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Messages - Paddy

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1
Community / Re: Have I done something wrong?
« on: January 23, 2024, 04:36:30 PM »
No idea how that happened, Frances. I've now unlocked it, so you can now post to it again. Weird.

2
Tech / Re: Mojave and earlier: farewell Firefox
« on: August 08, 2023, 01:24:12 AM »
DB, if you're still looking for it, it's here: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/

(note - near the top of the list since the file system goes by the first number, not the highest number...ie: the one, not the fact that it's 115)

3
Tech / Re: Keynote question
« on: February 04, 2023, 01:45:56 PM »
I suspect you may have figured out an answer to this by now, but in case you haven't:

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/reduce-file-size-keynote-presentation is one option.

Another is using Adobe's PDF settings if you have the full version of Acrobat, which allows you to select the quality of the PDF AND the resolution of the images.

4
Tech / Re: What its APFS?
« on: December 18, 2022, 10:03:14 AM »
Re: Office - that deal that Jon linked to seems to still be active and it's definitely cheap.

Please do understand though that these aren't straight up legit keys - they're what's known as "grey market" - ie: they're keys that were intended for a particular product channel - usually either the Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) or TechNet for IT Professionals who pay a subscription fee - mostly intended for evaluation purposes. Or they're left over from a bulk buy of OEM licenses. Many of them will work - some won't. Some may work for a while and then stop working. And you almost certainly won't get any assistance from MS if you need it, as the thing with OEM licenses is that there is no support from the developer (support is supposed to come from the vendor - and that won't happen with these discounted ones sold online, because, of course, the OEM software is not supposed to be sold separately from the machine.) Anyway - as long as you are aware of all that and ok with it, then fine. One would hope that the deal being promoted by AppleInsider is one of the more reliable ones, but no way to tell. Also no way to tell if the key is US-specific, btw. (this is definitely an issue with keys intended for non-North American markets - I'm just not sure if they differentiate between Canada and the US as well for the perpetual licenses - they most definitely do for MS 365)

I now use MS 365 - it has a few useful perks that you don't get with perpetual licenses: software is continually updated, and you get 1TB of online storage per user with OneDrive. As I noted above: MS 365 is region/country specific - a 3rd party key bought in the US will not work in Canada. If you were to try to buy at MS 365 in the US from Microsoft directly, it will switch you to the Canadian site/pricing.

5
Tech / Re: Advice for new Mini purchase
« on: December 15, 2022, 05:04:50 PM »
They're all wireless now - and rechargeable with a lightning cable as well. I love my Apple mouse. :) (after years of being a Logitech devotee).

You'll be very happy with the M1, methinks - it's a considerable upgrade from a 2012!!

6
Tech / Re: migrating from old Mac mini to new
« on: November 30, 2022, 11:27:08 AM »
Let's go back to basics here. Give us the model number of the LG monitor. It may be time for a new monitor - using an HDMI connector with an adapter may in fact be the issue. What sort of adapter are we talking about here? VGA to HDMI? (ie: is this thing a relic? Sorry - but no point in beating around the bush on this. ;) )

Which Mac Mini have you got? M1 or Intel? (and which model if M1 - the earlier one only supported ONE external monitor, apparently)

See: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-mini/apd8e4fbbb97/mac - they recommend VGA to USB-C

And might want to read this too: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/very-old-monitors-with-my-mac-mini-m1.2366607/

I think you're just asking for trouble if this monitor is VGA only. But anyway - let us know.

If it's a monitor that's the same age as the old Mini, then you can spend under $200 and get something that will likely run circles around it now - with no connectivity issues. $300 will get you a 27 or 28" 4K. (see Amazon.ca)

7
Tech / Re: Affinity launches V2 with 40 per cent discount on all apps
« on: November 23, 2022, 09:16:25 PM »
On the Affinity website, I can get the spelling of color/colour to change depending on whether I go to the /en-us or the /en-gb version of the site (stick that in the URL - you'll see). Interestingly - there is no localization  for us Canadians - we just get served the US version of the site, though it DOES know that we're in Canada and shows us the pricing in Canadian dollars. Weird, since our spelling is mostly, but not entirely UK spelling - not US (exceptions: aluminium...which really is a strange one since EVERYWHERE else uses aluminium, not the North American "aluminum", "localize" and other "ize" words are preferred here, over "localise" which is more common in the UK and Australia, "buses" - not the UK "busses", "license" for the noun and "license" for the verb etc. It can be challenging when spellcheck keeps changing or insisting on the other version, LOL.

