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With an estimated share of over 17% of the laptop market, and rapidly gaining market share in its desktops and internet appliances, Apple has now reached a critical mass in both personal and corporate usage. In addition to superlative design, more and better software is available for the Mac, making it desirable to even more users. Keep your eye on this page for news and information which may be useful to Mac devotees:
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There can be no doubt that Apple computers and other products have engendered an unusually devoted customer base. Whether this is the result of its unique aesthetic design, distinctive advertising campaigns, the legendary Steve Jobs or a philosophy of simplicity, or all of these factors, Apple enjoys a particularly special relationship with consumers.
No reason to re-invent the wheel: An excellent history of Apple from its creation back in 1976 as a computer company through its present status as a $24 billion consumer electronics conglomerate is available from Wikipedia at this LINK. See also the Apple definition in this glossary.
Not answered, but of possible interest, is the derivation of the Apple and Macintosh names. One of the most reasonable explanations: As a youth, Steve Jobs had worked during the summer at an apple farm, and also admired the Beatles' record label, Apple, for its simplicity and scale. He also believed apples to be the most perfect fruit. He and Steve Wozniak were trying to figure out a name for their new company, and they decided that if they couldn't think of one by the end of the day that was better than Apple, they would choose Apple. They couldn't think of anything better, so on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer, Inc. was born. (Credit to Glen Sanford, Apple-History.com) And where did the name Macintosh come from? In 1984, Apple employee Jeff Raskin named the computer for his favorite apple, and the name stuck. (Credit to Phil Russell, Origin of Macintosh). The bite taken out of the apple in the logo was to represent either (1) a bite from the tree of knowledge, according to the designers who created the logo; a play on the “byte” being the foundation of computer data, (2) the apple falling on Isaac Newton’s head, giving him the idea about gravity (and Apple the name for the Newton PDA) or (3) a tribute to Alan Turing, an English mathematician influential in the development of computer science, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide (he bit into an apple laced with cyanide). I think the first is possible (especially in view of the slogan for the original Apple “Byte into an Apple, see below), but the second is more likely, especially in view of the original Apple logo (shown below). The third is most unlikely, just too macabre. (See “The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer” by Michael Morris)
The Apple logo has undergone several incarnations. The original Apple logo (far left, below) showed Isaac Newton under an apple tree (making theory no. 2, above, most likely, as well as one of the original (1970s) Apple slogans “Byte into an Apple”). Starting in 1976, the rainbow “bitten” logo (middle, below) was used until 1998, when the monochrome bitten logo (below, right) was substituted and has been used since. The rainbow bitten logo was selected by Steve Jobs because he felt that the color humanized the company, showed that the monitor could show images in color, and the bite distinguished it from a mere fruit. The move to the monochromatic theme resulted from Apple’s desire to sync the logo on all of its products as well as to print the colored logo on various metal and plastic products (although the monochrome bitten apple appeared in Aqua between 2001 and 2003, and has also been used in a “glass” theme since 2003)
  
More trivia:
- - Mr. Macintosh di d, indeed, exist (just like Microsoft Bob). (Of course, both are no more.) He appeared in the early Macs with the 64K ROMS, at various times (he was hidden in an “easter egg” inside the early machines’ ROM in a special low memory location called the MrMacHook routine address). A cartoon with icons randomly appeared with him in them, drawn by the French artist Folon (shown above). As opposed to Bob, Mr. M pops up every once in a while then winks at you and disappears so fast that you’re not even sure you saw him, according to his developer Andy Hertzfeld (1982).
- - Steve Jobs’ study of calligraphy has been said to inspire many of Apple’s distinctive fonts.
- - All of the OS X releases have been named after cats: 10.0 (Cheetah); 10.1 (“Puma”); 10.2 (“Jaguar”); 10.3 (“Panther”); 10.4 (“Tiger”); 10.5 (“Leopard”); 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”); 10.7 (“Lion”); 10.8 (Mountain Lion”). Remaining names trademarked by Apple: Lynx, Cougar, Main Coon, Kitties. Why? No particular reason, says Apple. They had to name them something and the first few cats went over well with the public, so they continued.
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 11/11: Apple’s iOS 5 requires an Apple device running OS X Lion, or a PC running Windows Vista or later to access iCloud. Just so you know.
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10/11: Even if you have Apple’s rudimentary XProtect anti-virus software, you may not be well protected. For example, the Flashback backdoor Trojan (one which poses as an update to Adobe Flash) will first disable XProtect, then infect your computer. Things are getting worse for Macs.
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10/11: A Trojan that masquerades as a PDF file about the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands (in China) is a virus that attacks Macs, according to the Mac Malware blog, which predicts that this was just a test to see what could be detected. The Trojan uses an old Windows trick of “double extension” files, using a second extension to hide the fact that it is an executable file.
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Beware so-called “free” apps for your smart phone or pad. While many start out free, there may be disclaimers that there may be a paid component. So, when downloading apps like Smurf Village or TapPetHotel, be aware that althought the initial app is free, you or your kids may be prompted to pay for accessories for that “free” virtual pet, and this could add hundreds of dollars to your bills.
