iPad at Work

The three seminars that were previously mentioned by this post are no longer available. David Sparks at Macsparky.com talks about his book iPad At Work. The book is available at Amazon.com. There are 24 chapters that cover everything possible for using an iPad in a working environment. This book is a derivative of his earlier book Mac At Work.

Apple often provides online seminars for similar products. The iPad at Work seminar by Apple can be found here.

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Short & Simple, Of Course, Mac Helps You!

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        Using your Mac is easy to do.  Here are some shortcuts.  How many are you already using?  Which ones will you try later today?  

        To write anything:  click to open Pages.  Up comes a blank document, ready for your report, a birthday blessing for one of your 45 closest relatives, an anniversary poem to send to some family member, or the first chapter of your fiction piece that’s been brewing in your head. 
        Jot down some key ideas.  Do Command + S to save it, giving it a short title. 
        Off the page where you’re writing do a click with the right side of the mouse which brings up a short list.  Choose New Folder and drag this latest writing into it.  Type a name for the folder.
        When you’re ready to add to that first version of the new writing do Command + D to duplicate what you have and add to it.  Keep Version 1 as is; work on Version 2.  As you think of other bright ideas during the day you make a new version and keep it in the same folder.  
        Your busy brain has thought of some important details to add, or some colorful adjectives, or . . . .   That first idea may present possibilities.  A “I remember when…” piece may have poetic notions.  Now you’ve got a document of prose and a document of delightful rhyme.  Keep these in the same folder.  
        As the deadline approaches you put the finishing touches on the one that fills the bill.  Name the final version  “June handout BEST.”  Those other ideas may lend themselves to some other use, so hold on to them for now.  
        With cursor in the background screen do Command + I to bring up Get Info on the left hand side, a nifty box for you to add info.  Keywords you put in can help you find this new writing later.  
        Command + R  when looking at a list from the Inspector you view a tiny picture of the various files.  Put your cursor on the one you want to find.  Command + R then brings it up in the files so you can see where it’s located. (When you see the one you want in Inspector you can just click on the title you want and it will open, but you won’t know what folder it’s in.)  
        To cut, highlight what you want to remove and do  Command + X.  Paste what you’ve then highlighted with Command + V.  To copy, highlight what you want and do Command + C.
        Find it on your desktop or a file list: On the Menu at top of page that lists Finder first, go to File > Label and choose a color.  Your folder will show up in a list with that color bar around the title. 
        Want to enlarge the type under the folders on the desktop? On the main menu bar on the top go to View > Show View Options.  Experiment with enlarging icon size, spacing, text. 
        On the Internet, Command + D  at the URL line of the website lets you add that site to a folder in Bookmarks. Scroll through the little box to find the suitable home for that URL. 
        Command + Shift + 4 brings up the screen shot that you stretch around the picture or text that you want to copy and saves the screen shot as a file on desktop. 
        Command + B makes what you’ve highlighted turn into a bold font.  Do it again over the bold and it toggles to go back to not-bold. 
        Command and + on a highlighted word lets you enlarge it by repeatedly tapping the +.  The opposite, Command and the - will shrink the highlighted word. 
        On Mountain Lion you can do some of this an easier way.  Highlight the word or paragraphs, etc. Then right click with your mouse on that document.  It lists choices, such as spelling, speech, etc.  Look under Writing Tools and it brings up look up in dictionary, thesaurus, search in Spotlight, Google, Wikipedia, and show statistics. 
        If you’ve set Pages to show word count at the bottom of the page:  click on Words and it gives the total number of pages, lines, paragraphs, characters and characters not counting spaces.  
        If you accidentally delete something -- and before you type in something else -- go to Edit on the menu across the top of Pages and click to Undo Typing.  It will replace what you took out. 
        Here’s 8 pages of shortcuts if you’re REALLY into shortcut info for every possible idea: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343  Keyboard by category
        Let’s Take a Look at Mail: When you’ve clicked to open a New Message and have written a first draft, then you can click on the last tiny icon on the top right.  Your Mac gives you choices of how to make your email more attention-getting with choices of colorful templates such as Birthday, Announcements, Photos, Stationery, and Sentiments.  You can drag in some photo to make this email personalized. 
        Shop on Amazon:  Go to amazon.com and click on Sign in to set up Your Account.  Must allow cookies! Command + ,  (the comma) then choose Privacy > Block cookies from 3rd parties.   Go to Your account to see history, using gift cards,  settings,  etc.  Your balance never expires. (I go back afterwards and change Cookies setting to Never.) 
        Start your own FREE blog:  https://accounts.google.com/  Must allow cookies first.  Then sign in with email address and a password.  Set up your account.  Go to view Dashboard where you have choices to make about web albums, YouTube profile, etc.  Go to www.blogger.com to look at available templates.  Here’s links to info: https://support.google.com/blogger/ 
        Keep up to date:  If you subscribe to NetNewsWire you can be notified when there’s a new entry to the PMUG newsblog  http://pmugnews.blogspot.com and also to the PMUG website:  http://pmug.us/    Take a look here http://netnewswireapp.com/mac           
        (That’s all for now!)       This is the PMUG meeting handout for June 15, 2013
from Elaine Hardt 
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How Hot is Too Hot? Why? How?

