appleJAC Users Group

President’s Corner: New Year, New Promises

by Tom Piper, aJMUG President

Where has the year gone? Christmas is upon us, and the new year is immediately around the corner. I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, but I do express expectations for what I hope will happen. I’m not so excited about the potential for Apple’s new television subscription services, but I definitely want to see a new Apple tablet by any name they want to call it (many have already dubbed it the “iTablet”). What are you hoping for???

Our last meeting was the annual “30 Gadgets in 60 Minutes” where we heard six great sets of presentations in 58 minutes. This will be followed by the annual election of officers with the following results:

Position                     Name      
President                   Tom Piper (16th term)
Vice-President           Greg Breuer
Secretary-Editor        George Kopp
Treasurer                  Mark Snell
Webmaster               Alice Kopp
Librarian                   Bruce Heerboth
Members-at-Large     Peggy Landwehr   
                                Joe Mertzlufft
                                Ken Zindle
                                Julie Smith

The evening was capped off with a wonderful 25th Anniversary Celebration of the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group, with a special cake, punch, commemorative mugs, memories from Thom Day, and a City of Jefferson Proclamation declaring Dec. 1 as appleJAC Day. For a variety of different pictures of the evening from different people, check out: http://applejac.typepad.com/photos/25th_anniversary_event/index.html.

George and I were also honored with service awards and Lifetime Memberships (thank you). All in all, it was a great night with 54 people in attendance (and 3 more members). 60 anniversary mugs were distributed, but we will only hold the rest until the next meeting if you didn’t already get yours (the rest will be sold). The evening’s door prize winners included:

•     Snow Leopard (book)               Colleen Collins
•     iPhone 3G (book)                     Steve Archer
•     My New iPhone                        Rosalind Moulton
•     Mac OS Helpline (book)            Ed Brandt
•     Photoshop Elements 3 (book)   Alice Kopp
•     Lapdesk                                  Julie Koengsfeld
•     Apple bag                                Larry Garvin
•                                                   Sue Snell
•     Apple clip                               Dan Walsh

   
Our next meeting will highlight stories brought back from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (not confined to just Apple products). We will also invite everyone to bring their favorite Christmas gift (presumably Apple related) for show-and-tell. Be sure to check out the agenda for several special features.

Mark your calendar NOW for the next appleJAC Macintosh Users Group meeting on the second Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 7:00 pm. Bring family, friends and new members back  to Lewis and Clark Middle School to get the most out of your Mac and Apple products.

January 2010 Meeting Agenda

  

iPhone and iPod touch: Disabling digital camera notification in Mac OS X

When the iPhone or iPod touch is connected to Mac OS X, a dialog is presented with choices for connecting as a digital camera and working with the digital pictures stored on the iPhone or iPod touch.

This is the default behavior under Mac OS X for digital imaging devices. Mac OS X provides a way to disable this notification.

Mac OS X 10.6

To disable this notification:

1. Connect the iPod or iPhone.
2. Open Image Capture (located in Applications).
3. Select the iPod or iPhone in the Devices list.
4. Click the "Show Device Settings" buttonin the lower left corner if Device Settings are not visible.
5. Select "No Application" in the pop-up menu in the Device Settings.
   
   
   

Mac OS X 10.5

To disable this notification:

1. Open Image Capture (located in Applications).
2. Choose Image Capture > Preferences.
3. Choose No application from the "When a camera is connected, open" menu.
   
   
4. Quit Image Capture.
   
   Information an apple support article

December User Group Offers

Take Control Books: 30% Discount on All Ebooks

Whether you're looking to upgrade to and get started with Snow Leopard or you want to set up a rock-solid backup strategy, there's a Take Control ebook for you. There are also books offering expert advice on maintaining your Mac, troubleshooting, AirPort wireless networks, iWeb, GarageBand and more. Take Control ebooks are written by the most-trusted names in the Mac world and published by Adam and Tonya Engst of TidBITS.

An exclusive 30% off their already low prices is offered to Apple User Group members on all Take Control ebooks.

Purchase Take Control books: http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/    TidBITS: http://www.tidbits.com

Strider Software TypeStyler: 25% Discount

TypeStyler is an extremely sophisticated, yet simple and intuitive, page layout and graphic design tool that allows users to create spectacular graphic designs by applying special effects and distortion to type and graphic images. The new version takes TypeStyler's unequaled control over text shaping, styling, flow and layout even further by exploiting Apple's latest technologies such as Unicode, Core Image, OpenGL, QuickTime and Quartz compositions.

User group members can buy TypeStyler, regularly $179.95 (US), for $134.95 (US), and TypeStyler Upgrade for $74.95 (US); both are 25% discounts.

Download a 60-day tryout and purchase at: http://www.typestyler.com

SmartMotion SwingChair: 20% Off

SmartMotion Technology produces one of the the best office chairs for computer users. The SwingChair is especially helpful to those who sit for long periods of time, providing continual support. Satisfaction is guaranteed with a 30-day money back guarantee.

The SwingChair is regularly priced $495 (US), but Apple User Group members can purchase one for $445 (US), with shipping and handling of $49 (US) free in the continental United States. If outside this area, SmartMotion will cover the first $49 (US) in shipping costs. Ask about discounts on accessories.

To order, ask questions or get a free DVD, call: 1-800-409-3350 Get more information: http://www.swingchair.com/   

Stockphoto images: 20% Discount

iStockphoto is the world's leading royalty-free stock destination with more than 5.6 million stock photos, vector illustrations, video footage, audio and Flash files. Add style to your next creative project with iStock. Buy stock or sell stock - or both.

Apple user group members get 20% off your first purchase of 50 credits (iStock's currency) or more.
Get great pictures now: www.istockphoto.com/appleusergroup   

New 27" iMac can be a DIsplay for another Mac

With Target Display mode, you can use your 27-inch iMac with Mac OS X as an external display. Connect any computer or other device with a Mini DisplayPort to your 27-inch iMac using a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable (Cables and converters available separately.)

Products Affected
iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)
To use a 27-inch iMac in Target Display mode with another computer as the source:

Make sure both computers are turned on and awake. 

Connect a male-to-male Mini DisplayPort cable to the Mini DisplayPort on each computer. The 27-inch iMac will enter Target Display Mode and display content from the source computer.

Note: If you are connecting two 27-inch iMacs, connect a Mini DisplayPort cable to each computer and press Command + F2 on the 27-inch iMac keyboard that you will use as an external display.

To leave Target Display mode, press Command + F2 on the keyboard of the 27-inch iMac that is in Target Display mode. To return to Target Display mode, press Command + F2 again.
Points to keep in mind:

Applications running on the 27-inch iMac computer remain open and running while it is in Target Display mode.

I Lost It!

 I LOST IT!

(Or maybe I should say: “I Can’t Lose It!”)

Do you remember the younger day and your ‘eating habits’. I bet you don’t, and that’s just the point. When we were younger, we didn’t have ‘eating habits’, we just ate!  We ate when we wanted; what we wanted.  Grand times!  Special times! 

I’m invoking those special times mainly, mostly because for so many of us they are by-gone days. Of course the world teems with those who just eat and don’t need a plan; It also abounds with many people who might need a plan and eschew such a need. (Don’t you just love being able to use words like ‘eschew’; it’s almost as cool as saying that something is ‘palpable’----but I digress.)

There are many of us, however, who are bothered by that significant  ‘having to grunt, when you bend over’ embarrassment. It’s the result, the consequence of all those years of being among those who simply ‘eat’. Then, one day, that life style catches up with us and we find ourselves to be charter members of that ‘grunting’ group. What’s to do?

The american answer has been steady, if really for the most part, ineffectual:  go on a diet; lose the weight; slim down. And all of  this for the purpose of getting into that group of those who merely ‘eat’, although, face it, friends, going back to hose halcyon days is not in the cards for most of us.

No, so many of us in the ‘grunters group’ need to join the pack seeking the diet that really works, or at least really works for us. So, here I am!  I’m not  going to say that what I’m going to talk about is the ultimate answer, only that it works for me.

As a ‘grunter’ I was moving into the class of those heavyweights who weigh in at almost 200 lbs. The scales at the hospital, where I do cardiac rehab exercises, showed me getting close to 196 lbs. Of course, I always maintained that those scales weighed me in at least at 6 pounds over what I was, based on my old faithful scale at home.  (My friend through years of struggle.)

Okay then to it:  I want to talk briefly about the iPhone app “LiveStrong”. It’s a diet app that I was introduced to by a friend, who said it really worked for him. I decided to look into it. And I’m here to tell you that it’s a program that works.  Or let me change that and say: “It works for me.”  That’s about all that a person could or should say about a diet program.

The app is supported by the web site ‘livestrong.com’, where your iPhone, via syncing, sends your information. The program begins with you putting in a description of yourself and then your weight loss goals. (My own called for losing a pound a week to get to my goal of being about 175 lbs, a weight that keeps my safely out of the ‘grunt zone’ for the most part.)

Once you have indicated what your weight loss goal is, the program will prescribe an amount of daily calories for your diet. (My own is in the neighborhood of 2200 calories.) Then the tracking begins. 

(Please note that my intention here is to talk about how I use the program, which has been successful for me. I don’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of the LiveStrong program.)

The tracking involves logging each day your exercise activity.  The ‘fitness’ menu, at the bottom of the screen, will allow you to enter your exercise program and amount. There is a data base for checking out specific exercise activities, so that a caloric value can be given to those exercises. The result is that the caloric value of the exercises can be added to your base caloric intake figure for the day.

After each meal, you consult the ‘food’ item on the menu, at the bottom of the screen. The program has a data base of over 500,000 items, very extensive. The caloric value of the food that you’ve eaten, and the amount, can be entered here. It will then be deducted from your total allowed calories for the day.