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7/6/11: Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security has warned citizens that there is a bug in JailbreakMe 3.0, released last week, that could be used by criminals to hijack iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches. The malicious exploit is infected through PDF documents and links throughout the Internet. The exploit is similar to the situation when JailbreakMe 2.0 was released in August 2010. Apple will no doubt patch this vulnerability quickly, as it did with the previous version.
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5/11: Scareware has hit Apple. Hundreds of thousands of Mac users have been subjected to fake anti-virus software going by the names Mac Defender, Mac Security, MacProtector and MacGuard. The primary purpose of the malicious software is to get the user’s credit card information, ultimately to use for fraudulent purposes. It does this by taking advantage of Google image search results to trick users into installing the fake anti-virus software. In response, Apple has rolled out a tool in its recent Mac OSX security update to spot and remove the malware, which includes an automatic malicious software tool. But this is one area that Microsoft is, through experience, better than Apple, which has more lax administrator rights and accessability to the root directory. Apple may have to include new security in its OS updates. Also, don’t forget to download the Java update (SE 6.6.6.0_26) for protection.
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1/11: Apple has released iOS 4.2.1.1, the latest update to it’s mobile operating system. It’s a major upgrade for the iPhone, iPod and especially the iPad, as this marks the first time that iPad users have had access to core iOS 4 features. Among the features are the “Find My iPhone” app, allowing you to locate, lock or wipe a missing device; also AirPrint, a wireless printing feature, as well as AirPlay, a media streaming feature. Unfortunately, at the last minute, Apple pulled some AirPrint functions, limiting its ability to print to many Mac and Windows printers.
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You want to get your kids or grandkids an Apple device, but don’t want to be on the hook for extra charges for texting and phoning. Here’s an idea: Get ‘em, say, an iPod Touch, which is pretty reasonable. And it has Wi-Fi capability. Then they can download, for free, TextFree for texting and Line2 for phoning, all of which is unlimited and free so long as they’re connected to any Wi-Fi network! Problem solved.
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On October 26, 2010, Microsoft released Office 2011 for Mac. All reviews agree that this was a huge improvement for Office for Mac, not only upgrading to the ribbon interface (as a supplement, not a replacement), but also bringing web access to the applications. Since we service both platforms, we’re particularly happy to see better support for Outlook, allowing transfer of .pst files from PCs to Macs without the need for outside software and jumping through hoops!
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To see the Dictionary program that comes with Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 display definitions, press the command key and the space bar and then type a word into the Spotlight search bar; you can also open the program from the Applications folder. But like its paper counterpart (the New Oxford American Dictionary), the Dictionary program does much more than word definitions, even without an Internet connection.
With Dictionary open on your screen, visit the Go menu at the top of the screen and choose Front/Back Matter. Just like the front and back pages of a standard dictionary, the app has all sorts of helpful information, including a conversion table for weights and measures, a list of chemical elements and their abbreviations, a chart depicting proofreader’s marks, a grammar guide, a history of the English language and the full text of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
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If you’re a user of LogMeIn software to access your home or office computer while you’re away from it, you may be glad to learn that LogMeIn has introduced Ignition, an app for the iPhone allowing you to access your Mac or PC from your iPhone. It’s available from your iTunes store.
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Macs get patched the same as PCs these days. Be sure to download the latest MAC monster update (10/09) that plugs 58 separate holes in the O/S.
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April, 2010: For the past two years, Adobe Reader has led the pack in exploit vulnerabilities. In 2008, Adobe Reader attacks comprised 28.61% of targeted attacks; in 2009, that number jumped to 49.5%; so far in 2010, it is 61.2%! By contrast, Microsoft’s key products have dropped significantly - Word is at 24.3%, Excel 7.1% and Powerpoint 7.4%. This is according to security company F-Secure. It is key to your protection that you install Adobe Reader updates when prompted - the most recent one patched a major vulnerability. Starting on April 13th, Adobe will be experimenting with automatic patch installs, no prompting to install the updates. Same for Flash, Java and Acrobat. Don’t be too smug if you’re running the Apple or Linux operating systems - these exploits will compromise these systems as well. Be sure to patch and upgrade Adobe Reader, Acrobat, Flash and JavaScript promptly. [Go to the Apple Support Downloads page.]
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While Macs certainly don’t get infected with as many malware and viruses as PCs, there are still lots of threats that have, in fact, infected Macs. For an excellent recap of these threats, click HERE to see the Sophos article summarizing them. Also, remember that the earliest known malware to spread by removable media, the Elk Cloner virus, was released in 1982 and attacked the Apple II OS.
