Purchase an Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 full license or upgrade between March 26th and May 6th, 2012 and receive an upgrade to CS6―at no additional cost.

• Pay today’s prices for tomorrow’s software. Whether you purchase full or upgrade licenses to CS5.5 today, your organisation will receive the CS6 license for each of those purchases at no additional cost. That translates into significant savings for your organisation, and your users will benefit from the latest and greatest Adobe software now and in the future.
• Be among the first to take advantage of the newest Creative Suite software. With this offer, you can implement the current version of Creative Suite immediately, helping your organisation increase productivity and take advantage of powerful tools and time-saving features. When CS6 is released, your users will be at the front of the line to access the most cutting-edge, feature-rich creative software available―at no additional cost.
• Standardise and save. Let’s face it, managing a mix of software versions with different operating systems and hardware requirements is costly and time consuming. Deploying the latest, cutting-edge creative software across your organisation gives you the opportunity to significantly reduce deployment and support costs. Don’t miss this limited-time offer to upgrade. And if you have CS2 licenses, this is your last chance to upgrade before losing your upgrade eligibility. Hurry! Offer ends May 6, 2012.

Click the image for a larger version.

Contact us at Mac Aid for pricing.

Tip of the Month

Apple release updates to disable the Flashback Trojan.

Read more here.

Mac Aid makes ordering Consumables easy

We at Mac Aid, know that ordering consumables can be a hassle and so have come up with a way to make it hassle free for you.

Read more here.

Apple have made it very easy for any user to deal with the Flashback Malware with the release of an update through Software Update. There’s no reason to not install the update as if you are online then you are at risk.

To run Software Update, click the Apple icon top left of your screen and then Software Update. If not already installed there will be a Java Security update that as Apple states, does the following:

“This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware. If you do not use Java applets, it is recommended that you disable the Java web plug-in in your web browser.

This update is recommended for all Mac users with Java installed.

For more information on how to disable Java in your web browser see:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5241

For details about this update see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5243“

Also if you are comfortable in Terminal you can check if you are infected by copying and pasting the below text without the quotation marks.

“defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment”

If you get the message “The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist”, you must then enter:

“defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES”

If you get the message ”The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist”, then your Mac is safe. Basically, the “does not exist” message means you’re clean.

If you find that you are one of the few infected then run Software Update and/or give us a call so we can help.

Mac Aid makes ordering Consumables easy

We at Mac Aid, know that ordering consumables can be a hassle and so have come up with a way to make it hassle free for you.
Read more here.

Adobe set to release CS6

Adobe are getting ready to release CS6 and have also announced that through to May 6th, if you purchase CS5.5 you will receive CS6 FREE once it ships.
Read more here.

We know that ordering consumables can be a hassle, you need to figure out what products you need, then where to buy them, where they’re in stock and possibly even make a trip to go get them.Mac Aid want to take this hassle away from you.

Register your printer with us to be supplied with an individually numbered sticker that will be assigned to your printer model information and applicable supplies. Attach the sticker to the printer for future reference.

When it comes time to order stock, simply contact Mac Aid (use the QR code for contact details if required- see below), tell us the number on your sticker, what you need, be it toner, drum, magenta ink we can quickly have it drop shipped to you directly. Ordering becomes a hassle free affair.

Sticker looks like this one below, with QR code for contact details. Go ahead try it.

To register contact us here at the office and we’ll set you up, and send out a sticker to attach to your printer. Easy.

If you were interested in recycling rather than disposing of your cartridges, then consider dropping them to us next time you’re in.  Or you can give them to our technician when they visit you.

Tip of the Month

Apple release updates to disable the Flashback Trojan.
Read more here.

Adobe set to release CS6

Adobe are getting ready to release CS6 and have also announced that through to May 6th, if you purchase CS5.5 you will receive CS6 FREE once it ships.
Read more here.

Apple release updates to disable the Flashback Trojan.

The Flashback Trojan has received a fair amount of attention over the last week after it was announced that around 600,000 Macs were affected worldwide. but nothing to fear as Apple have already released updates that squash any issues.

Read more here.

Apple News

Adobe are getting ready to release CS6, which looks to be an exciting upgrade – see the links for videos below.

Adobe has also announced that beginning March 26th through May 6th, if you purchase CS5.5 you will receive CS6 FREE once it ships.
Although Adobe has not announced pricing although the savings will be significant for most versions, especially if you are currently on CS4, CS5 or CS2.
And if you have CS2 licenses, this is your last chance to upgrade before losing your upgrade eligibility.

