From dave at davesevick.com  Thu Apr  1 06:22:29 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 08:22:29 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad "has the potential to change portable computing
	profoundly ..." Walt Mossberg - Wall Street Journal
Message-ID: <3E11FBC2-A454-4F2B-9776-05F8A07474C8@davesevick.com>

Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close
March 31, 2010 
by Walter S. Mossberg


For the past week or so, I have been testing a sleek, light, silver-and-black tablet computer called an iPad. After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.

But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks ...

 <<snip>>


Full story found at http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100331/apple-ipad-review/
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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Thu Apr  1 07:23:54 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 09:23:54 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad review
Message-ID: <F1367867-87C4-43FC-9703-9A0DE18C3F29@firthconsulting.com>

Stephen Fry (yes yes, I know i gush about him a lot at MUG meetings) also reviewed the iPad, and was lucky enough to do so at Apple, chatting with Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue, Jonathan Ive, and Steve Jobs. (And quotes from Penguin Books CEO John Makinson, plus people from Duke, Gameloft, and other content creators) 

So, um, not the most unbiased of reviews, but interesting none-the-less. A preview of the iPad, surrounded by the people who made it a reality.  :)

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1976935,00.html
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From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Thu Apr  1 07:30:28 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 07:30:28 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad Review Compilation...
Message-ID: <57079718-7191-40FF-B28C-6589EA4459DB@gmail.com>

http://twitter.com/BoiseMacs/statuses/11423853509


From sarahbrim2 at mac.com  Thu Apr  1 13:52:30 2010
From: sarahbrim2 at mac.com (Sarah Brim)
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:52:30 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad "has the potential to change portable
 computing	profoundly ..." Walt Mossberg - Wall Street Journal
In-Reply-To: <3E11FBC2-A454-4F2B-9776-05F8A07474C8@davesevick.com>
References: <3E11FBC2-A454-4F2B-9776-05F8A07474C8@davesevick.com>
Message-ID: <132A712C-B321-4B0D-BFB7-0116C42CBF95@mac.com>

Hi Mac Friends
I think this article is well worth reading.  It seems to give you the great pros and some of the reservations about the ipad.  Read the whole article at the link before you buy a computer, netbook or ipad.
Sarah

On Apr 1, 2010, at 8:22 AM, Dave Sevick wrote:

> Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close
> March 31, 2010 
> by Walter S. Mossberg
> 
> 
> For the past week or so, I have been testing a sleek, light, silver-and-black tablet computer called an iPad. After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.
> 
> But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks ...
> 
>  <<snip>>
> 
> 
> Full story found at http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100331/apple-ipad-review/
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug

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From genemyrapa at gmail.com  Fri Apr  2 12:25:42 2010
From: genemyrapa at gmail.com (Gene & Myra Fozard)
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 14:25:42 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Apple Illustrates Pico Projector Coming to MacBooks -
	According to "Patently Apple"
Message-ID: <p2n99da44121004021125xab494dffi1672089887ff18d6@mail.gmail.com>

Next gen MacBooks to have built in video projector?  Interesting reading

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/04/apple-illustrates-pico-projector-coming-to-macbooks.html

SHALOM
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From markd at borkware.com  Fri Apr  2 12:35:16 2010
From: markd at borkware.com (Mark Dalrymple)
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 14:35:16 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Apple Illustrates Pico Projector Coming to MacBooks -
	According to "Patently Apple"
In-Reply-To: <p2n99da44121004021125xab494dffi1672089887ff18d6@mail.gmail.com>
References: <p2n99da44121004021125xab494dffi1672089887ff18d6@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <j2se02953d71004021135w9cab2f9fzc9fdbb17880d26ea@mail.gmail.com>

"In today's patent, Apple's R&D confirms that pico projectors are
indeed coming to future MacBooks and details a sweeping overview of
the system in a patent published yesterday" is a big conclusion to
jump to.  Apple routinely files patents for bizarre (and cool) stuff
which never see the light of day.  And we all know that Apple doesn't
pre-announce anything.

Cheers,
++md


On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Gene & Myra Fozard <genemyrapa at gmail.com> wrote:
> Next gen MacBooks to have built in video projector? ?Interesting reading
> http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/04/apple-illustrates-pico-projector-coming-to-macbooks.html
> SHALOM
>
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug
>
>



From radonaldson at mac.com  Fri Apr  2 18:24:42 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:24:42 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, April 2, 1010
Message-ID: <9C48C4B7-4E5B-4A7C-8AAE-7F4DD9FE1DC1@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens,  John Hamill,  Nathan Brentzel, his daughter Shana Tan, Dave Sevick, and COWMUG friends Barb Mitchell, Kyle O'Connor and Judy Schall for joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today.

Today at lunch, Nathan learned that just one little letter in Italian means a lot. "Signore" is guys; "Signora" is chicks. He should have asked Charlie...

Barb, Judy and Kyle teamed up to sort RAM for John Hamill'a testing operation, clearing hundreds of pieces in several different configurations. Who knew they were all so different?

Kyle later joined Nathan and Shana in the ritual de-manufacture of the eight Macs that passed to the other side today. Two 17-inch Apple CRT Studio Displays joined them.

We refurbished nine Macs today, including two more Leopard-capable G4 Towers, to bring our all-time total to 2,390.

We cleaned the basement of all the Mac plastic cases we had been saving for a higher purpose, filling three Gaylord recycling containers. They'll be off into the recycling chain early next week. The dream of eMac cat beds for all is forever dashed...

We took in four USB keyboards this week. As you see, we fixed twice as many Macs as keyboards. Like the Pirates, these are numbers that do not add up to a winning combination. Please, ask all your Mac using friends if they have any USB keyboards and mice hiding in their homes. Goodwill can't sell our inventory (closing in on 400 in stock) without them.

Our next scheduled workday is Friday, April 9.

We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188






From alexmacimac at mac.com  Sat Apr  3 11:15:15 2010
From: alexmacimac at mac.com (Alex MacArthur)
Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:15:15 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Orlando folks cruising the mall parking lots at 4:00 am to
 be first in line for iPad
Message-ID: <B9F6F275-3EC0-4A89-9069-58F6800A49B5@mac.com>

...and 8 already for sale on Craigslist by 11 am.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-ipad-release-20100403,0,4201100.story



Alex


From dave at davesevick.com  Sun Apr  4 06:05:53 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 08:05:53 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad is one day old and people are already tearing it down
	...
Message-ID: <4401C759-CFF1-48E1-89C4-EB24A52F60A4@davesevick.com>

... all for the good though !

Please see the iPad tear-down in 31 steps with the good folks at ifixit.com

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-Teardown/2183/1#top




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From dave at davesevick.com  Sun Apr  4 06:40:54 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 08:40:54 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Tuesday - April 6,
	2010 - Happy 14th Birthday NPMUG - Meeting at the new MacOutfitters
Message-ID: <6BA1C212-EF23-40FE-BADD-FD187C478D80@davesevick.com>

NEW LOCATION  -  MacOutfitters of Cranberry Twp, PA   http://www.macoutfitters.com/

20395 Route 19
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
P: 724-776-8075
F: 724-776-8035

Store Hours:
Monday ? Friday 9:00 am ? 8:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am ? 5:00 pm
Closed Sunday

==============

Agenda:  Tuesday April 6, 2010 7-9PM

Happy Birthday North Pittsburgh Macintosh Users Group - We began in 1996 as an idea on the back of a napkin. We celebrate 14 years.
http://pghmac.com/PAUGC/Site/Cranberry_Township.html

iPad Guided Tours
http://www.apple.com/ipad/guided-tours/ 

iPad Salsa
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/268823/april-01-2010/stephen-gets-a-free-ipad

Open Q & A

Nightcap birthday celebration to follow the meeting:

Nightcap choices in walking distance of MacOutfitter's parking lot:

Pizza Roma
Monticello's
Wing Kings
House of Chen




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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Mon Apr  5 14:40:12 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 16:40:12 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] April 8th at 10am PST
Message-ID: <0D867EAE-D072-4BCD-9E40-5D6754EC118B@firthconsulting.com>



http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/05/apple-holding-iphone-os-4-event-april-8th/
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From sarahbrim2 at mac.com  Wed Apr  7 11:36:19 2010
From: sarahbrim2 at mac.com (Sarah Brim)
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:36:19 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] ipad vest
References: <5AB5EB4F-935E-4E78-9CCD-3A7AD6392500@davesevick.com>
Message-ID: <F0E6675E-0B39-4ACD-8762-1EEEAA88D384@mac.com>


>> Hi Mac Friends,
>> I came across the first ipad vest .  
     Looks interesting!
>> http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/New_Travel_Vest.shtml
>> Sarah Brim



From charles at firthconsulting.com  Thu Apr  8 13:23:51 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 15:23:51 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] New iPhone 4.0 features
Message-ID: <FDB0533B-FD89-4724-8280-9C24CF924B28@firthconsulting.com>

In case you missed today's announcement, Apple has some (but not all) of the new features in iPhone OS4.0 on their site:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/

(Some of the new business features are very welcome)

I expect a video of the actual event will be up eventually.

