Mac Memos

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Apple has a reputation for making well-designed, well-built products. You’d think that they’d last longer, but they become obsolete faster than they wear out. Consider this example:

As you see, the 1st generation iPod Touch isn’t even listed because iOS 4 won’t run on it. Even the 2nd generation only gets 2 ticks. The iPods themselves will still be in good working condition, but Apple has abandoned them. No backward compatibility.

I don’t like this policy. It is wasteful. I have learned to resist purchasing of new Apple products… certainly for 1st generation offerings, and now for 2nd generation, too. No problem; it saves me money.

In the long run, I may eventually abandon the Apple platform and move on to Linux and open source applications. They are getting better all the time and are less subject to the demands of commercialism.

Surprising how many times web pages you open like to send information back, too. Google does it all the time, to add service. Baddies do it, too.

I just downloaded the trial version of Little Snitch and I will probably buy a copy to keep. It has a nice, easy to use interface that allows you to control which applications are allowed to open an internet connection from your computer TO the outside world. That’s right, TO. Your web browser sends out calls for web pages and brings them IN. But many applications, web pages and email messages are designed to “call home”, sending information from your computer to another internet address.

In many cases, this is a helpful behaviour and you want to let it happen. Software updates, for example, might send version number information back to the application developer so that you can be automatically notified when an update is available.

In other cases, you might not want to let someone else’s software open an internet connection and report back to the source. Maybe you rather that a spammer didn’t know that you had opened their message (telling them that your email address is a “live one”).

The thing is, how do you know when such an outgoing connection is being attempted? Little Snitch.

By setting Little Snitch “rules” you can easily limit the outbound connection possibilities to only trusted sources.

I will continue to try out Little Snitch for a few days and learn more about it. My first impression is positive.

Apple devices are, for the most part, well-built but that’s not important if software makes them obsolete. Owners of 1st generation iPhones and iPod Touches will soon be left behind. iPhone OS 4.0 will not work on them.

I think it’s wise to avoid the 1st generation of any device Apple offers. The new iPad is going to look very old, very fast.

Open the document you wish to save as a PDF. Go to File > Print… in the top menu bar. Select “PDF “.

Use the pop-down list under PDF to choose Save as PDF…

In the Dialogue box that opens, name your PDF whatever you like and set it to save to wherever you wish. I usually save to my Desktop.

BONUS INFORMATION You can secure your PDF so that recipients need a password to open and read it. Kinda cool. There’s more…

We have an old copy of Quicken 2005 running on Snow Leopard. It is a PowerPC app so it needs Rosetta to run on our Intel iMac. No problem. Although Rosetta is not installed automatically when you upgrade to MacOS X 10,6, it IS installed if you have applications that need it. Rosetta is included on the Snow Leopard installation disc.

Here’s what happens…. the installer disc checks to see what you have on your hard drive. It restarts your machine and begins the lengthy installation process. 45 minutes in our case. If you have applications that require Rosetta, you will get a dialogue box asking if you’d like to do the Rosetta installation. Yes, you would. Takes about a minute, and your old PPC app is happy.
There’s more…

Admittedly, it’s easier for Canadians to control their gadget lust for nifty, new products like Apple’s iPad. We’ll get it later, it will cost more and we will have more expensive phone and data plans.

Nevertheless, there might be an iPad in my future. Maybe next year. Or sooner if a second generation shows up sooner. (I don’t know what they have left out of the first generation, but the second generation will be more complete, I think.)

I like the size, the fact that it can run iWork apps, has a mic and speakers. It does WiFi internet, but (unsurprisingly) no Flash. The screen is LED, the battery life claim is up to 10 hours and the resolution is a very respectable 1024×768.

Gaming is of no interest to me and I would have liked a camera, but I hope that the iPad will enable reading of library books as well as the titles from the iBook Store. It can do enough to be of interest to me, that’s for sure.

There will be extras to buy… I’d like Bluetooth earphones rather than corded ones and I think the dock/keyboard thing would be a must, even though there are virtual keyboards onscreen. There’s a cover/stand that will be needed, too.

U.S. prices are $500, $600 and $700 for 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB machines, respectively. Add the cost of the extras, the cost of connectivity and the temptation to buy instantly from Apple’s various Stores and you have a potential threat to your personal economy.

Adobe’s dim view

There’s more…

Mark wrote in with this: I have a Keynote question…

When making a Keynote presentation and using an external projector ,the MacBook has a feature that allows you to view the ‘current’ and ‘next’ slides on your Mac while only the current slide shows on the projected screen…”Play / Customize Presenter Display’……’Great’ feature for presenters who use their own external projector.

The problem is I cannot get it to work properly….My projected image shows both the ‘Current’ and ‘Next’ slides..I cannot get only the single ‘Current’ image on the screen…I have checked all the settings but am stumped!!

I replied with a link to this Apple Tech Note.

Then Mark got back to me with his experience:

I had a few problems with the first set up but there were three things that I found effect the result.
1. The projector (Dell) must be connected to the MacBook and turned on first
2. In Keynote Preferences / Presenter Display..Check ‘Alternative Display’
3. In Keynote Preferences / Slideshow…Check ‘Present Secondary Display’
The result:
Slide #1 projected
Slide # 1 & 2, plus ‘Presenter Notes’ displayed on the MacBook…just like it suppose to do.

Thanks, Mark! Good stuff.

You’re not alone, if that’s any comfort. Also, a software fix will probably set things right, so that’s the good news.

What do you do if your computer doesn’t mount or recognize your Touch? Call AppleCare, wait 15 or 20 minutes to get to a human and then let that person walk you through the steps you need to take. It will involve some file-trashing and a fresh installation of iTunes but then you’ll be fine.

[UPDATE}
My friend Brian has done the call to AppleCare and writes:

“FYI, this is what the Apple support person had me do.”
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1747

Thanks, Brian. You’ve probably saved some waits for tech support.

I predict that I will be a senior citizen before Apple releases Snow Leopard version 10.6.3.

I have my copy, bought and paid for, still shrink-wrapped in its package. It won’t be installed until that .3 updater is available. That could take a while.

Click the image to go to the download page.

I haven’t worked with it much, but my first impression is positive. Looks quite polished. In addition to a word processor, you get presentation software, a database program, a spreadsheet app, a drawing program and some templates.

Although you are invited to donate something, no money is required and you don’t even have to register to use it.