Make a Clone, not just a Time Machine Backup, before upgrading to Mavericks

Before you upgrade to Mac, I have this piece of advice for you.

First, make sure you’ve run all the software updates from Apple on your 10.8.5 machine.

Second, AND MOST IMPORTANT, make a bootable clone of your current 10.8.5 system before you upgrade to 10.9. I just had a nasty surprise with 10.9 that I remedied by booting into 10.8.5 from my external hard drive.

If you’ve never made a bootable clone before and have doubts, call the Tech Daddy immediately.

 

If you can’t reach the Tech Daddy or prefer a woman’s touch , try Elena-Beth Kaye at gypsyheart@aol.com. Her Web site is here!

They’ll come over to your place and walk you through cloning your hard drive using Super-Duper from Shirt-Pocket Software This is a great piece of software that I use myself. I’ve paid the $27.95 for it and it’s worth every penny.

But I have to repeat. Make a clone of your functioning system before sailing off into the sunset on the good ship Mavericks.

Oh, and the nasty surprise? I couldn’t upload blog posts to MacValley! I’m using my 10.8.5 external hard drive for this purpose.

Read Topher Kessler’s CNET review of Mavericks here. That’s what Ken linked to above.

Tom Briant

Editor, Macvalley Blog

Senior Corespondent Arnold Woodworth has a review of the Obamacare enrollment process for us

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

http://qz.com/138458/apple-is-either-terrible-at-designing-charts-or-thinks-you-wont-notice-the-difference/

 

 

 

The new iPad Mini affirms that Apple doesn't care about market share, just profit margins

http://qz.com/138453/the-new-ipad-mini-affirms-that-apple-doesnt-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.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/how-apples-address-book-app-could-allow-the-nsa-to-harvest-your-contacts/

 

 

 

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/security-check-now-starts-long-before-you-fly.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp&

 

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.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/cryptoseal-vpn-shuts-down-rather-than-risk-nsa-demands-for-crypto-keys/

It's Saturday, and Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has articles for you.

Why Apple's Mac software isn't really free

Users will end up paying for the new operating system in other ways

The most surprising announcement at Apple's event Tuesday was the company's decision to give away the software that runs its computers. The Mac OS X operating system, for which in the past Apple has charged as much as $169, is now free.

But not exactly, tech analysts say.

probably ........ will be baked into the cost of hardware and other services going forward.

"Apple has basically established that there is more value than just an operating system," e-commerce consultant Eisenberg says. "It makes boatloads of money from the whole ecosystem.  Give people a great experience and they will pay for extras."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-apples-mac-software-isnt-really-free-2013-10-23

 

 

 

 

Why Apple Wants Its Software to Be Free

This runs counter to Microsoft's DNA as-at least until very recently-a software company. And let's give Redmond some credit: That strategy worked really, really well for a while.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-22/why-apple-wants-its-software-to-be-free

 

 

 

Dear Apple, Thank You For Fixing The Worst Part Of iOS 7

In a new minor update to iOS 7 that launched this week, Apple gave users the option to switch off nearly all of the vomit-inducing animations. Before, you could only turn off the parallax effect. Now you can turn off the animations when opening up apps or folders.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-reduces-ios-7-animations-2013-10

 

 

 

Most online daters couldn't pass a polygraph

Lying is rampant on dating sites, new study suggests

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-online-daters-couldnt-pass-a-polygraph-2013-10-23

 

 

 

As Europe erupts over US spying, NSA chief says government must stop media

both Germany and France exploded with anger over new revelations about pervasive NSAsurveillance on their population and democratically elected leaders.

note how leaders such as Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted with basic indifference when it was revealed months ago that the NSA was bulk-spying on all German citizens, but suddenly found her indignation only when it turned out that she personally was also targeted. That reaction gives potent insight into the true mindset of many western leaders.

