How To Handle “Word Is Not Optimized For Your Mac”

Posted on June 12, 2019June 12, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics

If you’ve upgraded your Mac to macOS High Sierra or macOS Mojave you have likely seen an alert that looks like the one shown below. I’ll explain what this alert means and how you should handle this situation.

Microsoft Word 2011 is only one of many applications that can trigger this alert, but Word 2011 is, by far, the most prevalent application that triggers this alert. This alert has generated a lot of uncertainty. If one clicks the Learn More button, you’re taken to Apple’s article which offers a mildly technical explanation of the situation. It also outlines what steps you can take, but let me try to present a clearer explanation. Read More

Brydge: A More Comfortable And Capable Keyboard For iPads

Posted on June 2, 2019June 6, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Hardware, iPhone and iPad

Do you use an iPad but wish you could easily attach a keyboard to let your iPad function more like a laptop for taking notes or composing emails? If so, you should consider the Brydge bluetooth keyboard for iPad. This Tech Tip comes from another Apple consulting business, Convenient Integration. Look for future articles from them on the topics of technology and design.

Most of us spend hours interacting with our electronics every day. I’m becoming more aware of my hardware choices and habits. Thus, I’m focusing on improving ergonomics during these hours. Read More

View Your Website Passwords Saved in Safari

Posted on May 28, 2019May 30, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Passwords, Security/Privacy, Software, Web Browsing

Do you use Safari as your web browser? Do you ask it to save the passwords you use to login to various websites? If so, did you know that you can view a list of these passwords? This is a handy way to look-up or retrieve some of your passwords. Read More

How To Manage Apple Updates On Your Mac

Posted on May 19, 2019May 21, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Mac OS X, Software

Do you think your Mac abruptly installed an update to your Mac’s operating system on its own, without your permission? While it is possible for this to occur if you have automatic updates enabled, I have also had clients inadvertently instruct their Mac to install macOS updates. This occurs because people get confused by the choices that Apple offers them. In last week’s Tech Tip I show you how to disable the automatic installation of macOS updates. In this week’s Tech Tip, I’ll show you how to prevent the accidental installation of macOS updates. Read More

How To Disable Automatic Updates For macOS

Posted on May 12, 2019May 28, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics, Mac OS X, Maintenance, Software

Would you like to make sure that your Mac is not configured to automatically install updates to the Mac operating system (macOS)? If so, follow the instructions for the version of macOS installed on your Mac. To determine which version you have installed, please click on the Apple menu, in the upper left corner, of your Mac’s screen, and choose About This Mac. The macOS version will be listed in the window that appears.

I do not enable and do not recommend the automatic installation of macOS updates. While I’m generally in favor of installing macOS updates, I like to control when they get installed. Inevitably, if the computer does it automatically it will pick an inconvenient time.

View Older Versions Of A Website

Posted on May 5, 2019May 10, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Miscellaneous

Have you ever visited a web site to discover that the site no longer exists? Or, have you wanted to view an older version of a website? It is possible to do this if you take a trip in the Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine, also called the Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that is building a searchable archive of the Internet. Read More

Introduction to RAID

Posted on March 25, 2019March 8, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Computer Basics, Terminology

Do you need to store many Terabytes (TB) of data or does your business operate a server that needs to be available to your staff at all times? If so, you might want to understand the basics of RAID. A RAID is a group of hard drives working in tandem to give you increased storage capacity or to reduce the likelihood of your data being unavailable to your staff. Drive Savers has an excellent article that includes a 4 minute video that provides a nice introduction to RAID.

Securely Erase Your Mac’s Mechanical Hard Drive With OS X 10.11 (Yosemite) Or Higher

Posted on March 17, 2019June 5, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Hardware, Macintosh, Security/Privacy

Are you retiring an older Mac that has a mechanical, spinning hard drive in it? If your Mac is running OS X 10.11 or newer then continue reading this article. Below are instructions on how you can securely erase the Mac’s hard drive before you donate your Mac or sell it.

13-inch MacBook Pro Solid-State Drive Service Program

Posted on March 10, 2019March 8, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Apple, Companies, Hardware, Macintosh

Do you have a 13-inch MacBook Pro that you bought between June 2017-June 2018? If so, please see if your Mac is affected by Apple’s service program which they introduced in November 2018.

Apple has determined that a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives (SSD) used in 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) units have an issue that may result in data loss and failure of the drive. 13-inch MacBook Pro units with affected drives were sold between June 2017 and June 2018. Read More

How To Fix Outlook’s Search Feature On A Mac

Posted on March 3, 2019March 4, 2019 by Tim Hannon in Email, Software

Do you use Microsoft Outlook 2011, Outlook 2016, or newer, on a Mac? If your copy of Outlook has lost its ability to find emails, here are some suggestions on how to fix Outlook’s search function. Microsoft has written a thorough article outlining all possible causes and fixes when Outlook’s search function stops working. This is great, but I think this article might overwhelm the typical person since it is quite dense and a bit technical. In my experience, the most common cause is a corrupt Spotlight search index. Read More