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Mac Buyer's Guide

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        Do you know when to buy a Mac, iPod, or iPhone?  Here's help from Prez Art Gorski.  He leads off with, "Don't you just hate it when you buy an Apple product and then they release a new, better version right after?  The MacBuyer's Guide keeps track of Apple hardware updates and is a great guide to when you should buy a new Apple product."
         So we look here and find info with recommendations such as "Don't buy: updates soon"  — "Buy only if you need it: approaching the end of a cycle" — or "Buy now!  Product just updated."  You also notice the links to their categories of blogs and forums.  Take a look, you may want to bookmark this.

WWDC 2012

        "Would you like to attend Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, if only vicariously?" asks Jim Hamm.  Of course! we answer.  And he goes on to say,  "Here's a set of 63 pictures taken live (by PC Magazine staff) during the conference. Very interesting, and note how 'well-dressed' the execs are onstage — definitely a carryover of Job's style.

        "Facetime calls will be available via a cellular network in iOS 6, which will make the carriers happy, no doubt — having to carry all that extra video load from cell tower to cell tower...(grin)...And the upgrade to OS Mountain Lion is now only $20 - a bargain."
       Now Jim gazes back to reminisce, "The whole setting brings back fond memories of when Zee and I attended the MacWorld Expo at Moscone Center in February, 2008. Jobs introduced the MacBook Air then, and, of course, I 'had' to buy one when we returned home. Enjoy the trip."  

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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.