I'll be trading in my original first-gen  iPhone this summer I think :)

Charles
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From dotto1208 at aol.com  Fri Apr  9 07:00:01 2010
From: dotto1208 at aol.com (dotto1208 at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:00:01 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Where Oh Where Has My Applications Folder Gone?
Message-ID: <8CCA5FBB37ED074-40F0-E7FE@Webmail-d123.sysops.aol.com>


 

 Guys -- HELP

I thought I could drag the applications icon that I saw in Finder (the little A thingy) onto my dock; but alas all that happened was a little white poofy cloud, the little A thingy did not land in the dock and now the applications icon does not show in my Finder side panel.  What did I do and how can I get my applications folder back?


Diane


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From dotto1208 at aol.com  Fri Apr  9 10:00:46 2010
From: dotto1208 at aol.com (dotto1208 at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:00:46 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] It's Back!!!
Message-ID: <8CCA614F35BC82E-1FC8-90C@webmail-m011.sysops.aol.com>


 Thanks to all who explained how to get my application icon back in my finder sidebar.  You are all geniuses.


Diane

 


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From radonaldson at mac.com  Fri Apr  9 17:22:04 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:22:04 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, April 9, 2010
Message-ID: <65B1A408-CDE6-4EE1-A85B-54C5F34388A6@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens,  Rich Fitzgibbon, John Hamill,  and Tucker Trainor for joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today.

Today we paid homage to Gov. William J. Le Petomane and his missive, "Work, work, work, work, work, work, work. It never ends."

But we had no bikini-clad secretary Miss Stein with long red hair, and, uh, "other" attributes. Fortunately, there were no baked beans at lunch.

We shifted into high gear by refurbishing 20 Macs, de-manufacturing 16, and re-imaging one for a ComputerWorks store repair. Our all-time total in now 2,410.

We can now see the floor and the tops of some of the workbenches.

Marty Swartz' eMac logic board capacitor replacement experiment is a rousing success. After booting and re-imaging the test eMac 1.25 ghz model last week, it sat running on a work bench all this week. With a perfect display this morning, it was pronounced "All is Well" and entered into the ready-for-sale inventory.

Today's keyboard report sees four keyboards and three mice coming in from the donation bin. I sorry to report I've temporarily run out of analogies to describe this sad situation. Keep looking, folks.

Our next scheduled workday is Friday, April 16.

We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188






From diego96 at mac.com  Fri Apr  9 22:41:47 2010
From: diego96 at mac.com (Douglas Green)
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:41:47 -0700
Subject: [NPMUG] QTPro gone, Slow Boot, and BT issues.
In-Reply-To: <42094627-A43F-4C85-9433-B770BEC4F964@davesevick.com>
References: <42094627-A43F-4C85-9433-B770BEC4F964@davesevick.com>
Message-ID: <EAD150E3-1594-4578-911F-D2DABB240144@mac.com>

Hi all-

I don't use QuicktimePro very often, but I Did purchase a license for it (July 1, 2009). Now that I need to use it, it seems that one of the recent upgrades removed my ability to enter my license key- does anyone know what's going on? Did Apple just arbitrarily decide that I no longer need the software that I paid for??

Also, the most recent OS update (10.6.3) has made the boot process Take Forever! OK, forever is an exaggeration, but it takes a solid 2 minutes, when it previously took 30 seconds at most. 

Finally, the latest update is not playing well with my bluetooth keyboard (the small one without a number pad). Every time I reboot, I have to reconfigure this device in the bluetooth manager. 

Overall, this is very frustrating! I'm running this on a late 2009 model MacPro 2.66 Quad Xenon, and I didn't have any of these problems prior to multiple recent updates. Anyone else having issues, and can anyone point me to a fix? Yes I have backups, and yes I can revert my system, but I can't imaging that should be necessary. 

Thank you in advance!
-Doug




From sarahbrim2 at mac.com  Fri Apr  9 23:56:07 2010
From: sarahbrim2 at mac.com (Sarah Brim)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 01:56:07 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] QTPro gone, Slow Boot, and BT issues.
In-Reply-To: <EAD150E3-1594-4578-911F-D2DABB240144@mac.com>
References: <42094627-A43F-4C85-9433-B770BEC4F964@davesevick.com>
	<EAD150E3-1594-4578-911F-D2DABB240144@mac.com>
Message-ID: <87CE4F7D-210A-4012-8761-40D68E595FAC@mac.com>

Hi Doug,
I did something very similar, I had just paid for QuicktimePro, then upgraded to Snow Leopard.
>From what I understand Snow Leopard has built in features that are almost the same as Quicktime Pro. and therefore it may compete with Quicktime Pro.  This site explains the features of 	Quicktime in Snow Leopard.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/#quicktimex

gives an explanation about Quicktime on Snow Leopard.
Regards
On Apr 10, 2010, at 12:41 AM, Douglas Green wrote:

> Hi all-
> 
> I don't use QuicktimePro very often, but I Did purchase a license for it (July 1, 2009). Now that I need to use it, it seems that one of the recent upgrades removed my ability to enter my license key- does anyone know what's going on? Did Apple just arbitrarily decide that I no longer need the software that I paid for??
> 
> Also, the most recent OS update (10.6.3) has made the boot process Take Forever! OK, forever is an exaggeration, but it takes a solid 2 minutes, when it previously took 30 seconds at most. 
> 
> Finally, the latest update is not playing well with my bluetooth keyboard (the small one without a number pad). Every time I reboot, I have to reconfigure this device in the bluetooth manager. 
> 
> Overall, this is very frustrating! I'm running this on a late 2009 model MacPro 2.66 Quad Xenon, and I didn't have any of these problems prior to multiple recent updates. Anyone else having issues, and can anyone point me to a fix? Yes I have backups, and yes I can revert my system, but I can't imaging that should be necessary. 
> 
> Thank you in advance!
> -Doug
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug



From j.hapach at gmail.com  Sat Apr 10 14:13:03 2010
From: j.hapach at gmail.com (John Hapach)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:13:03 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] QTPro gone, Slow Boot, and BT issues.
In-Reply-To: <EAD150E3-1594-4578-911F-D2DABB240144@mac.com>
References: <42094627-A43F-4C85-9433-B770BEC4F964@davesevick.com>
	<EAD150E3-1594-4578-911F-D2DABB240144@mac.com>
Message-ID: <D10D897A-227A-45AD-8B8A-B37A6E34EDC4@gmail.com>

If anyone has answers to Doug's questions I would be interested in  
your feedback as well. I've bought QT Pro but don't use it much and I  
haven't updated my system to 10.6.3. I've never posted anything to the  
group, my apologies if I'm in bad form. Dave Sevick can vouch for my  
ineptitude. Thx John

On Apr 10, 2010, at 12:41 AM, Douglas Green wrote:

> Hi all-
>
> I don't use QuicktimePro very often, but I Did purchase a license  
> for it (July 1, 2009). Now that I need to use it, it seems that one  
> of the recent upgrades removed my ability to enter my license key-  
> does anyone know what's going on? Did Apple just arbitrarily decide  
> that I no longer need the software that I paid for??
>
> Also, the most recent OS update (10.6.3) has made the boot process  
> Take Forever! OK, forever is an exaggeration, but it takes a solid 2  
> minutes, when it previously took 30 seconds at most.
>
> Finally, the latest update is not playing well with my bluetooth  
> keyboard (the small one without a number pad). Every time I reboot,  
> I have to reconfigure this device in the bluetooth manager.
>
> Overall, this is very frustrating! I'm running this on a late 2009  
> model MacPro 2.66 Quad Xenon, and I didn't have any of these  
> problems prior to multiple recent updates. Anyone else having  
> issues, and can anyone point me to a fix? Yes I have backups, and  
> yes I can revert my system, but I can't imaging that should be  
> necessary.
>
> Thank you in advance!
> -Doug
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug

j.hapach at gmail.com
412.398.5491 c






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From dave at davesevick.com  Sun Apr 11 06:43:02 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:43:02 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Pandora for the iPad ..... rich in music content and liner
	notes
Message-ID: <2D683089-C31A-473E-B709-085AEB441533@davesevick.com>

See these Pandora liner notes on the Beatles  by    
~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
A great free app .... find it at the App Store .... 

About The Beatles
So much has been said and written about the Beatles -- and their story is so mythic in its sweep -- that it's difficult to summarize their career without restating clich?s that have already been digested by tens of millions of rock fans. To start with the obvious, they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. Moreover, they were among the few artists of any discipline that were simultaneously the best at what they did and the most popular at what they did. Relentlessly imaginative and experimental, the Beatles grabbed a hold of the international mass consciousness in 1964 and never let go for the next six years, always staying ahead of the pack in terms of creativity but never losing their ability to communicate their increasingly sophisticated ideas to a mass audience. Their supremacy as rock icons remains unchallenged to this day, decades after their breakup in 1970. 

Even when couching praise in specific terms, it's hard to convey the scope of the Beatles' achievements in a mere paragraph or two. They synthesized all that was good about early rock & roll, and changed it into something original and even more exciting. They established the prototype for the self-contained rock group that wrote and performed its own material. As composers, their craft and melodic inventiveness were second to none, and key to the evolution of rock from its blues/R&B-based forms into a style that was far more eclectic, but equally visceral. As singers, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were among the best and most expressive vocalists in rock; the group's harmonies were intricate and exhilarating. As performers, they were (at least until touring had ground them down) exciting and photogenic; when they retreated into the studio, they were instrumental in pioneering advanced techniques and multi-layered arrangements. They were also the first British rock group to achieve worldwide prominence, launching a British Invasion that made rock truly an international phenomenon. 