are France and Germany allowing the person who enabled all these disclosures –Edward Snowden – to be targeted for persecution by the US government for the "crime" of blowing the whistle on all of this?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/25/europe-erupts-nsa-spying-chief-government

 

 

Feinstein defends NSA data collection and insists program is 'not surveillance'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/21/dianne-feinstein-defends-nsa-data-collection

 

 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, security expert Bruce Schneier, and 23 others have called on antivirus providers around the world to protect their users against malware spawned by the National Security Agency and other groups that carry out government surveillance.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/dear-av-provider-do-you-enable-nsa-spying-yours-eff/

 

 

Meet the Private Companies Helping Cops Spy on Protesters

Promotional materials for private spy companies show that mass surveillance technology is being sold to police departments as a way to monitor dissent

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/meet-the-private-companies-helping-cops-spy-on-protesters-20131024

Avatron Air Display 2 on sale today! Go get it

Avatron’s Air Display suite of programs, that turn your iPad (among others) into a second screen for your Mac, is Available today for 50% off. It’s a great way to combine your iPad/iPad mini with your Mac! Only $4.99 in the iTunes App Store!

Tom Briant

Editor, Macvalley Blog

Quattro Pro Spreadsheet formats and the Mac-An Introduction

If you come to the Mac after working with Windows and MS-DOS for years, you may have worked with a spreadsheet that didn’t use the standard Microsoft Excel format. You may have used Quattro, Quattro Pro, or Quattro Pro for Windows.

You really do need a Windows machine to translate old Quattro Pro for DOS or Windows into a usable Mac format. You will have to break down and use the Microsoft Excel format, even if you swore you’d never touch another Microsoft product.

If you find yourself burdened with a bunch of old Quattro Pro for DOS (*.WQ1 or *.WQ2) file or Quattro Pro for Windows (*.wb1, *.wb2, *.qpw) documents and you need to translate them for use on a Mac, this is my advice.

(1) If you have access to a Windows XP/7/8 machine that you can add software to, go to the www.corel.com site and download a 30-day trial of WordPerfect Office x6. This software will work for 30 days without you buying it and should give you enough time to translate your Quattro files into Excel format.

(2) If your Mac has a virtual machine on it in the form of Parallels Desktop or VM Fusion or VirtualBox with at least Windows XP installed on it, download and install the trial version of WordPerfect Office x6 on it. You can translate your Quattro & WordPerfect files into Excel and Word format.

(3) If you saved your documents in .wb2/Quattro Pro 6.0 format; then you can open them in the free office suite from www.libreoffice.org That, however, is the only Quattro Pro format that LibreOffice opens. And you’ll need to save them in Excel .xls or .xlsx format.

Quattro Pro is a niche product for Windows. Excel and its .xls format rules the roost as far as Mac spreadsheets are concerned. and to use Quattro Pro files with a Mac, you’ll need to convert them into Excel format.

Tom Briant

Editor MacValley Blog

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has a potpourri of articles for you to read. Fix another cup of tea and dig i

Apple’s ‘spaceship’ HQ gets closer to reality:  New headquarters will be costly and seen only by select few
Other business titans have built fantastic skyscrapers in boom-and-bust periods — such as the late 1920s when Walter Chrysler built the Chrysler Building — only to see their fortunes reverse. This was dubbed the “skyscraper curse,” and it may be taking the form of a “campus curse” in Silicon Valley. Some readers have scoffed at this notion in the past, but there are others who agree that it exists.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-spaceship-hq-gets-closer-to-reality-2013-10-15



Cupertino council clears huge Apple 'spaceship' campus for liftoff
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_24319747/cupertino-council-clears-huge-apple-spaceship-campus-liftoff



