For years, Apple has been developing a complicated system of guessers for multitasking between multiple apps on your iPad. Today, we are going to take a look at those systems, see how they work now, and take a look at what changes may be coming in the future.




https://youtu.be/UaGjjzXoc_Q




Let's start by taking a look at how it works right now by using an example. Let's say you're trying to plan a trip to Peru. You're switching between navigating through all the places you can go in Peru using Maps, researching things to do on TripAdvisor, and deep diving in Safari. Then, you are putting all of your findings into a Keynote presentation. So, you arrange your apps like this.



You start by wanting to put Safari and Keynote in split view. To do this, you open either app. Then, swipe up from the bottom of the screen just a little bit to reveal the dock. This is where you can find the other app you're looking for. But, since I don't see it there, I will instead search the App Library. Once found, I can drag it to either the left or right of Safari, and it will snap into split view. From there, I can slide the bar in the middle of both apps to the left or right to readjust how much space each pane uses.



Now, let's open an app in slide over. To do this, once again, swipe up just a little bit from the bottom of the screen to open the dock, find the app you're looking for, and drop it on the bar between apps. In my case, I'm going to use Maps. This will give you a floating nonresizable window that you can move to either the far left or right of your screen using the dots at the top of the window. To hide the window, slide it all the way to the edge of either side and to get it back, slide in from that respective side. We will take a look at those three dots in more detail later. Another interesting thing about this floating window is the fact that it has its own multitasking menu. So, if I were to drop another app on top of this floating window, it switches to the new app. In my case, I'm dropping in Tripadvisor. If you notice, at the bottom of the floating window there is another home bar. If you swipe up here, you can see all the other apps you have added to slide over and even close them. You can quickly switch between them by swiping left and right on that home bar. Otherwise, you can see the apps you have open with slide over by launching the regular multitasking and looking to the far right.



The last multitasking feature to highlight is pip or picture-in-picture. This feature puts what you are watching in a box that slides into one of the four corners of the screen allowing you to move freely around your iPad with the video still playing. To use this feature, click the picture-in-picture button in the video player. However, some apps that support PIP don't have a dedicated button, so you have to swipe up to close the app while the video is still playing, and it will automatically pop into PIP mode if the app supports it. But, once in PIP, you can click on the video for playback controls or too open and go back to the app into a full-screen video player.



So, now you have four apps on-screen exactly how you like them. But, what if you need to replace an app or rearrange them? One way is by using the three-dot menu at the top of every window, where you can choose to move the app into full screen, split view, or slide over. Another way is by dragging the windows around using those same three dots. The last way is by entering into multitasking by swiping up halfway from the bottom of the screen. Here, you can readjust how they are arranged and even close certain parts of a window by swiping up as usual. If in multitasking and you see an icon of double-stacked windows next to the app name, then that app has more than one window open.

For years Apple has been trying to brand the iPad as a computer, and since then, it's been hard to see their vision. That is until Apple added support for an external keyboard and mouse. Suddenly that vision is a little closer. So, let's look at your options for an external keyboard and mouse, see how they work, and if it's a good fit for you.




https://youtu.be/_zKLkIcSFmQ




The simplest way to get started is by picking up a cheap Bluetooth keyboard, say around $15. Then pair it to your iPad by putting the keyboard into pairing mode and selecting it from the list of found Bluetooth devices. Once it says "Connected" next to your keyboard you are ready to take advantage of a whole slew of features and convinces that an external keyboard brings.



For one thing, the iPad has a pretty small screen. And, once that on-screen keyboard pops up, it doesn't leave much room to work with. But, with a connected external keyboard, the on-screen keyboard is replaced with a shortcut menu that hovers over the home bar. What appears on this menu changes based on where you're typing. For instance, if you're in a text editor, like Notes, you may get QuickType and text formatting options. In other apps, you may only get dictation and quick access to the keyboard settings.



Beyond just typing text, you also have access to most of the keyboard shortcuts you're familiar with on macOS. For instance, you can use the same Cmd + Z to undo, Cmd + X to cut, Cmd + C to copy, and Cmd + V to paste. Although, if you're not already familiar with these shortcuts, you can hold down the Cmd key to see a full list of supported shortcuts for the app you're using.



You can take those shortcuts a step forward if you find a made-for iPad keyboard. These keyboards typically have a row of function keys that serve as shortcuts to iPadOS features, like playback controls, screen brightness, and dedicated home and multitasking buttons.



However, a keyboard is nothing without its mouse counterpart. So, once you pair your mouse to your iPad, the same way as the keyboard, you will see a little dot floating around the screen.



This is a place I think Apple did a great job of bringing a pro feature to the iPad in a uniquely iPad way. You see, the cursor doesn't work exactly as it does on a desktop computer. Instead, it is made to simulate you touching the screen. Notice, that as it moves across the screen, it conforms to the buttons a user would touch. Then, you can left-click to select that button, as you typically would. You can also right-click, which simulates a long press giving you access to those hidden long-press menus in, once again, a uniquely iPad fashion. On the other hand, you can pair a trackpad that uses the same gestures as if you are touching the screen. This means you can swipe across the trackpad with four fingers to slide through multitasking, swipe up with four fingers to close an app, or scroll using two fingers.



For a better experience, you can dive into Settings to make adjustments for a more personalized user experience.



For starters, you can customize the keyboard by going to Settings, General, Keyboard, and Hardware Keyboard. Here, you can make changes specific to your external keyboard. Say, if you prefer that iPadOS does not auto-capitalize, you can flip that switch. However, these settings only change for the external keyboard, not the on-screen.



You can also make adjustments to your trackpad by going to Settings, General, and Trackpad, where you can change the speed, scrolling direction, and clicking options. If you prefer to disable gestures, you can go to Settings, General, Gestures, and flip the "four and five finger swipe" off.

https://youtu.be/6Y_cBnRRXNk




Back in 2013, I got the first iPad Air, and for many years after that, it served as my computer. For 13-year-old me, that mostly meant playing games, surfing the web, and watching YouTube. When I needed something more powerful, I got the 2017 MacBook Pro, and my first iPad Air became more of a supplemental device. But, even the MacBook wasn't cutting it for me. I needed something with a bit more power. So, when the 2020 iPad Air came my way, I challenged myself to see if it could be a proper replacement for my Mac, and here's what I learned.



To put my iPad to the test, I gave it a simple question, can I run this whole blog off my iPad? Short answer, yes. The long answer is way more complicated.



But, let's start with the short answer. Yes, I am able to create a new blog post from start to finish off my iPad. I would start by doing some research in Safari and get to typing in Grammarly. Then, once everything is proofed and ready, I paste the script into a Parrot, a teleprompter app, and get to recording. When finished, I can then plug my camera directly into my iPad, thanks to the addition of USB-C, and import the video clips into Photos. From there, I can use Lumafusion to stitch the clips together. And, I end by posting the text to AppleGuideWeb.com and uploading the videos to YouTube and Facebook.



