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Reviews the computer software Airfoil 1.0.1 from Rogue Amoeba. Features. INSET: Promising Prospect: Witch.

The article offers suggestions for managing the Mac OS X operating systems (OS). It suggests that computer systems running on OS X 10.4 (Leopard) or OS X 10.5 (Tiger) operating systems allows Web pages to open in the background by clicking on a link. It mentions that horizontally scrolling can be done by holding down the shift key prior to spinning the scroll wheel. It mentions that to check if a file has been saved, the drop-down menu on the title bar should be checked which leads to the TextEdit document where the full path to a document's saved location is displayed.

The article offers tips for operating the Mac Operating System X (OS X). It states that the shutdown process can be cancelled by launching an application such as a Save dialog box in any application. The shutdown process will stop as soon as it reaches the program with the open Save As dialog box. It offers tips for editing smart playlists in iTunes. It informs that all OS X folders have a built-in spring mechanism. It informs that many widgets of Mac OS X 10.4's dashboard support drag and drop.

The article presents information on some useful tips as well as a collection of the most-useful keyboard shortcuts for Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari, a computer software, and Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox. If someone wants to see those pages that have been visited last week then the person should click on the Bookmarks icon in the Bookmarks bar in Safari. Also, the users of Firefox can select View to open a drawer, to the side of the browser window, that holds a useful list of bookmarks and a search field.

The article presents information related to some tips on how computer can be used in an efficient manner. The Get Info window displays lots of interesting things about files and applications and one can see the selected item's size, location, and modification times, name and extension, and more in this window. One should click once on the icon in the menu bar and then move the slider that appears to adjust the system's overall volume. One can open the international preference pane and click on the input menu tab to access the special characters.

The article offers suggestions for control over Time Machine backups, program preferences, and RSS feeds for Macintosh computer systems. The Time Machine backup can be used to back up the latest version of a file by pruning old backups from the Time Machine interface. It suggests that for more powerful Time Machine backup management the command-line tool tms can be used. It mentions that NetNewsWire news readers can have their subscriptions imported into mail by using a text editor that supports grep-based pattern matching.

The article presents information related to the iTunes software. The iTunes allows just five users to connect to any shared library in a day. With the help of iTunes one can store music in a central location and access it from any of his home computers. The other iTunes users on other network can see the shared name that one have set in iTunes' preferences. The Sharing pane in iTunes' preferences show how many users are connected to a shared library. Each person want to create playlists to access his or her favorite files more easily with an entire household's music. INSET: Set Up a Music Server.

The article presents information on the decision of Apple Computer Inc. to use Intel Corp.'s microprocessors in its Mac series of computers. Apple has shifted most of its computers to the new architecture. This shift to Intel microprocessors has been considered by many experts to be successful. Apple launched an Intel-based iMac and a 15-inch MacBook Pro at the start of 2006. These new machines signal a good start to the shift for Apple. After a month of this launch, the consumer-level Mac mini switched to Intel chips. Van L. Baker, vice president of research at technology research firm Gartner, says that he believes that servers and desktops are not transformed to Intel chips as Apple is waiting for Intel to give them better performance.

Several letters to the editor in response to articles published in previous issues including "Dashboard Confidential," in the October 2005 issue, "Hide Your Mac from Hackers," "Tiger Secrets Declassified," "Intel's Road Map," and Mac Gems in the October 2005 issue are presented.

Reviews the Apple Remote Desktop 2.1 software from Apple Computer.

Reviews the StuffIt Deluxe 9.0 software from Allume Systems.

Reviews the performance of the You Control 1.0 computer software from You Software.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discussed in previous issues. Review of Eudora 6.0 computer software; Issues faced by classical music listeners using iTunes and an iPod; Discussion on scanning resolutions.

Presents tips on buying computer systems from Apple. Suggestion on buying refurbished equipment; Information on educational discounts; Advice regarding packaged deals.

The article discusses the history of struggle of Apple Inc. particularly with its Macintosh computer systems. On August 24, 1995, the release of Windows 95 had almost overthrown the entire Mac-market. With the acquisition of NeXT Software and the appointment of Steve Jobs as chief executive officer (CEO), Apple went into major reorganization of its management and products such as the release of its Mac OS 8 wherein it shut out all the clone makers in the market. According to Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, they will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac.

The article presents information on the computer desktop range iMacs from Apple Computer Inc. The iMac product line uses the 64-bit Core 2 Duo processor code. The company has created its biggest iMac with a 24-inch wide-screen display. This has given buyers more choices in terms of rates and features. The new iMac lineup includes four models, 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz 17-inch sizes, a 2.16GHz 20-inch version, and the all-new 2.16GHz 24-inch model. The 24-inch iMac has a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel display and presents 30 percent more screen real estate compared to the other models.

The article reports on Apple Computer Inc.'s plan to incorporate the new optical-disk technology called Blu-ray. It is presumed that the forthcoming Intel-based Macintosh computer system "Mac Pro" will include a Blu-ray drive which would be used for storing large amounts of high-definition video. However, the technology will face stiff competition from HD DVD optical discs which are also used for the same purpose. The new Blu-ray based drive would take time to gain the confidence of consumers and as a result the company is not willing to introduce Blu-ray optical drive in any of its consumer Macintosh computers.

The article presents information on the utility of Photoshop software plug-ins from Adobe Systems Inc. Finley Lee, senior developer at Alien Skin Software, states that the architecture of a plug-in's processor must match the host program. The Photoshop plug-ins need to be PowerPC-compatible to run the PowerPC version of Photoshop on Rosetta software. The PowerPC code of any Universal plug-ins would be loaded by Photoshop running on Rosetta.

The article reports that Apple Computer Inc. has upgraded its video-editing software named Final Cut Express HD 3.5. The software is aimed at video enthusiasts, schools, and small businesses. Final Cut Express HD 3.5 is equipped with editing tools for DV and HDV formats, and supports multiple video layers, real-time effects and transitions. Final Cut Express HD 3.5 also includes Soundtrack 1.5, an updated version of Apple's loop-based soundtrack-creation tool. According to Kirk Paulsen, Apple's senior director of professional applications marketing, the software is ideally suited to iMovie customers.

The article presents information about computer input-output devices. The 19-inch FP93G X liquid crystal display unit from BenQ America Corp. promises a 2-millisecond gray-to-gray response time with a native resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels. The IrisCard mini business-card scanner lets users scan business cards in black-and-white or gray scale. The 19-inch LaCie 119 liquid crystal display panel features a native resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels. The 20-inch LaCie 120 liquid crystal display panel features a native resolution of 1,600 by 1,200 pixels. The PodFreq system from Sonnet Technologies Inc. features integrated frequency modulation transmitter and an iPod charger that adds compatibility with video-capable fifth-generation iPods.

This section presents information related to the various products and their software and hardware configuration in the computer industry.

The article presents news related to the electronic and computer industry. Fans of the first Zoo Tycoon should keep their eyes peeled for Zoo Tycoon 2, which should be out soon, from MacSoft Games (not Aspyr Media Inc., which produced the first Mac version of the game). ATI used to have two Mac Radeon 9800 cards — one for G5s and one for G4s. Now the company is down to one card that works in both systems. The Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition costs $299 and has 256MB of VRAM, just like the G5 card it replaces.

Reviews several computer softwares. BBEdit 8.2.3, from Bare Bones Software Inc.; ConceptDraw Business Suite, from CS Odessa; Delicious Library 1.5.1, from Delicious Monster Software; SyncDeK 6.0, from WorldSync.

Reviews several computer softwares. Boujou bullet 2, from 2d3; Maya 7 Personal Learning Edition, from Alias; Painter Essentials 3, from Corel Corp.; Smasher, from Insider Software Inc.

This section presents information on the configuration of various computer equipments. It reports that the product iMac's one of the processor is of G5/1.8GHz.

This section presents tables on computer hardware.

The article present information on three computer software recommended by a computer user. The user is a radio junkie, the kind of guy who will sit in his car until a program is over rather than turning off the radio and going in to work. Unfortunately, sitting in the car for hours is not exactly productive. So he uses WireTap Pro, from Ambrosia Software. Like TiVo for the Web, this little application can record his favorite audio streams. It will record audio on schedule and, once the recording is done, save the results in one of the several audio formats. It can even save the audio into an iTunes playlist. His favorite program-switching application is Keyboard Maestro from Stairways Software. With a simple, user-customizable interface, it lets him switch among open applications and windows, launch or close applications, and kick off time-saving macros. The iSeek software from Ambrosia Software lets him grab information from a single search field in the menu bar. If he wants to run any other searches, he can create his own iSeek search modules or download any of dozens more from the Web site of Ambrosia Software.

