Posts in the Hardware Category at Austin MacWorks

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Mac Is For Any Business

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Apple offers great information for businesses who want to use Macs.

Tools for getting started

Mac OS X offers unparalleled productivity tools for your startup. Not only is it intuitive and easy to use, but you’ll be amazed by all the ways it can help you grow your business and manage your life. Here are just a few of the business-friendly innovations in Lion:

iChat AV

Free and easy. Built-in audio and video conferencing allows you to show your presentations, videos or photos in real time online. Oh, and there’s one more thing every new business likes about iChat: It’s free³.

Screen Sharing

An amazing collaboration tool. If you’re on the go but need to work closely with clients, employees — or even family and friends — Screen Sharing lets you access another Mac screen (with permission, of course) so you can work together as though you were in the same room.

Time Machine

Work without worry. Time Machine is a set-it-and-forget-it backup system that can rewind your computer to the moment right before you hit the delete button or to a date in the distant past. Talk about peace of mind.

Quick Look

Every second counts. With Quick Look, you’ll be amazed how quickly you can flip through your files — without having to wait to open the document or the program first. With all the hours you’re investing in getting your company off the ground, the more time you have for productivity — and life— the better.

Stacks

Keep your Desktop clutter-free. Lion’s Stacks feature lets you see all files in a folder at a glance right from your dock. It’s so fast and easy, you’ll wonder how you ever kept track of your business or personal stuff any other way.

Spotlight.

Seek and you will find. With Spotlight, you can find files anywhere on your desktop, network or server. It’s an easy way to access the information you need, anytime.

Learn more about how Lion’s incredible features can help your work and life.

iLife

Every Mac comes loaded with iLife, a multimedia suite which can help you grow your new business — or impress your friends and family. iLife makes it easy to build portfolios, create podcasts, develop websites and much, much more.

iWork

Every startup business needs powerful communication tools. iWork delivers with Keynote, Pages and Numbers. These Mac apps can help you create gorgeous presentations and marketing materials and more.

Swear by your computer, not at it.

Good news: you won’t need an army to maintain your Mac. In fact, Mac business users feel empowered by the intuitive, self-service quality of their computer. You’ll be amazed by how secure the fully compliant UNIX technology in Lion is. Plus, Mac software is engineered to work with Mac hardware. So your computer is less likely to fall victim to the conflicts and crashes that plague PC owners.

Help is here. Here. And here.

If you’re a first-time Mac user, you may want help getting started or getting questions answered. We offer lots of options. Visit any Apple Store for free business workshops, One to One training, to chat with a Business Consultant, or get live tech support from the Genius Bar. Purchase ProCare for only £77 per year, and you’ll get priority service at the Apple Store. You can extend your 90 days of complimentary support with award-winning AppleCare. The AppleCare support team can answer the simplest questions about an application or help you troubleshoot any issue you might be having. And of course you can always visit our online support pages.

Mac or PC. We don’t discriminate.

Why choose? While most popular applications for Mac and PC use the same file formats, making it easy to exchange documents between Macs and PCs, a Mac is the only computer that can run both Mac and PC operating systems and software. So not only is a Mac compatible with Microsoft Office and thousands of other applications, it’s the only computer that can run Windows and Mac applications side by side¹. It’s like you’re getting two computers for the price of one—not a bad deal.

Startup Simplicity

The Mac is plug-and-play, meaning it will automatically connect on a network and work with your peripherals. Just open it up, plug it in and start working. With a Mac, you’ll spend way less time worrying about your computer and way more time looking for ingenious ways to build your business.

The Mac Daddy of business computers.

Our business customers tell us that Macs do more for their business, more easily than any other

Posted in Hardware, Small business, Software | No Comments »

How Apple is Transforming Businesses

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

On iPad, managers use the Manager’s Briefcase app to monitor pricing, contracts and delivery quantities.

Here are some great case studies about how Apple is helping business grow and flourish.