So, the moral of the story, I'm able to run this whole channel off my iPad, and I did so for a couple of months. The capabilities of the iPad Air certainly impressed me, and I ended up using my iPad more and more as I found ways to recreate more of my Mac workflows on an iPad. The keyword here is recreate.



Unfortunately, due to the software limitations of iPadOS, you can't simply replicate your desktop workflow step by step. They're just fundamentally different devices. Instead, you have to learn the many quarks of the iPad in order to adapt and recreate your workflow.



For instance, uploading a video to YouTube and Facebook wasn't as straightforward as it should have been. For some background, I export everything into the Files app, where I find it much easier to organize everything into folders. But, to upload the videos had to use a combination of apps and websites to get everything where it needed to be. For YouTube, I had to either save the video to my Photo library and upload it using the YouTube streaming app or go to Safari to upload it using their website. YouTube, why can't I upload videos using your Studio app? Although, I was able to upload the video to Facebook using their mobile Creator Studio app. But, that's the problem with both YouTube's streaming and creators apps and Facebook's Creator Studio app, they are, more or less, iPhone apps scaled up for the larger screen, and they're a shell of their online counterparts. Then, you ask, why not skip the apps and upload the videos using their respective websites. Well, that would be nice if YouTube Studio wasn't so buggy on the smaller screen and Facebook's Creator Studio supported Safari. Have you tried another browser, you may also ask? Well, what's the point if Apple requires every iOS browser to be a redesigned version of Safari.



While I'm complaining about apps, here's another one, Adobe Lightroom, which requires you to purchase and use their Creative Cloud storage, ignoring the fact that you can buy an iPad with up to 2TB of storage that you may or may not want to sync with their services. It's unfortunate since Lightroom is probably one of the only pro Photo catalogings apps aside from Apple's built-in Photos app.



And, now that we are on the topic of pro apps, Apple, where's Final Cut and Logic?



Finally, I can't complain about apps without also complaining about the multitask...

https://youtu.be/ZQm6YvRkvyM




Our Macs tend to be used as a hub for all of our precious personal and unrecoverable information. Maybe it's your collection of family photos or years of archived work projects you've been saving. Now, what if one day all of that disappears? You sit down at your desk, click the power button, and nothing happens. Or, maybe you get lucky, and the screen comes on, but instead of booting into macOS, you get an icon of a flashing folder with a question mark inside. Either way, that's a bad sign for the survival of your data. That's why it's always better to be proactive and backup your data because an event like this can occur at any time, and once it does, there's no going back. Luckily, Apple has an intuitive backup utility. Let's take a look at how to use it.



To get started, you're going to need an external drive. I typically recommend getting a drive that's double your Mac's storage drive, or at least larger. This way there's enough space for a full copy of your computer and an equivalent amount of space for your history. To figure out what you have, click on the Apple menu, then go to About this Mac. In this window, click on the storage tab. The first storage device should be called "Macintosh HD." That's your Mac's internal drive. Under the icon, you should see a storage capacity. In my case, I have 500GB in my computer. So, I would preferably like to get a 1000GB external drive, but anything over 500GB should also do the job.



Now that you know the storage amount you're looking for, you also need to make sure you can connect the drive to your computer. For an application like this, you're likely looking into USB external drives. But, which style of USB should you be looking for, the oval, modern USB-C ("USB Type C") or the classic rectangular USB-A ("USB Type A")? Unfortunately, this isn't the easiest question to answer, so I'm going to try and help you through it.



First, look at all the ports on your computer. You will likely find the rectangular USB Type-A connection which is great because most external drives still come with this port. However, if you have a MacBook that only features USB Type C, you may need to purchase a USB-A to USB-C adapter in order to connect your external drive to your MacBook.



If none of this made sense, that ok. Below I have linked a 1000GB external drive and a USB-A to USB-C adapter. If you get the two of those and plug everything in where it fits, you should be good to go.



At this point, you should have everything you need to plug your external drive into your Mac.



Once it's plugged in, we can move to the next step, changing the drive format. This step is optional, but it will make your external drive more compatible with macOS. So, use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Space to open Spotlight. In the search box that appears, you can type in whatever you're trying to find. In this case, we will search for Disk Utility, an app built into macOS that helps with drive management.



In Disk Utility, you should see your drive appear under the external section of the left sidebar. If so, click on it, and its information should populate the right panel. Next, click the "Erase" button on the toolbar. In the popup, you can give the drive a name, like "Macintosh Backup," then click the drop-down to change the drive format to APFS. Then, pause. Before clicking erase, open the drive and confirm you don't have any data saved on that drive. Because you are about to delete everything on it. But, if you just unboxed a brand new drive, you shouldn't have anything to worry about, but I would still double-check just in case. Once you're ready to go, click "Erase," and we will be ready to move to the next step.



And,

https://youtu.be/U0hpHfDve7Y




There are so many streaming services out there, from big name brands like Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon to the smaller streamers like BritBox, Paramount+, or Shutter. Ignoring the nauseating price of subscribing to all of these services, you also have to deal with flip-flopping through multiple apps trying to find something to watch. You may spend more time searching for a show than you actually do watching. However, some streaming services are taking part in an easier way to find and watch all the content you like. Here's everything you need to know about the "All-In-One" streaming service.



Today I'm referring to Apple's TV app found on all of your Apple devices, except the Apple Watch, and other streaming devices like Roku, GoogleTV, LG's webOS, or Samsung's TrizenOS.



First and foremost, the TV app is a gateway to Apple's own streaming service, Apple TV+, but it's also much more than that.



So, if you open the TV app on your AppleTV, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or any other device, and scroll down a bit you're going to stumble upon a section called Channels. Scrolling through that row, you will discover all sorts of smaller niche streaming services you can subscribe to directly through the TV app. By clicking on a circle, you can preview all of the content offered through that service. Then, once you find a service you like, you can subscribe to it using your Apple account and stream all the content offered by that channel through Apple's TV app.



Amazon's Prime Video and Hulu have the same feature. So, if you're a Prime Video subscriber or just an Amazon user, or you have Hulu, maybe you should look into using this feature through one of them.



Now, why would one want to subscribe to a streaming service this way? Let me ask, would you prefer to stream from one app or multiple? Ideally, you want to go to one place for everything, at least almost everything. But, there are other reasons. For one thing, I've found that these small streaming services tend to have really bad apps with super glitchy user experiences. I've seen it first hand with BritBox. It also simplifies the transaction process since it's all handled through your Apple account, and you can go to one place to see and cancel your subscriptions. Finally, you can share your subscriptions with up to six people through Apple's family sharing. Subscribing to channels through the TV app or Prime Video may be a great solution.



