Given a lot of hard work, time, and know-how, our PMUG website is easy to navigate, and is looking good, thanks to Mary Ann Clark. Note that on the home page www.pmug.us you can click RSS which takes you to NetNewsWire. Here you can select both this newsblog http://pmugnews.blogspot.com and the PMUG website so you can keep up with the latest additions. Try it, you'll like it.
Bookmark This NOW: System Status
Probably this will be the handiest website for you to bookmark! Jim Hamm strongly suggests, "Here's a site published by Apple that will alert you to a known problem with a particular Apple System.
"Let's say, for example, you're having a problem with iCloud Mail. Is it your computer, or ? A quick check of this site will alert you if it is a known problem that may be system-wide. If there's no alert showing, then take a closer look at your computer."
He closes with this, "You might want to bookmark this site -- it could be helpful." But as soon as you view that site you WILL see its usefulness.
Internet Access at the Prescott Library
We thank John Carter for providing the following information:
Things have recently changed at the library. In order to access the Internet at the library, you need to do the following on the iPad, iPhone, or laptop:
1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Wi-Fi.
3. Click on the blue right-pointing arrow at the far right of the PPL entry.
4. In the HTTP Proxy section, click on the Auto tab.
5. Close that window and quit Settings.
You are now ready to get on the Internet at the library.
How to Revive a Frozen iPhone
Not having an iPhone, I thought of Zee and Jim Hamm. Maybe this tip will be useful, so I emailed them this link to Here's the Thing blog. Jim's reply, "I wasn't aware of the website, and subscribed to their newsletter."
He went on to explain, "Interestingly enough, last eve my new iPhone 5 locked up and I used this tip to unlock my phone. It worked.
"The new iPhone 5 is very nice — lighter and thinner than my iPhone 3. I also have the new iPad Mini — very nice and light also. . . 47% of the weight of a regular iPad, but has 66% of the screen size. A nice tradeoff. Zee is to receive hers Thursday." (So much for the Christmas surprise, Jim?)
Jim closes with, "I missed you at the joint PMUG/PCS meeting last Saturday. Big John Carter gave a good presentation, as usual."
iTunes Upgrade Described
Ready to upgrade to iTunes 11? Jim Hamm sends helpful comments: " I upgraded to iTunes 11 last eve and there are two video tutorials available to watch when iTunes 11 is opened. These give a good overview of the changes in iTunes. Watching these two tutorials plus the tips in the link I sent out should get everyone off to a good start." And "here's some tips that might help you."
Jim closes with, "I'm listening to music on the internet through iTunes as I type this."
Oh, he's back with more! "Here is a review of iTunes 11 by Gizmodo that explains the changes. When it's opened, iTunes uses 148 MB of memory on my Mac while Skype, as a comparison, uses 168 MB. One nice aspect of the upgrade, as commented on in the article, is that iTunes has been streamlined and is more responsive to commands."
Oh, he's back with more! "Here is a review of iTunes 11 by Gizmodo that explains the changes. When it's opened, iTunes uses 148 MB of memory on my Mac while Skype, as a comparison, uses 168 MB. One nice aspect of the upgrade, as commented on in the article, is that iTunes has been streamlined and is more responsive to commands."
Anti-virus Programs Compared
Jim Hamm gets our attention with this: "Here is an interesting article from Thomas' Tech Corner describing a series of tests he ran on anti-virus programs. And here is a summary of the results in PDF format.
"Avast AV, which I use, came in a close second to first-place Sophos. The author devotes a paragraph to the problems Norton AV caused. Most (maybe all) of my computer friends don't use Norton, and immediately delete it (as I do) if it comes pre-installed on a new computer.
"Some might say an AV program is not needed on a Mac, but if I can get additional anti-virus protection free, and it doesn't cause any problems otherwise, I'm all for using one." Thanks, Jim for the info.
Gmail Tip to Try
"If you use Gmail, here is a useful tip that is handy when you're replying to someone's email," Jim Hamm passes the word along.
Evaluate Wifi & More Tips
Here's Turkey Dog
If you’re subscribing to Small Dog Tech Tails you saw him, so I wrote and Liam wrote back it was OK to post him. Take a look at their site today.
Take Command! for Shortcuts
He lists 16 quick shortcuts, using the Command key. That's Ben, the Mac blogging guy in Brooklyn helping all of us Mac-aholics. After subscribing to his freebie news a few weeks ago, "Here's the Thing" today brought some very practical tips. Look here.
Speed Up Web Browsing on iPhone, iPad
"Here is a tip that might speed up your web browsing on an iPhone or iPad: turn off Javascript. I just did it, and will see if it impacts my web browsing one way or the other. I've disabled Javascript on all my computers and haven't missed it at all. Javascript is a great medium (access point) for malware hackers to get into your computer," declares Jim Hamm.
Use Time Machine with ML
"Here's a helpful article on how to use Time Machine to recover files in OS Mountain Lion," says Jim Hamm.
