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DVD or Blu-ray Player Gotcha

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        David Passell sends along this article by Jim Clark, from the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Newsletter.
         "If you have a working TV DVD or Blu-ray player, it is suggested that you DO NOT REPLACE IT with a newer version, especially one that does not connect with component (yellow, white, red) connectors. Also true for computer DVD or B-E (Blu-ray) recorder/players. Reason: The newer ones are designed to ONLY play commercial DVDs or Blu-rays. The new ones will not play home recorded or converted camcorder DVD's — take heed and if you must buy one (new or used) for a TV look for the yellow, red, white component connectors on the back and test them out in any case. There might still be some older ones left in the stores. 
        "Keep your old one just in case.
        "This is a Sony and others' change supposedly to prevent movie piracy. There are workarounds like Locksmith on the Internet but you have to keep updating to keep ahead of the constant changes and need to be somewhat technically oriented to do that. If you already have a newer Blu-ray player you might be too late for home-recorded Blu-rays but look around on Craigslist for an older one if you need one and test it out before buying." 
        So, what do you think? We put the question to Jim Hamm, and here he enters the discussion: "Very interesting. Coincidentally, we just recently (within two weeks) purchased two new DVD Blu-ray players from Costco. They are the Samsung brand, and they connect to the TV with a HDMI plug. We don't happen to have a home-recorded DVD movie to try to see if it would play on the Blu-ray player.
        "This makes sense from the perspective of Sony and other DVD manufacturers such as Samsung. But it probably won't sit well with people who have copies of DVDs. We'll be at our condo Monday and I'll see if I can pick up a home-recorded movie from our daughter and son-in-law. If yes, we'll bring it home and see if it will play. I'll let you know the results." 

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What Difference Does IPv6 Make?

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        This info from Jim Hamm arrived on June 5!  Aaaaaaak. Today is June 9.  It was overlooked in a barrage of other emails.  Now, let's get informed.
        Jim wrote, "Tomorrow IPv6 will be launching worldwide.  Here are two articles providing further information on what this means to you and me.  Odds are, we won't notice a difference in connecting with the internet."  Look here and look here.
        IPv6 means Internet Protocol version 6 which is to be a "big improvement over the prevailing IPv4 version."  Need to know more?  Enter IPv6 in the Search CNET box of the article above.  Up comes a listing of 190 news articles and photos.
        So what happened on June 6?  This IT Business Edge blog states that "security is going to change quite a bit.  In some ways it will be more secure, in others more challenging." Read for details of the change and how it affects the world.  Do a Google search for IPv6 and choose from the news articles listed there to keep informed.  (Thanks again, Jim, for your eagle-eye.)

Remembering Those First Macs

         Prompted by Jim Hamm’s memories of that “first Mac” Don and I reminisced, too.  I found some papers in my file, dated 12-16-84, our first Mac, a 128K, only $1,695.00.  Of course, we needed Image Writer, surge suppressor, diskettes, numeric key pad, computer cover and ribbon, so that brought the price up to $2,953.37.  

        Macintosh was my brother Ed’s recommendation, and he went on to become head of the high school math department, computer whiz, teacher at the community college, and on-line instructor, as well.  By 1986 Don and I upgraded to 512, then to the SE, Centris, PowerMac, and on to G-4 and G-5.  Amazing to us, how slender — yet full of memory — our MacBookPro is now.  It's been fun, learning and using Macintosh computers. 
        

Mac II Was 25 Years Ago

        "Say a big Happy Birthday to the Mac II, which was released twenty-five years ago," exclaims Jim Hamm.  He goes on to reminisce, "If you bought one then with a color monitor, you'd have spent $7,100 — over $14,000 in today's dollars! Wonder who had enough money to buy a Mac II then? Heck, that was probably my annual salary back then. Zee would never have let me have a Mac then, let alone two (which I have now and, of course, really need)." Jim closes with a grin and a link to this article with photos of early Macs. 

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Earliest Laptop?

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     "Thought this might cause a little head scratching," declared David Passell.  His email contained this graphic which resembles someone using the earliest laptop known to man.  Has this been photoshopped, I inquired.  No, the truth is out.  The caption states, "Email from the past?  Not an ancient Greek laptop, but a writing tablet on a vase from 470 BC."
It's from a BBC news article.  Thanks for the smile, David.

