Harry Anderson called the meeting to order at 4: 05 p.m.; there were 19 in attendance. He announced the program: a 15-minute movie on Staying Safe by Robert Elphick followed by a question and answer period. He reminded everyone that we won't have a December meeting (it has previously been a social event but we are still not meeting in person). We will resume Zoom meetings in January and continue with them at least through March. He reminded attendees to keep their computers on Mute during the presentation and to use the Chat function to type in any questions or comments. Harry will then forward them to Robert when appropriate.
Gary reported that the treasury balance is now $8,814.64; $150 for mentoring has been added since last month.
PRESENTATION
Staying Safe was presented by Robert Elphick. The presentation was in the form of a video which is already available on the website zoom page. Related questions and answers are below.
Questions related to the program
Question: I received a fraudulent email that appeared to come from a friend asking me for a $200 gift card for her nephew. I knew it was fraudulent, so I called the friend to check. What else should I have done?
Robert: On the MAGIC home page, there is a link to the FBI/Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to report fraud. Always be careful about giving out any information about yourself on the internet, especially social media like Facebook.
Question: I keep getting a note to Save Passwords on my browser. How do I get rid of this request?
Robert: That should be under the Preferences in your browser. In Safari the Preferences window has a set of tabs at the top - click on the Passwords tab you will be able to turn off the password feature - and also edit existing passwords.
Robert: You can edit saved passwords via Safari Preferences but there isn't an easy way to turn it off completely. For each website that Safari asks to save the password, click "Never for this website" and it will not ask again for that site.
Question: How do I get rid of second authorization codes?
Robert: Dual authorization systems mostly rely on having two devices. A password is sent to a second device when you try to access a password protected website, you are then required to type it into the first devise to get full access to the website. These security systems are set up by the user so there should not be any reason why you need to disable it. If however, you do want to disable one you will need to go to your account page on the website and find a place to disable it. Failing that, call the website manager and ask.
General Q and A
Question: What is the best way to get rid of unwanted emails? Is it always wise to click on Unsubscribe?
Robert: Some emails have a genuine unsubscribe link near the bottom - however some of these are malware links. Only click on Unsubscribe if you are sure the email is legitimate.
To reduce the number of spam mails go to Mail Preferences, and click on Rules. Here you can generate specific rules to cope with annoying repeat spam. You can choose options such as "If the message is from" or "If the message contains" and set it to act to move it to Junk or Trash. Once the rule is set up it will then work automatically. Periodically, then, you can empty your Junk folder. Try it out.
Question: Should I wait any longer before installing OS12 Monterey?
Robert: I don't know of any problems with Monterey. Go ahead and upgrade.
Question: When copying a group of files is there a way to copy only the new ones and not replace those that are already there?
Robert: Use a back-up program that does a "smart back" up, only backing up the files that have changed. Carbon Copy Cloner (https://bombich.com) will do this for selected folders as well as for complete drives.
Question: When I'm working on photos for presentations, I often get the message "Photo not found."
Robert: You need to know where the photos are being stored.
Ron: Be sure to open photos in Preview that you receive in emails and save them to your computer first. Using Photos is a way of working with photos, but they need to be stored, either in Pictures or another folder.
Question: I need to do more advertising online, as with Instagram, for example.
Prescott: Goosefoot does a lot of workshops on how to use Instagram: sammy@goosefoot.org. https://goosefoot.org/workshops/
Question: How serious is it when a power loss shuts down the computer without a proper shut-down?
Robert: The Macintosh operating system can handle sudden shut-down's fairly well However I recommend you have a separate power source for the computer, such as an APC box that provides temporary power when there is a power outage giving you time to shut all files and close down ellegantly, especially if you are in the middle of an important project or writing "The Great American Novel" In any case, back up early, often, and back up again. Take advantage of Time Machine and activated it at any crucial juncture of your work.
Harry adjourned the general meeting and opened the Magic Board meeting.
MAGIC Board Meeting Notes:
Present were Harry Anderson, Gary McIntyre, Ron Sharp, and Madelyn van der Hoogt.
Harry announced that we need to designate the programs for January, February, and March.
Robert agreed to do a program on using iMovie (January), Ron volunteered to do a program on how to sort and organize photos (February), and Gary volunteered to do a program on setting Preferences in a number of applications (March). Other suggestions for future programs were: general computer housekeeping, how to use Pages on the iPad, and techniques for using Apple programs like those that have been covered in classes in the past (Keynote, Pages, Numbers, Photos, etc.). We could also choose smaller applications for a monthly meeting since these really require more time than a single meeting allows.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Madelyn Van Der Hoogt, Secretary
MAGIC Musings
by Harry Anderson, MAGIC President
Note: This Software Update section of the newsletter lists the most relevant Apple updates. Not all updates are listed for all products. Additionally, I'll add other pertinent updates on occasion.
