Have you noticed wireless networks named XFINITY, xfinitywifi or CableWiFi? Does your Mac keep connecting to these networks? Here’s an explanation about what these wireless networks are as well as some information about when you might want your Mac to connect to these networks.
Read moreDid you know that Apple only services Macs, iPhones, iPad and iPod for 5 years? Apple uses the term vintage to describe products that have been discontinued for more than 5 years. An Apple support article states that “Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than five years and less than seven years … Read more
Did your iPhone or iPad freeze and stop responding? If so, perform a hard reset. This procedure will fix many small issues. If your device continues to freeze then you may need to take more extensive measures, like performing a factory reset or taking it to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store. Here are instructions … Read more
Do you own an iPhone 6, 6S, 6 Plus or a 6S Plus? If so, use Reachability to make it easier to use the phone with only one hand. The iPhone 6 (or 6S) and iPhone 6 Plus (or 6S Plus) come with 4.7″ and 5.5″ screens, respectively. Apple added a feature named Reachability to make … Read more
Do you know you can access your iPhone or iPad’s Flashlight, Clock, Calculator, Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb feature and more with only two taps? All of these features are available via the iOS Control Center. In iOS 7 through iOS 11, you can to quickly access the Control Center, tap on the Home button on … Read more
I know you subscribe to my Tech Tips to get pearls of wisdom and nuggets of knowledge. Not this week. This Tech Tip is just for fun. Hope you enjoy it. Check out this iPad magician.
Read moreWill you be taking photos with your iPhone or iPad this holiday season? If so, here is the fastest way to access your device’s camera. Press the Home button on the face of the iPhone. Do you see the camera icon in the lower right corner? Press on this icon and simultaneously slide your finger … Read more
If you own an iPhone make sure your Find My iPhone feature is enabled. Find My iPhone is one of the services offered by Apple’s iCloud service. The Find My iPhone feature helps you locate your iPhone, lock it and potentially erase it. Best of all, Find My iPhone is a theft deterrent since this feature … Read more
At some point, everyone will experience a hard drive failure. When this happens, a Time Machine backup can save your data. Here are instructions on how to restore all applications and personal files from a Time Machine backup onto a new hard drive. Time Machine is a backup application made by Apple. It comes bundled with … Read more
Have you ever wondered how to identify which iPhone or iPad model you have? While there are some physical characteristics that might help you generally differentiate one model from another, these differences are often subtle and aren’t always sufficient. Here are a two ways to definitively identify your iOS device.
Read moreCrashPlan is a backup application, made by Code42. I use it and recommend it to create off-site, cloud-based, backups. To backup to Code42’s servers, one needs a subsciption. Code42 used to offer both home and business plans, but they stopped selling home plans in August 2017. A Business subscription costs $10 per computer per month and provides unlimited … Read more
If Comcast is your Internet Service Provider, you are likely renting your cable modem from them. In the Seattle area, the rental fee is currently about $10 per month. If you’re renting, you should consider buying your own cable modem. Here are the pros and cons of renting a cable modem, as I see them.
Read moreDo you use a Fujitsu ScanSnap document scanner? Have you ever cleaned it? I recently cleaned my ScanSnap and it fixed a paper feed issue I was having. I’ve previously recommended Fujitsu ScanSnap scanners. I’ve owned my ScanSnap S500M since the beginning of 2007 and I’ve never cleaned it since it has performed nearly flawlessly. This summer, … Read more
You should consider using Apple’s easy-to-use Image Capture. Image Capture can both copy photos off of digital cameras and control a scanner to scan paper documents. Today’s tech tip focuses only on scanning. Image Capture can control hundreds of scanners made by Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and other manufacturers. Image Capture is one of many free applications that … Read more
Have you ever deleted a text message from your iPhone and then quickly regretted doing this? If so, here’s an overview of some options that might let you recover that text message. Unlike deleted voicemail messages or deleted email messages, there isn’t a Trash or Deleted Items folder for text messages. In other words, you … Read more
Do you ever need a magnifying glass or a bit of light to read a menu or medicine bottle? If so, check out Magnifying Glass With Light or Glasses. Both are free iOS apps for your iPhone. Both of these apps are easy to use, and you would be wise have one on your iPhone. Glasses has an elegant design and … Read more
Clients often ask me how often they should backup their Mac. They also ask me which files they should backup. My answer is short and sweet. Everybody should backup all files on their Mac’s hard drive every day. Why? Because you never knows when disaster will strike and you’ll need to rely on a recent backup to … Read more
I recently learned that Comcast has offered a low-cost Internet service for low-income families since early 2014. Comcast calls this the Internet Essentials program. As of April 2015, Comcast indicates that they’ve enrolled 480,000 families across the country. In August, 2015, Comcast started a pilot program in San Francisco to extend this program to low-income … Read more
I know you subscribe to my Tech Tips to get pearls of wisdom and nuggets of knowledge. Not this week. This Tech Tip is just for fun. Hope you enjoy it. If you’ve ever wondered what you could build with a big collection of iMac boxes then check out the Giant iMac Wheel in this YouTube … Read more
Are you switching from a PC to a Mac? Did you use Outlook on your PC? Do you want to convert your Outlook email messages, calendar appointments, and address book contacts into Apple’s Mail, Calendar, and Contacts applications? If so, you should consider PST Converter Pro ($40).
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