MacWorld0607July2006

hac MEET THE NEW MACBOOK July 2006 The Mac Product Experts Eye Ways to Safeguard ‘ Your Data and y Privacy 9 Antivirus and Firewall Apps Reviewed $6.99 U.S./$7.99 Canada | | | | | | 0 4 '70989"06924 COVER STORY 48 [Protect Your Mad Vi July 2006 [www.macworld.com] vorl Are you leaving your Mac vulnerable to viruses, intruders, and other dangers? OS X may be more secure than some other operating systems we could name, but it’s not invulnerable. We'll show you what steps you can take today to protect your Mac—and your data—from potential disasters. FEATURE 58 [The Weekend Web Sitd CHUCK TOPOREK If you've delayed building your own Web site because the process seemed too difficult, it’s time to stop procrastinating. Thanks to iLife ‘06, building a first-class Web site has never been easier. Our step-by-step guide will show you how. mm te ~ [58 [THE WEEKEND WEB SITE] | [mnumacworld.com| Tlustration by Joe Zeff OPINION 7 12 From the Editor’s Des JASON SNELL It's time for Mac users to think about security. [Feedback| Readers respond. REVIEW 24 34 36 39 42 46 VoIP Applications! $88F Gizmo Project 1.3.2 $686 iChat Av3.1.4 $88F SightSpeed 4.5 SSH) Skype 1.4 f SBWIMY. Game Room] PETER COHEN We've got reviews of Islands Mini Golf, Avernum 4, Tribal Trouble, and other games. Plus, we talk about using Boot Camp to run Windows games ‘on your Intel Mac. DAN FRAKES Move files from your iPod back to your Mac, stream any audio to multiple AirPort Express base stations, tag your e-mail, extract the contents of a Safari Web archive, relocate your ports to your desktop, and tweak OS X. July 2006 MACWORLD 3 Macworld... MAC BEAT 14 [Boot Camp FAQs, Windows-on-Mac testing, the new MacBook] the 17-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s latest ad campaign, and more. EXCLUSIVE VIDEO ONLINE 4 MACWORLD July 2006 | 36 [POD GEAR] | Senior Editor Dan Frakes chats about the latest iPod accessories. Senior Editor Christopher Breen shows you how to take your Mac mini to the next level. Check out the best of Macworld:com: To view this month's exclusive content, go to the following URL (broadband Internet recommended): SECRETS 68 WORKING MAC] Disk Utility’s Hidden Talents TED LANDAU You can do a lot more with Apple's Disk Utility than just repair a disk. Explore eight more handy functions this tool has. 70 Manage a Large iTunes Library KIRK McELHEARN When your iTunes library gets too big, tracking down files can become a full-time job. Here's how to cope. 72 (DIGITAL PHOTO Cleaning Your SLR Camera CHRISTOPHER BREEN Banish stray spots from your photos by giving your camera a thorough going-over. 75 MOBILE MAG The IMAP Advantage JOE KISSELL Use Internet Message Access Protocol to free yourself from the tyranny of the local e-mail inbox. 78 Boot Camp Basic Training Macworld’s editors answer your nitty-gritty questions about using Apple’s new Boot Camp beta to run Windows XP on your Mac. 80 [HELP DESK] Mac OS X Hints ROB GRIFFITHS Use Tiger to create a scan-and-print shortcut for your old scanner, make Mail compose replies the way you want it to, put tables in your Stickies notes, learn speedy shortcuts for Apple's Calendar widget, and more. 84 CHRISTOPHER BREEN Automatically change your desktop picture, manage two .Mac accounts from the same computer, apply iMovie effects to multiple clips, create a disk catalog, use built-in OS X features to start the day right, and more. BACK PAGE 108 Check out our favorite new stuff. [mmmumacworld.com| PORTRAIT BY PETER BELANGER SO) Mn =a PURO) ere) —s.@ BY JASON SNELL The End of Innocence OK, I'll admit it: | don’t run any antivirus software on my Mac. The last time one of my Macs was infected by a virus was in 1990, when a bug hit my college newspaper’s offices. It was transmitted via the floppy disks we passed around so freely back then. Since then, nothing. To put it bluntly, I've become complacent. Does that make me a bad Mac user— or just a regular Mac user? The past 15 years have been pretty good when it comes to Mac security. And the first few years of Mac OS X have been remarkably stable and secure. No wonder I’ve become nonchalant, as have many other Mac users. But several factors are conspiring to end that period of stability, and we must all recognize that none of us can afford to ignore Mac security anymore. Dangerous Times In February, a couple of pieces of malicious software targeting OS X appeared in the wild. This malware (they weren't really viruses) didn’t work very well— you really had to go out of your way for them to do anything at all. But I doubt that the brief outbreak was an isolated incident. Apple’s increased visibility of late will surely tempt more hackers to target the Mac. What's worse, the defenses of Mac users (including me) are much lower than those of your run-of-the- mill Windows user. Windows users have been trained for years about the need for antivirus software, fire- walls, and the like. Mac users have heard the same warnings—but those warnings haven’t been as stern, because the situation simply hasn’t been as dire. ‘The combination of the Mac’ rising profile and a population of users who haven’t had to worry about security matters before is dangerous enough. Now Apple’s marketing may have made matters worse. Waving the Red Flag For years, Apple has been incredibly circumspect about touting the Mac’s relative lack of threats from viruses, spyware, and other nasty stuff that plagues Windows. Some Mac fans have been frustrated by the company’s silence: Why shouldn’t Apple promote the Mac’s virus-free advantage over PCs? But Apple’s decision to remain silent was a smart one. Bragging about OS X’s security would have been as dangerous as waving a red flag in front of a bull. Malware authors could have taken it as a challenge, the result of which would have been an increase in malware on OS X. That would have been bad for Apple and terrible for most Mac users. ‘Then, in May, Apple began running a series of TV ads. They were funny and effectively pointed out the [mnumacworld.com| clear differences between Macs and PCs. Unfortu- nately, they also actively promoted the fact that Macs are immune to thousands of existing Windows-based viruses. So now Apple’s waving that red flag. Can an angry bull be far behind? The Intel Petri Dish When Apple announced that it was switching to Intel processors, some people worried that the Mac would become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. But Intel proc s aren’t the reason PCs get infested with viruses: Microsoft Windows gets infected, not the CPU. Once that confusion was cleared up, things settled down—for a while. Then Boot Camp—the Apple software that lets you run Windows on a Mac—arrived. The pro- gram’s raison d’étre is also its biggest drawback. If you run Windows on a Mac, you open yourself to all the bad stuff that’s been written to attack PCs. So Boot Camp users have two reasons to care about security: the growing possibility that OS X itself will be attacked, and the clear and present danger of running Windows XP on a Mac. Don’t Panic Should you be scared? Absolutely not. But it’s a good time for Mac users to start taking security seriously. ‘That's the goal ssue’s cover story (“Protect Your Mac,” [page 4). While there’s no need to panic, there is a great need to inform yourself about the real threats—Trojan-horse programs on Web pages, scam artists in your e-mail inbox, or hackers halfa world away trying to guess your password—and how you can keep them from doing you and your ‘Mac any harm. ‘This heightened sense of security doesn’t mean that the Mac’s many advantages are going away—far from it. It’s highly unlikely the Mac will ever be sub- ject to the number of attacks that target Windows machines. But the age of innocence is over. ‘Are you worried about security? Share your thoughts in our online forums at fracworld.com/forumd] or send me an e-mail atfjason_snell@] [racworld.com] July 2006 MACWORLD 7 The complete he mesetoOS aet rransitior Inside Knowledge ALEX CHUNG i=) I read your story about the Core Duo iMacs and their performance with differ- ent apps (“Inside the Intel iMac,” April 2006), and I have a question. I currently have a 733MHz G4 Power Mac. Even with 1GB of RAM, it runs Adobe CS a little slowly. Knowing that Rosetta tends to slow down non-native apps, I was won- dering how the new 2GHz Intel iMac, running Adobe CS in Rosetta but with a full 2GB of RAM, would compare with my computer in performance? To quote from that article: “When we com- pared the new 2GHz iMac Core Duo to a 700MHz iMac G4. . . we found that the Intel iMac executed our Rosetta application tests much faster than its four-year-old prede- cessor.” That said, we hope to continue testing different older systems with different memory configurations, to see how an Intel iMac run- ning Rosetta will stack up against them.—Ed. BRYAN HARRIS. ies In “Inside the Intel iMac,” you compared an iMac G5 with the new Intel iMacs, using a variety of tests. In some of the tests, such as importing a file into iPhoto 6 and creat- ing a Zip archive in the Finder, hard-drive input/output is a major factor in the speed of the system. But Apple hasn't upgraded the drive I/O; it has changed the processor. You shouldn’t test the hard drives and then claim the chip speed hasn't improved. It’s true that hard-drive I/O affects some test results. But as we state, we test overall system speed, not just the speed of the CPU.—Ed. A.U. DAN DANIELS 2 A few months ago, my 15-inch iMac G4 started crashing daily. The diagnos 12 MACWORLD July 2006 kind of main-board problem. So I took the plunge and bought a 20-inch Intel Core Duo iMac. I bought it on a Saturday because I figured it would take the week- end to transfer all my stuff from the G4 and to get my printer, FireWire drives, AirPort Base Station, and Internet connec- tion reconnected. It turns out that the whole process took an hour. I fired up the iMac and followed the directions to trans- fer everything from the G4 via FireWire, and it all just worked—all of my settings, all of my wife’s settings, all the peripherals, the Internet connection, every single file, and every single program but one (Super- Duper). Rosetta is more than fine—even Microsoft Office runs perfectly well. Tell everyone to quit agonizing. Apple has pulled off another miracle. Back in the iLife ALEXANDER TRESSOR For several years, I asked anyone I met who knew anything about Web design to create a Web site for my company. The results always proved—how can I put this delicately?>—awful. So I bought the iLife ’06 suite with iWeb ($682; April 2006). That was on Friday. By Monday I had my Web site up and running on -Mac. It really is that simple, even for a non-geek like me. iWeb is the greatest addition to iLife. ART GORSKI 2 In your review of Pages 2 (6¢#%; April 2006), you said that Pages offered only a limited set of spreadsheet functions. But the functions you listed are only those found on page 187 of the manual. If you flip forward to page 195, you'll see scads more formulas that you can use if you type them in. Maybe this program has a wor- thy spreadsheet feature after all? FEEDBACK The iMac Makeover Apple’s bombshell decision to start using Intel chips continues to \ reverberate all over the Mac world. In our March issue, we gave you Si our first take on the first Intel systems—the Intel iMac and the Mac- Book Pro. In April, we were able to give you more—full reviews of the first Intel iMacs, as well as the results of our extensive bench- mark tests. All that coverage generated an equally extensive flood of reader e-mail messages and postings in our online forums. Here are just a few of them. © We saw the additional functions; we just didn’t list them all in our review. We still don’t think those functions make Pages 2 a real spreadsheet program.