Apple releases watchOS 8.1.1 with fix for Series 7 charging issue
by Michael Potuck, 9to5mac
Apple has released a new update for Apple Watch today that patches a bug with Series 7 watches that aren't charging "as expected."
watchOS 8.1.1 is showing up now via OTA for Apple Watch users in the Watch app. Apple says the update features a remedy for charging issues with Series 7 hardware.
watchOS 8.1.1 fixes an issue where Apple Watch Series 7 may not charge as expected for some users.
The update comes after Apple released iOS 15.1.1 which included fixes for problems with dropped calls on iPhone 12 and 13.
We haven't heard of widespread issues with Apple Watch Series 7 not charging properly. With the update only fixing charging issues for Series 7, it could have something to do with the fast charging that's exclusive to the latest Apple Watch.
While it's not specified in the release notes, on its Security Updates page, Apple notes that the update is just for Series 7 GPS + Cellular models.
Apple says that watchOS 8.1.1 and iOS 15.1.1 do not include any security updates.
Apple aims to build self-driving car with no steering wheel
by Ed Hardy, cultofmac
Apple reportedly wants to eliminate the steering wheel and pedals from its autonomous vehicle.
Photo: Samuele Errico Piccarini/Unsplash CC
Apple is reportedly committed to making a car capable of driving completely autonomously. The new head of the project won't be satisfied with a vehicle with only limited capabilities.
The car might not need a steering wheel or pedals at all. And it could be on the road by 2025.
Apple car's new driver puts the pedal to the metal
Kevin Lynch, Apple's VP of technology, took over as head of the company's secret car project in July 2021. And he's the one who decided to focus on a car that can drive fully on its own, according to Bloomberg.
Previously, Apple reportedly had been considering two possibilities. One was a completely autonomous vehicle, while the other option was a car with more limited self-driving capabilities. Not anymore, though — engineers on Project Titan are now concentrating on a car that can drive without human interaction.
No steering wheel needed
Apple reportedly might make the interior of its autonomous vehicle look something like Canoo's Lifestyle Vehicle.
Photo: Canoo
Lynch and his design team supposedly would like to make a car that needs no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle would be truly autonomous with no driver, just passengers who can face each other and talk … or tinker with their iPhones or iPads. "The car would also be heavily integrated with Apple's existing services and devices," reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
But Project Titan engineers are realistic — and aware that emergency manual controls might be necessary.
In the fast lane
Today's report also sheds light on the custom Apple silicon — packed with neural processors to handle the complex self-driving tasks — that is allegedly well along in development.
And Lynch reportedly is being ambitious about getting the vehicle to customers. "Apple is internally targeting a launch of its self-driving car in four years, faster than the five- to seven-year timeline that some engineers had been planning for earlier this year," wrote Gurman.
Road-testing of an Apple car with the new processor could begin soon, according to the report.
macOS Monterey has some amazing new features. However, we don't hear much about the Privacy Report found in the Safari web browser. Safari works behind the scenes to keep you safe from malware and tracking by websites you visit. Let's take a look at Safari's Privacy Report.
Not new, just better…
Safari's Privacy Report has been around since macOS 11 "Big Sur". If you use Safari as your web browser, you're probably using the feature without even knowing it.
Safari and a feature called Intelligent Tracking Protection block information sent out when you visit any website. That information can uniquely identify your Mac and track your web usage. Intelligent Tracking Protection works by using on-device machine learning to block cross-site tracking while still letting websites function as usual.
Most Mac users probably have no idea that Safari is actively blocking trackers and malware. There's really only one clue — a tiny "shield" icon to the left of the Safari address bar (highlighted in red in screenshot below).
The Privacy Report "shield" button, highlighted in red
Click the shield to see how many trackers were prevented from profiling you (see below).
Live Text Digitizes Text in Photos in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey
by Smalldog Electronics
The most magical feature of Apple's latest crop of operating systems—iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey—may be Live Text. You're probably familiar with the concept of optical character recognition (OCR), which turns all the text on a scanned page into normal text you can select, copy, and edit. Live Text does exactly that in Photos, Safari, and the Camera app, plus lets you search for text in photos. And it does it in not just in English, but also Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Thanks to the incredible processing power of Apple's recent devices, this digitization of graphics to text takes place instantly—hence "live" text. Apple says it works on any Mac that can run Monterey, but on the iPhone and iPad, it requires a model with an A12 Bionic processor or later, which means anything in this list (check your device in Settings > General > About > Model Name):
iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and later, including the iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and later
iPad Pro 11-inch
iPad Air (3rd generation) and later
iPad (8th generation) and later
iPad mini (5th generation) and later
Live Text in Photos
The main place you'll use Live Text is in Photos. In iOS and iPadOS, when viewing a picture containing text, touch and hold a bit of text until it highlights in blue. (For text-intensive images, Photos displays a Detect Text button in the lower-right corner; tap it to highlight recognized text.) The familiar text popover then appears. Drag the blue selection handles to adjust the selection as desired or tap Select All. Then you'll most likely want to copy the text, switch to another app, and paste, though you can also do a Web search by tapping Look Up or have the device read the text out loud by tapping Speak.
Some 16-inch MacBook Pro users report issues trying to charge their Mac
by José Adorno, 9to5mac
Although the new M1 Max MacBook Pro has been really well-praised by the Apple community, one month after it was unveiled, some users are now starting to report an issue when trying to charge the computer when it's completely shut down.
The issue was first spotted by a Reddit user (via MacRumors), who wrote that "when the MacBook is shut down completely there is an issue with charging."
As you can see in the video the LED on the charging cable repeatedly turns on and off and with each time it does you can hear the charing sound effect. Is this a known issue?
They said they contacted Apple Support and got a possible fix, which would be:
Shut down M1 Max MacBook Pro;
Click and hold power button for 10 seconds;
Click on "Options," and then "Continue";
Log in to your account in Recovery mode;
Click on the Apple logo on the top left and shut down the MacBook Pro again.
Unfortunately, when the Reddit user turned off their M1 Max MacBook Pro again, the same issue reappeared. Finally, when the user contacted Apple Support again, the company gave a different statement:
Please know that Apple is aware of the issue and investigating. And based on the instruction given by Apple, please keep your macOS updated and do one of the following:
Charge the computer while in sleep mode
Charge the computer with the lid open
Attach the MagSafe cable first, before shutting down the computer.
After the user shared their issue with the M1 Max MacBook Pro, some other users also reported similar problems, including a Reddit user with the 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook. Reddit user Trillionaire suggested that this only happens with the 140W charger, meaning that most 16-inch M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro users will have to deal with this.
Although some might think that this issue is no big deal, as you can just charge your Mac without shutting it down completely, this would become a major problem if the MacBook Pro were to die and need to be recharged from 0%.
It's possible that Apple is working on a software fix for the upcoming weeks. We'll let you know whether this issue is addressed.
My colleague Ben Lovejoy tried to reproduce the issue some users are experiencing, and here's what he said:
The good news - it charges while off (got flashing amber for a few seconds, then green, with the same thing repeated if I disconnected and reconnected while off) …
The bad news - my monitor isn't being recognised again! Now trying the same steps … Ok, monitor back. Key appears to be to power monitor off and on at the plug while it is connected.
Here's everything we know so far about the 2022 MacBook Air
by Chance Miller, 9to5mac
Following the introduction of the all-new MacBook Pro and iMac in 2021, Apple is rumored to be planning a completely revamped version of the MacBook Air for sometime in 2022. The new machine could feature a new design, a new M2 processor on the inside, and more. Head below as we round up all of the rumors we've heard about the new MacBook Air so far.
Design
Just like the new 24-inch iMac and new MacBook Pros, one of the biggest changes with the 2022 MacBook Air is expected to be its design. Leaker Jon Prosser has said that the new MacBook Air will feature a flat-edged design, which notably would mean the end of the MacBook Air's iconic tapered body.
Since its introduction by Steve Jobs, the MacBook Air has featured a tapering design that is slimmer at the front and gets thicker toward the back. This leads to the illusion that the MacBook Air is far thinner than it actually is. Renders shared by Prosser, allegedly created based on real-life images, show a MacBook Air with a flat-edged design that resembles the iPad Pro and iPad Air.
AirPods 3 are the best earbuds in Apple's lineup [Review]
by Ian Fuchs, cultofmac
AirPods are arguably one of Apple's most popular products. Over the last five years, the wireless earbuds have become so common that it's hard to go anywhere without seeing someone wearing them.
And now, with the third-generation AirPods, Apple has improved them in almost every way. That makes the latest AirPods one of the best, if not the best, all-around earbuds you can get.
