journals
LyX RoX
As in Pages, you don't have to manually configure text size and other variables. Writing a business letter or term paper is as simple as editing a pre-built template. Voilà!
Your next complex writing project just got easier thanks to LyX, a free LaTeX/TeX editor. Unlike its ancestors, it’s not just for mathematical writing. In fact, it’s more of a page layout app like Apple’s Pages. I am writing this piece in it right now.
LyX is 100% free GPL software.
LyX in Mac OS X looks good and does not require X11. The graphical interface is straightforward, so I skipped most documentation and have done OK learning by doing. For example, I learned I can add cover art and illustrations in a term paper or book through the Graphics item in the Insert menu. There’s a LyX plugin for Spotlight compatability too.
As in Pages, you don’t have to manually configure text size and other variables. Writing a business letter or term paper is as simple as editing a pre-built template. Voilà!
You can use a simple template to write a book, complete with table of contents and an index list. For the index, you highlight a few or a lot of the most important terms and the software will automatically index them. This is great for helping readers find the keyword they were looking for in your text; and I didn’t expect to generate such a professional-looking report so easily.
Beware if you’re downloading LyX for a Windows box. The download has support files that take up a few hundred megabytes. I think Ubuntu carries this program in its online software library and it should be as simple as…
(Continue)
 |
6 | 1796 |
| comments | views |
Rumor Mill: Mac mini to Morph into Mega Media Machine?
I love alliteration. I also love following Apple rumors, so when I can work the two into one headline, I feel I’ve done my job.
Either way, Think Secret reports that Apple is ready to stage a full assault on the living room and release a version of the Mac mini to become Apple’s true media center PC. The new Mac mini is reported to have a new version of Front Row, a “TiVo-killer” DVR, and the long-rumored built-in iPod dock. A move to larger 3.5” hard drives is also possible. The miniature media Mac would be unveiled at January’s Macworld Expo.
Many multimedia Mac mavens have already made monumental Mac mini media centers, such as this magical multimedia marvel.
Okay, I’ll stop with the alliteration now.
 |
45 | 2436 |
| Nick | comments | views |
What’s Wrong With View Options, and How To Fix It
The Finder is built off of two different designs which were stitched together after the fact, and all sorts of weird things spring from it.
Article by stridey
People tend to like to complain about Mac OS X’s Finder, because frankly it has a lot of problems. The biggest of those problems is that it’s built on top of two paradigms: The spatial Finder of the classic OS days, and the NeXT File Browser. There’s an excellent description of why they’re so different here, but what it basically boils down to is this: in the OS 9 spatial paradigm, elements (eg windows) represent a true spatialization of the file structure, whereas the NeXT browser is, well, a browser. The end result is that the Finder is built off of two different designs which were stitched together after the fact, and all sorts of weird things spring from it.
One is the UI for Finder’s View Options floater. It’s a very specific problem, and it may seem like a niggle to you, but to me it’s a constant annoyance, which is only made worse by the fact that it would be so easy to fix.
Now, I like to customize my windows, for both usability and eye-candy reasons. When I open my root directory, for instance, I like to browse in column view, but I like my home folder to have nice large icons. After all, the home directory contains eight folders by default, and I find it best for my file organization to leave it that way. But I digress; the bottom line is that I end up using the View Options floater a lot, to…
(Continue)
 |
0 | 705 |
| Liam | comments | views |
The Front Row Set Top Box
I can tell you now that it is on top of my wish list for new products at MWSF.
Once in a while someone commentating on the world of Apple has a vision of a future product that seems to fit in with everything else Apple is doing. I just so happen to have had one of those visions. It seems such a simple an obvious idea that I’m surprised I haven’t heard anyone think of it before (well hopefully Apple has). What I have imagined is a Front Row set top box.
Think of a small box, like a Mac mini but thinner and completely white. Other than that all you can see is a DVD drive a power light and a few ports on the back. It plugs into your TV and makes it part of the digital hub that Apple is trying to create. And the best part is that Apple has all of the parts in place to make something like this happen.
Let’s think about the iMac G5. One of the biggest new features is Front Row. This is a simple application that takes all your music, photos and movies and lets you view them using one of the simplest remotes ever conceived. So imagine if you put this on your set top box and you could, with the press of a button, switch from watching TV to have Front Row up and then view all of this content on your TV. Of course the best part of it all is that these won’t be on this box.
I can think of two very obvious…
(Continue)
 |
23 | 1477 |
| comments | views |
10.4.3 Makes its Way Into Retail Boxes
The big stripped kitty is ready for prime time.
From the “Really exciting new stuff, but not really, but really, it’s really exciting, really” desk: Mac OS X 10.4 retail boxes have been updated and now come with Mac OS X 10.4.3. This new version of Tiger was released earlier this month and contains “a lot” of fixes (anywhere from 500 to 1,000, depending on who you ask). The retail box has a new part number but pricing is unchanged ($69 education, $129 for a single license, $199 for the family pack).
If you are have held off on swimming in the Tiger pool, now’s a good time to jump in, the water is warm!
|
|
0 | 1334 |
| Nick | comments | views |
more stuff
- LyX RoX
- Rumor Mill: Mac mini to Morph into Mega Media Machine?
- What’s Wrong With View Options, and How To Fix It
- The Front Row Set Top Box
- 10.4.3 Makes its Way Into Retail Boxes
- SGS International releases DeskBrowse beta
- The Search For The Long Lost Software
- News of the Weird: SunnComm releases press release to counter satire
- Mac mini+Front Row+Ford F150=Awesome
- iOnMac holding logo contest, giving away iPod nano
- Intel Macs coming early?
- It will take more than just whining to FTFF
- The Clone Wars (with apologies to George Lucas)
- Apple asked to pull iPod ad
- Masses laud release of WeatherBug Lite for Mac
- Make it Great
- iList Studio 3.0 Released
- Apple Releases Mac OS 10.4.3 Update
- New iPod ad draws fire from Lugz
- New Apple Hardware
- Apple US Market Share Sees Impressive Annual Gains
- Yet Another Apple Media Event; New Pro Macs?
- Is Apple Killing Off eMac?
- New Stuff, But I’m Still Unimpressed…Why?
- Is Apple Killing Off Firewire?
- New iPods, New apps, New iMacs
- What we can piece together…
- Unsanity Celebrates Fifth Birthday, Has 50% off Sale
- Media Event: Where to find news [UPDATED]
- Apple Conference Call Highlights
- What’s wrong with the Mac part 1
- “I was writing paper…”
- Back on Track With Mac
- Apple Holding London Event October 12?
- NewsGator Acquires NetNewsWire
- Apple to Announce “One More Thing” at Media Event [UPDATED x2]
- Apple Responds Part 1
- Do the Customer Service Limbo
- Wow, that was easy!
- Rumor Roundup: iTunes for Windows Mobile; New Mac minis?
- First on DT: iBook G4 Logic Board Petition Started
- Ten Suggestions for Leopard
- Three days later, I’m underwhelmed by Tiger.
- iPod Nano design flaw
- Why does Apple force you to register your operating system?
- The 80/20 Rule and Apple
- Apple Expo: .mac gets additional storage, groups, new Backup
- When Zealots Attack
- Addendum. . .
- First on DT: Apple quietly kills single-button mouse
- Next eBay Purchase: Skype
- Dazed, Confused, and Quite GUI
- The Good, the Bad and the Not So Ugly Interface
- iTunes 5.0: First Impressions
- Lakewood Studios Releases iList Data 3.0
- Apple Intros iTunes 5, iPod nano, iTunes Phone
- DT Interviews Nitrozac & Snaggy
- Swift Publisher 1.0.1
- Androo Releases Updated Dextop Themes
- Unsanity Releases ShapeShifter 2.2
- OSX Interface Whining
- News of the Weird: G5 Mac mini (again)?
- Microsoft + Mac + Free = Crapness
- What’s Being Said About Mac OS X on Intel on Regular PC’s
- Mac OS X Tiger for x86 leaked, cracked and running on standard PCs
- Apple Mighty Mouse
- Thinking Different?
- Apple Launches iTMS Japan
- Mighty Mouse
- Finally.
- Codewarrior Joins HP iPod in Bit Bucket in the Sky
- End of the HP iPod
- Final Cut Studio: The Return of the King
- MacMine Looking to Launch VOIP Company
- What’s wrong with this picture?
- Konfabulator Developer Sold to Yahoo! [UPDATED]
- Deer Park Alpha 2
- Which OS is the Safest?
- Apple US Market Share Jumps--Again
- 500 Million Songs Downloaded off iTunes
- Mac Site of the Week: Dextop GUI
- Now in Software Update: Airport 4.2 Updater
- Apple releases iPhoto 5.0.3
- Apple Blows Away Analysts
- Apple Financial Results in One Hour
- Apple Releases Mac OS 10.4.2 Update
- Mac Site of the Week: Send us your suggestions!
- Geek Toy of the week: TinkerTool 3.5
- The Foolish Masses
- Speed Download 3.0.10
- Apple Counting UP to 500 Million Songs Sold
- Mac Site of the Week: Interface Hall of Shame
- Geek Toy of the week: Amnesty Widget Browser 1.0
- Geek Toy and Mac site of the week coming Tuesday
- Apple Releases iTunes 4.9, updates iPods
- Let the Advertising Wars begin
- Mac site of the week: Save Money on Mac Gear at dealmac.com
- Geek Toy of the week: Widget Master 1.1
- What a Long, Strange Trip
- Camino 0.9a1
