I wrote a few weeks ago about trying out an iPhone. I’ve been an Android user since I got a smartphone, and I am still quite happy with that operating system. I wrote there were some differences, both good and bad, so really, I am not advocating one over another. This week though, I got Carol’s old Apple Watch to go with Carol’s old iPhone that she gave me.
 
I had a Pebble brand smartwatch that went with my Android. Again, I was happy with it. My Pebble watch is definitely low end for a smart watch, so it’s not a fair comparison with an Apple Watch. However, as I said, the smartwatch is definitely an enhancement to the smartphone experience. It is an enhancement I think is important to the smartphone’s functionality.
 
So, after a week, I have to say I quite like the  Apple Watch. I answered a phone call using my watch. That was not just cool, but it was handy. The health apps that come with it are excellent. The touch screen, the graphics, the usability are all terrific. As I expected, all the features that make the Apple Watch great also enhance my iPhone experience.
 
I’m sure that there are equally excellent smartwatches out there for Android phones, so don’t take this as a complete endorsement of the iPhone/ Apple Watch exclusively. What I do recommend however, is getting a smartwatch to go with your smartphone. I love the notifications on my wrist, the little vibrating thing that tells me something is going on, and the ability to see a message easily, without having to dig out my phone from wherever I’ve put it.
 
I got Carol’s Apple Watch 1 after getting her the new Apple Watch 4. The Apple Watch 4 seems to be a fairly impressive device as well, so hopefully I’ll get her to write something about it next week. The nice thing about having Apple release a new Apple Watch is that the older models are now much cheaper. If you don’t need all the features in the new one, consider buying a used one, or a previous model which is still available. That will save some serious money, and get you a cool Apple Watch to go with your iPhone.

Apple Series 1 watches are still available on Amazon at a great savings off the Newer models.  Click to go view or wait for Carol's review of the Apple Watch Series 4.

Okay, so maybe you aren’t a beginner, or maybe you are. In any case, I thought there were some handy tips at this site. I was really looking for some basic tips. I’ve worked with some people lately that were really new to computers. If you are more experienced, that’s great, but there are still folks who are just now getting a computer, or a smartphone.

The tips include Macs and PC’s both, as they often have the same or similar shortcuts. The interesting one I just learned was the ctrl + Z and ctrl + Y. It only worked if I used it immediately after an action, and only once for that action, but it was cool and I did not know about it.

Another one that Carol just pointed out to me was that when you are in a web browser, looking at, oh, let’s say the Abiquiu News, if you hit the space bar, it pages down once for you. Again, something I didn’t know. There is so much to learn, I’ll never know most of it, but it’s fun to learn some shortcuts and tips, and there are some good ones there.
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In case you may have missed a few things along the way, as I have, then you might want to check out the link HERE. https://www.techspot.com/guides/676-best-computer-tricks/

Mostly I just like the concept of that. When we all get Androids to help us out at home and do chores, but then one of them turns into a raging killer lunatic and starts chasing the cat around the house and you need to reset your Android!

Alas, that day hasn't arrived. This is more like you are getting a new phone or tablet and want to sell, or give me, your old one. 

I talked about iPhones and iPads a few weeks back. I'd been given some of each but they were unusable until the original owner removed them from their Apple ID. Resetting an iDevice does not disconnect the device from the Apple user, that is a separate step.

For Androids, it's a similar process. If you have an Android device and you want to clean it up to sell or give away, read the article on that HERE.

I recently changed phones from a Samsung to an iPhone(Carol upgraded so I am trying her's). It’s about 6 weeks, and I’m still not thrilled. I don’t find it horrible by any means, just a few things I miss. Also, there are a few differences I’m just not used to yet. Ultimately, a smartphone is a smartphone and I can’t really say one is better than another.
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That said, I miss my smartwatch. I had a cheap watch paired to my Android, and I haven’t gotten a replacement iWatch yet, so I miss the notifications. I really miss them, which means I also actually miss notifications, so I don’t know stuff is happening. I’ll eventually get Carol’s iWatch too, which I think I will quite like, and that may be what changes my mind. Apple only offered her $25 for trading it in, which I think is insulting. 

Carol got a replacement battery for her iPhone before she gave it to me. At $29 thru Apple, it’s a great deal. It was $38 after tax and shipping & handling, but still, a great deal. There are great reasons to keep your old smartphone, and money is just one of them. I’m a practicing curmudgeon, so I don’t like change. I’m really used to what I have and learning new stuff can be frustrating. Still, it was an opportunity to immerse myself in an iPhone which I have never had, so I thought I’d give it a try. Plus, as a curmudgeon, it’s a whole nother reason to complain.
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If you’d like to keep your iPhone a bit longer while saving up for the next generation, then I have an article about what you can do HERE.

Snopes
Last weekend this Facebook warning was spreading around Abiquiu like wildfire.  People were dutifully following the instructions even through they hadn't gotten second friend requests, even though they had not checked to see if they had a duplicate account,  Your mom might have taught you to share, this is one case where you should not.  Please check these things with snopes before you start a panic.

The following is reprinted from Snopes, a great resource.

Claim
A warning about "another friend request" alerts Facebook users about potential account "cloning."
FALSE
Origin
In October 2018, Facebook users began receiving and sharing a message stating that the sender had received “another” friend request from them, and urging recipients to “check your account” and send the same message on to other Facebook friends.
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This message played on warnings about the phenomenon of Facebook “pirates” engaging in the “cloning” of Facebook accounts, a real (but much over-hyped) process by which scammers target existing Facebook users accounts by setting up new accounts with identical profile pictures and names, then sending out friend requests which appear to originate from those “cloned” users. Once those friend requests are accepted, the scammers can then spread messages which appear to originate from the targeted account, luring that person’s friends into propagating malware, falling for phishing schemes, or disclosing personal information that can be used for identity theft.

This particular warning suggests the recipient’s Facebook account has been targeted for such “cloning,” as indicated by the sender’s having received “a second friend request” from that account.

While a warning of this nature could be legitimate, the fact that this exact same message has been spread to untold thousands of Facebook users indicates that it is at worst a scam or hoax, and at best a once well-intentioned warning rendered useless by being uncritically reposted all over Facebook.

Clearly, there would be no utility to forwarding this warning to any of your Facebook friends unless you had actually received a second friend request from one of them. Moreover, even if this warning were possibly real, the optimal approach would not be for the recipient to forward it willy-nilly to every single contact on their friends list.
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If you have reason to believe your Facebook account might have been “cloned,” you should try sending separate private messages to a few of your Facebook friends to check whether any of them had indeed recently received a duplicate friend request from you, as well as searching Facebook for accounts with names and profile pictures identical to yours. Should either method turn up a hit, use Facebook’s “report this profile” link to have the unauthorized account deactivated.