Save Money if You're On AOL

        Say "save money" and we listen!  Jim Hamm tracked down the following information from Macs R We, a Mac consulting/repair service in Morristown. Read on and we'll tell you more about that company.      
        First, here's what Mr. C. D. Tavares says on saving money if you're on AOL, "I was reminded recently by a trade article that numerous users -- especially seniors -- needlessly continue to pay AOL $20 or $25 each month after having moved from AOL's dialup service to high-speed internet.  If you are not using AOL's dialup modems, AOL IS FREE.
        "This includes continued use of an AOL mailbox, an AOL screen name (for iChat or AIM), AOL's online content, and even the AOL client application.
         "(I routinely point this out to AOL-using clients during housecalls and broadband installations, but since I'm not always in the loop when a client moves from dialup to broadband, I continue to encounter clients who are still paying AOL hundreds of dollars every year for no reason.)
        "If you currently get your internet service from a broadband provider such as Qwest, Cox, Verizon, Sprint, or even Grand Avenue Broadband -- or even a dialup provider OTHER than AOL, such as Interwrx or Localnet -- you should not be paying AOL anything. You can opt out of these payments permanently by following this link.
        "Be careful NOT to check the checkbox at the end (it's a trap), or your request will be ignored."
Find out more about Macs R We here.  They're in the Wickenburg and far Northwest Valley Areas, and Mr. Tavares has an impressive list of employment and experience as a computer engineer.  He's an Apple-certified Macintosh Technician.

Experiencing iPhone in Scottsdale

        No sooner did we get the Valentine iPhone story from Art Gorski posted than we heard from Jim Hamm.  Listen in:
        "Art, thanks for sharing your iPhone 4 experience with us. I think you'll enjoy the iPhone. Zee and I got our first iPhone a few years ago, and only AT&T was available as a carrier then. We were with Verizon, and would have preferred to stay with Verizon, but technology got us...(grin)...
        "Perhaps Verizon has 3G service in Prescott because, as you mentioned, AT&T doesn't. Since we plan to spend the winters in Scottsdale, we do have 3G service here, and it is nice to have. Overall, though, we haven't been unhappy with AT&T. I do think Verizon is the better carrier, but for now we'll stay with AT&T. Our daughter and son-in-law use AT&T, so calls to them don't use any minutes.
        "If you were in the service, be sure to ask Verizon for a veteran's discount on your monthly bill.
        "One problem I've noted with the iPhone 4 is the sensitivity of the screen. When talking on the phone it is easy to touch your cheek to the screen and activate something else. The other day I had called Apple support and was talking to a tech when my cheek touched the screen and I started placing a call to Affinity RV. Sheesh, what a pain. Apple should modify the program so when one is talking on the phone it takes two taps or touches to activate another function. That would stop the problem. I use the external speaker much of the time to avoid that issue.
        "Next time I see you I'll show you some of the apps I've installed and find useful. I'm not into games, so don't have any installed other than the four that came pre-installed.
        "If you have a problem or question on the iPhone, don't hesitate to give me a call. Maybe I can help (or I'll ask Zee -- she's more knowledgeable than I am on the iPhone). Zee, and our daughter, have a ton of apps installed and are darn near pros on apps and the iPhone."  And, as always Jim closes with a grin.

Her Valentine Present

        What a valentine present!  Art Gorski informs us, "So I decided to get iPhones for Mary Ann and myself.
        "We had been on an ancient 'grandfathered' (Read: no longer available) T-Mobile family plan with no data or text messaging. We used only a handful of minutes of phone per month, besides the free minutes. Grand total: $58 per month for 2 phones.
        "I never got the AT&T iPhone 3, 3G, or 4 because there's no AT&T 3G data network in Prescott after all these years, and they make you pay monthly for a 3G network you don't get.
        "Many of my neighbors use Verizon and have no trouble with signal or coverage anywhere in the area, including at home.
        "Not being a Verizon customer, I couldn't order phones on February 3rd.
        "I tried to use the Apple on-line store yesterday when the Verizon iPhone became available, but if you want more than one phone (i.e. Family Plan), you can order it on-line but you have to go to an Apple Store to pick it up. 100 miles? Nope. Not doing that.
        "So today was the day that the Verizon retail stores started carrying the iPhone. We got up early and got there at 6:45 a.m. and were 15th in line for the doors to open at 7 a.m.
        "I was kind of surprised that Prescott would drum up this much interest. By the time we got out of the store, there wasn't any line, so probably less than 25 early customers like us. I asked if they got enough iPhones at the retail store and the clerk said that they didn't get many, so I don't know if they'll run out or not.
        "We hung around in the store waiting for our number to be called and got sucked into buying some accessories. They even had the boxed AppleCare.
        "Including waiting, signing up, paying and getting our two phones activated (our old numbers ported IMMEDIATELY), it took less than an hour.
        "Besides the cost of the iPhones and activation charges, the monthly is going to cost me around $159, pretty much exactly $100 more per month than before. That's a 700 minute 2-line family plan, 2 unlimited data plans, no text messaging or other options.
        For sure Art is smiling as he concludes, "I hope Mary Ann likes her early Valentine's Day present!"

