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Thinking of switching to Lion? We’re both running the new system now on our laptops, and it seems fine. There are a few odds and ends that aren’t perfect yet, but it’s been OK for us.

That said, there are some programs that you may be running that just aren’t compatible with Lion (like Quicken, for example). There’s a list of compatibility here that you can browse to see if anything you need is on it. Also, you can do this to see what you’ll lose for sure:

1. Go to your Applications folder > Utilities folder > System Profiler, and double-click to open.
2. Look on the list on the left and scroll down until you see “Applications.” Click on that.
3. Wait a few seconds for it to load.
4. Click on the column labeled “Kind” to sort by that. It’ll turn blue to show you that it’s the column being sorted.
5. Scroll down through the list and note all of the applications you have that are listed as “Power PC.” None of those will work—zip, zilch, nada. So unless the company in question has an updated version, you can’t run that program.

If there’s an app that you rely on that won’t work, you’ll have to either wait for the developer to update it, or switch to an alternative. And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us!

Apple held the keynote at their Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday and gave us all a taste of three new things that are coming our way: the new operating system, 10.7 Lion; iOS5 for iPhones and iPads; and iCloud, which replaces MobileMe.

I know it seems like every time you close your wallet Apple unveils some new thing for you to spend money on, but these are actually very big and important changes in the world of Apple. Plenty of other sites are covering these products in great detail, but I’m going to briefly hit on why I think this will matter to you, our loyal customers.

10.7 Lion

What it is: A new operating system for your Mac.

Why you might want it: Wireless iTunes syncing to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch (finally!). The rewritten Mail app is much nicer to work with and more like Mail on the iPad. The new Mac App store will make getting new and updated software on your Mac easier than ever. Auto-Saving, Versioning, and Resuming means you can quit apps or reboot your Mac and come back exactly where you left off (even down to selected text in a document!). AirDrop will make exchanging files between users on a network easier than ever. There are actually over 250 features, but these are the ones I think you’ll really care about.

Who can use it: Anyone using an Intel Mac running Snow Leopard (it won’t be available for purchase in the Apple Store; you can only get it by downloading it through the App Store on your Mac).

How much it will cost you: $30. If you want to upgrade it to Server, it’ll cost $40 more (versus the $500 that server currently costs).

When you can get it in your hot little hands: July

iOS 5

What it is: A new operating system for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Why you might want it: Completely revamped notifications means you aren’t interrupted anymore. Newsstand is to magazines and newspapers what iBooks is for books. Reminders, including location-based reminders (for example, “pick up WD-40 next time you’re at McGuckin Hardware”). Wireless syncing. A new messaging system.

Who can use it: Anyone with an iPhone 3GS or newer, an iPad, or an iPod Touch 3 or newer.

How much it will cost you: Free!

When you can get it in your hot little hands: September. We’re also expecting new iPhones in September, so even though the software is free, it may end up costing you money anyway.

iCloud

What it is: The replacement for MobileMe, and a whole lot more.

Why you might want it: MobileMe was notoriously flaky. iCloud has been rewritten from the ground up to make syncing work the way it should. They’ve also added automatic document and photo syncing—work on a Pages document on your iPad, and it instantly syncs to your Mac and iPhone, and the same goes for photos. They’ve also added a way to easily get music between your devices without having to connect them to iTunes.

Who can use it: Anyone using iOS5 and/or Lion.

How much it will cost you: Free for 5GB of storage. For an additional $25 a year, Apple will grant you an iTunes license for all of the music you have that you didn’t purchase through iTunes, including stuff your kids might have illegally downloaded (ahem).

When you can get it in your hot little hands: September. Some of the functionality will be rolling out before then, but most of it requires iOS5 and Lion.

We’ve only covered some of the things we think the majority of our clients will care about, but chances are there’s more in there to get you excited. For more details, head over to Apple.com. And if you have any questions, feel free to shoot us an e-mail.

I recently gave a presentation at Boulder Digital Arts about security on the Mac. It’s true that I did this in the hopes of drumming up some new business, but the topic itself was chosen because:

A) So many clients ask us about it, and

B) They are often very misinformed about what the real threats are.

