Partitioning Hard Drives for Mac

"If you bought an external hard drive to use with your Mac, do you just plug it in the way it came, or should you reformat it to work with the Mac?"  John Carter gets our attention. " If you bought the drive to use with Time Machine, then Time Machine will by default reformat the drive. But, does it need to be reformatted if you’re not going to use it with Time Machine? And what about that really big 2TB hard drive? Should you leave it as one big partition (the default), or should you repartition (and reformat) the drive into smaller pieces?"It would be an injustice to restate what Ken Stone says about partitioning hard drives for a Mac, so I’ll just include this quote from his website to entice you to read the rest of the story in his website: '...whether you intend to partition your hard drive or not, you really should reformat your new hard drive for the Mac. If your new hard drive is FireWire and you intend to use it with both Macs and PCs, then leave it as is and do not reformat.' John continues, "Apple walks you through the process of how you would go about repartitioning, and why you would want to, in this fascinating article."   Looking it over I sent a few questions to John and he further reports, "The article discusses Leopard, but not Snow Leopard. I’m sure it will serve for Snow Leopard. As to more recent external drives, if the interface is Firewire 800 or 400 or USB 2.0, it will work. If the interface is USB 3.0, the Mac isn’t compatible with that format. Some USB 3.0 drives claim to be backward compatible with USB 2.0 and work on a Mac. I have to see it to believe it."

Bank Trojan Described

"Now here is a scary scenario on how internet thieves can get into your bank account, " writes Jim Hamm. "I'd not heard of 'ID tokens' previously, but apparently the thieves break into the bank's computer system and 'steal' or access these tokens. Take a read on the rest of the article on what happens next. Perhaps I'll send this article to Chase, our bank.  These internet/computer thieves are really getting sophisticated."  Jim concludes, "Makes one want to stop doing any banking online."

What the Internet Knows About You

         Art Gorski passes along this "Ego Surfing" reminder:  Google can show you how much the Internet knows about you! When you enclose your first and last name with quotation marks and do a search you might be surprised to see what comes up.
          Google does let you specify "safe search."  Read about it here, and this is where you indicate "do not filter," "use moderate filtering" (default setting), or "strict filtering."  When you scroll to the bottom of that page you see that setting preferences will not work if you have disabled cookies in your browser.
          Google will notify you when new mention is made of your name.  Go to Google > More > Even More and click on Alert, the first in the long list of features there.  I subscribe to that myself to find out when someone has quoted something I've written, and then I go their site to view it.  One of my poems, "Make a Memory"  has been widely quoted and it's fun to see it used in other blogs and websites.  Unless you specify strict filtering you may perhaps come upon some porno site that has used your name.  I caution people about it, and continue to write to Google periodically to complain, but it still happens.

Watch for Something New

        Maybe next week! Jim Hamm stirs up the excitement with two articles, Electronista says that speculation over Light Peak suggests if this new interface will be part of the new MacBook Pro we should hear as soon as next week. Light Peak is about twice as fast as USB 3.0 and has multiple possible uses. The Silicon Republic article tells that Light Peak will be based on copper and is aimed at replacing the myriad of cables that connect monitors, external dives, scanners and printer.
       And this just in from Allen Laudenslager:  FastCompany passes along rumors about the up-coming MacBook Pro.  Hmmmmmmm.
        Now we hear from Bill Williamson with a link to MotleyFool.  Speed?  It says, "transfer an entire Blu-ray movie in less than 10 seconds!"

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Spotlight Helps You Find It

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Where did I file it? We’re all busy, so it’s time to get better organized.  Click on each illustration to enlarge it.

Look at Spotlight and Search.

When you highlight the title of a document do Command + I to bring up the information on it. Now write some key words in the Spotlight Comments box. See the screen shot at the left.

Let Spotlight help! Bring up Spotlight by doing the Command + space bar. Up comes the little box at the upper right hand side, top of the computer screen.

The screen shot below shows how I searched for my PMUG handout that described QR tags. When you hover your cursor over any one of the listings it shows where that document can be found. Click to open it from Spotlight or go to the folder where you filed it.

You can prescribe the parameters of Spotlight by going to System Preferences. You have 15 choices -- drag to the order you prefer. Note: you can also specify Privacy at that place in System Preferences > Spotlight.

To perform a more advanced search, you can include a Boolean search. See this:
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit04/primer04_08.phtml

If you know the type of item you're looking for, specify it.  Add the text "kind:" at the end of your search.  For example, for email messages that mention Anne Johnson, enter "Anne Johnson kind:email."

For other helps go to the main menu and look up Spotlight.  Under Help, enter Search and choose "show all help topics."  There are 15 Help topics and 7 support articles.  (My screen shot here is cut short.)

Let us know what you’re doing these days with your Mac. Email me at edpr (and then put in that @) commspeed.net

Have Mac? Have fun!


(The above is a copy of my handout for the February 18, 2011  PMUG meeting.)  

Fascinating History of Mac

If you're interested in the history and development of the original Mac read the article sent by Allen Laudenslager.  He says, "The article was written by the son of one of the original Mac developers and quotes extensively from notes and memos that his father made at the time. A unique insight into how Apple formed its strategy that leads directly to some of the features of the iPad and iPhone! Fascinating."

