I was recently given an older MacBook. It’s a 2010 dual-core model. While it was running OSX 10.12, it was upgradable to 10.13, which I did. That version of OSX is officially the highest one that would go on it. Then I read an article about how to upgrade older Macs to the current Catalina, which is 10.15.

I’ve done something like that before with an older Mac. It was a complicated process, with lots of steps, and several opportunities for failure. That was several years ago, for a different set of OSXs. This time though, the process was really pretty easy. I downloaded the patch program. I downloaded Catalina. I ran the patch, which changes the Catalina download. Then I ran the Catalina install.
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There were a couple minor steps in there I didn’t mention, but it was still way easier than the last time I did this sort of thing. Instructions for you to do this are HERE. This is not for the squeamish but it was fairly easy.

If you have an older Mac that won’t upgrade, there may still be a way to do it, if you really need to. I did it for fun, but maybe you need to install something that requires a newer OS. For fun or for need, the instructions were clear and easy to follow. I notice there’s a new OS out soon called Big Sur. There is a page for upgrading to Big Sur on an older Mac as well, which may be found HERE.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a backup to restore from in case things go wacky.

I was reading another article about improving WiFi. It made some great points about checking the internet provider, having updated equipment, and location.

It makes sense to verify the speed you get from your (Windstream) modem. That’s the fastest speed you’ll get. If it isn’t up to snuff, try power cycling it and checking again. If you aren’t getting what you expect, call support and ask them to check it.
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If you use WiFi and your device is in the basement and you are in your shed in the next field over, that’s probably not going to work. There are things you can do to fix that, and I did write about mesh systems last week. There are some other things to try besides locating your router better. An article about improving your WiFi can be found HERE.

Over the years I’ve worked on quite a few people’s WiFi. For all that time, the solution was most often to either get a device to go through the house electrical wiring, or to broadcast a signal with Extender devices, and sometimes both. I used this stuff at my own home, and it works OK.

There is a newer technology available that I think works better. We switched over to it at our house and we’ve been very pleased. We now have decent WiFi out at our workshops which is way better than what we had before. The system is referred to as a ‘mesh’ system. Basically, the devices talk to each other and keep the broadcast going, keeping the same name and password, and also changing over to the best connection as needed.

We bought Amazon’s Eero devices. There are other brands available. An article from the Washington Post about this type of product, and improving your current Wifi, may be found HERE.​

As you probably know by now, The US, in general, is way behind most of the world in Covid-19 recovery. The US isn’t testing enough, and also, many folks just refuse to believe it. Countries doing much better than us typically were more forceful in testing, contact tracing, and quarantining. These are things many people in the US just aren’t willing to do, for various reasons.

If, however, you are a believer in this virus and the pain and suffering it has caused hundreds of thousands of people here, then read on, otherwise, don’t.
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So, you think Covid-19 is real. So do I. Also, I’d like to be a part of the reason it gets better in this country. Like you, I care about my fellow person, and I want to help. I stay home when possible, wear a mask around anyone, and if I somehow still manage to get it, I want folks around me to know.

One of the best ways to do this is with contact tracing apps. Google and iPhone have “partnered” to create a way to ANONYMOUSLY do contact tracing using an app in your phone. It has to be downloaded and activated to work, and of course, if you end up with Covid-19, you need to tell the app. A link to an explanation for this is HERE.
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Now, there are conspiracy theories about how it’s being forced on you secretly and it’s really so the government can track you. That is false, and an article on that is HERE.

Let me clarify, the government can spy on you already, they don’t need this app. This app is legitimate. I don’t mean to scare anyone, or ‘prove’ conspiracy theories. Remember phone taps? That’s a thing you plainly know about, and it’s been around ‘forever’. J. Edgar Hoover was famous for them. He bugged EVERYONE. Like it or not, we live in a world of intense advertising and info sharing. Facebook is another place people are freely giving away all kinds of information about themselves. If you want to live in a cave, that’s fine. If you want to live in this world, there are precautions you can take, and there is info you will be giving. It’s currently still a fair trade. I don’t know how long it will stay that way.

The Covid-19 tracing app is a good thing right now (although not currently available in NM). The more folks that use it, the better it will work, like mask wearing. 

I encourage folks to backup their computers. Many people do not. I also say to NEVER EVER let anyone have access to your computer unless you sleep with them, or they sprang from your loins. If they are your paid IT person, that’s OK too.
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Backing up can be as simple as copying and pasting to a thumb drive, or, you can setup regular backups using Windows or Apple’s built in programs, which are very good. You might prefer using a third party program, and external drives generally come with one.

I like to clone my drive. If my drive fails, I take my clone and plug it in, and I’m back to where I was, whenever that clone was created anyway.
System images are also a great way to back up, and I found a nice article on that HERE.

In particular, it’s an article on RESTORING from a system image. The beginning of the article has a link to CREATING a system image. Whatever way you choose, you will need a source device to backup your data. Depending on your needs, that could be a thumb drive, or an external drive. Remember, you only have a backup if it’s in at least two places. If you take it off your computer and store it on an external drive, that’s just moving the data, not duplicating the data. And don’t partition your big drive into 2 drives and back it up on the second partition, it’s still the same drive when it fails.