Lapug

Phil Goodman discusses Travel tech (and some tips).

The second meeting this month will recap WWDC 2020. This year, WWDC will be virtual starting on June 22 and we will have a review of the announcements that evening. This will be all about what's coming in the next versions of macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS!

Ben, Pat, Phil (and possibly a few other guests) will review their favorite utilities for macOS.  There are so many things that make things easier on your Mac to do things you normally can't do or things that would take so many more steps. You'll love this meeting!

So, we're all experiencing a new world. We're all at home and depending more and more on our computers and devices for contact with the outside world. What issues and difficulties are you experiencing now that your life at home is revolving more and more around your Mac, iPhone and iPad? How are you communicating with others? How are you shopping? How are you working? ARE you working? How are you entertaining yourself? What projects are you working on? Have you developed new ways of being productive you never thought about?  We'll throw the door open to discuss all these topics and more at our next meeting. Our meeting will be based on the Zoom platform. Zoom is free and works very well for the type of meeting the LAPUG group has.

Remember how we always ask for topic suggestions? LAPUG member Rosalind Jarret suggested the topic for this month's meeting and it's more about personal security and privacy. Specifically, Rosalind asked that we discuss the following: • California's new privacy laws • What are best practices for responding to the pop up notices about privacy and cookies. Should you block cookies? • Should you install an ad blocker and if so which one? • What are best settings for Google Privacy?  For Facebook Privacy? • Differences in privacy practices for laptop vs iPhone These are all fantastic topics and each could probably fill an entire meeting. But, we'll address those as much as we can and we welcome input from other LAPUG members who may have experience with these topics And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

What's new in the iOS world? Apps! That's what's ALWAYS new! It's been a while since we spent some time going over some new and cool apps. These can vary in categories such as productivity, utilities, finance and numbers, news, entertainment, communication and entertainment...and more! This month, we'll spend some time going over a bunch of newer apps and we'll leave it open for you to talk about any cool app you've come to rely on or use on a regular basis. These kinds of meetings are always super informative! And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

It's a new year! And with that, traditionally comes CES. The Consumer Electronics Show was in Las Vegas the week of January 6 and there were some very interesting products announced. Some related to Apple products and some not. We'll review some interesting ones.  We'll also talk about some new features in Catalina/iOS 13 in depth including the TV App, Password authentication, Sidecar, Screen Time and Voice Control.   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

We'll be covering some more features about iOS 13 and Catalina and some more in-depth explanation of some of the newer features of each. And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

macOS Catalina is here. Apple has made good on its promise to release Catalina in the fall (early October to be precise) and it's the first operating system for the Mac to no longer support 32-bit applications. That means that your apps must be updated and you make sure to use Go64 to screen your computer before upgrading. However, once you upgrade, you'll be in for a load of changes and cool new features especially when it comes to security. Our next meeting will be spent going over a lot of those changes and new features so saddle up and made the trip over to Catalina for a wonderful time.   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

The new iPhones are here...and, better yet, iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 are here!! We'll go over iOS 13 and iPadOS 13's new features that will blow you away, make things easier to do and provide you with the ability to do things you never could before on an iPhone or iPad.  This will be a great meeting!!   This is our first meeting following the release of Apple’s latest iPhones, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 introduces several critical features including a new version of Apple's A series processor, the A13, longer battery life and a new wide angle lens on the Pro models. While the battery life is something anyone who uses a cell phone heavily will immediately understand the benefits of, the new wide angle lens and the increased functionality that comes from the A13 processor provide us plenty to talk about and even see!   ***Toward that end, if you have a new iPhone 11 and would like to share some of the photography or video you have shot that you feel exemplifies what’s differe

Once again, Apple has chosen the morning after our monthly meeting to make new product announcements. So, we won't be able to review the presentation in detail but we can speculate on what will be coming out based on reports in the Apple industry.  So come on by and we'll let you know what YOU will NEED to know about the new software and how it will affect your devices. Note that macOS Catalina (soon to be released) will require all of your apps to be current, 64-bit versions so that might affect you since some of your older applications may not work after the upgrade. Come on by and we'll let you know how to find out in advance so you don't have any surprises after you upgrade.   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

There were so many great topics to talk about last month from Ben's list that we didn't get a chance to cover all of them. We'll continue with a flood of info based on questions LAPUG members have submitted and we'll also cover some of the latest info going on in the Apple world. Of course, come prepared with new topics you would like us to discuss and we'll fit those in, too! macOS Catalina, iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watch OS 6 and tvOS 13 are just around the corner as we have more info that you'll need to know before upgrading! And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