Also, in the TV app, you can use the search feature to find anything you want to watch. Then, after selecting it from the list of results, you will get all sorts of information about that TV show or movie, such as a synopsis, a list of episodes if it's a TV show, related content, cast, and more. It will also tell you all the places you can watch, either through a streaming service or by purchasing or renting it from the Apple iTunes store. Finally, clicking on a streaming service will prompt you to either download the app from the App Store or will open the respective app if it's already installed. In the case you have the respective app installed, you're a paying subscriber, and you've already signed in, it may immediately start playing the selected content without you having to find it again.



So, now let's say you're in the middle of watching multiple shows and movies across multiple platforms, say Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+. Well, the TV app may be keeping up with your history in the background. When you open the TV app, you're greeted with an Up Next section of all the shows and movies you're currently watching, along with their watch status. Clicking on a show or movie should link you to that streaming services' app so you can pick up right where you left off.

Working on one screen can get pretty crowded. You could be typing up a document while doing some research online all while watching a YouTube video. Here your options are either to make everything really small or constantly switch between windows, both of which are unfavorable options. If this is an issue for you, you may want to consider getting an additional monitor for your Mac. So, here's a guide to everything you need to know.




https://youtu.be/dLmg7HNbyvs




To get started, you're obviously going to need to pick out a monitor. Newegg has a great guide that's super detailed. I will link it below. But, here are something's you want to look out for, the marketed use case, physical screen size, resolution, shape, display technology, and mounting options. Most importantly, however, is making sure you get a monitor that you can easily plug into your Mac. Chances are if you're reading or watching this, the other details probably don't matter as much.



The connection you're most likely to run into is HDMI, commonly found on monitors and TVs. But, HDMI isn't the only port you will find on your monitor. You may find monitors with DisplayPort, HDMI's rival in the computer field, or USB-C/ThunderBolt 3. You may even run into an older connection like a blue trapezoid with 15 pins. This is a VGA port. Or its younger brother, DVI, a long white rectangle with a variety of pin arrangements.



Then, unless you have a monitor and Mac with an HDMI port, you're going to need an adapter to connect your display to your computer. If your Mac is from the past 6 years, you definitely have a USB-C port. So, you will need an adapter that can adapt this port to a connection on the back of your monitor. For instance, if your external monitor has a blue VGA connection, look for a USB-C to VGA adapter. If your external monitor has a white DVI port, look for a USB-C to DVI. You get the idea. If you're going the USB-C route, you may want to consider some sort of USB docking station or hub that would make reconnecting your portable device like a laptop easier.



However, if you're looking to connect an older Mac to a display, look for a port labeled with a lightning bolt. This is likely a Thunderbolt 2 port. If you have one of these you will need an adapter that adapts that port to a connection on the back of your monitor. For instance, you may need a Thunderbolt 2 to HDMI adapter, if you have HDMI on your external monitor.



If your Mac doesn't have an HDMI, USB-C, or Thunderbolt 2, chances are your computer is really old. You're looking at either Thunderbolt 1 or Mini Display Port. If you go back far enough, you may even find a VGA port on your device. But, if you fall into any of these categories, you may want to consider an upgrade.



Lastly, if you're deep into the Apple ecosystem, you may have an AirPlay display you can use as an external monitor. You can check out my last video for more on that. However, working with a wireless display is never the best option for long-term use.



If you got lost during any part of that, leave a comment below of what computer you have and what you plan on using the monitor for, and someone will help you out. Also, while down there, you can hit the thumbs up and subscribe for more videos like this.



Now that you have your monitor and it is connected to your Mac, you should see something appear on it. If not, try double-checking that the cables are snuggly plugged in and ensure you're on the correct video source. You may want to check your monitor's manual for more.



At this point,

https://youtu.be/S41-oli77uY




Universal Control is the latest continuity feature Apple has brought to the table. It allows you to share a mouse and keyboard and even drag and drop things between your iMac, MacBook, and even your iPad. In today's video, I'm going to try the feature myself.



Helpful Links



* Apple Support: Universal Control - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212757 * Mac Rumors: "Universal Control: Everything You Need to Know" -https://www.macrumors.com/guide/universal-control/* Apple Support: Sidecar - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210380* AppleGuideWeb: "Continuity of the Apple Ecosystem (Part 1)" - https://appleguideweb.com/continuity-of-the-apple-ecosystem-part-1/ * AppleGuideWeb: "Continuity of the Apple Ecosystem (Part 2)" - https://appleguideweb.com/continuity-of-the-apple-ecosystem-part-2/

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way to send what you’re watching on your iPad to the big screen or what you’re listening to on your iPhone to a more powerful speaker? Well, in the Apple ecosystem there is, and it’s called AirPlay. So, in today’s video, let's take a look at all the ways you can use the feature.




https://youtu.be/0cPsPkSiWtI




Before getting any further, what is AirPlay?



AirPlay is a feature built into all your Apple devices that allows you to stream your content to another device, like a compatible speaker or TV. And it's relatively simple to do.



It all started in 2004 with the launch of AirTunes alongside the first AirPort Express. You could plug any pair of speakers into your Express, open iTunes, and choose your AirPort Express as a speaker from a drop-down menu at the bottom of the window. So, at the time, the feature was a bit limited.



Then, in 2010 AirTunes was rebranded to AirPlay in iTunes version 10 and added to iPhones and iPads that updated to iOS 4 and the newly released 2nd Generation Apple TV.



It wasn't until 2011, that AirPlay became a native feature in macOS Mountain Lion and iOS 5, along with the ability to mirror your Mac or iOS device to an AppleTV.



Finally, in 2018, along with the release of the original HomePod, AirPlay 2 was launched, bringing support for multiroom audio. It also created deeper integration into the Apple ecosystem now that Contol Center, in some form, can be found on every Apple device.



Now let's take a look at how to AirPlay to and from compatible devices.



Across the Apple ecosystem, there are two AirPlay icons to look for. The first is the original AirPlay icon. Today it's used to show when you can AirPlay a video in apps like YouTube. The second is AirPlay Audio. This icon will appear in music apps, like Podcasts.



Now that you know the symbols to look for let's seek them out.



First, on your iPhone or iPad, open Control Center from any app. Then, tap on the AirPlay Audio icon in the top corner of the media controls box and choose your AirPlay device from the list.



On your Mac running macOS Big Sur or later, open Control Center from the top menu bar and click on the AirPlay audio icon next to the volume control. Now you can once again select an AirPlay device from the list.



If you're running an older version of macOS, you should see an AirPlay icon on your menu bar standing on its own.



On your Apple TV HD and newer, you can hold down the TV button to launch Control Center from the right side of the screen. Then, click on the AirPlay Audio button and choose your speakers.



