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Re: Free Macintosh Software
On Jan 25, 2025, at 9:01?PM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
Anyone know if an envelope printing application that can reference your Contact cards?
Free, or fee?
There is:EnvelopeCat ?$(7)EasyEnvelopes ($10)Randy B. Singer
Thank you Randy for all the options.
Turns out I already had EasyEnvelopes but even uninstalling and reinstalling and setting all the security prefs it would not link to my Contacts.
Next, I?downloaded EnvelopeCat from the Apple Store. It installed like a breeze, works perfectly, and has lots of nice pref settings.
All the best, John?
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Re: Storage in a Mac mini M4 Pro
Yes this was kind of the point of my enquiry - if I get the 512GB Mac mini, how much free space does it have before installing any other apps?
I’m hoping someone has recently bought one, and can remember how much of the 512GB (or any other size) was taken up when the machine was first started up?
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On Jan 26, 2025, at 1:35?AM, Dave Kelly via groups.io <drkelly@...> wrote:
I’m planning to get a new Mac mini as soon as I can afford to. Have you considered… instead of paying apple’s high prices for SSD, get aa 512GB mini and then get a fast external SSD (or as many as you need)? Instead of paying $1200 for 4TB from Apple you can get a fast 4TB external for around $600 and save some money.
Dave On Jan 25, 2025, at 2:57 PM, Roger Moffat via < rogerkiwi@...> wrote:
I’m pondering replacing my aging, but still very reliable pretty much fully loaded ?2012 Mac Pro 5,1 (96GB RAM, 4TB SSD, RX580 video card, USB 3 card) with one of those new Mac mini M4 Pro computers. The Mac Pro
_
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Re: Storage in a Mac mini M4 Pro
I’m planning to get a new Mac mini as soon as I can afford to. Have you considered… instead of paying apple’s high prices for SSD, get aa 512GB mini and then get a fast external SSD (or as many as you need)? Instead of paying $1200 for 4TB from Apple you can get a fast 4TB external for around $600 and save some money.
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On Jan 25, 2025, at 2:57 PM, Roger Moffat via < rogerkiwi@...> wrote:
I’m pondering replacing my aging, but still very reliable pretty much fully loaded ?2012 Mac Pro 5,1 (96GB RAM, 4TB SSD, RX580 video card, USB 3 card) with one of those new Mac mini M4 Pro computers. The Mac Pro
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
On Jan 25, 2025, at 1:30 PM, John via groups.io <OceanCity@...> wrote:
Anyone know if an envelope printing application that can reference your Contact cards?
Free, or fee? There is: EnvelopeCat $(7) EasyEnvelopes ($10) However, you can print envelopes easily, directly from Apple's Contacts: Open the Contacts app on your Mac. Select one or more contacts or a list of contacts. Choose File --> Print. Click the Style pop-up menu and choose Envelopes. If you don't see the Style pop-up menu, click Show Details near the bottom-left corner. __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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Storage in a Mac mini M4 Pro
I’m pondering replacing my aging, but still very reliable pretty much fully loaded ?2012 Mac Pro 5,1 (96GB RAM, 4TB SSD, RX580 video card, USB 3 card) with one of those new Mac mini M4 Pro computers. The Mac Pro?
The base storage is 512 GB, with the following increments available
1TB +$200 2TB +$600 4TB +$1,200 8TB +$2,400
The 4TB in my Mac Pro is currently showing about 600GB free.
My Pictures folder is 2TB
My Documents folder is 500GB
So I’m wondering with say a base 512GB Mac mini, how much free space would there be as it comes from Apple - i.e. space for applications at least, even if the Pictures and Documents were offloaded to an external drive.
I certainly can’t spring for 4TB in the Mac mini, but could easily do the 1TB, and probably the 2TB.
I’m aware of the Raycue Dock
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for them, and have seen another one recently but now can’t find it so that would probably be a good option for fast connected external storage, or a Thunderbolt 5 drive from OWC.
As you can tell when I spend this much on a computer I keep it a while, so I am prepared to pay for some degree of future proofing by getting more RAM than I perhaps need (it tops out at 64GB and I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting that) but the storage prices from Apple are certainly up there!
Thanks
Roger
Re: Free Macintosh Software
On Jan 25, 2025, at 3:18?PM, Susan Tropeano via groups.io <stropeano@...> wrote: Thanks! I figured you might have some favorites. I'll look through these. Indeed. An awesome assortment of top-tier apps. Kudos and a million thanks to Randy for his many contributions. I looked at the envelope printing applications, but neither appears to draw from Contacts. Anyone know if an envelope printing application that can reference your Contact cards? Free, or fee? Cheers, John
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Re: Messages, Do Not Disturb, Don't Sync or Syncing Slowly Between iPhone and Mac Laptop
On Jan 25, 2025, at 12:03 PM, Rocky Offner < rocky@...> wrote:
On my iPhone, I have "Text Message Forwarding" set to send to my laptop.
Thanks for the suggestion. The Settings have gotten so bloated that it is hard to know about, let alone to find many of them. I just turned it on.?
Brent ?On my Mac mini running 10.15.7
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
Thanks! I figured you might have some favorites. I'll look through these.
> On Jan 24, 2025, at 12:32 PM, Susan Tropeano via <stropeano=[email protected]> wrote:
>
> There is SOOOO much here! It's good to see some of the old free products that are still around. I'm wondering are there any that are your favorites?
It’s funny that you should ask that, because I was considering putting a symbol next to the apps that I thought were especially good/valuable/popular.
But the more that I thought about it, the more that I realized that I would be putting such a symbol on well over half the apps on the list, making the symbol mostly meaningless.
Apps that I personally love (which doesn’t mean that anyone would else would have the same list):
BGBlitz
Brave
ClipGrab
Clipy
Coconut Battery (but only for my laptops)
Cyberduck
Desktop Icon Manager
DetectX
EasyFind
Encrypto
EnvelopeMagic
FreeOffice (but only for my laptops and support staff)
Mactracker
Maintenance
SeaMonkey (but only for the Composer feature.)
SuperDuper!
Symphytum
VirusBarrier Free Edition
WordService
When I purchase a new Macintosh, I will install all of the above on the new Mac ASAP.
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Re: Messages, Do Not Disturb, Don't Sync or Syncing Slowly Between iPhone and Mac Laptop
Brent,
?
macOS 15.2 (Sequoia)
iOS 18.2.1
?
All my messages sync, regardless of whether the came from an iPhone or Android.
?
On my iPhone, I have "Text Message Forwarding" set to send to my laptop.
?
Rocky
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
On Jan 24, 2025, at 12:32 PM, Susan Tropeano via groups.io <stropeano@...> wrote:
There is SOOOO much here! It's good to see some of the old free products that are still around. I'm wondering are there any that are your favorites? It’s funny that you should ask that, because I was considering putting a symbol next to the apps that I thought were especially good/valuable/popular. But the more that I thought about it, the more that I realized that I would be putting such a symbol on well over half the apps on the list, making the symbol mostly meaningless. Apps that I personally love (which doesn’t mean that anyone would else would have the same list): BGBlitz Brave ClipGrab Clipy Coconut Battery (but only for my laptops) Cyberduck Desktop Icon Manager DetectX EasyFind Encrypto EnvelopeMagic FreeOffice (but only for my laptops and support staff) Mactracker Maintenance SeaMonkey (but only for the Composer feature.) SuperDuper! Symphytum VirusBarrier Free Edition WordService When I purchase a new Macintosh, I will install all of the above on the new Mac ASAP. __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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My wife's phone keeps saying it has a new name, and the new name is me.?
I have 'fixed' this a few times now by going into her phone and telling it to use "my Card" in her address book.?
and yet just now it updated to my name again.?
argh.?
?
I do log into the App Store on her phone with my apple account but nothing else. (this was the set up to use before family sharing existed)?
?
any ideas why it keeps doing this??
?
Jeff
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
Randy,? There is SOOOO much here! It's good to see some of the old free products that are still around. I'm wondering are there any that are your favorites?
Thanks again for sharing. Susan
Hi everyone!? I'm excited to announce that my most popular Web site:
FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE?
at:
has been extensively updated, and there are now 210 pieces of free software listed!!? It is an embarrassment of riches!? (Or lack of riches, depending on how you look at it!)
Among the updated listings are several exciting new programs which utilize artificial intelligence, business collaboration programs, an app that will allow you to run iOS apps on your Macintosh, an app to teach you keyboard shortcuts, an app that's always available to allow you to take notes, an app that will instantly transcribe dictation, etc.
If you haven't gone through all of the listings recently, it's worth looking through them again.? There are sure to be free apps that you will find that will prove to be invaluable, for newbies and graybeards alike.
Please spread the word about the Web site to others!
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Re: New contacts not showing up on iPhone
I have two theories on why, but have no way to test them.
