1.  iPhone Killer?

Since 2009, we have been waiting for a true iPhone killer.  I remember when the first Motorola Droid came out on Verizon.  I remember the futuristic commercials during a Sunday of football games.  However, has any Android phone ever really lived up to the hype? For a while Google has a line of Nexus phones that were the perfect combination of performance and price.  They sold for about $350.  Unfortunately, Google retired the Nexus brand in 2016 and currently sell a line of Pixel phones.  They are priced at the top of the market along with premium Samsung and LG offerings, as well as the iPhone.   While it may or may not be the iPhone killer, Samsung’s Galaxy S9 will be in stores for sale this Friday.  It comes in 5.9 inch (S9) and 6.2 inch (S9+) flavors.   It is available starting at $720 directly from Samsung and $799 from the likes of ATT + Verizon.  DXO Mark claims it has the best smartphone camera ever.  If you are an Android fan, tired of the iPhone, or just want something different — check it out.  http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-s9/   It will be the fiercest competitor to the iPhone this year.

2.  A New Version of Windows — Again?

Yes, the 5th major upgrade to Windows 10 should be coming out next month. I thought the Mac was bad with one new version of mac OS each year since 2011.  Microsoft seems bent on delivering two new versions of Windows per year.  That means gigabytes of data get thrown at your computer delivering some new mix of features and security.  Windows 10 is in a really good place right now.  Why mess it up?  I’m telling all my customers, with Windows 10 Pro (ie. the ones that had me order their computers), to turn on the “delay feature update” option in Windows.  Set it to 120 days.  Let the bugs get worked out.  We can deal with this new version of Windows in the summer. I wish Microsoft would open up their ears and listen to customers.

3. One of My Favorite Mac Applications

It’s called Sync Mate.  It applies to some of you, not all of you.  Not all of you sync your Contacts through iCloud.  Some prefer to use Google, not only for email but for contact syncing.  You can sign into your Google account the Mac’s System Preferences and it will sync all of your contacts, but it will not sync groups of contacts.  You may have your contacts divided up, business and personal.  You may have a holiday card list.  Think of Sync Mate as a helper for Contacts on the Mac.   It will sync the groups between your Gmail account and Mac Contacts.  This app comes in free and paid versions.  The free version has always worked for me.  https://www.sync-mac.com/