When we were first deal doing a guide to computer ergo - nomics ( “ Macworld ’s Guide to Healthy Computing , ” November 2006 ) , a story we ’ve done many time over the class , we had to ask ourselves : “ Is there anything new to say about it ? ” The answer , we decided , was that yes , there were some Modern tools out there to aid you use your Mac without take a chance your wellness . More important , it ’s a topic we should be covering on a regular basis . Judging from the responses we got to the article , you seemed to agree on both counting .
Ergonomic advisers
Karim Christopher — Thanks for the article on ergonomics ( “ Macworld ’s Guide to Healthy Computing , ” November 2006 ) . In their upsurge to make the up-to-the-minute , greatest products , hardware and package company forget that their client are substantial , live human being . I hope more companionship realize the need to progress physically well-heeled production . With newspaper headline article like yours , the message is get across .
Parrish S. Knight — Thank you for your excellent article on RSIs . I ’d like to point out one cause of RSIs for Mac OS X users that you did n’t mention : the way of life the mouse moves . In oxygen 9 and sooner , that mouse gesture always felt totally natural . But in OS X , the pointer seems to accelerate and slow down strangely . Many people — myself included — must use their hand and articulatio radiocarpea muscles in unnatural manner to compensate , and that effort can hurt . In my case , after 20 to 30 minute , I ’m in so much pain I ca n’t use the shiner at all . As far as I can enjoin , no circumstance in the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane will discipline this problem . fortuitously , a number of third - political party alternatives can . I utilize one calledUSB Overdrive($20 ) . It takes a while to get the configurations aright , but once you do , the computer mouse is a joyfulness to use again . My hand and articulatio radiocarpea pain in the neck has completely go away .
Dangerous raids
Joe Vanzandt — In your clause about the Mac Pro ( “ Inside the Mac Pro , ” November 2006 ) , you sharpen out that the inflate disk electrical capacity of the Mac Pro makes it possible to hasten up the motorcar by instituting RAID 0 ( striping ) among multiple magnetic disk in the machine . While it ’s rightful that reave can increase the velocity on phonograph recording read and writes , it ’s also an inherently bad setup : if one disk go bad , you may not be able to access data fromanyof them . While this is more often than not a remote possibility , it ’s emphatically a real risk . If you use reave , it ’s more important than ever to back up critical datum on a regular basis .
Dan Goldenberg — In the clause “ Inside the Mac Pro , ” Jonathan Seff claim mirrored RAID “ an up - to - the - minute backup man . ” But a mirrored RAID only give you dataredundancy . It wo n’t do you any estimable if a file or directory becomes corrupt ; it will only create an up - to - the - minute copy of that corrupted single file or directory , give you two drives with the same faulty data . You wo n’t have a true accompaniment until you create an offsite transcript of the mirrored disks ’ content .
How fast is FileMaker?
Jerry Weir — There ’s a big error in your brushup of FileMaker Pro 8.5 ( November 2006 ) . Your commentator quotes the company as having tell that “ translation 8.5 is up to two clip quicker than FMP 8 on a PowerPC Mac . ” That statement is not rightful , nor is that what FileMaker take . What the companydoesclaim is that interpretation 8.5 will run two time quicker on anIntel - based Macthan FileMaker Pro 8 track down on a PowerPC . So yes , if I upgrade my computing machine as well as my version of FileMaker , then 8.5 will run two sentence faster than 8.0 . There ’s a huge departure between those two statements .
bad for the confusion . We should have made that distinction clearer.—Dan Miller
Parallels universe
Ami Sperber — In the article “ Design for Any internet browser ” ( Create , November 2006 ) , David Sawyer McFarland suggests a means to return to full - screen way in Parallels , by installing and configuring VirtueDesktops . I have been using a much simple method acting to do the same matter : in Parallels ’ full - screen way , I simply press Command - H to obscure Parallels . When I want to return to Parallels , I snap on its icon in the Dock and immediately return to full - blind mode .
Pop goes the Gmail
Paul Applegate — In “ Get More from Mail ” ( Working Mac , November 2006 ) , Joe Kissell note adding a POP3 account to Gmail , but fails to mention the most important part : enabling POP3 entree in the Gmail Web interface . To do so , prefer setting , then Forwarding And POP , and choose your option . Now you may trace his apparatus educational activity and come out your Gmail .
You ’re absolutely correct , I should have observe that . I enabled POP memory access on my own Gmail account statement so long ago that I completely forgot the choice is n’t turn on automati - cally . Luckily , it takes about two black eye click to do it.—Joe Kissell
On the road again
Thumb drives, ha!
Albert Reingewirtz — About your tower in November on portable coating ( “ Your Apps in Your Pocket,”Mobile Mac ): I recently pass a week in New York and carried full - fledge copies of all my apps with me . I brought all my data and configuration filing cabinet with me , too . But I did n’t expend a thumb drive : I used a 2.5 - in , 100 GB portable gruelling drive . Not only does it carry more , it ’s bootable and FireWire - capable . It clear no common sense to promote pollex drive when external hard drive are capable of so much more .
A better way to share
Leon Nelson — In “ good inhabit through iPhoto Sharing ” ( Mac 911,November 2006 ) , Christopher Breen line several luxuriant ways to move pictures from one Mac to another . I prefer a simpler method : On computer number one , select the pictures to move ( even the entire program library ) , and copy them to a folder on the desktop ( I called mine PicMove ) . Next , copy this brochure to a portable hard drive that ’s link to the USB port . Now , on calculator number two , create a young iPhoto album ( I called mine From Portable ) . stop up the portable hard drive into figurer two ’s USB port , and copy the PicMove leaflet to the From Portable record album . You ’ve copied all the pictures from computer one to two . I believe this is the simple , best way to move pictures from one Mac to another .
