Apple has finally announced the release and ship date for the fourth major release and next incarnation of the Mac OS X dubbed 'Panther'.The new operating system, Mac OS 10.3, offers breakthroughs in innovation, ease of use and reliability.

With over 150 new features the new OS is touted as being up to six times faster than Jaguar and provides a vastly improved view of the system. The new Finder also introduces a new windowing system, Exposé, which lets you see all your open windows at once or just those you need. Also included in Panther is Apple's next-generation chat program, iChat AV, which ushers in, for the first time, true personal videoconferencing on the desktop.

The AV stands for AudioVisual - the new iChat allows you to have face-to-face conversations in high-quality, full-screen video with a broadband connection and the appropriate video hardware, as well as crystal-clear audio conversations using a 56K modem. This is in addition to text messaging with anyone on the AIM and .Mac networks.

Font Book, which also debuts in the Panther release, lets you preview and install fonts with just one click. With its search function you will be able to locate any font on your system. Font management is also included allowing you to activate fonts individually or create sets to make them available in groups.

With 'Fast User Switching' multi-user systems just got easier to use. You can let others log into your Mac without quitting any of your applications, then switch back to your desktop with all documents and applications exactly as you left them.

So, be on the look out for Panther - available on October 24.

For more in-depth information about Panther

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Adobe Systems recently unveiled the Adobe® Creative Suite, a complete design environment that combines new full-version upgrades of Adobe Photoshop® CS, Adobe Illustrator® CS, Adobe InDesign® CS, and Adobe GoLive® CS. It also incorporates Acrobat® 6.0 Professional, and introduces the innovative Version Cue™ file version manager.

The suite emphasizes tighter integration of applications and targets designers collaborating on projects with the aim of simplifying the creative workflow, making it more efficient and productive.

The suite is available in two versions - The Standard Edition and the Premium Edition. The Premium Edition includes Photoshop CS with Adobe ImageReady CS®, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS and GoLive CS, Acrobat 6.0 Professional and Version Cue. The Standard Edition combines these same components, except for GoLive CS and Acrobat 6.0 Professional, to provide an advanced solution for print design and layout.

Version Cue, which lies at the heart of the Adobe Creative Suite, is a file management system that allows designers to increase productivity and meet tight deadlines. Version Cue enables users to visually scan image thumbnails in Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS, and GoLive CS, or search XMP metadata across version comments, keywords, author, date, and more.

The Suite also includes two new Adobe typeface families. Warnock Pro, an Adobe Originals OpenType family, and Brioso Pro, an OpenType family designed in the calligraphic tradition of the Latin alphabet, are available free of charge to customers who register their copy of Adobe Creative Suite via the Web.

In a move designed to simplify installation and troubleshooting, users receive one serial number for Adobe Creative Suite and one number to call for support and service. Adobe Creative Suite users will also have access to the new, redesigned Adobe Studio™ (www.studio.adobe.com), a one-stop Web resource for expert tips, tricks, and guidance. The Creative Suite also signals the end of development for Classic compatible products from Adobe - it is only OS X compatible, requiring OS 10.2.4 or later.

To learn more about Adobe's Creative Suite...

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Because Hotmail doesn't use the POP or IMAP protocols, Mail users have to use a browser to access their Hotmail accounts. To get around this onerous process and access all your mail accounts from one place, consider a 3rd party plug-in called httpmail.

Using the "MacOS X httpmail Plugin", here is how you can configure Mail to work with your Hotmail account.

1. Download and install the MacOS X httpmail Plugin from the link below.
2. Go to Preferences > Create Account window, and do the following:

Set Account Type to httpmail.
Set Description to whatever you want it to be.
Set Email address to your entire Hotmail email address (i.e. yourname@hotmail.com.)
Set Full Name to the Name you want people to see when you send them email.
Set Incoming Mail Server to hotmail.com.
Set User Name to the part of your email address before the @hotmail.com.
Set Password to your Hotmail account's password.

Assuming you followed the above steps correctly you are now ready to retrieve your Hotmail messages from within Mail.

And here's where to get the httpmail-plugin ...

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To tap into the free network, computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) must have a Wi-Fi receiver, which comes pre-installed in some of the newer devices available today. Other devices can receive the signals by plugging in a Wi-Fi card, which can be purchased at stores for between $40 to $100.

So if you are out and about in the harbor and just happen to have a Wi-Fi capable device on you...Surf's up!!

For more details on how to receive free wireless Internet access at Baltimore's Inner Harbor

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Your hard drive just died with your priceless data trapped on it. You didn't make a backup!? What now? No need to panic - call the professionals at DriveSavers.

DriveSavers offers high security data recovery services with a fast turnaround for moments just like these. They can recover your data and have it back to you in as little as 24 hours.

Every drive dies. Sooner or later - it's just a fact of computing life. The only problem is that it seems to happens at the worst possible moment. If your drive has a terminal problem these are the "go-to" people.

With their DataExpress service you will be able to access your data as soon as it is recovered through a secure online environment. For a 10% discount on your next recovery use this code "DS10126".

For more details call DriveSavers at (800) 440-1904 or use the link below.

DriveSavers Data Recovery

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Washington, DC
Phone: 888-4-DC-MACS
e-mail: dcinfo@macmedics.com

Baltimore, MD
Phone: 866-MAC-MEDICS
e-mail: info@macmedics.com

Philadelphia, PA
Phone: 877-626-MEDICS
e-mail: philly@macmedics.com

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