OS X El Capitan: Changes in the Spaces Functionality

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Spaces has changed a bit in El Capitan.  Apple has a great help article that covers how it works in the new operating system version.  Here is what Apple has to say:

If your desktop becomes cluttered with open app windows, you can create additional desktops, called spaces, to organize the windows. When you work in a space, you see only the windows that are in that space.

You use Mission Control to show the Spaces bar, where thumbnails represent your spaces and apps you’re using in full screen or Split View.

The Spaces bar showing a desktop space, apps in full screen and Split View, and the Add button to create a space
Tip:   Make your spaces unique by assigning a different desktop picture to each one. Just assign System Preferences to all desktops (see the instructions below), then change the desktop picture in each space.

Create a space

  1. Enter Mission Control, then click the Add button  in the Spaces bar.

    You can create up to 16 spaces.

  2. When you’re done, click a space in the Spaces bar or a window in Mission Control.

Move between spaces

Do any of the following:

Swipe left or right with three fingers.

Press the Control key and the Right or Left arrow key.

Enter Mission Control, move the pointer to the top edge of the screen to show the Spaces bar, then click a space.

Move an app window from one space to another

Do any of the following:

Drag the window to the edge of the screen. After a moment, the window moves to the next space.

Place the pointer over the window’s title bar. Hold down the trackpad or mouse button, then press the Control key and the Right or Left arrow key.

From the space that has the window you want to move, enter Mission Control. Then drag the window up to the space you want to use.

If you drag the window onto an app in full screen, you can use the apps in Split View.

Assign apps to spaces

If you assign an app (or System Preferences) to a specific space, the app will always open in that space.

  1. Press and hold an app’s icon in the Dock.

    You may have to first open the app from Launchpad to see its icon in the Dock.

  2. From the shortcut menu that appears, choose Options, then one of the following:

    • All Desktops: The app opens in every space.

    • This Desktop: The app opens only in the current space. If you use the app full screen, it appears in its own space.

    • Desktop on Display [number]: The app opens in the current space on a specific display (if more than one display is available).

    • None: The app opens in whichever space you’re using at the time.

By default, when you switch to an app, the desktop automatically switches to a space that has open windows for the app. For example, if you create a new TextEdit document in Desktop 3, but TextEdit windows are already open in Desktop 2, your new document opens in Desktop 2. To change this setting, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Mission Control.

Delete a space

  1. Enter Mission Control, then move the pointer to the top edge of the screen to show the Spaces bar.

  2. Place the pointer over the space you want to delete, then click the delete button that appears.

    If the space contains open windows, they are moved to another space.

You can quickly stop using an app in full screen or Split View by moving the pointer over the thumbnail in the Space bar, then clicking the exit button that appears.

OS X El Capitan: Display a message in the login window

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Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 2.48.16 PMHere is a great new feature for portable users in Mac OS 10.11, El Capitan.

You can add a short message to the login window that is displayed when your Mac is locked. The message can be anything appropriate to users attempting to log in, for example, to provide information for guest users. The message can also act as a virtual engraving, to provide contact information for a misplaced computer.

  1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click General.

  2. Click the lock icon  to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

  3. Select “Show a message when the screen is locked,” then click Set Lock Message.

  4. Enter the message you want to display in the login window.

Posted in Mac

My iCloud doesn’t seem to be syncing any more…

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imgresHere’s a problem that a number of people have seen since upgrading their Mac or iOS device.

Have you ever wondered if your iCloud information is truly syncing? Sometimes you add a new contact, or a new bookmark, and can’t seem to get it to move to your other devices. ICloud is supposed to sync automatically and normally it does. But once in a while, particularly after an update, I find that parts of iCloud seem to stop syncing. So what’s a person to do.

The easiest way to get iCloud to sync again is to simply toggle off the offending item, such as contacts or bookmarks in the iCloud settings on either your phone or computer. By simply turning it off, and then turning it back on, often times the sync resumes normally. Generally, when you turn the sync back on for the particular item such as bookmarks, iCloud will ask if it’s okay to merge the information from your device with the information in the cloud. Since most of the information is the same, merging will accomplish the sync that you’re looking for and put all of the information on your device. So when asked, Tell it that it’s okay to merge.

While we all realize, we shouldn’t have to go through this process, this is certainly a simple method to get all of your information in iCloud back in sync on all your devices.

