But they’ve scaled down the requirements - so what are you giving up? The “Four corners” neighborhood in Life Stories is much smaller than in Sims 2 (where it really is unlimited). You can have up to four family members in Life Stories, half of the maximum family in Sims 2. Also the different types of items (furniture, tools, etc.) that you can get in Life Stories are very limited. So what’s new in Life Stories? In the Life Story mode you play as one out of two characters, and you follow them through all events in their lives. It’s a bit like an extended tutorial mode in a way. To me the beauty of the Sims was that you could do whatever you wanted in order to see what happened. In Life Story mode you’re limited. Perhaps we should view Life Stories as just that; a tutorial you go through before attempting the “real” Sims. To sum up, if you are a Sims fan this is probably a good reason to spend some money and waste a few more hours at the computer. But if you’re not a Sims fan, move right along; there are better games to buy. I’d much rather see Life Stories as an expansion to Sims 2, where I could experience the full complexity and variety of Sims 2 and select the simplified Life Story mode if I so wanted.

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Games for

MacBook

Many of you have MacBooks or Mac minis that have in common an integrated graphics card which is severely limited in terms of gaming. We want to show you a few examples of games that play well on these Macs, because you shouldn’t be left out of all the fun.

Devastro Devastro is a wonderful little game in which you control a group of soldiers walking around killing aliens, flying brains, robots and more. On the face of it, it’s simple but in reality it’s anything but as you advance through the levels. Simple, but very addictive, with great graphics and a sense of humor, Devastro is free to try. Price: $19.95 for full version from http:// www.catnapgames.com/games/devastro.

SuperTux You know the original Super Mario games? Then you know what SuperTux is all about. It’s a side-scrolling game in which you control Tux, a penguin, through various levels, jumping, running, etc. It’s clean and family-friendly. SuperTux is free from http://supertux.lethargik.org.

WingNuts 2 You play the character WingNut, a daring pilot out to save the world from the evil Baron Von Schtopwatch. Controls are fairly simple, graphics are great, and it’s full of tonguein- cheek humor. WingNuts 2 is free to try. Price: $29.95 for full version from http://www.freeverse.com/games/ game/?id=3010.

Tremulous This is a great game where teams of players fight against space aliens. Humans get better and better weapons and aliens develop into new and more powerful creatures. Advanced 3D graphics aside, it plays well on a MacBook. Tremulous is free from http://www.tremulous.net.

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My Favorite Podcasts by Klaus Mac/Apple Podcasts Apple Quick Tip of the Week (Video) http://www.apple.com/business Macworld (Video) http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mwvodcast/ Typical Mac User Podcast (Audio and Video) http://typicalmacuser.com/ ScreenCastsOnline (Video) http://www.screencastsonline.com Mac OS Ken (Audio) http://macosken.com MacBreak Weekly (Audio) http://twit.tv/mbw MacBreak (Video) http://pixelcorps.tv/macbreak MacCast (Audio) http://www.maccast.com TWiT – This Week in Tech (Audio) http://twit.tv TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (Audio) http://www.tuaw.com Mac Tips Daily! (Audio) http://www.thinkmac.net Macworld Keynote Address http://www.apple.com/ Technology in General GeekBrief.TV (Video) http://www.podshow.com/shows/?show=hd New York Times (Video) David Pogue http://www.davidpogue.com/ Leo Laporte – The Tech Guy (Audio) http://techguylabs.com The Chris Pirillo Show (Video) http://chris.pirillo.com Cranky Geeks (Video) http://www.crankygeeks.com ScobleShow (Video) http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow Also worth considering The Mac Show (Video) http://www.itidiots.com MacFormat (Audio) http://www.macformat.co.uk/page/ macformat?catname=/Podcast Mac Roundtable Podcast (Audio) http://www.macroundtable.com Games for iPhone Sudoku: http://macmost.com/iphonegames/ Sudoku.html Bejeweled: http://static.popcap.com/iphone/

Profile of a

Mac Seller by Fadi

Name:

Faisal A. Al Dekhayil

Title:

Store Manager

Store:

Global Store, Riyadh, KSA

Q: When did you start working for Global Store? A: Fifth of February 2006. Q: What did you do before working at Global Store? A: I was studying Computer Science at Riyadh Teachers College. Q: When was the first time you used a Mac and what your first impression? A: When I was working in Saudi Research and Publishing Co. as cooperative designer. At that time we were using Apple computers and Mac OS X Panther as the operating system. Mac is, indeed, a significantly superior machine - especially in the set-up. Things seem to be designed to go faster. Q: What’s the best part of your job?

Chess: http://ichess.morfik.com/index.html

A: When I see the satisfaction of people after having switching to Mac.

Carmadillo: http://mynumo.com/iphone/carmadillo/carmadillo.htm

Q: What is your favorite Apple product and why?

Bubble Trouble: http://xwuz.com/bubble/ game.html

A: Everything that is produced by Apple has the nice design style, but I prefer the iMac because it’s a distinct desktop with not only nice design but also powerful performance. Q: What is the most challenging part of your job? A: Trying to find the best solutions for our clients, and making the Mac a good environment for all requirements. Q: Do you have a funny story about something that has happened in your job? A: Once when I was with a client and we were discussing specs and the differences between computers. I was playing with a rubber band in my hand when suddenly the rubber band slipped of my hand and flew off straight into the client’s face. I apologized to him while he laughed. Q: Is there any particular product you wish Apple would release? A: Yeah sure - a lot of things starting with tablet laptops, mini Mac Pros, new displays and iPhones for the Middle East.

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Peel The Apple Get answers to your Apple tech support questions. Email techsupport@emiratesmac.com

Q: I am unable to access my Hotmail account from my Apple computer. I am also unable to access my work email website and some other sites. Also, I don’t know how to “clean up” my computer i.e. to consolidate all my files. Do you think I need to buy Norton Antivirus? A: If we start from the end, no I don’t think you need to buy Norton Antivirus. If you want to put any antivirus software on your Mac, I’d recommend you first try the free ClamXAV from http://www.clamxav.com. Now to your second question, it’s hard to give a concise answer without knowing more. I would check your network settings, and see if you’ve set a proxy, for example. And if all other sites work fine, try a different browser. You don’t say what type of system your corporate email is using, nor do you specify the exact error you have. At a guess, it may be that your corporate email only works with Internet Explorer on Windows, or that it’s not accessible from outside the company network. Q: Oh how I love this Apple-only kind of odd behavior. My Mighty Mouse is scrolling only down. Not only this, but also left and right – in fact, anywhere but up! A: It needs a good cleaning. That small scroll ball on top can get dirty and then it seems it very often stops scrolling in one direction. Apple has a Tech Note for what you can try: http://docs.info.apple.com/article. html?artnum=302417. Q: I have used Speedtouch 330, but I am unable to connect. I think it does not support Macs. Thomson website mentions that for Apple Intel I need to buy another ADSL modem. I have a Zyxel 660HW-61 as well. I have somehow misplaced the driver CD. I looked through the website but could not make

out whether this one would support Mac Leopard. Any help would be appreciated. A: I have no personal experience of those two models, but I suspect strongly that they use a USB to connect a computer to the modem. If so, that type of modem is known for not being very Mac friendly. My recommendation would be to buy an ADSL modem that has Ethernet connections because then you don’t need any drivers. Q: I just bought Leopard and I will install it tomorrow. I want to ask if I must backup all my files? And will the playlists in iTunes be deleted? Because I’ve created a lot of playlists so it would take much time to redo them again. A: Yes, before any major installation of software and especially before installing a new operating system, you do need to do a complete backup. We have covered backup in previous issues of this column, but I’ll give you my recommended way of doing it again. Before such a major update, I mirror my Mac’s drive to an external hard drive. My preferred software for this is SuperDuper. Then once I have a working (exact) copy, I upgrade that copy (not the internal drive). Once the upgrade is done and I’m satisfied it’s working fine, I mirror the external drive back to the internal drive. This makes sure I have a working copy of the old system until I know the new version is working. Concerning iTunes playlists, with this method they should copy over to the new drive and upgrade along with the rest of the operating system. Q: I saw that a Mac keyboard doesn’t have an Alt key. What’s the Mac’s alternative or isn’t there one? I’m on about a button that does exactly the same as the Windows Alt, not Alt gr.

