iSad

I did some research on the Internet and I noted a few other people are having this problem. While some users were suggesting increasing the fan speed, particularly on older computers, my computer is barely a year old.

It is time for some real troubleshooting. There are many things that can be done to identify and fix a computer problem. One of my favorite ones is to see if the problem exists when a new or test user account is added. This is accomplished in Apple menu > System Preferences > System > Users & Groups.

To use this tool, you must first unlock it. Notice the lock in the bottom left corner. When you click it, you will be asked for an administrator password. Set up a new user and be sure to allow this user to administer the computer.

Then go to the Apple menu and choose Log Out. At the next screen you will need to choose your test user and enter the password. The computer will do a partial restart. When it is running, see if your computer is still misbehaving.

In this case, nothing had changed, but I learned several things. First, I now know the problem is not being caused by a login item or a process running in the background. I have not ruled out a problem with the System software. I also have not ruled out a hardware problem.

There are several other things that I want to try before taking in any drastic measures. First I will reset the System Management Controller or SMC. Instructions can be found here. The following are items that are controlled by the SMC:

• Responding to presses of the power button
• Responding to display lid opening and closing on portable Macs
• Battery management
• Thermal management
• The SMS (Sudden Motion Sensor)
• Ambient light sensing
• Keyboard backlighting
• Status Indicator Light (SIL) management
• Battery status indicator lights
• Selecting an external (instead of internal) video source for some iMac displays

• Status of AppleTalk
• Serial Port Configuration and Port definition
• Alarm clock setting
• Application font
• Serial printer location
• Autokey rate
• Autokey delay
• Speaker volume
• Attention (beep) sound
• Double-click time
• Caret blink time (insertion point rate)
• Mouse scaling (mouse speed)
• Startup disk
• Menu blink count
• Monitor depth
• 32-bit addressing
• Virtual memory
• RAM disk
• Disk cache

In the past I could right click a photo on Safari (email) and download it to Iphoto. Now I get an error message that “iPhoto cannot communicate with Safari". Is there a fix for this?

A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drives, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD and key drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image. A disk image is usually created by creating a complete sector-by-sector copy of the source medium and thereby perfectly replicating the structure and contents of a storage device.

When I was in high school, veterans and the military became more and more unpopular. When I was in college, I met my future husband, an NROTC student from UCLA. We married during the summer before our senior years and he was commissioned as soon as he graduated. Both of us endured derisive comments and hateful stares when fellow students learned of his career choice.

When he entered the Navy, being associated with the military continued to be very unpopular. Being a Navy wife often earned more viscious comments and ugly stares the further I ventured from the Navy base.

We spent the last days of the Vietnam war on Guam. We were there when Saigon fell and the refugees were evacuated to the island as it was the staging area for their entry into the US. That was the first time I had ever heard anyone thank US military members for their service.

Last night I was watching the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS. I heard the stories of veterans. I saw them being thanked for their service.

The reaction to the military has certainly changed over the past 40 years. We are constantly reminded to thank our veterans and service members. That is a good thing!

But how many of you have ever thought to thank that Vietnam War veteran? Yes, the war was unpopular, but that is beside the point. Each of those veterans was called by his country to serve. They deserve your thanks--even if you did not like the war.

I plan to place links here to articles that I post over there:

A try at something new and iPad Babysitting

In general, MacMousecalls on Blogger will be more casual or personal in nature.

--Pat

Because I leave the photos on my iPhone, the camera roll looks like this. There are so many photos that seem to be the same that I am often embarrassed to show my photos to family and friends!

If I delete them from iPhoto, they are just added back the next time I sync my iPhone.

The only obvious way to delete photos from the iPhone is to do it one at a time here:

Have you tried this method? It is so slow and tedious! There has to be a better way--and there is!

First, attach your iPhone to your computer and make sure all photos have been synched. Now, back up the photos on your computer. The easiest way is to force an immediate sync in Time Machine.

If you use another method of backing up, do it now.

On every Macintosh, there is an app in your Applications folder called Image Capture.

When you launch or start it, you will see a window similar to this:

Notice that my iPhone is listed in the left column. In the right column are the photos stored on my camera. in the lower right corner is a slider to enlarge the photo thumbnails.

Enlarge the images and then select the ones you want to delete. Click on the first image, then hold down the Command (or Apple) key on your keyboard. It is located next to the spacebar. When you hold the Command key down, you can select multiple images, even if they are not contiguous (next to each other).

When you have selected some images, press the Delete icon (the circle with the line through it.)

You can select and delete images multiple times. When you are finished, close the Image Capture window and quit it. Do not use the “Import” or “Import All” button since they are already in your iPhoto Library

The photos you selected will be gone from your iPhone and you will be left with only those images that you want to keep.

I plan to begin using this method of keeping only the best photos and movies!

There is just so much to learn about the iPhone and iPhoto. One of the services we offer at Dr. Mac Consulting is tutoring and projects like this make great learning opportunities. Tutorials cost only $60.00 per hour. We use special software to see your computer and we can show you how to do this project and lots more! Give us a call give us a call at Bob LeVitus Consulting. We can discuss your needs and help you formulate a plan that will give you the best “bang for your buck.” You can reach us by telephone at 408 627-7577. Or send an email to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com.

--Pat

The first way to save the attached file is simply to drag it to the desktop of your computer:

Another way to save the file is to your computer by using the “Save” button in the header of the message:



If you use this method, you will want to click the arrow at the end of the file name box so that you can easily designate where the file should be saved.



Now that the vCard file has been downloaded, let’s add it to the Address Book. Drag the vCard file into the leftmost column of the Address book and watch for “All Contacts to become selected. When there is a ring around it, let go of the mouse button.



If there are any cards that seem to match ones already in your address, you will see a window similar to this one. You may want to review the duplicate cards–or you can work on it later. If you have lots of duplicate cards, you may want to read the article here to learn how to clean up your address book.



Now it is time to make a Group for the people you just added to your Address Book. Click on the arrow at the bottom left corner of the window and make a name for you new group.



Since we just imported a group of vCards, they will be listed in “Last Import.” Click on one of the names in the column, the use Command - A to select all the names.



Another, slower, way to select all the names is using the Edit menu in Address Book.



Now drag all of the highlighted names to the MacMania Group.



All of the vCards are now a part of your Address Book, and the names can be isolated by choosing that particular group.

Cruising with our friends from MacMania is always fun! To learn more about future MacMania cruises, check here. We are already signed up for MacMania 14. We hope to see you there.

--Pat

• Open the Disk Utility application.

• In the left column of Disk Utility, select the disc. It will be indented under the name of your CD/DVD Drive. If the original disk was burned using a session mode, there may be one or more sessions. You DO NOT want to choose a session. Choose the name of the disk that is inserted in your CD/Drive.

• From the File menu, choose New and then choose Convert

• Enter a file name, choose a location, and choose "DVD/CD Master" from the Image Format pop-up menu.

• Click the Save button. After the image has been created you should see it in the disk listing in the Disk Utility window.

• Eject the DVD-R video disc.

• Select the disk image you created from the listing.

• Click the Burn icon in the toolbar.

• When prompted, insert a blank DVD-R disc. Click the Burn Button when the disc has been recognized by your computer.

This tutorial was inspired by a client who needed a bit of hand-holding to copy her DVD. Although I have attempted to include lots of screenshots, you may need a bit more help. That is one of the things that we can do at Bob LeVitus Consulting! Give us a call. We can clear up any questions and walk you through the process. Our tutoring sessions are $60 per hour. We have special software that allows us to see and control your computer. Give us a call at 408 627-7577, or visit our web site or send us a message at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com. We offer training, troubleshooting and technical support.

--Pat

To get to it, highlight some text--on a web page, in Mail or in most Macintosh applications. Then hold down the Control key and click into the highlighted text. A menu similar to this one will appear. To have your computer read the text to you, select “Speech > Start Speaking.” If you want to stop listening, you will need to click and hold the control button again and select “Speech > Stop Speaking.”

I have used this method for years, but I have always wanted a faster, easier way to have my Mac read to me.

I was recently exploring System Preferences and I found an intriguing item in the Speech Preference:

Click on the icon for Speech and you will see this:

Click on “Set Key” to reveal this:

Now, click on whatever key combination you would like to use, but remember, there are lots of key commands already in use.

I chose Command + Option + Control + S because it is “free” and it is easy to remember. I just hold down all the keys to the left of the Space Bar, and the S key for speak. You. do need to highlight the test you want the computer to read.

The best part of using a keyboard combination is that pressing the same combination again turns the speech off!

There is so much that the Mac can do. If you would like a little help, give us a call at Bob LeVitus Consulting. You can telephone us at 408 627-7577, or visit our web site or send us a message at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com. We offer training, troubleshooting and technical support.

--Pat

I purchased the $60.00, 30 day, 5 GB plan for the MiFi. I suspect I could have gotten by with the $40.00 plan, but I wanted to make sure I have adequate data for any activity we wanted to try.

Because I have not modified our existing contracts, both my husband and I have unlimited data plans on our iPhones. If I would modify our contracts, we could add iPhone tethering which would allow us to use the iPhone to provide WiFi Internet service to one computer at a time. I do not think there is a way to provide WiFi to our iPads from the iPhone, unless we jailbreak them. I do not plan to do that.

While my husband’s iPad is WiFi only, mine is the 3G model. I purchased the data plan before AT&T changed the plans, so for the moment, I have the unlimited data plan.

As you can see, I have several overlapping data plans in place. Therefore, I have turned off the WiFi on my 3G iPad and on my iPhone while I am in range of the MiFi. Since there is a Starbuck’s Coffee with free AT&T WiFi in a nearby mall food court, I used it yesterday morning and went back to upload a large audio file yesterday evening when the upload speeds on the MiFi were too slow to easily upload a 125 MB file.

My Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go MiFi does not require a monthly contract and I can change the plan each time I buy more data. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile probably offer similar devices (or they will soon). The important part of this device is its lack of a contract. If I plan to be home for a month, I can simply tuck it away until I need to activate it for another trip.

While I had planned to remove the data plan from my iPad 3G, we have found it to be very useful in day-to-day life around town. I often tuck my iPad into my purse when we are away from home. Being able to surf the web anywhere, at any time on the larger screen is a big improvement over the iPhone screen. I also hand it to my husband if he is going to be away from home, waiting for a car repair or something else.

Eventually, I will need to trim our costs and I will need to cut some of the overlapping Internet services. However, for the moment it is very convenient to be able to be online on any device at any time. It’s too bad that money doesn’t grow on trees!

If you need help choosing the best sources of Internet connectivity for you and your family, give us a call at Bob LeVitus Consulting. We can discuss your needs and help you formulate a plan that will give you the best “bang for your buck.” You can reach us by telephone at 408 627-7577. Or send an email to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com. Our service for this costs $60.00 per hour.

