NYC Mac Blog

On March 15, 44 BC, though warned by Shakespeare’s Soothsayer in Act 1, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar, tragedy befalls Ceasar when, as we know, he meets his doom on the steps of the Roman Senate.

So on this 2067th anniversary of the Ides of March, beware! If your hardware has not been updated with current security patches, beware! If you haven’t checked that your backup is actually backing up, beware! If your iPhone, iPad or Mac is not capable of running the latest software, beware! And if you haven’t had some MACximize Maintenance in quite some time, BEWARE!

Don’t ignore the signs: if your devices are slow or you’re getting tons of spam, a checkup — either remotely or in person — can prevent avoidable doom! It’s too late to help Ceasar, but MACximize Consulting is here for you.

You have questions — we have answers. We’ve got this! It’s time to call MACximize Consulting at 212.330.6789 or email [email protected]

Stay safe, and please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

The Apple “Illuminati” have spoken. iPhone 2020 has been announced! Welcome iPhone 12 with 5G.

This year, in addition to the existing iPhone SE, iPhone XR, and iPhone 11, Apple has added 4 new iPhones — iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. There’s so much to say about the differences and if you’re interested in a new iPhone this fall, please call MACximize @ 212.330.6789. But here’s the quick lowdown:

If you want Apple’s best camera & brightest screen, the Pro models are for you. Otherwise, you can go with the non-pro iPhone 12. And if you want a smaller, lighter iPhone — you get the mini, a bigger iPhone — you get the Max. Easy-peasy.

Now of course, your situation may require more nuance. And if that’s the case, or if you want your new iPhone set up just right, that’s what we do best — help customers like you get your Apple stuff working well.

So call us — 212.330.6789 or email at [email protected] — follow us our new Instagram Business Page:

https://www.instagram.com/macximizeconsulting/
@MACximizeConsulting

And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

To prepare for a possible uptick in the number of coronavirus cases, New York State now has an app for that!

“Google and Apple jointly created the Exposure Notifications System out of a shared sense of responsibility to help governments and our global community fight this pandemic through contact tracing.” This will allow the public health authority to alert you if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19.

It’s fairly simple to install and set up, but if you need some help, please call MACximize @ 212.330.6789.

After you download the app, you’ll need to give it permission to contribute to the community. The app uses Bluetooth to sense when you spend more than 10 minutes within 6 feet of another person with the app. It ignores people who just pass by or are more than 6 feet away.

Your privacy is protected because Apple uses codes instead of names.

Below is a link to the app (click with your phone):
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/covid-alert-ny/id1524123298

So call us — 212.330.6789 or email at [email protected] — We’ve got recommendations based on your individual situation to keep you safe. And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends!😀

We’ve all heard the warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”): Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will come to the USA. The CDC has cautioned that office buildings and schools might be shut down in case of an outbreak. So from a tech standpoint, what can we do to prepare? Where does MACximize come in?

If your child has to be home from school, or you or your spouse have to work from home, now is the time to prepare your technology so that school assignments and office work can be successfully completed. A conversation with the school and work IT department is a good first step. Make sure that you know your login username and password. Does a connection require a VPN (virtual private network)? Does your home computer allow you to see your office email or your entire work desktop? Are your applications up-to-date and properly configured? Is your Internet working properly or are there ‘dead spots’ where the WiFi is slow? Maybe now is the time to get that new laptop or iPad.

A visit from MACximize to assess your needs and get your computer, iPhone, or iPad up to speed should be part of your plan. Remember, your office is not backing up your home computer. And you wouldn’t want to lose all your hard work. So we can help to make sure that you have several copies of those essential files backed up — locally and on the cloud!

So call us — 212.330.6789 — and we’ll take care of everything.

And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

It’s often said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Think about how valuable a MACximize Movie Video Montage made by MACximize Consulting will be to you and your family, friends or customers.

We’ve created video slide shows for milestone birthdays, anniversaries, memorial tributes to loved ones, weddings & bar/bat mitzvahs. Each MACximize Movie has a unique look and feel and conveys a distinctive sentiment. I work closely with you and your team to create a bespoke, one of a kind presentation that will leave your audience wanting more. And these movies are a treasured keepsake for many years to come.

If this is something in which you are interested, give MACximize a call @ 212.330.6789. We will schedule a meeting so we can establish your vision and then make it a reality.

Yes, one picture may paint a brief moment in time; but a MACximize Movie with music, video interludes, and captions, etc., will reveal a radiant tapestry of experiences that show the world your special someone — colorful & unforgettable in all their glory.

So call us — 212.330.6789 — and we’ll take care of everything.

We’ve made it to the 3rd Decade of the 3rd Millennium. The Roaring Twenties! And this time of year always make me revisit my annual Mac New Year’s Resolutions. And these are the resolutions I actually keep! Here are my top 3.

1. Always make sure my operating system (OS) is up-to-date. If you’ve been reading my blasts, you understand that the best offense against bad things happening to your Mac is a current OS. macOS 10.15 Catalina is the latest version, and if your Mac supports it, now is the time to call and we’ll ensure that your update gets done properly.

2. Test my backup. And test my 2nd backup, too! I’m very cautious when it comes to my files — especially my pictures & videos. If I lose those, well, there go my precious memories. But if disaster strikes, I’m covered: I have a Time Machine backup, a 2nd backup to another external hard drive and a 3rd backup to the Cloud. If you read this and say, ‘I need this!’ it’s time to call MACximize.

