Coffee heat rising

It Mac-Moves! It Mac-Speaks!

Ohhhh…kayyyyyy…. So I went out and dropped an abhorrent amount of money on a fancy new computer, and no, we will NOT be replastering the pool this fall. But is it ever cool.

And yes, it is “just working.” Powered it up, signed into iCloud, and voilà! Away it went! The email system just works. Signed into BigScoots on Safari: just works. It comes with Pages…and lookit here: a document I experimented with in some long-ago version of Pages is right here in iCloud. I’d forgotten about it. Fancy that…

Wonder Apple-Dude, who resides on the East Coast, was probably sitting at the dinner table by the time I walked in the door. Shortly thereafter a friend showed up, and she hung around for awhile…this was good. He had said he would help me transfer data from Time Machine or the old computer — for free, not for the $100 Apple now charges for the service. So it’ll be tomorrow before all the loot is moved into this machine.

It has Siri! Even though I have a moral objection to letting a computer company know where I am at all times, Siri is indeed soooo Kewl that it simply MUST be had.

At the Apple Store, I whinged about the Office situation, and the guy said they sell the free-standing version of Office 2016, and they had it running right there on their display models…check it out!

OMG! The thing has the kind of modified ribbon/drop-down format that WonderAccountant’s PC is running, only she had to hire a PC Dude to make that happen in Wyrd for Windows. DAAAYUUMMMM!

Beside myself with joy.

Welp, we’ll find out if that remains the case after I get all the data from one of the other computers loaded into the thing. But just now things are lookin’ good. 

25 thoughts on “It Mac-Moves! It Mac-Speaks!”

  1. Congrats….Life will be so much better/easier…..And the “too much money” you spent is TAX DEDUCTABLE…Hope you enjoy the new “toy”…..

    • It really is cool. At the moment, it’s busy downloading from Time Machine. Then I somehow have to figure out how to get reconnected to DropBox and then download a decent photo editor (probably Polarr Photo Editor, which is a freebie[!]), and then find a USB C hub that isn’t roundly hated by reviewers.

      This may not be easy: they apparently are not liked, in general. The one the Apple salesman recommended had 32 PERCENT of its Amazon reviews rated 2 or 1 stars.

      Apple’s idea of getting rid of the USB ports and the SD card slot is just AMAZINGLY stupid. What on earth do you suppose they could’ve been thinking?

      • What was Apple thinking? They were likely trying to move technology forward as was consistent with what they did when Jobs was still helming the company. In 1998 Apple released the iMac without a floppy drive or serial ports. Instead it had a CD drive and USB A ports for connecting peripherals which was part of the death of these items. In 2012 killed the CD/DVD drive on the MacBook Air with the same following for additional models. In 2016 they removed the 3.5mm audio jack from the iPhone 7. Each instance drew ire from the public but stepped technology forward.

        USB C itself is an awesome standard in that it’s capable of transferring data, audio, video, and power. So instead of having a specialized monitor cable, and power cable, and printer cable, and external hard drive cable, and camera cable, and phone/tablet cable you can have one type of cable and port to do it all. It also has audio capability which removes the need for a dedicated port. On top of that, it’s smaller than USB A and twice as fast. As the connections get smaller that makes way for Apple and other companies to design thinner, lighter devices that become more portable.

      • Okay. So…do you have a recommendation for a USB C hub that contains a couple of USB ports and a camera card slot that does NOT seem to collect negative reviews as a dead fish collects flies? None of them look very promising.

        Have been searching online for reviews and at Amazon and finding little or nothing that’s not problematic. And these things are EXPENSIVE.

  2. My recommendations are below.

    1. Verbatim Aluminum Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C Hub Adapter Dongle for 2016 MacBook Pro 13” & 15”. 1 Year Limited Warranty. Most Compact, Fastest 50Gbs TB3 USB-C Hub. TB3, USB-C, microSD/SD, 2 x USB 3.1

    2. CharJenPro PREMIUM MacSTICK Adapter/Hub for Apple Macbook Pro 2016 and 2017 – 40GB/S Thunderbolt 3 port 5K@60Hz, USB-C data port, 2 USB 3.0, SD and Micro SD Card Readers

    3. CharJenPro USB-C 3.1 HUB/ADAPTER : HDMI 4K, 3 USB 3.0 Ports, Card Readers, Type-C port, All Aluminum-body for Macbook Pro + all type-c laptops

    4. HooToo USB C Hub, HooToo 3.1 Type C Hub with Power Delivery for Charging, Card Reader, 3 USB 3.0 Ports for 2015 New MacBook, Chromebook Pixel, and more
    (This hub only has an SD reader, not a micro SD reader. If your camera uses a micro SD this one will not meet your needs)

    5. Tripp Lite 3-Port USB-C to USB-A (3x) Portable Hub, Micro SD & SD/MMC Reader, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (U460-003-3AM)

  3. Thank you!! I’ll look these up right away. <3

    Hang onto your hat: here's something totally bizarre:

    Just got off the phone from Apple Angel, who held my dainty little paw while I transferred data from the superannuated MacBook to the new model, which runs on Sierra. I'd purchased a copy of Office 2016 for Mac, having heard that Office 2008 will not run under Sierra.

