Popular Mechanics Articles

Elaine Hardt refers to the November issue of Popular Mechanics, (with cover that shows space drones).  An article on page 92 asks the question, What did I just agree to?  Each person needs to find out how it might apply to them. Also in this issue are short pieces: How to protect yourself from hackers, How much cloud do you need in your life, Is it safe? Why I hate the cloud, Why I love the cloud, What the heck is the cloud? Where does it all go? You already use the cloud, here’s how. Elaine Hardt

Apple's Siri

If you've upgraded to macOS Sierra, then you know you now can have Siri do your bidding on your Mac. You can activate Siri by clicking the icon in the menu bar or the icon in the Dock, or by holding the Command key and space bar together. But you can't activate Siri by voice unless you do a bit of work first. Here is an article that explains how to set up Siri voice activation on a Mac. Is it really worth the effort when it's easy to activate Siri by just tapping on an icon? Well, that's for you to decide after reading the article. If you've upgraded to iOS 10, then Siri is ready to do your bidding on your iPhone and iPad as well. Again, a little voice activation setup is required. Just go to Settings, scroll down to Siri and turn her on. The iPhone or iPad will tell you what to do next. Starting with the iPhone 6s and above you can voice activate Siri without being plugged into power. With the iPhone 6, though, which I have, it has to be plugged into power before Siri will respond to a voice. This is no big deal as Siri quickly responds just by holding the Home Button a bit.

Although I haven't used Siri extensively, she can be quite handy. Here is an article with 67 handy Siri tips you might try. For example, if you're flying somewhere and want to know the status of your flight, just ask Siri. I like that. Look at tip #16. All these tips should keep you busy for awhile with Siri.

Jim Hamm

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When traveling, my iPad is essential and my Mac is the add-on | Macworld

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Here is an article by Jason Snell (former editor of MacWorld magazine) wherein he explains how the iPad has almost -- but not quite -- replaced his Mac when he travels. I can identify with this article. I have both a Mac laptop and iPad, and find I tend to take my iPad with me when I travel. For several reasons: it's lighter; it has cellular capability (which I find very useful); and with a Zagg Bluetooth keyboard it makes typing so much easier (for me, anyway). Having said all this, though, overall I still prefer the greater capabilities of using my MacBook Pro at home.

Jim Hamm

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iOS 10 reviewed: There’s no reason not to update | Ars Technica

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If you've updated to iOS 10, or plan to, the following article is quite comprehensive about all the changes incorporated therein. Although complete, it is lengthy and you might feel as though you've started a course of learning that will take a semester to read and comprehend. Jim Hamm

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/09/ios-10-reviewed-theres-no-reason-not-to-update/7/

Upgrading to macOS Sierra

It won't be long before Mac users are faced with the decision on whether to upgrade to macOS Sierra. If you decide to do so, here is an article you will want to read to learn more about how to prepare for the update. Probably nothing will go wrong with the update, if you do it, but it's a great idea to have a bootable clone of your existing OS to fall back on if something should go wrong. The article mentions one such app, and I use Super Duper, although I've never had to try and use it to see if, in fact, it actually works.

Jim Hamm

Gmail Tips

If you use Gmail as your email client, here are many tips to help you get the most from this program. Often you may get a notice from a friend that they are going out of town for a few days and to please hold emails. What a pain to remember (for me, anyway). If they used Gmail they would never have to send out that notice again. Gmail can hold all your emails, and keeps them for a long time. Among other advantages, Gmail isn't tied to one OS or to one device or to one mail program. It can run on any browser, in any OS, and on practically any device. You don't even need to be connected to the internet to read your emails (see tip #65).

These tips are a little over a year old, so there may have been some changes in the interim. Anyway, you might read them just to see what's available in Gmail. A bit overwhelming, eh?.

Jim Hamm

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Weak iPhone Signal

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Here is a tip for the iPhone that you may already be aware of. If at home, or if you're out-and-about, and you have a weak signal for your mobile phone, here is an article that explains how to use a Wi-Fi network to make a phone call. Most major carriers support this feature. Notice this feature will work whenever you're in an area of a weak mobile signal (and we have a few areas in Prescott like that for AT&T) and have a Wi-Fi signal available that you are able to connect to.

I have had this feature turned on for my iPhone 6 for some time, but have never noticed if I've actually used it. Could be handy sometime, though. If you have an iPhone 5c or newer you might check to see if you have this feature turned on.

Jim Hamm

Disk Utility

Disk Utility is a function of OS X that, if you're lucky, you may never have to use. However, it's a good idea to have an understanding of what Disk Utility is all about if you should ever need to use it. Here is an excellent article from Macworld on Disk Utility that you might want to read and retain for future reference. On page 2 of the article is a paragraph -- Fix startup problems -- that you may want to copy and print a document of what to do if your Mac won't start up. This probably won't happen, but if it should it's nice to know what to do.

Jim Hamm

Comment by John Carter

On Page 2 it starts out talking about the older Disk Utility that had Verify Disk and Repair Disk Permissions. That is quite confusing to any reader because on page 1 it clearly states that these two functions were removed from Disk Utility.

In fact, everything on page 2 is about the older Disk Utility and has nothing to do with the new Disk Utility, including how to fix the startup disk. In my view, that second page link is a mistake - it goes to the wrong page.