3. Time for routine maintenance. The New Year makes me take stock of the stuff that’s on my Mac, since a Mac with less clutter is a faster, more efficient, happy Mac. Do I have programs that I no longer use? Are the applications out of date? Is my Malwarebytes current? And so on… When MACximize schedules a visit, we delete the clutter and optimize your hard drive for the fastest possible experience. Our clients say that their Mac lasts 3-6 year on average longer than their friends’ Mac!

If you’d like to start 2020 off with these three Mac New Year’s resolutions completed, give MACximize a call. We will schedule a visit and get the new decade off to a great start.

So call us — 212.330.6789 — and we’ll take care of everything. Your Mac will thank you!

And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

If you know any Mac users who would benefit from the services you’ve grown to love, please have them call us at 212.330.6789. Besides the warm, fuzzy feeling you’ll get, there’s a $100 credit in it for you.

(Here’s the fine print. The $100 will be credited to your next MACximize visit of 2+ hours after your referral has their first visit of 2+ hours. All credits must be used by September 30, 2020.)

The NYC Marathon always reminds me that autumn is the most beautiful time of the year in New York. The trees are a wonderful rainbow of red, yellow, and orange. But now that Apple has released macOS Catalina, the marathon evokes memories of the classic line from the 1976 motion picture ‘Marathon Man’ starring Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane.

IS IT SAFE? — https://youtu.be/mqrpPaNm8yw

Catalina is one of the most important updates that we have ever had. Under the hood, it is more secure, faster and delivers a ton of new features. (For an in-depth review, check out: https://www.imore.com/macos-catalina-review)

I’ve said in my last email that you should wait until trailblazers have checked out this new OS. Well we’ve done that, and Apple has even released 10.15.1, an update to the original release. So I say: IT’S SAFE, BUT…

If you’re wise, and you must be because you’re my client, first give MACximize a call. We will schedule a visit to see if there are any reasons why it is NOT safe to upgrade. You could have old software that won’t work without an update, or cannot be updated. Or your hardware has reached the end of it’s upgradability and may not work after the install. We will ensure that you have a working backup, so if things don’t go so well, no worries!

So call us — 212.330.6789 — and we’ll take care of everything. Sometimes an upgrade can feel like a 26-mile marathon. Our years of experience will make the upgrade feel like a walk in the park. And hey…

It’s better to be safe, than sorry! Your Mac will thank you!

And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

If you know any Mac users who would benefit from the services you’ve grown to love, please have them call us at 212.330.6789. Besides the warm, fuzzy feeling you’ll get, there’s a $100 credit in it for you.

(Here’s the fine print. The $100 will be credited to your next MACximize visit of 2+ hours after your referral has their first visit of 2+ hours. All credits must be used by June 30, 2020.)

I’ve been preaching about the benefits of 1Password & 2FA (2 Factor Authentication). Please call MACximize @ 212.330.6789 if we can assist you in protecting your digital assets. Right-click image below to see this important NYTimes article, “Why You Need a Password Manager. Yes, You.”

It’s the end of July and my summer to-do list was getting a bit dusty, so yesterday I brushed it off and took care of 2 items.

First, my youngest daughter Natalie is off to Syracuse University (Go ‘Cuse! 🍊) next month, so I ordered her one of Apple’s newest 2019 MacBook Pros. It takes a couple weeks for a build-to-order model to arrive — I wanted 16GB of RAM, not the standard 8GB — and I did not want to wait too long to order, because I know I need to transfer all her stuff from her old MacBook Air. I chose this model because it’s nearly as light as the 2019 MacBook Air, but significantly more powerful. And since I hope this laptop will serve her for at least 7 years, I thought the extra power would be a good investment.

Next, it was time for me to get a new iMac. I know you will be shocked to hear my own Mac is 10 years old. But I’m a ‘Mac fixer,’ so I’ve replaced the hard drive and power supply of this 2009 model, and it runs much faster than originally. But it’s finally time… so I bought a really fast 2019 27-inch iMac. I flirted with getting the iMac Pro, but I’m not the target user — I only occasionally do video editing, and the high-end iMac is powerful enough for all the photo editing I do.

I’ll be setting up both these new purchases in the coming weeks, before school starts and everyone is back from summer vacations. It’s still July, so you’ve got time to knock a few items off your to-do list. If you’re in the market for a new Mac purchase, or if it’s been a while since your last check-up, call MACximize, and we’ll help improve and protect all your Apple stuff.

The next big updates come out in the fall with the release of macOS Catalina and iOS 13, so now is a great time to get your current stuff running smoothly and with all the present security updates.

A little MACximize Maintenance could help all that ails your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Your Mac will thank you!

And please don’t keep us a secret — tell your friends! 😀

In April, Apple had their big Showtime event where they not only unveiled Apple News+ and Apple TV+, but more importantly to us, they released software updates for the macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. As always these improvements are for the protection of Apple’s customers. i,e, you!

Keeping your software up to date is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your Apple product’s security.

Call MACximize and we’ll help improve and protect all your Apple stuff. A little MACximize Maintenance could help all that ails your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Your Mac will thank you!