Life has changed there is no doubt and we wanted to reach out to see how you are doing.
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Computer Security
If my client base is any experience, anyone can be a victim of a Ransomware, Malware or Virus attack.
What can you do about it?
I conduct audits of your entire computer infrastructure and apply best practice solutions to plug the security holes on your computers, Smartphones and networks.
Now offering consultations to give you the best protection possible:
2:26 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 still find themselves without enough room to install it.
This issue was the main reason developers included this program in the
beta, or test version, that is currently available for a select group of
Apple owners.
Don't worry, the program won't delete anything if you don't want it
to. The phone will prompt you with an option to temporarily delete the
apps before the update or cancel the update all together. You will still
be in control of what goes and what stays on your phone.
I love this idea and I can't wait to see if it becomes an official
part of iOS 9 when it's released to the public later this year. But do
you think it's a smart addition to the operating system or do you think
that Apple should keep their paws off your apps permanently?
1:46 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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) was just updated to work with iOS 9, and MacRumors used it with an iPhone 6 Plus running the latest beta.
In its regular state, the iPhone 6 Plus scored 1606 on the single-core
processor test, and 2891 on the multicore test. With Low Power mode on,
those numbers took about a 40 percent hit, to 1019 and 1751,
respectively.
The story behind the story: Those Geekbench scores
indicate that the iPhone 6 Plus would act more like the iPhone 5s,
speedwise, but what’s really cool about Low Power mode is that you can
still use your phone.
Battery life, battery strife
Up until now, a common way to save battery life is to pop open Control
Center and turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, shutting down those radios
completely, and crank down the screen brightness as low as you can
stand. To get even more, you could head to Settings > Cellular Data,
and turn off LTE. Or you could go nuclear and put your iPhone in
Airplane Mode, but at that point your phone is just a fancy iPod touch.
Low Power mode seems to leave all of that on. According to MacRumors,
enabling Low Power decreases your iPhone’s CPU speed, stops fetching new
mail messages and refreshing apps in the background, and disables
motion effects and animated wallpapers. That should leave your phone a
lot more useful than it would have been if you’d disabled features
yourself—and of course, users never had access to tweak the CPU speed
themselves.
I wouldn’t mind Apple expanding Low Power with a sheet of additional
preferences that users could select, and a graph showing how each one
might affect the bottom line. For example, some users might not mind if
Low Power mode did kill Bluetooth—but anyone wearing an Apple Watch
would understandably balk at that. I’d love to be able to pick and
choose the features that matter to me, and still toggle the whole
shebang on and off with one tap.
1:43 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 began as an experimental feature in 2009 when it offered only a
five second retrieval period. It was a hit almost immediately and has
been a mainstay of many Gmail accounts since it was first introduced.
Undo Send in action.
Although handy, Undo Send does have limits beyond the recall grace period. Once you click Send
on an email, an undo option appears at the top of your inbox or
whatever page you’re on in Gmail such as sent mail. Once you leave that
page, the Undo Send option immediately disappears regardless of the
grace period setting. In other words, when you want to use this option
don’t click anything until you’ve hit that Undo link.
The impact on you at home: If you’re already an Undo
Send user then your current settings won’t be affected. Everything will
work as it should. Anyone who’s new to the feature will find it under Settings > General. Undo Send allows you to recall an email either 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds after you’ve hit Send. I’d recommend the maximum to be extra cautious, but if you like to live on the wild side, 5 or 10 seconds will work just fine.
1:39 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 3TB hard drive was a custom option for the 27-inch iMac. It was not
part of the standard configuration. These iMacs were among the first to
feature the new thin design.
1:36 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 font.
10:45 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 then click the "View Activity Log" button on the right side of
the cover photo area.
The Activity Log might seem a little overwhelming at
first with thousands of entries to scroll through, but Facebook has a
few tools to make things easier.
In the left-hand column, you'll see a huge list of
filters. These show you just the posts in your Timeline about those
topics. For example, if you only want to look at things you've posted in
the past, select "Your Posts." You can also just look at "Photos,"
things you've "Liked" and "Comments" you've made on posts, photos and
videos.
One thing you probably didn't know Facebook tracks is
your search history. Everything and everybody who you've searched for
on Facebook is visible to anyone who gets access to your account.
To see your search history, look in the left column
of the Activity Log and click "More" under "Photos, Likes and Comments."
Then click "Search" near the bottom of the list. You can delete
individual entries by clicking the "circle with a slash" icon and
selecting "Delete." You can also click "Clear Searches" at the top to
wipe everything at once. I have a full walkthrough of the process on my site.
