False message from Apple iTunes! BEWARE!

If you get an e-mail message supposedly from Apple asking you to confirm your iTunes ID and password, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK! The link does NOT go to an Apple website. You WILL get something you never wanted, especially if you give away your Apple ID and password.

Apple - in fact, no reputable company - will ever ask you to verify your ID and/or password or any other personal or financial information by e-mail. If you need to make sure that your ID and password are good, go directly to the company's website and login. That will verify your ID and password.

Below is the exposed content of the phishing message. Notice that the link for "Verify now" goes to "lookslikedesign" and not Apple. Always hover over links to confirm their true identity.

Dear,
We just need to verify that the information account belongs to you. Simply click the link below and sign in using your itunes ID and password. To complete the process, click the link below.
Verify now > <http://lookslikedesign.com/blog/Update.Your.Credit.Card.OnlineINFO.USIP343.12.675.18%20/apples/>
This link will expire three days after this email was sent.
Extend our this request, it's likely that another user has entered your email address by mistake and your account is still secure. If you believe an unauthorized person has accessed your account, you can enter your account information at My Apple ID <http://lookslikedesign.com/blog/Update.Your.Credit.Card.OnlineINFO.USIP343.12.675.18%20/apples/>.
Apple Support

My Apple ID <https://appleid.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MyAppleId.woa/wa/chooseYourCountry> | Support <https://www.apple.com/support/country/> | Privacy Policy <https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/privacy/>
Copyright Š 2015 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014, United States. All Rights Reserved.

New Look and Features of Tunes 12

   " Here is an article about the new look and features of iTunes 12," Jim Hamm informs us. 

iPhone's Mysterious "Other" Data

        "f you own an iPhone here is some info that may be helpful -- particularly the tip about iMessage," Jim Hamm writes.  Here he explains: 

        "If you’ve ever filled your iPhone to capacity, you may have suddenly noticed a gray section of stored data titled “Other” in iTunes. What could this mysterious data be?
        "Well, there could be a couple things that could be contributing to it, but the most likely culprits are your apps. More specifically, one culprit: iMessage. You’re probably not aware of this, but every time you send or receive a file within an iMessage — whether it’s photos or various documents — your iPhone stores that data. If you are like millions of other users who enjoy sending silly photos to friends and family (or inappropriate ones if you’re into that sort of thing), that data can accumulate very quickly over time.
        "On the rare occasion, restoring the iOS on your iPhone can resolve this issue, but the less invasive solution is to locate problematic apps on your phone that could be taking up space.
        "To free up that space, follow these instructions:

1. Make sure your phone and apps are synced in iTunes.
2. If possible, make sure you have backed up or copied off any documents or data you might need, as you will lose it. A lot of apps allow you to email documents and data.
3. On the phone, go to Settings/General/Usage. You should find a list of all the apps.
4. On the right hand side is a list of the total storage space each app is using, including the app itself. The list is also handily listed in descending order of size. If you tap on on one of the apps on the list, it shows you how much space is being used by documents and data. You also have the option to delete the app.
5. To delete the app, simply tap on “Delete App.” The app is deleted, and so is the data stored in the ‘other’ area. Repeat for other apps if necessary.
6. To re-install the app(s), plug it in to your iTunes and re-sync your phone. The app(s) are re-installed with no data taken up in the ‘Other’ area.

        "If you want a visual representation of your data, the third party app iExplorer is very easy to use and available as a temporary demo. You can also buy it if you want."  
http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/

Amazing Photos From Your iPhone

        "If you haven’t heard about it yet, this is totally awesome — and I don’t say this about anything unless it really is!"  Now John Carter goes on to explain.

        "Fyuse is a FREE app for the iPhone that takes astounding 3D images (actually, a GIF image that you can manipulate to make it look like a short movie which gives you a 3D look and feel). Really! But I’m not going to spend any time here talking about how to use it or what it's like, because you can see the short demo yourself here in iTunes."  

iCloud and iTunes

        "Here's an interesting nuance about your iTunes music you may have stored in Apple's iCloud,"  Jim Hamm states.  "As the article recommends, it's a good idea to store your music — or anything else, for that matter — in a separate external device. It's not that I think the 'cloud' is bad, per se, I just don't trust my 'stuff' to something I can't see." 

iOS 7 and 10.8.5 Update

       John Carter reports on his experience with updates. "I updated my iPad 4, my iPhone 5, and Jackie's iPhone 4S.

        "No problems with my stuff. It took a long time, but everything came up normally.

        "Jackie's 4S was a different story. I did that one last.

        "The short story is that Verizon was overloaded with updates, and they couldn't keep up. Apple was also inundated, and they couldn't keep up. Hence, during the update process for the 4S, Apple had a hiccup and the 4S was crippled during the update. Not to worry. A fresh start made everything right — almost.

        "One thing that happened with the 4S that did not happen with the iPad 4 or the iPhone 5 was right after the iOS7 update completed. I got a notice that a new update was available for the carrier on the 4S. I did that, too.

        "When I finally got to use the 4S, it would not connect to Verizon. Getting on the Internet was no problem — but no phone service. A call to Verizon revealed that many people were having the same problem. The fix was to do a complete reset of the phone (wiping all data off) and restore the phone from a backup through iTunes. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention this - MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR DEVICES BEFORE YOU START THE UPDATE!

        "After the 4S was restored (the second time), I was able to validate the connection to Verizon and everything worked."

                                  Take a deep breath, John has more info to share! 

        "So what's really new with iOS7? I mean, really new? Not just in appearances, but in functionality. The calendar had the biggest surprise. The familiar interface is not only gone, but one of the features is hidden. In order to see your calendar entries as a list, you have to tap on the Search icon. To see the calendar in the month mode, you tap on the name of the month. Then the year shows up where the name of the month was, and tapping on that shows you the whole year. Actually, this is far easier to navigate than it sounds, and I quickly got used to it.

        "I tried to take a snapshot of the screen, but the snapshot does not show everything that you can see. So the image below is a screenshot showing both what the calendar looks like (left side) and what you get when you take a screenshot (right side). (Yes, it was tricky getting this shot.)
        To enlarge the illustration click on it, then click to go back to the post.

        "So what does Jackie think about the update? She was very angry that the phone didn't work, and she had to leave before I got it working again. As for everything else, she's flexible enough to not worry about the changes. Besides, she has me to fall back on.

        "I very much like the new Compass. Apple has added a secondary feature to it - a bubble level. Very neat, especially for me when I need to level my telescope mount."

                                      Here's John's report on the OS X update:

        "So what about the Mac update to 10.5.8. Quite painless on the Mac Mini, the MacBook Air, and my two MacBook Pros. But one thing happened with Mail that I am not very happy about.

        "I have several mailbox aliases below the Toolbar (boxed in red in the image below.) This gives me quick access to my most frequently used mailboxes. 

        "They were all greyed out. No access. I quickly discovered that I had to remove them and add the aliases back in.

        "Then I discovered that NONE of my Rules were active. I had to go through each of my several dozen Rules and reference the action back to the original mailbox that the message was supposed to be moved to (see red circle in image below). The weird part was that when I reset one, that same mailbox showed up as the default location for the next one that I needed to fix."

        "I'm quite sure that many people will have a serious problem with this, and I'm very surprised that it didn't show up in the Beta testing."

                        Here's John's recommendations: 

        "Do I recommend getting the updates right away? To this I always say, why not? How long do you think you will have to wait before you can know for a fact that  you won't have any problems with the update? Can you live without the update? Certainly! But eventually you will be faced with having to update when one or more of your apps are no longer supported with your old operating system— just like when Classic 9 became unusable. And if you trade your device in, you will get the latest operating system anyway.

        "To update the iPhone, you have to have your computer to get the update. I recommend updating the computer first.

        "One last thing. The iTunes update (11.1) modifies the iTunes library. So if you have more than one computer using the same iTunes library, you're forced to update iTunes on every computer. Besides that, if you are accessing the same iTunes library (or iPhoto library) from different computers, you have to shut down iTunes/iPhoto on one computer before launching iTunes/iPhoto on any other computer. This is such a rare situation that it probably isn't even worth mentioning. But if you have, say, a MacBook Air with a small hard drive and a Mac Mini with a large hard drive, it won't be long before you realize that you should have bought a bigger hard drive for the MacBook Air. This cannot be remedied except by sharing files with another computer or by adding an external hard drive to the MacBook Air - and that uses up one of the only two USB ports on the MacBook Air. And you can't run an external hard drive off of a USB port expander along with any other device, even if the USB expander is powered (or so my experience tells me).