—Ed. Font Fiasco RANDALL ELWOOD Es] ‘Thanks for the ongoing tips on OS X maintenance (“The Ultimate Mac Tune- Up,” March 2006). I may have been a bit careless, though, when following the “Font Fixes” tips. I discovered that trying to resolve a duplicate of a system font (Geneva, in my case) could cause problems. After doing so on my G4, I found that I couldn’t open Mail or Safari—and then the whole system crashed. I copied the font back into the /Library/Fonts folder and restarted, and I was back in business. Why No Xserve? BILL LEWINGTON Be I see lots of articles in Macworld and on [Macworld.comabout Apple products, but never anything about the Xserve. How come? At my design company, Windows 2003 has pushed us over the edge, and we’re thinking about migrating from the dreaded Microsoft servers to Xserve. We will probably wait for Intel in these Apple servers, but it would be nice to have a review or two to consider in the meantime. CORRECTIONS The picture accompanying the April 2006 issue's Top Products review of the Epson Sty- lus Photo R340 was of a Canon printer. The mouse rating in the June 2006 issue's Top Products review of the Canon PowerShot G6 was incorrect. The correct mouse rating is $66§:. [inv macworld.com] PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER BELANGER Although we occasionally do review Xserves, awe tend to leave that to folks (like our friends at our sister publication InfoWorld) who spe- cialize in servers and other enterprise-level technologies. —Ed. Innumeracy LYNDON LUHMANN Es} Tread with interest your editorial in the April issue (“Feedback Loop,” From the Editor’s Desk). Jason Snell described the confusion some Macworld readers experi- enced when you said that one Mac was X percent faster than another. I guess some of Macworld’s readers need a remedial math course. Don’t they know that 200 percent is the same as “two times”? Please don’t dumb down Macworld for the people who slept through eighth- grade math. Don’t Bring the Noise GUY DALBEC ea Regarding the “Noisy Power Macs” letter in the April 2006 issue’s Feedback: My son was extremely disappointed when he found out how extremely noisy his new “whisper- quiet” iMac was. The noise becomes very annoying whenever even a slight demand is placed on the machine. He wanted to use the iMac primarily for music recording and editing with Pro‘lools, but that’s impossible because of the incessant whine. Macworld would do its readers a service if it included a noise-level indicator in its reviews of new Macs and considered noise when calculat- ing mouse ratings. It’s an interesting idea, but it would be difficult to implement. We're aware of complaints about noise in several Mac models. But they appear to be isolated cases. Within any given Mac product line, it appears that some specific machines might be noisy while others might not.—Ed. Aw, Shucks STEVE BRINER Ey I just finished reading my first Macworld editorial page, in your April edition (“Feed- back Loop,” From the Editor’s Desk). You see, lama new Mac user, having acquired a used PowerBook about two weeks ago. I found your honesty refreshing and look forward to reading the rest of the issue. I believe anyone who has enough integrity to evaluate himself and the processes he uses will probably put out a first-class publica- tion. I just thought I would encourage you from a first-time reader's perspective. JIM McCAULEY I do not agree with the reader who stated that “What's Hot” is not funny (Feedback, April 2006). Not only do I find it very funny and insightful—it’s the first thing I turn to when I get your magazine. Don’t change a thing. © Post comments on our forums (www} [macworld.com); send them by mail to [| Letters, Macworld, 501 Second Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107; or send them by e-mail tolletters@macworld.com} Include a return address and daytime phone number. Due to the high volume of mail we receive, we can't respond personally to each letter. We reserve the right to edit all letters and posts. All published letters and forum comments become the property of Macworld. _— (©2006 Wacom Technology Corgrain. Wacom, Grape, nes, and Cini ae ademas of Wacom Compan Biprces ae estimated street pies. xpresteys 3 ested Vader ol Gnsan sie, ands sed with permission. (www.TabletP re NEW! Wacom Graphire4 [77Xexey,¥ Have fun with your digital photos! - Quickly and easily edit your digital photos with pressure-sensitive pen control - Draw, paint, and create fun artwork for scrapbooks - Comfortably jot notes, annotate documents, and communicate more personally - Patented cordless, battery-free pen and mouse - Includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 and more 1.800.922.2589 Have fun with your digital photos From $99 Intuos" Forthe serious photographer, designer, and artist Intuos starts at $219 Cintigr Work directly on screen Cintig 21UX - 52499 Ud Al ight reserved. Al ther radars are property of thi espectve ones WHAT'S NEW | WHAT'S IN THE PIPELINE | WHAT’S HOT Boot Camp FAQs Everything You Need to Know about Running Windows XP on an Intel Mac BY ROB GRIFFITHS AND JASON SNELL Most of us feel pretty comfortable when it comes to our Macs, but Apple’s release of Boot Camp has knocked many of us out of our comfort zone. What does it all mean? Can you really run Windows on a Mac? What's required to do so, and what are the potential pitfalls if you try? Relax—we've put together a compre- hensive list of questions and answers about Boot Camp, installing and running Win- dows on Mac hardware, and more (f specific how-to questions, see “Boot Camp Basic Training,” Geek Factor, onfpage 79). How does Boot Camp work? Boot Camp is software that helps users of Intel-based Maes ii | and use Win- ems. The Boot you change the set- ‘0 that it has two ur existing Mac volume dows XP on those sy Camp Assistant help: up of your hard dr partitions— and a new Windows-compatible volume. ‘The Assistant also burns a CD-ROM that contains drivers—files that Windows needs so that it can operate your Mac’s hardware efficiently. You can then install Windows on your Mac. 14 MACWORLD July 2006 Wait—I thought all | had to do was install Boot Camp to run Windows on my Mac. No, you need to have your own full, new, not-previously-registered version of Win- dows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Home or Pro, which will cost you $150 to $200. How is Boot Camp different from the software hack that lets me install Windows XP? You're referring to the two enterprising hackers who got Windows to install on Intel-based Macs a few weeks before Boot Camp’s release. However, installing that hack took quite a bit more effort than installing Boot Camp. You had to choose which operating system you wanted to use every time you rebooted; the hack didn’t include any Windows drivers for Mac hardware, so Macs that used the hack to install Windows XP generally didn’t work very well; you had to com- pletely reformat (erase) your hard drive and start from scratch; and you needed to have a Windows PC to create a modified Boot Camp is better than that hack on all counts. Windows installation di Once I’ve installed Boot Camp, can | adjust the partitions to allocate more or less hard-drive space for either OS? No. Once you've set the Windows partition size, you're stuck with it until you remove it entirely. How difficult is it to undo a hard- drive partition if | don’t like how Boot Camp works and want to go back to what | had before? It’s very simple; just boot into OS X, rerun Boot Camp, and click on the Restore The Startup Disk To A Single Volume button. The XP partition will be destroyed, and your hard drive will be returned to its original, one-partition configuration. Will the Media Center Edition of Windows run on a Mac through Boot Camp? Yes, though you'll have to use Nero’s burning software on a PC to combine the two CDs into one bootable DVD for the Boot Camp installer to work with. Will any Windows program run on a Mac if it’s using Windows XP? A Mac running Windows XP is actually just like any PC running XP. Assuming your hardware matches a Windows pro- gram’s requirements, that program should run. In our tests, applications have worked just fine (for our test results, using PC World’s WorldBench 5 tool, see “Put to the Test”). Are there any limitations for a Mac running Windows XP? Windows XP can’t use the built-in iSight camera on the MacBook, MacBook Pro, or iMac, nor can it use the MacBook Pro’s keyboard backlighting. There’s no support for the Apple USB Modem or Apple Remote. And not all keys are sup- ported on Apple Bluetooth keyboards. How does Windows perform on a Mac? About as well as on comparable PCs, according to PC World’s WorldBench 5 testing tool. Keep in mind that the pro- cessing technology used in the first round of Intel-based Macs is essentially a laptop technology. As a result, all of those systems perform in comparable fashion to PC laptops with similar specs. What we haven’t seen yet from Apple is a high-performance desktop Mac with an Intel chip inside. And until we do, we won't really know how a desktop Mac running Windows would compare to its PC counterpart. Well, I’m sold. What kind of software—utilities and so forth— am | going to need for my Win- dows-on-Mac experience? Because there are so many Windows viruses out there, you'll definitely need an antivirus application. There are a lot to choose from, but since we Mac users aren’t experts in PC virus software, check out PC World’s latest roundup of anti- virus apps at fmacworld.com/1204 Back up a second—viruses? Am | vulnerable to those if | run Win- dows XP on the Mac? Absolutely. When you’re running Win- dows, your Mac is no different from any other PC running Windows. That doesn’t mean my Mac OS is vulnerable to viruses, does it? That's a complicated question. By default, Windows XP can’t see Mac volumes. So if your Windows installa- tion was infected by a virus that tried to delete files on your hard drives, it wouldn’t even see your Mac files and they'd be safe. But if you install a pro- gram like Mediafour’s MacDrive, which gives Windows XP the ability to see Mac volumes, your files could be vulnerable to a virus that deletes files. However, when you're running OS X—even on an Intel-based Mac—you’re not susceptible to Windows-based viruses. Since it’ll be a while before Adobe’s products run natively on Intel-based Macs, could | get better performance if | buy the Windows versions now and run them on a Mac, using XP? Those programs will run at the full speed of the native Windows versions. So you may see better performance running them natively under Windows than using OS X’s Rosetta translation technology. However, if you hope to run those appli- cations natively in Mac OS, you may want to hold off; it’s highly unlikely that PUT TO THE TEST System Processor Score WorldBench 5 Windows Media Encoder 9 Mulititasking ‘Apple Mac mini 1,66GHz Core Duo 72300 Roxio VideoWave Adobe Photoshop Microsoft Office 7.0.1 2002 SP-2 EE 5 Apple 20-inch iMac 2GHz Core Duo 72500 20 7 23 ‘Apple MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Core Duo 257 nn 54 a 419 259 535 (Portable) 72600 Dell inspiron E1705 -2GHz Core Duo EE 498 (portable) 72500 HP Compaq nx9420—_-2.16GHz Core Duo 4 (Portable) 72600 El CE HP Pavilion a1250n, ‘2GHz Athlon 64 X2 Media Center Desktop PC 3800+ 259, nn 575 2 Better PEE 220 EEE 53 <Better <Better <Better <Better <Better BEST RESULTS IN BOLD. All individual test results are in seconds. Al systems had 1GB of RAM. Macs used Apple's Boot Camp beta to install Windows. All were tested with Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2 except the HP Pavilion, which used Windows Media Center Edition, WorldBench 5 tests 15 applications in 13 test scenaris, including Excel spreadsheet operations; VCD and DVD image creation; WMA, WMA, and MP3 encoding; ZIP file compres- sion; GIF and TIFF encoding; and DirectX and OpenGL ty-throughs and animations. The baseline desktop system, a PC with a 2.2GHz Athlon 64 EX-51 CPU with 1MB of Level 2 cache and 1GB of RAM, as well as an Nvidia GeForce FX 5950 Ultra graphics card with 256MB of RAM, is assigned a score of 100. For more information on WorldBench, visit racworld.com/13/q—tuacwWoRto LA TESTING BY AMES GALBRATH AND JERRY JUNG [mnumacworld.com| July 2006 MACWORLD 15 MAC BEAT Adobe will provide a free crossgrade from the Windows versions of its apps to the Universal versions that will run under OS X. I’ve already used my Microsoft Office registration number on my PC. Can | use that same number on my Mac? Just as with Windows, Office includes a one-machine license, so you'll have to purchase additional copies if you want to install it on a Boot Camp Mac. Now that Boot Camp is here, does this mean | won’t need to run Virtual PC anymore? ‘Well, it’s not as though Intel-based Mac owners can run Virtual PC now—the emulation software isn’t currently compat- ible with any Intel Macs. But more to the point, Boot Camp is different from Virtual PC. Whereas the latter program lets you run Windows at the same time