Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Careers

For decades, I’ve led a strange but successful dual-career in both technology and the Arts. It’s not always been easy and I sometimes get a bit of creative whiplash, but I wouldn’t change my journey for anyone.

In my tech career, I was a “Senior Systems Administrator”. That fancy term just means that I was a well-paid geek. My job was to manage hundreds or thousands of computers and mobile devices for the companies that hired me. …

The Background

As my readers know, when it comes to my digital life, I tend to focus on matters of security and privacy. I purchase and investigate products and services, take notes, and learn what does (and doesn’t) work best for my technology needs. Then, I spend hours organizing my notes, prioritizing what’s important, and translating difficult technology-speak into plain English.

My goal is to always make sure that everyone who reads my newsletter or my Medium articles can easily understand the products, ideas, and approaches that I feel are important. However, what’s important isn’t always up to me. …

What The New Year Brings Is…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how much time I spend online and on all of my devices. As it’s many, many hours each day, I’ve been seeking ways — for years now — to help reduce the time I need to be on any of my devices.

So while I’ll be focusing on different software titles today, make no mistake: what I’m really talking about is:

Saving time.

There’s a good reason why I focus on time: it’s limited, it’s our most precious resource, and it’s the one gift we’re all granted in quantities that we’ll never…

Many of you either know or have determined that I’m a longtime Apple fan. I use their software and hardware almost exclusively and have since I’ve been 11 years old. That was that age when my folks bought us an Apple II+ computer, forever changing my life. I got so enamored with this new kind of technology — a desktop computer!!! — that I taught myself the BASIC coding language and… never really looked back.

I’ve come to trust Apple because — for the most part — my purchases from them have lasted long, worked well, were always easy to…

What Is A Virtual Private Network?!

When it comes to online privacy and security, few subjects are more important (or confusing) than Virtual Private Networks or VPNs. To better understand the technology, let’s begin with a simple definition:

A virtual private network (or VPN) is a tool — comprised of hardware and software — which allows specific people to have access to specific data stored on specific computers.

Think about your email for a second. Most people already know that their emails reside on fancy computers — called “servers”— which are owned and operated by companies like Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo. However, those servers don’t just…

The Corporate Shock & Aww….

Well, that was fast…

In my previous Medium piece, I explained the controversial features of Apple’s upcoming iOS 15. I detailed the three which have deeply alarmed security and privacy experts. In that piece, I stressed repeatedly that time would tell on how some of these matters would play out, and… not even two weeks later, there have been developments. Let’s examine them.

Apple Caves To Pressure… For Now

After Apple debuted its new iOS 15 features — specifically those meant to help combat the spread of child porn — they got pushback. A lot of it. The company went on…

Published initially on Tech Talk

This story now has updates which you can read here.

The Shit Hits The Fan

Well, this is a pickle…

Apple, Inc. — the iconic company that’s made customer privacy the centerpiece of its marketing and PR — has been harpooned by privacy and security advocates regarding new features that hundreds of millions of users will have access to if they upgrade to iOS 15 in the Fall of 2021. Let’s break things down in easy-to-understand language, and let’s begin with the obvious, first question:

Should We Be Concerned or Alarmed With What Apple is Doing?

I’ll speak for myself:

• Yes, I am concerned. I believe some concern here is reasonable…

I've been a technology writer here on Medium for a long, long time. And, I've followed Tim for a long, long time.

As of today, I'm no longer following Tim because his "advice" has become repeatedly and extremely corrupted.

When a writer's ethics and morals become subservient to his driving profit, it's time to look for other mentors.

Thanks for the memories, Tim.

But goodbye and good riddance.