You don’t want to miss the Apple User Group Reception on January 5 in
San Francisco. It’s a great way to kick off your Macworld Expo
experience! This premier user group event is open to leaders, members
and the public. Be sure to use the code below to register for only $10
(US), half off the public price.

Register today!
Password UG09

Check it out. http://tinyurl.com/66xvd6

This UGAB-sponsored discount is limited to the first 200 registrants.
_____________________________________________________________________

2] - Macworld 2009: Free Passes and Conference Discounts
……………………

Macworld Conference & Expo is once again extending special user group
pricing for the upcoming 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo, to be held
January 5-9 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

For a limited time, Apple User Group members can register for a free
Exhibit Hall pass or enjoy an even better value by taking 15 percent off
any of the Macworld conference packages with the user group code, found
on the UGAB Vendor Offers page.

October 15 - December 1
Free Exhibit Hall Pass or 15 percent off any of the conference packages.

Register today.
http://homepage.mac.com/ugab/offers/vendorcodes.htm
Need the passcode? Ask your User Group Ambassador.

(Visit the Macworld web site for conference details, rules and package
pricing: http://www.macworldexpo.com)

Stellar, a market leader in the field of data recovery since 1995,
proudly announces the new “Stellar Phoenix Macintosh 3″: quick, simple
and powerful data recovery software to recover your files, photos and
iPod content. This new version has an all new look, extensive help and
robust features, making data recovery faster, better and simpler than
ever before.

Stellar loves user groups and is offering a 25 percent discount to group
members on all of its licenses.

Learn about Stellar Phoenix Macintosh.
http://www.macintosh-data-recovery.com

Coupon Code:
SPMACUG2K8

Recover your data now:
http://www.macintosh-data-recovery.com/buy-now.php

This worldwide offer is valid through January 31, 2009.
_____________________________________________________________________

2] - CS Odessa ConceptDraw Office: 30 Percent Off
……………………

ConceptDraw Office is the comprehensive toolset aimed at helping
knowledge workers in businesses of any size to streamline daily work and
increase their competitive edge via an intelligent approach to
organization of information flow in business processes.

The exclusive user group price is $349.30 (US), a 30 percent savings
from the normal price of $499.00 (US). Call 877-441-1150 (extension 3)
and identify your Apple User Group to receive this discount.

Make planning easy (207MB trial download).
http://conceptdraw.cachefly.net/office/mac/ConceptDrawOffice.dmg

This offer is valid for members in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through
January 31, 2009.
_____________________________________________________________________

3] - The MUG Store: Great Prices, Great Incentives
…………………

At the MUG store, you can check out specials, blowouts, new Macs and
special value Macs. Each category contains lists of products with prices
set exclusively for user group members. Plus, you get points for your
group every time one of your members buys!

New: no User ID or password needed!

Shop the MUG Store.
http://www.applemugstore.com.

This U.S. only offer is ongoing.
____________________________________________________________________

4] - That’s Easy: Get the Apple User Group Market
    & Apple User Group Offers From One Site
……………………

Looking for information on a past offer? The Apple User Group Advisory
Board publishes a single page with all current offers, expiration dates
and codes. Watch for intermittent special offers.

Password through November 15, 2008:
market

Password after November 15, 2008:
offers

Like many other Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) users, I use Time Machine for backing up data. As good as Time Machine is, however, it is not perfect and probably should not be the only backup option you use. In this article, I describe some of the strengths and weaknesses of Time Machine and offer suggestions for other backup options that can be used to supplement Time Machine.

Strengths of Time Machine
Time Machine’s greatest strength is probably its automatic functioning. Once you’ve set up Time Machine, you can forget about it because Time Machine will automatically back up your files every hour. It works quietly in the background so you don’t need to stop working on your computer while Time Machine is backing up your files.

Another advantage of Time Machine is that backups are cumulative and incremental. Once an initial backup is completed, Time Machine will back up only new or changed files so subsequent backups are quicker and take up less storage space than the original backup. In addition, Time Machine will keep making incremental backups until you run out of disk space on the backup drive. In other words, your backup drive can contain several months worth of files before some files need to be deleted. This can be a particularly useful feature for certain backup tasks, such as saving archived files of business or financial data.

Time Machine’s restore feature for individual files and folders is one of its greatest strengths. Time Machine lets you search for files by location and date or by using Spotlight. Once you’ve found the file you want, you only need to click a button to restore it.

A final positive aspect of Time Machine is that you can back up files from multiple drives or partitions to the same backup drive. This is an especially useful feature if you partition your drive or if you have several drives attached to your computer.

Weaknesses of Time Machine
Although Time Machine has some excellent features, it doesn’t let you create a bootable clone of your hard drive. If your drive dies or the system becomes corrupted, the process to restore your system with Time Machine can be long and complicated, especially compared to the ease of restoring with a cloning application, such as SuperDuper! If you’re backing up your entire drive with Time Machine, to restore the system, you have to boot into the Mac OS X Install disk and wait while your entire system is restored. If your hard drive has died, you are without a working system until you replace the drive. In contrast, with a cloned drive, you can boot into the backup drive and start working with it immediately.

Another downside of Time Machine is that the initial setup for Time Machine can be confusing and time-consuming. Instead of selecting files to include in a backup, which would clearly be the most logical way to set up backup files, with Time Machine you have to select the files to exclude from a backup.

Another weakness of Time Machine is that, over time, your backup files can consume huge amounts of storage space so you will probably need a large drive for your Time Machine backups. With the difficult financial problems many people are facing today, the cost of purchasing a large extra hard drive just for Time Machine can put a strain on an already limited budget.

A final weakness of Time Machine is that you can’t back up files to CDs or DVDs. Since it’s always a good idea to have off-site backups of critical data, it would be good if this feature were built into Time Machine.

Programs to Supplement Time Machine
There are several excellent free or low-cost backup programs you can download, as well as some Apple programs you might already own, to add backup features missing in Time Machine.

The first type of backup application you should have in addition to Time Machine is a cloning program. This type of program will let you create an exact copy of your main drive and, in an emergency, you can immediately boot into the clone and start working with it. Two excellent cloning programs are Carbon Copy Cloner (www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html) and SuperDuper! (www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper). CCC is donationware and you can view some tutorials for using it on my Leopard Tips website (homepage.mac.com/cjrtools/mac-leopard-tips/leopard-tutorials/leopard-video-tutorials.html). SuperDuper! is free for basic cloning, but for more advanced features, such as incremental cloning, you need to pay a small shareware fee ($27.95).

If you are a MobileMe subscriber, Apple has provided you with Backup, an application that lets you back up files to your iDisk, a hard drive or CDs or DVDs. With Backup, you can create custom, scheduled backups so, as with Time Machine, the backups can occur while you’re working on other tasks.

If you use iTunes and iPhoto, those applications have built-in backup features that let you easily save your valuable music and photo collections to CDs or DVDs. A free alternative to iPhoto, Kodak EasyShare (www.kodak.com), comes with a built-in backup update feature that lets you know when you should back up your photo library to a CD or DVD.

Conclusion
Time Machine is an excellent, unique backup option, but it is missing features that can be easily supplemented with free Apple and third-party alternatives. So, even if you use Time Machine, you should consider adding a cloning program and applications for saving valuable data to CDs or DVDs.

Claire J Rottenberg is the author of Easy Guides to Mac OS X software (Safari, Mail, System Preferences, TextEdit) and Course Books on Mac OS X 10.5, iPhoto ‘08, iTunes, and Mac OS X 10.4. More information on her books is available on the CJRTOOLS ebooks website (www.cjrtools.com/ebooks). Members of Apple user groups can receive a 25% discount on all purchases from CJRTOOLS ebooks, more information on the offer can be found on the Apple User Group Offers web page (homepage.mac.com/ugab/offers.html).

We’ll have our normal lot of yummies to eat, door prizes and auction items. In addition, Ambrosia will be bringing software goodies for AAUG members in attendance. Don’t miss this one!

1] - iBank 3 and iBiz 3: 20 Percent Off
………………..

IGG Software is a small, Mac-only developer in Vermont. Their flagship
products are iBank 3, a Leopard-only alternative to Quicken that’s a
great way to track bank accounts, credit cards, investments and loans;
and iBiz 3, a cool tool for freelancers and others to manage clients,
projects, hours and invoicing.

Apple user group members receive a 20 percent discount on iBank 3,
regularly $60 (US) and iBiz 3, regularly $50 (US); downloadable, free
trial available, money-back guarantee.

Discount code: MUGOFF20

Download today.
http://www.iggsoftware.com

This worldwide offer is extended through October 31, 2008.

2] - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Graphics Card: 30 Percent Discount
…………………

The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT For Mac is designed to tackle everything your
gaming, graphic designing, art-directing, illustrating, web browsing,
photographing, video-producing HD-video-watching self can throw at it.
With 112 processing cores and two DVI ports capable of driving two
30-inch displays at full resolution (2560×1600), you can run today’s and
tomorrow’s most demanding visual computing applications.

You can purchase a GeForce 8800 GT for the first generation Mac Pro
(Pre-2008) for $199 (US), a 30 percent discount from the regular price
of $279 (US).

Promo code: geforce4mac

Visit NVIDIA.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8800gt_for_mac.html

This US only offer is valid through October 31, 2008.
___________________________________________________________________

3] - Book Darts: 40 Percent Discount
…………………

Book Darts, a clip-on archival passage/line page marker, marks your
exact lines, locates them fast AND never hurts the book. Get free
samples by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to 3945 Willow
Flat, Hood River, Oregon 97031.

Book Darts retail for $9.95 (US), but this special user group offer is
only $5.95 (US), 40 percent off. Domestic mailing is $3.00 (US) for any
number of Book Darts. To compute your discount, enter the discount code
in the comments box.

Discount code: Mac user group

Get more information.
http://www.bookdarts.com

This worldwide offer is valid through October 31, 2008.
____________________________________________________________________

4] - OfficeTime: 30 Percent Off
………………..

OfficeTime is a Mac time-tracking tool that can sync up with iCal for a
visual display of your day. You shouldn’t have to think about how to
track your time. OfficeTime feels intuitive and comfortable as it adapts
to your style. With no learning curve, you’ll be an expert user almost
immediately. It is simply the best way to track your time.

Normally $47.00 (US), user group members can get 30 percent off by
purchasing OfficeTime at the special user group price of $33.90 (US).

Promo code: INSANELYGREAT

Start your time tracking.
http://www.officetime.net/

This worldwide offer is valid through October 31, 2008.
____________________________________________________________________

5] - Delicious Library at 25 Percent Off
………………..

Delicious Library 2 is redefining your home library collection. While
integrating seamlessly with .Mac, iTunes, Address Book and iCal,
Delicious Library 2 categorizes, sorts and tracks all your media, tools,
gadgets and toys. So if you ever need it, you’ll have a comprehensive
list of all your things, including both retail price and current value.

Regularly $40.00 (US), mug members can buy Delicious Library at the
special user group price of $20.00 (US).

Download and purchase.
http://www.delicious-monster.com

(Install and launch, click “Buy License” and then “Upgrade.” Open the
“You Currently Own” menu and select “Apple User Groups Special Offer
Code.” enter DMS-SO-AUG- plus your user group’s abbreviation in
“Registration Code” field.)

This worldwide offer is valid through October 31, 2008.
____________________________________________________________________

6] - The MUG Store: Your Private Haven for Cool Apple Stuff
………………..

At the MUG store, you can check out specials, blowouts, new Macs and
special value Macs. Each one of them contains lists of products with
prices set exclusively for your users. Plus you get points for your
group every time one of your members buys!

User ID: user
password: group

Shop the MUG Store.

http://www.applemugstore.com.

This US only offer is valid through August 31, 2008.
____________________________________________________________________

To: <akappleug@mac.com>

Date: July 21, 2008 05:12:42 PM AKDT

Subject: MUG Discount

Hello,

We are a new Mac software company (EdgeRift), and wanted to offer everyone in 

your Macintosh users group a discount on our software. For a limited

time, everyone in your group can receive a 20% discount off of our latest

application, RiftVault. RiftVault is an application that securely stores passwords

and other personal information. You can find out more at

http://www.edgerift.com/

The coupon code for your group is: 

MUG57187

This coupon code is valid until 9/20/08.

And a little bird told me that there will be plenty of freebies for attendees, so mark your calendar! That’s October 8, 2008 at 7:00 PM.

iPhone: The Missing Manual,
Second Edition
By David Pogue
July 22, 2008 (est. for PDF)
August 1, 2008 (est. EPUB and Mobipocket)
August 15, 2008 (est. for Print)
Pages: 400
ISBN 13: 9780596521677
Print Book + Electronic formats: $32.49
Electronic includes EPUB, PDF, and Kindle-compatible Mobipocket formats.

(user group discount is not available with the Print Book + Electronic
formats bundle.)

<http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596521677/?CMP=EMC-newpr0d&ATT=9780596521677title>

These first applications range from serious programs for doctors and pilots to silly parlor tricks that take advantage of the iPhone’s motion sensors. One, called PhoneSaber, merely displays an image of a Star Wars-like light saber and makes varying light saber noises as you wave the phone in the air.

Here are ten apps I think you might enjoy checking out, in no particular order. These aren’t meant as full reviews, just pointers to interesting items. There may be ten others, or 200 others, you think worthier of attention. Feel free to add comments with your own suggestions.

1. AIM. Finally, a native iPhone program for accessing one of the world’s most widely used instant-messaging networks. It lacks some of the more rarified features of the PC or Mac versions, but does the basic text-chat thing quite well. One downside: because Apple isn’t allowing third-party programs to run constantly in the background, you can’t receive new messages in AIM while doing other things. This will supposedly be remedied by new Apple server technology due later this year.
2. MotionX-Poker. This is a simple poker game played with dice instead of cards. But it can be mesmerizing, because it makes full use of the iPhone’s graphics engine and motion sensors. You play each hand by shaking the phone to roll gorgeously rendered 3D dice, which even sound like dice. The $5 game comes from Fullpower, a company developing many motion-based programs that was founded by software industry pioneer Philippe Kahn.
3. TruPhone. This is an Internet phone-calling program that works over the iPhone’s Wi-Fi radio, potentially saving you big money over using the device’s regular cell phone capability, especially when calling internationally. Biggest downside in my initial tests: it sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.
4. FileMagnet. One of the frustrating things about the iPhone is that it has no easy way for users to transfer files from their computers and store them on the phone, even though it is capable of viewing many types of files. FileMagnet, which costs $5, places a small program on your computer, and then wirelessly transfers any files you drag into it to the FileMagnet program on the phone. It works with Microsoft Word files, PDF files, images and more. Biggest downsides: it only works on Macs, but I’d bet a similar Windows program will come along soon.
5. SpeechCloud Voice Dialer. This free program allows you to dial anyone in your contact list by simply saying their name.
6. Movies. This is a free service that lets you find movies in your area, watch the trailers, buy tickets to them, and view a map to the theater.
7. Remote. This free program, written by Apple itself, allows you to control any copy of iTunes, on any Windows or Mac computer, over a local wireless network. It also works on Apple TV boxes.
8. Where. One of many new IPhone apps that attempt to provide information based on your location, Where, which is free, aggregates local content from services like Yelp and Eventful, which also have their own iPhone apps.
9. Pandora. The new iPhone version of the wildly popular Pandora music-streaming program, is also free. It creates personalized radio stations based on artists you like.
10. MLB.com At Bat. This $5 program lets you track games in progress, which is no big deal. The big deal is that you can actually watch video clips of key plays before the games are over.

by Claire J Rottenberg

Now that Apple has released its fourth update to Mac OS X 10.5, I thought I’d share my early reactions to the update and some tips for successfully installing it. Apple’s information sheet on the update is slim on details. Except for mentioning a few bug fixes, mostly to iCal, the sheet states that the 10.5.4 update plugs some security leaks in the operating system. 

My Reactions to the Update

The first thing I did after updating was to repair disk permissions with Disk Utility. It is still a slow process, but repairing disk permissions did not initially result in any errors. However, after updating to QuickTime 7.5, the “cups” permission error returned, and, even after repairing permissions, it keeps returning, so, apparently, this bug has not been fixed.

 

After I repaired disk permissions, I checked a Mail bug that has been annoying me since switching to Mac OS X 10.5. Unfortunately, Apple has not fixed the “signature with hyperlink” bug that makes it complicated to create a Mail signature that contains a word with a hyperlink attached to it. If you create a signature that contains an email address or a recognizable URL, Mail automatically turns it into a hyperlink, but only in the sent message (i.e., it appears  as regular text in the Signatures preferences pane and in your composed message, but the receiver may see it as a hyperlink). You cannot, however, create a signature that contains a word with a hyperlink. For example, I cannot create a signature with “Mac ebooks” and add a link to my website to the two words. In other words, the “Add a link” command does not work with signatures. 

The only consistent improvement I noticed with 10.5.4 is that I can now sync my Desktop iDisk with my virtual iDisk without getting sync errors. Of course, it is possible that this is due to changes to the .Mac server and not due to the operating system update. Although physical iDisk syncing seems to be improved, syncing contacts and Mail accounts still does not seem to be working correctly. Syncing my calendars and Safari bookmarks worked as it should. I was given the option of merging the files on my computer and on my iDisk or selecting either one of the files as the correct one, but with Mail accounts and my Address Book contacts, my only option was to merge both files. Hopefully, syncing errors will be eradicated when Apple switches to MobileMe. 

