Chapter 13. Data Management: Desk Accessories, Address Book, iCal, and iSync


IN THIS CHAPTER:

94 Access Your Desk Accessories (Dashboard)

95 Add a Person to Your Address Book

96 Synchronize with an Exchange or Directory Server

97 Create an iCal Event

98 Subscribe to a Shared iCal Calendar

99 Publish Your iCal Calendar

100 Synchronize Your Information Using .Mac

101 Synchronize Your Palm PDA and Other Devices

Modern computing involves a lot more than simply running applications and browsing the Web. These days, the Internet lifestyle includes not just the computer on your desk, but your laptop, your other computer at work, your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), your iPod, your cellular phonea whole belt full of devices that all serve to organize the ocean of digital information that washes around you. Hundreds of names , email addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers , scheduled events, Internet bookmarks, and other pieces of assorted data flood through your head as well as your computerand every one of your devices, including multiple computers if you have them, can all use the same kinds of data. Your cell phone and PDA can both store directories of contacts and scheduled itemsand wouldn't it be great if those directories could match what's stored in your computer?

Address Book, iCal, and iSync are three of the utilities that allow you to manage your data and keep the contents of your digital devices synchronized, with a minimum of effort on your part. These utilities work in conjunction with larger applications such as Mail and Safari, corralling your contacts and bookmarks and transmitting them from device to device while you work. Address Book keeps track of all your email correspondents, friends , family, and business associates ; iCal allows you to schedule events and To Do items. iSync keeps all your devicesPalm-compatible PDAs, iPods, and cell phonessynchronized whenever they're connected to your Mac so that you can grab them at any time and access the most up-to-date versions of all the pieces of data that make up your online life. Finally, if you have a .Mac account (see 45 Sign Up for .Mac ), Mac OS X operates in the background, using Apple's central servers to keep each of your computers' data synchronized with each other at all times so that the same information is always available no matter which computer you use.

Mac OS X Tiger comes with a variety of small applications designed to help you accomplish small everyday tasks : a calculator, a dictionary, a translation tool, a weather monitor, a unit converter, an iTunes controller, and yellow sticky notes on which you can jot text messages to yourself, among many other such examples. These little tools desk accessories are not applications that stand alone in their own right, but exist in a separate layer that you can think of as floating just out of the range of sight, in a space known as Dashboard . With the touch of a key, you can summon Dashboard onto your screen, bringing with it all your desk accessories that you have activated. This is the most convenient way yet to summon a calculator to perform some quick math or to post a sticky note to remind you of something you have to do.

KEY TERMS

Desk accessories Small software tools for performing quick tasks such as calculation or jotting down quick notes, always active and accessible through Dashboard. Also known as widgets .

Dashboard A special "layer" over your Desktop where your desk accessories are stored, and that can be summoned with a keystroke ( F12 by default).




MAC OS X Tiger in a Snap
Mac OS X Tiger in a Snap
ISBN: 0672327066
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2001
Pages: 212
Authors: Brian Tiemann

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