Expand your skills. Chat with the experts. Join our community of kindred spirits on this exotic journey.

Our Speakers on MacMania 6 are:
Jesse Feiler, Rob Griffiths, Janet Hill, Ted Landau, Ben Long,
Mike Riley, Joe Schorr, Randal Schwartz, and Sal Soghoian

Power User Seminars

A UNIX Guide to OS X (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Randal Schwartz

For most hardcore Mac users, a "command prompt" is a strange world. However, with the introduction of UNIX into the core of Mac OS X, some tasks that were formerly hard are now quite easy, once you get the basics down about how to use that command line. In the first half of this full-day talk, learn from 24-year UNIX veteran Randal Schwartz (who has been using a Mac daily for the past 10 years) about the basics of UNIX commands, including common file and folder manipulation, automating repetitive tasks, and even accessing your machine remotely.

In the second portion of this seminar, for advanced Mac users, learn how to write Perl scripts, configuring software, installing packages, and having a blast customizing the terminal side of things.

You do not need any prior UNIX knowledge to benefit from this course.

Installing and Managing PostgreSQL (the world's finest free database)
on Your Mac (90 minutes)
Speaker: Randal Schwartz

The PostgreSQL Database is a powerful industrial-strength database. (For example, Postgres is used to serve and manage the ".org" and ".info" domains.) Learn how to install and administer PostgreSQL on your Mac (using both a binary installer and the "fink" packages).

FileMaker Pro Out of the Box (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Jesse Feiler

Perhaps the easiest-to-use database on any platform (it runs on Mac and Windows), it routinely garners awards such as Codies from the Software & Information Industry Association, and Editor's Choice from PC Magazine. New database design features, improved security, and a more powerful Web-publishing engine actually make FileMaker easier than ever to use. Out of the box, manage your home or business with the 30 Starter Solutions that are included with FileMakerPro.

You'll also learn how to create your own FileMaker Pro solutions — from scratch, based on a Starter Solution, or based on an existing database you already have — even based on an Excel spreadsheet which FileMaker Pro can automatically convert to a database (and automatically convert back). The session addresses some of the new and powerful features of FileMaker Pro including the remarkable new database/table structure, script parameters, file references, and the unified security model. Find out what they are and how to use them.

FileMaker 8.5 Databases and the Web (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Jesse Feiler

Use Instant Web Publishing to publish your FileMaker Pro databases on the Web or an intranet. With only a few mouse clicks, you can have your FileMaker Pro solutions running on the Web very much the same was it runs on a desktop. Your interface design is automatically transferred to the Web so that anyone with a standard browser can log on. Use the new (FileMaker Pro 8.5) Web viewer to integrate Web content with your databases. And use the new PHP interface to interact with other Web users.

As for Automator and FileMaker, here's a blurb suggestion. I could do it as another session, as part of something Sal or Ben does, or they could cover it. I'm easy and they're good people. But I think it would fit into the power user theme of the cruise.

FileMaker and Automator (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Jesse Feiler (with Sal Soghoian) 

FileMaker Automator actions let you control FileMaker from your Automator workflows. Learn how to do so and how to use Automator to integrate FileMaker data with a publishing tool — Aperture, InDesign, or something else. In a good workflow, FileMaker won't need to know what application is receiving its data, and the graphics application won't need to know anything about the FileMaker data: the Automator workflow provides the control and the inter-application glue. A real-world example will delight you. 

Killer iLife Tips and Tricks for the Power User (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Janet Hill

Learn the high-end tips and tricks that enable iLife to make the most out of every bit of your digital life. Use your Mac to collect, organize, and edit the various media. Utilize iPhoto to share photos in a whole new way. Turn video into home cinema with iMovie. Create stunning DVDs with iDVD. Put your life on the web with iWeb. Record your next song or produce a professional sounding podcast with GarageBand. Transform your media into masterpieces with Apple-designed templates. Then share your magic moments in beautiful books, colorful calendars, dazzling DVDs, perfect podcasts, and attractive online journals. Join us for a closer look at all the power-users tips and tricks that make iLife sing.

OS X Server Essentials (90 minutes)
Speaker: Mike Riley

Learn the basics of working with OS X Server, from setting up and managing workgroups to understanding the primary function, strengths and weaknesses of the various server application services. In this session we'll:

• Understand how OS X Server is simply OS X with a few additional components.
• Selecting the optimal server license for your business, development and testing needs.
• Explore OS X Server-specific applications such as the Server Admin and Workgroup Manager.
• Review basic Terminal commands to control and manage server services.
• Learn how to construct your own OS X server-like environment on a standard OS X install using Cyrus, Jabberd, MAMP, and OpenLDAP.
  