Save Money if You're On AOL

        Say "save money" and we listen!  Jim Hamm tracked down the following information from Macs R We, a Mac consulting/repair service in Morristown. Read on and we'll tell you more about that company.      
        First, here's what Mr. C. D. Tavares says on saving money if you're on AOL, "I was reminded recently by a trade article that numerous users -- especially seniors -- needlessly continue to pay AOL $20 or $25 each month after having moved from AOL's dialup service to high-speed internet.  If you are not using AOL's dialup modems, AOL IS FREE.
        "This includes continued use of an AOL mailbox, an AOL screen name (for iChat or AIM), AOL's online content, and even the AOL client application.
         "(I routinely point this out to AOL-using clients during housecalls and broadband installations, but since I'm not always in the loop when a client moves from dialup to broadband, I continue to encounter clients who are still paying AOL hundreds of dollars every year for no reason.)
        "If you currently get your internet service from a broadband provider such as Qwest, Cox, Verizon, Sprint, or even Grand Avenue Broadband -- or even a dialup provider OTHER than AOL, such as Interwrx or Localnet -- you should not be paying AOL anything. You can opt out of these payments permanently by following this link.
        "Be careful NOT to check the checkbox at the end (it's a trap), or your request will be ignored."
Find out more about Macs R We here.  They're in the Wickenburg and far Northwest Valley Areas, and Mr. Tavares has an impressive list of employment and experience as a computer engineer.  He's an Apple-certified Macintosh Technician.

Experiencing iPhone in Scottsdale

        No sooner did we get the Valentine iPhone story from Art Gorski posted than we heard from Jim Hamm.  Listen in:
        "Art, thanks for sharing your iPhone 4 experience with us. I think you'll enjoy the iPhone. Zee and I got our first iPhone a few years ago, and only AT&T was available as a carrier then. We were with Verizon, and would have preferred to stay with Verizon, but technology got us...(grin)...
        "Perhaps Verizon has 3G service in Prescott because, as you mentioned, AT&T doesn't. Since we plan to spend the winters in Scottsdale, we do have 3G service here, and it is nice to have. Overall, though, we haven't been unhappy with AT&T. I do think Verizon is the better carrier, but for now we'll stay with AT&T. Our daughter and son-in-law use AT&T, so calls to them don't use any minutes.
        "If you were in the service, be sure to ask Verizon for a veteran's discount on your monthly bill.
        "One problem I've noted with the iPhone 4 is the sensitivity of the screen. When talking on the phone it is easy to touch your cheek to the screen and activate something else. The other day I had called Apple support and was talking to a tech when my cheek touched the screen and I started placing a call to Affinity RV. Sheesh, what a pain. Apple should modify the program so when one is talking on the phone it takes two taps or touches to activate another function. That would stop the problem. I use the external speaker much of the time to avoid that issue.
        "Next time I see you I'll show you some of the apps I've installed and find useful. I'm not into games, so don't have any installed other than the four that came pre-installed.
        "If you have a problem or question on the iPhone, don't hesitate to give me a call. Maybe I can help (or I'll ask Zee -- she's more knowledgeable than I am on the iPhone). Zee, and our daughter, have a ton of apps installed and are darn near pros on apps and the iPhone."  And, as always Jim closes with a grin.

Her Valentine Present

        What a valentine present!  Art Gorski informs us, "So I decided to get iPhones for Mary Ann and myself.
        "We had been on an ancient 'grandfathered' (Read: no longer available) T-Mobile family plan with no data or text messaging. We used only a handful of minutes of phone per month, besides the free minutes. Grand total: $58 per month for 2 phones.
        "I never got the AT&T iPhone 3, 3G, or 4 because there's no AT&T 3G data network in Prescott after all these years, and they make you pay monthly for a 3G network you don't get.
        "Many of my neighbors use Verizon and have no trouble with signal or coverage anywhere in the area, including at home.
        "Not being a Verizon customer, I couldn't order phones on February 3rd.
        "I tried to use the Apple on-line store yesterday when the Verizon iPhone became available, but if you want more than one phone (i.e. Family Plan), you can order it on-line but you have to go to an Apple Store to pick it up. 100 miles? Nope. Not doing that.
        "So today was the day that the Verizon retail stores started carrying the iPhone. We got up early and got there at 6:45 a.m. and were 15th in line for the doors to open at 7 a.m.
        "I was kind of surprised that Prescott would drum up this much interest. By the time we got out of the store, there wasn't any line, so probably less than 25 early customers like us. I asked if they got enough iPhones at the retail store and the clerk said that they didn't get many, so I don't know if they'll run out or not.
        "We hung around in the store waiting for our number to be called and got sucked into buying some accessories. They even had the boxed AppleCare.
        "Including waiting, signing up, paying and getting our two phones activated (our old numbers ported IMMEDIATELY), it took less than an hour.
        "Besides the cost of the iPhones and activation charges, the monthly is going to cost me around $159, pretty much exactly $100 more per month than before. That's a 700 minute 2-line family plan, 2 unlimited data plans, no text messaging or other options.
        For sure Art is smiling as he concludes, "I hope Mary Ann likes her early Valentine's Day present!"

Where in the World?

Wouldn’t it be fun to see people from all over the US -- and the world! -- come to this PMUG newsblog to read it? Blogspot.com has a nifty feature of Stats that brings up a map of the world to show where our viewers sign in from. We also get a listing of key search words they’ve used to find the blog. Last month someone did a search for “how to pronounce laudenslager” which brought a smile to our faces, around here. So, why not pass along to your relatives, friends, colleagues this http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/  and suggest they check us out? Next month we’ll pass the results on to you.