It’s been a while

It’s been some time since my last Newsletter release, and some folks have been wondering what’s up in the land of Make Your Mac sing! I’d like to take a moment to catch you up on things going on at Apple, at MYMS!, as well as other odd ’n ends.

In Apple news

Apple has had some huge releases within the past year. Apple Watch, iPad Pro, Apple TV, iPhone 6s, Os X El Capitan, and iOS 9, are among the biggies. 

In case you are on the hunt for a new Mac, I would like to point out that the iMac has been overshadowed by all the other new goodies that have been coming out, and I have to say they are an incredible value. I bought one for myself last year and have been using it for video, music, web design and more. I am very happy with it. The new 4K Retina displays are beautiful. And for many, iMacs are a better value than the Mac Pro (which hasn’t seen an update since it was revamped in 2013. What’s up with that?).

The rest of the Mac line is getting somewhat long in the tooth. Unless you really need one now, I’d recommend to put it off until about the second week of June, when Apple usually holds it’s Worldwide Developers Conference. There is a good possibility that if new Macs are on the way, this is when they will show up next.

Should you update to El Capitan?

That depends. El Capitan is otherwise known as Os X (pronounced ‘Ten’) version 10.11.   At the time of this writing it is at 10.11.4  If you are are running Os X Lion (10.7) or earlier and your computer supports the latest system, then I say to thee ‘YES!’, with all due haste. Your internet experience, and iCloud experience will vastly improve. If you are at 10.8, 10.9, then I still say yes, but less urgently. If you are at 10.10 Yosemite, then perhaps it is not as necessary for you if you are happy with your system. 

But one thing I like about El Capitan, is it is more a refinement and optimization update, than an update with a lot of new features. I have been using it on my ‘Work’ machines, and it has been great. There were some minor glitches in the first release, but it has been updated and they have been ironed out. I have it running on my 2014 iMac, my 2010 Mac Mini server, and on a couple 2007(!) iMacs. 

Gauging Interest in Mac Oriented Classes

Some folks have been asking me about the possibility of conducting classes in both general ‘Mac use’ as well as video and audio classes. Some of you might remember that I conducted classes a couple years ago in downtown Greenfield. 

That space is not available to me any more unfortunately. So I am needing to gauge interest in some kind of class offering. If it looks like folks are interested, I will go about looking for a new space. I ‘could’ do it at my space, but I’d rather have them at the Library or other centrally located, larger space. Other needs include a screen or large display for demonstration. 

Please respond if you are interested, what type of class you are interested in, and if you have a suggestion for a space.

Web Design

I’ve been a designer, developer and webmaster for 14 years. I’ve created on my own many sites,  and assisted as part of a team on several Award winning websites. My current crusade is to get folks out of their old websites and into a new mobile-compatible one. I focus mainly on Joomla! these days. Besides mobile-compatibility and higher Google rankings, Joomla! also lets you update your own site using only your web-browser and without having to code. See my site www.birdwaves.com for more info.

Non-Mac Services

In the course of my business, I’m often asked about some other tangentially related services. Here are some I offer:

Entertainment center setup. Including Roku, and Apple TV of course. But I also wanted to mention the availability of putting HD Broadcast TV on your computer. I got rid of my expensive Satellite TV service 2 years ago. I hooked up an old Mac Pro to my 42” TV. I have the major networks in HD, with Surround Sound. With Elgato Eyetv, I can record and pause live TV. Love, Love, Love it!

PC Support. While I prefer to work on Mac, and I only recommend them, I do work on PC’s as well. Got a problem? I’m here to help!

Video Production / Editing. Editing in Final Cut X, Video Shooting, and Green Screen.

Music Recording / Production I have a nice recording studio here in Ashfield. Able to record groups, and a vocal booth for voiceover work.

Thanks for your interest in Make Your Mac Sing!