A: Actually if you look at a Mac keyboard you will see an Alt key. It’s usually referred to as the Option key though, rather than Alt, so that may cause some confusion. It’s placed between the Command and the Ctrl keys on the bottom row on the keyboard. Q: I have purchased an iPhone in Dubai and I’m not sure how to activate the phone services. I am a user of the Etisalat network. How can I purchase a new phone number or transfer my current services to my iPhone? A: Remember that the iPhone is not officially sold or supported in the UAE, so there’s no warranty, service nor support for it. And if you want to use it as a phone here, it has to be unlocked. Finally, there’s no such thing as iPhone service, it’s just the same GSM mobile phone

service have for any other mobile phone. Sendyou your Apple tech support

questions to techsupport@emiratesmac.com. Your questions are answered by Magnus Nystedt, a Certified Apple Help Desk Specialist, with experience of Macs going back to the Mac Plus. Also with over ten years of teaching IT at college and university, he’s in a perfect position to help you sort out your problems. You can reach Magnus at magnus@ nystedt.org or at www.nystedt.org. Apple photo ©iStockphoto.com/creacart

24 shuffle Middle East | www.emiratesmac.com | shuffle@emiratesmac.com

Recipe:

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Weaving The Web

by Crystal (EmiratesMac) This recipe will make you all warm inside – what better way to enjoy winter. The trick is to make sure that you keep the ratio of apple and butternut squash right. You can even make this ahead of time and freeze it. This dish will make a great starter for dinner or a good lunch with some good rustic bread. This recipe serves 4-6 and it’s from Simply Recipes at http://www.simplyrecipes.com. I wish you happy eating and staying warm this winter season. Happy New Year!

Ingredients

Instructions

1 yellow onion, chopped

Combine butter, onion, celery, and carrot in large saucepan.

1 rib of celery, chopped I carrot, chopped 1 Tbsp butter 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, chopped 1 tart green apple, peeled, cored, chopped (squash and apple should be at a 3 to 1 ratio)

Cook for 5 minutes.

http://www.apple.com/games Apple Games

http://www.aspyr.com Aspyr

Add squash, apple, and broth. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is soft, then puree. Add spices to taste.

3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth if vegetarian)

http://www.insidemacgames.com Inside Mac Games

Pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper

Crystal is the founder and editor of EmiratesBaby.com. She writes about various kinds of issues of interest to parents in the UAE. Crystal will be bringing us a new recipie based on apples in each edition of the newsletter. She promises it will be an exciting and mouth-watering mix of dessert, main courses, snacks, and more.

http://www.macgamefiles.com Mac Game Files

Apple photo ©iStockphoto.com/Wael Hamdan

shuffle@emiratesmac.com | www.emiratesmac.com | shuffle Middle East 25

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Gaming Accessories Joystick

It’s not enough to just have the Mac and the game, you also need some other things to make your gaming experience complete. We’ve tried to identify some of the more common types of accessories you may want to consider if you’re a frequent gamer.

You already have a keyboard and mouse, but some games are just better suited to joystick. Like a flight simulator, for example. You don’t have that much choice when it comes to joysticks for Mac, but Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is one great choice. Price: around AED120. USB Hub With joystick, extra hard drive, printer, keyboard, mouse, and more, you can’t have enough USB ports. The Belkin Hi-speed USB 2.0 7-port USB port is self-powered and will offer you more than enough ports in one sleek design. Price: around AED150.

Gamepad The Macally iShock II USB Force Feedback Programmable Game Controller is a great choice if you want to try something different for your games. Could work very well with something like WingNuts, for example. Price: around AED100.

Memory It may not seem like a very obvious gaming accessory, but maxing out the RAM in your Mac can make a difference between an okay and a great gaming experience. Graphics can look better, gameplay can be smoother, loading between levels can be quicker. What is not to like? Price: varies between Mac models and amount of megabytes.

Steering Wheel Are you into racing games? If so, you know it’s hard to drive a car with a keyboard, mouse, joystick or gamepad. The only real choice for racing fans is a steering wheel. Logitech’s MOMO Racing, wheel and pedals set, will make you feel like the next Schumacher . Price: around AED400.

shuffle@emiratesmac.com | www.emiratesmac.com | shuffle Middle East 29

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‫ ‬

December_Ar.indd 1

12/31/07 4:59:01 AM

December_Ar.indd 2

12/31/07 4:59:02 AM

‫احملتويات‬

‫من نحن؟‬

‫رجاء‬ ‫هل لي من كلمة‬ ‫ً‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫ماك االمارات ‪...‬‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫من كل صنف‬

‫تصدر مجلة “شفل” من مجموعة ماك اإلمارات‪ ،‬وهي إصدارة مستقلة غير هادفة‬ ‫للربح حتتوي على أخبار‪ ،‬وتعليقات‪ ،‬وإرشادات ِ‬ ‫وح َيل‪ ،‬ومقابالت شخصية‪ ،‬ودروس‪،‬‬ ‫والكثير الكثير‪ .‬هذه االصدارة تغطي عالم ماكنتوش وآي بود وآي فون وتلفزيون‬ ‫أبل‪ ،‬وأي شيء يخص أبل مع التركيز على منطقة الشرق األوسط‪.‬شفل هي اإلصدارة‬ ‫الرسمية ملجموعة مستخدمي ماك اإلمارات ‪ EMUG‬فيها ننشر معلومات تفصيلية‬ ‫عن املجموعة ونشاطاتها‪ .‬يرأس حترير إصدارة “شفل” عمران العويس @‪omran‬‬ ‫‪ ،emiratesmac.com‬ومدير التحرير ماغنوس ِ‬ ‫نيستد ‪.magnus@emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫لالتصال بنا‬

‫نوع‬

‫‪5‬‬

‫ماراثون‪ :‬اللعبة العتيدة‬

‫‪6‬‬

‫كتاب لتعلم استخدام ‪iPod‬‬

‫لشفل منتدى متخصص للحوار مبوقع مجموعة ماك اإلمارات وعنوانه‬ ‫‪ www.emiratesmac.com/forums‬ميكنكم طرح التعليقات واملقترحات والدخول في‬ ‫مناقشات مع مستخدمي املوقع اآلخرين‪ .‬كما ميكن االتصال باملطبوعة على عنوانها‬ ‫البريدي على ص ب‪ ، 70263 :‬أبوظبي‪ ،‬اإلمارات العربية املتحدة‪ ،‬هاتف رقم ‪+971508171164:‬‬ ‫فاكس ‪ +97126664289 :‬أو زيارة املوقع األليكتروني ‪www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫حق التنازل‬

‫بينما نبذل جهودا ً مخلصة للتأكد من دقة محتوى هذه املطبوعة‪ ،‬إالإننا النتحمل‬ ‫أية مسؤولية إزاء األخطاء‪ ،‬أو احلذف‪ ،‬أو التغييرات في املعلومات املطبوعة‪ ،‬اآلراء التي‬ ‫يتم التعبير عنها في هذه اإلصدارة ليست بالضرورة آراء مجموعة ماك اإلمارات‪.‬‬ ‫ميلك الكُ تّاب املعنيون حقوق نشر مقاالتهم‪ ،‬إال إذا مت النص خالف لذلك‪.‬‬

‫هل ترغب باإلعالن في “شفل”؟‬

‫وبرنامج ‪iTunes‬‬

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‫نهاية اإلدمان‬

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‫نظام ماكنتوش العربي ‪...‬‬

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‫هذه اإلصدارة هي املطبوعة الوحيدة في دولة اإلمارات العربية املتحدة ذات التوجه‬ ‫اخلاص نحو منتجات أبل‪ ،‬مثل أجهزة حاسبات ماكنتوش وآي بود‪ .‬عندما‬ ‫تُعلن في “شفل” فإنك ستستهدف شريحة واسعة من مستخدمي ماكنتوش‬ ‫وآي بود في املنطقة‪ ،‬إننا نسعى حثيثاً جلعل “شفل” إصدارة عالية املستوى‬ ‫يتطلع األشخاص القتناءها لفحواها الق ّيم‪ .‬هذه اإلصدارة يكتبها ويصدرها‬ ‫أعضاء مجموعة ماك اإلمارات‪ .‬أال ترغب اآلن في أن يرتبط اسمك بكل ذلك؟‬ ‫إن كنت تتطلع لرعاية “شفل” أو شراء مساحة إعالنية في هكذا إصدارة‬ ‫مميزة‪ ،‬اتصل بنا على هاتف ‪( +971508171164‬كريستال) أو على عنوان البريد‬ ‫اإلليكتروني‪ crystal@emiratesmac.com .‬للحصول على متطلبات املواد اإلعالمية‪.‬‬

