Apple releases iTunes 11 on schedule and making a feature length film with an iPad 2 as your camera and Nisus Writer Pro and Express on sale!

Apple made its self-imposed deadline of November 30th and released the latest version of iTunes, #11, on Thursday the 29th. It continues Apple’s trend of iPadification of its Mac apps. In other words, if you’ve used Music on your iPad; you’ve seen a preview of the new iTunes.

We here at MacValley Labs just installed it last night and haven’t had time to do a full review of it yet. We can tell you that it doesn’t open in List view like the previous versions did.

While on the topic of deadlines, today is the day Apple promised the 21.5” iMac would be available. We have to make a trip to the Apple Store to get something for the forthcoming presentation at the December meeting December 5th, and we’ll try to check out the new iMac.

Now to the topic of deals. Nisus has put Nisus Writer Pro on sale for $59 and Nisus Writer Express on sale for just $25! Excellent value in word processing.

Finally, if you’ve thought about making a feature length film and have an iPad, check out this article at Mac|LIfe about making a film using an iPad 2 as the camera. What?! Check it out, you budding Spielbergs and Scorseces!

And “one more thing”. Atari-yes, they still exist-has put out a version of Pong for the iPad and iPhone. It’s been 40 years and trillions of dollars in quarters since Pong was first released.

Tom Briant

Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG

Apple releases iTunes 11 on schedule and making a feature length film with an iPad 2 as your camera and Nisus Writer Pro and Express on sale!

Apple made its self-imposed deadline of November 30th and released the latest version of iTunes, #11, on Thursday the 29th. It continues Apple’s trend of iPadification of its Mac apps. In other words, if you’ve used Music on your iPad; you’ve seen a preview of the new iTunes.

We here at MacValley Labs just installed it last night and haven’t had time to do a full review of it yet. We can tell you that it doesn’t open in List view like the previous versions did.

While on the topic of deadlines, today is the day Apple promised the 21.5” iMac would be available. We have to make a trip to the Apple Store to get something for the forthcoming presentation at the December meeting December 5th, and we’ll try to check out the new iMac.

Now to the topic of deals. Nisus has put Nisus Writer Pro on sale for $59 and Nisus Writer Express on sale for just $25! Excellent value in word processing.

Finally, if you’ve thought about making a feature length film and have an iPad, check out this article at Mac|LIfe about making a film using an iPad 2 as the camera. What?! Check it out, you budding Spielbergs and Scorseces!

And “one more thing”. Atari-yes, they still exist-has put out a version of Pong for the iPad and iPhone. It’s been 40 years and trillions of dollars in quarters since Pong was first released.

 

Tom Briant

Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG

The new iMacs are coming and a really cool free app for your iPad

1. 1.The 21.5” Macs promised for the end of November will make it to the Apple Store. On Friday, November 30. You can order the 27” iMacs on-line, but you have to wait for their delivery until December.
2. 2.Will Apple make the same Friday deadline for iTunes 11? What version of OS X and what machine will you need to run it?
3. 3.If you want to prove to a friend that we're truly living in the future, look no further than Air Display, an innovative iOS app capable of extending your Mac or Windows desktop using an iPad.Avatron Software has introduced Air Display Free, an ad-supported version of its popular app which extends the desktop of any Mac or Windows computer onto any Wi-Fi enabled iPad, complete with Retina Display quality, when available

Helpful Hints for changing a lost administrative password and dealing with Super-Duper and more!

How’s the shopping going out there? I wouldn’t venture near the malls in Canoga Park/Woodland Hills right now. A lot of shoppers fiercely determined to get the best value and brooking no opposition. Besides, finding a parking place would be murder.

I did do some shopping from work on Black Friday. I bought the version of Office 2011 for the Mac with Outlook for Mac, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I got it for $9.95 and downloaded it when I got home from work.

Now if you think I’m dealing with some pirate outfit, no, no, that’s not the case. Microsoft has a Home Use Program, where employees of corporate customers can buy Office for either PC or Mac at this price. I took advantage of it to put Office 2010 on my PC and now it’s time for my Mac.

The best part? Microsoft allows you to have two installs from the downloaded installer. This means you could put the program on your kid’s computer, too.

The opening screen of the Home Use Web site shows Office 2010. Go under Other Products for Office 2011 for the Mac.

Now Office 2011 works on Intel Macs running at least 10.5.8 with 1 Gb of RAM and 2.5 GB of available hard drive space. Full system requirements here.

Now let’s suppose you went on eBay or Craigs List or got your brother-in-law’s old Mac. You got an Intel Mac at a good price. When it arrives, though, you need to change the administrative password. If you’re running 10.6 or less, Apple tells you to get a copy of the installation disk.

But you don’t have the installation disk the morning you exchange gifts.Your brother-in-law left town to party in Vegas. What do you do? Well, you follow the sage wisdom of Mac Yourself on how to change the administrative password without an installation disk. They’ve gathered how to do this for 10.4 through 10.8.

Finally, a tip from my own experience. I’ve used the cloning program Super-Duper! since OS X 10.3. I got it on the advice of Ken Gruberman and Elena-Beth Kaye. It works! But lately, I’ve had problems…

The problems occur due to conflicts between Super-Duper! and an anti-virus program I installed. I solved the problem by running Super-Duper! under Safe Boot mode. Safe Boot mode temporarily disables all those program that would otherwise automatically start when you boot up.

You get to Safe Boot mode by restarting your Mac, listening for the BONGG! sound and then immediately pressing the Shift key. I press the left Shift key myself. The Mac will then go through extra steps. Finally you arrive at the Safe Boot log-in screen.

This is the OS X 10.4 “Tiger” Safe Boot screen from my MacBook.

This is the Safe Boot screen from my Mac Mini running 10.8.2. Notice that the Safe Boot message is in Red and in the upper right-hand corner.

Boot into Safe Mode to run Super-Duper! When you finish backing up or cloning a hard drive, you can just restart the Mac from the Apple menu. You’ll return to full functionality.

See you at the December meeting Wednesday, December 5th, at 7:30 PM. You’ll find Holiday Goodies on the table and Holiday Apps demonstrated on screen.

News from Apple and M$ and AC/DC

First, OS X 10.9 is in the works. 9 to 5 Mac reports users of early builds of this have shown up on Web logs.

It appears to offer Siri to Mac users as well as a Maps application.

When will it hit the market? 9 to 5 Mac speculates that developer builds will come out in the spring of 2013 and consumer builds later in the year.

So what big cat will they name this after? Your guesses are welcome in the comments. I’m going with “Mr. Bigglesworth”.

Second, in what may be a sign of impending doom :), the Australian rockers AC/DC have signed with iTunes. They held out for a long time, but now you can get them in the iTunes Music Store.

Third, Macrumors.com reports that both Belkin and iPad Mini Mod have released keyboards with cases for the iPad mini. Belkin’s sells for $80, while iPad Mod Mini sells for $40.

Top that, Google and Amazon!

Fourth, Apple has announced its own Black Friday sale:

Apple has posted a teaser page on their Australian online Apple Store for a "one-day Apple shopping event" on Friday, November 23rd.

The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday, 23 November. Get ready to give. Shop online or visit your favourite Apple Retail Store. We'll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop.

This Friday represents Black Friday in the United States. Black Friday is the day afterThanksgiving that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Traditionally, retailers offer major sales on that day.

Apple's international online and retail stores also participate in these sales, though Apple's discounts tend to be very modest. Last year's discounts for Apple's core products were as follows (in USD):

iPad 2 - $41 to $61 Off

iPod nano - $11 off

iPod Touch - $21 to $41 off

MacBook Air - $101 off

MacBook Pro - $101 off

iMac - $101 off

For absolute savings, customers will have better luck with 3rd party merchants that tend to offer steeper discounts on Apple products on Black Friday.

Finally, Will the New iMacs arrive as scheduled?

Last week, a report from french site MacBidouille claimed that Apple may not be shipping their new iMac until early 2013, despite Apple's official promises that the new iMac models would ship before year's end.

9to5Mac now reassures us that Apple's original plans are still intact for the iMac. The new 21.5" iMacs are said to already be shipping to distribution centers, while the 27" iMacs are due in December. Supplies, however, are likely to be very short through the rest of the year.

Apple continues to list November and December availability dates for the new iMacs in their online store. Pre-orders are not yet available but are expected by the end of November.

News from Apple and M$ and AC/DC

First, OS X 10.9 is in the works. 9 to 5 Mac reports users of early builds of this have shown up on Web logs.

It appears to offer Siri to Mac users as well as a Maps application.

When will it hit the market? 9 to 5 Mac speculates that developer builds will come out in the spring of 2013 and consumer builds later in the year.

So what big cat will they name this after? Your guesses are welcome in the comments. I’m going with “Mr. Bigglesworth”.

Second, in what may be a sign of impending doom :), the Australian rockers AC/DC have signed with iTunes. They held out for a long time, but now you can get them in the iTunes Music Store.

