Battery Recall! Apple has announced a Battery Exchange Program iBook G4 and PowerBook G4, as well as the 15" MacBook Pro. If you have one of these machines, follow the instructions on the following pages to get your replacement battery! If you have an iBook G4 or a PowerBook G4, see for information on how to exchange your battery. If you have a 15" MacBook, see for details. Mac HelpMate Mid-Atlantic Computer Solutions is proud to introduce Mac HelpMate, which allows us to instantly respond to your questions or concerns, as long as you have access to the Internet. Mac HelpMate allows us to see your screen no configuration, and it's highly encrypted and secure. Zero-configuration means that Mac HelpMate requires no manipulation of router settings or port forwarding; you do not even need to know the IP address of your Mac or router. All you need is Mac HelpMate, an Internet connection, and the ability to click a single button. This means you can spend more time working and not waiting for a technician to visit, and even if you are on the move (at Starbucks or a hotel), Mac HelpMate will let us connect to you from almost anywhere. It's magic. That means that whether you are doing business in China or sitting at the local Starbuck's coffeeshop, you are within our service area. As long as you're able to connect to the Internet, our help desk is open for business. Get it here: http://www.4macsolutions.com/MacHelpMate.zip Coming Soon: A new phone system, a new Web site, more options for support! All happening this fall! Stay tuned for details! Apple Notebook Battery Care With a little bit of care, you can maximize the battery life (i.e. the time your battery will run before it must be recharged) and lifespan of your notebook's battery. Most importantly, use your Apple notebook in its comfort zone for temperature. Don't leave it locked in a hot trunk during the summer. Notebook Temperate Zone. Your Apple notebook works best from 50° to 95°F. You should store them in places with temperatures of -13° to 113°. That's 10° to 35°C and -25° to 45°, for the metrically inclined. Keeping your Mac as near room temperature as possible (22°C) is ideal. Your New Notebook Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time, and then run Software Update to ensure you have the latest software. Apple periodically releases updates that may improve battery performance. Standard Maintenance For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it's important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktop's iCal. Long Term Storage If you don't plan on using your notebook for more than six months, Apple recommends that you remove and store the battery with a 50% charge. If you store a battery when it's fully discharged, it could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding any charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may experience some loss of battery capacity, meaning it will have a shorter life. Be sure to store the ejected battery at the proper temperature. Optimal Setting You can choose to use your Apple notebook in a way that maximizes its battery life. * Energy: The Energy Saver control panel offers several settings that determine power levels for your PowerBook. Your portable knows when it's plugged in, and runs accordingly. When on battery power, it will dim the screen and use other components sparingly. If you change this setting to maximize performance, your battery will drain more quickly. * Brightness: Dim the screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve maximum battery life. For instance, when watching a DVD on an airplane, you may not need full brightness if all the lights are off. * AirPort Wireless: AirPort consumes power, even if you are not using its features to connect to a network. You can turn it off in its control panel to save power. * Bluetooth Wireless: Likewise, you can turn off Bluetooth to maximize your battery life, as it also consumes power when not in use. * Applications and peripherals: Disconnect peripherals and quit applications not in use. Eject CDs and DVDs if not currently accessing them. How To Prep Laptops For Airport Security By K.C. Jones InternetWeek Some companies are beginning to rethink laptop security policies in light of the United Kingdom's ban on electronic devices in airplane cabins. Others are pressuring authorities to ease the restrictions, which prevent business travelers leaving the United Kingdom from keeping close tabs on the machines and the sensitive data they contain. In the meantime, security providers are offering a few tips for travelers flying in and out of the United Kingdom. "Although this greatly impacts international business travelers, this could also foreshadow a broader ban and tighter security restrictions on a global basis," John Livingston, chairperson and CEO of Absolute Software, said in a prepared statement. "These precautions make good business sense at anytime " not just during a period of heightened security. Laptop theft, data security and identity theft are threats that all travelers face on a daily basis. These steps can help mitigate risk, prevent a business disruption and lead to the recovery of lost or stolen laptops." Whether the ban is temporary in the immediate aftermath of the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning to use electronics to detonate bombs in mid-flight, or whether it becomes permanent, Absolute Software suggests the following precautions: 1. Use luggage locks approved by the Transportation Security Administration to deter theft. 2. Pack laptops with soft foam or bubble wrap and place laptop bags inside other luggage to protect them from rough handling and to keep them inconspicuous. 3. Use passwords with a combination of numbers and letters, as well as encryption, solutions to prevent unauthorized access to laptops and sensitive data. 4. Back-up valuable data before travel to minimize the risk of data loss or lost productivity in case of theft. Since the information is often more valuable than the computer itself, it is important to protect the data as much as possible. 5. Invest in asset tracking and recovery software. Absolute Software recommends tools like its CompuTrace, which is embedded in the BIOS of computers. 6. Use remote data protection, so sensitive information can be wiped remotely if the laptop is lost or stolen. 7. Carry portable storage devices, like external thumb drives, for easy access to data in case luggage is delayed or lost. 8. Keep accurate records, including receipts and the computer's make, model, and serial number in a safe place for filing claims. 9. Be sure to shut down the laptop, not leave it in standby or hibernate mode, before packing in luggage. Computer Security Products also offers warning stickers, tattoos and other products to deter theft. Secure IT also offers a variety of products like locks, keys and cables. Other steps to take: use a secure operating system; make sure the user name is not stored in the login box; register laptops with manufacturers; and remove and store PCMCIA cards in a separate, secure place. Looks small, acts huge. Mac mini, now up to 4x faster. The new Mac mini, powered by the revolutionary Intel Core processors, is up to four times faster than previous models.* iLife '06 is included, making it easier than ever to manage your photos, movies, music, websites, and blogs.** And with Front Row and the Apple Remote, you can enjoy your digital creations from anywhere in the room. Mac mini is more expandable than ever, featuring four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and optical digital and analog audio input/output. With its tiny footprint, low price, and built-in wireless capabilities, Mac mini is a perfect fit for your digital life. Just plug in a display, keyboard, and mouse and enjoy.*** * Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint and SPECfp rate tests. See www.apple.com/macmini for more information. ** Creating blogs and websites requires Internet and web server access (.Mac recommended). The .Mac service is available to persons age 13 and older. Annual membership fee and Internet access required. Terms and conditions apply. *** Compatible with most displays, USB keyboards, and USB mice. Quad Xeon 64-bit workstation. Transition complete. Power unleashed. Apple Unveils New Mac Pro Featuring Quad 64-bit Xeon Processors. Apple has completed the transition to Intel with the release of the much anticipated Mac Pro, a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad*. With advanced performance, greater expansion, higher performance graphics options and unprecedented customization, the newly designed Mac Pro is the ideal system for the most demanding user. The new Mac Pro features the new Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5100 series processor based on the revolutionary Intel Core microarchitecture, delivering breakthrough performance and power efficiency. The new Mac Pro is up to twice as fast as the Power Mac G5 Quad running industry standard benchmarks and features two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, each with 4MB of shared L2 cache and independent 1.33 GHz front-side buses. With 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered memory, the Mac Pro also boasts a 256-bit wide memory architecture for amazing bandwidth. The newly redesigned Mac Pro features: - an all new, direct attach storage solution for cable free, snap in installation of up to four 500GB Serial ATA hard drives for a total of 2TB of internal storage-the most ever on a Mac, - support for two optical drives to simultaneously read and/or write to CDs and DVDs, - three full-length PCI Express expansion slots and one double-wide PCI Express graphics slot to support high-powered, double-wide graphics cards without sacrificing multiple slots, - quick and convenient access front panel access to a FireWire 800 port, a FireWire 400 port and two USB 2.0 ports, - with additional FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports on the back panel, Mac Pro also includes dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, optical digital input and output, analog audio input and output, and optional built-in support for AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Every Mac Pro comes standard with the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of video memory, providing built-in support for dual-displays and Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display. The ATI Radeon X1900 XT and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500, both with 512MB of video memory, are available as build to order options and provide built-in support for up to two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays. The Quadro FX 4500 also includes a stereo 3D port to connect goggles for stereo-in-a-window applications and is ideal for the most demanding animation, special effects and scientific visualization applications. The Mac Pro supports up to four PCI Express graphics cards to drive up to eight displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls. The Mac Pro is shipping now with the standard prebuilt configuration, including two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and priced at $2,499. In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers more than 4.9 million build-to-order options including: two 2.0 GHz or 3.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 16GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; ATI Radeon X1900 XT and NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics cards, both with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM; AirPort Extreme module, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module; Apple USB Modem; Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; Mac OS X Server Tiger; Apple Xsan; and Apple Fibre Channel PCI Express Card. Let us configure your dream machine today! *Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint and SPECfp rate tests. SPEC is a registered trademark of Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC). Apple Remote Desktop 3 Building on Mac OS X Tiger innovations such as Spotlight, Dashboard, and Automator, Apple Remote Desktop 3 is a Universal application optimized to take advantage of the power of Intel-based Mac systems. More than 50 new features deliver enhancements in software distribution, asset management, and remote assistance. More News from WWDC. In addition to announcing the new Mac Pro desktop workstations, Apple announced or previewed other tech goodies for the Mac faithful at this weeks developers conference. A Preview of Mac OS X Leopard... Leopard, scheduled to ship in spring 2007, extends Apple's leadership in software innovation with groundbreaking new features, including Time Machine, a revolutionary new way to automatically back up and restore everything on your Mac, and Spaces, an entirely new way to instantly switch between groups of applications required for various tasks. Leopard also includes industry-first advancements in Mail and iChat, including Stationery, Notes and To Dos in Mail; and Photo Booth-style effects, the ability to "place" yourself in any photo or video as the backdrop for your chat, and live presentations of iPhoto slideshows, Keynote(TM) presentations and videos in iChat. ...and Mac OS X Leopard Server. Continues to build on Apple's legendary ease of use with new Server Assistant and Server Preference features that make it easy for even non-technical users to setup and manage a server with just a few clicks of a mouse. For the first time, Apple is delivering native 64-bit server applications that take advantage of the increased processing power of 64-bit computing. Other new features include iCal Server, the easiest way to share calendars, schedule meetings and plan events; a wiki server that makes it simple for teams to share and communicate; Spotlight Server, the fastest way to find content on servers; and Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automate Podcast production. A New Xserve Coming in October. Apple's fifth-generation Xserve provides exceptional power, versatility, and value in a high-density 1U rackmount server. Two dual-core 64-bit Intel Xeon processors-up to 3GHz-deliver up to five times the performance of the Xserve G5. A high-bandwidth, server-optimized architecture allows you to add up to 32GB of fast ECC memory, a choice of PCI Express cards, and up to 2.25TB of internal storage-perfect for intensive networking chores. In addition to robust hardware features, Xserve comes complete with an unlimited-client license for Mac OS X Server software, a host of powerful network services, and integrated remote management and monitoring tools. Easy to set up and easy to maintain, Xserve with Mac OS X Server is the perfect platform for Mac workgroups-dramatically reducing the complexity of system administration and minimizing maintenance costs. Watch for more details about these announcements in future newsletters. Save Money! Mention Mid-Atlantic Computer Solutions to a friend and get a 1 hour discount on your next service visit. Make sure to tell them to mention your name! If they agree to an inital (no charge) visit with MACS, we'll give you the discount!