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 We’re all familiar with the Mac vs. PC ads on TV. That Mac guy sure is full of himself. So, it seems, are many who use Apple computers. A survey by Internet ad outfit Mindset Media of 7,500 computer users showed that Mac-heads are generally more self-assured and less modest than PC-heads, reports the January 28 ‘09 Advertising Age. They’re also more apt to be creative, perfectionist, and liberal in social mores and politics. A Hunch 2011 survey found Mac users to be younger, more liberal, more fashion conscious and more likely to live in cities than PCs. They found that while PC users' tastes trend towards casual clothes, tunafish sandwiches, white wine, Hollywood movies, USA Today and Pepsi, the Mac users generally prefer designer or vintage duds, hummus, red wine, indie films, The New York Times and (we're not making this up) San Pellegrino Limonata.
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Click HERE for a definition about Apple’s UDID and how to find it on your device.
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Click HERE for common OS X keyboard shortcuts...
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Click HERE for an excellent graphic link showing all of the Macintosh products; HERE for a timeline of Apple products in general (including such things as the failed Lisa and the Newton), and HERE for a timeline of the Apple II family of products. Wikipedia did a great job here.
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iPad
As the iPad becomes more popular, it is also becoming by necessity more compatible with Windows computers. Here are some helpful suggestions for uses and apps:
- The iPad just plain doesn’t do MS Office. Don’t even bother trying it, it’ll just destroy the formatting for Excel, Word and Powerpoint documents. You can try Apple’s iWork app ($9.99) instead. BUT, if you have to be able to view and edit MS Office documents, the most popular app purchased this past year was Quickoffice, a productivity tool specifically created for viewing and editing MS Office documents like Word, Excel & Powerpoint (it was originally created for smart phones). It also ties in to cloud based storage like Dropbox or Box,net and social networks such as Facebook.
- Lots of people ask aout the best way to print from their iPad. My favorite right now is Print ‘n Share from EuroSmartz ($8.99).
- Transferring files is also not all that easy. You can e-mail them, if you have that function on your iPad, or try DropBox or one of the cloud services.
- You can use the iPad for PowerPoint presentations, instead of delivering a slideshow with a laptop and a mouse. Slideshow Remote ($4.99) is awesome.
- PDF files, use Goodreader ($4.99), you mark up and sync PDF and TXT files with remote servers, including Dropbox (above).
- TeamViewer let’s you run your PC remotely from your iPad, bridging the gap between the two platforms.
- A business class tablet app, used primarily by pharmaceutical firms, called iRep from Veeva Systems, is an excellent example of time saving iPad apps for sales representatives.
- Similarly, an app named Roambi from MeLLmo, makes it easier for businesspeople to analyze data by converting spreadsheets into colorful 3D charts. Also, StockTouch, from Visible Market for analyzing financial markets ($4.99)
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Utilities: Here are some additional software utilities to fix various system problems or add new features to your Mac:
Sophos - Free Anti-Virus for Mac download (Click HERE).
Path Finder (www.cocoatech.com; $40) - An addition to the Finder, adding such features as tabs, stacks, bookmarks and panes.
Network Location (www.networklocationapp.com; $29) - If you travel, this program saves you time by automatically changing your settings at each saved location.
Disk Warrior (www.alsoft.com: $100) - If you need to repair a drive disk that has missing files or will no longer mount, as well as rebuilding your directory, this is the program for you.
Cocktail (www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php; $15) - An excellent general cleanup utility which also unlocks some of the hidden Mac features.
SuperDuper (www.shirt-pocket.com; $28) - A disk cloning utility which backs up your entire drive onto another fully bootable drive.
Webmailer (www.belkadan.com/webmailer; free) - If you’re having trouble stopping your Mac from launching Apple Mail every time you click on another e-mail application try this program which lets you set any e-mail program as your default.
File Juicer (www.echoone.com; $18) - This program will extract images, sounds, video clips and the lik from any file type.
BusySync (www.busymac.com; $25) and BusyCal (www.busymac.com; $40) both provide you with customizable calendar synching options as opposed to MobilMe, which always synchronizes all of your calendars. If, on the other hand, you want to easily sync your iCal calendar and address book to Outlook on a PC, get MobileMe (www.apple.com; $99/year).
Video Monkey (www.videomonkey.org; free) - A useful program to convert video files into many different formats, including those for the iPhone and iPod.
Missing Sync for Blackberry (www.markspace.com; $40) - You can sync your Mac to a Blackberry, don’t have to get an iPhone.
Pixelmator (www.pixelmator.com; free download $59 purchase) is an excellent alternative to Photoshop (upwards of $600) for editing images and it’s easier to use because of its head-up layering display as opposed to Photoshop’s paned layout.
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MacFixIt: This website (which may require subscriptions for some parts) is an excellent site which reports problems with MACs and their fixes, and is kept quite up to date.
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CLICK TO SHARE THIS PAGE
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CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2009-10 MAC ARCHIVE
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Of course, Computer Coach offers on-site Apple computer service & training. Call for further information or to set up a service call.
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© Computer Coach. All written materials are the sole property of Computer Coach (unless otherwise attributed) and no part of this website may be used in any format without the express written permission of Computer Coach.
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