I'll be back...

Mon April 18, 2011

Gentle Reader,

I haven't posted here since February 11 and for that I apologize. I've had book projects with tight deadlines back-to-back-to-back; I'm in the middle of another book project now; and I expect to start yet another book in June.

This means I probably won't have much time for blogging or tweeting (or most other activities) for the next few months. I assure you, though, I'll be back. And no later than the end of this summer.

See ya soon.

Regards,

Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus
--
Houston Chronicle Technology Columnist  |•|  Mac Observer iReviews Editor  |•|  Author of more than 55 books including iPad For Dummies, iPhone For Dummies, Incredible iPhone Apps For Dummies, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard For Dummies  |•|  Mac troubleshooting, training, and support specialist

 

7th Anniversary Sale: All Take Control Ebooks are now 50% OFF!

Order now from this (or any other) page to expand your ebook library at half off—it's the perfect opportunity to pick up titles that will help you learn more about the iPad and iPhone, polish your Mac skills, work more efficiently, and increase your productivity. To take advantage of this limited-time discount, which appears once you add ebooks to our shopping cart, follow the steps below through the end of December 31st, 2010. Print books aren't included in the sale.

via takecontrolbooks.com

Take Control Ebooks are among my favorite sources of technical information. They're timely, no-nonsense guides that are skillfully edited and produced, and kept up-to-date while printed books get stale. Half price is the best deal I've seen so far.

So check out Take Control -- I think you're going to like their stuff.

Dr. Mac: I'm baaaccck (with 4 columns, even)!

I know I've been hibernating for most of the month. That's because I was hard at work on Office 2011 For Mac For Dummies and a few days in Florida for Thanksgiving. But now I'm back and I'm better than ever. So here are the columns I neglected to post over the past few weeks in chronological order:

Dr. Mac: New MacBook Air has a few trade-offs 11-09-2010

I borrowed a new MacBook Air from Apple last week to act as a stand-in for my 2008 15-inch MacBook Pro on a five-day business trip. I won't leave you in suspense — I love the new MacBook Air and will replace the six-pound MacBook Pro with one as soon as I can.

To read more, click here.

Dr. Mac: These products meet standard for clever design 11-16-2010

The MacBook Air I talked about last week is a fine example. It's just another Apple notebook that runs Mac OS X.

But it's a full-blown notebook computer that weighs less than three pounds and runs Mac software. It has solid-state storage, so many things are faster than on notebooks with mechanical drives. It is cheaper than its predecessor and is the most elegant notebook I've seen in years.

Come to think of it, I find a lot of Apple's products meet at least a couple of my criteria for cleverness including the iPhone, iPad, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse, to name a few.

But Apple doesn't have a monopoly on clever.

To read more, click here.

Dr. Mac: New iPhoto '11 features are handy for gifts  11-23-2010

Since Apple released an update for iPhoto '11 earlier this month, I've heard of no further problems and have converted iPhoto libraries on four of my Macs without a hitch.

Here's what I recommend: After you install iLife '11, run Software Update and let it update iPhoto '11 to version 9.1. The first time you launch iPhoto '11, it will ask to update your iPhoto Library. It can take a long time — more than an hour - so don't quit, force quit, restart or shut down until it's finished. And it would be prudent to back up your iPhoto Library (usually in your Home/Pictures folder) before you let iPhoto convert your library.

To read more, 

Dr. Mac: What to get for your technophiles 11-29-2010

Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, I'll bet you still have some shopping to do before the holidays. If so, here are some suggestions for the technophile in your life.

Does your loved one back up his or her hard drive? If not, you could be a hero by giving a new external hard drive (starting around $50) to use with Mac OS X's fabulous Time Machine backup system. And, if you want some bonus points, offer to set it up. Since Time Machine is plug-and-play, it'll only take you a minute or two. I use a variety of drives from Iomega (www.iomega.com), LaCie (www.lacie.com) and Other World Computing (otherworldcomputing.com) and have had good luck with all.

To read more, click here. 

That's all I have for right now. Hope you had a happy and safe holiday and I'll be back soon. Really. 

Dr. Mac: A word of caution on installing iLife '11 (11/2/10)

I think iLife '11, the new release of Apple's digital lifestyle suite, is a winner. It's chock-full of useful new features and a bargain at $49.

Even so, I don't recommend you install it yet. Though there is a lot to like about this update, it has a couple of issues I consider deal-breakers.

To read more, click HERE.