On the website, on which you register and then log in to use, the information from your iPhone is put into your own part of the program. What I do is to retrieve that information to keep a diet log for myself.

The program is fairly simple, at least the way that I use it is.  There is a menu item on the bottom of the program screen on the iPhone to ‘sync’ your latest information with the  internet program. There is also a menu item there to enter and track your weight.

My own results have taken me from the ‘grunt zone’ to the neighborhood of 176---a comfort zone for me.  The value of the program  is that your attention is constantly directed to the caloric value of what you’re eating. It becomes a way of looking at your eating activity that helps the diet program along.

The app is a good one. Results are so good that they’re palpable!  (There I did it!)

Ken Zindle 

appleJAC Members Items for Sale or Trade

appleJAC Members Items for Sale

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Notes: appleJAC Members may post computer related items for sale.  Items will be posted for 60 days unless notified by the seller that the item has been sold.  Please send items you would like listed with your contact information to applejac@mac.com.

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For Sale MacBook Pro 17" 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo

4 GB SDRAM
500 GB Hitachi or 320 GB Apple Hard Drive
Magsafe Power Port
Gigabite Ethernet Port
One FireWire 800 Port
One FireWire 400 Port
Three USB 2.0 Ports
DVI DisplayPort
Audio Line in
Audio Line out
ExpressCard/34 slot
Extra Battery
Snow Leopard

Passes all Service Diagnosis and Apple will warranty for one year.

Contact joe@mmcsinfo.com or 573.881.6800 asking $2000

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iMac for sale

24 inch iMac, 2.8 GHz processor, 2GB Ram, Intel Core 2 Duo, Hard Drive is 500 GB, Snow Leopard, iWork 09, iLife 09 with the price at $850.

Contact Terry Larkin <terrylarkin@embarqmail.com>

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iSub for sale

iSub, which is a sub woofer with a usb connection that will play with an older mac. Pre-snow leopard.  For more information.

Contact Ken Zindle <kez9431@mac.com>

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appleJAC Recognized by the City of Jefferson

On Monday, December 7th, Tom Piper, appleJAC President, and Greg Breuer, appleJAC Vice President, accepted the following proclamation from Mayor John Landwehr in Jefferson City, MO.

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh Computer, 128 K, in a now-famous Orwellian ad on Super Bowl Sunday, on January 24, 1984; and

WHEREAS, In December of that same year, Tom Piper and Thom Day founded a Macintosh Users Group (MUG) in Jefferson City, Missouri.  The purpose of the organization was to share their enthusiasm, interest, and knowledge about the new Macintosh computers; and

WHEREAS, The Jefferson City Macintosh Users Group was named “appleJAC,” which stands for “Joint Aid and Comfort.”  The organization has met on the first Tuesday of each month in computer stores, businesses, and schools throughout the community for twenty-five years; and

WHEREAS, appleJAC has grown to 77 members from all walks of life and includes teachers, college professors, professional photographers, graphic designers, software engineers, business people, doctors, lawyers, engineers, homemakers, construction workers, to name a few; and

WHEREAS, appleJAC members have taught each other the enjoyment and usefulness of the Macintosh Plus, the Macintosh SE, the Mac IIx, the Mac SE/30, the Mac IIcx, the Mac IIci, the Mac Portable, the Macintosh IIfx, the Macintosh Classic, the Mac LC and LC II, the Macintosh IIsi, the Mac Classic II, the Mac Quadras, the Mac PowerBooks, the Macintosh Performas, the Mac IIvx, the Mac IIvi, the Mac PowerBook Duos, the LC III, the Color Classic, the Centris, the Newton, the Power Macs, the 20th Anniversary Mac, the iMac, the iBook, the Power Mac G4 Cube, the eMac, the iPod, the Mac Mini, the Mac Pro, the MacBook, the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and the iPhone ; and

WHEREAS, appleJAC has provided instruction for hundreds of teachers, members, and business people in the Jefferson City community.  AppleJAC has a community outreach project of providing computers and instruction for senior citizen communities; and

WHEREAS, Many members of appleJAC work on PCs by day and come home to the Macintosh that they love.  Macintosh users are no longer just a cult in that Apple has become an accepted technological leader with a large following.  appleJAC members are still “geeks,” but they are also “gurus;” and

WHEREAS, Like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jim Henson, Frank Sinatra, Mahatma Ghandi, Amelia Earhardt, Charlie Chaplin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Neil Armstrong, appleJAC members “Think Different;” and

WHEREAS, appleJAC has become an important resource in our community by providing helpful technological advice, friendship and camaraderie throughout the last twenty-five years; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, John Landwehr, Mayor of the City of Jefferson, do hereby proclaim

December 1, 2009  as  appleJAC Day

in the City of Jefferson and urge all citizens to show support and encouragement to the members of this fine organization.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the official seal of the City of Jefferson to be affixed the seventh day of December, 2009.

End of January appleJAC Digest/Blog