Technology Department Bits and Bytes

Bit: Freeing Up Space on the M1 MacBook Air Laptop

Are you running out of space on the M1 MacBook Air laptop that you use? When we first assigned MacBook Air laptops, we copied all of your data from the Home folder from the previous laptop to the Desktop on the new laptop. We asked you to drag items from that old folder that you need—and then delete the old folder from the desktop to reclaim space. If you’re running low on space, check to see if your old home folder is still on your desktop. 

Bit: Cracked Laptop Screens

We’ve had several instances of cracked screens on the M1 MacBook Airs laptops. When you place something on your laptop’s keyboard and then close the lid, there’s a chance you could break the screen's glass layer. If two pieces of STAPLED paper are placed under the laptop lid and it's closed, a cracked screen often results! Apple has engineered the space between keyboard and screen to be very tight to make the laptop thin; thus, there just isn’t room for anything else in there. Do not put anything on your laptop’s keyboard before closing it.

Byte: New Versions of macOS and iPadOS

Apple recently released macOS Ventura (version 13) and iPadOS 16—upgrades to the operating systems we use everyday here in Barrington 220. If you’re like me and like to run the latest and greatest software on your devices, you may be wondering, "Why can’t I upgrade the district MacBook Air or iPad?" The Tech Team likes to do additional internal testing before rolling out major upgrades until we know that most issues are resolved and all our systems function on the new operating systems. As we have done in the past, we usually wait and conduct our internal testing for 30–60 days before we release major updates in the district.