What's New

June 30, 2012

MobileMe retired / Welcome to the iCloud:
On the 23rd of June, 2012, Apple sent out one last reminder to those holdouts who haven't switched over to iCloud. The bell has been tolling for quite some time now. On the 30th of June, Apple finally cut the cord. Ending the era of MobileMe, they've discontinued the service and replaced it with iCloud, a transparent, and some would say tenuous replacement that seeks to make mobile syncing and content availability ubiquitous and easier. Unfortunately, the transition leaves many questions in the minds of many customers. We still don't get it. Without an interface, how do we locate, manage, move or manage our media and documents? Imagine life without a finder. An assuring voice keeps saying 'Trust us, it'll just work'. I shudder at the possibility. The visible and manually managed era of syncing is gone. No longer will you be in charge of the file management or backup scheduling. Things will simply be available everywhere - provided you're using the correct application. Supposedly, the transfers, backups and file synchronization will happen all by itself. I'll believe it when I see it...

So, have I seen it yet? Well, yes. In the case of my address book, my calendars, my email, my bookmarks. These are all syncing and updating without my intervention. iTunes in the cloud is a great service that I haven't quite leveraged yet. The photo stream sounds cool at first, but I really haven't used it much. The back ups of my iPhone and iPad are happening all the time, and I haven't had to lift a finger to tweak that schedule. My apps (iOS for iPhone and iPad) are available everywhere. When I buy an app through iTunes, it automatically syncs to all my devices quite easily. If I purchase an app on the iPhone, it quickly makes it's way to my iPad and iTunes desktop application. I've even used the web based 'Find my iPhone' feature through the new web based interface. So, it looks like some of the iCloud functions are working quite well.

So, what's the problem? Well, the three things I outlined earlier (last year). MobileMe Galleries is gone and with it an easy way for me to share photos with friends and families. While Apple has integrated a sharing feature into the iPhoto for iOS. I've found it impossible to use. I need a desktop app that gives me greater control. When I tried to use it, I found that I couldn't export the data in order to tweak or manage the web based display. In addition to the lack of exportability, the photos appeared in a random order and I couldn't annotate any pictures. Are these functions missing? Who knows; Apple's documentation for the new photo sharing capabilities is extremely limited and lacks details. I can only hope that a new desktop version of iPhoto will make things better.

Another problem. The demise of the iDisk. True cloud based storage seems to be going away under the iCloud. I know that sounds odd, but it certainly seems to be true. This service called iCloud is more of a cloud based syncing service than it is a cloud based storage service. Depending on how the iCloud handles iWork documents (after iWork.com goes away), I may end up using a non-Apple solution for cloud based storage. I've already hedged my bets in this regard. I picked up several of those free cloud based storage solutions. In any case, with the demise of the iDisk, MobileMe subscribers will have to find a new way to share documents via the 'Cloud'. What about the amount of storage that Apple's making available under the iCloud. The default is 5GB, and I can't believe that will hold much data. Especially since the use of this cloud based storage/syncing keeps increasing all the time. With the addition of more and more applications and documents into the iCloud, we're sure to run out of space in no time.

I originally had some concerns about the small amount of storage (only 5GB) indicated under iCloud. Now that Apple has officially turned on the 'iCloud' they've released pricing for increased iCloud storage. You get 5GB for free as part of the iOS upgrade (you need Lion or an iOS 5.0 enabled device to use the iCloud services). Beyond that it will cost $2.00 (per year) for each additional GB of storage. For example: 5GB/Free, +20GB=$40.00, +50GB=$100.00 (the $20.00 +10GB option seems to have disappeared. Hopefully this means that Apple is preparing to up the default free amount). So, we finally know the price of storage. This price is currently competitive/comparable to other services. Hopefully, some competition will put pressure on Apple to keep these prices competitive. Unfortunately, with the limitations on general file sharing and accessibility, Apple has effectively positioned itself outside the direct competition arena, and I don't suspect they'll be vulnerable to industry wide price wars when it comes to storage costs per GB. Despite the small amount of free storage, the amount of files/data that are excluded from storage costs is extensive, and this may mean that your 5GB will actually be adequate for most needs (given the fact that you won't be using the iCloud as a cloud based storage solution).

What else? iWeb Publishing. While we will still be able to use the iWeb application, Apple has already declared that product EOL'd (end of life). There won't be any more updates. You can still use it to create websites and update existing web pages, but you won't be able to use it to publish pages to a MobileMe hosted site. MobileMe hosting is going away. My two MobileMe websites (hosted in the iDisk) went away on the 30th of June. While I use iWeb to create and update two other websites, I don't publish/host those domains/websites using the MobileMe service. I published them to a local folder and upload them to my non-MobileMe webserver/hosting service. I will continue to use iWeb for this purpose until it becomes unusable for my needs.

More stuff missing: Syncing of Mac Dashboard widgets, keychains (this is a shame since the lack of it will make life difficult for many Mac and iOS users), Dock items, and System Preferences.

So, three capabilities have disappeared under this iCloud transition. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to use as replacements. I think I'm good to go for file sharing. If I can't figure out how to use my 'Buffalo' NAS, I can always use a Windows SkyDrive, my own webserver or maybe even a DropBox solution. There's a lot of options for cloud based storage. Unfortunately, I haven't located anything that will replace the MobileMe Galleries (and Apple's promise of sharing/publishing under the mobile iPhoto application simply don't work). The iWeb publishing doesn't really impact me, as finding a hosting provider isn't difficult at all.

Apple is completely withdrawing from competition in two of these areas (Cloud based storage and domain/website hosting). There are numerous cheaper alternatives, and Apple certainly can't compete in that regard. Low price has never been their forte'. The only service they're dropping that doesn't make any sense to me is the MobileMe Gallery. As far as I can tell, no one has anything approaching the sophistication or power of the MobileMe Gallery. I still don't know what I'm going to do in order to replace that capability. Any ideas or suggestions?
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/transition.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mobilemeclossing.png>
<http://www.apple.com/icloud/>

Can't watch Netflix - Watch Instantly unavailable!
On the evening of 29 June, I tried to watch a movie on my AppleTV, but something wasn't working - "Netflix is currently unavailable. Try again later." - Crap! I don't like this... I tried to watch a movie using my Roku player. Same issue. Netflix unavailable! I tried again, and again, and again... Of course it still didn't work. Thinking it was my AppleTV, I spent several minutes troubleshooting the problem. When I tried to access the service on my Roku player, I encountered the same problem. 'Netflix Watch Instantly is unavailable'. Perhaps Netflix really is down? Checking the website, I discovered that the Netflix 'Watch Instantly' service was in fact - Down. Down hard. Undaunted, I tried another tactic. This time I tried to connect using my Panasonic BD-P3600... Success! Ahaa. I was able to watch my program by using my Panasonic blu-ray player. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one affected, and many other Netflix subscribers still couldn't access the 'Watch Instantly' service.

Netflix was down for several hours on Friday night/into Saturday morning. The cause was reportedly an outage at Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud in North Virginia, brought on by a thunder and lightning show. Yes, Amazon's cloud based servers are actually located on the ground. The storms along the Eastern coast were quite severe. It's no surprise that this storm caused some sort of outage. Considering how many people were without power (for much longer periods of time), I'm surprised it wasn't a longer outage, or more widely reported. Netflix wasn't the only online service affected by this storm. I noticed problems with SpamCop spam reporting, and CX.com. Others noted problems with Pinterest and Instagram. Did the storm affect your online experience?
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/30/netflix-instagram-and-pinterest-down-outage-virginia-storm_n_1640241.html?utm_hp_ref=technology>
<http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2012/07/east-c.html>
<http://www.netflix.com>

Rob's World! - Newsletter victimized by spammers (again!):
Each month I send out a monthly newsletter to the avid fans of Rob's World! (Imagine that?) If you're interested in reading about the happenings at Rob's World! you can forego the daily/weekly chore of firing up your browser in order to check out the latest nuggets. The newsletter is a more convenient way to keep up to date on the comings and going in the life and times of Robert & Kim Vaessen and my crazy little web site. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a copy emailed directly to them every month! The mailing list management method (with my new/current webhosting service) includes a built in double confirmation mechanism, a web based list management interface, and a fairly efficient way to control the addresses and characteristics associated with the mailing list.

Unfortunately, due to some nefarious spammer, next month I'll need to make some changes to the mailing list configuration. I'll have to rename the mailing list (again!). Spammers have once again discovered the email address for the newsletter mailing list (it's advertised on my website, but my other mailing lists are as well and they don't seem prone to spam in this manner). The last time the newsletter address got compromised was December of 2010. Back then I had to change the name from 'newsletter' to 'rwnewsletter'. The "Rob's World!" newsletter is once again under assault by some spammer. After a thorough investigation, it seems apparent that one of the subscribers has a machine that is compromised. i.e. Infected by a trojan, controlled by a botnet and under the control of a nefarious individual who gains pleasure from the pain and misfortune of others - Shadenfreude!

In an effort to weed out the responsible individual (if indeed the responsible party is a subscriber), I've sent an email to everyone on the list. If the subscribers receive that email, if they read that email, if they respond to that email; then I can assume that their computer is not infected, zombified and controlled by the evil ones (because spammers never read replies or incoming email - they're only interested in sending their spam, and would prefer to leave the inbox alone so as not to alert the victim to the fact that their computer is infected). On the other hand; if a subscriber doesn't respond, it's a pretty clear indication that they...