‫هل ترغب أن تساهم بالكتابة في “شفل”؟‬

‫إن كنت تطالع هذه املساحة وكنت عضوا ً مبجموعة ماك اإلمارات‪ ،‬أو أي مجموعة‬ ‫أخرى ملستخدمي أبل مسجلة في الشرق األوسط‪ ،‬فإننا نأمل بتلقي مساهمتك‪ .‬نحن‬ ‫نبحث عن أي نوع من املوضوعات التي ترغب بكتابتها‪ ،‬وما عليك سوى اختيار موضوع‬ ‫الكتابة سواء عن تاريخ أبل ومنتجاتها‪ ،‬أو عرض جهاز أو برنامج‪ ،‬أو مقاالت‪ ،‬أو مواد‬ ‫تعليمية‪ ،‬أو إرشادات ونصائح‪ .‬كما وميكنك الكتابة باللغة اإلجنليزية أو العربية‪ .‬إن‬ ‫جميع من يساهم بالكتابة في “شفل” هم من املستخدمني‪ ،‬مثلك متاماً‪ ،‬فإذا كنت‬ ‫تفكر بكتابة موضوع ‪ ،‬ارسل رسالة الكترونية على العنوان ‪contact@emiratesmac.‬‬ ‫‪ com‬أو اترك رسالة تتضمن فكرتك على املوقع اإللكتروني ‪www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫نشرة شفل تصدر برعاية‪:‬‬

‫‪ shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪3‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:03 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 3‬‬

‫هل لي من‬ ‫رجاء‬ ‫كلمة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الــعــاب املــاكـنـتـوش‬ ‫قد تكون مقامرة‬ ‫لنكن صريحني حول هذا املوضوع‪ ،‬الأحد يشتري‬ ‫املاكنتوش ليلعب عليه‪ .‬إذا كنت من متحمسي االلعاب‬ ‫فأنت دون شك متلك جهاز بي سي او منصة لعب كبالي‬ ‫ستيشن‪ .‬هذا اليعني بالضرورة ان املاكنتوش اليصلح‬ ‫استعماله كجهاز العاب‪ .‬وألكون واضحا ايضا‪ ،‬فإن حصة‬ ‫املاكنتوش في سوق احلاسبات تزيد باضطراد وهناك من‬ ‫يجني ما ًال من بيع العاب للماكنتوش‪ .‬إن حصة االسد من‬ ‫العاب املاكنتوش تذهب لشركة «أسباير»‪ ،‬ولكن هناك‬ ‫العديد غيرهم ممن ُيبدع بالعاب املاك‪ ،‬حتى بعدما اعتبره‬ ‫العديدين سوقاً م ّيتاً‪ .‬فبعدما حتولت ابل لشريحة املعالج‬ ‫«انتل» انفتح عالم واسع امام مطوري العاب املاك‪ .‬لنأخذ‬ ‫مثال شركة ترانس جيمينغ سايدر بورتابلتي تكنولوجي‬ ‫‪ TransGaming Cider portability technology‬جتعل من‬ ‫ال ُيسر ربط لعبة بي سي مع املاك‪ .‬فهناك اسماء العاب المعة‬ ‫متوفرة مثل ‪ Battlefield 2142‬و ‪Command & Conquer‬‬ ‫‪ 3‬و ‪ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08‬فهناك مزايا واعدة‬ ‫في هذا النوع من التكنولوجيا‪ .‬وطبعا الننسى مفاخر ارث‬ ‫العاب املاك من املاضي التي قد اندثر بعضها في السنون‬ ‫االخيرة مثل سلسلة العاب ‪ Halo‬التي اكتسبت شهرة‬ ‫من جناحها الباهر لشركة ‪ Bungie‬و ‪ Microsoft‬ومنها‬ ‫نستطيع تتبع لعبة ‪ Marathon‬التي نزلت من ضمن العاب‬ ‫املاكنتوش فقط‪.‬‬ ‫ممايؤسف له إن كمية ونوعية العاب املاك نزلت في‬ ‫احلضيض منتصف التسعينات ابان انحدار وضع ابل في‬ ‫السوق ولم تتحسن االمور من حينها وحلد االن‪ .‬ولكنني‬ ‫مطمأن وانا احتدث االن بأن وضع ابل افضل بكثير‬ ‫من السابق‪ ،‬والكثير من مطوري االلعاب وضعوا هذا‬ ‫التحسن نصب اعينهم وهم يعلمون ان هذا سوقاً واعدا ً‬ ‫لتسويق العابهم‪ .‬هذا يجعلنا آملني باسماء العاب جديدة‬ ‫للماكنتوش يتزايد مع حتسن وضع ابل في السوق‪.‬‬ ‫اجتهدت في هذا العدد (اجلانب االجنليزي) ان ادرج االلعاب‬ ‫املتوفرة للماكنتوش حالياً‪.‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫اختم كالمي بالقول «مرحبا بعام ‪ .»٢٠٠٨‬فاصدارة شفل‬ ‫تتطلع للسنوية االولى لطباعتها على الورق في شهر‬ ‫عما ُطرح‬ ‫مايس‪/‬ابريل‪ ،‬وطبعاً في العدد الالحق سنكتب ّ‬ ‫من جديد في احداث ‪.Mac World Expo‬‬

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‫مـــــاك االمـــــارات‬

‫فــي الــحــــرم املـــــدرسـي‬ ‫واجلــامعي ‪...‬‬ ‫ماغنس نيستد‬

‫لدينا العديد من الطلبة اعضاء في مجموعة مستخدمي أبل ‪ -‬ماك االمارات‪ ،‬ونحن نسندهم‬ ‫بكل ما أوتينا من امكانات وبأشكال متعددة‪ .‬ملاك االمارات نشاطات تعليمية حالياً ولكننا‬ ‫نود ان نتواصل بشكل اوسع مع اكثر عدد من الطلبة‪ ،‬لذا بادرنا بتكوين مايسمى ماك‬ ‫االمارات في احلرم املدرسي واجلامعي‪.‬‬ ‫إذا كنت طالباً او طالبة في مدرسة او كلية او جامعة فبإمكانك ان تكون ممثل ماك‬ ‫االمارات في مق ّرك‪ .‬إذا رغبت بأن تصبح ممثلنا فراسلنا على‪:‬‬ ‫‪campus@emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫عليك بأن تصبح عضوا ً في املجموعة او ًال لكي تصبح ممثال للمجموعة‪ .‬مهامك كممثل‬ ‫للمجموعة هي مترير املعلومات من مجموعة ماك االمارات الى موقعك التعليمي والى‬ ‫الطلبة واملدرسني‪ ،‬وجذبهم ليصبحوا اعضاء في ماك االمارات‪ ،‬ومساندة مستخدمي اجهزة‬ ‫أبل في احلرم املدرسي واجلامعي لديك ومساعدة ماك االمارات بتنسيق فعاليات في املدرسة‬ ‫‪ /‬اجلامعة‪.‬‬ ‫الغرض االساس من موقعك هو القيام بدور مباشر في االتصال مابني الطلبة في احلرم‬ ‫املدرسي‪/‬اجلامعي‪ .‬سنقوم بدورنا بنشر اسماء ممثلي ماك االمارات في احلرم املدرسي ‪/‬‬ ‫اجلامعي على صفحة في موقعنا‪:‬‬ ‫‪http://www.emiratesmac.com/index.php?page =usergroup‬‬

‫إذا كنت طالباً في أي حرم مدرسي‪/‬جامعي فما عليك سوى البحث عن ممثلنا في‬ ‫مدرستك‪/‬جامعتك لطرح اسئلتك عليه‪/‬عليها‪.‬‬

‫الــفــائـــز مبــقالـة الـشهــر‬ ‫في كل شهر وبرعاية محالت وستوديوهات السالم‪ ،‬سنقوم باختيار املقال الفائز‬ ‫لذلك الشهر في اصدارة شفل‪ .‬الفائز سيتسلم كوبون‪/‬شهادة بقيمة ‪٢٥٠‬درهم اماراتي‬ ‫للتبضع من أي متجر حملالت السالم‪.‬‬ ‫الفائز في هذا الشهر هو ناصر االميري عن مقالته ‪.Mac: a Gamer's Dream‬‬ ‫تهانينا ياناصر!‬

‫إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:04 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 4‬‬

‫من كل صنف‬ ‫ياسر الهاللي ( ماك االمارات )‬

‫نوع‬

‫زهر‪ /‬زار ‪Dice‬‬ ‫يُ ظهر لكم هذا الويجت رقم عشوائي من الرقم واحد‬ ‫وحتى رقم ‪ ٣2‬في كل مرة حتتاج لرمي الزهر (في‬ ‫هذه احلالة ضغطة زر)‪ .‬الأعلم كم من مرة ستحتاج‬ ‫هذا الويجت ولكنك ان كنت من النوع الذي يختار‬ ‫مسلك في حياته برمي الزهر فهذا الزهر االلكتروني‬ ‫متاح لك االن‪.‬‬

