TidBITS#660/16-Dec-02
=====================
We're wrapping up 2002 with an extra-large issue! If you're still
looking for gift ideas, Arthur Bleich offers digital camera-
related suggestions, and fans of wireless networking can now buy
Adam's new book, The Wireless Networking Starter Kit. We also note
the releases of Fetch 4.0.3 and QuicKeys 1.5.4, and look at
Apple's backtracking on Macs that can boot Mac OS 9. Lastly, as
your thoughts turn to Macworld Expo, take note of TidBITS-related
events. See you in 2003!
Topics:
MailBITS/16-Dec-02
Macworld Expo SF 2003 Events
The Wireless Networking Starter Kit
Digital Camera Goodies 2002
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-660.html>
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Copyright 2002 TidBITS Electronic Publishing. All rights reserved.
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This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
* Make friends and influence people by sponsoring TidBITS! <--------- NEW!
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* SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS: iBook G3/600 128/20/CD: $777! <------------- NEW!
Refurb Cinema Displays 23-inch HD: $2,995; 22 inch: $1,999!
New G4/667 PBs, 256/30/Combo: $1,899; 512/30/DVD/Apt: $1,899!
eMac SuperDrive: $1,295! <http://smalldog.com/tb/> 802/496-7171
* DEALMAC: Refurbished iPod 5 GB for $199, 20 GB for $429. <--------- NEW!
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DEALMAC: 64 MB USB Pen Drive for $28.
<http://dealmac.com/articles/44941.html?ref=tb>
* Bare Bones Software BBEdit 7.0 -- New version adds CVS support,
multiple Web site support, powerful new Sort Lines and Process
Duplicate plug-ins, and much more. Buy, upgrade, or try the
demo at our Web site: <http://www.barebones.com/>
* The Ultimate Holiday Gift: EASYDNS DOMAIN NAME GIFT CERTIFICATES
It's the answer to the sticky problem of what to get for people
who have everything, and it's also a perfect last minute gift!
easyDNS: the way things should work. <http://www.easyDNS.com/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
MailBITS/16-Dec-02
------------------
**TidBITS 2002 Holiday Hiatus** -- This marks our last issue of
2002, and we're all looking forward to a few weeks off with
friends and family during the holiday season. As always, my
heartfelt thanks to the many people who make our mission with
TidBITS possible: Tonya, Geoff, Jeff, Matt, and Mark; our
corporate sponsors and Internet hosts; our authors and
contributors; our selfless volunteer translators, everyone
who participates in TidBITS Talk, and most important, everyone
who reads TidBITS regularly and thus gives meaning to our work.
The next issue will appear 06-Jan-03, as many of us gather in
San Francisco for Macworld Expo. Let me leave you, then, with
the hope that your holidays live up to all that you wish them
to be. [ACE]
**easyDNS Gift Certificate Clarification** -- Our apologies to
easyDNS for misrepresenting the utility of their gift certificates
in last week's gift issue. We implied you had to be running your
own servers for the service provided by the gift certificate to be
of any utility. In fact, easyDNS provides domain name registration
and service along with email and Web site forwarding to any email
address or Web site that you might have. (And if you don't have
a Web page up yet, they provide an "under construction" page as
a placeholder.) So, for instance, someone setting up example.com
via an easyDNS gift certificate could forward mail from
[EMAIL PROTECTED] to an obscure Hotmail account like
[EMAIL PROTECTED], and redirect Web hits from
www.example.com to www.geocities.com/joeschmoe53/. In short,
an easyDNS gift certificate is perfect for any individual or
small business who wants to use their own domain name for email
and for a Web site. Technical skills aren't necessary, since the
gift certificate comes with detailed step-by-step instructions.
(And it's an easy last-minute gift for that person who seemingly
has everything!) [ACE]
<http://www.easydns.com/certificates_start.php3>
**Some Macs to Boot Mac OS 9 Through Mid-2003?** Although Apple
has not yet made a public statement, it seems some Macs that can
boot into Mac OS 9 may remain available until mid-2003, contrary
to Apple's announcement in September that new Macs would stop
being able to boot Mac OS 9 in January of 2003.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/sep/10macosx.html>
According to News.com and MacCentral, Apple claims the move is
for education users, who ostensibly are taking longer to move to
Mac OS X than "the rest of us." Thus, Mac OS 9-capable Macs will
reportedly include CRT-based iMacs, the eMac, and the iBook. It's
not clear whether these systems will be available to the general
public or just to education customers. However, Apple apparently
also plans to continue selling a dual 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4
configuration which can boot into Mac OS 9 for professionals who
need applications like QuarkXPress which aren't yet available for
Mac OS X. (TidBITS confirmed that Quark has contacted some of its
customers to inform them machines capable of booting Mac OS 9
will be available through mid-2003.) This high-end configuration
is also of interest to music and audio professionals, most of
whom have been unable to move to Mac OS X due to lack of drivers
and host applications. [GD]
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0212/13.boot.php>
<http://news.com.com/2100-1040-977881.html>
**QuicKeys X 1.5.4 Improves Menu Selections** -- CE Software has
released QuicKeys X 1.5.4, which reportedly improves the macro
utility's capability to select menu items as part of your
shortcuts (though it unfortunately still can't select menus
in Eudora). QuicKeys 1.5.4. is a free update, requires at least
Mac OS X 10.2, and is an 8.9 MB download. [ACE]
<http://cesoft.com/products/qkx.html>
<http://cesoft.com/downloads/updates.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06786>
**Fetch 4.0.3 Chomps Bugs** -- Jim Matthews of Fetch Softworks has
released Fetch 4.0.3, a free update to his popular FTP client that
fixes numerous bugs and provides improved compatibility with Mac
OS X 10.2 Jaguar. Specific areas receiving improvement include
AppleScript, SOCKS gateways, and Kerberos. Despite these modern
improvements, Fetch remains compatible with all versions of the
Mac OS back to System 7.0. Fetch 4.0.3 is free to registered users
of version 3.0.3 and later; new copies cost $25, although free
licenses are available to educational and charitable
organizations. A 15-day trial version is a 1.2 MB download.
<http://fetchsoftworks.com/>
In an interesting move for software distributed on the Internet,
Jim has also set up an affiliate program with online software
sales service eSellerate, so if you were to register Fetch using
the link below, TidBITS would earn a 10 percent commission. I
haven't noticed small software vendors using affiliate programs
in the past, but such programs could be a useful tool for
attracting additional sales. [ACE]
<http://store.eSellerate.net/a.asp?c=0_SKU420897976_AFL0770764229>
Macworld Expo SF 2003 Events
----------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The future of the East Coast Macworld Expo trade shows was called
into question by the recent dispute between Apple and IDG World
Expo, and the cancelling of Macworld Expo Tokyo in 2003 added to
the uncertainty. And yet, Apple released a statement saying "Apple
will continue to participate in Macworld San Francisco in January"
without specifying a year. So even though it sounds like Macworld
Expo in San Francisco has a future, it also seems likely that the
world of Macintosh trade shows will see radical changes in 2003.
If you're planning on attending, make the most of this year's
show.
We've heard of almost no public events this year, but Ilene
Hoffman is just about to start updating the Robert Hess Memorial
Events List for this show, so it's worth checking the list before
the show for parties to attend.
<http://www.ilenesmachine.com/partylist.shtml>
**TidBITS Events** -- A number of TidBITS staff members, including
myself, Jeff Carlson, Matt Neuburg, and Mark Anbinder, will be at
the show and speaking on a variety of topics. We certainly hope to
see the regulars, and if it's your first time at Macworld Expo, be
sure to stop by and say hello, since we have a few of the coveted
TidBITS t-shirts to hand out to Macworld first-timers.
* On Tuesday, January 7th at 3 PM, Glenn Fleishman and I will be
talking about troubleshooting wireless networks at the Aladdin
booth (#1407). Bring your questions!
* On Wednesday, January 8th, I'll be chatting with user group
members about Apple's show announcements and more from 11:00 AM
to 12:00 PM in the User Group Lounge, which is room 250/262 (West
Mezzanine in the South Hall of Moscone, one level above the show
floor). After that, from 1:15 PM to 2:30 PM, I'll be giving a
Macworld Users conference session entitled "Getting Started with
iPhoto" in room 301. I plan to do an overview of iPhoto with tips
and tricks. From 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM in Room 120, Matt Neuburg will
be delivering a Macworld Pro conference session entitled "Taking
Control of Mac OS X." Matt always puts on a great show, so if
you've been wondering about how to automate applications like
FileMaker Pro, Eudora, and Microsoft Word in Mac OS X using tools
like QuicKeys, BBEdit, Script Debugger, REALbasic, and Cocoa,
don't miss him.
<http://www.mugcenter.com/macworld/mwsf2003/ugl.html>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworld2003/V33/conference/session.cvn?eID=138>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworld2003/V33/conference/session.cvn?eID=106>
* On Thursday, January 9th from 12:30 to 1:15 PM, Bob LeVitus, Ted
Landau, and I ("The Mad Dogcows") will be taking on Shawn King,
Chris Breen, and Andy Ihnatko (the "X.F.L. Team") in the
MacBraniac Challenge Macintosh trivia contest, hosted by David
Pogue. We're already in the lead on the basis of having a better
name, but be sure to come to the keynote hall to find out which
team can pull more useless Macintosh trivia from their brains.
From 2:00 to 3:00 PM I'll be at the Peachpit booth to talk about
iPhoto, and from 5:00 to 6:00 PM I'll be back at the Peachpit
booth with Glenn Fleishman to turn you on to all the latest and
greatest happenings in the world of wireless networking.
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworld2003/V33/index.cvn?id=10017>
* On Friday, January 10th at noon, come listen to Jeff Carlson and
a panel of authors at the Peachpit booth talk about digital video
and how to get the most out of that digital camcorder you received
for Christmas.
**Netter's Dinner** -- Sure, it may be formulaic, but it's a
formula we like. For the 17th straight year, the annual Netter's
Dinner will take place Thursday, January 9th at the Hunan at
Sansome and Broadway, where the hot and spicy Chinese food
(vegetarian dishes are included too) costs $18. You must register
by 07-Jan-02 via Kagi - use the link below. As has happened the
last few years, the booming voice and Hawaiian shirt of our
fearless organizer, Jon Pugh, will once again be absent, so I'll
be moderating the boisterous raise-your-hands survey. Help me
avoid sounding unprepared on stage by sending me suggestions for
questions, and when you're yelling suggestions from the audience,
yell loudly!
<http://www.seanet.com/~jonpugh/nettersdinner.html>
As in previous years, meet at the top of the escalators on the
south side of Moscone at 6:00 PM and be prepared for a brisk,
sometimes damp walk that snarls traffic throughout downtown San
Francisco. I may show up a few minutes after 6:00 PM, but we'll
leave no later than 6:30 PM for the restaurant.
The Wireless Networking Starter Kit
-----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
At the beginning of 2002 in TidBITS-612_, I wrote "Peering Into
2002's Tea Leaves," an article that made some general predictions
about which topics would garner the most attention this year. In
it I said, "it's clear that 2002 will be another step on the
ascendence of 802.11 wireless networking." It's somewhat ironic
that while I can certainly move that prediction into the "Win"
column, at the time I had no idea how involved I'd become with
wireless networking later in the year by co-authoring my just-
released book, The Wireless Networking Starter Kit (Peachpit
Press, ISBN 0321174089).
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06688>
<http://wireless-starter-kit.com/>
Late one night at MacHack in June of 2002, I was talking about
book ideas with my friend Richard Ford, who used to be the Open
Transport product manager at Apple and is now a product manager in
charge of the PacketShaper network management device at Packeteer.
I'd recently finished my iPhoto Visual QuickStart Guide, and we
were sitting in the lobby of the MacHack hotel with our laptops
connected to the Internet via the wireless network that was being
shared at all hours of the day and night by nearly every attendee
of the conference. Given the way wireless networking had become
ubiquitous at MacHack, Richard made a suggestion bordering on the
painfully obvious - that my next book should be about wireless
networking.
He had a point. In fact, MacHack was the second of three
conferences around that time where wireless networking played a
major role. A month earlier, aboard ship on the MacMania Geek
Cruise, most of the speakers and a number of the conference
attendees gathered each night in the ship's library to soak up
the 2.4 GHz radio waves and surf the Web while chatting with one
another. And a month after MacHack, at Macworld Expo in New York,
I broke one of my cardinal rules of trade shows and carried my
iBook on the show floor every day, since it was so much easier to
check email via one of the many accessible wireless networks at
the Javits Convention Center than via phone from my room at the
Paramount Hotel.
So when Nancy Ruenzel, Peachpit's publisher, asked me at Macworld
Expo in July what book I'd like to write next (publishers love to
ask that, and I've learned it's best to be ready either with a
proposal or a good excuse), I floated the idea of a book about
wireless networking that I would co-author with my friend Glenn
Fleishman, who was making a name for himself as the publisher of
the popular 802.11b Networking News weblog. As soon as I mentioned
wireless networking, Nancy launched into a story about how she was
having trouble setting up an AirPort Base Station to work with her
husband's PowerBook and... Clearly the book was a go.
<http://80211b.weblogger.com/>
**Why Wireless?** Seeing a lot of people using wireless networking
wasn't sufficient reason to write a book about the topic. The most
important fact about wireless networking, from my point of view,
was that it is utterly cool. Even though I've had a wireless
network in the house from just a few months after Apple introduced
their AirPort technology, I still get that little thrill of "Wow,
this is neat!" every time I use my iBook to access the Internet
via a wireless network, either at home or on the road. I'm also
reminded of it every time I come up the driveway and see the 24 dB
parabolic antenna attached to the side of our house, since it
makes it possible for me to pick up a 1 Mbps Internet connection
from several miles away. And the news stories that Glenn covers
in his weblog every day run the range from soap opera (Intel, AT&T,
and IBM backing a startup called Cometa that intends to install
thousands of public wireless hot spots across the country by 2004)
to science fiction (Vivato's phased-array smart antenna, which
promises to increase the range of wireless networks to entire
buildings or portions of a city). It's an exciting world.
<http://www.google.com/custom?q=Cometa&sitesearch=80211b.weblogger.com>
<http://www.google.com/custom?q=Vivato&sitesearch=80211b.weblogger.com>
But I find lots of technologies cool, and you don't see me writing
a book about how to use a TiVo, for instance. What sealed my
decision to write the book is that wireless networking is easy
enough to attract users, but suffers from plenty of gotchas that
can make even people experienced with computer networks want to
pull their hair out. It might be easy to connect your Titanium
PowerBook G4 to your AirPort Base Station, but getting it all to
communicate via your cable modem is another story. And why can't
you pick up the signal from the kitchen table, whereas your next
door neighbors have no trouble accessing it and sharing your
Internet connection, even when you don't want them to? And after
you locked down your network with a password, why doesn't that
password work for your sister when she visits with her PC laptop?
**How Does It Help?** Not since I wrote Internet Starter Kit for
Macintosh back in 1993 did I feel that I had an opportunity to
help so many people. And that, more than anything else, is why I
drive myself for weeks or months to add writing and editing a book
to all the other work I do. Here's a look at how each chapter can
help anyone who wants to understand, use, create, expand, or
improve wireless networks.
* Chapter 1 is an introduction to what's neat about wireless
networking to help readers get as jazzed about the topic as Glenn
and I are. It's also a good set of stories that can help convince
your spouse, parents, office mates, or CEO that there's utility in
adding a wireless network for your personal or professional life.
* Chapter 2 barely touches on wireless networking, but instead
provides a crash course in the basics of traditional wired
networking. Understanding how networks work makes troubleshooting
much easier, not to mention the fact that setting up a wireless
network still requires a good deal of traditional networking to
connect your gateway to your Internet connection and to older
computers.
* Chapter 3 looks at how wireless networks actually work, from the
basics of radios to the hardware you'll need to set up and connect
to wireless networks using different types of computers.
* Chapter 4 offers step-by-step instructions on how to configure
your computer to connect to existing wireless networks. We cover
both Windows and Macintosh in this chapter (and throughout the
entire book) because wireless networking isn't just platform
agnostic, it's also a great way to connect the PC laptop the
office gave you with your iMac at home.
