Tag Archives: Apple

Maria’s Guide Title for iBooks Author Now in Production

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Look for it within the next week or so.

iBooks Author IconNo sooner had we put the finishing touches on Sorting Excel Data than Apple delivered a brand new topic for the Maria’s Guides book series: iBooks Author.

iBooks Author is a Mac OS application that enables you to develop media-rich ebooks for iBooks on iPad. Although it has a limited audience, it makes up for those limitations with sheer publishing power. This free application makes it possible to create books that not only include fixed page layouts, but images, galleries, movies, review tests, and interactive graphics. Best of all, it features a relatively easy-to-use, intuitive interface.

We’re excited about iBooks Author, mostly because of all the great new ways we’ll be able to enhance Maria’s Guide books for iBooks readers. We’re also excited about producing a book about a brand new topic: iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Book should be available before the end of the month. We hope you’ll look for it here—and on the iBookstore, of course.

Sorting Excel Data: The Basics & Beyond

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A definitive guide to sorting data managed in Microsoft Excel.

Sorting Excel Data cover

This guide takes the mystery and confusion out of Excel’s sorting features. It starts by covering the basics of simple, one-column sorts. It then builds on that information to explain multi-column sorting, setting up and using custom sort orders, sorting based on cell colors or icons, performing case-sensitive sorts, and sorting by rows instead of columns. Step-by-step, fully illustrated instructions make it clear what you need to do. Sample files make it easy to repeat exercises so you can see the same results.

Although this book concentrates on Microsoft Excel 2010 for Windows and Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac OS, it also provides useful tips and instructions for previous versions of Excel.

Buy Kindle Edition
Buy iBooks Edition
Buy NOOK Edition

I’m really pleased to announce that the second book in the Maria’s Guides series — Sorting Excel Data: The Basics & Beyond — is now out and available in three ebook formats, with a print edition on the way.

About the Book

It all started as a question asked by a friend in Facebook. An experienced computer professional, she didn’t know how to perform a four-column sort in Microsoft Excel. I thought back to my computer applications training days and remembered how my students struggled with Excel’s sorting features. I decided it would make a good topic for a Maria’s Guide book.

While researching and writing the book, I realized just how much Excel’s sorting feature has changed since I wrote my last Excel book several years ago. While it was obviously important for me to cover the most recent Windows and Mac OS versions of Excel, I also wanted to explain complex sorting to folks who haven’t yet upgraded. I think the book does a great job of completely covering how to sort data managed in Excel.

Inside, you’ll find the following chapters:

Table of Contents
Before We Begin: Introduction
Chapter 1: Sorting Basics
Chapter 2: Quick Sorts
Chapter 3: Multiple-Column Sorts
Chapter 4: Sorting by Color & Icon
Chapter 5: Using Custom Sort Orders
Chapter 6: Exploring Sort Options
Chapter 7: Sorting with Filters & Tables
Conclusion: That’s Everything

The printed version of the book runs 114 pages, including front matter, table of contents, and index.

The book uses several example worksheets, all of which are contained in a single workbook file. Readers are encouraged to download the sample file and follow along. This ensures understanding, since readers get the same results that appear in the book.

Buy the Book

The book is currently available as an ebook from three sources (so far):

The print edition is currently going through the proofing process. Once approved, it will be available on Amazon.com and BN.com, as well as by special order through your favorite bookstore.

Additional Material, Feedback, and Support

You can find additional material about Excel on this site. Just follow the Excel topic link.

You can also post questions and read questions and answers on the book’s support page. That’s also where you can find the sample workbook file used throughout the book.

Mac OS X Fonts: Some Good Reference Material

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More reading material for Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard Users.

I’ve been hard at work on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide these past few days and I see at least a month more of work ahead of me. The book’s a complete rewrite of the Tiger edition and I’m eager to get as much updated information in it as I can.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share two excellent references I found about using Fonts in Mac OS X:

  • Mac OS X: Font File Formats is a Web page on the Apple site with basic information about font file formats supported by Tiger (and Leopard).
  • Advanced Typography with Mac OS X Tiger is a 37-page PDF file with extensive and advanced information about using fonts with Mac OS X, including some how-to information about Font Book, the Font Panel, the Character Palette, and the Typography panel.

