March – April 2009 — Vol 31 No 2
Source
Open full PDF (48 pages) • Mar–Apr 2009 • Vol 31 No 2 • eJournal
Note: An earlier ingest used a 33-page abbreviated PDF (original DevonThink copy). This entry has been expanded with the additional 15 pages of content from the full version.
Overview
Cover photo: "1 Infinite Loop" — Apple HQ in Cupertino, by Lawrence I. Charters. ★ Pi Photo Contest 2009: The Sequel announced (kickoff March 28; submissions March 28-May 1; awards May 30, 2009). "Old and newly shot digital images may be submitted; novices compete against novices; 5 categories; up to 10 images / 3 categories per photographer."
President's column "Things are Starting to Gel" (Bob Jarecke).
Updated officer roster (compared to 2009-01 — V31 N01): adds Neil Ferguson as Director. Full slate: - President: Bob Jarecke - Treasurer: Thomas Carlson - Secretary: Gordon Nord - Directors: Len Adler, Richard Allen, Jonathan Bernstein, Jay Castillo, Pat Fauquet, Neil Ferguson (new), Larry Kerschberg, Brent Malcolm, Richard Orlin, Charles Reintzel, Mike Schneible - Editor: Lawrence I. Charters; Design Nora Korc; Photo Richard Sanderson; Copy Patsy Chick - Volunteers: Telecom Comm. Chair Paul Schlosser; Webmaster Lawrence I. Charters; Tuesday Night Clinic Jim Ritz; Calendar Editor Brent Malcolm
Table of contents (full)
| Article | Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Pi Photo Contest 2009: The Sequel | — | 2 |
| Introduction and Reading Tips | — | 4 |
| Things are Starting to Gel | Bob Jarecke | 6 |
| Book Review: slide:ology | Kathleen G. Charters | 7 |
| The Story of the eJournal | Nora Korc | 13 |
| Disk Utility: Superhero, Savior, Prophet | Lawrence I. Charters | 16 |
| January 2009 General Meeting: Macworld SF 2009 Review | Lawrence I. Charters | 31-34 |
| iTunes goes DRM-Free + Macworld Third-Party Offerings | — | 35-36 |
| SIG Reports: members helping members tutorial (Jan 24) | — | 37 |
| Genealogy SIG January 2009: Geni.com Family Collaboration | Tom Carlson | 38-39 |
| iLife SIG Jan 24 (Pat Fauquet — TubeTV + Duplicate Annihilator) | — | 36 |
| Afternoon Learners SIG December 2008 (Email applications) | Len Adler | 40 |
| Afternoon Learners SIG January 2008 (iDVD) | Len Adler / Paul Silverman / Don Fortnum | 41 |
| December 2008 Graphic Arts SIG: HDR Photomatix | Mary Herber | 42 |
| January 2009 Graphic Arts SIG: Lightroom 2 | Vernice Christian (Harvey Levine) | 43 |
| Century Club ($100+ donors) | — | 38 |
| Letter to the Editor — Neil Ferguson on first BOD experience | Neil Ferguson | 45 |
| Volunteer Opportunities | — | 44-45 |
| WAP Officers + Board of Directors | — | 41 |
Highlights
Pi Photo Contest 2009: The Sequel
Pi's second photo contest — contest period March 28 to May 1, 2009; awards May 30. Sequel to 2007 Photo Contest I (2007-01 — V29 N01 launch, 2007-07 — V29 N04 results — Pi Photo Contest I was the actual first; the issue cover says "In 2007 Washington Apple Pi held its first photo contest"). The "Sequel" is Photo Contest II. The Photo Contest Supplement at 2009-07 — V31 N04 Supplement is Photo Contest II results.
1 Infinite Loop cover — Lawrence I. Charters
Apple's Cupertino HQ photographed by Charters — "A quarter century ago, Apple introduced the Macintosh. Through many twists and turns, that initial event made this building address — 1 Infinite Loop — one of the most famous in history."
Story of the eJournal — Nora Korc
Design Editor's account of how the eJournal came to be — the rationale, design decisions, production stack (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator CS3, Acrobat Pro 8).
Disk Utility — Lawrence I. Charters
Practical guide to Mac OS X's built-in disk repair/partitioning tool.
slide:ology book review — Kathleen G. Charters
Nancy Duarte's "slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations" (O'Reilly, 2008). Larry's wife Kathleen reviewing — Pi as a family enterprise. First Kathleen G. Charters byline.
★ Macworld SF 2009 Review — Travis Good (organizer) + Lawrence I. Charters (reporter)
Travis Good organized the feature presentation without himself attending Macworld — obsessively curated news from afar. Key milestones covered:
- iLife '09 released (iPhoto with face recognition + geo-tagging; iMovie '09 as iMovie '06+'08 melding with stabilization; GarageBand '09 video lessons; iWeb '09 FTP support)
- iWork '09 (Pages full-screen + EndNote/MathType, Numbers innovative formula tracking, Keynote "magic move" + Keynote Remote via iPhone)
- Mac Box Set ($169/$229) — Mac OS X 10.5 + iLife '09 + iWork '09
- MacBook Pro 17" unibody (Mini DisplayPort, FireWire 800, ExpressCard, "glass" buttonless trackpad, up to 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD option)
- ★ iTunes DRM-Free + variable pricing ($.69/$.99/$1.29) + 3G music purchase for iPhone 3G
- Axiotron Modbook ($2,249 MacBook-to-tablet conversion with Wacom)
- iBox UPS (eco-friendly compact UPS)
- Ecamm BT-1 Bluetooth wireless webcam ($150)
- HP MediaSmart Server for home — Time Machine backup target
- Shure X2u XLR-to-USB adapter
- AmpLi-Phone passive iPhone acoustic amp ($29.95)
- Pulse Smartpen + SlingPlayer for iPhone + iSnipe (sniper-rifle ballistics) + iDive 300 underwater iPhone case + Nekfit + PARASYNC + U-Charge + WebEx Meeting Center for iPhone
Three Pi members attended Macworld 2009 and reported: - Don Wong — wistful, positive: 25th anniversary of Mac, three meeting attendees who'd been at Pi's first Mac exposure in 1984 - Ned Langston — critical: less vital than past years; concerned about Apple's withdrawal foretelling a less vibrant Apple - Robert Huttinger (PHP/MySQL/iPhone developer) — enthusiastic: 10th in line for keynote, dined with a principal of the "Welcome to Macintosh" documentary, deep U.S. Constitution discussion. Huttinger to host "Welcome to Macintosh" screening at Pi Office. Brings up the Phil Schiller keynote (Steve Jobs absent for health reasons).