        "For the most part, the updates do not change how any non-Apple app looks or behaves. As vendors start providing updates for their apps, this will undoubtedly change.

        "For the iPhone, just take a deep breath and get the updates in a week or so when things have settled down at Apple and Verizon.

        "For the Mac, get it now."   

iTunes Radio Complaints

        "Although I haven't tried it yet, here is an interesting article on the new iTunes Radio in iOS 7," Jim Hamm states.   "As the article explains, it's more for Apple than us. Why? iTunes  is a money maker for Apple, and they see no reason to significantly change a winner." http://gizmodo.com/itunes-radio-isnt-for-you-its-for-apple-1342593360 

Changes Coming in Mavericks

         Starting with a short note about the coming Mavericks John Carter simply pointed out, "Not an overhaul, says one reviewer, but just a tune-up.  Read the full article here."

        Then John emailed again and added more, "My comments below are not as a result of my being able to play with OS X Mavericks. I'm paraphrasing what other reviewers are saying.

        "Probably the most significant change in OS X Mavericks, in my opinion, is what they've done with Finder. They added tabs and tags. These will be the greatest tools that any user could use. Tagging files like you do with photos in iPhoto will be a boon in finding a needle in a haystack. But then, you first have to go through all your files and tag them - just like with iPhoto.

        "The second most important feature to me is iCloud Keychain. Storing all your login and private information in one place that can be instantly available on all Apple devices is like having 1Password, but without all the fancy features. However, this will mean that you should assign a separate Keychain master password, and it also means that you can have no login password on your desktop computer, a strong login password on your laptop and other mobile device, and still have all your password info secure behind a separate, strong password.

        "What I'm waiting to hear about are the changes to iTunes and iPhoto. Some of the changes that went into iTunes 10 made a few people really mad - because one very useful feature was removed (to be able to create a mix on the fly without having to create a new playlist). I like the new iPhoto, but the features in Aperture are so compelling that I hardly ever use iPhoto anymore. What iPhoto needs is a built-in library manager like what is available in Aperture."

        John has more to say!  "I'm hoping they don't mess around with Pages and Keynote much (the way Windows did with Word and PowerPoint by restructuring the toolbar), but it would be nice if Apple offers a much larger selection of templates - for free.

        "The new Maps isn't terrific, and its location sensing is not as accurate as Maps in iOS (which would be useful for a laptop, but not necessarily so for a desktop), but it does have some new feature that makes it fun to play with - still not as much fun as using Google Earth.

        "There's a lot of noise by uninformed people about why Apple derailed the cat names for OS X versions when they adopted Mavericks."  John concludes his email with a picture of a Saber Tooth Tiger and the final touch of humor, "All I can think of for a title is 'Windows, you're my next lunch!'"  

How to Update to iOS 6

        John Carter gives directions, "iOS 6.1.2 update is available. How should you proceed? This notice is going out to a large group of people, and you may get this notice more than once. If you do not own an iOS device, you may disregard this notice.

        "First, how often do you perform a backup of your iOS device (iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone)? Did you know that you can backup your iOS device either by connecting it directly to your computer, or by Wi-Fi if you have the option set in iTunes to do a sync with the device over Wi-Fi? For the iPhone and iPod Touch, you can also set an option to automatically sync the device when the device is connected to the computer (this option is not available for the iPad)."

        Here's John's next suggestion, "Backing up an iOS device can be done to either a Cloud storage or to your computer using iTunes. Most devices can exceed the free 5GB storage of any Cloud storage, so it's probably best to backup to your computer."

        And, now for a caution, "Also, before doing a backup or an update, do an update of iTunes, sync your device, and then perform a backup followed by the update. You should also then perform another backup after the update is complete. The before update is necessary in case something goes wrong with the update process and you need to restore and start over again.

        "When you connect your iOS device to your computer, iTunes may automatically start up. If it doesn't, you'll have to manually start iTunes. When iTunes starts, you may get a notice that an update for the device is available. If you haven't done a device backup since the last time you made any changes to the content of the device, you should cancel the update, perform a sync, then perform a backup, and then do the update followed by another backup".

