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OWC Tips & Deals 7/15/2004
Intro: Hey! It's Macworld Boston this week! While we're sorry that we couldn't be there, hopefully we can make that up somewhat with our 'Not at the Show - Show Specials'. With some help from El Gato, ADS, PowerLogix, and Contour, and others - we've got some killer deals on a wide range of Mac Upgrades and various Goodies including many from our own OWC lines. There is no sales tax outside of Illinois, Free UPS Ground and $5 UPS 2nd Day available for these specials as well. Check 'em out quick as these specials will be no more after Sunday, July 18th. From the moment it was released in June, we knew the Airport Express was yet another winner from Apple. This week Apple has announced that the product is shipping - but that's apparently to those who pre-ordered when it was first released. Demand is clearly strong with delivery times of 3-4 weeks now quoted for new orders placed for this 'now shipping' product! Not a huge surprise - you've got a great wireless solution AND it comes with Airtunes - what better to get music from your iTunes collection to your stereo too! And we know iTunes is popular, that Apple service has now passed over 100 MILLION songs provided! The Airport Express with Airtunes is one hot and exciting product, which we can't wait to review here. And that certainly rolls right into the clear success of Apple's 'music' division. Looking at Apple's latest earnings report which was released yesterday, you'll see that Apple iPod sales surged by a whopping 183% and Mac CPU sales too grew a respectable 14%. We'd all sure like to see more Macs out there and I'd expect those iPods will help that too. No matter how you look at it, Apple's definitely got some things moving nicely in the right direction. Also, in the last newsletter we pointed out Apple's apology for essentially running out of the current iMacs before the new iMac model was ready. The new iMac is supposed to be available in September, and guess what? It's going to have a G5 Processor! Rare for Apple, they made this future product release information public. Almost without question it will be more than just a processor change, I'd be betting a new design too - possibly along the lines of those new aluminum style Cinema Displays that just started shipping. No doubt will be plenty of wild rumors and maybe some valid leaks that keep speculation interesting for the weeks to come. FasterMac.Net is stepping up again, now with new Nation-Wide DSL Broadband options from only $27.99/month! And that's a real rate for real high-speed up to 1.5MBps Down/768Kps Up service(even faster is available too), putting other 384Kps services to shame. And, the rates are real - forever or better - not a cheesy deal for the first three or six months, only to double later. Just like our 56K Nationwide Dial-up available from $8/month, the new FasterMac DSL services are all about giving you a Quality Apple/Mac focused service for an extremely competitive price. Both dial-up and DSL include 5 e-mails, free web hosting space, customizable anti-spam, anti-virus protection, and 800 24/7 toll free tech support. For Dial-Up, now for DSL, and even for Residential/Business phone services - we've got your communications needs covered. :) No longer a totally current event, but still something to talk about is the first successful manned, re-usable craft spaceflight by a private enterprise. Spaceship One touched the vastness of space to earn a place in the history books with financial support from Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft! Best hopes for their continued success for all the reasons imaginable! What brings this out now are some excellent pictures of the flight event posted online by a Mr. Richard Seaman. I think you too will enjoy the pictures of this and other 'adventures' he has been generously sharing via his web site. So that's some of what's been happening. Following this, we've got a new Quick Tip concerning SCAM e-mails, Roger has a new Music on the Mac article on music data storage, and Reader Specials are supplemented by the Macworld deals. As always, hope you enjoy and I thank you for being a Tips n' Deals subscriber!
Some Quick Links See what a Processor Upgrade can do for your Mac and compare new Macs too. Our Benchmark Reporting System lets you compare stock Apple systems versus those systems with different upgrades and against new Mac models too! It's easy and informative to compare with OWC's exclusive BRS! Use Apple OS 9.2.2 & Apple OS X 10.3.x on Macs Apple doesn't support - OWC Supports you with OS 9 Helper and Xpostfacto!