your Mac is booted into OS X, Boot Camp offers a one-or-the-other scenario: once you've rebooted into Windows, all traces of OS X disappear. You can’t switch back and forth between Windows applications and Mac programs without rebooting. While Virtual PC may not run on an Intel-based Mac, there are plenty of sim- ilar programs that do. They include Par- allels’ Workstation, Mike Kronenberg’s Q, and OpenOSX’s WinTel. However, they’re all under various stages of devel- opment and have some serious quirks about them. The good news is that these programs tend to run Windows much faster than Virtual PC did, because they don’t need to emulate the Intel processor that Windows uses. Which is easier to use—Boot Camp or Parallels Workstation? Boot Camp is somewhat easier to config- ure, though it requires more changes to your machine—partitioning the hard drive and possibly updating the firmware. Parallels is simply an application, so you can run it whenever you like. You have to do a bit of work to set up the app before you install Windows, however. Parallels is slower than Boot Camp, since it runs Windows within OS X. However, it’s not nearly as slow as Virtual PC used to be, and it’s quite usable. It’s hard to say which is easier, because they're 16 MACWORLD July 2006 really different products. If you have a need for Windows software alongside your OS X software, Parallels is the best solution. But if you want full driver sup- port, and full Windows speed, Boot Camp is the way to go. Now that Windows XP can run on a Mac, how long before we see Dell and HP PCs booting into OS X? Our rough estimate would be “never.” Apple has said repeatedly that OS X will run only on Apple hardware, and we don’t expect that to change. Apple makes a lot of money from Mac hard- ware, and with the announcement of Home Edition Boot Camp, Apple’s hardware is now unique in that it runs both OS X and Windows. One of the reasons Apple’s products are so good is that the company controls both the hardware and the software; allowing OS X to run ona generic Dell PC would not only gut Apple’s hardware business, but could also potentially reduce the quality of the OS X user experience. Will developers stop making Mac software now? Ir’ unlikely. Fundamentally, Mac users are Mac users because they want to use Mac OS. And developers realize that if Mac users wanted to run Windows apps, they wouldn’t be Mac users. Some developers who simply don’t understand the Mac might try to steer their users toward Windows, but chances are good that most of those developers aban- doned the Mac long ago, in the dark days of the late 1990s or during the OS X transition. If there’s any single area where we might see a serious change in the amount of Mac software being released, it’s for games that appeal to hard-core gamers. Since many games operate with their own interface taking up the entire screen, there’s very little difference between run- ning those games when booted into OS X or booted into Windows XP. Hard- core Mac gamers will likely invest in a copy of Windows just so they can run the latest and greatest PC games, and there- fore those games might not ever make it to OS X. However, games played by more casual Mac gamers—those who might not buy a $200 copy of Windows just to play a puzzle or arcade-style game—will likely continue to be devel- oped for the Mac market. Will Boot Camp be part of OS X in the future? Yes, Apple has confirmed that Boot Camp will be part of OS X 10.5, or Leopard— the next major upgrade to OS X. Apple plans to preview this future OS X version at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in August. Does that mean Microsoft will stop making Virtual PC? Microsoft says that it is “continuing to work with Apple on a possible next version of Virtual PC.” What this means is anyone’s guess, so here’s ours: We figure that either Microsoft will release a new version of Virtual PC to run on Intel-based Macs, or Apple will integrate Virtual PC’s features into Leopard. One of those two outcomes will almost certainly happen. What about Windows Vista? Will it be able to run on a Mac? Enterprising users have already gotten ‘Vista to run on Mac hardware. And we would assume that when Vista is officially released, Boot Camp will be updated to allow Vista to run on Mac hardware. (1 JASON SNELL is Macworld's editorial director. ROB GRIFFITHS is a Macworld senior editor and the founder of the Mac OS X Hints Web site. CHRISTOPHER BREEN, JIM DALRYMPLE, and PHILIP MICHAELS contributed to this story. MAC BEAT APPLE RELEASES SECOND PRO INTEL LAPTOP MODEL 17-Inch MacBook Pro For Mac users who require the most out of portables, it should come as welcome news that Apple has expanded its Intel-based MacBook Pro line to include a 17-inch version. The 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 667MHz frontside bus and a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor— the fastest Intel processor available in an Apple machine. The 17-inch MacBook Pro has the same 1,680-by-1,050- pixel resolution as the 17-inch PowerBook G4 model it replaces, but it features a display that’s 36 percent brighter—brighter, in fact, than both the 20- and 23-inch Apple Cinema Displays. It comes with ATI's Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics chip with 256MB of dedicated GDDR3 graphics memory. The laptop also includes an illuminated keyboard with an ambient light sensor. Like the 15-inch MacBook Pro models (which, at press time, Apple had just bumped up to 2GHz from 1.83GHz and to 2.16GHz from 2GHz), the 17-inch model features a built-in iSight video camera and Apple's MagSafe power adapter, which disconnects from the notebook when there is strain on the power cord. It also includes Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor, which protects the hard drive in case the laptop is dropped. The 17-inch MacBook Pro weighs 6.8 pounds and is one inch tall when the screen is closed. And similar to the 15-inch model, the 17- inch MacBook Pro includes a scrolling trackpad, one FireWire 400 port, analog and digital audio input and output, Gigabit Ethernet, an Express- Card/34 expansion slot, a dual-link Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port for connecting to an CHEC WEB SITE Ifyou don’t watch much TV—oy, ike many of us with TiVo- enhanced lifestyles, don’t watch TV commercials—you may have missed Apple's latest crop of ads. Te six spots of Apple's “Get a Mac” campaign feature The Daily Show's John Hodgeman as a nerdy PC and Justin Long, from Dodgeball and Galaxy Quest, as a hip Mac. Luckily, Apple has all the ads on its site, so you don’t have to miss this oppor- tunity to feel even better about being a Mac user (macworld.com/1353)— JONATHAN SEFF 18 MACWORLD July 2006 external monitor (including Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display), and built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) and AirPort Extreme wireless networking. Unlike the 15-inch MacBook Pro, however, this model includes an 8x dual-layer SuperDrive (instead of a 4x single-layer SuperDrive), three USB 2.0 ports (instead of two), and a fast Fire- Wire 800 port. The $2,799 laptop also comes with 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2GB), and a 5,400-rpm, 120GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive. The new MacBook Pro made its debut during April's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas—a perfect place to introduce a Mac laptop so tempting to cre- ative professionals who shoot, edit, and produce digital imagery for a living. Although most users may find performance improvements over the PowerBook G4 to be more modest than Apple's claim of up to five times faster, one demo showed it playing four high-quality HD video streams simultaneously in Final Cut Pro—a feat a G4-based PowerBook couldn't come close to achieving.—peTeR COHEN AND JIM DALRYMPLE NEWS IN BRIEF iTunes Keeps 99-Cent Song Pricing Although executives at some of the large music publishers have expressed their dis- satisfaction with iTunes’ pricing structure in recent months—and have suggested that consumers would be willing to pay more for high-demand music—The Financial Times reports that Apple has secured contracts with EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner Music to keep prices the same. The story quotes an unnamed record executive as say- ing, “the labels need Apple too much right now" to make a stand. Apple Hosts Annual Share- holders Meeting During April's meeting at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California, Steve Jobs told shareholders that, “The new products in the [Apple] pipeline are the best I've ever seen in my life.” He also admitted that the Mac's transition to Intel-based processors is probably costing ‘the company some hardware sales as customers wait for new models to hit the U market. But he expressed confidence that ‘the strategy will pay off for the company in the long run. “Intel has a great road map,” Jobs said. "This new [Intel Core Duo] chip is phenomenal—it blows away anything other suppliers have, including our former suppliers.” Aperture Goes Universal In mid-April, Apple released Aperture 1.1, an update to the com- pany's postproduction tool for photographers. In addition to adding Intel support, Apple made sev- eral other changes to improve the appli- cation’s functionality and make it easier for new users to manage. The download- able update is available now—for new customers, the cost of Aperture has gone down from $499 to $299. And in an unusual move for Apple, people who pur- chased Aperture at the earlier, higher price can download an electronic coupon and mail it in by June 30, 2006, for a $200 credit from the Apple Online Store le.com/promo/aperturel [inv macworld.com] ICONS BY PAUL HOWALT APPLE COMPUTER PREVAILS IN U.K. LAWSUIT Beatles Lose Case Back in 1991, Apple Computer and Apple Corps, the Beatles’ business affairs company, inked an agreement regarding Apple Computer's use of the Apple logo in association with music-related prod- But recently, the British company— still owned by former Beatles Paul cCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s widow, and the estate of George Harrison—sued Apple Computer, seeking an injunction to prevent Apple Computer from using the apple logo in connection with its iPod and iTunes products, including the iTunes Music Store. In early May, British high court judge Edward Mann ruled in favor of Apple Computer, deciding that the association between the logo use and the download service is a “proper one,” and that the logo was clearly used in relation to the service, not the music. uc Apple Computer defended its use of the logo in association with its m products as simply data transmission, which the agreement allows. The judge agreed with the defense, and said that Apple Computer's use of the logo in association with its products “does not go beyond what is reasonable and fair.” Apple Computer is demanding legal fees from Apple Corps, but Apple Corps plans to appeal the decision. Shortly after the verdict, Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs invited the Beatles—who confirmed last month that work was being done to remaster the Beatles collection in prepa- ion for digital downloads—to join the iTunes Music Store. “We have always loved the Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store,” Steve Jobs said in a statement—MACWORLD UK STAFF Stan, I wish everything was as dependable ZL, 1-800-RICOH-43 Mobe Pstipt F200 Ricoh Corsration as a Ricoh color printer. MULTIMEDIA BEAT Avid Xpress Pro 5.5, from Avid Technology Digital vdeo-editing software adds support for HD and 10-bit uncompressed SD and native DV50 formats ($1,695). Digital Performer 5, from MOTU PowerPC-native audio app adds six instrument plug-ins, track folders, a Meter Bridge feature, and new audio-editing tools ($795; upgrade, $195). EyeTV 250, from Elgato Systems Mac-compatible DVR features on-board hardware encoding that can convert analog TV signals into MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video ($199) Live 5.2, from Ableton faarmableton con) Update to music-production suite adds support for Intel-based Macs ($499; upgrade, free for users who purchased Live 5.0 after January 10, 2006, $49 for others). Media Composer, from Avid Technology (iwi) ): Editing system connects directly to Avid's Interplay asset-management system and includes formal support