Kevin McIsaac

There is a “dumb phone” movement sweeping the continent. I’m old enough to remember when a cellphone could only make calls. Text messaging was a pretty nifty improvement later. Now I can sit on a beach in Vietnam and fix computers in my wife’s office from my phone. I get how incredibly distracting...

Some recent work at Mrs. Answer Guy’s office got me thinking and talking about virtual private networks (VPNs). VPNs are not new by any means, but they’ve been getting more attention in the last few years for safety and virtual geography purposes. A VPN is a method to make it appear like your...

I’ve written a few columns about passwords over the years. Most of which boiled down to a couple of maxims: use good passwords and don’t reuse passwords. Still pretty solid advice. There are challenges with passwords, of course. Remembering them is difficult if you pick good ones and have a bunch of...

If you text, this column is for you. If you live in Canada, there’s a good chance you own an iPhone and an extremely good chance you use iMessage. On Android, you’re probably using Google Messages. If you live outside of North America, you probably don’t use either. Most of the world that I’ve...

As someone in the computer industry for a long, long time, I’ve been hearing about the death of the PC for decades. Each time it’ll be replaced by the newest thing: laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, mini-PCs, you name it. So far, that prediction has been premature. My guess is, it still is, but desktop...

Winter in Fernie is lovely. Once in a while, though, it’s nice to take a break and head somewhere sunny and warm. If you’re planning a longish plane ride sometime in the future, you may be wondering how you’ll keep yourself entertained. One interesting trend I’ve noticed is the removal of seat...

A friend recently asked me about using AirPods as hearing aids. They have someone in their life experiencing hearing loss and needing some assistance. Apple has been hearing these questions too, and they have added specific hearing aid capabilities to some of their AirPod Pros 2 and 3. You also need...

As we move through fall, many of us will be thinking about travelling. Travelling with a phone containing all our information presents a unique security situation. Banking information, contact information, passwords to sites, and private communication with friends and family are all things most of...

School is approaching quickly, if not already here, by the time you read this. It carries with it the mix of emotions that accompany scheduling, routine, learning, evaluation, and so on. Getting a good education may be the difference between understanding the world and just existing in it. The...

As an event organizer, I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time around Wapiti looking at weather apps, trying to predict what, if anything, is going to happen. Those of you who have been attending Wapiti for a while will remember the ‘great lightning scare’ a few years back. A lightning...