More than any other top group, the Beatles' success was very much a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Their phenomenal cohesion was due in large degree to most of the group having known each other and played together in Liverpool for about five years before they began to have hit records. Guitarist and teenage rebel John Lennon got hooked on rock & roll in the mid-'50s, and formed a band, the Quarrymen, at his high school. Around mid-1957, the Quarrymen were joined by another guitarist, Paul McCartney, nearly two years Lennon's junior. A bit later they were joined by another guitarist, George Harrison, a friend of McCartney. The Quarrymen would change lineups constantly in the late '50s, eventually reducing to the core trio of guitarists, who'd proven themselves to be the best musicians and most personally compatible individuals within the band. 

The Quarrymen changed their name to the Silver Beatles in 1960, quickly dropping the "Silver" to become just the Beatles. Lennon's art college friend Stuart Sutcliffe joined on bass, but finding a permanent drummer was a vexing problem until Pete Best joined in the summer of 1960. He successfully auditioned for the combo just before they left for a several-month stint in Hamburg, Germany. 

Hamburg was the Beatles' baptism by fire. Playing grueling sessions for hours on end in one of the most notorious red-light districts in the world, the group was forced to expand its repertoire, tighten up its chops, and invest its show with enough manic energy to keep the rowdy crowds satisfied. When they returned to Liverpool at the end of 1960, the band -- formerly also-rans on the exploding Liverpudlian "beat" scene -- were suddenly the most exciting act on the local circuit. They consolidated their following in 1961 with constant gigging in the Merseyside area, most often at the legendary Cavern Club, the incubator of the Merseybeat sound. 

They also returned for engagements in Hamburg during 1961, although Sutcliffe dropped out of the band that year to concentrate on his art school studies there. McCartney took over on bass, Harrison settled in as lead guitarist, and Lennon had rhythm guitar; everyone sang. In mid-1961, the Beatles (minus Sutcliffe) made their first recordings in Germany, as a backup group to a British rock guitarist/singer based in Hamburg, Tony Sheridan. The Beatles hadn't fully developed at this point, and these recordings -- many of which (including a couple of Sheridan-less tracks) were issued only after the band's rise to fame -- found their talents in a most embryonic state. The Hamburg stint was also notable for gaining the Beatles sophisticated, artistic fans such as Sutcliffe's girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr, who influenced all of them (except Best) to restyle their quiffs in the moptops that gave the musicians their most distinctive visual trademark. (Sutcliffe, tragically, would die of a brain hemorrhage in April 1962). 

Near the end of 1961, the Beatles' exploding local popularity caught the attention of local record store manager Brian Epstein, who was soon managing the band as well. He used his contacts to swiftly acquire a January 1, 1962, audition at Decca Records that has been heavily bootlegged (some tracks were officially released in 1995). After weeks of deliberation, Decca turned them down as did several other British labels. Epstein's perseverance was finally rewarded with an audition for producer George Martin at Parlophone, an EMI subsidiary; Martin signed the Beatles in mid-1962. By this time, Epstein was assiduously grooming his charges for national success by influencing them to smarten up their appearance, dispensing with their leather jackets and trousers in favor of tailored suits and ties. 

One more major change was in the offing before the Beatles made their Parlophone debut. In August 1962, drummer Pete Best was kicked out of the group, a controversial decision that has been the cause of much speculation since. There is still no solid consensus as to whether it was because of his solitary, moody nature; the other Beatles' jealousy of his popularity with the fans; his musical shortcomings (George Martin had already told Epstein that Best wasn't good enough to drum on recordings); or his refusal to wear his hair in bangs. What seems most likely was that the Beatles simply found his personality incompatible, preferring to enlist Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey), a drummer with another popular Merseyside outfit, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes. Starr had been in the Beatles for a few weeks when they recorded their first single, "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You," in September 1962. Both sides of the 45 were Lennon-McCartney originals, and the songwriting team would be credited with most of the group's material throughout the Beatles' career. 

The single, a promising but fairly rudimentary effort, hovered around the lower reaches of the British Top 20. The Beatles phenomenon didn't truly kick in until "Please Please Me," which topped the British charts in early 1963. This was the prototype British Invasion single: an infectious melody, charging guitars, and positively exuberant harmonies. The same traits were evident on their third 45, "From Me to You" (a British number one), and their debut LP, Please Please Me. Although it was mostly recorded in a single day, Please Please Me topped the British charts for an astonishing 30 weeks, establishing the group as the most popular rock & roll act ever seen in the U.K. 

What the Beatles had done was take the best elements of the rock and pop they loved and make them their own. Since the Quarrymen days, they had been steeped in the classic early rock of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, and the Everly Brothers; they'd also kept an ear open to the early '60s sounds of Motown, Phil Spector, and the girl groups. What they added was an unmatched songwriting savvy (inspired by Brill Building teams such as Gerry Goffin and Carole King), a brash guitar-oriented attack, wildly enthusiastic vocals, and the embodiment of the youthful flair of their generation, ready to dispense with postwar austerity and claim a culture of their own. They were also unsurpassed in their eclecticism, willing to borrow from blues, popular standards, gospel, folk, or whatever seemed suitable for their musical vision. Producer George Martin was the perfect foil for the group, refining their ideas without tinkering with their cores; during the last half of their career, he was indispensable for his ability to translate their concepts into arrangements that required complex orchestration, innovative applications of recording technology, and an ever-widening array of instruments. 

Just as crucially, the Beatles were never ones to stand still and milk formulas. All of their subsequent albums and singles would show remarkable artistic progression (though never at the expense of a damn catchy tune). Even on their second LP, With the Beatles (1963), it was evident that their talents as composers and instrumentalists were expanding furiously, as they devised ever more inventive melodies and harmonies, and boosted the fullness of their arrangements. "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" established the group not just as a popular music act, but as a phenomenon never before seen in the British entertainment business, as each single sold over a million copies in the U.K. After some celebrated national TV appearances, Beatlemania broke out across the British Isles in late 1963, and the group generating screams and hysteria at all of their public appearances, musical or otherwise. 

Capitol, which had first refusal of the Beatles' recordings in the United States, had declined to issue the group's first few singles, which ended up appearing on relatively small American independents. Capitol took up its option on "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which stormed to the top of the U.S. charts within weeks of its release on December 26, 1963. The Beatles' television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964 launched Beatlemania (and the entire British Invasion) on an even bigger scale than it had reached in Britain. In the first week of April 1964, the Beatles had the Top Five best-selling singles in the U.S.; they also had the first two slots on the album charts, as well as other entries throughout the Billboard Top 100. No one had ever dominated the market for popular music so heavily; it's doubtful that anyone ever will again. The Beatles themselves would continue to reach number one with most of their singles and albums until their 1970 breakup. 

Hard as it may be to believe today, the Beatles were often dismissed by cultural commentators of the time as nothing more than a fad that would vanish within months as the novelty wore off. The group ensured this wouldn't happen by making A Hard Day's Night in early 1964, a cin?ma v?rit?-style motion picture comedy/musical that cemented their image as "the Fab Four": happy-go-lucky, individualistic, cheeky, funny lads with nonstop energy. The soundtrack was also a triumph, consisting entirely of Lennon-McCartney tunes, including such standards as the title tune, "And I Love Her," "If I Fell," "Can't Buy Me Love," and "Things We Said Today." George Harrison's resonant 12-string electric guitar leads were hugely influential; the movie helped persuade the Byrds, then folksingers, to plunge all out into rock & roll, and the Beatles (along with Bob Dylan) would be hugely influential on the folk-rock explosion of 1965. The Beatles' success, too, had begun to open the U.S. market for fellow Brits like the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks, and inspired young American groups like the Beau Brummels, Lovin' Spoonful, and others to mount a challenge of their own with self-penned material that owed a great debt to Lennon-McCartney. 

Between riotous international tours in 1964 and 1965, the Beatles continued to squeeze out more chart-topping albums and singles. (Until 1967, the group's British albums were often truncated for release in the States; when their catalog was transferred to CD, the albums were released worldwide in their British configurations.) In retrospect, critics have judged Beatles for Sale (late 1964) and Help! (mid-1965) as the band's least impressive efforts. To some degree, that's true. Touring and an insatiable market placed heavy demands upon their songwriting, and some of the originals and covers on these records, while brilliant by many group's standards, were filler in the context of the Beatles' best work. 

But when at the top of their game, the group was continuing to push forward. "I Feel Fine" had feedback and brilliant guitar leads; "Ticket to Ride" showed the band beginning to incorporate the ringing, metallic, circular guitar lines that would be appropriated by bands like the Byrds; "Help!" was their first burst of confessional lyricism; "Yesterday" employed a string quartet. John Lennon in particular was beginning to exhibit a Dylanesque influence in his songwriting on such folky, downbeat numbers as "I'm a Loser" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." And tracks like "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and "I've Just Seen a Face" had a strong country flavor. 

Although the Beatles' second film, Help!, was a much sillier and less sophisticated affair than their first feature, it too was a huge commercial success. By this time, though, the Beatles had nothing to prove in commercial terms; the remaining frontiers were artistic challenges that could only be met in the studio. They rose to the occasion at the end of 1965 with Rubber Soul, one of the classic folk-rock records. Lyrically, Lennon, McCartney, and even Harrison (who was now writing some tunes on his own) were evolving beyond boy-girl scenarios into complex, personal feelings. They were also pushing the limits of studio rock by devising new guitar and bass textures, experimenting with distortion and multi-tracking, and using unconventional (for rock) instruments like the sitar. 

