Your source for indispensable Apple and Macintosh news, reviews, tips, and commentary since 1990.
Author Biography
Travis Butler is currently between full-time jobs, working as a freelance FileMaker database designer after spending the last 14 years as the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Mac guy for a small Kansas City company. In between fighting FileMaker, pandering to PageMaker, illuminating Illustrator and getting excited by Excel, he's written fifteen articles for TidBITS over the last twelve years.
Many people claim they want the iPhone without the phone part, but the iPod touch seems to have a few too many limitations. What about Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet, which provides a full-featured Web browser on a Linux-based platform? Travis Butler looks deep into the N800 to see how it stacks up.Read more...
With all the driving I do, the out-of-town consulting I've been doing, and Adam's reviews of GPS (Global Positioning System) devices, I've been tempted by GPS navigation units for a year or two - but they've always been too expensive for me to considerRead more...
After last week's article on PowerBook AC adapters was published (see "Comparing Three AC Adapters" in TidBITS-803), I've received several messages from people about the MadsonLine MicroAdapter and the MacAlly adapter - specifically, about the amount of power they provide.
I wrote that the MicroAdapter wasn't recommended for use with newer PowerBooks (the 1 GHz PowerBook G4 Titanium, and all of the 15-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks) because it provides only 45 watts of power, compared with the 65 watts provided by the adapter Apple shipsRead more...
A laptop road warrior's best friend - or most bitter enemy - is his AC adapter. It's the second most vital thing you must carry; no adapter, and you start crying a few hours into the trip when your laptop goes down for the last timeRead more...
FM transmitters aren't the perfect way to listen to an iPod in a car, but sometimes they're the best option. Cassette adapters give better and more reliable sound, but work only when the car actually has a cassette deck (an option that's hard to find these days on new cars)Read more...
An iPod is a wonderful way to carry your music library around with you... but sometimes, you just don't want to mess around with using headphones. I travel a lot, and want an external sound option I can carry with meRead more...
I've put 110,000 miles on my car in the last four years, and that doesn't count the untold miles I've driven in company vehicles. In other words, I spend time on the roadRead more...
Portable MP3 players have now been around for a couple of years. The first and second generation of players were based on flash RAM, which is tiny, battery-thrifty, and convenient, but extremely limited in terms of play timeRead more...
The MP3 format is revolutionizing our music-listening lives. Unfortunately, for those of us on the go, carrying the revolution along has been a problem - practical portable MP3 solutions have been some time in coming.
If you already lug a laptop, it's an option - but a heavy one with limited battery life, and your MP3s must compete with your work for limited disk spaceRead more...
Folks interested in buying a Palm OS-based handheld have many more options now than they did a year ago. In addition to the eight models Palm, Inc. has introduced since the original Palm III, handhelds that license the Palm OS - most notably the Handspring Visor - have begun to appearRead more...
I admit it - I'm a handheld computing junkie. I've had an original Newton MessagePad 100, a Newton 120, an original PalmPilot 1000 upgraded to a Palm Professional, and a Palm III with which I've been happy.
So why did I walk out of Macworld Expo in January carrying a Handspring Visor Deluxe?
The Visor is a Palm OS-based handheld developed by Handspring, a company founded by the designer of the original PalmPilot and a group of former Palm Computing engineersRead more...
I was a child of the Atari generation, growing up when the Atari 2600 and 5200, Intellivision, and ColecoVision ruled the gaming life of the nation's TV setsRead more...
[This week we finish Travis's overview of PPP software for the Macintosh begun in TidBITS-306, highlighting ongoing PPP projects as well as commercial PPP implementationsRead more...
As an increasing number of people access the Internet via a Mac and a modem, the software they use to connect becomes increasingly important. The connection software combination of MacTCP and either a SLIP or PPP program has become popular, because it gives people full TCP-based Internet connections that enable them to run programs like Anarchie, Netscape, NewsWatcher, and EudoraRead more...
For people without access to a direct Internet connection, both the CompuServe Information Service (CIS) and America Online (AOL) have added graphical FTP capabilities through their client softwareRead more...
