If you get a message that claims to be from Apple about your iTunes Account - DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK! This is a scam. Here’s an image of the message that I just received. This message has been sent to abuse@apple.com in hopes that they can find this guy and send him to jail.
To help us identify what is a scam or phishing email, Apple has provided the following website:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht204759
John Carter
Occasionally I will watch a YouTube video. Probably you do, too. I hadn't thought much about how it was financially supported. It is owned by Google, and apparently has been losing big money every year. Presumably Google is trying a way to make money on YouTube by introducing YouTubeRed -- a monthly paid-subscription service for videos. There are varied blogs on this concept. Here's one opinion. And here's another blog from a few months ago, blaming the app Adblock (which blocks ads on websites) for causing a significant reduction in income generated from clicking advertising links. Such as on YouTube.
I have used Adblock in the past (I don't now) -- especially when the ads became so obtrusive they made it difficult to read or enjoy a website. But the second blog makes a valid point by mentioning all the blogs and newsletters we get to read on the internet, usually free, aren't free at all. The writers need to be paid. So, how do they get paid? By advertising.
The reduction in ad revenues has seriously affected the publishing business -- look at the impact on magazines and newspapers. We've been doing our reading on the internet, usually for free! Will the reduction in ad revenue start affecting the amount and quality of what we're now able to read on the internet? Interesting question.
Should we all stop using ad blockers of any kind on websites so our internet reading remains free? Or?
Jim Hamm
If you already have the new Apple TV, or are thinking about getting one, here is an article that may be helpful. Jim Hamm
In David Passell's opinion, the Apple TV 4 is disappointing and not worth upgrading to if you have a 3. http://www.zdnet.com/product/apple-tv-2015/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
Okay, this article may be a bit more technical than you would normally read, but I found it interesting. You may too, and it's worth a read -- at least I thought so. This article explains how every internet-connected device and website is assigned a unique number -- that's how they find each other. Briefly stated: all the unique numbers available under IPv4 (which is what we've been using for years) have been used in North America. What to do and what does this mean for you? That's what the article is all about. Go to IPv6. The article reminds me that I probably need to update the router we have in our house. It is an Apple Extreme Router, and I believe it is about 8 years old. Still working fine, but it does need to be upgraded, for a variety of reasons -- not just because of eventually going to IPv6.
Jim Hamm
An email you received contains an underlined URL for you to click to see something online. But should you click to open something you’re not sure about?Hold your horses! Put your cursor somewhere in that URL, but don’t click. Quickly a little box comes up right there attached to the pointing finger of your cursor. It gives you the whole URL so you can decide if it is something you want to click and open, or not.
Elaine Hardt
Elaine Hardt found this short piece posted in the November issue just out from Popular Mechanics giving a few details about an biodegradable, environmentally friendly microchip. Why? How? When? It is on page 86 of the magazine.
Your TV, phone, and Xbox are hard to get rid of, and not just for sentimental reasons. The electronic devices we use every day are powered by microchips, and those microchips contain precious or harmful elements like silicon, gold, gallium, and arsenic. You don't want these things sitting in landfills, where the chemicals can leak into the ground. But right now that's exactly what many do. This issue prompted an idea from University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Jack Ma and his team: Why not make the chips out of wood? The crucial circuits are still made of silicon or gallium arsenide, but in a quantity up to five thousand times smaller than that of typical chips. Those circuits, about a hundred nanometers thick, are placed on a base of cellulose nanofibril—wood that has been broken down to the nanoscale, then reassembled into what is essentially a thin, durable paper. The result is a biodegradable, environmentally friendly microchip. Consumers won't be able to buy the chips directly, but Ma says that three major computer chip manufacturers could soon be making them. —Jake Cappucino
New York Times article recently appeared that once again claims that recycling is a waste (pun intended) of time and money. Is this something like the argument over global warming? What does make sense to John Carter is to increase the cost of collecting garbage and let some of that money go into research for developing better biodegradable products.
This has nothing to do with a Mac, unless you consider that sometime in the future it won’t matter if you dump your old Mac in the trash - because it will simply disappear as another biodegradable item. Just don’t let it get wet while you’re using it.
If you can get your hands on a copy of the November issue of Discover magazine, take a peek at the article on “Meet the Lean, Green, Flying Machine,” or how to make an almost fully biodegradable drone. Yep, we’re getting there.
Jim Hamm found a good review of El Capitan by Ars Technica here.
Check out the weekly InfoManager update on our Apple User Group page for interesting news tidbits about the world of computing and the web. This week find out more about adding 3D text to photos, the best free Mac apps, software for children (and grandchildren, and more.
Costco is offering a top of the line hearing loss solution for - not $7500 - only $1800. And this unique hearing aid can be adjusted using your iPhone or iPad! What's more, this hearing aid can receive phone calls, music, podcasts and other audio directly from Apple iPhones, iPads or iPod Touch devices without requiring an intermediate streaming device.
Jim Hamm submitted this article by a more-than-pleased user of the Kirkland Signature 6.0 hearing aid. And John Carter did a little research on it and found this article by another pleased user. There are literally dozens of more-than-pleased reviews about that particular hearing aid, and you can get these reviews just be searching with this phrase: "kirkland signature hearing aids reviews." Or this: "Kirkland Signature 6.0 hearing aids."
Take a look in the Member For Sale page of the PMUG website - there's a MacBook Air for sale that you might be interested in. Posted 8/28/2015.
Jim Hamm likes to keep his eyes on the Internet for anything new and interesting. He has found something new about Amazon. If you shop on Amazon, Jim found an article that you may find interesting -- especially if you're a Prime subscriber. Also mentioned in the article is another website he hadn't heard of: jet.com. Jim plans to check out the news about Amazon here just to see what it's all about. How about you?
Jim Hamm sends us this tidbit about a new product: OnHub. For your possible interest, here is an informative article about OnHub -- the new router from Google. It will be interesting to read the blogs about OnHub once it's available for consumers. The features seem impressive. See the detail here.
Costco has this notice on their online photo center:
"We appreciate and thank you for your ongoing patience - we understand the impact this is having on each of you! Through today, we've made significant progress toward re-enabling the Photo Center site; however, there's additional work to be done before it's ready to go live. We know the previous anticipated dates have come and gone, but we're doing everything we can to bring a safe & secure site back on line as soon as possible. With that said, we are now anticipating that the site will be back online within the next 1-2 weeks. Thank you again for your loyalty and ongoing patience.
"The current coupon book, mailed or found in the Costco.com app, offers $10 Off Canvas Prints, valid 8/6 to 8/30/15. While we are unable to take your order online, we can fulfill your order at the Photo Center kiosk in most warehouses.* For assistance, please check with the Photo Center staff."
See http://www.costcophotocenter.com for a coupon. Hurry! This offer won't last.
Check out the weekly InfoManager update on our Apple User Group page for interesting news tidbits about the world of computing and the web. This week find out more about safenetting, cybersecurity, net neutrality, halloween fonts, Apple music, and more.
With a lot of help from friends, the Menu Bar of the PMUG website has been updated.
You can now access the PMUG meeting minutes directly from the Menu Bar instead of looking around for the link that is (still) buried in the Home page.
The other big change is that the Newsletter is no longer hosted by Blogspot. When clicking on the Newsletter item in the Menu, instead of being switched to a different website, the content of the Newsletter is shown in the current window/tab.
By the way, the Newsletter isn't really a Newsletter. Technically, it is a Blog. And we have a new Newsletter Editor. Her name is Sharon Walsh (backed up by John Carter). You can still submit your comments, news, photos, and favorite recipes by e-mail to "editor (at) pmug (dot) us". Sharon may possibly change the content (she is the editor after all), and then post it for you. Unlike other blogs, there is no way to directly post comments.
The presentation of the Newsletter hasn't changed (much). Instead of seeing all the tags on the right side, a list of past blogs by month is shown. If you want to find an article, simply enter a keyword in the Search bar to the right of the Menu bar (found on every page).
In fact, the Search bar in the Menu of the PMUG website is an excellent way to find anything in the PMUG website. Give it a try.
We've just found out that David Passell's wife, Betty, has passed away. David has served PMUG in a variety of positions and is currently treasurer. Give him an encouraging smile or pat on the back when you see him.
Here's a definite concern, from Prez Art Gorski. "For those of you with FaceBook accounts, and getting ready to upgrade to iOS 6 when it comes out, here's something else to worry about. iOS 6 will have the ability to sync your Contacts with your FaceBook friends. This is a two-way sync, so your Contacts (Address Book on older Macs) will potentially get a bunch of new information added. The problem is that FaceBook is scheming to increase the use of useless Facebook.com email addresses, and will send them to your Contacts.
Check out the story for the details. See here.
Here's a blurb forwarded from Jim Hamm from an article http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/ipad_squashes_laptops_on_way_to_world_domination/ on different ways the iPad is being used in a commercial basis. Jim grins, "Just imagine walking into a restaurant and the maitre de saying, 'your iPad will be right with you.'"
This article says, in part, "In the same way, restaurants are increasingly using iPads as a substitute for printed menus, even allowing customers at a table to place orders, largely eliminating the need for a waiter. A recent article in The New York Times makes clear just how far and how fast this cultural shift is occurring in still other areas:
"Macy’s is testing cosmetics stations where tablets offer reviews and tips. At C. Wonder, shoppers use a touchpad to personalize the lighting and music in dressing rooms…Nordstrom [has] introduced an app [that customers use] while shopping at Nordstrom rather than approach the sales staff. Nordstrom has added Wi-Fi to almost all its stores, in part so its app will work fast, and is testing charging stations and clusters of iPads and computers. Samsung [has been] considering adding iPads that offer live video chat with a Samsung salesperson at stores like Best Buy.
"While some may lament the loss of human interaction (and possibly jobs) that this shift may engender, I doubt such concerns will slow down the locomotive."