Interesting Possibilities: Past, Present, Future

        David Passell found this title in a BBC article and sent it on.  But there was another link there that is also thought-provoking for the future. Here's what David sent:  "The title of the link caught my eye,  'Mac and the Micro.' 

      "So I went to it expecting to see something about what our beloved Macs or their iPod, iPhone, iPad offspring had to do with an early computer pioneer named Ian McNaught-Davis and a BBC programme of the 80s. However; much of his work has found its way into our everyday computing so I thought i would send it."
      With interest piqued, we went on to what’s happening with computing education and technology in Britain?  A controversy has brought out several articles from the BBC.  Interesting to see about the Year of Code and how they (we) got to where we are in computer technology.  
        Where does the future lead?  See the link to “The Internet Through a Light Bulb” which describes what will be demonstrated next week in Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26245544 

What To Do With Your Mac

        His students and clients often tell John Carter that they want to learn how to use their Mac better. The trick is, though, a big enough incentive is needed in order to motivate one to really learn how to use their computer. 
        John wrote an article titled “What To Do With Your Mac” that he hopes will give people some ideas on where to look for just the right incentive. Look for the article in the Tips ’N Tricks section of the PMUG website here.   Check out those links that will help you spend quality time with your Mac. 

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iPhoto Library Manager

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        John Carter is at it again with an update for one of his favorite apps, iPhoto Library Manager from FatCatSoftware.com. When iPhoto was updated to version 9 (now at 9.1.5, and is better known as iPhoto ’11), version 3 of iPhoto Library Manager didn’t do some of the things John wanted it to do, specifically merge iPhoto libraries. So it was necessary to update to iPhoto Library Manager version 4. 
        John is very impressed with the changes and wrote a review of the software which you can find in the PMUG website here. 

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Apple Sales Tax

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       Jim Hamm found something interesting,  "If you buy something from Apple, and it's significant dollars, you might take a close look at what tax rate Apple charged you. It might not be the correct rate.  Here is a story with further details.
        "This is something I hadn't considered or checked in the past when I bought a major item from Apple -- but I will henceforth."

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Let's Talk About Flash Drives (Thumb Drives)

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   Remember the floppy drives and CDs used for storage and backup of your computer files?  Here’s some interesting facts about the Flash Drives, taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive  The whole article is 21 pages long!  
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than an optical disc.   Page 1.
USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes for which floppy disks or CDs were used, i.e., for storage, back-up and transfer of computer files. They are smaller, faster, have thousands of times more capacity, and are more durable and reliable because they have no moving parts. Additionally, they are immune to magnetic interference (unlike floppy disks), and unharmed by surface scratches (unlike CDs). 
USB flash drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as Linux, OS X, Windows, and other Unix-like systems. USB drives with USB 2.0 support can store more data and transfer faster than much larger optical disc drives like CD-RW or DVD-RW drives and can be read by many other systems such as the Xbox 360, Play Station 3, DVD players and handheld devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board carrying the circuit elements and a USB connector, insulated electrically and protected inside a plastic, metal, or rubberized case which can be carried in a pocket or on a key chain, for example. The USB connector may be protected by a removable cap or by retracting into the body of the drive, although it is not likely to be damaged if unprotected.
USB flash drives draw power from the computer via the USB connection. 
USB flash drives were invented in 1999, claimed by several companies, contesting various patents around the world.  Trek’s “ThumbDrive” & IBM’s “DiskOnKey” started selling in 2000.  Lexar came out with CF (Compact Flash) card and card read/writer and cable that eliminated the need for a USB hub. Read more on page 3.  
This article claims 1,500 insert-removal cycles for the flash drive’s longevity. It goes on to describe how the innards work and shows some photos, tells what the essential components are, the size and style of packaging.  
USB flash drives have now been integrated into other items such as watches, pens, even the Swiss Army Knife.  Others have been fitted into novelties, such as toy cards, LEGO bricks, images of dragons, cats, or aliens.  See page 6.      
The File system is described, p. 7. Defragging claims are disputed.  USB flash units can be partitioned just like hard drives.  File transfer speeds are greater for the USB 3.0 than the 2.0. 
Common use is to store and transport personal files.  Storing medical information is mentioned. Encryption is supported with some types. Forensic and law enforcement usages are described. 
This article goes on to briefly describe other uses: updating motherboard firmware, booting operating systems, operating system installation media, application carriers.  Other uses are mentioned, such as backup for resellers since they can be removed at night and taken offsite.
Read about uses for audio players, media storage and marketing.  Availability of inexpensive flash drives makes them handy for promotional and marketing purposes, preloaded as a form of advertising. Page 11.
Advantages are noted:  have little power, no fragile moving parts, small, lightweight.  Date is impervious to mechanical shock, magnetic fields, scratches and dust.  Page 12. 
Testing? Is your flash drive going to survive the washing machine?  There are some that retain their memory!  Leave it out to dry completely before using it again.  Channel Five's Gadget Show cooked one of these flash drives with propane, froze it with dry ice, submerged it in various acidic liquids, ran over it with a jeep and fired it against a wall with a mortar. A company specializing in recovering lost data from computer drives managed to recover all the data on the drive. All data on the other removable storage devices tested, using optical or magnetic technologies, were destroyed.
There is a list of disadvantages on page 13. There is little or no advance warning of failure.  Its size means they can be easily misplaced.  
Comparison with other portable storage on page 14: tapes, floppy disks, optical media of CD and DVD.  Page 15 details the Flash Memory Cards, e.g. Secure Digital cards.  
Tells about external hard drives susceptible to damage, page 15.   Encryption and security is described on page 16.
Security threats are mentioned on page 17.  Flash drives may present a significant security challenge for some organizations. Their small size and ease of use allows unsupervised visitors or employees to store and smuggle out confidential data with little chance of detection. Both corporate and public computers are vulnerable to attackers connecting a flash drive to a free USB port and using malicious software such as keyboard loggers or packet sniffers.
For computers set up to be bootable from a USB drive, it is possible to use a flash drive containing a bootable portable operating system to access the files of the computer, even if the computer is password protected. The password can then be changed, or it may be possible to crack the password with a password cracking program and gain full control over the computer. Encrypting files provides considerable protection against this type of attack.
USB flash drives may also be used deliberately or unwittingly to transfer malware and autorun worms onto a network.
Pages18-21 lists 75 references with names and dates of the information that’s quoted. 
Amazon.com/ lists 32,814 results in search for “USB thumb drives.”  See the ratings from users. Customer reviews can give you important aspects to consider.    
We do want to keep our computers happy, and our data safe!                 # # #      
by Elaine Hardt.  This was my handout at the 2-15-14 PMUG meeting.  

