Got an iPhone or an iPad? This is for you! iOS 14! Jonathan and Sam will be discussing the new stuff coming plus the upcoming changes to Macs while LD chimes in with his opinions. Ready? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/06/apple-takes-the-wraps-off-ios-14-at-wwdc-2020/ https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-14/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-reimagines-the-iphone-experience-with-ios-14/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/ipados-14-introduces-new-features-designed-specifically-for-ipad/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-announces-mac-transition-to-apple-silicon/
Are you Authentic(ated)? (6/13/20 Part 2)
2FA ought be a part of your digital life. Authenticate This! Yes, it is annoying. But, its not as annoying as someone accessing your account after stealing, hacking, or figuring out your login! Many sites and services offer 2FA via text message, but unfortunately that is the weakest form of it. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/do-you-use-sms-for-two-factor-authentication-heres-why-you-shouldnt/ https://www.protectimus.com/blog/sms-authentication/ So, tell me about some of them… Much like sports teams, the overall landscape does change from year to year, so what’s “best” this year might not be next year. This is a good thing, though. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-authenticator-apps-for-protecting-your-account-1840711013 https://www.pcworld.com/article/3225913/what-is-two-factor-authentication-and-which-2fa-apps-are-best.html
Recycling and eCycling! Its time to clean up responsibly! (5/9/20 Part 1)
Are you cleaning up the house or office and finding lots of old stuff! Well, ecycling is open! Jonathan called! Saturdays and Tuesdays! E-Cycling’s Back! Can you spare some time to go looking for old computers, electronics, etc? Can it still be used? Can you clean it up and give it to someone? Can you clean it up and SELL it to someone? Are there parts that are still good? Can those be cleaned up and given/sold to someone? This has a LOT of “what about” and“if” questions , plus is a lot of work. Time to Recycle! https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling https://www.energizer.com/responsibility/battery-recycling/where-to-recycle-batteries https://interstatebatteries.com/recycling https://www.mauicounty.gov/BusinessDirectoryII.aspx?lngBusinessCategoryID=136
Batteries 101! (5/9/20 Part 2)
A tech reporter from Ananadtech did research finding that one smartphone company’s fast-recharge tech ages your battery prematurely. Wowzers! How do you keep your laptop, phone, and tablet batteries going for a long time? The Battery Episode Taking care of your laptop batteries! https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-care-for-your-laptops-battery/ Laptop batteries have a lifespan of X-many power cycles (0%-100%). Going from 100% to 0% is one power cycle. Going from 100% to 50% is half a power cycle. Cycles are like mileage. As the battery gets older and has more cycles, it starts holding less charge per cycle. Using your laptop’s more power efficient settings will help you get more mileage out of each charge. Windows Battery Saver – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/battery-saver Windows Power Slider – https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/windows-10-give-power-slider-optimize-speed-battery Mac Energy Saver – https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202824 Shutting down programs or suspending services (like cloud services), wifi, etc., when not in use will help extend battery life. Reducing screen brightness will help as well. Nickel-Metal hydride (NiMH) versus Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Old NiMH batteries used to develop “memories,” where they would not fully charge. This was a problem with the tech at the time. Li-Ion doesn’t have this problem. You do NOT have to completely discharge the battery before recharging a Li-Ion. Best practice is currently getting down to maybe 20% or so before recharging. You CAN keep Li-Ion batteries plugged in as power management is better now, and the device should stop charging once it hits 100%. Keeping it comfortable. Batteries do not like to get hot! If you’re doing resource heavy work, be sure to give your …
Zoom! It’s wildly popular with growing pains! (4/4/20 Part 1)
Zoom.us provides an increasingly popular web-conferencing service that people are using in this time of working from home and social distancing. But, like any good thing, this overnight growth spurt has some growing pains! This previously professional service is now being used for social connection by seemingly everyone, meaning the jerks have come along too. Zoom! Security – Part 1 Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we talk about some of the problems Zoom is having!
Making your Zoom meeting more secure! (4/4/20 Part 2)
So, we went over the problems Zoom has been having in hour one. Now? Let’s talk about fixing those problems! How DO you make your Zoom meeting more secure? Zoom! Security – Part 2 Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we discuss this popular teleconference service!
Working from Home! With Links! (3/28/20 Part 1)
Many folks are having to work remotely versus going to the office and being around people. Are you one of them? First time to this experience? Fear not, we’re talking about it! Working Remotely Useful links for you! https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-work-from-home-without-losing-your-mind/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryhannon/2013/09/02/10-tips-for-working-from-home/#2a5480b787ad https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-set-up-a-workable-home-office-1977403 https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-apps-for-a-second-phone-number/
Stuck at home? Don’t go CrAzY! (3/28/20 Part 2)
Quarantines. Is this your first one? Well, you might need some help trying to deal with the abundance of unstructured time you hadn’t planned on! No Need Stir Crazy! We’ll be talking about that this time! And as mentioned, now is a great time to try Audible too! You can get a free audiobook plus 30 days free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/MauiOnline. https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/03/how-to-keep-your-sanity-when-you-feel-like-the-world-is-going-crazy/ https://www.q-a.net/maui-computer-learning/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/03/16/social-distancing-free-virtual-tours/5060244002/ https://www.radiotimes.com/news/radio/2020-03-20/audible-just-made-hundreds-of-titles-completely-free-to-help-during-coronavirus-crisis/ https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g31668402/free-workouts-coronavirus/ https://www.health.com/fitness/coronavirus-at-home-workout https://www.romper.com/p/20-video-chatting-activities-for-grandparents-kids-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-22629324 https://www.librarieshawaii.org/
Where’s the best spot for your wifi? (2/29/20 Part 1)
So, you got a nice wifi router. You spent a bunch of money on it. But, are you setting yourself back with bad placement? WiFi tricks! What’s the best way to get the best bang for your buck on your internet? And can you reuse old routers to improve your network? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/the-ars-technica-semi-scientific-guide-to-wi-fi-access-point-placement/ https://www.howtogeek.com/104469/how-to-extend-your-wi-fi-network-with-simple-access-points/ https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-turn-an-old-wi-fi-router-into-an-access-point/ Jonathan really likes Ubiquiti access points if you want to get yourself an easy way to expand your network! Q&A can also set these up for you!
Be secure on your phone! (2/22/20 Part 1)
Got a smart phone? Did you know its pretty much a computer? You probably take security seriously on your computer, so you should take it seriously there too! Mobile Security! So, tips and links to help you out! Use a PIN, Pattern, or Fingerprint reader. PINS and Patterns (android) are nice because you can change them, let other people know them if you need them to get into your phone, and you can change them. Fingerprints and biometrics are convenient, but aren’t foolproof. Also, whether or not they’re protected by the 4th and 5th Amendments is unclear right now. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/feds-forcing-mass-fingerprint-unlocks-is-an-abuse-of-power-judge-rules/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/01/court-rules-against-man-who-was-forced-to-fingerprint-unlock-his-phone/ Encrypt your phone. Its an easy way to protect your data, photos, contacts, and more. It doesn’t incur much performance hit these days. If you want to sell your phone, just resetting it doesn’t make your data unrecoverable. Encrypt THEN reset. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-reasons-encrypt-smartphone-data/ https://gizmodo.com/why-you-should-be-encrypting-your-devices-and-how-to-ea-1798698901 Don’t jailbreak/root your phone. This is often done to add customizations or run pirated apps. You can break the security of an iPhone doing this, leaving you with little or no protection. Pirated apps from outside the official stores run significant risk of having malware. If you use wifi a lot or travel a lot, get a VPN service. https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-is-a-vpn-and-why-you-need-one