As much of a progression as Rubber Soul was relative to their previous records, it was but a taster for the boundary-shattering outings of the next few years. The "Paperback Writer"/"Rain" single found the group abandoning romantic themes entirely, boosting the bass to previously unknown levels, and fooling around with psychedelic imagery and backward tapes on the B-side. Drugs (psychedelic and otherwise) were fueling their already fertile imaginations, but they felt creatively hindered by their touring obligations. Revolver, released in the summer of 1966, proved what the group could be capable of when allotted months of time in the studio. Hazy hard guitars and thicker vocal arrangements formed the bed of these increasingly imagistic, ambitious lyrics; the group's eclecticism now encompassed everything from singalong novelties ("Yellow Submarine") and string quartet-backed character sketches ("Eleanor Rigby") to Indian-influenced swirls of echo and backward tapes ("Tomorrow Never Knows"). Some would complain that the Beatles had abandoned the earthy rock of their roots for clever mannerism. But Revolver, like virtually all of the group's singles and albums from "She Loves You" on, would be a worldwide chart-topper. 

For the past couple of years, live performance had become a rote exercise for the group, tired of competing with thousands of screaming fans that drowned out most of their voices and instruments. A 1966 summer worldwide tour was particularly grueling: the group's entourage was physically attacked in the Philippines after a perceived snub of the country's first lady, and a casual remark by John Lennon about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus Christ was picked up in the States, resulting in the burning of Beatle records in the Bible belt and demands for a repentant apology. Their final concert of that American tour (in San Francisco on August 29, 1966) would be their last in front of a paying audience, as the group decided to stop playing live in order to concentrate on their studio recordings. 

This was a radical (indeed, unprecedented) step in 1966, and the media was rife with speculation that the act was breaking up, especially after all four spent late 1966 engaged in separate personal and artistic pursuits. The appearance of the "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" single in February 1967 squelched these concerns. Frequently cited as the strongest double A-side ever, the Beatles were now pushing forward into unabashedly psychedelic territory in their use of orchestral arrangements and Mellotron, without abandoning their grasp of memorable melody and immediately accessible lyrical messages. 

Sgt. Pepper, released in June 1967 as the Summer of Love dawned, was the definitive psychedelic soundtrack. Or, at least, so it was perceived at the time: subsequent critics have painted the album as an uneven affair, given a conceptual unity via its brilliant multi-tracked overdubs, singalong melodies, and fairy tale-ish lyrics. Others remain convinced, as millions did at the time, that it represented pop's greatest triumph, or indeed an evolution of pop into art with a capital A. In addition to mining all manner of roots influences, the musicians were also picking up vibes from Indian music, avant-garde electronics, classical, music hall, and more. When the Beatles premiered their hippie anthem "All You Need Is Love" as part of a worldwide TV broadcast, they had been truly anointed as spokespersons for their generation (a role they had not actively sought), and it seemed they could do no wrong. 

Musically, that would usually continue to be the case, but the group's strength began to unravel at a surprisingly quick pace. In August 1967, Brian Epstein -- prone to suicidal depression over the past year -- died of a drug overdose, leaving them without a manager. They pressed on with their next film project, Magical Mystery Tour, directed by themselves; lacking focus or even basic professionalism, the picture bombed when it was premiered on BBC television in December 1967, giving the media the first real chance they'd ever had to roast the Beatles over a flame. (Another film, the animated feature Yellow Submarine, would appear in 1968, although the Beatles had little involvement with the project, either in terms of the movie or the soundtrack.) In early 1968, the Beatles decamped to India for a course in transcendental meditation with the Maharishi; this too became something of a media embarrassment as each of the four would eventually depart the course before its completion. 

The Beatles did use their unaccustomed peace in India to compose a wealth of new material. Judged solely on musical merit, The White Album, a double LP released in late 1968, was a triumph. While largely abandoning their psychedelic instruments to return to guitar-based rock, they maintained their whimsical eclecticism, proving themselves masters of everything from blues-rock to vaudeville. As individual songwriters, too, it contains some of their finest work (as does the brilliant non-LP single from this era, "Hey Jude"/"Revolution"). 

The problem, at least in terms of the group's long-term health, was that these were very much individual songs, as opposed to collective ones. Lennon and McCartney had long composed most of their tunes separately (you can almost always tell the composer by the lead vocalist). But they had always fed off of each other not only to supply missing bits and pieces that would bring a song to completion, but to provide a competitive edge that would bring out the best in the other. McCartney's romantic melodicism and Lennon's more acidic, gritty wit were perfect complements for one another. By The White Album, it was clear (if only in retrospect) that each member was more concerned with his own expression than that of the collective group: a natural impulse, but one that was bound to lead to difficulties. 

In addition, George Harrison was becoming a more prolific and skilled composer as well, imbuing his own melodies (which were nearly the equal of those of his more celebrated colleagues) with a cosmic lightness. Harrison was beginning to resent his junior status, and the group began to bicker more openly in the studio. Ringo Starr, whose solid drumming and good nature could usually be counted upon (as was evident in his infrequent lead vocals), actually quit for a couple of weeks in the midst of the White Album sessions (though the media was unaware of this at the time). Personal interests were coming into play as well: Lennon's devotion to romantic and artistic pursuits with his new girlfriend (and soon-to-be wife) Yoko Ono was diverting his attentions from the Beatles. Apple Records, started by the group earlier in 1968 as a sort of utopian commercial enterprise, was becoming a financial and organizational nightmare. 

These weren't the ideal conditions under which to record a new album in January 1969, especially when McCartney was pushing the group to return to live performing, although none of the others seemed especially keen on the idea. They did agree to try and record a "back-to-basics," live-in-the-studio-type LP, the sessions being filmed for a television special. That plan almost blew up when Harrison, in the midst of tense arguments, left the group for a few days. Although he returned, the idea of playing live concerts was put on the back burner; Harrison enlisted American soul keyboardist Billy Preston as kind of a fifth member on the sessions, both to beef up the arrangements and to alleviate the uncomfortable atmosphere. Exacerbating the problem was that the Beatles didn't have a great deal of first-class new songs to work with, although some were excellent. In order to provide a suitable concert-like experience for the film, the group did climb the roof of their Apple headquarters in London to deliver an impromptu performance on January 30, 1969, before the police stopped it; this was their last live concert of any sort. 

Generally dissatisfied with these early-1969 sessions, the album and film -- at first titled Get Back, and later to emerge as Let It Be -- remained in the can as the group tried to figure out how the projects should be mixed, packaged, and distributed. A couple of the best tracks, "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down," were issued as a single in the spring of 1969. By this time, the Beatles' quarrels were intensifying in a dispute over management: McCartney wanted their affairs to be handled by his new father-in-law, Lee Eastman, while the other members of the group favored a tough American businessman, Allen Klein. 

It was something of a miracle, then, that the final album recorded by the group, Abbey Road, was one of their most unified efforts (even if, by this time, the musicians were recording many of their parts separately). It certainly boasted some of their most intricate melodies, harmonies, and instrumental arrangements; it also heralded the arrival of Harrison as a composer of equal talent to Lennon and McCartney, as George wrote the album's two most popular tunes, "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun." The Beatles were still progressing, but it turned out to be the end of the road, as their business disputes continued to magnify. Lennon, who had begun releasing solo singles and performing with friends as the Plastic Ono Band, threatened to resign in late 1969, although he was dissuaded from making a public announcement. 

Most of the early-1969 tapes remained unreleased, partially because the footage for the planned television broadcast of these sessions was now going to be produced as a documentary movie. The accompanying soundtrack album, Let It Be, was delayed so that its release could coincide with that of the film. Lennon, Harrison, and Allen Klein decided to have celebrated American producer Phil Spector record some additional instrumentation and do some mixing. Thus the confusion that persists among most rock listeners to this day: Let It Be, although the last Beatles album to be released, was not the last one to be recorded. Abbey Road should actually be considered as the Beatles' last album; most of the material on Let It Be, including the title track (which would be the last single released while the group was still together), was recorded several months before the Abbey Road sessions began in earnest, and a good 15 months or so before its May 1970 release. 

By that time, the Beatles were no more. In fact, there had been no recording done by the group as a unit since August 1969, and each member of the band had begun to pursue serious outside professional interests independently via the Plastic Ono Band, Harrison's tour with Delaney & Bonnie, Starr's starring role in the Magic Christian film, or McCartney's first solo album. The outside world for the most part remained almost wholly unaware of the seriousness of the group's friction, making it a devastating shock for much of the world's youth when McCartney announced that he was leaving the Beatles on April 10, 1970. (The "announcement" was actually contained in a press release for his new album, in which his declaration of his intention to work on his own effectively served as a notice of his departure.) 

The final blow, apparently, was the conflict between the release dates of Let It Be and McCartney's debut solo album. The rest of the group asked McCartney to delay his release until after Let It Be; McCartney refused and, for good measure, was distressed by Spector's post-production work on Let It Be, particularly the string overdubs on "The Long and Winding Road," which became a posthumous Beatles single that spring. Although McCartney received much of the blame for the split, it should be remembered that he had done more than any other member to keep the group going since Epstein's death, and that each of the other Beatles had threatened to leave well before McCartney's departure. With hindsight, the breakup seemed inevitable in view of their serious business disagreements and the growth of their individual interests. 

