Newsletter - August 2019

Hello and welcome to this month’s newsletter.

It's September at last, and that can mean only one thing - kids go back to school! Well, actually it means lots of things, like we can find parking spaces again now the tourists have gone home and are back at work, the temperatures are a little lower and much more comfortable, and all the good TV programs start again. I hope you had a good summer and managed to get a little rest and relaxation / gin and tonic time, and managed to avoid the tormentas which swept across Spain last weekend.

It's also a busy month in tech because everyone is announcing new stuff over the next few months, just in time for x**s (it's too early to say the actual word, I think you will agree). Apple will be revealing their new iPhone's and iPad's amongst other things this month. If you do take out a small mortgage to buy one of their overpriced new products, be sure to also buy Apple Care at the same time because it is almost impossible for anyone other than Apple to repair their new stuff these days. They have even stooped so low as to make their newer iPhones pop up a message saying "you need to service your battery" if anyone but Apple replaces the battery. That's simply when someone else (other than Apple) replaces the battery! Just imagine the nonsense if anything else inside you iPhone needs to be replaced. I have given up repairing Apple products because they basically do everything they can to make it impossible for people like my to fix their stuff. So, just buy Apple Care with the product, then you won't get 'mugged' by them later if anything breaks or goes wrong.

For people with more sense than money we have new phone announcements from Nokia, Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo, Huawai, basically every Android phone manufacturer, this month. Google will also shortly release Android 10, their newest version of android. They have decided to ditch the weird names such as kitkat, oreo and pie, and have gone for good old numbers this time. It is unlikely that any of the new phones about to be announced will come with Android 10 to start off with, although any phone classed as mid to high end should get it eventually. With android it is really easy, cheap is trash and will never see an update, mid to high end should get at least one android update during it's life. If you get a phone running Android One then you are guaranteed (at least) two Android updates and three years of monthly security updates. I have told you about Android One before, so let's move on.

Microsoft are getting ready to release the next update for Windows 10, probably some time in October. This update is, well, insignificant for most people. It isn't very big, it's unlikely to introduce any new or amazing features, and it is being delivered through Windows update, just like normal monthly updates, so really won't take very long to install. It would appear this update makes 'under the hood' changes ready for whatever they are planning to the next release in the next version of Windows 10 in May 2020. Microsoft also have a hardware event in early October where they will be announcing new models and updates to some of their Surface products.

I will update you with details of the more interesting new toys and trinkets announced in next month's newsletter. Speaking of which, I will be popping back to the UK later this month, God and Ryanair permitting. I know, I know, I should have learned by now, but it was the perfect flight to avoid the Benidorm booze brigade. Hopefully the pilots, air crew, ground staff, air traffic control, cleaners and everyone else will not be striking on that day!

Well, that will just about do it for this newsletter. I hope you have a great month.

Neal Walker Computer Services     

Tel : 663713811