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Tom Briant

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Editor: Tom Briant

 

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sunday Roundup by Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth

Video
Apple's 'Kill Switch' Is Deterring iPhone Thieves

http://live.wsj.com/video/apple-kill-switch-is-deterring-iphone-thieves/789B065E-6223-4A95-ACA6-A5AF98D33337.html




How The iPad Air Compares To Samsung's Best Tablet Yet, The Galaxy Tab S

http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-air-vs-samsung-galaxy-tab-s-2014-6




10 iPhone Tricks To Make Your Life Easier

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-settings-that-make-life-easier-2014-6




Why Apple really cares about your privacy

I believe the answer is profit, with a smidgen of righteous anger.  Apple likely sees a competitive advantage in privacy.

With every iteration of OS X, iOS, and iCloud, we see Apple add increasing the privacy protections it provides its users

http://www.macworld.com/article/2366921/why-apple-really-cares-about-your-privacy.html




Apple retires Aperture and iPhoto, to be replaced with Photos for OS X

Apple intends the single app to serve the needs of both consumers and professionals. That will be an interesting challenge; it will be intriguing to see how Apple puts all of its photographic eggs in a single basket.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2375212/apple-retires-aperture-and-iphoto-to-be-replaced-with-photos-for-os-x.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-kills-aperture-and-iphoto-2014-6




A 13-Year-Old Describes How Kids Are Bullied On Snapchat

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-kids-are-bullied-on-snapchat-2014-6




Microsoft's new all-in-one tablet, the Surface Pro 3, is near impossible to repair if it breaks, according to the iFixit Teardown review.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-fix-a-broken-surface-pro-3-2014-6




Robot Truck Convoy Tests in Nevada; Driverless Trucks Before Cars, and Before the End of the Decade

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/06/driverless-truck-convoy-tests-in-nevada.html




Will car-hacking become the new carjacking?  Google’s Android Auto raises stakes for smart cars

Google Inc. revealed a new operating system for cars, called Android Auto.

As more cars become connected to the Internet in some capacity and collect and transmit more data, the question becomes all the more real: Will car-hacking become the new carjacking?

The first Android Auto-equipped cars will be available this year.

The average vehicle already contains around 60 microprocessors and more than 10 million lines of software code.

More than half of drivers worry that hackers might figure out how to sneak past the security systems in driverless cars, according to a February survey by Mason, Ohio-based Seapine Software. And with reason: Researchers have repeatedly shown in recent years that it’s possible to hack into connected cars and take control of steering wheels, brakes, engines and accelerators.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-car-hacking-become-the-new-carjacking-2014-06-03




Meet The Real Hackers Of Silicon Valley (And NYC, LA, And London)

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/26/meet-the-real-hackers-of-silicon-valley-and-nyc-la-and-london/




How Google declared open war against passwords

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2385005/shots-fired-in-the-war-on-passwords-at-google-i/how-google-declared-open-war-against-passwords-at-i.html




Hackers Can Record Everything You See With Google Glass

Hackers have already proven smarter than smartphones or just about any other connected electronic device, and soon they’ll hack into your fridge, thermostat, and toilet.

“Hardcore hackers wouldn’t even bother with Google Glass,” said one of the hackers, identified as Bosboom. “They would find access too easy.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-glass-hack-report-2014-6




How to Disappear (almost) Completely: the illusion of privacy

Can anyone ever really leave the internet? And if you had the choice, is that something that you'd want to do?

we need to take a long, hard look at how we live our lives online.

the advice of Nathan Borenstein, the original inventor of email and now chief scientist at Mimecast: "It behooves us as individuals to behave as if the battle is lost, and privacy is dead."

It very well may be.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/23/how-to-disappear-almost-completely-part-one/




Would you like health insurance companies to know about EVERYTHING you eat?
When you eat junk food?  When you smoke?
When you shop at "plus" size stores?
And increase your insurance payments when they find out?

