The December monthly meeting of Natmac will take place on December 7th commencing at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Hospital.
As most members know, the December meeting is a combination of our regular meeting and a social time to chat and enjoy some light refreshments. Each year the refreshments get a bit lighter as I try to purchase just enough so as not to have too many leftovers. As I recall last year was just about right on, but, alas, I didn't keep a list of what I brought so I have to guess again this time. Best advice, don?t skip dinner!!!
We also have a different setup concerning the door prizes at the December meeting. For the past several years we have dispensed with the raffle but each membership has received a small (meaning inexpensive) gift. Try as I might, this year I was unable to find a small inexpensive gift which I thought would please most members. Rather than give everyone something useless (as I have sometimes done in the past) I decided to spend the gift allocation sum on 10 copies of the Walter Isaacson book, Steve Jobs. We will thus give out one raffle ticket to each membership and proceed to give the 10 copies away. If you win and already have a copy as I know several members have, you can decline to accept it or regift it to a friend.
The reason we are able to give such nice door prizes each month is that we have very low operating expenses. Other than making a few small donations to the hospital to show our appreciation, a gift for the lady at the hospital who secures our room for us and the fee to the State all the dues collected go into the door prizes. The extra raffle tickets purchased also help keep that account in the black.
Long time member, Barbara Klein, has offered to donate several several nice items she no longer needs. These will be given away in coming months. She also has a couple of items she would like to sell. If you have any interest you can contact her at <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>. She has a copy of Photoshop Elements 8 that she would like to sell for $20, perfect condition. Also, she would like to sell a Canon Pixma MP780 color printer with extra cartridges for $50. Excellent condition, works perfectly. If you have an interest in the printer be sure to contact her as she is not planning to bring the printer unless someone wants to see it.
By the way, I am happy to put these notices in for any member.
I am printing my annual politically correct Holiday Greeting at the end of the newsletter in lieu of the photo of the month.
I hope you all can make the meeting so I don?t have a lot of chips, nuts and cheese left over.
Pete
Things of interest????
MacLegion offers downloads of its Mac Legion 2011 Winter 11-Application Bundle for $49.99. That's a savings of $430 compared to paying the list price for each program and the biggest bundle we've seen since September from MacLegion. It includes MotionComposer, Nisus Writer Pro, Photostyler, Bellhop, and more. Deal ends December 11
Audible offers downloads of Tom Clancy's Dead Or Alive MP3 Audiobook for free. That's $24 off and the lowest price we could find for this audiobook. No credit card information is required.
Of note, this book has two separate files and can be sent directly to your Kindle device. (You can sign in via your existing Amazon account.) You can also download the files directly to your computer; however, software will be required to do so. Lasty, it's narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips!
Cookies for Christmas
CulinartMedia, Inc. has introduced Cookies for Christmas 1.1, for iOS devices. Thoughts of family gatherings and visiting friends and bringing in the season with delicious treats means it's time once again to begin baking Christmas cookies. With over 50 recipes, including traditional favorites like gingerbread and shortbread to new favorites like panettone and sevillanas, this app makes it easy to bake great-tasting treats at home. Each recipe displays step-by-step color photos, ingredient listings, in-built timer, and shopping and favorite lists along with videos and a "know-how" section.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/cookies/
iOS 5: Complete LIst of 200+ New Features
At the June 6 WWDC, Apple gave us 20 new features for iOS 5. But there were over 200 new features promised. I know I couldn't come close to naming them. This article on TechZoom started listing them on June 8th. Now they have a list of 248 features plus 16 updates although not all of the updates apply to iOS 5.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/ios-5/
A Better Way To Take Notes?
PAD Software is calling their new "Scrawl," a beautiful yet simple note-taking app for OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion. Scrawl is easy to access, and it sits right in the menu bar. It has a QuickLook-like window based off of Snow Leopard, auto save (in OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard as well, not Lion required), and it is extremely customizable.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/scrawl/
World's first iPad celebrity news magazine
Stone Age Publishing has launched CELEBRITY iSPY, the world's first magazine created exclusively for the iPad. No more scrolling through PDFs of print magazines, CELEBRITY iSPY uses the latest technology to bring fans of entertainment and celebrity culture the latest photos, news, fashion insights, gossip, scandals, interviews, videos and more.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/ispy/
10 Useful Tools For Mac
This article on A1Daily.com presents 10 tools, add-ons and software for Mac OS X. These are the author's weapons of choice when designing and boosting productivity.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/10-useful-tools-for-mac/
Protecting yourself from Financial Scams
The cybercrime industry is taking a particular liking to financial scams as we approach the holiday season in a down-turn economy. They automatically assume that a percentage of their victims are looking for a job, transferring money, or trying to streamline their financial lives. JUST DON'T CLICK
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/protecting-yourself-from-financial-scams/
Beware the 12 Scams of Christmas
Holiday revelers beware: real-life Scrooges and Grinches are out to steal Christmas.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/11194/
Apple's 25% Solution
An article with this title appears on the Seeking Alpha website. The site appears to be aimed at investors. In the first paragraph the article says, 'The nearly 25% of recognized revenue that flowed to the net income line in FY 2011 is what I call 'Apple's 25% solution.' It's Apple's formula for consistent earnings growth and management's solution to the complex questions that surround strategic product decisions.
http://www.ugnn.com/2011/11/apples-25-solution/
HOLIDAY GREETINGS!
I REALLY WANTED TO SEND OUT SOME SORT OF HOLIDAY GREETING BUT IT IS SO DIFFICULT IN TODAY'S WORLD TO KNOW WHAT TO SAY WITHOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE.
SO AS A FORMER (NOW RETIRED) ATTORNEY I WANT TO SAY TO ALL OF YOU:
PLEASE ACCEPT WITH NO OBLIGATION, IMPLIED OR IMPLICIT, MY BEST WISHES FOR AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS, SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE, LOW STRESS, NON- ADDICTIVE, GENDER NEUTRAL, CELEBRATION OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE HOLIDAY, PRACTICED WITHIN THE MOST ENJOYABLE TRADITIONS OF THE RELIGIOUS PERSUASION OF YOUR CHOICE, WITH RESPECT FOR THE RELIGIOUS/ SECULAR PERSUASIONS AND/OR TRADITION OF OTHERS, OR THEIR CHOICE NOT TO PRACTICE RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR TRADITIONS AT ALL.
I ALSO WISH YOU A FISCALLY SUCCESSFUL, PERSONALLY FULFILLING, AND MEDICALLY UNCOMPLICATED RECOGNITION OF THE ONSET OF THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED CALENDAR YEAR 2012, BUT NOT WITHOUT DUE RESPECT FOR THE CALENDARS OF CHOICE OF OTHER CULTURES WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY HAVE HELPED MAKE THE USA GREAT [NOT TO IMPLY THAT USA IS NECESSARILY GREATER THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY OR IS THE ONLY "USA" IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE], AND WITHOUT REGARD TO THE RACE, CREED, COLOR, AGE, PHYSICAL ABILITY, RELIGIOUS FAITH, OR SEXUAL PREFERENCE OF THE WISHEE.
BY ACCEPTING THIS GREETING, YOU ARE ACCEPTING THESE TERMS: THIS GREETING IS SUBJECT TO CLARIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL.
IT IS FREELY TRANSFERABLE WITH NO ALTERATION TO THE ORIGINAL GREETING,
IT IMPLIES NO PROMISE BY THE WISHER TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT ANY OF THE WISHES FOR HIMSELF OR OTHERS, AND IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, AND IS REVOCABLE AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE WISHER.
CHEERS!,
Pete