  

OS X Server Advanced Topics (90 minutes)
Speaker: Mike Riley

Go beyond the basics of OS X Server and explore the finer details of server administration, from remote terminal mode command operations and manual configuration file tweaking to log file analysis and extending the server with additional open source services. In this session we'll:

• Configure and optimize OS X Server.
• Locate and edit server configuration files.
• Locate and interpret server log files.
• Remotely manage OS X Server via the command shell.
• Expose OS X Server limitations.
• Expand OS X Server using open source server applications and helpful scripts.
  
  

Mac Mini Mods (90 minutes)
Speaker: Mike Riley

Take a look at how the Mac Mini has lept off the desk and into the imaginations of Mac modding enthusiasts throughout the world who have transformed Apple's entry level computer into the brain of a robot, a vehicle navigation and entertainment system, a kitchen appliance and more! In this session we'll cover:

• Why the Mac Mini provides the perfect size and performance for modding.
• Dissecting and upgrading the Mac Mini.
• Examples of simple, obvious mods.
• Examples of advanced mods.
• Other Mac Mini uses, such as remote voice commands, portable power needs, headless operation, server appliance replacements and more.
  
  

Packages, Preferences, Permissions, and Passwords
Speaker: Ted Landau

Unlock the secrets of four of the most powerful technologies in Mac OS X: packages, preferences, permissions, and passwords. And the best news is you don't need to be a programmer or a Unix administrator to understand and benefit from how all of this works.

• Packages. Start by learning what packages are and how to open them. Move on to examine the role of the different files inside packages and how you can easily modify these files to make useful changes to how applications work.
• Preferences. More generically referred to as property list (.plist) files, these files regulate everything from the preferences settings of applications to core level functioning of Mac OS X. Learn how to locate and modify settings of a host of different .plist files, giving you otherwise impossible control over how Mac OS X functions.
• Permissions. For most Mac users, their main interaction with permissions is when it prevents them from doing something. No more! Learn what permissions are, how to modify them, and how to give yourself permission to do anything that can be done on a Mac.
• Passwords. Even before you get on the Internet, you can wind up having to create as many as a dozen or so passwords in Mac OS X. Learn what they all do, how to keep them from getting in your way, and what to do if you forget any of them.
  
  
  

Aperture Seminars

Introduction to Aperture: From Capture to Output (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Joe Schorr

The perfect introduction to Aperture. We'll start at the very beginning — getting pictures off your camera's memory card and into Aperture — and walk you through all the steps that it takes to go from RAW images on a CompactFlash card to a set of final prints. First, you'll get an overview of Aperture's tools for culling your best shots, and organizing thousands of photos into well-arranged projects. Then we move on to image processing, with an emphasis on basic exposure adjustments and color correction. Finally, we'll introduce you to each of Aperture's various output options: Mocking up layouts on the Light Table, creating contact sheets and full-size prints, building web pages and producing printed books and albums.

This is a great class for getting the big picture: What is Aperture really about? How does it differ from other tools, such as Photoshop, or iPhoto? And most importantly, how can it help make you a better photographer?

• Importing photos from card and disk
• Using Stacks to get organized fast
• The Photo Edit: Comparing and selecting your best photos
• Using the Loupe
• Ratings, keywords and other metadata
• Using Smart Albums to get organized fast
• Image adjustments and color correction
• Using Aperture with Photoshop
• Making multiple versions of your images
• Understanding the Light Table
• Slideshow options
• Web Galleries and Web Journals
• Making great prints
• Building and printing a book
• Backing up your work with the Vault
  
  

Advanced Aperture: Becoming a Power User (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Joe Schorr

Taking you beyond the basics, this class will dig deep into the keyboard shortcuts, hidden features, and advanced options that can really make Aperture fly. Discover shortcuts that allow you to accelerate repetitive tasks and streamline your photo processing. Learn how to customize the Aperture interface so that it conforms to your working style and puts the tools you want exactly where you need them. Go under the hood to see how Aperture organizes your files on disk, and learn how to use that knowledge to work faster and more efficiently.

• The most powerful keyboard shortcuts you need to know
• Customizing the layout of the Aperture interface
• Customizing metadata sets
• Building keywords buttons and customizing your keyword library
• Taking advantage of multiple displays
• Faster and better ways to comparing images
• Image adjustment tips and tricks
• In-depth project and file management
  
  

Making Gorgeous Aperture Books (90 minutes)
Speaker: Joe Schorr

Aperture's book-layout tools go far beyond those found in iPhoto and allow you to create incredible one-of-a-kind booklets, albums, and keepsake books. This class reveals the program's surprisingly powerful (and usually undiscovered) page layout features in all their glory and shows you what you need to know to design a custom book from scratch with high-quality results. Learn how to go beyond the pre-made templates to produce professional-looking designs from your photos with as little effort as possible.

