:: TCMUG Newsletter Archive ::

Vol 4 Iss 5 May 2005
*May Meeting
*Web Site Links and News of Interest
*Shareware Features - MacXWare Prducts
*The MUG Center Store - Free Freight To Members
*Tip of the Month - Beginning HTML, A Primer
*OS X Tip of the Month - Troubleshooting .plist Files
*Mac Software Spotlight - TextSoap
*TCMUG Membership Structure for 2005 - JOIN TODAY!

========== MAY MEETING ==========
The May meeting is being held on Saturday the 14th from 2:00PM - 4:00PM. We are going to be getting to know the latest Mac OS release, "Tiger", 10.4, reviewing web site building tools and resources and going over Mac support web sites. If you have a favorite web site that you visit all the time let us know.
We will be meeting at the TCH Educational Service Center in New Philadelphia.

========== WEB SITE LINKS AND NEWS OF INTEREST ==========
If you have not been visiting the TCMUG Tips and Tricks web page, you have been missing out on a wealth of information that is being provided to us from the Mug Center. There are five months of tips, tutorials, articles and more. I also have the PDF of the monthly Mac Hints & Tips newsletter available for download.
Check it out at http://www.tcmug.org/tipsandtricks.html
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17 Things You Might Not Know You Could Do with iWork - If you've installed iWork on your hard drive but haven't had a chance to really dig into it yet, maybe this article will inspire you to do so. Giles Turnbull takes you on a romp through this production suite showing you lots of fun and useful things to do with it.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/04/12/iwork.html
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If you haven't taken a look at the latest greatest Operating System, make sure to visit the Apple web site for all of the scoop at http://www.apple.com/macosx/ and if you want to drill down into the 200+ new features that are in Tiger, check them out at http://www.apple.com/macosx/newfeatures/over200.html
Housecleaning Tips for Tiger - Is your Mac ready for a smooth transition to Tiger? Maybe you're in need of a spring housecleaning anyway. Check out these tidy tips from Derrick Story, then roll out the red carpet for Mac OS X 10.4.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/04/26/tiger.html
See how easy it is to upgrade to Tiger - http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/
Buy Mac OS 10.4 "Tiger" today at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B0002G71T0/theworlofkapn
Get the 5 license Family Pack:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B0007LW1MW/theworlofkapn
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It's time for you to Take Control with our highly practical, tightly focused electronic books covering Mac OS X, Macintosh applications, and hardware ! Written by the same expert authors responsible for best-selling print books but available much more quickly, Take Control ebooks provide the technical help you need now. These PDF-format ebooks use carefully designed layout and typography for easy onscreen reading and printing, and they include bookmarks, clickable links, and a Check for Updates button that lets you check for and download free updates. They offer free samples of all our ebooks and a money-back guarantee, so download a Take Control ebook today!
This series has now launched 4 new ebooks on OS 10.4 Tiger. They are Upgrading To Tiger, Customizing Tiger, Users & Accounts in Tiger and Sharing Files in Tiger.
http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/
(Check out the TCMUG members web site for discount code for money off these books)
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Mac Games and More has posted "The Best of Free Mac Games," which is part 5 of a series covering the topic, "Free Mac Games and Software" available to download online. Included in the list are 27 games, big and small, covering a wide variety of games for all types of gamers. Genres of the list include: puzzle, arcade, RPG, racing, sports, strategy simulation, logic, action, adventure, text adventure and word games.
http://www.macgamesandmore.com/bestfreemacgames5.html
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Intriguing Development announced today the upcoming release of its new Mac-only scrapbooking software product, iRemember. Intriguing Development is requesting beta testers for the upcoming release of iRemember.
Creating personalized scrapbooks is easy and enjoyable with iRemember. All the tools you need to create stunning scrapbooks are included. Create borders, backgrounds, and frames. Drag your photos from iPhoto and crop them to a variety of shapes and sizes. Embellish your pages with text and clip art.
iRemember includes clip art, templates, borders, backgrounds, and a clip art browser - everything you need to get started!
" This is an exciting time for us", Doug Troxell, President of Intriguing Development said. "We are looking forward to working with a group of enthusiastic beta testers who will help shape the future of digital scrapbooking on the Mac".
To apply for the beta test program, please visit http://www.macscrapbook.com and complete the application form. Intriguing Development will contact approved applicants. Priced at $79.00, iRemember is scheduled for release in June.
About Intriguing Development, Inc. - Intriguing Development provides custom software engineering and programming services to the Mac community. Millions of Mac owners worldwide use software created by Intriguing Development. Intriguing Development is dedicated to exceeding expectations.

