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In addition to the book discounts previously mentioned, O’Reilly also offers MUG member discounts. They too are listed in the Member Only section of the Forums.
I received word today from Wiley Books about discounts on a specified list of books. The discounts are good through the end of the year. I posted a link to the list of books and ordering information in the Members Only section of the Forums.
The only way you can get your CapMac email is for us to have your correct email address in our membership database. If you aren’t getting email you can correct the problem by sending your correct address to Tom Weaver at TomJWeaver@earthlink.net.
There is a 20% discount available on the Wi-Fire Long Range WiFi Adaptor recently reviewed in this space. To see the discount code you have to be able to log into the user group web site. There are several product discounts listed there.
I have posted the password and URL for accessing this information in the Members Only section of the CapMac forums.
By Michael Sidoric (Revised 8/4/10)
These days with laptops becoming ever more mobile – access to wireless is no longer a luxury, but often – a necessity. And there’s nothing worse than being ALMOST close enough to a wireless access point to get a good signal. How many times have you found yourself walking around a hotel room, lobby, classroom, or library while you eagerly monitor the bars on your menubar’s airport icon?
That is about to change with a handy new gadget called WI-FIRE from hField Technologies. Think of it as a signal sucker for Wi-Fi. Wi-Fire uses a small directional antenna that hangs gently over the edge of your laptops screen with an adjustable, universal adapter. The antenna itself connects via a small cable directly into a USB port on your laptop.
The Wi-Fire is compatible with both Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5 and 10.4, Windows, and Linux – and uses a free software enabler to enable your computer to ‘talk’ to incoming wireless signal through the USB connection.
Installation is fast and painless, with easy directions supplied in the box, and on the website. The manufacturer suggests you download the latest software from their website: http://www.hfield.com/customer-service/
Once the software disk-image is mounted, all that is required is a double-click on the icon, and your computer’s administrator password. On a Mac – restart is required for the Wi-Fire antenna to be recognized.
Next, under the Finder’s menu-bar, you pull down to select your preferred network.
SHOCK — there are soooooo many.
It’s like tuning a shortwave radio for the first time –– there are so many to choose from. For starters, ignore the ones with the LOCKED icons. Unless you know the network passwords – they won’t do you much good. Found an OPEN network? Select it and after a few seconds to connect –– you are ready to browse.
Of course the Wi-Fire was designed to connect legally to your own network. For security, the Wi-Fire supports both WAP and WEP passwords, and for access controlled by MAC address, simply add the Wi-Fire’s own MAC address to your wireless router’s ‘allowed’ list, and your Wi-Fire will be recognized and allowed to join the network.
If you want to check out the networks within reach, select the Wi-Fire Connection Manager, which reveals the full information on each of the wi-fi networks within range of your antenna.
While the Wi-Fire packaging suggests ranges ‘up to 1000 feet!’, in a cluttered urban area with interference from cordless phones, and other sources of RF – I’d routinely expect half that range. But geez, that’s TWO CITY BLOCKS. Walls, buildings and other environmental factors may affect your signal quality and range –– but any way you look at it –– the improvement is dramatic.
The Wi-Fire is LIKE MAGIC AND WORKED LIKE A CHARM. I could get online instantly almost anywhere: the front yard, back yard, down the street, waaaay down the street, and next street over… amazing. With a suggested retail price of less than $50.00 – the Wi-Fire is a no-brainer for road-warriors, students, and those mobile travelers who seem to rove from access-point to access-point to get their work done.
The Wi-Fire is not a one nit-picky disappointment:
The gentle, no-scratch adjustable bracket that attaches the Wi-Fire to the top of your laptop screen needs work. On my MacBook Pro — it was unable to stay in place without sagging helplessly pointing to weeds in the backyard instead of my Time Capsule in the front closet inside. I’m sure with a few minor modifications, or Duct Tape – a better solution can be found.
Overall – the Wi-Fire is an amazing and inexpensive tool for most anyone needing to pull every bit of signal they can out of the air. The technology, hardware and software, and installation manual are superb at twice the price – and the patient and expert customer support was impressive.
Anyone who considers Wi-Fi a necessity should own a Wi-Fire.
Note: It is illegal to use Wi-Fire to intercept any wi-fi network, other than your own, regardless of whether or not the network is open or locked. Be sure to properly secure your own network. This tool in the wrong hands can be dangerous.
This product will not be for everyone, but it one of my favorite of the things I have reviewed in the past few months because it meets a personal need. It might do the same for other CapMac members as well.
The Mini Portable Speaker SP-i150 from Genius looks like a flying saucer and offers a 360-degree sound field. It has a single on/off switch. Volume is controlled by your portable device. The speaker easily fits in the palm of your hand.
There is a built-in lithium battery that gives up to eight hours of service when fully charged. The unit includes a singleY power cable with a 3.5mm audio plug for your portable device and a USB charging cable on one end, and a mini USB cable on the other for the speaker. The single cable is very efficient. The package also includes a carrying pouch and a multi-language user’s manual.
The speaker is available in polished black or white. There is a LED indicator light that indicates that the power is on or the unit is charging. It works with any portable device that accepts a 3.5mm audio plug, including iPods, notebooks, MP3/MP4 players, and iPhones.
Using The Product
I tested the speaker using a new iPhone 4 and an old 3rd generation iPod Nano. The results I got varied between the two. Music from iPhone was somewhat richer and louder using the speaker. Music was louder using the older Nano, but there was not much change in the quality. I found similar results when testing with audio books downloaded from audible.com. I can tell you from my testing that I have easily gotten 8 hours use before having to recharge the speaker. When the charge runs out, the speaker simply stops, there is no leading decrease in quality.
The Bottom Line
The SP-i150 Mini Portable Speaker allows the user to (1) listen to music or audio from a portable device containing a 3.5mm audio plug without wearing headphones, or (2) share the contents of the device with others within a limited range of the speaker. It’s small size makes for easy portability and the 8 hour battery life assures adequate listening time for most occasions. As someone who doesn’t particularly like headphones, I really like this product, particularly when relaxing outside alone where my listening choices will not bother anyone else and in bed where it is very uncomfortable to wear headphones. And, at bedtime, it is a simple matter to switch off the speaker when I am ready to go to sleep.
The Basics
The Publisher’s SIG has found a new location. Starting with the August meeting the group will be meeting at the 9503 Research Marie Callender’s location. This restaurant is located in the same area as Best Buy, across the highway from the Arboretum . This is a great central location and Marie Callender’s offers a wide variety of food choices.
The FileMaker Pro SIG is changing meeting date and location. Make a note on your calendar if this is one of your “have to” meetings. The August meeting information is:
Ya never know what you will find at a CapMac SIG meeting. The attendees at the July Advanced Photo SIG were treated to a great program about lighting techniques by SIG leader Alex Suarez. Alex brought all his personal equipment and demonstrated it’s use plus sharing all kinds of tips and techniques.
Not only that, but everyone who attended the SIG had a chance to take home their choices from a unique collection of cameras, some quite old and special. The cameras were donated to the SIG by professional photographer John Langford, who was a presenter at the June SIG meeting.
When you miss meetings, you never know what you might miss. Following are photos of some of the cameras. Thanks to Andy Masuo for sharing his photos.
If you use an RSS reader to aggregate your news, you can use CapMac’s RSS feeds to subscribe to the CapMac Blog. CapMac currently has two RSS feeds. The feed for the blog itself is feed://www.capmac.org/?feed=rss2, but CapMac also has a separate feed for the Special Interest Group (SIG) schedule. The address for that feed is feed://www.capmac.org/sig_rss.php.
It is often said there are two kinds of computer users: those who have lost data, and those who will. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right backup procedures, you can minimize or event prevent ever losing any of your precious files.
This month’s presentation will feature SuperDuper creator Dave Nanian of Shirt Pocket Software and the CapMac Server Admin Team talking about backup solutions and strategies for your Mac from hardware to software to cloud based solutions. We’ll discuss the best ways and practices to minimize data loss if and when something goes wrong with your computer.
For a limited time you can register to attend the expo portion of Macworld 2011 at no cost. The show will be January 27-29 in San Francisco.
As a bonus, select Macworld exhibitors are offering exclusive summer pricing on Apple-related products. Register today and take advantage of these special discounts for registered attendees!
Free Expo Only registration expires July 26th.
Add CapMac Events to your iCal calendar
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