Mac Forums Sunday Chat

Join me tonight for the Weekly Mac-Forums Video Chat. 7:00 p.m. as usual. You don't need anything special installed to watch but you do need the Google Talk plugin if you want to participate.

Tonight's chat will include an overview of OS X security improvements through the years (including SIP introduced in El Capitan. It will be quick and painless I assure you. I'll include some thoughts on the use of firewalls, as well as a roundup of other happenings on the forum. Our tips section will include how to make Mail do subscripts and superscripts. More tips, Apple news and whatever else comes to mind. See you there.

Show Notes

Welcome to our newest member, \AmadoRomil

Creating Mail Styles for Subscript, Superscript. etc.

Timeline of OS X security improvements through the years.

Some users are finding that previously downloaded OS X installers no longer work Mac-Forums
TidBITS reader, and Mac-Forums member, Randy Singer reports that due to an expired certificate, OS X installers downloaded prior to 14 February 2016 won’t work. The solution is relatively simple albeit hard on some folks bandwidth:

1. Delete any old installers including those on connected external drives.
2. Log into the App Store, navigate to your Purchased tab and re-download the installer.

“There is one caveat to all this. Apple won’t allow a newer Mac to download versions of OS X that aren’t compatible with that Mac, so on a 27-inch iMac with Retina display,
for instance, the App Store app refuses to let you download Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.”

You can find the Mac-Forums discussion about this matter here

This discussion focuses on use of Firewalls to improve security. There are some interesting thoughts about the merits of using the built in OS X firewall.

Should Apple Produce an iPhone Pro Cult of Mac writers Killian Bell and Luke Dormehl speculate about whether a pro version of the iPhone would boost iPhone sales. One of the features speculated about for this phone is dual rear facing higher quality camera.

Cult of mac’s Rob Lefebvre has some tips for dealing with malware on your Mac.

Cult of Mac also has 10 tips for the mobile edition of Safari.

Quick thoughts on cleaning/ disinfecting your iPhone.

If you are using the Transmission Torrent Client have a serious look at this thread regarding Transmission and ransomware.Thanks to member dtravis7 for that info. It was not discussed during the show because it went up during the show.

Join me for the Sunday Mac-Forums video chat. 7:00 p.m. US Central time as usual. Look for an assortment of Mac-Forums news, Mac-related news, and the usual tips and tricks. As a bonus, I'll tell you about a stupid troubleshooting mistake I made earlier this week. Fortunately it didn't cost me any data.

Welcome to our newest member Welcome to our newest member, evanh
We are approaching 288,00 total members


During the slow last week’s show member dtravis7 posted a message about ransomware in s specific version of the Transmission torrent client It is believed that hackers managed to compromise the installer of Transmission version 2.90 on its download site on Friday, March 4, in order to spread ransomware that researchers at Palo Alto Research have dubbed "KeRanger."The thread also mentions that Apple has already posted a fix and has a link to it. The offending malware waits until three days after the infection before encrypting files and contacting the home server triggering a demand for a ransom of 1 Bitcoin ransom — about $400.00


There is a thread on the forum about off site storage. In this thread some users have noted that the free versions of some of these sites delete files after a specified time period. You cn find more info on that here.


If you’ve purchased audiobooks from Apple you know they have not allowed re-downloads of these books. Audible, which provides the books allows you to re-download your books from your library on their website. Apple seems to be ready to allow re-downloading books. The restore procedure is not as simple as it could be: You can’t go to one location to download previously purchased books. Currently you have to manually search for each title. It appears that may change in the next release of iOS nine software. You can find more details here..


If you’re an e-book reader, or you are just interested in the health of that industry, check out this Bloomberg article giving an overview of Apple’s price-fixing lawsuit and what it says about the e-book industry’s pricing models. It suggests that major publishers are pricing e-books out of the market. Some e-books now cost more than their paperback counterparts.


TIPS
We’ve had some inclement weather in my area this week complete with some flash flooding and road closures. This caused my wife to wonder whether the map program on our iPhones would be aware of those closures and plan an alternate routes accordingly. Although it shows alternate routes there is no demarcation for things like road closures. In fact, you may see a disclaimer informing you that it does not account for road closures, construction, etc.


Are you making the best possible use of the Finder’s organizational abilities? MacWorld writer Kirk McElhearn has given us an overview of six organizational tools that are often overlooked in the Finder. You can check out this article for more details.


Five tips for securing your iPhone


If you need to boot/reboot your computer by using the Option key to bring up the boot menu this does not always work using bluetooth keyboards. If you don’t have a wired USB keyboard around but do have the newest wireless Apple keyboard try using that. Use a USB-lightning charging cable to connect the keyboard to the computer. The boot commands should now work. Apparently your Mac will think this is a wired keyboard when it is connected that way.


If you regularly stream video and you wonder why your favorite streaming service does not have all titles for a particular actor or actress you need to check out Kirk McLaren’s description of the differences between audio streaming services video streaming services and the licensing requirements for streaming video. You can find a good summary here.


Luckily, you can use Netflix’s hidden streaming menu to set your streaming speed to a lower tier, which should bypass the buffering foolishness. Here’s how to find it. Buffering happens when our internet speed isn’t fast enough to keep video playback smooth. Netflix tries to match your ideal internet speed. If you’re running Netflix on your Mac using Chrome access the hidden streaming menu (Control-Shift-Option-S). Shift click and choose one of the speeds in the middle of those bitrate ranges. The quality of the video may go down a bit but there should be less buffering.

I'm going to push the regularly scheduled Mac forum Sunday video chat to Monday, March 21, 2016 at 7:00 Pp.m. Central time. I'm doing this in order to be sure to give you up-to-date coverage on the Apple media event scheduled for tomorrow at 10 AM Pacific time. If you want to watch the event from the Apple site here's the link.

When the chat starts tomorrow you can find it here

Happy Easter to one and all. In light of the holiday the weekly Mac-Forums video chat will be held on Monday, March 28, 2016. 7:00 US Central time.

Tune inn for the usuall forum roundup, assortment of tips and tricks as well as the occasional rant. See you there.

Show Notes

Members 288,364 Welcome to our newest member, Gaydoo

Volume limit on iPhone

TM backup of file vault drive Time Machine backups of FileVault encrypted drives are not encrypted by default. You can encrypt the backups and this article describes how to do it.

Here are some thoughts on changes in the music industry and its sales losses

Are there too many iPads in the current lineup?

IOS 9.3 features How To from Cult of Mac. Their site also has quite a roundup of the recent Apple public event and their impressions.

Bluetooth keyboard and Apple TV

Mini Rant

Kirk The iTunes Guy has has two reasons he doesn’t like using Notes.

1. Font to small.
2. The OS X version has no way to set a lager font except on a note by note basis.

I use Notes when prepping for the show because it sings across my devices. I can update the show notes anytime I see a link of interest. I have to agree with Kirk though the OS X version of notes need some more. Why can’t you choose a larger font and have that be the default? At the very least you should be able to set a font and have it affect several notes.

My second rant concerns the current line of Apple wireless keyboards. Overall I like these keyboards just as I did the first generation. A rechargeable keyboard is much nicer than having to remember to charge batteries. It would be nice to be able to pair the keyboard with more than one device at a time. I can do this with my old Logitech Bluetooth keyboard so it should be possible. While we’re asking for the impossible, is a backlit wireless keyboard too much to ask? Given how easy it is to charge the current Mac keyboards I might be willing to give up a little bit of battery life in exchange for some type of waiting that could be either turned off or on as needed or reacted to ambient light. Cupertino are you listening?

Join me at 7 PM central time tonight for the weekly Mac-Forums video chat. Look for the forum roundup, a few iOS tips and tricks, Mac tips, and whatever else comes to mind.

If you're nice to me, I might even tell you how to recover some space storage space on your iOS device.;D

Show Notes

Welcome to our newest member, LeeU

Advantages / disadvantages of lossless music streaming This article has links to other information about services such as Tidal and Deezer. For these services files are compressed in a way that when played back the music sounds exactly as it does on CD.

The problem essentially is that you may not be able to hear the difference between lossless music and high quality mp3 or AAC files. The lossless files are going to take up more space per file. there is also quite a bit of difference in how the files are prepared.l

Useful tips for IOS music app Kirk The iTunes Guy gives us tips for hiding music that’s in the cloud. he also shows us how to return to what you were listening to after going to the iTunes Store. and finding which playlists are playing.


