Apple Tech Tips

Jere Minich, Advisor, Region 5 (AL, FL, GA, SC)

4/9/21

WHY OLD PHONES DON’T WORK ON MODERN CELLULAR NETWORKS – If you find an old cell phone in a drawer somewhere, there’s a good chance it can’t connect to modern cellular networks. It won’t find a signal. By 2022 or 2023, many more old cell phones, including the iPhone 4, will be cut off. But why?

How-to Geek has the info here. https://bit.ly/3cKoyd3

HIDDEN iPHONE TIPS AND TRICKS THAT WILL MAKE YOU AN iOS EXPERT – Apple’s iOS is a pretty user-friendly mobile operating system, but there’s plenty of hidden power under the hood. Apple iOS is so full of features that no review or story can cover it all. But we compiled our favorite tips, tricks, and secrets about iOS and the iPhone. Things that will make your day—and your life—more productive, and put you on the path to being an iPhone expert.
PC Magazine has more than 50 Tips/Tricks here. https://bit.ly/3cIFErK

THE 9 BEST IPHONE WIDGETS (AND HOW TO PUT THEM TO GOOD USE) – iPhone widgets let you see all kinds of app information at a glance. Here are some of the best iPhone widgets you should be using. Along with highlighting some of the best iPhone widgets around, we’ll show you how to add them to your Home screen.
Make Use Of has the list plus explanations here. https://bit.ly/3cKZpPi

EXPERIENCING BATTERY DRAIN IN iOS 14? 8 FIXES – If you’re having problems with excessive battery drain in iOS 14, here are some solutions to try. Battery issues are rather common and often accompany an iOS update. If you’re one of the users experiencing a significant drop in battery lifespan with iOS 14, here are some of the most effective fixes to try.

Make Use Of has the list here with explanations. https://bit.ly/3cMrtC1

QUICK TIP – IMEI: 15-digit number unique to every device that can track a phone if lost.

Write down the following information and keep it separate from your devices.

Model Number; Serial Number; IMEI number.

When the device comes up missing, this information can be given to the Smartphone carrier, Law Enforcement, and manufacture. That increases the chances of recovery and can block illegal use of the device.

HOW TO START A TIMER ON YOUR APPLE WATCH – How’d you like to start a timer, right from Apple Watch? Starting a timer on an Apple Watch is both useful and easy. You’ll also get a tap on the wrist when the timer comes to an end, too. Things don’t get any more convenient than that! Let’s get started.
osXDaily has all the steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/322m976

HOW TO SAVE ALL PHOTOS FROM MESSAGES ON IPHONE & IPAD – If you send a lot of photos back and forth in messages, you may be wondering how you can save them all to your iPhone or iPad for later use. It turns out that all the photos and videos that are shared over iMessage are not saved to your iOS or iPadOS photo library. Therefore, to make sure you don’t lose the photos you’ve received you’ll need to save these photos to your iPhone or iPad library. There’s a neat trick to view all the attachments shared in a message thread and then easily save just the photos you want. Once these photos are saved to your photo library on the iPhone or iPad, you won’t lose them even if you delete your iMessage conversations.

Let’s check out this neat trick to view and save all your iMessage media, and you’ll be saving photos and videos from Messages to your device in no time.
osXDaily has the steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3fTtYUS

HOW TO HAVE YOUR APPLE WATCH SPEAK THE TIME FOR YOU – How’d you like your Apple Watch to speak the time to you? Sounds convenient, high-tech, and useful, right? You can have the watch speak the time on command, regardless of the watch face that’s being used. Apple now offers a broader implementation that includes all Apple watch faces. It’s easy to set up and even easier to use. Let’s get started.
osXDaily has the setup steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3fWgYhd

HOW TO SET ALARM CLOCK ON iPHONE – Your iPhone can serve as an alarm clock to make sure you’re on time for events, routines, work, school, or anything else. The built-in Clock app on your iPhone can be used to set and edit alarms, or even track your bedtime to see if you’re maintaining a healthy sleeping schedule. If you’re still trying to figure this out, don’t worry, as we’ll be walking you through how to set an alarm clock on your iPhone.
osXDaily has the steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3uAWhvz

HOW TO SHARE MEDICAL ID DURING EMERGENCY CALLS FROM iPHONE AUTOMATICALLY – The Medical ID feature of iPhone has been a part of the Health app for years now, but now it’s potentially even more useful, by allowing users to automatically share their Medical ID while making emergency calls from their iPhones. Built into the Health app, Medical ID is primarily used to keep a record of your medical conditions, medications you use, allergies, blood type, and more. Apple made it so that every time you contact an emergency service like 911, your device will automatically share your medical information with the person who answers your call. As a result, they’re able to assist you in a faster and better way. If you want to make sure you’re automatically sharing your Medical ID during emergency calls from your iPhone, read along.
osXDaily has the steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/2Q9ozhA

3/30/2021

HOW TO DISABLE ICLOUD KEYCHAIN ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Apple’s iCloud Keychain stores login details and payment information from your iPhone and iPad and syncs it across all your devices. If you are moving to a dedicated password manager, it might be best to disable iCloud Keychain first.
How-to Geek has the answer here. https://bit.ly/39rwBcB

CHEAP PHONE CHARGERS CAN BE A HUGE SAFETY RISK – HERE ARE SAFE OPTIONS TO BUY – There is one thing that you should never do: buy cheap electronics from unknown manufacturers. Here are some safe options to buy:
Kim Komando has the article here. https://bit.ly/3dhC9Yj

8 HIDDEN MAPS AND TRACKERS YOU NEED TO SWITCH OFF – iPhones, Android Phones. You understand that your phone knows where you’re located. This is how GPS works, how Find My Friends sees your location and why you get local ads on Facebook and Google. That location data, just like other data on your phone, is a hot commodity for internet marketers in today’s digital economy. You don’t have to stand for this kind of data collection if you’re not comfortable with it. We’ll show you how to stop your phone from tracking you. Let’s get started.
Kim Komando has the article here. https://bit.ly/2QR8Kg3

QUICK TECH TIP
AirPods are easy to find with this simple trick:

Open the Find My app on your iPhone
Tap the devices tab.
1. If your wayward AirPod still has power and is within Bluetooth range, it should show up on the list with the location.
Tap on Play Sound and start listening for the AirPods to make a noise.
1. It’ll get louder over a two-minute period.
2. Once you’ve found the missing one, just tap Stop.
3. If both AirPods are inside the charging case, they won’t play a sound.
4. That’s when you’ll have to rely on the mapped location that shows up in your app.

3/25/21

‘TIME ZONE PRO’ IS A MINIMALIST NEW WORLD CLOCK APP FOR iPHONE, iPAD, AND MAC – “Time Zone Pro” is a new app from the developers at Friendly Studio for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The app is designed to make it easy to monitor multiple time zones so you know when to contact colleagues and friends around the world.
9to5 Mac has the additional information here. https://bit.ly/3ffulZT

3 WAYS TO GET MORE LIFE OUT OF YOUR iPHONE OR ANDROID BATTERY – Smartphones these days are incredibly powerful. But many of these activities can drain your battery, and leave you in a bind. Your smartphone has a few features that help it conserve battery. The good news is that you can also do a few simple things to make your iPhone or Android phone battery last even longer.
Kim Komando has the 3 ways for you here. https://bit.ly/3slp3Qe

QUICK TIP…Are you constantly being pestered by notifications from the apps on your iPhone? Follow the steps below to turn off notifications from the apps you don’t need to receive them from:

1 – Tap the Settings icon.

2 – Tap Notifications.

3 – Scroll through the list of installed apps and tap on each of them, in turn, to toggle OFF the notifications from the apps you no longer wish to receive them from.

HOW TO TYPE WITH YOUR VOICE ON iPHONE AND iPAD – If you have a complex idea you’d like to jot down quickly on your iPhone or iPad, you can simply speak it with your voice thanks to Apple’s built-in dictation feature. Here’s how to use it.

How-to Geek has the steps here. https://bit.ly/2QwtCcc

7 BEST TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE iPHONE CALCULATOR – You need no special knowledge to use the default Calculator on your iPhone—at least for basic calculations. However, there are some not-so-obvious features of the app that many iPhone users don’t know exist.

In this guide, we’ll list some nifty iPhone Calculator tips and tricks that can help you use the app more efficiently.
Switching to Mac has all the info here. http://bit.ly/3lQiCC2

3/23/21

HOW TO GET THE CALENDAR APP BACK ON iPHONE – If you’ve deleted or removed the built-in Calendar app on your iPhone, don’t worry: It’s easy to get Calendar back with a quick download on the App Store. Here’s how.
How-to Geek has the screenshots and steps here. https://bit.ly/3f8Bkn8

HOW TO EASILY SHARE AND SYNC iPHONE PHOTOS WITH ANDROID PHONES AND PCS – We all know how easy it is to share photos with friends and family who also use Apple Photos. But when you throw an Android or PC user into the mix, things get a little more complicated. Since they won’t be able to view an iCloud Shared Album, you’ll need to take a few extra steps to be sure they can see your photos.
MACWorld has the details and steps here. https://bit.ly/3lEig1g

HOW TO WIRELESSLY SHARE YOUR WI-FI PASSWORD ON iPHONE OR ANDROID – Trying to quickly and securely share your home’s Wi-Fi password? Here’s how to do it from your iPhone, Android device, or even a computer, without disclosing the actual password.

PC Magazine has the steps here. https://bit.ly/3f3fO3h

both devices should have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
be signed into iCloud with their respective Apple IDs.
have the email address of the other saved in Contacts.

HOW TO SCREEN RECORD ON YOUR IPHONE (WITH SOUND) – Here’s how to screen record on iPhone with the built-in screen recording tool, as well as some great third-party apps. We’ll walk you through how to screen record on your iPhone with a built-in tool as well as a few iPhone screen recorder apps.

Make Use Of has all the info here. https://bit.ly/3cVD3ts

QUICK TIP….FIND TELEPHONE AREA CODE LOCATION – There’s a fast and easy way to find out where any telephone area code is from? Type the words area code followed by the actual numeric area code into the Browser search box.

Example: you receive a suspicious call from area code 876 (an area code frequently included in scam calls) you’d type this into the Browser Search Box.

area code 876

The search engine will immediately respond to let you know 876 is an area code that’s assigned to the country of Jamaica.

HOW TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF A JPEG: 5 WAYS – Here, we’ll show you several different ways (5) you can quickly and easily reduce the size of an image.

Have you experienced the frustration of trying to send multiple JPEGs over email, only to get a notification that your attachments are too large? We will guide you through several options you can use to reduce an image size quickly and easily. (Windows, MAC, iOS, Android)
Make Use Of has the different procedures here. https://bit.ly/3eZDPbs

QUICK TIP…Spam texts are annoying and distracting. If you’re using iOS 14, kiss them goodbye. You can filter out texts from unknown senders quickly and easily to eliminate those headaches.

Launch the Settings app
Tap Messages.
Scroll down to Message Filtering
1. Toggle ONthe Filter Unknown Senders option.
Exit the Settings app
Launch the Messages app.
Tap Filters in the top-left corner of the screen.
You’ll see two options under All Messages: Known Senders and Unknown Senders.

3/18/21

SECRET WAY TO REARRANGE MULTIPLE IPHONE APPS AT ONCE – You use some apps more than others, so why not keep your favorites front and center? Normally, you hold down on an app until it wiggles, then move it to a new location and let go. This trick lets you accomplish this task much more efficiently. Here’s how.

Tap and hold down on an app until it wiggles.
While continuing to hold down the app, tap on other apps you’d like to move.
When you’re finished with your selection, move the group of apps to your desired spot, whether it’s the first screen on your Home page or another.
You can also tap a folder to relocate the apps there.

TRICKS TO GET A BETTER CELL SIGNAL ON YOUR iPHONE – You probably know the best place in your house to make a call on your smartphone. But what about when you just can’t get a good signal or you’re away from home? There are a few tricks of the trade that can help. Three simple ways to get better cell service.
Kim Komando has a great video here. https://bit.ly/3lAQMd8

3 iPHONE PRIVACY UPGRADES TO START USING NOW – Another massive Apple iOS update means lots of new security features to protect you and your data. We’ll show you what’s new and three handy features to start using on your iPhone right now.
Kim Komando has another great video here. https://bit.ly/2PdsOYY

3/14/21

QUICK TIP…By default, when you download an app on your iPhone, the shortcut will appear on your home screen if there’s room for it. If that annoys you, you can stop it. Here’s how.

Open Settings.
Tap Home Screen.
Select Add to Home Screen or App Library Only.
If you select App Library Only, your home screen stays nice and tidy.

iPhone measure app

The iPhone comes with a built-in measuring app. It allows you to measure whatever your phone’s camera is pointing at.

How to take a measurement:

Open the Measure app, then follow any on-screen instructions that ask you to move your device around.
Move your device so that the dot is over the starting point of your measurement, then tap the Add button.
Slowly move your device until the dot is over your measurement’s ending point, then tap the Add button again.

After taking a measurement, you can adjust the starting and ending points. Just touch and hold one of the points and drag it where you want it to go. The measurement will change as you move the point.

Add captions to photos and videos

This is helpful as it will give recipients more context to the video or photos.

To add captions to photos and video:

Open to ‘camera roll’.
Tap the photo or video that you want to add a caption to.
Swipe up from the middle of the screen.
An ‘Add a Caption’ box should appear below the photo or video.
Add your caption.
Tap

HOW TO CHECK YOUR IPHONE WARRANTY IN THE SETTINGS APP – Every iPhone sold has at least one year of warranty in the U.S. You can check when your iPhone warranty expires right in the Settings app.
How-to Geek shows you how here. https://bit.ly/38zcEjG

HOW TO SHARE AN ECG FROM YOUR APPLE WATCH WITH YOUR DOCTOR – Some Apple Watches have an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) built-in. If your doctor wants you to use it—or you want to share the results of it with them—here’s what to do.
How-to Geek has all the stuff you need here. https://bit.ly/3vwB0EG

HOW TO STOP YOUR IPHONE FROM TRACKING YOUR STEPS – If you have an Apple Health profile, every step you take is being recorded on your iPhone. If you don’t want it stored on your iPhone, you can stop your iPhone from collecting it in the first place. Here’s how.
How-to Geek has the stop steps here. https://bit.ly/3vrk4zs

3/11/21

QUICK TIP OF THE DAY – On an iPhone: Open the Reminders app, tap New Reminder and give it a name. Tap the info circle next to the name you entered and toggle Remind me on a day “on” and choose how often you’d like your reminder to repeat. Hit done.

APPLE CARPLAY: 5 SMART TIPS AND TRICKS YOU SHOULD TRY – If you drive one of the over 600 models that support Apple’s CarPlay, you should be familiar with what its technology can do. But did you know that Apple has added more functionality with the latest iOS update? While you may already know how cool Apple CarPlay can be, you most likely aren’t using all the helpful features that it comes with. Let’s take a look at five new tools available with CarPlay.

Kim Komando tech tips has the smart tips here. https://bit.ly/3eySUAi

HOW TO CREATE AND EXTRACT ZIP FILES ON IPHONE USING THE FILES APP – It wasn’t that long ago when it was nearly impossible to create and extract zip files on your iPhone or iPad. Not anymore, thanks to the iCloud and the Files app. In this article, you’ll learn how to use zip files on your mobile device with ease.

Groovy Post covers this with steps and screenshots here. https://bit.ly/30zByvi

3/7/21

A PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE TO GOOGLE MAPS: DUCKDUCKGO MAPS – DuckDuckGo isn’t just a private alternative to Google and Bing’s web search. It has a built-in online mapping solution designed with privacy in mind. If you want to leave Google, you don’t have to stick around for Google Maps.

For private maps How-to Geek has the answer here. https://bit.ly/2ZNKrAO

WHAT IS A HUMAN INTERFACE DEVICE (HID)? – There are a lot of strange terms that come with using a computer. One that you may have seen is “Human Interface Device” or “HID.” It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but what exactly does it mean?

“Human Interface Device” may sound strangely alien, but the name is actually very descriptive. Simply put, an HID is a standard for computer devices that are operated by humans. The standard allows these devices to be easily used without any extra software or drivers.

HID Types and applications are covered here @ How-to Geek. https://bit.ly/2ZO33ki

DID YOU SIGN UP FOR AN APP THROUGH APPLE? HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE ON IPHONE, IPAD, OR PC – Ready to ditch a subscription service that’s siphoning precious dollars from your bank account each month? Here’s how to cancel a subscription through your iPhone, iPad, PC, or Mac.

If you pay for an app via your iPhone or iPad, you can unsubscribe easily enough, whether it’s an expiring free trial, one of Apple’s own apps, or a third-party service. The process is quick and convenient, but you need to know where to go and what buttons to press. Here’s how to cancel a subscription from your iPhone, iPad, or computer.

PC Magazine explains the how to here. https://bit.ly/3bHTuc3

HOW TO USE BURST MODE WITH IPHONE 11 AND 12 CAMERAS – The iPhone 11 and 12 bring some fantastic camera upgrades, including an ultra-wide lens, impressive Night mode, and more. However, there are changes to how some previous features work. Follow along for how to use burst mode with the iPhone 11 and 12 cameras.

You’ve probably developed muscle memory for the burst mode camera feature on your iPhone. If you’ve just gotten an iPhone 11 or 12, (or just haven’t taken a burst photo in a while) you probably realized the press and hold gesture doesn’t activate burst mode anymore.

Pressing and holding the shutter button on the iPhone 11 and 12 lineup now activates QuickTake, a way to shoot videos quickly without switching from photo mode. So here’s the new gesture to use burst mode…

HOW TO USE BURST MODE WITH IPHONE 11 AND 12 CAMERAS – Press and immediately drag the shutter button to the left for portrait orientation photos

Press and immediately drag the shutter button up for landscape photos

Let go when you’re done shooting

That’s it!

9TO5 Mac article has screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3dOHtUV

THESE ARE THE BEST IPHONE APPS FOR CONVERTING IMAGES AND SCREENSHOTS TO TEXT – The tried-and-true copy/paste combo is a staple of productivity but that can grind to a halt when you need to quickly grab text from the real world or existing screenshots and pictures. Read along for how to convert iPhone images to text available right on your clipboard.

Whether you want to quickly convert images to text from Twitter, the web, or your own screenshots or want to grab data from the real world and make it easy to save, share, etc., iPhone is a handy tool to make that happen.

While there are many apps that offer OCR (optical character recognition) scanning for iPhone and iPad (Genius Scan is a great advanced option), it’s much more rare to find an app that immediately converts images and more to text right on your clipboard.

This is an important distinction, as traditional scanning apps with OCR usually have you save new documents as PDFs (or other formats) and then you have to open the PDF, find the text you want, and copy it. So let’s look at options to streamline the process.

9To5 Mac article has all the info here. https://bit.ly/3qSLdZf

For private maps How-to Geek has the answer here. https://bit.ly/2ZNKrAO

HID Types and applications are covered here @ How-to Geek. https://bit.ly/2ZO33ki

PC Magazine explains the how to here. https://bit.ly/3bHTuc3

Press and immediately drag the shutter button up for landscape photos.

Let go when you’re done shooting

That’s it!

9TO5 Mac article has screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3dOHtUV

9To5 Mac article has all the info here. https://bit.ly/3qSLdZf

3/1/21

For private maps How-to Geek has the answer here. https://bit.ly/2ZNKrAO

HID Types and applications are covered here @ How-to Geek. https://bit.ly/2ZO33ki

PC Magazine explains the how to here. https://bit.ly/3bHTuc3

Press and immediately drag the shutter button up for landscape photos.

Let go when you’re done shooting

That’s it!

9TO5 Mac article has screenshots here. https://bit.ly/3dOHtUV

9To5 Mac article has all the info here. https://bit.ly/3qSLdZf

2/25/21

10 USEFUL iPHONE TIPS FOR SENIORS – Wondering how to make the iPhone easier to use for seniors? Try these tweaks to make iOS more accessible to the elderly.

The iPhone’s ease of use makes it a great choice for senior citizens who want a smartphone. If you aren’t happy with how it functions out of the box, there are many ways to make the iPhone easier to use for the elderly.

Let’s look at some iPhone features and tips that make the device more accessible for seniors.

Make Use Of has the best tweaks here. https://bit.ly/2NeVEId

MICROSOFT’S NEW OFFICE APP NOW AVAILABLE ON iPAD – Microsoft has updated its unified Office mobile app to work on Apple’s iPad devices. The new Office app combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single application, and originally launched for iOS and Android back in 2019. Microsoft has been gradually improving it ever since, but it always ran in a windowed mode instead of a fully optimized iPad app.

This new update means Office is now a full iPadOS app, with access to all of the regular tablet variants of Microsoft’s productivity suite. The app also bundles in some useful tools designed primarily for mobile tasks. These include the ability to quickly create PDFs or sign documents, converting images to text and tables, and more quick actions.

Microsoft has been simplifying its mobile Office offerings into this single app, but standalone apps for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are still available and updated regularly. While it took a while for the main Office app to be iPad-friendly, Microsoft has added many iPad-specific features to its Office apps, including mouse and trackpad support recently.

WHAT IS BACKGROUND APP REFRESH ON iPHONE? – When using an app on your iPhone, iOS recognizes the app as “active”. When you switch to another app, press the Home button, swipe to the homepage, or lock your iPhone, iOS suspends applications to the background.

Despite being in a suspended state, some apps can still use your mobile data, Wi-Fi, and location/GPS services. But only if you allow them. In this article, we’ll explain what Background App Refresh is, plus how you can use the feature to manage apps using device resources in the background.

Switching to MAC has the answers here. https://bit.ly/37Pu0sn

6 BEST ANIMATED WEATHER APPS FOR ANDROID OR iPHONE – Whether you’re on vacation, enjoying a road trip, or your daily evening jog around the neighborhood, many things can ruin your day, but unexpected weather is right up the top of the list.

Heavy rain can leave you soaked for hours, sudden cold snaps make traveling miserable, and excessive heat makes exploring new towns a chore.

While there isn’t much you can do to change or prevent bad weather outside your home, knowing when it’s coming helps you know what Mother Nature will throw at you.

Here are the best animated weather apps for Android or iPhone to help you prepare for certain conditions and avoid cruddy weather.

On Line Tech Tip has the 6 best here. https://bit.ly/2ZCqvkp

WHAT DO BLUE DOTS MEAN ON AN iPHONE OR iPAD HOME SCREEN? – The Blue Update Dot on iPhone and iPad

Sometimes while browsing your iPhone or iPad home screen, you’ll see a blue dot beside certain app names. What does the dot mean? We’ll explain.

How-to Geek has the explanation here. https://bit.ly/3ukKYIr

5 GHZ WI-FI ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER THAN 2.4 GHZ WI-FI – Are you having trouble with your Wi-Fi connection? Try using 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz. Sure, 5 GHz Wi-Fi is newer, faster, and less congested—but it has a weakness. 2.4 GHz is better at covering large areas and penetrating through solid objects.

How-to Geek has wi-Fi covered here. https://bit.ly/2ZB2EBG

HOW TO MAKE A FACETIME AUDIO CALL – Tired of low-quality cell phone calls? Thanks to FaceTime, you can make audio-only calls with crystal-clear high-resolution sound using an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac. Here’s how to do it.

How-to Geek has the procedure here. https://bit.ly/2Zzz53p

2/12/21

ADD BACKGROUND COLOR TO WORD DOCUMENTS – Adding a background color or picture to your Microsoft Word documents is a good way to attract the reader’s attention. There are several reasons why you would want to do it. Maybe you are creating a flyer or brochure and want to tweak the background color or even add a photo. Here’s how to set the document background color or image in a Word document.

Groovy Post has the steps. https://bit.ly/3rFRXJM

THE EASIEST WAY TO MOVE THE TEXT CURSOR ON iPAD AND iPHONE – Positioning the text cursor on an iPhone or iPad can sometimes feel frustrating and imprecise. You tap the screen, and sometimes it doesn’t go where you want. Luckily, there’s a faster, more precise way called “virtual trackpad mode” built into your device’s keyboard. Here’s how to use it.

How-to Geek has the steps here. https://bit.ly/2MX7YMT

GETTING STARTED WITH 2FA: SECURE YOUR ACCOUNTS NOW OR REGRET IT LATER! – Unique passwords are essential, but they’re not enough. You should secure all important accounts with two-factor authentication.

Millions of users have their online accounts compromised every day. Password lists are traded on the dark web, and bad actors use automated processes to try them against lots of accounts and services. Sophisticated phishing attacks attempt to trick you into giving away your password (or the info necessary to reset it) by posing as legitimate services or customer support.

Obviously, the best defense against this sort of thing is to have a different, strong, hard-to-guess password for every single account you own. A good password manager like 1Password, LastPass, or Dashlane is a key part of managing that.

But good passwords are not enough! You need another layer of protection. You need 2FA.

We’ve already told you how to enable 2FA on your Apple account, but what about all your other accounts? Those should be protected with just as much care. Here’s how to get started.

MACWORLD has the answer here. https://bit.ly/3jEj1GG

9 FACEBOOK SECURITY SETTINGS YOU SHOULD FIX RIGHT NOW – Facebook is one of the largest social gathering places on the internet. It’s the single source of news and information for many people. It’s also where family and friends gather to stay in touch.

Unfortunately, Facebook is also a major target for scammers, hackers, and conartists. These criminals are regularly looking for security holes in your Facebook profile. Their goals range from gathering personal information about you, spamming you with malicious links, or trying to hack your Facebook account.

Regardless of their goals, there are specific Facebook security settings you can lock down to make sure it’s as difficult as possible for nefarious individuals to cause you trouble.

Groovy Post make that list here. https://bit.ly/3dao00N

WHY DO PHONES HAVE SUCH SHORT BATTERY LIFE? 5 REASONS WHY – Bought a new smartphone and noticed that the battery seems as short as the one in your old phone? Here’s why.

Most people use their smartphones all day. However, even with light use, there are very few phones that can take you from morning to midnight on a single charge.

With current flagships being priced at a thousand dollars and beyond, you’d think that manufacturers would find ways to make your smartphone last throughout the day. However, most phones have the same battery lives as their previous iterations.

Here’s why your phone’s battery can’t last the whole day without needing a recharge.

Make Use Of hyas the info here. https://bit.ly/2MVO5pv

HOW TO QUICKLY DELETE YOUR ENTIRE GOOGLE SEARCH HISTORY – Did you know that Google keeps a record of everything you have ever searched for via their Google search engine?

Well, they do, and unless you have already deleted your Search history at some point in the past it dates all the way back to the very first search you made on Google!

Truth be told, Google has always provided a way to delete your Search history IF you knew where to look. But as this post shows, it could be difficult to know where to look in times past.

But now that has now changed. To their credit, Google has made it a lot easier to delete your Search history.

Just follow the steps below for the device you’re using.

Rick’s Daily Tips has the procedure here. https://bit.ly/3qcSdzR

2/5/21

MAGSAFE AND MEDICAL DEVICES: APPLE SAYS KEEP THEM ‘A SAFE DISTANCE AWAY’ – With the iPhone 12, Apple introduced MagSafe as a way to charge the phone. It uses a set of magnets around a charging coil to connect the iPhone to the power adapter. MagSafe can also be used to attach accessories such as wallets or car mounts.

However, there’s long been an issue with magnets and medical devices that a person has implanted in their body. Heart Rhythm Journal recently posted the results of a study that showed that the iPhone 12’s MagSafe disrupted a patient’s implanted defibrillator.

Apple posted a support document noting that magnetic interference is possible with medical devices, and that users should consult with their doctor. Apple has updated that document with more specific advice.

Macworld has a little more info here. https://bit.ly/2NYHZov

IPADOS 14 FAQ: iPADOS 14.4 NOW AVAILABLE – Get ready for a better tablet experience. In September of 2020, Apple launched a brand new version of iPadOS that brings a bunch of new changes to its iconic tablet. Here’s everything that you’re getting, how to get it, and whether your iPad will be able to run it.

Macworld covers all the updates to iPadsOS here. https://bit.ly/2NVWwkS

HOW TO ADD BIRTHDAYS TO CONTACTS ON iPHONE – Some people have trouble remembering the birthdays of friends, co-workers, and relatives. Luckily, your iPhone can remember birthdays for you—just enter the information into the Contacts app. Here’s how to do it.

How-to Geek shows how to do this here. https://bit.ly/2MHTLTI

DUCKDUCKGO VS. GOOGLE: THE BEST SEARCH ENGINE FOR YOU – DuckDuckGo is the privacy-focused search engine you’ve been looking for. How do its features stack up against Google Search?

Google is one of the world’s largest companies. Although they have expanded into many areas of our lives, they are still best known for their search engine. To keep their services free, Google records a staggering amount of data about our online habits. That data is used to show us targeted advertising—Google’s primary source of income.

If you’re looking for a privacy-focused alternative to Google search, then the DuckDuckGo search engine might be the answer.

What Is DuckDuckGo?

DuckDuckGo describes itself as “the search engine that doesn’t track you.”

Most search engines collect and store search data, with Google even linking that data to your account. The recorded information is used to personalize your search results, and to show you targeted advertising.

But DuckDuckGo (DDG) doesn’t track you and opts not to personalize your search results.

The site has grown steadily since its inception, going from an average 79,000 daily searches in 2010, to 79 million daily and 61 billion total searches as of November 2020.

Make Use Of has more information here. https://bit.ly/36LiYnh

AVOID THESE 6 MISTAKES FOR BETTER EMAIL AND TEXT COMMUNICATION – Improve your communication skills by avoiding mistakes like using too many emojis or typing in all caps.

It’s so easy to communicate through SMS or email, but there are pitfalls you should be aware of. Since all the recipient has to go on are your words, the least you can do is avoid using common texting mistakes a lot of people find annoying, if not offensive.

Considering that your personal and professional life largely depends on effective communication, being tactful will benefit you in many ways. Here are six habits to steer clear of when sending any text-based message. Some of these principles can even apply to your personal interactions.

Make Use Of has that short-list here. https://bit.ly/3rlTN2z

WHY CHARGING YOUR PHONE OVERNIGHT IS BAD – Charging your smartphone overnight can damage the battery and shorten its lifespan. Here’s everything you need to know.

How do you increase the charge on your smartphone battery? You might think charging it while you’re asleep to regularly hit 100 percent is beneficial, but that actually harms your battery and shortens its life.

Here’s the truth about maintaining smartphone batteries—and why you shouldn’t charge it overnight.

Make Use Of has that important info here. https://bit.ly/3pYzQi8

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FACEBOOK PRIVACY SETTINGS FOR SPECIFIC POSTS – While Facebook lets you adjust your profile privacy, you can also customise your options for specific types of posts.

You probably know that you can change the privacy settings of your Facebook profile to limit who can see it. But what if you just want to make certain posts private and not your entire profile?

You can do that too. Here’s how..

Make Use Of has the directions here. https://bit.ly/2YOhSmw

HOW TO COMPRESS A VIDEO AND REDUCE THE FILE SIZE – Need to compress a video? Here’s how you reduce your video size on any operating system.

Has your video turned out to be too large? That’s the case with most videos you record these days. Fortunately, you can compress your videos and reduce their file size using a variety of methods.

Here we show how to compress a video on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android.

Make Use Of does it again here. https://bit.ly/3rtKTzR

HOW TO STOP BLUE LIGHT FROM DISTURBING YOUR SLEEP – Blue light emitted by your phone, tablet, or laptop can affect your sleep by tricking your brain into thinking it’s daytime when it’s not. Here’s how to filter out the blue light for a more restful sleep.

Your mobile device’s screen normally emits a blue light that’s fine for daytime use but can disrupt your sleep at night. That’s because blue light stimulates your brain and fools it into thinking it’s daytime, potentially keeping you awake if you use your device before bedtime.

There are some studies that have found blue light may not deserve its reputation as a sleep-sucking vampire, but limiting your exposure before bedtime is still worth trying, especially if you have difficulty falling asleep.

Your iPhone, iPad, and Windows 10 devices have a feature called Night Shift for changing the color temperature of the screen. Many Android devices also offer a built-in Blue Light feature, and a variety of third-party utility apps get the job done, too. Here’s how to control the blue light on your device.

PC Magazine has the answer for all different kinds of devices, here. https://bit.ly/3aAL4CN

HOW TO FREE UP HARD DISK SPACE ON WINDOWS 10 – Windows 10 can help you free up disk space with helpful tools like Storage Sense. Here’s how to remove temporary files, uninstall apps, and more.

If you need to free up some disk space on your PC, Windows 10 provides a dedicated settings menu to make the process easier. From here, you can see how much space has been used on your device, and by what type of content. The Storage Sense feature will automatically remove temporary files, Recycle Bin items, and other items you may not need. Here’s how to view your internal storage and clear space quickly.

PC Magazine has different easy steps here. https://bit.ly/3txHn9u

HOW TO TURN YOUR PHONE INTO A WI-FI HOTSPOT – With a few taps, you can turn your smartphone into a source for internet that laptops, tablets, and other phones can use. Here’s how to turn your phone into a hotspot.

If you’re stuck in a situation where you need a Wi-Fi connection, but can’t get it anywhere else, chances are your smartphone can give you the boost you need. By setting up a hotspot through Wi-Fi or a USB cable, you can turn your phone into a source for internet that laptops, tablets, and other phones can use to get online.

It may sound complicated, but you can be connected with just a few taps. Most of the major carriers offer tethering services, though your ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot depends on your service plan and data allowance.

One thing to keep in mind: tethering eats up battery life in addition to data. Investing in a portable charger is a good idea if you intend to use hotspot mode frequently. If you’re ready to tether, here’s how to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

PC Magazine has the steps here with screenshots. https://bit.ly/2Mt1TaV

PC Magazine has the answer for all different kinds of devices, here. https://bit.ly/3aAL4CN

1/31/21

HOW TO FIX AN iPAD STUCK ON APPLE LOGO – The iPad is an incredible piece of technology. It works as a portable computer, a tablet, and even a gaming machine—when it works. Unfortunately, there are times when the iPad doesn’t boot correctly and ends up stuck on the Apple logo. Here’s how to fix that particular issue.

In most cases, the iPad gets stuck on the Apple logo screen due to a process with the boot process. This can be caused by third-party applications or even faulty security software. The good news is, there’s usually a fix. The instructions within this article will pertain to the most recent two generations of the iPad.

Switching2 MAC has all the info here. https://bit.ly/3awIygU

HOW TO DELETE OLD iPHONE BACKUPS ON iCLOUD, MAC, AND PC- If you use an iPhone or an iPad, it’s essential to keep backing up your data to iCloud or a computer. Ideally, you should do both. That way, you get to insulate your photos, files, and documents against any software or hardware-related issues further down the road.

But if you’ve used several iOS or iPadOS devices over the years, the chances are that there are lots of old backups consuming storage unnecessarily. It’s best to get rid of them if free space in iCloud or your computer is a concern.

Below, you’ll find out what you must do to delete old iPhone and iPad backups from iCloud, Mac, and PC.

Switching2MAC has the steps here. https://bit.ly/3rsvSP8

HOW TO FIX iCLOUD PROBLEMS ON YOUR APPLE DEVICES – Apple’s iCloud service is used by millions of users each year to backup documents and data across many devices, including iPhone and iPad. Occasionally, however, problems arise. Here’s a look at how to fix common iCloud problems and get on with your day.

Groovy Post has the problems fixed right here. https://bit.ly/3aB14ol

HOW TO PRESERVE & EXTEND YOUR DEVICE’S BATTERY LIFE – Save money, enjoy your device longer – Technology is continually enhancing the way we communicate and make our lives easier to manage. You have your laptop for completing projects. Your tablet for surfing the net, and your smartphone for staying connected to it all.

Although it presents many possibilities for managing your life, it also comes with some shortcomings. One example is a low battery life. Everyone’s come face-to-face with a dead or dying device, and at the very least, it’s annoying. However, for those who rely on these gadgets for work, it’s excruciatingly painful (and expensive) to deal with.

What if there was a way to prevent it (or at least prolong the inevitable)? With the right knowledge and application, you can.

Help Desk Geek gives guidelines for batteries here. https://bit.ly/3rwdUek

HOW TO SEND SMS TEXT MESSAGES FROM AN iPAD – You need to send an SMS text message to a friend with a cell phone, but all you have is an iPad. Is it possible to send SMS texts from an iPad? The answer is both no and yes, depending on the situation. This How-To Geek article will show you how How to Send SMS Text Messages From an iPad (howtogeek.com)

MICROSOFT BRINGS AUTOFILL PASSWORD MANAGEMENT TOOL TO iOS AND MACOS – Keychain is a password management tool for Apple devices. It can also store secure information like certificates, and helps people log into websites without re-typing passwords. Now, Microsoft is looking to bring its version of Keychain, Autofill, to iOS and macOS, AppleInsider reports. It’s set to arrive as part of a Microsoft Authenticator update and as a Google Chrome extension. Read more PCMag. https://tinyurl.com/14xnjmrq

TOP 8 WAYS TO FIX IPHONE HOTSPOT NOT WORKING ON MAC – Tethering your iPhone’s internet to your Mac has its benefits and disadvantages. Mobile tethering can cause a few problems. Sometimes, mobile hotspots work flawlessly and everyone’s happy. There are also times when the internet-sharing feature fails to work. If your Mac fails to detect or connect to your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot, we’ve compiled eight possible solutions in this Switching2Mac guide. https://tinyurl.com/5zmtw4su

8 WAYS TO LOCK YOUR MAC – Locking your Mac is the best way to secure your computer when you have to step away from it. This won’t quit or interrupt any running applications, and you must type your password to get past the lock screen. This How-To-Geek articles has eight ways to lock your Mac.
8 Ways to Lock Your Mac (howtogeek.com)

iPHONE WHITE SCREEN: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO FIX IT – The iPhone is an extremely reliable device, but even the best of smartphones can experience issues from time to time.

If you’re seeing a bright white blank display on your iPhone with no icons or apps showing on the screen, you may be facing the dreaded iPhone white screen of death.

As scary as the name sounds, it’s not a terminal problem so you don’t have to go out and get a new one. Read more at Switching2Mac https://tinyurl.com/yrnwthap

1/21/21

HOW TO ADD COMPLICATIONS TO YOUR WATCH FACE ON APPLE WATCH – Watch faces on Apple Watch aren’t just pretty, they can also be powerful. Most watch faces come with designated areas for complications (little widgets). Here’s how to add complications to the watch face on Apple Watch.

How-to Geek has the steps here. https://bit.ly/2XW5ekI

TOP 9 MAGIC KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR THE IPAD – If you use a traditional Magic Keyboard or one of the newer ones with the cantilever design, knowing your way around with keyboard shortcuts is essential if you want to stay productive on an iPad. Although apps do come with dedicated shortcuts, there are also several handy shortcuts that you can use to interact with iPadOS itself.

Whether it’s searching for stuff, multitasking with other apps, or navigating your iPad in general, the list of keyboard shortcuts below should help you out. Let’s check them out.

Guiding Tech has the list here. https://bit.ly/35Ujqze

HOW TO SEND PRIVATE EMAILS IN GMAIL – If you ever need to send an email containing sensitive information, you can use independent private email services to do it, or learn how to do it in Gmail instead.

Gmail comes with a special confidential mode that allows you to send emails that disappear after a certain amount of time. If you’re a privacy-centric user, you’ll also love this mode for how it makes it impossible for the recipient to forward, copy, print, or download the contents of your private email.

Here’s everything you need to know about Gmail’s confidential mode and how to use it to send private emails in Gmail.

Online Tech Tips has the info here. https://bit.ly/3p6e3Vi

HOW TO UNSEND AN EMAIL IN GMAIL – Have you ever wanted to unsend an email that you just sent to someone? Outlook has a feature that allows you to recall your emails after you send them, but what if you use a different email client like Gmail?

In Gmail, there’s a way to prevent your emails from going through after you hit the Send button. However, to be able to do it you have to have a special undo Send feature turned on in advance. Learn how to unsend your emails in Gmail and you’ll never have to worry about your messages going to the wrong recipient again.

Online Tech Tips has the procedure here. https://bit.ly/2LMhPEI

THE BEST WAYS TO SAVE ARTICLES, LINKS, AND VIDEOS FOR LATER – There’s a lot of content on the internet, and you likely won’t have the time to view all of it when you first come across it. Seeing a cool thing you want to check out but then needing to abandon it is never fun, but fortunately, there are plenty of ways to save that content for later.

Review Geek has all the straight dope here. https://bit.ly/361xDKS

1/15/21

20 USEFUL TIPS FOR NEW APPLE WATCH OWNERS – If you recently got an Apple Watch or know someone who did, there are a lot of useful hidden little tips and tricks to take advantage of. We’ve rounded up 20 helpful tips that new Apple Watch owners should be aware of, and there may even be some tips and tricks seasoned Apple Watch owners don’t know.

Head over to Mac Rumors and get the tips here. https://bit.ly/3oP1Cg8

HOW TO CLOSE ALL SAFARI TABS AT ONCE ON iPHONE AND iPAD – If you have dozens of tabs open in Safari on iPhone or iPad and need to clear them out quickly, it can be tedious to “X” them out one at a time. Luckily, there are two ways to close all your Safari tabs at once, and they also work in Private Browsing mode. Here’s how.

Head on over to How-to Geek here for the steps & screenshots. https://bit.ly/2XNcgYR

WHAT IS SIGNAL, AND WHY IS EVERYONE USING IT? – (Signal is available for Android, iPhone, and iPad, also a Signal desktop client for Windows, Mac, and Linux.)

Signal is a secure encrypted messaging app. Think of it as a more private alternative to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, iMessage, and SMS. Here’s why you should seriously consider switching to Signal.

Get to How-to Geek here for info. https://bit.ly/3nGv7Q9

1/4/21

HOW TO TRACK WORKOUTS AND ACTIVITIES ON APPLE WATCH – With new fitness and activity features in watchOS 7, your Apple Watch can help you stay in shape and track workouts.

The Apple Watch has always been a handy tool for tracking and recording workouts and physical activity, but you can do even more courtesy of watchOS 7. With the latest version, you can track additional workouts and activities. And with the Fitness app on your iPhone, you can view your workout progress and find suggestions for improving your fitness.

PC Magazine has the info here. https://bit.ly/39bR3xp

NO CHARGER IN THE BOX? EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHARGING THE iPHONE 12 – The latest Apple iPhone doesn’t ship with a power adapter, but does support Apple’s new wireless MagSafe charging. Whether you use a cable or not, these are the fastest ways to charge the iPhone 12.

With iPhone 12, power adapters will no longer be included in every box, as Apple moves to reduce package waste (and make some cash on accessories). The lineup also includes support for Apple’s new magnetic MagSafe charging. Here’s what you need to know about charging your iPhone 12, and what you might need to purchase.

PC Magazine has all the info on charging a iPhone 12 here. https://bit.ly/38Z8MYr

HOW TO MAKE CALLS WITH WIFI CALLING ON iPHONE – If you don’t want to rely on your carrier’s cellular network to make and receive calls or text messages, WiFi calling is a great solution.

You could use free calling apps to make unlimited calls or send free texts, but these still require your phone service provider as the middleman.

WiFi calling helps you achieve high-quality calls especially when you’re working remotely and need to communicate with your team. If you have strong WiFi network coverage, you can even use HD (High Definition) Voice over a cloud phone system and enjoy clearer, crisper call quality when chatting with family or friends.

In iOS devices, the feature is somewhat hidden, but we’ll break down everything you need to know about WiFi Calling on iPhone.

Switching to Mac show all the steps for Wi-Fi calling here. http://bit.ly/3b2OKPF

15 BEST ANTIVIRUS APPS AND BEST ANTI-MALWARE APPS FOR ANDROID – Antivirus Android apps remain one of the most popular types of applications on Android. Generally, you don’t need an antivirus app if you play it safe, only download apps from the Play Store, and keep your security settings enabled. However, there are those who like to take a walk on the wild side and not do those things. There are a ton of really bad antivirus apps out there. Even if these apps aren’t necessary, it’s good to know the safe ones that don’t suck. Here are the best antivirus apps and anti-malware apps for Android. All prices are current as of January 2021.

One final thing to note that a lot of antivirus apps on Android do literally nothing or a very bad job. Here’s a study that AV-Comparatives conducted with additional information about what antivirus apps are good and the ones that aren’t.

Android Authority coves all 15 choices here. https://bit.ly/3pInlGK

1/1/21

10 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR iPADOS 14 – Apple’s iPadOS 14 update for the iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad Pro brings the iPad closer to the Mac without losing what makes the iPad unique. Here are the features you should try out on iPadOS 14.

Another excellent article by How-to Geek here. https://bit.ly/3mYZhgV

YOUR PASSWORD MANAGER CAN DO MORE THAN JUST STORE PASSWORDS – It’s common sense that everyone should be using a good password manager (we hope, at least). It’s also worth noting that password managers have tons of other amazing features that you might not be using. These features are both convenient and security-centric, and they can help you stay safe online and get the most out of your password manager.

Everyone knows the primary feature of a password manager—to store your login credentials—but they can also do tons of other cool things, like alert you to security breaches or store important files. Of course, the features a particular password manager has varies, depending on which one you’re looking at, but we rounded up all of the most common features you can expect to see in any of the most popular ones.

So without further ado, here are some other features password managers have to offer.

Review Geek has a great article here. https://bit.ly/382ptDe

12 BEST FREE PASSWORD APPS FOR iPHONE, MAC & WINDOW IN 2020 – How many times has it happened to you that you have forgot the login details of a particular site? We log into various sites in our day to day lives and often create random passwords for them. But if we lose touch with the website, then we often forget what passwords we had created for the sites. Some people use their birthdays or phone numbers as passwords too. It is these accounts that can be easily hacked into. If you are under the impression that using one tough password for all your accounts will keep you safe, then buddy, you are so so wrong… Once your password falls into someone’s hands, all your accounts will get hacked! The best way to get rid of such risks is to go for the Best Free Password apps for iPhone.

We have compiled a list of 12 best free password apps for iPhone for you guys. These will help you keep track of all your passwords and things become more organized. So, no more wrong password lockouts or falling in risk of getting your account hacked. You can now save all your passwords in one place using Password managers Apps.

1Password: Free Password manager app for iPhone. 2. Sticky Password:
LastPass 4.0: 4. msecure: 5. LogMeOnce Password Management Suite Premium: 6. Password Wallet: 7. KeePass: 8. Keeper: 9. Symantec Norton Identity Safe: 10. Enpass: 11. Dashlane: 12. 1U Password Manager:…

Go to this TechnoLogers article and read about all these Password managers. https://bit.ly/3o5yv7Y

PS: I use LastPass 4.0 on all my devices. I like it very much. Jere

HOW TO DISABLE SIRI SUGGESTIONS IN SPOTLIGHT SEARCH ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Using Spotlight Search from the Home screen on your iPhone and iPad can be handy. By default, the search screen may display some app suggestions powered by Siri. Here’s how to turn those suggestions off.

How-to Geek has the steps here. https://bit.ly/38OJUCY

HOW TO FIND AND USE GPS COORDINATES IN GOOGLE MAPS (PC, Android, iPhone iPad.) – You may not think much about GPS coordinates unless you work in a field like aviation or emergency services. But longitude and latitude combination gives you an exact location, more precise than a street name or house number.

So if you’re in a situation where you need to look up GPS coordinates to find a location or obtain those for a particular spot, you can do both in Google Maps. We’ll show you how to find and use GPS coordinates in Google Maps both online and on your mobile device.

Groovy Post covers it all here. https://bit.ly/2Ld1hVA

HOW TO HARD RESET A FROZEN iPHONE OR ANDROID DEVICE – Tip: don’t slam it on the table

Since we rely on our phones for 90% of all everyday tasks, having your smartphone freeze on you can be a total nightmare. To get a taste of that, try and leave your house without your smartphone one day. Most of us won’t last an hour.

A frozen smartphone can cut you off from your work, friends, and family. Not being able to access certain software or your favourite communication channels can harm your productivity as well as your general mood and mental state.

That’s why you might want to know how to hard reset an iPhone or Android long before your phone actually starts freezing on you.

Help Desk Geek provides the step with screenshots here. https://bit.ly/2X4fG9v

12/26

HOW TO FREE UP SPACE ON APPLE WATCH – The Apple Watch does not have a huge amount of storage space; even the most recent models go only as high as 32 GB. Too little space can result in a number of errors, such as problems installing updates or streaming music.

You can control your Apple Watch and see what it contains through the Watch app. If you find yourself running out of memory, here are several methods to help free up space on your Apple Watch.

Switching to Mac has a great set of screenshots. https://bit.ly/2M7rKVg

TOP 5 THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR NEW iPAD, iPAD AIR, OR iPAD PRO – Got a new iPad, iPad Air or iPad Pro this Christmas as a gift? Congratulations! It is now time to explore the best apps, tips, and accessories for your new iPad so that you can use it to its full potential. There’s a lot you can do with your new iPad instead of just using it to browse Facebook and play games. Check out the first 5 things that you should do with your new iPad, iPad Air, or iPad Pro.

Depending on your workflow, your new iPad or iPad Pro can become a PC-replacement as well. That would mean no need to lug your laptop anywhere and never having to worry about battery life or performance issues.

If you are new to iPads/iPhones go to this iPhone Hacks article and get started. https://bit.ly/37OEU1W

PS: if you are a newbie to iPad/iPhones, send me an email for a step by step 9 plus pages handout that will help you get started. Free.

19 HIDDEN TRICKS INSIDE APPLE’S SAFARI BROWSER – Safari for Phone, iPad, and Mac offers a variety of features and settings to help you search the web like no other browser. There are even more new tools and tricks to know with the release of iOS/iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.

Apple’s default web browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac is Safari, but have you ever taken the time to investigate its many hidden features and settings? Standard functions like Private mode, bookmark management, and offline reading are included, but there are more things you can do around privacy and security.

With iOS/iPadOS 14 and macOS 11 Big Sur, Safari has a few new tricks up its sleeve, including translating, privacy reports, and password monitoring. Here’s how to use these features and customize your settings for a better Safari experience.

PC Magazine gives up those secrets. https://bit.ly/3pqaWHs

HOW TO CREATE DATE AND TIME COMPLICATIONS FOR APPLE WATCH – The Apple Watch is a great smartwatch, but it’s not the best timepiece. While Apple does provide rudimentary date and time widgets, you might want to create your own complication that goes well with your setup.

Take the Infographic watch face, for example. It’s probably the best Apple Watch face because you get to use eight complications at the same time and it shows the time in analog. But if you want to see the time in a digital format, you can only put it in one place, and even then, it shows the seconds count as well (which can be quite distracting).

How-to Geek shows how to create different Apple Watch faces. https://bit.ly/38AduvG

THE BEST iPAD APPS FOR 2021 – Transform your iPad into a mobile movie theater, workstation, encyclopedia set, or painter’s canvas with our curated list of apps for work or play.

The right app can transform the iPad, the tablet of tablets, into nearly anything you desire. Looking to get things done while working from home? The iPad becomes a mobile office suite when you must step away from the desktop or laptop. Trying to figure out what to stream this weekend? The iPad morphs into portable television for checking out the newest shows and movies when the kids hog the flat screen. Looking to paint, draw, or illustrate? With the right apps and the Apple Pencil, there’s never been a more powerful, more affordable graphic design tool than the iPad. And the list goes on. With so many options at your fingertips, how do you find the apps worth downloading?

Look no further than this roundup. PCMag’s staff has tested dozens upon dozens of iPad apps and highlighted the best of the best. If you’re a glutton for punishment, you could dig through the depths of the App Store for user reviews, but that demands a lot of time. Instead, you should sit back and relax with this guide.

