Looks Phishy to Me

With a careful scrutiny David Passell detected another phishing scam.  An email purporting to be from some entity called "Usaa Military" and asking for him to verify his "account" had some tell-tale evidence.  First, he does not have an account with such a place, and when he viewed the ending of the long header he saw "nomad-tg.kz."  This Net URL page shows kz to be the Internet address abbreviation for Kazakhstan. Another good site for checking URL endings is wikipedia. Yes, David,  it does look a little phishy!

AT&T - Verizon - iPad Reviews

Jim Hamm sends us the latest info.  "Here is yet another review of the iPad. It is a good read and very thorough. It's interesting to note that most--all?--articles and blogs that I read give a 'thumbs down' to AT&T's cellular service. The article states 'Dumping AT&T altogether becomes more appealing by the day.' However, it seems that Apple and AT&T have a contract through 2011 or 2012 -- it's not clear to me which year it is."

Jim goes on to comment, "We have been reasonably satisfied with AT&T and its coverage with our iPhones, but we really haven't used the 3G coverage much since it isn't available in Prescott. When we're at the condo in Scottsdale we don't need 3G as we have wifi available. We have friends here in Prescott who tried the iPhone and AT&T and went back to Verizon. They liked the iPhone but not AT&T.

"I think AT&T's cellular network was not prepared for the data load placed on it by the iPhone. And, although Verizon has more 3G coverage than AT&T, I wonder how well their network would have performed if they had been the carrier? Maybe we'll never know.

"On the iPad itself, I think it is an interesting and well-built, quality device, but the more I read about it the less enthused I become in getting one, for a variety of reasons. For me, I think my MacBook Air is more of a practical and useful device."

Finding Tech Terms

          If you're looking for a definition to a technical term relating to computers, software, the internet, etc. Jim Hamm recommends this site. He notes, "Since acronyms are used frequently in speaking 'computerese' this site can be helpful in finding interpretations of what an acronym means."
          Interestingly, each term includes "a tech factor rating from 1 to 10, which indicates how advanced a term is. Terms with low tech factors are common and easy to understand, while terms with higher tech factors may be less common and contain advanced terminology. Terms with tech factors from 1 to 5 are typically important to know, while terms with tech factors from 6 to 10 are not as necessary to know. However, reading up on higher-rated terms may allow you to impress your friends,"  so says TechTerms.

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Facebook: Privacy, Security Concerns

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Here's the straight scoop from today's posting on PCWorld, "When a piece of software is automatically installed on your computer without your knowledge, it's called malware. But what do you call it when Facebook apps are added to your profile without your knowledge? We discovered Wednesday that this is actually happening, and stopping it isn't as easy as checking a box in your privacy settings."  Read the whole article and decide if your kids and grandkids need to know this, too.

More iPad Info

Yes, there's more about the iPad.  Gizmondo reviews it, but scroll closer to the bottom for lots of links, suggests Jim Hamm. And De Prez Allen Laudeslager was impressed with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' quote, "One million iPads in 28 days — that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone.” Read further in Wired.

See iPad's Innards

Nice photos here.  Jim Hamm alerts us to the website showing us the inside of the iPad 3G. "Here are pictures of what the inside of the iPad 3G looks like. I've looked at and handled the iPad wifi-only model, but haven't looked at the 3G version yet. I read one blog wherein the individual commented that watching a video using a 3G connection to the iPad wasn't so good: the download speed wasn't fast enough. He didn't mention how strong or weak the signal was. I'm sure there will be more commentary on this in the blogs. The same commentator mentioned that using wifi to watch a video was great with the iPad."

Here, Jim adds a side note about MiFi.  That deserves a separate posting, so look for it momentarily.

The A-List of Mac Software, Two Views

Always on the lookout for good "stuff" Jim Hamm recommends this article that lists the software and programs that the editor of Computerworld recommends for Mac.  Jim states, "I think highly of his opinions and comments.  He is a pragmatic and sharp individual, in my opinion.  Take a look at what he thinks is best."

Not everyone will agree.  Here's John Carter's assessment. "That blog doesn't do justice to Parallels, in my opinion. His A-list for Mac was updated last September and he didn't say what version of Parallels he was using. Version 4 of Parallels that I used last November was excellent, and Version 5 that came out in December is even better.

"He put Office for Mac 2008 on his A-list which I think was a grave mistake. He should have put NeoOffice on that A-list instead. No one should have to pay for something when there's an excellent substitute available for free."

How Long Will My Drive Last?

What about your hard drive?  Jim Hamm is concerned, and he shares his ideas, "Here is an article talking about how long the hard drive will last in your computer. Answer: about 3 years or so. The author said he talked to a 'drive' engineer whether it's better to leave the drive running all the time, or turning the computer off at night. According to the article, it doesn't seem to matter. I don't know 'beans' about drives, but it seems to me that something spinning all the time at 5400 rpm or so has got to wear out faster than if one shuts the computer down for several hours a day. But, who knows? I wonder what Apple might have to say about this question?

"I turn my Mac off each evening and start it up again in the morning. The article states there is wear and tear on the bearing doing that, which apparently negates the benefit of shutting it off. Still, I feel better using this procedure. My MacBook Pro is four years old now, so I'm listening for any 'grinding' noises which will probably indicate imminent failure. Sheesh!"

Is iTravel Coming?

Headlined, “Apple Travel App Patent Hints at Ticketless Airlines” this entry from Cult of Mac intrigues us with the possibilities of an iTravel App. Check in wirelessly, identify you with airline and security personnel, and help you find RFID-tagged luggage -- all of this -- and an electronic wallet using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. Thanks to Jim Hamm for alerting us to this article.

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Organizing Mail Before Forwarding or Replying

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Here David Passell outlines a technique for organizing mail, using the Thread feature in Mail.

1. Under View drop down check 'Organize by Thread.'Also click on From, To, Subject, Date Received (either latest last--arrow down, or latest first--arrow up) as desired

2.  Highlight all the Email messages in a thread. (or other subject of interest)

3  Do a copy (CMD-C)

4.  Open a New Message in Email

5.  Do a paste (CMD-V) of what is copied.

6.  On the message, do a SAVE, then CLOSE. I am asked if I want to save as a draft, and I say yes.

7.  Find it in Drafts, open it, and do desired editing. (suggest removing all the header except sender and recipient, and all the footer text. Also remove the duplicates of previous messages.

8.  Enter - To: desired recipient (can be yourself), any Cc: or Bcc: Subject:

9.  Send the message.

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How to Organize Email

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Email needs to be organized; otherwise that list in Mail can be a mess!  David Passell explains his system. "Here is a 'trick' that works for me in sorting out all the various messages and messages within messages. If you have 'Organize by thread' turned on, just select all messages in the thread, do a copy, then paste into a new message. You don't even have to send it to anybody; then you can read/print and digest it. It will be in the 'drafts' mailbox. This may help in tracking the train of discussion.

"It would help to have a consistent 'protocol' for sending/replying to messages.

(1) Some repeat all that has gone before, others extract things to answer, some don't repeat any of the previous message (like me).

(2) In the Cc: for both originals and replies -- some repeat the list of all addressees, some may use "undisclosed recipients" (not sure who may be a party to the replies), some only reply to the originator of the message. Nobody but the President or Secretary should send a message to all members of PMUG.

(3) If an individual receives a message that should be of interest to the board the message should be repeated, or it can be forwarded. If the message is already addressed to the board probably it does not have to be repeated.

(4) Since replies to a message always have as a subject Re: I always add to this in parenthesis (main point of reply). That way there aren't multiple messages with the same subject each of which has to be examined."