Where in the World?

Wouldn’t it be fun to see people from all over the US -- and the world! -- come to this PMUG newsblog to read it? Blogspot.com has a nifty feature of Stats that brings up a map of the world to show where our viewers sign in from. We also get a listing of key search words they’ve used to find the blog. Last month someone did a search for “how to pronounce laudenslager” which brought a smile to our faces, around here. So, why not pass along to your relatives, friends, colleagues this http://pmugnews.blogspot.com/  and suggest they check us out? Next month we’ll pass the results on to you.

More on iPhone

        Keeping up with the iPhone comments? Jim Hamm sees to it that we are informed.  NY Times’ David Pogue has this to say about the Verizon iPhone. And now Pogue outlines his idea of turning an iPod into a iPhone.
         And what about paying at checkout with your iPhone or iPad, instead of your credit card? Info World tells us and also gives more initials to add to our growing repertoire: NFC means Near-Field Communications technology.

Here's the Latest Announcement

        Maybe you saw the original posting on 12-31-10. It's updated today, Jan. 27, 2011:
        De Prez Howard LaPittus sends us this announcement, "New Board Member To Be Appointed." He describes this opportunity which awaits one of our PMUG members.
        "The PMUG Board will be appointing a New Board Member who will be in charge of Public Relations. This person will be responsible for newspaper announcements, brochure distribution, radio announcements, surveys, etc. No experience necessary. If you would like to volunteer for this great, new fun experience please let me know. I will support this person with guidance, details of responsibilities, goals and objectives. If you are interested please email Howard LaPittus."

Calling All Photography Enthusiasts

        Attention all PMUG people who are into photography.  John Carter to the rescue!  Not only is he giving a free SIG on February 4 on Digital Photography (see it listed on your iCal), but he's found some must-see websites.  Read on to see what John has to say:
        "Barrie Smith (not a PMUG member) posted an interesting software review in Digital Photography School. The software is called Snapshot by LateNiteSoft. In their own words, 'Snapshot brings the power of a photo lab to your computer. Printing your digital images has never been easier.' Add humor to your photos with speech bubbles and flair with borders. Snapshot is fully integrated with iPhoto, Aperture, and Lightroom.  See the full DPS software review here.
        "Another review of a free iPhone/iPod touch/iPad app comes from Darren Rowse (not a PMUG member) in his post to Digital Photography School. The app is called Instagr.am (clicking on this link brings up iTunes and accesses the iTunes store). At first, Darren thought it might be just another social networking app, but he discovered that it’s a fun way to share photos - with the kicker that the people you share with have to be signed up with Instagr.am too. So in a sense, it’s another social networking tool.
        John concludes, "For iPod Touch and iPad owners, you need to have access to a WiFi hotspot to share photos, but you can take photos anytime and share them later when you are connected to the Internet."

Decode Your Numbers

Art Gorski has found an interesting site.  It says, "Appleserialnumberinfo enables you to lookup the information of any Mac, iPod, iPhone, AppleTV and many more Apple products. We support most devices dating back to 2000 and we can show you where your product was built, when it was built and even the build number. Besides detailed information about the hardware you can also see if there is a repair program available for your product, if the warranty is still valid and a list of important updates. Type your serial number in the search field to see what it can tell you about your Apple product!"

,

Info on Security Issues

,

The latest issue (February) issue of Popular Mechanics addresses "the war on privacy."   Page 56 tells briefly about Super Cookies.  Trying to track down specifics I looked at this PCWorld article, then an article from Adobe about these LSOs, Local Shared Objects, which are also known as flash cookies.  Here's Adobe's seven page document outlining their policies on their legal rights and practices.  Elaine's take on this, "The invasion of gadgets which spy on us is not a thought to be easily dismissed; we might well take time to consider how we are affected."