Apple announced that the new iPad will ship on April 3. It will be available a short while after that.

Question. Is it okay if I send my fonts to our translators in Montréal? Or is there a way for them to access the fonts on my machines remotely?

Answer. A couple of years ago I wrote an article covering the licensing of software. When it comes to licensed software people often are under the misconception that they have bought their software. In fact, what they have done when they purchased a software title is simply licensed the use of that software. Normally the license is intended for one user on one machine. Fonts although they are small are often overlooked yet they are copyrighted software titles.

So the simple answer is, “No” you cannot share your fonts with your coworkers and friends. Fonts are the creative works made by type foundries; in the past these same type foundries would have made would type and metal type. They once dealt with physical properties and now they deal with software or intellectual properties.

As with any software you should check the end-user license agreement, EULA, as they can often vary dramatically. As a rule of thumb; these are the intellectual properties you should assume that you cannot copy and distribute fonts. Another misconception is that fonts that are bundled with applications are free – they are licensed to be bundled. If you’re the owner of the company you should beware that you are responsible for the actions of your employees.

The business software alliance is a group that oversees infractions in software licensing. According to the BSA, if you’re not sure about font compliance you should contact the font vendor. The BSA doesn’t pursue infractions. They rely on end users reporting unlicensed software use. Surprisingly some fonts are not even allowed to be embedded in a document while others are not even allowed to be used in static images.

I took part in a webcast sponsored by Extensis on font compliance. Here are some recent examples they shared with us. NBC was sued by font Bureau for $2 million for the improper use of their fonts on logos for popular television shows. The Hadopi logo was also found to contain an improperly licensed font. Hadopi is the French government’s anti-piracy organization. Microsoft was sued for bundling Chinese fonts into their operating system.

Adobe’s Fonts are licensed per computer. Their terms state that you can give someone else your version of your font as long as they already own the same title. Adobe does allow fonts to be embedded into documents are going to be edited. Some other font foundries don’t allow this flexibility in fact they don’t allow unlicensed fonts to be hosted on a website.

Mono type, the biggest font vender owners of ITC and Linotype, also allow only allows policy licensed per workstation. They allow you to distribute a version, as above. but they restrict fonts to be in documents to be viewed and printed only. So you can embed the fonts in PDF and allow someone else to edit them. They also have additional licensing for use in a commercial PDF, you can also extend to a multiuse license as well as Web server and embedded applications.

Émigré is even more restrictive. They don’t allow any modification. They require an additional fees for use in PDF, Flash, and embedding in EPS files. They will allow embedding only if all users have an existing license. They do have a lot of extra licenses, site licenses and server bureau licenses etc.

So what can you do: You can own all your font licenses. You can ignore the problem. You can have your partners acknowledge that they have the rights to use the fonts. You refrain from using fonts that don’t allow embedding. And you probably should read the EULA.

There are several tools to help you manage your fonts. For instance expenses makes a product called Universal Type Server. With the UTS you can limit the user to have access to fonts. You can control who can share the fonts. And you can control who can add the fonts. You can also you can also have the server report on your company’s font compliance. At the end of the day there are no “font police” – all it requires is that someone makes an innocent phone call.

Apple announced the iPad today. It is a hybrid of an iPod Touch, Amazon Kindle and a Mac. At long last we have our beloved Newton and a graphic tablet all rolled into one…
Early reviews are mixed with many people impressed and some pundits less than enthusiastic. The latter critical that Apple has modified and added their iWork apps to the device. Here’s a bit of office productivity and yet they would complain if there was no productivity apps.

Apple is now the “world’s largest mobile devices company in the world” – bigger than Nokia, Samsung and Sony (in the mobile devices space.) Apple introduced the world’s first modern laptop in 1991 with the introduction of the PowerBook – with a raised keyboard, palm rests, an integrated pointing device (track ball). The Newton PDA introduced in 1993 and in 2007 Apple reinvented the cell phone with the iPhone.

The iPad represents a third category, according to Apple, between the smart phone and portable laptop. They are insisting that this middle categories key tasks must be better than smart phones or laptops. The key tasks are browsing, email, photo sharing, video, music, games and ebooks. NetBooks, according to Steve Jobs, aren’t better at anything – they’re just cheaper PCs. The iPad in a magical and revolutionary device.

I have been dragging around laptops to meetings since 1991 – apologizing to attendees while waiting for the laptop to start up. Next I got a Newton and apologized while I had to reenter the cursive writing because I hadn’t learned to “write” correctly. Finally moving to a Palm Pilot as my main PDA. Since that time I have continued to use spiral bound paper note books. They’re easy to start – simply open and start writing. However searching the content means flipping physical pages and it’s difficult to email – unless you tear out the page and scan it as an image.

That all changed when the MacBook Air and iPhone came out. The Notes app, contacts, calendar and IMAP email and syncing with Mobile Me is totally productivity for me! I can leave the office and captain my whole business with my iPhone – from the back seat of a street car. I have the latest iMac on my desk, a MacBook Pro 13 in my briefcase as well as a couple of Xserves. The iPad is the device that we have all been longing for. Productivity and portability. With 3G access I can even run my business from the cottage (thanks to iPhone tethering.)

Let’s be honest the iPhone is too small to read a book on – most annoying if you wear bifocals! Too small for a crossword puzzle and now you and your loved one can enjoy a movie together. Newspapers and magazines can now concentrate on delivering content in a new media way. Gone is the static presentation of news and current affairs. I will miss the books from the sixties that say “one day man will land on the moon” but now you’ll have instant access to wikipedias take on Man’s exploration of the heavens. News will now update as quickly as your FaceBook and Twitter feeds.

We actually have 5 iPhones – my main cell, my partner Carol’s and two iPhones to “pass back” for the grandkids to play games on. I’ve had an iPhone since November 2007 (imported from San Francisco) and gladly sold my Blackberry for $25 at a garage sale. Yes, I’ve been annoyed by all of the iPhone’s short comings – What!? No copy and paste!? Hey! I used to have three Newtons so I know about patience. But at the end of the day, the iPad is a unix driven device that you can easily carry around and watch movies while you’re on break! Don’t worry Speck will make an awesome case and OtterBox will make a weather proof case for the bathtub. In the meantime use a ZipLock bag to keep it dry.

iPad Features:

• high-resolution, 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS display
• wide, 178° viewing angle
• Multi-Touch screen
• just 1.5 lbs and 0.5 inches thin
• 10 hour lithium polymer battery technology
• Wi-Fi, built-in 802.11n and BlueTooth + EDR
• available in an unlocked 3G model using GSM micros SIMs
• 1GHz A4 chip inside iPad was custom-designed by Apple
• choice of 16, 32 or 64GB flash storage
• 30-pin dock connector, charge or connect the Camera Connection Kit or the Keyboard Dock
• Microphone & powerful, built-in speaker produces a full, rich sound
• Accelerometer & Compass (GPS)
• iPad will run almost 140,000 apps from the App Store
• iWork productivity applications, Keynote, Numbers and Pages
• Safari, Mail, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, App Store, iBooks, Maps, Notes, Calendar and Contacts
• $499 – $839 USD

Q. Ever since I upgraded to Snow Leopard I have been unable to print Adobe PDFs. I print the file but I cannot find the PDF when it is done.

A. Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 aka Snow Leopard, is an upgrade for Intel based Macintosh computers that uses 64-bit processing, which allows for faster and wider data processing. As a result the computing experience is much faster and seemingly gives new life to all compatible Mac desktops and laptop computers. While the upgrade has negatively affected some printing services, the refinements in Snow Leopard make it a welcome improvement.

In the case of Adobe’s virtual printers, Adobe PDF 9.0 et al, the method used to print a PDF contravenes Apple’s security protocols. In the past when you chose to print a PDF from a program you were actually printing a PostScript file using the LaserWriter print spooler, which was then silently passed to Adobe’s Distiller application. Distiller would actually convert the PostScript into a PDF and save the file to the location you specified.

That is a simplified explanation and there are more applications under the hood involved. Apple’s CUPS or common unix printing system handles most printing tasks and there is some issues with the permissions set by software manufacturers that is prohibiting successful printing. You may see a notice in a print spooler that warns that you need to contact the manufacturer for an update.

The method to print a PDF your self involves a few simple steps. You can print your file to PostScript which will result in saving a file ending with “.ps”. Next open Adobe Distiller and drag and drop the PostScript file onto the main window. Distiller will convert the PostScript file to a PDF and save it in the same folder as the PostScript file. In most cases you would choose “Standard” but if you want a PDF ready for press you can choose “High Quality Print” or “PDF-X1a” – check with the printer’s account manager. If you want the send the PDF by email choose “Smallest File Size” to create a compressed version.

The Acrobat Team has added an Apple Automator workflow to print PDFs. From the Print dialog you can choose “Save as Adobe PDF” from the PDF menu.

If you’re printing with the regular Mac OSX Print pane:
Choose Print from the File Menu.
This will open Mac OS X print dialog.
Choose the “PDF” button and select “Save as Adobe PDF”.
Click Print.
In a few seconds Automator will open and prompt you to choose what type of PDF
Choose Standard (see above).
On the next window, you will be asked where to save the PDF.
Automator will create the PDF.

Q. How does it work when you want to acquire a domain name that is parked by someone else? I was looking into registering a domain but it looks like it’s just kind of sitting there…

A. Registering a domain name is similar to getting a deed or more accurately a lease to some actual real estate. You determine a name for your domain and contact a registrar to pay for the rights to that domain name. The domain is yours to use for as many years as you pay for it. While you hold the rights to a domain you have the exclusive use of it.

A domain is meant to be a group of computers and or services owned by a single organization. A domain can be as small as a single computer or server that hosts a website, an email server and/or an FTP site. Often a domain is named for the company that owns it such as apple.com, sun.com or Microsoft.com but often the most successful domains are named for the service or information they provide.

Unfortunately nearly every combination of English words have already be registered and parked. The owners may be speculating that someone would be willing to pay more privately for the domain and the squatter would profit from the sale. Parked pages also can be set up to advertise other services and the squatter could enjoy recurring revenues from the ads. If you really want a particular domain name you may have to offer pay extra to get it.

Q. I seem to have trouble recalling all my passwords. When I connect the wireless or get my email I am asked for passwords. How do I know which one is needed?

A. Every Mac and Windows computer has a series of username and passwords that control what happens on you computer. These are there to protect your data and information. Perhaps the person who set up your computer chose the passwords and set them to be remembered. Even if they left the password field blank they have set a password. Avoid this option as it can lead to problems later. The answer to your question, you may be asked to enter your password for several different reasons.

First: You would have a login password to your own account. You don’t know about it because when you start your Mac it is remembered and automatically entered for you. You are most likely an “administrator” as well so you would get prompted for a password whenever you install software or install an update. You would see a message that says you need to “enter you password” in order “authorize” and complete the function.

Second: You would also have a username and password that connects you to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Internet is a toll road – you have to pay to use it so you often have to be “authenticated” to prove that you are in fact the person who is connecting. If for some reason there is a hiccup in the connection you may be asked to reenter the password – even though you have also “told” the computer or router to remember the “Internet” password.

You can use a router that will make the connection to the Internet for you or your ISP may have supplied you with modem that has the ability to remember the password and make the connection as needed. Most of these devices are pretty cheaply made an often the solution to a sour connection is to restart the Internet modem or router. Simply unplug the power to the modem, wait or a minute and then power it back up. This often cures connectivity issues. You may be advised to do this before you call tech support.

Third: You also have a username and password to connect to your mail server and retrieve your email messages. Again you have to be “authenticated” in order to prove that this is in fact you whom is trying to pick up or send your email. Your email program also can remember your password for you. Again this is intended to make the experience “easy” for you.

You may get asked to enter your password when you send or receive email because the mail server is busy with your account or because the network connection has gone down. In fact you do not need to reenter your password. Once the connection problem is corrected or the mail is processed and received on the server your mail program will successfully connect.

Recently major ISPs have joined forces with Hotmail, or Yahoo, and have been making changes to how email is sent and received. They have been adding more security so you may be experience glitches because of that.

You can check what passwords you have with the “Keychain Access” utility in the Utilities folder. While you are in the Finder, press Command, Shift and U to open the Utilities folder. Double click Keychain Access and you will see a list of keychains and certificates.

Your email keychain will be of the type “internet password” and your wireless password will be of the type “Airport network password”. Look for “pop.yourISP.com” in the list. Once you select an item you can press the “i” at the bottom left of the window to get more information (“Get Info”).

You can click the “[ ] show password” check box but you will need to enter your computer login password to see it (Same password you use to install software. That’s your “login” password.)

If you cannot find “pop.yourISP.com” then you have not checked “Remember password in the keychain”. It is reasonably safe to do so since your desktop Mac doesn’t go anywhere. If you use a laptop you may not want this.

UPDATE: Due to scheduling conflicts that could not be rectified, the events have been postponed until Spring, 2010. Further information will be published when available. The road show was originally scheduled on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009.

On September 9, 2009 Steve Jobs returned to the stage to discuss Apple’s new music products for the upcoming holiday season. Jobs, in case you hadn’t heard, had returned to Apple after a liver transplant done while he took a six month medical leave. He made the point of thanking his organ donor.

The highlights of the products introduced were an iPod Classic with a 160 GB hard drive and a new iPod Touch model with a faster processor and either a 32 GB or 64 GB Solid State Drive. To compete in the “flash video” cameras, Apple has added a video camera to the iPod Nano. As well as being an “insanely great” portable music player the addition of a video camera means that users can capture events and upload to social media sites like Youtube and Flicker.

On the software side, Apple introduced a revamped iTunes 9 with movie and music accompanied with “album art” and other interactive content previously part of the “vinyl LP” paradigm but missing in the digital music age. Additionally iPhone users can manage there iPhone Apps within iTunes.

Q. Before we upgrade to Snow Leopard, I want to ask you if you have tried the system and if there are conflicts from the software I’m running?

A. Yes, I have tried Snow Leopard as I updated one of my primary Macs as soon as Apple sent me my copy. However before I upgraded I made sure that I had a good backup and I even “cloned” my hard drive. I have not upgraded all of my computers yet because there are still some conflicts.

You can clone your hard drive with “Carbon Copy Cloner” or “SuperDuper” software. Cloning makes an exact copy of very file on your hard drive on a second hard drive; including the System, Applications, all of your own data and most importantly the files critical to booting your Mac. Make sure you have “make bootable” checked and you should start the Mac from the clone to test that it works.

Snow Leopard is not only Apple’s latest upgrade to its Mac OS X operating system (also know as version10.6) but it is the next step in the Macintosh’s migration to Intel and 64-bit processing. The majority of the operating system has been written to take Advantage of the 64-bit capabilities in modern computers. In theory a 64-bit wide cpu can address up to 16.8 million terabytes of RAM – although today’s computers have an artificial memory limit.

You may have heard that some of the low end MacBooks cannot boot into 64-bit. In fact at this point in time it is not terribly important to boot into 64-bit since there is still a fair amount of 32-bit software in use. The Intel Mac’s can switch between 32-bit and 64-bit when it is required but if they boot in 64-bit mode they cannot run 32-bit code.

I recently purchased a MacBook Pro 13 with 2 GB or Ram and was a little disappointed with its initial performance. As soon as I upgraded it to Snow Leopard it came to life and is now snappier and much more responsive. So I would encourage you to seriously consider upgrading.

Before you do you should make a list of all the software you use regularly and pay close attention to items you depend on. You can find a growing list of software compatibility here: http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/ If you are in publishing, you may want to note that Extensis Fusion is reportedly not compatible at the time I am writing. You can also go to the manufacturer’s web sites where they will have published their Snow Leopard status. Users have also reported that while some titles are not officially supported they are running without too much fuss.

We recently tested Extensis Fusion 1.0 on Snow Leopard and it seemed to work fine. There have also been reports that Adobe CS3 works for the most part. So while we strongly recommend that you check with your software manufacturers about compatibility all is not lost. You can create a clone drive as mentioned above and test the upgrade on the cloned version of your system.

So do your homework, back up and/or clone your Mac, get a copy of Snow Leopard ($35 CDN) and enjoy!