Resources for Apple User Group Presentations and Newsletters

iPhone Hacks book review

The iPhone is an amazing portable computer. It features capabilities that twenty years ago would have been something out of the pages of science fiction. Instant communications access with anyone in the world, the ability to seamlessly access the corpus of human knowledge that is the Internet, and of course, an ability to be entertained by music, video and games limited only by your imagination.

Almost.

The iPhone, as shipped by Apple, is a wonderful device for 95% of its users. But Apple locks iPhone users into a gilded cage. The cage is sumptuously decorated, but it is still a jail cell.

Read the review from the Lawrence Apple Users Group.

Pogo Stylus

The iPhone, as many people know, is an absolute masterpiece of form and function. However, all these functions are useless if you can’t actually touch your phone. Dirty or gloved hands render the iPhone completely useless. The Pogo stylus bridges that gap, allowing you to use a stylus to control your iPhone.

Read the review from the Lawrence Apple Users Group.

Radius Atomic Bass Black Aluminum Earphones for iPhone

These headphones rock!

As many iPhone users know, the earbuds Apple includes with the iPhone are functional, but they don’t exactly have the greatest sound fidelity. Hundreds of different earphones are on the market, some costing more than the iPhone itself. Even these high end units do not have the ability to act as a hands free mic for the iPhone. Few things are more annoying then having to unplug your headphones when receiving an incoming call while jamming away on your iPhone.

Read the review from the Lawrence Apple Users Group.

MAXPower: Adding Wireless Access with Ease

What do you do to add wireless capability to your computer if it didn’t come with the right parts? It can be as easy as a USB plug-in dongle.

Newer Technology has produced the NewerTech MAXPower 802.11 g/b Wireless USB 2.0 Stick Adapter for just this purpose. The package comes with an installer CD that puts the right enabling software on PC or Mac laptops or desktop computers. You can then plug in this dongle, and have access to the Internet up to 300 feet away (line-of-sight).

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

NewerTech: The Right Tools for Mac Entry

Being a gadget guy, the right tools for the job make the work simpler and more effective. This is particularly true in the electronic world where various screwdriver types and sizes are vital to success, not to mention levers and grabbers (tech terms all).

At Macworld I found an excellent 11-piece computer tool kit this is just perfect for the majority of small repair work I do, such as replacement of the hard drive in laptop computers. This kit includes Torx T6, T8, & T10; Phillips PH00 & PH2; Straight 1.8 mm & 3.0 mm; tweezers; hemostat (scissor clamp); two plastic pry tools (spudgers); and a rugged, zippered, woven nylon carrying case.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

MacScan: Security at Your Fingertips

"The iBotnet, a ‘Trojan horse’ program, has appeared in pirated copies of Apple's productivity suite iWork '09 that circulate on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks,” the New York-based Post Chronicle reported. Since only a few thousand Macs were infected with iBotnet, we probably have little to worry about now, but this could be a sign of many more to come since hackers are testing Apple’s security parameters more and more. How do we defend ourselves against such impending attacks, or even current “Spyware”?

I’ve started using a new program from SecureMac called “MacScan”, and am very pleased with the results. My program runs automatically everyday at noon (you set the schedule), and immediately let’s me know what it finds that might be troublesome.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

macProVideo: Video-Assisted Software Learning

Get really interested in a new program, but don’t want to read a book, or Help menu in order to learn how to use it. Video instruction can be an excellent answer for many of us.

I am particularly impressed by Nonlinear Educating Inc., and its Founder and Publisher, Martin Sitter. Several years ago I ran a vendor discount offer about their macProVideo line of products, and had an opportunity to use several of the videos first-hand. This month I even did an interview with Martin for the Apple User Group Market Podcast (available at http://web.mac.com/ugab/). They used to provide these tutorials on DVDs, but discontinued this on Earth Day 2009, and are doing their part to protect the environment by providing only download services.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group