How to use your web browsers fraudulent site detection Many browsers have implemented features designed to detect fraudulent sites. These are sites found to exploit vulnerabilities in browser plugins.Many of these features rely databases such as Google’s Safe Browsing Service. In Safari enabling this feature is inn

Safari: Preferences>Security. Check the Fraudulent sites option
Firefox: Preferences>Security>Block attack sites
Chrome: Preferences>Show Advanced Settings. In the privacy section check Protect you and your device from dangerous sites
In IOS go to Settings>Safari

Use Finder’s toolbar to save time

Recover some space on your iPhone Rob Lefebvre at Cult of Mac has a procedure for regaining some space on your IOS device. It might be useful for some who have only a few gigs of space and don’t want to delete anything. Try the following steps:

1. On your IOS device go to Settings>General>About and check your Available space.Leave this open in the background you’ll need to return to it shortly.
2. Launch iTunes Store and find a movie to rent that is larger than the space you have available. Check the size by going to the information page and tapping the Details button. File size is just below Cast and Crew info.
3. Tap twice like you are going to rent the movie.
4. You should quickly see a warning about not being able to complete the download but to lack of space.
5. Go back to Settings>General>About and check your Available space. If the number has gone up repeat the attempt to rent the movie and see if the available space goes up. Do this until the number stops going up.

I tried this on my iPhone 6s and recovered about 400 MB of space and got similar results on my Pad. Some users report having recovered several gigs of space.Some users report having recovered several gigs of space.

I suggest choosing something you might want to watch. That way if the rental process goes through because you have more space than the movie needs you won’t be too upset.

If you’ve purchased a new iPhone recently check out these tips for setting up a new iPhone. The article covers the settings that most users either like to change or don’t completely understand. One of his tips is to only install apps that you need/will use. Most of us have apps on the phone that we do not use.

Killian Bell shows us four interesting uses for the 3D touch feature.

The weekly Mac-Forums Video Chat will be on Monday, April 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. rather than the usual Sunday time. Look for a forum roundup, Mac/IOS tips and whatever else Apple related that comes to mind. You can watch via YouTube but to participate via audio / video you will need the Google chat plugin.

The Mac-Forums weekly video Chat will be on Monday April 18, 2016. 7:00 US Central Time as usual. I'll see you there.

Show Notes

Welcome to our newest member, lightspectra

More Flash Problems

Firefox security issue

Apple ending iTunes allowances This feature allowed parents or others to send a set amount to someone that they could spend. No new allowances accepted after April 13, 2016. Existing allowances cancel May 25, 206 and unused amornts will remain in a users account till it is used. To manage iTunes purchases made by your family, use Family Sharing. To send gifts to family and friends, use iTunes Gifts.

As a commenter points out, this is coming from the iTunes > Services menu. I don’t know how old that Search with Google service is, but that’s a good tip too. Select any text anywhere, press Command-Shift-L, and it’ll search in your default browser. This has been around for a long time; I find it mentioned in a 2004 article in MacTech about Mac OS X Services.
Simple Share Buttons Adder (6.1.5) simplesharebuttons.com

Use iTunes to save multiple IOS device backups

Tips for speeding up your Mac

Join me at 7:00 p.m. US Central time tonight for the weekly Mac-Forums Video Chat. Look for a forum roundup, a few tips and tricks, and whatever Apple news looks interesting this week. 

Show Notes

Members 289,267 Welcome to our newest member, LeoraSwart

A few weeks ago I mentioned tips for freeing up space on an iPhone / iPad. One of the tips I mentioned was to delete apps that were no longer needed / useful. If you are going to make use of this tip make a backup first. Many IOS apps save some / all of the data inside the app. When the app gets deleted from your device the data disappears as well.

Kirk McElhearn continues his Hey Apple, Fix This series by point out some changes he’d like to see in the App Store.. In essence, he’d like to see Apple offer demo versions and paid upgrades. At present the closest thing to demos in the App store involves “free” or low cost apps with paid in app purchases. Kirk presents some ides for why swims are a good idea.

Kirk’s article reminded me that many of the developers in the App Store have demos of the same software on their site. Software in the App store usually have links to the same software on the developer’s site.

Kirk gives tips on Spaces

CultofMac’s 12 things you can do with the Apple watch The tasks listed include finding your iPhone from your watch, dismissing all notifications,

If you are trying to keep e-mail in synch across multiple Macs and you are having issues check out this thread. Using an IMAP based account helps with this process because inbox changes that are maid on one deice shows on other devices when they log in. There is one caveat to keep in mind. If you want to save the e-mail to a different mailbox make sure that the mailbox where you are saving them is created inside the IMAP account and not a local mailbox on the Mac. If you move a piece of mail to a mailbox that is local on your Mac that piece of email will not show on other devices.

Be careful when choosing extension cables to work with earbuds / /headsets. Some cables will add additional impedance which causes problems and others do not have the appropriate type of connections. Some connectors are four part connectors and others use only three parts. The three part connectors won’t generally carry the feed from the microphone. See this thread with special attention to posts 4, 6, and 9.

If you are looking at adding third party-party keyboards to your IOS devices have a look at this article. One of the included tips is that some third-party keyboards send everything you type back to that company’s servers. By default third-part keyboards do not have full access. This means Apple is guarding your privacy to some extent but that may affect how some keyboard functions work. Check the article for more information.
Apple’s WWDC will be held June 12 - 17

The Mac-Forums video chat which should have happened on Sunday May 1, 2016 was rescheduled for Monday, May 2, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. See you there,

To view the show click the link above.

Show Notes


Approaching 290,000 members Newest Welcome to our newest member, RaynesInMaine


When you receive an email on your IOS device any web links open in Safari by default in part because Mail passes the link to Safari (the default browser). Member Rod Sprague says that some third-party web browsers The answer for me was changing my email client to Airmail. In Airmail you can choose what browser opens your links. So that's it.
Obviously this is not a perfect answer but it may be worth checking your third party app preferences to see what options they offer.
http://www.mac-forums.com/ios-and-apps/333762-yes-change-default-ios-browser.html


Tweaking this Mac setting may improve game performance Rob Lefebvre at Cult of Mac beings us a two fir gamers. If you’re running a Retina Mac some games offer an option to have OS X open the game in a lower resolution. This may improve the frames per second rate (fps). Some games offer this as an option in within the game settings. If your game does not have such an option do the following:

1. Quit the game if it is running.
2. Highlight the application in Finder and select Get Info
3. Check the Open in Low Resolution box. (Near the section of info with creation / modification dates.

If you’re using a game running thro9ugh Steam check the article for directions.


Connect your iPad to the internet via an ethernet cable


After a year availability the tech world’s summary of the Apple watch’s impact has been all over the place Kirl the iTunes Guy has a well-balanced review of the state of things.


Since iOS 9.2, you can no longer transfer apps from iOS devices back to iTunes. This is because apps now contain only the assets needed for the specific device they copy to. For example, you don't need large graphics for an iPad on an iPhone SE; this saves space on your devices.


9to5Mac has ab opinion piece giving MacBook Pro users a reason to consider using 4K external monitors. “4K displays support a native resolution of 3840-by-2160. When running in OS X’s default HiDPI mode, the amount of available real estate is effectively cut in half, resulting in a display that feels like 1920-by-1080. Granted, you’re giving up screen real estate by running in HiDPI mode, but for the sake of your eyes, it can be worth it” If you’re shooting iPhones / iPads to sh
not 4K video you can view them at full resolution on those monitors.


A federal court has granted s warrant which compels a criminal suspect to use their fingerprint ID to unlock an iPhone. Legal scholars are arguing whether or not such a warrant should be considered valid. Scholars in favor of the warrant suggest that being compelled to “put your finger here” is not the same as being compelled to disclose a passcodeThe law currently considers fingerprints physical evidence thus no warrant is needed.


Opponents of the ruling point out that being forced to comply with this type warrant could potentially grant access to information that they would not otherwise have access to without a warrant.


Running Windows 95 on an Apple watch? Bizarre

Join me for the weekly Mac-Forum video chat. 7:00 p.m. US Central time as usual. We'll have the usual forum roundup, the usual assortment of tips and tricks, Apple/tech news and whatever else comes to mind.
NotesShow H
Welcome to our newest member, winslow1132
Happy Birthday ti member bungtre2016


OS X Data detectors Mac-Forums member Randy Singer has a thread started about Data Detectors. This is one of my favorite semi-hidden / forgotten features of the OS. Essentially this feature looks at how a piece of data is formatted and pass it off to an app that can handle that type data. Receive email with a meeting date in it, for example, and Calendar opens to that date.


Rabdy’s Word Tips Randy uses Word extensively for work and as such has become something of a Word guru. he’s started a forum thread with some of his favorite tips. He’s already posted several tips and plans to update the list regularly.


Use Dropbox synching to manage storage issues If you’ve got a Mac with limited hard drive space this Mac-Forums blog post may be just what you need. This post explains how the selective synching feature can be used to help address your storage needs.


Apple Music Connect future may disappear when IOS 10 is released 9to5 Mac misreporting that Apple plans to essentially demote Apple Music Connect features when IOS 10 debuts later this year. Apparently that feature, which was designed to allow users and artists to share pics, etc. has not caught on to the extent Apple had hoped it would.

Apple Music Services are not deleting user files Kirk The iTunes Guy has some thoughts about a James Pinkstone blog post claiming Apple Music had deleted 122 GB of music from his laptop. Although Kirk can’t identify the cause of Mr. Pinkstone’s missing files he does posit that they are not due to Apple Music. If that were the case there would have been a riot online by now.


I don’t know what happened to Mr. Pinkstone’s files but it does point to the need to make sure you have a backup of any media you consider important. Apple allows you to re-download content purchased from the iTunes Music Store but this doesn’t help if the content is no longer available in the store due to changes in the licensing agreements.


Using Google Maps while offline Rob Lefebvre at Cult of Mac has some thoughts on how to use Google Maps on your smartphone or tablet when you don’t have a network connection. It should work but takes a bit of advanced preparation on your Part.

1. While you have a good network connection open the Google Maps app.
2. In the search field type “ok Maps”
3. You’ll be asked if you want to download that area. Name that area.

Speed up your IOS device by turning off animations Turning off animations can make your phone seem faster.


Move IOS device backups to an external drive


Hey Apple Fix this problem with sharing Reminders Kirk The iTunes Guy has something else he thinks Apple needs to fix. It is virtually impossible to share a list from the Reminder’s app with someone who is not using an IOS device.


Techcrunch is reporting that a revamp of AppleMusic will be announced at WWDC in early June. Reports suggest that one change may be a reduction in price if you are a student.

Join me at 7:00 tonight for the weekly video chat. Look for a forum roundup, Apple-related news, and a few tips and tricks.

I'll also repeat some information I discussed a few weeks ago about changes to the way IOS devices synch apps in IOS 9.

Show Notes
Welcome to our newest member, EmmaScarlet


The Pros and Cons of keeping files / folders on the Desktop
Member PGB1 started a thread about “dancing” / moving icons on the Desktop This is what happens when the desktop icons are not set to “Snap to Grid” The thread continues with a discussion about the pros and cons of keeping files on the Desktop. Some organizational alternatives are presented.


Apps don’t sync back to your iTunes library
Mac-Forums member Rod Sprague has noticed that apps d0ownloaded from his iPhone / iPad do not synch back to a users iTunes library. With IOS 9 Apple introduced app thinning which let’s app developers prepare their IOS apps in such a way that they only download the resources needed for the device they are down;faded on. Previously, downloads were “universal” containing both iPhone and iPad code.


The downside is that IOS apps no longer synch back to your iTunes library. One solution is to turn on automatic downloads for apps to ensure that you have copies in your iTunes library. To do this, choose iTunes > Preferences, and click the Store tab. In the Automatic Downloads section, check Apps. See Here


Some users with large movie collections have difficulty locating the content they want to synch to their IOS device. As Kirk The iTunes Guy points out the iTunes Sync Movies pane only allows viewing the list alphabetically. Kirk’s solution is to create a playlist In this way you can sort the list by any of a number of criteria.


Swedish Court hands Pirate Bay sites over to the Sweedish Government The Swedish Court of Appeal will confiscate two domains of the most popular torrent website the Pirate Bay. The domain confiscation is based on the court’s conclusion that the domain names are associated with crimes under the Copyright Act. In this case the complaint was actually filed against the company managing the domains. Hacker News take on Pirate Bay court battle


Apple Acknowledges iTunes Music Deletion issue and preparing a fix According to a report in “The Loop” Apple has acknowledged the file deletion issue I reported on last week. For what appears to be a small number of users Apple Music seems to delete files from a users iTunes library. Apple is reportedly working on tracking down /fixing this issue. It wouldn’t surprise me if an iTunes update appears shortly. Macworld is suggesting that an update could come as soon as next week

Cult of Macs thoughts on IOS 10


Original creators of Siri demo a new more versatile assistant - Viv
The goal was to create a better version of Siri, one that connected to a multitude of services, instead of routinely shuffling queries off to a basic web search. During a 20-minute demo onstage at Disrupt NYC, Viv flawlessly handled a number of complex requests, not just in terms of comprehension, but by connecting with third-party merchants to purchase goods and book reservations.


Cult of Mac reports that Apple has cut review time for IOS apps

No chat show this tonight (5/22/16) folks. We'll be back on schedule next week.

The Mac-Forums Weekly Video Chat is back. 7:00 p.m. US Central Time as usual. Look for a forum roundup, Apple-related news, a few tips/tricks, and whatever else comes to mind.

See you there.

Show Notes

Newest Member Welcome to our newest member, ColinMadew

According to Cult of Mac the IOS Notes app stores recently deleted notes for 30 days. A video describing the recovery process can be found here. It depends on iCloud. Open Notes and tap the back arrow. Select Recently Deleted > Edit. Select a note and move it elsewhere.

Member Dave_R had noticed that in some instances the desktop options in System Preferences shows a drop down menu with options such as “Center”. “Till” and “Fit to Screen” At other rimes that menu is not present. I’ve discoveredthat this menu seems to only appear if you are using something other than one of the Apple provided pictures/patterns. I suspect that whether or not the menu appears at all depends upon whether the image needs to be re-sided to fit the screen.

Forum member goody4paws has started a thread about scamware /ransomeware. If you are unfamiliar with scamware / ransomware give forum member Randy Singer’s article in Tidbits.

In recent updates for iTunes 12.4 Apple has taken steps to simplify navigation. There are also a few changes to working with the sidebar

If you have recently updated the operating system on your Mac you know that Photos is essentially replacing iPhoto as the photo editor included with the Mac. If you are still and are still making the transition from iPhoto to Photos give this fairly extensive discussion of Photos a read.

Finding the IME number of your iPhone is easy Even if you have lost the phone

You can find the IMEI in iTunes, even if you no longer have the phone, as long as you’ve backed it up. To do this, choose iTunes > Preferences, click Devices, then hover your cursor over one of the backups. You’ll see all sorts of information, including the phone number, serial number, and IMEI.

According to Cult of Mac an update to the MacBook Pro is expected later this year. Some of the speculation suggests there will be a shift to the USB C connector and the use of an OLED trackpad.

According to Cult of Mac Apple may be working on wireless charging options for the iPhone 7.

Kirk The iTunes Guy has a MacWorld.com article with tips on how to add contact information your Apple devices in such a way that a good Samaritan who finds them can contact you to arrange a return. Several methods are included in the article for both Macs and IOS devices.

Communications Professor Kelli Burns from the University of South Florida claims that Facebook is listening to all conversations people have while its app is open to serve more relevant ads for products related to what they are talking about. See this summary and Facebook’s explanation from The Hacker News.

The video chat will be Monday June 13, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. US Central time. We'll cover the usual forum roundup as well as tips and tricks. If you miss the WWDC Keynote Monday, no worries, we'll have all the highlights.

Join us here

Show Notes

Welcome our newest member HoracioA13


Forum member MacInWin was having some difficulty dissociating his Apple ID from a Mac that he was about to sell. Downloading the OS installer on the Mac you are trying to sell means that the Mac is once again associated with his idea. One solution is to download the installer on another Mac. More details here.


Scanning text-based documents can result in large files even if there are only a few pages. This is often due to the pages being scanned as graphic images rather than as editable text. If you find yourself in this situation try some of the tips in this thread


If you haven’t started a regular backup regimen and can’t decide whether to use Time Machine or a “clone” of your hard drive, this thread provides a quick overview of the differences.


Kirk has an overview of iTunes 12.4 and some of the recent changes Several features have been moved or had their mode of operations has changed somewhat..


If iTunes is not producing sound to your liking there are some things that can be changed. This article covers applying the equalizer, normalizing sounds by using sSound Check,
Sound Enhancer is another way of tweaking your sound. Found in the Playback preferences, this setting, according to Apple, “increases the perceived ‘wideness’ of the stereo effect by modifying bass and treble response.” Apple also says that you can use this to “Change the music’s sound quality during playback. Drag the slider to increase or decrease the Sound Enhancer’s effect.”


Notes from the WWDC Keynote


According to Apple there are 13 million registered developers. Representatives from 74 countries attended with 100 attendees being under the age of 18. The youngest developer at the conference was 9 years old. A nine-year-old can code better than I can? You bet. I suddenly feel old and not so smart.


Siri handles 2 billion requests per week and will now be opened up to developers.This should give it the ability to summon (open) an app, pass information and perform an action.


Photos can be presented on a map and some facial recognition on the IOS devices. Analyze photos into clusters based on location, show maps where taken, group photos into memories. You can turn your pictures into a video memory almost automatically (including adding mood music) with adjustable mood and re-edit based on mood setting.


Maps has been redesigned to be more proactive such as looking at calendar events and finding the location on the map. Maps can automatically zooms in or out if you are on long straight. It has better access to info. it develops alternate routes including turn by turn directions on a car’s instrument panel (with CarPlay). Maps is more open to developers which should give it more functionality. Example making open table reservations using Siri without having to open the app.


Apple Music is being redesigned with more emphasis on functions you use every day. The first tab is your library including the library and recently added section. The “For You” section includes things you might like from new artists and daily curated playlist.


Missed calls on your iPhone will be able to generate text descriptions of the voicemail messages. The Messages app now supports much richer content in messages. The content of a link is shown more often rather than just the link. Words which could be removed and replaced with an emoji are highlighted. Bubble effects allows users to change the shape and size of the bubble depending upon the mood of the message.


Watch and Apple TV have better and faster Siri and Apple Pay come to Mac OS.


Watch OS 3 allows background updates so that when the app is opened current data is already there. No more waiting for sports scores to update hooray. Demos of the sped difference were impressive with some apps 7 times faster. For many apps common functions such as timers can be set set in 1 tap.


SOS function being built into the watch OS can call 911 for help easily if need be and can send a map with your current location. For many countries the setup is aware of the different numbers used internationally instead of 911.

TV OS


Siri includes search by topics and now includes Youtube search. Since so many video applications now use some form of sign in code for users to authenticate that they should be receiving the content Apple has developed an arrangement where you authenticate all of them with one code.


The OS X name is now changed to macOS with the next version called Sierra. It focuses on continued improvements in continuity and ease of use. For example, instead of typing a password to log into their Macs users of the Apple watch can use that to authenticate without typing a password.


Universal clipboard means that something copied to iPhone is easily passed to the Mac via cut and paste. Now documents and desktops shared across other macs with files on the go on iPhone. Apple Pay comes to the Mac and your iPhone fingerprint ID can be used as authentication.


Optimized storage makes room by keeping some files in the cloud. I’ll be looking at this again for more details but if it works this feature should be very helpful to those running out of drive space on Macs with small amounts of flash storage..


Preliminary OS X requirements for Sierra (Thanks Nick)


iMac: Late 2009 or newer
MacBook: Late 2009 or newer
MacBook Air: Late 2010 or newer
MacBook Pro: Mid 2010 or newer
Mac Mini: Mid 2010 or newer
Mac Pro: Mid 2010 or newer


MacOS (Sierra), IOS 10, Apple TV updates and Watch OS 3 should all be available this Fall. Developer releases are already available and public betas should begin in July.


BTW If you know someone who uses a wheelchair for mobility, you will be imposed by the level of detail Apple put into making sure that the fitness app on the watch track such users's activity levels.

Overall much of what was announced at WWDC 2016 is a continued refinement of inter device continuity.

Join me for the forum roundup and a bit of Apple-related news and whatever else comes to mind. We'll also look at a few iTunes tips. Join me for the show.

I pulled the original video for tonight's show and will repeat the broadcast tomorrow 6/20/16 at 7:00 p.m. Central time. You can join me here

Show Notes

Welcome to our newest member ShosMeister

There are a couple of forum threads devoted to the upcoming IOS 10 and macOS Sierra. While there is some concern that many of the changes are “eye candy” such as bubbles in Messages. Perhaps the most important thing to be announced is that both the IOS 10 and macOS will be more opened to developers (particularly with Siri).

Standard users, on the other hand, have limited access rights on a Mac. They can use, change and create files in their home folder, access folders on shared volumes if the permissions allow it, change settings to non-secure preferences in System Preferences, and install some software (if it doesn't need to install items in the System or Library folders).

There’s quite a bit of discussion in the forum about the need for making backups. Judging from some of the threads there are some misunderstandings about the way Time Machine works. We’ll discuss that in some detail next week.

Working with multi-disc set entering info in iTunes 12? if some of the discs have been set to anything other than 1. Then when a disc number is left blank iTunes assumes it is disc #1. It moves any tracks that do no have a disc number into the track list for disc #1.

If you are adding music to your iTunes library you may discover that sometimes it does not seem to import the tracks properly if at all. There are at least three methods of importing tracks. If one method does not work sometimes one of the others will:

1. Double-click the tracks you want to add. If iTunes is your default player the tracks get added to the library.
2. If iTunes is in the Dock drag tracks onto its icon.
3. Import music using Add to Library from the iTunes File menu (Command+O)

BenLovejoy 9 to 5 Mac wonders if integrated VoIP support in IOS signal end of cell phone voice plans

In this week’s Hey Apple Fix This column Kirk the ITunes Guy looks at the need to improve the reliability of iCloud. Even if you don’t use iCloud for Mail or synching contacts it’s a more important part of your Mac/IOS life than you think. In fact, Kirk has identified more than 40 functions that depend, to some extent, on the cloud.

The developer releases of IOS 10 and macOS “Sierra” point to some changes / new features coming to the Apple Music services.

CultOfMac has an interesting overview of the new features of IOS 10. There is a quick video as well as a somewhat more detailed description of some of the features. Perhaps the most useful is tap back which quickly produces one of six set responses. it is being opened up to developers so it should be possible to do more from within Messages. Stickers, bubbles and Markeups should make messages more fun. Some content will be able to be viwed inline rather than links.

Siri gets opened up to developers a bit which should give it more functionality. It should make messaging payments photo search etc easier with Siri.

You will now be able to delete apps you don’t want on your phone/iPad.

Troubleshooting Toolkit

This week I tackle a few troubleshooting tips /tricks that should be part of just about everyones toolkit. Although it focusses on repairing / troubleshooting our electronic devices some of the principles can be useful for just about any troubleshooting task.

You’re going to need the right tools. It doesn’t necessarily mean spending a ton of money, either. In fact, some of the things that can be most helpful are things that you probably already have close at hand. Think about including the following things in your toolkit

• Phone/tablet/camera to document the steps in the teardown /reassembly process. Take lots of pictures so that you are not guessing where things belong and whether something is missing.
• Appropriate directions/instructions, which could also be stored on the iPhone iPad for reference as you go along.
• Appropriate containers for screws /small parts -old plastic food containers (with lids) are great for this. The lids should close tightly enough to keep things from spilling gif the container is upended accidentally. Removable painters tape and a marker are a great way to mar/tag which things go to what part of the assembly process.
• Flashlight - Preferably one that is worn on a headband rather than handheld. This keeps both hands free for other things and lights up the work area.
• Finally, no matter how badly you want to get your device back up and running don’t troubleshoot / repair things when you are upset. Stupid, and potentially expensive mistakes will happen.

Join me at 7:00 p.m. tonight for the weekly Mac-Forum video chat. Look for the usual forum roundup, a few tips and tricks, as well as assorted Apple-related news, I'll see you there.

Show Notes

Welcome to our newest member Jimmy1010

There’s a good thread going in the forum concerning backup plans and methods. If you don’t have time to read the entire thread, posts 50 and 51 by member Randy Singer includes a good description of backup plans / methods.

Kirk The iTunes Guy has noticed that there are times when iTunes displays album art poorly with too little contrast between the background color snd track titles. To fix this do any of the following:

1. General Preferences uncheck use custom colors for albums, movies, etc.
2. View Menu>Show view Options>>View Playlists as songs

If you are having difficulty changing the rating for an album see here for more details

Extending battery life on iPhone

25 iPhone Features you mat Not Know About Technology section of FoxNews
Clear cache: Make your iPhone run faster by clearing out the cache in several of Apple’s apps using a secret trick. In the App Store, Podcasts, Music, Game Center, iMessage and Phone apps, tap on any single tab icon at the bottom of the screen 10 times in a row.


Clear RAM to make your phone run faster: Hold down the power button until you see “Slide to power off,” then let go and hold down the home button until the screen goes blank and your home screen reappears.

TechHive has some good idea about measuring bandwidth usage. If you are on metered bandwidth or your current internet plan has a data ca- you need to read this article. Even if you are not on a plan with a data cap it’s still a good idea to check your usage periodically just to be sure you’re getting the level of service that you’re purchasing. It also helps you to see if there are bottlenecks on your network.

Although the upload seed, and amount of bandwidth used for uploads generally is not an issue it can be if you use certain applications such as FaceTime or Skype regularly, Upload speed / bandwidth can also be an issue if you are planning to use an online backup service or routinely upload large amounts of data from say home to work.

What time does 7PM translate to in Bali? I could work this out myself if I knew where you were.

He's in Louisiana, which is Central time US, or 13 hours behind you. So 7 PM translates to 8 AM Monday for you. Does that help? I think i did the math correctly, you could ask Siri what time it is in Louisiana and do your own math.

Thanks Jake, guess I've already missed it for this week, will try again next time now that I have location.

@Rod:

I don't know if Sly is recording the sessions. I thought at one time he was... if he is, you might be able to view the session you missed.