-- Pat

While both charts seem to end at approximately the same time, and both contain 8 entries, they don’t really corollate well except for two that I have circled. I suspect that the earlier entries on both devices were instances where the iPhones checked for new data.

I suspect that the highlighted entries are two FaceTime calls between the two iPhones. I had wondered if the amount of data used would be the same. Clearly, they are not. In talking with Monique and Sandy, some calls were initiated with Sandy pressing the FaceTime Chat button while in other cases, Monique pressed the button.

I think the best call to compare is the top one. Unfortunately, we can’t determine which iPhone initiated the FaceTime portion of the call. It is also interesting to note that the Session Start and End Times vary as does the amount of data used.

Here are two more entries to analyze:

Although both calls began at the same time, there is a difference in ending time. One possible answer is the hospital’s WiFi network. It is slow, weak and problematic most of the time, but occasionally, things seem to “click” and it can support decent speeds and signal strength. I suspect it strengthened and took over the wireless duties at some point in the call. There are several other occasions in the data records that seem to indicate that a call transferred between the two wireless networks.

In any case, the amount of data being transmitted during a FaceTime call is in the 1 to 3 MB per minute range. Doing a little research, I found an article on 9to5mac.com that seems to support this. I suspect the data usage rate has much to do with the amount of movement in the camera’s view, just as happens in video capture with a camera.

My conclusions are that interpreting MiFi usage charts is not a simple task. Also, I will not hesitate to make FaceTime chat calls to family and friends. They are economical in their data usage and a wonderful way to share events.

--Pat

That solves many problems. Try a quick restart if your device is acting up.

Some problems are a bit bigger. They require a new copy of the iPhone software (the operating system) to resolve the problem. That is called a Restore. Connect your iPhone to your computer. Select the iPhone in the rightmost column of the iTunes application window. Then select the Summary tab in the main window.

You will see the Restore button in the middle portion of the main window. Clicking the button may bring up this dialog box:

In general, I usually let iTunes complete this backup. It can take a minute or two.

Once the backup is completed, you will see this box:

This is the one to think about. In order to restore the iPhone, iTunes must erase EVERYTHING that is on the device. Putting things back in place can take a bit, possibly several hours. This is NOT the procedure to perform when you need to be at a meeting, with your phone, in 10 minutes! It is not such a bad job if you can let it take place when you won’t be needing your iPhone for a while. I tend to restore iPhones and iPads at bedtime!

Let’s focus on the small print:

At the end of the restore, you will have two options. The first is to use the backup file that iTunes made to restore everything to your iPhone. Although it can take a while, it is pretty painless. HOWEVER, if the problem is not the iPhone software itself, but a problem in one of your data or settings file, restoring the iPhone from a backup will NOT solve your problem!

I have had several instances when erasing the iPhone or iPad and restoring it from the backup did not fix the issue. It was only solved when I set up the device as if it were brand new.

If you want to try restoring from the backup, click that button and sit back.

If you decide to do the complete replacement, you will loose all your preferences, game scores, and data. While this can be disconcerting. Many games such as WeRule, WeFarm and MyTown store your data on their server. You device only stores the login and password. Other games such as Solitaire City store all of your data on your device, so setting up again will mean that your high scores disappear.

In the case of things Evernote or DropBox, your data is stored on their server, so you will need to log in to retrieve it. If you are using applications such as Bento, be sure to sync your device with your computer before you do a restore.

If you have decided to leave your old data behind, then click “Set up as a new” iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Sometimes if seems as though iTunes takes off on a run! To prevent that, scroll down in the main iPhone window until you see this area:

Click the box to manually manage music and video, then go to each of the tabs across the top of the iPhone window and make your selections.

Use the Apply button at the lower left corner of the iPhone window to begin the process of moving things back to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

If you are having a problem with your device and you want Apple to replace it, they will ask you if you have done a software restore and if you have set it up as a new device. If that does not solve the issue and if it is truly a problem, Apple will generally replace the unit if it is in the initial warranty period or if you have purchased AppleCare.

If these directions still seem intimidating, we can give you a hand. This kind of help qualifies as a tutorial. While our rate for troubleshooting at Dr. Mac Consulting is $120.00 per hour, tutoring costs $60.00 per hour. We specialize in hand-holding and we explain exactly what is happening as we work. Most important, we are extremely patient! Give us a call at 408 627-7577 or send us a message at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com.

--Pat

Being the techie that I am, I bought the new iPhone 4 on the day it was introduced. My sister, Sandy, also bought an iPhone 4. We could use FaceTime to stream the wedding to Monique!

Unfortunately, while the idea was a good one, there were lots of problems to overcome.

A few days after getting my iPhone 4, I attempted to use FaceTime while at the hospital to place a call to Sandy at her home in Las Vegas NM. Although we could talk by voice, we could not make a FaceTime connection. The hospital network connection was too slow--or perhaps they block streaming, but using the hospital patient network was not an option.

I also knew that neither the church nor the reception hall had an open WI-FI network. While I might have been able to find a way to set up a network at our church, I knew there was no way I would be able to set up a network at the reception site, located at the Washington Navy Yard.

Mi-Fi cards allow you to set up your own Wi-Fi network wherever you go, as long as there is a mobile phone 3G network available. There was one big catch--a contract! If we would sign a one to two year contract, we could get or buy one of these devices for $0 to $200.00. Contracts cost $30 to $60 per month for up to 5 GB of data. Canceling the contract would also be very costly. That was a lot of money to expend to stream the wedding to Monique!

Sandy called. She saw a press release for a new Mi-Fi service from Virgin Mobile. We could buy a VirginMobile Mi-Fi device at any Best Buy for $149.00. Then we could buy data from Virgin Mobile without a contract! Of course, it would require TWO Mi-Fi devices, one for the hospital, and one for the wedding sites.

Sandy had purchased a Wi-Fi iPad. She often wished she had a way to connect it to the Internet using her own Wi-Fi. She decided to by the first Mi-Fi device.

Since I have lots of techie friends, I was certain that I could find a Mi-Fi device to borrow--or perhaps a mobile phone that we could use to set up a Wi-Fi network. While several friends have Mi-Fis, they were paid for by their employers, so using one for a the wedding was not an option.

Although several friends had phones that could be used to set up a Wi-Fi network, no one had actually done it! No one knew exactly what they needed to do! FAIL, FAIL, FAIL!

After a bit more thought, I decided that this was too important an event for Monique to miss. I bought the second MiFi and we quickly tested it out.

FaceTime over the Mi-Fi devices was not perfect, but it was more than acceptable. Now, Monique could “be” at the wedding and at the reception! She would see everyone get ready, see the preparations at the church, see, the ceremony and the reception. Not only would she see it, she could also visit with family and friends throughout the day and evening.

I delivered my iPhone and the MiFi to the hospital. I did a bit of testing and configuring to make sure the iPhone would default to the MiFi instead of the hospital wireless. Now we were ready for the big day.

We made many FaceTime calls throughout the day. Monique was able to visit with friends and family, add her approval to Courtney’s hairstyle, be a part of the group in the wedding room at church, make a final check of her boys in their suits, watch her sons walk down the aisle, see Courtney and Andy exchange their vows, listen to Fr. DeCelle’s homily, suggest yet another picture to be taken after the ceremony. She visited with friends at the reception, saw the table decorations she had helped to make, watched her sons be introduced, listened to her dad’s toast, and watch her sons dance and dance.

While Monique was not able to be physically present, she was able to be a part of our wonderful day. FaceTime and the iPhone 4 allowed it to happen, along with family and friends who took a few minutes to be a part of the stream.

Courtney and Andy provided the fitting end to the day. When they left the reception, they headed to the hospital so that Monique could see them in their wedding attire.

Pat

The preferences for my MacBook Pro looked like this:

I had disabled all the One Finger actions on my MacBook Pro. It turns out that I do not like Tap to Click! As soon as I had the Magic Trackpad configured to match the settings on my laptop, I was a happy camper!

I had calls from two of our clients at Bob LeVitus Consulting over the weekend. Both had bought Magic Trackpads and both had shoved them back into the box, ready for a return to the Apple Store.

Whenever things aren’t working as you expect them to, check the preferences.

I like the Magic Trackpad better than a mouse, and even better than the Apple Magic Mouse--but still not as much as I like the keyboard and trackpad combination on my MacBook Pro. I wonder if I could persuade Steve Jobs to make an integrated keyboard and trackpad that mimic a laptop. That would probably be perfect!

However, for now I have the Magic Trackpad aligned with the end of my wireless keyboard and I have the Magic Mouse sitting above my keyboard, at the ready, in case I have a sudden urge to grab a mouse!

--Pat

This method is convenient because it quickly shows you not only the application, but also a number of items that might be related. Another way to get to the AirPort Utility is to use the “Go” menu in the Finder to open the Utilities Folder:

A third way to get to it is to open a Finder window, open the Applications folder, then locate the Utilities folder and open it. Give the magnifying glass a try--it is definitely the fastest and most direct way!

When you open the AirPort Utility, you will see a list of Apple wireless devices in the left column. If you see more than one, choose the “main” device. You will also want to make similar changes in any other devices.

Click on the “Manual Setup” button:

In the next window, choose the “Wireless” tab at the top of the screen:

Now, click the “Wireless Security” button and choose WPA Personal.

That will cause the Update button to become active. Click it.

You will then see this dialog box. Click the “Continue” to make the change.

I am sure you are wondering what you just did and why it matters. The answer is in Apple’s Technical Knowledge Base article TS3361, but let me try to simplify it.

The rules for how devices and settings work are set up in industry standards. The standard being used in current Apple wireless devices is 802.11n. The standard includes rules for how fast data can be transmitted and rules for security settings. According to that standard, when a wireless device is using WPA or WEP, the fastest speed that data can travel is 54 MBps. While that is fast, 802.11n devices are allowed to transmit data at a much faster rate if the device is using WPA2 Personal.

If you choose WPA/WPA2 Personal, then your AirPort Base Station transmissions are capped at 54 Mbps when there is a device that is using only WPA on your network. If there are no devices present that require WPA, then your wireless speed can increase up to a theoretical maximum of 300 Mpbs.

I have also noticed that web pages open much faster when WPA2 Personal is enabled. That seconds-long pause that frequently happens when a link is chosen is greatly reduced. I cannot find anything definitive in technical literature to support my experience, but Ted Landau also noted it in a recent article at Macworld.com

However, there is one possible “gottcha.” If you choose WPA2 Personal, then devices that use WEP or WPA are locked out of your network.

Since all of the computers in my home are fairly new, and all of them can use WPA2 Personal, I have our network set to do just that. If you have a PC or an older Mac (Intel Core Duo or PowerPC processor), you may need to use WPA or even WEP.

