November 2013

MaUsE DoubleClick
November 2013
2013 MaUsE Executive
• President: Michael Shaw
[email protected]
• Vice President: Ian Winton
• Apple Liaison: Marcel Dufresne
[email protected]
• Treasurer: Ken Jansen
• Photographer: Irma Shaw
• DoubleClick Editor:
Michael Shaw
[email protected]
• Director: Stan Wild
• Director-in-Training
Brian Elston
• Director: Marcel Dufresne
MaUsE Contact Information:
The MaUsE
c/o Michael Shaw
237 Huntingwood Drive
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
L1J 7C6
w w w. m a u s e . c a
Don’t forget to
pay your MaUsE
Membership fee.
Still only
$45 per year.
From The Editor
What you are looking at is the November 2013
edition of the MaUsE DoubleClick, the online
publication of the Macintosh Users East,
(MaUsE), a motley collection of mostly harmless
cranks who reside in Southern Ontario with their
motley collection of old and new Macintosh,Hackentosh & MacClone computers.
The DoubleClick is published using a 2.8 GHz
Aluminum iMac and QuarkXPress 10. An antique
Kodak DX7590 is STILL being used for all pictures. Everything not specifically attributed to
someone else can probably be blamed on the
Editor. Back issues can be downloaded from the
MaUsE website: < www.mause.ca >. Submissions from MaUsE Club members are almost always welcome. Maybe that last bit is an
exaggeration.
About MaUsE
Macintosh Users East.
also known as MaUsE,
is the most active
Apple-authorised MUG
(Mac User Group)
in Southern Ontario.
MaUsE is here for users of
all Apple products,
including Apple computers,
iPods, iPhones,
and iPads.
Send your submissions and articles to me at:
< [email protected] >, especially if there are
files or pictures attached. I have never refused a
submission yet. Because we care about the environment, the MaUsE DoubleClick is created
using only recycled electrons: matter was neither
created nor destroyed in the process of creating
this issue. There is always room for another piece
on any Mac-related topic and Iʼll make room if
there isnʼt. I would like your submissions. But I
won't beg.
Apple, Macintosh, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the
U.S. and other countries. The MaUsE (Macintosh Users East) is an Apple-authorised Macintosh user group
Michael Shaw, Editor
MaUsE Meetings are held in Room 1 at the new Whitby Public Library on
the south-east corner of Henry and Dundas West in Whitby, Ontario on the
fourth Wednesday of each month except December, July and August. Meetings start at 7:00 PM but there is an early session from 6:30 for people who
wish to discuss hardware or software issues or problems. Macintosh virus
problem are discussion from 6:58 to 7:00 PM
QuarkXPress 10
Initial Impressions
As you know, last month’s issue of the DoubleClick
celebrated the release of QuarkXPress 10. With access to every major desktop publishing program in
the world I have no trouble choosing the one I prefer and my first month with this latest upgrade,
QXP10, only re-enforces the wisdom of that choice.
When QXP10 was first announced I was very curious about what possible changes the upgrade
would entail. The eternal nagging question of “What
do you get the person who has everything ?” comes
to mind: what could the developers at Quark possibly do to improve on QuarkXPress 9, a desktop
publishing program which already did everything. I
certainly did not expect any striking changes and I
am pleased to say that there aren’t. All of the same
tools are present and they all enable the user to perform the same operations as before, so there is a comfortable continuity from QXP9.
From my own experience, anyone who already knows how to use QXP 9 will be able
to slip easily into QXP10. In some way the
change in anomalous to getting a new pair
of bifocals: the vision feels different, but not
wrong. And definitely sharper.
First off, and before I forget, let me say that
one of my favourite Quark XTensions is
AthenaSoft’s AutoCorrectXT and I have
had assurances from the AthenaSoft that
an updated version of this XTension that is
compatible with QXP10 will be released
soon. Not soon enough...
If my own experience can be taken as normal, Quark users will be pleased to find
that the (now dockable) expanded Measurements palette has received more frame and text control features, but
at the expense of the Modify and Format menus.
After only a few days with the program I am
starting to look for and find more features in
the Measurements palette. I suspect that
when I become more adept at using QXP
10 I will find that if I try to return to QXP9 I
will find its Measurements palette somewhat
bereft and anaemic in comparison.
The most obvious and immediate differences between QXP10 and earlier versions
are visual. Unlike previous versions, the
colour of just about everything in QXP10 is
grey. From the very first palette to the very
last or utility window I opened in the new
Quark, the dominant colour was grey. The
exception to this is the Edit Color palette
which opens in response to the add a colour
button. The Edit Color window can be expanded to full screen size and is a riot of
colour.
The other visual difference, of course, is the
improved increased clarity of the images as
they appear on screen. Picture and print
processing are accelerated by Quark’s new
Xenon graphics engine. This greatly improves the quality and resolution of onscreen images, including much better rendering of type and vectors in
placed EPS and PDF files. Below are examples of the same image as
it appears onscreen when imported into QXP9 (on the left) and
QXP10 (on the right).
Because this new version of QXP is Cocoa-native it can tap directly
into modern OS X functions, such as full screen previewing, recent
file lists, and awareness of Font Book activations & deactivations.
If you want to experience QuarkXPress 10 for yourself, visit the Quark
website at www.quark.com and downloads a fully-featured copy of the
program. The demo will last a month, which is plenty of time o take
advantage of the online tutorials. You will need to have a Mac running
OSX 10.8.5 or higher.
Submitted by Michael Shaw
Take Control eBooks
Your Digital Photos
DoubleClick features an ebook from Take Control Books every month.
These ebooks have been published in PDF format and cover issues
related to Mac OS. Because they are in PDF format, these ebooks
have a lot of advantages over the traditional paper books. Electronic
books are a new experience for many people, but they provide you
with a good deal of flexibility that isn't available with printed books.
With your purchase of the ebook you get expert advice on various
topics but with an Apple perspective. These are the same expert authors of some best-selling print books. The download is immediate
and you don't have to leave your house to get it. Because it is paperless it can be purchased for much less than a paper edition. Also, if a
new edition of the book comes out, your original purchase of the book
allows you to easily update your current copy for free. There are clickable links right in the text so that your book immediately leads to other
sources on the same topic. It is readable onscreen which means you
can control the size of the print. If you use Preview you can even
highlight sections without messing up the book (use a copy of the
original if you are worried). You can even print up a paper copy of the
book if you feel the need. The catalog is very extensive
and can be accessed from http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/catalog. They offer free sample sections of
all their ebooks and a money-back guarantee, so try
one out anytime. As readers of the DoubleClick, you
also now have access to this coupon
(CPN90219MUG) which entitles you to a 30% discount
on the purchase of a book.
The book featured this month is Take Control of Your
Digital Photos on a Mac by Jeff Carlson. Why bother
taking photos if you can't find them later? If you want
to be able to lay your hands on any given photo in your
ever expanding library, digital photography expert Jeff
Carlson has developed a simple system you can use
to make your photo collection browsable, searchable, and generally
navigable.
Jeff leads off by helping you understand the strengths and weaknesses of the four most popular photo-management applications:
iPhoto and Aperture from Apple, and Lightroom and Photoshop Elements from Adobe. Once you've picked the app that's right for you
(and there's a chapter on migrating photos), you'll learn how to create
a custom workflow for importing, evaluating, keywording, and tagging
your photos so they are quickly sorted into logical groups. For each of
these essential aspects of your workflow, Jeff provides step-by-step
instructions for each of the four covered applications. And since it's all
too easy to lose everything if you don't have backups, Jeff discusses
the best way to back up and archive your photos to protect your irreplaceable photographic memories.
In the process of creating your custom digital photo workflow, you'll
find expert advice about each of these photo-management topics:
 Shooting smarter: Make sure your camera is set to the correct time
(and time zone), choose a file format, and think about capturing geolocation data while you're out taking photos.
 Choosing the right app: Learn about the pros and cons of the most
popular photo-management applications—iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements—and find directions for how to migrate your photos from iPhoto to Aperture or Lightroom, or from
Aperture to Lightroom.
 Importing photos: Make your Mac apply keywords and other tags in
a batch during import, and make sure you're storing files in a place
that makes sense going forward.
 Judging photos: Get time-tested tips for rating individual photos and
learn how to deal with bad photos, whether you want to delete them,
hide them, or leave them be.
 Assigning metadata: Once your camera and your
computer have assigned as much metadata as possible
automatically, you'll need to do the final bits yourself.
Jeff describes how to think about this process, and he
gives you specific steps for how to proceed efficiently.
 Putting photos in albums: With your metadata successfully applied, it's time to enjoy the fruits of your
labor! Learn how to set up smart albums to collect and
display your photos automatically.
 Planning for the future: Digital photos can't be damaged by water or tossed accidentally when cleaning
house, but at the same time, a hard disk failure could
destroy every photo you own. And what about preserving them for your kids? Jeff discusses how you can back up your precious photos and archive them for future generations.
Build a digital workflow to import, tag, rate, and organize your photos!!
This ebook costs $15.00 normally but using the coupon will make a
difference.
Check this ebook out and a lot others at www.takecontrolbooks.com.
Submitted by Marcel Dufresne
SPAM:
Why you email he sent ?
Sometimes you just have to wonder where the people who make a
real career doing SPAM get their start in the noble profession. One
would think that a rudimentary knowledge of proper English grammar.
punctuation, spelling, and syntax would be necessary for successfully
impersonating officials at a big company like Apple computers, but I
guess possession of those skills is considered optional. Below is the
text of an actual SPAM that I received - which was intended to appear
to be coming from Apple. I don’t know why unscrupulous people
would want my Apple ID and password but one would think that there
must be a more appealing way to go about asking for it than the ungrammatical, mispelled and awkwardly worded message that I received. I enjoy SPAM when it is well-done but this crap is just an
insult. Amatuer hour in SPAM-land.
Dear (e) client (e)
We inform you that your account is about to expire in less than 48
hours, it is imperative to conduct an audit
prform an audit of your information now, otherwise your account will
be deleted.
Just click the link below and log in wth your Apple ID and password.
Check here
Why you email he sent ?
The sending of this email applies when the expiration date of your
account expires.
For more information, see
thank you,
Assistance to Apple customers.
October 2013
MaUsE Meeting Report
We had the usual mix of well-received discussion topics and presentations. Stan appealed to the membership for volunteers who were
willing to step into the breech, as it were, and join the 2014 MaUsE
Executive. The results of his appeal will be presented on November
27th at this month’s meeting. It will be the last meeting of 2013 soi
please try to attend. Our Treasurer assured us that we have sufficient
funds to carry on for the foreseeable future. The results of Stan’s survey appear elsewhere in this issue.
Heredis
2014
Heredis is about to launch new genealogy program for Mac,
available since October, 16, 2013.
Heredis 2014 is a major release of the software. The new features
open up new perspectives for genealogists. Heredis 2014 is the
version to go furtherwith the research.
The Search Wizard: This highlights missing elements, suggests
ways to advance and offers search online tools as Heredis Online,
Ancestry, MyHeritage... This new version enables to build and organize the family tree with the greater ease thanks to the different
Family views. With 2014 version, users share their genealogy with
their family on Heredis Online and they have a free personal website directly from their Heredis 2014 software in a few clicks.
Extended Family View: Heredis displays all those who were close
to your ancestors. All the people with whom they lived, all those
who they knew in the extended family: siblings, remarriage,
stepchildren, step- brothers and step-sisters, children from other
unions of the different spouses… a view of your family from a completely new angle.
Migrations map: Heredis 2014 shows the movement of a whole
family on maps which are interactive. Within seconds, trace the
lives of your ancestors and a whole lineage just a few miles away
or at the other end of the world.
HEREDIS 2014
What’s new?
-Search Assistant
-Online research tools via Heredis
Online, Ancestry, MyHeritage,
Family Search...
-Extended Family View
-Find Relationships
-Migrations Map
-Heredis Online
-Management of branches
-Descendants View
Heredis 2014 - more than 200 useful functions.
Heredis is to date the best genealogy software. Not only because it is
loaded with innovative and unique features, but also because the
addition of all these features makes the Heredis software unbeatable.
Search Wizard
Your Search assistant can take stock of your
work by displaying the progress of the life of
your ancestor. The display of known or missing information for the primary person and
those around him/her will highlight certain unexplored tracks. At a glance, you will know if
a date or place is missing. You will know if
you have associated a source, witnesses,
media, notes, with any event.The Search
Wizard proposes various online research
tools targeted to sites such as Heredis Online, Ancestry, MyHeritage… Heredis pre-fills
relevant data that is already known. At any
moment, you may find new information that
will add to your work. If a search has not
been successful, the record of your previous
research allows you to come back to it at a
later date.
Find Relationships
"Why is this person in my file?", "How is
he/she connected to my lineage?" are often
questions that you ask yourself? With the
Find Relationships function, discover easily
the links that unite two people with this great
tool. Within seconds, this exciting tool analyzes all the connections in your genealogy
file to find how two people can be linked,
whether they are relatives, or they have common ancestors or they simply have other links
(godmother, heir…). Thus, you are able simply to weave links in your genealogy…
Web Search and Publishing
Heredis launches Heredis Online, a new
service for publishing your genealogy data
and research on the Internet. The advantage?
You publish your data on Heredis Online direct from your software in a few clicks. You
share your work with those near to you by directing them to the site of your genealogy online. You will find new information on Heredis
Online. You may exchange with other genealogists. All this without ever leaving Heredis!
Much easier and no extra cost!
Descendants View
The new Descendants tab for the primary
person allows you to navigate speedily
throughout the generations. It will display the
number of generations of your choice. The
display is customizable, both for presentation
of generations and for the format of data.
Highlighting the duplicate lines in red allows
you to identify intermarriages immediately. Information on the descendants displayed and
the option to print are also available from the
indented wheel icon.
Management of branches
Memorize different family branches, with ancestors as well as descendants, as a base for
your research and its evolution. Each person
displayed in the branch has a visual cue
showing the status of main events (complete,
incomplete, missing). You have a display filter
available to choose between branch ends,
complete persons, persons for whom further
research is required…
Other new points Heredis 2014 offers a new,
more intuitive interface which is ideal to use.
Choose the most appropriate from the four
themes. Also, you may now customize your
homepage by inserting a photo of your ancestors or why not, a copy of the marriage
certificate of one of your illustrious ancestors.
