Widgets can give some quick information at the click of one key, coming up in front of whatever you're running. And so many choices!
Here's something to copy and print out for yourself. It may solve a big problem someday.
"This AM I got up and she booted up perfectly. I then called AppleCare and here's what I was told — it was static buildup probably caused by a power surge. I was told this is 'normal' but not something you want to happen frequently. He gave me a remedy to be used in the event you suspect you have a hardware problem. But, again, it's not to be relied on as a permanent fix because it can ruin the logic board. However, on occasion it is OK to do and will actually purge the computer of that extra static electricity buildup. It's called a PRAM reset, i.e, 'reset the power chip.' Here's what you do (Remember the computer is not on):
Disconnect the power cord from the computer (not the wall, leave it plugged into the wall)
Disconnect keyboard and mouse
Disconnect any other peripherals
Wait to hear three slow "bongs" (they're about 20 seconds a part - the same noise the computer makes when it's booting up).
Release the keys
Shut the computer down
Turn it on again.
"And there you have it - resetting the power chip or PRAM reset for beginners! Something to share with the others." Thanks, Jim, for sharing this info from Nancy.
Some of you may have decided to download NeoOffice for all of your Documentation, Presentation, and Spreadsheet needs (because it's free). Now what? John Carter shares some details here.
"Would you like to get to know this application a little better? What better way than with a tutorial that guides you through several practice items for each type of document? You can get this tutorial online as an eBook in PDF format here.
"That site contains links to several documents in the section labelled 'Download Documentation.' The one I recommend is OpenOffice.org 3x Conceptual Guides to get a thorough treatment of all aspects of NeoOffice. Please download any and all documents that pique your interest. And don't forget to grab the OpenOffice Lesson Files (a zip file that you have to unzip) that go with the OpenOffice.org 3x Conceptual Guides. Download all these files to the same folder in your hard drive where you can easily access them.
"Even though these documents are written for OpenOffice, they will work for NeoOffice. The differences will be slight, if any, and the compatibility is 100%.
"There are significant advantages to using NeoOffice over OpenOffice, mainly speed and in additional features added specifically for the Mac.
"The NeoOffice documentation shows how to create a PDF file using 'File->Export as PDF...', but sometimes that method doesn't result in a 100% accurate rendition of the file. The method I prefer to create a PDF file is to use File->Print, then select 'Save as PDF...' from the PDF button in the first print window:
"This gives you a 100% compatible output with the way it looks on the screen."
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The headlines (August 12, 2009) grab our attention. "Texas Judge Rules Microsoft Can't Sell Word Anymore." This article goes on to explain, "Microsoft Word's XML systems violate patents by Toronto-based i4i Inc. Word uses XML in reading and writing XML, DOCX, and DOCM files. The lawsuit alleges that MS violated i4i's 1998 XML patent #5,787,449. The injunction will go into effect in 60 days and prevent Microsoft from selling or demonstrating Microsoft Word. MS will have to pay i4i about $290 million in damages."
"Wow!" exclaims Jim Hamm. "Wonder why this patent violation took over 10 years for i4i Inc. to recognize and file suit, or maybe it's been working in the court system for 10 years. I presume MS will appeal this decision. In a decision like this, I wonder if retailers that have MS Word in stock can continue to sell the product until they run out?"
Here is one pertinent article, "i4i says it's 'not out to destroy' Microsoft Word."
Another article headlines, "Court Ban on Microsoft Word Won't Hurt Users."
This is i4i's own website here.
Ever ask yourself, "Where is my user guide?" Hmmmmmmm.
John Carter remarks, "So much time wasted looking all over the place for the instruction manual to tune the TV set, find the printer cartridge replacement how-to, the meaning of the blinking LED on the dashboard." He suggests we look here. An impressive list of manufacturers is posted. Looks like a site to bookmark.
More details on how well your Mac will implement Snow Leopard is sent to us from Jim Hamm. He tells us, "For example, my MacBook Air will not realize any improvement from the 'OpenCL' design because it doesn't have a supported graphics chipset. This won't bother me as I don't use my 'Air' for any intensive graphics work anyway. Otherwise, it looks like my 'Air' is good to go with Snow Leopard.
"Even if your particular hardware configuration won't fully support all the features of Snow Leopard, I think you'll still realize benefits, including freeing-up about 6GB of hard drive."
Take a look at the article from About.com and note that Snow Leopard is only for Macs that use an Intel processor.
Wondered why NetNewsWire doesn't give you a "new content" bullet? Art Gorski gives us this info. "If you use NetNewsWire as your RSS newsreader (instead of Apple's Mail or Safari), and you 'subscribe' to the PMUG website, you will have probably noticed that you don't get a 'new content' bullet when something changes on the website. But if you just select the feed you can see the dates when each website page was last updated, which is almost as good." (Double click on the illustration to see this example.)
Free Photoshop, Photography and Web classes are offered free from this site mentioned by Jim Hamm. CreativeTech Tips here Take a look and see if your creativity would appreciate this kind of information.
Leading a SIG has gone to Jim Hamm’s head. Now we can see he’s head and shoulders up over Prescott. Bobbie Pastor sent this clever email, made with a template from the stationery program from Equinux. Double click on the picture here to enlarge it.
Here's an article by Rob Griffiths explaining that he doesn't like the coming changes to NetNewsWire. Jim Hamm has this to say, "I presently use and appreciate the features of NetNewsWire, but don't use Google Reader nor do I try to sync my two Macs through or with NetNewsWire. I don't think I'll mind the advertising--businesses have to make money some way."
http://www.macworld.com/article/142032/2009/07/nnwsync.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_h_cbstories
If you use NetNewsWire, any thoughts--pro or con--on this coming change?
Here's an article that gives some details about the new update, 10.5.8. Thanks to Jim Hamm for this info: www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136311/Apple_patches_18_Mac_vulnerabilities_ships_OS_X_10.5.8
Changes will affect those of us who use NetNewsWire, according to a short note from Art Gorski. He says,"Many of us use NetNewsWire to aggregate RSS feeds and get our daily news. Unfortunately, version 3.2, now in beta test, will remove MobileMe syncing (useful for those with more than one Mac) and add advertising to the program unless you pay to not display ads. For those reasons I'm not going to upgrade from 3.1.6, and I recommend you don't either."
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/08/netnewswire-beta-beginning-of-transition-to-google-reader.ars
A stunning problem is brought to our attention by Bill Williamson. Facebook can use your photo in ads. Today's article, http://www.komando.com/tips/ reveals some troubling information. By using third-party applications offered on Facebook you give their developers access to your profile. That includes your photos. Social ads on Facebook have some access to your data. To avoid some scary problems read the whole article. Kim Komando tells you how to opt out and protect yourself.
The term "cloud computing" is coming to the fore. This article about the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas gets our attention with a focus on vulnerability and security. Take a look at this article, http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/07/black_hat_resea_1.html;jsessionid=B3JRGBXRCQ3C0QSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN
If you're a user of Skype you'll want to keep informed. De Prez Allen Laudenslager alerts us:
VoIP provider Skype is in serious jeopardy, eBay warned in a regulatory filing this week, saying its future depends on a court battle over rights to the company's core components and its own software-development efforts to replace the technology. The issue derives from a claim by Joltid, a company owned by the founders of Skype, that eBay has infringed on its patents after revoking the company's license. New York Times, (07/30) from SmartBrief.com/news/ Enter "Skype" in the search box.
A longer article at http://www.techdirt.com (scroll down to Skype Founders) goes into more detail.
Allen says, “eBay bought Skype but only licenses the core technology that makes it work. Now eBay and Skype are in court (in England) over the licensing issues. Without the core tech, eBay will have to close down Skype - a real loss for those of us that use it - and write off the 2.6 BILLION they paid for it." He concludes, “There are an estimated 40 million active users.”
Interesting commentary on PCs and Mac. De Prez Allen Laudenslager tells us he found this on the Daring Fireball blog http://daringfireball.net/2009/07/microsofts_long_slow_decline
"Microsoft has lost all but a sliver of this entire market. People who love computers overwhelmingly prefer to use a Mac today. Microsoft’s core problem is that they have lost the hearts of computer enthusiasts. Regular people don’t think about their choice of computer platform in detail and with passion like nerds do because, duh, they are not nerds. But nerds are leading indicators.
"This is true in many markets with broad appeal, not just computers. Microsoft is looking ever more so like the digital equivalent of General Motors. Car enthusiasts lost interest in GM’s cars long before regular people did; the same is happening with Windows."
Did you know that the Mac has a Terminal application for entering commands at the keyboard? Why would you want to do that? What's wrong with the graphical interface?
John Carter has some answers for us. "Well, for one, when you use the terminal both hands are constantly in the same position - over the keyboard - instead of one hand moving back and forth from the keyboard to the mouse. But if you're not a good typist that probably doesn't matter much to you anyway.
"Secondly, and this is probably the most important reason to use keyboard commands, the graphical interface actually hides a lot of functionality and detail from the user. Using keyboard commands gives you so much more control over what you want to see and do.
"Now here's an interesting tutorial that just might help anyone new to Linux to get used to keyboarding (as we call it).
"By the way, this tutorial will take you from 'why use a keyboard' to almost forgetting all about what a mouse is used for." http://osxfaq.com/tutorials/LearningCenter/
Updating what we posted on this blog on February 24:Have you solved RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to keep current with your favorite websites? You can set RSS for the PMUG site.
John Carter started us off on Monday with an email saying the RSS feed for the PMUG website appears to be working the way it should now. “After making two updates this morning, one in About Us and the other in Specials, I now see the update in my RSS feed as soon as I refresh the feed.”
I found his earlier email where John offers to help, "If you have any questions about how to subscribe to the PMUG RSS feed or whatever news reader to use, please send your questions." webmaster@pmug.us
Now, about using NetNewsWire as your RSS feed, http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswire/ Note that it’s a free Mac download.
Allen Laudenslager tells us, “In response to reports that the RSS button on the blog doesn’t work with NetNewsWire I found that if I open the PMUG blog in my web browser (Firefox) and highlight and copy the URL, then open NetNewsWire (my RSS reader) and lastly click on File and New Subscription a window opens that lets me paste the PMUG blog URL into NetNewsWire. Done this way, my reader automatically updates when something new is posted to the blog.”
Then to further clarify using NetNewsWire when it's open, Allen writes, “Click the Refresh All button on the top tool bar; that should bring in all the unread posts. You may have to highlight the oldest post and then move the cursor up to list them as read.”
Anybody else have comments about this?
Now, John Carter enters, "My impression is this: anyone can take the time, if they will, to forward their phones to any other number when they go on vacation. For busy business people with multiple phones, it might be appropriate to have one 'master' phone ring if any of the others ring, but to have ALL of them ring at once for ANY incoming call to ANY phone is a bit ridiculous. Still, I'm sure some Type A person will think that's a blessing."
Have you been receiving a "Session timeout" error message while trying to buy something from iTunes? Well, here's the odd (and easy) answer to that particular problem: your system clock isn't synchronized with Apple's! Although this is reported as a Windows problem, some Mac users are also experiencing this problem. Click on the title link above for the solution given by PCWorld. Or, if you want the Mac solution right now, open "Date & Time" in System Preferences, make sure that the box for "Set date & time automatically" is checked, and in the panel on the right select "Apple Americas/U.S. (time.apple.com)". Oh, and don't forget to set the correct time zone: Phoenix - U.S.A.
