APPLE

Tim Cook announced on October 22nd that new changes are on the way—changes in software and changes in products. I’m going to go through them in the same order that Mr. Cook did, starting with the fact that five days after the launch of iOS 7, 200 million iPhones, Touches and iPads were using it. There could have been even more only Apple decided my iPod Touch 4 was too slow to make the grade. Many of the older devices like my iPhone 4 will run the system but not all of the features are supported. Yes, I am running it and it seems to run fine on that device. There is, however, a problem about using the virtual keyboard with documents and data (in iCloud). You need to disable this feature in your iCloud settings. If you do not do this, you will see a 5 to 10 second lag each time you press a key. I have not turned on iCloud so I have not had any problems with my keyboard on the iPhone 4.

NEW FEATURES

Apple has also added new features to Safari: enhanced notifications, tags in the Finder, and big changes to how multiple monitors are handled. New Maps and iBooks Apps so you can now burn your eyes out, staring at your computer screen, reading a book long into the night. New software to go with the new Mavericks like Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. You can upgrade your computer from any System using 10.6.8 or above for free providing it meets the hardware requirements. I will be coming back to Mavericks and talk about things as I use it a little more. So this will not be the last you will hear about it.

13-INCH RETINA MACBOOK PRO

The 13-inch MacBook Pro drops to 3.46 pounds, 0.71inches thin, with the new 4th-generation “Haswell“ dual-core i5 processor and Iris integrated graphics. At 2.4GHz, it’s 90% faster than previous generation and should run for nine hours on battery. That’s up from seven hours on the old model. It includes 4GB

of DRAM, 802.11ac wireless, PCIe-

based flash storage, 60% faster than previous generation, and Thunderbolt 2 ports. Pricing starts at $1299 for 128GB of SSD, down from $1499.

15-INCH RETINA MACBOOK PRO

The 15-inch MacBook Pro uses an Intel “Haswell” quad-core i7 at 2.0GHz with Iris Pro Graphics. An NIVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB memory is available as an option. The new machine features 2 USB ports, eight hours of battery life— up from seven hours, faster Wi-Fi, Thunderbolt 2, and PCIe-based flash storage. The 256GB version starts at $1999, down from $2199. All these

machines are currently shipping.

MAC PRO

Drum roll please! When the new Mac Pro is available there will be so many geek details, that I am not even going to make a paragraph of them. Straight from the Apple Store page:

$2999 gets you:

• 3.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor

• 12GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory

• Dual AMD FirePro D300 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM each

• 256GB PCIe-based flash storage

$3999 gets you:

• 3.5GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor

• 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory

• Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM each

• 256GB PCIe-based flash storage

What they are really trying to say is that this is really fast, yet small in physical size and very easy to move around. The big plus is the energy usage is quite good and it does not make very much noise. In quiet office areas this will be a great plus. The device will be assembled in USA. For those needing lots of computing power, it should fill that need very well. These machines will not ship until late December so you may want to budget for next year if you want one.

iWORK AND iLIFE

Now on to the other stuff that Apple covered. Again I’ll try and keep it brief. iWork and iLife are both getting makeovers (I think I said this once but we’ll go over it just to make sure I did not miss something). On both OS X and iOS there are brand new versions of iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, all integrated with iCloud. Here’s where I remind folks that if they buy a new iOS device, they can download these Apps for free. The applications in iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynote)

have been updated, but you should notice the interface looks different. If you buy any new computer they should be on it already. If you owned iWork ’09 you can download them after you update to Mavericks. If you download these, the old version will still be inside your iWork folder. I will warn you now, there will be some features that work differently than before. Already noted that you cannot edit a movie in iOS then open it in iMovie on your Mac. We have heard that some problems may be fixed in a future version of the program.

MAVERICKS

Next was the announcement of Mavericks (Mac OS X 10.9). It has so many new features! But first let us see if you are on the the fast track to upgrading. The list of Macs that will

install Mavericks is pretty much the same as those that are able to use OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, so we’re talking 64-bit Intel-based Macs.

Here’s the full list of Macs and OS X Mavericks compatibility:

• MacBook Pro—you’ll need to have either a 13-inch from mid-2009, 15-inch from mid/late 2007 or 17- inch from late 2007 or later.

• MacBook—13-inch from 2008 or 13-inch aluminum from early 2009 or later.

• iMac—it needs to be mid 2007 or newer.

• MacBook Air—it needs to be from 2008 or newer.

• Mac Mini—it needs to be early 2009 or newer.

• Mac Pro—it needs to be early 2008 or newer.

• Xserve—early 2009.

As you can see, this leaves many older Macs unable to upgrade including all the plastic-case MacBooks before 2008, pre-mid 2007 MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, iMacs and most notably the original MacBook Airs. In terms of graphics support this means anything with the ATI Radeon X1600 or an Intel GMA 950 or x3100 integrated graphics cards are dead in the water. Even the 2006 and 2007 versions of the Mac Pro won’t be able to install OS X 10.9, just as they couldn’t install OS X 10.8. So if you’re feeling left out, just think how left out those high-end machine users feel after investing $4K to $5K or even $10K and finding out their machine is now not supported. Now you’ve heard the bad news or good news depending on where your machine is on this list. Let’s talk about what Mavericks offers you. For portable owners, one of the improvements is longer battery life—from one hour to three or four according to tests with various machines doing different tasks. This is achieved with memory compression and how the CPU spends its time. Remember if you want more information on this you can watch the Apple Keynote at: www.apple.com/apple-events/ october-2013/

UPGRADING TO MAVERICKS

There do not appear to be any performance issues using Mavericks on my Mac Mini which is a Core 2 Duo 2.66Hz. There are some screen redraw problems on my 39" TV which I use as a monitor for that unit. Most things are chugging right along, including my two Drobo raid devices which hold my movies and music. As a warning I give everyone: backup your data with a clone and a Time Machine backup. Always start with a Disk FirstAid check to make sure your data and directories are in good shape before doing any major updates. Trying to downgrade back to where you were is a real pain in the bun. I’m lucky to have the Mini which is our media center for music and movies as well as a viewing device for internet video clips. So it’s not like I am risking my work computer. Things to check before you make this kind of upgrade: Is the software you use compatible with Mavericks? I have seen third party software cause big

headaches. Printer drivers could be an issue, make sure that your printer will work with the software. Make sure your Java is up-to-date if you use Adobe products as there is a problem launching them if Java is not correct and turned on. Older (round) Airports may no longer be configured on the newer systems.

iPADS

As Tim Cook would say, next up is the iPad. Right off the bat they are changing the name, the new iPad Air is 1 pound versus 1.4 pounds for the old device. At this time it is the lightest full-size tablet in the world and 43% thinner than the previous version. It has the Apple A7 chip from the iPhone 5s inside and the M7 motion coprocessor is included as well. Other features include the 5MP iSight camera, 1080p HD video, new FaceTime HD camera with larger pixels, improved backside illumination, dual microphones, and expanded LTE support. It is the first iOS device with MIMO (multiple input and output of data streams) so your wireless router that is rated “802.11.n” will give you more speed. The iPad Air began shipping on November 1. Same price as the old units WiFi only: 16GB $499, 32GB $599, 64GB $699; if you want cellular add $130 more to the prices.

Last but not least is the iPad Mini with faster A7 chip and Retina screen but that screen bumps the price from $329 for a 16GB to $399, again add in the $130 for cellular. The word from vendors is supplies are going to be very limited on these devices for several months so unless you’re lucky don’t count on one under the holiday tree.

OS/iOS

So all in all, the Macintosh OS is beginning to look more and more like the iOS. I expect to see some Apps cross the gap and be on both devices as time goes on. That, my friends, is why Apple as well as others want you hooked to the web with their software. The idea here is start a project and then work on it everywhere you are, on every machine you have access to. I think if you have a business that requires you to edit ongoing projects and documents with groups of people that is a great way to do it. However, I for one, do not want my every word to be on the web and in the cloud until I choose to put it there. When even the government wants to look at every thing we do, I want to make sure my thoughts are mine until I feel like sharing them. There is no safe place on the internet, given enough time all encryption can be broken. So I will do my files and backups the old fashioned way, with hard drives and safety deposit boxes.

SPRING MACCAMP 2014

MacCamp 58 is headed your way, it will be April 17th through 20th of 2014. That’s right—four days over the Easter weekend. It’s going to be a little different and a little smaller. We are not going to have classes; it is bring your own project and we’ll all share, help and have fun. The cost is $229 for all four days. We are only taking two of the four lodges so visiting and sharing will only be a short walk between Blueberry and Alder. So other than traveling down to the dining hall to eat you’re pretty much set. Many of us have talked about this kind of camp for years and we are excited about the possibility this kind of camp can offer. If you want to reserve your spot now, send a $50.00 non-refundable deposit to PMUG attention MacCamp 58. Spaces are limited to 24, so reserve today.