Ten members came to Warsash, and after we'd dealt with the very congested parking, Stuart told us about audio upgrades he'd made to his Mac Pro and how and why Apple devices can benefit from better stereo, surround sound or both. This wasn't a buyer's guide, as budgets and requirements vary so much and there are many, many options. Instead, Stuart gave an overview of what you can do with all the various connection options…
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We had a good turnout of 17 plus a guest and just about fitted into the Newbury, our regular room full of Bee Keepers. David M demonstrated what he considers to be the benefits of using iCloud Keychain across Macs and IOS devices and Keychain Access, Mac OS only which includes iCloud Keychain but shows more information such as WiFi passwords. He uses Secure Notes in KeyChain Access only accessible on the Mac where created…
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A group of 12 members plus one guest were briefed on the latest software updates for Apple's range of desktops, laptops and tablets, as well as new photo improvements for the latest iPhone models. The importance of installing updates to improve computer security was stressed.
Euan showed how the recent changes in Monterey made it extremely easy to transform handwritten text into text-editing software for printing with appropriately selected fonts.
A…
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A return to Warsash after last month's virtual meeting for nine members. John told us about his experiences with an M1 Mac mini, and the pros and cons he'd found compared to his older systems. He'd bought one then returned it, but bought another some months later and was very glad he did. He also brought in his very first Mac- a G4 mini (introduced 2004) which unfortunately refused to play nicely with the projector, despite…
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We arrived at the Colliton Club to find “our room”, the Dorset Room, full of bee keepers. After some delays 12 of us were able to squeeze into the Churchill Room where under Euan’s tuition and guidance we entertained ourselves being creative in iMovie, David Parnell walking away with trophy (a packet of M&Ms) for the best movie.…
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Presentations on Computer Security (Barry) and Monterey (Mick) were given to the group of members and guests, 14 in total. Mick was able to demonstrate in real-time the value of iCloud in enabling the transfer of documentation between computers some miles distant from each other. A lively discussion on how individual members managed password retention and personal security showed that current best practice had not been always adopted. Hopefully, meetings such as this will…
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Before giving a talk on the basics of using Zoom and how to receive help one to one by sharing your screen, Mick chaired a discussion on the balance between physical and online meetings. The overwhelming view in the case of Dorchester was to stay with the monthly physical meetings. In areas where support is insufficient to warrant hiring a hall and organising a meeting then some online meeting is the best substitute. Mick explained…
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Given the uncertainty over what regulations would be in place for a physical meeting, we switched to Zoom for this month. Ten members attended 'virtual Warsash' and David talked us through some of the new and interesting features of iOS 15, including LiveText (built-in OCR), two-factor authentication, FaceTime screen sharing, and on iPad, split view and other new features for multitasking. After physical tea-breaks, the usual broader discussions followed. …
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Mick showed various Christmas communications tips including making a card on line using moonpig.com, one of many providers of similar services, which include postage. He then showed how to make a card on a Mac or iPad using two pages A4 in landscape divided into 4 x A5, advising the need to use thick enough paper/card and the how to manage the layout front and back, suggesting a dummy run on ordinary paper…
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Ten members attended this month- smaller, but still perfectly formed! Mick showed us some of the ways and means to produce Christmas cards on Macs and iPads- from ordering via Moonpig to the full DIY option with Pages (or Word, or Affinity, or...). Next was preparing your round-robin Christmas newsletter together with the use of Instant Alpha (a tool which removes backgrounds - or indeed any colour you choose) so the text more closely flows…
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