Of course, there's no way to stop Facebook from
recording your search history. You'll need to keep coming back to delete
your history if you don't want it recorded, or just stop searching on
Facebook.
At the very bottom, you can also see what apps you've
installed and what posts they've made on your Timeline. At the top of
the log, you can also change the settings on who can see the posts that
the apps make.
But that's not everything you need to do.
Limit Past Posts
Even if you're OK with your Facebook friends seeing
some embarrassing posts, you might have posted something in the distant
past that you wouldn't want strangers to see. Unfortunately, your
privacy settings back then might not have been set correctly. Make sure your privacy settings are set correctly now before you keep reading.
Changing every past post manually from "Everyone" to
"Friends" could take days. Fortunately, Facebook has a quicker option.
At the top of the page, click the upside-down triangle and select
Settings.
Then click the "Privacy" link in the left-hand
column. Under "Who can see my stuff?" click the "Limit Past Posts" link.
Next, click the "Limit Old Posts" button to change the privacy setting
of every post in your profile to "Friends."
Note that if you have posts that you want everyone to
see, this will change those as well. You'll need to go change those
posts back to "Everyone" manually.
Next, go to your Facebook page and to the upper
right, click the three dots next to the "View Activity Log" button and
select "View as..." This lets you see your Facebook page the way a
stranger would, or any Facebook user you select. That way, you can
quickly spot problem posts and change their privacy settings or remove
them.
10:26 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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. A
desk is a useful analogy to consider the difference between memory and
storage. Think of RAM as the top of the desk. The bigger it is, the more
papers you can spread out and read at once. Hard drives are more like
the drawers underneath the desk, capable of storing papers you’re not
using.
The
more RAM your system has, the more programs it can handle
simultaneously. RAM isn’t the only determining factor, and you can
technically open dozens of programs at once even with a very small
amount of RAM, but doing so will slow your system down. Think of the
desk again. If you have far too many papers on it, it becomes cluttered,
and your work will slow as you try to find whatever paper you need at a
particular moment. You’ll be forced to frequently dig into the drawers
to store what won’t fit on top of the desk and retrieve papers you need.
A computer with more RAM might feel like
it’s performing faster, especially when you use many programs at once,
but more memory doesn’t actually increase its processing speed. Only a
faster CPU can do that. More RAM won’t increase the amount of files or
programs your computer can hold, either. That’s what the desk drawers —
the hard drive or solid state drive – are for.
Standard RAM shouldn’t be confused with video memory, a statistic associated with computer video cards.
High-end 3D games rely on video RAM, usually expressed as “GDDR3” or
similar, whereas standard memory will simply be referred to as memory,
RAM or DDR3/4.
RAM-heavy applications
The biggest RAM-hogs on most
home computers are the operating system itself and the web browser.
There’s not much you can do to make Windows or OS X use less memory, but
more RAM in your computer means that you can have more browser tabs open in Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer,
et cetera. In addition, some websites will use more RAM than others. A
simple text news story is relatively light on memory, while something
like Gmail or Netflix uses quite a lot.
(Bill Roberson/Digital Trends)
Other
programs tend to use more RAM as they increase in complexity. A chat
program or a game like Minesweeper will use almost no RAM, while a
gigantic Excel spreadsheet or a huge Photoshop project might use more
than a gigabyte all by itself. Modern 3D games also use quite a lot of
RAM — often three or four gigabytes, and some use a bit more than that.
That
means your need for RAM is entirely dependent on the programs you use.
Let’s say you have two Windows computers, one with two gigabytes of RAM,
and one with sixteen, that are otherwise identical. If you have no
programs open they’ll operate similarily. Load a big Excel spreadsheet,
though, and only the latter will still seem responsive.
Choosing RAM for PC tablets
Most
Windows tablets will come with somewhere between two and four gigabytes
of RAM. This is enough for basic tasks only. A few browser tabs, some
email, and one video at a time is fine, but heavy multitasking will
quickly become frustrating on most tablets. Because basic PC tablets are
intended for these specific light-duty tasks, they’re usually fine
(though not exactly quick) with two to four gigabytes.
A
few more expensive Windows tablets (usually ones that use Core i3
processors or better) are more similar to laptops without the keyboard.
In these machines, try to get as much RAM as your budget will allow. For
example, Microsoft’s Surface Pro
series comes with up to 8GB. If you intend to use your tablet for
occasional work or intense web browsing sessions, it might be worth the
upgrade.
