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Category: Tech in the News

July 9, 2017

Two Devices Your New iMac Needs Now

If you’ve just purchased a new Mac, and you think you’re done… you’re not. Your computer needs some friends to play with!

So you just bought yourself a shiny new Mac to replace your old Apple machine. Congrats. Now for the bad news… You’re probably not done adding to your shopping cart. You’ve got a couple more important decisions to make…

Apple Refresh
I’ve just upgraded to a 2017 iMac and thought that as a veteran Mac owner I knew all of the ropes. Guess what? I don’t. If you’re like me and like to hold onto your Apple products for as many years as possible (versus always having the latest and greatest) you may not be entirely up to speed on current needs and best practices to properly get your new Mac up and running.

Here are a couple of items I had to consider after unboxing my new pride and joy:

New External Drive for Time Machine Back Up
Cost: $199.95

Eliminate the Weak Link
You might be wondering… “What about Barrett’s old backup drive? Can’t he use that with his new iMac?”

Well, sure I can. But the idea of a years-old drive working to back up all of your files worried me more than a little byte…
(Bad joke)

I say buy yourself a brand new backup drive, and get a good one.
I’m a big fan of G-Technology drives. They’re not the cheapest game in town, but the extra bucks are well spent when it comes to preserving your digital life.

I could have gone with either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt 3 drives (similar pricing) but figured on reserving my two iMac Thunderbolt 3 ports for faster needs than Time Machine backups.

You’ll Always Need More Storage
Now, you must be thinking, “Wait a minute! Why get a 6TB drive to back up a 3TB machine?!”

Good question.

The answer is if you’re like me… eternally generating lots of photos and videos and plan to move into the 4K video landscape… you’re going to need plenty of storage.

Yes, a Time Machine drive can do double duty and simply store files along with Time Machine backups.

I recommend always buying a bigger drive than you think you’ll need. Trust me.
It was only another thirty bucks for an extra 2TB.
(Isn’t that crazy cheap?)

External DVD/CD Drive
Cost: $79

How Old is Too Old?
Thinking about whether I need one of these gives away how ancient my old iMac is.
(If you’ve read this far, I hope you’re a friendly tech geek or a Luddite who’s turned over a new leaf. Either way, I’m hoping you’re not going to judge me when I admit my old iMac is from mid 2010.
(Be gentle.)

Can you believe it’s seven years old! And it’s still ticking. Yes, it’s slower and glitchier, but it’s doing okay. Still, sometimes you’ve just got to call it, before the circuits just don’t fire up anymore. So when Apple announced the 2017 iMac refresh, I knew my number had come up… before my iMac’s did. I think by all reasonable considerations it was time to do the upgrade.
(Agree?)

At Home with Discs
So my iMac slid out of its packaging looking lean and mean and without a slot for discs. Actually, Apple eliminated native optical drives in iMacs a long time ago.

Your choice is to buy an Apple USB SuperDrive to plug in or utilize “DVD or CD Sharing” from another Mac.
Apple explains how to do that here.

I appreciate the work-around option, but remember that CD transfer project you started but never finished? Yeah, I’ve got one of those too. I’m not quite ready to entirely eliminate discs from my life yet.
(Maybe I’ll be disc-free in time for my next iMac upgrade!)

  • Apple’s USB SuperDrive is only $79.
    Considering how much we’ve already spent on our new Mac, I think we can give ourselves permission to take this step.
    (However backwards-thinking it may seem)

And yes, there are cheaper third-party optical drives on the market, but if you’re buying a Mac, there’s probably a part of you that doesn’t want to immediately turn it into a ‘Franken-computer’ with some no-name drive attached to it.

I give you permission to keep it all-Apple.

Click.

Sticker Shock?
Spending an extra $280 to activate your new iMac is not insignificant. On the other hand, there are always add-on devices to any all-in-one solution. The iMac is no different.

The only choice here is whether to spend a little more on better quality.
When it comes to maintaining your digital harmony over the long term, that’s always money well spent!

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June 18, 2017

Why My iCloud Email Stopped Working in Outlook for Mac

When your email program suddenly chokes, it’s probably a good idea to first find out if your email provider has updated any of its policies that require you to take action.

Yes, my iCloud emails abruptly stopped showing up in my Microsoft Outlook for Mac program a few days ago. For the record, it was on June 15. My iMac presented a message warning me that something was very wrong and that it might be my password or user ID. But as far as I knew, nothing had changed.

Boy, was I wrong…

June 15 Can be Hazardous to Your Emails
And if you think you don’t need to worry about this particular tech glitch because you don’t use Outlook for Mac for email, be forewarned that this story affects all of your third-party apps that require a password to get to your iCloud email, calendar and contacts.

I scoured the web for possible solutions.
Hours later, I stumbled across this little detail:
(Thanks to 9to5Mac and Lifewire)

As of June 15, 2017, Apple changed its security policies for non-Apple apps. Now, you need to create app-specific passwords through Apple’s enhanced security protocols of “2-step verification” (older system) or “2-factor verification” (newer system).

