SFCT.NET - Technology Help and Questions Answered

Different Types of Keyboards Low Vision Keyboards  - Large Print Keys, Black on Yellow Keys,  Illuminated (backlight) Keys Search for Ergonomic Keyboards if you prefer a different arm/hand position Membrane (standard, less than $50) vs Mechanical ($75+) Laser Keyboard - Displays a keyboard on any flat surface Clean your keyboard -  OXO Sweep & Swipe Laptop Cleaner Computer Mouse Ball vs Laser vs. Optical Mouse Trackball Mouse Trackpad Mouse Roller Ball Mouse Roller Ball Mouse Other Ergonomic Mice Get a bigger screen Larger screens are very inexpensive so don't strain, replace your screen or setup a dual screen environment. Expect to pay at least $150. Examples of Computer Monitors Improving Sound Bluetooth speakers Soundbars Wireless speakers via Sonos or BlueSound Prefer privacy? get headphones or earbuds * the newest Apple airpods have a hearing assist function Understanding Connections and the Different USB, Charger Connectors Not sure what you need? Get ...

 Visit the Amazon AI Popup in San Francisco https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/robots-on-market-street-lure-visitors-to-amazon-ai-pop-up-space/ar-AA1p96y0?ocid=BingNewsSerp#image=3 https://aws.amazon.com/startups/lp/aws-gen-ai-loft-san-francisco Watch Drone Light Shows with over 1500 drones on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNcMDoBmhGA When searching be cautious and check the http... website address and look at the article to be sure it's what you want. When going to a website, use the address bar on the top of the window, type in the name with .com, and save the website to your bookmarks for a reference to the trusted site in the future by clicking the star. On Macintosh Photos how can I find duplicates? Open the multicolored flower Click the categories on the left and find Duplicate Click Duplicate to reveal the duplicate photos How can I test my foreign language skills. Use the dictation on Google Translate https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=zh-CN&op=tr...

 Understand & Manage Your Operating System [iOS] 7.18.24 Turn off your phone without using the buttons. 1. go to settings 2. choose General 3. at the bottom of the list is "Shut Down" Take a screenshot without pushing any buttons. - Use Siri 1. Say "Hey Siri..take a screenshot" Customizing the Control Panel 1. go to settings 2. choose Control Panel Tap the green plus to add an option to your Control Panel or the red minus to remove an option Do Not Disturb Pull down the Control Panel Tap the moon to turn off/on do not disturb -More settings for Do Not Disturb can be accessed from Settings Medical ID/Information 1. Open the Health App 2. Tap the circle on the top right 3. Choose Medical ID 4. Fill in any essential information so in case of an emergency anyone can see the information on your iPhone. Check Battery Health 1. Go to Settings 2. Choose Battery 3. Tap Battery Health (above 80% is decent) Battery Settings 1. Go to Settings 2. Choose Battery 3. Turn on/of...

Understand & Manage Your Operating System [Mac] 7.11.24 List of Macintosh Operating Systems and the years they were released. https://setapp.com/how-to/full-list-of-all-macos-versions Look up your computer's specifications which includes the highest OS you can upgrade your computer to, if you can add/upgrade the memory, etc. https://everymac.com/ Where to find your computer's OS version, the model and manufacture year, serial number and more. Click the Apple Menu Choose About This Mac If you have an Macintosh built before 2021 and have a 12 character serial number you can lookup your computer's specifications https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/ Get ready for OS 15 which will have AI integrated into it's system. Check using the links above to see if your computer can handle the upcoming new OS. Is your desktop full of icons? Organize them into Stacks Click the Finder (face on the dock) Click View Choose Use Stacks Your icons will be organized by their type. Cli...

