Your next phone update could delete some apps by Kim Komando

Apple is working on a way to make sure that users who want to upgrade their iPhones will have enough space on their gadgets to install the latest operating system. With the update of iOS 8 came a ton a complaints that the file couldn't be installed due to its size. Well not this time around! Apple developers created a program that can temporarily delete some of your biggest apps and immediately reinstall them as soon as the update is done. This sounds like a great idea, but what if it doesn't work? You could be without your favorite apps and the data that was stored within them. Even though iOS 9 is just a quarter of the size of the iOS 8 update, users could...

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Low Power mode in iOS 9 saves battery life by slowing performance by Susie Ochs

Technology is a story of compromises and tradeoffs. We want devices with big, pixel-dense screens. We want snappy performance and lots of RAM. But we don’t want to have to keep one nervous eye on the battery-life indicator, or have to top off just to make it through the day. iOS 9 includes a battery-saving Low Power mode, a first for Apple. This will let you flip one switch to eke out maximum power savings. iOS will shut down background activity and reduce performance to get you as much as three extra hours before the battery finally goes kaput. On Friday, MacRumors used Geekbench 3 to quantify just how big of a performance hit you can expect. Benchmarking app Geekbench 3 ($1)...

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Google finally makes Undo Send an official Gmail feature by Ian Paul

Add this one to the annals of “What took you so long Google?” Gmail’s greatest feature just graduated from the service’s experimental labs to become a regular part of Gmail: Undo Send. With this feature enabled, you have a pre-determined number of seconds to recall the email you just sent. If you’ve never used this feature, I can’t stress enough how helpful it is. We’ve all sent emails we didn’t mean to or had second thoughts about the wording. Prior to Undo Send, we just had to suck it up and live with our mistakes. Not a great situation to be in when email is such a critical communication tool—even in this era of HipChat and Slack. Overnight success, six years ago Undo Send...

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Got a bad 3TB hard drive in your iMac? Apple will replace it by Roman Loyola

If you bought an iMac with a 3TB hard drive between December 2012 and September 2013 and you’re having problems with that drive, Apple will replace it for free. The iMac (27-inch) 3TB Hard Drive Replacement Program replaces 3TB hard drives that, according to Apple, “fall under certain conditions.” The service will be performed at your local apple Store or at a nearby Apple Authorized Service Provider. ADVERTISING According to the Replacement Program website, Apple has contacted iMac owners who registered their iMac with a valid email address. If you did not register, you can check if your iMac is eligible by entering the serial number on the Replacement Program website. The...

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The Trick to Better Proofreading by David Pogue

As anyone who writes or publishes can tell you, attaining a perfect proofread—ferreting out every typo, missing word, and so on—is staggeringly difficult. You can read over something six times, swear it’s perfect—and then show it to someone else who spots a typo instantly. Somehow, your brain gets lulled into blindness. (When I write computer books, each book is read by four pairs of eyes: Mine, a technical editor’s, a copy editor’s, and a proofreader’s—and readers still find typos after publication. Grrrr!!) If you don’t have the luxury of four beta readers—or even if you do—here’s a miraculous trick that will make “blind spot” typos pop out: Change the fon...

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One Facebook trick to prevent embarrassment by Kim Komando

How long have been using Facebook? One year? Five years? 10 years? Even if it's only been a few months, you might have some embarrassing information lurking in your history that you don't even remember posting. Do you want your new squeeze, a co-worker, family member or even a potential employer stumbling on it? Fortunately, Facebook has an easy way to review your history and remove posts that really shouldn't be in there. It's called the Activity Log. The Activity Log To get started, sign in to your Facebook account. Then click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Activity Log. You can also click your name in the top bar to go to your Facebook page and...

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How Much RAM Does Your PC Need? Probably Less Than You Think by Michael Crider

Random Access Memory, usually shortened to “RAM” or simply “memory,” is one of the most important parts of any computer. But how much do you need? Current new PCs and similar devices range from around the two gigabyte mark to 16GB or more. How much memory you really require will depend on two factors — how much you want to do, and how much you’re willing to spend. This article will focus on computers running a desktop operating systems like Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or Chrome OS. An introduction to RAM Memory capacity is often confused with the long-term storage offered by a solid state or mechanical hard drive. Sometimes even manufacturers or retailers will mix up these terms....