Researchers challenge Apple's claim of unbreakable iMessage encryption
Report Says Apple Can Read Your iMessages, Apple Denies It
The claim that iMessage is protected by unbreakable encryption is "just basically lies," said Cyril Cattiaux, who has developed iOS jailbreak software and works for Quarkslab, a penetration testing and reverse engineering company in Paris.
The researchers emphasized they have no indication that Apple or the government is reading iMessages, only that it would be possible to do so.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2055640/researchers-challenge-apples-claim-of-unbreakable-imessage-encryption.html
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425939,00.asp
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243274/Researchers_challenge_Apple_39_s_claim_of_unbreakable_iMessage_encryption



Article on Apples new senior vice president of retail
http://www.fastcompany.com/3019991/apples-new-consumer-experience-chief-angela-ahrendts-on-the-future-of-retail



glass screens on iPhones and Samsung phones highly susceptible to breaks, cracks, and scratches. If you don't have a cracked smartphone screen, you probably know someone who does.
But a product called the "ShatterProof" screen protector by Amzer claims it can keep your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy device "unbreakable."
Watch the video of people trying to break them.
http://www.businessinsider.com/amzer-shatterproof-video-test-2013-10



As Twitter goes public, more tweets go private
Site makes it easier for firms to deal with complaints privately
Allowing more direct messages from consumers also gives companies an incentive to deal with a problem promptly - before a disgruntled customer goes public.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-twitter-is-changing-customer-service-again-2013-10-16



The Crazy, Awesome Life Of A Google Street View Trekker
http://www.businessinsider.com/life-of-google-street-view-worker-2013-10



Google’s new terms of service are harder to read than “Beowulf”
The difficulty users might have in understanding terms and conditions raises questions about what it means to give informed consent and the way agreements with service providers are constructed, says Mortier.
http://qz.com/136688/googles-new-terms-of-service-are-harder-to-read-than-beowulf/



This Is The Only Mobile Payment System I Could Actually See Myself Using
The company is the iPhone of banking – using its app to manage your money, you see nothing but a beautiful and intuitive user interface. All that ugly financial wizardry that we know has to happen stays where it belongs: out of sight. In short, Simple is a virtual alternative to your regular banking account.
The problem they most recently solved?
Mobile payments.
Any two people who are physically near each other and have a Simple account can send each other money.
http://www.businessinsider.com/simple-moneydrop-2013-10



You Can Get The Wisdom Of Nobel Prize Winner Robert Shiller For Free Online
Shiller recorded 26 free podcasts on topics ranging from options markets to portfolio diversification — they're up on iTunes for you to enjoy.
http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-free-podcast-2013-10



C.I.A. Disputes Early Suspicions on Snowden
The C.I.A. said that it did not suspect Edward J. Snowden of gaining access to computer files without authorization when he was working as a technician for the agency in Geneva in 2009, and did not send him home as a result.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/us/cia-disputes-early-suspicions-on-snowden.html?adxnnl=1&src=recg&adxnnlx=1381952947-5KcwzSURBHqfLE9+WnAagA

The head of Burberry joins Apple's top management

Angela Ahrendts, CEO of the British fashion house Burberry, joined Apple’s top executives as the newest Senior Vice-President and head of the on-line and brick & mortar Apple stores. I wish better success than the last two men. Ron Johnson and his sponsor, the billionaire hedge funder owner of J.C. Penny, thought he could apply his magic at the Apple Store to the lagging J.C. Penny stores. Er, it didn’t work out that way. The other guy, John Whatshisname from England, wasn’t a good fit. So I have hopes for Angela.

Hiring the head of a fashion house means Apple admits the obvious. If you display an Apple product in public, you make a fashion statement as well as one about your technical abilities.

Now will all the men who make the presentations tuck in their shirts and wear dress pants instead of jeans? What about the attire of the sales associates at the Apple Store? We will see next Tuesday how great a fashion impact she’s had on Apple so far.

Less facetiously, Mavericks will soon come out. Perhaps next Wednesday the 23rd as rumored and perhaps we’ll have to wait if a last-minute bug is found. Please, no last-minute bugs!

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog