February 2018 - Monthly Mini-Bytes

Sometimes It's Not You Give Yourself Some Credit! Tech is not perfect. In fact I think it is incredibly broken for one simple reason: it can't think for itself. Fortunately, we can, but when we run into roadblocks the tendency is to blame ourselves, rather than the bucket-of-bolts with which we are trying to interact. But how do you know when it's not you, but the machine? Unless you are a whiz at root cause analysis, determining if the problem is you or the computer can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Just keep it simple. Case in point: I have an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and a Mac. I have setup Text Message Forwarding so I get alerts on all my devices. Theoretically, when a text comes in all four devices should bing, or beep, or vibrate and alert me. This rarely happens -- but it does happen. I have verified all my settings, tested and both resolved and then re-created the problem. I KNOW the settings are correct, then the only other thing is a bug or flaw in the design. It is not me. It is the machine. You may have also run into issues when trying to log into a website, or email, or iTunes, or whatever, and you KNOW the password is correct. You have it written down and have it committed to memory, yet the machine says no. Is it you? In this case, no. It could be a network problem, the site could be down, or it may just be 1:37 PM on a Tuesday. Because the machine cannot think for itself, it throws the only error it has at hand: Incorrect Password - Please Re-Enter Password - Have you forgotten your password? - Would you like to read our FAQ? (Enter colorful expletive here...) It's not you. It's the machine. So, what can you do to absolve yourself in the computer to human blame game? Know Your Passwords - I harp on this a lot, but knowing your passwords and having them written down is so important. Just do it. It's 2018. It's not like passwords are new. Go record them now. I'll wait... Don't Ignore the Network - Login or technical issues from printing to streaming problems can be related to a network. You can recycle the modem and router or even try jumping on another network or tethering to your phone to see if that fixes the issue. Confirm Settings - Walking things back and confirming things are on and setup correctly can help ease your mind. It may not fix the issue initially, but at least you will know that you've done what you could. Ultimately, after all this, you still may have a problem, but at least you have absolved yourself of blame and now can move forward to either a workaround or resolution. The first step to resolving the issue is determining where the problem resides. And sometimes, it's not you.

macOS High Sierra and the Sticky Update Again, It's Not You... This has happened a lot. You go to update macOS High Sierra and it hangs on reboot or login. Try the following Safe Boot procedure. In 9 out of 10 cases (no dentists surveyed) it will unstick the update and get you rolling again! Restart your Mac Hold down the LEFT Shift key Keep it held down until you see the Apple, then release It will take a while to boot and run the update, but you should eventually get to a login screen Login, and then (very important) Restart your Mac

Public Wi-Fi Staying Safe on the Road Public wi-fi is scary. You don't know who else is trolling the network looking for vulnerable machines or even if you have connected to a spoofed "man in the middle" router. You could always use a properly configured VPN, but the easiest thing to do is create your own network with your iPhone. Here are Apple's instructions on turning your iPhone into a hotspot:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204023