Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition

Chapter 20. Panther’s Internet Software Suite

Apple is unabashedly intrigued by the possibilities of the Internet. With each new release of Mac OS X, more clever tendrils reach out from the Mac to the world’s biggest network. There’s the Safari Web browser, of course, but also Sherlock, iCal (Mac OS X’s calendar program), iSync (which keeps your address book, calendar, and to-do list synchronized with your cellphone, iPod, PalmPilot, and other Macs), and iChat AV (an America Online-compatible instant-messenger/voice chat/videoconferencing program, which non-Panther peons must buy for themselves at $30).

This chapter tackles each item in this motley crew.

Sherlock

Sherlock is like a Web browser that’s specifically fine-tuned to bring you certain popular kinds of up-to-date Web info, without the waiting, without the navigation hassle, and without the ads.

The Sherlock channels (indicated by icons on its toolbar) bring Web information directly to your Sherlock window, formatted for maximum impact: graphs when you search for stock prices, QuickTime previews when you search for movies, maps when you search for flights, and so on.

Here’s how the channels work.

Internet

The Internet channel simply means, “search the Web.” You type what you’re looking for into the “Topic or Description” box, and then press Enter (or click the green magnifying-glass button). After a moment, you see a tidy list of Web sites that match what you looked for, sorted by relevance, at the outset.

By double-clicking one ...