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Goodwill CRC update, Friday, May 18, 2012

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:30:30 -0400

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens, John Hamill, Richard Morgan and Dave Sevick for joining me today for our weekly workday at our Goodwill Computer Recycling Center “annex.”

Woo hoo! We got SATA drives today! We also came up with some G5 Tower hard drive screws, so we were immediately able to crank out three of the G5 Towers we’ve been staring at for several weeks. We attack the others next week, but we don’t have enough screws for the hard drives.

Thanks to Steve for the help! No, not THAT Steve. Not that one, either...

We began to think we were haunted this morning when the electricity went out again on the same two workbenches that lost power last week. At the same time too, about 9:45 a.m. This time, the regular maintenance supervisor was on duty, and eventually pointed out the plug prongs of the power strips are a bit loose, and are gradually worked out of the plug as we move computers about the benches. Go figure...

We refurbished 11 Macs today, including those three G5 Towers, to bring our all-time total to 3,327. We de-manufactured only two other Macs.

Our weekly plea is now reduced to the following...

1. G5 Tower hard drive mounting screws.

2. G5 Tower video cards.

3. G4 Cube power supplies. Even dead ones; Marty pledges he can TRY to rebuild them...

If you plan to join us in the future, please remember to send in your car make and license number to update our list of volunteer cars that park in Goodwill's lot across the street.

We’ll have another workday next Friday, May 25. We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson

Goodwill CRC update, Friday, May 11, 2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 15:30:05 -0400

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Rich Fitzgibbon, John Hamill, Marty Swartz, Richard Morgan and Dave Sevick for joining me yesterday for our weekly workday at our Goodwill Computer Recycling Center “annex.”

We had a productive day yesterday despite an unforeseen setback. At mid-morning, we lost electricity on two of our three work benches.

In the course of Goodwill folks looking for the affected circuit breaker, we learned our building has about 30 breaker boxes. And they couldn't find the source of our problem.

We moved everything to the remaining bench with power and kept at it. We were saved by Fitz’ diverse iTunes library, particularly the entire Steely Dan catalog. Yes, Ricky didn't lose that number...

We managed to clear out all the remaining inventory of eMacs awaiting refurbishing. We fixed 11 to bring our all-time total to 3,316. We de-manufactured five other Macs.

We took in more donations this week, including two additional G5 Towers of unknown condition. Of course, they’re missing hard drives. Which brings us to the weekly plea...

We need the following:

1. SATA hard drives.

2. G5 Tower hard drive mounting screws.

3. G5 Tower video cards.

We are also still looking for G4 Cube power supplies. Even dead ones; Marty pledges he can TRY to rebuild them...

If you plan to join us in the future, please remember to send in your car make and license number to update our list of volunteer cars that park in Goodwill's lot across the street.

We’ll have another workday next Friday, May 18. We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson

Highlights and links from the COWMUG meeting of May 3, 2012

Fri, 4 May 2012 22:45:45 -0400

News about Apple

They’re at it again - profits were up dramatically in the recent quarterly report.
Apple’s Profit Nearly Doubles as iPhones Sales Soar - NYTimes.com

Apple issued updates for the iOS versions of GarageBand, iPhoto, iMovie, and Cards.
Apple updates iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand for iOS | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Is Apple doomed to fade like Sony, now that Steve Jobs is gone? Maybe not.
Apple = Sony? Don’t You Believe It | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Remember “Antennagate”? Some buyers of iPhone 4 can get $15 cash in a legal settlement.
$15 iPhone 4 Antenna Settlement Claims Now Being Accepted - Mac Rumors

The next lawsuit: e-book pricing. Apple is willing to defend its actions against charges of collusion and price-fixing.
DailyTech - Apple to U.S. Gov’t on Collusion Allegations: Bring It On

The Flashback trojan on Macs may be costing Google some revenue.
Mac ‘Flashback’ virus stealing $10,000 a day

About some other companies

Dropbox did a nice thing for its users - additional free storage.
TidBITS#1121/09-Apr-2012

A keyboard for the iPad that you don’t have to recharge - it’s powered by solar cells. And it comes in a case that doubles as a versatile stand. Logitech sells it for $130.
Solar Keyboard Folio - Logitech

Much as laptop computers have eaten into the market for desktops, tablets are now cutting into laptop sales - but may actually help the desktop market.
The Tablet May Kill the Laptops and Save the Desktop | TechPinions

Just in time for Mother’s Day, a tech company says the women it surveyed would rather get an iPad than flowers. (Wouldn’t you?)
Applelinks iOS News Reader - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - Applelinks.com

Macs gone fishing - the Kickstarter project to turn iMacs into aquariums is succeeding. (Marty Swartz will show it when his arrives.)
iMac Aquariums by Jake — Kickstarter

