Comcast E-Mail Scare That Wasn’t

I had a little difficulty communicating with some clients on their Comcast e-mail accounts last week.  Messages were vanishing into thin air and getting routed into Junk folders.  Anyway – I took a little survey on Thursday and send out a Test E-Mail.   Just about everyone wrote back and I know that the messages are flowing freely.  Some of you using a client like Apple Mail or Outlook to fetch mail may have some spam filters that need to be tuned up.  Also please make sure my e-mail address is in your address book.  If ever you are expecting a reply from me — perhaps an appointment confirmation —  and you don’t hear from me — please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by call or text. 

Cellular Plans

I am not a master at drilling and running wires through walls or putting a satellite dish on the roof, but one thing I do know really well is the marketplace of cellular plans available.  If you think it’s just a choice of Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile, and Sprint (the big four)– you are just scratching the surface.  There are dozens and dozens of directly owned prepaid brands and MVNOs.  What is an MVNO?  It stands for mobile virtual network operator.  These are companies that buy minutes, data, and texts in bulk from the aforementioned big four and then resell plans under their own brand.  Perhaps the best known one is Consumer Cellular.  You must have seen their very senior focused ads by now.  They use the ATT and T-Mobile networks.  Some of you are Tracfone customers.  They are another MVNO, which, depending on the phone you buy, could operate on any of the big four.  A few of you are Great Call / Jitterbug customers.  They operate on Verizon.   For the past 6 years, I have had my 91 year old grandma my on a different Verizon MVNO called Page Plus.  She has a simple 500 minute flip phone plan and pays $12 per month.   If you are financing a phone or use a lot of minutes or data, it may be best to stick with the big four.  However, if you own your phone outright and want to explore options — you know who to contact. Me!  The possibilities are almost endless in American cellular.

Apple Reverses Course on Laptops

And now for the big announcement:  Apple (partially) revised its Mac Book Pro lineup for the second time this year and has introduced a 16 inch laptop that completely replaces the 15 inch product line.   AND, the big and…… they have gone back to the 2015 style Mac Book Pro keyboard.   Hooray!  They finally did it.  Without a big apology, they have made their apology.   No longer must you worry about stuck keys and expensive failures.   Remember — on all 2016 to 19 Mac Book Pros and the 2018 – 19 Mac Book Airs, they have given a 4 year extended warranty to everyone on those keyboards.   The fix has arrived — well — we’re halfway home.  That 16 inch Mac Book Pro is $2399, for starters (same as the 15).  Most of my clients did not buy the 15 inch model in the past.  You have 13 inch Pros or Airs.  That new keyboard is coming to the 13 inch models.  Expect all Apple laptops to have the new keyboard anytime between now and mid-2020.  For some reason I think the beginning of Spring sounds about right, but I am open to surprises.   If you need a new MacBook now or by the end of the year, I’ll support you with whatever you need to get.  However, if you can wait — can you wait just a bit longer?  Apple has made things right.