Every time you purchase something, the business you buy from, and the credit card company, gather information about you (and millions of others) that they can sell to anyone they want - whether you like it or not.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229137

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-26/hospitals-soon-see-donuts-to-cigarette-charges-for-health.html




Facebook Search Warrant Disclosure Reveals Scope of Government Requests

Only 62 of the 381 people who were subjected to the searches later had charges brought against them in a disability fraud case.

Facebook's blog post said it was “by far the largest we’ve ever received — by a magnitude of more than ten.” That means the bulk search warrant requests Facebook has responded to in the past have never affected more than 38 people.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/26/facebook-search-warrant-disclosure-reveals-scope-of-government-requests/




Even The Editor Of Facebook's Mood Study Thought It Was Creepy

there's something new-level creepy about a recent study that shows Facebook manipulated what users saw when they logged into the site as a way to study how it would affect their moods. 

Facebook, as a private company, doesn't have to agree to the same ethical standards as federal agencies and universities.

Facebook manipulated people—used them as guinea pigs—without their knowledge, and in a setting where that kind of manipulation feels intimate.

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-mood-study-2014-6




All residents of Estonia aged 15 or over have electronic ID cards, which are used in health care, electronic banking and shopping, to sign contracts and encrypt e-mail, as tram tickets, and much more besides--even to vote.

Estonia's approach makes life efficient: taxes take less than an hour to file, and refunds are paid within 48 hours. By law, the state may not ask for any piece of information more than once, people have the right to know what data are held on them and all government databases must be compatible, a system known as the X-road. In all, the Estonian state offers 600 e-services to its citizens and 2,400 to businesses.

Other governments have tried to issue electronic identity cards. But costs have been high and public resistance strong. Some have proved careless custodians of their citizens' data.

The scheme's advantages for Estonia are multiple. It will help it shed the detested "ex-Soviet" tag and promote itself as a paragon of good government and innovation. It will attract investment: once you have an Estonian ID, setting up a company there takes only a few minutes.

http://www.businessinsider.com/digital-identity-cards-estonia-takes-the-plunge-2014-6

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Where can I get a deal on a Mac?

The recent unveiling of the latest iMac has generated praise for Apple willing to compete on the basis of price against Lenovo and Acer, and scoffing from those who find it underpowered and not capable of upgrades to memory or hard disk storage. 

Well, it’s here at the Apple Store if you want it. If you want an iMac with more power to it; consider avoiding the Apple Store. Go for 3rd party Authorized Resellers. 

For instance, if you knew where to watch for bargains, you could have scored a more powerful (quad-core i5) with more storage capacity and better graphics for the same price as a discounted low-end (dual-core i5) iMac. 

You just have to know where to watch and possess the patience to wait for the right moment. 

For where to watch, look at Appleinsider’s Deals page. 

MacMall down in Orange County offered this sweet deal on a new iMac. $999. Of course, there is California sales tax, but you’d have to pay that at the Apple Store, too.

 

IMac deal at MacMall

 

Appleinsider will send  you an e-mail newsletter listing these deals if you just enter an e-mail address. 

Appleinsider also offers a daily listing of the best prices from several vendors. Go to their Price Guides.

 

But then again, will Apple bring out something better in the next few weeks/days/hours? For that, you want to check out 

Macrumors Buyer’s Guide. They bring together the various rumors/informed speculation as to what Apple has in store or will have in store in the near future. This is their homepage dashboard with their recommendations. For more detail. go to the Buyer’s Guides. 

 

MacRumors dashboard of buy or don t buy

 

 

 

MacRumors Buyer s Guide

Tom Briant

Editor, Macvalley Blog

 

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekend Roundup


Apple's New iMac: Lower Cost ($1099) but Less Power

An extra $200 or $400 will buy considerably more power.

http://www.informationweek.com/infrastructure/pc-and-servers/apples-new-imac-lower-cost-less-power/d/d-id/1278681





Apple Edges Into Entry-Level Desktop Market

"all in all, it's a pretty decent offering. It would have been really nice if they could have hit $999. That would have been a magical price. We haven't seen that from Apple in a long time. But it's still a good, solid system," Bob O'Donnell said.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/80610.html








Hands-On With The Amazon Phone — Here Are All The Major Features

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-important-features-new-amazon-fire-phone-2014-6






Hands on with Amazon’s Fire Phone

http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/18/hands-on-with-amazons-fire-phone/





How Amazon's New Fire Phone Stacks Up Against The Competition

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-phone-against-competition-2014-6





Researchers Find Android Security on Par With iOS

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/80616.html






Bright and Shiny Fire Phone: Amazon Delivers

Does the Amazon Fire Phone have enough cool features to become a coveted force in the smartphone world? Can it dislodge the iPhone or Samsung's Android-leading Galaxy line?

Will you want to buy one? Will I? Are you willing to shed your Apple ecosystem investment or Google-centric Android world for Amazon's?

In my opinion, the total package isn't radical enough to dislodge the two big market leaders, but … The Fire Phone is sure to be a hit with Amazon's most engaged customers

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/80614.html



Amazon Announces The $199 Fire Phone, The First Smartphone With Head-Tracking Technology

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/18/amazon-announces-the-fire-phone/









It's Time To Admit The Amount Of Information Google Gathers About Us Is Terrifying

Google essentially knows everything about us — be that what we search for, what ads we click on, what we write about, what we watch, and what apps we like.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-information-google-is-gathering-about-us-is-terrifying-2014-6






People Dismissing Yo Are Missing A Social Trend That Consumes 70% Of Bangladesh Cellular Traffic

For a few hours on Wednesday, tons of folks were buzzing about a new free mobile app called Yo, which simply allows you to message the word "Yo" to your friends.
That's all. A one word message.

As with most new ideas, people across social media were quick to dismiss Yo.

But legendary venture capitalist Marc Andreessen thinks the naysayers should be a bit more open-minded.

http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-defends-yo-app-2014-6






We Truly Have No Idea If Online Ads Work

http://www.businessinsider.com/do-online-ads-work-2014-6






The FBI Wanted Its People To Understand Twitter And This Is What Happened

The FBI has created an unintentionally hilarious 83-page dictionary of Twitter slang.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-fbi-wanted-to-understand-twitter-2014-6

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Apple introduces new, entry-level iMac | Macworld

Apple apparently doesn’t make cheap stuff. But it makes some of the expensive stuff less expensive. 

 

 

Apple introduces new, entry-level iMac | Macworld: ""

(Via.)

Monday, June 16, 2014

Apple and Costco make up and Accessing the Menubar and Dock from the Keyboard

In News You can Use, Costco and Apple have resumed doing business. Costco will start selling iTunes gift cards while its wireless partner Car Toys will sell the iPhone and cellular iPads.  

This doesn’t substitute your Costco for an Apple Store or even Best Buy. The Apple Stores won’t start offering free food samples in the aisles, either. For those of us in the Valley, it means we have to drive another 10-15 minutes from the Costco to the Apple Store to buy the liquor & cat food as well as the new MacBook Air. 

Now as for the new MacBook Air owners, my goal in this blog is to take you from befuddled noob to some semblance of a power user. One aspect of power user-ship, besides the secret handshake, involves using the keyboard as much as possible. If you can accomplish a task with a keystroke or keyboard combination, you will save time and your wrist tendons. 

The first power keystroke you should know about is for highlighting text. 

Use the arrow keys to position your cursor, that flashing vertical line on your screen, at the beginning of the text you want to highlight. 

Now for the secret sauce. Hold down the Shift key with one hand and use the other one with the arrow keys to select the text. No more fiddling with the mouse to select only the text you want. 

To select a paragraph, just use the Down arrow key and select the lines of text you  want. 

 

Access to the Dock and MenuBar from the keyboard

The Dock and the Keyboard constitute the two mouse-dependent element of the Desktop. If you work in cramped spaces, such as airline seats, on your Mac; you need to know how to reach the Dock and Menubar without a mouse. 

It’s simple. For the Dock, hold down the Control key and hit the F3 function key. On a laptop, you’ll need to hold down the Fn key, too. 

For the Menubar, hold the Control key and Fn key, while pressing the F2 function key. 

Now use your left & right arrow keys to go between icons on the Dock or menus on the menubar.

Once you’ve highlighted a selection, use the Up and Down arrow keys to maneuver through the menu

Keyboard Application Launchers

I still remember the first time someone saw me launch an application from the keyboard  with a few deft strokes. They wanted to do that trick! I told him how I did it. 

You can use Spotlight as a jury-rigged program launcher. Applications show up at the top of the selections in most instances. Apple, though, does not intend for Spotlight to serve as an application launcher. 

You’ll need a dedicated application program for the best results. I myself use Ojective Development’s Launchbar. You have many options with Launchbar. They just came out with version 6.0.


I would suggest the Chuck program, though if you want a simple, free application launcher.  

Alfred is another choice for an application launcher that starts off with basic functionality and gives you options (through in-app purchases) to expand.  The granddaddy of all keyboard launch utilities, Quicksilver, is still available here. 

All of them work the same way. You set up the launcher to run at startup, where it runs in the background. 

When you press the designated key combination, such as Control+Space, the program displays a small window for you to enter the name of the application. You don’t even need to know the full name of the application, as launchers remember the name of your most-recently used applications. 

Hit the ENTER key and the application launches. Simple as that. Imagine yourself on a flight to Oklahoma City in economy class trying to manipulate a mouse on the tiny tray table. Your life becomes much easier if you just have to hit a few keys. 

If you use Windows or Linux, the equivalent launcher apps are Launchy for Windows and GNOME-Do for Linux. 

Finally, I told you that Command+T in Apple word processors & Apple Numbers & Apple Keynote brings up the Font menu. Well, that’s not the case with Safari and other Mac Web browsers. Command+T starts a new tab on your menubar. This is similar to Windows, where the equivalent tab opening keystroke is Control +T. 

If  you still want to use your old Windows keyboard or buy a standalone keyboard with special features, go to my article here about using external Windows keyboards with Macs. 

Go here for Cory Bohan’s list of 10 keyboard shortcuts you need to know. (H/T to Maclife.com)

 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, the MacValley Blog/The Computer Uncle (818) 964-3601

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekend Roundup

Tim Cook said:
"Apple engineers platforms, devices, and services together. We do this so that we can create a seamless experience for our users that is unparalleled in the industry. This is something only Apple can do."

John Gruber (at Daring Fireball) wrote:
"Is this true, though? Is Apple the only company that can do this? I think it’s inarguable that they’re the only company that is doing it, but Cook is saying they’re the only company that can.

"I’ve been thinking about this for two weeks. Who else is even a maybe? I’d say it’s a short list: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Samsung. And I’d divide that short list into halves — the close maybes (Microsoft and Google) and the not-so-close maybes (Amazon and Samsung)."

Here’s a tweet I wrote during the keynote, 20 minutes before Cook’s wrap-up:

    "Microsoft: one OS for all devices."
    "Apple: one continuous experience across all [Apple] devices."

Tim Cook is improving Apple’s internal operational efficiency.

The operational efficiency Cook wanted — and now seems to have achieved — wasn’t possible without large scale company-wide collaboration, and collaboration wasn’t possible with a fiefdom style of organization.

Jobs was a great CEO for leading Apple to become big. But Cook is a great CEO for leading Apple now that it is big, to allow the company to take advantage of its size and success.

Apple has never been more successful, powerful, and influential than it is today. They’ve thus never been in a better position to succumb to their worst instincts and act imperiously and capriciously.

Instead, they’ve begun to act more magnanimously.

http://daringfireball.net/2014/06/only_apple




Something else from Daring Fireball:
iOS 8 Uses Randomized MAC Addresses When Scanning for Wi-Fi Networks.
MAC addresses are used by both marketers and government agencies to track device location — this is a nice win for privacy.

http://gizmodo.com/a-hidden-feature-in-ios-8-will-stop-marketers-from-spyi-1588022805




Apple praised for plan to undermine extensive system that secretly tracks customers

many in the technological community are applauding the decision by Apple to tweak how the iPhone searches for WiFi connections.

