That word gets our attention: FREE! Jim Hamm notifies us, "If you use Gmail for your email client, here's good news: you've now got 15GB of storage -- up from 10GB previously."
There's some Unified Cloud Storage for FREE across Google Drive, Gmail and Google+Photos. After the first 15GB the upgrade plan starts at only $4.99 a month for 100GB. The next couple of weeks brings the staged roll out.
Are You Checking Time Machine?
"If you're using a Mac, chances are you're using Time Machine. It's nice that Apple provides a backup system that's easy to use. However, have you checked that Time Machine is really backing up? No? Well, I haven't either. Here's a Blog from a guy that didn't check either.
"Now might be a good time to verify that Time Machine is working correctly. What a pain it would be not to be able to recover -- in case of a hard drive failure -- all that important 'stuff' you've saved over the years."
And this is the little nudge from Jim Hamm that we probably all need!
Goodbye to Google Reader?
An article http://www.zdnet.com/google-reader-its-not-you-its-us-7000012626/ mentioned that Google Reader is to close down on July 1, 2013. Another article lists some alternatives http://www.zdnet.com/goodbye-google-reader-here-are-five-rss-alternatives-7000012604/. How important is that?
Querying Jim Hamm brought this, "If I had something constructive to say, I would. Some time ago I used to use an RSS feed quite often -- it may have been Google Reader, but I don't remember for sure. For some reason -- and I don't recall why -- I got away from using an RSS feed, and haven't used one for some time. It may have been when I upgraded my OS the RSS feed didn't carry over, I didn't notice, and slowly forgot about an RSS feed altogether.
"The article points out some good choices for RSS feeds. It seems if someone has been using Google Reader the easiest migration choice would be to use Feedly. However, people can experiment a bit to see which they prefer."
An Armchair Tour via iOS Device
"Are you somewhat of a history buff? Would you like to take an armchair visual tour of a variety of archaeological sites, museums, etc, from around the world?" asks Jim Hamm. He goes on, " Here is a link to ten history apps for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you might take a look at."
Do these apps come up on a computer, too? "I don't think so. Only on an iOS device."
Cloud: Pro & Con
Here's a risk that Jim Hamm describes, "Storing 'stuff' in the Cloud has its advantages, but also a real risk, too. Take a read on this article where Google just shut an individual off from his Cloud storage. He hadn't done anything wrong to violate any of Google's policies, but someone or something at Google thought he had."
(Scroll down and consider the logic of those 95 comments already posted on that site.)
"Trying to contact someone at Google to find out why this happened is a lost cause. Fortunately, this guy had friends that worked at Google and they ultimately were able to help him. But thee and me? I think we'd be out of luck if Google shoved us off the Cloud.
"Which brings me to Gmail. For quite some time I've used Google's web-based Gmail for all my email storage. i no longer download anything to my computers or iPad -- I do everything online. What if Google suddenly shut me off from my Gmail account? All of my emails -- both read and unread -- are stored there, not on my computer. Not a pleasant thought to contemplate. I'd survive, but what a pain.
Here's Jim's conclusion, "I would never store anything of value in the Cloud. I much prefer an external hard drive for my extra storage. Could something like this happen with a Microsoft or Apple Cloud storage? I'd guess it's possible. Just something for you to think about when you use the Cloud."
Zinio Has Arrived at PPL Library
Prez Art Gorski declares, "Look like I'll finally have to buy an iPad!" The news is: libraries now offer Zinio for Yavapai County citizens. See this link. Now here's the Prescott Public Library website, and Art clarifies, "With your library card, you can access hundreds of digital magazines and read them on your computer or mobile device."
FREE & Lets You Run Apps
Free and maybe handy for you. David Passell says, "I came upon this app which might interest somebody. It is free and called "blue stacks". See it here. It allows you to run android apps on your computer. It is free. I'm not sure what use it will be to me, but somebody might like it. It comes with a lot of games and you can add your own apps. There is a Mac version which sends you a .dmg to install.
FREE Video Tutorials Available
John Carter knows how to get our attention! "Once in a while I run into a great find on the Internet, and this one is a keeper.
"MacMost.com features video tutorials for everything Mac - from iPhones to Macs. The best part, for me anyway, is that all of the tutorials are available FREE in iTunes. And there is a newsletter that you can subscribe to and keep up to date with the latest Mac information.
"Just a few days ago, the video "Mac OS X Cat Names" appeared on the scene. Gary Rozenzweig, the author and creator of MacMost, gives a full accounting of all the names Apple has been using for the various OS X releases - from the 10.0 Beta right up to 10.8. It's really worth watching, and I'm sure you'll get a lot from all of his other videos no matter how old they are.
And here's John's recommendation to all of our readers here: "Personally, I've already subscribed to the tutorials in iTunes and the newsletter. I'm hoping you will too, because I'm letting you know now that instead of me creating professional looking tutorials I'm going to let Gary do all the work."
How to Install Applications: Maybe You're Doing it Wrong?
Here's food for thought from Jim Hamm, "In this newsletter from Small Dog Electronics is an article on installing applications on a Mac. In the article it states once the disc image is opened on your desktop it should be dragged to the applications folder on your Mac. Then the application should be opened and installed within the applications folder -- not on your desktop.
"I haven't been doing this. I usually just open the app on the desktop and install from there. After reading this article I plan to change my ways...." Jim
What's the Next Cat?