PC Magazine gives a paragraph of info on each App, 40 total. https://bit.ly/3pnR73q (Categories: Creativity, Education and Information, Entertainment, Productivity, Utility)

HERE’S WHY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON ELECTRONICS IS A WASTE OF MONEY – Extended warranties are offered with most devices—smartphones, laptops, TVs, home appliances—but are they worth the money? Survey says: No. Here’s how to protect your electronics without forking over extra cash.

When you purchase a big-ticket item—smartphone, laptop, TV—some kind of warranty is expected. It’s typically called an “express warranty” because it’s supposed to be clearly expressed. Sometimes it’s called a “guarantee” because it’s supposed to guarantee that it works. It doesn’t even have to be written—a TV huckster saying “it’ll last 20 years!” is a legal guarantee.

Go to PC Magazine’s article and save $$$. https://bit.ly/34NUE30

12/22

iOS 14: GUIDES, TIPS, TRICKS, AND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT APPLE’S NEW iPHONE OS – Apple’s latest iPhone operating system is here! In beta since WWDC in June, iOS 14 is available for every iPhone that is capable of running iOS 13.

When you update your iPhone to iOS 14, there will be a lot of new stuff to learn. This is a big update packed with new features. We have written guides, tips, and how-to articles describing the most important stuff, and to make your life easier, we’ve compiled them all here. Use this article as your roadmap to learning all the new features and changes.

Go to Mac World and read up on iOS 14 for iPhones. https://bit.ly/3nJPJHW

iPHONE OTHER STORAGE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU CLEAR IT? – That significant Other filling up all your iPhone storage? Here’s what you can do about it.

I’m sure this sounds familiar: You’re trying to download and install the latest iOS release, or take some photos, or download that cool app your friend told you about, and your iPhone says the storage is full.

You’ve already deleted every app you don’t think you need, and there’s still not enough space. So you look at your iPhone storage in Settings page and, sure enough, your iPhone’s storage is full. Worst of all, a huge chunk of it is just listed as Other. What’s that supposed to mean? How do you get rid of it?

The Other storage section is mysterious and confusing, and there’s no one answer that works for everyone, but hopefully this guide will help you deal with this problem.

Go to Mac World and get more storage?? https://bit.ly/3atASh7

HOW TO SET AN ALARM FOR SUNRISE OR SUNSET ON iPHONE – Rise and shine! Need to set an iPhone alarm that goes off automatically every day at sunrise or sunset? Using Shortcuts on iPhones running iOS 13 or later, it’s possible to create an automation that does just that. Here’s how to set it up.

How-to Geek can get you up early with your iPhone. https://bit.ly/3nHgc8T

HOW TO CREATE A STRONG PASSWORD YOU CAN REMEMBER – As more and more of our lives move online, the need to maintain secure online profiles is critical. Creating a password isn’t good enough, it needs to be a STRONG password. A common misconception, however, is many think a strong password is hard to remember. Not true and, I have some good news for you. Today I’ll review how to create an easy to remember, yet rock-solid password.

Groovy Post does it again here. https://bit.ly/2JENtTx

HOW TO CHECK WHO CAN SEE YOUR iPHONE LOCATION – Apple holds privacy and security as two of its core values and it’s got some new resources on how to protect your devices, accounts, and personal safety. Let’s look at the recommended steps to check who can see your iPhone location including how to make sure no one can track you.

9 to 5 Mac has the procedures plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/3nJUFfT

APPLECARE+: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT APPLE’S EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAM – What AppleCare+ costs, what it covers, and answers to all your other questions.

Your Apple gear wasn’t cheap. And if you drop your iPhone, your iPad stops turning on, or you smack your Apple Watch into something and shatter it, getting it repaired probably won’t be cheap either.

Apple includes a one-year limited warranty with all hardware so if there’s a manufacturing defect, you’ll be covered. To also protect against accidental damage plus extend the original warranty for longer and enjoy free tech support, you can opt to purchase AppleCare+. Here’s what it is, what it covers, and what you can expect to pay. Is AppleCare+ worth it? Only you can decide for your own situation, but this should be everything you need to know to make a smart choice.

Mac World explains Apple Care + and you decide if you should pay for it.

https://bit.ly/2WELT7a

12/15

HOW TO MAKE YOUR iPHONE ‘AESTHETIC’ WITH iOS 14 – By using Shortcuts together with custom Widgets and the App Library, you can build a totally unique home screen look.

By using Shortcuts together with custom Widgets and the App Library, you can build a totally unique home screen look. In this video Jason walks us through the steps on how to set it all up.

With iOS 14, Apple has finally given you the ability to customize the layout of your home screen to some extent. Instead of just repositioning icons, you can totally remove them thanks to the new App Library. With the new Widgets, you can finally fill your home screen with something other than just apps.

But the new “aesthetic” iPhone trend goes a lot further. By combining Shortcuts with custom icons and highly-customizable widgets, you can give your iPhone a dramatically different look.

Here’s how to get started making your iPhone “aesthetic.” Go to Mac World and get the procedure with screenshots and step by step. https://bit.ly/3mmsger

APPLE RELEASES IOS 14.3 WITH APPLE FITNESS+, PRORAW, SUPPORT FOR AIRPODS MAX, AND MORE – This update adds ProRAW for iPhone 12 Pro and a handful of other features and fixes.

Apple’s big product release roadmap for the fall continues apace, with new iPhones, iPads, Macs with Apple silicon, and macOS Big Sur. But it hasn’t forgotten about iOS 14, which is now up to its third big point release.

Updated 12/14/20: Apple has released iOS 14.3. This release adds Apple Fitness+ and the ProRAW image format for iPhone 12 Pro phones. It also supports AirPods Max headphones, which start shipping this week.

What’s new in iOS 14.3

In addition to bug fixes and security updates, iOS 14.3 brings several new features. These are the big ones, though there are many small fixes and changes, so check the release notes for a more complete list.

Go to this Mac World page and read about the update. https://bit.ly/389Ixhx

APPLE FITNESS+: HOW TO SIGN UP FOR APPLE’S FITNESS SERVICE – Fitness+ combines Apple Watch, videos, and workout data to help you get into shape.

How do I sign up for Apple Fitness+?

What is Apple Fitness+?

How does Apple Fitness+ work?

What types of workouts does Apple Fitness+ have?

Do I need workout equipment for Apple Fitness+?

What devices do I need for Apple Fitness+?

How much does Apple Fitness+ cost?

Can I try Apple Fitness+ for free before I sign up?

Online fitness services such as Peloton and Daily Burn have become very popular, and now Apple wants in on the business. They will soon offer Apple Fitness+, the latest service for Apple users. Fitness+ combines your Apple devices, videos, and collected exercise data to allow you to have satisfying workouts.

This article will tell you all you need to know about Apple Fitness+. We’ll update it whenever there are new developments.

Go to Mac World and get fit. https://bit.ly/3nnAsMQ

WORKING OUT WITH FITNESS+: EXERCISE MADE EASY FOR APPLE SUPERFANS – Apple just launched its highly anticipated Fitness+ streaming service, with workouts led by world-class trainers. You’ll need an Apple Watch and an iPhone to join, but so far it looks like a promising new way to work out for anyone immersed in Apple’s ecosystem.

With “new year, new you” season right around the corner, Apple just launched its highly anticipated Fitness+ workout streaming service. Fitness+ brings a range of workouts led by world-class trainers, including Ironman champions, professional athletes, fitness club founders, gymnasts, health coaches, marathoners, martial artists, personal trainers, and yogis, to the comfort and safety of your home. As PCMag’s resident fitness expert and a professional yoga instructor, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Fitness+ and have some first impressions to share while I continue testing the service for a full review.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get fit. https://bit.ly/37nBeDK

HOW TO TAKE SCREENSHOTS ON AN iPHONE – We show you how to take a screenshot on your iPhone using several methods, no matter the model you have.

Taking a screenshot is a basic but vital practice on any device. It’s the best way to capture funny moments, illustrate a problem, or keep proof of something.

If you don’t know how to take screenshots on your iPhone, this is the guide for you. We’ll show all the different ways to grab iPhone screenshots, along with some tips for making the most of them.

Go to the Make Use Of article a take screenshots. https://bit.ly/2IR8olU

HOW TO UNLOCK A SECRET BUTTON ON YOUR iPHONE USING BACK TAP – Did you know that your iPhone has a hidden button you can access by tapping its back? Here’s how to use it.

You can’t see or click this button, but you can activate it by tapping the back of your iPhone two or three times.

You need to turn on this Back Tap feature in the Accessibility settings first, but once you do so, there are endless possibilities that you can use it for.

If you have an iPhone 8 or later, go to Make Use Of and get mto tapping the back of your iPhone. https://bit.ly/3oV4QOR

12/5

YOU CAN NOW SHARE SUBSCRIPTIONS AND IN-APP PURCHASES VIA iCLOUD FAMILY SHARING – You know what’s stupid? Paying for a subscription service multiple times so each person in your family can enjoy it. The good news is that those days are coming to an end thanks to Apple’s new iCloud Family Sharing for in-app purchases and auto-renewing subscriptions. Now you can share the junk you pay for over and over again with the rest of your family.

Developers will need to enable the feature, as it is off by default. Though, some may choose not to make their subscriptions shareable, depending on how the app functions. For example, developers of apps that use IAP for weather data may choose not to enable the feature, as dev-side weather services can be expensive. Thus, a shared subscription or in-app purchase could push the app into a place where it’s no longer profitable. Also, consumable purchases cannot be shareable for obvious reasons.

HOW TO HIDE FAVORITES ON SAFARI’S NEW TAB PAGE ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Normally, Safari on iPhone and iPad displays a list of Favorites on its blank pages whenever you open a new window or tab. Unfortunately, Apple does not provide a simple and obvious way to disable this, but there is a way to do it. Here’s how to set it up.

How-to Geek gives all the info here. https://bit.ly/33PdwhP

HOW TO CREATE A STRONG PASSWORD YOU CAN REMEMBER – Follow our simple guide to easily create an easy to remember yet secure Password.

As more and more of our lives move online, the need to maintain secure online profiles is critical. Creating a password isn’t good enough, it needs to be a STRONG password. A common misconception, however, is many think a strong password is hard to remember. Not true and, I have some good news for you. Today I’ll review how to create an easy to remember, yet rock-solid password.

Groovy Post has some great ideas about passwords. https://bit.ly/2JENtTx

SEVEN YEARS LATER, FCC REAFFIRMS IN-FLIGHT PHONE CALLS WILL REMAIN ILLEGAL – The nightmare scenario of people being allowed to make in-flight phone calls on their smartphones has finally been ended by the FCC, some seven years after it sought passenger feedback on the idea.

11/15

HOW TO IDENTIFY MUSIC WITH YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – Hey, what’s that song? Your iPhone can listen to any song playing nearby and tell you. You don’t need any apps—multiple song identification tools are built right into your iPhone. Apple even purchased Shazam, a popular music recognition app.

Go to this How-to Geek and Name that tune. https://bit.ly/3koixDd

READY TO CHAT? HOW TO USE THE NEW MESSAGES FEATURES IN iOS 14 – Apple’s iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 add new and improved features to the default messaging app, including pinned conversations, inline replies, group photos, and in-app searching.

The Messages app has long been a mainstay on the iPhone and iPad as the default way Apple would like you to send and receive text messages. Following up on the features added in iOS 13, Apple has a few more bells and whistles for this year’s update.

Go to this PC Magazine article and Chat. https://bit.ly/2IBvwUQ

HOW TO CREATE AN iMESSAGE PROFILE ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Just like WhatsApp, you can create an Apple iMessage profile. This feature gives you control over the name and photo that’s displayed in an iMessage conversation. Here’s how to create your own iMessage profile on iPhone and iPad.

iPhone and iPad users running iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and higher can create their own iMessage profile. This allows you to use a photo, Memoji, Animoji, and more as a display picture.

You also have complete control over who can see your name and photo. You can allow only your contacts to view this information (so that spammers who got their hands on your phone number will be none the wiser), or you can also share this information on a conversation basis.

Go to How- to Geek and create a Profile.: https://bit.ly/35ypm0X

HOW TO VIEW NOTIFICATION CENTER ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Anyone with an iPhone or iPad is familiar with notifications and how overwhelming they can become. Luckily, Apple provides a single location where you can view and manage them called Notification Center. Here’s how to view it.

Go to this How-to Geek article to view notifications. https://bit.ly/2Iuo1zJ

ZOOM TO LIFT 40-MINUTE FREE CALL LIMIT ON THANKSGIVING DAY – Zoom is making it easier to connect with friends and family for the holidays with a temporary lift on free video-calling limits.

Zoom is lifting its 40-minute restriction on free video chats for Thanksgiving Day in a bid to make it easier for families and friends to connect.

The no-limits Thanksgiving Day offer is a special case for the company’s #ZoomTogether initiative as a “thank you” to customers.

The removal is temporary and only available from midnight ET on Nov. 26 to 6 a.m. ET on Nov. 27. While this is a short-lived change, it will likely be welcome for those who have had to cancel Thanksgiving travel plans amid a recent explosion in coronavirus cases.

CAN YOU DISABLE 911 EMERGENCY CALLS ON AN iPHONE? – If you’re thinking about letting a younger child use an iPhone, you might worry about them accidentally calling 911. Due to federal law, you can’t disable emergency calls completely, but there are ways to reduce your chances of dialing 911 accidentally. Here’s how—and why 911 is required on cell phones to begin with.

Go to How -to Geek and set up iPhone for younger people. https://bit.ly/2H2OuU3

HOW TO REMOVE A GLASS OR PLASTIC SCREEN PROTECTOR SAFELY – Want to remove a cracked glass screen protector, or apply a new, tougher screen protector? Here’s how to do it safely.

Screen protectors are vital for keeping your phone display free from scratches and chips. They’ve come a long way since the age of thin rubbery protectors and these days are commonly made from tempered glass.

But if your screen protector is cracked, you’ll probably need to remove it. Alternatively, you might simply want to upgrade your existing screen protector with a more durable version. Here’s how to safely remove a screen protector from your phone with the minimum of effort.

Go to Make Use Of article and remove that screen protector safely without damage to you or the device. http://bit.ly/2UrOUqc

11/3

HOW TO FIND LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE IN APPLE MAPS – If you’re browsing Apple Maps on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac and you’d like to figure out the latitude and longitude of a particular location, it’s as easy as dropping a pin. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this How to Geek article and get the steps with screenshots. https://bit.ly/3jTjQtT

WHATSAPP’S NEW STORAGE MANAGER WILL HELP QUICKLY FREE UP STORAGE SPACE ON YOUR iPHONE (OR ANDROID) – WhatsApp is rolling out a new storage manager for its iPhone and Android app that will allow users to remove unwanted media files to free up storage space on their device.

The new storage manager will allow users to delete frequently forwarded media files at once thereby freeing up storage space on their iPhone or Android in a jiffy. The storage manager will also automatically list media files and documents larger than 5MB so you can delete the irrelevant ones yourself. WhatsApp will also list the chats taking the most amount of storage space on your device. It will also show the amount of space being occupied by WhatsApp media on your device followed by other apps and games.

WhatsApp is adding this feature to its messaging app after thousands of requests from WhatsApp users from all over the world. You can access the new storage manager in WhatsApp by going to WhatsApp Settings -> Data and Storage Usage -> Manage Storage.

WhatsApp has already started rolling out the new storage manager to its mobile app and it should be available for iPhone users in the coming days. The feature is also a part of the latest beta of WhatsApp for Android.

WhatsApp is also working on disappearing messages feature for iPhone and Android users, and it should be rolled out to the public soon since the company has already published an FAQ about it.

HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE BUYING FROM A THIRD-PARTY SELLER ON AMAZON – When you shop on Amazon, it’s important to remember the company also acts as a middleman for independent, third-party businesses. Most of these are trustworthy, but some sell counterfeit goods and items that aren’t as described. It’s important to know where a product is coming from before you click that Buy button.

Go to this How-to Geek article and get the straight skinny. https://bit.ly/3exQeBe

4 BEST TOOLS TO RECOVER DATA FROM HARD DRIVES AND MEMORY CARDS – Contrary to popular belief, files are very much recoverable after deleting them. This applies to files deleted from your PC’s hard disk or external storage drives and devices like SD cards, smartphones, digital cameras, etc. And yes, files removed from your PC’s Trash or Recycle Bin can be recovered too. Thanks to data recovery software; these tools are life-savers. In this post, we compile some of the best data recovery software that are available for Windows and macOS users.

When a file is deleted from your computer or external storage, it doesn’t exactly disappear into thin air. The file remains on the same disk/drive it was deleted from. What happens is that, upon deletion, the file immediately becomes (permanently) inaccessible until the space it previously occupied on the disk is used (read: overwritten) by new files. Data recovery tools scan the affected disk for missing or deleted data fragments and restore as many files as they can.

Listed below are some of the best data recovery tools for Mac and Windows computers.

Go to Guiding Tech and see Data Recovery Tools. https://bit.ly/34Wkd2x

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR LAPTOP BATTERY LIFE – Close your apps when you’re not using them. Never prop up your notebook on a pillow. These and seven more easy tips will help you squeeze longer battery life out of your Windows 10 or Mac laptop.

Who wants to make an urgent dash to a power outlet to rescue their laptop battery? That’s no fun, especially with everyone working and learning from home these days in various corners of the house that may not have a convenient socket nearby. Luckily, modern laptops are much more efficient than their predecessors. Nowadays, even inexpensive desktop-replacement laptops and some gaming behemoths can last for more than eight hours on a single charge. Ultraportables often endure for 14 hours or more.

Still, the inconvenient truth is that the battery in your PC or Mac laptop won’t last as long as the manufacturer advertises unless you pay attention to some key factors: your power settings, how many apps you’re running, even the temperature of the room in which you’re working. The good news is that none of this requires much work to sort out, once you know which settings to adjust. Let’s take a look at the highest-yield, least-effort ways to get the most out of your laptop’s battery.

Go to PC Magazine and save battery time on the laptop. https://bit.ly/3mW4l6n

HOW TO BLOCK ROBOCALLS AND SPAM CALLS – Are you getting too many phone calls from spammers and telemarketers? Here are some steps you can take to battle those annoying, unknown callers.

Are you sick and tired of the robocalls and spam calls you get on your landline or mobile phone? Lawmakers have passed legislation to address the problem, but there are a few actions you can take on your own.

iPhones and Android phones come with built-in features for blocking specific phone numbers, while mobile carriers offer their own blocking tools. Several third-party apps—Nomorobo, Hiya: Spam Phone Call Blocker, RoboKiller, Truecaller, and YouMail Voicemail & Spam Block—also strive to block telemarketing calls.

You can also register your mobile and landline phone numbers with the FTC’s Do Not Call Registry, though that won’t stop scammers and disreputable telemarketers from calling you. Let’s check out each option.

Go to PC Magazine article and stop calls. https://bit.ly/2GtgpfD

10/23

HOW TO FIND YOUR DIRECTION OF TRAVEL USING GOOGLE MAPS – Google Maps is great for getting directions, but if you’re off-road and can’t find your way home, you’ll need to improvise. Thankfully, it’s possible to use Google Maps to find your direction of travel if you get lost. Here’s how.

This will only work if your Android or iPhone device has a magnetometer that can find your direction of travel using the Earth’s magnetic field. Most (if not all) modern Android devices have a magnetometer installed, as do all recent iPhones.

If your phone has a Compass built in, then go to this How-to Geek article and find your way. https://bit.ly/37ByTFY

HOW TO SELL YOUR iPHONE SAFELY AND GET THE MOST CASH – Here’s what to do before you sell your iPhone or trade it in for an iPhone 12, plus the best places to get cash or credit for your Apple device.

It may be a month later than usual, but Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup starts rolling out next week.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro arrive on Friday, Oct. 23. The iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini are in stores beginning Friday, Nov. 13. If you’re in the market for an upgrade, you might want to sell your older iPhone to make a dent in the price. But there’s more to ditching your old phone than just handing it over and waiting for cash to hit your bank account.

Privacy concerns abound with phones, from photos stored in iCloud to personal data housed within apps, so wiping your phone before selling it is a must. And don’t forget to back up, so you don’t have to manually re-download hundreds of apps on your new iPhone.

Below is our step-by-step guide to preparing your phone for sale, as well as a few reputable sites that will take it off your hands for top dollar.

Go to this PC Magazine Article and get the facts. http://bit.ly/31x9lWE

HOW TO CREATE AND MANAGE DIGITAL FAMILY DOCUMENTS – What’s the best way to scan, save, and organize important family documents, such as birth certificates, passports, and titles to property?

In an emergency, the last thing you want to do is search for paperwork. The same can be said in moments of high stress or grief. Ideally, all the important documents you could ever need would be easy to find and easy to access. How do you do that?

What are some important family documents you might want to digitize? What’s the best way to scan and store them so that they’re secure, easy to find, and always available when you need them?

Go to this PC Magazine article and get started. https://bit.ly/35tFGio

HOW TO GET HEALTHY WITH YOUR APPLE WATCH – The Apple Watch offers a variety of features and apps that can help you maintain and enhance your health and wellbeing, from heart rate monitoring to cycle tracking.

Here’s how you can get healthy with an Apple Watch.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get healthier. https://bit.ly/2HrCFHa

YOUR TECHNOLOGY IS TRACKING YOU. TAKE THESE STEPS FOR BETTER ONLINE PRIVACY – The steps to protect your security are more clear-cut than those for privacy.

Jackie Ferrentino for NPR

Before I became a reporter at NPR, I worked for a few years at tech companies.

One of the companies was in the marketing technology business — the industry that’s devoted in part to tracking people and merging their information, so they can be advertised to more effectively.

That tracking happens in multiple senses: physical tracking, because we carry our phones everywhere we go. And virtual tracking, of all the places we go online.

The more I understood how my information was being collected, shared and sold, the more I wanted to protect my privacy. But it’s still hard to know which of my efforts is actually effective and which is a waste of time.

So I reached out to experts in digital security and privacy to find out what they do to protect their stuff – and what they recommend most to us regular folks.

Here’s what they told me.

Go to this National Public Radio article and get better Privacy. https://n.pr/3dSk6aV

25 INSANELY USEFUL WEBSITES THAT’LL COME IN HANDY SOMEDAY – You should bookmark these insanely useful sites because you may need them someday without realizing it!

Finding useful websites can be tough. There are more than a billion sites on the web, and a good number of them are nowhere near useful. And some of the most useful websites are quite popular, so you probably already know of them.

insanely-useful-websites

But there are many other useful websites beyond the ones you may be familiar with. The fun is in discovering them. Fortunately, we’ve done the searching for you. Check out these useful websites that offer something worth checking out.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and discover Useful websites. http://bit.ly/35tjJQn

HOW TO RECOVER DELETED EMAILS FROM GMAIL – Is an important email missing from your inbox? Here are all the ways to recover deleted emails from your Gmail inbox.

Have you accidentally deleted an email from your Gmail account? We’ve all been there. Depending on the importance of the email you deleted, it might be cause for serious concern.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost as there are a few ways to recover deleted emails from your Gmail account. This guide explores those email recovery methods so you can get your deleted emails back as soon as possible.

Go to this Make Use Of article and reclaim deleted gmails. https://bit.ly/3dZ7Vcv

OS 14: HOW TO CHANGE DEFAULT EMAIL AND BROWSER APPS – A notable change with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 that didn’t see hardly any stage time during the WWDC keynote was that Apple will allow users to change their default email and web browser apps. Let’s take a look at how the option to change default email and browser apps works on iPhone and iPad in iOS 14.

Up until now, Apple hasn’t allowed iPhone and iPad users to change the default account that the built-in Mail app uses, likewise for the default search engine in Safari.

As we noted during the unveiling of iOS 14, Apple quickly breezed over the new ability to change default email and web browser apps. This means tasks throughout the operating system will trigger third-party apps when doing things like composing new email messages and opening links instead of opening the default Mail and Safari apps.

HOW TO CHANGE DEFAULT iPHONE EMAIL AND BROWSER APPS – The option to change default email and browser apps requires updates from third-party developers, so the functionality is available on an app by app basis. Most major third-party email and browser apps now support the feature. But some bugs with iOS remain. If you favorite app doesn’t support the feature now, keep an eye out for it to adopt the functionality in the future.

Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad
Swipe down to find the third-party app you’d like to set as the default
Choose Default Browser App or Default Email App
Tap the third-party app you’d like to use

Note: there was a bug that reverts the defaults to Safari and Apple’s Mail app after rebooting. That is fixed with iOS 14.0.1. However, a second bug exists with iOS 14.1 and earlier.

Here’s how the process looks with Chrome on iPhone:

10/17

SONG STUCK IN YOUR HEAD? HUM IT TO GOOGLE SEARCH! – Have you ever had a song stuck in your head but had no idea what it was? Maybe you didn’t even know any of the lyrics, which makes it hard to search. This has happened to me more times than I care to think about. But those days are gone because now you can hum songs to Google Search. And it’ll give you results.

The new feature is available on both iOS and Android in the Google app or using Google Assistant. Using it couldn’t be easier, either—tap the microphone, then search for a song. Hum, sing, or whistle what’s in your head. Search will then use machine learning to do its best to find a matching track.

While it seems like a pretty simple thing, it’s actually pretty fascinating in use. Google says that it’s able to dissect the audio by “transforming [it] into a number-based sequence representing the song’s melody”—that means it should work even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket (thanks for that phrase, mom).

In Google’s blog post, it explains that a song’s melody is “like its fingerprint” in that each one is unique. If you can hum something that remotely sounds like what’s in your head, the pitch doesn’t have to be accurate at all because the variations and changes are still unique to that particular song. Well, for most songs anyway.

So yeah, the next time you get an earworm and have no idea what it is, you have a solution. I, for one, and thankful.

Zoom is finally getting end-to-end encryption for all accounts. The feature rolled out this week to all users of the platform. It’s especially important now that schools use the platform to each kids every day. There are a few problems, though. You have to tick a box to opt-in to E2EE before each meeting or it won’t get encryption. It’s annoying, but not horrible. We’re just glad it’s getting the feature at all for both free and premium users.

HOW TO USE TINYURL – Often we need to copy a link for a particular web page to send to another. Getting the link is pretty easy. We just copy the information in the address bar to the clipboard. Ctrl+L highlights the address, then Ctrl+C copies it to the clipboard. Then we can paste it into an email, send a text, send a Facebook message, etc.

Go to this Daves Computer tips article and get tiny. https://bit.ly/2T5LHvY

HOW TO MAKE YOUR iPHONE SCREAM WHEN YOU PLUG IT IN – At the end of a long day of doomscrolling, both you and your iPhone probably feel like screaming. If you really want to freak out your friends, you can make your iPhone scream whenever you unplug it on iOS 14 or later. Let’s get it set up!

Go to this How-to Geek article and set it up. http://bit.ly/35auoPM

HOW TO KEEP LOW POWER MODE ENABLED PERMANENTLY ON YOUR iPHONE – Apple’s Low Power Mode is essential for making an older iPhone’s battery last longer. Normally, iOS turns off Low Power Mode automatically when your iPhone charges to 80% capacity. But you can use a Shortcuts automation to keep Low Power Mode enabled forever. Here’s how.

Go to this How to Geek article and change Low Power Mode ON. https://bit.ly/357dQZ4

HAVING TROUBLE SEEING YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD SCREEN? USE THESE TOOLS – Accessibility settings like Dark Mode and Zoom can make the screen easier to read, while the new and improved Magnifier tool in iOS 14 can help you better see the world around you.

Do you have trouble viewing the screen on your iPhone or seeing objects around you? If so, Apple’s smartphone and tablet can help people with limited vision or related issues with several built-in features, including text and color settings, a Zoom mode, and a Magnifier tool.

Both the iPhone and iPad let you change the text size and alter color settings to make screens more legible. The Dark Mode introduced in iOS 13 and iPadOS paints screens and apps with a darker tint to make them easier to read in low-light conditions. The Zoom tool is a customizable option through which you zoom in on areas of the screen to better see text, images, and other content. A new and improved Magnifier unveiled with iOS/iPadOS 14 lets you better see objects up close through your device’s camera.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the procedures. https://bit.ly/31ixbp1

4 SIRI ALTERNATIVES FOR iPHONE VOICE COMMANDS – If you find Siri underwhelming, here are some iPhone voice assistants you might like better.

Although Siri is constantly improving, the iPhone’s personal voice assistant doesn’t have a lot of fans. If you frequently find that Siri either doesn’t recognize or doesn’t understand your commands, it might be time to try a different voice assistant instead.

Popular alternatives to Siri include Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Unfortunately, none of the alternatives below work perfectly on the iPhone, but hopefully, they still offer you an improvement over Siri.

Go to this Make Use Of article and find alternatives. http://bit.ly/2T4W8Qc

8 PRIVACY FEATURES iOS 14 USERS NEED TO KNOW – The latest versions of iOS and iPadOS offer more ways to stay private, from app permissions to location tracking. Here’s how to secure your iPhone and Pad.

Apple has long provided ways to manage and control your privacy on an iPhone or iPad, but iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 add even more features designed to keep you safe and secure. Here’s how to use them.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get better Privacy. https://bit.ly/3jf2CXC

10/4/20

9 AMAZON FIRE TABLET TIPS YOU MUST TRY – Your Amazon Fire tablet can do a lot! Get the most out of it with these tips and tricks.

The Amazon Fire tablet range continues to rise in popularity and adds new features with each release. But why is it so popular? It could be the low price, but does this mean you’re missing out on important features found on other tablets if you opt for an Amazon Fire?

Go to this Make Use of article for the tips. https://bit.ly/2SpnbW0

ANDROID VS. IOS: WHICH MOBILE OS IS BEST? – We pit the Google and Apple smartphone operating systems against each other in an all-out features battle.

Go to this PC Magazine article and see the results of a Operating System Battle. https://bit.ly/30v495j

HOW TO ADJUST VIDEO QUALITY ON NETFLIX – If you’re trying to limit your Netflix data usage, you may want to tweak your Netflix video quality settings. Here’s how.

Thanks to Netflix, gone are the days of waiting a week to see the latest episode of your favorite drama. Changing the way we watch TV shows and movies, Netflix allows us to binge whole series in a single sitting.

If you’re paying for a Netflix subscription, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best stream quality. Thankfully, it’s possible to tweak Netflix video quality settings, but it’s not an entirely simple process. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Go to this Groovy Post article for the adjustment. https://bit.ly/30xckOe

THESE IOS 14 APPS OFFER HOME SCREEN WIDGETS, APP CLIPS, AND MUCH MORE – Apple has officially released iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 to the public. The updates bring many new features to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users, and third-party developers have been hard at work on updating their apps to take advantage of Apple’s latest tools. Read on for the details…

Go to this 9 to 5 MAC article for more information. https://bit.ly/3jta1U1

HOW TO WATCH 4K YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON IPHONE, IPAD, AND APPLE TV – This year’s major software releases from Apple bring a nice upgrade for watching YouTube videos on many of its devices. Follow along for how to watch 4K YouTube videos on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Go to this 9 to 5 MAC article for the procedure on How To. https://bit.ly/3ioLpul

QUICK TIP: BOOKMARKLETS OFFER BITE-SIZE FUNCTIONALITY IN ANY BROWSER – Sometimes you might want the occasional functionality of an extension without the hassle of downloading one or having it constantly bogging down your browser when you’re not using it. Bookmarklets are a perfect solution, as they are secure, lightweight, and frankly, fun.

Go to this Review Geek web article and bookmarklets away. https://bit.ly/3jxqx5d

APPLE’S NEW COMPACT UI IN IOS 14, IPADOS 14 AND MACOS BIG SUR – The first public version of macOS Big Sur should be arriving for Mac in the coming weeks. Here’s what to expect from the new compact UI.

This fall, Apple’s introducing a fresh software design for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 14/iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, respectively. The updates are packed with new features. Perhaps the most noticeable change is the compact user interface, or UI, presented on all three platforms. The following are the most noticeable design changes.

Go to this Groovy Post article for info. https://bit.ly/3jqv2yB

HOW TO UPDATE APPLE WATCH APPS – There are more apps available for Apple Watch than ever. And you want to make sure they stay up-to-date either automatically or manually.

There are hundreds of apps available for your Apple Watch. And it’s important to keep all those apps updated to the latest version. You can set your watch to automatically download new updates or check for them manually. Here’s a look at how to keep your Apple Watch apps up to date.

Go to this Groovy Post article and update app on the watch. https://bit.ly/3izOk37

HOW TO ADD WORLD CLOCK AND TIME ZONE WIDGETS TO YOUR IPHONE – When you work remotely or have friends and family who live in another country, it’s important to know what time it is across time zones. A world clock (or time zone) widget on your iPhone’s Home screen makes this much easier.

Go to this How-to Geek article and add time. https://bit.ly/2EZezSY

9/30/20

HOW TO BLOCK ROBOCALLS AND SPAM CALLS (APPLE AND ANDROID PHONES) – Are you getting too many phone calls from spammers and telemarketers? Here are some steps you can take to battle those annoying, unknown callers.

Go to this PC Magazine article for multiple options on Apple and Android Phones. https://bit.ly/3cLiHm6

HOW TO ADD AN EMAIL SIGNATURE TO GMAIL – Google’s Gmail service supports configurable signatures, which it will attach to each email you send. You could add your name, job title, social media details, phone number, or anything else you want to your signature.

There are two types of signatures: web signatures sent from Gmail on the desktop, and mobile signatures sent from Gmail on your phone.

Go to this How-To Geek article and add signatures. https://bit.ly/3n3rIvB

HOW TO FIND AND DOWNLOAD THE BEST APPLE WATCH FACES – Your Apple Watch has a large library of built-in watch faces, with different styles and complications, leading to thousands of potential custom watch faces. Want to skip the hard work of building your own? Here’s how to find and download the best Apple Watch faces.

Go to this How-to Geek article and get a new face. https://bit.ly/2GhurAB

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR HOME PAGE IN MOZILLA FIREFOX – By default, Mozilla Firefox opens with a special page called “Firefox Home,” but you might prefer a different web page. If you want Firefox to open up a custom home page instead, follow these simple steps.

Go to this How-to Geek web page for the details. https://bit.ly/36xm0fN

7 BEST NOTE-TAKING APPS THAT WORK ON IPHONE AND ANDROID – The Apple Notes app works perfectly well across Apple devices such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Many iPhone and iPad owners wonder whether they can share Apple Notes with Android users. The answer is yes and no. Even though you can open Apple Notes app on your Android phone, the experience isn’t what one would expect. So it’s not a great option, and users want cross-platform note-taking apps that would work on Android and iOS.

Go to this Guiding Tech web article for details. https://bit.ly/3ibzO1u

ALL THE NEW IPHONE PRIVACY FEATURES IN IOS 14 – The iPhone is an excellent investment for anyone concerned about privacy. This is due to its robust permissions system and Apple’s disdain for App Store rule-breakers. With some new privacy features and big improvements to existing ones, iOS 14 continues this trend.

Go to this How-to Geek article and get private. https://bit.ly/3cRF49C

WHAT ARE THE ORANGE AND GREEN DOTS ON AN IPHONE OR IPAD? – On an iPhone or iPad, you’ll see orange and green dots at the top right corner of the screen—above the cellular, Wi-Fi, and battery icons—when an app is using your microphone or camera. Here’s what you need to know.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and read about these important indicators. https://bit.ly/2GoIuEm

HOW TO ADD STICKY NOTES TO YOUR IPHONE HOME SCREEN – Remember the days when you added sticky notes to the desktop on your Windows computer? Well, you can bring back some of that magic and add sticky notes to your iPhone home screen using Sticky Widgets.

Sticky notes are great for quickly noting something down and making sure it’s easily accessible. You can bring some of the same functionality to your iPhone home screen thanks to widgets that were first introduced in iOS 14.

Go to this How-to Geek article and get sticky notes. https://bit.ly/3jioNgh

WHAT IS FACEBOOK TAKE A BREAK FEATURE AND HOW TO USE IT – ‘We were on a break.’ The fans of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S TV show would know what we are talking about. Whether friends or relatives are posting incessantly or you just want to avoid an ex-flame — Tad bit easier in real life. But with social media, that is challenging. To avoid that, Facebook introduced the Take a break feature.

Go to this Guiding Tech web article to take a break. https://bit.ly/34eM6kz

14 HIDDEN FIREFOX FUNCTIONS FOR BROWSING LIKE A BOSS – Firefox is fast, secure, and customizable. Plus, it’s chock-full of features you probably don’t know anything about. Here’s how to get the most out of Mozilla’s browser.

You might think a browser is a browser. Perhaps you don’t think about your web browser at all—by default you simply use whatever came with the operating system or the browser someone set up for you. If you’re like 70 percent of people in the world, you downloaded Google Chrome and never looked back.

However, it’s not smart to put all your digital eggs in one corporate ecosystem’s basket. Mozilla’s Firefox is a worthy alternative and has been PCMag Editors’ Choice for some time.

Firefox is fast, secure, customizable, private, and attractive. Plus, it’s chock-full of features you probably don’t know anything about, even if you are one of the 8 percent of US web users who were smart enough to download it and put it to regular use.

Let’s look at all the extra functionality you can squeeze out of Firefox without even installing an extension. You’ll wonder why you ever bothered with another browser.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the facts. https://bit.ly/2Sf52tY

HOW TO CONNECT YOUR IPHONE OR IPAD TO YOUR TV – Try these options when you want to view iPhone or iPad content on a bigger screen.

When you’re trying to show off videos, photos, and other visual content from your iPhone or iPad, there are too many times when the small screen just won’t do. Fortunately, you can connect those devices to your big-screen TV through several different methods.

You don’t even need a fancy smart TV to do it. We’ll show you several easy methods for screen mirroring, ranging from using a basic HDMI adapter to sophisticated wireless streaming.

Keep in mind that if your goal is to watch streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu on your television, mirroring your iPhone or iPad is neither necessary nor the most practical solution. Instead, you can buy a low-cost streaming media player such as a Roku Streaming Stick+ or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, plug them into your TV, and operate them with a proper remote control. Here’s a link to our guide to the best streaming devices.

Still, mirroring can be useful if you want to replay videos you’ve recorded on the device, display your photo library, present a slideshow, communally browse social media, or show off your iOS gaming skills on the TV screen. Read on for instructions on how to do that.

Go to this Tech Hive web site and get the procedures. https://bit.ly/2R7jBzp

HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR PCS, PHONES, AND TABLETS – Organizing and purging your documents, photos, and inboxes can help reduce stress and improve productivity. Our five simple steps help you start cleaning up your digital life.

A few times a year, I get an urge to purge. Whether it’s spring cleaning or taking a moment to archive last year’s emails, I find it incredibly gratifying to dump (or sometimes simply put away) stuff I don’t need. There’s a whole lot of hippie rhetoric about how clutter-free environments lead to clarity of mind, and I’m not necessarily saying it works for everyone, nor is it guaranteed to improve your productivity, but I sure do feel less stressed and more able to focus when the junk is gone.

Most of us learn from a young age to clean our rooms, tidy our desks, donate or throw out items that we don’t need or want anymore, and put away our physical stuff. As adults But many of us never learned how to do the same thing with our digital material. It’s no surprise we never learned. Who would have taught us? There haven’t yet been enough generations to figure out how to do it and teach the next batch of youngsters.

If you enjoy a good purge and have a messy digital life, here are five places to start:

Files on your computer desktop

Messages in your email inbox

Photos on your phone

Apps on your phone

Your open browser tabs

Here’s some advice on how to do it.

Go to this PC Magazine article and purge. https://bit.ly/32dTRYo

HOW TO USE A SMARTPHONE APP TO FIND YOUR CAR – If you can never remember where you parked your car, check out these apps to keep track.

Having trouble remembering where you parked your car? With the right smartphone app, you can mark where you parked your car and quickly locate it again.

Google Maps allows you to record the location of your car; iPhone users with CarPlay or Bluetooth in their vehicles can also use Apple Maps. Or find a variety of apps across app stores by searching “find my car.” Let’s check them out.

Go to this PC Magazine article and find your car. https://bit.ly/32gdwHj

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – Below you’ll find answers to hundreds of questions related to using your iPhone and iOS. Either browse the questions by topic, or use the search bar to search for the question you need answered.

Go to this iPhone FAQ web page and browse all the FAQ’s and get answered. https://bit.ly/2DINItK

HOW TO SET THE “DO NOT DISTURB” AUTO-REPLY MESSAGE ON IPHONE – If you have “Do Not Disturb” enabled on your iPhone and someone sends you a text message, they may receive an “Auto-Reply” message as a response. Here’s how to configure that message and decide who gets to see it.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and set up ‘Do Not Disturb’ Auto Reply. https://bit.ly/3ik6g2A

HOW TO FIX ‘LAST ICLOUD BACKUP COULD NOT BE COMPLETED’ ERROR ON IPHONE – It is important to backup your iPhone periodically and setting your device to automatically back up to the cloud is the most convenient option. For iPhone and iPad users, this means backing up their entire device to iCloud. The backups are automatic as long as the device is connected to Wi-Fi. However, sometimes you may find an error message saying ‘The last backup could be completed’ when you check your iCloud backup settings.

The error message is a little vague and does not exactly reveal that the problem is as to why the backups to iCloud are failing. Given how necessary regular backups are, this error message can be annoying and confusing. Fortunately, it can be resolved with a few simple troubleshooting tricks.

At this time, you may try to complete the backup manually, but you usually receive another message saying ‘iCloud Backup Failed’. If you keep getting ‘The last backup could not be completed’ error while trying to backup your iPhone to iCloud, try the troubleshooting steps below.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web page and troubleshoot. https://bit.ly/3ihc38X

8/25/20

HOW TO MARKUP IPHONE PHOTOS – There are countless reasons you may need to write or doodle on your iPhone photos. Perhaps you need to sign something, maybe you need to fill out a form, or maybe you need to point out exactly where your child drew on the wall. Either way, it’s an easy thing to do once you know how.

Apple’s Markup feature allows you to edit screenshots and photos, select different opacity and font thickness, as well as add a signature to a PDF document.

Go to this Techwalla web site and get the steps. https://bit.ly/2QlunBz

HOW TO DOODLE ON YOUR PICS ON AN IPHONE – The iPhone’s built-in camera allows you to capture the moment no matter where you are. If you want to give your pictures a little personal touch or creative flair, though, you can download apps for your iPhone that allow you to draw directly on them. Some apps offer a more specialized customization, such as adding comic book-like speech bubbles or distorting faces with funhouse effects, while others let you draw and paint over your photos.

Go to this Techwalla web site and get the steps. https://bit.ly/32nnlSq

GOOGLE MAPS JUST GOT A LOT MORE COLORFUL – Google Maps just rolled out some improvements, bringing more color and visual features to the mapping experience.

Maps currently has HD satellite imagery over 98 percent of Earth. Now, with a new color-mapping algorithmic technique, Google can create a more colorful

When you explore a specific location, you’ll be able to see more of its natural features—like green vegetation, tan beaches and deserts, and blue bodies of water. If you want to check on the snow or ice conditions on a mountaintop, you can now see that from Maps. The borders to national parks and other parks are also more clearly displayed.

“How exactly does this color-mapping technique work? First, we use computer vision to identify natural features from our satellite imagery, looking specifically at arid, icy, forested, and mountainous regions,” a Google blog post reads. “We then analyze these features and assign them a range of colors on the HSV color model. For example, a densely covered forest can be classified as dark green, while an area of patchy shrubs could appear as a lighter shade of green.”

The update covers 220 countries and territories, which equates to 18 billion football fields..

THE COOLEST CAR GADGETS FOR YOUR CURRENT RIDE – Adding the right technology to an older vehicle can make it feel brand new. Upgrade your old vehicle with these high-tech car accessories for a dramatically different ride.

When I was a kid, my two sets of grandparents each had what I considered to be some high-tech 1970s gadgetry in their cars. One had a compass stuck to the windshield, a little floating ball that swiveled like BB-8 to show us the direction in which we traveled. Amazing! The other had a talking Chrysler that would voice warnings such as “The door…is ajar!” or “Your directional signal is…still on!” It was awesome.

These days, they’d probably drive a Toyota Prius that’s got more technology than a Federation shuttlecraft. However, those of us with older cars may not be able to connect our smartphones to these aging vehicles. What’s an old jalopy driver to do?

Thankfully, there is a massive aftermarket of gadgets and add-ons that work with just about any existing vehicle on the road today. Here’s our deep dive into the tech you can add to your car to make it feel a bit more Tesla-esque.

Go to this PC Magazine article and see what gadgets are out there for older cars. https://bit.ly/2CT6iio

THE BEST VIDEO STREAMING SERVICES FOR 2020 – If you’re a cord cutter, there are plenty of excellent choices beyond Netflix and Hulu. We break down the best video streaming services for your money, whether you’re looking to completely replace cable or watch the latest original TV shows and movies on-demand.

Go to this PC Magazine for the reviews of streaming services. https://bit.ly/32jwX0B

5 WAYS TO CHECK WHO IS TRACKING YOU ONLINE – Want to see who is tracking you online? Here’s what you need to know about who is tracking you online and how to stop it.

How much do you love online content? So much you pay for everything you can? Or do you, like the overwhelming majority of internet users, accept advertising and tracking as a way of life?

The adage goes “if you’re not paying you’re the product,” and in the internet services and media era, this is truer than ever. Finding out who and what is tracking you isn’t easy, but there are a number of sites and browser extensions that give you a little more clarity. Here are some of the best.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and look over the different sites and Browser extensions. https://bit.ly/3letqte

5 SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND MORE THAN WHAT GOOGLE SHOWS – Did you know Google doesn’t show everything? These alternative search engines help search the internet in a way Google won’t.

Google is synonymous with searching the web, but did you know there’s a lot that Google isn’t showing you? Here are some alternative search engines to search the internet in a way Google won’t.

There is nothing wrong with Google Search when it comes to finding web pages. But Google can’t search within your computer and cloud accounts to find a file. Google also restricts itself to the language you’ve set. And why are we helping a corporation get bigger by handing over data in exchange for them earning ad revenue?

Break the habit and try one of these search engines instead.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and read. https://bit.ly/3aSKyje

HOW TO TAKE A SCREENSHOT OF APPLE CARPLAY – If you’re using Apple CarPlay (and your vehicle is safely stopped), you can easily take a screenshot of the CarPlay display on your iPhone.

To do this, you just use your iPhone’s regular screenshot feature. Again, don’t do this while driving. Always pull over first or ask one of your passengers to do this for you. Your iPhone will also need to be connected to your vehicle via a USB cable if you’re not using CarPlay wirelessly.

To take a screenshot, press one of the following combinations of buttons depending on which iPhone model you have:

iPhone X or later: Simultaneously press the Side and Volume Up buttons.
iPhone with a Home and Side button: Simultaneously press the Home and Side buttons.
iPhone with a Home and Top button: Simultaneously press the Home and Top buttons.

Your iPhone will save both an image of its screen and the CarPlay display.

If you open the Photos app later, you’ll see both screenshots stored one after the other. Take as many as you want, but only when you’re safely stopped—you don’t want to get into an accident. Safe driving!

HOW TO RECORD PHONE CALLS ON AN IPHONE – Apple doesn’t make it easy to record phone calls on an iPhone. But if your willing to take the time you can get it done. Here’s how.

Due to a variety of country- and state-specific laws, Apple doesn’t make it easy to record phone calls on an iPhone. Still, it is possible if you’re willing to spend the time to find the solution that’s right for you. Let’s take a look.

Go to this Groovy Post article. https://bit.ly/2YrlPxu

7/30/20

10 USEFUL KINDLE SITES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT – If you don’t own a Kindle yet, we heartily recommend you buy one.

Kindles have dramatically longer battery lives than smartphones and tablets, and allow you to carry around thousands of books everywhere you go. Ultimately, owning a Kindle can help you read more books in less time.

However, as awesome as Kindles are out of the box, there are a collection of websites that you should use to get even more out of your Kindle. The following Kindle websites are the perfect companions to your e-reader.

Go to this Make Use Of web site and see 10 kindle e-reader sites. https://bit.ly/310HLjv

HOW TO LIMIT DATA USAGE AND INTERNET BANDWIDTH IN WINDOWS – Limiting bandwidth on your computer will stop you from wasting data. It’s very helpful to manage this setting if you have a specific data limit as it can stop you from being overcharged.

We’re going to show you how to control your bandwidth usage with built-in Windows 10 facilities, then offer some additional third-party tools that offer more features to help you limit your bandwidth.

If you are limited to a certain number of GB data usage per month (4,6,10 GB) then you need to read this Make Use Of web article. https://bit.ly/3jWDQgr

GOOGLE ONE INTRODUCES FREE AUTOMATIC BACKUP FOR IOS USERS – Google One is a cloud subscription service that was launched two years ago. Last year, the company added automatic Android phone backups to Google One. Now Google has extended automatic phone backups to iOS and is free for anyone with a Google account. iOS users will be able to access the feature via a new Google One app.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web site for more info. https://bit.ly/310LQnU

5 APPS FOR THE DEAF & HARD OF HEARING – The iPhone as most people know it is not the same device when it’s in my hands. As a deaf person, my iPhone serves as a tool for accessing a whole new world. Some of the apps that hearing people use daily for recreational or professional purposes are apps I rely on to communicate with other people and to make my life more comfortable. In this article, I’ll highlight five of my favorite iPhone applications that make my life easier in every way. These apps include a helpful voice to text app, as well as a popular Apple app, FaceTime.

Go to this iPhone Life web site and read about it. https://bit.ly/3jS4E1b

HOW TO UNBLOCK A NUMBER ON THE IPHONE – Unblocking a number on your iPhone couldn’t be easier, thanks to the forward thinkers at Apple who knew that the handy block feature should not be permanent. That’s because it’s easy to block someone accidentally or unknowingly. Maybe you were blocking robo-callers or spam texters and blocked a contact by mistake. Or maybe you intentionally blocked a friend or colleague so as not to be disturbed for a period of time and now you want to undo that. Or maybe you’re having trouble calling a contact, or vice versa, so you want to find the blocked list and check to see if that number is on it. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this iPhone Life article and get the step plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/3364YDD

HOW TO TELL WHICH APPS ARE APPLE FAMILY SHARING APPS – Are app purchases shared in Family Sharing? Most of them are, including some paid and subscriptions apps, but other paid and subscription apps are only available to their individual purchasers. Family sharing is a great way to share apps on the iPhone or iPad, but you want to be able to monitor which ones are shareable to minimize extra purchases if something you have can already be shared, or to find new apps if the ones you currently have aren’t available on Family Sharing. Luckily it’s easy to do!

Go to this iPhone Life article and get steps plus screen-shots. https://bit.ly/3f985Nj

HOW TO SET UP RECURRING REMINDERS ON IPHONE AND IPAD – It’s not always easy to remember when to do important things. Luckily, your iPhone or iPad can easily remind you about a repeating task or event using the Reminders app. Here’s how to set it up.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and get the steps plus screen-shots. https://bit.ly/30dqyUP

GIVE YOUR EYES A BREAK: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BLUE LIGHT GLASSES – Staring at your monitor for hours at a time giving you a headache? Computer glasses might help. Here’s how to pick a pair that works best for you along with some of our favorites.

As we spend more and more time at home and staring at screens, we’re becoming increasingly vulnerable to eye strain. You’ve probably already heard of blue light and how it can hurt your eyes, and maybe a pair of blue light blocking glasses caught your attention. But it’s important to understand that there are lots of options for reducing eye strain when staring at screens, and they go beyond just getting new lenses. Here’s what you should know about blue light, and some of your choices for reducing your exposure to it.

Go to this PC Magazine article for the facts. https://bit.ly/2wCFDU2

HOW TO DUPLICATE SLIDES IN MICROSOFT POWERPOINT – If you want to reuse a slide that appears on your presentation, but you don’t want to manually redesign the entire slide, you can duplicate it instead. Here’s how to duplicate slides in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Duplicating a slide is nothing more than copying and pasting the desired slide. However, there are multiple ways to achieve this low-effort task. We’ll go through each method.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and find the steps plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/30dpi49

7/26/20

THE TWO QUICKEST WAYS TO SET AN ALARM ON IPHONE OR IPAD – If you often create or toggle alarms on your iPhone or iPad, there are two quick ways to do it without having to hunt for the Clock app on your Home screen. Here’s how to use them.

Go to this How-to Geek article and set the alarm. https://bit.ly/3jHkHPu

CHARGING HABITS TO MAXIMIZE BATTERY LIFE – Smartphone users — casual and enthusiast alike — are forever in search of longer battery life. While fast charging keeps us topped up every day, the absence of replaceable batteries means eventually the lithium-ion cells enclosed in our phones are going to age and deteriorate.

If you’ve held onto a phone for a year or more, you’ve probably noticed the battery doesn’t seem to last as long as it did when it was brand new. Two years down the line and many phones struggle to make it through the day on a single charge. Holding onto a phone past three years can even spell trouble for system stability.

Unfortunately, battery capacity inevitably declines with age. However, there are things you can do to prolong the life of your battery and handset. If you’ve ever wondered what the best way to charge your battery is, here are some scientifically proven tips for maximizing battery life.

Go to this Android Authority article and get the info. https://bit.ly/3hCAdKn

What’s the best way to charge your smartphone? (Summary)

Avoid full cycle (zero-100 percent) and overnight charging. Charge your phone more regularly with partial charges.
Ending a charge at 80 percent is better for the battery than all the way up to 100 percent.
Use fast charging technologies sparingly and never overnight.
Heat is the battery killer. Don’t cover your phone when charging and keep it out of hot places.
Turn your phone off when charging, or at least don’t play games or watch videos to avoid mini-cycles.

WE ASKED, YOU TOLD US: MANY ARE CHARGING THEIR PHONES ALL NIGHT, EVERY NIGHT – I’ve been thinking a lot about battery degradation lately. With new and exciting quick charge tech coming out every few months, companies are touting super-fast charge times, even on phones with big batteries. But one thing they don’t advertise is how badly some of these quick charge methods degrade your phone’s battery over time.

Go to this Android Authority article and read about charging. https://bit.ly/3jHH4nO

WANT TO STREAM SOMETHING IN 2020? WATCH IT WHILE YOU CAN! – Before the rise of streaming, you had to watch shows and movies as they aired on broadcast television. Now, you can watch things whenever you want—well, that’s not completely true. Movies and TV shows regularly vanish from streaming services.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and read more. https://bit.ly/3g3bO0m

HOW TO USE MICROSOFT OFFICE FOR FREE ON THE WEB – If you don’t need or have access to the full might of the desktop version of Microsoft Office, you can use the free online version instead. Here’s how to access Office on the web.

If you want to use Microsoft Office but don’t want to pay for it, try the free Office for the web apps. Formerly known as Office Online and now known simply as Office, the web-based apps reside online, accessible through your browser.

Instead of installing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on your computer, you use cloud-based versions of these programs, similar to Google Docs. And rather than store your files and documents on your computer, you save them to Microsoft OneDrive, the company’s cloud-based storage service.

The only catch is that the Office for the web apps aren’t as feature-packed as their desktop counterparts. You’ll find all the editing and formatting commands, and some additional features, but not much more. However, if all you need are the basics, this is an option worth trying.

Office for the web offers the four core programs: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can also tap into other apps, including Outlook, OneDrive, Skype, Calendar, and People.

You can even work with more niche applications. An app called Sway allows you to create interactive reports and presentations. A Forms app lets you create online surveys and quizzes. Flow allows you to create workflows.

Let’s go through the steps for accessing and using the Office for the web apps to create, edit, and save your documents.

Go to this PC Magazine article and see the steps. https://bit.ly/3clxT8w

HOW TO GET FREE (OR CHEAP) NEW EBOOKS – Here’s how to legally get big-name authors in a digital form without waiting forever from Amazon, Scribd, OverDrive, and more.

So you’re stuck inside and even the video streaming services don’t sound like a great option anymore. You need to pick up a good book. But you’re not going to hit the local store (that you keep open with frequent purchases, right?) or your (probably closed) library while you shelter in place. Nor would you want to order hardcovers from Amazon, since its delivery these days is wonky at best. What you’re probably going to want is an easy-to-download ebook.

We’re here to help you, readers. Maybe not the readers who think $2.99 or even 99 cents is too much for a book. They need a stern lecture about how costs are not simply about digital distribution—there are editors and artists and authors who need to be paid to keep this whole literature thing going. However, we do want readers to read, even the latest releases from the big-name publishing houses. There are plenty of new, modern ebooks out there available for free or close.

If you’re willing to spend a nominal fee every month, there are plenty of ways to get an almost unlimited amount of text for reading, and a few are free.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and see the list of ebooks. https://bit.ly/2A7j5Mn

LIKE NEWSLETTERS? HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITES – If you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance that you subscribe to the Review Geek newsletter. It’s a great way to keep up with us—we even throw some stuff in there that never makes it to our site! But if you’re already subscribed to the email newsletter, odds are you’re a fan of the format and wouldn’t mind a few more.

Here are the email newsletters that the Review Geek team (and the larger Lifesavvy Media family) love to read. They’re on various subjects and hobbies, and some update more frequently than others. But they’re all great to read, and they’re all free. We hope you enjoy them.

Go to this Review Geek web article and see some more Newsletters. https://bit.ly/3g902Sg

APPLE BOOKS VERSUS AMAZON KINDLE BOOKS APP 2020 – Should you get your eBooks from Amazon or Apple Books? We take a look at what you need to know.

Over the years, Amazon has convinced millions of readers to make the switch to e-books. Therefore, it makes sense that the company’s Kindle platform remains the most popular in the world. For anyone new to e-books or are looking to make a switch, distant No. 2 Apple Books is worth considering, especially after a significant 2018 update that added more features and refinements. Here’s a look at the advantages and differences between the Amazon Kindle and Apple Books ecosystems, and why one might be better than the other depending on your situation.

Go to this Groovy Post article and read all about it. https://bit.ly/30NDWhA

10 SIRI SHORTCUTS YOU MUST BEGIN TO USE – Siri Shortcuts should bring some order to your life and make you love your Apple devices even more.

One of the best features of iOS and iPadOS is Siri Shortcuts. First introduced with iOS 12 in 2018, the tool allows you to perform everyday tasks (or a series of functions) on iPhone or iPad with your voice or a simple tap.

Siri Shortcuts have been designed for beginners and experienced workflow creators alike. For the former, Apple offers hundreds of pre-made curated shortcuts in the free official app. It’s from here, you can also create shortcuts from scratch, although that’s not the focus of this article.

There are hundreds of Siri Shortcuts ready to use, including our favorites listed below.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and read the info. https://bit.ly/30JXoM6

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR NAME ON FACEBOOK – If you’re looking to change your Facebook profile name, you’ll need to do this from your account settings area. Here’s how.

If you’re an early adopter, you may have had a Facebook profile from as far back as 2004. Even if your profile hasn’t been around that long, you may have some regrets about the name you decided to use when you signed up.

Maybe you used your full name, but you’re known by a shorter version. Maybe you’ve been married, divorced, and remarried since. Whatever your reason, the good news is that changing your name on Facebook is a fairly simple process, provided you follow the rules.

If you want to change your name on Facebook, here’s what you’ll need to do.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and get the facts. https://bit.ly/3hEIb5P

HOW TO SELECT ALL EMAILS IN GMAIL – If you want to move, delete, or change the status of your Gmail emails, you’ll need to select them first. Here’s how.

With an easy-to-use interface on desktop and mobile, plenty of free storage space, and tight integration with other Google products, it’s not hard to see why Gmail is the one of the most popular email services in the world.

Of course, keeping on top of your unread emails can sometimes feel like a full-time job. If you’ve had your Gmail account for some time, you may have a lot of emails that you don’t really need.

Thankfully, Gmail makes it pretty easy to select all of your emails at once. From there, you can hide, set to read, or delete them. To select all of your emails in Gmail, here’s what you’ll need to do.

Go to this Groovy Post article and get the steps plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/2OZsl9G

7/19/20

FACEBOOK MESSENGER ON IOS GETS SCREEN SHARING FEATURE – Facebook has updated Messenger with a new feature. The Messenger now allows users to share their screens with multiple participants. Video chat services like Google Meet, Zoom, Messenger is witnessing an uptick due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rise in remote working.
Go to this iPhone Hack web page for more info. https://bit.ly/2ZHLu63

How to screen share iPhone with Messenger video calls

After starting a video call, swipe up on the control panel at the bottom of your screen
Tap “Share Your Screen” then tap “Start Sharing”
Tap “Start Broadcast”
Tap the screen in the gray blank area to leave the screen broadcast popup and use the new feature
Swipe up from the Messenger app to navigate to another app and show off your screen (this works system-wide)
You can end the screen sharing by tapping “STOP” in the top-right corner in the Messenger app, tapping the persistent red recording pill in the top-left of your iPhone, or by ended the video call

T-MOBILE INTRODUCES SCAMSHIELD, A FREE TOOL TO BLOCK SPAM CALLS AND ROBOCALLS – As part of the “Un-carrier event,” T-mobile has launched a series of new services and features. The company has launched Scam Shield, which is essentially a scam identification and blocking technology. T-Mobile will automatically screen all the calls for scam identification and blocking. Furthermore, users can choose to automatically block all the suspected calls.

Go to this iPhone Hack web page for more info. https://bit.ly/3eFQJHH

12 TIPS FOR STAYING SAFE AND SECURE ON TWITTER – Twitter is great for interacting with niche audiences and specific fandoms, but it’s also full of abuse and harassment. Here’s how to protect yourself while tweeting.

Twitter allows users to connect with anyone in the world, but it has also become a dangerous place filled with harassment and abuse. People have been targeted by coordinated harassment campaigns that can involve anything from threats and spamming to account hacks and worse. Twitter has been criticized for not acting fast enough to remove harassers from its platform, and in many cases, allowing abuse to flourish.

In recent months, Twitter has started testing many new features to change the way people interact on the platform. Some, like stopping people from sharing an article they have not read, may be helpful. Others, like the ability to turn off comments or send voice tweets, promise to introduce new issues instead of solving the current ones.

When it comes to staying safe on Twitter, it’s important to note that social media companies thrive on conflict. While there are ways to secure your account, you can’t completely protect yourself from all forms of abuse. This week’s hack of Twitter’s highest profile users, however, came from inside the house, according to reports, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent it.

The only guaranteed way to protect yourself is to spend less time on social media or delete your account. It may also be worth exploring an alternative like Mastodon. However, if you are going to stay on Twitter, here’s how to make it as secure as possible.

Go to this PC Magazine web page for the 12 Tips. https://bit.ly/39dMp16

HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM UNWANTED EMAIL – If you want off a mailing list, deleting messages won’t be enough. Here’s how to force unsolicited-but-legit email to stop bothering you.

Chances are, your email inbox is a mix of important messages, shipping notices, bill alerts, newsletters you never read, and other easy-to-ignore missives.

But spam creeps in. Sometimes you do it yourself—enter your email address to win that contest!—and sometimes others do it for you. Thanks for that blank-of-the-month club email list, Grandma. Luckily, there are easy ways to kill unwanted emails, and they don’t involved sending invective-filled rants to the sender.

Go to this PC Magazine article and unsubscribe. https://bit.ly/30FD8vh

THE 10 BEST YOUTUBE CHANNELS FOR BOOK LOVERS – A whole section of YouTube is dedicated to reading and discussing books. Say hello to BookTube!

BookTube is an unofficial corner of YouTube where book lovers read an astounding number of books and then make videos about them. But what are the best YouTube channels for book lovers? What about channels for book summaries? And book reviews?

In this article, we list the best YouTube channels about books and for people who enjoy reading…

Go to this Make Use Of web site and discover 10 different channels for book lovers. https://bit.ly/32AFTQW

THE 10 BEST WEBSITES TO PLAY FREE JIGSAW PUZZLES ONLINE – Jigsaws have the dual capacity to relax you while also taxing your gray matter. So we have compiled a list of the best websites to play free jigsaw puzzles online.

Jigsaws are a centuries-old pastime which is still popular to this day. And there are traditional wooden jigsaw puzzles you buy in boxes and apps you play on your phone.

And then there are the popular jigsaw websites that predate the apps. So, why not test your brain when you’re bored by completing these jigsaw puzzles you can play online.

Go to this Make Use of web site and get the free jigsaw websites. https://bit.ly/2CONxwa

7/16/20

HOW TO ENJOY FREE EBOOKS ONLINE AND THROUGH YOUR MOBILE DEVICES – Great books don’t necessarily mean making a purchase. Here’s a look at free services to get your fix of novels and more.

E-Books are accessible on multiple devices, including computers, smartphones, and tablets. Great books don’t necessarily mean making a purchase. Today, you can find free books online, the ability to borrow books, and subscription services where you can gain access to hundreds of titles for a low monthly fee. Here’s a look at some of the best options available in 2020.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the info. https://bit.ly/32kENc3

HOW TO RECOVER DELETED GOOGLE CONTACTS – Deleting Google Contacts by mistake can be a nightmare. Luckily you can recover them. Here’s how.

Deleting Google Contacts by mistake must be one of the biggest nightmares an Android or Gmail user can have. Fear not, though; these can be recovered quite easily, provided you know what needs to be done.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the steps. https://bit.ly/3eAuYcm

iOS 13.6 AND iPADOS 13.6 FEATURES: WHAT’S NEW – Apple today (July 15) released iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 to the public. Unlike iOS 13.5 which was a major release, iOS 13.6 is a relatively minor update that contains some bug fixes, though it does introduce one key new feature. Read below to know everything that’s new in iOS 13.6.

iOS 13.6 contains some minor usability changes and adds two new features, though they are nothing major.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web page to get the info. https://bit.ly/30ijxAN

Note: Make sure to put your device on a charge while doing the update.

NBC PEACOCK: HOW TO WATCH FREE ON IPHONE, IPAD, APPLE TV, WHAT’S AVAILABLE, HOW TO CANCEL – The latest major streaming service has landed with NBC’s Peacock now available to everyone. Read along with our full guide on how to watch Peacock free on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and the web, what’s available on the service, what you get with the paid plans, how to cancel, and more.

What is NBC’s Peacock TV?

Peacock is NBC’s streaming service that competes with Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, and more. Peacock includes a variety of on-demand and live content from TV shows to movies, sports to news.

There are three different tiers of the service with a totally free, ad-supported option that will certainly entice many to try out Peacock. And if you’re already an Xfinity or Cox subscriber you can get the premium plan for free.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page and get the steps. https://bit.ly/3fC2eB8

HOW TO MAGNIFY A PART OF A PHOTO ON iPHONE AND iPAD – There are times when you need to highlight or zoom into a part of an image to view finer details. Here’s how you can use a tool built into the iPhone and iPad to magnify a part of a photo.

Apple has integrated a Magnifier feature inside the Markup tool. If you’re not familiar, the Markup tool is available in multiple locations throughout iOS and iPadOS. For example, you can access it when you’re editing an image or PDF in the Files app, as well as when you open an attachment in the Mail app.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and see the steps plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/391C5JL

HOW TO MAKE TEXT BIGGER OR SMALLER IN GOOGLE CHROME – If you’re having trouble comfortably reading text that is either too small or too big on a website in Google Chrome, there’s a quick way to change text size without diving into Settings. Here’s how. (3 options)

Go to this How-to Geek web site and how. https://bit.ly/2OtkC3t

7/10/20

HOW TO USE SIRI SHORTCUTS TO RECORD A POLICE ENCOUNTER – Have you been pulled over or stopped on the street by the police? Siri can come to your aid with a shortcut that will quietly start recording your encounter, send someone your location, then send the video to a contact.

Being stopped by police can be a difficult and even scary experience. Hopefully, the incident can be resolved smoothly and peacefully, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious, just in case. That’s why you may want to take certain steps, including texting someone your location and recording the encounter. You can do all that, and more, with your iPhone and a handy Siri shortcut.

Reddit user Robert Petersen created a shortcut called “I’m getting pulled over” that will pause any music playing on your phone, turn down the brightness, and activate “Do Not Disturb” mode. The shortcut will also send a message to someone with your status and location and start recording a video of the encounter. Here’s how to set up and use this shortcut.

Go to this PC magazine article and get the procedure with screenshots. https://bit.ly/3iPAICj

HOW TO TEMPORARILY DISABLE FACE ID ON YOUR iPHONE – If you lost your iPhone or are afraid of someone forcing you to unlock it, here’s how to disable Face ID facial recognition so it’s not used against your wishes.

Face ID is a cool and efficient way to authenticate yourself on an iPhone. Just one glance at the screen, and your phone unlocks. But facial recognition has a dark side, and some believe putting it in consumer tech is a mistake.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the procedure. https://bit.ly/3ekkH3M

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PHONE WON’T TURN ON – Has your phone stopped turning on? Here are some troubleshooting tips that can help you get your iPhone or Android device running again.

After paying hundreds of dollars for the tiny computer in your pocket, it can be nerve-wracking to find it won’t turn on. Before you panic-buy a new device, run through a few of these troubleshooting steps to see if it still lives.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the steps. https://bit.ly/2CrrH1q

BURNER ACCOUNTS 101: HOW TO GET EXTRA NUMBERS FOR A SMARTPHONE – When you don’t want to hand out your own phone number, don’t buy a separate phone, just download one of these burner apps to your existing smartphone.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the full story. https://bit.ly/3ehqIhV

HOW TO BLOCK ROBOTEXTS AND SPAM MESSAGES – Robotexts and junk messages are a fact of life, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with them. Here’s how to block spam text messages.

You hear the sound of an incoming text message and excitedly check your phone, thinking the message might be from a friend or family member. But no, this one is a robotext, a junk message sent to you by a spammer trying to con you into clicking on a link, opening an attachment, calling a number, or doing something else that’s likely to cause you trouble.

Robotexts and spam messages are a fact of life, just like robocalls and junk email. But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with them. Just as with spam phone calls, you can block and stop robotexts with the right tricks and tools.

Since you can largely ignore them, robotexts may not be as invasive as robocalls, but that doesn’t mean these types of texts are harmless. Depending on your mobile phone plan, you may get charged for incoming text messages, so there’s already a financial burden. From there, things can get even more dangerous, if you’re not careful.

Clicking on a link or attachment in a spam message could trigger malware that infects your phone. Plus, if you’ve ever responded to a spam message, even accidentally, your phone number was likely tagged as valid and may have been disseminated to other scammers, increasing your odds of getting more junk messages. So, how do you deal with robotexts and spam messages? There are a few ways.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the ways. https://bit.ly/2AJJhxg

9 TIPS TO GET THE BEST PRICE ON A CELL PHONE – As flagship models creep past $1,000, it’s still possible to get a good price on your next cell phone. Follow our top nine tips for finding the best deal possible.

Phones have become major investments. Sure, there are some solid cost-friendly options out there, but factor in taxes and accessories, and you’re looking at spending at least a few hundred dollars. And that doesn’t even include a service plan!

The good news is, it’s still possible to get a good deal on a new phone. Follow our tips to get the best price possible on your next mobile device.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the tips. https://bit.ly/2W66jWI

HOW TO COPY LARGE FILES FROM YOUR PHONE TO A COMPUTER – There are plenty of ways to transfer large files between Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, including AirDrop, Google Photos, Bluetooth transfer, and third-party programs.

You need to copy a huge file from your phone to a computer. Maybe it’s a lengthy video or a large document. If the file is too large to transfer directly through email, a cable, or other conventional means, how can you get that big file on your computer?

If you use a Mac and an iPhone or iPad, you can turn to Apple’s AirDrop to transfer the file to your computer. However, neither Windows nor Android support AirDrop. In that case, there are other options that work between Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, including Google Photos, Bluetooth transfer, as well as third-party programs like Snapdrop and Documents by Readdle. Let’s check them out.

Go to this PC magazine article and see how. https://bit.ly/324szEg

HOW TO FIND A LOST iPHONE – If you’ve misplaced your iPhone, you can hunt it down through a variety of other sources, including an iPad, Mac, iCloud, and Apple Watch.

Uh oh, your expensive iPhone is missing. Has it been lost? Has it been stolen? Whatever the problem, there are a few different methods you can try to track it down. Your options include using Apple’s Find My app (previously known as Find My iPhone), an Apple Watch, iCloud, or a family member’s iPhone or iPad to locate your missing device.

If you believe your iPhone was stolen or you just don’t want it falling into the wrong hands, you can remotely erase the information on it so no one else can access it. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this PC Magazine article and find that phone. https://bit.ly/2ZiMIom

PSA: TWITTER APP WILL NO LONGER SUPPORT IPHONES AND IPADS RUNNING IOS 11 OR OLDER – Twitter announced today that the company is dropping support for iOS 11 and older versions of Apple’s operating system in its official app. That means users running older versions of iOS will have to update to iOS 12 or later in order to keep receiving Twitter updates.

iOS 13.5.1 CAUSING BATTERY DRAIN ISSUES ON SOME iPHONES [UPDATE: DUE TO MUSIC APP BACKGROUND ACTIVITY] – Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 13.5.1? Are you noticing any battery drain issue after installing iOS 13.5.1? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone. It is being reported that some iPhone users are noticing reduced battery life after installing the iOS 13.5.1 update.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web article and get the info. https://bit.ly/2C0DMLp

7/9/20

HOW TO USE FACEBOOK MESSENGER ROOMS FOR GROUP VIDEO CHATS – Facebook Messenger now offers a feature that lets you host video chats where people can just pop in and out. Here’s how to use Messenger Rooms.

COVID-19 has jump-started interest in virtual meeting and video chat programs. To stay in touch with family, friends, co-workers, and colleagues, you can use a variety of apps, from Zoom and Skype to FaceTime and Microsoft Teams. But a new option from Facebook offers a different twist on the concept of virtual meetings.

With Facebook Messenger Rooms, you can create a virtual room where people can come by and spend time with you on video. Your room can stay up all the time, or you can open it for specific occasions like a happy hour, game night, or birthday party. Open the room to all your Facebook friends or just invite specific people. Messenger Rooms works on the Facebook and Messenger websites or app. Unfortunately, only Chrome and Edge web browsers are supported.

If you don’t want to use the Rooms feature, you can still use Facebook and Messenger to place video and audio calls. By accessing your past Messenger chats, you can call one person or a group of people. After you’re connected, you can control your audio and video, share your screen, and chat with the other person. This video chat feature works in all browsers.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the procedure with screenshots. https://bit.ly/2Dk8CyX

NO KINDLE NEEDED: 10 FREE EBOOK READER APPS FOR YOUR PHONE OR TABLET – You don’t need an Amazon Kindle device to read ebooks. These apps support a variety of ebook formats and can help you turn your smartphone or tablet into an eReader.

You’ll find lots of ebooks online that you can buy or download for free, but if you don’t have a dedicated eReader, how can you read them? Fire up an ebook reader app on your phone or tablet. Whether you have Mobi, EPUB, or PDF files, there is an eReader app that will work for you. Read on for your best options.

Go to this PC Magazine article and look at the list of Apps. https://bit.ly/3gulAIy

IOS 13.5.1 CAUSING BATTERY DRAIN ISSUES ON SOME IPHONES – Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 13.5.1? Are you noticing any battery drain issue after installing iOS 13.5.1? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone. It is being reported that some iPhone users are noticing reduced battery life after installing the iOS 13.5.1 update.

Apple had released the iOS 13.5.1 update to iPhones one month ago to fix the zero-day vulnerability that allowed the Unc0ver jailbreak. However, it looks like the update also induced a bug that’s causing battery drain in some iPhone units. If your iPhone is feeling warm when it’s not doing anything, it could be due to the battery drain issue.

To check if you’ve been affected by iOS 13.5.1’s battery drain bug, go to Settings > Battery on your iPhone running iOS 13.5.1 and look at the number in the Screen Off Activity section. If it’s anything over an hour, you’re likely facing a higher battery drain due to the software bug. An hour doesn’t seem like much, but it can adversely affect the overall battery life of your iPhone.

You can also tap on Show Activity beside Activity By App to see if any app is consuming battery when it’s in the background. While it’s normal to have a few minutes of battery consumption, tens of minutes or hours show signs of a problem. You can temporarily disable background activity for such apps and wait for Apple to release a fix for the bug.

Apple had released the iOS 13.6 Beta 3 last week, so the public release of iOS 13.6 should be released in the next few weeks. Until then, you can check out our tutorial that lists more than 10 tips to improve the battery life on your iPhone that is running iOS 13. Apple is also working on iOS 14, but its final version won’t be released for the next few months.\

GMAIL FOR IPAD NOW SUPPORTS SPLIT VIEW MULTITASKING – Tired of jumping between your iPad’s Gmail and Safari apps for promo codes and password resets? Google just added Split View multitasking to its Gmail app, so you can quickly set Gmail side-by-side with your browser, a notes app, or your photo gallery.

To use Split View with Gmail, open the Gmail app, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to bring up the Dock, and hold your finger on an app icon. After holding your finger against the icon for a second, drag it to the left or right side of your screen. Your apps should lock into Split View, with a slider to adjust window size between apps.

You may need to manually update your Gmail app if it hasn’t automatically updated. If Split View doesn’t work on your iPad, then you need to double-check that multitasking is enabled. Launch “Settings,” go to “Home Screen & Dock,” open the “Multitasking” menu, and enable “Allow Multiple Apps.” Keep in mind that Split View is only available on iPadOS version 13 and later.

THIS IPHONE APP WILL LET YOU CAPTURE BOKEH VIDEO LIKE A PRO – Apple was among the first companies to introduce the ability to take ‘Portrait’ or bokeh photos to iPhones with the launch of the iPhone 7 back in 2016. Since then, the company has only tweaked the feature and has not really made any meaningful improvements to it. Android OEMs, on the other hand, have taken advantage of the increasingly powerful mobile chipsets to offer portrait video recording on their phones as well. A new app will let iPhone users record portrait videos on their iPhone as well.

Focos Live comes from the developer of the massively popular Focos camera app. The app will let iPhone users record portrait videos from the rear as well as the front camera. Even better, it also offers plenty of editing options including the ability to tweak the bokeh level, changing the focus while recording a video, speed ramping or reversing a video, and more. There are plenty of other features in the app as well including an adjustment layer for each option, a multi-layer timeline, and more.

Focos Live will work on any iPhone with a dual or triple-camera setup at the rear. This basically means that iPhone 11 Pro/XS, iPhone 11, and iPhone 7/8 Plus are supported by the app. For the front camera, it will work on iPhones that have a Face ID setup at the front. Below is a sample video from Focos Live showing the bokeh video effect in action.

Focos Live is free to download, but it follows a subscription model if you want to unlock all its features. A monthly subscription to Focos Live costs $1.99, while a yearly subscription costs $8.99. You can also pay $14.99 outright for the app to get lifetime access to it.

HOW TO FACTORY RESET AN IPAD AND ERASE ALL CONTENT – Whether you are selling your iPad, having issues, or just want a fresh start, there are a variety of reasons you may need to reset it. Let’s take a look at how to factory reset your iPad and erase everything on it.

An important thing to keep in mind as you’re working on doing a factory reset of your iPad is that you’ll need to be connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network and know your Apple ID password if you have Find My iPad enabled.

Also, make sure you have your iPad backed up or have your important information saved somewhere before you factory reset your device (Settings > Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup). Read more on that in our guide here. https://bit.ly/3f9UK8i We’ve also got a detailed walkthrough on factory resetting your Mac.

Before going through the process of erasing your iPad, you can sign out of the App Store and iCloud (although iPadOS will force you to sign out of iCloud later if you have Find My iPad turned on).

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site and get the step plus screen shots. https://bit.ly/3f9UK8i

7/3/20

MASTER YOUR IPHONE – Discover Hidden Features. Unlock Your Device’s Potential. Get Personal Expert Help.

“Sign Up Now”

Your Subscription Includes: Video Guides, In-Depth Video & PDF Guides, Video Tips, Daily 1-Minute Video Tips, Archive of 1000+ Videos, Unlimited Access to Every Issue, Ask an Expert Your Burning Questions.

This is a Subscription Service at $9.99 a month, a 60-day, no questions asked money-back guarantee, offered by iPhone Life. Go to this iPhone Life web site for more details. https://bit.ly/38mcdYB

PSA: ALL APPS CAN READ YOUR IPHONE AND ANDROID CLIPBOARD (PSA = PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT) – Have you seen the news about TikTok? A new privacy feature in iOS 14 revealed that the Chinese social media app was constantly reading iPhone clipboards. But that’s nothing new. All apps can read your smartphone clipboard whenever they like.

We Just Learned What Apps Are Already Doing

What TikTok was doing wasn’t new. The only thing new is that Apple’s iOS 14 update now informs you when an application captures the contents of (pastes) from your clipboard.

Of course, after people noticed and the company started getting bad press, TikTok claimed it didn’t store the data and rolled out an update to stop reading it. But, as Engadget points out, many other apps are doing the same thing—constantly reading data from your clipboard.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and read about what is happening to the information sent to the clipboard. https://bit.ly/3gkZzMc

HOW TO UNBLOCK SOMEONE ON INSTAGRAM – When you block someone on Instagram, you no longer see that person’s posts, nor will he or she be able to interact with your profile. If you ever want to reverse this decision, though, you can unblock someone on Instagram at any time.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and find out how. https://bit.ly/3gnJBkH

HOW TO CLEAR CACHE AND COOKIES IN MOZILLA FIREFOX – If you’re trying to fix loading or formatting issues to improve your browsing experience in Mozilla Firefox, clearing your cache and cookies is an excellent place to start. Here’s how, and what happens when you delete them.

What Happens When Cache and Cookies Are Deleted?

When you visit a website, it will sometimes save (or remember) certain information. Cookies save a user’s browsing data (with their consent), and cache helps webpages load more quickly by remembering images, videos, and other parts of the webpage from the last visit instead of needing to rerender everything with each visit.

When you clear your cache and cookies, all of this information gets deleted. That means that any passwords you’ve entered on a website will need to be reentered, and the load time of previously visited sites will increase because it needs to download every packet of data from the webpage again.

Even still, a fresh start is sometimes necessary, especially when troubleshooting browser issues.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and find out how for the PC and Mobile Devices. https://bit.ly/3dXu3CD

HOW TO SEE THE WEATHER FORECAST ON YOUR IPHONE LOCK SCREEN – Unlike Android, the iPhone doesn’t show the weather forecast on its lock screen. Fortunately, there’s a hidden feature that will show you the day’s weather report when you use your Apple smartphone in the morning. Here’s how to enable it.

This feature is more like a side effect of Do Not Disturb’s Scheduled feature available in iOS 12 and later. Once you enabled it, and you give the Weather app access to your location, you’ll see a forecast report for the day when you first tap the lock screen after the Do Not Disturb period is over.

To set it up, we’ll first need to schedule Do Not Disturb. The Do Not Disturb feature automatically mutes all incoming notifications (except, of course, if you have enabled Emergency Bypass).

Go to this How-To Geek web site and get the facts. https://bit.ly/2VMnk8i

HOW TO MAKE GOOGLE AUTO-DELETE YOUR WEB AND LOCATION HISTORY – Deleting activity older than 18 months in your Google account.

Google collects and remembers information about your activity, including your web, search, and location history. Google now auto-deletes history for new users after 18 months, but it will remember history forever if you previously enabled this feature with the default options.

As an existing user, to make Google delete your data after 18 months, you’ll have to go into your activity settings and change this option. You can also tell Google to auto-delete activity after three months or stop activity collection entirely.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the details. https://bit.ly/31oD5WC

10 WAYS TO MAKE BETTER TO-DO LISTS – Want to make progress in your daily tasks? An effective to-do list can make a huge difference. These easy tips will help you build the best lists possible.

How effective is your to-do list? Does it help you plan your day? Does it help you prioritize? Or is it a never-ending list of things you feel guilty for not having done yet and now you’re not going to do any of them?

A good to-do list should serve you. You should not be at its mercy.

A good to-do list will shape your day and help you focus on the things that are most important to you. So how do you do it? Your tasks need to be concise and specific. You can’t try to cram too much into one day. You also need to make more than one list.

With the right strategies, a to-do list can help you achieve larger goals. It’s all about identifying those goals and breaking them into their component parts. When the parts are small enough, they can end up on your daily to-do list.

Here’s what you need to know to make your to-do list work for you.

Go to this PC Magazine web article and get the hints. https://bit.ly/2NzatSp

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF ONLINE WITH DISPOSABLE CREDIT CARD NUMBERS – Scammers can’t steal your real credit card number if they never see it. We offer four options that help you protect your bottom line by using disposable credit card numbers when you make purchases online.

Making an online purchase is an exercise in trust. After all, to buy something online, you have to reveal enough information about your credit card that the recipient (or anyone who gets a peek) could also use the card to buy things. That’s a problem! Fortunately, there’s a way to protect online payments you make by using a masked credit card number instead of your real account number. When you use a masked credit card number, you get a new, unique credit card number with an expiration date and security code. This new number gets linked to your normal credit card account, but the seller never sees your real card details. You can sometimes put a limit on spending for the new number you create, give it a specific expiration date, and freeze or cancel it any time. This is an excellent way to secure your financial information.

Many people don’t know they can mask their credit card number when making a purchase, even though a lot of credit cards offer it. Plus, in the last few years, there has been more emphasis on getting people to use token-based systems for secure transactions instead, sometimes called “virtual credit card numbers” (a term that, confusingly, also applies to masked credit card numbers, even though the two systems are different). Still, masked credit card numbers have unique advantages. If you’re trying to stay on top of your personal finances, it’s a great perk to learn about and use.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and get the facts. https://bit.ly/387Plfm

HOW TO USE YOUTUBE PICTURE-IN-PICTURE ON IPAD – Almost every major media app supports Picture-in-Picture on the iPad except YouTube, although it does on Android. If you’re used to watching videos while working on something else, here’s a way to get YouTube Picture-in-Picture on iPad.

While the YouTube app finally supports Split View on the iPad, it still takes up half of your screen. If you’re using iPadOS 13 or higher on your iPad or iPad Pro, you can use the new support for desktop websites in Safari and the browser’s built-in video player as a workaround to play YouTube videos in a floating window on top of other apps.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the procedure with screenshots. https://bit.ly/3iazst9

WHAT IS APPLE CASH AND HOW TO USE IT – Apple Cash allows iPhone users to transfer money to others through the native Messages app in iOS. Here’s everything you need to know.

Apple Cash, originally called Apple Pay Cash, allows iPhone users to transfer money to others through the native Messages app in iOS. It’s also available through the iPad and Apple Watch. To date, Apple Cash is only available in the United States. Here’s how to use it.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and learn all the functions available using Apple Cash. https://bit.ly/2NBA5xR

HOW TO ADD A LEGACY CONTACT ON FACEBOOK – A legacy contact is someone you set up to manage your Facebook account after you pass away. Here’s how to set one up.

A Facebook Legacy Contact is how the person will look on your account after you pass away. It may not be something you want to think about. However, it’s something worth considering, in such uncertain times as these. Here’s how to set a legacy contact.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the procedure with screen shots. https://bit.ly/2B8IiXW

THE 2020 GROOVYPOST GUIDE TO THE BEST IOS APPS YOU SHOULD BE USING – There are tons of apps out there for iOS. But which ones are the best? Here is a look at our favorite apps for iPhone and iPad.

It’s not the end of the year, but we thought now would be a great time to highlight some of our favorite apps for the iPhone. These apps aren’t necessarily new, though some of them are. All of the apps on the list are updated regularly, however. Some of the apps are also available for iPad, and others work with Apple Watch. Here are the apps you should be using right now.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the list. https://bit.ly/3dJEcm2

HOW TO ACCESS PRIVATE BROWSING MODE IN YOUR BROWSER – All browsers today provide a private browsing mode. Today we show you how to browse privately in Chrome, Firefox, Chromium-based Edge, and Safari.

Private browsing allows you to surf the web without leaving any traces behind. In private browsing mode, browsing history, cookies, temporary internet files, site preferences, and passwords are not saved. But you can save bookmarks in private browsing mode and keep downloaded files.

Be aware that while private browsing prevents the information from being stored on your computer while browsing, it does not make you anonymous on the web. Your internet provider and websites you visit may still be able to track you.

All browsers today provide a private browsing mode. The idea is the same in each browser, but it’s named something different and operates a bit differently in each browser. Today we show you how to access private browsing mode in Chrome, Firefox, Chromium-based Edge, and Safari.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the access procedures. https://bit.ly/2VqzraO

HOW TO BLOCK SOMEONE IN GMAIL – Not every email you receive is worth reading. If you want to block someone in Gmail, you’ll need to follow these steps.

It’s estimated that around 1.5 billion people use Gmail as their default email provider. For good reason, too, with Gmail offering powerful features in a clean interface at no cost.

As with any email account, there are some emails that you’d rather not receive in the first place. Thankfully, it’s simple to block any accounts you want to in Gmail.

Blocking a user doesn’t mean you won’t receive their email, but it will send their emails straight to your spam folder so that you don’t have to see it unless you want to. If you want to block someone in Gmail, here’s what you’ll need to do.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and see how to block on the PC and Mobile devices. https://bit.ly/3eJSioM

6/23/20

HOW TO CHECK WHICH IPHONE APPS HAVE CAMERA AND MIC ACCESS TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY – iPhone has a neat privacy trick. iOS apps don’t ask for all the permissions at once, instead, they only ask for the required permissions when needed. When you launch an app for the first time, it asks for the relevant permissions to function properly. Among the allowed permissions, it’s always advisable to check which apps have your camera and microphone permissions. After all, you won’t want some shady app taking advantage of camera and microphone permission in the background.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web site and find the step by step procedure plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/31c2MJX

HOW TO AUTOMATICALLY OPEN LINKS IN CHROME ON IPHONE AND IPAD – Apple doesn’t let you change the default browser on your iPhone or iPad. If you tap a link, it will open in the Safari app. Instead of doing the copy-paste dance, use this shortcut to automatically open links in Chrome.

If you’re not aware, Shortcuts is the built-in automation tool available on the iPhone and iPad (found on iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and higher). Don’t let the automation word scare you. You don’t need to create any automation yourself. You can use automation shortcuts created by someone else, which is exactly what we’re going to be doing today.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the procedures plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/2Ym35zW

7 USES FOR A USB STICK YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT – We’ve all used USB sticks to transport files between computers and back up our files, but there are other cool things you can do with a USB stick. You can use one to lock and unlock your computer—just like in the movies.

You can also use a USB flash drive to quickly connect to a wireless network on all your PCs, increase your computer’s performance, or even run a web server—directly from the USB stick itself.

Here are several surprising ways you can use a USB flash drive.

Go to this Make Use Of web site and get the different uses of a USB thumb drive. https://bit.ly/3epWKsO

10 FUN THINGS TO DO WITH ZOOM – For the uninitiated, Zoom is a video and audio conferencing tool. Its primary focus is on enterprise meetings, but it also works as a platform for catching up with family and friends.

While everyone knows how to simply sit and chat on Zoom, there are lots of other fun things to do with Zoom. All of which will liven up even the dullest Zoom chat. If it’s appropriate to do so.

Go to this Make Use Of web site for more information. https://bit.ly/3eq1jDs

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR SMARTPHONE GETS HOT – A warm smartphone doesn’t necessarily mean it’s overheating or that something dangerous is happening. Here’s what you need to know.

A warm smartphone doesn’t necessarily mean it’s overheating or that something dangerous is happening. Today’s phones do a great job of automatically regulating the inside temperature, as needed. Still, there are steps you can take to improve energy efficiency moving forward.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and read more. https://bit.ly/3161d03

20 FAST AND QUICK MOBILE GAMES TO KILL TIME ON ANDROID AND IPHONE – When you’re sitting in a waiting room or standing in line, you don’t have time to play a lengthy game. Save those for later and check out these fast, fun, and free mobile games for a quick fix. From awesome arcade challenges to perplexing puzzlers, these games will keep you entertained.

All of the games are available for free on Android and iOS, though some contain optional in-app purchases…
Go to this Make Use Of web site for more information. https://bit.ly/2V29jmv

6/15/20

THE 10 BEST APPS FOR DISCOVERING EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND YOU (IOS) – Festivals, concerts, sports, and other events happen everywhere, all the time. No matter which you prefer or even if you enjoy all of them, how do you know what’s going on and when? One of the best ways to find out is with your mobile device.

Whether you’re sitting on the couch looking for something to do or are already out and deciding where to go after dinner, these are the best free mobile apps to find events in your area.

Go to this Make Use Of web site and get the best apps. https://bit.ly/3frYUZ3

WHAT IS WI-FI CALLING AND HOW DOES IT WORK? – Wi-Fi Calling is a great way to continue making calls even when cellular isn’t available, or the coverage is spotty. Here’s what you need to know.

With Wi-Fi Calling, you can make and receive phone calls using your mobile device’s Wi-Fi connection. It’s best suited for those times when you have a spotty cellular connection or none at all. Here’s more about it.

Wi-Fi Calling is broadly available in the United States and other countries. Most smartphones in 2020 support Wi-Fi Calling. Ultimately, however, it’s up to your cellular carrier whether it works in your area.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get to calling on Wi-Fi. https://bit.ly/3d3PSzY

SIGNAL NOW LETS USERS TRANSFER ALL MESSAGES TO A NEW IPHONE. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS – Trying to set up a new iPhone can be time consuming in a variety of ways, and with some third-party apps, there’s not a way to transfer your data easily. That used to be the case for popular privacy-focused messaging app Signal, until now. Read along for how to transfer Signal messages to a new iPhone.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site and get the steps and App. https://bit.ly/2MOKtSw

6 WAYS TO FIND ALL ACCOUNTS LINKED TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER – From the dial-up days till now, most of us have signed up for a countless number of online accounts. But we barely log in to even half of them today. Now, the email address or a phone number you surrendered for registration can be misused. It’s time to ask yourself—“How do I find all accounts linked to my email address?”

It’s best to revisit all your accounts to update your credentials or deactivate them. Here are a bunch of ways you can use to find all accounts linked to your email address or phone number.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and get 6 ways to find. https://bit.ly/3fjhq5W

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR DIRTY IPHONE: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE (IPHONE) – When your iPhone goes everywhere with you, it’s likely to pick up some dirt along the way. There’s only so much wiping the screen with your sleeve will achieve. Your phone is potentially a health hazard and needs cleaning.

However, you need to take care when cleaning your iPhone. You can’t just use anything you find in the cupboard, else you risk damaging it. Let’s walk through the steps of how to clean your dirty iPhone.

Go to this Make Use of web article and get to cleaning. https://bit.ly/3d31dAl

HOW TO CHANGE THE NAME OF YOUR IPHONE – You can change the name of your iPhone as much as your heart desires, there’s no downside to it, and the change is virtually instantaneous.

Have you ever wondered how to change the current name of your iPhone? Is the current name too generic, making it hard to differentiate it from another iPhone? Or, perhaps you just want a name with a little more style? Regardless of your motivation, we’re going to show you two simple ways to change the name of your iPhone.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and make a change. https://bit.ly/2AjsaSZ

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CAMERA APP COMES TO IPHONES WITH VARIOUS FACE FILTERS, BASIC PHOTO EDITING FEATURES – Adobe is famous for its creativity and media editing apps such as Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro, and most of these cost a bomb. Today, the company has launched a free app—Photoshop Camera—for the iPhone, and although it has the name Photoshop in it, it has little to do with the original Photoshop app. Let us have a look at what this new app can do.

The Adobe Photoshop Camera app is now available for iPhones and Android smartphones.

Go to this iPhone Hacks and get the info. https://bit.ly/3ho5ku7

HOW TO REPORT ABUSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA – If you don’t like a certain post or account on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, there are steps you can take against them. Here is how to report abuse on social media.

We live in divisive times, which is why you should know how to protect yourself on social media. People use these platforms to freely express their ideas and opinions, including those that can be deemed controversial, offensive, misleading, or just plain inaccurate. For those reasons, the major social networks all offer options for reporting posts and users due to a variety of infractions.

You may find a post insulting, hateful, deceptive, or outright false. You may even suspect an account is a bot. It can feel pointless to report a single post, but if enough people report it for being offensive or inaccurate, certain social networks have been prompted to label, fact check, or remove such posts. They may even ban the user for breaking the platform’s terms and conditions. Here is how to report a post or account on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and get the procedure to follow for both posts and accounts. https://bit.ly/2YtVazl

HOW TO QUICKLY SEARCH FOR EMOJI ON AN IPHONE OR IPAD – Emoji are great tools for expressing complex thoughts quickly, but finding the right one can be tricky while using Messages and other apps. Luckily, there’s a way to search through emojis on an iPhone or iPad to find the one you’re looking for. Here’s how.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and get results. https://bit.ly/2zpoaQa

6/8/20

WATCHSMITH LETS YOU PERSONALIZE YOUR APPLE WATCH LIKE NEVER BEFORE.(APP) – It starts with a wide collection of highly customizable complications, which range in function from date, to weather, to astronomy. Each can be adjusted precisely to best fit your desired function and appearance.

This set of complications can then be dynamically scheduled to appear on your watch face following rules you define. For example, a particular complication slot could show the weather first thing in the morning, then your calendar during your work day, then switch to your Activity ring progress as you wrap up your day. This lets you take full advantage of each slot on your watch face without the need to constantly switch back and forth between faces.

Go to this App Apple web site and read more about this free app. https://apple.co/2ASKuC4

GOOGLE IMPROVES SECURITY KEY SUPPORT ON IPHONE – You can now use more types of physical security keys to unlock your Google account on Apple devices.

Google has made it easier to use more types of physical security keys to authenticate your Google account on iPhones, according to a post on the Google Security Blog.

For iOS devices running iOS 13.3 or later, Google now supports the W3C WebAuthn standard for physical security keys. That means you can use USB or NFC security keys to securely log in to Google apps and websites using either your personal or enterprise Google account.

Users can use Lightning or USB keys like the YubiKey 5Ci, for example. Toting around a physical security key and using it to unlock your iPhone or accounts may seem like an annoyance, but it’s one of the most secure forms of 2FA available.

WHAT THAT WI-FI LABEL AT THE TOP OF YOUR IPHONE MEANS – Wi-Fi calling doesn’t mean you’re calling over Wi-Fi owned by the cellular carrier.

In a recent column, I explained how to troubleshot Wi-Fi Calling, an option for placing calls over your home or office Wi-Fi network instead of relying on the cellular network. But there’s a confusing part that one reader asked for clarification about.

With Wi-Fi Calling enabled and working, a “Wi-Fi” label appears in the upper-left corner of an iPhone or iPad’s status bar. On phones with a notch, it appears when you swipe down to reveal the Control Center.

However, the label appears after the name of your cellular carrier. One Canadian reader who has cellular with one company (Telus) and pays for hotspot access with another (Shaw), was concerned that because his phone displayed “Telus Wi-Fi,” he was using the wrong network for his calls.

Never fear. As confusing as that label is, your Wi-Fi connection is determined by Settings > Wi-Fi: the network you see there is one to which you’re connected, and the Wi-Fi signal strength corresponds to that network. The “Wi-Fi” label refers solely to Wi-Fi Calling. It’s never not going to be confusing, though.

WHAT IS GOOGLE MEET, AND HOW CAN YOU USE IT FOR FREE?– First it was Hangouts, Duo, and Chat, and now Google has released Google Meet. So, how exactly does this new video-conferencing service work, and how does it compare to something like Zoom?

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get the info. https://bit.ly/2XOloxz

MIRROR YOUR IPHONE DISPLAY TO WINDOWS PC OR MAC FOR FREE WITH 5KPLAYER – Both Windows 10 and macOS come with a built-in video player for basic video playing and quick editing. However, compared to today’s standards, both video players skip on many essentials including video to audio converter, the ability to mirror iPhone to PC or Mac, support for all formats, the ability to create playlists, a capable video editor, and more. Enter a third-party solution called 5KPlayer.

5Kplayer isn’t limited to video playback only. With 5KPlayer, you can mirror your iPhone to PC or Mac, which is great considering the current situation around the globe. Educators can use it to stream videos, images from iPhone to desktop. It can be also useful during meetings, gaming, and entertainment purposes. With a single software, you can replace many small utility apps from your PC or Mac.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web article and see the steps with screenshots. https://bit.ly/3h8aeuX

APPLE RELEASES IOS 13.5.1 AND WATCHOS 6.2.6 WITH ‘IMPORTANT SECURITY UPDATES’ – Apple is releasing iOS 13.5.1 to the public today following last month’s release of iOS 13.5. Apple says that today’s update to iOS 13.5.1 provides important security updates.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web article and get the facts. https://bit.ly/2Y80vvS

5/29/20

TRAINING TODAY FOR APPLE WATCH HELPS COACH YOU ON WORKOUT INTENSITY AND REST DAYS – A neat new Apple Watch app has landed in the App Store today to let you know how your body is responding to exercise, help prevent injury from overtraining, and when the optimal time is to train.

Training Today is first and foremost an independent Apple Watch app but there is a companion iPhone app to check out your current recovery score and learn more about how it works.

Training Today uses the heart rate variability (HRV) data that Apple Watch measures along with a special calculation to create your Readiness To Train (RTT) score that ranges from 1-10. Along with the RTT score, the app gives cues like “You are ready for peak performance,” “You can push hard,” “Keep it a little easier,” and “Give your body some time to recover.”

With the way that Training Today calculates your RTT score with the HRV metric, the developer notes that one of the best times to “get measurements like this is overnight, so if possible wear your Apple Watch while sleeping…”

Developed with British Triathlon Coaches and tested on athletes of varying ability, we have taken a holistic view of your life by using the advanced capabilities of Apple Watch to monitor your health 24hrs a day and process that data to create a simple accurate readiness to train (RTT) score to help you reach your training goal.

The app also features rich Apple Watch complications and the option to fine-tune the recommendations with smoothing and intensity settings.

Training Today is a free app from the App Store and is also ad-free.

I’ve been feeling low-energy today and Training Today recommended I take it easy to recover. That’s nice to see since I would naturally default to wanting to workout hard right now to compensate but it’s really helpful to see that my body is asking for rest.

HOW TO SET UP MEDICAL ID AND CUSTOMIZE SOS ON IPHONE AND APPLE WATCH – iPhone and Apple Watch provide some really useful features when it comes to health and fitness and they also include important tools to get help in case of an accident, injury, and more. Follow along for how to make sure your Medical ID is set up or up to date, along with how to customize the SOS settings on iPhone and Apple Watch. We’ll also look at the new share Medical ID during emergency calls feature.

Apple has included a new option to automatically share your Medical ID info with first responders when your Apple Watch or iPhone makes an emergency call. This feature is available with iOS 13.5 and watchOS 6.2.5. Read along below for how to set that up as well as update/set up Medical ID and SOS.

Both Medical ID and SOS can be life-saving features. Neither one is a shiny feature that is used on a regular basis, which is why it can be easy to not have Medical ID set up, or in the case of SOS, be unsure how to use it. But they are both very valuable to have set up and understand how they work.

Medical ID allows users to store important health information along with emergency contact details that first responders can access from the Lock screen on iPhone and Apple Watch and with iOS 13.5 your Medical ID can automatically be sent to first responders when an emergency call happens.

As for SOS, there are two ways to activate the emergency feature.

How to set up or update Medical ID on iPhone

Make sure you’re running iOS 13.5 to get access to all the features
Launch the Health app
Work through the new welcome splash screen that will let you set up or update your Medical ID as well as turn on the new sharing during emergency calls feature
Tap Done when finished

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page for screenshots. https://bit.ly/3ev6aTj

HEART ANALYZER ADDS NEW DASHBOARD AND MORE FOR VIEWING APPLE WATCH HEART RATE DATA – Heart Analyzer is a powerful app that taps into the heart rate data tracked by your Apple Watch. A new update to Heart Analyzer today brings a revamped interface, Dark Mode support, new data options, and much more.

