Jim Hamm announces this latest helpful info: "Here is an article http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html explaining in detail, if somewhat lengthy and technical, why Apple's iPhone charger is so expensive for such a small device. In a word: quality. I have seen similar chargers for much less of a price, but didn't buy one. Glad I resisted the temptation to cheap out.
"Also, Mr Shirriff took apart one of the cheap chargers from China and explains, in another of his articles, the why and how they are so cheap. Since I'm on my iPad I can't go and get that link to the article and include it here. But you can click the link when you read this article."
And Jim closes with this helpful reminder, "Remember, the old adage. -- which I now, late in life, subscribe to: you get what you pay for."
Password Hacking
"Here is an article, admittedly somewhat lengthy and nerdy, about how hackers can make mincemeat out of your passwords so easily." Jim Hamm goes on to elaborate, "After reading the article, I know my passwords are, oh, so vulnerable. I bet yours are, too. I'm thinking about buying something like 1Password, or another strong password generator program, and redoing all my passwords.
"If you've got a password program you like, let me know if you would."
Two-way Storage Device: iOS - Mac - PC
Calling it an "interesting device that might be very practical," Jim Hamm sends this info on iFlashDrive. The article is illustrated to explain the benefits of a two-way storage device between iOS and Mac/PC.
Your Smartphone Might Save Your Life
A nine-minute video TV interview is a must-see; a smartphone could be the future of medicine. We thank Jim Hamm for this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=r13uYs7jglg
Jim comments, "Here is an intriguing video on a way to possibly help contain burgeoning medical costs: use a smartphone for diagnostics."
In this video Dr. Eric Topol discusses and demonstrates the use of a smart phone and new apps that can monitor your health and possibly save your life.
Take a look at http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/25/doctors-see-apples-iphone-as-life-saver-in-the-future-of-medicine
Fonts, Some Are FREE
Prez Art Gorski shares this, "Here's a really good article on finding tons of new fonts for your Mac, many are FREE." Link.
"Back in ancient times —throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s . . . " is how the article begins! So, take a deep breath and read it! Lots of examples of font sales are shown.
Satisfied with Your Cable Company, etc.?
David Passell's sharp eye for interesting info found this and he writes, "I was not aware that so many people 'hate' their cable company. How about Cableone.net (is it associated with any listed in their table?
"NOTE: I thought CenturyLink was my landline telephone service which also provides Internet (speed 'up to' 10 MB. around 1 where I live, I am told). My personal feeling is until internet content delivery is not dependent on a two-way interchange of information (unlike off-air TV, satellite, and radio) between server and client there will always be a problem. The people who make money would not be happy with a different arrangement:(."
Here's one article: http://stopthecap.com/2013/05/21/earth-shattering-news-you-still-hate-your-cable-company/
Here's the American Customer Satisfaction Index, ACSI, dated May 2013. http://stopthecap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/acsi-quarterly-results-may-2013.pdf
Apple leads the cellular telephone score from ACSI, shown on page 13. A graph of customer satisfaction by industry is shown on page 17.
About Google Now
So, What Do You Want Them to Know?
It’s not a cheery handout today. But as we keep hearing news reports the importance of security and privacy grab our attention. Of course, there are things we need to know and do. Keeping up with the latest information is a necessary precaution for all of us. Here is just a few possibilities for current sites for you to review.
ID Theft, Opt Out Directions, Free Credit Report, Social Networking Danger
See http://www.worldprivacyforum.org lists articles on ID theft, security, privacy, cloud computing, medical info on HIPAA, medical identity theft, and more.
Lots of links are provided on this website. One article brought to our attention was “Top ten opt out list.” The information goes into detail and when printed out is 12 pages long as it describes the various opt-outs you can use to stop information about you from being collected, circulated, and sold among various companies and government agencies.
One company is described which builds detailed dossiers on consumers with “information scraped from social networking sites like Facebook, and is combined with public record data.” Dossiers have been used in political campaigns and other businesses. According to their quotation from Wall Street Journal this company’s segments recently included “a person's household income range, age range, political leaning, and gender and age of children in the household, as well as interests in topics including religion, the Bible, gambling, tobacco, adult entertainment and ‘get rich quick’ offers. In all . . . more than 400 categories, the documents indicated."
This site also gives consumer tips and links on how to get your free annual credit report.
A February 2010 report discloses Digital Signage Privacy Principles which might be a new term and a previously unexplained form of sophisticated digital information collection.
Traveling Brings New Challenges for Security and Privacy
See https://www.eff.org/wp/defending-privacy-us-border-guide-travelers-carrying-digital-devices. This website gives 20 pages of information.
Defending privacy at the U.S. Border: a guide for travelers carrying digital devices states that “for now, a border agent has the legal authority to search your electronic devices at the border even if she has no reason to think that you’ve done anything wrong.”
It discusses such agencies as CBP, ICE, TSA. Which other countries have you recently visited before entering the United States? What other connections do you have there?
