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<div class="center_top">Thoughtful, detailed coverage of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, plus the best-selling <a href="http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/?pt=TB-TAGLINE" style="color:yellow">Take Control</a> ebooks.</div>
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<h5>Author Biography</h5>
<p class="tearoffbox_text"> Jeff Carlson gave up an opportunity to intern at a design firm during college because he suspected that they really just wanted someone tall to play on their volleyball team, and instead worked in the <a href="http://www.whitworth.edu/">Whitworth</a> publications office where he got to actually, you know, design stuff. In the intervening years, he's been a designer and writer, authoring best-selling books on the Macintosh, Web design, video editing, and Palm organizers. He's currently a columnist for the <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/practicalmac/">Seattle Times</a>, the Managing Editor of the respected electronic newsletter <a href="http://www.tidbits.com/">TidBITS</a> (www.tidbits.com), and consumes almost too much coffee. <a href="http://www.neverenoughcoffee.com/">Almost</a>. </p><p class="tearoffbox_text_email"><span class="shift_down"><img src="/images/gettb_button_email.gif" height="12" width="12" border="0" alt="Send Email to Author"></span> <a href="javascript:void(0)" onClick="document.check_human_17.submit_type.value='email'; document.check_human_17.author_id.value='17'; ShowTipBox('hc_17', 'hc_recaptcha_17', 'cb_item_add')">Email the author</a></p>
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<h6>iCal Alerts You Can't Miss</h6>
<p><p>Did you miss that tiny little iCal alert dialog? Use a more prominent Open File alarm.</p><p>First save an image, text file, sound, or movie that will really fill your screen and grab your attention.</p><p>Select an iCal event and choose Open File as the alert type. Choose your unmissable file as the one to open.</p><p>Set more alerts with more files to open for the same event if you like. You won't miss an appointment with one of these alerts!</p></p>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6618" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6618">GraphicConverter 4.1 Released -- Lemke Software has updated its popular shareware image-editing application, adding support for even more image file formats and incorporating bug fixes</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 05 Nov 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6608"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6608', 'show')">iPod Makes Music More Attractive</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6608" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6608">In the promotional video Apple created for its new audio player, Apple Vice President of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive says, "Our goal was to design the very very best MP3 player we could." Looking at the iPod, it's obvious that they've succeeded - but at $400 a pop, the big question is whether the iPod will turn into a success story like the iMac or a painful lesson like the G4 Cube.Open the iPod Bay Doors, HAL -- The iPod is a stainless steel, 6.5 ounce portable music player</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 29 Oct 2001</div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6591" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6591">Handspring Announces Treo Communicators -- Handspring today announced the Treo Communicator, a hybrid device incorporating a Palm OS handheld, mobile phone, and pager - but don't expect to acquire one any time soon</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 15 Oct 2001</div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6587" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6587">PowerPoint/Excel Update Fixes Macro Vulnerability -- Microsoft has released a patch that prevents potentially malicious macro code from running in PowerPoint and Excel</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 08 Oct 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6588"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6588', 'show')">Further Explorations into Mac OS X 10.1</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6588" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6588">As I continue to play with Mac OS X 10.1, I'm realizing something unexpected: it's actually kind of fun to explore and poke at this new environment. I've used previous versions of Mac OS X off and on, but like many people I was waiting for 10.1 to sink my teeth (and time) into the new operating system</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 08 Oct 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6580"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6580', 'show')">Apple Adds $800 iMac to Lineup</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6580" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6580">Apple Adds $800 iMac to Lineup -- The iMac product grid at Apple's online store gained a new low-cost configuration this week. The new $800 iMac is available only in Indigo, and features a 500 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 64 MB of RAM (as opposed to 128 MB in the next model up), a 20 GB hard disk, and a CD-ROM drive (as opposed to the CD-RW drives that are otherwise standard across the line), plus the standard complement of ports on other iMac models</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 01 Oct 2001</div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6569" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6569">Palm Releases Palm m125 Organizer -- Adding a bit of spit and polish to its entry-level line of handhelds, Palm has introduced the Palm m125, incorporating the expansion and connectivity features of the Palm m500 series</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/6575"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6575', 'show')">Palm m505: A Slightly Dim Bulb</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6575" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6575">Even when I'm testing various models of handheld organizers for books and articles I write about Palm OS-based handhelds, I keep my Palm Vx nearby. I have to return devices when I'm done reviewing them, and so far the Palm Vx is the only one for which I've shelled out my own money: it's thin, lightweight, and has enough memory to store the data I need</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/6560"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6560', 'show')">Handspring Introduces Pro and Neo Visors</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6560" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6560">Handspring Introduces Pro and Neo Visors -- Handspring today released two new Visor devices, adding speed and more memory to the Palm OS-based handhelds</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6554" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6554">Sync Buddy 1.3 Released -- Florent Pillet has released Sync Buddy 1.3, an update (and name change) to Palm Buddy, his Macintosh file-management utility for Palm handhelds (see "A New Buddy for Mac PalmPilot Users" in TidBITS-436)</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/6532"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6532', 'show')">Mac OS 9.2.1 Released</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6532" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6532">Mac OS 9.2.1 Released -- Apple has released Mac OS 9.2.1, an update for "Mac OS X compatible" computers running Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2, which includes the Power Mac G4, Power Macintosh G3, PowerBook G4, PowerBook G3 (except the original PowerBook G3), iMac, and iBook lines</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6533"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6533', 'show')">Quicken 2002 Deluxe Adds Mac OS X Compatibility</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6533" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6533">Quicken 2002 Deluxe Adds Mac OS X Compatibility -- Intuit has begun shipping Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh, adding Mac OS X compatibility and a number of online features for managing your finances</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6536"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6536', 'show')">Nisus Writer 6.0.2 Improves International Support</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6536" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6536">Nisus Writer 6.0.2 Improves International Support -- Nisus Software has released Nisus Writer 6.0.2, a free update to the company's flagship word processor</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6537"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6537', 'show')">Now Up-to-Date & Contact 4.0.3 Released</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6537" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6537">Now Up-to-Date & Contact 4.0.3 Released -- Users of Power On Software's versatile calendar and contact information manager can download Now Up-to-Date & Contact 4.0.3</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6538" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6538">Mailsmith 1.1.8 Released -- Bare Bones Software has shipped Mailsmith 1.1.8, a free update that brings bug fixes and a few new features to the company's email client</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6542"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6542', 'show')">Getting Moving Again with EtherMac iPrint LT</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6542" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6542">One of my clients - David - always seems to call when I'm driving. It must be the universe's idea of a joke: I'm moving, he's not. "I can't print," he says, our new form of greeting</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 27 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6523"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6523', 'show')">Palm Gets Be in Its Bonnet</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6523" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6523">Palm Gets Be in Its Bonnet -- Palm Inc. is buying Be Inc., the company started by former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassee. Apple had eyed Be back in 1996 before acquiring Steve Jobs's NeXT instead</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=" class="category"></a> | by <a href="/author/Jeff%20Carlson">Jeff Carlson</a> | 20 Aug 2001</div></div>
<a href="/article/6507"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6507', 'show')">Mac OS X 10.1 Previewed At Macworld Expo</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6507" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6507">More than any other event, Macworld Expo stirs up the excitement of Mac users looking for Apple's newest take on thinking different. Ironically, the show also tends to temper that excitement with an equal dose of patience</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/6508"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6508', 'show')">Macworld Expo NY 2001 Superlatives</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6508" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6508">This year's Macworld Expo in New York City may have been an odd show with no spectacular announcements, but that doesn't mean nothing caught our eyes while wandering the show floor</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/6483"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('6483', 'show')">Webvan Announces Shutdown and Chapter 11</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_6483" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_6483">Webvan Announces Shutdown and Chapter 11 -- Internet grocer Webvan announced today that it has ceased operations and is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
