GAAB'er 202005

GAB’er Page: 1 May 12, 2020
THE GAB’ER
Newsletter of the Greater Albany AppleByters: May, 2020
GAAB is celebrating its 36th year (2019-2020).
The next GAAB Meeting is:

Tuesday, May 12, 2020
7:00 PM
This will be an online meeting because of the
Coronavirus Pandemic
I will use Facetime to do the meeting and will use the e-mail
address or phone number you use for Facetime. I will send
out an invite at 6:30 p.m. using the info you send me if you
wish to participate.
GAAB Meeting Agenda
Greetings
Discussion: Topics presented by members and
News from Apple including Mac OS X and iOS UpdatesGAAB Help Desk:
Bring your questions
Apple iPhone SE (2020) Review

The perfect smartphone for now
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/apple-iphone-se-2020
Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

By Sascha Segan
April 27, 2020
4.5
Excellent
The Bottom Line
The 2020 Apple iPhone SE is a petite powerhouse with no-compromise performance for
hundreds of dollars less than other recent iPhones.
MSRP $399.00
$399.99 at Verizon Wireless
PCMag editors select and review products independently. We may earn affiliate commissions
from buying links, which help support our testing. Learn more.
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
Pros
Affordable
Fast performance
Small, one-hand-friendly form factor
Cons
No camera night mode
The new iPhone SE is all the phone most people need, especially right now. It wasn't planned
for the COVID-19 era, but it appears right on time. With a blazing-fast processor, a high-
quality body, and solid connectivity for $399, the 2020 iPhone SE sets a benchmark for
midrange phones. It uses a (popular) older iPhone body and a smaller screen to cut prices
while giving you a super speedy experience and Apple's latest apps. It's a terrific and
perfectly timed phone, easily worthy of our Editors' Choice.
A Classic Body

The iPhone SE is in an iPhone 8 body. It's so clearly the iPhone 8 body that it fits into iPhone
8 (but not iPhone 7) cases. While it isn't nearly as petite as the previous iPhone 5-based SE
model, it's still the smallest high-quality phone on the market.
The iPhone SE (right) is noticeably smaller than the iPhone 11 (left)
It's smaller than the Galaxy S10e and the Google Pixel 4 at 5.45 by 2.65 by 0.29 inches
(HWD) and 5.22 ounces, making it manageable in just one hand for most people. The
phone's 4.7-inch, 1,334-by-750-pixel screen isn't as bold as the iPhone 11 Pro's new OLED
panel, but it looks great for the price.
It seems a little silly to describe a form factor that's been popular for the past three years, but
like the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE has rounded corners, big bezels around the screen, a mute
switch, a slight camera bump, a Lightning port, and no headphone jack. The body is the
typical iPhone glass sandwich; grippy enough in your hand, but slippery on a table, so you'll
want to put it in a case. Like other recent iPhones, it's rated IP67 for water resistance.
The phone comes in black, red, or white. The 64GB base model costs $399, the 128GB
model is $449, and the 256GB model goes for $549. As Apple phones don't have expandable
memory, I suggest getting the 128GB model, especially if you intend to shoot any video with
it.
Blazing Performance
Apple's A13 processor is, according to Geekbench, the fastest on the market. The iPhone SE
gets faster single-core CPU scores, and about the same multi-core CPU and web browsing
scores as the $1,499 Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra running the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon
865 chipset. This is a glorious amount of horsepower to go into a $400 phone, far faster than
any other $400 phone on the US market, and it will run iOS applications very well for years to
come. The iPhone SE has, almost certainly, a longer functional life ahead of it than any other
phone of its price in the US.

For the past few weeks I've been in an on-and-off debate with Ignacio Contreras, a
Qualcomm spokesperson, where I've complained about flagship Android phone prices and
he's pointed out models available in Asia offering high-end power for $500 or less. My point,
though, is that none of those phones are available in the US—manufacturers refuse to offer
them here, for whatever reasons. Only Apple is willing to provide this kind of CPU to
Americans at this price.
Like all current iPhones, the SE runs iOS 13 and comes with a free year of Apple TV+. iOS
13 has a dark mode, a keyboard you can swipe on, and various other improvements from
earlier versions. It's still iOS; the home screen is as much a relatively inflexible grid of icons
as ever.
There are a lot of people who prefer a physical fingerprint scanner to Face ID, and Apple's
scanner in the iPhone SE is fast and accurate. I definitely find it more reliable than the in-
display fingerprint scanners on recent flagship phones. The old-school Touch ID scanner
works for Apple Pay, as well as other systems that need a fingerprint.
Nope, there's no headphone jack
Battery life is fine, but not a step forward from previous iPhones. I got 5 hours, 57 minutes in
our video rundown test. That's just about the same as I got on the iPhone 11 and the iPhone
XR, although it's shorter than the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max. The SE has a smaller battery
than the iPhone 11 and XR, but it also has a smaller screen, so those balance out if you're a
heavy screen-on user. You'll want to charge the phone nightly, and you have options. While
the SE comes with a slow 5-watt charger, it supports fast charging just like the iPhone 11