As I find additional high-quality reference material about Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard features, I’ll post links to this site. Keep checking in. I still have 25 chapters to go!

Steve Jobs/Bill Gates D5 Interview

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Great to watch.

Jobs/GatesI know it’s been out for a while, but I’ve finally taken the time to download the 997MB video podcast file for the Steve Jobs/Bill Gates interview at the D5 conference. (It takes time when you only have a 512kbps connection; don’t even try it on dialup.)

It’s a great look at the history of the two companies — Apple and Microsoft — from the viewpoints of the people that built them. The intro, which features early clips of the two men together, is a real treat. It’s hard to remember that both men were so young when they started on their paths.

A while back, I wrote a post about the Bill Gates Daily Show interview. In that interview, Gates came off as a real geek. Not so in this interview. He’s extremely articulate, amusing, and informative.

And, of course, Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs.

I highly recommend this interview if you have any interest in histories of Apple and Microsoft and their relationship.

DVD Technology Overview

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An overview of DVD Technology as it applies to Macintosh computers.

In researching Chapter 3 (File Management) for my upcoming Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide, I poked around on Apple’s support Web site for a complete list of the CD and DVD media that’s supported by Apple’s optical drives. I stumbled upon “DVD Technology: Overview,” which summarizes DVD formats and explains how they work using text, tables, and even images. A list of related documents, with links, rounds out the article by providing easy access to related information.

The information in the article goes far beyond the few facts I needed for my book. I highly recommend it if you have any questions about the DVD drive in your Mac.

Creating a Printer Pool

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A good tip for anyone with access to multiple printers…especially when they always seem to be busy.

From “Apple – Pro – Tips – Need the First Available Printer?” on Apple.com:

If you’ve got a print job on your hands and you need it as soon as possible, but all the printers on your network are often busy, you can pool these printers together so your document will automatically print to the first available printer.

The article goes on to explain how to do this; it’s a lot simpler than you might think!

Mac OS Versions, builds included with Intel-based Macs

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More reference information for Mac OS users.

A week or so ago, I published a quick blog entry with a link to an Apple Tech Note document about Mac OS X builds. Here’s another article with the same kind of information for Intel-based Macs: Mac OS: Versions, builds included with Intel-based Macs.

The article includes some basic information on how to find the build number and a table of Macintosh models and the Mac OS versions/builds that came with them. You might find this information useful if you ever need to boot your computer from an OS X CD or DVD or if you’re interested in running a build of Mac OS other than the build that came with your computer.

How to Resolve Startup Issues and Perform Disk Maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck

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Another technical note from Apple Support.

Over the past 18 years I’ve been using a Mac — is it that long already? — I’ve had more than one experience when my Mac just wouldn’t start. On two occasions, it was due to a hard disk gone bad — every computer user’s nightmare (are you backing up your important stuff?). On other occasions, it was screwed up but repairable directory files and permissions.

Your Mac comes with tools to help you resolve startup issues. And, in most cases, they really do work. But an important part of keeping your computer running reliably is maintenance — that means running diagnostic/repairs software on it regularly.

From Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck on Apple Support:

If your computer won’t start up normally, you may need to use a disk repair utility to fix the issue. Mac OS X includes two utilities for this…Disk Utility and fsck. You can also use these even when your computer starts just fine but you want to check the disk for possible file system issues.

The article includes step-by-step instructions for using these two Apple-provided utilities to keep your computer running smoothly.

Apple Product Manuals Online

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A good place to get documentation for free.

Did you know that Apple offers manuals for many of its hardware and software products online, on the Apple Web site?

Visit http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/ for the most recently released manuals. That page also includes a search box you can use to search for a specific manual.

Apple manuals are generally offered in PDF format, which can be opened using Preview or Adobe Reader.

Apple Stores Here I Come

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My publisher arranges for appearances in Apple Stores.

Apple Computer, Inc. opened its first retail store a few years ago. It was a great success. Since then, it has opened over a hundred stores in the US, UK, and Japan.

Like Apple-designed products, Apple stores are sleek, bright, and attractive. They show off all currently available Apple products, including hardware and software, and there are plenty of hands-on opportunities for store visitors. The stores also show off products by third-party vendors that are “Made for Macintosh” or made to work with Mac OS X. That’s where I come in.

My Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Visual QuickStart Guide will be one of just two Mac OS X Tiger books available when Tiger is released this Friday. I worked my butt off (figuratively speaking, of course; there’s no losing fat on your butt when you’ve got it parked in a chair all day) to get this book done on time. And it’s paying off. The marketing folks at my publisher, Peachpit Press (an imprint of Pearson Education), tell me that Apple has designed a lucite stand to display Mac OS X Tiger when it is released. The stand will display my book, side by side, with Tiger retail boxes. How cool is that?

Apple has also promoted my book on its Apple eNews electronic newsletter and corresponding Web page. They even included an image of the book’s cover. My publisher has reportedly doubled the initial print run to handle large orders from Apple, Barnes and Noble, and CompUSA.

I told my publisher’s marketing folks that I was interested in doing Apple Store appearances and listed the stores in this area: Phoenix (Biltmore), Chandler, Tucson, and Las Vegas. (Okay, so Las Vegas isn’t exactly around the block, but it is nice to be able to go there for a legitimate business reason.) Kim, who is in charge of author appearances, sent out a few e-mails to Apple Stores. The response was impressive. All the stores wanted me. Tucson even offered an appearance on Friday evening, as part of the Tiger release festivities. (Unfortunately, personal obligations will prevent me from attending that day.) I chose among the offered dates and added them to my Calendar.

Then Apple invited me to another Vendor Fair, this one in Elk Grove, CA. (I attended one in Austin, TX last week.) I asked Peachpit to see if they could get me a gig in the Apple store in Sacramento (Arden Fair) the same day. A few e-mails and it was a done deal. Wow.

What do I do at these appearances? I normally do a presentation. This time, my presentation will concentrate on productivity features in Tiger, showing attendees how the new operating system can make them more productive. The presentation isn’t a slide show. (I don’t want to put anyone to sleep.) Instead, it’s a live demo. I plug my PowerBook into their projection system and go. It’s unscripted and mildly rehearsed. I usually work with a list of topics I want to cover and go from there. After about 45 minutes of that, we open the floor to questions. That can be fun, too.

What’s weird about all this is that I haven’t done any of this stuff in about three years. I got really burned out and didn’t want to do appearances anymore. I actually turned down a bunch of appearances and interview requests. I thought I’d be getting out of the business. But Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger has gotten me all fired up again. Apple is doing really well and it’s a pleasure to work with its new technology. So I’m excited and really looking forward to all of these events.

If you’re reading this on a Windows PC, you don’t know what you’re missing. Stop by an Apple Store in your area and see if the techs there can convince you to switch.

Using Software Update

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Tips for keeping your software up-to-date with Software Update.

Software UpdateSoftware Update, which is part of Mac OS X System Preferences, is a tool for keeping your Mac OS software up-to-date. It uses your Internet connection to compare what’s installed on your computer to what’s current. If new software is available — and it seems like it always is — it is listed in the Software Update window. Installing updates is as simple as turning on a check box, typing your administrator password, and clicking a few buttons.

If you’ve been using Mac OS X for any length of time, you should know all that. But here are a few things you might not know.

First of all, you can set up Software Update to automatically check for updates on a Daily (overkill), Weekly (just right), or Monthly (not often enough) basis. You do that in the main Software Update window, in the Update Software tab. Just turn on the Check for Update check box and choose a frequency option. If you don’t mind your computer downloading stuff without telling you, you can also turn on the Download important updates in the background check box. (Personally, that option is a bit too Microsoftish for me.)

Software Update InstalledWant to know what you’ve installed? Click the Installed Updates tab. Here’s what it looks like for my eMac test mule. Not much there, is there. That’s because I cheat — I’ll explain in a moment. When you check for updates, the list of new software may include some items that are checked off. But you can uncheck them and check others.
Software Update DescriptionWant to know what a piece of software does? Click it to display a description in the bottom half of the window.
Update MenuTake a moment to look at the least known feature of Software Update: the Update menu. These commands are what makes Software Update really useful:

  • Ignore Update tells Software Update to stop bugging you about an update you don’t care about.
  • Download only downloads checked updates without installing them.
  • Install isn’t anything special. It’s the same as clicking the Install X Items button in the Software Update window.
  • Install and Keep Package is my favorite. How many of you downloaded the 50+ MB Mac OS X 10.3.3 update? How many of you did it for more than one Mac? I didn’t. This is my cheat. I use the Install and Keep package command to download and install all updates without deleting the updater package. Then I copy the updater package to each computer that needs the update and run it. One download, four updates. When you’re relying on a cable modem connection, bandwidth counts!

