News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
Podcasting is really the 21st century version of mix tapes. Remember those? I spent many hours producing compilations of music on a 90-minute cassette and I even dabbled in recording some spoken word creations (don't ask). What was exciting about mix tapes is also what's exciting about podcasts: direct control over your listening experience. Of course, podcasting gives you so many more creative options but the principle is unchanged. GarageBand covers the bases pretty well for the beginner podcaster although any of the AMW team will vouch for the initial challenges one can face in producing podcasts -- particularly when it's a group effort.
David Holloway | Mar 11, 2008
"Assessment for learning" is one of the buzzwords you'll find in many a syllabus and educational blog. It refers to assessment that concentrates on identifying areas that can be improved and celebrating areas of achievement rather than ranking or scoring a student relative to a benchmark or to other students. It has various components, but includes the practice of reflection: what went well, what didn't, how could I change things for the better and so on. As part of any good approach to learning, reflective practice has elements of repetition and mental rehearsal that are key to an effective revision which will lead to mastery.
Martin Levins | Mar 10, 2008
People who live in areas of great geographic instability — I'm thinking here of the San Andreas fault, or the guy whose job it is to sweep Krakatau clean — live in a certain amount of trepidation, never quite sure when the next big earthquake will hit. Earthquakes are big, nasty events that change the landscape for the worst, and all too often, irrevocably. The reason why I'm pontificating on earthquakes? I reckon the Mac world isn't just due, but quite possibly overdue, for a major shakeup.
Alex Kidman | Mar 6, 2008
It's unusual for Australian Macworld to revise its ratings on a product we've reviewed. For that matter, it's unusual for us to have a product on hand long enough to do so. However, such a time has most definitely arrived regarding the Lexmark X9350 all-in-one printer/scanner/fax/copier with wireless networking capabilities. When I reviewed the product a year ago, in the 02.2007 issue, I gave it a 4.5-mouse rating. As with many of our reviews, that was based on a few weeks' usage. I've had more time with it now, and boy, have I changed my mind.
Matthew JC. Powell | Mar 5, 2008
When consumers think about which operating system to choose the last thing they worry about is what the screen savers looks like. But as a proud Mac user you should give it some thought -- and when you discover the enormous range of options you've got for setting your screen saver, you'll thank your lucky stars that you decided to buy a Mac. Your Screen Saver settings are buried in System Preferences (Apple Menu > System Preferences) under the Desktop & Screen Saver pane. If you're on Leopard, the default Screen Saver is set to Flurry, and if you're running Tiger it's probably set to Computer Name.
Danny Gorog | Mar 4, 2008
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, speaking in Sydney this morning, said the MacBook Air won’t be a hit (even though he likes it), AppleTV shows the future for digital entertainment (but really frustrates him anyway), and the 2G iPhone was a disappointment to him because of its sluggish internet speed.
Dan Warne | Mar 3, 2008
America’s presidential election is over, and we can all be grateful for that. But in politics, the race never really ends. I think that’s the metaphor at work in Freedom Run by Spiralstorm Games. The game’s imagery is ripe with symbolism: Republicans and Democrats are bound to each other, struggling to achieve a common good just out of reach. One cannot succeed without the other. And the run, just like the ever-expanding quest for freedom, is endless. There is no finish line. And if you fall down, you get up and try again.
