Meetings Notes

Our usual secretary (David Rhynas) was not available to take notes at this meeting, so the following edited transcript of the meeting "chat" is offered instead.


19:20:00
Meeting started with lots of chatter about the Oscars, Canada's F-35 purchase decision, war in Ukraine, democracy (?), legalities of flying drones in Canada, and other non-Apple topics

19:45:00
Gillian herded the cats and called the meeting to order

Gillian wants to know how to show your keyboard to someone during a Zoom session. If you have a detached web cam, no problem, just point it at the keyboard. If you have a phone or iPad join the meeting with it and use its camera to show the keyboard of your Mac. Or email Marc to find out the convoluted QuickTime method (which still requires a phone or iPad).

19:50:00
Graham is getting complaints from people that they can hear his keyboard over Zoom. Since it is unlikely that he is talking and typing at the same time, he could just mute his audio. Or if he needs to talk and type at the same time, he could use a headset. Or he could buy a quiet keyboard.

19:51:25 From  Marc Servant  to  Everyone:
   Matias keyboards... are super quiet. https://matias.ca/quietpro/
   
19:52:00
Graham had more suggestions for Note taking apps:
https://todoist.com/
https://evernote.com/
https://pocketinformant.com (Gillian)

19:53:00
Gillian wonders if anyone else uses Zoho, since it is free, syncs to all her devices, and keeps her docs in the cloud. (In theory this is all possible with iCloud, but no human can figure out how to use it and it is not platform agnostic.)
https://www.zoho.com

19:58:00
Ferriss has fixed the lack of ports on his otherwise wonderful new iMac 24inch by buying a USB3 multiport hub
https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-PowerExpand-Delivery-Ethernet-Pixelbook/dp/B07PPGWQ15

20:00:00
USB standards even confuse the "experts"
USB implementation Forum  https://www.usb.org
USB explained mostly  https://www.pcmag.com/news/thunderbolt-3-vs-usb-c-whats-the-difference
Thunderbolt includes USB 3 for extra confusion  https://www.thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

20:04:29 From  Liliane  to  Everyone:
   What is the easiest way to have pdf read aloud to me?
   Preferably a free program to read  a professional journal article to me. Reading only with no voice audio is pretty dry and boring.

20:25:23 From  Marc Servant  to  Everyone:
   https://speechify.com   --- tried by Liliane, but did not work
   Apple voice to text
   https://www.csuohio.edu/disability/voiceover-and-text-speech-for-mac-os-x
   
20:28:00
Liliane was able to get the Glob to drop their online price
Turns out LOTS of people have complained and received rate reductions
Or just buy an Apple News subscription which include the Glob and a zillion magazines and other newspapers for a mere $12.99 per month (first month free to test it).
   https://www.apple.com/ca/apple-news/
   
20:30:00
LeRoy thinks the Apple Notes app is the cat's pyjamas
He is also enamoured of the "Reader View" in Safari that gets rid of a boatload of ads and sometimes even defeats paywalls.

20:35:00
Wally whined a bunch about potential bricking of Macs with upgraded logic boards. But the online material is inconsistent and it looks like Apple has fixed the problem. Its all the T2 chip's fault.
Macs with replaced logic boards are bricking after upgrading to Monterey 12.3  https://www.tomsguide.com/news/this-macos-update-is-bricking-some-macs?utm_source=notification
Mac models with the Apple T2 Security Chip   https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208862
https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/05/apple-rolls-out-fix-for-macos-monterey-bug-that-bricked-some-macs-with-the-t2-chip/

20:38:00
Wally has an accountant and lawyer who do not use secure email services (they also have pet dinosaurs). So he uses an archiver that supposedly "encrypts" his email in a password protected file. Bottom line, probably not very secure but one step up from clear text.
https://archiverapp.com
Better suggestion (from Marc), get a FREE account from Sync.com, put your confidential files there, and then send an encrypted link to the accountant.

20:50:00
Several people talked about Mac Tax software
   https://www.taxfreeway.ca
   https://www.hrblock.ca/file-your-taxes/online-tax-software/
   https://www.taxtron.ca/
   
20:56:20 From  Marc Servant  to  Everyone:
   https://www.leisterpro.com/reuniontouch/
   In answer to Kieth's question if there was an iPad version of Reunion

21:02:52 From  Marc Servant  to  Everyone:
https://surgeworks.com/blog/lab-mobile/iphone/how-to-install-quicktime-player-7-on-mac-os-x-10-6-snow-leopard-without-the-dvd
In answer to Lawrence's question about QTVR players

21:06:00  meeting ended

We are still not having in-person meetings at the library, so the following Zoom details apply.

Date: 2022-04-25 (Monday)
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.
Venue: A Zoom meeting that you can join on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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 while folks log on                                                     7:20 - 7:30

1 - Sonicfire Pro app for creating royalty-free
     music for presentations                                    with Ross Slade          7:30 - 8:10
 
2 - CleanMyMac app                                              with David Rhynas      8:10 - 8:45

3 - Fixit Forum                                                                                       8:45 - 9:00

4 - Presidential COVID update and Sign Off             with Wally Kuzmicz      5 minutes


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!

Zoom meeting details:   <---  will only work for this meeting! Join any time after 7:20, meeting starts precisely at 7:30!!
Meeting ID: expired
Passcode:    expired

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

0 - Group chin-wag while folks log on
Marc noted that Monterey doesn't support motion JPEG; he recently had to purchase a new webcam.

Yesterday at Tabaret Hall, Laurence attended the Canadian premiere of a new Philip Glass composition: Annunciation Piano Quintet.

There was brief discussion regarding the unsettling events in Ukraine, and the significant amount of misinformation. Marc recommended doing a Google reverse image search for any questionable visual material; simply drag and drop the photos in question.  Some of what you see "coming from Ukraine" is bogus.

Graham initially had difficulty invoking his Zoom share screen.  With macOS 10.15 Catalina and later, you must first allow Zoom access to screen recording.  Select the Security & Privacy option under System Preferences, click the Privacy tab, scroll down to Screen Recording, and finally check the option for zoom.us.

1 - Opus One ... a multi-featured daily planner            with Graham Fawcett
Gillian introduced our speaker and indicated that she has been using the program, finding it visually compelling.

Graham had been seeking a good daily planner, with a means of keeping copious notes from Zoom meetings and tracking activities. He has used a variety of programs including Apple Calendar, Apple Contacts, BusyCal, and a variety of word processors.  Apple Notes is quite effective.  EverNote is another good one but a bit expensive.  He wanted a stand-alone app on his desktop that would combine all of these capabilities.

Graham initially tried Opus Domini 1.7, the precursor to Opus One, which was ok but not yet fully functional.  He has now settled on Opus One.  This app originally came out in 2017 and is now much enhanced at Version 2.1.3.

Opus One is visually and functionally based on a familiar Day-Timer model, the paper based daily calendar system.  However, it would be better described as a "Day-Timer on Steroids."  It includes a calendar page for each day, task lists, events, comprehensive searchable notes, growth tools, and backup/sync to iCloud. https://www.piso13.com/products The app is available for macOS, iOS and watchOS, and Windows.

Graham used Opus One to prepare the script and agenda for today's meeting.  You can view his presentation outline and examples below in the attachments below.  He used this to give a comprehensive overview of what the app can do.

Who is it for: anyone who takes copious notes, who sets frequent tasks, for record taking, working from home (everything is time stamped). It is intuitive and flexible enough to meet most needs.  It has a high rating on the App Store. The target audience is perhaps non-tech savvy users who want to see something familiar; comfortable, like an old pair of shoes.  But there are also sophisticated features for those who require.  The free version is significantly less featured than the pro version.

Graham believes that the product could be further enhanced: currently there is no shared use for teams, no password protection, no archival capability.

Graham really likes the app and is happy he found it.  Some of his new feature requests may be later integrated.  The publisher accepts feedback to report bugs and make suggestions. You can view other suggestions at https://opus-one.nolt.io

Graham gave a shout-out to LeRoy for challenging him to present this topic.

2 - Q & A / Fixit Forum
There was some discussion as to when we might be resuming in-person meetings at the library, and whether these meetings would also allow Zoom participation.  For example, Wally lives an hour and forty minutes away, so Zoom would be a convenient option.  How could we do hybrid meetings?  Would there be a dual screen setup, one for the presenter and one for the remote participants?  The library is still undecided as to when it might resume renting rooms.  Also, the library currently restricts bandwidth to individual users which could pose a problem for Zoom.