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The laptop computer felt hot to touch.  How hot is too hot?  That basic information was not evident with a Google search.  Then, a bright idea.  Yesterday the MacMedia email had arrived with the clever heading, "Geek Goods for your Mac Daddy!"          We had purchased the MacBook Pro at the MacMedia store down in Peoria in September.  Who better to call?  A helpful guy, Rob, didn't seem in too big of a hurry to chat. I explained, relating some of the temperatures I'd noted from iStatPro widget.  He explained the range of temperatures, reassured me that mine were OK, "That's why we don't call it a 'laptop' anymore."         The helpful widget is here.

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Comparing iOS7 to iOS6

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        Sent from his iPad,  Jim Hamm sends this link:  "Here is a comparison of the icons in iOS 7 vs iOS 6, which we're using now. I'm not impressed with the change. The new icons seem washed out to me. I don't really see any improvement or any reason for the change. I guess Apple felt like they should do something if they are upgrading the iOS. What do you think of the new icons?"

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Here Comes Mavericks and iOS 7

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          John Carter's keeping up with the latest news!  "Apple announced the newest OS X (Mavericks) and iOS 7 to be available this fall. I expect both releases will be available by late October.

        "The changes in Mavericks and iOS 7 are enough to warrant a thorough review, and many reviews will be available online immediately after the release, if not before (from some developers). However, I will be upgrading as soon as they are released and putting together a presentation to be offered (hopefully) at the November PMUG meeting.
        "There is hope that iOS 7 can be Jailbroken to allow the iPhone to work as a Wi-Fi hotspot for an iPad, as well as allowing thousands of non-Apple approved apps to be installed. I will be working on this as well."
        Here, Prez Art Gorski jumps in with this piece of good news,  "You can already do this without jailbreaking on Verizon."
        But this is what John Carter has to say, "For a fee from Verizon.  I want to do it for FREE!"
        So, what will the outcome be?  Stay tuned for further information . . . 
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What's in Your Wallet?

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        "If you use Google's Gmail there's a new app coming: Google Wallet. Here is an article describing the features, which are primarily a way to move money around, somewhat similar to PayPal. 

        "When Google Wallet is available, let's set up a test -- let's see if you can use Google Wallet to send $100 to me. That way we'll be on the leading edge of testing a new app.....(grin)."  ...Jim Hamm

What's Up at WWDC 2013?

       The WWDC, worldwide developer conference being held in San Francisco captures our attention.  "There are several blogs describing what Apple introduced yesterday at the WWDC 2013.Here is one by TechCrunch that has lots of pictures as well as brief comments on what's happening. 

        "Looks like Apple fans can look forward to interesting times this fall. I was especially pleased to hear that apps will be automatically updated. This removes one minor irritation from life...(grin)" ...Jim Hamm
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Diving Into Dashboard

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         Do you use dashboard? Do you like it? 
         Jim Hamm informs us, "I've sorta forgotten all about Dashboard on the Mac, and haven't used it in ages. However, reading this article from MacWorld got me interested (well, somewhat) in Dashboard again. Armed with the tips from Christopher Breen I may take another look and see if Dashboard can play a useful role when I'm using my Mac."

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Opera's Next Rendition is Available

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        Here's Jim Hamm's report on Opera, following up on the earlier posting on June 3.  "I've been using, for a couple of days, Opera's next rendition of a browser entitled, appropriately enough, Opera Next 15. It is still undergoing development but is available for download for either a Mac or PC. I have it installed on both, and it has been working fine. Here is an article with a brief review of Opera Next. And here is a video of the browser.

