2014.07 Humor: Klingon Mac User Group Meeting

Believe it or not, this Joy of Tech cartoon dates back over a decade, and it's still relevant today.

2014.07 Tip: ICal Schedule Subscriptions

You may be thinking "What's with the 'iCal' moniker? Didn't Apple change the name of that utility to just 'Calendar'?". Yes, it did — to bring the desktop-computer utility (under OS X) into sync with the handheld-device app (under iOS). But the websites that were set up prior to that name change continue to use "iCal" as part of their identity, and the point of this tip is that you'd go to one of them, specifically
http://icalshare.com/calendars/6704to subscribe to the Green Bay Packer 2014 season schedule. Its author, Joshua Campbell, promises to update the listings with game scores as soon as they become final.

First up: pre-season game vs. the Tennessee Titans at their place, Sat. Aug. 9, 7:00 PM Central.

(Incidentally, I found this site quite easily just by googling "apple calendar subscriptions". There are others as well. Pick the one that tickles yer fancy.)

Update: If you tried to use iCalShare to do likewise for the Wisconsin Badgers, you'd have been disappointed, as the most recent listing was for 2006. However, if you go to the Badgers' own website, you can follow the "Schedule" path to the destination
http://www.uwathletics.com/schedule/icalScheduleList.aspxwhich allows you to download a football schedule compatible with your Calendar utility.

First up: Wisconsin vs. LSU in Houston, Sat. Aug. 30, 8:00 PM Central.

Note that a download (as for the Badgers) is a one-time-only deal. Once you've done it, it's done, and your Calendar listings won't change thereafter unless you consciously change them. A subscription (like the Packers), OTOH, can be dynamically updated by its original source.

2014.07 Celebration: Happy Birthday, Mibs!

Happy 92nd birthday today to SWAG's own Mabelle R. "Mibs" Ewald, who served as a US Marine in WW2 and only recently picked up a brand-new Mac laptop to further demonstrate that she's getting ready for her next century.

2014.07 News: Apple and IBM Team Up

Remember when Apple announced its partnership with Microsoft, and Steve Jobs stood on stage with the big head of Bill Gates projected on screen in the role that Big Brother occupied in the famous 1984 commercial? Macheads everywhere took it as a sign of the Apocalypse ("cats and dogs together", etc.). Well, it turned out OK.

Here's the sequel. Winston Smith is giving Big Brother a big hug — and Big Brother is hugging back!

2014.07 Travel: Apple Abroad

Our sleuthy secretary, Holly McEntee, couldn't find any listing for an official Apple Store anywhere in Russia, but evidently they have their own equivalent of a Best Buy where Apple products are available for sale, as evidenced by these June photos taken on Moscow's tony Tverskaya Street by SWAG's foreign correspondent, Barbara Leuthner:

A couple of years ago (late 2012), Barbara also encountered a real Apple Store in Ljubljana, Slovenia: