Apple continues to push the frontiers of innovation with a slew of hardware and software releases. This year's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is expected to contribute to shaping the future of media production, digital processing, and home & office productivity. Here's what you need to know about the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2019.

Privacy commitment

In Mr. Cook's keynote speech, he hammered home Apple's commitment to ensuring user privacy. According to him, Apple will be utilizing new privacy tools that will allow users to sign into third-party apps with their AppleID without giving away excessive user information the way conventional sign-in methods do.

iOS 13 launch

Another exciting update is the launch of iOS 13, Apple’s next-generation version of its famed mobile operating system. iOS 13 is projected to be the first iOS version to deploy dark mode, a new and improved sleep mode, app optimizations, Files app improvements, an updated CarPlay interface, a less obtrusive volume HUD, and a new WiFi-less tracking feature that connects using proximity with other devices.

iPadOS

Apple also confirmed that Apple’s tablets won’t be getting the new iOS 13 update. Instead, they’re getting their very own operating system, iPadOS. The first big change over iOS that you’ll notice is the home screen. App icons are more compact, giving you the option to display the Today View next to them. Multitasking is also much easier by enabling you to use split view and pull up and app in a side window. What’s more, iPadOS will come with USB drive and SD card support and a serious performance boost, suggesting that Apple is on its way to replacing bulky laptops.

Mac OS 10.15 launch

The launch of macOS Catalina (the official name for the upcoming macOS 10.15), Mojave's successor, is also one of the major announcements in the conference. The new macOS will be a launching pad for a fully-unified app network, where developers can design a single app that works with either a touch screen or a mouse and trackpad.

Apple will also be launching new Music, Podcasts, and Books apps as part of its continued Marzipan efforts, it’s soon-to-be-launched cross-apps merger. Also, the new MacOS will no longer support 32-bit apps.

New Mac Pro launch

The dramatically retooled flagship desktop computer Mac Pro was also launched whose entry-level model now features an octa-core Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, a Radeon Pro 580X GPU, and a 256GB SSD. Higher-end configurations will feature a Radeon Pro Vega II GPU, Apple Afterburner, up to 1.5TB RAM, and a specialized graphics card which has the processing power for more than 6 billion pixels per second.

More changes will likely be announced throughout the year, so if you’re an avid Apple user, it’s important you stay on top of the latest news and updates. Contact us today if you want to get the latest Apple updates and tips.

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Is your data center sucking you dry like a vampire? Many business owners would like to believe that the server room and data center don’t exist. But whether you acknowledge them or not, they could be eating up your resources every month. Here’s what to do to cut costs. 

Perform an energy audit

There’s a good chance your IT staff has never thought about how much energy your server room and data center are consuming. The first thing to do to rectify the problem is to identify how much power is being used. 

To get you started, here are a few questions to ask: 

• How much of the data center’s power budget goes to support systems?
• How much goes to IT systems?
• How much IT output do you get for every kilowatt/hour of power used by your data center IT systems? 

Answering these questions will help you determine just how efficient, or inefficient, your data center is. 

Decrease IT workload

When you save a single watt of energy at the server level, you save nearly 3 watts in data center costs. 

How do you decrease the IT workload? Virtualization is a common and effective tactic. Instead of wasting money on cooling the servers in your data center, have them hosted by your IT provider and have their technology delivered to you via the internet. This allows you to eliminate some servers from your office and reduce cooling costs. 

For alternate ways to decrease server workload, you can also: 

• Eliminate unused servers
• Consolidate servers
• Purchase more energy-efficient technology 

Mind humidity and temperature levels

Because many non-IT personnel don’t understand the data center, they assume incorrectly that the room must be kept as cold as the North Pole to protect sensitive data. This is not true. 

While excessively high temperatures, humidity, or dry conditions can harm your data, most modern-day data center equipment can withstand a wide range of humidity levels and temperatures. Because of this, you need less cooling and dehumidification. Consult an IT professional for the right temperature. 

You can also cool down your data center with an economizer system. This technology uses cool air from the outside to provide “free” cooling cycles for your data center. 

Want more tips on reducing your overall IT bill? Curious to learn more about virtualization? Call us today to talk to our experts.

