Why Use OpenType Fonts?
by David Blatner
O
ne
of the oldest myths in desktop publishing is “never
use TrueType fonts for professional publishing.”
Perhaps that was true in the early 90’s, but there’s
no reason to avoid them now. However, there’s an even
better type of font format you should be using:
OpenType. OpenType fonts are great for a number of
reasons:
They
have just one file per font, eliminating the need to
manage separate screen and printer font files.
They’re cross-platform — you can
use the same font on both Mac and PC.
They
can contain thousands of characters, so you no longer
need separate expert fonts.
They
can contain intelligent characters, such as automatic
fractions, special characters, and character pairs
that change depending on where they appear in a word
(such as a swash character).
They
allow OpenType-aware applications to follow special
instructions inside the font called glyph variants
and automatically swap out characters when relevant.
For example, in a script typeface, the application
would be smart enough to use one kind of “t” when it
appears at the beginning of a word and a different
version when it’s in the middle of a word (so that it
smoothly attaches to the letters around it).
Applications that are not OpenType-aware — such as
older versions of QuarkXPress or PageMaker — will
still work with OpenType fonts, but without the
advanced glyph features and intelligence.
Protect Those Precious Memories
Protect Those Precious Memories
As more people embrace the convenience of digital cameras, the potential for losing irreplaceable images continues to rise. Here are six safety tips to help protect those precious memories:
-
Transfer images from the camera and/or memory card onto CDs, DVDs or an external hard drive. Do this as soon as you've finished your picture taking session.
- Don't delete or reformat the memory card until all photos have been transferred and verified.
- Follow the instructions for removing the memory card from the camera or card reader connected to the computer to avoid deleting or corrupting photo images.
- Protect your memory card from static buildup or breakage by using a sturdy container when carrying the memory card around.
- Replace your memory card when necessary. After an average of 1,000 uses, the card can begin to wear out.
- Avoid extreme temperatures. Heat, cold and humidity can wreak havoc with all digital equipment, especially memory cards.
If you delete an image or images, get an error message or are unable to view images from the card, give us a call. Emc2 Computer Solutions is an authorized DriverSavers partner. DriveSavers was the first company to provide data recovery on digital camera flash memory cards, and remains the most successful!
Apple Unveils Near Final Mac OS X Leopard
WWDC 2007, SAN FRANCISCO—June 11, 2007—
A
pple® today unveiled a near final version of Mac OS® X Leopard, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Scheduled to ship in October, Leopard introduces over 300 new features, including a new Desktop and Dock with Stacks, an intuitive new way to organize files; an updated Finder featuring Cover Flow™ and a new way to easily browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to rapidly preview most files without opening an application; Time Machine, a new way to easily and automatically back up and restore lost files or a complete Mac®; Spaces, a powerful new feature to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and enhanced iChat and Mail applications, which easily allow users to communicate even more creatively. Read More...
Determining Battery Cycle Count
This tip describes how Mac users with portable computers running Mac OS X 10.4.x or later can determine the number of cycles on a battery.
- Open Apple System Profiler (Choose About this Mac from the Apple menu and then click on the More Info button).
- Click Power in the Contents list (under the Hardware section as seen below).
- Cycle Count is listed under the Battery
Information section.
Notes
-
A properly maintained Apple notebook battery is designed to retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity after 300 full charge and discharge cycles.
-
A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could use your notebook for an hour or more one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.
-
Searching Just Your Bookmarks
If you’re trying to search for a particular bookmark, you’ll want to know this trick: First, click on the Show All Bookmarks icon in the top-left corner of the Bookmarks Bar. Doing this makes the Collections column visible on the left side of Safari, but more importantly, it adds a Search field at the bottom center of the Safari window. When you type search terms in this field, it searches just within your bookmarks, so you get super-fast results.
Apple Inc. and The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. Enter into New Agreement
A
pple® Inc. and The Beatles’
company Apple Corps Ltd. are pleased to announce
the parties have entered into a new agreement
concerning the use of the name “Apple” and apple
logos which replaces their 1991 Agreement. Under
this new agreement, Apple Inc. will own all of the
trademarks related to “Apple” and will license
certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for
their continued use. In addition, the ongoing
trademark lawsuit between the companies will end,
with each party bearing its own legal costs, and
Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos
on iTunes®. The terms of settlement are
confidential.
Commenting on the settlement, Steve Jobs, Apple’s
CEO said, “We love the Beatles, and it has been
painful being at odds with them over these
trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a
positive manner, and in a way that should remove
the potential of further disagreements in the
future.”
Commenting on the settlement on behalf of the shareholders of Apple Corps, Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps said, “It is great to put this dispute behind us and move on. The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us. We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful co-operation with them.”
Thoughts on Music
Steve Jobs
February 6, 2007
W
ith the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future.
Read More...Iced Chip Tips
Cold weather can wreak havoc on temperature-sensitive drives inside computer games, portable music devices and digital cameras. Condensation and expanding components can lead to drive failure and data loss. If you leave any such items in the car overnight, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for 8-10 hours before powering up!
Top 30 Mistakes Made By New Mac Users When Switching From Windows
-
Closing an application window, thinking it has quit.
-
Downloading an app and running it from the disk image.
-
Creating endless untitled folders.
-
Using Safari’s Google search to get to a website.
-
Confusing the concept of wallpaper with screensaver.
Mac OS: Versions, builds included with Intel-based Macs
Important: You cannot normally use a Mac OS version earlier than the one included with the computer.
Notes
-
"Some computers shipped with different Mac OS X versions at different times. When a computer was not bundled with a later version, a "-" appears in the "Later Mac OS included" column.
-
The build information is available in the About This Mac window.
-
Some Macs may include a slightly later build version (but same numbered version) of Mac OS X on the Install or Restore discs than was preinstalled on the computer.
Mac OS X: About This Mac "build" information
Learn about build versions, such
as "Build 8L127," which appear in the About This
Mac window and System Profiler.
The
build version you see depends on the version of Mac
OS X that you have installed. The version changes
when you use the Software Update feature to update
core system software.
