Computer coding, at least the more modern era of coding that we would recognize, really began in the 1950’s. So, it’s a bit surprising that it took the courts this long to determine that computer code deserved copyright protections. In September of 1986, the US District Court for the Northern District of California handed down a ruling that said computer code is protected under copyright law. What ultimately led to the ruling was the case of NEC Corp. v. Intel Corp.  The two tech giants were in a battle over who had the legal rights to produce the x86 processors. And the rest is history!

The post This Day in Tech History: Coding Gets Copyrights! first appeared on MacTech Solutions.

Just 66 short years after Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered aircraft, America achieved what was definitely a “giant leap” in manned flight.  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first astronauts ever to land on the moon. A few hours after the landing craft, named “Eagle” touched down on the lunar surface, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. His famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” are forever etched in the minds and hearts of Americans. 

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Cupertino Comes Alive with Apple’s WWDC24 on Monday, June 10. The World Wide Developers Conference is coming up June 10, 2024, and we can expect some exciting things from Apple.  Expect news on the newest advancements on Apple platforms, learn how to connect with Apple experts and developers for answers and advice and get the latest updates on the recently released M4 chip, iOS18 and so much more!  You can watch the happenings at WWDC24 on Apple’s YouTube channel

As always, if you have questions about any Apple products, we’re here to help.  MacTech Solutions is open Monday thru Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and, of course you can always message us by clicking here.

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Apple previewed these releases at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and many people have been testing the public betas since. Once Apple judges each of its operating systems to be ready for public consumption, the question arises—when should you upgrade?

Note that we say when and not if. There’s no harm in delaying a major operating system upgrade until Apple has sanded off rough edges that slipped through testing. But waiting too long puts you at risk from security vulnerabilities, increases compatibility annoyances, and prevents you from taking advantage of new features. Plus, when you buy a new Mac, iPhone, or iPad after these operating systems have shipped, you’ll get the latest version, which could pose problems for your existing apps or compatibility with older hardware or workflows. It’s best to be prepared if you have to replace a device unexpectedly.

Given that we don’t know precisely when each operating system will come out, here’s our recommendation for the general upgrade order that we anticipate and how long we suggest waiting after the release appears. Remember, always make a backup before upgrading a Mac, iPhone, or iPad so you can revert if necessary.

iOS 16

It’s usually safe to upgrade iOS fairly quickly because Apple puts significant effort into ensuring that the new iOS version is a good experience for those who buy the new iPhones that come with it. However, because iPhones are so crucial to our everyday lives, it’s worth delaying the upgrade to iOS 16 for a few weeks, just in case. After that, you can install it and enjoy the new features.

You’ll likely enjoy iOS 16’s customizable Lock screen, which lets you specify the font, color, and placement of various options, all of which appear with photos that can shuffle throughout the day. Widgets can now appear on the Lock screen too, providing at-a-glance weather and other info even without unlocking your iPhone. The new dictation capabilities that let you talk, select, and type without switching modes may also be game-changing for some, and dictation will even add punctuation automatically and let you enter emojis with voice commands.

However, some features may not be fully available at the start due to Apple’s tight integration of operating systems. Messages will finally let you edit messages after sending, undo sending, and mark messages as unread—but editing and unsending won’t work for messages sent to people running anything earlier than iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and Ventura. We’re unsure if Apple will enable iCloud Shared Photo Library, which lets you automatically share an entire library of photos with family members or friends, until iPadOS 16 and Ventura are out as well. Similarly, the Continuity Camera feature of iOS 16, which lets you use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac’s videoconferencing apps, won’t be available until Ventura ships.

watchOS 9

Once you upgrade your iPhone to iOS 16, there’s no reason to delay upgrading your Apple Watch to watchOS 9. You may not even notice the difference since none of the changes are likely to force changes in your usage patterns.

New features include new views and more metrics in the Workout app, including a display of heart rate zones and pace feedback. You can customize workout and recovery intervals, race against previous routes, get running form metrics, and see your running power. Also new is a Medications app that helps you remember to take medications and log them from reminders. And, of course, there are more watch faces.

tvOS 16

We don’t know when Apple will release tvOS 16, but the changes are so minimal that it doesn’t matter much. tvOS 16 will support more Bluetooth gaming controllers, provide full support of the Matter smart home standard, and offer more integration with your other Apple devices, such as with workouts in Apple Fitness+.

