Articles and Information
MacKeeper
( a computer program from Zeobit that keeps your Mac healthy)
First let me apologize to everyone for being unable to connect my Mac up to the Computer Projector at the April meeting. We have many converters but its seems that each new Mac has a different video outlet. Even iMacs that are Black on the back have a different video output from the ones that are Silver on the back. We now have the correct video converter but somewhat late.
MacKeeper sounded good to me in all the reviews that I read prior to purchasing it. I made the move, downloaded the file, installed it and it immediately showed that I had problems in several areas. You have to be on line in order to use the program. I thought that I had a trial version but when I asked MacKeeper to fix the problems that it found I was told that first I had to set up an account with Zeobit. I clicked the proper box and was taken to a web page that looked exactly like the CheckOut page on a multitude of on line retailers. I found that I could use MacKeeper on one computer for a license for $39.00 a year and on two computers for $58.00. I keep a Mac in both Florida and Georgia so I opted for the 2 computer price. Strangely, however, a recent trip to Zeobit and it said that I had a Lifetime License. I guess I will find out if this is true next February when my one year permit is up.
Immediately upon setting up the account MacKeeper began to fix a multitude of problems that it found.
The screenshot below show a recent scan for problems.
Notice the three major lines in the scan - the program first looked for viruses, worms, Trojan Horses etc. The Second line shows Junk Files (Temporary files not deleted, partial files etc.) and the Third Line shows problem with the Optimization of your System. Each line has a bar to indicate the seriousness of the existing problem. Clicking the button FIX ISSUES will cause MacKeeper to remove all the problems. Occasionally it takes two times to reach Zero Issues. Once this is done your screen will appear as below. This will be quite rapid if you have DSL or some other fast connection, but if you have dial up, as I have up in Georgia, it will take several minutes.
Notice also, that Under Cleaning, on the left sidebar, there are several numbers shown. These are all partial, temporary and junk files. When MacKeeper has finished you should find that you have regained quite a bit of disk space. On my first run of MacKeeper I got back over 20 Gigabytes of space. This was with my Leopard iMac in Florida - in Georgia on my Snow Leopard iMac I regained only about 5 megabytes. I suspect the reason for the smaller results in Georgia is that I have dial up there and don't spend much time on the Internet, whereas in Florida, with DSL, I am connected the Web often.
Reading down the left sidebar you will see other items that MacKeeper can do for you, Virus Protection, Anti Theft, Data Encryption, File Undelete, Complete File removal, Backup, Find Files, Duplicate File finder, Disk Usage, UnInstallers, and Optimization. Lastly on that column you may contact ZeoBit (MacKeeper's producer) either by eMail or by Live Support (See button on bottom right). All of these are easily used and have very complete instructions after you click your choice of tasks. MacKeeper is capable of doing 13 different tasks in addition to the very important one of keeping problems removed from your Mac.
Below is a screen shot taken when MacKeeper has cleaned up your Mac (sidebar not shown since it is simply a repeat of the above with the junk file numbers removed).
At the April meeting I stated that I had not yet made up my mind as to whether or not MacKeeper was a good value at $39.00 for a one year license. After using it for four and a half months I am now convinced that it is worth the price. —John Sanford Prickett
Organize your iPhone, iPad
by Charles Onufer
Whether you are a new Apple user or a seasoned one, having some organization to your files is very helpful.
Let's begin with the files that you accumulate on an iPad or iPhone. As you download apps, they appear in one page window after another and before you know it, you could have three, four, or five pages filled with apps. Each time you want to use an app, you have to search through all the pages. There is one way to find an app by going to the first page and clicking on the home button (center bottom) and the search page appears. Key in the name of the app you want, and the name and associated icon will appear on the screen.
However, there's another approach you want to consider. Think of apps as belonging to categories, like Apple Information, Automobiles, Books, Entertainment and Finance. As you download a new app, think which category name is most appropriate for apps that are similar and create a folder with that name. To create a folder, hold your finger over an app until it begins to shake. Then move one app over another app that would be in the same category.
This process creates a folder and Apple offers a suggested name to the folder. You can change the name to whatever name you want. To create a folder, there must be a minimum of two apps. You cannot create a folder with only one app. On the iPhone you can place 12 apps in each folder and on the iPad 20 apps can be accommodated.
One additional folder to create can be labeled Wallet. This can be particularly helpful on your iPhone. Put apps in this folder that you might use as you do your daily routines.
Instead of trying to remember where you placed these apps, since you use them frequently, put them in your Wallet folder.
The Ft. Myers News Press Article
by our Club President, Brenda Hess
"What is an Apple computer club? Answer: It's a MUG.
No, its not a large coffee cup. It's a group of people who own Apple computers, iPads and iPhones who get together to talk about computer topics and help each other with problems as well as questions.
We also invite speakers to teach new programs and go over updates.
It could just be called an Apple computer club, but Apple designated them MUGS: Macintosh User Groups.
An official User Group is registered and..." (more)
Book Review
iPod & iTunes -THE MISSING MANUAL Third Edition
It’s rare for me to read a self help book cover to cover. I usually skip around reading the chapters that have the greatest interest for me. But, iPods were a subject that I knew very little, so I decided to read the whole book which wasn’t a chore because it read as smoothly and quickly as a novel.
After the initial chapters learning; what, how and why , I discovered the iPod was much more than a music player. In reality, the book explains how to use the iPod as a Palm Pilot ( calendar, address book, alarm clock etc.,), as a Game Boy (some even included), as a hard drive ( use it to carry large files around) and a few other clever touches like recording messages on the go for later processing etc.
This book could be called another “ Book for Dummies” because it is written in “very easy to understand” english. Technical words are explained right away. This book further advanced my knowledge of iTunes, which I realized I’d only scratched the surface. Things like Podcasts, Audiobooks and most importantly, how to handle my songs into lists etc.
This book, published by O’Reilly, will be an important research book in my Library because like most of the missing manual series the chapters and sub titles are very organized. It’s easy to find the subject of interest. The index is very inclusive also.
-Brenda
VIDEO SWACKS 25th Birthday Celebration covered by WINK:
