Pico Projectors Coming for Mac, Too?

De Prez Allen Laudenslager brings to our attention an article at Fastcompany.com which describes a patent that Apple has applied for pico projectors built into various devices. He explains, "Pico projectors are the latest in projecting what's on your computer for general viewing, That is what we do with our presentations at the meetings and during SIG classes.

"While the main thrust seems to be toward iPhone and iPad, the patents do include the MacBooks and that would be really cool for us. It means that I could prepare my presentation and then present it without connecting to a separate projector, just point my MacBook at the wall and go!

"The article also includes some ideas about the ways it might apply to Apple TV. How about a 'big screen' TV with no screen?"

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A Helpful App for Helping Others

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Now, we hear from John Carter,  "I keep finding applications that allow me to 'see' a client's computer screen and assist them with their problems. The latest one that I have tried out (and Jackie is right now using it to assist one of her clients) is CrossLoop. It is a program you have to download and install on your computer. Creating a login is optional. You can either share your screen with another user or view their screen. It is all free.

"CrossLoop is different from Skype screen sharing in that you can optionally control the mouse of the accessed computer and take over control of that computer, if they so allow it. It is also different in that you have to use a phone line to talk to the other user while using this application. So for those people who don't use Skype, this is by far the best alternative to screen sharing.

"Jackie and I really like this app. It's simple. It's clean. It works! And it's FREE!"

"CrossLoop is VNC without the admin panel and all the hassles that go with trying to make VNC work between two computers. CrossLoop works in the most simple fashion possible. I got CrossLoop working between my Mac and the Windows XP OS on my Mac under Parallels with no feedback loop issues and absolutely no hassles in getting it to work.

"If you haven't tried CrossLoop as a replacement for VNC, you don't know what you're missing."

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Strategy & Need for Backup

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Here's that reminder we need. De Prez Allen Laudenslager explores the serious need for backing up, and explains his strategy. "This article at Daring Fireball is just about the best description of backup strategy and the critical need to stay of top of the latest software and techniques.

"While most of us don't make our living from what's on our computers, as John Gruber does, what's on our hard drives is critical to each of us. My personal back up strategy is a monthly back up with Super Duper that clones my hard drive including the OS, all applications and all files. I also run Super Duper every time I add an application.

"As things change I run Time Machine. If I write something I'm worried about, I just run a special back up, but I run Time Machine at least once a week.

"His point about multiple external drives may be over kill for most of us but with a 750 gig external drive at $125 (Costco) and Super Duper for $40 (direct on line) it's cheap insurance. I saw 100 gig drives for under 50 bucks at both Best Buy and Costco, and that will back up most of our computers unless you're really loading up on pictures or music."

(Your eyes might thank you if you use Command and + to bring up Daring Fireballs small white print to a larger size.  You might also try Control and Option and Command keys in unison with the number 8 key to toggle to black print.)

Copy & Paste Program

          Can a simple copy and paste operation be improved and made easier? David Passell thinks so.  He recommends a small, free program called Jumpcut.  As he describes it, "It can be useful when gathering subjects from a number of different sources, (e.g. googling a lot of related subjects).  Unlike Clipboard it will save selections through a shutdown and restart.  Experiment with it and see how you like it."
          Curiosity picking up here?  Take a look at the program in action on this YouTube video. And, here's the place to download Jumpcut.

David sends us a few precautions:
1. If you have a lot of extra items in the menu bar the scissors may not show up. Increase the screen resolution or remove the items. Or, better, just use its CTRL-OPT-V hot key to display the list transparently over a target document.
2. It will not cut/paste images. You will just see a blank space in the dropdown under the scissors.
3. You can only select one item at a time to paste.
4. The most recent item is at the top of the list.
5. The menu bar of an application in use (such as Word or Pages) may obscure the scissors icon. You will need to return to finder. Just click outside the application's window, then select the item to paste, then return to the application. Better still use the CTRL-OPT-V hot key to select the items you want to paste. It even provides reference numbers. The lowest is the last saved (Use the "sticky bezel" preference so it stays put.)
6. You can quit (only through the menu dropdown which also lets you set preferences ) if you want to cut and paste images or screen shots, then restart Jumpcut to continue with saving text items. For that reason you should put it in the dock. You will not see it anywhere else except the applications folder.
          David's word of encouragement, "This should interest a lot of members. Experiment with it and see how you like it."

