If have an old iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, you could be $200 better off, courtesy of Microsoft. CJ Arlotta, in a short feature story for the MSPmentor Web site, writes that Microsoft is now offering $200 for customers who agree to turn in these old phones at a Microsoft store.

Will it work?

According to Arlotta’s column, consumers who turn in an old iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 to a Microsoft store will receive a gift card worth $200. Consumers can then use the cards like cash at the store, buying whatever items they’d like.

A similar move

Of course, this isn’t the first time Microsoft has urged Apple customers to trade-in their used hardware. Microsoft earlier offered consumers a similar $200 trade-in offer for handing over gently used iPad devices. These customers also received a $200 gift card that they could use at Microsoft stores.

The details

If you wish to get in on the offer, you will have to follow some rules, Arlotta writes. First, you’ll need to make sure that your devices aren’t password-protected. Secondly, you’ll have to meet a time limit; the offer is only good until Nov. 3. Finally, Microsoft prefers you turn in your device’s power cord along with the phone itself.

Is your Mac sluggish? The free Mac app System Lens will help. Writer Matt Elliott with CNET recently wrote about this app which offers Mac users a list of all the apps they have running at any given time. Best of all? System Lens charts how much of your Mac’s resources each one of these apps is gobbling.

The problem with apps

Apps are wonderful tools. They are able to keep you organized, balance your budget and help you slim down. But they also consume a lot of resources. If you’ve got too many apps running on your Mac, they could bog down what was once a fast machine.

The power of System Lens

System Lens helps users pinpoint those apps that are using than their share of a Mac’s resources. The app gives all of a users’ currently running apps a rating: low, medium or high. System Lens also shows users how stressed out their Mac is in general. If System Lens shows three bars, that means a machine is overloaded.

Your response

Once you’re equipped with this important information, it’s time for you to make some decisions. You can shut off those apps that System Lens tells you are consuming a lot of energy. But you may want to go a step further and remove those apps that suck the most power out of your Mac, especially if these apps are just running in the background.

Think you’re tech savvy? Well, you’ve probably fallen for more tech myths than you know. Such as, Mac computers aren’t really virus-proof and emptying your recycle bin doesn’t entirely delete the files it once held. And also if you’re using private browsing you’re still not surfing the Internet anonymously.

Not hacker-proof

Caroline Moss, writing for Business Insider, recently published a column exposing some of the most common technology myths. And one of the most prevalent? That Mac computers are magically virus-proof. The reality is that Macs can suffer from viruses. And now that these computers are becomming more popular you can expect a rise in the number of hackers targeting Apple’s operating system.

The recycling mistake

You would reckon that moving a file to your computer’s recycle bin and then emptying the bin would definitely permanently delete that file. You’d be wrong. The process frees up the space that your file had used up on your hard drive. But it also leaves fragments behind that, Moss writes, could be recovered.

Less private than you think

You can tell your browser to go incognito. This makes sure that it doesn’t save any information about where you browsed. Even so, Web sites can continue to record your visits. And, as Moss writes, any files that you downloaded while private browsing will remain on your computer.

Feeling rundown before the end of your workday? A power nap might be the ticket. Writer Melanie Pinola, in a recent feature for the Lifehacker Web site, covered the benefits that short naps can have for workers struggling to get through the workday. You might be able to utilize Pinola’s research to argue for your own workday snoozes.

A Short One

Sometimes a short nap will do wonders for your mind. Pinola writes that a quick nap of just 10 to 20 minutes can make you more alert and focused.

The Wrong Choice

Conversely, a 30-minute nap could cause more bad than good. That’s mainly because you’ll awaken from a nap of this length still groggy. You’ll struggle to focus. And the feeling could last for another 30 minutes.

Longer but Powerful

The ideal nap period might actually be 60 minutes. Pinola said that a nap of this length would dramatically boost your energy and brainpower. It may not be easy, though, to convince your boss that those 60 minutes put in with your eyes closed were in fact productive.

Wearable technology is hot. And smartwatches are, too. But what should consumers expect from smartwatches? What features are essential?

Sensors

Thomas Claburn, editor-at-large with InformationWeek, recently explored this issue, writing his own take on just what he considers the most essential features that smartwatches need to have. First, he writes, smartwatches need to act as sensors. Which means they will be able to tell us the temperature, tell us where we are at any moment and tell us if our hearts are beating too quickly.

No Charging Hassles

Smartwatches shouldn’t call for cords and wires to recharge, Claburn writes. Preferably, we should automatically charge these devices as we walk or run. And if that isn’t possible, we should at least have the ability to charge them by placing them on charging plates.

No Financial Hit

Finally, Claburn states that smartwatches should be affordable. That really isn’t the case today. As Claburn writes, the Samsung Gear costs $299. That’s too much for a smartwatch.