A: Can't read their email because someone else controls their computer.
B: Don't really care to continue receiving the "Rob's World!" newsletter - Sorry to see you go.
C: Are so busy that they never read the "Rob's World!" newsletter.

If they fall into categories A-C, I'm going to unsubscribe them from the newsletter, and hope that solves my problem (after receiving 32 'squishy pink meat-like' messages in the last few days I really don't have much of a choice). Hopefully I can identify the individual who's responsible for this spam by implementing this 'challenge-response' technique/probe. After I've completed the tally of this 'challenge-response' request, I'll change the name of the mailing list to something new. Stay tuned for an update/more changes. Thank you for your patience/understanding in this matter. If you have additional questions about this request, please feel free to email me directly.
<http://robsworld.org/mailman/listinfo/rwnewsletter_robsworld.org>
<https://www.robsworld.org/newsletter.html>

The Leaf Antenna by Mohu:
<rave>One of my coworkers (without any TV service) was looking for a way to watch the Olympics without having to pay a high cable, dish, Hulu+ or some other internet service to watch the events. It hadn't occurred to her that she might be able to use an antenna to get over the air HD. I had recently looked into the purchase of an HDTV for one of the TVs in our house. I recommended the Leaf antenna by Mohu as I had read a favorable review. She purchased the antenna for appx $35.00, installed it with minimal assistance and found that she was receiving more than 20 local channels/national affiliate channels over the air. The quality was excellent, and she now had access to NBC Olympics coverage at no extra charge.

She liked it so much that I decided to purchase one of these Leaf antennas for myself. I purchased the Leaf antenna (non-amplified version) and a 10' extender cable from Amazon (antenna $34.99, 10' cable $16.00). The antenna is super thin (like a piece of paper), relatively small 9"x11.5", black on one side white on the other, and it comes with a 6' cable (75 ohm F connector). At first I wasn't too sure this was going to work. I was worried about placement, and indoor antennas have notoriously bad reputations (I've got an amplified AM/FM antenna in my basement - It's completely useless). The reviews and website insisted that the antenna was omnidirectional and needed no adjusting to pick up signals. Despite those claims many of the photos on their website seemed to imply that the device needed open sky visibility. I didn't want the thing to be visible in my living room, so I tacked it up (used thumbtacks to hold the antenna by the plastic laminate edges.) behind a large painting. I snaked the white cable (thank you for the eggshell white cable) over the edge of my fireplace mantle, tucked it behind the media center and connected it to my television.

Next came configuration. Thankfully my entertainment set up is smart enough to switch antenna and cable inputs depending on the device I'm running through my stereo/receiver. I selected the automatic channel configuration option on the TVs menu and waited... A few minutes later I was amazed to note that the antenna picked up 44 over the air channels. Holy crap! I had a feeling that I'd be able to pick up plenty of channels, but never imagined that I'd get that many (in the Denver/Aurora area). Awesome! After pruning out the duplicates, poor quality and unwanted channels (plenty of religious and Spanish language channels) I still had more than 20 to keep me entertained. While we still have cable TV, I'm ready for the day that the cable goes out. Or, if I'm really lucky, I can convince the wife to cut that cable altogether. Combined with Netflix and other internet streaming entertainment, we've already got just about everything you could ever want to watch. Add in the HD antenna and we've got an additional 20+ local affiliates for news and network programming. Oh yeah, that fear about reception and orientation? Well, it's completely disappeared. I didn't have to adjust my antenna at all. It's tacked up flat against an East facing wall, and I'm picking up loads of channels. Now I'm thinking of getting another one for my computer. Combined with a digital DVR program/appliance, I could record and playback programming for more convenient viewing of these free channels. Mohu's Leaf antenna is awesome. If you're thinking of cutting that dish or cable out of your living room, you haven't got much to fear. That over the air HD TV is very accessible and the reception is great (in my large urban area).</rave>
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33153_7-57412395-10391733/get-a-leaf-indoor-hdtv-antenna-for-$29.99/>
<http://store.gomohu.com/the-leaf-indoor-hdtv-antenna.html>

Software favorites:
Another batch of beta updates for my favorite Graphics editor. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least seven updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8.1.1 (b932), 8.1.1 (b933), 8.1.1 (b935). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

The 8.0 release is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The new version is a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

With this software update, I've updated my Software Favorites page. It's primarily dedicated to web publishing for the Mac user. Not meant for the professional, It's my hope that home users and hobbyists will find it useful. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Eating out in Denver:
Occasionally, Kim and I take the opportunity to eat out at one of the fine restaurants in the Denver/Aurora area. They're not always five star places, but we're not that kind of people. During June, Kim and I enjoyed a 'Date Night' at one of our favorite restaurants. Just the two of us this time. I had a hankerin' for seafood, so we headed out to one of our favorite seafood restaurants.

Pappadeaux may be a chain (most popular/most locations in Texas/Colorado only has one location) but it certainly doesn't feel like it. It's one of those third wave restaurants (I've talked/written about my 1st, 2nd, 3rd wave characterization before). It's an ethnically oriented specialty restaurant with high end decor and prices. It's cuisine is decidedly Cajun/Creole with a focus on seafood. The interior is a bit dark, but the lighting is adequate to read the menus and see your food (unlike some restaurants we've visited). As I said, it's one of our favorite spots, and this visit certainly served to reinforce that rating.

We started our dining experience with an appetizer. A favorite from our days in Pensacola, Fl. Something you won't find in most restaurants - Alligator! A large order of the Crispy Fried Alligator is served with a Creole dipping sauce and some fresh cut potato strings (sort of like fried rice noodles). The meat is tender, dark and slightly sweet - It's awesome! For our main courses, Kim ordered a Linguine Picayune (with chicken). The dish isn't exactly Cajun or Creole, but the garlic and extra virgin olive oil makes for a good base. She raved about how good it was, and I couldn't even get her to share. I chose a more traditional seafood dish. The mixed seafood grill is a skewer of assorted char-grilled seafood and veggies. Served over a plate of dirty rice. It was very good, but it wasn't enough for me. Next time I'll take advantage of their Sunday brunch. With drinks, tax, and a tip, our total came to $65.00 - Not bad. I expected to pay more for the lunch. We'll definitely return again, as this restaurant never fails to impress our unsophisticated palettes.
<http://www.pappadeaux.com/location/?id=35>

Heat Wave in Colorado - June 2012:
June 21st was the first full day of summer, and we sure are feeling the heat. Warmer than usual, during the 20th - 27th of Jun, 2012, we experienced some unseasonably warm weather. Hot weather, damn hot, crotch pot cooking hot! So hot you'd think we're living on the sun. How hot was it? Well, according to the official records (temperatures in Fahrenheit for Denver/DIA airport is closest station to our house with NWS accepted instrumentation): 20 Jun - 102 (tied high temp record), 21 Jun - 104 (new high temp record), 22 Jun - 102 (new high temp record), 23 Jun - 104 (new high temp record), 24 Jun - 102 (new high temp record), 25 Jun - 105 (new high temp record), 26 Jun - 105 (new high temp record), 27 Jun - 97. A serious stretch of sun drenched, record setting high temperatures. This is definitely not 'Normal'. Have you heard of global warming? Perhaps you don't believe it's real? I'd say that a seven day stretch of record high temps constitutes climate not weather.

Aside from being hot, the other problem was Fire! Our state is currently experiencing at least nine wild-fires burning uncontrolled in this hot weather. The fires are made worse by the hot, windy, extremely dry, drought like (we have far less precipitation than normal for the season) conditions. While we've had a few thunderstorms sweep through the area, they really haven't brought much relief - Unfortunately, what they have brought is plenty of lightning strikes - Guess what that means? More wild-fires! Conditions are so bad, that the president has declared a state of emergency and the National Guard has been called upon, and Federal funds allocated to fight these wild-fires. With over 600 homes lost and two fatalities (as of 30 June, 2012), it seems like it's going to be one long hot summer.
<http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20941763/heat-wave-denver-weather-melting-away-records-additional>
<http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=79>

More iTunes music for June of 2012:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? Well, I used to find/discover a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites (Pandora, 3hive.com, musicalfamilytree.org) and several other music blogs (Analog Giant, Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, etc) out there, and listening to a few different music podcasts. Used to... Now? Now (As of Oct of 2010) I subscribe to an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it, or maybe you'll buy some concert tickets. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a web search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download or listen to all sorts of music for free. I download most of my music from a couple of commercial sources (eMusic and iTunes), but I occasionally download tracks (legally) from various websites, newsgroups and blogs in order to satisfy my craving for music.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

iTunes Music Downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays/That's when the major labels release their new recordings). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few of the downloads I recently scored from the iTunes store. Two more free tracks. Unfortunately, it appears that the iTunes New Music Tuesday's offering has been reduced from approximately five offerings to two. One audio only track and one music video. While this used to be a way to discover new music, now it's only a showcase for a couple of bands each month.
* History's Door - Husky: (single) An indie-folk band from down under. Husky has been coming to my attention more frequently of late. Here's another example of their music. Not bad - A slow, uncluttered song with simple lyrics and excellent acoustic work over the more modern instruments. The song builds slowly, but the overall structure remains the same throughout.
* Let it Go - Fossil Collective: (single) The band is indie folk-pop. The duo from England uses plenty of acoustic work in this layered and touching emotional ballad. The song flows along like a late summer spring in the evening. Warm and comforting, washing over you in a harmonic wave of bitter sweet melodies. Another fine selection for the Tuesday download.