for DVCPRO HD, HDV, and Avid DNxHD ($4,995). Popcorn 2, from Roxio Updated version of DVD-duplication app adds the ability to convert video files to play on portable players, including the video iPod ($50; upgrade, $30). That's why they call it wishful thinking, Jerry. Ricoh dependability moves your ideas forward. RICOH MAC BEAT NEW LAPTOP REPLACES THE iBOOK AND THE 12-INCH POWERBOOK Apple Releases the MacBook Good-bye iBook, hello MacBook. When Apple introduced the Mac- Book Pro, the first Intel-based Mac lap- top, the Mac community figured that the moniker MacBook Pro left room for a similarly titled, consumer-level lap- top. And with the MacBook—Apple's replacement for both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook—that consumer-level laptop has arrived. (See “Laptop Lane” for a comparison.) Featuring an Intel Core Duo proces- sor as fast as 2GHz, Apple says that ‘the MacBook is up to five times faster than the iBook it replaces and four times faster than the 12-inch Power- Book (for our MacBook test results, go previous displays, is 79 percent brighter than both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook. At a resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels, the MacBook dis- play provides 30 percent more viewing area than the models it replaces. This is the first time Apple has used glossy displays, which have long been available in other notebooks. Philip 7 Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, explains, “itis only now that the quality is ata level that we are happy to put in our products.” He says that previously, glossy screens caused unacceptable color changes. (Mac- Book Pro purchasers can also now tofmacworld.com/139p. MacBook in a newly designed white enclosure, choose a glossy display as a free option.) The new MacBook is available in three config- and a 2GHz MacBook in a new matte black case. _—_The release of the MacBook shows a slightly urations, and prices range from $1,099 to Apple says the MacBook's 13-inch glossy wide- different portable strategy for Apple. The Power- $1,499. Apple is offering a 1.83GHz and 2GHz —_screen display, which is more reflective than Book and iBook products had very clear lines that PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER BELANGER Connect * Communicate * Collaborate * Securely Because meetings are more productive when people are on the same page... of their calendars Kevin Kerio MailServer A groupware alternative to Exchange that syncs calendars, contacts and email with Entourage and Outlook. Integrated anti-spam and McAfee virus filtering provide secure, junk-free email for users on any platform. Mac OS X - Linux - Windows McAfee ~~ KERIO 20 MACWORLD July 2006 LAPTOP LANE (standard) ATA MACBOOK iBOOK 12-INCH POWERBOOK Price $1,099; $1,299; $1,499 $999; $1,299 $1,499; $1,699 Processor 1.83GHz or 2GHz Intel Core Duo _—_‘1.33GHz or 1.42GHz PowerPC G4_ 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 Memory/ 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 512MB DDR SDRAM. 512MB DDR SDRAM Maximum — (667MHz)/2GB (333MH2)/1.5GB (333MH2)/1.25GB Hard drive 60GB or 80GB 5,400-rpm Serial 40GB 4,200-rpm ATA/100 80GB 5,400-rpm Ultra ATA/100 Optical Combo drive or 4x SuperDrive Combo drive or 8x SuperDrive 8x SuperDrive drive Display 13.3 inches (glossy wide screen) 12.1 of 14.1 inches 12.1 inches Graphics _ Intel GMA 950, 64MB DDR2 ATI Mobility Radeon 9550, 32MB Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200, SDRAM (shared with main memory) DDR SDRAM (dedicated) 64MB DDR SDRAM (dedicated) Dimensions 1.1 x 12.8x8.9 1.4x 11.2 x 9.1; 1.2.x 10.9 x 8.6 (hxwxd, 1.4 12.7 x 10.2 in inches) Weight 5.2 pounds 4.9 pounds; 5.9 pounds 4.6 pounds separated the notebooks in features and size. The new MacBook and MacBook Pro share many more features and feel like one product line. The MacBook includes a built-in iSight video camera, Apple's MagSafe power adapter, Apple's Front Row software with the Apple Remote, DVI output with support for two displays (for monitors Stan, you can depend on Ricoh color to stand out. <= 1-800-RICOH-43 2006 Ricoh Corporation “a ‘abe Postscript 3 up to 23 inches), analog and digital audio inputs and outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, a Sudden Motion Sensor, and a scrolling trackpad. The MacBook also includes built-in AirPort Extreme wireless network- ing, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, and either a slot-loading Combo drive or a slot-loading SuperDrive —u1m paLeyMPte STORAGE BEAT Flash Drive Max, from Kanguru Line of USB 2.0 flash drives comes in capacities ranging from 16GB to 64GB ($800 to $2,800). mini SATADock, from WiebeTech Device connects a bare Serial ATA drive to a Mac equipped with a SATA interface card ($75), OWC Mercury Elite-AL, from Other World Com- aig Tipe interface external hard drive features Seagate's new 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 drive mechanism ($600). P hard drives, from Plextor Portable hard drives have a USB 2.0 port come in 80GB and 120GB capacities (80GB, $169; 120GB, $260). SeriTek/2SM2-E, from FirmTek Serial ATA ExpressCard host adapter lets facBook Pro laptops work with external SATA disk drives ($120). Vmirror, from Vicom Systems [uwww.vicom.con): Family of data protection appliances is designed to work with Xserve RAID and mirror data from any number of Mac-based hosts to the RAID storage system ($8,950 to $14,500, depending ‘on model). Ricoh dependability moves your ideas forward. RICOH MAC BEAT APPLE MARKET SHARE COULD DOUBLE DUE TO WINDOWS DEFECTORS Microsoft’s Poor Image While much attention is currently focused on the Mac’s newfound ability to run Windows (see “Boot Camp FAQs,” [page 14), a report by market analysis firm Forrester Research says that consumers are so distrustful of Microsoft that Apple could double its market share due to users defecting from Windows. The remarks come in a report that looks at brand identity and its importance. The report also studies the effect a com- pany’s brand has on product pricing and the demographics of purchasers. Overall, only Apple and TiVo saw the level of trust in their brand rise in the last two years, according to the report. The final tally saw Bose, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, and Sony earn the highest marks, while Microsoft, Gateway, and LG ranked at the bottom. The low scores for Microsoft could mean good news for Apple, as it shows consumer distrust of the software giant. “Microsoft faces big consumer defection risk: one measure of con- sumers’ dissatisfaction with Microsoft is seen in the 5.4 million households that gave ita brand trust of 1 (distrust a lot) or 2 (distrust a bit),” the report says. These households know they run Microsoft software but would be just as happy to leave it behind—if they could. ‘The demographic o} risk customers fits well with Apple's user base, which Forrester describes as “afflu- ent, optimistic about technology, and brand aware.” ‘The study was also done before Apple gave users of its Intel-based Macs the ability to run Windows. Apple has been trying to reach entry- level customers with products like the Mac mini, but the report says it needs to continue to reach out to consumers. “Those who plan to use Apple in the future have, on average, a third less income and bigger families,” the report says. “To reach these 7 million U.S. households, Apple must continually remind them that its pricing is competi- ible to icrosoft’s at- tive and its products are ac everyone.” —JIM DALRYMPI (als ——— cas distributed by DI Sott an te premium leather & aluminum handle for Apple PowerBook® & MacBook Pro” PowerBook and Maco Pro ate ademas Aople Comoe, be 22 MACWORLD July 2006 [inv macworld.com] OUTSTANDING: VERY GOOD: GOOD: FLAWED: UNACCEPTABLE: VoIP Applications Is Internet Phone Service Right for You? BY TED WALLINGFORD Voice over IP, or VoIP, is an emerging technology that allows you to use your broadband Internet connection to place and receive voice and videophone calls. Internet- based calls are less expensive than tradi- tional calls (sometimes they're even free), and many VoIP-based communication ser- vices are compatible with the old-fashioned global phone network, so you can use these new VoIP tools to place calls to and receive them from traditional phone numbers. By adding some desktop VoIP software tools to your Mac, you, too, can take advantage of Internet calling. We've reviewed four Mac-compatible desktop VoIP applications: Apple’ iChat AV 3.1.4, SIPPhone’s Gizmo Project 1.3.2, SightSpeed 4.5, and Skype 1.4. We also checked out a unique product called Wengo- Phone; still in beta for the Mac, this VoIP plug-in for Mozilla Firefox lets you make and receive calls via the browser. While each program has strengths and weaknesses, they all do basically the same thing: they present you with a buddy list like the one in an instant-messaging (IM) pro- gram, and they allow you to communicate by voice (and sometimes video) with the folks in that list. Perhaps the best thing about these VoIP apps is that they’re free downloads and aren't shareware, so they won't time out or periodically nag you to register. Since these programs are free, their makers do charge for some premium features. To get started using VoIP, you'll need a broadband Internet connection (cable or DSL) anda Mac running OS X 10.3 or 10.4 (some of these tools—iChat AV and Skype, for instance—offer additional functions to Tiger users). You'll also need a microphone and a pair of speakers or headphones. Seri- ous desktop VoIP users will opt for head- phones or even a headset-microphone to eliminate echo, one of the negative side effects of using freestanding speakers. 24 MACWORLD July 2006 high-speed server phone line (operated by the oP service) Internet computer-to-computer conference call person using phone line company computer-to- ‘computer-to- phone call computer call From Your Desktop Desktop Voice over IP software allows you to interact with other VoIP users, and some VoIP tools even let you call traditional phone numbers from the comfort of your Mac desktop. Cross-Platform Connections Some VoIP products, including Skype and Gizmo Project, run on Windows and Linux, while Apple’s iChat AV runs only on OS X. Skype, SightSpeed, Gizmo Project, and iChat AV allow you to host either multi- party voice or videoconference calls. Unlike expensive high-end conferencing systems designed for large businesses, which are often connected to a telephone system, these simple desktop VoIP apps can make conferencing easier—and more affordable. All of these applications allow you to call other Internet users for free. But if you want to call somebody using his or her tele- phone number, as permitted by Skype, Gizmo Project, and the Wengo plug-in, you'll pay a basic, per-minute fee. At this writing, neither iChat AV nor SightSpeed permits computer-to-phone calling. ILLUSTRATION BY COLIN HAYES: 24 WoIP Applicationg | 34 |More Reviews | 36[iPod Gear] | 42[Mac Gems | 46 [Top Products| REVIEWS YOU CAN TRUST Macworld rates only final shipping products, not prototypes. What we review is what you can actually buy. Advanced Features Cost Money While you can make basic calls for free, more-advanced features will cost you. For instance, Skype’s voice-mail feature carries a small monthly charge. Obtaining a per- manent phone number from Skype (called a Skypeln number) involves an additional fee. Also for a fee, Gizmo Project allows you to forward your incoming calls to another telephone, such as your cell phone, and SightSpeed offers extended conferenc- ing and video-messaging features for paid subscribers. iChat AV users can’t call tradi- tional phone numbers, but they can call channels on the Internet if all participants are .Mac subscribers. Once you become accustomed to a desk- top VoIP tool, you may find that VoIP call- ing becomes a part of your daily routine After all, it’s lot easier to dial a Skype buddy by double-clicking on a name than it is to look up a number in Address Book and man- ually punch it in on your telephone’s keypad. If you're into multiplayer Internet games, using a tool like Skype to keep in touch with your teammates is nice, as it relieves you from having to type text-chat messages dur- ing the game. And if you have relatives in Internet will cost you a lot less than placing international long-distance calls. Some Downsides Despite the benefits of VoIP software on the ac, a traditional phone is still necessary in some situations. Chief among them is emer- gency calling. None of the apps we looked at can properly route a 911 call to your local emergency dispatcher, though they'll prob- ably have this ability in the future. Some services that require entering digits—such as telephone banking or certain corporate phone menus—may not work properly with each other, using securely encrypted audio other countries, talking to them over the continues VoIP SOFTWARE COMPARED cOM- PERMITS PUTER- SUPPORTS PRICING CALLS TO ‘SYSTEM VIDEO TO- CALLSTO METHOD OTHER PROD- REQUIRE- CONFER- ENCRYPT- PHONE WINDOWS FOR PAY WEBCAM VOIP VOICE ucT COMPANY RATING MENTS ENCING ED AUDIO CALLING USERS FEATURES SUPPORT SERVICES QUALITY PROS CONS Gizmo SiPPhone, g§# OSX103 O e e e NA e Good Canrecord No videoconfer- Project [imma (Panther) calls;can cus-_encing: inferior 13.2 |mopro] or 10.4 tomize hold implementation fect.com (Tiger); music; party- of computer-to- Universal line chat; can phone confer- dial SIP URIs; ence calling. simultaneous ring options; computer-to- phone calling. ichatAV Apple 104 e “Mac users. O ° Mac, $99 FireWire Good Simple, easy No support for 3.1.4 Computer, (Tiger; only peryear only user interface; computer-to- [www apple Universal compatible He with Mac and Windows AIM and Google Port for USB Talcameen. video cameras. tralized service necessary for conference calls. OSX103 @ ie) oo e fixed USBand QO Good Cool pan-tilt- (Panther) monthly FireWire zoom camera or 10.4 fee features; use- on video mail ae (Tiger); ful parental Universal control; nifty ae ag video mail; Webcam snap- works with shot for thumb- Windows and nail image; no Mac. ‘computer-to- phone cling. 