Because my Time Capsule is fairly new, it can be set to allow for a second guest network. While guests can get wireless access, they cannot get to our family’s computers for file sharing or printing. In general, I leave the guest network security set at WPA/WPA2 Personal. However, if a friend has a really old PC, I occasionally have to take all password protection off to allow them to see and use our network.

Apple’s latest Time Capsules and AirPort Extreme Base Stations cost a bit more than generic Linksys or Netgear wireless routers, the ease of setting them up, updating them and being able to set up guest networks make them a real bargain for me.

Just in case you are wondering, I do not get any special prices or deals for my computer equipment. I go to the Apple Store or order it online at regular prices.

If you would like to discuss the information presented here or if you need help to make sure your wireless network is operating at maximum speeds, consider booking a tutoring session with us at Bob LeVitus Consulting. We can use our special software to take a look at your computer and we can advise you on future purchases. The cost is $60.00 per hour. Send us a message at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or give us a call at 408 627-7577.

--Pat

I have a purse with a large outer pocket and the iPad easily slips into it. So, as we walked around New York, I used the 3G service to navigate using the iPad’s Maps application. I used Yelp, Hear Planet and Google to find restaurants and points of interest. Being a true geek, I did not mind the stares and comments of passersby as I used my newest toy!

Because our cruise was heading for international waters and Bermuda, I set the iPad to Airport mode while we were at sea. I knew that international data rates would quickly put a huge dent in our travel budget. I had purchased a WiFi package for use on the ship and I did use it for email and web surfing. Without a data package, I was unable to use the apps I had enjoyed in New York, but I turned web pages about Bermuda into PDFs and I downloaded various PDFs that I found on the web so that the iPad was a good electronic travel guide.

I really enjoyed the convenience of note-taking on the iPad while I was attending MacMania conference sessions on the ship. It is much lighter and easier to carry than my 17” MacBook Pro. There were a number of USB data sticks that were passed around during some of the sessions. It would have been nice to be able to add those files directly to my iPad, but at this time, that is not possible.

I also enjoyed being able to share my photos on the iPad. I was not able to purchase the iPad Camera Connection Kit before we left on the cruise. That would have been a great addition to my gadget bag!

I have had three of our grandsons and their mom as house guests this past week. The boys are 7, 5 and 2 1/2 and they have used the iPad for many hours. In addition to playing games, they have read books, watched videos and surfed the web with their mom.

Now that we have had our iPads for about 6 weeks, they have found their way into many places in our daily lives. My husband is using his to read lots of books. He is also enjoying reading newspaper sites on the iPad. He usually keeps his iPad in the family room and asks that other users return it to its home beside his chair.

I tend to carry the iPad around as I move from room to room. While I am working in my office on my MacBook Pro right now, I will move down to the basement to my craft workroom later and I will be using the iPad to do an inventory of supplies in Bento. I will also take it shopping with me as I purchase some needed items later today. The recipe I plan to make for dinner is on the web, so the iPad will make its way to the kitchen counter. Later, I will probably use it to read a book while my husband watches a TV show or two.

While the iPad won’t replace my MacBook Pro or iMac, it is a very convenient device to use throughout the day. My other computers can do the same things, but they are not as light, personal and easy to carry as the iPad.

Would I buy the iPad again? Definitely! Will I want the new one next year? Probably -- but I am sure I will have no problem passing this one down to a family member when that day comes. I am excited to see what Apple plans for the next version!

-- Pat

Need help setting up your iPad? Give us a call at Bob LeVitus Consulting! Bob has just finished his iPad for Dummies book and is waiting for it to be printed and I am exploring and learning new ways of integrating into daily life. Tutoring sessions cost $60.00 per hour.

A window like this one will appear. I have resized the columns so that I have not exposed the addresses of my friends and clients.

This is a list of all the people you have sent email to since you began using Mail, cleared the list, or removed addresses. If you have made mistakes in typing in addresses, those are also captured. Look at this name in my list:

If I type in Still, Mail will fill it in as an address. Notice that there is no @ sign, and no email server in the listing--but Mail will still use it.

Is this a bug? No. Mail will allow you to send emails to a whole group of people who are in a special list in your address book and those lists do not have the @somewhere.com as a part of their name. The are designated by the Groups list in your Apple Address book.

If you are getting old or incorrect addresses when you are adding recipients to emails, take a few minutes to clean out the errors in Previous Recipients.

Le’s spend a few more minutes to explore some of the things you can do in Previous Recipients.

I know that many Apple users don’t realize that the column headers in the window below are actually sort buttons.

If you click on the name button, the list will be sorted alphabetically by the person’s name. Do you see the little arrow at the end of the Name button? That arrow determines the sort order. If the arrow is pointing up, the list will be sorted from A to Z by last name. If the arrow points down, the list will be sorted from Z to A (The items without names will be at the bottom of the list in Previous Recipients).

If you click the Email button, the Previous Recipients list will be sorted by email addresses. Again, the triangles will determine the sort order.

If you click the Last Used button, the Previous Recipients List will be sorted by the date you last used the address. In this case, the up arrow will put the oldest addresses at the top. The down arrow will put the most recently used addresses at the top of the list.

Did you notice the little icon that appears before Frederick Apple C? That icon lets me know that the email address for Frederick Apple C is in my Address Book.

The next time you are on hold on the telephone, consider cleaning up your Previous Recipients list. Begin by looking for incomplete addresses. Then sort the addresses by name and delete older addresses when you have multiple addresses for the same person, consider eliminating the older ones. Think about eliminating addresses that you have not used in several years. Highlight addresses for friends that are not in your address book and use the button in the lower right corner of the window to add them to your address book.

