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Many people ask if they are doing harm to their laptop or desktop computers by turning them off at night in an attempt to save energy and live greener lives. There is no damage to your computer if you turn it off at night. Simply go through the steps of safely shutting down your computer through the Apple symbol at the top left hand corner of your screen and be sure to save anything you are working on. Some programs such as Quickbooks will automatically prompt you to back-up your work if it has been a while since you have done so.
Here are some fast facts on how much energy and money you can save. By turning your computer off at night most studies say you are saving 355 kilowatt hours a year for desktops and 185 kilowatt hours a year for laptops. This unused energy adds up to about $37.85 a year for desktops and $19.28 a year for laptops multiply that by the number of computers in your home or office and the figures really start to jump. So save the energy and keep a little extra change in your pocket.

If you’re anything like me after taking all those pictures on Easter there’s no room for the Spring Break vacation pictures this week since I never remember to download the camera. I have to go through and try to pick the best pictures I want to keep and clear off the ones I think look bad on that tiny little view-finder. I know it’s a quick step to plug-in the camera and download all the pictures but I just never seem to remember. The hot new product from Eye-Fi is a 2 GB memory card that downloads automatically via your wireless internet the minute you walk in the house. It will copy your pictures to your iPhoto or a photo-sharing website, wherever you want the images to go. For $100 this a good amount of space for taking pictures on your digital camera and just one more practical measure to make your life a little more wireless. Check out their website to find retailers in your area.

www.eye.fi

Apple released updates for both Time Machine and AirPort yesterday. We’ve run into several bugs lately with new AirPorts and are looking forward to the fixes. Some people have their preferences set to automatically notify them for updates. However if yours is not set to do so automatically follow the steps: To download the updates go to the Apple symbol in the top left hand corner, click on it and then click on “Software Update” it will run a check for all updates when the list is complete click on “Install” and your computer will download the updates and restart. To complete the update to your AirPort click on “Go” in Finder. Chose “Utilities” from the scroll down menu and then chose AirPort Utility. When AirPort Utility opens it will recognize the updates and you only need to click “OK” it will alert you there is an update and you need to click “Download.”

It seems like there are reward credit cards for just about everything. Not to be behind the curve there is a new Juniper Visa card where users earn iTune points. For every dollar you spend you earn one point. Once you reach 2,500 points Juniper will send you a $25 iTunes rewards card.

Is this the step before the Apple card? I already have my Gap card, Macy’s card, Target card and frankly my wallet isn’t that big. Information can be found on Apple’s website.

One of the great iLife features iMovie can on occasion respond slowly or sometimes in playback the video or audio is jumpy. There is some fine tuning you can do to improve the performance of your iMovie. Be sure you back everything up before making changes.

1) Install the latest updates. Apple will release updates for iMovie, and QuickTime. Be sure you have the latest versions installed, these updates are meant to catch glitches and problems and fix them. QuickTime updates can be found on their website.

2) Change your playback quality. If you are using iMovie 4 or greater you can change the playback quality in the iMovie preferences. In iMovie go to Preferences, click on the playback icon, and deselect the “Keep playhead centered during playback” so there is not a check mark in the box.

3) Quit any unused applications, or log-out other users. iMovie uses a lot of processing power, by closing other programs pulling on your processor you will see a faster response time.

If you are having a problem with one file in particular or you receive a message reading “Your project is unreadable” the following steps will help you to rebuild the project. There are two methods for recovering the file, do not delete the original project folder or the items in it, the rebuild relies on this original.

Method 1

1) Create a new project in iMovie

2) Drag the contents of the original project into the shelf of the new project

3) Reassemble the project by dragging clips from the shelf to the timeline.

Method 2 for use on iMovie 3 or greater

1) Open the iMovie project folder in the Finder and locate the .move file at the base level of the project folder.

2) Create a new project in iMovie.

3) Drag the.move file from the original folder to the new iMove project timeline and import the original project contents as a single clip.

A new and improved AirPort Express was released yesterday with 802.11n. This will give about 5 times the speed and distance the previous 802.11g wireless networks did. If Airport Expresses are hard at work in your home chances are the upgrade is not necessary but for those needing to add a little power to their wireless networks, or new to the AirPort Express scene this upgrade will give you a little more speed for your dollar.

For those unfamiliar with the capabilities of an Airport Express Base Station it can be used to create a new wireless network, or to extend the range of your existing Airport network on both Mac OS X and Windows machines. They make it possible to print from multiple computers wirelessly to one central printer and play music from your iTunes through speakers or a stereo in any room. They are small, easy to plug in and are very discrete, making the need for large equipment unnecessary. Coming with an instructional CD you can get an AirPort Express up and running in your home quickly or call the Smartacus Techs to take care of it for you. The upgraded version is the same price as the previous one for $99.

Word in Cupertino is that Apple has a new patent application displaying an Apple DVR. DVR was first mainstreamed by Tivo, allowing customers to tune in, record and playback television shows. When the AppleTV rumors first circulated it believed to have this feature but in actuality never has. Even with the new upgraded version the AppleTV 2 there is no DVR capability. With this new patent application it looks as though it will.

The patent application includes the iPhone or iPod touch with a DVR syncing ability. Customers could record their favorite television shows and then sync it with their iPhone or iPod to watch it anywhere. No telling when this might be available however Apple has been working on it since October 2006. Catching up on Lost while riding the Max in the morning…. it does have a nice ring to it.

Along with all the Enterprise updates Apple announced on March 6th the long anticipated SDK announcement. Here is the very, very basic rundown on what the SDK announcement means for the “not-too-technical.” The iPhone has full access to the internet and can load pages from the internet directly to the phone. There are some companies however that have chosen to make their websites even more iPhone friendly by formatting their web pages to fit the iPhone better. Their websites are usually more direct and easier to find the information you need. One such example of this already accessible through the iPhone is Google. Simply push the Google button on the home screen and it will direct you to the Google formatted specifically for the iPhone.

Apple wanted to make it simple for third party developers to build API’s so it would be even easier for Clients to use their iPhones. For a web developer to receive an SDK they can simply go the Apple website and download the formatting to do so for $99.

Beginning in June, Apple will have all of the new website adaptations available for download through their new App Store which will be accessible through the iPhone. Developers will pick the price of their new App with Apple receiving 30%. Most Developers are expected to make their App free to users in an effort to simply get their product in the hands of consumers.

In the March 6th demonstration, game developers displayed their API’s using both the touch and motion sensors built into the iPhone. By simply turning the iPhone the player controlled the motion of the character. In other words the iPhone was not only the screen but also the game controller. Other demonstrations included Salesforce with their time management solutions.

Developers wishing to be on the forefront of the technology world will be using the next 3 months to prepare their API’s for the June launch.

The Apple iPhone SDK event yesterday had a lot of big announcements. The iPhone will be receiving a free update to iPhone 2.0 in late June. This update is Apple’s attempt to make the iPhone the authority in for Enterprise smartphone users. The updates will be mostly useful for large business or Enterprise users however there are some features that will benefit the everyday user as well. These updates include:

-push email

-push calendar

-push contacts

-global address list

-Cisco IPsec VPN

-Certificates and Identities

-WPA2/802.1x

-Enforces security policies

-Device configuration

-Remote wipe if lost or stollen

Along with these improvements, the iPhone will now work directly with Microsoft Exchange which will have built-in features on the iPhone interface. In order to gain the speed of smartphones such as the Blackberry but maintain a higher level of security than the Blackberry, the iPhone will work directly with the Exchange Server, lowering costs of operations while increasing security. These improvements will address a large number of concerns of iPhone Complainers. This update will also make the iPhone far more competitive among large Enterprise markets.

If you feel like a Dummy buying the “… For Dummies” books there is hope! No one at Powell’s Technical will scoff at you as you purchase this book from the O’Reilly series. Chuck Toporek has recently released “Mac OS X Leopard Pocket Guide” to help new users and experienced Mac users gain familiarity with Leopard. Toporek has step by step instructions to get the most out of your Leopard operating system. He highlights the new features of Leopard instructing how they work as well as a general overview of helpful features in Leopard. This book will take beginners to a more comfortable level and the proficient Mac users to a more familiar level with the operating system that is taking over the Mac Cult. This book can be found on Amazon.com or Powell’s and usually runs for $15.