One more thing about Software Update. Don’t set it up to automatically check for updates on a computer that is supposed to automatically restart itself. I did this on my Web server and didn’t realize it (the automatically check option is turned on by default in Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3). Trouble is, the shut down command was canceled because my computer was waiting for me to tell it what to do about the list of updates. As a result, my Web server (which had already quit as part of the shut down command) was down from midnight on Sunday morning to 7:00 AM on Monday.

I hate when that happens.

The Real Benefit of .Mac

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Why every serious Mac user should have a .Mac account.

I have a .Mac account. I’ve had it for almost two years now and I think it’s money well spent.

Before you accuse me of being a sucker, take a moment to look at .Mac and what it has to offer. (Go to www.mac.com.) Sure, you can use it to send postcards via e-mail (that’s called iCard) or store the contact information for your friends, family, and work associates online (that’s called Address Book). And you can also use it to build simple Web sites (that’s called Home Page). And the .Mac user name sure comes in handy when you want to use iChat. But I don’t use any of those features. I use the ones that add convenience and security to my life.

iDisk is 100 MB of disk space on a secure Apple server that I can use any way I like. Because it’s on a computer outside my office, it’s a great place to back up important files. .Mac includes Backup, just for that purpose, and I have it set up to back up certain files on a daily basis. Because of my relatively slow connection to the Internet (256 Kbps cable modem), I don’t use iDisk space for storing files I need to access regularly — as Apple seems to expect by including an iDisk icon in Panther’s Sidebar. But I do use it to store files that others may need to access via the Internet, including some of the photo albums I throw together with iPhoto. (No need to use up my bandwidth serving images, is there?) I also publish one of my iCal calendars to my iDisk space, making it accessible from any computer. A link on the related Web site sends visitors to my iDisk Web content without them having to type in long, complex URLs that don’t start with one of my domain names. Frankly, the way I use iDisk is enough to justify the cost of my annual .Mac membership.

.Mac Mail is a lifesaver for me. It provides me with an e-mail address that never changes and never moves. The server doesn’t go down (or, if it does, I haven’t noticed it). This is a big difference from my own mail server, which resides at the end of that — you guessed it — cable modem connection. Not necessarily reliable, especially given all the problems I’ve been having with WebSTAR lately. (Let’s not go there, okay?) Best of all, I can use my .Mac account from any computer connected to the Internet for both sending and receiving mail. So I don’t have to lug my laptop (okay, so it’s only a 12-inch PowerBook so it isn’t much to “lug”) around and find an Internet connection for it when I travel.

iSync is also pretty helpful. I use it to synchronize my Address Book and iCal calendar data files on my main production Mac (a dual G5 these days) to my PowerBook. It does this via my iDisk disk space, where all the data is stored. iSync also copies my contacts and calendars to my iPod, so I have them with me when I fly.

.Mac also comes with free software, like Virex, which can keep your computer virus-free. And there are always special offers for free or discounted products. I picked up iBlog (mentioned in another blog here) on .Mac and am very pleased with it and the ease at which it enables me to publish my blogs to my iDisk Web space. Offers change all the time. For example, today they’re offering free puzzle games, access to Panther training videos, a 10% discount on camcorders purchased at the Apple Store, and discounts on Keynote.

Membership is $99 per year (plus tax), but when I renewed, they offered me a $30 discount, bringing the total down to $69 plus tax. They threw in a copy of The Simms software (which I tried and found uniquely disturbing). And I just noticed that they’ve begun a referral offer that gets you 20% off for each person you refer. Refer five new members and your next year is free. (Believe me, I didn’t know about the offer when I started writing this blog — this is not an attempt to get you to sign up with me as a referrer. In fact, to prove it, I won’t even give you my .Mac member name.)

That’s how I see .Mac. I’m glad I signed up. If you have your doubts, check it out and imagine how it could benefit you.