August 17th General Meeting

Posted on August 1, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Cloud-based storage: iCloud, DropBox, other applications

Keep your stuff where you can access it all the time (as long as you have an Internet connection).

Regular Features

Apps & Traps – Our essential monthly feature on interesting new products and services for iOS and OS X, brought to you by Dave Whitby.

Apple News & Updates

Q&A

Our rewarding Monthly Prize Drawing. Be on the lookout, on the Web site, for the Zooming, (Re)Joining, Drawing post, which will have the all gory details on how the drawing (among other things) should work.

The meeting will be conducted on Zoom. The gory details have arrived: Tech Check!

The Meeting after the Meeting is back with us. Hang on in Zoom, after the General meeting, and chat with everyone!

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Stock vs Products

Posted on July 21, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

So… should you buy products from your preferred providers, or buy their stock?

Never thought about such things? Neither I, until Phil Goodman brought this Web link up at the General meeting last night. Really interesting!

We’re talking about Yaron Yitzhak’s post on TNW, asking that question:

People don’t usually regret their first bit of exciting hardware. On the contrary, the majority of folks have strong nostalgic feelings about their earliest computer, game console, audio player, or phone.…

All this got me thinking. What would it take for us to give up those memories? Money, probably. Lots of it. So… what if instead of buying an old gadget when it was released, we bought the product’s worth in company stock instead? Would that be enough to overcome our nostalgia?

Interesting question, eh? For Yaron’s thoughts, and the dollar comparisons, PYBT: This is how rich you’d be if you bought Apple stock instead of its products.

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Were You at the Meeting Last Night?

Posted on July 21, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

If not, you missed massive hysteria in Apps & Traps and a great WWDC presentation. The best part about the WWDC? Everybody chimed in with notes, observations, additional pointers, and questions!

The Meeting after the Meeting didn’t really rev up; I think everybody was pooped out after WWDC.

That’s my story; I’m sticking to it!

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July 20th General Meeting

Posted on July 1, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

WWDC Report

Yes, Apple is up to a lot of new stuff! We’ll have it all.

Regular Features

Apps & Traps – Our essential monthly feature on interesting new products and services for iOS and OS X, brought to you by Dave Whitby.

Apple News & Updates

Q&A

Our rewarding Monthly Prize Drawing includes an iTunes gift card, ELIXAGE Ear Buds, a Guide Sensemart Chinese Design Gold Foil Bookmark, a Hornettek Qi Wireless Charger, an iHome Nylon Braided 6’ Lightning to USB-C Cable, and an iTunes mystery gift card. Be on the lookout, on the Web site, for the Zooming, (Re)Joining, Drawing post, which will have the all gory details on how the drawing (among other things) should work.

The meeting will be conducted on Zoom. The gory details have arrived: Tech Check!

The Meeting after the Meeting is back with us. Hang on in Zoom, after the General meeting, and chat with everyone!

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Who Are You and What Do You Do?

Posted on June 29, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

At The Sweet Setup:

Every week we {aim to} post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.

Today’s victim, er, interviewee:

Several months ago, I took all the apps on my Home screen and moved them over by one so that my first Home screen was blank. While the totally blank first Home screen was nice, but it didn’t stick…

You can catch Shawn’s complete story here: Shawn Blanc’s iPhone Home Screen, Summer 2020 Edition.

“Back issues” can be found here: Sweet Setup Interviews.

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On the Other Hand…

Posted on June 26, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

…Microsoft is shutting stuff down…

In a major shift in its approach to retail, Microsoft said Friday it’s closing all its physical stores in a move that will result in a pretax charge of $450 million for the June quarter.

The charge, of 0.05 cents per share, includes primarily asset write-offs and impairments. The stores have been shuttered since late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The software giant had ramped up its retail presence over the past decade with locations reminiscent of ubiquitous Apple stores. Microsoft’s website lists 72 store locations in the U.S. and six others in Australia, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.K.

On Deadline, Jill Goldsmith continues: Microsoft Is Closing All Retail Stores: Locations Shuttered Since March Not Reopening.

It’s Séan’s fault!

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Did You Know?

Posted on June 24, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Not all is lost! Apple Stores are opening; slowly, perhaps, but it’s happening.

On AppleInsider, Wesley Hilliard reports:

Apple is slowly opening up stores around the globe as lockdown restrictions are lifted. Here’s where they’ve opened up, as well as where they remain closed, updated on June 25 with 14 Florida locations re-closing.

Apple is opening its retail stores on a case-by-case basis, and are relying on the CDC guidance to do so. The stores that are open offer most of their services, but with precautions in place to protect customers and employees.

Some stores reopening in the U.S. will offer curbside or storefront services only. Be sure to check for your specific store’s available resources before making a trip out.

The whole story can be found here: Here’s where Apple Stores have reopened around the world.

It’s Séan’s fault!

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Apple Just Announced

Posted on June 23, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Key Points:

  • During the WWDC 2020 keynote, Apple revealed iOS 14 with a new home screen for iPhones, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7 and more.
  • It also said it will begin to switch to using its own Apple chips instead of Intel chips in Macs.
  • The keynote was livestreamed this year since Apple decided to hold a digital-only event in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

So sayeth Kif Leswing at CNBC. PYBT for his full report: Here’s everything Apple just announced: iOS 14 will give iPhones a new home screen, ditching Intel chips and more.

It’s Jeane’s fault!

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WWDC 2020

Posted on June 22, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

WWDC starts today. We should be hearing lots of good stuff coming from Infinite Loop!

Since WWDC is digital-only this year, I’m hoping we’ll be getting lots of online reports, videos, etc. I’ll share as much of it as I come across

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Architecture

Posted on June 20, 2020 by SGVAUG BlogMaster

Apple CPU logos

And how did we shift from computers to architecture? Besides that my father-in-law was an architect?

We’re talking about CPU architecture here, and Apple has a bit of a history:

Over the last 36 years, the Apple Macintosh has had three different CPU architectures, and it’s poised to potentially migrate to a fourth. As rumors about a switch to ARM swirl, let’s take a brief look at the history of CPU architectures on the Mac.

In Deja Vu: A Brief History of Every Mac CPU Architecture, Benj Edwards gets into the past, present, & and future thereof.

Thanks, How-To Geek! We did need to know.

Graphic from the article

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