‫تقييم‪:‬‬ ‫‪LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/‬‬ ‫‪dashboard/games/dice.html‬‬

‫الذاكرة الكالسيكية ‪Classic Memory‬‬ ‫لعبة تقليدية الختبار الذاكرة ولكن هذه املرة‬ ‫بواجهة نظام املاكنتوش القدمي حتى ذلك الزر‬ ‫اخلاص بالتصغير في الركن العلوي‪ .‬فقط عليك‬ ‫مرة لكي تطابق كل صورتني‬ ‫قلب صورتني في كل ّ‬ ‫ببعض‪.‬‬

‫تقييم‪:‬‬

‫‪LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/‬‬ ‫‪dashboard/games/classicmemory.html‬‬

‫شخبطة ‪Sketcher‬‬ ‫تقليد للعبة الشخبطة الرملية املوجودة في محالت االلعاب ولكن هذه‬ ‫املرة على الداشبور‪ ،‬عليك باستعمال املاوس لرسم ماتريد‪ ،‬لذا قد‬ ‫اليكون الرسم دقيقا في النهاية بسبب التحكم باملاوس‪ .‬كما يوجد في‬ ‫اللعبة عدة رسومات جاهزة وذلك بالضغط على زر النجمة في اسفل‬ ‫يسار اللعبة االلكترونية‪.‬‬ ‫‪For an explana‬‬‫‪tion of “Smorgas‬‬‫‪DashBord” go to:‬‬ ‫‪www.emiratesmac.‬‬ ‫‪com/forums/‬‬ ‫‪newsletter/3424‬‬‫‪smorgasdashbord‬‬‫‪explanation.html‬‬

‫تقييم‪:‬‬ ‫‪LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dash‬‬‫‪board/games/sketcher.html‬‬

‫وحوش ‪Monsters‬‬ ‫لعبة استراتيجية صغيرة‪ ،‬فأنت ذلك املبتسم االصفر الصغير تتحرك باستعمال ازرار االسهم ومع كل خطوة‬ ‫تخطوها يتبعك الوحوش ليقضوا عليك‪ .‬لتخطي كل مرحلة من مراحل اللعبة عليك بعمل خمسني خطوة في‬ ‫املرحلة الواحدة‪ .‬أما الدوائر الرصاصية فهي غنائم فقط وال عالقة لها بإمتام املرحلة‪ .‬عليك برسم استراتيجية‬ ‫في حركاتك وإال حاصرتك الوحوش وقضوا عليك‪.‬‬

‫تقييم‪:‬‬ ‫‪LINK: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/monsters.html‬‬

‫‪ shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪5‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:05 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 5‬‬

‫ماراثون‪ :‬اللعبة العتيدة ‪...‬‬ ‫ماغنُس نيستِ د (ماك االمارات)‬ ‫قبل ان تشتري مايكروسوفت شركة بَ نجي ‪www.‬‬ ‫‪ bungie.net‬ومن ثم تنتج سلسلة العاب «هالو»‪،‬‬ ‫كانت بنجي مسئولة عن اصدار العاب مثل ‪Pathway‬‬ ‫‪ into Darkness‬و ‪ Myth‬و ماقد نعتبرها افضل‬ ‫لعبة لهم أال وهي ‪.Marathon‬‬

‫تأسست بَ نجي في العام ‪ 1٩٩1‬وكانت اول لعبة لهم‬ ‫‪ .Gnop‬بينما كانت اول لعبة انتجوها بشكل جتاري‬ ‫كانت بإسم ‪ ،Operation: Desert Storm‬ولكن لم‬ ‫يذع صيت الشركة حتى اصدروا لعبة ‪ Minotaur‬في‬ ‫العام ‪ 1٩٩2‬وعرفها الناس حينئذ‪ .‬حطمت الشركة‬ ‫حواجز تقنية عندما قاموا باصدار لعبة ‪Pathway‬‬ ‫‪ into Darkness‬في العام ‪ 1٩٩٣‬إذا كانت اول لعبة‬ ‫قتالية ثالثية االبعاد حيث يكون الالعب في محيط‬ ‫مكاني مجسم‪ ،‬هذه اللعبة مهدت لسلسلة اللعبة‬ ‫‪ Doom‬لتكون افضل لعبة تنتجها بَ نجي جتاري ًا‬ ‫وتكسب من ورائها‪.‬‬

‫‪6‬‬

‫إذا ماوضعنا جناح االلعاب السابقة جانب ًا والقينا‬ ‫نظرة على لعبة ‪( Marathon‬ماراثون) فسنعرف ان‬ ‫لعبة ماراثون هي ماجعل شركة بَ نجي تشتهر في‬ ‫وسط االلعاب االلكترونية‪ ،‬فما كان يبدو كتكملة‬ ‫للعبة ‪ Pathway into Darkness‬حتول بسرعة الى‬ ‫شيء اكبر وافضل بكثير‪ .‬فموضوع القصة أسر‬ ‫خيال الالعبني وابقى اللعبة مثيرة طوال مراحلها‪،‬‬ ‫كما ان اللعبة ادخلت امور جديدة في عالم االلعاب‬ ‫االلكترونية مثل اللعب عبر الشبكة‪ ،‬محيط‬ ‫ثالثي ابعاد متكامل‪ ،‬والذكاء االصطناعي املتفوق‪،‬‬ ‫والتواصل الصوتي بني الالعبني وغيرها من االمور‪.‬‬ ‫بينما كان تفوق اللعبة تكنولوجيا واضح ًا‪ ،‬إال ان‬ ‫ماميز لعبة ماراثون هو القصة‪ .‬كالعب سوف‬ ‫تتولى مسؤلية رجل امن على منت سفينة ‪UESC‬‬ ‫‪ Mrathon‬الفضائية‪ ،‬وعليك ان تقاتل غرباء اعتلوا‬ ‫ظهر سفينتك‪ .‬من منظور الرامي او مطلق النار‬

‫الذي يرى كل شيء ومن جميع جهات الثالث ابعاد‪،‬‬ ‫عليك ان حتل املشاكل التي تصادفها في طريقك‬ ‫داخل السفينة الفضائية‪ ،‬وجتد الدالئل‪ ،‬وبينما‬ ‫تقوم بهذه االعمال عليكم ان تطلق النار على الكثير‬ ‫من املخلوقات‪.‬‬ ‫صدرت لعبة ماراثون وانتشرت بشكل هائل حينها‬ ‫في اواخر ‪ .1٩٩4‬فأنا اذكر انني اشتريتها في الواليات‬ ‫املتحدة ولعبت بها على جهازي املاكنتوش (الأذكر‬ ‫أيّ هم كان ‪ IIcx‬او كوادرا ‪ )660AV‬طوال الليل‪ ،‬حتى‬ ‫ان محصلي اجلامعي هبط بشكل واضح بسببها‪،‬‬ ‫ولكنني استمتعت بها جد ًا‪.‬‬ ‫بعد هذا النجاح الباهر‪ ،‬سرعان ما انتجت بَ نجي‬ ‫اجلزء الثاني من لعبة ماراثون حتت اسم ‪Durandal‬‬ ‫في العام ‪ ،1٩٩5‬حيث احتوت على قصة متطورة‬ ‫عن سابقتها ودعمت تقنيات وعتاد اكثر خاصة في‬ ‫مجال اللعب عبر الشبكة‪ .‬ماراثون ‪ 2‬كانت اول لعبة‬

‫إصدارة َشفل‬ ‫شفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:07 AM‬‬

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‫من بنجي ألجهزة البي سي حيث كل العاب الشركة‬ ‫مسبق ًا كانت للماكنتوش حصر ًا‪ ،‬هذا ادى لزيادة‬ ‫عدد الالعبني الذين استطيع مشاركتهم في سكن‬ ‫اجلامعة الداخلي والذي اقدره جد ًا‪.‬‬ ‫في عام ‪ 1٩٩6‬اصدرت بنجي لعبة ماراثون ‪ ٣‬بإسم‬ ‫‪ Infinity‬مع ادوات حتويرية تغير من هيئة اللعب‬ ‫مثل مراحل يصنعها الالعب بنفسه‪ ،‬وتغيير الرسوم‬ ‫واالشكال وغيره كثير‪.‬‬ ‫بعد سنة أي في العام ‪ 1٩٩٧‬اصدرت بنجي حزمة‬ ‫ماراثون متكاملة حتوي مجموع اللعبات الثالث حتت‬ ‫مسمى ‪ Action Pack‬ولكن القصة تنتهي هنا في‬ ‫مايخص شركة بنجي على االقل‪.‬‬ ‫في العام ‪ 2٠٠٠‬قامت مايكروسوفت بشراء بنجي‬ ‫لتتمحور العاب الشركة حول العاب ‪ .Halo‬ولكن‬ ‫مؤخر ًا في اكتوبر من العام ‪ 2٠٠٧‬انفصلت بنجي‬ ‫عن مايكروسوفت لتستقل كما في السابق‪ ،‬ولكن‬

‫يبقى السؤال هل سترجع بنجي مرة اخرى لعالم‬ ‫املاكنتوش ‪ -‬هذا ماسنراه‪.‬‬ ‫لعبة ماراثون حتيا حالي ًا في عالم املصدر املفتوح‬ ‫(‪ .)source.bungie.org‬عليك بتحميل ‪Aleph One‬‬ ‫بحجم ‪ 4.1‬ميغابايت‪ ،‬ثم عليك باختيار سيناريو‬ ‫للعب وتثبيته‪ ،‬فمثال ستجد لعبة ماراثون االصلية‬ ‫بحجم ‪ ٣8‬ميغابايت‪.‬‬ ‫أما موقع «إحياء املاراثون» (‪resurrection.bungie.‬‬ ‫‪ )org‬فقد واصلوا مشوار اللعبة الى مكان اقصى‬ ‫من غيرهم‪ .‬فمشروع اإلحياء وضع لعبة املاراثون‬ ‫القدمية خالل تكنولوجيا ‪ 3D‬احلديثة وذلك‬ ‫باستخدام ماأسموه «محرك املنافسة الوهمي»‬ ‫(‪ )Unreal Tournament Engine‬او كما شرحوا‬ ‫املوضوع بنفسهم على موقعهم في االنترنت «اخذنا‬ ‫اللعبة كلها‪ ،‬عبثنا بها‪ ،‬ثم بصقناها»‬ ‫في اخلتام اود القول بأن إذا كانت بنجي قد تخلت‬

‫عن لعبة ماراثون فإن محبي اللعبة لم يفعلوا ذلك‬ ‫مطلق ًا‪ .‬باحلقيقة فإن ماراثون مازالت بعافيتها‬ ‫وجتد نسخ متعددة منها حيث يستطيع الالعب‬ ‫التمتع بها كما استمتعنا بها مسبق ًا في العام ‪1٩٩4‬‬ ‫عندما جربناها ألول مرة‪.‬‬

‫شفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪7‬‬ ‫‪ shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬إصدارة َشفل‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:10 AM‬‬

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‫كــتـاب‬ ‫لتـعـلـم‬ ‫استخدام‬ ‫‪iPod‬‬ ‫وبـرنامج‬ ‫‪iTunes‬‬ ‫زيد الهاللي (ماك اإلمارات)‬ ‫احتلت ‪ Apple‬عالم الصوتيات بجهاز الـ‪ iPod‬الذي أصبح األكثر مبيعا في العالم‬ ‫وكذلك ببرنامج الـ‪ iTunes‬الذي يكاد اليخلو منزل منه‪ .‬فإذا كنت ترغب باقتناء الـ‬ ‫‪ iPod‬لكنك لست متاكدا من أين تبدأ سيكون هذا الكتاب االنطالقة والبداية املناسبة‬ ‫لك‪ .‬وكذلك إذا كنت متتلك جهاز الـ‪ iPod‬او برنامج الـ‪ iTunes‬لكنك تواجه‬ ‫مشكلة مع احديهما‪ ،‬فإن هذا الكتاب سيكون املرجع األمثل لك‪.‬‬ ‫فهذا الكتاب سيأخذ بيدك من حلظة حتميل البرنامج عبر اإلنترنت وتركيبه على‬ ‫اجلهاز حتى التحكم به ونقل امللفات إلى الـ‪ iPod‬ومن اول حلظة تقوم بتشغيل الـ‬ ‫‪ ،iPod‬وحتى وصله بالكمبيوتر والتحكم به حتكما كامال‪ .‬كما يحتوي الكتاب‬ ‫فصوال إضافية تهُم مستخدمي امللحقات واالكسسوارات كجهاز ‪ iPod + Nike‬وجهاز‬ ‫الـ‪ iPod Hi-Fi‬وأخيرا جهاز ‪ Apple tv‬اجلديد‪.‬‬ ‫الكتاب موجه ملقتني اجهزة ايبود بانواعها ويستهدف املبتدئ منهم كما يستهدف‬ ‫متقدم القدرات‪ .‬ينقسم الكتاب لعشرة فصول تركز كل منها على جوانب تشغيل‬ ‫اجلهاز‪ ،‬والعتاد‪ ،‬وبرنامج اي تيونز‪ ،‬واالكسسوارات املتوافقة مع جهاز ايبود‪ .‬الكاتب‬ ‫اسهب في شرح كل خطوة لإلستفادة القصوى من اجلهاز ودعّ م الشرح بصور ملونة‬ ‫تفصيلية‪.‬‬ ‫فصول الكتاب‬ ‫‪ .1‬الـ‪iPod‬‬ ‫التعريف بالـ‪ iPod‬ومن ثم تاريخ الـ‪ iPod‬ونبذة حول اإلصدارات احلديثة‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .2‬إبدأ مع الـ‪iPod‬‬ ‫مقدمة بسيطة حول إستخدام الـ‪ iPod‬والتحكم به‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .3‬الـ‪iTunes‬‬ ‫التحكم بإعدادت الـ‪ iTunes‬وطريقة عرضه وترتيب امللفات به وإنشاء الـ‪CD‬‬ ‫الصوتية من خالل البرنامج‪.‬‬

‫‪8‬‬

‫‪ .4‬نقل امللفات إلى الـ‪iPod‬‬ ‫وصل الـ‪ iPod‬بالكمبيوتر ونقل امللفات إليه‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .5‬حتكم بالـ‪iPod‬‬ ‫التحكم بإتقان بجهاز الـ‪ iPod‬وتعديل اخلصائص‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .6‬مشاكل الـ‪ iPod‬وحلولها‬ ‫أبرز مشاكل الـ‪ iPod‬وأكثرها انتشارا ً وحلولها‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .7‬حافظ على الـ‪iPod‬‬ ‫كيفية احملافظة على الـ‪.iPod‬‬ ‫‪ .8‬الـ‪iPod + Nike‬‬ ‫استخدام جهاز ‪ iPod + Nike‬والتحكم به وأبرز املشاكل واحللول‪.‬‬ ‫‪iPod Hi-Fi .9‬‬ ‫شرح الـ‪ iPod Hi-Fi‬وطريقة التحكم به واستخدامه‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .10‬الـ‪Apple tv‬‬ ‫الـ‪ Apple tv‬وطريقة استخدامه ومشاكل إعداده ألول مرة ‪.‬‬ ‫املؤلف ‪ :‬محمد أحمد ملياني‬ ‫الداعم‪ :‬حاسبات العرب‬ ‫السعر‪ 29 :‬ريال في اململكة السعودية‪ 39 ،‬ريال خارج اململكة‬ ‫‪ISBN: 9960-75-648-3‬‬ ‫احلجم‪ :‬قياس متوسط ‪ 110 ،A5‬صفحات‬ ‫منافذ البيع‪ :‬مكتبات تهامة‪ ،‬مكتبة جرير‪ ،‬وموزعي أپل املعتمدين في املنطقة‬ ‫مالحظة‪ :‬لدى مجموعة ماك االمارات نسختني امضاهما الكاتب مهداتان ملجموعة ماك‬ ‫االمارات‪ ،‬بامكان االعضاء استعارتهما للقراءة‪.‬‬

‫إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:10 AM‬‬

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9 ‫ إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر‬shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com

December_Ar.indd 9

12/31/07 4:59:11 AM

‫الـــســـحـــر ‪ ...‬هو عندما تعشق مـــا تـحـب!‬ ‫فادي ابراهيم‬ ‫شركة حاسبات العرب احملدودة‬ ‫اعتقد انه ولوهله‪ ..‬قد يستطيع اي شخص رؤية القفزه‬ ‫النوعيه التي قامت بها شركة ‪ Apple‬العامليه في‬ ‫جميع منتجاتها وتوجهاتها االستراتيجيه‪.‬‬ ‫فمنذ العام ‪ 1984‬غيرت ‪ Apple‬عالم احلواسيب بأول‬ ‫جهاز حاسب من نوعه وكذلك احلال عندما اصدرت‬ ‫نظام التشغيل ‪.. X‬ايضا في العام ‪ 2001‬عندما اصدرت‬ ‫‪ Apple‬احد اشهر منتجاتها مشغل املوسيقى االكثر‬ ‫انتشارا في العالم ‪ .iPod‬وقد سمع اجلميع من املهتمني‬ ‫في هذا املجال او من غيرهم عن اول هاتف جوال ذكي‬ ‫في العالم وهو االول من نوعه‪ .iPhone‬فقد كان‬ ‫لكل هذه املنتجات ملسه سحر من ‪ Apple‬لم يسبقها‬ ‫اي شركه اخرى‪ .‬فأحد اهم مميزات منتجات هذه‬ ‫الشركه انها تسبق مثيالتها مبا اليقل عن ‪ 3‬الى ‪5‬‬ ‫سنوات‪ .‬وهو ما يعتبر شراء اي شخص لهذه املنتجات‬ ‫استثمار بحد ذاته‪ ..‬خصوصا مبا يتعلق بالشركات‬ ‫وكبار العمالء حيث يعتبر سعي هذه الشركات الى‬ ‫احدث التقنيات هو في قائمة اولوياتها خصيصا ملا قد‬ ‫جتده في منتج مثل ‪ MAC‬من حماية ذاتية وتوفير‬ ‫كبير كبديل عن انظمة احلماية واالمن‪.‬‬ ‫وبالتأكيد ساعد هذا التطور الكبير والسريع في شركه‬ ‫‪ Apple‬خللق اسواق عديده وجديدة في جميع دول‬ ‫العالم‪ ،‬واليختلف اثنان ان ما شوهد في االونه االخيره في‬ ‫اسواق اململكة العربيه السعودية من تطور يعكس جناح‬ ‫شركه ‪ ،Apple‬ففي بداية العام ‪ 2006‬كانت قنوات‬ ‫التوزيع التي تتعامل مع املوزع املعتمد في اململكة التزيد‬ ‫عن خمسه‪ ...‬بينما تعدت في هذه االيام عن ما يزيد‬ ‫عن ‪ 100‬قناة بيع للمستخدم النهائي‪ ،‬باالضافه الى زيادة‬ ‫عدد املعارض املتخصصه مبنتجات ‪ Apple‬الى عشرة‬ ‫معارض‪ ،‬كان آخر ‪ Apple premium reseller‬في‬ ‫املنطقه الشرقيه وبالتحديد في مدينه اخلبر‪.‬‬ ‫وقد يساندني الكثيرين في ان منتجات ‪ Apple‬في‬ ‫اململكة اضحت عالمه واضحه يراها اجلميع في اسواق‬ ‫اململكة وبالتحديد في اكبر املعارض املتخصصة واوسعها‬ ‫انتشارا‪ .‬كما يجب احلديث عن االهتمام الذي ابدته‬ ‫الشركه في االسواق التعليميه فقد قدمت الشركه‬ ‫اسعارا خاصة للطالب واملعلمني باالضافه الى كبرى‬ ‫اجلامعات املتخصصه في اململكه‪ .‬وهو ما يعتبر امتدادا‬ ‫لعمليات الدعم اخلاصه التي تقوم بها الشركه في‬ ‫خدمة العلم والتعليم‪ ،‬ملا له من األثر الكبير في بناء نوع‬ ‫من الثقة لدى املستخدم‪.‬‬ ‫وفي نفس الوقت‪ ،‬ومع النمو الثوري في اسواق اململكه‪،‬‬ ‫فإن هذا االنتشار ال يعني التغطيه الكامله السواق اململكه‬ ‫واليعني ان اجناز االعمال في هذا السوق هو عمليه سهله‬ ‫فبالرغم من ان الفرص واعده وكبيره اال ان هذا السوق‬ ‫ال يخلو من املشاكل مما يضطر اجلميع للتعامل معه‬ ‫بحذر باالضافه الى ادراك اجلميع ان هناك حتديا كبيرا‬ ‫ال يزال يتصدى لهذا النجاح‪ .‬الن مرور اسواق اململكه‬ ‫بتغيير جذري دفع الكثير من الشركات الى لعب ادوار‬ ‫متعدده سعيا منهم لتدارك املوقف والوصول الى اكبر‬ ‫عدد من العمالء بأكبر عدد من املنتجات‪ .‬خصوصا‬ ‫لتفادي ما هو متعلق باالنظمه من حماية املوزعني‬ ‫بأمور سداد املديونيات والشيكات املرجتعه‪ .‬وسعيا اكبر‬

‫للوصول الى اكبر قدر ممكن من االرباح السريعه والتي‬ ‫سيكون لها األثر األكبر في بناء قناة اوسع مع املوردين‬ ‫من الشركات العاملية خصوصا ان معظم هذه الشركات‬ ‫ال زالت لم ترى الفرصة املناسبة في هذا السوق‪ .‬كما ان‬ ‫سعي البعض الى البيع املباشر للمستخدم النهائي لتحصيل‬ ‫االموال منه مباشره يفقد التركيز بني الوصول الى‬ ‫املستخدم وبني تقدمي خدمة افضل ملعيدي البيع‪.‬‬ ‫فقد متيزت التوجهات واخلطط االستراتيجيه للموزع‬ ‫املعتمد فلم ينهج نهج اغلب ان لم يكن جميع الشركات‬

‫بلعب االدوار‪ .‬انطالقا من ان لعب دور البطوله ال بد ان‬ ‫يكون له ثمن وان قائمة الالعبني مليئة باالحتياط‪.‬‬ ‫فكانت اولى اخلطط التي مت اتباعها هو السعي الكبر‬ ‫تغطيه ممكنه لالسواق‪ .‬مع التاكيد على وجود ما‬ ‫مييز هذه التغطيه‪ .‬فأصبح من السهل رؤية االقسام‬ ‫التي ميتلكها موزع ابل في اغلب األسواق هي خاصه‬ ‫ومتميزه عن االقسام االخرى بتقدمي حلول وفعاليات‬ ‫خاصه للعمالء‪ .‬حتى ال يكون بيع املنتج فقط هو الهدف‪.‬‬ ‫فللدور التثقيفي دور كبير في هذه االسواق يتزامن‬ ‫مع النمو الكبير والسعي وراء االفضل‪ .‬فاصبحت هذه‬ ‫احللول والفعاليات هي حديث الشارع‪ .‬ومن هذه اخلطط‬ ‫ايضاانه ميكن حضور دورات تديبيه في جميع املعارض‬ ‫املتخصصه ببيع منتجات ‪ Apple‬تشمل جميع املنتجات‬

‫باالضافه الى نظام التشغيل وبرامج ‪ Apple‬من ‪ ilife‬و‬ ‫‪ iWork‬وغيرها باملجان وفي اي وقت الي كان‪.‬‬ ‫وهذا مما يؤكد على اهميه هذه اخلطوه‪ .‬فتختلف‬ ‫اجهزه ‪ MAC‬على سبيل املثال بالكثير الكثير عن‬ ‫االجهزه االخرى فال يوجد ما تقدمه هذه الشركات‬ ‫من دور مماثل‪ .‬فكلها يجمعها نظام تشغيل وحيد‪.‬‬ ‫تقوم الشركه التي اصدرته بالدور التثقيفي وتقوم تلك‬ ‫الشركات بالتركيز على التواجد في عالم العروض‬ ‫اخلاصه‪ .‬واالسعاراملنافسه‪ .‬فأضحى وبظل التنافس‬ ‫الشديد هدف التعدد واضافه املنتجات هو الدور الوحيد‬ ‫املوجود على املسرح‪ .‬كما وجد ان اختيار معيدي البيع‬ ‫بالتجزئه مفتوحا وبال تخصص لدرجه انه اصبحت ترى‬ ‫احدث التقنيات في نفس صفحه املعلبات!‬ ‫اخيرا ومما يجدر ذكره البعض من خطط هذه السنه‪،‬‬ ‫من التوجه النشاء معارض دعم فني وصيانه متخصصه‬ ‫باالضافة الى التركيز اكثر على مبيعات الشركات‬ ‫وتقدمي حلول الشبكات واالعمال املتخصصه‪ .‬وايضا‬ ‫تقدمي ضمان استبدال وضمان اضافي للعمالء‪ .‬باالضافه‬ ‫الى التعاون مع كبرى الشركات في الوصول الى العمالء‬ ‫املستهدفني عن طريق تقدمي احللول املباشرة وخدمه‬ ‫الدعم الفني الهاتفي‪.‬‬ ‫هكذا فان فن تقدمي املنتج والذي هو فن بحد ذاته‬ ‫يصبح سحرا ً يستمتع اجلميع بامتالكه ورؤيته عندما‬ ‫يصل الى درجة الكمال‪..‬‬

‫‪ 10‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:15 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 10‬‬

