Regular readers of this column know that I like simple. Plug it in, spend five minutes learning how to use it, and you're ready to go.
Generally, every day I awaken to delightful new tools that accomplish this. But occasionally developers don't quite get it, and I end up spending hours (or days) futilely trying to get some new tool to do one simple thing.
Well, you need to know about the pitfalls as well as the pleasures of Macmastering, so this is my introductory annual column on how not to waste time.
The first product to be honoured as a Colossal Waste of Time is the IOGear Wireless Print Server.
When I first heard about this gadget, I thought it would be particularly handy in multi-computer households or small businesses that share a printer or printers among a group of Macs. The idea of using your Airport wireless network to access a printer in a different room seemed like progress, so I gave it a try.
The big OS X logo on the box suggested that it was OS X compatible, but in very fine print on the end flap it stated that on Macs, it only supported Postscript printers. Whoops.
