We still cannot have in-person meetings at the library. So we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday February 26, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/expired

Meeting ID:  expired
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Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                     7:20 - 7:30
                                                                             
1 - News and Views - members' new tech arrivals                            7:30 - 7:45

2 - Apple Stolen Device Protection         - with David Rhynas          7:45 - 8:20

3 - Houdahspot File Search Tool             - with Graham Fawcett      8:20 - 8:40

4 - Replacing my MacBook Pro battery  - with Wally Kuzmicz
        (time permitting)
     
4 - Presidential Sign Off                         - with Wally Kuzmicz  25 seconds                                                                                         

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
Sign up for emailed meeting notices! https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/MeetingReminders

Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

Meeting Notes for January 22-2024 iMeeting

1 - News and Views
Michel Arsenault discussed several upgrades and improvements in the recently released iOS 17.3

2 - Getting Organized
Gillian led a group discussion about members' methods of organizing and retrieving files on their Mac.  She showed how she sets up and populates year-specific folders and subfolders with files of all types as they accumulate over time.  The group discussed some built-in Mac features and apps for organizing and searching...
- Finder Search        (Command-F)
- Spotlight Search   (Command-Spacebar)
- Recents                 (Command-Shift-F)
- Notes app
Graham mentioned some helpful file search apps that do more than Spotlight and the Finder Search function...
Find Any File app - https://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/
Houdahspot app - https://www.houdah.com/houdahSpot/?lang=en

3 - Wondershare Uniconverter app
https://videoconverter.wondershare.com/video-converter-ultimate-mac.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iadZ3YwbwB4
https://videoconverter.wondershare.net/lp/uniconverter-best-video-converter-brand.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh8OtBhCQARIsAIkWb6_rkOlqk_HWX69uQ93vx0xulJJXGM_gMau5Gs6UAAMVjNnVXYX5IXAaAiXoEALw_wcB

Ross showed this impressive multi-featured app and demonstrated some of its capabilities. Features include...
- video conversion
- video downloading from Youtube and other sites - usually successful, depending on the website
- audio and video compression
- video editing - cutting andmerging
- video and audio players support many formats
- photo conversion to numerous formats
- video metadata editing
- reading of music CDs
- conversion of video to VR headset format
- video enhancement
- photo editing and enhancement
- editing of background video portraits (faces) with artificial intelligence
- video cropping and stabilization
- screen recording

Summary by Wally Kuzmicz
 

We still cannot have in-person meetings at the library. So we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday January 22, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/expired

Meeting ID:   expired
Passcode:     expired

Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                                      7:20 - 7:30
                                                                               
1 - News and Views - members' new tech
    arrivals to chat about                                                                                      7:30 - 7:40

2 - Getting Organized                        - Group chat with Gillian Villeneuve          7:40 - 8:25

3 - Wondershare Uniconverter          - with Ross Slade                                      8:25 - 9:00
       
4 - Presidential Sign Off                    - with Wally Kuzmicz                                  25 seconds                                                                                           

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
Sign up for emailed meeting notices! https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/MeetingReminders

Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

1 - News and Views
Stephen asked if anyone had experience with the new Continuity Camera feature.  This is where your iPhone 15 can be used as a webcam with a mac or Apple TV.  The iPhone has to be locked and in landscape mode.  He had used it Sunday for the weekly family Zoom meeting with great success but today could get it to work. 

Jamie has tried Continuity Camera with an Apple TV and Facetime, and found it to be finicky.  It's like the old days where you had to "do the incantation in the right order and face north at the same time."  It sometimes takes two or three attempts.  Hopefully this useful capability will stabilize over time.

Keith mentioned that his ability to make a payment with his Apple Watch is also finicky.  Others have found it to work well and Jamie doesn't have to "face north when using the watch" ... although some contortion may be required to twist your wrist the right way to face the reader.  There is a default credit card and you can scroll through the others on your watch, including gift cards.

Ross was trying to purchase an upgrade to his SoundSoap app (used for removing background noise from audio files) and encountered a payment problem with the intermediary FastSpring.  From the description, Neil believed that the intermediary had accidently been left in test mode and that Ross should contact SoundSoap directly.  Jamie mentioned that Final Cut Pro also has a super sound processing capability for cleaning up audio files.

2 - Show-n-Tell

Drone Video and Stittsville Campgrounds Memories - with Keith Hobbs
Keith started by screen sharing a 30 second video of aerial drone footage "crop duster diagonals" of his farm property.  He prepared the clip using Final Cut Pro, integrating the music and a Ken Burns image of a local heron at the back creek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmdqMSpAWBs  http://www.hobbsfarm1860.ca

Ross mentioned that the 321 Rule is a simple and effective technique used by video editors to ensure that their videos are well-paced and engaging. The rule states that for every scene or shot in a video, there should be three different types of shots – wide, medium, and close-up – each shot lasting for two seconds, four seconds, and six seconds respectively.

Keith then screen shared the intro to another video he edited this year, that of the former Stittsville Campgrounds which operated from 1898 to 1974, in recognition of his mother's contribution.  There was a compelling audio track of different testimonials from people who had fond memories of the camp.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSYvXSXV0Yg

Here Comes the Sun Video Project - with Ferriss High
In his introduction, Ferriss mentioned that they moved to a condo on Golden Avenue close the Clock Tower Brew Pub.  Their tenth floor unit faces south and he would have his camera ready to capture sunrise photos since he takes medication at that time anyway.

Ferriss prepared a video collage of these sunrise photos and added the Beatles song Here Comes The Sun.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ni77hV4-8  Due the technical difficulties with Zoom, the audio did not come across.  This will be resolved for screen sharing at a future iMeeting.

Evolving Storage Capacity - with Charles Archard
Charles opened by stating that we have all become used to gigabytes and terabytes of storage and tend to forget how far technology has progressed.  He can recall the days when a mainframe computer would occupy an entire muti-story building with a CPU floor, an I/O floor and a storage floor!

He held in front of the camera a sizeable hard disk and asked people to guess the storage capacity.  In fact it was 10 megabytes.  Later in the meeting, Wally shared a photo of a 5 MB IBM hard disk weighing 1,000 KG (!) being loaded onto a Pan Am jet.

Scotland Slowly Slideshow - with David Rhynas
David shared photos from his Adventure Canada expedition cruise to the northern Isles of Scotland in June.  https://www.adventurecanada.com/europe-expedition-cruises/scotland-slowly

The photos were taken with an iPhone 14 and a Fujifilm X-T5.  Any editing was done with macOS Photos as well as presentation of the slide show.  While there are subtle differences in quality between the two cameras, the iPhone is remarkably good and only requires a tenth of the storage requirement.  He has recently upgraded to an iPhone 15 Pro primarily due to the telephoto lens capability and improved features.

1 - News and Views                                                                                     
Room rentals at the library are still not offered in the evenings (ever since the pandemic) so we are continuing with Zoom for the time being.  There has been some discussion about the possibility of a daytime meeting since most of our membership are now retired ... to be considered in the new year.

Keith recently purchased an iPhone Pro Max, with the enhanced optical zoom capability.  LeRoy took advantage of Black Friday and obtained an M2 iPad Pro.  We'll hear about the new capabilities as people become more familiar.

Mary-Sue recently acquired a higher resolution BenQ monitor and can now view two pages of text side-by-side.  She has not yet figured how best to attach a video cam.

We also encountered the curious anomaly where the Zoom AI thought that Marc was speaking Romanian so his chat transcription was in that language (Eu le-am găsit), before he changed it back!

2 - Just Press Record app - with LeRoy Lees
LeRoy shared his presentation outline using Notes and summarized his experience with the app Just Press Record https://www.openplanetsoftware.com/just-press-record/ It is available for iOS, iPad OS, macOS and there is now also a version for Apple Watch.  It is a nominal cost ($6.99 Canadian) and provides one tap recording with optional transcription.  He finds it very helpful when people are talking "a mile a minute" especially at the Doctor's office.  It's also a boon when your financial advisor is giving you advice over the phone. 

Once recorded, the app provides the ability to edit the audio and text transcription for a more concise summary.   When his wife was in hospital, he could share the doctor's update with his nurse sister in Calgary to compare notes.  The files can be stored on your iPhone or uploaded to iCloud for syncing across all of your Apple devices.

Stephen pointed out that the Apple Voice Memos app provides some of the capabilities, but not the in-built transcription to different languages.  Marc also pointed out that you don't need to worry about privacy; there is no contact with an external server.

3 - Notes app - dictation and other features - group discussion
Wally observed that the Apple Notes app also has the capability of accepting dictation and providing real-time transcription. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT7TFVByKeI

You can also scan a scribbled handwritten list, document or photo in Notes. https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/things-you-didnt-know-apples-notes-app-could-do

Some of the other interesting Notes features include saving them in iCloud for access across all of your Apple ecosystem, searching for specific notes, sharing notes with a designated person with an optional privacy password, standard and customized folders, tagging your notes for ease of searching.  Notes does not yet provide real-time language translation.

