From the June Palmettobug Digital Newsletter…
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Finally, now that I have mentioned PST, I would like to let you know about the partnership I have formed with them. In addition to maintaining Palmettobug Digital, I will now be serving as PST’s Director of Consulting. While the partnership is new, the relationship is not. I have been working with PST in various forms since 1995. PST specializes in providing comprehensive training and consulting services to individuals, companies and the government. They are affiliated with Microsoft as a Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning Solutions  and also provide industry certification testing as a Prometric and Certiport testing facility. So, now in addition to the support and development services I was able to offer, a wide variety of personal and corporate training is now available.
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The rest of the newsletter follows…
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Welcome to the June issue of the Palmettobug Digital newsletter. Just as the seasons are changing, so are the technologies and tools we are using. There are some interesting things coming to market in the next few months and whether or not you choose to adopt any of them, it is still good to be in the know.

First, please check the Palmettobug Digital website for the most recent article on Avoiding False Economies. While we are all keen on saving money these days, you need to beware of making price your primary consideration and thereby costing yourself more in the long run. This article will give you some examples of how this can happen and what the consequences might be.

In PC news, Windows 7 should ship in October of this year. Before that retail version ships though, many people are testing out the Release Candidate version. This is a pre-release version of the operating system that is fairly close to the final edition that will ship. From both my experiences with Windows 7 and what others are saying, I think that Microsoft has finally gotten it right. In short, Windows 7 is everything that Vista should have been - fast, stable, and user friendly. Expect Windows 7 to be a big hit. Additionally, the next version of Microsoft Office is currently in development, is expected to go into testing next month, and should be released either late this year or very early next.

On the Apple side, the next version of Mac OSX is due out soon. Apple’s developer conference, WWDC, will be held next week and more details should emerge then. Also, the next version of the iPhone will probably be announced. I have been using the beta version of the new iPhone operating system, OS 3.0, and it is stable and chocked full of great features such as cut-and-paste and global search. With the new versions of both platforms expect there to be more integration, increased usability, and improved speed. And if you are interested in automating repetitive process on your Mac, you will want to check out my review of the new book AppleScript 1-2-3. This book has been a long time coming, but is well worth the wait.

Still in the Apple realm but of more local interest, I will be teaching an “Introduction to the Macintosh” course at PST - Productivity Solutions & Training in North Charleston on July 30th. The full day class will include such topics as navigation, system customization, printing, and basic networking. To register for the class just go to the Application Training Schedule on PST’s website. Or you can call them at (843) 529-0098. This should be a great class and if it proves popular we will look at doing more of them and on various Apple topics.

Finally, now that I have mentioned PST, I would like to let you know about the partnership I have formed with them. In addition to maintaining Palmettobug Digital, I will now be serving as PST’s Director of Consulting. While the partnership is new, the relationship is not. I have been working with PST in various forms since 1995. PST specializes in providing comprehensive training and consulting services to individuals, companies and the government. They are affiliated with Microsoft as a Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning Solutions  and also provide industry certification testing as a Prometric and Certiport testing facility. So, now in addition to the support and development services I was able to offer, a wide variety of personal and corporate training is now available.

In closing, if there is anything I can do to help you - from websites and databases to training or machine repair - please let me know. And if you would pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues it would be greatly appreciated.

Michael Carnell
Palmettobug Digital