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A Great Time To Upgrade to a New Mac & Securing Your Mac with a VPN

After a flurry of present opening, setting up of new devices, and some using those new devices while traveling, we’ve put together some thoughts and ideas that may help you in your Apple tech life as you enter the new year. Is now a good time to replace an older Mac? What’s the best and safest way to access the Internet while away from home? 

Let’s explore…

Why Buy/Replace a Mac Now? 

In November, Apple updated the MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac with their newest M4 processors. Why is this significant? The M4 processor offers almost twice the performance of their computers just 4 years ago. That’s a noticeable difference, whatever you’re doing on your Mac. Basically, if you have any Mac before the M1 processor Macs, and certainly any older Mac from 2020 or before, it would be hard to say you aren’t missing out from a significant speed and memory jump that would make a difference in most your lives.

It’s not just about performance. Apple chips are much more efficient these days, and that means increased battery life on MacBooks and MUCH less (if any) fan noise on desktop Macs. 

With the latest round of M4 Macs, Apple decided to set the base unified memory (RAM) at 16GB. (2-4 times as much as before) and it makes a noticeable difference.

Best of all, Apple didn’t raise their prices! So, you get more for your money. Apple essentially cut prices by $200 across its entry-level models because you get greater upgrades even over the previous models.

Explore the new Macs here at the Apple website:

Should I Wait? What is Next?

The rest of the Mac lineup will most likely be updated in the first half of the new year. That would include the MacBook Air and the Mac Studio.

So, if you’re looking to get or replace a super lightweight Air, we’d hold off on making a purchase if you can. Likewise, if you are waiting for the powerful desktop Mac Studio, hang tight as a similar update that came to the MacBook Pros a couple months ago is headed your way shortly. Alternatively, consider a current MacBook Pro and an Apple Display as instead of a Mac Studio, and reap the benefits of being able to use your computer both as a laptop and a desktop.

Using a VPN While Traveling for Security and Streaming Service Access

Whether you are traveling outside the country, another city in our own country, or even to the library across town, odds are, you will be connecting to a public wifi network. These networks frequently are not secure and your data being transferred over those networks is much more susceptible to being accessed.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, can ensure a secure and private Internet connection. The data your devices send and receive is encrypted when using a VPN, guaranteeing that all your network traffic is protected from eavesdroppers.

We recommend NetShade, a small Mac-only VPN that’s been around for more than 20 years. It’s simple, cheap, and works universally on both your iDevices and Macs. For $60, you can get a year’s subscription and pace of mind.

Ever tried to stream a movie while out of the country and you were denied access? Well, a VPN can often (but not always) solve that problem. Once you turn on your VPN, you can choose a server in the US and “trick” the streaming service into thinking you’re home. Voila! now your streaming works.

To learn more about setting up a VPN and how it works, just drop us a line and we’ll be glad to help.