0sx103 0 e e e prepaid N/A lo} Excellent Excellent No videoconfer- (Panther) credits sound quality; encing support or 10.4 computer-to- for Mac version. (ger); phone calling PowerPC ability; conve- nient call his- tory; search- able user directory; abil ity to syne with Apple's Address Book. N/A = not applicable. @ = yes. Q = no. July 2006 MACWORLD 25 the computer: and Gizmo Project, due to differences in the way VoIP supports dialed touch tones. Discovering which VoIP app is right for you involves a combination of research, experimentation, and (hopefully) a little fun o-phone features of Skype iChat AV 3.1 ‘Most Mac OS X users already have a great VoIP tool installed. Apple’s iChat AV comes with every Mac and, as of the current version (3.1.4), offers good voice-chatting and vid- coconferencing features. This program began life as a simple text-messaging tool for use with the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) network, but it has evolved into a full-blown desktop teleconferencing tool. When used alongside Apple's excellent iSight video cam- era (now built into new iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros), iChat provides the richest videoconferencing experience avail- able on an OS X machine. iChat also supports Jabber, an open- source IM protocol, so you can use iChat with Google Talk (a Windows-only IM pro- gram). And Bonjour, Apple’ zero-configura- tion networking technology, enables iChat to seamlessly discover potential partners connected to your LAN. iChat also works with Apple’ iChat Server, so you can main- tain your own private network of iChat users. This is ideal in an office setting where you don’t want private communication tra- versing the public Internet. iChav’s user interface resembles that of an IM application. Like Skype and other IM apps, iChat has a buddy list that tells you the current status of each of your buddies, so you know if it’s a good time to call or text- message them. iChat also offers something unique among these VoIP tools: icons accompanying each buddy in the list tell you whether he or she has the right hardware— in this case, a camera and a microphone—to accept video or voice calls. In addition to offering one-on-one call- ing, iChat supports multiparty cross-plat- form conferencing for voice and video. Voice conferences can include up to ten participants. While iChat is limited to four video participants at a time, it’s hard to beat iChav’s cool 3-D video display, which makes it appear that the people in the conference are actually facing one another. Apple’s adoption of the H.264 video codec means that you'll see very clear, high-quality continues: Internet Telephony and VolIP—What’s the Difference? if you want to dive into the world of Internet tele- phony but prefer to use your existing phone—not VoIP software on your Mac—as your primary call- ing device, you might consider subscribing to an Internet telephony service provider (ITSP). An ITSP uses your broadband Internet connection to deliver telephone service to your home or office, usually at a steeply discounted rate. Unlike desktop VolP tools, ITSPs don’t require that you use your com- puter to place and receive calls. It works like this: when you subscribe to an ITSP such as Packet8, Vonage, or BroadVoice, you receive an analog telephone adapter (ATA), either through the mail or with the service bundle purchased at an electronics retailer. This ATA connects to your broad- band router and your telephone, acting as a go- between and performing the signal translation that allows your analog telephone to communicate with the ITSP through your broadband connection. The ITSP assigns you a phone number (or com- pletes the transfer of your existing number, if you pre- fer). Other people can call you at this number, whether they're dialing via an ITSP or a traditional phone company, and it doesn’t have to have a local area code. In fact, there’s no reason why somebody who has recently moved from New York to San Diego can't order a New York number to make it cheap for friends back east to keep in touch. ‘When you pick up your new Internet-connected phone, you'll hear a standard dial tone. You dial phone numbers the same old way, and your phone will ing as usual when you receive a call. A few ITSPs let you transform your Mac or PC into a phone that can place and receive calls using the ITSP account, through a piece of software called a soft phone. Using a soft phone and your MacBook Pro, for example, you ‘an tote your home phone line in your briefcase ‘wherever you go. As soon as you connect your com- puter to the Internet—at a hotel, in the airport, at a relative's house—you can place and receive calls as if you were sitting in your own living room. 26 MACWORLD July 2006 Though it’s easy to confuse soft phones with desktop VoIP tools such as Skype, the latter are not soft phones, and you can’t use them with your ITSP service. if soft-phone calling appeals to you, ask your prospective ITSP whether it supports a Mac-compatible soft phone such as CounterPath’s X-Pro or S) Labs' SJphone [mw] [labs con). However, you can use Internet tel phony products such as Phlink 3.0 (688 jorld.com/1343)] and PhoneValet Message Center 4.0 ($4693;[nacworld.comi34d). ITSP call quality is comparable to that of a tradi- tional land line or cell phone. Of course, when your phone shares the Internet connection with your Mac and other devices on a LAN (local area net- work), it is subject to the same traffic jams and slowdowns that occur with other Web applica- ‘tions—except that poor Internet performance has ITSP’s server high-speed > phone line Internet a devastating effect on Internet telephony. A service slowdown at your ISP could make your phone calls sound bad or even disconnect. Thankfully, most broadband connections can carry a few Internet apps—say, an FTP download and aWeb-browser session—before you notice an impact on your telephone calls. The truly network- savvy user can buy a third-party device that, when connected to a broadband router, gives phone traffic higher priority, to avoid quality problems. If having emergency dialing is important to you, ask how the ITSP will handle 911 calls and get its assurance that it can route such calls— before you sign up. Finally, consider using your current ISP. Many ISPs, including Comcast, Veri- zon, and Speakeasy, offer ITSPs, and they might give you a discount on your Internet service just for signing up for one. standard phone line company cable or DSL Internet service line Ethernet connection broadband router and hub standard RJ11 phone cord person using VoIP phone service From Your Phone Internet telephone service providers allow you to use a traditional phone and phone number to place calls via your Internet connection. [inv macworld.com] 3 video, too, but 11.264 is supported only in OS X 10.4 or later. The latest release of iChat, which requires OS X 10.4.6, even allows voice and video calls with AIM users on Windows. Despite iChat’s achievements, Apple’s desktop VoIP program falls short in several areas. Unlike Skype and Gizmo, iChat doesn’t allow you to place computer- to-phone calls TOD Buddy List ‘5 Ted Wallingford ‘Making the Kessel Run... ~ @ Moviefone @ ShoppingBuddy [Buddies @ evilfrack @ xuddux “ Other Messengers iChat's V REVIEWS YO O Jabber List 9 Ted Wallingford Making the Kess.... © @ cksample | @ Smashtheqube 8 eu e Hfanelliomal © © © Audio Chat with evilfrack QUUTUUUUTELUTEUETLELULULEL EL eee / (isis) A /olP features let you have audio and video chats with Although iChat is other iChat participants who use the AIM and Google Talk IM services. compatible with the Google Talk IM application for Windows, voice calls to Google Talk users won't work. iChat doesn’t support USB cameras, but shareware utilities such as Ecamm’ iChat- USBCam can help you get around this limita- tion. Finally, iChat offers secure, encrypted communications only between users of .Mac, Apple’ $100-per-year Web service. iChat is remarkably easy to use, but its feature set is beginning to lag behind those of other VoIP communication tools. Of course, if you don’t need computer-to- phone calling and you chat only with Mac users, especially .Mac subscribers, iChat is probably your best choice. Macworld’s Buying Advice iChat AV 3.1.4 has made VoIP chatting simple but still doesn’t support computer-to- phone calling. People who need a VoIP con- ferencing tool that supports this should consider Skype or Gizmo Project instead. Gizmo Project 1.3 SIPPhone’s Gizmo Project 1.3.2 has more bells and whistles than any other desktop VoIP tool for the Mac. In addition to stan- dard text messaging and one-on-one voice- chat features, which are common to all of the VoIP tools we looked at, Gizmo offers a searchable user directory, a publicly acces- sible party-line conference room, and com- puter-to-phone calling. Gizmo’ interface is a bit more cluttered than Skype’s or iChat’s, but this is forgivable: Gizmo offers a lot more goodies than your typical text- and voice-chat application. Whether you run Gizmo on OS X, Win- dows, or Linux, you get the same feature set, the same user interface, and roughly the same performance. This is obviously impor- tant to folks who jump back and forth between platforms frequently. Gizmo implements basic text- and voice- chat features much as its competitors do, and [mnumacworld.com| it offers built-in one-click call recording. Just click on the Record button while a call is in progress, and Gizmo will save it as an audio file. Gizmo lets you customize your hold music so that when you place a call on hold, the waiting person will actually hear whatyou want him or her to hear. Any WAV file will do although unfortunately only this Windows format will work); Gizmo also. comes equipped with a selection of ready-made WAV music loops. Gizmo includes feature called Call Qual- ity Assistant, which mimics a cell phone’s sig- nal-strength indicator. This unique tool lets Gizmo gauge the quality of your Internet connection, giving you some idea of how good your VoIP calls will sound. On a fast Internet connection where Gizmo has the continues Gizmo Project © retiarnens Bem Voice, Games, info and More 0000 | Gavaiavie 1B) (teowatingfora 1) (PT Ready, a Easy Contact Gizmo Project's buddy list gives you quick access to groups of contacts. The built-in Party Line is a great way to get to know Gizmo, Folee XM The world’s most ambitious ideas belong in a booq" bag. Does your 15- inch MacBook Pro have what it takes to be in a Folee XM? IF so, please visi www.boogbags.com and save 10% with promo code mw06 July 2008 MACWORLD 27 Now scheduling and contact management for your entire organization. low REVIEWS entire pipe to