Apps an’ ‘at

An updated version of GrandPerspective was released. That’s a program for the Mac that answers the question “What’s taking up all the space on my hard drive?” and does so with an esthetically pleasing graphic display.
GrandPerspective for Mac - Download.com

Another web site to find apps that have dropped in price: paidtofreeapps.com
Latest Free Apps for iPhone & iPod Touch - Recent iPhone App Price Drops to Free - Get Paid to Free Apps

Use your iPhone to log mileage records - handy for business travelers.
Trip Cubby • Mileage Log for Tax Deduction or Reimbursement Version: 2.2 Review | iPhone Business App | Macworld

Record audio and take written notes during a meeting.
AppApps » Audiotorium Notes

The official Etch A Sketch app for the iPad...
Etch A Sketch HD for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store
... and a free version that does much the same.
Download Executive Laptop 1.0 (Free) for iPad

Is your car too quiet? Want to make your Prius sound like a NASCAR machine? XLR8 uses the accelerometers in your iPhone to tell how you’re driving, and provides sound effects to match.
XLR8 App Goes Vroom Vroom, Simulates Supercars - Popular Mechanics

From The Floor

The vote was unanimous - Dave Sevick is now a COWMUG Trustee!

From Virgil Yoder, a device called CloudFTP that turns any USB storage device (like an external hard drive or a flash drive) into a wireless file server. It can talk to your iPhone/iPad, and allow you to access its files - an instant memory boost.
Video Review: CloudFTP is a surrogate USB port for your iDevice | ZDNet

Got a broken iPod, iPhone or iPad? Dave Sevick recommends DigiExpress, a reliable repair company in New Kensington.
Expert iPod Repair, iPad Repair and iPhone Repair- DigiExpress are the Leaders in Apple Repair!

Goodwill CRC update, Friday, May 4, 2012

Fri, 4 May 2012 19:15:07 -0400

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to John Hamill, Marty Swartz, Dave Sevick and Richard Morgan for joining me today for our weekly workday at our Goodwill Computer Recycling Center “annex.”

We need to express our condolences to Charlie Hutchens, whose son passed away in Dallas earlier this week. Charlie was not with us physically today, but he was constantly on our minds.

We learned my iTunes library can’t begin to get people moving and grooving like Fitz’ iTunes library. The Mickey Mouse speakers I have contribute to that. We’ll try to do better...

We received a motherlode of donations from Goodwill today, taking in four bins of more than two dozen Macs. Most were eMacs, and we soon set up a triage line to identify working machines quickly to begin refurbishing.

We refurbished 11 Macs (including nine of the eMacs) to bring our all-time total to 3,305. We de-manufactured just three others.

We still have several G5 PowerMac Towers we can’t do a thing with until we get:

1. SATA hard drives.

2. G5 Tower hard drive mounting screws.

3. G5 Tower video cards.

We are also still looking for G4 Cube power supplies. Even dead ones; Marty pledges he can TRY to rebuild them...

If you plan to join us in the future, please remember to send in your car make and license number to update our list of volunteer cars that park in Goodwill’s lot across the street.

We’ll have another workday next Friday, May 11. We hope to see you there!
Robert A. Donaldson

Goodwill CRC update, Friday, April 27, 2012

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:30:48 -0400

Dear Mac friends:

Many thanks to Charlie Hutchens, Rich Fitzgibbon, John Hamill, Marty Swartz, Dave Sevick and new volunteer Richard Morgan for joining me last Friday for our weekly workday at our Goodwill Computer Recycling Center “annex.”

It was change gears day. Goodwill’s truck was occupied with other Goodwill business, and we didn’t have a donation delivery. So we improvised, with the help of three newly-donated SATA hard drives and a dozen G5 Tower hard drive mounting screws. We finished off three G5 Towers (a dual 2.7 GHz and two dual 2.0 GHz) that had been sitting for a month awaiting hard drives. We still have two that work, and four undiagnosed, waiting line line for more SATA hard drives and mounting screws.

We added four Macs to the refurbished inventory bring our all-time total to 3,295. We de-manufactured five others.

In our “spare” time, we got a chance to tune up more than a dozen ComputeReach Macs so they can head to new owners.

We still have items on our “really, really need list.” Honest, we really, really need this stuff. Really. We moved three G5s this week, and can’t do a thing with the others until we get:

1. SATA hard drives.

2. G5 Tower hard drive mounting screws.

3. G5 Tower video cards.

4. G4 Cube power supplies. Even dead ones; Marty pledges he can TRY to rebuild them...

If you plan to join us in the future, please remember to send in your car make and license number to update our list of volunteer cars that park in Goodwill’s lot across the street.

We’ll have another workday next Friday, May 4. We hope to see you there!

Robert A. Donaldson