"Here is a tip that might speed up your web browsing on an iPhone or iPad: turn off Javascript. I just did it, and will see if it impacts my web browsing one way or the other. I've disabled Javascript on all my computers and haven't missed it at all. Javascript is a great medium (access point) for malware hackers to get into your computer," declares Jim Hamm.
Learning More About Photography
Interested in photography? John Carter to the rescue. He's now posted to the PMUG website this informative and illustrated report, "iPhoto for iPad vs. PhotoForge2." Go to http://www.pmug.us/reviews/ and benefit from his research.
Note: John Carter will be at the PMUG Genius Bar on November 17, when Art Gorski and Bobbie Pastor will be our other "experts" for this meeting.
Set Up an eBook Library on an iPad
"Here's a helpful article on how to set up an eBook Library on an iPad," says Jim Hamm. He continues, "At the Apple store this past Friday I took a look at the new iPad Mini, and because of its small size and light weight, it might make a good eBook reader. But as I played with it, I didn't like the small font size on websites. I had to increase the font in order to comfortably read it. I didn't like doing that. On my iPad 2 I can easily read website font, without adjustment, because of the larger size of the screen.
"Before buying an iPad Mini (if you should have an interest), be sure to look at the font size first. The font size on eBooks might be larger, but I wasn't able to check this out. For easy portability, though, the new iPad Mini would be handy. And, like all the iPads, it is a beautiful device.
"At the Apple store I also compared, side by side, my iPad 2 with the new iPad 4. I couldn't tell an appreciable difference between the two. In theory, the iPad 4 has a better screen and a faster processor, but I couldn't tell a difference in performance or viewing. If there was a difference, it wasn't enough to impress me."
Here John Carter adds his opinion of the MakeUseOf newsletter earlier reviewed by Jim Hamm above, " In addition to the article, you'll find several advertisement links to free eBooks - but I would be careful about going there as you never know how much money those "free" eBooks will actually cost you.
"There are also advertisement links to help you convert PDF files to the eBook format, links to help you write your own eBook, and links to help you self-publish your eBooks. Again, click with caution on any advertisement link."
And John also mentions, "The article itself is chock full of suggestions and tips on how to find eBooks, and not just for the iPad, but for the Kindle as well. And did you know that you can read a Kindle eBook on the iPad? There's an app for that."
New to View
"Here is a free offer for ClipBuddy for the Mac. I've not tried it, but since it's free I will give it a try. Note that it's normally priced at $29.95. This offer expires on October 31st," writes Jim Hamm. Earlier today he'd emailed with mention of a new iPhone - iPod Touch - iPad app called MyRadar Pro which he saw someone use to monitor the severity of the storms in the Memphis area. See it here. Jim will tell us more later . . .
What's the Latest?
Rumors, facts, photos, buyer's guide, blogs and forums — all that and more about Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad at macrumors.com Kyle Smith reminds us. From his vantage point as tech/sales at MacMedia in Peoria I'd asked him what's the latest, so I'd have something to report at PMUG on Saturday. Apple has issued invitations for Media Event on October 23. There's always more happening at Apple!
Upgrading to iOS 6
"If (or when) you upgrade to iOS 6 in your iPad or iPhone, here is a summary of what's new in the settings," writes Jim Hamm.
Print to your iPhone, iPad, or Kindle . . .
A notice from BlueSquirrel announces a nifty program: Anything you can print, you can take with you on your iPad, iPhone, or Kindle. Print directly to your iPad and have it with you, even when you don't have an Internet connection. Read about it here. Let us know. I use BlueSquirrel's ClickBook a lot for making booklets, but this is a new feature for someone with iPad, iPhone, or Kindle to try out.
Textbook or iPad
"Here's an interesting article comparing the cost of buying/renting physical books for school vs renting or buying them as eTextbooks. A student can save enough over four years to pay for the cost of an iPad. Another advantage of eTextbooks, not mentioned in the article, is how much easier/lighter it is to carry around an iPad versus heavy textbooks. Unfortunately, all publishers don't make their books available as eTextbooks yet.
"Can't you visualize your six-year-old daughter getting ready for her first day in school and coming up to you and saying: 'Mom, I'm going to school now. I need a new iPad!'...(grin)." This came from Jim Hamm.
How Photo Stream Works
"If you'd like to understand a bit more about how Photo Stream works, take a look at this article," Jim Hamm informs us.
Hacking Incident Warns Us About Passwords
The latest on this situation is updated 8-5. Read the whole thing. Jim Hamm sent this link about a horrible hacking of a man's iCloud account. This evening John Carter sent a further warning of the need to establish strong passwords to avoid such a terrible thing. Here's the first from Jim: "Here is a scary tale of woe: Mr Honan's iCloud account was hacked. What's even scarier, the hacker was then able to remotely wipe Mr Honan's iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air! Yes, all dead. If you happen to use a Gmail account, a two-step verification process is available to prevent hacking. As far as I know, this feature isn't available for iCloud. So, one should have a very strong password for your iCloud account. Yes, I know, it's probably remote that your iCloud account will be hacked. Mr Honan thought so, too." But Jim, can that really be true? He wrote back with two other sites on the issue. Here and here. John Carter went into more detail on what we should do about our own passwords. ". . . if your passwords are short and simple, be prepared to be hijacked and potentially lose all the money in your bank or all the files on your computer. "A strong password contains a mix of letters and numbers with at least one uppercase letter, and the password should be at least 8 characters long. A very secure password will be 10 or more characters long. The password should never contain a word that can be found in the dictionary or letters or numbers in a sequence or that repeat. "Some of my clients do not even have a password to login to their computer, and this is a grave mistake because it makes all your other passwords in the Keychain Access application accessible to anyone that manages to hack into your computer.
