| |
Ian Garvin, age four.
Ian's sister Amelia, age one.
Henry and Gracie Smith and a couple other kids.
Aidan Demir O'Neill, age one.
The
idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour
to lead all customers out of a mire of
technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was
he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in
the first place.
--"Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" author
Douglas Adams
|
|
I once used a burnisher and a waxer to put ads together. Now, the tools are a little more sophisticated. In this section, you'll find the latest versions of some of the basics that I think should be in every creative toolbox.
Internet Helpers
Stuffit Expander
Do you have any idea how versatile this free utility is? Use it to unStuff, unZip, unHQX, unMIME -- well, it lets you to deal with just about any e-mail attachment or file download you might come across. Don't think about it, just go get it. If you've already got it, go get the latest version. Now. Go!
for Macintosh
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffitexpander/index.html
for Windows
http://my.smithmicro.com/win/stuffitexpander/index.html
Adobe Acrobat Reader
These days, the Acrobat Reader installer comes with everything except Happy Meals. Get the most recent version here:
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Macintosh or Windows
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Viruses
I'm sure you've read everything that says the Mac is pretty much virus-free, and Windows is a virus nightmare. In a broad sense this is true. Sort of. Windows does seem to have more than it's share of intrusive phenonmena, and so far the Mac seems to have avoided them. But if you've got a Mac, consider this:
- It's only a matter of time.
- While your Mac may not be virus-vulnerable, you do have the potential to pass viruses (virii?) along to your Windows-based clients. Awkward.
- If you're running Windows on an Intel Mac, your Win installation is still vulnerable.
- It's only a matter of time.
ClamXav for Macintosh
Full-featured, frequently updated open-source virus checker for Mac OS X. Finds and quarantines numerous Windows viruses as well, so you don't send that nasty Word Macro Virus on to a client. And did I mention it's FREE?
http://www.clamxav.com
AVG Free for Windows
If you don't have a commercial anti-virus product, get this gem from Grisoft, Inc. In my opinion, it's probably as good as most shrink-wrapped products (and probably better than many). Current version covers Windows XP and Vista, but older versions are available. And did I mention it's FREE?
http://www.grisoft.com
Ad Aware Free for Windows
I love this stuff -- it does a nice job of detecting and removing Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malicious programs, and repairs damage left by malware. And did I mention it's FREE? (Are you noticing a pattern here?)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com
Norton Anti-Virus Updates
Download updates directly from Symantec's Web site
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html
Disinfectant (Mac OS 9 only)
Venerable Macintosh virus protectant from Northwestern University and John Norstad. He stopped updating it quite some time back, but it still covers most Mac OS 9 viruses. (Monty Python fans -- check out the "About Disinfectant" box.)
download Disinfectant
Font Management
I've been working with Macs for over two decades, and I've come to the conclusion that font management is getting worse instead of better. At least Mac users don't need ATM any longer.
Suitcase Info, Upgrades and Updates
http://www.extensis.com
Useful Utilities and Other Gems
Apple System Profiler
If you have a Macintosh, you already have this. It tells you what's under the hood, without having to open the hood. Great if you need to know how fast a processor you have, or what size DIMM is installed in which memory slot, or who manufactured your hard drive. This is usually found under the Apple Menu -- go to "About This Mac..." and click on "More Info...".
GraphicConverter
A shareware photo and graphics editor, this is the poor man's Photoshop. You get 80% of Photoshop's functionality for $35. The author, Thorsten Lemke, adds features at a rate that can only be described as "frightening". One of my favorite features is the ability to convert just about any graphics file format, Windows or Macintosh, to just about any other format (cell phone, anyone?). Great display and slideshow options, too -- if you're not an iPhoto person or don't want to pony up $300 for Adobe Lightroom, check this out.
http://www.lemkesoft.com
Cocktail
Award winning general purpose utility for Mac OS X that puts a graphical interface on some of the more arcane Teminal commands, like repairing permissions, dealing with cache files, running general utility scripts, and so on. versions for 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5. I recommend it as a monthly must for clients. USD $14.95.
http://www.maintain.se
Battery Health Monitor
Free utility tells you what kind of shape your Mac laptop battery is in.
http://www.sonoragraphics.com/batteryhealth.html
|
|
