Dorchester — Mar 8th 2011

John having just returned from holiday Mark introduced the meeting with 17 members present.

He started with a foray into the refurbished WAMUG website. He also gave the link which people have to use in order to subscribe to the WAMUG calendar on iCal -
UPDATED LINK FOR iCAL FEED

Q&A's then followed, the following items were discussed:
Hard drive problems which had origins in faulty power supplies, cables.
IMAP with BT internet was said to be a possible, but undocumented feature, and so there was uncertainty as to how to set it up.
An iPhoto movie problem resolved with Apple Genii - resolved after 2 weeks - the lesson was 'don't delete cache files'. Euan - can use Onyx to help decide which caches can be deleted with impunity. Leave iSomething caches alone (those which relate to Apple programmes).

Diana then told us about Assistive Technology in Mac
These she had found to be most helpful in using the Mac. She has two significant eye problems - cataracts and macular degeneration. Apple, she has found, is disability friendly. Some of the features which she demonstrated can be most useful, even if not disabled, for example text to speech as an aid when proof reading.
Four helpers are found in system preferences: Speech and Universal Access
Speech
Speech recognition this can be used to draw attention to an application, text to speech, and speaking clock
Speaking text - Alex is best speaker - Very useful for proof reading. No Dorset accents. English voices can apparently be purchased.
Speech recognition respond to preset commands eg 'tell me a joke'.
Other features are:-
Zoom
Hearing
Sticky keys
Delay keys (if tremor)
Cursor Enlarger (n.b. Mouse Locator)
White on Black displays

Odds and Ends
Printopia can be used to print from iPad (Air Print) for many printer types.
iPad2 said to be followed by iPad3 in the Autumn. Worth waiting for?
Photoshop tutorials for those nervous of this software - Diana has details. Euan recommends Adobe TV for this purpose.

Michael then gave a presentation on DTP aspects of Pages
Explained how to use Pages to create a poster, demonstrating the versatile graphical capability and ease of use of the programme. It makes a versatile DTP package.

SR

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