Right to Repair?

Here is an article discussing a proposed law in Nebraska "that would require companies, whether they are in the tech sector or not, to make their service manuals, diagnostic tools, and parts available to consumers and repair shops—and not just select suppliers."

Right now I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing to have as a law. As a general statement, we seem to have a lot of laws. More thinking required on my part.  Is there really a "right to repair"? I guess I could argue both sides of the coin. There's propriety/intellectual/patent considerations, safety, etc. Many electronic devices today aren't built to be repaired. Just cheaper to replace them.

For more information, read the article.

Jim Hamm

MacOS and iOS

Here is an article describing how the use of MacOS and iOS is climbing (increasing) in enterprises. This is an arena that Apple has long somewhat abandoned, or not aggressively pursued. And recently IBM decided that it's cheaper to own and operate a Mac than it is a PC, and started switching in their offices. Irrespective of that assumption, one feature I definitely like in a Mac, iPad or iPhone is the U.S. support if one has a problem after buying one.

Plus, AppleCare sure is nice to have to extend the factory warranty.

Jim Hamm  

Mac News

 

Dave Rothgery found this article which may be of interest to PMUG members.

http://www.macworld.com/article/3168524/software-graphics/squash-review-drop-and-compress-your-way-to-smaller-image-files-in-a-flash.html?idg_eid=6a9b303bcbfe97cfd3873b2cd9bb1e5f&email_SHA1_lc=14fb85f0ff8a1a431788e810b911e966194fd8e9&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best%20of%20Macworld%20%202017-02-20&utm_term=mw_bestof_html

Amazon Chime

Well, it looks like Amazon is branching into yet another arena: free calling and texting. For more information, read here . At this point in time, it doesn't look too impressive, but Amazon is pretty aggressive and effective in most things they try, so I suspect we'll hear and read more about Amazon Chime as time goes on.

I wasn't aware that Amazon has a Web Services effort as well, until I read this article.

Jim Hamm

iPad Tips

Here are two tips for your consideration. First, I've watched two episodes of an interesting documentary on PBS: "Islands in the Sky". This covers the infrastructure necessary to support safe airline flights. Very informative and interesting. During the program they state that at any one time there may be as much as a million people in the sky at one time! 

The second tip is you can watch the documentary on your iPad. Just download the PBS app from the Apple Store and open it. Not only is this documentary available, but many other TV shows as well, such as Nova, et al. And even though the iPad screen is small, viewing a program such as this works quite well. This PBS app may be available for an Android tablet as well, but I'm not sure.

Give this a try -- you'll be amazed at how many interesting programs are available on PBS.

Jim Hamm  

MacBook Air Price Cut

Comparing Unlimited Plans from T-Mobile, Sprint Verizon and AT&T

With the emergence of unlimited phone and data plans from the carriers recently, it would be a task to compare the cost and features of each carrier. Well, someone has done that for us. If you are even remotely considering changing carriers, read the following article: http://www.zdnet.com/article/comparing-unlimited-plans-from-t-mobile-sprint-verizon-at-t/

Of course, first, you would want to be sure you have a strong signal in your home area. Plus, if you travel around a lot, another important consideration is the carrier's coverage around the country. We have AT&T, and not only is it the most expensive carrier, the mobile hotspot can only be used for the device itself -- another device cannot connect to the hotspot. That would be a major issue for us if we did not already have unlimited data plans for our devices.

Jim Hamm

 

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iCloud Drive and iCloud

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What is the difference between iCloud Drive and iCloud, you might ask? I, too, had this question, and this article helped me understand both much better. If you decide to read this, the first article covers iCloud Drive, and if you keep scrolling the second article covers iCloud.

One nice feature is you can access both from any device. Presently I'm on my computer running a Linux OS but I just logged into my iCloud account from the browser and in iCloud there appears an iCloud Drive icon. After clicking the icon it opens and shows me what's stored in my iDrive. 

Here is yet another article discussing the difference between the two functions that you may also find helpful.

Jim Hamm

Security and the Internet of Things

Should you have an interest in reading it, here is a somewhat-lengthy blog discussing the security aspects of hackers being able to access so many electronic devices via the internet, and the security danger therein.

He likens many devices as to really being a computer with just another function -- like a Nest thermostat or an Amazon Echo, for example -- and easily controlled remotely -- by you or a hacker.

As he mentions, we -- collectively -- have left security to the market place, for better or worse. We all get security updates and patches to our computers, tablets and smartphones. All with the intent to improve security. But how about all the other electronic devices we own? How often, if ever, is a security update given to those devices, or the software program contained therein? Never?

