Returning to the fold

[davidlevine]

To celebrate the completion of my novel, I am planning to buy myself a brand new iBook. This would be my first Macintosh since I emigrated to Windows in 1996, so I would appreciate some advice. Specifically, I would like recommendations for websites, newsletters, and books about "how to get the most out of your new Macintosh."

I'm a professional software engineer and user interface designer with a couple decades' experience using Windows and UNIX, so I'm not looking for "the gentle introduction to the Mac for newbies." But I will have some newbie questions, like "how do I add a printer?" and "how do I determine my adapter's MAC address?" and "what freeware is must-have?" I am particularly interested in information on integrating the Mac into a Windows-based Wi-Fi network.

What I'm really hoping to find is something like Woody's Office for Mere Mortals... a weekly e-newsletter full of information (and some opinions) that I could use to "trickle charge" my brain. I can't keep up with the volume on Slashdot or most email lists. But I also need a couple of good reference web sites... places to start when I have a question.

Thanks in the proverbial advance.

Comments

[malwen.livejournal.com]

As bohemiancoast says, Google is your friend if you have a specific question. What the web is less good for is tips and tricks (although most of them are out there somewhere). And while you might want info in book form anyway, I'd advise against buying until the Tiger crop comes out. Expect more than half the Panther tweaks to be redundant, with the same functionality transparently built in to Tiger. Also, some tweaks will be broken by it.

[davidlevine]

Thanks for the advice.

What the heck is that in your userpic? It's throbbing...

[malwen.livejournal.com]

It's a wobble gif of an ornamental snail,(malwen is Welsh for snail). The throbbing is an irritating side effect of this particular way of creating a 3D effect. bohemiancoast and I have always been interested in 3D, and really caught the bug visiting Morris Keesan and Lori Meltzer. Wobble gifs are an interesting way of generating 3D perception by alternating sides from a stereo pair. Although they're a bit naff, they have the advantage of fitting into the space of the conventional image.

We first saw them on Burning Man (http://www.burningmanopera.org/2002/2002_stereo_wiggle2.html). Nowadays they are a standard way of saving 3D image pairs. bohemiancoast has made icons for a few LJers.

One of the curious things about wobble gifs is that they can be apprehended by some people who otherwise can't see three dimensionally, most notably people who have lost the sight in one eye, but also some who have lost their 3D 'wiring'.

[davidlevine]

Thanks for the info! I'm a bit of a 3D fan myself, and I've encountered wobble GIFs before, but some of them work better than others. This one doesn't have enough going on in the image to really make the 3D effect work, I think.