Going Places with Mac

        After reading the latest emails from Zee and Jim Hamm we wish we were going places with them! Oh, well. The next best thing is to peek over their shoulders, thanks to Mac.
        Jim started by writing, “On August 24 my wife, Zee, and I will fly to Paris, France to start a month-long river cruise. We will be accompanied by two other couples, all travel friends for many years. We will be going with a tour group: Grand Circle Travel. We've traveled with GCT previously and enjoy the way they host and organize trips, and they own the two cruise ships we'll be on. We cruise from Normandy on the north coast to Paris, spend a few days, then get on a smaller river ship and cruise to Nice on the southern coast. There are 140 passengers on the first ship and only 45 on the second ship. The rivers are smaller in the southern part of France so we have to be on a smaller ship. All meals are included, and there is wine for lunch and dinner. The three rivers we'll be on are the Rhone, the Seine and the Saone.”
        Never heard of that last river? Type it in the search box in Google and up comes 6 images for viewing. Oh, there it is.
        Jim continues, ““I'm trying this TravelBlog for the first time. In theory, I'll type comments about our trip as we cruise along. When we get to a village I'll try to find internet access in an internet cafe and publish my blog to this site. An email will be sent to you alerting you that I've published another blog. If you want to read it then click this link; http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/SlimJim/ . You can bookmark this link for future access. My nick-name for the blog is SlimJim. After this trip, with all that French cooking and fine wine, I'll probably have to change my nick-name to FatJim...(grin)…”
        But, Jim, are you taking Mac? How does a person travel with Mac?
        Jim informs us, “If it's an international trip, we insure that we have a good, protective case to put our Macs or iPad in. I also take along a small backpack so I can easily carry my MacBook Air to an internet cafe if wifi isn't available in the hotel. Wifi isn't available on small river ships, so when we depart to tour a local village I take my MBA along in the backpack.  On our iPhones, we turn off all cellular roaming and location services so we don't incur horrendous charges from AT&T. We check for and install any current updates that might be available just prior to departing.
        “We make sure we have the proper electrical adaptor so we can plug our chargers into an electric outlet. We don't need a voltage regulator internationally because Apple products all take either 120V or 240V. This is nice because regulators are heavy.
        “On domestic trips, we carry along two wifi directional antennas that receive and boost wifi signals. Often in motels and RV parks the wifi signal is weak to begin with. We use the Wi-Fire antenna from hField Technologies: http://www.hfield.com/the-wi-fire/platform-compatibility/mac/ . We have found the use of the Wi-Fire helps significantly.
        “Last, don't forget to take along the charger(s)  and an extension cord. We usually leave the Mouse behind on international trips. Just something else to carry and mess with. That's about it. Bon Voyage.…” Jim
                            Let’s look at a few more helpful sites:
        Check out the travel company Jim and Zee like: Grand Circle Travel. http://www.gct.com/ The site lists trips, regions, ways to save, traveler discussions. Let’s see what seasoned travelers can suggest here:
        “How to Travel Light”: Wonder what we can learn? One writer announces she packs half of her wardrobe with clothes with a small stain or isn’t so up-to-date. After she wears that article she discards it. By the end of the trip she has room for the treasures she has bought! Another buys garments from 2nd hand shops and throws them away as she goes.
                              Well, what else can we discover?
        Avoid a large phone bill when traveling. http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/travel/01prac.html Get the right phone, Check data roaming plans, consider SIM cards, Look at the VoIP Option, don’t forget the old-fashioned calling card. (Anyone try this?)
        Next, I did a Google search and read a Macworld article.
http://www.macworld.com/article/45771/2005/07/augustmobilemac.html Then I noticed the date was 2005. I forgot to specify time range under More, so sites listed would be within the past year.
        Is that all? Oh, no. There’s a lot to read, and learn, and do! When you plan your next trip maybe your friends at PMUG would be interested in it. How did you use Mac to make it a successful trip? Anything you’d do differently? Jot down your info and send it to us.
        (This was my handout at the August 21 PMUG meeting.)

Getting to Know Your Mac

        New to Mac?  You'll want to read on for John Carter's intro to Mac.  He begins, "It's really tough figuring out what to do with a new computer, especially when all the user guides and tutorials are on the Internet now.
         "New Mac owners often ask, 'Which book do I buy?' The answer isn't simple. There is no one book that has everything in it that you will ever need to know that is also light enough to carry and user friendly for the newbie.
        "Go to the used book store or the thrift store and get anything - even if it's written for an older version of your operating system and a completely different Mac machine. It's a start. The basics are almost always the same - how to use the mouse and how to navigate in any application.
        "However, for applications such as iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, Pages, Keynote, and so on, you have to have the book that was written for your version of the operating system; the hardware type (desktop, laptop, iMac) in this case doesn't matter.

        "If you are able to get on the Internet, you don't need a book. You just need patience to sit in front of your computer and find the tutorials you need.
        " Let's make that easy for starters.
        "The first place to go to get help with your new Apple device (any Apple device) is http://www.apple.com/support/
        "Once there, you select the device type you want help for. Let's say it's for your new iMac. Then you would select the Mac icon.
        "Let's say it's the Intel-based iMac.  Select that.  On the next page, there are really only two categories you need to view (as a Newbie).  They are 'Getting Started' and "How To.'

        "If this is your first computer, select anything that appeals to you under 'Getting started.' If you're switching from a Windows machine to a Mac, you probably should start with the link 'Switch 101' and then back to any of the others according to what appeals to you. On that same page, down at the bottom is a link to 'Cheat Sheet.' Please, go to that page and print it out, then fill in the blanks. On that page, you are given all the help you need to fill in the answers to the kinds of questions people will ask you about your computer."

        John notes, "One of the questions not on that form is, 'How do you access your email?'  If you access your email by going onto the Web with a browser, what is the name of the service that you connect to? Is it Gmail, Yahoo,  PeoplePC, or what? You need to know this in order to configure that service to allow Mac Mail to download your email from that service to your computer. In addition, that service should have some support page that gives you instructions on how to configure Mac Mail. If you are using Yahoo mail, you have to purchase the annual upgrade in order to be able to download email to your computer.
        "What is the advantage of using Mac Mail over accessing your email directly online? For one, any images that come as attachments in email are instantly viewable in Mac Mail. Same with most other small documents. With Mac Mail, you can get a preview of any size document without needing to save it to your computer first. There are several other benefits, and you really need to see a demo of Mail in order to appreciate all that it can do."
       John concludes, "If there is anything else that you need to know, click here to send an email with your question to info@pmug.us and someone will try to assist you."

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Flash Cookies, Part 2

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         See yesterday's posting on Adobe Flash Cookies. Jim Hamm goes on to say, "After further exploration of this Flash cookie situation, here's something thing I've done just to see how it works out. I went to the Flash folder (~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects) on my hard drive and changed the settings as follows:
Original settings: jimhamm - read and write....everyone - read only
Revised settings: jimhamm - write only (Dropbox)....everyone - No access
        Flash cookies perhaps can still get into the folder, but no one can access them. I'll find out if I incur any problems with these settings. So far, Flash on websites seems to work okay...after I click the 'ClicktoFlash' program. This latter program prevents Flash from loading on websites unless I want it to.
        "I'm not at all worried or paranoid about Flash cookies -- I'm just doing this because I enjoy doing this kind of 'stuff' (technical term) and because I don't think Adobe should be allowing this to begin with. To a friend I said the following: 'This behavior of storing cookies doesn't seem to have anything to do with Flash.'
        "He replied: 'Sure it does... the biggest customers for Flash are advertisers, and advertisers want to target you. Just follow the money.'
        "I'll see how this all works out," Jim says.