    But y'know what? It DOES.

    There it is in the toolbar. It comes online when you click on it, and by golly...it WORKS!

    My gosh. I can't believe it.

    So I'm thinking I should prob'ly download 2016 anyway, rather than returning the thing, because Microsoft supposedly is going to kill it pretty soon. Whether this will override Office 2008, I do not know. But apparently 2016 can cohabit in the same computer with Office 2011 without disabling the old version.

    Just about every Apple guru I've talked with has thought that the older versions of Office will not run with Sierra. And if push comes to shove, probably the NEXT mountain range Apple decides to ascend will disable Wyrd 2008, so one should have a newer version installed and ready to take over.

    A kinda kewl thing is that you can revise a Wyrd file (with no "track changes) in Pages, then save it back down as a docx file, then run compare files and it will do exactly what comparing two files built in Wyrd will do: generate a tracked-changes file. For what it's worth... I guess what it's "worth" is that if one wanted to migrate all the way, 100%, to Apple software, one could keep a copy of Wyrd on the computer at hand, and then generate edited copies with track changes > compare documents.

    • I don’t know about Office 2008, but I have both 2011 and 2016 installed on my machine using Sierra and can use both. It’s a total guess, but I would suspect that the issue is more that Microsoft is ending support for Office 2008 (no longer providing support, bug updates, or security patches) than that it not being able to run on Sierra. That being said, I really like 2016. It brings the functionality closer to what the Windows version has.

      • At a glance in the Apple Store, it looked like 2016 is set up the way WonderAccountant had her PC dude set up a version of Office that came with the confusing Ribbon. It has features of the Ribbon, but it still has drop-down menus, so you don’t have to interrupt paying work to scramble around trying to figure out how to perform an action. Without doing any exploring around but just casting a jaundiced Wyrd user’s eye on the thing, I really liked what I saw of 2016.

        I think I’ll install 2016 & hope to the Goddess that it doesn’t disable 2008…but if it does, the world won’t end. Believe I’ll wait until I finish the most recent incoming Chinese math article, though, lest it generate unwelcome down time.

  4. I’ve been using the ribbon so long on pc/mac versions of office (as well as other software that has copied the design from Microsoft) that I’m used to using it. Microsoft also maintained the old pre-ribbon keyboard shortcuts so you can use those as well to access features. I’d say 90% of the time everything I need is on the home tab, unless I’m adding citations/footnotes then it’s the reference tab, or marking up a document then is the review tab, but in general, I don’t find myself constantly having to switch between ribbon tabs. Also, if you don’t want to see the ribbon there is a way to minimize it.

    • {sigh} I remember when it first came out, it just made me crazy…and that was BEFORE I was a crazy old lady. I found it maddeningly cumbersome, counter-intuitive, and frustrating. But…one could surely say that about that Wyrd for Mac.

      No longer mark up documents in Track Changes. The process is much simpler and much less likely to crash Wyrd if you simply duplicate the original file, go through it and edit it without turning on Track Changes, and then “Compare Documents.” The result, from the client’s point of view, is the same; for the editor, it means far less likelihood of having to clean up yet another mess caused by Word crashing in the middle of some impossibly difficult passage.

      Here’s a question: will a document created in Pages with custom margins and gutters retain those margins and gutters if saved as a Word document?

  5. Exporting Pages to Word (and vice versa) will retain standard formatting (ie if the feature is common between the programs it will remain in the conversion) in my experience. Where I’ve seen problems is when a person starts using a feature only available in one program (eg smart art and word art in Word does not convert properly to Pages).

    As far as gutters, to the best of my knowledge Pages does not have the ability to set gutters or facing page margins. I know Word has that functionality. So for example, you setup a file in Word with mirrored/facing page margins and a gutter. When you open that file in Pages, the margins will convert, but will not be mirrored and the gutter is lost.

  6. Speaking of functionality, would you happen to know of a reasonable way to format a paragraph with a hanging indent in Pages?

    This is hilarious! If you go out in the wild and google the question, you get a variety of answers — one of which involves tapping the touchpad with two fingers while at the same time “clicking” with the thumb…quite the little contortion!

    heeeeee! You _can_ insert a hanging paragraph by formatting it first in Word and then pasting it into Pages. But…uhmmmmm…. That would seem to defeat the purpose of having Pages, wouldn’tcha think?

    Well… It explains why so many authors format their References section by hitting a hard return at the end of the first line, then indenting the following lines. Here we thought they were just dumb as goats. 😀 No…the poor wretches have no intelligible way to accomplish that formatting trick.

    My faith in Humanity (except maybe the Humanity that is employed at Apple) is restored!

