Apple & Mac Musings

Apple updated its entire laptop lineup at WWDC. The company currently sells no fewer than four different laptop models with 12- or 13-inch screens, not including upgrade options for CPU, RAM and storage. The 12-inch MacBook The 13-inch MacBook Air The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2016 with function keys) The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2016 with Touchbar) The only thing they have in common is that they all come with 8 gigabytes of RAM. Each model has its own set of pros and cons. Some are more expensive, some have better performance and some are thinner and lighter. How should you go about deciding which one is right for you if you're looking for a small Mac laptop? There are four key questions to ask yourself. How much do you want to spend (price)? What kind of work will you be using it for (performance)? How long do you plan to keep it before you upgrade to a new laptop (longevity)? How portable does it really need to be (portability)? Here are the basic specs for each model (thes

Have you been seeing notifications similar to this on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch: "[Name of app] Needs to Be Updated This app will not work with future versions of iOS. The developer of this app needs to update it to improve its compatibility." The notification is Apple's way of telling you that the app hasn't been updated to support 64-bit operation. iOS 11, which will probably come out this fall when new iPhones are released, will drop support for non 64-bit apps. You can see a full list of your apps which haven't been updated by going to Settings->General->About->Applications. If you see any apps on the list which you use frequently, it's a good idea to start looking for replacements. If you have an app that hasn't been updated but you think you can't live without come this fall, you do have a couple of options. First, go to the app's page in the App Store and contact the developer. Let them know you are still actively us

Other than surfing the web, the most likely vector for hackers and malware to gain access to your Mac is through your email. Just like visiting a booby-trapped website, clicking on a malicious link or file in your email can result in your Mac getting infected. You should be suspicious of any email that comes with a link or attachment, even if you think you know the sender and were expecting them to send you something. There are some basic steps you can take to keep yourself safe. The same steps can help limit how much junk email, or spam, that reaches your inbox. 1. Always check the sender's address. Most email programs, including Mail on the Mac, don't display the sender's full address by default. You can see the sender's actual address by clicking on the small arrow that appears when you move your pointer over the sender's name. The first line in the pop-up menu will show you the sender's address. While this can be spoofed, most spammers and hackers