Something the Government got right, the FTC's Do Not Call List puts a stop to annoying telemarketing calls! Quick Tip: Avoiding Scam E-Mail! It is bad enough to have to deal with all the Spam out there. Tools, like those provided to FasterMac.Net customers, can significantly reduce it - but there is limit before you start missing mail you do want to receive too. The best stoppers are typically keywords and phrase filtering, but even there the spammers figure out ways around even the very best defenses. So, at least for now, most of us do accept at least a few extra e-mails to manually delete that our spam filters don't nix for us. But what about SCAM e-mails? It's bad enough seeing all the variations of the classic Nigerian Oil money scam. The one that says they have all this money they need your help to move and then you'll get a percentage for helping. It's hard to believe people get sacked on those, but the lure of free money I guess can be blinding to some. And this one is an obvious scam... The not so obvious scammer e-mails are the ones that spoof a known service provider. The most often occurring examples I see are ones that are made to appear like they are from Citibank, or Ebay, or Paypal. Others include those that are custom tailored to name the ISP you get your e-mail from. The good news is that it very easy to catch these, even the best of them. First off, whether it be Ebay or Paypal or a credit card provider - they aren't going to tell you to go to a page and provide information if they think your account has been compromised. When you stop and think about it for a second, that in itself is kind of a contradictory action to request. Now, the links in these e-mails LOOK like they really are legitimate Ebay, Paypal, etc. links... But really, they are just a text portion that has a different link or even a image that links someplace else entirely. NEVER click on those links because even if you don't 'fall' for their trick, the scammer is still tracking. Such e-mails are sent in bulk to existing collected e-mail lists as well as those generated at random. Just the act of going to a scammers page can land your address on many more spammer's e-mail lists. What you CAN do is either RIGHT-CLICK your Mouse (Hold the Control Key and Click if you have a one button mouse) on an e-mail link and you'll have the option to copy it to the clip board. Then, you can view it and see what it actually is. Watch what was made to appear to be a legitimate eBay link turn into a link to some foreign IP! Next - very rarely, if EVER will your ISP e-mail you a file that they say you must install to continue to have access. Don't open such attachments as they are almost without doubt a virus or other trojan spoofed into your e-mail box. Although FasterMac.net and most ISPs do good anti-virus/trojan blocking (never mind us Mac users really don't have too much to worry about to begin with), you can't block every file type. What does get blocked are files that scan with a virus, files that are of a known viral form or file type. What doesn't get stopped are compressed .ZIP, .STF, and the like that are commonly used for legitimate file exchanges and themselves are not in an 'active' ready to inflict damage form. In this case, the hope is that the e-mail recipient will buy into the e-mail and decompress and/or activate the otherwise inert file they've sent so it can then do their bidding. So - what's the absolute best defense? Don't open files from sources you aren't sure of. And rather than use the links included with e-mails that tell you your account needs updating, has been compromised, needs verification, etc. - just go to browser and manually go to, for example, Ebay.com and log in there to your account. IF there really is a problem, you'll find out real quick as they will likely have a message that tells you so. But that's almost never, ever the case - the only way you'll have any problem is if you visit the scammers site and give your info there, that's what the scammer is hoping for - don't make it so easy. :)
See past Quick Tip topics online in the Quick Tip Archive Great Buys and Featured Exclusive Specials for OWC E-Mail Subscribers: Find all the deals reserved just for Readers on your Tips n' Deals Exclusive Specials Page. What follows next is just a sampling of this week's highlights.
You'll find updated deals in addition to those listed below, but this week - don't miss other exclusive specials found ONLY on the Macworld Boston 'Not at the Show - Show Specials' Page!
Upgrade to a new 'Superdrive' to burn CDs and DVDs
The Fastest in FireWire Reader Specials
2-Port FireWire 400 Card for any PowerMac with a PCI Slot - $9.95
Upgrading the Mac you have can be Better than buying a New Mac!
