Here is an article with 10 iPhone tips that might be useful. I could have used the "Markup" tip yesterday to sign a pdf document -- if I had known the tip. Some of these may be handy, some not so much, but it is amazing that the iPhone has so many different functions built into it.
Jim Hamm
This video gives a good side by side camera comparison of all the current iPhones. It is amazing to see how good The iPhone 12 Pro computational camera performs and the 13 Pro is even better. Only the PRO cameras take RAW photos that capture 10x more data than JPG and process it in the camera for great pictures, You don’t need Adobe or Affinity processing, its done in the camera. It also has LIDAR and HDR for taking the original picture. Sure makes memorable picture taking easy.
Mike Skapik
https://www.jeffontheroad.com/iphone-12-pro-vs-nikon-d850-dslr-camera/
The following article discusses how to remove old Apple devices from your Apple ID. It might be worth taking a look at to see if you've got some devices that should be removed. I just did and did.. This is especially important if, say, you're selling your device or trading it in on another one.
Jim Hamm
https://osxdaily.com/2022/01/07/how-remove-old-devices-apple-id-mac/
This is a question I often ask myself. There are many tricks and tips to improve the performance of any computer, but what is often overlooked is that it isn’t the computer that is slow, and it’s not even the fault with the Internet Provider - sometimes it is the website that is being accessed.
Case in point, I recently got an email from my bank telling me that I have a new monthly statement that I can access. So I jumped in Safari and clicked on my favorite link to load up the bank website. And it hung while trying to open the website. This sometimes happens with different websites. When I refresh the page that is hung, it often starts up immediately - but not always. Doing a speedtest at the time shows that I have full speed available.
Similarly, I wanted to download a 25MB PDF file from a website to my computer. The download progress bar showed very little activity, and the time remaining showed almost an hour. A speedtest showed that my download speed was 41 Mbps (typical for my IP), so a 25MB file (equivalent to about 200 Mbits) should take about 5 seconds. Restarting the download didn’t help. That’s not a computer problem. That’s a web server problem - at their end. In another case, a 161MB file from a different website downloaded in less than 20 seconds which calculated to a 28 second download time.
Aside from a website problem, there was a time when my Internet was iffy at best, and almost always a speedtest showed half or less than what it should be. This turned out to be a faulty Wi-Fi mesh network system that was three years old. Replacing mesh network with a new one returned my Internet to normal.
So just because your Internet experience isn’t what you would like it to be, a way to determine if it is your computer is to do a performance test on the computer first.
Geekbench 5 (https://www.geekbench.com) is a useful app for measuring the CPU performance. There is a free version, but the full version is available in the App Store. The Geekbench website provides a handy reference chart of what score to expect for your computer. I ran the trial version on my M1 Mini, and I am very impressed with the app. It performs both a single core and a multi core test and recognized my computer type automatically. It allows for saving the test (in a free account with Geekbench) as a baseline which can be used to compare future tests against. You can also compare your computer test against others with the same computer type. People are reporting performance tests almost hourly.
CleanMyMac X (https://cleanmymac.macpaw.com) is the simplest way to clean out the junk from your computer. It is not free, but for me the price is worth the peace of mind. It also performs scans for viruses, adware, malware, and spyware. It is also available in the App Store.
John R Carter, Jr.
If you might be in the market for a keyboard to use with your iPad, the following article compares six styles. I use the Slim Folio style because it is lightweight and holds my iPad upright on a table. If I need the other features of a keyboard I just use my MacBook Air instead of my iPad.
Jim Hamm
The following information is excerpted from MacWorld.co.uk.
Resetting NVRAM on M1 Mac
In November 2020, Apple launched its first Mac with the M1 Chip. With Apple’s new system it is not possible to reset the NVRAM.
Unlike SMC, which no longer exists on M1 Macs, NVRAM exists, but it works differently.
The new Macs still have a kind of parameter memory whose settings you can view and change with the terminal command NVRAM, but there is no longer any command to reset the contents of NVRAM.
According to several sources, including the accessory manufacturer Caldigit and comments on Apple's support forum, which claims to have talked to Apple's support, the M1 processor tests NVRAM when the computer is started from shutdown (i.e. not after a normal reboot). If something is wrong with the memory, it is reset automatically.
[NOTE: After a full shutdown, wait at least 10 seconds before powering back up.]
We have so far not been able to test whether this means that the M1 Macs can "save themselves" from incorrectly set NVRAM values. We recommend that you take extra care if you make manual changes with the NVRAM tool.
