El Capitan - worth getting

He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me ... El Capitan debuts on September 30. A modest upgrade to OS X, but all suggest it's worth getting....Jim Hamm

Now if you want to know what others think, read this article. Here's an excerpt:

"After testing El Capitan for a few weeks, most sites agree that while OS X 10.11 isn't a massive overhaul, its performance enhancements and speed boosts make upgrading to the free new OS essentially a no-brainer."

El Capitan is really getting overwhelming approval.

Learning the New Photo Application

        John Carter sends this announcement of Tutor for Photos for OS X:  We are happy to announce we have our Tutor for Photos for OS X available for members! Learn all about Apple’s iPhoto replacement including importing from iPhoto, syncing with iCloud Photo Library, managing multiple libraries, and showing the sidebar to make it more like iPhoto. We also look at organizing your photos into albums, smart albums, faces, folders, and even how to hide your photos. Photos includes extensive editing tools and we show you how to use them. These tools include enhancing photos, adding filters, straightening photos, cropping photos, and making adjustments to your photos. We also show you how you can compare your edits to the original photo. When you are ready to share your photos we take a look at the different sharing options including creating books, calendars, slideshows, and ordering prints.  Login to view the tutorial.

Get Ready for Photos for OS X

        “It may be time to get prepared” is the title for the article Jim Hamm sends us.  Now, that’s a title that fits for lots of things, but this starts off, “Apple is approaching the launch of its new Photos app for Mac.”  Read about it here. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2900539/get-ready-for-photos-for-os-x.html?

Apple's Upcoming App for Photos

        Jim Hamm says, "If you use Apple's iPhoto or Aperture, you're probably aware that Apple is replacing those soon with a new app: Photos for OS X.  In the following article, Jason Snell, former editor of MacWorld, gives his impressions of the new app."  Take a look here:  tidbits.com/e/15403

Changes Coming for iPhoto

       "It looks like Photos for OS X will replace iPhoto later this spring. Here is an article with further info and impressions of Apple's new photo program," writes Jim Hamm.  

Some Hidden Features in OS X Yosemite

 "Here's some tips on Yosemite that might be helpful," announces Jim Hamm.  Take a look here.

New Malware Identified

        Keep aware and keep alert.  Jim Hamm says, "Here's something to be aware of.  As Apple's OS X and iOS become more popular, they become a more interesting target for malware."  Read about WireLurker in Business Insider. 

Problems With Email

       The headline of 7-2-14 of MacRumors says that Apple discontinues AIM support for many OS X users with legacy Mac.com/Me.com IDs. By legacy they refer to older versions of OS X.  http://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/02/aim-mac-me-ids/  Over 100 comments are posted.  Any workaround for this? 

Want to Experiment on OS X?

         Jim Hamm comes up with an idea:  "For those of you that like to experiment and explore a bit on OS X, here is an app you might try: XtraFinder. (http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/)

        "I've not tried it yet. On the website, if you click on one of the images it will open up a window and show you screen shots. Keep clicking on the image and another image will appear, etc."

        So, what do you think?  Jim says, "Looks interesting. If someone tries it, let our Newsletter Editor know so your comments can be posted."

Upgrade Options for OS X

        Snow Leopard updates are probably done — you will want to see your OS X upgrade options.  Prez Art Gorski says, "If you’re still running an older version of OS X and are interested in upgrading, here’s a great article on your options."

Finding Incompatible Software

        PMUG Prez Art Gorski sends this helpful info, "It turns out that newer versions of Mac OS X protect you from running old incompatible software.  These apps are moved to a folder named "Incompatible Software" at the top level of your hard drive. If you have such a folder on your Mac, look in there for the apps that you should update to newer versions."   http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3258?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Windows Registry vs OS X Property Files

        "Although this article may be a little 'nerdy' for some," begins Jim Hamm,  "I found it quite interesting in explaining the difference between the Registry in Windows and .plist files in OS X.  

        "The author uses an analogy of thinking of the Registry as a skyscraper, with each program built on top of another. If one program, or 'floor', if you will, should fail it may bring the entire skyscraper down. Plist files (lists of programs) in OS X, on the other hand, are built kinda side by side. If one fails, it's not likely to affect the other programs.

        "Interesting analogy the author used, I thought, and helped me understand the differences between the two methods," Jim comments. 

        Here John Carter adds his thoughts to the situation, "Apple maintains .plist files in two places. One is in ~/Library/Preferences and the other is in /Library/Preferences. Notice that the '~' represents your home folder (/Users/). 

        Now, John goes into details.  "Apple's .plist structure does two things. It determines how an application will run on your computer and one of them will contain registration information, if needed. You can delete ALL the .plist files on your computer and the core system will still work. What you have mostly done is to remove the system and user preferences for how things work - and also the registration information for apps that you purchased, which means you would have to re-register those apps. 

        "Using AppCleaner will successfully remove all .plist files for a given app from the computer and thereby allowing you to re-install the app from scratch if that's what you need to do to make a failing app work again."

        And here John concludes his explanation, "One trick that IT professionals use to isolate the cause of a failing app is to rename ~/Library/Preferences or move it to another location. That folder and its content will get recreated when any of the apps storing a .plist file are run again. If the problem goes away, it's just a matter of singling out which .plist file in the original folder caused the problem.

        "The other trick is to create a new user, login as that new user, and run the app. If the problem persists, then it might be a system related problem which might be found in /Library/Preferences, but it's best to reinstall the app from scratch before messing around with system files." 

The Convert's Guide to Mac and OS X

        Switching from PC to Mac?  Or, just finding out more about what Mac can do? Don’t miss this recommendation from John Carter:  "Once in a while an interesting online article pops up that's really worth passing on to others — especially anyone who just switched from Windows to a Mac, or who are thinking about it, or who are still trying to figure out what their Mac can do.         "There are only six sections to this article, which should make it an easy read, and the PDF format is 51 pages — with lots of pictures. It starts out with some careful thoughts about which Mac to purchase. At the end, for those who think they want to switch back to Windows or run Windows on their Mac, there's a few words about that — very few. Read the full article at MakeUseOf.com here.

        "If you want your own permanent copy of the article, you can choose to download a FREE copy of either the ePub or PDF version. Amazon has it on sale for the Kindle for $1.99.”

         And here John emphasizes, “Don't forget now. Once you've started reading this article, don't put it down. I have dozens of ‘I want to read this book someday’ books and ebooks that keep getting put off for something else that at the time seems way more interesting. Like, I need to set up my telescope to get it ready for tonight, or, what about that article I wanted to write for the Mac newsletter, or, …”

       (And you know, John is right!)