More storage, that's Quieter and Faster too
Memory Specials & Price Trend Report:
Memory Deal Highlights: 512MB PC133 CL3/PC100 CL2 168 Pin SDRam Module for G4 Cube, eMacs, iMac G3/350-700MHz models, PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics(aka Sawtooth)/Gigabit Ethernet/Digital Audio/QuickSilver now $98.00 Mac 128MB 5V 168 Pin 60NS Dimms for 7300-9600 Models & Clones, $16.99
1GB Module for PowerBook G4 AL 12/15/17"; iMac G4/1.0GHz+, iBook G4s $299.00 Visit our Mac Memory Section to browse the full selection of memory we offer and/or use our online memory guide to get the right memory for the Mac(s) you have.
Total Digital Media Control - Video, Music, Etc!
That's just a small sample of the many deals you'll find on your Tips 'n Deals Reader Specials Page, check it out! Music on the Mac 7/3 - Printing the Music you Author Greetings from www.macsales.com/music http://eshop.macsales.com/link.cfm?id=2137-1555 First of all, a clarification! There was a typographical error in last week's overview of the Print Music notation application. Several astute readers sent email regarding the statement that Print Music and Finale software "had only been available for the Mac OS for about 6 months". The sentence should have said "Mac OSX" for about 6 months. This writer knows from personal experience that Finale has been around for years for the Mac, but that they were slow to release the version for Mac OSX. Both Print Music and Finale are fantastic products and we are glad they are finally available for OSX! My apologies for the confusion! ( I assure our readers that "no animals were harmed" in the creation of this column) LOL This week, we are going to look at audio storage solutions. Most audio recording software manufacturers recommend that you have a separate drive for your audio tracks because streaming 10,16, 20 or more tracks at a time, each with it's own plug-ins inserted, places a strain on the processor AND the hard drive. A typical example about this topic from the Digidesign Pro Tools manual is this statement..."Avoid Recording To System Drives". The manual goes on to explain that recording to system drives is not recommended and that doing so will result in reduced track count and reduced plug-in capabilities. The message is simple, use a separate drive for your audio and/or video files. It is also typically recommended that you use drives that are at least 7200 RPM. The easiest solution is to use a FireWire Drive. Here at macsales.com, we are proud to carry our own line of highly rated drives and CD/DVD burners. Whether you are using applications such as Pro Tools, GarageBand or even Final Cut Pro, we have the solution for you.
Our line of drives include our well respected and highly rated OWC Mercury Elite FW Drives. They range from 40GB to a whopping 300 GB. There are quite a few models available including drives that feature FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0/1.1 connectivity. To find the right drive for your system, please follow this link:
Our Neptune line of "Value Done Right" FireWire drives offer a low cost solution too. I have an 80GB Neptune FW drive and it is working flawlessly with my Pro Tools system. Even on a budget you can choose the right drive at a breakthrough price!
Many of you need to add a CD or DVD burner to your system. Our OWC Mercury Pro line of FireWire CD and DVD burners are a simple "plug and play" solution. I personally own the OWC Mercury Pro 52x32x52 CD-RW unit. My experience has been smooth and trouble free and it is "super-fast". The added value of the NTI DragonBurn software makes burning audio and data discs a breeze. They also come complete with plenty of disc media and Dantz Retrospect Backup - helping to start you off right!
It is definitely worth the investment to know you have your system set up optimally to avoid any problems. Speaking of drives and problems - don't forget to keep a back up of your data. Viruses, accidents and assorted technical difficulties never happen at a good time and sometimes strokes of unexpected genius can't be duplicated. Our FireWire drives are bundled with and Dantz certified for use with Dantz Retrospect Backup making the process a snap. That's all for this week, thanks for reading and for keeping me on my toes!
As always, we encourage you to visit our Mac Music/Audio Forum to share your questions and comments!
Also, visit our website to view Roger's previous music articles online!
There is always next summer. Honestly, I don't see any good reason for why a summer Macworld can't be all as much as the January show. But... It will take the event planners to get reasonable exhibition charges - something that will definitely help maybe get Apple back involved as well as exhibitors like us. Fingers crossed for next year!
As always, we'll keep doing what we do best, keeping your Mac going peak. Have a great weekend and thanks for being a Tips n' Deals subscriber! |