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Hardware Review: Targus Bluetooth Mouse UPDATE!

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

http://www.targus.com/US/product_details.asp?sku=AMB08US

UPDATE!!
At the Macworld Expo, I had my eye out for a new mouse. My interest was not bluetooth specific, but for anything that might be on display at the show.

Targus had demos for both wireless optical and bluetooth laser devices. The wireless option connects through a USB receiver whereas the bluetooth mouse can only connect to a bluetooth enabled computer. Both devices use two AA batteries within the mouse for reception.

Two things impressed me enough to purchase the bluetooth mouse for Macs. First was the demo. It may sound odd, but a mouse without a "tail" is a wonderful thing. Even more unique was the scrolling function. Both Targus products have what they call a "touch scroll" window instead of a wheel. A swipe of the finger gets your page moving. Swipe forward and back to move your page up and down or side to side if your page is wider than the screen. Great for maps! A light, quick swipe will put an extra long page on continuous scroll; when you arrive at the place you are looking for, a light tap on the touch scroll stops the page. An impressive feature.

The second impression came from the Targus employees at Macworld. When one of them noticed the "FMUG" designation on my name tag, she gave me the name and number of their PR person saying that they would provide products for our club raffles. And so they have!

The bluetooth mouse did take some getting used to. At initial installment, the action is lightning fast! I've adjusted my mouse settings in System Preferences to "slow" for scrolling and just two marks above "slow" for tracking! Now I can keep up with it! Prior to those adjustments the movement was quite erratic. I must be getting comfortable with it, though, because after only two months of use, any other mouse on another computer it seems terribly slow by comparison.

The touch scroll window is also a programable "button" and there are two more buttons on the thumb side of the mouse. They look like a toggle switch. The bottom button on the toggle is almost too convenient and is easy to click accidentally, so I have chosen not to program that one. But the other is handy for my dashboard. You can choose from a wide variety of programmable options.

There is one downside which is the battery usage. Developing the habit of turning off the power switch when not in use is coming along slowly. A related issue is that the touch scroll will only work with the freshest of batteries. If I forget and walk away without turning the switch off, the batteries will drain enough that scroll won't work the next day. (Though you will still get a connection and the tracking/ clicking functions work.) I tried some brand new rechargeable AA's hoping to save money. But after giving them a full, fresh charge and placing them into the mouse there wasn't enough power to work the touch scroll function. This has been the only disappointment.

I like the bluetooth laser mouse enough to overcome the battery issues by paying closer attention and developing those new habits of power conservation. It really is a joy to use!

-Trish Guy

Program Review: TypeStyler

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 09:44:11 -0800

The most flexible, complete, user controlled text program on the market for a Mac. There is next to nothing you cannot do in controlling the way text appears. You can select any font in your font file and change itʼs color, shadow, gloss, etc. You can have flat text, 3-D appearing text, multicolored text (as above). There is shadow control, background selection and more. Here is one example:

It almost seems like the possibilities are endless. A lot of fun to play with. Here is a write-up from TypeStyler and me done for our Mac Club User Group Newsletter:

TypeStyler is the fastest and easiest way to create high impact graphics for your digital designs. It is perfect for both print and screen display. Whether you are a graphic artist, web designer, animator, art director or novice, TypeStyler brings style to your typographical creative visions. TypeStyler is a quick and easy alternative to hand drawn or phototypeset styled type. Projects that used to take hours can now be done in minutes. TypeStyler is a complete desktop publishing tool, providing the full range of features needed to quickly design, layout and print headline text and logos, as well as complete ads, signage, packaging and web site graphics. “What’s coming up next month” on page one was done with this program. I use it also on my business cards.
It is excellent for invitations, announcements and any other document for which you want distinctive text.

There is no other program in it’s class. The cost of this Software is normally 149.99.
Download a fully functional 60-day trial version at
http://www.typestyler.com/

I rate TypeStyler ☆☆☆☆☆. 

Program Review: 1Password

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:20:18 -0800

1Password is a Password Manager that uniquely brings you both Security and Convenience. It is the only program that provides Anti-Phishing protection and goes beyond password management by adding Web Form Filling and Automatic Strong Password Generation. All your confidential information, including passwords, identities, and credit cards, is kept in one secure place provided by Apple's OS X Keychain. 1Password browser extensions support Safari, Camino, Firefox, OmniWeb, DEVONagent, NetNewsWire, Netscape Navigator, and Flock. All browser extensions share the data stored in the keychain which means you never need to manually copy your passwords between browsers or from the password manager to a browser ever again! 1Password has received numerous awards, including 4.5 mice from Macworld magazine, MacLife Editors pick, and was the Pick of Week on MacBreak Weekly by both Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann.
I have been using it for several months now and find it relatively easy to learn and even better to use. When making online purchases you will appreciate it’s value. You assign a password to it and remember that password. You may then not worry about any others except your sign-in one. Should you be using DropBox it will sync all your other Macs. My desktop Mac and laptop are synced together. When I travel my laptop is current with the one at home. Drop box can be used for other items as well to keep them synced.
The cost of this Shareware is $39.95. For what it does I think this is a very good value.
I rate 1Password ☆☆☆☆☆. 
http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password

