TidBITS#795/05-Sep-05
=====================
Hurricane Katrina rules the news, with Jeff Carlson providing
an overview of how Internet users and sites are helping with the
aftermath of the devastation. On a more prosaic front, Adam looks
at a free conference call service, Glenn Fleishman covers the main
improvements in Timbuktu Pro 8.5, and we present an excerpt on
making menus from Kirk McElhearn's just-released "Take Control of
Customizing Microsoft Office." In the news, we look the releases
of iKey 2.1, Default Folder X 2.0.2, and Now Up-to-Date & Contact
5.0.4; revisit the preferred AirPort network issue; and welcome
Maxum Development as a sponsor.
Topics:
MailBITS/05-Sep-05
Net Responds to Hurricane Katrina Aftermath
Netopia Adds Security, Multiple Monitors to Timbuktu Pro 8.5
Make Your Own Menu in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
Talk for Free with FreeConference.com
Take Control News/05-Sep-05
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Sep-05
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-795.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2005/TidBITS#795_05-Sep-05.etx>
Copyright 2005 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
<http://www.tidbits.com/terms/> Contact: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------
This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
* READERS LIKE YOU! Support TidBITS with a contribution today! <----- NEW!
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/support/contributors.html>
Special thanks this week to Chris Page, Carl Zimmerman,
Jim MacNeal, and Lee Lippert for their generous support!
* SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS: Used Computers! <--------------------------- NEW!
Power Mac G5s and G4s; Aluminum PowerBooks;
iBooks and eMacs starting as low as $349
Visit: <http://www.smalldog.com/tb/> 800-511-MACS
* FETCH SOFTWORKS: Fetch 5 makes FTP and SFTP easy! <---------------- NEW!
Upload, download, mirror, and manage your Web site. Dozens of
new features to make file transfers easier and more reliable.
Get your free trial version at <http://fetchsoftworks.com/>!
* Dr. Bott, LLC: Bulletproof your PowerBook. It's the briefcase <--- NEW!
of choice for the chrome-plated professional with a plane to
catch and documents to carry. Laptop Armor in chrome, black,
or white for 12-17" laptops. <http://www.drbott.com/>
* Web Crossing, Inc: Site Crossing brings Web Crossing power to
your small biz, family or club. Build a core site or bolt onto
a current one for discussions, blogs, chat, polls, calendars,
podcasts, and more. <http://www.sitecrossing.com/tb-305>
* Circus Ponies NoteBook: Never lose anything again. NoteBook <------ NEW!
lets you take notes, clip content, and share information. Find
anything instantly with automatic index pages. One-step Web
publishing. Free 30-day demo! <http://www.circusponies.com/>
* DEJAL SIMON: Monitor any type of Internet server! <---------------- NEW!
Be the first to know when your servers have trouble. Simon
can monitor Web, FTP, SMTP, POP, DNS, SSH, Ping, and more!
Download your free trial version! <http://www.dejal.com/tb>
* Rumpus 4: The complete Internet file transfer server for OS X. <--- NEW!
Allow remote users to transfer files via FTP or Web browser
using a simple, professional, and customizable interface.
Visit: <http://www.maxum.com/Rumpus/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
MailBITS/05-Sep-05
------------------
**Maxum Development Sponsoring TidBITS** -- We're pleased
to welcome our latest long-term sponsor, Maxum Development.
I've known John O'Fallon of Maxum for many years, ever since
Maxum got its start in the heady days of the mid-1990s Internet
by creating the essential add-ons NetForms and NetCloak for Macs
running the WebSTAR Web server. Nowadays, Maxum is best known
for Rumpus, their industrial-strength file transfer server.
Although transferring files around is conceptually simple, setting
up an FTP server and training everyone to use it can be time-
consuming and frustrating. Rumpus improves on the standard FTP
server by providing simple installation and setup, email- and
AppleScript-based file upload notices, real-time activity graphs,
built-in log rolling, folder-by-folder access restrictions,
Web-based user administration, automatically expiring user
accounts, user account size and transfer restrictions, and more.
From the user standpoint, Rumpus is easier to interact with
because it works with all major FTP clients and also provides
Web File Manager, a built-in Web server that enables users to
upload and download from any Web browser using a customizable
interface that's far better than standard browser FTP support.
Rumpus also works in both Mac OS X and in Mac OS 8/9, making
it easy to press an older Mac into service as a file transfer
server. So, if you want more file transfer power, flexibility,
and ease-of-use for you and your users, be sure to check out the
free trial version of Rumpus. (And if you're running a server of
any sort, Simon, from our other new sponsor, Dejal Systems, can
help you monitor it.) [ACE]
<http://www.maxum.com/Rumpus/>
**iKey 2.1 Moves to iApp-like Interface** -- Script Software has
updated their Macintosh automation utility iKey to version 2.1,
adding a few features but mostly streamlining the interface to
make it easier to create and edit shortcuts, menus, and palettes
that automate repetitive actions. iKey 2.1 now features an iApp-
like interface, with a left-hand pane that displays the
applications in which particular shortcuts, menus, or palettes
are active, making it easy to see which items are available for
editing in the main pane. Also new is a Library window that
contains all the commands (the basic functions iKey can perform
for you), launchers (the ways you invoke shortcuts, most commonly
by pressing a hotkey), and contexts (the applications in which
shortcuts are active) that you've defined. The Library window
simplifies the task of reusing already defined commands, and it
also lets you see and delete commands, launchers, and contexts
that aren't currently in use. iKey's programmer, Philippe Hupe,
also added some new commands and options to existing commands,
enabling iKey 2.1 to wake a sleeping Mac after a delay or at
a specific date and time, to repeat the last or next-to-last
shortcut executed, to choose items from hierarchical menus more
flexibly, and more. Last but not least, iKey 2.1 resolves a few
compatibility problems with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. In the interests
of disclosure, note that I use iKey daily, that I make design
suggestions during development, and that the update contains the
1.1 update to my "Take Control of iKey 2" ebook, which documents
the entire program and covers all the changes. The iKey 2.1 update
is free to those who have registered the $30 iKey 2.0; it's a
3.7 MB download. [ACE]
<http://www.scriptsoftware.com/ikey/>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/ikey.html>
**Default Folder X 2.0.2 Now Available** -- St. Clair Software
has released version 2.0.2 of their essential Mac OS X utility,
Default Folder X. The new version improves compatibility with
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, fixing potentially crashing problems with
Safari, System Preferences, and other Cocoa applications. Support
for QuicKeys, Trans Lucy, and iClock has also been added. We've
written about Default Folder several times in TidBITS, because
it still improves basic Mac OS X Finder behavior (see "Tools We
Use: Default Folder" in TidBITS-475_ and "Default Folder X
Improves Mac OS X Open/Save Dialogs" in TidBITS-617_). Default
Folder X 2.0.2 is a 4.1 MB download, and is free for registered
users; a full license costs $35. [JLC]
<http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05341>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06718>
**Now Up-to-Date & Contact Updated to 5.0.4** -- Now Software last
week released version 5.0.3 and then 5.0.4 of their powerful
calendaring and contact management suite, fixing a number of bugs
and cosmetic problems, improving performance, and adding a few
small capabilities, such as Snooze All/Dismiss All buttons in
the event reminder dialog, several new toolbar buttons, support
for Word 2004 in QuickMerge, and more. Plus, our "Take Control
of Now Up-to-Date & Contact" ebook manual is now included in
the distribution package; it's in the Now Up-to-Date & Contact
Docs folder in the Applications folder. The upgrade is highly
recommended and is free for all registered users of Now Up-to-Date
& Contact 5. [ACE]
<http://www.nowsoftware.com/products/nudc5/502.asp>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/nudc.html>
**Tiger Still Resists Showing Preferred Networks** -- Last week,
I explained how to force a Mac OS X system upgraded from Panther
to Tiger to display a list of preferred AirPort networks in the
Network preferences pane that you could edit, remove, add to, or
rearrange by preferred order of connections (see "Adding Tiger's
AirPort Preferred Network List" in TidBITS-794_). Several readers
wrote in to say that their upgraded Tiger systems still wouldn't
provide a preferred list.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08223>
These notes make it increasingly clear that we're encountering a
larger bug than I originally suspected, one that suppresses this
option of seeing which network your computer "prefers" based on
whether you agreed to remember the network in the future when
connecting to it. Another way to work around this bug is to create
an entirely new location setting and set up AirPort from scratch
within that location, but even this workaround isn't always
effective.