Choosing RAM for laptops
New
laptops start at two gigabytes of RAM (especially for budget machines
and Chromebooks) and go up to eight gigabytes, with some very expensive
models offering 12 or 16GB. Systems towards the bottom of this scale are
suited only to general web browsing, email, video, and perhaps some
casual gaming.
Four
gigabytes is about as low as you want to go in Windows or OS X. This is
an ideal combination of capability and price for most people. If you
intend to run dozens of browser tabs at once, or you plan to do more
intensive tasks like high-resolution photo editing, consider a bump up
to eight gigs.
An
upgrade from 4GB to 8GB usually costs about $100 from the manufacturer,
but can be more expensive if it’s paired with a faster processor or
bigger storage drive. 12GB or more is ideal for powerful laptops often
referred to as “desktop replacements,” and is usually only available in
the most expensive models.
Choosing RAM for desktops
Small
desktop PCs and inexpensive all-in-one models actually have more in
common with laptops than typical “tower” PCs, and might come with as
little as two gigabytes of memory. Again, four gigabytes is about as low
as you want to go for a traditional computer.
RAM
for desktops is less expensive than RAM for tablets or laptops, so it’s
often easier to find computers with more memory at lower prices. Eight
gigabytes is a comfortable middle ground for desktops. If you’re
planning on using it as your primary work machine, especially for
intense programs or dozens of browser tabs, Office documents, and
similar uses, consider upgrading to 12 or 16GB.
For
the tip top of the desktop world, the sky’s the limit. The most
expensive desktops can handle huge amounts of RAM, up to 64GB or more.
Most users won’t be able to effectively use more than 16GB even if they
try, but high-end programs like 3D modeling or 4K video editing may
benefit from these pricey upgrades.
Conclusion
In
summary, two gigabytes should be considered the bare minimum, and is
only suited for entry-level specialty tablets and laptops, like
Chromebooks. Four gigabytes is the comfortable minimum for a Windows or
OS X machine, and eight gigabytes provides room to grow. Anything beyond
that is only of interest to enthusiasts and power users.
HTHC Notes: I disagree with some of the points here. To run Windows 8.1 or Mac OS Yosemite, less than 8GB's of memory ensures a completely useless system. When pricing a computer, remember that upgrading a 4GB system (2x 2GB ram sticks) means discarding this memory and replacing it with 8GB's (2x 4GB's ram sticks). Price the memory online making sure the memory you are looking at will work in your system. If it is an Apple computer, ensure that the memory is Apple compatible.
Tablets with less than 16GB's of storage will become full before you know it. Look for tablets that allow you to add more storage by inserting a micro SDD. Cheaper tablets and iPads do not have this feature. Most Android tablets have this ability.
I have the same advice for Smartphones. The entry level Smartphone with just 8GB's will fill rapidly. Smartphones with the ability to add a micro SDD are preferred. iPhones do not have this feature. Samsung Galaxy S5's do. The recently released Samsung Galaxy S does not.
Are advice on what type of computer, Smartphone or tablet to buy is free.
Need help upgrading your device with more memory?
This is something we are expert at. We can help determine the best upgrade for you, obtain the right memory to work with your device and install it without blowing up your device.
9:48 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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.
9:44 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 Photos Library, I also have
iPhoto Library and ‘My Pictures.’ Can I delete all but the new Photos
Library?”
Jason Snell explained this in depth
in April, but it’s not the easiest concept to leap to mind. Instead of
importing files from iPhoto when you upgrade a library to the same
volume, Photos makes a new link to the same file. In the Finder, it
looks just like another file. In order to delete the original file all links to it have to be deleted.
However, I myself am a little wary of throwing away my old iPhoto
directory in case I find there was an import problem later. I’d rather
have a little overlap—iPhoto has its own database format and
thumbnails—than accidentally lose pictures Photos glitched on bringing
in.
If the My Pictures file or folder isn’t a special iPhoto or Photos
library, it likely wasn’t imported, and you’ll need to follow our tips
on merging, also found in Jason’s column.
Can’t finish importing
I have a pile of emails from readers with import problems, even weeks in
and after the micro-update from Apple for Photos. Joe Dodd’s is
typical: “I can’t get my iPhoto library to finish moving to photos. It
freezes up the entire Mac at 11 to 15 percent completion. The Mac is
older, but now I don’t know what to do.”
iPhoto Library Manager isn’t
free, but for $30 it could make your life a lot easier if you’re having
problems importing or merging old libraries.