‫نهاية‬ ‫اإلدمــان‬ ‫قيس مثنى (ماك االمارات)‬

‫إن ألعاب الفيديو على اإلنترنت واحدة من أكبر القطاعات‬ ‫التي تنمو مبعدالت عالية في مجال الترفيه‪ .‬ولكن هل‬ ‫هي مجرد عالم غير واقعي وال يسبب ضررا‪ ،‬أم أنه إدمان‬ ‫خطير؟ هل إدمان ألعاب الفيديو نوع من االضطراب‬ ‫العقلي؟‬ ‫نأى أطباء بأنفسهم عن اقتراح مثير للجدل يهدف إلى‬ ‫اعتبار إدمان العاب الفيديو نوع من االضطراب العقلي‬ ‫مماثل إلدمان املشروبات الكحولية‪.‬‬ ‫كما عارض خبراء في مجال اإلدمان بقوة هذه الفكرة‬ ‫خالل مناقشة في االجتماع السنوي لرابطة الطب الدولية‪،‬‬ ‫وقالوا إن هناك حاجة لدراسة أخرى قبل إمكانية إدراج‬ ‫االستخدام املفرط أللعاب الفيديو واأللعاب عبر االنترنت‬ ‫وهي مشكلة تتعلق بنحو عشرة في املائة من الالعبني في‬ ‫العالم‪.‬‬

‫حتقق ذلك املجد من النصر الذي يشاهدك اآلخرون وأنت‬ ‫تنجزه‪ .‬لذلك فإن ذلك املستوى من الهيبة يتم تكبيره‬ ‫في تلك األلعاب‪ .‬وفجأة جتد حولك املاليني من الالعبني‬ ‫اآلخرين الذين يرون كم ج ّيد أنت‪.‬‬

‫بعد أن لعب لـ‪ 50‬ساعة على اإلنترنت‪ .‬وفي الصني طعن‬ ‫أحد الصينيني منافسا له حتى املوت بسبب أن املنافس باع‬ ‫سيفه الكمبيوتري «غير الواقعي» داخل اللعبة‪.‬‬ ‫بالطبع هذه مناذج حلاالت متطرفة؛ ولكن هل هي حاالت‬ ‫معزولة؟ هل اللعب على اإلنترنت يغذي اإلدمان ويشجع‬ ‫العنف؟‬ ‫إن ألعاب الترفيه الكبيرة تُصمم بهدف أن تكون ذات‬ ‫سطوة‪ ،‬مثل الرواية التي ال تستطيع أن تضعها أو الفيلم‬ ‫الذي تنتظر نهايته‪ .‬الشيء املختلف في ألعاب اإلنترنت هو‬ ‫أنها جتربة مفتوحة ال نهاية لها‪ ،‬وإن هناك أناسا آخرين‬ ‫يشاركونك التجربة‪ .‬في ألعاب الفيديو‪ ،‬سابقاً تقوم‬ ‫بوضعها على البلي ستيشن وتقوم باللعب لعدة ساعات ثم‬ ‫تنتهي‪.‬‬

‫يشار أن العديد من الدراسات التي نشرت سابقاً كانت قد‬ ‫حذرت من أن إدمان ألعاب الكمبيوتر يعادل إدمان الكحول‪،‬‬ ‫بل وأقيمت عيادات ملعاجلة هذا النوع من حاالت اإلدمان‪،‬‬ ‫ولكن كلما ينمو عالم األلعاب على اإلنترنت‪ ،‬ينمو اجلدل‬ ‫حول األثر االجتماعي لهذا العالم‪ .‬بالنسبة لبعض الالعبني‬ ‫يبدو أن متعة اللعب تتح ّول إلى معاناة عندما يصبحون‬ ‫مدمنني على األلعاب التي ميارسونها‪.‬‬

‫وفي ألعاب اإلنترنت مثل عالم احلروب املصطنعة‪ ،‬تنتظر‬ ‫املكافأة التالية‪ ،‬املادة اجلديدة التالية‪ ،‬التجربة اجلديدة التي‬ ‫في متناول اليد؛ لذلك فإنها جتربة طاغية جدا‪.‬‬

‫حقاً إنهم يخاطرون بفقدان عالقاتهم‪ ،‬وصحتهم‪ ،‬وتعليمهم‪،‬‬ ‫ومهنهم‪ ،‬باجنرارهم إلى أرض خيالية ال يستطيعون بعد‬ ‫ذلك اخلروج منها‪ .‬ففي العام املاضي توفي كوري جنوبي‬

‫لقد ُصممت لكي تكون كذلك‪ ،‬فعندما تلعب على اإلنترنت‬ ‫تكون على علم بأن لديك مشاهدين‪ .‬لديك أصدقاء تقاتل‬ ‫معهم أو ضدهم؛ لذلك هناك عنصر املشاهدين‪ ،‬عندما‬

‫مثل كل األشياء األخرى‪ ،‬فإن ألعاب اإلنترنت تؤدي إلى‬ ‫اإلدمان‪ .‬ال يجب منع األلعاب‪ ،‬ولكن يجب تشغيلها بطريقة‬ ‫أخالقية‪ .‬على العموم الناس مسئولون عن أفعالهم؛ ولكن‬ ‫جزءا من مسئولية الوقاية من اإلدمان يتحمله الناس الذين‬ ‫يشغلون األلعاب‪ .‬يجب منع التشجيع على اإلدمان بشكل‬ ‫قاطع‪ ،‬وكذلك قضاء الناس ساعات في اللعب‪.‬‬ ‫نحتاج لضوابط في هذا املجال؛ مثلما نفعل في كل‬ ‫املجاالت األخرى؛ وإال فسوف ينتهي بنا األمر باحلصول‬ ‫على سكان ال يغادرون منازلهم إال بالكاد‪ ..‬سوف يصبحون‬ ‫غير اجتماعيني‪ ..‬معاقني اجتماعيا‪ ..‬غير قادرين على‬ ‫االتصال وال على احلياة العادية‪ .‬إذن احلياة احلديثة ظلت‬ ‫تدفع الناس في هذا االجتاه من قبل‪ ،‬وكثير من الناس‬ ‫يعانون اآلن من العواقب‪.‬‬ ‫إن خطر اللعب ليس مبالغاً فيه املفارقة هي أن ُيعتبر‬ ‫اإلدمان عادة سيئة‪ ،‬ولكنه دائما هو ما مينح املتعة للشخص‬ ‫حيث يصبح اللعب خطرا عندما يعطيه الشخص كل‬ ‫وقته وأعتقد أن العالج ال يبدأ إال عندما يبدأ الالعب‬ ‫االعتراف بإدمانه وبعواقبه‪.‬‬ ‫وفي النهاية هنالك أسئلة ميكنك أن تطرحها على نفسك‪.‬‬ ‫هل تعاني من نتائج سلبية جراء اجنذابك للعب؟ هل‬ ‫ميكنك أن تضمن لي أن تتوقف من االستمرار في لعب أية‬ ‫لعبة‪ ،‬بالضبط في الوقت الذي حتدد أن تتوقف فيه؟‬

‫‪ shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪11‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:15 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 11‬‬

‫نظام ماكنتوش‬ ‫العربي ‪...‬‬ ‫مقابلة مع رياض ح ّالب مدير قسم التعريب‬ ‫لدى ‪ABM‬‬ ‫زيد الهاللي (ماك اإلمارات)‬

‫منذ ان توقفت شركة ابل االم عن اصدار انظمة‬ ‫ماكنتوش عربية واملستخدم العربي الذي اليتقن إال‬ ‫لغة واحدة ويستعملها بشكل اساسي على جهاز الكمبيوتر‬ ‫لم يجد ُبدا ً إال ان ينتقل ألنظمة اخرى تدعم العربية‬ ‫او يتعلم مايتيسر له من اجنليزية لكي يسير اموره‪ .‬إن‬ ‫آخر نظام تشغيل عربي اصدرته ابل كان في منتصف‬ ‫التسعينات ومذ ذاك الوقت وحتى شهر تشرين اول‪/‬‬ ‫اكتوبر ‪ 2007‬كنّا نأمل من أبل ان تتقدم بحلول افضل‬ ‫للمستخدم العربي وذلك بجعل نظام ابل وبرامجها تدعم‬ ‫اللغة بشكل اوسع‪.‬‬ ‫مالم يخطر ببالنا ان يقوم وكيل أبل في منطقة الشرق‬ ‫االوسط ‪ ABM‬بأخذ زمام املبادرة وطرح كتيبات‬ ‫الكترونية ‪ pdf‬للكثير من اجهزة ابل وبدأنا نسمع بأن‬ ‫هناك تعريباً يجري لواجهة نظام املاكنتوش ‪ OSX‬وكل‬ ‫هذا متوفر مجاناً للمستخدم العربي‪ .‬وبالفعل خرجت‬ ‫التجربة بنظام ماكنتوش ذو واجهة عربية مما يعني أن‬