One reader with an otherwise perfectly functional Tiger system
sees a blank list of networks. Clicking the plus (+) sign doesn't
bring up a dialog. Creating a new location setting didn't fix
the problem either. At a loss, I suggested reinstalling Mac OS X,
which is such a Windows thing to do, but I can't see how he might
otherwise be able to resolve the fundamental networking issues.
[GF]
**DealBITS Drawing: MathMagic Personal Edition Winners** --
Congratulations to Harvey Jeffries of mac.com, Orion Protonentis
of noiro.org, Robert Rennie of anscom.af.mil, Robert Wildblood
of erols.com, and Scott Ellsworth of alodar.com, whose entries
were chosen randomly in last week's DealBITS drawing and who
each received a copy of MathMagic Personal Edition, worth $119.95.
Even if you didn't win, you can still save 20 percent on all the
different versions of MathMagic (Personal, or Pro for both Adobe
InDesign and QuarkXPress) through 14-Sep-05 by ordering from the
page below. Note that the 20 percent discount even applies to
the academic discount, making MathMagic an even better deal for
students, staff, and faculty of educational institutions. This
offer is open to all TidBITS readers. Keep an eye out for future
DealBITS drawings, and remember that telling your friends, family,
and colleagues about new drawings is a great way to increase your
chances of receiving a prize; over 9 percent of our 375 entries
this time came from people who learned about DealBITS from a
friend. [ACE]
<http://www.mathmagic.com/order/dealbits.html>
<http://www.mathmagic.com/product/pe.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/mathmagic/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08221>
Net Responds to Hurricane Katrina Aftermath
-------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Watching the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the
devastation it unleashed upon Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
has been exceedingly difficult this past week. I still haven't
fully wrapped my head around the fact that New Orleans, a major
metropolitan city, was effectively destroyed in a matter of days.
However, I've been heartened by the many online efforts by people
who are coming up with innovative ways to help those in need, no
matter where they're located around the world.
You've no doubt heard pleas to give money and assistance in any
way you can, and we at TidBITS want to echo that call; to put our
money where our mouth is, we're donating 10 percent of proceeds
from September sales of Take Control ebooks to the American Red
Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund. The hurricane itself may have
passed quickly, but the need for aid and assistance will continue
for quite some time.
**Financial Aid** -- Sending money still seems to be the best way
of providing support; based on reports we've received from people
in that area, the American Red Cross was one of the earliest
organizations providing support. Many other organizations are
mobilizing their resources and accepting contributions; Charity
Navigator, an outfit that evaluates the financial health of
charities (and therefore helps steer people away from slimeballs -
oops! I mean, the unscrupulous people who are already trying to
get people's money by sending email messages pretending to ask for
hurricane donations) includes a list of charities that are helping
to provide disaster relief.
<http://www.redcross.org/>
<http://www.charitynavigator.org/>
**Housing Assistance** -- With so many buildings damaged by the
hurricane and the related flooding, thousands of people are
without homes. In this category, the Internet is making a big
difference. Katrina Volunteer & Housing Opportunities enables
people with beds available to post their information, and
displaced people to locate housing assistance in their area.
As I write this, nearly 31,000 beds are available. MoveOn has
also set up HurricaneHousing.org for the same purposes, with
over 125,000 beds currently available.
<http://katrinahousing.org/>
<http://hurricanehousing.org/>
Another great resource providing housing is Craigslist, which
includes housing notices as well as posts for temporary
employment, volunteer opportunities, and other services in
Baton Rouge, Houston, Jackson, Mobile, Montgomery, New Orleans,
Shreveport, and Pensacola.
<http://craigslist.org/about/help/katrina_aid.html>
**People and Pets Search** -- Each of the cities served by
Craigslist also includes forums for finding people who have not
yet appeared following the hurricane. These listings are worth
scanning if you haven't heard from someone, as there are a few
"found" postings noting that people are alive and well.
<http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://jackson.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://mobile.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://montgomery.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://shreveport.craigslist.org/laf/>
<http://pensacola.craigslist.org/laf/>
Another novel project, PeopleFinderVolunteer, has been created
to take a lot of the raw data coming in about missing people and
organize it into a useful, consolidated database. It provides a
way for people across the Internet to help out by donating their
time: log in, claim a listing (such as from Craigslist), and fill
out an online form to put as much data into fields that can be
searched by others.
<http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderVolunteer>
Looking at the problem from the other side, CNN has begun
compiling a Hurricane Katrina Safe List, where survivors can
post their details as another method for friends and family
to know that they're okay.
<http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hurricanes/list/>
Amid all the talk about the human suffering, we often forget about
pets struggling to survive after the hurricane and flooding. The
United States Humane Society and other sources are helping to
scour the area for lost animals.
<http://www.hsus.org/>
**Wikis Prove Timely and Useful** -- Although the mainstream news
media has been following the tragedy, some of the most effective
information has appeared online in various wikis. Wikipedia's
Hurricane Katrina entry is a constantly updated collection of
news, resources, and statistics, documenting facts as they appear.
It also includes lots of related information such as the impact
of the storm on the space shuttle program and Internet
infrastructure damage.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina>
And for a good general reference, the Katrina Help Wiki includes
information for people in need, people who want to help, and
links to other resources.
<http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page>
Netopia Adds Security, Multiple Monitors to Timbuktu Pro 8.5
------------------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The latest release of long-developed Timbuktu Pro remote control
software appeared last week. Version 8.5 adds several options
designed to improve security and provides support for viewing
multiple monitors remotely.
<http://www.netopia.com/software/products/tb2/mac/>
Several new modes are available in this release, including:
* Lock-down or "Help Desk": A computer can't initiate remote
sessions, but is available for remote viewing by, for instance,
in-house technical support.
* SSH-only: Timbuktu Pro can be prevented from connecting using
the old, less secure protocol, after which it will allow only SSH
(Secure Shell) connections.
* Remote screen blanking: The remote computer's screen goes blank
when being controlled from afar by Timbuktu Pro. This "secures"
the activities of that user from casual observation.
* Two monitor sharing: Timbuktu Pro now provides a view of two
monitors on a remote system.
* Hide from scanning: You can suppress the appearance of a
particular computer running Timbuktu Pro from local network lists.
Timbuktu Pro 8.5 finally includes an option to check for an
upgrade automatically on launch - a key tool in these days of
frequent upgrades for utility software. And Netopia claims in the
release notes that screen sharing for Control sessions is much
improved, especially over local networks.
Be sure to read the multi-step process for successfully upgrading
a system with Timbuktu Pro installed - it works for me every
time, but it requires adherence to a detailed sequence of
operations. Timbuktu Pro 8.5 is a free upgrade for registered
users of version 8.0. (The link below takes you to the download
authorization page.)
<http://www.netopia.com/support/technotes/software/tb2mac/update_8.html>
Make Your Own Menu in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
------------------------------------------------
by Tonya Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Do you like menus? Menus tend to be overlooked in the desire to
show every possible option at once in a toolbar or palette, but
the nice thing about a menu is that its there when you need it
and out of the way - but not gone entirely - when you don't.
Typically, a program comes with certain commands on its menus,
and you, the user, are stuck with them. Microsoft Office doesn't
suffer from this particular limitation, at least in Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint. In this article, we share with you an excerpt from
our latest Take Control ebook, Kirk McElhearn's "Take Control of
Customizing Microsoft Office." It explains how to make your own
menus in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (both v.X and 2004), and how
to take advantage of Word's Work menu. Take it away, Kirk!
**Create a Menu** -- In this brief tutorial, I explain how to
create a menu that contains a handful of frequently used commands.
(I use Word in this tutorial; the procedure is nearly identical
with Excel and PowerPoint.) To make your own menu, follow these
steps:
1. Display the Menu Bar toolbar so you can work with it: Choose
Customize > Customize Toolbars/Menus. If the Menu Bar toolbar does
not appear along with the Customize Toolbars/Menus dialog, click
the Toolbars tab and select Menu Bar in the list of toolbars.
2. Put a new menu on the toolbar: In the Commands pane, at the
end of the Categories list, click New Menu. In the Commands list
you'll see just one command: New Menu. Drag it to the position
where you want it in the Menu Bar toolbar.
3. Name your menu: You don't want the name to be too long, since
it takes up space in the menu bar. Double-click the New Menu
button in the Menu Bar toolbar to display the Command Properties
dialog. Enter a new name in the Name field, and then click OK.