Wally had a query.  He observed that his backup spinning hard drive was in HFS+ format yet his main SSD drive was in APFS.  Marc pointed out that APFS won't work reliably on a spinning drive.

We are still unable able to have an in-person meeting at the library, so the following Zoom details apply.

Date: 2022-03-28 (Monday)
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.
Venue: A Zoom meeting that you can join on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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 while folks log on                                                   7:20 - 7:30

1 - We will be having an open sharing session for all.  Please                  7:30 - 8:45
     bring any interesting apps, websites, gadgets, tips, tricks, news
     and ideas to discuss and show on-screen if possible.  We will call
     on you in a Zoom "window-by-window" way to ask you what you
     have, be it big or small, to share with the group

2 - Presidential COVID update and Sign Off             with Wally Kuzmicz     5 minutes


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!

Zoom meeting details:   <---  will only work for this meeting! Join any time after 7:20, meeting starts precisely at 7:30!!
Meeting ID: expired
Passcode: expired

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 are still unable able to have an in-person meeting at the library, so the following Zoom details apply.

Date: 2022-02-28 (Monday)
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.
Venue: A Zoom meeting that you can join on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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 while folks log on                                                   7:20 - 7:30

1 - Opus One ...
     A multi-featured  daily planner            with Graham Fawcett              7:30 - 8:45

2 - Q & A / Fixit Forum                                                                        ~ 15 minutes

3 - Presidential Sign Off                            with Wally Kuzmicz                0.03 minutes


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!

Zoom meeting details:   <---  will only work for this meeting! Join any time after 7:20, meeting starts precisely at 7:30!!
Meeting ID: expired
Pass code: expired


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 - ON1 Photo Editing - with Ross Slade
Ross gave a comprehensive overview of ON1 Photo Raw, the "ultimate photo editor."  Since he was still in the Bahamas using a dodgy 600 Mbps line, Neil hosted the presentation deck here while Ross was able to control the cursor and advancement of slides ... slick.

ON1 has both a browsing/sorting persona and an editing persona, with all changes being performed in a non-destructive manner.  It is perhaps most similar to Adobe Lightroom.  While there are subscription options available, unlike Lightroom you can choose to purchase the program outright.  There's no need to be tied to an annual subscription.  The program is available for Mac, iPad, iPhone, PC and tablet.

Ross is using a Mac Mini with 2TB drive. He keeps his main drive about ¾ full with working images and stores his completed images on remote drives, which is not so easy to do with Lightroom.  The program can also access images on his iPhone and iPad.

You can view the presentation deck at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2022-01-24_ON1.pdf (15 MB)

He mentioned many features, too numerous to enumerate here.  Some examples:
Browser
-   Full program for cataloguing and browsing your photos
-   Metadata can be embedded from the camera itself or added by you
-   Smart organizer
-   Comprehensive search capability
-   Mobile phone and higher end mirrorless camera images are geotagged

Editor
-   Double view allows you to compare two similar photos side by side, to select the better one
-   Layers can be blended without destroying the image underneath
-   HDR capability to get a wider range of exposure
-   Focus stacking to get a wider range of focus
-   Powerful masking capability and the ability to make good selections
-   Text tool is ok but not stellar
-   Subtle more flattering enhancements in portrait mode, with adjustable opacity
-   Liquify allows you to "push" things around on the image or make people "appear thinner"
-   Presets come with the program and are provided every month
-   You can alter any one and save as your own preset and share with other users
-   There are different black and white presets based on different film types
-   You can click on history to get a record of the changes that you have made to an image
-   You can click on snapshot to save all the changes to that point that can then be reapplied to the original image
-   Artificial intelligence makes a good starting point for tone and colour, white balance, noise removal and sharpening
-   NoNoise AI has an amazing ability to reduce the noise in an image, which can then be fine tuned by yourself
-   Weather filter can really add realistic weather attributes that are otherwise really hard to capture with a camera
-   Sky replacement has become a big thing.  ON1 gives you presets or you can use your own.  You can flip left to right, add clouds, incorporate reflections into water.