• Building custom book layouts
• Making and using master pages
• Page-building shortcuts
• Understanding image sizes and resolutions
• Changing fonts, colors and styles
• Good book-design principles
• Printing vs. ordering your book
• Adding third-party templates
• Turning books into PDFs and slideshows

Aperture Seminars (continued)

Understanding and Using Versions (90 minutes)
Speaker: Joe Schorr

Wrap your head around one of Aperture's most unique and powerful features: Versions. With versions, you can spin off as many different variations of an image as you want -- without ever having to duplicate the original photo. This time- and space-saving feature can radically streamline the way you work with digital photos — once you understand it. Learn all about how versions work, how they can help you save hard drive space, and how to keep them perfectly organized in Aperture. Discover the benefits of using Smart Albums in combination with versions to locate photos in your library more quickly. See how versions can help you create better books, better websites and better prints.

• What are "versions" and how do they work?
• The difference between duplicating files and duplicating versions
• Making new versions from master images
• Managing versions inside stacks
• Comparing versions
• Making specialized versions for print and web
  
  

Shooting and Editing Raw (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Ben Long

If your camera provides raw support, then you'll want to consider shooting in raw mode instead of JPEG. Raw mode allows you to use the full range of color that your camera captures, and provides additional editing controls that let you make edits and adjustments that simply aren't possible when shooting in JPEG mode. This class will begin with a discussion of what raw is, and will then dive in to everything you need to consider when shooting in raw mode, including raw-specific exposure strategies.

Finally, we'll cover all of Aperture's raw processing capabilities from white balance adjustment to white balance control to Aperture's Raw Fine-Tuning adjusments. A blow-by-blow demonstration of every slider, menu and checkbox in Aperture's arsenal of RAW controls to demystify will demystify the process of working with RAW image formats.

Publishing your Photos Using Aperture Web Galleries and Journals (90 minutes)
Speaker: Ben Long

How to use Aperture's built-in web publishing tools to make great websites from your photos. Learn the nuances of web journal creation and discover how to get the most out of the pre-defined templates. In addition to how to use all of Aperture's built-in web publishing features, you'll learn the basics of customizing Aperture's built-in templates, by using some simple HTML tricks.

Light Table Secrets (90 minutes)
Speaker: Ben Long

Just about every digital photo application presents your photos as a grid of thumbnails, but Aperture let's you break free and work on the Light Table — a free-form space where you can arrange, resize, and pile up photos however and wherever you want. Light Tables are ideal for mocking up book layouts, or for trying to find the narrative that lies within a group of images. This class reveals the tips and tricks you need to know to get the most out of the Light Table, including outputting your Light Table layouts.

Integrate Aperture Into Your Existing Process (90 minutes)
Speaker: Ben Long

Aperture provides all of the features that you need for a complete digital photography workflow, from initial import to final output. If you're a photographer who already has a workflow based on other applications, then you'll want to give some thought to how you might make the transition to Aperture, and what your final workflow process might be. In this class, we explore some basic "philosophical" stumbling blocks that many users make when they first start using Aperture. We'll also cover several "real-world" workflow questions such as what to do when your Aperture library fills up, how to perform long-term archiving and storage, and how to integrate Aperture with other applications.

Introduction to Automator (90 minutes)
Speaker: Sal Soghoian

Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" introduced Automator, a new application that automates anything on your computer quickly and easily. Using the power of Mac OS X, Automator controls your applications and files, automating — in an instant — what you need done with them. Automator will change the way you use your Macintosh. There's no scripting or coding, it's drag-and-drop easy. It's truly "Automation for the rest of us!"

Apple's Automator Product Manager, Sal Soghoian, gives you a personalized tour of this innovative application and you'll learn when and how to use Automator to make automating complex or repetitive tasks a breeze!

Aperture and Automation (3.5 hours)
Speaker: Sal Soghoian

Taking the shot is just the first step in the long process of delivering finished work. Now you can super-charge Aperture's workflow features to automate the traditional image workflow and extend it to include other applications and scenarios, such as:

• Batch image import/export with auto-backup and meta-tagging
• Importing images from network groups and remote sources
• Publish to print layouts, presentations, iPods, and DVDs
• Transfer image metadata to spreadsheets and back-office applications
• Round trip images to PhotoShop and back
• Use auto-mail and FTP methods to deliver images

You'll learn to use Aperture's built-in AppleScript and Automator
support to create custom workflows for you and your staff. No code
writing experience necessary — it's drag-and-drop simple!