• Premiere CS6: http://youtu.be/RzKD9jdsSfs
• Photoshop CS6 Sneak Peek #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBIf9KljT68&feature=relmfu

Read more here.

Mac Aid sell Consumables – did you know?

We at Mac Aid, while not specialising in them, can certainly help with your printer consumables and/or service requirements.

Read more here.

A collection of recommended apps
This month for the Apple tip section we have three recommendations for time saving applications that you might consider for you own use. We like to be productive on our Mac’s and feel you might benefit from at least one of them; Alfred; an app launcher, web searcher and shortcut extraordinaire, Optimal Layout, a power window layout manager, and xType; a flexible text expander.

Read more here.

We welcome a new tech to Mac Aid, Sean Yuen!

Read more here.

The new iPad and Mountain Lion

Apple late last week presented the new iPad to the world at their always well anticipated keynote presentation. Apple also announced Mountain Lion the week earlier, though we’re not likely to see it for quite some time.
Read more here.

The new iPad
The much anticipated new iPad was announced end of last week and will be available for sale March 16th. It will sport a much higher resolution screen, 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) to be exact.
The processor has been bumped to a Dual-core Apple A5X, the camera now a 5 megapixel ‘iSight’ camera and the unit now has support for 4G network.

The new iPad’s resolution will be stunning, exceeding that of a 40” High Definition Plasma display and even that of the screen that Apple used to broadcast to the room at the Keynote.

The new iPad will go on sale March 16th alongside the existing iPad 2 which will sport a reduced price. Preordering is available though the shipping time has slipped to 2-3 weeks. It should be interesting to see how Apple meets this demand.

more info here:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/

Mountain Lion
Apple announced Mountain Lion around 2 weeks ago, and it was listed with an interesting collection of iPad inspired features. Notification Centre; much like notifications for iOS5, Messages; Mac to iPhone and iPad messaging, Mail 6, Reminders and Notes.

Mountain Lion is suggested to be a ‘major’ update and will also be first OS to be sold exclusively on the App Store, with Apple choosing not to release on a USB stick as an option this time.

Much like how Lion took us in a direction where Mail was the same as it was on iPad, we should see unified versions of apps running across various devices. It will be fantastic for integration and ease of use but any further thoughts will have to wait to Mountain Lion is seen which, by the way, will be a long way away yet.

more info here

http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/

p.s. You are able to download the Beta version of Messages for free at the above website, link down the very bottom. Requires OSX  Lion v10.7.3.

Tip of the Month

A collection of recommended apps. Alfred; an app launcher, web searcher and shortcut extraordinaire, Optimal Layout, a power window layout manager, and xType; a flexible text expander.
Read more here.

We welcome a new tech to Mac Aid, Sean Yuen!

Read more here.

We’re happy to welcome Sean to the Mac Aid team. He brings with him many years of experience with computers and a strong passion for Mac’s specifically.
Keep an eye out for Sean in the future.

Tip of the Month

A collection of recommended apps: Alfred; an app launcher, web searcher and shortcut extraordinaire, Optimal Layout, a power window layout manager, and xType; a flexible text expander.
Read more here.

The new iPad and Mountain Lion

Apple late last week presented the new iPad to the world at their always well anticipated keynote presentation. Apple also announced Mountain Lion the week earlier, though we’re not likely to see it for quite some time.
Read more here.

We thought we might try something different this month so read on below to hear our productivity application recommendations.

Alfred app launcher.
Alfred, a free keyboard-driven productivity application from the App Store, allows you to launch apps and search your computer and the web with great speed.
Through the use of a quick shortcut, Alfred is able to:

• Launch any application living on your mac. Alfred will also learn which apps you use the most and prioritise them when you search.
• Quickly find and open files, bookmarks, contacts, music and more. Never again will you be stuck wondering where you saved that all important missing file.
• Search or launch your favourite websites
• Control your mac’s basic functions, such as empty the trash, start the Screen Saver, restart, shut down, and more.

I’m a prolific Spotlight user and much like Spotlight, Alfreds default shortcut is “Option + Spacebar” which brings up a search query on the desktop. My most used example is searching ‘maps (suburb)’ which then opens a browser or tab in an already open browser and takes me straight to the search results within Google Maps. Very quick and useful.

Alfred is currently at version 1.1 and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is available either through the App Store or the AlfredApp website.

http://www.alfredapp.com

App Store link

Optimal Layout. 

