Wednesday, January 3, 2018

5 Ways to Handle Spam Text Messages

Spam

When you hear the notification that you have received a text message, you probably want to see who it is from right away. It could be a loved one saying hello or a coworker relaying important information about work. You likely aren’t expecting a spam message congratulating you on winning a prize or soliciting you to confirm financial information. These messages aren’t just annoying—they can be dangerous, too. You are savvy enough not to fall for these pranks, but you might not know what to do in order to get the messages to stop.

There are a few different ways to handle these messages and prevent these messages from becoming a consistent invasion. Consider the following five ways you can deal with spam text messages and reclaim your phone from predatory scammers. You should not have to deal with unwanted texts, and with these tips, you will not have to.

Register on the Do Not Call List

One of the first things you should do to ensure that you minimize unwanted texts and calls is register your number on the National Do Not Call Registry. This list is managed by the Federal Communications Commission and functions to alert solicitors that you should not be contacted. By law, cold callers must reference the list to ensure that they are not contacting anybody who appears on it. In recent years, the FCC expanded the function of the DNC list to include an opt-out option for text messages, too. You can register your number to prevent unwanted texts and calls.

Install a Filter App

Unfortunately, many spam calls and messages do not abide by the laws requiring that numbers on the DNC list not be contacted. You might find, in fact, that there is very little difference before and after you register on the DNC list. Some cell phone users have found that an SMS spam blocker is a more effective solution to the problem. There are a number of different apps you can install that fulfill this purpose. SpamHound, for example, works to filter unwanted texts and allows users to specify specific phrases to be omitted from one’s inbox.

Report Spam to Your Carrier

In addition to installing an SMS spam blocker on your phone, you can report the spam directly to your carrier. Cell service providers such as Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T will all typically accept your complaint and make note of the spam. This is useful, too, given the fact that you are likely being charged for every unwanted text message you receive. You should not be financially liable for these unwanted communications, so notifying your carrier of the issue may help you get the charge removed from your bill. You can also request that your carrier block the number.

Block Offending Numbers

Blocking a number is, in fact, often the most effective way of dealing with spam messages. You can contact your carrier to request this, or you can often log online and complete the task yourself. Most carriers allow you to create an account and control who can communicate with you. On some phones, you can even complete a block directly on the interface. If you consistently receive spam messages from several numbers, it is best to prohibit them from contacting you. This also ensures that you will not be charged for any attempts at calling or texting from the number.

Consider the Message Carefully

Most internet-literate people can tell when a message is spam. Any unexpected prizes or strange financial emergencies are typically a ploy to gain personal information that can then be sold or used against you. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the goal is often identity theft. To this end, many of these messages are often disguised as notifications from your bank asking you to enter confidential information. Because of this, you should always carefully read messages that claim to be from a financial institution. Of course, some of these will be legitimate, but you should err on the cautious side.
Spam texts are not just a nuisance. They are often a risk, too, and it is imperative that you take care of them rather than simply ignoring them. Luckily, there are many ways to do this, but you should always be careful when you receive a message from a number you do not recognize.

Purpose and Advantages of a Docking Station

Docking
Docking stations are a fundamental component of the modern computing world. The versatility that we all enjoy from a multiplicity of computers, phones, and peripherals would be lost if there were no way for these devices to talk with each other. It is essential to provide components that permit convenient interface between differing devices, especially when recharging batteries or downloading important data. A well maintained docking station provides everything the end user will need to keep their devices functioning smoothly and in harmony with each other.

What To Look For in a Docking Station

Mechanical efficiency and resiliency are among the most important issues faced by a docking station, especially when they will be dedicated to devices that are in constant daily use. The peripheral should mate securely with the station and release smoothly. It should be so clear and intuitive in its operation so as to be practically impossible to misuse. The electrical connection should be grounded to prevent shorts and other electrical faults. The entire package should be as well designed and engineered as possible so as to last for tens of thousands of plug ins and unpluggings. USB-C connections are standard for the electronics industry, so the docking station should support them. No matter what specific form the docking peripheral on the station may have, it should output to USB-C. Both power and data should be transferred by the docking station.

Purchasing Docking Stations

Fully completed docking stations are available online. They can be procured from the manufacturers or from third parties. They can be found in factory built, refurbished, and scratch-built configurations. Although the end user will know their particular needs and desires best, they may find that refurbished docking stations are sufficient for most personal purposes. Business customers or those who are stocking an entire organization may choose to go with the versions marketed by the manufacturer. Hobbyists, inventors and IT professionals may choose to go it alone and build their own docking station from scratch.

Making Docking Stations

The most important issues with building docking stations all revolve around the quality of the components and the accuracy of the installation. Sensitive electronics components should be purchased from reliable manufacturers and either personally tested or researched thoroughly. Docking connectors should be mechanically perfect and electronically reliable, such as those marketed by the IPEX corporation. They can be assembled and completed with a reasonable degree of electrical skill and study. Fortunately, there are any number of valuable videos and web pages that can impart specific information for electronics tasks such as these. Always remember to clear the work area and perform a clean installation to avoid problems in the future.

Repairing Docking Stations

As a docking station will typically see more misuse and rough use than either of the devices it joins, it is not uncommon to perform minor or major repairs on them. Simply identify the damaged component and procure a replacement part from a reliable manufacturer. The open architecture of most docking station systems make replacement and maintenance a snap. Do not forget that lint, dust, and other debris in the docking area can lead to problems in both the short and long term. Always clean the area and be certain to securely assemble the housing so as to prevent internal dust build up.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Everything exciting about the launch of the iMac Pro

 iMac Pro
Does iMac Pro died just like the disappearance of the iPods? iMac in its true form was last seen in the 2013 but since then Apple has brought any new iteration of the device which eventually led to the rumors surrounding its demise.

Apple Pro series brings the best of design with impeccable hardware into the play for those who love to things more aggressively and demanding on their computing devices. Apple has showcased the new iMac Pro which is expected to the take the consumer electronics with a storm. This device made its appearance was back in June 2017 during the Worldwide Developers Conference but simply didn’t launch in 2017 which left a number of trade pundits surprised.

The best desktop you can ask for

Laptops are seen as beast while desktops are simply seen old class heroes with relation to the modern design and aesthetics. Apple has already changed this attitude with the launch of iMac series and iMac Pro is the next stop towards bringing most powerful all in one desktop PC to everyone.

Finally it launched on 14th December 2017 for a commanding price of just AED 19,999. Apple has never revealed when these new computers will be launching in 2017 and it has put forward a complete plan for the new iMac family. The new line of the iMac devices comes loaded with Kaby Lake processors which offer incredible performance ever on any given desktop personal computer.

Given its robust hardware and specification entry level iMac Pro has price tag of AED 19,999. You can get the best device in this category boasting of a 27 inch Retina 5K display along with an 8 core Intel Xeon processor, 32 GB ECC memory, 1TB SSD and an AMD Radeon Vega graphics card.

This device comes with four Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type C) ports along with a 10 GB Ethernet port for connectivity purposes. There are also two pairs of USB 3.0 Type A ports.

It’s the design which is the talking point


When it comes to design Apple hasn’t made a major shift in the design language from the earlier iMac lineup. There is one major exception which is quite evident for everyone as Apple has used a Space Gray coat for a more subtle look. It has the similar all aluminum design with curved shell and Apple has made certain enhancement in the overall design to make the internal cooling system more than 80% efficient than before. There is also a rumor that Apple will be making a giant design change for the iMac line next year where it will have a black finish along with the glass and the ageless Apple Logo will make its comeback with the a micro LED panel. Apple will also be bringing a dynamic audio technology on the iMac Pro speakers which will be able to make shift in the volume depending upon the distance between the user and the device.

Monday, January 1, 2018

iMac Pro: Taking Power to a Whole New Level

iMac Pro
Apple first hit the market with its Macintosh in the year 1984. It then brought out many products since then that we have grown to love and admire, whether we are able to afford it or not. IPhones, Apple watches, Apple TVs , ITunes, Apple Pay are some of the stuff that Apple has brought out to us combining great quality with an even greater price tag. Now Apple brings to you the iMac Pro, “The most powerful iMac ever”

Adding to the power of the iMac Pro is its cost. The cheapest model out there costs about 5599 euros. With that money you get a 27 inch retina display, 32 GB RAM, 8 core processor and 1 TB of storage. Announced in June, Apple has begun rolling out the iMac Pros to its customers.

