In a yr that has been chockablock with big announcements from Apple ( the MacBook and MacBook Pro , Intel versions of the iMac and the Mac mini , the Mac Pro tugboat , and a lot of new iPods — and that ’s just the hardware ) , one announcement attracted more attention than any other : Steve Jobs ’s prevue of OS X 10.5 , also know as Leopard , at last summer ’s Worldwide Developers Conference . Even though Apple says that Leopard wo n’t be out until spring 2007 , it ’s already a heated up topic among Macworld reader .
Leopard spotted
Christian Beleña — Time Machine look like a smashing feature article in bone X 10.5 ( “ 10 Things You Need to Know about Leopard , ” October 2006 ) , but I do n’t know how good it will be for laptop user . You ’ll need a dedicated internal intemperate movement , or an outside drive , for it to work well . Since I travel constantly with my MacBook Pro , I do n’t want to carry an extra hard drive .
Bill Zinn — Your detail about Time Machine was interesting and crap it go like some great Apple idea . Too bad you did n’t mention that it ’s just a long delinquent copy of a feature Windows substance abuser have had for year : System Restore . While Time Machine certainly seems more in advance than the Windows feature , the fact remains that it is just an improved rendering of a Windows program that Mac user have long been asking for .
Dario Desantes — The promulgation that the next interpretation of iCal will do group calendaring is welcome news . But I ’m rummy : What good is radical calendaring without shared contact management ? Steve Jobs did n’t mention any change for Address Book .
It ’s always possible that there will be more to the next version of Address Book than Jobs let on in his WWDC prevue of Leopard . And in the meantime , check out out Address Book ’s communion orientation pane.—Dan Miller
Eric Pollitt — I applaud the new Spaces feature that will appear in Leopard . But let it be known that Unix windows manager have had a Spaces - corresponding feature article since the mid-1990s .
Alan Kull — I agree that Leopard ’s full 64 - minute support will in the first place benefit ecological niche users . But to those users , it is acriticalfeature , and it may act Apple ’s best shot at getting deeper penetration into the corporate market . I agree that Apple ca n’t make Brobdingnagian inroad into the front office , which typically bank on Windows PC . But if it can put up a 64 - bite machine at a undecomposed toll , it could take hold of a large share of R&D and engineering departments .
Secret sharers
Ian Wallbrech — About the “ Surf Smarter ” department of “ Your Mac ’s Secrets Revealed ” ( October 2006 ): I ’m surprised you did n’t mentionAcidSearch . It ’s an essential tool for me , earmark me to search dissimilar sites from the Google lookup bar in Safari . It also lets me create my own search communication channel and keyed or type crosscut .
Barbara Mehlman — I like your suggestion about saving on-line receipt as PDFs in a vane Receipts folder . But for me , if something is in a folder , I draw a blank it . When I buy something online , I need the receipt on my desktop , where I can notice it , until I receive the production and have make up one’s mind that I ’m well-chosen with it . So I employ Command - shift-4 to take a screenshot of the reception . Works for me .
Jess Winfield — Your tip “ Better iWeb Counting ” recommends StatCounter as an melioration on iWeb ’s rudimentary hitting counter . It for sure would be an improvement if iWeb let you insert the HTML computer code required to enforce StatCounter into your internet site . The unfitness to cut or even regard HTML is one of iWeb ’s biggest drawback . as luck would have it , there are workarounds . My best-loved isiWeb Enhancer($13),which , among other things , have you insert StatCounter code in an iWeb page . Here ’s hoping Apple have iWeb a little more flexible in its next press release .
The family Mac
Ted Slawski — I think you really missed the mark when you include the Mac Pro in your tilt of Macs for the family ( “ Get Smart , ” October 2006 ) . The Mac Pro is understandably aimed at professional customers who need gobs of power , lot of computer storage space , and ECC memory . Unless your family works for the National Security Agency , the Mac Pro does not belong in that lineup .
Letha Alvis — Regarding the “ Teen Hot Spots ” discussion section in your guide to family computing : I ’m disappointed at what you consider safe or appropriate for adolescent and younger minor . I ’m beaming I checked out these site before handing over the listing to my 12 - class - old . I was astounded at how easy it was to get from the sites you recommended to game and video that I ’d regard grownup in content . Please check the subject matter of entanglement sites more carefully before you label them as kid- or teen - favorable .
Of of course , we did check out all the site on our listing , in reference with the folks atCommon Sense MediaandWiredSafety . I ’m sorry you found them inappropriate — but I applaud you for check them out before your fry did.—Dan Miller
Geeky extensions
Kenn Marks — I’m really disappointed in the “ Private Surfing ” sidebar that appeared in the October 2006Geek Factor ( Firefox Extensions for Geeks ) . Configuring your Web browser app to hide your identity from Web sites might be ok if you ’re natter disreputable site . But it ’s a bad pattern for general browse . The information Web site gather about you help them to tailor their capacity and marketing . For example , I use that kind of datum to encourage my Web - site clients to pay more attention to Mac users .
David Nicklay — I do n’t suppose any Top 10 leaning of Firefox extensions is complete without Gomita’sScrapBook . It micturate other bookmarker managers and page - lay aside features seem positively gothic .
Which camcorders?
Tracy Mallory — I’m greatly disappointed that you did n’t take to liken Malus pumila with Malus pumila in your review of MiniDV camcorders ( September 2006 ) . Why , for instance , did you select to review a cheap Canon camcorder ( the Elura 100 ) alongside two of Panasonic ’s more - expensive model ( the PV - GS300 and PV - GS500 ) ?
In this case , we asked the leading camcorder vender to provide us with MiniDV camcorders that have work up - in still - camera functions . Beyond that essential , we left it up to the vendors to determine which spefific models best represent their product lines.—James Galbraith
