ApplePower Meeting – February 28, 2015

The next ApplePower meeting is scheduled for this coming Saturday, February 28, 2015, at our usual meeting place, Lehigh Valley Active Life, 1633 Elm St., Allentown, at 10 a.m. to noon. It’s at the corner of Elm and West Streets between S. 16th and S. 17th Streets. Parking is at the back off West Street. Scroll down for a map to Lehigh Valley Active Life.

Here's the proposed agenda. (Times are approximate.)

10 a.m. - Sign in and socialize plus a Q and A session. (Here's your chance to mingle with other Apple enthusiasts and to ask and/or answer questions about all things Apple.)

10:15 a.m. - Another great video starring Steve Jobs (Most of you loved the one we viewed last month; you may like this one even more.)

10:45 a.m. - A quick look comparing TurboTax to H&R Block's Tax program (Yes, that dreaded time, April 15, will soon be here. Let your favorite tax preparation software help lessen your pain.)

11:00 a,m. - Noon - "Your iPad/iPhone, Your Way" presentation. (Per member request, this is the first in a series of planned tutorials on how to use your iPad or iPhone.)

Noon: Raffle. (Valuable prizes; free raffle tickets to all in attendance. Your chances of winning are insanely better than your chances of winning the lottery.)

Meetings are free and open to all interested persons. Reservations are not required. Come visit. Bring a friend.

Apple in the driver's seat

Apple’s gonna go into the car business. True or false? According to the media, it’s true. Apple, they say, is secretly working on production of an electric car which it plans to launch in the year 2020.

But Apple is already actively involved in the auto industry with CarPlay. Never heard of CarPlay? Well, you’re not the only one. At various times recently, I tried to get info about CarPlay from three or four different so-called techies and their “superiors” at Apple, as well as “John” and “Jessica” in Apple’s Corporate Office, and several employes at Whitehall’s Apple Retail Store. None of them had ever heard of CarPlay either. Very strange, especially since Apple has an entire page on its website devoted to Apple CarPlay. Here’s the URL for the web page: http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/

Why do I care? Because I have Apple CarPlay. It’s installed in the new car that I purchased a few months ago. And I have some questions about how to use it, like, for example, how does CarPlay differ from my car’s navigation system and can I charge my iPhone from the USB port in my car and use CarPlay at the same time. So far, no one at Apple has been able to give me any answers. Hmmm.