itself, the quality of VoIP calls is quite good, so the Call Quality Assistant tool isn’t much use. But when you're using slower Internet connections, such as certain low-performance DSL services, or running a few FTP downloads in the background, it certainly is helpful to know in advance if your call will have audio problems. Gizmo also offers something you won't find in any of the other Mac desktop VoIP tools: direct dialing of SIP URIs (Session Initiation Protocol Uniform Resource Iden- tifiers). This powerful feature enables you to place calls to people by dialing a string (called a URI) that_resembles_an_e-mail address, like this: [user_name@sip.macvoip [com] Using this string, the Internet can route your call via DNS (Domain Name Service), as it would traditional Internet apps such as e-mail. Some VoIP experts believe that a SIP URI, which resembles an e-mail address, will one day make you reach- able via any service, including VoiP, fax, cell phone, and e-mail. Gizmo is leading the way on this. continues INOW Up to Date ana —————____ PSE 0 Se fees _ © mono canoes ohne ete ond Seer Gam Contact's Contos pnw peosita> uptodate Shared calendars and address books, cross-platform, free server software, fast, easy, and affordable! Macworld LE — Macworld, February 2006 Try our free 30 day demo at nowsoftware.com New Phone: 866-527-0554 28 MACWORLD July 2006 hrchase Wengo's ‘Your Wengo account oa _| Stay in the Browser WengoPhone's user interface is a Firefox sidebar, which is great—if you spend most of your time in Firefox. VoIP from the Browser WengoPhone Firefox Extension 0.68 Most desktop VoIP communication tools are stand-alone applications that operate independent of other software on your Mac. But the newest beta version of WengoPhone Firefox Extension, (0.68), an extension to the Mozilla Firefox browser, lets you tap into the world of VoIP calling from within Firefox. The WengoPhone beta is the first and only browser-based VoIP product for the Mac. Once installed, this plug-in logs you on to ‘Wengo's VoIP network and lets you call other ‘Wengo users, as well as traditional phone num- bers, from a buddy list located in the left sidebar of the browser window. Like other VoIP-calling tools, Wengo allows you to set a status message (away, do no disturb, and so on). You can send your buddies text-chat mes- sages, SMS (simple messaging system) messages, Internet voice calls, and computer-to-phone calls, for which Wengo provides an on-screen ten- button keypad like that of a traditional telephone, All calls placed via WengoPhone are free except for computer-to-phone calls, which incur a by-the-minute fee billed in euros. \WengoPhone is probably useful only to people ‘who spend most of their browsing time in Firefox. If you do a lot of calling from numbers on Web pages, WengoPhone could save you time with its Click-to-Call feature, which lets you instantly call ‘any phone number you see on a Web page, via a right-click (or a control-click) pop-up menu. But living your telephony life totally inside the Firefox environment isn't a walk in the park. The ‘WengoPhone sidebar is too wide and takes up too much space in the window. Wengo’s account- management pages, which appear in the browser while WengoPhone is running, are too large to display properly on a 1,024-by-768 monitor unless you close the sidebar Windows users can run WengoPhone as a stand-alone application, but Wengo hasn't released a stand-alone Mac version. Placing computer-to-computer calls was no problem with Wengo, but computer-to-phone calls were hit or miss. Sometimes outbound calls could not connect, yet Wengo would not advise me of that. Calls that did connect successfully had consistent, usable audio quality, and | was never disconnected once a call was in progress. WengoPhone shows a lot of promise, but its execution of desktop VoIP features is compromised by the fact that it's tethered to Firefox. [inv macworld.com] Folee XL The world’s most ambitious ideas belong in a booq” bag. Does your 17- inch MacBook Pro have what it takes to be in a Folee XL? Iso, please vst fave booqbagi.con and save 10% with promo code mw06. 30 MACWORLD July 2006 REVIEWS As a Gizmo user, you have the option of placing calls to traditional phone numbers. This service, dubbed CallOut, lets you make computer-to-phone calls in a manner similar to how you'd do it in Skype. Like- wise, you can obtain a permanent Callln phone number from Gizmo. This standard phone number lets people call you from a land line or a cell phone. You can elect to have this number simultaneously ring a tra- ditional phone (your home or cell phone) and Gizmo, so you can answer the call on either your Mac or your phone Gizmo has a couple of negatives, though: it has no video capability, and its conference calling isn’t as seamless as Skype’. Also, Gizmo’s user community is far smaller than Skype’s, so you're less likely to find your contact on Gizmo than on Skype. Macworld’s Buying Advice Gizmo Project is the most advanced Skype competitor on the market, and its many unique features make it worth a serious look. For business users, Gizmo has the edge with its configurable hold music, built-in call recording, and simultaneous ring options SightSpeed 4.5 SightSpeed 4.5 is a VoIP communication application that lets users chat via text, voice, and video with other SightSpeed users, whether they’re running the Mac or Windows version of the software. You can also send and receive traditional voice mails and video-mail messages with other SightSpeed users. Like its competitors, it requires a microphone for voice chat and a desktop Web camera—such as the iSight—for video chat fee0 Internet Telephony Service Providers Vonage Speakeasy [www speakeasy netvolp BroadVoice |www.broadvoice.com| Comcast Lingo VoicePulse Packets SunRocket While the basic version of SightSpeed is free, you'll need the premium version if you plan on using its advanced features, which include multiparty videoconferencing. The free plan includes basic calling features such as unlimited computer-to-computer video and voice chat, and video-mail messages that are up to 30 seconds long. You can store these messages on Sight- Speed’s server for up to 30 days. The Pro plan, which costs $4.95 per month, adds unlimited video-mail storage and allows you to send video messages that are up to one minute long. You also get multiparty videoconferencing with the premium ser vice. Neither plan supports computer-to- phone calling. You must set up an account to use Sight- Speed. To do so, visit SightSpeed’s Web site, where you can enroll in either the free continues, SightSpeed ‘Camera Control | My Camera | t Zoom; [=] [+ | } (*)€)\%) — SLetthe other person | + control my camera | Other Person's Camera | « Zot ted GE oe ed ite aw ee The SightSpeed Challenge Though SightSpeed's interface is very different from iChat’s, its video quality and parental controls make it a great challenger to Apple’s aging chat program. [inv macworld.com] REVIEWS or the premium service plan. SightSpeed offers a free Webcam to Windows users who pay in advance for a full year of pre an up-front fee of $50. Unfortunately, you can’t use the Webcam with a Mac, so SightSpeed recommends a Mac-compatible camera such as the iSight. Interestingly, if your chat partner’s camera supports pan-tilt-zoom controls, you can actually control the angle and zoom of that camera with your Mac Sight- Speed software. SightSpeed touts its video-mail recording capabilities as an advantage for video bloggers, but serious vloggers may chafe at the one-minute recording limit. The quality of SightSpeed’s sound and video is similar to that of other VoIP chat tools. Though you can’t resize its main window, you can detach its video display from the main window and resize it to your liking. This program’s un-Mac-like interface makes it seem oddly out of step with most contemporary Mac software (However, some users may appreciate the fact that SightSpeed’s interface is identical on Mac and Windows.) In spite of these quibbles, SightSpeed is easy to use, so first-time video-chat users might want to it out. SightSpeed’s community feature (in beta at press time) lets users easily find other people to chat with. When you join the mium servi che SightSpeed community, you can create a profile that other community members can view. To keep your kids away from poten- tially inappropriate audio- and video-chat contacts within the community, SightSpeed allows you to create a parental-control pass: word. There seems to be no way to view a particular user's profile or to search profiles from within the SightSpeed software, which can be frustrating if you're looking for somebody who shares your interest in a topic or who comes from a certain part of the world. Macworld’s Buying Advice SightSpeed offers a unique combination of oss-platform voice and video features. If you're looking for a video-chat tool that has stronger community features than iChat, give SightSpeed at Skype 1.4 Perhaps the most popular desktop VoIP communication tool, Skype 1.4 evolved from the controversial peer-to-peer technol- ogy that powers the Kazaa file-sharing appli- cation for Windows. Skype is a highly refined VoIP appli- cation that is compatible with OS X, Win- dows, and Linux. It permits users to send messages and make voice calls to other pe users, as well as place computer-to- phone calls to traditional telephone num- te Freedom @@@ Skype™ - Anna Dapter eo Ox ti > Profile Add Find ((GGonaetsy Call ist” Dial ¥_ Skype Contacts (6/6) Cy Burnett tari e. Bird Ella Vator Tee Entell Ron Devue @ Travis Tey ¥_ SkypeOut Contacts (0/1) stake ee 6 ee D> Lew event [J 1 new voicemail Services: 00.51 EUR a : © Online + 3 2,737 Users Online Derived from IM With its contact list, Skype looks a lot lke a traditional IM application, such as iChat. bers. The active Skype user community is said to number around six million simulta- neous users at any given time. This is good, because it means you're more likely to Realized. DuoBand [inv macworld.com] find your contact on the Skype network than on any other computer-to-computer calling system. kype’s efficiently designed user inter- face resembles that of a traditional IM application such as iChat or Yahoo Messen- ger: essentially, it’s a list of your contacts and a call history. You can access basic fea- tures, such as changing your status and placing calls to someone in your contact list, using a menu-bar icon that appears whenever Skype is running. If the Skype window is active, you just double-click on a contact’s name to place a call. Like other VoIP calling tools, the Skype software is free. If you choose to call (or receive calls from) a traditional telephone number, you'll pay per minute, using pre- purchased credits called SkypeOut min- utes. Skype also offers other premium features, including voice mail. This feature works more or less like traditional voice mail, answering your calls with a recorded greeting when you're not around and capturing a voice message from the caller for you to retrieve later on. Skype offers conference calling too, so you can have a voice chat with as many as five participants ata time. Once you become a Skype user, you can also obtain a Skypeln number that users of traditional land-line and cell phones can reach you at, When they call this number, Calls Travis Tey travistey ‘Duration 00:00:04 av (= Amy Stake ea +37285456732 Gy Calling... Anyone Can Talk Skype allows other Skype users and people on traditional phones to participate in your conference calls. Skype connects calls to the Mac where you've logged on to your Skype account. This Skypeln number could save you a lot of money on international long distance. If you are always receiving calls from family in, say, Poland, then you could get a Polish Skypeln number to reduce the charges your family incurs by calling you. Skype offers SkypeIn numbers all over the world. Using Skype’s call-forwarding feature, you can easily forward your unanswered calls to another Skype user or to a phone number of your choosing. ‘The computer-to-computer calls offer extremely high-quality audio, thanks to Skype’s choice of a proprietary sound stan- dard and a commercially licensed audio encoder. Skype also secures calls through a very strong encryption scheme, making it nearly impossible for would-be eavesdrop- pers to monitor your calls. It allows you to customize your ring tones, and it will even automatically pause a current iTunes track when you receive an incoming call. Skype is well integrated with OS X. For example, you can use Skype's Import func- tion to populate your Skype contact list with the phone numbers in your Apple Address Book. Skype also supports AppleScript, so you can tie it into other applications to build specialized telephony functionality—for example, a FileMaker sales-contact database that automatically dials prospects on a pre- determined callback schedule. Unfortu- nately, the Mac version of Skype does not support videoconferencing. Macworld’s Buying Advice Skype is a mature, reliable, and popular VoIP communications tool. Though the Mac version lacks video features, it offers unmatched sound quality, convenience, and ease of use. If you need a desktop VoIP tool that also allows you to dial traditional phones, there’s nothing better than Skype. ‘TED WALLINGFORD is the author of Switching to VoIP and VoIP Hacks (both O'Reilly, 2005) and an independent tech- nology consultant based in Elyria, Ohio. He updates the Web sitefiwanwmacvoip.comemiannually. re Ovolab Phlink RB Incoming call from Jennifer... calling from home (650 555-7890) Has rung 4 times king And record all your conversations. And play them back. And a whole lot more. Ovolab Phlink is the ultimate message center for your Mac. It answers phone calls and identifies callers using Caller ID and Apple's Address Book. It greets your friends with personalized messages. It records and stores messages on your computer - and even forwards voicemail to email as AAC audio attachments. Cope ny Ok Hate ae et ee ey tt ee Featuring multiple voice mailboxes, high-quality audio, Spotlight searching and fax capabilities, Ovolab Phlink makes your telephone part of the digital hub! Check it out now at [www.ovolab.com} ovo’ software for the creative mind July 2006 MACWORLD. 