More on CrossOver

        David Passell submits some comments, "I just got this eMail and was reminded of John's recent remarks on Crossover. I too bought Crossover and have yet to find anything that i want to run will do so. It mostly seems to be directed toward games. The lack of a coherent manual for it doesn't help.

        "John's remarks remind me of my take on 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.' Mine is 'insanity is caused by doing the same thing over and over and getting a different result each time' :).
        And David winds up with, "I haven't yet installed the update. I've never used Quicken." 
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CrossOver for Your Windows App. Again?

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        "CrossOver has been a little disappointing for me in the past," relates John Carter.  He goes on to explain,  "It installs. The Windows app I want to run installs. The Windows app works one or two times. Then it just stopped working. Uninstalling CrossOver isn’t an easy task, and that’s what I’ve tried in the past to try to get the Windows app to work again, which it would, but only for a little while. 
        "I think that every time Apple comes out with an OS update it breaks CrossOver, but there hasn’t been a corresponding update from CrossOver to fix the problem.
        John continues, "CodeWeavers just announced a new release of CrossOver (13.1.0). This release claims to make Quicken 2014 run on your Mac. And for what it’s worth, it just might make all my other Windows apps run better, if only for a little while.
        "As in the past, if it works for the one Windows app you want to run on your Mac, then it’s a lot cheaper than having to purchase a Windows OS, purchase a Virtual Machine like VMWare or Parallels, and then also deal with the many other updates of the Virtual Machine software just to run your favorite Windows app."
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Apple Files New Patents for iPen

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        "What?" exclaims John Carter.  "A stylus for the iOS device? Unheard of. Well, not entirely. I have purchased several stylii over the past year only to either lose them in the wash or ignore them altogether—because they just don’t work as well as my finger!

        "But, let’s take a look at Apple’s idea for a stylus. 
        "First, it will be expandable. Add a camera or a laser pointer. Or turn it into a power source. 
        "Second, it will be Wi-Fi linked via Bluetooth. I think Apple’s ideas are a bit on the fantastic side, but as a toy, it will sell. As a tool for designers, it will sell. As a tool for businessmen, it will sell. 
        "But for us minions? What will it do for us?"
        And here's John's opinion:   "I think you’ll have to read the news release from minyanville here and then wait and see. After all, the iPhone was big hit, the iPod was a big hit, the iPad was a big hit, and Apple Fanboys everywhere are probably sitting on the edge of their seat breathlessly awaiting the big event of the iPen.
        "The next thing we’ll be saying is, “i-What?” What will Apple think of next?"
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Apple is a Worldwide Leader

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        "Here is an article which graphically summarizes what an impact the iPad -- and other tablets -- have had on the computer industry," is how Jim Hamm begins.  "I can remember when the iPad first came out and reading about all the snickering of the name, the cost, the lack of being a 'real' computer, etc, of a tablet. But people sure buy tablets -- to the detriment of PC shipments."
       Jim goes on to comment, "I can also recall Microsoft's Ballmer's derision of the iPhone when it first came out. Now just look how smart phones have taken off. I bet a high % of the population in the U.S. owns one."

       And here's Jim's conclusion, "Like it or not -- technology moves on and leaders of successful companies need to recognize that or fade away. The Blackberry phone comes to mind as I type this statement. Then I look at the stagnation in growth of HP and Dell and think hmmmm?"