The latest macOS operating system is now available. It is called Catalina or macOS 10.15. Like all new major operating system releases, it has many new features and is free to install on existing hardware. In this blog, I will tell you how to prepare your Mac for installation.

Let me begin by recommending that you do NOT install Catalina – at least not yet. A new major operating system release is a big deal and I always recommend that you wait until one or two bug releases have been made available.

Supported Macs
These are the computers that you can install Catalina on if and when you are ready to proceed:

• MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
• MacBook (2015 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
• Mac Pro (2013 or newer)
• Mac mini (2012 or newer)
• iMac (2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (all models)

If your Mac is older than the above models, the holiday season is around the corner (hint, hint).

Supported Apps
One of the major implications of Catalina is that 32-bit applications will no longer run. You might have noticed some warning messages appearing on your current macOS regarding this inevitability. To see a list of 32-bit applications currently installed on your Mac, follow these steps:
1) Go to the Apple menu and select About This Mac
2) Click on System Report
3) Navigate to the Software tab and select Applications
4) Click the 64-bit column to sort the column. If the row shows No, then that application will not run on Catalina. Your only choice in that case is to see if the developer has an updated 64-bit version or find a suitable alternative.

Storage
You can check on your storage situation by going back to About This Mac and selecting the Storage tab. In general, you should have about 15% of your main hard drive empty. Catalina will take up about 15 to 20 gb of free storage. So, if you don’t have at least 15% plus 20gb free, you need to get busy deleting.

Backup
Before beginning the installation process, make sure you have a current backup. Use of Apple’s Time Machine and an external hard drive is the simplest way to create a robust backup.

​Installation
The simplest way to install Catalina is to either go to System Preferences and select “Software Update” or go to the Apple Store and find it there.
There are many new features in Catalina you will find interesting. Just Google “macos catalina features” to learn all about them. One more warning: in Catalina iTunes is gone and has been replaced with three different applications: Music, Apple TV, and Podcasts.
Good luck!

Many of us spend hours each day sitting in a chair working on a computer. Without proper ergonomics and exercises, this can cause long term damage to your body. 

I’m bringing you this month’s blog courtesy of Dr. Scott Nissenbaum. Scott is a chiropractor in San Carlos and can be reached at office@drniss.com or 650-226-8348.

Your Chair:

• Push your hips as far back as they go onto the chair 
  
• Adjust the seat height so your feet are FLAT on the floor or a foot-rest 
  
• Knees should be equal to or slightly lower than your hips 
  
• Adjust the back of the chair to recline slightly to approx. 100-110 degrees 
            MAKE SURE YOUR BACK IS SUPPORTED
  
• Adjust your armrests so that your shoulders are relaxed, or just remove the armrests 
  

Your Keyboard:

• It’s best to have a keyboard tray or a lap tray 
  
• Something with an adjustable height and tilt mechanism 
  
• Position the keyboard directly in front of your body 
  
• Adjust the keyboard height so that your shoulders are relaxed, elbows are slightly opened, to that same 100-110 degrees, so your wrists and hands maintain a straight position 
  

Your Screen:

• Center the screen directly in front of you 
  
• Position the top of the screen approx. 2-3” above the seated eye level (address bar) 
  
• Avoid looking excessively up or down. Holding either position for a long time is not healthy 
  
• Sit an arm’s length away from the screen, but adjust to vision so there is no leaning forward. 
  

Take Regular Pauses and Breaks:

• TRY to take a regular 1-2 min break every 20-30 min. 
  
• After each 1 hr. of work TRY to change tasks for 5-10 min. 
  