Also, in the AirPlay menu of Control Center, you can AirPlay to multiple AirPlay-compatible speakers at a time. This is a great option for when you want to broadcast audio to your whole home. To do this, choose one AirPlay device. Then, a checkmark will appear next to that speaker and empty bubbles next to the rest. Clicking on an empty bubble will AirPlay to that device as well, and give you individual volume controls for each of your active speakers.



Beyond just streaming your music and videos to a larger screen, you can also extend or mirror your screen.



On an iOS device or macOS Big Sur and later, you can tap the screen mirroring feature in Control Center and choose your device. If you're on an older version of macOS, this is also handled through the dedicated AirPlay menu.



Now that you know what AirPlay is and how to use the feature, what devices support it? Well,

Four scores seven years ago, Apple had a line of Wi-Fi routers they called the AirPort. This line included the AirPort Express, Extreme, and Time Capsule. Then, in 2018, Apple decided it would discontinue its Wi-Fi routers and dissolve its AirPort division. Since then, Apple's AirPort routers have started falling behind when compared to the modern competition. Today, I'm sure many users have a plan to replace them. But, could they still be useful? Let's find out and take a brief look at its history.




https://youtu.be/FnN_UkkbIF4




Before looking at the state of AirPorts today, let's first go back to where it all began. 



As the story always goes, we return to 1997, Steve Jobs' has returned to Apple and is trying to turn around the failing company. One of his groundbreaking announcements, and what leaped Apple back into the mainstream, was the release of the original iMac and Apple's new focus on highlighting the power of the internet. Jobs' also introduced a four-box grid with consumer and Pro on one axis and desktop and portable on the other. Altogether, there were a lot of devices of different form factors Apple was trying to take online. It was only fitting that Wi-Fi came along as a convenient way to bring the internet to all these devices. Then, to help push the technology along Apple felt the need to enter the Wi-Fi router market themselves. Hence we had Apple's line of Wi-Fi routers they called AirPort.



The AirPort line first launched in 1999, with two products, the AirPort Base Station and the AirPort Card. The unique dome-shaped Base Station was Apple's first attempt at making a Wi-Fi router. And, after five iterations, the AirPort Extreme would replace the Base Station in 2007. Along with a new name came a slim, square design that later transitioned into a tower with a smaller footprint. But, since the beginning, the Base Station and Extreme were Apple's high-end routers in the lineup, featuring multiple ethernet ports, better WiFi antennas, and later a USB port that could be used to network in a printer or for AirPort Disk, a feature that allowed you to create a network file server, also known as a NAS, by connecting an external drive.



The AirPort Card, on the other hand, was an optional add-on for Macs that gave them Wi-Fi connectivity. You could crack open your compatible Mac, slide the card into the designated slot, and that's how you would get Wi-Fi. (This was back in the day when users could open their computers and make modifications when needed. That's not to say it was always an easy process, just that it was possible.) The add-on card, sold separately, would become obsolete by 2009 due to Wi-Fi becoming a standard feature built into Macs. 



Then along came the AirPort Express in 2004, a super slimmed-down low-end version of the AirPort Extreme that only received two updates after its initial launch, first in 2008 and again in 2012. The first two generations looked like a MacBook power adapter with a single ethernet port for connecting the adapter to the internet, a USB port to network connect a printer, and an aux port for AirTunes, the precursor of AirPlay. By the second generation, the design of the Express transitioned into a scaled-down AirPort Extreme, with all the same ports as the previous Express, other than an additional ethernet port to connect one device. 



The last router introduced was the AirPort Time Capsule. The Time Capsule was an AirPort Extreme featuring an internal drive with a capacity of 500GB, 1TB, or 2TB, depending on the model. You could then access that storage from any computer over your local network. Its primary purpose was to serve as a backup drive for your Mac using the Time Machine app bundled with macOS Leopard.

 Losing your Apple device can be an expensive mistake. Luckily Apple has some solutions to help you keep up with your Apple devices, and it just recently got expanded with new features and hardware. So, let's take a look at the Find My app and make sure you know how to find your lost devices.




https://youtu.be/LszpIBC1BKQ




In the beginning, Find My iPhone was a simple way to track your iPhone when you've left it behind and leave a message on it. Today, Find My goes beyond just tracking your iPhone. Now you can track your iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Beats, Mac, and more. The only problem is most of these devices don't have a cellular connection. So, how do you securely track a device that was left behind and has no way of connecting to the internet? I don't know, but Apple figured it out. And, in April 2021, Apple launched the Find My network and allowed third parties to take advantage of the "crowdsourced network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices" to locate other missing things. In Apple's news release for this announcement, they highlighted "VanMoof’s latest S3 and X3 e-bikes, Belkin’s SOUNDFORM Freedom True Wireless Earbuds, and the Chipolo ONE Spot" as examples of upcoming third-party devices you can locate through the Find My app. 



If you're familiar with Tile, Apple's modern Find My network works the same way just on a much larger scale, thanks to the ubiquity of Apple devices and the rollout of the Find My network. Here's how it works. Every Apple device, for almost 15 years, has had Bluetooth built-in and is automatically enabled. This wireless connection is constantly broadcasting and looking for new connections. On Apple devices, that Bluetooth connection is also broadcasting an encrypted anonymous key that gets accepted by other Apple devices and is used to relay the location of your missing device back to you. Apple claims (quote) "The entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or the third-party manufacturer, can view a device’s location or information."



This comes right after Apple announced their latest product the AirTag, their competitor to the Tile, a similar object tracking device that's been around since 2014.



And, let's stop and take a look at the Tile for a bit. First of all, you definitely get a bigger selection of trackers. They have stickers you can put on anything, a card you can slide into your wallet, and two options for keychain trackers, the Mate and Mate Pro. The prices range from $25 for the Mate up to $55 for the sticker. Everything you want to track, Tile has an answer for you. That is until you actually need to find something. That's because, unlike Apple, Tile has a relatively small user base unless you live in a bigger city. They claim to have 40 million Tile devices across 195 countries. In the grand scheme, that's not much, especially when compared to Apple's billion active iPhones around the world. The one place the Tile does excel is in their cross-platform support with apps on iOS, Android, and even Windows. You can even use an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device to ping your Tile. The AirTag, on the other hand, only works within the Apple ecosystem. So, if you're an Android user who needs help keeping up with their wallet, I would look more into a Tile. Otherwise, let's take a closer look at the AirTag. 



On the surface, the AirTag is a little coin-sized disk with a plastic cover on one side that can be engraved when purchased through the Apple Store.

https://youtu.be/h80_aozAHac




Picture this, you’re sitting at your desk browsing the web, and suddenly your internet just stops working all because your WiFi disconnected? Why continue fighting your WiFi when you have the option to plug your computer directly into the internet and journey through the web with no problems. Here's how to do it!