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How to Keep Your Email Address

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        If you currently have a .mac or .me email address here's helpful info from Jim Hamm.  He says, "MobileMe is ending shortly.  Here's an article with some instructions. . . Although I've got a .me email address, I don't use it (because Gmail seems to work so well) — but I think I've got it set up to continue in case I might want to start using it in the future."

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Need Anti-virus Software? Or Not?

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       Need anti-virus software?  Ward Stanke sends us some very useful information.  Read on:  Snow Leopard and Lion contain a malware blocker!  Here's an article from Macworld.  This malware blocker has been very quietly, but consistently, updated by Apple to handle the most dangerous, and the most recent, malware threats.  
        See this:   Mac Malware "Explosion" Missing In Action.
        Here's an excellent up-to-date web site about Macintosh malware....and an associated Macintosh Malware Catalog that rates the individual threat posed by each piece of malware.  Note that most of the threats listed were either rendered moot by an Apple update, or they never really worked, or they were never seen in the wild or in significant numbers.
        Mac OS X anti-virus software: More trouble than it's worth? Here's a review. 
       This is an article simply entitled "Wolf." It is about the press crying "wolf" for the past 7 years with regard to the "coming wave of Mac malware": Daring Fireball: Wolf!

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How's Your Battery Doing?

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"Do you have a Mac laptop?  Do you run on battery often?  Like to know more about how your battery is performing and the condition it is in?"  Jim Hamm asks.  He offers this link, saying, "You might take a look at the 'Battery Guru' app."But Jim, how does that compare with the iStat widget that comes up Function 4 key? Two shakes later we have his answer.  "Somewhat similar, I presume.  Here is the article in Small Dog Tech Tails #821 that describes more about the app." When you open that Tech Tails you'll also be entertained by the YouTube video of a truck running over an iPad.  Did you expect that?

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Drag & Drop Graphics

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        Prez Art Gorski found out how to do something nifty.  He writes, "This is a cool way to find interesting graphics that you see in application programs. Just drag and drop an application onto the Preview application and it will show you every graphic in the application. You can then save a graphic you like and use it elsewhere."   Thanks, Art. This might be fun to do.  Let us know how it works for you.

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Firewall: Yes? No?

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Jim Hamm started the discussion about Firewalls with, "You may have already read this article. In recent years not much has been written about firewalls — one way or the other. I leave mine turned on in my Macs and when running Windows on my PC. Ubuntu doesn't come with a firewall and I haven't checked to see if one is even available."John Carter sends this information, "The purpose of a firewall is to keep someone from hacking directly into your computer."  He goes on to explain in detail. "Without a firewall, a computer is open to attack even if you have an Anti-Virus application installed on the computer. In fact, you don't even have to be browsing the Internet to be hacked if you don't have a firewall; the computer just needs to be turned on and connected to the Internet. "However, a firewall is not a guarantee to stop spam and viruses that come through email or when browsing the Internet. An Anti-Virus application is best for that. Ubuntu does have a firewall, but it is not enabled by default. The firewall is ufw. "If you have a server (one computer providing access to the Internet for other servers in a network), the server is the only computer in the network that needs a firewall, unless a given computer in the network wants to block a port on that computer for some reason. "All new routers (and some modems) come with a firewall (a hardware firewall) and it is typically turned on by default, and this is probably the only firewall anyone ever needs. In fact, a router with a firewall is recommended, even if you only have one computer and if the modem itself does not have a firewall. "However, the modem/router may not have the features and/or flexibility that a computer firewall (a software firewall) can offer. "If you have both the modem/router firewall and the computer firewall enabled, and if you have ports open for access in the computer firewall (required by some applications), those same ports need to be open for access in the modem/router firewall. "It's a little more complicated than this, but the bottom line is that the author of that article is off-base about not needing a firewall. However, he is right about one thing: 'Firewalls tend to be horribly managed.'" John winds up his view of the issue with,  "If something isn't working right and you turn off the firewall and things start working right, call an IT professional to properly set up the firewall. One such professional works at CompuTime in Prescott." Anyone else jumping into the discussion?

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How to Make Safari Easier to Read

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        If you'd like to increase the font size on Safari web pages see this link that comes from Jim Hamm.  He tells us, "I set the font size to 18 in tip #one. Definitely makes web pages easier to read, although the article states this may not work on all websites. I haven't tried tip #two yet, but may try it later on."
       Or, try doing Command and + once, twice, or more to enlarge the Safari page.  If the site you're looking at has the Reader listed at the top click to delete the ads and bring up only the article. Then if you want it larger click on Command and + to bring it larger to read and/or print it from there.

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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!