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We are consultants, not retailers, but can help you locate the most appropriate technology for the best price.
We would pleased to help you make the most of your Apple products.

For more in depth and emerging news you will like our facebook page.
Our twitter feed is a little more diverse including a wider range of topics.

Folkstone, Apple Page Word Cloud

Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.

I would be pleased to provide a session focusing on your areas of interest in detail.
Please call Scott at 886-4573 to arrange a time.

If you have questions as you go along please feel free to phone me. No charge for your first phone call.
My rate will be pro-rate by the minute for visits, phone calls and any related research.

If you offer professional services, use a Mac and live on the Sunshine Coast.
We would like know about you for future referral or contracts.

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Last Updated: 3 February, 2012 8:12 AM

Content:

Folkstone Design Mac Support Location

Background

Folkstone Design has provided support for Apple products since 1984. Originally created as a mass market software design house Folkstone Design created and published innovative software like "Anatomist A Human Anatomy". As a regular part of our business practice we provided instruction at a university, corporate and public level. As our practice naturally expanded beyond software design to include business development we began to design businesses like the internet provider "Sunshine Net" subsequently sold to technovision. Today with a broad base of multi-disiplinary experience we are well positioned to help where ever you find yourself.

Look around our web site to get a flavor of our interests.
If you have any questions or thoughts talk with us.

Services

Technologies that are motivating global change within communities
  • Mac Specialists: Personal Training, Software Support (Consumer and Professional).
    Including: purchase planning, installation, troubleshooting, networks and file servers
  • Business Development Strategies: Including Open Source Business Models
  • Research: Inter-disiplinary Approaches, Social Implecations of Emerging Technology.
  • Complex Systems Analysis & Design:
    business, economics, trade, community,
    media, technology.
  • Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration
    in pursuit of understanding the common themes
    that arise in natural, artificial, and social systems.

Location

We are based on the Sunshine Coast in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. Call us today at 886-4573
Corporate Voice Over Internet Support also available for other areas.
Living and working on the Sunshine Coast since 1988.

Principal

Scott Bleackley M.Sc.(Computing Science) has been helping people explore the world with their computers for more than 25 years. Scott has taught at SFU, UBC and BCIT as well as providing personal and corporate training. Scott explores emerging technologies with an eye to which ones work best for people and the communities in which they live, work and play. You can find Scott swimming from outriggers in the Paisley islands, walking the beach or cycling the roads, with a camera or two, drawing, writing, reading and deep in discussion with friends. Scott enjoys sharing his delight in the kid in us all.

Apple News

A Quick Overview Of All The Rumors

Apple Press Releases

Check MacBuyers Guide for purchase timing.

Apple and the Environment

The All New iTunes U Everything you need create share and complete courses all in one place.
If you’re an educator at a university, college, or K-12 school, now you have an easy way to design and distribute complete courses featuring audio, video, books, and other content. And students and lifelong learners can experience your courses for free through a powerful new app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
Combine that with Open Free University Courses and the emergence of cheap online text books and other free courses like the excellent and free Khon academy and we are changing the way we learn. Not to mention podcasts like TEDTalks and ease of access to the worlds information. Now how do we teach our kids, our selves, our businesses and our clients? Folkstone Design can help we produced one of the first truely interactive text books to teach general human anatomy many years ago and have not looked back as we continue to explore how people and communities learn and interact.
Smart Piano in Garageband for iOS: Now anyone can play.
$4.99 iOS iPad, iPhone, iPod touch 3G
Not convinced? Watch a four track Guitar Jam being constructed with iOS garage band. Of course other styles of music, and voice are also well suppported.
Apple Black Friday Sale
The special one-day Apple shopping event.
Siri, iCloud, iPhone4S, iOS5 Announcements Oct 4, 2011
iPhone 4S. Black and white, 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399 with contract not sure.
The iPhone 4 will now be available in Black and white for just $99
Pre-orders on the October 7th, and then launching on the 14th. Avialable on Sprint in the US.
Unlocked Pricing iPhone 4S $649, iPhone4 8GB $549, iPhone 3G 8GB $375

World Phone, A5, new antenna system, new optics, HD video ( 1080p 30fps), and now Siri
1080p, real-time video image stabilization (yes!), real-time temporal noise reduction.
New Camera on iPhone 4S 8 megapixel sensor, CMOS backside illuminated sensor, five lens elements. f2.4
Download speeds double to 14.4Mbps.
Intelligently switches between two antennas between send and receive to improve call quality.
Battery life.” Increased to 8 hours talk time
Dual-core A5 CPU, 2x as fast at CPU tasks. Also dual-core graphics. Up to 7x faster in the previous iPhone.

iPod touch: now with iOS 5 and iCloud Now comes in black and a brand new white version. Ships by October 12th 2011 $199 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB.
iPod nano in 7 colors is 8GB for $129, and 16GB for $149. Available today. Includes 16 new clock faces : )
Easier to navigate with bigger icons
Right out of the box, you can go on a walk or a run as well without adding sensors or devices.

Siri: Voice Controlled Personal Assistant.
Support for English, French, and German. Add more languages and services over time.

iCloud
iTunes Match,
Photo Stream
Backup: daily backups from your iOS devices
New App: Family and Friends: Easily locate friends and family, temp sharing options, simple privacy controls

New Mac Mini $599, MacBook Air $999 and Apple Thunderbolt Display 27" $999 July 21, 2011
Connect two Thunderbolt Displays to a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro or to an iMac. To make a desktop workstation out of your MacBook Pro, just daisy-chain additional Thunderbolt devices, including high-performance storage and video and audio capture devices, through the display.
Connect MacBook Air to the Thunderbolt Display and you can do more. Like adding FireWire peripherals, connecting to Ethernet networks at gigabit speeds, and making large-display, HD video calls to other Mac users with the display's built-in FaceTime HD camera.
The Mac Mini i5 or i7 includes Thunderbolt and HDMI port, does it includes sound? Hope so. This makes it ideal as a HD TV accessory computer. Just add wireless keyboard and trackpad or mouse and you are in business. Includes HDMI to DVI Adapter. The new MacMini has no DVD drive like the Macbook air. New dual drive lion server also.

Lion Mac OS X 10.7 July 20, 2011
Available now from the Mac App Store Online for $29.99. This is a 3.49 Gb download so it may take a while.
What's new in Lion: the user interface.
Gone in OS X Lion: Rosetta, Java Runtime, Flash, Samba, Front Row.
To install Lion you will need Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard running on a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo or better processor (i.e. 64-bit). Macs not supported include Core Sol, Core Duo and any PowerPC based Mac.
Please note that Lion does not include Rosetta which enabled PowerPC processor code to run on intel processors. This matters to you because some software and some installers like for MS Office 2008 are written using PPC code. These will no longer run in Lion. So, if you have older software install it before upgrading. Check compatablility of existing software with Lion. Some software requires updates to run with Lion, such as Final Draft.
Lion Application Compatibility.
There are also online updates available for iTunes, Safari and other Apple apps so:
Apple Menu | Software Update
before installing Lion to ensure everything works well when it comes up. These can also be installed after.
Also a good idea to Finder | Go Menu | Disk Utility | Repair Disk Permissions, and ensure that your Time Machine Backup is current before installing
Preparing for Lion: Find Your PowerPC Applications.
Installing Lion: What you need to know.
if you purchased a Mac on or after June 6, 2011, but it didn?t come with Lion pre-installed, you?re entitled to a free copy of Lion.
If you do not have a broadband internet connection Apple invites you into an Apple owned store to download and install Lion.

Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference ( WWDC ) June 5-9, 2011
Apple Developer's Conference KeyNote Address June 7, 2011
Mac OS X Lion
Available for $29 usd in July 2011. Requires Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and a Mac Core 2 Duo, Intel i3, i5, i7 processor and will be available as a 4GB download from the Mac App Store. One of the many new features in Lion appears to be the extension of the existing excellent migration tool to include migration from Windows machines. Lion automatically transfers your documents, contacts, calendars, email accounts (Outlook and Windows Live Mail), and photos stored in Picasa, and puts them in the appropriate applications. This is listed under the system heading. 250 + other new features

iOS5 available September 2011
Watch the Videos

iCloud available now for iTunes music

Apple Revolutionizes Video Editing With Final Cut Pro® X June 21, 2011
Completely rewritten with a new interface available now from the Mac® App Store for $299.99. Final Cut Pro X also includes powerful tools for audio editing and color correction, and is complemented by two companion apps, Motion 5 for professional motion graphics and Compressor 4 for advanced media encoding, available from the Mac App Store for $49.99 each.

Apple Store 10th Anniversary May 23, 2011
Ten years ago Apple desided that they needed to provide their own stores to represent their products directly to their customers. With several hundred stores world wide Apple Stores have been wildly successful. With this anniversary Apple has plans for changes. We will see how this plays out over the next few days.

New iMacs Released May 3, 2011
Now with a quad-core processor in every model, up to 3x faster graphics, Thunderbolt and a facetime HD camera. Starting at $1199. New Intel Core i5 and i7 processors: 1.7 times faster than the previous model. Includes Thunderbolt 10Gb/second exteranl data transfer. The 27" model includes two thunderbolt ports. LED backlit displays. Less chin. The metal part below the screen is slimmer. 500 GB to 1T internal drives standard. Apple iMac (spring 2011) review Apple Further Restricts Upgrade Options on New iMacs Review: Apple iMac (21.5-Inch, 2011 Version)

Final Cut Pro X Preview Apr 13, 2010
Apple provided a sneak peek at the next version of Final Cut Pro ? now called Final Cut Pro X at the NAB SuperMeet in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ship date of June, with a suggested retail price of $299, and will be sold through the App Store.

New iPad 2: March 2nd 2011 Models, Tech Spec
Lighter 1.3 lbs down from 1.5lbs -- 15% lighter, 33% Thinner--thinner than the iPhone 4, graphics 9 times faster, 2 times faster Dual-core 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip, Front VGA and rear 720p HD camerasboth at 30fps, same 10 hour battery life. 9.7in display, 3 axis gyro, accelerometer, 720p 30fps video recording. Available in black and white March 11 at 5PM in the USA and by March 25th in Canada and 25 other countries. Before RIM's first PlayBook ships, before HP's first TouchPad ships, etc. And of course WAY before any Windows tablets ship. New optional covers use magnets to adher to the iPad, micro fibre lining cleans the screen when closed. This is a very nicely designed removable cover that doubles as an inclined for typing or vertical stand for watching video also. ( see video ) Case comes in lots of colors. 1080p HDMI mirroring out. Current first generation iPads now discounted starting at $419 Cdn. 16GB WiFi only - $749 Cdn iPad with 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G Pricing for Apple?s new iPad line will remain identical to the regular prices of old model. US pricing said to be $499 and up. There is rumor that the iPad 2 will not be carrier locked in Canada, as this apears to be the case with AT&T in the US. This would enable swapping sim cards to change carrier when you travel. Currently the iPhone is locked to a specific carrier.

iOS 4.3 update will be a free download March 11th 2011
For existing iPads, the GSM version of the iPhone 4 (which gains the Verizon version's Personal Hotspot" feature) and third and fourth-generation iPod touch devices. iOS 4.3 will run java script much faster. Wireless streaming from you home computer to your iPad. The App Store has over 350,000 apps, more than 65,000 are updated for the iPad. The App Store has paid out over $2 billion to developers cumulatively. Apple recently shipped its 100 millionth iPhone. And it sold almost 15 million iPads in 2010. Apps and even websites can airplay at HDMI to AppleTV. Adds Apps to AppleTV. Can now use the slider switch for rotation lock. Rear facing Face time is 720p camera. Mike is up by the camera where it should be. Can get and HDMI cable ( optional $39 accessory ) will charge through HDMI cable. Will mirror exactly what you are doing on your iPad. iMovie, PhotoBooth and FaceTime updated for iPad. ( iMovie as an independent paid app ) You can shoot, share and edit video on the iPad 2, including voice over. You can do 8 track recording and mixing, and 250 + loops, with a new version of GarageBand. Great for live pod casting. Can plug in your guitar directly to the iPad. iMovie and GarageBand available from the App store for $5 each. Three-axis gyro provides very precise orientation control.

MacBook Pro Updated with Next Generation Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology
The new MacBook Pro was simultaneously announced and released Feb 24 2011
Technical Specifications
Apple® today updated the industry-leading MacBook® Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera, triple the resolution of the previous generation. Featuring the very latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.
Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O. The 13" Mac Book Pro features Intel HD Graphics 3000, while the 15" and 17" Mac Book Pros now include AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory. Lion the upcoming version of Mac OS X also went into public/developer preview. It includes many changes including shipping with the full Mac OS X server as well as the traditional Mac OS X. Scroll bars be gone... Listen to Nuance Text-to-Speech Voices in Mac OS X Lion Get some idea of how your current Mac compairs with the new MacBook Pros if it is not listed in the speedmark 6.5 results. Geekbench 2 scores The performance of the new MacBook Pros is amazing. The slowest MacBook Pro performs on par with the fastest previous-generation MacBook Pro, and the fastest MacBook Pro is 80% faster than the fastest previous-generation MacBook Pro. The fastest MacBook Pro is faster than a lot of Mac Pros (including the current generation of Mac Pros). The new MacBook Pros truly are portable workstations. Download GeekBench 2 and run to compair your Mac with the new Mac Book Pro.
PC Mag review of Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt)
New Consumer Reports ranks keep MacBooks on top

Apple Black Friday Sale
Apple has marked down Macs by $101 iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iPads a variable amount: iPod nono, iPad and iPod touch today. Also please note on the link above that some of the best savings are available when you scroll down on third party products. For example scroll down to the creative section for a music keyboard, wi-fi memory card, Blue Yeti USB Microphone and a waterproof HD camera. Talk to us before you buy to ensure that you are getting the best value for your money and the right equipment for what you would like to do. For instance while not discounted for Black Friday in some cases Apple's refurbished macs can provide a better price point than Black Friday pricing year round. We can help you get started and provide ongoing training as required. Folkstone Gift Certificates are always available.
Other Black Friday Cyber Monday Sales
Just to keep things in perspective, it is also The Yearly International Buy Nothing Day today. Since Folkstone Design does not sell hardware or software, just consulting and training, we are pleased to support you with your existing Apple gear and recommend open source and other free software alternatives when they are available. We are pleased to work with individuals, families, groups of friends, small busineses, new old and growing businesses, corporations, NGO's, governments and government agencies and others. While we know art, technology and businss our focus is on people and community. Call us at 604 886-4573 today.
Back To The Mac Apple Special Event ( video ) October 20, 2010
iLife 11 $49 single $79 family pack available now.
New Mac Book Air, 11" and 13" with only solid state drives.
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion preview: available next summer.
App Store for Mac online in 90 days. Developer submission starting November.

New iPods, AppleTV, iTunes and Ping Social Network September 1, 2010
New iOS updates in two weeks and again in November. iOS4.2 includes Air Play which can stream content to other devices like AppleTV.
Free for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
New iPod Shuffle has voice control and touch wheel for control. $59 cdn
New iPod Nano smaller than previous model with touch screen and a clip, $159 cdn 8GB, $189 cdn 16GB
New iPod Touch ( Touch # 1 portable game player in the world ) 4x pixels 326 ppi 24-bit color LED A4 Chip 3 axis Gyro front facing and rear facing HD camera. Will run face time. $249 cdn 8GB, $319 cdn 32GB, $429 cdn 64GB available next week pre-order today.
New Ads
iTunes 10 available today. New Logo. Ping: Social Network for Music Ping is available on iPhone and iPod Touch in addtion to iTunes 10
Apple TV. $119 cdn available in 4 weeks pre-order today. Very samll palm size. Build in power supply 1 HDMI connector, Wi-fi 802.11n and ethernet port. Very simple remote. music TV shows and movies. All rentals, no purchases. $4.99 first run HD movies the day they come out on DVD. 99 cents commercial free TV shows ABC and Fox initially. You can also stream content from Netflik ( if subsciber ), utube, podcasts, flickr, or from mobile me or your computer. Silent, cool & tiny.

New iMac, PowerMac, Cinema Display, Magic Track Pad June 27, 2010
Magic Track Pad, iMacs Care i3 - i5 Hard drives go up to 2TB and the iMac, Mac Pro upto 12 Core with the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory, 27" Cinema Display available September. Along with a 2560×1440 resolution, the Cinema Display includes a built-in iSight video camera, microphone, USB hub, speakers and more. The unit includes built-in MagSafe charging for MacBook and MacBook Pro owners.

iOS4 Software Update June 24, 2010
With over 100 new features, the free iOS 4 Software Update for iPod touch lets you do even more amazing things. The iOS 4 Software Update works with the second- and third-generation iPod touch. Not all features are compatible with all devices. For example, multitasking, custom wallpaper, and Bluetooth keyboard support are available only with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and the third-generation iPod touch (32GB and 64GB models from late 2009).

New Mac Mini June 15, 2010
Completely redesigned with HDMI out including multichannel sound with a redesigned Monitors preference for use with HDTV through HDMI or miniDisplay ports, includes NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 48 processing cores for graphics intensive applications and visully rich games. In this mac mini the RAM is very easy to upgrade, while upgrading the hard drive remains a non-user install. The power supply has now been included inside the Mac Mini making the whole package smaller and neater. The entry level 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor includes: a hard drive, optical disk, wireless (wifi & bluetooth ), Firewire 800, SD card slot, HDMI to DVI adaptor, and more. Monitor or HDTV, wireless keyboard, mouse, and webcam are additional costs.

iPhone 4 June 7, 2010
All-New Design with FaceTime Video Calling, Retina Display, 5 Megapixel Camera & HD Video Recording

Mac Book Pro Updates April 13, 2010 Summary
We are available for pre-purchase consultation if required.
All models feature 4GB of RAM and start with a 250GB hard drive as standard, with a new graphics card: GeForce 320M, which is noted to be 80% faster using 40% less power than the previous card. For the 13" inch model the battery life is now rated at 10 hours. Inertial Scrolling is also available on all models. A speed bump to a base of 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. 15 and 17 inch models now use an intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Refurbished versions of the previous model of the Mac Book Pro are discounted only 21% making waiting for the new model to come to the refurbished channel at an expected 15% discount a reasonable option. I cannot help wondering when the 13" will be upgraded to Intel Core i5 and if the omission of USB 3.0 indicates a sooner than expected emergence of Light Peak.

iPad tablet: Announced January 27, 2010, Released in the US April 3, 2010, Canada May 28, 2010
The 13.4mm-thick (0.5-inch) and 730-gram (1.6 lbs) iPad tablet has a 9.7-inch LED display, 1024x768-pixel resolution and comes with a 16, 32 or 64 Gb flash drive.
Available April 3, 2010 in the US wifi first followed by G3 version. Later in Canada and internationally.
Features, Video, Guided Tour

  • $499 (U.S.) for a 16-gigabyte model
  • $599 (U.S.) for a 32 GB version
  • $699 (U.S.) for a 64-gigabyte model with Wi-Fi only.
  • It will cost an additional $130 for units that use 3G, making the most expensive model $829 (U.S.)
  • AT&T will charge $29.99 a month for unlimited use and $14.99 a month for up to 250 megabytes

Hardware Updates: October 20, 2009
Mac Mini Improved speed and storage also dual 500GB drive with Snow Leopard Server $1099 cdn
MacBook Polycarbonate unibody enclosure with LED backlit display, displayPort, multitouch trackpad, 7 hour battery, but no firewire. $1099 cdn.
iMac 21.5 inch 1920x1080 & 27 inch LED Backlit displays, NVidia GeForce 9400M, ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB and 4850 with 500MB Graphics Cards, Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i5 & i7 (configure) Quad-Core. All include wireless keyboard and choice of existing Mighty or New Multi-Touch wireless Magic Mouse. Start $1299
Apple Magic Mouse Bluetooth enabled wireless smooth surface multi-touch mouse.
New iTunes Twitter Feeds From Apple:
iTunesPodcasts, iTunesMovies, iTunesTV and iTunesMusic.

Apple Canada Black Friday Sale November 27, 2009 Only. We are available for pre-purchase consultation if required.
Check MacBuyers Guide for purchase timing.

Snow Leopard: Mac OS X 10.6 released August 28, 2009 as an upgrade from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard for $35cdn
Please ensure that you Apple Menu | Software Update immediately after install.
Reviews Only for Intel Macs. This is a recommended update as it can dramatically improve performance. Consider the family pack if you have more than one Mac $59cdn. If you have purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8, 2009, that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard for $9.95usd. It is a good idea to check the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Compatibility List for your application software before upgrading. For those with Mac OS X 10.4.11 The Mac Box Set $199cdn includes iLife '11 and iWork '09. Also please consider getting and external hard drive and using Time Machine for back with Mac OS X 10.6.

Apple Hardware Updates: June 8 2009 the white Mac Book was quietly upgraded. The aluminium MacBook becomes part of the MacBook Pro family with a firewire 800 port and SD card slot and seven hour battery life. New hardware and price points on several apple laptops. A new version of the iPhone G3S has arrived with 3Mpixel autofocus camera, video recording and compass. New pricing here also with the iPhone G3 remaining in play at $99us MacBook & MacBook Pro, iPhone

Buying a Mac

Tutorials

Accessories

Business Software

Some Great Free Software

iTunes: Free Audio and Video Podcasts

iTunes podcasts are free and include thousands of video and audio only presentations. Subscribing places the podcast into your PodCast directory within iTunes (left column) and automatically gets new issues whenever iTunes is open and online. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. CBC radio and television podcast many of their programs. To browse podcasts within iTunes. Select iTunes Store, Select Browse under Quick Links on the far right. Then select PodCasts in the left most column. Below are some sample podcasts to get you started. Enjoy.
  • TED Talks (Video): TED - TEDTalks (video) - TEDTalks (video) Each year, the TED (Tchnology, Entertainment, Design) confernce hosts some of the world's most fascinating people. Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. These podcasts (also available in audio format) TED - TEDTalks (audio) - TEDTalks (audio) capture the most extraordinary presentations delivered from the TED stage.
  • Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders: Stanford Technology Ventures Program - Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Stanford Technology Ventures Program. The Entrepreneural Thought Leaders Seminar is a weekly seminar series on entrepreneurship. (Audio)

Reduce Your Phone Bill

  • Skype: Free Calls Over Internet. (USB or Bluetooth Headset Recommended)
  • SkypeOut: Unlimited calls to any phone within the US and Canada $29.95 per year.

Other Places To Find Software:

Freeware, Shareware, Demo and Commerical

Best Performance

Keep Your Software Up-To-Date
Once you have the current system or application software from Apple or others keep it up-to-date. To check you have the lastest from Apple under the Apple Menu select Software Update. This will check all Apple software on your computer to see if there is a more current version available. Do this update process again until it tell you that your software is current. Apple Menu | System Preferences? | Software Update lets you automate this process.

iLife 11 upgraded in Oct 2011 and iWork 09 upgraded in Jan of 2009.
iLife comes with new computers iWork does not.
Both are inexpensive and can be bought as a family pack.
Consider the family pack if you have more than one Mac.
Also each application in these bundles can be purchased separately in the App Store These packages of software tend to require a paid update about once a year. If you do not already have Mac OS X Leopard ( 10.5 ) consider Apple's Boxed Set which includes iLife 11, iWork 09 and Snow Leopard.

Aperture 2: Feb 12, 2008 -- Aperture 2 delivers more than 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use, and more powerful than ever. $199 New Price and $99 to upgrade. Free Trial

Mac OS X: ( Mac Operating System )
Installing or Upgrading to Snow Leopard: Best Practices
Mac OS X comes with a new computer and a paid upgrade is required about once every 18 months. Consider the family pack if you have more than one Mac. Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program: If you?ve purchased a qualifying computer or Xserve on or after June 8, 2009 that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard for $9.95usd A new version Mac OS X Snow Leopard version 10.6 was released on August 28, 2009. It is a good idea to check Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Compatibility List of your application software. Snow Leopard can be ordered from the Apple Store, Amazon or your local Apple Retailer. Apple Canada Store. For those with Mac OS X 10.4.11 The Mac Box Set which includes iLife '09 and iWork '09.

Between paid versions Apple provides incremental updates for all of its software using Software Update found under the Apple Menu. Apple Menu | System Preferences | Software Update, enables you to tell your Mac how often to check for, download and install new updates. Once a week is generally fine.

Keeping your hardware reasonably current is also in your best interest. New versions of software and operating systems take advantage of current hardware performance to make your life easier. Older computers gradually have a harder and harder time keeping up. If you plan on replacing your computer every year or two you will remain current and have a good resale value for your older machine. Mac OS X makes it easy to move everything to your new computer.

Security

Deep study: The world's safest computing environment
"More and more smart individuals, government agencies and corporations are shifting towards Apple and BSD environments in 2004," according to DK Matai, Executive Chairman, mi2g. "For how long can the truth remain hidden that the great emperors of the software industry are wearing no clothes fit for the fluid environment in which computing takes place, where new threats manifest every hour of every day. There is an accelerating paradigm shift visible in 2004 and busy professionals have spotted the benefits of Apple and BSD because they don't have the time to cope with umpteen flavours of Linux or to wait for Microsoft's Longhorn when Windows XP has proved to be a stumbling block in some well chronicled instances."

Please note that Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.x has a built in fire wall. You can configure it using Apple Menu | System Preferences | Sharing and Security

dmoz: Open Directory Project

dmoz: Open Directory Project:
Category: Top: Computers: Consultants: Macintosh Systems

The Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast is located just North of Vancouver, BC, Canada. On the mainland but accessable only by ferry the Sunshine Coast is comprised of sixty kilometers of south facing coastline. Communities on the Sunshine Coast include Langdale, Hopkins Landing, Soames Point, Granthams Landing, Gibsons, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada: Roberts Creek, Davis Bay, Sechelt, Half Moon Bay, Redrooffs, Pender Harbour and Egmont.
Apple Black Friday Sale

Time Machine: Fully Automated Build-In Hourly Backup

( if you would like assistance with this process I am available, as a consultant, to assist you 604 886-4573 )

Never again worry about losing your digital files. Time Machine automatically saves up-to-date copies of everything on your Mac ? photos, music, videos, documents, applications, and settings. If you ever have the need, you can easily go back in time to recover anything.

Time Machine works with your Mac and an external hard drive. Just connect the drive and assign it to Time Machine and you?re a step closer to enjoying peace of mind. Time Machine will automatically back up your entire Mac, including system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents. But what makes Time Machine different from other backup applications is that it not only keeps a spare copy of every file, it remembers how your system looked on a given day ? so you can revisit your Mac as it appeared in the past.

To use Time Machine you need to running Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer ( Apple Menu | About This Mac?). Ideally current system software 10.6.x on an intel Mac. You also need an external Hard Drive that is 2 - 4 times the capacity of your internal drive. You can remain connected by wire to your external Time Machine backup drive, or if you have a MacBook you may want to use a Time Capsule for wireless backup.

The cost of external drives relative to capacity continues to fall. You can use any external Hard Drive, but you may need to reformat it. Most external hard drives come preformated for Windows machines. Reformating is not difficult and takes just a few minutes. Once format is correct starting Time Machine is easy and is completely automatic in its ongoing operation.

Time Machine is highly recommended for all Mac owners.

MoneyWorks: Seriously Good Accounting Software For Canada

( if you would like assistance with this process I am available, as a consultant, to assist you 604 886-4573 )

Get to really know your business. As the cornerstone to your business, your accounting system needs to do so much more than just bookkeeping and compliance. As well as providing fast and timely financial and management reports, it needs to adapt to your changing workflows, operate with your other systems and grow with your business.

MoneyWorks works the same on Mac and Windows. Share data files between platforms or even have Mac and Windows computers accessing the same server.

MoneyWorks has been around for more than a decade and is a well thought out accounting package that does what it should without a lot of problems.

MoneyWorks comes in four versions that can each easly upgrade to the next: CashBook, Express, Gold and DataCentre. This provides you with a full range of funcationality as your business grows. A free trial is available. Boxed versions availabe from Apple Online or London Drugs.

Apple App Store for Mac Software Applications

( if you would like assistance with this process I am available, as a consultant, to assist you 604 886-4573 )

You may know about the App Store for you iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad, the App Store is now available for your Mac.
The Mac App Store is available as a free software update for Mac computers running Mac OS X v10.6 or later. If you have an earlier version of Mac OS X, you will need to upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard. When you upgrade to Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later ( Apple Menu | Software Update or paid boxed update from 10.5 or earlier) you will find the AppStore icon in your Dock next to the finder icon on the far left or top if your dock is on the side of your screen.

Apple now provides all of the software usually included in iLife and iWork bundles as separate downloadable applications. For instance: Pages is now available for $19.99 Aperture for $79.99. After a one time setup of your Mac App Store account getting new software is now as easy as clicking on buy. The software is downloaded, installed and an icon placed in your dock, ready to use. Very easy, very nice. If type free in the search field in the top right of the App Store window you will be shown a list of all the software with a price of free.

Deals: These Change. In the first week of the App Store there were some excellent deals on software like Aperture and Sketch book Pro for more than 50% off. These say for a limited time offer so it is uncertain when they will expire or when new offers will be forthcoming. Go look for the software that you want and see.

Keep your Apps up-to-date: Since developers are constantly improving their apps, the App Store for Mac keeps track of your apps and tells you when an update is available. Update one app at a time or all of them at once, and you?ll always have the latest version of every app you own.

eBooks from BC Libraries: Gibsons and Sechelt Libraries
in Particular to your Mac iPod Touch, iPad & iPhone

( if you would like assistance with this process I am available, as a consultant, to assist you 604 886-4573 )

  1. Install Adobe Digital Editions on your Mac or PC
    Scroll down and Click on the large "Launch" Button
    Countinue through the installation.
    When given the choice: Authorize your computer ( radio button: authorize is the default )
    Note that the line above has a link to use if you do not already have an adobe ID
    ( please remember your Adobe ID ( your email address ) & password )
  2. Install Bluefire reader reader on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
  3. Go to Install BC Libraries they have more eBooks than the local library or your local library Gibsons or Sechelt online.
  4. Find a book that you would like to read.
    Sign it out.
    To do this from the BC Libraries site it will sign out through your local library
    To log into your local library use the number on your card ( even if you have changed this )
    and your password ( that you may have changed ) or the last 4 digits of your phone number if you have not.
    This will down load as small file that Adobe Digital Editions can find, authorize and download the book from.
  5. To get the book to your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
    Download the free Bluefire Reader
    This will download to iTunes and then sync with your ipod touch, iphone or ipad automatically.
    Plugin your ipod touch, iphone or ipad and sync once you have downloaded the Bluefire into iTunes
    ( you will need an apple ID to down load even a free app from the apple online store )
    Create an iTunes App Store account without a credit card
  6. Once you have Bluefire installed
    Open Adobe Digital Editions
    It normally will offer to go out and find all of your ebooks.
    Let it do this.
    Or, Under the Library pull down menu ( top left within the application window )
    Select Add Book and find the file you have downloaded from the library.
    You should now be able to read the book in Adobe Digital Editions on your Mac.
  7. Moving the book to your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
    Open iTunes
    Select your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad in the left column
    Select the App tab across the top of the right window.
    Scroll to the bottom of the page under the title File Sharing
    In the left column entitled Apps | Select Bluefire
    In the right column, bottom right select Add?
    Navigate to Home Directory | Documents | Adobe Digital Editions Folder | Select your book.epub
    That's it almost?
    Click the Sync? button ( bottom right of iTunes window to sync the book to your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
  8. Finally, on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
    open Bluefire
    the first time you open it will ask you for your Adobe ID ( your email ) and password
    Once this is done choose your book and begin reading.
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Updated: 3 February, 2012 8:12 AM - V0N 1V1
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