PCSS, LLC

06/04/2025

Windows 10 goes out of support October 14, 2025. Plan ahead! I've switched to a new PC with Windows 11 and its not horrible. My videos stick a bit, but mostly its faster (it has more memory and speed) than the old one (4 years old).

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02/07/2025

The newes Apple App:

The Apple Invites app is an easy way for iPhone owners to organize and send party invitations (even to Android users). CNET's Bridget Carey explains how it works and offers some tips for creating your first event.

01/19/2025

For those still following PCSS, LLC a special Deal! I have this SOLO Laptop case free to the first person that emails me at [email protected]. Its made of ballistic nylon and comes with a shoulder strap. Will hold a Laptop up to 17" diameter. lots of pockets for other stuff. First Come First serve, There is only one! https://solo-ny.com/products/urban-17-3-ultra-multicase?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=062ec643d67e11ef8120033f0a82b82d

07/06/2024

I'm going to keep on refurbishing old PCs (laptop & desktops) for the Salvation Army in retirement. If you have an old PC that works let me know and I'll clean it up, purge all your data and donate it to help feed the poor.

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05/06/2024

What to decide what ads are displayed on your Facebook feed? Click on Facebook--Account--Settings & Privacy--Settings--Ads--Hide these ads (choose which ones you don't want to see)!

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04/30/2024

Privacy & Security

The past 5 years in the IT business have been all about two different foci: Privacy & Security! Privacy is your personal information and how you allow (or don’t allow) it to be accessed and viewed. Security is the protection of this information (or data). When you download an app or load a program you are asked to agree to a privacy policy. That is the small print that is supposed to tell you what the owner of the app/program will do with your information that it collects when you use the app/program. As the user you have to accept these terms & conditions to use the app/program. This Privacy Policy varies all over from giving up all your information rights to very narrowly restricting the company from using any of your information. Cyber Security deals with the prevention of unauthorized access to your information either on your device or at the app/program company.

Privacy is the right to be free from intrusion into your personal (or even business) information. How you protect your privacy in a world that makes you sign away your rights is a key cornerstone for IT professionals and should be for you.

The risk/reward of social media is in the forefront of protecting your privacy. Social media has become a very important part of many of our lives. It’s how we interact with our friends and family. If you use social media there are some manual ways to protect your privacy and provide a bit of security. At Virginia Tech they have a project to help you protect your privacy. They can be found at www.voicesofprivacy.com. They have webisodes to walk you through what information you put at risk and some ways to protect it. There are How-To-Videos, and informative articles to help you on your way to better Privacy & Security.

Nick

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01/09/2024

It's time to clear the PCSS, LLC shelves. I have listed below the inventory for sale. For every item you buy you can chose an item from our FREE STUFF bin. If you need to do this shipped we can tell you what is in the bin to make a selection.

01/05/2024

Blog #1 of Retirement. I don't mean to shock my customers and friends, BUT... Well yes its true, I have succomed to the dark side and now have an iPhone 15 pro. Why, Oh Why you ask? Being an Engineer there are logical reasons (and some illogical).

#1 Camera. My most recent Samsung S20fe supposedly had a very good Camera. To be honest if it was a bright sunshiny day and I was taking a landscape picture it was fine. Selfies and any light challenged photos not so much. iPhone 15 pro takes some of the best pictures I've seen out of a camera.

#2 Music. I have around 5,000 music tracks that I own. Yes I bought vinyl records and Cds by the the hundreds. I also ripped them to MP3 files. They reside on my Mac Mini (and my PC) I can play them from those PCs without issue. However over the years Google has stopped supporting a phone app that plays YOUR music in Android. Their latest offering is an atrotious app called YOUTUBE Music. Its brother is Amazon Music. Both need to be executed and sent to APP Hades. It was a pain to download all my music (over 30GB) to the Android phone. AND a bigger pain to play them in any semblence of album order. I love playing music in the order the artist placed it on the album. That didn't happen on the above two apps. Apple Music on the other hand perfectly handles your library of music perfectly. Download from my Mac Mini and syncing is effortless. AND I get to play my music in album order.

#3 Friends. The vast majority of the Moga acquaintences use Apple devices. Facetime actually is pretty nice. AirDrop works most of the time to transfer contacts. Sharing photos is a real thing I can participate in. Many benefits with only a very few negatives.

#4 Although the app list in the App store is less numerous in the Apple world, there were several Apps that ONLY have an apple app. One of my favorites - LoungeBuddy - Is now happily residing on my phone.

Let me know if you have questions or comments about this post! Happy New Year.

01/02/2024

So what does retirement look like? For me, I'll try to do the things I like to do most and try to help out the community as well as I can. I still love technology and I do like writing. I think I'll start out by using my PCSS, LLC page as a blog about technology. No regular timing, just when it suits me. I am going to clean up the feed so that only my posts will appear. Please consider following the page if you would like to receive my technology takes. Thanks for all your support over the past 38 years!
Nick