Thursday, 08 September 2022 13:52
Apple’s 2022 Harvest: Four iPhones, Three Apple Watches, and New AirPods Pro
Written by Adam Engst
Apple’s September crop has ripened, and the company has once again picked a basket of new and updated hardware for us. At its Far Out event on September 7th, Apple unveiled four iPhone 14 models, three new or updated Apple Watch models, and the second-generation AirPods Pro. After the announcement, Apple said that iOS 16 […]
Monday, 01 August 2022 11:08
How to Restore Missing SMS Two-Factor Authentication Codes
Written by Adam Engst
Many websites, from Adobe to Zendesk, let you receive two-factor authentication codes via SMS text messages. That’s good—any form of two-factor authentication is better than none—but you’re often effectively locked out of your accounts if those text messages don’t arrive. A simple fix is to call your cellular carrier and ask to have any blocks […]
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Monday, 01 August 2022 11:07
What’s That Little Orange Dot by Control Center in macOS 12 Monterey?
Written by Adam Engst
Have you noticed a little orange dot next to the icon for Control Center on the menu bar in macOS 12 Monterey? (And if not, you can’t miss it now.) Apple added that dot to alert you that something is using the Mac’s microphone to listen to the room. Click the Control Center icon to […]
Monday, 01 August 2022 11:06
What Should I Do If I Get an “AirTag Found Moving With You” Message?
Written by Adam Engst
First, don’t panic. Most likely, you’re borrowing something with an Apple AirTag location tracker attached to it, or someone left something with an attached AirTag in your car. Second, tap the alert to open the Find My app, which displays a map showing where the AirTag has been with you, which might shed some light […]
Monday, 01 August 2022 11:05
Go Beyond Get Info with the Finder’s Inspector Window
Written by Adam Engst
You probably know that selecting a file in the Finder and choosing File > Get Info (Command-I) brings up the Get Info window. This window provides information about the file, including its name, kind, size, creation and modification dates, and much more. You can also use Get Info to hide or show filename extensions, lock […]
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Monday, 01 August 2022 11:04
Choosing the Best Mac for a College-Bound Student in 2022
Written by Adam Engst
Do you have a child starting college soon? It’s likely that your kid has been relying heavily on a computer throughout high school, but if it was a school-provided laptop or shared family computer, now’s the time to get them something of their own. And even if they had their own laptop throughout high school, […]
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Monday, 01 August 2022 11:03
Follow These Steps before Bringing Your Mac in for Repair
Written by Adam Engst
It has finally happened. Keys on your MacBook Pro aren’t responding, there’s a crack on the screen, or the battery no longer holds enough of a charge to make it useful. A repair is in your future, which entails bringing the Mac to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider or shipping it back […]
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Monday, 01 August 2022 11:02
iCloud, Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange: Choosing a Personal Calendar Service
Written by Adam Engst
We Mac, iPhone, and iPad users have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to calendaring flexibility. Apple provides free calendar services via iCloud, and the Calendar app lets you add calendar accounts from a wide variety of providers. Most notable among them are Microsoft Exchange and Google Calendar, which are commonly used in the […]
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Sure, we know that phone calls aren’t the most common thing people do on their iPhones—especially anyone under 30—but it’s still important to be able to make and take calls. There are a wide variety of reasons that outgoing or incoming calls might fail, so the solutions vary equally as widely. Some may seem a […]
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Friday, 01 July 2022 12:08
Not Getting Full 5G When You Should? Try a New SIM Card
Written by Adam Engst
If you’ve been moving your SIM card from phone to phone over the years, you might inadvertently be preventing your current phone from taking full advantage of 5G connectivity. Cellular carriers aren’t always forthcoming about what will and will not work, but at least in the US, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all make noises about […]
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Friday, 01 July 2022 12:07
Ease Vacation Navigation with Favorite Addresses in Maps
Written by Adam Engst
Imagine you’re on vacation, staying at an Airbnb and collecting tourist points in the surrounding area throughout the day. Since you’ll be heading back to your Airbnb regularly but may not remember its address reliably, it’s best to make it a favorite in Maps before you even leave home. That way, you can navigate to […]
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Every so often, we encounter someone struggling to find and launch an app on their Apple Watch because they have trouble seeing and interacting with the icon-centric grid view layout. If you’re in that camp, there’s a better way. In the iPhone’s Watch app, tap My Watch at the bottom, and then tap App View. […]
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Friday, 01 July 2022 12:05
The Hardware You’ll Need to Run Apple’s 2022 Operating Systems
Written by Adam Engst
At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, the company threw back the curtains on macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9. These operating systems won’t be available until September or October of 2022, and we usually recommend waiting some time to upgrade—particularly for macOS. Even so, it’s not too early to think […]
Friday, 01 July 2022 12:04
Do You Keep Losing Your Pointer on a Large Screen? Try This Tip for Finding It
Written by Adam Engst
A large screen—or several screens!—increases productivity by helping you see more content at once. It’s a big help to refer to a Web page in one window while writing in another, for instance, or to check your calendar while composing an email. But the more screen real estate you have, the easier it is to […]
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Various calendar services let you schedule a meeting based on invited attendees picking preferred times from a set of specified options—Doodle is the most well-known. But the problem with such services is that you have to know which dates and times are likely to work for the people you’re polling. If you want to set […]
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Friday, 01 July 2022 12:02
Get Some Color (On Your Mac) This Summer with the Color Picker
Written by Adam Engst
If you’re over 40, you probably remember the point in The Wizard of Oz where the movie switches from black-and-white to Technicolor (and if not, go see it!). It wasn’t the first color film, but the vibrant images of Dorothy’s ruby slippers, the yellow brick road, and the Emerald City helped make the movie a […]
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We all get too much email, and while Mail can’t help you get less (other than by making it easy to unsubscribe from mailing lists), it does provide shortcuts for processing your mail more quickly. Regardless of whether you’re using iOS, iPadOS, or macOS, you can swipe on messages in the message list to perform […]
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 12:46
Apple Previews M2-Based MacBook Air and Updated 13-Inch MacBook Pro
Written by Adam Engst
During its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on June 6th, Apple took a brief break from showing off new features in upcoming operating systems to throw back the curtains on its new M2 chip and a pair of laptops that use it: an all-new MacBook Air and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple said that both […]
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Tuesday, 07 June 2022 12:45
11 Features to Look Forward to in Apple’s 2022 Operating Systems
Written by Adam Engst
It’s that time of year again. Apple CEO Tim Cook and numerous Apple employees took the virtual stage again at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on June 6th to share what we can expect to see later this year in macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9. (Almost no mention was […]
Monday, 02 May 2022 10:08
Apple Discontinues macOS Server—Start Your Migration Plans
Written by Adam Engst
In a move that should surprise no one, Apple has discontinued macOS Server, which started out as a server-focused version of Mac OS X and eventually morphed into a set of add-on network servers for macOS. Exactly what was in macOS Server varied over time, but in 2018, Apple trimmed it to just Profile Manager, […]
Monday, 02 May 2022 10:07
iOS 15 Brings Back the Text Magnifier, but Trackpad Mode Is Easier
Written by Adam Engst
Prior to iOS 13, when you were editing text on an iPhone or iPad, Apple provided a magnifying glass that showed the position of the insertion point. It worked, but was clumsier than just moving the insertion point directly, which is what Apple enabled in iOS 13 and iOS 14. The only problem? Your finger […]
You know that you can drag files or folders to the Trash icon in the Dock for later deletion. And you probably know that you can select multiple items on the Desktop or in a Finder window by Command-clicking each one in turn (Shift-click to select a sequential range of items in a list view), […]
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