Who are you and what do you do?

Posted on June 15, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

At The Sweet Setup:

Every week we try to post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.

Today’s victim, er, interviewee:

I’m Mark, and I co-own a software company. The primary software product I work on is a PHP-based content management system that schedules release of photos / videos, as well as convert between several different formats. For example, if a client uploads a 1080p WMV source file, the system will create several different MP4 and HLS variants, ranging from 144p to 1080p.

In my free time, I’ve been getting familiarized with Swift when I’m not playing Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.

My friend Richard and I have a podcast called Aliens Land Here, which we plan on getting back to shortly. We like talking tech, programming, Apple, and cars when we get around to it.

You can catch Mark’s complete story here: Mark El-Wakil’s Mac and iOS setup.

“Back issues” can be found here: Sweet Setup Interviews.

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Reminder: Mac Class at Di-No

Posted on June 15, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Tomorrow, at 2:00p, is the Mac Work class, subject TBA, at Di-No Computers.

Di-No Computers
2817 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA  91107
(626) 795-6674

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June 15th General Meeting

Posted on June 14, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

 

Join us on Monday, June 15, for the next meeting of the San Gabriel Valley Apple Users Group. The meeting will include our usual presentations covering Apps and Traps; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math apps for iOS and OS X (appleSTEMs); and a Q&A session to address any of your questions about your Apple devices.

This will be followed up with a report from Warren James about the Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) that started Monday, June 8. This conference is where Apple gives their developer community the latest updates on the software and devices that they’ll be using to bring you cutting-edge apps and software over the next year. Warren’s report will give you a “hot off the press” look at what’s coming your way this year from Apple.

Also included in this week’s meeting will be a report from Andrew Zima discussing the new computers and other hardware that Apple has recently announced, has been quietly releasing over the last few weeks, and that the rumor mill has been speculating on.

And, as always, there’s the meeting after the meeting, where we join up for some late-night food, drink, and conversation about anything and everything that interests us.

Everyone is welcome.

Our rewarding Monthly Prize Drawing includes MYBAT iPhone 5/5S Case, Gear head Dual Cool II Notebook Cooling Pad, Innergie Duo USB Charging Kit, and Quirky Power Curl For MBP 15″ and 17″. Don’t forget: members receive one free ticket for our drawing. Bring a guest and get another free ticket! Support our group and increase your chances of winning some goodies – drawing tickets are $1.00 each or six for $5.00. The odds are great that you can be a winner!

The meeting will be held in the Donald Wright Auditorium, at the Pasadena Public Library Main Branch at 7:00 p.m. Following the general meeting, we have our informal Meeting after the Meeting at Coco’s Restaurant, 77 N. Lake Ave. (between Union St. and Colorado Blvd., at the southwest corner of Union and Lake).

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Reminder: iPad Class at Di-No

Posted on June 14, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Tomorrow, at 2:00p, is the iPad Basics class, focusing on Mail, Contacts, and Calendar, at Di-No Computers.

Di-No Computers
2817 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA  91107
(626) 795-6674

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Who are you and what do you do?

Posted on June 8, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

At The Sweet Setup:

Every week we try to post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.

Today’s victim, er, interviewee:

I spend my life trying to figure out how the world works, both as a senior research leader at RAND Europe and as the father of two small boys. I’m based in Cambridge UK and my job is to help improve policy-making using research, which at the broadest level helps improve how society works. I specialise in medical research: how best to organise it, and how to estimate what benefits society can expect from it. I co-direct the Policy Research In Science and Medicine unit, and I’ve also done bits of research on electric cars and mapping organised crime. My research is available free from the RAND website. My more digestible thoughts are on Twitter.

My New Year’s resolution was to write about taking a researcher’s approach to life in general at ThinkingItThrough. It’s June and there are two posts. I’m counting that as success.

You can catch Steven’s complete story here: Steven Wooding’s Mac and iOS setup.

“Back issues” can be found here: Sweet Setup Interviews.

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Reminder: Mac Class at Di-No

Posted on June 8, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Tomorrow, at 2:00p, is the Navigating the Interface class, at Di-No Computers.

Di-No Computers
2817 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA  91107
(626) 795-6674

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There’s an App for That

Posted on June 7, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

What kind of bird is that, mom? (she goes to grab the Audubon book and the bird flies away)

I saw a bird the other day… it was medium-size (I think), dark grey (what I think of as grey on a bird, mom sees as tan-ish), and speckles on the wings (which were actually splorps on the window from the dog’s having tried to dig under the fence)…

Truth be told, my mom is fantastic when it comes to identifying birds. I, OTOH, as you might have guessed, stink, which is why my attention was immediately grabbed by the following headline this morning:

New bird identification app perfect for avian watchers and lovers

Jeff Riley continues (on Daily Times Gazette):

Researchers from Cornell University developed a program that helps birdwatchers determine the species of birds they encounter from submitted photographs.

The Merlin Bird Identification app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in partnership with Visipedia research project, aims to help avian enthusiasts identify birds they see quickly.

According to its website, “Merlin is designed to be a birding coach for beginning and intermediate bird watchers.” It asks the users where and when the bird was seen, what it looks like, and what the bird is doing.

I was more than convinced by the end of the article and the app is downloading even as we speak. Click on the headline link above and check it out!

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10 awesome iPhone apps

Posted on June 3, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Zach Epstein, over on BGR, has a bad habit of posting lists of cool iPhone/iPad(/iPod Touch) apps that are temporarily free.

Here’s the fine print:

These are paid iPhone and iPad apps that have been made available for free for a limited time by their developers. There is no way to tell how long they will be free. These sales could end an hour from now or a week from now – obviously, the only thing we can guarantee is that they were free at the time this post was written. If you click on a link and see a price listed next to an app instead of the word “get”, it is no longer free. The sale has ended. If you download the app, you will be charged.

Here’s the link to today’s apps:

10 awesome paid iPhone apps on sale for free for a limited time

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Had You Heard?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Dan Goodin posted a rather scary article on Ars Technica, just in time to ruin lunch!

New exploit leaves most Macs vulnerable to permanent backdooring starts:

Macs older than a year are vulnerable to exploits that remotely overwrite the firmware that boots up the machine, a feat that allows attackers to control vulnerable devices from the very first instruction.

The attack, according to a blog post published Friday by well-known OS X security researcher Pedro Vilaca, affects Macs shipped prior to the middle of 2014 that are allowed to go into sleep mode.…

Gack!! We’re all gonna die, right? Well, eventually, but not over this exploit. Apple will come out with a fix (won’t they?), but until then, it’s quite simple: don’t let your Mac go to sleep. And here’s how to make sure that happens, even if you leave your Mac on for long periods of time. Continue reading →

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8 awesome iPhone apps

Posted on June 1, 2015 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Zach Epstein, over on BGR, has a bad habit of posting lists of cool iPhone/iPad(/iPod Touch) apps that are temporarily free.

Here’s the fine print:

These are paid iPhone and iPad apps that have been made available for free for a limited time by their developers. There is no way to tell how long they will be free. These sales could end an hour from now or a week from now – obviously, the only thing we can guarantee is that they were free at the time this post was written. If you click on a link and see a price listed next to an app instead of the word “get”, it is no longer free. The sale has ended. If you download the app, you will be charged.

Here’s the link to today’s apps:

8 awesome paid iPhone and iPad apps that are free for a limited time

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