MAC Meeting 11/26/13

MAC Meeting

11/26/13

Larry started and Jack wore out his voice imparting information for the next couple of hours.  As always he did a good job.  

Time Machine

Is a program included in the MAC operating system which enables users to easily schedule and back up their machines.  It has to have an external drive attached wirelessly or directly.  It was suggested powered external drives were better as they don't us up more USB ports.  

The backup drive should be about 2x the size of the drive included in the machine as Time Machine deletes the oldest backups as the drive fills up.  Not necessarily a bad thing unless you have archival information you want to keep.  Decide what you want and schedule it appropriately.  

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427  This link will take you to an Apple explanation plus lead to other locals for more information.  

Jack mentioned two web dealers who sell memory, MacSales.com and Crucial.com.  I've used another called Directron.com in Houston.  Prices vary.

Disk Utility

Is another program included in the MAC operating system which can be used for correcting errors in hard drives, partitioning HDs, erasing HDs, restoring, and various other functions.  It is located in Applications/Utilities as shown below.  

If you experience some problems with programs working correctly using this utility to repair permissions can be helpful.  I'm including two links for further reading.  

http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/whatisdiskutillity--mac-27965        and  http://macs.about.com/od/applications/tp/usingosxdiskutility.htm   

RAM

RAM is temporary memory which is wiped away every time the machine is turned off. RAM is where the computer does its work. When you turn your computer on the operating system loads the programs necessary to perform. Then when you start a program, it loads itself into RAM and tries to do what you want. Sometimes the program will transfer data back and forth between RAM and your hard drive which will slow the work process. That's why it's generally better to have as much RAM as you can afford.

It's better to turn your computer off when through for the day as the operating system will be loaded directly from the hard drive and have no opportunity to be corrupted in RAM while in sleep mode, which is invoked by just closing the lid.

Hard Memory

Hard memory is the capacity of your hard drive which permanently stores your data and programs. The size you need depends upon what you are going to do. Lots of photos require more and maybe external units. There are at least two types of hard drives out now, conventional mechanical ones and solid state. Generally the solid state drives are more expensive but are becoming more common in the new computers. They are usually very much faster and less apt to fail because they have no moving parts. Again, a good rule is get the most you can afford.   

iCloud

Since Mike was hiking instead of being around at meeting time he's been selected to do a presentation next week.  He knows next to nothing about iCloud but will come up with something.  

Don't forget the iPad meeting in the Ocotilla room on Sunday at 1300.  

Your faithful servant,

Mike

MAC Meeting 11/19/13

MAC Club

eleven attendees who spent most of the meeting led by Jack McCleskey in discussions of the use of menus which are similar throughout the OSX system.  

Jack while growing his new look

As usual Jack did a very good job explaining the ease of use and clearly showing how to read them.  

Remember the ... and what it means.  If you see the three dots following a selection on a menu it means there will be another screen brought up which gives more options.  

iPad Meetings

Conducted by Brent each Sunday at 1PM.  Since the iPad and iPhone are so similar he talks about both.  

Tutorials

Here is a link to hundreds of informative tutorials.  The guy is a fast speaker but clearly imparts information.  It doesn't cost anything to repeat view.  http://www.macmost.com   Jack showed us a video about tagging documents so they can be found.  

Next Week

Tuesday 1PM in the SanTan room.  See you then, 

Your faithful savant, 

Mike

Meeting 11/12/13

2nd meeting

Thirteen attendees.  Larry did a fine job conducting the meeting and we all learned something.  Remembering it will be something else.  

Creating a new library in iPhoto

Hold the option key while double clicking to start iPhoto and there will appear an image where a new library can be created.  http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2505  Try this link for info straight from Apple

Backup

Here is a link to information for Time Machine, the program included with all MACs.  A good program which allows easy access to saved information:  http://www.apple.com/support/backup/  

Update

Updating applications and the operating OSX is, by default set to automatically occur.  The settings can be changed in System Preferences ; Update:  http://www.apple.com/softwareupdate/  Try this link

Apple uses the App Store to update applications and the operating system in the new Mavericks 10.9.  Reports say sometimes it hangs but surely that will be fixed.  

Tutorials

There are a host of tutorials on the web.  Here is a link to an Apple "how to site."   http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/  

Dock

We will have more info on the Dock but here is a link:  http://macduel.com/how-to-customize-mac-dock-tutorial  

Bye for now

Next meeting November 19th at 1PM or 1300 if you prefer.  Look forward to seeing everyone.  

Mike

We're Back

We're Back

First meeting took place 11/5 13 at 1PM in the San Tan room.  About a dozen people attended and learned to identify their operating system.  

Plus how to determine the size and amount of data on their internal hard drive.  

Jack M showed us how to click on the "storage" item on the About this mac to see a map of the type of data plus other.

Future Meetings

Will be at 1PM in the San Tan room each Tuesday.  Looking forward to seeing everyone.