"Do yourself a favor and use passwords that are complete garbage. Write them down where you know you can access them quickly. Protecting yourself will save me a trip to help recover your files — if that's even possible. Smile when you have to type in that long gibberish because you know you're being protected. After a few times of typing it in, it will become second nature.
"One approach is to alternating case, intermix numbers with letters, and where allowed, toss in a symbol. For your different passwords, you only need to make one letter or number different or add one letter or number."
So, consider yourself warned, thanks to Jim and John.
Now, Jim Hamm brings us the update of 8-5. "Here's update three from the guy who was hacked via iCloud and had his iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad wiped clean:
"Update Three: I know how it was done now. Confirmed with both the hacker and Apple. It wasn’t password related. They got in via Apple tech support and some clever social engineering that let them bypass security questions. Apple has my Macbook and is trying to recover the data. I’m back in all my accounts that I know I was locked out of. Still trying to figure out where else they were."
And here's Jim's final comment -- at least for now! "The hacker sure must have been one smooth talker to convince Apple's tech support to let him into Honan's iCloud account, which wasn't his. So much for strong passwords. It seems they can be circumvented. According to another report, the hacker then used Apple's 'Find My Phone' service to remotely wipe the three devices."
App Store Doesn't Require Password
This interesting tidbit about iOS 6 for iPads and iPhones comes to us from Jim Hamm. See the article here about downloading free apps without needing a password. He sends it via Zite, a free personalized magazine iPad app.
Look What Your iPad Can Do
Without bragging on his iPad, Jim Hamm does find nifty stuff to share with our readers. "Want to transfer a document to your iPad? This article outlines one way."
Free for Your iPad
He knows we like that word FREE, and Jim Hamm says, "If you have an iPad and feel, well, crafty, take a look at this new app from Martha Stewart. It's free till July 8."
Shared Data Plans
"Think back to just a few years ago. All we wanted was a cell phone to use when travelling. Then along came smart phones, then iPads, then more tablets, then shared data plans. It's all getting somewhat complex, it seems," Jim Hamm grins. He goes on to inform us, "Verizon's new shared data plan goes into effect June 28. So far, AT&T hasn't announced when they'll make their shared data plan effective — at least as far as I know. Here's an article that gives more details and a pricing comparison. Looking at the numbers, it might be a bit tricky to pick the right plan for your family."
Munich iPad
Jim Hamm has an amazing find! "Did I mention that the new iPad has some unique features that you might not be aware of? Well, take a look at this video. Several years ago Zee and I went to Oktoberfest in Munich and visited a tavern (maybe more than one) similar to this one. Unfortunately, at that time there was no iPad. We got our beer the old-fashioned way — a busty bar maid carried mugs of beer to us, six at a time." (The closing screen shows more iPad possibilities via YouTube.)
Mac Buyer's Guide
Do you know when to buy a Mac, iPod, or iPhone? Here's help from Prez Art Gorski. He leads off with, "Don't you just hate it when you buy an Apple product and then they release a new, better version right after? The MacBuyer's Guide keeps track of Apple hardware updates and is a great guide to when you should buy a new Apple product."
So we look here and find info with recommendations such as "Don't buy: updates soon" — "Buy only if you need it: approaching the end of a cycle" — or "Buy now! Product just updated." You also notice the links to their categories of blogs and forums. Take a look, you may want to bookmark this.
How's Your Battery Doing?
"Do you have a Mac laptop? Do you run on battery often? Like to know more about how your battery is performing and the condition it is in?" Jim Hamm asks. He offers this link, saying, "You might take a look at the 'Battery Guru' app."But Jim, how does that compare with the iStat widget that comes up Function 4 key? Two shakes later we have his answer. "Somewhat similar, I presume. Here is the article in Small Dog Tech Tails #821 that describes more about the app." When you open that Tech Tails you'll also be entertained by the YouTube video of a truck running over an iPad. Did you expect that?
Your iPad and iPhone Can Scan
"Want to scan something and you're not anywhere near a scanner?" John Carter questions, and then exclaims, "Yes, you are! Your iPhone or new iPad can be your instant scanner anytime, anywhere with Scanner Pro 4. Scan a anything (even a bulletin board, including multiple pages) like you're taking a photo of it, and you now have a PDF file you can email, print, or update to Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Docs. The only thing this app doesn't do is optical character recognition (OCR). Price: $6.99 in the App Store."
Want to learn more? Don't miss the monthly PMUG meeting.
Apple's Six Best Decisions
"Here's an interesting article and observation by Ted Landau of Apple's six best decisions — and why they make Apple the company it is today." Jim Hamm goes on to elaborate, "My only quibble with Ted is that the iPad should be included in the list. But he goes in detail explaining why he left this device out of his nominees. Possibly many of us — well, me, anyway — tend to think of Apple as a Mac, or computer, company. Not so much anymore. Here is a quote from the article: 'Apple’s success depended upon moving away from its focus on the Mac.' Hence, the dropping of 'computer' from the company name a while back."
Discussing Rival e-Book Readers
How compatible are the various rival e-book readers? Jim Hamm forwards this link to David Pogue's article clarifying some of his earlier comments.
So, Jim, what does Zee like best? What do you like best?
"Zee likes both her iPad and Kindle at different times. The iPad can't be used in sunlight or bright conditions, and it's heavier to hold. But, the display is bright and has color. Good for magazines.
"The Kindle, on the other hand, is lighter and can be used in bright light. And, the small Kindle is only $79. Hard to pick just one.
"Overall, I think the iPad has more flexibility, but it's a lot more expensive. If you only want to read ebooks, I'd get the Kindle. It's light and works great as a book reader. If you want more than just to read books -- email, surf the net, read the news, etc., the iPad is terrific. I really enjoy my iPad, as does Zee. Powerful device."