appleJAC Users Group

President's Place: September 2013

by Tom Piper

 

Wow, here it is the end of August already, and I'm still wondering where the summer has gone. Yes, I know, its 98° outside right now, and the humidity seems to be 110%, so it is nice to be inside enjoying this Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, I'm getting prepared for our next meeting in Fulton.

But, first, a quick recap of our last meeting with 33 people present. We had terrific Apple@Work presentations from Jamie Shepherd (Shep's Southside ordering/billing process with iPhone and Mac server), Dan Walsh (graphic design for videos), Peggy Landwehr (bring your own device like at Attorney General's Office), and Trish Alexander (how she uses Macs in her classroom). Greg Breuer reminded us of the Aug. 31 deadline for iDevice Photo Contest, and the following people won doorprizes (special thanks to the Pearson Technology Group and Cisco Press Marketing for the books):

• Todd McCluskey      CDW bag
• Gale Fuller             iPad @ Work book
• Jim Springs             iPhone 4S case
• Rosalind Moultin     OSX book
• Sharon Hanson        iPad mini for Dummies book
• Sr Josetta Eveler     iPhone 4 case
• Beverly G               iPhone screen protector
• Shubba Miller         Fuzzy Bear speaker

The next meeting will be all about "iCloud: How It Works" featuring presentations by Joe Mertzlufft and me to be held at the Callaway Rural Electric facility just off Highway 54 (1313 Cooperative Dr.) in Fulton (see map below for location). You may wish to carpool for efficiency and get to know other members better.

At the last meeting, I asked who would like to volunteer to talk at our November meeting about their favorite Gadgets (hardware, software, app) . . . only George has responded so far, so let me hear from you at the upcoming meeting or by email (applejac@mac.com). I'm looking forward to seeing you at the next meeting, and bring friends . . .

 

2013 appleJAC iOS Photo Contest DEADLINE

WInner of our Last Contest

You, as a member of appleJAC, are invited to take and enhance(remove something, add something, colorize or otherwise improve) a picture.

Any picture you take out your back door, on your daily walk or on your family vacation can be used. People, places or things. Perhaps a beautiful scenery you know about or a flower you captured in bloom last week. Two caveats. The picture must be taken with an iOS device(iPhone, iPad). Before and after enhancement photos need to be emailed to applejac@mac.com

The clock starts now and ends on August 31. After that, you lost your chance to win. All submissions will be displayed on the appleJAC website (http://www.applejac.org). As a member, you will be also asked to vote for a "People's Choice" by September 30. Send your vote to applejac@mac.com.

All photos will be judged with first ($30 value prize), second ($20 value prize) and third ($10 value prize) place winners determined by our esteemed judge. The "People's Choice" winner gets a $10 prize. A person could win both first prizes. How cool is that?

Winners will be announced at the November 5 meeting.

Don't Install MacKeeper

Our members are having bad experiences too . . . 

Mackeeper leaves 104 suspicious files behind after uninstalling!!!

President's Place: August 2013

by Tom Piper

Its almost the end of July, and I'm wondering where the summer went? I've just returned from trips to Memphis and Birmingham to see my wife's daughter, and to Loup City, NE to show my son where I grew up and the wonderful people still there . . . time well spent for both. Now, its back to work at my consulting business, and marketing it to get more clients.

The last meeting focused first on the June World Wide Developers Conference where (among other things) the next generation of Apple operating systems was presented including iOS 7 and MacOS Mavericks (probably to be released in late September). This was followed by presentations on ways to better maintain your Mac computers (George), how to protect your iDevices (me), and what NOT to do to either (Joe). Greg also reminded us that the iOS Photo Contest will end on August 31 (click here see description). Door prize winners at this meeting included a variety of books and a $10 iTunes card.

As a parting thought before I close this month's article, I would like to pass on to you a great article a friend shared with me about role models who serve as sources of wisdom and inspiration, as bright lights illuminating the path to the person you want to become. "What I Learned From Steve Jobs" by Thomas Murcko, CEO of BusinessDictionary.com, provides 23 business lessons he derived as summarized below:

1. Be bold.
2. Question everything.
3. Make your own rules.
4. Live with intensity.
5. Learn from the best.
6. Let everything be your teacher.
7. Think for yourself.
8. Learn to program.
9. Passion is essential to success.
10. Mission counts.
11. Make something for yourself.
12. The execution matters more than the idea.
13. Hire the best people you can.
14. If it matters, do whatever it takes.
15. Master the art of persuasion.
16. Build a toolbox of techniques for getting what you want.
17. Leverage what already exists.
18. Believe in the power of technology to change the world.
19. Put a dent in the universe.
20. Bend reality to your will.
21. First impressions matter.
22. Make something beautiful.
23. When looking for role models, admire the trait, but don’t worship the person.

For a full explanation of the rationale behind each, go to the full article at www.businessdictionary.com. Steve Jobs as left us a valuable legacy of behavior worth emulating.

Meanwhile, come visit us at our next August 6 meeting when four of our members will share how they use there Apple products to help them achieve success at their work places: Apple@Work. This meeting will be held at Kennedy Hall in the back lower level of Immaculate Conception School . . . bring friends and family.

Apple iDevice Charger Exchange

Apple on Monday detailed a new program where owners of third-party iPhone, iPod and iPad adapters can trade their products in for an Apple charger for $10 — roughly half the typical price of a new Apple charger.

“Recent reports have suggested that some counterfeit and third party adapters may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues,” Apple said on a website announcing the program. “While not all third party adapters have an issue, we are announcing a USB Power Adapter Takeback Program to enable customers to acquire properly designed adapters.”

Although Apple has in the past had replacement programs when there have been issues with its own products, this appears to be the first time it has offered such a program for products made by others.
The program is a global one, kicking off Aug. 9 in China and Aug. 16 in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Customers will be able to go to any Apple retail store or authorized service provider and exchange one charger for every iPad, iPhone and iPod that they own. Users have to also bring in their iOS device to validate the serial number.

Details are available on Apple's website: http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter-takeback/.