July 2011 MSS Newsletter

Newsletter gets rebooted

MacAtoZ is again in the newsletter business.  It's been several years since our last newsletter, when a rush of new clients, a cumbersome production workflow, and other time constraints caused me to put regular newsletter production on hold. I'm using a new online system now called "MailChimp" which allows for substantially faster production than my previous efforts. (If you need to send bulk email to customers or clients, click on the MailChimp icon at the bottom of this email for more information.)

Initially, this email is being sent exclusively to MacAtoZ Service Suite (MSS) clients. You are welcome to forward it to anyone you like—I appreciate any client referrals—but any offers contained herein apply only to clients in the MSS program. The newsletter itself is free with MSS membership. 

The production schedule is roughly "whenever, but hopefully at least quarterly." Direct client assistance will always be the priority for MacAtoZ, so it's possible that newsletter publication may be delayed or irregular. Thanks for understanding. For more frequent updates and news, you are welcome to follow MacAtoZ on Twitter, the links to which appear on the company website and in several place in this email. 

Credit Cards Accepted

Effective immediately, all MSS members have the option of paying any MacAtoZ service invoice with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express. Whether you're paying for onsite service, remote support, or your annual MSS renewal, you may now pay with credit card, check, or cash. MacAtoZ will take credit card information over the phone or in person; we will not store this information beyond what is necessary for the transaction itself. (For example, if you're paying your annual MSS renewal, we'll need your card information again next year. We're not keeping it on file.) 

Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" Warnings and Notes

The latest, greatest update to Apple's Mac OS X operating system will be available soon. It always sounds crazy coming from a Mac-oriented, Apple-loving computer consultant, but please don't upgrade to 10.7 immediately unless you're prepared to have things not work. In particular, 10.7 breaks all PowerPC-based code that ran previously under 10.6 "Snow Leopard" (and earlier). That means that these programs will not run. Popular PowerPC software includes Quicken 2007 (and earlier), AppleWorks, Microsoft Office 2004, and more.

Additionally, 10.7 will have bugs and probably lots of them. If tradition holds, Apple will release a ".1" update—as in 10.7.1—within two weeks of Lion's release that squashes anything egregiously wrong with the new operating system. About six weeks after release, expect to see 10.7.2, the first update that will include public feedback. Several months after the 10.7 release, look for the 10.7.3 release—the one I'm recommending unless you're prepared to deal things not working. 

I think Lion will be a great operating system. That doesn't mean I think you should purchase, download, and install it on Day One. 

Tip o' the Day

You can find out which programs are PowerPC-based—meaning they won't work under Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion"—using System Profiler.

To launch System Profiler, go to Applications > Utilities > System Profiler. Then, in the Contents list, choose the Software > Applications heading, and click on the Kind column heading (to sort the programs by kind).

Everything that's Intel or Universal has a good chance of running. Any program with a kind of PowerPC or Classic has no chance whatsoever. Before you upgrade to Lion, make sure there's no PowerPC software you can't live without!