Ho, Ho, Ho, There Macintosh User!
If you are getting this email you have sometime been a client of mine — thank you for your past custom!
Have a Very Happy Christmas and a Productive New Year!
I am generally around this year, apart from the odd visit to the big city up north. Call if you need me.
1. Using an iMac As an External Monitor: The current iMacs which have a port which allow them be used as a monitor for a laptop like a MacBook Pro which also has the same port. You will need a male to male adaptor then you just plug it in and the iMac becomes a second screen for your laptop.
2. Open Source Video Conversion: If you have videos in odd formats and want to convert them then this page has the tools. http://www.ffmpegx.com/
3. Awesome Photo Fixing App: At only $10 this has to be worth it! Check the video on the website showing how simple it is to ‘fix’ your photos… http://www.macphun.com/snapheal
4. 3D Animated Screensavers: Better than the usual screensaver, these offerings are a coupla bucks each and look pretty good. There are lite versions to see if you like them. Dolphins are swimming around my screen, fantastic! http://www.3planesoft.com/mac/dolphins-3d/
5. Don’t Like iMovie?: Many people I see say that they don’t like iMovie since it changed from the original to the current version. There are alternatives without going to the complexity of Final Cut Pro. Adobe make Premiere Elements, worth considering if you are into movie making. Coming in at $80 with a try-first option that puts a watermark on your movies which disappears when you buy it — if you like it. http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere-elements.html
6. Typing on the iPad: If you prefer a more traditional feel for your typing fingers try TouchFire, a rubbery plastic keyboard that clips over the iPad when the typing keys appear… $50. http://www.touchfire.com/
7. A Completely Different Way of Using Your Mac: Well it would be a big change if you embraced it but looking at and into your Mac this way will suit some people, perhaps the more artistic amongst us. It’s called Raskin after an early Mac designer. Free trial and then $26 if you like it… http://raskinformac.com/
8. Shortage of Clipart?: You get 1,400 images to use in your documents from this company for $20. http://www.jumsoft.com/clipart/
9. Easy Envelopes: If you still send stuff by snail mail then you will love this freebie. Lets you address an envelope straight from the Address Book. http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/easyenvelopes/
10. My Annual Christmas Request — Look After Your Data: Backup, backup, backup. Although there are said to be only two types of people using computers — those who have lost data and those who will loose data — many of you are still not backing up. Hey, its Christmas, so buy a backup solution if you don’t do any other computer spending this season. If your hard drive dies your data usually dies with it, all those pictures that we don’t have in hard copy any more are important and irreplaceable. An external hard drive is only about $100, you plug it in and if you have Leopard 10.5, Snow Leopard 10.6 or Lion 10.7, the current operating system, then it begins backing up immediately and does it automatically from then on as long as you leave the backup drive plugged in. Essential.
11. My Annual Christmas Request — Look After Your Computer: Mains power in this area is awful. It surges and fluctuates regularly and even disappears completely. This plays havoc on the electronics of your sensitive computer. An Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) is the best thing you can buy your computer. It keeps the power even and has a battery so that if the mains cuts out the computer stays working and warns you that it is time to shut down. Costing about $150 – $200 depending on the model, it will serve you for years as they don’t really wear out. You plug a power board into the output and hang all your peripherals off it. Highly recommended.
12. A Reminder of My Rates: I charge $88 per hour including GST. No call-out fee or travel charge in the Byron Shire. Half-hour minimum. Telephone support costs the same in 15 minute increments.
Email support is still free! Please include plenty of detail in your email inquiries. Serving the Byron Shire Apple Macintosh community for over 9 years. Until next time, Have a relaxing break and may the coming year be good to you and yours, and of course to the Mighty Chelsea. We are rebuilding the team at present but a trophy, any trophy, would do nicely!
Tommi ;>)
Mr Macintosh
Tom Hain
PO Box 1040 Byron Bay NSW 2481
6685 5504
041 840 8869