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Every New Movie and TV Show You’ll be Able to Stream on Netflix in July by Jacob Siegal

In just over a week, we’ll be halfway through 2015. It’s a terrifying thought, but thankfully Netflix is dumping a wide selection of movies and shows on its service to distract us from the unstoppable march of time. Some of the highlights this month include Changeling, Grandma’s Boy and Creep. As always, there are also a few Netflix originals to look out for, including Knights of Sidonia and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. READ MORE: What Netflix Subscribers Want More Than Anything Here is the complete list of additions to Netflix in July: July 1st Alive (1993) An Honest Liar (2014) Bad Hair Day (2015) Bionicle: The Legend Reborn (2009) Bulworth (1998) Dave...

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More Photos Q&A: Imports hanging, what is safe to delete, and sharing to Facebook by Glenn Fleishman Glenn Fleishman

At WWDC last week, Apple said that Photos will be updated in OS X 10.11 El Capitan with new features. Until then (and unless you upgrade), we’re still using the sometimes manky version in Yosemite, which I’m still holding out hope Apple releases additional fixes for, rather than defer everything to El Capitan. This week, more answers to what you can’t do, what you can, and what’s not working: deleting old files, getting an import to finish, copying and paste, and sharing to Facebook. What can I delete? It’s clear that Photos’ approach of using hard linking is confusing because people continue to ask questions about what they can delete. Steve Kramer’s is a good example. “Besides...

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Microsoft OneNote's new to-do list feature debuts on iOS first by Blair Hanley Frank

Microsoft has rolled out a new OneNote feature to the iPhone first before any other platform, showing off the company’s interest in promoting cross-platform use of its note-taking system. OneNote users with Apple’s smartphones will now be able to convert notes with checklists in them into a special list mode that will organize items based on whether they’re checked off or not. A note formatted as a list also includes an “add item” button at the top that will create a new blank to-do. The feature is designed to make it easier for people to quickly interact with their checklists on touch devices without having to deftly pick out a single checkbox in a long column of little boxes....

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The 3 worst companies at protecting your data by Kim Komando

The EFF judged companies based on 5 basic criteria: Follows Industry Accepted Best Practices, Tells Users About Government Data Demands, Discloses Policies on Data Retention, Discloses Government Content Removal Requests, and Pro-user Public Policy: opposes backdoors. The EFF took a look at 24 companies in total, and three stood out as the worst at protecting your data. Who are the culprits? That would be AT&T, Verizon and WhatsApp. AT&T and WhatsApp only met one of the EFF's criteria, and Verizon met two. The report wasn't all bad news, though. Nine companies received five-star ratings from EFF. Adobe, Apple, CREDO, Dropbox, Sonic, Wickr, Wikimedia, WordPress.com and...

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Apple Music FAQ: The ins and outs of Apple's new streaming music service by Leah Yamshon

Apple singlehandedly turned the digital music marketplace on its head when it launched the iTunes Store in 2003, and now it’s going after the current hottest trend: Streaming media. Apple introduced this new service, Apple Music, during its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference, bringing out the company’s big guns (record exec and Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software Eddy Cue, and hip hop star Drake) to show the world how Apple Music plans to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio, and Tidal. So, will this replace iTunes? Can you listen to music offline? What about existing Beats subscriptions? We’ve got the answers to those questions...

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One thing every iPhone user must do in case of emergency by Kim Komando

Keeping your iPhone safe seems like a given. I've told you about the hundreds of apps and sites you can use to protect your electronic gear. But what steps do you take to keep yourself safe in an emergency? In case of an accident or health emergency, would bystanders or first responders be able to use your phone to contact your family? Probably not if the screen is securely locked! But I have an easy solution to help keep you safer if the worst happens. I hope you'll invest just a few minutes now that could pay off big time in an emergency. Today, we are covering how to create an In Case of Emergency, or ICE, message for your iPhone's locked home screen. And here's a bonus: In addition...

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10 ways to get the most bang for your buck with an Android device by Jack Wallen

Maybe you just purchased your first Android device--or perhaps you've had it for a while but you suspect you aren't getting the most out of it. Either way, you're in luck: There is so much available in the way of tweaks, apps, options, and configurations that can make your device more powerful and useful. Here are 10 of my favorite tips to help you get the maximum benefit from the Android platform. 1: Use Google If there's one thing you should know about Android, it's that it's tightly integrated with Google. If you don't take advantage of that integration, you'll be missing out. I'm not just talking about Google Drive, Calendar, Mail, Photos, etc. I also mean search. Google Now ...

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