PAST MEETINGS

February 3, 2025

ATTENDING: Tom B, Sandi S, John M, Al J, Maureen J, Jo W, Russ C, Linda K.

TOPIC : REBOOT MEETING

Our H'port Mac Users Group is up and running again after taking a year off to recharge, refresh and refocus. We all agreed that we enjoy meeting with other people in face-to-face groups and follow the rabbit trails of discussions wherever they might take us.

Each person at the Reboot meeting wrote three letters (Q, T and S) on a piece of paper and then jotted a couple-word summary of a QUESTION, a time-saving TIP, and a SUGGESTION for a future meeting topic. We took turns presenting our questions and attempted to find answers via our computers, shared knowlege and searching the internet via WIFi at the library.

TIP

Best FIX for 90% of your computer issues:
Reboot your device. : )

TIP

Best Search Engine

Duck Duck Go has long been the favorite search engine for many of us in the Mac Group (works well with PC computers also)
- does not share, sell or save your browsing information.

TIP

Keyboard Shortcut : Command-Shift-4

Captures selected area of any part of screen.

"If there were no other reason to own a Mac, this would be enough."

See more KB Shortcuts for Screenshots at Apple Support

See complete list of all KB Shortcuts at Apple Support

GREAT RESOURCE

OWC (Other World Computing) - drives, batteries, accessories, Macs new and used -
great prices, low shipping costs, fast delivery

https://eshop.macsales.com

HARDWARE

Find or buy an external backup HD.
(1TB HD currently available at OWC for $53)

GREAT APP

DetectX Swift - small troubleshooting app to find and remove annoying malware (like MacKeeper) - free to use - download from Squarq

TIP

FRONT/BACK MATTER

Hidden Easter Egg in the Dictionary App:

Open the Dictionary app
(Finder Menu > Go > Apps > Dictionary)

In the Dictionary Menu, click Go > Front/Back Matter > New Oxford American Dictionary

Find a wide assortment of helpful resources:

Rules of English
Guide to Spelling
Guide to Punctuation
Cliches
History of English - Timeline
States of USA
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
Countries of the World
Chemical Elements
Weights and Measures and Conversions
Alphabets

HOW TO

Use 'Start Speaking' Feature of your Mac

1 Highlight selected words.
2 Right click on selected words.
3 Select: Speech > Start Speaking

The "Speak Selection" feature of our Macs amused the group as we all found a friend who would always say what we wanted to hear. A more practical application of this feature might be in proofreading / comparing two identical lists for errors.

(NOTE: Speak Selection works with any Apple app and also on websites if you are using the Apple Safari browser).

TIP

If you receive spam 'fake billings' or 'fake delivery alerts' in your email, do not click on any links or call any listed phone numbers - but rather take a screen shot of the suspicious message by using KB shortcut Command-Shift-3. Then delete the email. This will produce a PNG image of your entire screen which can later be safely used for reference if needed to prevent spamming.

See example of fake billing received by Tom recently re: Norton Utilities charge. Read article at Norton about these email scams.

TIP

Capture a Screenshot on iPad or iPhone by quickly pressing POWER button and Home button at same time. Image is saved to Photos.

TIP

Prevent future spam emails by going to your online Gmail account and using the FILTER tool in Settings to write specific filters to block, delete or redirect annoying emails.

See how here

REBOOT HUMOR

NEXT MEETING

Hammondsport Mac Users Group - Hammondsport, NY 14840 - www.hportmug.com