Working with Apples, Part 2

Software

Before we begin, here is a link to Part 1, if you missed it: Working with Apples, Part 1

Okay, so I got the iMac, and swapped out the keyboard and mouse for a set I was much more comfortable with, and it was time to start using it as my “main computer”. Which means, installing programs to actually get stuff done.

The iMac comes with iTunes, for managing music and videos; and iPhoto which gives me basic image editing. It has Safari for surfing the Web. Also Apple Mail, for managing my email; iChat for IM-ing/video conferencing (limited to other iChat users); a quite basic text editor; DVDMaker; and Garage Band.
Which is not a bad set of utilities for an operating system to come with.. but IMHO, the best is Time Machine (I’d sure like to see a Windows version of that!)(Well, Genie Timeline is very close..)

When I was in the gizmo and gadget Superstore looking at keyboards, I also went over to the software aisles — there were three.
One was dedicated to PC games (making it one of my preferred aisles.. ahem).
And a four foot long section, of four shelves, constituted the “Mac Software” section.

A pitifully small selection.. especially when you’re standing in the aisles.

This pie chart might be too generous.. to the Mac.

There were two antivirus titles; about three dozen game titles (of those, 12 were “real games”, and not Solitaire); Microsoft Office for Mac; a couple of PDF-related titles, Quicken, iLife and iWork, and the rest were too uninteresting for me to mentally note.
I guess you could call it a “bright spot” — they did have one Call of Duty title…

So, I didn’t buy any (software) programs for the iMac.

• For Internet Safety, I downloaded Avast! for Mac (free)
• For Productivity, I downloaded Open Office for Mac, which allows me to handle my Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets. (free)
  [Some people prefer Libre Office, also free]
• For notes/reminders/to do’s, I downloaded Evernote (free)
• For real chat/video I downloaded Skype (free)
• For HTML and blogging, I downloaded Komposer (free)
• For Remote Desktop, I downloaded TeamViewer (free)

I will be browsing CNet’s Download.com Apple software section for more titles when time allows. I didn’t see anything too interesting in the Apple Store..

With those titles, and a few more, I have an actually productive machine.
But I’m kind of out of luck in the gaming department,, though, there’s plenty of Time-waster type games,

Please feel free to suggest other titles you’d like to recommend to me, as a Comment (below)

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Quick Reco’s..

A few items worthy of your consideration.

* Proposed amendments to ECPA would make Orwell squirm

“George Orwell wrote his famous book about Big Brother in 1948. What would he think about the Electronic Communications Privacy Act? Changes to the act are being voted on this week in the U.S. Senate.” Read more..

Computers (and “high tech”) are fundamentally changing.

* Windows 8: It’s only one part of Microsoft’s brave new world

“Just how do you completely rebuild a company? Windows 8 is important but it’s just one step towards the future for Microsoft.” Read more..

* A new checkbox (aka “option”, aka “setting”) Skype users may want to un-check..

They snuck that in during an “update”…

* Do you have more than one “device” on your network? Free, from Sophos: Network Security Scan

Scan for threats on your network — up to 200 machines

• Finds viruses and other threats your antivirus missed
• Works alongside your existing antivirus
• Includes free security updates for 30 days

See all the threats on your network

Want to see what your current software might have missed? Try our free scan on up to 200 computers.

It’ll find malware, suspicious devices and apps

You’ll be able to see threats in all their forms. It could be removable media, games or other peer-to-peer software that are your biggest risks. Read more/download..

* Photographers, I recently came across two websites anyone thinking about buying a digital camera should (IMHO) take a look at:

• photographyblog
• dcresource

* Cyber Monday: Can The Internet Be Taken Down By Massive DDoS Attacks?

 “A security expert from Arbor Networks says bandwidth and performance increases combined with increased sizes of botnets have got service providers worried that large scale DDoS attacks could cause massive Internet interruptions.” Read more..

(… I won’t tell you about the planned hacker “blitzkrieg” attack on US banks… But you can ‘google it’..)

Today’s quote: “Today, you always know whether you are on the Internet or on your PC’s hard drive. Tomorrow, you will not care and may not even know.” ~ Bill Gates

(Sorry, Bill, but I will care [and I will know] ‘cuz I’m not a sheeple.)

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

A Look At What Is Different In Windows 8

Folks, this short slideshow highlights what is different in the new version of Windows, now on store shelves, Windows 8. (Maybe you have heard.. the new “interface” is different..)

“Love-Hate Win 8

Companies and reseller organizations that plan to adopt Windows 8 should prep for some heavy sledding. Though Microsoft has smoothed some of the Windows 8 user-interface bumps, plenty has changed, and people will inevitably get stuck trying to figure out where stuff is or how to get stuff done. Here’s a look at some of the major changes to help prepare you for the onslaught of questions and support calls.“

If you will be using Win8, you’ll want to be aware of the tips included. View the slideshow here.

*     *     *

In The News (aka “Today’s reading reco’s”):

* The Microsoft honcho responsible for Windows 8 “is no longer with the company” … Sinofsky Is Out As Top Windows Exec At Microsoft

 “Just weeks after launching Windows 8, Steven Sinofsky, the executive responsible for developing the new release of Microsoft’s flagship product, is leaving the company.” Read more..

* Has Bookmarks4Techs Been Kidnapped or Assassinated?

“My sister site, Bookmarks4Tech.com, has either been kidnapped or assassinated (after 3 years) by Google’s Blogger service and marked as a TOS (Terms of Service) violator by Google’s automated spam detection system. I am awaiting a review from Google to get the site back. The process to do this is not a friendly or easy […]” Read more..

* Love my cloud computing… Microsoft hit by second Office 365 email outage in five days

“For the second time this month, some Office 365 users in North America are experiencing email problems.” Read more..

*     *     *

Today’s quote: “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

How To Restore the Menu bar | Best Internet Security

In older versions of Windows, the menu bar was always visible in Explorer. In Vista and Windows 7, (and many programs too) the menu bar is now hidden by default, and you must press the ALT key to see it. These simple steps will cause it to always be visible.
(The “menu bar” gives you the familiar File | Edit | View |Tools | Help ‘drop down’ menus)

1) Launch Explorer by opening Computer (or Documents, or Pictures..), then press ALT to access the menu bar.

2) Click on Tools and then on Folder options.

3) In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab, and click to place a check in Always show menus.

4) Click on Apply and then OK.

That’s it. You’re done. (Should you decide you prefer the “more screen real estate” no menu bar look, simply repeat the steps and un-check the box.)

For other (specific) programs, you may have to hunt around a bit for the Show Menu bar setting; but usually it is under the View menu (visible after pressing Alt).

*     *     *

Reading reco’s:

* The Best Security Suites of 2013

“Yes, new versions of security suites are coming in every day, but we want to keep you up to date. We’ve reviewed 28 packages to help you choose which is best for you.” Read more..

* Surprise at the GoDaddy outage? Vulnerable networks are ticking bombs

“Bob Eisenhardt sees the GoDaddy outage as the tip of iceberg for vulnerable networks from banks to infrastructure. His take is pessimistic. Do you disagree?

…The GoDaddy incident could be viewed as a staggering breach of web-based commerce, and Steve Wozniak has it precisely correct when the guru-savant of Apple predicted the security risks of storing data “in” the cloud. A partner of mine (a certified BCP/DR planner) feels precisely the same way about the inherent dangers of cloud-based storage. The list of consequences is actually endless if you ponder the imponderables of it all.” Read more

* Cisco Acquires ThinkSmart Technologies For Wi-Fi Location Analytics

“By acquiring ThinkSmart Technologies, Cisco plans to use the company’s Intellify Wi-Fi location analytics technology to expand its customers’ ability to track mobile users within a venue for a variety of business intelligence uses.” Read more..

Data Mining. Tracking. Yippee yahoo.
(They don’t need to track me with GPS and WiFi triangulation.. I update foursquare every chance I get!)

*     *     *

Today’s free download: (an “oldie but a goodie”) It has been a while since I have mentioned one of my fave little computer protection apps – WinPatrol.

Clean up your Taskbar, ActiveX, Brower and Startup programs. WinPatrol monitors and exposes adware, keyloggers, spyware, worms, cookies, and other malicious software. This program puts you back in control of your computer with no need for constant updates.
Download WinPatrol (Window XP, Vista, Windows 7 including x64 support)

Today’s quotable quote: “Action without study is fatal. Study without action is futile.” ~ Mary Beard

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Remove “Metadata” From Your Files Before Sharing Them

Whenever you create, open, or save a file or document, that file will store information — known as metadata — that you had no intention of including or disclosing to others. Taking a conscientious “extra step” can prevent  embarrassment, and also make you a bit more secure. Here’s the “how to”.

Hidden Attributes and Tags Might Reveal More Than You Would Like

You may not be aware that the documents you generate, and the photos you edit on your computer are “stamped” (if you will) with little bits and pieces of information that the computer thinks are useful — called “metadata“. This metadata is not out in plain site for you to notice, but it’s there. Fortunately, it is not difficult to remove.

[note: “Metadata is not necessarily “bad”. Metadata is essentially there to help the computers do their jobs better and faster, and can be helpful to us as well.]

Metadata for a photograph would typically include the date and time at which it was taken and details of the camera settings, such as focal length, aperture, exposure. It would also contain any titles or keyword “tags” we’ve added to help us organize our albums. (If your camera/smartphone has “geotagging”, your location is pinpointed.)

Metadata for a document would typically include the date and time at which it was created, title, author, subject, number of pages, and the language of the text.

But the metadata will also contain the number of revisions, how long you spent working on it, (possibly) hidden markups/edits, who it is “shared” with, who else it’s been sent to, the Save path (which usually reveals your User Name), computer name, and more.

This can open you up to embarrassment (What? They took 4 hours and 16 revisions to write this ??? And why did they show it Joe?) and/or provide info a hacker might use to gain control of your PC.

Tip of the day: Before you e-mail off your file as an attachment, or turn it in to the boss, it might be a good idea to strip it of the metadata. To do this:
1) right-click of the file and select “Properties” from the context menu. In my example, I’ll use a Word document named BarbaraInvoice.doc.

2) Click on the “Details” tab, and look to the bottom area. Click on “Remove Properties and Personal Information”.

3) A new window will open. Here you will see two choices represented by radio buttons. ‘Remove it all’ is the default, but you can be selective by clicking the second button, and using the window scroll, and remove just certain tags.

4) Click “OK”, and the metadata is gone.

Today’s yippee yahoo: 450,000 user passwords leaked in Yahoo breach

“A hacker group claims responsibility for attack on a Yahoo service, exposing more than 450,000 plain text login credentials.” Read more..

If anyone should know better than that, it should be IT Pros, working at a place like Yahoo..? Ya’ think?

One more reason not to Yahoo!

Today’s free link: Amazon’s Game Downloads area lets you try every title – including new releases – before you buy. There are games for all ages and interests.

Today’s free download: Photographers: I believe this small free utility – BatchPurifier Lite– will allow you direct control over exactly which EXIF (metadata) info you want to remove from your image files. (I have not used this myself, but, there you go.)

Germane to nothing at all: in my world/our local slang, a “yahoo” is a happy-go-lucky idjit (aka a “fool”.)

Today’s quote: “All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Friday Fun?

Before I do anything else today, I would like to recommend this read.

* CISPA: more heinous than SOPA, and it just passed

“There’s still time to take this bill down. Read, learn, and then let your Congress-Critters know that, once again, We The Internet will not stand for these assaults on our rights.” Read more..

Despite the outbreak of sunshine here, I have to confess that the reading I do – to keep my finger on the pulse of tech – has been quite discouraging. And that has been true for several years now. Just from what landed in my Inbox today, I could post two dozen articles that (I am pretty sure) would discourage you, too. Such as:

Thanks to weak passwords, Conficker worm still rampant

“Detection numbers continue to rise for the infamous Conficker worm within enterprises, even though there is a patch available and no new variants have appeared in two years.” (I ask you to think about that. It might change your definition of “IT Professional”..)

US Makes No Progress on Cybersecurity

Featured News: Russian cyber crime market more organized, lucrative

“Traditional mafia groups are entering the cyber crime scene in Russia, which is leading to more centralization and professionalization — and bigger profits.“

Like, I said, that is just a few headlines.
Just today.

We live in interesting times.

Your antivirus is up-to-date, and you use good passwords.. right? (And.. not the same one for everything???)

So. Fersher I need some Friday Fun. And I need to get outside and into the sunshine.

*     *     *

Today’s quote: “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yeah. Sure. Uh Huh:

quick-easy.net

‘Cuz that’s how we like it, quick & easy.

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Quick Post — Games!

I only have a moment today, but I will use it to post a ‘heads up’ for a very popular category — free games (and timewasters).

Today’s free link: Thinks.com offers free puzzles of all sorts (crosswords, sudoku, jigsaw, codebreaker, etc.) and games like checkers and chess. Fit for the whole family.

Now, I’ll admit two things: these kinds of games are kind of “old school”, and I cannot do Sudoku.. But Thinks.com is a Bookmark in all my browsers on all my machines. Check it out.

Bonus: FREE Today Only – Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds

“I visit daily the Amazon daily FREE paid (Android) app giveaway and today I noticed they have available Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds. This app typically goes for $9.99 and is available today for FREE. Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds includes over 770 species and contains the […]” Read more…

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.