33 The world’s most ambitious ideas belong in a booq” bag. Does your 17- inch MacBook Pro have what it takes to be in a slick Vyper XL2? If so, please visit Www. boogbags.com| and save 10% with promo code mw06 booq © booq and the b tab are trademarks of boog, lle. MacBook 626,826,9365 for more detailed product information trademark of Appia 72006 by boog lc. All rights reserved 34 MACWORLD July 2006 REVIEWS More Reviews For complete reviews of the products listed here, visit|wwwmacworld.com/reviews news-feed addicts with a bevy of subscriptions—espe- cially those who are also bloggers or who download lots of media files. And endo abandons the traditional e-mail-lke interface of most news readers in favor of a space-saving design that devotes more screen real estate to individual articles (macworld.com/1334). 908) After Effects 7 Professional a (5999; upgrade, $199; upgrade from standard edition, $499), from Adobe[{www.adobe.con): After Effects 7 Profes- sional—the compositing and motion-graphics application of choice for many film producers, industrial videogra- phers, and Web animators—is an extremely complex pro- ‘gram, and its new interface does an excellent job of organizing and presenting its overwhelming number of controls. Version 7's interface overhaul, improved perfor- mance, new Curves editor, and other features make it a truly great upgrade (racworld.com/1 339) $996! DevonAgent 2.0 (550; upgrade, $20), from Devon Technologies[{www.devonthink.conp: DevonAgent 2.0 isa program that queries multiple search engines, fil- tets and summarizes search results, and makes it possible to find the proverbial needle in the haystack of informa- tion on the Web. It’s easy to use and provides the kind of industrialstrength searching capabilities once reserved for academic circles (racword.com/T339. $888 endo 1.0 A ($18), from Kula endo 1.0.21, an RSS news reader, is a good choice for $968) Inspiration 8 A ($69), from Inspiration Soft- wareffummncinspration com: Inspiration 8 isan excellent tool for teachers, students, or anyone who needs help organizing ideas, It lets you record and organize your thoughts from scratch or build diagrams from included templates. The addition of symbols and the ability to import movies and sounds add to the program's value fmacworld.com/134q) ‘ee Sleek MirrorAgent wants to connect to idisk mac.com ‘on TCP port 80 (http) Allow or deny connection nti MirrorAgent quits Ptorever Condition: (Same Prt B — Deny Forever (Hieron) ‘$4498! Little Snitch 1.2 a (525), from Objective Development {inwmwobdev.ai): Little Snitch 1.2.2 is a valuable application that picks up where Mac OS X's, built-in firewall leaves off. It watches for outgoing traf- fic—connections from software running on your Mac to addresses on the Internet. Aimed at the increasing popu- lation of users whose computers are constantly online, Little Snitch 1.2.2 can provide an early warning that a malicious program is running on your Mac and attempt- ing to connect to remote systems $999 ShutterBug 2.0> pe ($50), from XtraLean Soft- | ShutterBug 2.0, aneasy- | to-use Web site-building application, is aimed at nondesigners who want to showcase their photography [inv macworld.com] INTERNET TELEPHONY Mac-Phone Link $846 Phlink 3.0 (5150; upgrade, $40), from Ovolab[(wwww.ovolab.conp: Phlink 3.0.1 is a telephony-automation application for Mac OS X that lets you connect your Mac to a phone line. It provides a simple hardware and software setup and interface for handling phone calls. Version 3.0.1 adds a number of worthwhile new features—call recording and storage, one-click call back, and a voice-mailbox setup wizard— that make it a valuable upgrade ‘$888! PhoneValet Message Center 4.0 ($170; software upgrade from version 2, $30), from Parianf{veww-parlant con): Parliant’s PhoneValet is the premier telephone-message— recording system for the Mac, and the newest ver- sion, 4.0.3, extends the package's leadership posi- tion. PhoneValet Message Center 4.0.3 does more than just answer calls—it also dials, records, and logs calls lets you search through calls, and even automatically connects calls to your cell phone if you're on the road ( a a online without having to learn HTML. ShutterBug 2.0 includes more than 25 themes to help photo enthusi- asts create Web sites quickly. More-advanced users can customize the built-in themes or create their own SCHOO. COMTST NEW FontAgent Pro Server Bringing Your Fonts into Balance Maximizing creativity while maintaining control of your fonts is a difficult balancing act... but it just became a snap. FontAgent Pro, the industry's #1-rated font manager for the desktop and workgroups is now available in a server edition. Providing Consistency and Control FontAgent Pro Server eliminates the problems that drive designers and IT departments crazy. No more display, printing, integrity, or system performance problems. FontAgent Pro Server syncs and distributes fonts, sets and libraries to users and groups automatically. Users can even disconnect from the network and keep working. Managing FontAgent Pro Server is simple. It requires no dedicated hardware and can be administered securely from any connected client on your network. Importing user data from directory servers, spreadsheets and databases is just a click away. And you can call on Insider's decade of experience and excellent support if you need it. Special Introductory Offer No other font technology delivers creative control like FontAgent Pro. And for a limited time, no other server does it for less. Save $500 today on your FontAgent Pro Server purchase — even more if you're switching from another font server. But act fast... your creative team can't hold on forever! (@sider (866) 366.8778 » (520) 229.1212 July 2006 MACWORLD 35 REVIEWS iPod Gear For more iPod-related news and product reviews, visit[playlistmag.com] Home Stereo Connections $898 iPod Home Connect PP LE the HomeDock » Kit ($15), from Griffin Technology provides video y output and lets — Griffin's iPod Home Connect Kit you sync your iPod features two cables with gold- while it's docked. eee plated connectors. On one end of The HomeDock mit each cable is a minijack that offers the same plugs into your iPod or dock. The six-foot cable connects to RCA audio jacks ‘the inputs on most stereo receivers and amplifies. The as most home seven-inch cable can attach to standard stereo cables. You stereos, so you can use standard stereo cables. If you'll can also use the two cables together to plug into most use the HomeDock's additional features, it's worth the portable and computer speakers (iacword.com/2 149), extra money {macworld.com/2135) $$$! Stereo Dock for iPod ($80), from Kensington $88 TuneStage for iPod (5180), from Belkin finn] [ecewensington.conf Ifyou simply want to connect your [bakin.con): Bekin’s TuneStage is a unique product that iPod to your stereo, Kensington’s ‘voids the limitations of most iPod remote controls by Stereo Dock is an attractive way =, making the iPod itself your remote—giving you complete to go. Your iPod is even charged control and letting you while docked. The Stereo Dock’s see everything up dose. infrared remote control provides Youconnectasmall typical iPod-remote functionality, I transmitter to your iPod's i but it's larger and more com- fortable than most remotes and has backlit buttons } headphone and remote jacks and then send your audio wirelessly toa Bluetooth receiver connected to your stereo or speaker systern up to 30 feet away. It doesn’t work with $448 HomeDock ($100), from Digital Lifestyle Outfit- __fifth-generation iPods and nanos—a dock-connector ters Unlike the Kensington Stereo Dock, version is due later this year [Macnorld.com/2 119. iPODS Media Mor Supported Information iPod 30GB 6888! 25-inch 14hours of music music, = color playback, 3hours photos, of slide shows with album art, music, 2hours of video video playback iPod 60GB $888 $399 25-inch 20hours of music music, jacworld.com/T02 = color playback, 4 hours of photos, slide shows with album art, music, 3hours of | video video playback iPod nano 1GB $496! $149 15-inch 14 hours of music music, =) color playback, 4 hours of photos, slide shows with album art music iPod nano 2GB $698! $199 15-inch 14 hours of music music, = color playback, hours of photos, slide shows with album art music iPod nano 4GB $698! $249 15-inch 14 hours of music music, color playback, hours of photos, slide shows with album art music iPod shuffle 512MB_«$$$81 $69 =~ NIA 12 hours of music music ° playback iPod shuffle 1GB $448) $99 NA 12 hours of music music acworld.com/0364 O playback NEW: CAR iPOD DOCK py $98) flexibleDock ($50), E | from Ten Technology [ram] [fentechnoTogy.con): Like the original flexDock for iPod mini, the flexibleDock plugs into your car's cigarette lighter and has a six-inch arm with a dock cradle that holds your iPod. But unlike the flexDock, the flexibleDock works with al ockable iPods by using one of several included adapters. Te flexibleDock charges your iPod and provides an audio output jack on its base so you can connect your iPod to. ‘your car stereo via a cassette adapter or an auxiliary audio cable (Macworld. com/127). NEW: EARBUD HEADPHONES $880) remix m-class ($50), from V-moda bud-style headphones Apple includes with the iPod but want to upgrade, check out the remix m-class earbuds, Available in three flashy colors—metallic blue, metallic pink, and silver—their fit and finish are impressive. These earbuds are made of polished metal alloy, instead of the plastic shells of most models, and the headphone plug is plated with 24k gold. The remix m-class earbuds also stand out with surprisingly good sound ((iacwora.com/T27). NEW: BICYCLE MOUNT $88! Mork Mount ($30), from Risse Rac- (www risseracin ‘The nano has yecome the iPod of ay QA ict many active QS types, thanks to its skip-free flash storage and the iPod's famous interface. if you're a cyclist, you can attach Risse's Mork Mount to your bike's handlebars. It provides a slim aluminum cradle into which you slide your iPod nano, The cradle protects the back and sides of your nano, while two elastic rubber O-rings hold your iPod securely in place. Its mounting bracket fits only handlebars that are 0.875 inches or less in diameter | TTA} N/A not applicable. 