Return of the weekly Mac-Forums newsletter

Hello,

My name is Tracey Capen. Those who follow both Microsoft and Apple products and services might know that I'm the editor of the Windows Secrets newletter. But in truth, I've owned and used Macs longer than I have Windows machines. I fondly recall booting up an original Mac and marveling at the graphics. Today, I use Windows for much of my professional work and Macs for most of my personal applications — especially for editing and organizing digital photographs. (I'm a huge fan of Adobe Lightroom.)

So I was pleased when Penton asked me to relaunch the Mac-Forums newsletter — it gave me an excuse to spend more time in the forum, looking for interesting information on Apple. And though using Apple products is usually easy, there can be challenges. For example, one of my recent tasks was tethering my Apple TV to my iPhone to watch Netflix in an old, rural house that does not have an Internet connection. I eventually discovered that I could stream Netflix by lowering the resolution, but downloading iTunes movies was just too slow.

In any case, after a nearly one-year hiatus, the Mac-Forums newletter will go out once a week, starting in January. I hope you'll find it interesting. If you'd like to contact me, you can use [email protected].

Some of you might be wondering who Penton is. A year ago, Mac-Forums was part of iNet Interactive. But this past January, Penton acquired all of the iNET properties, including sister sites Windows Secrets and Overclockers. Penton is a large media company and has the resources to support and enhance Mac-Forums, Windows Secrets, Overclockers, and numerous other sources of technology news and information.

I look forward to helping newsletter subscribers get the most out of their Apple products and to posting in Mac-Forums.

Welcome Tracey!

Thanks for the heads up about the return of the Mac-Forums Newsletter. I also subscribe to the Windows Secrets Newsletter and as a matter of fact, received my copy today in the mail. That's a great newsletter with knowledgeable contributors. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us.

Charlie

Welcome from me too, Tracy!

Like Charlie, I too have been a subscriber of Windows Secrets Newsletter for many years. I will look forward to your undertaking of a mac-forums newsletter.

Lisa

Glad to see the newsletter make its return. I used to use it as a quick forum summary when choosing topics for the Sunday Mac-Forums video chat.

Given the number of Windows-related questions I've been getting lately I need to subscribe to that one as well. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate trying to explain/troubleshoot Windows?

I too have been a longtime fan of Windows Secrets newsletter, and as a Mac/Windows user, greatly appreciate the return of the Mac Forums newsletter- a warm welcome to its return. Thank you Tracey!

I feel ya Slydude! I am dreading what seems to be the inevitable Windows 10 upgrade on the computers at work. I have two computers at work using W10 now but they are on the younger guys computers. I also hate to upgrade a perfectly tuned Windows 7 computer to a less user friendly Windows 10 that may create issues with the installed programs.

But on a brighter note - the iMac our sound guy uses would not load ProTools. He wanted me to roll it back to Yosemite as he said El Capitan was the problem. I investigated, got rid of all the "login items" he had loading, and waved my mojo over it (ran Onyx). ProTools loaded right up and he was a happy camper. He asked me what I did and I told him I used my special mojo touch.

Lisa

I hope this means the return of MacForums as the place to ask questions when normal searches and apple support has failed one! Just lately I had 2 questions with no responses and had wondered if the forum was going into limbo....which reminds me i did eventually solve the last and worst MBP problem and could put the answer even if it refers to a CNET page.

PS I can't find the post, so that may explain why there were no answers!

Hi Tracy, and welcome. As it appears that you've been using Macs a while, I hope you're going to be supporting us older Mac users - those with earlier PPC (pre Intel) Macs that Apple don't seem to care about anymore.
They built a superior quality machine, that lasts and is reliable but was expensive, then seem bothered that people are still using them. At least that's the way it seems.

I suppose the fact that there are less of them about does mean that viruses and malwares aren't being written for them… it's not worth the bother for the ****heads and scammers. They like a bigger target… like Windows. Unfortunately, like the malwares and viruses, the latest versions of browsers etc. aren't being written to work with other than an Intel processor, and the earlier versions that do work aren't being supported (the exception being TenFour Fox, which gets regular upgrades but doesn't allow Flash to be used due to Flash's security concerns)

Sending a crash report to Apple doesn't seem to have any effect, and the only time I tried phoning the help line, the so called tech was about as much use as a lace condom. He simply suggested upgrading. I have to watch expenses… I certainly can't afford a new Mac. Besides, this one works fine for what I need 99% of the time, and is much more user friendly than PCs on the very rare occasions that I've tried using them.

Welcome, again… and try to remember us fans of earlier Macs forced to run Leopard and earlier OSXs.

Edited to add comment: I was amused to see that the robotcensor starred out part of a word, making it look like I'd written something offensive rather than what I actually put. I do hope this isn't a sign of the poor standard of the censoring programme on here.
I use another UK forum (but hosted by a US provider) and its users are forever being frustrated by perfectly good standard English words, that aren't ever used offensively and have no suitable replacement synonyms, being censored for asinine reasons… yet some very offensive insulting terms seem to slip past because the robot didn't understand them.

Welcome Tracey.
I thank you in advance for your contributions and I wish you well.

@crisscross:

PS I can't find the post, so that may explain why there were no answers!

Click to expand...

Did you try clicking on "My Posts" from the top menu? And... you can always subscribe to the thread you started or participated in. That way you'll be notified by email that a reply awaits you in the forums.

Just for your info. ;D

crisscross said:

I hope this means the return of MacForums as the place to ask questions when normal searches and apple support has failed one! Just lately I had 2 questions with no responses and had wondered if the forum was going into limbo....

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what planet you're living on?? But on planet Earth…Mac-Forums is alive & well!!! I bet I personally post close to 25-50x/day. And I know many of the other Mac-Forums Staff and regular visiting members post very frequently as well each day. Very few threads go unanswered.

- Nick

p.s. Yes just checked…you did have one question posted that did not receive a reply. One thread not receiving a reply is far from "going into limbo". Some questions can be so unusual that maybe no one has a viable answer.

I am looking forward to reading it when you get it up and running. Thank you and all those that put themselves out for others.

ExMicroSoftUser said:

I am looking forward to reading it when you get it up and running.

Click to expand...

Got mine yesterday. Didn't you?

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Got mine yesterday. Didn't you?

- Nick

Click to expand...

No, Where is it sent?

ExMicroSoftUser said:

No, Where is it sent?

Click to expand...

It will be sent to the email address we have on file for you. Check your spam or junk folder, my copy wound up in junk until I changed it.

Hi Tracey and a huge welcome! Like others I have been a subscriber to Windows Secrets newsletter for years. It's always great reading, although its greatest use today is as a regular reminder of why I switched to Apple and the daily peace of mind I enjoy. My 18 month old HP Pavilion notebook is being bequeathed to the rubbish heap within the next 72 hours as any use of Windows is through Parallels on my MBP. Moreover, Windows 10 runs much better on the MBP than on the HP.
Cheers to all, BernardH