Showing posts with label os x. Show all posts
Showing posts with label os x. Show all posts

EMC Retrospect 7.5 Professional for Windows Upgrade Review

EMC Retrospect 7.5 Professional for Windows Upgrade
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[the following is excerpted from my personal blog review]
Retrospect is an old name in Macintosh software. It was the "enterprise" backup solution for many educational institutions and some businesses in the early days of the Mac.
When the Mac was dying, sometime after OS 7, Retrospect went into decline. Towards the end time Dantz, who owned it then, created a Windows SOHO product called "Retrospect Pro" that ran on a Windows machine and backed up both Macs and PCs. I wrote about my use of it many years ago. Most of what I wrote there is still true, so if you want to get my opinion of the overall app take a look at that old page.
Dantz foundered, earning a reputation for miserly customer support and increasingly buggy products. They never really adjusted to OS X; the code base was probably too old to fix and they'd deferred a rewrite for too long.
EMC bought Retrospect, and I figured that was the end. It was indeed the end for the Macintosh product line, it's not been updated in years and it's hard to believe it will be sold after 10.5 is released. I've discovered, however, that they have invested in EMC® Retrospect® Pro 7.5 for Windows.
I found this out because Retrospect Pro 6.5, which I've been reluctantly losing because there is still no alternative for automated backup of a mixed Windows/Mac LAN had become very unstable. It was failing with cryptic error messages, it's a few years old, and I was using it in an unsupported fashion (with clients released for newer server versions) -- there was no sense trying to fix it. I had to either upgrade or switch to individual machine backup - a thought too painful to consider.
I'd held off upgrading for years because Dantz releases were so buggy an "upgrade" only introduced new issues - and left the old issues unchanged. EMC looked worse at first -- no user forums, no trials, nothing. In the past six months or so, however, EMC reinstated user forums and, above all, provided 30 day trial versions of all their products. They'd done enough to deserve a look, they'd dropped the price (buy on Amazon), the upgrade price was reasonable, and I was desperate.
So I tried -- without first uninstalling Retrospect Pro 6.5 (mistake!). The first thing I got were error messages and log entries like this one:
OS: Windows XP version 5.1 (build 2600), Service Pack 2, (32 bit)
Application: C:\Program Files\Retrospect\Retrospect 7.5\retrorun.exe,
Exception occurred on 6/22/2007 at 10:56:33 AM
Exception code: c0000005 ACCESS_VIOLATION
Fault address: 004093c3 0001:000083c3 (null)
and like this:
* retrospect elem.cpp-993
I fumbled around a bit, thinking 7.5 was choking on my complex scripts, but I couldn't fix the problem. The fix was:
* uninstall Retrospect Pro 6.5
* reboot (because Retrospect does ugly things to low levels of the host OS)
* uninstall Retrospect Pro 7.5
* reboot
* heck, reboot again
* install Retrospect Pro 7.5
* reboot
* look for updates
* update and reboot
The 30 day trial then worked. I ran the backups for a week and did a few random file restores and there have been no errors, though I admit that the only Mac I backup now is a PPC Mac running OS X 10.4. I'll soon be adding in the Intel laptop and I'm reasonably sure I'll have problems -- I don't think EMC has many Mac resources left. I run the Windows software on an old XP machine I'll run until it dies and is replaced by a new Intel iMac and an XP VM.
So I bought the upgrade from Amazon, thinking I should get the physical media. The price was cheaper too I think. What you get is a CD - nothing else. No documentation of course, but I know this immensely complex and completely unfriendly software very well. (They've introduced "wizards" to try to make it friendlier, but I disabled those. I've no idea if they help.) The upgrade process is a bit odd, but despite hanging for a bit at one point it completed. What you get with the CD is an "activation code". You enter that on the right page, your old registration code, and your address information to get a new code, which you'd better not lose (it is emailed to you as well as shown online).
In summary, Retrospect Pro is still a very unfriendly and complex hunk of software, and the clients probably don't work properly with a modern Mac, but it's an improvement on recent versions and if you want to backup a mixed LAN affordably and automatically there are no other choices.
BTW, don't expect to be able to do a "bare metal" restore on OS X. That might be theoretically possible, but I've never heard of anyone doing it using Retrospect. This is all about backing up your personal data.

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Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard Server Review

Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard Server
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When Leopard Server was first released, it certainly had some bugs. But any IT person worth their pay knows that you never install the first version of an Server OS after release.
Now that we are up to version 10.5.2, I feel like it's ready to shine.
The new Basic Install is great for those who are not really the IT person, but was put in charge of managing the server. The "On/Off" switches really make it easy to get services up and running.
My favorite thing about Advanced is the ability to see so many stats on how the server is doing under heavy loads.
And of course the best thing about a Mac OS X Server is the licensing. When compared to the costs of Windows server software, it's no comparison.

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Mac OSX Server v. 10.5 Leopard is the newest release of Apple's award-winning UNIX server operating system that runs on Mac systems and Xserve. With its new simplified setup, even someone without an IT background can easily get started using the new Server Assistant application and Server Preferences settings. Mac OSX 10.5 ensures server stability, flexibility and lower cost of ownership with over 250 new features that are accessible to IT professionals as well as nontechnical workgroups and schools alike. Finally, Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard still offers the excellent compatibility, solid reliability and easy-to-use management tools which have made the OSX server line such an overwhelming success. This edition extends license to 10 different clients on the same server network. Spotlight Server - Search for any content stored on mounted network volumes simply by using Spotlight on any cliented Mac! Enjoy updated performance, user access, network reliability and compatibility in such areas as directory, mail and file services.

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ConceptDraw 7 Review

ConceptDraw 7
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Pay $300 to beta test a product that still does not work in version 7.6. Please search around forums and see the vast multitude of people unsatisfied with this junk. It's ok if you are making a flow chart but try to do anything more in depth it crashes frequently. See for yourself by downloading the demo then draw three lines, highlight them all them try and copy and paste...crash. Make sure the dimensions menu is open on the side bar and resize something...crash. The list is pretty extensive. Also if you require any kind of precision then this is not the program for you, as every time you group or move an object things shift so that by the end of your drawing most of your lines and vertices don't match up. I often find that (before I quit using ConceptDraw) I have to export to MS Paint to retouch everything.

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Roxio Toast 9 Titanium Review

Roxio Toast 9 Titanium
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I'm a long time Toast user who skipped a version. I bought a new Mac recently and upgraded some of my software including Toast. I don't understand how anyone can burn discs on the Mac without Toast. I love Apple, but they've pretty much ignored disc burning and copying. The first thing after install is a notice to upgrade the software (pet peeve - requires registration to download - argh). But Roxio seems to have done a couple of bug fixes already. I have not had any crashes so far. The new look is a nice improvement, but not dramatic by any means. There are a ton more formats supported. It's great to convert audio and video formats and supports all the popular formats. Perhaps not for everyone, but one of my favorite features is burning high-def video from my Canon HD camcorder on to a standard DVD and watching it in HD on my HDTV (using Sony PS3 built in HD drive). Yes on a standard DVD. (TiVo supported as well.) There are some other clever features. For example, you can pause a long video project to regain control of your Mac and resume later (if you've done a long video project you know how helpful this is.) You can stack up multiple DVDs to convert one after the other. You can recover files off damaged discs. The bundled apps are pretty decent. There's a pretty good backup app that backs up compressed files that opens with zip on Mac and PC. So it's not a closed format you need the app to use - so your not stuck if the app disappears next year. There's Streamer, which is hard to believe it actually does what it does. You can stream video files from your Mac at home to any web browser - iphone or even windows PC - over the internet. One of my favorite features is capturing any song playing on your Mac, even internet radio stations, and saving the song as an MP3 file and, the magic part, you can automatically add the song info like title, band, album name so your iPod can properly sort the songs. Toast is a must have for Mac users.

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Share your life in hi-def.Now with Toast 9, you can enjoy hi-res images, TV shows, movies and personal video on HDTVs, convert hi-def video footage for your iPod nano or watch favorite TiVo shows on your iPhone.Stay in sync with the latest and coolest technology.Toast 9 - maximum convenience with minimum effort.

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Mac Box Set 10.6.3 - Old Version Review

Mac Box Set 10.6.3 - Old Version
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I surfed around for the Snow Leopard upgrade from Tiger, and found the best price on Amazon. Installing Snow Leopard from Tiger was easy and it did not take very long. Apple makes Tiger owners buy the MacBox which includes IWork and ILife that I did not really need or want yet. The apple people say it is so everything is updated together, but to me it is just a way to charge more money. But when you buy all 3 together the package is less expensive than buying separately. The issue for me was simply that I did not want or need IWork and Ilife, but apple makes it so Tiger users have no choice but to buy all three if they want to use Snow Leopard. But check your Tiger processor to make sure your Tiger is compatible. Having said all this, I am very happy with Snow Leopard. The only difference between Leopard and Snow Leopard is speed. There are no new programs in Snow Leopard that Leopard already has. But Snow Leopard certainly has more bells and whistles than Tiger did so I am happy with it. I am a true macnut.

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Give your Mac the upgrades it deserves with the latest versions of the Apple software for your Mac--all in one box: Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned; iLife '09, featuring the latest iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD; and iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It's the next best thing to getting a new Mac.

The Mac Box Set. Get Snow Leopard, iLife '09, and iWork '09 all in one box. Upgrade your Mac with the latest versions of your Apple software--all in one box:
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, the latest version of the world's most advanced operating system
iLife '09, featuring iPhoto '09, iMovie '09, GarageBand '09, iWeb '09, and iDVD
iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite for home and office including Pages '09, Numbers '09, and Keynote '09


Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Better. Faster. Easier. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is an even more powerful and refined version of the world's most advanced operating system. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use. New core technologies unleash the power of today's advanced hardware technology and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation. And Snow Leopard includes built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work.
The world's most advanced operating system.
Power of UNIX. Simplicity of the Mac. Mac OS X is both easy to use and incredibly powerful. Everything--from the desktop you see when you start up your Mac to the applications you use every day--is designed with simplicity and elegance in mind. So whether you're browsing the web, checking your email, or video chatting with a friend on another continent, getting things done is at once easy to learn, simple to perform, and fun to do. Of course, making amazing things simple takes seriously advanced technologies, and Mac OS X is loaded with them. Not only is it built on a rock-solid, time-tested UNIX foundation that provides unparalleled stability, it also delivers incredible performance, stunning graphics, and industry-leading support for Internet standards.
Perfect integration of hardware and software. Since the software on every Mac is created by the same company that makes the Mac itself, you get an integrated system in which everything works together perfectly. The advanced technologies in the operating system take full advantage of the 64-bit, multicore processors and GPUs to deliver the greatest possible performance. The built-in iSight camera works seamlessly with the iChat software so you can start a video chat with a click. Your Mac notebook includes a Multi-Touch trackpad that supports pinching, swiping, and other gestures. And the OS communicates with the hardware to deliver incredible battery life by spinning down the hard drive when it's inactive, by intelligently deciding whether the CPU or GPU is best for a task, and by automatically dimming the screen in low-light conditions.
Elegant interface and stunning graphics. The most striking feature of a Mac is its elegant user interface, made possible by graphics technologies that are built to leverage the advanced graphics processor in your Mac. These technologies provide the power for things like multiway chatting, real-time reflections, and smooth animations. Fonts on the screen look beautiful and extremely readable. A soft drop shadow makes it clear at a glance which window is active and which ones are in the background. You can preview just about any type of file using Quick Look, and because the previews are high resolution, you can actually read the text. Built-in support for the PDF format means you can view or create PDFs from almost any application in the system.
Highly secure by design. Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses. And with virtually no effort on your part, Mac OS X protects itself from other malicious applications. It was built for the Internet in the Internet age, offering a variety of sophisticated technologies that help keep you safe from online threats. Because every Mac ships with a secure configuration, you don't have to worry about understanding complex settings. Even better, it won't slow you down with constant security alerts and sweeps. And Apple responds quickly to online threats and automatically delivers security updates directly to your Mac.
Built for compatibility. The versatility and power of Mac OS X make it compatible in almost any environment, including Windows networks. It works with virtually all of today's digital cameras, printers, and other peripherals without the need to manually download separate drivers. It opens popular file types such as JPG, MP3, and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. In addition, Mac OS X includes built-in support for the industry-standard PDF format, so you can read and create PDFs from almost any application in the system--perfect for sharing work with colleagues whether they use a Mac or a PC. If you want to run Windows on your Mac, you can do that, too. And Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the only operating system with built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work and have all your messages, meetings, and contacts in one place.
Innovation for everyone. Mac OS X comes standard with a wide range of assistive technologies that help people with disabilities experience what the Mac has to offer--including many features you won't find in other operating systems at any price. For example, the built-in VoiceOver screen-reading technology makes it possible for those who are blind or have low vision to control their computer using key commands or gestures on a Multi-Touch trackpad. Mac OS X also offers out-of-the-box support for over 40 braille displays, including Bluetooth displays, and many other accessibility features, such as dynamic full-screen magnification, playback of closed captions, and a scalable screen.
Reliable to the core. The core of Mac OS X is built on the same ultrareliable UNIX foundation that powers industrial-strength servers, helping to ensure that your computing experience remains free from system crashes and compromised performance. Even upgrading your Mac to the next version of Mac OS X is reliable and easy. It checks your applications to make sure they're compatible and sets aside any programs known to be incompatible. If a power outage interrupts your installation, it can start again without losing any data. Best of all, upgrading doesn't require reformatting your drive; you can keep all your compatible applications, files, and settings. And if something goes wrong when you're using your Mac, Time Machine is there to keep automatic backups of everything on your drive.
Fully featured, fully loaded. Mac OS X comes in a single, full-featured version that includes a large collection of beautifully designed applications. They not only let you surf the web, conduct video and text chats, manage your contacts, and accomplish other day-to-day tasks--they also work together to make you more productive and let you have more fun.
See the Mac OS X Snow Leopard product page for more information.

iLife '09. Get the most out of photos, movies, and music on your Mac. iLife '09 makes it easier than ever to get the most out of the photos, movies, and music on your Mac. In iPhoto '09, you can organize and find your photos in two new ways: Faces, based on who is in your photos, and Places, based on where they were taken. iMovie '09 lets you make the movie you want in the time you have. With new themes, you can give your movie a professional look in seconds. Or use the new Precision Editor to fine-tune your masterpiece. With Basic Lessons in GarageBand '09, you can learn to play piano and guitar. And you can compose and record your own songs with new guitar amps and stompbox effects.
iPhoto '09: Organize and search your photos by faces and places. Organize and find your photos in two new ways: Faces, based on who is in your photos, and Places, based on where you took them. With Faces, iPhoto automatically detects and even recognizes faces in your photos to help you organize and find photos by people. Places lets you search and sort photos by location, using data from a GPS-enabled camera or the camera on iPhone to categorize photos by location. iPhoto '09 also offers a number of great ways to share photos. Create an instant slideshow--complete with animated titles and captions. Publish them on your Facebook page and automatically notify Facebook friends. Or create a beautiful, professionally printed photo book, complete with photo-wrapped cover and matching dust jacket.
iMovie '09: Create a movie in minutes or edit your masterpiece. Make a great movie in the time you have. Give your movie a professional look in seconds by applying Apple-designed themes with matching titles and transitions. You can even enhance your vacation videos by using eye-catching, animated travel maps. Refine your masterpiece with the new Precision Editor: Use the magnified filmstrip to make precise cuts--even reposition and adjust the duration of titles, transitions, and effects. With enhanced drag-and-drop editing, you can replace or insert clips using a single pop-up menu or even add cutaways, picture-in-picture, and green-screen effects. Smooth shaky clips with automatic video stabilization. And add further polish to your movie by choosing animated titles, transitions, and cinema-quality video effects from the new Preview Palette.
GarageBand '09. Learn to play: Start a jam session. Record and mix your own song. Now you can learn to play an instrument right on your Mac. GarageBand '09 introduces Basic Lessons to help you learn piano and guitar. Interactive video lessons teach you the fundamentals at your own pace. And when you're ready, you can purchase an Artist Lesson and learn how to play a hit song from the artist who made it famous, including Sting, Fall Out Boy, Colbie Caillat, and others. With GarageBand '09, you can rock like a legend with new amps and stompbox effects that re-create the sound of legendary guitar rigs--right on your Mac. Jam with virtual instruments in Magic GarageBand Jam, using a new full-screen view that lets you mix, play along, and record.
iWeb '09: Design, publish, and update your own websites just the way you want them. Now you can design, publish, and update your own websites just the way you want them. With iWeb '09, you can create a site quickly using Apple-designed themes and page templates. Then customize it by adding photos or movies and typing text into placeholders. You can also add dynamic, interactive widgets to your site, such as RSS feeds, HTML snippets, iSight photos and videos, or a countdown timer, using the handy iWeb Widget Browser. Ready to go live? Publish your site with one click to MobileMe. Or use built-in FTP publishing to publish your site to virtually any hosting service. With iWeb '09, you can even link your site to your Facebook account and automatically update your Facebook profile when you publish.
iDVD: Hollywood-style DVDs made easy. Create your own DVD in less time than it takes to watch one. With iDVD, you can premiere your movies and photo slideshows on a professional-quality DVD with animated menus, buttons, scene selection, and more--all customizable to suit whatever you're sharing. Or you can use Magic iDVD. Choose from a collection of themes, select the movies and photos you want to feature, then have Magic iDVD automatically create a complete DVD project, with main menu, buttons, menus, and more, that's ready to burn and share with family and friends.
See the iLife '09 product page for more information.

iWork '09. Get everything you need to make impressive documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in minutes. iWork '09, Apple's office productivity suite, is the easiest way to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations the Mac way. Pages is both a streamlined word processor and an easy-to-use page layout application. It allows you to be a writer one minute and a designer the next, always with a perfect document in the works. Numbers, with its great-looking templates, easy-to-create formulas, and dynamic tables and charts, gives you simple ways to make sense of your data. Use Keynote to create your presentations, and you'll be a hard act to follow. Its powerful yet easy-to-use tools and dazzling effects put the show in slideshow. Packed with over 250 Apple-designed themes and templates--including 60 new designs overall--iWork lets you create projects that look polished from the first page or slide. And iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office, so it's easy to share your work.
Pages '09: Creating the perfect brochure, flyer, report, or resume is faster and easier than ever. Pages is both a streamlined word processor and an easy-to-use page layout application. It starts with an enhanced Template Chooser that lets you skim more than 180 Apple-designed templates. You can easily create stunning documents, from a simple letter to a professionally polished resume to a multipage newsletter and more. Or start with a blank page and let your words and creativity take their own course. Reports, resumes, brochures, newsletters, invitations--whatever you write, Pages puts powerful tools at your fingertips. So you can create beautiful, media-rich documents in minutes.
Numbers '09: Create spreadsheets, organize data, and write formulas with simple yet powerful tools. Plan a wedding. Save for retirement. Track your workouts. Keep a baby journal. Spreadsheets can help you organize and plan, and great-looking, Apple-designed templates will help you get started. Choose from 30 templates to use for home, work, and school. Tables are already made. Formulas have been figured out. Fonts are in place. They're all ready to go. Just find something you like and make it your own. If you're starting with a blank sheet, that's easy, too. Spreadsheets are built on a flexible, free-form canvas. So you can move tables, charts, graphics, and text anywhere you want on the page. Effortlessly create formulas using an intuitive browser with more than 250 functions. Add interactive controls such as sliders, steppers, and checkboxes that let you play "what if" in real time. Scale your document with a drag of the mouse to create the perfect printout using the interactive print view. You can even add photos, movies, and music to your spreadsheet with just a few clicks.
Keynote '09: With great new features in Keynote, creating a show-stopping presentation is surprisingly simple. Even if you've never used Keynote before, you'll find creating a presentation surprisingly simple. An enhanced Theme Chooser lets you skim through an impressive collection of 44 Apple-designed themes. Once you've chosen the perfect canvas for your presentation, simply substitute placeholder text and graphics with your own words and images. Easy-to-use tools let you add elements such as tables, charts, shapes, photos, and videos to slides. Finish off your masterpiece with cinematic animations and transitions that look as though they were created by your own special effects team. With Keynote, you have all the tools you need to make an amazing presentation amazingly simple.
See the iWork '09 product page for more information.


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Mac Box Set Family Pack Review

Mac Box Set Family Pack
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I just upgraded my OS to Snow and it's just amazing, the family package is really good value for money compared to the single one. Try to get friends to share the cost of it.

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Give your Mac the upgrades it deserves with the latest versions of the Apple software for your Mac—all in one box: Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned; iLife '11, featuring the latest iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand; and iWork, Apple's productivity suite, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It's the next best thing to getting a new Mac.

Family Pack License
Install and use one copy on a maximum of five (5) Apple computers in the same household.

The new Mac Box Set. Snow Leopard, iLife '11, and iWork. All in one box.

The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard is an even more powerful and refined version of the world's most advanced operating system. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use. New core technologies unleash the power of today's advanced hardware technology and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation. And Snow Leopard includes built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work.

Better, faster, easier.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard includes hundreds of improvements that will help make your Mac faster, more responsive, and more reliable than ever. Installation is up to 50 percent faster than with Mac OS X Leopard; wake from sleep is as much as two times faster; shutdown is up to 80 percent faster; and initial Time Machine backups to Time Capsule are up to 80 percent faster than in Leopard.2

Dock.
Now Exposé is integrated in the Dock, giving you a quick and easy way to see all the open windows of an application.

Finder.
The Finder has been completely rewritten to take advantage of the new technologies in Snow Leopard. The familiar Finder interface is unchanged, but you'll discover that the Finder is faster and more responsive. It also includes an enhanced icon view with live file previews, so you can thumb through a multipage document or even watch a QuickTime movie.

New core technologies.
New core technologies in Snow Leopard unleash the power of today's advanced hardware and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation.

QuickTime X.
The next-generation media technology, QuickTime X powers the audio and video experience in Snow Leopard. It debuts a completely new QuickTime Player application with a clean, uncluttered interface as well as an easy way to record, trim, and share your media.

Out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange.
Snow Leopard includes out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 in Mail, iCal, and Address Book, so it's easier than ever to take your Mac to work.

Safari 4.
The latest version of the blazing-fast web browser delivers up to 50 percent faster JavaScript performance2 and is more resistant to crashes than ever.

Universal Access.
Every Mac comes standard with a wide range of assistive—or Universal Access—technologies that help people with disabilities experience what the Mac has to offer. Snow Leopard continues this support with a variety of innovative features that advance accessibility even further.


The incredible new iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand.
iLife '11 helps you do more with photos, movies, and music than you ever thought possible. In iPhoto, you can browse, edit, and share your photos in stunning new full-screen views. Create epic Hollywood-style movie trailers from your home video in iMovie. And GarageBand gives you everything you need to make a great-sounding song—including tools for keeping your song in perfect rhythm and guitar and piano lessons.

iPhoto
Enjoy stunning new full-screen views for Faces, Places, Events, and Albums.
Email photos using one of eight beautiful Apple-designed themes.
Share photos with your Facebook friends and see their comments in iPhoto.
Enjoy a completely new approach to creating professional-quality books and cards.
Create elegant letterpress cards that look and feel beautiful.

iMovie
Easily create fun, Hollywood-style movie trailers.
Produce the perfect mix with powerful, easy-to-use audio editing controls.
Give your movie visual effects such as slow motion, a dream haze, and instant replay with just a click.
Quickly find the clips you need with People Finder.
Turn your video into a broadcast news or sports segment just like those on TV.

GarageBand
Easily tighten the rhythm of your audio recordings with Flex Time.
Re-create the sound of legendary guitar rigs and pedals using new guitar amps and effects.
Learn to play piano or guitar at your own pace with 22 new Basic Lessons.
See how you've performed


Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The Mac way.
iWork, Apple's office productivity suite, is the easiest way to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations the Mac way. Pages is both a streamlined word processor and an easy-to-use page layout application. It allows you to be a writer one minute and a designer the next, always with a perfect document in the works. Numbers, with its great-looking templates, easy-to-create formulas, and dynamic tables and charts, gives you simple ways to make sense of your data. Use Keynote to create your presentations, and you'll be a hard act to follow. Its powerful yet easy-to-use tools and dazzling effects put the show in slideshow. Packed with over 250 Apple-designed themes and templates—including 60 new designs overall—iWork lets you create projects that look polished from the first page or slide. And iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office, so it's easy to share your work.

Pages '09
Choose from 40 new Apple-designed templates
Focus on your writing in full-screen view
Organize your ideas with dynamic outlines
Customize your documents using mail merge
Insert equations with MathType 6 (sold separately)
Create bibliographies with EndNote X2 (sold separately)

Numbers '09
Build powerful formulas with ease
Perform calculations using over 250 functions
Organize your data instantly into table categories
Check your calculations at a glance with Formula List view
Create 2-axis charts and mixed charts
Choose from 12 new Apple-designed templates

Keynote '09
Easily create sophisticated animations with Magic Move
Add dramatic text transitions using new visual effects
Visualize your data with new 3D charts and chart animations
Dramatically reduce file size without compromising quality
Create dynamic flowcharts and diagrams with connection lines
Choose from eight new Apple-designed themes


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Stox/Stock Portfolio Management Review

Stox/Stock Portfolio Management
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The idea of Stox is great -- and when the program functions as designed it is great. Unfortunately, this is BY FAR the least stable Mac program I have (numerous forced quits required, data that will not upload, options that become unavailable with use). Initial customer service was prompt then disappears with no response to repeated attempts to contact. Avoid this program until the authors manage to make it stable.

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Silkypix Developer Studio V3 Review

Silkypix Developer Studio V3
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I have a Sony A700 and have been using mostly Adobe products-- Lightroom and CS3. While they are quite capable software I have never been happy with the color produced converting raw-- Sony ARW files. I have never received an answer from the techs at adobe why my pix are always slightly overexposed with noticable color shifts as compared to the software provided by Sony--and yes my monitor is color corrected. The color shifts are most noticable on sunsets and portraits. It is really time consuming to be always tweaking colors and exposures for every pix taken. I only shoot Sony so I am not aware if this affects Nikon and Canon products. This software really produces truly superior results for converting ARW (Sony)raw files. Colors are right on and don't know how or why but pix seem to have consistently better detail than those that are converted on Adobe-- occasionally vastly better. My gut feeling is that Adobe wrote some really bad raw conversion software for Sony products and gets away with it Adobe products are so popular. I took some of my best photos and compared results with every raw converter I could find. It is truly remarkable how different the results are. If you shoot with Sony products this software is well worth the money and probably worth your time for Nikon and Canon products to test a free 30 trial. It also work perfect on Vista....

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Mac Box Set Family Pack (with Snow Leopard) Review

Mac Box Set Family Pack (with Snow Leopard)
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When I came across this Mac Box Set Family Pack I couldn't believe it was what I thought it was--given the price. But it was exactly what I thought it was. The four Macs in our household all got Snow Leopard and an upgrade to the '09 versions of Numbers, Pages, Keynote, iPhoto, iWeb, iDVD, iMovie, and Garage Band for around $200--total, not each--Wow. My share for my MacBook Pro was only $50.
My only disappointment was that we couldn't upgrade our 5th Mac to Snow Leopard because it's a G4, and Snow Leopard only works with Intel Macs. I agree with the reasoning behind Apple's decision to drop G4 support at this point and move on with optimizing for multi-core machines, but I'm just a little bummed that the old Mini won't get the latest and greatest.

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Give your Mac the upgrades it deserves with the latest versions of the Apple software for your Mac--all in one box: Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned; iLife '09, featuring the latest iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD; and iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It's the next best thing to getting a new Mac.

The Mac Box Set Family Pack. Get Snow Leopard, iLife '09, and iWork '09 all in one box. Upgrade your Mac with the latest versions of your Apple software--all in one box:
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, the latest version of the world's most advanced operating system
iLife '09, featuring iPhoto '09, iMovie '09, GarageBand '09, iWeb '09, and iDVD
iWork '09, Apple's productivity suite for home and office including Pages '09, Numbers '09, and Keynote '09

Family Pack License The Family Pack Software License Agreement allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that household. By "household" we mean a person or persons who share the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home, or condominium, including students who are primary residents of that household but reside at a separate on-campus location. This license does not extend to business or commercial users.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Better. Faster. Easier. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is an even more powerful and refined version of the world's most advanced operating system. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use. New core technologies unleash the power of today's advanced hardware technology and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation. And Snow Leopard includes built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work.
The world's most advanced operating system.
Power of UNIX. Simplicity of the Mac. Mac OS X is both easy to use and incredibly powerful. Everything--from the desktop you see when you start up your Mac to the applications you use every day--is designed with simplicity and elegance in mind. So whether you're browsing the web, checking your email, or video chatting with a friend on another continent, getting things done is at once easy to learn, simple to perform, and fun to do. Of course, making amazing things simple takes seriously advanced technologies, and Mac OS X is loaded with them. Not only is it built on a rock-solid, time-tested UNIX foundation that provides unparalleled stability, it also delivers incredible performance, stunning graphics, and industry-leading support for Internet standards.
Perfect integration of hardware and software. Since the software on every Mac is created by the same company that makes the Mac itself, you get an integrated system in which everything works together perfectly. The advanced technologies in the operating system take full advantage of the 64-bit, multicore processors and GPUs to deliver the greatest possible performance. The built-in iSight camera works seamlessly with the iChat software so you can start a video chat with a click. Your Mac notebook includes a Multi-Touch trackpad that supports pinching, swiping, and other gestures. And the OS communicates with the hardware to deliver incredible battery life by spinning down the hard drive when it's inactive, by intelligently deciding whether the CPU or GPU is best for a task, and by automatically dimming the screen in low-light conditions.
Elegant interface and stunning graphics. The most striking feature of a Mac is its elegant user interface, made possible by graphics technologies that are built to leverage the advanced graphics processor in your Mac. These technologies provide the power for things like multiway chatting, real-time reflections, and smooth animations. Fonts on the screen look beautiful and extremely readable. A soft drop shadow makes it clear at a glance which window is active and which ones are in the background. You can preview just about any type of file using Quick Look, and because the previews are high resolution, you can actually read the text. Built-in support for the PDF format means you can view or create PDFs from almost any application in the system.
Highly secure by design. Mac OS X doesn't get PC viruses. And with virtually no effort on your part, Mac OS X protects itself from other malicious applications. It was built for the Internet in the Internet age, offering a variety of sophisticated technologies that help keep you safe from online threats. Because every Mac ships with a secure configuration, you don't have to worry about understanding complex settings. Even better, it won't slow you down with constant security alerts and sweeps. And Apple responds quickly to online threats and automatically delivers security updates directly to your Mac.
Built for compatibility. The versatility and power of Mac OS X make it compatible in almost any environment, including Windows networks. It works with virtually all of today's digital cameras, printers, and other peripherals without the need to manually download separate drivers. It opens popular file types such as JPG, MP3, and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. In addition, Mac OS X includes built-in support for the industry-standard PDF format, so you can read and create PDFs from almost any application in the system--perfect for sharing work with colleagues whether they use a Mac or a PC. If you want to run Windows on your Mac, you can do that, too. And Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the only operating system with built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work and have all your messages, meetings, and contacts in one place.
Innovation for everyone. Mac OS X comes standard with a wide range of assistive technologies that help people with disabilities experience what the Mac has to offer--including many features you won't find in other operating systems at any price. For example, the built-in VoiceOver screen-reading technology makes it possible for those who are blind or have low vision to control their computer using key commands or gestures on a Multi-Touch trackpad. Mac OS X also offers out-of-the-box support for over 40 braille displays, including Bluetooth displays, and many other accessibility features, such as dynamic full-screen magnification, playback of closed captions, and a scalable screen.
Reliable to the core. The core of Mac OS X is built on the same ultrareliable UNIX foundation that powers industrial-strength servers, helping to ensure that your computing experience remains free from system crashes and compromised performance. Even upgrading your Mac to the next version of Mac OS X is reliable and easy. It checks your applications to make sure they're compatible and sets aside any programs known to be incompatible. If a power outage interrupts your installation, it can start again without losing any data. Best of all, upgrading doesn't require reformatting your drive; you can keep all your compatible applications, files, and settings. And if something goes wrong when you're using your Mac, Time Machine is there to keep automatic backups of everything on your drive.
Fully featured, fully loaded. Mac OS X comes in a single, full-featured version that includes a large collection of beautifully designed applications. They not only let you surf the web, conduct video and text chats, manage your contacts, and accomplish other day-to-day tasks--they also work together to make you more productive and let you have more fun.
See the Mac OS X Snow Leopard product page for more information.

iLife '09. Get the most out of photos, movies, and music on your Mac. iLife '09 makes it easier than ever to get the most out of the photos, movies, and music on your Mac. In iPhoto '09, you can organize and find your photos in two new ways: Faces, based on who is in your photos, and Places, based on where they were taken. iMovie '09 lets you make the movie you want in the time you have. With new themes, you can give your movie a professional look in seconds. Or use the new Precision Editor to fine-tune your masterpiece. With Basic Lessons in GarageBand '09, you can learn to play piano and guitar. And you can compose and record your own songs with new guitar amps and stompbox effects.
iPhoto '09: Organize and search your photos by faces and places. Organize and find your photos in two new ways: Faces, based on who is in your photos, and Places, based on where you took them. With Faces, iPhoto automatically detects and even recognizes faces in your photos to help you organize and find photos by people. Places lets you search and sort photos by location, using data from a GPS-enabled camera or the camera on iPhone to categorize photos by location. iPhoto '09 also offers a number of great ways to share photos. Create an instant slideshow--complete with animated titles and captions. Publish them on your Facebook page and automatically notify Facebook friends. Or create a beautiful, professionally printed photo book, complete with photo-wrapped cover and matching dust jacket.
iMovie '09: Create a movie in minutes or edit your masterpiece. Make a great movie in the time you have. Give your movie a professional look in seconds by applying Apple-designed themes with matching titles and transitions. You can even enhance your vacation videos by using eye-catching, animated travel maps. Refine your masterpiece with the new Precision Editor: Use the magnified filmstrip to make precise cuts--even reposition and adjust the duration of titles, transitions, and effects. With enhanced drag-and-drop editing, you can replace or insert clips using a single pop-up menu or even add cutaways, picture-in-picture, and green-screen effects. Smooth shaky clips with automatic video stabilization. And add further polish to your movie by choosing animated titles, transitions, and cinema-quality video effects from the new Preview Palette.
GarageBand '09. Learn to play: Start a jam session. Record and mix your own song. Now you can learn to play an instrument right on your Mac. GarageBand '09 introduces Basic Lessons to help you learn piano and guitar. Interactive video lessons teach you the fundamentals at your own pace. And when you're ready, you can purchase an Artist Lesson and learn how to play a hit song from the artist who made it famous, including Sting, Fall Out Boy, Colbie Caillat, and others. With GarageBand '09, you can rock like a legend with new amps and stompbox effects that re-create the sound of legendary guitar rigs--right on your Mac. Jam with virtual instruments in Magic GarageBand Jam, using a new full-screen view that lets you mix, play along, and record.
iWeb '09: Design, publish, and update your own websites just the way you want them. Now you can design, publish, and update your own websites just the way you want them. With iWeb '09, you can create a site quickly using Apple-designed themes and page templates. Then customize it by adding photos or movies and typing text into placeholders. You can also add dynamic, interactive widgets to your site, such as RSS feeds, HTML snippets, iSight photos and videos, or a countdown timer, using the handy iWeb Widget Browser. Ready to go live? Publish your site with one click to MobileMe. Or use built-in FTP publishing to publish your site to virtually any hosting service. With iWeb '09, you can even link your site to your Facebook account and automatically update your Facebook profile when you publish.
iDVD: Hollywood-style DVDs made easy. Create your own DVD in less time than it takes to watch one. With iDVD, you can premiere your movies and photo slideshows on a professional-quality DVD with animated menus, buttons, scene selection, and more--all customizable to suit whatever you're sharing. Or you can use Magic iDVD. Choose from a collection of themes, select the movies and photos you want to feature, then have Magic iDVD automatically create a complete DVD project, with main menu, buttons, menus, and more, that's ready to burn and share with family and friends.
See the iLife '09 product page for more information.

iWork '09. Get everything you need to make impressive documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in minutes. iWork '09, Apple's office productivity suite, is the easiest way to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations the Mac way. Pages is both a streamlined word processor and an easy-to-use page layout application. It allows you to be a writer one minute and a designer the next, always with a perfect document in the works. Numbers, with its great-looking templates, easy-to-create formulas, and dynamic tables and charts, gives you simple ways to make sense of your data. Use Keynote to create your presentations, and you'll be a hard act to follow. Its powerful yet easy-to-use tools and dazzling effects put the show in slideshow. Packed with over 250 Apple-designed themes and templates--including 60 new designs overall--iWork lets you create projects that look polished from the first page or slide. And iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office, so it's easy to share your work.
Pages '09: Creating the perfect brochure, flyer, report, or resume is faster and easier than ever. Pages is both a streamlined word processor and an easy-to-use page layout application. It starts with an enhanced Template Chooser that lets you skim more than 180 Apple-designed templates. You can easily create stunning documents, from a simple letter to a professionally polished resume to a multipage newsletter and more. Or start with a blank page and let your words and creativity take their own course. Reports, resumes, brochures, newsletters, invitations--whatever you write, Pages puts powerful tools at your fingertips. So you can create beautiful, media-rich documents in minutes.
Numbers '09: Create spreadsheets, organize data, and write formulas with simple yet powerful tools. Plan a wedding. Save for retirement. Track your workouts. Keep a baby journal. Spreadsheets can help you organize and plan, and great-looking, Apple-designed templates will help you get started. Choose from 30 templates to use for home, work, and school. Tables are already made. Formulas have been figured out. Fonts are in place. They're all ready to go. Just find something you like and make it your own. If you're starting with a blank sheet, that's easy, too. Spreadsheets are built on a flexible, free-form canvas. So you can move tables, charts, graphics, and text anywhere you want on the page. Effortlessly create formulas using an intuitive browser with more than 250 functions. Add interactive controls such as sliders, steppers, and checkboxes that let you play "what if" in real time. Scale your document with a drag of the mouse to create the perfect printout using the interactive print view. You can even add photos, movies, and music to your spreadsheet with just a few clicks.
Keynote '09: With great new features in Keynote, creating a show-stopping presentation is surprisingly simple. Even if you've never used Keynote before, you'll find creating a presentation surprisingly simple. An enhanced Theme Chooser lets you skim through an impressive collection of 44 Apple-designed themes. Once you've chosen the perfect canvas for your presentation, simply substitute placeholder text and graphics with your own words and images. Easy-to-use tools let you add elements such as tables, charts, shapes, photos, and videos to slides. Finish off your masterpiece with cinematic animations and transitions that look as though they were created by your own special effects team. With Keynote, you have all the tools you need to make an amazing presentation amazingly simple.
See the iWork '09 product page for more information.


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Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 Business Edition Upgrade Review

Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 Business Edition Upgrade
Average Reviews:

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I installed Office 2008 on my 1.25GHz G4 iMac, running System 10.5.8 . Since many reviewers have thoroughly discussed the features of each Office application already, I am focusing this review on my experience of upgrading from Office v.X to Office 2008 on a PowerPC iMac. Background:
*I have experience with several versions of Mac Office, beginning with version 4.2 . I also have used Office 98, Office 2001, and as mentioned above, Office v.X before upgrading to Office 2008.
*The way I use Office has changed over time. I made extensive use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in graduate school and in various professional settings through Office 2001. Now I mostly use Excel to do basic financial analysis and Word to write personal documents.Installation:
*Installation is straightforward, using Apple's familiar Installer mechanism. I prefer this method to the old drag-and-drop installation method because OS X is so sensitive to where things are installed.
*The installer program automatically finds older versions of Office and allows users to delete them easily.
*Many customized settings can be transferred from previous Office installations, including dictionaries, autocorrect lists, and proofing tool settings.
*Once Office 2008 is installed, several updates must be downloaded and installed. Microsoft should have made this process more user-friendly. Users must manually shut down other applications, including the Office 2008 Installer, before running the update installer.Pros:
*Office is now a Universal Binary so the same program will run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.
*An Uninstaller is placed in the Office folder automatically.
*Office will check for updates automatically on a schedule chosen by the user. No more messing around on the Microsoft website, hoping you didn't miss a Service Pack or Critical Update.
*Users can now turn the feedback sounds on and off. If hearing a chime, a popping bubble, or some other "cute" noise every time you did something drove you crazy, you will greatly appreciate this long overdue feature.
*Speaking of unnecessary cuteness, Clippy the Paperclip is gone! Yesssssss!Cons:
*All the applications startup and quit slowly on a G4 machine. Office v.X applications started and quit virtually instantaneously (yes, I realize v.X was written specifically for PowerPC processors). Saving files is slow as well.
*Office 2008 uses a new file format that is not compatible with other versions of Office. If you send documents to people who are not fully up to date, you have to save a second version or limit yourself to working with the older file format.
*It's good that Microsoft no longer just ports Windows Office to the Mac. Nonetheless, there are user interface inconsistencies both within and across the applications which keep Office from feeling 100% Macintosh.
*Silverlight, Microsoft's attempt to compete with Macromedia Flash, is installed by default.
*WARNING FOR POWER USERS: No macros in Excel! Bad, bad, bad move. And no support for Visual Basic.Bottom line: Office 2008 doesn't hold any surprises for experienced Office users. For the most part, everything still operates in the way to which you are accustomed. If you own a PowerPC Mac and use an older version of Office, you should carefully consider whether you want to upgrade or not. The benefits of the new features may be outweighed by the inconvenience of the slower performance and/or the need to adjust your workflow.
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 due to the removal of macros and Visual Basic from Excel.

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Your business is everything to you--an extension of your life, an expression of your passion. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition is packed with all the tools and features you need to make your vision a success. Get core Office applications to help you manage your business, organize your data and present a professional image; plus new Exchange Server support and reliable Office for Windows compatibility that take productivity and collaboration to the next level.


Upgrade and save. You may be eligible to upgrade to Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition at a special discounted price. Licensed users of any Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition suite or application, or any Office for Mac 2001-2004 suite or application, are eligible for the discount. Plus, get Business Edition extras like Exchange Server support and Office Live Workspace to help you manage, create and collaborate more effectively and easily.

Our best Office for your best business.
Only Office gives you this much compatibility. Confidently share files with colleagues and clients no matter what version of Office they're running, even if they use Office for Windows.
Choose software that grows with your business. Get a powerful suite designed to keep up with your company's growth. Find what basic users need and advanced users demand in one comprehensive package.
Save time and money with the world's most familiar software. Choosing familiar software can be a great way to reduce time and money on training. Get up and running faster, and allocate the resources you save to other important areas of your business.

What's New About Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition?
Microsoft Office Live Workspace Support Share files and collaborate on projects from virtually anywhere.
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Store and share documents, contacts, calendars and tasks in a single secure location.
Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition Stay in sync on all your devices with Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition. Unlock the power of Microsoft Exchange Server (2007 or later versions) so you can sync your email, calendar and notes, between your desktop, laptop and Windows-based mobile phone.
Business templates, themes, and clip art Look your most professional with customizable business templates that can make brochures, newsletters, and flyers stand out from the crowd. Apply your personal brand to any document with themes, then add the finishing touch with business-right illustrations and clip art.
Remote Desktop for Mac 2 Connect from your Mac to your Windows-based PC quickly and access files, applications, devices and networks with advanced security technology.
Free product training Build your skills with beginner to advanced video based training from Lynda.com.

Highlights and Features
Collaborate and Connect Your ability to share and communicate with others--regardless of Mac or PC platform--is critical to your success. Reach customers, prospects and partners more effectively with Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition.
Stay in touch while on the goSync your email, calendar and contacts via your in-house Exchange Server with ActiveSync.
Count on cross-platform compatibility Use the same file format as Office for Windows and rely on a sophisticated graphics engine to help ensure accurate, consistent file sharing and printing.
Access and share your files onlineMicrosoft Office Live Workspace is a security-enhanced "virtual headquarters" where you can share work and collaborate online. For more complex projects, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services support enables you store and share documents, contacts, calendars and tasks in a single secure location.
Drive your Windows-based PC from the comfort of your MacWith Remote Desktop for Mac 2, you can quickly connect to your Windows-based PC to access files, applications, devices and networks.
Take your show on the roadExport presentations to your iPod or iPhone with PowerPoint 2008. Share your ideas or hold impromptu rehearsals wherever life takes you.

Create Effectively Bring your ideas to life, put more of your personality into your projects and represent your brand exactly the way you intend. Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition gives you the design, marketing and communication tools to help you create professional-looking business materials you'll be proud of.
Print-ready documents are a snapSave money, time and paper. Simple desktop publishing features in Word 2008 let you create high-quality newsletters, brochures and flyers. With Publishing Layout View, you can proof and edit your documents precisely so they print without surprises.
Discover the flexibility of Word 2008Use the Outline view to organize all your information into a convenient, flexible format, or choose Notebook Layout View to capture text and audio notes on multiple topics.
Work faster with your favorite toolsWhether you're working in Word 2008, Excel 2008 or PowerPoint 2008, the Elements Gallery puts your most commonly used tools and functions at your fingertips so you can create documents more quickly.
Quickly create and customize common business documentsStart with updated templates in Word and Excel 2008, then get creative with easy-to-use Document Elements, Word Art and SmartArt tools. Add your personal brand to any document with Themes, using fonts, colors and graphics you choose and apply with a single click.
Personalize mass mailings easily and efficientlyThe Mail Merge feature in Word 2008 lets you efficiently create materials for all your clients, so you can send a personal touch every time.

Manage Your Business Growing a small business can be more than a full-time job. That's why Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition has updated programs and features that are ready to go to work immediately to help you save time and operate more professionally.
Keep every day on trackMy Day in Entourage 2008 provides a real-time snapshot of your schedule and to-do lists so you stay on track and on time.
Stay in sync, anywhere, anytimeWith Entourage 2008, your team can access and manage their email and calendars from any web connection--via Mac, PC or a Windows-based mobile device. With Office Live Workspace, they can quickly launch online folders tailored to the unique needs of each project. Now it's easy to co-author documents and share feedback anytime, online.
Take control of your business financesExcel 2008 can help you manage your business finances like a pro. Clear, accessible templates, plus enhanced calculation and analysis functions, make it easier to monitor sales and billings.

Included Applications
Word 2008 enables you to expand your creativity with confidence. Create high-quality marketing materials like brochures, newsletters, flyers and more with professionally designed, customizable templates. Even add cover pages and bibliographies. Add polish with business-right illustrations using SmartArt and hundreds of specially designed, business-oriented graphics.
PowerPoint 2008 makes it easy to present like a pro. Give more polished, creative presentations. Save time and manage presentations better with Presenter Tools. Move about easily with Apple Remote and engage your audience while keeping your presentation running smoothly. Enhanced features like animation paths and animated GIFs are sure to make an impression.
Excel 2008 helps you manage business today while you plan for tomorrow. Business growth requires financial planning, and Excel 2008 can help you reach your goals. Updated sorting, formatting and charting tools, together with improved formula-builder and error-finding functions, help you track your progress.
Entourage 2008 empowers you to take control of project details. Project Center lets you quickly create, customize and track project-related emails, files, contacts and other important details, in one convenient location. Save your project on your server, and share the information through Entourage 2008.



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Mac OS X Snow Leopard Family Pack (5-User) Review

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Family Pack (5-User)
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Great, but not essential
Is Apple's latest operating system, Snow Leopard, a strong, reliable OS that demonstrates the versatility of Macs? Yes
That being said, is Snow Leopard an essential upgrade? No, not exactly.
THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT THAT DRASTIC
The differences between Apple's "Tiger" OS (10.4) and "Leopard" (10.5) were very noticeable, and there were many improvements that made the upgrade worthwhile. Such as Time Machine, Boot Camp, Quick Look, and many more The bulk of changes between Leopard (10.5) and this latest release, "Snow Leopard" (10.6), are "under the hood" so to speak, and therefore the average user might not notice as much of a change as they'd expect with an OS upgrade. But then again, why fix a bone that's not broken? Leopard was a success, and Snow Leopard improves on it, without radically altering the user experience. The majority of improvements affect system reliability, speed, and resourcefulness. There is also Microsoft Exchange support, which is great for those who need it.
EXPECTATIONS
I bought the Snow Leopard upgrade knowing full well it wasn't going to be a drastically different OS, so I was by no means disappointed. I've been following the tech news regarding Mac and Windows operating system upgrades very closely, and am well aware that August's release of Apple's Snow Leopard and October's release of Microsoft's
Windows 7 are meant to provide additional stability and implement greater resourcefulness, rather than completely overhaul the user experience. This isn't a bad thing, since greater system reliability is more important than adding bells and whistles that ultimately take away from the user experience (i.e. Vista).
EXPERIENCE
I have only installed it on only one computer so far (running on an Intel chip and 4GB of RAM), but installation was a breeze, and Snow Leopard has been running smoothly so far. I previously strongly disliked `Preview' and `Quicktime' since they were so slow (I preferred freeware `Xee' and `VLC Media Player'). With Snow Leopard, loading times have noticeably improved for both Preview and Quicktime. I haven't yet noticed other improvements in speed, but that might be because my computer was already fast to begin with (4GB is great!).
Additionally, while I personally upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard, it is nice to know that even if you weren't using OS 10.5 (Leopard) and were still on OS 10.4 (Tiger), you can upgrade directly to OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
LAST THOUGHTS
I didn't have issues with Leopard, so I don't think Snow Leopard was to me as essential an upgrade as Windows 7 will be to Windows Vista. That being said, Snow Leopard is a very strong and reliable OS, so I don't regret my purchase. The low price makes this an affordable upgrade solution, but due to the lack of drastic changes between Snow Leopard and its predecessor, one that isn't absolutely necessary.

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Mac OS X Snow Leopard is an even more powerful and refined version of the world's most advanced operating system. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use. New core technologies unleash the power of today's advanced hardware technology and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation. And Snow Leopard includes built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work.

Family Pack License
Install and use one copy on a maximum of five (5) Apple computers in the same household.

The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned.

Top Updates in Mac OS X
Mac OS X is the world's most advanced operating system. Built on a rock-solid UNIX foundation and designed to be simple and intuitive, it's what makes the Mac innovative, highly secure, compatible, and easy to use.
The next-generation media technology, QuickTime X powers the audio and video experience in Snow Leopard.

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Office Mac Home& Student Family Pack 2011 Spanish Review

Office Mac Homeand  Student Family Pack 2011 Spanish
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Office Mac 2011 is great, it is working properly and also it does include a lot of templates that are easily changed. It just took me some time to figure out where are some options.

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With over 1 billion PCs and Macs running Office, Microsoft Office is the most-trusted and most-used productivity suite ever. And Office for Mac 2011 is here to help you do more with your Mac your way. Use familiar applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to help you take your ideas further. And since Office for Mac is compatible with Office for Windows, you can work on documents with virtually anyone on a Mac or PC. Store your files in a password protected online SkyDrive folder to access, edit, or share your work from virtually anywhere with the free Office Web Apps.

Family Pack, Spanish Language Version
Licensed for home and student use on three (3) Macs per household; not for use in any commercial, non-profit, or revenue generating business activities, or by any government organization.

What's New and Improved Powerful writing tools help you create outstanding documents, then store, edit, and share your work easily on the web.

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Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5.6 Leopard Review

Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5.6 Leopard
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The OS comes in a very small package with a little manual. Install took 45 minutes to confirm that the CD was in good condition, 45 more to install. This review is not going to be full of technical jargon... instead a brief first impression from a long time Mac user (circa 1984 Mac 512Ke vintage). For the technicals, go to Apple, read geeky blogs. For the rest of us, I'll try to keep it more straight-forward. They claim 300 changes... here are what I think are some of the more interesting ones... apologies for the length of the review, relative to the number of changes claimed, a moderate length to this review. Updated December 09, 2007 to reflect new experiences.
Pro:
-Time machine! OK, back up programs are available, but how many of them are sold versus the number of macs out there? This program is native, created by Apple for Apple. All I did was plug in a hard drive and Leopard asked if I wanted to make this my back-up drive for Leopard. I clicked yes, and that was it, all set up. It begins back up once the computer is left on and idle. The first takes a very long time, hours, subsequent back ups are hourly, however only files that have changed are saved, preserving storage space and computing power. Time machine looks like any open folder window when it gets down to it... like you went back in time and browsed around (hence the name). Similar to "snapshot" for those Windows XP users out there.
-Install was very easy. Boot machine, insert CD, restart with CD. The computer verified that the CD is in good condition (a lengthy process of about 45 minutes that you can skip but which is recommended). The rest of the install takes about 45 more minutes, but it is basically all automated. It's a Mac, it's so clever that it's easy. Apple does what computers promised to do... automate smartly.
-Price is very reasonable relative to other operating systems (e.g. Vista)
-This OS includes the release version of Boot Camp. I've not used it yet as I have Parallels, but I like how Apple has included this feature... sometimes it's just best to get along as even programs offered on both platforms are just different enough to be annoying. So if you are using PowerPoint at work on a PC, you can use it at home on your Mac acting like a PC... thank you Apple.
-The new "you can see the content of folders in the dock bar" feature is handy, especially if you have many projects going and you dump a lot of picture files into them. They call this new feature "stacks" and it works really well.
-I find that movies too now give you a preview icon which is great.
-New OS did not trash my preferences, such as my Son's photo on the desktop... very plug and play
-Safari web browser is appears somewhat faster, perhaps 1x faster to load a page but I didn't really notice that much difference as I was using another browser up to this point
-The widget-maker is really interesting... I made my first widget of a stock I follow, in about 30 seconds. This was really great. I expect future versions of the feature to add more punch (e.g. the ability to add a title bar to your new widget, improved ability to make very small widgets, ability to use arrow keys to get the widget just right, ability to resize the widget once made instead of deleting and starting all over, etc.), but is still great as is.
-When I have multiple windows open I notice a slight shadow to help me identify which one is active, or on top. Apple continues to impress with their ability to tune into subtle usability features that are so obvious that they have been overlooked. Wonderful (although I would love a darker shadow, and perhaps a bold frame around the window too).
-The Apple web site offers a very nice 9-10 minute introduction. Check it out, it's worth it (trust me).
-Cover Flow is AWESOME! If you are familiar with flipping through album art on the new iPhone or iPods, you'll recognize the power of this feature right away. For those who've been on the sidelines, let me catch you up. There's icon view. There's list view. There's also a column view that's less popular. And there's now cover flow. Much like iTunes, you can flip through files like albums in a juke box, or turning pages in a picture book. The Mac lets you see the first page, so you don't get just a dumb icon, or even a tiny picture, you get a nice big image. It's nothing short of amazing. Cover flow does more (like you can play a video in cover flow without exiting the program or launching a player, fast and convenient), but again, this is a simpler version for the rest of us.
-A further extension of file management is Quick Look. You can sort of open files without launching a program. It's designed to be a time-saver for the person with a lot of files.
-Spaces. OK, this might be a little hard to describe. Essentially, are you someone who like to have 10 programs running at one time? If so, Spaces is ideal for you. You can open say a few photos in one space, a publishing program and Photoshop in another. You can toggle back and forth between the spaces and the effect is a less cluttered environment. It's neat.
-Mail. THere's many new things here, most small. However, for those setting up a mail account for the first time, say on Yahoo or "another popular website", you enter your email address, password, and click OK. Leopard finds it and sets it up. This blows me away. Forever are gone are the days of entering POP and SMTP data, which I guess wasn't terribly bad, but again, this is 2007. Computers are supposed to be more intuitve, not less right? Mac delivers yet again.
-I didn't mention the Notes and To Do features in Mail, which are excellent adds. Example of what these are: I often send myself an email so that I have a note: Well, instead of sending a mail to myself, which can, if hung up take a minute or an hour to return to me, I can write myself a note which sits in my inbox. I can add attachments like an email. I can also turn a note into a "To do", assigning a due date and getting a check box to check when it has been completed. Anywhere I can access my email, I can also get my notes. Weird and wonderful! To do events sync to iCal (which also syncs to my iPhone)... excellent.
-Email contacts, addresses, phone numbers can be added to existing contacts, or a new contact with a couple clicks. This is very handy for the busy professional.
-The teleconferencing features of iChat makes presentations really personal and also allows you to share desktops. I won't use this at home, and I can only dream of this at work when working remotely with our team/my boss in the UK. Words don't do this feature justice.
-My existing programs seem to work ok. I did get a minor error with Parallels (see Cons section for more), but all other programs tried functioned fine.
Con:
-Boot Camp requires reboot to run Windows
-Changed the icons some, which is not a big deal, but which was unnecessary
-With all this advanced file-sharing capability in iChat, I am concerned that a guest could inadvertently open sensitive files or emails. I get confidential materials sometimes, and I have little means of limiting access. It's too open and I'd love some locking features, both in iChat and in case I walk away from my Mac and someone decides to have some fun.
- Parallels has become unstable and won't launch. A free patch fomr the Parallels website (build "5582") fixed the crash on launch issue, however an IP conflict gotten originally still persists. This IP error does not seem to cause any issues as far as I can tell, it is just a nuisance.

