Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac has reached the end of the line, as Microsoft recently announced they are pulling the plug on document creation and editing for people using Office 2019 apps (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). The date for this change is July 13, 2026.​

If you own Office 2019 and need to keep editing Word documents or using other Office-related functions, you have 3 main options:

• Purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription, which continuously provides you with the latest version of Office, and is usable on multiple computers. Starts at $100/yr.
  
• Purchase Office 2024, the buy-once version of Office that starts at $180 and receives support from Microsoft through October 2029.
  
• Switch to a free community-maintained Office alternative such as LibreOffice or OpenOffice.
  

Do you wonder whether you have Office 2019 on your Mac? Click here for instructions to determine the version of Office or Word that you’re currently using.

Do you ever feel like you are too connected to the internet? Whether it’s doomscrolling on Facebook or receiving hundreds of notifications per day, some of American society has gone from tech-hungry (think about “one laptop per child” school initiatives that were so popular a decade or two ago) to overly saturated in technology. While this is not a universal feeling (after all, we help people in need of phone & internet access find affordable cell phones and service at Tech Tuesday), using technology too much is a common theme these days. Click here for an article from the New York Times waxing on this very subject.

Whether social media, the constant churn of AI, or seeing computers integrated into everything from dishwashers to coffeemakers, we’ve received feedback from many people that they are simply fed up with too much tech.
We empathize! While ADL founder Jensen has certainly been there to witness the rise of computing, the other side of the coin is that we all want some peace and quiet so that we can simply exist as humans to commune with each other or enjoy a little time alone without our smartphones or other gadgets mediating the experience.​

We identify with this perspective and are always doing our best to help you achieve your goals, whether that means choosing the right tech (and learning how to use it effectively) or removing devices and stepping into a less complicated existence. Sometimes it means helping people perform digital cleanups so they know where their important information is, reducing all of the excess noise and spam. Living a more easeful life and choosing the amount of tech you use based on your goals is something we support!

Everyone gets unwanted emails, but some people get more than others. Here are some quick tips.​

1. Is the sender a legitimate business? If so, unsubscribe with gusto. This includes advertising from political campaigns. The unsubscribe link is typically at the bottom of the email.
   
2. Is the sender bogus? Is it really egregious, offensive, or forged? In that case, don’t click the unsubscribe link, as that will let the spammers know that you read the email. Simply move it to your “Spam” folder to let your email company know to also send future messages like that to Spam. If you’re not sure how to tell whether a message is legitimate or not, we can help. Any time we meet we can help you determine whether messages in your inbox are legitimate. We also offer service via email. You can forward a suspicious message to us, and we can you tell whether it appears to be a legitimate message.
   
3. Some email providers like gmail also offer easy ways to block unwanted senders, ensuring that future emails from that sender will be delivered to the Spam folder, not your inbox.
   
4. Looking for higher powered anti-spam tools? Consider a tool like Sanebox that examine your inbound email for potential spam, and automatically keep it out of your inbox. Sanebox is a paid service that can be added to most existing email accounts.
   

Want extra help taking care of email spam? We can help you delete, unsubscribe and use anti-spam tools stay ahead of unwanted emails.

We’ve seen document scanning using smartphones get a lot easier and more accurate these last few years. These days, smartphones come with free  software to scan photos, single or multi-page documents, and more.


If you’re using an iPhone, the built-in scanning option lives inside of the Notes app.

If you’re using an Android, use Google Drive to scan documents, or Google PhotoScan to scan photos (also an option on iPhone).
We also like the Adobe Scan app (available for Android and iPhone)  for easily scanning multi-page documents and converting them to PDF (the free version works well enough for most folks’ needs).
We’ve found that scanning apps can sometimes be a lot quicker than using the scanner built into your printer.

If you have high volume scanning needs, a dedicated sheet-fed scanner like a ScanSnap can also be very useful.

Have you heard? We’re seeking gently used smartphones and computers to pass along at no cost to those who need them most, via the Tech Support Tuesday program at the 12 Baskets free cafe.

Ready to donate? Make sure you reset your device first (Here are instructions for  Android, iPhone, Mac, and Windows PC).

Bring your erased device to Tech Support Tuesday at 12 Baskets (610 Haywood Rd) any Tuesday from 10:30am - 12:30pm.​

Or, drop your device at our donation box at Emergency Tech Repair anytime during their business hours, Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm.