Technology Simplified
  A Word from Ronnie
Thankful Thoughts


If you have been reading this newsletter for a while, you know I am all about gratitude - each and everyday. Thanksgiving just brings the practice of gratitude closer to my heart because I get to share it with friends, family and you, my dear clients. I am so grateful for your trust in us to take care of your computers and iOS device needs. Since both John and I also love to teach, thank you for the opportunity to work with you one on one. 

Look for our postcard right before Thanksgiving for a special thank you offer!

Speaking of family, for the first time both Jillian and I have children (young adults!) returning to spend the holiday with us. John and his wife also spend some special time with their family right after Thanksgiving. What this means is that for the  first time, we will be closing the business for the week after Thanksgiving  to enjoy time with our families. 
I know you will understand. We ask that you plan ahead and book any non-emergency appointments for right before or after these dates (see below) to insure your needs are taken care of in a timely fashion.

By the time you read this, Apple's October 30th special event will have come and gone. We are expecting new iPads and maybe some updates to desktop computers. We will update you on all these new products in the December newsletter. 

Feedback Survey and Gift Cards
Our survey went live last month and we would love to hear from you - we will keep the survey active until November 15th. Remember you will be entered into a drawing for one of 3 iTunes/App store gift cards just for answering our questions. 

Ronnie

Holiday Hours

Thanksgiving
Closing at 2pm on Wednesday, November 20th
Re-opening at 9am on Monday, December 3rd
UPDATES for Computers and iPhones/iPads

Updates to Mac OS (Mojave 10.14) and iOS (12.0.1)
Apple has begun to "push" updates to both computers and iPhones/iPads over the last few weeks. This makes it harder to avoid upgrading and is not a practice I care for. Below find our current recommendations and how to proceed.

Mac OS Mojave (10.14)
JUST SAY NO!! We do not yet recommend Mojave. There are still a large number of glitches that Apple has to work out. In addition, some 3rd party applications have not been updated yet. Mojave also requires a relatively new computer and a lot more in the way of ram and hard drive to avoid major issues with performance. We will let you know when we feel this system is stable enough to recommend upgrading to it. In the meantime you can avoid upgrading to Mojave when the upgrade notification appears at the upper right of your screen by clicking on the word "Details" directly on the notification. This will take you to the Mac App store where you can simply quit or close the window and be fine. Annoying but easy. Please call us with any questions. 

iOS 12.0.1 for iPhone / iPads
A CAUTIOUS YES. Overall we cautiously recommend upgrading to iOS 12 for several reasons - one, it gives older phones a much needed performance boost. iOS 12 has also been a very stable upgrade from Apple and Apple has already released patches to fix the biggest issues. Most third party apps have already been updated to have compatibility with iOS 12. Keeping this in mind you need to be sure of several things before saying yes...
  1. Update all the third party apps on your iPhones/iPads by touching on the App store icon, which may or may not have a red number on it. When the App store opens, touch on the word Updates at the bottom of the screen. This list will show you available updates at the top. As long as you are connected to wi-fi you can just click on Update All - this insures ongoing compatibility for these apps. NOTE: IF YOU USE HEARING AIDS WITH YOUR IPHONE - Contact your hearing aid provider to insure that your iPhone stays compatible BEFORE UPGRADING!!
  2. Make sure your iPhone or iPad is backed up. For most folks this happens via iCloud. (Check here: Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Backups - this screen will show you the  last time your device backed up.) You will also have an option to Backup Now and that is a good thing to do right before upgrading. 
  3. Plug your iPhone into power and be sure you are connected to a wireless network: Touch on Settings > General > Software Update. You will see either 'install now' or 'download and install.' Follow the on-screen prompts and you should be good to go. Your iPhone/iPad will restart and you will have to answer a series of questions. Then you can begin using the new system. 
  4. Here is Apple's list of the new features.
If you are at all unsure about upgrading we will be happy to help you through the process. Just give us a call. 

However   - IF you want to avoid the update when prompted to update touch on  
Later  and then on the next screen touch on  Remind Me Later . You will have to repeat this process every day or so. 
PHOTO CREATIONS: SPECIAL OFFER
Give the joy of custom photo books, cards and calendars!

