Unpredictable Back Issue #40

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CHRIS'S UNPREDICTABLE and OCCASIONAL Newsletter for MAC USERS #40, 03/08/02
Contents Copyright 2002 by Christopher Plummer
===============================================

THIS ISSUE
----------
Issue number 40! Whooee! We'll celebrate with fascinating Mac trivia,
insightful comments, and personal commentary of questionable merit.
Coming in future issues: 'the subscription economy', Mail clients and PIMs,
iMovie, AirPort, tips for iTunes, Applescript, and lots of Oh Ess Ten stuff
And in this issue they-who-shall-not-be-named, will not be named!! :-)

UPDATES - Quicken 2002 Deluxe r3, Java 1.3.1
NEWS - none to speak of
UNPREDICTABLE READER FEEDBACK - Just the usual accolades.
OBSERVATION - MIB IMAC?
GEEK SPEAK REVIEW - Sun,Java, API
GET THE POINT - Carbon Copy Cloner
OVERLOOKED AND UNDERUSED - Spellcheckers, Dictionaries & ADD (Part 3)
Tips - Ten Column Navigation
Special Bonus Keyboard Commands - A superfluity of Document Navigation keys
Good News Press Releases - Apple's Grammy, iPhoto

GEEK SPEAK ALERT: Java, Sun, API

UPDATES
-------
(9/10)
Quicken Deluxe 2002 r3
"This installer will replace the old Quicken online certificate with a
new online certificate. Because the old Quicken online certificate is
expiring, this update is required in order to continue using some of the
online features of Quicken 2002. If you have already installed the R2
update, this is the only change." Big whoop. But if you need it if you
use online banking (and if you're not using online banking, WHY NOT??
It's UNPREDICTABLY recommended, because it will SAVE YOU TIME!)

<http://www.intuit.com/support/quicken/updates/qkn_updates_mac2002.html>

DVD Player Update 3.1 - Apple Mystery! I can't find info on this
anywhere, but Software Update downloaded it. I have the logs!! It might
be the 'DVD Software Update Powerbook G4', but that's supposed to be for
550Mhz and 667Mhz machines. Mine's a pokey old 400Mhz.

(9/10) Airport Software 2.0.2

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120099>

(10)
OS X 10.1.3 - I mentioned this update in the last U&O. Despite issues
posted on various support sites, as the Greatest American Hero used to
say, 'Works for me'. The only apparent improvement: menus and dock seem a
bit snappier.

(10)
(Apple) Java 1.3.1 Update 1 - If you know about Java, you probably want
this. If you don't, you might want to GET CURRENT anyway. It's big, so if
you don't have a fast connection, use Software Update overnight.

<http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/java/ReleaseNotes/java131update1/NewFeatures/>

NEWS
----
None to speak of.

UNPREDICTABLE READER FEEDBACK
-----------------------------
Just the usual accolades.

OBSERVATION
-----------
Where did Apple's design team come up with the flat-panel-on-a-Bicycle-
Helmet design for the new iMac? I don't know. But watch the movie 'Men In
Black' some time, and take careful note of the desktop computers used at
MIB headquarters. Will the sequel, 'MIB II' foreshadow any new Apple
designs? ;-)

GEEK SPEAK REVIEW
-----------------
JAVA - Developed by Sun Microsystems, an application development
environment, API, and 'virtual machine' that runs on many platforms. The
Java 'virtual machine' runs like a program on the host OS - Unix, OS X,
and others - and the Java code is processed by the virtual machine. Java
code on the Mac OS looks like a Mac app, the same code on a Sun unix box,
looks like a Sun program, and so on. There's way more to this, just know
that in the programming world, Java is a GOOD THING for everybody, unless
you happen to want to have total control of computing everywhere. But WHO
could be that GREEDY?

Sun Microsystems - Unix software/hardware company, famed for their
attempts to bring Unix to the desktop, an innovator who introduced RISC
processing to the general public with the 'Sparcstation', headed by Scott
McNealey, always outspoken and often bitter, sometime rival, sometime
ally of Mr. Jobs.

API - Application Programming Interface. I've tried, I can do some
Applescripts, but I'm not a 'coder', so I'll try to explain in English.
An API is a series of routines, an 'environment' for programming, that
let's you get at whatever the 'top level' application or operating system
is. For example, you might use 'the Java API to code an enhancement to
Lotus Notes.'

GET THE POINT
-------------
(10) Carbon Copy Cloner 1.1 - Shareware utility for TEN. Copies an OS X
installation from one drive or partition to another. [Attention Tricia!]
I haven't tried it yet, but will report on it when I do, unless a reader
would care to say a few words?