The best iPhone feature you're not using will save dozens of unnecessary swipes
by Malcolm Owen, appleinsider
iOS 15 brought a lot of great new features that you've likely tried by now—a new Safari interface, Focus modes, Notification Summary, and many more. But there's one feature you've likely missed—and it's been around since iOS 14.
The feature is called Back Tap and it adds an extra hardware button to your wireless charging-enabled iPhone (iPhone 8 or later). When enabled, you can double- or triple-tap the back of your iPhone to activate one of a couple of dozen commands and gestures, as well as Shortcuts.
We've written about Back Tap before, but it's still one of the most underappreciated features in iOS. Apple doesn't include it anywhere on its iOS Overview pages and you'll need to hunt it down to find it in the Settings app. Head to Accessibility, then Touch and Back Tap.
Back Tap Accessibility
Inside you'll find options for double tap and triple tap with 16 system actions, 10 Accessibility actions, two scroll gestures, and any Shortcuts you've created. That gives you a number of ways to cut down on taps and swipes, from taking a screenshot to toggling the flashlight. If you're using the iPhone 13 Max, it will be a huge help with trying to access things that are a little out of reach, such as the Control Center and Notification Center.
But the best use for Back Tap is to bypass the Lock Screen. Ever since Apple launched Face ID, it's added an extra step to getting to your Home screen. After the iPhone is unlocked, you still need to swipe up to get to your apps, a step that's still annoying even after it's become second nature. But with Back Tap, you can set your iPhone to go Home when you double- or triple-tap the back, so you don't need to touch and swipe the screen to fully unlock your phone anymore. I just pick up your phone, wait for Face ID to unlock it, and double-tap the back to go to the Home screen. It's still not quite as fast as the home button used to be, but it's very close.
And that's just one use. There are unlimited ways you can program the two Back Tap shortcuts to quickly perform actions that usually take several taps. Fewer iPhone features are more useful, and we don't know why Apple doesn't advertise this one more.
Sleek new Satechi 3-in-1 magnetic charger powers up iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch
by David Snow, cultofmac
Satechi rolled out a new 3-in-1 MagSafe-compatible charger on Thursday to help users power up their iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches. The sleek black Satechi 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger features a hands-free, adjustable, MagSafe-compatible mount for your phone, plus solid steel-and-aluminum construction.
Satechi 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger
Satechi designed its new charger to power iPhone 13 (7.5W), Apple Watch (2.5W) and AirPods Pro (5W). It features built-in modules that lets you charge up your devices whenever it's convenient.
Satechi launched its 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger earlier this year. The new 3-in-1 adds some upgrades.
Obviously, the 3-in-1 has an additional charger for your Apple Watch. In addition to that, it features a classy black design rather than the white finish of its predecessor. The new charger also uses steel and aluminum construction, which adds some heft and a more premium feel.
Apple Watch charger
The Apple Watch charger connects by USB-C to the charger's base. But you can remove it and use it with another USB-C port, like those in your computer.
In the box, Satechi includes a USB-C cable to power the 3-in-1 Magnetic Charger. But you'll need to supply a 20W power adapter yourself.
You can buy the Satechi 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger for $119.99. But take note that through November 29 you can get $30 from Satechi (with code CHARGING25) or $20 off from Amazon with an instant coupon.
Satechi also offers 25% off its 20W power adapter.
iPhone Other storage: What is it and how do you get rid of it?
by Jason Cross, macworld
I'm sure this sounds familiar: You're trying to install the latest iOS 15 release, back up and upgrade to a new iPhone, or download that cool app your friend told you about, and your iPhone says the storage is full.
You've already deleted every app you don't think you need, and there's still not enough space. So you open Settings, tap General, then iPhone Storage and, sure enough, your iPhone is full. Worst of all, a huge chunk of it is just listed as "Other." What's that supposed to mean? How do you get rid of it?
The Other storage section is mysterious and confusing, and there's no one answer that works for everyone, but hopefully this guide will help you deal with this problem.
To see how much storage all your apps and data are taking up on your iPhone's storage, open the Settings app, select General, then iPhone Storage. Up top you'll see a bar graph showing your total iPhone storage and which types of data are filling it up. Beneath that you'll find a list of applications on your phone and how much room they take up, both for the app itself and its stored data.
You'll find your iPhone storage details a few layers deep in the Settings app.
