| Apple releases Mac OS X
10.4
 Apple
released their newest version of Mac OS X on Friday, April 29, 2005.
Per my usual policy, I will not be upgrading
until the first sub-version is released, i.e. 10.4.x and this usually
happens very soon after the inital release. I prefer to let others suffer
the slings and arrows of a new release before I dive in.
That said, I might not be able to upgrade at
all given my current Mac is a G4/450. I am afraid that "Tiger"
might be a little too intensive for my machine and result in a much slower
experience over all. I don't have another Mac here to run a test on, so
I have to be quite sure when I upgrade that things are going to operate
normally.
More than likely, I will probably end up foregoing
the upgrade entirely until such time as I can purchase a new machine which
has Tiger bundled with it. I am in the market for a new Apple Powerbook.
I tend to travel around town quite a bit and free WiFi networking is becoming
quite available in Los Angeles, so I can get on the net from a wide variety
of places.
What the Mac news sites (some linked below)
for further information about "Tiger" and wait a bit before
upgrading, especially if you have an older machine like myself.
In other news...
My podcast, Career Opportunities: The High-Tech
Career Handbook, an audio verison of my weekly career column has become
a member of the Tech Podcast Network.
This is a great and growing collection of podcasts
for high-tech people and cover a wide variety of topics. we hope to be
the clearing house for all the best tech-oriented podcasts. . -- "If
it's tech, it's here!"
Additionally, we have also been added to a
list of podcasts over at Family
Friendly Podcasts.
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In association with Amazon.com
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Buy
your copy today! |
| In
the news... |
| Mac
OS X 10.3.9 Update available via Software Update
According to the notes provide by Apple: The 10.3.9 Update
delivers overall improved compatibility and reliability for Mac OS X
v10.3 "Panther" and is recommended for all users. Improvements include:
file sharing and directory services reliability for mixed Mac and PC
networks Mail, Safari and Stickies application reliability compatibility
for third party applications and devices previous standalone security
updates More information on specific fixes is available from the link
provided above. [MacMerc]
iLife
Updates
Apple has updated iDVD
to v5.0.1, iMovie HD
to v5.0.2, and iPhoto
to v5.0.2. These updates are bug-fix releases, recommended for all users,
and currently available through Software Update.[MacMerc]
Special
Report: Tiger Review
We have an in-depth review of Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" for
you... [MacInTouch: Mac news, information
and analysis]
One-Third
Of Companies Monitoring Email
dotpavan writes "While studies have shown that spying
on workers tends to make them less productive, that hasn't stopped approximately
1/3 of all U.S. companies from employing email monitoring tools. 43%
of those companies employ staff to check outgoing emails. This seems
like quite a waste. While there are some times when it makes sense to
monitor emails (or it's required by law), most of the time, this seems
like a complete waste of money. Not only are you upsetting workers and
decreasing productivity, the benefits are pretty hard to spot. The number
of "problem" emails tends to be incredibly low. If someone really wants
to send out inappropriate emails, they're going to figure out some other
way to do so, such as via a free webmail account somewhere. Yet, the
companies are buying up expensive tools and hiring staff to watch just
in case they catch the one or two problematic emails that go over the
corporate network."[Slashdot]
LeVitus:
Apple's Tiger a good OS, but wait a few weeks before buying
Real Audio | How to Listen The latest major update of
Apple Computer's Macintosh operating system, named Tiger, hit the market
last Friday. It includes 200 new features. Guest: Bob LeVitus, author
of several Macintosh-themed books, and author of... [Future
Tense]
Kensington's
Notebook Dock with Adjustable Base
Kensington busted out their new Notebook Dock with Adjustable
Base the other day, which is more or less a successor to that Laptop
Desktop USB 2.0 laptop dock they introduced late last year.