does (with a $29.99, 18-watt charger), as well as Qi wireless charging (I have it sitting on a
wireless charger right now).
Better Connected
I tested the iPhone SE on AT&T and Verizon, side by side with an iPhone 11, and found that
the two phones have the same LTE performance.
The iPhone SE has an Intel modem, likely the XMM7660, supporting gigabit LTE with 2x2
MIMO antennas. There are three regional variants: "US and Canada," mainland China, and
everywhere else. The primary difference between the US and "everywhere else" models is
that the US version has band 71, used by T-Mobile, but not band 28, which is used by many
carriers outside the US; the other model is the other way around. There are a few other band
differences, but that's the big one. Both models have plenty of LTE bands, including band 46
LAA and band 48 CBRS.
The iPhone's LTE speeds can be amazing
Depending on how old the iPhone you're upgrading from is, you'll potentially get much better
connectivity and call quality with the SE than with an older device. Call-quality wise, the
iPhone 8 was the first iPhone to support EVS, a high-quality calling system you're most likely
to see in calls to other people on the same network (it usually pops up as HD+ in the dialer).
EVS calls are much richer and more textured than non-HD calls, with better background
noise cancellation.
Data-wise, the iPhone XR/XS generations were the first models to support band 71, which
greatly improves T-Mobile's LTE range in rural areas, and the XS was the first with band 46,
which really juices speeds in dense urban centers like parks and university campuses. The
iPhone 11 generation introduced band 48, which primarily Verizon uses in a similar way to
band 46. So compared with anything older than the XR, the iPhone SE has better range in
the countryside and better speeds in some parts of cities.

The iPhone SE isn't covered here because the phone wasn't released at the time this chart
was researched; according to our tests, the SE has the same LTE performance as the
iPhone 11
This chart shows comparative speeds for different generations of iPhones, gathered from
Ookla Speedtest Intelligence (Ookla Speedtest is a sister company of PCMag). The big bump
for the iPhone 11 Pro shows the power that bringing 4x4 MIMO antennas to the table gets
you. That's a nice boost, but it's also $600 more, which isn't going to be worth it to many
people.
The iPhone SE also has Apple's eSIM-based dual-SIM solution, which lets you select a
second mobile subscription from an on-device menu if you want a home line and a work line,
or if you're roaming.
For Wi-Fi it supports Wi-Fi 6, which also comes in the iPhone 11 series. Wi-Fi 6 doesn't make
a difference for most people right now, because relatively few people have Wi-Fi 6 routers,
but it will improve Wi-Fi performance in crowded situations like public hotspots in future
years. I didn't find any real difference in Wi-Fi performance between the SE and the iPhone
11, and that's a good thing.
The phone doesn't have 5G, but 5G isn't making a huge difference to a lot of people right
now, and the least expensive 5G phone on the US market, the OnePlus 8, costs $300 more
than the iPhone SE.

The iPhone SE has a single camera compared with the iPhone 11's two
Camera
The camera is the biggest difference between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 series (or
other flagships). These are the iPhone 8 cameras, paired with some A13 software tricks. That
means a 12-megapixel main camera and a 7-megapixel front-facing camera, with stabilized
4K video on the main sensor and 1080p video on the front-facing unit. The A13 adds better
HDR, Apple says, as well as portrait (bokeh) mode.

It's hard to tell the iPhone 11 (left) from the iPhone SE (right) here
In good light, it's very difficult to tell the difference between shots taken with the iPhone SE
and iPhone 11 cameras. Of course, the SE doesn't have the iPhone 11's wide-angle camera,
or the iPhone 11 Pro's 2x zoom camera. But at your standard 1x, the results are just fine.
Ignoring my fogged glasses, the iPhone 11 (left) definitely has a better front-facing camera
than the iPhone SE (right)
Video recording is impeccable, the way it is on most recent iPhones. You get 4K video on the
main camera, as well as 1080p on the front-facing camera. The main camera has optical
image stabilization for video.
The front-facing camera is a step behind the iPhone 11 at 7 megapixels rather than 12. Front-
facing shots taken with the iPhone 11 are a bit sharper, with better overall focus.