Be aware of two basic precautions: make regular backups so if your computer is ever taken, lost or destroyed you’ll still have access to your data, and encrypt the information on your computer.
It gives details on how and why. Talks about hard drives, flash drives, mobile phones, details, date and disk encryption, digital cameras. It goes into how to interact with border agents, what to say, how to behave. The appendix lists 47 sources and their links with descriptions.
You can click to download a PDF with this material. This might be something you’d want to pass along to your grown kids and friends who plan to travel this summer.
Cookies?
These are not just the yummy ones Ginger brings to PMUG! Read on . . .
What Info is Available for Internet Sites to Take?
Using Firefox: are you collecting lots and lots of cookies? See how to view history and clear what you don’t want saved. http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache Using Safari: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1677
See http://kb.iu.edu/data/ahic.html Indiana University knowledge base, dated 3-3-13. Brief description of cache, cookies, history. How to: for Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Mobile Safari for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android.
What personal information does Amazon gather and why? There’s 5 pages to read! http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496 dated 4-6-12.
Google’s Policy: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ last modified 7-27-12. Their policy in 8 pages; what they take and what you can determine on your end. “We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent.” Hmmmm.
Password Managers Can Help
The query to Ben Patterson brings up info he wrote about iPhone, iPad: http://heresthethingblog.com/2013/04/30/reader-mail-simple-password-manager/
How Safe is My Info on a Thumb Drive?
A handy little thumb drive can hold a lot of info. But they can be misplaced, lost, mishandled. Make a plan to store them and use them. How long of a life do they have? Probably you’ll want to back one up, then buy a new one & copy over again in a few years?
An infected USB thumb drive can infect a computer. This discusses software encryption, hardware encryption. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_USB_drive
An Unexpected Phone Call From Your Grandson
Oh, it was a young man’s voice on the phone, but he said, “Grandma, I’m calling from Rome and I need help.” Who wouldn’t be concerned? How did he travel so far from home? What’s going on? Asking a few questions like, “Maybe you have the wrong number. What did you say your name was? What’s your sister’s name?” Ask anything that only the real grandson could possibly know. “Give me your phone number and I’ll call you back after I ...“ Make some quick excuse and sound sort of confused. Your brain’s internal warning device is in full swing now. You’ve heard about scams like this. Don’t be cheated out of your $$$.
Facebook gives crooks the information so they can find information to pretend to be your grandchild. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/16/scam-artists-using-facebook-to-target-grandparents/
Alert your grandkids about posting information on Facebook, etc that would jeopardize you or them! A good reminder now and then shows you care about their safety.
So, What Can We Do?
While we are bemoaning the loss of truth, honesty, and respect in the world today we of the “generation with years of experience” must continue to be relevant and responsible. It’s part of our heritage, how mama and dad raised us to be decent and trustworthy. It’s like doing push-ups for exercise. Now, we’re exercising our brains. And part of that is continuing communication. Listen and learn. Respond as best as you can!
Let your computer help you keep in touch. Let PMUG help you learn.
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This was today's PMUG meeting handout from Elaine Hardt, May 18, 2013
More Storage -- FREE
That word gets our attention: FREE! Jim Hamm notifies us, "If you use Gmail for your email client, here's good news: you've now got 15GB of storage -- up from 10GB previously."
There's some Unified Cloud Storage for FREE across Google Drive, Gmail and Google+Photos. After the first 15GB the upgrade plan starts at only $4.99 a month for 100GB. The next couple of weeks brings the staged roll out.
Are You Checking Time Machine?
"If you're using a Mac, chances are you're using Time Machine. It's nice that Apple provides a backup system that's easy to use. However, have you checked that Time Machine is really backing up? No? Well, I haven't either. Here's a Blog from a guy that didn't check either.
"Now might be a good time to verify that Time Machine is working correctly. What a pain it would be not to be able to recover -- in case of a hard drive failure -- all that important 'stuff' you've saved over the years."
And this is the little nudge from Jim Hamm that we probably all need!
Goodbye to Google Reader?
An article http://www.zdnet.com/google-reader-its-not-you-its-us-7000012626/ mentioned that Google Reader is to close down on July 1, 2013. Another article lists some alternatives http://www.zdnet.com/goodbye-google-reader-here-are-five-rss-alternatives-7000012604/. How important is that?
Querying Jim Hamm brought this, "If I had something constructive to say, I would. Some time ago I used to use an RSS feed quite often -- it may have been Google Reader, but I don't remember for sure. For some reason -- and I don't recall why -- I got away from using an RSS feed, and haven't used one for some time. It may have been when I upgraded my OS the RSS feed didn't carry over, I didn't notice, and slowly forgot about an RSS feed altogether.
"The article points out some good choices for RSS feeds. It seems if someone has been using Google Reader the easiest migration choice would be to use Feedly. However, people can experiment a bit to see which they prefer."