Third, Macrumors.com reports that both Belkin and iPad Mini Mod have released keyboards with cases for the iPad mini. Belkin’s sells for $80, while iPad Mod Mini sells for $40.

Top that, Google and Amazon!

Fourth, Apple has announced its own Black Friday sale:

Apple has posted a teaser page on their Australian online Apple Store for a "one-day Apple shopping event" on Friday, November 23rd.

The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday, 23 November. Get ready to give. Shop online or visit your favourite Apple Retail Store. We'll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop.

This Friday represents Black Friday in the United States. Black Friday is the day afterThanksgiving that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Traditionally, retailers offer major sales on that day.

Apple's international online and retail stores also participate in these sales, though Apple's discounts tend to be very modest. Last year's discounts for Apple's core products were as follows (in USD):

iPad 2 - $41 to $61 Off

iPod nano - $11 off

iPod Touch - $21 to $41 off

MacBook Air - $101 off

MacBook Pro - $101 off

iMac - $101 off

For absolute savings, customers will have better luck with 3rd party merchants that tend to offer steeper discounts on Apple products on Black Friday.

Finally, Will the New iMacs arrive as scheduled?

Last week, a report from french site MacBidouille claimed that Apple may not be shipping their new iMac until early 2013, despite Apple's official promises that the new iMac models would ship before year's end.

9to5Mac now reassures us that Apple's original plans are still intact for the iMac. The new 21.5" iMacs are said to already be shipping to distribution centers, while the 27" iMacs are due in December. Supplies, however, are likely to be very short through the rest of the year.

Apple continues to list November and December availability dates for the new iMacs in their online store. Pre-orders are not yet available but are expected by the end of November.

Love for the iPad Mini-and a review of the Surface RT, too- Thanks again Arnold!

My love for the mini over the other iPads comes down to one thing: size. It's perfectly sized for every room in the house. It's perfectly sized for travel, where every ounce counts.

the build quality on the iPad mini is fantastic

http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/07/why-im-returning-my-ipad-mini/

Chris Pirillo’s Microsoft Surface Review

John Gruber thought this was a fair and comprehensive review.

Best line: “If you’re the sort of person who likes features over finish, Surface is for you.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQhhtvuZwVg

Windows 8 is just another way for Microsoft to show you ads

And the ads continue to play even if you pay subscription fees.

http://owened.co.nz/windows-8-is-just-a-way-for-microsoft-to-show-you-ads

Want to charge up your iPhone or iPad after the electricity goes out?  Such as after an earthquake?

Now you can with this hand crank generator.  Buy one before the big one!!

http://uncrate.com/stuff/eton-boost-turbine/

Russian Hacker Gets a Taste of His Own Malware

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/76519.html

Apple’s products say, “You can’t do that because we think it would suck.”

Microsoft’s products say, “We’ll let you try to do anything on anything if you really want to, even if it sucks.”

People who dislike Apple’s approach or whose requirements are incompatible with it will always exist in great numbers, and the Surface is for them. It’ll probably sell well, especially if Microsoft can expand their retail presence quickly.

http://www.marco.org/2012/10/26/an-alternate-universe

iPithy: Why the World's Biggest Company Speaks With the Fewest Words

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/10/ipithy-why-the-worlds-biggest-company-speaks-with-the-fewest-words/264126/

A yacht designed by Steve Jobs has been completed a little over a year after his death

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2012/10/29/steve-jobss-yacht-completed/

The Yacht Steve Jobs Designed With Philippe Starck Has Finally Been Unveiled

http://www.cultofmac.com/198521/the-yatcht-steve-jobs-designed-with-philippe-starck-has-finally-been-unveiled/

Apple Acknowledges UK Legal Judgment That Samsung Tablets Are Not as Cool as iPads

http://www.apple.com/uk/legal-judgement/

iPhones, iPads, and not much else: How the mobile revolution drove Apple’s exponential growth

http://qz.com/20109/iphones-ipads-and-not-much-else-how-the-mobile-revolution-drove-apples-exponential-growth/

The Kill Switch Comes to the PC

Google …... flipped a little-known kill switch, reaching into more than 250,000 infected Android smartphones and forcibly removing the malicious code.

Google, Apple (AAPL), and Amazon (AMZN)all have the ability to reach into devices to delete illicit content or edit code without users’ permission. It’s a powerful way to stop threats that spread quickly, but it’s also a privacy and security land mine.

The bottom line: Kill switches can improve computer security, but they worry privacy and free speech advocates.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-02-17/the-kill-switch-comes-to-the-pc

Thanks to Arnold Woodworth, our Vice-President, for all these great links.

Tom Briant

Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG