For those of you that visited us during the last couple of weeks, you may have noticed that our office looked a little like this:
Well, we can safely say that the office no longer looks grey and dirty and dusty anymore.
Our new reception is now bigger, brighter and redder than ever!
Whilst we have a few little bits to sort out, we think it’s looking pretty good.
Thank you for your patience while we sorted through the mess over the last few weeks.
Vintage Machines
The following list of machines are moving into the Vintage classification.
What is Vintage?
Machines over 7 years old are classed as Vintage. This means that parts particular to that model will no longer be available and will likely be unable to update to future OS versions. This could mean that some applications may no longer be compatible with these models.
Below is a list of units that will be classified as Vintage machinesnext year:
– iMac 21.5” (late 2009) iMac 10,1 & 11,1
– White Mac Mini’s
– Mac Pro 4,1
– Macbook 6,1
– Macbook Air 2,1
– Macbook Pro 5,x (anything)
Vintage Software
Whilst these machine are vintage by Apple standards, we at Mac Aid also think that if you’re running any of the following software, you should probably think about updating to something a little newer.
If you are running either Windows 2003 Server or Windows XP it is important that you upgrade to something newer. This is because Microsoft has ended support for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2003 R2 on July 14, 2015, and Windows XP in April 2015.
Customers who don’t upgrade to Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 10 run the risk of these three things:
– No updates
– No compliance
– No protection
If you are running old Microsoft software, it is recommended to start thinking about migrating your data to a new operating system.
For more information about Windows Server click here.
Did you know your iPhone could potentially save your life in a medical emergency?
Much like Medical ID bracelets, this little-known feature stores important medical information in your iPhone, which can be accessed even if the phone is locked.
The feature is part of the phone’s Health app and allows you to store details such as medical conditions, allergies, medications you take and your blood type as well as emergency contact details.
Basically, in the unfortunate case that you are found unconscious or unable to communicate, your iPhone can provide invaluable information to first responders and medical staff.
How to set up a Medical ID:
1. Open the Health app
2. Tap “Medical ID” on the bottom right hand corner
3. Tap “Create Medical ID”
4. Fill in all relevant information, including emergency contact numbers from your contact list
5. Make sure ‘Show When Locked’ is enabled
Now, if you hit the ‘Emergency’ option on your lock screen, an option called ‘Medical ID’ will appear in the bottom left hand corner, displaying your information.
On September 9th Apple launched a line of new products to look forward to this Spring.
The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are now available in Apple stores and phone dealerships nation wide.
These two are almost identical in appearance to last year’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus but with faster processing, 4G and wifi capabilities and a much improved 12 mega pixel camera capable of 4k video recording and live photos (think Harry Potter moving photographs). In addition to the previous Silver, Space Grey and Gold, the new iPhones will be now also be available in the new Rose Gold.The iPhones will of course be equipped with the new iOS 9, which was released on the the 16th of September for current iPhone and iPad users. The latest selling feature of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is the new Multi-touch otherwise known as 3D touch or Force touch, which allows users to gain access to extra shortcut features and settings, much like right-clicking on your computer.
iPhones and iPads are not the only ones with a new upgrade coming up; a new Apple Watch OS 2 is set for release in the coming months as well as OS X El Capitan for Mac on September 30th.
Apple has also released two new iPads, the iPad Mini 4 to replace it’s predecessor and the new iPad Pro.
The iPad Pro is the largest iPad yet, a massive 12.9 inch screen, with Multi-touch and a couple of cool optional accessories; the new keyboard case snaps on much like the magnetic smart covers for previous iPad models but now with a full sized Qwerty keyboard. Probably the most appealing to artists and notetakers alike, is Apple’s new Pencil, specially designed for the iPad Pro. Unlike other styluses on the market, the Pencil is said to be the most natural to write or draw with; offering better precision, responsiveness and is capable of both pressure point line adjustment and shading. The iPad Mini 4 is now available for purchase, whilst iPad Pro is planned for November.
October will also see the new Apple TV which will introduce apps and games to your television. The Apple TV will come with a new glass touch interface Siri Remote.
In addition to being able to quickly find movies and TV shows through voice commands, the new Apple TV is now delving into gaming territory. The Siri remote will include an accelerometer and gyroscope motion controls, enabling a Wii-like interaction for gaming as well as offering Bluetooth support for third party gaming controllers.
In the last month or so, we’ve had a flood of client server failures, which has led to some very busy technicians.
In all cases, we were able to put the pieces back together happily because each of these clients had a reliable, tested, backup solution in place.
Without a backup, any one of these jobs could have ended very poorly.
Remember you should always backup your computer. Even if it’s only once a week.
If you’re a business, you should investigate automated, offline, offsite, and incremental backups, and make sure they are tested regularly.
It’s a good idea to make your own risk assessment about what level of risk you find acceptable, and how much data you are prepared to loose given a disaster. Then, design (or have someone design for you) your back up system accordingly.
For those of you who would like to read a little bit more about backups, you can have look at our previous articles: Article #1 Article #2
If you are at all unsure about your backup, please get in touch with us for assistance
