The MacValley blog
Welcome to the MacValley blog, your first stop for all the latest MacValley news and views.
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The MacValley blog Editor: Tom Briant
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
The iPad Mini fits in a standard lab coat and what this means for medicine
Physicians carry all sorts of things in their lab coats. Lab reports, sandwiches, stethoscopes. Only the size of the objects limits their ability to go with the physician. Up to now, the size of the iPad has kept them from serving as the physicians trusty companion on rounds.
But NOW!…with the introduction of the iPad mini, the iPad slips right into the pockets next to the grilled cheese sandwich and cytology results. An article in Appleinsider points to doctors planning to buy the iPad Mini soon.
"Compared to the general populace, physicians are early and high adopters of Apple products," the company told AppleInsider. "A large majority of physicians own an iPhone, and the current iPad dominates the healthcare tablet market."
Here’s a picture (courtesy of Epocrates, a maker of medical software) of one of their iOS apps on an iPad Mini:
Tom Briant
Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Setting Up a Personal Learning Network on Twiiter
Arnold Woodworth recommended this link to me. It leads to a PDF on setting up a Personal Learning Network on Twitter.
Tom Briant
Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG
Two Articles Contributed by Arnold Woodworth, our VP
An Amazon user ran into problems with Amazon’s Digital Rights Management. Amazon won’t tell them what they did wrong.
A review of Google’s Chromebook. It’s eerily similar to the 11” MacBook Air, but only a quarter ($249) of the price! Is it for you?
Again, thank you Arnold Woodworth for contributing these links.
Tom Briant
Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG
Friday, October 26, 2012
Remarks on Windows 8
So I ran the Windows 8 upgrade assistant on my Windows 7 PC. I’m not quite ready for Windows 8. My monitor’s resolution tops out at 1280 x 1024 pixels. The new minimum for Windows 8 is 1366 x 768 pixels.
I then went to the Frys.com Web site. The cheapest monitor, an $85 Viewsonic, just happens to have that 1366 x 768 resolution. I presume my old monitor, which I paid a lot of money for, is now passé. Well, it runs Windows 7.
For a few dollars more, you can get a monitor running 1600 x 900.
My machine also doesn’t support Secure Boot. Windows 8 now supports EFI, which OS X has for a long time. Nice of them to finally catch up.
Check your security software. I’m running Microsoft Security Essentials. Fortunately, Windows 8 comes with Windows Defender performing the same tasks as Microsoft Security Essentials.
Here’s something interesting. Before upgrading to Windows 8, remove your PC from the list of authorized machines in iTunes. I’d back up your iTunes libraries, too.
Windows 8 doesn’t support the sidebar gadgets from Windows 7. I used one for the time, another for weather.
PCWorld.com has an upgrade diary by Patrick Miller, who installed Windows 8 at 3:31 this morning.
That’s it for Windows 8 right now. I’m thinking “How long can I use Windows 7 & Office 2010?” I’ll probably buy a laptop when I finally upgrade from Windows 7. But not this weekend.
Tom Briant
Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG
Monday, October 22, 2012
Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has a review of Obamacare's enrollment process
MacValley's Own Ken Gruberman Writes About His Experience of Signing Up for Obama Care
I have a lot of respect for Ken's technical abilities. God help less capable people.
He wrote:
I'm reviewing a process. Namely, the process involved with signing up for health care under the ACA, the Affordable Care Act.
The web site's user interface has both good and bad things.
The real culprit? Bad design from a totally out-of-touch website team that apparently never bought anything on the web.