People are taking seriously the need for encryption, even of data that seem innocuous, because of the ways it can be used.

“Apple hasn’t been limiting the information that Apple can see and that Apple can gather,” said Seth Schoen, a senior staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group in San Francisco. “They’ve been limiting what third parties can see.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apple-praised-for-plan-to-undermine-extensive-system-that-secretly-tracks-customers/2014/06/10/ce92978a-f0b5-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html




What Apple is doing here will destroy the utility of that tracking [devices by their MAC address] by randomizing the address.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229096






Why Apple’s partnership with Epic is a game changer for patients

Apple’s health app and healthkit is not a panacea. It’s certainly a big step — but not for the reason most people think.

Epic now covers more than 50% of patient’s in the United States, and that number is rapidly growing.

While many patients don’t know about Epic–even though their electronic health records and health data is stored there–a majority of physicians know Epic well. To many of us in medicine, we often joke how Epic is taking over the world.

If Apple is able to appropriately leverage Epic’s ability to reach more than 51% of the patient’s in the United States — it would be a game changer. Many physicians would welcome the ability to click on a tab in Epic and be presented with a nice graph showing a patient’s blood pressure trends since their prior visit. Currently, this data is haphazardly recorded by patients, and likewise, haphazardly interpreted by physicians to make key titrations in medication dosing.

http://www.imedicalapps.com/2014/06/apple-partnership-epic-game-changer/




Apple says "We’ll ‘soon’ begin encrypting iCloud email in transit between providers"

http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/13/apple-well-soon-begin-encrypting-icloud-email-in-transit-between-providers/




Angela Ahrendts appears at Tokyo Apple Store opening

SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts made her first official public appearance as an Apple executive at the Friday opening of Apple’s tony new store in Tokyo, Japan.

http://www.cultofmac.com/283513/angela-ahrendts-appears-tokyo-apple-store-opening/




Hilarious moment quiz show contestant caught CHEATING with hidden phone

http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/482318/Quiz-show-contestant-caught-cheating-with-Apple-iPhone-and-Spotify




The Unexpected Way Apple’s Growth is Exploited by Competitors

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the-unexpected-way-apples-growth-is-exploited-by-competitors




Here's some advice from Mr. Spock on how to assess whether to buy Apple shares: Be logical. Forget about all the articles you see from Apple fan boys who love the company because they love its products, or Apple haters, who fail to consider the company's financial success. If your opinion of Apple reflects your love of products that "just work," or hatred of having less access to the phone's content and less customization than is possible for users of Google's Android operating system, you're just not ready to think clearly about the stock.

Apple's numbers look good, despite the revenue growth challenges.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-stock-at-whatever-price-is-a-real-buy-2014-06-09




Apple's stock may beat the market through 2016: The iPhone maker's stock split is a bullish indicator, studies show

Nothing has changed about Apple because of its 7-for-1 stock split.  So how can the split be bullish for anyone besides the lawyers and bookkeepers?  Yet it is, according to a number of academic studies and one good investment newsletter.

Stock splits are a signal from management that they have confidence in the continued appreciation of their companies' shares.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-stock-may-beat-the-market-through-2016-2014-06-09




Best plays on the wearables revolution

Wearables are going to be so much bigger than anybody realizes. What you see and consider a "wearable computer" today isn't what the "Wearables Revolution" is all about.

If you want to be a successful tech investor, you've got to get ahead of the technology curve, not just take linear extrapolations from the technology you see around you right now.

Imagine the medical, health and training applications from having non-invasive wearable sensors on your body to track your blood, hormones, or whatever other levels you need tracked. It's not even that far out there.

The wearables revolution is about health monitors.

Wearables and what people do with them will change society. Invasion of privacy is going to be an ever bigger issue with wearables and drones and robots and their ability to track and keep data, video and other private information.

Now for another topic:  World stocks inch towards all-time high.

When was the last time you talked to somebody, bull or bear, who was actually looking for a major pullback? Even the bears are bullish right now, no?