The latest thing that has everyone’s “I’m A Mac” shirt in a knot is the news that the iPhone is tracking all of your movements and that this information poses some major risks to your personal privacy. But just how much of a threat is it really? The issue, as usual, is about as cut and dried as a puddle of oobleck. To keep it simple, let’s tackle this in a virtual question and answer format.

Is my iPhone tracking all of my movements? Yes, but only down to the latitude and longitude of the cell phone towers and WiFi hotspots that your phone connects to. It doesn’t track you down to an individual address level, and in many cases the information is totally wrong (a look at my own logs from our wedding trip to Maui in November showed that I had actually connected to towers on two other islands that I never visited). If you really want to see how accurate the data is (or isn’t), Pete Warden has created a free utility that will open the file from your computer and display it over a map.

Is this information being sent to Apple? Most news sites say no, I say maybe. An observant Mac user noticed last year that his phone was sending large quantities of data (tens of megabytes) to Apple around 1 to 2 a.m. every night. The most likely candidates for this much information are these data logs. [Edit: Apple has since acknowledged that this data is sent to them in an anonymous and encrypted format.]

What’s being done with the information? I believe that the information is being used by Apple to help evaluate how well the iPhone performs in various network situations in an effort to improve phone performance and to build a database of wireless network router locations so they can pinpoint your location even if a cell tower signal isn’t available. Apple hasn’t said anything, which is completely in character for them, but I suspect they’ll issue a public statement within the next week or so and will likely do something to assuage people’s fears shortly thereafter. Either way, there is no reason to believe this information is being used by anyone but Apple. [Edit: Apple has since confirmed that this is what the data is being used for.]

Why are people so upset? Because Apple is storing the data on your phone and computer in a completely unencrypted format that anyone can access. If you don’t like the idea of someone knowing what neighborhoods you visit, this could be a problem. Apple should definitely know better than to handle someone’s personal information in such a laissez-faire manner.

Should I be upset? Yes, but not because of this. The fact of the matter is that if you’re using a cell phone, you’re constantly being tracked anyway, by whoever your cell phone provider is. The FCC requires cell phone companies to be able to pinpoint your position at any moment to within 100 meters, purportedly for use by 911 in case of an emergency. I say “purportedly” because it turns out they appear to be storing the data far longer than they need to and will hand it to the Feds for as little as a smile and a bat of the eyelashes. Adding insult to injury, word came out in 2006 that AT&T has been handing over a copy of every phone call, e-mail, and webpage you visit to the NSA any time you use your phone. It’s likely that other cell phone companies are doing the same; AT&T was just foolish enough to own up to it.

What can I do to protect myself? If you don’t want to be tracked, don’t own a cell phone. Turning it off isn’t enough (the government has the ability to actually turn the microphone on with any cell phone and monitor what’s going on around you, even if the phone is off). If your phone has a removable battery, that’s the only choice for complete privacy. Contrary to some reports, turning Location Services off on your phone does not prevent this data from being collected. [Edit: Apple has since released an update for the iPhone (iOS 4.3.3) which encrypts the cache, reduces the amount of data stored, and now properly deletes it if Location Services is turned off.]

If you’re concerned about just how much privacy you might be giving up as you use your machine (and there’s a lot of it), drop us a line and we’ll set you straight. Just be sure you have a stiff drink handy—and close the blinds while you’re at it.

We get asked all of the time about what our favorite third-party software is. When we’re within 500 feet of an Apple Store, we swear we don’t use any non-Apple software, ever. They listen, you know.

Truth be told, we probably use less than other folks, anyway; our policy is that we use Apple’s solutions if at all possible so that we get the trials and tribulations of iPhoto, for example, firsthand. It’s not always a pleasant policy.

In any case, below are a few gems that we can’t live without. Every one of them is either free or offers a trial download so you can test it out before you buy it. And remember that if you have any questions about how these programs work or about how you can integrate them into your life, drop us a line.