As bitter as the initial headlines were to swallow, the feuding would grow much worse over the next few years. At the end of 1970, McCartney sued the rest of the Beatles in order to dissolve their partnership; the battle dragged through the courts for years, scotching any prospects of a group reunion. In any case, each member of the band quickly established a viable solo career. In fact, at the outset it could have been argued that the artistic effects of the split were in some ways beneficial, freeing Lennon and Harrison to make their most uncompromising artistic statements (Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass). George's individual talents in particular received acclaim that had always eluded him when he was overshadowed by Lennon-McCartney. Paul had a much rougher time with the critics, but continued to issue a stream of hit singles, hitting a commercial and critical jackpot at the end of 1973 with the massively successful Band on the Run. Ringo did not have the songwriting acumen to compete on the same level as the others, yet he too had quite a few big hit singles in the early '70s, often benefiting from the assistance of his former bandmates. 

Yet within a short time, it became apparent both that the Beatles were not going to settle their differences and reunite, and that their solo work could not compare with what they were capable of creating together. The stereotype has it that the split allowed each of them to indulge in their worst tendencies to their extremes: Lennon in agitprop, Harrison in holier-than-thou mysticism, McCartney in cutesy pop, Starr in easy listening rock. There's a good deal of truth in this, but it's also important to bear in mind that what was most missing was a sense of group interaction. The critical party line often champions Lennon as the angry, realist rocker, and McCartney as the melodic balladeer, but this is a fallacy: each of them was capable, in roughly equal measures, of ballsy all-out rock and sweet romanticism. What is not in dispute is that they sparked each other to reach heights that they could not attain on their own. 

Despite periodic rumors of reunions throughout the 1970s, no group projects came close to materializing. It should be added that the Beatles themselves continued to feud to some degree, and from all evidence weren't seriously interested in working together as a unit. Any hopes of a reunion vanished when Lennon was assassinated in New York City in December 1980. The Beatles continued their solo careers throughout the 1980s, but their releases became less frequent, and their commercial success gradually diminished as listeners without first-hand memories of the combo created their own idols. 

The popularity of the Beatles-as-unit, however, proved eternal. In part, this is because the group's 1970 split effectively short-circuited the prospects of artistic decline; the body of work that was preserved was uniformly strong. However, it's also because, like any great works of art, the Beatles' records carried an ageless magnificence that continues to captivate new generations of listeners. So it is that Beatles records continue to be heard on radio in heavy rotation, continue to sell in massive quantities, and continue to be covered and quoted by rock and pop artists through the present day. 

Legal wrangles at Apple prevented the official issue of previously unreleased Beatle material for over two decades (although much of it was frequently bootlegged). The situation finally changed in the 1990s, after McCartney, Harrison, Starr, and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, settled their principal business disagreements. In 1994, this resulted in a double CD of BBC sessions from the early and mid-'60s. The following year, a much more ambitious project was undertaken: a multi-part film documentary, broadcast on network television in 1995, and then released (with double the length) for the home video market in 1996, with the active participation of the surviving Beatles. 

To coincide with the Anthology documentary, three double CDs of previously unreleased/rare material were issued in 1995 and 1996. Additionally, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr (with some assistance from Jeff Lynne) embellished a couple of John Lennon demos from the 1970s with overdubs to create two new tracks ("Free as a Bird" and "Real Love") that were billed as actual Beatles recordings. Whether this constitutes the actual long-awaited "reunion" is the subject of much debate. Certainly these cuts were hardly classics on par with the music the group made in the 1960s. Some fans, even diehards, were inclined to view the whole Anthology project as a distinctly 1990s marketing exercise that maximized the mileage of whatever could be squeezed from the Beatles' vaults. If nothing else, though, the massive commercial success of outtakes that had, after all, been recorded 25 to 30 years ago, spoke volumes about the unabated appeal and fascination the Beatles continue to exert worldwide. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Sent from my iPad
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From dave at davesevick.com  Sun Apr 11 13:47:37 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:47:37 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Zimbabweans who display a resilience and courage - and how
	recycled Apple computers are assisting in education
Message-ID: <E3CE3CCF-19C3-47B9-81D9-272430F517E0@davesevick.com>

I found this article by Nicolas Kristof of the New York Times to be a great illustration of the environment Zimbabweans must survive ... and how much they value education.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/opinion/11kristof.html?emc=eta1


Without a doubt, the computers our user group volunteers at Goodwill of Southwestern PA have prepared will go to good use in schools, churches, hospitals, internet cafes and more.  Watch our story unfold at the Facebook group site for The Nyadire Connection :

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2369547983

This shipment of 50 Macs to Zimbabwe  is only the first. 

Many more are in the planning stages ...





--------------------------------------------
Dave  Sevick
computeReach
dave at davesevick.com
724-779-0099


--------------------------------------------

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From bob at peirce-family.com  Mon Apr 12 07:40:54 2010
From: bob at peirce-family.com (Robert Peirce)
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:40:54 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] LaunchDaemon Problem
Message-ID: <7B88B79B-964E-49EE-BEDB-3136F948D23F@peirce-family.com>

We're running a server at the office, some version of OS X 5, and I have a MacBook Pro at home, OS X 6.3.  I have a LaunchDaemon that is supposed to wake up once a day, ThrottleInterval=86400, and check to see if a file has changed since the last look, WatchPaths=path-to-file.  If it has, it mails a copy of the file to me

This works absolutely correctly at home.  At the office, it sends a copy of the file every day whether it has changed or not.  I don't know why.

The only thing I can guess is that the time stamp being examined on the server file is other than that produced by ls -l, and that this time stamp is being changed more often than ls -l shows.

Can anybody comment?


From charles at firthconsulting.com  Tue Apr 13 07:49:38 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:49:38 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] New Macbook Pros are out
Message-ID: <56EC8076-4607-434D-8205-59E29246B0C2@firthconsulting.com>

Now sporting the Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs (man, that i7 has gotta get hot) - plus nice graphic card boosts and better battery life.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/



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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Tue Apr 13 08:03:16 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:03:16 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] The Register's top ten Free iPad Apps
Message-ID: <A951ACEB-FCFE-4CB0-931B-6B729A1DC490@firthconsulting.com>

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/09/top_ten_free_ipad_apps/
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From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Tue Apr 13 12:34:58 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:34:58 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] Will It Blend? - iPad
Message-ID: <F00D83A2-D8B9-4F4B-845F-5B821A372E15@gmail.com>


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko&fmt=22


it1
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From bob at peirce-family.com  Tue Apr 13 12:36:50 2010
From: bob at peirce-family.com (Robert Peirce)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:36:50 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] LaunchDaemon Problem - update
Message-ID: <A4A05D84-7B48-414D-B3D6-D1A368B4FADB@peirce-family.com>

I thought this problem was solved, but it isn't.

I changed the daemon to just check for file changes, using WatchPath, and then call a script to mail the file to my laptop.  The script first sleeps for an hour to provide plenty of time for any subsequent changes in the file to complete.  I found that any changes during this time are ignored by the daemon.

I tested this on my laptop and it worked fine.  However, there is something going on at the server level that is escaping me.  The file I am watching with WatchPath has not changed since 11:22 this morning, according to ls -l.  I received mail at 12:19, which may have been associated with that change.  However, I also got mail at 1:19 and 2:19 which is definitely not associated with the Unix time-stamp.

Is it possible that WatchPath on a server is looking at something other than the normal Unix time-stamp?  If so, what should I be using to check for an actual change that I would notice with ls -l?


From marty.swartz at gmail.com  Tue Apr 13 15:03:25 2010
From: marty.swartz at gmail.com (Marty Swartz)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:03:25 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Will It Blend? - iPad
In-Reply-To: <F00D83A2-D8B9-4F4B-845F-5B821A372E15@gmail.com>
References: <F00D83A2-D8B9-4F4B-845F-5B821A372E15@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <t2udb3f29371004131403qb9613e57gf388c526c649e0a9@mail.gmail.com>

That is one tough device. Did you notice that the display is still working
at 0:44?  We are getting very close to that "roll-up display" they've been
talking about for years.

On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 2:34 PM, R_Adams <ronladams7 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko&fmt=22
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug
>
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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Tue Apr 13 19:54:04 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:54:04 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Does anyone have any idea what Microsoft's phone stratagy
	is?
Message-ID: <656DFE76-5B83-4566-9D51-4EC16CC06596@firthconsulting.com>

So Microsoft has announced a new phone, called the "Kin" that doesn't work with their new Phone OS (Windows Phone 7) and despite having some "neat" cloud features doesn't really do anything the target audience wants.

It reminds me of when they released the "Zune" and it didn't work with their "Plays For Sure" Windows music files. 

All they're doing is stabbing their own hardware partners in the back and killing the "platform" they're trying to make ubiquitous..  

I'm pretty sure Microsoft has no idea what the plan is. Does anyone else?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362556,00.asp
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From bob at peirce-family.com  Wed Apr 14 09:37:18 2010
From: bob at peirce-family.com (Robert Peirce)
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:37:18 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] LaunchDaemon Problem - Resolution
Message-ID: <2C29914D-5354-447C-BC34-DC28A17EC66E@peirce-family.com>

I gave up on the server.  It is going to run when it is going to run and I can't seem to do anything about it, so I changed the script that was being called.  Now I check to see if the target file is newer than a timestamp and only mail it if it is.  Then I touch the timestamp.