        Pay attention to John's warning, "If you find that when doing an update using iTunes that the downloaded file is corrupt (the update is approximately 1GB, and a file this large may not be properly handled), rather than perform the update using iTunes, try the update from the device itself (Settings -> General -> Software Update). One setting in 'Disk Utility' may be the culprit of a corrupt download. That setting is 'Verify Checksums' (open Disk Utility -> Preferences and uncheck that option). 

        "Even with this option unchecked, the large file might still be corrupt. Another possible cause of a corrupt download is some firewall setting in the Internet modem (unproven). If that happens, then it is really necessary to perform the update from the device itself. To do that, disconnect the device from the computer, power-cycle the device, and then go into Settings -> General -> Software Update. You may even find that the download goes much faster when updating from the device."

        Now, a call for patience!  John says, "In all, it may take several minutes to do all these steps, so your patience is necessary.

        "Following this procedure will ensure that your device will be updated properly and your content will not be lost."

        And, in closing John reviews it: 

1. Update iTunes.
2. Sync your device to iTunes.
3. Backup your device.
4. Perform the update either from iTunes or from the device.
5. Backup your device again.      (Got it? Thanks to John Carter!) 

Answering iTunes Questions

        John Carter sends some important info:  "Take Control of iTunes 11: The FAQ" now answers iTunes 11 questions.
        "Few upgrades of late have engendered as much press - and hand-wringing among users - as iTunes 11. It's not surprising - millions of people rely on Apple's media management tool for a wide variety of tasks, but the new version revamped the interface and moved controls for many long-standing features.
        "If you've upgraded to iTunes 11 and are having trouble navigating its new interface or figuring out how best to use the new Up Next feature or the changed Genius, Shuffle, Search, and MiniPlayer features, help is now available in Kirk McElhearn's freshly published Take Control of iTunes 11: The FAQ. Written in question-and-answer style with a strong focus on audio and video, this 192-page guide will help you take your iTunes know-how to 11 thanks to chapters such as Play, Rip, Buy, Tag, Organize, Search, and Sync that cover the basics and beyond. Start answering your iTunes 11 questions today! 
        "The book normally costs $15, but the 30% MUG discount drops that to $10.50. Learn more about the book via the coupon-loaded link here:  http://tid.bl.it/tco-itunes11-mug-discount "

Let There Be Music

         "If you like to listen to internet radio while on your computer, here's another way to locate and play a radio station in iTunes," begins Jim Hamm.  

        He goes on to be specific:  "First, open this URL, enter a ZIP code, or radio station call letters, or type of music. Do a search. Pick a station. For example, I entered our ZIP code in Scottsdale and picked an AM station in Phoenix, AZ that plays 'oldies', clicked the small lightning icon in front of the station. It automatically downloaded the URL stream in the downloads folder to the right of the Address Bar in Safari. I clicked this download and it opened iTunes and added the radio station to 'internet songs' in iTunes. Now when I want to listen to this station on my computer I just open iTunes, click this station and listen away."

       Does it always work this way?  Jim answers, "I've found, however, that not all radio stations are broadcasting in a format that is, I assume, compatible with iTunes since they won't load. I'm going to experiment  more to see if I can find what causes this anomaly.

        "Another alternative, and perhaps simpler, in your iTunes Library select Music, then Radio, and pick a radio station from the list. I'm listening now, for example, to a station in Boston broadcasting Celtic music."

        He closes with,  "iTunes is available for Windows as well as OS X. Here's more info on this."

iTunes: Combining Songs into an Album

        That busy guy is at it again!  Thanks to John Carter for writing a detailed report on how to combine songs you've imported to iTunes into an album.  The full details are now posted (thanks to our busy webmaster, Mary Ann Clark!) over on the PMUG website.

An iTunes Tip

        "According to this tip, you can again review and eliminate duplicate songs in iTunes 11.0.1," Jim Hamm informs us. 

iTunes Upgrade Described

        Ready to upgrade to iTunes 11?  Jim Hamm sends helpful comments: " I upgraded to iTunes 11 last eve and there are two video tutorials available to watch when iTunes 11 is opened. These give a good overview of the changes in iTunes. Watching these two tutorials plus the tips in the link I sent out should get everyone off to a good start."  And "here's some tips that might help you." 

       Jim closes with,  "I'm listening to music on the internet through iTunes as I type this."
       Oh, he's back with more! "Here is a review of iTunes 11 by Gizmodo that explains the changes. When it's opened, iTunes uses 148 MB of memory on my Mac while Skype, as a comparison, uses 168 MB. One nice aspect of the upgrade, as commented on in the article, is that iTunes has been streamlined and is more responsive to commands." 

iCloud Vulnerability, Continued . . .

        Here's another story in the saga about iCloud vulnerability, sent to us by Jim Hamm.  He comments, "Apple has an article explaining what to do about iCloud if you plan to sell your Mac or other Apple device.

        "What is not clear in Apple's article (at least to me) is that your device must be connected to the internet to decommission iCloud. Although, thinking about this, it does make sense. But it's easy to overlook, and it could be made plainer.  

        "As a side note, one must also de-authorize the device from iTunes as well before selling your Mac or other Apple device. If I recall correctly, only five devices can be authorized to play iTunes under one account.

        His final comment, "I imagine we'll learn more about the pros and cons of using iCloud as time goes on." 

Back Up iOS to iCloud & iTunes Simultaneously

        "Here's a backup tip that appears, at first read-through (to me, anyway), a bit confusing," begins Jim Hamm.  He explains,  "Upon further cogitation, I think what it's saying is, when you're backing an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) up to the Cloud, to do a backup to iTunes as well. This requires an extra 'click', but once the data is in iTunes as well as iCloud, the data will also be backed up into Time Machine (from iTunes) the next time you run Time Machine. Pretty neat idea, and I haven't been doing this when backing up to the Cloud -- but I will now."

Take Control of iTunes 10

        Take control:  those two little words grab your attention?  John Carter helps us out, "The 173-page Take Control of iTunes 10: The FAQ, Second Edition is bursting with answers to all your iTunes questions, and it has a special new chapter devoted to explaining iTunes in the Cloud features, including iTunes Match. The author, Kirk McElhearn is a Senior Contributor to Macworld, where he writes frequently for the Playlist column. It normally costs $15, but is only $10.50 for MUG members using this link:   http://tid.bl.it/itunes-faq-mug-discount
        "Kirk helps you appreciate and understand the process of adding media to iTunes, tagging it, adding album artwork, and organizing it into playlists. By following his setup advice, along with the many other tips in the book, you can enjoy your music, movies, audiobooks, ebooks, and more without hassles when it's time to find a particular item or when you want to do something special like sync a subset of music to your iPod, create a party playlist, identify music you haven't heard in a while, or listen to the chapters in an audiobook in order.
        Take Control of iTunes 10: The FAQ includes a pair of coupons. You can save $5 on Equinux's SongGenie tool for automatically filling in missing album artwork, fixing incorrect song titles, adding lyrics, and identifying unknown songs. And you can save $3 on Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil software for playing audio wirelessly to any source."
        John closes for now with this, "PS: Don't miss the just-released Macworld iPhone 4S Superguide, a 268-page ebook that provides setup advice; details on most of Apple's apps; insider suggestions for working more efficiently; ways to work with music, photos, and video; a thorough troubleshooting chapter; and recommendations for cases, headphones, speakers, and more. It's also 30% off via: http://tid.bl.it/iphone-4s-superguide-mug-discount

Features of iTunes 10.3

Yesterday our busy PMUG guy Jim Hamm sent this article for our on-going education in new things: "Apple released iTunes 10.3 late on Monday, bringing several features introduced earlier on Monday to users. New features include automatic downloads that push newly purchased iTunes music, iBooks, or apps to all your Mac and iOS devices, the ability to (re)download previous iTunes purchases, and the ability to (finally) shop for iBooks books through iTunes on your Mac."

iTunes Trouble?

        AppleInsider tells that some users updating to iTunes 10.1.1 have reported it caused iTunes to crash.  Be sure to read this before downloading it. Apparently Apple's standalone iTunes installer appears to run without any problems.
        Jim Hamm had found an article describing and showing comparisons of Macs over the last 5 years.  That was interesting, but the headline below it about iTunes got my attention!

Turn Off "Ping"

Here's a suggestion from Jim Hamm.  "If you have no interest in participating in the music social network "Ping" (which I don't) in iTunes '10, here is an article on how to turn it off (which I did)."
     Questioning Jim about his opinion of changes in iTunes '10 he informs us, "It seems fine to use, with slight differences than the prior version."  Macworld describes the changes here.