About WeTransfer

        Thanks to David Passell for this next info.  He writes, "Hi: Here is an interesting site to explore. It allows you to send files up to 2GB to a central site (probably in the Netherlands, but maybe in San Francisco) with up to 20 E-mail recipients. The E-mail message(s) are about 15K.
        The name is below in 'From:' What should happen if you click on 'Download' will be the loading of a 350MB or so file which contains a quick-time movie of me installing an anti-virus program onto XP that I had running under Parallels.

        Depending on how fast your internet connection is, the download will take from 10 - 30 minutes. Now for anybody who wants to use this free program, the following I found by experience.
        1. The upload speed of my ISP (yours may be different) is around 1/5 of the download speed. Therefore, be armed with patience. It took over five hours for me to upload the file. (This seems a not-mentioned limitation of any site that enables you to upload your stuff.)
        2. It is not OS dependent, and should work with MAC, Windows, or Linux; but it requires your browser to have Flash-player. That leaves out iPads and OS 9 Macs. They say they are working on an 'html version' which will get around that problem.
        3. If you don't want to download my file, or try it with one of your own, just go to wetransfer.com and you will see a window similar to below that provides you with a place to select a file (folders don't work, and if you select more than one file you will send re with a .zip ), up to 20 email addresses, your own email address for confirmation messages, and a message you can attach to the email.
        4. After your file is uploaded (a progress 'circle' indicates percentage loaded) it will say Finish and you can leave the site, or you can send out additional files.

        5. The recipients will get a message like this screen shot .
        6. I chose to simply forward my message. However the recipients will receive a more elegant way to forward within the conclusion of the download.
        7. If my description is unclear, just go to the site and click on 'info' and/or 'blog' for more information.
        Credit to Kim Komando for the information about this website.

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Adobe Flash Cookies

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        The concern of Adobe Flash allowing cookies that are not controlled by your browser, to be stored is discussed in the articles here.   First,  second, third.
        Jim Hamm sends this info:  "I have read about this previously, and when I checked the cookies in my Mac using Adobe's Settings Manager (third link) I was amazed at the number of cookies I had, and I did not recognize many of the names. On several, I recognized the name but, to my remembrance (which, admittedly, can be shaky), I had never visited the website.
        "I deleted all of them, and went to the Global Privacy Settings panel and set it to block all cookies. Unfortunately, it seems all this does is block a website from accessing a camera or microphone.
        "I'm not clear if one can set Adobe Flash to block cookies completely and permanently. If someone does know, I'd appreciate your letting me know how to make this setting.
        "As a general statement, I'm not concerned so much about cookies that I might pick up in my browser -- and I can set Safari to block cookies. Cookies do serve a useful purpose in many cases and, from what I've read, are not malware as such. But I'm not clear as to why Adobe should capture these cookies. According to the article, 'Adobe condemns the practice of using Local Storage to back up browser cookies for the purpose of restoring them later without user knowledge and express consent.' "

Some Apps Need Rosetta

        Did you know some Mac PowerPC applications that are designed to work with Mac OS X 10.5 or earlier won't run in 10.6 or later, without setting one or two options related to the application with the Finder?
        This news comes from John Carter.  He adds, "You have to have Rosetta installed on your computer, as it may be required to run that application. Rosetta is an optional application that you can install from your Mac install DVD (see this).

Show 'Get Info' for the application with your Finder. I'll use Safari as an example here:

Notice at the bottom of the image to the left there is a box to open Safari in 32-bit mode.  Below that is a box to open using Rosetta  Both of those boxes may have to be checked to run some PowerPC applications on 10.6 or later."

Organized Crime is Stealing Data

In case you didn't read it, here is an interesting article from the Windows Secrets newsletter on online data theft.  Jim Hamm comments, "Seems as though it is relatively easy to hack web servers that use SQL databases. The study noted that 85% of the breeches was from organized crime, and 'that 98% of the stolen data was snatched directly from company servers — mostly by use of malware and direct hacking.' I hope Amazon's servers are reasonably secure -- we do a fair amount of shopping there.

"This isn't a topic I lie awake at night worrying about, but it is a risk one takes if you want to do online shopping -- which many people do," Jim concludes.

