Can You Solve This Problem?

Anyone have an idea for solving David Passell’s problem? He describes it like this, “The problem is getting an older beige G3, running Jaguar 10.2.8, to connect to the Internet. (At first he said the problem was an older G3 iMac, running Tiger.) Read on, to see if this computes with you . . . Then please write to David.

"My wireless Router, a Linksys WRT54G, is remotely located (about 75 feet) from my computers. It is hardwired via a CAT 5 cable to a CommSpeed 'wireless modem' which is further remotely located (in a shed window) to get a decent signal.

"My Mini which is located at the same location as the iMAC has Snow Leopard and, of course, built-in Airport.  With the Mini, when I turn it on I see the wireless fan in the top menu and Internet connectivity is just there. I don't recall doing anything special except finding the identifier for my Router (W...W...), asking to join the network, and entering a password. In my case it is a WEP 64bit binary requiring the entry of 10 binary digits. Then I am connected. Speed is usually around 1.5 MBs.

"Similarly with the LINUX OLPC, i just find the symbol for the network, click on it, enter a password, and I have connectivity.

"The iMAC is a totally different cat. I am using a rather elderly D-link DWL 810 bridge connected to the Ethernet port.  The first step to connecting is to use a browser (Firefox) to access the DWL via its identifier (192.168.0.30). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Apparently I have to reset (button on the back) the DWL or else the browser reports I'm not connected.

"Then I am to go to a 'wizard' and get around to searching to find the ID of the Router, click a connect button, enter the 10 binary digits (note: I use WEP because that is the only kind of security offered by that device) and then hope.

"The Preference Pane of the OS X gets into the act as well as diagnostics and network connect. I am offered umpteen choices of interacting settings. There I start going around in circles. Nothing achieves the desired result of accessing the Internet.

"Before I go out and just buy a 75 foot Cat 5 cable from the iMAC to my router, does anybody have any idea how I might connect my iMAC wirelessly; perhaps I should scrap the DWL and purchase a USB plug-in 'bridge' (sorry about the fuzzy terminology) that I see some Laptop owners use to connect to WiFi nets. I am having great difficulty understanding why this no longer works."

In conclusion David adds, “Even more mystified why that more primitive machine worked and the much later iMac with Tiger won’t.  Can anybody help?”

Mac Makes It Easy

       "Learn Without Limits," so declares the email from Apple today. Tips and videos will tell how to organize your mail, straighten up your files, and lists resources  for business that will help you learn about networking, storage, security, collaboration, media creation, and more.
       Remember, to find a specific word on the page you're looking at do Command + F and type the word in the search box that comes up.

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What's the Best Home Page?

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Want to simplify the Home Page in your Browser?  Jim Hamm shares some info. "Usually I use iGoogle as my home page, but it contains a lot of information and portals to other websites. It needs a good broadband connection to load quickly. When I'm traveling, quite often the WiFi signals are weak and I need something that loads quickly. This article gives some examples of MSN, Bing, iGoogle, Fav4.org.  Here's the one I might use because you can set up four links you frequently use, and it loads quickly."

Clutter on the Desktop: 5 Solutions

Have you ever wondered how to unclutter your desktop when you have multiple applications running at the same time? John Carter to the rescue!

"Let's say you have Mail and Safari and Finder and iTunes and iChat and iPhoto all running at the same time. The iTunes application is on top and buried somewhere behind it is Mail. How to find the Mail app? Well, don't do it by closing down applications.

As you know, there are at least always three ways to accomplish the same thing on a Mac. (And John proceeds to give us FIVE ways!)

1. The simplest way to bring an open application to the front (from behind other apps) is to find the icon for that application in the Dock and click on it.

2. Another simple method is to press Function key 9. This spreads out all the applications in smaller images across the desktop. Select the one you want to be in front.

3. Using the mouse isn't always fun for me because I like to keep my hands on the keyboard, so holding down the Command key and tapping the Tab key brings up a row of icons across the middle of the screen. The first icon on the far left is the application that is currently on top. While holding down the Command key, continue tapping on the Tab key and each icon in the row will highlight in turn. When you get to the application you want to be on top, let go of the Command key. Pressing the Shift key with the Tab key selects the previous icon in the row (moving right to left instead of left to right). You can also simply select the desired icon with the mouse and when you release the Command key that application will pop to the front.

