News and Events

Apple announced on 29 January a voluntary recall of AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Australia and other specified countries. In very rare cases, affected Apple two-prong wall plug adapters may break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched. These wall plug adapters shipped with Mac® and certain iOS devices between 2003 and 2015 and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit. Apple is aware of 12 incidents worldwide.

The recall does not affect any other Apple AC wall plug adapters designed for other countries not specified in the published list, or any Apple USB power adapters.

Because customer safety is the company’s top priority, Apple is asking customers to stop using affected plug adapters. For details about how to exchange the affected adapters for new, redesigned ones, customers should visit:

www.apple.com/au/support/ac-wallplug-adapter/

An affected two-prong plug adapter has either four or five characters or no characters on the inside slot where it attaches to the main Apple power adapter. Visit the program website for more details on how to identify an affected adapter.

At our December 7 meeting, Greg Sclanders introduced us to the latest MacUpdate Software Bundle…  11 utility apps for the Mac, collectively valued at over USD$780, on special for a limited time for just USD$54.99 for the whole bundle (save 93%). The apps in this bundle are:

• TechTool Pro 8 – advanced Mac repair utility
• Alpha 2.0 – non-destructive image keying
• NetShade 6.3 – private browsing with anonymous proxies
• OfficeTime 1.7 – time and expense tracking
• Mellel 3.4 – word processor for long or technical documents
• Arq 4 – online backup
• Yummy FTP 1.1  – file transfers
• Hear 1.2 – improves audio quality system-wide
• Money 4.6 – personal accounting
• future.dj pro 1.1 – professional mixing for audio, video and karaoke
• RapidWeaver 6 – create template-based websites

Saturday 10 October. 8am–4.30pm

Downtime Eliminators, Kyle St, Arncliffe.
Click to enlarge.

END OF ERA SALE.
Everything must go!

Long time AMUG member Ray Graham’s Mac technician business Downtime Eliminators has been given an eviction notice to make way for the building’s demolition.

Come along, buy stuff for just a coin donation. Bring your unwanted Mac stuff to donate to the cause. Free nibblies and beverages.

What: Hard drives, pre-loved Macs, cables, printers, software, manuals and more. Download flyer (PDF 600K).

Where: Gate 8, KYLE STREET, ARNCLIFFE – see map.
RSVP to raymond@macright.com.au

Ron Lombardo (dec.).
Image: Twitter

We note with sadness the passing of long-term AMUG member Ron Lombardo on 5 December 2014.

Ron was an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and much-loved member of our Mac user group for many years, going back to the mid-1980s when he was President from 1985–1987, and served as magazine editor in 1990.

After an absence from active membership due to work committments, Ron returned to the club in 2009 and rejoined the committee the following year, holding the position of Vice-President in 2010 and 2011.

Since then, health permitting, Ron has been our resident “techxpert”, delivering a brief but informative and entertaining technology talk at monthly meetings.

At our October 2011 meeting, Ron reflected on the news of the death of Apple guru Steve Jobs and the immense response it generated worldwide. On that occasion, Ron shared with us his personal experience of meeting Apple founding engineers Steve Wozniak and Andy Hershfeld.

Ron contributed in many ways to our club and to technology generally. He modified and improved the functionality of our club member database, set up the club’s Twitter account, and was proud and excited to be a founding member of the startup group that launched the ‘Geepers’ location-based tracking app last year.

We will miss Ron among our Apple Users community and extend our prayers and sympathy to his family and colleagues.

Ken Driver

The Macworld/iWorld event ran from January 31 to February 2, 2013 at the Moscone Centre West, San Francisco. Organisers Macworld Events and other contributors have posted over 100 articles about their observations from the event.

Visit the official Media Coverage page at macworldiworld.com/media-coverage to catch up with developments and announcements from this year’s show. Some example titles …

• iWant more toys: The best iPhone accessories
• Best of Macworld/iWorld Show winners
• The best ‘stupid’ apps at Macworld/iWorld
• New app to ease pain of international data roaming
• Giving your iPhone the look, feel and functionality of a camera
• Best Macworld gadgets on the expo floor
• Ashton Kutcher describes playing Steve Jobs.

AMUG Members: Log in to see the latest discount offers from Apple User Group Resources including…

• 20% off Atomic Training Online Video Tutorials, with courses on over 150 software applications, including training on popular Apple®, Microsoft®, Adobe®, and Google™ products.
• Pay 20% less on Eltima Software multimedia products, including Flash Decompiler Trillix for Mac, Flash Optimizer for Mac and SWF & FLV Player for Mac.
• SlideShark iPad PowerPoint Viewer, a Free App plus Special Offer.
• 25% off AgileBits 1Password for Mac, plus 25% discount on new licenses for everything else in the AgileBits store.
• 25% off Softpress Freeway, to quickly and effortlessly lay out your website, embed images and content, then publish your work as standards-compliant HTML.
• 40% off books and 50% off ebooks from O’Reilly.
• 35% discount on purchases from Peachpit Press.

Special discount codes and web links are listed in the AUG Special Offers category in the members area.

Kevin McNeish—Apple iOS Author, Developer and Trainer, and President of Oak Leaf Enterprises Inc.—has released a very comprehensive ebook that is specifically designed to teach non-programmers how to create Apps for the iPhone and iPad.

Many books designed for beginning Apple developers assume way too much. In contrast, this book series assumes you know nothing about programming.

The first book in the series, titled “Diving In”, is FREE for TWO DAYS ONLY—Wed 10 and Thurs 11 October 2012.

It is 126 pages and weighs in at a hefty 427MB. Apart from the main subject matter, it is also a very helpful guide to understanding how to get the most out of reading ebooks.

All books in the series are applicable to the latest iOS technologies including the new iPhone 5 and iOS 6. They were created using iBooks Author and take full advantage of iBooks 2 features such as:

• Embedded HD videos in which the author takes you through the step-by-step instructions and exercises in the books
• Interactive diagrams
• High definition images
• Hyperlinked glossary

To read these books, you need an iPad (1, 2, or third generation) running iOS 5 or later, and the iBooks 2 App.

Where to get it:

• Download on iPad via the iTunes Bookstore.
• Or, download it from the author’s website and sync to your iPad via iTunes.

Follow the author on his blog or on Twitter.

Grand opening Saturday 30 June at 10:00 am.

Shop for and test-drive Apple products, ask questions, attend free workshops and more. The new Apple Store Broadway offers all the services you would expect, including One to One, Personal Setup and Genius Bar.

Be among the first 1,000 customers and take home a commemorative T-shirt (while stocks last, no purchase necessary).

Apple Store Broadway
Shop 305-307 Broadway Shopping Centre
Broadway NSW 2007
Phone: 02 8035 4000

Visit this page for a full list of Upcoming Store Events and Workshops.

Buying a new iPhone 4S from an Apple Retail Store? To find out what you need to know and what to bring, visit: www.apple.com/au/retail/iphone/

Get the Apple Store app. – the best way to research, personalize, and buy products from Apple, with Express Checkout. Make reservations from your iPhone or iPod touch when you’re on the go.

TidBITS Take Control Ebooks author and iCloud expert Joe Kissell conducted a first for TidBITS on the weekend – a live TidBITS Presents webinar that discussed in detail the implications of Apple’s planned demise of MobileMe services on 30 June. Anchored by TidBITS publisher Adam C Engst, the webinar was a technical breakthrough that utilised Google+ Hangouts to do the webcast, taking real-time questions from participants via Google+ and Twitter, all the while recording the whole 90-minute session on YouTube.

You can replay the YouTube video here.

Congratulations to Joe, Adam and the team behind the scenes for an informative and comprehensive coverage of everything you wanted to ask about the loss of MobileMe forever, and what the transition to iCloud will mean to you.

That said, iCloud is based on personal syncing of your data, images and music between your own devices, but so far I have not seen anything in iCloud that is relevant for GROUPS such as our Mac user group.

AMUG members whose fees are due for renewal as of 1 July should receive a Renewal Letter in the post in the next couple of days. Fees are $48 pa (no GST applies). Members have the security and convenience of paying their subscription ONLINE via PayPal, using a credit card or funds in their PayPal account. Alternatively, members can bring the letter with their payment to our July 2 meeting; or, download our PDF Application Form and post it with a cheque to the address on the form.

The annual membership fee helps to cover the ongoing cost of Public Liability Insurance that the club is obliged to pay. It also helps to keep the club solvent and allows us to continue to provide services and benefits for members.