Haven't we all clicked to try a nifty-sounding app? What if it turns out to be less handy than you expected? Jim Hamm sends us a remedy. This article discusses a free utility to thoroughly delete an app that you want to get rid of. Jim says he's going to try it.
Do You Value Your Privacy?
Here's the latest PMUG handout from today's October 2009 meeting. Hope it's helpful. Read on about security.
10-24-09
You have some choices to make that affect your privacy on the Internet. Here are some considerations.
A recent Internet article mentioned privacy, and the writer gave this advice. Use one Internet search engine, say, Google for looking up articles; use Firefox for your financial dealings with your bank; use Opera for ordering things from the Internet.
Open to Safari. Click on History on the main menu at the top, and go all the way down the list to click Clear History. Every website you’ve opened since the last time you cleared it, or for the last several weeks will be erased from this list. Want to save some? Click Show All History and delete just the ones you want to, at this time.
Go to Safari > Preferences > Auto Fill (or Command + ,) See what your default setting has been all this time. If “Use info from my Address Book card” has been checked, then no wonder that yesterday in your mailbox you got something from British Columbia. Just a few days earlier you saw a cute ad on the Internet when you were looking up something else, and you clicked to just read that ad. Now the company has all that info about you that you posted to your own Address Book.
Command + Shift + H takes you from wherever you are on the Internet to the Google homepage.
On Google’s homepage click under More. Then click Even More. There are lots of interesting Google Products. Decide which ones you want to know about, but keep in mind what level of privacy you want.
Got all your Cookies? Open Safari, do Command + , (comma) and chose Security. Here you can choose to accept Cookies, “always,” “never,” or “only from sites I visit.” Some sites will prompt you to set to accept Cookies, but when you’re done with that site you can go immediately back to this list and click Never, and Show Cookies. Delete what you want; I delete all every time I finish on the Internet. The next time you need a Cookie temporarily you’ll be prompted to allow Cookies. Do it, then delete after you’re done with that site.
Sign in to Google with your email address and your Google password, chosen for your Google account. Go to Web History. Here you are being tracked. To opt out choose to Pause Web History. Your previous History will be deleted and it says they will not gather this info until you allow it.
DO NOT use any social networking sites: FaceBook, MySpace, etc. Don’t post any information about yourself on the Internet, comments, forums, etc. that you don’t want the whole world to know.
On the Safari drop-down menu Private Browsing could be a good choice. # # #
Finding Info on the Internet
Looking for Something? Finding Info on the Internet A few interesting sites when you’re looking for some info.
http://www.infoplease.com/yearbyyear.html Year by Year lists highlights from 1900 to 2008: world events, U.S. Events, economics, sports, entertainment, science, notable deaths
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml Describe the concept and it lists possible words you want.
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Prescott+Valley+AZ Local weather with animated radar map, weather history for this location, sports weather, state extremes, astronomy links, local weather stations, warnings. You can submit weather photos for their display.
http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress, articles, podcasts, copyright, folklife, lots and lots of categories to explore.
www.20search.com/ Lists 20 search engines, type in the search box and go to the site. Handy if you want to quickly look at some smaller search engines for comparison.
http://www.quoteland.com/ Use wildcard % search. See FAQ
http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi Search for images to drag and use.
Dictionary Features
Here's a copy of the PMUG meeting handout on June 2009, in case you missed the meeting.
June 2009: Dictionary Features
Got a Word?
The Dictionary that lines up so nicely in the Dock is full of words! Take a look . . .
When you click on Dictionary you have choices of All, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Apple, Wikipedia.
What good is that Apple Dictionary, you ask? Type a in the search box. Click on Apple. Up comes a list of the “a” words, all of which apply in some way to Apple products. “Aqua,” what is that? A double-click brings up the definition. Did you already know it meant “the graphical user interface and visual theme of Mac OS X”?
If you’ve got time on your hands, do the same thing with Wikipedia. Type in a and see what comes up. “A & W” links to several titles, so we choose “Root Beer.” Clicking here brings up an outline of contents and concise information, including nutrition facts. You’ll find links scattered throughout, each opening to a new website.
Now, Thesaurus. It tells you there are 997 entries for "a." From words to phrases you can find more words. Click on one, and feast your eyes on words with various shades of meaning.
Dictionary opens by announcing there are 943 entries for a. On the menu at the top of your desktop go to Dictionary > Services > Speech and click on Start Speaking Text. Hear the chosen word pronounced. You may find this more helpful that sounding it out yourself, using the diacritical marks given in the dictionary entry.
Note: You can also click Start Speaking Text when using Pages and highlighting the words or sentences you’d like the voice to read for you. In System Preferences choose Speech, and select the man’s or woman’s voice you like.
What’s Up?
Go to http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/ to see what’s up. There are 161 postings since we started this feature in April 2008. Browse and see what’s there.
Now, ask yourself, what news could I send to Elaine that would be of interest to other PMUG members? Click on editor@pmug.us and email me what’s up.
See also the PMUG website at www.pmug.us/ and explore the info there. Webmaster is John Carter.
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Google Maps
Now with our blog's new Jump Breaks capabilities I'd like to post the handouts given out at previous PMUG meetings. As your news blog editor I've printed up handouts beginning in May. Now I can post them here without hogging the whole homepage! In the next few days I'll post each, separately. To start us off here's May 2009: Google Maps
5-23-09 Google Maps
Have you tried Google Maps with new features?
Go to Google and type your address in the search box. No need to capitalize!
When the page opens click on that address where it says maps.google.com
Up comes street map, arrow pointing to that place and a tiny photo of the house.
In the upper left click on the yellow man and begin to drag him towards your house.
All streets that have been Googled are now outlined in blue.
Put the man down in the street at your address. Watch as your house comes up.
You can scroll in a 360 degree circle to see the neighbors.
The tiny icon at right side, top will enlarge your house to fill your screen.
You can move towards or away from using other control icons on the left side.
Notice you can use the Back Arrow to go to the previous screen.
On the first map, top right, you can find Traffic, More, Map, Satellite, Terrain.
Go under More and find Photos, Videos, Wikipedia, Webcam.
Experiment and see what you find.
Instead of putting in a whole address Google will find places if you type what it is, Ground Zero Twin Towers, Club 50 Fitness Prescott Valley, Washington Monument, etc.
On the left side other links will appear. You can even read and post Reviews. # # #
Consider "Net Neutrality"
Should the FCC and the government stay out of the Internet, or should ISPs be allowed to, say, charge for the amount of usage a person uses? Jim Hamm raises this question and goes on to say, "After reading this article I'm still a bit uncertain if I'm 'fer or agin' net neutrality. Do you think the FCC and government should stay out of the Internet, or should ISPs be allowed to, say, charge for the amount of usage a person uses? For example, YouTube has caused a significant increase in soaking up broadband, as does downloading movies, etc. This can cause internet slowdown in a neighborhood. Should people pay for this increased usage?"
"Another example: now many RV parks charge for WiFi (which is OK, somebody has to pay for this service), but now when one pays the fee you are limited to 60MB/day usage. Once you get to that level, you have to pay another fee for another 60MB. The parks say this restriction is needed because too many campers were soaking up available WiFi watching or downloading movies.
Jim concludes, "We'll see and hear more about this issue in future months, I'm sure." Here's the article.
Mac Commercials vs. Windows
De Prez Allen Laudenslager sends a note about two creative Mac commercials. Here's the video.
See Google, See Life
Just found a nifty Google feature. Go here for the home page of the listings of all Life magazines from 1935 to 1972. Under "about this magazine" they give free access to share, print and post images for personal use. There's also a world map with red pins marking places mentioned in the magazine you designate. When you click on Contents the list of articles in that magazine come up. You can view full screen, two pages up, or four pages up.
I discovered this from World magazine's article, "Googly eyes," which states you can do an image search by appending "source:life" and the search will be limited to Life archives. Without that nice URL you can just go to Google's homepage, click on More, then click on Books. Magazines are shown, as well as books.
Improving the Blog
New features and improvements for the blog keep on coming. Thanks to John Carter for helping with the newest feature, "Jump Breaks." Scan down this page to note it as "Click to Read More."
Now is the time to consider starting a blog. You can set it up for the whole world to see, or you can restrict it for select people, like family and friends. You'll be able to share a lot of good stuff and publicize your blog in your holiday greeting cards!
Click here to go to www.blogger.com and follow the simple instructions. Then, let us know how it's going.
Tips for Avoiding Phishing Scam
On the heels of the warnings from De Prez Allen Laudenslager read tips from CNET News on how to avoid being a victim of an email phishing scam. Recently usernames and passwords from Hotmail, Gmail, and possibly accounts of AOL and Yahoo users being posted online has caused concern. Read in detail the five tips by Larry Magid: change passwords regularly, click cautiously, look for secure sites that use "https" (the "s" stands for "security"), use a phishing filter and good antimalware software, and think critically. Additional tips and links are given in the article.
Run a Mixed System?
For those who run a mixed system with both Mac and PC De Prez Allen Laudenslager says, "Malware is still a problem. This is not reported to attack the Mac, but since I run a mixed PC and Mac system I thought I'd pass it out just in case we have some members who are still running PC as part of a network.
"Never open attachments to email that claims to be from US or state agencies; they never use email attachments to communicate with taxpayers.
"This one claims that you may have under reported income and may be due a refund. It urges you to click on the attachment which directs you to a phony website that will infect PCs." Here's the article describing the problem.
Mac User Groups = Gems!
"I can't I can't begin to tell you how much being a member of PMUG has benefited me," exclaims John Carter. He goes on to elaborate, "Getting the bits and pieces of news and information through the PMUG Newsletter (Blog) is one of the best resources we have. And learning about other Mac User Groups and peeking in on their activities is another great resource.
"For instance, looking at RIMUG (Rhode Island Mac User Group) I discovered in their quarterly newsletter a review about Vertus FluidMask, a Photoshop plug-in (or stand-alone) application that takes the pain out of selecting portions of an image that you want to mask out of a photo. Wow! What other gems are waiting for me to discover in the world of Mac User Groups?"
John refers to an earlier post with this link to US and World User Groups. Take a look and be amazed.
Save Money on Photoshop
Looks like a good deal. Art Gorski tells us we can preorder Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for $75 (after rebate) and get free shipping from Amazon. Use this link to help support the great Macintouch website. This page on Amazon has a list of features comparing Elements 6 with the New Elements 8. The "newest version of the #1 selling consumer photo-editing software . . . combines power and simplicity." The item will be released 10-23-09.
Also take a look at Macintouch which today includes an updated Snow Leopard Compatibility List, reviews, and articles that may be helpful.
Soon to Be on Sale?
Rumors of new Apple products always catch our attention. John Carter sends us this biggie, "It has been rumored for the last month that there will be new iMacs for the Christmas buying season. Today, AppleInsider seems to have some information on these. 'A trio of online advertisements that appear to have been published prematurely by one of Apple's international online stores suggest it's only a matter of days before the Mac maker takes the wraps off of new families of ultra-thin iMacs, lighter & thinner plastic MacBooks, and more affordable Mac minis.'
John's advice? "So if you are planning on buying or upgrading wait — new Apple products are usually introduced on a Tuesday. I would guess they will be out by the second Tuesday of the month — October 13, but perhaps we will see something next week."
Beware This New Scam
Thanks to John Carter for the following warning, "If you are a Facebook user, you might get a message from a friend saying something like, 'BigCityBizNews.org Read this news article...', or, 'Community-News.org...', which promises to tell you about a great money-making home business opportunity.
DON'T click on the link! It's a scam!
"The link takes you to an authentic looking website with a news article about using Google advertising that eventually asks you to click on two other links and pay $1 for one link and $1.95 for the other link. You probably get nothing in return for the money you give them, or what you get is information on how to do something that you could figure out on your own. And what's more, the article looks even more authentic by mentioning the name of someone in your city who is making tons of money with Google ads."
Where in the World?
Have you seen Apple Pi? Washington Apple Pi, to be specific. Yes, your PMUG from little Prescott Arizona is now listed on this extensive site that covers the world. Click for United States Groups, The World, Internet-Based Groups, Corporate & Government and Special Interest Groups. Thanks to David Harris for updating his impressive site to include PMUG.
September Winners
Another interesting PMUG meeting was held, with Roger Lakner showing a DVD on the beginnings of Macintosh. Winners of the drawings were David Passell and Randy Calvert (coffee mugs), Sandra Garramone and Harry Morel (the magnets), Marshall Waller and Roland Michaelis (the T-shirts) and Arnold Watson (the poster). A good time was had by all.
Favorite 10 Tips
This just in from Jim Hamm, "The Favorite 10 Tips" from Kibbles & Bytes. See it here. Betcha find at least three things you didn't know! And to think that cent sign ¢ was hiding under the Option + 4 key all this time.
Finding Something on This Blog
There IS a way to find something posted earlier on this blog. Maybe you've not noticed it before but look at the very top of the screen. In the Search box, next to Search Blog, I typed in Music. The obedient little search feature looked through ALL the postings in the whole blog. Up came the postings from 11-17-08, 12-2-08, 12-5-08, 12-16-08, 12-28-08 and 9-11-09.
Now you don't just need to scroll through the titles of all the entries to look for your key word, or even settle just for Command + F. That command only works on what's visible on the screen. Try it, you'll like it!
Read a Book?
Ready to read? Roger Lakner, PMUG Ambassador informs us that the Library page on PMUG site now contains one new book and "Welcome to Macintosh," a movie. He explains, "When you open the Library page, click on "Books" below my picture and select "Movies" to see the movie listing. Randy Calvert will get the new items this weekend. New total items = 42."