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2014/06/09/best-plays-on-the-wearables-revolution/




A Dangerous Question: Does Internet Advertising Work at All?

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/a-dangerous-question-does-internet-advertising-work-at-all/372704/




The Dark Side Of Facebook, Where People Lie, Steal, And Make Millions

There’s another popular way to acquire lots of fans quickly on Facebook: hijack them.

Facebook hijacking is when a person who isn’t the owner of a Facebook fan page is able to seize control of the page from its manager. Pages go largely unpoliced by Facebook, and there are a number of ways to steal a page from its owner.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-fyk-dark-facebook-cybercrime-2014-6

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams-A reboot of the MacValley Blog and introducing the Computer Uncle

 

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams to all of you. It’s the week of my birthday. I won’t say how old I am, but I’m not a kid. I remember when Nixon ran for President in 1968. I remember seeing Abe Ribicoff nominate George McGovern at Chicago in 1968. I existed before cell phones became ubiquitous as cockroaches and when only Greeks and health food enthusiasts ate Greek yogurt. So I’m bloody well old!

 

If you’ve come to this Web site, I expect you need help with your Macintosh and/or iPad. You may have bought a Mac or received a Mac as a present for your birthday or retirement or as a holiday present.  Now you wonder, "What the Hell am I going to do with this thing?”

 

I’m going to assume that you’ve had some experience with personal computers. I’m going to assume that you have used a Windows computer at some time in the past. Windows is as ubiquitous as the cell phone. 

 

Whether good or bad, you’ve had experience with Windows. Now it’s time to move to OS X, the secret sauce behind your shiny new MacBook Air or Pro. I’m taking you from befuddled noob to a power user who sits down before their Mac and uses it as a familiar tool. 

 

I will write these columns from my new MacBook Air with 4Gb of RAM and just 128 GB of storage space. That's right, the minimum Mac notebook you can buy for less than a thousand bucks.  Your family loves you, but not enough to buy a maxed-out MacBook  Air or Pro.

 

How can I find stuff on the Internet?

 

You can use the default Web browser provided by Apple, Safari. No, you can’t get Internet Explorer on the Mac unless you jump through some hoops.

 

If you prefer Google's Chrome browser or Mozilla's Firefox, you can get them from  Chrome's website or Mozilla's website. If you use Chrome, just log into Chrome with your Google e-mail account and synchronize with your old bookmarks and settings from the prior computer you used Chrome with.

 

Anyway, just type your inquiries into Safari. Safari is smart enough to tell that you have a question to ask.


How old is Heidi Klum

 

 

I want to write a letter, but Text Edit and Pages differ from Word for Windows.

 

If you wrote with Microsoft Word for  Windows, you changed fonts by hitting Control+D. That's the Microsoft standard. Word for Mac uses the Command+D shortcut to bring up their font menu.

 

With products adhering to the Apple way of doing things, you bring up the font menu by pressing Command+T in a word processor, spreadsheet,or presentation program. Try it in TextEdit, Pages, Numbers and Keynote.


 

For Microsoft Word/Excel/Powerpoint, you would use Command+D to bring up the Font menu

 

 

Microsoft  Word for Mac Font menu


You use Command +T to bring up the Font menu for Pages


Font Menu for Pages

 

 

You would use Command + T for Apple Stickies’ Font Menu, too

Font Menu for Stickies

 

If you want to copy or cut text and paste it somewhere else, you would alter the Word defaults of Control+C, Control+X, and Control+V to use Command+CCommand +X, and Command+V

 

To save the file, you would hit the Command+S keys. That's right, use your thumb instead of your pinkie to reach the Command key, not the Control key. 

 

To print out a hard copy, you would press Command+P instead of Control+P. 

 

How do I save copies of something I see on the Internet? 

 

I'll first give you the standard way and then a Mac shortcut.

