hen you ask most Mac users what the application Preview is used for, the typical response would sound something like this: “It’s an app that allows you to quickly preview files... JPEGs, PDFs, etc”. Oh, it does that, but it does sooooo much more! I will just touch on one really cool feature in this post (and could spend the next month writing a new post every day showing you other cool features). In short, Preview is a powerful tool.
Have you ever needed to sign and return a document (PDF) that someone has sent you via email? This is a frequent occurrence for me. To accomplish this, one would probably print the file to a printer, sign it, scan it, then finally email it back to the other party. With Preview’s built-in Signature tool, that laborious process is a thing of the past!
Turning your computer off each night while you sleep can save you a little money (in power savings) as well as a little unnecessary wear and tear on certain components, like cooling fans. My problem is that I always forget to turn it off before going to bed.
Here's a little tip that will help you take advantage of these savings while not requiring you to change your habits.
I made a new friend over the weekend. Her name is Maureen. Maureen asked me a great question… one that only a few have asked me before. Instead of giving her the answer right then, I asked if she could sit tight until Monday. That way, my answer would not only benefit Maureen, but all my readers who visit this site.
Maureen’s question is this: “I have an old Mac that I want to sell so that I can upgrade to a new computer. How do I ensure that all the data on my old Mac is gone? Like, really really gone?” Fantastic question, and I love that you are concerned about protecting your data. I know too many people who have become victims of identify theft, and in some cases, it could have been prevented by asking this very same question.
Apple released their 4th-generation Apple TV one week ago today. Although the roll-out was a little shaky (the original Apple TV I pre-ordered didn't arrive until 5 days after they were available in stores), the product itself is pretty solid. There are a lot of new feature that I love, and a few disappointments.
In order to help those who are still trying to decide whether to invest in a new Apple TV or not, I wanted to share my thoughts on their new set top box. The best way to convey my thoughts is by way of a list of "likes" and "dislikes".
If you have a new (4th generation) Apple TV, you've probably already noticed the stunning new Aerial screensavers that are available. These beautifully shot scenes show off our beautiful planet, at least a few locations (Hawaii, New York City, San Francisco, London, China and more).
Wouldn't it be great if these same high-quality screensavers were available on your Mac? Well, they are, and you can get them for free!
I have a good friend who contacted me over the weekend with horrible news... his car was broken in to, and even worse, his MacBook Pro (along with his wallet and bag) was stolen! It's bad enough that his expensive laptop was now gone, but the worst part is knowing that his data has now been compromised. To be honest, it makes me feel sick knowing that he is vulnerable now.
There's not a lot I can do to help my friend in this situation, but there's a lot I can do to help you protect yourself in a similar situation. Today's post will walk you through a few very simple things that you can (and should) do to protect yourself in the event that your laptop ends up in the wrong hands.
OK, you caught me. Not everything I post here has a practical application or real productivity value. Sometimes, it's just plain fun. That is the case for today's post.
One of the great things about OS X is that it has text-to-speach capabilities built-in... system wide. That also includes the Terminal app. You can literally force your Mac to say anything you tell it to by typing a very simple command.
When Apple launched Find My Friends (an app that allows you to see where your friends and family are), I thought it was the coolest feature! It's especially useful in a family like mine with 6 iPhones floating around. I can see where my kids are, and they can see where I am, at any given time. Some consider that a privacy issue, but I consider it a safety and convenience feature.
Being able to see where my family and friends are on my iPhone is great, but it sure would be nice to access it via the web on my laptop. Historically, that has not been possible, but today... everything changes!
There are lots of great linear video-editing apps on the market today. Final Cut Pro is one of those apps, and it's a great one to use! The problem is two-fold for most who are looking for a simply editing app... 1) it can be expensive (it's all relative, I know) and 2) it can be complex (again, it's relative).
OS X has a simple video-editing app built-right into the system. In fact, it's probably an app that you use all the time, and likely didn't know that it can be used for simple editing.
I think it's safe to say that most (if not all) of us like to consume iTunes content, whether it be movies, music, TV shows, podcast... you name it, and there's at least some value to that. For most people, this love for content can also mean large iTunes libraries. If those libraries are well-organized, this isn't a big deal. But when it's not organized, it can be a painful process to find just what you're looking for.
I'm a visual person. I look for things with my eyes and pick up on colors, shapes and images to find what I'm looking for quickly. For that reason, I rely on album artwork to be in place to help make my content recognizable. When content is downloaded from the iTunes Store, that artwork is automatically in place for us. When it's brought in from another source (i.e.: DVD, CD, etc), you won't get a copy of that artwork automatically because it didn't know where to get it from. Even under those circumstance, it can be easy to resolve this issue. Here's how.
Even though Notification Center has been around for a while now, I still love to show people what it is and why it can be a huge time-saver for them. There are two pieces to Notification Center: Notification Center itself and real-time notifications (which appear in the top-right corner of your screen). Accessing Notification Center is simple. You can either use two fingers to swipe from the very right of your trackpad in the left direction (as if you were swiping it onto your screen) or you can click on the Notification Center icon in the top-right corner of your screen. Regardless of the method, the results are the same.
The notifications that appear in the top-right corner are great because they are push-based, meaning they come to you, rather than you having to find them. In this how-to post, I want to walk you through customizing Notification Center to make sure you're getting the absolute most out of it.
Apple's new Photos app is a great way to import, manage, edit and share your digital photos. As you add more photos to your library, however, that Photos Library file has the potential to grow out of control pretty quickly, gobbling up every byte of free space that you have.
To avoid your Photos Library occupying too much of your drive's available space (resulting in a sluggish system), it's a good idea to periodically archive older photos. Because we're all different, there is no one-size-fits-all archival strategy, but there are some tips that will make archiving your older photos easier. To help illustrate, here is the process that I go through.
I have the calendar app front and center on my computer all day long! Between that, Mail and Reminders, it's what keeps me going and on task. In some ways, it's pretty flexible, but in other ways, it's not as flexible as I would like (or so it would seem).
One way that I want to customize Calendar is to change the number of days in the week view. The default setting is 7, meaning I can see 7 days worth of events when I click choose to view the "Week" view.
There are some questions that I am asked more often than others. Over time, those questions morph from one common theme to another. Over the last month or so, I have noticed an increase in the number of people asked me the same question... "Do I have a virus on my Mac?!" Over the last two weeks, not a day has gone by when I haven't been asked this very question by someone.
So what is it that prompts this question? One minute, you're harmlessly browsing the Internet. The next minute, the following appears on your screen and out of nowhere.
When Apple released OS X Yosemite in June 2014, I was really excited about all the new Continuity features. One of the ones that caught my attention quickly was the ability to make and receive phone calls on my Mac using my iPhone. When I'm at my computer and someone calls my iPhone, my computer (and iPad) ring alongside my iPhone. It gives me the flexibility of answering the call on any device, and turns my Mac into a speaker phone.
As much as I love using this feature, there is one problem... Apple didn't include a dialer app to go along with it! Sure, you can answer any incoming call, and you can even place calls to people who have an entry in your Contacts app, but if you need to dial a random number... forget it! Unless you have a third-party dialer app, and here's a recommendation for my favorite one of all.