        "One aspect of the browser that I particularly like is the small amount of memory the browser uses. When first opened it uses roughly 54 MB of memory, and only moves up to about 75 MB after extensive usage. The other browsers I use can get to hundreds of MB of memory consumed, and a restart of the browser is necessary to free up memory." 
         So, what does Jim suggest?  "If you like to explore a bit, you might give Opera Next a try. Here is the download website."

National Donut Day

       You can picture Jim Hamm as he grins, "This may come as a surprise to you -- it did to me: today is National Donut Day, at least according to the Business Insider, which kinda seems like it is the National Enquirer for business folks. First time I've ever looked at this newsletter, and thought I'd share this exciting news with you.

        He shares some personal information, "Many years ago, when I was in the Army, I was stationed in Korea. Our platoon was stationed out in the 'boonies', and our highlight each week was when two gals, with an Army driver, would come to our location in a van and serve donuts to the guys. As I recall, this service was provided by the USO branch of the Army. We always looked forward to chatting with the gals and chomping on a couple of donuts."
        This sweet holiday was established by the Salvation Salvation Army in 1938 to raise funds and honor the “lassies” as they called the female volunteers, who supported the soldiers on the front lines during World War 1.  Here's more information in this article: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2013/06/national-doughnut-day-2013-where-to-get-free-doughnuts/   
        Jim signs off with, "Don't forget to rush out today and get a free donut, with a purchase of something else, of course."  
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How to Securely Set Up Your New Mac

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       Jim Hamm has found an article for you or your friend who's getting a new Mac.  He says, " Here's an article from Intego with some useful hints on setting up a new Mac. 
        One of the suggestions is to install an anti-virus program, which I think is a good idea. Naturally the article recommends VirusBarrier, which costs money. I use Avast, which is free and a decent anti-virus program. I realize Macs haven't been hit by malware frequently in the past, but I don't see a downside to using a free AV program such as Avast. Maybe it will help me someday.

      "Another tip mentioned — particularly for laptops — is install a program, such as GadgetTrak, to try and track your laptop should it be stolen. Here is a review of other such programs."  

Tax-Free Havens

       "You may be aware that Apple was recently 'invited' to appear before a Senate Sub-Committee to discuss why Apple wasn't paying more in US taxes."  Now that he has our attention Jim Hamm goes on to discuss this interesting problem.  
        "Well, if you have an interest in — or even care — about learning more on how the various tax havens around the world operate, take a look at this 53-minute video. Now, I realize this may be way more time than you want to spend learning about something you can't do anything about. Keep in mind, though, the taxes these companies don't pay are, in effect, collected from those that do pay - thee and me.

        "Many big-name companies are discussed in the video, and the techniques used to avoid/minimize taxes are very creative, to say the least. Some examples: Starbucks has many coffee shops open in England, has operated there for 15 years, put many mom and pop coffee shops (who were paying taxes) out of business, hasn't made a profit in 15 years, and hasn't paid any taxes in England. They were called to a government committee to explain this. Well, all the trademarks for Starbucks are registered in the Netherlands (where a low tax rate has been negotiated)  and the Starbucks shops in England pay a royalty fee to Starbucks in the Netherlands to use these trademarks. Coincidentally, no profit in England for Starbucks to pay taxes on."
        Here Jim gives another example,  " . . . companies set up plants in Nairobi, Kenya to build a product. As an incentive the government gives the company a 10-year tax holiday. No taxes for 10 years. At the end of 10 years the company closes down and moves elsewhere.
        So, how does this conclude?  Jim declares, "I had to chuckle at a comment by the narrator at the end of the video: this video on tax-free havens has been brought to you by those that do pay taxes...(grin)."  
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Apple Grilled Over Tax Practices

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        Passing along the latest news, Jim Hamm writes,  "Here is an article that comments on the recent grilling Apple went through regarding their tax practices. As the article points out, Apple and many other companies are following tax laws that Congress passed, and Congress is now complaining because companies use these laws to increase shareholder value. It's interesting to note that GE, for example, made significant earnings and not only paid no taxes, but got a refund!" 

        Jim goes on to give his opinion, "Before I retired I was heavily involved in preparing the tax return for our company. I can tell you our tax laws, as the article states, are really 'Byzantine and bizzare.'  Will Congress do anything about this? You've seen Congress in inaction, er, action, these past years. What do you think?"
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Opera for Mac

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"If you like to try alternate browsers, just for a change of pace, you might give Opera a try," Jim Hamm gets our attention.  

        "Here is a brief review of Opera 15 (updated 11-22-15 by John Carter). I've been using it for just a short time and first impression: it's okay. As with any different browser, there is a learning curve, and Opera has its own nuances.
        "Some examples:  I imported all my Bookmarks from Safari, but you have to do a bit of searching to do this. In Opera: file > import > Finder > Applications > Safari > Bookmarks.plist; some items like History and Bookmarks are hidden. In the lower left corner of the window is where you click the icon for 'Panels' and a row of panels open up on the left side of the window to display History, Bookmarks and other items.
        "One difference in Opera is an aggravation which I don't like and may preclude me from using this browser so often is the way Opera handles Gmail. I use the web-based Gmail as my email client and when I compose an email a 'compose' box appears and overlays, partially, the Gmail main window.
        "Fine, and so far so good. I start typing in the box and want to get a link to something on a website — I go and copy the link and return to Gmail — the compose box is gone! Now where did it go?
        "Gmail saves a draft of a compose message every few seconds so I go to the Draft Inbox and there is my message I was composing. I click it but can't type in it. Frustrating, and what good is a draft if you can't use it? After some more head-scratching I minimized the open Opera window and there are my drafts, stacked on top of the other. I start typing again and need to go and get another link from a website. I've got to maximize the Opera window again, get the link, minimize Opera, then start typing in the compose box again. Not good.
        "All my other browsers keep the dialog box open right in the Gmail window. I'll do a bit or research to see if there isn't a way around this nuance.
        "As to speed, Opera is fine, and it has a feature called 'Turbo Boost', which is, in theory, supposed to speed up loading web pages even faster. I'll give it, and other features, a try as I play around with Opera some more."
        Jim wraps up his critique with this, "Any compelling reason to switch to Opera as your primary browser? In a word, no. But if you like to play around with a new program, you might give Opera a try."
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About That Thumb Drive

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        Maybe you won a thumb drive at a PMUG meeting.  Maybe you copied some files to it.  Now, how much memory is left?  Maybe you know how, but I had to search for the answer.  Looking at the SanDisk site http://kb.sandisk.com and searching through a lengthy list of topics brought no quick answer.  I emailed to SanDisk and got a reply this morning.  It was written for PC people, but here's the Mac way.  
         Insert the thumb drive into the computer slot, right click with your mouse and hold it down on the icon of the thumb drive that comes up.  Click on Get Info from the choices in the list.  (Or left click if that’s how you’ve set up your mouse.) Up comes the little info box with the Kind, Date created, Date modified, Format, Capacity, Available space,  Amount of space used.  It shows date last opened, the name, preview, and sharing and permissions. 
        Here Prez Art Gorski jumps in with info:  "Regarding how much free space is available, this has worked in exactly the same way on Macs from the beginning of time. Select ANY volume (internal hard drive, external hard drive, flash drive, floppy, whatever) in the Finder and do a Get Info from the menu."

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iPhone: Lost! Then, Found!

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        John Carter left his iPhone on a plane!  There's a happy ending! There's something for us to learn from this!
        "Suppose your iPhone gets lost (you left it on the plane). Frantically, you go online to iCloud.com and configure the iPhone to be erased if anyone attempts to use the iPhone. This seems to be the best way to protect your information, right? Wrong! The iPhone will only be erased when someone attempts to connect to the Internet — or so the story goes. So, if they never access the Internet, they can open Contacts and browse any file on the iPhone at will.

        "So maybe the next choice is to lock the iPhone. But this choice also only comes into effect when the person attempts to access the Internet. So even this isn't the best way to protect your iPhone.
        "What's left? Well, you should have set the iPhone to require a passcode as soon as the iPhone is turned on.
        "In my case, I did recently leave my iPhone on the plane. It was found and returned. What made it possible to be returned to me was that I did NOT have a passcode set to lock my phone, and the baggage claim person opened the phone and did something to discover that I was the owner of the phone and sent me an email message."
        What a relief, read on!  John has more to say,  "But, I had already gone online to icloud.com and set the phone to be erased when the Internet was accessed. Fully believing that my iPhone would be erased as soon as I tried to get on the Internet, I was totally surprised that it didn't happen!
        "Bottom line is, as my wife says, don't believe what you see. Protecting your information in a lost phone is only going to happen if you have set a passcode to lock the phone. Add a label to your phone on the outside that identifies you as the owner and no one needs to open the phone to find out how to contact you. Better yet, have your contact information engraved on the back side of the phone."