4. To copy commands from other menus to your new menu, click a
menu in the Menu Bar toolbar, and Option-drag a menu command
from that menu. For example, to begin copying the Format > Font
command to the custom menu, click the Format button to display
the contents of its menu. Hold down the Option key and drag the
Font command toward your new menu. (If you hold down Option when
dragging, the command will remain in its original location and
copy to the new menu; if not, it will move. It's much safer to
copy commands than move them.) When you reach the button for your
new menu, move the pointer over the button to display the menu).
Release the mouse button when the command is in the desired
location in the menu.
5. If you don't find the commands you want in the existing menus,
go to the Commands tab of the Customize Toolbars/Menus dialog and
in the Categories section, click All Commands. You can then look
through the list of commands to find the ones you want.
6. Rename long menu items: Commands that you drag from menus have
concise names, but ones you drag from the All Commands list may
have awkward, long names. To make the change, double-click a menu
command in the menu from the Menu Bar toolbar to display the
Command Properties dialog and change the name by entering a new
name in the Name field.
7. Organize your menu with a separator: To help group commands,
insert a separator above a menu item. Double-click the desired
menu item in the Menu Bar toolbar to display the Command
Properties dialog and select the "Begin a group" checkbox.
Congratulations! You've set up a custom menu. If you want
to delete it, simply drag it off the Menu Bar toolbar.
**Use the Word Work Menu** -- Word offers a special menu called
the Work menu. Located between the Window menu and the Help menu,
this menu is designed to store a list of your commonly used files.
Unlike the recent files list at the bottom of the File menu,
Word doesn't add documents here automatically; you must add them
manually. If you regularly use the same files, the Work menu saves
you a trip to the Finder. Just select your document from the Work
menu and get to work.
All you have to do to add a document to the Work menu is open the
document and make sure it is frontmost. Then, choose Work > Add
to Work Menu.
Word is pretty good at finding documents that you have moved
after you added them to the Work menu, as long as you move them
somewhere on the same volume or disk. If Word cannot find the
file, it displays an alert asking if you want to locate it. Click
OK, and you'll see a standard Open dialog. Navigate to find the
document, and Word will open it and update its path so it can
find it again next time.
To remove a document from the Work menu, press Command-Option-
Hyphen. The pointer changes to a thick, black dash. Choose the
document you want to remove from the Work menu, and it disappears.
**Go Further with the Ebook** -- Although this excerpt focuses on
menus, the 82-page "Take Control of Customizing Microsoft Office"
doesn't stop there, teaching you how to put commands on a toolbar
for one-click access or how to assign memorable keyboard shortcuts
to frequently used commands. It also shows you how to insert
frequently typed pieces of text, explains how to use templates
so you don't have to create every document from scratch, and more.
It costs $10, and note that we and Kirk are donating 10 percent
of the proceeds from the September sales of this ebook to the
American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/office-customizing.html?
14@@!pt=TRK-0022-TB795-EXCERPT>
Talk for Free with FreeConference.com
-------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Widely distributed groups often need to meet via telephone rather
than attempting to travel to a single centralized location, so
for some people, regularly scheduled conference calls have become
a way of life. In the past, setting up a phone bridge, as these
systems are sometimes called, was an expensive proposition. Large
companies would sometimes have their own service, but if no one
in the group had access to a phone bridge, an independent service
was required, and the costs could be quite steep.
A few months ago, I had a conference call with the Web Crossing
folks, and when I received the online RSVP, I was intrigued by
the domain in the sending address: www.freeconference.com. A quick
trip to my Web browser revealed that FreeConference.com was indeed
an entirely free conference call service. When I quizzed the Web
Crossing folks about it later, they said that they'd been using
the service happily for years. Somewhat shocked, I asked, "And how
is this free?"
<http://www.freeconference.com/>
**Business Model** -- The answer would appear to be that
FreeConference.com offers three types of conference calls:
Reservationless, Web-Scheduled, and Web-Scheduled Premium 800.
The first two are entirely free, but with the third, you pay
$0.10 per minute for callers to use a toll-free 800 number when
calling in. You might expect there to be significant other
limitations on the two free services, but that doesn't turn
out to be the case. For instance, the Web-Scheduled Premium 800
service supports 150 callers for a maximum time of 5 hours,
but the free Web-Scheduled service drops that only slightly,
to 100 callers for a maximum of 3 hours. There are a few other
differences, most notably the option for conference recording
(with MP3 download and telephone playback) for an additional
fee, but the option for toll-free dial-in numbers is the main
distinction. The Reservationless service has more limitations
(25 callers for a maximum of 3 hours), but you don't even need
an account to set one up, making it quick and anonymous.