This time around they’ve included a detachable port replicator
that gives you 5.1-channel audio, Ethernet, parallel, serial, and USB
2.0 ports all through a single USB 2.0 connection from your PC (the
Laptop Desktop USB 2.0 only offered a USB hub). [engadget.com]
AOL
Treats Florida Emergency Alerts Mail As Spam
ScentCone writes "Florida's Indian River County has
4,200 subscribers to their e-mailed emergency alerts, which provide
a heads-up on hurricanes, tornados, and other weather events. Subscribers
like it, but if they're using AOL mailboxes, those alerts are being
treated as spam. All of the subscribers get the mail blast as weather
events unfold, and spam pattern detectors are being set off. The county
emergency coordinator laments the resulting unreliability of the communication
channel, and while few of us at this point think of cross-domain e-mail
as reliably mission critical, the AOL-bound portion of a 4200-address
blast doesn't seem like much in the spam scheme of things. My experience
is that it doesn't take many receivers to mark mail as spam before
the domain-wide filters lower some scoring threshold, and the pattern
detectors kick in. How many of us run systems that include explicitly
voluntary, opt-in e-mail subscription mechanisms which are then reported
as spam by the subscribing recipients? This seems increasingly common,
and even the whitelisting by smarter recipients doesn't fix it." [Slashdot]
Internet
Explorer no longer bundled with OS X
It's official -- Internet Explorer is no longer bundled
with OS X. The browser is completely absent from fresh installations
of 10.4. But the good news gets better -- according to a coworker
of mine who freshly installed Tiger (I chose the 'Archive and Install'
method) the ubiquitous Microsoft web fonts -- Verdana and Georgia
-- are included. For those... [What
Do I Know]
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Remember
to update operating systems, anti-spyware and anti-virus programs
Operating
System Updates
For Windows
(98, 2000, XP), there should be an icon labeled Windows Update in
your Start Menu, or visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
For Macintosh OS 9 systems, check Apple Menu, Control Panels, Software
Update
For Macintosh OS X systems, check System Preferences, Software Update
Anti-Virus
The beginning
of each month is the perfect time to ensure that your operating system
(Windows/Macintosh OS) and anti-virus software are up-to-date. Your
anti-virus software cannot protect your computer from the latest viruses
without these updates. Updates are released at least once a month,
unless a new virus is dangerous enough to justify an immediate update.
Spyware
Download, install and update a Spyware prevention program
such as Spybot
or Ad-Aware.
These Trojan
Horse programs can slow down your computer dramatically and eventually
make it unusable.
Most systems can be set to automatically check for updates directly
from the Internet, as well. If you want to learn how to set up automatic
updates for these programs, drop me an email or give me a call.
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| People
are listening...
The next time you wonder if anyone is reading your blog, consider this.
Today Rosanne and I stopped by the Sherman Oaks Fashion
Square for lunch after our morning calls. I like the new Crepe Express
place there and I have written as much in my blog.
As my credit card reciept rolled out of the printer, Nadine,
one of the owners, looked up and said "Oh, I know you!" I thought perhaps
we had a mutual friend or neighbor, but then she pointed down the counter
to a sliver frame that held a printout of something. As I wandered down
to look, I quickly noticed it was a print out of my
earlier blog entry where I had said some nice words about the place.
I must say that this is the first time anything like this
has ever happened to me. I hadn't emailed the owners or otherwise told
them about the post, but they said another customer had pointed it out
to them.
So, you can see that what you say on the Internet, especially
about your local community, can and does have an effect, even if you don't
notice it right away.
I will say again, too, if you have a chance to try out
Crepe Express, please do. The food is excellent and the owners are nice.
What more could you ask?! [My
Word with Douglas E. Welch]
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WelchWrite
@ Amazon.com
If
you are shopping through Amazon.com,
you can use the WelchWrite Bookstore.
Simply
click on the link below to start your shopping and WelchWrite receives
a small portion of each sale.
|
Free Library Question and
Answer returns June 2, 2005
If your friends
or co-workers would like an example of how I teach and coach computer
users through large and small issues, I recommend they stop by some evening.
This is probably the best way to get to know me and my methods.
Each class starts
with a a short presentation on some interesting technology, web site or
software, but then quickly becomes an energetic question and answer session,
where I answer the questions that are most pressing in the minds of the
attendees.