These sorts of problems are maddening because there’s not enough
information for you to know what to test or fix. I have a few strategies
you can try:
Run Disk Utility, pick the volume on which the library resides, and
click Repair Disk Permissions. This fixes a multitude of strange issues
with OS X software, where files mysteriously don’t have the right
read/write access, and yet the software doesn’t complain about it—it
just stalls or fails. (You might also try Verify Disk, and see if errors
show up. If so, you’ll need to recover that volume.)
Copy the iPhoto library to another disk drive, and try the import there to a Photos library you save on that same drive.
Get a copy of iPhoto Library Manager ($30), which can help rebuild or recover photos. You might wind up exporting a new iPhoto library and then try to import that.
Downsampling in copy
Ole Karstad liked to use copy and paste from iPhoto to other software.
However, in Photos he only gets a small image this way. He wonders if
there’s a workaround.
Unfortunately, this appears to be the new default and unchangeable
behavior in Photos. If you select a photo and the Edit > Copy menu is
available (which is typically is), Photos automatically downsamples to
1024 pixels maximum in the longest dimension in my test.
To use a different resolution, you have to select the photo and choose
File > Export > Export 1 Photo. Choose Export Unmodified if you
want the original without any changes you might made through the editing
options in Photos; that corresponds to exporting Original in iPhoto.
Copy and paste in Photos downsamples your image to no more than 1024
pixels on the longest side. Use Export or drag to the Finder to get a
full-resolution copy out of the app.
You can also drag the image or a set of images to the Finder, which
keeps the full resolution, and converts everything but GIF, JPEG, and
PNG files (such as RAW camera files) to a JPEG.
I do not Like this Facebook export
Lowell Nelson tried a number of ways to get Photos to play nicely with
his workflow for posting images into Facebook. But Apple seems to have
left out too much integration to make his life easy—the ability to
select images from within Photos from other apps or the Finder just
isn’t there yet. (It probably will be in El Capitan.)
Lowell tried the Add Photos/Video picker in Safari and Firefox from his
Facebook page. Nope. He tried dragging a photo from Photos into the
Facebook app’s page—but the browsers both interpret this as a link, not
an image.
While Photos has a built in Share > Facebook option at the upper
right, he notes, “This only works if you don’t want to tag anybody or
set the location of your post. When I try to set location I only get
suggestions of locations that are near the location of my Mac, not
access to all of Facebook locations, and no tags available.”
The Location choices in Facebook and other sharing options is based on
one’s current location, not the geotags embedded in a photo.
His workaround? He drags a photo to the desktop to make it a file he can
manipulate. (Exporting would work, too, with more steps but more
control about the image size.)
I still see iPhoto as an option in various apps, Apple’s and others,
and, as Lowell also found, Mail is one of the few programs updated to
let you use a Photos media browser as well as an iPhotos one.
9:34 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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. At any
time, notes that have been converted to the new checklist format can be
converted back without much fuss, and the notes will still be readable
by other versions of OneNote as long checklists.
The enhanced list feature hasn’t appeared on other platforms yet,
including on Microsoft’s own Windows Phone app for OneNote. The move is
another sign of Microsoft’s cross-platform shift with OneNote and
Office, and it’s particularly interesting because the iOS app has
traditionally played catch-up with features available on Windows.
Speaking of catch-up, OneNote users on the iPhone and iPad will
finally be able to read equations saved in notes. iPad users will also
be able to edit those equations, which will help teachers, students and
professionals who rely on complex equations. The iPad app was also
updated with support for lined and graph paper, something that hadn’t
yet made an appearance on iOS.
Finally, the iOS and Mac apps now feature a streamlined sign-up
process so first-time users without a Microsoft account only have to
provide an email address and password before they can jump into the app
and start editing notes.
It’s all part of Microsoft’s massive cross-platform push for its
notetaking service, which competes with other apps like Google Keep and
Evernote. Last year, Microsoft released a desktop version of OneNote for the Mac, and made the service free for anyone to use.
4:28 PMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 Yahoo each met all five pieces of the EFF's
data security criteria. You can see every single company's results in
the EFF's chart below, and you can access the full report here to read about how your favorite companies faired.
This chart from the EFF reports how well top tech companies are protecting your data fro government
intrusion. Reports like this are important, because they provide transparency
and let you know how your data is being handled, so you can make
informed decisions about which companies you want to use.
11:08 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 and more in this guide to everything Apple Music. We’re still
learning more—it doesn’t officially launch until June 30—so if you have
any additional questions, let us know in the comments below and we’ll
see what we can dig up.
Apple music’s For You section serves up artist and playlist
recommendations, based on other things you’ve listened to and your
profile preferences.
What the heck is this thing? Apple Music combines
subscription-based music streaming with global radio-like programming
and a social feature that connects artists to fans. It will come
pre-installed on all iOS and OS X devices—just like iTunes—but users
will be able to stream music instead of purchase music. It’s an
all-you-can-eat service for subscribers: Pay a flat fee, and you unlock
all of Apple Music’s extensive 30 million-song library.
Isn’t that the same as iTunes? Not at all. iTunes is all about media ownership, functioning as both a virtual record store and
an efficient digital library for music and other media (movies, TV
shows, etc) that you own personally. The software comes pre-installed on
all Apple devices, and is available as a free download for non-Apple
PCs and mobile devices. iTunes doesn’t require a subscription fee to use
it (unless you use iTunes Match—more on that in a moment), since every
song, album, movie, or show was purchased individually—either from the
iTunes Store, or imported or ripped from another source.
Apple Music is all about streaming. You pay a flat fee to unlock access
to Apple Music’s entire catalogue, but you don’t actually own the
music you listen to. The files don’t live individually on your devices;
you’re instead just listening to tracks stored remotely, that are owned
by Apple. If you subscribe to any other media streaming subscription
service—be it a music-only service like Spotify, Beats Music, Tidal, or
Rdio, a TV service like Hulu, or a movie/TV combo service like Netflix
or HBO Now—Apple Music will function exactly the same way.
So, iTunes is dead? Not exactly. You’ll be able to
access your entire iTunes library from within Apple Music, and iTunes
will still be a standalone app and media store if you’d prefer to
continue to buy music a la carte. However, if you’ve let purchasing
music fall by the wayside, you may never have to open iTunes again if
you sign up for an Apple Music subscription.
Beats 1 is Apple Music’s 24/7 live radio station, which will have a
curated collection of songs, artist interviews, and pop culture.
What makes Apple Music different from Spotify/Rdio/Tidal/every other music subscription service? Apple is putting a lot of emphasis on Apple Music’s three additional features: Beats 1, curated playlists, and Connect.
Beats 1 is its radio offering, which will feature an around-the-clock
worldwide live broadcast from DJs based in Los Angeles, New York, and
London. It promises to deliver a curated selection of songs, pop culture
news, and interviews with artists.
Speaking of curation, Apple Music will also offer up recommendations
tailored to your tastes, looking at artists you like and serving up
other artists and playlists for you to listen to. But instead of being
built by algorithms, they are built by real people, according to Apple.
You can find these in the “For You” section of the app.
Connect is Apple Music’s artist-based social networking feature, which
lets fans follow artists. Artists can share special content with fans
through Connect—hip-hop artist Drake took the stage at WWDC to show off
how he’d use Connect to post behind-the-scenes photos of his life, share
snippets of new songs, and other content. Besides Drake, Apple has
shown sneak peeks of Connect profiles for Pharrell Williams, FKA twigs,
Chris Cornell, Bastille, and Alabama Shakes. The Weeknd closed out the
Apple Music announcement during the WWDC keynote, and Trent Reznor
appeared in its promotional video, so it’s safe to see we’ll see Connect
profiles for those artists as well.
Besides that, Apple Music’s library has 30 million songs—the same number
as Spotify, but we’re not sure if it’s the exact same tracks. Oh, and
you can also watch music videos.
What about Beats Music? Will my Beats subscription disappear? Beats
Music isn’t going away just yet. Starting June 30, you’ll see a prompt
in Beats Music on your iOS device or Mac, urging you to move your
subscription over to Apple Music. All of the albums you’ve saved and
playlists you’ve created will sync over to Apple Music from Beats. You
can also keep your Beats username and use it on Apple Music. The
subscription cost is the same—$9.99 per month—and once you move your
account over, your Beats subscription will be canceled.
Android and Windows Phone subscribers won’t see this prompt to switch
until Apple Music becomes available for those platforms. Beats Music has
a complete FAQ on its website, if you need more information about canceling.
How’s the music quality? Slashgear is reporting
that Apple Music will stream songs at 256kbps, which is the same rate
as iTunes Match. That’s a bit of a drop from Beats Music and Spotify,
which use a 320kbps bitrate. And competitor Tidal boasts more than just
major celebrity endorsements: It offers a high-bitrate option (1411kbps lossless FLAC) at a pricier subscription rate, the “HiFi” tier for $19.99 a month.
How much will this cost? Apple Music will cost $9.99 per month, or $14.99 per month for a family subscription for up to six people (which requires iCloud Family Sharing). Starting June 30, you can try a three-month free trial before coughing up.
Is there a free, ad-supported version? Sadly, no. Some
aspects will be available to anyone who logs in with an Apple ID—namely,
Beats 1, the ability to follow artists on Connect, and the ability to
listen to Apple Music radio stations with a limited number of skips—but a
paid subscription is required to access Apple Music’s entire library. If I subscribe to Apple Music, do I still need my iTunes Match subscription to keep my complete music collection together? According to Apple, iTunes Match and Apple Music will be completely separate services,
so it will be up to you to decide if you’d like to keep iTunes Match.
If your personal music collection has a lot of rare tracks and content
that you can’t get through Apple Music, then you may want to consider
keeping both subscriptions.
Can I save music to listen to offline? Yep!
What devices can I use this on? Starting June 30, you
can access Apple Music on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. It
will be coming to the Apple TV and Android phones this fall. It also
pairs with the Apple Watch.
Wait, did you say Android? Yes! Android users will have access to Apple Music starting this fall. Music for all!
When will it be available? Apple Music launches on June
30 on iOS, OS X, and PCs, and will expand to Apple TV and Android
devices this fall. You can take advantage of a three-month free trial
period to see if you like it.
AppleHow will Beats 1 differ from iTunes Radio? iTunes Radio
takes the Pandora-style approach to radio, where users create their own
stations based around songs, artists, albums, or genres, and iTunes
serves up songs that flow well around that theme. You can still use a
version of iTunes Radio within Apple Music—but it’s now called Apple
Music radio stations.
Beats 1, on the other hand, will be like a more traditional radio
station, with a 27/4 live radio stream anchored by three DJs based in
New York, Los Angeles, and London. Former BBC personality Zane Lowe will
lead the effort from Los Angeles, with Ebro Darden of Hot 97 in New
York, and Julie Adenuga in London. Beats 1 will feature a combination of
songs handpicked by these DJs, plus celebrity interviews, pop culture
news, and other music-related content. For now, it will be commercial
free.
What’s really neat is that every user around the world will hear the
same content at the same time, and these stations take a much more
curated approach to radio than iTunes Radio does.
I spent years perfecting my playlists on Spotify and iTunes. Can I import these into Apple Music? Your
iTunes playlists will automatically be pulled into Apple Music when it
launches, as will the rest of your iTunes library. If you use Beats
Music and switch your subscription to Apple Music, your playlists will
sync over. But we're not so sure about playlists from other music
services like Spotify and Rdio. We’ll have more info on this once Apple
Music officially launches on June 30.
Do Apple Music subscribers have access to the entire iTunes catalogue? Which artists are missing? Apple
says that Apple Music has a library of roughly 30 million songs.
iTunes? Its store sells 43 million songs worldwide. Though we won’t know
exactly which artists are missing until it launches, Bloomberg reports that the Beatles won’t be included with Apple Music at launch—Apple is still working out a deal for those rights.
10:43 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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 to helping you in an emergency, it can
also help get your phone back if it is lost or misplaced. You can do all
of this in a few simple steps, and I'll walk you through every one.
Since the idea of smartphone ICE messages has become popular, first
responders and hospital emergency room staff are trained to check
patients' smartphones for emergency contact information.
It's important for you to have at least two ICE contacts in your
phone just in case. To do this, simply go to the contact pages of the
first two or three people you would like to be reached if you were in an
accident or medical emergency and just add ICE in front of their first
name. Then first responders will know who to contact in case of
emergency. Even if your iPhone is locked, emergency workers know how to
access your ICE contacts using Siri.
In addition to designating the people to contact, you should add
pertinent information in the notes section of your ICE contacts.
Consider including medications you make take, drug allergies or chronic
medical conditions that your treatment team should know.
But what if your phone ends up with a bystander, or if a healthcare
worker doesn't check your contacts? You can add an extra layer of
insurance with a custom home page for your locked screen. This screen
can list who to contact if your phone is found or anything you think is
critical if you are unable to speak for yourself.
To create your personalized ICE page, you will need to find a
background image that you want to use as the canvas. You can find free
high-resolution background pictures by using the image search tool from
Google or even from my freebies page where I recently added a bunch of gorgeous background pictures! Consider how "busy," bright or dark the image is and how readable a few lines of text will be when placed over the background.
Once you select your image, you will save it to your iPhone. To do
this, open the full-size image on your screen, press and hold a finger
on the image for a moment. Within a few seconds you will see a pop-up
menu with an option to “save image.” Select “save image” and the image
will be saved in Photos.
Next, your selected image will be transferred to a Mac or PC
computer. In these instructions, I'll assume you are using a Mac
computer. For PC users, simply email the photo image and open it on your
PC. For Mac users, plug in your iPhone to your Mac. Open your
downloads folder within your iPhone. Drag the image you want to use into
Apple's Pages app and select the Original Size button.
The image will automatically size itself to match the size of the
page. This is OK! Next you need to import a screenshot of your current
lock screen, for sizing purposes. To do this, hold the Home and Power
buttons at the same time and transfer the screen shot into Pages the way
you did with the first image.
PC users, simply email the locked screen shot to your PC. Simply
follow these same steps in your PC's word processing program, such as
Microsoft Word.
For Mac users, drag the screen shot of your locked screen from your
iPhone image folder into Pages, placing it on top of the first image.
But don't stretch the screenshot to fit the first background image. We
want it to be smaller on purpose.
Next, you'll use the built-in Pages ruler guidelines to ensure that
you get the sizing just right. To enable a ruler guideline, go to View
>> Show Ruler. Drag the lines to match the sections on the
screenshot of your original home screen. These will be guides adding for
on-screen text so your names and numbers don't extend off the edges of
your iPhone's home screen once it's finished.
Once you have set the correct guidelines that fit your locked screen
dimensions, you may delete your locked screen screenshot. Simply select
the screenshot, right-click (or "Control") >> Delete.
Now you get to start the fun stuff – adding text to your custom home
screen. To do this, click the Text button on your toolbar and drag the
box to the right to adjust the size. This is where you add your In Case
of Emergency information like an alternative contact number, medical
information and anything else you might think is important. Make sure
the text you input is visible in front of your background image.
You can adjust the size, color and style of font with the Text tab to
make the text readable. Tip: Depending on whether your background image
is mainly light or dark, pick a type color that is the opposite to
create contrast between the type and the background photo.
When you are satisfied that all the information you want on your ICE
message is easily readable, you will move the image back to your phone.
Don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds!
The easiest way to put your new ICE message on your home screen is to
first save it as PDF. To save your finished ICE message as a PDF in
Pages, go to File>> Export To >> PDF.
Now we need to take it one step further to convert your fancy, and
valuable, new homepage from a PDF to a photo image that can be displayed
on your phone's screen. Still on your Mac, open your recently PDF'd
homepage in Preview and crop out any white edges. To Crop in Preview,
Tools >> Rectangular Selection; click and drag from one corner of
the area you want to show on your iPhone screen until you see a dashed
line outlining your image. Then select Tools >> Crop, and
everything outside the dashed lines will disappear.
Now go to File >> Export >> JPEG. You
will prompted to adjust the quality of the image, select Best and save
it onto your desktop. Once you have your JPEG home screen, you need to
send it to yourself through iMessage, Photo Stream, email or even as a
photo message on Facebook. Good news - you're almost done!
Once the customized ICE home screen is on your
phone, go to your Settings page >> Wallpapers & Brightness
>> Photos >> Camera Roll. Select your recently added home
screen picture and press "Set Lock Screen," and now you're good to go.
You can zoom in and out on the image if you want to adjust it even more
by pinching and expanding your thumb and pointer finger on the screen.
If you've followed these steps, then you've
successfully set your new ICE home screen. This tool can help your phone
protect you when you can't protect yourself. Staying safe is important,
so please pass this tip along and let me know what you think about your
new homepage by leaving a note in the comments section below!
There is also an App, called ICE 123 that can help you include ICE information in your contacts and home screen.
10:25 AMHigh Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting
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
is one of the most tightly integrated tools you will find on Android.
If you're not using it to its fullest extent, you're getting only a
partial glimpse of what the platform can do. Set up the Google Now
hotword (Can you say, "Okay Google"?) and learn the ins and outs of that
powerful digital assistant.
2: Set up auto backup
Most
likely, you've associated your Android device with your Google account.
You're getting your email and using Google Docs. But all that
information on your device is just sitting there... waiting for the day
when you lose the device or you drop it and a car zooms by and crushes
it to a final, heart-wrenching death. Yes, the cost of replacing a
device that doesn't have insurance and is still in-contract can be a bit
much. But what of the data? If you want to avoid such drama, be sure to
visit the Backup & Reset section of your device and set it up.
Android can back up app data, Wi-Fi passwords, other Google server
settings, photos, contacts, and more.
3: Install Tasker
If there was ever an app that can transform your Android experience, it's Tasker.
This app will make your device about as automated as a mobile device
can be. Set up automated tasks based on time, location, events, and
more. It's rare that I can say you won't find a more powerful, usable
tool for a mobile platform--yet, here it is. Tasker isn't free, but the
$2.99 price of entry is well worth what this app brings to your device.
If you don't believe me, take a look at the 26K+ 5-star reviews. Tasker
is that good.
4: Install a third-party home screen launcher
Don't
get me wrong: The stock Android launcher is good. Problem is, few
devices actually come with the stock Android home screen launcher. If
you're not fond of how you interact with your home screen, install my
all time favorite, Nova Launcher.
This launcher offers a perfect combination of look, feel, and function.
With gesture support and a clean interface, Nova is the way to go. But
if Nova doesn't float your boat, there are plenty of other home screen
launchers to fit just about every taste.
5: Upgrade
If
you're running an outdated version of Android, make sure you regularly
check for upgrades. Currently, the most up-to-date version of Android is
5.1. The difference between this and previous versions is nothing short
of astounding. With each iteration, Android gets better and better. The
only downfall is that not every device is capable of upgrading to the
latest version. If you're running an Android smartphone or tablet with
an outdated release, and you're near contract end, it's time to upgrade
your phone. If you want to get the most out of Android, you need to stay
up to date.
6: Install a file manager
There
will be a time when you need to locate a local file (such as a
download). When this time comes, the best way to do this is to use a file manager.
Some devices (such older Samsung devices) include an app called My
Files. Although serviceable, it doesn't offer nearly the power as, say, Astro File Manager.
Most modern mobile file managers have plenty of bells and whistles
(such as SMB or Bluetooth plug-ins), but most often you simply need to
locate a file on your Android directory structure. When you do, you'll
be glad you've installed one.
7: Password protect your lockscreen
Although
this won't add a lot in the way of features or power, it will protect
your data. Set up a password, PIN, or pattern to lock your lockscreen so
that prying eyes can't easily get into your data. Period. This should
not be up for debate. Yes, it might make it inconvenient. Yes, you're
now one more step away from getting on Facebook or taking a selfie. But
your data will thank you in the end. Again: Not up for debate. If, when
at home or at work, having to enter your password constantly is an
annoyance, you can (if your device is running Lollipop) set up trusted locations. Then you won't have to enter your password/PIN/pattern when you are within 500 feet of a trusted location.
8: Set up two-step authentication
You
might spy a theme here... security. But your mobile data is vulnerable.
There's no reason to hand over the keys to the kingdom in the event
that your device is lost. Password protecting your home lockscreen will
help prevent people from gaining access to your device. Take that one
step further and keep them from gaining access to the account that helps
power your platform: Google. If you set up two-step authentication, the only way to get into your Google account is with your account password and a four-digit code randomly generated by the Google Authenticator app. Do this. Now.
9: Make use of the new Gmail
If you've upgraded to Lollipop, you better get used to the Gmail app because Google has shelved the stock Email tool.
That's okay. Gmail has come a long way and can handle just about
anything you throw at it (even Exchange). What's best, Gmail doesn't
relegate your email to a universal inbox. Instead, you can now easily
switch between accounts by swiping right (from the left edge of the
screen) to reveal the sidebar. Tap on your account image at the top of
the sidebar to switch between accounts.
10: Switch to Hangouts
You
spend a lot of time messaging back and forth. On Android, messaging can
be in the form of SMS, Google Hangouts, and more. Make your life easier
and install the Hangouts app to combine all your SMS and Google
Hangouts chats into one outstanding tool. Hangouts
isn't just a convenient way to receive two types of chats in one
location--it's actually superior to the default SMS app. Why Google
hasn't done away with the standard Messages apps, I'll never understand.
Share your tips
There
are many ways to enhance your Android experience. These tips should go a
long way toward helping you work more efficiently, securely, and
productively on your mobile device.
For your convenience Venmo and Zelle are also accepted for payment.
Fed up with Windows based computers?
Think an Apple Computer might be what the doctor ordered?
We can help you with that decision for free! Give us a call so we can discuss your computing needs!
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Making the move to an Apple laptop? My business has been running on an Apple laptop for 6 years.
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Or you can use this gift card for any help needed (including training) for the computers in your home or small business.
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