The iPhone 11 (left) performs better at outdoor night shots than the iPhone SE (right)
I
t's indoor night mode where the iPhone 11 (left) really beats the iPhone SE (right)
Night mode is the biggest missing thing missing in the iPhone SE. The iPhone 11 introduced
a multi-frame night mode that seriously brightens up shots by taking multiple exposures over
a three-second period. It's dramatic, and one of the top reasons to buy an 11—it puts the
iPhone 11 on par with the Google Pixel 4, and a bit ahead of Samsung's latest when it comes
to night shots. The SE doesn't have this night mode, and as a result, super-low-light photos
are noticeably dimmer and muddier, just like they were on the iPhone 8.
Now, I have to set expectations here: These shots are still considerably better than you'll get
on an iPhone 6, and probably better than you'll get on another midrange phone today. But if
you want to know why you'd buy an iPhone 11 instead of an iPhone SE, this is a big reason.

The iPhone SE only does bokeh on human faces
The SE's software-based portrait mode also isn't as flexible as the mode on dual-camera
iPhones or Samsung phones. While those other phones can bokeh anything—like a person,
a pet, or a flower—the SE demands a human face to kick it into portrait mode.
Should You Buy the iPhone SE?
A few months ago, our economy looked capable of supporting $1,200 smartphones, from
both Apple and Samsung; now, we have an unemployment rate of over 20 percent. A few
months ago, I recommended phones as an investment for the next three years; now, I know
many people are worried about feeding their families next month. This has all happened far
too fast for electronics companies, which plan their products 12 to 18 months in advance, to
adapt.
The iPhone SE couldn't have come at a better time—it's a knockout value for $399. If you're
looking for an iPhone, the only real reasons to pay more are if you really want a bigger
screen and night mode. This is a terrific upgrade for anyone with an iPhone 7 or lower.

The SE also competes compellingly with any Android phone under $699. Go to that price
level, and you get features like multiple high-quality cameras and 5G in the $699 OnePlus 8.
You may want to go to midrange Android phones instead if you need to spend even less
money, or demand a much larger screen, both of which you get in the $249 Motorola Moto G
Power. But the Moto G Power isn't nearly as pocketable or as fast as the iPhone SE.
With tens of millions of Americans out of work, our nation needs an affordable, speedy
smartphone to help us stay connected, with a long life ahead of it. That's the iPhone SE. It's
an Editors' Choice, and a phone that I'm going to be recommending to a lot of people over
the coming months.
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
The Bottom Line
The 2020 Apple iPhone SE is a petite powerhouse with no-compromise performance for
hundreds of dollars less than other recent iPhones.
Apple iPhone SE (2020) Specs
Operating System iOS 13

CPU Apple A13 Bionic
Dimensions 5.45 by 2.65 by 0.29 inches
Screen Size 4.7 inches
Screen Resolution 1,334 by 750 pixels
Camera Resolution (Rear; Front-Facing) 12MP; 7MP
Battery Life (As Tested) 5 hours, 57 minutes (Wi-Fi video streaming)
About Sascha Segan
PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed more than 1,100
smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 15 years with PCMag. He's the head of
our Fastest Mobile Networks projects in the US and Canada, runs our Race to 5G tracker,
and writes opinions on tech and society. Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer.
Other than his home town of New York, his favorite cities are Barcelona and Hong Kong.
While he's a fourth-generation Manhattanite, he now lives in Queens with his wife and
daughter.

How to Set up a Group FaceTime Call in macOS Catalina

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 | Author: Dennis Sellers
https://blog.macsales.com/60701-how-to-set-up-a-group-facetime-call-in-macos-
catalina/
Lots of folks are working from home (WFH) during these surreal days of the COVID-19
pandemic. Zoom is a popular videoconferencing solution but is losing fans due to reports of
security issues.
What if there was an alternative? Well, there is. Apple’s FaceTime is a great
videoconferencing tool as long as all participants are using Apple hardware.
To make FaceTime audio and video calls on your Mac (OS X 10.7 or later required), you
must:
• Be connected to the Internet.