These are some of the items I added to my music collection during this month. Since revamping my music collection back in September of 2005, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating the collection. If you have a comment, question or correction regarding my collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email. Please keep in mind that my collection isn't for sale, and I'm not interested in giving you any copyrighted materials. I'd rather not go to jail for music piracy. :-)
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Hidden OCR capabilities in Mariner Software's Paperless application:
Just recently (June of 2012), I was considering the purchase of an OCR application. Optical Character Recognition is a very useful feature that converts printed text (from a scanned document or image file) into digital text which can be manipulated, edited, saved, etc. The capability is built into some scanners (and multi-function printers), but most of the time it's included as a watered down version of some premium software. It used to be very difficult to find low cost OCR, and the technology hasn't gotten all that much better over the years. Recent efforts by spammers to crack image based authentication techniques has brought improvements to OCR technology (improvements in reading dim, garbled, distorted images of text), but the prices have stayed rather high.

You can purchase the more popular ABBYY (finereader), IRIS (readiris) and Nuance (OmniPage) products, but they cost more than $100, and I'm certainly not going to pay that much for a product that I won't use very often. So I kept looking. As it turns out, the cost of OCR applications has dropped considerably. You can get a copy of DevonThink personal for appx $50.00, there are even a few apps (for the mac) with prices as low as $5.00 (VelOCRaptor, ScanDrop, SkimClip). Eventually, I stumbled upon the free application tesseract-ocr (developed by HP during the 80s/90s, now owned by Google). With some difficulty the tesseract software can be downloaded, installed and configured to work on a Mac. I kept searching. <rave>Eventually, I stumbled upon the answer (for me). Paperless - An application I already own. I use it to scan (it also reads digital input/copies) receipts for various purchases. Little did I know that the application has built-in OCR capability. I purchased the app for way less than it's current price ($49.95 as of 30 Jun, 2012), by way of a bundled app purchase through MacUpdate. The bundle (back in 2009) included a load of awesome software (TechTool Pro, Parallels Desktop, NetBarrier X5, DVDRemaster Pro, Paperless, Multiplex, MoneyWell, RipIt, Posterino, BetterZip, Circus Ponies NoteBook, Voila, RAGE MapDesign) for only $50. If I had purchased all the apps at their current prices (back in 2009), I would have paid appx $588.52 - The bundle saved me 91%, a Huge discount! Of those apps, I regularly use TechTool Pro, Paperless, Circus Ponies NoteBook and Voila. I've updated then numerous times, and I find each of them very useful.

Back to the topic at hand. So, Paperless has a built in OCR capability. A 'secret feature' if you will. It's capable of converting image files into pdfs or text for storage in the applications database. You can even copy and paste that text into a text editor for corrections and other work. While ingesting receipts, the OCR software within Paperless automatically recognizes prices, addresses, phone numbers and various other data. It scans the document, converts the data and plugs it into specific fields in order to speed up your receipt filing work flow. I knew that it did that, but it's so efficient at the OCR process, that I completely missed the fact (as of version 2.0 and greater) that it's capable of performing OCR on an entire document. The OCR functionality isn't limited to the areas that it automatically recognizes; it's a fully functioning OCR capability. Awesome! I already have an OCR capable application on my Mac. Since discovering this capability, I've been able to convert numerous documents (PDF with embedded images of text) into searchable/editable text (Sure it makes some mistakes, as most OCR applications do). Without the OCR capability, I'd be spending a lot of time transcribing these image rendered text files. Paperless just made my day! Keep an eye out for discounts (like the MacUpdate bundle that I bought) and you should be able to get a discounted copy of Paperless.</rave>
<http://marinersoftware.corphelp.com/kb_article.php?s=479f74432d1bba7fa7bde8e6a9596eda&ref=4683-HJZX-1814>
<http://www.marinersoftware.com/products/paperless/>
<http://www.mupromo.com/>

June 24, 2012

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least twelve updates over the past few week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8.1.1 (b924), 8.1.1 (b928). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

The 8.0 release (currently in beta) is a new full release. A completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, and support for large images (16,000x16,000 pixels) was added. The version 8 beta expires May 1st, 2012. The new version will be a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

Persistent Chinese Domain Name Scammers:
My first encounter with this particular scam occurred back in January of 2010. I had another encounter on the 29th of Mar, 2012, another on the 14th of May, 2012 and now another (19 Jun, 2012). In all cases I received a suspicious email. Something that piqued my interest and caused some concern. This email indicated that someone is trying to register "robsworld" as an Internet Keyword and their China/Asia Domain Names (CN/ASIA)? That concerns me. I own the domain name 'RobsWorld.org', and this development could cause problems in the future. This company (the one that sent me the unsolicited email) wants me to contact them regarding the matter. The use of English in the email certainly indicates that the originator isn't an English speaker. They claim to be a 'Domain Name Registration Center' in China. At the same time, some of the language felt out of place. The author used terms that are not applicable to the medium and or technical genre, and the tone of the email almost felt like extortion or some implied threat of intellectual property infringement. I got the feeling that something wasn't quite 'right' about the email. Being a skeptic, I started doing a little research (Isn't the Internet great!?).

The research/searches yielded a great deal of information regarding this domain (apidnr.hk in Jan of 2010, yiguangroup.com in Mar of 2012 and now ygnetworkltd.com in May and June of 2012), similar emails, and the 'Scam' that these companies are engaging in. It's a scare tactic and an extortion racket. The fact that this email, and many like it, have gone out to several other domain name owners (as indicated by searches) indicates that it is a mass mailing email campaign (just like spam). They're not targeting me specifically, just targeting domain name registrants. I found numerous examples that were nearly identical to mine. Their email indicates that someone is trying to register my domain name 'robsworld' as an 'internet keyword'. I wasn't sure what that was to begin with (back in 2010), but I soon figured it out. They also insinuate that someone may be attempting to register the 'robsworld' domain with a .cn or .hk TLD (Top Level Domain). They also indicate that 'robsworld' refers to my 'company name or trademark'. This isn't true. I don't trade on the domain name. I don't have a trade mark, and I haven't incorporated anything under the domain name. Clearly they're trying to frighten me to scare me into action. If I had a 'trade mark' or 'company name' I would likely be concerned in a legal sense. This entire solicitation seems designed to make me call/contact them in order to prevent this 'third party' from using my 'trade mark' or 'company name'. As documented by other 'victims', once you email them back, a 'third party' (the one they mention in their initial email) conveniently gets involved in a further attempt to convince you that your domain/property is in jeopardy; unless you follow through with the only way to protect your property/domain name. You'll need to pay the 'legitimate' domain/keyword registration fees. It's extortion - I never paid the 'Vigilante' for 'protection' (it's a long story) when I lived in Italy (for seven years), and I'm not about to start paying this Chinese scamster for 'Trademark' 'protection'.

Domain name registration, trade marks and internet keywords are all different. This company is playing on fear and confusion in the hopes that I/others will become so concerned that we'll buy into their scam. Whatever it happens to be. One might speculate that they want me to register my domain with a Chinese TLD. Perhaps they want me to register my 'Internet Keyword' (something initiated by CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center), the state run network information center of China), so that Chinese users will be directed to my website as opposed to a web site run by this mythical 'third party'. I'm not interested in registering any 'Internet Keywords' with a Chinese NIC; as these keywords are used as a means of internet censorship in China. The registration of 'Internet Keywords' is a costly proposition, that simply creates a second tier of domain name registration as a way of generating revenue for the Chinese state/corporations, and facilitating internet censorship. The only 'domain names' I'm interested in are the ones I've registered (through legitimate domain registrars). If I ever wanted a Chinese TLD (or internet keyword), I certainly wouldn't go through a company that sends me unsolicited email, full of unfounded, unproven insinuations and speech designed to frighten me.

If you ever need any help hunting down a spammer, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm willing and eager to help. Just drop me an email. I'd put the email address here, but this email message is also posted online, where spammers could scrape the email off the web page. Damn those spammers!
<https://www.robsworld.org/domainscam.png>
<http://alfidicapitalblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/alfidi-capital-exposes-chinese-domain.html>
<http://www.joewein.net/blog/2008/12/08/domain-registration-scam-in-china/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship>
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>
<http://www.damnspammers.com>

June 17, 2012

New Tollgate Crossing website:
Some time ago, one of the Tollgate Crossing residents maintained a 'Tollgate Crossing community posting' website. The webpage was established back in Sep of 2009. The website was a place where residents could post solicitations for their personal/private businesses and services, post want adds, and post lost and found announcements. At the time, I didn't have time to add such a community free-for-all forum on my Tollgate Crossing website. I was also worried that non-Tollgate residents would end up posting non-pertinent advertisements. The website was open from Sep of 2009 until Jan of 2012. The person running it stopped maintaining/updating it and it was eventually shut down towards May of 2012.

While the 'Tollgate Crossing community posting website' was running, I had established a 'Tollgate Crossing business' email mailing list (it still exists, but sees very little traffic). The mailing list is open to any Tollgate resident. It is intended as a forum for residents of Tollgate Crossing who own or operate a business. The business may be in Tollgate Crossing or the local area. Any resident of Tollgate Crossing (or interested individual) are invited to participate. The mailing list is intended as a way for residents to Tollgate to promote and communicate their businesses inside Tollgate Crossing. It's used to contact business owners and residents of Tollgate Crossing. Those looking to promote their business, those looking for goods and services, to sell a refrigerator, find a baby-sitter, or someone to cut your lawn. Everything and anything related to businesses and commerce in Tollgate Crossing. The difference? The mailing list doesn't have a persistent presence. The email messages are delivered as residents discuss Tollgate related business matters.

