Leopard is Ready

10.5.1 is out and it feels much better. I can recommend it for most users that don't have particular software that hasn't been tested for it yet. See Adobe's site for info. on the Creative Suites.

Leopard Notes and Thoughts

I just installed Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) on my G4 PowerBook and have made these notes as a type of review. I like it a lot but it feels like a .0 release. There are some odd failures, quirky stops and starts, rough corners etc:

- It is a bit pokey on this hardware, but acceptable for normal email and browsing.
- I hate that the "fan" feature of Stacks doesn't work when the Dock is on the side which is my preferred placement. It is pretty cool way of viewing files.
- I am wondering where the IP address: 172.31.129.148 is coming from in the Sharing Pref Pane ? Is apple maintaining a DNS system for screen and file sharing?
- I hate that custom icons don't show up in the Dock for folders(stacks), even the your home folder loses its "house."
- I LOVE Spaces...I had this on my Solaris thin clients in 2001, why did it take so long?
- I love Cover Flow for docs, useful! Some docs that should work, but don't work, I'm wondering what their issue is.
- I Love the dedicated Downloads folder, I've been doing this manually for years so it is nice to see it built-in.
- I LOVE the automatically listed network servers, if this turns out to actually work reliably, it was worth the upgrade price by itself
- I think I'm going to LOVE screen sharing, can't wait until my new iMac is delivered to test it out.
- I think I'm going to LOVE Back to My Mac, can't wait until my new iMac is delivered to test it out.
- I LOVE Quick Look, who wouldn't?
- Like the new Notes and To Do's in Mail but why won't they sync to my iPhone yet? Impatience is a recurring problem of mine.
- Data Detection is cool but not perfect, certainly saves some typing!
- I Love the way Safari and Dashboard are working together in a really cool way, select part of a web page and create your own custom widget. I just took my Google Photo Gadget and turned it into a Mac widget easily. There are a few issues with how links work from the widgets but still, very nice.

Comments, answers, me-to's, and insults welcome.

TeachTech Newsletter

Vacation
TeachTech is going on vacation. Linda and I will be gone/or out of touch from September 8 - 25 on holiday to the Greek Isles. In an emergency call Mike McDaniel at Mac Assist at 303-245-0045.

Backing Up Your Stuff
Have you thought about your backup strategy lately? Many of my clients have begun to take a serious look at this issue since they have so many important files on their computer. It really is not that smart to ignore it anymore. Every computer hard drive will die at some point in time. If you are not prepared for it to happen right now, then you are ignoring the reality. Recovering the data after the fact can be either impossible, horribly expensive, or just a slight inconvenience. Which would you rather have happen to you?

I'll be glad to help you set up a system that that is relatively easy to maintain and fits your needs if you wish. At the very least, buy a flash drive and drag your important files to it occasionally!

iPhone
I believe many are interested in Apple's iPhone and I can recommend it. I have clients that have bought it and are happy. There are some obvious missing features, but many will be remedied in software updates. I can offer support for them and will be switching to it myself in October.

Digital Photography Class
I am continuing to offer this popular class but it has become increasingly difficult to schedule it. So, I'm going to offer it as personal tutoring sessions with steep discounts. The photography section and the photo editing/archiving section can each be broken up into a 2-3 hour segment for $100 each. If you can schedule a pair or a larger group then the discount can grow per person. Details of the class are on my photography pages. If you'd like to schedule a photo shoot together that is possible as well. Local shoots are fine but I'm planning trips to southern Utah and Bosque del Apache in NM next year if you'd be interested.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

TeachTech Website
The site has a bit of a new look. Check it out. The news link takes you to this newsletter/blog.

Canvastic
Canvastic is the new graphics and text publishing software for students and teachers in K-8. It features a clear on-screen display making it easy to use for everyone. It can be customized for users of different ages. It really grows with the user. Canvastic is a real tool for school, not a toy. There are no time wasting features or excessive options. You can download a demonstration copy at www.canvastic.com

iPhone

The new Apple iPhone looks like a very cool device. More than a phone it is really a new pocket computing platform. The currently available version shows its youth in that fact that some features are not fully fleshed out (no to do list for example) but many things will be fixed and amended in software updates.

You can find full reviews:

NY Times

Wall St. Journal

Photoshop's Crop Tool Snap to Edge Fix

When cropping photos in Photoshop the default setting is set such that the crop line will "snap" to the edge of the photo if you are manipulating the line within a few pixels of the edge. I guess this is supposed to be helpful...

To turn this behavior off:

1. Hold down control and command while moving the line (works while keys are held down)
   
2. Select View Menu > Snap to remove the check mark in the menu and turn this behavior off permanently