2013.12 News: More on Genealogy

Walker Crawford, who gave the presentation on genealogy back at our November meeting, has informed us that those who were left wanting more might well be interested in the talk "What Is Genealogy, Anyway?" at the upcoming meeting of the Dane County Area Genealogical Society, Thu. Jan. 2, 7:00 PM, in the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4505 Regent St. (intersection of Regent St. and Segoe Rd.).

The speaker will be George L. Findlen. The talk is an introduction to genealogy. It answers 4 questions:

• What is genealogy?
• Why do people do genealogy?
• How do I learn how to do genealogy?
• Where do I go to get records about my family?

A handout augments answers to these questions made in the talk. Old hands are validated in what they do; newcomers are informed of what they must do.

SWAG board member Jim Benes is also vice-president of DCAGS.

2013.12 News: Mac OS X 10.9.1 Now Available

Well, it took a bit longer than usual, but the bug-fix release for Mavericks is now available for downloading from the App Store, so if you're a cautious adopter who didn't download the new OS 10.9 the instant it became available, all those who did have now finished doing the gamma testing on your behalf, and it's probably safe to go in the water. Word is that the only significant fix was to some buggy e-mail handling in Mail, but there are tiny tweaks here and there in the rest of the system.

2013.12 Hint: Last-Minute Shopping Suggestion

Been putting off getting just the right present for that special someone this holiday season? Linger no longer: Apple to the rescue!

2013.12 News: Tim Cook on Discrimination

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently received an award from the United Nations and used the occasion to plead for greater acceptance and understanding of various minorities. His alma mater, Auburn University, posted this 13-minute video of his address. (I suspect Tim has chipped in a few bucks to them thru the years.)

2013.12 News: What the Heck Is an iBeacon?

What the heck is an iBeacon? It's one of the few Apple technologies that didn't get released with a lot of fanfare. But it sees you when you're sleeping; it knows when you're awake; and it might be the future of "push" advertising inside brick-and-mortar stores.

2013.12 News: Apple Picking

So that's what the kids are calling it these days! A light-fingered, glib-tongued young man was stocking up on iPhones at a downtown Madison bar when the cops moved in.

Given a choice of many possible cell phones to choose from, this young connoisseur preferred the Apple product. This is just one more indicator of why Apple is now the most valuable brand in the world, supplanting Coca-Cola, the previous #1, which had held the title for decades. Coke slipped to #3. (The answer to the Sam Bowie question is "Google".)

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BTW, there's a good reason why Apple is the world's most valuable corporation. Even corporate raider Carl Icahn, the subject of this week's cover story in Time, who wants to get his hands on some of that $147,000,000,000 in cash that Apple's sitting on, admits up front that he has absolutely no quarrel with the way Tim Cook is running the company.