Attendance: 23 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
This was our largest recorded meeting in the minutes to date, largely due to the special presentation from MacSpeech. The speaker was running a little late, so we held our question and answer time while we waited and enjoyed the goodies that a generous member brought.

The Mac store in Hilo is finally open for business. Opening night was November 7th. I'm told that it went well.

Unless you wish to hide where you've been on the internet, you don't really need to worry about your web browser cache, unless you notice that your browser is running more slowly than normal. You can empty the cache by looking in your browser's preferences. You can also set the amount of disk space that your cache uses, but it's best to leave it at the default setting. Too much cache can slow your browser down as well as too little cache.

I recorded the entire presentation and will post the video here hopefully before Christmas. The owner of MacSpeech, Andrew Taylor, gave the presentation, which was pretty neat to watch! I'm impressed with how far speech recognition technology has progressed in the last 10 years! It only takes 4 minutes to train the program, where as it used to take hours upon hours to train it. And then if you lost the data, you had to start all over. Anyway, he warned us that pretty much the only thing you have to worry about is becoming hoarse =D

MacSpeech CEO Andrew Taylor
(click picture to open full sized picture in a new window)

Attendance: 8 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
I apologize as I've just realized that even tho I did make the changes to the web site for the October meeting, I forgot to upload the changes to the web site! Which is why it's important to be on the mailing list for our group. Sorry about that...

The meeting for November will be the 13th (2nd Thursday) at 7! For future reference, the meeting always starts at 5:30 and is held on the 3rd Thursday of each month (except for this November). The special guest speaker is from MacSpeech and will be demoing their flagship product. For those unable to attend, I will be recording it if all goes well...

In the August minutes I forgot to mention the software that one of our members recommends for ripping Flash video off of YouTube. It's called TubeTV. It's written for Mac OS 10.4 or later, and can be used to rip Flash video from any web site to your hard drive.

The main topic was about the new MacBook that was just released. We watched a video that showed the MacBook being manufactured. The screen and track pad are made from glass, and the body is cut from a single block of aluminum. The nvidia graphics chip is high-end and high-speed which allows smooth video editing and 3D game play in graphic intensive applications. The only drawback is that the firewire port has been discontinued in the MacBook series, but the MacBook Pro series still retains its Firewire port. The techs weren't too happy to hear this bit of news, tho...

Newer Mac models can sense what type of ethernet cable (straight or crossover) that is connected, but it's recommended you still use the correct cable for the job to avoid problems. And remember, your ethernet network is only as fast as your slowest component. So in other words, you're not going to get Gbit speeds through a 10Base-T hub with your Gbit Mac. Visit this article for an in-depth explanation...

Visit MacBlogz for a quick look at the top news about Apple from many popular web sites...

Viruses for Mac OS X are very rare, but don't become lax because they do exist! It's just the other way around...YOU have to hunt for THEM. But if you're still using Classic, then there are a few viruses running around that you need to watch out for, especially if you like to sift through software dumps. Be aware that even tho you aren't affected by the virus, you can still spread it to all your unfortunate Windows buddies and make their lives even more miserable than it already is.

We also discussed Spaces in Leopard and the Mactracker application...

If there's anything that you think that should be addressed in the minutes, please contact me (Lee, the webmaster) through the form located in the "Monthly Meeting" section of our web site, thanks...

Attendance: 20 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
A new member showed up this evening with a special paint job done to her Powerbook by ColorWare. Altho pricey, you can have numerous electronics like computers, cell phones, or iPods color customized...which automatically voids your warranty So keep that in mind when you consider a custom paint job by a third party...

Someone asked how to burn a DVD from YouTube videos they downloaded. I would recommend burning a data CD or DVD instead because YouTube videos are very poor quality. But if you want to do so anyway, then it's a rather complicated process if you've never done it before. I use Toast 6 Titanium to create and burn my DVDs. You don't have as much control (that doesn't apply to the latest version now), but it's the simplest way I know how to do it (provided the video format is supported by Toast). Read the help section of Toast for more information.

MPEG Streamclip came up as a way to convert video to the format you need for creating a DVD. MPEG Stream can be used to: open most movie formats including MPEG files or transport streams; play them at full screen; edit them with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Trim; set In/Out points and convert them into muxed or demuxed files, or export them to QuickTime, AVI, DV and MPEG-4 files with more than professional quality, so you can easily import them in Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Toast 6, 7, 8, and use them with many other applications or devices.
Supported input formats: MPEG, VOB, PS, M2P, MOD, VRO, DAT, MOV, DV, AVI, MP4, TS, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AUD, AVR, VDR, PVR, TP0, TOD, M2V, M1V, MPV, AIFF, M1A, MP2, MPA, AC3

You can use Safari's activity window to download embedded content like Flash by double-clicking the URL. But be aware that there are ways to prevent users from downloading all of a Flash presentation if the author chooses to do so.

