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OmniOutliner 3.5

By Nick, December 4, 2005

OmniOutliner is, as its name suggests, an outline creation application. Okay, so on the surface, something as mundane as an outliner doesn’t seem like anything too exciting. Then again, OnmiOutliner isn’t just a plain outliner. It’s quite possibly one of the most flexible idea organizers on the Mac--or any platform for that matter. Note that this review discusses the standard version of OmniOutliner, as opposed to the professional version. To compare the differences between the two, read The Omni Group’s OmniOutliner Pro 3.5 page.

Like other OmniGroup applications, OmniOutliner is an excellent example of a Mac UI done right. The interface itself is simple and straightforward:

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In fact, at first glance the power of OmniOutliner seems tucked away. However, it is fairly easy to discover features. For example, the “Inspect” button brings up the inspector palette, which is what you’ll use for most document formatting. “Add Column” is pretty self-explanatory. And, of course, the Action menu gives quick access to many common tasks. the “Utilities” button is a little misleading, however; all it does it bring up the search drawer.

OnmiOutliner has many of the expected outliner features: adding and subtracting rows, indentation, and so on. Where OmniOutliner really shines…
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Rockingwith a Community HotSpot, Airport Express, AirTunes and browserTunes

By SogniX, December 3, 2005

Got together with my neighbors and we all agreed to build a community WiFi hotspot.

I picked up an Airport Express to get started, upgraded the firmware in my Linksys Router and was able to create a remote bridge. Not as hard as I thought going from 3rd party to an Airport Express - it just creates a separate hotspot instead of just one big one. No biggie.

Once I was able to bridge my wireless signal, I placed the Airport Express by a Living-room window and plugged in a pair of powered speakers, then tested it with AirTunes. Awesome!

The speakers can be placed inside or out for parties and get-togethers.

We are now in the process of adding more Airport Expresses to the network so everyone will have a network feed (other non-wireless computers, and a computer who normally has a hard time getting a wireless signal to reach it), And with the help of browserTunes - be able to control the music from any connected computer.


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RIP Macromedia

By Nick, December 3, 2005

It’s official (almost): Macromedia and Adobe have become one. Or at least, they’re supposed to be come one.

According to an official press release issued by the two companies, Adobe is set to close its purchase and gobble up Macromedia today. Mmm, Macromedia on Rye. The buyout plan was announced in April.

Deep Thought’s Take: Silly attempts at humor aside, this buyout could have a negative impact on creative professionals stemming from lack of competition. It could result in less innovation, higher prices (as if high-end software doesn’t cost enough as is), and less choice (e.g. if Adobe merges the once-competitng products into one). Competition: it’s a Good Thing (TM).


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A quick guide to cleaning out a Windows install

By Liam, December 1, 2005

Chances are that you, being a tech geek, have been or will be called upon to clean out someone’s gunked-up Windows PC. This tutorial will help you do so with relative ease. You will need these tools:

You may want to have an XP machine of your own to test and familiarize yourself with each of the applications.

It also helps to have (in case of extreme measures):

  • A couple CD-RWs or a USB thumb drive
  • The original XP CD that came with the patient’s computer
  • Experience with formatting and reinstalling XP

The first thing you want to do is reboot into safe mode.  Hold F8 before the XP bootscreen appears, or click Start>Run, type in msconfig and hit enter, select the BOOT.INI tab, and check /SAFEMODE.

Install all of the applications under their account, and…
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LyX RoX

By moreApple, November 30, 2005

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;…
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