Optimal Layout is a powerful window manager available from the App Store. It allows you to access the best tools to manage your window applications, and ultimately, helps make you more productive.

Optimal Layout’s keyboard commands allow you to:

• Position certain windows using keyboard shortcuts
• Move and resize windows from your keyboard and they snap into alignment
• Layout your windows to fill your screen. Say goodbye to annoying, overlapping windows.
• List all your open app windows with a visual preview. This also applies for windows which are minimised or in another space.
• Stick windows together for when you want to deal with them at a later time.

Optimal Layout is highly customisable to the way you want to work, and with regular updates and enhancements, Optimal Layout is designed for people who like to keep their hands on the keyboard.

In order to see how it works, you can watch the screencast at:

xType 4. 

Save keystrokes and time with xType.

If you ever find yourself typing out the same, repetitive text out then the Application aType 4 may be for you.

xType is a text expander which means with the use of a predefined text abbreviation you can produce website links, addresses, email signatures or what ever text you define. For example I’m using the abbreviation “sig” to produce my Email signature, images and all.

Actually typing ‘sig’ in this article produced my email signature until I made the shortcut exclusive to the Mail application, an easy enough change in the applications settings page

It is very customisable, very straight forward and you wont find yourself getting lost in something that should help you save time in the end.

It’s free and definitely worth checking out.

Check it out here or in the App Store.

We welcome a new tech to Mac Aid, Sean Yuen!

Read more here.

The new iPad and Mountain Lion

Apple late last week presented the new iPad to the world at their always well anticipated keynote presentation. Apple also announced Mountain Lion the week earlier, though we’re not likely to see it for quite some time.
Read more here.

Jonathan Ives, the British polytechnic graduate who became the design genius behind Apple was elevated to Knight Commander of the same Order (KBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to design and enterprise.

Ives has worked with Apple since 1992, initially commissioned as a consultant but then gained his current position as senior vice president of design in 1997 after Steve Jobs return to Apple’s helm.¬†

Mr Jobs described Mr Ives as his “spiritual partner” in the recent biography of the Apple co-founder written by Walter Isaacson.¬†

The knighthood is the second time Mr Ive has been recognised in the honours list. In 2005 he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Want to take your memories to the next level and present them differently or even make the ultimate gift? 

Learn how iPhoto gives you the ability to create your own hard or softcover book, letter press cards and calendar.

Read more here.

How confident are you in your back up strategy? Have you checked it lately?

We’re about to launch a free data backup assessment for our business customers so keep an eye out for it in your mailbox. Simply put, if you’re interested, we can assess your back up strategy and advise on any changes or solutions that are suitable.

Read more here.

iPhoto is well integrated into the Mac ecosystem allowing you to do many things such as email, share on Facebook and Twitter etc very easily.

It also offers a way to present your photos not commonly found in software applications: iPhoto gives you the ability to create your own hard or softcover book,¬†letter press cards and calendar. You can easily change the arrangement of photos, input your own text or titles and there are a respectable amount of choices for the print size of books or cards.¬†This is perfect for preserving moments such as ones travels, family moments or even documents – it doesn’t have to be ‘photos’ per-say.

-Without getting into a step by step tutorial on the matter of creating a book or card- we’ll point you int he right direction first however.

Due to the number of options available we’re not going to get in a full blown step by step tutorial on the matters of book, card or calendar creation but I do have some pointers.

Perhaps the first thing you want to do in creating your book is either select a few as a start and/or¬†make an Album of the appropriate photos- this means you’re part way done already and you won’t have the potential issue I’ll address next.

If you do not have a selection or create an album, iPhoto will query you asking to add all or none of your photos. Adding all could take a while and it definitely will make it harder to sort through down the line.

But once you are ready to go, simply click the¬†+ button down the bottom left of the screen,¬†select Book or your respective choice in the pop up box, name it, choose the appropriate size and design, click create and you’re away.

You can find more information about the products at the following link or by simply ‘having a play’ with iPhoto.
http://www.apple.com/au/ilife/print-products.html

How confident are you in your back up strategy? Have you checked it lately?

We’re about to launch a free data backup assessment for our business customers so keep an eye out for it in your mailbox. Simply put, if you’re interested, we can assess your back up strategy and advise on any changes or solutions that are suitable.

Read more here.

Hats off to you Sir Jonathan Ives of Apple.

Apple’s¬†senior vice president of design, Jonathan Ives gets Knighthood.

Read more here.