Following a massive update to the Apple Watch app last November, today’s update to Heart Analyzer focuses on revamping the iPhone version of the app. The main new feature here is a completely revamped Dashboard, which presents itself every time you open the Heart Analyzer application.

On the Heart Analyzer Dashboard, you can see a variety of different statistics and reports, including your average heart rate, your trends for the day and the week, your resting heart rate, and much more. The goal of the Dashboard is to present “a clear summary of each day as soon as the app opens.”

There are also new charts and additional data points in the iPhone app, including trends, average heart rates, and more. Meanwhile on Apple Watch, Heart Analyzer now offers improved Infograph complications and more. Heart Analyzer also now supports Dark Mode and it will follow your system setting. Here are the release notes for today’s update:

A completely redesigned Dashboard: Using some of the great features in iOS 13 such as SwiftUI, we’ve been able to create a brand new experience for Heart Analyzer. You can now get a clear summary of each day as soon as the app opens.

A refreshed UI throughout all courtesy of SwiftUI

Dark mode support, of course!

More analytics, charts and metrics than ever: Whether you want to view average heart rates, inspect trends or dive into two years of heart rate data, it’s all there for you to see. It’s also lightning fast, even on older iPhones!

A refined Apple Watch experience with better heart rate charts on complications: Features including heart rate charts, metrics for the week, LiveHR and viewing workouts are all right there with you.

With new improved Infograph complications, you have had a heart rate chart always with you. It’s your Watch Face, so you can even customize it too.

Heart Analyzer is available on the App Store as a free download with in-app purchases. If you’re looking for a way to visualize your heart rate data from working out, sleeping, and more, Heart Analyzer is a great way to do it on iPhone and Apple Watch.

HOW TO SHARE FOLDERS IN ICLOUD DRIVE – With updated versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, you can now share folders on iCloud, not just individual files. Here’s how to quickly collaborate and share files and folders with fellow Apple device owners.

If you’re using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or the iCloud.com website, you can access and edit entire folders of files with other Apple device owners via iCloud.

This updated sharing feature requires at least iOS 13.4 on iPhone, iPadOS 13.4 on iPad, or macOS Catalina 10.15.4. If you’re using a previous version of these operating systems, you can only share files individually. Once you upgrade, the entire folder can be shared in one shot.

Go to this PC magazine web article and see the steps with screenshot for iPhone, iPad and Mac. https://bit.ly/3eo57o8

HOW TO CREATE A FACEBOOK AVATAR – Facebook Avatars are the social network’s latest feature. It’s quite easy to create this cartoon persona of yourself. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this Groovy Post web article and get the steps plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/3d7m1r3

THE 8 BEST FREE STREAMING NEWS CHANNELS TO WATCH ONLINE – Traditionally, one of the biggest drawbacks of canceling cable TV has been the availability of news from other sources. Sure, if you pay for Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV, you’ll get some 24-hour news channels included in your package. However, it hasn’t always been easy to find free streaming news channels to watch.

Thankfully, the situation has changed in recent years. And there are now plenty of free news channels available to stream. Some are offered by global news conglomerates, while others are apps by niche news gatherers. So, with that in mind, here are the best free streaming news channels you can watch today.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and get 8 different channels. https://bit.ly/2ZIEGpn

THE BEST TV SHOWS TO BINGE-WATCH DURING LOCKDOWN – Are you fed up with being stuck at home all day? Join the club. To help anyone currently locked down due to COVID-19, we have compiled a list of the best shows to binge-watch on a range of streaming platforms.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and bings watch. https://bit.ly/3euyiWW

9 USEFUL DIY WAYS TO SET UP A TABLET OR SMARTPHONE CAR MOUNT – f you want to use satnav apps on your phone (e.g. Google Maps or Waze), you need to see the directions. Your phone or tablet need to be mounted on your car’s dashboard.

But dashboard mounts will set you back a few dollars. Some—such as those that stick to the windscreen—aren’t reliable. Meanwhile, it might take a few days for a car mount ordered online to arrive. So, what’s the solution?

Well, you could build you own. Here’s how to make car mobile phone holder at home with common materials.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and make it at home. https://bit.ly/36D0fJa

MODEM VS. ROUTER: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? – While we sometimes use modem and router interchangeably when talking about our home internet hardware, these two devices are not the same thing. In fact, their roles are very different.

So what is a modem? What’s a router? And what is the difference between a modem and a router? Here’s what you need to know about these two devices.

Go to this Make Use Of basic article and educate or remind yourself. https://bit.ly/2ZL73TH

HBO MAX LAUNCHES ON IPHONE, IPAD, AND APPLE TV – HBO recently replaced the HBO Now with HBO Max. The new streaming service is now available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. HBO Max seems to offer a larger collection of shows and movies as opposed to the HBO Now. The list includes all the seasons of Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, and Friends.

Go to this iPhone Hacks article and get the info. https://bit.ly/2TQ9Vef

As for SOS, there are two ways to activate the emergency feature.

How to set up or update Medical ID on iPhone

Make sure you’re running iOS 13.5 to get access to all the features
Launch the Health app
Work through the new welcome splash screen that will let you set up or update your Medical ID as well as turn on the new sharing during emergency calls feature
Tap Done when finished

5/12/20

HOW TO USE FACE ID ON YOUR iPHONE WHILE WEARING A MASK – “Face ID is designed to work with your eyes, nose, and mouth visible,” according to Apple. If you’re wearing a mask in the grocery store and other public places, that’s a problem. Here’s what you need to know about unlocking your iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get the latest information. https://bit.ly/2T44kAT

HOW TO USE SIDE-BY-SIDE APPS (SPLIT VIEW) ON AN iPAD – Split View on the iPad is a powerful multitasking feature that lets you use two supported apps on the screen at the same time. Still, it can be confusing to figure out how it works, and mastering it takes practice. Here’s how to use it.

Go to this How-to Geek page and see the steps with screen shots. https://bit.ly/2zmDr45

HERE’S HOW CONTACT TRACING WILL WORK ON iPHONES AND ANDROID PHONES – Google and Apple are working with public health organizations on contact-tracing apps, and this week, they provided details on how that will work. Here’s what to expect.

We all want to stop the spread of the coronavirus and end the pandemic crisis. Contact-tracing is one way to do this, and Google and Apple are working on a cross-platform contact-tracing system for iPhones and Android smartphones that will be available via official health apps.

This system has not yet rolled out. Google and Apple have only published an application programming interface (API) for it, which public health organizations can use to build apps. But Google and Apple this week provided details on what contact tracing might look like inside the health apps and at the OS level on iOS and Android. Here’s what to expect.

Go to this PC Magazine article and read all about it. https://bit.ly/2zohcdM

THE EASIEST WAYS TO VIDEO CHAT WITH FAMILY ON MOTHER’S DAY – Spending Mother’s Day apart can be hard, whether it’s due to social distancing or just because you don’t live near each other. For many mothers, a video chat offers a better experience than just talking on the phone. Plus, it’s easy to set up, even if your mom isn’t tech-savvy.

There are few things mothers love more than having their kids all together in one place. While social distancing makes this difficult, you can use any number of free video-chat applications to connect the whole family. Which service you choose will depend on which devices your mom has and can easily use.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and see the 4 different ways. https://bit.ly/3cwExIU

HOW TO CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY OVER A DISTANCE – If you’re bound to spend Mother’s Day separated because of social distancing or other logistical reasons, there are still lots of ways to celebrate the ones who made us. Bring family together, wherever they are, and find ways to celebrate.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and read on. https://bit.ly/3bkWQQf

HOW TO TRACK AND MANAGE YOUR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS – Now that every company has its own streaming platform, it’s a good time to get a handle on your subscription services. These apps can monitor what you’re spending and help you trim the fat.

Cord cutting has long been touted as the answer to costly monthly cable bills. Don’t pay for channels you never watch; just stream your favorite shows online.

Go to this PC Magazine web article and get the apps. https://bit.ly/2LipLto

HOW TO GET FREE (OR CHEAP) NEW EBOOKS – Here’s how to legally get big-name authors in a digital form without waiting forever from Amazon, Scribd, OverDrive, and more.

So you’re stuck inside and even the video streaming services don’t sound like a great option anymore. You need to pick up a good book.

Go to this PC Magazine web article and find out how. https://bit.ly/2A7j5Mn

HOW TO BLOCK CALLS, DISABLE NOTIFICATIONS, CONTROL CENTRE WHILE PLAYING GAMES ON iPHONE – There is no doubt that iPhone is the best gaming smartphone in the world. The App Store is filled with thousands of high-quality games as well as some titles that are exclusive to iOS. Unfortunately, there is no built-in Gaming Mode on the iPhone to provide a better gaming experience.

Go to this iPhone Hack web article and read more. https://bit.ly/35Op9oX

5/4/20

38 GMAIL TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU CONQUER EMAIL – Google’s free email service has come a long way since its debut in 2004. It’s time you became a Gmail power user. These tips will get you there.

Gmail has come a long way. It’s not perfect and occasionally prompts ripples of outrage across its user base. But let’s be honest: with Gmail you get plenty for nothing.

As a web app, Gmail is a constant work in progress, but the amount of under-the-hood power is pretty staggering. Sure, there are plenty of browser add-ons and extensions that can enhance Gmail specifically, far beyond its original parameters. However, not every bit of power-user tech in Gmail requires special accessories. Plenty is possible via the main interface without ever installing something extra.

Mastering even a few settings will help you take full advantage of what Gmail has to offer beyond the basics. Let’s get started.

Go to this PC Magazine web article and get the tips. https://bit.ly/2ymRIxq

HOW TO MAKE AND RECEIVE PHONE CALLS ON YOUR iPAD OR MAC – For those times when your iPhone isn’t handy, your iPad and Mac can handle phone calls, thanks to a feature known as iPhone Cellular Calls. Here’s how to set it up.

For those times when your iPhone isn’t handy, your iPad and Mac can handle phone calls, thanks to a feature known as iPhone Cellular Calls. All you need to do is set up the feature on your phone, and any other compatible Apple devices you want to use.

iPhone Cellular Calls is part of Apple’s Continuity system, which is designed to sync and share certain capabilities across iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, and Mac, and also includes Handoff and Universal Clipboard.

Here’s how to set it up and start taking calls without touching your phone.

Go to this PC Magazine web article and get the steps. https://bit.ly/3aWFwRm

HOW TO CONNECT YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD TO YOUR TV- Your iOS devices are great media players, but sometimes you want to watch on a big screen. Here’s how to connect your phone to your TV.

Though phone and tablet screens have grown over the years, sometimes your iPhone or iPad display is just too small. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to connect your Apple device to any recent TV for a bigger-screen media experience. Here’s our guide, from the simplest to the most complex solutions.

Go to this PC magazine web article and get the solutions. https://bit.ly/39EmDlp

APPLE CARPLAY: AN INTRODUCTION – Apple Carplay is like having your iPhone built into your car. Here’s an overview of what you can expect from the car system.

Back in 2014, Apple introduced CarPlay as a new way to extend your iPhone’s capability to your vehicle. I recently when shopping for a car, it was the killer feature I had to have. Now I can’t imagine life without. Here is how it works and why you might fall in love with it too.

Go to this Groovy Post web pages and get into Carplay. https://bit.ly/2Ywzc0a

Go to this Android Authority web article and charge smartly. Good advice for any smartphone. https://bit.ly/2zUogPO

5/1/20

IPHONE 6, 6S, & 7 VS. iPHONE SE: SHOULD YOU UPGRADE? – Apple in April 2020 unveiled the iPhone SE, a new low-cost iPhone that marries the design of the iPhone 8 with the super fast A13 chip in the iPhone 11, all for a super low $399 price tag.

If you have an older iPhone, like an iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, or an even earlier iPhone, you may be wondering whether it’s worth the upgrade to a newer device. In a nutshell, the answer is yes, but we’ll walk through the reasons why in the guide below.

Go to this Mac Rumors web site and read the reasons. https://bit.ly/2VRNUgs

USB 4 SPECS AND FEATURES: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DOUBLE-SPEED USB – USB is one of tech’s ultimate success stories – a universal standard that has been the center of wired data and power transfer for 20 years now.

But things have got a little confusing over recent years with the USB 3.x standards having multiple cable types. That’s been made more confusing by having multiple connectivity standards as part of this, too.

This will be fixed with the incoming USB 4.0, which will use one standard connector and bring multiple connectivity standards together.

The USB 4 specification has now been published and will probably appear in devices in late 2020 or early 2021 – it usually takes around 18 months for devices to come to market once a new standard is published for the first time.

Over 50 companies are currently involved in the standard, especially those behind the USB Promoter Group – Apple, HP, Intel, Microsoft, ST Microelectronics and Texas Instruments.

Go to this Pocket Lint web page and read about the History of USB and what USB 4 will provide. https://bit.ly/2VUUiUr

WHAT IS CELL PHONE CONTACT TRACING? – Google and Apple just released software to let developers create contact-tracing apps and fight COVID-19. What does this do? We can explain.

Stopping COVID-19 before there’s a vaccine means preventing sick people from spreading it. While total lockdowns are one way to do that, South Korea and China have dramatically reduced infections in part by contact tracing, the practice of tracking those with whom infected people have come into contact.

Go to this PC Magazine article and read about how it will work. https://bit.ly/2KRvoP2

THE 10 BEST FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD SITES – Free ebook downloads are hard to find unless you know the right websites to visit. This article lists some of the best sites that offer free ebooks for you to read.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and see the ten best FREE Ebook sites. https://bit.ly/2WmQRoC

April 26, 2020

FREE ALTERNATIVES TO ADOBE’S BEST PRODUCTS (PREMIERE PRO, PHOTOSHOP, AND MORE) – Adobe is a staple of creative work in the modern world, with software covering everything from graphic design to video editing under its umbrella. It’s the first company many people turn to when wanting to break into any creative field. But while Adobe’s products are great, they don’t come cheap, and many people would be better off starting with the numerous free alternatives available today.

Adobe’s products are the cutting edge of their respective fields, so naturally, they’re expensive to produce which then, in turn, translates to a hefty price tag. But the vast majority of people don’t need the cutting edge. Even a lot of professionals don’t, so when you take just a step or two down in overall power, you can find some great free alternatives.

And the best part? We already did the research for you.

Go to this Review Geek web article and read the research. https://bit.ly/3bFadLM

THESE PHONES CAN SURVIVE BLEACH SPRAY; YOUR BODY CANNOT – Medical and scientific authorities agree: don’t ingest or inject household disinfectants. If you’re worried about COVID-19 getting on your phone, though, check out how we cleaned these ultra-rugged devices.

Yesterday, President Trump suggested that doctors “inject” disinfectant to cure COVID-19, which is toxic and would severely hurt people, according to all medical authorities and the people who make Lysol. Bleach and human bodies aren’t compatible.

Disinfectants also can really harm your cell phone, unless they are ruggedized. I’m in the middle of reviewing Kyocera’s new DuraXV Extreme flip phone for Verizon, and I also have a Sonim XP3 flip for AT&T and Sprint. If you’re paranoid about cleaning your phone, these are some excellent choices, because the super-rugged devices can be scrubbed, hosed down, and even sprayed with a Clorox bleach-based cleaner. Take a look in this fun video:

Go to this PC Magazine article and video at the end of the article. Very good information. https://bit.ly/2W1sHzP

Video Only: https://bit.ly/2VAgByk

HOW TO ADD AN APP TO THE DOCK ON AN iPAD – The iPad’s dock makes launching favorite apps and multitasking easy because you can access it from everywhere with a simple swipe. With just a few easy steps, you can add any app to the dock. Here’s how.

Go to this How-to Geek and get the procedure. https://bit.ly/2KwspLF

HOW TO MASTER NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR iPHONE – The iPhone is a notification machine. Left unchecked, it will ping you about every little thing from every single app, all day long. It’s time to take control and master iPhone notifications once and for all.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get control of Notifications. https://bit.ly/2x8AyD3

HOW TO TURN OFF YOUTUBE NOTIFICATIONS ON iPHONE, iPAD, AND ANDROID – If you’re a YouTube fan, you might appreciate new channel recommendations or the odd notification when your favorite YouTuber posts a new video. If you’d prefer to disable these notifications, though, you can do so on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get the steps. https://bit.ly/2Vzx0mO

THE BEST FREE-TO-PLAY GAMES ON ANY PLATFORM – It’s true that the games market is currently saturated with a lot of sub-par freemium games, especially on mobile. However, we have also seen many great free-to-play games launched in recent years. From battle royale games, to MOBAs, to spectacular indies, there is enough variety for even the most hard-to-please gamers. So if, you don’t want to spend any cash but want to enjoy some high-quality and entertaining titles, here are our picks for the best free-to-play games on any platform.

Go to this Android Authority web article and see the games. https://bit.ly/2Y50XwH

April 23, 2020

HOW TO DRAW IN MICROSOFT WORD – While Microsoft Word isn’t the best drawing tool, you can create basic drawings or scribbles in Word directly. Here’s how.

Microsoft Word isn’t essential software for graphics designers, and for good reason. It’s true—Microsoft Word isn’t best suited for drawing, but it does have some built-in drawing tools you can use, should you need to.

For simple drawings, you can draw in Word directly using shapes, lines, or pen tools. If you want to draw in Microsoft Word, here’s what you’ll need to do.

These instructions have been designed with Microsoft Office 2019 in mind. While the steps may work for older versions of Word, there may be some variations or missing features.

Go to this groovy Post web page and get the steps plus screen shots. https://bit.ly/3bzO6Xn

A STRING OF TEXT IS CRASHING iPHONES, iPADS, APPLE WATCH – Only Apple can stop this happening with an iOS update, but thankfully a reboot does get your device working again.

If you own an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you could be in for a frustrating next few days as a string of text included as part of a notification will crash any of those devices. And as you’ve probably guessed, news of this text is going viral, which leads to it being used even more.

Go to this PC Magazine article and read more information. https://bit.ly/354qU0F

ZOOM TIPS SECURITY UPGRADES AS DAILY USERS SURGE TO 300 MILLION – In December, Zoom was attracting a mere 10 million daily users. Now at 300 million, Zoom details plans to improve the video-conferencing service’s encryption standard.

The privacy and security concerns swirling around Zoom haven’t stopped users from flocking to the video conferencing service.

Go to this PC Magazine article and read about the latest updates to Zoom. https://bit.ly/2x9BmYu

DON’T SEND BANDS WITH APPLE WATCH FOR REPAIRS AS YOU WON’T GET THEM BACK – If your Apple Watch is malfunctioning or if it is broken, and if you’re planning to send the smartwatch to Apple for repair, you should remove the wrist bands before shipping it. Otherwise, you won’t get those bands back from Apple.

Apple has recently updated one of its support documents to mention that users should remove wrist bands from the Apple Watch before sending it in for repairs. The same goes for the watch’s other accessories such as screen protectors, chargers, or more. The company mentions that it won’t send back wrist bands or accessories with its smartwatch after it is done repairing the device.

More information at iPhone Hacks: https://bit.ly/2XZWtr0

PSA: A VIRAL TEXT STRING WITH AN ITALIAN FLAG AND SINDHI CHARACTERS WILL CRASH YOUR iPHONE [U] (Public Service Announcement) – Every so often, a bug in iOS emerges where a certain string of text will cause your iPhone or iPad to crash. This week, another such string of text is going viral, and a fix from Apple is not yet publicly available.

The string of text, which we aren’t going to share here, includes the Italian flag emoji and characters in the Sindhi language. When an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch receives a notification with this text string, things get wonky. Sometimes, your device will crash, while other times it completely stops responding to touch input, and much more.

One temporary fix, until Apple releases software updates to resolve the problem, is to disable notifications on your devices. Thankfully, if you do receive a message with the text string in it, you can reboot your device and things should be back to normal.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web article for detailed information. https://bit.ly/3eNQyvj

HOW TO CREATE AND USE LIVE WALLPAPERS ON iPHONE WITH THIS COOL TRICK – Live Photos on iPhones is a handy feature as it automatically takes a 3-second moving image — 1.5 seconds before you press the shutter button and 1.5 seconds after pressing the shutter button — to bring your photos to life. The good thing is you can also set a Live Photo as a Live Wallpaper on your iPhone. But do you know one can also create Live Wallpapers using a static image and a video and set it as a Live wallpaper?

The web is filled with talented creators who are providing static images with a video. Users can download them on their iPhone, create a Live photo from it and use it as a Live Wallpaper for their iPhone’s lock screen or home screen. In this post, we will provide a source to download images and videos on the iPhone and guide t of it. Let’s get started.

Go to this iPhone Hacks article and get the steps plus screenshots. https://bit.ly/3az82s1

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ZOOM BACKGROUND TO A FUN PHOTO OR VIDEO – People often use Zoom for work and conference calls, but it doesn’t have to be all work and no play. You can use an interesting photo or video virtual background during the call to liven things up!

Go to this How-to Geek web article and see how. https://bit.ly/3bzcOqx

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR SKYPE VIDEO CALL BACKGROUND – Skype now offers custom backgrounds. Rather than show everyone your office, you can choose any backdrop image you like. Skype will automatically detect and replace the background behind you with the image while you’re video chatting, just like Zoom can.

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get it. https://bit.ly/2Vv2Jp4

HOW TO MAKE VOICE AND VIDEO CALLS ON SKYPE – Skype has long been one of the most popular video-calling apps. Even better, it’s free and available on all major platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows. We’ll walk you through how to use it!

Go to this How-to Geek web article and get the info. https://bit.ly/354Wtrh

APPLE LAUNCHES NEW ‘TODAY AT APPLE (AT HOME)’ INITIATIVE – Apple today launched a new “Today at Apple (at Home)” program that replaces the popular “Today at Apple” sessions that are hosted in its retail stores.

The new Today at Apple (at Home) website features creative projects created by Creative Pros from Apple Store locations all over the world, with all of the tutorials able to be completed at home. Sessions, which are presented as short videos, include drawing playful portraits with iPad, capturing striking photography with iPhone, and shooting photos with personality with ‌iPhone‌, and Apple will likely add additional fun projects in the future.

Apple will likely be providing these creative videos for people until it is able to begin reopening its Apple retail locations around the world. All Apple stores outside of China have been closed since March 14, and there is no word yet on when stores will be able to open again.

Apple yesterday also introduced a series of new activities designed for children and families, all of which can be done using an ‌iPad‌, and it has provided remote learning tutorials for parents and teachers to allow them to better adjust to remote teaching techniques.

APPLE’S COVID-19 MOBILITY TRENDS SITE PROVIDES USEFUL LOCATION DATA WHILE PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY – The site aims to help public health authorities see where people are reducing travel while still protecting your privacy.

Apple has launched a new site, apple.com/covid19/mobility, that uses data pulled from Apple Maps requests to show “mobility trends” for various regions. The aim is to help public health officials to understand where people are taking heed to shelter-in-place orders or guidelines and where they are not.

Anyone can go to the site and search for info from many major cities along with 63 countries or regions. Some cities or regions may not show up because Apple doesn’t have enough data to ensure accurate trends.

Go to this Mac World web site and read about the new site: https://bit.ly/3adxV0m

OFFICE 365 REBRAND TO MICROSOFT 365 – Office 365 is being renamed to Microsoft 365. With the new branding also comes new features. Here’s what you need to know about the name changes.

21st April 2020, Microsoft changes the name of several commercial and small businesses Office 365 products to Microsoft 365. It’s just a cosmetic change; all features and programs stay the same. Microsoft keeps the name Office 365 for most of its enterprise products such as Office 365 for Enterprise, Office 365 for Firstline, Office 365 for Education and Office 365 for Governments

What exactly is changing?

Office 365 Personal/Home will replace with Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family. With Microsoft 365 Personal for $6.99/month includes Office applications, 1TB storage in the cloud service OneDrive, Skype with 60 minutes calling to mobile/landline plus support. Microsoft 365 Family for $9.99 includes the same as personal and includes for up to six people.

Microsoft 365 Personal/Family future versions are increasing security by an innovation called Family Safety. It will include features such as managing screen time,. And share location data so it will be possible to notify if someone leaves home.

When will the new names appear?

Starting 21st April 2020 the products and plans rebranded names start to be used by Microsoft.

Why this rebrand?

Microsoft mention two reasons for this name change from Office 365 to Microsoft 365.

Simplifies for customers to find the plan they need.
To separate enterprise/small businesses and consumer plans by name.

The name ‘Office’ has historically associated with typical applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Today it is so much more with OneNote, Teams, Forms, Planner, and Streams. Also, a lot of new features require cloud connectivity and make uses of advanced AI.

What does this mean for me?

Unless you are managing Office 365 ProPlus installations, you don’t have to do anything. Everything will work as before, just with a different name. If you got documentation using the old names, it could be an idea to replace the product names you are currently using with the new names.

HOW TO ADD A PIN TO PROTECT YOUR NETFLIX ACCOUNT PROFILE – We have shown you how to restrict mature Netflix content from kids. And Netflix has added some new parental control features. One example of this is the ability to add a PIN to your profiles. The feature is called “Profile Lock” which adds an extra layer of security to your account. Here’s how to use it.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the steps with screen shots. https://bit.ly/3baYNze

iOS 13 BATTERY DRAIN ISSUES: 10+ TIPS TO IMPROVE IPHONE BATTERY LIFE – If you have installed iOS 13 – iOS 13.4 and noticed that your iPhone’s battery is draining fast then you have come to the right place. In this guide, we will show you how to diagnose and fix bad iPhone battery life issues on iOS 13.

Go to this iPhone Hack web site and discover all the ways you can improve battery life for your iPhone. https://bit.ly/2K8H67z

HOW TO EXPORT AND DELETE ATTACHMENTS FROM MESSAGES – Apple offers several ways to work with attachments, if you can find them.

Syncing Messages via iCloud lets you have access to all your conversations and associated pictures and files on all the devices you’ve connected with your iCloud account. However, Messages storage can really add up if you send and receive lots of images or videos.

I documented in October 2019 how you can delete individual photos and other attachments via the Messages app in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. It’s tedious, but it works.

But there are other methods you can use. And you can export attachments before deletion if you want to retain them.

Go to this Mac World web article and get the procedures plus screen shots. https://bit.ly/3brD8mN

MISS YOUR FRIENDS? TRY THESE APPS FOR A VIRTUAL PARTY, TRIVIA NIGHT, OR GOSSIP SESSION – Feeling the fatigue of weeks and weeks of quarantine? Download one of these apps and breathe new life into your socially distant social life.

Getting pretty tired of staying inside all the time? You’re not alone. As the world continues to hunker down and weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to rapidly adapt to a new lifestyle where the closest we can get to a non-housemate is six feet. Thankfully, the internet helps us adapt quickly, with video calls becoming the new social norm. Here are the must-use apps and services to simulate a social life as best you can.

Go to this PC magazine web site and see the six apps. https://bit.ly/3csarWW

HOW TO FIND A BOOK WITHOUT KNOWING THE TITLE OR AUTHOR – Do you want to find a book title when you can only remember the plot? It’s easy when you know how.

Sometimes you remember a book you read by its jacket. Sometimes by the actions of an obscure character. However, there are times when you can’t even remember the author or title. Everyone has book amnesia at times, so expect to see (or ask) a question like this one day:

“What was that book which had something about a puppet master as a murderer?”

In the old days, you could have asked the librarian. Today, you can go online and use these tips to find a book when you don’t know the title or author.

Got to this Make Use Of web article and get some neat hints. https://bit.ly/2xDFTlY

THE 10 BEST REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH APPS FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID – Search engines make it easy to find information or buy products, but what if you want to identify a picture you have? In these cases, reverse image search comes to the rescue.

This powerful feature allows you to upload an image to search instead of entering text. Let’s take a look at the best reverse image search tools available on your iPhone or Android device.

Go to this Make Use Of web article and see the Apps. https://bit.ly/3etCxTm

HOW TO GET RID OF TWO APPS SIDE-BY-SIDE ON AN IPAD – While using your iPad, you may end up with two app windows on the screen by accident due to multitasking features called Slide Over and Split View. The extra app window can be frustrating to remove if you don’t know the right gestures. Here’s how to do it. ( 2 different cases)

Go to this How-to Geek web page and get the steps. https://bit.ly/3b9hjs0

YOU CAN NOW WATCH SOME APPLE TV PLUS AND YOUTUBE ORIGINALS FOR FREE – Apple’s dedicated streaming service – Apple TV Plus – is reportedly offering a bunch of original shows and movies for free streaming. YouTube is also doing the same for its YouTube Premium originals.

The move is likely prompted by the ongoing coronavirus crisis that has millions of people across the world locked in their homes.

Go to this Android Authority web site and get the facts. https://bit.ly/2XqCSQJ

GIVE YOUR EYES A BREAK: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BLUE LIGHT GLASSES – Staring at your monitor for hours at a time? Computer glasses might help. Here’s what you need to know.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the suggestions. https://bit.ly/2wCFDU2

HOW TO SIT PROPERLY AT YOUR COMPUTER TO AVOID BACK PAIN AND FATIGUE – You may have heard that sitting too much can be bad for your health but what’s exactly behind that idea and how can we fix it? With more people working from home and likely spending time in compromised postures, let’s look at how to sit properly at your computer to avoid pain, tightness, and fatigue.

Sitting sounds like an innocent and natural thing but as Dr. Kelly Starrett explains, there’s a lot to it, and most people don’t sit properly and create issues like pain, stiffness, and fatigue.

Sitting—like standing—is one of the most technically challenging things we do. Yet most of us are clueless when it comes to sitting well.

Sitting is an inevitable part of modern life and likely you’re doing more of it if you’re working from home. So let’s dive into the mechanics of how to sit properly to avoid pain, stiffness, and fatigue and we’ll also look at how to use an exercise ball as a great chair option and more.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web article and sit up straight. https://bit.ly/2Klr620

SLING TV’S “HAPPY HOUR ACROSS AMERICA” GIVES YOU FREE TV ACCESS EVERY NIGHT – Starting today, Sling TV has one of the best kind of deals you ask for—free TV for new customers. From 5 PM until midnight Eastern Time, you get access to 32 channels for absolutely free. And while you do need to sign up for an account, you don’t need to provide a credit card.

This latest deal is an expansion of Sling’s recent “Stay in & SLING” initiative and expands on the content the streaming company was already offering for free. During the “Happy Hours,” you get access to Sling’s Blue plan, which usually costs $30 a month. On the Blue plan, you can watch A&E, AMC, Bravo, CNN, E!, FOX News, FX, HGTV, HLN, MSNBC, TLC and more.

Sling didn’t say how long the Happy Hour initiative would last, but presumably, you’ll eventually have to pay to watch. For now, since you don’t have to provide a credit card, it’s hard to think of a reason not to take the free channels. Just make sure to sign up for an account at the Happy Hour link.

April 8, 2020

iPHONE IS DISABLED? HOW TO FIX IT WITH OR WITHOUT CONNECTING TO COMPUTER – “iPhone is disabled, try again in 1 minute.” This is the last message you would want to see when you pick up your iPhone. So, how did it happen? How can you fix it? Will you need a PC or Mac to bring back the iPhone in normal mode? The answer is more complicated than that. Let’s understand the situation in detail. First, let’s review the possible scenarios that may lead your iPhone being disabled.

Apple provides Touch ID and/or Face ID as biometric authentications for unlocking iPhones. One can also opt to add a password to unlock the device. So when someone steals your iPhone, it might take thieves around 4 hours or a computer about 6 min to crack the four-digit passcode combination on your device. To prevent the practice, Apple has added a security layer that disables the device after five unsuccessful attempts.

Here is how long your iPhone will be disabled depending on the number of unsuccessful attempts at unlocking it:

5 wrong password attempts in a row – iPhone gets disabled for 1 minute

7 wrong password attempts in a row – iPhone gets disabled for 5 minutes

8 wrong password attempts in a row – iPhone gets disabled for 15 minutes

9 wrong password attempts in a row – iPhone gets disabled for 60 minutes

10 wrong password attempts in a row – iPhone is disabled, connect to iTunes

The situation also arises when your kid accidentally messes around your iPhone. And if you are someone who puts their iPhone in a busy pocket, then you might get surprised with the iPhone disabled message.

Go to this iPhone Hacks article and get the steps to fix the disabled iPhone. https://bit.ly/2V7CTGs

HOW TO QUICKLY TURN OFF ANNOYING NOTIFICATIONS ON APPLE WATCH – By default, Apple Watch buzzes every time your iPhone does. But what if you want to turn off particularly annoying app notifications on your Apple Watch? You can do this right from your wrist.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the steps with screenshots. https://bit.ly/2XaK6rX

HOW TO SWAP LEFT AND RIGHT MOUSE BUTTONS ON AN iPAD – With a mouse, you can “right-click” on your iPad—Apple calls this a “Secondary Click”. If you’re left-handed instead of right-handed (or simply prefer a different setup), it’s possible to swap the function of the two main mouse buttons. Here’s how.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the shots steps with screenshots.

https://bit.ly/3e4cq5o

USING AN APPLE iPHONE AS A HOTSPOT FOR TETHERING – When you need an internet connection, you really need an internet connection. In situations like that, you can use your iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Just like Android phones, Apple’s iPhone supports taking your cellular connection and sharing it with other devices. That feature is handy when you’re not near Wi-Fi or if your Internet at home isn’t quite handling the load.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the information with a complete basic glossary of terms. https://bit.ly/3e1WBvK

TO STOP HIJACKINGS, ZOOM WILL TURN ON THE ‘WAITING ROOM’ FEATURE FOR ALL USERS – Starting on Sunday, the company is also requiring passwords on everyone’s previously scheduled meetings to help prevent unwanted guests from infiltrating the video conferencing sessions.

To stop a wave of hijackings, Zoom is requiring passwords on all previously scheduled meetings, and also enabling the “Waiting Room” feature for whenever you host a video session.

The change will take effect on Sunday as the company’s video conferencing software has become the target of pranksters and racists, who’ve been infiltrating Zoom sessions to embarrass and harass unsuspecting users.

“If your attendees are joining via a meeting link, there will be no change to their joining experience,” the email says. “For attendees who join meetings by manually entering a Meeting ID, they will need to enter a password to access the meeting.”

Go to this PC Magazine article and read about Zoom protection and requirements. https://bit.ly/3bZ4S1Y

THESE 17 MOVIES WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE EARLY TO HELP EASE YOUR CORONAVIRUS ANXIETY – The Call of the Wild, Onward, Bad Boys for Life, and more are available to rent or buy from streaming services way ahead of schedule.

Movie lovers cooped up at home because of the growing coronavirus threat are getting an unexpected but welcome treat from Hollywood studios: early video-on-demand (VOD) releases of some recent blockbusters, including some films still in theaters (the few that are open, that is).

Following the unprecedented closure of movie theaters around the globe to help curb the spread of COVID-19, movie studios have been frantically shuffling their schedules, postponing some of their biggest releases (such as No Time to Die, A Quiet Place 2, and F9) for months or even until next year.

But Hollywood isn’t only throwing out the rule book as far as their upcoming releases go; they’re also shattering the traditional three-month U.S. theatrical window when it comes to more recent and even current movie releases.

That means instead of waiting until (most likely) May to rent the hit horror movie The Invisible Man on iTunes or Amazon Prime Video, Universal went ahead and released it in mid-March, way ahead of schedule.

Read on for a list of big Hollywood movies that are coming early to VOD in the U.S., with more sure to follow:

Go to this Tech Hive article and see what is listed. https://bit.ly/2UZEJJi

Here’s how to set it up and start taking calls without touching your phone.

Go to this PC magazine article with screenshots. https://bit.ly/2UWwdus

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PHONE WON’T TURN ON – Has your phone stopped turning on? Here are some troubleshooting tips that can help you get your iPhone or Android device running again.

Go to this PC Magazine article and check out the phone. https://bit.ly/34cjisz

FBI RELEASES GUIDANCE ON DEFENDING AGAINST VTC HIJACKING AND ZOOM-BOMBING – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released an article on defending against video-teleconferencing (VTC) hijacking (referred to as “Zoom-bombing” when attacks are to the Zoom VTC platform). Many organizations and individuals are increasingly dependent on VTC platforms, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, to stay connected during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The FBI has released this guidance in response to an increase in reports of VTC hijacking.

Go to this us-cert.gov web site and read the short list of information to protect yourself. https://bit.ly/2V1LbPR

HOW TO CONNECT YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD TO YOUR TV – Your iOS devices are great media players, but sometimes you want to watch on a big screen. Here’s how to connect your phone to your TV.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get 4 different procedures for connecting the iDevice to your recent TV. https://bit.ly/39EmDlp

APPLE OFFERING SUBSIDIES TO AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR REPAIRS WITH PICKUP AND DROP SERVICE – Amid the COVID-19 situation, Apple is trying to do its part to help people in staying home. It is being reported that the company has decided to offer subsidies to authorized service providers and repair shops to pick up and drop customers’ devices from their homes.

In an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers, information has come to light that the Cupertino-based tech giant is offering subsidies on repairs that also include pickups and drops from people’s homes. However, the subsidies are limited to Canada and the US.

Apple said that it would provide a subsidy of $20 for each Apple Watch, Beats, iPad, and iPhone pickup, repair, and drop. The company will offer a subsidy of $25 for each Mac pickup, repair, and drop. The iPhone maker also stressed in the note that “it encourages such arrangements when possible.”

The subsidy program begins today, and Apple has already trained technicians and provided further instructions on how to qualify for subsidies. All of Apple Stores outside of China have been closed due to the pandemic and lockdown situations, and people have been facing problems in getting their Apple products repaired and serviced. Customers are having to turn to Apple Authorized Service Centers for support.

Apple’s subsidy program will definitely help people and technicians in feeling safe. The company’s official website lists all the Apple Authorized Service Centers when you initiate repairs online.

The company has been having problems in the development of its products due to the COVID-19 situation. Apple had to close its stores all over the world and its partners and suppliers had to close factories. It had to postpone the launch of the iPhone 9 and turn WWDC 2020 into an online-only event.

NEW ‘BROADCASTS’ APP LETS YOU LISTEN TO STREAMING RADIO ON THE GO WITH iPHONE, iPAD, AND MAC – Developer Steve Troughton-Smith’s new universal app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, called Broadcasts, is out this week. The app is a new version of his app HCC Radio, which allows users to listen to radio stations on the go now across all three platforms.

Broadcasts App is free for the preset Irish Radio stations, with a $5 in-app purchase for editing features. But as you would expect for an app from Troughton-Smith, it’s fully universal: Buy it on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and you unlock it on all platforms.

You can download Broadcasts on the App Store and learn more about the development process on Steve Troughton-Smith’s blog.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site to read more details. https://bit.ly/2R8uUaU

March 30, 2020

HOW TO DISINFECT YOUR MOUSE AND KEYBOARD – You probably don’t clean your mouse and keyboard very often, but you should. It’s especially important if you share a computer with others. Right now, it could also prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

Cleaning your computer peripherals takes virtually no time at all, and it can prevent you and others from getting sick. You can even use the same cleaning tools you use to disinfect your smartphone.

Go to this How-To Geek web site and get the procedures. https://bit.ly/2w5cbWw

HOW TO SHARE iCLOUD DRIVE FOLDERS ON iPHONE, iPAD, AND MAC – Apple finally added folder-sharing to iCloud Drive with iOS 13.4, iPadOS 13.4, and macOS Catalina 10.15.4. If you were using Dropbox or Google Drive for the sole reason, you can now fully switch to iCloud Drive.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the steps with screenshots. https://bit.ly/2JstmEw

HOW TO SPRING CLEAN YOUR ELECTRONICS – Coronavirus may have you wanting to dunk everything in a vat of bleach, but before you go that route, read our guide to getting your gadgets gleaming. Embrace your inner germaphobe and start scrubbing.

There is spring cleaning and then there is coronavirus cleaning. COVID-19 news has you aware of how many times a day you touch your face, but how about how many times a day you touch your phone and other devices?

You may want to dunk everything into a vat of bleach, but before you go that route, grab some microfiber cloths, cotton swabs, distilled water, isopropyl alcohol, and dish soap and read our guide to getting your gadgets gleaming—after you unplug or turn off, of course. We’ll show you how to disinfect your devices and give everything else a general cleaning.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get scrubbing. https://bit.ly/2UrMU1X

HOW TO VIEW SAVED WI-FI PASSWORDS – Are you connected to Wi-Fi on one device, but need the password to log in on another one? Here’s how to find Wi-Fi passwords in Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

You’re visiting a friend’s house and you need the Wi-Fi password, but they’re busy. Your laptop is connected from a previous visit, and you just need to connect your phone, so instead of bothering them, you can grab the Wi-Fi password from your already-connected device and type it in on your others. Here’s how.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and find out how. https://bit.ly/2JsC7OE

SOCIAL DISTANCING FOR SENIORS: TECH TO HELP THE ELDERLY THROUGH ISOLATION – The COVID-19 outbreak means we have to social distance and self-isolate, but what about our elderly loved ones? Here are some ways to continue caring for them, even when you can’t be near.

COVID-19 does not discriminate, but the elderly are particularly vulnerable should they contract it. It’s why we’re all social distancing and staying at home; even if we’re asymptomatic, we can still pass the virus to grandma on a quick visit.

But while digital natives are perfectly content to spend hours scrolling through TikToks, binge-watching Netflix, or playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, older people might not be as well-versed in the technology that can keep them busy, connected to loved ones, and stocked up on life’s necessities.

If you have someone in your life you can’t visit but who depends on you for basic essentials and companionship, there are ways technology can help you safely care for them.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and read about all the different ways to stay connected. https://bit.ly/2UM4SeB

HOW TO USE TRACKPAD AND MOUSE SUPPORT IN iPADOS 13.4 – Trackpad support on the iPad is an excellent step at further blurring the line between tablet and computer use. Here’s a look at how to use it in iOS 13.4.

One of the most popular features in iPadOS 13.4 is the introduction of trackpad support. When added to the iPad mouse support that launched last fall, the Apple tablet is ever-closer to becoming a full-fledged computer. Here’s a look at how to activate and use trackpad and mouse support for your iPad.

What Do You Need?

To use a supported trackpad or mouse, you must own an iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 or later, iPad (5th generation) or later, or iPad mini 4 (or later). You must also have iPadOS 13.4 or later installed on your machine.

The trackpad support works with the Apple Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad, and many third-party mice that connect through Bluetooth. In May, Apple’s releasing a new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, which includes both a keyboard and a built-in trackpad. It supports the iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd and 4th generation) and iPad Pro 11‑inch (1st and 2nd generation).

Go to this Groovy Post web site article and get the steps plus screen shots. https://bit.ly/2WUQX8x

IS YOUR ICLOUD STORAGE FULL? 5 TIPS TO FREE UP iCLOUD STORAGE SPACE

Free up iCloud Storage

Similar to Google Drive on Android, Apple uses the iCloud platform to backup everything including photos, videos, app data, device settings, and more. The whole process is designed to help keep your data synchronized across Apple devices. However, since iCloud only offers 5GB of free space, most people are going to fill it up in no time. In this post, we will guide you through some of the effective ways to delete the iCloud storage.

The limited storage space on iCloud is going to be an even bigger issue for most people now as Apple has launched iCloud Folder Sharing. This means you can now use iCloud Drive as a true Dropbox alternative and use it to share and sync files with your friends and family.

Limited storage on iCloud will also cause issues with your apps. For example, your WhatsApp backups will start failing if you don’t have enough free storage space on iCloud.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web page and see how to clean up the iCloud storage that is free. https://bit.ly/2w3GCfG

THESE APPS AND SERVICES ARE RESPONDING TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC WITH FREE INFORMATION – A handful of useful applications and services are going free for the coming weeks in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These include at-home fitness applications, news outlets, and much more. Read below for all of the details.

Go to this 9to5 Mac web site and get the information on Apps that can keep you informed. https://bit.ly/3bCqocn

NEWS PUBLICATIONS REMOVE PAYWALLS – Many news publications are removing their paywalls to make it as easy as possible for readers to stay up to date on the coronavirus pandemic. Some outlets are completely removing their paywalls, while others are removing paywalls specifically on coronavirus stories.

Below are some of the national sources doing so, but be sure to check your local papers as well.

The New York Times – https://nyti.ms/2WUaean
The Wall Street Journal – https://on.wsj.com/2ylJFRc
The Washington Post – https://wapo.st/39vgEzt
The Los Angeles Times – https://lat.ms/2QY0Crh
The Guardian – https://bit.ly/3aqolbj
AP News – https://bit.ly/2xAq3Zf
The Athletic – https://bit.ly/2xAq7br

HOW TO CLICK THE HOME BUTTON WITH A MOUSE ON AN iPAD – Apple now lets you control your iPad with a mouse or trackpad, but navigating using a mouse can be cumbersome without the ability to quickly click and go Home. Luckily, there are several ways to access the iPad’s Home screen using only the mouse.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and get the steps and also hints on how to connect your mouse. https://bit.ly/2UNJw0r

HOW TO SEE WHO’S ON YOUR WI-FI – Is your internet sluggish? If you suspect a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi, these two apps can help you identify devices using your connection and help you boot them off.

If you suspect a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi, here’s how to check (and boot them off).

“So someone’s watching Netflix on my internet,” you may say. “What’s the big deal?” Even if you have a little bandwidth to spare, you probably don’t want other people on your network, especially if it’s unsecured. If someone has access to your network, they have access to all the computers on that network, and that’s dangerous. They could access files you’re unknowingly sharing, they could infect you with malware, and in certain situations they could even steal your passwords and other personal information.

As a result, you should take care to make sure each device connected to your network is one you can trust. Thankfully, there are free tools that’ll help you see everyone on your Wi-Fi right now.

Windows users can download a free, portable program called Wireless Network Watcher (scroll down to the Zip download link below “Feedback” to get it), which will provide a list of every device currently connected to your network, so you can identify the ones that belong to you.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get all the information. https://bit.ly/2xtZAwr

Mac users don’t have as many great options—LanScan is a decent pick, though it costs $6 for the full functionality. Most other apps are either expensive, or have caveats that make them less than ideal. If you’re on a Mac, skip down to the “Get a Second Opinion” section below—your router’s settings page may have the info you need. Or, if you have an iPhone, you can give Fing a try.

12 TIPS TO TROUBLESHOOT YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION – Have a full house of social distancers working, gaming, streaming, and news binging, all at the same time? If you’re experiencing lags, the problem might be on your end. Before you call your ISP, try these easy router tips to get back online.

With the proliferation of smart home devices, online gaming platforms, and video-streaming services, maintaining a strong internet connection is more important than ever. If you’re experiencing lag while playing League of Legends, or it takes forever to download music, there’s a good chance the problem is on your end and not an issue with your internet service provider (ISP).

Before you schedule a service call with your cable company, check out our tips for troubleshooting your internet connection.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and check your internet. https://bit.ly/2xtXFrJ

HOW TO ACCESS YOUR WI-FI ROUTER’S SETTINGS – Here’s how to change a home Wi-Fi network’s name, password, and other elements.

Your router stores the settings for your home Wi-Fi network. If you want to change something on your network, you have to log into your router’s software, also known as firmware. From there, you can rename your network, modify the password, adjust the security level, create a guest network, and set up or alter a variety of other options. But how do you first get into your router to make those changes?

The process for logging into your router should be the same whether you use your internet provider’s router or you purchased your own router. It should also be the same whether you use a dedicated router or a combination modem/router supplied by your provider.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and read and check with screen shots. https://bit.ly/39tJD6B

HOW DO I SEND THE CORONAVIRUS EMOJI? – HOW DO I SEND THE MICROBE EMOJI? – Obviously there is no official coronavirus (COVID-19) emoji, but people have been using “microbe” as a replacement. You can find the microbe emoji on your iOS keyboard by tapping the smiley face button located below the “123” key. It is located under “objects” which you can quickly access by tapping the lightbulb icon on the emoji keyboard menu.

To send even quicker, just type “microbe” in the message line then tap the smiley face icon. Tap the orange ‘microbe’ text (you just typed) to replace it with microbe emoji and tap the blue arrow to send.

HOW CAN I TRACK THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) OR ANY INFECTIOUS DISEASE ON MY iPHONE? – Both the CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organization) have apps on the Apple App Store.

The CDC app includes the most up to date health information from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

The Who Info app includes WHO news, stories, factsheets and disease outbreak updates.

Both the CDC app and >Who Info currently feature information about the 2020 coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak around the world.

The CDC app is recommended over the WHO app. It features information on the virus, tips if you’re feeling sick, how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and more.

For the coronavirus exclusively, you can download the HEALTHLYNKED COVID-19 Tracker. ( https://apple.co/33STm5a) This app includes an “Infected,” “Recovered” and “Deaths” trackers, a COVID-19 map, a curated COVID-19 Twitter feed, and a chat. The COVID-19 tracker breaks down WHO confirmed cases, deaths and self-reported positive cases.

BEST FOOD DELIVERY APPS FOR iPHONE AND iPAD – Ordering food from your favorite restaurant has never been easier. Deliveries can be tracked in real-time as they are dropped at your doorstep hot and fresh. Just grab the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and browse the menu in comfort. Even paying the bill is effortless, with charges and tips for the driver going straight to a credit card, PayPal, or Apple Pay. There are many food delivery apps to choose from, but some restaurants only deal with one online system.

Go to this iPhone FAQ web site and get the complete review of food delivery apps. https://bit.ly/2UGlVyJ

March 27, 2020

APPLE SUPPORT DOCUMENTS HELP YOU SETUP AND USE BLUETOOTH MOUSE/TRACKPAD WITH iPAD – Apple has come up with new support documents that explain how to connect and use a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad with an iPad. The procedure detailed in the support documents will work across new iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2 or upwards, fifth-gen iPad and the iPad mini 4 or upwards.

On the software front, the device needs to be running iPadOS 13.4 which was released a couple of days ago. According to the support documents you can not only use Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2, and Magic Mouse 2 but also third-party options like Logitech’s new trackpad keyboard.

The support documents outline how to Navigate your iPad, Adjust Trackpad settings, Adjust mouse settings, Customize the cursor, and connect/disconnect Bluetooth mouse or trackpad. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to launch a Magic Keyboard case with the built-in trackpad which will support newer iPad Pro models. Furthermore, the Magic Keyboard is expected to cost as much as $299 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $349 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Apple recently launched the 2020 iPad Pro comes with Apple’s A12Z Bionic chip which features an eight-core GPU, eight-core CPU, and a Neural Engine. Apple has also improved thermal management for further performance improvement. The company says that its A12Z Bionic chip makes the iPad Pro “faster and more powerful than most Windows PC laptops.” Apple claims the iPad Pro can last up to 10 hours on a single charge. It also offers Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit LTE support for faster downloads.

THE BEST iPAD PRO (2020) TIPS AND TRICKS – Apple’s 2020 iPad Pro lineup has gone on sale today in major markets across the world. This time around, Apple has focused more on refining its iPad Pro lineup rather than doing something dramatically different. If you have ordered the 2020 iPad Pro or plan on getting one soon, check out some of the best tips and tricks for it to get the most out of it.

Apple is offering more value with its iPad Pro lineup this time rather than focusing on outright performance and other changes. It has upgraded the base storage to 128GB while keeping the price tag intact. The new tablets also come with a more powerful A12Z Bionic chip and still offer up to 10 hours of battery life. You are definitely not going to regret spending your hard-earned money on the new 2020 iPad Pro.

