Apple’s 2016 World Wide Developer’s Conference is being held this week.  On Monday, Apple kicked it off with some big announcements of new operating systems coming this fall.  I thought I would summarize them for you here.

As many of you know, last year I began offering Mac tuneup contracts.  It was really an experiment for me.  I did not know what to expect in terms of reception of the idea and how the appointments would go.  I now have over 70 contracts so I guess it has been received pretty well.

I would like to offer you 3 summary points from my spring quarter classes.  These are 3 essentials that every user should practice on a regular basis.  They should be committed to memory and be a natural part of your interaction with your devices.

First, let’s get some terms straight  What is the difference between updating and upgrading?:

• Updating:  This is accepting minor changes to your operating system.  These changes often include fixing software bugs, security vulnerabilities and minor feature or function enhancements.

If you have an iPhone 6 or better (2/3 of iPhone users in the USA do!), you have Apple Pay.  It is a fantastic, secure and simple way to pay for goods and services both in-store and online.

A couple of weeks ago Apple released the newest version of its Mac operating system - OS X El Capitan.  It is numerically OS 10.11.  It is free and available in the Mac App Store (Apple menu > App Store…).  In this blog I will give an overview of El Capitan’s features and suggest a procedure to make sure your Mac is ready for the upgrade before you actually install El Capitan.

A new feature available on recent versions of iOS and on newer iPhones is called Wi-fi Calling.  This feature enables you to make and receive phone calls over wi-fi if your phone’s cellular connection is weak or you have no service.  Once enabled it works automatically.

iOS 9 has been officially released for just hours now and already I am reading about people having trouble upgrading.  I think many of these people had devices that were not working well under the hood before the upgrade (unknown to them) and the upgrade was problematic.  I have been using iOS 9 on my iPad since July (in a prototype "Beta" form) and it has been very reliable.  This blog will help you upgrade reliably, properly and safely.

Unless you have been living under a rock, by now you know the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are were announced last week.  They will be available September 25th.  So, what is new?

I have been contacted by many clients in the last few weeks that are ready to upgrade their iPhone.  And I quickly tell them “NO”!  This is a really bad time to buy an iPhone.

Why?  Well, for many years now Apple has released new iPhones in September.  It is almost September.

I admit it, when the Apple Watch was first announced I did not “get” the concept.  I even wrote a blog about how I did not get it and would not buy one.

Soon after it occurred to me - “what if one of my many outstanding clients buys one and contacts me to help set it up and use it?”  Ack, horrors - something Apple that I do not understand.  This would not do and I immediately ordered an Apple Watch.

I have been asked about prepaid services and have contemplated them for many months.  I am now announcing a preliminary version of my service contracts.  If it goes well I will add other options.  I would love to hear your thoughts about other options you would like me to offer.

Here is how the service contract works:

What is malware?  It is short for “malicious software” and is a broad term that encompasses everything from annoying ad pop-ups to full scale viruses (that generally do not attack Macs).

Most commonly, and with a spike in frequency lately, Macs can get infected with spyware and adware that...

Lets speak of the unspeakable - your MacBook, iMac or any other Mac gets stolen.  It is safe, right?  Your Mac has a password and you have to enter that password when you boot it up or wake it from sleep, right?  So, what’s to worry about?

Lots.

If you have the latest version of the operating system for your Mac, specifically 10.10.3 or higher, you have Apple’s newest photo management, editing and sharing app called Photos.  It replaces the long-lived iPhoto as the primary photo app for your Mac.  However, in Apple tradition, iPhoto remains on your Mac as does you iPhoto library.  iPhoto was probably moved off your Dock but it still remains in your Applications folder in Finder.  Apple will not update iPhoto past this point and there may come a time where it will not run at all with future versions of OS X.

I have seen many people use their Mac, some of them very experienced users.  There are very, very few who do not exhibit at least one of these mistakes.  This blog should advance your use and enjoyment of your Mac:

#1 - Clicking the red button in the upper left of a window to quit an app. In almost all cases, clicking the red dot does not quit an app.

Last week Apple announced two new products - the Apple Watch and the new 12" MacBook. 

Let's start with the new MacBook. It sounds good enough in the general sense - a super thin, lightweight Mac with a brilliant Retina display and long battery life.

The new year is upon us and with that brings the beginning of the winter quarter at Clark College in Vancouver.  This winter I have some exciting new classes and some classics.  Here is the lineup:

’Tis the season for shopping. I would like to offer a shopping option that you may not have considered.  It will save you lots of money yet provide you with an excellent product.

I am a huge fan of Apple’s refurbished products.  I have bought them for years and they are always my top recommended Apple products.  Why, you ask?  I will tell you in this blog.

I know I have written about backing up in the past; several times, actually.  However, I really cannot think of a more important thing you should do with your Mac (or your iPad/iPhone as far as that goes, but that will be another blog).

In the last couple of weeks I have had a number of clients with failed or failing hard drives.  Hard drives fail for many reasons including for no apparent reason and with no warning.