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Find Spyware, etc.

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This just in from David Passell, "Look what the regularly scheduled MacScan found this morning after yesterday's Google Chrome testing. Coincidence? Maybe not since the file path leads to Firefox/Profiles. Needless to say I will isolate (remove) it. (I'll look at that file first)." See http://macscan.securemac.com/ for Free trial.
And this from Apple, "will find, isolate, and remove spyware, keystroke loggers, and trojan horses as well as detect whether remote administration applications have been installed on a computer." Free download of MacScan 2.7 here. (Double click to enlarge screen shot.)

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Curious About Cookies?

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Remember when cookies were those yummy ones that Mama made?  Cookies for the computer are something else!

Corresponding with John Carter I mentioned that "Never" doesn't seem to mean Never.  Going to a website for a look before mentioning it on PMUG blog seems to have stirred up their Cookies.  Deleting seemed to have taken the Cookies off,  clicking Delete All, and then Allow Cookies Never didn't cancel their return.  Later the Cookies were back.

Here's John's take: "This is very surprising. I haven't gone to the trouble to check if cookies come back on me - ever. So I have not experienced this problem, but it may be there nontheless. I am using Chrome as my default browser now, and you'll see my report on that in another email.  I'm going to start checking for cookies on sites that I have deleted cookies on and don't revisit (pingtest.net being one) to see if those cookies return."

Soon John wrote back with more info on Cookies. "Ah-ha! I think I just discovered why you are getting those cookies. Safari has loaded the sites you visited in Top Sites. Every time you delete a cookie from a site, close Safari, and reopen (and maybe you don't even have to reopen), Top Sites might be reloading the cookies when it refreshes the list in Top Sites.

"Maybe if you clear all browsing data and your browser history from Safari after deleting cookies this will also clean out Top Sites and the problem will go away.

"But like I said, you should not choose Never for saving cookies because that will prevent you from visiting sites that require cookies to be set unless you have entered those sites in your cookie allowed list. It can be more of an inconvenience to update that list than it is to allow cookies only for sites that you visit.

"The only logical reason (logic and reason being at odds with each other) to block cookies is the fear that one of them will pass personal data to the outside world."

John continues, "Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:
'A cookie can be used for authentication, session tracking (state maintenance), storing site preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing textual data.
As text, cookies are not executable. Because they are not executed, they cannot replicate themselves and are not viruses. Due to the browser mechanism to set and read cookies, they can be used as spyware. Anti-spyware products may warn users about some cookies because cookies can be used to track people or violate privacy concerns.

"Cookies act as spyware simply because they can report personal information that you enter at a site such as your name, address, phone, login name, and literally anything you enter into a field except a password. That information stored by a cookie is only readable by the site that put the cookie there. That's what makes doing online banking and online purchasing safe. Such personal information is used by the site to confirm you as a returning customer. This is why you should not allow cookies to be stored on a public computer (at the library). When you connect your computer to a public LAN (at the library), your computer is protected from prying eyes simply by the fact that the server (at the library) prevents crosstalk between computers even though you are able to see all the other computers connected to that same LAN.' This needs to be confirmed by one of our Internet gurus in the club, but I believe it to be correct.

"I take serious issue with the claim that cookies can be used to track people or violate privacy concerns. Information about what kind of computer you have, what kind of operating system you use, and what kind of browser you use is not considered private information. No other information can be collected from your computer by a cookie.

"Cookies cannot infect your computer in any way."

John's conclusion is reassuring, "That being said, nothing is impossible. Just keep your operating system and your browser updated when updates are available and you'll be protected in the best possible way."
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Save Money on Ink and Refurbished Printer

Ink for that printer can be expensive, as David Passell reports here. "I was going broke paying $51.00 every two months or so for new ink cartridges for my Canon MP 470 printer. Think4Inc has Brother 1960C Refurbished printers for $89.00 (with tax it comes to $97.00). It uses separate ink tanks for each color and, according to Think4Inc's comparative rating, costs pennies per ML of ink used, as against dollars for the Canon. The ink comes in four cartridge tanks: black, yellow, magenta, and cyan.

"I bought one and have set it up. There is a free driver for Snow Leopard at brother.com which I downloaded. It didn't set up quite like the instructions said (what else is new), but I have it working and it is quite good for printing tasks. It prints/copies cleanly in color or black.

"In addition to being a printer, it is also a sheet feed copier, and is a FAX receive/transmit unit. I've never done Faxing, but I guess I can learn. For now I have the automatic receive function shut down.

"It comes with a 5.8 gb wireless telephone/speakerphone/intercom handset which I now have working nicely. It also contains an answering machine. In all, it looks like a good purchase.

"Paper is loaded into a print tray and will hold up to 100 sheets of 20# paper. It prints 4x6, letter, A4, and legal. To make a copy of anything from 4x6 up you just drop the original into a slot. I think it will copy/fax a stack of originals.

"It has a lot of functions that are selectable via a menu and an LCD screen.

"Jeff said he bought a pallet of them. If anyone is looking for a general purpose machine like this, check it out.

"I will use my MP470 mainly for when I need a flat bed scanner, or to scan things into my computer (which isn't often)."

A Ping Test

Internet connection running slow?  David Passell alerts us to a test you can perform to determine the quality of your current broadband Internet connection.

First, he describes the problem, "Currently my ISP, commspeed, is having difficulty with their system which is resulting in slow download speeds and some other problems like video clips not running smoothly. I checked the speed to verify that, and also called their technician who acknowledged the difficulty and said it would be fixed shortly. I get my link from Badger (P) Mountain, but it gets a link from Mingus Mountain where the trouble lies.

"In addition to the speed test there is another test that you can perform. I'm not sure it is limited to commspeed; anybody may be able to use it. You will find it here.

"When you select a server and run the test, you will get a result (hopefully not quite) like this. Double click to enlarge these illustration.

Now, more from David.  "So as not to make commspeed seem like such a bad guy, here is the same test this morning.  Not outstanding but usable." 

"I also ran a speed test and got a more typical result."

Can You Solve This Problem?

Anyone have an idea for solving David Passell’s problem? He describes it like this, “The problem is getting an older beige G3, running Jaguar 10.2.8, to connect to the Internet. (At first he said the problem was an older G3 iMac, running Tiger.) Read on, to see if this computes with you . . . Then please write to David.

"My wireless Router, a Linksys WRT54G, is remotely located (about 75 feet) from my computers. It is hardwired via a CAT 5 cable to a CommSpeed 'wireless modem' which is further remotely located (in a shed window) to get a decent signal.

"My Mini which is located at the same location as the iMAC has Snow Leopard and, of course, built-in Airport.  With the Mini, when I turn it on I see the wireless fan in the top menu and Internet connectivity is just there. I don't recall doing anything special except finding the identifier for my Router (W...W...), asking to join the network, and entering a password. In my case it is a WEP 64bit binary requiring the entry of 10 binary digits. Then I am connected. Speed is usually around 1.5 MBs.

"Similarly with the LINUX OLPC, i just find the symbol for the network, click on it, enter a password, and I have connectivity.

"The iMAC is a totally different cat. I am using a rather elderly D-link DWL 810 bridge connected to the Ethernet port.  The first step to connecting is to use a browser (Firefox) to access the DWL via its identifier (192.168.0.30). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Apparently I have to reset (button on the back) the DWL or else the browser reports I'm not connected.

"Then I am to go to a 'wizard' and get around to searching to find the ID of the Router, click a connect button, enter the 10 binary digits (note: I use WEP because that is the only kind of security offered by that device) and then hope.

"The Preference Pane of the OS X gets into the act as well as diagnostics and network connect. I am offered umpteen choices of interacting settings. There I start going around in circles. Nothing achieves the desired result of accessing the Internet.

"Before I go out and just buy a 75 foot Cat 5 cable from the iMAC to my router, does anybody have any idea how I might connect my iMAC wirelessly; perhaps I should scrap the DWL and purchase a USB plug-in 'bridge' (sorry about the fuzzy terminology) that I see some Laptop owners use to connect to WiFi nets. I am having great difficulty understanding why this no longer works."

In conclusion David adds, “Even more mystified why that more primitive machine worked and the much later iMac with Tiger won’t.  Can anybody help?”

Mac Makes It Easy

       "Learn Without Limits," so declares the email from Apple today. Tips and videos will tell how to organize your mail, straighten up your files, and lists resources  for business that will help you learn about networking, storage, security, collaboration, media creation, and more.
       Remember, to find a specific word on the page you're looking at do Command + F and type the word in the search box that comes up.

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What's the Best Home Page?

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Want to simplify the Home Page in your Browser?  Jim Hamm shares some info. "Usually I use iGoogle as my home page, but it contains a lot of information and portals to other websites. It needs a good broadband connection to load quickly. When I'm traveling, quite often the WiFi signals are weak and I need something that loads quickly. This article gives some examples of MSN, Bing, iGoogle, Fav4.org.  Here's the one I might use because you can set up four links you frequently use, and it loads quickly."

Clutter on the Desktop: 5 Solutions

Have you ever wondered how to unclutter your desktop when you have multiple applications running at the same time? John Carter to the rescue!

"Let's say you have Mail and Safari and Finder and iTunes and iChat and iPhoto all running at the same time. The iTunes application is on top and buried somewhere behind it is Mail. How to find the Mail app? Well, don't do it by closing down applications.

As you know, there are at least always three ways to accomplish the same thing on a Mac. (And John proceeds to give us FIVE ways!)

1. The simplest way to bring an open application to the front (from behind other apps) is to find the icon for that application in the Dock and click on it.

2. Another simple method is to press Function key 9. This spreads out all the applications in smaller images across the desktop. Select the one you want to be in front.

3. Using the mouse isn't always fun for me because I like to keep my hands on the keyboard, so holding down the Command key and tapping the Tab key brings up a row of icons across the middle of the screen. The first icon on the far left is the application that is currently on top. While holding down the Command key, continue tapping on the Tab key and each icon in the row will highlight in turn. When you get to the application you want to be on top, let go of the Command key. Pressing the Shift key with the Tab key selects the previous icon in the row (moving right to left instead of left to right). You can also simply select the desired icon with the mouse and when you release the Command key that application will pop to the front.

4. You can assign applications to always be displayed in its own separate desktop window using Spaces (for Leopard and Snow Leopard only). Spaces is also known as Virtual Desktop. This method gets a little more technical, but plenty of help is available using Mac Help (select Help in the Finder, then select Mac help, then enter 'spaces' in the search bar). With Spaces, you can assign iChat to Space 2, iTunes to Space 3, iPhoto to Space 4, and allow Mail, Safari and Finder to be in all spaces (Mail cannot be assigned to any one Space, it is always displayed in all Spaces). You can create as many Spaces as you like. Each Space can be activated (brought to the front, so to speak) by pressing the Control key and a number key that corresponds to the Space number, or by pressing the F8 key (you can assign this function to any function key) and selecting from the displayed miniature Spaces. This could be fun, and it's the preferred method I use for putting certain apps in their own Space.

5. Yet another way to keep your desktop uncluttered is to switch your Mac from the default Multi-application mode (where all applications are stacked on the screen) to Single-application mode (where you only see on the desktop the one application that you are working with). This requires using a Terminal and entering command lines. The complete instructions can be found here.

Do you know of another way to pop an application to the front? Send your suggestion to editor@pmug.us. "