Social Media Tips of the Week 

I don’t know if you are on Instagram but I decided to sign up a few years ago due to the fact that I had some clients on it who needed me to teach them a thing or two.  I don’t actually post anything on there but I use it to follow personalities in the realm of health and other fields.  It is sort of a “one way Instagram for me.”   On Instagram you can share or view photos from family and friends without the mess of Facebook or nastiness of Twitter.   One account that I like following is @poetic_outlaws.   The account owner always posts timely, thought provoking content from writers who lived on the edge (ie. Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Bukowski, Mary Oliver, Ayn Rand, etc).   If you like a daily dose of stimulating quotes, check it out.

End of Windows 7 

Since half of my clients use a Mac, I did not share this with all of you last week.  However, January 14th marked the end of life for Windows 7.  It will no longer get security update from Microsoft.  Therefore, users should either upgrade to Windows 10 or buy a new computer.   In case you are unaware, Windows 7 was released in late 2009.  It is truly one of the best operating systems of the past 20 years and was the last Windows operating system written solely for the computer (with no tablets or smart stuff in mind).   Here is my somewhat sentimental, somewhat humorous tribute on the passing of Windows 7 — https://theacronym.com/2020/01/15/celebrating-the-life-of-windows-7/

Mac OS 10.15 – Catalina

I think I have discussed this a bit in the past, but it doesn’t hurt to bring it up again with a new spin.  Mac OS 10.15 is the latest yearly operating system released by Apple.  It came out in the fall of 2019.  While browsing the internet and emailing and other basic functions work just about the same as they always have — there are major changes under the hood.  This operating system, coded named Catalina, only runs 64-bit Mac apps.  That means all of the older 32-bit apps will not run in this OS.   If you depend on old software that has never been updated by the developer or software that you are not ready to purchase / learn / install an updated version of — I don’t think Catalina is ready for you right now.   Furthermore, it has come to light that some devices on the Mac — critical ones — like PRINTERS — don’t always play nice with Catalina.  Today, I was all set to recommend a very new model of HP printer to a client.  Then I read that in order to get basic features to work — an app called HP Smart needed to be installed from the Mac App Store.   HP Smart is actually brilliant app in Windows, but has been poorly executed on the Mac thus far.  I’m glad I recommended a different printer.

I believe I have told this to many of you already — but if I have worked on your Mac since the fall — I have actually blocked Mac OS 10.15 from installing.  I did you a favor.  You are fine with OS 10.14 for now.  It is still getting security updates. You are current.   10.14 (aka Mojave) was the OS that came out in late 2018.  Unless there is some feature that you are dying to have in 10.15 Catalina — let’s keep holding off.  We should talk about getting you on the latest Mac OS at the end of 2020 or early 2021 if you are going to stick with your current Mac.  At that time an upgrade to 10.16 will likely be in order.

Coming Soon…

I want to let you know what equipment is truly required to become a cord cutter or at least a video streamer in 2020