Past Meetings
February 23, 2009 - Hammondsport Mac Users Group
TOPIC: INTERNET FM RADIO (and other USB Plug-Ins)
ATTENDING: Jack H, Bob S, Jerry L, Bob G, Tom B, Diane B, Henry B, Joe Y.
---------------------------
Thanks to Bob S for the delicious Chase
Cherry Mash candy that he brought for all. Also thanks to Jack for the great
donuts. While folks enjoyed the treats with their lunches, Tom showed a couple
humorous video clips: 1) Alerting us to the dangers of using
cell phones hidden in your ear and 2) the profound beauty and simplicity
found in country songs such as 'If My Nose Was Running Money (I'd Blow It All
On You)'
RocketFM - Using an eight-year old iBook G3/500, Tom gave a demonstration
of how to set up a USB FM transmitter called RocketFM made by Griffin Technology. Although this item is no longer manufactured
by Griffin, it can be found on eBay for very reasonable prices ($17). After
installing the Mac drivers from the CD (or downloading latest here),
the device is plugged into a USB port of the Mac. By default, it broadcasts
on frequency 88.1 (which can be changed
in System Prefs). Internet radio via iTunes, as well as MP3s, CDs and any
other music played on the computer will be picked up by nearby FM radios. See
RocketFM
manual and FAQ.
Many radio programs can be downloaded as Podcasts (MP3), played via QuickTime
or iTunes, and broadcast through your house's FM radios. Tom played a portion
of a recent Car
Talk program with Click & Clack available on-line. Another informative
radio show for Mac users is Mac
Geek Gab.
FM/MP3 player for car radio ($8.74
from DealExtreme - no tax and free shipping) - this thing works great with
any USB stick full of mp3s. It plays through your car radio and speakers.
iTunes EQ - Did you know that iTunes contains an excellent
10-band graphic equalizer for bringing out the best sound in your music? Just
click the EQ icon at bottom of iTunes windows. EQs can be preset and saved for
each track in your iTunes library. See all sample
presets .
Backup / Storage - The question of how to back up your files came up if you don't have Time Machine. Using an G3/500 iBook, Tom gave a demo of how to use an inexpensive external HD (see below) with an On-the-Go Firewire board to do quick backups. You can even clone your entire hard drive using the free Carbon Copy Cloner. Be sure the 3-position switch on the board is set to 'BUS' position to power the HD via the USB 2 or Firewire port.
Mercury On-the-Go (Case + board) - $29
for USB - $49 for Firewire at OWC with 80GB Seagate HD
- $39
at OWC - great backup or replacement for older Mac laptops. Just slide it
into the board of On-the-Go, then plug it straight into your Mac's USB or Firewire
port.
MicPlug
($20 at OWC) - Connects any XLR dynamic microphone (such as a Shure 58) to your
Mac via USB. A handy on/off switch lights when active. Works with USB 1.0 and
2.0. Great for GarageBand. See MicPlug
specs.
USB Light - found at Dollar Store for $1 and Amazon.
Kingston 2GB USB Stick - under $8
at Amazon
---------------------------
Other Stuff
Speed Test - check your line speed for internet connection.
Dial up modems should provide 45-49kbps. High speed ethernet Cable should be
8000-10,000kbps. Old cable wiring, multiple splitting and corroded connections
cause excessive line noise and drastically reduce speed. Time Warner Rochester
customers can check
speed here. Another speed test site is Speak
Easy.
Speed up Safari Browser
(especially for slower Dial-Up connections) -
1) In Safari Preferences under Appearance uncheck 'Display images'
2) Under Security uncheck 'Enable Java' and Enable Javascript'
Ethernet Cable - Cat 5e (10ft) - the fastest way to connect - $1.18
at MonoPrice
Accelerated Dial-Up - here are some highly-rated, low-cost ISPs for Dial-Up Connections. Check to see if there is a local access number for your area. All of the providers below cost about $9.95/month and use an accelerated feature which essentially compresses images into lower resolutions to download faster.
1) BasicISP.net
2) Copper.net
3) FasterMac.net
4) Toast.net
Maps.Live.com - see
closeup satellite views of your own house. Just go to www.maps.live.com
. Keep clicking on the map to zoom into your location. Switch to the 'Birds
Eye' view when you get closer. For example, this is what Hammondsport
village square looks like. Then we visited Jack's ranch via MapsLive and
he pointed out the 'obstacle course' he had built in one of the fields near
his house. We thought the aerial
view of Jack's pasture bore an eerie resemblance to the recently discovered
lost city of Atlantis off the coast
of Africa. Compare the two photos. What do you think?
Note: you will need Safari 3 to make Maps Live work smoothly. Go to Apple's download site and type 'Safari 3' in the search window.
iFixit - greatest how-to site on Mac repair / take-apart step-by-step guides - great photos! Recently revamped.
-------------------------------------------
To view more highlights of Past Meetings, link to H'PORTMUG homepage .
[Note: To bookmark or print a specific page on this website, click on the NonFrames link on Homepage or go directly to the NonFrames version here - then navigate to the page you wish to bookmark or print.]