"If you travel," is how Jim Hamm begins. And he does travel! He goes on, "and would like to share a connection to the Internet in your hotel room, here is an article on how to go about setting it up." How to Share a Hotel Room’s Internet Connection Over Wi-Fi http://mac.tutsplus.com/tutorials/networking/how-to-share-a-hotel-rooms-internet-connection-over-wi-fi/
Warning About Internet Crooks
Alert and aware! Ward Stanke forwards a message from a Mac writer who details how thieves nearly switched his Social Security payments to a dummy bank account. Read and heed! Jerry King, the president of the Naples MacFriends User Group in Naples, Florida has written a Mac 411 article for the local newspaper titled "Internet Crooks Nearly Rerouted My Social Security Payments." It was published May 23. See the full article here.
Warning About Smartphone Photos
If you take photos with your smart phone and post them online you face a real risk of trouble. This 4 minute video is a must for you, your kids, your grandkids. Ginger Carlson found this website http://www.youtube.com/embed/N2vARzvWxwY?rel=0 and comments, "Everyone needs to see it."
Satisfied with Your Cable Company, etc.?
David Passell's sharp eye for interesting info found this and he writes, "I was not aware that so many people 'hate' their cable company. How about Cableone.net (is it associated with any listed in their table?
"NOTE: I thought CenturyLink was my landline telephone service which also provides Internet (speed 'up to' 10 MB. around 1 where I live, I am told). My personal feeling is until internet content delivery is not dependent on a two-way interchange of information (unlike off-air TV, satellite, and radio) between server and client there will always be a problem. The people who make money would not be happy with a different arrangement:(."
Here's one article: http://stopthecap.com/2013/05/21/earth-shattering-news-you-still-hate-your-cable-company/
Here's the American Customer Satisfaction Index, ACSI, dated May 2013. http://stopthecap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/acsi-quarterly-results-may-2013.pdf
Apple leads the cellular telephone score from ACSI, shown on page 13. A graph of customer satisfaction by industry is shown on page 17.
Internet Service Slow?
David Passell asks, "Has your internet service seemed slow lately? Here is a possible reason." The BBC article is titled, "Global internet slows after 'biggest attack in history.'
You Can Send to Kindle
" Here is a browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that enables one to send web articles, emails, etc., to any Kindle device for reading later. The article states an extension for Safari is coming soon," Jim Hamm informs us.
Library's Wireless Internet Speed
Curious about the wireless Internet speed at the Prescott Public Library? John Carter was and he passes along this info. He says the best place to get a speed test without all the ads, is available from CenturyLink here. However, you need Flash installed, and Apple doesn't like Flash, so you'll have to use Google Chrome to do a speedtest - even if you use the Ookla speedtest.
More About Library Access to the Internet
John's found out more about accessing the Internet at the Prescott Public Library. His complete report has now been posted to the PMUG website. Take a look at the details he explains under Benefits > Tips 'N Tricks. You'll also find there his slide presentation to the PMUG/PC meeting a few weeks ago. A big thanks to John Carter!
Internet Access at the Prescott Library
We thank John Carter for providing the following information:
Things have recently changed at the library. In order to access the Internet at the library, you need to do the following on the iPad, iPhone, or laptop:
1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Wi-Fi.
3. Click on the blue right-pointing arrow at the far right of the PPL entry.
4. In the HTTP Proxy section, click on the Auto tab.
5. Close that window and quit Settings.
You are now ready to get on the Internet at the library.
Want Internet Privacy?
Do you want privacy and security when you send something via the Internet? John Carter sends this link to a tutorial on PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). It’s 14 pages, printed out. He states, “The only thing that is absolutely secure is whatever you encrypt yourself that requires a key at the other end to decrypt.”
Try a New Browser?
Jim Hamm bravely steps forward to try a new browser and tell us about it. He announces, "A few days ago I installed a new browser on my Mac: Maxthon. I tried it to see if it would use less memory than Safari does after spending time on the web. My initial impression is that it does. I like it fine, but can't say that I like it better, overall, than any other browser. I tend to switch browsers occasionally, and they all seem quite satisfactory to me, except I feel Safari tends to hog memory more than other browsers. "Then, tonight, I read this review from Macworld about Maxthon for the Mac. Also, Maxthon is available for the PC as well. Click here. If interested, you might give Maxthon a try to see what you think."
Keep us informed on how it goes.
How the Internet Works
In only 3:22 minutes you can see how the Internet works, thanks to a youtube video sent to us from Jim Hamm. His comments: "You may have already seen this video of a simple explanation of how the Internet works. If you haven't seen it, take a look, it's very interesting.
"Some amazing attributes of the Internet to consider. Probably most of us just take it for granted, and don't appreciate that it works, that it's free, and it's fast. You send out a request to view a web page, and that simple request goes thousands of miles to a server located somewhere far away, and the answer comes back in thousands of packets before they're finally put back together and shown on your computer screen -- all in about a second!.
"To me, it's simply amazing that somehow the packets can all be put back together again. And remember, that request is moving close to the speed of light, which is about 186,000 miles per second!"
Jim's summary: "Just think, on your computer screen those pictures you're looking at, the video you're watching, the music you're listening to, the text you're reading -- all comprised of zeros and ones -- that's what your computer recognizes. Yes, the Internet and computers are simply amazing."
When this website comes up note the name of the company, upper left under the title. You can subscribe to this company's postings. Next to that says, "63 videos" and you can view their pictorial listings.
Beware Malicious Files on Olympics
A warning about your security when you browse the Internet for Olympic sites is posted. A San Jose tech security firm ThreatMetrix warns that a malicious file named "london-2012-olympic-games-day-by-day-schedule.pdf" has already been spotted. This is a 2 page article from San Francisco Chronicle newspaper with info on the Olympics websites.
On the Road? Keep Connected
Maybe you'll be traveling this summer? Jim Hamm sends some useful info. "Here's another way of staying connected to the internet when traveling: purchase a prepaid 3G plan using the Sprint cellular service. I'm not sure how widespread Sprint cell service is, but it can be checked out prior to purchasing a plan. If WiFi might not be available where you'll be traveling, but you want access to the internet, at least this is a reasonable option without a recurring monthly fee."
What Difference Does IPv6 Make?
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.)
How the Internet Works: Cleverly Shown
Curious as to how the internet works? (Of course! And it only takes three minutes to learn!) Jim Hamm found this clever presentation. He comments, "Take a look at this video of one example. The internet is really amazing in its complexity and functionality, and how well it gets the job done for all of us."
How to Access Internet Info
John Carter sends us a link for a free manual called, "Information Liberation: Your Guide to the International Web" from the makeuseof.com website. It details censorship in certain countries and corporate censorship such as media producers. The information download password is makeuseof and it is written by Jim Rion.
Travelers: Be Careful with Your Laptop
A travelers' warning from the FBI has come to our attention. Dated 5-8-12, http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams tells about travelers' laptops being infected with malicious software from using hotel Internet connections. Read the details and be careful.
Yes, You CAN Find It
Mac makes it easy for you to find what you’ve written and saved. Of course, it does take a little effort on your part. So you wrote about your dog, but you gave the piece a cute little title. Now, where is it? You could try Command + the space bar which opens the Spotlight at the upper right side of the menu bar. With a few key words typed in you might get some clues as where to look. You can click on an entry there and it will open, or hold the cursor there and it will identify where it is filed.
Better yet. Give yourself an assignment. Go to that list of stories or articles or poems you’ve written. Click to open one of them and see what key words would help you find it next time. Then close the piece, click on just the title in the list of documents. Do Command + i and it opens the Spotlight Comments box with the info of Kind, Size, Where, Created, Modified, Open with, Preview and Sharing & Permissions. Put in some key words in that Comments box. Close and smile; you’ve just made your life easier with Mac. Next time one of those key words might help Spotlight find your document.
You already know you can find things by date when you click View to make it sort by date. If you just wrote this piece last week or last month perhaps you can find it by date. When you have Finder open on the screen you can do Search For and choose Today, Yesterday, Past Week.
Finding That Comma!
Something sent to me for posting on the newsblog had some commas misplaced outside, instead of inside the quotation mark. I needed to check the whole document while it was still on my mind.
In Pages, the writing program I use, I opened the document and did Command + F for Find. I put a comma in the blank by the word Find. One by one, as I went Next each comma in the writing came up highlighted. I could see the ones which were properly placed, and several that needed fixing. How easy is that! Find not only finds words that you want to locate, but can help you use your punctuation correctly. Sometimes in a font the exclamation mark looks too close, so I find each of them, highlight one of them at a time and change it to italic!
Finding Help For Your Grammar
Need some help with punctuation or grammar? Here are several websites, quick and easy to read. Info from Purdue University, examples, etc. Examples from Stage Door, short and to the point. Lots of links, samples, specific info from the University of Northern Iowa.
Finding Info on the Internet
What a relief. We no longer have to correctly type in http:// and the correct and complete URL of some site. Key words can help Google or Yahoo, whoever, come up quickly with a list of suggested sites. One of them on the first page is probably the one you want!
Finding Yourself on the Internet
Yes, the search engines know where to find you. Take a look. I’ve used Google as the example, but try also other search engines listed & described here.
Where do you live? Google Maps can show you. Enter your address. Click on the Yellow Man and drag towards the marker Google has placed. Neighborhood streets that have been filmed by the Google camera vehicle are shown now in blue. Up comes street view. Don’t like what they show? You can contact them about your concerns. What does your old house in Phoenix look like now? Are they keeping the yard looking nice?
If you enter your name in the Google search box and place quotation marks around it you can find websites that mention you by name, or other people with YOUR name. Interesting to see how many of “you” there are in the US.
You can also put your name down under Google Images and see what comes up! In my example, up came book covers and people’s photos from websites that have quoted a poem or writing of mine.
Been mentioned on the Daily Courier lately? Look under Find It for classifications such as Archive, Photo Gallery, Sports, etc. If you want to submit a great photo this is where to go.
Finding What Apple Is Doing
Keep up with the latest on Discussions and Widgets. Anyone download the “Boredom Button”? The Apple Store has items and prices, but also links to education, business, international stores, government and military, special deals, and click to talk to an Apple Specialist.
Routing and Other Info
Wonder how messages are sent across the Internet? John Carter recommends this week's Tech Tuesday that tells about routing and ICP/IP. He declares it's a good instructional article, but I found the layout on the page frustrating. John is going to email the writer and hopefully by the time you look it up it will have a more professional look.