August 2001 || Volume 02, Issue 01

The In-Between Time

There is so much great stuff about August! The warm weather for one -- OK, for those of us in the northern hemisphere and of course, the tropics this is true -- my apologies to those in the colder half of the planet. Another great thing about August is that those prophecy specials on cable forecasting the end of the world at the turn of the millennium are officially late. Have I mentioned the warm weather yet? Oh...

Anyway, August can be the most frustrating month too... us football (that's American football) fans are on the edge, waiting for college and pro football to start, and of course, now we have a pile on happening because we are officially waiting for 10.1 to emerge sometime in September (Seybold anyone?)

So what's a diehard football fan/macophile to do? Hopefully, the August issue of Mac OS Journal will help you get through the month.

Enter Ferazel's World

Last year, Ambrosia Software released Ferazel's Wand for the Mac. And for months now, Erica has been locked up in the MOSJ Labs Dungeon with nothing but a G4, her wits, and the occasional visiting lab rat. Well, our torture has finally paid off with the completion of the Ferazel's Wand Secrets Guide. With the secrets guide, you have pretty much all you need (besides hand-eye coordination and a Mac) to help Ferazel out and defeat Queen Xichra. And as you may have noticed, Ferazel is the first inhabitant of our new Guides section...

Guides Section?

Yeah... you heard me. In the Guides section, we'll store application tutorials and game guides. The more astute among you should have already seen the new "Guides" option on our new site navigation menu. If not, catch a glimpse at it right now... it should look something like the picture to the left. See what the hand is pointing at? Yep, that's it... right between the Reviews and Staff sections and it glows blue too!

Of Course We Like Other Games!

You may have thought that just because we've had Erica slaving at Ferazel all of these months, that we haven't had a chance to play any other games. You are so wrong! For your enjoyment this month, we have reviews of Rogue Spear, WaterRace, and the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction expansion set. So jump on in and enjoy. Oh, and if you are looking for something non-game (what's wrong with you?)... we got a little something for you too. Kevin has reviewed the ShuttlePRO, Contour Design's answer to making video editing easier. If you use iMovie or one of the professional video editing utilities, check this review out!

And What Would an Issue Be Without...

...columns? That's a scary realm that we dare not enter. So get yourself out of that padded cell, and absorb the goodness before you. Erica has some great gaming links for you, including Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction sites (see the amazing bundling package you get with her columns and reviews?) in this month's Gaming Landscape. Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the topic of the moment for Craig in the latest Surf Report. Hot off the heals of save file hacking, Rocco shows you how to rip and decode a DVD in Warehouse. And Kevin's Mac is crashing... what better way to solve that mystery than to write an AppleScript! Of course, we got your reader mail covered in Connect! too sSo get your groove on and start reading.

Write for Us!

Do you love reading Mac OS Journal? Would you like to contribute? Right now we're looking for people who fit that description. Currently, we have openings for an HTML column and a graphics column. If you think you fit the bill, email me. If you've inquired before about such a position, please write again. Well, 'till September...

Marc Messer - marc@macosjournal.com
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