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Tech Tips

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There are lots of resources available for understanding the hardware and the software that comes with mobile phones and tablets. There are online manuals, user guides, tutorials, and training videos. There are also books that you can download, buy or borrow from your library.

User manuals and user guides

Apple user manuals are available at www.support. apple.com/manuals.

This site includes manuals for current and older models of Apple Watches, iPhones, iPads, and the accessories that work with them (such as AirPods). It also provides manuals for software like Pages, Numbers, iMovie, GarageBand, and iPhoto.

Here are online versions of Apple user guides for Apple devices:

• iPhone: www.support.apple.com/guide/iphone/ welcome/ios

• iPad iOS 12 and older: www.support.apple.com/ guide/ipad/welcome/ios

• Newer iPads using iPadOS: www.support.apple. com/guide/ipad/welcome/ipados The above links will enable you to read the information online. However, you may also download a PDF version of the Apple user guides that you can read with the Books app (formerly called iBooks).

Open the Books app and search by typing in “Apple books free.” Otherwise the app will show you books for purchase, between $4 and $25 from various publishers.

Android phones and tablets are made by many different manufacturers. Go to your specific manufacturer’s website to download the user manuals, or you can find them with an appropriately worded Google search.

For example: To search for the manual for a Samsung Galaxy Note 10, you need to go to the Samsung website, then the support link (www.samsung.com/ us/support/downloads), then pick the phone model and mobile service provider, and then you can download the relevant user manual and quick-start guide in PDF format.

Free from the library

You can find books and training courses at the Contra Costa County Library site (www.ccclib.org) using your library card number and PIN (your last name), and sign in to Skillsoft training.

Examples of eBooks include “iPad for Dummies” – 10 th Edition (2018), “iPhone for Dummies” – 12th Edition (2019), and “Android Phones & Tablets for Dummies” (2018).

You can read the entire book online with no due date, and it will track your progress and bookmark the current page.

Although some of the Skillsoft training courses are out of date, much of the information is still applicable depending on the model of your device and the

software version you are running.

YouTube video training

You can find video training on smartphones and tablets by searching YouTube, but the quality and length is variable.

When you search YouTube, remember to focus on the results for the version of your device and the software you are using. Otherwise, you may get videos about older devices or software that won’t help you.

For example, if you search for “video training for Pages in iOS,” you’ll get results from 2014, 2017 and 2019. But some videos may talk about a version of Pages iOS that you don’t have and that can be confusing.

Lynda.com training videos You can subscribe to much higher quality video training, available from Lynda.com (recently acquired by LinkedIn Learning).

For example, the “iOS 13 and iPadOS: iPhone and iPad Essential Training” course is three hours and 38 minutes with the training broken up into small manageable video segments.

A premium monthly subscription costs around $30, or you can subscribe annually for $25 a month. You can try the service with a one-month free trial.

The service was previously available for free from many libraries and is still available from some libraries. However, access to Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning was discontinued in October 2019 by the Contra Costa County Library because of potential privacy policy issues with LinkedIn Learning.

Have a tech question or want to see an archive of previous Tech Tips columns? Go to the Computer Club website at www.caccor.com, and click on the LINKS menu choice at the top right of the page.

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