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FREE Books From Amazon

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Here's another listing of FREE books from Amazon.  Jim Hamm informs us, "A few possible downloads I saw, but most seemed to be romance novels. Apparently, one has to check back periodically to see if any books of interest have been added."  Then he added, "I like the daily email of free books from Amazon that I get from the following link much better.""Didn't I see something earlier about ebooks?" you're asking.  Look along the right hand side for the listings.  Click to bring up the category.  There are 13 postings already about ebooks. "But, Jim, how can I read these FREE books on Mac if I don't have an e-reader like iPad?" John Carter gives us this solution: For all your Amazon e-books, download and use Kindle. Works on a Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. And it keeps your place when you go from one device to another. Got time to experiment with it, somebody?  Let us know!

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Your iPad and iPhone Can Scan

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        "Want to scan something and you're not anywhere near a scanner?"  John Carter questions, and then exclaims, "Yes, you are!  Your iPhone or new iPad can be your instant scanner anytime, anywhere with Scanner Pro 4. Scan a anything (even a bulletin board, including multiple pages) like you're taking a photo of it, and you now have a PDF file you can email, print, or update to Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Docs. The only thing this app doesn't do is optical character recognition (OCR). Price: $6.99 in the App Store."
        Want to learn more?  Don't miss the monthly PMUG meeting.

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Apple's Six Best Decisions

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        "Here's an interesting article and observation by Ted Landau of Apple's six best decisions — and why they make Apple the company it is today."  Jim Hamm goes on to elaborate,  "My only quibble with Ted is that the iPad should be included in the list. But he goes in detail explaining why he left this device out of his nominees. Possibly many of us — well, me, anyway — tend to think of Apple as a Mac, or computer, company. Not so much anymore. Here is a quote from the article: 'Apple’s success depended upon moving away from its focus on the Mac.' Hence, the dropping of 'computer' from the company name a while back."

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Comparison of 5 Anti-virus Applications

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        Let's hear from Prez Art Gorski, "Here's a quick review of anti-virus applications for the Mac.  I won't be installing any of these myself, but if you're worried about malware and don't mind the overhead of running this kind of software, give one of the free ones a try."
        Read about these 5 apps; two are FREE, and the others run from $39.95 to $49.95 a year.
        This is just in from Bobbie Pastor about Sophos, "This is a free download for your Mac.  John Carter considers this a good product."  See it here.

Where Did Those Parts Come From?

        What's your best guess?  Jim Hamm questions, "Where was your MacBook Pro — and all its innards — built?  It took some real detective work by the author of this article to find that out for his MacBook Pro.  This, or a similar scenario would probably apply to your computer as well, no matter the brand or model.  It's a real world economy we live in."
        Scroll down to the end of the article to find a link to a previous article with photos.

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Discussing Rival e-Book Readers

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        How compatible are the various rival e-book readers?  Jim Hamm forwards this link to David Pogue's article clarifying some of his earlier comments.
        So, Jim, what does Zee like best?  What do you like best?
         "Zee likes both her iPad and Kindle at different times. The iPad can't be used in sunlight or bright conditions, and it's heavier to hold. But, the display is bright and has color. Good for magazines.
        "The Kindle, on the other hand, is lighter and can be used in bright light. And, the small Kindle is only $79. Hard to pick just one.
        "Overall, I think the iPad has more flexibility, but it's a lot more expensive. If you only want to read ebooks, I'd get the Kindle. It's light and works great as a book reader. If you want more than just to read books -- email, surf the net, read the news, etc., the iPad is terrific. I really enjoy my iPad, as does Zee. Powerful device."

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Use Caution with QR Codes

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        You probably see them all over.  QR codes are getting more and more popular.  But here's a caution from Jim Hamm. "The hackers don't miss an opportunity. Take a read on this article, and be cautious of QR codes."
        Previously posted on this newsblog we called them "QR Tags"— see December 11, 2010; March 29, 2011; and January 29, 2012.
       QR code, a “barcode on steroids” — abbreviation for Quick Response Code, a type of matrix barcode was first designed for the automotive industry, invented by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process. Here are 84 accounts of the use of QR codes.

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Upgrade Fever?

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        Can I upgrade to Lion and still keep my old, familiar, and useful Snow Leopard?  You'll find complete directions here, but with a warning.  If not done correctly you could lose all your data, everything on your computer!  Aaaak!  Read here for the info.
        Another nifty announcement on that same site:  Read about Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) events scheduled for June 2 & 3.  "Hack for humanity" is their slogan,  it's FREE, and being held at Burlington, VT.
        So, PMUG readers, anyone want to pass on info on any recent upgrades?

Welcome Our PR Person

        It was a happy announcement at a recent PMUG meeting, and here we introduce our new PR person, Amy Snyder.  Let's get acquainted.
         Amy grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from college in North Carolina. Eventually, she moved west to California before becoming a long time resident of Prescott.
         Her professional background includes work in the medical field, real estate, and management. Currently, she works as a designer at Sun Pine Homes.
         In her free time, Amy enjoys living a healthy lifestyle, traveling especially to New Zealand, and spending time with her family including her “precious spoiled cat.” She is an avid birder working on her “life list” and a member of the Prescott Audubon Society.
        She also says, “I am a supporter of various nature, animal, and health oriented charitable organizations.”
        So, Amy, tell us about your computer interest.  "I bought my first Mac in 1992. Last year, I accompanied my stepfather, Harry, to the Prescott Mac Users Group. I was enthusiastically greeted and welcomed by members. As a life long learner, I find the PMUG to be a great environment to ask questions, share knowledge and skills, and discover new ways to enjoy the Mac."
        A prior commitment will mean Amy's absence in May, but look forward to getting acquainted at our June meeting.  You'll recognize her by her smile!

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More Options for Cloud Storage

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        "Several options to store items in the Cloud have become available recently, and Amazon offers another one." See the article here.  Jim Hamm passes along these details.   "You can get 5 GB free, and Amazon even has a desktop app available. One good use of Cloud storage, as an example, is to store pictures that you want to keep in a couple — or more — of Cloud locations. This way, you've always got a backup of those important pictures you don't want to lose — and free up storage space on the disk in your computer."

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Where Does the URL Go?

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        "Here's a tip that might be helpful," says Jim Hamm.  "If you get an email with a shortened URL through TinyURL.com, you can preview where it goes to, before opening it, by visiting the following website and enabling this feature: http://tinyurl.com/preview.php
        "Once enabled, it will place a cookie on your computer. Then, just right-click a shortened URL and then click 'Quick Look URL.' It will show you where the link goes before you open it. This could be helpful if you are suspicious of a shortened URL and want to know where it goes before you click to open it," Jim closes with a grin.
        And, we're all happy not to need a correctly-entered URL to go to many sites.  Google has simplified our search.

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What Happened to "Read More"?

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        This is the latest on http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/  -- yes, this blog.  Apparently, on April 23 Blogspot made changes to their procedures and an aggravation has surfaced here.  When you subscribe via RSS, clicking on the upper right hand side of the top bar, you'd be notified via your own email program when something new was posted here.  About 4 lines would give the opening of the article, and then came those helpful words, "Read More."  Clicking there took you immediately to this website and you could read the whole article and see the whole newsletter.
        Now the "Read More" is missing.  Until the solution is found I will start each new posted article with this http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/ in the first line, so you can click on that and go straight to the whole blog.  That's the idea.....now to see if it works for you!