If your addresses are in really bad shape, you may want to select all of the addresses (Command A), press the Remove from List button and start all over again!

While computers can make our lives easier, sometimes they cause nothing but problems! If your computer is giving you trouble, consider booking a tutoring session with Doctor Mac Consulting. We can show you how to make your computer easier to use. The cost is $60.00 per hour and we can use our special software to “see” your computer. Send a note to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or call us at (408) 627-7577 for further information.

--Pat

If you look at the bottom of the menu, you can see that I had seven different windows open in Safari:

If you look at the upper left corner of my screen, you six of the windows, but one is completely hidden. Unless you go to the Window menu, it’s easy to miss something that you have opened.

This is a time when it would make sense to move all of those windows into one--and there is a command for that!

If you use the Merge All Windows command, the seven windows will suddenly become this:

Merging all the windows into one is certainly efficient. Now, let’s explore some ways to navigate around tabs. In the same Window menu are the clues.

The Select Next Tab command ends with two symbols and the Select Previous command adds a third. I have learned that most Mac users don’t know what those little symbols mean, so here is a cheat sheet:

So, using this chart, to go to the next tab you would press Command - Tab. To go to the previous tab, press Command - Shift - Tab.

If you would like a copy of the list of symbols above, just drag the graphic to your desktop or press and hold the Control key while clicking on the picture to see this pop-up menu:

You can find even more Apple keyboard shortcuts by clicking on the words.

There are two more command that you might find helpful. Pressing Command - T will make a new tab in you current Safari window.

The second command in very interesting. Look carefully at the two screenshots below.

When I made the first screenshot, I had a Safari window open with no tabs. The command to close the window was Command W. The Close Tab command was grayed out. Now look at the second screenshot, In this case, the Safari window had at least one tab. Using Command W would close the active tab. If I wanted to close the window, I would need to press Shift - Command - T.

It is the little features like these that show how much thought and effort has gone into the programming of Safari. Kudos to Apple for all the little, useful details!

If you would like to learn even more about Safari, book a tutoring session with Doctor Mac Consulting. We can show you how to make your computer easier to use and we can see where you are having problems. The cost is $60.00 per hour and we can use our special software to “see” your computer. Send a note to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or call us at (408) 627-7577 for further information.

--Pat

• Safari - Know where you are going
• Safari homepage - Make it yours!
• Safari Toolbar - Make it yours

The Show Tab Bar command in the View Menu…

will add a tab bar in the Safari window:

When you are on a web page with links to other pages , hold down the Command key as you click on the links.

Tabs will appear along the tab bar and the web page will load on the tabs.

If you click on a tab you will see that web page, but your original page will not disappear. You can click the tabs to view the different web pages.

If you want to close a tab, hover your cursor over the favicon (icon) on the tab. An x will appear.

It is possible to re-arrange the tabs by dragging then along the tab bar.

To move a tab into a separate Safari window, click and drag down on the tab:

If you try to close a Safari window that has multiple tabs, it will warn you that you are about to close multiple web pages:

While I like the way Apple has configured tabs to work, you can modify those actions in the Safari Preferences.

To get to this window, go to the Safari menu and choose Preferences. Be sure to select Tab in the toolbar at the top of the window.

Sometimes it is difficult to learn new things, even with all of these pictures. If you would like one-on-one help, consider booking a tutoring session with Doctor Mac Consulting. We can show you how to make your computer easier to use and we can see where you are having problems. The cost is $60.00 per hour and I can use our special software to “see” your computer. Send a note to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or call us at (408) 627-7577 for further information.

--Pat

…can sync with the Notes in Mail

…I am pretty happy.

Let’s review how this works.

When you open the Notes app on the iPhone, you will see one of the two screens below. If you see this screen, you either have no notes or you are looking at notes you have previously made. To add a note, click the plus icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

If you see this screen, you are looking at the note you were last using. Click the plus icon in the upper right to add another note. Click the arrow icons at the bottom of the screen to navigate to your other notes. The envelope icon attaches the note to an email so that you can send it to someone. The Trash can icon deletes the note.

If you want to add a note on your computer, it is done in Mail:

Click on the Note icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen to add a new note. Click on the Notes icon in the Mail sidebar to view your notes.

There are many options when making Notes in Mail. It is possible to change fonts and colors, attach files and photos and even to make To Do items in a note:

Syncing notes

Instead, synching is set up in iTunes:

This means that in order to see the latest changes you have made on the other device (iPhone or Mac), you must connect your iPhone to the Mac and do a sync.

While there are lots of other applications that can be used for notes, I prefer Apple’s Notes application. Since it is an application made by Apple Inc., I can check my notes at any time. For example, when I am talking on the telephone, playing a game, listening to my podcast or music. For me this availability is not to be missed!

--Pat

While I might put the telephone number and URL for Frontier in Address Book, information about my flight to San Francisco would be easier to locate in iCal or the iPhone Calendar. I used copy and paste to put the information into iCal:

Then I waited for MobileMe to sync the information to my iPhone:

One of the most interesting things is that although the links from the email do not appear in the iCal event, they are visible and available on my iPhone. The links open to Google maps in Safari. Just think of how convenient it could be to have such easy access for maps to hotels, restaurants etc.

Note that I edited the screenshots to remove personal and identifying information from the images above.

Both Bob LeVitus and I will be at Macworld later this week. Look for blog posts, Twitters and updates as we learn about new products for the Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch. I will be traveling with my husband, Ron--if we don’t get snowed in by yet another DC storm.