1. Dropbox. I use this every single day. When you install the program and sign up for an account, Dropbox puts a folder on your computer (Mac, PC, Linux—it doesn’t matter) that syncs to all other devices you install it on. So you can create a word processing file, drop it into that special folder on your Mac, and find it waiting for you on your work PC when you arrive (or you can view it on your iPhone!). It’s fast, it’s simple, and it’s free for up to 2GB of storage. I hope these folks are making millions; they deserve it. If they aren’t, I should send them a care package of cookies or something.

2. 1Password. I know, I know, we tech types are always going on about how you should pick strong passwords, avoid using the same one for all your sites, and so on. No one ever listens to us. But Agile Web Solutions’ 1Password makes it easy to avoid annoying your techie pals. It will generate passwords for you and store them securely, and you can even use it from within your browser to autofill all sorts of information in a safe way. Here’s a short video on how it works, but trust me, you can’t believe its wonderfulness until you start using it.

3. CloudApp. This is one of the easiest ways to share files that I’ve found. With CloudApp installed, all you have to do to share a file is click on it (in Finder, for example, or you can also use it in iPhoto, Photoshop, and iTunes). Once it’s highlighted, you simply hit a keyboard shortcut, and the program automagically uploads your file and copies the link to it to your clipboard. So sharing files with anyone takes just seconds.

4. TextExpander. It sounds so weird: I type shortcuts so that my computer will type longer things for me. But this program saves me more time than any other. What TextExpander does is that it allows you to create text shortcuts—called “snippets”—that you type to have the program fill in the longer string of text for you. For example, one of my snippets is “hhome,” which I type in as a shortcut for my address. You can also have TextExpander fix your most common typos for you. It really is an extremely useful program, especially if you are a poor typist like me.

5. BackJack. I’ve tried quite a few of the online backup services, and BackJack’s the one I like the best. It has a simple interface with easy ways to exclude files or add them, and to top it off, their customer service is one of the best I’ve seen . . . ever. They’re incredibly responsive and helpful, which is always a plus if you’re trusting your data to someone. Plus, you know you should be backing up your critical files offsite, right? Because if your house burned down, you’d lose everything? Right? Is this thing on?

So that’s it. The cream of our crop. The top of our list. The knees of our bees. The . . . sugar of . . . our non-dairy creamer.

That must’ve been a hint from the universe that I shouldn’t write blog posts when I’ve had so much coffee that my eyelids are trembling. Oh, well, more advice from the universe to ignore!

Don’t waste your money on support you may not need.

This tip isn’t intended to keep you from calling us. Heavens, no. We like hearing from you all, even if what you want to discuss is your cousin’s recipe for jambalaya or that awesome pecan log you just bought down at the Stuckey’s. But sometimes those phone calls can turn into visits out to your house, and that costs you money, so it just makes good sense for you to try some simple fixes before you call us or anyone else. Your time is money, right? More specifically, our time is your money. Here’s how to use less of it.

1. Don’t Ignore My Pleas for You to Back Up. Disasters are bad; disasters on machines that don’t have backups are nuclear winter bad. M. Night Shyamalan after The Sixth Sense bad. Ipecac syrup given to your dog bad. You get the point.

2. Try Restarting the Persnickety Thing. I can’t tell you how often we get called out to someone’s house for a computer that won’t [insert action here], only to have a reboot fix the problem. It’s humbling to have to pay someone to press a button, and I don’t want to see you like that. This rule also goes for the iPhone, the iPad, and any third-party devices you have, such as printers or routers.

3. Check Apple’s Website for Help. For example, here is their troubleshooting guide for the iPhone, which walks you through all of the steps we’d try first on a device that’s gone belly-up.

4. Don’t Hide the Truth. We’re all doofuses. I drop my iPhone at least once a week. But if you call us (or, especially, if you go to the Genius Bar) and try to disguise a huge dent in your laptop or the fact that you dropped your iPad into a swimming pool filled with cherry Jell-O, you’re only going to hold up the process. I’ve heard of Geniuses replacing dropped or water-damaged devices if the owner was nice and completely honest, but the moment you start blaming ambient humidity for your dead phone, you’re dead in the water.

So there you have a few simple things you can do to save yourself some time and a lot of headache with tech support costs. But if you’re having an issue, don’t be afraid to call us. Just be sure to have enough pecan logs to share if you’re gonna start bragging.