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One of the things I love about my job is the constant challenges I get to overcome. This past week I had a consultation where the customer wanted to transfer Quicken files from a Windows PC to her new MacBook Air.

The process for transferring the files can be a bit complex. In this case, we had to first export the company file we wanted to transfer from the PC and then run it through a converter on the PC. The software to convert is fortunately easily downloadable from Intuit directly and is free. Once the conversion process was complete, we were able to transfer the file to the Mac in a format that the current Mac version of Quicken could read.

This is just one example. Intuit has used a variety of file types over the years, especially once you include their flagship product QuickBooks, so it is recommended to upgrade to current versions sooner rather than later. Had we not had the original computer, in this case it would have been far more difficult to get this data to the new Mac.

“*See this link for more details about this conversion process*”:https://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/downloading–installing–upgrading-and-converting/how-do-i-convert-from-quicken-for-windows-or-mac-or-ms-money-to-quicken-essentials-for-mac-/GEN82819.html

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One of the most important skills to have as a so-called “power user” is knowledge of Terminal. Located in your Applications > Utilities folder, Terminal is a program that allows you to use a command line interface on your Mac. You basically type in commands to achieve the goals you want rather than using the menus and shortcuts of the graphical user interface (GUI). In this article I will be going over the *ifconfig* command.

The *ifconfig* command comes in handy when you are trying to troubleshoot network issues, such as “why do I have no internet?” to “why won’t this file transfer?”. When you go and open Terminal, you get your user name, some symbols and a blinking cursor. From here you potentially have all the power in the world to accomplish a variety of tasks without the hassle of a GUI. ??(editor’s note: send a note to Steve Jobs and let him know this whole GUI thing was a mistake…computer users want black screens and blinking cursors)??

After Terminal opens, type in the command *ifconfig* and what shows up may look like a jumble of text and numbers, but trust me all that means something. From here you can see network interfaces, network address (IPv4 andIPv6), MAC address, MTU size, and see what interface is active. Now there are a lot more network commands, but all network troubleshooting and configuration usually starts with *ifconfig*.

“*See this article for details regarding ifconfig*”:https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man8/ifconfig.8.html

_Hello Fellow Tech Enthusiasts,_

It is finally cold here in Vermont. After an unusually warm December, we have been hit with an arctic blast that has dropped the temperature to single digits and even below zero in some places. While heat is a major killer of electronics, cold can do a number on them too. The iPhone 6 specifications, for example, indicate that the phone should not be operated below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or stored while powered down below negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

I tend to leave my phone everywhere (but always eventually find it thanks to Find My iPhone!) including in my car, but I try to be especially careful not to do this when the weather is cold, and if I do, to retrieve it as soon as I remember. Please also note that quickly warming a device up can cause condensation to form, which leads to another major killer of electronics, water damage, so I always give my phone plenty of time to adjust if it gets left out accidentally.

*REMEMBER:* Take your kids, your pets, AND your electronic devices in from the cold and they will all thank you!

Happy New Year 2016! For those who prefer hexadecimal, Happy 7E0!

_Mike_

“*michaeld@smalldog.com*”:mailto:michaeld@smalldog.com