In summary, I don’t see any significant improvements with Mac OS X 10.5.4, but I also don’t see any downsides to the update, so it’s probably worth updating for the security fixes. 

Tips for Updating

If the security fixes have convinced you to update, here are a few tips for having a successful update. 

1.  Use the combo update instead of the single update or the automatic Software Update option. The combo update is a huge file (561 MB), so this tip is not necessarily advisable if you only have a slow modem Internet connection and you can’t get someone to download the update for you. In that case, download the single update (88 MB) and install that one. For everyone else, I recommend downloading the combo update for two main reasons. First, most people who have experienced problems with Mac OS X updates have used either the single update or the Software Update option, so the combo update is the safest, most stable update to use. Second, if you ever need to reinstall Mac OS X 10.5 from your original Install disk, updating to the latest version will be much easier if you have a copy of the 10.5.4 combo update (i.e., you’ll only have to use one update file instead of three or four). After you download the update, be certain and copy it to a CD for safe keeping and future use. 

2.  Repair disk permissions with Disk Utility before and after installing the update.

3.  If your system has been sluggish, use Onyx to run the maintenance routines and clean out caches. Be certain, however, to use the correct version of Onyx - it comes in several versions, so download and use only the stable (not beta) Leopard version. You can skip this tip if your system is running well. 

4.  Clone your boot drive and test the cloned drive. This is probably the most important tip - if anything goes wrong with the update, you want to be sure that you can quickly revert back to a good, working clone of your drive. I recommend using SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner, and not Time Machine. If you’ve never created a clone, see my video tutorial for using Carbon Copy Cloner (http://homepage.mac.com/cjrtools/mac-leopard-tips/leopard-tutorials/ccc-cloning.html). 

5.  Remove unnecessary external devices, especially hard drives. 

6.  Remove any plug-ins you might have added to your system or to Mail or Safari. Also, remove login items that aren’t absolutely necessary.

7.  Install the update and take a break. Your computer will do a double restart after the installation is completed and the boot time will be significantly longer than usual. Be patient. 

8.  Once Mac OS X 10.5.4 is up and running, test your most important applications and use the update for a few days before cloning it to your backup drive. 

I hope you find these tips useful. If you find any improvements, or bugs, with Mac OS X 10.5.4 that you would like to share, please email me (cjrebooks@mac.com). Good luck with the update. 

Claire J Rottenberg is the author of Easy Guides to Mac OS X software (Safari, Mail, System Preferences, TextEdit) and Course Books on Mac OS X 10.5, iPhoto ’08, iTunes, and Mac OS X 10.4. More information on her books is available on the CJRTOOLS ebooks website (www.cjrtools.com/ebooks). 

Subject: Macs in peril working for the state

Hi Gary. It’s been a year or two since I was a member. Nonetheless, I hope

you and/or your group can help me (and others).

I work for the State of Alaska as a graphic designer (publications

specialist). I recently put in for a new Mac computer, my current one being

four years old. I was told the state is requiring justification letters (to

an anonymous committee) why I would need a Mac over a PC. Apparently, this

committee has only disapproved such letters, to date.

I am looking for compelling information why a graphic designer would need a

Mac over a PC. Aside from the learning curve - I’ve been using Macs for over

20 years - there are a few I have already, and am working on more.

Perhaps your group, or someone else, may have ideas/facts which I have

overlooked. I don’t know why the sudden change in state policy. I’ve been

working for the state for the past 12 years on a Mac, and basically being my

own network administrator. I’m a one-person art dept.

If I can’t convince them to let me work on a Mac, I will be working

elsewhere.

I appreciate any help you may be able to give me. Thanks so much!

Christine Tait

Graphic Designer

Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education

State of Alaska

(907) 269-7944

The June 2008 AAUG Membership Meeting will be held from 7:00-9:00 PM on June 11 at the Anchorage Museum. The planned agenda is:

Announcements
MacHaus update with Ben Schaafsma
A Year in the Brainy Heart of Silicon Valley with Peter Porco and Kathleen McCoy
Break
Apple Q&A: Focus on backup
HD Podcasting Alaska-style with Scott Slone
Auction, door prizes
Adjourn

Guy Okada will be running the Reviews checkout area and Theresa Geiger will be checking out items from the Lending Library. As always, if you’re interested in presenting something yourself, just drop a line to christofteberg@mac.com. It’s easy, fun, and helps pass around the knowledge!