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If you want to run your business effectively, you need enough rest. This lets you focus, make better educated business decisions, communicate well with vendors and colleagues, and get things done properly. While your Android tablet is a helpful tool to help you accomplish some work-related tasks, it may also be disrupting your sleep. Make sure this doesn't happen with the following tips.

Don’t use it before bed

It’s been widely recognized that the blue light from screens and mobile devices can disrupt sleep, suppressing your body’s levels of melatonin (the hormone that induces sleep). Because of this and the distractions your tablet brings, it’s best to avoid using it a half hour before bed. However, if this isn’t possible, here are a few tips to prevent your device from causing sleep disruption.

Silence distractions with Google Chrome’s Reader Mode

Reading before bed can be an effective way to induce sleep. However, if you’re using your tablet to browse the Internet, you’re often exposed to ads that are sometimes loud and flashy. Just as you’re nodding off, one of these ads could startle you awake and out of slumber mode. So what can you do?

Google Chrome’s Reader Mode can eliminate unnecessary ads and images, placing an emphasis on the text. To activate Reader Mode, type “chrome://flags” into your navigation bar, scroll down till you find Reader Mode triggering and choose Always from the menu. The next time you launch a page on Chrome, click on the banner that appears at the bottom of the page that reads Make page mobile-friendly. And just like that, your text will be highlighted and ads eliminated.

Prevent disturbances

If you let emails, calls, and text messages wake you up in the middle of the night, then you are obviously not getting enough sleep. Enter the Do Not Disturb setting. This will shut out all of these nightly annoyances so you can unplug from the world and focus on doing something important for yourself — getting a good night’s rest.

To turn on Do Not Disturb, open Settings > Sound and Notification >  Do Not Disturb. From here, you can choose which contacts can get through to you while you’re in dreamland.

Dim your device

While Android tablets don’t have a built-in feature to adjust the amount of blue light emitted, there are apps that can help you easily adjust the filter opacity, making your screen less bright. The free app Dimly is one option you can try.

Monitor your sleeping habits

Do you constantly wake up at night for no reason at all? Are you sleeping better or worse on nights when you consume certain food or alcohol? Or do you sleep better on the days you exercise? If you’re unsure of the answers to these questions, there’s an app that can help you. Using a motion sensor and sound recording, Sleep as Android will monitor your sleeping habits to help you discover which nights you sleep best. Then you can try to recreate those conditions to resolve your sleep issues.

No matter your business, sleep is vital to your success. We hope these five tips will help you get the sound sleep you desire. If you’re curious to learn more about how your Android tablet can improve your life and business, give us a call.

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Finding it hard to find the app you want on your Android device? If so, it’s time to organize your apps into folders. Here’s how.

Creating and naming folders

On most devices, when you install a new app, the icon will be automatically added to your home screen, or to a screen where there is space. While this is useful, it can be a bit of a chore to find a specific app if you have dozens installed on your device.

The easiest solution is to group icons together into a folder. This just takes three steps:

1. Long-press an app you want to move into a folder (i.e., tap the app for a few seconds until you enter edit mode).
2. Drag it over another app you want to group it with, and let go. You should see both of the icons appear inside a box.
3. Tap Enter folder name and type the label for your folder.

If you are going to use different folders, it is a good idea to pick names related to the apps they contain. For example, if you put all of your email apps in one folder, call the folder “Email.” This will make your apps easier to find.

Adding/Removing apps from folders

At the bottom of the box, you’ll see the “Add Apps” option. Press it, then tick the app or apps you want to include in your folder. Once you’ve made your pick, tap Add at the top-right corner of your screen.

You can also add apps to your folder when you’re on your home screen. For every app you want to move, just long-press it, then drag and drop it into the folder of your choice.

Lastly, to remove apps from folders, open the folder where the app is, long-press the app you want to take out, then press the “Remove from home” option.

Moving folders

You can move a folder’s location the same way you do so with an app: Tap and hold on the folder until the screen changes slightly and drag it to where you would like it to be. On newer versions of Android, the apps should all move to make room for the folder.

Deleting folders

Finally, you can delete a folder by either dragging all of the apps out of the folder, or pressing and holding on the folder until the screen changes and dragging it up to Remove. This will remove the folder and all the stored app icons, but it won’t delete the apps.

If you have any questions about using an Android device, contact us today to see how we can help.

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