4. You can assign applications to always be displayed in its own separate desktop window using Spaces (for Leopard and Snow Leopard only). Spaces is also known as Virtual Desktop. This method gets a little more technical, but plenty of help is available using Mac Help (select Help in the Finder, then select Mac help, then enter 'spaces' in the search bar). With Spaces, you can assign iChat to Space 2, iTunes to Space 3, iPhoto to Space 4, and allow Mail, Safari and Finder to be in all spaces (Mail cannot be assigned to any one Space, it is always displayed in all Spaces). You can create as many Spaces as you like. Each Space can be activated (brought to the front, so to speak) by pressing the Control key and a number key that corresponds to the Space number, or by pressing the F8 key (you can assign this function to any function key) and selecting from the displayed miniature Spaces. This could be fun, and it's the preferred method I use for putting certain apps in their own Space.

5. Yet another way to keep your desktop uncluttered is to switch your Mac from the default Multi-application mode (where all applications are stacked on the screen) to Single-application mode (where you only see on the desktop the one application that you are working with). This requires using a Terminal and entering command lines. The complete instructions can be found here.

Do you know of another way to pop an application to the front? Send your suggestion to editor@pmug.us. "

E-Card Scam?

Here's something to watch out for: an e-card scam. David Passell passes along this warning:  "I got this message today. I am always suspicious of them, even the ones that Bobby sent for my birthday and Valentine's until I have verified with the sender. I went to the Hallmark.com website and after having been led through a 'labyrinth' of possibilities (including giving a name, email and phone number), to ask them a question, I determined that whenever you get a message like this you should forward it to
abuse@hallmark.com which i did.

"I am forwarding my copy of the email to them. I do not understand why these companies that are so attempting to protect their image make it so difficult to determine how to forward a question on the legitimacy of an email that purports to come from them. I would think that information would be right at the top of their home page. When you forward an email be sure to first select 'View long headers' as I have done. Notice the text in red that follows 'X-spam-report.'"

Date: February 20, 2010 6:54:26 PM MST
To: abuse@hallmark.com
Subject: Fwd: You've received A Hallmark E-Card!

Begin forwarded message:
From: hallmark.com
Date: February 20, 2010 4:27:20 PM MST
To: davidrex@northlink.com
Subject: You've received A Hallmark E-Card!
return-path: root@mail.krankenhaus-hale-saale.de
return-path: root@mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de
received: (qmail 20765 invoked by uid 1034); 20 Feb 2010 23:28:13 -0000
received: from spam2.commspeed.net (216.19.2.15) by 0 with SMTP; 20 Feb 2010 23:28:13 -0000
received: From mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de (80.64.188.130) by spam2.commspeed.net (MAILFOUNDRY) id nFRKCB53Ed+CoQAw for davidrex@northlink.com; Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:28:13 -0000 (GMT)
received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]) by mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de with esmtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1NiyjL-0005FC-Ne for davidrex@northlink.com; Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:27:24 +0100
received: from mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by localhost (AvMailGate-2.1.4-7) id 20138-0UI6M4; Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:27:22 +0100 (CET)
received: from root by mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de with local (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1NiyjI-0005EH-PY for davidrex@northlink.com; Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:27:20 +0100
x-envelope-from: root@mail.krankenhaus-halle-saale.de
x-envelope-to: davidrex@northlink.com
content-type: text/html
message-id:
x-antivirus: checked by Avira MailGate (version: 2.1.4-7; AVE: 7.9.1.172; VDF: 7.10.4.104; host: router2); id=20138-0UI6M4
x-spam-score: -1.3 (-)
x-spam-report: Spam detection software, running on the system "router2", has identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label similar future email. If you have any questions, see the administrator of that system for details. Content preview: You have recieved A Hallmark E-Card. Hello! You have recieved a Hallmark E-Card. To see it, click here, [...] Content analysis details: (-1.3 points, 5.0 required) pts rule name description ---- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 0.2 NORMAL_HTTP_TO_IP URI: Uses a dotted-decimal IP address in URL -2.6 BAYES_00 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 0 to 1% [score: 0.0000] 0.0 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message 0.0 MIME_HTML_ONLY BODY: Message only has text/html MIME parts 0.0 MIME_HEADER_CTYPE_ONLY 'Content-Type' found without required MIME headers 1.1 HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG HTML-only message, but there is no HTML tag 0.0 AWL AWL: From: address is in the auto white-list
-----------------

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How To Find It

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Trying to find something you wrote or something you filed? Several simple solutions are at your side, just see which applies for your particular needs.
          When you click on Finder (the smiling face icon) in your Dock notice that under Devices and Places there’s a triangle next to Search For. Click under Today, Yesterday, or Past Week.
          When the window comes up notice that the tool bar gives 4 choices:(Double click to enlarge.)
First one, left to right: items come up as icons which you can rearrange.