I didn't stop there. In an effort to better engage and serve the residents, I created a bulletin board for our community. While the 'Cross Talk' mailing list allows for near instantaneous exchange of community related conversations, it isn't persistent in the way that a bulletin board is. With a need for a persistent place to exchange community related information and engage in ongoing conversations, I created a set of bulletin boards for the Tollgate Crossing community. The bulletin boards are a web based place where residents, family and friends can discuss matters relevant to our community. I set up four broad categories for discussions: Classifieds, Events, Talk, and Meta. The bulletin boards are free to use, and I hope they facilitate more communication and a broader sense of community in Tollgate Crossing. Please feel free to sign up today. Tell your neighbors, family and friends. Chat it up in the Tollgate Crossing bulletin boards.

Finally, In June of 2012, I decided to pick up the account/username 'TollgateCrossing' on Comcast.net - That was the Comcast username/email address that was used to host the previous 'Tollgate Crossing community posting' website. I resurrected the old website previously known as the 'Tollgate Crossing community posting' website, the website is now known as the 'Tollgate Crossing community web space'. Since I already have everything in place at the 'Tollgatecrossing.org' domain, I'm simply using this Comcast identity/webpage as a place holder for a few links. Links that lead visitors to my other 'Tollgate Crossing' web pages and services.
<http://tollgatecrossing.org/mailman/listinfo/tollgatebusiness_tollgatecrossing.org>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/bulletinboard/index.php>
<http://home.comcast.net/~tollgatecrossing/site/?/home/>

Eating out in Denver:
Occasionally, Kim and I take the opportunity to eat out at one of the fine restaurants in the Denver area. They're not always five star places, but we're not that kind of people. During June, Kim and I enjoyed a 'Date Night' at one of our favorite restaurants. This time around we met one of my cousins. Mike - recently returned from a lengthy military deployment. Visiting Denver under a post-deployment reintegration program, Mike was in town for a few days, so we made the best of it and met him (and a couple of his friends) at one of our favorite restaurants.

The Wynkoop Brewing Company: Colorado's first brewpub, the Wynkoop brewing company was founded in 1988 by a group led by former Denver Mayor/current Governor - John Hickenlooper. The brewpub's hallmarks include small-batch beers, high quality food & service as well as a glorious pool hall and the 1899 J.S. Brown Mercantile building on 18th St. in LoDo (Lower - Downtown Denver). Kim and I have been here many times (most recently just before a Rockies baseball game in May of 2012. The Wynkoop has a great atmosphere, excellent food, superior service, and outstanding beer. We ordered a couple appetizers (Fried Calamari Dusted in rice flour, tangy soy-ginger sauce & Thai sweet chile and a Hummus Plate with Olive tapenade, sun dried tomato relish, pepperoncini, warm pita), some drinks (Mike and I sampled from their outstanding hand-crafted selection) and got the conversation started.

It was good to see Mike after all these years. The last time I saw him may have been eight years ago when he was in Denver on business. He hasn't changed much, and his friend commented on how much alike we are. Mike and I had a great time reminiscing about old times; he regaled me with some of his military exploits while deployed to hostile parts of the world, and we took a brief break to order and eat our main courses. I had a Grinder with Italian meats. Kim had the French Dip with Prime rib. My grinder was o.k. but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. According to Kim, her French Dip was excellent. The best part about lunch at the Wynkoop? Despite the great atmosphere, excellent food (The Grinder isn't part of their regular menu, and it's the first time I've been disappointed by one of their sandwiches), superior service and outstanding beer? The price. For the Denver/LoDo area it's amazingly affordable. Our sandwiches, drinks and one of the appetizers only came to $51.50 (with a tip) . I wish we had more time to talk/visit, but Mike's friends had other plans. Hopefully it won't be eight years before I see Mike again.
<http://www.wynkoop.com/>

Yet Another Java update for Mac OS X:
As predicted - As the Mac OS becomes more popular, more threats will emerge. Nefarious individuals with malicious intent will create Trojans and exploit code flaws in order to infect and compromise the computers of those who own Macs. Over the last week Apple released another update to deal with Java vulnerabilities. This time (unlike some well advertised exploits which resulted in the spread of a Trojan which affected hundreds of thousands of Macs) Apple was quick to respond to the Oracle updates. This particular update (Apple's) patches multiple vulnerabilities in Java by updating the Java SE6 to 1.6.0_33. The most serious of these patches prevents arbitrary code execution outside the Java sandbox. With this vulnerability, visiting a website that is maliciously crafted could result in arbitrary code execution using the current users privileges. Updating your Mac's Java will prevent the exploit/patch the vulnerability.

This summer's Mac OS X update (code named Mountain Lion) will include a new security feature called 'Gatekeeper'. A two pronged approach to tightly control software distribution on the Mac platform. With Gatekeeper in place, users will have three options for software downloads. One method will only allow downloads from the Mac App Store. A second option would restrict downloads to software containing the digital signature (issued by Apple) of an approved software developer. The third option would allow users to download software from any source. Users could enable, disable and manage these settings as they choose. With Gatekeeper installed, Apple would be able to disable malicious software remotely (provided it came from the Mac App Store, or contained a signature/certificate issued by Apple); possibly preventing the spread of Trojans.

You can read all about Apple's upgrades, bug fixes, security updates, and more by following the links I've provided below. As usual, disabling Java (which Apple may discontinue altogether - if things like this keep happening) will prevent a lot of problems, while eliminating a possible infection vector on your Mac.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_Mountain_Lion>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeper_(OS_X)>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5267>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5319>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222>

Apple's WWDC announcements:
An annual event held (most recently (2012) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California) by Apple for developers and the press. The World Wide Developers Conference is a multi-day forum (Jun 11 - 15 in 2012) where Apple announces new software, hardware and products to the developer community and public at large. A showcase where Apple demonstrates the newest technologies and products to the press, public and developers. The conference also features numerous workshops, seminars, and feedback sessions with developers and the press.

So, what amazing new products and services did Apple unveil at the latest WWDC? During the Keynote speech, Apple announced new models of the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro. They also highlighted the next Apple operating systems - OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and iOS 6. Here's a brief recap of some of the key product announcements and highlights during the Keynote.

iOS6

Upcoming iOS 6 Features:
- Facebook integration: Apple's jumping on the bandwagon in a big way. As millions love Facebook, Apple's decided to partner with FB to bring some tight integration to the iOS 6 install base. Photo sharing, web page/url sharing, Siri sharing, sync FB contacts, sync FB calendars, share high scores from Game Centre, Tap to Post (to FB) will be integrated into many of the iOS native apps. You'll log into Facebook once, and that will enable you to share many things with your FB account. No need to use a separate FB app to do the sharing. It'll be baked into iOS 6. Sounds like a lot of fun (and very convenient), but watch out for those "Crap - I didn't mean to post that!" moments.
- Map application: After many years of Google Maps integration, Apple has decided to do that better. Over the last few years, Apple has acquired a few mapping companies and the intellectual capital that came with those acquisitions has finally resulted in a product/service. Apple's new 3D mapping program will even include 'crowd-sourced' traffic data.
- Siri improved and expanded: Apple announced the expansion of Siri to the latest iPad and improvements in its functionality. Expanded language support (we're talking universal translator stuff). With numerous versions/dialects of English, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, German and Japanese available to Siri, it won't be long before someone builds the 'Universal Translator' application. Thanks to the new map application, Siri get's in on the action to provide turn-by-turn navigation. This new integration will even turn off the screen of your iPhone, enabling 'Eyes and Hands free' navigation when integrated into certain vehicles (Apple teamed with Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Land Rover/Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and Toyota).
- Improved photo sharing: According to Apple documentation; under iOS 6, you'll be able to share selected photos from the Photos app (on an iOS 6 device) and share the selected photos via iCloud. The photos will be delivered to the Photos app or iPhoto 3 (what about iPhoto on the desktop?). You'll even be able to view the shared 'photo streams' on an Apple TV or on the web. People will be able to 'like' individual photos, and even make comments. Shared 'photo streams' will NOT count against your iCloud storage.
- Pass the Passbook: A new application for iOS 6 devices is something called 'Passbook'. This new application seems to offer some 'eWallet' capabilities. You'll be able to use your iPhone or iPod Touch to check in for a flight, gain admittance to a movie and redeem coupons. Passes will appear on your lock screen when you enter a place where the gift card, ticket or coupon can be redeemed. Passbook promises to turn your iPhone into a point of sale electronic redemption device.
- Facetime Anywhere: FaceTime will now work over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi. You'll be able to make or take FaceTime calls wherever you have cell or wi-fi connectivity. FaceTime calls on iPad will be made/received using your phone number. Awesome!
- Improved phone features: iOS 6 improves upon the basic phone application by giving you more control over incoming calls. Now you can configure phone calls to automatically reply with a text message, set up a callback reminder (using time and location based controls) or set the phone for 'Do Not Disturb' mode (during certain hours). There's even an 'emergency' override capability.
- Mobile Mail improved: The mail app on iOS 6 devices gets a redesign. The new interface promises to make mail easier to read and write. You can flag important messages based on a new VIP list. Siri makes it easier to add photos and videos to email messages. Checking for new mail will be far easier. Simply swipe down to check all your accounts.
- Safari for iOS 6: Bringing better browsing to your iOS device is a snap with these Safari improvements. iCloud Tabs will sync the open tabs on all you devices. Safari will now save web pages - not just links - in your reading list. That way you can browse them when you're offline. Improved sharing capabilities makes Safari a focal point for your digital life. Turning your device sideways will automatically enable a full screen mode for browsing without distractions.
These features and more will be available on selected devices when iOS 6 rolls out in the fall. The iOS 6 upgrade will be free for anyone holding a selected Apple device. See the iOS6 preview page for more details.

