Year: 2018

How to: Use your fingerprint to unlock your Mac

CompuScoop Staff April 17, 2018 3

We computer users are always concerned about our privacy. Especially when it comes to our laptops. Sure, you can password protect it, but that can only goes so far.

Newer Mac laptops have the ability to use your fingerprint to unlock it, use Apple Pay, and more. When a user first turns on their Mac and goes to the login screen, the device will ask for the user's fingerprint. If the computer has multiple users on it, the computer will then take the user (based on their fingerprint) to the correct user area.

Here's how to set it up:

1. Select  > System Preferences.

2. Select the "Touch ID" icon (see included screen shot).

3. Select "Add a Fingerprint"

4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

5. When it's done, it'll verify that you're fingerprint can now be used to login, Apple Pay, etc.

6. Click OK. It will go back to the screen in #3.

Now reboot the machine and try it out!

Apple considering Watch upgrades to help make the device more useful

Dan Uff April 17, 2018 1

“Apple is still considering ways to make the Apple Watch more useful, with one idea consisting of adding extra sensors, batteries, and other components to the wearable device, using exchangeable backplates that clip to the back using the same slots at the top and bottom used to connect the Watch Band,” Malcolm Owen reports for AppleInsider.

“Granted today, Apple’s patent for an ‘Auxiliary electronic device attachable to a wearable electronic device’ shows how an add-on plate could be placed on the Apple Watch rear, while two sections on either end extend to fit into the band slots,” Owen reports. “In order to keep the Apple Watch wearable, the extended sections include their own slots for the band to fit inside. ”

Owen reports, “This arrangement gives the effect of minimal changes to the appearance of the Apple Watch when viewed from the front, but while it will make the entire assembly thicker, the extra plate section will be partially hidden from view due to being placed between the Apple Watch and the user’s wrist.”

Read more here.

The day an Apple Watch solved a murder

Dan Uff April 16, 2018 0

“Like so many aspects of life today, Apple seems to come up over and over again in stories about law enforcement and crime,” Stephen Silver writes for AppleInsider. “Products like iPhone and iPads are frequently stolen and used in the commission of crimes, while the company itself continually comes up in debates about privacy and the conduct of government and law enforcement agencies.”

“So, AppleInsider presents a new occasional feature,” Silver writes, “a roundup of recent crime-related stories involving Apple products.”

“Data from an Apple Watch may have helped investigators in Australia solve a murder from 2016. According to Australia’s ABC News, investigators collected data from the Apple Watch belonging to the victim, 57-year-old Myrna Nilsson, and the data showed that Nilsson’s niece, Caroline Nilsson, had in fact staged a home invasion, and committed the murder herself,” Silver writes. “The Apple Watch’s activity and heart rate measurements helped ascertain the timing of the murder. leading to the younger Nilsson’s arrest.”

Seven more true crime stories involving Apple products in the full article here.

How to see which Mac Apps are 32-bit and which are 64-bit

CompuScoop Staff April 14, 2018 0

(AppleScoop.com): Apple has confirmed that it'll no longer be supporting 32-bit apps after High Sierra.

Because of this, some users may be out of luck when it comes to some Mac apps.

But you don't have to wait and see if that favorite app won't work when the next MacOS version comes out, there's a way to find out if you'll be upgrading that app in the future. Here's how:rol

1. Go to  > About This Mac.

2. Click on the SYSTEM REPORT button.

3. On the left, scroll down to "Applications".

4. At the top of the window, scroll it all the way to the RIGHT

5. Scroll until you see the "64-Bit (Intel)" column.

6. Scroll down. If the app has YES, then it's 64 bit. If NO, then it is 32 bit.

That's it.