As per the technology topic:If you're so smart...

So here's what happened last night:

I'm on the school's Internet system. From our Foreign Expert apartments, it only works (usually) reliably through the in-apartment wall Ethernet connection. Cable that to a router and we can connect our desktops/laptops through the router and create a Wifi connection to our other devices. I've even set up a separate Wifi network for colleagues when they come visit, which is also strong enough when (in good weather) we're all sitting on the patio out back the building.

I'm Apple-centric and only use Apple stuff. So in my apartment I have a 27 inch 2TB HD Retina Display desktop and a 13" MacBook Air for classroom use. Also a 9 inch iPad Pro and a 7 plus iPhone. All of them are in sync so, for example, if I make changes to a file during class on my Air, the changed file is re-synced to my iMac by the time I get back from class. Same with the iPad and iPhone. I can run my lessons from my Air, my iPad or iPhone in the classroom. Not bragging' just saying because it's relevant here.

I have an Apple Import Time capsule as my router, mostly because it just works (usually), can create strong Wifi networks that cover my crib, plus the patio outside, and because it has a built in 3 TB hard drive with automatic backups for both my iMac and MacBook Air. This, too, is relevant.

Last night, I was home using my iMac as usual. Another teacher stopped by to say goodbye, because he's going home for the winter holiday. He came by with a couple of beers for himself. I don't like beer-prefer red wine (not relevant} and a pack of smokes (red herring or relevant-you decide). I had been online minutes earlier and had just switched over to working on a lesson for next week-thus offline and in an app.

Then in walked Jose for a visit. His daughter wasn't feeling well, and he asked if I knew any international hospitals in our area of Beijing, and I said not really, but let me check.I tried to go to Beijinger.com online (nod to Noles) but suddenly my Internet wasn't working. This happens rarely, but occasionally enough-usually on weekends and holiday weekends at that when the school IT staff is gone.

I did the usual Mac OS X stuff to check it out. The Network Preferences app was showing that it couldn't connect to the Ethernet. My Airport Time capsule was glowing green which meant the connection between the Time Capsule and my iMac was fine.

So I opened up the Airport Utility which runs the Time Capsule. It showed the connection between my iMac and Time capsule was fine (thus still backing up my iMac which it does automatically every hour) but that the Internet connection was Not Connected. Back to the Network utility...it suggested I reset the router/Time capsule  Tried that to no avail. SOP in those cases is to unplug the Time Capsule for a minute, let it restart and that usually solves it. In this case it didn't.
Restarted the iMac and that solved nothing. In the past, when I used Windoze, the only solution was "re-install Windows". in 7 years of
Mac, I've never had to resort to that draconian solution. Macs can usually sort themselves out.

Jose was a little anxious because he usually switches off his cellular and connects to my Guest Network when he comes by and that wasn't working either because: NO INTERNET CONNECTION. We tried the restart/reset/unplug 5 times and nothing. At which point, I mistakenly surmised,"Well the school system must be down.It's a holiday weekend."

"Is your account out of money?"

That wasn't a possibility because I had just renewed the account 2 months ago to take me through Spring Festival.

Like many of you, Jose is a Windows lover and loves to trash-talk Apple and its products. So he starts trash-talking me "See, Apple stuff sucks. All night I was using the network with my Netgear router on my Windows laptop with no problems. Your fancy iMac and Time Capsule are obviously messed up. HA HA HA!

We gave the unplug solution one last chance. Then I told him to shut up, and drink his beer. I puffed on a cigarette from the pack he brought over to me, while I tried to gather my wits and figure out what was wrong, hoping against hope that the system would not be down through the holiday weekend. I ran through the rigomorole one more time. then I  clicked on the Having Trouble Connecting? box which I usually ignore because I think I know all the answers (It's one of my weaknesses.) And I followed Apple's advice in the little box, without expecting it to work. 

But it did! Voila! Instant Internet access in a moment! It wasn't an Apple problem, or even a school Internet system problem. So what was the problem?

If you're so smart and have read this far...Speculate.

You lost me after "So here's what happened last night" 

Something something Apple Windows ... not interested.

Would you like to buy an iPad Mini4? Seriously. 64gb, almost new. Wifi only.

I am one of those Windows folks who uses Win because I am accustomed to it. Not interested in an us v. them dialogue.

The iPad Mini4 is awesome. Excellent finish, and just the right weight and feel, like a S&W 686.

But it's not for me. It's not my fault, nor the iPad. Well maybe it's my fault. I can't put my books on it. Maybe the apps are blocked here, but I cannot
seem to get iBooks so I can add my PDFs and read them, which was the purpose of the iPad. I am sick of carrying 3-5 textbooks.
I cannot load the PDFs on my website because my upload speeds are pathetic. The uploads always timeout. The idea there was to
upload everything to my website, then simply download them to my iPad. Well, forget that.

So, I'm thinking 2000 rmb, delivered? You obviously know your way around the Apple system, and this beautiful piece of work is
wasted on me.

Don't tell anyone, I might buy an iPhone 8. It sounds like a humdinger.

for those who found the first installment offensive to their Windoz/Apple sensibilities or TLDNR. Sorry

The denouement will atone for that.

So here's what happened:

The Airport app suggested I recheck the cables connecting the Ethernet to the Time Capsule and Time Capsule to the iMac. This seemed pretty useless to me as I hadn't touched any of the cables in any manner and everything had been working fine up until Jose had arrived. in a way, it was Bad Karma. So I checked the Ethernet connection to the wall. Hadn't touched it since Hector was a pup when I first set it up.