The first is that I had some maybe not corrupted, but old or bad entries. In bring my entires along from early iCal and Contacts. I seem to remember it being called Address Book, long ago. And at one point Contact created duplicates, but changed the order of the phone numbers. Why this would affect Calendar, other than they tightly integrated to each other, is bryond me.
The other theory is that it is related to my cellular signal at home. I am in an area that generally has a strong signal on all three national networks in the US. I don’t know if there are any regional networks, anymore. BUT, my home is in enough of a depression that jn a 2 block radius of my home, we get 1 bar, plus or minus 1.
There is one problem with theory two. The non-syncing has gone on for a long time and in that time I have entered the strong signal area. In fact, the last missing Calendar entry was made while standing in the doctor’s office.
I’m wondering if there is something to trigger a “sync now, and verify a match”, for Calendar and Contacts.
Brent
On my iPhone Xr
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On Jan 24, 2025, at 04:36, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
?Strange. My Calendar entries sync instantly. I wonder what might cause a delay.
Otto
iPhone 14 Pro Max 18.2.1
MB Pro 2012 10.15.7
On 22 Jan 2025, at 20:08, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Sometimes It takes time, but in my case, the Calendar entry of an important doctor’s appointment didn’t sync after several days.
Brent
On my iPhone Xr
On Jan 21, 2025, at 17:18, Dutch Junge via groups.io <dutch@...> wrote: ?It finally synced. I guess I just didn’t wait long enough.
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Re: Messages, Do Not Disturb, Don't Sync or Syncing Slowly Between iPhone and Mac Laptop
I wonder if many of their current problems are related to their AI endeavors. I just read yesterday that it has proven to be a catastrophe, only being able? to properly identify, if I recall correctly, about 1/3 of the past super bowl winners. They must be devoting a lot of energy to get it performing as everybody expects.? They are obviously struggling. Sales are down, in China alone 18.2%. Stock down something like 14% last 30 days. ?Tim’s decision to involve the company in politics certainly won’t help.
By keeping most of the production outside of the US, he is now left the company open to what amounts to “extortion”. Difficult times to be a multinational.?
I had planned to update my equipment, but somewhat hesitant with everything that’s happening.
Bob?
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On Jan 24, 2025, at 7:30 AM, Rocky Offner via < rocky@...> wrote:
I've seen this discussion related to Contacts, which may be the same thing, but it seems that syncing via iCloud of my Mac laptops and my iPhone are much slower than in the past. If I receive messages on my iPhone, and open my laptop, the messages are not there, and may not be for a long while. If I open Messages > Settings > iMessage and click "Sync Now," it syncs later. Maybe they should change the button to "Sync Sometime In The Future."?
?
The same is true for Do Not Disturb mode. In the morning, my iPhone is on Do Not Disturb. When I open my laptop, it is not. If I turn my laptop's Do Not Disturb on, and then off, it will then turn off my iPhone's Do Not Disturb, but both used to be in sync almost instantly, but have not for many months now.
?
My laptop is left closed overnight, plugged in, and then taken off the plug and opened in the morning, if that makes any difference.
?
New OS bugs? Anything to be done to fix this?
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Re: Messages, Do Not Disturb, Don't Sync or Syncing Slowly Between iPhone and Mac Laptop
Rocky, what OSes are your devices running?
I don’t think there is a specific setting to sync those apps and/or to constantly sync constantly. I believe you have to specifically set up each device separately with matching ?settings.?
In my case, my iPhone is set with DND on a schedule, but my Mac is not, because at those times it is asleep and alerts and notifications won’t wake it. Also, the Messages that are sent over cellular never reach my Mac. So those from a non-iPhone or mixed group don’t come thru to the Mac.?
Whereas Calendar and Contacts can be set up to sync.?
There is the added hurtle for iMessages that some use cellular, and others internet and WiFi. ?
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On Jan 24, 2025, at 06:30, Rocky Offner <rocky@...> wrote:
? I've seen this discussion related to Contacts, which may be the same thing, but it seems that syncing via iCloud of my Mac laptops and my iPhone are much slower than in the past. If I receive messages on my iPhone, and open my laptop, the messages are not there, and may not be for a long while. If I open Messages > Settings > iMessage and click "Sync Now," it syncs later. Maybe they should change the button to "Sync Sometime In The Future."?
?
The same is true for Do Not Disturb mode. In the morning, my iPhone is on Do Not Disturb. When I open my laptop, it is not. If I turn my laptop's Do Not Disturb on, and then off, it will then turn off my iPhone's Do Not Disturb, but both used to be in sync almost instantly, but have not for many months now.