The second choice is List view. Here you can click Date Modified and things arrange from first to last, or last to first date. Click on Name and they come up in alphabetical order, either A to Z or Z to A.
The third view shows Columns and expands to the right side as you open something from one folder to another. Note the two short lines. Double click to expand the width of the open column.

The fourth choice of View opens Cover Flow. Try it out and see what comes up!
Then click on Action and note your options here. Could be useful, yes?
          Go to the Menu Bar at the top of your screen. Under File find Label. There are 7 colors and X which reverts back to no color at all. You could assign a certain color for documents or a folders. Here you invent a system to help find things.

          You can also do Command + space bar to quickly open the Spotlight for Search. A few key words will help you automatically find that document, email, or folder you want.
          To find a word inside a document do Command + F and type in the word. It will be highlighted throughout the document you have open.
          With your Mac you can find things!
Let us know how you’re exploring and discovering new short-cuts and tips. This is how we all help make PMUG an interesting and helpful organization.
Be sure to bookmark the PMUG site, http://www.pmug.us/index.html
Subscribe (Posts:Atom at the bottom of the home page)
to our news blog which is frequently updated:  http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/

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Finding a PMUG Writer

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You’ve found this blog and are informed and entertained by reading it. You’ve noticed quotes from De Prez Allen Laudenslager and others. In fact, you just read something sent to us from John Carter yesterday. You can find all the other information a particular person has sent. Go to the top of this Home page, fill in the little search box with a name and let the Blogspot do the finding for you. Other contributors include Art Gorski, David Passell, Roger Lakner, De Former Prez Jim Hamm and Bill Williamson.  

If you subscribe to Google Alert you can also be notified when one of your favorite writers has something posted here or elsewhere on the Internet. Go to Google Home Page, under More, and then Even More.  Click on Alerts and sign up for the person or topic of your choice.  You'll get notified by email. Nifty!

Deciphering the URL & More To It

If you receive emails or emailed forwards or if you notice ads on websites you may wonder where it comes from.  This website lists alphabetically those two letter abbreviations on the end of URLs.

Now, thanks to Art Gorski we learn more:  "Actually, that website doesn't list 'URL's, it lists the codes for the Top Level Domains (TLD). The second, third, and so on 'levels' are listed to the left of the TLD in each URL, separated by periods. So in www.pmug.us, us is the TLD, pmug is the second level (everything at PMUG), and www is the third level (the web server at pmug). You could have other third level devices, like a server at server.pmug.us for example.

"A fun thing to do with TLDs is to purchase a personal domain for yourself. For instance, I've thought about getting 'art.gors.ki'. Just because I don't live in Kiribati doesn't mean I can't own a domain name registered there. ;-)"

Glad To See It Solved

Another happy report of a PMUG member helping solve somebody's problem.  This time it's John Carter to the rescue.  He details the success, "I met with (prospective new member) this morning and we determined what all she needed to do to be able to edit the videos that she took with the Sony camcorder which records movies to a 3"(?) mini-disk.

Simple.
1. Use a PC to copy the VOB files (.vob) from the mini-disks to an external hard drive (or connect an external DVD player directly to the Mac - the player will play the mini-disks and the Mac can see the content like any external drive).
2. Connect the external hard drive to the Mac (if an external DVD player wasn't used).
3. Download and install the mpeg-2 codec ($19.99 + tax) from Apple Store to be able to view the VOB files using MPEG Streamclip.
4. MPEG Streamclip can then export the VOB files to a .dv format (or other appropriate format).
5. Import the converted files into iMovie and edit.

"I tried to use Quicktime Player 7 to view the VOBs, but it stop reading the files when it encountered the first time gap. MPEG Streamclip recognizes the time gaps and allows you to fix them, thereafter playing the entire set of VOBs.