The below tips and tricks will help you use your new iPad Pro — be it the 11-inch or the 12.9-inch model — to the fullest and discover some hidden and useful features of them.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web page and read about over 18 different tips and tricks. https://bit.ly/2Jdakl9

HOW TO USE ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT TO KILL CORONAVIRUS ON YOUR iPHONE – We’ve already gone over Apple’s new recommendation for how to sanitize your smartphone and other devices with Clorox Wipes or similar wipes with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol. Now, let’s talk about another option, using ultraviolet light as a disinfectant and sanitizer. We have three different options for people looking to kill bacteria, viruses, and other microbiology on their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Mac, and even Apple TV remote to prevent COVID-19. Some of these items are on our person nearly all the time, especially the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and therefore have more bacteria and viruses on them than the average toilet seat. Let’s cover how to sanitize your cell phone, tablet, earbuds, smartwatch, and other Apple devices.

According to the Journal of Hospital Infection, viruses can stay on solid surfaces like plastic, ceramics, and glass for up to nine days. If you’d like a way to sanitize your Apple devices safely, the solution is ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light, specifically UV-C light, can kill bacteria within thirty seconds from a distance of six inches and viruses within three minutes. UV-C light can temporarily damage eyes and skin, so be sure to wear safety glasses and cover up as needed, depending on the device you choose. Here are three ways to use UV-C light to sanitize your Apple devices.

Go to this iPhone Life article and get 3 solutions to iPhone sanitization. https://bit.ly/3bpnWWI

PREVENT CORONAVIRUS: CLEAN & SANITIZE YOUR iPHONE & OTHER APPLE DEVICES – I rarely write a tip that will impact people’s health, but learning how to clean and sanitize your Apple devices, including your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Mac, and even Apple TV remote, is part of how to prevent coronavirus. Some of these items are on our person nearly all the time, especially the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and therefore have more bacteria and viruses on them than the average toilet seat. Apple has recently changed their cleaning guidelines, so let’s go over how to sanitize your cellphone, tablet, earbuds, smartwatch, and other Apple devices.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and get the facts. https://bit.ly/2UAWtdZ

HOW TO SCAN A DOCUMENT IN THE iPHONE FILES APP – Want to scan a document on the iPhone? Your Files app can be used as a document scanner where you can scan and save documents to your iPhone and iCloud. Using the Files app to scan a document on the iPhone helps keep you organized by scanning, saving, and marking up documents from one location. Here’s how to scan a document on the iPhone using the Files app.

How to Scan a Document on an iPhone with the Files App

Open the Files app.
Tap the three dots on the top right corner.
Select Scan Documents.
Follow the on-screen prompts to scan your document.
Scan any additional documents.
When you’re finished, tap Save.
Select where you want to save your document.
Tap Save in the top right corner.

Go to this iPhone Life web page to see the steps above with screen shots. https://bit.ly/3aks9KZ

GOOGLE PODCASTS COMES TO iOS – Recently, Google overhauled its Android Google Podcasts app, but the company had more in mind. Now, to complement that Android overhaul, Google released its app on iOS. The two apps mirror each other almost perfectly, which is excellent if you like to keep your podcasts in sync across multiple devices.

If you already use Google Podcasts on Android (or the web), then you should already know what to expect. You’ll get the familiar Home, Explore, and Activity screens that were part of the app’s recent overhaul.

The iOS app is available starting on March 25, and if you don’t see the updated Android version, Google promises to finish rolling it out over the next week. It’s an app meant for iPhone, but you could install it on an iPad too if you really want.

Go to this ReviewGeek article to learn more

https://www.reviewgeek.com/38432/google-podcasts-comes-to-ios/

HOW TO USE A MOUSE WITH iPADOS 13.4 – With iPadOS 13.4 Apple finally gives its market-leading tablets the main thing that held them back from being truly high-powered productivity tools: Mouse and trackpad support. The previous version did give the products limited pointing device support for accessibility use, but, with version 13.4, we get full input support. The iPad’s newfound mouse support works very well—with some limitations.

Read more of this PCMag article https://bit.ly/2UmYvzh

GOOGLE SEARCH AND MAPS NOW SHOW ‘TEMPORARILY CLOSED’ BUSINESSES – Governments around the world are asking people to stay at home and for all but essential businesses to close their doors. Now Google has made it easier to find out which businesses are closed temporarily using Search and Maps. n an blog post last week, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that a new “temporarily closed” option would become available for business owners. Pichai explained, “With so many disruptions to daily life, people are looking for more information about school or business closures. Based on data from governments and other authoritative sources, Google Search and Maps will now display if a place, like a school or local business, is temporarily closed.”

Read more of this PCMag article https://bit.ly/33QyviU

THESE COMMON HOME APPLIANCES CAN DRAMATICALLY SLOW DOWN YOUR INTERNET SPEED – This ZDNet article has some practical guidelines for improving your Internet speeds. https://zd.net/2QROjg3

March 21, 2020

HOW TO CONNECT YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD TO YOUR TV – Try these options when you want to view iPhone or iPad content on a bigger screen.

How to connect your iPhone to your TV

You don’t even need a fancy smart TV to do it. We’ll show you several easy methods for screen mirroring, ranging from using a basic HDMI adapter to sophisticated wireless streaming.

Go to this Tech Hive article on the web and get the different methods. https://bit.ly/2QBzWwj

HOW TO MAKE FREE CONFERENCE CALLS ON YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – Video conferencing is not always the best option when trying to hold a meeting with a lot of people. Services like Skype can lag, have audio problems and sometimes you just don’t want to stare at each other. FreeConferenceCall.com offers a free service whose goal is to “make sure charities, volunteers, and students all over the world have access to world class communication tools.” The free app allows iPhone and iPad users to make free HD audio conference calls with up to 1,000 participants.

FreeConferenceCall uses the pay what you think is fair model. Users can decide how much they think the service is worth and pay accordingly. The suggested amount is $4 a month, but you can choose to pay more or less. This allows others who can’t afford to pay for conferencing software the ability to connect all over the world.

The app allows you to skip over dial-in numbers and access codes which are a requirement if you sign up through the website. International calls do however require a dedicated dial-in number. Although international conferencing is still free in up to 65 countries.

FreeConferenceCall includes a variety of one-touch conferencing tools such as mute, record, lock, view participants, meeting invitations and the ability to save and store existing accounts. The app also offers free HD video conferencing and screen sharing, if you decide you want to go the visual route.

The Free Conference Call app is available for free download on the Apple App Store. It is compatible with all devices running iOS 9.0 or later.

BEST VIDEO CHAT APPS FOR iPHONE AND iPAD – Thanks to mobile devices and global data networks, keeping in touch with friends, family, and co-workers is easier than ever. Video phones were once the stuff of science fiction. Nowadays, video calls can be connected from almost anywhere, and it’s the next-best thing to meeting in person.

March 17, 2020

HOW TO DISINFECT AND CLEAN YOUR PHONE – Smartphones are notoriously dirty. Studies show a typical cell phone can have more bacteria on its surface than a toilet. Preventing the spread of infection has taken on new importance with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 sweeping the globe. Disinfecting your iPhone is an important preventive measure to reduce the risk of infection from bacteria and viruses that linger on your mobile device. Proper hand washing may be the first line of defense, but a lean phone can be just as important.

After all, our smartphones are touched constantly during the day, and even held up to our faces when making a call. There are several ways to safely disinfect your iPhone, iPad, or other mobile device. The key to preventing scratches and removing dirt is to use a lint-free microfiber cloth. Products such as the 3M Microfiber Cleaning Cloth are themselves washable and will remove grime while protecting the screen and other surfaces of the iPhone.

Go to this iPhone FAQ web site and clean up. http://bit.ly/3d35ULC

TIPS FOR CONTROL CENTER ON iPHONE – Control Center is one of the most useful tools on the iPhone and iPad. First introduced in with iOS 13, the tool gives you direct access to essential settings on your device from one location. With customization, you can adjust Control Center to only include specific settings that match your needs.

In this article, you’ll learn more about Control Center and how to use it, plus access some useful tips.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get the facts. http://bit.ly/3b3OQmZ

GROOVYTIP: CLOSE SAFARI TABS AUTOMATICALLY DAILY, WEEKLY, OR MONTHLY – There are two types of people: (1) those who, at any given moment, have like fifty browser tabs open to the point where each one just has the first letter and “…” in the title and (2) good, decent people.

I kid, of course. I can live with people like that. In fact, I married one and that’s not even the worst thing she does (she bites popsicles). But here’s the thing: If this is you—with your dozens upon dozens of open browser tabs arranged like a house of cards that will bring your world crumbling down if, say, for example, your spouse borrows your computer to write a groovyPost article and accidentally closes the window—then you know deep down that this isn’t the way to live. All of those tabs are clutter, open loops, unfinished business and c’mon, haven’t you heard of bookmarks?!

Anyway, end rant. You’re here because you want to change and I’m here to celebrate that, not shame you. And as a bonus, I’ll give you a tip.

In Safari, there’s a setting that automatically closes your tabs for you?

Go to Groovy Post Tips and FAQ and get the steps. http://bit.ly/38VS1vk

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DEEP WEB AND DARK WEB – You’ve heard the terms Dark Web and Deep Web but did you know there is a difference? Here’s a look at the comparison between the two.

There are aspects of the internet, not nearly as familiar as others. Two of these, the so-called dark web and deep web, sound the same but are very different. Where one has mostly been designed for positive reasons, the other is much more nefarious. Here’s a look at the differences between the two.

Deep Web Vs. Dark Web

Before moving forward, understand that the deep web is just one part of the dark web. In general terms, the latter refers to any website or page that’s not registered with a search engine, such as Google or Bing. The former includes a mix of criminal enterprises and privacy tools. Each is mostly untraceable by individuals and governments alike.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the facts. http://bit.ly/2UeI334

WHAT IS AN IP ADDRESS? – An IP address is one of the most essential building blocks of the internet. It’s a unique identifier that computers use to transmit information across the web.

An IP address is one of the most essential building blocks of the internet. IP is an abbreviation for TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.

This “protocol” is the method computers use to transmit information across the internet. It requires every device on the network to have its own unique identifier. This way, when you type a URL into a browser, that browser can determine what device on the internet contains the information (web page) you want. This unique identifier is an IP Address.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and update your understanding about IP. http://bit.ly/2TR24xk

CAN I USE HAND SANITIZER TO CLEAN OR DISINFECT MY iPHONE OR iPAD? – I’m concerned about disinfecting my iPhone or iPad, but worried that using liquid or foam hand sanitizer might damage my device. Is it safe to use hand sanitizer to clean my iPhone?

Because the formulations of hand sanitizers vary so widely and often aren’t disclosed, there are better methods for disinfecting your iPhone. Due to coronavirus / COVID-19 fueling concerns about how to disinfect all types of personal items, Apple has released updated guidance on cleaning your devices that indicates that everyday disinfectant wipes like Clorox Disinfecting Wipes or Lysol Disinfectant Wipes (without bleach) can be used to clean iPhones and iPads without damaging those devices.

For more information, visit https://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/977512

HOW TO USE INSTANT NOTES ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Ever wanted to take a quick note or jot down a number on your iPhone? Unlocking the phone and then going through the Notes app to add the note can be a lengthy process. Samsung leverages S-Pen to let Galaxy Note users add notes from the lock screen. Apple has a different solution to offer. The company has added Instant Notes feature to iOS 13 to you access recently viewed notes or create a new one from the lock screen of your iPhone using the Control Center.

Using the Instant Notes trick, one can quickly take a new note from basically any interface of the operating system. In this post, we will guide you through steps to enable the feature and talk about its functions. Let’s get started.

If you have deleted the Apple Notes app from the device then you need to re-download it.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web site and get the step plus screenshots.

http://bit.ly/38r9prw

HOW TO GROUP FACETIME ON AN iPHONE – Sometimes you want to see everyone you’re speaking to on your iPhone group calls. Whether you’re using FaceTime with your friends, your family, or your co-workers, Apple makes group FaceTime calls easy to start and easy to add people to your call. Here are your updated instructions for how to group FaceTime in iOS 13.

How to Group FaceTime

There are several ways to enjoy group FaceTime. You can make a call from FaceTime and add contacts, you can make a FaceTime call from the message app, you can add a person to an existing group call, and you can join a FaceTime group call.

Go to this iPhone Life web site and get the procedure with screenshots.

http://bit.ly/2uTnIaG

HOW TO OPEN MULTIPLE WINDOWS OF THE SAME iPAD APP – We’ve had Split View and Slide Over for a while now, allowing us to work in more than one app at a time. Now, users can also work in more instances of the same app in different windows. This is great if you’re organizing the folders in your Files app working on a large project in Pages, but how does it work, exactly? This tip explains what it means to run multiple windows of the same app. Read on to learn how to open the same app in a new window on the iPad.

Running Multiple Windows of an App on the iPad

You probably already know that you can use Split View and Slide Over to multitask in an active app. Now, with a new feature called App Exposé, you can also open multiple windows of an app at the same time.

Go to this iPhone Life web pages and get the steps plus screenshots.

http://bit.ly/2x2Xhjt

TAKE A SCREENSHOT ON THE iPAD PRO, PLUS OLDER MODELS WITH A HOME BUTTON – You can easily take a screenshot on your iPad, whether you have an iPad Pro or an older model. Whether or not your iPad has a Home button, this tip will teach you how to take iPad screenshots using your iPad’s physical buttons. A screenshot is a great way to capture information on the internet, such as a favorite recipe or the current score, as well as fond memories like texts from the grandchildren. Let’s dive in with how to take screenshots an iPad.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and get the steps plus screenshots.

http://bit.ly/2VLaCHJ

February 22, 2020

HOW TO VIEW PASSWORDS IN ICLOUD KEYCHAIN ON IPHONE, IPAD, OR MAC – If you use an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and MacBook, or a combination of any of these devices on a daily basis, you are heavily invested in Apple’s ecosystem. The good thing about Apple’s ecosystem is that it makes the transition between devices seamless. So, any login or payment details that you save in iCloud Keychain on your iPhone are automatically synced to your iPhone and iPad as well.

While iCloud Keychain has been around for a few years, Apple has greatly improved its capability in recent years. In many ways, the service can now act as a potential replacement for password managers like LastPass and 1Password for many.

To find out more, go to this iPhone Hacks web page and read about it with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2GqN69T

HOW TO QUICKLY NAVIGATE TO HOME OR WORK ON YOUR IPHONE WITH GOOGLE MAPS – If you use Google Maps as your default Maps app on your iPhone, then here is a nifty little trick to quickly get directions to navigate to Home or Work on your iPhone. It allows you to get directions to your Home or Work address on your iPhone with just three taps using Google Maps. It saves you the trouble of typing the address and getting directions faster.

Go to this iPhone Hacks web page and get the facts with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Rs21XO

EMBRACE THESE NEW APPLE MAPS FEATURES IN IOS 13 – When it comes to navigation people tend to think Google Maps first. But Apple Maps in iOS 13 has improved and includes new features that make it worth a second look.

The native Maps app on the iPhone has often lagged behind Google Maps in terms of features. That’s slowly changing with each new iOS release. In iOS 13, Apple has added two useful features for those who like to plan trips for business or pleasure.

Favorites and Collections
In iOS 13 (and iPadOS 13 for iPad), Apple has added the ability to create favorites and collections in the official Maps app. Favorites are often-visited spots such as your business, local shopping center or restaurant, or residence. Favorites spots are identified in the Maps app with the amount of travel time to that location and suggested routes.

Collections, by contrast, are for travel planners who want to learn more about a city. Once in the city, you can use the Maps collection to get around the city and visit its most popular sites with ease.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/3aNadJC

LOCATION TRACKING REMINDER ON IOS 13 HAS EFFECTIVELY REDUCED LOCATION DATA COLLECTION – Apple has been taking flak for some privacy issues on iOS 13, ever since it was launched last year. The most predominant issue was that iOS 13 allowed third-party apps to access location data in the background.

As expected Apple fixed the issue with a new location reminder feature and apparently it seems to be working. The new feature alerts iOS 13 users with a notification whenever the third-party apps try to collect location data in the background. That’s not all, the feature also displays a map of the locations and gives you three options including “Change to Only While Using,” “Always Allow” and “Just Once.”

Location Sciences, a firm that works on analyzing location data says that background location data has declined by 68 percent while the foreground data collection has plunged by 24 percent. Foreground data is the data collected when the app is open. Another report affirms the drop and says that third-party apps are seeing opt-in rates of less than 50 percent now. Opt-in is when the user explicitly gives permission for the app to collect location data.

Needless to say, the drop in location data is due to the new privacy features. That being said, the location data that was being collected earlier was not organic and bound to drop sooner or later. Thankfully, Apple has taken cognizance of the issue and fixed it with an intuitive pop-up. Apple is one of the few companies that take privacy seriously. They have been putting their foot down when it comes to creating an iPhone backdoor for government agencies.

While it comes as a sign of relief for iPhone users, the developers are upset. They claim that Apple’s new location tracking reminder feature pops up too often and might hinder the adoption of their apps.

HOW TO ADD LINE NUMBERS TO A MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT – Adding line numbers to a Microsoft Word document can help you point others to exact positions within it, especially in documents with multiple pages. Here’s how to quickly add line numbers in Word.

These instructions should work for recent Office versions (from 2010 onwards). Before you begin, note that Word will treat tables and text boxes as if they’re on a single line, regardless of how large they are.

Go to this How-to Geek article and find out with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2sWbT2u

HOW TO CHANGE THE FONT IN THE MAIL APP ON YOUR IPHONE – We’ve written about how to change the font in the Safari browser on your iPhone or iPad, both the type and size. Now it’s also possible to change fonts in the Mail app by choosing between other pre-installed fonts, although the option isn’t easy to find. Let’s get started learning how to get different fonts in your iPhone’s Mail app.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and see the steps in screenshots. http://bit.ly/2NZjYLj

IPHONE BATTERY YELLOW? HOW TO TURN LOW POWER MODE OFF & ON – Whether your iPhone is on Lock Screen, one of your Home screens, or you have an app open, you’ll see your iPhone battery icon in the upper-right corner of your screen. You may be wondering, though, “Why is my iPhone battery yellow?” Don’t worry; nothing is wrong with your phone. The yellow battery icon just means that your iPhone is in Low Power Mode, a power-saving feature that kicks in when your battery needs to be charged. Let’s learn about Low Power Mode, including when it’s set to turn on and off automatically, and how to turn it off and on manually.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/37rdgW7

HOW TO FIND YOUR IPHONE EVEN IF IT’S DEAD OR OFFLINE (UPDATED FOR 2020) – If you need to find and track a lost iPhone, using the Find My app to locate your iPhone is the easiest method. If you’ve enabled the Find My iPhone feature in the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, you can use Find My to locate the missing device, even if it’s powered down or the battery’s dead. Here’s how to find your iPhone when it’s lost, whether it’s offline, dead, or even if you don’t have Find My enabled for the iPhone.

Go to this iPhone Life article and see the steps plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Goj06U

January 12, 2020

HOW TO DELETE APPS ON YOUR IPHONE OR iPAD IN iOS 13 – In iOS 13, Apple changed the way you delete an app on your iPhone’s and iPad’s home screen. You can still use the “X” on a jiggling app icon to delete that app, but there’s an extra step to get there if you’re running iOS prior to 13.2.

However, there are multiple ways to delete apps in iOS 13 and today we cover all those ways.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/37SWui8

THE BEST WAYS TO PRINT PHOTOS FROM YOUR PHONE – Your phone has an amazing camera, and you’ve used it to capture some special moments. But let’s be honest, there’s nothing like a printed photo. Thankfully, there’s a ton of cheap and easy ways to print photos directly from your phone—no computer necessary.

Go to this How-to Geek web site and read about the different ways to get that picture in a printout. http://bit.ly/2FGiPn1

HOW TO ADD A WEBSITE TO YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD HOME SCREEN – Usually, you think of the home screen on your iPhone or iPad as the place where your apps reside. But you can add websites there, too.

The home screen on your iPhone or iPad isn’t just a place where your apps live. You can also add shortcuts to websites. And in some cases, the website shortcut is sufficient in lieu of installing the full app.

There are plenty of apps that you need to install to get things done on your iPhone or iPad. But have you thought about using a website as an app on your device? Most apps provide extra features and abilities that a website can’t. But if you just need the basic features that the web version offers, or want to check a favorite webpage, just add it to the home screen.

For example, on my iPhone, I just need to check my PayPal balance and maybe move some money around. And I don’t need to install the full YouTube app and all its features. And certainly don’t need to install the official Minnesota Vikings app just to keep up with the team.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and get steps plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2RcSJNM

HOW TO USE APPLE ID TO CREATE PASSWORDS FOR YOUR APPS – Apple ID lets you create up to 25 app-specific passwords for third-party apps.

Apple upped its account security for Apple IDs years ago to prevent unwanted and unauthorized third-party access to all your information. Apple relies on Apple ID across all its software and services, but third-party software can only gain access to three kinds of data: email, contacts, and events.

Apple requires web-connected and native mobile or desktop software—on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and others—that want to use any of those three kinds of data to use a special kind of access. You create a so-called app-specific password for each piece of software to which you want to grant access.

January 8, 2020

HOW TO CHANGE THE PAPER SIZE IN MICROSOFT WORD – Documents come in different shapes and sizes, like legal or brochure. In Word, you can change the paper size to fit the type of document you’re working on or change the default paper size for all new documents. We’ll walk you through it!

Go to this How-to Geek article and get the steps plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2FrjxEz

Microsoft Word is free for iOS, get it from the Apple App Store.

HOW TO RENAME FAVORITES IN APPLE MAPS – The Favorites feature in Apple Maps gives you one-tap access to locations you frequently visit. But what if you don’t want to see the names of apartment buildings or townships? Here’s how you can customize and rename your favorite locations using your iPhone.

Go to this How-To Geek article and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Quy2hj

7 NEW TRICKS iOS 13 ADDS TO APPLE MESSAGES – Apple’s iOS 13 and iPadOS add new and improved talents to the default messaging app, including name and photo sharing, beefier search options, and more.

The Messages app has long been a mainstay on the iPhone and iPad as the default way Apple would like you to send and receive text messages. Though Apple has continually improved the app with each update of iOS and now iPadOS, at its core, Messages provides a clean and simple way to exchange texts with other people.

The update to iOS 13 added several new features that enhance the app in subtle but useful ways. You can now set up how to share your name and photo with fellow texters. You can more easily search for texts, contacts, photos, links, and other information. And Apple offers more ways to customize your memoji, which can then be turned into custom stickers for use in Messenger.

Upgrade to iOS 13.2 or higher, and Siri can announce new messages with certain earbuds and headphones. You can also take advantage of the new swipe QuickPath keyboard to type more quickly.

Go to this PC Magazine article and you will see seven different tricks with texting on a iPhone or iPad. http://bit.ly/2N3IytT

10 WAYS TO TIDY UP YOUR PHONES AND PCS FOR THE NEW YEAR – Organize your phone, tablet, and computer with these quick and easy tips from productivity expert Jill Duffy. Investing just a little time here at the beginning of the year could make a big difference for all of 2020.

Many of us spend far too much time on our phones and PCs, and it doubtless got worse over the holidays. Sure, you could try to do the digital detox equivalent of Dry January to cut your screen time down, but for most people, that’s not a realistic option. One thing you can do is organize your devices, streamlining them so that you can at least get things done more quickly. And while you’re doing that, you might as well do all the other things you’ve been putting off, like backing up your photos and tightening up your security. Now that the holidays are over and we’re getting back to real life, it’s time to focus on being productive again, and cleaning up your devices is an excellent way to start.

Here are 10 recommended tidying tasks for your devices to start the New Year on the right foot.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get the list of things you can do to any smartphone and the PC. http://bit.ly/39Qw02D

HOW TO CONNECT YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD TO A SECURED WI-FI NETWORK WITHOUT A PASSWORD – It’s all about proximity and Contacts.

It can be a drag to obtain and enter the Wi-Fi network password for an otherwise free and publicly available network—or even the network at a friend’s house or colleague’s place of work. With an iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 or later, you can avoid entering a password altogether if someone you know is nearby.

A whopping six conditions have to be met, which seems like a lot. However, each of these is straightforward:

Both devices must have iOS 11
You both must have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled.
The email address used for your Apple ID has to be in their Contacts list.
Their device must be unlocked.
The network must use simple WPA2 Personal (password only) networking.
The other person must have already connected to the network.

Here’s the steps to share a password:

Tap the network you want to join on your iPhone or iPad.
Your friend, relative, or colleague will see a prompt to share their password. They tap Share Password.
The password is securely transmitted to your device, which joins the network.

A special sharing pop-over appears in iOS, iPadOS to let you share a Wi-Fi password securely with an iPhone or an iPad.

HOW TO ENABLE READER VIEW AUTOMATICALLY FOR WEBSITES IN MOBILE AND DESKTOP SAFARI – Reader View offers a stripped-down, more controllable reading experience.

Many websites (including this one) have sidebars, overlays, auto-playing videos, and other distractions—as well as text in a size you may find too small to read. Reader View is Safari’s way to override the parameters most sites have set to produce a simplified stream of text for which you can adjust the size.

You can enable Reader View easily enough:

In iOS and iPadOS, a little A/big A icon appears at the far left of the location bar. Long press it to enable Reader View.

Go to this MacWorld article and get the procedures to enable Readers View on the iDevice.

http://bit.ly/2FvvQQg

REMEMBER TO DELETE AND UNLINK YOUR ACCOUNTS BEFORE DELETING AN APP – Deleting an app from your smartphone takes mere seconds, but you need to do more than just uninstall the app if you’re trying to remove your data or stop it from accessing other accounts—which some apps continue to do long after they’ve left your phone. To prevent this, make sure you delete/unlink your account and any data that it might contain before uninstalling an app. Here are some tips to make sure you make a clean break from apps you no longer want to use.

Go to this Lifehacker article and get it done right. http://bit.ly/39Pjh08

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 5G AND 5GHZ WI-FI? – 5G and 5 GHz Wi-Fi are both used for wireless connectivity, but they don’t have anything else in common. Anyone referring to “5G Wi-Fi” actually means 5 GHz Wi-Fi, which is different from the 5G cellular standard.

Go to this How-To Geek article and learn the difference between these terms. http://bit.ly/35zYYAu

HOW TO GET DRIVING DIRECTIONS ON YOUR APPLE WATCH – Gone are the days of using paper maps to navigate unknown roads and cities. Now, we have smart devices placing navigational tools on wrists and in our pockets. This guide shows how to get driving directions on your Apple Watch.

If you’re a fan of Google Maps, you won’t find it on Apple’s smartwatch. Google dropped support in 2017, though you can still use Google Maps in CarPlay, iOS, and iPadOS.

Apple Maps is a great alternative that works across all Apple-made devices. On the Apple Watch, it’s represented as a white arrow pointing up captured within a blue circle. This circle resides over an intersection on a map in the app icon’s background.

Go to this How-To Geek article and get the procedure plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2QAs5zH

HOW TO ADD A WEBSITE TO YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD HOME SCREEN – Usually, you think of the home screen on your iPhone or iPad as the place where your apps reside. But you can add websites there, too.

Go to this Groovy Post article and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2QybVH1

January 7, 2020

10 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR WI-FI SIGNAL – Check out these quick tips to boost your wireless signal from your router, extend and optimize your Wi-Fi coverage, and speed up your surfing.

Browsing slowing to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless dead zones—every one of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has become, for some, as necessary as breathing. (Well, maybe not that critical…but important.)

If you feel like your Wi-Fi has gotten sluggish, there are many tools you can use to test the speed of your internet. However, if the only way you can get decent reception is by standing next to your wireless router, these simple tips can help optimize your network.

Go to this PC magazine article and tune up your Wi-Fi signal. http://bit.ly/2SZPmfQ

iPHONE: HOW TO REMOVE LOCATION DATA FROM PHOTOS AND VIDEOS BEFORE SHARING – Need to share some photos or videos but want to retain a bit more privacy than normal? Follow along for how to remove location data from photos and videos on iPhone before sharing.

iOS includes a handy toggle to quickly turn off location details as well as other metadata before you send photos and vbideos from iPhone and iPad.

Keep in mind that this is a per-share basis so you’ll need to do the same process each time you ant to turn off location data.

Note: the same steps work on iPad

Open the Photos app on iPhone or iPad
Choose the photo(s) or video(s) you’d like to share
Tap the share button (square with up arrow, bottom left corner on iPhone, top right corner on iPad.
At the top, tap Options
Tap the toggle next to Location to turn it off, tap Done (top right corner)
Choose how you’d like to share and send your photo(s)/video(s)

iPHONE: 5 TIPS TO DECLUTTER AND ORGANIZE APPS, EMAILS, MESSAGES, PHOTOS, AND MORE – Over the course of a year, apps, emails, messages, photos, and more naturally pile up. Ready to hit the reset button on your iPhone’s organization? Read along for 5 ways to organze and declutter iPhone including some easy (and advanced) automation for a better everyday experience and boosted efficiency.

Go to this 9to5Mac article and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2FthEXW

January 1, 2020

HOW TO SHARE YOUR MAC’S SCREEN WITH ANOTHER MAC – Because Macs have built-in screen-sharing, you can share your screen with another Mac over your local network via the integrated VNC server, or over the internet via iMessage. Third-party apps, like TeamViewer, work on both macOS and Windows, too. There are three options you can choose from to successfully share your screen, view another person’s screen, or control a remote Mac.

Learn about the three options by reading this How-To Geek article, with screenshots.

http://bit.ly/2F7p9Uu

10 EASY TIPS FOR TAKING THE BEST PICTURES ON iPHONE – Apple iPhone has become the most popular camera in the world and one that gets better with each new hardware and software release. Taking photos with an iPhone is a somewhat simple process. To move your iPhone photo-taking to a new level, consider these easy groovyPost tips. http://bit.ly/37kGOUD

GET READY FOR AN ALL-NEW EDGE BROWSER – Major changes coming to Microsoft Edge. The built-in default browser for Windows 10 hasn’t proved to be very popular. Edge accounts for just over 5% of Internet traffic compared to Google Chrome’s 67%. Microsoft decided to rebuild Edge from the ground up into a totally new browser. A browser based on Chromium, the same platform used for Google Chrome.

The new and hopefully improved Edge has been available for preview for quite some time, but it will finally be available to everyone starting on January 15 of 2020. Read more at this Cyn Mackley Tech Tip: http://bit.ly/37menpA

HOW TO GET HEALTHY WITH YOUR APPLE WATCH – Apple has often promoted the health-related abilities of the Apple Watch. Its September press event featured video testimonials from people who say the smartwatch saved or improved their lives, and each new version of the Apple Watch introduces apps and options designed with health in mind. Read more at this PC Mag article: http://bit.ly/2tYxMyd

ENABLE FIND MY ON YOUR MAC – Apple’s “Find My Mac” feature has been around for some time. When activated, this feature allows you to find your lost or stolen computer if it’s switched on and connected to the Internet.

Thanks to a recent update, thieves no longer have to go online for you to locate your computer. With the recent update of the ‘Find My Mac” feature to “Find My,” you’ll be able to track down your device even if it’s asleep or offline.

Your device will now send out Bluetooth beacons, which are small bits of data. Read Cyn Mackley’s tech tip on how to set it up. http://bit.ly/2Q8OWlG

December 1, 2019

HOW TO BEAT iPHONE APP OVERLOAD – Get Organized: Tips for Arranging Your iPhone Apps

Some people think their iPhone apps are only “organized” when they’re in a certain order from left to right, or top to bottom. I disagree. The best way to arrange your apps is to put the ones you use the most within easy reach of your fingers. Get Organized Bug ArtAs for how to deal with the rest of your apps, I have a few strategies you can use to arrange them in a way that makes sense while also keeping your screens neat. When relevant, there’s a brief how-to next to the tip. These tips also work for the iPad, though finger-reach is usually a more pressing issue on smaller devices.

Go to this PC Magazine article and see a good organization method. http://bit.ly/2Xudrvk

HOW TO DISABLE WEB NOTIFICATIONS – Wishing you could receive fewer notifications from your browser? There are ways to control push notifications and block the pop-ups you don’t want.

How to Turn Off Browser Notifications

Interruptions on the internet take many forms, from pop-up windows and browser notifications to video ads and page overlays. Pop-ups are largely seen as a nuisance—they sit atop the web page you’re reading, with an ad, video, or message—but notifications have their benefits (in moderation).

Notifications appear in the browser, dropping down from the URL bar to ask whether or not a website can use your location or send you notifications. Autoplay videos are usually sent from specific websites and interrupt your browsing experience. Push notifications are sent from specific services—like Slack, Twitter, or Facebook—and temporarily display over whatever window you have open. Luckily, major browser makers have tools to make certain alerts less invasive.

Go to this PC Magazine article and find out what you need to know to keep these notifications and pop-ups in check with Safari, Apples Browser. http://bit.ly/32Zcc8Q

HOW TO DELETE YOUR SIRI HISTORY FROM IPHONE, IPAD, MAC AND APPLE TV – Apple keeps track of your Siri voice interactions. But the company has put new privacy policies in place and here we show you how to delete your Siri history.

One of the ways voice assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon Alexa get better is by keeping historical data from users for testing purposes. With the demand for privacy growing, companies have been forced to make it easier for users to block this data from being maintained. Recently Apple has implemented a new policy that lets you delete Siri and Dictation data by device and also opt-out of sending this type of personal data to the company. Note that deleting data is a manual process, and you need to opt-out on a device-to-device basis. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this groovyPost web page and steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2r7vHyP

IPHONE STORAGE FULL? HOW TO CREATE FREE SPACE ON IOS – Depending on whether you get the base model or the Pro, the latest iPhone models come with a maximum of 256GB or 512GB of storage. Why, then, do we still need to solve the “iPhone Storage Full” problem?

The usual culprits are photos, 4K videos, games, and other digital hoarding habits. You can’t upgrade an iPhone’s storage. That leaves you with three choices—buy a bigger phone, get more cloud storage, or create free space on your iPhone.

The first two don’t work if you want to free up space right now. So let’s look at the ways to free up storage space with a bit of iOS jugglery.

Note: You should make a backup of your device with iTunes before you do anything major, like deleting photos or videos. We cover this below.

Go to this MakeUseOf web site and get the facts, Lots of great suggestions. http://bit.ly/336gPO8

November 5, 2019

HOW TO SET UP DARK MODE ON YOUR FAVORITE APPS – Looking to give your eyes a break? Dark mode swaps white backgrounds for grays and blacks. Here’s how to enable dark mode in all your favorite apps.

We spend a good portion of our day staring at screens. US adults looked at mobile devices for an average of 3 hours, 35 minutes per day in 2018, according to eMarketer, which predicts that time spent on mobile will surpass TV in 2019.

All that bright light streaming into your eyeballs isn’t great. Blue light can disrupt sleep, confusing your brain about what time of day it is. Giving up mobile devices isn’t really an option for most people, though, so many of us opt for a dark mode, which swaps white backgrounds for grays and blacks.

Not all apps offer an official dark mode; some just have night themes that only work under certain conditions. Google Maps, for instance, has a night theme while navigating, but it doesn’t work in the full app.

Meanwhile, Firefox, Gmail, and the Windows 10 Mail app allow for custom themes on the web, but the mobile apps aren’t consistent. Below is a list of all the major apps with dark mode, and how to turn it on.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and see the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2on8Hue

HOW TO TAKE SQUARE PHOTOS WITH iPHONE 11 AND iIPHONE 11 PRO – Want to change the aspect ratio for iPhone 11 camera shots? Follow along for how to take square photos and more with iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have a new Camera app that includes exclusive features like Night mode, an interface to make use of the new ultra-wide lens, and more. However, with the UI changes to the Camera app on the latest iPhones, some features are a bit buried, and it may not be clear at first how to get to them.

How to take square photos with iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro

Open the Camera
Tap the ^ icon in the upper center portion of your screen (or swipe up on the viewfinder)
Tap 4:3 (that’s the default)
Now choose Square
Snap your photo(s)

CANNOT LOG IN TO YOUR BANKING APPS ON THE iPHONE? iOS 13 TOUCH ID BUG MAY BE THE REASON – If you have recently updated to iOS 13 and have found you are unable to log in to some apps like your bank, or 1Password, or other apps that need authentication, we may have the solution. It turns out there is an iPhone iOS 13 bug affecting older iPhones with Touch ID, where the in-app authentication dialog simply doesn’t appear. Here’s the fix…

If an app offers Face ID or Touch ID as a

way to quickly log into it when you launch it, it is possibly affected by this iOS 13 bug — present on iOS 13.0 through iOS 13.1.1. The third-party apps use a system framework to show the biometric authentication screen.

Apps that ask for Touch ID at login include banking apps like Chase, Wells Fargo, Barclays, and Santander. This will also affect password keychain apps like 1Password or even apps that offer login security as a feature in the settings, like the Apollo Reddit client.

The problem is, essentially, the Touch ID alert dialog may not be shown. It looks like there’s nothing you can do as there is nothing displayed on the screen.

Here’s the fix… The Touch ID dialog prompt is actually there, it’s just invisible. If your banking app is on the screen where it is waiting for you to log in with Touch ID, but the alert simply isn’t shown, try putting your finger on the Home button anyway. It should authorize using your fingerprint and let you continue logging in.

It’s a weird bug that presumably Apple will fix soon, but basically, the API isn’t correctly displaying the alert dialog over the top of the app. You can try placing your finger on the Home button for the login flow to continue. Another workaround is to shake your device. The motion event seems to make the alert dialog visible again.

The Face ID version of the dialog prompt does not appear to suffer from the same issue, which means this can only affect owners of iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. (Older iPhones with Touch ID are unable to update to iOS 13.)

We would expect Apple to fix this bug soon but this is the most viable workaround in the interim. Just try to work out when the third-party app has tried to present the Touch ID authentication screen, and place your finger on the home button to scan your fingerprint as if it was visible.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEARING WITH THE APPLE WATCH NOISE APP – The latest version of watchOS adds a Noise app to warn you of loud sounds that could damage your hearing. Here’s how to use it to protect your hearing.

Picture yourself at a music concert, or a bar, or a party. The music, background conversations, or other sounds have gotten so loud that you can’t even hear yourself think.

Exposure to loud noises is annoying and could damage your hearing. But how do you know if the surrounding noise in a certain place is actually loud enough to be hazardous to your health? Enter Apple’s Noise app, courtesy of watchOS 6.

With the Noise app, you can check the ambient sounds to view the decibel level and determine if the noise is so loud as to be harmful to your hearing. You can also set a decibel threshold in the app and receive a notification if the surrounding noise reaches or exceeds that level.

The only drawback is that only Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 $384.99 at Amazon running watchOS 6 support the Noise app. But if you have either device, you can set up the Noise app on your iPhone or directly on your watch. Let’s try it both ways.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and get all the info plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2oZeQNw

WITH iOS 13.1, SHORTCUTS GETS A LOT MORE POWERFUL – Timed automations, Home automations that can run without anyone present, and even NFC stickers are now enabled.

With Tuesday’s release of iOS 13.1, Apple’s included Shortcuts app takes a major step forward with the addition of automation triggers, features that let you control your iPhone, iPad, and HomeKit setup like never before. Of all the features added to Shortcuts in iOS 13, this one has the most potential. And for iPad users, Tuesday’s release grants access to a major Shortcuts upgrade that will make it easier to create and edit automations on iPadOS.

Go to this Mac World web article and get all the info. http://bit.ly/2p04dKk

WHY YOU SHOULD SIGN IN WITH GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, OR APPLE – Are you still creating user accounts everywhere? Maybe you should stop and sign in with your Google, Facebook, or Apple account instead. It might just be more secure—and it’s definitely more secure if you’re not currently using a password manager.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the excellent advice on how to stay secure if you are not using a Password Manager. http://bit.ly/2oVyABu

HOW TO USE TEXT EDITING GESTURES ON YOUR iPHONE AND iPAD – Apple added quite a few new text-editing gestures to the iPhone and iPad with iOS 13. These make it faster to select text, copy and paste, and move the text-entry cursor around. Apple’s keyboard now supports swipe-to-type, too.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the facts plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2p2asxn

HOW TO ENABLE DARK MODE ON OUTLOOK FOR ANDROID, IPHONE, AND IPAD – Microsoft has been rolling out a dark mode to its Office apps for over a year. This change has been available in Outlook for desktop and the web for several months, and now it’s live on Android, iPhone, and iPad. Here’s how to enable the theme.

The instructions for turning on Outlook’s dark mode is identical for all mobile devices. If you don’t see the option for the theme, check for an app update. Dark mode should be available on Android version 4.0.4 (345) and above. iPhone and iPad owners should have Outlook version 4.2.0 installed or newer.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the step plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2nhv6ZP

HOW TO CONNECT TO WI-FI WITHOUT OPENING YOUR iPHONE’S SETTINGS – If you’re moving between rooms in your office or home, you might need to switch between Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth devices manually. Here’s how you can speed up the process of selecting the network using the Control Center on the iPhone and iPad.

This is a new feature introduced in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. Like many other small features in this update, it solves a small annoyance in the everyday lives of iPhone and iPad users. With it, you no longer need to go to the Settings app to select Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth devices.

Go to this How -To Geek web page and get the info with screen shots.. http://bit.ly/2p0TC1K

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR NEXT iPAD – It’s tough to shop for an iPad. They all seem to do the same thing, but the difference between their prices is dramatic. Here’s how to navigate Apple’s ecosystem and find the iPad that’s right for you.

What Will You Do with an iPad?

You can do just about anything with an iPad. They’re great for playing games, watching TV, or browsing the web. But they also make fantastic digital tools for illustrators, musicians, or video editors. Some people even buy iPads as total laptop replacements.

So before you get into shopping for an iPad, you should figure out why you want one. Generally speaking, any iPad is excellent for playing games or browsing the web, while more demanding tasks like video editing will require some extra processing power.

Go to this Review Geek web page and get great advice on buying a new iPad. http://bit.ly/2obzedW

HOW TO USE ICLOUD KEYCHAIN TO MANAGE AND STORE YOUR PASSWORDS – While password managers have long existed as third-party apps on iOS and macOS, Apple has doubled down on its own efforts. iCloud Keychain is a feature on macOS and iOS that stores passwords, credit card information, and more.

iCloud Keychain has been around for several years, but it continues to get more powerful and capable with each new release of iOS and macOS. For instance, iOS 12 and macOS Mojave added new features that automatically create strong and unique passwords for each website and app you use. This password is automatically stored in iCloud Keychain and easily accessible from all of your devices.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page and get the step plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2ogCcxS

HOW TO MAKE CHROME YOUR DEFAULT BROWSER – With a market share of 64 percent on mobile devices and 67 percent for desktop/laptop so far in 2019, Google Chrome is the most installed web browser used today. Here’s how you can make Chrome your device’s default browser.

In this guide, we will show you how to set Chrome as the default web browser on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Note: To set Chrome as your default browser, you must download and install it first. Windows and macOS can download it from Google’s website while iOS and Android use its respected app stores.

Go to How-To Geek web page and get the procedures with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2oiEbRX

October 6, 2019

HOW TO INSTALL APPS DIRECTLY ON YOUR APPLE WATCH – With watchOS 6, the Apple Watch is inching ever closer to becoming a standalone device. While you still can’t set up an Apple Watch without an iPhone, you can now install and delete apps without touching your smartphone.

Read more at this How-To Geek web page: http://bit.ly/2lBbdfr

7 NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PEOPLE AND USERS – If you can’t imagine your life without social media, that’s a sign that you’ve fallen a victim to the evil power and impact of social networking. It also means that you’ve experienced one (or more) of the negative effects of social media on society.

Don’t pretend you’ve never heard of these. While social media can have a positive impact too, that doesn’t mean it’s all hearts and flowers. Unfortunately.

How Social Media Is Bad for You

Let’s explore the darker side of social media and exactly how (and why) it’s bad for you. You’ll be surprised to learn the negative effects of social media are both physical and mental. It can change your perception of the world and yourself, and not always for the better.

Don’t believe us? Then read on to find out some of the negative effects of social media. And if you recognize any of them as your own symptoms it may be time to consider stop using social media altogether.

Go to this MakeUseOf web page and get some insight. http://bit.ly/2mn2WLV

HERE’S HOW TO RECOVER DELETED PHOTOS FROM WHATSAPP – Want to know how to recover deleted photos from Whatsapp? This article covers the easiest and fastest ways to get your images back.

Go to this MakeUseOf web page and discover the recovery procedures. http://bit.ly/2moFoGt

HOW TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU’VE SPENT ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM – Facebook recently announced a rather unexpected feature: the social network giant is making it easier to keep track of how much time you’re spending on Facebook and Instagram.

To make use of this feature, you’ll need to use the mobile apps. And that’s where a significant caveat comes in: it only tracks how much time you spend on Facebook or Instagram on your phone. Any time spent on Facebook or Instagram in a normal browser won’t be counted.

So, that kind of makes it less useful. However, if you’re the kind of person who mainly interacts with Facebook or Instagram on your phone, then it can really help shed light on whether you might be addicted to your smartphone.

Go to this MakeUseOf web page and see the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2kYUZfx

HOW TO USE SNAPCHAT: A COMPLETE BEGINNER’S GUIDE – No matter how much experience you have with Snapchat, the chances are you have some questions about how this social media platform works.

This guide is available to download as a free PDF. Download How to Use Snapchat: A Complete Beginner’s Guide now. Feel free to copy and share this with your friends and family.

Hundreds of millions of people now use Snapchat every month. Most of these users are under the age of 25 and have grown up navigating the ever-changing world of social media apps.

However, while most social media apps have a clear purpose and function, Snapchat is simultaneously a news source, instant messenger, public broadcast platform, selfie-taker, and #1 source of that dog tongue filter (add animations to your selfies). Honestly, even for its most experienced users, Snapchat can be pretty confusing.

To help, we have put together a single resource where you can learn exactly how to use Snapchat. Whether you want to send pictures of your breakfast to your best friend, participate in a location-based story, create a Bitmoji, or catch up on your favorite celebrities, this article will answer all of your questions…

Go to this MakeUseOf web page. http://bit.ly/2m6fmrG

THE BEST TABLETS FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES – As children grow, their interest in electronics grows with them. When you feel they’re ready, you might give them a tablet (if nothing else to keep their grubby hands off yours). Here are some of the best tablets for kids.

Go to this How-To Geek article and get the facts. http://bit.ly/2m79E8C

6 TIPS FOR MANAGING PRIVACY AND SECURITY SETTINGS IN IOS 12 – Apple has announced its new products and features, including the much-touted operating system, iOS 12. Although the new software for iPad and iPhone is packed with a number of cool features, the central focus has been the privacy and security features.

The added security features are aimed at protecting data of iPhone and iPad users. The update promises to curb intruders from accessing private files on the device. Although, the new update pledges to keep hackers at bay, securing the device is entirely up to the user.

Go to this MakeUseOf web page and find good advice on keeping your iDevice secure.

http://bit.ly/2kyYJ7w

iOS 13 IS AVAILABLE NOW, FOR IPADS AND IPHONES – Get it on your iPads and iPhones. You will need to know you Apple ID password to complete the installation.

10 TIPS TO GET THE MOST FROM iCLOUD – MacMost has some useful tips for getting even more from your iCloud service. You can backup and sync photos from cameras using just your iPhone, create family Calendars and shared Notes, you can even add funds to your Apple account so you don’t have to pay a few dollars every month. Check out the tips at http://bit.ly/2lam4fY

10 HIDDEN iPHONE CAMERA FEATURES EVERY PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD USE – Are you using your iPhone camera features to their full potential? Some iPhone camera settings are so well hidden that you might not even realize they exist. But once you find them, you’ll be able to take your photography to a whole new level. Read on to discover 10 hidden iPhone camera features that will dramatically improve your photos… and give you ultimate control over your iPhone camera.

Learn about the features at this iPhone Photography School website: http://bit.ly/2lCMck5

HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM THEME FOR GOOGLE CHROME – Just like creating a custom theme on your PC, it’s nice to change things up on your browser from time to time. You have been able to change the Chrome theme for years. The Chrome web store is full of different themes you can install. But you might want your theme to be a bit more personal. With the updated Chrome 77, you can create your own customized version of a Chrome theme. Here’s how.

Note: To enable the option to create a custom theme, you need to make sure you’re running Chrome 77. To verify you’re running the latest version click the Menu (three dots) and then head to Help > About Google Chrome.

Learn how to create your custom theme at this groovyPost web page: http://bit.ly/2lQ77Qq

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY ONLINE – Identity Theft Is Serious

Identity crimes include scenarios like a hacker who steals your credentials to break into your accounts or assume your financial identity, or someone thousands of miles away from you who runs up charges on your credit card and takes out loans in your name.

If you need something else to keep you awake, the FTC describes identity theft scenarios in which a thief gets a credit card in your name, sends the bill to another address, and (of course) never pays. Or he uses your personal information to steal your tax refund or pretends to be you if he’s arrested.

Read more about ID Theft and ways to be safe at this How-To Geek web page: http://bit.ly/2ngo0Ek

WHAT IS A GIF, AND HOW DO YOU USE THEM? – Even if you can’t define the word “GIF,” you’ve definitely seen one before. They helped define the early internet, and they’re more popular now than ever before. But what exactly is a GIF, and how do you use them? Find out more at this How-To Geek web page: http://bit.ly/2lMRh9e

September 5, 2019

5 POPULAR FIREFOX EXTENSIONS YOU SHOULD REMOVE RIGHT NOW – Extensions add all sorts of new functionality to your browser that it doesn’t have out of the box. While we love add-ons, unfortunately they aren’t all trustworthy.

For every productivity-boosting extension, there’s a useless or malicious one that wants to track your habits, spam you with ads, or even hijack your browsing.

If you have any of the below Firefox extensions installed, we recommend removing them right away.

Go to this Make Use Of article and get rid of Mozilla FireFox Browser extensions that are not in your best interest. http://bit.ly/2NoL9Q6

HOW TO REDOWNLOAD APPS ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Are you trying to find an app that you previously purchased or downloaded? Follow along for how to redownload apps on iPhone and iPad.

In addition to being able to redownload any apps that you’ve purchased or downloaded to your iPhone or iPad in the past, you can also download any apps that family members have purchased if you use Apple’s Family Sharing feature.

How to redownload apps on iPhone and iPad

Open the App Store
Tap your profile iconin the top right corner
Choose Purchasedthen My Purchases
You can filter your purchased apps to find what you’re looking for or pull down on the results to search for a specific app.

HOW TO EXTEND APPLE WATCH BATTERY LIFE WHILE TRAVELING – Apple Watch has evolved with new features and hardware changes since the original launched in 2015 but one aspect that has remained nearly the same is battery life. Read on as we take a look at how to extend Apple Watch battery life while traveling with some options in settings as well as portable chargers.

The first Apple Watch came with a rating of up to 18 hours of battery life and that’s the same rating that Apple Watch Series 4 has today. Depending on your usage you may be able to squeeze more out of it, but if you’re tracking workouts with heart rate monitoring, using GPS, and more, it will be depleted more quickly.

Particularly when you’re traveling, you might rely on your watch more and drain the battery faster than usual. It can also be more of a hassle to charge when you’re away from home.

We’ll start by looking at a few settings you can adjust to extend battery life, then look at some of the best portable chargers for Apple Watch that are great for short and long trips alike.

How to extend Apple Watch battery life while traveling

Software settings

If you’re willing to make some sacrifices to your Apple Watch functionality there are some ways to extend its battery life with some settings tweaks.

Reduce the display brightness of your Apple Watch by heading to Settings > Brightness & Text Size
Don’t track any activities with the Workout app (the constant heart rate monitoring eats up battery quickly)
Don’t raise your arm and wake the display as much as you normally do

How to extend Apple Watch battery life while traveling

More restrictive settings options

Use Airplane Mode (swipe up from the bottom of your watch and tap the airplane icon). This will allow you to keep earning activity credit for your stand, move, and exercise goals and access other features on your watch but will disconnect it from your iPhone and reduce battery drain.
Power Reserve Mode (swipe up from bottom > tap battery % > slide Power Reserve button. This will save a considerable amount of battery but it will only offer the option of seeing the current time. All other Apple Watch functionality is cut off so this will likely be more of a last resort.

5 FASTEST AND FREE FILE-SHARING APPS TO TRANSFER LARGE FILES ONLINE – When you need to transfer a large file over the internet, try these websites and apps. From temporary sharing to a torrent-cloud hybrid, each has something a little different.

File transfer apps are often better than using email or a cloud storage provider like Google Drive. After all, you can simply create a link and share it with anyone, without worrying about permissions, giving out your own personal details, or constraining to file size limits. You can also share files anonymously with people in your vicinity, or share really large data faster through peer-to-peer technology.

Go to this Make Use Of web page and get the list of 5. http://bit.ly/2ZtT0y7

HOW TO LET A CONTACT BYPASS iOS’ DO NOT DISTURB MODE – The iPhone’s Do Not Disturb feature is a great way to make sure your handset doesn’t disturb you when you’re sleeping or busy. But if you want a certain contact to still be able to get ahold of you, you can whitelist them. Here’s how.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and see the steps required to add people to the whitelist that will not be affected by Do Not Disturb. http://bit.ly/2Zhv6L4

HOW TO READ SD AND MICROSD MEMORY CARDS ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Want to import photos and videos from an SD or microSD card directly to your iPhone or iPad? Read along for a step-by-step guide on how to make it happen.

Unlike Android smartphones that often include built-in ability to read and add extra storage via microSD memory cards, Apple’s iPhone and iPad require an adapter to import photos and videos from memory cards. At face value, that may seem frustrating, but Apple is able to offer better security by controlling how memory cards can work with iOS devices.

Keep in mind that using SD and microSD cards with iPhone and iPad is limited to importing photos and videos to the Photos app. If you’re looking to save, store, and move files more generally, you’ll want to pick up a Lightning flash drive like SanDisk’s iXpand.

HOW TO READ SD AND MICROSD MEMORY CARDS ON iPHONE

Pick up an SD/microSD adapter

Apple’s official Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader runs $29. If you have an iPad Pro with USB-C, Apple’s USB-C to SD Card Camera Reader sells for $39. These just work with regular size SD cards, so you’ll need a microSD to SD adapter if you don’t have one already.

Alternately, the top-selling Lightning to SD/microSD card reader on Amazon is priced at $13. It also has slots for both SD and microSD cards, so you don’t need to worry about the SD to microSD adapter like with Apple’s card readers.

A great alternative to Apple’s $40 USB-C version is Uni’s USB-C to SD card reader for $15. It also has separate slots for SD and microSD cards.

Plug in the SD card adapter to your iPhone or iPad
Insert the SD or microSD card from which you want to import photos and videos
The Photos app will automatically launch and give you the option to import media
If it doesn’t, open the Photos app and tap the Import tab at the bottom

The Hidden Redial Button On Your iPhone

Sure would be nice if there was a redial button on the iPhone’s Phone app keypad, right? Guess what, there is one.

Just tap the big green Call button at the bottom of the screen.
If you haven’t entered any numbers yet, this brings up the last number dialed.
Then tap it again to call.

August 21, 2019

HOW TO DELETE YOUR TWITTER ACCOUNT ON iPHONE – Are you ready to part ways with Twitter? Read along for how to delete your Twitter account from iPhone, iPad, and the web.

Before you delete your Twitter account, you may want to download a copy of your information first. Learn how to do that here.

Twitter notes that you can restore an account for up to 30 days after it has been accidentally or wrongfully deactivated (deleted). If you think you may want to use your existing username or email with Twitter at some point in the future, you should change them before deleting your account.

If you’re ready to delete your Twitter account (or at least ready to delete it for 30 days) follow along with the steps below.

How to delete your Twitter account on iPhone

On Twitter for iOS and mobile web

Open the official Twitter app on your iPhone (or iPad) and tap your profile picture
Choose Settings and privacy, then tap Account at the top
At the bottom, choose Deactivate your account
Read the “What else you should know” disclaimer, tap Deactivate
Enter your password and follow the prompts to delete your account.

HOW TO USE GOOGLE PHOTOS TO BACK UP YOUR iPHONE PHOTOS – It’s easy to get free protection from losing all your photos if your phone gets lost, stolen, or broken and with Google Photos.

There’s a good chance you are already backing up your photos and video from your iPhone through iCloud, Google Photos, or another service and that’s great, but I’m also sure you probably have a parent or sibling that isn’t, especially if they’ve already filled up their free allotted iCloud storage. It’s easy with Google Photos to get free protection from losing all your photos if your phone gets lost, stolen, or broken.

Go to this MAC World web site and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2H2qnSs

WHAT TO DO BEFORE (AND AFTER) YOUR PHONE IS STOLEN – Millions of phones are stolen every year, and there’s a chance yours could be one of them. But it doesn’t have to be—you can make your phone theftproof! We’ll show you how, and what you should do if your phone is stolen.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and find out how to protect yourself before and after. http://bit.ly/2MhcLqI

HOW TO RENAME FOLDERS ON AN iPHONE OR iPAD – When you create a folder on an iPhone or iPad, Apple automatically gives the folder a name. As these names aren’t always fitting, you’ll likely want to change them. Here’s how you can rename folders on your devices.

Go to this How-To Geek webpage and learn how to Create and Rename folders. http://bit.ly/2MWMe1j

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR APPLE ID EMAIL ADDRESS – If you get a new email address or no longer have access to an old one, updating your Apple ID is important for protecting your account. Here’s how to update your Apple ID.

Changing the email address you use as your Apple ID isn’t difficult under the right circumstances. If your Apple ID is a third-party email address, such as gmail.com or outlook.com, you can choose another third-party address when changing your Apple ID. But if your Apple ID is an Apple email address, like icloud.com, you’re unlikely to be able to change your Apple ID at all.

Read more at this How-To Geek article: http://bit.ly/2H4TaFU

iPADOS: HOT FEATURES SET TO ARRIVE FROM APPLE – For the first time in the history of iPad, Apple’s tablet lineup will no longer be using iOS. Later this year, the company will release iPadOS, a tablet-specific operating system packed full of exciting new features, including font management, pinned widgets, and much more. Here’s a look at some of the hottest new features set to arrive with iPadOS 13 and what you can expect.

Read more of this groovyPost article at: http://bit.ly/2yZlXqZ

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR GOOGLE DRIVE – Over time, with some neglect and potential laziness, your Google Drive can accrue tons of files and become a mess to find anything.

Read this How-To Geek article on how to organize your Drive to find everything fast and make sure it stays in order. http://bit.ly/2MgOGjI

HOW TO CHANGE SIRI VOICE FEEDBACK VOLUME ON IPHONE, IPAD, MAC, AND APPLE WATCH – Do you find Siri’s responses to be too loud or too quiet on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch? Follow along below for how to change the Siri voice feedback volume.

Interestingly, there’s not a place in Settings under Siri & Search or Sounds & Haptics to change the Siri voice feedback volume on iPhone and iPad. The same is true for Mac, with System Preferences just including an on/off option for Siri voice feedback.

However, with Apple Watch, you can head to Settings → Siri → Voice Volume — Speaker to adjust it.

For iPhone and iPad, read the steps below. On Mac, follow the same steps but use your keyboard or menu bar to change the Siri voice feedback volume.

How to change Siri voice feedback volume

Ask Siri a question or give a command

While Siri is responding, use the volume buttons to raise or lower the voice feedback volume

That’s it. : )

How to get Siri to say names right on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Are you tired of Siri mispronouncing your name and others’ names? Read on for how to easily get Siri to say names right on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

With all the different ways to pronounce names, it’s understandable that Siri can’t get them right by default. Fortunately, there’s a quick process to help the voice assistant out and get Siri to say names right. Keep in mind you can do this for yourself as well as any of your contacts.

While the images below show the steps on iPhone, you can teach Siri how to say names on iPad and Mac as well (not supported on Apple Watch).

How to get Siri to say names right

Use the Siri command “Learn to pronounce ____________”
Fill in the blank with a contact’s name or “my name”
Tell Siri how to pronounce the first name, then choose from the options given
Tell Siri how to pronounce the last name, then choose the best option
You can also repeat how to pronounce it by tapping “Tell Siri again” if the offered options aren’t quite right.
How to restore default iPhone settings without erasing your data

Want to keep all of your data but restore to the default iPhone settings? Read along below for several options for how to reset to the defaults for the Home screen layout, privacy and location settings, and more.

Apple offers several ways to restore the default iPhone settings without deleting your data like Photos, messages, notes, email, music, videos, and other content.

While the “Reset All Settings” option won’t delete your content, the one thing it does remove is Apple Pay cards. If you don’t want to re-load your Apple Pay cards, choose one of the other options mentioned below.

Here’s how Apple describes the Reset All Settings option:

All settings—including network settings, the keyboard dictionary, the Home screen layout, location settings, privacy settings, and Apple Pay cards—are removed or reset to their defaults. No data or media are deleted.

Important: Do not choose Erase All Content and Settings unless you want to wipe your entire iPhone, including all of your data

How to restore default iPhone settings without erasing content

Open Settings,

Swipe down and tap General
Swipe to the bottom and choose Reset
To restore all settings to the default without deleting your content,
tap Reset All Settings (note this does remove Apple Pay cards)
tap Reset All Settings again

To restore a particular default, choose Reset Network Settings, Reset Home Screen Layout, etc.

13 WEBSITES TO FIND PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET – In an era of booming social networks, it’s easier to find lost friends and colleagues than it ever was before.

The private world of yesterday is now an online world. Everyone with a search engine has open access to social networks, government databases, and public records.

If you’re looking for a long-lost friend, or maybe want to do a background check on someone, consider the following free resources to find people on the internet.

Go to this MakeUseOf web site and find the free resources. http://bit.ly/2ZKWGwx

HOW TO CHECK YOUR CALENDAR FROM YOUR APPLE WATCH – If you use the Calendar app on your iPhone to keep track of your busy day, digging into your pocket to view it can get annoying. With Apple Watch you can see what’s coming up from your wrist.

During your hectic day, it’s important to have your calendar on your iPhone set up to keep track of the day’s events. And if you have an Apple Watch, one of its built-in features is the Calendar app. It syncs with your iPhone and allows you to view the meetings and other events that are coming up. This to see what’s on your calendar from your wrist without having to dig your phone out of your pocket.

Go to this Groovy Post Web Site and learn how to view the calendar events on your Apple Watch. http://bit.ly/2Tl8gw0

August 5, 2019

HERE’S WHAT ALL THE iPHONE STATUS BAR ICONS MEAN – Are you seeing some strange status bar icons on your iPhone? Or maybe you’re just curious to see the full list? Follow along below for a complete rundown of all the iPhone status bar icons.

You’re probably aware of what most iPhone status bar icons mean, but there are some that you don’t see very often among the 27 total icons. Check out the full list below to figure out one that you’re not sure of, or bone up on your random iPhone knowledge.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page and see all the status bar symbols. http://bit.ly/2YlZdAv

HOW TO SPEED UP THE iPHONE UPGRADE PROCESS IN iOS 12.4 AND HIGHER [VIDEO] – With the release of iOS 12.4, Apple officially rolled out its new iPhone migration feature to make it quicker to move data between two iPhones. iPhone Migration is an add-on to the iPhone’s Quick Start proximity-based initial setup utility and can be used to transfer all of your data wirelessly from a current iPhone to a new iPhone. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough to see how to use iPhone Migration in iOS 12.4 or later.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page and see how it is done with pictures, video and screenshots. http://bit.ly/2JYMStl

4 ESSENTIAL GOOGLE ACCOUNT SETTINGS TO CHANGE FOR BETTER SECURITY – From emails and documents to photos and notes—your Google account is your personal stash of important data. Have you done what you can to protect it from digital mishaps and malice?

At the very least, make these four basic changes from your Google Account page to protect your account and keep it easy to recover if the need arises.

Go to this Make Use Of web page and get these step for protection. http://bit.ly/2KdYHMo

APPLE ID GUIDE: HOW TO CREATE, LOG IN, MANAGE, CHANGE & SET UP FAMILY SHARING – If you’ve just bought your first Apple product, whether you’re switching from Android or finally cracking and purchasing your first smartphone, you’ll need to set up an Apple ID. Your Apple ID is the account that you use to access all things Apple; iTunes, the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, iMessage, FaceTime, and more. In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know to create an Apple ID and make sure your account is secure, as well as where and how you can use your Apple ID. We’ll also troubleshoot some common problems and issues with your Apple ID including changing the ID, changing the password, what to do if you forgot your Apple ID, and more. Let’s dig in.

Go to this iPhone Life Magazine web site and get the plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2KmH8Z7

HOW TO SEND iPHONE CALLS DIRECTLY TO VOICEMAIL – Do you want to send iPhone calls directly to voicemail instead of just silencing them? Read on for a quick tutorial on how to do this in a few different circumstances.

There are several options for when you don’t want to answer an incoming call on your iPhone. Follow along below for how to send calls directly to voicemail from the Lock screen, Home screen, and with supported headphones.

How to send calls directly to voicemail on iPhone (3 different methods)

If your iPhone is locked, double-click the Side button quickly (or Sleep/Wake button)
If your iPhone is unlocked, tap the Decline button on your screen.
When using headphones with in-line buttons (like EarPods), press and hold the center button until you hear two low beeps
Apple does note that this feature isn’t available in all regions. Read more about managing incoming iPhone calls on this Apple Support document.

HOW TO REBOOT YOUR ROUTER AND MODEM – If web pages aren’t loading or streaming video keeps buffering, resetting your router and modem is one of the first things you should try, as it can fix a slew of Wi-Fi or Internet connection problems.

This works just like rebooting your Windows PC when you’re having issues. The software on your router and modem will shut down and restart in a fresh state. When you restart your modem, it will reconnect to your Internet service provider (ISP). Some routers—especially older ones—can slow down over time as they run. This is a software problem, and a quick restart can fix it.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and get the steps with pictures. http://bit.ly/2OwucoO

Go to this 9to5 Mac web site and get the steps with pictures. http://bit.ly/2JYMStl

HOW TO CHANGE SIRI’S LANGUAGE ON iPHONE – Want to change Siri’s language on your iPhone? Follow along for how to do it in a few simple steps and also how to make sure “Hey Siri” is set up in the new language.

If you end up changing the system-wide language on your iPhone, Siri’s language will actually remain the same as what you originally set it up with. Read on for how to change Siri’s language and how to retrain “Hey Siri” in the updated language with the steps and images below.

How to change Siri’s language on iPhone

Open Settings
Swipe down and tap Siri & Search
Choose Language
Pick a new language and tap Change Language to confirm your choice
Tap the “Hey Siri” toggle on the main Siri & Search settings to train the feature in the new language
Note that when you change Siri’s language, “Hey Siri” will be turned off. On the main Siri & Search settings page, you’ll need to tap the toggle on and retrain it in the new language you selected (if you’ve haven’t used “Hey Siri” with it before).

APPLE RELEASES IOS 12.4 WITH NEW WIRELESS IPHONE-TO-IPHONE DATA MIGRATION FEATURE AND MORE – Apple recently released iOS 12.4 with a handful of new features, including an iPhone-to-iPhone wireless data transfer option and Apple News+ improvements. Notably absent from the release notes was the Apple Card, which is slated to launch this summer.

HOW TO TRANSFER ALL YOUR DATA FROM AN OLD iPHONE TO A NEW iPHONE – How do you effectively transfer the contents of an older iPhone to a new one? It’s not too difficult to do, whether you’re setting up a brand new iPhone fresh out of the box, or your new iPhone is already set up and running, just not with your data.

Go to this Mac World article and get all the steps for setting up your new iPhone and getting your old iPhone ready to sell or pass on to a friend. http://bit.ly/2GyD4UF

July 18, 2019

HOW TO USE SIRI & WHAT TO DO WHEN SIRI STOPS WORKING – If you’ve ever struggled to get Hey Siri to listen to your requests or wondered how to optimize Siri to meet your needs, then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will teach you how to set up and activate Siri on your iPhone, AirPods, and HomePod, plus share tips and tricks to get the most out of features like Ask Siri and My Shortcuts. Read on to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about setting up, activating, and using Siri.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and read on. http://bit.ly/32AG3oX

WHERE TO PLACE YOUR ROUTER FOR THE BEST WI-FI SPEEDS – If your home Wi-Fi seems slow in some rooms, your router might not be in the best location. Wi-Fi doesn’t travel far—especially through metal and concrete. So, it’s important to determine the best place for your router.

This How-To-Geek article gives solid advice on Router Placement. http://bit.ly/2Sm3q0K

HOW TO TAKE A STILL PHOTO WHILE SHOOTING VIDEO ON AN iPHONE – This is a favorite tip of mine for the iPhone. You can shoot video and take a still photo while you’re recording. There have been many times when I was shooting video and wanted to take a quick snapshot. Luckily, doing so on an iPhone is super easy. Here’s how to take a still photo while shooting video on your iPhone.

How to Take a Still Photo While Shooting Video

Open the Camera app and swipe over to Video.
Tap the red button at the center to start recording video.
To take a still photo while you’re recording, tap the white button located in the bottom left corner of the screen.
The photo will automatically save to your Photos app.

WHAT IS THE AIRDROP FEATURE ON iPHONE AND HOW DO I USE IT? – We’ve all been in situations where we might want to share a picture among friends or even strangers. Depending on when you started with technology your first thought would be to email or text the person in the picture. That requires the sharing of personal information, time, and a reliable data connection. If everyone is running iOS, you might have forgotten about AirDrop. Apple doesn’t promote it much, but it’s fast, reliable, and easy.

Go to this Groovy Post site and see the steps for AirDrop on Photos and Passwords to share.

http://bit.ly/2O5gTvt (giving your WI-Fi password to another person where they do not see it)

July 14, 2019

HOW TO USE SEARCH SUGGESTIONS IN SAFARI & CHROME ON YOUR iPHONE – When searching the web on your iPhone, you can use the search suggestions that appear below the search bar in Safari or Chrome instead of typing out your whole query. Usually, when you tap a search suggestion, it immediately searches with those terms. With iOS 12.2 or later, when you tap the blue arrow next to a search suggestion, the phrase is added to the search bar and you’ll be able to continue typing or tapping to add additional search suggestions.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and see the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2SdKFN1

HOW TO CHECK AND TIGHTEN ALL YOUR iPHONE’S PRIVACY SETTINGS – Apps on your iPhone have to ask permission before accessing your data, but have you ever agreed to a permission request only to reconsider it later? Take back control of your data by reviewing your privacy settings.

This is about more than apps, too. Your iPhone lets you limit the ad tracking available to apps, preventing them from showing you targeted ads.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get started on your iPhone Privacy Settings. http://bit.ly/2XGVKMw

16 MICROSOFT WORD TIPS YOU NEED TO LEARN NOW – Think you know everything about Microsoft Word? Here are some hidden tricks and time-saving hacks you need to know about Redmond’s word-processing app.

Microsoft Word is the most ubiquitous word-processing program on the market; it’s intuitive even for the most technologically illiterate computer users and is backed by the powerful Microsoft Office suite.

Nudged by cloud-based programs like Google Docs, Word has evolved over the years with online subscriptions that offer access on multiple devices, as well as a free, cloud-based version of Word. But despite the competition, Microsoft’s software remains the go-to tool for producing important docs. And why not? It’s dependable, customizable, and has lots of baked-in functionality you may not have tried yet. Read on for some semi-hidden treats only power users know.

Go to this PC Magazine web page for all the tips with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2xK9OW8

July 5, 2019

HOW TO SAVE ITEMS TO THE FILES APP ON YOUR iPHONE – Saving items like notes, documents, and photos to the Files app on your iPhone can help you view and manage several things from one app. Here’s how to save items to the Files app, which will help you stay organized. If you use Finder on your Mac, you’ll notice that the Files app works in a similar way for your iPhone. By saving items to the Files app, you can use Files as a hub to view or share multiple things from this single app. With the Files app, you’ll be able to save items to your iCloud Drive (after you’ve set up iCloud Drive) or a folder under On This iPhone.

Go to this iPhone Life web page and follow the 5 steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2JmMCmr

HOW TO MOVE GOOGLE AUTHENTICATOR TO A NEW PHONE (OR MULTIPLE PHONES) – Two-factor authentication has become an essential security precaution for many people, but it can also be a source of anxiety. When you change or upgrade phones, Google Authenticator doesn’t migrate codes automatically—you need to do that manually.

Thankfully, it’s not difficult to move Google Authenticator codes from one phone to another, although, admittedly, it can be somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming. Google intended this, more or less, by design. It shouldn’t be too easy to retrieve authentication codes from anywhere except the device you’re using for your two-factor authentication, or the whole value of 2FA would be moot.

Nonetheless, here’s what you need to know to get Google Authenticator (and all of your authentication codes) from an old phone to a new one. Whether you’re jumping platforms or staying within your iOS or Android universes, the process is the same.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get the procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2KYiv7R

WHY DID YOUR IPHONE BEEP OR VIBRATE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT – Notification settings are relatively complex on a modern iPhone or iPad. It’s possible for an app to play sounds or vibrate your phone without showing any visible notifications. Here’s how to pin down the offender.

It’s worth remembering that phantom vibrations are a common phenomenon. Many people have felt their iPhone vibrate in their pocket, only to pull it out and realize it hadn’t vibrated at all. Phantom sounds can also occur, especially in noisy locations. Did your phone’s notification sound really play? Perhaps that was just another sound amidst the din of noise—or the same notification sound coming from someone else’s phone.

But that’s not the only issue. Your iPhone could have vibrated or played a sound even if there are no notifications on your notification center or lock screen when you check it.

Go to this How-To-Geek web site and see how to control your notifications. http://bit.ly/2xt5c6G

HOW TO RESET CHROME SETTINGS TO DEFAULT – Sometimes, unbeknownst to us, adware, malware, and unwanted extensions change settings—like homepages and default search engines—and make it nearly impossible to change them back. When you reset a browser’s settings, it removes some of the guesswork and does it all for you.

What Settings Get Reset?

When you reset Chrome to default, a lot of data gets deleted, but not everything. While you’re signed in to your Google account on Chrome, the following settings will revert to the default on all devices you’re currently signed in on:

Default Search Engine: Changes back to Google.
Homepage and Tabs: The Home button—if you’ve enabled it—will disappear and any startup tabs will be cleared.
New Tab Page: Changes back to the default New Tab page with Google logo, search bar, and thumbnails of most visited sites.
Pinned Tabs: These will unpin and be removed.
Content Settings: This includes a site’s access to the camera or microphone, notifications, whether to block pop-ups, and so on.
Cookies and Site Data: All will be cleared.
Extensions and Themes: Will be disabled.

Some settings, like fonts, accessibility features, bookmarks, history, and passwords, will remain unaffected. If you’re looking to wipe your Google account completely, you can use our guide to delete all synced data in Chrome.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get the easy steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Xn7tuN

July 2, 2019

WHAT IS FACE ID ON iOS AND HOW DO I USE IT? – Apple revealed the iPhone X in September 2017, the company’s first redesigned iPhone in three years. Unlike previous iPhones going back to 2013’s iPhone 5S, the iPhone X shipped without the company’s long-running fingerprint recognition feature, Touch ID. In its place, Apple launched Face ID. Since then, the authentication tool has popped up on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max,11-inch iPad Pro, and third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. To date, it isn’t available on other Apple products such as the MacBook Pro, which still offers Touch ID. Read this groovyPost article to learn about Face ID: http://bit.ly/320kxtr

HOW TO TAG YOUR EMAILS FOR MAXIMUM SEARCHABILITY – The problem with keeping email in one large archive is finding specific messages again. So, people create one extra folder, and then two, and then loads! Use these techniques instead of folders to organize your archive.

Read this How-To-Geek article to learn how to tag your emails: http://bit.ly/2KQZQLi

iOS TIP: HOW TO CLEAR YOUR IPHONE’S RAM AND MAKE IT FASTER – Finding that your iPhone is feeling a little slow? Read this ZDNet article for a quick and easy trick to help speed it up without having to restart it or delete any apps or data. https://zd.net/2Xjn0LY

8 NIFTY APPS TO IDENTIFY ANYTHING USING YOUR PHONE’S CAMERA – For many people, your phone’s camera is one of its most important aspects. It has a ton of uses, from superimposing wild creatures into reality with AR apps to taking sharp pictures even at night.

But you might be missing out on another major ability your phone’s camera has: it can work as a visual search engine and identify just about anything you see in the world. Here are the best identification apps for Android and iPhone.

Go to this Make Use Of site and read about the apps. http://bit.ly/2J2ZgGX

HOW TO BACK UP YOUR PICTURES AFTER GOOGLE ENDS PHOTOS AND DRIVE SYNC – Android, iPhones, Windows 10, MACOS.

Starting July 10th Google will no longer sync your pics and vids from Google Photos to Google Drive. Here is a look at what’s happening and how to back up content from your phone or computer.

Google announced last week that it is decoupling Google Photos and Google Drive. The two will no longer automatically sync photos starting in July. This Groovy Post article explains what is happening starting July 10th, when the change happens. Also, they show you how to back up your Google Photos from an Android or iOS device. Or, if you want to do it from a Mac or Windows computer, they show you that too.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the work around. http://bit.ly/2WZaCAw

WHAT IS PROTONMAIL AND WHY SHOULD YOU SIGN UP? (Android and iPhone Apps) – The big companies offer efficient email services in exchange for your data which is sold to advertising and other data brokers. If you are tired of being the product, check out an alternative.

Are you tired of hearing about data security breaches? Have you had enough of knowing that companies like Google, Facebook, and many others, continue to sell your private information to advertisers and make billions each year?

It’s time to consider ProtonMail, which promises both zero-access and end-to-end encryption to protect your data. Once only for CERN scientists, the Swiss-based email service is now used by millions of people across 150 countries.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and see what is available. http://bit.ly/2xbsihY

June 20, 2019

If you’re stuck in a situation where you need a Wi-Fi connection, but can’t get it anywhere else, chances are your smartphone can give you the boost you need. By setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot, you can turn your phone into a source for internet that laptops, tablets, and other phones can use.

One thing to keep in mind: tethering eats up battery life in addition to data. Investing in a battery case is a good idea if you intend to use hotspot mode frequently. If you’re a business traveler who needs to be connected all day, consider a dedicated Wi-Fi hotspot; we have a few favorites.

If you’re ready to tether, here’s how to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and get the steps for iPhone or Android phone. http://bit.ly/2IuTwqB

HOW TO REMOVE PERSONAL INFO FROM A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BEFORE SHARING – It’s never a bad idea to remove your personal information from a file before sharing it. Office applications might store personal information in each file you create, meaning everyone that receives that file will have your information. Here’s how to remove it. Microsoft PowerPoint is free for iPads and iPhones.

Go to this How-To-Geek web site and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2XlyUch

APPLE CERTIFIED REPAIR SERVICE EXPANDS TO EVERY BEST BUY IN THE U.S. – This adds almost 1,000 new places you can get an official repair for your Apple gear.

Need to get your iPhone screen fixed (or maybe your MacBook keyboard) but the nearest Apple store is over an hour away? You may now have another option.

Apple has announced that it has partnered with Best Buy to offer certified repairs at every one of its nearly 1,000 locations in the United States. According to the release, Best Buy’s Geek Squad now has nearly 7,600 newly Apple-certified technicians that can make same-day iPhone repairs and service other products. Best Buy stores will use official Apple parts and their repair work will be backed by Apple.

Apple has been under a lot of pressure to reduce backlogs, wait times, and crowding for repairs at its Apple Stores, and this should help a lot. According to Apple, this partnership means that there are now over 1,800 third-party Apple authorized service providers in the U.S., which is three times as many locations as three years ago. Apple claims that eight out of ten Apple customers will now be within 20 minutes of an authorized service provider.

HOW TO BACK UP AND ORGANIZE PHOTOS FROM YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – Running out of space? Here’s the easiest way to get photos and videos off your iOS device and the best way to organize them.

My partner recently asked me to share my digital photo albums so that we both have access to them. Before I shared them, I wanted to make sure all the photos were saved to the same location and clearly labeled. It had been about two years since I thoroughly organized my collection. A big part of the job would be getting images off my iPhone, saving them to the same file-syncing and storage service I use for the rest of my images and making sure they were clearly labeled.

I had put off the task for a few weeks when suddenly my iPhone and Mac began shoving notifications in my face about nearing the cap on my iCloud storage. All signs were pointing me toward a photo cleanup project, and the first step would be to deal with the pictures on my iPhone.

I went through the process and distilled it down to this guide for how to get photos off your iPhone and organize them.

Go to this PC Magazine article and get three options and other facts. http://bit.ly/2ZzWUGg

HOW TO MANAGE OR CANCEL YOUR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM iPHONE OR iPAD – Apple now supports several premium subscriptions to various services. However, finding where to cancel a trial or resubscribe to a service can be confusing. Here we show how to manage them.

The other day, I signed up for a monthly subscription trial. Like most, I only wanted it for that month because it was free, just like it explains in this article. But I couldn’t find anywhere to cancel the recurring charges. There wasn’t anywhere to do it in the app. And it prompted me to go into Settings and cancel it.

Since iOS 11, Apple will manage all your paid subscriptions, but it’s buried deep in Settings and it can be frustrating to find. Here, we’ll show you the step-by-step process to manage your paid subscriptions on your iOS device to avoid recurring charges.

Go to the Groovy Post web page and get the information on How to: http://bit.ly/2ZmN9eu

HOW TO CREATE FREE RINGTONES DIRECTLY ON YOUR iPHONE – Creating a ringtone for your iPhone from your favorite song can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to quickly whip up a killer new tone directly on your phone.

There are numerous ringtone apps in the iOS app store. We checked out about a dozen of them, and they all have similar functionality. All of the apps we tested required that you load music to the iPhone using iTunes instead of downloading it from a cloud or streaming music service. It remains to be seen how the retirement of iTunes will affect these apps going forward. A surprising number of these apps also look for a weekly subscription upgrade to unlock all the features, which feels a little dirty.

Ultimately, we went with Ringtone Designer 2.0. Ringtone Designer 2.0 has all the basics you need—the ability to import a track and determine the positioning and length of the clip (30 seconds max). It also adds the ability to fade the clip in and out.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and follow the steps to make your ring tone your favorite sound from a song you love. http://bit.ly/2IbGopZ

HOW TO SEND AN IPHONE OR IPAD APP AS A GIFT – The iOS App Store includes a feature that lets you gift apps to other users. You can even add a personalized message and schedule the gift to be delivered on a specific date if you want. Here’s how.

Go to this How-To-Geek web site and follow the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Ke1Rkp

June 5, 2019
DO iPHONE “SECURITY” APPS ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING? – Apple won’t allow “antivirus” apps in the App Store, but there are many “security” apps available. For example, Norton Mobile Security costs $14.99 per year, and Lookout Premium costs $29.99 per year. But do these apps actually do anything?

You don’t need an antivirus app for your iPhone. (http://bit.ly/30SuYPd). You won’t find any in the App Store. So what do these “security” apps do? Are they useful, and how exactly are they protecting you?

If you need more information, go to this How-To-Geek web page and read on. http://bit.ly/2woFFLw

FIREFOX TO BLOCK THIRD-PARTY TRACKING COOKIES BY DEFAULT – For now, the default blocking will only be switched on for new Firefox users. It will roll out for existing users in the coming months.

The latest release of Mozilla’s Firefox browser will now block third-party tracking cookies by default.

The privacy protection arrived Tuesday in Firefox 67.0.1. “When it comes to privacy, default settings matter,” Firefox product lead Peter Dolanjski wrote in a blog post. “We hope that the actions we are taking can ultimately compel change in the industry.”

The blocking will automatically occur for new users who download the latest Firefox release. You’ll notice the feature when you go to the browser’s preferences and check “Content Blocking.”

To read the entire article go to this PC Magazine web page. http://bit.ly/2WNZqe8

HOW TO USE GOOGLE CHROME’S HIDDEN READER MODE – Chrome 75 has a hidden “Reader” mode that strips web pages down to the bare minimum to make them easier to, well, read. But it’s not enabled by default—here’s how to get it now.

Google has been experimenting with this feature on and off in the desktop version of Chrome for years, but it’s now available with a hidden flag instead of an extra hidden command line option. We expect Google is gearing up to release it in stable form without any flags required.

Go to this How-To-Geek Web page to turn ON readers view if you use the Chrome Browser. http://bit.ly/2QOr1qe

May 28, 2019
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DUCKDUCKGO – Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo is an internet search engine that promises to protect the privacy of its users. Here is a look at how the browser protects your data and what you can expect.

To become one of the largest companies in the world, Google has relied heavily on how it collects user data. In turn, it sells this information for marketing and other purposes. This data collection hasn’t set well with many over the years who have accused Google of being weak on privacy. When it comes to search, there’s an alternative. DuckDuckGo is an internet search engine that promises to protect the privacy of its users. In doing so, it has become a worthy Google competitor.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and read all the information about DuckDuckGo. How to Start Using this search engine in many different browsers, mobile devices and of course your PC, with lots of screenshots. http://bit.ly/2WuhWrP

(PS: I have been using DDG for many years, and I love it.)

Is DuckDuckGo for You?
I do not like giving away my personal information to services like Google, Bing, and Yahoo search engines. I decided to switch from Google search to DuckDuckGo for search engine purposes years ago to protect my privacy. I did it on my Laptop PC, iPad and iPhone.

WHERE’S MY PACKAGE? AWESOME WAYS TO TRACK YOUR PACKAGE ON SMART DEVICES – If you get package deliveries from numerous companies, tracking them all can be overwhelming. Instead of using basic tracking from the parcel services, check out these all-in-one mobile apps.

There are countless package delivery companies in the United States, including the big three, the US Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS. Sure, you can track your deliveries using official apps and websites. However, if you get packages delivered from numerous companies, tracking your items like this could prove frustrating and cumbersome. There is a better way. Use all-in-one delivery apps instead.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and maybe you can better track your package. http://bit.ly/2HEyd5m

HOW TO STOP ALL THE VOICE ASSISTANTS FROM STORING YOUR VOICE (GOOGLE, ALEXA, CORTANA, SIRI) – Voice assistants, like Google Assistant and Alexa, record what you say after the wake word to send off to company servers. The companies keep your recordings until you delete them. Some companies let you turn that behavior off: here’s how.

Voice Assistants Record You After Their Wake Word
Voice assistants work in a straightforward manner. They continually listen to everything you say, all day long. But the device in the room doesn’t have much intelligence. The only thing it can understand is its wake word: Alexa, Hey Google, Hey Cortana, and so on.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and find out How. http://bit.ly/2JGrASg

26 ACTUALLY USEFUL THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH SIRI – Siri is best known as Apple’s so-called digital personal assistant available on iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. Some might think Siri is only good for looking stuff up, but it can actually do a great deal more.

The thing about Siri is that can be hard to get used to, but once you do, it is incredibly useful. You can do a fairly wide array of tasks on your iOS device beyond simply looking something up. For example, you can have Siri create reminders, take notes, and set alarms. It can even make changes to system settings. Siri will also adapt to your personal language use and as you use it more and more, will tailor results individually to you.

Siri can easily be activated by holding down the home button on your iOS device until it beeps and the Siri interface appears. On iOS 9, Siri can also now be activated by saying “Hey Siri”, which is invaluable when you’re eating or driving or your iPhone is simply out of reach.

In this article, we want to go through and highlight some of the things that Siri can do. You might be surprised at how versatile and useful it is.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get it, a long list. http://bit.ly/2QrtmY1

HOW TO LISTEN TO (AND DELETE) EVERY COMMAND YOU’VE EVER GIVEN TO ALEXA – Believe it or not, the Amazon Echo has something similar to what your web browser history is on your computer: Alexa records and logs every single command you’ve ever given. Here’s how to access it and see (and hear) everything you’ve ever said to her.

You might assume that the main screen of the Alexa app shows you past commands that you’ve shouted out. While this is partially true, the main screen is really only there to show you additional info for specific commands.

For example, if you ask Alexa about the weather, you’ll see a weather card appear in the Alexa app, giving you more details about the forecast. If you set a timer, you’ll see that timer appear in the Alexa app, where you can view the time remaining. However, saying something like “Alexa, turn the lights on” won’t appear on the main screen.

With that said, here’s how to see and hear every single command that you’ve ever told Alexa on any of your Alexa devices.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2K91CGC

DO iPHONE “SECURITY” APPS ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING? – You don’t need an antivirus app for your iPhone. You won’t find any in the App Store. So what do these “security” apps do? Are they useful, and how exactly are they protecting you? Read more at this How-To-Geek article at http://bit.ly/2wlcmcJ

MY iPHONE SCREEN LOCKS TOO SOON – Cyn Mackley, Tech Whisperer, helped a relative out with this issue recently and since it’s such a super-simple fix, She thought she would show you how to take care of it. Her screen was locking when in not in use much too quickly to suit her taste and she wanted to know if Cyn knew how to fix it. Fortunately, she was able to do it in a few seconds. (Which is great because there’s nothing worse than being a tech writer that has no clue how to fix a tech problem.) If your iPhone screen locks too soon, read Cyn’s article on how to fix it with screenshots: http://bit.ly/2VRfmrs

SAFARI TEST POINTS TO A FUTURE WITH TRACKER-FREE ADS – Apple thinks it has come up with a way for advertisers to track how well their ads are doing without (*gasp*) compromising user privacy.

It sounds like a tall order but according to John Wilander, WebKit engineer and architect of Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), a technology called Privacy Preserving Ad Click Attribution has been added as an experimental feature to Preview 82+ of the Safari browser.

Nobody doubts the industry has a problem. Advertising keeps websites and advertisers afloat but at the expense of all sorts of privacy-bashing tracking that follows, profiles and gathers as much data about users as it can using cross-site tracking. Read more at the NakedSecurity by Sophos article: http://bit.ly/2Ma7fXt

May 19, 2019
HOW TO USE SCREEN TIME IN APPLE’S iOS 12 – Are you spending too much time on your iPhone and iPad? With iOS 12, you can set screen time limits for yourself or your child and develop some healthy device habits.

Are you or your kids glued to your smartphones? Do you want to scale back? One of the many cool features in Apple’s iOS 12 is Screen Time, which lets you discover how often you use your phone, where you spend your time, and which apps you use the most.

To help kick your smartphone habit, you can set up different options to block certain apps or limit the time you spend with them on your iPhone or iPad. Since the feature is cloud-based, it can show you how much time you spend on all your iOS devices collectively.

With iOS 12.2, meanwhile, Apple updated the Downtime feature, which grants access to only certain apps and phone calls so you can set specific days and times to schedule Downtime.

If you’re ready to tackle tech addiction, or just keep a closer eye on how much time you’re staring at your phone, here’s how to get started.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and learn all about how to use Screen Time with iOS 12.

You will see some great screenshots. http://bit.ly/2HBQkHP

UPDATES TO APPLE DEVICES – iOS 12.3, Apple Card first look, Intel vulnerabilities, more: In this week’s top stories: New 2019 iPhone molds, iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 release, a closer look at Apple Card, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

Apple this week released iOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1, tvOS 12.3, and macOS 10.14.5 to the public. The new tvOS and iOS updates include Apple’s overhauled TV app with support for Apple TV Channels. Meanwhile, watchOS 5.2.1 packs new Pride watch faces, as well as a fix for the Explorer watch face.

There are lots of new updates to all sort of Apple devices in the 9 to 5 Mac web page. If you have any kind of Apple device start here. http://bit.ly/2w9nyZY

HOW TO SET UP EXPRESS TRANSIT WITH APPLE PAY FOR ANY CARD WITH iOS 12.3 – Express Transit lets you use Apple Pay without requiring authentication like Touch ID or Face ID. This means you can make instant transactions at transit gates and terminals just by tapping your watch or phone.

Until recently, this convenience was limited to special transit cards like Suica in Japan. With iOS 12.3, Apple has now enabled the ability for any credit or debit card to be used with Express Transit. There is a catch though …

In iOS 12.3, anyone can go to setup Express Transit but whether you can use it is a different matter entirely. The problem is Express Transit requires cooperation from each transit system and some banks also aren’t participating.

If you want or need to use the “Express Transit” function with your phone, this is the information you will need. The screenshots are also here. http://bit.ly/2EiYCDI

THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MICROSOFT EXCEL – Microsoft Excel has been around for decades and many have used it since its release. But there are still others who are just now starting to use it. Whether for work, school, or personal use, it can be a little intimidating when you first begin. There are even classes for new Excel users both online and on campuses.

This guide is available to download as a free PDF.

This guide to Excel is for those who have never used it before, are struggling with it as a beginner, or just want the basics to then learn it on their own.

Go to this MakeUseOf web site and get a great look at beginners Excel. The free PDF is a link on the web page, for offline use. http://bit.ly/2YEQSDx

5 GMAIL SEARCH TRICKS EVERY POWER USER SHOULD KNOW – It’s hard to feel like Gmail isn’t due a major overhaul. Many of Google’s other productivity apps—such as Calendar, News, and Keep—have been redesigned in the last 18 months. Surely Gmail is next?

When the upgrade eventually happens, Google will hopefully include some additional filters and inbox management tools. Until then, you’ll need to memorize a few search terms if you want to perform some “inbox gymnastics.”

Here are some useful search tricks every Gmail power user should know.

Go to this MakeUseOf web site and take a look at the Gmail search tricks. They will help you find emails that are in your long list of past emails. http://bit.ly/2JuQCns

HOW TO SHARE YOUR WI-FI PASSWORD BETWEEN iPHONES – iOS has a built-in feature that lets you quickly share Wi-Fi passwords between devices by bringing them near each other. It uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and each user’s Apple ID to securely share the password between devices.

Sharing your Wi-Fi password can be a frustrating endeavor. If you have you have a complicated Wi-Fi password with letters, numbers, and special characters, that can be a real pain for your Aunt Edna coming to visit on Thanksgiving. But as of iOS 11, Wi-Fi sharing between iPhones and iPads is a piece of cake! There are three things you need to check before you can do it, though.

Go to this How-To- Geek web site and see the short steps with screenshots. It can save you a lot of time when people come to visit. http://bit.ly/2WlkBUV

HOW TO SAVE BATTERY LIFE ON YOUR IPHONE – Tired of constantly charging your iPhone? These Apple iPhone battery tips and tricks will help get you through the day without a charge.

It’s tough to exist without a smartphone these days, and with so much of our life contained inside these tiny devices, we don’t want them running out of juice at an inopportune time.

The iPhone XS Max$1,099.99 at Verizon Wireless has nearly a 10-hour battery life. And Apple last year offered cheap battery replacements after it was caught secretly slowing down older iPhones. But everyone would love to eke out a few more minutes (or hours) from their smartphone.

No, you don’t have to disable everything; many individual features can be quickly toggled on or off. Here is what you can do right now to boost your iPhone’s battery life, and hopefully make it through the day without having to recharge.

Go to this PC Magazine web site and learn 16 different steps to take saving that iPhone battery power. http://bit.ly/2HsgrSN

iOS 13 LIKELY TO DROP SUPPORT FOR A LOT OF OLDER HARDWARE – iOS 11 and 12 have been kind to those running older iPhones and iPads, not only giving older devices extra time but also a performance boost. But a report suggests that iOS 13 will drop support for a number of older iPhones and iPads.

iOS 12, released last September, was particularly good at supporting older hardware. We’d expected that the aging iPhone 5S – which is almost six years old – would be dropped, but iOS 12 carried forward the same hardware support list as iOS 11, which was good for both owners of older devices (who got an extra year of use), and Apple (which got to grow its base of active devices).

Not only that, but iOS 12 gave older devices a surprise performance boost. But it looks like iOS 13 will be the end of the line for the iPhone 5S, along with a handful of other devices. Read more of this ZDNet article at: https://zd.net/2HmvP34

LOST OR STOLEN iPHONE? HERE’S HOW TO GET IT BACK – Losing your iPhone ($1,000 at Amazon) or having it stolen is one of the worst feelings ever. When you rely on your phones for nearly everything, the idea of being disconnected from the outside world is stressful at the least and terrifying at the most. And with Apple’s recent announcement of the Apple Card, a credit card relies on an iPhone for everything from sign up to paying your bill, losing your iPhone is about to get a whole lot more complicated. There’s also the cost to consider. iPhones are getting more and more expensive — losing your pricey investment isn’t something any of us wants.

There are steps you can take to help reduce the risk of losing a phone, and using Apple’s Find My iPhone service is the key to securing and recovering a lost phone. Read more of this c|net article at https://cnet.co/2EeqaKq

HOW TO STOP ROBOCALLS ON iPHONE AND ANDROID – The US has a robocall problem. These are the calls made to your phone that deliver a prerecorded message that often wants you to do something. Sometimes it’s a message from a candidate running for office. Or a call from your bank advertising a new service. More worrisome are the scammy robocalls — posing, say, as the “IRS” — that intend to scam people out of their money. On May 14, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed giving carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile the authority to block some of these robocalls by default and allowing customers to block calls from unknown numbers. Read more of this c|net article at: https://cnet.co/2JMHFoS

May 9, 2019
HOW TO DETECT HIDDEN SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WITH YOUR PHONE – A family recently discovered a rude surprise at their Airbnb: a hidden camera disguised as a smoke detector in the living room. Here are two ways to check for cameras—in an Airbnb or elsewhere—using only an iPhone or Android phone.

If you’re staying in a hotel or an Airbnb, hidden cameras can be a worry. In the case of Airbnb, your host is required to list any cameras they have, whether or not they’re turned on. Additionally, Airbnb does not allow hosts to place cameras in bathrooms or sleeping areas, even if that’s a living room with a foldout bed.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and see how to discover what is connected to the same internet network you are connected to, with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2VaGGVu

WHAT IS BLUETOOTH AND WHAT CAN I USE IT FOR? – Isn’t it funny how you can know that a thing exists, you use that thing, but that’s all you know about it? Bluetooth is definitely one of those them. You’ll be surprised at where that odd name came from, too. Read through to the end to find out.

Go to this Groovy Post web site and read all about it. http://bit.ly/2KQ11v7

HOW TO LOCATE YOUR APPLE WATCH WITH THE FIND MY WATCH FEATURE – In an unfortunate situation where you lose your Apple Watch, you can use the Find My Watch feature to find it. And if the worst happens, you can remotely wipe it to save your personal data.

Just like your phone and other tech devices, you might be in a situation where you lose your Apple Watch. Sometimes it’s in the couch cushions or behind the nightstand. Maybe you leave it at work or your friend’s house. Or, if the worse happens it’s stolen or gone and not retrievable. Luckily, if you lose your Apple Watch, you’re not completely out of luck. Whatever the case, Apple includes the “Find My Watch” feature that provides options to find it. Here is a look at what you can do.

Also, keep in mind that finding your watch will be limited to the hardware you have. For example, all Apple Watches within Bluetooth range of the iPhone can be found. Which is perfect if you’ve just misplaced your watch somewhere in your home or office. But you’ll have more of an advantage with Apple Watch Series 2 or later that have built-in Wi-Fi or GPS, and cellular.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the facts. http://bit.ly/2UNgcdn

WHAT IS 5G? – AT&T, Verizon, and other carriers are starting to launch 5G networks this year. But what exactly is 5G, and how fast is it compared with 4G? Here are the facts we know so far.

This PC Magazine article does a great job of describing 5G. http://bit.ly/2GqbU1y

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PASSWORD ON iPHONE – Want to know how to quickly change your Facebook password on iPhone? Read on below for how to do it in three easy steps.

Whether you want to update your Facebook password after hearing about a security breach or are just doing some routine account updates, it’s good practice to regularly change your passwords.

Make sure to use a unique password for each of your accounts. Making use of a password manager like 1Password or even the built-in AutoFill password manager with iOS/macOS makes the process more seamless.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PASSWORD ON iPHONE

Open Facebook on iPhone and tap the tab with 3 lines in the bottom right corner

Swipe down and choose Settings & Privacy, then Privacy Shortcuts

Swipe down a bit more and tap Change your password.

Here’s how the process looks:

change Facebook password iPhone walkthrough

HOW TO SEARCH THE SETTINGS ON YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – There are a lot of different iPhone and iPad settings, and with each new version of iOS, the list grows. Luckily, Apple realized the possibilities were starting to be overwhelming and added a search bar in the Settings app back when it released iOS 9. I’ve found this particularly useful when I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but I know what it pertains to.

Go to this iPhone life web page and get the procedure for searching the Settings app.

http://bit.ly/2KQy1nb

INCOGNITO MODE COMING TO GOOGLE MAPS AND SEARCH – Google first introduced Incognito Mode years ago with the release of the Chrome browser. Now, as part of a larger push to enhance consumer privacy, the search giant is adding Incognito Mode to both Google Search and Google Maps.

When Incognito Mode is engaged in Chrome, your activities aren’t stored in your browser history. It also disables cookies, which are used to identify and sometimes track individuals around the web and turns off browser extensions. It doesn’t hide your online activity, as a VPN would.

Incognito mode for Google Maps will be similar, Google CEO Sundar Pichai explained in a blog post. Once Incognito Mode is engaged in Maps, “you can search and navigate without linking this activity with your Google account,” he wrote. Read more of this PCMag article: http://bit.ly/2Jtwykf

SWITCHING FROM MAC TO LINUX? 5 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER – There are a lot of things to love about macOS, but there are definitely issues with using it. One of the bigger problems is that it’s exclusive to Apple computers. If you don’t like the hardware the company offers, you’re out of luck when it comes to using macOS.

If you’re looking for a desktop operating system that runs on top of a solid Unix-based foundation, Linux can be a good alternative. To make it easier to get used to Linux, you might want to make your installation a little more Mac-like. Read more of this Kris Wouk MakeUseOf article: http://bit.ly/2Dr3giH

HOW TO CLEAN A COMPUTER KEYBOARD – From a simple chassis shakedown to removing all the key caps and the outer shell and giving certain bits a bath, these tips will help you banish that keyboard grime. Typing can be such a messy business. Whether you’re a gamer, a hard-working professional, or both, you’re bound to get your hands on something gunky prior to clicking and clacking away at your keyboard. When all that sludge and silt becomes too much, you’ll have to undertake that most thankless of PC tasks: cleaning your keyboard. Nasty!

The good news is that you can do it using tools you’ll find around your house. Learn how at this Gabe Grey PC Mag article: http://bit.ly/2vuetdg

iPHONE OTHER STORAGE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU DELETE IT? – You’re trying to download and install the latest iOS release, or take some photos, or download that cool app your friend told you about, and your iPhone says the storage is full.

You’ve already deleted every app you don’t think you need, and there’s still not enough space. So you look at your iPhone storage in Settings page and, sure enough, your iPhone’s storage is full. Worst of all, a huge chunk of it is just categorized as Other. What’s that supposed to mean? How do you get rid of it?

The Other storage is mysterious and confusing, and there’s no one answer that works for everyone, but hopefully this guide will help you deal with this problem.

Go to this Mac World web page and get the steps to clean up storage on your iPhone. http://bit.ly/2KwA5k4

6 STEPS TO SOLVING YOUR STREAMING VIDEO PROBLEMS – Got buffering or other streaming video issues? This step-by-step guide will help isolate the problem.

Although cutting the cable TV cord can save you money, it also involves more potential points of failure.

With cable or satellite TV, a technician hooks up one of their company’s set-top boxes, which in turn connects to your TV, and it generally just works. With streaming video, you must account for internet speed, Wi-Fi connectivity, the capabilities of your streaming device, and your individual streaming services, which have their own unique set of reliability issues.