 

You can save an article you see on the Internet by going under the File menu for Safari and selecting Export as PDF…


Export as PDF from Safari File Menu

 

 

 

 

PDF menu options for

 

 

You can also export to PDF by going to the Print menu (or pressing Command+P) and going to the PDF menu. You can open the Internet item in Preview. You can save it as a PDF or a PostScript file.

 

As for Edit Menu… I'll go into that in a subsequent article. If you like to save clippings in PDF format, this is one way to do it.

 

But I promised you a Mac shortcut. 

 

You can save a Web item as a Stickie note by selecting as much of the article as you want, then pressing Shift+Command+Y. That opens the Stickie Note application and saves your Web item as a Stickie note.  This is handy if you want to save several articles, such as chili recipes.

 

Save the whole article by pressing Command+A for  Select  All then pressing Shift+Command+Y. 

 

The Stickie Note application is more than just a computer equivalent to that pad of Stickie notes on  your table top. I wrote this article as a  Stickie Note. It's the equivalent of TextEdit in many respects. But that's for a future article.

 

Tom Briant 

Editor, MacValley Blog (And Now the Computer Uncle at (818) 964-3601)


The Computer Uncle is the name of my new computer tutoring service. If you want personal attention and “recipes” as Client #1 calls them for your reference, then call me at (818) 964-3601 or E-mail me at thomasbriant1@gmail.com. The first session is free. 

 


 

 

Weekend Wrapup with Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth

Apple is taking Android customers
Apple is taking Android features

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-wwdc-2014-6




Everything Apple Announced At WWDC

http://www.businessinsider.com/live-blog-wwdc-2014-2014-6




RANKED: The Best Smartphones In The World

iPhone 5S is number 1.

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-smartphones-2014-6




Here's Your First Look At Yosemite, Apple's New Operating System For Macs

http://www.businessinsider.com/os-x-yosemite-features-2014-6




Apple Asked Dozens Of People Which Apps They Can't Live Without In Its Inspiring New Video

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-apps-we-cant-live-without-2014-6




Tim Cook Just Ripped Android To Shreds

http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-tim-cook-just-ripped-android-to-shreds-2014-6




Apple iOS 8's 12 Best Business Features

http://www.cio.com/article/753673/Apple_iOS_8_s_12_Best_Business_Features




20-plus iOS 8 features Apple didn't talk about

http://www.macworld.com/article/2358643/20-ios-8-features-apple-didnt-talk-about.html




Apple Dumps Google Search For Microsoft's Bing

http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/apple-dumps-google-search-for-microsofts-bing/d/d-id/1269398




Tim Cook's Apple comes into its own

One of the biggest takeaways is Cook’s focus on the long term. Many of the technologies unveiled on Monday were years in the making.

...efforts that have been going on in the background because they weren’t things that Apple could put together quickly. And they are all forward-thinking. These developments also position Apple for the immediate and long-term future.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2360949/wwdc-2014-tim-cooks-apple-comes-into-its-own.html




Apple unveils HealthKit to integrate health and fitness data in iOS 8

We’ll get a closer look at Health when iOS 8 launches this fall. But if it works as promised, having a one-stop app with all your data is a needed step for health and fitness apps. Instead of a little slice of detail about your quantified self living in each app, we’ll get a bigger-picture composite profile that can provide better insights on our health, ready to share with our care providers—or keep totally private.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2310813/apple-unveils-healthkit-to-integrate-health-and-fitness-data-in-ios-8.html




How Apple's New iCloud Pricing Stacks Up to the Competition

http://mashable.com/2014/06/02/apple-icloud-pricing/




Let your kids waste endless hours on these video games
Don't worry, it's good for them because they'll learn crucial life skills

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-video-games-that-teach-crucial-life-skills-2014-06-04




How to use LinkedIn for career success

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f949789c-e037-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0.html

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Apple's Beats buy the result of executive ignorance -- report - CNET

If you’ve heard disparagement of Apple’s purchase of Beats as the result of executive ignorance followed by panic….this is the piece you need to read.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

 

 

Apple's Beats buy the result of executive ignorance -- report - CNET: ""

(Via.)

Apple Plans October Wearable Launch Event | Re/code

From recode.net’s Code Red blog comes news that Apple does plan to introduce a wearable in October.  (H/T to 9to5Mac)

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog 

 

 

Apple Plans October Wearable Launch Event | Re/code: ""

(Via.)

Dr. Dre painted as resolute perfectionist, compared to Steve Jobs in WSJ profile

Something about “Dr. Dre” the rapper & entrepreneur who came with the Beats acquisition.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Voice

 

Dr. Dre painted as resolute perfectionist, compared to Steve Jobs in WSJ profile: ""

(Via.)

Apple's top secret Swift language grew from work to sustain Objective C, which it now aims to replace

Perhaps a bit techie, but but it’s interesting to know just how Apple does something like replace Objective-C

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

Apple's top secret Swift language grew from work to sustain Objective C, which it now aims to replace: ""

(Via.)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

What Does OS X 10.10 and iOS 8 mean for us?

As I’ve said before, the ergonomic of an iPad, iPhone, and desktop Mac differ drastically. You don’t work the same way on these devices. But you do work with all of these devices. 

 

Apple’s goal with OS X 10.10 and iOS 8 is enabling you to start a project on one device and seamless switch to another device. They call the underlying technology for this Continuity

You will need both an iOS and a Mac to use the best features. For instance, you can make a call from your Mac through a Bluetooth connection to your iPhone. Even better, you can do text messaging through your iPhone from your Mac. 

You will be able to use AirDrop to send files to a Mac from your iPhone and vice-versa. You will be able to set up ad hoc networks of Macs and iPhones using the Multipeer technology introduced for iOS devices in iOS 7. 

The look of OS X 10.10 will change to a flatter appearance. You will not have a 3-D dock in this version. The icons will change as well to a flatter, iOS-ish, appearance. 

If you can run 10.8 Mavericks on your Mac, you can run 10.10. At that’s what we know now, based on the Developer’s Preview. 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, the MacValley Blog

Sunday, June 1, 2014

It's Weekend Roundup with Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth

Woz explains why he likes the Apple-Beats deal

http://bgr.com/2014/05/30/apple-beats-deal-steve-wozniak/




Was Apple's Futuristic HQ Inspired By A 1960s-era San Francisco Motel?

http://gizmodo.com/was-apples-futuristic-hq-inspired-by-a-1960s-era-san-fr-1583978685




What Happens When An iOS Designer Switches To Android: 'It’s Death By A Thousand Cuts'

http://www.businessinsider.com/when-an-ios-designer-switches-to-android-2014-5




Do NOT Touch This Button On Your iPhone Or Apple Will Delete All Your Contacts

the iPhone also has a huge danger area when it comes to questionable contacts management: iCloud.

iCloud, Apple's storage and backup system, will delete all the contacts on your iPhone if you make one wrong step inside your iPhone's settings.

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-setting-deletes-contacts-2014-5




Apple devices in Australia hijacked digitally, held for ransom

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/05/27/apple-devices-in-australia-hijacked-digitally-held-for-ransom/




Facebook, Google dumb down the new media: They ruined the pricing power of advertising, which roiled the industry

Last week, Facebook director Mike Hudack lit up the web with a much-linked-to rant about the dumbing down of Internet-age media, where serious news coverage has given way to "click bait".

The problem, Mike, is that Google (and, to a degree, Facebook) wrecked the pricing power of brand advertising. BusinessWeek essentially failed. USA Today's ...... online push is shaky. 

The problem has never been that the Business Insiders and Vox Medias and Gawkers of the world invented a more-appealing editorial model, or that traditional media didn't take their essential strengths online and supplement them with new-media tools. 

Audiences followed serious media online in more than sufficient numbers - the problem was ad rates, period.

Google deserves its success: Its advertising mousetrap is better.

As a freelancer, I usually get $200 to $750 per online article. I spend two hours to a day and a half on an online piece before I begin losing money.

The solution will be subscription models where mid- to large-sized audiences pay for quality content. Even there, barriers to success are very high.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-google-dumb-down-the-new-media-2014-05-27

 

 

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