Mountain Lion

Mac OS X 10.8 - Mountain Lion:
- Messages: Integrating the chat features of the desktop application (iChat) with FaceTime and the free instant message capabilities of iMessage from iOS. iChat will go away. The 'Chat' or 'Messages' experience on Mac OS X will look the same as the 'Messages' capability on iOS. You can download the Messages beta now! New details confirm the end to end encryption we were hoping for. Apple's tight application integration will even allow you to move your communications from one device to another as you move from mobile to desktop and back.
- Reminders: Looking like a direct port from iOS, this version will have all the same functionality. This app will allow you to sync all your messages across all Apple devices. Set up multiple lists of searchable reminders with due dates, and priorities. Reminders can be time and/or location based. They'll be pushed to all your devices, you can mark them as completed and view completed reminders at any time. You can even use Google or Yahoo reminders to set up reminders on your Mac or mobile device.
- Notifications: The Notifications center is finally coming to the Mac OS. Banners (disappear after five seconds) and alerts (persists until dismissed) will appear and disappear just like 'Growl' notifications. Some apps with integrated notifications - Messages, Calendar, Mail, Reminders. You'll be able to access the Notifications center at any time. Just swipe to the left... Post directly to Twitter or Facebook directly from the Notifications center.
- Notes: The Notes application (from iOS) will come to the Mac desktop. Some of the capabilities will include - Folders (listed to the left of the compose pane) to help you stay organized; Search to find the note you're looking for; Hyperlinks; Photos and attachments; Fonts, bullets, lists; Pin-up notes; Full screen mode; multiple accounts will work with other imap services; built in sharing for email, twitter, Facebook and others. Of course iCloud syncing will give you access on all your Apple devices. iCloud is going to be busy with all this syncing going on.
- Share Sheets: The media/document sharing experience in Mac OS X and iOS will be standardized and expanded. Share links, photos, notes, videos and documents. Send Tweets, email, and post to various websites through the expanded and improved 'Share Sheets'. The sharing experience will be contextual. You won't be prompted to share text to a photo sharing site. You won't need to drag and drop to share or switch to another app to share your files. The sharing sheet will allow you to complete the sharing transaction without leaving the application your currently using. Where to share? Some of the destinations - Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr.
- Game Center: One of the awesome parts of gaming on an iOS device is the ability to find players, competitors and team members through the Game Center. Now it's coming to the Mac. Keep track of your high scores, compare them to those of others on the leaderboard. Get gaming recommendations and opponent pair ups (including multiplayer gaming opponents).
- Airplay Mirroring: Awesome; your Mac on your TV (provided you've got an Apple TV). Browse the internet, watch videos, give a presentation or stream your music to nearby stereo (or airplay enabled speakers). Transform you big screen HDTV into a mirror of your Mac. No cables necessary. Over the air streaming directly to your Apple TV (which needs an HDMI connection to your HD TV). Notifications can be configured to leave you alone when you're using Airplay Mirroring.
- Gatekeeper: A new idea from Apple. While the iOS only has one way to get apps onto it, the Mac has always had a messy way of downloading and installing apps. The traditional way. You can download applications from anyone, anywhere. This means Malware can get in. The Gatekeeper will allow you to lock down some of those holes. As a preference pane, you'll be able to chose how applications can get installed. Choose the Mac App Store only, Mac App Store and Apple Developers (signed applications), or the Wild west of the World Wide Web. You can enable, disable or change the Gatekeeper settings at any time. The Gatekeeper also improves upon the current Malware detection and protection included in OS 10.7.
- iCloud updates: Presumably Apple's iCloud will allow you to seamlessly and effortlessly sync your Mail, Calendars, Messages, Contacts, Reminders, FaceTime, Game Center, Safari, iTunes, the Mac App Store, Notes and more across all your Apple devices. There's been a few reports about 'Documents in the cloud', but we haven't heard nearly enough about this 'rumored' feature (Pictures of iPads and iPhones running iCloud enabled apps, but the picture of a Macbook Pro only shows it using Safari and a web page). According to Apple, iCloud will work on Apple computers with all the iWork applications (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), pdf documents (via Preview) and Microsoft Office. This should mean updates for the desktop versions of Pages, Keynote, Numbers and the MS Office apps for the Mac (all these updates are still unannounced as of 17 Jun, 2012). It will also mean the demise of the iDisk and Apple's Photo Gallery (under Mobile Me). Unfortunately, Mac users will lose a great feature/capability when the iDisk disappears.
- Dictation: Not quite Siri, but we're getting there. Looking just like Siri, the new dictation capability pulls part of Siri out of iOS and delivers it to the desktop. Now you can use your built in microphone to 'speak and spell'. Use dictation to compose an email message, a Twitter post, a Facebook update and more (anywhere you can enter text). The more you use dictation, the smarter it gets. It recognizes people from your contacts and enters their names in accordance with the contacts entries. Currently, it supports English (U.S., UK, and Australian dialects), French, German and Japanese.

With more than 200 new features, this OS update is going to be a great one. There were very few desktop specific updates and the predictions about a fused OS are getting really hard to ignore. While this update will only be available through the Mac App Store, it will update users from Snow Leopard or Lion to Mountain Lion. That's right, if you skipped Lion, this update will let you leap frog past that update. While original estimates put the price at $29.95 (that's what Lion cost), the big announcement at WWDC - Mountain Lion will only cost $19.99! (as I speculated). This update keeps Apple on their one update per year track, and moves the two OSs closer to an integrated/common experience. Mountain Lion will be available starting in July of 2012.

Hardware and device updates:
- Macbook Air: That amazing, lightweight computer in 11" and 13" models got a refresh. While it didn't get a Retina display, it did get a processor bump. The device is now using Intel's 3rd gen Ivy Bridge processors in all four SKUs. The 11" and 13" models start out with 1.7GHz and 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processors. Turbo-boost with 3MB of L3 cache gets you 2.6GHz and 2.8GHz top speeds. If you max out the Macbook Air (either screen size) you get a dual-core 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 processor. Turbo Boost with 4MB of shared L3 cache gets you speeds up to 3.2GHz. Max storage (Flash based) is 512GB. They both max out on memory at 8GB. The processors bump the Air to 2x faster and graphics upgrades give these machines 60% faster graphics. For connectivity, they've upgraded to USB 3.0 ports. These are basically incremental upgrades, but they're pretty good updates.
- Macbook Pro: The choice of professionals on the go also got plenty of updates. Just like the Macbook Air, two screen sizes (13.3" and 15.4" diagonal) gets you four SKUs. In this case the processors got another step up to the Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 processors. With the 13" there's two base options. 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB L3 cache and 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 4MB L3 cache. The 15" gets quad-core processors. The low end is a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 6MB L3 cache. The high end comes with a 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache. The top of the line 15" model is configurable to 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz) with 8MB L3 cache. Watch the prices if you're planning a purchase. It certainly looks like the 13" high end is a far better value than the high end 15" model. These Macbook Pros also feature new graphics cards, USB 3.0 ports and storage capacities up to 1TB (or 512GB of flash storage).
  - No new Macbook Pro with a 17" display. Not only did they not release a new 17" model, Apple also removed the 17" category from their online store lineup. You can still find them in the refurbished section, but they're gone from the 'Build/Buy' section. Since the 17" model only constituted appx 2% of their MBP sales, I can see why Apple might discontinue that line.
- Macbook Pro with Retina Display: Here's something new and exciting. Apple's next move in the Macbook line. This beauty has an amazing display (which ought to keep the developers busy updating their apps), it ditches the hard drive for flash storage, and it shuns the DVD drive to make an incredibly thin laptop. The surprise here? Everyone thought the Macbook Pros would all get Retina displays, but this announcement allows for some transition in the product line while still satisfying those who clamor for the breakthrough new hardware. The brand new product delivers a huge amount of performance. Looking just like a slightly bigger Macbook Air, one can't doubt that this is the future of the line. The lack of hard drive and DVD drive allowed the engineers to squash this thing down. At only 0.71 inches high, it's thinner than most fingers. 25% thinner than the current 15" model. Weighing in at 4.46 lbs (1 lb less than the previous model) its the lightest Macbook Pro ever made. The display has an amazing pixel density of 5.184 million pixels in a 2880x1800 display. That's 220PPI. It has the same processors and graphics as the updated 15" model above, but this one can take 16GB of RAM and 768GB of flash storage. 2 thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, an SD slot and dual mics round out the connectivity. If you purchase a Thunderbolt adapter, you can get Ethernet and/or Firewire 800 connectivity through the Thunderbolt ports. With all the processing power packed into this computer (that display needs a lot of power) they still managed to keep the battery life at 7-hours.
- New Airport Express: The new Airport Express didn't get much coverage during the Keynote, but it's certainly worth mentioning. The new device looks just like an Apple TV, except it's white. The new shape standardizes Apple's line of Wi-Fi routers. The price remains the same ($99.00), but the new device enables simultaneous dual-band (2.4GHz and 5.8GHz) 802.11n networking. In addition to the standard audio out and a USB 2.0 port (for printers), they've added an extra Ethernet port - Crap! I wish they had that when I purchased my Airport Express two months ago! Setup is Apple Simple, and this device works with iOS Mac OSX and PC operating systems.

All the new Macbook models ship with Mac OS X Lion, but they're eligible for a free update to Mountain Lion in July of this year. The WWDC brought us a lot of new devices and software. Moving iOS and Mac OSX closer to each other in functionality and user experience is a goal that Apple is clearly pursuing, and I have to say that this strategy is a good one. There are plenty of apps and features in iOS that I'd like to see on my Mac, and there are lots of capabilities on the desktop that I'd like to see on the mobile devices. Gatekeeper in Mountain Lion should help keep our Macs more secure and iCloud is finally starting to look like it might deliver on some of it's promises. These updates should keep the blogs and review sites busy for the next month. I'm excited and looking forward to all these updates. Can't wait to get my hands on that new Mac OS.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/06/11Mountain-Lion-Available-in-July-From-Mac-App-Store.html>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Worldwide_Developers_Conference>
<http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/documents.html>
<http://www.apple.com/osx/whats-new/features.html>
<http://www.apple.com/osx/what-is/security.html>
<http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/>
<http://www.apple.com/osx/>

Software favorites:
Another batch of updates for my favorite software application. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's another batch of updates for a product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed. In addition to the GC update, I also downloaded updates for three of my favorite cataloging applications.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least nine updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8.1.1(b912), 8.1.1(b916). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

A new version was released on the 19th of May, 2012. Originally scheduled for release on the 1st of June, Thorsten released this new version a little early. The 'App Store' version was released on the 25th of May, 2012. This new version is a completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, support for large images (>16,000x16,000 pixels), new import formats (emf, emz, ...), additional batch functions and many more features. The new version is/was a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

DVDPedia:
DVDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your movie collection, and I'm running version 5.1.1. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the movie or you can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the movie box (it then searches the internet, and displays choices). It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a 'borrowed' feature with address book integration, the ability to play movies in full screen mode, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use DVDpedia to generate HTML listings of my movies and movie reviews.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

The 5.1.1 update brings new features for OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), some universal access enhancements and some bug fixes. The applications now have code signing built in to comply with new security requirements. The MobileMe export functions are gone (MobileMe is being retired in July of 2012).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemoviecollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymovies/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/reviews.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/dvdpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

CDPedia:
CDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your music collection, and I'm running version 5.1.1. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the artist, album, or track. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off a jewel case (it then searches the internet, and displays choices), or you can import lists of music from iTunes. It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a 'borrowed' feature with address book integration, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use CDPedia to generate HTML listings of my music.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

The 5.1.1 update brings new features for OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), some universal access enhancements and some bug fixes. The applications now have code signing built in to comply with new security requirements. The MobileMe export functions are gone (MobileMe is being retired in July of 2012).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemusiccollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/cdpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

Bookpedia:
Bookpedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your book collection(s), and I'm running version 5.1.1. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the author, book, or isbn number. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the book cover (the application searches the internet, and displays choices). It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a borrowed feature with address book integration, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use Bookpedia to generate an HTML listing of my favorite books.

The 5.0 upgrade was a paid upgrade/new version of the software (The new version only runs on Intel architecture machines and it requires Leopard or better as an OS). This version has been over a year in the making with lots of changes big and small to make the programs even better. What's new? Lots of new search sites including Wikipedia, Freebase and Doghouse, the Pedias' own media server built by and for Pedia users. New custom fields for broader cataloging options: TV series for DVDpedia, comics for Bookpedia and board games for Gamepedia (I may have to buy a copy now) as well as new custom fields including dedicated date fields, check boxes and multi-value fields. A 10-star rating system with half-stars; click twice on a star to make it a half. Swipe gestures for the CoverFlow and Add/Edit window to move back and forth as well as pinch-to-zoom in the Grid view. A new filter feature for the Details view and Statistics to quickly find entries with that same value. And much, much more…

The 5.1.0 update brings back the 'Pocketpedia' integration. Pocketpedia 3 (I bought my copy on the 18th of April, 2012) is back and better than ever. Now you can sync your 'Pedia' collections to all you iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). A companion app (available is the iTunes store) for all the Pedia programs. Now you can take your collections with you wherever you go. Have your lists handy when you're at the store. Browse your collection while you're on the train, plane or couch. It's even got 'Doghouse' integration (see above).

The 5.1.1 update brings new features for OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), some universal access enhancements and some bug fixes. The applications now have code signing built in to comply with new security requirements. The MobileMe export functions are gone (MobileMe is being retired in July of 2012).

Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/books.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/version5.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/>
<http://doghouse.bruji.com/>

With these software updates, I've updated my Software Favorites page. It's primarily dedicated to web publishing for the Mac user. Not meant for the professional, It's my hope that home users and hobbyists will find it useful. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

More Jams for June of 2012:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? Well, I used to find/discover a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites (Pandora, 3hive.com, musicalfamilytree.org) and several other music blogs (Analog Giant, Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, etc) out there, and listening to a few different music podcasts. Used to... Now? Now (As of Oct of 2010) I subscribe to an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

iTunes Music Downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays/That's when the major labels release their new recordings). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few of the downloads I recently scored from the iTunes store. Paid and Free!
* Lucky That Way - Joe Walsh: (single) Joe Walsh is a legendary rocker. A long running member of the Rock Arena that helped shape much of the music during the 70s. As a member of three successful bands (The James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles) he's earned his right to Rock On! Playing solo and sessions with B.B. King and Dan Fogelberg cements his standing among the legends. An accomplished writer, musician, actor and vocalist, here's another single (from the album - Analog Man) from that legendary rocker. This single was a free download from iTunes.
* Love - Aztec Camera: (9 songs) Aztec Camera is one of my favorite bands. A Scottish new wave band from the 80s. The lead singer is Roddy Frame (started performing at age 16. The band has had a lot of changes in it's lineup, but Roddy remains the spine and soul of the name 'Aztec Camera' As a matter of fact, on this album. He's the only 'band member' all the other musicians are session recorders. This particular album was the bands most successful, but least typical of the Aztec Camera sound. Much more commercial, much tighter accompaniment and higher production value. Here is more R&B and Blues influence. A good album, but I miss the folk-rock, acoustic sound of earlier efforts. Currently, you can't get any Aztec Camera albums from eMusic, so I have no choice but iTunes when it comes to this artist.
* The Blind Leading the Naked - Violent Femmes: (13 songs) A favorite band that sprung from Milwaukee Wisconsin. I saw/heard them play at 'Lefty's Bar' in Green Bay during the early 80s. Back before they were the 'Next Big Thing'. I remember listening to the band, thinking what is this? Their brand of post-punk folk, gospel, and R&B broke new ground and created a whole new genre of music. I remember the live antics, the pots and pans used as drums, the horns of dilemma. Unfortunately, the band split up and due to legal reasons, some of the albums are now hard to find. Thankfully, iTunes has the power to gather all the best from this 80s band. (FYI: This album is available on eMusic - I'm not quite sure why I bought it through iTunes - So much music to keep track of).

June 10, 2012

DamnSpammers.com - A new domain:
I registered the domain 'DamnSpammers.com' in June of 2012. Why did I register this domain? I hate spam, spammers, and all that they represent. I do what little I can to stem the tide of spam, but I've no illusions about the small impact I'm having on this immense problem. I am using this domain primarily for email. I've configured some email services (DKIM, SPF, pgp signatures, box-trapper, SpamAssassin, and other domain level filters) using the damnspammers domain, and I plan to use my 'damnspammers' email addresses when doing business online. The email addresses will be trackable, disposable, and filtered through a series of spam fighting filters.

While I may eventually move some of my spam fighting materials to this domain/website; for now, this website is simply a placeholder for the 'damnspammers.com' domain. If I know you; if you'd like to use a 'damnspammers' email address, please let me know. I'm willing to give out a limited number of email addresses/accounts to people I know/trust. I wouldn't charge any money for the address, and I'd like to think that you'll use it to fight spam; or at least keep it at bay. I make no promises about the availability or usability of any 'damnspammers.com' email addresses, and I reserve the right to monitor its use or misuse for network related management and maintenance.
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>

Rainy Days and Hot Days - It's gonna' be a hot one:
While the 20th of June marks the first day of summer, the weather here has certainly got a head start on that season. During the second week of June, we got hit with some record high temps; 92 degrees of the 9th of June, and a monster storm on 6th/7th of June. That Thunderstorm on the evening of 6 June dumped more than 2.5 inches in a 12 hour period. We got pelted with hail, rain, thunder and lightning that kept me up until 1AM. This sort of day long rain is something we don't see much in these parts. We usually get short thunderstorms or rain in the evening. This storm came as something of a surprise (to those who aren't Human Barometers). It rained all evening and into the next day. As if signalling the end to spring, this good long soaking didn't do much to keep the temperatures down (we're running 10 degrees above normal for this time of year), but the lawns, flowers and trees really needed that rain. The temperatures during the second week of June are usually in the mid to high 70s and we're seeing the mid to high 80s, even as high as the 90s. It looks like its going to be another long hot summer.
<https://www.robsworld.org/barometer.html>

Spammers vs Rob's World!:
It's a war I tell you. For every anti-spam measure I implement, there's always some enterprising new upcomer looking to get past the firewalls, filters and anti-spam measures. Just last month I implemented a new and highly effective anti-spam measure. Unfortunately, when I fired up the computer this morning (4th of June), I found seven copies of the same "L0ve-Cone" spam message waiting in my inbox. All seven copies of the 'LoveConnect' spam were targeted at my "Rob's World!" domain. Each one arrived at a different time. Approximately 30 minutes apart, arriving by way of seven different ISPs. Each message was the same in nearly every regard. A solicitation to visit a Japanese porn site, complete with username and password. The message content was encoded using the 'X-SJIS' character encoding. Also known as Shift-JIS. This seldom used method of encoding Japanese Katakana (or Kanji) characters has numerous versions and extensions. It's use in email and online is quickly disappearing as the standardized UTF-8 and UTF-16 encodings are far more compatible, standardized and cross-platform adapted. Shift-JIS was originally intended for use on PCs and Macs, but it's found it's way online as a result of poor programming choices by authors unfamiliar with the problems it causes when used in internet applications.

So, the spammers got through my 'Foreign Language' filters by using an obsolete, little used encoding method. I've since added this coding type to my anti-spam filter and re-enabled the foreign language filtering. Spammers just never give up, so I have to stay ever vigilant for their continuing attempts to thwart the filters and measures put in place to keep the barbarians at bay. If you ever need any help hunting down a spammer, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm willing and eager to help. Just drop me an email. I'd put the email address here, but this email message is also posted online, where spammers could scrape the email off the web page. Damn those spammers!
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on several updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8.1.1(b895), 8.1.1(b899), 8.1.1(b907). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure what I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

A new version was released on the 19th of May, 2012. Originally scheduled for release on the 1st of June, Thorsten released this new version a little early. The 'App Store' version was released on the 25th of May, 2012. This new version is a completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, support for large images (>16,000x16,000 pixels), new import formats (emf, emz, ...), additional batch functions and many more features. The new version is a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

June 03, 2012

Eating out in Denver:
Occasionally, Kim and I take the opportunity to eat out at one of the fine restaurants in the Denver area. They're not always five star places, but we're not that kind of people. During June, Kim and I enjoyed a 'Date Night' at one of our favorite restaurants. We lived in southern (Puglia region) Italy for seven years (during the 80s), and during that time we came to love Mediterranean food. Italian, Greek, Turkish, North African. Different flavors of the Mediterranean cuisine. Fresh seafood, plenty of herbs and spices, plus a healthy respect for vegetables. As I said, we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants.

Yanni's - A greek restaurant/taverna which recently (in 2009) relocated to a new location (The Landmark at DTC). You may have a bit of trouble finding the new place (The GPS in Kim's car couldn't find it/but it found another restaurant nearby, so we use that as a guide), so be sure to get good directions. The new location features security patrolled parking, shopping in an outdoor boutique mall, and a nearby comedy club. As for the food; well, it's simply amazing, and the atmosphere matches. We've been here (at the old and new locations) at least seven times, and the food and service are always top notch (Yanni personally greets and says goodbye to every patron. Often circulating amongst the guests; engaging in conversation, handing out shots of Ouzo, and being a good host - It's a lost art, and Yanni's is one of the few places where you'll see the owner mingling with the guests in such an intimate display of customer service). If you like Greek food, if you like Mediterranean cuisine, if you like good service, try Yanni's - You won't be disappointed.

As an appetizer, we chose a dish we haven't had before: The Village Sampler. A platter of toasted pita and three different spreads (Tarama (whipped Red Salmon roe with garlic and olive oil. aka Greek Caviar)), Chtipiti (Roasted red pepper with feta cheese) and Melizanes (Eggplant sautéed in garlic and red sauce)). For main courses, Kim had a special - Seafood Santorini (Shrimp and Scallops in a garlic, white wine sauce) served with Greek-style vegetables and a rice pilaf. I had: a special Citrus Salmon (It's so easy to dry out fresh fish; I really should have specified my preference for rare fish. This entree was a bit overdone) served with a rice pilaf. For drinks, I had a beer, Kim had diet Coke, we both had sparkling mineral water. We had two desserts - We chose a salted caramel vanilla crunch cake to share, and Yanni provided a second dessert on the house;Yanni's Yiaourti - homemade yogurt smothered with honey and nuts. Just about ready to burst (we ate way too much!) - We finished off our meal with a couple Greek Coffees.

The price for our meals, plus tax and tip: $110.00. Denver can be a bit expensive, but Yanni's is worth it.
<http://yannisatthelandmark.com/>

Jammin' in June:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? Well, I used to find/discover a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites (Pandora, 3hive.com, musicalfamilytree.org) and several other music blogs (Analog Giant, Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, etc) out there, and listening to a few different music podcasts. Used to... Now? Now (As of Oct of 2010) I subscribe to an online music streaming service called MOG, and I've recently (as of Sep 2011) started using eMusic 'Radio' stations for music discovery. Combined together, these two services provide full-play access to more than 23 million tracks! (14m on MOG (as of Mar, 2012), 12m on eMusic (as of Sep 2011)) Two fantastic ways to discover music, and no need for illegal downloads or pirated tracks. I occasionally use a few of the other methods (music blogs and podcasts), but MOG and eMusic now serve as my primary Music Discovery sources.

Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and paid for!

eMusic monthly downloads:
Every month I download ~50 tracks from eMusic.com. This month (Jun of 2012) I downloaded 47 tracks at the low cost of $22.78. I'm paying a $19.99 monthly fee, so that makes the tracks even cheaper (~$0.43 / track). Unlike some music outlets, eMusic doesn't have any DRM and they don't insert unique track id's into the ID3 tags. Their terms of service are consumer friendly; eMusic allows you to burn as many CDs as you like and copy downloads to an unlimited number of your computers and portable MP3 players. At less than $.50 a track (I'm currently paying $19.99 for $22.99 worth of downloads per month). eMusic offers a really good value for your download dollar. iTunes and Amazon still charge more. eMusic offers more music for your money, and the variable bit rate recordings make for exceptionally high quality recordings.
* This Is PiL - Public Image, Ltd: (12 songs) The first studio album in twenty years. John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten from Sex Pistols) split from the Sex Pistols in the late 70s, to form PiL. From 1978 - 1992 PiL made eight studio albums. The avant-garde post punk sound and ethic quickly made them one of my favorite bands. In 2009 PiL reformed to perform five UK shows. They followed that with additional performances and now - Now we have a new album!
* Start The Revolution Without Me - The Kaiser Chiefs: (13 songs) Released back in March, I just found out that one of my favorite bands has just released a new album. So far - Not as good as their previous work.
* Listen To Your Head - Kaiser Chiefs: (single) A far better single than the tracks available on their most recent album. This track represents something new for the band. It sounds like an all new Kaiser Chiefs. A slower, more contemplative, matured band, willing to step out into a new sound. Excellent chorus and guitar work. Love the electronic current as well. Hopefully this is something we can look forward to on their next album.
* Locksley - Locksley: (12 songs) I discovered this band by listening to personalized recommendations at Mog.com. Here's an excellent rock band. Blends Beatles style pop with a little bit of R&B. A quartet formed in Madison, Wisconsin, with a decidedly high energy act. This album represent their first studio album.
* Incontenent - Fad Gadget: (9 songs) Fad gadget is a stage name used by Francis John (Frank) Tovey, a British avant-garde electronic musician/vocalist. He helped found the early new wave and industrialism genres using synthesizers and found objects. If you enjoy noise (dissonant layering to create music), industrial, electronic music, you'll enjoy Fad Gadget. I discovered Fad Gadget/Frank Tovey by listening to recommendations on Mog.com.

iTunes New Music Tuesday downloads:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. Here's a few recent free downloads from the iTunes store.
* Strange Attractor - Animal Kingdom: (single) A British (South London) alternative rock trio. So far they've only released two studio albums, but this single from their new album (The Looking Away) promises a new and exciting phase in their musical evolution. The ethereal progressive rock is a dreamy NMT selection.
* Hot Fruit - Gaz Coombes: (single) Gaz Coombes was quite young when he fronted for 'The Jennifers' and later for 'Supergrass'. In 2010, musical differences split that band apart and Gaz is back on the road releasing music solo; with this single from his debut album he's struck out on his own - controlling the production and artistic direction. Moody British alt rock with excellent guitar work.

These are some of the items I added to my music collection during this month. Since revamping my music collection back in September of 2005, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating the collection. If you have a comment, question or correction regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email. Please keep in mind that my collection isn't for sale, and I'm not interested in giving you any copyrighted materials. I'd rather not go to jail for music piracy. :-)
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

D&D updates:
The updates below cover our meetings on the 12th, and 26th of May, 2012. The party has departed Whillip, and the first chapters of their next adventure have been written. Our heroes completed all their administrative tasks and chores, and decided upon their next adventure. After accepting a charge to quest for a lost tome of legendary power, the party was teleported across the world to Kester; a small mountain town on the edge of a vast wasteland. After talking with their sponsor, they set off to start this new adventure. After trekking south along an old trade route, the party entered the town of Parlonis. Here they sought more clues about the nature of the Dry Steppes, it's inhabitants, and the fabled city of 'Lingice-Enz'. Departing the frontier town, the party headed out into the desert. Here they've encountered odd magical effects, dangerous monsters and the never ending, indestructible will of this immense tainted wasteland. According to some clues they recently uncovered, the ruins of Lingice-Enz were supposed to be three days south of their recent position. Unfortunately, clues were misinterpreted, and the party wasted precious time wandering the wastelands. After a few days, they located the remains of an ancient road and a stone marker which indicated the location of Lingice-Enz. Will this road lead them to the ancient ruins? Will they ever find the tome known as "Eivobrin's Incanabula"; or will they become another footnote labeled 'A group of adventurers sought the book, but never completed their quest'?Stay tuned for the exciting and continuing adventures of the H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights.

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the date of our next meeting - Our next meeting will take place on the 9th of June, 2012. The "3eCampaign" page is the first stop for information on the campaign that I'm currently running. Here you'll find information regarding our next meeting, some notes, and an index of web pages and documents that are important to our campaign. You can also check out the latest group photo.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

The Adventurers journal:
The tale of our adventurers. A series of journal entries from various party members. This document contains details of their encounters. Victory, defeat, desire and glory. Here is the tale of The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights, a group of adventurers who set forth from Whillip, seeking fame, fortune and the defeat of evil in these lands. Thanks to some input from Lee, I was able to post some updates from our meetings on the12th, and 26th of May, 2012. The party is wandering around in a tainted desert, looking for the ruins of an ancient city. Check out the details in our journal entries.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#may12_2012>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal09.html#may26_2012>

Monsters encountered:
Back on the road again. During our most recent gaming sessions, the party entered a phase of the campaign where they're meeting new people, forging new alliances, and discovering new varieties of creatures. This meeting saw our party trekking through the deserts and wastelands of the Dry Steppes; encountering, a large variety of wasteland creatures. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

These updates follow our meetings on the12th, and 26th of May, 2012. You can keep up to date with our adventures by continuing to visit "Rob's World!" for all the latest campaign info. If you're enjoying the story of our adventurers, I encourage you to write me and let us know. Perhaps you've got an idea you'd like to share, some criticism or praise. Either way, it'll be earnestly appreciated.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Software favorites:
Another batch of software updates. This month seems quite busy with updates. No doubt these updates are due in part to the numerous updates in Apple's operating systems. Here are more beta updates for my favorite Graphics editor. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed. In addition to the GC update, there was another update to the XQuartz/X11 application.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on several updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 8.1(b884), 8.1(b886), 8.1(b888), 8.1(b890). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

A new version was released on the 19th of May, 2012. Originally scheduled for release on the 1st of June, Thorsten released this new version a little early. The 'App Store' version was released on the 25th of May, 2012. This new version is a completely new version re-written as a 64 bit application (can be launched as 32 bit/defaults to 64 bit). Sandboxing and codesigning support has been added, several bugs have been fixed, support for large images (>16,000x16,000 pixels), new import formats (emf, emz, ...), additional batch functions and many more features. The new version is a free update for all registered customers of version 7.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

X11 / XQuartz:
One of the best things about OSX? - it's really Unix!
I'm running X11/XQuartz 2.7.2, available from MacOS Forge

I've been using Unix longer than I've been using Mac's, so I knew about the power potential when I found out that OSX was going to be based on Unix (first version of OS X (the public beta) was released back in September of 2000). Some of the most powerful Unix applications (see The GIMP above) run on any OSX equipped Mac. In order to run all these fantastic applications you need nothing more than Apple's version of X11 (which comes free with OSX, or you can download and install other versions). If you want to get a bit more advanced, you can use Fink or Macports with your OSX equipped Mac. Once you get your X Windows environment running, you'll find thousands of Unix applications that have been a well kept secret for all this time.

What's the difference between X11 and XQuartz? - They're both 'X' (as in uniX) Window Systems. Computer software and network protocols that enable a graphical user interface for a networked computer running a flavor of the unix operating system. X11 was originally developed by MIT. It appeared in Sep of 1987, and it's maintained and distributed by the X.Org foundation, the free and open software is distributed (under license) by Apple with the Mac OS X operating system. XQuartz is also an 'X' windowing system. XQuartz was originally an open source project. Apple acquired it and maintains it as the official X11 distribution used with Mac OS X. With the release of Mountain Lion OS 10.8, Apple will drop XQuartz from the MacOS. You'll still be able to use it, but you'll have to download and install it on your own. Developed and maintained by the XQuartz organization; XQuartz is designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system. It's a more refined version of an 'X' windowing system than the standard X11 version. XQuartz is developed as an open-source project, and it's updated more frequently than the X11 version shipped/distributed with official Apple software updates. So, in brief X11 is an official build distributed with major software updates/upgrades (primarily for Unix/Linux distribution), and XQuartz is an open-source, more refined version, distributed specifically for the Mac OS.

While X11/XQuartz forms the basis of running Unix applications on your Mac (you really need an X Windows System), getting Unix apps up and running on your Mac isn't always as easy as downloading and double clicking. (see note above), but the following links should help you get started.
<http://www.apple.com/opensource/>
<http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X112.7.2>
<http://www.macports.org/>
<http://www.finkproject.org/>

Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website:
I participate in some community focused events, but haven't found the time to serve on any boards, so I do what I can to help the people who live in my neighborhood. Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, maintaining the Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website and mailing lists. The South East Aurora Neighborhood Watch serves the residents of South East Aurora by providing information and close ties with the local Police Department in order to help keep the residents safe and neighborhoods crime free. Over the last couple of weeks I took some time to update some of the web pages.

Current: A web page dedicated to the most recent news, announcements and information.
- I removed an announcement about National Drug Take Back Day (April 28th, 2012).
Events: A listing of upcoming and recurring events in you Southeast Aurora Neighborhood. Events sponsored by or relevant to our Neighborhood Watch.
- Changed the announcement regarding our next Neighborhood Watch meeting. We will NOT be having a NW meeting this month. We're having an Area Coordinators meeting instead - We need to discuss ways to improve meeting attendance and ideas to increase interest in the NW.
- Removed an announcement about National Drug Take Back Day - It's April 28th. You can dispose of unwanted prescription medicines at 2 locations from 10am - 2pm.

If you are a resident of Southeast Aurora, you might want to check out our Southeast Aurora Neighborhood Watch website (Serving the following communities: Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore, Tallyn’s Reach, Saddle Rock - North, Serenity Ridge, Black Stone and Heritage Eagle Bend). If you're concerned about the safety and security of your community, you might want to join our group, or subscribe to one of our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://www.southeastaurora-neighborhoodwatch.org/Welcome.html>

Updates to the Tollgate Crossing website:
I participate in some community focused events, but haven't found the time to serve on any boards, so I do what I can to help the people who live in my neighborhood. Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, and supporting our community by maintaining the Tollgate Crossing website, mailing lists and online bulletin boards. The Tollgate Crossing website is focused on the Tollgate Crossing community, with a few links to the Neighborhood Watch website. I recently made a few updates to the community website:

Bulletin Boards: A new feature / website - In January of 2012, I created a new website / feature for the residents of Tollgate Crossing. The new website is a series of online bulletin boards. A place where residents can discuss community related issues, share ideas, buy or sell items, etc. This bulletin board software is new to me, but I'll do my best to set up some categories and manage the forums.
Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to our community website. Here you'll find all the latest news and announcements.
- I rearranged the banners a bit - It's something I do to indicate a change in the content.
- I updated the 'Tollgate Crossing' page header/title. The new title is a '3D'/Textured graphic which links to the community Bulletin Boards.
- I removed the Autumn/Winter photo and added a summer time banner/photo of the clubhouse/pool with a heading to remind residents that the pool is open.
- I updated the pool opening banner. Our community's pool opened on Memorial day weekend.
- I added a banner for regularly recurring HOA meetings. The meetings have changed to every Third Wednesday of the month. Meetings are held in the clubhouse.
- I updated the banner for our next HOA (20 Jun, 2012) and MD (26 Jun, 2012) meetings.
- I added a link to the MD meeting banner. You can download a briefing regarding the board's plan to refinance the bonds used to finance our community's infrastructure.
- Removed the banner announcing a change of HOA management companies. Our HOA management switched to Clifton Larson Allen. (same as our MD management company). The new HOA manager is Mathew Mendisco (He's also the manager of our MD).
- Posted a new banner announcing our community Garage Sale. Dates are set for the first weekend of August (4/5 Aug, 2012).
Events: A detailed listing of upcoming and recurring events in and around Tollgate Crossing. Here is more detailed information regarding some of the events you may have read about on the 'Welcome' page. It's also a place to look for long term/recurring events.
- Removed articles/announcements regarding HOA & MD annual meetings/elections. Both boards filled vacancies by 'Acclamation' (by virtue of being the sole candidate).
- I updated the information regarding our next HOA (20 Jun, 2012) and MD (26 Jun, 2012) meetings. Note that the date of our monthly HOA meetings has changed.
- I added a new article regarding the Metro District's plan to refinance our community's bonds. You can download the plan from a link included at the end of the article.
Info: A page of links, phone numbers, email addresses and other information pertinent to the residents/community of Tollgate Crossing.
- I updated the information regarding our HOA's monthly meetings. Monthly HOA meetings (open to all residents) now take place on the Third Wednesday of the month.
- I updated links to, and posted updated Meeting Minutes from Metro District meetings. Added meeting minutes from the following dates: 2012-02-28, 2012-03-20, 2012-03-27. If you'd like to read meeting minutes from further back (further back than those available on the website), please let me know.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' (in Aurora, Colorado), you might want to check out the website, mailing lists or bulletin boards. They're loaded with information about our community, provide multiple venues for communications, community interaction and interactive ways to stay connected in Tollgate Crossing. If you'd like to help out by being a moderator, provide feedback, or help me with my coding efforts, please let me know. I'm open to your suggestions.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>