Thursday, 01 October 2020 09:02
Stop Snoops with Private Browsing and by Clearing Your Web Browsing History
Written by Adam Engst
With so many of us working at home these days, it’s worth remembering that spouses, children, and housemates may have easy physical access to your Mac. And, particularly if you share a Mac with them, you might want to consider how you protect your browsing privacy. Even if you wouldn’t be embarrassed if your spouse […]
Harvest season is here again, and Apple has deemed iOS 14 (along with iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14) ready for the picking. Although the betas have been pretty stable and no major problems have appeared in the first few days, we still recommend waiting at least a few weeks before installing via Settings […]
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Wednesday, 16 September 2020 12:45
Apple Releases Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, new iPad Air, and Subscription Services
Written by Adam Engst
In its “Time Flies” special event on September 15th, Apple cleared the decks of some secondary releases to make room for the anticipated unveiling of the iPhone 12 in a few weeks. Secondary though these products may be compared to the iPhone, the new Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, fourth-generation iPad Air, and […]
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We’ve been hearing reports of an uptick in the scam phone calls that claim to be from Apple. If you answer, an automated message tells you that your iCloud account has been breached and asks you to call a provided 1-866 number. Do not do this! Apple will never call you unprompted. Unfortunately, the criminals […]
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Tuesday, 01 September 2020 11:07
Reduce Arrival Time Anxiety by Sharing Your Location Temporarily
Written by Adam Engst
If you’re flying, driving, or biking to visit an iPhone-using friend or family member, you can reduce anxiety related to arrival time or pickup plans (and perhaps provide amusement) by sharing your location temporarily so they can watch your progress. The easiest way to do this is to go into a Messages conversation with that […]
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Tuesday, 01 September 2020 11:06
Did You Know You Can Close a Mac Laptop When It Has an External Display?
Written by Adam Engst
We wanted to make sure that those of you who work on a Mac laptop with an external display know that you can close your laptop’s screen and keep working. Apple calls this closed-clamshell or closed-display mode. Of course, it requires that you connect an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad, via either USB or […]
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It’s all too easy to end up with a boatload of Bluetooth devices connected to your Mac. Apple devices will likely have sensible names, like Magic Mouse 2, but what if someone has given you a device with their name in it? Or you’ve ended up with a device called something really random like f023cp37. […]
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Tuesday, 01 September 2020 11:04
Are You Making the Most of the Touch Bar on Your MacBook Pro?
Written by Adam Engst
In 2016, Apple introduced the Touch Bar with the MacBook Pro. It’s a long, thin display above the number keys on the keyboard that shows a variety of buttons and controls. By default, it changes depending on which app you’re in, and it also displays the Control Strip, a collection of controls that roughly mimics […]
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Tuesday, 01 September 2020 11:03
When Should You Upgrade to macOS 11 Big Sur, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14?
Written by Adam Engst
As we get into September, it’s a good bet that Apple will soon—either this month or next—be pushing out major upgrades for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Apple previewed these new versions at its Worldwide Developers Conference back in June, and they’ve been in public beta for a few months. Once Apple makes macOS […]
Tuesday, 01 September 2020 11:02
What’s the Deal with All the Privacy Requests in Catalina?
Written by Adam Engst
Over the last few releases of macOS, Apple has been beefing up the Mac’s privacy controls so they more closely resemble what the company has done in iOS. You’ve undoubtedly noticed that when you first launch a new app on your iPhone or iPad, it often prompts for access to your contacts or your photos, […]
In a normal year, most kids would be back in school by now. But the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many schools to offer online instruction, and many families are now settling into a remote back-to-school arrangement. We’ve provided some advice on working from home in previous posts, but what about schooling from home? Here are […]
Apple’s workhorse desktop Mac, the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, hasn’t seen an update since March 2019—nearly a year and a half ago. Happily, the company has finally released a new version of the popular iMac, outfitting it with 10th-generation Intel processors, increasing its RAM and storage capacities, and improving its audio and video […]
Monday, 03 August 2020 11:08
Use This New Setting to Prevent iOS Updates from Consuming Precious Space
Written by Adam Engst
People whose iPhones or iPads have relatively little free space have long struggled with the fact that iOS likes to download updates so they’ll be ready for installation. “Who wants to wait for a long download?” Apple thought. Unfortunately, lots of people do. The problem is that if you don’t want to update right away, […]
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Monday, 03 August 2020 11:07
Yay! Older ScanSnap Scanners Get New Life in Catalina with ScanSnap Manager V7
Written by Adam Engst
About a year ago, Fujitsu informed owners of older models of the company’s ScanSnap scanners that it wouldn’t be updating the necessary ScanSnap Manager app to be 64-bit, effectively preventing those people from using their scanners in macOS 10.15 Catalina. Unexpectedly, Fujitsu has now reversed course, releasing ScanSnap Manager V7 with support for the previously […]
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Monday, 03 August 2020 11:06
Two Quick Tricks You Can Use with the iOS Space Bar
Written by Adam Engst
Sure, you know that the Space bar in the iOS virtual keyboard types a space character. But did you realize that if you tap it twice, it inserts a period? (Probably, but if not, now you do.) That’s to make it easier to provide proper punctuation, which will have the added benefit of irritating your […]
Monday, 03 August 2020 11:05
Where Did Your Scroll Bars Go? Use This Setting to Ensure They Show
Written by Adam Engst
On the Mac, scroll bars are essential for both orienting yourself and navigating within a Web page or document window. But they may not appear unless you hover the pointer over the right spot or start scrolling with a gesture on a trackpad or a turn of a mouse scroll wheel. If that bothers you, […]
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Monday, 03 August 2020 11:04
How to Choose the Best Uninterruptible Power Supply for Your Needs
Written by Adam Engst
With so many people working from home, lots of attention has been dedicated to making sure everyone has a functional computer, a reasonably ergonomic workspace, and a decent videoconferencing setup. One thing that many have overlooked, however, is the need for a reliable uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Particularly for those using desktop Macs or external […]
Monday, 03 August 2020 11:03
How to Downgrade Adobe Creative Cloud Apps to Regain File Compatibility
Written by Adam Engst
Here’s the solution to a problem that clients have run into on occasion. In a workgroup that relies on Adobe Creative Cloud apps, one person might upgrade to the latest versions of Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, whereas others don’t. Suddenly, if that person opens and re-saves a file in the new version, those using the […]
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Monday, 03 August 2020 11:02
Your Time Machine Drive Just Filled Up. What Should You Do?
Written by Adam Engst
It’s inevitable—your Time Machine backup drive is going to fill up. Time Machine is smart about backing up only files that have changed, but after months or years of usage, the drive will run out of space. What happens then? Before we explain, some background. On its first backup, Time Machine copies everything on your […]
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Monday, 03 August 2020 11:01
Want to Make Your iPhone and Apple Watch Easier to Read?
Written by Adam Engst
If you have 20/20 vision or are still wondering why your parents have reading glasses, count yourself lucky. But if you’re like many people—over 60 percent of the population by some estimates, including most people over 45—reading the tiny text on your iPhone or Apple Watch might be impossible if you don’t happen to have […]
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Wednesday, 01 July 2020 10:08
Do You Know What the Scroller in a Scroll Bar Tells You?
Written by Adam Engst
Whenever you view a document that’s longer than will fit onscreen, a scroll bar appears (often only if you’re actively scrolling). That’s true whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Inside the scroll bar is a control called a scroller that you can drag to scroll more quickly than by swiping or using keyboard […]
Wednesday, 01 July 2020 10:07
Prevent Unsightly Tab Buildup in Safari on Your iPhone and iPad
Written by Adam Engst
Whenever you tap a link to open a Web page on your iPhone or iPad, it automatically opens a new tab. Having hundreds of tabs open won’t cause any problems but can make working with tabs clumsy. You can close all tabs—touch and hold the tab button and then tap Close All X Tabs—but you […]
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