Using iPhone, iPad, and custom apps built in-house, PepsiCo’s North America Beverages division ensures that the right product arrives at the right location as quickly and efficiently as possible. Read more about how Pepsi uses iPads and iPhones.
At Carmel Café & Wine Bar, iPad serves up customer satisfaction and increases efficiency from the kitchen to the dining room. Read more.
At The Ottawa Hospital, not only has iPad increased efficiency from a provider perspective — it’s increased engagement between the provider and patient. Learn more.
By outfitting its pilots and cabin crews with iPads and specialized apps, EVA Air is taking its quest for innovative technology to a new level.
CTV News has been one of Canada’s primary news sources for more than 50 years. Now the company has adopted two new high-tech reporting tools: iPhone and iPad. Learn how they do it.
“iPhone and iPad allow the business to move forward at a much faster speed,” — Yasuhiro, Ikeda, Vice President, IT Strategy for Global pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo. Read more about how Daiichi Sankyo uses Apple technology to make its business stronger.

Posted in Hardware, Small business | No Comments »

Get Help Converting Your Small Business to Macs

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013

Thinking of converting your small business to Macs?

Here are a few great reasons why you should do this.

Businesses of all sizes find that the Mac platform can save money over time, despite the higher price tag associated with the initial purchase. The Mac’s greatest ally in calculating cost of ownership is the value of time. Business owners say their Macs experience fewer crashes and other problems than PCs running Windows, translating to less lost work and fewer visits from the IT folks. They also tend to keep Macs in service longer than they keep PCs running.
Part of the reason businesses report more uptime with the Mac is because of the Mac’s built-in security features that keep viruses and malware at bay. A Mac won’t run Windows software right out of the box, so most of the malware lurking on the Internet won’t harm a Mac.
Backups are tedious, time consuming, and inconvenient to schedules, but they’re critical for all businesses, especially small ones that don’t have IT departments in charge of such things. Mac OS X’s built-in backup software, Time Machine, backs up documents automatically. Should you accidentally delete your tax return, payroll info, or even if you just destroy part of it, you can easily call up Time Machine and travel backwards in hours, days, or weeks through time—onscreen, of course—until you find the particular file you were looking for.

And the best reason? With Austin MacWorks right here in Austin, you’ve got an unbeatable resource working with you to ensure your success. The Apple-trained experts at Austin MacWorks will get your new computers set up in no time at all, and we’ll stick with you as your business grows, ensuring your systems grow along with your receipts.

Let us partner with you today to make 2013 your most successful year ever! Call us at 512-476-7000.

Tags: apple, mac, Small Business
Posted in Hardware, Small business, Software | No Comments »

Wrap-up of New Apple Products

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

Apple announced several new products yesterday—so many that our heads are spinning! Here’s a quick synopsis of all the new offerings. We’ll keep you posted as to when these goodies are available in store. Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter so you get all the latest info!

The iPad mini

It’s a sleek, thin and light 7.9-inch tablet made of anodized aluminum and glass that follows the format reduction pioneered by Google and Amazon. It’s really light and thin at 0.68 pounds and 7.2 millimeters.

It has better specs and it’s thinner and lighter than the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus 7, but much more expensive too. It starts at $329 for the Wi-Fi only version, with 16GB of storage. The 32GB and 64GB are $429 and $529. If you want the LTE connectivity, you will have to pay $130 more.

The iPad 4

The new regular-sized iPad has a new, twice-as-fast processor and U.S. 4G-LTE coverage. The new iPad comes with Apple’s Lightning connector. Previous versions featured the significantly larger 30-pin connector that Apple has used since 2003. This new iPad replaces the iPad3.

Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad lineup starts at $399 for the iPad 2 and $499 for the fourth-generation iPad.

The new Mac Mini

The Mac mini still starts at $600 (or $1000 for the server version), but its options for internals have been upgraded across the board. The new Mac mini sports a third-generation Ivy Bridge 2.3-GHz Intel Core i7 processor,

The new iMac

Still available in 21- and 27-inch models, the 8th-generation iMacs have been slimmed down as much as 80% in places and (depending on options) are up to eight pounds lighter.

By eliminating the optical drive and implementing full display-to-glass lamination for a 45% thinner display system, Apple’s engineers have built an all-in-one PC that’s just 5mm thick on all edges.

Both the iMac and Mac Mini introduce a new storage feature, which Apple calls the “Fusion” drive. By dynamically integrating a 128GB solid state drive with a 1TB hard disk through OS X, the new Fusion drive purports to offer nearly the same level of performance as an SSD without making the typical sacrifice in storage capacity.

The 21-inch iMac starts at $1300 and begins shipping this November. For a new 27-incher, you’ll pay at least $1800 and have to wait till December.

13-inch MacBook Pro Retina

The new Macbook is sleeker, clearer, and slightly more expensive than the 13-inch Macbook Pro, the Retina Display’s predecessor, which came out back in June. For $1,699, Retina Display users get a 2.5-GHz, dual-core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (For an extra $300, users can purchase an extra 128GB of storage). Buyers can also opt for the dual-core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU. The updated Mac is only 0.75 inches thin, 20% thinner than its predecessor. It weighs in at 3.5 pounds, making it the lightest MacBook Pro ever. For user convenience, it comes pre-loaded with Mac OS X Mountain Lion and supports 802.11 Wi-Fi, as well as Bluetooth 4.0. Apple has promised up to seven hours of battery life.

Tags: ipad, macbook, mini
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Why Mac Is the Right Tool for Science

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

Apple offers this handy summary of why the Mac is a great tool for scientists.

UNIX, Windows, MacOS, X11

One system for all your work.

Run custom scripts, open source, and commercial scientific software alongside your favorite productivity applications such as MS Office — all on your Mac. It’s the ideal platform for complex scientific research as well as your day-to-day and online activities.

Stable. Reliable. Intuitive.

The Mac runs Mac OS X, the world’s most advanced OS. It’s UNIX under the hood so your have fewer technology headaches, it’s easy to operate and easy to administer. Mac provides a stable, tightly integrated single-vendor solution that gives you the freedom to focus on science instead of cumbersome technology issues and chronic PC issues such as spyware and viruses.

Intel Core 2 Duo & Intel Xeon

Better performance.

Inside it’s Intel – bringing faster processing speeds, and better compatibility. The Mac delivers 64-bit power in one universal OS. And with Multicore Intel processors scientists can get things done faster – from basic to high performance computing.

Smoothly compatible.

Macs play well with PCs and vice versa. The Mac uses the latest industry-standard technologies for connecting to peripherals and networks. So, you can easily share files – including MS Office documents – with your PC counterparts, connect to a common PC network, and use the same peripherals (e.g. printer, scanner, digital camera) without a problem.

The Mac runs Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.

Run all the applications you need. With the Intel-based Mac systems, you can now run any Windows or Linux applications you need using virtualization applications such as Parallels and VMWare Fusion. And for those times when you want to boot directly in Windows, there’s Boot Camp, which is included with every new Mac running Mac OS X Leopard.

Power of UNIX. Simplicity of the Mac.

Beneath the surface of Mac OS X lies an industrial-strength UNIX foundation built with a Mach 3.0 microkernal and FreeBSD services. Command-line users will feel right at home, while low-tech scientists will enjoy the intuitive and easy-to-use user interface.

Collaboration at your fingertips.

Interact with colleagues next door or halfway around the world with iChat AV. Start a videoconference with up to three others or audio conference with up to ten participants with just a click of the mouse.

Podcast your science.

Broadcast your lectures and research content the iPod way by creating your own podcasts. The podcasting studio in GarageBand that comes with the iLife suite of creative applications makes it simple (and fun).

Publish and present in style.

Impress and influence your audience by adding a professional and creative touch to your presentations. Apple’s multi-media tools in iLife and iWork make it easy to instill a lasting impression.

Xcode Icon

Program in any language.

Mac OS X includes a free Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) complete with all the tools and libraries to allow you to program in your favorite programming language, including — Java, Perl, C/C++, Cocoa, Ruby, Python, LISP, and many more.

The Mac experience is like no other.

Only on a Mac do you find seamless integration of hardware and software. That’s because only with a Mac do you get an OS built by the same people who build the computer it runs on. Enjoy the hand-in-glove fit from the moment you plug your Mac in — just turn it on and you’re ready to go.

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Research Shows iPod Touch Benefits Workers with Autism

Thursday, September 6th, 2012

We often hear about iOS devices being used in schools and in the workplace, but a recent study from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University shows how the device can be beneficial for those struggling with autism.

The study was recently published in the the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation and is part of a longer four-year study being conducted in conjunction with Virginia Career Support Services and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.

The researchers used the iPod touch with three working adults who were diagnosed with the developmental disorder. Each person was given an iPod that was configured with apps to help them perform tasks at their job. The apps included reminders, progress trackers and music to calm them when they got frustrated. Researchers focused on the iPod Touch because it was the most suitable pocket-sized device on the market when the study was designed.

The trio were followed by an occupational therapist and a job coach during their time with their device. In two cases, the people improved their job performance and required less assistance from their job coach. In another case, the individual was able to navigate safely to and from work.

The study had a small sample size, so you can’t pull out too many conclusions from the results. It does, however, suggest that an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch may be beneficial as an assistive device for those with disabilities. You can read more about the study in the article on Disability Scoop.

Tags: autism, ipod touch
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BMW Credits Apple with the Popularity of White Cars

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

Apple has impacted more just the technology industry. Interesting, according to a BMW executive, more Americans are driving white cars because of the sucessof Apple’s white products.

Sandy McGill, BMW Designworks lead designer for color and materials, made her comments in relation to a recent study that shows that white-colored cars have toppled black-colored cars as the most popular choice in the U.S. According to the study, about 20 percent of new cars bought in 2011 were white, the indirect result of iconic Apple products including the white iPhone, iPods and iPads.

“Prior to Apple, white was associated with things like refrigerators or the tiles in your bathroom. Apple made white valuable,” explains McGill.

How fun is that?

Tags: white
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How To Restore Your Mac From a Time Machine Backup

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

With Time Machine you can go “back in time” to restore files, versions of files, or your entire system. Make sure your backup drive is connected and mounted (if not, Time Machine will alert you that “Your Time Machine backup disk can’t be found.”

If prompted, enter an administrator name and password to proceed with the restore.
Restoring specific files or folders

Choose Enter Time Machine from the Time Machine menu and the restore interface appears. You can literally see your windows as they appeared “back in time.”

You can use the timeline on the right side of the window to reach a certain point back in time (the timeline shows the times of all backups on your backup drive). If you don’t know exactly when you deleted or changed a file, you can use the back arrow to let Time Machine automatically travel through time to show you when that folder last changed.

Note: Dates in pink indicate the data resides on your Time Machine backup device. Dates in white indicate the data resides on your Mac. In OS X Lion, portable Macs have the feature of local snapshots.

You can also perform a Spotlight search in the Time Machine Finder Window search field to find a file. Simply type the Spotlight search field and use the back arrow to have Time Machine search through your backups to find what you are looking for.

Before you restore a file, you can also use Quick Look to preview a file to make sure its the one you want. Highlight the file and press the Space Bar to bring up a quick look.

To restore, select the file/folder and click the “Restore” button. The file will automatically be copied to the desktop or appropriate folder. If the file you are restoring has another file in the same location with the same name, you will be prompted to choose which file to keep or keep both.
Restoring your entire system from a backup

If you are restoring a backup made by a Mac to the same Mac

With your backup drive connected, start up your Mac from the Lion recovery partition (Command-R at startup) or Mac OS X v10.6 installation disc. Then use the “Restore From Time Machine Backup” utility.

Note: If “You can’t restore this backup because it was created by a different model of Mac” appears when restoring a backup that was made on a different Mac, follow the onscreen instructions.

If you are restoring a backup made by one Mac to a completely different Mac

Important: If the backup you are about to restore is from a completely different Mac, use the Migration Assistant to transfer data from the backup, as described in the next section.
Migrating a Time Machine backup to a new Mac

When you buy a new Mac, you can transfer all of your applications, files, settings, and other information from a Time Machine backup you’ve already made.

You will be asked if you want to transfer files when you start up your new Mac for the first time. Or, you can use the Migration Assistant (located in Applications/Utilities).

If you use a Time Capsule, see Restoring files from a Time Capsule backup.

Once Migration Assistant completes the transfer and you select your existing Time Machine backup drive, you will be prompted with “Inherit Backup History”. Once selected you will be able to continue to use your existing Time Machine backup on your new Mac.

Tags: Backup, time machine
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How to Backup Your Mac Using Time Machine

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

Setting up Time Machine is as easy as connecting an external drive to your Mac via Thunderbolt, FireWire or USB. You can also use a secondary internal drive if your desktop Mac has one (that is, a drive that you don’t start up from).

If you haven’t specified a Time Machine backup device yet, the first time you connect an external drive, Time Machine asks if you would like to use it as a Backup Disk.

Click “Use as Backup Disk” to confirm you want to use the drive for Time Machine backups. Time Machine preferences will then open with this drive selected as your backup.

On OS X Lion, check “Encrypt Backup Disk” if you want to encrypt the Time Machine backup external drive using FileVault 2.

That’s all you have to do for Time Machine to automatically backup your Mac. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups until your backup drive is full.

About the first backup to an external drive

The first backup may take a while. You may want to set up Time Machine in the evening so that the initial backup can be done overnight. You should not interrupt the initial backup. You can continue to use your Mac while Time Machine backs up.

Once the initial backup is completed, Time Machine performs subsequent hourly backups of only the files that have changed on your Mac since the last backup (as long as your Mac is awake and the backup drive is connected).

Tip: You can manually initiate a Time Machine backup cycle by selecting “Back up Now” from the Time Machine menu, even if you have Time Machine preferences set to off.

Changing your backup drive

You can manually select another backup drive in Time Machine preferences.

Select Time Machine menu > Open Time Machine Preferences…
Click “Select Disk…”
Choose a drive where backups will be stored, then click “Use Backup Disk”

Note: Every available drive that can be used to store backups is listed. If you’ve partitioned a drive, the available partitions are listed. Time Machine can’t backup to an external drive that’s connected to an AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule, or a drive formatted for Microsoft Windows (NTFS or FAT format). If you select an NTFS or FAT-formatted drive, Time Machine prompts you to reformat the drive. Choose a different drive or reformat the drive in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Because reformatting erases any files on the drive, only do this if you no longer need the files or if you have copies of them on a different drive.

The most common format for a Time Machine backup drive is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, but Time Machine also supports Mac OS Extended (Case sensitive, Journaled) and XSan formats.

If the drive is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) or Apple Partition Map (APM) partition types are recommended.

Time Machine works best if you use your backup drive only for Time Machine backups. If you keep files on your backup drive, Time Machine won’t back up those files and the space available for Time Machine backups will be reduced.

Tags: Backup
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How to Set Up a Wireless Network

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

Setting up a wireless network might seem scary, but really, thanks to Apple, setting up a wireless network is simpler then ever. To view a video of how to set up a wireless network click here. Or, see the instructions below:

Requirements:

Wifi-enabled computer
Apple Airport Base Station: Airport Express, Airport Extreme, or Time Capsule (which also has a hard drive to wirelessly back up your data)
High-speed Internet service

Steps:

Set Up your Apple Base Station
If Aiport Utility is not already on your computer under Applications > Utility, then download it with the CD provided when purchasing an Apple Airport Base Station.
After that Launch the Application
The application will locate your new Apple Airport Base Station
Select the Base Station on the left and then click continue on the bottom right
On the next screen you will name your Base Station and give it a password, then click continue
After that select the top option of creating a new wireless network and continue
Then name your wireless network and add a password
In the next screen you are able to make a guest network by checking the enable box, giving the guest network a name, and a password. This also helps so your guests do not access private network and information.
Then use the default box selected for the how to connect to the internet page and continue
Finally, confirm settings and update to apply your settings

Austin MacWorks can help you make sure you’ve got all the right equipment. Stop by and let us help you get set up!