First, let’s examine WiFi’s downfalls that out-way its conveniences. First, you have to deal with variable speeds caused by wireless interference and opsticals like a thick wall. That alone can take away a good chunk of performance. Or, maybe you have a budget router that doesn't have the best antennas. WiFi makes accessing the internet from your mobile devices convenient but may leave more to desire on your desktop.



By plugging your network devices directly into your router, you can bypass some of these issues. It will also give more WiFi bandwidth to your mobile devices.



Now, let's take an in-depth look at how to plug a device into the internet.



First, you will want to look for an ethernet port. It's a rather large square port with space for a clip to keep it in place. If you have a laptop, you might not have an ethernet port since it's too big to fit in such a small form factor. Instead, you will need an adapter, ether a USB-A to ethernet to USB-C to ethernet. If you run into this dilemma, you may want to consider getting a USB docking station to reduce the clutter of multiple adapters.



In that ethernet port, snaps in an ethernet cable. These can come in a large array of lengths, colors, etc. This is the cable you will need to run from the back of your WiFi router into your computer. Now, this may be a simple task if your router is right next to your computer. Otherwise, you may need to run some cables through your house. This can be difficult depending on your structure and may be more tedious than it's worth.



On the other hand, you can try a PowerLine adapter. With a PowerLine adapter, you can inject your internet into your existing electrical cables, which I think is a pretty neat idea.



So here's how it works. A package comes with one or more adapters. You plug one directly into the wall by your WiFi router. Then, plug that adapter into your router using an ethernet cable. Now, plug the other adapter somewhere else in your house. You can get the internet out of this adapter by plugging your device into its ethernet port. However, you can even find PowerLine adapters that come with range extenders built-in, so they will also double as a WiFi access point. You can learn more about those in last week's video.



And there you go, the internet is going in through one adapter and out of the other. Just remember, you can't plug the adapter into a surge protector because it will just filter out the internet connection. It needs to be plugged directly into the wall. Another thing, this option will not work in every home. There could be unseen things behind your wall that could kill your connection.



Now, I'm going to give it a try in my house. For today's example, I'm going to use this Netgear PowerLine 200 Mini adapter. It may be a bit old and slow, at 100mbps, but it should be enough to see how the tech works. So, let's take a look!



We are going to start by plugging in the parent powerline adapter into the outlet under my desk in the basement. Remember, you can't plug the powerline adapter into a power switch because it will filter out the internet connection. You need to plug the adapter directly into the wall. Next, I'm going to attach an ethernet cable to the adapter. Now, there we should see a solid green power LED and a solid green ethernet LED.

Do you find that your WiFi doesn't reach all of the corners of your home? Maybe you have your WiFi router set up in your den, and when you walk to your bedroom down the hall, you compliantly lose connection. A WiFi extender may be an affordable solution for you. Keep watching to learn more and see how to set one up.




https://youtu.be/YvhhtDg6bCI




First, what is a WiFi extender? Well, it expands your WiFi connection. Simply plug the extender into a neutral area where it can get a good internet connection from your main wireless router, while also rebroadcasting to places that are less covered, therefore eliminating those annoying dead zones.



Next question, how is an extender different from a Mesh network I talked about previously? Well, a mesh network initials a whole network overhaul with all new routers spread across your home that all broadcast the same WiFi network. A WiFi range extender, on the other hand, can easily integrate into your existing WiFi network while also being much cheaper. However, your range extenders will broadcast separately from your main router. So, when you want to connect to your main router, you have to go into your WiFi settings and select it. When you want to switch to your WiFi extender, you have to go back into your WiFi settings and change your WiFi network again. With a mesh router, one network is broadcasted, and in the background, the software will handle which node you're connected too. That being said, if you have the budget to upgrade to a mesh network, do it. It will be a way more robust and consumer-friendly solution, unlike a patch job with a range extender.



Now, let's try setting up a range extender for ourselves.



Today's example is a Netgear EX6100, which can operate as both a WiFi extender and access point thanks to its included ethernet port. But, more on that in a minute.



First, we need to find the best place to put your WiFi extender. The best way to start is to know where your dead zones are by traveling to every corner of your home taking Speedtest. Once you find the areas that need coverage, you can walk from that space to your main WiFi router, continually taking Speedtest on the way. You're trying to see how far out you can go but still have a really good connection. Once you find the place, you can plug in the extender and start the setup process.



This extender has two configuration options, either as a range extender or an access point. In an access point configuration, you run an ethernet cable from your router to the extender. This way, the extender is broadcasting the full speeds of your network and is very stable. To learn more about running ethernet cables and such, get subscribed and hit the bell icon to be notified of our next video. Alternatively, configuring it as a WiFi Range extender will rebroadcast the WiFi signal it's receiving. Just note, wireless solutions will almost always be less stable.



Now, let's dive into the software side of things.



To test out my WiFi extender, I'm going to plug it into an outlet in my living room on the second floor. I'm hoping this extender can take the WiFi connection broadcasting on the third floor and forward it to me in the basement below.



I start off by plugging the extender into the wall and waiting for it to boot up. With the power LED green, it's time to get started on the setup. So, with the mode set to extender, I'm going to click the WPS button. Then, I'm going to "click" the WPS button on my main WiFi router. In my case, it's not a physical button on the router but instead a button within its management app. The WPS feature allows you to connect your WiFi device to your network without entering the WiFi password.

The other week I upgraded my home entertainment setup with the latest AppleTV 4K and two HomePod Minis. For obvious reasons, the HomePods didn't make the cut. So, I went on a quest for the best soundbar system for the same price or less than the HomePod Minis. Here's what I came up with.




https://youtu.be/s40kJfeQJik




Before getting into my soundbar, why should one get a soundbar? Well, take a look at your TV's speakers. Can you see them in the front? Most likely not. That's because they are hidden on the backside of the TV, firing towards the wall. Now, look at how thin your TV is. As with your iPhone or HomePod Minis, your TV's internal speakers are too small to provide any audio of loudness or quality.



So, if you want to take your content consumption to the next level, you're going to need an external speaker. When you get to this realization, you have two solutions, an audio receiver or soundbar.



First, let's look at the audio receiver option, which will give you a pure theatre-like experience. An audio receiver is a box dedicated to managing audio. It's where you plug in all of your speakers and input devices like a TV or Xbox. All of this modularity is what opens the door to a higher-quality listening experience. You can get a receiver that meets all of your audio specifications then mix and match any speakers. With all of this modularity also comes the expensive price of entry. You have the audio receiver itself, which starts at around $400. Then, you're looking at about $100 per speaker. As you can see, the price adds up quickly.



A soundbar, on the other hand, is a much cheaper and more consumer-friendly solution. For $100 plus, you can get a pretty good soundbar that can surly outpace your TV's internal speakers.



Now, let's take a look at my soundbar system.



Meet the Samsung HW-S50A, a soundbar with three speakers (3.0) built-in. In the rear, you will find two more speakers that wirelessly connect to the soundbar. More on those later. All of this would have cost $400, which is $200 more than the HomePods at $100 each. In reality, I only spent $262, making it $62 more than the HomePods. How did I get such a good deal, you may ask? Easy, I took advantage of Best Buy's Open Box program. You see, while other companies, like Amazon, throw away your returns, Best Buy repackages them and sells them at a steep discount, and honor the standard return policy. Hence the soundbar was $110 off, and the rear speakers were $45 off. So, next time your shopping tech, see if Best Buy has it available as Open Box.



Anyways, getting back to the soundbar. When looking for a soundbar in the $200 range, you will mostly find plain black rectangles. I'm sure they sound good, but I was looking for something that looked and felt higher-end. So, this S50A comes wrapped in this beautiful dark gray fabric that looks and feels really premium. It adds a splash of color in the mists of most entertainment systems' darker tones.



Setup was also really easy. First, power up the soundbar using the included barrel cable. Then, you have two options for connecting the soundbar to your TV. One option is to use optical audio, also known as Toslink, a fiberglass cable that can send a digital audio signal. You may find this on older TVs and other devices like the 3rd Gen AppleTV. The better option is to use the included HDMI cable. Just make sure you plug it into the HDMI port labeled ARC or eARC. Not only does HDMI send the highest quality audio, but it also allows you to control your soundbar from your TV remote, eliminating the nuisance of having multiple remotes. In addition, you can control the soundbar's volume directly from the physical AppleTV remote or the Remote app on your iPhone or iPad.

In 2017, Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 3. And in 2021, Apple decided it would continue selling the Series 3 through 2022 for $199. Here's why you shouldn't buy the six-year-old Series 3 brand new, what Apple should have done instead, and my Apple Watch recommendations.




https://youtu.be/QWKYPy83hGo




My first set of gripes comes down to problems facing developers, of which I am not. But, from what I hear, there are things about the Series 3 that make life so much harder to support. For starters, the Series 3 is sold in 38mm and 42mm screen variants. Meanwhile, the rest of the lineup has moved to larger 40mm and 44mm screens. This means developers have to support and optimize their apps for four different small screen sizes. Then you have the older S3 processor, which isn't slow by any means and works great for what most people use the Series 3 for. However, the older processor is built off of technology that the rest of the Apple Watch lineup has moved on from. Developing for the Apple Watch alone is difficult, and removing consistency isn't doing any favors.



That's not to say the Apple Watch Series 3 is a bad watch. Hey, if you're looking for a simple smartwatch without all the bells and whistles and the fancy health trackers, it sounds like a great option. That is until you run into all the user-facing issues.



The biggest of these is the 8GB of internal storage. In 2017, 8GB may have been enough. Today, that's nothing. Of that 8GB, almost 5GB is taken by WatchOS alone. Then, if you try to install the latest update, watchOS 8, which weighs 1GB, you're now at 6GB. But, typically you can't even install the updates because other things have taken that space, like other installed apps or files. And, there's really no way to delete all that extra data. As crazy as it seems, Apple says if you don't have enough space to update your Series 3, you will need to backup your watch to your iPhone, wipe it to factory settings, install the update, and restore it from a backup. That whole process can take about 2 to 3 hours. Now, image Apple releases a watchOS update about once a month or so. That's a long time to spend updating a watch. It's so much of a hassle that I don't even bother unless the update brings a feature I want to play with, not that ever happens. Most of the new features in watchOS require sensors that come with the higher-end Apple Watches. So, at this point, the Series 3 is really only getting security updates and app redesigns. Then, as updates come along, you will be left with a crippling amount of storage to the point you can only use the built-in apps. Maybe, by that point, 3rd party apps won't matter because even the developers will have moved on, making Apple the only person still supporting the ancient watch.



However, it appears that worrying about the storage capacity may not be as big of an issue thanks to some optimizations Apple has added with iOS 15 and watchOS 8. For starters, I was able to download and install watchOS 8 without having to restore the watch unless Apple hid it in the update process. Also, the Watch app is more transparent on how the limited amount of space is being used. There's now a storage bar that details how much space each category is taking. It even includes the total size of watchOS. However, watchOS is still missing from the list below. Then, each app has a sub-menu detailing how much storage they are using. Other than that, it appears WatchOS 8 did some optimizing to find about 4GB of storage which is probably enough to do what you need to do.



Now, if you got the cellular option while the Series 3 was still top of the line, you're in good shape with 16GB of internal storage. This would become the standard storage capacity with the Series 4. And, starting with Series 5,

https://youtu.be/WhvfOVBr-Hk








Links:



What is Mesh?



* Wikipedia: “Mesh networking” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking* Tom’s Guide: “What is a mesh Wi-Fi router, and do you need one?” - https://www.tomsguide.com/us/what-is-mesh-wifi-router,news-24580.html* How to Geek: “What Are Mesh WiFi Systems, and How Do They Work?” - https://www.howtogeek.com/290418/what-are-mesh-wi-fi-systems-and-how-do-they-work/



Featured Mesh Router:



Linksys - Velop AC2200 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 5 System (2-pack) - White @ Best Buy: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/linksys-velop-ac2200-tri-band-mesh-wi-fi-5-system-2-pack-white/5709448.p?skuId=5709448



Best Mesh Routers of 2021:



* Cnet: “Best mesh Routers for 2021” - https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/best-mesh-wi-fi-router/* Tom’s Guide: “Best mesh Wi-Fi systems for 2021: Mesh WiFi Routers and points” - https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-mesh-router,review-5191.html* PC Mag: “The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Network Systems for 2021” - https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems* TechRadar: “Best Mesh WiFi Routers 2021: the best wireless mesh routers for large homes” - https://www.techradar.com/news/best-wireless-mesh-routers



Best Mesh Routers of 2021



* Wikipedia: “Mesh networking” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking* Tom’s Guide: “What is a mesh Wi-Fi router, and do you need one?” - https://www.tomsguide.com/us/what-is-mesh-wifi-router,news-24580.html* How to Geek: “What Are Mesh WiFi Systems, and How Do They Work?” - https://www.howtogeek.com/290418/what-are-mesh-wi-fi-systems-and-how-do-they-work/











*

It's so important to back up your iPhone, the most portable and breakable piece of technology we own. Anything can happen to it, like forgetting it on the bus or shattering the screen beyond repair. In an instant, all of your data can vanish. Those family photos and important text messages are all gone. Once again, this is why it's so important to back up your data! On one hand, you can create a local backup using iTunes if you still have a computer. On the other, you can purchase iCloud storage at a monthly rate, which adds up quickly. So, there needs to be an alternative for making local iPhone and iPad backups. Could the SanDisk iXpand be the solution?




https://youtu.be/tUy9Z8eIxB8




The simple solution to creating a local backup would be to plug a USB thumb drive into your iPhone. However, at the moment, Apple refuses to migrate to the new universal standard of USB-C, so we are still stuck with the proprietary Lightning connector. And that's what SanDisk brings to the table with their iXpand. It's simply a USB drive with a USB-A port on one side and a Lightning port on the other. This allows you to plug it into your iPhone or low-end iPad, or your computer and access the same files.