?
My laptop is left closed overnight, plugged in, and then taken off the plug and opened in the morning, if that makes any difference.
?
New OS bugs? Anything to be done to fix this?
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Messages, Do Not Disturb, Don't Sync or Syncing Slowly Between iPhone and Mac Laptop
I've seen this discussion related to Contacts, which may be the same thing, but it seems that syncing via iCloud of my Mac laptops and my iPhone are much slower than in the past. If I receive messages on my iPhone, and open my laptop, the messages are not there, and may not be for a long while. If I open Messages > Settings > iMessage and click "Sync Now," it syncs later. Maybe they should change the button to "Sync Sometime In The Future."?
?
The same is true for Do Not Disturb mode. In the morning, my iPhone is on Do Not Disturb. When I open my laptop, it is not. If I turn my laptop's Do Not Disturb on, and then off, it will then turn off my iPhone's Do Not Disturb, but both used to be in sync almost instantly, but have not for many months now.
?
My laptop is left closed overnight, plugged in, and then taken off the plug and opened in the morning, if that makes any difference.
?
New OS bugs? Anything to be done to fix this?
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Re: New contacts not showing up on iPhone
Strange. My Calendar entries sync instantly. I wonder what might cause a delay.
Otto
iPhone 14 Pro Max 18.2.1
MB Pro 2012 10.15.7
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On 22 Jan 2025, at 20:08, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Sometimes It takes time, but in my case, the Calendar entry of an important doctor’s appointment didn’t sync after several days.
Brent
On my iPhone Xr
On Jan 21, 2025, at 17:18, Dutch Junge via groups.io <dutch@...> wrote:
?It finally synced. I guess I just didn’t wait long enough.
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Re: How to CANCEL Gemini?
I was able to open the PDF via DropBox, which presented one half a dozen possible ways, depending on how you initially signed up for Gemini, to cancel.
I have tried them all. I Normally keep meticulous records on this type of thing, but for some reason I can't find anything anywhere regarding my initial sign-up, so I don't know where or how to cancel it.
I've tried all of the various methods outlined within this thread, and more, to no avail.
Very frustrating, as Gemini is one of the included AI engines included in ChatPlayground.ai, along with many others, and so now I'm paying $20mo for Gemini plus $20/mo for ChatPlayground.ai, which BTW is Excellent.
Frustrated.
I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Thank you. Still need to hunt this down somehow.
Exasperated,
John
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
On Jan 22, 2025, at 5:39 PM, Michael Russo <pwrks@...> wrote:
There’s so much work represented here - hours and hours. Thank you for putting all this information and the links and reviews in one place and sharing it with the rest of us. What a blessing! Thank you so much! Nowadays most people, when they see my Web site, feel entitled to it. They don’t give a thought to the fact that I put a lot of work and time into creating it. In fact, rather than thinking to say “thanks”, often folks do the opposite and contact me and want to sh_t on what I’ve done, or they want MORE than what is offered. So I’m really appreciative of those of you who have had the class and manners to say thanks. I’m happy that I can provide something that some folks really enjoy. By the way, the amazing products from 4LightData have been discontinued. The developer’s development platform (4D) has been discontinued. I will de-list them when I get a chance. __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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Re: Free Macintosh Software
Randy,
There’s so much work represented here - hours and hours. Thank you for putting all this information and the links and reviews in one place and sharing it with the rest of us. What a blessing!
Michael Russo
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On Jan 22, 2025, at 7:35 PM, Susan Tropeano via groups.io <stropeano@...> wrote:
Thanks Randy! I forgot all about this great resource. I’ll be checking out the updates!
On Jan 22, 2025, at 8:53?AM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
?Hi everyone! I'm excited to announce that my most popular Web site:
FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
at:
has been extensively updated, and there are now 210 pieces of free software listed!! It is an embarrassment of riches! (Or lack of riches, depending on how you look at it!)
Among the updated listings are several exciting new programs which utilize artificial intelligence, business collaboration programs, an app that will allow you to run iOS apps on your Macintosh, an app to teach you keyboard shortcuts, an app that's always available to allow you to take notes, an app that will instantly transcribe dictation, etc.
If you haven't gone through all of the listings recently, it's worth looking through them again. There are sure to be free apps that you will find that will prove to be invaluable, for newbies and graybeards alike.
Please spread the word about the Web site to others!
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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John
Dave Kelly
Brent
Rocky Offner
Jeff Kidman