Exporting
-   There are powerful export capabilities
-   Only exported photos have all the changes applied
-   The program has a good fractal upsizing capability, to match your printer

Education and Training
-   Plus subscription option has a variety of courses about ON1, photography in general and other photographic resources

Pricing
-   One-time purchase of current program $100US
-   Upgrade to current program $80US
-   Current program + 1 Year of Plus $130US
-   Ongoing subscript with 200 GB storage $8US per month

You can view the personal design thoughts of Ross at https://www.rjslade.com/design-thoughts.html

2 - Q & A / Discussion
Stephen Richards reminded members that streaming services Hoopla and Kanopy are available through the Ottawa Public Library.  Other OPL online resources include Great Courses, Midici, NFB and Naxos.

Ross has been using the subscription service Magzter to access magazine reading material. OPL PressReader also enables online access to thousands of magazines and newspapers.

Neil mentioned that OPL has partnered with other libraries in Ontario and you can gain Hoopla memberships on each of those, to potentially augment your viewing limit ... if there were ever enough hours in the day!

In response to a question from MarySue, an older version of Carbon Copy Cloner should be able to make a bootable copy of her older Lion macOS system.

Wally was able to refurbish a 2012 Macbook Pro that he found in a dumpster by adding a hard drive.  It now works well.

We had a diverse line-up of interesting presentations.

Time Machine and How It Can Be Used To Recover Mail – Stephen Richards
Stephen described how Time Machine can be used to recover lost or accidentally deleted emails.  Using a 2011 iMac he gave a partial demo by deleting a message, invoking Time Machine, showing the folder he was looking for and clicking Restore.  Time Machine then recreated the desktop today and placed the found item in a folder Recovered Messages.

Slice of Australia and New Zealand - Ferriss High
Ferriss used iMovie to create this engaging collage of photos and video clips with a lively music soundtrack.  It was virtual travel and the next best thing to flying there.  There was query about the cool animated map visuals and Ferriss explained that this is a feature within iMovie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etRtisrHL10

Colourizing – Ross Slade
Ross gave a presentation on adding colour to black and white film photographs using a web-based service and photo app. MyHeritage.com is a web-based genealogy service that has features to colourize and even animate the heads in black and white photographs. It does a pretty good job with the default settings and will also allow you to just enhance the faces. It's amazing to see the animation and colourization of a black and white head. 

The later versions of Adobe Photoshop also have colourization using a NeuralFilters capabilty. In many cases it can discern did the correct skin tone coloured. In the event that the colourizing is not quite right, the workaround is to use masking.

The art of automated colourizing has made great strides forward. Netflix has even colourized old civil war movies.

You can download the presentation deck in Keynote format. https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2021-12-13-Colourizing-Ross-Slade.key

Video with Photos Mostly Around Sidney, BC  and some in Victoria and from the Van Gogh Immersive Experience Exhibition – Peter Koelbleitner
There was some stellar photography accompanied by the soulful 1st Gnossienne - Eric Satie. The photos were all captured with an iPhone XS and enhanced using the Snapseed and PCS Camera apps. You can download the video here. https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2021-12-13-Slideshow-Peter-Koelbleitner.mp4 (for some reason it will not play in a browser window)

Church Video Project - Wally
For this project, Wally's motto: Let the power of Matter over Mind prevail.  Wally used a tripod and Canon XA-11 digital camcorder to record the videos. This features a low light sensor. Additional photos were captured with an iPhone 10.  The audio was recorded separately using a Zoom Livetrack 12 track mixer and digital recorder.  He then used a MacBook Pro and iMovie to integrate these components and add the lyrics and credits.  Canon's User Manual and toll free number provided helpful technical support along with several YouTube videos.

Wally then screened three video clips from a slightly longer video project.
#1 Prelude: Approaching and entering his church St. James the Apostle in Perth, Ontario with a hymn soundtrack and rolling lyrics.
#2 Original recording of two musicians, zooming in an out, with lyrics.
#3 Postlude: Audio recording of the Junior choir, adding visuals, credits, lyrics against a backdrop video of the Taye River.

You can view the entire half hour video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88heJFwvHCw

Equipment Setup – Leroy Hayes
A core component of LeRoy's MacHaven in Kanata is the service Plex.

Plex Media Server is a digital media player and organizational tool that allows you to access the music, pictures, and videos stored on one computer with any other computer or compatible mobile device. You can install the Plex Media Server software on a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, or a compatible network-attached storage (NAS) device, then play it back on any other internet-connected device capable of running the Plex app.

The service works across countries and continents.  Chris logs in from Tanzania as well as LeRoy's daughters in Vancouver and Ottawa.

LeRoy has a lifetime membership and the service is quite reasonably priced. https://www.plex.tv

https://nzbfinder.ws indexes newgroup server content so finding more obscure movie titles is quite easy.

Leroy can view his video content on two Apple TV's, an LG65OLED and Sony 34 inch Bravia.  You can view the rest of his equipment list in the attachment below.

We are still unable able to have an in-person meeting at the library, so the following Zoom details apply.

Date: 2022-01-24 (Monday)
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.
Venue: A Zoom meeting that you can join on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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 while folks log on                                                   7:20 - 7:30

1 - ON1 Photo Editing                      with Ross Slade                             7:30 - 8:50

2 - Q & A / Fixit Forum                                                                        ~ 10 minutws

3 - Presidential Sign Off                   with Wally Kuzmicz                         0.3 minutes


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!

Zoom meeting details:   <---  will only work for this meeting! Join any time after 7:20, meeting starts precisely at 7:30!!
Meeting ID: expired
Meeting pass code: expired


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 are still unable able to have an in-person meeting at the library, so the following Zoom details apply.

Date: 2021-12-13 (Monday)  2 weeks early!!!!
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.
Venue: A Zoom meeting that you can join on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

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 while folks log on                                                                                                     7:20 - 7:30

1 - Show and Tell ...                                                                                                                              7:30 - ?

We invite all members to show-off what you've been doing with your Apple technology over the past year.
This can be a slideshow, a video editing project, a cool database demonstration, or how you use an app,
service or product/gadget to bring you fun and fulfillment.  You can share your Zoom screen,
and we will help you technically of course. 

NOTE that if you have a slow or unreliable internet connection, one of the meeting co-hosts can present your content while you narrate.

We welcome presentations ranging anywhere from a few minutes to about 30 minutes long. 
Please email your presentation offers to exec@mugoo.ca or pres@mugoo.ca 

HERE'S OUR LINEUP SO FAR, NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER...

Ferriss High             - a video project and a slideshow
Ross Slade              - some photo edit work using a new app
Peter Koelbleitner    - photos taken with his iPhone and modified in apps
LeRoy Lees              - how he uses his Mac in his home
Stephen Richards     - Time Machine and how it integrates with Mail
Wally Kuzmicz          - a church video project                                                       
 
2 -  Presidential sign off for the year                                                                                                         3.5 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!

Zoom meeting details:   <---  will only work for this meeting! Join any time after 7:20, meeting starts precisely at 7:30!!
Meeting ID: expired
Meeting pass code: expired


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

0 - Group chin-wag while folks log on
Wally mentioned that there is still no update from the Library as to when the space will be available to resume our in-person meetings.

1 - MUGOO Executive elections
The positions of President (Wally), Treasurer (Steve) and Secretary (David) were acclaimed for the coming year.  We are still seeking an appointment for the Membership Coordinator position.  Thanks to Jonathan for his many years of service.

2 - Not backing up?  The road to hell is paved with good intentions - with Jamie Johnson             
(plus some members' methods and experiences)
Jamie gave a comprehensive overview of his approach to backups.  With over 50TB of images, there is a lot to safeguard! You can view his slides at the link below.  We also enjoyed some background photos from his 2017 trip to Iceland. https://www.jamiejohnson.ca/presentations/backup-for-the-macintosh-users-group-of-ottawa

Jamie's main objectives are to never lose any data in the event of computer hardware failure, fire or theft AND to minimize the time required to do the backups.  To achieve this he always has three copies: one on his production drive, one on a separate local drive, and one off site (at a friend's or in the cloud).  His archives of original files (untouched) are also stored off site.

There were other interesting comments along the way. 

If you prefer to go with manual backups, you only need to back up as often as you are willing to redo the work since the last copy over.  For most of us, it's far better to automate the backup process as part of our workflow.

Value your time.  The reliability and reduced cost of the latest drives makes it easier to purchase more storage rather than have to frequently manage the remaining space on older drives.  LeRoy mentioned that Coscto is now selling 8TB drives for $170; these "green, more eco friendly" products may be a bit slower but are otherwise fine for backup purposes.