Help Is On the Way for CableOne Users

        Perplexed about the news of CableOne email?  John Carter to the rescue.  He is offering a special workshop for Mac members and guests who are currently accessing their CableOne email using Mac Mail.

        John announces, "You may be aware that on October 1, CableOne will switch from using their current email service to Gmail. This will require that anyone using a local email program such as Mac Mail to download email and send new email to modify their Mail preferences to recognize the new Gmail service.

        "This switch will not affect anyone who access their email online through CableOne MyMail - other than surprising the heck out of them with the new format and features.

        "A one-hour workshop should be more than adequate.
       " I have scheduled the following two sessions at the Prescott library Founders Suite A & B:

Thursday 9/16 - 11 am to 12 pm
Thursday 9/16 - 1 pm to 2 pm

        Please note that the 9/18 workshop has been cancelled - that's the same day as our club picnic!

        "A prerequisite for attendance is that the attendees call in to CableOne technical support and request to be immediately switched to the new mail service 24 hours in advance of attending the workshop. They will not be able to access their email with Mac Mail until they have performed the required operations on their computer, and even then it may take up to 12 hours before CableOne's new Gmail service recognizes and honors the change. However, within two to three hours making the switch, they will be able to access their email online through CableOne MyMail.

        "For those who do not have a laptop, handouts will be available to take home.

        "This is not a difficult process despite the problems that CableOne technical support has had with others.

        "Please note that CableOne technical support is likely to tell their customers not to use Mac Mail to access the new email service. They claim that accessing the new email service with Mac Mail is unreliable. This is a false claim."

        John concludes, "What I strongly advise is that anyone with just one email account set up a new separate Gmail account as an alternate. Either account can feed incoming email to the other account. Either account can be set up to send email from Mac Mail."

Email Change for CableOne

        Here's a "heads up" from Jim Hamm for those who use CableOne for email.  He reports, " I found out that CableOne will be dropping their old e-mail system -- probably the one you're using now -- effective October 1.
        "I just happened to find out about it by going on the CableOne website, read about the new system, and changed over to their new system right on the website for my CableOne email address. This is much improved over CableOne's existing email system: more storage (7 GB) and a much improved system overall. CableOne is leasing servers from Google and using some of the Gmail system software for their new email system. The tech I talked to said this allowed CableOne to retire old equipment and programs.
        "After I changed to the new CableOne email system on the website, I opened the Mail app on my Mac and found that my CableOne email address would no longer work. I called CableOne tech support and yes, all the settings that you're presently using have changed: both incoming and outgoing servers. I made the changes and I'm back in business on my CableOne email account.
        "I think one goes about getting on the new system, first on CableOne's website, then next, open Mail on your Mac (or perhaps Outlook Express on a PC) and make the server, SSL, etc., and perhaps a new password (a longer length required) setting changes there.
        "Presumably CableOne will be sending out a letter or email to their customers explaining what is happening. Also, hopefully, they will include instructions on how to change the server and other settings for CableOne; otherwise their support techs are going to be awfully busy helping people with these settings."

Look What's Inside

        From 2006 to the very latest in 2010 here's a look at what's inside 57 Apple products.  What caught my eye was this article about the new Magic Trackpad.  AppleInsider shows the innards of MacBook, iPad, iPhone, iPod, and more.  There was one little problem: clicking to go on to page 2 didn't work.  An email to their webmaster Kasper Jade was nearly instantly replied to and fixed.
        Curiosity led to the iFixit site.  They show you how to troubleshoot, they sell parts, supply repair manuals, help you recycle all sorts of things.  They invite you to contribute your knowledge.  Interesting!

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Have You Tried This?

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Here are two articles with nifty ideas to save time, trouble, and money.
Ten Simple Google Search Tricks, find the details here.
1. Use the “site:” operator to limit searches to a particular site.
2. Use Google as a spelling aid.
3. Use Google as a calculator.
4. Find out what time it is anywhere in the world.
5. Get quick currency conversions.
6. Use the OR operator.
7. Exclude specific terms with the – operator.
8. Search for specific document types.
9. Search within numerical ranges using the .. operator.
10. Area code lookup.
Avoid a Large Phone Bill When Traveling, find the details here.
Get the right phone, Check data roaming plans, Consider SIM cards, Look at the VoIP Option, Don’t forget the old-fashioned calling card.

