System Lock on MacBook Air

Hello Students,

Recently some students have had their school issued computer locked down remotely due to one violation or another.  When this happens, the Tech Department staff sends out a command that locks the laptop screen similar to this image.

System lock PIN screen

When this happens, there are a million different combinations that can be tried but only one combination that will work.   DO NOT TRY GUESSING the combination, because after three wrong guesses, you will have to wait.  Each time your computer reboots, you will have to wait a longer time before you get three more tries.  After a while, you end up caught in a vicious loop.
Once caught in that loop, even our local tech support can rescue this Mac.  It will need to be sent out to the Repair Depot and they have to replace the logic board (motherboard) of the computer.  This is a costly and unnecessary expense.

From this point forward, if you see this screen you should report to the Tech Office immediately.  Anyone who has to have their machine sent out unnecessarily for this issue will be responsible for paying the bill to replace the logic board on their machine.

The vast majority of our students follow the rules and will never see this screen.  If you do, you should "face the music" and get the issue resolved before making it any worse.  As always, please see us if there are any questions.

Vincent Vanier & Paul Chasse
Tech Department Staff

Why it's Time to Update your MacBook to Sierra

MacOS 10.12 Sierra is the latest version of your laptop's operating system.  Many users have not yet updated from MacOS 10.11 El Capitan.  Here are some reasons why you should do the upgrade.

1. AUTOMATIC UPDATES  In the new operating system, you can turn on automatic upgrades so that your machine has the most secure features and functions automatically installed on your laptop.  This will happen in the background, keeping you running with the latest and greatest.
2. IMPROVED SPEED, SECURITY, AND BATTERY LIFE  Improvements to the operating system allow you to leverage new technology to improve performance on the computer.  The difference is noticeable.
3. OPTIMIZED STORAGE  Sierra now used various techniques to automatically reduce the amount of storage used on your MacBook.  If you choose to login to your iCloud account, it will increase the amount of local storage automatically as well.  Disk speed also improves due to the new file system.
   
4. WELCOME, SIRI!  Apple's intelligent virtual assistant Siri now comes to the MacOS in Sierra.  Using keyboard commands you will be able to ask the laptop questions that Siri will answer.  Long available on iPads and iPhones, this voice recognition tool allows your laptop to answer your questions more quickly and effortlessly than ever before.
5. BETTER APP STORE PERFORMANCE  The Mac App Store is the place you can go to get various Mac applications.  In Sierra, you now get an App Store preference panel that allows you to configure how you get notifications and updates of these applications.  This is a very convenient new feature.  Check out the article at http://osxdaily.com/2016/01/27/save-mac-app-store-password-free-downloads-osx/ for more information.
6. MacOS 10.12 Sierra IS FREE This update is free.  Simply click on the App Store icon to launch the App Store.  The Sierra update should be at the top of the screen.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/macos-sierra/id1127487414?mt=12