--Pat

In the Preferences window, click the Template button and then click the Add Field button.

I have added just about every field to my template. However, notice that I have left Phonetic First/Last Name unchecked. If I need those fields, I can add them while I am in the Edit mode of Address Book. To add a field, use the menu item Card > Add Field.

It is also possible to add multiple items in many of the fields. For example, it is possible to add many different kinds of telephone numbers:

At the bottom of the pop-up are two choices, other and Custom… If you choose “other”, a new item labeled Other is added. If you choose Custom, you will see this window where you can add a new, specific kind of telephone number.

Add a custom field and the label will show the new field:

However, the Custom field is not available in the fields in other address cards. That is a suggestion that I will have to send to Apple!

At the bottom of each address card, there is a Notes field. I add all sorts of information to this area. It could be anything from an old address to notes about what I served the last time I invited the person for dinner. I also add ideas for future gifts and reminders about gifts I have sent in the past. If it is an entry for a business, I add employee names, notes about things I have purchased there, directions to their store etc.

Searching is one of the best features of Address Book. Not only can the name and address fields be searched, but the results will include any information that is stored in any other field, including the Notes area.

When you enter text into the Search area of the Address Book, it will look for that text throughout the Address book. It will include all fields and the Notes area.

If you use MobileMe to sync information from the Address Book to your iPhone or iPod Touch, the information is available in the Notes section of each card. However, at this time, it will not come up in the search results. For example, If you have entries for restaurants and you have added the cuisine that they serve in the Notes area, you would not be able to search the Contacts on your iPhone for Mexican food restaurants. I hope Apple will add these capabilities in new versions of the iPhone software.

If you need help in organizing your address book or you need to move addresses from another application into Address Book, consider booking a help session with me at Doctor Mac Consulting. I can show you how to move your addresses out of just about any program and into Apple’s Address Book. The cost is $60.00 per hour and I can use our special software to “see” your computer. Send a note to urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or call us at (408) 627-7577 for further information.

--Pat

This report tells me that I get lots of visits to an earlier article about updating iPhones and iPod touches. However the article is very out of date, so its time to do a complete update.

Keeping applications up-to-date was a bit buggy when the first article was written, but things have changed.

The iPhone and iPod Touch lets you know, right on App Store icon, when there is a newer version of an application.

Clicking on the icon may tell a slightly different story:

In this case, the updates page shows that I have three updates. This happened because I just used my iPhone for the first time today.

You can also check for updates on your computer by using iTunes.

Click on Applications in the Library area of the upper left column. You will be taken to the iTunes store to a special page that tracks your app updates. You can click on the update button for each individual application, or you can click the Download All button in the upper right corner of the window.

Did you notice that there are 4 applications shown here? That is because TweetDeck is not on my iPhone, but it is in my application collection. I have many more applications than I can display on my iPhone.

In the original article I wrote about having to delete earlier versions of applications through the finder. That is no longer necessary. Apple fixed that bug a long time ago!

Happy App shopping!

--Pat

Today I (sometimes) carry a 17” MacBook Pro 2.93 Intel Core 2 Duo and I have an iMac 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo sitting on my desk, mainly to act as link for my networked hard drives.



I went from a wireless newtork that ran on Graphite AirPort running 802.11b to a Time Capsule running 802.11n.



I went from a Handspring Visor Prism and a nameless Verizon cell phone while I awaited the release of the Springboard cell phone module to an iPhone 3GS.

I am sure you can tell similar stories. Times and our personal technology devices have certainly changed! The days ahead will bring even more changes and Steve Jobs and his crew at Apple, Inc. prepare to rock our world with new product announcements on January 27.

Welcome to the new year and come back often to learn more about your Mac, iPhone and other devices from Apple and the companies that support them.

--Pat

It will look something like this when you open it:

Locate Applications in the left column and click on it:

Notice the scroll bar indicates that there is a lot of the window that is hidden. Use the re-size tab in the lower right corner to drag the window until it is much wider:

You can change the size of columns by dragging on the line in the column header:

You can change the order of columns by clicking on the column title and dragging it to a new location:

You can change the sort by clicking a different column:

You can change the sort order by clicking the small arrow at the right end of the column:

Taking a look at my list of applications, you can see that I have several different types:

My Quicken 2006 is really old in software age. Parts of it will even run on a 68K Mac! I need to replace it, but I am waiting on Intuit to release a new version of Quicken (hopefully Quicken 2010) soon!

Many of my PowerPC applications are parts of Adobe CS3, which I will retire when Adobe CS5 is released. However, scrolling through the list, I have found a number of applications that I will be deleting. Do this cautiously! Make sure that the item you are deleting is a stand-alone application--that is not a part of something like the Adobe CS3 suite!

PowerPC applications run in Rosetta.

Still another kind of application is Universal. These applications contain code to run on both PowerPC Macs and Intel Macs.

These applications include both PowerPC and Intel versions of the code. When a x is present in their Get Info window, tney rely on the Rosetta software. If you have an Intel Mac, you do not want to be running apps using Rosetta.

The last kind of application is Intel. These will only run on Intel Macs. Many of these applications were added when I upgraded to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. These may be are smaller (because they do not contain the code for PowerPC) and many are much faster because they run in 64 bit mode. (I will talk about this in a future blog entry.):

So, do you have to get rid of Classic or PowerPC applications? Not necessarily. My Classic version of Quicken is hidden deep inside the Quicken 2006 package. If I remove it, I might break my ability to run Quicken 2006, so I plan to just leave it alone. I have plenty of room on my hard drive and it takes up only 10.7 MB. The slash through it means that it will not launch on my Intel Mac:

I will be keeping an eye on my PowerPC and Universal applications to see if they have been updated. Over time, developers will release newer versions without the PowerPC code. They will be smaller and they should run faster.

