Another iPad Use

        "This past weekend I was at a music festival in Flagstaff and came upon another use for the iPad."  Jim Hamm catches our attention.  
        "The sound technicians, from their control booth way out in front of the stage, was using an iPad, at the control booth, and the new Apple Extreme Router, to wirelessly control the sound of microphones and monitors on the stage. The router was transmitting the commands, via Wifi, from the iPad at the control booth to another iPad on the stage, which, in turn, was connected to the various microphone and monitors." 

        Jim goes on to explain,  "This design saves the technicians time and effort from having to string long cables from the control booth to the microphones and monitors on the stage, which is always such a hassle and there's always concern about people stepping on or tripping over the cables. This design worked flawlessly. Interesting concept, and yet another ingenious use for an iPad."
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Consider Waiting Before Updating

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        A precautionary word of advice comes from Jim Hamm,  "Here's an article with suggestions to wait before updating to iOS 7 on certain devices. Certainly something to think about and consider. No harm in waiting and see what the blogs have to say about the update."   http://osxdaily.com/2013/09/16/wait-before-updating-these-to-ios-7/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+osxdaily+%28OS+X+Daily%29

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Getting Your Money's Worth Out of Your iPad?

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        John Carter will be presenting the answer to this question:  Are you getting your money's worth out of your iPad?  He announces, "If not, then you haven't discovered the many tips and tricks that the iPad has to offer. Not only that, a new version of iOS comes out on 9/18/2013 with some new features that you're sure to want to know about. Maybe you don't have an iPad, but you're thinking about it. Come to the Joint PCS/PMUG SIG and find out what you're missing!"

        Mark your calendar: the meeting date/time is 9/28/2013 from 1 PM to 3 PM in the Prescott Library Founders Suite.
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Camera Features in iPhone 5a

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        He starts off with, "I'm not much of a camera buff, but if you are here is an article describing the new and enhanced camera features in the new iPhone 5S," and then Jim Hamm gives a bit of detail, ending with his grin! 
        "Looks mighty impressive to me. Bet the manufacturers of 'regular' cameras are a bit bit disconcerted to read about all these improvements in the iPhone 5S which, nominally, is supposed to be a phone."
        How to Know If the iPhone 5s Camera Upgrade is Right For You
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how-to-know-if-the-iphone-5s-camera-upgrade-is-right-for-you

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Dropbox Peeks at Your Files

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        "Although I like and use Dropbox frequently, here's an article that reminds us nothing is secure in the 'cloud', unless it's encrypted, and even then NSA might take a peek at your documents," notes Jim Hamm.  Here's the article for you to check: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242384/Dropbox_takes_a_peek_at_files?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2013-09-13

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Apple's Announcements Today

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        Today was the big day.  Take a look at the latest here:  http://www.apple.com   and see keynote,   and look here for two entries posted today: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/ 
       Prez Art Gorski sends along this link http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/09/apples-overhauled-ios-7-is-coming-september-18-to-an-idevice-near-you/ , with his comment, "In just over a week, your iPad or iPhone will have a software update to iOS 7.  This will be a total makeover, changing the look of just about everything, and adding some new features.  It will take a little time to get used to it all, and hopefully Apple will provide some tutorials for users."  

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Google Defends Sanning Email

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"Here is an article discussing how Google defends their scanning every email sent or received through Gmail. Google says this is a 'normal business practice', and uses the info to tailor ads that appear beside your inbox."  Jim Hamm continues,  "I use Gmail, and the adds don't bother me, but I'm not fond of the idea of Google scanning the contents of every email sent through their system. On the other hand, Google is providing a useful service for free, so something or someone has to foot the costs.

        Jim goes on to comment,  "Perhaps Google already states this in their terms of agreement when one sets up a Gmail account, but wording somewhat to the following seems fair to me: as a user of the free Gmail email service the user agrees to having all sent or received emails subject to scanning by Google. If one doesn't like this, then don't sign up for the Gmail service -- use something else for your email service.
        So, this is Jim's question,  "I don't know, but perhaps other free email services such as Yahoo, Outlook Express and others may do the same thing. What do you think about Google's scanning of your emails? Armed with this knowledge, surely you won't send any of your passwords via email anymore, will you...(grin)."
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Routine Maintenance on Mac

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Jim Hamm keeps finding helpful stuff,  "Here is a helpful website with information for routine maintenance on your Mac. It has been recently updated. 

        "If you leave your Mac shutdown at night, then the routine 'maintenance scripts' from Apple won't run -- but they will if you leave your Mac in a sleep mode. Normally, even if these scripts are not run you probably won't experience a problem with your Mac. I don't leave my Mac on at night, so the scripts have never run on my MacBook Air and I'm not experiencing any problems. Having said that, though, it is probably a good idea to have these run occasionally."
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Gmail Bug Fixed?

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        Got Gmail?  John Carter has info for you!  "It appears that Google has fixed an annoying bug in Gmail. I recently reported that it was next to impossible to delete a message from the All Mail label if it was visible in Apple Mail. I keep trying from time to time, and today I can report that I think it has actually been fixed.

        "If you have All Mail showing under GMAIL->[Gmail] in the sidebar of Mail (see image below), and there's messages you want to delete from that mailbox, give it a try. The messages should then show up in the GMAIL->[Gmail]->Trash, which you then have to highlight and delete, whereupon they will then show up in MAILBOXES->Trash, that you then have to empty. I know, pain in the ... . But that they best than can be done - for now.Messages deleted from All Mail will show up in the Trash mailbox just below All Mail. Messages deleted from that Trash mailbox will show up in the Trash mailbox at the top."
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Microsoft + Skype + What's Next?

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         Keeping up with the latest news Jim Hamm fills us in with this,  "Here's an interesting article about Microsoft's Ballmer by Pogue of the New York Times. I happen to agree with Pogue's assessment. I don't think Ballmer has been good for Microsoft. And that's sad because Microsoft has been (and still could be) a great company with the proper visionary leader.

        "A similar fate could befall Apple as well. I think Tim Cook made a great COO. He's good at organizational functions -- production, inventory levels, timely deliveries, etc -- but I don't think he's a visionary. I really don't have a good inside grasp on Apple's management team, but based on what I've read Jony Ive seems to be a visionary at Apple. Others may be as well. Time will tell.
        "As a side note -- talking about Microsoft -- since Microsoft bought Skype the performance of Skype has deteriorated. It is difficult now to maintain a video connection on Skype. I don't know if somehow Microsoft has caused this, but something has happened. I've quit using Skype and now use Google+Hangouts. One can stay connected on a video chat -- much better than Skype. 

        And here's Jim's last comment, delivered with his trademarked grin, "I guess I'll just blame Skype's deterioration on Ballmer too."
       Try this link:  http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com
      

A Star Party Invitation

        John Carter, the PMUG Web Host Admin, sends you this invitation to Star Party events.  September 7 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. at Vista Park in Prescott will feature astronomer guides with their binoculars and telescopes showing the public the wonders of the solar system, the Milky Way and deep space.   http://prescottastronomyclub.org
        John almost always does some kind of presentation at the public star parties when the wind doesn't blow the projector screen down. He says, "Otherwise, I'm at my 8" telescope and giving the public mini lectures on stars and deep sky objects (clusters, nebulae, galaxies) and of course answering any question about Astronomy.

        "On Sept 21 I'm doing a presentation at the Highland center on 'A Walk Through The Stars.' The public is invited, and a Star Party follows."