Thank you to Dean Sayles for his excellent Garageband presentation at Monday's meeting. Here's the website for the Tutorial that was discussed that night: http://comtechlab.iupui.edu/tutorialsfolder/garageband.html. Garageband has really evolved into a nice little editing tool from it's v. 1.0 days.

We now take the summer off, and our next general meeting is in September. Don't forget about the monthly get-togethers in the Coffee shop. They're a great way to stay in contact with the group. The Library now has free WiFi, so bring along your laptops. If you're having a problem, it's usually easier to troubleshoot or answer a question if you have something to look at. So come on out on May 1. Someone usually is there by 6:30 or so.

Apple had a busy, historic week. Intel-powered Macs are flying off the shelves (I got one myself), and the reviews have been extremely positive. I think OSX's potential is finally being realized with these speedy new chips.

Earlier this week, Apple released OS X 10.4.6 in both PPC and Universal Binary format. Some of the issues addressed include:

- login and authentication in a variety of network environments
- file access and byte range locking with AFP file sharing
- network access when using proxy server automatic configuration files
- connecting to Cisco VPN servers using IP/Sec
- using Bluetooth wireless devices
- searching iWork and Microsoft Office documents with Spotlight
- saving Word documents automatically when using a network home directory
- creating Automator workflows for iPhoto 6
- synchronizing contacts and calendars to .Mac and mobile phones
- mounting and unmounting iDisk volumes
- compatibility with third party applications and devices
- previous standalone security updates

Simultaneous to the OS Updates, Apple also released firmware updates for their Intel-powered Macs, a precursor to what Apple really had up their sleeve...

Apple Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS X or Windows XP. Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August.

Boot Camp simplifies Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows XP installation CD. After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.

Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows.(1) Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

Boot Camp burns a CD with all the Mac-specific drivers for Windows:

* Graphics
* Networking
* Audio
* AirPort wireless
* Bluetooth
* The Eject key (on Apple keyboards)
* Brightness control for built-in displays

However, dual-booting into Windows is not the only option.

It’s here! Parallels is proud to launch the Beta program the first virtualization solution specifically designed to work with Intel-powered Apple computers! Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta2 for Mac OS X is NOT simply a "dual-boot" solution; rather, it empowers users the ability to use Windows, Linux and any other operating system at the same time as Mac OS X, enabling users to enjoy the comfort of their Mac OS X desktop while still being able to use critical applications from other OSes.

And if that wasn't enough:

Darwine allows Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows applications. The Darwine project intends to port and develop WINE as well as other supporting tools that will allow Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows Applications, and to provide a Win32 API compatibility at application source code level. Wine on Mac OS X/x86 is not yet fully functional. Current work on x86 is being done by CodeWeavers.

In other words, these are very exciting times in the Mac world. Hold on tight, it's going to be quite a ride!