When you use a Powerbook, laptop, notebook, iBook, or MacBook you need to have it on a flat surface so that the air can circulate underneath the computer or it'll heat up and cause damage to your person or the electronics inside. If it gets to the point where it's too hot to touch, you need to immediately shut it down and allow it to cool off. If this continues you should probably have it looked at. These suckers can cause fires or third degree burns if neglected...

The proper way to say URL is to spell it: "U R L", not url. There was some confusion among the members, including myself, early on in the meeting when url was being flung around. Also, p2p is said as "peer to peer"...

When dragging files around in the Finder, it will copy them to another hard drive, thumb drive, external drive, or if the permissions are set as "read only" for the folder that it resides in. If you would like to copy a file to another hard drive and delete the original file in one action, then press thekey as you drag the file. If you want to copy the original file to another folder on the same hard drive, then press the "Option" key as you drag the file.

Most Mac applications have additional online help that is usually more comprehensive and up-to-date, but requires an internet connection. Don't be afraid to actually read the help section if you have any questions, or to familiarize yourself with the application. The internet also has tons of third party how tos and information as well. Adobe is especially noted for its comprehensive documentation!

If your Mac has an iSight, you can also use an external cam if you want.

You can access the settings for your router by the number listed in the Router field in your Network System Preferences. Enter that in your Safari or Firefox browser. Then read the manual that came with your router to learn what the default login information is. Now the fun really begins ^_^'

You can use Bonjour to connect and configure your wireless printer if it supports Bonjour (which Apple swears all printer manufactures have adopted by now). Even Microsoft Windows users *shivers* can use Bonjour with Internet Explorer...for free even! Unfortunately, this feature is only available to Leopard users.

Most desktop users can set their Energy Saver settings to Never (just remember to turn the monitor off when you leave the room), while Powerbook users can use the default settings that Apple supplies. Don't be afraid to experiment with the settings. Just remember that putting the hard disks to sleep can sometimes cause your Mac to do squirrelly things. I use my B/W G3 all the time, so I never turn it off (better for the system anyway), so I don't use the Screen Saver or Energy Saver options (if you were wondering).

Don't be afraid to organize your bookmarks in Safari or Firefox any way you want to...but just don't toss them all in one folder or you'll never be able to find anything!

You unsubscribe from RSS feeds by deleting them in the bookmarks window in Safari, or right click delete feed in your Mail preferences. I think that only applies to Leopard users because my versions of Safari and Mail don't support RSS feeds >_<

If you want to learn more about Auto-Click in Safari, then please click here...

For the main event, which drew quite the crowd, Dawn discussed social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Ning, MerchantCircle, LinkedIn, and MyFamily. She showed us how to create a Facebook account and set the privacy settings. Facebook and MySpace are the most popular among the sites reviewed, Facebook being the better choice to find friends that you haven't seen in decades. MySpace is geared more towards those who want their own web page without having to know any coding or buy expensive software. Ning is for creating your own network. MerchantCircle is for promoting your own business. LinkedIn is for networking with your professional colleagues. MyFamily is for creating a family tree online and staying in touch with them. These are all ad based, free services, but if that concerns you and you're a Firefox user like me, then let me suggest the add-on Adblock Plus 0.7.5.5. I've found it to be very helpful in blocking those pesky ads that no one wants to see...

And since iCards has been discontinued, I will no longer be placing the email that is sent out at the bottom of the minutes. Altho I'll be using Grab to take a picture of the email and place it in the monthly meeting page.

Attendance: 20 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
I missed the first 30 minutes, which I'm told was mostly about the failings of .mac switching to mobileme...
I walked in when different types of email protocols were being discussed. POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) is what most ISPs offer. The email client, like Mail, downloads the email and then usually deletes it from the server unless the preferences are set differently. IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol) allows the user to leave the email on the server so that it can be accessed by multiple computers. This option isn't practical if you accept large attachments or have a small mail box. Yes, believe it or not, your mail box has a limited capacity, usually around 10-25MB (unless it's Gmail). The other problem with leaving your email on the server is that occasionally ISPs do have to purge their systems to get back online due to viruses or being hacked, which can cause the loss of all your email. Webmail, or accessing your email account via your web browser, is just that. There are many different scripts used to accomplish this, Squirrel Mail being the most popular. In case if you're wondering, your .Mac account uses the IMAP4 protocol...

iWeb, part of the iLife 08 suite (US$79), is a bare bones web publishing application designed by Apple. I haven't used it personally, but from reading reviews, it looks like iWeb would be good for beginners who don't want to do any customizing beyond what iWeb offers. I personally like to use Adobe GoLive CS (no longer sold by Adobe), altho most professionals use Adobe Dreamweaver (US$399).