36 MACWORLD July 2006 [inv macworld.com] Game Room BY PETER COHEN ICON BY PAUL HOWALT Released Sillysoft Games [www.sillysony] has released American History Lux, a new strategy game that lets you replay ten wars that helped shape Ameri- can history. The game is based on Sillysoft's Lux Delux—a 2D strategy game modeled after the classic board game Risk. A playable demo is avail- able for download. Pangea Donates Games Pangea Software, maker of Enigmo 2, Otto Matic, Nano- saur, and many other games, has always had a liberal policy for schools: buy one copy, and it'll give the school a free site license. Now Pangea’s doing one better: it'll donate free soft- ware to schools that send a let- ter signed by the principal {mw pangeasoftned. MS Nabs Lionhead Microsoft has acquired Lionhead Studios, the original developers of Black and White 2 and Fable: The Lost Chapters. The acquisition won't affect the upcoming Mac con- version of those games by Feral Interactive. But it's unknown whether future Lionhead games will be released exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox 360. [mnumacworld.com| o +S SBWimy SEE MORE GAME NEWS AND REVIEWS! Go town. macworid.com/games] In the Hole! Islands Mini Golf gives you five courses to choose from—some are real stumpers ARCADE Islands Mini Golf Nothing says summer like a good game of mini golf. For those of us who prefer to skip the crowds, and instead try our putting skills in a lush tropical setting, there’s Islands Mini Golf. In Islands Mini Golf, by DanLab Games, the putt direction is represented by a 3-D cursor that moves away from the ball; a meter on the right side of the game’s interface shows the ball’s speed. You'll need a bit of practice to determine how hard you need to hit the ball to get it into the cup. Each hole has its own set of hazards and chal- lenges. Fortunately, you can take practice sessions before you start playing for keeps. If you need to reorient yourself during play, you can use the function keys to change your point of view. Just like any good golf game, Islands Mini Golf lets as many as four players compete on each hole. The game features “hot-seat” play, meaning players take turns using the same com- puter. Alas, network play is unavailable. When you're done, the game records your best score, which you can compare with the scores of other players from around the world, using an online table. This is all very well and good; how- ever, I'd love to see the game include online play. Islands Mini Golf has five courses to choose from—that’s 90 holes in all. Each course has a unique look-and-feel. For example, Coco Par- adise is a tropical island while the Zhao Islands course has a decidedly Asian flavor. Some of the holes are really, really tough— I mean head-bangingly frustrating. In some cases, your ball can roll right off the course and RATING: $946! PROS: Beautiful water effects; online scores; hot-seat play for up to four players. CONS: No network play; some frustrating course designs. PRICE: $26 OS X COMPATIBILITY: 10.3 (Panther), 10.4 (Tiger) PROCESSOR COMPATIBILITY: Universal COMPANY: DanLab Games[imwidanlabgames.com) into a water hazard unless you apply just the right touch with your putter or take baby steps with short strokes. Adding to the frustration, some holes have what seem like impossibly low par ratings. If you get fed up, you can skip holes, though you'll be penalized with a maximum stroke score. Fortunately, you can save games, which makes Islands Mini Golf a great diversion during a commute or between meetings. The game features a fabulous custom sound- track and gorgeous graphics that help set the tone. A recent 1.4 update adds water shaders for OS X 10.4 users. As a result, the water that sur- rounds the island (and often figures into traps and hazards) has a shimmering, wavy quality that’s quite beautiful. Of course, if your Mac can’t handle these new graphics, you can still use the previous shader. Minimum system requirements call for a 400MHz G4 processor and OS X 10.3. The Bottom Line Islands Mini Golf is a beau- tiful 3-D mini-golf game that offers some truly challenging game play. continues July 2006 MACWORLD 39 AT LAST-- DVD MOVIE C EXTRACTION MADE EASY! Extracting a movie clip off of a DVD used to be a struggle. Not any more. With Cinematize you can quickly and easily extract audio and video clips of any length, from a fraction of a second out to an entire movie. Create Versatile DVD Clips Cinematize saves your extracted clips in formats ready for use in your favorite applications: QuickTime, iMovie, Final Cut, PowerPoint, Keynote, iTunes, even your iPod. Give Your DVDs a New Life With Cinematize, your DVD collection becomes a library full of exciting multimedia content. Incorporate movie clips into your presentations Create favorite scene collections Replace a movie soundtrack with your own Remove commercials from recorded TV programs Burn songs or sound effects onto CDs Listen to soundtracks or watch movies with iTunes or your iPod + Share your movie clips on the web And much more! te 1e Macworld | 2 May 2005 CINE ATIZE2 DVD MOVIE CLIP EXTRACTOR Get a free demo and Macworld special at: Bhan info@miraizon.com| 408-434-0959 40 MACWORLD July 2006 GAME ROOM Avernum 4 ROLE-PLAYING ADVENTURE Avernum 4 #888; Spiderweb Software fimnzavernum com] $25 Avernum 4, by Spiderweb Software, offers a return to the classic form of turn-based role-playing games. It may not be every- one’s cup of tea, but it should please RPG fans who value substance over style. The underground world of Avernum is home to numerous life-forms—many of whom are determined to do you harm. You'll encounter these inhabitants as your party sets off on missions to discover who’s Though you'll see a bit of animation in the combat sequences—the swing of a sword here, a burst of light there—the game’s graphics are mostly static. The Many of us who play games on Macs get frus- trated with the platform's limitations—particu- larly when it comes to getting the big-name games. Mac versions tend to come out later (if at all), play slower, cost more, and often lack cross-platform, multiplayer support. But all that changed in April 2006, when Apple released Boot Camp—a public beta of software that lets Intel Mac owners switch between OS X and Windows XP with a simple reboot. And unlike with emulation and virtualization software, you aren't penalized with slower performance. Any games that will run on an equivalent PC will also run on the Mac. I've already loaded up my Intel iMac with games such as Tomb Raider Legends, Blazing ‘Angels, and Half-Life 2. Not only do they all run, they run quite well.| was able to run most games with trilinear effects, full scene antialiasing, and various other options turned on, all without suf- fering huge frame-rate losses. } by running Windows and an equivalently con- old-school isometric graphics may feel antiquated to some gamers, but I consider it part of Avernum’s charm. More importantly, Avernum 4 offers some of the richest RPG storytelling experiences on any platform, serving countless challenges like a good dungeon master should. Exploring the game’s branching story line will take you weeks, if not months. That said, there’s really only one way to win—so once you're done, you may not be interested in a second round. ‘The game is also incredibly versatile— running equally well on Mac OS 8.1 and S X, even on the latest Intel machines. s classic RPG gaming at its very best. If you're not convinced, download the demo before you buy (acworld.com/1346}. REAL-TIME STRATEGY Tribal Trouble $408; Odalabs fnmartibaToubTe com] $30 Tribal Trouble, by Oddlabs, isn’t your typical real-time strategy (RTS) game. For one thing, you won’t need an advanced degree to understand how to play. It’s also funny—pitting inebriated, red-nosed Vikings against native islanders in grass skirts and tiki masks. But though the iMac is a well-endowed com- puter as far as processors go, its Radeon X1600 graphics card falls in the middle of the pack for PC performers, so | couldn't play games at high resolutions. For most of the games | tried, 1,024 by 768 pixels seemed to be a happy medium. So while the iMac is fine for online and offline PC gaming, don't count on it hammering your friend’s custom-built Athlon 64 rig with a top-of-the-line Radeon or GeForce graphics card. For a full perfor- ‘mance comparison between an Intel iMac figured PC, go tofacwore.commTs5) This is exciting news for those of us who want to play games that aren't coming to the Mac. Hopefully, it'll also draw new users to the plat- form who wouldn't otherwise consider a Mac. Down the road, that might mean a larger share of the computer market for Apple, and a greater incentive for companies to invest in Mac game development. (For more on Boot Camp, see “Boot Camp FAQs," Mac Beat, [mmmumacworld.com| Tribal Trouble ‘The game includes the typical RTS ele- ments. Each side builds quarters to house their peons, the workers of the group. Peons, in turn, convert raw resources— rocks, iron, chicken beaks, and so on— into weapons, which you can then use to train your peons for battle. Each side also has a chiefrain—an incredibly strong leader with particularly deadly powers. The game’s single-player campaign unravels chapter by chapter, first putting you in charge of the Vikings and then in charge of the natives as they seek their revenge. You can play skirmishes ag: the computer or play against other Tribal ‘Trouble gamers online. Fun, fresh, appealing, and easy to learn, ‘Tribal Trouble offers plenty of challenges for experienced and new RTS gamers PUZZLE DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold ; Caravel Games,|ww' $20 DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold, by Car- avel Games, is a puzzle game with role- playing overtones. The game follows the adventures of Beethro, a sword-wielding dungeon hunter who has lost his nephew in an underground labyrinth filled with evil fiends and deadly tra Each time you press a directional key, Beethro moves one step. Then it’s the bad [mnumacworld.com| guy’s turn to move. Staying out of trouble requires a bit of strategy. If Beethro makes contact with a baddie or a deadly trap, he’s toast. You'll have to replay certain rooms over and over until you find the right combina- tion of moves to get out alive. You see the game’s action from above, in 2-D perspective—an old-school touch. The game’s voice-overs and soundtrack are both surprisingly strong (the sound- track is reminiscent of 1980s Nintendo games). And with more than 350 rooms, there’s enough to keep you busy for hours macwo n/1349). CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY Welcome to Merriweather Farm 4; Bold Games, www..b: Welcome to Merriweather Farm, by Bold Games, is a charming game that lets young kids play with combines, plows, and other equipment on a virtual farm. ‘The game includes six interactive activi- ties. My six-year-old son was particularly fond of the racing game, in which you help Johnny ‘Tractor plow a field while’steering clear of obstructions and staying gassed up. A cute soundtrack and cheery sound effects complement the game’s cartoonish look-and-feel. However, I wish the game included a windowed mode, rather than scaling graphics to fill the entire screen. Though John Deere equipment is fea- tured, the game isn’t one long advertise- ment—its more about kids having fun down on the farm. Three levels of difficulty will keep the kids coming back. Success is rewarded with a new coloring page that they can print out ¢ Senior Editor PETER COHEN is not ashamed of his affection for old-school graphics and turn-based gaming. Peace of Mind When Your Child’s Online Site Licenses for Schools Available July 2006 MACWORLD 41 BY DAN FRAKES GET MORE AND EXPANDED REVIEWS! Go tofimmw-macworld.comymacgems, PORT RELOCATER Desktop Multi-Hub In December 2004, I wrote about Marathon’s RePorter ($¢#@;[Macworld.conm] [Z77), a $59 “extension cord” for your computer's many ports. The RePorter plugged into the various ports on your Mac and then, via a five-foot cable, brought those ports (FireWire 400, FireWire 800, audio in, audio out, and two USB 2.0) to your desk, in the form of a small hub. Unfortunately, Marathon went out of business last year; since then I’ve received several e-mails asking whether I could recommend a similar product. Though it’s not quite as attractive as the RePorter, Nyko’s $50 Desktop Multi-Hub (6$#:; }www.nyko.com) fits the bill. Like the RePorter, the Multi-Hub plugs into the ports on your computer and con- nects them to a hub in a more convenient location. However, the Multi-Hub offers ports that the RePorter doesn’t: a four-pin FireWire 400 port (unpowered), two more USB 2.0 ports, two P