Bottom line: Highly recommended. Sleek, smart, and straight-forward. The review title says it all, however there are obviously many reasons to buy, including staying current with the OS so that you have access to future releases and features.

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Add a new Mac to your Mac. Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard is packed with over 300 new features, installs easily, and works with the software and accessories you already have. Mac OS X v.10.5 Leopard is the newest release of Apple's innovative, stable and compatible operating system for Macintosh computers. This new release includes an elegant new interface and over 300 new innovations designed to help customers accomplish any task. Improvements have been included for all your favorite Mac programs like iChat and Mail, as well as all-new features such as Quick Look, which lets you peruse the contents of a multiple-page document or video without opening the whole file, and Time Machine, which can recover files in seconds. OS X 10.5 has all this, as well as the exceptional search technology, stunning graphics, rapid connectivity and solid stability you've come to expect from the OSX family of operating systems. This edition extends the license for use by up to five different users in the same home network.Time Machine lets you keep an up-to-date copy of all important files and, since it can recall how the system looks every day, it can recover files in seconds. iChat now lets you present movies, presentations and virtually any document during your chtas with iChat Theater. You can even save your audio and video chats for sharing or synching with an iPod to play on the go. Communicate with 30 professionally designed stationary template, keep important notes and track to-do items in Mail You can now group applications into Spaces and move between each Space with keyboard shortcuts to organize your windows and reduce clutter

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Apple Soundtrack Pro (Mac) Review

Apple Soundtrack Pro (Mac)
Average Reviews:

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I have been working as a sound designer for almost twenty years and finally a program arrived that delivers everything I ever wanted (excluding midi). The problem with most digital audio software is working within their idea of a workflow. SOUNDTRACK PRO allows me to manipulate and experiment with audio the way a graphic designer works with images. Better writers than I have elaborated on the details so I direct you to Len Sasso's article in the September 2005 Electronic Musician magazine. You can read it online.
Check this one out. It has been a long time since I looked forward to opening a program when it was time to work. No telling how many ideas I would explore that day!
Paul Rajeckas
rajeckas@aol.com

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Spector for Mac OS 3.0 Review

Spector for Mac OS 3.0
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The software works. But, what they don't tell you is that if you don't pay an additional $69.95 (in my case) per year, they will stop sending you the reports showing you any of the activity you purchased the software for.
Again, the product actually works, but I don't appreciate the "bait and switch" tactic or rather the "hidden fees" required to pay an extra $69.95 per year to continue to receive the Activity Reports for the computer you install eBlaster on.
Furthermore, they continue to send you a notice to renew the hidden annual fee instead of the usual Activity Reports until you either pay the hidden annual fee or uninstall the eBlaster software.
Here's an example of one of the notices from Spectorsoft:
On Jun 20, 2011, your eBlaster Ultimate Care EXPIRED! SpectorSoft does not provide Activity Report Delivery Service for customers without an active Ultimate Care membership.
Please renew your Ultimate Care NOW to restart your Activity Reports by choosing one of these options:
Renew Online at a special reduced price. Additional discounts for multi-year renewals.
Renew by Phone: 1-888-598-2788 (North America) or +1-772-770-5670 (everywhere else), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Renew by Email: Sales@SpectorSoft.com
If you wish to stop receiving these expiration notification messages, then please uninstall eBlaster by:
From ANY computer, click here to link to the online Control Panel. Login with your password and select Uninstall
Going to the computer where eBlaster is installed, using your hot-key combination and password to open eBlaster , and selecting Uninstall from the menu

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Mac OS X version 10.6.3 Snow Leopard Review

Mac OS X version 10.6.3 Snow Leopard
Average Reviews:

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Is Apple's latest operating system, Snow Leopard, a strong, reliable OS that demonstrates the versatility of Macs? Yes
That being said, is Snow Leopard an essential upgrade? No, not exactly.
THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT THAT DRASTIC
The differences between Apple's "Tiger" OS (10.4) and "Leopard" (10.5) were very noticeable, and there were many improvements that made the upgrade worthwhile. Such as Time Machine, Boot Camp, Quick Look, and many more The bulk of changes between Leopard (10.5) and this latest release, "Snow Leopard" (10.6), are "under the hood" so to speak, and therefore the average user might not notice as much of a change as they'd expect with an OS upgrade. But then again, why fix a bone that's not broken? Leopard was a success, and Snow Leopard improves on it, without radically altering the user experience. The majority of improvements affect system reliability, speed, and resourcefulness. There is also Microsoft Exchange support, which is great for those who need it.
EXPECTATIONS
I bought the Snow Leopard upgrade knowing full well it wasn't going to be a drastically different OS, so I was by no means disappointed. I've been following the tech news regarding Mac and Windows operating system upgrades very closely, and am well aware that August's release of Apple's Snow Leopard and October's release of Microsoft's
Windows 7 are meant to provide additional stability and implement greater resourcefulness, rather than completely overhaul the user experience. This isn't a bad thing, since greater system reliability is more important than adding bells and whistles that ultimately take away from the user experience (i.e. Vista).
EXPERIENCE
I have only installed it on only one computer so far (running on an Intel chip and 4GB of RAM), but installation was a breeze, and Snow Leopard has been running smoothly so far. I previously strongly disliked `Preview' and `Quicktime' since they were so slow (I preferred freeware `Xee' and `VLC Media Player'). With Snow Leopard, loading times have noticeably improved for both Preview and Quicktime. I haven't yet noticed other improvements in speed, but that might be because my computer was already fast to begin with (4GB is great!).
Additionally, while I personally upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard, it is nice to know that even if you weren't using OS 10.5 (Leopard) and were still on OS 10.4 (Tiger), you can upgrade directly to OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
LAST THOUGHTS
I didn't have issues with Leopard, so I don't think Snow Leopard was to me as essential an upgrade as Windows 7 will be to Windows Vista. That being said, Snow Leopard is a very strong and reliable OS, so I don't regret my purchase. The low price makes this an affordable upgrade solution, but due to the lack of drastic changes between Snow Leopard and its predecessor, one that isn't absolutely necessary.

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Mac OS X Snow Leopard is an even more powerful and refined version of the world's most advanced operating system. In ways big and small, it gets faster, more reliable, and easier to use. New core technologies unleash the power of today's advanced hardware technology and prepare Mac OS X for future innovation. And Snow Leopard includes built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server, so you can use your Mac at home and at work.

The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned.

Top Updates in Mac OS X
Mac OS X is the world's most advanced operating system. Built on a rock-solid UNIX foundation and designed to be simple and intuitive, it's what makes the Mac innovative, highly secure, compatible, and easy to use.
The next-generation media technology, QuickTime X powers the audio and video experience in Snow Leopard.

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OmniPage Pro X for Macintosh Review

OmniPage Pro X for Macintosh
Average Reviews:

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The software is not compatible with 10.6, DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOUR ARE RUNNING 10.6!

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OmniPage Pro X eliminates retyping, saving you time and streamlining document production. Create, convert, edit, and distribute digital documents with superior accuracy and improved formatting. Choose from a host of innovative capabilities, such as table recognition. Pro X also adds PDF functionality to extend the software's value beyond the paper world. Now you can convert PDFs into editable documents with a single click, or save paper documents as PDF files with similar ease. All of which adds up to increased productivity and efficiency. Plus, there's the added ease of working with a program built specifically for Mac OS X.

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