From charles at firthconsulting.com  Wed Apr 14 18:50:09 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:50:09 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] How Apple has improved GPU switching
Message-ID: <814CC5E4-6339-407B-A9E4-3AB2237F1D97@firthconsulting.com>

How the new Macbook Pros do a much better job of switching between the integrated and discrete GPUs.

No word yet on if the new nVidia 330Ms also solve the external projector resolution issue with the previous nVidia 9400Ms.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/04/inside-apples-automatic-gpu-switching.ars
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From dave at davesevick.com  Wed Apr 14 22:12:51 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:12:51 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] MacMissionaries becomes computeReach - a humanitarian
	computer outreach non-profit
Message-ID: <9CEB95BB-24C0-424D-B5D3-BF55B8C826CB@davesevick.com>

It is with great pleasure we  announce the beginning of computeReach - a humanitarian computer outreach non-profit.

The word computeReach came from the term "computer outreach".

In the upcoming days you'll be hearing much more about what we are doing to grow the projects that arose from our computer group recycling efforts in Pittsburgh.

The December 2009 project called "MacMissionaries" has been rebranded as computeReach with our primary focus on serving less fortunate people in Pittsburgh and Western PA.

Beyond our own Pittsburgh neighborhoods we will be reaching out to Native American Indian reservations, weather-torn cities, and chronically low-income rural, urban and suburban regions with computers recycled at Goodwill of Southwestern PA.

However, we now have plans to not only ship Macs running 10.4.11 with children's apps ..... we are moving forward with PC's running the new Ubuntu Linux 10.04 on lower-end P3 and P4 CPU's.

To be clear, Goodwill will always sell the nicer and more powerful Macs and PC's in their stores ... 

Yet there are large volumes of low-end-yet-very-useable computers that will work well in certain situations.

A new super-cheap computer today at Walmart, Staples, or any online PC dealer might cost $250-300.  These machines we are placing in schools are much slower, 5-10 year old refurbished CPUs that just do not sell well in stores typically   .....  and that is a travesty ... and a true waste of resources.

We will also continue to find areas of need in Africa, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Serbia, Kuala Lampur and many other nations were the need for that deeply appreciated sub-$250 computers.

Strong strategic relationships with Goodwill of Southwestern PA and the Brother's Brother Foundation make this all affordable.  If you wish to support these efforts, please call  or email us and we can give you the 501c3 tax details to allow your contribution to be tax deductible.

Summary:

Mountains of computers at Goodwill .....

Valleys of dire need for technology in low-income neighborhoods .... 

A call for action ....

That is why we created computeReach .... 

Visit our site to find out more   http://computereach.com/


Dave Sevick


--------------------------------------------
Dave  Sevick
Executive Director
computeReach
dave at davesevick.com
724-779-0099


--------------------------------------------

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From wtjames at mac.com  Thu Apr 15 14:48:23 2010
From: wtjames at mac.com (William James)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:48:23 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] away message in Mail?
Message-ID: <42F3C708-6367-48C8-A24C-7BE3782B6335@mac.com>

I have never been able to find an adequate way to set up an "out of the office" message in Mail. Does anyone know how to do this? 

It makes me cringe to say this, but Outlook's set up is wayyy easy. I MUST be missing something.

Bill James


From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Thu Apr 15 15:33:15 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:33:15 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] away message in Mail?
In-Reply-To: <42F3C708-6367-48C8-A24C-7BE3782B6335@mac.com>
References: <42F3C708-6367-48C8-A24C-7BE3782B6335@mac.com>
Message-ID: <48FD700C-4080-4B4B-AF8B-4AD2BFBCD078@gmail.com>

If your computer is online all the time and Mail is active.... create a rule:

Mail-Preferences-Rules-Add Rule
Give it a name / Description
If (any)
Every Message (or your choice)
Action: Reply to Message
Enter Response Text

Give the rule a name and save.  When you are out of the office, check the box next to the rule in the rules list.  When back, uncheck the box in the rules list.


Even better... use Gmail and then use the Vacation Responder.

Gmail
Settings
General
Vacation Responder


On Apr 15, 2010, at 2:48 PM, William James wrote:

> I have never been able to find an adequate way to set up an "out of the office" message in Mail. Does anyone know how to do this? 
> 
> It makes me cringe to say this, but Outlook's set up is wayyy easy. I MUST be missing something.
> 
> Bill James
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug




From charles at firthconsulting.com  Thu Apr 15 15:54:11 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:54:11 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] away message in Mail?
In-Reply-To: <48FD700C-4080-4B4B-AF8B-4AD2BFBCD078@gmail.com>
References: <42F3C708-6367-48C8-A24C-7BE3782B6335@mac.com>
	<48FD700C-4080-4B4B-AF8B-4AD2BFBCD078@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <8FFE7D26-7D17-49D3-BAE6-22760F39D28F@firthconsulting.com>

Out-Of-Office messages are typically run at the server level - the setting in Outlook is only available if you're running Microsoft Exchange (it's actually a feature of Exchange, not Outlook)

The rule below requires you to leave Mail running all the time (so it can download emails and run the rule on them) - you'd have to do the same thing in Outlook if you didn't have Exchange.

As Ron mentioned, it's a lot better to setup the vacation reminder at the server level - his example uses Gmail, but the same feature is available in Yahoo, Hotmail, and many many other mail servers. Since your email is at mac.com, I'm going to assume you're trying to do this with your MobileMe account. 
The best way is to login to www.me.com and go to mail. Then hit the Mail Preferences button (the gear button in the mail toolbar) and look under "Other" -
you'll see a place to set an automated response. Remember to turn it off when you get back :)

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On Apr 15, 2010, at 5:33 PM, R_Adams wrote:

> If your computer is online all the time and Mail is active.... create a rule:
> 
> Mail-Preferences-Rules-Add Rule
> Give it a name / Description
> If (any)
> Every Message (or your choice)
> Action: Reply to Message
> Enter Response Text
> 
> Give the rule a name and save.  When you are out of the office, check the box next to the rule in the rules list.  When back, uncheck the box in the rules list.
> 
> 
> Even better... use Gmail and then use the Vacation Responder.
> 
> Gmail
> Settings
> General
> Vacation Responder
> 
> 
> On Apr 15, 2010, at 2:48 PM, William James wrote:
> 
>> I have never been able to find an adequate way to set up an "out of the office" message in Mail. Does anyone know how to do this? 
>> 
>> It makes me cringe to say this, but Outlook's set up is wayyy easy. I MUST be missing something.
>> 
>> Bill James
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> NPMUG mailing list
>> NPMUG at davesevick.com
>> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug


From charles at firthconsulting.com  Fri Apr 16 06:33:59 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:33:59 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] iPad to the rescue
Message-ID: <366127F5-3484-4C7E-AA81-141263AE7E40@firthconsulting.com>

Let's just say you're the Prime Minister of Norway. You're in the USA for a nuclear conference with the President, and you're scheduled to fly home after.
Then, suddenly, Iceland gets all volcanic and trashes air traffic all across the north of Europe. 

Now you're stranded in New York City, and you've got a Scandinavian country to run!

Time to whip out the iPad and get to work!

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway did just that. Here's the picture from the Norwegian government's official Flickr account:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/statsministerenskontor/4521609949/
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From dsalsbury at zoominternet.net  Fri Apr 16 07:04:13 2010
From: dsalsbury at zoominternet.net (Dave Zoom)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:04:13 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Leopard
Message-ID: <4C14A29D-22D2-48CD-8237-A1FD928C3208@zoominternet.net>

Does anyone have a spare Leopard disk ? Trying to upgrade an older Mac.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone


From charles at firthconsulting.com  Fri Apr 16 09:37:48 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:37:48 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Excellent article on why there's no Flash on your iPhone
Message-ID: <75904FE7-61A2-4B5A-AD96-ADD49A6D2EF3@firthconsulting.com>


http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2010/04/10/five-tremendous-apple-vs-adobe-flash-myths/

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From radonaldson at mac.com  Fri Apr 16 16:40:14 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:40:14 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, April 16, 2010
Message-ID: <D4F73FAA-0B0D-4A2C-AF06-3CFAA556C379@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens,  Rich Fitzgibbon, John Hamill, Tucker Trainor, Nathan Brentzel and first-time volunteer Dru Cox for joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today.

I had a really clever vignette to relate today that would have all of you rolling on the floor, but they spray-painted new yellow floor boundary markers at the CRC this afternoon, and after the initial rush of aroma, we really began to forget our names. The vignette is now lost as a child's first thought...

My apologies to Seals & Croft.

We refurbished 13 Macs and de-manufactured 13. Our all-time total in now 2,423.

Several of us spent the afternoon building pallets of refurbished iMacs on the fourth floor and basement. Goodwill has been doing major housecleaning in the basement in anticipation of the move to Lawrenceville later this year. This has freed a lot of space to store completed Macs.

Today saw another three keyboards and two mice in the weekly donation bin. Perhaps some famous person sentenced to community service can tackle the task to bringing in those keyboards. If you know a famous celebrity criminal, send them a tweet. If your school district uses Macs, please let someone know of our efforts and our need for all things Mac. 

Our next scheduled workday is Friday, April 23.

We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188






From genemyrapa at gmail.com  Sat Apr 17 08:21:36 2010
From: genemyrapa at gmail.com (Gene & Myra Fozard)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:21:36 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Need: WWW site - Apple computer info
Message-ID: <v2p99da44121004170721se965b2deq1be59d351c156875@mail.gmail.com>

Could someone please post the URL for the site that provides computer info -
date of manufacture, etc. when the serial number is entered?