Clubhouse Saturday Announcement — Bob Jarecke
"Clubhouse Saturday" — members-helping-members effort at the Pi Office. New program.
Geni.com Family Collaboration — Tom Carlson
Len Adler presents Geni.com at the January Genealogy SIG — free web-based collaborative family tree builder. Graphical interface, GPS-mapping for birth places (62 people / 22 mapped). Geni Pro $4.95/month for 100,000 names. Pluses + Minuses (loss-if-business-fails, identity theft risk, family secrets exposure).
Afternoon Learners SIG Dec 2008 + Jan 2008 — Len Adler
Email applications comparison Dec — Mail / Gmail / WAP mail. Five conclusions about email. iDVD recital movies Jan — Paul Silverman + Don Fortnum showed Disk Utility + Toast + iDVD + theme/style variations for grandchildren's dance recitals.
Graphic Arts SIG Dec 2008 — HDR Photomatix — Mary Herber
High Dynamic Range Imaging using Photomatix (purchased; easier than Photoshop CS2).
Graphic Arts SIG Jan 2009 — Lightroom 2 — Harvey Levine (writeup by Vernice Christian)
Photoshop Lightroom 2 vs Photoshop — Lightroom for storage + batch global edits; Photoshop for individual photo retouching. Face matching + GPS lat-long mapping. Harvey's catalog of 14,000 images (many appearing in Montgomery County newspapers). Recommends Photoshop LAB Color by Dan Margulis + Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 by Martin Evening.
Century Club Update
Armand R. Payant added (December 2008) to the donors honor roll.
★ Welcome to Macintosh Documentary
Robert Huttinger secured permission to show "Welcome to Macintosh" at the Pi Office — Macworld 2009 networking payoff.
Tuesday Night Clinic — Jim Ritz
Jim Ritz now on masthead as Tuesday Night Clinic lead — the Pi tradition continuing from 2010-09 — V32 N05 explicit revival and back to 1996-11 — V18 N06 Tuesday Night Tech Assistance origins.
Pi Election May 2009 — Coming
Bob Jarecke's impassioned plea for Journal articles + Board candidates. May 2009 election will be the transition to Castillo presidency (2009-07 — V31 N04).
Neil Ferguson's Pi Welcome Letter
Neil Ferguson writes a Letter to the Editor about his first Pi BOD experience — "very friendly and cohesive group"; praises Pi Clubhouse facility (digital projector mounted in ceiling, coffee, donuts).
Entities
People: Bob Jarecke, Thomas Carlson, Gordon Nord, Len Adler, Richard Allen, Jonathan Bernstein, Jay Castillo, Pat Fauquet, Neil Ferguson ★ NEW DIRECTOR, Larry Kerschberg, Brent Malcolm, Richard Orlin, Charles Reintzel, Mike Schneible, Lawrence I. Charters, Kathleen G. Charters ★ DEBUT, Nora Korc, Richard Sanderson, Patsy Chick, Paul Schlosser, Jim Ritz, Travis Good, Don Wong, Ned Langston, Robert Huttinger, Tom Carlson, Mary Herber, Vernice Christian, Harvey Levine, Paul Silverman, Don Fortnum, Armand R. Payant Topics: eJournal Format, Pi Photo Contest II 2009, Macworld SF 2009 Coverage, iLife 09, iWork 09, Mac Box Set, MacBook Pro 17 Unibody, iTunes DRM-Free 2009, Welcome to Macintosh Doc, Geni.com at Pi, HDR Photography at Pi, Lightroom 2, Clubhouse Saturday, Pi Production Stack 2009 References: slide:ology, Disk Utility, 1 Infinite Loop, iLife 09, iWork 09, Mac Box Set, Axiotron Modbook, HP MediaSmart Server, Shure X2u, Pulse Smartpen, Photomatix, Photoshop Lightroom 2
Connections to other issues
- Continues eJournal experiment from 2009-01 — V31 N01
- ★ Pi Photo Contest II 2009 = the "Sequel" to 2007's first contest; results in 2009-07 — V31 N04 Supplement
- ★ Macworld SF 2009 Coverage = Pi's last big Macworld covered before Apple's official withdrawal
- Kathleen G. Charters = first Charters-spouse byline (Larry + wife both contribute)
- Neil Ferguson = newly elected Director; appears on masthead from this issue
- Welcome to Macintosh Doc = Pi member Robert Huttinger secures screening rights
- Clubhouse Saturday = new members-helping-members program at the renovated Clubhouse (2009-01 — V31 N01 Grand Opening)
- Jim Ritz formally Tuesday Night Clinic lead — Pi tradition continues