Our content this month is drawn from your questions and requests. We will look at:   1. Mail application choices for macOS and iOS 2. Death of Bento, other options 3. Photo organization for iOS 4. Maintenance Tools on macOS Malwarebytes TechTool Intego Net Barrier & Virus Barrier Disk Warrior EtreCheck Little Snitch Apple Disk Utility 5. Digital payment systems (such as Venmo, CashApp, AppleCash, ApplePay and the new Apple credit card) and cryptocurrencies. There are now dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of them, and even the social media companies (such as Facebook) are developing their own. 6. AppleTV and its various apps. (We talk a lot about iOS and OS X apps, but rarely about TV apps. Here’s a list: https://www.imore.com/best-apple-tv-apps 7. Apple’s recently announced tvOS 8. AirPods vs Powerbeat Pros 9. How to choose the right external display for you and your needs   And, of course, we'll leave some time for Q&A.  

Do you know about some of the hidden and less obvious features in macOS?  Some features have been around for years and some are relatively newer but, in both cases, there are some powerful gems that aren't talked about that much that can really help you be more productive on your Mac. This month, we'll expose many of these and teach you how to become more of a Mac expert than you ever thought possible. Make sure to take notes on these as there will be many!   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

Photography on iOS has completely changed the game in the photo world. The phrase "the best camera is the one you have with you" takes on a completely different meaning when your iPhone's camera is always within arm's reach. Not only will we go over all the ins and outs of using the Camera app, but we'll also review getting images in and out of your iOS devices from other sources (digital cameras, SD cards, web sites, etc.). In addition to all that, we'll also review several other camera applications that go way beyond what Apple provides that allow you tweak your settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, filters, etc.) like you would with a more traditional camera.  This will help make your iPhone or iPad a true digital darkroom.

New iPhones and new Apple Watch! We'll have the run down on all the new stuff. And, to make things better for all of us, macOS Mojave, iOS 12, watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 are all out. We'll have devices that are running all of them and we'll demo it all and review all the new features.  This is one of the big events of the year for LAPUG so you won't want to miss it!   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

The new MacBook Pros have been released! If you’ve been following the saga involving Intel’s latest processors, Coffee Lake, you’ll know that Apple hasn’t had any mobile products using these CPUs — until now! The cool thing is not only are they faster but Apple has included a quad-core processor (i7) for 13” MacBook Pro models and, for the first time, a six-core processor (i9) for 15” models. Along with these upgrades, Apple has doubled the maximum storage available to 2 TB in the 13” and 4 TB (!) in the 15”.  Of course, you’ll pay for the privilege and an i9 with 4 TB in a 15” model will set you back nearly $7,000!!   We’ll have both 13” and 15” models on had to talk about and demo. We’ll also talk about some Thunderbolt 3 accessories that are very cool. We suspect that many of you still haven’t gotten on the new USB-C bus (pun intended) and there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to understanding the differences between the USB-A, B, C standards as well as the USB 1, 2, 3 and 3.1 standards — not to menti

This month, we'll review some iOS apps you know are there but you may not use to their fullest -- or at all. We'll review and go in-depth into Wallet, Files, Maps, Messages, News, Podcasts, Voice Memos, Compass, and more. Of course, there are some third-party apps that duplicate many of these features and we'll talk about some of them, too.    Also, you may have heard that Apple has moved several features from macOS Server into the macOS itself for all users to take advantage of. We'll review those features and you'll see what you can enable with just a few clicks to make your home computers and network so much more efficient and secure.   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.

The Engineers in Cupertino have been busy and Developers are now busy writing and rewriting apps to take advantage of the new features announced in macOS 14 Mojave, iOS 12, watchOS 5 and tvOS 12.   We will discuss what was announced, perhaps take a look at some early beta features just generally roll around in all the new sweet code! Bring your questions and ideas and we’ll discuss.

The days of packing toiletries and clothing and being on your way are gone. Today’s travel brings concerns for security and convenience that never existed before, including the ever-present need for power! How do you prepare, what do you have to bring with you and how can we best advise clients with simple preparations and tools that ease the burden of carrying everything you absolutely need to have with you? A recent discussion with Ben, Pat, Garry and Phil yielded some concrete recommendations and tools that make travel a little more secure and comfortable. Come share yours!   And, of course, we'll go over some other current events in the macOS world as well as review some cool Mac & iOS apps and leave some time for Q&A.