Schedule:
June 2
June 16
June 30
The Sherman Oaks
Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is located at:
14245 Moorpark
Street
Sherman Oaks, CA
818-205-9716
[Map]
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Software Downloads
and Updates
Macintosh
About
the security content of the Mac OS X 10.3.9 Update
Release date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 18:18:16 -0500 [Apple
Support - Most Recent Articles]
If
you loved our Comic Art Effect tutorial, check out Comic Life
Last year we brought you the Comic
Art Effect tutorial and inspired a new breed of photo-comic artists.
New on the scene is Plasq's
Comic Life application which will aid you in turning your comic
themed pictures into comic book pages--complete with dialog balloons,
"sound" effects and captions. Very cool--very impressed. [MacMerc]
300
Free Truetype Fonts
Looking for more fonts? Here's a great selection of
300 free truetype fonts to
add to your collection. Enjoy!
"I've collected 300 of my favorite truetype fonts that can be used
for design works. Here they are free to download in .ttf format (works
on both MacOSX and Windows machines)."[MacMerc]
Palm
Windows
Software Updates of all sorts
VersionTracker.com
Download.com |
|  Interesting
Web Sites
How-To:
Build A Cheap Media Player In 20 Minutes
Like it or not, being a gadget geek implies
certain responsibilities. Removing
adware from your relatives’ PCs, hooking your friends up
with wireless
access, creating
robot life — you never seem to get a break. So when
a buddy calls and invites you over for an impromptu bar-b-q, the thought
of a Saturday afternoon doing nothing but eating free food and discussing
the intricacies of the nice weather cannot be dismissed.
“Oh, I forgot to ask,” your friend says. You begin
to register that, yes, tasty burger happiness is going to come at
a cost. “Is there a way we can watch the new Doctor Who over
here?” You are compelled to respond, “sure thing,
I’ll figure something out,” because deep down you know
that yesterday you leeched the first two episodes off of your friend
Jake, the file trading addict, torrent-master, hell’s angel,
network administrator. The fact that he is a dirty biker does
not diminish your ‘pay-it-forward’ debt.
Huddling around a 15-inch laptop screen is definitely going to be
a bummer, so you need to get these AVIs to display on a TV. What
you need is a media player, and fast. You’ve got 20 minutes,
an empty wallet, and nothing in your stomach. What do you do?
[engadget.com]
Free
sound
The Free Sound Project is a huge, collaborative database
of sound clips licensed for free sampling and remixing.
Search for sounds or browse the tag list, which includes
"water," "tick," "toilet," "children," "screaming," "kitchen," "subway"
and "sweep" - all sounds released under a Creative Commons license.
Great resource for musicians or filmmakers needing non-copyrighted
audio to spice up their multimedia creations.
The
Free Sound Project [via del.icio.us]
[Lifehacker]
Making
Oatmeal Box Pinhole Cameras [del.icio.us/makemagazine]
Build-It-Yourself
toys, robots, puppets, contraptions.... [del.icio.us/makemagazine]
MAKE:
Blog: DIY Dirkon Paper Camera [del.icio.us/tag/photography]
Where
To Find Great Free Photographs And...
Where
To Find Great Free Photographs And Visuals For Your Own Online Articles
- Robin Good's Latest News [del.icio.us/tag/photography]
More web sites of all sorts
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| WelchWrite
Merchandise
Photos by Douglas E. Welch, Products
from Cafepress
You can browse and order by visiting my CafePress
Shop
Additional products are also available at:
http://cafeshops.com/mossyrock/
http://cafeshops.com/welchphoto
http://cafeshops.com/welchsun/
http://cafeshops.com/malibusunset/
|
Career-Op,
now in its 9th year, is my weekly column on high-tech careers. In Career-Op,
I address some of the particular issues of working in high-tech and
also general issues that we all face in our careers. You can find the
latest column, and a complete archive of past columns complete
archive of past columns.
Latest Column
Career-Op
Extra: "In The Trenches with Kevin Devin"
I always like to tell people about the good sites I find in my Internet
travels and here is a podcast that I have really come to enjoy. Below
is the text of a Career-Op Extra Podcast I released today. Check out
the In The Trenches podcast!
This is a Career Opportunities Extra for
Sunday, April 17th, 2005. The High-Tech Career Handbook. I’m Douglas
Welch.