Deskercising:

• Seated shoulder shrug with deep breath (shoulders and back) 
  
• Seated fan pose: Sit forward in chair, Hold back of chair or/ Interlock fingers and put them on top of the seat of the chair, Sit high with chest 
  
• Seated torso bends: Stabilize yourself with hand on the seat of the chair or/ Reach up and interlock your fingers. Sway from side to side, Keeping your glutes on the chair 
  
• Figure 4 for hips: Bring knee to opposite shoulder or/ Bend down at waist towards knee 
  

Here is a good video about an ergonomic desk setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3uBJdW6Akk

Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, and specific application updates are a frequent annoyance that are fundamental to today’s computing environments. But how does one know when and if to install them? This is a question I am frequently asked and will address in this blog.

Updates are software changes issued by the platform or application vendor. Most of the time they are free and contain bug fixes, security fixes, and occasionally new functionality. But unfortunately, an update can introduce new bugs and/or new security holes. Therein lies the rub. Certainly if you install an update you will be improving the associated software, but you might also break it in unexpected ways.

Before installing any update, make sure your backups are current. It is best if your backup strategy includes creation of system image backups, but at a minimum, be sure your file backups are current.

In general, it is best to not install updates the moment they become available and to instead wait a few days or weeks for any unintended consequences to be found and resolved. The one exception to this guideline is if the update closes a critical security hole.

When you get an update notification, make sure it is legitimate. If it comes from a major vendor such as Microsoft or Apple or from a vendor whose software you have installed on your device, you can be fairly certain it is legitimate. If you aren’t sure, Google the update reference number and read the resulting information.

As I discussed in a previous blog, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 on January 14th 2020 and will therefore cease issuing updates for that version of Windows. Therefore, it is imperative that you either upgrade to Windows 10 or take the opportunity to purchase a new computer to replace it.

I’m often hired to set up a robust backup system, akin to what I presented in my 6/30/18 blog titled “How To Protect Against Ransomware” (https://steve.gimnicher.com/technology-blog/archives/06-2018). However, unfortunately I also find that once backups are set up, they frequently are not checked to make sure they are still working. There are several things that can stop previously working backups:

• Backup drive not connected or online
  
• Backup storage device having inadequate free space
  
• Backup drive assigned different (Windows) drive letter than what was set in the backup configuration
  
• Computer password is changed, preventing the automated backup task from running
  
• Backup configuration file deleted
  
• Scheduled task deleted or task scheduler broken (occasionally seen in Windows 7 systems)
  
• Computer not running at scheduled backup time (this includes being in sleep or hibernate mode)
  
• Verification of backup data failed
  

The basic job of any backup system is to create a copy of either specific files, folders, or the entire system on permanent storage other than the source storage media. Therefore, the best way to see if backups are actually being made is to look on the backup storage media for timely backups! It is also a good idea to attempt to recover one or more files from the backup storage media to confirm that when the day comes that you need to recover data, that you will know how to do it and that it will actually work!

Backups are like insurance policies: you don’t need them until you need them, and then they better pay off!

Exciting times are ahead as the pace of technology improvement forges forward.  You may have already heard of the next generation of mobile network technologies called 5G and Wi-Fi 6, but what are they and how are they different?
 
5G
5G is the fifth generation of cellular mobile network technology.  Cellular networks rely on licensedspectrum bands auctioned off to the highest bidder.  Carriers like AT&T and Verizon must pay to use these bands and have to build infrastructure of connected base stations to be able to send out signals on the licensed spectrums to thousands of people at once, all of whom pay subscription fees.
 
5G will have a theoretical download speed of between 1Gbps and 10Gbps, but in reality, you won’t get anywhere near that.  There are many factors that affect speeds such as where you are, how many people are connecting, and the capabilities of your device.  The overall goal of 5G is to achieve a minimum download speed of 50Mbps. That will be a major improvement 
over current 4G LTE speeds.
 
Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi is an unlicensed​ spectrum free for everyone to use, but its reach, bandwidth, and lower top speed restricts it to mostly home, office, and limited public use.  Wi-Fi typically operates using two frequencies: 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.  Note that 5Ghz Wi-Fi has nothing to do with 5G mobile cellular networks.  Past Wi-Fi naming conventions have been very confusing, going from 802.11b to 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n, and the current standard 802.11ac.  With the introduction of Wi-Fi 6 as the name of the next evolution of Wi-Fi, this simpler naming convention will also be retrofitted, so 802.11ac will be Wi-Fi 5 and so on.  Wi-Fi 6 promises to increase speeds at least four times greater than Wi-Fi 5 with better efficiency and higher bandwidth.
 
Using New Wireless Technologies
To make use of these new technologies, carriers and ISPs have to deliver hardware and infrastructure that support the new technologies and speeds, and we need to buy new hardware that also supports them.  That means we will need to purchase new computers, routers, and smart devices.  As usual, 5G and Wi-Fi 6 capable devices will be backward compatible with older wireless technologies.  The first wave of support for 5G and Wi-Fi 6 has already begun to roll out, but it will take some time before everything is in place.  There will be some cases where use of 5G will obviate the need to use Wi-Fi 6, but in most cases, just as is the case today with 4G LTE and Wi-Fi 5, you will find good use for both technologies.

In a recent blog, I wrote about the various options for obtaining Microsoft Office and made a brief reference to two open source options:  LibreOffice and OpenOffice.  I have since taken a closer look at these two options and have come away very impressed with LibreOffice as a completely free and unrestricted alternative to Microsoft Office, especially as an alternative to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  In fact, I have already installed it for several customers seeking to avoid never-ending fees from Microsoft.
 
Just like Microsoft Office, LibreOffice consists of a suite of applications called Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and Math (formula editing).  Most of you will only be interested in the first three as alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively.  Notice there is no alternative to Microsoft Outlook in the LibreOffice suite, but very viable Outlook alternatives can be found in products such as Mozilla Thunderbird (free) or eM Client Pro ($49.95 one-time fee).
 
LibreOffice is actively developed and maintained by a community of users who believe in free software and in sharing their work with the world in completely non-restrictive ways.  The term “open source software” delivers on this philosophy, and LibreOffice is one of the best examples of these principles.  It is in use by about 10 million Windows and Mac users worldwide.
 
LibreOffice can be set up to be the default app for Microsoft Office files (e.g., .docx, .xlsx., .pptx) and can also be configured to only save new files in the Microsoft Office file types, thereby achieving full interoperability with the Microsoft Office apps.  In fact, once set up this way, you will quickly forget that you are not using the Microsoft apps.
 
As with any product comparison, there are features that one suite supports that the other doesn’t, and vice-versa.  For a detailed product comparison, see this link:  https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Feature_Comparison:_LibreOffice_-_Microsoft_Office
If you are a basic user of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you will find LibreOffice to have much more than you will ever require, with a familiar user interface.
 
Feature rich, completely unrestricted, actively developed and supported, compatible with Microsoft Office, and FREE – hard to beat!  Give it a try – you can always go back to paying Microsoft if LibreOffice doesn’t work for you.

January 14, 2020. That is the date that Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7.  What that means is that Microsoft will no longer issue free fixes for security issues and bugs.  It doesn’t mean that on January 15th your Windows 7 system stops working, but just because you will be able to keep running it, doesn’t mean you should. This is because as new inevitable threats emerge, your unsupported Windows 7 system will not be able to protect you.  Even worse, if Windows 7 systems continue to persist, they will become an even bigger target for hackers.  And at some point, application vendors will stop supporting their applications on Windows 7.  This typically occurs a couple years after Microsoft ends support, but it will happen.
 
Yes, you can continue to run antivirus and other security products on Windows 7 as long as the vendors continue to support them, but these products are never perfect, and if a hacker finds a security hole in the Windows 7 operating system itself, products layered on top will not help you.
 
So, what should you do? There are several options:

• Do nothing and take the risk 
• Upgrade to Windows 10.  
  • For a Windows 7 Home user, that will cost you about $120.00 for Windows 10 Home.  
  • For a Windows 7 Pro user, the cost will be about $200.00, including if you want to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 7 Home.
• Buy a new computer

 
Microsoft has announced a program called Windows 7 Extended Security Updates to continue to provide security updates for up to three years from the January 14thdate, but this program is for customers with volume licensing agreements, so in all probability, will not be an option for you.  Even if it does become an option, it is only applicable to Windows 7 Pro systems at the following cost:

• For 2020, $50 per device
• For 2021, $100 per device
• For 2022, $200 per device

 
My recommendation is that you either upgrade to Windows 10 or if your computer is five or more years old, consider purchasing a new computer prior to the January 14th date.  With all the clever hackers in the world, staying with Windows 7 after January 14 is definitely a bad idea.

All of Microsoft’s Office packages include Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and in some, Outlook.  There are other products in some of the packages as well, but those will not be covered in this blog.  When deciding which package is best for you, the home user or small business manager, there are several considerations and tradeoffs that must be evaluated.  
 
One Time Purchases
Office 2007: support ended on October 10, 2017.  Continuing to use it is risky both in terms of reliability and security.
 
Office 2010: support will end on October 30, 2020.  Copies can be purchased on eBay for about $50.00.
 
Office 2013 (Service Pack 1): support will end April 11, 2023.  Copies can be purchased on eBay for about $50.00.
 
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 & 2019: both can be purchased for about $150.00.  These Home and Student packages do not contain Outlook and can only be installed on one computer.  They are licensed for non-commercial environments only.
 
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 & 2019: If you are in a commercial environment and want a one-time purchase, you will need to purchase one of these packages.  Each is $249.99 and can be installed only on one PC.  Outlook is included.
 
Subscriptions
Office 365 Personal:  This package includes Outlook and costs $69.99 per year.  It is for a single user and can be installed on one PC (Windows or Mac) plus that user’s Apple or Android devices.  It is licensed for non-commercial users only.
 
Office 365 Home: This package includes Outlook and costs $99.99 per year.  It is intended for a family and therefore allows installation on up to 6 PCs (Windows or Mac) plus everyone’s Apple or Android devices.  It is licensed for non-commercial users only.
 
Office 365 Business: This package costs $99.00 per year per user and can be installed on up to 5 PCs (Windows or Mac) and Apple and Android devices.  It is licensed for commercial users only.  There is a lot of confusion regarding this package.  Some at Microsoft will tell you that the 5 additional PCs can be anyone in the organization while others at Microsoft will say that it is intended for single users and their exclusive-use devices (e.g., desktop office PC, portable laptop, iPhone, iPad).  It is definitely a grey area, but if you want to be perfectly legal, be prepared to pay $99.00 per year for you and each of your employees.
 
Office 365 Business Premium: includes all of Office 365 Business plus Microsoft Exchange email hosting and a variety of other team sharing technologies.  It is $150.00 per user per year.  It is licensed for commercial users only.
 
Office 365 Business Essentials: This is a cloud-based package which includes Microsoft Exchange email hosting and web-only versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It is $60.00 per user per year. It is licensed for commercial users only.
 
Other Alternatives
There are two very well respected open source Microsoft Office alternatives called OpenOffice and LibreOffice.  They are completely free without any licensing restrictions whatsoever.  They support the Microsoft Office file formats, so are therefore very viable alternatives to paying Microsoft’s fees and licensing restrictions.  However, they do not include an email application and are independent implementations and therefore will look similar, but different, when compared to the Microsoft Office applications.
 
You might be wondering why I highlighted commercial and non-commercial throughout this blog. I have a customer that was recently approached by a law firm hired by Microsoft to audit and potentially fine companies that are using non-commercial versions of Microsoft products in a commercial environment.  In this particular case, the customer was using Microsoft Office 365 Home in their business, and yes indeed, the law firm was legitimate and they were fined.  So beware!

