Inside This Issue from Maxi to Mini
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Monthly Meeting January 26 - 7 pm iDVD Learn how to use this revolutionary program. at UConn Medical Center “Back To Basics” - 6 pm (see info on page 11) NEWSLETTER OF CONNECTICUT MACINTOSH CONNECTION, INC.JANUARY 2005 From Maxi to Mini Macworld SF 2005 By Don Dickey, Macworld San Francisco CMC president Apple CEO Steve Jobs Last year’s rage was G5s. Big ones! delivered a keynote Whether you were looking at a G5 tower presentation Tuesday, or a G5 iMac with 20" integrated dis- Jan 11, at 9 AM PT, play, you were looking at some very introducing the latest hardware and software large hardware. FireWire 800 and gigabyte ethernet. The products from Apple, low end Macs never made sense for pro- including iPod shuffle, For 2005, Apple introduced the “Mac fessional users anyway. Mac mini, iLife ’05, mini.” What is it? Imagine a stack of five iWork ’05 and audio CDs. The Mini is a skosh bigger than If you’re a current Mac user looking for an Final Cut Express that, but not much. What’s it got? A G4 easy upgrade, the Mini represents a very HD and more. processor with most of the ports you’d get good value. This is especially true if you in an iMac, eMac, or iBook. What’s it already have a decent monitor which You can watch Apple’s Steve missing? Well, a keyboard and mouse, to would “go to waste” if you bought an iMac Jobs deliver the Macworld mention a couple! Yes, you do need them, or eMac. Got a blue and white G3 tower? Expo keynote address. See the but they’re “optional” and add $58 if you This machine is just right for you! You’ll video-on-demand webcast don’t already have a set. even get some desk or floor real estate back exclusively in QuickTime and in the bargain. MPEG-4 at the following: More importantly, who’s it for? A couple of http://www.apple.com/ different groups fall into the target market. If you don’t have a Mac, but are interested quicktime/qtv/mwsf05/ The obvious candidate is someone who in getting started, things get a little dicey. If already has an OK monitor, keyboard, and you buy the mini, add a keyboard, mouse, mouse, and just wants an easy upgrade. good 17" flat panel display, pair of ampli- You just swap CPUs and you’re up and fied speakers, and a USB microphone (for running in no time. iChat AV conferencing), you’d definitely spend more than you would have for an The less-than-obvious candidate is some- eMac. And, for a little more you could have body who found the iMac ($1,299), iBook had the new iMac G5 with it’s better ($999), and eMac ($799) just too darn chipset and the beautiful integration of an expensive. Translate: Too darn expensive to all-in-one. The G5 has better longevity: Inside this Issue switch from a (cheap) Windows PC. you’ll be happier using it longer as OSX They’re really trying to attract more matures into Tiger this year and beyond. From Maxi to Mini.............................. 1 “switchers.” At least that’s my humble Member of the Month.......................... 2 opinion. I wrote this article because many of you are Review: Eye TV ....................................3 going to ask “Is the mini a good machine Review: Firefox ....................................4 Is it a good value? That’s not easy to for me?” I hope I answered some of your Download of the Month .......................5 answer. It really depends on your needs. If questions, or at least focused your attention Phishing 101.........................................6 you’re a graphic artist or video editor, I’d on what questions you need to ask yourself. MUG Special Offers.............................8 point you to a G5, since the software you’re Review: Airport Express ......................9 using is probably optimized for that new Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous chip. You might also miss the speeds of 2005! Meetings and Club News ...................11 1 Member of the Month by David Gerstein CMC Treasurer This month’s Member of the Month is Dan Arnold, a retired actuarial accountant. Q How long have you been a member of CMC? A Since 1991. Editor Q Does this make you almost a Deena Quilty founding member? A Not quite. The organization was has evolved, so that there are many Content Contributor well into existence when I joined. more activities today than when I Don Dickey first joined. Q And what do you use your Mac for? Contributing Author Q Does the makeup of the club, that is Like a lot of people, mainly Rich Lenoce A the division between the experts for email and web surfing. and the