I listen to a wide variety of podcasts, technology-related
and otherwise. In The Trenches,
hosted by Kevin Devin, has caught my ear over the last several weeks.
Regular readers and listeners already know that I have a large bias
towards experience over classroom learning. This is perhaps due to
my own computer upbringing, but I also see the great effects of “on
the job” training in many of my peers. Classroom training is
good, as far as it goes, but it is through application of classroom
content that we all become better high-tech careerists. Learn as much
as you can, but apply all that you learn.
In his podcast, Kevin recounts his own trails and tribulations
of a high-tech career and also hosts Admin-to-Admin discussion sessions
and regular Tech Chats with other IT workers. He has a pleasant friendly
style to his podcasts and I learn something new nearly every time
I listen. Sometimes it is just nice to know that there are other people
in the world who are dealing with the same issues, both technological
and business-related, that you face every day.
I highly recommend you check out the In
The Trenches web site and podcast to give your thinking and career
a boost today. It can be found at http://www.kevindevin.com/
Links are also provided on the Career Opportunities web site at welchwrite.com/career/
and in the comments section of this MP3 file
An In The Trenches promo is coming right up.
This has been a Career Opportunities Extra with Douglas
E. Welch
(Recorded promo immediately follows)
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My weblog,
My Word with Douglas E. Welch, is a daily gathering spot for
all the information I come across in my travels. There I announce new
software updates, post photos, highlight interesting news stories, book
recommendations and LA Events. You can check it out at: http://www.welchwrite.com
/blog/
A Recent
Entry:
Book:
The Intrinsic Exerciser: Discovering the Joy of Exercise
Hmm...this certainly sounds like a book for me. I have a great disinclination
to exercise merely for exercise sake. If I am engaged in an activity,
I will extend myself much more than when I am simply walking to get
some exercise. I know from my past that I can effectively reduce my
weight with only a moderate increase in my activity level, yet, I
still fail to do it. The Intrinsic Exerciser is focused on developing
internal reasons for exercise rather than relying on external reasons.
I put in a hold request at the LAPL and look forward
to checking it out.
Self-induced
passion
...I recently read a great little book called The
Intrinsic Exerciser: Discovering the Joy of Exercise by Jay
C. Kimiecik. This book is all about how to change your mindset
so that you exercise for intrinsic reasons instead of extrinsic
reasons. The idea is that if you can do this, then you will want
to exercise, you might even be passionate about it. After reading
it, it struck me that this should work for anything you want to
do in a more passionate way, but are having a hard time figuring
out how to get there. [Click link above for more.]
(Via Creating
Passionate Users.)
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| 
A Gardener's
Notebook is a daily
weblog of the trials and tribulations of a part-time gardener. It includes
notes on what is blooming, what I am planting and what is struggling.
It also contains links to new (or newly found) gardening books and more.
Spend some time in my garden! http://welchwrite.com/agn/blog/
A
Recent Entry:
A
little rain...
We got a refreshing bit of rain early this morning. It must have been
coming down fairly hard as it woke me at one point. Just a little refresher
for the garden before we settle into "the long dry."
Most of my transplants from last week are doing ok, although
the miniature rose I had to un-pot, unwind from the passion vine and
repot is looking a bit sickly. Probably not enough roots to bring in
the water as it was pretty entangled with the vine. Oh well, 2 out of
3 isn't bad. (SMILE)
Lots of yard clenaup to do but not a lot of motivation.
Rosanne couldn't stand to look at the leaves on the patio any more so,
in fit of nesting, they were swept and sent to the garden bin. Time
is a bit of a factor, as well as laziness, but I sense a garden workday
coming on. I need to prune the azaleas in the front garden and do some
weeding up there as well.
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a friend
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of someone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, please
feel free to forward this message. They can also subscribe by sending
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This
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Contact
Information
I am available for assistance via telephone,
cell phone, e-mail and instant messaging.
The fee for assistance via these methods is my basic hourly rate, pro-rated
by the minute.
Contact Numbers:
Office 818-781-6955
Cell 818-601-0051
Email douglas@welchwrite.com
AOL Instant Messenger WelchWrite
Skype ID: DouglasWelch
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