Thanks.

SHALOM
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From harmonyroute at mac.com  Sun Apr 18 18:26:52 2010
From: harmonyroute at mac.com (harmonyroute at mac.com)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:26:52 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Apple humor March 3
Message-ID: <2D712905-DEA1-482E-A2E1-B18F2650A124@mac.com>

Hope this is not a repeat.
Light-duty Apple humor from 3/3
Enjoy
CuZinBruce
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From genemyrapa at gmail.com  Mon Apr 19 08:45:50 2010
From: genemyrapa at gmail.com (Gene & Myra Fozard)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:45:50 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] MACWORLD magazine: Convert .docx to pdf:
Message-ID: <h2m99da44121004190745m56824291v479b6817c46ca2ff@mail.gmail.com>

This is one helpful hint for me.  Just passing it on.

http://www.macworld.com/article/150584/2010/04/convertofficedocpdf.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_h_cbstories

SHALOM
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From patrick at cranstoninc.com  Mon Apr 19 09:10:23 2010
From: patrick at cranstoninc.com (Patrick Cranston)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:10:23 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Apple's Backup Program Gets Update
Message-ID: <08E78FB1-7E54-477E-AF97-3C714653A012@cranstoninc.com>

Apple hadn't updated Backup in so long ( over 2 years ) that I thought they had discontinued development on it.

Backup is an Apple program available to MobileMe users to run backups on their computers.  It's largely been replaced by TimeMachine but it does allow you to make offsite backups to your iDisk as well as backup to external drives.

If you want to make backups outside of TimeMachine and you are a MobileMe user it can be very handy.

This update fixes several issues with reliability for backing up files in OS 10.5 and 10.6.

It also has one great new feature.  It will now automatically recycle backups based on length of time or when the disk becomes full.   With this feature it really becomes useful because you no longer have to worry about backups not working because you ran out space.

If you have Backup installed, you will see an update if you run Software Update.

If you don't have Backup installed and you are a MobileMe member you can download it from your iDisk > Software folder.


Patrick Cranston
Cranston Consulting, Inc.
888-813-5558
www.CranstonIT.com
patrick at cranstonit.com
Twitter: @cranstonIT

Unlimited Support for your Macs, Data Backup and Training Classes for one low price.  http://www.cranstonit.com/home

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From patrick at cranstoninc.com  Mon Apr 19 09:54:42 2010
From: patrick at cranstoninc.com (Patrick Cranston)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:54:42 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Sharp Color Copiers - Compatibility Warning
Message-ID: <1DD866A5-E7E1-49E3-8A59-EF667B903D3A@cranstoninc.com>

If you are looking to upgrade your Office's color copier I would avoid the Sharp line of copiers.

They claim compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.6, however what they don't tell you is that network scanning to the Macs is not supported.  They claim it may work over SMB, but they don't support it and we've not been able to get it to work at our customer's location.

We've had customer's who have had good success with both Toshiba and Xerox copiers.   I would stick with those brands and avoid Sharp.


Patrick Cranston
Cranston Consulting, Inc.
888-813-5558
www.CranstonIT.com
patrick at cranstonit.com
Twitter: @cranstonIT

Unlimited Support for your Macs, Data Backup and Training Classes for one low price.  http://www.cranstonit.com/home

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From sarahbrim2 at mac.com  Mon Apr 19 12:08:31 2010
From: sarahbrim2 at mac.com (Sarah Brim)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:08:31 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] 6 Best iPad Apps for Business Users
Message-ID: <D4455628-11AF-4A57-B594-70EDC02E48B7@mac.com>

Hi Mac Friends,

I came across an interesting review of the six best ipad apps for business users from Mashable that was originally on an American Express site.  Here is the link.

http://mashable.com/2010/04/18/ipad-apps-business/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


I am saving for an ipad as we speak.

Sarah
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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Tue Apr 20 05:07:12 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:07:12 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] The next iPhone
Message-ID: <0FD56ED9-A251-412F-9ED3-85B9C2E75D59@firthconsulting.com>

An Apple Engineer got a bit tipsy at a bar and left his iPhone behind. That iPhone was a bit.. odd. It ended up in Gizmodo's hands, and it's basically the new phone.

Looks awesome- I will finally be ditching my first-gen phone for this forth-gen one :)

http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone
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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Thu Apr 22 09:09:04 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:09:04 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] No SHV MUG meeting this weekend
Message-ID: <25D1EBA7-320A-4D85-B4AA-20756B7C7DF2@firthconsulting.com>

Hello folks - 
	I'm going to have to cancel this Saturday's MUG meeting for two reasons:
1) I totally failed to realize it's already the forth Saturday of April, and thought I had one more week left in the month
2) I'm actually going to be working this Saturday.

So there will be no SHV MUG meeting this weekend - I promise to do something extra-awesome in May to make up for it.
Thanks to Bob for reminding me of today's date. You'd really think I'd know better.

Feel free to stop by the store anyway and pick up a new iPad or one of the new laptops ;)
(Now sporting Core i5 and i7 CPUs)

Sorry about the late notice. 

Charles




From wexfordpa at mac.com  Fri Apr 23 04:18:00 2010
From: wexfordpa at mac.com (Ralph Waechter)
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:18:00 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] HD camcorders?
Message-ID: <79ECFF2A-1E30-4734-BFFF-F45AE7810DF2@mac.com>

Did I see a post on the topic of HD camcorders and compatibility issues for a Mac?  Any experiences out there on flash memory HD recorders and processing that HD video on a Mac would be appreciated.


From radonaldson at mac.com  Fri Apr 23 16:16:58 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:16:58 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, Friday, April 23, 2010
Message-ID: <3598C831-80B2-40AA-8A9B-BCDEA2A59D89@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens,  Rich Fitzgibbon, Tucker Trainor, and Dru Cox for joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today.

Today was notable as we took in more keyboards and mice than donated Macs. We have eight keyboards and mice from the donation bin to test, but only six Macs. This is the first time we can recall this has happened. We still need both Mac USB keyboards and mice.

Today we refurbished 15 Macs and de-manufactured just one. Our all-time total in now 2,438.

As we look to the future, we cannot ignore our decreasing stash of Macs-in-waiting. We we joined Goodwill three years ago, we were amazed at the quantity of Macs in storage awaiting refurbishment. There were literally hundreds.

After three years of dedicated effort, most of that supply has been refurbished or de-manufactured. Today, we have less than 100 Macs remaining in storage awaiting our attention. Those will be dealt with before our move to Goodwill's new location in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood this fall.

What we need now are leads to pursue companies or schools who may have quantities of Macs that may be coming up for replacement that can become our next effort for Goodwill. If you know of potential places for us to contact, please pass it along. If you personally know of people in a position at a place with Macs, please tell them of our efforts.

Our next scheduled workday is Friday, April 30. The St. Alphonus School Tech Team will join us again for a half-day. Come and watch the fun.

We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188






From charles at firthconsulting.com  Fri Apr 23 19:42:10 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:42:10 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] 99y/o woman loves her iPad
Message-ID: <139B3F9C-5520-444F-AEE0-88EDCD210026@firthconsulting.com>

Heartwarming story and video, and a testament to the Apple philosophy of "It's the interface, stupid"

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/22/99-year-old-loves-her-first-computer-an-ipad/
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From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Mon Apr 26 09:54:01 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:54:01 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] Use Nostalgic "Keys" to Encrypt Files and Remember
	Passwords - Passwords - Lifehacker
Message-ID: <4ABD6877-C763-4A00-94CE-46677E2F8CCC@gmail.com>


http://lifehacker.com/5524547/use-nostalgic-keys-to-encrypt-files-and-remember-passwords


it1
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From harmonyroute at mac.com  Tue Apr 27 08:42:12 2010
From: harmonyroute at mac.com (harmonyroute at mac.com)
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:42:12 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] gizmodo raided
Message-ID: <A827135D-2A90-4685-A305-F6AE0C747048@mac.com>

Just found this article regarding iPhone, hadn't heard it here yet so...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100426/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1791

Keep smilin':=}CuZinBruce
web.mac.com/cuzinbrucie
cuzinbrucie at mac.com


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From radonaldson at mac.com  Tue Apr 27 17:32:33 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:32:33 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Sad news from Goodwill
Message-ID: <320C58F2-E029-4348-A7A8-48DDA49F8409@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

I sadly have to tell you of the passing of Dave Nolder, the manager of Goodwill's ComputerWorks store on the South Side. He was 26. 

Dave lost his life in an automobile accident at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday when the car in which he was riding as a passenger collided with a sport utility vehicle on Pa. Route 837 in Duquesne. The driver of the car, Jed Byers, 21, was also killed.

Those of us who volunteer at Goodwill have worked with Dave for some time to make sure the store always has a variety of the Macs we refurbish. Dave's marketing of our refurbished Macs has helped Goodwill earn much-needed funds to sustain the programs of the organization.

Dave was an organ donor, and so far, his contribution has led to a better life for a least one young child.

There are no services planned.

Please join me in remembering Dave in your thoughts...

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188






From dave at davesevick.com  Thu Apr 29 06:38:10 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:38:10 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Jon Stewart of the Daily Show does an extensive monologue
	on the Apple - Gizmodo situation
Message-ID: <2E8C5BB1-3CFF-4F8F-BB59-81E89A95D20C@davesevick.com>

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Jon-Stewart-Calls-Apple-Appholes-on-The-Daily-Show-140888.shtml

Notable here is that Jon Stewart is a diehard Apple Fanboy ....