​If you are like me, you struggle with the fact that the cellular connection in your home is just not that good.  Very few of us still use landlines, so having a reliable, clear cell phone voice connection is really important.
 
You probably know that WiFi is useful in sending and receiving data because it doesn’t count against your data plan with your carrier, but you probably didn’t realize that you could also use your WiFi for voice calls.  This is called WiFi Calling and solves the problem where you don’t have a strong carrier signal, but do have strong WiFi.
 
Most smartphones support WiFi Calling as do the major carriers.  WiFi calling isn’t automatically enabled on smartphones. To turn yours on, go to the Settings menu. On iPhones go to Settings > Cellular and then toggle on WiFi calling. On Android, you’ll generally find WiFi settings under Settings > Networks > Call, where you can then toggle on WiFi calling.  Once you activate WiFi calling, you dial as usual. The routing of your call or text is handled automatically in the background and you may see “WiFi” are something similar in the status bar.  And, just as with data sent over WiFi, calls made with WiFi Calling do not count against your cellular plan.
 
By using the builtin WiFi Calling capabilities of your phone, your voice calls are encrypted between your phone and the carrier, so even if you are using a public WiFi hotspot, your voice calls are still protected from WiFi hackers.  You can be extra sure by bringing up a VPN connection prior to initiating your voice calls.
 
WiFi Calling is also useful when traveling internationally in countries where your carrier isn’t available, but WiFi is.  This can also be useful in avoiding international charges from your carrier, however, it would be wise to first understand how your carrier charges for WiFi calling in international locations.
 
You might not want WiFi Calling to be used whenever you are connected to a strong WiFi network, so you may want to toggle WiFi Calling or wireless on and off in locations where you don’t want WiFi Calling to be used (although I would argue that is unnecessary since the calls are encrypted.)

​Just like adding more luggage to your car makes it take longer to go from 0 to 60, the baggage you add to your computer over time means less performance.  This “digital baggage” takes many forms.  However, one common misconception is that storing a lot of data (music, pictures, movies, documents) on your hard drive will slow down the computer.  As long as you have at least 10% free space, your stored data won’t affect your computer’s performance at all.  
 
What will affect performance are the applications and associated software services that get installed and steal available memory and CPU resources from your system.  Many common applications, such as iTunes, Microsoft Office, Dropbox, Skype, and antivirus programs, install startup items that run when you boot the computer, additional services that run all the time in the background, and scheduled tasks that run periodically to perform maintenance tasks. Each item by itself is not significant, but add them up over several years, and suddenly your fast computer is more like a turtle than a Ferrari.
 
Installing updates to your operating system and applications is crucial to the reliability and security of these software components, but typically each new version is bigger and more demanding than the previous one.  This is the paradox of computer ownership: you keep your computer up-to-date as you should, but with each update, you might be slowing it down.
 
When you buy a computer, the three typical performance-related categories are how much memory, how fast the processor, and the type of internal hard drive (e.g., HDD vs SSD). Memory is inexpensive, so buy as much as you can afford.  Faster processors are more expensive and for average users, don’t make that much of a performance difference.  HDD vs SSD does make a big difference, and the price of SSDs (solid state drives) is dropping dramatically, so if you can afford a SSD instead of a HDD, you won’t regret it.  But, think about how much space you will need, since SSD storage is still more expensive than traditional HDD storage.
 
In terms of upgrading existing computers, upgrading the processor is typically not an option, but upgrading the memory and/or upgrading to a SSD often is very viable and cost effective.  If you know what to look for and how to do it, you could seek out the services, scheduled tasks, and performance hogging applications, and disable or remove them. But this is often a trial-and-error activity, taking much time.  
 
Another option is to reinstall the operating system and the applications you require today (of course with first backing up your data), thereby getting a fresh start with your existing hardware.  But this can take many hours of work, so you might just prefer buying a new computer or upgrading the hardware of the existing computer.