novices, provide any prob- lems for the club? Designer Q In your time you have seen changes George Maciel in the organization. What strikes A This has always been true. We you about the differences between always had the “geeks” who really Photographer the club today and when you joined understand the system and the John Scott in the nineties? users just learning about the Mac. A No differences really, just different But we learn from each other. Publisher personalities on the board. They Connecticut Macintosh evolve over time. Actually the club Connection, Inc. 41 Crossroads Plaza PMB 1984 West Hartford, CT 06117 Classified Advertising Display Advertising CMC Members can Advertise For Any business items or services can be Printer Sale, Swap, Trade, Giveaway or Want advertised at the low monthly rates listed. Budget Printers to Buy Items. This space can be used Business Card ......................$10 by members to advertise non-business 1718 Park Street Quarter Page ........................$20 Hartford, CT 06106 items which they are no longer using or upgrading. This is a FREE Half Page ..............................$30 service provided to our members. Full Page or insert* ..............$50 We welcome submissions Send submissions via email to from members! [email protected]. Submit all ad copy to the Editor on a Please submit articles by first of disk with nothing else on it or e-mail it the month for inclusion in our for insertion in the following issue. newsletter. There is much talent Display ads must be submitted camera- in our group; it would be great ready in .eps or .pdf format with to have several member articles all fonts and graphics embedded. in each issue. ADVERTISEMENT For Sale: Powerbook G3, 14.1", 233 MHz, 160 Mb Ram, running OS 9.2. Lots of software on drive. No startup discs. Inc. CD, Zip & floppy drives. Also 3 working batteries, USB adapter and Targus bag. $175 OBO. email: [email protected] 2 Review: Eye TV With the built-in editor, you can edit teacher and science department head, her Elgato EyeTV 200 FireWire unwanted parts. It’s like having an newfound time has allowed her to become from Elgato Systems iMovie to help you edit your pro- more involved with her Mac and the User By Maria O. Arguello grams. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to Group Community. Maria is president and remove the commercials, finally? vendor liaison of the Main Line MSRP: $329, User Group Price $279 Macintosh Users Group, where she has (This offer is available to groups in the The TiVo model I have pales in com- also served as member-at-large and as U.S. and is valid until February 28. parison to what I can do with the special events coordinator. She is the http://www.elgato.com/shop/apple_ EyeTV 200 on my Mac. I can take my Apple Regional Liaison for the Northeast UG/discounts.HTML) shows with me by creating DVDs or United States and online groups. Video CDs to play anywhere I like on Does your Mac TiVo? Well, it almost Minimum can with Elgato’s System EyeTV 200 (FireWire). Requirements: You’ll be able to watch excellent quality TV on your Mac’s screen, as most standard DVD players. Or I can Macintosh computer with well as schedule and record your update my VHS tapes to digital by minimum PowerPC® G4 favorite shows and pause, replay, and capturing the VCR content through 500MHz or G5 processor. search that TV. Its high quality EyeTV to record a digital copy on the A built-in FireWire port or Mac, and then burn it to a DVD or MPEG-2 encoder not only allows independently powered Video CD. your shows to look good, but also FireWire hub makes them ready to archive to DVD Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, with using Roxio’s Toast. The included remote control enables me to record a show that I want imme- 256 MB RAM (512 MB In the box you will find the following diately from my TV viewing couch. I recommended) items: EyeTV 200 hardware, EyeTV don’t have to move to lower the vol- Minimum 20 MB free hard software and PDF documentation on ume, raise the volume, or mute it disk space CD-ROM, FireWire cable, Remote when the phone rings. Approximately 2 GB of free control, two AAA batteries and a hard disk space for each Quick Start Guide. It’s no wonder that EyeTV 200 won the Macworld Editor’s Choice Award hour of video to be recorded The latest software is EyeTV 1.6.3 for the Hardware of the Year. It is the QuickTime 6.4 and it requires a G4 with a speed of at best way to watch TV on a Mac. An Internet connection to use least 500 MHz or a G5 Power EyeTV?s Electronic Macintosh, and Mac OS X v.