It may take several seconds for your iPhone to show the graph, as it takes time to scan and analyze its storage. Even after the chart first appears, you'll want to wait several seconds more for it to stabilize, as the app list and storage sizes can change while your phone completes its analysis.
What is Other storage, anyway?
Your iPhone Storage menu will divide that bar up top into familiar categories like Apps, Media, Photos, and Mail, but also an Other category that is sometimes very large. It's common for Other to be in the 5-20GB range, but if it's way over 20GB, it has probably grown out of control. You can scroll all the way down to the bottom of the app list where you will see "iOS" and "System Data" listed. Tap on "System Data" to see how much "Other System Data" is taking up.
The Other category is big and varied, because it's a real catch-all category. It's comprised of system caches, logs, Siri voices (if you've downloaded other voices), updates, and so much more. One of the biggest culprits for Other growing out of hand is streaming lots of music and video. When you download video or music from the iTunes store, TV app, or Music app, it's indexed as Media. But streams have caches used to ensure smooth playback, and those are categorized as Other.
Safari's caches can start to grow pretty large, too. And if you send tons of texts with images or video, the caches for that can start to fill up a lot of space.
Your iPhone is supposed to manage these caches to keep your storage from becoming completely full, but it doesn't always do a great job.
How to reduce the size of Other data
You can't get rid of Other entirely, but you can sometimes reduce its size.
First, let's try clearing your Safari caches. Open Settings > Safari and choose Clear History and Website Data. If you have a lot of Safari tabs open on your iPhone, you might want to close most of them, too.
Clearing your Safari data might reduce the size of Other.
You might also want to change Messages to save fewer old messages. Open Settings, then Messages, and scroll down to the Message History setting. By default, Keep Messages is set to Forever, but you may want to change it to 1 Year or even 30 Days to reduce the data that the Messages app caches.
iphone messages keep.
If you're a heavy texter, your Messages app might be filling up your storage with a lot of data.
Finally, go back to iPhone Storage and look at the apps list. Most of the apps store data that is categorized as Apps, but some will keep caches that are categorized as Other. If, say, the Podcasts app is taking up a couple gigabytes of space, it's likely mostly cached data. Deleting the app and re-downloding it might put a dent in the Other category.
The nuclear option: Backup and Reset with iTunes/Finder
You can go through your iPhone trying to delete every little cache that could grow the size of Other storage, but if you really want to make it as small as possible, you need to back up your phone and reset it. This can take a little while.
The best way to do this is to use iTunes/Finder on your Mac or PC.
Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes. On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, you'll use Finder instead, but the process is the same. You may be prompted to allow access on your iPhone and required to enter your passcode, which you should do.
Select your iPhone by clicking the little phone icon in the upper left, and under Backups, choose This Computer. Checking Encrypt local backup is a good idea, so your account passwords and Health data gets backed up, too. Just choose a password you won't forget. Click the button to Back up now.
Create an encrypted backup to make the restore process as painless as possible.
When the backup is done, disconnect your iPhone and head to Settings > General > Reset and choose Erase All Content and Settings. This will return your iPhone to an out-of-the-box state. When it restarts and it's in the initial setup process, re-connect it to your computer with iTunes open, and follow the instructions on screen to restore your device.
This is the longest and most involved way to reduce the size of Other storage, but it's also the best; there's just no way to get it any smaller than it will be after a fresh reset and restore.
Apple Watch Series 7 vs Series 6: Is Apple's newest wearable a worthy upgrade?
by Roman Loyola, macworld
The Apple Watch Series 7 is available for purchase, but unlike prior years, there aren't any huge standout sensors or features. Yes, the screen is bigger than the Series 6, but otherwise, the Apple Watch Series 7 isn't a huge upgrade over its predecessor.
That just means you have some time to take a close look at the Apple Watch Series 7. In fact, the Series 6 is still the only flagship Watch you can buy, so you might be able to find a really good price on it before the Series 7 hits shelves. So if you have an older Apple Watch and you want to upgrade, or you're looking to buy your first Apple Watch, don't automatically count out the Series 6. Let's take a look at how the two models compare.
Did you make a great Memoji from Apple Watch and you want to show it off? Apple Watch users may be excited to know that you can now set your favorite Memoji as your watch face.
Every year with each major watchOS update, Apple adds a bunch of new watch faces to customize your Apple Watch according to your liking. This year is no different in that regard as they've updated their watch face collection to further expand the variety of watch faces that are available. However, the most interesting one of the lot is the new Memoji watch face which allows you to set a cartoon version of yourself as the background.
HomePod is capable of making phone calls, sending messages, creating reminders, and more when your iPhone is nearby. These are called personal requests and it's a great feature to have. However, it does come at the cost of your privacy, and some people may want to turn off personal requests on their HomePod.
Imagine if someone other than you could make phone calls and send messages from your iPhone? Doesn't that sound like a potential privacy problem? The way HomePod works, it can complete personal requests by recognizing your voice. However, if someone at your home can mimic your voice, or one of your family members has a very similar voice to yours, they can potentially get HomePod to get tasks done on your iPhone without your authorization. Sure it's not a common scenario, but it's possible.
If this is something that concerns you, you'll need to turn off personal requests on HomePod.
Apple TV+ Guide: Here are all the Apple TV shows and movies available now
by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5mac
Apple TV+ offers exclusive Apple original TV shows and movies in 4K HDR quality. You can watch across all of your screens and pick up where you left off on any device. Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month. Here's every Apple original television show and movie available now on Apple TV+, as well as the latest trailers …
Apple TV+ content is available exclusively through the Apple TV app. You can watch on your Apple TV set-top box, iPhone, or iPad as you might expect.
But you don't need the latest Apple TV 4K to enjoy Apple TV+. The TV app is also available on other platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Sony PlayStation, Xbox, and even the web at tv.apple.com.
For your $4.99/month subscription (learn how to save money), you can watch all of Apple's originals — as listed below. You can download to watch offline too. Apple is adding new content every single month.
This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her.
I came into my house and told Siri. We laughed!
Malware Examples
by Ron Sharp and Robert Elphick *
Scam email, made to look like an update from WhidbeyTel, titled "Whidbey Support."
Delete emails like this that are not from who they pretend to be.
Scam email pretending to be from Amazon. Do not call the number. Delete, delete, delete.
Here is one to a client (MAGIC) who do not have a Google account. Very Suspicious! DO NOT CLICK!
Internet Crime
Any one bothered by internet criminal activity should report it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at this web page. This includes phishing, malware, spoofing, any demand for money.
My tracking number said the laptop battery I ordered had been delivered yesterday, but no package. I called the post office and they needed the tracking number, but not a ups tracking number, the postal tracking number. So I located that but then had to recite it a few times for us to both get the number correct. It's a 26 digit number, as long as our whole alphabet. Why such a long number?
It seems we have a never ending amount of numbers to deal with, not to mention passwords. There are phone numbers, bank account numbers, account numbers for every service such as power and utilities. And we have to remember credit and debit card PINs.
It's a good thing our phones and computers remember some numbers for us. I have hundreds of phone numbers in my Contacts app. And thank goodness the computer remembers some of my passwords too. It seems like every store you shop at wants an account with a number and a password. And, of course, the passwords always have to be different and have so many characters that it's not easy to remember.
I like reading about some numbers. For instance computer numbers fascinate me. The new Apple M1 chip has 16 cores and 16 billion transistors. Those are impressive numbers. The 27 inch iMac display has about 108 pixels per inch, a total of 3,686,400 pixels. I imagine some designer figuring a screen, saying we need a screen that is x by x size with x number of pixels. Oh, wait I'm off by 36 pixels!
It's interesting that there are good numbers and bad numbers. It would be good to have your sports team with a higher number than the opposing team. Or good to have your income number higher than your debit number. Not so good to have a higher number of forest fires per year. There is an infinite comparison of things with numbers. Like the number of people on the planet, number of fish consumed per year, number of air quality index, etc, etc. No wonder we need computers, so many numbers to keep track of. We probably wouldn't need such powerful computers if the post office used smaller numbers!
Well, the number on the digital clock says it's dinner time. Some of us have to watch the number of calories or the number indicating salt or fat. Or the number of desserts, seems like I could eat more desserts. Then there will be a number of dishes to clean! And life goes on, for a number of years!
What would we have done without numbers? Imagine if every country that has a different language used a different numbering system! What a mess that could be.
Some readers may have just discovered the entertaining videos, but I've been adding them for nearly a year now. You can use the handy MAGIC Newsletter Index page to scan through all the articles from all the listed months of newsletters. It's really easy and convenient.
James Webb Space Telescope:
Amadeus, Mozart insults Salieri:
MAGIC, the Macintosh Appreciation Group of Island County, serves people who use Macintosh computers, software and peripherals. Our goal is to share information and get answers to questions to make us more productive with our use of technology. Our monthly meetings give us a chance to discuss computer problems and share ideas with other Mac users, feature speakers on specific topics, and to keep apprised of Apple news.