Now, let's take a deeper look at the iExpand by installing the SanDisk iXpand app from the App Store, which is needed to interact with the flash drive. 



When you open the app for the first time, a wizard directs you through setting up the flash drive's backup options. For now, I'm going to bypass this so I can get to the full app. 



There are two ways to use your iPhone's external drive. The first way is to use it as a backup of your phone. To configure this click "Backup & Restore" from the bottom of the main menu. Then, choose "Back Up & Restore Photo Library" to backup your photo library. In the settings, you can enable automatic backup, then click backup to make your first backup. Once the backup is finished, you are clear to start deleting the photos off of your phone, knowing they are safe on your flash drive. Just make sure you're plugging in your drive often, and the iXpand app is working as intended. If you need to retrieve photos you deleted, you can click the restore button, which will copy the photos from the flash drive back to your phone. 



Now, let's go back and back up our contacts and calendar. On the first tab, I can back up my contacts and enable automatic backup. On the second tab, I can back up my calendars and enable automatic backup.



And, that's it.



Unlike an iCloud Backup or iTunes, both of which create a full copy of your device, the iXpand can only backup your contacts, calendars, and photo library. For some, this may do the trick. After all, almost everything else is probably already configured to sync through a cloud service for free, especially your contacts and calendar. I already have an article that takes a look at the more complete backup options. I will link it below. 



Another use for the iXpand is for transferring files back and forth between your iPhone and computer. Those in the Apple world don't have to worry about this dilemma since you can just AirDrop files between your devices. However, if you add a PC or Android into the mix, you may need something that can transfer files too big for an email. In a perfect world, iXpand could be that device. You could open the Files app and see the iXpand as an external drive or access the files from within the app. However, it's not a perfect world. When you click on the iXpand Drive source, you're taken to the iXpand app, and the drive does not show up as an external device. You would think that the option to navigate the drive would let you download files to your iPhone. But,

Since iOS 7, you could open Control Center and quickly access important device settings. Since then, Control Center had evolved, adding quick access to more device features, keeping you from having to close the app you're in and search through Settings. Here's a guide to everything you can do with Control Center on your iPhone and iPad and how to customize it to make it work for you.




https://youtu.be/rxPf5y8f7sM




Most importantly, how do you access Control Center? Well, if you have an iPhone with a home button, swipe up from the bottom of your screen. If you don't have a home button or have an iPad, swipe down from the top right of your screen. Once in Control Center, you have a whole host of controls.



First, let's look at the network controls, which is the first box to the left. In the outer section, you can toggle Airplane Mode, Cellular Data, WiFi, and Bluetooth. On devices that don't have cellular service, like your iPad or iPod Touch, you will see AirDrop instead of cellular data. One thing to note, tapping on the WiFi or Bluetooth in Control Center will not turn those services off. Instead, the WiFi toggle will temporarily disconnect you from your current WiFi network, and the Bluetooth button will temporarily unpair you from all of your Bluetooth devices. Any temporarily disconnected services will have a white background, enabled services will have a blue background, and disabled services will have a black background.







When you long-press on that box, you will get an expanded list of options, including AirDrop and Personal Hotspot. Behind every button, here are more options. If you long-press on AirDrop, you can limit who can AirDrop things to you, whether only people in your contacts, everyone, or turn the service off. Long-pressing on WiFi will list all of the WiFi networks in your area that you can connect to, and If you're looking for advanced WiFi settings, you can tap the Wi-Fi Settings button, which will take you to the WIFI section in Settings. The same kind of thing happens when you long-press on Bluetooth, you get a list of Bluetooth devices. Then, if you need to add a new device, you can tap the Bluetooth settings button to quickly jump into the Bluetooth section in settings.







Moving on to the next square, you find your audio controls. Here, you can control the playback of videos, podcasts, music, and any other multimedia content. On the surface of the audio controls, you can see the title, the name of the content creator, and a thumbnail of the album artwork. You also get limited audio controls in the form of play/pause and skip buttons. In the top corner is the AirPlay controls, but more on that later. 



Long pressing on the playback controls gives you more options. The album artwork is front and center and links you to the app the content is playing from. Under the artwork is the title and name of the content creator. Below that is the scrubber, where you can skim between different points in the track. You can also play/pause, skip, and control the volume. In some cases, like playing music from a radio station, you will see different playback controls, such as a like button. 



Now, let's reverse a bit and take a look at AirPlay. When you click on the AirPlay button, you're shown a list of AirPlay-compatible TVs and speakers along with paired Bluetooth speakers and headphones, including with your Beats and AirPods. Clicking on one of these devices will send your content to that device, but you will still have full playback controls from your iPhone or iPad. Some devices may even have extra features. For instance, some battery-powered headphones and speakers may show you their current battery percentage. Or, Apple-made headphones,

I've made a couple of videos on smart tech and how confusing it may be to find products that integrate with your current smart home ecosystems like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Apple's HomeKit. I even showed you a complicated workaround to make your smart devices HomeKit compatible. Well, there is a new standard on the horizon that may leave that problem in the past.




https://youtu.be/9BA1bRDoVf0




As a quick review, here's my problem with the smart home industry. You see, each smart home ecosystem has its own certification process. An Alexa-supported device must follow Amazon's guidelines, and Google Home devices must follow Google's guidelines. However, both Google Home and Alexa seem easy to comply with since almost every smart device is compatible with those ecosystems. Lastly, HomeKit supported devices have to follow Apple's much stricter guidelines. For each of these smart home ecosystems, you will need a team of developers and even pay royalty fees. That price adds up quickly. So, when picking up a smart device, you have to make sure it's compatible with the ecosystem you use. But, all of this may be about to change.







At the end of 2021, products that support the Matter specification will start rolling out. When you find the Matter logo, an emblem of three arrows pointing in, you will instantly know that the device supports all the big-name smart home ecosystems, has a simple setup, and follows their privacy guidelines. Plus, it's free for manufactures to implement into their products. The Matter coalition's goal is to have its logo as ubiquitous as the WIFI logo is today. Look for the first Matter-supported devices scheduled to be released by the end of the year, with some current devices receiving updates to support the new standard. With this big update around the corner, I would not recommend diving into any smart home ecosystems or products right now. Instead, wait and see what comes to the market at the end of the year. That is if all of this goes according to the founder's plans.