About Heredis
Heredis has been designing genealogy
software for over 20
years. Avant-garde
and revolutionary in
its approach, Heredis
keeps ahead of its
competitors through
its innovative,
technological choices
and genealogical
solutions which are
fully geared to user
needs.
Keyboard Shortcuts
You May Not Know
As everyone knows, there is usually more
than one way to perform every operation
on a Macintosh. Back when we had preOSX Classic Mac systems and PowerPC
computers, the mark of a power user used
to be the huge number of keyboard shortcuts he or she would use while the rest of
us were still mousing around clicking on
things. Lately, with the advent of sophisticated programs like Nuance MacSpeech
and Dragon Dictate, power users can use
the keyboard less and just give verbal commands to do what the rest of us still rely on
the keyboard and mouse to achieve.
Your Apple keyboard has quite a few special keys on it. A few of them can be used
to modify the actions controlled by other
keys. For instance, your Apple keyboard
Control
Option
Here’s another useful little shortcut: Holding down the Command and Control keys
while hitting the “D” key will bring up the
definition of any text you have highlighted.
In the example at right I used this keyboard
shortcut while my cursor was on the word,
“neighbourhood”. The word became highlighted in yellow and Dictionary, Thesaurus,
and Wikipedia information appeared. This
works wonderfully when reading articles
found on the internet .
Mute
Brightness
Shift
has keys that control the sysytem volume
and the brighness of your monitor. But did
you know that by holding down the Option,
and Shift keys while tapping the Volume Up
or Volume Down keys on your Apple keyboard you can slowly increase or decrease
the volume by quarter points. This also
works for screen Brightness and gives far
more accurate and fine control to both of
these parameters.
Comand
Volume Up and Down
Command + V will paste text as at was copied to
your clipboard, but sometimes you will not want to
impose the original formatting of the text as it was
copied. In order to paste clean text you need to
hold down the Control key with Command + V.
Here’s another useful tip, especially for when you
are traveling and sharing close quarters: If you
want your computer to power up without the
StartUp bong sounding, you can hold down the
mute key when you power on your computer and
have it start up silently. That can be very useful if
you have insomnia or just want to check your email
while other people are sleeping nearby.
For a mind-boggling list of other keyboard commandsm check out the official Apple list at:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343
Submitted by Michael Shaw
Holding down the Command + Control + Option + 8 will invert the
colours of your monitor screen, which can make it a lot easier to read
text on the screen if there is too much ambient light. Works great for
using your laptop outdoors in the sunlight. You can turn this keyboard
shortcut on under Accessibility in Keyboard Preferences.
The Apple keyboard used to repeat letters endlessly if a key was held
down. If you held down a letter for ten or fifteen seconds you would
have a long line of identical letterssssssssssssssssssss. That doesn’t
happen any more. Now, if a letter has other forms in other languages,
holding down its key for an extended period of time will bring up the
variations of that letter available in other languages. The keys affected
are e, y, u, i, o, a, s, l, z, c, and n. Each of these letters has variants.
Try it now: type an “e” or a “c” and hold it down. There are 7 different
variations for the letter “e” and three for “c”. You can choose which
variant you want by hitting the number on your keyboard that appears
under the variant.
To use a keyboard shortcut, or key combination, you press a modifier key with a character key. For example, pressing the Command key (the key that has a symbol) and the "c" key at the
same time copies whatever is currently selected (text, graphics,
and so forth) into the Clipboard. This is also known as the Command-C key combination (or keyboard shortcut).
A modifier key is a part of many key combinations. A modifier key
alters the way other keystrokes or mouse/trackpad clicks are interpreted by OS X. Modifier keys include: Command, Shift, Option, Control, Caps Lock, and the Fn key. If your keyboard has an
Fn key, you may need to use it in some of the key combinations
listed below. For example, if the keyboard shortcut is Control-F2,
press Fn-Control-F2.
Here are the modifier key symbols you may see in OS X menus:
!
⌃
⌥
$
⇪
Fn
Command key
Control key
Option key
Shift Key
Caps Lock
Function Key
CONNECTED!!
MaUsE’s 2013 Survey.!
We asked the questions: you told us about how you compute!
At the Macintosh Uses East meeting on Wednesday, October 23rd, I,
(on behalf of your executive committee) asked the 34 members present for information about the Apple and other electronic devices they
are currently using, and what browsers and search engines they utilize on those devices. This article is what we learned from them.
A surprise question!!!
The day before the club’s October meeting Apple had released their
new OSX Mavericks operating system. The first survey question that I
asked was about how many members had downloaded Mavericks
during the 24 hour was since it was released.
• 23.5% of members had downloaded the software in that time period.
I subsequently learned that in the North America Mac market, (US
and Canada) in that same 24 hours, the rate of downloading of ‘Mavericks’ was 5.5%; in other words, the percentage of our members
downloading the software in the preceding 24 hours was more than 4
times greater than the percentage than what happened in all of North
America.
• The rate of downloading was the fastest ever for a release of a new
Mac operating system throughout North America! Perhaps that was
due in part to the fact that the download was absolutely free!
• In reporting the percentage of actual downloads it must be stated
not all were installed and put into regular use on the same day that
they were downloaded.
Which Operating Systems are members currently using:
• 38% are using Mountain Lion, released July 25th, 2012;
• 25.5% are using Lion, released July 2011;
• 23.5% are using Snow Leopard, released August 2009;
• and, surprisingly... 23.5% are using six year old Leopard, released
October 2007, OR an older system.
(The above percentages add to more than 100, some respondents
are using two or more different systems on their various Apple devices.)
The numbers reported above confirm that many members are slow to
upgrade from one operating system to a newer system. In fact, almost
one half of the members present at the meeting, 47%, are still using
Snow Leopard (or an even older system) on one or more of their
Apple devices.
For comparison I took a look at the survey that MaUsE took in February 2010. At that date, better than 71% of our members surveyed
were using one or tne other of the then two most recent systems, Lion
and Snow Leopard.
iOS operating systems in use by members on their iPads, iPhones
and iPods,:
• More than half of those responding (53%) are using the current system, iOS 7.0.3;
• A slightly lower 47% continue to use the previous system, iOS 7.0.2.
Both iOS 7 systems were released in the past couple of months. It is
readily apparent that the majority of users of iPads and/or iPhones
are quicker to update their systems than users of the more traditional
Mac OS X operating systems.
Note: With regard to the above responses regarding use of the iOS
operating system;
• iPod users most likely did not respond to my question on this topic.
Therefore, the percentages quoted above relate only to the number of
responding members using either an iPad or an iPhone or both.
Surprises in the number and types of devices that members own and
use.
• 73 %, almost three-quarters of those who were present at the October 23rd meeting, told us that they currently use more than three devices;
• 50 % of you told us that they use as many as five devices.
• More people are using Desktop Macs than 20 months ago, 79.5%
now versus 66% then.
• (Who was it amongst DoubleClick’s contributors who recently wrote
that desktop computers were going the way of the Dodo bird)?
• Mac Laptop use is a pretty stable at 56%, down just 1% from 2012;
• Use of iPads showed a big jump: it went up 30% to almost double,
now 65% (Total usage of regular iPads and iPads Minis was combined for the this report);
• iPods usage jumped from 35% to a new high of 56%.
• iPhones usage shot up by 21% to 56%.
Non-Apple devices in uses:
• 35 percent of members are using non-Apple mobile phones.
• 44% of members also use Windows based devices or programs either in their homes or possible as part of their work environment;
usage has dropped by 13% since the the 2012 survey;
• 12% of members use android type pads or tablets.
!
Browsers used:
It was no surprise that 32 out of the 34 members people present are
using Safari as their basic browser.
• Firefox and Google Chrome both attract a lots of users, 56% each.
• Particularly interesting is the fact is the both Firefox and Google
Chrome also use Google as their search engines.
Things got very interesting when we asked the members what search
engines they use on a regular basis:
• As expected, 100% said they use Google on a regular basis. BUT,
three other search engines are also in regular use by members. They
are:
• Yahoo 47%, • Bing 23.5%, (Owned by Microsoft) and • DuckDuck
Go 15.%.
It should be noted that Yahoo actually uses Bing as its search engine; however,
it is how Yahoo processes the information that Bing gathers for it that makes
their published results unique to each of them.
They’re Gonna buy!
My final questions to the members concerned their intention to buy another
Apple device within the next six months, 13 of them do have such intentions potentially two iMacs, four Mac laptops, and seven iPads… But no ‘Partridge in
a Pear tree’!
Your answers tell us…
…that you all use your Apple devices regularly as part of your every day lives,
a certain indication that you/we are and embracing the electronic age in which
we now live with open minds although some of us sometimes get a little (just a
little?) frustrated in the process of so doing.
Finally, I would like to offer a few words of thanks to all the members who gave
me detailed information when I conducted our survey. The material facts gathered will be most useful to the club’s executive in planning next year’s MaUsE
meetings. Again, I thank you.
***Survey percentages are out of the 34 members present for the
survey. Results have been rounded to the nearest half percent.***
We need your input.
If you use a search engine other than
Google on a regular basis, please drop
the executive a note to my email address
< [email protected] > telling us why
you favour that particular search engine
and what its particular attributes are that
makes it preferable for you? I will ask
Michael to publish all relevant answers in
next month’s DoubleClick newsletter and,
possibly, some of your best answers will
be used by the executive as a basis for
presentations at a future MaUsE meetings.
Contributed by Stan Wild.
Note to readers.
This article was partially dictated* using the free Dictation program that is part of the new OSX Mavericks operating
system. It was fun to experiment with the system but I had problems with it recognizing the way I pronounce certain
words. It does not seem to handle rendering mid-Atlantic English very well. That lack of interpreting my spoken
words required my having to backtrack over each paragraph and re-type words that the system had failed to understand. I quickly learned that when using the system one must speak slowly and pronounce multi-syllable words very
s l o w l y. It is my belief that the system would have produced more accurate results for me if I had used a headset
microphone rather that using my iMac’s built-in microphone. I am a slow learner when it comes to technology, but I
shall persevere with the Dictation program and in time the using of it will hopefully become more instinctive, easier
for me and the results more satisfactory.
*Some time ago Ian Winton had suggested to me that I should try using a dictation program when writing, and that it
would make doing so easier in light of my poor eyesight and arthritic fingers. So Ian, I finally took your advice.
Thanks! :-)
Additional special thanks go to Michael Shaw who cheerfully gave me an ‘over the phone’ tutorial on how to use the
Dictation system. It was most helpful and very much appreciated. Michael is a prince.
SGW
Is Your 5th Generation iPod Touch’s OS
Upgradable?
In the age of the iPhone, the lowly iPod is not forgotten.
Good news, members who have an older (but not yet ancient) iPod
Touch do have the option to upgrade its operating system to iOS 7 !
If you iPod is either:
• an iPod Touch 5th generation of 16GB, OR,
• an iPod Touch 5th generation 32GB/64GB,
then you can indeed upgrade its system to iOS 7!
There are two methods for downloading
and installing iOS 7. You can simply update your iOS device over the air via the
device's Settings, or you can connect it
to your computer and use iTunes. Before you update, however, it would be a
good idea to back up your iOS device.
In addition, there are a few other things
to do before you install iOS 7, including
upgrading to the most recent version of
iTunes (11.1).
Before installing iOS7:
1. Check device compatibility
First, make sure your devices are capable of running iOS 7. Apple has posted a
list of devices that will be able to run the
latest OS:
2. Delete unused apps
Once you've determined your iDevice
eligible for the upgrade, it's time to
quickly go through the apps you currently have installed and delete any that
are unused.
Odds are, if you haven't opened an app
in the last couple of months or so, you
likely don't need it. Tap and hold an app
icon until it starts moving, then tap on
the X icon to delete. If you do end up
needing the app in the future, simply redownload it from the App Store.
3. Update installed apps
After pruning up your installed apps, launch the App Store and ensure
that the remaining apps are up-to-date. Some apps, such as
Foursquare, are already releasing iOS 7 app updates so you'll be able
to use them as intended on iOS 7 as soon as your OS update is complete. With iOS 7, app updates will automatically be downloaded for
you; take a minute to cherish the last time you'll be forced to manually
install app updates. With your apps up-to-date, you'll minimize the
wait for a lengthy list of apps to update as well.
4. Back that thing up!
You'll want to be sure to back up your device(s). Not only is this
something you should be doing on a regular basis, but it's something
that's especially important to do right before upgrading an OS. Should
anything go wrong, you'll be able to restore your device with the same
settings and information currently stored on it. The more recent the
backup, the more recent the information capable of being restored will
be.
5. Update iTunes
When a major version of iOS is released to the public, it's almost always accompanied by an update to
iTunes. The update usually adds
new features to iTunes, but it
also brings with it compatibility
for new devices and the new
OS. You can check for the updated version of iTunes on
Apple's site shortly after the release of iOS 7, or check for software updates on your Mac by
clicking on the Apple Menu icon
followed by Software Update.
Windows users can use the
Help menu in iTunes and click
"Check for Update."
Once you've gone through this
checklist and prepared your device for the update, prepare
yourself to hold off on updating
until later in the day after you
get home or have some time
away from work. Apple typically
releases the update midmorning
or early in the afternoon, depending on your time zone. In
the past, there have been occurrences of the activation
servers going down, leaving
users with a device they can't
use.
Contributed by Stan Wild
This ‘Helpful News’ is courtesy of Brian Elston.
Blue Piston Wireless
Rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker from Logiix
One of the drawbacks I have found with iDevices is the limited way
they have of sharing sound with others. They work great with an ear
plug. You can buy a splitter and have two people listening at the same
time, but they have to be close together. Their speaker system is
hardly loud enough. You have to be sitting right beside it to hear it. As
always, when a problem occurs, industry is quick to find solutions.
This problem has been answered with a profusion of speakers that
can be used with them. Many of these are not really portable in that
you would not carry them around since they are too large. They produce great sound but they are best used in one place. I prefer to have
a speaker that is more versatile, one that I can easily take anywhere
with me. Logiix has the perfect solution for me, having come up with
the Blue Piston Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.
The revolutionary iPad gives us the power of portability, whether it's
watching video content, enjoying multimedia apps, or delivering presentations. With the Blue Piston Wireless Bluetooth Speaker you get
a portable and convenient audio solution that's a perfect companion
piece to the iPad. The Blue Piston gives the iPad's audio new life in
full surround sound, taking movies, music,
and multimedia to a whole different level. But
this Speaker is not limited to being used
solely with the iPad. It will work with any Bluetooth-enabled audio device, like an iMac. In
fact, this is the speaker I use when watching
any video with my desktop iMac. With the
wireless speaker set up, I don't have to blast
the TV's sound throughout the house. I just
put the speaker in behind me and I get the full
audio effect of whatever I am watching.
The Blue Piston Speaker gets its name from the compact circular design. My review speaker is in fact not blue but lime coloured. There
are seven colours to choose from of which blue is one. It is lightweight
(180 grams) and compact (Dimensions: Height - 5 cm (2") Diameter 6
cm (2.5")), which is perfect for travelling. The Blue Piston even fits in
a car's standard drink coaster. This speaker is designed to communicate seamlessly and wirelessly with any Bluetooth device.
The wireless component gives you the freedom to place your speakers anywhere you like. This portable bluetooth speaker has a brushed
aluminum military grade shell and built-in low frequency resonance
system for a clear sound. The maximum volume that you can get out
of it far exceeds what the iPad can give you. You will be able to blast
the sound all through the house.
Getting started with the Speaker is a snap. The first thing I had to do
was to make sure it was fully charged. I plugged this into my USB
plug. It has a special cable that links the speaker to any USB charging
plug or your computer. A red LED on the speaker indicated that it was
charging. The light turns off when fully charged. It typically takes
about two//three hours to fully charge.
My biggest complaint with most bluetooth devices is the charging life. The
batteries always seem to need recharging. The Blue Piston lasted way longer
than any other bluetooth speakers I
have tested in the past. The full charge
easily lasted 8 hours. The on/off switch
helps to decrease the loss of battery
life and the speaker is able to turn itself
off after about 15 minutes of inactivity.
When the speaker's battery starts running low, an alert tone will sound every
30 seconds and the red LED will start
to flash.
Pairing any bluetooth device always
seems to be the most complicated part
of using it. Pairing refers to having the
bluetooth device detecting and sending
a signal to the other device. Logiix has
made this process for the Blue Piston
Speaker practically automatic. First you need to switch the speaker
ON. The front of the speaker has what is called a multifunction button.
Press this until the red and blue LED lights flash alternatively. This
takes about 6 seconds of continual pressing. Now the speaker is in
pairing mode. On my iMac, the pairing was done through the System
Preferences. I needed to have my wireless network search for a new
bluetooth device from the Bluetooth preferences.
The Blue Piston Speaker was mainly made for enjoying stereo sound
superior to the iPad's built-in mono speakers. I like that I can move
the speaker to almost anywhere in the house and still enjoy the audio.
It has a range of about 10 metres as long as there are no walls in the
way. I took it to my basement and there was no loss of fidelity. And the
sound quality is superb. The Logiix Blue Piston sells for $49.95 and
comes with a one year warranty. Read about this speaker at
http://logiix.net and, while there, check out some of the other products
that this Canadian company is manufacturing. Being based in BC, this
means you won't have to incur extra border crossing fees.
For the size, convenience and price you will not find a better speaker
out there. There are no cords to get tangled, no extra batteries to
carry around with you, and it takes up no real storage space. It is
great sound in a small package. It recharges from any USB port with
the included cable and provides long-lasting battery life. The auxiliary
input cable for direct connection to any headphone jack makes it suitable for a wide range of audio devices. And it allows you to make
phone calls via Bluetooth. Looking for a powerful yet small bluetooth
speaker? Take your music anywhere with the Blue Piston Wireless
Bluetooth Speaker from Logiix!
Submitted by Marcel Dufresne
Once the speaker was listed as found, I simply had to indicate that I
wanted the iMac paired to this device; that's it. Now, by entering the
Sound panel of the System Preferences, I can make the Blue Piston
my output device. Run some music from iTunes and your speaker will
play the songs in fantastic surround sound. The pairing with my iPad
was just as straight forward. Once the Blue Piston was in pairing
mode, I was able to find it listed through the settings on my iPad, having already turned on the iPad's Bluetooth function.
This speaker has a couple of extra functions. Besides the charging
cable, it comes with an auxiliary cable to link the speaker to any other
speaker via the headphone port. This means that the Blue Piston can
be used as the speaker for any audio device, even if there is no bluetooth capability. Another plus to this speaker is the ability to control an
iPhone. There is a built-in microphone. To answer a call, simply press
the multifunction button and start talking. Pressing it again, ends the
call. To reject a call, hold down the button until you hear an indicator
tone (about 3 seconds). This then provides hands-free iPhone that
you could use when driving. Lastly, the Blue Piston comes with a
small carrying pouch which will hold the speaker and the two cables.
That way, you won't have to look around for the micro USB charging
cable when you need it, as infrequently as this occurs. The speaker
also has an anti-slip pad attached to the bottom of the base. The only
function missing from the speaker that many other bluetooth speakers
have is a volume control on the unit itself. You'll have to rely on the
volume control on the source device for that.
iBooks:
New in Mavericks
If you check out the Dock after you
upgrade to Mavericks, you will see
some intriguing new icons. One of
them is iBooks. Apple first brought its
iBooks platform to the Mac with OS X
10.9 Mavericks when the operating system launched in
October. The software allows users to read e-books purchased through the iBook Store, as well as buy new books
directly from their desktop or laptop. Titles are synced
across iCloud, and can be automatically pushed to compatbile iOS devices.
iBooks is easy to use but requires that the user must have a valid Apple
ID. If you don’t already have an Apple ID, get one. Its free & easy. See
here for details: http://bit.ly/1c9mH94
iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books. iBooks includes
the iBooks Store, where you can download the latest bestselling books
or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a
tap, and bookmark or add notes to your favorite passages.
Marine Aquarium 3.2
A life-like screensaver from SereneScreen
Screen savers are not what they used to be. The need for one has all
but disappeared. What with putting your computer to sleep or fading
to black, who needs one. Yet Apple still packages various screen
savers with each system it sends out. The bottom line is that we still
like something to be going on with the computer screen even if we are
not doing anything at the time. I have included some information
about burn-in at the end of this article if you wish more info on this
subject.
I always try the many screen savers that come with each new desktop
iMac and they do add pizzazz to the screen. I have always had a
screensaver programmed in. At Christmas time, I find one that has
snow falling or plays Christmas music since sound is also part of
many screen savers. But my favourite screen saver by far is Marine
Aquarium from www.SereneScreen.com. I first installed this screen
saver way back in 2007 and I have used it ever since. I reviewed this
in the April 2007 DoubleClick. The colour and realism that this simple
little program provides puts all the other savers in the back seat. As
the name implies, it turns your screen into a large aquarium with fish
swimming around, mimicking a real aquarium. Words fail to describe
the beauty of the coral reef that pops up on your screen. Now that I
have my newest iMac, I found that I needed to upgrade my version of
Marine Aquarium. As much as I liked the old version, Marine Aquarium 3.2 is a vast improvement. Now with my improved monitor resolution, I can really enjoy the beauty of the display.
Download it from http://www.serenescreen.com. Installing the program is a snap. It retails for $19.95 US. Open up the dmg file and
double click "Marine Aquarium 3.2.saver". It will then install itself into
the screensaver section of your computer. For those who are interested, this is in the library folder of your user home folder under
Screen Savers. To access the many options of this program go to the
System Preferences. Once that is open choose Desktop & Screen
Saver. Here you have control over the desktop's background and
which Screen Saver to use. Once you have picked Marine Aquarium,
you have some options available. The first choice you have to make is
whether to display a digital clock on the screen or not. With this
checked on, the time is displayed in a random spot whenever the
screen saver is on. The time display does not move but it is in a different spot each time you start the screen saver. Next is the time taken
before the screen saver comes on. There is a list of between never to
one hour. Finally, you can set one of the four corners on the screen as
a hot corner. Moving the mouse to that corner activates functions like
start screen saver, disable screen saver, call up mission control, etc.
Now you are ready to enter into the fine tuning of Marine Aquarium.
There will be a small window showing what the aquarium will look
like. Click on this window and the full screen version will be activated,
giving you a preview of it in action. There is a Screen Saver Options...
button under this window. Click on this button and you gain access to
the program. This newest version has a lot more options than the
original. Lets start with the main settings for the tank. You can have a
column of bubbles percolating up, emulating an aerator. The screen
can be set to pan across the field of view showing a much larger
aquarium than that which would fit on your screen. The speed of the
panning is adjustable. There is an optional crystal tank ornament
which has a flat face. If you opt to have this on, it will display one of a
digital clock (12 or 24 hour times), an analog clock, a calendar or a
logo. These four choices can run as a loop, cycling one to the next.
The logo is an interesting option. You can place any picture you want
in here and easily adjust both the size and the position. Moving on to
the sound tab, you can make the bubble column percolations audible.
The loudness slider represents a percentage of the system's set volume. You could also have some music playing from your iTunes library. Set up a specific playlist of songs and you can have Marine
Aquarium shuffle or repeat that list. My preference is for a silent
screen saver, but at least that choice is there.
I have put the fish tab, which controls the number and type of each
fish swimming around, as a separate paragraph. This area allows for
the greatest variety in the aquarium. There are 28 fish types and one
starfish to choose from. You can have up to 30 fish actively swimming
around at any time. These are very good replicas of actual fish. When
you click on a fish type, you get the trivial name of the fish, the Latin
genus and species name, where in the world it is found, its normal
adult length, and its diet. This all shows up in the fish info window.
You can choose anywhere from 1 to 30 of one type of fish, or you can
pick a few varieties. The total number can't exceed 30. There is also a
random button which will populate the tank with a chosen number of
fish. By using a star (0-3) system, you can somewhat control what will
randomly appear.
Lastly, you can create specific sets of aquariums so that you don't
have to continually click fish on and off. If one week you want the tank
to be primarily populated with Royal Gramma fish and then switch to
Clownfish, then create a set for each.
The background colouring provides the next set of options. I like having the daylight version showing all the time but you can also have it
represent a night time aquarium. The aquarium also simulates the
changing from day to night so that you get only shadows at night.
While playing around with this area, I created a copy of the original
daylight tank. Then I was able to adjust three colour shadings so that
the conventional blue background was changed to a more greenish
colour. The last tab is help. This is not a help screen but rather a list of
keyboard shortcuts to use while the screen saver is active to help you
shake up the display even more. Double tapping the space bar immediately changes the random fish displayed. You can use the arrow
keys to scroll right or left faster. There are so many choices that this
screen saver will never get boring.
SereneScreen is not standing still with this version. There are plans to
have automatic lights. There will soon be a greatly expanded interface
for customizing the background colours. As though the fish swimming
motion is not real enough, they hope to implement realistic fish behaviour, including schooling, chasing, and pecking at corals. And once
these features are in place, the stage will be set for a wider array of
different fish and invertebrates.
I have my screen saver come on after about five minutes
of idle time and the computer sleeps after about 15 minutes of inactivity. That way I have my aquarium playing for
a full ten minutes. This time frame is totally up to you. But
when it comes to screen savers, look no further than Marine Aquarium. My one year old grand-daughter is always
looking at the monitor for these fish and will mouthe a fish
sound if they are not on. Download a free trial version of
the program and have a look at how beautiful it is with the
new monitors. The demo program is actually the registered
program with certain functionalities turned off until a registration keycode is entered. You will not find a more captivating screen anywhere.
Burn-in is a generic term for a ghost-like image that appears on a monitor or television after displaying an image
that does not change for a long period of time. Burn-in is
also called ghosting or image persistence. While the exact
cause is different for different types of monitors, the result
is the same, a light or dark area of the screen where the
non-moving image was displayed. Due to better technology, energy saver options, and screen savers, burn-in is
much less of a problem than in the past. However, any
program, even a screen saver, can cause burn-in if left
running long enough. Screen savers were originally designed to help
avoid the effects of burn-in by automatically changing the images on
the screen when the computer was not in use (thus "saving" the
screen from burn-in). They are usually set up to launch automatically
by the computer's operating system, waiting a specified amount of
time after the last keystroke or the last mouse movement made by a
user. The screen saver then blanks the screen, or more commonly
produces animation effects, thus avoiding any "fixed" images. Modern
monitors are much less susceptible to burn-in than older models due
to improvements in technology and the addition of energy saver options. For these reasons, screen savers today are primarily decorative
or for entertainment, and usually feature moving images or patterns
and sometimes sound effects.
Submitted by Marcel Dufresne
Akitio
Neutrino Thunder D3
Inevitably, data moves faster. Every
advance in computer processor and storage technology has been aimed at increasing the rate per second of potential data through-put. Akitio (see www.akitio.com)
makes high quality hard drive enclosures that are designed to help speed up the
transfer data so that the speed with which your computer moves data will not be
slowed down by the actual reading and writing of data to and from storage: The ability of your computer to do things in real time depends on its ability to move data in
and out of storage. The latest advances in data transfer are Thunderbolt and USB 3
technology, and the Akitio Neutrino Thunder D3 has both. These technologies are
not required for those of us who use our Macs for email and surfing the internet but
for anyone doing demanding audio and video projects, and moving large files
quickly, data transfer speed can become a limiting factor for the computer.
As everyone knows, the problems with external storage is that there is never
enough, it clutters up your workspace, and is often unsightly. It used to be understood that nobody would ever need more than _______ megabytes of data storage
on a home computer. At various times the blank was filled in with what now seems to
be a ridiculously low number that reflected the nature of the programs and documents that people were likely to need to store on a personal system at that time. External hard drives used to be physically big and clunky, generating a lot of heat and
noise. Another problem was that various Mac motherboards were limited in the size
of the drives that could be accessed and the size factor made it necessary to have a
larger number of smaller drives. The Akitio Neutrino Thunder D3 is a small handsome unit that can hold up to two 2.5" SATA-I to SATA-III hard drives or solid state
drives (SSD), with a maximum capacity of 2 Terabytes per drive for a total of 4TB
on-board. Installing a drive is as simple as removing two set screws by hand, and
pulling the drive out. There is a very simple tray that the drives fits into.
This compact and easy to use device was built for speed and portability. The
dual interface with USB 3.0 guarantees compatibility with all systems. The product is available bundled with either hard drives or solid state drives (SSD’s) or
as an empty enclosure thereby allowing users to install the drives of their
choice. Removable trays allow for easy removal and replacement of drives
without the need for any tools. The drives are kept cool by the built-in fan.
Features
 Thunderbolt for lighting fast transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps
 Dual interfaces featuring Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connectivity
 Removable trays for drives up to 15mm in height
 Durable, compact and portable
 Built-in fan for active cooling
Achieve ultra fast transfer rates with either Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 SuperSpeed
but know that if necessary, you can always fall back to USB 2.0 for maximum
flexibility. Hassle-free and compact, the Neutrino Thunder D3 is the ideal companion for your notebook.
Cognition Episode 4: The Cain Killer
A Phoenix Online Studios Erica Reed Thriller
Cognition: The Cain Killer is the final episode in a four part adventure
game from Phoenix Online Studios. Although it can be enjoyed as a
stand alone game without having to play through the first three
episodes, I would not advise you to do this. This story is not really a
separate investigation. There are too many threads of the previous
episodes included. Some of the ideas would not make much sense
without the other chapters and the game would not flow as seamlessly. It is like reading the later book in a series. The author does try
to reintroduce the characters and the previous plots but your understanding is not as complete without having read the books in order.
The Cognition series is a third person point and click adventure game
that plays out like a TV detective drama. The difference is that you are
in control of the investigation. This episode is very much dialogue
driven, more so that the previous ones, with a lot of questions to be
asked and answered. As with all good mystery dramas, the lead detective has to interview all those who might be involved in the crime,
eliminating the suspects one at a time until the culprit is found. In this
game, you take the role of Erica Reed, a Boston FBI agent. As with
many TV dramas, there is a recurrent theme. The first crime which is
linked to her brother's death has remained unsolved. In this episode,
all questions are answered and the complete mystery is unveiled.
The episode starts with a cut screen recap of what has happened
in previous episodes. Once you are up to date, the game
switches to the night Scott, Erica’s brother, died, which is three
years in the past. Erica and her FBI partner John are waiting in a
police car outside a warehouse. Erica is about to go undercover
to obtain some information about a killer called Cain. This starting
sequence acts as a review of Erica’s special abilities. The correct
use of these so-called psionic abilities is crucial in completing the
game. After completing the undercover section, the game
switches to the present. Here Erica joins forces with Cordelia,
who has also lost a brother through a vicious murder. Cordelia
also has psionic abilities. Hers are a bit different from Erica’s and
it is through the use of both of their abilities the case is solved.
Playing the game is fairly straight forward. Erica (or Cordelia) walks to
whatever part of the screen you click on. If you double click, she runs
there. Many of the scenes are larger than what is visible. Once she
stops, the window centres on her and you can move further along, if
necessary. The cursor highlights key interactive areas. Mousing over
some items or locations causes a name to hover above that spot.
Pressing the space bar highlights all the hot spots at once. A picture
or table or charm may need to be investigated further. Clicking on that
site will bring up a ring with up to three choices on it. This is how you
interact with the game. The choices are numerous and range from an
eye which gives a quick explanation of what you are looking at, to a
suitcase which causes the hot item from your inventory to act on the
object.
As with all games of this type, you go from scene to scene, picking up
inventory items or using them, and talking to any individuals you meet
along the way. A list of suitable questions pops up when you dialogue.
Choose what to ask and proceed from there. The trickiest part of the
game play is the use of inventory items. Anything in the inventory can
be manipulated with three choices. There is an eye for getting the
name of the item. There is a plus sign which allows you to put two
items together. Finally, there is the hand icon that permits you to use
an item.
The main aspect of this game that sets it apart from other TV drama
games is the SciFi aspect that has been incorporated into Erica's
character. From the first episode, we discover that she has the ability
to see what has transpired in that area. This is called projection. The
bottom left of the screen calls up this ability. Your success in the game
relies on your use of this ability to get crucial evidence. You cannot
solve the case without it. As the first episode moved along, Erica
gained the use of two other psychic abilities, cognition and regression, which had lain dormant in her. Using these three sights is a nice
twist to the usual detective drama. I often got bogged down and was
unsure what to do next until I remembered to try these out on some of
the scenes. In the second episode, Erica learns how to tweak her
powers even more so that even Inventory items can now be used.
This new power is called synergy. In the third episode, Erica now has
the ability to look into another psion's mind. Erica is somehow connected to Cordelia; someone she met at the cemetery in the first
episode. We discover that Cordelia can see into the future while Erica
sees the past. The new power that Erica has in this episode is the
ability to switch into Cordelia's mind and see what she sees. Erica still
has all her old powers, but so does Cordelia. To solve this case, you
will have to take on the role of both psions. The blue psychic sphere
in the bottom left corner changes to an orange sphere when you are
Cordelia. You will need to figure out when to investigate as Erica and
when to switch over to Cordelia.
This episode also introduces a trust meter. Trust with another character either builds up or down with each answer that you choose from.
Building up the trust increases the likelihood that that character will
help you with the case. Losing trust does not stop you from succeeding. It just means that you have to follow a slightly different path. It is
the choice that you make with each contact that allows for some replay value. Even when you know the final outcome, it is always interesting to see what would happen with a different answer to a
question, or trying an alternate tact to get to the same point. A few
spots require extra careful decision making as some choices are fatal.
Fortunately, you do not have to start from the beginning. You can just
reenter the game and try another solution. I noticed that the game
cannot be saved in the middle of one of these strategic spots. Once
you start, you need to complete the mission before you can save.
This episode is played mainly at the family’s Lake House. There are a
few other scenes such as in a car or at the FBI offices, but these are
quite short and take little time to solve and move on. There is no need
to drive all over Boston. It is at the Lake House that all of your thinking
skills will come into play. The puzzles that need to be solved here will
challenge the best of detectives. There are not a lot of rooms to visit
but there are a lot of clues to piece together. I found this episode to be
the most dialogue driven of them all but I also found the puzzles the
most difficult. It really does play as a TV drama. The route to discovering the mystery is laid out in front of you but it is often difficult to figure
out the next step. Trial and error will eventually lead you to discover
what has happened.
The cell phone that Erica carries with her can be accessed from the
top left icon. The "Message Rose" button is the hint button. Pushing
this pulls up a list of possible tough spots. Sending an email to Rose
might direct you to the next proper action. These were very useful as I
often needed a small clue to proceed with.
I really like the non-linear feel to this game. Even though the actions
are somewhat dependant on each other, in that something has to be
done before another area is unlocked, it still plays out as though you
are making all the choices. You get to pick which character to play
next and which scene to visit. At some crucial times in the game, the
dialogue forces you to make a choice, like tell the truth or lie. The
choice you make does change the game somewhat. Different dialogue will appear dependant on that choice.
The end of the episode does provide all the answers and helps explain a lot of what has already transpired. This type of game has poor
replay value. You might try replaying the game and lying instead of
telling the truth in one spot, and that might change the final outcome,
such as who lives or dies. None of the main courses of action change
if you play it again. There is no score card listing the speed at which
you complete the game. There are no penalties for poor investigation.
I would also add another word of caution. This series does have a lot
of violence and quite a bit of r-rated language which would not be appropriate for younger children.
The Cain Killer sells for $9.99 from the Phoenix Online Studios site at,
http://store.postudios.com. They also have many package deals. For
instance, for $19.99 you get episodes 2-4. If you
are the kind of person that likes to solve the TV
mystery before the characters on the screen, then
Cognition is the game for you. There are hours of
fun detective work ahead of you in this strategy
game.
Submitted by Marcel Dufresne
Received in Email:
Looks Legit !!
Just a little reminder: SPAM is getting smarter and you can expect
SPAM messages to show up in your Inbox no matter what your
method of getting emails is and no matter how good your SPAM filters
are. Never give anyone any private information about yourself in an
email, not even your own bank or members of your own family. Emails
are not now, and really never were, either private or secure.
And while we are on the subject of email SPAM and the need to
keep private information private, remember that you can also receive bogus requests for information in the regular mail and over
the telephone. You must verify the credentials of anyone you don’t
know who contacts you, and don’t make the mistake of verifying by
using “contact information” supplied by the sourse of the contact. The
best advice is to be suspicious of everyone who contacts you and offers or asks you for anything. People who do not excercise enough
caution when dealing with strangers all too often get stung.
QXP10 and Mac OSX 10.8:
Start Dictation...
As I mentioned in last month’s DoubleClick,
QuarkXPress 10 has been unleashed but anyone wanting to use it must upgrade to Mac
OSX 10.7 or higher. In honour of QXP10, I
have started up my Mac OSX 10.8.5 (now
Mac OSX 10.9) partition and am learning to
get along with Mavericks. I also mentioned that the new
QXP 10 was written in Cocoa, and is therefore able to
leverage some of the previously inaccessible Mac OS
features. I’ll tell you about the first new feature that I have
found: the Start Dictation... command.
1
2
When you have any application open into which typing is
possible, hitting the right key combination will open up a
panel, above right (1), that asks for confirmation that you
wish to dictate rather than type into the text box. If you
click on the OK button, you will be asked to Enable
Dictation (2). When you click on the Enable Dictation
button the ability to accept speech to text is enabled.
3
Start Dictation... resides under the QXP10 Edit
menu and becomes effectively active whenever a
text box is selected. There is not an assigned standard keyboard shortcut for Start Dictation... as such, but it can be
set in Dictation & Speech Preferences to begin when the Function
key is hit twice or when either of the Command keys is hit twice. I
have my preferences set to accept input from the same C-media
USB microphone I use for Skype and Dragon Dictate(3).
Once the intention to use Dictation is enabled and confirmed a little microphone will appear in your document (4) and you can
speak a few sentences into it (about 25 seconds worth). Or you
can dictate for a shorter time and click on the “Done” button. A
recording of your speech will be sent to Apple where it will be rendered into an approximation of what you intended to say. After a
short pause, some text similar to what you actually said will appear
in your document. Check it carefully. Sometimes the speech to text
rendering is very accurate and sometimes not so much, but there
are ways to reduce the inaccuracies.
If you want to get really good at using Dictiation, and improve the
accuracy of the program, leave it on and use it every day with Text
Edit, or with your regular email program. Using a decent headset
will further improve accuracy.
Submitted by Michael Shaw
4
Me Books The Digital Bookshop for Children
One of the many pluses of an iPad is its ability to act as an
eBook reader. There are a lot of apps which allow you to
read the books. However, one feature that should not be
missed is the ability to animate books, especially children’s books. Again, there are many sources for this type
of app. I reviewed Lola and Lucy’s Big Adventure back in the Dec 2012 DoubleClick. This type of app is fun for the children but is static in that you can’t
add to what the developer has in place. Me Books offers a library of books into
which you can add your own audio effects.
When you first download the app from the iTunes store, you get Little Red Riding Hood. This illustrated volume resembles an old children’s novel reminiscent
of days gone by. The book was actually published in 1977 but the drawings
look like they could be much older. The book states that it has been graded as
a grade 2 reader. Each screen has the story on one side and the accompanying picture on the other. Tapping anywhere on the words activates the audio,
and the words are read to you. In this case, the reader has a distinctly British
accent. As with other books on an iPad, there are other active sites that can be
tapped. For Me Books, there are no animated spots. Every thing is audio. Tapping Granny gets Granny to say something. Tapping Red Riding Hood’s cape
makes her talk. Each subsequent page has numerous active sites.
This might sound a bit too simple for your tastes. After all, so many other books
add animations to keep your youngster interested and actively involved. Me
Books provides you with the means to add your own audio to any page on the
screen. This option creates the need for your child to have to do some thinking
and use their imagination. What should they say? Does it fit in with the story?
The other type of book is pre-programmed. There is no real thought involved
other then having to remember which spot to tap on the screen.
The app opens up with a board showing all of the books in your library. Tap a
book to open it up. Tap the top right rainbow coloured corner to call up the
book’s menu. Now the hot spots that have audio are shown. The four corners
are now active. The rainbow is still in the top right and tapping this closes this
menu page. The top left has an “X” which closes the book. The bottom right
has a “?” which brings up a smaller window describing how to add or remove
audio to your book. Adding audio requires you to trace a hot spot area, which
can be any shape. If it happens to overlap an area already active, then the first
hot spot will take precedence. Now that you have a hot spot, tap and hold
down on that area. The pink colour will change to red and you can start recording. Removing your finger terminates the recording. Now when you tap that
spot, you can hear your audio. If you don’t like the result, just tap and hold the
same spot again.
The new recording will erase the first. If you want to completely remove any hot
spot, double tap and swipe. If this is a bit confusing, there is a short video you
can watch to explain how Me Books work. The last corner, bottom left, is the
saving spot. You can save up to three versions of the same story.
The save screen has three choices: save, load, and original. The save
spot calls up three buttons where you can name and save the current
version. The load spot, calls up the saved copies and lets you pick the
one you want. The original button puts the story back to the first version. It doesn’t take long for young children to get accustomed to
adding their two cents to the story.
To get more books into your Me Books library, you will need to create
an online account with them. Tap the “SHOP” icon in the top right
main screen panel and you will be taken to the book store. As soon as
you create an account, you get a second book for free, “I Don’t Want
To Go To Bed”. This will download and appear on your main screen.
Me Books has over a hundred books to choose from. As well as having a search field, the library has choices of ‘Just In’, ‘Popular’, ‘Modern’, ‘Classic’, and ‘Offers’. The prices range from $1 - $3. Books are
bought via in-app purchase so payment is deducted right from your
iTunes account. Each week I get an email from them listing any special offers, price reductions, on selected books. (You can opt to cancel
this email at any time.) While there, you can have a look at the many
classic stories such as Beatrice Potter’s Peter Rabbit and so many
others.
Me Books lets young storytellers and
their families create personal editions
of some of the most popular picture
books. The stories are brought to life
with narration from well known voices
along with immersive sound effects.
With Me Books you can add narration,
from individual words to phrases to
help new readers dramatically re-tell a
story. I strongly suggest you get this
free app from the iTunes store or or
read about it from . Try out Little Red
Riding Hood with your young ones.
Get them to add their own voice to the
story. There is no cost to you and you
might find that this is a valuable addition to your iPad. My three year old
grandson had no trouble adding his
take on the story, adding “Cut that wolf
in half”, to the woodsman when he
sees the wolf in Grandma’s bed. Break
away from the pre-set animations and
have imaginative audio added to some
classic stories. By downloading the
app and registering, you get the two
books to play with, with no obligation to buy others. This is a can’t
lose situation that all parents and grandparents should take advantage of. Once you do, I would not be surprised if your Me Books’ library did increase in size.
Submitted by Marcel Dufresne