Getting down to the Design of the iMac Pro:


With all that power comes a lot of responsibility. The iMac Pro also has a lot to do when it comes to cooling down. With all the power that it is supposed to handle, getting the system to cool down was on the priority. The iMac Pro comes with an all new thermal system, which delivers 80% more cool down than previous models with the same quietness as earlier models.

The iMac Pro also features 10 Gb Ethernet which gives you 10 times the networking speed.

The iMac Pro is 5mm at edge with a new space grey color. The iMac Pro is also accompanied with the usual magic mouse, magic keyboard and depending on the model you opt for a magic trackpad. The unit also comes with 4 microphones, a 1080 FaceTime HD camera and great speakers that are a lot louder than its predecessor.

 

IMac Pro’s great performance:


The iMac Pros are available with different processors starting from 8 core Intel xenon processors all the way up to an 18 core processor. Apple also did not take graphics lightly with the iMac Pro coming with up to 22 teraflops of performance. This is all packed behind a 5K 27 inch retina display.
With the iMac Pro you get immersive VR, great photography tech, 3D rendering, intensive developer workflows and massive audio projects. They were really not kidding around with this machine.

The iMac Pro was made to handle the most intense of work keeping in mind all professions.

Security with the iMac Pro:


The iMac Pro also contains the T2 chip. This chip combines system management controller, audio controller, image signal processor and SSD controller. The T2 also has a secure enclave processor that provides the basis for encrypted storage and secure booting capabilities.

AES hardware ensures that data is encrypted without affecting performance in anyway and the secure boot ensures that only trusted software is allowed to boot.

Apple is also planning to release an all new Mac Pro with a whole new level of redesigning involved. We can’t wait to see what the new Mac Pro is all about.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Apple’s Confession: Apple Degrades Your old iPhone’s Performance

iPhone
Apple has recently said that their software could be affecting the old iPhone’s performance. In a bid to offer their customers the best experience form using their products, Apple has recently released a statement saying that they have put a fail safe that actually, as a side effect reduces performance of customer’s old iPhones.

Third party engineers also took to examining the whole affair and came to the same conclusion that something was pulling back the performance of old iPhones. They have reportedly reached a conclusion where they believe that the battery and a certain patched code in the software of old iPhones seems to be causing degradation in old iPhones.
 

What exactly is causing slow performance in older iPhones?

 
The IOS coding in old iPhones seems to have a certain coding called “powered”. The so called powered is there so that it can control power usage and CPU/GPU speeds depending on how the battery is performing. Basically powered is a failsafe there in order to ensure the phones don’t catch fire when battery performance is lagging. In other words powered ensures that the performance of old iPhones does not get ahead of the batteries in the phones.

It is no surprise that any smart phones battery deteriorates over time and usage. Powered comes in addition to the normal power saving mode found in all phones. Powered works even when the power saving mode in old iPhones is put off.

Powered places a check on the peak performances of the CPU and GPU in old iPhones. Apple has said that its goal was to offer the best experience to their customers, which includes not letting the devices switch off to protect the hardware of the phone. For that Apple has built in powered.
 

What’s the problem with performance degradation in old iPhones?

 
It is no surprising fact that lithium ion batteries performance degrades over time. The amount of juice stored up in the batteries as well as the peak of the batteries drops as time passes. This not an unknown problem when it comes to manufacturers and dealing with the performance of smartphones.
Apple iPhone users can also replace their old iPhone’s batteries with new ones at a cost of $79 rather than bringing in a new iPhone altogether but sometimes we all want to look at some excuse or the other to get our hands on a new iPhone.

Why make a big issue of the degradation in old iPhone’s performance then?


It is not the powered failsafe or the fact that batteries in old iPhones has been degrading performance over time. Apple has taken all these steps in order to protect their customers and there is nothing wrong with that.
The problem begins when the issue was concealed from customers and others alike. As a company who has reportedly their customers best intentions at heart, they have deliberately kept their customers in the dark when it comes to the performance issues in these old iPhones till now.