* Chapter 5 provides similar step-by-step instructions on how to
set up an entire wireless network, but also gives you a detailed
approach for planning out your network before you accidentally
buy unnecessary hardware. Also included is information on how to
connect two networks, such as might be in two buildings separated
by an alley or even several miles, via cheap wireless bridges.
* Chapter 6 looks at the complex topic of wireless network
security and makes practical recommendations about the level to
which you should be concerned about someone eavesdropping on your
wireless traffic and what to do about it. We also talk about a
new, improved security standard that should be available by next
summer.
* Chapter 7 helps you learn how to find and use wireless networks
while you're traveling. Finding wireless networks is the hardest
part, but we also offer some hard-won advice on the best ways of
using wireless networks on the road.
* Chapter 8 contains all the information I wish I'd known when I
set up my long-range wireless Internet connection. We don't expect
all that many people will want to connect two wireless networks
over distances of many miles, but those that do have a lot of
learning in front of them, and this chapter provides everything
you need to get started, along with some pictures of my setup.
This chapter might also open your eyes to creating short or long
hops for wireless networks that you wouldn't have considered. For
example, when TidBITS Managing Editor Jeff Carlson moved closer to
the office he shares with Glenn and others, he and Glenn looked at
topographical maps to see whether spanning the 1.5 miles (2.4 km)
to his new home was practical. (It wasn't.)
* Chapter 9 could be the most useful chapter for many people,
since along with the general troubleshooting guide that I
published back in TidBITS-652_ and TidBITS-653_, it offers
numerous suggestions and tests for solving common wireless
networking problems such as your wireless network adapter
not connecting, poor signal strength, intermittent signal,
inaccessible locations, no Internet access, and more. We
anticipate expanding this chapter over time as we hear from
more users via the new Wireless Starter Kit Forum on our
Web site.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1229>
<http://wireless-starter-kit.com/phpBB2/>
* Chapter 10 wraps up the book with brief looks at a number of the
pie-in-the-sky technologies (or more accurately, blimp-in-the-sky
technologies) that could change the face of wireless networking
in the future.
For more details, you can download a 1 MB PDF that has the first
chapter and eight additional excerpts containing 60 pages from
throughout the book (which is a total of 336 pages).
<http://wireless-starter-kit.com/excerpts.html>
**Buying Details** -- When writing this article, I was amused to
see what I'd written when first announcing Internet Starter Kit
for Macintosh in TidBITS-195_ from September of 1993. Given that
Amazon didn't exist yet, ordering online was possible only through
email, and it seemed extremely cool that Hayden offered a 20
percent discount with a special coupon code.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=02401>
You can still buy my new book from your favorite local bookstore
(though probably not in time for Christmas), but ordering online
has become far easier, cheaper, and sometimes faster. For The
Wireless Networking Starter Kit, I've negotiated with Peachpit to
provide a 30 percent discount to TidBITS readers (use coupon code
PE-Y2AK-TIDF during checkout on the Peachpit site via the link
below to get the discount), and they're even offering free UPS
Ground shipping at the moment. You can also order from Amazon if
you want to make the book part of a larger order. Either ordering
directly from Peachpit with the special coupon code or using the
Amazon link below works through our affiliate program, so Glenn
and I make a few bucks more per book than through other channels.
(Note that Peachpit is still working on getting their parent
company's backend database to use the correct cover art: the
orange and green radio waves were a placeholder cover that we
replaced with illustrator Jeff Tolbert's excellent cityscape.)
<http://www.peachpit.com/tidbits/>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321174089/thewirelessne-20/>
If any questions or problems arise surrounding purchasing from
Peachpit, just let me know and I'll see if I can track down an
answer for you.
If you'd like to help me out, the best thing you can do is to
spread the word about the book to others involved with wireless
networking. Make sure to give them the Peachpit discount code so
they can get the book cheaply too. If you'd like to review the
book for a publication, let me know. And if you know of anyone who
might be in a position to sell or recommend the book, such as
people who work in an Internet cafe, coffeehouse, or ISP that does
wireless, have them send me email at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and I'll
see what I can do to set them up with special discounts or other
deals.
Frankly, I'm extremely happy with this book. I think Glenn and
I did a good job of including all the information anyone short
of a wireless network engineer would want. From what I'm seeing,
wireless networking is in certain ways where the Internet was back
in 1993. The title of The Wireless Networking Starter Kit isn't
an accident - this book really does follow in the footsteps of
Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh in many ways. I can only hope
it helps as many people.
Digital Camera Goodies 2002
---------------------------
by Arthur H. Bleich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Digital cameras remain one of the hottest pieces of hardware in
the technology world, with ever-higher resolutions and ever-lower
prices. However, the vast number and variety of digital camera
models means you're best off reading reviews and comparing models
at one of the digital photography Web sites listed below. When it
comes time to purchase, it's worth shopping around since prices
vary widely. All the digital camera review sites offer price
comparison services, as does TidBITS sponsor dealmac, with their
new dealcam site. That said, make sure to buy from a reputable
retailer and avoid "gray market" cameras that lack the
manufacturer's warranty. Sometimes those incredibly low prices
really are too good to be true.
<http://www.imaging-resource.com/>
<http://www.steves-digicams.com/>
<http://www.dcresource.com/>
<http://dealcam.com/>
So this year I want to focus on some useful accoutrements that
make taking and working with digital photographs easier, plus
some that can help you get even better results from your existing
camera.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1022>
**Show Your True Colors** -- To match your printer's output to the
image on your monitor, you first must make sure your monitor is
accurately displaying your original photo. Your printer can't see
what's on your screen; it prints from the image file on your
computer. If that file doesn't display properly, making changes
to it in your imaging program is like shooting in the dark -
you won't know the results until you see a print. ColorVision's
Spyder colorimeter (with PhotoCal software) is a device that
automatically calibrates your monitor in a few seconds so it'll
display your camera originals properly. The result? Prints that
match what you see, and enough savings in ink and paper to pay for
itself quickly. Calibrate periodically to correct for color shifts
as your monitor ages. A model for CRT monitors only is $160; one
used with both CRT and LCD monitors is $288.
<http://www.colorvision.com/for_beginners.html>
**The Incredible Shrinking Reflectors** -- Are your outdoor
portraits plagued with deep shadows or burned out highlights?
Reflectors can easily solve those problems and an ingenious
solution is PhotoFlex's MultiDisc 5'in1 that compresses five
32-inch (81 cm) reflectors into a zippered container just 12
inches (30.4 cm) across and weighing less than two pounds. Kids
love to watch them expand - it's pure magic. For $115 you get five
of the most popular reflectors used in the photo industry today:
gold, soft gold, silver, white, and translucent. They'll fill in
shadows, cut harsh sunlight, and much more. Need smaller or larger
sizes? They're available, too. And they're just as useful when
used indoors with PhotoFlex's new digital photography lighting
kits or your own source of light.
<http://www.photoflex.com/photoflex/index.html?products/default.asp?
product=multidisc&1>
**What's a Podmatic?** Tripods are a pain to tote around. If you
just need to steady your camera, the Podmatic will do as well
or better. This is the best monopod in the world - an improved
version of the famous German Linhof Monomatic that sold for
several hundred dollars until it was discontinued. Demand was so
great, photo retailer Adorama decided to make their own ($90) and
it's a dandy - only 14 inches (35.6 cm) collapsed and 58.5 inches
(148.6 cm) when extended. It's perfect for steadying your camera
at those slow, "iffy" shutter speeds when the light is low or when
you're at full zoom and a shaky hand can ruin your shot. You'll
also want to add a Slik Compact Ball Head ($25) for even more
versatility.
<http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sku=TPP>
<http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sku=SLCBH>
**More Power To You** -- If your camera takes AA batteries, you
can extend your shooting time with a Quest Q2 Platinum Charger Kit
($50), that comes with four 1800 mAh, Platinum NiMH AA batteries.
Each battery is charged on a separate circuit and then supplied
with a trickle of current to keep it up to snuff until needed.
For industrial strength power, Unity Digital has three, lightweight
power pack models ($70) that will keep most any digital camera
juiced up for a full day (or more) of continuous shooting (you'll
run out of energy before it will). Each model comes with a charger
and the appropriate cable for your camera. And if you have a
camera that uses a Lithium Ion battery, Maha Energy has a new
line of replacement batteries in various sizes and voltages,
all of which are less expensive ($30 to $40) than the original
manufacturer's batteries and last a whole lot longer.
<http://www.questbatteries.com/PASGCC.htm>
<http://www.unitydigital.com/Product.asp?Sec=02>
<http://www.mahaenergy.com/products/PowerEx/Digicams/>
**Adobe Has You Covered** -- Okay, so you have a great camera and
some nifty accessories but what about a versatile image editing
program to do some photo-fixing and fiddling? Tasks like removing
backgrounds, darkening and lightening areas, correcting bad color,
trimming, sharpening, and eliminating that satanic gleam called
red-eye used to take hours in a darkroom (if you could do it at
all). Now it's just a matter of minutes at your Mac in either Mac
OS 9 or Mac OS X. Photoshop Elements 2.0 ($100) is easy to learn
and loaded with features specifically developed for photographers.
It's probably all you'll ever need in an imaging program, but
should you decide to step up to the big guns - the $600 Photoshop
7 - you'll have all the basics already mastered.
<http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopel/main.html>
<http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html>
**The Miraculous AutoEye** -- AutoFX has some amazing filters that
do, well, amazing things. They wisely designed their AutoEye
($130) program to work as a plug-in to popular imaging programs or
as a stand-alone application; it can miraculously (well, almost)
ferret out lost detail and color in your images to transform dull
and dingy pictures into absolute stunners. AutoEye uses a totally
different set of adjustment methods that don't rely on standard
curves and histograms to correct the entire image. Download a
trial copy; once you see for yourself how easy it is to make these
high quality image enhancements, you'll be asking "How'd they do
that?" Use code #88991 and get $30 off.
<http://www.autofx.com/detail_pages/aedetail.html>
<https://www.autofx.com/afxecom/dreamsuite/ds1/autoeye2.asp>
**Sharp as a Tack** -- Most people discover that using their
imaging program's unsharp mask feature to sharpen images can drive
them crazy. Although it gives far better results than a generic
Sharpen command, unsharp masking involves setting three variables
(amount, radius, and threshold) that can be confusing especially
to those who don't use the feature regularly. Nik Sharpener Pro!
Inkjet Edition ($170) is a plug-in for most imaging programs that
knows all this stuff and automatically matches the degree of
sharpness exactly to the desired print size of the image and your
inkjet printer's resolution- there's no guessing. Nik Multimedia
also has a complete line of other imaging effects filters that
are tailor-made for photographers.
<http://www.nikmultimedia.com/usa/products/sharpenerpro/inkjet/inkjet.shtml>
**Chameleon Software** -- Ever want to change one color in a
picture without going through the hassle of laboriously using a
selection tool to outline the portion you want replaced? Digital
Light & Color's $50 Color Mechanic Pro lets you do this with just
a couple of mouse clicks and doesn't affect any other colors in
the image- only the one you want changed. This powerful color
correction plug-in works with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements,
and most other imaging programs. It's a great tool to use when you
want to change a red car to a blue one or Junior's sweater from
putrid green to cheerful yellow. And it's far more precise than
other methods that only give limited adjustment. You won't believe
how easy this is to do!
<http://www.dl-c.com/colormechanic/>
**Actions Speak Louder** -- Most full versions of Photoshop can
play back pre-recorded commands in an Action palette; once you get
a sequence down pat, you can repeat it exactly again and again.
Fred Miranda has developed some actions that would normally take
you hours of experimenting to come up with (assuming you could do
it at all). His actions reduce noise, give soft-focus effects, get
rid of unpleasant artifacts, emulate infrared (and black-and-
white) pictures, and more. One of the most innovative actions
increases the dynamic range of your pictures so that details can
be seen in both the darkest shadows and brightest highlights -
better than Ansel Adams could ever do. The actions are priced
at $8.50 and up.
<http://www.fredmiranda.com/Action_profilesPage/>
**Rabbit Round-Up** -- Digital photos tend to proliferate faster
than rabbits and before you know it, they're all over the place.
Extensis Portfolio is a slick, powerful, image-cataloging program
that will quickly organize and keep track of where they are.