Unless something in that list encourages you to upgrade as soon as it’s out, we suggest letting your Apple TV (the fourth-generation model and later) upgrade itself when it gets around to it, assuming you have automatic updates turned on in Settings > Software Updates.

iPadOS 16

iPadOS 16 may not be available until October, but once it ships, our general advice is that it’s fine to update. For the most part, iPadOS is a superset of iOS, so if anything, Apple should have had some time to fix any early bugs that cropped up in iOS 16 before releasing iPadOS 16.

The big new feature in iPadOS 16—if you have an M1-equipped iPad like the latest iPad Air or iPad Pro—is Stage Manager, which brings a structured windowing system to the iPad and Mac. Stage Manager lets you stack up to four apps in an overlapping view, providing additional sets of apps off to the side in a sort of secondary Dock. If you connect your iPad to an external display (along with a keyboard and pointing device), it offers another separate workspace, so you can work more fluidly in multiple apps at once.

If you want to see more on screen, a new display scaling mode shrinks interface elements and content. It may make Stage Manager and Split View more helpful. You’ll also likely enjoy a better search in Mail, plus options to undo sending, schedule sending, follow up on sent messages, and add rich links. (These Mail features are shared with iOS 16 and Ventura.) Last but not least, the iPad finally gets its own Weather app.

macOS 13 Ventura

The hardest upgrade decision revolves around upgrading your Mac to macOS 13 Ventura, and that assumes you can upgrade at all, given that Apple has dropped support for all Macs released before 2017. The main new feature that you might find compelling is Stage Manager, although most longtime Mac users probably already feel comfortable with their window management skills. If you spend a lot of time in video calls, the new Continuity Camera feature that lets you use your iPhone (running iOS 16, natch) as a high-quality webcam with support for Center Stage—which enables the camera to follow you as you move around—may also be attractive. And, of course, you’ll get the new Messages, Mail, and iCloud Shared Photo Library features that Apple added to iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.

We always encourage caution when upgrading to a new version of macOS. Wait at least a few months before upgrading your primary Mac to Ventura. App compatibility isn’t usually a long-term problem with iOS and iPadOS, but many people rely on older Mac apps that may not work in the latest version of macOS. Even once you’re confident that your apps will work properly in Ventura, there may be workflow or intra-office compatibility concerns if some people upgrade and others don’t. And, of course, unanticipated bugs could crop up at inconvenient times—important work takes place on Macs! Please, do not upgrade to Ventura without checking with us first. With luck, the start of the new year will have brought both the bug fixes and app updates necessary to give the green light.

(Featured image by Apple)

The post When Should You Upgrade to macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16? first appeared on MacTech Solutions.

Make Sure You Have Decent Lighting

Natural light is best, but room light is generally fine too, especially if it’s coming from the side. Overhead light isn’t quite as flattering, but whatever you do, avoid light that comes from underneath your face or you’ll look like an old-time movie villain. Also, avoid sitting in front of a window because the bright light behind you will make you look way too dark. Pull a shade or try to put your computer against the window so the light hits your face instead.

Arrange for a Decent Background

You may not have many choices for where your computer is located, and thus for what’s behind you when you’re on a video call. If you’re using Zoom or Skype, you can employ a virtual background (pick one that’s appropriate for the context, and for goodness sake, don’t use an animated background). Otherwise, make sure that what’s behind you is tidy and wouldn’t embarrass you if the people on the call were to visit in person. Or, take it up a level and put a pleasing arrangement of art or photos on the wall behind you. Even if they are too small to be seen well, they will break up a monotonous blank wall.

Wear Appropriate Clothing

Yes, it’s tempting to schlub around all day in pajamas or ratty old sweats. Resist the urge and wear the same type of clothes you’d put on if you were meeting with these people in person. That includes pants—if you get up in the middle of the call without thinking, you don’t want to advertise your taste in boxers. You don’t want your boss and colleagues to have a mental image of you as a total slob. For bonus points, avoid tops that are bright white, black, or have distracting patterns.

Think Like a Movie Director

Particularly if you need to use a phone, tablet, or laptop to participate in a video call, think about your camera angles. It’s best to have the camera at roughly the same height as your face, if possible, so if you can avoid it, don’t put your laptop in your lap or hold your phone at your waist. And if you’re using a phone, don’t walk around such that the changing background distracts everyone else.

And Like a Movie Star

It’s sometimes hard to remember that everyone can see you even though they’re not in the room, but you’ll come off as more alert, confident, and engaged if you sit up straight, get close enough to the camera so your face fills the screen, and smile. Seriously, you’re on Candid Camera, so act like it. You’ll almost always have a thumbnail that shows what you look like, so make sure you like what you see. Oh, and don’t touch your face repeatedly.

Look at the Camera, Not the Other Participants

This one is tough. The camera is usually at the top center of your screen, so if you look anywhere else, it seems like you’re avoiding eye contact. It can make you look shifty or inattentive. But it’s hard not to look at the other people or at your own video thumbnail. The best trick is to resize and position your video window so the person you’re most likely to look at is right under the camera.

Pay Attention and Don’t Multitask

Look, we get it—a lot of meetings are boring. But it’s both rude and distracting to the speakers if you are clearly doing something else or worse, leaving and coming back. Focus on the screen, and show that you’re paying attention by nodding your head, smiling, and all the other little things you’d do if the meeting were taking place in person. If you truly can’t stay engaged, turn off your audio and video so no one has to see and hear you. If you need an excuse for that, say that your Internet connection is being a little wonky, so you want to cut down on bandwidth usage.

Mute Your Mic When Not Talking

The more people on a call, the more important this tip is. All videoconferencing apps have a Mute button you can click so others in the call aren’t distracted by you coughing or sneezing, your children playing in the other room, or other extraneous noise. Just remember to unmute before you start talking. It’s hard to remember at first, but you’ll get good at it.

All this may seem like a lot to think about, but once you get your environment set up properly, you’ll be a bright spot in the video grid at your regular meetings. And then maybe you can forward this article to your family, friends, and colleagues so they can up their video game too.

Need recommendations for videoconferencing apps? 

(Featured image by Marcus Aurelius from Pexels)

The post Audiovisual Tips for Better Videoconferencing first appeared on MacTech Solutions.

• Sanitizing of our high-traffic areas of the store
• Sanitizing customers’ items before handling at our counter and post-repair
• Ensuring our team observes regular and thorough hygiene practices
• We have established appointment-only service and sales interactions

Watch this video we posted to learn more about what to expect when arriving at our store. We will update our procedures as needed throughout the coming days and weeks.

As always, we strive to provide the quickest repair turnaround possible and we will do our best to accommodate expedited repairs.

We understand your experience at MacTech Solutions may look different during this time and we thank you for your patience and understanding.

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If you have any questions, please stop by MacTech Solutions In Parker Square or contact us here.

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Whether you are a new Mac user or a seasoned one, there are always fun and productive things to learn that make using your Mac even more enjoyable. Here are just a few of them:

1) Receive text messages on your Mac:

With the addition of the Messages app, integrating an iPhone with your Mac was a seamless process and relatively painless. It’s only drawback, however, was that Messages on a Mac could only receive messages from other people using Messages on their Apple devices. Since SMS Text messages were only received on your iPhone, it became inconvenient to track where any given message was stored.

As part of the Yosemite’s new Continuity feature, Apple took care of this problem by adding Text Message Forwarding to the iPhone. This new feature allows you to send and receive SMS text messages on a Mac, iPad, or even an iPod Touch – even if the sender does not possess an iPhone or another Apple device.

This function is incredibly easy to enable: First, login to the Messages app on each device. Then on your iPhone go to Settings > Messages  >  Text Message Forwarding and  enable each device you want SMS text messages forwarded to. Now, enjoy seamless messaging on your Mac!

2) A few quick keyboard functions to know about:

• command + shift + 3 = takes a screenshot of your screen and places the file in the Pictures folder
• control + command + d = Spotlight also functions as a dictionary and can tell you the definition of the word when highlighted in a text or application.
• command + shift + v = helps paste text without keeping the original format, which means less formatting.
• command + space bar = opens up Spotlight

3) Spotlight also functions as a calculator and a unit converter:

Spotlight is often ignored by many, citing it as useless or unnecessary. However, it happens to be incredibly useful and a streamlined way of finding documents without having to do the major grunt work. Spotlight also has other hidden talents and uses though: it can be used a calculator for complex questions and see if findings are correct, as is the same for unit conversion. Spotlight serves as continually useful resource for finding documents and music within files, but also for its ability to do quick calculations.

To learn more about the Mac and other tips and tricks for using it, please do not hestitate to contact us. MacTech Solutions is your local Mac store.

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