Email Trackers

Of course there have been many articles written about robocalls and how they are becoming a pain. These primarily are from marketers wanting to sell you something. Well, here is an article about a somewhat similar situation of what marketers are up to in emails: embedding trackers in their email so they'll know when you open one from them. 

Here's how it might work: say I've ordered wine from a winery in the past, and they send me an email with a pricing incentive to order more wine. I open the email and read their offer. Suddenly my phone rings. I answer and I hear a nice voice saying, "This is the ABC Winery, and how do you like our new pricing offer?" What? How did they know I just opened their email? By an email tracker. The article explains more about how this works.

Now, so far I've not been bothered by an email tracker -- and you probably haven't been either --  but this is just something for all of us to be aware of. I use Gmail, and perhaps Google is doing some screening of emails to prevent trackers. Maybe/maybe not.

Jim Hamm 

HEVC and HEIF

When Apple releases iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra later this year, they will include two new image capture programs (HEVC & HEIF), as explained in this article (http://tidbits.com/e/17310#). Now, for the non-technical readers, or for those that don't care about such things, your eyes may glaze over a bit as you read the article. I can understand this, but these two new codecs are going to be quite helpful for you.

The article mentions that video streaming (think Netflix) comprises 70% of evening internet downloading, and is soon expected to reach 80%. Do you care? You bet! We just received a message from Cox Cable that our internet access will soon be limited to a download of one TB/month. Exceed that and we pay more money. I bet other internet providers will follow suit.

If these two codecs are used, you can store roughly twice as many pictures for the same quality and space as is presently the case. Think how your iPhone and iPad will appreciate that. Or get better video streaming at half the bandwidth usage. A big win for all of us. 

Questions remain: will this be available for PCs as well as Macs? Don't know yet. Will your existing stash of pictures and videos be automatically converted to the new format? Don't know yet. Stay tuned -- there will be more info coming down the pike.

Jim Hamm

Firefox Browser

If you haven't seen it, here is an article questioning whether Firefox has a future?

Just look at how Chrome has taken over as a favored browser. Safari continues to muddle along at about 5% market share, and Microsoft's new Edge browser hasn't even made a blip on the screen yet.

I'm not sure why Chrome has taken over, and the article mentions all browsers nowadays do pretty much the same thing, with some slight differences. I use Chrome, and started a few years ago because at that time it was the only browser that sandboxed Flash, which I had to use when listening to music while on my computer. Once started, apparently I'm a creature of habit and continue to use Chrome. 

On my iPad and iPhone I use Safari, and find it is as good as Chrome, for all intents and purposes. But on my Macs and PCs I continue to use Chrome.

Jim Hamm

Google Maps

Here is a tip on using Google Maps (GM) that might be useful for you, if you're not already aware of this. If, say, you get a map routing from your house to city "A" using your house computer and GM, there is an option to save this routing to your iPhone or iPad. You can even send an email or text to yourself. On the routing click the line that says "send directions to your phone". This will open up a dialog box wherein you can select how you want to receive this routing.

For example, you can plan a trip across the country using GM by going from location "A" to "B", sending it to yourself, then routing from "B" to "C", sending it to yourself, and so on.

Google Maps apparently retains a history of your searches and routings, and you are able to send them to your devices or email or text them to yourself. It seems Google remembers everything you do on the internet, so keep that in mind as you browse around.

Jim Hamm

iOS 11

If you plan to update to iOS 11 this fall when it's available, just be aware that it will no longer support 32-bit apps. What this means to you, possibly, is that you might have some apps that you use frequently that will no longer work until they're upgraded to 64-bit. You can find out which apps will no longer be supported by going to Settings>General>About>Applications. There you'll see the apps that are presently not compatible with iOS 11.

For example, both my iPhone and iPad have quite a list of apps that will no longer work if they're not upgraded to 64-bit. I'll just patiently wait and see what the developers of these apps decide to do.

Jim Hamm

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Evolution of the Mac

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It's been over 30 years since the Mac was released. Here is a slide show of the Mac through the years, with pictures, specs and prices. You'll note the first Mac sold for $2,495. Below each picture is a small box with the words "show more". Click this to get a description of what you're seeing. An interesting journey.

Now, if you're really interested in Mac history, here is a slide show of the MacBook over the past 25 years. The first Powerbook was introduced in late 1991 and sold for $2,500. A variety of the MacBook is what I've used over the years.

Looking at the intoductory pricing mentioned above, it seems Apple liked a starting price of around $2,500.

Jim Hamm

Apple File System (APFS)

If you are a Mac user, you have probably heard that Apple is updating their file system to the APFS. Ho hum, you might say, and do you even care? Yes, you do, and this article explains why. 

What is not so clear at this time is how long it will take your Mac to upgrade to this new file system. This must be a daunting task for the program. I guess we will find out when we upgrade to Apple's new release: macOS High Sierra, which is coming later this year.

Jim Hamm

Apple's HomePod

Here is an interesting article discussing Apple's new HomePod. At this early stage it appears the HomePod will be of interest to people that already subscribe to Apple music. Although conceptually it will be a competitor to Amazon's Echo or Google Home, the article implies it isn't now. No doubt Apple will continue to focus and improve on the HomePod after its release.

I was watching WWDC17 when Schiller introduced the HomePod. It is small, and full of electronic gadgetry, which presumably contributes to its high price of $349 -- plus, of course, a healthy profit margin for Apple. Will be interesting to hear the sound in person some day. 

Zee has Alexa in our kitchen, and I occasionally use it to play music while I'm washing dishes (man's work!) or cutting up strawberries. I just read that 40% of the music coming through Alexa comes from Pandora, not Amazon music.

Jim Hamm

Office on the iPad Pro

You are probably aware that Apple has introduced a 10.5" and a 12.9" version of the iPad Pro. What you might not be aware of is that Office 365 (for Word, Powerpoint, etc.) will no longer run free on these two sizes. Microsoft considers that any screen size over 10'1" to be commercial in size and requires a license. More info here.

However, there may be a way around this. If you should need to use Office 365, you can open up a free Microsoft account, then download and use Office Online, here. This gives you most of Office 365, and it's free.

Jim Hamm

MacOS High Sierra

Apple's new OS is coming this fall, and here are some of the new features you can look forward to. I watched the live streaming of the WWDC17, and VP Federighi demoed Apple's new file system, AFPS. It was impressive to see how much faster it will be than the very old file system Macs now use. 

Among many other enhancements, Apple states that Safari has been improved and will be the fastest browser going. All in all, High Sierra will be a nice upgrade, and free to boot.

Jim Hamm

Right to Repair

If you buy, say, an iPhone and it should need repair, should you have the right to have it repaired anywhere, and not just at an Apple store? Or, if you have a printer that needs an ink refill, should you be able to purchase and use a recycled/refilled cartridge? 

Well, the Supreme Court says yes.  Read here. In a laughable and ridiculous argument, read what John Deere argued: 

"In 2015, the company made the case to the U.S. Copyright Office that individuals who buy their tractors don’t actually own them, but are licensing them from the company and thus don’t have the right to do their own maintenance." 

How about the books and music you've downloaded? Do you own them, or merely lease them? Here's an article with more info on this subject.

Anyway, thank goodness the Supreme Court ruling is in the user's favor.

Jim Hamm