Book Review: iPod Touch for Dummies

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 20:15:11 -0800

Got a new iPod Touch? Or just thinking about getting one? This is a resource that can help you. Follow it from begining to end or jump to a section that intrigues you. The iPod Touch is a PDA on steroids. It's your calendar, your shopping list, your news outlet, your gaming device, your eBook reader, your recipe book (and diet tracker), your photo album, your document storage, your exercise coach . . . oh, and it plays music, too. Because, as you've heard by now, "there's an App for that!". You make the iPod Touch into what you want it to be, and this book helps get you going. Plus it gives you loads of tips & tricks that help save time. Add a wi-fi connection and you truly have an outstanding device that fits easily in your pocket.
This book is now available in the FMUG library.

Program Review: Toast 10

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:01:18 -0800

For the average person Toast 10 has slight interface changes to differentiate it from Toast 9. The tool bar items are basically the same. I noticed in the menu bar an item of Extras. Within Extras are found a list of eight different programs. Spin Doctor enables the conversion of the old vinyl records and cassette tapes to digital to be burned on CD, DVD. DiscCatalogMaker lets one do just that. And there are six others.

I was disappointed not to see the method of burning DVDs like CDs where you could choose your own disc icon. The other thing which struck me was the inability to burn DVD sessions. I was able to go through the motions of a session and actually burned one. When attempting to burn the second session, it kept asking for a new DVD and not allowing the second session. Blu-ray can be burned should you have a capable burner.

New is: Combining multiple video clips to a DVD, Build your MP3 library, Extract clips from a DVD and convert them, Convert audio books to your iPod, Save web video and convert to other formats, and several others.

Toast is the only burning program I can truly recommend without hesitation. It is still the industry standard and I doubt if anything will ever replace it or even come close.
I rate Toast ☆☆☆☆☆. 

http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/overview.html
by Marty Grauer

Program Review: Print Explosion

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:55:10 -0800

This is a program from Nova Development selling for $49.95. It will be demonstrated in the near future. Possibly March.
What will this program do? This should give you some idea. It does the following: Greeting cards, Scrapbook pages, CD/DVD labels, T-shirts, Business Cards, Banners, Certificates, Labels and much more. There are thousands of templates. The program comes on a DVD and took quite some time to install due to what it offers.
I made several greeting cards. I wanted something which could be mailed in a standard envelope. iPhoto cards need a 5X7 envelope and one must purchase a quantity of them. I only need a single card for sometime occasions. I was able to accomplish this with Print Explosion. I found Print Explosion rather easy to get used to and was producing my desires within a relatively short time. After some moving of the placement of the graphics and text on my card, I was able to print a quad fold card to fit a standard check size envelope. I even placed an apple and Made on a Mac with Print Explosion on the back side. The only way to get a registered copy is to order it. A DVD will arrive to be loaded and serialization is automatic.

For one who sends greeting cards either frequently or occasionally I found this to be a very valuable asset to my applications.

by Marty Grauer

Book Review: Mac OS X Leopard Book

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 22:51:49 -0700

I’m not a current Leopard user but after reading Scott Kelby’s new book “The Mac OSX Leopard Book” I soon will be. It’s certainly clear I’ll be ready when I do upgrade.

What I liked about this book was how well it was organized and the effective use of color in the Screen Photos and Window Illustrations; crisp describes it best. One topic per page makes it easy to zero in on just exactly what it is you need to get your question answered or your problem solved. Since I am not a current Leopard user, I read it from cover to cover and was amazed to discover some features of Tiger I should have known about and been using.

If your not a cover to cover reader, you will not be disappointed when you look up information by topic. Chapter headings and chapter contents descriptions are well organized, application oriented and user friendly. So, if you need to find out about “Getting Contacts Into Your Address Book”, that is precisely the paragraph heading in the book.

It’s User Friendly and Easy to Comprehend! Whether you’re a long time Mac User or a first time user you will find this book an excellent reference both at home or on the road.

Jim Barker
Fresno Macintosh User’s Group

TITLE: “The Mac OSX Leopard Book”
AUTHOR: Scott Kelby
ISBN-10 0-321-54395-5

Book Review: Cool Mac Apps, Third Edition

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 21:35:25 -0700

“Cool Mac Apps” Third Edition by Robin Williams is an excellent information provider for anyone using Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Covered in this book are the mac applications iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iTunes, Mail and more, twelve in all.

There is an explanation of the application and instructions on how to do each of the functions within the application. the book is quite detailed. For example iPhoto itself is 97 pages. This is an excellent book for reference after going through it at least once. I have prior editions and refer to them whenever I have a question on a covered application. Of course with each new Edition many features are repeated from the prior but the latest Edition incorporates all the new features of those applications.

This book is now part of my reference library and it is highly recommended. I would give it a 5 star rating.

Reviewed by Marty Grauer, Fresno Macintosh Users Group.

“Cool Mac Apps”.
Author Robin Williams with John Tollett.
ISBN-0-321-50896-3
US $ 24.99
Peachpit Press, www.peachpit.com

Program Review: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6

Tue, 20 May 2008 07:50:07 -0700

Adobe recently released version 6 of Photoshop Elements for the Mac (PE 6), replacing and updating version 4. They “skipped” the number 5 to “catch up” with the Windows version. Some aspects of PE 6 are valuable and exciting, while others could have been done better. Much of the application is similar to version 4, but with certain controls changed or relocated.

The ﬁrst, and most noticeable, change is in the desktop itself. The backgrounds and tool bars are now a brownish-gray color, with small white lettering, making the contrast between the two at least unpleasant (and for some users, deﬁnitely troublesome). This lack of contrast violates one of the cardinal rules of typography. Inexplicably, I have not found comments on this aspect of PE 6 in media reviews I have seen—this background/lettering combination makes certain operations on PE 6 harder to do than with version 4.

Also, in the default mode, the Project Bin and the “Edit”, “Create”, and “Share” Palettes take up so much of the desktop that the window for the graphic itself will not be large enough for clarity and ease-of-use in certain operations. The option is to close both the Bin and the palettes so that the active window can become the larger size we often need. I consider the “new” desktop to be a deﬁciency in PE 6, only partly offset by some of the new features.

Among the new features are correction for photo merge, the availability of photo ﬁlters, and correction of photo camera lens distortion. Another clear winner is the updated red eye elimination tool. And a new control that should be in the next update of “parent” Photoshop is being able to drag the corner of a selection and thereby “zoom” to get an enlarged view—this one is truly inspired!

Of the new features, Photo Merge is clearly the best and most useful. Users will want to take multiple shots of groups of people from generally the same viewpoint and with similar lens settings. Typically, one or more folks in a particular photo will be seen to have a less attractive expression or to have moved, which problem will be found to affect different people in the other photos taken at the same time. All that is needed to do is set up Photo Merge “before” and “after” windows, select a better “face” on the before one, click, and that “face” will be nicely placed on the after photo. It is then only necessary to ﬂatten the image to complete the process.

The Photo Distortion correction also works very well, although there will be a “learning curve” for users to get the best out of it.

I tested the various “automatic” photo editing controls in PE 6. They mostly seem to work about as they did in version 4, and may be the answer for some users who are in a hurry or prefer not to learn to use the manual controls. Most of these auto controls work reasonably well but, in my experience and opinion, don’t usually produce the quality of results as does manual editing with the ﬁne array of controls available. I urge PE 6 users to at least try out the manual editing controls
because only in that way can their creative talents be best expressed.

Other major new features are a linkage to Adobe Bridge (which allows access to more controls), the ability to prepare a book and order it, and features to work with the internet.

Overall, PE 6 will be attractive to many Mac users. While iPhoto has a number of editing features, PE 6 goes well beyond those, especially for those who want to control the details of editing themselves. It still, as Andy Ihnatko has said, “… gives you image-editing abilities that collectively amount to a howitzer compared to iPhoto’s popgun”.

And with a price still below $100, this is still a tremendous software bargain. Hopefully, Adobe will re-do a few things noted above in PE 6 updates to make it even “friendlier” and easier to use.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/?promoid=BPDEM

— A Review by FMUG Member Jim Martin

Book Review: Photoshop Elements 6 For MAC 4/28/08

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:24:28 -0700

This is some Manual, 11/4” thick and about 7” X 9”. It begins assuming you are new to Photoshop Elements and have had no previous experience using “Elements”. Starting from the beginning and taking you completely through the many features of the program. For prior or any user, one could look up specific sections and mark them, using them as references.
It gets very detailed in it’s instructions on how to do things. The beginning table of contents is itself over 7 pages. That alone should give you an idea of the scope of coverage. This manual is written in plain understandable English, in color with many illustrations and detailed instructions.

The Appendix explains the menus. The Index is about 17 pages.

This is some manual and I give it a Highly recommended rating.
Book ISBN : 978-0-596-51936-0
Price: US $ 44.99
Source: Pogue Press / O’Reilly
www.missingmanuals.com
Marty Grauer,
Fresno Macintosh Users Group.