The article presents information on two computer software recommended by a user. When he configures a new computer, the second thing he installs is the DragThing software. With this palette-based launching utility, he can create any number of palettes that can hold anything he likes such as applications, documents, Uniform Resource Locators, folders, and more. He can then assign hot keys, view the contents of folders, quit and force-quit applications, switch applications while hiding others, and move items to the Trash. With the You Control software from You Software, it lets him pack a load of helpful utilities into menus conveniently hidden in the corners of his desktop computer. His You Control menu includes a weather module, a news reader, an iTunes controller, a calendar, a list of recent items, a list of mounted volumes, and a list of the users he has created on his own.

The article presents information on two computer software. With the LaunchBar software from Objective Development, a utility has become indispensable because the keystrokes that invoke it have become part of the muscle memory. LaunchBar opens the right thing when a computer user presses the spacebar, types a few characters from the name of the application, preference pane, document, Web bookmark, or contact name, then presses return. With the iKey software from Script Software, a user may switch among the applications with the function keys and type small bits of boilerplate text such as the snail mail address, Web Uniform Resource Locator, and more.

The article presents information on three computer software. The Butler software is similar to both LaunchBar and Quicksilver. Just press control-spacebar and start typing the name of an application, folder, Web shortcut, or file. Press return to launch the selected item. Butler can also control iTunes and enable Fast User Switching without taking up space on the menu bar, and it supports useful macros and multiple clipboard items. MenuMeters from Raging Menace is used to keep an eye on the innards of a system without opening and closing something like Activity Monitor. Its space-efficient graphics on the menu bar enables to keep an eye on the usage of the central processing unit (CPU), disk activity, memory utilization, and network activity, and each module can be individually enabled, disabled, and customized. CPU-hogging processes become obvious, excess disk activity is easy to spot, and a user can monitor upload and download speeds. With the Print Window application from SearchWare Solutions, a user can specify what he wants to print, sort, whether he wants icons to be included, and whether he wants to include and expand any subfolders. The Advanced, for-fee version adds even more control to the process.

Reviews the Ivory 1.0 computer software from Synthogy.

Reviews the QuarkXPress 6.5 software from Quark.

Reviews the modo 102 computer software from Luxology.

Reviews the Eye Candy 5: Textures software from Alien Skin Software.

Reviews the Route USA 2004 3.6 software from Route 66.

This section presents several computer software products introduced in the U.S. market as of February 2005.

This article evaluates the dual-1.8-gigahertz Power Mac G5 configuration from Apple Computer. At $2,499, the Power MacG5 costs $100 more than its single-chip predecessor. It comes with 512 megabytes of double data rate memory; a 160 gigabytes, 7,200-revolutions per minute serial advanced technology attachment hard drive; a SuperDrive CD and DVD burner; an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra video card in an 8x accelerated graphics port slot; three free PCI-X slots; Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400 and 800, and Universal Serial Bus 2.0 ports; and internal slots for optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless-connectivity cards. In the Unreal Tournament frame-rate test, the configuration delivered significantly fewer frames per second than the dual-two-gigahertz system. But in the rest of the performance tests, the configuration came in just behind the dual-two-gigahertz model.

Reviews the performance of the PDFpen 1.1 computer software from SmileOnMyMac.

Reviews the performance of the RagTime 5.6.5 publishing computer software from RagTime.

Reviews the performance of the MotionBuilder 5 computer software from Kaydara.

Presents information on the CorelDraw Graphics Suite 12 from Corel. Decision of Corel to drop Macintosh support from the suite; Plan of Corel to develop its Mac products.

Evaluates the Logic Express 6 and Logic Pro 6 computer software developed by Apple Computer Inc. Similarity of the two pieces of software with Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro software; Cost of the products; Capabilities of the software.

Reviews the Wi-Fi Protected Access Support software AirPort 3.2 from Apple Computer Inc.

Presents tips on shopping for computer software. Information on buying software bundles; Advice on buying from smaller companies; Examples of computer software from small companies, and their prices.

Evaluates the 1GHz 12-inch PowerBook G4 from Apple Computer Inc. Speed of PowerBook G4; Information on the Nvidia GeForge FX Go5200 graphics card of the software; Changes in the 12-inch PowerBook's ports.

Evaluates the 1.33GHz 17-inch PowerBook G4 from Apple Computer Inc. Features of the program; Speed of the program; Size and weight of the original 17-inch model.

Presents several computer-related products introduced in the U.S. market in November 2003. Logitech MX700 Cordless mouse from Logitech; Home Media Option from TiVo; Front panel ports on Macintosh G5 desktop computers.

Reviews the songwriting utility software MasterWriter. Operations; Features; Price.