​Make things on your screen larger
​To make just the text on your screen bigger, select Start  > Settings  > Ease of Access > Display , then adjust the slider under Make text bigger. To make everything bigger, choose an option from the drop-down menu under Make everything bigger.

Carol just bought a new computer. What was interesting about this computer was that it only has 3 ports, and they are all the same. Her laptop has 3 USB-C ports. These ports are different, but they all look alike. The difference is mostly in the power. What it generally means is that she will need an adapter to connect her mouse, her keyboard, her printer, another monitor. That’s not entirely accurate, but it makes a point. I gave her a Bluetooth mouse to use, at first. Then I ordered an adapter from Amazon. The adapter has 3 USB 3.1 ports, an HDMI port, and a slot for reading SD cards.
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Our friend Stan got a new computer a while back, it was a Macbook, and I think it only had one port, a Thunderbolt 3. The Thunderbolt 3 port is the same size as a USB-C, and Intel created both of them. There was a time when it seemed the Thunderbolt might take over as the dominant port, but it now seems they are converging. Both ports provide adapters for USB ports, video, and other things, so nothing of this era will be lost. If there’s something really old, then who knows.
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While I do like the simplification, it does mean yet another adapter in our lives. Saying that brings up the point that most devices we use can be wireless. Our printer is wireless, on our network. As I said, a keyboard and mouse can be Bluetooth, and you can cast video to a TV, so there are alternatives to wires.
If you’re thinking about getting a new computer, the ports are something to give some attention to. You can read more about the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports HERE.
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I was never a big fan of iTunes, so getting rid of it doesn't really bother me. However, I do recognize the need for it sometimes, so how can Apple do that?

The short answer is, it's being replaced. While iTunes will go, 3 new apps will be replacing it, in order to handle the 3 mediums if covers. I read an article on that HERE.
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It also mentions another OS being released in the fall; MacOS Catalina, 10.15. So, what OS is your Mac on? Don't fall too far behind.

I’m relatively new to the iPhone. I’m still not a super fan, but I certainly think it’s as good a phone as you can get. One of the things I like about it is that I can facetime with my family. Facetime only works with other iPhones, and it works fairly well. My family seem to all have iPhones, so it’s just easier if I’m in on it. I started with Carol’s old iPhone, and recently moved up to Isabel’s iPhone. A substantial upgrade for me, and I thank her profoundly.

Another feature that's been great is shared albums. Family members have shared icloud photo albums with us.  We get to see regular pictures of our grandkids and they get to see our chickens.

Carol bought me a new iWatch which works well with the phone. I’ve said before, pairing a smart watch with a smart phone improves the overall functionality. iPhone or Android, the watch makes it come together.

So, because I’m new, I look for tips to help me out. I found an interesting set of tips for the iPhone HERE.
 
Another set of tips I like is HERE.

iPhones are changing, so hopefully these tips will help you too. I’m not a cutting edge kind of guy, you can tell by how I dress, but it’s good to stay current, if not on the forefront. I’ll talk to my friend Stephen and find out how Android phones and watches compare and let you all know.

Carol gave me an article to read recently which I have to say, was quite freaky. I am a Google fan in many ways, and I like Chrome. I’ve become used to browsing in Chrome, and it is the browser I use the most, although I also have IE, Edge, and Firefox open.
 
I use multiple browsers at once, as they are signed in with different userid’s for various purposes. Chrome has the most tabs open for me, but I think that’s about to change. I know a lot of folks have talked about how weird it is that they will look at an ad for a Toyota, let’s say, and then every page they go on after that will be showing Toyotas for sale.
 
That’s not a coincidence. Google does that on purpose, that’s how they make money. Google is in the business of collecting data on YOU, and they use Chrome as a way to do that. I know that sounds a little paranoid, but as the saying goes, are you really paranoid if somebody IS following you?
 
I’m going to put out there 3 articles, from actual journalistic organizations. The one Carol sent me is HERE.

Another article I read was from some Firefox employees that started out friendly with Google. They then seemed to think Google was sabotaging Firefox. You can read that HERE.

Finally, an article about how Google tracks you and some ways to claim back a bit of your privacy, right HERE.
 
Ultimately, it’s a tradeoff. The really creepy stuff that happens is when we just TALK about stuff at home, and then the ads on that start appearing. The fact is, we expect a lot for free, and that’s not how business works. What we think is free from Google is actually paid for with our data, and our privacy. If you don’t care, then you’re in luck because that’s our future. If you do care, then you will have a difficult time doing anything about it. I, for one, am going to move over to Firefox as my primary browser. I’m still going to use Chrome, just not as much.