Tuesday, August 16, 2016

July 2016 - Monthly Mini-Bytes

Welcome to the State of Solid State
Spinning Platters Don't Cut It Anymore

If you have taken a look at a calendar lately, you may have noticed that it is 2016. And in 2016 if you are considering a new Mac then why would you purchase one with 1990s technology? Your data is important, and getting to it reliably and quickly is paramount. Old-fashioned hard disc drives use spinning platters moving at 7200 RPM just a hair away from powerful magnets. Yes, they work, but compared to modern Solid State Drives (SSDs for the hipsters) they are yesterday's news -- slow, and with moving parts, prone to failure.

The good news is that if you purchase a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or MacPro, they all come standard with SSDs. But if you are in the market for an iMac or Mac Mini, you will need to spec it out with the SSD of your choice.

SSDs can be had up to around 1 TB, but they are pricey. If you need a ton of storage then right now you are stuck with the older hard drive options. And those Fusion or Hybrid drives sound attractive, but we've seen a high failure rate with them in the wild -- especially with the first generation. If you do opt for a Fusion drive, make sure that you back up your data with Time Machine. But then again, no matter what type of drive you have you should be backing up with Time Machine anyway.

Fix the Weirdness with Safe Boot
Squirreliness Be Gone!

Since OS X 10.10 Yosemite, Macs have been very reliable at taken care of their own little background maintenance, but every once and a while your Mac may start to act funny. Funny is a technical term meaning "acting unusual or strange in an unspecific way that may also be defined by a four letter exclamation."

The good news is that there is a little maneuver that will force your Mac to clean up its act. It's called Booting Into Safe Boot. Here is how to do it:
  1. Restart your Mac while holding down the LEFT SHIFT Key.
  2. Keep it held down until you see the progress bar under the Apple, then let go.
  3. Your Mac will take longer to boot and you may see funny lines go across the screen.
  4. Log in to your Desktop and wait for it to come up completely. At this point you will most likely see some lines or scrolling -- this is normal. No worries.
  5. Then restart normally.
Believe it or not, this simple maneuver can resolve a lot of annoying issues.

Use the Right Charger for Your Mac 
Watts Up, America!

If you have a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, it is extremely important that you use the correct wattage Apple Charger for your device. We have seen instances where machines get damaged, some irreparably, by either the wrong wattage adapter or a third party unit. Keep in mind that the damage may not immediately be apparent.

Only use genuine Apple Chargers for your MacBooks (Pro, Air, etc.). And make sure that you are using the correct one.

Posted by at