Need to Move Lots of Data Between Macs? Try Target Disk Mode
Make Sure to Test Your Backup System with Occasional Restores
Make Sure to Test Your Backup System with Occasional Restores
Did you know that the word for the irrational fear of Friday the 13th is paraskevidekatriaphobia? Neither did we, but what that supposedly unlucky day is good for—whenever it rolls around—is reminding us to test our backup systems. If something does go wrong, backups can save your bacon, but only if they’re actually working. So on Friday the 13th this month, take a few minutes to make sure you can restore files from Time Machine, see if you can boot from your bootable duplicate, and generally verify that your data really is being backed up successfully. And if you’ve already missed the 13th, today is a fine day to make up for it with a quick test.
(Featured image by Adam Engst)
You know you need these tips!
- Make a Backup before Upgrading to Catalina or iOS 13!
- Learn How to Autofill SMS Login Codes in iOS 12 and Mojave
- The Secret Trick That Lets You Paste Phone Numbers into the Phone App
- Go Beyond External Hard Drives with Network-Attached Storage
Did You Know You Can Drag the Scroll Bar in iOS 13?
Did You Know You Can Drag the Scroll Bar in iOS 13?
In previous versions of iOS, a scroll bar would appear on the right edge of the screen while you were swiping through a long Web page, email message, or document. But the scroller was merely an indicator of where in the page you were and how much content there was (the bigger the scroller, the less content). In iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, however, Apple has made the scroll bar more helpful, and you’ll want to use it to scroll long pages more quickly than you can with swiping. To use the scroll bar, swipe slightly to make it appear, press and hold the scroller, and drag it to scroll. The only hard part is that it can be tricky to grab since it disappears a few seconds after you stop scrolling, and it’s a thin target to hit with a thick finger. But give it a try since it makes scrolling in long pages so much easier.
(Featured image background by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash)
More iOS tips just for you.
- iPhone Not Charging Reliably? Clean Its Lightning Port with a Toothpick
- Try Using a Magic Trackpad 2 with Your iPad Running iPadOS 13.4
- The Fastest Way to Change Wi-Fi Networks in iOS 13
- Set Your Preferred Name and Photo for Messages in iOS 13
Don’t Succumb to iOS 13 Update Fatigue!
In Case of Emergency, Create an iPhone Medical ID
Apple Business Manager Is a Win for Apple-Driven Workplaces
Apple Business Manager Is a Win for Apple-Driven Workplaces
If you run a company, you know how much work onboarding a new employee can be. Beyond teaching them the ropes of your business, they’ll need a Mac and potentially an iPhone or iPad as well. Setting those devices up with all the right apps, settings, and logins can take days or even weeks. And that’s just for one person—imagine if you need to lather, rinse, and repeat for dozens or even hundreds of new employees?
The solution is Apple Business Manager, which ensures that every Apple device you purchase is associated with your corporate account—and in some cases, with a particular user—before it’s shipped to you. That enables zero-touch configuration and makes manual setup a thing of the past. Here’s how we make this happen.
We’ll work with someone at your company—your Business Contact—to set you up with two Apple programs: Apple Custom Store and Apple Business Manager. Your Business Contact will merely need to respond to some email messages from Apple and have a call with Apple to verify that they can agree to Apple’s Terms & Conditions on behalf of your company.
Apple Custom Store
The first program, Apple Custom Store, provides a customized corporate store for purchasing Apple devices. That’s important because all devices purchased through your Apple Custom Store are automatically tied to your company. In fact, they’re connected to your company until you intentionally release them while decommissioning, which can help protect against theft or employees keeping devices they shouldn’t.
Even more important, all new Mac purchases must go through the Apple Custom Store because there’s no easy way to add Macs purchased in any other way to Apple Business Manager.
Once you’re set up with an Apple Custom Store, we can suggest custom device configurations tailored to your company’s needs and even create templates for systems customized for different job roles. As a bonus, you’ll receive special “loyalty pricing” based on your annual purchase volume.
Apple Business Manager
The second program, Apple Business Manager, is what enables you to enroll and manage devices purchased through your Apple Custom Store. When we say “manage” we’re talking about mobile device management, or MDM. In essence, MDM systems allow IT administrators to define “profiles” that specify your company’s settings and policies. Those might be particular to a user, such as configuring email login credentials, or they might be general to everyone, such as security policies that require all iOS devices to use a six-digit passcode and Macs to turn on their screensavers after 2 minutes and require a password to unlock. And, of course, an MDM system lets your company control when to install operating system updates, ensuring that nothing happens before you’re ready.
You use Apple Business Manager to associate a new device purchased from your Apple Custom Store with the employee who will be receiving it. When the device arrives, the employee unboxes it and turns it on, and your MDM system goes to work downloading apps and configuring settings. Once the employee signs in with their credentials, the MDM system continues to configure the device for that person. No one from IT even has to touch it—hence “zero-touch” configuration.
Enrolling your devices in your MDM system via Apple Business Manager doesn’t just help with initial deployment. Employee turnover is a fact of life, and with a device in Apple Business Manager, you can use your MDM system to redeploy a device quickly by wiping it and re-enrolling it for the new employee.
We recommend that all Apple-using businesses purchase through an Apple Custom Store and use Apple Business Manager to tie those devices to the company’s MDM system. Contact us for more information about what’s involved, and for our MDM recommendations.