Jim Hamm

Deleting Mail Messages and Emptying the Trash


I have several email accounts. I have a Gmail account, an iCloud account, and a Yahoo account, and each one has a Trash folder. At the top of my mailbox list there is another Trash mailbox right along with Inbox, Sent, Draft and Junk (if you don’t see a Draft or Junk mailbox, don’t worry about it; they get created by Mail when needed). When I delete a message from one account, the thought is that it should go directly into the Trash mailbox at the top. It might do that, and it might also wind up in the Trash mailbox that is directly associated with the account. If you delete messages on your iPhone or iPad, this is usually where the deleted message goes.

You do have to manually delete the messages from the Trash mailbox that you have in each of your email accounts. Simply highlight the message(s) and click on the trash can icon in the toolbar - just like any other message that you want to delete. When you delete a message from one of those Trash mailboxes, they go immediately into the top level Trash mailbox. Uh, oh! So now you have to empty the top level mailbox.

To empty the top level Trash mailbox requires a different method. If you right-click on ANY mailbox, then a pop-up menu appears, and in that menu you will find, “Erase Deleted Items…”. If you click on that menu item, then another pop-up dialog box asks, "Are you sure you want to erase deleted items in the selected mailboxes and in the Trash mailbox?” Of course you are, so click on the Erase button and it will be emptied. If you attempt to delete any message from this Trash mailbox using any other method, sometimes nothing happens. That’s because the message is flagged as deleted and shows right back up in this Trash mailbox.

If you have thousands of messages that you want to delete, it might take a while. What happens here is that Mail sends a message to your server (the one that is handling your email account) to delete those messages from the server. The server sends back a confirmation - or an error message. If it is a confirmation, nothing happens. If it is an error message, which I sometimes get on my iPhone, it usually says something like the server was unable to move the message. Don’t worry about that error message; somehow things get straightened out eventually.

On your iPhone in the Mailboxes screen (top level) you will see an “All Trash” mailbox. Tapping on that mailbox shows you ALL the messages that have deleted while using Mail on your iPhone. Tap on the Edit option in the top right and you will then see at the bottom right “Delete All”. Tapping on that option will show another pop-up to choose either “Delete All” in red or “Cancel” in blue. Emptying your deleted messages in this way will delete them from each of the other email account Trash mailboxes on your iPhone. I have not yet seen this “All Trash” option on my iPad.

On my iPad, to empty the trash I have to go to each email account, find the Trash mailbox there, tap on the Edit option, then tap on “Delete All”, and finally tap on “Delete All” again. There is no option at that point to Cancel.

Now the confusing part for some is that you will find two Trash mailboxes associated with each of your email accounts. One is up with Inbox, Sent, etc., and it has a normal trashcan icon, and another is found in alphabetical order looking like any ordinary mailbox with a folder icon. For my iCloud account, that second trash mailbox is labelled “Deleted Items.” Do not worry about those secondary Trash mailboxes. Their contents get emptied when you empty the top level Trash mailbox.

One would think that if you empty the trash on the Mac that it would also empty the trash on the iPhone and iPad. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Even after diligently emptying the Trash mailboxes on my Mac, I still find contents in the Trash mailboxes on both my iPhone and iPad.

I may have missed some detail or gotten something wrong, and if so, please let me know. I hope this helps.

John Carter

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (AV)

You quite possibly use an AV program on your computer, as I do. Recently there's been lots of news about the possible hacking of our Presidential voting system by the Russians, which they deny. But this got me to thinking about a popular AV program, which is Russian-based: Kaspersky Lab.

I've not used Kaspersky AV, but it has a good reputation, especially in AV tests. I did a little research into whether one should/should not use a Russian-based AV program. Here is one article I found, which has a definite opinion on the question. And here is one more article, from NPR, which uses Kaspersky programs, and noted that Kaspersky is a sponsor of some NPR programs. 

Internet research on this question will turn up many other articles discussing the subject. My take so far: given the relationship between Kaspersky Lab and the Russian government, it is recognized that the possibility of a nefarious collusion exists, but nothing indicates that one now exists.

My intent was not to stir up any negative thoughts about Kaspersky AV, but just to get a feeling for people's opinions on the question. Just food for thought.

Jim Hamm

LCD Screens


Here’s a tip that might come in handy some day. We have all heard that LCD screens don’t have the same burn-in problem that CRT screens (those old, bulky tube-type screens). It’s not quite true. LCD screens can exhibit image retention, but it’s not always permanent like it is with CRT displays. Check out this handy tip on how to remove image retention from an LCD display.

John Carter

 

New MacBook Pro

If you are an Apple fan, you've probably read various blogs about Apple's new MacBook Pro -- some pro and some con. David Pogue, honcho for Yahoo Tech, bought one for himself, and here is his take on his purchase.

 

I've read Pogue's blogs for many years and have a great respect for his opinion. So, before you spend $3,000 for one -- as he did -- first read his comments. As always, your mileage may vary, but be aware.

Jim Hamm