Greeting Cards and Mailing Labels
Time to figure out making/sending greeting cards and printing out labels for mailing. John Carter speaks up, commenting on my question about labels, "A much better way, if you intend to print mail labels, is to use Avery Label's Design Pro for Mac (there's only one version, and Avery has discontinued support for the Mac as an application that you download - they now prefer that you use their free online service). Design Pro has a feature to merge contact information from Contacts and sort them."
Bobbie Pastor offers this info, "I make the club's name tags with Design Pro. That will be over when I get ML. I have to do my business cards with Design Pro on line as well. It Sucks! I don't like it at all. Downloading the program to your computer is so much better.
"Maybe, if you make cards and do a lot of that creative stuff, look into buying a program that can do all that. Here's one I found. http://www.snowfoxsoft.com/greeting-card-maker-mac.html"
What started the conversation was my comment about ML (Mountain Lion) Contacts which used to be called Address Book. Printing out a list of names for a Christmas card list the ML no longer alphabetizes the list, but does alphabetize the labels that you print out.
Set Up an eBook Library on an iPad
"Here's a helpful article on how to set up an eBook Library on an iPad," says Jim Hamm. He continues, "At the Apple store this past Friday I took a look at the new iPad Mini, and because of its small size and light weight, it might make a good eBook reader. But as I played with it, I didn't like the small font size on websites. I had to increase the font in order to comfortably read it. I didn't like doing that. On my iPad 2 I can easily read website font, without adjustment, because of the larger size of the screen.
"Before buying an iPad Mini (if you should have an interest), be sure to look at the font size first. The font size on eBooks might be larger, but I wasn't able to check this out. For easy portability, though, the new iPad Mini would be handy. And, like all the iPads, it is a beautiful device.
"At the Apple store I also compared, side by side, my iPad 2 with the new iPad 4. I couldn't tell an appreciable difference between the two. In theory, the iPad 4 has a better screen and a faster processor, but I couldn't tell a difference in performance or viewing. If there was a difference, it wasn't enough to impress me."
Here John Carter adds his opinion of the MakeUseOf newsletter earlier reviewed by Jim Hamm above, " In addition to the article, you'll find several advertisement links to free eBooks - but I would be careful about going there as you never know how much money those "free" eBooks will actually cost you.
"There are also advertisement links to help you convert PDF files to the eBook format, links to help you write your own eBook, and links to help you self-publish your eBooks. Again, click with caution on any advertisement link."
And John also mentions, "The article itself is chock full of suggestions and tips on how to find eBooks, and not just for the iPad, but for the Kindle as well. And did you know that you can read a Kindle eBook on the iPad? There's an app for that."
Where's Safari's Back Arrow?
Ben, at Heresthethingblog.com answered my question. I hadn’t expected an answer, actually. But his website invited queries, and I was puzzled about the grayed out Back Arrow at the top of Safari, now that I’m using Mountain Lion. I was used to clicking that arrow to return to one of the sites I’d looked at earlier.
He wrote right back and mentioned the browser tabs at the top of the page in Safari. Yes! That solves the question. I had not been using Tabs to go back to earlier sites. When the Back Arrow is grayed out, I can click on a previous Tab.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5364 tells more.
To close a Tab click the button that appears in the left of the tab when the cursor hovers over it. The + sign means add new webpage Tab, click to open a new tab. The black box means show all tabs, click to show tabs in Tab View.
More to learn, but having fun!
Automatically Starting Up
If your computer starts itself up at 5 a.m. it will be doing what David Passell's computer does. He writes, "This looks promising. Though this blog item explains something I have known for years (my mini turns on automatically at 5:00a) There may be other things of interest. You can subscribe to it." Your PC friends will find helpful info on this site, too.
Be Careful With Chrome
This alert is just in from Jim Hamm: "If you use the Chrome browser occasionally (as I do), here is an article about carefully reading the 'permissions' question before completing the installation. I hadn't paid much attention to this previously, but will now, especially after reading the following quote in the article."
"Research scientists at Barracuda Networks recently discovered malicious extensions in the Chrome web store that fooled more than 90,000 users of the browser."
How to Post a Blog
Social Networking Explained
John Carter spoke on Social Networking to a combined group of PMUG and the local PC Club yesterday. He’s posted the pdf under Benefits < Tips and Tricks. Go here to the PMUG website. You’ll find an extensive report that would take 133 pages to print out! (John didn’t just do this off the top of his head!)
His report identifies the top social networking sites and discusses Protocol, Problems, Password, Privacy, Photos, and Possibilities.
Joint Meeting Looks at Social Networking
Social networking: is it a fad that’s just fashionable now, or is it becoming an essential part of communication? John Carter will answer all your questions at the Joint PMUG/PC meeting this Saturday, 1:15 to 3 pm. at the Prescott Public Library Founders Suite. Your PC friends might not know about this joint meeting unless they attend PCS meetings; do them a favor by informing them. Read more http://www.pmug.us