Thursday, March 18, 2010

P.U.D. Building, 9610 Sandridge Road

HARDWARE pick-up/return will be done by Jim Patterson

KEY pick-up/Meeting facilitation will be done by Jan Bono

7:00 p.m. SHARP! Call to order

Quick announcements concerning dues and membership

7:02 Minutes: Carolyn Argo, last month’s secretary volunteer, will read the minutes. We need a volunteer for this meeting to take notes tonight, type them up, and email them to Karl by Monday for posting on website.

7:07 Treasurer’s Report:

Richard will give the treasurer’s report. Dues were due in January, and are $12 per year.

7:10 Program I: Carolyn Argo demos “iWorks”

How does it work/any special bells and whistles/why does she use it?

7:30 Program II: Jan Bono demos “Word”

How does it work/any special bells and whistles/why does she use it?

7:50 Program III: John Sporseen demos “Keynote”

Like PowerPoint, only new, improved, and lots better!

8:20 Q&A or “Cheers and Jeers”

From any member, to the general membership

8:25 Announce next meeting date & tentative program

Karl will be presenting several topics in April, so that’s covered, but we always need suggestions and volunteers for future meetings!

8:30 Adjourn

BeachMUG Agenda
Thursday, Febraury 18, 2010
P.U.D. Building, 9610 Sandridge Road

HARDWARE pick-up/return will be done by Jim Patterson
KEY pick-up/Meeting facilitation will be done by Jan Bono

Please sign attendance sheet and pay dues prior to start of meeting! Thanks.

7:00 p.m. SHARP! Call to order

7:02 Minutes: Carolyn Argo, last month’s secretary volunteer, will read the minutes. We need a volunteer for this meeting to take notes tonight, type them up, and email them to Karl by Monday for posting on website.

7:10 Treasurer’s Report: Richard will give the treasurer’s report. If Richard is not present, Jansy will handle it. Dues were due in January, and are $12 per year. Ten members are now paid up through 2010. (You know who you are)

7:15 Program I: SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLAN

John Sporseen attended the PMUG (Portland) on February 8 and is eager to give us a report on 1) How their meetings are run, and 1) address the “rumors” from January’s MacWorld. I told John he could have 15-20 minutes, and “bumped” two of the four word processing demos previously scheduled for tonight.

7:35 Program II: Jim Patterson demos “Pages”

How does it work/any special bells and whistles/why does he use it?

7:55 Program III: Dean Mean demos “NeoOffice”

How does it work/any special bells and whistles/why does he use it?

8:15 Q&A or “Cheers and Jeers”

From any member, to the general membership

8:20 Announce next meeting date & tentative program

Need Suggestions/Volunteers for March 18 meeting!

8:30 Adjourn

BeachMUG Agenda

Thursday, January 21, 2010

P.U.D. Building, 9610 Sandridge Road

• 7:00 p.m. SHARP! Call to order.
  • Meeting agenda quickly reviewed. Announcements/reminders.
• 7:05 Minutes: No minutes taken from previous meeting.
  • Will need volunteer to take notes tonight, type them up, and email them to Karl by Monday for posting on website.
• 7:10 Treasurer’s Report: Richard.
  • Dues are now due in January, and are $12 per year. Those three who paid in October are paid up through 2010.
• 7:15 Program I:
  • DEMONSTRATION: How to set up our meeting hardware.
  • What’s included in a mini-Mac? Where do all those cords go? Other questions.
• 7:30 Program II:
  • WHERE ARE WE GOING, and HOW ARE WE GETTING THERE? Group Leadership. Getting the key, leading the meetings, secretarial pool, treasury, posting on website, storing hardware, BeachMUG library, keeping meetings on track, group needs, agenda template, etc.
• 7:50 Program III:
  • VERY IMPORTANT: Brainstorming for topics and presenters for future meetings. Come with lots of ideas! What do you want to learn? What do you have to share/teach? Consensus reached for next meeting topic(s), presenter(s).
• 8:15 Q&A or “Cheers and Jeers”:
  • From any member, to the general membership
• 8:25 Announce next meeting date, tentative program
• 8:30 Adjourn

Here are a list of some blogs and sites that you may find beneficial when looking for more information about whats going on in the world of Mac.

Mac.AppStorm – I discovered this site in mid-December.  Everyday this blog includes a review of an application(s) or tool(s) that can help with your Macintosh.  I have found their reviews to be quite accurate and helpful.

App Donkey – is repository of downloadable Mac Freeware.  I recently bought a demo 24″ iMac on ebay and I went to App Donkey and was able to find most of the Freeware that I always want to have on my computer (Text Wrangler, Onyx, Mind Node and others – reviews of Freeware will be another post.)

MacUpdate – a database of software updates for the Mac.  It includes Freeware, Shareware, Demos and updates.

MacWorld News – I’ve been going to this site ever since it was called maccentral.com  They have timely updates about new items important to the Mac community.

MacNN – One of the best sources for Macintosh News.  Often the same new as listed on MacWorld.

Mac Rumors – If you’re interested in information that may be true.  Apple doesn’t let much information slip out but this site does occasionally get a scoop on new products.

cNet News – Latest Apple news page.  cNet has been a respected news and review site within the technology arena for years.

If you need more…. check out the other Macintosh magazines like MacAddict, MacTech, MacLife.  I’m sure I’ve missed a number of sites as well but this should give everyone a good start.

There has been more talk, press and concern about viruses affecting Macintosh computers.  After some recent email’s I decided to take a look at some of the Anti-Virus options out there and some of the potential virus concerns for Macintosh users.

Many of you know the “standard names” of anti-virus software – Norton’s, McAfee, Sophos, and Intego’s Virus Barrier.  Many of you may have heard of ProtectMac or iAntiVirus.  For the geeker of you out there maybe even ClamXav.

Let’s dispel a few myths.

Macintosh computers are immune to viruses – actually most viruses will not run on the Macintosh OS but there have been a number of viruses. I have worked with or on Macintosh computers for over 14 years, including managing over 400 computer (250 Mac and 150+ in public school systems)  Over those years I have spent a great deal of time removing viruses, including Macro Viruses that can affect any computer running software that uses Macros (usually but not exclusively Microsoft Office apps).

Macintosh computers are immune to Spyware and Malware – once again, most spyware and malware will not run on the Macintosh OS there are Keyloggers are often installed by the owner of a computer or network to monitor use.  I have known colleagues that worked for defense level businesses that had keyloggers installed to track employees work (or to make sure they are working on what they should be).  Keyloggers and other monitoring software is available  for Macintosh and Windows computers alike.  That technology can be adapted to become the spyware/malware we see now.

Now for the important stuff – do we need an anti-virus or anti-spyware software and what’s the best to use.

Let’s start with the freeware versions.

ClamXav – is a free virus checker for the Mac OS X.  It includes a basic graphical interface that runs the long developed Clam AV.  Clam AV has been an open source Anti Virus solution that runs on Unix computers.  Clam AV has often been used on Mail Servers.  The drawback is that this app is a manual use app.  You need to open the app and tell it to run the scan, it does not do a run in the background and it will not actively run scans of your email or apps you have downloaded.  Still it is free and based on the lack of active viruses this may be a solution for you.

iAntiVirus – by PC Tools is another “free” anti-virus checker. iAntiVirus offers real time protection, virus quarantine, trojan horse, worm, spyware, adware protection.  But with the free version the only support is through the community forum.  The free version is available for home use.   For $29.95 you can use the app for commercial or business purposes, it also includes phone support and dedicated 24/7 support.  Unfortunately for those with older versions of the Mac OS – iAntiVirus only runs on 10.5 and 10.6.

Commercial versions.

ProtectMac – offers anti-virus and spyware protection.  Sporting a real time scanner, you can even scan files direct from the finder.  ProtectMac offers a 30 trial.  ProtectMac costs $44.99 initially and then $27.99 annually (each license only lasts for 1 year) but you can install this app on up to 3 computers per license. (following the concept of “family computers” similar to Apple and other companies)  I was not able to specifically find what operating systems it will run on but is does say it will run on Power PC’s so I would hazard to guess it will run on 10.4.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac – is a new option for Macintosh users.  Kaspersky has long been the pre-eminent Anti-Virus software for Windows. Only available for Intel-based Macintosh(min OS 10.4.11), Kaspersky Anti-Virus offers real time scanning of your email and downloads similar to the other full featured  solutions.  As is common practice with other Anti-Virus software Kaspersky also offers a 1 year license.

All of these solutions as well as the familiar commercial solutions not detailed here will scan for Mac or Windows viruses and spyware.

Recommendations.

It really depends on your comfort level, you computer use and your willingness to pay annual fees. While working in school districts I have used Norton’s and McAfee (although it was a number of years ago) and more recently Sophos.  I highly recommend Sophos for enterprise type installations, especially where both Macintosh and Windows OS’s are used.  I have had ClamXav installed on one of my home computers for years.  Honestly I do not often remember to run the scans.  I also recently downloaded the trial versions of ProtectMac and iAntiVirus.  I found very little difference between the two.  Admittedly they did not find any viruses so I have no experience with how they actually deal with viruses.

Based on my experiences, I am hesitant to purchase any software if I can find a free alternative.  For now I am happy with PC Tools free version of iAntiVirus.

For a look at reviews of some of these solutions by cnet click here.

Disclaimer: This opinions/reviews are entirely those of Karl Johnson and do not reflect the views of the BeachMUG organization.

We had been meeting at the Super 8 in Long Beach but we were having trouble scheduling the space around other guest activities.  So it was decided to try and find a place where we could have a consistent schedule.  Enter Jan Bono, after a number of missed messages, Jan finally was able to procure us a location and time.

Keep the Third Thursday of each month open.  Beginning on January 21st. we will be meeting from 7 – 8:30 pm at the PUD Building Meeting Room.  One stipulation that we need to observe is that ONLY the “instructional” mac mini be attached to their WiFi.  So by all means bring you laptops but please do not connect to the WiFi.

We are looking for topics for the January meeting.  If you have a question or idea for the topic please fill out the form below.

Topic Suggestions for next meeting

(*denotes required field)

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This question was submitted to through our questions page (or would have been had I previously fixed  the form).

When using snow leopard, how do you turn OFF spring loading? I have turned off the spring loaded folders in the preferences panel, but if I hover over a document, link or composed email too long — it goes there anyway — it SENDS the email, it OPENS the link or file — this is annoying! thanks

If anyone has the answer please leave it in the comments section or email me

Thanks.  Karl

Attendance at Meetings has been problematic lately.  With the Holidays and the departure of our venerable leader (John is relocating to the big city), we will be regrouping and moving forward in January.  Stay tuned for more news.  If you are willing to be part of our restructuring process please email Jan Bono.  She will be coordinating the meeting.

As with every volunteer organization, we need volunteers to share, plan, lead, attend, suggest.  The more participation we can get the less likely anyone is to get burnt out.  If you have any other questions please contact me (Karl)

Thank you,

Karl Johnson

NOTICE: DIFFERENT MEETING DAY
BeachMUG Agenda
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Long Beach Super-8

7:00 PM – Call to Order

Leadership Options – New Officers must to be elected

#1 do we want to disband

#2 do we want the same leadership situation as it is now

President
Vice-President
Secretary

#3 would a dual presidency (co-chair) be a viable option  that way if one had to miss a meeting, the other would be present to chair the meeting

#4 other options

7:45 – Topic for discussion for this meeting

The Wonderful World of Widgets

what are widgets
where are they located on your computer
what are they used for
how do you get rid of widgets you don’t want
how do you add new widgets and where do you find them

8:15 – Q & A

8:30 – Adjourn

The next meeting of BeachMUG is September 17th, 2009 at Long Beach Super 8 at 7 pm.

It is time for the election of officers and time for payment of dues.

Annual dues are $12.00