I have Publisher and Photo and both use Canadian spellings in the menus (colour, not color) - I assume because I have Canadian English chosen for my Mac in the language preferences, but in Affinity Publisher, because I do work for some US clients, I simply have "English" chosen in the spell check. BTW - if you look closely at the screen grabs on their website, they also have "colour" - when en-us pages are loaded and the text on the site is the US spelling. (swapping out the language is relatively easy - swapping out images to match local language would be a major pain).

While none of these apps are internet-related, some languages, such as HTML/CSS/PHP - are all written in English, with American spellings (having been developed in the US), and I think in the name of standardization, this has resulted in many software developers worldwide adopting American spellings as standard. It could get pretty messy otherwise. The main thing is to be consistent - Affinity apps are written in C++ and Objective C - neither of which has a lot of set terms, apparently.

BTW - Adobe Creative Cloud just serves up American English. They don't even have the option of British or Canadian English - it's just "North American English" - rather arrogant of them, eh? The other option is "International English" - whatever that is. However, within the apps like InDesign, in the spelling preferences you can select UK or Canadian English - but the default is US in the user interface as far as I can see.

8
Tech / Re: For Twitter Users
« on: November 22, 2022, 03:03:04 PM »
LOL...Elon is a complete twit about some things (including Twitter - which I hated long before he bought it) but don't confuse that with Tesla. They're pretty terrific. We now have 2 of them - a 2018 model 3 and 2022 Model Y - and no ICE cars at all as of June. Our son has a M3, as of a couple of months ago. I think they're still well ahead of many of the other EV manufacturers; their battery tech (and range) is better, their over-the-air updates, including firmware - only Chinese manufacturer NIO also offers FOTA - add and improve features regularly. Are they perfect? No - of course not - but we had no doubts ordering a second one last fall - no other EV manufacturer came close. But Elon...yeah. A bit of a nutcase and definitely *not* my political cup of tea.

9
Tech / Re: Airmail 5
« on: November 03, 2022, 07:54:37 PM »
2-step verification with Gmail only applies when you're accessing it in a browser. If you're using a mail app, once you sign in, you should be good.

I did run into the 2-step thing today when I was fixing a problem on my son's MBP and had to log into my own Gmail account in a browser to get a password. So yes, they have indeed implemented it. I expected the verification to go to Messages like everything else does, but nope - it went to the Google app on my phone (which I never use and had to search for!) - it basically requires you to tap "ok" and that's it. No numbers to type in or anything like the bank/CRA etc. So better in that regard, though does mean you need to have the Google app installed.

10
Tech / Re: Airmail 5
« on: October 31, 2022, 11:16:51 AM »
Are you running the latest version of the OS? (Monterey, at least - Ventura only came out last week). Or it could be other things...

I'd suggest that you try deleting and re-adding the Gmail accounts to Apple Mail if you haven't already. I have probably 15 or more Gmail accounts running in Apple Mail on my iMac and haven't had any issues with any of them.

Another potential fix: 

1. Log into your Gmail accounts in a browser.
 
2. Go to Settings (Gear - top right) -> See all settings -> Labels.
 
3. Uncheck all Show in IMAP boxes

11
I never use OEM cartridges beyond the first ones that come with a printer. Lots of experience using various third party options. 123ink.ca is my go-to usually - their Moustache cartridges for my Brother printers (laser and inkjet) have been very good.

https://www.123ink.ca/c-18900-cs317dn - a lot cheaper than $1000, but still not "cheap" at $279.99 for the re-manufactured set or $344.99 for the Moustache set. (both get excellent reviews)

Might be time to consider a new printer? Just bought a Brother HL-L3270CDW for the historical society - to do our newsletters. Just tested it tonight - does a great job. $399 at Staples. Moustache high yield set of toner cartridges - $146.99 at 123ink.ca (Brother brand high yield set: $414.99). There *are* even cheaper toner cartridges on Amazon - just not sure I'm willing to try as there are a lot of comments about some of them not being recognized and having to get replacements sent (some of these options get good reviews despite these issues, as the companies sent new toner cartridges, but how much time do I want to spend on potential problems just to save a few dollars??) Might try this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Inkalfa-Compatible-TN227-Toner-Cartridge/dp/B09T3FQCR3/ref=sr_1_3? as it seems to have very good reviews with fewer issues noted.

12
Tech / Re: How can I "unlock" this (camera)
« on: September 26, 2022, 10:38:51 PM »
Sooz - have you tried a small piece of packing tape? It should work - it's a bit stronger than regular scotch tape. Also, maybe try it in an SD slot in a computer or with a card reader attached to a computer - just in case it's less fussy than the camera.

13
Tech / Re: Annoying mouse behavior in Monterey
« on: August 07, 2022, 11:16:10 PM »
I was confused...until I Googled it. When you say "Letscom dongle" you're describing a Letscom hub - which has multiple USB ports. (I don't think I've ever called those "dongles" which I always think of as software protection devices...)

Why not just get a nice Bluetooth mouse and be done with it? No dongle, no adapter...I'd never buy a USB mouse now. I'm rather partial to my Magic Mouse, which came with the iMac and I don't use a mouse on my MBP*, but there are lots of bluetooth mouse options out there - Amazon has them starting at about $8.99 USD.

*Used to use a mouse on the MBP - but I've gotten so used to the track pad now that I never bother with a mouse any more. I just realized that it's probably been 3 or more years since I used a mouse with it! Of course, if I did a lot of photo editing on this thing, I might want a mouse. But photo editing gets done on the iMac - more screen real estate.

14
Tech / Re: MacBook Pro is dead
« on: July 25, 2022, 05:00:35 PM »
Wow - that's an amazingly fast repair, especially given the parts shortages on what seems like almost everything these days!

And don't I wish that Apple would send me something for my time and trouble. Haha. Nope. All I got was the requested refund on the "express" shipping - which could/should have been called the "turtle" option. :toothgrin:

Darryl - if you're looking for a good Photoshop replacement, check out Affinity Photo. Or ON1 Photo Raw. Both are excellent, and very reasonable. Capture One is terrific as well, but not as cheap. (Yes, I have them all - have never quite been able to break up with Lightroom/Photoshop, but that hasn't stopped me from trying various other options over the years)

As for the MS suite - LibreOffice is good (and free), Pages is definitely an option and if you do want to stick with MS, then get Microsoft 365 - it comes with 1TB/user of online storage. Family plan is great if you need more than one user, single user account is $70/yr.

15
Tech / Re: MacBook Pro is dead
« on: July 23, 2022, 03:49:28 PM »
Bummer. Well, at least you didn't spill tea all over it and kill it yourself, like I did back in mid May. 2018 MBP - completely killed. Ain't no AppleCare for utter stupidity!

And then there was the crazy replacement saga:

1. Ordered new M1 MBP from refurb store (no choice there - unless I wanted to wait 2.5 months until the end of JULY for one) and paid for the expedited delivery so I could get it all set up on the weekend.
2. It didn't arrive. Said Apple had missed the window for sending from the US.
3. Monday. No MBP. UPS tracking had no updated delivery day.
4. Tuesday. No MBP. Called UPS. They said they couldn't find it in their system. Oh...great. Call Apple they say.
5. Called Apple - got bounced around four different departments. Finally told they'd have to start an investigation - and how long would that take, I wondered? "A day or two"...
6. An hour after the phone call I got an email from Apple saying "your order has been cancelled and your payment will be refunded." WOT???
7. Called Apple again. Yup - can't locate it, no other MBPs in captivity now, period. Too bad, so sad.
8. What to do? Kinda need this thing. Start combing Kijiji and FB Marketplace - so many ads that look completely bogus. Finally find one that seems real, contact the person and voila. Month-old M1, top of the line (so more than I'd intended on getting in the first go-round, but oh well...) and the price was retail but no tax (which at 13% is no laughing matter) and it had AppleCare.
9. Arranged to meet the seller at the bank - he was even willing to go to the Apple store to assure that it wasn't stolen
10. Picked up the MBP on Thursday morning. Got back in car. Scrolled through emails. There was one from UPS...guess what? Allegedly, they were going to deliver the wayward, supposedly cancelled MBP the next day (exactly a week after  it was supposed to have arrived). Yah, right - I'll believe that when I see it.
11. Of course...it turned up exactly when they said it would.

So - now what? I am now in possession of TWO brand new M1 Macs, when they were as scarce as hen's teeth. So - hubby got an unexpected replacement for his 2016, and son's girlfriend got a 2016 MBP capable of running Windows either natively or in Parallels (which she needs for her CPA course) which replaces her ailing and on-its-last-legs 2010 13" MBP. Everyone's happy (well, it wasn't exactly a cheap exercise...)

Postscript: A couple of weeks later, I'm looking through my Visa bill - and you guessed it, Apple had refunded the payment for the MBP that we now had in our possession. Tempting as it was to have a "free" computer, I couldn't do that - so I called them up and said "um...Houston, we have a rather unusual problem..." and then went a couple of rounds while they tried to figure out how to actually bill me after the fact. LOL.

So - I certainly hope your replacement goes much more smoothly and promptly than mine did, Chris!!

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