Arabic Support in Mac OS X

While it might seem like a bit of a hassle, adding support for the Arabic language on your Mac is a simple, straight-forward process. This is a quick guide to adding the Arabic keyboard to Mac OS X, as well as the softwre to use in order to open and edit office documents in Arabic.

Add the Arabic Language and Keyboard

The first step is to add a foreign keyboard, and that can be easily achieved via the System Preferences:

1. Click on the Apple logo on the top-right corner, and open System Preferences
2. Under the Personal group, select International
3. Go to Input Menu, check Keyboard viewer, scroll through the languages, and select Arabic
   
   

   The international input menu

4. Check Show input menu in menu bar for quick and easy access

Languages' menu

You will notice that your Mac OS X’s native language flag has appeared on the bar across the top (for example, USA flag for US English). In order to start typing in Arabic, simply click on that flag, and select Arabic from the menu that appears. If your keyboard does not have the Arabic alphabet printed on, you can select “Show keyboard” from the flag menu for access to a visual keyboard then you can use your mouse clicks to type. Of course, it is an inconvenience, and you are much better off either getting the letters printed on, attach transparent stickers with the Arabic letters on the keyboard buttons, or purchasing and attaching an external USB keyboard.

Opening and Editing Arabic Office Documents

Many Mac users choose to install Microsoft Office for Mac (the latest of which is the 2008 edition) to use programs such as Word, Excel, or Powerpoint. Aside from the fact that it is yet another Microsoft product with stability issues and unexpected flaws, the software bundle has an attractive and intuitive interface, and helps make you productive and efficient. The only major disadvantage, however, is the lack of support for Arabic. This means that you cannot even open a .doc file, for example, that is written in Arabic.

download OpenOffice.org

There are two main office bundles that can tackle this problem: Apple iWork (with Arabic support), and OpenOffice.org. The former could be quite pricey and does not necessarily offer the smoothest transition from its Microsoft counterpart. The latter, on the other hand, is free and open source. Even if OpenOffice.org cannot be considered a direct replacement, it remains a convenient solution as it sits comfortably side-by-side with Microsoft Office without consuming much space or resources in general.

Thus, this is how you can install and configure OpenOffice.org to work as a supplement:

1. Go to http://www.openoffice.org/ and download the installation file
2. Install OOo on your local machines and move it to your Applications folder
3. Open OOo and go to the Preferences menu
4. Under Language Settings, select Languages, check Enabled for complex text layout (CTL)
5. Select Arabic (Egypt) from the CTL drop-down list
   
   

   OpenOffice.org Language Settings

This will result in the ability to type, create/edit office documents, and open files, all in Arabic. The same could be applied to any language, but Arabic in particular tends to scare people off with its apparent complexity, but as you’ve seen, it’s as easy as basic configuration, and a beautiful product from the open source community.

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Apple Fixes Mac’s Issues for a “Small Fee”

Just when you thought that Steve Jobs and Co were doing everything possible to get the last penny from its loyal consumers’ pockets, Apple have proudly introduced the release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), available for pre-ordering. Not only have they brought new features and fixed a load of bugs, but they are also offering their latest operating system at a generous $29 for users upgrading from Mac OS X 10.5. Last year, users upgrading to the then new and unprecedented Leopard had to make a hefty investment. This time around, Apple are being compassionate with the poor and offering the upgrade, which is in theory only 0.02 increase in terms of version number, at under 30 bucks.

Apple patches up its OS, and charges for it

Before we go further, let’s examine the new features that are brought to the table by the California giants. A visual presentation of the main features can be found at Apple’s website here. While a complete list of the “refinements” are also available via their website. If you don’t have the time or are not willing to put the effort, the following are the key players in the move for the snow version of the same animal:

1. Exchange Support: With the new Mac OS, you can synchronize your calendar, contacts and email with a Microsoft Exchange server, which is widely used amongst companies of all sizes and industries
2. Improved Security: Better protection against malware and threats
3. Exposé & Dock Integration: IT is now easier to access open documents, combine open windows to space horizontal space
4. A Better Finder: Restore files to original location directly from trash (available in Windows for a over a decade, but still considered a revolution when it’s done in Apple’s name). Also displays which applications are using an inserted drive, preventing it from being ejected
5. New Quictime player: For some reason accredited to the new OS, even though anyone using any OS and download and use it
6. Minor Enhancements: Fewer Safari crashes, built-in screen capture with video, A proper Wifi utility, and more

The following video show a quick demonstration of the “new” Dock Expose:

The inevitable question that results from Apple’s new release is: How on Earth is this considered a commercial upgrade and not a set of basic updates? After all, these are nothing more than the type of tasks you would find on any technicians ToDo list. There is nothing out of the ordinary, and could in fact be considered fixes that are over-due.

This is where the intelligence of the consumer is questioned. Many Apple fanatics are overlooking the fact that they are forced to pay for a group of enhancements and improvements, and are in fact impressed that they are only charged a relatively-small fee. The problem with brands like Apple is that they are associated with many social aspects that couldn’t be further from the technology world. As a result, instead of driving computer-makers to come up with products that would fit our needs, we anxiously wait to see what are the products that will be introduced to the market, and consequently find out what we need to buy. I personally find it shocking that there are not enough people who find the payment for some fixes absurd, and it was even worse last time around when the fee was significantly larger.

Apple, just like any other company in the technology realm, makes imperfect products, and therefore is constantly working to address issues and fix them. However, Apple is the only company that will charge you to patch up security flaws, grant features that have been around since the Cold War, and make improvements that are nothing more than a natural step in the cycle of any product. We cannot expect corporations to serve us in the best way possible from the start, but with the current trends in ostentatious products and name brands such as Apple’s Macs, some companies do not even need to worry too much about the user’s need; they just need to focus on dictating it so that people know what to buy.

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Freelancing With “On The Job”

The On The Job icon

When you start growing as a freelancer,and begin to deal with more clients, you come to realize the importance of organization. If you are to become a successful freelance web designer, you need to be able to take advantage of the enormous collection of tools available (whether free or commercial) via the internet. I wanted to talk about On The Job, a program by Stunt software for time and expense tracking, and invoicing, that runs on Mac OS.

If you’ve taken the time to look around for the most common tools used by design agencies, there’s no doubt that you will have come across Basecamp by 37signlas. It is truly an impressive tools, or collection of tools. With Basecamp you can assign and divide tasks, set deadlines and milestones, share and collaborate on file, and track time in detail. While it already sounds like everything you need in one place, you have to keep in mind that the cheapest plan for Bascamp is at $24 a month (with only up to 15 projects and limited to 3GB of storage). The most popular plan is at no less than $49 monthly. Besides being over-priced, if you are working mostly alone, or up to three people together, it is actually inefficient to rely on such a solution. It is mainly geared towards design agencies that might have a team of 10 personnel working on several projects in parallel.

For that reason, On The Job targets a niche that represents a reasonable market share, but are nonetheless overlooked: Freelance web designers who mostly work alone and deal directly with clients. For that category, On The Job is spot on:

1. Set up clients and jobs: Therefore it is easy to see the different tasks that you’ve done for every client, and bill him or her accordingly
2. Configure the hourly rate, or flat fee: It automatically displays how much each client owes you for each particular job
3. Start/stop the timer: Sitting conveniently on the bar across the top, you can easily stop and continue the timer to find out exactly how much time you’ve been spending with each task
4. 

   The invoice editor

   Create invoices: It comes packed with some standard templates, but gives you the full control of making your own template, dynamically showing the new data with each invoice that you create. Not to mention that you can create invoices for certain jobs, or for everything you’ve done for the client

The best part of it all, is that it’s priced at $40. Even if you’re at the very beginning of your freelancing career, this is an extremely small price to pay, especially since you will be using it for at least a handful of years before you start working regularly with a group of fellow professionals.

The client view

It would’ve been nice to have a way to access it from other computers via the internet, for example, and to have it available across platforms. Nevertheless. given that it provides an easy way to track time, jobs, clients and invoices, On The Job is the ideal software for freelance web designers who are working alone and have their work mostly centralized on a single Mac.

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When You Should Buy A Mac

A question that always comes up whenever you reach the end of your laptop cycle and decide it is time to make a new purchase is: Should I buy a Mac? Or should I just buy a regular laptop running Windows?

There are a number of key points that you need to pay attention to whenever you’re about to invest in a new laptop. Generally speaking, the following are the advantages of a MacBook (regardless of specifications):

1. Mac OS: There’s no doubt that, when compared to Windows, the Mac Operating System is extremely powerful. It’s much smoother, much more intuitive, and impressively faster. In basic terms, the hardware and software are much more compatible and work harmoniously, causing fewer crashes and problems
2. Battery: You can never trust the lifetime that is listed amongst the specs of a given laptop – it is always exaggerated – but you can trust the fact that Mac’s batteries last significantly longer then the equivalent PCs
3. Size & Weight: MacBook owners never need to worry about how big or how heavy the laptop is. Simply put, it is extremely portable. Also, although relative, many would agree that its looks out-do its competition with ease
4. Lifetime: Depending on how you use your laptop, it will last for fewer or more years than the standard 3-4 years one would expect. However, the exact same use would give you more time on a Mac, than on a PC

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? That’s because I haven’t laid out the disadvantages yet:

1. 

   Prices of MacBooks

   Price: Fewer products are as over-priced as the MacBook. Starting at $1,000 for the most basic model, money has to be something you don’t worry about too much if you are to invest in Apple’s laptops. A regular MacBook Pro with standard specs will cost you no less than $1,700.
2. Mac OS: Even though it has been listed as an advantage, it is still something of concern for the crowd that are used to Windows or Linux. Working with a Mac requires time for you to get used to it, and while many users overcome the hurdle and become satisfied users, some find the change too much to handle
3. Software: If you’re a hardcore gamer, or work with specialized software, then you’re out of luck, as most of those applications are not made for Mac OS. Of course, you can always install Windows on a virtual layer on top of the Mac OS, but don’t try to fool yourself into thinking that the performance is the same

So whenever someone asks me for my recommendation for a new laptop, I always say: Purchase the cheapest hardware, and install Ubuntu. But then when I get the condescending looks associated with blasphemy, I say: If you do design or multimedia, you already know that Mac is better. If you are a regular user and have $1,500 available, get a MacBook Pro. If you’re a regular user with a regular budget (under $700), get a PC and install Ubuntu. But whatever you do, do not use Windows, and for God’s sake, do not buy a MacBook Air.

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What We Know About Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome logo

On the 7th of July, technology giants Google announced that they will release their own Operating System late 2010. It seems like it was nothing more than the worst kept secret of recent times, as there is very little known about it, and nothing will become clear until we near its release in a year’s time.

Having said that, there has been a bit of talk, and this article by Jason Hiner of TechRepublic gives an excellent explanation of what we know about the new OS, and its importance to us (or lack of).

In summary, Google will release an Operating System, like Windows and Mac OS, that is based on the Linux kernal. There are currently hundreds of different Linux distributions available, all free and open-source. Normally, each distro offers something different, or is geared towards a certain audience. In the case of Chrome OS, Google aims to create a very light and fast OS that is targeting netbooks, and is based on the fact that its users do almost everything on the Internet. This means that people will use remote servers to store their data (therefore no need for back-up), and web applications for their daily tasks (meaning less need for any applications to be installed on the local machine).

At the moment it is way too early to tell how successful this project is going to be. But one thing is for sure, and it’s that the consumers can always use more competition, and a new OS (it could be argued that it’s no more than a new distro, but it is still marketed as a new OS) would encourage Microsoft and Apple to constantly improve. Moreover, it could be a point of enthusiasm for Linux-supporters, as it is potentially the entrance to the Linux globe for regular users world-wide.

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