An alternative [to performing an NVRAM reset] is to start the Mac in recovery mode, [then] start Terminal from the Tools menu and [then] enter the command:
NVRAM -c
How to start M1 Mac in Recovery Mode
If you have a new Mac with an Apple processor, such as the M1 Macs introduced in November 2020, you need to enter Recovery a different way [than is done with an Intel Mac].
Turn off the Mac. [and wait 10 seconds]
Press the on button and keep it pressed.
Eventually the Apple logo will appear with text below it informing that if you continue holding the power button you will be able to access startup options. Keep pressing that button.
Eventually you will be able to select Options > Continue, and this will open up Recovery.
There is also a so called 'fallback recovery mode', that is detailed by Apple here. In this case you double press the power button: first press it, release, and then press and hold down the power button.
Fallback recovery mode accesses a second copy of the recoveryOS on the SSD of the Macs with M1 Chip. Apple says the second copy is there for resiliency.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/reset-nvram-mac-3801373/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-recovery-mode-3674052/
John R. Carter, Sr.
The following article suggests that third-party AV (anti-virus) software is no longer needed on one's computer or iPad or smartphone:
For years I've used the free version of Avast AV on my computers and fortunately haven't picked up a virus. Whether this program has protected me or not, I'm not sure, but I plan to continue using it for a while as I don't see a significant downside to doing so. Having said that, on a Windows PC the built-in Defenders program is considered quite adequate, and a separate AV program isn't needed.
If you're using and paying for an AV program, you may no longer need to do so.
Jim Hamm
FYI and possible interest, the following link has a good article on lightning cables. If you might be in the market for one, read this article first.
Jim Hamm
When measuring our internet connection speed, probably most of us use a third-party app such as speedtest.net, or others. These work well enough for me, but I just discovered that macOS Monterrey has a built-in feature that also measures download and upload speeds. If interested in trying it out, here's the process: open Terminal; type in "networkquality" (sans quotation marks); tap return. In a few seconds the data will display. Pretty slick!
Apple says this test might differ from third party apps as they typically measure data flows up and down separately, whereas the terminal test measures both simultaneously, which may be more real-life.
Jim Hamm
If you have an iPhone, this article discusses 9 tricks for the phone that you might find of interest.
Jim Hamm
If you'd like to increase the battery life of your iPhone, take a look at this video for some useful tips.
Jim Hamm
If you upgrade to the subject OS the following article has info on 12 useful tips contained in the upgrade.
Jim Hamm
https://osxdaily.com/2021/11/02/best-features-macos-monterey/
Brian X. Chen, the consumer technology columnist for The New York Times, is back with fresh advice on digital record keeping for Covid-19 vaccinations.
A few months ago, I shared a tip about how to securely store your digital vaccine card on your phone. As of this week, iPhone users now have a much simpler way to store their vaccine cards by adding the document to Apple’s Wallet app, its software that holds credit cards and important documents like travel itineraries.
Here’s how to set it up:
Download and install the latest software update for iOS (version 15.1). To do that, open the Settings app, tap General and then tap Software Update.
Now retrieve your digital vaccine card from your health department. These steps vary by state. California residents can visit the vaccine record website for the California Department of Public Health to request a copy of their digital vaccine card.
Once you receive the vaccine card, tap and hold down on the QR code — a digital bar code that looks like a bunch of black-and-white squares — to open a menu. Then select “Open in Health.”
Here, select “Add to Wallet & Health.” Now you can access your vaccine card by opening the Wallet app.
Jim Hamm
Some Older Macs Reportedly Bricked After Installing macOS Monterey
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/01/macos-monterey-bricking-older-macs/
Here’s a different story.
I was unable to install Monterey on my 2015 MacBook Pro. After clicking on the “Restart now” button, it gave me an error that it “Could not complete the installation. Try again.” When I opened “Disk Utility” to do a disk repair, only one partition showed up. Attempting to do a NVRAM reset would go into “Recovery Mode” instead of booting up normally and show that it was attempting to do a firmware update, and it showed an error, “The installed hard drive is incompatible." Same thing while in Safe Mode. Doing a SRAM reset did not help any. Despite this problem, I was able to boot up normally into Big Sur.
So Apple authorized taking it to Argosy West for repairs. The only way they could fix the problem and save my data was to uninstall the SSD, install a blank SSD, go into Recovery Mode, finish the firmware update, put my SSD back in, and then Monterey installed normally.