"Quicktime Player 10 (for Snow Leopard only) will not recognize the VOBs even with the mpeg-2 codec installed, so for those Snow Leopard users, keep your Quicktime Player 7 installed."

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Flash Player Problem -- Solved!

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     This just in from John Carter: If anyone finds that they are unable to view the videos at http://tv.adobe.com, you're not alone. That problem has been discovered recently by several Mac users.
Viewing a Flash Player video at other sites, even other Adobe sites, is, for the most part, okay (with some notable exceptions).
     If anyone out there can see the videos at tv.adobe.com, please DON'T UPDATE ANYTHING! Notify John Carter immediately and give him an opportunity to figure out why your machine works and others don't.
     And now.....the rest of the story.  Problem solved!
     John found the problem with his Mac that prevented him from seeing the videos at http://tv.video.com. It turned out to be a file in ~/Library/Preferences. Troubleshooting this problem took the better part of a whole day.
     The problem was first isolated by logging in as another user. The problem was not there with the other user. So this meant that the problem had to be associated with one or more files in ~/Library/Preferences of his own login environment. It turned out to be a file associated with Macromedia. By removing the folder ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia and logging out and back in, the problem went away.
     When a file or folder is removed from ~/Library/Preferences, the application that used one or more of the files removed will recreate the files with default preferences information.
      Thanks, John for your persistence in working the problem through and sharing with the rest of us.  (It is sort of over my head.)

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Google Remembers You

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     Following up on PMUG blog posting of 10-24-09, “Do You Value Your Privacy?” here’s more.
     Read this article from Google on how to clear your address bar history, your toolbar history, and your search box history.
     This entry details how to delete your web history. You can also choose to stop your web history from being recorded in the future.
     Also, remember you can go to Safari and click to Clear History.
     Did you follow up on the suggestions from 10-24? You can delete Web History, Clear History, and delete Cookies.

Getting Mac Help

Need technical help with your Mac? John Carter to the rescue!  Here's his report.
"There are a number of ways to get help right in the comfort of your home. The three methods described here are Skype, Crossloop, and GoToAssist®Express.

Skype has a screen sharing mode. This allows others to see your screen, but they have no direct access to your Mac. Skype is free, but requires that you establish a Skype account. Skype screen sharing works with both Mac and Windows. With Skype, the two users are connected in audio/visual mode with just the one application. Using screen sharing with Skype incurs a noticeable and somewhat uncomfortable video time lag between users.

Crossloop is an application for both technical support people and end users (hire an expert or connect with a friend). Crossloop allows both screen sharing and access to your Mac. This application must be installed on each computer that is to use this feature, and there is a free version (comes with ads). This also requires both users to have an account with Crossloop. Crossloop works with Intel Mac (not PPC) and Windows. With Crossloop, the users must use a phone for audio connection. Connecting with a friend or expert is by invitation only. When the session is ended, the connection is lost. Using Crossloop incurs a noticeable and somewhat uncomfortable video time lag between users.

GoToAssist®Express is an application for tech support people for servicing clients. GoToAssist®Express allows both screen sharing and access to your Mac as a "guest" with the tech support person as the "host". This method installs a very small application on your Mac (the "guest") at the time of the session and the application may be removed when the session is over. This method does not require an account for the "guest", but the "host" (the tech support person) has to install an application on their Mac (Intel or PPC) or Windows machine. Using GoToAssist®Express incurs a reasonable monthly or daily fee to the "host" or technical support person. Usage by the "guest" is free and by invitation only from a "host", and this means that you, the guest, must first request technical support from a tech who has GoToAssist®Express. GoToAssist®Express works with both Mac and Windows. With GoToAssist®Express, the host and guest must use a phone for audio connection. There is minimal video time lag between users.

The video "time lag" experience can best be explained this way. When the "host" moves the mouse cursor across the "guest" screen, the guest mouse cursor will lag the host mouse cursor. If the time lag is long (resulting in jerky motions of the guest mouse cursor), the experience is not very pleasing to the host user. The amount of time lag experienced is also dependent on the connection speed of each user.

John tells us that his personal experience is that GoToAssist®Express works flawlessly and in near real time (minimal video time lag) and has the least impact on the client. John noticed that when using Crossloop, "Chicken of the VNC" was also launched on his Mac (that application creates a secure connection between two computers). GoToAssist®Express is John's preference for providing online technical support.