All of this makes troubleshooting more complicated if you run into problems such as buffering or poor video quality. Instead of trying solutions willy-nilly, it’s best to walk through a series of specific steps to isolate the source of the problem. Consider this your ultimate step-by-step guide to dealing with buffering and other streaming-video issues:

Go to this Tech Hive web page and see the 6 steps to curing streaming problems. http://bit.ly/2UVQkuM

HOW TO CREATE AND PRINT LABELS IN WORD – If you’re looking to make customized labels, look no further than Microsoft Word. Whether for personal or professional use, Word provides a comprehensive feature set for creating personalized mailing labels. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and see how with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2VHMbb9

SEVEN GOOGLE MAPS ALTERNATIVES AND WHY THEY’RE BETTER – Even if you’ve used Google Maps for years, you may be missing out. Try out a few of these Google Maps alternatives and see if they might be better for your mapping needs.

Google Maps is an excellent navigation and mapping tool, but there are actually many Google Maps alternatives that are as good or better for a number of reasons. Your choice of mapping tool really depends on how you plan your trips, and how you use your maps. Do you like planning out your trips at home on your computer, or are you doing most of your trip planning and navigation from your phone?

The following list highlights the features and all of the pros and cons of each Google Maps alternative so that you can choose the perfect mapping tool for your situation.

Go to this groovyPost web page and see the other choices. http://bit.ly/2Dcc4IZ

HOW TO SET UP AUTO-REPLY FOR TEXTS & CALLS WITH DO NOT DISTURB – Have you ever wished you could set up an auto-reply text message on your iPhone for times when you can’t or don’t want respond to text messages? Well, Do Not Disturb While Driving has an auto-reply feature that sends a message to people who text you letting them know you’re driving and can’t reply. If you want to send auto-replies even when you’re not driving, all you have to do is customize the message and then use Do Not Disturb While Driving instead of the regular Do Not Disturb when you are in meetings or are otherwise unable to answer texts. Here’s how to set this feature to be used with ease!

Go to this iPhone Life web page and see the setup with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2VI86iC

iPHONE PHOTO SAVING & SHARING GUIDE: TEXT, EMAIL, AIRDROP, SHARED ALBUMS & SOCIAL MEDIA – One of my favorite uses for my iPhone is taking and sharing pictures, but with so many different methods and platforms, it can get a little tricky. In this guide, I’ll cover everything I’ve learned about saved images and photos, including how to save and share them from text and iMessage, from email, with AirDrop and iCloud, from Shared Albums, and even social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. After we cover that range of topics, we’ll go over how to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your Mac and PC so you can keep your photos and albums organized and safe. Let’s get started!

Go to this iPhone life web page and get the procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2UVY2oM (16 plus different procedures)

HOW TO LIST ALL APPLICATIONS ON A MAC – MacOS applications are installed a bit differently than Windows. Since they’re almost always single .app files, you can move them around your hard drive much easier. Find out how to track down the ones you lost with this How-To-Geek article (with screenshots): http://bit.ly/2UHUlD6

THE 50 BEST MAC TIPS, TRICKS AND TIMESAVERS – Now that macOS Mojave is here, there’s never been a better time to explore everything your Mac can do for you – and it may be more than you think. Your Mac, just with its native software, can do so many things that Windows 10 needs expensive third party tools to perform.

One of the major benefits that a Mac can offer is the fact that you don’t need to rely on third party apps like you do with Windows devices – on the best Macs, everything just works. Whether you’re trying to sign documents, do some light photo editing or even combine multiple PDFs, macOS will let you do it with its native software. So, to help you do all of this, we’ve come up with a guide to 50 useful Mac tips and tricks, so you can take your Mac expertise to the extreme.

This easily digestible list comprises the 50 top Mac tips we could think of and organizes them into bite-sized slides. Click or tap ‘Next’ to dive in at this TechRadar article: http://bit.ly/2WPzvyY

HOW TO CREATE AND MANAGE ALARMS ON YOUR APPLE WATCH – You can have alarms set on your iPhone ring through to your Apple Watch. But unlike manually updating your Apple Watch, for alarms, your iPhone and watch don’t need to be tethered. The alarms set directly on your watch are different than using the Clock app on your iPhone. For example, if you create an alarm on your Apple Watch, it isn’t going to show up in the Clock app and ring on your iPhone and vice-versa.

Read more (with screenshots)at this groovyPost article: http://bit.ly/2K9hKcI

MIRROR IMAGE PHOTOS? HOW TO FLIP PICTURES WITH A PHOTO EDITOR APP – We’ve all had the experience by now of taking a selfie and realizing that the finished product is not the mirror image we’re used to seeing. Even though a flip image like this is an accurate photo, it looks strange, and it sure would be nice to have a way to flip it back. Unfortunately, neither the iPhone Camera app nor the Photos app has a way to mirror photos, so we’ll need to find a third-party iPhone photo editor. Let’s get started going over a few apps I’ve researched for editing, and specifically, flipping your images so they look how you’d hoped they would.

Go to this iPhone life web page and get the steps plus screen shots. http://bit.ly/2TVRIsM

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR FACETIME CALLER ID ON iPHONE AND iPAD – When you make FaceTime calls on iPhone and iPad, recipients see your caller ID—an email or phone number. If that caller ID isn’t what they expect, they won’t know who’s calling. Here’s how to change your caller ID.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and see screen shots and steps. http://bit.ly/2VojboH

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY PHOTO STREAM AND ICLOUD PHOTOS? – Keeping your family photos safe from device failure is the primary reason backups exist. iCloud claims to back up all your photos “in the cloud,” but the way it works varies depending on what settings you have enabled.

Go to this How-To-Geek web site and discover the right answer. http://bit.ly/2YDfIVx

HOW TO MAKE FOLDERS FOR THE NOTES APP ON iPHONE, iPAD, AND MAC – Do you have lots of notes saved across your Apple devices and want to get more organized? Read along for how to make folders for the Notes app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Apple’s Notes app on iOS and macOS has become more and more feature packed over the years. Along with its evolution, it has become easier to rely on the app for storing more and more notes. Follow along below to get going with organizing your notes with folders.

iPhone & iPad

Open the Notes app,
Tap the left arrow in the top left corner
On the Folders screen, tap New Folder
on the bottom right corner on iPhone,
bottom left-ish corner on iPad
Enter a name for your folder,
Tap Save
You can move existing notes to folders by:
Tapping Edit on the main Notes app screen.
Select the notes you’d like to move,
Then tap Move All,
Finally tap the new folder you’d like to move them to.

Here’s How You Can Download Videos on an iPhone from YouTube

Go to App Store.
Search “Documents”.
Install the App called “Documents by Readdle”.
Open the “YouTube” app on your iPhone.
Play the video that you wish to download.
Tap the “Share” button.
Tap “Copy Link”.
Now open the “Documents by Readdle” app that you just installed.
Tap the blue compass icon on the bottom right.
Type ytmp3.cc into the browser.
Tap the “MP4” option under the “Convert” button.
Paste the YouTube video link into the box below “Please insert a valid video URL”.
Tap “Convert”.
Tap “Download”.
You now will be asked to save the video.

IOS 12.2 Update Summary:

Apple News+ – a new subscription service that extends the Apple News experience with hundreds of magazines and top newspapers. Automatic downloads make it easy to read magazine issues offline.

Siri – on iPhone/ iPad – play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on Apple TV. For example, “Hey Siri, play Free Solo on my TV”

AirPlay – Dedicated TV controls in Control Center and on the Lock Screen give you quick access to TV controls. AirPlay multitasking for video allows you to browse other apps, as well as play other short form audio and video files locally on your device without interrupting AirPlay. AirPlay destinations are now grouped by content type making it faster for you to find what device you want to play to.

Apple Pay – Apple pay Cash customers can now transfer money to their bank accounts instantly using their Visa debit cards. Wallet app now conveniently displays Apple Pay credit and debit transactions right below the card.

Screen Time – Downtime can be configured with a different schedule for each day of the week. A new toggle enables easily turning app limits on or off temporarily

Safari – Website sign-in now occurs automatically after filling credentials with Password AutoFill. Warnings now appear when loading unencrypted webpages. Removes support for the expired Do Not Track standard to prevent potential use as a fingerprinting variable; Intelligent Tracking Prevention now protects against cross-site tracking by default. Smart Search Field queries can now be modified by tapping the arrow icon next to search suggestions.

Apple Music – The Browse tab shows more editorial highlights on a single page making it easier to discover new music, playlists, and more.

A MAC USER’S GUIDE TO THE GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER – Though Safari is the default browser for most mac OS users, some have to use Chrome.

Estimates vary but perhaps a third of Mac users choose to use the Chrome browser on their Apple system for some reason. If that’s you, you’ll benefit from these Computerworld How-To tips: http://bit.ly/2YaV1j9

HOW TO CONTROL WHICH APPS CAN ACCESS YOUR IPHONE’S HEALTH DATA – Your iPhone knows a lot about your health, especially if you use apps like MyFitnessPal or track your activity using an Apple Watch. If given permission, apps can access that data. Here’s how to check which apps have access to your data.

We’ve shown how it can keep tabs on your location and expose that data to apps before, but what about your health data? The Health app collects as much data as you can give it, and if you’re using apps for tracking your weight, calories, blood pressure, and more, that can be a lot. If you’re wearing an Apple Watch, it can be even more information than you may realize.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and get the steps plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2TyV0Hc

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR DIGITAL LIFE FOR YOUR DEATH – Death is inevitable. Don’t make it harder on those you leave behind. Here’s how to let loved ones manage passwords, sensitive data, and social media profiles after you die.

Our own death is as somber as it is inevitable. But as we live more of our lives online, it’s more important than ever to make sure loved ones can access digital accounts when we’re gone. Don’t be the guy who locked cryptocurrency exchange customers out of $250 million after his death because only he knew the password.

There are a number of ways loved ones can request access to your accounts once you’re gone, but they don’t need that stress. Several online services allow you to designate legacy contacts or grant access after a period of inactivity. Here’s how to make sure that those you leave behind are able to manage your affairs when you can’t anymore.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and get started. http://bit.ly/2F80WwK

HOW TO BLOCK A NUMBER ON YOUR SMARTPHONE – Whether you have an iPhone or Android smartphone, here’s how to block annoying calls and texts on any phone.

There are all sorts of reasons to block a number: an ex who won’t stop calling, telemarketers who can’t take a hint, scammers, or an aunt who wants to check in and see why you’re still not married.

When your phone has buzzed one more time than you can take, you know it’s time to block that number. But how? Here are the steps to take by popular operating systems and carriers.

Go to this PC Magazine web page and get help. http://bit.ly/2T96snO

HOW TO CAPTURE SCREENSHOTS ON YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTER – Sometimes you want to keep a copy of something you’re looking at on your computer or phone screen but it’s not a file that can be saved or website that can be bookmarked and replicated in exactly the same way. Read more of this Techlicious article at: http://bit.ly/2TYt1jI

HOW TO QUICKLY SEARCH A WEBSITE USING SHORTCUTS ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Apple’s Shortcuts app is as powerful as you want to make it, and it can do some incredible things if you know how to wrangle it. You can also use it for some super simple things, like searching a website for text.

If you find yourself needing to search a website for something regularly, then you’re no doubt familiar with the site search operator. Head to Google—or use the address bar—and enter “site:nameofsite.com keywords” to search that site. Searching the How-To Geek website for Shortcuts, for example, would require “site:howtogeek.com shortcuts” and you’ll be rewarded with the results.

It isn’t a complicated process, but it’s cumbersome to type out every time. That brings us to Shortcuts. Read more of this How-To-Geek article with screenshots: http://bit.ly/2Tm3zVW

SIRI SHORTCUTS AND GOOGLE ASSISTANT LEARN TO PRINT AND SCAN DOCUMENTS WITH EPSON PRINTERS – Epson is today adding support for voice assistants to its printers including Siri and Google Assistant. For iOS, users will be able to create a Siri Shortcut to quickly print and scan documents.

It’ll be as easy as taking a picture, initiating a Siri Shortcut, and printing the document all without having to leave the Camera app. You’ll also be able to do other things such as scan a document, ask for your printer’s current ink levels, and more.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site and read the article. It is great if you have an Epson Printer. http://bit.ly/2NhmoDk

HOW TO CHANGE THE DEFAULT EMAIL ACCOUNT ON iPHONE – Do you have multiple email accounts on your iPhone but use one more than the rest? Read on for how to change the default email account on iPhone.

Changing the default email account on your iPhone makes your workflow more efficient as it will be the account that pops up when you compose a new email. It’s also the email account that’s used when sharing content with others from Safari, Apple’s other first-party apps, and third-party apps.

How to change the default email account on iPhone

Open Settings
Swipe down and tap Mail
Swipe to the bottom and tap Default Account
Tap the account you’d like to use

Go to 9to5Mac for screenshots. https://9to5mac.com/2019/02/19/change-default-email-iphone/

HOW TO CANCEL APP SUBSCRIPTIONS ON iPHONE OR iPAD – Apple’s App Store is full of apps with in-app subscriptions. That’s great news for developers, and it’s great for users who don’t want apps to go away. But if you don’t use an app, why not cancel your subscription?

Canceling a subscription to an iPhone or iPad app hasn’t always been the easiest thing to do, because Apple hasn’t always made the process obvious. Even if you did know. the chances are good that you do it so infrequently that you have forgotten, and there’s always the chance that Apple changed something in a recent iOS update.

Apple did in fact recently change how iPhone and iPad owners cancel subscriptions via the App Store, and thankfully, it’s now easier than ever. As with all things in life, however, these things are only easy if you know how—and we’re going to make sure you do.

Go to this How-to-Geek web page and get the steps with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2V7X70V

HOW TO FIX AN ECHO OR GOOGLE HOME THAT WON’T CONNECT TO WI-FI – Congratulations, you have a new Google Home or Amazon Echo device! But for some reason, even though you’re confident you have the password correct, it won’t connect to Wi-Fi. The good news is, there are easy solutions to try.

Whether you have a new Google Home or new Amazon Echo device, setup should be easy. As long as you have the correct accounts created, the apps walk you through all the steps in a straightforward manner. But occasionally you might get hung up on connecting to Wi-Fi, even when you’re sure you have the password correct. Often, the problem isn’t your password but the network you’ve chosen or that your smartphone is trying to maintain a working internet connection.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and read the article with hints on how to fix this problem. http://bit.ly/2UXsgUX

HOW TO SET UP AND USE FIND MY iPHONE – Do you want to enable the option to play a sound and locate your iPhone and other Apple devices?

Find My iPhone is a handy security and device tracking feature built-in to iOS. And with the latest software, iOS 12, you can even use Siri and HomePod to play a sound on your devices with Find My iPhone and easily locate them.

Read how to enable this option (with screenshots) at: https://9to5mac.com/2019/02/14/how-to-use-find-my-iphone/

WHAT IS GOOGLE VOICE AND HOW DO I USE IT? – If you’re using Google services like Gmail and Google Docs, you may have heard about Google Voice, but are unsure what it is. Google Voice is a free service offered by Google that provides you with a cloud-based phone number you can use from anywhere. The service includes free phone calls, free voicemail, and integration with mobile devices.

Go to this groovyPost web site to learn more. http://bit.ly/2BxTM40

HOW TO USE YOUR MAC SAFELY IN PUBLIC PLACES – Coffee shops across the planet are populated by earnest Apple Mac-wielding remote and/or freelance workers – but are they taking steps to protect themselves in a public place? Follow the checklist at this Computer World article to make sure you are protected. http://bit.ly/2Gteczs

WAZE FOR iOS NOW WORKS WITH SIRI SHORTCUTS, supporting custom voice commands and more – Popular navigation app Waze for iOS has received an update today that brings Siri Shortcuts to users. The new integration means users can set up useful automation for specific locations or routes like your drive home.

The Google-owned company that celebrates an annual “Tim Cook Day” has brought the Apple AI integration to its app after launching its Carpool service and CarPlay integration to iPhone users last fall.

Waze rolled out an update via the App Store today with the sole change of adding Siri Shortcuts support. The company notes use cases like setting up automation for your “drive home” or “favorite places.”

Here are the full release notes:

Saving time & avoiding traffic is even easier with this update: – Use Siri Shortcuts to drive with Waze. Record shortcuts for your drive home, your favorite places, and more.

Waze has an average rating of 4.8/5 stars on 1.5 million reviews and is a free download from the App Store. https://9to5mac.com/2019/02/12/waze-ios-update/

HOW TO ACCESS iCLOUD ON iPHONE, iPAD, MAC, AND THE WEB – iCloud is Apple’s cloud platform to save and synchronize data like photos, videos, contacts, notes, documents, and also store backups. If you’re not quite sure where to go to see and manage your saved data, follow along for how to access iCloud on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web.

Apple gives users 5GB worth of free iCloud storage space, after that you’ll need to pay for more starting at $0.99 a month.

Something to keep in mind to help you understand how iCloud works is that it’s woven in throughout Apple’s software on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Another way to think of this is your data in various apps like Photos, Notes, Contacts, and more are viewable on each of your devices, but are saved and synchronized with Apple’s servers via iCloud (depending on your settings).

As separate portion of iCloud is iCloud Backups. They aren’t designed so that you can open them like a folder and see everything that’s inside. Rather, they are like a sealed package that is used when you restore an iPhone or iPad from the iCloud backup.

Another way to think about it is iCloud Backups are just a clone of your iPhone or iPad, and you won’t use that clone unless you get a new device or need to erase or restore your entire device for some reason.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page and get the steps plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2BA7SlD

HOW TO SEND SECURE MESSAGES WITH GMAIL CONFIDENTIAL MODE – Would you like to add an extra layer of security to important messages you send through Gmail? With Gmail’s Confidential mode you can do just that. It allows you to send important confidential email messages that you want to protect from unauthorized access. It allows you to set expiration dates for messages, requires a passcode, and revoke access at any time. In addition, the option to forward, copy, download, and print will be disabled for the recipient.

It’s a relatively new but an overlooked feature that has been with the consumer Gmail since the summer of 2018. Note that at the time of this writing the feature is not yet available for G Suite for businesses. Here is a look at how to send and receive messages using Confidential mode.

Go to this groovyPost website and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2Dc4ptn

HOW TO CHECK YOUR iPAD TRADE-IN VALUE – Looking into upgrading your iPad or just want to know what your current tablet is worth? Read on for how to check your iPad trade-in value and make sure you get the best price possible.

There are a variety of ways to trade-in your current iPad for a credit towards a new one. Most trade-in programs do require a new purchase. However, some may not, but you may not get quite as much as the trade-in options if you’re picking up a new iPad.

Here are some great options to make sure you’re getting the most for your iPad trade-in.

Go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site and get the simple steps. http://bit.ly/2MTFEq6

There is a link on that page to check your iPhone trade-in value.

iMESSAGE FEATURES TO AVOID WITH YOUR GREEN BUBBLE ANDROID BUDDIES – There are a lot of cool things you can do in iMessage other than just sending text messages to your friends and family, but for your compatriots that use Android, you’ll want to skip these specific iMessage features, since they don’t work on Google’s mobile OS.

Keep in mind; some iMessage features still work with Android, albeit maybe not as well as they would with other iPhones. I’ll cover both sides of the spectrum so that you know what exactly does and doesn’t work with Android.

Go to this How-To-Geek website and read about what will and will NOT work when using text to an Android device. http://bit.ly/2GylzF1

HERE’S HOW TO UNSEND MESSAGES ON FACEBOOK MESSENGER – Last year, it was revealed that Mark Zuckerberg had an option to “unsend” messages that were sent on Facebook Messenger. Once that info came out, everyone who uses Messenger wanted in on the functionality too—and now Facebook is delivering.

So, to be clear, the current “delete” option on Facebook Messenger only removes the message for you—the recipient can still see it. That also means it’s still on Facebook’s Messenger servers. The Unsend feature, by contrast, will allow users to completely remove the message as if it never happened.

Of course, there’s a catch: it’s limited to a small, 10-minute window. That means you won’t be able to run back through old messages and unsend anything you want, which is both a bummer and a logical move. Still, if you say something and immediately regret it, you’ll be able to unsend it starting today. Here’s how.

Go to this How-To-Geek website and see the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2SvPB2h

HOW TO RECOVER DELETED PHOTOS FROM AN iPHONE OR iPAD – Chances are they’re gone, but there are a few places you can check.

There’s something reassuring about digitally stored photos. Unlike the ones we used to stow in shoeboxes and albums, they can remain available, searchable, easily accessible, and un-degraded.

Until you delete them. Then your most-precious memories may be gone for good.

If you delete media from an iOS device, you may be able to recover them, especially if you act quickly.

Go to this Mac World web page and find out how to recover those deleted photos if at all possible. http://bit.ly/2RNNZwI

WHY IT’S DANGEROUS TO SHARE YOUR BIRTHDAY ONLINE – A birthday isn’t something you might think of as being private information you should keep secret. Almost everyone celebrates them on social media, and quite a few people post them on their profile. That’s a horrible idea; here’s why.

Alongside the model of your first car and your mother’s maiden name, your birthday is perhaps the most common security question asked on most websites.

It’s much easier for a hacker to find out your birthday than “the street you grew up on.”

When I upgraded to a new phone at a Verizon store, they asked me for two things: my phone number and my birthday. Nothing else.

Heck, if you were born in the USA and have a social security number, people can use your birthday and place of birth to guess your social security number. Social security numbers were linked to birth location up until 2011 when randomization began, so everyone born before then has a more predictable social security number.

Your birthday isn’t the only dangerous thing to share; identity thieves can also make good use of details like your birthplace and mother’s maiden name. And it’s tough to avoid sharing these details online.

See the full article at Howto-Geek. http://bit.ly/2Sgt8XU

DUCKDUCKGO SWITCHES TO PRIVACY-FOCUSED APPLE MAPS TO ‘SET A NEW STANDARD OF TRUST ONLINE – DuckDuckGo, the popular search engine alternative to Google has announced today that its address and map searches on mobile and desktop are now powered by Apple’s MapKit JS framework. DuckDuckGo is one of the first companies to rely on MapKit for its data and touts the privacy that the move brings to its users.

DuckDuckGo shared the news on its blog:

We’re excited to announce that map and address-related searches on DuckDuckGo for mobile and desktop are now powered by Apple’s MapKit JS framework, giving you a valuable combination of mapping and privacy. As one of the first global companies using Apple MapKit JS, we can now offer users improved address searches, additional visual features, enhanced satellite imagery, and continually updated maps already in use on billions of Apple devices worldwide.

The company said it is excited to be working with Apple to “set a new standard of trust online, and we hope you’ll enjoy this update.” It is also seeking feedback from users to help improve searches.

The update means Apple Maps will be seen in DuckDuckGo as embedded in private search results as well as in the Maps tab.

To read this full article got to 9 to 5 Mac web page. http://bit.ly/2HanPUC

HOW TO GET AROUND ACTIVATION LOCK ON IPHONE, IPAD, AND IPOD TOUCH – Having trouble with a locked iOS device? Follow along for how to get around Activation Lock on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Activation Lock is a security feature that is turned on when Find My iPhone (iPad, iPod) is enabled. Here’s how Apple describes it:

When you turn on Find My iPhone on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, your Apple ID is securely stored on Apple’s activation servers and linked to your device. From that point on, your Apple ID password or device passcode is required before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone, erase your device, or reactivate and use your device.

This is different than the iOS device passcode. You’ll see a screen like the image above asking for the Apple ID email and password if you’re having trouble with Activation Lock.

To find out how to reactivate your iPhone or get around Activation Lock, go to this 9 to 5 Mac web site and read the article. If you can’t remember your Apple ID; Apple Password or Security Questions, you need to visit this web site. http://bit.ly/2RxQ0BG

HOW TO USE THE iPHONE’S TODAY VIEW AND MANAGE ITS WIDGETS – The Today View on the iPhone gives you quick access to information from your favorite apps. Here’s how to use and manage it.

The iPhone has a Today View that provides access to at-a-glance information from your most-used apps. It’s a great way to use your apps without actually tapping them on the Home screen. For example, the Weather widget in Today View shows the local forecast. You can even access Today View from the iPhone’s Lock screen.

Here’s how to access and manage the widgets in Today View. Go to this Macworld web page and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2ROj0Vb

HOW TO RECOVER DELETED FILES FROM iCLOUD DRIVE – Losing files is gut-wrenching, especially if it’s an important work document or pictures of your kids. Online storage solutions usually offer a way to restore deleted files, and iCloud is no different. The process is convoluted, but we’ll hold your hand all the way.

Go to this How-To-Geek web site and get the steps with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2stiMEH

STOP USING SKYPE & START USING ZOOM – Again, I am a bit disheartened to be saying this about a service I have long loved, by Skype is no longer on my favorites list. I used to be a huge enthusiast but then Microsoft got their grubby mitts on it and the Redmond virus is slowly degrading what was once a magnificent product that totally revolutionized the telecom industry.

The current MacOS version in particular, is a travesty. Don’t even get me started on it. As far as Windows is concerned, the day they scrapped the standalone desktop version in favor of the Windows 10 store app was the day I used bad words very liberally.

So, what are the alternatives? Well, thankfully you do have a lot of options when it comes to VOIP and video conferencing. I can’t believe I’m saying this but Facebook Messenger is actually quite good. So is Signal, and if you are an iOS user, Facetime kicks butt.

But my all-time favorite now is Zoom, which is earning rave reviews and plaudits from users. High-quality audio and video rarely dropped calls, and group chats are just a few of the great things about it. There is a browser extension and, of course, smartphone apps.

FACETIME GUIDE FOR iPHONE & iPAD: MAKING GROUP CALLS, USING AUDIO OR VIDEO & MORE – A phone call where you can see the person on the other end in real time; it used to be the stuff of science fiction. In 2010, though, Apple made it a reality when Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 and FaceTime at WWDC 2010. Through the years FaceTime has evolved and improved to include more devices and capabilities, until with Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 12.1, we finally have group FaceTime, where up to 32 people can use the audio-video feature at once. Since FaceTime has expanded so considerably, the time has come for a guide that includes all the different ways to use the service on iPhone and iPad. We’ll cover how to make and join a call using the FaceTime app, iMessages, and Siri, as well as how to use Group FaceTime, Memoji, and Animoji. Let’s get started!

Go to this iPhone life web page and get the steps with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2RFc10I

STOP USING GOOGLE SEARCH & START USING DUCKDUCKGO – Google has always been, is, and will continue to be “THE” search engine online. I don’t foresee any possible realistic scenario where someone is going to topple them from the throne. But that doesn’t mean you automatically have to drink their Kool-Aid. In fact, from a privacy point of view, you should NOT be using them.

Instead, use DuckDuckGo. There are many other similar privacy-focused search engines but I like DuckDuckGo (despite the silly name). The ironic thing about people who adamantly declare that they will never stop using Google is that they don’t realize that DDG uses Google’s search index. The only difference is that DDG strips out all the tracking first before delivering the results to you.

So, in other words, you are getting the same results but no adverts based on what you’ve just searched for. How is that a bad thing?

15 SECRET TRICKS AND TIPS INSIDE iOS 12 – Many are big, flashy, in-your-face features. Just as many are little hidden tricks that only a true iOS aficionado will find fascinating.

Apple released iOS 12 in September 2018, and it has since gone through several dot revs (as of this writing, we’re at 12.1.2). That’s plenty of time to have figured it all out, right?

Anyone can with iOS gets a pretty simple operating system, so it’s easy to get going. But with each new version there comes new innovation and new options.

Since iOS 12 works on iPhones from the 5s on up, the iPod touch, and iPads going back to 2013’s iPad Air, that’s a lot of devices that can take advantage of Apple’s latest mobile software upgrades. The new stuff featured below are the items that should push you from casual user to power user in no time. Show your friends and relatives and you’ll soon be their iPhone guru (for better or worse). Read more at this PCMag article: http://bit.ly/2CWdaHW

HOW TO ENABLE USB RESTRICTED MODE TO PROTECT THE DATA ON YOUR IPHONE – If you lose sight of your phone in a public place, like leaving it plugged into the wall of the coffee shop while you do some remote work, your data is susceptible to USB hacking tools such as keyloggers. USB Restricted Mode can help secure your data by preventing access to the Lightning port after your device has been locked for an hour.

Go to this iPhone life web page and see the short procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2Rj6i1b

HOW TO CREATE HANDY SHORTCUTS FOR CALL REMINDERS ON iPHONE, iPAD. (AND MAC) – Apple’s Reminders app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac has a fun feature built-in when you ask Siri to create reminders for phone calls. Read on for how to create handy shortcuts for call reminders on iPhone and iPad.

Interesting enough, this fun little trick only works with Siri. If you type in the same text for a reminder, you won’t get the shortcut to make the call.

How to create shortcuts for call reminders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Activate Siri (Press and hold your Side button or Home button, or say “Hey Siri,” tap the Siri button on Touch Bar or the menu bar on Mac)
Make a request like “Remind me to call Zac at 12:10 pm”
You’ll see a colored phone icon with a shortcut to make your phone call

Here’s what these handy reminders with shortcuts to make calls look like on iPhone:

You can tap the phone icon in reminders to immediately place the call. Alternately, you can firm press (or long press) on the reminder when it pops up to tap Call Now.

A nice feature is when you have multiple contacts with the same name, Siri will ask which one of them you’d like to set the call reminder for. The same applies for your contacts that have multiple phone numbers.

Alternately, you can specify both last name and which phone number for a more seamless experience.

If you want to see this article, go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page. http://bit.ly/2QDSXeP

THE BEST WAYS TO READ NEWS ON YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – The iPhone and iPad are great for consuming news, whether that’s current affairs or the latest on your favorite sports team. The iPad, in particular, is ideally suited to kicking back and reading, and we’re going to tell you how to make the most of it.

With the App Store filled to the brim with new apps for your iPhone or iPad, it can be difficult to know which to download and in some cases, buy. With Apple offering its own news reading app, Apple News, do you even need to try a third-party solution at all? We’d suggest that yes, you do, and we’re going to tell you about some of the apps we use to keep up to speed on what is going on around us, across many different categories.

Some of these apps will be free, and some will require a fee. We’ll let you decide whether reading news is worth paying for.

Let’s jump in! Go to this How-To-Geek web site and get started. http://bit.ly/2QAeWmM

HOW TO USE YOUR iPHONE AS A FLASHLIGHT – If you find yourself in a situation where you need some extra light, the flash on your iPhone’s camera works great as a flashlight. There are more features to this than you might expect, so here’s how to use it.

Go to this How-To-Geek web page and see how to turn it on two different ways. http://bit.ly/2FlGgUN

HOW iOS’S WI-FI ASSIST WORKS AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT YOUR CELLULAR BILL – A bad Wi-Fi connection can still cause your iPhone (or iPad) to use cellular data.

Added in iOS 9, Wi-Fi Assist recognizes when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, but have a poor or erratic signal. When this happens, Wi-Fi Assist kicks over automatically to cellular for foreground apps to keep data flowing. This feature is enabled by default.

Wi-Fi Assist automatically excludes third-party audio and video streaming and doesn’t relay data from apps working in the background. Nonetheless, some users wound up with surprising cellular bills when they thought they were on Wi-Fi networks—it turned out Wi-Fi Assist used cellular data because the Wi-Fi connections were marginal. (U.S. carriers have largely switched to a fixed or flexible monthly maximum after which your cellular data rate is throttled to a very slow speed, so surprise bills are less likely.)

Go to this Mac World web site for all the info. http://bit.ly/2TBkvDs

WHAT IS TV PROVIDER ON iOS AND HOW DO I USE IT? – So, what is the “TV Provider” option on your iPhone or iPad anyway? The TV Provider option has been in place since iOS 10 and it allows you to use the single sign-on feature for the TV apps on your device. Once you set it up, you won’t need to type in your credentials each time for supported TV apps. You sign in using TV Provider once and then you’re good to go. And after it’s set up, you’ll be able to access the supported channels using the TV app on your device. Find out how to use the iOS TV Provider at: http://bit.ly/2RMRd7H

Go to this iPhone life web page and get the steps with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2RFc10I

HOW TO ENABLE USB RESTRICTED MODE TO PROTECT THE DATA ON YOUR iPHONE – If you lose sight of your phone in a public place, like leaving it plugged into the wall of the coffee shop while you do some remote work, your data is susceptible to USB hacking tools such as keyloggers. USB Restricted Mode can help secure your data by preventing access to the Lightning port after your device has been locked for an hour.

Go to this iPhone life web page and see the short procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2Rj6i1b

Interesting enough, this fun little trick only works with Siri. If you type in the same text for a reminder, you won’t get the shortcut to make the call.

How to create shortcuts for call reminders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Activate Siri (Press and hold your Side button or Home button, or say “Hey Siri,” tap the Siri button on Touch Bar or the menu bar on Mac)
Make a request like “Remind me to call Zac at 12:10 pm”
You’ll see a colored phone icon with a shortcut to make your phone call

Here’s what these handy reminders with shortcuts to make calls look like on iPhone:

You can tap the phone icon in reminders to immediately place the call. Alternately, you can firm press (or long press) on the reminder when it pops up to tap Call Now.

Alternately, you can specify both last name and which phone number for a more seamless experience.

If you want to see this article, go to this 9 to 5 Mac web page. http://bit.ly/2QDSXeP

Some of these apps will be free, and some will require a fee. We’ll let you decide whether reading news is worth paying for.

Let’s jump in! Go to this How-To-Geek web site and get started. http://bit.ly/2QAeWmM

Go to this How to Geek web page and see how to turn it on two different ways. http://bit.ly/2FlGgUN

HOW iOS’S WI-FI ASSIST WORKS AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT YOUR CELLULAR BILL – A bad Wi-Fi connection can still cause your iPhone (or iPad) to use cellular data.

Wi-Fi Assist automatically excludes third-party audio and video streaming, and doesn’t relay data from apps working in the background. Nonetheless, some users wound up with surprising cellular bills when they thought they were on Wi-Fi networks—it turned out Wi-Fi Assist used cellular data because the Wi-Fi connections were marginal. (U.S. carriers have largely switched to a fixed or flexible monthly maximum after which your cellular data rate is throttled to a very slow speed, so surprise bills are less likely.)

Go to this Mac World web site for all the info. http://bit.ly/2TBkvDs

HOW TO BLOCK PHONE AND FACETIME CALLS ON iPHONE AND iPAD – Whether it’s a telemarketer or someone you know who’s annoying you, sometimes the best thing to do is block them from calling or FaceTiming you. Here’s how to do that on your iPhone and iPad.

For iPhone and iPad owners, there are myriad ways someone can contact you, whether that’s a phone call, a FaceTime Audio call, or a FaceTime video call. Despite the many different ways someone could contact you, iOS operates under an all-or-nothing approach. That means that blocking someone from calling you also blocks them from contacting you via FaceTime. As a handy bonus, it also stops them from reaching you over SMS or iMessage, too.

You can block contacts from reaching you in the FaceTime and Phone apps—again, this will block all points of contact, no matter where you do it—and we’ll show you how.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and see the steps plus screen shots. http://bit.ly/2FYSnbe

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE APPLE WATCH NOTIFICATIONS – Whether you’d like to see the same notifications on Apple Watch as you do on iPhone, or want to tailor them for each device, read on for how to customize Apple Watch notifications.

Apple Watch can make life simpler, but if you’re receiving all of the notifications from iPhone on your wearable, it may feel like a distracting experience. Luckily watchOS offers granular notification control for Apple Watch.

How to customize Apple Watch notifications

Open the Watch appon iPhone
Tap on Notifications
Tap on the apps that you’d like to customize notifications for
Further down you can toggle off/on third-party app notifications

HOW TO GET A REFUND FROM THE APPLE APP STORE – No matter how much research you do, there is always the chance of getting something that doesn’t work as advertised. That’s when you’re likely to need a refund, and even though Apple doesn’t advertise this, you can indeed get refunds from the App Store.

While Apple might not make a big deal about it, getting a refund from the App Store is not only possible, it’s pretty easy to do. Whether you’re requesting a refund for an in-app purchase or a whole app, the process is the same. It’s worth remembering that even though refunds are possible, this is not a means to get a free trial—Apple still doesn’t offer trials for apps—and it’s likely Apple will clamp down if that’s the route you take. If you bought an app that simply doesn’t work, or is broken in some way, however, a refund is possible.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the steps plus screen shots. http://bit.ly/2dnsskm

HOW TO MAKE AND ANSWER CALLS ON AN iPAD – Making and answering calls on your iPad is a little-known feature that can be pretty amazing in use, and all you need is to have your tablet and your iPhone near one another. Thanks to the magic of Apple’s Continuity features, handling calls on an iPad is one of those features that you might forget exists but can be handy if you already have your tablet in front of you.

Before You Get Started

If you want to use your iPad as a big phone, you’ll need to have a couple of prerequisites ticked off before getting started. You’ll need to have an iPhone and iPad that are:

Connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Logged into the same iCloud account in Settings.
Running iOS 8.1 or later, which shouldn’t be too hard at this point.

Assuming all of those boxes are checked, let’s move on. Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the information plus screen shots. http://bit.ly/2QkoV3F

HOW TO TURN APPLE WATCH ON AND OFF – Whether you’re new to Apple Watch or you just haven’t needed to power your wearable on or off in a while, follow along for how to turn Apple Watch on and off.

In day-to-day use, you won’t really need to turn Apple Watch on or off, but there are some cases where it may be needed. It’s good to also keep in mind in some cases, new Apple Watches may need to be charged before powering on for the first time.

How to turn Apple Watch on and off

Press and hold the Side button (oval shape)
You’ll see the Apple logo appear as it powers on
If it doesn’t power on, place it on the charger

Off

Press and hold the Side button (oval shape)
Release when you see the power off screen
Use the touchscreen to move the POWER OFFslider over and power down your Apple Watch

Alternately, if you’re running low on battery, you can enable power reserve mode which will still give you the current time while being battery efficient.

Swipe up from your watch face to reveal Control Center, then tap on the battery percentage as shown below.

Here’s how the process looks:

How to adjust Display Zoom on iPhone and iPad

As displays get larger, text is seemingly getting smaller. On certain iOS devices, Apple offers an option to adjust Display Zoom, which not only makes text larger, but things like the Home screen icons.

Follow along to learn how to enable Display Zoom.
How to adjust Display Zoom on iPhone and iPad
Note that Display Zoom is only available on iPhone 6/7/8 (Plus), iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and the third-generation iPad Pro 12.9-inch.

How to Disable and Deactivate iMessage on iPhone or iPad
Oliver Haslam

Apple’s iMessage is one of the most popular messaging platforms around, and it’s a great way for Apple to lock people into its ecosystem. As great as iMessage is, there may still be times you need to disable or complete deactivate it.

Some of those times may be down to good old-fashioned troubleshooting (or perhaps you really did make the jump to Android) Whatever your reasons, you will not only need to turn iMessage off on your iPhone or iPad but potentially tell Apple to remove your number from iMessage on the server-side, too.

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, How-to Geek is here to help. Go to the following web page and get the steps plus screen shots. http://bit.ly/2zgCxD9

HOW TO SEARCH ON iPHONE – iPhones have evolved to help us with so many different tasks, but that also means keeping track of more information than ever. Whether its, work, personal, or shared content, follow along to become more efficient by improving how you search on iPhone.

There are several ways to leverage the power of search on iPhone. We’ll look at Spotlight (searching for local content like notes, documents, apps, the web, and more), searching the web, and even searching specific pages and documents for a keyword.

How to search on iPhone

From the Lock screen, swipe from left to right, use the search box at the top of your screen.
From your Home screen, you can also swipe from right to left to search with the Today View screen or pull down on your Home screen (in between apps is usually best).
Type in your search.

HOW TO CREATE AN APPLE ID ON YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – When you’re using any of Apple’s computers, smartphones, or tablets, an Apple ID is integral to not only setting devices up in the first place but getting the best out of them as you use them, too. When you pay a premium to use an ecosystem that “just works,” not having an Apple ID cripples the experience.

Note: For this guide, we are going to make the assumption that you already have an iPhone or iPad up and running, and that you need to create an additional Apple ID. These steps are the same even if you are setting up a new device. When you reach the point of entering your Apple ID, tap “Forgot password or don’t have an Apple ID,” before tapping “Create a Free Apple ID” and following the process. Go to this How-To Geek web page and follow the steps. http://bit.ly/2zd7Ii0

APPLE PUBLISHES FULL IOS 12.1 IPHONE USER GUIDE, CONFIRMING GROUP FACETIME, DUAL-SIM & MORE – When you buy an Apple product, one of the things it doesn’t come with in the box is a full user manual. To get a full manual, you have to go to Apple’s support website or look for its iPhone user guide on Apple Books.

Today, Apple has just made available an updated version of its iPhone User Guide, including new features from iOS 12.1. The user guide can be obtained for free on the Apple Books Store.

This updated guide includes references to new features of iOS 12.1, such as dual SIM support, Group FaceTime and the ability to adjust the depth of portrait mode pictures in the Camera app. Group FaceTime was previously announced as a feature of iOS 12, but Apple delayed its release as it wasn’t quite ready for the initial build of iOS 12. Instead, Apple had promised it would ship in a future software update – which we now know is iOS 12.1.

The inclusion of Group FaceTime on this updated user guide indicates that the feature will in fact be shipping with iOS 12.1. Group FaceTime does have some limitations however, including the fact that FaceTime itself is not available on all regions and that older devices, specifically the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus will only support Group FaceTime audio-only calls.

Another area highlighted by the updated user guide is Apple Music. It mentions the app is getting new features such as updated artist pages, daily top 100 songs around the world, and search by lyrics.

HOW TO MOVE iPHONE APPS – Whether you’re new to iPhone or just haven’t reorganized your apps in a while, follow along for how to move iPhone apps as we cover everything from the basics to advanced tips and tricks.

We’ll first take a look at the basics of moving individual apps. Then look at some advanced app management maneuvers below. Whether you’d like to move multiple apps at once, make and rename folders, and more, we’ve got you covered.

Tap and hold on an app until all apps start wiggling
Tap and hold on the app you’d like to move, drag it to a new location
Repeat as needed
When finished, tap Done in the top right corner of iPhone X and later, press the Home button for iPhone 8/8 Plus and earlier (and iPad)

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM APPLE’S OCTOBER MAC EVENT –To nobody’s great surprise, the previous Apple event, in September, was the traditional start-of-fall fest that was all about the phones, revealing the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max to the world. This time around, according to the most credible rumors, the Cupertino crew is ready to show off what could be music to your ears: new Macs and iPads. Rather than hosting the press in California as it usually does, Apple is coming right to PCMag’s backyard here in New York City. On October 30 at 10 a.m. (ET), the tech giant will take the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. While nothing is confirmed yet, obviously, the rumor mill has been pretty consistent: It’s likely the turn of the iPad Pro and the desktop Macs to get refreshed. Read more of this PCMag article at: http://bit.ly/2Daecm8

HOW TO MOVE YOUR iTUNES MUSIC TO A CHROMEBOOK – If you switch between platforms a lot, you know it’s a hassle to move your stuff around. Fortunately, music files don’t have any sort of DRM tying them to a specific platform the way that movies do, so you can copy and paste your library around with ease. Or if your music is already in a cloud library, getting your music on a new device may be as easy as downloading a single app. Find out how at this How-To Geek article: http://bit.ly/2z5AD7y

HOW TO USE A MORE SECURE iPHONE PASSCODE – Touch ID and Face ID have made unlocking iPhones super-fast and secure. It’s hard for someone to fake your fingerprint or face. Now, let’s do something about those short passcodes.

Security is always a balance between actual security and convenience. Before Touch ID, most people used a simple four-number passcode (or god forbid, just used swipe to unlock) because they were quick to enter and provided a small amount of security. Now, most people use a six-digit code, but that’s still not very secure. Someone only has to glance over at you entering it once or twice to learn it.

Since Touch ID and Face ID are now so convenient, you can actually use a more secure passcode, or even a passphrase, without inconveniencing yourself too much. I so rarely have to enter my iPhone’s passcode, that the loss of convenience from taking a few seconds longer to enter it once or twice a day is made up for by the extra security. Here’s how to do it.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the step plus screenshots. http://bit.ly/2q5WkjB

HOW TO ADD ANOTHER FACE TO FACE ID ON iPHONE – If you want to add a second person to your iPhone’s Face ID recognition, iOS 12 now lets you do just that. Here’s how.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the steps with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2D0p4mt

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE DO NOT DISTURB IN iOS 12 – Do Not Disturb saw a small change in iOS 12. Rather than being a simple on/off switch, Apple now gives users a few more options when enabling the feature. Follow along to learn how to customize Do Not Disturb in iOS 12.

Swipe down from the top right (on iPhone X and beyond), or from the bottom to access Control Center.
3D Touch or long press on the Do Not Disturb icon.
Choose For 1 hour, Until this evening, or Until I leave this location. You’ll sometimes see Until the end of this eventas well, if you have a calendar event scheduled.

And that’s all there is to it. While it’s not as extensive as some may want (enable on certain days, for example), it’s a step in the right direction. Maybe in the future, Apple will expand on the feature and make it fully fledged. For now, this is all we’ve got.

You’re also able to set a DND schedule in the Settings, as well as use Do Not Disturb during Bedtime to schedule when you’d like to not be disturbed. However, you can enable Do Not Disturb whenever you’d like by simply tapping the icon in Control Center. This will keep it on indefinitely until you tap the icon again to disable it. Go to this 9to5Mac web page for a screenshot and video on 5 Favorite iOS12 Features: http://bit.ly/2Slq09A

HOW TO USE FLASHLIGHT WITH iPHONE – Whether you’re new to iPhone or want to learn a new way to use the flashlight, follow along for three ways to use flashlight with iPhone.

There are several ways to use flashlight with iPhone. While Control Center may be the most well-known option, Siri and the Lock screen shortcut on certain iPhones are usually the most convenient choices.

Ask Siri to turn the flashlight on
Tap the flashlight icon in Control Center
Use the Lock screen shortcut on iPhone X and later

Option 1
The most convenient way to use flashlight with iPhone in many cases may be to ask Siri. There are a variety of phrases that will get the job done, the simplest is “Hey Siri, flashlight.”

Siri will confirm when it’s been turned on and you can ask to have it turned off with a command as simple as “Hey Siri, flashlight off.”

Option 2
Another common way to make use of the flashlight is with Control Center. For iPhone 8/8 Plus and older, swipe up from the bottom of your screen and tap the flashlight icon.

For iPhone X, XS, and XS Max, swipe down from the top right corner to access Control Center.

Option 3
The fastest way to turn on flashlight on iPhone X and newer may be the Lock screen shortcut. You’ll see the flashlight icon in the bottom left corner. Firm press (3D Touch) on it to toggle it on and off.

Go this 9to5Mac webpage for screenshots: http://bit.ly/2SglmJW

HERE’S WHAT iCLOUD BACKUP INCLUDES

App data
Apple Watch backups
Call history
Device settings
HomeKit configuration
Home screen and app organization
iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages – When you use Messages in iCloud or turn on iCloud Photos, your content is automatically stored in iCloud. That means they’re not included in your iCloud Backup.
Photos and videos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Purchase history from Apple services, like your music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books – Includes information about the content you buy, but not the content itself. When you restore from an iCloud backup, your purchased content is automatically redownloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or Books Store)
Ringtones
Visual Voicemail password (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup). (Your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch backup only include information and settings stored on your device. It doesn’t include information already stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos3, shared photos, iCloud Photos, Health data, and files you store in iCloud Drive.)
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you’ll have a copy of your information to use in case your device is ever replaced, lost, or damaged.

Choose a backup method
Before you get started, learn the difference between iCloud and iTunes backups, then choose the method that’s best for you. If you need an alternative backup, you can make one in iCloud and another in iTunes.

Go to this support Apple web page and get the step with screen shots. https://apple.co/2PPZxPT

APPLE BOOKS: WHAT’S NEW IN iOS 12 – Apple has completely redesigned and overhauled its iBooks app for iOS 12. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

iOS 12 brings a bunch of refinements and speed to your iPhone and iPad, but that’s not all: There are a number of core apps getting huge facelifts and functionality improvements, too. One of these apps is Apple’s ebook reader and store, iBooks, which bears the moniker “Apple Books” in iOS 12.

While the ebook-reading experience itself has stayed largely the same in iOS 12, Apple Books has completely rethought the design, book management, purchase, and organizational aspects. The new Book Store app is available in 51 countries (and free books in 155 more); here’s everything new in Apple Books on iOS 12.

Go to this iMore web page and get all the news about Apple Book. http://bit.ly/2CVmNcn

HOW TO RENAME FOLDERS ON IPHONE AND IPAD – If you’re looking to customize and organize your iPhone or iPad, renaming folders from the defaults that iOS offers is a valuable thing to do. Follow along for how to rename folders on iPhone and iPad.

Whether you’re new to iOS or just haven’t spent the time to tackle customizing folders before, it’s quick and easy to do.

If you’d like to make a new folder while you work on the renaming process, just press and hold (long press) on an app until it wiggles, then drag it on top of another one.

Tap and hold (long press) on the folder you’d like to rename
Once your app/folder are wiggling, tap the folder again
Tap the folder field up top to rename and tap done on the keyboard
On iPhone X and later, tap outside of the folder and then tap Done
One iPhone and iPad models with a Home button, tap it to confirm the change.

Go to this 9to5 mac web site if you want to see a walkthrough with images for the renaming process: http://bit.ly/2CVs4jV

NOW THAT PASSWORD AUTOFILL IS PART OF IOS 12, THERE’S NO REASON NOT TO USE A PASSWORD MANAGER – “You should use a password manager!” is advice you’ve likely ignored for years, but with proper integration on every platform, there’s no legitimate reason not to use a password manager now.

Why You Should Use a Password Manager – The biggest reason to use a password manager is security. Many people reuse the same handful of passwords across the web because they’re easy to remember—but this is also the worst way to handle account security. What if someone finds out even one of your “most used” passwords? How many accounts will be compromised?

With a password manager, you let the software handle the task of remembering complex passwords while you only remember one—the master password to the vault. Instead of remembering several simple passwords, you remember one more difficult password, and then let your manager handle the duties of creating and storing much more complex and secure passwords.

If you’re doing it properly, you won’t have the slightest clue what most of your passwords are. I don’t know my bank password, my mortgage company’s password, or pretty much any of my other important logins. These are all held in my password manager, and I don’t even want to know them.

Why Now’s the Best Time to Start Using a Password Manager – Here’s the thing with password managers: they’ve been a massive inconvenience for a long time. You could use LastPass on the computer, but then when you need a password on your phone, it was a huge pain. Until now, anyway.

With proper password manager support on both Android and iOS, there’s no good excuse not to use a password manager now.

I say “proper” password manager support because LastPass had a useful-but-janky feature on Android for a couple of years that used a chatheads-like feature to fill password info when necessary automatically. But starting with Android Oreo (8.x), Google built an autofill API that allows third-party password managers to automatically fill password information across the entire system.

With iOS 12, Apple also added a very similar feature. You can not only fill passwords from your iCloud Keychain, but also from services like LastPass, 1Password, and more. It’s incredibly intuitive and convenient.

While both systems make easy work of implementing your password manager on mobile, Apple’s system is a little more seamless—it’s baked into the keyboard for ease of use, and it also allows you to set multiple sources from which to pull passwords. Android’s implementation requires you to set a default autofill system, which is fine even if a little less versatile.

Autofill on Mobile is Simple, Intuitive, and Built for Everyone – Now that both Android and iOS have native autofill function baked-in, it’s time for everyone to get on board. It’s incredibly intuitive and simple, but most importantly it’s convenient.

How to add custom email signatures on iPhone and iPad

Whether you have one email account or multiple, follow along for how to add custom email signatures on iPhone and iPad.

For this tutorial, we’ll cover how to add email signatures on iPhone and iPad when using the default Mail app. If you’re looking to add a signature via a third-party email client, take a look in settings of that particular app.

With the iOS Mail app, you can have a signature apply to all email accounts you are using, or have different signatures for each account.

1. Open Settings

2. Swipe down and tap Mail

3. Swipe down and select Signature

4. Enter your signature (can be the same for all accounts or on per account basis)

Here’s how the process looks:

If you have an iPhone and an iPad, you’ll need to set up signatures on both devices as they don’t sync automatically. Follow the same steps as above.

WHAT ARE SIRI SHORTCUTS AND HOW DO I USE THEM? – Siri Shortcuts are one of the new features in iOS12. They let you automate specific tasks (or sequences of tasks) on your iPhone or iPad that you can trigger with a single tap or voice command. So, what can you do with them? Let’s take a look.

What are Siri Shortcuts? – Long story short, Siri Shortcuts let you automate sequences of actions so that you can perform them quickly with one tap on a shortcut icon or with a voice command issued to Siri.

You can say a custom phrase like “Hey Siri, good night” to switch your phone to Do Not Disturb mode and turn the screen brightness all the way down (if you don’t already have auto-brightness enabled). Third-party apps can also include support for Siri Shortcuts for getting things done in those specific apps. Philips Hue is one example, where you can record custom phrases to tell Siri, and she’ll activate your favorite Hue scenes. This is just one small example, though.

You can, of course, trigger shortcuts without using your voice by tapping on the shortcut within the Shortcuts app. You can even create home screen icons for shortcuts or place them on your lock screen in the form of widgets.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and read the complete article. http://bit.ly/2QJjRlJ

APPLE iOS 12 NEXT-GEN MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM ROLLED OUT ON SEPT. 17 – It’s compatible with iPhone 5s and above, iPad mini 2 and above, and the sixth-gen iPod touch. Apple’s newest iPhones—the iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR—come with the mobile OS built in.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPLECARE AND APPLECARE+? – When you buy a brand-new Apple product, you get a free year of AppleCare with the option of adding on AppleCare+, but it can be confusing figuring out what exactly you get with each service. Here’s how they work.

AppleCare Is Just a Basic Warranty – Most products you buy at the store come with some kind of warranty from the manufacturer that guarantees the product will work as advertised for a certain amount of time. And if not, the manufacturer will fix any problem that comes up free of charge. The length of the warranty and what exactly it covers and doesn’t cover varies depending on the company.

AppleCare is what Apple calls its warranty on its products. It’s a one-year warranty that covers issues and problems with devices—like a malfunctioning power button or a dead screen or anything that fails due to a manufacturing defect or an act of God. You also get 90 days of free phone support. All of this is free of charge and automatically comes with your Apple product, no matter where or when you buy it.

AppleCare+ Adds Another Year and Accidental Damage Coverage – While AppleCare comes with all brand-new Apple products for free, you have the option of paying to add AppleCare+.

AppleCare+ includes regular AppleCare, but on top of that, you get an extra year of warranty coverage (an extra two years for Macs), two years of free phone support (one year extra for Macs), and accidental damage coverage (except for the Apple TV).

Regular AppleCare provides no accidental damage coverage. AppleCare+ does, but there are some limitations. For all Apple products, you only get “up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage,” and there’s a deductible depending on the type of damage and the device:

iPhone: $29 for screen damage, $99 for any other damage.
iPad: $49 for any type of damage.
Mac: $99 for screen damage (or external enclosure damage), $299 for other damage.
Apple Watch: $69 for any kind of damage.
HomePod: $39 for any kind of damage.
iPod Touch: $29 for any kind of damage.

Even though you have to pay a deductible, it’s still way cheaper than paying to repair damage at full price. So, getting AppleCare+ just to have the accidental damage coverage can definitely be worthwhile.

AppleCare+ Can Cover Loss or Theft, but You’ll Pay More – As great as AppleCare+ is, though, there’s one factor that has always been a deal breaker for some: It doesn’t cover lost or stolen devices. That is, until recently.

AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, as it’s called, costs an extra $100 on top of the normal $199 price tag for regular AppleCare+. So you’ll pay $299 total for everything that AppleCare+ offers, as well as theft or loss coverage.

However, you’ll also end up paying a deductible whenever you lose your iPhone or get it stolen, and it won’t necessarily be cheap:

$199 for iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6

$229 for iPhone XR, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPhone 6 Plus

$269 for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone X

It’s definitely cheaper than having to buy a whole new iPhone at full price, but it’s certainly not something to take lightly.

HOW DO I REMOVE PHOTOS ON MY iPHONE? – The whole idea behind cloud services is to have all of your things available across all of your devices. iCloud Photo Library is no different. You have all of your photos available across all of your devices. Your library is like a single location that you can access from anywhere. So if you delete a photo, it is deleted from everywhere.

But it sounds like what you want is not to delete photos because you don’t want to see them, but you just want to manage your space on your iPhone. There is an option for exactly this.

On your iPhone go to: Settings> Photos.

Turn on “Optimize iPhone Storage.”

Then your iPhone will only keep a small thumbnail of each photo that only uses a little bit of storage space. As you view photos, it will download the full versions from the cloud. As time goes on it will offload full photos that you haven’t viewed in a while, freeing up space.

This way you have the best of both worlds — all of your photos available everywhere, and you optimize space on your iPhone.

Apple Watch Now Offers ECG, The First Over-The-Counter Consumer Device To Do So – The Apple Watch Series 4 can now take an electrocardiogram (ECG) reading …

This is something that normally requires specialist medical equipment, Apple says it is the first-time consumers have ever been able to buy an ECG advice without a prescription. The Apple Watch Series 4 has been approved by the FDA for this purpose.

How to Sell Your iPhone Safely – And for the most cash. Before you trade your iPhone 6, 7, or 8 in for whatever Apple reveals this week, here’s how to get your old smartphone ready to sell.

Rumors tip an iPhone Xs, Xs Max or Plus, and Xc. While we can speculate on the size, features, colors, and even materials of the phones, one thing we definitely know is that they’ll be pricey.

Still, there will be fans lining up to buy the newest offerings. If you’re one of them, you’ll probably want to sell your existing phone to help soften that blow. But before you pack up your old iPhone and ship it out, you should know there’s more to the process than just handing it over and waiting for cash to hit your bank account.

Privacy concerns abound with phones, from photos stored in iCloud to personal data housed within apps, so wiping your phone before you hand it over to its next owner is a must. And don’t forget to back up, so you don’t have to manually re-download hundreds of apps on your new iPhone.

Below is our step-by-step guide to preparing your phone for sale, as well as a few reputable sites that will take it off your hands for top dollar.

Go to this PC Mag web site and get the scoop on what to do before you sell that old iPhone a d where you can get the best price. http://bit.ly/2vVeGVO

WHAT’S THE BEST EMAIL APP FOR iPHONE? – E-mail, like calendars, is something that is very personal. Over the years, email has morphed from a way to send electronic letters to turning into the digital hub of all we do online. Your Facebook account is tied to an email. Your Amazon account is tied to an email. Everything is tied to your email.

Email accounts are also difficult to change. Once you have it signed up with multiple services, moving from it is like moving your physical address. I’ve seen this first hand when folks leave the school I work at. I usually give them a few days to tie everything up, but many of them have used it as a personal account for years despite my warnings not to, so it becomes a difficult transition.

Go to this 9 to 5 mac web page and get info on 7 different email used for iPhones. http://bit.ly/2MTzSqX

USE READING MODE ON ANDROID OR iOS TO VIEW WEBPAGES CLUTTER-FREE – While you’re trying to get to the meat of an article while reading on your smartphone or tablet, it’s best done without distractions on the webpage.

When it comes to reading news and online articles on your phone, sometimes the pages can be overwhelming to look at. Most notably sites that have a ton of images, sidebars, ads, and other on-screen activity. Sometimes you just want to get rid of the excess and just read the text of an article. Here is a look at how you can read articles in a browser on your Android or iOS device distraction-free.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the steps plus screen shots for Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS. http://bit.ly/2Pd8TED

TECHOPEDIA EXPLAINS ALGORITHM – An algorithm is a detailed series of instructions for carrying out an operation or solving a problem. In a non-technical approach, we use algorithms in everyday tasks, such as a recipe to bake a cake or a do-it-yourself handbook.

Technically, computers use algorithms to list the detailed instructions for carrying out an operation. For example, to compute an employee’s paycheck, the computer uses an algorithm. To accomplish this task, appropriate data must be entered into the system. In terms of efficiency, various algorithms are able to accomplish operations or problem solving easily and quickly.

APPLE TEACHES PHOTO EDITING WITH OVER-THE-PHONE CLASSES – Many device makers give you the tools to capture and edit great photos, but they seldom teach you how to make the most of those tools. Apple thinks it can — and unlike in the past, you don’t need to show up in person to develop your skills. The company has launched an over-the-phone training program that teaches you how to edit with Photos (both iOS and macOS) in a 30-minute one-on-one session with a specialist. It’ll both show how to use simple adjustments like Auto Enhance as well as deeper edits like color balance and exposure. If you have Live Photos or Portrait mode pictures from your mobile devices, you’ll learn how to edit those as well. Read more of this engadget article: https://engt.co/2wwOhzk

iPHONE & iPAD: HOW TO CUSTOMIZE NOTES SETTINGS – Whether you’ve been using the iOS Notes app for a while and never customized it or are just starting to use it, follow along below for how to dial in your settings.

Curating your settings for Notes is easy to do and is definitely worth your time. Whether you like to start new notes with Siri, Control Center, or manually, we’ll look at how to adjust your default account, default sort option, and more.

iPhone & iPad: How to customize Notes settings

Open Settings
Swipe down and tap Notes
Double check “Default Account” at the top, set to your liking (if you have options)
Another valuable setting to check is ‘Sort Notes By’
Look over any other settings that you’d like to tweak.

HOW TO CONTACT GMAIL SUPPORT – Although you may not be able to directly contact Gmail support without subscribing to G Suite for businesses, there are a couple of ways to get the answers you’re looking for online. Let’s look at how you can get help with your Gmail issues.

Go to this How-to Geek web page and get your Gmail concerns solved. http://bit.ly/2OSEhbl

HOW TO REALLY STOP GOOGLE FROM TRACKING YOUR LOCATION – Even when Google Location History is off, your phone or tablet is still collecting your location data. Here’s how to really make sure it’s turned off.

Everyone should know that the services and app you use from Google aren’t really free. In exchange for creating a Google account and using Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, and even search itself, you agree to have your data collected. And one of the data metrics that’s collected is your location history. Here is a look at how you can really stop Google from tracking your location while using its services.

A recent report from the Associated Press reveals that even if you disable Google’s Location History on your phone, it’s not really stopping the search giant from tacking you. In fact, just today the company clarified its tracking policy. “We have been updating the explanatory language about Location History to make it more consistent and clearer across our platforms and help centers,” Google said in a statement to the AP.

Go to this Groovy Post website page and stop Google from tacking your location. Apple Devices http://bit.ly/2Bq9Abh

7 WAYS TO CREATE STRONG PASSWORDS

Avoid the Obvious– Don’t make the mistake of creating passwords that are based on personal information, your login ID, or are simple to guess or locate.
Make It Longer – One of the features of a strong password is that it is at least 8 characters in length and it should be a combination of mixed-case letters with the addition of numbers and punctuation where allowed.
Vanity Plates – How many times have you been driving behind a car with a vanity plate? Were the characters cryptic but easy to decipher? Have you seen these plates?

Consider an easy to remember phrase that can be expressed without complete words and with a combination of mixed case letters as well as numbers and symbols:

Have some fun making up combinations of phrases that have meaning to you but that would not be easy for other people to guess.

Song Lyrics – Think of a favorite song lyric, book, or poem. The more obscure your choice, the better. Next, create a password from a combination such as the 1st letter of each word of the phrase. Some hacker dictionaries have common songs and phrases built in, and so, you will want to strengthen your password by adding in other characters or personalizing the song in some way.

For instance: “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose,” might become r1trNr2Xhavsn.

You want to avoid obvious geek phrases, of course, such as “Luke, I am your father” or “Beam me up Scotty.”

Passphrases – Choose 5 or more random words and string them together to create a nonsense phrase. For greater strength, use a downloadable program such as Diceware that helps you generate word combinations from your throw of multiple dice.
Blended Words – String together 3 or more totally unrelated words by breaking apart and re-combining the parts of each word. For instance, combining the words SPOON LIME PUPPY might result in SPOLIPUPP.
Annoy Lurkers – Do use a password that can be typed quickly, without having to look at the keyboard. This makes it harder for someone to steal your password by looking at your keyboard (also known as “lurking” or “shoulder surfing”). Do not use keyboard sequences or characters found together such as QWERTY.

These 7 strategies will enable you to choose and create strong passwords that will help improve the security of your computer and other devices.

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS ARE BEING HACKED, LOCK YOURS DOWN NOW – Attackers are compromising Instagram accounts and locking out users, so take a moment to lock down your account.

A growing number of users are taking to Twitter and Reddit to complain about compromised Instagram accounts, and there seems to be a pattern. Here’s Karissa Bell, writing for Mashable:

It’s not clear how hackers are gaining access to these accounts, or if it’s the result of a coordinated attack. But Mashable has identified several commonalities among the hacking victims—like a changed handle and profile avatar (often to an animated character from a Disney or Pixar film), deleted bios, and a new .ru email address on the account. In most cases, the Instagram users did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time of the hack, but it appears even this setting may not be enough to deter hackers.

The changed email addresses are a big deal because they make it hard to recover your account. With this in mind, we think prevention is key. Here’s our advice:

Change your password, particularly if you’ve been re-using one on various accounts. Set up a password manager so you can quickly generate random ones.
Enable two factor authentications on Instagram right now. Yes, some people have been hacked with this on, but it’s still better to have this on

These steps aren’t a guarantee, as Bell outlines in her piece, but it’s a start. Stay safe out there!

iPHONE & iPAD: HOW TO CUSTOMIZE SIRI SUGGESTIONS – As Siri has evolved in various ways over the years, suggestions from the smart assistant pop up across iOS in a variety of ways, often by default. Siri suggestions come from analyzing your personal data, which happens on-device for greater user privacy. Even though many of these features are on by default, Apple gives users fine grain control of them, along with easy to understand descriptions of how the features work.

Go to this 9to5 Mac web page and see the steps and screen shots for customizing Siri.
http://bit.ly/2P9kOnr

QUICK TIP: ASK SIRI HOW TO SPELL A WORD – Since you talk instead of type to communicate with Siri, it is an ideal way to find out the spelling of a word. Just ask Siri on your Mac or iOS device: “How do you spell daiquiri?” Not only will you see the result, but Siri will spell it for you.

HOW TO AUTO-REPLY TO TEXTS ON iPHONE WHILE YOU’RE DRIVING – With iOS 11 on iPhone, you can turn on a new feature called Do Not Disturb while Driving. What does Do Not Disturb mean on your iPhone? It means that with this “car mode” feature turned on, your iPhone won’t receive notifications while you’re driving so you don’t get distracted. You can turn off Do Not Disturb if you’re a passenger and would like to use your iPhone. Your iPhone’s driving mode also allows you to turn on and customize an Auto-Reply message that’s sent to whomever is texting you when you’re driving. Here’s how to set up an auto-reply message to texts while you’re driving with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Go to this iphonelife web page and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2KkiKW1

IDEVICE USER GUIDE – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IDEVICES. Go to this Apple web page: https://apple.co/2OHE5Mz It will provide you with the opportunity to Browse Manuals by Products. Also, manuals are available in other languages.

If you select “iBooks,” that manual can be downloaded and read in iBooks on your Mac or iOS device.

If you select “Web,” that manual can be displayed on your Windows PC.

GIVE SIRI THE FINGER – One of the big problems with voice-controlled devices is that you don’t always want to use your voice: “Hey, Siri! Search the web for fungal foot cream!” isn’t something you generally want to shout on the bus.

If you go into Settings > General > Accessibility > Siri and enable Type To Siri, long-pressing on the Home button brings up the keyboard. “Hey Siri” still works, and if you’ve enabled voice feedback that still works too.

GET MORE STORAGE SPACE – iOS 11 introduces several new ways to improve your available storage, including new, more efficient file formats for photo and video – although those formats only apply to new images or recordings, not ones you’ve already got.

In addition, you can free up storage by enabling iCloud sync for Messages in Settings > Messages > Messages on iCloud and by deleting message attachments from the same page.

You can also “offload” apps, which deletes them but remembers their data: when you want to use them again you just re-install and they pick up from where you left off. That option is in the iCloud storage bit of Settings.

GOOGLE EARTH FOR iOS RECEIVES HANDY MEASURE TOOL TO CALCULATE DISTANCE AND AREA – Google Earth on iOS has been updated with one of the most requested features: a measurement tool.

Announced in a blog post, Google shared that after previously coming to Chrome and Android, it has brought the popular feature to iOS.

Ever wonder how far your hometown is from the North Pole? Or maybe, you simply want to measure the length of that hike you just finished.

One of the most requested features for Google Earth is the ability to measure distance and areas.

Google shared some other useful ways to use the measure tool like checking out the size of a park in a new neighborhood before buying a home or teachers using it to create engaging lessons for students.

Or if you’re a teacher, challenge your students to measure the distance between Tokyo and Timbuktu; compare the area of Colorado and Utah or create math problems using the map.

The measure tool is live now in the latest version of Google Earth and can be found by long-pressing on the map or opening the overflow menu.

Google Earth is a free download on the App Store. Version 9.2.25

HOW TO SYNC AND ACCESS OPEN TABS IN FIREFOX ACROSS DEVICES – Do you use Firefox on multiple devices? You can sync your tabs across devices using Firefox Sync and open them on any device.

With today’s on-the-go lifestyle, most people switch among several devices to stay informed and connected. Luckily, you can continue viewing the same web pages in Firefox across your devices by syncing your open tabs.

You can easily access a list of Firefox tabs open on each device and open any of those tabs on any of your devices.

Today we’ll show you how to access open Firefox tabs in Windows, Mac, and Linux, and on iOS and Android devices.

Go to this Groovy Post web page and get the procedures with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2OaVi0O

INSTAGRAM DM NOW LETS YOU SEE WHEN YOUR FRIENDS ARE ONLINE (DM = DIRECT MESSAGE) – Instagram has out a new feature to let users see when their friends are on the platform and available to chat.

Detailed in a blog post, Instagram shared that users will now see a green dot in the bottom right portion of profile photos to indicate a user’s status.

When your friends are active on Instagram, you’ll see a green dot next to their profile picture in various spaces within the app, including the Direct inbox and your friend list when you share a post from feed.

The status indicator will only show up for your followers or users who you’ve chatted with in Direct.

Instagram notes that you can turn off the feature at any time.

You can easily hide your own status and turn off the ability to see when your friends are active in your settings.

Instagram hopes the new status feature will make it more fun to chat on the platform when users know if friends are immediately available.

Instagram is a free download from the App Store.

iPHONE: HOW TO DISABLE VOLUME BUTTONS FROM CHANGING RINGTONES AND TEXT ALERTS – Do you find yourself accidentally changing your ringtone volume level with the physical buttons on your iPhone in your pocket, bag, or purse? Follow along for how to keep your ringtone volume fixed for calls, texts, and more.

The handy thing about this feature is it allows you to keep your ringtone volume the same for calls, texts, emails, third-party apps and more. But it still allows the physical buttons to control volume for music and video playback and any other audio output.

HOW TO SET 24-HOUR TIME ON iPHONE, iPAD, APPLE WATCH & MAC – Those who live outside of the United States are typically accustomed to setting clocks to 24-hour time. However, that is not the default in the U.S.

Fortunately, Apple gives the option on all its platforms to set 24-hour time, regardless of region. Follow along to learn how to flip the switch…

Go to this 9to5mac web page and get the steps with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2NvvQ4T

VLC FOR IPHONE AND iPAD UPDATED TO SUPPORT 360 VIDEO, CHROMECAST, MORE – VLC has updated its app on iOS with a handful of new features. The update brings the app to version 3.1.0 and includes several long-awaited features sure to please users…

The two standout features from the update is support for Chromecast, which allows users with the device to stream VLC to their Chromecast-enabled TV, and 360-video. Users are now able to view 360-video by simply tilting/moving their phone.

VLC is also focusing on bug fixes, and resolves issues with downloaded files disappearing, Google Drive logins, and improvements too H.264/H.265 hardware decoding.

The update is now available as a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

WHAT IS “LOST MODE” ON THE iPHONE, iPAD, OR MAC? – If you ever lose your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, you should put it in “Lost Mode.” Lost Mode locks your device to protect your personal information, tracks its location, and places a customizable message on its lock screen.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get the complete story with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2O5prhK

APPLE iOS 11.4.1 HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM – iOS 11.4.1 has landed and my upgrade guide explains its best features and changes. That said, it isn’t without flaws and following a complex security breach, a far more fundamental and frustrating problem has emerged…

A growing number of iPhone and iPad owners report that after upgrading to iOS 11.4.1 they can no longer update any apps from the App Store (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15, etc.). Several users have also contacted me about this directly and it has also been reported to the eagle-eyed bloggers at PiunikaWeb.

Meanwhile, Apple Support appears to have no answer. It’s suggestions of switching to WiFi, Apple ID checks, iCloud restores and even resorting to updating apps one-at-a-time has not done the trick. In fact, the only workaround anyone has found is to use a VPN to trigger updates but it isn’t doing the trick for everyone and is obviously not a viable solution long term.

Given app updates are fundamental to the ongoing enjoyment of using iPhones and iPads, it appears Apple’s only option will be to release an emergency iOS 11.4.2 patch. It is possible this could be delayed until iOS 12 (which is already in beta testing) but a final release for that won’t come until September.

Go to this TechSpot web page and read the article if you are having problems with App Store. http://bit.ly/2uuE0Du

I did not have this problem on my iPhone 8 Plus or my iPad 9.7 2017 32GB model after downloading and installing iOS 11.4.1. Jere

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND SOMEONE’S LOST iPHONE OR SMARTPHONE – Smartphones go missing all the time. I’m pretty sure my sister loses hers the second Tuesday and third Thursday of every month. We’ve already looked at what to do if you lose your smartphone so let’s take a different perspective: what to do if you find someone’s smartphone and want to return it to them.

Editor’s Note: If you take an expensive smartphone home with you, and then get caught with it a few days later, you’re going to have a very hard time explaining to the police that you didn’t steal it, even if you had the very best of motives. And depending on where you live and where you found it, you might be guilty of theft by taking it home regardless.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and read the important information. http://bit.ly/2mrMnvj

HOW TO TURN OFF LOCATION SERVICES ON iOS DEVICES – Customizing location settings to protect your privacy can be confusing and complicated for the average user. This PCMag article shows you how to control what Apple and app makers know about your whereabouts. http://bit.ly/2JpNFzV

HOW TO USE GOOGLE ASSISTANT ON THE iPHONE AND iPAD – Do you own an iPhone but hate Siri? Why not give the Google Assistant app a try? You can’t access Google Assistant as easily as you can Siri, but Google’s voice assistant can still come in handy.

You can ask Google Assistant to answer a range of questions and perform a variety of tasks. Tell it to make a phone call, send a text message, or kick off an email. Request it to set a reminder, a calendar appointment, and a shopping list. Ask for directions and get information on nearby restaurants and other spots, and more.

Read Lance Whitney’s PCMag article to look at some of the many capabilities Google Assistant offers iPhone users. http://bit.ly/2KZBRdh

HOW TO RESET AN iPHONE OR ANDROID DEVICE – Before ditching your old gadget, you’ll want to wipe all traces of yourself and your data. Fortunately, Apple and Android phones and tablets offer built-in features through which you can erase all your personal information, applications, and other content. The process brings the phone back to factory conditions, so a new owner can’t retrieve any leftover information.

The steps for wiping your phone differ between an iPhone or Android phone but are still quite doable with either type of device.

Go to this PCMag web page and get the steps with screen shots on how to reset your device before selling or giving away. http://bit.ly/2KViH4d

HOW TO TRANSFER PHOTOS FROM YOUR PC TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE – Are there pictures on your computer that you want to access on the go? You can push your favorite photos from your computer to your phone. Here’s how.

You may already have a method for sending photos from your mobile phone to your computer, but what about the reverse trip?

Perhaps there are photos on your computer that you want to use as phone wallpaper, or maybe you want to copy certain personal photos from your PC to your phone.

On iPhone, you can set up a specific folder for photos and use iTunes to make the transfer. On Android, you can copy the photos directly to your phone or via an SD card through File Explorer or Windows Explorer. You can also sync the photos using an online photo storage site, such as Google Photos, which also works on iPad and Android tablets.

Let’s check out your options. Go to this PCMag web page and get the different options. http://bit.ly/2zjUiUu

HOW TO SCAN QR CODES WITH YOUR iPHONE OR iPAD – You used to need a third-party app to scan QR codes, but now the feature is built right into iOS.

QR codes can be handy. A grid of seemingly random black-and-white squares can hold enough information to store website URLs, contact information, email addresses, pre-defined SMS text messages, and even your Wi-Fi SSID and password.

Put a QR code on your business card, and people can copy all your contact info into their phone in a heartbeat. Post a QR code somewhere in your house, and guests can use it to instantly sign on to your Wi-Fi network.

You used to need a third-party app to scan QR codes, but with iOS 11 Apple built it right into the camera app. It couldn’t be easier to use.

Go to this MacWorld web page and get the procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2u5SQ30

REMINDER: THIRD PARTY GMAIL APPS HAVE FULL ACCESS TO YOUR EMAIL Remember that “cool” free Gmail app you installed years ago and then forgot about? It probably still has access to your email, and actual humans might be sifting through them.

RELATED: How to Secure Your Gmail and Google Account

Douglas MacMillan, writing for The Wall Street Journal, re-iterated a problem we’ve been talking about for a while: free applications users give permissions to and then forget about. These apps have full access to your email, and they’re taking advantage.

Here’s MacMillan:

One of those companies is Return Path Inc., which collects data for marketers by scanning the inboxes of more than two million people who have signed up for one of the free apps in Return Pathʼs partner network using a Gmail, Microsoft Corp. or Yahoo email address. Computers normally do the scanning, analyzing about 100 million emails a day. At one point about two years ago, Return Path employees read about 8,000 unredacted emails to help train the company’s software, people familiar with the episode say.

Creepy, right? And that’s just one example MacMillan gives.

Think carefully the next time a “free” application asks for access to your Gmail account, or any email account for that matter. And if you haven’t scrolled through Google’s list of Apps with access to your account lately, you should. Immediately.

Seriously, do it now!

https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/reminder-third-party-gmail-apps-have-full-access-to-your-email/

FIVE EASY WAYS TO RECOGNIZE AND DISPOSE OF MALICIOUS EMAILS – I suppose we all get our share of spam. Some more than others. But how do we differentiate between simple commercial spam and the types of emails that want to get us in trouble?

The unsolicited commercial spam email is generally easy to recognize, report, and discard, but what about more dangerous types of spam? How can you determine if an email contains a malicious link or attachment, or is trying to scam you out of money or your personal information?

And if you do discover you have malicious emails in your inbox, what then? Is reporting as spam and deleting the email enough?

Knowing what you are up against helps you determine what to do with all that spam—whether it’s simply a nuisance or a landmine waiting to detonate.

Go to this BlogMalwarebytes web page and get the facts. http://bit.ly/2KIW1qQ

HOW TO BLOCK ROBOCALLS AND SPAM CALLS – Are you getting too many phone calls from spammers and telemarketers? You can take several steps to battle against those annoying, unknown callers.

Beyond registering your phone number with the FTC’s Do Not Call Registry (which doesn’t stop scammers and disreputable telemarketers from calling you), you can take other actions.

Apple iPhones and Android phones come with built-in features for blocking specific phone numbers, and several third-party apps—such as Nomorobo, Hiya Caller ID and Block, RoboKiller, and Truecaller—work to block telemarketing calls. These tools can also be used to stop unwanted text messages. Let’s check them out.

Go to this PCMag article web page and get screen shots of how to block on Android, iPhone, Land Line, through your phone carrier and 4 different apps to add to your smart phone. http://bit.ly/2u4grAp

WHY EVERY APP PUSHES NOTIFICATIONS NOW, AND HOW TO STOP IT – If you want your notifications to work like they used to, only showing you things, you care about, you can get there. It just takes a little work.

We’ve written about how to turn off notifications everywhere, and you should absolutely learn about all the tools for your platform. Here are a few platform specific guides for stopping specific apps from showing you notifications:

How to Disable Notifications on Your iPhone or iPad
How to Disable Notifications on Android
How to Disable Notifications on Windows 10
How to Turn Off Annoying Mac Notifications

Turn off all notifications for any apps you don’t want notifying you about stuff. Be ruthless about it, because every notification you don’t want might obscure one you actually do.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and link to the Disable you want and see a Facebook sample. http://bit.ly/2yHVBfA

TECH TERM

MOUSETRAPPING – Mousetrapping is a technique used by some websites to prevent users from leaving or completely closing out the website. Methods used can include relaunching the website in a window that cannot be easily closed, refusing to allow the browser to navigate to a new/different URL, and/or launching an endless series of pop-up ads/windows.

HOW TO FIND A LOST SMARTPHONE – Smartphones contain a lot of personal information, and they’re not cheap. If you’ve misplaced your iPhone or Android phone, these tools can help you hunt it down.

Uh oh. Where’s your smartphone? Maybe it’s lost. Maybe it’s been stolen. Either way, you need to find it. Don’t worry, you can do this a couple ways.

Apple’s Find My iPhone app can run from an iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. Google provides an app and website called Find My Device through which you can seek out your mobile device. And if you believe your phone may have been stolen or don’t want it falling into the wrong hands, you can remotely erase the information on it so no one else can access it.

Whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, here’s how to locate your missing device. Even if it is missing in the house.

Go to this PCMag web page and find out how to find your smartphone. http://bit.ly/2M6AZ2M

iOS 12 WILL SHARE PRECISE LOCATION DATA FOR 911 CALLS – Your iPhone will soon share accurate location data when you call 911, allowing emergency workers to know exactly where you’re calling from even if you can’t tell them. This is a new feature in iOS 12, which is coming later this fall. Read more of this How-To Geek post at: http://bit.ly/2tmjsf4

HOW TO TURN OFF SMART REPLIES IN THE NEW GMAIL – If you live under a constant barrage of email requests, the availability of one-tap responses is probably useful. However, if you aren’t comfortable with Google scanning the words of every single email you receive, you might prefer to turn off the feature. Luckily, it’s easy to do. See how at this MakeUseOf web page: http://bit.ly/2JVDQii

HOW TO PRINT FROM AN iPAD – If you need to print from your iPad, there’s no single “best” way to do it. Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s AirPrint utility, along with some alternative mobile printing solutions.

5 Ways to Print from Your Tablet – As Apple iPads have become commonplace in homes, as well as essential tools for many businesses, the demand for easy ways to print from them has grown. A variety of printing methods has emerged to meet this need. They fall into five general categories, which we’ll visit here: Apple’s own AirPrint utility; print server utilities that install on a computer on your Wi-Fi network; manufacturers’ and third-party iOS printing apps; cloud printing services; and email printing. Because many of the solutions are OS-dependent, most iPad printing solutions are like, and in many cases identical to, the solutions for printing from iPhones.

Go to this PCMag web page and see how to print five different ways. http://bit.ly/2ldH0z5

BATTLING ADWARE THAT REDIRECTS YOUR BROWSER – If your browser is suddenly full of pop-up ads or taking you to sites you didn’t request, you probably have a malware infection. Aggressive invasive adware programs — which can affect Macs along with PCs — often redirect your browser to certain pages so those sites can get revenue by showing advertisements to (unwilling) visitors. Read more of this NY Times Personal Tech article at: https://goo.gl/6mvBUf

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR iPHONE IS GETTING A BAD SIGNAL – There are dozens of factors that can affect your cell service—from your distance to a tower to the weather—but what can you do if, for some reason, your iPhone suddenly isn’t getting a good signal? Let’s find out.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and get 5 different fixes for a bad signal. http://bit.ly/2LGHEQM

NOT PHISHING: GOOGLE IS CHANGING ITS LOGIN SCREEN THIS WEEK – Google is tweaking its login prompt this week and you should take a quick look at the new design.

Slightly different login screens can prompt panic in savvy web user, who fear spear phishing and other attacks built around fake username and password fields. So, it’s worth knowing when a change is coming, however slight it might be.

Google announced the new login screen last week, and GSuite users should start seeing it on Thursday, June 14th. The rollout will take 15 days, meaning everyone will have this new design by July.

Slight aesthetic tweaks generally aren’t the most exciting news, even if this new login prompt nicely employs Google’s Material Design aesthetic. Just be aware the change is coming, so you don’t panic later this month while logging in. Stay safe out there! See the screenshot at this How-To-Geek web page: http://bit.ly/2JE4jwu

HOW TO VIEW EXIF METADATA FOR PHOTOS ON AN iPHONE OR iPAD – If you want to get more information about a photo you took, there’s an easy way to do it on your iPhone or iPad. A free iOS app lets you quickly and easily view your photo metadata.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and read about Metadata and how to see it. http://bit.ly/2LKshai

WHAT IS A SIM CARD (AND WHAT COMES NEXT)? – A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is a chip inside most modern cellular phones that stores information your phone needs to communicate with your carrier’s cell towers. SIM cards come in different sizes and if you were to remove the SIM card from your phone you wouldn’t be able to text, call, or access anything on the internet.

SIM cards have been on the scene since 1991.

What’s stored on a sim card? – A SIM card stores an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number, which is a unique 15-digit number identifying the card on carrier’s mobile network.

A SIM card is also capable of storing SMS messages and the names and phone numbers of up to 500 contacts, depending on the memory size of the SIM card you have.

If you have to change phones for whatever reason, you’re able to transfer your contacts via the SIM card painlessly. Most SIM cards contain between 64-128 KB of storage.

Most modern phones do not store that kind of information on SIM cards.

The first thing you should do if your phone or SIM card is stolen is report the theft to your carrier. They can then block that SIM card from being used at all.

Call your carrier and ask them to add a security PIN to your account. That way, anybody who talks to them to make account changes (including you) must provide the PIN number first.

The next-generation SIM technology is called an Embedded-SIM (eSIM). It’s a non-replaceable chip soldered directly to your device’s circuit board and contains something called “Remote SIM Provisioning,” which allows customers to remotely activate the e-SIM on their devices. Right now, Google’s Pixel 2 and the Apple Watch 3 (along with some cars), are the only real consumer tech using eSIMs, but that’s expected to change quickly. Read more at this How-To Geek web page: https://goo.gl/cKWKYS

HOW TO EDIT LIVE PHOTOS ON YOUR iPHONE – Live photos are basically three second movie files—3D press the photo and watch it move. The cool thing, though, is you can edit them in the Photos app just like they were any other photo. Here’s how to edit your live photos, as well as change the key photo and video length, and convert them to different formats.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and see the screen shots and step to edit your live photos. http://bit.ly/2HcxoND

THE BEST PLACES TO FIND FREE AUDIOBOOKS (LEGALLY) – Audiobooks are great for commutes, long trips, and dull tasks. Here are a number of places you can download Audiobooks legally, and for free. And they’re not all public domain stuff.

Many of the audiobook sites you can find on the internet let you download classic books in the public domain for free, but some sites have better quality books than others. We’ve rounded up some of the best of those sites, plus some ways you can get other kinds of audiobooks for free, too.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and you will find 9 different resources for free audiobooks. http://bit.ly/2LjUyE2

HOW TO CLEAR YOUR CACHE ON ANY BROWSER – It’s not always a straightforward process, but it’s always a good thing to do on occasion.

The browser history—a list of every page you’ve visited online and the time you were there—is a standard of modern computing. And it can lead to trouble; it’s practically a cliché. Think of the romantic “comedies” where the girl finds a guy’s browser history (because it’s always the guy’s) and he’s in scalding hot water.

For most of us, sharing a PC is normal (sadly, setting up multiple user accounts is not) and handing off a smartphone to someone isn’t unheard of. It doesn’t matter if you’re encrypting your emails, using Tor and VPNs while browsing to stay anonymous, or if you wear a false moustache at your desk: if someone has access to your devices, they can see where you’ve been.

A browser can and will hold your history indefinitely. The goal is to help you find your way back to a perhaps-forgotten corner of the Internet you visited once upon a time. The reality is, it can be used against you by significant others, friends, bosses, subordinates, teachers, even the authorities. It doesn’t even matter if you never stopped to look at the contents; these days, simply visiting can be impetus enough for outrage, blackmail, or whatever you fear most in reprisal.

Go to this HomeBT web page and save some storage space on your device. http://bit.ly/2kNdKij

APPLE’S IOS 11.4 SECURITY UPDATE ARRIVES IN AN iCLOUD OF SILENCE – Apple has released iOS 11.4, presumably with the new 7-day USB shutout feature Naked Security wrote about recently.

If the word “presumably” above sound vague, it is, because this particular update didn’t arrive with its usual documentary certainty.

Regular readers will know I’m (Paul Dunklin) a proponent of prompt security updates, and that I like to say, “Patch early, patch often,” yet this time I wasn’t first out of the blocks – I found out about the new iOS almost by accident.

That’s because I made a routine visit to Settings → General → Software Update on my iPhone yesterday, without any notifications from Apple to clue me in.

(Whichever device, operating system or apps you use, and no matter how aggressively and automatically you’ve configured your patching process, it’s worth doing a manual cross-check every so often – just in case you’re out of date but didn’t know it.) Read more at: http://bit.ly/2LaaYPi

MESSAGES IN iCLOUD ARRIVES WITH IOS 11.4, HERE’S HOW IT WORKS – Messages in iCloud is finally here as part of this week’s iOS 11.4 release, but the long-awaited feature isn’t totally straightforward without a little help. Turning it on, knowing how it works everywhere, saving important messages, and knowing what benefits it actually offers aren’t made obvious by Apple, but we’ve got it figured out for you:

Ensure all your text messages are up to date across your devices via Messages in iCloud.

Go to this 9to5Mac web page and get the turn ON and set up. http://bit.ly/2JheURb

iPHONE: SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU’RE SPENDING IN APPS – Whether you’d like to get an idea of how much time you’re spending in various apps or would like get a better idea of how your kids are using their iPhones, follow along for how to easily breakdown your screen time.

While Apple has previously shared that is continually working on how to make its devices better for users when it comes to aspects like ‘digital health’ and parental controls, there are some tools already available in iOS 11 to help guide iPhone use.

We may see some new updates to how Apple will approach all of this next week at WWDC, similar to how Google announced its new Digital Wellbeing platform.

See how much time you’re spending in apps on iPhone

Open Settings
Swipe down and tap Battery
Tap the clock icon to the right of Last 24 Hours and Last 7 Days

REBOOT YOUR ROUTER TO AVOID RUSSIAN MALWARE, FBI WARNS: What you need to know. In some cases, a full factory reset may be required

Your gateway to the Internet may be the portal that foreign hackers are using to snatch your data. The FBI recently issued a security notice warning that all home and small office routers should be rebooted after Cisco’s Talon group discovered sophisticated Russian-linked “VPNFilter” malware infecting at least 500,000 networking devices.

Here’s what you need to know about VPNFilter and the FBI’s guidance to reboot your router—which might not even safeguard against the malware completely.

Go to this PCWorld web page and read all about it. Do it now. http://bit.ly/2xqaMty

HOW TO UPDATE CREDIT CARD INFORMATION IN SAFARI AUTOFILL SETTINGS – Safari’s AutoFill is a feature that automatically enters contacts, logins, passwords, and credit card information, so you don’t have to spend time remembering and typing the same things over and over. AutoFill can even create secure passwords if you’re having trouble coming up with your own. If you have iCloud set up and iCloud Keychain enabled, iCloud Keychain will securely store AutoFill information from Safari. Once your AutoFill information is stored, it can be automatically entered across all Apple devices you sign into your iCloud account on. But what happens when some of your information changes and AutoFill keeps entering old data? Don’t worry; there is a way to update your AutoFill information right from your iPhone! Let’s get started learning how to update credit card information, so your AutoFill data is once again helpful and correct.

Go to this iPhoneLife web page and get the procedure with screen shots. http://bit.ly/2LJxJuF

WHAT IS A WI-FI HOTSPOT (AND ARE THEY SAFE TO USE)? – A Wi-Fi hotspot is really just a wireless access point. Typically, they are public locations where you can access the internet through Wi-Fi on your mobile devices. They are convenient, but there are also some security issues to be aware of when using them.

Technically, there’s nothing distinguishing a Wi-Fi hotspot from any other wireless access point. You could consider the wireless router in your home to be a Wi-Fi hotspot. However, when we talk about hotspots, we’re usually talking about the public, physical locations where you can sign on to Wi-Fi (often for free). They’re usually provided by businesses like coffee shops and hotels but are sometimes provided as a public service. To connect to a hotspot, the only thing you need is a device with wireless connectivity, whether that’s a smartphone, laptop, or tablet.

Go to this How-To Geek web page and read about the plus and minus of using a HotSpot. http://bit.ly/2xukoTR

IF YOUR CELLPHONE IS PAID FOR, DEMAND YOUR CELL COMPANY UNLOCK IT – If you buy a cellphone from your carrier, it’s almost always locked to their network. You can’t just stick an AT&T sim card in a T-Mobile Verizon. Or can you? If your smartphone is out of contract you can demand they unlock it and do just that. Let’s dig in.

Go to this Reviewgeek web page and get the facts. http://bit.ly/2skP0lX

All the national level providers in the US—think Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and so on—are mandated by law to unlock your phone once you’ve fully paid off the device subsidy, your contract ends, or you’ve paid an early termination fee. This means that you’ll be able to use it on other networks and even internationally.

APPLE RELEASES 11.4 UPDATES FOR iOS AND APPLE TV AIRPLAY 2 SUPPORT – A week ahead of this year’s WWDC, Apple released updates for all its devices (sans macOS) and it includes Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2 support.

WWDC = WORLD WIDE DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE. Apple today released new updates for its entire line of hardware devices. The updates include iOS 11.4 for iPhone and iPad, tvOS 11.4 for Apple TV, and watchOS 4.3.1 for Apple Watch. The update includes bug fixes, stability improvements, and a couple notable new features for iOS and tvOS. The two main new features include Messages in iCloud for synced conversations among devices and AirPlay 2 which provides multi-room

Messages in iCloud is a feature that was first introduced during last year’s WWDC. It allows you to keep track of your conversations across all your Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, Watch, and your Mac. You can now access your entire Messages history when you set up a new iOS device. Also, when you delete a message from one device, that change syncs to all your other Apple devices. With messages (including attachments) stored in iCloud, it opens more room on your devices that are cramped for local storage. It’s also worth mentioning that the messages are secured with end-to-end encryption protected by a unique key linked to the device.

AirPlay 2 is the new feature that allows to wirelessly stream audio to multiple rooms with compatible speakers and devices. You can control the audio in Control Center on your device and ask Siri to play music to a single room or group of rooms. If you have a HomePod, Airplay 2 is automatically supported, and you don’t need to manually group speakers. This is similar to setting up multiroom audio on Alexa devices or using Google Home for multiroom audio playback. AirPlay 2 is also supported on Apple TV and you can control the playback of audio to different devices from your screen. Popular speaker manufacturers like Bose, Pioneer, Marantz, and Sonos and others will support Apple’s AirPlay2 technology.

The iOS update is available for iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and even the 6th generation iPod touch. The tvOS 11.4 update is available for the 4th generation Apple TV and the new Apple TV 4K. And all models of Apple Watch are compatible with the 4.3.1 update. The only thing not updated today is macOS

11 FUN AND USEFUL AUGMENTED REALITY APPS FOR iPHONE X – AR might just be getting started on the iPhone, but some apps are already showing great potential. If you have a horizontal surface, a well-lit room, and a modern iPhone, check it out for yourself. Explore your iPhone’s capability with these augmented reality apps you can find in the App Store. Read more at this Make Tech Easier web page: http://bit.ly/2LzC7w7

HOW TO REMOTELY TROUBLESHOOT YOUR RELATIVE’S COMPUTER – If you’re the designated ‘tech person’ in your family or friend group, this PCMag article will show you how to access a computer from afar, Mac or PC, to see what’s going on. http://bit.ly/2IQeiml

5 OF THE BEST eBOOK READER APPS FOR iOS – For those who love ebooks, they’re a gift from the literary gods. Carrying a library in the palm of your hand is amazing. And if you can store it on your phone, you’ll never be without a good book. Check out our favorite third-party ebook reader apps for iOS at this Make Tech Easier web page: http://bit.ly/2IJHhb8

WHY RESTARTING YOUR PHONE MAKES IT PERFORM BETTER AND FIXES COMMON ISSUES – We’ve all heard it: “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” It’s the first step when troubleshooting any tech problem—it even makes your phone perform better when nothing is wrong. But why?

Go to this How-To Geek article and read about why turning it OFF is good. http://bit.ly/2wQ5M0I

INSTANTLY JUMP TO THE RIGHTMOST TAB IN ANY BROWSER – Need to quickly get to the rightmost tab? Press Ctrl-9, or Command-9 if you’re on a Mac. This works in every major browser, no matter how many tabs you have open. You probably know you can press control and a number to quickly jump between tabs—Ctrl-1 takes you to the first tab; Ctrl-2, the second; and so on. But Ctrl-9 is different: it takes you to the rightmost tab, not the ninth, which is very useful when you’re managing dozens of tabs. How-To Geek – http://bit.ly/2IApqiQ

HOW TO USE THE READER VIEW IN FIREFOX – How many times do you go to a website to read an article and once the page loads, you’re bombarded with banners and distracting ads? Firefox’s Reader View removes the clutter and simplifies the page for better readability, leaving only what you want to see: the article.

Safari sort of pioneered the reader view, but other browsers have also started to adopt it. Firefox is no exception, and you can enjoy the reader view in both the desktop and mobile versions. Enabling Reader View is surprisingly easy on both PC and mobile and only requires that you have Firefox installed before getting started.

Go to this How-To Geek article and read about this easy feature. http://bit.ly/2IMwQ5U

It can be enabled in other browsers also. Google it for your browser. Ex: Readers View Safari.

YOU CAN NOW @ PEOPLE IN GMAIL – Apps like Twitter, Slack, and Facebook let you direct messages to a user by typing @ followed by a username. Gmail now does the same thing, sort of.

Compose a new message in the new Gmail and, while writing the text, type “@” followed by the first few letters of a contact’s name. You’ll be recommended a few people. Select someone, either by hitting “Enter” or by clicking them. Their email address will be added to the “To” line, and a link to their email address will show up in the text. It’s not a mind-blowing feature but I could imagine it being occasionally useful. More importantly it makes email “feel” more like a modern messaging app, which I suspect will be important in coming years. I wonder what other features Gmail will copy from other messaging apps? See screen shots at this How-To Geek article: http://bit.ly/2rUGo5f

THREE iOS TRICKS YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT USING – Apple has packed a lot of features into iOS. Problem is, you can’t use them if you don’t know they are there.

Here are three simple, yet highly useful, iOS tricks that you’re probably not making use of.

Turn the keyboard into a trackpad – The first allows you to turn the keyboard into a trackpad to allow you to more easily move the cursor on the screen to navigate around documents. All you do is press down firmly on the keyboard (requires iPhone 6s/6s Plus or later) and when the keys turn blank you can slide your finger around the keyboard, moving the cursor at the same time.
Take better top-down photos – If you take a lot of top-down photographs – maybe shots of gadgets, or your food – then this tip will help you get better photos.

When you’re using the camera for taking top-down photos, you might have noticed two little crosses on the screen – one yellow, another white. To get your camera perfectly perpendicular to the ground, just align it so both crosses overlap and take your shot.

Quickly scroll to the top of the screen – To quickly get back to the top of an app where you’ve scrolled down, all you need to do is tap on the top of the screen (where the time or battery level is displayed = Status Bar) and you’ll effortlessly be taken back to the top.

The only app I’ve seen where a single tap doesn’t work is Safari, and here you must tap twice (a single tap brings up the address bar).

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR iPHONE RINGTONE – The problem with having a popular phone like an iPhone is that, by default, everyone has the same ringtone. If you want to give your iPhone a more personal sound, go to this How-To Geek article and get the steps. http://bit.ly/2wWcAdu

HOW TO USE GMAIL OFFLINE – Google has added offline access to Gmail. Here’s how to enable this new feature. In a hurry? Here’s a quick summary of the steps to enabling Gmail offline access:

Log in to your Gmail account
Click on the gear icon to open the Gmail menu, then click Settings
Under Settings find Offline. Click on it.
In the Offline menu, click Enable Offline Email
Choose how many days to sync, and whether to keep or remove cached email when signing out of a Gmail account.

Click Save Changes and you’re done.
Give Gmail some time to download messages and be sure you have Gmail open in Chrome before going offline.

HOW TO LET FAVORITE CONTACTS CALL YOU WHEN DO NOT DISTURB IS ON – The Do Not Disturb setting is handy, especially when you’re at work or sleeping. This feature allows you to receive all your usual notifications, minus the disruptive sounds and vibrations that tend to come with them. But what if someone on your favorites list (like your brother, mom, best friend, etc.) has an emergency and can’t get ahold of you? Well, there’s an easy way to let their call pass through the Do Not Disturb barrier. Here’s how to let Favorites contact you when Do Not Disturb is turned on.

In order for this to work, the contact must be a part of your Favorites list in Contacts. To add someone to your Favorites, open the Phone app. Tap the Favorites tab and select the + sign in the upper left corner. Choose the person from your contacts list who you want to add to Favorites.

To allow favorites to contact you when Do Not Disturb is on:

Open the Settings app
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Select Allow Calls From
Choose Favorites

HOW TO USE SWIPE OR GLIDE TYPING ON iPHONE – iOS is often behind Android with a variety of features, but fortunately there are usually some good third-party options to bring functionality like swipe or glide typing to iPhone.

Swipe texting has been around for quite a while, but Apple still doesn’t offer it with its default keyboard in iOS 11. Besides being able to type with increased speed, swipe typing is useful for one-handed typing and texting. While there are a variety of third-party options on the market, two of the most popular to offer swipe typing are Google’s Gboard and the Microsoft owned SwiftKey.

Go to this 9to5Mac web page and get the procedure with screenshots. http://bit.ly/2IhhpPS

APPLE’S $29 iPHONE BATTERY REPLACEMENT PROGRAM: Apple says batteries are available ‘without delay.’ After admitting that it was purposefully throttling some older iPhones in order to conserve battery life, Apple has announced a new program that offers replacement batteries to all customers that may be affected. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Program runs out in Dec. 2018. All required repairs will be made on your iPhone at additional costs.

Go to this Macworld web page and get the facts if your battery needs replacement. http://bit.ly/2jOFlzf

iPHONE: HOW TO DELETE ALL PHOTOS – Photos and videos can add up quickly on iPhone, filling up what may have seemed like a high storage capacity just weeks or months earlier. Whether you’re wanting a fresh start all together, or maybe transferring your photos to your Mac or other computer first, it can be helpful to know how to delete all photos from your iPhone.

If you want to keep any of your photos, make sure to back them up with a third-party service like Dropbox or Google Photos or your Mac or PC. If you use iCloud to back up your photos, you only have the option to restore all of them.

Go to this 9to5Mac web page and see the steps. http://bit.ly/2KVz3KL

5 iOS HIDDEN SHORTCUTS THAT WILL BOOST PRODUCTIVITY – With every update to iOS, bug fixes and native apps aren’t the only things that get modified—Apple’s developers often include under-the-hood functionality and frameworks that enhance how users interact with their devices. Many of these updates are typically not highlighted in the release logs or bullet points compared to the much-touted new features and applications, so the enhancements often gain popularity when users discover them by accident or via word of mouth. For instance, gestures are shortcuts that allow for quick executions of common or helpful tasks. Gestures are often overlooked additions that are hidden throughout the system and can dramatically change how users do things. Learn about the 5 iOS hidden shortcuts by reading this Tech Republic article: https://tek.io/2G60a1N

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