    There MUST be a way to format book pages w/ gutters and facing pages, because the Friedlander group is peddling templates in Pages as well as in Wyrd and InDesign.

  7. It is possible to create a hanging indent in Pages. It isn’t called a hanging indent nor intuitive but also doesn’t require hand gymnastics on the trackpad either. Select the paragraph(s) that you want to have a hanging indent. On the right side of the window, toward the top, click on the paintbrush symbol labeled “Format.” Within the bar on the right, part way down you should see three buttons labeled “Style,” “Layout,” and “More.” Click on “Layout.” Click the arrow next to “Indents” to expand those options. Here you’ll see three options – First, Left, and Right. First indents the left margin of the paragraph. Left indents the left margin for every paragraph line but the first. Right indents the right margin for every line in the paragraph. To create the hanging indent you would leave the first indent set to zero, and increase the left indent.

    It’s possible that Friedlander has somehow figured out how to build in gutters and facing pages into their custom templates. If I was going to buy a Pages template from them to format a print book, it’s a question I would ask before handing over my cash. I’ve never tried doing it. I usually use Indesign when needing to do print layout, but that’s got its own learning curve and a hefty price tag.

    • See, there’s the thing about Mac: they’re more entranced with trying to be “elegant” than with making sense in any standardized way. You should be able to set a hanging indent with a keyboard command. As I recall, I used to be able to do that in Wyrd for Windows…

      If you know InDesign, that’s surely infinitely preferable. Friedlander is peddling templates for InDesign, too, with preset margins for the standard trade book sizes.

      I’ve taken InDesign training twice, and both times it went in one synapse and out the other. The university paid for it; we assumed our editorial office would be doing at least some layout, but as it developed, all our client journals’ sponsors were farming out page design & layout to their own contractors or in-house staff. If you’re not using software all the time, there’s no way you’re going to learn it.

      • I really don’t view Pages as a competitor to Word. Pages is the free software that comes by default on the machine, similar to how Windows machines used to ship with a barebones Office version called Works. It was there so they can say it comes with the feature, but everyone knows that unless they’re doing the most basic of basic tasks they’re going to install Office. Microsoft eventually gave up the ruse and discontinued Works. Right now the king of the word processing market is Microsoft. Google is fighting hard to get a share of that market with G Suite and their push into the educational sector with Google Classrooms that make it really easy to create a Google Doc. Does anyone that doesn’t own a Mac even know that Pages exists? Even Macworld ranks pages poorly – behind Word, Doc, and Open Office.

        The computing world is going more and more mobile. We see that with the rise in popularity of Google office products and Office 365. Apple is a major competitor in the mobile space – messages, mail, notes, photos, itunes, etc. sync across devices, but the company has not made the same push for Pages and Numbers. It’s clearly not for a lack of knowhow, which tells me it’s from a lack of interest in the product. It is only a matter of time before Apple pulls the plug on the programs.

      • Works…ugh! Remember what a joke that was? Yeah: the parallel is definitely there!

        One thing about Pages, though: if you have it, you can get an app that allows you to make iBooks, which you then can post on Apple’s store. Most people get more money from Amazon and waypoints, but IMHO, every little bit helps. Plus you can convert directly from Pages to ePub. So if you have a very simple document with minimal subhead levels and zero illustrations, such as a novel, you could in theory create an ePub for distribution everywhere but Amazon and then just generate your Kindle on Amazon from a Word version of the MS…assuming you created the ToC on a PC. {eyeroll}

        Seriously, I’m curious about the iBook software, but not so much as to want to pay much for it.

        Brave new world, isn’t it?

  8. I refresh all of my laptops every three to four years, my iPads more frequently than that, and my iPhone every two years. It’s not that I have a mountain of money, but if you place any value on your time, then it’s a good return on investment. New stuff just works better.

    • Yes. I’m thinking probably I need to buy new equipment about every four years. I can’t afford an iPhone…or any other mobile phone other than the kind you buy minutes for as needed.

      If a MacBook is only four years old, can you sell it to defray the cost of the next one?

      • Sadly, computers have a steeper depreciation curve than new cars. Although Macs hold their value, a typical MacBook is only worth a couple hundred after three years. Some good Apple dealers offer you a perpetual lease, where for about $100/month they make sure you have this year’s model, and even insure against loss. If all your data is up on the cloud somewhere, then transferring to a new comp takes five minutes.

        Me, I roll over all my lightly used gear to deserving individuals, starving students and musicians. I consider it my good fortune to be able to afford this largesse, your mileage may vary.

      • That is interesting. They gave me a business discount when they found out The Copyeditor’s Desk is incorporated. Hm. Maybe I’d better pay them a visit and ask about this.

        The old MB is really decrepit. We never did resolve the problem of the random shut-downs… It may be a hardware issue. But if it could be fixed and the data REALLY AND TRULY wiped, it might be worth donating the thing. I’ll look into it.

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