This is a significant public statement by a pretty popular comedian ... where he takes a moment to "get serious" with us all ....  that is worth watching.

I will start here by saying that your responses should be PRIVATE back to me and others .... 

Please do not begin a flame war  :-)

Dave








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From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Thu Apr 29 09:39:40 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:39:40 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] Steve Jobs' letter explaining Apple's Flash distaste | Deep
	Tech - CNET News
Message-ID: <C3C6268B-8A9D-4490-AF00-35437EDC7BD0@gmail.com>


http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20003742-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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From dave at davesevick.com  Fri Apr 30 09:25:02 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:25:02 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] MacPhoneHome locates NYC Mugger - Columbia University
	student's MacBook Pro and iPhone Recovered
Message-ID: <960D37A9-DC4F-4992-8D87-32201E2E72E5@davesevick.com>

Greetings,

BREAKING NEWS - New York City - MacPhoneHome finds another stolen computer!

Late on a recent Sunday night, a Columbia University student
was crossing Morningside Park returning to the Columbia University
campus.

He was accosted by four knife wielding thugs who beat him and robbed his
MacBook Pro laptop, iPhone and wallet.

The student advised Columbia University security personnel that
since his laptop was partitioned with both a Windows and Mac Partition,
he had installed both PC PhoneHome and MacPhoneHome tracking and
recovery software on his computer which is available by contract to all
Columbia  University students, faculty and employees as a free download.

Columbia University security personnel immediately notified Brigadoon
Software, Inc.the makers of PC PhoneHome and MacPhoneHome who's recovery
agents, most of whom are former law enforcement, sprang into action.

Messages from the stolen machine indicated the thieves were using both
partitions of the stolen computer and moving around logging onto the
internet from various locations in the NYC Metropolitan area in the
following week.

Working with NYPD Detectives, Columbia University security personnel
and local Internet Service Providers,  Brigadoon's Recovery Agents
pinpointed the exact location of the stolen laptop. NYPD Detectives
secured a search warrant and raided the location.

Result: The student's MacBook Pro, his iPhone and wallet
were recovered. One mugger arrested and three others
have been identified and are being sought.

What are you doing to secure your computers from theft?

Checkout PC PhoneHome and MacPhoneHome at: http://www.brigadoonsoftware.com


Tim Albright
VP
Brigadoon Software, Inc.
143 Main Street
Nanuet, New York 10954 USA
Tel: +1-845-624-0909
Fax: +1-845-624-0990
Email: talbright at pcphonehome.com
Web: http://www.brigadoonsoftware.com



From charles at firthconsulting.com  Fri Apr 30 11:02:46 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:02:46 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] HP kills their Win7 tablet
Message-ID: <44E7D91F-8B65-411E-8EC9-1D5AF6FFE0A6@firthconsulting.com>

Anyone remember Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft) demoing a Windows 7 tablet at CES, and how everyone in the media didn't care and kept talking about "what Apple's going to do"?

That Windows 7 tablet was made by HP and was going to be available this fall, and Microsoft was super excited about it.

Well, HP just killed it. It'll never see the light of day. Instead, HP is going to concentrate on a new tablet running the WebOS (since HP just purchased Palm)

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-doesnt-have-to-worry-about-the-hp-slate-anymore-2010-4
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From markd at borkware.com  Fri Apr 30 11:05:51 2010
From: markd at borkware.com (Mark Dalrymple)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:05:51 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] HP kills their Win7 tablet
In-Reply-To: <44E7D91F-8B65-411E-8EC9-1D5AF6FFE0A6@firthconsulting.com>
References: <44E7D91F-8B65-411E-8EC9-1D5AF6FFE0A6@firthconsulting.com>
Message-ID: <s2oe02953d71004301005m996363e1qb1216c454361c499@mail.gmail.com>

Interesting take on the near future of the industry:

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/04/why-steve-jobs-hates-flash.html

++md


From patrick at cranstoninc.com  Fri Apr 30 11:09:20 2010
From: patrick at cranstoninc.com (Patrick Cranston)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:09:20 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] HP kills their Win7 tablet
In-Reply-To: <s2oe02953d71004301005m996363e1qb1216c454361c499@mail.gmail.com>
References: <44E7D91F-8B65-411E-8EC9-1D5AF6FFE0A6@firthconsulting.com>
	<s2oe02953d71004301005m996363e1qb1216c454361c499@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <B6B05E09-C7FB-4370-9EB7-6E77A8762D96@cranstoninc.com>

Flash is today what the Floppy Drive was in 2000.  Technology that was useful in it's day but now only something people think they need.

Patrick Cranston
Cranston Consulting, Inc.
888-813-5558
www.CranstonIT.com
patrick at cranstonit.com
Twitter: @cranstonIT

Unlimited Support for your Macs, Data Backup and Training Classes for one low price.  http://www.cranstonit.com/home

On Apr 30, 2010, at 1:05 PM, Mark Dalrymple wrote:

> Interesting take on the near future of the industry:
> 
> http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/04/why-steve-jobs-hates-flash.html
> 
> ++md
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NPMUG mailing list
> NPMUG at davesevick.com
> http://davesevick.com/mailman/listinfo/npmug

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From charles at firthconsulting.com  Fri Apr 30 11:10:13 2010
From: charles at firthconsulting.com (Charles Firth)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:10:13 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Charles Stross on Apple/Adobe
Message-ID: <AFF076A9-CCF6-42C6-BC7B-47273DADF9CC@firthconsulting.com>

Charles Stross is a sci-fi author who writes some great stuff (he's good at blending HP Lovecraft and IT, with some hard math/science stuff as well)

Recently on his blog he wrote an excellent post about why Steve Jobs refuses to let Flash in the door - and goes on to explain why Apple is moving the way it is, and why HP, Microsoft, and others are scrambling. His theory is pretty radical, and an impressive read. 

For those of you trying to look "5 years into the future" of computing, it's a must-read. Stross may not be entirely right on the timing and details, but I think he's on to something in a broad-strokes way.

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/04/why-steve-jobs-hates-flash.html
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From ronladams7 at gmail.com  Fri Apr 30 15:08:02 2010
From: ronladams7 at gmail.com (R_Adams)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:08:02 -0600
Subject: [NPMUG] Should I have bought that Apple Product?
Message-ID: <4CBF2367-5E24-41A3-9798-F1DF2D7805E9@gmail.com>


http://www.kyleconroy.com/apple-stock.php

it1
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From dave at davesevick.com  Fri Apr 30 17:17:46 2010
From: dave at davesevick.com (Dave Sevick)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:17:46 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] MacOutfitters News: SATURDAY - Grand Re-Opening Celebration!
Message-ID: <E0A24A10-033C-4EAC-AD0E-05E85195B538@davesevick.com>

View this message in a browser.
 	




		
We've gone to a better place.

Come on down and help us celebrate our 
all-new store. 

When: Saturday May 1, 2010 

Where: Our all-new store at 20395 Route 19 
in Cranberry Township. The new MacOutfitters is located at the intersection of Route 19 and Dutilh Rd. next to AAA and across Brandt from Monte Cellos. 

Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm 

Free "Experience iPad" Seminars: 
11:00 am and 2:00 pm 

All day: Periodic door prize raffles from Lacie, Dr. Bott and MacOutfitters 

Refreshments: We're breaking out the grill! Join us for grilled burgers and dogs prepared by Chief Chef Jim Habel. Plus soft drinks, snacks and more. 

We look forward to seeing you this coming Saturday. Our new store is just a mile down the road, but light-years ahead. We are proud to be serving Cranberry for over 10 years.	


	


	


Unsubscribe or update your email preferences by selecting this link.	
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From radonaldson at mac.com  Fri Apr 30 18:21:05 2010
From: radonaldson at mac.com (Robert A. Donaldson)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:21:05 -0400
Subject: [NPMUG] Goodwill CRC update, April 30, 2010
Message-ID: <D74316A2-53E3-4AAB-9336-1BF8AEC91D6B@mac.com>

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens,  John Hamill, Nick Frank and Dave "frequent flyer miles" Sevick for joining me at the Goodwill Computer Recycling Center today. Extra special thanks to Rich Fitzgibbon for volunteering to go on a scouting trip to look for more Mac donations. He'll be checking out possibilities at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The guy just oozes dedication...

We never cease to be amazed at the wonderful adaptions that spring from nowhere to make our lives easier. Today, John Hamill was testing RAM and refurbishing an iMac plastered with paper labels at the same time. Stripping labels from Mac cases is our least favorite task as we never seem to be able to get the right tool and cleaner combination. We've used razor blades, Swiss Army Knives, and various scrapers.

Just like the guy who accidentally mixed chocolate and peanut butter, John spontaneously took a just-failed RAM chip from the tester, and, well, scraped one of the paper labels. And it came off. Pretty quick, too. Of course it's the silicone... Who knew?

Today we refurbished 17 Macs and de-manufactured five others. Two Apple CRT monitors were also passed along for recycling. Our all-time total of refurbished Macs is now 2,455.

We took in five keyboards and four mice today, along with eight Macs. So far, just one of those Macs has been brought back to life.

We'll have another workday next Friday, May 7, 2010.

We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson
radonaldson at mac.com
(H) 412-922-3303
(M) 412-477-9188