Converting Documents, etc.

        "Are you using NeoOffice or Office for Mac and have you found that you can't open a .docx formatted document?" asks John Carter. He has an answer for that.  "One solution is to download Open XML Converter to get a .doc formatted file. Get it here. So what's the real difference between .docx and .doc? The .docx file is an XML formatted file and tends to be smaller than .doc.
        "Open XML Converter can convert Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations that are in the Open XML Format so that you can open and edit the files in Office 2004 for Mac and Office v. X for Mac. (And NeoOffice or OpenOffice.)"

Improving your computer skills.

Are you are looking for a program of structured practices that will improve your computer skills? Maybe you just want to learn how to use Mail better. One thing to get you started in a program to improve your computer skills is to create a list of the applications you want to master as well as the uses you want to put those applications to, such as how to use Numbers to create and manage (blank), how to organize incoming email to quickly identify priority items, how to work with Pages and Mail to handle things like mail merge, or the easiest way to create presentations with Keynote that really make a difference.

This isn't as daunting as you might think. But as you might suspect, unless you have a program in place to practice by, learning how to use a Mac efficiently can take a very long time of hit and miss effort. The one thing you must be aware of, though, is that unless you apply yourself daily - just like going to the gym to get toned - the results will be sketchy at best.

The same kind of skill-building technique for learning how to type is needed for developing computer skills: a structured program plus daily practice.

It does help to introduce new ideas sequentially rather than all at once. Each new skill requires a few days of practice before adding a new concept.

I recommend two ways to learn using a Mac or an application. One is to get a book that shows all the steps in easy to follow, progressive lessons. The other is to get a set of videos that does the same thing. Quite often, for some very technical processes, a book is not the best choice because it might say something like, "Do A, B, and C to get the desired results." A video does a much better job of showing how that is done. But to master anything takes daily, repetitive practice.

Tutorials abound on the Internet in both text and video format, and don't forget the Forums where people pose questions and get answers. The problem with many video tutorials is that they focus on one aspect of an entire application and are less than 5 minutes, which helps only if that one process is what you are interested in learning about. Still, seeking out all the tutorials and following them through is by far the cheapest way to learn something, but you have to provide the structure and the practice discipline. In this way you are following in the footsteps of people who have been there and done that.

An interesting fact is that even if someone thinks they know the basics of using a mouse, I usually show them a thing or two about using a mouse that they never knew. For instance, a two button mouse (left and right buttons and maybe with a scroll wheel in the middle) has four functions that can be used in every application. Do you know what they are? What can the left button do? What can the right button do? These operations are at the very core of using a computer.

Let me tell you how I learned to work with computers. I bought six books all on the same subject and all by different authors. I studied them one at a time. I applied daily what I was learning just by tinkering with each new idea. Much of the same information was repeated in each book, and each book had something that the others didn't have. After the sixth book was put down, I realized I knew more, with practical experience, than most graduate students. In fact, I met the author of one of the books and discovered he didn't even know everything that was in his book because his students were mostly responsible for the contents.

The point is, learn everything that is offered, even if you don't think you'll use it. It helps to develop a sense of analyzing a situation and seeing how different tools may be used to complete the same task. You probably do this already with some task that you do around the house or at work. Learning a Mac application is really no different.

What I tell everyone is that every application has at least three ways of accomplishing the same thing. Your efficiency with any application is enhanced only after you learn all of them.

I'm not going to mislead you. Using a mentor like myself can be very rewarding, but can also take a very long time. One hour isn't going to get it done. Students spend 40 hours in a classroom environment, learn hundreds of skill building techniques, and within a month of leaving the classroom forget 90% of what they learned - because they don't use it.

John Carter