Pages vs Word

I’ve been using Word since about 1985 when it first came out for the Mac. But I haven’t upgraded from Office 2008 since I want to be able to use the program on both my iMac and MacBook without paying for 2 copies. 

When I learned that Apple had made its iWork apps free for Sierra OS, I immediately downloaded them and started trying them out. I will show you the differences in what Word and Pages can do in word processing. 

But for me the most interesting part of Pages is the page layout capabilities which allow me to do things in Pages that I previously needed PageMaker/InDesign for. I will show you some of these examples as well.

Joan King

Aug 30 Meeting

Reminders with Allison Sheridan via Screencastsonline

Reminders is a surprisingly powerful application that comes with macOS, iOS and watchOS. With Reminders, you can bridge the gap between your calendar and a to do list. Reminders can be set for when you arrive or leave a location, they can be set for specific times and dates, they can repeat, and they can even be set to remind users so you to do something when you get into or out of your car.

Reminders even lets you share lists with other Apple users so you can collaborate on tasks. You can use Siri to set up Reminders on your Mac, but Siri on iOS and the Apple Watch makes Reminders the best tool for when you’re on the run.

Tap Forms, by Joan King

Tap Forms is a data base program than can run on your Mac and/or any of your iOS devices—iPhone, iPad, iPod, iWatch. But it might better be though of as a digital filing cabinet for your life. You can have information on your bank accounts, immunization records, insurance policies, home inventory, and any other information you might want to have handy. I had been using Bento for several years when Filemaker discontinued it in 2013. I discovered Tap Forms, switched to it and even gave a MUG presentation on it in 2014. But that was version 2.2.2. The latest version is 5.1 and it has a number of new features. I’ll show you how to create a database from scratch, update from version 3 or import data from other sources.                            

VPN, by Arnold Silver

One of the most important skills any computer user should have is the ability to use a virtual private network (VPN) to protect their privacy. A VPN is typically a paid service that keeps your web browsing secure and private over public Wi-Fi hotspots. VPNs can also get past regional restrictions for video and music-streaming sites and help you evade government censorship restrictions, though that last one is especially tricky. Arnold will share his VPN experiences with you and help to de-mystify this important topic.

Affinity Photo, Part 2, by Allison Sheridan via Screencastsonline

The meeting will  start with Beginner’s Q&A at 6:30 PM, followed by the main presentation at 8:00 PM.

Last November, Allison introduced us to Affinity Photo, a terrific alternative to Photoshop. She focused on the wide range of Apple Photo Extensions provided as part of Affinity Photo. In this second episode, she’ll take a look at using Affinity Photo as a standalone application.

Feb 22 Meeting

Wunderlist, by Allison Sheridan

Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast Mac Podcast is coming back to SBAMUG, this time to teach us about a free application called Wunderlist. If you’re overwhelmed by the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology and have more simple needs, Wunderlist may be for you.  She’ll show you how to organize your to dos, set due dates and alarms, share lists with others, assign to dos to others, add attachments and notes, and even sub-tasks to your to dos.  If you haven’t seen Allison speak before, you’re in for a treat. One of her favorite wisecracks is, “I’m not always right, but I’m always entertaining!”  You can find her podcasts at http://podfeet.com 

The main presentation at the Jan 25 meeting is titled iCloud Demystified, to be presented by George Wilde.

iCloud Computing?  What is it?  What can you do with it?

Apple’s current cloud computing and cloud storage service, called iCloud, is a replacement for Apple’s previous MobileMe service. iCloud has well over 700 million current users and consists of many parts – some of which are free and some of which come at a cost. Because iCloud has evolved in multiple directions since the time of MobileMe, you may find that some features you liked previously are still there, perhaps under another name. Also there are many new features – some of which you might like and others that you might hate. You may already be using some of the newer features of the iCloud system without even knowing it. Because you’re a Mac or iOS user you probably can’t avoid using at least some of the iCloud services, so you’ll want to understand the implications of using all of the various iCloud services.

At our upcoming meeting I’ll show you some of the most useful features and help you get started on adding any that you’d like to try. There will be time for your questions as you discover how to use iCloud effectively.

The Dec 28 meeting will open with the Beginner’s Q & A at 6:30, followed by our traditional pizza party starting around 7:30. There will be door prizes (Best Buy gift certificates) for those attending the meeting, so make your plans to attend now!