<http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=13260&db=mac>

** OVERLOOKED AND UNDERUSED ***
-- Terrible tales of misunderstood and unknown features. --
------------------------------------------------------------
(9/10)
Spell Checkers vs. Dictionaries & Data Detectors! (Part 3)

SHERLOCK - Sherlock may not be as OVERLOOKED & UNDERUSED as some of the
items we've covered here before, but don't fret, this feature of Sherlock
is most certainly O&U!! Besides searching your hard drive and searching
search sites on the Internet, you can use Sherlock as an online
dictionary, thesaurus, and reference tool!

If you're not there already, launch Sherlock. (From the Finder, use
[Command]+F).
You know that all those buttons at the top are Sherlock 'Channels' used
for different types of searches, right?

Find the 'Reference' channel and click on it. (It's the one with all the
books.) Depending on a what version of Sherlock you have, when you
installed it, blah, blah, you may have any number of sites listed in the
Reference 'Search Sites' window. We're looking for words, so just check
off anything that says 'Dictionary' or 'Thesaurus'.

Now, in the search window, type in one of my favorite new words,
'colubrine', and click the 'Search' button.

[Sorry, the 'Search' button is not labeled. It doesn't have a rollover or
tool tip that tells you it's the 'search' button. You have to just figure
out that the Magnifying Glass inside the Aqua blob means 'Search'. This
is a compliment to you, the average user. Under the influence of hundreds
of text-oriented Unix programmers who believe that anything as BEAUTIFUL
as 'Aqua' shouldn't require an explanation, Apple now makes the
assumption that you are 'computer savvy', or at least 'smart', or at
least, 'smart enough to figure this out even if we don't make it easy'.
They call this, 'Thinking Different'. - Chris]

When Sherlock finishes its search (successfully, I hope), the Search
Sites disappear, and are replaced by 'hits'. Click on one of your hits
for 'colubrine', and WALLA the definition and pronunciation information
appear in the window below. You don't even have to open your web browser!
Cool, huh?

If you don't have my favorite dictionary site in your Reference 'Search
Sites' window, get the Sherlock plug-ins for it at:

<http://www.dictionary.com/mac/sherlock.html>

You can follow the instructions they have listed if you are not using Oh
Ess Ten. But, forget their instructions, just drag the downloaded
dictionary.src and/or thesaurus.src file icons and drop them on top of
the 'Reference' channel button in Sherlock. This should put them where
they belong, and make them appear right away in Sherlock.

We've covered a lot of ground on Data Detectors and Dictionaries and
Spell Checkers! Start using this stuff if you haven't already. People
used to have to PAY for this kind of information and these tools! Can you
imagine??

Enjoy! :-)

Tips
----
(10) "Navigating the file open dialog is faster and easier when you get the
hang of the horizontal navigation, [Also called 'column view' - Chris]
and remember NOT to double click to open a folder. Double clicking
selects the folder or the first file in the newly opened folder. Single
clicking is the way to open a folder and 'move to the right' in the
hierarchy."
[Thanks to Bob for this tip!]

Special Bonus Keyboard Commands
-------------------------------
Document Scrolling:
OCCASIONALLY I can save you some time! If you've ever had a lot to read,
either in a big word processing document, email, or web page, you know it
gets pretty TEDIOUS using a scrollbar! Even if you have a trackball or
scrollmouse, THERE ARE BETTER WAYS.

Personally, I prefer to turn the mouse loose, sit back, relax, and read
with one hand (or even one finger) on the keyboard. I can do this because
I know about SPACEBAR SCROLLING. ANCIENT text reader 'Easy View' allowed
me to blast through TidBITs and List digests for years. Easy View has
been dropped from the list of UNPREDICTABLE software, but the feature is
still desirable. And here are a few places where you can get it:

PowerMail:
[Spacebar] - moves down through one windowful of a message
[Shift] + [Spacebar] - moves UP through one windowful

Internet Explorer:
[Spacebar] - moves down through one windowful of a web page
[Option] + [Spacebar] - moves UP through one windowful

Adobe Acrobat Reader:
Sorry, ADOBE isn't WITH THE PROGRAM. They want us to use the [Up] and
[Down] or [Right] and [Left] arrow keys to move through a document. Okay.
I suppose that's allright. As an alternative you can also try:

Open Acrobat Preferences. Click on FULL SCREEN. Then put a 'check' in
'Advance on any click'. Save and close the Preferences. Then return to
your Acrobat document and from the 'View' menu, select 'Full Screen' - or
use [Command]+ L. This turns your PowerBook into an electronic book
reader, and all you have to do is click the mouse, or tap the Trackpad to
move down through the document. [Shift] + Click/Tap moves UP.

Pretty nifty, huh? I'm sure there are 'easy reading' options in other
applications. If you find one, let me know, and I'll add it to the list.
Enjoy!! :-)

TFSB!!

THE END
=========================================================================
** CHRIS'S UNPREDICTABLE and OCCASIONAL Newsletter for Mac Users **
Oriented towards, but not exclusively for, Mac Users in Beautiful Western
Central New Jersey. Published Whenever - About Whatever!
=========================================================================
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