Letterbox is a plugin for Apple's Mail.app that takes advantage of your wide screen monitor. It rearranges the interface into three vertical columns. This is still beta, so please use caution!

Members running OS X can access the MUG's iDisk by choosing Go - iDisk - Other User's Public Folder... in the Finder and entering:
hawaiimacnuts

Dawn demonstrated Bento (US$49) by FileMaker...and no, you can't eat it. Bento is a very bare bones personal database management application with limited functionality. I suggest you purchase FileMaker Pro (US$299) if you're serious about database management.

Dawn then handed the meeting over to Patrick Donegan, who did his best to facilitate the question & answer time as she quietly slipped out the door...

iListen was a speech recognition program by MacSpeech that was discontinued in 2008. iListen was replaced with MacSpeech Dictate (US$199). Keep in mind tho that you have to train the program to recognize your voice, and if you ever have to reinstall it, you have to train it all over again. Trust me, I speak from experience, it's not worth the money T_T

Hulu, along with other major TV networks, are beginning to offer their programming online. Unfortunately, commercials are still included...

iTunes can import music files from an external hard drive without copying them to your iTunes Music folder. Make sure that the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" box is unchecked under the Advanced - General preferences in iTunes. And your iTunes Music folder is located in your Music folder in your home directory.

If you only have a 1 button mouse and you need to perform a right click, then stop panicking! Just press the Control key before you click the mouse button, and presto, a right click...

And on a lighter note, just about any USB mouse will work with Mac OS X. The mouses (yes mouses, not mice) with PS/2 to USB adapters are specially designed to work with the adapter, so don't expect to use the adapter with a regular PS/2 mouse and work (it might tho). And also take note that altho the basic functions for the mouse will work, the extra features require special software drivers.

The recent version of Quicken (US$69.99) can backup to your iDisk, but any program can save data to your iDisk if you first mount it in the Finder. I suppose some applications are specifically designed to work with your iDisk tho...

Carbon Copy Cloner is about the only option available for creating a bootable copy of your hard drive for Mac OS X. You can also use it to automatically backup your important data.

If you want to make a copy or backup of a CD or DVD, then use Roxio Toast Titanium. Insert the disc you want to copy. Check the "CD/DVD Copy" box under the Advanced tray to the side of the Copy tab. Then click the big red button when you're ready to burn a disc, or choose "Save as Disc Image..." from the File menu if you want to save a Toast image of the disc on your hard drive. The latest version of Toast has some great new features! I recommend upgrading if you meet the minimum system requirements...

AppZapper (US$12.95) is a utility that allows you to easily find all the files of an application that you wish to delete. You get 5 free zaps before you have to register it. Hmm, I wonder if it'll let you select and zap it's prefs file so that you can reset the zap count >= 3
And for all those out there who like freeware, then AppDelete is just the program for you! It does exactly the same thing, except with a lot less features and sound effects.

And on a sad note, iCards was discontinued by Apple. If you're interested, you can sign the petition to reinstate it here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/06291970/petition.html
In the mean time, we're looking at other newsletter/mass emailing options available to us until then...

Attendance: 15 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
The Big Island now has it's very own Applecare Tech from Mac Made Easy located on Oahu. They are looking at a possible retail location in downtown Hilo...

A new iPhone will be released in July, but don't expect to be able to use the 3G network on the Big Island for a while. They're still updating the coverage here...

The new Mac OS 10.6 will be called Snow Leopard. Apple is focusing on overhauling the code rather than providing new features, and should be released sometime next year.

For those interested in de-fragging their hard drive (which is unnecessary with Mac OS X), you can use DiskWarrior US$99.95 or TechTool Pro US$98. Please don't try to use Norton System Works, as it may create problems...

Natec demonstrated hands on how to record and make a movie in iMovie 6. I recorded the demonstration and will post it here soon...

The group decided to raise the fee from $1 to $2 since we have been consistently short the last few meetings of reaching our rental fee for the facility.

Attendance: 14 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
Looked at the redesigned web site for the group and discussed how it could be improved. Feel free to send in any links that you think should be included in the links section that are somehow Mac related. Also, spread the word about our group to your Mac friends and give them our web site address for more information.

Someone brought in a copy of iCreate magazine for the group to look at. It has Mac reviews, guides, and tutorials with a British twist to it since it's published out of the UK. Subscriptions for 13 issues are £80, or US$155.89 according to Calculator's currency conversion tool. You may want to check out Borders for a copy instead.