<http://www.freeconference.com/Services.asp>
In other words, FreeConference.com itself is free, but any given
conference call placed through the service may not be, since each
participant must pay his or her own long distance phone bill.
However, in this day and age of flat-rate long distance plans
(which is what I currently have) and cell phone plans that
treat long distance calls no differently than local calls,
FreeConference.com can be effectively free for many people.
**How It Works** -- Intrigued, I signed up for a free account and
set up a call for the next time I needed to talk with several
people at once (my normal phone service allows three-way calling,
which is usually all I need). Once I had an account, it was simple
to walk through the steps to schedule a call. These steps include:
* Choose the number of participants (up to 100)
* Pick a date and time
* Set the likely duration of the call
* Create or accept a participant access code
* Set conference controls
* Send email invitations
The conference controls are interesting. You can toggle entry and
exit chimes, have the conference start and end with the arrival
and departure of the organizer, and choose from three possible
conference modes. Conversation mode allows anyone to speak at any
time. Presentation mode goes in the other direction, automatically
muting everyone but those with an organizer access code. Q&A mode
is in between, allowing participants to un-mute themselves to ask
questions.
Although FreeConference.com doesn't offer an option for a
recurring call (many organizations have regularly scheduled weekly
calls, for instance), you can create groups of contacts, making it
trivial to run through the setup steps and choose the same contact
group at the end.
I'm particularly impressed with the email invitation and
confirmation tools. After you've configured your conference call,
you can invite people directly from within FreeConference.com's
interface, at which point FreeConference.com generates an email
invitation to each person you've entered. (The email addresses
you enter are used only for invitations, according to
FreeConference.com's privacy policy.) The invitation includes
all the call and schedule details (including properly adjusted
time zones, something that often causes confusion among widespread
groups), and provides a link the recipient can click to RSVP
for the conference, causing FreeConference.com to send a short
email message informing you of the RSVP. If you've entered any
comments or an agenda, that information is included in the email
invitation. Helpfully, the email invitation includes a cheat sheet
for the controls each caller can issue from her phone during the
conference. And lastly, the email invitations come with vCal file
attached that the recipient can drop into iCal or Outlook to add
to her calendar.
Similarly, you as the organizer receive a confirmation message
in email, summarizing all the settings, and providing you with
organizer-specific information like your own access code and a
cheat sheet of all the additional controls you can access from
your phone during the call. Overall, FreeConference.com provides
a smooth and elegant interface, and after the first time or two,
you can probably set up a call in less than five minutes.
Once you're in the actual call, sound quality is excellent. The
one call I've been on that had an audio problem was related to the
phone of one of the callers. In this respect, FreeConference.com
is doing well - I've been on plenty of paid conference calls where
the equipment introduced audio feedback or a whine that required
help from an operator.
**International Versions and Private Labels** -- Often, these
sort of services are limited to the United States. Not so with
FreeConference.com. In the United Kingdom, there's ConferenceUK,
and in Germany, FreieKonferenz.com. All three are run by
Integrated Data Concepts, a 20-year-old telecommunications firm
that claims to be the first distributor to deal exclusively in
computer telephony products. In fact, IDC even has an option
for other firms or organizations to relabel, resell, or adapt
the FreeConference.com site and service.
<http://www.conferenceuk.com/>
<http://www.freiekonferenz.com/>
<http://www.freeconference.com/OEMInfo.asp>
**Give It a Try** -- Historically, and largely due to the expense,
conference call services have been aimed exclusively at
businesses, and I'm sure they'll continue to be used primarily
by companies and other organizations. However, FreeConference.com
really is good enough and sufficiently close to free for many
people that it could help extend the concept of conference calling
beyond the business world. I could easily see families setting up
weekend calls where the entire family could participate in the
same call rather than calling each other separately.
Although computer telephony is improving rapidly thanks to
programs like iChat and Skype, people don't need a fast Internet
connection or even a computer to participate in conferences set
up via FreeConference.com. Plus, my experience with computer
telephony is that when it works, it's generally fine, but there
are still far more hiccups and other problems (every time I want
to use Skype or iChat, I have to fiddle with the input and output
settings in the Sound preference pane, for instance) compared
to the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) network.