There was some post discussion on financial apps for the mac.  Stephen was recently advised that one of his favourite apps, Inuit Mint, is being discontinued.  Marc mentioned that Mint has a poor privacy rating.  Monarch Finance is the most recommended follow-on to Mint. https://www.monarchmoney.com/compare/mint-alternative# with their associated privacy statement https://www.monarchmoney.com/privacy#how-we-share-your-personal-data.  Apparently, it is soon to be but not quite yet available in Canada.

Our MUGOO Show 'n Tell will be on December 18th this year and an email will be coming soon for suggestions.

We still cannot have in-person meetings at the library. So we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday December 18, 2023 (1 week early!!)
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/expired

Meeting ID:      expired
Passcode:        expired

Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                                      7:20 - 7:30
                                                                               
1 - News and Views - members' new tech
    arrivals to chat about                                                                                      7:30 - 7:40

2 - show-n-tell                                                                                                     7:40 - 9:00

  - The Stittsvile Camp - Drone Video and Precious Memories                 - by Keith Hobbs
  - Here Comes the Sun - Video Project                                                    - by Ferriss High
  - Scotland Slowly - Slideshow with Video                                               - by David Rhynas                 

3 - Presidential Sign Off                                                    with Wally Kuzmicz      25 seconds                                                                                           

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
Sign up for emailed meeting notices! https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/MeetingReminders

Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

We still cannot have in-person meetings at the library. So we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday November 27, 2023
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/expired

Meeting ID:   expired
Passcode:      expired

Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                                       7:20 - 7:30
                                                                                 
1 - News and Views - members' new tech
     arrivals to chat about                                                                                      7:30 - 7:40

2 - JustPressRecord.app                                                  with LeRoy Lees           7:40 - 8:15

3 - Notes.app - dictation and other features                  group discussion          8:15 - 8:45     
         
4 - Presidential Sign Off                                                 with Wally Kuzmicz       25 seconds                                                                                             

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
Sign up for emailed meeting notices! https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/MeetingReminders

Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

1 - News and Views
David got an iPhone 15 Pro this week, primarily for the enhanced camera capabilities.  It's all set up as his primary phone but he has not yet had a chance to try out the new features.  He prefers the smaller format over the Pro Max version because it fits in his pocket.

Wally recently restored his iPhone 14 Pro Max to factory settings, which resolved a problem with cell phone reception at home.  He has been gradually restoring his apps one by one.  He wondered if anyone has come across a "CleanMyMac" sort of app for the iPhone.  Several participants agreed that the manual one by one restoration was probably the best approach.

Keith mentioned that he has been quite happy with his iPhone 14 Pro Max.  Against his better judgment, he used the digital zoom for a distant subject.  While producing a usable image, it was noisier than you would want.  David observed that digital zoom is essentially cropping the image so that it becomes more pixelated.  Laurence recommended using a tripod or something steady to lean on to improve the image quality.  Graham also suggested switching to RAW format.  But there will always be limitations with digital zoom.

2 - Fjorden grip for iPhone - with Laurence Head
Both Ross and Laurence have received their Fjorden Grips.  This product and associated app was launched as a Kickstarter project in Norway and gives you a better hold on your iPhone, as well as physical controls for shutter, zoom, and exposure, making it feel more like a DSLR camera.  It works with Moment lenses, which so far are among the best for iPhones. https://shop.fjorden.co/en-ca

Ross had prepared a presentation deck for this evening, but because of logistic challenges with his annual move from Italy to Australia, was unable to join us.  Instead, Laurence gave the presentation and shared his own experience in using the product.

Fjorden offers a variety of cases, depending on your model of iPhone, and the grip attachment is then locked in place.  There are also fairly inexpensive lens mounts which will accommodate Moment lenses: wide angle, fish eye, telephoto (perhaps less necessary with the iPhone 15 Pro Max).  The software has been updated to also support video and zoom with the dial.  The app continues to improve.

Laurence uses his Fjorden case for everyday use and really likes the form factor of the grip.  He had been concerned that the app was not taking advantage of some of the Apple capabilities such as image stabilization, but this seems to be getting better.  You can view the presentation deck at  https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2023-10-23_Fjorden.pdf

The presentation includes other photographic products that attach to an iPhone such as an earlier SLR lens from Sony and an alternate grip from Pictarworld.

Charles has a compact camera from Canon, with decent wide angle and telephoto lenses.  He will stay with what he has.  In his opinion, the iPhone is not quite there.

3 - iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 - with David Rhynas
David gave a high level overview of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, which were released last month.  There are a number of compelling features and there is consensus that you should upgrade to this latest release, if indeed your device is still capable.  You can view David's presentation deck and associated remarks at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2023-10-23_iOS_17.pdf

Apple has also published a comprehensive list of the new features, which is included at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2023-10-23_iOS_All_New_Features.pdf
   

We may not be able to have in-person meetings at the library. If so, we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday October 23, 2023
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/expired

Meeting ID:    expired
Passcode:     expired

Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                                      7:20 - 7:30 
                                                                                   
1 - News and Views - members' new tech arrivals to chat about                       7:30 - 7:40

2 - Fjorden grip for iPhone                - with Laurence Head                                 7:40 - 8:15

3 - iOS 17 and iPadOS 17                  - with David Rhynas                                    8:15 - 9:00       
           
4 - Presidential Sign Off                    - with Wally Kuzmicz                                   25 seconds                                                                                               

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
Sign up for emailed meeting notices! https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/MeetingReminders

Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

1 - News and Views - members' new tech arrivals to share with the group
Marc recently purchased the Series 9 Apple Watch.  He went with base model since these products tend to become dated within several years.  It's a little bigger and the screen is noticeably brighter, now easy to read on the golf course.  This model has better swing detection; his golf app is able to keep a record of where and when every stroke was made and which club was used. 

John mentioned that he had looked at Apple for golf several years ago and it wasn't quite there so he purchased a Garmin.  David had the same experience.  The Garmin also has the stroke analysis features and comes preloaded with 30,000 courses.  But of course, it is a specialty watch and Apple may well overtake since since their product can do golf and so many other things.

John is a serious amateur photographer and mentioned that he just returned from a month in Europe and used just his iPhone 14 rather than his regular cameras.  The lenses and editing software have so much improved.  With the Live Photo feature, the phone captures a group of photos and which you can select from, blend or play back as a short video.  Wally and David experienced the same good results during their recent road trips.  "The best camera is the one you have with you."

That is true to a point, but there are still situations where a DSLR is the preferred solution.  Marc is planning a two-week photo shoot of rocket launches at Cape Canaveral.  He'll be using a Canon camera with the 100 to 400mm as his primary telephoto zoom lens.  Mark is also looking at renting a 600mm zoom for this trip.

2 - Highlights from Apple's September 12th Event - with Chris Duguid
Chris provided a good cut-to-the-chase summary of what was announced at the September 12th Apple event.  Although low key compared to some, there were a number of enhancements in latest watch and iPhone product lines.  These include:
-    USB-C charging cable can now be used for all new Apple devices with faster data transfer
-    Apple Watch Series 9, a better upgrade than you may think
-    Apple Watch Ultra, which is water proof and suitable for diving
-    iPhone 15, with improved processing and camera capabilities
-    iPhone 15 Pro Max with 5x optical zoom and 3D shooting for the coming Apple Vision Pro
-    Apple's environmental messaging
You can view Chris' presentation deck at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2023-09-25_wonderlust_apple.pdf

3 - Medical Apps Using Apple Technology - with Graham Fawcett
Graham next gave a presentation on Heath apps he has been using with his Apple Watch and other technology.  This interested was prompted by an unexpected learning experience where watch alerted him of a potential medical issue that was addressed in hospital.  Graham has more recently been focusing on improving the quality of his sleep and the attributes of several sleep apps were reviewed.  There are other monitoring products for those who do not own an Apple Watch or prefer not to wear one to bed.  Graham's presentation deck is included at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2023-09-25_MUGOO_Health_Apps.pdf  Note especially his observations on the last slide.

Also, Graham used a Keynote template which included the video of him speaking within the frame of the slide ... a very engaging means of presentation!

4 - Future Proofing the MUGOO Website - with Neil Herber
Neil framed his discussion as Protecting MUGOO Digital Assets.  The previous MUGOO website setup had been in Neil's office with Neil as the only resource contact ... too many potential single points of failure.  Over the past months all MUGOO assets have been migrated to Web Hosting Canada, with Neil, Wally and David as points of contact ... a far more robust structure.  You can view Neil's very clear tutorial comments in the attachment below.