Ann showed us a short iMovie (her camera wasn't as waterproof as they thought) that she made of their fish sanctuary in their backyard. May her camera rest in peace...

Foxnews reported about a woman who was able to recover her Macbook that was stolen:
"Woman Remotely Logs in to Her Stolen Mac to Catch Thieves"
"Back to My Mac" comes with a .Mac membership, but here is a list of some other applications/services that do the same thing:

• Mac PhoneHome - $29.95 one time fee
• Secure Notebook X - $12 shareware fee (last updated 2002)
• XTool - $40 - $175 annual fee
• Computrace Complete - $99.95 annual fee
• LoJack for Laptops - $49.99 annual fee

Stop hanging outside to use your cell phone...come inside to your zBoost cell zone. Install this product to get cell phone reception inside your building...

Read this article from Apple for powerbooks that use lithium-ion batteries. Please note that despite what was said during the meeting, batteries should be stored at a 50% charge! Don't want to fool with the process? NewerTech sells an Intelligent Battery Charging Station for $149.95. Check out these articles for information on older powerbook batteries:

• Article 18241
• Article 60655
• Article 86797

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. With an RSS reader like Safari, you can subscribe to RSS feeds and quickly find the information that you want from recently updated web sites. And no, our web site will NOT have an RSS feed...the only pages that will be updated on a regular basis is the Minutes or Links page.

Monolingual is a program for removing unnecessary language resources from Mac OS X, in order to reclaim several hundred megabytes of disk space. But with the size of hard drives today...what's the point???

The public library is a great place to find books about Macs that you can check out in Hawaii. If they don't have it on location, you can place a request for it. But don't expect brand new releases tho...

You don't need to install the software/drivers that came with your camera or camcorder in OS X. Use iPhoto with the USB cable that shipped with your camera to download your camera's pictures. Use iMovie with a firewire cable to download your camcorder's video. You'll only want to install the bonus applications if you think they'll be more usefull than iPhoto or iMovie...

Apple's web site as well as your Mac or application's Help is a great place to look for more information about a particular subject...
Feel free to join our Yahoo Tech Group and ask your questions there too. And don't be afraid to search the internet for answers to your questions either. More often than not we'll do the same thing if we don't know the answer right off the top of our head.

Attendance: about 13 Mac users

Topics Discussed:
VMware Fusion performs faster than other Windows emulators such as Parallels or Virtual PC, but may be less compatible because it doesn't emulate hardware that isn't present on your Mac. Virtual PC hasn't been released for Intel Macs yet, tho...

Both Safari and Firefox save login information (passwords) for web sites unless the site specifically disables this feature. This information is saved in the browser's preferences, not your keychain. So be careful when clearing private data! Tabs is a good way to save a lot of time and prevent confusion. In the latest version of both applications, you can rearrange the order of your tabs by simply dragging the tab where you want it. I like to open links on a page by using the right mouse button, especially when viewing eBay actions. And don't forget to pay close attention to message windows that pop up while you are working. If Safari starts acting up, I would suggest rebooting your Mac first! This more often than not fixes any problems that I encounter with Macs, not just Safari (like I can't connect to the network, Mail refuses to connect to SMTP servers, etc.). If that fails, try running Disk Utility.

Prices on hard drives are beginning to drop! Especially keep your eyes on Office Max for their special bargins. Internal hard drives will always be cheaper than external hard drives. And make sure that it's compatible with your Mac because there are many different types of hard drives: SCSI, ATA, SATA, USB, & Firewire to name just a few.

We are now an official Peachpit partner. What does that mean? You can get special discounts of up to 30% off on their books...

The Mug Center is a great resource for Mac User Groups. You can also get discounts on limited time offers from vendors. You'll need to email Dawn for the login information to take advantage of these great offers.

You can't arrange events in iPhoto. You must create an album and add pictures. Then you can drag and drop the pictures in the order you want them. Also, be aware that clicking on the red button in the top left corner will close iPhoto.

Dawn then showed us how she uses Billable in her business to write and keep track of invoices. It integrates well with your Address Book, but unfortunately not with your tax software...

How to add pictures to your Address Book:

1. open the picture in Preview
2. edit the picture if you like
3. copy the picture by selecting "Copy" from the "Edit" menu in Preview
4. open Address Book
5. select a name and then click on the "Edit" button near the bottom right corner
6. click the default picture to the left
7. select "Paste" from the "Edit" menu in Address Book
8. click the "Edit" button when you are finished

To use iChat, you need a .Mac ($99.95 a year) or an AIM (free) account. After you've setup iChat, then you can enter a person's AIM username in your Address Book to have the picture associated with their name show up beside their screen name in iChat.
Another instant messenger application you may want to try is Adium, because it supports multiple instant messenger protocols.