What this means is you can’t sign into your non-Apple apps using your iCloud password. You’ve got to create app-specific passwords through Apple.

This is not at all a new process. But if you’ve been avoiding Apple’s verification protocols, now you have no choice but to comply or get kicked out of Apple’s ecosystem.

Give a Dad a Chance!
No doubt, better security bolted onto your iCloud account is wicked important. But it would have been nice to know that this was coming.
(Cough)

But as it turns out, Apple sent an email to me on May 16 explaining the change.
I didn’t see that one apparently…

And then I missed the friendly reminder that went out two days before the deadline.
Mea culpa.

So how hard is it to set it all up?
Not at all.

In fact, it’s easy via the Apple ID page, which houses all of your account details and where you can create these à la carte passwords.

Father’s Day Gift from Apple
Look, I know I wasn’t paying attention. And I was given fair warning… twice.

But Apple… did you have to make the deadline right before Father’s Day?!
I mean… chances are there are other dads out there who ran afoul of this change.
I can’t be the only one.
(Cough)

And wouldn’t it be safe to assume we’ve all got other plans on Father’s Day weekend beyond having to spend time trying to figure out how to get our emails working again?

Choosing a different week would have been better.
(Just a pedestrian point of view from one of your faithful users out there in the trenches)

And to all of you ‘IT Guy’ dads out there who dodged this particular bullet, please hear me: If you don’t have the spare time to make your tech updates in a timely manner and hope to keep the status quo going for as long as possible… you can only wait for so long!

And then it catches up with you.
That’s the reality.
Happy Father’s Day.

Now put away your new tie and get to work.
(And read all of your Apple emails!)

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May 21, 2017

What is Apple CarPlay?

If you step into a newer vehicle and suddenly feel like your iPhone has been taken over by the car’s computer system, don’t freak out (like I did). There’s an explanation…

So I was riding as a passenger in a car, minding my own business. Except I wanted to top off the juice in my iPhone. I noticed a USB plug, and I had a Lightning cable with me. So I took the liberty to plug in and power up.

Then my father happened to call me. I put my iPhone up to my ear to talk.

“Hey, Dad! What’s doing?”

To my surprise, I heard my father’s response blare loudly through the car’s speakers!

I wasn’t too keen on publicly sharing our conversation.
(My 84-year-old father can sometimes be a little cranky.)

So I said, “Hold on for a moment, Dad…”

I checked my iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection. Had it somehow paired with the car’s speaker system?
No.

Maybe Bluetooth?
Nope.

Then how the heck was my iPhone connected to this mysterious ‘Car-Net?!’

Plugging into a Strange Car
Of course, I was missing the obvious connection. Remember, I had just jacked in my iPhone with the Lighting cable.

I looked at the cable and yanked it out to sever the connection as if I were taking an ax to a hive of cables powering a massive super computer that had just been hacked.

My iPhone took back its audio, and I had my private chat with my dad.
He needed some ‘tech support’ on how to mute and unmute the ringer on his own iPhone.
(Sigh)

Hello, CarPlay
So what the heck had just happened to me and my trusty iPhone?

Well, if you don’t own a newer model car, you may not know this, but I had simply experienced the iPhone capability called, ‘Apple CarPlay.’

Actually, it’s more about the capability of your car… if it has a built-in touchscreen that can ‘talk’ to your iPhone.
(The presence of a touchscreen does not, in itself, guarantee CarPlay compatibility.)

If your vehicle works with CarPlay, the touchscreen will display certain native iPhone apps like Maps, Phone, Messages, and Music, as well as other apps like Audible, Pandora and Amazon Music.
(It’s an easier and safer way to use your iPhone in the car.)

The apps have been reimagined for your car’s display.
(It’s not a mirror of your iPhone’s screen.)

Your car’s buttons and knobs can also be used, such as when you want to use Siri for voice control.

Newer Cars Only
Again, older wheels can’t play with CarPlay.
I love my older Toyota RAV4, but it only knows how to ‘CarDrive.’

Yes, I’ve got tech envy.
(It was clear there were tech stunts it couldn’t do when I had to MacGyver it to stream music from my iPhone via Bluetooth.)

Most auto manufacturers began integrating CarPlay in 2016 and 2017, and some are still ramping up.
(For example: 2018 for the Subaru Outback and Volvo XC60.)

Plus, CarPlay only works with iPhone 5 or newer models.

Some vehicles support CarPlay via a Lightning USB connection; others can do the trick wirelessly.

Aftermarket Solutions
But all is not lost… There are aftermarket CarPlay systems that you can install in your car’s dashboard. Apple lists Alpine, Carion, Kenwood, Pioneer and Sony for suggested systems.

The price tag ranges from $400 to over $1,000.
Zac Hall from 9to5Mac has this review of his favorites.

Add It to the Shopping List
So if you’re driving, CarPlay is clearly an important upgrade when you want to interface with your iPhone.

But if you’re simply a passenger in someone else’s ride and need to find the nearest USB jack… just remember your iPhone can become something of a more ‘public’ user experience.

Do you see CarPlay in your future…?

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