However, in my quest to improve my computer usage, I frequently ask myself--

Am I spending my time working on my computer -- or with my computer?

I have noticed that many computer users spend most of their time tweaking the little things while photos, blogs, movies, email and even work are pushed to the side. Someday all of us will stop using our computers. What will be your legacy? I hope mine includes memoirs, photo albums, movies and projects to pass on to my children and grandchildren! They won't really care how clean or fast my computer was!

If you need some help with your computer -- or help learning to do new things, consider booking a tutorial session with me at Dr. Mac Consulting. The cost is $60 per hour and we will cover just what you want to learn. Give us a call at 408 627-7577 or send us a message at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com.


--Pat

Since there is an ellipsis at the end of the phrase, a dialog box will appear:

But, just what does Secure Empty Trash do? It writes 1's and 0's over the information in the file eight times. If a file is large, or if there are many items in your trash, that can take a LONG time!

Some people want every file that they throw away to be securely erased. There is a finder preference to do just that:

If the check is present, be prepared to wait--and sometimes wait--and--wait--and--wait!

If you only occasionally want a file to be securely erased follow this procedure:

1. Empty the trash.
2. Place the file to be securely erased into the trash.
3. Use the Finder > Secure Empty Trash… command.

With Option key:

There's no change here. Let's try the clock:

Without Option key:

With Option key:

There is no change here either. Maybe I'm on the WRONG track? Let's try one more, the Battery icon.

Without Option key:

With Option key:

Now we are getting somewhere! Holding down the Option key caused the battery condition to be reported. Since I had no idea what might be reported if the condition was not normal, I did a bit of searching. I went to the Apple Support page for Snow Leopard at http://www.apple.com/support/snowleopard/. I entered "Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard battery condition" in the Search Support box:



I was lead to an article, Mac OS X v10.6: About the Battery menu bar extra for portable Macs. You can find it at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3782.

On to the Volume icon:

Without Option key:

With Option key:

This is pretty neat! I can actually change the sound inputs and outputs without opening the Sound Preferences. This can be important if you use a microphone, headphones or an external speaker.

Let't try the AirPort icon:

Without Option key:

With Option key:

This is some seriously cool information. It's a bit geeky, but it will be really helpful in troubleshooting AirPort connection issues.

On to the TimeMachine icon:

Without Option key:

With Option key:

This is an interesting one! I will have to check out this feature. Does that mean I can recover files from other computers on my network that are using different backup drives?

I also checked out Displays, iChat, and Keyboard. The Option key did not cause changes in those.

I have lots more to explore in Snow Leopard, but this is enough for today! I hope you are enjoying Snow Leopard if you have it installed. If you are waiting, just look at all the hidden new features!

Pat

If it is not there, you can add it by opening System Preferences. Here are three different ways to open them:

Locate the Mobile Me icon:

Click on it, then choose the "Sync" tab. There is a checkbox in the lower left corner of the window. When there is a check in that box, the Sync icon will appear in your Menu bar.

If you click on the icon in the Menu bar, it will look like this:

If it is in the process of synching, it will look like this:

If there is a problem, there will be an exclamation mark in the middle of the icon and the problem will be noted in the box (Sorry--I forgot to capture that one!)

So, what's with the Option key?

Hold it down while clicking on the Sync icon in the Menu bar and you see this:

There is a lot to explore here! I am particularly interested in Sync Diagnostics… and Reset Sync Services…, but it's time for me to get busy. Check back soon for more Snow Leopard secrets and try holding down that Option key while clicking on more of the Menu bar icons!

--Pat

Pat, I have made this mistake over and over. When visually looking at your iCal in monthly view, the appointments hug the left side of the date box and (it) is confusing as the date next to the text is the previous day. I can't begin to count the mistakes I had made by looking at appointment and seeing the date next to it (date is right justified). Is there some setting that can either move date to right or appointments to the left. It is visually wrong and quite unlike Apple.

I explained what the icons were--but I did not explain how to get rid of them. I thought about it, but I had spent several days on that post and it was time to get it online. When I publish a post, I usually mention it on Twitter. As I was getting ready to write, this message came up in my Twitter Stream:

What a coincidence! I tweeted this back:

I have a similar icon:

I have been asked that same question several times in the past few days, so I know some of you probably have had the same problem. And even if you knew the answer, it is pretty easy to forget some of the tiniest details of the Mac OS X interface.

Do you see that tiny little “jellybean” in the upper right corner of the window above? That little tiny icon is the source of the problem! Click it and the toolbar is gone – just gone! Click it again and the missing icons will quickly reappear. But if it has been a while since you accidentally clicked that jelly bean, it can sure make simple tasks difficult!

Of course, not every window has a toolbar at the top. If there is no toolbar, there is no jellybean:

Here are some other windows with toolbars and jelly beans. This one is Pages:

This is Word 2008:

Even more interesting is the Finder window. When you click the jellybean, the left sidebar also disappears:

Next time the icons are “just gone,” remember the jellybean!

Pat

• My dog died -- nope, that won’t work -- I don’t have a dog.
• The cat ate my homework -- no cat and no homework, but lots of home work!
• I went on a great cruise -- that’s not till the end of October!