========== SHAREWARE FEATURES - MACXWARE PRODUCTS ==========
Get creative with macXware. Best sellers include:
* MacFonts - 1,000 TrueType Fonts & FontManager
* MacFonts 2 - 1,000 New Fonts in OpenType Format & FontManager
* Commercial Use MacFonts Collections - Four Collections for Professional Use
* MacBurn - CD & DVD Burning Software
* MediaEdit Pro - Video, Audio & Image Editor
* ScreenRecord - Capture On-Screen Actions for Tutorials
User groups receive an extra 20 percent discount on any macXware website order by using the user group discount code box during checkout. Check the TCMUG members web site for the details.
Find out more.
http://www.macXware.com

========== MUG CENTER STORE ==========
Is there something the MUG store can do to help your group?
Just let us know. Our Tuscarawas County Mac Users Group gets 1 percent back on everything members purchase, so we encourage our members to buy from the MUG store where you can get everything from software to new computers for your club for FREE.
The MUG store has free freight to members, RAM rebates, aggressive pricing on new (and reconditioned) Macs and the largest selection of pre-owned Macs on the planet.
March 31, 2005 to June 30, 2005 - User ID: / Password: - See the TCMUG members web site. Place your orders at http://www.applemugstore.com

========== TIP OF THE MONTH - BEGINNING HTML ==========
Beginning HTML - Links to Get You Going
We have discussed building Blogs and web sites at the last few meetings, so, I thought it might be a good idea to add some links for those who are just beginning to learn HTML. These should help you get up and going in a reasonable amount of time.
As you begin to learn HTML and CSS, allow me to share a quick word of wisdom: Don't compromise on standards ("recommendations"). They have been developed for a reason. There are many aspects to consider in the design process, such as the purpose of the Web site, site layout, page layout, navigation, accessibility, usefulness, and ease of maintenance and upgrading. Much of this work can be made easier by applying -- and adhering to -- the "recommendations" set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium - http://www.w3c.org./
Happy coding!
* HTML 101: Back to Basics
http://webreference.com/html/tutorial1/
* HTML Tutor - Getting Started
http://www.webdeveloper.com/html/html_tutor.html
* Beginners' Guide to HTML (or How To Make Your First Web Site)
http://www.webdeveloper.com/html/beginners_html.html
* HTML Primer
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/
* Introduction to HTML
http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/HTML/Intro/
* HTML 4.01 Tags
http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/HTML/4/Tags/
* HTML 4.01 in Netscape and Explorer
http://www.webreference.com/dev/html4nsie/
* HTML Forum
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2

========== OS X TIP OF THE MONTH - .plist FILES ==========
This week's tips give some hints for trouble-shooting a particular application that is not behaving as it should.
.Plist files are used by applications to store preferences, settings, and information like recent items. Almost every application maintains one, or several, .plist files. Sometimes an application's .plist file gets corrupted, often because the application crashes or is force-quit. This can lead to erratic behaviour, or the application refusing to start up at all.
The first trouble-shooting step is to quit the offending application, move its .plist file(s) to the desktop, and restart. A new, clean, and wholesome .plist file will be created and hopefully the application will now run correctly. You will have to visit the 'Application-name::Preferences...' menu to restate your preferences. If all is well trash the old .plist from the desktop.
If this step does not fix the problem, replace the newly-created .plist with the original to restore your preference settings, then move on to the next trouble-shooting tip.
Where are the .plist files to be found? All your personal preference settings are to be found in the folder Library:Preferences within your home folder. The plist file will most likely be named in the following way:
company-domain-name.application-name.possibly-more.plist
For example, ichat's .plist files are:
com.apple.iChat.plist
com.apple.iChat.AIM.plist
...and more...
The company-domain-name prefix gives a different 'name space' to every company, so eliminating any chance of filename clashes.
System-wide preference settings are held in the folder Library:Preferences at the root of the system disc. If a system service like Software Update is acting up, try the preference trash trick on this folder. You will most likely need to be an administrator to move and trash system-wide .plist files.
You can always get more information on troubleshooting a software issue on the Apple support web site at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25398

========== MAC SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT - TEXTSOAP ==========
TextSoap 4: Sanitize Grubby Text - Since 1998, TextSoap has served as the premier text processing tool. TextSoap easily cleans your emails of garbage characters, extracts text from HTML, processes database text files, and much more. Custom Cleaners allow you to design one-click actions for your specific needs. TextSoap supports both plain text and styled text manipulation. TextSoap offers advanced integration allowing you to use its features inside your favorite application.
User group members receive 20 percent off retail price of TextSoap when using the user group discount code and the link below. Visit the TCMUG members web site for more details. Place your order. http://www.unmarked.com/textsoap/index.html

========== TCMUG MEMBERSHIP FOR 2005 - TIME TO JOIN! ==========
We are working very hard to make it another exciting year for all local Mac users. We had a small dues structure for 2004. Membership in the TCMUG will cost $20.00 annually for a regular membership and will include a monthly newsletter, a special "members only" section of the web site, monthly meetings, a lending library, discounts on software, hardware and books and much, much more! You can visit our web site to get all of the features and benefits at http://www.tcmug.org/aboutus.html
We are offering three membership levels for 2005. There will be a regular membership at $20 per year and we will have student membership (K-12 & College) at $15 per year and a senior citizen (60+ years old) at $15 per year. All levels of membership will enjoy the benefits of belonging to the TCMUG.
Please contact any of the officers if you would have any questions regarding membership and the associated dues. http://www.tcmug.org/contactus.html
We have an online membership form that you are able to download. You can download the form at: http://www.tcmug.org/tcmug_memberapp.pdf

========== SUBMITTING INFORMATION ==========
Have a software tidbit to share, a Mac related web site to suggest or a news piece to submit? Email me with all the information at kwarrene@mac.com
To unsubscribe from this newsletter: Reply to this email with the subject line of REMOVE.
Forward this message to all of your family, friends and associates so that they can join the TCMUG and receive the monthly newsletter. Get all of the details at http://www.tcmug.org/aboutus.html
If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to contact any of the officers at http://www.tcmug.org/contactus.html