In all it took about 90 minutes and two phone calls, but I prevailed. If the insurance company accepts my application as submitted, my reward for almost two hours of [problematic web site] torture will be a better policy than what I have now, at one-tenth the cost. I'd say that was worth whatever I had to go through.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-gruberman/the-tech-daddy-applies_b_4118983.html
Apple is either terrible at designing charts or thinks you won't notice the difference
The new iPad Mini affirms that Apple doesn't care about market share, just profit margins
Why a $2,999 Mac Pro is a great deal
http://qz.com/138414/why-a-2999-mac-pro-is-a-great-deal/#
How Apple’s Address Book app could allow the NSA to harvest your contacts
When syncing your Address Book to Gmail, HTTPS encryption isn't an option
addresses that automatically travel between Macs and Google servers are sent as plain text.
It's possible Apple developers haven't updated their code since Google introduced the change.
Robots will always be a step behind humans
http://qz.com/138321/robots-will-always-be-a-step-behind-humans/#
Tech Comics: The History of Free
A good cartoon. True in several ways.
http://www.datamation.com/commentary/tech-comics-the-history-of-free-1.html
Oh, That Stolen Identity? Not An Accident
Experian apparently sold data on millions of Americans, including social security, bank account and driver license numbers to a "service" that operated for the explicit purpose of stealing people's identity.
http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=225264
Police Executive Research Forum document (PDF) about using social media to analyze/control events
http://info.publicintelligence.net/COPS-SocialMedia.pdf
Police: NSA leaks threaten our ability to use invasive surveillance technologies
Law enforcement is confronted with a citizenry that is waking up to the reality of the surveillance state.
http://www.privacysos.org/node/1215
NSA Hacked Mexican Presidents' Email For Years
The National Security Agency hacked the email of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/nsa-felipe-calderon-mexico-spying-hacked_n_4132889.html
Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly
CryptoSeal VPN shuts down rather than risk NSA demands for crypto keys
A consumer VPN service called CryptoSeal Privacy has shut down rather than risk government intrusions that could cost the company money in legal fees and threaten user privacy.
CryptoSeal will continue offering its business-focused VPN, but the consumer service is done, the company announced
The company referred to the case of Lavabit, an e-mail service that shut down rather than comply with government orders to monitor user communications.
"In good conscience there's no reason to continue running a US privacy VPN service without technical controls to prevent being compelled to screw over a user," RDL wrote.
Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has a review of Obamacare's enrollment process
MacValley's Own Ken Gruberman Writes About His Experience of Signing Up for Obama Care
I have a lot of respect for Ken's technical abilities. God help less capable people.
He wrote:
I'm reviewing a process. Namely, the process involved with signing up for health care under the ACA, the Affordable Care Act.
The web site's user interface has both good and bad things.
The real culprit? Bad design from a totally out-of-touch website team that apparently never bought anything on the web.
In all it took about 90 minutes and two phone calls, but I prevailed. If the insurance company accepts my application as submitted, my reward for almost two hours of [problematic web site] torture will be a better policy than what I have now, at one-tenth the cost. I'd say that was worth whatever I had to go through.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-gruberman/the-tech-daddy-applies_b_4118983.html
Apple is either terrible at designing charts or thinks you won't notice the difference
The new iPad Mini affirms that Apple doesn't care about market share, just profit margins
Why a $2,999 Mac Pro is a great deal
http://qz.com/138414/why-a-2999-mac-pro-is-a-great-deal/#
How Apple’s Address Book app could allow the NSA to harvest your contacts
When syncing your Address Book to Gmail, HTTPS encryption isn't an option
addresses that automatically travel between Macs and Google servers are sent as plain text.
It's possible Apple developers haven't updated their code since Google introduced the change.
Robots will always be a step behind humans
http://qz.com/138321/robots-will-always-be-a-step-behind-humans/#
Tech Comics: The History of Free
A good cartoon. True in several ways.
http://www.datamation.com/commentary/tech-comics-the-history-of-free-1.html
Oh, That Stolen Identity? Not An Accident
Experian apparently sold data on millions of Americans, including social security, bank account and driver license numbers to a "service" that operated for the explicit purpose of stealing people's identity.
http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=225264
Police Executive Research Forum document (PDF) about using social media to analyze/control events
http://info.publicintelligence.net/COPS-SocialMedia.pdf
Police: NSA leaks threaten our ability to use invasive surveillance technologies
Law enforcement is confronted with a citizenry that is waking up to the reality of the surveillance state.
http://www.privacysos.org/node/1215
NSA Hacked Mexican Presidents' Email For Years
The National Security Agency hacked the email of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/nsa-felipe-calderon-mexico-spying-hacked_n_4132889.html
Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly
CryptoSeal VPN shuts down rather than risk NSA demands for crypto keys
A consumer VPN service called CryptoSeal Privacy has shut down rather than risk government intrusions that could cost the company money in legal fees and threaten user privacy.
CryptoSeal will continue offering its business-focused VPN, but the consumer service is done, the company announced
The company referred to the case of Lavabit, an e-mail service that shut down rather than comply with government orders to monitor user communications.
"In good conscience there's no reason to continue running a US privacy VPN service without technical controls to prevent being compelled to screw over a user," RDL wrote.
Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has a review of Obamacare's enrollment process
MacValley's Own Ken Gruberman Writes About His Experience of Signing Up for Obama Care
I have a lot of respect for Ken's technical abilities. God help less capable people.
He wrote:
I'm reviewing a process. Namely, the process involved with signing up for health care under the ACA, the Affordable Care Act.
The web site's user interface has both good and bad things.
The real culprit? Bad design from a totally out-of-touch website team that apparently never bought anything on the web.
In all it took about 90 minutes and two phone calls, but I prevailed. If the insurance company accepts my application as submitted, my reward for almost two hours of [problematic web site] torture will be a better policy than what I have now, at one-tenth the cost. I'd say that was worth whatever I had to go through.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-gruberman/the-tech-daddy-applies_b_4118983.html
Apple is either terrible at designing charts or thinks you won't notice the difference
The new iPad Mini affirms that Apple doesn't care about market share, just profit margins
Why a $2,999 Mac Pro is a great deal
http://qz.com/138414/why-a-2999-mac-pro-is-a-great-deal/#
How Apple’s Address Book app could allow the NSA to harvest your contacts
When syncing your Address Book to Gmail, HTTPS encryption isn't an option
addresses that automatically travel between Macs and Google servers are sent as plain text.
It's possible Apple developers haven't updated their code since Google introduced the change.
Robots will always be a step behind humans
http://qz.com/138321/robots-will-always-be-a-step-behind-humans/#
Tech Comics: The History of Free
A good cartoon. True in several ways.
http://www.datamation.com/commentary/tech-comics-the-history-of-free-1.html
Oh, That Stolen Identity? Not An Accident
Experian apparently sold data on millions of Americans, including social security, bank account and driver license numbers to a "service" that operated for the explicit purpose of stealing people's identity.
http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=225264
Police Executive Research Forum document (PDF) about using social media to analyze/control events
http://info.publicintelligence.net/COPS-SocialMedia.pdf
Police: NSA leaks threaten our ability to use invasive surveillance technologies
Law enforcement is confronted with a citizenry that is waking up to the reality of the surveillance state.
http://www.privacysos.org/node/1215
NSA Hacked Mexican Presidents' Email For Years
The National Security Agency hacked the email of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/nsa-felipe-calderon-mexico-spying-hacked_n_4132889.html
Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly
CryptoSeal VPN shuts down rather than risk NSA demands for crypto keys
A consumer VPN service called CryptoSeal Privacy has shut down rather than risk government intrusions that could cost the company money in legal fees and threaten user privacy.
CryptoSeal will continue offering its business-focused VPN, but the consumer service is done, the company announced
The company referred to the case of Lavabit, an e-mail service that shut down rather than comply with government orders to monitor user communications.
"In good conscience there's no reason to continue running a US privacy VPN service without technical controls to prevent being compelled to screw over a user," RDL wrote.