I reached over and grasped the plug to pull it out the wall and reset it. and thats when I felt the cellophane from the pack of cigarettes Jose had brought over, and which I had opened by pealing the cellophane off the top. I had scrunched it up and tossed it towards the bin which sits a few centimeters from, but not touching, the Ethernet outlet. The cellophane was resting atop the Ethernet plug which was still firmly seated in the wall socket. It hadn't slipped into the socket or between the connection. It was just resting on top of the plug. The fan from the air purifier sitting next to the bin must have blown it past the tin when I had tossed it, landing on the Ethernet plug. I removed it, scrunched it up again making sure to bin it properly this time, unplugged the Ethernet connector and immediately my Mac apps showed there was no Ethernet connection. Previously they had showed that the Ethernet WAS plugged in- just NO INTERNET CONNECTION.

I replugged the Ethernet plug and a few seconds later the Airport app showed me that the Ethernet was connected AND THAT MY INTERNET WAS NOW CONNECTED. Went over to the Network app and got an 'Your internet connection appears to be working normally". Went to Yahoo.com and it loaded in the browser in less than a second. Problem solved but all due to an errant piece of cellophane that landed on top of the Ethernet plug while the plug was nestled firmly where it should be. I checked the plug more closely to see if there were any exposed bare wires, but there were none. The line into the plug seemed firmly sealed and shielded. But I had bought the cable from an iffy on-campus shop that sold such accessories.

Moral of the story: Stop smoking, or if not, bin your cig pack trash carefully.

The End

I took it o

In this increasingly divided world beset by confusion and Trump, it's good to know "jiggle the cables" is universal. We can surely all join hands over loose wiring and recognize the perils of cellophane.

Appley New Year. 

But it's not for me. It's not my fault, nor the iPad. Well maybe it's my fault. I can't put my books on it. Maybe the apps are blocked here, but I cannot
seem to get iBooks so I can add my PDFs and read them, which was the purpose of the iPad. I am sick of carrying 3-5 textbooks.
I cannot load the PDFs on my website because my upload speeds are pathetic. The uploads always timeout. The idea there was to
upload everything to my website, then simply download them to my iPad. Well, forget that.

Email them to yourself and open on the iPad?

Get iCloud for Windows and upload to the Chinese iCloud alternative?

Use an different pdf app: BeyondPrint or GoodReader maybe?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Get iTunes for Windows and sync Books and PDFs under the Sync Books option when your iPad is connected to your computer.

Also you can use the iCloud option mentioned. On your iPad, go to Settings>iCloud>iCloud Drive and turn it on. An iCloud Drive icon should appear on your iPad home screen. You'll be able to see the PDFs there. On your main computer open the iCloud Drive there and just drag PDF files onto that. the next time you're iPad is connected to WIFI, those files should sync to the iCloud Drive on your iPad. tap that icon and Bob's your uncle.

The email option also works. One thing I've learned with Apple, there are often multiple ways to get things done even if it's not even obvious. Apple's often light on instruction manuals that come with the products. I once came across an English language book in a bookstore here called The Missing Manual. It's about as thick as a Bible. I spent the Chinese Spring Festival in 2008 reading the whole thing. Many tips on multiple ways to do things.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Uploading to any cloud strains my internet's upload speeds. Uploading large or even medium sized PDFs
is beyond this ISP.

Another solution: Buy a Kindle Fire HDX, load everything in about 15 minutes, and read.

Yet another option and one I'm currently using on both my 32GB iPhone 7 Plus and iPad Pro- a SanDisk iExpand drive which has both a Lightning connector for the devices AND a USB connector for the computer. Connect it by USB to your computer and copy over any files you want to use to the drive (PDFs, videos, music, anything).When the USB is plugged into your computer, it's treated as just another attached drive and you can drag and drop files to it.

Then plug it into the device through the lightning port. It has it's own players built-in, so, for example, you can play large videos you don't want taking up space on measly 32GB devices directly from the iExpand disk. It has an app that installs on your device to manage this. I have one for my iPhone and one for my iPad. Each Sandisk is an extra 64 GB of device storage and cheaper than the Apple bump from 32 GB to 64GB. Videos play flawlessly directly from the disk. Showed an HD version of Inconvenient Truth recently directly from the iPad to the class. Haven't tested it with PDFs because that's not a big need for me. I can manage my PDFs on both devices through the aforementioned iCloud Drive. My iPadPro is also WIFI only, but my books and PDFs don't use that much space. It's the videos that kill my 32GB devices. But I imagine once you side load your books and PDFs (and Keynotes and Pages files)to the SanDisk and plug it into your device, the device will recognize them, open the appropriate iOS app and access them as if they were on the device. No WIFI or 4G connection needed. they're about the size of your curled index finger so much more form-friendly then carrying around (yet) another device.

Go to JD.com and type in SanDisk iExpand. Choose your desired size. Mine are 64 GB. JD has them in stock and I got mine delivered to my door the next day. 499 for 64 GB vs. 599 for a Kindle Fire  (not sure how much memory it has but can it also play video and connect to your classroom computer?)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are multiple solutions to using Apple gear.

More options:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/transferring-files-between-smartphone-pc-201511542.html

I saw the Sandisk. Nice. Here's another solution. Buy something simple, that simply works, and use it. Like a Kindle.
I'm not interested in collecting Apple-related 'solutions'.
If the only solution you knew when you used 'Windoze' was ... reinstall Windows, then you were too stupid to use Windows. Seriously, do
you think anyone believes that? That Apple has 'many solutions' and Windows is helpless?
Maybe Apple has many solutions because they have many issues?
 
Should get the Kindle within the week.