A few years ago I experienced problems with Mac Archiver under Mountain Lion and posted a fix related to permissions. Today Archiver again would not function and just hung when called. The following fixed the problem and is much faster. Start Activity Monitor from the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. Sort the list alphabetically by process by clicking on the process name column heading. Find the process “appleeventsd” and click the "force process to quit" button in the upper left of the Activity Monitor window. The process will return the next time you uncomress a file.
High Profile Cyber Attacks Open Door to More Surveillance
Recent cyber attacks against private companies such as Sony, Target and Home Depot have legislators proposing new cyber security legislation that would open the door to more government surveillance and less individual privacy while doing little to address cyber threats.
Congress Should Say No to “Cybersecurity” Information Sharing Bills
YouTube to Launch Music Subscription Service
Google’s YouTube division plans to launch a test of its long-awaited music subscription service next week, the company said Wednesday.
Called YouTube Music Key, the service will be available on personal computers as well as smartphones running Google’s Android operating system to start. Beginning Monday, users will be able to listen to music without ads on the YouTube site. On smartphones, they will be able to play music in the background while they browse in other mobile apps, and store music for offline playback.
The service will be available free for the first six months, but by invitation only. It will then be offered for a promotional lifetime price of $7.99 a month, and thereafter, $9.99 a month. Subscribers to YouTube Music Key will also get a free subscription to Google Play Music All Access, a separate subscription music service offered by Google. A version of the Music Key app for iPhones is currently under review in Apple’s App store, a Google spokesman said. Read more @ Wall Street Journal
Amazon Prime Photos – Unlimited Photo Storage Free with Prime
Amazon has added free “unlimitted” cloud storage of photos called Prime Photos as another benefit of it’s Amazon Prime subscription. The $99 a year subscription now includes free two day shipping, Prime Instant Video: unlimited streaming of movies and TV episodes, and expected by the end of the year, free 4K video streaming.
The terms of Amazon Photo limiot a single image to 2GB and a video to 20 minutes. A wide range of formats are supported. According to the Amazon website:
Supported File Types
For photos:
.bmp
.gif
.jpeg
.jpg
.png
.raw
.tif
.tiff
For videos:
.mp4 (including mov, 3gp, m4v)
.avi (including divx)
.mts (mpeg transport stream)
.mpg (mpeg program stream)
.asf/.wmv
.flv
.ogg
Note:
Supported RAW photo formats include: Adobe (dng), Canon (cr2, crw), Epson (erf), Fuji (raf), Kodak (dcr), Minolta (mrw), Nikon (nef, nrw), Panasonic (rw2), Pentax (pef), Sigma (x3f), and Sony (srf). Other RAW formats may be supported, but we cannot guarantee them fully.(emphasis added)
Supported video codecs include: h.264, mjpeg, mpeg4, mpeg2, mpeg1, h.263, Sorenson. Supported audio codecs include: aac, mpeg1/2, amr, wma, qcelp, pcm.
Photos or video file types that do not meet the above requirements can be found in Cloud Drive Files, but not viewed in Cloud Drive Photos & Videos. Unsupported photo file types are not covered under the Prime unlimited storage benefit and will count against your Cloud Drive storage limit.
Left unclear is wether RAW formats, generally used by advancewd amatures and pro photographers will count against the regular Cloud Drive Storage limit. (Lets test it). Assuming “may be supported” means RAW images are included makes this a valuable benefit to Amazon Prime members. OSX users will be limitted to using the web sintyrface to upload images until Amazon completes work on a Mac client.
Starbucks Brings Back Eggnog Latte – Responds to Customer Uprising
Readers of this website have spoken and Starbucks, in an abrupt reversal will bring back the Eggnog Latte. “We made a mistake,” said a Starbucks spokeperson, “We are very sorry.”
Amazon Lays an EGG – Drops Eggnog Latte for Most of US
Don’t expect to find Eggnog Lattes at Starbucks locations throughout most of the US this holiday season. Starbucks, in an unpublicized decision, has cut off most of the country from the beloved Eggnog Latte. Cliff Burrows, Starbucks president, has said “At Starbucks, we strive to create a culture that values and respect diversity and inclusion”. Where is the respect and inclusion for the Eggnog Latte? Let your voice be heard and demand Starbucks bring back the Eggnog Latte. Use the form at http://customerservice.starbucks.com/app/contact/ask_retail_stores/
| Eggnog Latte? | |
|---|---|
| WA, OR, AK, Northern ID, parts of Canada | Yes |
| Rest of the country | No |
When you visit a Starbucks, ask for an Eggnog Latte and let the manager of the store know that Starbucks is wrong and you want the Eggnog Latte back. Today they are attacking the Eggnog Latte, tomorrow they may send the Green Tea Frappuccino® (double blended with whip) to its death.
How to Stop Apple From Snooping on Your OS X Yosemite Searches
BY ANDY GREENBERG 10.20.14 WIRED
Apples new verson of OS/X called Yosemite captues Spotlight search terms sending them to Apple and then passing them on to Microsoft. Learn how to turn of this “feature”. Read more ….
Harry Shearer in Nixon’s The One
Nixon’s the One is a new YouTube series performed verbatim from the Nixon Whitehouse tapes. Starring Harry Shearer.
Costco Tire Center – Breaking News
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The Costco Tire Center has always been a great membership benefit but it has not been without problems. While tire installation is generally fast, 20- 30 minurtes, waiting for them to get to your car can take hours. As great a deal as the $1.50 hotdog and drink at the Costco Food court is, you can’t stretch that out for 2 hours. The anouncement of appointments and extended hours Starting October 27, 2014 in Azuza (check your local warehouse) makes the Costco Tire Service close to perfect.
The Costco Tire Advantage already boasted incredible free benefits:
- Lifetime Maintenance Services that extend throughout the life of the tires you purchase. (some limits may apply)
- Lifetime inflation preasure checks.
- Inflation using nitrogen – superior to air (for tires).
- Tire balancing and rotation.
- Flat repairs (some limits apply).
- Road hazard warranty (many limits apply).