First, some errata. I mentioned last week that next month’s MacWorld Expo keynote address would occur on 5 January 2005. WRONG! It’s really on 11 January 2005. Six more days of giddy expectation. Oh well.

Next, an addendum to the accompanying article. Looking for a great creative gift idea that you can make on your Mac? Consider a “coffee-table” photo album designed with iPhoto. We’ve made and given several of these albums, and everything about them is first class. Here’s how it works.

Create an album in iPhoto. Select appropriate photos from your iPhoto Library and drag them into the album. Open the album, and arrange the photos in the order you wish. Next, click on the “Book” button below the photo window. iPhoto creates the book for you, based on one of seven Themes – Catalog, Classic, Collage, Picture Book, Portfolio, Story Book, and Year Book. Select the them that best fits your story or, well, theme. You can change the order of the photos and the order of the pages. Add text descriptions, captions, and page numbers in the font of your choice. If you are trying to use images that don’t have the resolution needed to look great in print in the size you’ve selected, iPhoto alerts you so you can either add a higher resolution photo or change the photo size.

When you’re ready, and after viewing a Preview, you simply click the “Order Book” button. The photos and book data are uploaded to the “book builders”. A broadband connection is advised, but not required. If you have an Apple ID (either through a .Mac, iTunes, or Apple Store account), you enter your ID, and your credit card on file is charged. What’s the cost? $29.99 for a ten-page book, $3 for every additional page. What do you get (or give)? A professionally printed, 8.5 by 11 inch, elegant linen covered, hard-bound book with quality acid-free photo-paper pages, delivered in about a week, either to you or shipped to the gift recipient. They’re gorgeous.

Finally, two events for your December calendar. The next MMOOS (Maine Macintosh Owners & Operators Society) meeting is this coming Tuesday, 14 December, at 7:00 PM, in the Multi-Purpose Room on the second floor of Brunswick High School. Don’t miss it!

And, the third annual Maine Student Web Design Awards are just around the corner! More details to come.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski