iWeb posts

Filed under: iLife, How-tos, Freeware, Internet Tools

Looking for free iWeb hosting? Here's how to use Dropbox as your host

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Nov 20th, 2009

Since iWeb comes with just about every Mac, it's surprising that it isn't used by more Mac users. For some people, coughing up US$99 a year for MobileMe hosting is the barrier, but there are other ways to get your iWeb pages out where the world can see them.

Last night, while participating in a recording of the MacJury podcast, one of my gift ideas was to sign somebody up for a free trial of Dropbox and show them how to use it for syncing all sorts of things. While I was touting all of the things that Dropbox can be used for, I pulled up the Dropbox wiki for reference, and I noticed a link for Tips and Tricks. One of the tips was "Use Dropbox to host a website."

iWeb is one of my personal specialties, so I immediately wondered if someone could use Dropbox to host an iWeb site. Within two minutes, I had my answer and an idea for a how-to post. Follow along as I show you how to publish your iWeb site on a free Dropbox account.

Note: As our commenters point out, even though the suggestion for website hosting comes direct from the Dropbox wiki, the service is not intended for 'production' web hosting. A few personal pages or a testing site shouldn't cause you any grief, but Dropbox does reserve the right to turn off your public links if the system detects unusual levels of bandwidth consumption.

Continue reading “Looking for free iWeb hosting? Here's how to use Dropbox as your host”

Tags: dropbox, free web hosting, FreeWebHosting, iweb

Filed under: Audio, iLife, How-tos, Podcasting, iPhone, iPod touch

Quick and easy podcasting with an iPhone 3GS, GarageBand, and Posterous

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Oct 28th, 2009

I love podcasting.

My first podcasts weren't really podcasts, just recordings that I made and uploaded to a website in the late 90's so that other people could listen to them. Unlike the podcasts we know and love today, there was no way to subscribe to all of the episodes that I recorded. When podcasting as we know it hit the world in 2004, I started hosting podcasts through one of my companies.

Despite creating two long-running podcasts between 2004 and 2007, I finally gave up because of the time involved. Part of the problem was due to me being a stickler for perfection in my podcasts, while the rest was due to the fact that I was stuck with podcasting when I was near my iMac and could edit and update a feed file on a regular basis.

Earlier this month, I decided that I wanted to start up a personal podcast again. Yeah, I talk about tech, but for the most part I wanted this to be a free-form podcast that could talk about photography one day, music the next, and the joys of being a cat owner the third. Since my calendar is already pretty well jammed, the only way I was going to be able to commit to doing a podcast every day was to get the podcast workflow down to as little time as possible.

Continue reading “Quick and easy podcasting with an iPhone 3GS, GarageBand, and Posterous”

Tags: blogging, feed validator, feedburner, FeedValidator, garageband, itunes, iweb, podcasting, posterous

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, .Mac, Mac 101

Mac 101: Publish iWeb '09 sites to FTP

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Oct 26th, 2009

More Mac 101, our series of tips and tricks for novice Mac users.

Now that the winter holidays are almost upon us, we're thinking about sharing stories, photos, and movies with far-flung relatives and friends. There's a slew of ways to get this done, and this post focuses on creating a simple site in iWeb '09 and publishing it not to Mobile Me, but to your own host via FTP.

If you're unfamiliar with iWeb '09, I'll say this: It does what it does well. If your goal is to share photos, movies and stories with minimal fuss and zero coding, iWeb will work. When I travel, I typically create an iWeb gallery and movie page. Yes, there are many other options, but this one works for me.

If you'd rather not publish your iWeb site to MobileMe and have access to FTP, you're in luck. The setup is simple. First, create your site. Next, click the title of your site in the iWeb '09 sidebar (this doesn't work with previous versions of iWeb) to reveal the publishing options. In the first drop-down menu, select "FTP Server." Give your site a name and enter a contact email.

Below that, enter your FTP settings. You'll need your server address, username, and password. Next, enter the path to the directory (http://mysite.com/paris, for example). Just make sure the directory already exists on your server or you'll get an error. It won't hurt to test the connection at this point by clicking the button that's available for just that purpose.

Finally, enter your site's URL and then click Publish. Off it goes! If you set it up correctly, your iWeb-powered site will be uploaded to the proper place on your site. Subsequent updates require re-publication, so just hit that Publish button again when you're done making changes

That's it! Have fun sharing your holiday experiences with iWeb '09.

Tags: ftp, how to, HowTo, ilife, iweb, mac 101, Mac101, web publishing, WebPublishing

Filed under: iLife, TUAW Business, Books, TUAW Bookshelf

Take Control of iWeb '09 with exclusive TUAW discount

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on May 14th, 2009

With the introduction of iWeb '09, Apple pumped up the volume on its entry-level website authoring tool, making it more functional and flexible for novice users while adding enough power -- multi-site publishing options, FTP upload to unlock users from MobileMe, more capable RSS/podcasting tools and widgets, and links to social media sites like Facebook -- to merit a second look alongside midrange/prosumer apps like Sandvox, RapidWeaver, Flux & Freeway. Since the app is included in iLife '09 and bundled with every new Mac, it's likely to be the authoring app of first resort for many Mac users.

If you want to get the most out of your iWeb '09 site, we're proud to say there's one guy who has your back: our own Steve Sande, who has revised his Take Control of iWeb ebook for the latest iLife version. The $10US digital title (also sold in printed form for $23.99) reviews all the new features, covers advanced tricks and techniques, and walks the reader through the creation of a sample site (online here). Steve did a great interview about the book on Chuck Joiner's MacVoices podcast last week.

In the interest of sharing the iWeb love (and thanks to Tonya & Adam Engst at TidBITS Publishing), we've got an exclusive discount on Steve's ebook just for TUAW readers. Follow this referral link to place your order (be sure to click the big orange "Buy eBook" button) and you'll get a 30% discount off the ebook; it's normally $10US, but for you? $7. 143 pages + an appendix worth of iWeb goodness -- enjoy!

If you just can't get enough of books from current and former TUAW team members, you can check out Steve's guide to making the most of your classic iPod, Scott McNulty's WordPress book, or multiple titles on iPhone development and maximizing your iPhone/iPod touch from Erica Sadun.

Tags: authoring, discount, ebook, ilife, iweb, iweb 09, Iweb09, steve sande, SteveSande, take control books, TakeControlBooks

Filed under: iLife, Internet, Internet Tools, MobileMe

Apple announces end of .Mac HomePage

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Apr 9th, 2009

Apple has begun sending an email to MobileMe customers about a pending service change. Specifically, .Mac HomePage will be discontinued on July 7, 2009. While existing pages will remain live at their current addresses for MobileMe users, they'll no longer be able to edit them or add new ones. If you want to delete an existing page between now and then, simply visit the HomePage application.

Groups will also be discontinued on July 7 when Apple shuts down all group email address, group HomePages, message boards and iDisk "Groups" folders. Your data will be safe, however, as Apple will move the "Groups" folder to a new folder on your iDisk called "Groups Archive."

While I never used Groups, it's kind of sad to see HomePage go. I can remember building homepages on my old 333mhz G3 iMac. It was so easy to make a quick-and-dirty site for sharing photos, etc. with grandma. No, it wasn't the cleanest code ever produced, but it was fun back in the day.

Of course, Apple recommends that customers consider MobileMe Galleries and iWeb as an alternative. You can get the full run-down here.

Tags: .Mac, homepage, iweb, mobileme

Filed under: iLife, iWork, Software Update

iApp updates ready for download

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Mar 26th, 2009

Earlier today, Apple released updates for iWork '09, iWeb, iMovie, iPhoto and iLife Support. As usual, the cryptic descriptions of each disclose very little about their contents. Along with the usual "...overall application stability improvements," the iWeb update fixes FTP issues (what those are we don't know) and iPhoto fixes issues with Faces, Places, photo sharing, and slideshows.

You can grab them now via Software Update. They range in size from 1.4MB (iLife Support) to 88.8MB (iPhoto Update). A restart will be required. As usual, let us know if anything goes wonky after installation.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: ilife, imovie, iphoto, iweb, iwork

Filed under: iLife, Software, Features, Reviews

TUAW review: iWeb '09

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Mar 2nd, 2009

Along with the other changes to iLife '09, iWeb was quietly upgraded to version 3. While the changes aren't as dramatic as those seen in iPhoto and iMovie, they do move iWeb further down the path to being a good web design tool for beginning to intermediate users.

I'm in the process of writing a new edition of an iWeb book, and I took a month to go through iWeb in detail during my research. Click the Read More link below to see what's new in iWeb '09.

Continue reading “TUAW review: iWeb '09”

Tags: ilife 09, Ilife09, iweb, mobileme, web design, WebDesign

Filed under: iLife, Tips and tricks, Internet Tools

Apple's handy "Find Out How" pages

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Feb 23rd, 2009

Here's a useful corner of Apple's enormous website. The "Find Out How" pages feature tutorials on things like Mac and wireless basics as well as web, music and MobileMe tips.

We've written about it before, but Apple has recently added tutorials for iLife '09 apps, including iPhoto and an iLife '09 overview. The tips are super handy, and even an old salt like me learned something new. For example, did you know you could publish to FTP with iWeb? I didn't (of course, I never use iWeb).

Of course, you can check out our own Mac 101 series as well. Here's to education!

Tags: ilife, iweb, mac, tips, tutorials

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, Internet

Education-oriented iWeb Themes

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Sep 16th, 2008

While it's a bit too late for our Back-To-School series, here's an announcement for those in education (student, teacher, parent, or administrator) who use iWeb to create school or personal websites.

Jumsoft has announced five new iWeb themes specifically for education. The iWeb Education Themes run the gamut from Primary (at right) and Teens themes for younger students, Cool Class for everyone, and College and University for those in the post-secondary educational world.

Each theme consists of a number of templates for the various page types found in iWeb: Welcome, About Me, Photos, My Albums, Movies, Blog, Podcast, and Blank.

The themes are available for US$9.99 each, or as a package for US$29.99. iWeb 2 is required to use the new themes.

Tags: iweb, mac, themes

Filed under: iLife, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, Internet Tools

Easy iWeb Publisher 3.0.3

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jul 31st, 2008

Although I've written a book about iWeb, I often tell my clients to avoid using it for their websites if they're planning on hosting anywhere but on MobileMe. Why? When you post to MobileMe from iWeb, you "Publish" and your site is uploaded. Minor changes to a site only take a few seconds to upload, since iWeb uploads only the changed files to your web server. That doesn't happen when publishing to other servers. Instead, you publish to a local folder, and then usually upload the entire folder to your web server. That can take a long time with a large site.

Plyxim's Easy iWeb Publisher 3.0.3 fixes that problem. The shareware ($7 donation requested) application makes it simple to publish to any web host. It's an ftp client that takes the local folder you've published your iWeb site to, compares it to the folder on your web server, and then uploads just the files that have changed.

I've found that Easy iWeb Publisher works much faster than most dedicated ftp clients when syncing iWeb files that have been changed, added, or deleted. Until Apple fixes iWeb '08 to make publishing easier for people who don't use MobileMe, this is a great way to work with your own hosting.

Tags: iweb, mobileme, shareware, web server, WebServer

Filed under: Internet, Internet Tools, MobileMe

MobileMe and personal domains

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Jun 29th, 2008

According to Apple Support documents, personal domains will be kept intact with MobileMe. Blogger Sean Sperte noticed a "personal domain" option while watching the MobileMe quick tour. That prompted some investigation which led to this support document. Sure enough, it confirms that .Mac personal domains will remain untouched by the change:

"...If you have a personal domain setup for your iWeb site, it will continue to work without changing any settings at your registrar."

Thanks, Apple!

[Via Geek&Mild]

Tags: .mac, dotmac, iweb, mobileme

Filed under: iLife, Internet, Internet Tools, Developer

Take back your iWeb galleries in Firefox 3

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Jun 23rd, 2008

Just as Firefox users were upgrading to version 3 last week, many people started to miss their iWeb-created galleries as they just disappeared. Well, one iWeb user has been doing extra work to fix Apple's? (erm... Mozilla's?) problem. Joshua Ochs has posted an in-depth article on his site describing exactly what is going on -- he also provides a fix in the form of a script to patch iWeb.

Joshua says that the problem is neither with Apple nor Mozilla, but with a JavaScript library called "Prototype" which is used by iWeb. Right now there are two ways to fix the problem (neither of which are supported by Apple): you can use the information on Apple's Discussion Board, or you can download Joshua's script -- both seem to work and are free.

[via ArsTechnica]

Tags: Firefox 3, Firefox3, iLife 08, Ilife08, iWeb, JavaScript, library, Prototype, tweet-this

Filed under: iLife, Odds and ends

New iWeb themes from Jumsoft

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jun 8th, 2008

iWeb 2 (the iLife '08 version, that is) comes with an assortment of 26 different themes, but if you're tired of trying to mod the Comic Book theme for your new blog, you may want to look at ten new iWeb themes from Jumsoft.

There's a good assortment of styles in the Jumsoft collection. I personally find the Teddy theme to be a bit twee and Flowered World is too feminine for my taste, but YMMV. My personal faves from the new collection are the sparse and paper-like Simple Info, and the pastel and plastic Business. An installer app is included to make sure that your new themes end up in the proper place on your Mac.

Jumsoft sells each theme for $9.99 or you can buy the entire pack of ten themes at a 30% discount for $69.99. If you're an iWeb fan and want some additional design options, take a look at the new themes.

Tags: ilife, iweb, templates, themes

Filed under: iLife, Software Update

iWeb 2.0.3 update

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Jan 30th, 2008

In addition to releasing the iWork update last night, the updated status on MacBook Air and Apple TV today; Apple just now issued an update for iWeb '08. In Apple's normal long-winded explanation of the update, they say "This update addresses compatibility with Mac OS X."

The 17.2 MB iWeb 2.0.3 update can be downloaded through Software Update (Apple Menu > Software Update) or by downloading the update package from Apple's support downloads website.

Thanks, Adam!

Tags: 2.0.3, iLife, iWeb, update

Filed under: iLife, Internet Tools

iWeb 2.0.2 is available

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Sep 27th, 2007

The folks at Apple have had a busy day. iWeb 2.0.2 is now available, with the following changes:

"This update to iWeb addresses issues with upgrading iWeb 1.x websites, and fixes some common publishing problems, and supports general compatibility issues."

I haven't experienced any issues with iWeb. If you have - and if this update provides the fix - let us know.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: ilife, iweb, update

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