Month: March 2021

How to make your Mac automatically turn on and off

Dan Uff March 2, 2021 0

If you're like me, that is pennywise and don't really want your Mac on all the time, but yet you want it ready when you get up in the morning, Apple has a less known way to do it. Its an energy-saving feature that's been available for years and its in the System Preferences section.

Here's how to enable / disable the feature:

Go to  > System Preferences.
Click on the light bulb icon.
Click the Schedule button (lower-right side).
Here's where you set when the Mac to automatically go ON and OFF.
Click [OK] when finished and to enable this feature.
That's it.

Cord Cutters: Get an easier way to get your local channels – No antenna required!

Dan Uff March 2, 2021 0

If you're one of the million Americans that are cutting the cord and going to streaming services such as YouTube TV and others, you probably know sometimes they don't offer all of your local channels, such as MeTV, CourtTV, and others.

Now there is a service called Locast.org that does just that. Based on your location, they find and display whatever is available in your local area. Even though it is free, they do ask for a monthly or yearly donation to help keep expanding the service into other areas of the United States.

Just download the app onto your device (or watch from your web browser by going to http://www.locast.org). Signup is easy and you'll be streaming your local channels in no time.

Pros:

Lots of content (based on your area).
Clear picture and sound.
Easy to sign-up.

Cons:

Service reminds you to give a donation every 5 minutes interrupting the programming (goes away when you do donate).
TV guide always starts at beginning. Having to always scroll to your favorite channel(s).
Two step process from TV guide to actually watching your show.

Bottom Line:

A very good alternative to purchasing an external digital antenna.

Apple reopens all 270 United States Retail Stores

Dan Uff March 1, 2021 0

Apple has announced that the company opened all 270 of its retail stores across the United States. The company temporarily shut down those stores in March, 2020 after the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.

Readers may want to call their local Apple Store to ensure that they are opened and ready for customers.

Apple Pay and digital wallets eclipse cash globally at point of sale for first time

CompuScoop Staff March 1, 2021 0

In 2020, eCommerce spending grew at the fastest rate in five years, while usage of cash for in-store payments fell sharply, as global consumers made increasing use of mobile wallets like Apple Wallet:, Apple Pay, and other alternative payment methods in 2020 during the pandemic, according to new report released today from financial technology leader FIS.

According to Juniper Research, Apple Pay is well ahead of Google Pay and Samsung Pay, and is likely to stay ahead. The report estimated that in 2020, Apple Pay had nearly 227 million users — up from 140 million users in 2018. In comparison, Google Pay’s users had 100 million in 2020 from 39 million users in 2018. Samsung, which had 51 million users in 2018, had 100 million in 2020.

The annual Global Payments Report by Worldpay from FIS examines current and future payment trends across 41 countries. Findings from the 2021 report show that lockdowns, shelter-in-place orders and personal safety measures during the global health crisis accelerated the shift toward digital payment methods in every area of consumer spending.

To download the complete copy of the report, including the methodology, please visit https://worldpay.globalpaymentsreport.com/.