So do yourself a favor, and the next time you think that it might
be nice, or at least more efficient, to have several people on
the phone at once, set up a call via FreeConference.com.
Take Control News/05-Sep-05
---------------------------
by Tonya Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
**New Ebook Helps Readers Customize Microsoft Office** -- I've
been working with author Kirk McElhearn for nearly a year on
this title, and neither of us can believe how long it's taken to
explain clearly how to customize the toolbars, menus, and keyboard
shortcuts in Microsoft Office. What began as a simple effort
to show users how to work with the Customize dialog became more
complex as we realized the many nuances that had to be carefully
explained in order to help readers customize Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint, in both Office X and Office 2004.
"Take Control of Customizing Microsoft Office" is the fruit of our
labor, an 82-page ebook that explains how to issue your favorite
commands faster, whether that means that you put them on a toolbar
for one-click access, stick them on custom menus where you can
find them easily, or assign them keyboard shortcuts so that your
fingers can do the work. The ebook also covers tips for arranging
toolbars, ways to insert frequently typed text, how to work with
templates, how to bring back the Word 5 menu layout, how to set
up the Word Work menu, and more. A special appendix lists 20
favorite Office customizations, which were contributed by other
Take Control authors and a variety of Macintosh experts. Take a
look!
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/office-customizing.html?
14@@!pt=TRK-0022-TB795-TCNEWS>
**Take Control Donates 10% of Proceeds to Hurricane Relief** --
To support the relief efforts aiding the victims of Hurricane
Katrina, the Take Control team - publisher Adam Engst, editor
in chief Tonya Engst, and all the authors of Take Control
ebooks - have joined together in donating 10 percent of proceeds
from the sale of all ebooks in September to the American Red
Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund. We encourage you to help in
whatever way you feel appropriate.
<http://www.redcross.org/>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Sep-05
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be faster.
**iTunes Vs. The Titans** -- Rumor has it that the major music
labels want to charge more than $0.99 per song, even though
Apple's pricing has proven enormously successful. Is Apple
powerful enough to stand up to the majors on price? (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2682>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/536/>
**How to use Spotlight to search file and folder names quickly**
-- Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger's new Spotlight search feature is
attractive, but it seems to miss what most people search for
first: filenames. Here's how to work around the limitation.
(9 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2683>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/537/>
**iPhoto Blog integration** -- What's the best way to get pictures
out of iPhoto and onto a weblog? (7 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2684>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/538/>
**Virtual memory swapping problem** -- Virtual memory, which uses
hard disk space in place of RAM when RAM is getting full, can
dramatically slow down your Mac (especially with an older, slower
hard drive). Find out how you can tell if Mac OS X is swapping
VM files and what to do about it. (5 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2685>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/539/>
**Professionals switching** -- Apple has been appealing to average
computer users in its switching campaigns, but what about
professionals? Readers share their experiences with Windows-based
graphics professionals picking up the Mac. (3 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2687>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/541/>
**Problems with Kensington DC Laptop/iPod adapter** -- A power
supply with interchangeable adapter tips causes problems for
a few readers. (3 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2688>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/542/>
**Annoyance level of different ad types** -- Glenn Fleishman's
article about Flashblocker software to control Flash-based online
advertising prompts a discussion of how intrusive advertising has
become. (7 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2690>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/544/>
**Timbuktu "Secure" Connection and Certificates?** A
representative from Netopia explains how Timbuktu handles
secure connections. (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2692>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/545/>
**Hurricane Relief** -- As Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southeast
coast of the United States, TidBITS Talk readers provided links
to aid organizations and other resources. (5 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2693>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/546/>
$$
Non-profit, non-commercial publications may reprint articles if
full credit is given. Others please contact us. We don't guarantee
accuracy of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and
company names may be registered trademarks of their companies.
For information: how to subscribe, where to find back issues,
and more, see <http://www.tidbits.com/>. TidBITS ISSN 1090-7017.
Send comments and editorial submissions to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Back issues available at: <http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/>
And: <ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/>
Full text searching available at: <http://www.tidbits.com/search/>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
--
If you want to unsubscribe or change your address, use this link
http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx?unsub@@.3c557dc4!u=306a67f9