"Okay, put on your guessing hat. After which cat will the next release of OS X be named? I didn't realize how many felines -- big and small -- there are in the world. Apple has a wide selection of names to pick from. Take a look at potential names and pictures here."
Jim Hamm goes on to ask, "Does one of these strike your fancy? I'd go for Lynx or Bobcat. A couple I definitely don't like are Flat-Headed Cat and Kodkod! If someone were to ask you what version of OS X you're running, somehow it just wouldn't sound right to say 'Kodkod'...(grin)"...Jim
Where Was this Photo Taken?
Here's some iPhoto info from Prez Art Gorski, "If you like using the Places feature in iPhoto to find photos by where they were taken, but your camera doesn't automatically put the geocoordinates on photos, what do you do? Well, you can use iPhoto itself to do this, but it's a little fiddly. If you import your camera pictures to your hard drive before you import them to iPhoto, here's a nifty free app that makes it much easier to do this task. http://www.theoneandonlysepp.com/gnt/
This site tells about a "Mac OS X docket to update metadata with location information."
How to Automate Certain Functions on Your Mac
"If you're interested in automating certain functions on your Mac, here is a link where a 60-page book of instructions can be downloaded. If a password is required, I think it will be: makeuseof." This handy info comes from Jim Hamm, and yes, the book is FREE.
What's Apple Developing?
Wonder what's next for Apple? David Passell enlightens us about your next iGadget: http://www.zdnet.com/your-next-igadget-check-apple-patents-images_p2-7000013904/#photo
How to Type Special Characters
Looking to type in an accent or tilde or another special character? Prez Art Gorski has the info you need! Here's the link: http://www.macworld.com/article/2036310/type-special-characters-in-os-x.html#tk.rss_all
"In all previous versions of OS X, if you wanted to type an accented character, like an 'n' with a tilde above it, you would have to type 'Option-n' and then type 'n' again.
"If you’re running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, you can type some characters—specifically, those that are accented or modified versions of common letters—by simply holding down the base character. For example, if you need to type an accented E, just hold down the E key for a second or so; you’ll see a popover displaying the available variations on the letter E. Click one, or press the number corresponding to it, to type that character. On a U.S. English keyboard, this trick works for A, C, E, I, L, N, O, S, U, Y, and Z."
Public Wi-Fi Precautions
Stay safe when you're using public Wi-Fi. Jim Hamm points out several important precautions to take.
1. Don't make online purchases or access your bank account.
2. Switch your passwords. Use a different password for each of your online accounts.
3. Look for the locked padlock in the address bar. That means the info submitted to that site is encrypted. But still be cautious.
4. Turn off file sharing on your computer.
Comparing Computers
This ZDNet article caught David Passell's eye today after seeing Jim Hamm's earlier info. "I think this is an interesting article. Some of the comments are intriguing:)." See it here.
Making Money
"Should you have an interest, here's an article providing details on Apple's recent earnings report. At about $400/share, I would speculate that, long term, this might be a good buy. Now, if I just had a spare million $ I didn't need, it would be nice to try my speculation out. BTW, could I borrow some money from you? I've got a tip on a good investment...(grin)..." Jim Hamm
Show This to Your PC Friends
Got a friend who wants a better computer? With his customary grin, Jim Hamm passes this along, " . . . here's a helpful article you may want to include in your PCS newsletter."
About IMAP and POP
"If you'd like to understand better what the email protocol 'IMAP' is all about, here is an article that gives a good description of it," begins Jim Hamm with his trademark grin. He acknowledges, "Understandably, you may not care. If the client you use for email works for you, and you're not inclined to change, then just bypass this article.
"As an ancillary note, I use IMAP— and like it — but no longer use an email client, like Apple's Mail, on any of my computers or iOS devices. I use the web-based Gmail as my email client. That is, I log into Gmail on their server and do all my email reading, etc., there — not on my computer. I find this to be much simpler: all my emails are always coordinated and in-sync between all my devices, all of the emails I've ever received are permanently stored there (mighty handy to look up an old email from a long time ago), and I never have to worry or fuss with doing an update to my email program -- Google takes care of that for me — and I never have to tell anyone to 'hold sending any email to me while I travel' — I've got plenty of storage space in Gmail."
Malware Info We Need to Know
Ward Stanke, our PMUG Ambassador, sends important info on Mac malware: "I saw this post to the Apple Users Group Mailing List from Randy Singer (co-author of The Macintosh Bible, 4th, 5th and 6th editions).
Randy said (this is a direct quote): "If Mac users want to have all of their questions about Macintosh malware answered authoritatively, I recommend that you have a look at this Web site created and maintained by Thomas Reed: http://www.reedcorner.net/mmg/
"I trust Thomas Reed and what he has to say because he isn't biased, in that he isn't trying to sell anti-virus software as most malware reporting sites are, and he isn't a Windows user inappropriately extrapolating from that platform when speaking about the Macintosh.
"There is a companion comprehensive list of all of the malware which exists for Mac OS X, which is kept meticulously updated, here: http://www.reedcorner.net/mmg-catalog/ On the far left of this list each piece of malware is rated for its 'threat level.'"
A quote from Thomas' site: "However, it is important to keep in mind that Mac OS X already does an admirable job of protecting against malware. At this time, there is no known malware capable of infecting a Mac running a properly-updated version of Mac OS X 10.6 or later, with all security settings left at the default (at a minimum)."