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, […]
Tagged under
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 […]
Tagged under
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, […]
Tagged under
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 […]
Tagged under
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 […]
Tagged under
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 […]
Tagged under
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 […]
Tagged under
Tuesday, 23 June 2020 14:31
What We Can Expect from macOS 11.0 Big Sur, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7
Written by Adam Engst
Every year at its Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple lays out its roadmap for the next releases of each of its operating systems. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Apple to record its keynote presentation ahead of time rather than having it live, but the company doesn’t seem to have tempered its ambitions for macOS 11.0 Big Sur, […]
Tuesday, 23 June 2020 14:30
Macs Switching from Intel Chips to Apple Silicon—Answers to Your Questions
Written by Adam Engst
At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, the company dropped a bombshell: in the future, Macs will no longer be powered by Intel chips but will instead rely on custom-designed Apple chips. As surprising as this is, the company has made such massive transitions twice before: first in 1994 with the move from Motorola’s 68000 chips […]
Monday, 01 June 2020 10:08
Stop Group FaceTime Video Tiles from Bouncing with Recent Apple OS Updates
Written by Adam Engst
Since iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 Mojave, Apple has supported Group FaceTime, which lets you have a video call with up to 32 people. However, as has become painfully obvious in today’s era of non-stop videoconferencing, Group FaceTime has a feature that some find obnoxious: automatic speaking prominence that causes the video tile for the […]
Tagged under
If you have access to multiple printers, you probably know that you can choose one from the Printer pop-up menu at the top of the Print dialog. But macOS has a feature that should make it so you don’t have to switch printers manually as often. Open System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, and look […]
Tagged under
Monday, 01 June 2020 10:06
Find Files in the Finder Better by Specifying a Search Scope
Written by Adam Engst
This isn’t about periscopes or mouthwash—when it comes to searching, a scope is the area in which a search takes place. When you use the Search field in a Finder window to look for files and folders, you have the choice of two scopes: This Mac or the current folder. You can always switch the […]
Tagged under
Monday, 01 June 2020 10:05
Approve App Authentication Requests with Your Apple Watch in Catalina
Written by Adam Engst
Tired of typing your admin account password whenever you try to install software or change security settings on your Mac? A new feature in macOS 10.15 Catalina removes that requirement for Apple Watch owners. In System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General, select the checkbox for “Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and […]
Monday, 01 June 2020 10:04
How to Ask for Tech Support So You Get Good Answers Quickly
Written by Adam Engst
Need help with something? On occasion, we all need tech support. Speaking as the people who are sometimes on the other end of those requests for help, we have some suggestions on how to get the support you need as quickly as possible. For instance, think about what we have to do if we receive […]
Tagged under
Monday, 01 June 2020 10:03
How to Back Up an iPhone or iPad with Your Mac Running Catalina
Written by Adam Engst
One of the most significant changes in macOS 10.15 Catalina was the breakup of the long-standing iTunes app into separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. But what about backing up iOS devices, which you also used to do in iTunes? In Catalina, Apple moved this function into the Finder. So if you’ve upgraded to Catalina […]