What are bookmarks/favorites? These are websites or pages saved from the internet. Click the Star (CMD/CTRL + D) to save a page as a bookmark/favorite, OR Drag the website name/icon to where you want it, i.e. bookmark bar, desktop, dock/taskbar. How can I remove an application from my Mac? You can open your applications folder and drag the icon to the trash. (Be sure to empty the trash to remove the application) OR... Use a Mac application remover, FreeMacSoft,  https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ . (Be sure to download the correct version that corresponds to your computer OS, Apple Menu->About this Mac) 18 takeaways from WWDC 2024 https://youtu.be/LtIWE4CCX5M Apple AI https://youtu.be/Q_EYoV1kZWk

See how AI can take a video of books and create a printed list as presented at the Google IO Conference. https://www.youtube.com/live/XEzRZ35urlk?si=VMOMYwrIzK9y9ggh&t=605 See how AI will interact with users on the computer as presented at Microsoft's Keynote https://youtu.be/aZbHd4suAnQ?si=p5Y7ZzvWTSXJrfti&t=700 Do you use Google Chrome? See how AI is built into Google Chrome -  https://www.google.com/chrome/ai-innovations/ Try some of Google's AI products https://labs.google/ https://aitestkitchen.withgoogle.com/ (create images, music, video using AI) https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/viola-the-bird/nAEJVwNkp-FnrQ?cp&hl=en  (play the cello) https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/say-what-you-see/jwG3m7wQShZngw?cp&hl=en (say what you see) Create and connect with a virtual avatar (computer) https://replika.com/ Have HBO? Watch Lisa Ling of CNN's story about AI and relationships. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyeoZVSIGg0

Say what you want to happen via Siri. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/how-to-use-siri-mchlb66b4ad6/mac Dictation on a Macintosh Computer Where ever you can type you can also dictate by clicking the Edit menu and choose Start Dictation Dictation on an iOS device Where ever you can type tap the microphone on the keyboard to say what you want to be typed Stay tuned June 10th to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference for announcements for how Apple will be integrating AI into their devices and software.

Google’s AI gemini.google.com Microsoft’s AI openai.com Video AI https://www.synthesia.io/ Search Using Interactive AI Microsoft Bing’s CoPilot (also integrated with Windows on the taskbar) Visit www.bing.com , Type in your search, Once the results appear click CoPilot to see your search results typed out via AI

All About Emails pt 1 Free Email - gmail.com, hotmail/outlook/live.com, yahoo.com, aol.com ISP (Internet Service Provider) Email - pacbell/sbcglobal/att.net comcast.net(xfinity), sonic.net Paid Email - Earthlink, custom domain Getting alot of junk/SPAM mail? Get a new email address gmail.com or outlook.com with a better SPAM/Junk mail filter. Block an email? You can block an email or domain but the marketer will change the address. DO NOT OPEN UNWANTED EMAILS - Avoid Preview Windows, delete the email by swiping or right click (control click) and delete Unsubscribe - works if the company is legitimate. If not it is an indicator that you read your emails and you will be sent more. Get a 2nd email address to separate the junk and solicitations from friends and family junk@yahoo.com and family@gmail.com On a computer setup 2 bookmarks/favorites for each email. On a mobile device put the main email on the default email app and then download the app for the secondary email. Sign up for a ne...

  Using the Internet and the WWW Effectively (iOS) Using Safari the Default iOS web browser If you are using Safari on the computer use Safari on your iOS device to sync your bookmarks, settings, passwords and more. Access Macintosh Passwords Tap Settings Scroll to Passwords Use your Biometric Login (face or finger print) or type in the unlock code for your device You passwords will be revealed What is Detect Compromised Passwords? Apple helps detect passwords you’ve used repeatedly or that it has found on the dark web or is publicly available. If the password is for your email account of a financial institution, change it. Otherwise there might be too many to change and not necessary to bother so you can turn off Detect Compromised Passwords. In the Passwords section Tap Security Recommendations Tap the on/off button to turn off Detect Compromised Passwords Note that a list will still show but you won’t be prompted Edit Saved Passwords in Apple Password Manager Tap the password to...

  Using the Internet and the WWW Effectively (Mac) Understanding how to use Safari the default Mac Web Browser If you use the Macintosh Web Browser you’d want to use Safari and the Apple password keeper. Access the Apple password Keeper by going to: The Apple Menu Choose System Preferences/Settings Look for Passwords Login with your computer’s password Using Apple’s Password Keeper A list of already saved passwords will appear. Click the i with a circle to reveal the website, user name and password. Once you open the login you can also Edit or Delete the entry. Click the + on the top right to create/save a new website login and password. Save daily or weekly accessed websites as a Favorite Favorites appear when you first open a Safari window, unless you set a custom homepage. -or- You can see your Favorites on the favorites bar. Click the View menu Choose Show Favorites Bar The bar appears towards the top of the window under the address bar Customize the Favorites bar by addi...