The CapMac Blog

Our own Nathan Toups, leader of our Systems Admin SIG, will be one of the speakers at the MacTechCon2010 in LA, Nov 3-5.  He is passing on a $50 discount on the conference price for CapMac members.  Check the members only forum for more information.

Whohoo.  Everyone who attends the New To Mac SIG this coming Saturday will be able to purchase Freeway Express 5.5 at a special CapMac discount price of $25.  That’s a $44 saving.  Discount codes will be handed out.

Time-Warner hears us.

After our blog post about email to CapMac members with Road Runner addresses being blocked – a TW Manager of Systems Operations contacted our server team, and has been working with us to resolve the problems.

Evidently, CapMac’s email to Time-Warner customers was being blocked due to over-zealous, automatic, filters intended to block spam. We are now working directly with Time-Warner to assure that our membership info and announcements get though to everyone – including Road Runner customers.

Special thanks to TW’s Rick Burkinshaw, and his team in Austin and the TW Postmaster Mark Foster, and his crew in Virginia for helping us get everyone back online.

Thanks also to Chris Boyd, and the folks at Midas Networks, who colo our server and host our DNS, for their continued support.

Time-Warner’s response has been tremendous, and they deserve our thanks.

Please let us know if you have questions or problems:  mailhelp@capmac.org

Michael Sidoric came across a 3 day sale on Drobo Data Storage Systems.  More information at http://info.drobo.com/back_to_school

For three days only, save $100 and get a Drobo for just $299! After three days, the price goes up to $349.   Plus, get huge savings on Drobo FS (for file sharing), and Drobo S (for speed) through September 9, 2010!

iSkin review by John T. Ames, 4.5 of 5 stars

iSkin DuoBand for nano (5G) immediately got my attention with its classy packaging. It is clearly marked DuoBand and it is easy to see what is in the box. There is a clear silicone cover for the nano that has a perfect fit and after several weeks of use has not changed. The cover is made with Microban® antimicrobial technology, something most will appreciate. The armband is replaceable, has a slight stretch and is perforated for ventilation. Adjustment is made with Velcro tabs. The nano slips into to a rubber-backed plastic carrier that attaches to the armband. The silicone case is slightly wider at the navigation-wheel end of the nano so the top of the nano should be inserted into the plastic holder first. This is clearly shown on the back of the package. It is also marked on the holder but because the holder is symmetrical you can insert the nano into either end. The friction of the silicone against the plastic-armband holder securely holds the nano. It’s easy to make the fit very tight, but if you over do you can squeeze the holder bracket together on the backside while pulling the nano out by the earphone end. A cleaning wipe and silicone plug for the cable connector are included. However, you will need to provide your own screen protector if desired. This is a high quality product. I recommend it to anyone looking for a protective cover for their nano, armband or both.

Have we got a great presentation for August’s Advanced Photography SIG! Wildlife biologist and guide, Shaun Powell, will be joining us fresh from the Arctic where he was guiding photographer Paul Nicklen on a photo expedition for National Geographic. His topic: “On Assignment with National Geographic in Arctic Svalbard.” He’ll be speaking about how the assignment was produced and share some anecdotal stories of their adventures and misadventures along the way, while showing numerous photos taken throughout the shoot, both by himself and Nicklen. Come find out what it’s like to be on a National Geographic assignment in some of the most extreme conditions on earth. Come hear the details of how they risk their lives to get some of the most impressive images imaginable. Mark your calendars for August 26 so you don’t miss Shaun Powell at the CapMac Advanced Photography SIG.

Don’t miss this event. Do your friends a favor and bring them along on Thursday.

Here are the details:

• Next Meeting: Thursday, August 26, 6:30-9:00 PM at Episcopal Church of the Resurrection – Parish Hall
• Address: 2008 Justin Lane
• Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2110+Justin+Lane,+Austin,+TX+78757
Note that the Parish Hall is East of the church building and its parking lot is accessed from Justin Lane. The parking lot entrance is directly across from where Muroc St. intersects Justin Lane.

This event is free and open to the public. Tell your friends. Better yet, bring your friends! Hope to see you there!

The huge app sale for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that I mentioned at the August general meeting is going on now through September 1st.  Check it out at http://iappsforstudents.com/ This sale is for anyone so tell your friends about it.

I just posted 7 new sets of discounts in the Members Only section of the CapMac forums.  Check them out and see if there is something you have been looking for.  All but one of the announcements have special MUG codes that must be used with the offers and those codes are included in the listings.

If you are over 15 or don’t have someone near that age to teach you the iPhone typing tricks, here is a tip that will help make your iPhone typing easier.  It has made my life easier since I tend to type using whole words and complete sentences, old fogey that I am.

If you have done much iPhone typing you knows that iPhone automatically corrects and suggests words as you type.  To accept the suggested word, tap the space bar.  Tap the “x” and it not only dismisses the suggested word, but it helps iPhone learn the word you typed.

The keyboard automatically inserts apostrophes into contractions.  I was so glad to learn this one.  No more switching keyboards.

And, perhaps my favorite tip of all, if you tap the space bar twice, it adds a period.

August 13th Appular is releasing the iPad version of  Pocket Devil HD.  For that one day only the game will be free.  I copied all the information from the press release and it can be found at

http://public.me.com/ngravley/Pocket Devil HD for iPad.pdf

This special is not limited to MUG members.

NAVIGON, the wonderful GPS software for iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4 is having a 4 day half price sale, starting today and ending on the 15th.  All of the different versions are available.  This sale is not limited to MUG members.

For additional information, including all the prices,  I posted the entire press release at:

https://public.me.com/ngravley/NAVIGON Sale