‫احد العوائق التي متنع املستخدم العربي من‬ ‫اقتناء املاكنتوش قد انتفت‪.‬‬ ‫إن جتربة شركة ‪ ABM‬بتعريب االصدار الرابع للنظام‬ ‫العاشر للماكنتوش (‪ )10.4‬هي االولى والتجربة االولى‬ ‫دائما تكون حذرة وبطيئة‪ ،‬كما ان املستخدم العربي وجد‬ ‫بعض الهفوات إال ان الشركة لم تنفي بأن هذه التجربة‬ ‫هي مقدمة ملا هو آت‪ ،‬ونأمل بأن يكون القادم افضل من‬ ‫السابق‪.‬‬ ‫فيما يلي مقابلة قصيرة مع السيد رياض ح ّالب مدير قسم‬ ‫التعريب لدى ‪ABM‬‬ ‫س‪ .‬اخبرنا عن ماضيك العملي والعملي‬ ‫ج‪ .‬أستخدم املاكنتوش منذ سنتني و كنت أعمل‬ ‫بالتعريب كدوام جزئي خالل دراستي في اجلامعة‬ ‫األمريكية في بيروت حيث نلت بكلوريوس في هندسة‬

‫الكومبيوتر و اإلتصاالت بعدها إلتحقت بآراب بيزنس‬ ‫ماشني ليمتد‪.‬‬ ‫س‪ .‬مبا انك جزء رئيسي في عملية تعريب نظام‬ ‫املاكنتوش لدى وكيل أپل في الشرق االوسط‪ ،‬هل‬ ‫بإمكانك اخبارنا شيء عن عملية تعريب النظام‬ ‫وكيف يسير العمل؟‬ ‫ج‪ .‬تبدأ عملية التعريب باحلصول علي األدوات الالزمة‬ ‫للتعريب باإلضافة الى ملفات النظام من شركة أپل‪.‬‬ ‫يقسم العمل الى عدة مراحل‪ ،‬أهمها الترجمة‪ ،‬هندسة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تفحص النظام و تصحيح األخطاء‬ ‫أو تصميم الواجهة‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫(اللغوية‪ ،‬الهندسية والبرمجية) (‪ )Debugging‬من ثم‬ ‫لتفحصه و إطالعنا على ما يجب‬ ‫نرسل عملنا الى أپل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تعديله أو تصحيحه‪ ،‬هذه العملية تتط ّلب وقتاً ألنها تتم‬ ‫على عدة مراحل إلى أن نحصل على املوافقة لنشره او‬ ‫حتميله على موقعنا‪.‬‬ ‫س‪ .‬ماهي اصعب اجزاء‪/‬مراحل تعريب البرامج؟‬ ‫أهمها‬ ‫ج‪ .‬خالل التعريب‪ ،‬نواجه الكثير من الصعوبات ّ‬ ‫عند إطالق حتديثات على النظام و هو في طور العمل‬ ‫وباألخص عند حتديث أدوات التعريب‪ .‬ولكن املرحلة‬ ‫األصعب واألكثر تط ّلباً للوقت (على نحو متواصل) هي الـ‬ ‫‪ Debugging‬أو تصحيح األخطاء (املشاكل)‬ ‫س‪ .‬مالدور الذي من املمكن ان تلعبه مجموعة‬ ‫مستخدمي أپل مثل مجموعة ماك االمارات في عملية‬ ‫تعريب املنتجات؟‬ ‫ج‪ .‬الدور الذي تلعبه مجموعات مستخدمي أپل خاصة في‬ ‫اململكة العربية السعودية و في اإلمارات العربية املتحدة‬ ‫(ماك اإلمارات حتديداً) هو دورا ً مهماً وأساس ّياً على صعيد‬ ‫تسويق أو نشر وحتسني جودة التعريب بناءا ً على التعليقات‬ ‫التي تصدر على املوقع‪ ،‬باإلضافة نحن نستفيد من هذه‬ ‫املجموعات ملعرفة احتياجاتهم واحتياجات املستخدم‬ ‫العربي ملنتجات أپل‪.‬‬

‫‪ 12‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:16 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 12‬‬

‫قراءنا رغبة مبد يد العون في عملية‬ ‫س‪ .‬إن كان لدى ّ‬ ‫تعريب منتجات اپل‪ ،‬فما ستكون نصيحتك لهم؟‬ ‫ج‪ .‬تعليقات مستخدمي املاك وق ّرائكم الكرام بنّاءة ومفيدة‬ ‫جدا ً لعملنا‪ ،‬فمشاركتهم باملنتديات تساعدنا كما‬ ‫أوضحت أعاله‪.‬‬ ‫س‪ .‬عندما نرى القوائم العلوية العربية او بعض‬ ‫املعلومات العربية تظهر من اليسار لليمني (مثال‬ ‫حول جهاز ‪ Mac‬هذا من قائمة أبل) فهل في هذا‬ ‫منطق معني اتبعتموه أم كان بتقييد من أپل ليس‬ ‫لكم ان جتتهدوا غيره؟‬ ‫ج‪ .‬هناك بعض التقييدات من أپل أو من النظام نفسه‪ ،‬ولكن‬ ‫الكثير من القرارات اللتي نتخذها تكون من منطق إعتياد‬ ‫معني‪.‬‬ ‫املستخدمني على استعمال ّ‬

‫س‪ .‬قمت مؤخر ًا بعمل استفتاء حول مواضع احلروف‬ ‫العربية على املاكنتوش في عدة منتديات خاصة‬ ‫مبستخدمي أپل في الشرق االوسط‪ ،‬فهل لكم تعليق‬ ‫على هذه التوزيعة؟‬ ‫ج‪ .‬سبق واطلعت على هذا اإلستفتاء و لك تقديري على‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫يفضل املستخدم‬ ‫هذه اخلطوة‪ ،‬إذ مبوجبها نعي ماذا‬ ‫العربي‪.‬‬

‫مستخدمي املاك قد اعتادوا عليها وبالنسبة للمنتقلني‬ ‫اجلدد‪ ،‬فكما تعلم نظام املاك كله مختلف و مواضع أحرفه‬ ‫ستسهل عليهم الطباعة‪.‬‬ ‫لتحميل واجهة النظام العربية لإلصدار الرابع من النظام‬ ‫العاشر (‪ ،)10.4‬انظر صفحة االنترنت‬ ‫‪http://www.appleme.ae/ara/support/arabicreleases/‬‬

‫برأيي اخلاص‪ ،‬أظن ان مواضع احلروف العربية على‬ ‫املاكنتوش جيدة كما هي و ال داعي لتغييرها مبا ان‬

‫س‪ .‬تعريب العبارات التقنية حتتاج الى استنباط من‬ ‫شخص ضليع باللغة العربية‪ ،‬فهل استعنتم بجهة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مثال؟‬ ‫خبيرة في هذا املجال كمترجمني محترفني‬ ‫ج‪ .‬طبعاً‪ ،‬فنحن نستخدم خدمات شركتني للترجمة‪،‬‬ ‫احداهما شركة عاملية مختصة بالتعريب‪.‬‬ ‫س‪ .‬هل لكم انت تخبرونا عن مشاريع تعريب‬ ‫قادمة؟‬ ‫تطبيقي‬ ‫ج‪ .‬إنشاء الله مشاريعنا القادمة هي تعريب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫‪ iWork‬و‪iLife‬‬

‫‪ shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com‬إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر ‪13‬‬

‫‪12/31/07 4:59:16 AM‬‬

‫‪December_Ar.indd 13‬‬

‫ترغب بالكتابة في شفل؟‬

Want to write for Shuffle? Members of Apple User Groups around the Middle East are welcome to write for Shuffle. We accept articles about anything our readers may be interested in. Articles in both English and Arabic are welcome. If you’re interested contact us at shuffle@emiratesmac.com.

©iS toc k

‫في شـفل نرحب بكـتابـات أي عضـو في‬ ‫مجموعـــات مستخدمـي أبل في منطقة‬ ‫ نقبل باملواضيع العربية‬.‫الشرق االوسط‬ ‫واالجنـليزية املقـدمة لـنا والتي تعـكـس‬ ‫إتصل بنا على‬ ّ .‫اهتمامات القاريء‬ Shuffle@emiratesmac.com

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shuffle@emiratesmac.com www.emiratesmac.com ‫ إصدارة َشفل من ماك االمارات العدد اخلامس عشر‬14

December_Ar.indd 14

12/31/07 4:59:16 AM