Links to Home Control Products I Use

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X-20090119111603625-1Lighting – Lutron and Wemo

http://www.lutron.com/enUS/Products/Pages/SingleRoomControls/CasetaWireless/Overview.aspx

http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/home-automation/c/wemo-home-automation/

Video Cameras – DLink and IP Cam Viewer Pro

http://us.dlink.com/product-category/home-solutions/view/network-cameras/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ip-cam-viewer-pro/id402656416?mt=8

Bose SoundTouch Wireless Music System

https://www.bose.com/products/speakers/wireless_speakers/soundtouch-20-series-ii-wi-fi-music-system.html

Thermostat – Nest

https://store.nest.com/product/thermostat/

Smoke Alarm and CO Detection

https://store.nest.com/product/smoke-co-alarm/

Craftsman AssureLink Garage Door Opener

http://www.searsoutlet.com/AssureLink%E2%84%A2-Internet-3-4-HP-DC-Belt-Drive-Garage-Door-Opener-DieHard%C2%AE-Battery-Backup-No-Annual-Fees/d/product_details.jsp?pid=86199

AdwareMedic Mac Malware Remover is now Malwarebytes

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Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 3.25.33 PMI have talked a number of times before about how Malwarebytes was the primary tool I used to remove  malware on a PC.  It is always been a great tool and always had a free version that allows me to use it on clients computers.  I’ve also mentioned that malware, or more accurately, Adware,  is now becoming a problem on the Mac and that I use a tool called Adwaremedic to remove malware on it.

Today, I updated Adwaremedic and found that Adwaremedic is now called Malwarebytes Mac.  I think this is a terrific change!  Malwarebytes on the PC has been dependable for years and is really the go to product for PC malware.  To have this company now cleaning malware on the Mac will be a good think.  They definitely have the expertise to do malware removal and Mac users should be able to depend on them too.

The next time you have Adware or popups on the mac, go to Malwarebytes to get your malware cleaner on yourMac.  You can’t go wrong with them.

 

Problems with Free Wi-Fi Hotspots

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imageQ: I have had increasing issues connecting to WiFi with my phone from free access locations at airports and motels. I get messages like “server not available” or “cannot connect to server”. So far, I have gotten around the problem by turning off WiFi and relying on cellular connection. However, I want to solve the problem, because once we are traveling to Canada we will rely on WiFi to send emails. Any explanation or suggested remedy?

A: I often times see the same thing coming from free wireless connections. In many cases you have to chalk it up to you get what you pay for. These free Wi-Fi connections are many times not very good and even more often don’t work. I find this to be very prevalent in airports.

But there are a couple of other things to consider when you connect to the free Wi-Fi hotspot. I’m finding more more often that these hotspots require you to open the Safari browser after you make connection to them and agree to some hold harmless agreement. I think the lawyers have gotten involved and people who offer free Wi-Fi are afraid someone will use the Wi-Fi for illegal purposes.  They allow you to connect, but unless you immediately go to Safari and agree to their license agreement, which often comes up automatically if you run Safari immediately after connection, you don’t actually have any Internet access.

The other possibility is that some of these are not truly free Wi-Fi sites. They may be connections other people are offering from their computers in the hopes of someone connects  Then, once connected, they are able to scan their computer for private information. It’s very hard to do this on the Mac, and nearly impossible on an iPhone or iPad, but on a Windows machine if you connect to one of these fake hotspots, and don’t have your firewall turned on, a thief can scan your computer for all kinds of private personal information. People create these fake access points hoping to get unsuspecting individuals to connect to them.  Nothing to really worry about with a Mac or an iPhone, but frustrating because they act exactly as your are describing when you try to connect to the Internet.

Finally, many free wireless hotspots, particularly at hotels, will not allow you to send email. They block the email ports in the Internet connection to keep you from using their systems to send out spam. I found this happen a lot in nicer hotels.  In fact, when I was traveling for business, it almost went without saying that if you paid for Wi-Fi at a hotel, it would always have mail blocked.

The best thing I can tell you, is to only connect to the  hotspots that your sure are legitimate. If a business says they offer a hotspot, it’s usually a good one to connect to. But if you see one named something similar to “Free public Wi-Fi” I find 90% of the time these are scams so only connect to one that you’re familiar with.  Also keep in mind that the only benefit of providing a free Wi-Fi connection to a business is marketing, so restaurants, and hotels, tend to put their names in the Wi-Fi connection. If you see an unlocked connection with an odd name you’re not familiar with it’s probably not one you want to connect to.

Those are just some of my thoughts.  Rest of shared, it’s not you or your devices that are having the problem, Everybody sees the same thing and has the same problems.

 

Windows 10: Lets give it a chance

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IMG_0415If you’re a Windows user you probably know it’s that time again. Microsoft is about ready to release its latest version of windows, Windows 10. How you feel about this may be directly be related to what version of Windows you’re using today.

If you’ve purchased a computer in the last few years, particularly from a retail outlet, you’re likely running Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. Microsoft’s release of Windows 8 was nothing short of a disaster. in their wisdom, or at least the wisdom of the people running the show at the time ( who are nearly all now gone) , Windows was ready for a complete facelift. Brand-new interface, out with the old in with the new, and a consistent look and feel across all devices. So basically your tablet, computer, and phone what all look alike. That’s what the people in charge thought customers wanted. But what they found out was that nobody wantIMG_0416 (1)ed that. In my experience, working with people using Windows 8, at least 10 to 1 they absolutely hate and despise the change. Nobody wants to learn new things, but this much radical change at once makes absolutely no sense. So if you’re running Windows 8 you’re probably looking forward to Windows 10. I mean the thought is, it can’t get any worse, can it? To you, I completely agree.

Windows 10 is setting itself up to be a pretty good release. Beta testers are saying there are few bugs at this point in the interface change, in a lot of ways, it’s back to Windows 7, and it is a welcome relief. in many peoples mind, they’re ready for the change. As always, with any new operating system, I want to caution you that you may not want to be the first person you know to install windows 10. I would say it’s going to be harder for a lot of people to resist since Microsoft is providing the update for free to windows 7 and 8 users. But with any release, it makes some sense to wait a little while and let other people get a feel for how well the operating system really works in the real world. So Windows 8 users, while I share your enthusiasm, I also hope you don’t jump to soon and end up sorry that you did.

IMG_0417 (1)The next group of people are folks who run Windows 7. If you’re using windows in business, this is likely the version you’re using today. Windows 7 was a terrific release. it was solid, clean, and had a few bugs once the first initial patches were released. In fact if you’re a Windows 7 user you may be dreading windows 10. You were fortunate enough not to be forced into Windows 8 and the debacle that it brought. So windows 10 is probably something you won’t want to jump on right away. And I completely agree with you too. Windows 7 has been such a stellar release, and software developers have continued to develop suffer for it, but putting off the windows 10 update for a while is probably a good idea. If Windows 10 turns out to be as good as it looks like it could be, holding off a little while certainly won’t hurt anything. So to you Windows 7 users, I’m thinking about six months of waiting might be in the cards. Let’s let Microsoft get the operating system out, all of the initial bugs fixed, and hardware developers time for drivers to be updated before we make a big job and move forward.

Now if you’re in the third group of Windows users, those running obsolete system such as Windows Vista, or Windows XP, you have a much harder decision. Both of these operating systems are not being supported by both Microsoft IMG_0418 (1)and third-party developers. If you’re an XP user Microsoft is not even patching bugs or security holes. That’s a very tenuous place to be and you know better than anyone that it’s probably time for an update. But if you’re using these older operating systems, you’re probably going to need to update your computer too. So purchasing a new machine with Windows 10 already installed is probably your best choice. Having hardware built for Windows 10 will likely make it run better and give you a much better experience. but since you’ve waited so long to do an update, you need to be aware that you’re going to have pain. It’s quite likely some of the hardware you have won’t work, many of your software programs may need to be updated and cost you additional money, and some software may no longer be compatible at all. To you I say, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the update by making a list of all of your software, checking with vendors to ensure that they’re compatible, listing the hardware that you will retain after buying the new computer, and making sure they’ll be windows 10 drivers for this hardware. From what Microsoft is telling us nearly everything that runs in Windows 8 will run in Windows 10. So if you want to begin your preparation by checking for software updates available for Windows 8 you’re probably going to get a good idea of where you stand.

I’ve done some testing with Windows 10 and so far I’m quite optimistic. I believe it’s going to be a good release for Microsoft, and after Windows 8 it better be. But like most windows updates, it’s never good to be the first guy doing the installation. So let’s give it a little time before we make the decision to do the update. Hopefully, after we read enough good reviews, we will all be excited about updating all of our computers to Microsoft’s new version of Windows.

And if not, I’d always be happy to help you make the move to the Mac!