You'll never again have to search through nested folders to find
the photos you need- they'll always be at your fingertips, even
if they're in different locations. And you can also rename,
categorize, and copy photos directly from your camera's memory
card in one easy step. Order before 01-Apr-03 using the second
link below to get $100 off the regular price of $200! Extensis
Portfolio works with Mac OS 9; a preview for Mac OS X is
available.
<http://www.extensis.com/portfolio/>
<http://www.extensis.com/digitalcamera/>
**Greeting Cards on the Cheap** -- If you haven't noticed, the
cost of greetings and postcards have risen like flu fever. Red
River Paper has a remedy for that - make your own custom cards for
under a buck apiece! You supply your own images and messages and
they supply cards and envelopes in different sizes (up to 5 by 7
inches). The cards are pre-scored (for easy folding) and come in
gloss, matte, or watercolor paper with clear, pearl, or rainbow
"see-thru" sheets and elegant white, eggshell, or brilliantly
colored envelopes. Postcards allow you to do small, targeted
business mailings without having to pay for large minimums
you'll never use. You can order a sample set for $5.
<http://www.redrivercatalog.com/>
**Stripping the Light Fantastic** -- Test Strip is derived from
the age-old darkroom technique of printing variations of the same
image on a small piece of paper to see which looks best before
committing to a large, final print. Test Strip is a plug-in for
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements under Mac OS 9 that shows you a
comparison preview of your image - adding or subtracting colors,
density, contrast, or saturation. You can easily change the
orientation and the number of strips that are displayed and then
print a test proof. If you've had trouble matching your printer
output to what you see on the screen, just print out a test strip,
pick the image that looks the best, and then select it to print
out at your desired size. Order the Show Special and get $100
off the regular price of $200! Mention Digital Camera Magazine
if asked.
<http://www.vividdetails.com/Test_Strip.html>
**Crash Parachutes** -- If your digital camera's memory card goes
south with priceless images on it, all's not lost. Don't
reinitialize it! Just call Southwest Stars Data Recovery for
a quote and then send it to them for resurrection. If they
can't bring it back to life, bury it.
<http://www.swstars.com/services/flash/>
**Learn, Baby, Learn!** Plenty of knowledge is available out there
that can bring you up to speed on digital photography. VTC has a
huge library of training CDs that you can buy or subscribe to. For
only $25 a month, you can browse any title at any time of the day.
Web sites also abound; go to my Digital PhotoCorner site to get a
listing of the best. While you're there, look in on the Digiphoto
101 online class to see if you might want to enroll. For more
personalized instruction, think about attending a Workshop At Sea,
where you'll learn about digital photography, imaging, and
printing while you cruise to exotic ports, enjoy the company
of fellow enthusiasts, and have the time of your life.
<http://www.vtc.com/>
<http://www.dpcorner.com/links/>
<http://www.dpcorner.com/cruise/>
**Books Are In** -- Here are a few titles that stand out among
the many. A classic that's still in print, Essentials of Digital
Photography by Akira Kasai and Russell Sparkman, is filled with
vital information that clarifies difficult concepts. Real World
Digital Photography by Deke McClelland and Katrin Eismann is
another oldie-but-goodie that's great for beginners to
intermediates. Ben Long's Complete Digital Photography is loaded
with excellent information for more advanced photographers who
want to make the transition to digital. Creative Digital
Printmaking by Theresa Airey and Michael J. McNamara is a fine
mixture of creative and technical information about inkjet
printing. Finally, Photoshop Elements 2 Solutions by Mikkel Aaland
is a "must have" to keep at your side (if you use a full version
of Photoshop, you probably already have a groaning shelf filled
with Photoshop-related tomes).
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1562057626/tidbitselectro00/>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201354020/tidbitselectro00/>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1584500077/tidbitselectro00/>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817437266/tidbitselectro00/>
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0782141404/tidbitselectro00/>
[Arthur H. Bleich is a photographer, writer, educator, and feature
editor of Digital Camera Magazine. He lives in Miami, does
assignments for major publications both in the U.S. and abroad,
and conducts digital photography workshop cruises.]
<http://www.dpcorner.com/>
PayBITS: Did Arthur's suggestions help you outfit your favorite
digital photographer? Why not send him a few bucks via PayPal!
<https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=arthur%40dpcorner.com>
Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>
$$
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