(Featured image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)
More stuff you should read…
- Forrester Research and IBM Studies Show Macs Are Cheaper than PCs
- Macs Switching from Intel Chips to Apple Silicon: Answers to Your Questions
- Beware Scammers when Selling Your Old Tech Hardware Online
- New 16-inch MacBook Pro Sports a Redesigned Scissor-Switch Keyboard
- Apple Releases Redesigned Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR
More great tips from the archives…
- Two Secret Key Combos for Forward Delete on the Magic and MacBook Keyboards
- iCloud Photo Library Users: Do NOT Turn Off iCloud
- Ever Wondered Which Words to Capitalize in a Title? Use Capitalize My Title!
- Tips for Setting Up a Comfortable and Effective Home Work Space
- Tips for Better Videoconferencing
- Set Your Preferred Name and Photo for Messages on iOS
- The Fastest Way to Change Wi-Fi Networks in iOS
- What to Put at the End of Your Emails
- Apple Business Manager Is a Win for Apple-Driven Workplaces
Consider USB Peripherals When Troubleshooting Mac Problems
Consider USB Peripherals When Troubleshooting Mac Problems
If you’re experiencing a sporadic problem with your Mac, the sort of thing that happens often enough to be annoying but not so frequently as to be reproducible, allow us to suggest one little-known troubleshooting tip. Malfunctioning USB devices—keyboards, mice, hubs, printers, etc.—can sometimes cause truly inscrutable problems ranging from startup issues to kernel panics. USB-caused issues aren’t common, but when they do happen, they can be challenging to track down. If you’ve tried everything else, disconnect all unnecessary USB devices and, if possible, swap your wired keyboard and mouse for another set. Then see if the problem goes away.
(Featured image by Adam Engst)
Looking for more troubleshooting tips?
- How to Ask for Tech Support So You Get Good Answers Quickly
- Having Mac Troubles? Running Apple Diagnostics May Help Identify the Problem
- Troubles with Messages? Read On for Ten Possible Solutions
- iCloud Services Being Wonky? Check Apple’s System Status Page
Be Careful in iOS 13’s Mail App—the Trash Button Is Where Reply Used to Be!
Be Careful in iOS 13’s Mail App—the Trash Button Is Where Reply Used to Be!
For unknown reasons, Apple redesigned the toolbar in the iOS 13 version of Mail. Such things happen, but this time, Apple made a big mistake and moved Mail’s Trash button to where its Reply button used to be. Lots of people who have become accustomed to tapping Reply are now finding themselves deleting messages inadvertently, since a tap in the same location in iOS 13 deletes the message. It’s hard to retrain muscle memory—the ability to reproduce a particular movement without conscious thought—but if you find yourself deleting messages accidentally, you’ll need to slow down and remember to tap the new location of the Reply button.
(Featured image by Skitterphoto from Pexels)
More tips to make the most of your iOS devices.
- iPhone Not Charging Reliably? Clean Its Lightning Port with a Toothpick
- Did You Know You Can Drag the Scroll Bar in iOS 13?
- Some of Our Favorite Features of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13
- The Fastest Way to Change Wi-Fi Networks in iOS 13
- Everything you need to know about Multi-Tasking in iPadOS 13
Apple’s New AirPods Pro Offer Active Noise Cancellation and Better Fit
Apple’s New AirPods Pro Offer Active Noise Cancellation and Better Fit
Are you a fan of Apple’s AirPods, or have you had trouble with them staying in your ears? Either way, you might like the just-released AirPods Pro, which offer a new design with three sizes of soft, flexible, silicone ear tips and welcome new capabilities. The ear tips should make the AirPods Pro fit better for more people, and an Ear Tip Fit Test will tell you which size is right for your ears. The hot new feature is Active Noise Cancellation mode, which significantly cuts down on the background din of planes, trains, and automobiles. Alternatively, Transparency mode reduces surrounding noise while still letting you hear important announcements and stay aware of the environment around you. And, of course, Apple promises superior sound quality. The AirPods Pro cost $249 and come with a Wireless Charging Case.
(Featured image by Apple)
Other Apple Hardware Announcements
- Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard and Twice the Storage (May 2020)
- MacBook Air Update Features Magic Keyboard, iPad Pro Gets a Trackpad (March 2020)
- New 16-inch MacBook Pro Sports a Redesigned Scissor-Switch Keyboard (January 2020)
- Considering a New iMac? Wait No Longer‚ Updates Are Here! (March 2019)
- Apple Unveils New iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, and the Apple Watch Series 4 (September 2018)
Need to Charge Your iPhone or iPad More Quickly? Get a Higher Wattage Power Adapter
Need to Charge Your iPhone or iPad More Quickly? Get a Higher Wattage Power Adapter
By default, most iPhones and iPads ship with Apple’s tiny 5-watt power adapters. They work, but not quickly. However, the iPhone 8 and later, all models of the iPad Pro, and the most recent iPad Air and iPad mini models support fast charging when connected to higher wattage power adapters. You may have an older one of these around, or you can buy a new one. Apple has bundled with iOS devices or sold 10-watt, 12-watt ($19), and 18-watt ($29, USB-C) power adapters, and the company has also produced 29-watt, 30-watt ($49), 61-watt ($69), and 87-watt ($79) USB-C power adapters for Mac laptops. Plug your compatible iPhone or iPad into one of these chargers with an appropriate cable (for a USB-C charger, you’ll need a USB-C to Lightning Cable, $19), and it will charge significantly more quickly. Look for a wattage rating on the adapter itself, or multiply the output volts and amps together to get watts.
(Featured image by Matthew Henry on Unsplash)