Wirecutter.com, now owned by the New York Times, is one of his preferred sites for recommendations on the best products and services. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/

Jamie and wirecutter.com recommend backblaze.com as the best online cloud service at $7.00 per month for virtually unlimited storage. https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9ktr

It's good to enable Apple's Time Machine but recognize that it only backs up the internal drive and not any connected external drives.

Jamie has been using SuperDuper to make a bootable clone for the past 15 years and it has never failed. https://shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Carbon Copy Cloner provides similar bootable clone functions. https://bombich.com

The other option is to go to with RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks).  His preferred system is DROBO. https://www.drobo.com

Jamie is continually moving data to new drives to avoid "bit rot."  It's generally a good idea to be moving forward to stay current with the technology.  Also, you have to periodically spin drives up to ensure that they are still functioning.

SoftRAID from OWC verifies that a drive is good.  You can also do a 3 pass secure erase with Disk Utility and if there are no error messages, the drive is good. https://www.softraid.com

LeRoy is using the freeware FreeFileSync for backing up his movie collection. https://freefilesync.org

Neil uses Retrospect to back up all machines on his network.  It backs up to both Backblaze and local drives.  https://www.retrospect.com/uk

You generally don't need to worry about email services such Gmail which use IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) since all messages are maintained on the central server.

Following Jamie's presentation David and Gillian each gave a short presentation on their own backup arrangement.  Many of the same principles can be seen here and you can view their presentation decks below.  They are also fans of SuperDuper.

A question arose about expanding the number of ports on the M1 MacBook Air machine.  Several products were suggested:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00SCE4E0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMYE2ZM/A/satechi-aluminium-usb-c-multiport-pro-adapter?fnode=a4c59642c697687d98ee9fac572974ca5d6f8efa03d6e280a30630c9c55754c8accfd4221df5f7958659e60df7726c53d8b3d7cf1133688a6c3fcf419d9e1ba597d3622548ec6e32b6b187c96103916d7b7e1bdd5b80d2dc112718313f7f5b2d

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMX12ZM/A/caldigit-ts3-plus-dock?fnode=9bee3ecac872875fdb5f078ff2715632b379d8569cc6d7e4a7f9de44195419d2b1de2608123348a606a8a8844136c38dba8f67ba8bd285a263161c96295de00c33f2e7de3223c750d975fba71c8bc09eb1045fc1cf237b84d8177f243aa19ee0

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMX02ZM/A/caldigit-thunderbolt-3-minidock?fnode=d478591f5eb6d38f5d02f5f2f50bc2091523e1d544f6981a85914cd96d53591d03b89ebc8688d50b4f9d336ca13bc47f81e7d9d9e935d1d599644527a24d91c78b8e7d941ed4ffd2300f67e9db2965b3d405dbb6399f8b14ae11ac835d76dc72

3 - Focus Hocus Pocus ... Apple's Focus feature - with David Rhynas plus group discussion
During our Exec Planning meeting Wally had inquired where the Do Not Disturb toggle was now located on his iPhone.  It now part of the iOS 15 Focus capability and David expanded on his June overview on how this works.  You can see his presentation slides below.

Marc had been using the expanded Focus feature since the iOS 15 launch.  He likes that all of his Apple devices go in to the same focus mode automatically, which includes quiescing his Apple Watch at night.

Be ready for an "avalanche" of notices once the Sleep mode is over. Marc generally waits until breakfast.

Focus while Driving is a bit different from before.  It turns everything off unless specifically enabled.

Three of the Focus modes are automatic: Sleep, Driving and Fitness.

Marc generally likes these new capabilities but points out that it still needs some further streamlining.

4 -  Presidential invitation for Dec 13th
      Show-n-Tell presentations - with Wally Kuzmicz
Wally mentioned that December 13th is our annual "Show and Tell" meeting where members have an opportunity present projects that they've been working on.

5 -  Black Friday Nov 26 and Cyber Monday Nov 29 ... What deals have you heard of?             
(open discussion -  to close the meeting)
Neil recommended a site with some Black Friday recommendations. https://www.blogto.com/city/2021/11/black-friday-2021-deals-toronto-announced-so-far/

Marc uses Black Friday and Cyber Monday to get the best price for his annual subscriptions.