Ala. Student Sues Best Buy's Geek Squad After Circulation of Nude Photos By ALANA ABRAMSON

Aug. 14, 2013

An art student at the University of Alabama is suing Best Buy, claiming staff members on their Geek Squad Technical Support circulated nude photos of her from her computer after she took it in for repairs, court documents show.

Nicole March filed a lawsuit on Aug. 9 in the U.S. District Court in Alabama, claiming an invasion of privacy, outrageous conduct, breach of contract, and negligent supervision, training and entrustment, according to court documents.

Since the photos were circulated by staffers at the Alabama franchise, March "has been caused to suffer severe mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation," the complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, March was having difficulty with her computer's hard drive in August of 2011, and brought it to Best Buy's Geek Squad Technical Support in the Tuscaloosa, Ala., store to retrieve its data. The complaint says Geek Squad Technical Support is a subsidiary owned and operated by Best Buy.

March had been employed at that Best Buy, according to the complaint, identified as store 1540.

The complaint alleges that almost two years later, in May of 2013, an employee of the Geek Squad, Nathaniel Smith, called March and told her another Best Buy employee, Edwin Kinloch, had sent him a link with nude photographs of her and that they were "circulating" on sites including Piratesbay.sx, which enable large file transfers. The file name explicitly identified March, according to the complaint.

The complaint says that, as an art student "with an interest in the human body" March has "from time to time, had professional and privately made nude photographs of herself which she stored on her personal computer for private, personal and professional reference and use."

March notified the manager of the Best Buy in Tuscaloosa as soon as she found out about the photos, according to the complaint, and four days later an agent from the Geek Squad told her he had found the culprit and that the photographs would be deleted. However, the agent "requested that she do him the 'favor of not asking who the culprit was,'" according to the complaint, and she subsequently filed a police report.

March referred all questions to her attorneys.

One of March's attorneys, Gayle Douglas, said March is suing for monetary compensation, but the amount is being left up to the attorney.

The actions of the Geek Squad employees "cannot be tolerated in a civil society where a customer entrusts her computer to a service for repair and rescue only to have sensitive and private data, images and information uploaded to public links for use by strangers and the public at large," the complaint states.

Best Buy declined to comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson wrote in an e-mail that "Best Buy is committed to responsible customer information management practices, and our employees are trained to follow very specific procedures that govern how they manage this important information."

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Best Android smartphones (August 2013 edition)

Summary: Time to take a tour of a handful of the best Android smartphones currently available on the market (August 2013). There are a few new handsets, including one for all you pure Android fans.

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | August 6, 2013 -- 10:56 GMT (03:56 PDT)

Introduction

Looking to replace your aging Android companion with something newer and with a little more "oomph"? Here are five excellent Android-powered smartphones from Google, Motorola, and Samsung.

No matter whether you are looking for a consumer handset or something that will be suited to a BYOD role, you're bound to find something of interest here.

The handsets are arranged in no particular order. My current favorite continues to be the Nexus 4. It's a powerful package that delivers what I believe to be the best, purest Android experience possible. However, I have to admit that some of the features present on the Samsung Galaxy S4 make it a great choice for the BYOD crowd.

Google Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 is the smartphone that Google thinks Android should be loaded on.

One of the downsides to the Nexus 4 is that it doesn't come with LTE support, despite having a supporting integrated modem. According to LG, the manufacturer of the Nexus 4, the LTE modem requires a signal amplifier and filter to work, and these components have been omitted to keep the cost of the handset down.

Despite this, the Nexus 4 is a solid, well-made Android handset.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.2)
•     1.5GHz quad-core Krait processor
•     4.7-inch WXGA IPS display
•     8MP rear camera
•     1.3MP front camera
•     8/16GB internal storage

Samsung Galaxy S4 "Google Play Edition"

Like the idea of a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, but prefer a device that gives you a more pure Google Android experience? Or maybe you just want an unlocked handset. Either way, take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S4 "Google Play Edition."

This is the same hardware as the Galaxy S4, but with all the Samsung bells and whistles removed. Some people love this, others hate it. But if you want it, it is yours, unlocked, for $649.

•     Skinless Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2), which means the same experience as the Nexus
•     1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
•     5-inch Super AMOLED high-pixel-density (441ppi) display
•     13MP rear camera
•     2MP front camera
•     16GB internal storage
•     MicroSD slot

Samsung Galaxy Note II

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is the Android smartphone for those people with large hands to hold it with, and large pockets to keep it in.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II really is a solid handset packed with an array of high-end features. It even comes with the S Pen that can be used to copy text, crop images, and to share content.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
•     1.6 GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor
•     5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display
•     8MP rear camera
•     1.9MP front camera
•     16/32/64GB internal storage
•     MicroSD slot

Samsung Galaxy S4

The second new kid on the block — Samsung's new and long-awaited Galaxy S4.

There's an awful lot to like about the Galaxy S4 — the powerful CPU, plenty of storage space, a user-replaceable battery, the microSD slot, the fact that it can be used as a remote control for a DVR. It is very much like HTC's new One handset, except marginally better in almost every way (except, perhaps, for the plastic shell).

Another quality handset from the company that is now the king of the Android smartphones.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2)
•     1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (1.6GHz octa-core processor offered in some markets)
•     5-inch Super AMOLED high-pixel-density (441ppi) display
•     13MP rear camera
•     2MP front camera
•     16/32/64GB internal storage
•     MicroSD slot

One to watch - Motorola Moto X
Here's a handset to watch over the coming weeks – Motorola's new Moto X.

I used to be pretty partial to Motorola handsets back before the iPhone. They were well built, and while they relied heavily on gimmicks, delivered decent performance and long-term reliability.

The Moto X is interesting, not because it is manufactured by Motorola – now owned by Google – but because it takes a new approach to computation power. Rather than one chip with multiple cores doing the work, the Moto X has a total of eight cores spread over four different chips, each doing a different thing.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2)
•     Motorola X8 computing system, consisting of a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core clocked at 1.7GHz, a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU, and two low-power processors, one that is used for natural language and the other for contextual computing
•     4.7-inch AMOLED HD 720p display
•     10MP rear camera
•     2MP front camera
•     16/32GB internal storage
•     NFC
•     Wireless charging

Sony Xperia Z
A newcomer to the list. Sony's Xperia Z packs a lot of cool features under the hood, sporting the sharpest LCD panel on the market, and a 13-megapixel camera capable of capturing HDR video.

This handset is also thin, coming in at a svelte 7.9-milimeters. But don't the thinness fool you, the Xperia Z is tough, featuring tempered glass, and a dustproof and waterproof build.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
•     1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor
•     5-inch TFT 1080p (1920 x 1080) display, powered by the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
•     13MP rear-facing camera
•     2MP front-facing 1080p HD video capture
•     16GB internal storage
•     MicroSD card slot

HTC One

The all-new HTC One is the first of two new kids on the block in terms of Android-powered smartphones.

Under the hood, the HTC One isn't all that different to Samsung's new Galaxy S4 — it features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU (although it runs a little slower), 2GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen — but it is also a very different beast thanks to Sense, the bold new user interface HTC has loaded into the smartphone. It also features an aluminum shell, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S4, which has a plastic shell.

This handset is confirmed as coming to Verizon later this summer.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.2) with HTC's Sense user interface
•     1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
•     4.7-inch Super LCD, Full HD, high-pixel-density (468ppi) display
•     4MP rear camera
•     2.1MP front camera
•     32/64GB internal storage

Motorola Razr i

Perhaps not the best — or best made — handset around, but the Razr i is nonetheless a decent, solid smartphone that won't break the bank.

The DuPont Kevlar fibre and Corning Gorilla Glass construction gives it a good feel in the hand, and it comes with an SD-card slot for storage expansion, something that the Nexus 4 doesn't have.

•     Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), but Jelly Bean inbound
•     2GHz Intel Atom Z2460
•     4.3-inch Super AMOLED 540x960 display
•     8MP rear camera
•     VGA front camera
•     8GB internal storage

LG Optimus G Pro

Smartphones are getting bigger, and the Optimus G Pro from LG is a real handful. The huge 5.5-inch display, combined with a quad-core Snapdragon processor makes this a serious piece of kit, but the overall size of this phatlet might put some people off.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
•     1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU
•     5.5-inch 1920x1080 full HD IPS display
•     13MP rear camera
•     2.1MP front camera
•     32GB internal storage
•     MicroSD slot

Karbonn S5 Titanium
Some people love the flexibility that a dual-SIM handset can offer, and not only does the Karbonn S5 Titanium some kitted out with dual-SIM support, but it is also a solid, decent-spec handset that's functional enough to please most users.

•     Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
•     1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU
•     5-inch qHD IPS capacitive touch display
•     8MP rear camera
•     2MP front camera
•     4GB internal storage
•     MicroSD slot

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Best Android tablets (August 2013 edition)

Summary: Don't want to get locked into Apple's ecosystem by buying an iPad or iPad mini? No problem! Here are my top Android tablets for August 2013. And if you're looking for budget Android tablets, there are two here you might be interested in.

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | August 8, 2013 -- 10:48 GMT (03:48 PDT)
Introduction

Tablets are everywhere, and while Apple's iPad – along with its little brother, the iPad mini – commands the most media attention, there's no shortage of excellent Android alternatives to choose from.

Here are my top seven Android tablets for August 2013.
All of the tablets features here are very capable, powerful workhorses, and are ideal not only for home users, but also for enterprise users or those looking for a BYOD tablet. Any one of these will give you an excellent Android experience, and, when combined with the right apps, will allow you to get a lot of work done when you're away from your desk.

The new Google Nexus 7
My favorite Android tablet just got better!

The new Google Nexus 7 is the much-anticipated follow-on to the highly-successful original Nexus 7.

The hardware, once again manufactured by Asus, consists of a 7-inch display with a resolution bumped up to 1920x1200 HD display and a pixel density of 323 pixels per inch, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, an Adreno 320 GPU, a choice of 16GB or 32GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear camera, and a – somewhat limited – 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera.

The main downside of the Nexus 7 continues to be that it does not feature a card slot to allow you to expand the storage.

The hardware runs the very latest – and highly capable – Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean" operating system, and features an improved, very efficient software keyboard.

Also, being a Google-branded tablet, you're also guaranteed software updates, rather than having to rely on the goodwill of the hardware maker to make them available.

The tablet also features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and optional cellular, and all this is powered by a battery that can give 10 hours of usage under normal conditions.

A powerful tablet in a small, easy-to-carry form factor.

About the only thing I don't like about the Nexus 7 is the 16:9 screen aspect ratio, which makes the device feel awfully top-heavy in portrait mode.

At a glance:

•     7-inch, 1920x1200 HD display and a pixel density of 323 pixels per inch
•     1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor
•     Adreno 320 GPU
•     Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean"
•     5.0 megapixel rear camera
•     1.2 megapixel front-facing camera
•     Stereo, surround speakers
•     Choice of 16GB or 32GB
•     Battery life of 9 hours

Price: from $199.

Google Nexus 10

The #2 spot goes to the Nexus 7's bigger brother — the Nexus 10.

The Nexus 10 sports a 10-inch screen with a 2560x1600 resolution display, a dual core ARM Cortex A15 processor, and a quad core Mali T604 graphics processor.

The Samsung-made tablet also comes with a choice of 16GB or 32GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera – which is far superior to the 1.2 megapixel camera that the Nexus 7 has – and a power pack capable of delivering 11 hours of usage.

The Nexus is designed by Google, and so it offers the best, purest Android experience possible – and it also means that you will get operating system updates direct from Google, rather than have to wait for the hardware makers to the update.

Overall, a powerful, very well made tablet, and if you have space in your life for a 10-inch tablet, you should take a look at this one. The main downside of the Nexus is that it does not feature a card slot to allow you to expand the storage.

At a glance:

•     10-inch, 2560x1600 display
•     Dual core ARM Cortex A15 processor
•     Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean"
•     5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
•     Choice of 16GB and 32GB.
•     Battery life of 11 hours

Price: from $399.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch

The Android market is dominated by Samsung, and it's no surprise that it has come out with a new 8-inc tablet – the Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch.

At $299, the Tab 3 8-inch is a bit pricey, but it's a good competitor to the iPad Mini for those who don't want to get caught up in the iOS/App Store lock-in web.

The best thing about the Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch is that it is essentially a Galaxy Note 2 (minus the stylus, which I don't care much for anyhow) for $100 less.

At a glance:

•     8-inch, 1280x800 display
•     1.5GHz Exynos 4212 dual-core processor
•     Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean"
•     5 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.2 megapixel front camera
•     16GB storage
•     Battery life of about 11 hours

Price: from $299.

Ainol Novo 7 Venus

The second cheap and cheerful tablet from Ainol. This one is the 7-inch Novo 7 Venus, and is certainly worth a look.

Again, not a big-name brand, but a look at the spec will tell you that this is quite a well put together tablet, especially when you take a look at the price.

At a glance:

•     7-inch 1280x800 IPS display
•     ATM7029 quad-core CPU with GC1000+ GPU
•     Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" compatible with 4.2
•     2 megapixel rear camera, and a 0.3 megapixel front camera
•     16GB storage
•     Battery life of 5 to 9 hours

Price: from $129.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
The Galaxy Note 10.1 is Samsung's is a flagship tablet that commands a flagship price.

The hardware is all top-notch, with a 10.1-inch screen with a 1280x800 resolution display, a 1.4GHz Exynos quad core processor, a choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, and a 10-hour battery pack.

The software is Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" but there's an upgrade path to Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean".

For times when a finger just isn't precise enough, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a nifty stylus called the S Pen specifically designed to work with a number of applications. This really comes to its own when doing fiddly things like working in a spreadsheet, or knocking out a doodle.

The stylus makes the Galaxy Note 10.1 a great machine for taking notes, planning, and sketching out ideas.

At a glance:

•     10.1-inch, 1280x800 display
•     1.4GHz Exynos quad core processor
•     Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"
•     5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera
•     Choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB
•     Battery life of 10 hours

Price: from $499.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T is not only the slimmest and lightest 1920x1200 resolution Full HD Android tablet on the market, but it is also stylish and very well put together.

The 10.1-inch 1920x1200 resolution display is backed by a powerful Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor that is packed with a very capable 12-core GPU. This hardware runs the Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system, which is now showing its age, but is nonetheless a very capable and robust platform.

The tablet features an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera, and the battery can go for 9.5 hours between recharges.

At a glance:

•     10.1-inch 1920x1200 display
•     Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor
•     Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich"
•     8 megapixel rear camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera
•     Choice of 32GB or 64GB
•     Battery life of 9.5 hours

Price: from $499.

Ainol Novo 9 Spark

Looking for a cheap and cheerful tablet that has plenty of power to handle even the more demanding apps? The Ainol Novo 9 Spark is worth a look.

You might not have heard of the manufacturer before, but the tablets are well worth taking a look at.

At a glance:

•     9.7-inch 2048x1536 retina IPS display
•     Allwinner A31 quad-core CPU with SGX544MP2 GPU
•     Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" compatible with 4.2
•     5 megapixel rear camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera
•     16GB storage

Price: from $229.

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Apple announces take-back program for iPhone power-adapters

by Dan Miller

Following recent reports of third-party iPhone power-adapters that were malfunctioning—”malfunctioning” in this case meaning “electrocuting their users”—Apple has introduced a take-back program for the things.

As reported on 9to5Mac, starting August 16, you’ll be able to bring any USB power adapter to an Apple Retail Store or authorized service provider, and the company will take that adapter and make sure it’s disposed of in an environmentally responsible fashion. If you want a new adapter, the company will—for a limited time—sell you a new, official Apple one for just $10. (They regularly cost $19.)

The offer is good through October 18, 2013, and is limited to one adapter per iPhone, iPad, or iPod you own. (You must bring the device with you for serial-number validation.)

This isn’t just altruism on Apple’s part. Headlines linking ‘iPhone’ and ‘electrocution’ are generally bad for business. More importantly, the program provides some justification for the company’s strict—and some would say draconian—hardware-certification programs.

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Google Chrome security flaw offers unrestricted password access

by Charles Arthur   theguardian.com, Wednesday 7 August 2013 05.57 EDT   

Plain text logon details for email, social networks and company systems stored in browser's Settings panel

A serious flaw in the security of Google's Chrome browser lets anyone with access to a user's computer see all the passwords stored for email, social media and other sites, directly from the settings panel. No password is needed to view them.

Besides personal accounts, sensitive company login details would be compromised if someone who used Chrome left their computer unattended with the screen active.

Seeing the passwords is achieved simply by clicking on the Settings icon, choosing "Show advanced settings…" and then "Manage saved passwords" in the "Passwords and forms" section. A list of obscured passwords is then revealed for sites - but clicking beside them reveals the plain text of the password, which could be copied, or sent via a screenshot to an outside site.

But the head of Google's Chrome developer team, Justin Schuh, said he was aware of the weakness and that there were no plans to change the system.

That response was described by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British inventor of the web, as "disappointing". He characterised the flaw as "how to get all your big sister's passwords".

Chrome is one of the three most widely-used browsers on desktops worldwide, along with Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. It has millions of users and is seen by some as crucial to Google's future efforts to monetise web use, by tying users to Google accounts and synchronising between their desktop and mobile systems.

Elliott Kember, a UK-based software developer from New Zealand who discovered the flaw, commented: "In a world where Google promotes its browser on YouTube, in cinema pre-rolls, and on billboards, the clear audience is not developers. It's the mass market - the users. The overwhelming majority. They don't know it works like this. They don't expect it to be this easy to see their passwords. Every day, millions of normal, every-day users are saving their passwords in Chrome. This is not okay."

Other browsers have previously had similar flaws with password visibility - and closed them. In 2010, Firefox was revealed to use the same "plain text" storage that Chrome is being criticised for - and added a master password option requirement. Some versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer have also had the same failings. Apple's Safari requires the user to enter a master password before it will show stored passwords.

Schuh wrote on Hacker News that "We've also been repeatedly asked why we don't just support a master password or something similar, even if we don't believe it works. We've debated it over and over again, but the conclusion we always come to is that we don't want to provide users with a false sense of security, and encourage risky behavior. We want to be very clear that when you grant someone access to your OS user account, that they can get at everything."

However the position was criticised by other developers. "A good safe is judged by the time required to break it," wrote "marcgg". "There is no safe that is unbreakable, you just need to put enough time, effort and noise to open it. Same thing could be applied here. Installing software, dump the cookies and so on requires time. Right now with this security a person could get my password in a couple of clicks with almost no technical knowledge."

One security manager at a publishing company said: "The fact you can view the passwords means they are stored in reversible form which means that the dark coders out there will be writing a Trojan to steal that password store as we speak."

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Browsing the Right Place to Browse for Gadgets by Sam Grobart

Browsing the Right Place to Browse for Gadgets

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Traveling Overseas by Serenity Caldwell

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5 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With a SmartPhone by Kim Komando

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15 ways to improve your iPhone's battery life by Zack Whittaker for Between the Lines

Summary: While the iPhone is booming in popularity, its battery still isn't that good. But by applying


Making the most out of your iPhone's battery

Enterprises and business users love the iPhone because of its back-end management and security features that allow employees to bring their own from home (BYOD) and use it in the workplace. The one thing that lets the device down from full marks is its battery life. Compared to the old business favorite BlackBerry, the iPhone's battery life is far from comparable.

Here are 15 simple things you can do to make your iPhone run that little bit longer.

Turn off auto-brightness
Some, including Apple, believe that the iPhone's "auto-brightness" feature will help conserve battery life by dynamically and automatically increasing or reducing the brightness of the screen, based on how light it is around you. Yet others argue this alone can actually lead to battery draining.

It may not be easy to read your iPhone's screen in direct sunlight, and you may not get the most out of your high-resolution display, but this is about conserving your battery rather than anything else.

The best practice seems to point to disabling the auto-brightness. Go to Settings => Brightness & Wallpaper => then reduce the brightness to 10-25 percent, or whatever feels comfortable.

Disable system Location services
Location services use GPS for location-aware apps and services. While it's useful knowing where you are on Google Maps, what you don't see is what is going on behind the scenes. Ads are being displayed based on your location, traffic data is being downloaded, and your iPhone is always pinging out to see where you are to keep an eye on which time zone you're in. All of these things are unnecessary and churn up your battery life.

Go to Settings => Privacy => Location Services. When On, scroll down to System Services, then uncheck all of these items. When you're not using Location Services, such as GPS, then simply turn it Off.

Disable push email
Push email is very useful for when you're running against the clock. Emails are downloaded automatically and instantly from the server when they arrive, rather than waiting for you to 'send and receive.' But if you don't mind waiting that long, you can reduce the download cycle so your iPhone isn't constantly listening for new email. Instead, it will run a schedule every few minutes that helps in conserving the battery life.

Go to Settings => Mail, Contacts, Calendar => under Fetch New Data set Push to Off  then scroll down and set the 'fetch' schedule to Every 15 minutes so that it runs the 'send and receive' schedule every quarter-hour.

If you need certain email accounts to push email to your device, select Advanced and confirm the setting for each separate account.
a few system tweaks, you can improve your iPhone's battery life considerably.

Disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth when you're out and aboutWi-Fi and other wireless radios should be disabled when they're not being used as they use a significant amount of battery life. If you are not near or not using a Wi-Fi hotspot, or sending items to other devices using Bluetooth, these can and should be turned off.

Go to Settings => Wi-Fi => set to Off. Also, go to Settings => Bluetooth => set this to Off.

Disable unnecessary push notifications
Applications use notifications to inform you of what's going on in the world, such as new email, text messages, reminders and who is responding to you on social networks. But these notifications turn the iPhone's display on, and often include audio and vibrations.

You can customize when you receive notifications through by going to Settings => Notifications. You can suppress audible and vibration notifications, as well as those that turn on the display so they arrive silently. But these can still be included in the Notification Center so these can be checked when you periodically check your phone.

Reduce auto-lock period
Reducing how long it takes for your iPhone to turn its display off helps conserve the battery life. When the smartphone is put down on a table, for example, it can take a minute or two -- perhaps even longer -- for the display to turn off. This means the display can quietly chip away at the device's battery life while it's not actively being used.

Go to Settings => General => Auto-Lock => set this to 1 Minute or 2 Minutes. The shorter time period, the greater the benefits to your iPhone's battery life.

Disable vibrations
Vibrations are useful to enable, particularly when you're working in loud environments or even very quiet ones, so you can leave your iPhone on silent and receive a buzz in your pocket when a new message or notification has come through. A physical motor spinning in your device causes these vibrations, but this uses precious battery life. These can be limited or disabled altogether.

Go to Settings => Sounds and select whether or not you want to enable vibration when your phone rings, or if you want it enabled while it is set to silent.

Disable 4G (and LTE) connectivity
While 4G is much faster than 3G cellular connectivity, it uses a lot more battery power. Long-term evolution (LTE) uses an entirely different hardware radio and often drains the battery even quicker. When not using high-bandwidth applications, streaming videos, or tethered to a laptop or tablet, disable 4G and LTE connectivity. You'll receive slower (albeit still rather fast) download speeds but it will also help conserve your iPhone's battery throughout the day.

Go to Settings => General => Cellular => Set Enable 4G (or Enable LTE) to Off.

Close unused or dormant apps regularly
 Some iPhone apps don't completely close when they're not longer being used. Instead they lie dormant in the background. When using memory or battery intensive applications, these are still churning up power in the background. It's suggested that when you no longer need to use an app, close it down completely.

On your iPhone in an unlocked state, double-press the Home button => touch and hold any open app until it enters a 'wiggly' state => then tap the red close button on each app that you no longer need. You can then return to your device by pressing the Home button again.

Install a battery-monitoring app
Many Android phones already include a feature that determines which installed (and in-built) apps are using the most battery life, allowing you to close them and conserve power. But iPhones do not contain this feature, leading many to third-party apps to monitor device usage in order to extend the battery life.

There are plenty of applications in the App Store that monitor battery usage, but only a few — such as Battery Doctor — will work out which apps are using the most battery power so you know when to limit their usage.

Be aware of where you put your iPhone
Almost above all else, keep your iPhone and its internal battery within the operating range, so that it doesn't get too hot or too cold. An iPhone will generate heat depending on what it is being used for, so keeping it at a level temperature is important.

The warmer your iPhone gets, the faster the battery will deplete. Sometimes it's better to keep your iPhone out of your pocket and carry it in your bag — carefully to ensure the screen or case doesn't get knocked about or damaged — or even clipped to your belt. Some cases will also result in the device getting warm, so choose your accessories and cases carefully.
Check for iOS updates regularly for unfixable bugs

In some cases, software bugs have led to complaints that battery life decreases quicker than normal. These bugs occasionally work their way into Apple's iOS, the software that runs on iPhones and iPads, but can often be fixed with a software update. Normally, iPhone users are notified automatically when an update is available, and the change log will note if any bugs persist, particularly those relating to battery life.

Adjust human behavior: pick up your phone less!
While it is often tempting to pick up your phone and check to see if there are any messages, notifications, or missed calls, one of the easiest ways of keeping your battery ticking over is to stop picking it up every few minutes. Putting your phone to 'sleep' and 'waking' it up will drain battery life.

Cheat, and buy an external battery
If all else fails and battery life continues to be a problem, consider an external battery pack. Some external batteries will extend the battery life of your iPhone for twice the ordinary length, if not longer. There are some wrap-around cases that clip to your phone and can be activated with a switch, though these will make your iPhone thicker in size and heavier to carry. Others plug into the charging port at the bottom to give your iPhone additional juice.

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Carl Thorne
Expert Computer Consulting 

voice: 404.229.0839 email: carlthorne@hthcatlanta.com
web: hthcatlanta.com blog: hthcatlanta.blogspot.com

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Seven reasons to buy the new Google Nexus 7 By Matthew Miller for The Mobile Gadgeteer

Yesterday Google announced the new Nexus 7 device that leapfrogs the iPad Mini, for now. I own

The new Nexus 7 comes in 16GB ($229) and 32GB ($269) WiFi models that will be available on 30 July. A LTE model that works on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon will be available in the future for $349. With my smartphones now all having tethering capability I went for a 32GB WiFi model that you can pre-order at Best Buy now, but am still considering the LTE model too.

Reason #1: I need Android in my life

I use Gmail, Google+, Google Play Movies, Google Maps Navigation, and more Google services on a daily basis and have now integrated their services into my life. I love my HTC One, but as a smartphone reviewer I jump between a lot of mobile operating systems. Having a Nexus 7 gives me a portable, consistent Android companion that helps provide Google services even if I am using a Windows Phone 8 or BlackBerry 10 device for my smartphone needs.

Reason #2: Android OS updates

The new Nexus 7 launches with Android 4.3 and like the previous model and Nexus smartphone line, it will get the next versions of Android first. We will likely see Android 5, aka Key Lime Pie, sometime before the end of 2013 and you can bet the Nexus 7 will get that update.

Reason #3: The price is right
The WiFi only models are $229 and $269, which are more expensive than last year's Nexus 7 offering for a lot more device. When you look at the iPad Mini at $329 and $429 though, the Nexus 7 is attractively priced.

I understand the iPad Mini has a slightly larger display, but the new Nexus 7 blows the iPad display out of the water. You can look at comparable Amazon Kindle Fire HD unit and see they are similar in price, yet the new Nexus 7 offers an optimal Google experience rather than an Amazon one.

Reason #4: 9 hours of HD playback

My daily commute consists of 2 hours of train riding and I can be found on an airplane about once a month. I like renting movies from the Google Play Store and with the 3,950 mAh battery on the new Nexus 7 it looks like I can travel across the country and be covered for entertainment.

Reason #5: High resolution display
The new Nexus 7 comes with a 1920x1200 pixels LCD at 323 ppi, which is a jump from 1290x800 pixels and 216 ppi seen on last year's model. As most of my smartphones now have pixel density like this, my eyes are spoiled by high resolution displays.

The iPad Mini has a 163 ppi display while the iPad 3 that I enjoy using has a 236 ppi display. I can't wait to see the new Nexus 7 display in person next week.
Reason #6: Qi wireless charging
Nokia spoiled me with wireless charging in the Lumia 920 and now I want that in all of my devices. I have three Qi wireless charging pads at home and in the office and find it much more convenient to just set down a device on the pad rather than messing around with a microUSB cable and figuring out which end is up to plug it in.

Reason #7: Stereo speakers

The HTC One is a device that has also spoiled me, with its fantastic BoomSound front facing speaker system. The new Nexus 7 has stereo speakers with Surround Sound powered by Fraunhofer and if it is anything like the amazing sound found on the Chromebook Pixel I will be impressed.

While I use headphones on my commute and airplane, I also often show videos from YouTube and Facebook to my family with my HTC One so having good speakers is important to me as well.
last year's Nexus 7, but just pre-ordered a new 32GB WiFi model at Best Buy yesterday and here are seven reasons I made that decision.

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Hands-on with Chromecast, Google's $35 streaming gizmo by Jeremy A. Kaplan

The challenge: Over 200 billion videos are watched online every single month, accounting for much

Google wants to change that, with a new gadget called Chromecast. It’s likely one of the easiest ways you’ll ever find to pump videos, photos and whatever from a cell phone, tablet or laptop onto that ultrahigh-definition HDTV you plunked all that cash down on.

And at just $35, this marvelous Google gizmo is a steal.

The device, essentially a thumb drive with a big head on one end, plugs into a spare HDMI port on your television. The fat end has a Micro-USB slot: Plug the included cable in and link it to one of the USB ports in back of your computer (trust me, you’ve likely got one) and the gadget immediately powers up. It’s not as elegant as I had first hoped -- there’s now some minor cord clutter behind my TV set -- but it's basically idiot-proof.

Beyond that, set up couldn’t be easier. Switch inputs on your TV and you’ll see a screen that walks you through the set-up process, which involves downloading an app to your phone or tablet and pairing it with your TV via your home’s Wi-Fi network, making sure to match the code Chromecast shows you on TV. It couldn’t have taken me more than 5 minutes.

Once you’ve installed the app on your device -- it works on Android and will soon be on iOS, meaning your iPad and iPhone too -- any Chromecast-enabled app can beam videos to your television with the press of an icon. At present, that’s just three apps,Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play, but Google swears other content partners are working on it.

To test it out, I played Danny Boyle’s new film “Trance” from Google Play Movies. Pressing the little Chromecast button in the top-right corner sent a signal to the cloud, which in turn sent a signal down to the dongle behind my TV. The app was responsive, and pressing pause and play on my phone almost instantly affected playback.

Quality on screen was great, although that depends mostly on the content you beaming. If it’s a crummy YouTube video, it’ll look even crummier in high definition on your TV.

Content sources are limited at present. Google clearly wants you to buy movies from Play, rather than from Amazon or Apple or any of the wealth of others out there. But Chromecast is built into a new version of the Chrome browser as well (the version for Macs, PCs and Google's Chromebook Pixel), so you can surf to Hulu or HBO.com, fire up a video, and beam that to your television.

Because a simple bit of software and your Wi-Fi network are all it takes to control playback, anyone else in the room is essentially holding a remote control. That's right, their smartphone can also control the playback. Say your friend hates the YouTube video you’re playing. (“The Kardashians? Really?”) he can fire up YouTube on his phone and, as long as he’s on your Wi-Fi network, a banner will pop up offering him info on the show and play and pause controls.

In other words, the battle for the remote control just got crazy.

An entire world of other gadgets offer similar functionality to Chromecast, albeit at far greater prices. The Roku 3 streamer costs $100 bucks, for example, but it builds in a vast array of content sources, from Vudu and Hulu and HBO to Pandora and NBC and PBS and Fox News. And MLB. And music.

In addition, the odds are good you’ve already got some or maybe even all of this functionality. Many television sets come with built-in apps for streaming content from those sources, and if not, there’s a good chance your Blu-ray player does. My Sony BD device has a ton of built-in apps, for example.

So do you need Chromecast? Google’s gadget does just one thing, but it does it incredibly easily, and flawlessly well. I found it easier to surf content in the familiar environment of my tablet than to use my clunky TV remote on those built-in apps.

Getting to Hulu content via the Chrome browser feels like jumping through hoops, of course. But the convenience factor was nice at the same time: Simply press beam and your TV will magically turn on and tune to the right channel.

And at just $35, that’s hard to beat.

Why not sign up for my newsletter? We will never sell or sell your email address. Unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter.

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Carl Thorne
Expert Computer Consulting 

voice: 404.229.0839 email: carlthorne@hthcatlanta.com
web: hthcatlanta.com blog: hthcatlanta.blogspot.com

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3 solutions for people who hate Windows 8 by Kim Komando

Q. I really can't stand Windows 8, Kim. I've had my new computer for about three months and I just don't get it. I still haven't figured out how to do half of the things I need to do and the stuff I have figured out makes zero sense to me. I've stuck to using my old Windows Vista desktop to get things done instead. There has to be something I can do to make Windows 8 less of a pain in the keister, right? -

A. I hear you, Lara. Windows 8 has no shortage of annoying layout quirks and confusing new features. I would know; I wrote the book explaining the new stuff you have to learn with Windows 8!

You don't have to tackle this alone, though. Microsoft and independent developers alike have made plenty of tweaks you can add to Windows 8. They don't make it work exactly like Windows 7 or XP, but they work wonders.

Let's explore what these tweaks are. I'm sure we can find something that will make you feel excited about using your new computer, Lara!

There's also a nuclear option you can use to completely get rid of Windows 8. I'll tell you about that too.

1. Give Windows 8.1 a try
Last month, Microsoft issued its big mea culpa to Windows 8 users. It's called Windows 8.1 and it reverses many of the changes that people hated about Windows 8.

It brings back the Start button, gives you the ability to boot to the Desktop and more. It gives you more choices than Windows 8 did. The best part is that it will be a free upgrade when it comes out later this year.

You don't have to wait to see if you like it, though. You can download it and try it out right now. I'll tell you exactly how to do that. Then learn what settings to tweak to make it work like you want.

2. Tweak Windows 8
Sadly, Windows 8.1 might not fix everything you hate about Windows 8. Luckily for you, app developers and programmers are a few steps ahead of Microsoft. If you can think of something you don't like about the operating system, there's probably a cure for it.

Programs like ClassicShell and Start8 are made specifically to make Windows 8 easier for fans of earlier versions of Windows. They bring back the Start menu. And you can relocate your menus back to where you expect them to be.

 If you don't want to do the work yourself, give Pokki a shot. It's a game center for Windows computers, but it changes some of Windows 8's menu options by default. It might make it easier for you to find the stuff you need.

3. Go back to Windows 7
As Windows XP users know, Microsoft likes to let old operating systems linger. XP was released in 2001 and its "End of life" isn't arriving until next year. If you're an XP user, click here to learn how it will affect you.

Sure enough, support for Windows 7 is supposed to last until 2020. Who knows what sort of changes will happen to PCs by then?

Even if you've already bought a Windows 8 machine, you can reverse course to 7 at no charge. You just need a computer with downgrade rights and a Windows 7 CD. Microsoft will help you activate Windows 7 without a fee.

If you don't have a computer with downgrade rights, you can do it yourself. Some online stores are still selling copies of Windows 7. You can buy it, wipe your computer and install it. Of course, that's a lot of work, so I would use that as a last resort.

Short of that, you can add new parts to your older computer to make it feel like new again. I'll help you do that in this must-read tip.
Your last option is to break away from Windows altogether. Here are three alternatives you can choose.

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The Metro hater's guide to the Windows 8.1 Preview

Summary: Are you a desktop diehard? If you've got no use for the Start screen and Metro-style apps, I have some good news for you. Windows 8.1 has a handful of interface tweaks you can make that will put the Windows desktop back in charge. Here's what you need to do to make the preview work like Windows 7 (almost).
By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report | July 23, 2013 -- 02:00 GMT (19:00 PDT) 

In announcing the release of the Windows 8.1 Preview, Microsoft executives said, “We’re listening to feedback.” That’s a polite way of saying they were trying to avoid being splattered by a barrage of rotten tomatoes.

Some of the most vocal complaints—sorry, feedback—came from longtime Windows users who wanted the good parts of Windows 8 without sacrificing the familiar Windows 7 desktop. Responding to that complaint was the impetus behind Microsoft’s decision to restore the Start button in Windows 8.1 to its traditional place at the left side of the taskbar.

The good news: Windows 8.1 has all the user-interface pieces you need to bring the desktop to the foreground and make the Start screen recede far, far into the background.

The bad news: Windows 8.1 doesn’t have a magic “make Metro go away” button. Desktop diehards will need to spend a couple minutes (really, that’s all the time it takes) to tweak the Windows 8.1 Preview into submission.

Here’s what you need to do to make Windows 8.1 as desktop-friendly as possible. Note that all of the features I describe here are new or significantly changed in Windows 8.1 compared to Windows 8.

Step 1: Uninstall unwanted apps.

Your focus is on desktop apps. You have no desire to use any of the 20-plus built-in Metro apps and no plans to download any from the Windows Store. To reduce the chance that you will inadvertently launch one of the built-in apps, uninstall as many as you can. Windows 8.1 allows you to uninstall all of those apps in one operation; that’s a big improvement over Windows 8, which made you uninstall each app separately.

Step 2: Adjust the look of the Start screen.

Windows 8.1 includes an option that allows the Start screen to share the same background as the desktop. Personally, I find that setting somewhat distracting, so I leave it off. Instead, I recommend removing the pattern and adjusting the background color to something neutral. This dialog box isn’t in PC Settings, where you might expect it. Instead, you have to go to the Start screen, click the Settings charm, and then click Personalize.

Step 3: Tweak the Start screen settings to suit your preferences. 

Right-click any empty space on the taskbar and click Properties. That opens up the familiar-looking Taskbar And Navigation Properties dialog box, with a Navigation tab that’s new to Windows 8.1. Options here allow you to bypass the Start screen at sign-in, show the All Apps screen when you click or tap Start, and disable the two hot corners at the top of the screen.  


Step 4: Arrange the Apps screen.

You’ll probably want to avoid the Start screen completely, but you can’t avoid an occasional visit to the Apps view. It replaces the All Programs menu with a full-screen list, organized into groups. You have several sorting and grouping options in Windows 8.1 that aren’t available in Windows 8.

Step 5: Pin your favorite desktop programs to the taskbar.

This is actually one thing Windows 8.1 does better than Windows 7. From the Apps view you can select as many desktop programs as you want and then click Pin to Taskbar from the command bar at the bottom of the screen.

Step 6: Set your default apps.

This is a step a lot of people overlook. By default, Windows 8 sets several common file types to open with Metro-style apps. Windows 8.1 follows in that tradition. You can use the awkward and confusing Default Programs option in the desktop Control Panel. But it’s much, much easier to use the new Defaults option, which you’ll find in PC Settings under Search and Apps.

Don’t forget to change your default browser here. If you use Chrome or Firefox, the desktop version of your preferred browser becomes the default. If you use Internet Explorer, be sure to visit the Internet Options dialog box using the desktop interface. On the Programs tab, under Opening Internet Explorer, choose Always In Internet Explorer On The Desktop, and also check the box beneath that setting.

There, you’re done.

That was probably more complicated than it needs to be, but the end result should be a system that is far more tolerant of your desktop habits, with far less Metro style.

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Apple Back to School Offer

Apple Back to School by Carl Thorne

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Sobering Crash Video Test Between "Older" Car and "New"

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Modern Entrepreneurs Cut Costs with Mobile Offices

By Matthew O'Connell, IDG Creative Lab
  

In order to thrive, entrepreneurs need to stay determined, agile, and under budget.  When you’re building a business from the ground-up, brick-and-mortar office space can be more of a barrier than a benefit.  There are a lot of overhead costs to maintaining an office, and many entrepreneurs have found that they can do just fine without it.  Some get by with little more than an Intel inspired Ultrabook™ and a solid work ethic, while others require a bit more of a presence.

Mobile offices provide a range of cost-effective alternatives to leasing office space while retaining a lot of the benefits.  The most common ways to step into the mobile office environment are either by using shared office space or a virtual office service.

Shared Office Space

Shared office spaces have been popping up all over the place in recent years, especially in big cities.  You can get anything from a reserved desk to a private office, depending on your needs and budget.  These spaces foster professional atmospheres and usually provide standard amenities like coffee stations and water coolers.  Some shared spaces allow freelancers or individuals of any profession to grab a desk, while others cater to certain industries or companies of a certain level.  With the rising popularity of these spaces, it shouldn’t be difficult to find one that suits you.

Virtual Office Service 

Virtual office providers offer a number of services to support entrepreneurs.  One great benefit is a global network of meeting rooms that can be reserved on a per-meeting basis.  They also provide prestigious downtown mailing addresses with mail forwarding service, local phone numbers that are forwarded to your mobile, and sometimes even a receptionist to take your calls.  This is ideal for the mobile professional who needs a home base without a huge bill.

Whether you’re in a coffee shop, a shared office, or on the road, it’s important to recognize certain precautions and best practices for conducting business in a mobile environment.  Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:

Secure Your Data

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Entrepreneurs often don’t have the safeguards, legal teams, and resources that employees at enterprise companies take for granted.  It’s a good idea to get an Ultrabook with fingerprint or facial recognition technology, like the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon, to help keep your information safe.  That way, if your Ultrabook is misplaced or stolen, a data breach will be much less likely.  It’s also good practice to encrypt your more sensitive data.  While that may seem like a hassle, there are programs that make encryption a much easier and faster process than it used to be.

Use the Cloud

You’ll likely have one main Ultrabook for all of your important tasks.  Don’t bog down the hard drive by storing all of your files and programs there.  Use cloud storage for your data and cloud-based software programs for your software.  That way your computer stays clean, and as an added bonus, you’ve got another layer of security if your Ultrabook falls into the wrong hands.

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Timer 2.0.1: Replacement for iPhone Clock App?

Timer 2.0.1 If the iPhone Clock app's single timer is too limited for you, Timer is an elegant, easy-to-use app that lets you configure and customize multiple timers, quickly accessing any of them with a tap.

Dan Frakes 

The iPhone’s stock Clock app is versatile, offering instances of a world clock, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, and a single timer. Unfortunately, each of those features is pretty basic: For example, the timer mode offers just a single timer. 

I don’t know about you, but I often need more than one timer—when I’m cooking, for instance, I need to keep track of multiple dishes, each with its own schedule. Similarly, while I occasionally need a timer with an arbitrary length, more often than not I’m tracking the time of a specific task that I perform regularly: my favorite frozen food in the oven, laundry cycles, intervals at the gym. The Clock app requires me to reconfigure its single timer for each task. 

Timer gives you 15 timers on an iPhone 5. 

If, like me, you find the Clock timer to be too limiting, you’ll want to check out App Cubby’s free Timer (App Store link). This easy-to-use app offers a slew of configurable timers (15 on an iPhone 5 or fifth-generation iPod touch, 12 on older devices) so you always have the right timer for a particular activity—steeping tea, cooking pizza, working out, you name it—at your fingertips. 

For each timer, you can choose either a specific length of time or opt to be prompted for the duration on the fly—on my iPhone, I’ve got nine timers pre-configured, with the remaining six open. Tap any pre-configured timer to start it; tap any ad-hoc timer to be prompted for the time (setting the time automatically starts the timer). 

Tap and hold any timer—pre-configured or open—and you can choose that timer’s alert sound; you can also choose a button color, as well as a text or graphic label. These options make it easy to quickly find the right timer—for example, my frozen pizza timer displays a slice of pizza on its button. You can also give the entire app an alternate skin if you’re not a fan of the stock look. (Though Timer is free, you can purchase, for $1 or $2, UI bundles of themes, sounds, and graphics to further customize the app and timers. If you’re crazy for these add-ons, $10 gets you everything currently available, as well as all future add-ons.) 

While a timer is running, its button “glows” and you see, on the button itself, the timer counting down. You can have as many timers running concurrently as you want, making Timer perfect for cooking. When one finishes, you hear whatever alert sound you’ve configured for that timer; you also see an onscreen alert, and the timer’s button flashes until you tap the button to stop it. 

Timer lets you pre-configure the time, label, color, and alert sound for each alarm.

In a clever “Why don’t they all do this?” touch, Timer’s timers don’t stop at zero. Rather, once a timer reaches zero, it rolls right on through and counts up, so if you missed the alert, you know exactly how long ago the timer ended. My only complaint here is that I wish Timer added a minus (-) sign when counting up to make it even clearer that what you’re seeing is “stoppage time.” 

One other minor complaint is that when an alarm ends, its alert sound plays only once. Granted, the timer’s button continues to flash and, as I noted, the timer counts up, so it’s easy enough to figure out that a timer is done, but if I set my phone down on the kitchen counter and go to the next room, I occasionally miss a timer alert. I’m guessing that App Cubby chose this approach because, with the capability to have up to 15 timers, you could end up with multiple alerts playing over each other, with no way to tell which sound goes with which timer. Still, I wish the timer configuration screen included an option to repeat the alert sound until you stopped the timer. 

Really, my biggest complaint—which is more compliment than criticism—is that I wish there was an iPad version of Timer so that I could use the app on even more of my devices. It’s a flexible and easy-to-use way to track your timed tasks. 

Timer 2.0.1

At a Glance

If the iPhone Clock app's single timer is too limited for you, Timer is an elegant, easy-to-use app that lets you configure and customize multiple timers, quickly accessing any of them with a tap.

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Make a fake email address to avoid spam by Kim Komando

There are many reasons to create a fake email address. Maybe you want to avoid spam, or want to sign up to play an online game without receiving its newsletters. Or perhaps, you simply don't trust any site with your personal information.

You could create a second email address to give out in these situations. But then that's another inbox to check and manage.

If you've ever dreaded giving out your email address, look no further than MailDrop. It's a site that lets you create a fake, temporary and disposable email address to ensure your personal security.

Better yet, you can make up whatever email address you want to give out. You could be something simple like nomorespam@maildrop.cc, or pay homage to your favorite internet sensation - dog and cat beards - with dogbeardchamp@maildrop.cc.

So, the next time you see "Please enter your email address to continue," put in your new MailDrop address instead of your real one. When the time comes to check that inbox, just enter the address at the top right hand side of the MailDrop page.

It's also important to note that every email address is a public inbox. Anyone who knows your address could check your email. Make sure you don't use MailDrop for any private or sensitive emails.

maildrop.cc

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Switch to Mac: Buying your first Mac

Christopher Breen @BodyofBreen
 

You’ve thought long and hard about it and have decided to make the switch from your Windows PC to a Mac. The hard part’s over, right? You just traipse down to a promising-looking electronics boutique, slap down your credit card, learn the secret handshake, and you’re a Mac owner.

Not exactly. There are still questions to be answered. Where are Macs sold? Why would you choose one store or another? Should you skip retail stores altogether and purchase the thing online? Is it possible to purchase an older model for less money? And are post-purchase protection plans worth the money? Read on for the answers. 

Where can you buy a Mac?

Unlike some PCs you may have purchased, Macs aren’t sold everywhere. Apple maintains tight control over who can sell its products—increasingly so since the Apple retail stores were launched.

The source: Speaking of Apple retail stores, there are hundreds of them. To find the one nearest you, visit Apple’s Retail Store page. If you don’t have one within easy driving distance, you can shop for your Mac at Apple’s online store.

Third-party retailers: Apple isn’t your only choice. You can buy a Mac in person at a Best Buy store and online at such retailers as Amazon.com, MacConnection, and MacMall. Also, Apple has established a network of Apple Authorized Dealers. These are stores that are granted permission to sell and service Apple products. Unlike Apple’s own stores, which rarely offer discounts, third-party retailers will sometimes sell Macs for less, though you’ll never find them offered at a steep discount.

Government and educational discounts: Apple does offer discounts for government agencies, military personnel, and educational use. And the company usually offers a “Back to School” deal where you can get something like a free iPod touch when you purchase a new Mac. (These deals are usually offered in the late spring or early summer.) 

If you’re a student, a school’s faculty or staff member, or a parent of a college-bound student, you may quality for Apple’s education pricing. 

Is it better to buy directly from Apple?

Like any smart retailer, Apple wants the lion’s share of the profit when selling a Mac, and so it provides itself perks that it doesn’t share with other retailers. To begin with, when you order online, you can custom configure your Mac—add more memory or storage, for example, or upgrade the processor. You can also choose to sign up for Apple’s One to One service, where for $99 a year (extendable to three years total), Apple will not only transfer data from an old Mac, but also offer training on a drop-in basis at an Apple retail store. 

Shop at the online Apple Store, and you can customize your Mac’s configuration.

Apple sells refurbished models for a discount (more about this later), which is something other retailers can’t do. And Apple performs many repairs and replacements on-site, whereas Apple authorized retailers often have to return problem products to Apple for exchange or repair. 

The third-party advantage: Apple doesn’t hold all the cards, however. When purchasing a Mac from Apple’s online store, Apple will charge state sales tax where applicable. Some other online retailers don’t (though you may still owe money to the tax collector). These retailers offer the same warranty that Apple does. Additionally, some physical stores with “Apple authorized retailer” status will migrate data from one Mac to another for free. In a small store, it’s easier to establish a personal relationship with the owner and employees. And those people aren’t limited to telling you only what Apple wants you to hear. They often have advice for working around issues that Apple employees can’t discuss.

What about refurbished Macs?

Because all returned Macs eventually make their way to Apple, the company has the ability to repair and restore returned units. These weren’t necessarily broken computers—Macs are returned for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the state the Mac was originally in, it’s brought up to like-new condition, equipped with the same warranty as a new Mac, and priced, on average, a few hundred dollars less. Some refurbs are of current models, while others may be of the previous generation or two. You can find Apple’s refurbs on the Apple site. 

Is an AppleCare extended warranty worth it?

With the purchase of an Apple product, the company offers a one-year limited warranty and 90 days of free telephone support. AppleCare is an add-on service and support plan that extends the coverage on your Apple product. 

What it covers: For Macs and Apple displays, this coverage extends to three years total from the original purchase date. For iOS devices and Apple TVs, coverage is extended to two years from purchase. If you purchase an Apple display at the same time that you buy your Mac, AppleCare coverage for the Mac also covers the display. 

The coverage includes phone support for the length of the plan, carry-in service to Apple retail stores and authorized service providers, drop off at UPS stores in the United States for iPods and iPhones, direct mail-in service, on-site service for desktop computers, and parts delivered to you for things that can be easily replaced (new cables or input devices that were bundled with your purchase, for example). During the coverage period, repairs are done for free except in instances when it’s clear the problem was caused by user negligence. (Hint: iPhones that are stored in back pockets plus restrooms can be a dangerous combination.) 

What it costs: The price of AppleCare depends on the device for which you purchase coverage. For example, AppleCare for a Mac mini is $149, an iMac’s coverage costs $169, a 13-inch Retina display MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is $249, and a 15-inch Retina display MacBook Pro is $349. 

Whether AppleCare is worth it depends, of course, on whether your Apple product has serious problems during the coverage period. If it operates trouble-free during that time you may feel like you’ve thrown away your money. However, if a display goes bad or a motherboard gives up the ghost, you’ll be thrilled to be covered when you learn that you’d otherwise pay three times the price of an AppleCare plan for the repair. 

When it’s definitely worth it: A reasonable rule of thumb is that if your Mac has a built-in display (a laptop or iMac), it’s worth paying for AppleCare, as repairing a display is never an inexpensive proposition. AppleCare for an iOS device is a tougher sell, as problems with those devices usually surface within the first six months, though the AppleCare+ plans that cover such devices include coverage for two “accidental damage due to handling” incidents. If you drop your device and shatter its screen, for example, you can have it replaced for $49 plus applicable tax. 

Welcome

There’s a reason many Apple users’ eyes have a slightly fanatical glint. Apple makes great stuff that’s fun and easy to use. It's hard to not be enthusiastic about a new Mac. Now that you know where to get yours (and how to protect it should something bad happen), welcome in. The water's fine.

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