I suspect that the machines that are bricked after attempting to install Monterey is a firmware issue and not a software issue. Possibly installing a blank drive would get past that problem like it did for my MacBook Pro.
I had no problems installing Monterey on my 2020 M1 Mac Mini.
So now I’m selling my MacBook Pro even though it is working normally. I no longer need a laptop.
John R. Carter, Sr.
If you have an interest, here is a summary of Apple's financial results for the 4th quarter. While I continue to think of Apple as a computer company, they really are mostly a phone company. Out of every $100 of revenue, only $11 comes from selling a Mac. Wonder where Apple would be today if Steve Jobs hadn't introduced the iPhone many moons ago?
Jim Hamm
So you now have a new device (computer, iPhone, iPad) with USB-C ports. You know, the ones that look like a small, rounded corners connector, not the larger rectangular connector.
But did you know that not all USB-C cables are the same?
If you need to use a USB-C cable to power your device, the USB-C cable must support both power and data. Thunderbolt 3 cables aren’t supported, even though they will work just for connecting to something like to an external display or to an external drive that has its own external power. So if your external drive is a newer personal portable drive with the new USB-C port, be aware about using the right cable (Thunderbolt 4) to power the drive.
What you need to know:
Connecting external drives:
https://mactakeawaydata.com/connect-external-hard-drive-to-mac/
Thunderbolt 3 vs Thunderbolt 4:
https://us.anker.com/blogs/hubs_edu/what-is-the-difference-between-thunderbolt-3-and-4
John Carter Sr.
In the past, we have always strongly recommended that you create a clone of your Mac to be used in case your internal drive became corrupt and were no longer able to boot up from it. The clone could then be used to boot up from and continue to use your computer until you get around to replacing or reinstalling the operating system on the internal drive.
Well, you can’t do that with any Apple Mac that has the new M1 SOC (System On a Chip). Booting from any external drive is not allowed - for security reasons (it is how a computer can be broken into without a password).
What this means is that the only method available to solve a failing internal drive is to wipe it, reinstall the OS, and then restore your data from a Time Machine backup.
Now for the REAL problem. If it turns out that the internal storage on the M1 is defective, the ONLY solution is to replace the motherboard, and that can only be done at an authorized Apple repair center.
So, good luck with your new M1 computer. May it never die.
And the second part of the bad news is, you can’t hang onto your old system that has a separate internal drive for more than another five years, because the only new systems that Apple will be delivering will contain some version of the SOC, and by then, any new OS upgrade will be locked into only the newer systems.
With any computer running on an Intel chip, I have been able to repurpose the computer by installing Linux on it. This is a simple process of booting up off an external thumb drive with Linux and then installing Linux on the internal drive. But this cannot be done with an Apple SOC machine.
Bottom line: When an Apple SOC machine can no longer be upgraded to the newest OS, it cannot be repurposed - it is junk.
Long live Linux.
John Carter, Sr.
Brian X. Chen, the consumer technology columnist for The New York Times, is back with fresh advice on digital record keeping for Covid-19 vaccinations.
A few months ago, I shared a tip about how to securely store your digital vaccine card on your phone. As of this week, iPhone users now have a much simpler way to store their vaccine cards by adding the document to Apple’s Wallet app, its software that holds credit cards and important documents like travel itineraries.
Here’s how to set it up:
Download and install the latest software update for iOS (version 15.1). To do that, open the Settings app, tap General and then tap Software Update.
Now retrieve your digital vaccine card from your health department. These steps vary by state. California residents can visit the vaccine record website for the California Department of Public Health to request a copy of their digital vaccine card.
Once you receive the vaccine card, tap and hold down on the QR code — a digital bar code that looks like a bunch of black-and-white squares — to open a menu. Then select “Open in Health.”
Here, select “Add to Wallet & Health.” Now you can access your vaccine card by opening the Wallet app.
Jim Hamm
If you're thinking about upgrading your OS to Monterrey, the following link takes you to a summary of the new features. I've been on Monterrey for a day and so far it's working fine. The login screen is colorful and quite different from Big Sur. Next, I'll start exploring the new features and see what I think.
Jim Hamm
The subject OS will be released Oct 25. If you plan to install it at some point, the following article offers some useful tips.
Jim Hamm
https://osxdaily.com/2021/10/23/prepare-for-macos-monterey-the-easy-way/