Is Your Laptop Ready for the New Year?

First of all, I hope everyone has had a smooth beginning to the school year. There will always be issues with technologies as we get up and running, but it seemed like problems were minimal and solved quickly in most cases. Thank you for your patience as we worked to get you all up and running into a great start for the school year.

UPDATING

To ensure a continued great start, you need to be sure your laptop is ready for the new year. This includes having the operating system (OS) and other apps updated to the most recent version. It is your responsibility to ensure your laptop is up-to-date.

Your operating system should be updated to OS Sierra version 10.12.6. To check which OS version you have, click the  icon at the top left of your screen, and then click “About this Mac.” The window that pops up will tell you which OS version you have.

To update to this most recent version go the App Store (0n your Dock), and then click the “Updates” button at the top of the App Store window. If you need any updates, they will be listed, and an “Update” button will appear on the right. Do ALL of the needed updates you see there. You will need to sign in with your Apple ID to complete the update process. If you do not have an Apple ID, you will need to go to the main ICT office in the Middle School building where they can help you.

You also want to be sure your browser (Chrome is HIGHLY recommended) is up-to-date, also. To check if you need to update Chrome, click “Chrome” at the top left when using Chrome, and then click “About Chrome.” If you don’t have automatic updates on, it will tell you to update Chrome. Do the update process. It’s recommended to turn on automatic updates here so that you don’t have to worry about it.

Whenever you get any update notification throughout the year, please be sure to complete the update as soon as possible. You can get the update(s) started in the evening after you finish any work on your laptop so that your workflow is not impacted. Be sure your laptop is plugged in during the update process, especially when updating the OS

BACKING UP

Be sure you are backing up all non-Google App files you are not storing in your Google Drive. You can back them up in Google Drive or use a service like Dropbox. Using a USB thumb drive or external hard drive is fine, also. You might want to do a combination of two things!

Your Macbook has a built-in app called Time Machine that will back up your entire laptop (software, OS, all data, settings, etc.). Doing and having a frequent Time Machine back up can be a real life saver if your computer crashes or something happens that makes your laptop inoperable! It’s the only way to get everything back on your (new) laptop should a catastrophe occur. I will be creating a video tutorial about this soon..

Lastly, be sure to restart your laptop at least once a week.

If you have any questions about any element above, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Please encourage students to get their laptops up-to-par, also.