There is one hiccup that could cause problems. Matter is not here to replace the Alexa, HomeKit, or Google Home specifications. Each of those certification processes will continue as they do today. Matter is just another specification in addition to the rest. So, it will be up to the smart tech manufacturers to decide whether they want to support each ecosystem individually or adopt Matter and automatically support all of them.







But Matter appears to be on a great start. Both Google and Apple are adding Matter support to their smart home management apps by this fall, and Google will be updating their smart devices to support Matter.



With these big names taking action today, hopefully, Matter will become the industry standard. Then, the days of scanning the documentation trying to make sure a piece of smart tech supports your voice assistant is over. You can pick up any smart plug, light, lock, etc., and know it will work with your Alexa, Google Home, or iPhone.







Links:



* Matter* Google The Keyword: 4 Google smart home updates that Matter

I'm sure you've all seen the ads for the latest and greatest 5G cellular service from the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. It boasts super-fast speeds that let you download a whole TV series in seconds and have your Facebook feed load in a blink of an eye. But if you read the fine print and watch some reviews, you will learn the 5G is a joke and has no visual benefit, at least for now. So, let's take a look at what 5G is, where it's at, and where it's going.




https://youtu.be/BvAh6PljgtM




Like 2G, 3G, 4G, and later 4G LTE, 5G is the 5th generation of mobile networking. Within this generational update are a handful of features that will improve the speed, reliability, and capacity of the cellular networks we heavily rely on.



There is a great video from the IEEE ("I" triple "E") on the new technologies bundled with the 5G specification. I will leave a link to that below. But here are the basics.




https://youtu.be/GEx_d0SjvS0




Right now, most cell phone towers cannot send and receive data at the same time. So, data can only go in one direction at a time. If your phone is receiving data, it can't also send data. But, thanks to full-duplex, your phone and the cell tower can now communicate back and forth at the same time. Then, instead of your phone broadcasting over a radius to connect to the tower, beamforming efficiently creates a "direct line" between you and the cell tower. Lastly, there is MIMO, or Multiple Input Multiple Output, which is essentially adding more antennas to cell towers. Put all of these features together and, it can definitely increase your mobile internet speeds.







But now it's time to get into a little bit of science. All wireless technology operates on some level of the electromagnetic spectrum. For instance, when you turn on your radio and tune into 107.5, you're accessing the 107.5 MHz band, which is right here. 2.4GHz Wi-Fi operates here, and 5 GHz Wi-Fi operates here. Beyond just wireless technology, the electromagnetic spectrum also contains visible light, powers our microwaves, and is used for x-rays. But, getting back to cellular, you can find that right here. Now, none of this really matters. The only thing you need to know is the further right you travel, the faster speeds you will get with a more unstable connection. Then, the further left you travel is a wider range of coverage at a much slower speed.



First, let's compare 5G to a technology you're probably more familiar with, Wi-Fi. Most home Wi-Fi routers can broadcast at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Those are here and here on the spectrum. In some cases, you will have two independent networks set up for each of these bands. Others will automatically and intelligently connect you to whichever band will give you the best connection. But what's the difference? Well, 2.4GHz is lower on the spectrum, which is ideal for providing a solid connection to a very wide area. On the other hand, 5GHz is much higher on the spectrum and supports the fastest speed possible. However, it does get handicapped by anything that could be laying in between your device and the WIFI router, such as walls and furniture.



Now, let's apply this to cellular tech. 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is to 4G mobile as 5GHz is to 5G mobile.




https://youtu.be/9j8G_4FocrA




Now it's time for me to say that 5G isn't that simple. According to the Verge video I have linked below there are three levels to 5G. Low-band 5G provides coverage over a very large area with speeds just a little bit higher than 4G. High-band 5G can cover a city block and give you faster speeds than your home internet. Then there is mid-band, which will cover a large area at speeds between low-...

Think of all the important files on your Mac. Your massive photo collections of your children growing up, that vacation you took a couple of years ago, or that party you went to in your younger days. How about your important documents from work or school. Now think what would happen if all of that disappeared in an instant. Maybe you lose your MacBook, or it's stolen. Maybe something inside your computer fails, like your storage drive. Or, one day, you turn on your computer, and nothing happens. In an instant, all those memories are gone, and all that hard work has vanished. This is why it's so important to back up your computer, and that's what I'm going to show you today.




https://youtu.be/Y-FD1Z_MAl8




When you're backing up your computer, you're making another copy of your treasured information. It can be a full copy of your computer or just important folders and files. Then, if something happens to your computer, you have another copy of your data to fall back on.



Now, there are a couple of places you can save another copy of your data, a local backup with an external drive, and/or an off-site backup with a cloud provider.



First, let's look at the cloud, which may be a more expensive option since it requires a subscription plan from a cloud service like Google Drive, iCloud Drive, DropBox, or Microsoft OneDrive. The way this works, each of these cloud storage solutions has a desktop app. From their app, you can dictate which folders on your computer you want to sync. Anytime you save a file, delete a file, or edit a file in one of those folders, your changes are, more or less, immediately copied to that cloud service, as long as you have an internet connection and are signed in.



In addition, each of these cloud storage providers has an app for Mac and Windows, Android and iOS, and web access. With this, you can access your files saved on the cloud from any device.







The cloud is a good solution if you switch between multiple devices, like a desktop, laptop, and phone. For instance, you use your iMac at home and a MacBook when you're on the go. You can start a document on your laptop and save it to the cloud. Then, once you get home, you can open that file on your iMac and pick up where you left off. It does all of this while also serving as an off-site backup.



So, which service should you use? Well, if you're in the Google ecosystem, then purchase some Google Drive storage. If you're in the Apple ecosystem, get some iCloud Drive storage. And, if you're in the Microsoft ecosystem, get OneDrive storage. But, don't be too quick to jump on OneDrive because you may already be paying for it. If you have a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscription, 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage is included with your plan, in addition to the most up-to-date version of Office. But, it also depends on which provider you feel more comfortable with and you think will keep your data private and secure.



If you want to learn more about these cloud solutions, check out the links below.



Cloud services are good for saving your important folders and files then syncing them across your devices. But, it still doesn't capture a full copy of your computer. For that, we will need an external drive and a time machine.



Let's start by looking into external drives. You can get these from almost anywhere, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and, of course, Amazon. When browsing your options, there are two things to consider, its capacity and how it connects to your computer.







My recommendation is to find a drive that is twice the capacity of your computer. If you don't know how much space is in your computer...