John can show you how to make gifts out of your best photos using Mimeo, a free plug-in / App that integrates directly with Apple Photos. Mimeo includes the ability to create and order your creations, such as a book or travel or memories, cards including holiday cards, or custom calendars to share as a favored gift. If you have your photos selected (in an album in Photos), in 90 minutes John can teach you to design and order your gifts. Additional hours may also be booked if you'd like help more personalized help on your project.

Mimeo is a free download for MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and above. The cost of printing your creations by Mimeo start at $1.00 for postcard, $9.99 for a small photo book and $19.99 for calendars.

*Special*
90 minutes instruction and help is 30% off our normal rate, and each additional hour of help is $85/hour. Offer good through December 7th.

Call Today  707.573.9649 
to book an appointment with  John,
our Technology Simplified Tech / Trainer.

BEWARE OF SCAMS 

Recently we have seen a HUGE uptick in the number of compromised web sites offering bogus Flash installers and spoofing phone calls trying to trick you into giving out your personal info. The biggest difference in these scams and those of past years is the invasiveness and problems they cause. For many years there simply haven't been many malicious attempts to attack Apple computers but that is changing. Here are a few notes about what happens and what to do OR not do. 

1. Bogus Flash installers
Flash installers have always been a target for malicious software - the difference is that the current bogus Flash installers now install very malicious software on your computer that can be challenging to remove. While browsing the Internet, you might see a screen like this asking you to click to update Flash - just say NO!!
Close the web page with the red button at the upper left and then quit and restart your web browser. Adobe has changed the default behavior of the legitimate Flash plug in and installer to handle it all in the background so you will NEVER need to update Flash because a web site tells you to. 


2. Phone scams
Phone scams have been around a long time - everything from bogus IRS calls, to someone telling you your PC is compromised. Now, however, scammers are "spoofing" legitimate phones numbers causing folks to believe that Apple or someone legitimate is calling. Spoofing is what happens when scammers hack the caller ID of their calls to fool you into picking up the phone. Recently we have heard of them spoofing the numbers of legitimate Apple stores. You may receive multiple calls in a row, one a day, they may continue for a few days or even a week. The important thing to remember is the Apple will NEVER call you if you did not ask them to - they have millions of customers - really, they will NEVER call.

TECH TIPS

iPhone Photos (i OS 11 and 12)

Search your iPhone Photos by location
Rather than scrolling through all your pictures to find vacation photos taken with your iPhone, you can just type in a search location and viola! Your photos will appear in a group.

You must have Location services on for both your Photos and Camera apps
To do:
Settings > Privacy > Location Services - touch on Camera and/or Photos and set to 'While Using'

Follow these steps to search:
  1. Open the Photos App and touch on the word Photos at the bottom left.
  2. For iOS 11 the magnifying glass is at the top, for iOS 12 it is at the bottom right - touch on it.
  3. In iOS 11 - In the search field type your location -  i.e. Michigan. You will see the results in the list - touch on your choice. 
  4. In iOS 12 - you will see Places at the top - you can scroll through them horizontally OR start typing your location to see a list.
iOS 11
iOS 12





TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION

We've been getting a lot of calls on trouble with Two-Factor authentication. I hope this short explanation helps to clarify what it means. There is also a link to Apple's explanation and directions. Please remember we can help you setup two factor authentication OR troubleshoot any issues with it. 

Two-Factor Authentication

The latest method of adding extra security to an account is called "Two-Factor Authentication"Typically this means that when you log into any existing account from a new location or device you will be sent a code that you will need to enter on the website or device before you can sign in OR you may have to enter a pin number you created or answer a question. Be aware, the code may be sent to you in email, text or voice mail, depending on how your log in is set up. Most large services such as Apple, Google and Dropbox have offered two-factor authentication for a long time as have many banks and financial institutions. We are now beginning to see more and more websites that require logging in offering this method. This is how Apple implements two-factor authentication.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACKfeedback
About working with John

John was here and everything about my computer was fixed and organized. H e's amazing! Knowledgeable, thorough, positive attitude. and very patient. :)

Thank you to you, Ronnie and John for all that you do. Your business and help is invaluable.
  
                    MH, Santa Rosa, 2018

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