INFO: OpenOffice 3.0 Rocks

In my Documents folder sits a Microsoft Word file. It's a complicated script from a client that contains multiple columns and header tables. It is the benchmark by which I measure programs that claim to offer compatibility with Microsoft Office. Up until now, no program has flawlessly rendered this document - until OpenOffice 3.0.

While still in beta, OpenOffice 3.0 is the first version to natively support Apple's Aqua interface. X11 is no longer needed. The familiar Mac Style is present in all dialog boxes and menus . If you're a student on a budget or a small company having difficulty affording copies of MS Office for every computer, take a look at the OpenOffice 3.0 beta. Once the final version arrives, it can be a true replacement.

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INFO: Taichi Nishida Released Paper Bag System Replacments

Here's a fun idea. Taichi Nishida created a set of system replacement icons that resemble brown paper grocery bags. There are 19 icons in the set and even Taichi admits, they look best at sizes above 128 pixels.

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INFO: Big Christmas Holiday Roundup

Ho, ho, ho. It's that time of the year agan! Time for you to decorate your desktop for the arrival of Santa Claus. Michael's Mac has collected a large assortment of goodies from around the world so you can select your favorites!

Nine sets of icons totaling over 100 little creations. Dozens of Holiday Desktops. Plus a bunch of miscellaneous goodies that are sure to bring Santa down your chimney! Do you have a link to a creation that should be on this list? Drop me a line.

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INFO: Tiger-like Desktop Icon for Leopard

Before Leopard, the Desktop folder was an image of the default desktop setup, but with Mac OS X 10.5, the Desktop is represented with a standard folder.  If you think the older icon was more intuitive, take a look at GlossII's creations: three icons for the Desktop.

 

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INFO: Make Your MacBook Colorful

A few years ago, I painted my old Wallstreet Powerbook bright red. I loved the look of it. Fortunately, I won't have to spray my MacBook Pro for nearly the same effect!

A company called Speck makes cool snap-on shells for many of Apple's products. They click right into place with a snug fit. The rubber feet on the bottom actually grip better than Apple's originals!

While red is my color of choice, right now there are only three choices for 17" MacBooks. If happen to own the smaller versions, you can chose from eight!

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INFO: Little Bits of Code

What's the difference between a true artist and me? A real artist like Stefanie Koerner can use lime green in a web design and it looks great. Whenever I use lime green, it looks like spilt antifreeze. If you haven't been there recently, take a look at monochrom and phiest. Enjoy the downloads and new site design.

In case you missed it, the creator of the Propaganda Tiles, Bowie Poag, left a nice comment on the site. Why does everyone but me seen to get wiser as the years tick by?

Most weekends in summer, you can find me at the lake house. The family and I stay there till Sunday evening. Because the area is rural, there is no internet access, so the Forum is left unattended allowing the Pharm/P0rn spammers to have a field day. Is anyone interested in helping moderate? It's easy. Just delete the thread and ban the user (a few mouse clicks). I just need someone to check in a couple times over the weekend. Drop me an email if you're interested.

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INFO: Nice Icons at Zyotism

Fresh from the UK, Mischa McLachlan has posted a new set of video-related icons on his web site, Zyotism.  If you run Final Cut, take a look at Digital Video Techniques.

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INFO: Nightly Browser Bulds.

No browser is perfect. For example, I use an Intel Optimized build of Firefox that Citibank doesn't like. That's why I'd bet most of you have a couple different ones on your computer. If you're interested to see if an annoying bug has been fixed in the next release of your favorite browser, often you can download a nightly build.

• Safari Nightly Build
  
• Camino Nightly Builds
• Firefox Nightly Build
• Mozilla Nightly Build
• Opera Weekly Builds

Before I run ANY special builds, I always make a copy of the browser's settings folder. Sometimes, I'll even create a dummy account under System Preferences->Accounts and login as a different user. (This is a good trick whenever you run beta software.)

Settings Folders:

• Safari: ~/Library/Safari
• Camino: ~/Library/Application Support/Camino
• Firefox: ~/Library/Application Support/
• Mozilla: ~/Library/Mozilla
• Opera: ~ ~/Library/Application Support/Opera

Know of any other nightly or specialized browser builds? Leave a link in the comments.

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INFO: Uploading Files

If you have created icons or desktop wallpapers and would like to send them to Michael's Mac for posting in our download section, please help by including the following:

A READ-ME with a little info about yourself and the the tools and images you may have used to create your contribution.

The READ-ME and your creations should be ZIPPED into a single archive and given a name that doesn't contain SPACES or odd characters (if you have to ask if a character is odd, then guess what - it's odd!).

Once you have created your perfect little bundle of joy, use the Upload Files page to send it to my server.

No promises, but if you followed all the rules and created something cool, it should be posted within a few days.

If you would like to send news of a cool website containing desktops, icons, themes, etc, please use the Submit News page.

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