• Be signed in to FaceTime with your Apple ID.
• Have a built-in or connected microphone; for FaceTime video calls, you also need a
built-in or connected camera.
• The person you’re making a FaceTime video or audio call to must be signed in to
FaceTime and have any of the following:
• A Mac with OS X 10.9.2 or later, and a built-in or connected microphone.
• An iOS device with iOS 7 or later or an iPadOS device
To make and receive FaceTime calls with multiple people (Group FaceTime), you and the
people you’re calling must be using the macOS Mojave 10.14.3 Supplemental Update or
later, iOS 12.1.4 or later, or iPadOS.
How to Set Up a Group FaceTime Call
Ready? Here’s how to set up a Group FaceTime call to one or more people (up to 32 folks)
with macOS Catalina:
Step 1 – Launch FaceTime with Siri or by clicking on the FaceTime icon in the macOS Dock
or Applications folder.
Step 2 – Sign in to FaceTime by entering your Apple ID and password.
Step 3 – In the field at the top of the FaceTime window, enter the email address or phone
number of the person you want to call. You may need to press Return. If you have a card for
the person in the Contacts app, you can just enter the person’s name.
To make a call with multiple people (Group FaceTime), repeat Step 2 until all participants are
listed.
Step 4 – To start the FaceTime call, click the Video button (it looks like a camera) or the
Audio button (it looks like a telephone) or use the Touch Bar if you have a Mac laptop
equipped with one.

If you click the Audio button and you’re set up to make phone calls on your Mac, you can
choose whether to make a FaceTime audio call or a phone call. When you’re in an audio call
or a phone call, the camera is automatically off.
How to Record a Group FaceTime Call
You may also wish to record a Group FaceTime session on your Mac.
Step 1 – Make sure that all participants know that you’re doing this, then launch QuickTime
from your Applications folder, or by telling Siri to “Open QuickTime.”
Step 2 – Click on “File” in the menu bar and choose “New Screen Recording.” You may be
asked if it’s okay to access your Mac’s camera and microphone. Give permission.
Step 3 – In the pop-up box at the bottom of the screen, next to the Record button, tap the
“Options” button. You can choose where the recording is saved. There are default options,
but if you click “Other Location…” you can select the destination of your choice.
Step 4 – Open FaceTime on your Mac.
Step 5 – Click the “Record” button in QuickTime.
Step 6 – Tap on the screen if you want to record your entire screen, or tap on the FaceTime
window to only record FaceTime.
Step 7 – Start your FaceTime Call.
Step 8 – When the Group FaceTime call is over, tap the “Stop Recording” button in the Menu
Bar. The video will be saved to the location you previously selected.
These instructions apply, for the most part, to other versions of macOS besides Catalina.
However, I’m using Catalina on a 16-inch MacBook Pro for this tutorial.

Student-run IT help desks provide remote support during school closures
Permission granted by Hammocks Middle School

Author
Naaz Modan @NaazModan
Published
April 22, 2020
https://www.educationdive.com/news/student-run-it-help-desks-provide-remote-support-
during-school-closures/576442/
Dive Brief:
Schools are continuing student-run IT help desks remotely while buildings remain
closed. Miami-Dade's Hammocks Middle School veteran educator and student coach
Beatriz Llano-Scherker says remote student support opportunities not only give her
school's participants hands-on experience in a potential career interest, but also has
led to a decrease in help tickets over time as educators and students adjust to remote
learning and devices.
Prior to closure, 17 students were trained and deployed to serve the Florida middle
school's 600 students and 35 teachers. Students who graduate from the program have
a chance to continue pursuing their interests in high school through CTE certification.
The student help desk, made possible in part by Verizon's Innovative Learning
Schools, serves as an elective and has become somewhat of a "prestigious"
undertaking for students in just its first year. It is expected to expand in the next
academic year, with 200 student applicants already in.

GAAB'er 202005

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

GAAB'er 202005

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GAB’er Page: 1 May 12, 2020

The next GAAB Meeting is:

Apple iPhone SE (2020) Review

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

The Bottom Line

$399.99 at Verizon Wireless

Small, one-hand-friendly form factor

No camera night mode

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

The iPhone SE (right) is noticeably smaller than the iPhone 11 (left)

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Nope, there's no headphone jack

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

The iPhone's LTE speeds can be amazing

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

The iPhone SE only does bokeh on human faces

Should You Buy the iPhone SE?

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Apple iPhone SE (2020)

The Bottom Line

Apple iPhone SE (2020) Specs

Operating System iOS 13

About Sascha Segan

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

How to Set up a Group FaceTime Call in macOS Catalina

• Be connected to the Internet.

How to Set Up a Group FaceTime Call

Step 2 – Sign in to FaceTime by entering your Apple ID and password.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

How to Record a Group FaceTime Call

Step 4 – Open FaceTime on your Mac.

Step 5 – Click the “Record” button in QuickTime.

Step 7 – Start your FaceTime Call.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

Student-run IT help desks provide remote support during school closures

Permission granted by Hammocks Middle School

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

You might also like