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• Email Storage Tips!
• Microsoft Office!
• Facebook Privacy Settings!
• Quiz of the Moment!
- and, of course -
• The Links You Love!
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Happy July!
OK, summer is officially here!
This month, I discuss email storage and how ignoring it can certainly impact you. Plus, Microsoft’s Office suite - necessary or evil incarnate? In addition, there's the quick tip, quiz of the moment, and more!
Thanks for reading, say cool, and enjoy the holiday this week. Talk soon.
-CC
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The Care and Feeding of Your Email Part Deux | |
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Like most other things in life, your email is subject to physical limitations. Sure, it’s hard to imagine that these 1s and 0s take up any space at all, but they sure do.
Now also understand that your email provider (which could be Google, Optimum, Apple, or any number of other services) gives you a finite amount of space to store your mail on its server. These numbers vary, from a stingy 5 GB from Apple (iCloud) to a more generous 15 GB from Google (Gmail).
Of course, you always have the option to buy more storage. Note that this extra storage is NOT on your computer, but the amount of space allocated to your account on your mail provider’s server.
Confused yet? Then read on to be enlightened!
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Do You Really Need Microsoft Office? (a.k.a. Going With The Devil You Know) | |
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Ah, Microsoft, that Redmond-based behemoth, the company that gave us Bill Gates, Windows, the Xbox, and yes, Microsoft Office, the gold standard for office productivity programs. Office, which includes Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheet), PowerPoint (presentation), and Outlook (mail client) is the default suite of applications for most users worldwide, regardless of the platform. (Yes, there are some additional components to Office, but most of them are non-consequential.)
However, it’s not free – it’s available on a subscription basis (although there ARE some instances of being able to outright buy a copy), which is $69.99/year for one install or $99.99/year for up to six installs. Not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but of course these little sums certainly add up. (Check out my blog “The Hidden Costs of Buying a New Computer” from a few years back.)
Is Office necessary? Well, no, because there are other options out there. Both Apple and Google (among others) have competitive, if not entirely worthy software that can generally do the same thing. Apple has gone through a few over years, the best being AppleWorks (R.I.P.), which in addition to its word processing, spreadsheet, and database functions, had a sublime drawing program that has never been replicated by any company out there. However, today Apple’s attempt at cracking the productivity market is with iWork (which is available for free as part of the Apple OS). iWork contains Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, the equivalent to Microsoft’s applications. In the parallel universe of Google, Docs, Sheets, and Slides (among others) are its attempt to muscle in on the lucrative productivity suite market.
But, in the end, it’s a Microsoft world, and since most users are firmly ensconced with Office, particularly in instances where we are required to exchange data with others, we must grin and bear it when it comes to that annual fee. But look at the bright side, it’s a tax write-off!
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Whether you love it or loathe it, Facebook is still the most popular social media platform worldwide, with roughly 37% of human inhabitants with an account. (Not counting bots and fakes!) Which is great when everybody in the sandbox plays nicely together, but that’s not always the case. Its magnitude is only matched by its lack of customer service, which is understandable, because to be blunt, you’re getting what you pay for. Remember that with Facebook (along with Google, among many others), YOU’RE the product.
But sometimes you find yourself “tagged” in other people’s photos and/or posts. Which is fine if it’s friend you know, but what if it’s a stranger? Or some post that may be offensive to you or someone else? Sometimes, you’re tagged for legit reasons, in other instances, it’s for nefarious purposes. So how do you avoid this?
On your computer or phone, select your profile picture (upper right) and navigate to:
Settings & Privacy>Settings>Profiles and Tagging
Once there, you can take control of tagging, along with other important items, such as allowing others to post on your profile, or share your posts. See below for the proper settings.
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Happenings in the Apple and tech world that can no doubt impact you!
You don’t need to own a crystal ball to realize that EVERY tech company wants to be your doctor AND your bank. And some of these companies are learning that it's not be a great idea to delve into a space that’s outside its core competencies, but they all seem to want to do it. And now Apple has pulled back in the fiscal arena (at least for now): It has canned its “Apple Pay Later” service. Read the full story in The Verge in the links below.
💳 Speaking of tech behemoths and money, eBay will no longer accept American Express as a form of payment effective August 17, 2024. It’s not the first to ditch the iconic credit card; when shopping at Costco, you CAN leave home without it.
🔥 Nobody likes a tattletale: Starting with tax year 2025, Venmo (along with other peer-to-peer platforms, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square) will be whispering in the IRS’ ear. If you receive over a certain amount on these platforms, it will send you a Form 1099-K to add to the glut of your tax paperwork. In addition, as of today (7/1/24), transaction fees for receiving payments tagged as “goods and services” will change to 2.99% per transaction. Read about it here.
📧 In non-financial related Apple news, rumor has it that in the soon-to-be-released version of macOS (Sequoia), Apple Mail to have a bunch of new bells and whistles, a la Gmail. More tabs (Social, Promotion, etc.) will continue to clutter up and confuse users. Hopefully there will be a simple way to disable these distractions...
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The first iMac was the tray loading “Jelly Bean” model, which featured a 233 MHz G3 processor, built-in stereo speakers, and a 15” display, along with the infamous “hockey puck” mouse.
It was introduced in August of what year?
Picture on the right: Bus stop in Stockholm, taken in December of that year. The copy “Ett klick till internet” translates to “One click to the internet.” Photo by your favorite newsletter author.
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Nancy R. of Wilton, CT supplied the first correct answer to June's quiz: The MacWarehouse cover model was named Kerrie. There was no correct answer for the bonus round: Kerrie’s understudy (a very similar looking woman) was named Jennifer. I never met the legendary Kerry, but I DID work with Jennifer in South Norwalk!
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Nine Helpful and (Hopefully) Fun Links for July 2024! | |
📷 This month's background picture: Petaluma, CA - 7:51 AM... | |
What's On The Horizon For August... | |
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Next month, I’ll discuss the dos and don'ts of iCloud, as well as a list of commonly-asked questions (and issues) that I hear the repeatedly along the way. Plus, a nifty quick tip, another quiz, and the helpful and all the fun links!
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Like what you're seeing here? (Or not?) Learning something new, or simply being entertained? Want to see more (or less) things here? Then send me your thoughts - the good, bad, and the ugly. And don’t forget to forward this others who might find it useful. Thank you! | |
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Chris Capelle
Macintosh Computer &
Apple Products Expert
P.O. Box 7512
Wilton, CT 06897
203.451.1377 (cell/text)
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Don't forget to follow me on social media! | | | | |
