Tech Upgrades for New Year

New technology is a great value. You can improve the performance and cost-efficiency of business and home systems by investing in new hardware and upgrading application software. Consider some of these upgrades.

December is always a good time for businesses to look at technology investments because it can affect your taxes. Your CPA or tax advisor can tell whether a year-end expense can help reduce your taxes while increasing your capabilities, and we can tell what might work best for you to make those capability increases a reality.

First, look at your operating system. If you are on Windows 7, remember that Microsoft’s support of this ancient OS will go away in a year. They’ll no longer provide security updates and bug fixes. Cybercriminals salivate when they see any outmoded system because they can likely pull a hacking technique off the shelf and get into your system.

Yes, there will be some workarounds for you to continue to use Windows 7, but why do it? Windows 10 is much more efficient and secure, and Microsoft is dedicated to supporting it. Most common business apps running Windows 7 are easily upgradeable to run on Windows 10. If you have customized software from a publisher that’s still supporting it, they should be able to help with a conversion to the newer OS. If not, you may want to move to a new app, especially for the security aspects.

You should also look at your hard drives for business and home computers. Solid state drives (SSDs) have come way down in price this year, and while they’re not necessarily Walmart specials, they are good values.

SSDs are faster and more reliable than mechanical hard drives. The mechanical drives have moving parts that can wear out and crash, putting your data in jeopardy. They also require more space to move files around, and as they become fuller, they are less efficient. SSDs have no moving parts and don’t physically move around files. That makes them immune from physical crashes, and you only need a drive half the size to hold the same amount of data.

Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us with questions about technology upgrades or to help you install new technology. You can hit the ground running in 2019 or get up to speed early on in the new year.

Choose the Right Router

As we add more traffic to our Wi-Fi networks in the office and at home, choosing the right router is critical for performance and security. If your router is more than a few years old, the combination of improved technology and the probable loss of full power due to wear and tear means you should consider investing in a new system. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune.

How do you know it’s time for a new router? The first sign is sluggish performance, and it’s a subjective call. Whether you use your router for business or home entertainment, you can notice that data just isn’t moving throughout your location as fast as you’d like. With today’s demands for moving more data faster, your router could be worn out or not have the capacity to meet your needs.

Routers do wear out over time. Heat can damage internal components, and that slows them down. Newer routers have fresher components, and they meet better performance protocols. This is especially true when it comes to dual-band routers. Older routers tend to operate on the 2.4 GHz wireless band, where they share space with your other household products, such as cordless phones and even your garage-door opener. That creates a lot of interference that affects network performance. This problem is more likely to affect home offices and small retail systems. In some homes, whether used for home offices or as converted office space, multiple stories and thicker walls require more powerful routers to send signals where needed.

Dual-band routers work on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz wireless bands, and that gives you options. You can set some systems to run on the 2.4 GHz band and use the 5GHz band for managing bigger data capacities. Some routers even allow you to run on two 5GHz bands. For a home office, a home with multiple devices (computers, mobile devices and smart TVs), a business in a converted home, or a small retail space, this allows you to dedicate bands to specific uses. Think of it as having a slow lane, an express lane, and a lane dedicated to buses and trucks.

For a home or small office or retail use, look for a router with at least four 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet ports to connect wired devices such as desktop PCs, network-attached storage drives and home-automation hubs. A USB port makes it easy to plug in a printer or a USB drive and share it across the network, but with two ports you can do both.

You can manage how your Wi-Fi network is being used with parental controls, Quality of Service (QoS) options, and a guest-network feature. Parental controls and QoS are for home use. The latter helps you assign network priorities for applications and clients, such as downloading files, running printers or managing streaming to TVs or devices. You can also manage priorities for gaming systems.

A guest network for a home or business lets you create a separate network to offer Wi-Fi connectivity to guests without leaving your entire network vulnerable. This lets them connect to the Internet, but doesn’t give them access to your files, printers, and other connected devices.

Wireless routers for businesses have improved tremendously. To meet the complexity and requirements of running a wireless network these days, routers now have a much more varied feature set, including hardware that is often found in computers. You can find systems with dual- and triple-band connectivity, as well as a slew of other features usually found on far more expensive enterprise-grade models.

Priorities for business users differ from most consumer users. Security, support, remote access, business-grade VPN, WAN redundancy, connectivity options and scalability are critical. However, this doesn’t mean that some consumer routers cannot be used as business routers, especially in a home office environment.

We can help you find a router that meets your networking needs and help you find the best location and configurations to maximize performance. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to answer your questions about router selection and help you with setup and settings configurations.

Updating Your Cloud Strategy

We hear all about the cloud without end. For large corporations and individuals, using the cloud is a nearly flawless solution for storing and accessing apps and data from anywhere. But for small businesses, exclusive reliance on the cloud may not be the best solution. Here are some decision-making factors.

First, for all their differences in size, a huge corporation and an individual have a few things in common. Individuals and corporate employees can travel anywhere in the world and need to access apps and data wherever they are. The cloud works really well for this.

Although they operate on totally different levels, subscription-based apps such as Office 365 work really well for individuals and large corporations. Individuals can share the cost over a large user base, enabling each to benefit from constant upgrades that app publishers can update from central locations. Large corporations essentially do the same thing within their communities. They spread their cost over many users, and their tech teams control the software-update process to keep operations running as smoothly as possible.

A small business is different in one significant way. It’s essentially a self-contained community of users who use the same apps and data in one location. Yes, that business may have employees who log in ‘from remote locations, and yes, it may benefit from subscription-based application software. But we are likely talking about 10 to 100 people who are working with the same apps and data in a “bubble” known as the office. While small businesses combine to form a huge user base, each has its own specific needs, and our clients rely on us to customize systems to meet specific needs.

Therefore, the cloud may not be the solution, especially if you are a small business still working with a combination of a Windows 7 operating system and a Windows 2008 server, either in your office or in the cloud. We’re approaching a perfect storm with that combination because by January 2020, Windows will no longer support that OS and server platform. They’re too old and expensive for Microsoft to develop performance upgrades and security patches. You are being brought to a decision point.

We recommend that small businesses look at a cost/benefit analysis that covers five years to determine whether you upgrade your OS and server or migrate to the cloud. Five years is a good projected lifetime for a server and OS, it makes it easier to compare their cost with setting up and using a cloud-based system.

Setting up a server on the cloud involves costs, including the cost of server space and the cost to set it up to meet your needs. Once that’s done, your maintenance cost should be minimal. If your business runs Office 365, you already have a cloud presence through Azure, Microsoft’s cloud system. And while Azure automatically updates its server, it’s still a maintenance operation. All cloud servers need maintenance, and it’s something you pay for as part of your agreement.

Of course, using a cloud-based server requires access to a good internet connection, one with sufficient bandwidth for your needs and virtually perfect reliability. If you don’t have the bandwidth, your business won’t operate at its desired level. If your service goes down, you’re out of business until it’s restored.

If your computing needs are largely internal, you might be better served with your own server on a strong internal network, which can be hard-wired for better performance and security than a Wi-Fi network. You’ll incur purchase and set-up costs for your server, and you’ll need to install all updates in a timely manner. But your maintenance expenses should be relatively low once you’re up and running.

By setting up computers as terminals on a server and hard-wiring the network, you won’t need a router system or a big pipeline to the internet. You’ll also have fewer internet access points to secure, and that could help keep out intruders. Finally, depending on your employees, they’ll likely be less likely to wander off to other things on the internet.

Whichever way you go, you will have the most up-to-date servers, application software and security technology available at the time of installation. Cloud systems will update automatically, but your internal system can be configured to download and install updates.

With a January 2020 deadline, you have time to analyze your options and start moving along your chosen migration plan. We can help you analyze your business’s needs over the next five years and put a plan into action so you don’t miss a deadline or a beat. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us for an appointment.

Reboot Your Thinking About Restarts

Restarting your Windows-based computer clears out a lot of electronic junk and improves performance. The only problem is that you may not be restarting – or rebooting – your computer when think you are. We had one client go 73 days without performing an actual restart on a computer, which meant we needed a lot of time to clear out all the junk and reset the system.

One of the most common misconceptions we’ve found about restarting is that people think that simply turning on a computer after it’s been sleeping is a restart. To human logic, that makes good sense. To a modern computer, it’s all wrong. When you select the “sleep” option to close a session at your computer, you’re putting it into a state of hibernation. Your PC will seem like it’s completely off, but it saves a hibernation file to boot back to where you were before going to sleep.

When you tap your keyboard to wake up your computer, you’re using Microsoft’s “fast startup” feature to launch the hibernation file that essentially restores your system to where it was before going to sleep. The combination of sleep and fast startup get you up and running faster to use your computer, and it also helps various software and hardware vendors update your system while it’s not in use. Whatever electronic junk your computer has been holding is still there.

Fast startup also helps your computer get up and running faster from a complete shutdown. In a sense, shutting down your computer puts it into a stage of hibernation if fast startup is enabled, so you’re not getting a complete restart, which is necessary for clearing out the electronic junk. In our experience, fast startup is the root of all evil in a lot of problems we’re finding that can be solved by a restart.

All of this leaves you with two options. The first is simple: restart your computer once a week. It’s sort of like flossing your teeth; it’s another thing to remember, and it’s time-consuming. But it will keep your system clean and maintain a higher level of performance. To restart make sure you have saved all work files and application settings by properly closing out of everything. Then, just click the Windows icon at the bottom of your screen, click the power icon and click Restart.

The other option is to disable fast start. You can do that by doing a search for Control Panel, and then clicking on Power Options. On the left side of your screen, click on “Choose what the power buttons do.” Then, uncheck “Turn on fast startup.” Doing that will give you a complete restart when you power up from a shutdown. It can also be helpful when working with a speedy solid-state drive (SSD).

Along with restarts from a shutdown, we’ve found that clients using a laptop as a second computer have another set of problems. When their computers are out of action for an extended period of time, the startup routine when they power on induces a search for all sorts of system and application updates. In the case of Windows updates, the computer looks at when the last update was installed and then initiates a sequence of consecutive updates. That’s necessary because unless Microsoft issues a Service Pack that consolidates several updates, the latest update is typically an addition to a previous update. If you missed three updates, for example, your computer goes back to the first of that sequence and goes through three update procedures.

That entire process can take up a lot of time, and we usually get a call in the middle of it all because it seems like the computer isn’t functioning properly. The easiest way to solve that problem is to turn a computer once a week. It will look for updates as part of its boot-up, and the need to download and install only one Windows update or just a few recent updates for apps will get your second computer operational faster.

Just remember, though, if you’ve turned off the “fast startup” feature for a computer that’s been powered down, you’ll need to make sure you check for updates.

If you have any questions about restarts and power-ups, call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us. We can walk you through the process to set up the options that will be best for you or work with you remotely to set them up.

‘KRACKing’ Your Wi-Fi Network

KRACK is an ominously named crypto attack that exploits a flaw in the process of connecting a device and a Wi-Fi network. By allowing network access without the password, effectively it opens up the possibility of exposing credit card information, passwords, and practically any other data on your device. Here’s how to protect yourself – somewhat.

Using WPA2 security, the standard of protection for the past 13 years, is still the way to go, and setting a strong, secure password is just as important as it ever was. But it’s like a lock on your front door. Locks, according to conventional wisdom, keep out honest people. But a lock that’s strong enough to delay a would-be thief was thought to still be effective.

That was until KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attack) was discovered. It exploits a flaw in the four-way handshake process between a user’s device trying to connect and a Wi-Fi network, allowing an attacker to access a network without the password. It’s an equal-opportunity attack, too. It can affect Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, MediaTek, Linksys and others, but the most current versions of Windows and iOS devices are not as susceptible to attacks because of how Microsoft and Apple implemented WPA2. Linux and Android-based devices are more vulnerable to KRACK.

Fortunately, it’s not a helpless situation. Attacks can only be successful when someone has access to the wireless network you’re on at the time of the attack. That means you need to be especially careful on public networks. You can further help yourself by:

  • Making sure you’re up to date with all available security patches
  • Using a VPN, which will encrypt your internet traffic
  • Visiting only websites that use HTTPS, though it’s not a guarantee you’ll be safe.

We’ll keep you updated on developments against KRACK, and we can help you now by taking a look at your systems and security to make sure you’ve maximized your protection. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us for an appointment.

iOS 11 Has a Lot to Like

Apple has released iOS 11 for mobile phones and tablets, and it has a lot of great features. For cars, we really like the “Do Not Disturb, I’m Driving” response to text messages, and for iPads, we like the drag-and-drop feature.

The “Do Not Disturb” feature has been available on Android phones, and for somebody like me, who spends a lot of business time traveling to clients while always on call, it could be a lifesaver. You can activate in one of three ways: Bluetooth, when your vehicle reaches a specified speed, or manually. I have been able to add a customized message to let texters know that they can call because I can talk while I drive. Because the screen stays dark in this mode, I am looking at the phone a lot less now, and that’s much, much safer.

The camera on the iPhone is getting better, too. You can take Portrait Mode images with optical image stabilization, True Tone flash and HDR. Memory movies are optimized to play in portrait and landscape orientation, and more memories, such as photos of pets or birthdays, are automatically created and a new technology, called High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF), reduces the file size of every photo taken with iPhone 7 and newer models.

Siri has new male and female voices that are more natural and expressive, adjusting intonation, pitch, emphasis and tempo while speaking, and it can translate English words and phrases into Mandarin, French, German, Italian or Spanish. It uses on-device learning to offer suggestions based on personal usage of Safari, News, Mail, and Messages.

For AR (augmented reality), there’s a new platform for developers to create experiences on phones and tablets using the built-in camera and the latest computer vision technologies. You’ll likely see content for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more.

iPad’s drag-and-drop capability across the entire system makes it easier to move images and text, and when combined with the new Files app, you can keep things in one place, whether you store files locally or in the cloud. Its new, customizable Dock and a redesigned control center give you access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen and let you move documents between apps using a split screen or Slide Over. Apple Pencil lets you draw or add notes from the lock screen through the Instant Notes feature opens Notes by tapping Apple Pencil on the display.

The new screen sharing capability, however, tops off all the new features. It enables two people to share screens in real time on any iOS-powered device. For us, that will increase our capability to help clients troubleshoot problems in a timely manner.

Make the most of your Apple devices by understanding all the features of iOS 11 and how they work. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us if you have any questions, and have more fun with your devices or make them more useful.

Windows 10’s Summer Storm

Microsoft’s free upgrade to Windows 10 for eligible computers will end July 29. But rather than just let the offer expire, the company is actively pushing out upgrades. You can expect a storm of activity as part of the effort. If you don’t want to upgrade, here’s how you can batten down your electronic hatches.

Our best advice right now is to let it happen – sort of – and undo it with a rollback. Just make sure you roll back to your version of Windows 7 or 8 within 30 days of the download (and possible installation). Here’s why we believe this is the best course of action. Again, just to remind those of you who could be affected, Microsoft has a free upgrade offer for eligible computers running Windows 7 and 8. The free offer will end July 29. Starting July 30, the upgrade to Windows 10 will cost $119.

In a “big brother” way, Microsoft knows which computers are eligible and which ones have been upgraded. That’s because there’s a chip in your computer that has the information about the version of Windows that was installed when the computer was assembled. It’s not all that bad of a system because Microsoft can use it to push out the correct updates on an as-needed basis to make sure you have all the latest security patches and bug fixes. It takes the onus off you to download and install them. Microsoft also knows which version of the OS you have, such as the Home or the Pro, and that prevents you from, for example, downloading and installing the Pro when you’re entitled only to the Home.

On the other hand, it can be highly intrusive for the upgrades. We’ve had a number of instances in which clients have accessed their computers – at work and at home – in the morning and found a message from Microsoft to continue with the installation of Windows 10. Or, we’ve had clients tell us that all of a sudden, in the middle of the day, their machines started acting funny and then they received messages to continue the Windows 10 installation process.

Naturally, none of these clients had taken advantage of the offer, but Microsoft can’t distinguish if that was by oversight or intent. (Add your own comment here.) Essentially you have two options:

  1. Go through the entire installation and then roll your system back to Windows 7 or 8.
  2. Don’t accept or agree to the terms and conditions.

Each option has its own set of consequences.

If go through the installation and then roll it back, that’s a major time suck. However, we have not encountered any problems with getting old systems back and running again. If you don’t accept or agree to the upgrade, you will lose your entitlement to the free upgrade – at least so far as we can determine. We have not gone through the process of trying to reclaim it.

To make your best decision on whether to accept the upgrade to Windows 10, make sure you are clear on what you need.

We firmly recommend the Windows 10 upgrade because it has a lot of new security measures, and the support for security and bug fixes are crucial to keeping data safe. For home and SOHO systems and for offices that are not using highly customized application software, the upgrade should work well. However, if your application software will not work with Windows 10 or not work as well as it should, we recommend that you keep your present Windows OS. Application software developers and publishers are working to upgrade most packages, but we all know that it’s a complex endeavor.

If you need to reinstall Windows 7 for any reason, it’s still a pain, but Microsoft has released an update to cover all the updates as a one-time deal. That will ease the pain somewhat, but the longer you wait – assuming you have a choice about when to do it – the more updates you’ll need to install manually going forward.

If you have any questions at all about Windows 10 and any other version of the OS, please contact us as soon as possible by phone – 973-433-6676 – or email. We can answer your questions or schedule any work that needs to be done to keep your system running smoothly and safely.

Upgrade for Better Browsing

Browser performance is becoming a bigger issue as browser updates and website advances require new versions – and even new computers. Not upgrading can also present security issues.

The problem we are seeing is a combination of clients with older computers using older versions of their favorite browsers trying to view websites that have advanced features the browsers and computers can’t support. The problem manifests itself when visitors can’t access a site or they can’t move around the site and use all of its features. They also start to see pop-up messages to upgrade their browsers.

We all tend to keep using our older systems and make a lot of allowances until something has to give. In this case, it’s your browser and/or computer. If your computer is not woefully out of date, you likely can upgrade your browser, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Most important, don’t click on an upgrade pop-up message without being absolutely sure it’s a legitimate message. We have not heard of scammers and hackers using this type of pop-up to get your money or your data or both, but if they’re doing it already…

You can always go to the browser publisher’s website (Microsoft, Firefox/Mozilla, Chrome/Google, Apple, etc.) and download a browser upgrade from there. We believe it’s a safer way to do it. If you happen to download more than one upgraded browser, make sure you designate only one as your preferred or default browser. That will ensure that links you click – such as the link from our email message to get to this article – open in the browser you prefer to use.

If your computer cannot support a browser and a website you use, you should consider upgrading your computer. It’s not really an arbitrary suggestion; it’s all about security.

From the website owner’s point of view, they constantly need to incorporate new software to cover multiple platforms, such as Windows or Apple computers and a host of mobile devices. At some point, they just cannot incorporate the software needed to function properly on older browsers and older computers. Some of the reasons may include the ability to perform e-commerce transactions efficiently and securely, the storage of financial and medical records, the protection of encrypted messages and vulnerability to a variety of attacks.

Those needs take into account legal and insurance issues that affect their decisions about the software and systems they use and support. (We will discuss those in a future issue of Technology Update).

For you, the computer user, you need to consider costs – and that goes beyond just the cost of a new computer.

  • What is your cost if you cannot purchase business items online from your preferred vendors?
  • What is your cost if you cannot purchase any items online – personally or for business – because your browser (and computer) may have security risks?
  • What is your cost if you cannot bill customers and clients because of doubts about your security (see Protection in the Third-Party World)?
  • What is your cost if your data is breached?
  • What is your cost if you are found liable for others’ data breaches?

Browser requirements are likely to get tighter as we go deeper into our Internet-based world and as security becomes an even more important concern for website owners. We can help you get the most up-to-date browsers onto your computers, and we can help you plan an orderly upgrade of your personal and commercial systems to take advantage of any possible cost efficiencies. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to help keep your website browsing as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Rolling Out Windows 10…Rolling Up 7 & 8

If you haven’t chosen to install Windows 10, Microsoft will be making the decision for you – though you will still have the opportunity to roll back to Windows 7 or 8. If you still want to buy Windows 7 or 8 for your computer, Microsoft has set the final purchase dates. Here’s what you need to know.

When Microsoft began rolling out Windows 10, the company invited users to reserve the new operating system. As Microsoft got the new OS ready for computers based on each machine’s manufacturer, it sent each owner a notification that it was ready for download and installation. That’s changing, according to a post by Terry Myerson, executive vice president of windows and devices, Microsoft.

Before the year’s end – which is approaching fast – Microsoft will make Windows 10 an “optional update” for all Windows 7 and 8 users. The kicker comes in 2016.

“Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a ‘Recommended Update,’” Microsoft says. “Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device. Before the upgrade changes the OS of your device, you will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue. And of course, if you choose to upgrade (our recommendation!), then you will have 31 days to roll back to your previous Windows version if you don’t love it.”

However, the move to Windows 10 is getting harder to avoid. You can read more thoughts by a couple of commentators, such as Gordon Kelly for Forbes and Mary Jo Foley for ZDNet. But here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

  1. Microsoft is proactively installing Windows 10 code on computers to make the process go faster. It won’t spring into action unless you complete the Windows 10 installation process, but it is there – and that could understandably bother some people.
  2. At some point, you will need to make the active decision NOT to install Windows 10.

In my opinion, Windows 10 is big upgrade over 7 and 8 with more speed, security and capability. I encourage all Windows users to install it on their computers. I am not happy about some of Microsoft’s tactics, but I understand the “big picture” strategy behind them. It becomes expensive for them to support outdated software.

With that in mind, Microsoft has set the final purchase dates for OEMs for Windows 7 and 8. For all intents and purposes, Windows 7 has not been available for computers purchased at retail stores, but as a reseller, we are able to get them. We are able to get computers with Windows 7 Professional, but Microsoft has set Oct. 31, 2016 as the cutoff date. For Windows 8, the cutoff date is sooner – June 30, 2016. The final sales day for Windows 8.1 is Oct. 31, 2016.

We have no problem with any client staying with Windows 7 and 8 or 8.1 operating systems – even though we intensely dislike the Windows 8 family. While we strongly urge home and SOHO users to go to Windows 10, we understand that larger business and professional users may have application software tied to 7 and 8. Migrating from those older systems will require planning to make the move efficiently and cost-effectively. We can help you map out a technology plan for the next 12 to 24 months. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to set up a strategy session

OS Updates from Apple

You can look for iOS 9 for your Apple devices later this month and OS X El Capitan for your Mac computers later this fall. Here’s what to look for when you see them.

iOS 9 has been in public beta testing, and the good-and-bad of that is that a lot of testers find lots of bugs. While it generates a lot of public complaining, the process gives Apple’s developers the chance to fix “real world” problems before the great masses of “real world” people start using it.

So, let’s get our technical issue out of the way. I had problems calling my wife cellphone-to-cellphone on the Verizon network. I got a weird message about circuits being busy, and other Verizon users had trouble with voice mail. When I called Verizon, they asked if I was using iOS 9. When I told them I was, they said they were working on the issue. That’s why I like public beta testing.

Now, for the features. A recent CNET review points to improvements in Siri, the Maps app, search tools and battery life. The new iOS will be available for devices as old as iPad 2 and iPhone 4S – which may correspond to the changing world of phone carrier contracts and data rates. Regardless, here some worthwhile features:

  • Siri will be able to answer questions that relate to locations and times, such as “Remind me to call Mom when I get home,” and she’ll deliver in seconds.
  • When you launch a Spotlight search by swiping right from the first home screen or swiping down, you’ll get your most common contacts, recently used apps and other info. It could tie Maps and your location to nearby places of interest.
  • Apple now has its own News app.
  • Maps now works with public transit. Touch a Transit tab at the top to see all sorts of options to get there via public transportation. You can even tap a train station or bus stop to see all of the lines that pass through that stop or what exit to take from a station.
  • The keyboard has a system-wide font change, and it shows letters in lowercase when shift is off. The display will shift to “caps” when you tap the shift key.
  • The Notes app allows you to quickly make check lists, add formatting to notes and add images. There’s a scribble pad to draw with your finger on screen, and you can select pen types and colors.
  • The new Low Power Mode could add up to 3 hours to battery life. Flip a switch in the settings, and you can reduce or disable functions like background app refresh and visual effects.

OS X El Capitan for Mac computers is also in public beta testing. Some items of interest include:

  • A split screen lets you view two apps side-by-side.
  • Wiggle your finger on the trackpad to find your cursor.
  • Spotlight pulls in search results for weather, sports, stocks and videos. You can also use natural language to find what you’re looking for.
  • Mail borrows some swipe actions from iOS 9 and ties better your calendar.
  • Maps also picks up the iOS 9 tricks, and you can sync app results between your Mac and iOS 9 iPhone.
  • Notes borrows from iOS 9, and Safari has three new features
  • The ability to hide the menu bar is now built in instead of being a separate app – giving you every last inch of your screen if you have a compact MacBook.

If you have any questions about installing the new Apple operating systems and synching devices and computers or need help getting your systems up and running, we can help. Call us – 973-433-6676 – to have us talk you through the process or email us to schedule help.