An Armchair Tour via iOS Device
"Are you somewhat of a history buff? Would you like to take an armchair visual tour of a variety of archaeological sites, museums, etc, from around the world?" asks Jim Hamm. He goes on, " Here is a link to ten history apps for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you might take a look at."
Do these apps come up on a computer, too? "I don't think so. Only on an iOS device."
Cloud: Pro & Con
Here's a risk that Jim Hamm describes, "Storing 'stuff' in the Cloud has its advantages, but also a real risk, too. Take a read on this article where Google just shut an individual off from his Cloud storage. He hadn't done anything wrong to violate any of Google's policies, but someone or something at Google thought he had."
(Scroll down and consider the logic of those 95 comments already posted on that site.)
"Trying to contact someone at Google to find out why this happened is a lost cause. Fortunately, this guy had friends that worked at Google and they ultimately were able to help him. But thee and me? I think we'd be out of luck if Google shoved us off the Cloud.
"Which brings me to Gmail. For quite some time I've used Google's web-based Gmail for all my email storage. i no longer download anything to my computers or iPad -- I do everything online. What if Google suddenly shut me off from my Gmail account? All of my emails -- both read and unread -- are stored there, not on my computer. Not a pleasant thought to contemplate. I'd survive, but what a pain.
Here's Jim's conclusion, "I would never store anything of value in the Cloud. I much prefer an external hard drive for my extra storage. Could something like this happen with a Microsoft or Apple Cloud storage? I'd guess it's possible. Just something for you to think about when you use the Cloud."
Zinio Has Arrived at PPL Library
Prez Art Gorski declares, "Look like I'll finally have to buy an iPad!" The news is: libraries now offer Zinio for Yavapai County citizens. See this link. Now here's the Prescott Public Library website, and Art clarifies, "With your library card, you can access hundreds of digital magazines and read them on your computer or mobile device."
FREE & Lets You Run Apps
Free and maybe handy for you. David Passell says, "I came upon this app which might interest somebody. It is free and called "blue stacks". See it here. It allows you to run android apps on your computer. It is free. I'm not sure what use it will be to me, but somebody might like it. It comes with a lot of games and you can add your own apps. There is a Mac version which sends you a .dmg to install.
FREE Video Tutorials Available
John Carter knows how to get our attention! "Once in a while I run into a great find on the Internet, and this one is a keeper.
"MacMost.com features video tutorials for everything Mac - from iPhones to Macs. The best part, for me anyway, is that all of the tutorials are available FREE in iTunes. And there is a newsletter that you can subscribe to and keep up to date with the latest Mac information.
"Just a few days ago, the video "Mac OS X Cat Names" appeared on the scene. Gary Rozenzweig, the author and creator of MacMost, gives a full accounting of all the names Apple has been using for the various OS X releases - from the 10.0 Beta right up to 10.8. It's really worth watching, and I'm sure you'll get a lot from all of his other videos no matter how old they are.
And here's John's recommendation to all of our readers here: "Personally, I've already subscribed to the tutorials in iTunes and the newsletter. I'm hoping you will too, because I'm letting you know now that instead of me creating professional looking tutorials I'm going to let Gary do all the work."
How to Install Applications: Maybe You're Doing it Wrong?
Here's food for thought from Jim Hamm, "In this newsletter from Small Dog Electronics is an article on installing applications on a Mac. In the article it states once the disc image is opened on your desktop it should be dragged to the applications folder on your Mac. Then the application should be opened and installed within the applications folder -- not on your desktop.
"I haven't been doing this. I usually just open the app on the desktop and install from there. After reading this article I plan to change my ways...." Jim
What's the Next Cat?
"Okay, put on your guessing hat. After which cat will the next release of OS X be named? I didn't realize how many felines -- big and small -- there are in the world. Apple has a wide selection of names to pick from. Take a look at potential names and pictures here."
Jim Hamm goes on to ask, "Does one of these strike your fancy? I'd go for Lynx or Bobcat. A couple I definitely don't like are Flat-Headed Cat and Kodkod! If someone were to ask you what version of OS X you're running, somehow it just wouldn't sound right to say 'Kodkod'...(grin)"...Jim
Where Was this Photo Taken?
Here's some iPhoto info from Prez Art Gorski, "If you like using the Places feature in iPhoto to find photos by where they were taken, but your camera doesn't automatically put the geocoordinates on photos, what do you do? Well, you can use iPhoto itself to do this, but it's a little fiddly. If you import your camera pictures to your hard drive before you import them to iPhoto, here's a nifty free app that makes it much easier to do this task. http://www.theoneandonlysepp.com/gnt/
This site tells about a "Mac OS X docket to update metadata with location information."
How to Automate Certain Functions on Your Mac
"If you're interested in automating certain functions on your Mac, here is a link where a 60-page book of instructions can be downloaded. If a password is required, I think it will be: makeuseof." This handy info comes from Jim Hamm, and yes, the book is FREE.